My 12th Birthday, Part 1

I turned 12 years old on September 18.  It was an awesome day, too!  Mom started our birthday celebrations early.  She tiptoed into where I was snoozing...

And she put a present right by my head!

I gave it a good once-over.

Mom helped me unwrap it.  I was so excited that I didn't even realize I had my tail sitting in my water bowl!

As soon as that wrapping paper was gone, that new toy was MINE!

Mom and I played fetch for a bit.  I had some good "bed head" going, and I was still a little half-asleep. Gotta give myself some credit, though, 'cause that's the most activity I think I've ever had at that time in the morning.  I'm not a "morning person."  Neither is Mom.  We both grumble a lot in the morning.

Anyway, after I grumbled a bit, we played fetch some more.  Here's a pic of me waiting for Mom to throw the toy over my head.

Unfortunately, Mom had to go to work, so we couldn't play all day.  But let's face it, I wanted to go back to sleep anyway.  When Mom came home from work, you know what she did?  She gave me another present!

I got tired of Mom taking so many pictures, so I took the toy under the bed to play with it while hiding.

Eventually I came back out and posed...

Sounds like I had a great birthday, huh?

BUT would you believe that I haven't even told you about the biggest part of my day yet???  Stay tuned for Part 2, just as soon as Mom helps me sort through the 150 pictures she took...  He he he...

Friday: Give Me a Beer

Since it's Friday and nearly the weekend, I thought I'd share a little fun from LAST weekend.  (You'll note that this was before Mom whacked my furs with the scissors.)

You know my cool neighbor I talk about sometimes?  Well on Sunday, she gave me a beer!

Looks just like a Corona, doesn't it?  It's a "Cataroma," though.  Or that's what the label says at least.  With a picture of a kitty.  And you know what my beer bottle really, truly is???  A SQUEAKY TOY!!!!

I carried it around for a bit and squeaked and squeaked.

Then Mom and my neighbor and I went to sit outside and enjoy the nice weather we had.  We took my beer and a bully stick, too.  That's very important.

I didn't play or chew very much, though, because there was so much going on that I had to watch.  We like to sit on the bench that's by the swimming pool and the playground area.  I love watching all of the kids and big peoples play.  I could sit and watch for hours.  Seriously.  (We don't have good views like this from our apartment.)

Of course Mom decided to take pictures when every went home.  (Mom's so weird.)  Just imagine peoples here:

I guard the area, of course.  It's important to keep an eye on everyone.  (Here's me with my beer, bully, and our neighbor's leg.)

Mom moved the beer for a "better picture."  Whatever.

Things were going great on Sunday until Rosie stopped by.  She's a big, big Boxer doggie who likes to eat little Shih Tzus.  (Mom said she wouldn't eat me, but I don't believe that.)  I had to hide under the bench where Mom was sitting.

I stayed under the bench even after Rosie left.  I wasn't taking any chances getting eaten.

(On a side note, see how well Mom and our neighbor plan our trips to sit on this bench?  They got water for Mom, Diet Coke for the neighbor, and a bowl of water for me!  And yes, that red thing has poop bags in it...just in case, you know...)

I'm just glad that Rosie didn't steel my squeaky beer.  I left it on the ground when I went to hide under the bench.  The beer is hidden under Mom's bed now...just in case I get the urge to squeak in the middle of the night...

My Stash

I like to hide under Mom's bed sometimes.

I've actually pushed her stuff around under there, too, to make tunnels and hidey spots for myself.  Pretty cool, huh?  She can't see me AT ALL when I'm under there.

The other day I was napping under the bed when Mom rudely decided that I needed to wake up so she could take me out to potty.  (She claims it had been 10 hours, but whatever...still rude to wake me.)

She couldn't reach me to wake me up, however, since I was in one of my super secret hidey spots.  So instead of just leaving me be, she tried to dig to find me.  

She discovered my secret stash...

Before Mom reached me under the bed, she pulled out 8 squeaky toys and 2 socks.  I was busted for squeaky hoarding.  And, well, sock stealing, too (which I'd never done before...I swear...).

Mom carried my stash out into the living room to photograph the evidence.  I couldn't just let the opportunity pass me by, however.  I decided to PLAY!

Yep.  I rolled in the pile of toys for a while and enjoyed every single minute of it.

What Mom doesn't realize is that I've got an even bigger stash under the OTHER side of her bed...

Tilted Tent 2

My princess tent may still be tilted, but it's also quite useful in its current state.  For example, there's a nice new little cubby-hole under the corner that's up in the air.

Well, it would be an even nicer little cubby-hole if it weren't for the camera being in my face.

There's a serious invasion of privacy going on here...

Going into Hiding

Mom got out the allergy pills tonight, and I went into hiding.

I have NO idea how she found me...

Taking Drastic Measures

Last night Mom and I went to our awesome neighbor's house. (She's the neighbor who has TOYS and COOKIES for me and the other doggies who live nearby. Thus, she totally rocks!!!)

I found a really cool toy at my neighbor's house and I played with it the entire time Mom and I were there. But when I tried to take the cool new toy home, Mom had the audacity to say NO. Can you believe that?!

Mom's weak reasoning was that the toy wasn't actually a doggie toy but something called a "stress ball" for peoples. She didn't want me to pluck it and end up eating the stuff from the inside.

WHATEVER.

Tonight we went back for another quick visit with our neighbor, and I got my little paws on that toy AGAIN!!! Mom tried to take it away from me -- again, she kept saying she didn't want me to break it open...and again I say WHATEVER. Crazy woman.

So drastic measures had to be taken. Can you see what I did?

Let me give you a blurry close-up picture...

That's right. I went into hiding with the blue toy! Any time Mom got close to me, I ducked behind that big chair so she couldn't take it away. I refused to come out of my hidey spot the entire visit because they were NOT going to take that toy away from me again! That toy didn't leave my mouth, either.

When Mom was putting on her coat to leave -- and actually started to leave without me 'cause I refused to budge -- then I finally came out. I got all flustered, though, and Mom somehow managed to TAKE THE TOY AWAY again!

UGH!

I need to work on that part of my toy plan, I suppose. Next time I think I'll leave the toy behind the chair where they can't get to it...

Mom and the neighbor both keep saying that they think I'll forget about that toy being there. I think, however, that we all know better.

More New Toys for ME!

Baby Patches from NipAndBones.com had a happy hour a few weeks ago and gave away gift certificates to the store. Guess who won a gift certificate...that's right, ME!

I got a moose toy and a flappy toy. I love the moose toy 'cause it's stuffingless and that means I can squeak it easier. And I like to drag those stuffingless toys around, too. I played fetch with the moose for a while. Mom tried to take a pic, but I was just too speedy for her!

I played and played with that moose...until it was time for supper. Sorry, moose, but food is a priority.

The flappy toy is cool 'cause it's squeaky in the middle and has crinkly things on the ends. I took it into my princess tent to play with, but of course Mom had to bother me while I was playing in my hidey spot. The nerve of her!

I need to get a lock for my princess tent flaps.

Anyway, both toys have been super fun. Thanks, Baby Patches!

Celebrating My Birthday!

Yesterday was my 10th birthday! We're lucky that we know when my birthday is, though, because I'm a rescue doggie. You know how we know? I got a microchip when I was a puppy! My microchip not only helped us catch the person who dumped me, but it also told us when my birthday is. Cool, huh?

Anyway, yesterday was a BUSY day! Mom put up a cool "Happy Birthday" banner for me. It even had doggies on it!

We took it pretty easy in the morning. And by "took it easy" I mean we took a birthday nap!

Then Mom gave me my first birthday surprise...a blue birthday loofah dog! I played and plucked and wore myself out.

When I was rested up, Mom and I went to FedEx to pick up my birthday surprise from Mattie. (If you missed the post about that, be sure to read it!)

When we got back, Mom checked our mail and would you believe that I got special AIR MAIL on my birthday??? That's right...I got air mail from Scotland!

My friend Kathleen lives there. She makes beautiful, hand-painted silk scarves...and she made me a special scarf for my birthday! It's the perfect size for me, and it even has my name painted on it. It's gorgeous. She made a pretty birthday card for me, too!

See...it's the perfect size! And aren't those colors perfect with my furs??? Thanks, Kathleen!

So after I opened my FedEx package from Mattie and my air mail from Kathleen, Mom gave me my second surprise from her...a stuffingless, squeaky flamingo!

And then it was time for another birthday nap! He he he.


Once I got up, Mom decided to torture me by making me wear a party hat. She tried to take a picture of me posing with the stuffie birthday cake she gave me. (It plays "Happy Birthday" when you squeeze it.) I refused to cooperate, though, so this is about as close as Mom got to me posing!

I refused to take the cake out of my mouth.

And then that stupid party hat got all crazy on me. Mom thought it was hysterical. I thought it was ridiculous.

I tried to roll on the birthday cake to make it sing, but the stupid hat was in the way. My stuffie vampire was sorta in the way, too. Instead of "Happy Birthday" we heard "I've come to suck your blood!" when I rolled.

When the hat torture was over, Mom got out the special birthday cake she ordered for me!

But then she put the stupid hat back on me to try to get a picture with the cake. I sniffed the cake...it smelled delicious!

I finally posed just so we could get the pictures (and the party hat) over with!

Mom bought a special doggie birthday plate just for me and she gave me a piece of my cake with some Frosty Paws ice cream. YUMMY!

I went into a food coma for a bit. That stuff was delicious!

After I recovered from the food coma, Mom surprised me with my big birthday surprise...my very own hidey spot!

I like to hide under the bed, so Mom thought maybe I'd like a hidey spot for the living room, too. Here I am checking out the new digs.

"You can't see me but I can see you!!!"

Mom had the nerve to spy on me through the tunnel. That's totally not cool.

I had a busy, busy day, but it was totally fun. Mom and I were both exhausted last night!

And THIS is what I've done all day today...

I spent my last two birthdays at my foster home. When I turned 8, I had just been dumped, so that's why I was there. When I turned 9, I had just been returned to the rescue by the family that I thought was my forever family. Those weren't very happy birthdays. Mom said that she wanted my 10th birthday to make up for them. I think maybe she succeeded!