Happy Monday {53rd Ed.}

Happy happy monday everyone!!! Here is what is making me smile...

Cake batter anything
I love cake batter! Doesn't this recipe sound awesome?

recipe

This curious owl

Too cute :)

and this scruffy one!

Being the crazy pet lady every time I go to someone's house
No shame...

Dogs playing in the snow

I know, I know, you are probably sick of seeing pictures of my dogs, but they are just so cute in their ecstatic snow fury!!

That is all for me this week, what is making you smile?

If pets could talk...

My friend Rachel shared this with me and it literally made my day! So I figured I would share...


This cat one is pretty funny too, I love the cat is patronizing to the dorky human!

We are always "talking" for our pets and laughing at what they would say, Im pretty sure its something along the lines of these videos!...ahh, isn't anthropomorphizing hilarious?!

Just something to make you smile...

picture from here

Too cute! :)

unconditional love

I love this quote (from this blog). I could go on and on (in fully researched detail, may I add!) about how pets are good to have around kids...the responsibility, the love, etc etc... But, Ill just let the adorable picture speak for itself!

Melman is too cute!

How cute is my Melman?! I love when he sleeps like this :)

(yes, that is a christmas dog toy under the chair, how it hasn't been torn to shreds yet is beyond me!)

My beautiful Beau

I said goodbye to my lifetime dog 2 years ago today. I miss him. I miss his adorable high speed circles every time I came home, I miss how he would howl in true husky form anytime he heard a car alarm :), I miss his expressive eyes, I even miss his hair everywhere and chasing him around for hours when he would pull a Houdini move and get loose!

My Beau, he saw me through so much between the difficult ages of 16 and 25. He was my constant, the force that kept me grounded. I needed him longer, but Im happy for what I had. Everyone deserves a Beau, a bond that strong, a true lifetime dog. I still miss him like crazy, but am so honored to have had 9 years with such an amazing companion.

I love you Beau, enjoy 2011 running around the clouds honey...

Holidays in pictures!

Sparkly cookie balls!

Squishy sitting on my "nativity scene" (That is a whole other story...)

Christmas cookies...my friend Rachel and I are quite the artists!

My family picture :)

 Miniature tree and Domino's gift

Awhh, thanks for the present mom!

Snow day!!

(aka: an excuse to share shamelessly cute dog pics!)

Happy Monday {10th ed.}

Happy Monday.....much needed!

A beautiful snow!
I woke up to snow this morning, yay :) Its that beautiful, untouched first snow, big flake kind. Plus here in Seattle, it doesn't stick (sorry to all my Midwesterners out there!)

(look how happy she is!!)

(yes, he has a scarf on...I swear he loves it!)

Happy Hour ;)

As you know, I have had a rough week. The perk of going through a crappy situation though is all the support that comes out of it! I have been reminded that I really do have wonderful people in my life....and have shared happy hour with quite a few of them this past week! (Even a happy brunch on one occasion!) Putting the recent need for friends and wine aside though, I really do love happy hour. What could be better than cheap drinks, cheap appetizers, good friends, and having it all be early enough to get home and curl up on the couch with pjs?! (Im such an old soul...)

This picture

I found it on one of my favorite blogs, The Nearsighted Owl. How freakin' adorable is he?!

My Squishy and her personality-filled looks

Enough said! :)

Thats it for me this week, what is making you happy?

Happy Monday {9th ed.}

Happy Monday!! Here are my weekly joys :)

Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett
I watched the Runaways this weekend and....lets just say Kristen did a damn good job at playing a sexy badass rocker chick!! ;)

When Zindle's ear does this super cute little lopsided thing :)

Unfortunately its usually when she is being a freak or spazing out, but its still pretty cute!

My new boots and purple tights!

Well the picture sucks, but I swear they really are cute!

The World Made Flesh website

Its a blog about literary tattoos, and there is a book! Awesome! These are 2 of my favorites...

(Yay Vonnegut!!) 

(Sadly true, a good book, and a beautiful placement)

This song

I know, who doesn't right? But still, just singing the words "little lion man" makes me happy!

Thats all for me this week, what is making you happy lately?

Stinky Zindle!

Ok fellow dog owners, I need help! Zindle will roll in anything; poop, vomit, dead animals, anything stinky!! It gross and it is requiring too many baths for our liking. I thought about making her wear a sweater whenever she has the potential to be near something stinky, but its usually more in the neck area. Maybe a turtleneck?! Thoughts......

"I hate this!!"

I found this on Etsy, it would work although I think Domino may make fun of her! :)

Happy Monday {4th ed.}

Happy Monday!!! Ive got to say though, Im forcing my enthusiasm today, Im completely wiped out from the constant drain from internship applications and dissertating that is my life lately! But enough about that (for now...) this is a happy post!! Im just explaining why I need a little reminder of what makes me happy :)

Tired Animals
Really, is there anything more relaxing than watching a cat lounge or more rewarding than a dog tired out after exercise?!

Pajamas

I love bed time!! I really really love sleep and bed time is probably my favorite part of the day :) What makes bed time even better?...fun pajamas!! I love the pair that I have now, they are from target and have cute little owls on the pants! But its getting cooler and Im getting ready for something warmer...

Quilts

I need to learn how to quilt one of these days (ok, one of these years actually!). I love quilts! Whenever I finally own a house, there will be quilts on every bed. I just think that they emanate comfort and I love that they are so unique!

All of the "warmers"

Ill admit it, Im a child of the 80s and I love leg warmers!! 

Im really in love with this new idea of neck warmers. I don't have one yet, but am definitely looking!

And my favorite; arm warmers!! These are probably my favorite accessory ever! They are perfect for Seattle weather and are just so darn cute :)

Yikes, can you tell by this edition of Happy Mondays that Im happy about fall?! Ok, what makes you happy this week? :)

Considering taking the homemade pet food plunge....

I have been making home made dog biscuits for a few months now. They are fun to make, I know what is in them (and therefore, what is going into my dog's bodies), I can make them into fun little dog, heart, star, and even cat! shapes, plus the dogs LOVE them!! This change was an easy decision, it costs less and is much healthier.

Switching to home made dog food though...thats a bigger decision! I've wanted to for quite a while for a multitude of reasons; I don't trust the dog food labels, I think variety is needed, plus the quality of what is put in pet food is so low, its scary. I was at Half Price Book's 20% off sale this weekend (side note; yay for 20% off at one of my favorite stores!!!) and found this book on making the switch. Ive only started reading it, but have made it through the introduction, which includes all the reasons why a natural diet is so important. It was exactly what I needed to push me over the edge! Did you know that road kill is occasionally used to make the lower end dog kibble?! Obviously that is one of the dramatic statements, but even the less disgusting information was surprising to me. It can basically be summed up by the realization that pet food labels that say "USDA inspected" are true in a disgustingly ironic way. The meat is inspected, but not in the way they want you to think, its the pieces that don't pass inspection that make it into pet food! This means that feathers, fecal matter, bones, and fat are the main ingredients making up the "protein" that our furry family members are eating. (Reading through this information also reiterates my decision to be a vegetarian by the way!)

So, how do I solve this problem and relieve my newly increased anxiety over what my furry family members are eating? I make it myself! This book also includes recipes and tips for making the change. I know I have a lot of other pet lovers and owners out there in blog land though. Has anyone else considered this, done it, know someone who does it, anything?! Im nervous that I won't include everything that they need, won't be able to do it, they won't like it...you get the idea.

Cats and homework; never a good combination!

Squishy doesn't like when I do homework! I finally sit down to get some dissertating done (ps: I have coined that term as the verb form of dissertation!) and she comes by to mess with my plans!

The crazy thing is that a big part of my topic is on the human-animal bond, so its not like I can kick her off of it!!

(as you can see, she chose to stand right on that section, just to prove her point!!)

Ahh, cats....she is lucky she is cute!!