Christmas is coming!

And I have customized Christmas cards up for sale!  Right now the only prop I have is the Santa hat, but I'm on a mission to find a Menorah and maybe an obnoxiously large ornament, so make sure you check back.

I also offer a picture where I can photoshop in a picture of yours.

Don't forget the pets!

They will be sent to you via email so you can have them printed!

You can find them all HERE!

Christmas is coming!

As my friend so nicely pointed out, only 3 more paychecks until Christmas!  

(If you get paid biweekly like me.)

So there really isn't any time to procrastinate. Especially for Christmas cards!  I am here to make things a bit easier for you.  Let me make your Christmas cards.  All you'll have to do is, purchase the listing on Etsy or Zibbet, then send me the picture you want in my template, I'll email it back and then you can send it to Walgreens or Costo or where-ever and have it printed out!  Easy Peasey, Lemon Squeezy... 

I have no idea what that means.... sorry.

Anyway, here is the template for adding a picture.

If you want it a little more animal friendly, I have this one

Etsy or Zibbet

 

And I do offer custom beach writings with the Santa hat too. 

Etsy or Zibbet

Happy Shopping!

Earthquake aka My dogs are useless

Here is Becca the "Beltie"  (Border Collie/Sheltie Mix)

And Odie the Jack Russell Terrier

These dogs are very good dogs.  

Be aggressive near me or the kids and Becca will rip you apart

Odie will annoy the shit out of you with his bark

They ARE vicious!

But apparently they are useless at predicting earthquakes!

Yesterday afternoon I was sitting at my kitchen table putting up my training schedule for September.  I usually work up in my office, but I NEED a new desk chair that does not hurt my back so I moved to the kitchen table.

I'm at the table, Jared is napping on the couch and Dalton is out cutting the grass.

Suddenly I feel woozy, like I'm going to pass out, I am rocking back and forth.  

Then I hear the glasses in the hutch RATTLING.

That is when it dawns on me that it's an EARTHQUAKE.

An EARTHQUAKE at the Jersey Shore.

ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME????

Ok, my Dad is a very smart guy and likes to pass along all sorts of odd information, because of this I know a fault line runs through Northern NJ, but still.... an EARTHQUAKE?????

I grab Jared & we run outside.

THAT is when the dogs wake up and and start barking.

Really???

Taken from the National Geographic website

Accounts of similar animal anticipation of earthquakes have surfaced across the centuries since. Catfish moving violently, chickens that stop laying eggs and bees leaving their hive in a panic have been reported. Countless pet owners claimed to have witnessed their cats and dogs acting strangely before the ground shook—barking or whining for no apparent reason, or showing signs of nervousness and restlessness.

Added 8.25.11 
Animal Reactions at the National Zoo

Not my dogs! 

The Dogs of our Family

I don't get on a soapbox often, it's not my style. However one thing I am passionate about is rescuing animals. I don't believe in paying thousands of dollars for purebred dogs or my personal favorite the designer breeds (ie MUTTS). There are so many awesome dogs (and cats, but I'm allergic so we're not addressing cats today) dying in shelters every day.

Enough soapboxing. I bring this up because I want to tell you about my 2 awesome dogs!

First there is Becca.

Becca is a Designer Beltie. LOL As far as we can tell she's a Border Collie/Sheltie Mix

We spent some time fostering dogs. We were looking not only to help out, but we were also looking for a dog that was the right fit for our family. Becca came to us one day and I knew immediately she was in her forever home with us. I thank the people who gave her up because we could not be happier with her. She is the best dog ever.

We had her for about a year or so when a neighbor told me she was going to have to get rid of her Jack Russell Terrier because one of her children had developed a severe allergy to him. I'm not sure who put their hand up my back making me into a puppet, but suddenly the words "we'll take him" came out of my mouth, and Odie became a part of our family.

Odie was not an immediate good fit like Becca. JRT's are dominating and hyper and a pain in the ass from the get go and Odie was the epitome of those traits. In the beginning he growled at me and tried to bite me once or twice. But with some training and patience, he learned his spot in the family.

The one who should get most of the credit for teaching Odie how to be a dog was Becca. Really. She treats him as if he was her puppy. She dominates him and corrects him. It really is an amazing thing to watch.

However, things are not perfect in dogland.... Odie learned a lot from Becca... INCLUDING how to sit in the bay window. I come home to this often. She jumps down as soon as I get out of the car, so this is the best picture I have of her doing it.

Odie doesn't care if we're home or not to make himself comfortable. Just a little while ago I went downstairs to get some coffee and found this.

Not sure how the blanket got in the window but Odie has made himself quite comfortable.

Little shit.

THIEF! !!!

So I am at the beach Saturday afternoon filling orders, I had like 17 to do. One of them is a redo of the ones I did with wine glasses, I did that one first.

I'm wandering up and down the beach about 50 feet doing the rest, leaving the bag with the glasses half buried in the sand because it's VERY windy.

At one point this old guy walks by with his ADORABLE brown and white border collie Boomer. I play with Boomer a little bit & they walk off. (this is not Boomer, but it's what he looked like)

I finish up with what I'm doing and head over to grab my bag.

The bag is still there, all the bubble wrap & newspaper and empty bottle of juice are there but NO WINE GLASSES! I'm all WTF???? I look around thinking maybe just maybe they fell out of the bag and blew away. Nope.

That's when I realize the old man walked passed me and left (I was half paying attention since I was already friendly but wanted to get done).

He took my wine glasses! Now they were just inexpensive glasses from the Christmas tree shop, but seriously, WTF???? When he left he walked up a ramp that was to the side of where my car was. Since I was done I hopped in the car & cruised the neighborhoods on that side of the beach, no luck.

Went back to the parking lot I was in and there was a truck in the lot with a blanket on the passenger seat. Hoping it was his truck I parked & walked back up on the beach, he was there.

"I thought someone left them after a night of partying, I was looking for the wine bottle."

Mind you, it's been like 20 degrees or colder at night.

I played all nice & he retrieved the glasses from his truck for me.

"I was going to fill them with sand & put a candle in them"

I told him about the much nicer ones at the Christmas tree shop and went on my way.

Seriously though, I'm the only person on the beach besides him and he doesn't even think to ASK ME if they're mine.

What was funny though, when I walked back on the beach and started walking towards him, Boomer started getting all excited & "talking" to me. So cute!

Between him and the VERY rude guy that ran through my shot not just ONCE but twice, I think I need to bring a body guard! LOL