Don't forget about the furbabies

This post brought to you by Nutrish. All opinions are 100% mine.

Before Baby Blogworthy was born, our animals were our babies.

Hubby and I are animal collectors. We're borderline animal hoarders over here. We moved to Florida with two cats and one dog and have adopted two more cats while we've lived here.

Like most couples with no children, we doted on our pets and called them our furbabies. We'd talk about them when we went out to dinner. I can't tell y'all how many times we had the "What do you think the cats are doing?" conversation.

Our dog was especially babied. She's a sweet little Jack Russell/ Beagle mix named Truffles. This dog has seriously she's been through a lot. She had a skin condition when she was a puppy and had gone through three leg surgeries before her first birthday. She's always been terribly loving, quiet, well-behaved and cuddly.

Lately she's been super duper depressed. Actually, since that screaming, crying little bald thing came into our lives, or approximately December 1, 2010. We call her Prozac Dog 2011. She said Prozac wasn't strong enough.

When Nutrish contacted me with a sample of Rachael Ray Nutrish just 6 dry dog food for my puppy to try, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to baby our furbaby. She'd get a treat and the chance to star in her own blog.

Just 6 dry dog food is a premium dog food with six natural ingredients, plus vitamins and minerals. According to the website, the dry dog food also contains no by-product meal or fillers and:

• No corn. No wheat. No soy.
•  No artificial flavors or artificial preservatives.
• 100% complete & balanced nutrition for dogs. 

Much better than the Walmart special she usually gets.
The sample came in the CUTEST packaging:
  

She needed a new bowl! And as a bonus, Hubby tied the ribbon around his head like an awesome bandana.
We are always anxious when we give her new food. How will her little tummy handle it? Will she like it? Cause ain't nothing worse than spending $30 on a big bag of dog food and then having your dog turn up her nose.

So you can imagine how excited I was when she gobbled this stuff down like it was a turkey dinner:

We typically don't feed her a ton of food when she eats because of her bionic legs and our concern that she's gonna get porky (stress eater over here), so we only gave her part of the bag. She kept sniffing around and tapping our arm until we have her some more.

If Truffles could talk, I think she'd say, "This Nutrish just 6 brought me out of me depression for 4.5 seconds. Yummo!"

Want to let your dog have a taste of the good stuff? Grab your free sample and let them see how the other half lives!

Let me turn this into a mommy blog for one hot second

My hubby and I moved into our house in August, 2009 after the worst experience with a Realtor in the history of the world (I promise I'll blog about it one of these days). Shortly after, Hubby called me at work and said he was headed to the animal rescue place where we'd volunteered and was going to pick up a new cat as a "house warming gift".

Now I was not at all keen on this idea. I told him absolutely, under no circumstances should he even think about bringing another cat home. Who needs 4 cats? Certainly not us. So nosiree, just get that thought right out of your pea brain, turn the car around, do not pass go, do not collect $200 and especially do NOT adopt another cat.

And of course when I got home there was a tiny gray kitten with white paws waiting for me. And it was one of those Hemmingway cats with an extra thumb. I was all, come ON, this is SO unfair. You had to pick the cutest cat EVER to adopt and now I'm supposed to be angry with you?

In the history of my cat ownership I have never had a cat that loved me more than other owners. The three other cats are pretty much obsessed with Hubby, but this one was different. He took to me right away. He would cuddle like a baby and lay on my shoulder and sleep on my lap. Eventually the thought popped into my mind: "I bet human baby cuddles would be even BETTER."

So time went on and I kept this thought to myself. Then one night, Hubby and I were watching The Hangover and at the end he said, "you know....if I had a baby, I would NEVER leave it unattended in a hotel room with a tiger." And that's how we decided we wanted to have kids.

With all that being said, I'm here to tell all y'all, Moms and non-Moms and maybe even some Dads (because let's face it, my male readership is like, literally two), proudly that, I'M GOING TO BE A MOMMY!

My due date is November 27, just in time to eat leftover turkey and dress that baby up in ridiculous Christmas hats. We're very excited, anxious, happy, shocked and all the other emotions you develop during the first trimester when everything makes you cry (including but not limited to, touching blogs, Carnival Cruise commercials, dog food commercials, "mean faces", too many phone calls, not enough phone calls, bad smells, your cat "dissing" you and grocery shopping.)

I can't imagine that I'll be posting that many pregnancy updates unless it gives me a good story (already using my baby for amusement), but I will on Facebook if you want to friend me. Now back to your regularly scheduled non-Mommy blog topics.

Dancing with the stars? Please. Dancing with the CATS.

Anybody watch Dancing With the Stars? I'm a newbie. It's my first year watching it and so far me likey. But of course, there is something far better than dancing with B list (who are we kidding -- D list) stars and that? Is dancing with some cats. It's just like the show except less sequins, more fur and more than 2% body fat.

Once I mentioned cat dancing and Liz asked how a person goes about making a cat dance? It's so easy and fun and anybody can do it. All you need is the following items:

• arms
• a cat
• music (optional -- a capella singing will do, or you can even hum. This one is my favorite.)

In just a few easy steps, you'll be dancing with the cats, too!

1. Pick up a cat. This may be difficult, as cats normally will run from you when they know they are about to be humiliated. They just have this instinct. To counteract this, you have to pretend like you're just picking something up from the floor. Ignore then completely, then strike

2. Sit down on a couch or chair. Cat dancing works best if you are in a seated or lounging position.

3. Place the cat in a sitting position on your lap. 

4. Grip their sweet little arms in each hand and press them gently against the sides of their torso.

5. Shake and wiggle their precious furry moneymakers. 

6. Repeat until they run away, scratch or bite you.

There are several styles of cat dancing. The first is my favorite and works with fat, docile cats. This dance is demonstrated by Cheeto, our big, fat butterball.

Notice how he's getting down old school, and also note the belly shake in the middle. I liken this dance to the too cool guy in the club who just sort of rocks his upper body while scoping out the scene. Maybe sipping on a jack and coke.

A second style is the all out jam. This is demonstrated by Pepper (song by me. It's an original called "Kitty Cat Dance Time"). This dance is known for it's wide, erratic movements and lack of rhythm. It's equivalent is the girl in the club who is just feeling the music and dancing by herself.




Do you like how the song said "put your hands in the air"? I thought that was a nice touch by the "dancing assistant" (Hubby).

Finally,we have the kitty cat raver. Again, you see the wide arm movements and high energy. Just give this big guy some glow sticks, turn on some techno and you've got yourself a party.



Like the song on this one? This was during the Final Four (obvi) and the lyrics are as follows:

Watching the Final Four
(Go BUTLER)
Watching the Final Four
(Go DUUUKE)

It's classic, really.

So now you have all the resources and skills to have your own cat dance party, y'all!

And since we're talking about cats, this blog is now a proud fan of Salt's kitty friend, Baby G!

Head over to Salt Says and bling out your blog with this sweet little guy...then make those cats DANCE.

Snuggies: No longer just humiliating for humans

A few weeks ago, Jamie Tweeted that she wanted to get a small dog just so she could dress it in a dog Snuggie.

Now, dogs are a big responsibility. Like on the scale of most responsibility to least, it goes like this:

Most

• Children
• Dogs
• Husbands
• Plants
• Cats
• Fish

Least

Jamie, you don't have to buy a small dog and dress it in a dog Snuggie because I did it for you. You're welcome. All of you are welcome. She seemed pretty pumped about my rad dog and dog Snuggie and wanted me to blog about it, or at least that's how I took her excitement.

I am admitting here and now for all the blogiverse to see that we are proud owners of a University of Kentucky Snuggie. I was not sold on the idea of Snuggies. Then my hubby decided he needed that UK Snuggie more than anything in the whole world and would pretty much cease to exist right then and there if he didn't order it (this is pretty common at my house). So then we had a Snuggie. And like Lays potato chips, you can't have just one.

We decided to get a Snuggie for my Mom, sister and our dog, Truffles. If we were going to be humiliated with a thin, backward robe, then we'd all be humiliated together. Get enough shame in one room and it just cancels out.

So enjoy these pictures of my dog wallowing in complete, total abject mortification.

"My shame is unbearable. Please tell me I'm adopted." (You are.)

Sister with Truffles, sporting their Snuggies.

 Which one of these two living things willingly put on a Snuggie? I'll give you a hint: It isn't the one who eats cat litter and chases squirrels. Truffles is all, "If I look super cute at the camera, they will totally take this thing off me." Nice try, Truff. 

Snuggie party! Only cool people invited. And dogs.

This was taken right after we opened up Christmas presents and Mom and Sissy got their own Snuggies. So of course we had to take pictures in our Snuggies because we're awesome like that. Like how we're all pointing to the dog? Truffles is obviously just trying her best to get through this terrible time in her life but we're calling attention to her with all the pointing. 

When we'd put that thing on her she would get SO hot. Like the dog Snuggie really did what it was intended to do and then some. She'd usually just sit wherever she was when we Velcroed it on and would lay exactly like she is laying in the picture above and just pant up on a freaking storm. It's not funny except that it totally is funny.

And I think it's pretty clear that as soon as I have children, they are getting dressed in ridiculous outfits, pretty much from day one.

There you go, Jamie, hope it's everything you dreamed it would be (go check out her site: Daydream Believer; she blogs about spam mail and shaving. LOVE it.)

Beware of Evil Nap Cats

There's evil lurking in the shadows of my home; under the bed, behind the couch and in the closets. It slinks silently across the floor, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. It lulls you into a false sense of security with a sweet cry, a nudge against your leg. Before you know it your soul has been invaded  and there's no turning back.

The Evil Nap Cat has won.

Today about 3:30, my cat Sushi jumped into my lap. "Oh, hi," he said, "Just stopping by to say hi. And I love you."

I looked at him skeptically, "You're not trying to get me to take a nap, are you? Because I did sleep for 12 hours last night, the last thing I need is a nap."

"Me? Getting you to nap?" he exclaimed, "This is my 'incredulous face'. Ridiculous. But I think I'll just sit here in your lap for a second, if you'll allow me..."

A lap-sit turned into this:

If you're wondering, he's purring.

  "ZZZ. :snort: Oh, sorry, I must have fallen asleep," he said, "I'm so sorry. Say, wouldn't you be more comfortable if you put your head down? I mean football is on, I have always heard football is much more fun to watch if you're in a reclining position, don't you agree?"

So fine, I put my head on the arm of the couch.

Then he says to me, "Brr, isn't it a little chilly? You know what would be nice? That blanket. Yeah, just put it over your legs a little bit. Well, since it's here, I might as well go sit on that blanket. Looks kind of nice."

Which lead to this:

More purring and kneading. Another weapon in his arsenal.

My eyes started getting a little bit heavy. By then it was too late. The Evil Napping Cat had succeeded with this final blow:

Full-on NAPPING. 

Moral of this story? Don't mess with Evil Nap Cats. They will beat you every single time.

Nothing like a busy day at work...

to suck the Christmas joy right out of you!

I work in marketing and PR. I'm the Web editor, so my job really isn't so much PR as marketing. Bascially I stay in my cubicle all day fixing the internet.

Occasionally I help out with media on-call. I'm one of 4 people in the office who volunteer to carry around a pager evenings and weekends for a week at a time every 6 weeks. However, our media relations coordinator recently left, so the on-call team is pitching in where we're needed for primary media.

This week has been a doozy. Is there a full moon this week or something? Or maybe it's that every student reporter in Gainesville is trying to finish up those last minute reports before the semester ends.

The other day I got one in which the student reporter asked if I could connect her with an expert to talk about "those brain scans that were going crazy across the country". I told her I had no clue what she was talking about and that she'd need to send the wire story on which she'd gotten the idea. She sent me this story about dangerous amounts of radiation that were found in medical scanners in California. CALIFORNIA. You shall draw your own conclusions as to whether or not we assisted this story.

Today was probably the worst. I'm drained. I have company coming in next week and then more the week after. There is so much laundry to be folded and the kitchen is a train wreck. I have no energy to either fix myself dinner or get dinner out. I just want to lay here in my PJs and watch tv. And maybe nap. And hope my awesomely lame pager doesn't go off.

And my dog just farted and then smelled her own hind end.

There's no point to this post except to tell you guys I might die of starvation tonight. :)

It's Fishy...

Our friend gave us her fish tank when she moved a couple months ago. There were three fish of the same breed in the tank when we brought them in. We had them for probably a week and a half when Hub noticed one was dead (RIP poor little fish). Hub *swears* that the fish's eyes were eaten out of the sockets, but can you really tell with a fish? Maybe they decompose fast, I don't know.

Anyway, we had two fish left: one small fish and one much larger fish. we quickly noticed that the big fish constantly picked on the small one, to the extent that the small fish would hide at the top near the filter, in what appeared to be a desperate attempt to end his own life. Day after day the little guy would swim to the top, hoping for death's sweet release from this watery prison in which he lives. Of course, we're good animal parents and wouldn't let that happen -- instead, we would knock on the glass and forcefully tell the large fish to leave the small one alone. I don't think she spoke english, though, because it kept happening.

Hub had an idea to just get another fish so that the large fish could split its time between two smaller ones. We find out at Petco that the fish we have, Dempsey fish, were a type of fish called a cichlid. They are known for their aggressive nature and are carnivorous, eating worms, insects AND OTHER FISH. I mean honestly. So now we have a tank with two savage fish who will only get along with other cichlids. And even if we got another cichlid for the tank, there would be no guarantee that our Dempsy wouldn't eat the new cichlid. And if it didn't eat the new one and both Dempsys died, we could ONLY fill it up with more cichlids, and the circle of violence just goes on and on.

Luckily, Petco offers a fish adoption program, so we took both Dempsys into the store so they could find a good home in someone's tank who likes watching fish fight. And they rode to the store in separate bags. The little Dempsy was so happy, I could have sworn I saw tears of joy streaming down his little face.

Now our tank has:

*not actual pictures of our fish. Our tank isn't nearly this nice.
- 5 neon fish
- one fish with a hidden mickey on the tail
- Two orange tetra

The orange tetras are husband and wife. We're hoping they procreate, although sometimes they eat their own young, so that will be sort of a bummer. All fish are as of right now, nameless.

We don't allow mean animals in our home and I'm sure our 4 nice cats and one nice dog would agree.

Just a man and his dog

I think this photo is super sweet. It's from our first trip with Truffles to St. Augustine Beach a few weeks ago.

When we found out we'd be moving to Florida, Kelsey and I promised Truffles that we'd take her to the beach. A few months after we settled in, Truffles injured her knee, which began 4 months of surgical procedures, constant medication and lots of unwanted rest for our poor pup. Have you tried to keep a year old puppy from jumping, running and playing? It's like saying, 'hi, sun? you're a little too hot today, why don't you just stop shining'. Obviously, no beach for her for awhile.

So, this picture means so much to us because of what Truffles has been through. We finally fulfilled our promise to take her to the beach, and after all the pain and stress, she's able to take a walk on the beach with her favorite people. I mean, all she wants in this world is to spend time with us. Don't you wish life was that easy?