Showing posts with label What the Dog Ate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label What the Dog Ate. Show all posts

October 12, 2012

Authors Playing Tag: The Next Big Thing

Last week, Peggy Frezon of Peggy's Pet Place (you remember, Peggy, right - from the Dieting With My Dog book giveaway?) tagged me for a blog feature entitled "The Next Big Thing." This weekly feature, where each author passes the torch on to five others for the following week, is about "The Next Big Thing" that writers are working on, with each author answering the same set of questions. As Peggy said, "What a great way to learn more about an author and discover some new reads." So at the end of my post, I'll tag five writers, so be sure to check them out next week. Thanks again to Peggy for tagging me! 

My next book is definitely a "big thing," to me, because it's been with me, "hounding" me as it were (yes, it's another doggy-related book), for so long now. So, here goes:

October 4, 2012

Strange Bedfellows

Sleeping with the Furry Kids
I got an email from my sister this morning, saying that her back was hurting, from her bed and "from having a dog invade my space. She is so twitchy in her sleep that I'm practically on the edge of the bed trying to keep away from her. What's wrong with this picture?"   

It got me thinking about this picture that I'd seen all over Facebook lately:
"Sleeping with Pets: Expectations vs. Reality"
[Photo from: http://9laughs.com/sleeping-with-pets-expectations-vs-reality/]


I think those of us who let our dogs sleep in the bed start out thinking, "Won't this be nice!? Won't it be cozy!" But the reality is usually anything but.

September 18, 2012

What the Dog(s) Ate: Wrenches, Hair Ties & Bras. Oh My.

Did you know there is an annual award for pet x-rays? Well there is! Yes, it's time for the annual Pet X-Ray Contest 2012 Winners! (Also - keep reading for another chance to win a paperback of What the Dog Ate!)

August 27, 2012

Monday Mischief: Scavenging!

This Monday Mischief is actually mostly about me and some mischief Mike's admin asked me to join in - but Rita benefited from the mischief as well!

Last week I participated in a scavenger hunt that was a team-building event for my hub's Finance department at work. The hub's admin was the one who invited me to be one of the "things" they scavenged for, so he didn't know I'd be there.

The hunt took place in downtown La Jolla, full of nice restaurants and shops and always bustling on a Friday afternoon - especially in the summer. I was told to hang out reading What the Dog Ate on the bench outside Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. There were 6 teams, and even though the hunt was to last all afternoon, they were told that my particular clue was only good from 2 to 3 (so I didn't have to sit there forever).

The clue was something like: "The dog ate my homework" is one of the most common excuses in America. Stop by this 3000 mile mountain range for a sweet treat, where you'll find a La Jolla author who can tell you what else the dog ate.

When I got there, the bench I was supposed to sit on was otherwise ocupied by a homeless guy. Luckily there was a tiny little wall about 6 inches off the ground in front of the shop, so I sat on that and pulled out my book and tried to make the cover obvious.

August 24, 2012

What's Better Than a Good Book?...

...A FREE good book!

It's time to announce the winner of my giveaway of Peggy Frezon's Dieting With My Dog, and the winner is... Danielle Murgia! (Yep, that's right... If you checked Peggy's blog this morning to see who won What the Dog Ate, the same lucky lady won both books! What are the odds? But Rafflecopter is totally random, so, it's just Danielle's lucky day. Maybe she should pick up a lottery ticket today!) 

I'll email you shortly, Daneille, to get your address. Congrats on the double win!

Speaking of being lucky... I won two books myself this week! 

August 22, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Lovely Rita

For this week's (mostly) Wordless Wednesday, I figured we'd focus on the cuteness of Rita. (And, okay, I admit... there's some book-related wordiness at the end.) But mostly, there are a LOT of cute pics - and even a painting! - of Rita:

"This is cute enough, right? We can stop now, right?"

August 17, 2012

Dieting With My Dog - Giveaway!

One of the really great things about publishing my book has been meeting other writers - like Peggy Frezon, author and dog columnist. So, today I wanted to introduce you to Peggy and her book, Dieting with my Dog: One Busy Life, Two Full Figures…and Unconditional Love.

My copy is on its way, so I haven't read it yet, but the book tells "the honest and heartfelt story of one overweight woman and her chubby spaniel, struggling to lose weight together. Their wonderful results will inspire anyone who wants to get fit and healthy…with their furry best friend."

“Peggy Frezon has written a charming and delightful tale. Dieting With My Dog is sweet, funny, inspiring and adorable, just like Peggy and Kelly!”
–Julie Klam, bestselling author You Had Me at Woof: How Dogs Taught Me the Secrets of Happiness

August 15, 2012

Post Olympics Blues

Now that the Olympics are over, we have the post Olympics blues... We have had to resort to entertaining ourselves with our own sporting events around here - like Pancake Catching, Puppy Pouncing, Open Water Swimming, and the Sweet Potato Chase.

Open Water Swimming 
Remember last week I posted about Rita's first swim, and how we didn't have our camera? Well, this past weekend I remembered to bring my iPod Nano along, so we caught some videos of her in the act. (Luckily we went both days of the weekend, as the video from the first day was mostly of the hub's finger...)

So, here she is, our own little Rita Lochte: (it just occurred to me that Ryan has the word for "lake" in his name; he must have been destined to be a swimmer.) Note - please ignore my high-pitched squeaky voice in this video. She was probably trying to swim out to hold me underwater to make the squeaking stop....

August 10, 2012

The Kona Interview


Today I'm very excited to have Kona here for an interview. Kona doesn't get to have his say in the What the Dog Ate, so it was nice to sit down and chat with him and see what makes the big guy tick. So, let's get started.
Q. Hi Kona. Welcome to the blog. Let's start with some basics. What breed of dog are you?
A. I’m a chocolate Lab. I am very handsome. My Momma says so.

Q. Are you a purebred dog?
A. No. Why would you ask that? Do I look doughy? Are you suggesting I'm a flabrador? I think I’m kind of muscle-y. I mean, I’m not pure muscle, but I have a lot of muscle. I do have some doughy parts, but man. Pure bread. I like bread, don’t get me wrong, but that just seems like a mean question. [Looks down and shakes head.] [Muttering] If this is how this interview is going to be, I'm outta here. I thought this was going to be a puff piece. Man, talk about hard-hitting questions.

Q. No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you. You’re very muscular! [Kona sits up and smiles.] I meant, you know – where did you come from. Do you have papers?
A. [Tilts head.] Papers? You mean like the papers you pee on? I haven't done that since I was a puppy. Geez. What is this??

August 3, 2012

Catching Up: Winnings, Hedgehogs & Mini Cover Models

So much to catch up on in this post! But it's mostly pictures...

More Goodies for Rita
Last time, I posted about the winner for my giveaway (Baba HooHoo!) but Rita's winnings also continue to come in! Remember all the stuff we won during K9 Kamp? Well, this week we got two more items. First, Rita got some stuffed squeaky bones from Flint & Lars
"I love mail!"
Not just one; not just two...
...but THREE squeaky bones. So spoiled!
Then she got her Dog Cookies book from Hubble and Hattie
The hub's reaction was "wow, some of these look really good!"

These we didn't win (I actually paid for something for Rita for once!) but to celebrate Abby's third birthday, Rita got a bag of hedgehogs:
"It says here these are wheat and gluten free. Interesting..."
"I'm goin' in!"

He's a little dirty - she ran outside with him, afraid I'd steal him!
Looks like she's checking out his (nonexistent) hedgehog naughty-bits in this photo.
In addition to her new toys and treats, Rita has a new friend. The hubs has (luckily) been getting home at a more reasonable time all week, so we've been going on a 20 minute walk most nights to a little park by the ocean where pups and their humans gather. The pups meet to play, the humans to watch the sunset. Rita's new little friend is named Bee. Rita loves Bee! 

Teeth, claws, and blurry-quick movements to the contrary, Rita does actually play really nicely with Bee:
Bee is a tiny thing & she often hides between anyone's legs.
And they both share their water nicely - even with other random pups:
"No, no, after you!"

A Mini Cover Model
In needle-felting news, my sis and I felted a Charley - the cover model from my book! I was worried we wouldn't do him justice since Charley is so handsome, but I think he came out cute. 

Real Charley & Mini Charley
Mini Charley & Mini Abby, Charley's Angel
Book-related News
I've had several reviews, interviews, posts, etc. lately. Here's a list if you want to check any of them out (most of you have already seen these since I posted them on Facebook/Twitter):
  1. A wonderful review on My Tail Hurts from Wagging So Much. (I made her stay up too late.) :)
  2. I was the featured "Writer of the Week" on PetPR.com
  3. I got to answer fun questions on Coffee with a Canine (have a look if you want to know the one thing I would ask Rita if she could answer a single question in English).
  4. I got my first blurb! A "blurb" is when a published author gives a lovely little sound-bite for your book. The wonderful Elsa Watson, author of Dog Days, called my book a "a cheer-me-up read, the story of a smart woman putting her life back together. Maggie is the character women have been waiting for - she's clever, funny, and REAL." So, that immediately went up on my Amazon page for the book! Hooray, and thanks again to Elsa!
You'd think with all this good book news, sales would be a little better, but - not gonna lie - they haven't been great. They've been just OK. Nothing you could live on... unless, maybe you were a pet hamster. A pet hamster could probably live pretty comfortably on the proceeds - could maybe even be like the Kardashians of hamsterdom - but that's about it. Anyway, hoping for some momentum to build, but in the meantime, it's nice to hear from folks that they've enjoyed the book. 

If you want to make an author's day - send them an email telling them how much you liked their book!

July 25, 2012

Wordless Wednesday: Some Veggies are Scary

I believe we've established that I'm not good at the wordless thing, so here's a modicum of words and some pics for "Wordless Wednesday."

I pulled out some veggies the other night for dinner. Later I hear "THERE'S AN INTRUDER"-type barking from Rita. I figure it's someone on the street, but she won't let up, so I go out to the front of the house and she's standing in the kitchen, hackles at half-mast, barking like crazy at... the eggplant on the kitchen counter.
"Must. Kill. Evil. Eggplant."

July 23, 2012

Bloggers Unite for Dog Rescue: How You Can Help

As I said last week, today is a special global event: Bloggers Unite for Dog Rescue to bring attention to the importance of dog adoption and related issues. The event is being sponsored by Blog the Change for Animals (BTC4animals.com), Blog Catalog, and Dog Rescue Success.

For my part, I thought I'd bring attention to dog adoption issues by writing about the Helen Woodward Animal Center where I've been volunteering for about 6 or 7 years now. At the end of the post, I'll also list some ways you can help too! There's even a super easy-peasy one!

July 20, 2012

Celebrating the Print Version: Enter the Giveaway!

I briefly mentioned the other day that the paperback version of WHAT THE DOG ATE is now available! Hooray! I can hold my book in my hot little hands. (And now you can too! Links for purchasing are at the end of the post.) So, I'm doing two things to celebrate:

Donating proceeds
I've committed to donating 10% of the proceeds of all print sales for the rest of this year to Best Friends Animal Society. I had a hard time deciding who to choose, but decided on Best Friends because I admire what they do (I'd love to visit them some day!) and love their mission: "To bring about a time when there are no more homeless pets." I can't even imagine that - what would it be like if there were no dogs and cats to rescue?? Wouldn't it be wonderful? 

So, if you buy the book in print, know that part of the money will go to help animals in need. And we're not just talking dogs and cats here! No - you'll be helping chickens, ducks, goats, horses, parrots, pigs, pigeons (adopt a pigeon??), rabbits, sheep, and one burro and one mule. (Someday I would love to have a burro or a donkey! But that's probably not going to happen in my lifetime...). Burros... those are asses right? So, buy my book and save an ass!

A Giveaway
The other thing I'm doing to celebrate is giving away a goodie bag to one lucky winner!

July 16, 2012

Monday Mischief: Counter Surfing

Winner!
We recently won a sample pack of Honest Kitchen food and treats, thanks to the folks at Fido Friendly magazine and Honest Kitchen. I won it by correctly answering a trivia question about Honest Kitchen on Fido Friendly's Facebook page. I just happened to know the answer off the top of my head, because I'd been thinking of switching Rita to Honest Kitchen and had been on their site a few days before. But then I got lazy and didn't order any food.

Well, now that we won the sample, and Rita has discovered how delicious it is, we'll definitely be making the switch. Rita really loves the treats too; here she is counter-surfing for one of the Pecks treats:


I recently discovered there's a regular Monday blog hop called "Monday Mischief" co-hosted by Snoopy's DogBlog, Alfie’s Blog, Luna Dogs Life and My Brown Newfies.
Snoopy's Dog Blog

Rita is not actually all that mischievous...

July 15, 2012

Blog the Change for Animals Event

Wanna help a pup in need? 

Today, July 15, lots of dog bloggers are bringing attention to the upcoming "Bloggers Unite for Dog Rescue," a special online global event that will take place on July 23, 2012. The goal is to bring attention to the importance of dog adoption and related issues. The event is being sponsored by Blog the Change for Animals (BTC4animals.com) and they are partnering with Blog Catalog, and Dog Rescue Success to help save the lives of dogs in need.

Blog the Change

So, this is just a little heads up that on July 23rd, bloggers from all over will be posting about various dog rescue issues...

July 6, 2012

What the Dog Destroyed?

"Stop doing weights, Momma!"
Calling All Destructo-Dogs! 
We have been really lucky with Rita not being a destructo-dog. Of course, we were a bit worried since her foster mom said she "ate" a love seat, but, honestly, other than attacking my 5-lb weight the other day, this is the most destruction she's ever caused.
Puppies will chew...



So, when we were approached by Liz of the Indestructible Dog Gear blog to participate in and help spread the word about her contest to win an UnbreakOBall, well, I entered Abby instead. Click HERE to submit your own destructo-dog story, and be sure to scroll down to read "The Tale of Abby & Barney: A Love Story."

This is really a cute contest - you submit pictures of your pup as well as the destruction, and write up a little description of what happened, and Liz embellishes it to highlight "The Culprit" (in this case Abby), "The Victim" (Barney) and "The Verdict" (you'll have to link over to see Abby's verdict!).


The contest runs through the end of July, and you can win an UnbreakOBall for your pup. Liz said that depending on the response, she and the makers of the UnbreakOBall might turn this into a running monthly "Indestructibility Contest"! Liz hopes to build up the biggest collection of doggie destruction evidence on the Internet, so get out there with your destructo-dog stories and help be part of the fun!

In other news...
We'll return to the final installment of the Monkey Me Elmo Tour next time, so stay tuned for news on how the Fourth went for Elmo & George, and also to find out where they are going next.

As for book news, I got the "proof" copy of What the Dog Ate today. It looks like a real book! My photo of it is not great and the title looks a bit blurry, but in real life it looks good and Charley (aka "Kona") looks extremely handsome on the cover!! Now I have to go through it carefully this weekend and make sure there's nothing funny with the formatting, but it should be for sale very soon(ish), as long as I don't find anything to change.




June 27, 2012

It's All About the Ears... And the Meatballs


Abby has a go at Barney
Today, Rita got some very special mail. Remember when we hosted Barney last summer? Boy, there was a lot of blog fodder there! Well, just like Barney is meant to spread joy (and a desire to kill the stinky purple beast) amongst Tripawds, "Monkey Me" Elmo is on a mission to spread joy (and sometimes meatballs) to Monkeydogs (aka: Monkeybutts, Monkeybunnies, or Monkeybutt Bunnies), the often beleaguered four-legged siblings of Tripawds.

Elmo began his tour, officially the World Tour of Monkey Me Elmo – It's All About the Ears!, last year in Sin City.  He didn't just start there cuz it's a hip and happenin' place for a party animal like Elmo, but because the leader of the Monkeydogs, Rocket - the MBBVP himself, lives there. MBBVP (the MonkeyButt Bunny Vampire Pirate) appears here in this video of Elmo kicking off his world tour.

[Let me just interject here... I know it might seem like Tripawds people have a little too much time on our hands, but when you are going through the loss of your pup's leg - especially if it is due to cancer - it helps to have a lot of silly folks around making you laugh!]

"For me??!"
Anyway, Elmo mysteriously disappeared for a while in the Windy City, only to later reappear in East Tennessee, sans one eyeball. I'm not sure what happened, but maybe he wanted to have some empathy for Tripawds. (Unlikely, since Monkeydogs are all about having no empathy and tolerating no special treatment of Tripawds!) Luckily, after some reconstructive surgery in E.T., he's back on the road, with his pirate scarf over his missing eye.


Even though Rita doesn't live with a Tripawd and therefore doesn't have to compete with one for treats and car rides (translation: pills and trips to the vet), she does sometimes seem to tire of hearing about how great, wonderful, pawesome, beautiful, amazing, etc. her angel Tripawd sister Abby was. So, she was pretty excited to get some mail that was all her very own today.

Even better than a stinky Monkey Me Elmo and his traveling companion, Curious George (or is it Bi-Curious George... They were alone in that box together for a long time...), the box came with MEATBALLS!
"Forget the dolls, give me the meatballs!"
Elmo & George chilling after their journey

"Seriously, I'm outta here. Can someone open this for me??"

"Please give me the meatball!"

"I NEED it! I need it NOW!"
 Yup, this Tour is All About the Ears for Monkeybutt Bunnies. 

"Yes, I'll wear the ears. Just give me another one of those."

"Um, a little help here!"

Stay tuned for more of Elmo's adventures in San Diego!

In other book-related news...
The print version of What the Dog Ate is progressing! I spent the last two days obsessing about fonts (for the text, the title page, even for the page numbers!), but I think the formatting is all set and ready to rock and roll. So, on to the next step - submitting to Amazon's CreateSpace print on demand service and making sure it looks okay. I'll keep you posted!

Also, thanks to everyone who voiced/typed/posted their opinion on which "author shot" I should use on the back cover of the book. The winner, by far, was the black and white of Rita and me together, so I sent it off today to the book cover designer!

Finally, I got interviewed on the Manga Maniac Cafe blog the other day. My favorite question was "What are three things Kona would never eat?" You can check the link if you want to know the answer! 

Thanks for reading!

June 17, 2012

Help Me Pick a Pic?

I got some author photos done the other day, with the fabulous Theresa Hayes. I was afraid I'd be scrambling to find one I like (I usually hate photos of myself - that's generally why I'm always wielding the camera at our house), but she took so many good ones, I can't decide which one I like best.

But First.... Rita's 1st Birthday!
"I got a stuffed eel!"
Before we get to the photos, I just want to give a shout-out to our sweet pup for her first birthday! We have no idea when her birthday actually is, but it's roughly somewhere in the month of June, so we decided it would be June 16. I'll do a full post on her bday later this week, once we have the complete b-day weekend fully documented with photos. (Flying Dutchman tonight will be the culmination of the celebrations!)

She got a stuffed eel, which she seems to enjoy.


Back to the photos...
I'm going to use these in a lot of places - my web site, Facebook, Twitter account, etc. - but the most important one to select is the one for the back of the print version of What the Dog Ate. Wanna help me pick which one goes on the book?

Some of you have already commented on my personal Facebook page, but if you want to help me decide, please leave a comment! (Note - these are not the full resolution versions, so they might look a little grainy here, but they are wonderfully clear in the "real" versions.)

So... we've got three of just me:
Me alone, option 1
Me alone, option2
Me alone, option3
And three with me and Rita:
Me & Rita, 1
Me & Rita,2

Me & Rita, 3
What do you think? I need your help, so please leave a comment with your fave. Which of these says, "This is a nice person. You'll like her book."??

June 13, 2012

Happy Kampers

The End of K9 Kamp!
 
"Rita, stop being a couch potato!"
K9 Kampers were left to their own devices this week -- it was Kamper's Choice for our final week. The four weeks have gone by fast. I decided to mix in a little of everything from K9 Kamp into this week:
  • Friday: I did weights and threw Rita's squeaky toys for her between sets
  • Saturday: We walked to the park, where we found a tennis ball and played Monkey in the Middle.
  • Sunday: We went for a nice long, fast walk at the beach
  • Monday: "Don't Be a Couch Potato Day" - stretched/rough-housed on the floor during the hockey (As you can see by the pics, Rita loves to watch TV.)
"But, Mom, it's Charles Osgood!"
  • Tuesday: "Make Up a Game Day" - we used to play a fun game at our old house with Abby that we called "Around the Island." We'd run around the stairwell/part of our kitchen and get her to chase us. So, I tried a similar thing that involved running through my office, out the sliding glass door, then back in the other door, and looping around again. It was fun, except that Rita (like Abby used to do) would cheat and just stop chasing and wait. I also tried to make up a game involving burpees, but the burpees were just Too. Damn. Hard. Plus I wish they had a nicer name. 
  • Wednesday: "Two-walks Wednesday" - planning to squeeze in a second walk tonight
  • Thursday: Tomorrow I'm planning to include a bit of running on our walk, which will be necessary because I'm going to the Del Mar Fair later in the day and want to be able to eat a deep-fried Girl Scout cookie (or three) without a lot of deep-fried guilt. 

I can't believe it's the end of K9 Kamp already. It's been fun, and hopefully Rita and I will keep up our extra-exercising ways. (Well, I know Rita will... so the "hopefully" really just refers to me.)
 Team Captain in his uniform

The End of Dodge Ball
Last week was also the end of the dodge ball tournament at Mike's work. I'm sorry to say that Dodgey Style did not in fact win the whole thing and bring home the big trophy. But...they did manage to come in 2nd! So at least he came home with a medal.
"Whaddya mean we didn't win?"
"Second place?? Aw, man. That sucks."





Mini Max, next to his pages in the Tripawd Heroes book

Our Latest Creation
My sister, Terry, and I needle-felted a Max. Max was a gorgeous Tripawd who, like Abby, was taken too soon by stupid osteosarcoma. I must say, he's been one of the hardest ones we've done - he had such a beautiful multi-colored coat and those piercing ice-blue eyes. Max's mom was one of the first folks on Tripawds to reach out to us during our cancer journey with Abby and both Max's parents were there for our Tribute to Abby day, so Mini Max was just a tiny thank you for all their support.

Writer/Book News
In What the Dog Ate news: first of all, I'm working on a print version. Hopefully it will be out soonish - maybe in a few weeks or so?? I'll keep you posted!

Also, I got another really nice review, this time from Roxanne Hawn on her Champion of My Heart blog. She's had a rough go of it lately with her mother-in-law passing away and her pup, Lilly, having a very bad reaction to her rabies vaccine, so I really appreciated her taking the time to read/review the book. She wrote that she started the book...

"...during our recent hospice vigil. The novel held my attention at a time of great upset and distraction, and, I think, that says a lot about What the Dog Ate."

I was happy to provide a distraction during a rough time. In other "makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside" news, I got an actual email from an actual reader saying how much she liked the book and is looking forward to the next one. So, that was fun! And... I got my first payment from Amazon. It was a small payment - but still, I got $$ in exchange for WORDS that came outta my wee little head! Whoohoo. Feeling like a real writer.

Better go do some work on my next book - can't keep up the "real writer" feeling if I don't write!

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