Clarification ~

Thank you so much for all your comments on my last post. I just want to clarify that I don't have a new job. I've been working in the same department since last May. Even though employment cuts in to my play and creative time, I am thankful I have a job to go to when so many do not. Last year I was laid off for three months and it was a very scary time. I hope I don't have to go through that again!

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Bad News ~ Good News

THE BAD NEWS IS...

I didn't get to hook at the library tonight.

I had to work late.

THE GOOD NEWS IS...

I have a job!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

THE BAD NEWS IS...

I'm not done taking down

the Christmas decorations.

It has never taken me this long.

THE GOOD NEWS IS...

If I don't take the big tree down,

it will be all ready for next Christmas.

Just kidding :)

It WILL be down this weekend.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

THE BAD NEWS IS...

Hopscotch is on meds until January 20th

for her infected incision

and her parasites (EEEWWWWW!!!)

THE GOOD NEWS IS...

She has found her forever home.

She will have a pug brother

and a pug sister

and a fenced yard to romp in.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hopscotch loves to flop around the couch

like a fish out of water.

Here she is giving me the ole "stink eye".

THE GOOD NEWS IS...

I have so many wonderful blog readers and followers.

Thank you!

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Already Monday ~

Welcome dear blog friends. It's Monday already. The weekends sure do fly by, especially the busy ones!

Yesterday I took grandson Jake to see Disney on Ice, Toy Story 3. He had no idea he was going until I picked him up. I'm not sure if it was a coincidence, but he was wearing his Toy Story shirt. I don't know how a family could afford an event such as this, but I think it was a full house. Toys were outrageously expense, but that's what grandmas are for, no? I just wish I could get a decent picture of that silly young man!

Not having seen Toy Story 3, I was surprised to see Barbie (that's her in the blue) and Ken in the production.

Jake totally enjoyed it and wanted to know if we could go again today.

A bit more about my goals....

I am a list maker. I make one every day. I put on there things I need to do daily - read the newspaper, deal with the mail, etc. I also add places I need to go and things I hope to accomplish that day - pay bills, hook, read a magazine, etc. Even things as mundane as water the plants. If I don't write them down, I am less likely to accomplish them (or remember to do them!). I will admit I rarely get them all done, and almost never beat myself up for not having done so. It's just the way I do things and it works for me. I've not set monthly goals before, so I am hoping that by looking at the list on a regular basis, I can stay on task and get more accomplished than I normally would. Don't worry, I won't beat myself up (well, maybe just a little) if I don't finish my list :)

Hopscotch may have met her new forever mom yesterday. She went and visited with the prospective mom and her two pugs yesterday to see if they were compatible. They had an absolute ball playing. Elwood and Rhoda are both around two years of age so still very much puppies. The three of them ran around like wild hooligans. Rhoda did get a little grumpy when Hopscotch got too close to the bone she was munching on. I should know in a few days whether the adoption will take place, but nothing can happen for another 10 days. Not only is Hopscotch on an antibiotic for her incision infection, she is also on meds for a parasite and worms. Yuck is all I can say :( She is just as ornery as ever ~ all puppy!

I hope your week is off to a great start. I'm hoping the snow they are predicting for us tomorrow will once again pass us by.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Goals ~

Just a couple of pictures to share with you today. Cher is on the left (she came in to Ohio Pug Rescue the month pugs were being named after singers) and her ear is always cocked like that. That's my sweet Eema on the right with a bit of her snaggle tooth showing. How lucky that they are in sunny Florida! (I think I am jealous!) Oh, they are living the good life!

I did not make any New Year's resolutions this year, but if I had, they would be the same ones I make every year ~ lose weight, get fit, hook more, blah, blah, blah. Instead, each month I am going to make some goals that I hope will be attainable. If I write them down and share them with you, perhaps I will be even more motivated to complete them.

Here's my list of goals for January. Though it may not sound like much (remember I am the world's slowest hooker), if I get these things done, I will be pleased.

• finish taking down the Christmas decorations and get it all hauled to the attic. I started at the beginning of the week and I am tired of living amidst chaos.
• cross stitch a little Valentine pin keep
• learn how to make a toothbrush rug
• bind the little cat mat I hooked
• finish the hit and miss mat I am working on
• hook a little mat I was asked to hook 1+ years ago
• hook a small Valentine mat as a gift
• hook a minimum of one hour on my horse rug ~ for some unknown reason I can't make myself finish it, so maybe if I spend an hour hooking on it, I will be inspired and can continue on
• HAVE A GIVE~AWAY

We'll see how successful I am! Hopefully I won't have too much egg on my face on January 31! Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you all have a great weekend. Mine is a little too busy, but c'est la vie!
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Eema update & more ~

Have you noticed that the days are getting longer? Only 74 days until spring. But who's counting? Oh, that would be me :)

In my next life, I want to come back as Eema. (For any newer readers, Eema was my former puppy mill momma that I fostered for 11 1/2 months before she got adopted.) Not the Eema that was the puppy mill momma, but the Eema that was adopted by Dolly and Dave. Eema is currently spending the winter in Florida. Lucky her! I hope she sends some sunshine to northern Ohio. She and her OPR pug sister Cher get to go to the dog park daily. I've been told it's the doggie equivalent of Chuckie Cheese!

Dolly emailed me that one day in the back yard Eema was taking a short cut back to the house and walked into the swimming pool. She was calmly doggie paddling to the stairs when Dolly retrieved her.

I'm sure many of you can relate to the following. I've been having these darned hot flashes for the last 6 years. Just when I think I am done with them, they once again rear their ugly head. I know others have them much worse, but I am so tired of waking up "moist", throwing off all the covers, and just as I am settling back to sleep, it is over, I'm freezing and have to wake up and put the covers back on. Enough is enough already :) (FYI ~ You youngsters have so much to look forward to...lol!)

Thank you so much for stopping by. I hope you will stop again soon!
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

She~Devil

Her name is Hopscotch. For any new readers (thank you!) she came as my 6 month old foster baby through Ohio Pug Rescue on December 23. She is most probably a Chug (chihuahua/pug mix). The first few days, she was the most quiet, calm little darling. My what a difference a week can make!

My DSO says she looks like the grill of a '48 Buick!
The look of innocence, right?
WRONG!!!

Yesterday, she decided to bolt from the car when I stopped to check on the house where my Mom had lived. Luckily, it is a quiet neighborhood and traffic was exceptionally light. I'd call her and she'd get about two feet from me and start to run again. Then she decided to chase a rabbit. Let me tell you, she is FAST! So it's about 25 degrees out, my gloves are in the car, and I am wearing clogs, chasing a lightening fast she-devil! Have you ever tried to run in clogs? Take if from me, it's not easy. After a good 20 minutes, I was about ready to give up and let her freeze, but I didn't think the folks at Ohio Pug Rescue would think too kindly about that! About two blocks from the house, she decided to run back towards the house. I opened the car door, and she goes flying in to the car she escaped from. Needless to say, I was a somewhat frozen, very unhappy camper!
On the bright side, we may have an applicant who is interested in adopting her. Dare I tell them she is the devil in disguise?I am in the midst of un-decorating. Or is it de-decorating? I am just thankful it comes down much quicker than it goes up. I find it rather depressing. I can't believe another Christmas season has come and gone. The house looks so bare until I get everything back in its place.
Thank you so much for stopping by. I really must get busy and get one more tree done tonight.
Pug hugs :)
Lauren

Merry Christmas to me..

...and Happy New Year to you! I hope you had a safe evening spent the way you wanted. DSO made a prime rib, we watched "Holiday Inn" (really kind of corny but wonderful singing and dancing) and I even did some hooking.

So many people in blogland are talking about simplifying their lives and purging possessions. I decided to ponder the idea while I was at the antique mall about 45 minutes from home.

Most of the dealers had a percentage off all their merchandise, so how could I resist saving between 10 and 25%?

This little 4" Santa is my favorite purchase of the day. That's the Merry Christmas to me part. He's a cotton batting Santa from the 1930's and just too sweet!

I bought another little cubby, though I still haven't hung the other one I bought back in the fall. It's made from a small old crate. It says "2 dozen 10 cent twists" on the side.

These plastic Santas from my youth (a long time ago) were just too good a bargain to pass up :)

I've seen a number of cross stitch or punch needle items that have been mounted on top of old oil cans, so just in case I want to do that, I will have the oil cans!

Just down the street from the antique mall was a "Quilt and Embroidery" shop. Since I'm not a quilter, I would not normally stop in, but I thought maybe there were some cross stitch goodies to peruse. No, just quilt stuff but almost everything in the store (and it was BIG!) was 50% off. Now I've always heard of toothbrush rugs, but never actually seen one. The owner had one for demonstration, and it is so easy, I just had to buy the little tool and a couple of patterns ~ I mean they were 50% off! (I probably should just have gone online for instruction, but hindsight is 20-20). Of course then since the fabric was on sale, I thought I'd better buy some just in case I get the urge to try it. It does take a lot of fabric to make a rug, so I have enough fabric to make something small.

I am thinking about making a sewing roll (I think that is what it is called) and you need a small piece of quilt batting. So I bought a yard of it and it is 90" wide. Why you ask? Because it was 50% off...lol!

So much for simplifying my life :)

Last night, had I not been a few worms short, I would have had a 2010 finish. Instead, I already have a 2011 finish. I didn't realize how skinny the cat looks until I took the picture. WOO HOO!!! Maybe I am on a roll and am getting my hooking mojo back. Then again, maybe not, but it did feel good to actually hook something. I guess I just need to set the horse rug aside for a while even though I am so close!

As always, I just want to thank everyone for stopping by. I am so blessed to have made so many new friends since I started blogging.

I hope your new year is off to a good start and it only gets better.

Pug hugs :)
Lauren