Our Favorite Reads For February

Karen's:  Front and Center by Catherin Gilbert Murdock

I chose Front and Center by Catherin Gilbert Murdock as my most enjoyable read in February.  It's the last book of a series though so you might want to read the first two books, Dairy Queen and The Off Season before reading this one.  It could stand alone though, but you would miss the background.  Here's my review of it:   

Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock is a refreshing coming of age story about D.J., a high school girl who lives on a Dairy farm. This is the third book of the series and deals with D.J. starting her junior year of high school on the girls basketball team. She discovers that she is no longer in the background but rather has become popular and isn’t quite sure she likes all the attention because of all the pressure she feels to be what everyone else wants her to be. She has a new boyfriend but still longs to be with her ex-boyfriend and must decide who she really wants most. Then there’s the pressure of looking into colleges to get a college scholarship for basketball. She feels like she’d rather just play for a Division I school with less pressure but knows everyone would feel let down if she did. It has a good ending too!

I liked this whole series and especially this last book because there was quite a bit about basketball and what goes through the players’ minds as they play. D.J. is a normal, somewhat Tom boyish teen girl who tries to do what’s right. It gives good insight into the pressures that teens face but without being vulgar or depressing. I recommend this series to anyone who likes books about teens coming of age.

Gerard's:   Show Dog by Josh Dean

Show Dog by Josh Dean tells the true story of Jack, an Australian Shepard dog, that Josh follows for a year from show to show.  This is a double WOW book for me because now I know the ins and outs of a dog show.  It's an awesome read!  The writing is very good and Jack's handlers and the other dogs in the book are good too! 

If you love dogs, declaring this a "must read" is a no-brainer.  I hated to see it end, LOVED IT!

Visit Grab a Book From Our Stack to see what else we have read and recommend.

(50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!)

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I Hopped Away From Blog Frog

Leo pouncing on painted frog at zoo.

Well, I did it.  I now have one less social media site to fuss with since I left the Blog Frog.  I never did get to understand the navigation of that site and hardly anyone ever bothered participating in any of my community forums.  I did try to participate in some communities, but just don't have the time for it.  I really didn't see any benefit of it and it was just a big widget on my blog that was never noticed or at least not used.

So long Blog Frog!  Are you on it and do you ever use it.  Have you seen any benefit from it?  Just curious.

(50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!)

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This Is A First!

Karen and Manny Boy at the computer

Manny says he's waited long enough for his turn to blog and came right on my lap for the first time while I was at the computer.  I always enjoy my cats and am honored when they come to me.  Anyone who has cats knows that they are the ones who decide when you can and cannot pet them.

It must have been okay for him because since, he's been back again several times and now even lays down so I can still type with him on my lap, providing I'm not petting him which is extremely hard for me to refrain from doing.  Manny has certainly lived up to his nickname--"Mr. Nice Nice."   

Do your pets gather around you when you are at the computer? 

(50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!)

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6 Things We Learned This 8th Week of 2012 (sports, Funny, Internet, News, Scrub)

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. We like to share what we've learned each week.

1. Jousting

   There is a new reality TV show on the History Channel where I learned how to keep score in jousting! I didn't even know there was scoring in that. I posted all about it last Sunday: History Comes To Life on New Reality Show: Full Metal Jousting.

2. President's Day

   I thought Sparkle had the funniest President's Day post but at the same time was educational about cats in the white house! Spunky Doodle and Manny loved it! Go see Happy Presidents' Cats Day for a laugh. I was surprised that President Lincoln was the first to bring in a cat to the White house!

3. Internet Shut Down

Apparently there is a rumor going around that the FBI is shutting down the Internet March 8 which I hadn't heard until I read The Older Geek's post about it: FBI to Shut Down Interne March 8, 2012--True or False? According to the post, it's only if your computer has a specific trojan and there's a test link that you can click on to find out! It said mine is clean--woo hoo!

4. Basketball

   By reading Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, I learned several things about basketball that I didn't know before including that the point guard is the leader on the court and not the Center which is what I thought.

5. News

   A teenager, Austin Smith, lifted a car to save his 74 yr. old grandfather who was under it when it fell on top of him. The grandfather was able to get out from under it when his grandson lifted it.  Yea for Austin! I saw this on Yahoo News this morning.

6. Chocolate Scrub

   Here is the chocolate scrub recipe that some of you wished I had included when I first mentioned it:
   Mix: 
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar in raw (I have no clue where to find this)1/4 cup olive oil then
1/2 of 1/4 cup (varies depending on how oily you want it)
3 Tablespoons of cocoa
2 Tablespoons of vanilla

Rub it on your scaly skin areas, leave it on for a few minutes, then rinse and it is supposed to soften your skin. I'd love to hear what you think of it if you decide to try it!

(50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!)

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Three Things I Wish I Could Do (Writer's Workshop)

One of the Mama Kat's Writer’s Workshop prompts this week is to complete the sentence, “I wish I could . . . .” I can think of three things I wish I could do right off the top of my head which are listed below.

1. I wish I could be in two places at once. I’d love to be able to go to work and still bum around at the same time, running errands, blogging, hanging out with my pets, working out, going places, etc. Often it seems we have no plans and then two things come up that I’d like to go to at the same time.


2. I wish I could pop over to places like Jesus did after his resurrection. If I could do this, I’d travel since it wouldn’t require transportation. I’d go visit my sponsored child in Chile, the AWANA clubs I sponsor in Ecuador and the Philippines, Covenant House in New York, Boys Town, Best Friends in Utah, some of my blogging buddies, zoos in different cities, and maybe some other places too as long as I could get back home the same day.


3. I wish I could go back in time to the day my mom died and be with her in the hospital during her last few hours or at least minutes. We all got there too late. At the time, I really didn’t want to actually see her die but then afterward, I felt guilty for letting her die alone with people she really didn’t know.

What do you wish you could do? (50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!)

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Voting Is Hard Work!

I don't listen much to the news or read the newspaper, especially no political articles because I just do not like politics. However, when I saw how many choices are on the ballot for the upcoming primary election, I felt it only right to try to find out about the candidates to vote responsibly. I actually went through the whole ballot and either googled the names or looked them up on Wikipedia. I also searched for voters guide and found some information about the candidates that way. (We vote by mail so get our ballot ahead).

I was glad I did because several of my initial choices I ended up changing. There was even one presidential candidate that I really liked! Usually, it's just voting for a lesser of two evils. Now, I imagine you are wondering who it is that I am so excited about voting for. I'll give you a hint: he's a republican and his first name is Rick.

I am not posting this to influence your vote one way or the other though. My intent is simply to encourage you to seriously check out the candidates before you vote for them. Don't just assume that a male judge would be better than a female judge so vote for the male. Another word of caution, don't just automatically vote for a familiar name--please look into the other choices as well so you can be an informed voter. Voting is certainly a privilege but also a responsibility that we have as citizens of the United States.

 (50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!)

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Gerard Rescued His Best Friend

We found our dog on Petfinder the summer of 2009. She had just been listed by Barb, her foster mom who took her in from an overcrowded shelter where she was scheduled to be euthanized. What a shame that would have been! We believe that God really brought her into our lives. You can read "Disappointment Turned to Joy: How We Got Our Dog."

A little over a month ago, our dog, Abby, almost lost her life again when she was attached by two big Rottweilers on her evening walk with Gerard and was fighting for her life. We are beginning to think she is really a cat in disguise who has 9 lives. We were both very worried about her and not only prayed for her to get better but also rounded up our friends to pray as well, both those we know personally face-to-face as well as our online blogging friends. God helped her to survive and get better. Her fur is growing back from where it had to be shaved to stitch her up and although she is still on antibiotics to prevent her open hole from getting infected, she is doing quite well.

At the time, Gerard blamed himself for letting it happen because he couldn't get the dogs off her and went down that street. He was in the "if only" mode no matter how much I tried to get him out of it and let him know it wasn't his fault. He's finally come to accept that he was a victim too and it wasn't his fault when the technicians at our vet told him how amazing it is that she is recovery so quickly. They attributed to the fact that she was so strong from all the long walks he went on with her to build up her stamina and strength.

Now he feels like he may have just rescued her twice and loves his new shirt that he found on www.bostonbonz.com. When I saw it, I just had to get it for him for Valentine's Day!

 (50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!)

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History Comes to Life on New Reality Show: Full Metal Jousting

I was never much interested history except for a few things, one of which was castles and knights.  That's why when my husband told me about a new reality show on the History channel called Full Metal Jousting on Sundays at 10 p.m. ET, I was interested.  Jousting is a old sport involving two riders on horseback dressed in armor with lances that race toward each other trying to hit the other rider off his horse.  It's really wild to watch!

There are 16 tough men who already know how to ride horses being trained in jousting and competing for $100,000.  They actually wear a suit of steel with helmets and lances.  They really look like real knights in shining armor!

The scoring goes like this:  1 point for hitting the pad on the shoulder of the rider, 5 points if the lance breaks when hitting the other rider and 10 points if the rider falls ff the horse.  There are also penalty points too for hitting a horse, going to slow, using the reins at the wrong time or hitting the helmet or too low. Watch this video which explains it:



This is a tough sport!  They charge up to 30 m.p.h. and somehow peek through their helmets to see their opponent coming at them.  We'll be watching this show again and hope you will watch it too!  It's definitely different from any other show I've seen.  Visit the history channel (link at beginning of this post) to see more videos and meet the jousters.

(50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!) Share this:

6 Things We Learned This 7th Week of 2012 (scrub, technology, marriage, death)

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. We like to share what we've learned each week.

1. Cereal

   
   Gerard's new favorite cereal is KRAVE. He found a coupon for it so decided to give it a try because it sounded good. It's little squares of crisp multi-grain outside with real chocolate inside. He loves it and eats it for supper and also snacks on it dry right out of the box.  There's a double chocolate kind too.

2. Scrub

   We just buy hand lotion, but at my Women of Wonder (W.O.W.) meeting I learned that some people actually make what is called a "scrub" to put on rough skin to soften it. At the meeting, we mixed some brown sugar and oil and some chocolate together to make a concoction for a scrub. This was foreign to me, but I wasn't the only one. Do you make scrubs?

3. QR Codes

   I never heard of a QR code until I read Cracking The Code over at Half-Past Kissin' Time last Saturday. There is a site where you can make one. Apparently it's some kind of app for the smartphone which takes you to a website. Go read the post to learn more about it.

4. Bedroom Closet

   My husband told me he'd like the bedroom closet for his stuff. I thought that was a reasonable request because at the time I had my wardrobe and shared the closet too. I moved my coats and jackets that I had in the computer room closet to the front entry way closet and then the dresses, blazers and sweaters I had in my bedroom closet to the computer room closet. No problem.

5. Two Deaths

   It's always sad to learn of famous people dying that we like and feel as though we know. This past week Whitney Houston died and it was all over the news and Twitter and blogs, but I saw this video posted by one of my friends on Facebook and want to share it because it expresses my feelings to a degree about how we show partiality to the famous. All life is valuable. My first thought after "How sad" when someone dies is "I wonder if they knew Jesus." 



6. Energy Saver

   I learned that DirectTV now has an energy saver setting for the cable box that after four hours of inactivity, the cable box shuts off. To turn it back on, all I need to do is press that "info" button and the show comes right on. Someone needs to tell the customer service reps and the technicians there about this. When I called they acted like something was wrong with my box and told me to run a system test. Duh!

 (50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!)

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We've Been Tagged So See If We Tagged You

Beth Ann over at It's Just Life tagged me for this and since I had nothing better to post today, I decided to go ahead and do it.

1. Describe yourself in 7 words.
Karen:  Generous, Reader, Christian, Funny, Conscientious, Loving, Organized
Gerard:  Organized, Sports fan, Dog Lover, Hard Worker, Reader, Loner, Cookie Monster

2. What keeps you up at night?
Karen:  My cat, Spunky Doodle, when she crawls under the covers with me.  I just have to pet her!
Gerard:  Bad weather reports for the next day and when his favorite Boston teams lose important games.

3. Who would I like to be?
Karen:  I like being me quite well, but if I HAD to be someone else, I think Peter Pan--I like the idea of never growing up!
Gerard:  Tom Brady (Patriots Quarterback).

4. What am I wearing now?
Karen:  My leopard pajamas, my kitty cat robe, socks and shoes.
Gerard:  My dog lover nightshirt and my snuggie.

5. What scares me? 
Karen:  Bees!
Gerard:  Roller coasters!

6. The best and worst of blogging.
Karen & Gerard:  The best is getting to know lots of nice people and learning a lot from reading other blogs; the worst is that it is so time consuming.

7. The last website I visited.
Karen:  It was Amazon.com to load another library book to my Kindle.
Gerard:  Bostonbonz.com to check it out and found a t-shirt I liked.

8. What is the one thing I would change about myself?
Karen:  I'd like to be more adventurous and not be so afraid to travel to new places.
Gerard:  I wish I were more athletic.

9. Slankets: yes or no? 
Karen and Gerard:  No, I don't even know what a slanket is!

10. Tell us something about the person that tagged you.
Beth Ann collects tea pots and shows a different one on her blog every day.  She also donates 50 cents per legitimate comment on her blog to charities and is a big supporter of KIVA.  She is a very sweet lady who enjoys knitting, reading and traveling.  She has a cat named Buddy.

I am supposed to pass this along to others so I am going to tag some folks. I hope you will visit all of them–they are all wonderful people with great blogs!  I'm tagging these:

I'm Living Proof That God Has a Sense of Humor 

Duck and Wheel With String  

Beaded Tail  

Freaky Frugalite 

For Love or Funny  

Half-Past Kissin' Time
Sher's Creative Space

If you want to do it—please do. If not—no worries!!! I totally understand how time intensive blogging can be . 

(50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!) Share this:

Spunky's Latest Adventures by Spunky Doodle

Since Abby's attack, she's been hogging the blogging around here so I had to do something to get my mom to notice me! I've been up to a few adventures and some pretty amazing feats if I do say so myself.  

Coffee Cake Push Game: First off, that kitchen counter provides me with much entertainment. Last week my humans had a coffee cake in a lightweight plastic container which I easily pushed all around and eventually off the counter. After removing me from the counter several times and me just getting right back up, Karen decided it was time for that cake to go into the big cold box with the heavy door on it so I couldn't get to it.

Oooh, tasty!

Bread Feast: I had great success last Wednesday when Karen had her lunch bag ready for the next day on the counter and went off to her Bible study. Gerard was watching TV in the basement so I had plenty of time to rip into the brown bag and feast on some bread. Karen got mad at me when she saw that and I felt a little bit bad. She was tired and just wanted to get to bed but had to remake her lunch. I didn't bother with the trail mix or fiber bar. She was not happy with me when she first saw it, but she can't stay mad at me long because I'm so cute. She still let me sleep with her that night.  

Hide-n-Seek: One of my favorite games is playing hide-n-seek where I hide and Karen seeks. I found a very good hiding place where she didn't find me. I like to play before she goes to work because she gets more frazzled the longer she looks because of the time limit involved. The secret to a good game is to come out before they actually find you hiding spot so you can use it again and so you can be the winner. After she looked in all the rooms including the basement and the closets, I came out and showed myself. It was quite fun and is always a good feeling to know they miss you when you aren't in your regular place.

I like this view!

Printer Stepping Stone: Since I have been feeling a bit ignored this last month with Abby getting so much attention, I now found a new high place to get Karen's attention when she's at the computer, which is pretty much whenever she is home. I first hop up to the chair next to the computer, then onto the printer and up to the top of the computer desk and look down at Karen. She is not real happy about me being up there because she thinks I might knock something off like her picture or the ceramic kitty or the radio. So far I haven't. I wonder why she doesn't trust me. Hope you keep your humans on their toes this week and if you are human, please treat your cats well!

My dismount

Now doesn't this make you want a cat?  We are so entertaining and so much fun, not to mention very soft and cute too!

(50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!)

Go to Bozo's Pets forever to find more Pet Pride posts or enter one of your own.

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Happy Valentine's Day--Show You Care

For years neither of us had a sweetheart to share Valentine's Day with so when we finally found each other, Valentine's Day was a pretty big deal for us.  Gerard had lots of gifts planned for me and really nice cards.  I tried to find a good cards for him too but always felt it was more about the guy getting candy or something for the woman than it was about the woman getting something for her man.

Now, 15 years later, we still enjoy celebrating our love on Valentine's Day.  I'll bring out our hearts that sing "I Got You Babe," we'll buy a special treat of some sort and maybe go out to eat, spending the day together.  We still exchange cards and Gerard will buy me something.  This year though, we didn't take off work.  We got a cherry pie and Gerard has a gift for me and we exchanged cards.

bedroom closet with Gerard's clothes

My "gift" to Gerard is to let him have the bedroom closet.  One of the great things about our house is all the closet space we have.  Originally, we both shared the bedroom closet but most of Gerard's clothes were hung in the upstairs closets and basement closets.  He recently mentioned that he would like to have the bedroom closet which I thought was a reasonable request.  I had some blazers, dresses, and sweaters in it and all he had was some shirts.

Front closet with Karen's coats

Moved from Bedroom closet to computer room closet

Being the good wife that I am, I cheerfully moved my things around so he could have the bedroom closet.  Our front closet in the vestibule was pretty much empty so I moved my coats and jackets from the computer room closet to that one.  This made room for my dresses and blazers to be hung in the computer room closet which is right next to our bedroom and wallah!  My wonderful husband can have the bedroom closet with one exception:  my robes are still in there which he said was okay.

This is what a good marriage is all about--being kind to each other and listening and meeting the other's needs.  The gifts are all well and good and who doesn't like presents now and then, but the ever day love we share is what love is all about.  Happy Valentine's Day, honey!  LOVE YOU!  Which speaks of love louder to you--actions or gifts?

(50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!) Share this:

Burgers and Fries For Breakfast?

Breakfast at Denny's on snowy Saturday

We used to have a big buffet breakfast on Saturdays at Hometown Buffet but switched over to Denney's because Hometown Buffet raised their prices and we found that Denney's cost less and we would still be full. We got all you can eat buttermilk pancakes for $4. Some weeks we would get one "Build Your Own Grand Slam" and split it which was really cheap! They had some special pumpkin pancakes around Thanksgiving and now they have some hearty wheat pancakes with pecans and bananas.

Last week though, I made a poor choice and was still hungry. I chose from the Sr. menu and got one piece of French Toast, turkey bacon and a scrambled egg. This did not fill me up and I was wishing I went with the pancakes for $4 like Gerard had. When I saw what the people next to us were eating at 8 a.m. for breakfast, I couldn't believe it! There was a heavyset woman with two girls. All of the drank pop and the woman had a burger and fries, the girls had a big bowl of fried chicken and onion rings. It reminded me of the contestants on "The Biggest Loser" who had such bad eating habits before getting on the show.

This week I went with the pancakes--5 for $4!  Do you eat out for breakfast? What do you like to get? Would you get a burger and fries for breakfast?

(50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!) Share this:

6 Things We Learned This Week 6 of 2012 (vet, computer, Tebow, funny, cats, feet)

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. We like to share what we've learned each week.

1. Vet Video of Abby

   Bartels Busack Pet Hospital that took care of our dog, Abby, after she was attacked posted a video about her miracle recovery on their Facebook Page! Abby was so pleased she did a post about it: My Vet Made a Video of Me.

2. Tim Tebow

   After reading Tim Tebow's book, Through My Eyes, I learned several things about him I didn't know before: (1) He was born in the Philippines; (2) his dad is a preacher; (3) he grew up on a farm so is "farm strong.  In case you don't know, Tim Tebow is the Denver Broncos Quarterback who is not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ and gives God the glory. (4) You can play on school sport teams even if you are homeschooled.

3. Moving Task Bar

   This week our task bar that has "start" on it on our computer somehow showed up on the right side of the screen vertically instead of across the bottom of the screen where it belongs. This was annoying and I immediately emailed a couple of my techie blogging buddies for help. All I had to do was hold down a left click somewhere in the middle of it and drag it back to where it belonged. To lock it in place, you can right click on it somewhere in the middle of it and it gives you an option to "lock the task bar" which I did. Thanks for your quick response, Kathy at the Junk Drawer and Rebecca at The Older Geek.

4. Laugh!

   Did you know it's good to laugh every day? Kids laugh 10x more than adults do in one day--they have the right idea! I found This Should Put a Smile On Your Heart Today this week over at Jodi's Journey that made me laugh out loud.

5. Spunky Doodle

   

   I'm Hungry, mom!

   I have to put my lunch in the refrigerator because if I leave it on the kitchen counter, my cat, Spunky Doodle tears the bag open and will eat my bread! (More about her latest escapades in a post this week--she is feeling a bit neglected because Abby is getting so many posts lately.)

6. Plantar Fascitis

   I never heard of Planter Fascitis until a couple days ago when one of the attorneys I work for came limping into work. It's a pain in the arch of a foot due to inflammation of a ligament that runs along the arch. The doctor said it may have been caused by not having enough support from the shoe.

(50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!) Share this:

Look What I Made! by Abby

I bet you thought I was going to write about my big poopers I make when I go out now, but that isn't it. When I had to stay at Bartel's after being attacked by the two big dogs, they helped me make a craft for my mom and dad which they gave them on Saturday when I had most of my stitches removed, so we both got surprise gifts that day! They liked it and put it right on our little table in the dining room. It's a plaster heart with MY paw print in it!  

(50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!)

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Betty White on the Super Bowl and Our Thoughts Too

One of my friends on Facebook posted this video which I love! I really like Betty White and her humor, don't you? We watched the Super Bowl and were disappointed that the Patriots lost, but they had a good season and did win two playoff games. I felt if they hadn't dropped those two passes in the last four minutes of the game that they could have come back to win. I thought the funniest thing was when the Giants scored that last touchdown and were NOT happy about it. They were trying to take time off the clock so the Patriots wouldn't have enough time to score. All the Giants needed was a field goal to take the lead right at the end to win. The Patriots let them score the touchdown so they'd get the ball and have time to score again. The Giants player was right at the goal line and tried to stop from going over, but fell into the end zone on his butt. I thought it was quite funny! It's the first I ever saw a team be sad about scoring a touchdown!

Gerard watched in the basement so if he lost his temper, he wouldn't bother me. The pets and I all watched upstairs and for the first time ever, Spunky Doodle came up on the couch and laid on me along with Manny. I think they were both very happy cats because I shared some little pieces of my salmon with them. Whenever I have that, they always come around me and beg. I'm going to have to ask Gerard to video my salmon supper one of these days--it's really funny how hard it is for me to eat it with the two cats there trying to get at it. (Sorry, I digress, a sample of how women "spider web.")

(50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!)

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Gifts That Made My Day! by Abby

Look Abby, this one is for you!

Every Saturday at our house is "Abby" day because I get extra time with my mom and dad, extra walking and extra treats, but last Saturday was a very special day for me. Not only did I get most of my stitches taken out, but there was a package addressed to ME from Boston Baked Bonz (www.bbbonz.com)!

Quinoa Crunchies

It had a Get Well Card from the Kids of Red Pine Mountain with Woofs and Hugs to me!  Mountain Woman is one of  my mom's blogging buddies who also has doggies who heard about my unfortunate adventure and were concerned.  My mom and dad were both excited about this special Get Well Card because it has wild flower seeds in the paper and in the spring they can wet it and plant it just below the soil and wild flowers are supposed to grow!  I am not that interested in flowers, but they thought it was very cool!

Gerard opened it for me and kept pulling out more and more things including a tug toy, a bone pillow, a very fancy collar with hearts on it and a couple boxes of special treats:  baked Quinoa Crunchies--dog treats with organic Quinoa and nutritious CRUNCH in every bite (25 doggie cookies) and apple muffins!

I never had anything like these apple muffins before!

Wow, all this for me?

I tried my fancy collar on too--it is so pretty but the picture is blurry because I was too excited about all this nice stuff to held still.  I am not into toys like the cats, but I sure love the food!  My mom has a friend who has dogs that play with toys so I will let them have them so they will not go to waste. 

Thanks so much for thinking of me and sending me all this wonderful stuff, especially the (cookies and muffins) all the way from Boston!  I hope you will all visit their blog at Red Pine Mountain!  Let them know Abby sent you.

(50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!)

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My Vet Made a Video of Me and I Got A New Harness by Abby

Today I wore my new harness for the first time when I walked with mom and dad to the mailbox. My mom got it for me from the Animal Rescue Site because my regular collar has a section of metal that she thought might hurt my neck if I pulled on the leash or if my daddy wanted me to go in a different direction. It's soft and does not bother my neck at all. I can wear my collar with my tags again with it. I just got most of my stitches out on Saturday (except for those by the hole by my back leg).  The good news is that the vet said I can go for 30-minute walks.  That's good because I have been anyway!

Unfortunately, I still have to wear the cone collar so I don't lick back there-hee, hee. I still manage to get at it and I even figured out how to get that clunky cone off!  Sometimes that bottom snap opens if I bang it against something hard enough and then I can slip out. The staff at Bartels and Busack were very happy to see me today. They all pet me up and were so impressed that I was walking so well and looking so good.  My blood work came back normal so I only have to take the antibiotic pills to keep my open hole from getting infected. They said my mommy and daddy did a good job with me too and that's why I made such good progress. They even made a video about me on their Facebook page: Abby's Story. Here it is:






I must say though that God is the one who gave those doctors the ability to put me back together and who healed me. My mom got people praying for my recovery that night and I know she and my dad both prayed very fervently for me to be okay and get better. She was so thankful that the vet was still there when she called and that a bunch stayed way past their normal working hours to save my life. It's good to have a good vet for a friend!

Woof!  Woof!  Thanks to everyone who prayed for me!  I am now a "miracle" dog!  Praise God!

Visit Bozo at Pet Pride for more posts about pets or link up yours! (50 cents per legitimate comment goes to Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for February in honor of cat appreciation month!)

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5 Things We Learned This Week 5 of 2012 (food, charity, birds, news, celebrities)

Friday Fragments is hosted my Half-Past Kissin' Time for bloggers to post a list of short things on their minds that aren't really enough for a whole post. We like to share what we've learned each week.

1. Einstein's

   Einstein's sells little sized doggie bagels! Abby enjoyed her first one ever this week:  It's A Doggie Bagel.  It was cute, about a quarter size of the regular kind.

2. Cat Appreciation Month

   Thanks to Sparkle the Cat, I learned that February is Cat Appreciation Month.  So, that is why we are choosing Caroline's Kids Pet Rescue for our charity for February to donate 50 centers per legitimate comment on our blogs. Caroline's Kids is a houseful of all kinds of cats who need homes.

3. Count Birds

   Over at 365 Cat Ladies and Friends: Birds Count I learned that in the U.S. and Canada the annual "Great Backyard Bird Count" begins Feb. 17-20. There are really instructions on how to participate! I never heard of this before, have you?

4. Jim Tressel

   Former OSU football coach, Jim Tressel, got another coaching job for Akron earning $200,000 a year! I say good for him.

5. Guide Dogs

   Chloe, a guide dog, competes in high school athletics. I think this is so cool, both for Sami, the blind girl, and Chloe! That girl has courage! Read all about it: Blind runner Defies Odds Thanks to Guide Dog. I found this story when playing www.freekibble.com

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Thank You All Who Commented for KIVA!

Wow! January was our highest month for comments since we’ve been donating to charity based on our blog comments with 282 ($141) thanks to our posts about Abby’s attack and recovery. Thanks to all who commented, we were able to help all these people with loans through KIVA as a result:

Ali-Lebanon-Construction

Kalbubu-Kyrgyzstan-Livestock

Faaiuga-Samoa-Farming

Evans-Kenya-water distribution

Ricardo-El Salvadore-Pizza catering

Since February is Cat Appreciation month, our charity for February is Caroline’s Kids Pet Rescue, no-kill sanctuary for cats. It’s a house with LOTS of cats everywhere in rooms, but not cages! Unlike regular shelters, this is a sanctuary that takes in old, feral and even cats with feline HIV to let them live out their lives in a safe place with love. They also have adoptable cats too! Here's the video I took when I visited:




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It's A Doggie Bagel by Abby

Einstein's is a great store--they even have doggie bagels!

Look what my mom brought home for me last Sunday! It's my first ever doggie bagel from Einstein's that a nice lady named Sylvia gave to my mommy for me at her Bible study! We didn't even know they had little bagels for doggies.  I sure hope I get to meet her some day.  Thank you, Sylvia, for the special treat! Woof! Woof!

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