Danita Sparks is my new BFF

Since starting my blog, I have made a few really good friends.  Really nutty friends, but hey, I'm super duper nutty with chocolate chips, so we get along just fine! One of those new bloggy buddies is Danita Sparks from Finding My Spark.  She even has a section urging her readers to stalk me.  Because of this lady I have been saying She is hilarious and you must check out her blog.  She has an awesome business called Karma Charms that sells doggie products.  You all know how much I love that.  Sadly, that one is going to be gone soon.  So she also has an Etsy store, CookieGuru, selling her organic dog treats.  Danita also struggles with health issues, like me, so she's one amazing lady!

We decided to exchange postcards, and so the other day, July 6th, 2010, I got this happy guy in the mail:

Yes, that's right.  It's a penguin. On a beach.  Holding a tray of mixed drinks. 

Here's the back:

That's right, folks, a kitten sticker. Didn't I tell you she just gets me?

Anyway, she sent me an email and was like, "Watch your mailbox."  It was a nice email, but I decided to make it super creepy and be afraid of a mail bomb.  But then I thought she just meant the postcard.  [I get really REALLY excited when I get mail that isn't bills or junk.]  And she said, "No, that's not it."  Are you kidding??? More mail? This woman loves me. Or something.

So today I marched out to my mailbox (thankfully not attached to my house in case of bombing), and found this little gem:

Ooo! OOO! Mail in a box!  For meeee!

But then I was like, "It's from North Carolina.  I don't know anyone in North Carolina.  Oh who cares IT'S MAAAAAILLL!"

Lucy was equally excited. That's when I began to suspect my bloggy friend had done something amazing.

LOOK!  She sent me some of her grain-free (since I'm gluten-free) dog treats!  And a little packet of something else.

Actually, since the whole package is printed in some other language, I have no idea what's in there (other than the fact that it must be Vanilla).  She lives in Spain, but that is not Spanish.

I decided to give one of these Tomato Herb cookies to my doggies right away.  Here is Lucy giving me the death glare because I made her sit before giving her the treat.

NOM NOM NOM

I gave one to Hannah, but then Lucy sort of went crazy and started barking and scared Hannah out of the room.  So no photo.  You guys are sick of seeing that dog anyway, aren't you?

Here is Teddy waiting for his treat a good distance away from Lucy.  He looks like the Godfather in this pic, huh? I promise, he's supercute in person.

~*NOM NOM NOM NOM*~

**Edit:**

I went to the website on the packet of mystery vanilla and, through the miracle of google translator, discovered it's vanilla-flavored sugar.  So, not an explosive, but still I'm wondering why Sparks' mama thought I needed this with my dog biscuits.  Hmmm...  

By the way, you can *totally* use these pics for your world-wide ad campaign that will result from the revenues you will get from my massive reader base (like 8 people, lol) buying up all your products.  You're welcome.  You can pay me in vanilla sugar.

***EDIT 2:***
I stuck my hand in the bag today to give Hannah a treat to bribe her to come back in the house, and look what I found:

Could it be? Banana strawberry sample? It was inside the bag of dog treats.

Yippee! My Dog Is Not Retarded!

Today I read a ridiculously hilarious post by Allie over at Hyperbole and a Half about her retarded dog.  If you haven't read today's post yet, you need to do that now so you will understand my post.  She had over 500 comments last I saw!

These are my three precious dogs.

From right to left: Lucy, a beagle; Teddy, a shihtzu; and Hannah, the brittany spaniel.  Notice Hannah is the only one looking off at something shiny while the other two look at the camera.

Hannah does hilarious things that no one can explain, and we always joke that she's "special."  

She talks to us in long, drawn out sounds that sound like Chewbacca from Star Wars like she's having a conversation. 

She licks the arm of the couch for hours. 

 She chews on her own nails and eats them.  She's gangly, and if we put any of her feet or tail up to her mouth, she'll start chewing on them.  

She's a riot.  Her favorite toy is a deflated soccer ball that I got at a yard sale for $0.50.  No, she doesn't want you to throw it.  She wants to play tug of war with it. Or do a somersault with it in her mouth.  She's got what we call "giraffe neck" because her head and neck are the same size and she can get her head under/around/into practically anything!  

And the hubs says she needs to be in Lickaholics Anonymous.  If you let her, she will lick your face until...well she won't stop.  She will lick inside your nose.  She will pry her way and lick inside your mouth. She will lick your ears, inside your ears, and she chews on my husband's foot callouses.  

Needless to say, she does not lick my face.  Ew.

I googled and finally found the Dog IQ Test Allie was talking about.

Test 1: Let the dog smell the treat, put it under a can, and encourage it to get the treat.  The first part, sadly, does not have a zero score.  She looked at me, walked around the cup a bit, looked at me, and sat down.  I let Teddy at it and he had that cup knocked over in 1.5 seconds flat, lol.
Score: 1

Test 2: Put a blanket over the dog and time how long it takes to get out.  We had to do this test three times.  The first time, she thought she was in trouble and rolled over under the blanket to show us her belly.  The second time, she simply laid down and didn't move.  The third time, she was out in 21 seconds, so we went with that one.
Score: 3

Test 3: Sit 2 meters away and smile at your dog.  See if it comes to you.  When I had my husband near her and me doing the smiling, she sat there. She looked at me.  She looked at the other dogs.  She laid down. *facepalm*  We re-did the test with my husband doing the smiling, and she went to him in 3 seconds.  My dog hates me.
Score: 5. Or 0. Depends who you ask.


Test 4: Same as test 1, but cover the food with a hand towel.  She did really well on this one.  It only took her 41 seconds, lol. 
Score: 4

Test 5: Put a treat in a place the dog has to use its paws to get it.  We had to re-do this test four times because of her crazy giraffe neck.  When I finally placed it under the couch out of reach of her nose, it took her 1 min 18 sec.
Score: 4

Test 6: Call random words, see if the dog comes. Then call the dog's name and see if it comes. She came to us eventually, after much calling of her name and gesturing.  I wanted to give her a 1, but the test said 2. Pft.
Score: 2

Results: If my husband was administering the test, she got " Your dog is smart, but won't go to Harvard."  If I was administering, and I was, cheater, she got "Your dog is not too bright, but is most likely very cute."  That's like asking if a blind date is attractive, and they say, "They have a good personality!" 

So I guess my dog is not retarded.  That doesn't mean she doesn't act like it!

Swap-bot Postcards

Hello everyone! Pink Saturday was such a MONUMENTAL SUCCESS.  I have no idea why, but eighteen. 1.8. EIGHTEEN PEOPLE commented on my blog yesterday!  This is heavenly.  I'm definitely doing it again next week.   Beverly over at How Sweet The Sound hosts it, and I think it's the bee's knees.


To everyone who commented or just looked, I am truly flattered. Thank you all.


Now. Down to business! I posted a while back about joining Swap-bot for trading postcards, and I posted the cards I was going to send. I have received all 4 of mine in return and joined 6 more swaps to take place over the next few months.


The first swap was: 
Two^2 Day PC Project: Absolutely Awful
Remember the logo? 








Well here are the cards I received in return.  

And the second swap:
Bird Art Postcard Swap

The cards I sent were pretty ugly. I'll admit it.  But the cards I received, bless their senders' hearts, were very beautiful.

And here's a list of the swaps I've joined now.

101010 Postcard Swap - Swap with ten partners on October 10th, 2010. Sign up by 10/1/2010.

Quick Turn Around PC Swap #5 - Sign up and send within three days of each other. Sign up deadline has passed, sorry :(.

Artsy Postcards #2 - Send artsy postcard from famous painters, or DIY one. Sign up by 7/6/10.

2010 Postcard swap #7 July - Just a simple stamp and send. Sign up deadline has passed. Canceled.

Alter a Greeting Card PC Swap - Take a greeting card, alter it with art of some kind, and send the front as a postcard.  What could be more fun? Sign up by 7/7/2010.

This next one is probably my favorite one, because I'm a teacher.  This awesome 6th grade teacher is having all the states represented by sending one postcard to a swapper and one to her school.  Then her 6th graders will send one back to us! How cool is that?  Learning is fun, and postcard collecting should begin early, lol. If you support education and postcards and you have two spare postcards and stamps, you should totally join.   Here's the link: PC USA Then & Now - Sign up by 7/17/2010.

Pink Saturday: Bow-tie Hair Clip

Hello and happy Saturday! This week is my first official week on the Pink Saturday blog (even though I totally missed the deadline by 12 hours, she was fabulous enough to let me in anyway).  I've decided to write a tutorial for all you lovelies.  Be sure to visit her blog and check out all the Pink Saturday bonanza!


I've seen lots of tutorials out there for making bow-tie hair clips out of ribbon, but I have this fabric leftover from a previous project that I was dying to use.  So this is a tutorial on how to make a bow-tie hair clip from a strip of fabric.

Fabric Bow-tie Hair Clip

Time: 15 min.
Supplies: 

• 1/4" fusible webbing
• Measuring tape/ruler/etc.
• 7"x1.5" strip of your favorite fabric
• Hair Clip
• Glue gun
• Iron

Cost: Free for me, I had it all on hand.  But if you want to be picky:

• Fusible webbing - $1
• Hair clip - $2 for 6
• I'm gonna go ahead and assume you have the rest.  Probably because I have no idea how much a tiny strip of fabric would even cost, lol.

1. Gather your supplies.  Here is a photo of the fusible interfacing I used.

2. Measure your fabric, and cut to make it 1.5" wide by 6" long.  I know, I said 7" in the supplies list, just cut it off. You will need it later.

3.  Cut a piece of fusible webbing long enough to run the length of your fabric scrap.  Fold it over and iron according to the instructions on the webbing package.

Now your strip should be 1" wide.

6. Using your ruler/tape measure as a guide, fold the right side to the middle, or the 3" mark. 

7. Fold the left side to the 3" mark. 

For this next part, I kept it all in place with the clip for photo purposes. The clip isn't really supposed to be there until the end. I'll let you know when it's for real.

8. Fold the bow in half, with the layered side facing outward.

9. Fold each side of the "sandwich" back by half, like below.

This is what it will look like if folded correctly. Now put that aside for a moment.

10. Use the cut off end of your fabric to create the "pincher" for the bow-tie.  It should be 1" long and 1.5" wide.  

11.  Lay a length of fusible interfacing along the middle, fold in, and iron.

12. Wrap this piece around the bow and loop it through the hair clip (for reals this time! Use the hair clip!).  Hot glue it in place.

You're done! Here it is on my head (for scale).

And it even matched my shirt! I swear, I did not plan this.

I got the inspiration for this project from Hip Girl Boutique LLC, who did it with ribbon.

I swear I am going to get the best use out of that ratty old handkerchief I possibly can! LOL.

Thrifty Thursdays: Please Buy My Stuff

Ok ladies and gents, let's get real here. I need some dough, and I need it like yesterday*. My coke habit** is getting hard to support.

Tonight I started selling on eBay and hopefully something will pan out.  That's where you all come in.  I only have 5 items listed tonight, but tomorrow I'm adding a bunch more, and I know you're gonna want something  I have.

Sony Cyber-Shot DSC-P52 Digital Still Camera

Scheurich West Germany Pottery Mug, circa 1950's

Collectible Porcelain Dutch Shoe made in Occupied Japan, Circa 1940s

Dutch Delftware Small Porcelain Pot & Lid, Circa 1950's

Vintage Simplicity Dress Pattern #8722 Keyhole Neck

If you don't have a need for this stuff but know somebody who does, please pass it along.  My dog needs ear medicine.  How could you let him suffer?

Poor Teddy.

*There are lots of details, but the main point is I need to move.

**Caffeine, you guys. Duh.