Countdown Wednesday

Today, Mom and I are counting down about poetry.

My Countdown

3. Words – Mom has lots of special words for me. Some of them are “leave it,” “stop it,” and “get down.”

Aren’t they sweet? I’m pretty sure they all mean I’m being a good girl. Other special words are, “wanna come?” “treat,” and “car.” Mom and I really understand each other.

Huh??

6. Names – I have a LOT of names besides Cupcake. Some of them are “WhatInTheWorld,” “DoYouWantASpankin?” “Naughty,” and “Stubborn.”

16. Funny – Sometimes I am hilarious. I’m sneaky, playful, and mischievous. I know Mom loves all of that. Most of the time she says, “That’s not funny anymore.” But I’m pretty sure she doesn’t mean that the way it sounds. I am a riot.

Mom’s Countdown

3. Words – Poems have lots of special words. They rhyme, they sing, and they rock and roll. That’s what makes poetry poetry.

Rock and what…?

26. Names – Mom has been working on some poems this week. Sometimes she changes the titles over and over to make them more fun and unusual. She also changes other things in the poems to make them more poetic and sillier. Silly is a good thing in a poem. And in a doggie.

9. Funny – Funny poems are Mom’s favorite kind. The best ones are a little funny along the way, with a crazy twist at the end. No twist. No good.

Help..

Countdown Wednesday

Today, Mom and I are counting down about favorites.

My Favorites

3. Eating is my favorite activity. Sometimes, Mom adds chicken pieces to my kibbles. Sometimes, she puts in some carrots or green beans. If she gives me plain kibbles, I look at her like…

Seriously??

Plain kibbles are not OK.

That’s more like it!

2. My favorite place to sleep is in Mom’s bed. I am very cuddly in that thing. Plus, I like to stay under the covers. Waaaay under the covers.

1. My favorite toy is….

Um…. GAH! I love them all!

Mom’s Favorites

3. Morning is Mom’s favorite time to work on writing stories. She dreamed that she would do all her writing in her pajamas,

but she can’t manage it. She flies out of bed and dives into the shower at the crack of dark, and then gets dressed so we can go for a walk.

2. Mom loves both her published stories – her print book –

and her eBook –

but her favorite pre-published books are named Ballet Secret and Cupcake Learns. She always wants one of them to become the elusive Book#2. So far… Nope.

1. Mom’s favorite part of being an author is school visits. She loves reading stories to kids and talking to them about writing and being an author. Sometime soon, I plan to go to school with her…

Backpack, books, apple for the teacher… I’m ready!

 

Countdown Wednesday

Today, Mom and I are counting down about Different Things.

Mom’s Different Things

3. School Visit – Mom took her Powerpoint to a different school in a different town and talked to a different class of 4th graders about writing, being an author, and her book.

2. Ideas – Every November for the past few years, Mom has participated in PiBoIdMo with her writing cyberfriends. They each try to make a list of 30 story ideas in 30 days. This time, PiBoIdMo will have a different name, a different logo, and will take place in a different month. January! Almost time to kick it into high gear.

1. 2017 – In a few days, it’ll be a whole different year. Different resolutions will be made, old resolutions will be reviewed, and new and different hopes and dreams along with unfulfilled old hopes and dreams will wake up and get a fresh start.

My Different Things

3. 2017 – I have big plans for the new year. In 2017, I will take naps, play with my toys, eat lots of treats, and do therapy work with my grown-up friends at the Veteran’s Home and my little friends at the public library. Wait. What? That’s no different than 2016…

2. School Visit – I put on my begging face, but Mom wouldn’t take me to school with her.

So, I waited at home while she was at her school visit. I slept in my chair, looked out the window,

ate the treats that came out of my spy camera,

Treats stuck inside! GAH!

and tried to be a good girl. Wait. What? That’s no different than every other day…

1. Ideas – Mom won’t be the only one generating ideas this January. I have a few different ideas that I plan to execute soon:

67. Eat my pawboots once and for all.

Aarrgh! I can’t feel my feet!

48. Dig under the snow to see if there are any French fries under there.

My feet are too cold to dig right now…

9. Flat-out refuse to go inside when I want to play in the snow.

No.

27. Nap in odd places.

10. And ban antlers from my wardrobe. Forever.

Not cool…

Countdown Wednesday

Mom reads a lot. She reads picture books,

grown up books, blogs, websites, Instagram and Facebook posts,

kiddie magazines, and of course CATalogs. *shiver* I don’t know how to read, but people read to me a lot. Today, Mom and I are counting down about reading.

My Reading Countdown

3. Read-to-a-Pet-Night – Kids come to the library to read to me at Read-to-a-Pet-Night. Sometimes they read dog books, which make me very happy.

Sometimes they read Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do You See?. The purple cat scares me, but I try to be brave.

2. Waiting – When Mom is reading, I wait. Eventually, she finishes and then we play or cuddle or go to the park.

At Read-to-a-Pet-Night, I wait for a reader like a good girl – no crying, no playing with the other therapy pets, and no begging for treats when apparently I didn’t do anything to earn them.

Empty chair. Bummer…

8. Listening – When Mom works on her writing, she reads out loud to herself. I listen very carefully, in case there’s anything in there I need to know. Once, I heard the word “dog boots” which scared me because I hate my boots.

But it made me happy at the same time because it meant Mom was writing about a dog!

Mom’s Reading Countdown

3. Read-to-a-Pet-Night – Mom has fun at Read-to-a-Pet-Night. She loves hearing the kids read stories. It reminds her of her teacher days, but without any of the teacher stress or responsibility.

Stress-free-chillin’. Like a boss…

2. Picture books – Mom reads 200 picture books every year. She rates them and keeps count of them on her Goodreads page. Sometimes she reads them at Barnes and Noble.

Sometimes she brings them home from the library and reads them our house. I help her choose the best ones.

This one!

74. Listening – Mom is always listening for story ideas. She listens extra hard to moms and kids. She learns names, interests, slang, quirks, and speech patterns from them. She never knows when something will kick in and give her a new story idea. Meanwhile, I can give her all the story ideas she needs…

Me.

Me.

ME!

 

 

Countdown Wednesday

Today, Mom and I are counting down about finishing.

Things I Finish

3. Eating – I always finish my morning dinner and my evening dinner. Usually in about 45 seconds.

2. Playing – It’s easy to tell when I am finished playing. I stop tossing, biting, shaking, throwing, and catching my toys. Then I flop down and give Mom the skunk-eye.

1. School – I studied hard at obedience school when Mom first adopted me. I am a brilliant graduate of Hal Wheeler.

I also passed the CGC testing in order to become a therapy pet.

I know Mom is proud of me because she says I ‘have my moments’ and I’m ‘unpredictable.’ That’s good…. Right…?

“Under the walker…. next to the walker… Whatever… Same thing.”

Things Mom Finishes

3. Eating – I can always tell when Mom is finished eating. Usually there’s ice cream or cookies or cake.

I know sharing is caring. And I know Mom loves me. But she doesn’t always share.

“Hello.”

2. Working – When Mom “works,” she writes, revises, revises, revises, revises, and …revises. Sooner or later, she has to say, “I’m finished.” and “There’s nothing else I can do here.” and “What do you plan to do with that?”

“Eat it? Hide it? Take it on the couch and hatch it like an egg? The possibilities are endless….”

1. School – Mom is finished with being a teacher.

She retired from that work in 2007. Now she is finished with school visits – for the summer, anyway. We are also finished with library therapy dog visits for the summer. Read to a Pet Night will start up again in September.

27. And yes, when enough is enough, I make it clear that I am finished walking….

Lovely

My new kitty-friend, Samantha from the blog Musings of PuppyDoc sent me a lovely award called the Lovely Blog Award. I love being lovely, so thanks, PuppyDoc and Samantha! I think your blog is lovely, too!

Now I need to follow the directions of the award. Following directions can be tough, sometimes.

Puppies!!

1-Thank the person who nominated you and link their blog in the post. DONE

2-Copy the rules and add the blog award badge as an image. DONE

3-Share 7 facts about yourself to your fellow bloggers. DONE

4-Nominate 15 people. (Of course I won’t do this, but feel free to nominate yourself. You know you’re lovely…)

Seven facts about me:

9. I lick the floor a lot, searching for something delicious. Delicious things include: crumbs, dropped scraps, errant kibbles, small pieces of paper, dirt or debris from outside, and lint.

452. I love clothes. I wear a dress to visit old soldiers at the veteran’s home

and young readers at the library when I do my therapy work.

I get excited when Mom dresses me because I know the fun is about to begin.

7. I’m pretty sure my toy box is trying to kill me. I will not use it, even though I love to play. Every morning, Mom helps me by picking out some stuffed toys for me.

Seven facts about Mom:

6. Mom writes for an hour a day. She stops when her timer goes off, no matter what. She thinks if she keeps writing till she runs out of ideas, she won’t know what to write the next day.

98. School visits are Mom’s favorite part of being an author. When she reads her books and talks about writing, she feels like a teacher again. She plays games and answers questions. Some of her favorite questions are: “How long does it take to write a story?” and “Where do you get your ideas?” and “My cousin Tommy has a pet hamster.” – which isn’t a question, but it makes her laugh.

 

7. Mom and I are not good at math. Counting and figuring gives us a headache. Mom likes words, but hates numbers. I like barking, but hate numbers.

Countdown Wednesday

Today, Mom and I are counting down about Thanksgiving. No surprise there, I guess – seeing as how it’s Thanksgiving week….

My countdown

3. Leftovers – I never get to eat turkey leftovers. Mom eats dinner at a fancy restaurant and apparently forgets I exist while she’s there… except when she spies on me through my Petzi Treat Cam on her phone. It gives me treats while she’s gone, but no turkey.

Drumstick, please….

2. Special Foods – Holiday time is filled with special foods. Like turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and… acorns. My friend Marg says her donkeys Joe and Smoke eat acorns all the time. I am not allowed. Apparently I am only a “donkey” when I get afraid and can’t move.

1. Gratitude – There is so much gratitude in my heart, I would need 5 kabillion blog posts to express it all. I am grateful for our family, humanfriends, dogfriends, cyberfriends, treats, toys…

…therapywork, naps, cuddles, kisses, and car rides.

And that’s just for starters…

Mom’s countdown

3. Leftovers – When Mom’s list of thirty PiBoIdMo ideas is finished, some will make amazing stories, some will become poems, and some will be stale, dried up leftovers. It happens. Sometimes when Mom takes my picture, she has a few leftovers that don’t exactly make the cut.

Who turned off the lights?

2. Gratitude – There is so much gratitude in Mom’s heart, she would need 6 kabillion blog posts to express it all. She is grateful for our family, humanfriends, dogfriends, cyberfriends, treats, toys…

…therapywork, naps, cuddles, kisses, car rides and ME!

And that’s just for starters…

1. Butterball – ‘Nuff said.

Countdown Wednesday

It’s back to school time around here. For 52 years of her life, Mom went back to school in September – sometimes as a student and sometimes as a teacher. Today we’re counting down about back to school.

My Back to School Countdown

3. Sleep – A good night’s sleep will make a better learner.

So does a good morning’s sleep and a good afternoon’s sleep

and a good floor sleep and a good street sleep.

I must be the best learner in the world!

2. Friends – When school starts I get to see lots of friends at the library. I am well-behaved and don’t knock over any chairs or bump any tables. I don’t lick the books or the kids’ shoes while they’re reading to me. …Actually I do all of those things, but just a little bit.

1. School Visits – Once in while, one of Mom’s teacher friends tells her to bring me to school to play with the kids for a while. That is my dream come true.

Mom’s Back to School Countdown

3. School Visits – Mom loves visiting kids at school to show her PowerPoint, talk about being an author, and read her books to them. She says it’s the best part of being an author. Bar none.

2. Friends – Now that she’s not a teacher anymore, Mom and a few of her retired teacher friends go out to breakfast on the first day of school and enjoy drinking lots of coffee and talking instead of working.

1. Fear – Mom had a raging case of school phobia when she was in kindergarten. She cried and begged her mother every single day to let her stay home – not for the first few days, but EVERY SINGLE DAY from the first day of school in September till the last day of school in June. That might explain why she writes about being afraid so often. She has a million stories about fear in her computer. It’s apparently her favorite topic.

Luckily, I am much more courageous than she was….

Uh-oh! Pumpkin demons… Help me.

 

GAH! It’s the deadly balloon of doom. *gulp*

 

Countdown Wednesday

She finally did it! Mom brought me with her to a school visit. Well… It wasn’t actually a school visit where she had to talk to kids about being an author. She already talked to these kids a few weeks ago. On Monday, we were just picking something up and dropping something off for the kids.

We are counting down about our awesome school visit.

What Mom loved…

3. The teacher used to be Mom’s student a long time ago. Now she is a super-teacher.

That’s her. She’s the first one on the left in the pink jumper –  right next to Young-Mom.

2. The kids made a cute card for us to take home.

1. I was a good girl.

What I loved…

3. Everyone fussed and fussed over me.

2. Through the window, I spotted a playground with swings and slides.

1. Lots of kids gave me treats.

Over here, kids! Mom brought my treat pouch!

27B. I wore my sailor dress.

67. I ALMOST got to play in the playground. Then I got afraid. So Mom said the word, “Forget it.”

*gulp*

52. I relaxed in the back seat all the way home.

6. I didn’t take a street nap, but Mom let me rest for a few minutes in the parking lot.

I’m worn out from all that love. Plus my belly is full of treats.

21W. School visits are the BEST!

Countdown Wednesday

Today, we are counting down about Unexpected Surprises

Unexpected Surprises for Mom

3. Rejection – Two of Mom’s stories were rejected last week. They have been rejected before, so why is it unexpected? For some reason, Mom is ALWAYS surprised when she gets a rejection. That’s because she only sends out things she really likes and has really worked on for a long time – by herself and with other people. And she only sends them to places and people who seem to like work like hers. Oh well.

Surprise!

2. Snow – The first day of spring brought snow. Twelve hours of it. It was gloppy and wet, but snow nevertheless.

1. What if…? – Stories need unexpected surprises to keep the reader off balance. One good way to decide on a twist is to ask the question, “What if…?” and make up crazy scenarios to throw a monkey wrench into the story. Monkey wrenches are good. Monkey toys are good, too.

Unexpected Surprises for Me

3. Snow – I wore my paw boots in the surprise snow. Mom said, “Hold still.” and, “Put your foot in.”

and “This is the LAST TIME we’re putting these on till next winter! …I hope.”

2. Gifts from the plow guys – When the snow started to melt, surprises came out of the snow plow mountains – candy wrappers, tissues, cigarette butts, dirt clods, and water bottles… all kinds of goodies! Thanks snow plow guys!

72. Street Nap – I was halfway to my first street nap of the season, but Mom stopped me. She said the word, “Don’t you dare.” and “It’s 25 degrees! The ground is freezing!” and “The wind is blowing your ear upside down.”

1. New clothes – Mom surprised me with a new spring dress from Fetch Dog Fashions. I think orange is my color.

I think Pebbles Flintstone is my look. And tutu skirts are my style.

No surprise there….