Inspirational Quote of the Week

“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, whispering, “It will be happier.”

~Alfred Lord Tennyson~

Pretty low bar after 2020, but we’ll take it. Everybody loves being happier. 

We are happy, but being happier is even better. Can’t have too many blessings! Am I right?

Writing and selling and sharing the elusive Book #2 will make Mom happier. 

So will good health, good friends, good luck, and plenty of creative ideas. Fingers crossed that some of them go somewhere.

More treats will make me happier.

So will more walks,

You call this a walk?

more kisses,

more toys,

These seem like fun….

and plenty of naps.

Paws crossed that some of them are in the blazing hot street.

Here’s to a dream-come-true holiday season and a new year filled with happiness, health, friends, luck, creativity, treats, walks, kisses, toys, and naps. 

 

Five Word Friday

It’s official! Mom has finished her 12th first draft of 2019.

Challenge complete. Of course the stories are very new and are nowhere near ready for primetime, but they’re done.

We chose 5 words from this month’s story.

16. Busy – Mom is busy a lot. She can be busy talking to friends, cleaning up, or “working” on her computer. I like to keep busy, too. I can be busy playing with my toys,

begging for food,

or exercising.

What a workout!

Sometimes, we’re busy together at the park

or walking around the neighborhood.

42. Kids – Kids are delicious. Usually they taste like gum or sweat or chicken nuggets. I see kids when Mom takes me to a school visit and when I work at the library.

Read it again!

9. Shoes – Sometimes I love shoes. I lick them, sniff them, and when I was little, I used to carry them around. Other times, I do NOT love shoes.

Embarrassing…

86. Teacher – Mom used to be a teacher.

Now she only has me to teach. She has discovered you CAN teach an old dog new tricks. Meanwhile, it’s all on me to learn the stuff. #somuchresponsibility

 

357. Floor – Like kids, floors are also delicious. I like the floor a lot. Mom says, “Don’t lick it.” and “Stop being a weirdo.” and then when she’s cooking and she drops something, she’s all, “Oh, look, Cupcake. Here’s a treat for you. Clean up the floor like a good girl.” #makeupyourmind

What?

 

Five Word Friday

Our five words today come from Mom’s September draft which she finished this weekend.

16. Bunnies – There are lots of bunnies around my apartment complex. I don’t try to chase them, and they are not even afraid of me. Someday, I would like to taste one. #goals

47. Practice – Mom practices writing a lot. She studies about it and works on new and old stories all the time. Whenever Mom teaches me tricks, we also practice a lot.

Plus, I get Cheerios and chicken to help me learn. When Mom writes stories, she doesn’t even get Cheerios and chicken. Only coffee.

Sometimes she shares…

9. Sleep – Once in a while, when Mom and I are in bed, ideas come into her mind. Sometimes, she writes them down in her phone, but when she is absolutely, positively sure she will never, ever forget the perfectly amazing idea, she confidently goes to sleep. She does not remember anything in the morning.

51. School – When I wasn’t born, Mom worked at school for a long time.

Teacher-mom

Now, she only goes to school once in a while. On the happiest of happy days, she takes me with her.

School has tons of kids. Plus lunchboxes. Plus delicious pencils and crayons, and did I mention lunchboxes…?

I smell peanut butter….

99. Dark – I don’t like the dark. Mom tells Alexa to turn on the light and turn on the television. Nightlights are everywhere in our house. But Mom still makes me go outside in the dark.

 

I am skittish, hesitant, and edgy. Mom says, “You have to go out.” and “Toughen up.” and “Sorry, Charlie.” But Charlie isn’t even my name.

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!

 

New Places

Mom is visiting two new places this week. She will speak at two schools that she’s never visited before. She has packed up her bag of supplies and box of goodies.

I smell gum…

At school, she will talk and listen and read and ask and answer questions.

Somehow, she already knows it will be fun.

At home, I’ll be sad and lonely and possibly a little scared to be by myself. I will check out the window, listen by the door, bark at shadows and phantom sounds, and take 562 naps.

Somehow, I already know it will NOT be fun.

Soon, Mom and I will be moving to a new place. She’ll be packing up bags and boxes and moving men will come and go a lot. I will try not to be afraid, but just in case, my safety crate is here.

This will be our little balcony.

And this will be our little dog park.

Somehow, we both already know this will be a TON of fun.

 

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….

School Visits

Mom says that school visits are one of the absolute best perks of being an author.

Talking, reading, and playing with bunches of kids is one of her favorite things to do, and being an author gives her a reason (excuse) to do it.

For 35 years, she didn’t need an excuse because she was a teacher.

Teacher-Mom

I guess you can take the teacher out of the school, but you can’t take the school out of the teacher.

Mom has been to three author visits in the past month. At one of them, she helped kids understand how to accept and include differently-abled friends.

Author-Mom

At another one, she taught about how an idea becomes a story and how that story becomes a book. And the third visit was just a quick stop to see the kids she taught and pick up a thank you note and gift that they made for her.

Perfect fit on Mom’s inspiration board…

…and not a bad spot for a nap, either.

That quick stop included a cute little doggie in her flag dress who was invited along by the teacher, instead of being left behind watching out the window as the car pulled away.

It was ME! I was invited to school!!

I have dreamed about this for-like-EVER! I was petted and fussed over and had a captive audience to watch me do tricks and feed me treats. I tasted pretty much every single kid, and they were delicious! They tasted like crayons. And gum. And lunchroom pizza. And playground dirt. Everyone said I was well-behaved and cute as a buttermilk biscuit. Well, they didn’t exactly say that, but I knew it was true.

Being cute…

Mom even took a minute to talk to the kids about how to meet a new dog and how to avoid dog bites and keep from scaring or startling dogs.

And a little about the job that therapy dogs do.

Did I mention how everyone loved me and said I was cute? Yeah… That.

Five Word Friday

Today’s 5 words are about Little by Little.

5. My face – After visiting 4 different parks in a week,

I may have picked up some allergens which made me itchy. REALLY itchy. So itchy that I tried to scratch my face off.

Little by little, it’s getting better.

4. The vet – The vet gave me 2 shots and said Mom needed to keep the cone on my head so I could get better.

*gulp*

Little by little I am allowed some cone-free time each day as long as Mom is home to watch me like a hawk.

3. Beginning to End – Mom is working on a new story. It usually takes a week or two to get from the opening to the ending. She’s still way at the beginning, but tries to move it along some each day – little by little.

2. Visits – Little by little the springtime school visits are getting scheduled and done. Mom visited a super fun school last week for their Discovery Day. It was hard work and a longer day than she’s used to, but the kids and teachers made it a great time. I waited at home…

1. Bunny and Carrots – Mom is eating one of her chocolate Easter bunnies little by little. First the bunny went deaf,

Huh??

then he totally lost his head.

I am afraid to see what happens to the poor guy next.

GAH! Where’s his tail??

No chocolate bunnies allowed for me, but I got a toy bunny

and every day Mom puts some carrots into my kibbles. Little by little the carrots run out.

Then we switch to green beans. Yum.

16. And also, spring is coming little by little. Some flowers started growing already!

Wait. What?

 

Five Word Friday

Spring is coming soon!

I love change, so changing to a new season makes me happy. Today’s 5 words are about change.

Weather – When spring comes, winter goes away and the weather gets warm and sunny and nice. Some days, I can take a springtime street nap.

Sometimes Mom lets me play on the baby swing,

…or explore the park.

Cutting – This week, Mom changed one of her stories from having 790 words to having 501 words. In picture books, 500 words need to tell the whole story. That’s not to say some stories aren’t 700 or 800 words. And at the other end of the spectrum some stories are 11 words or 26 words. That’s a totally different kind of “picture” book than the ones Mom writes.

Outfits – Mom ordered me a new raincoat and new collars for spring.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I change outfits a lot. It keeps things interesting.

 

Visit – Mom will do a school visit next week. It’s a change from the usual visits that she does. At this school visit, instead of a big bunch of students, Mom will meet with 6 or 7 small groups of kids. She will talk to them, read to them, and play with them. It will be fun.

I’ll just wait here…..

Toys – It’s been ages since Mom changed up my toybox. She thinks I forgot that there’s a bag of toys in the top of the closet. Truth be told, I kind of did forget what’s in there. So when she switches out the toys in the box for the toys in the bag, I will be as excited as if she went shopping at Petco, Target, and PetSmart and shopped till she dropped – all for me!

 

Teeny Tiny

Seven years ago, Mom almost passed me up at the pet rescue event where I was waiting. She said, “She’s too tiny.”

Her old dog, Smoki, was a German Shepherd mix,

and before Smoki there was Sandy, a Golden Retriever mix.

She didn’t know what to do with such a teeny tiny dog like me. When I finally willed her to choose me, she thought I’d need a set of doggie stairs to get on the bed. That was before she saw that I could fly. I’m small, but mighty.

Since then, Mom has faced down my teeny tiny feet,

my teeny tiny belly,

and my teeny tiny brain.

Mom will be facing down another teeny tiny dilemma, soon. She’s invited to read to a couple of classes at a local school for Dr. Seuss‘s birthday – Read Across America Day.

I can’t read, but I’ll celebrate my own way.

The dilemma is that the children she’ll be reading to are teeny tiny pre-k kids. They’re small, but mighty.

Mom’s print book, Keep Your Ear on the Ball is way over their heads – more for 2nd-4th graders.

Her e-book, What If I Don’t? is slightly over their heads – more for kindergarten-2nd graders.

So she headed off to the bookstore. She sat in the cafe and read and read and read.

When her chai latte was finished, she went back to the shelves and read some more.

She’s very happy with her choices: Duck, Duck, Dinosaur for the teeniest of the teeny tiny kids

and My Dog’s a Chicken for the less teeny of the teeny tiny kids.

She giggled when she read them and said, “These are short and sweet.” and “This will be super fun.” and “Why are you hiding under the bed?”