Happy New Year 2006!

I would like to wish everyone a VERY Happy, Healthy, and Wealthy New Year 2006! I have a few spare minutes online tonight, so I thought I'd post an update. After my last post on Christmas Eve, I completely lost my voice. I walked around for 3 more days just thinking I had a case of laryngitis. Last Monday, I finally gave up and went to the walk-in clinic. As it turned out, I had a major case of strep throat. That was the reason that I drug around for the last 2 weeks. After most of a prescription of antibiotics, I'm finally feeling like myself again. Just in time to go back to work, huh? Casey is feeling better too. He finally started feeling human again last Wednesday. That respirtory bug he had was so bad, that 2 of our dogs actually caught it!! I had Bear into the vet early yesterday morning. He kept us both awake all night on Thursday night coughing. Slate has it too. I didn't think that was possible, but the vet confirmed as much. So now, Slate, Bear, Nick, and I are all on antibiotics. Nick is the good news case to report. We still don't have a new home for him yet, but he's recovering from all of infections. He's gained a little over 10 pounds in the past week. He's in really good spirits and wants to play all of the time.

I'm over at my Mom's right now. Me, Casey, Mom and my brother are all getting ready to ring in the new year. We are waiting for Dick Clark's return. We've got a bottle of champagne ready. So here's a toast to all of my friends (furry and otherwise) and family this New Year!! I'll be back online with regular updates on Tuesday!!

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to take a quick minute to pop in and tell everyone Merry Christmas. I hope that you all get exactly what you want, and that you all have a very Happy New Year. Casey and I have both been off from work this week, but it has been totally wasted. We've both been sick as dogs this week. We did finally manage to get Nick picked up from the vet on Thursday. He's putting on weight really fast and is a world better in just a week. I have him a nice, big Jumbone for a Christmas treat. I'll have new pictures for everyone soon.

Today is the first day that we've felt like doing anything. I drug all around town yesterday, trying to get the last of what little shopping I needed done. It was an absolute mad house. Casey went out today on his own, and I tell you, I didn't envy him at all! We have managed to get all of our gift wrapping done. I've even gotten the dog and cat presents all wrapped and their stockings stuffed as well. They'll be a lot of new woobie love in the house tomorrow.

Again, I hope that everyone has a very Merry Christmas!!

Animal Christmas Carols

Well, my time of work for the year is nearly over. After today, I'll be off celebrating and making merry until the New Year. So, I guess this will be my last official big post for the year. I'll be in and out from now on, but I'll try to get by and blog some. I'm sure there'll be lots of AudioBlogger posts too!

Casey and I are going to stop by the vet's this afternoon to check on Nick. We've got lots of feelers out for rescues, and lots of folks are helping us. Today he's having a full physical to give us a better idea of his age and his health condition. The next thing on the agenda is a full round of shots and a neutering. I'm sure poor Nick had something else in mind for Christmas than that! Anyway after all that, he'll be coming to Shelbyville to live with Casey and me for a while. He'll stay with us, until a spot comes open in one of the rescues. I really have a good feeling, it won't take us long to find him a good home. Everyone send good Christmas pixie dust our way!!

I hope that everyone has a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year. Like I said, I'll be dropping by every once in a while to keep you all updated. I'm going to leave you all today with a cute little doggie Christmas parody. I first saw this song's lyrics posted over on Casper D. Dog's blog. I did a little research and found that you can actually hear it over at Twisted Tunes. Here's the lyrics first:

Yellow Snow! Yellow Snow! Yellow Snow!

(Parody of Let it Snow)

Oh, the weather outside was whitening

‘Til the dog did something frightening

He’s got no other place to go

Yellow snow, yellow snow, yellow snow

And he doesn’t show signs of stopping

As he sniffs around his dropping

You see him everywhere you go

In the snow, yellow snow, yellow snow

When he finally goes outside

He’ll be frolicking ‘round in the storm

He’ll be marking our yard with pride

You can tell by the steam that it’s warm

When the snow begins it’s thawing

It reveals those puppy drawings

He’s a frisky little pooch van Gogh

Yellow snow, yellow snow, yellow snow

Come here, Yeller. Come on boy. Good doggie.

Oh, not on Frosty.

He’ll be marking our yard with pride

You can tell by the steam that it’s warm

Well, he’s happy and his tail starts waggin’

But the snowman’s left side is saggin’

There’s a little puddle right below

Yellow snow, yellow snow, yellow snow

Yellow snow, yellow snow

Yellow snow

Little patches of yellow snow

Yellow snow

Little patches of where Fido goes

To hear the Mp3 click HERE

It's the first song on the list! Enjoy!

Little Dog Lost

Casey and I are still boarding the Sharpei at the vet's office. They have been wonderful to us!! They are checking him over today to give us an idea of his overall health. We should know something by Monday at the very latest. I've contacted a lot of rescue groups, and this rescue has become a joint effort. In just the past day, I've met some wonderful people through this little dog. Everyone keep their fingers crossed that we find him a good home. Casey and I named him Nicholas, since we've found him so close to Christmas. We're calling him Nick for short. Isn't he cute? He'll look so much better once we get him fed and healthy.

The Animals Talk

I just think this is a wonderful legend, and I just wanted to share it with you all. I'll certainly be watching this Christmas Eve. To view the story source click HERE.

The Night The Animals Talked

In the frosty mountains and on the snowy fields of Norway, there is a legend that draws children to all kinds to stables and stalls throughout the country on each Christmas Eve night. They are hoping to hear a miracle. They are waiting to hear the animals talk.

Over 2,000 years ago, Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem. This was no abandoned place, but was a working stable, filled with animals of all kinds. Into these humble surroundings, encircled by the innocent creatures of God, the Savior of man came into the world.

Now according to legend, at least, Christ's birth occurred at exactly midnight. Inside the stable, the animals watched in wonder as the new-born babe was lovingly wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger. Suddenly, God gave voice to the animals and immediately they began to praise God for the miracle they had just seen. This went on for several minutes and, just before the entrance of the shepherds -- who had hurried to the stable because angels had told them the Christ had been born there -- the animals again fell silent. The only humans who had heard them were Mary, Joseph and, of course, the Christ child.

The legend of the talking animals persists to this day in Scandinavia. And every Christmas Eve, wide-eyed children creep into stables just before midnight to hear the animals praise God for the wondrous birth of His Son. Of course, adults scoff at this. "Old wives tales," they grump. "Those children should be home in bed, not out in the cold waiting for the family cow to preach a sermon."

But the children know -- or at least believe -- that animals really do praise God at midnight every Christmas Eve. And who of us -- those who believe in an all-powerful God -- can say that it really doesn't happen?

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:26 NIV)

In The Bleak Midwinter.....

I've had the most interesting start to my day today. Just as I was about to turn into the lot at work, Casey calls. He tells me that there is a dog at the back door of his building that is starving to death. Now, you all know how we are. We couldn't just sit back and do nothing. It's winter time, and it's cold out, and it's bleak and dreary today especially. We called around to the local rescues, but it was so early that none were open. We took the dog to a local vet to have him boarded for the day, while we come up with more ideas. Turns out, he's a full bred Sharpei. The vet is going to clean him up and look him over. Hopefully, he'll check out fine. The vet's office is going to try and contact the Nashville Sharpei rescue. Hopefully, we'll have some luck there. Anyway, looks like we have another dog to foster for a while. AND I MEAN IT!!! Only for A WHILE this time!! We have a full house, and it just wouldn't be fair to bring another one in, but hopefully I can find a good home for it. It's time for me to go and chant my mantra.....

I WILL NOT GET ATTACHED! I WILL NOT GET ATTACHED! I WILL NOT GET ATTACHED!! Do ya'll think it'll work??

Cool Dog Site!

Yesterday, I received an e-mail informing me of a really cool dog site. Michael, from A Big Dog Blog contacted me to let me know about his site. I checked it out, and it's fabulous!! So, I've added it to the blogroll. It'll keep you up to date on doggie news, fashion, gadgets, and treats. There are a lot of great links there too!! Here's the tagline: A Big Dog Blog-a-Zine on News, Fashion, Entertainment and More So go pay Michael a visit, and tell him Cheryl sent ya!

Fun With the 501st In Gallatin

Well, Saturday's parade went off without a hitch. Casey and I found our way there, met up with everyone, and got THE plan. We first went to this park parking lot, where everyone could suit up. It was here that we started to organize the lineup, and were assigned our tasks. The actual filmer was running late, so at first, it looked like Casey would be the actual photographer. Luckily, our guy made it in the nick of time. After everyone was ready, it was time to head to the actual parade line up. They had a truck with a big trailer to ferry everyone over. The day was so brisk, that a group of us decided we would just walk there. We didn't realize that the walk would take us about 30 minutes!! We were well warmed up, by the time we got to the parade lineup. The guy that was dressed in the true to scale Chewbacca costume walked all that way in stilts!! As we were approaching the lineup, all of the people on floats started to cheer us. Talk about stopping traffic. Our group of 73 had no problem getting traffic to stop to cross the street!! Everyone was quite taken with Chewbacca and our remote control replica of R2D2.

The parade lineup was so long, that it took our part of the line a while to start moving. Oh man, but once we did, it was SO MUCH FUN!! The kids and adults went absolutely crazy, when they saw us coming. Chewbacca and R2 were definitely the stars!! We had a decorated pickup truck following us that played Star Wars music. Every so often, the soundtrack would play: Emperor to Anakin: "Every Jedi is now an enemy of the Republic. Do what must be done, spare no one, show no mercy." At that time, the Clone Troopers would surround the Jedi, and a lightsaber battle between Anakin and the Jedi would begin. We had people stopping us for pictures and to record us. Casey and I were really busy handing out candy to all of the kids and keeping everybody's costume on. It took A LOT more energy than I had imagined.

After the parade, and once we had recovered, it was time for the Christmas dinner. Our dinner was at Shady Cove Marina. It was a wonderful buffet of primer rib, pork, baked chicken, steak tips, ribeye, catfish, green beans, roasted potatoes, macoroni and cheese, and other great stuff. Needless to say, we ate our fill. We all had a great time visiting and watching the award presentations. After the dinner, we were all going bowling, but Casey and I were beat. Since we weren't staying overnight we decided to head back home, while we were still awake. We got in just before midnight. We had a GREAT time! I've got some pictures posted below. To see my whole album click HERE. Thanks to the 501st for inviting us!

Getting ready.....

In the lineup.

501st Group Photo

Faces revealed.

Marching Orders

Hello everyone! I hope that everyone has had a good week. In just a few hours, I'll be marching alongside the 501st Legion in the Gallatin, TN Christmas parade. Looks like we have much better weather this week. I'll be a handler at this one. This is a really big parade group this week. There are about 70 of us marching. All but about 5 will be in costume. I've got the camera battery charging right now!! The parade is a 2 p.m. so anyone close enough, feel free to come out and watch. I've come prepared with my elf hat, and 5lbs. of candy! Afterwards, we'll be going to the Christmas party and the bowling party. It will just be too much fun! I hope everyone has a terrific weekend!

Pooch Helps With Rehabilitation

Photo from the Today Show Hans, the dacshund, helps stroke victims with their rehabilitation. He does this through his own disability. This piece on the Today Show was absolutely wonderful!! It's such a heartwarming story, and it just made me gush. If you want to smile, then watch THIS. You'll see the video box of Hans as the front page comes up. What a wonderful story to share!

Christmas Recipe for Baking Kitties!

Baking Cookies With Your Cat !

1. Look in cookbook for cookie recipe.

2. Get cup of coffee.

3. Get cat off of cookbook.

4. Find that special recipe.

5. Get cat's nose out of coffee mug.

6. Go to fridge and get eggs.

7. Get dry ingredients from cupboard.

8. Break eggs in small bowl.

9. Sift dry ingredients in large bowl.

10. Answer the phone.

11. Cat ate eggs; get more from fridge.

12. Get cat out of flour bowl and dust cat off.

13. Get Band-Aids for scratches on hands.

14. Throw flour out and get more.

15. Preheat oven for cookies.

16. Looking at cat &wanting to bake cat now. Cat runs for cover into bathroom.

17. Flour the counter to roll out cookie dough.

18. Big crash in bathroom; run to see what happened.

19. Cat has TP all over floor; stuff spilled and knocked over on top of bathroom counter.

20. Yell at cat. Cat falls in toilet bowl.

21. Can sense cat is angry.

22. Take cat out of toilet to dry cat off.

23. Get bandages to cover more scratches on arms and legs.

24. Cleanup bathroom.

25. Hear a thump in kitchen ... Oh Golly ... now what?

26. Get cat off floured counter in kitchen.

27. Try to pick out cat hairs from flour.

28. Step on cat's tail and get bitten.

29. Get coat, car keys, and go to store to buy cookies!!!

Holiday Light Spectacular!!

If you want to see a spectacular holiday light display of grand porportions click HERE. Too cool!! Thanks to Nashville Is Talking and NashvilleFiles.com for the heads up!!

Holiday Scenes

Ah, holiday scenes from my life. Here are some of the pictures that I've been promising for the past week....

Decorating the Animal Angel Tree for the humane association.

These next pictures are kind of blurry. I was having trouble getting the light setting right. It also could have been that my battery was dying. I think that we are going to have to get a new one. This battery doesn't want to hold a charge.

My Christmas tree at home.

Fergie acting as the Richardson Christmas Ambassador!

That Dog's Laughing At You!!!

Researchers have determined that dogs laugh. They say that it very much sounds like a loud hassling sound. Tape recordings of barking and "laughing" dogs have been used in SPCA shelters. The results? All of the kenneled dogs went wild barking, while the sound of barking was played. While the sound of dog laughter was played, the shelter went absolutely quiet. I have to say that I agree with the findings. Fergie often makes that special sound, especially when she's playing ball. That's how I KNOW she's happy. I just wish that we could get a recording of that dog laughter to use at the kennel, when it's full of barkers. What about you all? Do you have any laughing dogs? For more information or a full article, click HERE

Holiday Pet Tips

This is a cute little piece that I received on one of my dog lists. It is a great reminder for pet owners to be wary of the various Christmas decorations in reach of pets. For a full list of dangerous Christmas plants and items, visit ASPCA's Poision Control Center or click HERE

A Puppy Christmas

On the first day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

The Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the second day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the third day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Four broken window candles

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Five chewed-up stockings

Four broken window candles

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Six yards of soggy ribbon

Five chewed-up stockings

Four broken window candles

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Seven scraps of wrapping paper

Six yards of soggy ribbon

Five chewed-up stockings

Four broken window candles

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Eight tiny reindeer fragments

Seven scraps of wrapping paper

Six yards of soggy ribbon

Five chewed-up stockings

Four broken window candles

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

My wreath in nine pieces

Eight tiny reindeer fragments

Seven scraps of wrapping paper

Six yards of soggy ribbon

Five chewed-up stockings

Four broken window candles

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Ten Christmas cards I shoulda mailed

My wreath in nine pieces

Eight tiny reindeer fragments

Seven scraps of wrapping paper

Six yards of soggy ribbon

Five chewed-up stockings

Four broken window candles

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

Eleven unwrapped presents

Ten Christmas cards I shoulda mailed

My wreath in nine pieces

Eight tiny reindeer fragments

Seven scraps of wrapping paper

Six yards of soggy ribbon

Five chewed-up stockings

Four broken window candles

Three punctured ornaments

Two leaking bubble lights

And the Santa topper from the Christmas tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my puppy gave to me

A dozen puppy kisses

and I forgot all about the other eleven days.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!

DRAT, DRAT, DRAT and DRAT again!!! The powers that be have decided to postpone the Shelbyville Christmas parade until tomorrow (Sunday) at 4 p.m. Since so many of the group are from out of town, we won't be making an appearance in Shelbyville this year. I have to admit, I'm extremely disappointed. I thought this would be a great addition to the Shelbyville parade and was looking forward to being there for my hometown. Anyway, I guess that I'll have to settle for next week's parades in Gallatin and Hendersonville. You all have a great weekend, while I go and quietly curse the weather and pout!

Don't Rain On My Parade

Ruldoph's ready, but apparently the weather is NOT! We're supposed to march in the Shelbyville Christmas parade tonight. Casey and I are marching with the 501st Legion Southern Oupost that's leading Santa Claus' float. Our group has a most coveted spot. We have about 25 participants, and the costumes include the likes of Darth Vader, a life size (7'2" tall) Chewbacca, Stormtroopers, Clone Troopers, Royal Guards, Anakin Skywalker, a pod racing Anakin, Jawas, Boba and Jango Fett, and many others.

Some of the 501st members we'll be marching with tonight.

I've been so excited about it all week. Casey and I are walking along as spotters. The costumes don't always have a good line of vision, so it's our job to make sure they don't run into kids, holes, poles, etc. We are also handing out candy to the kids. We have some of the Darth Vader head candy buckets and extra stormtrooper helmets to do this. This parade is what motivated me to get to the doctor to get myself well. Anyway, of course, the weather forcast is horrible for today and tonight. We are supposed to step off for a 2 mile parade at 6 p.m. We have to meet our group at 4:30, and be in line up by 5:00 p.m. Our local radio station is broadcasting the final decision whether to cancel and schedule a rain date, or to go on with the show at noon today. I admit that I'm trying to hold the weather off by sheer force of will. We've had pouring rain this morning, but looking at the radar that first bit is clearing now. There's nothing on radar behind it, but I suspect it will stream up from the south.

I wouldn't mind marching on the makeup date, but next weekend we are supposed to go up north of Nashville for the Gallatin parade and Christmas party. I will just cross my fingers. This is going to be something really new and unique for the Shelbyville parade. I just hope that we can pull it off. I'll just wait for the announcement. Everyone cross their fingers and think good thoughts for us.

Kindness of Strangers

After my last post on Wednesday, I took to fits of sneezing. CONTINUALLY...ALL..THE..REST...OF...THE..DAY!! So I was feeling pretty crappy, when I set off Wednesday night for the humane tree decoration. Bi-Lo gave us a great spot for the tree set up. Six of us were there for the decorating festivities. The tree ended up being really cute. We had the dog biscuit ornaments, the round ornaments with SBCHA,pawprints,cat faces, etc., pictures of all the humane animals, envelopes and instructions on the tree. It came together pretty quickly, and we were all proud of our work. I made several pictures, while we were decorating. My camera battery was running really low, so I only made a few. While we were finishing up, we were approached by a man. None of us knew or recognized him. He was very polite and asked us what our tree represented. We happily explained our cause and how our organization is run entirely by volunteers. He complimented our efforts and took a few more minutes to look at the tree. Suddenly to our surprise, he asked for one of our envelopes. We gave it to him, expecting a mail in donation. Instead, he pulled out his wallet and handed us a fresh, crisp $100 dollar bill!! We were completely taken aback. We asked for his name and contact information, so we could send him a thankyou, but he wished to remain anonymous. Talk about a complete suprise. It's the little acts of strangers sometimes, that can restore your faith in humanity. (Thank you so much, whoever you are!!) We all left with a very good feeling that night.

Unfortunately, my sneezing continued all the way through this event, and it made my ears feel like they were going to blow out. I've been battling with a slight earache for about 2 weeks now. I woke up yesterday feeling horrid. I finally went to see the doctor yesterday afternoon. Just a simple ear infection. Now I have meds and am feeling somewhat better today. Nothing big to accomplish today. Everyone's just getting ready for all of the holiday festivites. Hopefully, I'll have the humane tree pictures posted by tomorrow. Everyone have a great day!