The Story of Owen - Part 1

This is Owen.

Owen is an 11 week old Great Dane puppy. He is the great nephew of my wonderful seven year old Great Dane, Sedona.

He's also the newest member of our family! We picked Owen up a few weeks ago when he was just a wee-little thing. At the time, he weighed in at 18 lbs. He's now a whopping 34 lbs! He's exactly the same size as Sedona was at this age, and she's now 180 lbs of pure muscle and loads of love. We're thinking Owen is going to be one big boy!

Our journey to get Owen actually started a few years ago when Travis and I realized we wanted to introduce another Great Dane into the family. Sedona was getting on in years, and we wanted her to pass along all of her wisdom to a new pup. However, the timing just wasn't right, and so we waited and we waited. We waited a good three years before we were 100% sure that bringing a puppy into the house was the right thing to do. After all, puppies are a huge financial responsibility and a lot of hard work. We didn't enter into our decision lightly.

A few months ago, our wonderful breeder and my long time friend, Denise, sent me an e-mail announcing the birth of two boys from Sedona's blood line. Travis and I oooed and awwed over the pictures wondering if the time had finally come to bring home our long anticipated little boy. I asked Denise if the two boys were spoken for, and when she said they were not, my heart skipped a beat.

Would it be possible that one of these two chunky monkeys could be ours? It must have been fate because in the weeks that followed, Denise evaluated the pups and determined that "dark boy" would be coming home with us! We were beyond excited.

The pictures that followed showed us his sweet and fun personality. Denise said that he was a true chow-hound, and she was right!

The anticipation leading up to our trip to pick him up was fierce. We had to be diligent in our preparations since Denise lives over seven hours away from us. We lined up our trusty babysitter (thank goodness for grammies!), gave everyone a pat on the head and then headed out. We decided to take my car, the Fuzzmobile, since it's the same car I drove when I picked up Sedona over seven years ago. With Travis behind the wheel, I tried to occupy my time by watching DVDs and taking a few too many naps along the way :) I wanted to be well rested to meet my new baby boy! When we arrived at Denise's house, we were greeted by Sedona's mom, Rorie (Owen's great grandma):

And her brother, Midas (Owen's great uncle & Rorie's son):

It's hard to tell from that picture, but Midas is HUGE. I mean GIGANTIC! He easily outweighs Sedona by a good 20 lbs, and he's much taller than she is (she's 37" at the withers). He's the biggest dog I've ever seen in my life, and that's saying something!

After our meet and greet with Rorie and Midas, Denise took us into the puppy room. There, waiting in the corner, were two butterballs just waking up from their afternoon nap:

Owen is the lazy bones and his brother, Sy (short for Poseidon), is the one sitting up. My heart melted when I saw them. I had been waiting for Owen for many years, and I could hardly believe that I was back at Denise's house picking up my baby boy. It was very surreal.

Owen and I had no problems getting acquantied with each other.

Look at that big ol' puppy belly! I had been waiting to squish that puppy belly for weeks! And he had the sweetest puppy breath ever. I tell you, there's nothing quite like the smell of puppy breath. It signals the beginning of something wonderful.

Before heading back out on our long journey home, we took our first family photo:

It was hard leaving Denise's house because I hadn't seen her in years, and I wanted so badly to stay and visit for a while longer. Alas, we needed to hit the road since we had a long car ride ahead of us. Travis graciously took the wheel for the entire trip home so that I could bond with our new little guy. At first he didn't quite know where to sit...

..but then he figured out that mama didn't at all mind having him on her lap :)

And so he slept pretty much the entire trip home.

Of course there were a few times where he ventured into the backseat and then wanted to plop down on the console.

By the time we got home it was late and we were all tired. Owen and I had slept the last hour or so before arriving at the house. We still had a couple of hours to go before we all went to bed since we needed to introduce Owen to all the critters first. To our delight, the introductions went very well. It was the perfect ending to the most perfect day.

Thus begins our new life adventure as mama and papa to not one, but TWO Great Danes. Who knew life could be so good? Stay tuned for Part 2 of his story and lots more adorable pictures!

Change is good

Wow - it's hard to believe it's been nine months since my last blog post. I apologize to my faithful readers, but I'm back now to share my crafty life with everyone!

So much has changed for the better that it's hard to figure out where to begin. Travis and I have had many adventures together since my last post, and I will be catching up on those in the days and weeks to follow. I think our biggest news is that we moved into a lovely home and have been making it our own for the past six weeks. We've been busy painting and doing random home repairs, but it's all been so worth it. I finally have the craft room of my dreams, and I couldn't be happier! It's still a work in progress, so for now I'll just give you a few sneak-peaks. I'll be doing a video of my room in the months to come as I get it more and more organized. This first picture is a quick sampling of some of my favorite things.


Over the summer, my good friend gave me a big box full of vintage buttons that belonged to her grandmother and mother. Keep in mind that she herself is 80 years old, so these buttons are truly antique. I actually have the really old metal buttons stored away in a mason jar, but I'll get to that later. The buttons you see here are housed in a divided unit I picked up at a shabby-chic outdoor fair. It's the perfect organizational button solution!


I'm hoping to get in my craft room soon and do something other than organize and put things away. I certainly have quite the spread of beads and findings to make a fun chic piece! Lucky for me, there's a bead store no more than five minutes away :)


Before I sign off, I'd like to take a quick moment to share some of the updates I've made to the blog. First of all, I have restructured my blog lists by breaking them down into three categories: Jewelry Blogs I Love; Scrappy Blogs that Inspire Me; and, Shabby Chic/Vintage Blogs. I have single-handedly checked every link on my site, and they all lead to the appropriate place. If you happen to click on a link that doesn't work or is for some reason woefully out of date, please let me know. I want to keep my blog as up-to-date as possible. You'll also notice that I've expanded my blog to include more of my jewelry making and my new found love for all things vintage. I have new links to some seriously cool sites that offer handmade beads, jewelry kits and unique jewelry pieces. If you have the time and are so inclined, I urge you to check them all out!

I'll be back soon to share more exciting new stuff. Thanks for stopping by!

New Posts Coming Soon!

Greetings!

I am working on revamping my blog and putting some new posts together. Stay tuned for some really fun stuff coming your way!

XOXO,
Sam

Summer Adventures

Seems kind of odd to do a post about summer activities when it's stinking cold outside, but what the heck?! I've been meaning to share some of our summer adventures, but I haven't had the time to do so. Turns out that I have the time now, so let's get started!

A few months back when it was toasty warm, we took a couple of day trips. The first trip we took was up to the Mt. Whitney Portal. For those of you who are not familiar with Mt. Whitney, it's the highest peak in the continental United States. How lucky am I that it's right in my backyard? Travis and I plan on climbing this peak in a few years.

Looking at the picture below, Mt. Whitney is the peak to the right of the two pointy peaks that are in the center of the picture. Mt. Whitney is approximately 14,495 feet tall, and I say approximately because no one really knows exactly how tall she really is. Ironically, Mt. Whitney is located only 85 miles from the lowest point in the contiguous Unite States, Badwater Basin in Death Valley which is 280 feet below sea level.

When you enter the park, there are signs everywhere warning visitors of bears. For some reason, Travis finds this highly amusing. We found a t-shirt a few weeks ago that says, "Bears like people...they taste just like chicken." HA! We're totally going back to get ourselves a pair (they didn't have them in our size at the time).

The portal is a gorgeous place with lots of pine trees and rocks.

There's even a waterfall that carries the winter melt down the mountain.

Coming down from the portal is just spectacular. Check out the view of the valley!

A few weeks later we decided to visit the Giant Sequoia trees at the Trail of a Hundred Giants which was only recently designated as a national monument by President Clinton back in 2000. Sequoias are one of the largest living organisms on earth, and they only occur in a narrow 60-mile band of mixed conifer trees between 5,000 and 8,000 feet in elevation. They grow from a seed less than half an inch long, and when fully grown they shoot more than 250 feet into the sky. Sequoias are also commonly more than 20 feet in diameter and at least one has grown to 35 feet across. Did you know that the word "sequoia" is the only English word to contain all five vowels? Go ahead and check...I know you want to!

Yeah, they're kind of big. Makes you realizes just how tiny we really are in the grand scheme of things.

And their root system is amazing!

One of the highlights of the trip was watching a white-headed woodpecker peck feverously at this tree. You can see him on the left side of the tree smack dab in the middle of the picture.

Aside from the Giant Sequoias, there are also beautiful meadows in the area. Just think of all the critters that live here!

That concludes our summer adventure series. I still have my craft fair to share plus the introduction of the latest member of my animal clan. Lots to share, so be on the look-out!

Please excuse my lack of posts!

I've been working like a mad woman to complete projects for an upcoming craft fair. I have lots of fun items to share after the madness of the event is over which will be sometime after November 13th. My craft room is a MESS! Just look at my table:

I think I'm down to a 10" square working surface!

Hope you're all having a wonderful week :) I'll be back to share my crafty wares soon!

Paws and Claws 2010

A couple of weekends ago, our town held it's fourth annual Paws and Claws pet fair extravaganza. We've gone to the last two events (you can read about last year's fair here). I was especially excited to attend this year since we had a cute new family member to introduce to the world :)

This year's event was different from previous years in a number of ways. First, they moved the fair from a small park off the main highway to the town's large grassy knoll area which is right behind our newly constructed City Hall and Events building.

Although bigger, this year we hardly had any shade to shield us from the scorching sun which brings me to difference number two. In an effort to hold the event during a cooler time of the year, the coordinators opted for early September versus late August - a whopping difference of two weeks! Do ya think it was any cooler? Um, no. In their defense, they did have doggie water coolers with ice in them scattered throughout the event as well as little kiddie wadding pools, but come on. It was already 90+ degrees by 10:30 am! Why can't this event be held during the cool days of spring? I guess I have no tolerance for the lack of thought that goes into the timing of this fair especially when the heat seems to affect Sedona more these days (she'll be seven at the end of October).

Despite the heat, I think she had a good time. Travis was handling her that day, and he kept pouring ice water on her to keep her cool :) He's such a good daddy. At one point, she wanted to check out the little pools.

See that brindle pit bull to the right of Sedona? He only has three legs, and his last remaining hind leg is in a brace! He was just the most precious thing and was as happy as can be. I guess we could all learn a lesson from this little guy.

We bumped into all sorts of critters that day. Our local zoo brought over a few darlings to partake in the event. Cute, aren't they?

The Desert Tortoise Council was on hand, too, raising public awareness about our indigenous federally and state threatened desert tortoise. This little guy is about a year old, and no, he's not wearing pink lip stick :) He had just eaten a cactus fruit and was high on sugar trying to climb out of his little bin! He's about the size of my palm.

After only thirty minutes or so, we were all pretty darn hot. Pebbles kept plopping down on the cool grass. I felt badly that she had to wear her onesie, but she wouldn't leave her hot spots alone. In case you can't read what it says, it says, "I love my mommy." Too cute!

I was so hot I decided to join her on the grass. To heck with grass stains! She had the right idea!

I also posed with my biggest girl. She drew so much attention this year, but that's not uncommon. When you see a small horse walking next to a 5'4" gal (that would be me), people tend to stare and ask questions. I tried to get her to sit on the grass in the shade, but she didn't want to. She's always loved the sun.

We were only at the fair for an hour or so. We had gotten there right when they opened at 10 and we wanted to leave before the real heat of the day set in. I think the best part was spending time with my hubby and my girls and taking our first official family picture together.

As you can see, I put Pebbles up on Sedona's back, and that's where she stayed on our walk back to the car. She was pooped!

As if the pet fair wasn't enough excitement for the weekend, the very next day was our Petco's re-grand opening festivities! They were having a contest for littlest and biggest dogs. Of course I wanted to enter Sedona into the biggest dog category. At 180 lbs and standing almost 40" from the floor to her withers, I figured she might have a good sporting chance of winning. Her main competition was the cutest mastiff puppy named Chloe, but at only eight months old she wasn't nearly as big as Sedona...yet :)

After deliberation by the judges, they concluded that Sedona was indeed the biggest dog there! The littlest dog prize went to Daisy, a tiny chihuahua. I love how Sedona and Daisy are checking each other out, and I love how excited the lady in the back ground (to your left) looks!

I had NO idea that Sedona was actually going to win a prize! She won a $10 gift certificate to Petco which is great since I spend $50 a month on food for her not including her vitamins.

Even though Pebbles wasn't entered in any of the contests, she still made friends :) She's a social butterfly kind of like her mama. She met Kukla, another maltichon that was in the same rescue program that I got Pebbles from. Aren't they adorable together? (Kukla is wearing the white polka dot dress for which she won "best dressed" that day.)

Lastly, here's a picture of just me and the girls.

It was a great ending to a fun-filled weekend.

I actually have some crafty items to share with all of you in my next post, so keep your eye out for it!

Introducing Pebbles

Back in late July, I started volunteering for a local animal rescue organization. I contacted them after I found myself trying to place my cousin's ex-girlfriend's chihuahua, Floyd. Every weekend the group goes to our local Petco to showcase their adoptable pets, and they agreed to accept Floyd into this program to try and find him a forever home. Prospective adoptive families who visit Petco are able to interact with the dogs in the program, but before they can take a pet home they must fill out an adoption application and agree to a home visit. I didn't know what to expect on my first weekend especially since I wasn't allowed to bring Floyd because he was not yet neutered. However, an older couple who was also volunteering with me that day showed great interest in Floyd despite not having met him. Before I knew it, they were at my house falling in love with the little guy. He had found a wonderful new home, and I couldn't be happier with where he ended up.

Although I found a home for Floyd, I decided to continue my volunteer work with the rescue group. I have always enjoyed interacting with the public especially when it concerns animals and animal rescue. One weekend in early August, I was asked to pick up a few dogs from a local private kennel that was boarding them temporarily until the group could find them foster homes. You see, the rescue does not have an actual facility. The dogs and cats in their program are located in loving foster homes until they are adopted out, so it was highly unusual for these three dogs to be in a kennel. When I arrived at the facility and the operator opened up the kennel door, this white little fluff ball came running toward me. I decided to take her to Petco in my car, and the other two male dogs (who were brothers) went with one of the rescue operators.

During the course of the afternoon, I got to know this sweet little dog. She stayed with me the entire time we were at Petco, and on the way back to the kennel facility she fell asleep on my lap. I felt so badly about dropping her off at the kennel. Although all the dogs there are very well cared for, it was just too loud and over whelming for her in my opinion. She had already been bounced around like a ping-pong ball from place to place, so I decided to take her home and foster her until she could find a forever home. Little did I know that this little ball of white fluff would be one of my greatest joys.

The above picture was taken just a few minutes after I brought her home. I hadn't even introduced her to Sedona yet. Oh no! Sedona! How would Pebbles react to her? I wasn't worried about Sedona's reaction. She's pretty mellow. But a small dog and a big dog...eek! What would happen? Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so I'll let the following photos tell the story.

If the pictures didn't answer the question, "Do Sedona and Pebbles get along?" maybe this video will:


So, long story short, little Ms. Pebbles is now officially in her forever home...mine :) The sweet relationship between her and Sedona was undeniable. They took to each other almost instantly, and now they're best buds. They play together. They sun bath together. They eat together. They're just the most adorable and unpredictable pair ever!

In the month and a half that I've had Pebbles, she's been spayed:

She claimed her toy:

Actually, she took over the entire toy box:

She's gotten two "hot spots" on her little body that required veterinary attention and lots of medicine and mama love:

Plus she got to wear an embarrassing baby onesie because she wouldn't stop licking her hot spots:

At least it was cute (and true!):

She stole our hearts:

She got a new family:

I have SO many other things I want to share with all of you including several mini day trips that we've taken as well as the girls enjoying themselves at the pet fair and at Petco. I'll be back!