Today, I'm happy to feature a guest post from moving expert Tim Eyre. Moving is one of the most stressful times in our busy lives, and that goes double for the animals who have no clue why their routines have been upended. So without further ado, here are Tim's tips for making the transition a success! Regardless of whether you're relocating to an entirely new area or just buying a house down the block, moving can be an incredibly stressful and emotional experience. Dealing with things like ... Read more »
Daily Life
Pass me the monocle
I like to write. I think you probably know that. Whether or not anyone cares to read it, well, I just throw stuff out there and hope someone gets something out of it, but it's kind of a free form endeavor. Which is why I was so thrilled and grateful when Sonia from Nomad Editions Good Dog Magazine asked me if I would write an article for them about my trip to Peru with AmazonCares. Of course, I jumped at the chance. It just came out last week and I've spent the entire time thinking, "Woo ... Read more »
My 7 Links: My favorite posts from TripBase blog project
There is a meme making its way around the net, whereby the nominated blogger is to pick seven posts to represent some of their favorite work. Since the lovely Edie at Will My Dog Hate Me and the equally lovely Jen at My Brown Newfies were kind enough to suggest I take part, I spent some time this weekend mulling over my posts from the past couple of years. I'm a forward-thinking kind of person, but it's nice to look back and remember those posts that really tickled me. Or you. Or not. The ... Read more »
The Postman Always Rings Twice
We have a great mailman. I don't know how to explain it, but for all the complaints people have about the US Postal Service we seem to have lucked out with our guy. From the day we moved in when he introduced himself 6 years ago, he's been unfailingly polite, always waving, remembers our name, and pretty much everything you have come to not expect in a federal employee. He showed up at 10 am today with a package I needed to sign for, and we chatted a bit. I signed, he left. A minute later, he ... Read more »
Born to Be Wild: finally getting a movie right!
You all remember the Tyrannosaur movie debacle? It's taken me all this time to work up enough nerve to go to another science museum movie after leaving the theater with two howling kids in tow. In the interim, we went to see Disney's African Cats, which was another hot mess ("Mommy, why are all the kittens dead?" etc) and didn't help my opinion of modern nature documentaries. When I was reading all the sad reviews of African Cats, dubbing it "most depressing nature film ever made" and that ... Read more »
There’s an App for That: Top 6 iphone/ipad apps for pet people
We are an Apple family. Between the iphone, the ipad, and the Mac, I'm constantly on the lookout for the next great app. I love Angry Birds as much as the next guy, but given my background I'm also always hunting down good pet-related products. They've been a little slow to come out compared to other categories, but I'm finally starting to see some quality apps on iTunes that I deem worthy of the bucks. For Back to School Week Wednesday, we're going high tech: Here are my top 6 iphone apps ... Read more »
Let’s Get Together
Staying connected is a lot of work. Every time I turn around there is some new social media thing I'm supposed to be signed up for, some new thing I need to remember to update. I can barely keep up with what I have. I've found anything that allows me to maintain lists online is preferable to one that requires me to remember where I placed a book, or a stack of business cards. Which is why, with the blessing of the BlogPaws team, I've started a Google Docs Spreadsheet for BlogPaws attendees to ... Read more »
The Introvert’s Guide To Having an Awesome Time at BlogPaws
It's just around the corner- the biggest, best, and most entertaining pet conference of the year- BlogPaws 2011! If you're a three-peater like me, you probably know the drill by now, you've met some people already and are looking forward to reconnecting with your buddies. But if this is your first time, perhaps you find yourself a little bit intimidated. I know I was- well, I'll be honest, I still get intimidated by these things. Do you all read The Bloggess? She is hysterical and she ... Read more »
Tagg Pet Tracker: Another ruffolution
I've spent the last two weeks feverishly snapping up shoes, backpacks and pencils trying to get my kids ready for school. I forgot how much thought your average six year old needs to put into deciding what kind of lunchbox she wants for the year. That is pressure, man. In the meantime, since I'm in a consumer state of mind, I decided this was the perfect week to do some Back to School reviews and previews of stuff your star pet might be interested in this autumn. So welcome to Back to School ... Read more »
It’s always the dog’s fault
Yesterday was a long day. A long day, filled with TSA lines and loud kids and turbulence and bad pretzels. But I was OK with that, because at the end of the day I had a very rare Night To Myself. No husband, no kids, just me, the pets, and maybe a John Hughes movie or two. I got home at the end of this Very Long Day to find that Kekoa (I assume) had an accident. I sighed, blamed my husband for obviously not following proper Kekoa Escort Protocol in the morning, and cleaned it up. She had ... Read more »
Kitty Purry
Here's one of the great things about raising pets: sure, your lack of training may turn them into ill behaved mischief makers, but it's much harder to really screw them up psychologically than it is kids. Teach them sit, stay, and a few basic manners and for the most part, you have harmony. Kids, on the other hand, are almost impossible not to mess up. You either neglect them or spoil them, demean them or overly praise them, treat them like Oliver Twist or Veruca Salt. No matter what you do, ... Read more »
Dog is my wingman
I spent much of my time at the BlogHer expo looking for mascots to take pictures with. For all the time I spent doing that, I see I missed at least half of them- Paris over at DogTipper found the Pine Sol lady, the Jimmy Dean sun (who looks exactly like my high school history teacher), and a...piece of Swiffer lint, I guess. Some people have all the luck. That's what I get for going home too early. Nonetheless, I found some singular photo opps myself: A dog from Canine Companions for ... Read more »
Be Funny and Cute
As I've mentioned, I'm attending the BlogHer conference in San Diego this weekend. I was a little unsure of whether I thought this was something I would get anything out of, but hey, I figure might as well give it a go since it's so close to home anyway. There are a lot of diverse bloggers at this show. This is, in fact, what the organizers promote as one of its key enticements. I met dominatrices and peace activists and mommy bloggers and soul enhancement coaches and lifestyle experts, ... Read more »
CSI: Missing canines
What would you do if your dog ran off? Would you post flyers? Go to the shelter on a daily basis? Do a 76 day stakeout in your car armed with traps, binoculars, and motion detection cameras? I have to tell you, as much as I love my dog, I simply wouldn't possess the mental or physical stamina to spend several months living in my car to chase my dog down. God bless this woman who did, because obviously it paid off. That is one fortunate dog, to have owners that dedicated. I will never ... Read more »
Good art challenges you
My daughter had a dance recital this weekend. Instead of flowers, the in-laws thought to get her something a little more long-lasting and picked up a Fur Real stuffed dog thing she has been wanting. She was very happy about this. A day later, she was upstairs, playing with some friends politely and quietly. This usually means trouble, so I popped in to check on them. The first clue something was amiss was the pungent odor of nail polish, which is supposed to be one of those "only under adult ... Read more »
Stay Classy, San Diego
There are a lot of reasons I love living in San Diego. Obviously, the weather is a huge draw- although the monoseason climate gets a little depressing come autumn when I miss the fall foliage, I'm grateful for it a month or two later when my New England relatives are posting on Facebook about the three feet of snow they had to shovel out of the driveway. And yes, we have some of the finest Mexican food in the United States (taquitos from Albertos at 3 am for the win!) I love our zoo and the ... Read more »
Paranormal Snacktivity
My daughter is doing a horse riding summer camp this week. She has been subjected to plenty of "Well I never got to ride horses when I was a kid, I had to sit in a cardboard box with some yarn stapled to the lid all summer" flibbity floo sorts of things from me, enough so that she hopefully realizes we are by no means embarking down the slippery, expensive slope of riding on a regular basis. One week this summer and that is it. The camp she is going to seems to be doing a good job of giving ... Read more »
Mind Games
Brody and I went on one of my favorite hikes yesterday. It's a 3 mile loop, the first half straight up and the second half straight down the side of a mountain plunked square in the middle of a suburban center. It's unusual to have such a pleasant, heart pumping yet short hike so conveniently located. And at the top, you get an amazing 360 degree view of the entire county. As such, it is the most popular trail in San Diego. If you can deal with the ankle-twisting rocks, the crowds, and the ... Read more »
