It's That Time of Year!

The girls came to me this week and expressed concern that we had not started working on their Christmas cards yet. I know that they have quite the list of friends that they want to send holiday greetings to, so I could understand their concern.

I agreed that we needed to get working on it.

So, the photo shoot is done (you are going to love the picture!) , the cards are being printed, and now I just have to teach the girls how to address envelopes, right?

If you would like to receive a Christmas card from us, please email your name and address to klcg@comcast.net.

Thanks For The Help, Hun!

Since most everyone thinks that the girls pose so perfectly for pictures, I thought I would let you know that it isn't always the case.





Some days they are more than willing to cooperated and things go quickly, with beautiful results.





Other days, not so much. The moodiness of females, I guess.





While trying to shoot the Thanksgiving portrait recently, we were definitely having an 'off' day. The girls wouldn't sit still, Stormie steadfastly refused to put her ears up, etc., etc., etc. I was getting frustrated, so we quit. The girls pick up on my mood very quickly, so I always quit before I get angry and make the whole experience unpleasant. The key to good pictures is to make it fun, fun, fun. And be willing to stop when it isn't going well.





We had a few pictures and Shawn decided to get a little creative with the Photoshop elements.





And this is what happens when your husbands helps edit photos for you:





This picture just cracks me up! While they look a little freaky, it is also pretty hysterical.

Thanks for the help, hun!

Happy Thanksgiving

There are many holidays that come our way each year, some big, some small. Thanksgiving is one of those big family gatherings that invoke scenes from Norman Rockwell paintings. Yummy smells start coming from the kitchen for several days as cooks scurry around, preparing masterpieces that are shared only on this most special day.

The day is set aside as one to give thanks for our many blessings, our families, our freedom, our country and to honor those brave men and women who traveled to this strange land to set up a new world where we could have all these things.

And to eat lots of food.

At least that is how the menfolk in our family look at it.

We hope that everyone has a great Thanksgiving, spent with those you love - both the two-footed and four-footed variety. The girls will be helping me (they call it helping, I call it hovering around my feet) as I prepare the dinner for our family.

Christopher is cooking a turkey in the Traeger grill this year. He's getting pretty good at producing yummy meals with that thing.

However, just to be on the safe side....I am doing a back up turkey in the oven.

Call me unbelieving, call me nonsupporting. Or, if the Traeger turkey doesn't turn out so well, you can call me brilliant. Either way, we will have turkey.

Perhaps LOTS of it.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

Shimmer Shows Them How to Do It Right

After having watched both Stormie and Breezy's crazy antics in the snow boots, Shimmer decided to show us all how a pro does it.

Other than losing one that I obviously didn't tighten enough, she walked around pretty good in them.

It's always the quiet ones that come along and blow you away.

Keeping Your Dog Safe at Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is just around the corner. As we gather with family and friends, there are a few safety measures to remember for our furry friends.

The following recommendations come from DogChannel.com:

Keep Dogs Safe on Thanksgiving

Avoid an unplanned trip to the veterinarian over the holiday weekend by taking a few precautionary measures.

As many celebrate a long holiday weekend with turkeys roasting and friends and family visiting, holiday dangers lurk for dogs. To ensure it’s a safe and happy Thanksgiving for all, pet owners should take a few extra precautions on behalf of their dogs.

**Avoid feeding dogs table scraps. Sudden diet changes can cause upset stomachs, and feeding pets greasy foods and sweets can overwhelm their digestive systems causing vomiting and diarrhea. Cooked turkey bones can splinter, and if ingested, can cause serious injury to a pet’s intestinal tract.

**And while baking holiday breads, ensure the dough is kept away from dogs. When dough is ingested the pets’ body heat causes the dough to rise and expand, which can result in abdominal pain, bloat, vomiting, disorientation, and depression, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

**In addition to health risks, extra treats can add unhealthy pounds to a pet’s frame – keep dogs’ nutritional goals in mind to avoid holiday weight gain.

**Inform guests of pet’s house rules. Let visitors know the house rules for feeding dogs table scraps or treats and jumping on furniture in an effort to keep pets safe and on track with their normal routines.

**Take extra precautions with candles. Dogs who bump into furniture or swiftly run past a candle may knock it over and start a house fire. Keep candles in a location where pets cannot get near them.

**Secure trash bins. Pets may try to get into the trash and dig for holiday leftovers. Keep trash lids tightly closed and in locations where they can’t be tipped over.

**Keep tabs on pets’ whereabouts. With holiday visitors coming and going, dogs have ample opportunity to escape through the front door. In the event pets do get out, ensure all their identification tags and vaccinations are up-to-date.

**By implementing a few precautionary measures, Thanksgiving feasts and festivities can continue while emergency veterinary clinic visits are kept at bay.

Breezy's Turn

As if Stormie trying out her snow boots wasn't funny enough, we decided to let Breezy have her turn to try them out.

I have been giving them more practice in wearing them, and they are getting pretty comfortable with them.

Good thing. The weatherman is saying we have a chance of snow this weekend!

Chihuahua Nativity

I sort of have Christmas nativities on the brain these days as I am in charge of a huge Nativity event coming up at our church in a few weeks. We have over 400 nativities on display from all over the world, as well as musical performances and children's activities.

After having seen all the different types of nativities last year, both exquisite and whimsical, I went searching for a few new ones for myself.

I did add to my collection with a few beautiful new nativities. And I also ended up getting a Chihuahua nativity set. Yes, I said Chihuahua nativity.

It is adorable, I really love it. I found it on eBay and the seller has many other breeds, including Pugs, Schnauzer, Shih Tzu, Poodle, , and Dachshund, to name just a few. You can check it out HERE. The really great thing is that for the month of November, you can buy one, get one free! Do I hear Christmas gifts calling...???? Each set is $39.99, plus $14.35 shipping, so to get one for free really makes it quite the bargain.

Now, in case you think this sounds a little sacrilegious, I will say that the Baby Jesus is a child, but all the other characters, such as Wise Men, Shepherds, Mary and Joseph, are Chihuahuas dressed up in biblical clothing.

Our family finds it kind of fun to have such a whimsical nativity among the many elegant, classic ones that we have displayed around the house.

Plus, they are all just used to me being a little cuckoo over my Chihuahuas, right?

Christmas is Coming!!

We were so excited to get our package from Suzanne at Crazy for Collars the other day. We had placed our order for Christmas collars recently and are always so thrilled when they arrive. Her collars are so amazing and are even more stunning in person than in the pictures.

We got the Run, Run Rudolph ones to match the Reindeer tshirt that we have in our shop.

Then we also wanted the Snowflurrries Snowman collar to go with some new dresses that I have for the girls to wear for winter.

We must accessorize properly, right?

But we were super excited to see what else came with the collar order! Suzanne has recently started offering little pocket mirrors that can be personalized with your own picture. She had made us some with each of the girls' picture on it - modeling their Halloween collars, of course!

Aren't they great? And they come in adorable little padded fabric pockets so they don't get scratched while in your purse, etc. These would make fantastic little Christmas gifts!

We are feeling pretty lucky to have such a talented friend as Suzanne.

And now we can't wait for it to be time to start wearing our Christmas outfits.

Stormie's Birthday

Yesterday was Stormie's birthday and we had a little party. She was so excited about everything and such a wiggle bug, that it was hard to get any pictures that weren't blurry! But, here she is, posing on her new Princess blanket next to her gift bags. I think she could smell all the yummies in that big bag and just wanted to dive in.

Sure enough, she was right. That bag had all her favorite treats, especially her CocoTherapy Chips. She wanted to just eat them all right there!

Here is a much better picture of her, acting more polite, showing off all her treats. Personally, I think she is gloating over the fact that she is up on the table (a real no-no under most circumstances) and that her sisters are having to watch from the floor below.

She also received a cute little fleece scarf and some pink snow boots. We ended up without any pictures of her wearing the boots, but we have video of her walking in them - just wait. That will be coming soon!

Now that we are done with all the birthdays, it is time to start working on Christmas!

Happy Birthday Stormie

Today is Stormie's birthday. She is five years old.

Stormie has only been part of our family for three years, but what an impact she has made. She has turned us into unabashed doting, pampering little dog people, through and through!

We love you Stormie, and you will always be the perfect little Diva.

Acorn Danger

Wow, I received this information yesterday from the Dogster website. I was not aware of this danger, and wanted to pass it on to everyone else:

"Dogs have so much fun nosing about in the fallen leaves in autumn. But be watchful if those leaves are from an oak tree. While acorns are part of a healthy diet for pigs, bears and deer, they can cause renal failure in dogs.

Similarly, drinking water in which fallen oak leaves have been soaking can cause renal failure as well. While gastrointestinal trouble is the early warning for dogs and oak tree products, the best practice is to get out and rake it all up if your dog starts to forage like a pig, bear or deer in fall."

We have lots of trees around our house, plus the squirrels are always bringing walnuts, etc. into the yard. I don't know that I have ever seen acorns, but now I know I will need to be even more careful about what the girls are getting into!

Bath Time!!

I know my girls are spoiled. Way more pampered than I am.

I have one bottle of shampoo that I use on my hair every day.

Not the girls.

I decided that today was bath day. So, I go to the bath basket to choose a shampoo.

In reality, this is only a small portion of the shampoos that they have. There are others, but these are the most commonly used ones.

Is this a little exccessive..???

Anyway, it makes for nice smelling aromas coming from the grooming area, that's for sure.

The girls are all bathed and beautiful now. We went with the Nootie, Japanese Cherry Blossom scent this time. LOVE IT!!

Maybe I should go shopping for some new shampoos.....for ME!!!

Now We Have Shimmer and Breezy, Too!

Perhaps you remember me talking about the beautiful ornament we received from the Magic Sleigh, that looked just like Stormie:

I was so pleased with this little cutie, that I worked with the owner and designer of the shop, Pamela, to design two more that look like Shimmer and Breezy.

Working from pictures off my blog, Pamela was able to create these one-of-a-kind custom ornaments for me:

Here is sweet Shimmer.

And spunky little Breezy.

Pamela has many different breeds of dogs, cats, angels, and even dragons available in her Magic Sleigh shop on Etsy. She will also work with pictures to create custom ornaments. She can do different poses, too. The process does take a little bit of time, so if you are interested in ordering any as a gift for Christmas, I would be getting in contact with her right away.

I am gathering quite the collection of Chihuahua ornaments. I am getting pretty excited to put them all on my special tree in my studio this year!

Halloween 2010

The Great Pumpkin visited our house and left lots of goodies for the girls.

We figure he must have thought that the girls looked so cute in their cheerleader costumes from Pure Country Pet Boutique and their Halloween collars from Crazy for Collars, so he left them so many treats and toys.

We don't normally get that many trick or treaters at our house, but this year we had quite a few and even ran out of candy! Fortunately, Hannah had her own stash and donated some for the cause.

The girls didn't really like the constant door bell ringing, so we went downstairs and worked in the studio all evening.

At least I got to enjoy their cuteness!