Happy New Year!

Mom came home from work and immediately put on pajamas. 

That's our night. She's going to make pizza and promised that we'd get the crusts! 

2013 hasn't been the most awesome year, but it hasn't been the worst either. Being sick took up a lot of the year, then the exam process was really rough. In October, mom lost a dear, wonderful friend, too. In the good column, she did pass two exams so those are out of the way. Tallulah seems to be doing well on Prozac and her poop issues are on again, off again which is better than always on. Isabelle is still going strong. Petunia is still her rotten self but healthy. Mom also got a new job which means she comes home at lunch every day to let us out. She likes where she works which is always a wonderful thing. 

We don't do resolutions but we do have goals. Mom wants to improve her financial health and her physical health. That should include more walks for us. We want more treats, more lap time and more trips to the dog park. Isabelle wants a burger every month instead of just on her birthday and Gotcha days. Heck, she'll be 14, she's earned it!

We wish each and everyone of you a safe and peaceful New Year's Eve. It's supposed to be cold here (for us anyway) so maybe the idiots with the fireworks will stay inside. We are going to snore in the new year. 

Here's hoping 2014 brings you health, wealth and happiness!

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you peace, health and joy.

Merry Christmas from the Southern Fried Pugs.

Almost Christmas!

Since we stayed home this year, mom decided to make some goodies for the neighbors. We have a couple of new ones that we need to get to know better. And goodies go a long way to making nice with folks.

Banana nut muffins

Mint chocolate trees

These are kind of a pain to make with several sessions of chilling the dough but they turned out cute and delicious. 

Gingerbread

Can you believe mom's never made gingerbread cookies before? Her lack of icing skill is apparent (she told her coworkers that neighbor kids decorated them), but they are delicious! They even stayed soft. 

She's still baking today and will deliver these yummies later on. 

Our holiday foster pug Cosmo is here. 

Not sure how old he is, but he's pretty active still. He has some skin issues and has to have three baths while he's here! That's a lot of baths. Poor dude. He isn't itchy though so that's a good thing.

He has already made himself at home!

In sad news, mom's VHS tape of White Christmas has passed on. 

She got one more viewing out of it but then the VCR ate it. 

It served well for many, many years. Quite possibly more than 20.

The VCR then proceeded to eat Muppet Christmas Carol so it's probably time to dump that dinosaur. 

Both DVDs have been added to the Amazon wish list for next year. 

We hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas! 

Cautiously optimistic

Well, Tallulah has been on Prozac for about six weeks now, and we think it's working.  We did one month at the lowest dose, then increased to 3/4 of a tablet daily. That seems to work for her. The low dose helped some, but she was still anxious.

How do we know it's working? Well, things that may seem small are really an improvement. Previously, if Isabelle tried to use the potty pad in the kitchen, Tallulah would lunge at her. Two days ago, Tallulah just barked and whined but didn't make a move to go after her. She's a tattletale, but we can live with that.

Tallulah would also go after Isabelle if one of the cats cried. This last time, Tallulah did run toward Isabelle but actually stopped short when mom started yelling her name. Didn't even touch her. That is amazing progress.

Tonight, we are pretty sure it's really working for her. The neighbor kept revving up his motorcycle. Now Petunia and one of the cats jumped every time, but Tallulah didn't. For a dog that jumped every time a car door slammed, that's pretty impressive.

And she can enjoy a bully stick without getting into a brawl.

Now, she'll probably stay on the leash for a while longer until we all feel she's really relaxed. We are taking in a foster pug a few days while his foster family goes out of town on Friday. That will test how well it is working. Taking in the foster isn't the ideal situation, but it has to be done. So on leash, she will stay.

Hope everyone is doing well!

Not much going on here

Mom has been such a slacker! Geez, can't a pug keep up with her blog? 

Anyway, we are sad that we won't be seeing our friends this year. No road trip for us. We haven't been home for Christmas in three years. Gosh, we've only been home for Christmas for two out of our entire six years! Mom is going to put up a little tree in the living room where the cats can't get to it. They like to knock the ornaments off. 

Fortunately, we are not getting the nasty weather that is hitting so many of you! We hit 80 degrees today, breaking a record. We expect rain and cooler temperatures, but no ice or snow! 

Stay safe and warm, friends!