Test Time is Almost Here!

Hiya Eberrybody!

Thank you to all who have been sending Mamma encouraging notes during our absence from the blogosphere. Her big MA exam is almost here--this coming Saturday--and she is stressed out and doing her best to absorb as much information as possible about all the children's lit and crossover books she's been studying this semester.

It will be so great once it's finally over, and a berry busy time for us too. You see, after the exam and graduation, we are moving! Mamma has explained to me that she and the hoo-dad (and me too of course!) are moving from SoCal to Illinois for grad school for him, and even *more* grad school for her! (crazy, huh?) But the bestest part is that we'll be renting our own small house, which means a huge yard space just for me to go crazy playing fetch in! Woohoo! I am so excited about dat :D Once Mamma gets a chance, she'll post pics of the place for ya. But all dis action is gonna keep us pretty busy and tired, so we might still be a little scarce on the blogosphere (apparently there are a lot of things needing to be packed and berry little time to do it in!). But rest assured, we will keep y'all updated as much as we can (I'll make sure of dat!).
cheers-
Lili

An Experiment with Close-ups

Hiya eberrybody!

Mamma is taking a short break from studying to help me do a post. See, I was sleeping peacefully last night, and Mamma noticed that my mouf was open, so she took a picture, which led to many close-up shots that she put together. I think it's kinda neat, and thought I'd share it here, since I haven't updated in so long.

I hope you enjoy da pics. As you may be able to tell--I was sleeping in all of dem except da open-eye shot, which is a crop of a larger image of me after I woke up.

Mamma wishes she could post more often, but as her exam draws nearer and nearer, there is only more stuff for her to do. So this is all for now :) Take care, eberrybody!

Sorry for the Absence

Hi everybody,

Mamma & I are berry sorry that we have been missing from the blogosphere for a while now. Mamma's been under a great amount of stress at school and now she is once again (for the 3rd time this semester!) sick. The hoo-dad has also been sick, and so things have been a tad dull here for me for the last couple of days--though before she got sick mamma was using her breaks from school-work to play fetch with me (which I have much appreciated!). Anyway, if Mamma & I continue to be absent, it's only because she's got a lot on her plate right now, but rest assured that she & I will miss communicating with you guys (and girls!) more often.

luv to all-

Lili

And Now Announcing...(da Da Daa DAA!)

it's official: I'm a Canine Celebrity, courtesy of HappyTailsSpa!
I'm so excited about my first ever award :)

You can check it out here: http://www.happytailsspa.com/s.nl/sc.25/.f

Here is the first photo my mamma submitted of me:

And this is what she said about me for the contest:

"Lili is not your typical canine celebrity. Yes, she is a hound for attention, and yes, she loves dressing up and modeling for the camera, sleeping all day, playing games her way, and parading down the street on walks. Even beyond that, she requires the best—in food, in clothes, in toys, and even in sleeping spots (on a plane trip last year she refused to settle for being kept under the seat in her current carrier and escaped from it—breaking it in the process and demanding to be held on her mamma’s lap for the remainder of the trip…her carrier accommodation on the return flight was much more suited to her preference). But she is also a wonderfully loyal and loveable companion. Incredibly smart, Lili catches on to good behaviors, tricks, and games easily—especially when the right motivation is provided. She is a joyful and healthy example of her breed, and provides her humans with endlessly entertaining antics."

I guess my mamma is pretty proud of me, huh?

Here are some of the other pics mamma took during that photo shoot:

"Curious"

"Pensive"

"Expectant"

"Happy"

(This was also the second pic mamma entered in the contest.)

Mamma is very excited that I won the contest. 'Course, she always knew I was cute (and I don't let her forget it either--it's the best way to score extra treats, right?) Winning the contest doesn't matter that much to me--'cept I am excited about all the special treatment I'm getting as a result :) Teehee, I look so different in all those photos--normally I'm just lying around, sleeping next to (or in!) my mamma's lap. It's a great life!

I'm not the only canine celebrity around though--I consider all my blogger pals celebrities :) Do you have any celeb-worthy photos you can share with me on your blog?

A Lady and An Acrobat

Oh, hai mamma. It's you & dat fwashy ting agin.

What? You want me ta pose for you and my blogger friends?

Fine. *sigh* Here tis my siwen lOOk.

Posing gives mee itchees. *scratch*

Now my tail itches. *scratch bite scratch*

Wait! You weren't suppost to take a pikture of dat! I can't bewieve you're posting dat. *grumble*

Pwease forgive da wierd moment there, peepols. Have your hoo-parents ever caught you in an embawassing moment? (Post pics, please!)

The Bloglish Blog

Okay peeps and peepettes,

This post is not about me. Nope, it's a plug for the hoo-dad. See, Mamma and I are berry proud of the hoo-dad's new blogs. They are very funny, and make us smile. They are not dog-blogs, but each has it's own different theme. Because we like them so much, Mamma and I have decided to post about them here, even though it is slightly off-topic. Anyway, here is an introduction:

The Bloglish Blog is the main site, and it's about, well--everything. Everything the hoo-dad feels like blogging about.

The Bloglish Eleven is a blog about lists--but not just any ordinary lists. No, these lists all have one thing in common: there are ll items on each. To see why, you'll have to check out the first post, which has Eleven Reasons to Make a List Go to Eleven Instead of Ten.

Lastly, there is The Bloglish Dining Guide to Hamville. This is my favorite blog of the hoo-dad's, because it's all about food. Yum! This is a guide to the *very* unique and *very* entertaining restaurants in the town of Hamville. Have you heard of Hamville? I hadn't, until the hoo-dad started telling Mamma and me all about it. Believe you me, there are some pretty interesting restaurants in Hamville, and Dr. Worm (the hoo-dad, in my world) tells ya all about them, and then we (the public) can leave reviews! They are berry dog-friendly in Hamville, so you can go and leave reviews too!

Anyway, I hope my doggy friends (and your respective hoo-parents) will take a little looksie at the hoo-dad's blogs. I'm gonna add them to my sidebar so the links are readily available. Let me know what you think!

cheers,
Lili

Bloopers

Copper asked us to show blooper pics, and boy, I've got a lot of 'em :)

This is me being *fierce* during the Hallmark photo shoot

(actually, I'm in the middle of a yawn ;) )

And this is a really goofy shot of me--it looks like I'm doing a dance, huh?

The camera's flash was too bright and I kept squinting during some photos, so here is an example of that.

Mamma wishes this had turned out more clear--she loves my expression in it.

I kinda look like a sea-sick one-eyed pirate here, doncha think?

Arr, mateys!

Okay, last one is also goofy--I was in the middle of shaking out here.

I hope you've enjoyed looking at my blooper pics. Mamma & I don't mind the occasional blooper, 'cuz they're usually pretty fun & goofy, and show a different side of my personality. I look forward to seeing more of your blooper pics too!

Happy Hearts Day Everybody!

Will You Be My Valentine?

Another Contest...and you can help!

Hi Everyone!

My mamma has entered me into another contest! This time it's the USA Spay Day online photo contest, and I am hoping you'll check it out and vote for me. You can only vote for one pet once, but you can vote on multiple pets, if that makes sense, so if you're entered in it too, let me know and I'll vote for you as well--we gotta help each other out, right? If the link below doesn't work, just go to www.spaydayusa.org, find the search button, type in my name, Lili, and you should find me that way (so far there are only three Lili's, and the other two are cats, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find me :))

Also, please pass this along to anyone you might think would like to help, I'd really appreciate it!

Here's the link!
http://www.spaydayusa.org/bin/Rate?image_id=1003109775

Thanks very much for your help!

Oh, and as Bob Barker would say, "Please have your pets spayed or neutered!"

I've been tagged! My first one ever :)

Kai, of the Zoo Crew, tagged me to list seven things previously unknown about myself.

1. I really like to bark at all the noises I hear outside, but Mamma & the hoo-dad have been training me not to bark too much because we live in an apartment complex and don't want to annoy the neighbors. But sometimes when I'm sleeping next to my mamma, I have really good dreams where I can bark at whatever I want to--but my barks come out as low woofs & wuffles, so it's okay--plus, Mamma thinks it's cute :)

2. Speaking of noises, I may be a spry young pupper of a year and a half, but I can grump with the best of 'em. If I'm sleeping alongside my mamma and she shifts me around at all, sometimes I will groan and grumble at the treatment (a lot--teehee!). Statler and Waldorf would be proud, dontcha think?

3. I like dressing up and being girly--sometimes I'll run to the special drawer where Mamma keeps the stuff that's only for ME and she'll get out this pretty kerchief with sparkly pink flowers on it that I can wear around the house.

4. I got the kerchief by winning a photo contest held by one of the members of the Dachshund Lovers Club Forum. The contest was for Best Stinkeye. Here is the picture I used:

Betcha didn't think I had that kind of stinkeye in me, huh?

5. Someday, when my mamma & the hoo-dad have more time on their hands, I'd like to get involved in agility or flyball--I'm a very athletic little doggy and I catch onto things pretty quickly, so Mamma & I think it would be very fun activity to do together.

6. I don't eat people food at all. My diet consists strictly of my special food and doggy treats, and Mamma sez it's gonna stay that way. I must not have gotten any peepol food before I came to live wif Mamma and the hoo-dad, either, because I don't show any interest in what they eat, 'cept the occasional sniff in the direction of their plates. Besides, I know very well that the food I get is special for ME--it fulfills all my nutritional needs and is berry berry yummy. AA-aand, this way I get to keep my svelte figure (it's especially important for us dachsies to stay slim and trim, becuz excess weight can endanger our extra-long spines).

7. I didn't burrow under blankets or covers when I first came to live with my mamma & the hoo-dad--I didn't know that it was something that most dachsies love to do (see, it's supposed to be part of the badger-dog instinct). Mamma has been working with me on it, however, and I'm slowly learning the joys of being snuggly warm under the covers :)

I guess I'm supposed to tag other puppers, but I don't know who hasn't done this one. Let's just say, if you read this & want to play along, please do!

I always enjoy da pics of other puppers op'ning pressies dey get from their fur friends, so I thought I'd share some pictures of me opening a pressie I got awhiles ago from a fur-friend on the dachshund board I bisit wif my mamma, The Doxie Lovers Club.

Is dat for moi? Bring it down here so I can see!

Hmmm, dere are some berry intressting smells coming from dis.

Must investigate further...

Dis is pretty...is it sumting to chew?

It tis! It is sumting to chew!

(yarm yarm yarm)

Sumting more I can chew--a flossie!

Here I am demonstrating my favoritest way to yarm a flossie.

Thanks again to Tasha & her mom!

(I'm gonna go chew summore now...)

Btw, thank you eberrybody for 'minding me dat dere is nuffink wrong wif da desire to unstuff da stuffies--you are all right, stuffies were made for da unstuffing, and dey needs our help. So go out now, and unstuff those stuffies with pride! I'll certainly hold no more regrets now!

Playtime!

Hello everybody!

One of my most favoritest things to do in all the world (besides eating, sleeping by Mamma, and trying to lick her face off) is playing with my toyz! I love love love playing fetch and chewing on deserving stuffies, so I thought I'd share a few pics of myself enjoying a few of my favorite things ;)

This is me, waiting oh-so-NOT-patiently, for my mamma to throw my red ball. (Please excuuze how wacky my eyes look in this pic--Mamma tried to fix red-eye but it didn't work very well.)

And here I am at Mamma's feet, trying to hypnotize her into throwing the ball just ONE more time (well, okay, maybe a bajillion more times...I could seriously *never* get tired of this game!)

Here I am gnawing on my green Bobo's ear--I'd like to think that I was just trying to drive in a very important message.

That green bobo--he can be very insolent at times (thus the firm cronch on the nose).

I'll teach you to squeak like that to ME, green Bobo!

Well, actually, I really like how he squeaks--that's the real reason why I cronch on him like so...I'm addicted, I tell ya, but there's no Stuffie-Unstuffers Anonymous, ya know what I mean?

Lili the Canine Celebrity

Hello everybody! I know it has been too long (way too long) since my blog has been updated--but my mamma was super busy with graduate school work and hasn't been able to help me post anything until now.

Anyway, Mamma had a very good reason to help me with this post--I am a canine celebrity! Or, at least, I am a candidate to be one :) You see, Mamma heard about this contest that the Happy Tails Dog Spa was holding to pick canine celebrities this year before the Oscars, and Mamma decided to enter me in the competion. Here is the main photo they're using:

Mamma had to write a bit on why she thinks I'm a celebrity, and here is what she said:

"Lili is not your typical canine celebrity. Yes, she is a hound for attention, and yes, she loves dressing up and modeling for the camera, sleeping all day, playing games her way, and parading down the street on walks. Even beyond that, she requires the best—in food, in clothes, in toys, and even in sleeping spots (on a plane trip last year she refused to settle for being kept under the seat in her current carrier and escaped from it—breaking it in the process and demanding to be held on her mamma’s lap for the remainder of the trip…her carrier accommodation on the return flight was much more suited to her preference). But she is also a wonderfully loyal and loveable companion. Incredibly smart, Lili catches on to good behaviors, tricks, and games easily—especially when the right motivation is provided. She is a joyful and healthy example of her breed, and provides her humans with endlessly entertaining antics."

Here is the pic that goes with my bio:

Wish me luck in the competition! If you want to go to the website and check out the other cool doggie entries (or even enter yourself in the competition) go here!

Someone's bert-day

It's my Mamma's bert-day!

Happy bert-day, Mamma!



Love-
Lili (and hoo-dad)

Comfurtabules, and Not So Comfurtabules

Sorry I haven't posted in awhile, folks. Mamma--da hooman who helps me with dese things, has been really busy with her schoolwork.

Anyhoo, here's a picture diary of something that happened to me today:

Ahh, this is the life. Living it up behind the hoo-dad while he works at his desk.

Sooo comfurtabules

Uhh. Hoo-dad? Why'd ya move forward like dat? Now I've fallen.





And I can't get up. I'm stuck.

Mamma? Why don't you stop taking those pictures and help me outta here :P

Sunny, Smoky and Fire-y San Diego

Hullo everydoggie--

I haven't been doing anyting inneresting this week, but Mamma seyz that dere's lots goin' on outside in the county right now. We are in a safe part of the county, but there are many other doggies, animals, and peepols who have had to leave their homes becuz of the many scarry fires going on in their areas. These peepols--called evak-yoo-eez-- are numbering more than half a million right now. Many of them have lost their homes, and many don't know how their homes are right now. Other peepols are doing their best to help all the evak-yoo-eez.

Mamma and the hoo-dad have been watching the news a lot lately--they've both been home all day because their schools have cancelled classes for the week. It's nice having the hoo-mans home, but we can't go out and do anything fun, because the air out there is all smoky and sooty and unhealthy for our lungs. They're saying on the news that this is the worst firestorm in San Diego history. It's been difficult for them to try to control the fires becuz of the really bad winds right now.

If you would like to learn more about the situation you can go to
NBC San Diego News

Please keep SoCal residents in your thoughts and prayers.

My Mamma's Father

My mamma told me today about her father. He was the person who helped her become the dog lover that she is today. Mamma said that it has been six years today since he passed away peacefully at a hospice center in Phoenix, Az. He'd had a long and complicated battle with kidney cancer and had gone into a coma after a bad fall in early October of 2001. He was a wonderful and vibrant person, and she still misses him very much. It's amazing knowing how much life can change in six years...he'd never gotten the chance to meet my hoo-dad or me.






Mamma says that it was her Dad who brought Gabby, my sister-at-heart dachsie who lives with Gramma, into the family back in mamma's fourth grade year, and it was Gabby who provided a constant comfort to my dad when he could no longer continue his handyman business. His love for dachshunds inspired Mamma's love, which is why she now has me.

Rest in Peace, dear Grampa.

When I Met my Mamma

These are some pictures of me when my Mamma first came to meet me. I looked so young then! It's hard to believe I was ever so small and innocent *tosses ears back and forth*.

Hiya everydoggie!

Here is an abridged account of post I made on my favoritest dachshund forum a couple days after Mamma brought me home. I thought I'd share it with you doggies:

"Mamma was advised to take me on longer walkies, so today we went to the dog park! It maybe wasn't the best decision she's made yet--it was rather hot out! I forgive her, though, b/c we had fun, and I know she's still learnin'. It was a berry long walk for a li'l doggie like me...about half an hour there, by Mamma's reck'ning. Mamma overestimated how far away the park really was...silly mamma. We saw lots of new houses on the way, and crossed some scawy streets full of those big metal houses on wheels--but I stayed real close to Mamma, cuz she knew exactly when to cross at a safe time! Mama even complemented me b/cuz I was walkin so well, at which I was like--well, of course I know how to walk well! We met new peepol too--some of them I liked better than others--I barked Stay Away at some I didn't like, and Hullo at others.

When we got to the park, a bunch of ladies really admired my pretty coat, but we didn't stay long too long b/c I was thirsty & mamma knew there was water at the doggie part of the park. The park was okay, I guess. Once inside, this white fluff of a guy kept coming to say hello, but I could tell that he wanted to do more than say hi, and I wasn't going to hab any of dat! I was bery tired from all da walkies, and didn't want to explore the park off leash. I just stuck near Mamma. She shared water out of her bottle wif me from her hand, which was bery nice of her, since I didn't wanna drink from da fountain since a big dog was near dere.

We sat on a bench in the shade of a bery nice tree. It was nice dere--she was petting me and letting me sit wif her while I cooled off. She tried to get me to play wif a new ball, but I wasn't innerested den.

Da walkies back were hot, goin into the sun, but didn't seem as long b/cuz I was now familiar wif da territory. The familiarity made me a lil cocky, I admit--I tried to take over our walk, which Mamma didn like. She just didn realize dat I was just excited 'bout knowin da way home! At home, Mamma didn't unnerstand why I wanted to play wif my ball--she thought I ought to have been tired, lik I wuz at the park after the first half of the walk. Silly Mamma--I'll neber be too tired to play fetch! Lader, when the hoo-dad came home, he played ball wif me. It was a great day!"

Teehee! I wasn't as good at spelling bak then as I am now! (Well, I guess I still need more practise.) More about my new homelife laters!

cheers--
Lili
__________________

Introductions

Hi everydoggie!

So my mamma told me recently about this cool thing called the interweb...or is it internet? I've been checking it out lately and haven't found any spiderwebs or spiders like I expected, but I did just discover Blobs! Wait, I mean Blops. . . .no, that's not it. . . .

*think think think*

. . . . . . .

*think think think*

. . . . . . .

Well I guess it doesn't really matter what they're called, right? All that matters is the fun stuff I've gotten to learn on other dogs' blogs (Oh yeah, that's the right word!). It's so neat getting to read about how dogs live all over this wide world of ours, and I thought it would be fun to share my life here in San Diego.

So, on to the real introduction :)

My full name is Lilian Floyd H-----. (Yeah. . . . the hoo-dad really likes the name Floyd, for some reason. Mamma compromised with this strange whim of his by letting it be my middle name. I don't mind...just as long as they don't call me that in public.) They both just call me Lili, and I like it that way.

Mamma came to visit me when I was living with my foster-mudder over three months ago. You see, I was a rescue dog. This wonderfully nice lady took me in when my original owners didn't want me anymore. I'm actually very happy that I went into rescue though, because if I hadn't I wouldn't have eventually met my bestest Mamma. I wasn't sure about her when we first met, but I attribute that to the obsession I had with this toy hamburger at the time (see, it squeaked when I chomped on it, and that was really fun. . . .*REALLY* fun). I mean, who wants distractions when there's a toy hamburger to chew on? She visited me again a couple weeks later, after she and the hoo-dad had moved into a special apartment just right for me--with a yard and everything (a rare thing for an apartment here in SD). That day she put me in my very own travel crate and brought me on a long car ride to my new home.

Here's a picture of me when I first arrived at my new home:

When we got there, I found out that Mamma was willing to throw my favorite toy for me to fetch, which is my most favoritest game in the whole wide world, and I made her practice with me all night (she needed it). We continued the practice all the next day, and even though I was having the time of my life, it wore out mamma a little. (Okay, a lot. Let's just say that she needed a nap before bedtime and be done with it.)

Here's a pic of me with my favorite fetch toy:

Speaking of bedtime...mine has just arrived. Mamma's saying I need to brush my teeth. (Well, she's gonna brush my teeth--I just lick the yummy toothpaste.) I'll leave this for now--I promise to fill y'all in about the intervening months later :)

cheers--

Lili