Underwater -- Part II

Happy New Year to everyone!!!!

Now for more pictures from Belize . . .

Um, is that a fish or is that a branch?







Proof that fish are just as curious about humans

Tarpon, tarpon, everywhere





Mr. Tarpon -- up close and personal

Black and yellow? Is that a bumblebee-fish?

A spotted moray eel -- eeek!

This is a HUGE stingray; Mommy says it was at least six feet across

Creepy . . .

The beautiful ocean surrounding Belize

Hey, this is MY blog . . . of course I had to put a picture of ME. Big contrast, no? This is yours truly, traipsing through the snow during the Christmas holidays. Have I mentioned that I hate snow . . .

Mommy and Daddy home!

Hello! Hope everyone had a Happy Holiday! I know I did: my pugsitter took me over to her house and I just about had her whole family feeding me Christmas dinner under the table. My parents came home this morning with lots of hugs and kisses for me, as they should since I was abandoned. I want to thank all you out there who offered to take me in for the holiday . . . I would have gladly gone except with the way the mail is delivered to and from Alaska, it would have been Valentine's Day before I arrived anywhere!

So, Mommy, Daddy and Uncle Kane went to Belize to go scuba diving. Mommy likes to pretend she is an underwater photographer; I'm not sure if taking pics from a Cannon Powershot qualifies, especially since most of her pics are only in various shades of blue . . . But they had a great time and took tons of pictures:

Uncle Kane and Daddy on Half Moon Cay

Watch out! Barracuda!



This is a huge lobster -- at least 2 feet in length

Scorpionfish . . . . this fish certainly looks strange

Queen Angelfish -- looks much better in person than on photos

Sand Dollar -- wonder how much that costs?

This is the "Dora-fish", for all those who saw Finding Nemo

Butterfly fishes -- so delicate and light

This weird-looking fish is a triggerfish

Turtle! Pretty neat but not as cute as pugs.

More pictures to come tomorrow . . .

All Alone Again

My stupid parents have decided to take another trip without me. I knew something was up when they started packing again last night: they were sneaking around and shoving clothes into their bags, trying to be all surreptitious about it, but I caught on! I actually jumped into my Daddy's suitcase and sat on his clothes.

Mommy says they are going for a week to Belize for a live-aboard diving trip. When they told me that, I agreed with them -- I would stay home and guard the house. Diving is totally crazy, I mean you get WET when you go underwater!

So, I want everyone to feel bad for me (even though I will be having a pretty good time with our house/pug sitter) so my parents will be guilted into bringing me a souvenir.

A Visit to NYC Without Me!

So my oh-so-loving parents decided to visit NYC this past weekend and did not bring me, despite my vocal objections. Daddy was worried about the plane ride for me since he thinks I wouldn't fit underneath the seat. Bah humbug! I would have sucked in my gut the whole plane ride if that was what it took to visit my old stomping grounds. One of my Dad's students came to baby-sit me, so it turned out ok. But still, I would have loved to return to the hustle and bustle of the city and to visit my uncle and aunt.

This is my uncle Inu, who is a Shiba Inu (yes, my grandmother is very creative with her names -- NOT!). It is weird that he is my uncle since he is only 6 months older than me. Mommy tells me that he is a spaz. My uncle Kevin thinks the dog has ADD since Inu is always running from one thing to another.

Here is Inu posing for the camera. I think he is quite a photogenic dog, despite not being a pug. We used to get into all sorts of fights when I lived in NYC -- I was always the victor of course. Who can compete against the muscles of a pug?! Notice the little rat in the corner . . .

This is the little white rat (aka chihuahua) that sleeps with Grandma. Mommy doesn't understand why anyone would keep a rat as a pet. Daddy thinks she is cute. All I know is that I like sleeping on her bed (Grandma gets mad at me when I do that because I end up crushing her tiny mattress)

This is my Uncle Kevin cuddling the rat. If I was there, he would be cuddling me!

Favorite Movies- II

In my previous blog (the Favorite Movies one), we tag anyone who wants to play. We know people are busy around the holidays, so if you have time, try it . . .

Tagged by Emmitt

Egads. I was tagged by Emmitt to list my 25 favorite movies. I had to enlist Mommy and Daddy's help for this; Mommy listed 13 and Daddy listed 12.

Mommy's list (in no particular order):
1. The Princess Bride
2. Ladyhawke
3. Star Wars Trilogy (original ones)
4. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
5. The Little Mermaid
6. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
7. Field of Dreams
8. A Room With A View
9. Henvy V (the one with Kenneth Branagh)
10. The Natural
11. Seven
12. Platoon
13. Interview with a Vampire

Daddy's list (also in no particular order):
14. Muriel's Wedding
15. The Big Blue
16. The Matrix (all three episodes)
17. Sixteen Candles
18. Rocky I
19. The Longest Day
20. Animal House
21. Van Wilder
22. Pretty in Pink
23. Love Actually
24. Notting Hill
25. The Shining

Daddy's Hanukah Gifts

I just wanted to show off the Hanukah gifts Mommy and I got Daddy. Mommy paid for them but I pick them out. We got these from Emmitt's Mom's website www.pugnotes.etsy.com. Emmitt's Mom (Melissa) is a great artist and has wonderful pug products on her site. Everyone should go check it out and buy their loved one a pug-related product; we are, after all, the best presents anyone could ask for!

We got Daddy a clipboard and cutting board

This is the cutting board on our counter. It is really awesome and well made. I think a pug should definitely be watching while the food is being prepared!

I am a destroyer

It was super busy in the household this past weekend. Mommy was baking up a storm and Daddy was diving and cleaning gear. That left me by myself most of the time, so I busied myself destroying me some stuffed babies. Now, Mommy can not sew to save her life so every time one of my toys gets de-stuffed, my parents have to throw it out and buy me a new one. I will show you a small sample of my destructive powers:

This is the squirrel toy trying to make its escape

Hee Hee! Caught! Now the destruction begins

This is me with the insides of a stuffed mouse in my jaws

I am salivating at the thought of more mayhem

I am surveying the carnage

Aha -- a new victim. Unfortunately, this hedgehog has been the most resilient. But I do not despair for I know I will be victorious in the end!

The Embarrassment Never Ends

It snowed overnight Saturday, and then it became a little warm so everything turned to slush. Now if there is something I dislike a little bit more than rain or snow, it's slush. When Mommy tried to bring me out yesterday morning, I took one step into the hellish concoction and decided being paw-deep in this cold-wet slurpee mix is not my thing, so I refused to move. Well, Mommy had her revenge by slapping on some red bootie-things and a mauve jacket on me. Now I know I have stated that my parents are not fashion icons, but I find this particular combination a bit . . . nauseating. You would think that multiple hours of watching Project Runway would rub off on Mommy. Obviously, this is not the case.

Here I am with all four paws out, trying to make myself REALLY heavy so Mommy can't pick me up to force me outside where everyone can witness my shame.

Unfortunately, Mommy is much bigger than me so we ended up outside. Surprisingly, the booties did help me paws -- I actually liked having them on (but don't tell my parents that). But that mauve jacket has got to go . . .

The Bling

I just wanted to show off my new bling. My grandmother gave it to me since she knows how much us women love sparkly things.

I know it is a little fuzzy, but it reads Her Highness. Ah, Grandma knows me all too well!

We have returned

Hello All! We are finally back from our little road-trip and I am here to report what a nice and not-so-nice time I had. Background: Mommy had to go back to the little town of Petersburg for work (there are lots of little towns here in Southeast Alaska all on little islands). The planes are less reliable in the winter, so she decided to take the Alaska Marine Highway (aka ferry system) this time. We drove our SUV onboard the ferry Monday morning @ 1am and parked the car. I was about to head up to our cabin when slam! the car door closes on me. I am looking at my parents expectantly, knowing that they must have closed the door accidently; they looked at me sadly and told me that pets had to stay in the cars. What!?! I could not believe my ears! Nor could I believe my eyes when I saw them walk away! Mind you, they did fold down the rear seats so I had plenty of space in the back, and my bed, blanket, stuffed babies, and water bowl were there as well. Still . . . I am a spoiled pug and this is not the treatment a spoiled pug should receive! Oooo, I couldn't wait until my parents came back down so I can give them a piece of my mind!!!!

My parents came down 6 hours later to take me for a walk. Apparently the ferry had a 1-hour stopover in the city of Wrangell. We walked outside and boy was it COLD!

This is Daddy showing how cold it was. The temperature dropped to about 10 degrees.

These are the surrounding mountains of Wrangell @ 7am. Still kinda dark.

This is the town of Wrangell

After I pooped and peed (hard to do in the cold. I think my genitals kind of just shriveled up -- and I am a girl!), we ran back to the ferry. I ended up back in the car (drat!), this time for only three hours though. We arrived in Petersburg and checked into our little inn.

This is me -- in bed -- after a long day of doing nothing except whining in the car. All that whining is tiring!

These are photos of the habor in Petersburg. It is a predominantly fishing community founded by the Norwegians way back when. The winter population is less than 3000 brave souls.

It was 8 degrees outside! BRRRR!

Daddy was impressed by the wood all chopped up and ready to be placed in someone's fireplace

Mommy and I had no idea what this was. Daddy said it was either a wolf or bear trap. Mommy threatened to put me in there if I didn't behave . . . I didn't think that was funny

Here I am, the strong and sturdy Norwegian Alaskan Pug in Petersburg, Alaska

Me and Daddy on our way home. Our ferry is in the back (yup, I got stuck in the car again).

These are the beautiful mountains of Ketchikan! Yay -- we were back home again.

Sleeping In

I think my parents are not in tune with the rest of the world. First of all, I love to sleep in. Okay, I know Mommy and Daddy need to work Monday - Friday so they can earn money to finance my treats and toys and food, so I understand them waking up before the sun rises on those days. But come on . . . it's the weekend for pete's sake! Mommy has to work sometimes on weekends, but that is no excuse for disturbing a pug's sleep with shifting the covers around or light bulbs going off or camera lens' being zoomed in for a closer shot. The rest of the world is asleep . . . why can't Mommy and Daddy?

This is me hoping the lights are just a nightmare of mine

I am realizing that this is no nightmare . . . this is real. It is time to wake up.

Mommy has mean-spiritedly thrown off my covers in an attempt to rouse me from my sweet slumbers. Notice how Daddy is still sleeping? I call this canine-profiling. Why can't I sleep in like Daddy!

Mommy and Daddy tell me that we are taking a road trip tonight, and I get to go! Yay -- I never get to go with them, so this is great news. I was all expected to blog on the road, but Mommy said where we are going they don't have hi-speed internet connections . . . what?!? This place is not sounding so civilized. But we will be back Wednesday (of course we will be back that night! that fierce show, Project Runway, is on), so stay tuned until then . . .

Project Runway--Fierce

So I was downstairs playing with Mommy last night: she was throwing my baby (don't worry Roxy's Mom, it's only a stuffed toy) and I was chasing it. We were having a great time when she looked at her watch and said, "Whoa, Project Runway is on." Then she went upstairs to the TV, turned it on, flipped a few channels, and then sat down to watch for the next two hours. I was like, "huh? what happened to play time?" I went to look for Daddy but he was watching his mixed-martial arts on TV. Now, normally I enjoy watching it with Daddy, but I thought the fighters that night were kind of lame. I went upstairs to stay with Mommy and see what Project Runway was all about.

I must say, I learned all sorts of things that evening. My new favorite word now is fierce. My new favorite phrase, "Girlfriend, that looks fierce on you!" I didn't know that men had better dressing sense than women did (my Daddy is an exception). On one episode, they had the people there create something for Sarah Jessica Parker (Mommy doesn't think she is all that, whatever that means); then on the next one, they had to make an outfit for Tikki Barber. Mommy got all excited because he played for the NY Giants and we used to live in NYC. So they had male models come in -- whew! even I got slightly excited. For humans, they were pretty impressive-looking. Daddy came in and started watching also -- I pointed out that they didn't wear those embarrassing rain boots that Daddy has (Daddy was not amused). Now, can someone explain what the difference is between a straight guy and a homosexual guy . . .?

I like big sticks

I have this thing with sticks. I love to chew on them. It drives Mommy nuts when we are walking -- I will stop on a dime and start gnawing on a shrub or little shoots that are coming up from the ground. And I keep chewing and chewing and chewing. Until Mommy gets inpatient -- then she will snap the branch off. That doesn't faze me as I will keep biting it until Mommy tosses it away. This is one big stick I dragged home with me . . . whew! it was hard work but well worth the effort.

Yummmm. Nice chewing.

I like to think of this as a gigantic toothpick

On a different note, I want to give my Daddy a big hug for staying calm and collected today while he was taking on the Borough officials. There was some legal snafu with his trying to start up his diving business; but he managed to get through it and now he is approved to begin establishing his own little scuba diving emporium. Yay!!