Monday, December 31, 2012

A Lot Has Happened In The Past 12 Months

If any one company has their finger on what's happened in the past 12 months, what was popular, what people were interested in, it's Google. Every year around this time they release their "Zeitgeist Year In Review" video.

Here is a look back at 2012:


Celebrate safely tonight friends!

(image via)

Friday, December 21, 2012

One Magic Christmas

I so love this movie. Starring a 4-year-old Sarah Polley in her first movie. It's just so good. And sweet. And nostalgic. And it reminds me of being a kid in the '80s. We had these snowsuits and everybody had a hat with a pom pom on it (they always gave them away at gas stations or Canadian Tire each winter).

Moms wore big boots and puffy ankle-length parkas.

And cars were almost always brown (or beige) and linear and wagon-y. 

Plus, it was filmed in Canada, and not far from where we grew up, so it really looks like home. The city/town in this movie reminds me of exactly how I remember cities and towns as a kid.

Oh, and there's a wonderful Christmas message to the movie, which makes it pretty great too.

Have you seen it? Do you love it too?

If you haven't, check it out. You won't be disappointed.
(images from here and here)

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Waiting for Santa

                                                           (image from here)

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Parking for Reindeer

                                            (image from here)

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Why Giving a Dog as a Christmas Present is a Bad Idea

Dogs are not a gift.

Dogs are a responsibility.

Dogs require commitment, consistent training, a heck of a lot of love and attention, a sense of routine and predictability when it comes to behavioural expectations and consequences, and their own line in the household schedule and grocery list. We do a monthly budget report and Juno has her own line in there as well.

Dogs are costly. They can get sick or injured and medications or surgeries are very expensive.

Dogs need healthy food.

Dogs need plenty of regular exercise.

As puppies, dogs need constant supervision and good training. We felt like we brought home an instant 2-year-old with Juno - she was into everything the night we brought her home. We literally followed her around to start teaching her what was ok for her to play with and what wasn't. The learning curve was a straight line - UP!

We learned on-the-job. When she wasn't crying or whining those first nights, she was making a mess...of the bathroom kind. And there was no diaper, so we became intimately acquainted with fluids and solids wicked fast. We stood out in 3am rainstorms under umbrellas in our pyjamas to teach her to go to the bathroom.

It wasn't a cake walk. It wasn't romantic. It was dirty and it was difficult.

Four and a half years later, it still isn't a cake walk. Juno gets taken into account when we do anything from making weekend plans to travelling to planning for a day outside to planning for a day inside to having furniture delivered or something installed or repaired. Word of advice: try to take care of the dog's feeding and exercise needs and then do what you've got planned. We've learned (especially with a bigger, more active dog) that it's easier to have a calm, needs-met dog underfoot than an overexcited, raring-to-go one while you're trying to get stuff done or have extra people in the house. A tired dog is a happy dog which makes for happy, productive owners and more time for relaxing as a family together later.

So, while a dog is not a good present to give to someone as a surprise when they're not prepared or involved in the decision, Christmas can be a wonderful time of year to add a dog to your family when everyone in your house is on board with the decision and plans to fully commit to raising a healthy, happy dog for, potentially, the next 8-15 years. And everyone may be at home a bit more than usual over the holidays, which can be really helpful too.


Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Many Muzzles Make Light Work



Dogs decorating the Christmas tree!

But, caution: These dogs are professionals! Don't try this at home.

Thursday, December 06, 2012

When, What To My Wondering Eyes Should Appear...

...but a house decorated for Christmas!

We added a little extra festivity upstairs this year - with a skinny tree!

Decorating with 'White Christmas' on in the background - the perfect soundtrack for digging through the boxes!

Our tree all done!

How are you guys doing with your holiday preparations? We still need to shop for and wrap presents. 19 days to go!

Monday, December 03, 2012

eBook coming soon!

Hey guys, our ebook is coming soon! Get your paws on the YouTube book trailer right here:


Stay tuned for the launch on iTunes for iPad and Amazon.com!