Movie Project Post #11

It's been a while, but I'm still at it!  Five more down:

The Big Year

Not a fan.  It was just okay.

East of Eden

Good, but of course the book blows it away.  And the movie focuses more on Cal, instead of Adam (as in the book).

Rebel Without a Cause

I just must not be a big James Dean fan, because I didn't understand what all the hype was about this movie.  It was just okay as well.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Excellent.  Paul Newman?  Excellent.  Elizabeth Taylor?  Excellent.  The whole movie takes place over one night.  It's fast paced and very dramatic.  I loved it.

A Streetcar named Desire

Blanche DeBois.  "Stella"!!!!!!!!   Another good one.  Vivien Leigh won an Oscar for this one, which was well deserved.  Marlon Brando was good as well.

My favorites:
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, followed very closely be a Streetcar Named Desire.

14 left!!!

CVS Deals

I promise my blog will not become a couponing blog.  However, I got a few good deals today that I thought I would share.

Now, this trip took hardly no effort whatsoever.  We ran out of milk, and I was driving RIGHT by CVS, so I pulled in.

I always have my coupons with me.  And my iPad.  So I pulled up the CVS ad in my car, spent 30 seconds browsing through it, looked at my little coupon notebook and went inside.

This is what I brought home:

At full price, the items above would have cost $43.54.

After my store card and coupons, I paid $19.41.  Over 50% savings!

All of these items were already on sale at CVS.  That is the only way to coupon.  I paired coupons with the already discounted items and got each item at 50% off (at least).  One Tide and one shampoo will go to my mother-in-law, and the rest I will keep.

Seriously....this trip took maybe 5 minutes of looking through the ad and pulling out my coupons.  AND it was CVS, which I usually avoid.  They can be fussy about their coupons, but today everything went smoothly!

p.s. - I didn't forget my milk.  It was on sale too!

Not-So-Extreme Couponing

A few months ago I started tracking my portion of our household budget.  I’m not talking about bills, I’m talking about money spent on groceries, household items, eating out, etc.

I was appalled about how much we (I) was spending on groceries/pets/household items.  I’ve read these blogs in the past about thrifty moms who spend like $50 a week on groceries for a family of four or five and I was horrified to learn that I was spending wayyyy more than that on our family of two.  Granted, we have five animals that we have to feed and care for also, and their food is included into one lump sum of our ‘food/household/pet’ category of the budget.  But still.  Something had to change.

I started to research couponing.  At first, I was watching Extreme Couponing, but then ruled that out almost immediately for two reasons:

1.  Time

2.  Space 

Some of the people on this show make couponing their full-time job.  They spend anywhere from 35-45 hours EVERY WEEK planning and researching their shopping trips.  Because I already work full-time, I definitely don’t have time for this.  I also don’t have room for a stockpile room.  Now, I totally understand why couponers stockpile.  In the long run, it’s how they can get free groceries most of the time.  But we have no room, and with only two of us, even dry goods would expire before we had a chance to use them.

But I took the basic principles and put them to work on a MUCH smaller scale.

I only buy one Sunday newspaper each week instead of 10.  I only spend 1-2 hours each week (at most) couponing, as opposed to 40.  I only stock up on 2-3 items at a time (if that) instead of 50.

It’s working very well so far, but I’ve had to make a few adjustments.  At first, when I was all excited, I tried to go to Target, Smith’s, Walgreen’s, CVS and Albertson’s all in one day.  While I did save a lot, it was just too hectic and stressful.  Especially Walgreens and CVS.  They are their own little monsters in the coupon world.  Yes, you can save probably the most at these places, but it is also the most confusing with their ECBs, RRs, coupon policies, etc.

So I decided that I will not focus on those spots, although when they do have great sales, I will try to find a coupon to match with it.

I decided to focus on one store:  Target.

Anyone that knows me will not be surprised.  Target is my favorite store.  Not only do I save 5% on EVERYTHING every single time I shop there using my Target Red Card (Debit card), I also have started using their Cartwheel app.  Once you download the app, you browse through the offers, and ‘add’ them to your virtual discount card.  A lot of these are for their store brand items (Market Pantry), but they also have tons of other offers on there.  Most are ‘save 5 – 10%’ off.  When you get to the register, you pull up the app on your phone and the cashier will scan the barcode, and the discount will be removed from your total.

We also get our prescriptions filled each month at Target, and for every 5 prescriptions you fill, they send you a 5% off card everything.

AND, because I try to get EVERYTHING there, each time I check out, the register spits out usually an additional 5-7 Target coupons for me.  Plus, I get them in the mail all the time.

With Target’s policy, you can pair one Target coupon with one Manufacturer coupon.  So if a Target coupon prints out for $1 off Tidy Cats litter (normally $6.99), and I have a manufacturer coupon for $1 off Tidy Cats litter, I can pair those.  Plus, usually Tidy Cats is one of the items discounted within the Cartwheel app (10%), plus my automatic 5% off by using my Target Red Card, plus if I have an additional 5% off prescription card, my once $6.99 cat litter is now…….$3.99!  I save even more if Tidy Cats goes on sale.

 Target also has great gift card deals.  For example, this week they had 'Buy 3 of these select items, get a $10 gift card'.  There were probably 10 items on the list to choose from, including Tide and Bounty.  I bought two Tide detergents ($9.99 each), and one multi-pack of Bounty paper towels ($11.99).  I had two coupons for the Tide (a manufacturer coupon plus a Target coupon), bringing the price of the Tide detergents down to 6.99 each.  I also had $2 off the Bounty, bringing it down to $9.99, plus a 10% off Cartwheel, bringing the Bounty down to $8.99.  And then, I had a $5 gift card to use from a previous purchase.  So when I paid for my items, I paid $17.10 (using my 5% Target Debit Card).  And then I got a $10 gift card back.  So really...I paid $7.10 for a purchase that would have been $32.00 without coupons.

I still look through all store ads though.  Sometimes Smith’s has great ’10 for $10’ sales, which I can use coupons for and get free items.  I was able to stock up on shampoo, deodorant, and body wash for us and my mother-in-law a few weeks ago from one of these sales.  And Walgreens and CVS do have some great deals too.  I got three free items at CVS a couple of weeks ago, and have $5 of CVS bucks to use this week.

It just takes a little planning.  Here are my tips:

*Do the majority of your couponing at one store.  This will save a lot of hassle and headache.  Not to mention time.

*Keep up with it every week.  If you don’t clip and organize your coupons each and every week, you will get backed up and then it will take forever to get caught up.  Have a system, whether that be a binder, folders, envelopes, etc.  I spend usually 1-2 hours on Sundays.

*Try not to be too ‘brand picky’.  The reason I was able to get us free shampoo, deodorant, etc. was because I wasn’t super picky about the brands.  If you are a super brand picky person about everything, then couponing is probably not for you.  Be willing to try new things and new products.  You might be surprised.  Most of the free stuff I got was Secret, Dial and Dove brands (no off brands).  The only coupons you will ever get for ‘off’ brands are ones that print out at the register.  Like when Target spits out coupons at the register for me, they are usually for their ‘Up and Up’ and ‘Market Pantry’ brands.  And I can pair those coupons with the Cartwheel discounts. 

It's worth it for us.  I kind of view it as a game.  I love seeing how much I can save each week!

Random

*I have been a bad blogger lately.  Sorry.  Life is busy!

*I can think of at least 4 movies that are coming out in the next couple of months that I really want to see.  It seems like all the good movies come out this time of year! (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Saving Mr. Banks, Labor Day...and I can't think of the other one)

*I ALWAYS get good parking spots.  I don't know what it is.  Even on Black Friday.  Here's a picture of my latest good spot....Trader Joe's on a busy Friday night.

Right in front.

*I have been loving breakfast foods lately (more than usual).  I made this a couple of weeks ago:

An egg, cheese and veggie quiche.  Yum!

*I didn't make the playoffs this year for Fantasy Football.  My husband did.  I came in 5th place, and only the top 4 go to playoffs.  I told my husband that I think the players in 1st through 5th place this year should get a trophy (in addition to 1st, 2nd, and 3rd).  Ha ha.

*Scrubs is one of my favorite shows.  I love it.  However, it wasn't until recently that I watched the 9th season.  I don't think it should be called the final season though, because in my mind, the 8th season was the 'final' season.  They wrapped everything up in Season 8 with a nice little bow and everything ended up as it should have.  And then, apparently, the writers and producers or whatever thought they would come back for a half a season (9).  So there was 13 episodes, only the regulars weren't so regular.  J.D. and Elliot were only on like 3 or 4 episodes.  And...it was just odd.  Not the same.  And it ended very abruptly.  So, in my head, Season 8 was the final season.  How's that for a long paragraph about Scrubs?

*It was almost 60 degrees here today!  The rest of the week is supposed to be in the high 50s.  I'll take it.

*If you like Olive Garden, please try the mushroom ravioli the next time you go.  I don't like mushrooms even, but this stuff is awesome.  The sauce is amazing!

*My husband was chairman for the first time in French on Saturday.  He did great!  He also has Bible highlights in French on Wednesday.

*And I saved the best for last....nephew #3 kissing nephew #4.  Adorable.

Auntie

I became an Auntie for the 5^th time at 1:11 a.m. this morning.

There is something very special about being an aunt.  I have the privilege of being related to these little (and not so little) people.  I get to watch them grow up, and watch my siblings be amazing parents.

Choosing not to have kids myself adds another element to being an auntie.  I like to think that even though I am so far from them and don’t get to see them often, they know that they always have a place with us.  If they want to come and stay for a few weeks during the summer, they can.  If they want our undivided attention while they are here, they will always have it.  They are, without a doubt, the most important little (and not so little) people in our lives. 

They are all so special.

D (17).  He will be 18 next month (ugh!  I’m getting old).  He has always been mature.  He was 6 going on 12.  And then 12 going on 18.  And now 18 going on….well you get the drift.  Such a cool teenager.  Such a gentleman.

M (12).  I was in the room when he was born.  He always accidentally called me ‘mom’ at least once each time when he would spend the night with me when he was younger “mom…I mean Angie”.  We still have our inside jokes, our Face Time, and our memories.  He is so special.

A (4).  My one and only niece.  She is so very special and girly and she has long curly hair and I love her to pieces.  I am so glad I got a niece.  (I’m sorry, but buying little girl stuff is so much more fun than buying little boy stuff).

M (1).  Nephew #3.  He is the exact replica of my brother.  Totally.  Not only in his looks, but his actions as well.  He makes car and truck noises just like my brother did as a child.  He is adorable.  I can’t wait until I can kiss his cheeks again.

A (1 day).  I don’t know much about him yet, other than he is adorable and  looks like my sister-in-law and he has a fantastic older brother and older sister and two amazing cousins.  J  I can’t wait to meet you little man!

Feeling very thankful tonight for healthy and happy kids (that aren’t mine, but I would take any of them in a heartbeat).  J  My heart is full. 

Black Friday

For the past three years, a very good friend of mine and myself have been braving the crowds on Thursday night of Thanksgiving and doing some early Black Friday shopping.  It's become our tradition, and we look forward to it every year.

This year we went to Target, Walmart and Old Navy.

Here's some of the deals I scored:

A king-sized fuzzy blanket from Target's Threshold line for $20.  700 thread count sheets set at Walmart for $25.

$20 off this Sonic Care electric toothbrush.  In pink, nonetheless!

Jeans, shirts, hats, gloves and a spiky necklace at Old Navy.  The entire store was 50% off!!

Classic Monopoly for $5 at Target.

I also got some DVDs, and a year long Xbox live membership for my husband that were both heavily discounted.

But all these deals and sales is not why we go.  We go because it's the one time of year that my friend and I can spend together one-on-one.

We talk for hours.  We laugh.  We talk about life, family, other friends.  We discovered that the Del Taco drive through is open at midnight.  We have SO much fun.  The deals we get are just an 'extra' perk.  We never go for stuff that we absolutely MUST have, which makes the whole ordeal so much more fun.  Anything we find that's great is a just a bonus.

363 days until the next one!!

Better Than the First

No spoilers here...I will just post a few movie stills photo (from IMDB.com).

We caught a matinee of The Hunger Games:  Catching Fire this afternoon.  Now, I've read all three books (about 3 times each), and loved all three books.  I thought they did a really good job with the first Hunger Games movie and I really, really liked it.  However, I LOVED Catching Fire.  I was surprised they didn't split this book into two separate movies (like they are doing with the third book, Mockingjay), because there are two distinct parts of the book and I think they could have made two movies out of it.  But they stuck closer to the book with Catching Fire, which I really liked.

And now, a few stills:

Effie...Effie, who has a heart.

The scene that broke my heart:

Ceasar Flickerman, who is played by Stanley Tucci (who is amazing now matter what role he plays):

And finally, the beautiful Mockingjay:

Go see the movie.  And if you haven't read the books, PLEASE read them.  It's one of the best stories I've read in a long time.  You won't be able to put them down.

Fun

Today was my Friday.  Both my husband and I took the day off tomorrow to have a date day.  It actually started tonight.  I am currently blogging from Applebee's.  We prepaid for a new gaming system that will be released at midnight tonight.  So we went to Best Buy, waited in the prepay line (we were fourth), and then we got to go and pick out our games and accessories, pay for the unit, and now we are killing time waiting to go back and pick up the real deal.  This is big for us, considering we are usually in bed by 9:00 ha ha.

Tomorrow we are sleeping in (until 8 hopefully!), going to breakfast, and then going to see Catching Fire.  Then back home to play games!  It will be a nice day, and our weekend is pretty mellow too.

Happy weekend everyone!!

Apps

I thought it would be fun to do a post on my favorite apps (currently...they tend to change).  I have many apps on my phone and iPad, but I go through them regularly and delete the ones I rarely use.  It's easy to download a free game app thinking it will be great and then you play it once in 6 months.

So, in no particular order, here are my favorite apps:

Instagram (Free) (iPhone)

I was a little late on the Instagram bandwagon, but now I find myself using it and checking it way more than Facebook.  I've been able to reconnect with my cousins in Missouri and see pictures of their lovely children (who are getting so big!), and keep in touch with all my friends back in Nebraska.  I love that there is no drama (just pictures!), no advertising, and it is way easy to use.

Candy Crush Saga (Free)  (iPad)

I'm not as addicted as some, however it is definitely my 'go-to' game when I'm caught up on all my other ones (Words With Friends, Scramble With Friends, Hanging, Matching and Gems).  I'm currently stuck on Level 141.

Google Translate (Free) (iPad)

A lifesaver when trying to figure out a pronunciation in French.

Yahoo Fantasy Football (Free) (iPhone)

This one will drop off my list in a few weeks when fantasy football season is over, but for now it's great!  I can make changes to my lineup from my phone anywhere.

Shazam (Free) (iPhone)

This one is recent find and it is so fun and kind of amazing.  Have you ever been in the car and listening to a new song that you decide you love but the DJ doesn't come on until like 4 songs later when you're already inside, etc. and you have no clue who sings it?  Enter Shazam.  All you do is press the button on Shazam while the song is playing and Shazam will tell you in about 2 seconds the title and the singer of the song.  This also works on television shows, which is where I expect to use it the most.  Parenthood is one of my favorite shows and it has the BEST music...at least 5 or 6 songs in each episode.  Now I don't have to Google each song and try to remember some of the lyrics.  I can just Shazam it!!

Notability ($2.99) (iPad)

I've saved the best for last.  This is my new favorite and I'm kind of obsessed with it.  I use my iPad a LOT at the meetings.  It is so helpful to have it so that I don't have to haul around 6-7 books (both French and English).  So usually I'll use one paper copy (English), and then load up my French publications on my iPad.  However, I like to underline, highlight and even write comments while I'm studying.  And while you can highlight and underline on PDF and ePub versions, you can't write or make visible notes easily.

Enter...Notability!  Since I purchased the app, each time I download a new publication, it asks me if I want to open it in iBooks or Notability.  If I download it to Notability, I have the ability to underline, highlight, scribble, erase, type, anything.  And then I can save it, email it to myself, or just keep it within the Notability app.  I love it!  I can also create blank notes.  But I bought it mostly for the function of marking up PDF files.

It's fun to draw on it too.  My mother-in-law wrote this last night (good evening) and then I had to add a rainbow.

I need to get a stylus though...my finger writing and drawing needs some work!

So there you have it...a few of my favorite apps that make my life a little easier and fun!

Entertainment

Just to warn you, I'm going to start rambling on again about movies and television.  I swear this is not an entertainment blog, regardless of the title of this post.

I feel the need to emphasize once again that I do not watch TV and movies all the time.  I maybe watch one hour a day of TV during the week.  A little more on the weekends.  We are busy and don't have tons of time.  I have been known to pop in a movie or series in my portable dvd player and have it playing on the kitchen counter while I'm making dinner.  Or folding laundry.  I have to multi-task.  

So even though I am not spending 24/7 in front of the screen, I still add to my collection.  I think it started when I was living in my first apartment and had no money, no cable, and no internet.  But what did I have?  I had a tv and DVD player.  That was my entertainment.  Movies and TV series that I already owned.

So, when I realized that I got 3 paychecks this month, I set aside $100 for myself to spend at Amazon and Target to splurge a little.  My bounty came today!

Never Been Kissed - on sale for $4.75 on blu ray at Target.  I couldn't pass it up!

Parks and Rec, Season One - this is becoming my new favorite comedy series, so I decided to slowly buy them on DVD.  SUCH a funny show!

How to Make an American Quilt - an oldie, but goodie.

That Thing You Do - Another great one!  And who doesn't love Tom Hanks?

Mad Men, Season 6 - I got sucked in after the first season.  (sigh)

The Young Riders, Season 2 - My favorite series as a 12-13 year old.  They released season 1 a few years ago, then season 3 a few months ago, and then season 2.  So, a little out of order, but my series is complete now!

So maybe this weekend I'll have some time to watch some of them - after work on Friday, dinner with friends Friday night, French service Saturday, French Bible reading class, then meeting.  Hmm.  I better fire up the portable DVD player!

(p.s. - all of the above came in well under $100, thanks to my free shipping on Amazon and sales at Target!)

Productive

There are very few weekends where everything just comes together, and it's a nice mix of relaxing and being productive.

This weekend was the exception!  I absolutely love weekends like this.

Here's a rundown of a few of things we accomplished (both productive and relaxing):

*Held a successful garage sale at my mother-in-law's.  We got rid of a TON of stuff and she made a nice amount of money.  It exceeded our expectations for sure.  And the only advertising I did was on Craigslist and I put out two signs.  That's it!  Oh, and all of the big stuff went (the king sized mattress, the old tv, etc.).  It was a beautiful day also.

*Took one carload full of 'leftovers' from the garage sale to the Goodwill.  Everything that didn't sell (which wasn't much) went to Goodwill.  None of it was brought back into the house!

*We were home by 1:00 p.m.  Which I think is amazing personally.  We had a few early birds that arrived before our 8:00 a.m. start time and that helped.  They bought a ton!  We called it at about 12:30, when we hadn't seen anyone for 45 minutes or so.

*We watched the exciting Husker game.  It was great!  Wow, the last 11 seconds were amazing.  I re-watched it a few times on espn.com (where it was on the home page and probably still is).

*We watched a couple episodes of Vikings.  We basically just laid around after the garage sale.  So lots of TV was watched.

*I blogged.

*I picked up a couple of new Fantasy Football players, one of whom got me almost 20 points today!  (Keenan Allen - San Diego Chargers)

And today:

*Almost ALL of the laundry is done, folded, ironed, and put away.  This is huge, because our laundry has been neglected for over a week because of garage sale planning.

*Lots of football was watched.  I am going to win this week.  I am currently 4 points ahead of my opponent.  He has one player going tonight, and that player is projected to get 5 points.  Granted, he could get way more than that...but I doubt it.  And I have two of my stars playing tomorrow night still:  Aaron Rodgers and Brandon Marshall.  So a win is pretty much for certain.  All of my players came through for me this week, especially Allen and Gronkowski.

*I've set out my work clothes for tomorrow already.

I wish every weekend could be like this.  Well, I wouldn't want to have a garage sale every weekend.  But it felt SO GOOD to unload all of that stuff and have it out of the way.   But we still did plenty of relaxing, which was wonderful.  The extra hour helped also.

And finally, here are two pictures that have nothing to do with this post, but they are the only two pictures I took this weekend:

Max and Howie, during the Husker game (Max was into the game as well):

And Masi, our 17 year old Siamese kitty:

Movie Project Post #10

3 more down:

The Producers

Hmm.  I like Matthew Broderick.  But I am a little ashamed to admit that I found this movie funny.  If you've seen it, you'll know what I'm talking about.

One Day

I really liked this one.  Anne Hathaway totally passes as a British writer.  The movie focuses on July 15th (One Day...get it?) each year over a span of like 15 years.  Great concept.  And you would think it would be choppy, but flowed really well.

An American in Paris

Another good one about three starving artists in Paris who are all friends, and two of them happen to fall in love with the same women.  There's lots of familiar songs in this movie and of course some amazing Paris scenes.

My favorite of the bunch:  One Day

Next Up:

The Big Year

Emma (BBC version)

The Illusionist

Hart of Dixie

I'm a big fan of Netflix streaming, and honestly it's where I watch most of my TV and movies.

Recently, I discovered Hart of Dixie.

Here's the blurb from IMDB:

"New Yorker and new doctor Zoe Hart accepts an offer from a stranger, Dr. Harley Wilkes, to work in his medical practice in Bluebell, Alabama.  She arrives to find he has died and left half of the practice to her in his will."

Currently on Netflix there are two seasons.  The third season is now playing on the CW I believe.  I've watched the first two seasons, and the best way I can describe it is Gilmore Girls meets Sweet Home Alabama meets Doc Hollywood.

The setting is the fictional gulf coast town of Bluebell, Alabama.  It is a charming, VERY Southern town.  I've never lived in the south, so I'm not sure how much of it is accurate.  Like....do they really have social groups like 'The Belles'?  Do they really sound like that?  Do they really bake a pie every time someone has a bad day?  Do they really have names like Lemon, Magnolia, and Cricket?

Either way, it's a cute show.  Sometimes the dialogue is cheesy.  But sometimes it is hilarious.  The town reminds me a lot of Stars Hollow, the town of the Gilmore Girls.  In fact, I've read that they used some of the same set (including the gazebo in the town square).  There are eccentric characters, townspeople, 'villains', and the mayor's (the black guy in the picture below) pet alligator named Burt Reynolds.

I am liking this show.  I am glad there is a third season, because things were left kind of up in the air at the end of season 2.

Here's the 'main' cast:

Yes, that is the guy from Friday Night Lights.  And yes, that is Nurse Betty from Pearl Harbor (who happens to be from Omaha, NE).  She plays the character that you hate at first, but eventually learn to love.

So if you have Netflix and are looking for a lighthearted (kind of) series to get in to, give Hart of Dixie a try.  There's something for everyone!  (oh, and if you like country music, which I don't, you will be thrilled...it is full of it!)

Life

(our pretty tree out front)

Life got really busy since the last time I posted, which really wasn't all that long ago.

I've been helping my mother-in-law prepare for an upcoming garage sale.  It will be a decent sized one for sure.  We've been going through her garage, closets, etc.  which is right up my alley!  I love purging and organizing.  She is ready to downsize, so she's all over it and ready and willing to let stuff go.

We've had a sick kitty too...we spent some time at the emergency vet yesterday.  She's feeling better though.  It had been at least 8 months since we had to take her in, so she was due (she's 17).

I've been working on my French talk...I'm almost done with it.  It actually wasn't that hard.  I will talk slow, so honestly there's just not much to it.  I want people to understand me.  If French speakers go slow, I can understand about 90% of what they're saying.  So I want to be understood.  Its an easy subject too so that helps as well.  I'm actually kind of excited about it!

And just...life.  Work, service, meetings, French, studying, garage sales, taking care of our animals, mountains of laundry, date nights, grocery shopping, the list goes on and on.  But you all know.  Life is crazy sometimes, that's just how it is!  Things should calm down a bit after next weekend though I hope.

And here's a random picture of roses I clipped yesterday (it's still beautiful here!):

Movie Project Post #9

3 more:

Taken 2

Good....but not as good as the first one.

Puss in Boots

Ha ha...this was funnier than I thought it would be.  I remember when it first came out I thought 'there's no way they can make an entire movie on this character from Shrek'.  I was wrong.

The Bucket List

A good movie.  I love Jack Nicholson (I like him much better than Morgan Freeman), so of course I enjoyed this movie.  It was nice to 'travel' with them all over the world.

Next up:

The Producers

One Day

An American in Paris

And a recap:

Movies watched:  30

Movies left:  22

Good vs. Evil

I post lots of pictures on Instagram and Facebook of our dogs.

Including this recent one:

Awwwww…..isn’t she cute?  All cozy and cuddly and snuggly?

I took this series of pictures a few nights ago:

We were sitting at the dining room table and my husband was holding her.  We wrapped her up in a fleece blanket because it’s just easier to hold her that way.  And then he started messing with her paws.  Hence, the nasty faces.  He wasn’t hurting her.  She just doesn’t like to be messed with, especially when she’s comfortable.  When she’s all cozy and you try to pet her, she’ll likely show you her teeth.  Lovely.  She also looks very fat in these pictures, but she’s not.  She was propped up with her harness on, thus creating a double chin.

As evil as she looks in these pictures, she really is a sweet dog.  If you come through our front door she will wag her tail excitedly and want you to pick her up immediately so she can give you kisses and become your best friend.  She is a very cuddly dog and she really does love everyone.

Just don’t mess with her paws.