Deep Thoughts...sleep barking

Remember that nap I said I needed after my full day of DIY shopping and eating?  Well, after enjoying some custard, we all headed back to Gammy and Gampy's and I totally zonked out.  My mom was so excited because she has wanted to catch me on video barking in my sleep for 8 years now, and I finally obliged.  Even though it's a bit embarrassing to show my belly jiggle, I told her she could post it.  (It's dark and blurry.  We...well everyone but me...was watching a movie so most of the lights were off.  And mom was nervous about waking me so the angle isn't very good either.)  Make sure you turn up the volume on your speakers because the barks get more quiet as the film goes on.

So, my deep thought has to do with what I was dreaming about...  My mom is always curious what thoughts would cause such a reaction.  What do you guys think?  Could it be that I'm chasing a squirrel...or my Cuz?  Maybe I'm reliving one of my fun adventures?  Or barking at my parents for not giving me enough food?  I'll never tell.

Love,
Payton

PS.  I've got some good news...my ear infection finally disappeared!  No more drops and no more icky, stinky!  Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers!

D.I.Y. pug

I've "hired" dad to insulate and dry wall the garage this fall so it stays nice and toasty when I go there to, um, take care of business this winter.  For some weird reason the cold weather increases the frequency of my PDE related "bathroom" seizures.  To avoid this, mom and dad got me a Porch Potty to use in the garage when it drops below 50 degrees.  Our first order of business was to price-check the material, so a couple of weeks before our Chicago trip, I got to accompany them to Home Depot!

I own this place!

Me and mom doing some shopping.

Me and dad on the way to the dry wall department.
Dad is wearing his Chicago Bears Walter PAYTON t-shirt!

Me and dad pricing the insulation.

I had so much fun!  If I can't be eating or sleeping or playing, then shopping is my next choice.  But I haven't even gotten to the best part of this day...  Everyone was hungry; we were about 20 minutes from home and it was 5 minutes till lunch, but they didn't bring my food.  I know, the nerve!  But they made up for it big time, cause before I knew it, we were in the drive-thru line.  Mom and dad got McCheesy Pounders!  And they gave me some of the meat and cheese to tide me over till we got home!  Can you believe it?!?  Salinger, I finally got one!  Oh, I was in heaven!  I wish there was a picture to remember the occasion by, but mom wasn't about to try and juggle the camera while trying to keep me away from her burger in the car.  I'm not afraid to admit that at the first opportunity I would have snagged that McCheesy Pounder faster than you could say "Super Size me"!  I almost can't stop talking about it, but I better since I've got more to share.

So as if this wasn't a good enough day, after dinner, mom and dad and Gampy and Gammy took me to a yummy frozen custard joint called Bobby's!  And dad let me taste a cashew and then lick from his bowl when he was done!  Again there is no picture for obvious reasons.  But here's a cool picture of me and dad in front of the dessert paradise (that's my Gampy in line wearing the pinkish t-shirt and dark shorts over my dad's right shoulder).

I love doing stuff with mom and dad.  I wish that all places would allow us pugs.  After all, we are almost human (sometimes more so than some people are).  Anyway, all this thought of manual labor has got me tired.  I think I'll take a nap now.  Got to rest up for all that supervising I'll be doing this weekend...

Love,
Payton

PS.  I just have to get this off of my chest...I HATE BLOGGER!  I had this post scheduled for publishing at 7 this morning Central time and it still wasn't showing up in my Reading List on the Dashboard.  For the past month or two the delay has only been an hour or two at most.  I know this has happened to a few of you too, and it sucks!  So frustrating!  I finally gave up waiting and just manually re-published it.  UGH!!  Does anyone know what may be causing this issue?

Dog boutiques in Chicago

I think we came pretty close to hitting all of the dog stores in the Chicago area.  I love to explore these neat shops, and I always hope to come home with a little something.

Here I am at Sam & Willy's.

Mom, what are you going to get me?

I got a monkey balloon animal like the purple elephant my Gammy and Gampy brought back for me from their trip to San Antonio.  Mom and dad gave it to me when we got home from vacation, and I destroyed it in about 10 minutes!  I'll post about that later.

Another good boutique is Barker & Meowsky.  Mom got me something here too, but I'm not sure what.  She'll have to tell you about that at the end of the post.  When I saw these cool bolster beds, I thought of you, Sid!

Here I am at Two-Bostons.  I got some treats here, but again, I haven't seen them yet!  I tell you though, something smelled pretty good in these bins.

Yes, there is still one more place to tell you about!  My new favorite!  Dog-a-holics!  I mean, just look at the bakery case!  And the picture below probably only shows about a forth of it!  Mom and dad got me 4 different kinds of grain-free and yummy yogurt bites.  I ate them immediately so I don't have any pictures, sorry.  Just as well though because they would probably make you drool even more.

Smells pretty good, but I think I can do better...

Now this is the stuff!  Nom, nom, nom...

...nom, nom, nom!  Get out of this bin and into my belly!

Daddy, can I please have one of those peanut butter basted braids?

Mom and dad were shocked at my behavior!  In all the times that I've been into a dog store, not once have I actually, um, "sampled" any of the merchandise.  So you now have some idea on either how hungry I was or how delectable that bone smelled (and tasted).  I know it broke their hearts not to get it for me.  Sucks having weak teeth!  Anyway, the yogurt bites helped to ease my pain...and I know they got me a little something else too that I can't wait to find out about!  And I can't wait to go back and use the awesome 15% off coupon we got...how cool is it that there is a pug on the front!?!

***Christy here.  Payton did get a nice stash of goodies.  Besides the foodables and toys she mentioned we also got her a platypus Skinneeez, real Maine blueberry treats (isn't the packaging a riot?!?), Trail Mix, and two latex Hartz toys.

Ok, back to Payton.***

As you can see, I had a blast on my Chicago vacation, and I can't wait to go back for more adventures...and more yogurt bites at Dog-a-holics...and maybe a few more nibbles of that bone!  After all, we have a coupon!  Heehee!

Love,
Payton

Fun in the Chicago suburbs

My fall Chicago vacation continued in the suburb of Lincolnshire.  The first item on our agenda was a trip to Naperville since Gammy and Gampy had never been there before.

We walked by the river and did some shopping!  I had to wait outside only a couple of times when the shop sold food items, like this olive oil and vinegar store.

But for the most part, I got to go in the stores, like Eddie Bauer and Talbots.  Oh, the ladies in Talbots went gaga over me!  They were so nice that mom just felt compelled to buy something there.  Yes, the sacrifice!

We worked up quite the appetite so we headed over to the extremely dog friendly patio at Quigley's Irish Pug...I mean, Pub.

Of course afterwards we were up for dessert so Gampy ran into Haagen Dazs and mom and dad went to Red Mango.  And just look at the scrumptious cup that mom got...mango yogurt with chopped fresh mango!

Mango is my absolute favorite fruit and mom shared with me!  YUMMY!!

The next day we started out with a good breakfast at Egg Harbor Cafe.  Ok, to be honest, we started off every morning at this place.  We were quite the regulars by the end of our trip. 

I got to nibble on some fruit and each day mom gave me the tiniest piece of bacon...we were on vacation after all!  Even that small bite was heavenly!

We also went to the dog friendly Glenview Farmer's Market.

Come on!  Let's go get some food, people!

There were so many great smells at this market and dad got me my very own sample of peach and cheese from a couple of the vendors!  But my favorite thing was this bucket of sunflowers.  It reminded me of all my cool Sunflower sisters!

After a quick stop back at the hotel to drop off our market purchases, we headed to Lake Forest for lunch at South Gate Cafe.  They had such a pretty patio with these large trees creating such a nice canopy of shade.

After our lunch, we drove around to stare at all the mansions.  Many of the famous folks and sports people live in this suburb, so there were many spectacular homes to fantasize about living in.

Then a quick trip to Long Grove Village.  Gammy wanted to visit a few stores.  I was pretty bummed because last time we visited I got a taste of an apple cider doughnut from the Apple Haus, but since going grain-free, mom said that's off my list now.  So I just waited in the grass for the shopping to be done.

Gammy and Gampy had to head home to go back to work, but me, mom, and dad stayed a bit longer...and that's when we meet Tiffy and her peeps!  Here's a picture of me back at the hotel after leaving Tiffy's football party.

I was just pooped and practically slept the evening away all cuddled up with my bunny rabbit and my squirrely Skinneeez and Cuz not far away.  So, you can imagine how great of a vacation this was...and I haven't even gotten to the best part yet.  I think we managed to visit all of the dog boutiques in Chicago!  I have a new favorite that I'm so excited to tell you all about.  Stay tuned for that next!

Love,
Payton

I'm a Chicago pug!

I love Chicago.  I know I've said it before, but after my recent vacation, I feel the need to say it again.  We traveled north for one of my quarterly check-ups with Dr. Podell and decided to stay longer for some fun family time.  Not only were mom and dad there, but Gammy and Gampy joined us too!

The doc's new office is close to downtown, so we stayed there for the first few days...at the Hotel Monaco.  It's a very nice dog-friendly place that has these ultra cool window benches.

We had a great view of the Trump Tower and the Chicago River.  Dad decided that the bench was a great place for a photo shoot.

 

Our first meal out and about in the city was at an Italian restaurant, 312 Chicago.  I got to eat some eggs and potatoes and bananas...and a small nibble of mom's bacon!  Yep, BACON!!  Needless to say, I'd recommend this place in a heart beat!

On the way back to the hotel, we had to stop by Garrett's Popcorn.  While Gammy was inside, dad snapped this photo of me and Gampy.

A trip to Chicago is not complete without a walk down Michigan Avenue, so since it was so nice out (maybe a tad chilly), we did just that.  Mom took this picture near the Water Tower...we even have an impressionistic Thomas Kinkade painting of this tower in our living room because it's a favorite spot of ours.

Anyway, I should get back to the exciting food stories...  So after a bit of shopping at Nike, Columbia, and Eddie Bauer (Gampy needed some new shoes), we went to a small French market called Pastoral.  I wasn't allowed inside (of course), so I had to wait with dad at one of their patio tables.

Anything can be a bolster, huh Sid?

With wine, cheese, and sausage in tow, we headed to Millennium Park for a nice picnic.  Check out these pictures...

 

Before leaving, we had to get some shots in front of the Bean!  And you won't believe what happened...pay attention to the last photo...

As it turns out, dogs are NOT ALLOWED ANYWHERE in Millennium Park.  Isn't that just crazy?!?  Dogs not allowed in a park?!?  I tried to tell him that I was not a dog, but a pug which means that I'm practically human, but he didn't buy it and kicked us out!  I guess we should feel lucky that they didn't see me during the picnic.  So if you are ever in town and want a picture in front of the Bean, you better be pretty stealthy!  Gammy took this picture of me, mom, and dad just as we were leaving the park.

So, back to the food.  For dinner, we all went to another Italian restaurant called Coco Pazzo Cafe.  Finally a picture with Gammy in it!  See, she was with us!

Remember how I bark at home for food?  Well, I don't usually do it when we go out, but at this place I came pretty close.  But instead of a full bark, I just got huffy.  It's a bit hard to hear me with the city noise, but here's the video anyway.

So the next morning, in between my bloodwork and the actual appointment with Dr. Podell, we went to a Chicago staple for brunch...Ann Sather's! 

Instead of their famous cinnamon rolls, I only got fruit, which normally I'm happy with, but the smell of that cinnamon was just too much for a pug to tolerate.

Gampy, hand's off until I get some food!  Sheesh!

And it seems as though the day just went down hill from there.  Sure, we went to a dog-friendly custard shop called Scooter's (check out the dog bowl in the pic), but did I get any?  NO!

I was just so depressed from the lack of foodage that I got so sleepy.  Mom and Gammy had to run into Target, so I stayed in the car with dad and Gampy.

Yep, pugs can sleep almost anywhere, in any position.  I'm sure I was dreaming about all the food I missed out on, but I had hopes that things would turn around.  There is more vacation to tell you about, so my next post will be all about our time in the suburbs.  Stay tuned!

Love,

Payton

PS.  My ear is not quite as icky and stinky since changing drops, so I have my paws crossed that I'll have this thing beat soon.  Mom and dad sure hope so because since the infection flared up again, they don't think I can hear at all since I'm not responding to my pill alarms any more.  But don't you worry, I'm just pretending so I can get extra treats and have the ultimate excuse not to pay any attention to them if I choose.  Heehee!

PPS.  I almost forgot...my appointment with Dr. Podell went well.  I think even the good doc is amazed with how great I look and feel!  And we just heard back from him on Friday - my bloodwork is fine (well, ok for me anyway) so we don't need to make any medication changes for now.  YEAH!

PPPS.  Thanks to everyone for their care and concern and prayers!

Won't you share, Gammy?

That frozen custard looks so yummy...with strawberries...can't I have just a little lick?

Oh, Gammy, you are the best in the whole wide world!  I'll give you a lick of my food anytime you want it!

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Love,
Payton

Were you ready for some football?

Tiffy and I were!  Yep, that's right!  Miss Tiffy Tippy Toes of It's Tiffy Time invited me (and mom and dad) to her football party on Sunday.

I was in Chicago all last week for one of my routine check-ups and some vacation time with my family (don't worry a couple posts are coming next week as soon as mom can get the pictures organized).  I was super excited to meet my friend in the fur!  As you can see we are in our jerseys ready for football season to start.  Tiffy is a Dallas Cowboy fan, and I am a Chicago Bears fan (of course).  Luckily our teams were not going head-to-head otherwise our relationship might have gotten off to a rocky start.

Tiffy, I hope our teams win!

I can't tell you enough how nice and welcoming Tiffy's family was.  They let me beg for food all day!  Of course because of my dedication to food watch duty, they gave me the nickname of "shark".  Yes, I was circling for unsuspecting prey...and almost snagged pumpkin pie and a sausage.  I will have to improve my skills before my next visit.

Tiffy showed me her beautiful garden, and it was clear how hard she has worked!  I even got to try a couple of her strawberries, and they were just delicious!

After the backyard tour, we went inside because it was getting a bit hot for me.  So we decided to streak naked at halftime!

My mom wants me to say that it was incredibly difficult to get these pictures because we weren't cooperating.  It appeared as if only one of us could sit still or look into the camera at once.  Hey, Tiffy and I were only bonding by giving our parents a hard time.  Heehee! 

Tons of great stuff happened inside too.  Tiffy's daddy gave us some carrots!  And I got to see all the precious keepsakes of Stubby.  He was such a special guy.

AdorableTiffy

And Tiffy is a special gal.  She was so much fun to hang out with.  We have a lot in common.  We both can't see well, but get around fine and use our nose to smell where the food is.  And Tiffy is just so cute and so sweet.  She has a beautiful personality and is so happy to be loved.  She is tiny like my friend Suki, who I was so lucky to meet already.  Tiffy said that she is bigger than Tuni and Tweedles though.  I can't even imagine a pug that small, so I hope one day to meet them in the fur too!

Anyway, I had the best time at the party.  In fact, we all did, so we couldn't leave town without seeing each other one more time.  Tiffy took me out to dinner!  (Our peeps came too.)  How awesome is that!?!

Tiffy is definitely a momma's girl.  I can see why because she is super...and so is Tiffy's daddy!  And I'm not just saying that because they brought a giant bag of carrots to give us at dinner!  They make such a great family, and I was so honored to spend time with them!  Next time we'll have to get more group photos.  After dinner we walked along the store fronts and both of us tried to go in the stores!  Tiffy is a shopper like me.  I think we'll have to do that next time we get to spend some time together, and hopefully it's soon!

Love,
Payton