Spring, where did you go?

Last week, I was so caught up with birthday plans that I missed out on acknowledging the first day of spring.  Well, I think that came back to haunt me.  The last few days have been cold again, and rainy.  Yuck.  In fact, since mom had turned off the heat because of the nice weather we had been having, it was only 60 degrees in the house Friday morning.  Brrr!  I headed straight for the vent after mom cranked up the hot air!  Just when I thought it was safe to leave the house without a blanket...

Hopefully the weather people got it right, and today and the rest of the week will be mild and sunny so I can go out to lunch with Gammy!  I'd also like to enjoy the yard like I did on the actual vernal equinox.  What?!?  A pug can't know big words?  I'm smart.

Please come back, Spring!

Love,
Payton

PS.  Two more birthday surprises came in the mail for me over the weekend.  One was a package from the gang at Minnie and Mack's Daily Digest!

Isn't that just the cutest mailer?  And look at all the cool stuff in the package!

Yeah, I was totally getting ready to attack those stuffies!  My man, Mack, gave me the monkey, Minnie picked out the lion, and their foster puggle, Mario, chose the green Holee Cuz.  They all signed a cute card with pugs eating a cupcake, so appropriate!  Oh, but wait, you may have noticed the card on the armrest in the picture above.  That was from DW (Writing Chances), who wrote such a sweet note to me on the inside of that pretty hummingbird card!  Ok, now let's get down to business...

The monkey has a pink shirt that says "Happy Birthday" and he is also wearing a party hat, so he was my first victim...I mean playmate.  Thanks so much to Minnie, Mack, and Mario, and DW too!

Morning warm-up

Almost every day in the winter months, I wake up wanting to go back to bed.  Since mom won't feed me a second breakfast, and I don't drink coffee like some peeps do, I have no choice but to resort to other means to help me say hello to the day.  I start off with a warm air massage and facial.

Now that the days are getting longer, the sun beams that shine through the sidelight windows by the door don't reach the carpet, so mom was nice enough to put a bed down in the foyer for part two of my routine.  Sun bathing, soaking up the vitamin D.

Life is good.  Especially since I'm right in the middle of an awesome adventure that I can't wait to tell you all about next week.  Have a great weekend!

Love,

Payton

Winter Walk 2

Yep, I have a feeling we are going to pay for so many mild days in the middle of what is supposed to be winter.  But I guess that's out of my control so I will keep enjoying them.  You may remember my earlier winter walk.  I was eager to get going.  Well, on the second one a few days later, I was impatiently waiting for mom [again] to lock up and get her butt going!

Once we finally headed out, I decided to take the same route.  I decide these things of course.

Sorry for all of the pictures of my behind, but I was leaving mom in the dust so this is almost the only angle she could get.  Plus, I think she obsesses over my bouncy ears.  At any rate, a girl could really go for a modesty bar, if you know what I mean.  I know Suki's mom knows about such things, MOM!

I stopped at the same corner as last time to check things out.  Someone's got to keep an eye on things in the neighborhood after all.

When we got home, I let my mom know how much I enjoyed the long walk with kisses and tail wags on the couch.

Sometimes you have to give the peeps a bone, you know?  I hope you all get to go for a walk soon.

Love,
Payton

More poses in shadow and light

This is the second post of me posing in the sunbeam that comes through the skinny windows by our front door every winter.  But last time it was a Wordless Wednesday.  Those photos were actually taken around 2006 or 2007 and although it's difficult to see, I am actually missing the hair on the back of my head right between the ears.  On a side note, it took at least a year for that hair to grow back since it was shaved for the MRI and spinal tap procedures when I was diagnosed with PDE.  Anyway, since I love to lay in the sun, I thought I'd give mom an opportunity to update those pictures.

Dad got in on the act too, and took this one of me while I was trying to nap.

He used a special setting in one of his iPhone apps to create the soft yet vibrant quality.  Don't I look like a CGI pug?  Extra cuddly too.

Love,
Payton

Flashback Friday...my first beach trip

I am so tired of this wacky winter...one day it's a chilly 35 degrees Fahrenheit the next it's in the 60's then cold again! So I am trying to concentrate on spring thoughts, hoping that the warmer temps finally win the battle and send winter packing.  On one of my trips to Chicago back in 2007, mom and dad took me to Montrose Dog Beach.  This was way before my swimming escapades last summer, so I wasn't sure what to think about the water.  But I always like exploring new things so I was a good sport.

 

Hope you all have a good and sunny weekend!

Love,
Payton

Winter walk

So like I've been saying, the weather here has been really weird.  I guess if I can go on walks in January, I shouldn't complain too much.  It was so much fun to check out the pee mail left around the block.  I started out on a mission.  My mom likes how my ears bounce.

I had so much energy that we actually went around the long way.  Just when we were rounding the corner to head back home, I spotted something.  Mom didn't see it, but I made her wait around for 5 minutes until I was satisfied.

Ok, now we can go home.

I hope there are more days like this soon!

Love,
Payton

Potty Break

A break from my Porch Potty in the garage, that is.  I don't know about where you live, but here in the St. Louis area, our weather is broken.  The temperatures have been up and down so dramatically that we've had two really bad thunderstorms, one might have even produced a tornado!  Unfortunately, when the days have been warmer, it's either raining or windy and grey, so I haven't been able to take advantage of the mild winter...until finally one day in the first couple weeks of January the sun was out and it was in the 60's [Fahrenheit]!  So I got to take care of business outside instead of using my winter spot in the garage.

I love it outside and just get so restless when I can't patrol my yard and smell all of the interesting things in the neighborhood.  You won't believe it, but it was nice again just recently so mom surprised me with potty breaks outside AND a walk!  I'll post pictures from that later this week.

Love,
Payton

Holiday Rewind...hotel fun in Chicago

After two detours (first Suki, then Sid) on the most fun drive to Chicago ever, we finally made it to our downtown hotel after dark.  The lights are just so sparkling and beautiful around the holidays, and our views were spectacular!

We especially like looking at the Water Tower right on Michigan Ave.  Here's a picture of it at night,

and one of it during the day.

We were lucky to get a corner suite with 3 large windows which meant that the sun's rays were all over the living room most of the day.  I can't help but try to soak 'em up!

Not only did we take full advantage of the large picture windows, but we also decided to test out the room service for breakfast!  YUM!

Every morning we'd get a fruit plate and I'd get to have some too!  I love the blueberries.

Although I am more than happy to admit we did our fair share of eating in the hotel room, I also made sure to spend time with my toys, like the skinneez ostrich that thoughtful Suki got me.

Oh, and you don't think I would forget in a minute that my friend Sid got me a little something, did you?

A brand new pack of potatoes, egg babies, squeaky balls...whatever you call them, they are awesome!

I like to kill the squeaker (that goes without saying) and then walk around with one in my mouth chomping on it.  Until I find another one, then I switch, and repeat.

Thanks for the great gift, Sid!  Oh, and last week I promised to tell you about the present that sweet Hank sent me, so here it is.  Besides a pink t-shirt, a super soft blanket with pups and candy was in the package!

As you can tell, I just love to lay on it, but enough pictures already mom!  You can never have enough cozy, snuggle blankies.  Thanks so much Hank!

There is so much more to share about my time in the city, leading up to New Years, but this post is long enough already.  Tomorrow I'll update you on the main reason for our Chicago trip, my PDE check-up.

Love,
Payton