Come Over to the Hop!

Without actually revealing my age...ahem...I'd love to share a new venture with my readers.

Recently, when corresponding with an online friend, she and I reminisced about how our childhood days were an age of innocence. Maybe ours was the last generation to not have to worry about an armed shooter storming our school, being sued for sticking our tongue out at a class mate, or ever seeing our picture included in an Amber Alert.

We had happy days. Days filled with listening to songs about young love, strolling barefoot down dusty dirt roads, and sharing party line telephones. Sure, we had hard times, but looking back now, those hard times were nothing more than moments of wondering if we'd passed our spelling test, or had enough pennies to make a nickel and buy that fudgesickle for dessert.

Heart filled with nostalgia, I told her, "You know. We should have a blog for folks like us. Folks who remember. Folks who lived those days. Folks who don't want to forget."

So, Bee-Bop & Bobby Sox was conceived.

If you too are a product of those days of the 50's and 60's, why don't you join us? Leave a private message for me at FaceBook, and I'll add your name as a regular contributor.

But come share with us. Make sure this generation doesn't forget our generation.

Come on over to the Hop. :)

Go here.

Book Signing and Dogs!

Recently I held another book signing. For those who've read my "Catch Me If You Can", you know I've dedicated that book to a wonderful woman who works at my local humane society. At an October festival, the society held a booth in hopes of attracting attention to their animals, and with every adoption I gave away a copy of my book (signed by both this woman and myself).

I'm so glad the weather cooperated and we experienced none of Hurricane's Sandy's temperament!

Miss Mae's Table

The Society

Judges for the Pet Parade

A rescue from the Florida race tracks. Her name is Candy. See the 'candy' corn vest? 

Here was the "Rufferee", just in case things got wild and crazy.

Ready to find their furever homes.

I was sorely tempted to take this pint-sized cutie home!

I met so many friendly people, chatted with folks I knew and some I met for the first time. I cuddled animals (one of my first loves), met the newly elected county commissioner (hey, now she knows my name!), and I sold some books!

I love giving back to the society, and I hope to continue to sponsor them in future. 

Announcing the Sweetest Romance Awards Contest!

Do you really know what Sweet Romance is? Do you really write Sweet Romance?

Are you confused, thinking, "Well, it's like clean romance. Right?"

Wrong!

For more information -and to enter the contest (of which I am a judge)- be sure to click the sweet award logo on the right side of my blog.

And feel free to forward the below. We want to get out the news about sweet romance. :)

************PLEASE SHARE THIS INFORMATION**************

******************PERMISSION TO FORWARD********************

Sweetest Romance Awards Contest

If you are a true sweet romance writer, we have the contest for you!

Find out more details at:http://www.dragonflyromance.com/home/sweetest-romance-awards

 

Guidelines:

For published and unpublished authors.

(Published entries must be copyrighted 2010 or later.)

Submit your first 10 pages inside the body of your email. (No attachments.)

Entries must be received by December 15, 2012.

Submit entry to dragonflyromance@hotmail.com.

Please put SWEETEST ROMANCE AWARDS in subject line.

Cost to enter is $10.00 per entry.

Make payment at:  http://www.dragonflyromance.com/home/sweetest-romance-awards

 

Payment must be made through Paypal.

Winners will be announced on Valentine’s Day, February, 2013.

Prizes

First Place: A $25.00 egift card to Barnes and Noble or Amazon, a critique by the acquisitions editor at Sweet Cravings Publishing (a division of Secret Cravings Publishing), a printed award certificate, your choice of two books by published sweet romance authors, social media promotion, and an award button to display on website or blog.

Second Place: A $15.00 egift card to Barnes and Noble or Amazon, a free critique by one of the judges, a printed award certificate, social media promotion, and an award button to display on website or blog.

Third Place: A $10.00 egift card to Barnes and Noble or Amazon, a free critique by one of the judges, a printed award certificate, social media promotion, and an award button to display on website or blog.

October 15th, I'm Visiting Over at Chicki Brown's Blog!

Hi everyone!

Today I'm visiting over at the blog of southern writer, Chicki Brown. I'm discussing my latest SF short story, "Through a Glass Darkly". An excerpt is available for your reading pleasure. :)

Hope you find a moment in your busy day to come over and leave a comment. It will be greatly appreciated!

Chicki Brown.

Now in Print!

Announcing my two short stories now in print!

Both - "Miss Penelope's Letters" and "Through a Glass Darkly" are now available for gift giving, a quick read to slip inside your brown lunch bag at work, or just to display on your coffee table or fireplace mantel.

These also contain larger type for those who may appreciate not squinting while they read.

Hope you enjoy!

A Monday Morning Rant

I hate the internet.

Or maybe it's just the constant "new and improved" junk that sites continually bombard us with.

Case in point:

Years ago when I became a 'bona fide' author (contracted by a traditional publisher), I was informed I needed my very own site, plus there was a lot of hoopla about maintaining a blog.

A 'blog'? The word itself didn't set well with me. It sounded like something I'd use for a substitute expletive. 

Yet, I was willing to give it a go. Upon inquiring, I learned there were two free sources for blogs - WordPress and Google Blogger.

I tried WordPress first, but frankly, I found it very hands-on unfriendly. I ran over to check out Blogger and discovered that hey, I could understand this simple interface!

So there I was blogging along on Blogger. Then when I learned my new site (another freebie, this one from the folks at Free Webs) had its very own blog, I thought, 'Instead of sending readers to two different places, why not combine?'

I did just that and said bye-bye to the Blogger blog.

Fast forward three years to the summer of 2012. Free Webs, changing its name to merely Webs, "improved" their site with a "new sitebuilder".

Ha.

You should've read all the questions and comments flooding their support forum.

And it seemed that with the recent "new" change, they decided I wasn't paying enough for the "privilege" of using their "excellent" services. They downgraded my Premium status (I paid for the domain name through their provider) to plain old "free" - which meant I had lesser storage and lesser bandwidth. I discovered that, as a suddenly "free" member I exceeded my limits and could no longer upload photos. Several of my pages -allowed as a Premium elite- disappeared with this 'new and improved' change of theirs.

I gritted my teeth for a bit, but decided if they wanted to play that game, so be it. I wasn't about to be hijacked into paying for the higher cost of regaining my Premium status.

It was 'adios, Webs'. I knew Blogger was still free, plus they now had up to 20 pages. An author's dream, right?

So I returned to Blogger, worked diligently for about a day to set up my new site. And wonderful! It was still as easy to navigate as I remembered.

But now...(why, oh why, are they doing this?) Blogger is going the route of 'new and improved' interface.

Have you tried it? It's nothing like the old, nothing like the familiar I'm used to, nothing like the easy dashboard I love!

Yesterday, on the 'improved' setting, I tried to upload a photo. Guess what? It wouldn't open up my Pictures folder. Excuse me? How am I supposed to upload a photo if I can't even access the correct folder???

I am bummed, folks, bummed. I returned to Blogger for the simplicity, the ease of what they originally gave us. What idiot in the Google virtual boardroom determined that they needed a 'new and improved' method???



Call me one of those who doesn't 'get with the program', but I'm of the opinion that if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

In only a matter of days the old interface/dashboard will be gone. Disappeared. No longer accessible.

Am I the only one seeing red here?

Clean Giveaway Blog Hop

Hello to all Blog Hoppers!

My Clean Giveaway is easy. All you need to do is to sign up and become a follower of my blog. (Joining by email subscription would be nice as well, but not mandatory.)

The winner receives a free print copy (if in USA) of When the Bough Breaks. (view related page information in tabs above) International winner will receive a compatible download for your eReader. Please leave a comment with your email addy so I'll be able to contact the winner.

Thank you, and thanks for joining the hop!

Doggy Tales -- Meet Disco the Parakeet!

I am thrilled today to present on Doggy Tales an adorable guy that I ran across quite by accident on FaceBook. This is Disco the parakeet. (permission granted to use photos and videos)

Though he's a different color, Disco so reminds me of our very own parakeet, Skipper, that lived with us many years ago. Sadly, video recorders weren't as common then (or as affordable!) and we never had a chance to tape his wonderful personality and unique vocabulary.

(Skipper 1980 - 1992)

Look at this fabulous video of Disco speaking to his Daddy.

Thanks to Disco's human mom for the bio:

 "Disco is a 2-year old parakeet from Rochester, NY. He lives with his family of three people and one very loud miniature schnauzer, Freddie. Disco joined his family at the age of 4 months, and spoke his first phrase -- “pretty bird” -- just three weeks later. Disco now says more than 60 phrases, and not just in English. Disco can quote John F. Kennedy in German, can tell you he loves you in Swedish and plans on learning many more tongues. Besides mimicking human language, Disco enjoys barking, meowing, snoring and beat boxing. Disco leads a very active social life thanks to social networking. He has over 700 followers on Twitter and YouTube and 5,000 fans on Facebook."

Be sure to keep up with Disco on FaceBook and Twitter.

Thank you Disco for visiting Doggy Tales today. 'That's bird to your mother'.

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REMEMBER: Doggy Tales is Reader Contributed. If you have, or have had, a finned, feathered, or furry friend you were fortunate enough to share your life with, we want to hear about it! Leave a comment here with an addy where I can contact you, or click the FaceBook link on the right hand side and PM me. Your article will be featured in a future Monday segment.

'Caption Me This!' Monday

'Caption Me This!'

More caption fun! Can you think of a clever caption of this photo?

Remember, the winner receives an adorable badge to display on their site!

Doggy Tales -- Let's Have Fun!

Doggy Tales - Caption Me This!

I've decided to do things a bit differently regarding Doggy Tales. We've had so much fun before with coming up with crazy, clever, and cute captions, that I'm going to make that a new feature!

Please send along adorable, amusing, or downright bizarre photos that you have of your pet. We'll all add our own thoughts as to what these amazing animals might be trying to say to our unique human species!

The winning caption will be chosen by my most patient hubby, and they'll receive a...*drum roll, please*...caption-winning trophy to be displayed on their site/blog!

How cool is that?

And, oh yes, if anyone has a delightful, heartwarming story to share with our readers, by all means submit it! Those are always welcome!

So, come on. Who's first to caption the photo below?

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REMEMBER: Doggy Tales is Reader Contributed. If you have, or have had, a finned, feathered, or furry friend you were fortunate enough to share your life with, we want to hear about it! Leave a comment here with an addy where I can contact you, or click the FaceBook link on the right hand side and PM me. Your article will be featured in a future Monday segment.

Take a Moment to Laugh

Credit must be given to Tanja Cilia for these hilarious out takes: (I dare you not to laugh out loud to at least one of these headlines)!

Doggy Tales -- The Story of Jack

Thanks to Patricia Yager Delagrange for her contribution!

Our chocolate lab, Annabella, was pregnant and two weeks before she was to give birth I found her hiding on our bed in the dark in the middle of the afternoon.  Something was wrong.  I called the vet who told me to take her temperature.  It was already 105.  She had to have x-rays to see what was going on.

I went to a specialized vet hospital about 40 minutes from home that had fifteen or more veterinarians, one who specialized in pregnant dogs and puppies.  She called me at 11 p.m. that evening and said one of the pups was dead and was poisoning Annabella.  Did I want to pay for exploratory surgery and a c-section, and if so, did I want to save the pups or save Annabella.  My instant answer was save mom and do the best you can with the puppies.

Two hours later Annabella had had a hysterectomy and given birth to five live pups out of eight - all premature, needing to be fed every two hours except during the wee hours of the night when they slept.

So began my (since no one else in the family could figure it out) journey of feeding five hand-size pups every two hours throughout the day. By the time I was finished feeding the five of them, I'd have a half-hour reprieve before I had to start all over again. And so it went for several weeks. I had to weigh them every morning to make sure none was losing weight.

 

Several weeks later and all the pups seemed to be thriving.  Until one of them (they were not named, but each had a different colored string around its neck) started acting funny, lethargic, not eating, one of his eyes started drooping, the top of his head seemed to be expanding and contracting.  This was not good.

Thousands of dollars later - still no diagnosis and my husband was talking about maybe putting him down.

No way.  Until we had a diagnosis, Jack (we’d named him Jack after One-Eyed Jack because of his drooping eye) was staying alive.

Days later, the vet called and said the radiologist had studied this condition in vet school but never seen it manifested in a real dog.  Jack had cranial mandibular osteopathy - a rare condition wherein his jawbone grew a golfball-sized lump under his chin.

Good news - it was a self-limiting condition, not life-threatening, and should stop soon.  Until that time we administered pain meds here at home.

Jack made it through and is a happy puppy STILL at five years old.  And the love of my life.  He weighs 100 pounds and loves to sit in my lap and nibble on my ears.

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REMEMBER: Doggy Tales is Reader Contributed. If you have, or have had, a finned, feathered, or furry friend you were fortunate enough to share your life with, we want to hear about it! Leave a comment here with an addy where I can contact you, or click the FaceBook link on the right hand side and PM me. Your article will be featured in a future Monday segment.

July is Sizzling with Sales of Miss Mae's Books!

Smashwords is having a July hot sizzling sale all month long! What are you gonna do when summer temps soar and it's too blazing hot to partake of any kind of outdoor activities? Find a cool spot, of course, grab a frosty, sweating, tall glass of iced tea -- and read!!!

All my ebooks, Said the Spider to the Fly, See No Evil My Pretty Lady, It's Extraordinary My Dear Winifred, Miss Penelope's Letters, and Through a Glass Darkly are participating in this sale. Just visit my author page here, click on the book(s) you're interested in and enter the code presented on the book page. Easy-peasy! :)

And remember, Catch Me If You Can, and When the Bough Breaks are already on the .99 cent list! Plus, Dove Island and Fated Destiny are given away free at this time!

So what are you waiting on? Make your plans to beat the heat this summer and stock up on these fabulous sales. :)

Your romance and mystery/suspense by Miss Mae is waiting. :)

Doggy Tales? Anyone?

I've heard from so many readers how they enjoy 'Doggy Tales'. It makes me smile to know there are so many like-hearted people who simply can't live without some kind of animals in our lives.

I'm blessed that so many have responded and sent their stories of their furred/finned/feathered friends. These little creatures make them simply glad to open their eyes in the mornings! :)

But, helloooo! I need more stories, please! Have you recently given Fido a bath, and he sprayed you with bubbles? Please tell us! How about the shave that went wrong at the groomers, and Sebastian came home looking like a crazed squirrel? We'd love for you to share the story!!

Remember, just contact me here and I'll give details of where to send the info. Thank you so much, and thanks for being a reader! :)

 

Doggy Tales -- Update on PAC

Update on PAC

Carol Huff was so touched by Cheryl Pierson's sharing of PAC's story that she was good enough to send this update. Thanks to all who opened their heart to this special guy! Read below:

Miss Mae...thank you so very much for your contribution and for sharing my love for this beautiful dog. He never deserved death row because he's such a love-bug...he has a tail wag for everyone and is as gentle as a lamb. Just a precious baby! I am attaching some pictures so you can at least see him outside that dreaded cage they had him stuffed in at the kill shelter.

He's my first pittie, and I am in love with this breed already. He's a gentle giant with a heart of gold. We have some vet bills coming up with him because he came to me with a touch of mange and a kennel cough. But he's worth every bit of it.

Enjoy the pictures (and don't worry about that choke chain you see in the pictures - it only stayed on him for a very short time because he's an extremely strong dog and was about to pull me down!) And thank goodness for Cheryl Pierson - she's responsible for me knowing about this baby.

Take care, and thanks again,
Carol Huff

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REMEMBER: Doggy Tales is Reader Contributed. If you have, or have had, a finned, feathered, or furry friend you were fortunate enough to share your life with, we want to hear about it! Leave a comment here with an addy where I can contact you, or click the FaceBook link on the right hand side and PM me. Your article will be featured in a future Monday segment.

A Dog Named PAC

Thanks to Cheryl Pierson who contributed this story.

Can I tell you a very very happy story? There was a dog named "PAC" who was surrendered to a dog pound in Georgia. They said as his owners dumped him there and walked away, he cried for them to come back so forlornly it was like a child crying for their parent. The owners left anyhow. Because PAC is a pit bull mix, there was not much hope for him to be adopted. He's not a cute puppy any longer. And a lot of people are leery of adopting pit bulls.  But here's his picture at the pound, and I can't imagine that any animal that would cry for a human who cared nothing more for them than to dump them like a piece of trash and walk away could be a BAD DOG. Pac was more human than the owners were! He was scared and  awaiting certain death.

Thank GOD for Facebook. One of my friends shared his picture on her page. There were over 4,000 shares of this picture. I shared the picture when I saw it, and guess what? A miracle happened! A woman I know who has several rescue animals happened to see my share! She lived 4 hours from the shelter, and cared enough to make arrangements to get him home to her house. He came home with her yesterday, and look at what a difference ONE DAY makes, with love in his life! She said he had a terrible case of fleas, and what is either the beginning of mange or where he has scratched himself so hard where the fleas were that he's scratched out some of his hair. This morning, she cooked him a mixture of chicken, vegetables and some rice. She said he looked at her as if he wasn't sure he should eat it, with such a look of pure love on his face, and thankfulness...

I just wanted to share this story of a happy ending for this sweet boy, and to say that there are angels who walk among us---I know one personally! 

NOTE FROM CHERYL: Carol and I met through writing stories for Chicken Soup. She runs a private small shelter out of her home, which was the ONLY reason she was allowed to adopt sweet PAC! I don't know all the rules and regulations, but for some reason, he was adoptable for one day only and it had to be by a shelter. The pound where he was was 4 hours from her house, and she had out of town guests staying with her. She PAID someone $150 to bring him to her so she could get him out of there! When he got to her place, she said he was really in bad shape, with a bad cough that can mean heartworms, or maybe kennel cough--she will have to take him to the vet on Monday, but for now is keeping him quarantined from the other dogs she takes care of. The adoptions papers, transport, and shots at the pound, etc. has already cost her close to $500, and she still has the vet to see on Monday about the cough.

If anyone wishes to contribute to PAC's vet visits/medications, it is deeply appreciated! You can send via PayPal at this email addy: herbiemakow@hotmail.com 

Carol also rescues horses/donkeys/mules, and has several cats there, too, at her place. She is just an all around good person! This past week two of my friends have really gone the extra mile to rescue animals whose pictures I re-shared on Facebook!

If you have any questions about Carol and her shelter, etc. please do not hesitate to ask. Leave a comment here at Doggy Tales, and I will answer. I know people want to help sometimes and don't know where or how--this is a perfect way to do it. 

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REMEMBER: Doggy Tales is Reader Contributed. If you have, or have had, a finned, feathered, or furry friend you were fortunate enough to share your life with, we want to hear about it! Leave a comment here with an addy where I can contact you, or click the FaceBook link on the right hand side and PM me. Your article will be featured in a future Monday segment.

Doggy Tales -- Fawna

Contributed by Shetland Rose

Here it is--time for my Shetland Sheepdog Fawna's 1st birthday. The puppy year has certainly gone by fast. Just yesterday Fawna was a darling, tiny, compact ball of tan-and-white fluff, and now she is an almost grown-up dog.

Recently I snapped some photos of Fawna while she was outside enjoying being with the other dogs in the family (a gentle older Sheltie named Mandy and an active Border Collie named Sheba). It was quite brisk and windy, and being in the far north of the U.S. even by May we don't have leaves on the trees yet. Fawna was dashing around chasing a ball and in the picture doesn't look exactly groomed, but she was happy.

  
Fawna is amazingly smart and intuitive and a quick learner, especially when there is something in it for her. Of course all Shelties are incredibly intelligent, you know. That's just part of being a Sheltie. My Fawna has a wonderful and sweet--while energetic and adventuresome--personality. I am lucky to have such a best friend.

Fawna is also very, very verbal. My husband says she has the mouth of six dogs.

Her most frequent sentences are:
"Give me food."
"Take me out."
"Buy me toys." 

Fawna's hobbies are talking (barking), running down to the pond, sniffing outside, sleeping on the carpeted stairs (where she can maintain her lookout for action on both levels), growling at her plush animals while she is holding them hostage, licking my face, and assaulting the dust mop and broom. Her dislikes are the sound of rattling silverware, waiting endlessly for meals to be presented, and mom going out the door without inviting her to come along.

  
At nightime, even very late, Fawna politely asks to go outside for a potty break (but really the secret reason is to assay the goings on around the perimeter of the house). We live in the country, and in the darkness and under the stars both Fawna and I wear lights illuminating our way. On my forehead I wear a Petzl Tikka Plus2 headlamp and Fawna wears a PupLight Dog Safety Light, both very bright. Our home is set 500 feet back from the road, and our closest neighbor can just barely be seen through the trees. I told the neighbor not to be alarmed if he happens to see two weird lights dancing in the night--it's merely Fawna and I out for a stroll. I have to wonder though if somebody passing in a car talks about the eerie, ghostly orbs that can on occassions be witnessed at night from the road.

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REMEMBER: Doggy Tales is Reader Contributed. If you have, or have had, a finned, feathered, or furry friend you were fortunate enough to share your life with, we want to hear about it! Leave a comment here with an addy where I can contact you, or click the FaceBook link on the right hand side and PM me. Your article will be featured in a future Monday segment.

In Lieu of Doggy Tales...

Doggy Tales returns next Monday with a heartwarming tale of Fawna, a beautiful sheltie. Stay tuned for that, you don't want to miss it!

Today, though, I wanted to mention that I'm participating in the anniversary party hopping over at Coffee Time Romance. I'll be in two places, my own forum, and with my authors of The Sweetest Romance Authors.

The SR Authors will spend Tuesday, the 15th, chatting about our books/contests/prizes. Be sure to come over and meet some fabulous authors, and enter to win fantastic gifts!

Each weekday, starting today, I'll offer a contest for some lucky person to win a FREE download of one of my books. Which will I offer first? Well, you need to come over and find out what it's all about!

See you here!

Doggy Tales -- Bailey

Contributed by Jackie Bouchard

The Perfect Caper

If you’ve ever loved a beagle, you know that the adorable little tri-colored hound is not so much a dog as a nose on four legs. And not just any nose. No, this nose is fine-tuned to the tempting smells of edible items that waft past on the slightest of breezes. The beagle is indeed a hunter – a hunter of elusive snacks.

I think beagles in general, and the four I knew and loved specifically, have a fairly wide definition of what constitutes “edible.” Just run through a list of somewhat questionable delicacies with any handy beagle, and these might be his or her responses: Dead animals? Sure. An entire stick of butter? Of course; how can you even ask that! Cat poop? Yes, please. Bird seed? Yeah, I’m game.

One prime snack-hunter example was my sister’s beagle, Casanova, who could go into an amazing stealth mode whenever unattended food presented itself. One minute, there’s a house full of my siblings, nieces and nephews, clearing the Easter brunch table, bustling to-and-fro from kitchen to dining room; and the next minute there’s a beagle standing in the middle of said table eating a block of cream cheese. How he got up there with all of us around, and without his tags ever jingling once, is one of life’s great mysteries. The story is probably passed to beagle puppies as part of their training and oral history.

Our own beagle, Bailey, was likewise—to put it mildly—a chow hound. (Luckily she was addicted to chasing the laser light, so we’d “buzz” her around the house three times per day every day to help her maintain her girlish figure.) She was known to eat many of the items mentioned above, but by far her favorite thing to eat was people food.

My husband and I got her at just eight weeks old when we were living in Ontario, Canada attending graduate school. I’d had dogs before growing up (including an amazing beagle named Barney) but my husband was new to the whole dog thing. We had grand ideals: at night, she was going to sleep in a crate, not our bed; in the living room, we designated a dog bed as hers, no sofa surfing for our girl; and, finally, she was going to eat dog food, not people food. We did not want to have a beggar on our hands!

Well, after three nights of whining, Bailey was out of the crate and in our bed. (After all, we lived in an apartment building at the time and we were just concerned about the neighbors…). As for the sofa, she claimed that pretty much right away. She was so tiny! So cute! How could you not want her on the sofa and in the bed with you? Still handful-sized, it was only the mornings when we awoke to find her sleeping on one or the other of our heads for warmth that we regretted our decision.

As for the begging… well, let’s just say that this girl honed her craft over a lifetime, but even from a young age she could widen those big brown eyes and look at you just so from under her concerned brow in a way that turned your arm, quite against your will, into a food-dispensing lever. Later in life she added a cheek-sucking-in move that I wish we’d photographed. She could give you a hypnotic “I haven’t eaten in hours, I mean days” look, and the next thing you know you’re handing over the last bite of your ice cream.

Bailey could beg a morsel off the Scroogiest of eaters. She could remember every spot where she’d ever found a random bit of, say, dropped barbecue in the park and drag you to it each time you got within a quarter mile. She could poke the cupboard door with her nose until it opened, revealing the trash and all its glorious tidbits therein. (We had to start tying it shut with a kitchen towel.) Once, she literally took candy from a baby—and it looked just as easy as they always say it is.

But the most memorable food-related thing Bailey ever did happened one day when we were still living in that old student-housing apartment building. My husband’s friend had dropped by unexpectedly. Just as we opened the door to greet him, our neighbor walked out his door. Bailey, who’d never bolted from the apartment before, flew out our door and into the neighbor’s apartment, where his roommate sat on the sofa eating pizza. She leapt up on the sofa next to him, snatched the last piece of pizza off his plate, and raced out to devour her treasure in the hallway! She must have smelled it through the thin walls and plotted her perfect crime. I can just picture her, every time she smelled pizza next door thinking, “If only someone would come to visit at the exact same time that they open their door!” I imagine her waiting. Plotting. Calculating time, distance and speed. Until that one perfect storm of simultaneously opened doors while hot, cheesy pizza waited in the hands of an unsuspecting student.

You never saw a happier dog. Or a more surprised college kid.

Learn more about Jackie and find ways to connect with her at: www.jackiebouchard.com 

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REMEMBER: Doggy Tales is reader contributed. If you have, or have had, a finned, feathered, or furry friend you were fortunate enough to share your life with, we want to hear about it! Leave a comment here with an addy where I can contact you, or click the FaceBook link on the right hand side and PM me. Your article will be featured in a future Monday segment. :) 

Cami Checketts Huge Fitness Giveaway

 

We’re celebrating the release of Cami Checketts’ novel Dead Running

 with a huge fitness giveaway.

Prizes Include:

Experienced and beginner yoga packages from Hugger Mugger

Two MIO Global

Active Watches

Three months online personal training from Fitcore Fitness

Three Lebert

Stretch Straps

Fitness Apparel from Running Chics

One pair of running shoes from Altra Zero Drop

iFrogz

Earbuds and Armbands

Six month adult membership: Smithfield Recreation Center

One month membership: Crossfit UAC

Autographed copy of Dead Running

by Cami Checketts

Win one of these amazing prizes simply by following this blog or liking my Facebook

page and leaving a comment below. Please visit each of our sponsors’ websites to learn more about their products and decide which one you’d like to win. While you’re at their site, like their page or follow their blog to show our gratitude for their donation to this fun blogfest. You can enter on as many different blogs as you like, a list of the participating blogs is featured at the end of this post.

Hugger Mugger Yoga Experienced

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Value: $325.00

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Two MIO Global Active Watches

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MIO is the number one brand in strapless Heart Rate monitoring

with features like calorie management systems, all day steps counting,

distance tracking, and fitness assessment tools.

Three months online fitness training

Value: $150

Fitcore Website

-- Fitcore on Facebook

Three Lebert Stretch Straps

Value: $48.49 each

Lebert Fitness Website

Like Lebert Fitness on Facebook

Flexibility and mobility are two vital components of fitness.

The Lebert Stretch Strap™ is a simple, innovative tool that will

allow you to stretch more comfortably and hold that stretch longer!

Two $50 Gift Certificates to spend on Running Chics fitness apparel.

Running Chics Website

Running Chics on Facebook

Whether you're running a race or just running around town, you should feel comfortable.

And there's no reason you shouldn't look good, too!

We're Running Chics...just like you,

and we know that fashion and performance can go hand-in-hand.

Altra Running Shoes - Value: $109.99

Altra Zero Drop Website

- Altra Running on Facebook

Altra Zero Drop Footwear features the world's first ever line of

fully cushioned Zero Drop™ running shoes

designed to improve form and reduce initial impact.

iFrogz Armbands and Earbuds - Value: $175.00

iFrogz Website

- iFrogz on Facebook

iFrogz is native to Cache Valley and offers awesome

accessories for your iPods, iPhones, and iPads.

Six month adult membership - Value: $157

Smithfield Recreation Website

- Smithfield Rec. on Facebook

One Month Membership - Value: $90.00

Crossfit’s Website

- Crossfit on Facebook

*Available in Cache Valley only

Dead Running

Autographed Copy

Donated by Cami Checketts

Buy Now only $3.99 Kindle

$14.99 Print

Cassidy Christensen is running.

Running from the mercenaries who killed her parents.

Running from a scheming redhead intent on making her life miserable.

Running from painful memories that sabotage her dreams of happiness.

With two very tempting men competing for her attention, she hopes she’ll finally have someone to run to, but can she trust either of them? When secrets from her past threaten her family, Cassidy decides to stop running and fight for her future.

Follow this blog or like my Facebook page and leave a comment below to enter to win one of these great prizes. Please list the top three prizes you're interested in with your comment. An entry will be chosen from each of the participating blogs. Prize winners will be posted be on Cami’s Blog.

Contest closes: May 18, 2012

Open to residents of U.S. and Canada.

Thanks for stopping by!

The blogs involved in this giveaway are some of the top fitness, running, book, and Mom blogs on the internet. Have fun checking out their content and entering the fitness giveaway on each of their sites.

Running Diva Mom

Caution: Redhead Running

The Sassy Pear

The Book Bug

Book Journey

Tall Mom on the Run

I Have Run

Secrets of a Running Mom

Janet Jensen

Cheryls Book Nook

Rachelle Writes

If I Can't Convince You I'll Atleast Confuse You

Just Trying is for Little Girls

Socrates Book Reviews

Diony George

Miss Mae

Lo Johnston Writing

The Balanced Writer

Pams Wild Rose Blog

Tristi Pinkston, LDS Author

Fitness for Mom

Jill Will Run

Good Clean Reads

Jen's Blog of Random Thoughts

Happy, Healthy, Successful

Rachel Ann Nunes

Mom and More

Reading with Monie

Sarah's Blog of Fun

A Book Lover Forever

Always Training Trio

Charity's Writing Journey

Love. Pray. Read.

Just Me and My Running Shoes

Running Rachel

Princess Runs

Larissa Milano Fitness

Raketer Mama
Tall Mom on the Run

Amber Argyle

Hungry Runner Girl

Make it Simple Sister

A Journey in the Shoes of a Foodie, Athlete & Wife