I got some serious loots this year for Christmas. Check me out with all my presents on Christmas morning.
OK, so they're not really "all" mine, but it looks impressive, eh? Let's see what I actually got for Christmas.
This is the first present I opened. I could smell that there was something yummy in there, and it took me no time to rip that paper off!
It's a yummy liver-flavored chew! This will last me through next Christmas I'm sure. I don't chew very quickly. I like to savor the flavor!
Here I am with a bag of something.
Let me get my head down in there and see what I've got.
It's homemade treats from a gourmet dog store downtown! Oh yummy! Apple, cheese and chicken! All the major food groups!
I got a lot of great gifts, but this is probably my favorite. It's a Boxer Brownie from Three Dog Bakery in Asheville. Oh, it was so good! Sure, I'm not a Boxer, but I think I enjoyed it even more than a Boxer would have.
I also got this pheasant squeaker toy and an otter squeaker toy (not shown). They're pretty good toys, but Hootie is still my favorite.
My "big" present this year is a new bed! Hooray! I don't have to sleep on that old comforter any more! I have a real bed now. I have had a number of real beds in the past, but I always end up peeing on them and ruining them. Woman says I am NEVER allowed to be alone with this bed, because it costs a lot more than any other bed I have ever had. Whatevah. We'll see how long it lasts.
This is the neat-o nifty bag from Three Dog Bakery. Woman thought you would enjoy the cute holiday doggies on it.
Even the sides have cute animated doggies in festive attire.
I did not get any new clothes this year! Hooray! I hate clothes!
Later this week I'll show you all what the People got for Christmas and I'll show you the sweater Woman made for Baby Sarah.
The good news is that The Gammy has her first ever blog! Her web address is mamarayl.blogspot.com. The not so good news is that the blog is to document her story about her cancer treatments. You see, The Gammy was diagnosed with lymphoma recently, and now she has to have chemotherapy treatments. The lymphoma is very low grade, and the prognosis is quite positive, but chemotherapy is no fun at all. Please stop over at The Gammy's blog and give her some encouragement if you get a chance. Don't be shy now. She's very outgoing and likes to meet new people! She also likes kitties and babies, so if you're a kitty or a baby, you're already in with her. Since most people were once babies, that counts too!
Welcome to the Christmas Home Tour, brought to you by me, Mr. Norman, the Christmas Elf. I hope you enjoy this year's tour. Please keep your hands and tails inside the car at all times.
Let's start with Woman's favorite Christmas decoration. She loves to get the bar all glittered up at Christmas time and would love to find a way to decorate the bar festively throughout the year.
The little candle lights add that extra special touch to the garland. The Edward and Tia people gave us these lights for Christmas one year. Woman really likes them.
The candelabra (which rarely holds candles) gets special decorations too.
Woman loves these stars from Pier 1, and if they didn't cost $6 each, her entire tree would be decorated with them.
They come in silver too!
Pretty impressive, eh? Can you see the excitement on my face? Look closer. Still can't see it. Hmmm ... I can't imagine why.
Next on our stop is the DVD cabinet. That's right - if there's a flat surface in our house, Woman is going to decorate it, and the DVD cabinet is no exception. This year, the DVD cabinet has been dressed with fresh pine from the Christmas tree, brass candlesticks, a white poinsetta and the special snowpug garland made by Punchy! Doesn't the cabinet look festive?
If the DVD cabinet is getting special treatment, the CD cabinet will get jealous, so let's take a look at its decorations this year. The ceramic Christmas tree Woman made her Great-Grandma a long time ago is the main attraction here, but the cute little table fern from Biltmore and the red candles refuse to be overlooked.
The Christmas Cactus sits quietly in the corner, as it finishes up its spectacular blooming season.
What's that noise? Santa? Is that you? Oh, nevermind. It was just a truck outside. Let's get on with the tour.
Here is a nice blurry pic of the entertainment center. Woman says it's hard to photograph the entertainment center. The poinsetta lights are from Woman's Mom's house. She always strung them on her mantle at Christmas time. Woman hopes to have a mantle some day, and she too will string these lights across it.
Here is a closer view of the Baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph. The Edward and Tia people brought this back from Switzerland a couple years ago. It is hand-carved and absolutely gorgeous.
This little miniature Christmas tree is decorated with ornaments that Ian's family made for the People the first year they were married. Each ornament symbolizes something special about marriage.
Are you enjoying the tour? I didn't put this silly hat and garland on for nothing you know. I am here for your entertainment only.
Here are the Christmas stockings. Can you tell that they are already loaded down with goodies? Santa must have already been here. How did I miss him?
This is the Christmas star that Woman has hung from the pot rack. She likes the way the light in the background is flaring, making it look like the star is shining. It's a pretty cool decoration.
Here is our fridge covered with Christmas cards! And yes, most of them are from my blogger friends! Thanks blogger friends! We think of you every time we go to the fridge!
And of course the tour would not be complete without a look at the Christmas tree. We got a smaller tree this year than usual, and Woman was not able to fit all the ornaments on the tree. It's ok though. We decided we like the smaller tree, because we are still able to move around the living room. Look at all those presents! The People like to put their presents out early so they can enjoy the pretty wrapping paper. Woman says there are presents under there for me. Well duh Woman, I can read!!
That concludes today's tour. Woman and I hope you had a good time.
Woman wanted me to share some of "our" favorite Christmas ornaments with you, so here they are.
These were some of Woman's Mom's ornaments. I never met the Woman's Mom, but Woman said Christmas was her absolute most favorite time of the year. I guess that's why Woman likes Christmas so much too. Woman particularly likes the long clear ornament shown here because it is so delicate. She knows one day she will accidentally break it, because she is a clutz like that, and this is actually the first year she has put it on our tree since she got it seven years ago.
Most of the old-looking glass ornaments here were also Woman's Mom's. The bell-shaped one is a favorite, and also that pink one.
Here is Woman and Ian's "First Christmas Together" ornament. It's two lovebirds on a horn. I guess they're horny birds - LOL! Mr. Chris gave Woman that Pug ornament for Christmas last year. I won't mention that he delivered it in May though - LOL!
This is my first Christmas with the People ornament. See how there are three penguins on the sled? That's because there were three of us, although we have never gone sledding, and last time I checked we weren't penguins.
The People get one new ornament each year. This was our second Christmas together ornament. I think I am supposed to be the baby seal. I'm glad Ian never clubbed me or nothing.
This is one of Woman's all-time favorite ornaments. It's Pluto, and his little bells really jingle! Woman used to be in the ornament of the month club and received a new Disney ornament each month. She dropped membership when she started receiving crappy ornaments like Hercules holding Hercules dolls. Lame. Anyway, Pluto is not lame. He is, in fact, way cool.
Another way-cool and most favorite ornament is the Goofy ornament. Check out that detail. I bet Leah would like this one, because she loves to ski.
Well, those are some of our ornaments. Oh, wait, I have some more to show you. These are from Bombay and Company. They're pretty heavy, but Woman loves them anyway. Woman's general rule of ornaments is not to buy heavy ones, because a "real" tree can't hold many heavy ornaments. She does make some exceptions though.
I'm doing another Christmas post that will show our entire tree, so if you want to see more ornaments, you can click on the picture and see a bigger view of it.
I was SO BORED this weekend. I can't believe how much the People left me alone! It all started Friday night when they went to a wine tasting then stayed out late at a pub. Geesh! Then Saturday they went to Hot Springs and then out to dinner with some friends. I was alone for like 8 hours. Not cool. So I thought Sunday would be for me, yes? No. They went shopping, to the gammy's, then to a party! I did get my revenge by peeing on Woman's favorite blanket though. You would think that would teach her not to leave me, but it hasn't. It just ticks her off.
Happy Birthday to you, AM! We hope you have a great day today. Have fun painting Emma's new room - LOL! What a birthday present you have given yourself! Happy Birthday!
Thanks so much to Sandy for the beautiful Christmas ornament, to Lisa for the lovely framed picture of the bloggy meet-up ladies and to Punchy for my new jacket!! I love all my presents, even though some of them were for Woman. She shares presents with me though, you know. I will post some pictures later. Thanks again!
I have a little story about Punchy's present. The mailman came to the door and delivered the box. Woman told me it had my name on it, so it must be a present for me. She opened the box up for me, and there was a wrapped gift inside. Woman put it under the tree and told me I had to wait until Christmas to open it. She then went into another room. Well, I wasn't waiting until no Christmas to open a present that was rightfully mine, so I started to tear into it. Woman heard me and came out to reprimand me, but I looked so cute that she let me finish opening it. She figured there was some food in it and there was no way I would leave it alone until Christmas. When I got it open, she saw that there was no food in it and was amazed that out of all the presents already sitting under the tree, I knew that this one was for me. LOL! I am smart.
Woman sent the Christmas cards yesterday! Woo-hoo! We did a photo card this year, and yes, I did get to be in the photo. Some of you may remember past Christmases when we did not do photo cards, because Ian would not let me in the photo, so Woman decided to not do photos. I don't know what the big deal is. I don't like getting my photo taken anyway! The Christmas card photo is particularly painful since I had to wear a costume and sit in front of a hot fireplace! My bum was ON FIRE! So, I don't look so great in the photo. Woman says I am not photogenic. I hope that is true, then she will stop trying to get a good photo!
So anyway, keep an eye on your mailboxes this week! You should have my Christmas card soon! I have received a lot of cards from you all too! We really appreciate them. Thanks! We like to stick them on the refrigerator so we can enjoy them each time we open the fridge.
Woman told me that now that the baking is finished, we will knit and snuggle on the couch every night until Christmas. Do you think we were knitting and snuggling last night? No, we were not. Woman and Ian both were wrapping presents, then putting those wrapped presents into big boxes and taping them up. What's the point of that? Woman asked if I wanted to be shipped to Ohio or Florida. I don't know the answer to that question. I just want to snuggle! Make with the snuggles, or at least give me a cookie to placate me.
Woman finished the Christmas baking this weekend. I love when she bakes, because she is a very messy baker, and I get lots of dropped goodies! Yum! Yum! She made about 50 dozen cookies total, and 10 different kinds. Now she says we can sit on the couch and knit for the rest of the holiday season.
Ian has a new shirt for sale on woot. Check it out. Maybe a last-minute gift idea? OK, not really last-minute, but we're getting down the final minutes.
Ian also has a new shirt up for voting at Threadless.
We're sending out our Christmas cards this week. If you want a Christmas card, and we don't already have your address, please email me at puglove AT studpug DOT com. I have everyone's address who is playing Secret Santa and everyone who went to the Puggy Blogger Meet Up. If you don't fall into those categories, and you want a card, let me know!
The People took a trip to the Biltmore a couple weeks ago to watch them bring in the Biltmore Christmas tree. Apparently, there is a big "to do" when bringing the tree into the house.
Mr. and Mrs. Claus were there to officiate.
Woman says they are not the real Mr. and Mrs. Claus, but I'm not so sure. They look pretty darn authentic to me.
The tree is brought in on a horse-drawn trailer. Those people were not supposed to be out in the middle of the road, but they were anyway. It ticks Woman off when other people break the rules. She likes the rules.
This is Bert and Ernie. They are the Biltmore Estate's "work horses", though I think this is the most work they do all year!
Woman says the tree was gigantic - much bigger than our tree. I bet it drops awesome presents!
I don't think it really took this many dudes to pick up the tree. I think they just all wanted to get to say that they helped with the tree.
The People did not follow the tree into the house, because there was a huge crowd, and Woman hates crowds. They have not been back to see it all glittered up for Christmas, but they do plan to get back there soon.
My People have the ilk. It seems to be some sort of cold and sinus congestion. I'm sure glad Pugs can't get the ilk from their humans. I wouldn't want to be as miserable as they seem to be. At least they already got my Christmas tree put up this past weekend, because I doubt they would be up for doing it this weekend. The house is looking all Christmasy! I'm ready for that tree to start dropping me some presents! I have been trying to sweet-talk it into dropping presents, but that hasn't worked yet. I think I may have to resort to more drastic measures and threaten it with a raised leg.
Woot for us! We are finally getting our spa, which is just a fancy word for hot tub. The people who sell hot tubs prefer to call them spas. I guess they sound more expensive that way. The People have always wanted a hot tub, and they have been looking around at the various options and finally decided on a Bullfrog. There were some bumps along the way, but it's finally going to happen! Ian says I'm not allowed in the hot tub, but Woman gave me a wink, so I think I'll probably be sneaking in there when he's not around, like I sneak onto the bed. It's a six-seater, so visitors are welcome! I think it will fit me, Zoe, Chloe, Rosie, Marty and Punchy! Yeah, that's six! Sorry Punchy, you'll have to leave the hubby at home. LOL! Woman said we have to wait three weeks for it to be delivered, so we might not have it in time for Christmas. That makes me sad. I wanted to take a soak on Christmas Eve so my muscles are good and relaxed and ready to open presents on Christmas morning. Oh well, I guess we'll have it for New Year's!
Location: Asheville, North Carolina, United States
I live in the beautiful mountains of Asheville, North Carolina, and I am an ornery little pugger. Although I am only awake about 3 hours each day, I work a whole lot of mischief into each and every minute.
