Post 444

For those of you who like the number four, this post is FOUR you. Actually, it's FOUR FOUR FOUR you, since it is my 444th post on blogger. LOL! Woman's favorite number is four.

Big Girl Sarah will be pugsitting me again this weekend! I am pretty happy about that. I mean, I like my People and all, but I also like variety. I see these People all day every day. Enough already! I hope New Woman Jane comes over this weekend. I really like her. The People are going to Florida to celebrate Ian's Grandpa's 80th birthday. Apparently, you only turn 80 once. Happy Birthday Ian's Grandpa Person!

Woman's Body Pump training is going well. She has completed 3 team-teaching sessions (with an already-certified Instructor), and has to do 5 more, and then she can teach on her own. After she completes her team teaching, she has to make a video of herself teaching a class solo to be submitted to Les Mills for critique. That's when they decide whether she gets Body Pump certified or not. She learned her last track today - biceps. She hates biceps. That's why she saved it for last!

The People are taking tomorrow off for travel, so I won't get to blog until next Tuesday! I hope you all have a nice Labor Day weekend! I will be chilling out with Big Girl Sarah in the hot tub! Woo-hoo!

Paper Dolls

Every now and then Woman gets tired of seeing me walk around in the nude and decides to play dress up with me. You can imagine that I do not look forward to these days, but since this is a rare occasion, I humor her and comply.

The Naked Pug. Sexy, no?



I don't mind her putting a hat or two on me. I argue with her that I am still naked, but she seems to think any amount of clothing is enough to consider me clothed. I never see her walk around in just a hat though, so I think this may apply to Pugs only.



Woman wanted to show off her new bikini, but she didn't want to photograph herself in it, so here I am, in all my glory. Actually, I think this photo has stolen my glory. It has, at least, stolen my dignity.



I called it quits after the bikini. I do have my limits.

I am a Celebrity Judge

Ian has a new print over at threadless. As a promotion for his work, he did a t-shirt giveaway, and I got to be the celebrity judge. You can see the video here. I can understand why he would choose me over some other celebrities he knows since I am the coolest.

He also has two new designs up for voting.





He says if you vote for his designs, he will buy me treats with the winnings, so get to clicking!!

Momo

Woman has a tendency to call me every name in existence other than my real name (well, she also doesn't call me cuss words ... very often). Lately, she has taken a strong liking to the name Momo, taken from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Do I look like this Momo thing?



He does look all sad and Pug-like in this photo, and he really likes to eat, but I think that's where the similarities end. Well, ok, he follows his Ang person everywhere, just like I follow Woman everywhere, but does that mean I have to inherit his name? I think I existed before him! Woman should call him Mr. Norman instead of calling me Momo!

She also calls me schmoopy, taken from an episode of Seinfeld, and sometimes just "The Schmoop." Weird, yes?

I'd like to hear some other strange Pug nicknames and learn their origins. I know you Pug maniacs out there have some crazy names for your Momo Bear Dogs (that's another one of Woman's)!!

Tagged by Le Pug

I got tagged by Le Pug to do a Meme. Don't worry - it didn't hurt when I got tagged. It was a cybertag. I'm going to let Woman do this Meme though since I'm busy "working." Here goes!

Rules: Obey the Pug, answer the following, and pass on!

1) How did you first learn about Pugs?

I had been a "cat person" up until New Year's Eve, 2000, when I met my first Pug. Her name was Maggie, and she belonged to Ian's college professor, Wanda. I instantly fell in love with her sweet little smashed face and curly tail. (Maggie's face and tail, not Wanda's, although Wanda is a cute little thing herself - LOL!) Maggie was a teeny little angel of a doggy, and when I bent down to pet her, she did a happy dance and spun around in joyful circles. I talk about her in the past tense only because we haven't seen Wanda and Maggie for over 5 years. I'm sure Maggie is doing just fine.

2) What made you get a Pug?

After the "New Year's Eve" incident, I began to hound Ian like CRAZY for a Pug of my own. My birthday came and went in April, and I was severely disappointed that no Pug arrived with it. Ian wanted to make sure I really wanted a dog and that it wasn't just a passing fad. I'm sure he was hoping it was just a fad! Finally, Ian caved in on our anniversary in June, and we began looking for a Pug baby.

3) Most memorable moment with your Pug (s).

Oh jeez, there are so many. I guess the one that I cherish most is when Norman was a puppy and would fall asleep on my chest. It was so precious. He doesn't sleep on my chest any more since he weighs too much, but he still curls up against my belly and purrs his little puggy purr every night on the couch.

4) What is the most important thing Pugs (or dogs) have taught you?

Before getting Norman, the mere THOUGHT of poop or vomit would make me dry heave. Chris can verify this, as he got a big kick out of making it happen. Norman's constant "accidents" in the house cured me pretty quickly!

5) Best Thing You Ever Did For Your Pugs….aside from loving them, keeping them healthy & happy, and giving them a great life.

**edited**

Apparently my original answer was offensive to people who have no choice but to board their animals at times, so I wanted to add a little commentary here in an attempt to keep people from spamming me with hate mail. First, not everyone thinks it is bad to board your pet. That's FINE! It's a personal choice. I don't want you to change your mindset just because of a personal choice I have made. For example, I don't think it's bad to feed Norman some table scraps. Other people are die-hard fanatics about no table food. It doesn't bother me one bit if those people state on their blog that table scraps are bad for dogs. It's all about choices.

I have been fortunate to have other options regarding boarding. I understand that no one *wants* to board their animal, but sometimes we have to, and I don't think that makes anyone a bad animal owner. Some day I might have to board Norman too, and I will hate that, but I have until now gone out of my way to find someone to housesit or someone for Norman to stay with. I have also canceled trips due to no available dogsitter. Trying to abide by this mindset has been a huge sacrifice and challenge for me, so it honestly is the best thing I think I have done for Norman. If you board your animals, it's FINE. I know everyone who reads this blog loves their pug just as much as I love Norman, and if you board your animals, I don't care.

6) Post your answers on why you “Adore Le Pug” on your blog and link to the blog who tagged you (or their blog post).

I was tagged by Adore Le Pug.

7) Tag 5 or more other bloggers.

I tag Punchy, Tami, Doozy, Lisa and Winston (and the stray).

Weekend Plans?

So, does anyone have any fun weekend plans? I'm probably going to help Woman with some gardening chores and then chill out with a champagne coolie and some butt rubs. Anyone wanna join me?

Squirrel Acrobatics

Woman got this bird feeder for her birthday this year. She chose to mount it on the side of the porch so the squirrels could not reach it. Woman is so silly to think that there is any place in the world you can put a bird feeder that is out of reach of a squirrel.



This industrious squirrel shimmied up the spouting, climbed across the screen and then stretched his limber body out to reach the bird feeder. Pretty impressive feet, yes?



He couldn't figure out how to get on top of the bird feeder, so he just dipped his head down into the tray to get some bites. That can't be good for the digestive system.



When Ian opened the door to scare him away, he scurried up the screen and back down the rain spout!



Woman was annoyed that this squirrel found a way to the bird feeder, but she said that for as much work as it took to get a couple pieces of birdseed, he earned it!

Woman is Back!

Woman is back from Body Pump training in Irmo, SC. She got home around 8pm Sunday night, and she was dog tired. I tried to get her to rub my butt, but she said she could barely lift her hand. I didn't care though and insisted that she give it to me, give it to me, give it to me. She finally caved in. The rubbings were sub-par, but I didn't complain too much. I was just happy to have someone in the house who at least tried to rub my butt. Ian is anti-butt rubbing.

First, a little bit about Body Pump. Body Pump is a one-hour high energy weight training work-out set to music. Every three months a new release is distributed, which includes new songs and new choreography. The instructors must follow the choreography exactly, and their technique must be perfect throughout the entire session, no matter how tired they may become. There were four people from Asheville that attended the training this weekend, so Woman had some company.

So, onto the training. Woman said they worked the trainees almost to death. They got to the training at 11am on Friday and worked out almost non-stop until 8pm, with no dinner or lunch breaks! They were given a couple 5 minute breaks during which time they had to pee and cram some food down their gullets. That night they had to go back to the hotel room and learn the choreography for a 6 minute track that would be presented twice the next day. Woman said she was up until 1:30am learning her track and then got up at 6:30am to practice and get to the training by 8am. The first day Woman had to present the shoulder track, which she said was challenging, because it contains a lot of transitions. I don't know what that means.

On Saturday, they had to run 2 miles in the 98 degree South Carolina heat, power lift for an hour, then present their track for the first time. They did get an hour break that day for lunch, during which time they had to work on their technique for their second presentation. The rest of the day was spent doing more exercising and finally the second presentation. That night Woman went to Carabba's and pigged out on some fettuccine alfredo. She then had to go back to the hotel to learn another 6 minute track to present on Sunday. Woman said the second track went faster and she got to bed by 11pm. Her second track was squats. She counted up the total number of squats in the track - 117! That's a lot of squats when you've got 40 pounds sitting on your shoulders. She couldn't sleep that night and didn't get to sleep until after 1am. Poor Woman.

Woman had to be up at 6am to practice her track, check out of the hotel and be at the training by 8am. That day was a little easier, with more "classroom" type discussions, but there was still a lot of exercising. They had to present their tracks twice that day and it was finally over!!

Woman was really tired Monday and Tuesday and didn't go to the gym either day. She said she needed a break. I can imagine that is true! Now Woman has to team teach with another instructor for 8 classes, then she can start teaching on her own. She doesn't become officially certified until she sends in a video of herself teaching an entire class solo. The video is critiqued and a grade assigned. If she passes, she gets certified; otherwise, she has to send in another video! Woman has until November 10th to get her first video sent in. This is some pretty intense stuff, and in case you're wondering, instructors don't get paid a whole lot of money. They have to pay for their own training, and they have to buy each quarterly release out of their own pockets. The people who do this do it because they love it. So, if you take a Body Pump class, give your instructor a big thank you hug for all that they endure :)

BTW - Woman has no pictures from the weekend. Sorry!

Woman is Leaving Me

Woman is leaving me this weekend, and this is how I feel about it.



Not pleased. Not pleased at all.

Woman has decided to become a Body Pump instructor. I think it's a silly idea. I hope she doesn't kill herself this weekend during training. I hear it's pretty intense, and honestly, Woman is weak sauce. I've seen her almost faint before. OK, maybe not faint, but she was pretty dizzy and had to sit down.

So it will just be me and Ian, and you know what that means - I will be alone most of the weekend. Ian always goes off and plays video games and stuff when Woman is gone. I always get the short end of every stick! Poor Pug ...

Sausage Fest 2008!

The People had a party this weekend, and I WAS invited to it! This doesn't really make up for their little rendezvous with girlville, but it is a start. The party was called Sausage Fest and featured gourmet sausages from Earth Fare cooked on the grill. A lot of people thought Sausage Fest was an "all boy" event, but I'm not sure why.

Here are some sausages cooking on grill #1. We had two grills going! I don't know what kind they all are ... Probably some broccoli and some beef and some goodboy bone. Everyone said they were really good, and those are the three best tasting things I know about, so they must have been those flavors.



Ian designed t-shirts for the event. The posting of this silly photo of Mr. Ian is additional payback for the Yadkin Valley incident. We're *almost* even now.



Katherine is busy growing a miniature human inside her belly, but she took some time out from that work to enjoy a sausage or two.



I tried to explain to Nate and Andy that there were enough sausages for them to each have their own, but they really wanted to share.



Margarita and Big Girl Sarah had some love for the host of the party - me!



This is Jane. She is my New Woman. Don't tell Old Woman though, but I really love Jane. Old Woman was getting jealous of Jane, because I kept bringing her toys and trying to get up on her lap instead of Old Woman's. There's just something about Jane that makes me go, "woof!" in a very special way.



See what she does to me? I'm spinning so fast the camera can't even catch me!



Kris, Lyn and Claire chilling out.



I tried to stay clear of the kids, because they were in a feisty mood!



The Gammy trying to restrain Paige - LOL! Just kidding. Paige is a great kid.



Some more of the festival goers.



This shot of Lyn's new sandals is for girlville since she loves shoes so much. Woman thought she would like these sandals, and since Woman and girlville are so "buddy buddy" now, she made me post this.



So that's Sausage Fest 2008 people. Maybe there will be a 2009 version next year!

Suspicious Activity

I am growing more suspicious that Woman did meet with girlville in Yadkin Valley a couple weeks ago. First, I found these new herbs out on the deck.



I know Woman doesn't need any new herbs since we have an herb box full of them, so she must have been given them free, possibly at some type of festival event.

Second, I found some photos on her flickr account...

I don't recognize this dude or this cat.



Here's that dude again with who looks to be girlville. I have never met her in person, so it might not be her.



And here is Woman with that same person, and look! There are grape vines in the background!



Apparently Ian was there too!



I think this mockery may be targeted toward me.



I need to have a chat with Woman ...