Inspirational Quote of the Week

“That however small the chance might be of striking lucky, the chance was there.”

~Roald Dahl~

I believe in luck. Mom does too. She buys lottery tickets, picks up lucky pennies, sails through amber traffic lights, and goes with her gut on life decisions. Most days she just feels lucky to be where she is, how she is, and who she is.

That said, she is waiting patiently (NOT patiently) for her ideas to gel, her stories to develop, and the right piece to end up in the right hands at the right time. THAT will be a lucky day.

My luckiest day was when I was rescued from the kill-shelter in Georgia,

At the shelter with my puppies. They got adopted. I was left behind.

and my other luckiest day was when Mom found me at a Saturday rescue event at PetSmart.

My Gotcha Day. Home sweet home at last…

At my forever home, I am lucky every day. I don’t eat the lottery tickets, even when they fall on the floor. I lick lucky pennies, even though they are named “Filthy.” I sail through amber traffic lights since I have no choice and go with my gut on life decisions, mostly because my brain is so tiny.

Chances to be lucky are always there, just like Roald Dahl says. When Mom is cooking, my lucky day is when I get some FloorFood. Lots and lots of times she says, “Don’t lick the floor.” and, “Stop slurping like a weirdo.” and “Oops! Come and lick this up, please.”

Yeah. I thought so…. #floorfood

My new coat was a lucky find, since there is a crazy cold snap in my neighborhood, and I have been shivering a lot on my walks. I am warm and cozy in my new sherpa-lined coat.

I am lucky that Mom takes me for road trips to lots of pretty and fun parks near our house

and also she takes me lots of other places too. Covid taught us about curbside pickups and drive through foods. So much fun! Plus sometimes there are PupCups and ice cream cones. But even when all I get is the bottom of the coffee cup or the smell of the oatmeal, I am lucky to be along for the ride and not waiting alone at home.

Inspirational Quote of the Week

“Before everything else, getting ready is the secret of success.”

~Henry Ford~

We love Henry Ford. Without him, let’s face it, there would be no road trips. We’re happy he got ready and made things happen.

Drive thru breakfast at BigDonald’s.

I believe in being ready. When food falls on the floor, I am always ready to get it. FloorFood is my favorite flavor. On a good day, if I’m in position, I will catch it in the air before it lands. *sigh*

I am ready for Santa to come and bring me some surprises.

I am pretty sure I’m not on the Naughty List this year, although some people might see it differently.

When it comes to her writing work, Mom should be on her own Naughty List. Just saying.

She claims to be ready for Christmas though, and the new year – maybe a resolution about writing. And she’s ready for StoryStorm which is an idea challenge that she does every January. 30 new story ideas in 31 days.

We both have a good feeling about Christmas and an even better feeling about 2022. I mean, look at all those 2’s. Two is Mom’s lucky number. I’m pretty sure it’s also my lucky number, because I don’t even know what numbers are. But I’m ready to learn…

Learning…

Five Word Friday

Mom sent in a story last week for an Above the Slush submission opportunity from one of her Author Newsletters. These are five of the words from that story.

6. Bake – Stories need time to cook up, just like cakes. That is Mom’s excuse, I mean – reason for working on a story and then not working on it and then working on it again and then stopping again. It’s cooking. And when it’s ready it’s ready.

91. Bowl – Mom puts globs of dog food into my bowl four times a day. I am not allowed to eat a lot at once, but I am also not allowed to get hungry. Sometimes, I lick every drop and my bowl is shiny. Other times, I leave some behind for later.

Saving a little piece for later…

Mom says, “Nice eating.” and “Good girl.” and “Really, though? Who’s going to clean up this mess?”

40. Dripping – I do not like dripping. It happens to me in the tub when Mom gives me a bath.

And when she forces me to walk in the rain.

Dripping is not a good look for me…

8. Book – I would like to say that Mom works hard toward the elusive Book 2, but ummm – no. She wishes hard and works a little bit. Apparently, around here – if it’s not fun, it’s not done. She has fun writing. There’s no pressure, so if something comes of it, it’ll be a wonderful surprise. For me, a wonderful surprise is when a treat pops out of my treat ball.

25. Coffeemaker – The coffeemaker is an important member of our household.

Almost as important as the Robot Vacuum. (We love that guy.) Reading or writing are pretty much impossible without some coffee nearby. I get to share the coffee sometimes, but my portion is just a drip drop at the bottom of the cup.

Way at the bottom of the cup.

Inspirational Quote of the Week

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must outrun the fastest lion, or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle, or it will starve to death. It doesn’t matter whether you’re the lion or the gazelle – when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.

~Christopher McDougall~

I run for my life pretty much every day. Well, not exactly for my life… But I run for my toys, and I run if Mom doesn’t hand over my cookie fast enough or if she tries to brush me. #donotbrushme

Mom hasn’t made much progress in her writing lately. And by not much, I mean none. Let’s just say if she were the gazelle, instead of COOKING breakfast she would BE breakfast.

It’s officially September, officially the day after Labor Day, so officially, it’s time to buckle down and get busy with writing work. I have done all I can to be inspiring.

Dressed up…

Gave knowing looks…

Showed off my skills…

Stayed quiet…

Tagged along on thinking walks…

Nothing. So, fresh school year (with no school to go to),

fresh week (with four days left),

and hopefully a fresh attitude (with the lion and gazelle in mind).

Let’s run!

Inspirational Quote of the Week

“Between the pages of a book is a lovely place to be.”

~anonymous~

Not a lot of writing has been accomplished around here lately. Mom reads instead. Blog posts, web sites, her Kindle,

and she listens on Audible sometimes too, and calls that reading. The jury is out on that one.

I do not actually know how to read without help, but Mom let me look at the pictures in a book about one of our therapy dog friends.

Dog books are my favorites. Mom rarely reads dog books, in case she’s afraid the dog will die in the story. This wasn’t that kind of book.  

Unlike Mom, I never slack off on my jobs and responsibilities around the house. I watch for danger

(or the Amazon truck),

control the traffic,

Worst speed bump ever

help with the housework,

and make sure none of our drive-thru/curbside car food goes to waste.

We’re hoping that next week, Mom can get back to writing. She has an idea for a new piece to start, but she’s still mind-writing it instead of buckling down to work. I guess mind-writing is writing like Audible is reading.

Five Word Friday

Today’s 5 words are from an old story that Mom started working on recently. As always when she read it, she said out loud to herself, “Such a cute story.” And, “How can I make it better?” And, “Stop running so close to the….

…water dish. Ugh.” Then she said naughty words and, “I should buy stock in paper towels.” Then she called me the name, “Mental Case.” #rude

Friends – I have many dog friends at my apartment complex. They like to sniff me, and most of the time I turn to stone with fear or hide behind Mom for protection. Occasionally, I come out and sniff my friends. *shiver* Mom tells me I was brave and gives me a treat.

Jacket – I have a lot of jackets, sweaters, jammies, and t-shirts. I wear them all year round for cold protection, sun protection, and apparently filth protection in case I accidentally (on purpose) lie down in trash, dumpster spillage, or bird poop.

School – Mom says school visits are always fun and full of surprises.

She hasn’t been to any lately because of lockdown and the pandemic. Whenever book #2 comes out, the first thing she will do is schedule an author visit. I have been to school with Mom a bunch of times.

I liked the kids petting me, the teacher talking about me, and Mom letting me show off some of my tricks. But the absolute best part of school is named Lunchboxes. Oh boy – do they smell good.

Third – I am Mom’s 3^rd doggie in her adult life. Before me there were Sandi and Smoki. I am the first doggie that Mom chose and trained and lived with all by herself. The elusive book #2 will really be Mom’s 3^rd book if we count her e-book, which we do although it may or may not still be available on the platform that e-published it.

Halloween – Mom does not love Halloween at all. She has written one Halloween story in her life, and it isn’t one of her favorites. She says it’s PTSD from spending 35 Halloweens with 8- and 9-year-olds. #gofigure I love Halloween.

Inspirational Quote of the Week

“You have to finish things – that’s what you learn by finishing things.”

~Neil Gaiman~

Finishing things is good. Mom FINALLY finished one of her half-stories last week. Soon, her writing group named LindaJenVijiLauriandOtherJen will read it and say things about it. Then suddenly, the story will not be finished anymore, and Mom will work on it again. And again. And again.

When I am finished with things, I. Am. Finished.

I am finished going to the vet for a tummy ache. Now I eat my special, yummy, chicken stew foods, and I will never go back there again. #shotshurt

After a few minutes, I am finished trying to get treats out of my treat ball. Mom helps me with the last one or two. Again. And again.

I am finished with early wake-ups. I need my beauty sleep.

I love the sun. But when I’m finished, I’m finished.

On a warm, sunny day, I finish my walks with a street nap

or a street squiggle.

Mom tries and tries to get things going again, but when I am finished, I. Am. Finished.

I’m finished out here. Let me in.

So hopefully, Mom will start and finish and restart and refinish lots more stories till eventually the right one gets to the right place at the right time. Then she’ll be finished. Till she starts a new one again.

And again.

And again.

“Finished last will always be better than did not finish, which always trumps did not start.” ~Unknown~

Five Word Friday

Today’s Five words are from yet another half-story from Mom’s never-ending collection of unfinished stories. We kinda like this one, so it may have a chance at seeing the end.

16. Rudolph – No. Not that Rudolph. Picking a character name is important for a story. That character will be in the author’s head for a long time, so the name should mean something. Mom was named after her grandma. I was named Cupcake because I am so sweet.

Me being sweet on my Gotcha Day.

4. Trim – Some characters need a lot of adornment. They get trimmed and decorated with traits and quirks. That helps them work. Sometimes, when I used to do therapy work, Mom thought I looked like a plain potato, so she trimmed and dressed me up to be different. It made me fancy. It made the old soldiers laugh.  

51. Wrinkled – If Mom wrote on paper instead of computer-typing, LOTS of papers would end up wrinkled and tossed in the garbage pail. I am an expert on wrinkling. I can’t help it. Warm clothes are so cozy and comfy. It’s tough to resist.

20. Famous – It’s rare that a picture book could make an author famous. I mean Cat in the Hat, Goodnight Moon, Where the Wild Things Are, and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus don’t come along every day. Even though Mom is nowhere near famous, I have had a moment or two in the sun.

8. Useful – Beds are useful. I use mine sometimes.

Inspirational Quote of the Week

“Writing gives us someplace to go when we have to stay where we are.”

~Mason Cooley~

Mom and I have stayed home a lot in the past year. It has been a good thing in some ways and a bad thing in other ways – for both of us.

On the upside, staying home means I got to nap a lot

and watch TV with Mom

and nap a lot. (Yup. I said it twice.)

On the downside, staying home means she did a bunch of homeschooling,

practice,

and brain work with me, so I didn’t turn into a piece of furniture or a potato.

On the upside, staying home means Mom (should have) had plenty of time to write stories and read picture books. (Nope. I didn’t say either one twice.)

On the downside, staying home means actual experiences, people-watching, eavesdropping on kids’ conversations, and observing the world was a no-go.

 

Also, bookstores and libraries gave Mom the virus-germ-heebie-jeebies.

So reading picture books is basically non-existent, and writing is at a minimum around here. Happily, Mom has an idea list, that she started in StoryStorm and continues as always. She has a few half-finished stories waiting for her attention and a few finished pieces waiting for revision. She also has nothing but time. So here’s hoping Mom gets more than 15 minutes of writing done each day. She keeps telling herself that writers write, so she needs to take her own advice. Or at the very least, paws crossed that she doesn’t turn into a piece of furniture or a potato.  

Potato Dog – Don’t let this happen to you!

 

Five Word Friday

Mom’s latest half-story has these 5 words to play with.

Water – I don’t like water. I don’t like to drink it. I don’t like to step in it. And I REALLY don’t like Bath Day. That is way too much water in way too many of the wrong places.

 

Door – Mom is always waiting for the right door to open for her writing work. It did once, but it’s been stubborn since. When it eventually opens again, she will blast through it without looking back. I never step through a door without some hesitation. Mom says I have door-phobia. I always make sure things are safe for us out there. Sometimes the hesitation ends in disaster – like when my tail got caught in the door and a piece fell off! 

 

Snuggly – When it’s snowy and cold and windy outside, I get snuggly in my bed.

Or in Mom’s bed.

Or on the couch.

 

Or the chair.

Those are sometimes good writing days for Mom, but sometimes, she wastes the day getting snuggly with me (and watching way too much TV). 

Night – We do not like night. Mom and I don’t like the dark at all. Ditto for the moon, coyotes, shadows, sunset, owls, fireflies, and moths. We are all about sunrise, morning, sunshine, and light.

Mom has a few stories about being afraid of the dark and getting over fear of the night, but writing them never helped her reality at all.  

Blanket – Winter and summer, I am a blanket-loving doggie. I doze on them, in them, and under them. Move over, Linus van Pelt. You are not the only one with a legendary security blanket.