Ending 2008

As you can see by Harley's face here... we've been exhausting the pugs and boring them at the same time.

We've spent LOTS of time with family celebrating Christmas and our engagement! Barely any of it involved pugs though, poor things.

Laura and Kevin came over with Salinger last night! We've been talking about doing this all year, and we are glad we finally all got together. Look what they made us:

This cake was in addition to the wonderful champagne, lasagna and caesar salad. What great pug friends!

Since Sophie and Salinger are "in love" (aka Sophie is Salinger's "beard") we had them exchange gifts. The pugs got Salinger a turtle-tennis-ball without knowing that Laura is deathly afraid of turtles! Whoops! We decided he is now an armadillo.

Salinger also received a shirt to help beef up his manliness... "SUP DAWG?"

It was QUITE difficult to get our pugs to act civilized when presented with gifts. Harles went from being a fine gentleman to an unruly ingrate!

Check out the bitey-face going on with Harles and Dixie. It wasn't pretty. How embarrassing.

Dixie really wanted to be involved in the human parts of the dinner.

We attempted to get some pictures of Salinger and Sophie.

After tons of running around, the pugs did get some down time. I told Kevin to enjoy what I experience every day- the PUG PILE!

Then we took some cheesy pictures of us cutting our engagement cake! Good practice for our wedding! We are thinking of a destination wedding to Mexico in early 2010. If anyone has any tips or experience, shoot ideas to our puggy e-mail (listed on the right).

And I can't not throw in a photo of handsome Salinger when it also features a classic Dixie noseguard!

Thanks Laura, Kevin, and Salinger for the Christmas/engagement celebration! Hope you are all having fun winding down 2008, and thanks for all the congratulations!

Best Christmas Ever!!!!!

Hi it's Sophie!!!!! We had such a great Christmas. Santa Paws brought us tons of toys and goodies. Dixie got some sushi-shaped toys.

I really like them too.

Dixie wouldn't let go of the big one!!!!

This one is for me- what is it?

DOGGIE BEER! Beefy Brown Ale, yum!

Mommy opened the next one from her mom! Cool jacket Mommy!!!! She also got a PUG NECKLACE from PugNotes' Melissa- Daddy was sneaky and got it for her!!!!

Harley was next- what's in the bag???

Dog biscuit mix!!!! Cheesy!

Daddy had to go on a scavenger hunt to find out what his main gift was... looks like we'll be hiding from the noise in the near future.

We also each got a toy in our stocking... I got a bouncey/scrunchy frog, Dixie got a soccer ball, and Harles got a football player loofah dog.

Dixie liked all of them.

I went on Mommy's camera to get these pics and found out that when Dixie went missing for a while- she was at Grandma's (Dad's mom) with Mommy and Daddy! WHAT THE HECK!!! Aunt Nina just got a kitten whose name is Aria. Dixie got to meet her. Whatever.

She also got to play with Uncle Webster. I asked Dixie and she says she didn't even have an accident in the house... I am so proud of her if it is true!!! I was feeling pretty icky so I wouldn't have been as good.

Dixie was pooped when she got home, so I'm not surprised she was relaxing while there too.

When she got home with Mommy and Daddy we had some beefy brown ale.

It was good! Me and Harles went at it first.

Then Dixie drank some. We all stopped though, because we realized it wasn't people beer.

When will they learn!?!?!?!

Pee-S: Mommy and Daddy say thanks for all the "congrats" since they are engaged now and we won't be illegitimate doggie children for much longer. WOOHOOOOOO!

GREAT NEWS!!!!!!!

This morning Brian came in the living room and said, "Look at this great picture I took of the pugs!" So I looked at my camera and saw this:

I started to put two and two together- he was proposing! And I bet you guessed it- I SAID YES!!!!!!!!!

My new bling!

Sophie Sophie is VERY jealous. She's been sitting on Brian all day!

Dixie found the ring to be delicious. And Harles, like most men, is oblivious! HAHA!

I'm glad I get to share my good news with you all!!!!!!!!!!

OMD TORTURE TORTUREEEEESON!

OMD my mom sucks like so much she totally has not let us blog, we go on and on signing and sending cards for her and she's like "la de dah I guess I'll blog!" So when I got a package I was hopeful it was something like what Dixie got, something awesome, to make up for the lack of niceness and prezzies. Well guess what it was?

Tan Torkelson sent me that stupid bowl. Me and Dixie were REALLY upset. Now I can't eat fast, and now she can't eat my vom. Look how shocked and depressed she looks in the above picture.

It wasn't all that bad though, we got this book, which I don't even have to open because I know what kind of dog I am.

We kept coming back to the horror of the bowl. Tanner I will now call you Torture Tortureson.

The one like really redeeming good thing was this can that Tanner farted in!!!!!!!!!! Look at how his manly musk brought me and Dixie runnin' and sniffin'. Sorry Murphy and S-Dog, we just can't resist.

The farts were fantastic.

So Tanner Torturerson, thanks for the "prezzies." I will forgive you only because you sent your farts.

Bugg's Day and Kick@$$ Cookies

Today Bugg got to go to the nursing home to see Grandma!!! It was a fun but short visit. Buggie caught sight of one of the house cats there and went from tired like this:

...to all riled up! Anyway, she had fun seeing Grandma and hanging out alone with Mommy, Daddy, and Aunt Pam.

In the Christmas spirit I am sharing a DELICIOUS recipe!!!! It's called "brownie cookies" but I'm calling them "kick@$$ cookies" right now because they are quick, easy, and you can pick and choose your mix-ins. I chose toffee pieces and Reese's peanut butter chips. PB chips are the classic mix-in for this recipe, so I will list the recipe with it.

-1 Box Brownie Mix (for a 13x9 pan, usually labeled "family size")

-2 eggs

- 1/2 cup oil

-1 cup PB chips

Preheat oven to 325. Grease the pans very well with either shortening or cooking spray (these cookies can stick!) Mix all ingredients together, it just takes a spoon (not a mixer) but does take some elbow grease. It will look like this (but with more of it):

Scoop out onto the trays in small lumps. They need to be small because they spread out. I use a portioned scooper that I believe is 2 tsp. Cook for 8-9 minutes. When you take them out the center will be soft. Cool on the tray for a few minutes then on a cooling rack until firm. They're delicious and chewy!

Now, as for mix-ins... like I said, PB is classic. I've also done chocolate chips for those chocoholics, or white chocolate for a more mature taste. In the winter sometimes I see pretty green and red white chocolate chips, and these look great in the cookies. Mint chips taste FANTASTIC in these. This is the first time I added toffee bits (I did a little less than a cup of PB chips and about 3/4 cup toffee bits) and it's delicious.

Enjoy the cookies and the cute bugg picture. It's almost Christmas!

LOTS of stuff to show you all!

It's the pugs' mom again- you all must be sick of me by now!!!! The pugs are too busy opening all their Christmas cards and sniffing their stockings.

Here are all of their Christmas cards! Can you believe it??? Thank goodness for them that they rarely let us cut their nails, as they can use them as letter openers.

Here's a close-up off the top part...

...and the bottom part. They are certainly a popular bunch!

These are our cards, as in for humans. They're from my mom, my friend Marissa (whose dog Rosie signed too!), our friend Brian, a family I babysit for, and my friend Sara.

The lucky pugs got even luckier because Dixie's hot-doggie boyfriend, Murphy, sent a package!!!!!!

Sophie and Dixie really sniffed out the first package. Turns out...

It was for me! BOOYAH!!! Eat it, pugs. Actually, don't eat it. It's figurative. You'd probably die if you ate those fantastic smelling bath salts and soap! Thanks Murphy and family!

They also sent a bag of doggie treats... Banana Carob Chip!!! Harles and Bugg were ALL over that bag when I opened it. I've never seen them so fired up about treats!

Then Dixie noticed the last little package for her. I can't think of a way to say this that doesn't sound inappropriate, but... Dixie LOVES balls. (I'll give you a moment to laugh... pretty appropriate since I KNOW that Murphy gets it.) Look at this green bouncy frog ball!!!! They are all over it!

Speaking of crazy-popular toys... you may notice we have a new title photo on our blog, and that there are four creatures in it. That stuffie is Gorilla.

Gorilla is VERY popular with the puggies. Here is Dixie making out with him- I mean, playing with the toy! Yikes, don't look Murphy! Anyway, it's nice to have the Gorilla in the main picture with them. We also were inspired by Miss Suki Sumo's comment on a recent blog and changed our "tagline." Check it out- Sass & Class!!!!

Pee-S... Murphy, Dixie says she will FINALLY send you something in the new year... she's quite forgetful like that. She gets distracted easily since her eyes point in different directions- please forgive her!