Nap Attack and Why I've Been on the DL

Recently, I was attacked by the nap monster. Really, I should get an exterminator in here, 'cause it happens just about every day ;)
When I awoke, I was greeted by this image, above. Arwen loves taking naps. If you say, "Want to go lie down?" Or, "Want to have a nap?" No matter where she is, she'll stop whatever she's doing (even if she is already napping in the living room), and run to the bedroom. If she feels she isn't being followed, she will stop at the bedroom door and look back, just to make sure you're not lying to her, and actually are going to follow her to bed. Then she'll jump up (usually into my hubby's space), lay down (usually with her head on my hubby's pillow), let out a huge sigh and fall straight asleep. Scratches are optional, but greatly appreciated. By the time I wake up, she's graduated from curled-up sleep positions to full-on stretched out as far as she can positions, with the occasional on-the-back position, as evidenced above.
Just thought I'd share that with you :)
As for why I've been quiet lately... well, I've been switching medications for my thyroid and adrenal issues, as well as going off of some other meds, as I've been having some interesting-in-a-scary-way medical issues. I won't bore you with the details here, but it is stressing my body, which is in turn stressing my mind and making me less than productive as my mind and body struggle to come to some middle of the ground agreement on how the whole shebang should get along and work together (why can't we all just be friends and get along???).
So that's my story. I'm sorry I've been on the DL for a while, I'm going to try and at least post some photos of Arwen in between posting the artist features every Friday, so that, even if the photo-only posts don't have much content, at least there will be cute-funny photos for you to look at and start your day with :)
Have a great Thursday, see you tomorrow for another fabulous artist feature!

Arwednesdays with Arwen: Loving Animals

Hello, it's me again, Arwen the Wonder dog. I wanted to get serious for a moment, if I may today...
I am loved.
I am very loved.
How do I know? Well, my mommy tells me at least 10 times every day.
I get my beautiful fur brushed every day, with lots of petting and mommy telling me how pretty I am. When that is done, I get my pearly white teeth brushed.
I have lots of toys, from tennis balls to squeaky stuffies, Nylabones and Kongs to keep me occupied, stimulated and happy.
I get to go for walks almost every day (unless it is very cold, icy or very wet), and I get to play in my yard every day, chasing birdies and squirrels and barking at imaginary beasts. When I come back inside, there is always fresh water, healthy food, and sometimes even treats if I've been good (or just looked really cute).
But, mommy tells me not all animals are loved.
Mommy tells me that there are many animals all over the world that are not fed properly, are not cared for, brushed, walked or even talked to nicely. Many animals are beaten, starved, left alone tied outside, or even forced to fight other dogs until one of them dies.

But, mommy tells me that there are great people who rescue these sad animals so that they have a chance at a happy life. One place is called Harmony Fund (animalrescuechase.com), and they are having what is called the World's Biggest Baby Shower for Animals (http://animalrescuechase.com/baby-shower/), where people can donate money online to help them rescue lots of animals and make them happy like me. Take the little guy in the photo above. He lives in Puerto Rico. One day, his owners got in a fight in their apartment. To get him out of the way, one of the owners shoved him in a hole in the wall in the back of a closet, where he fell to the bottom of the building and was left for two weeks in a wall, and was ignored by the residents who heard his cries for help. Finally a nice lady heard what was happening and rescued him, moments from dying and covered in sores. Now he is healthy and living the good life, thanks to these amazing people working with Harmony Fund.
Mommy thinks this is very good, and I do too. If you are able, please try to donate to them to give all sorts of animals (doggies, horses, cats, monkeys and more) the chance to have a happy life. At the very least, please try to spread the word about all the great things that they do so that others can help them too.
Please help these animals have a chance to have a happy home.
A chance to be loved.

and Arwen the Wonder Dog

Saturday Squee: Who Likes Piglets??

Lil Oinker

Seriously? I might faint from cuteness. Until they get to be about 300 pounds, anyway :)

Saturday Squee: Baby Honey Badger

Baby Honey Badger

Ok, for today's Saturday Squee, the cutest photo on the interwebs, here I present you with: Baby Honey Badger. Posted by NayaH on imgur.com, this is the cutest little fart that ever was...for now. Add this photo (in your mind) to the narration video on YouTube by Randall (caution: explicit lyrics), and you have the cutest and funniest thing for your weekend.
See you soon!

Saturday Squee: Baby Honey Badger

Baby Honey Badger

Ok, for today's Saturday Squee, the cutest photo on the interwebs, here I present you with: Baby Honey Badger. Posted by NayaH on imgur.com, this is the cutest little fart that ever was...for now. Add this photo (in your mind) to the narration video on YouTube by Randall (caution: explicit lyrics), and you have the cutest and funniest thing for your weekend.
See you soon!

Bulls of Catalonia, Rejoice!

(Image from http://www.freeclipartnow.com/animals/cows/cow-2.jpg.html)

That's right all you big, hunky, masculine bulls, Catalonia, Spain has just banned bullfighting! Now, some see this as a purely political gesture to try to distance themselves from Spain (they want to be an independent state), but I, and many other animal-lovers, see this as a victory against blatant animal cruelty. No more killing of bulls disguised as "sport" - how sweet it is.
Here's one news article about it: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2010/0728/Catalonia-votes-for-less-death-in-the-afternoon-with-bullfighting-ban
Let's have a big, happy MOO for that!

Wednesday's Walks with Arwen

This is the first in what will (we hope) become a weekly feature with ME! Yours truly, Arwen the wonder dog. Now, mommy says that I have to give credit where credit is due, so we need to say that this feature is inspired by BeadedTail's Saturday Strolls with Sadie, a fellow beautiful blogger dog. Thanks for the idea!
Now, back to business. Walks are serious events, that I try to have happen daily, but when it rains or is too icy or too hot, mommy says it is dangerous and we can't go. Rain makes the gravel roads like sandpaper on my paws, icy roads are slippery for paws and cars alike, and heat is not good for a black dog with a permanently thick undercoat! In those cases I play keep away while mommy tries to play fetch with me. I don't want to fetch! Stop throwing my toys around, I just want to chew them!
Back to the serious walks. I think this way smells good, let go!
Now one thing that mommy always laughs at is "The Pee Spot". There are actually 2 on this route, but mommy is only showing one today. Mommy laughs at me when I mark "The Pee Spot" because: 1. I'm a girl and have to squat, which she says looks funny (I can't help it, I'm being discreet!), and 2. I HATE it when people watch me! I have to turn and look away or I can't do it. It is even like that in my back yard. No one watch okay? Moom! You peeked! Yeesh.Okay, now that I've marked my spot, let's keep going...Here I am on our road, sniffing furiously as I walk. You can sort of see my bushy tail - it isn't as good as Sadie's, but I'm not full Husky. I'm trying though!Sometimes I get a really good sniff and have to stop my furious pulling to check it out. STOP MOMMY THIS SNIFF SPOT IS GOOD!!! I can never seem to remember what was here, even though I stop there every day. Here is mommy wiping some plant fuzz off of my head after I sniffed the spot. She also got rid of a pesky deer fly from my muzzle, thanks mommy!Here is a totally uninteresting spot that mommy made us stop at. No good sniffs here, but she said that a wild cat gave birth to some kittens and was keeping them there by that stone wall, not 6 feet from the road! Fortunately mommy told the person living across the street about it and he has been feeding them and keeping them safe - mommy tried to photograph the corner of the pie plate he put down for them but it didn't show up - he is still a nice guy though!!Now hurry up mommy, we have to make up for lost time after all the stops! Run mommy, run all the way home! Here is a photo of us running, I am pulling her to go faster, but she was laughing too hard trying to take a photo of me running :)We ran all the way home and I had a nice big drink and then, as is custom after our walks, we had a nice big cuddle. Until next week, mommy wants to remind you to sign up for our mailing list to be entered in her contest, she says:
Remember to enter my monthly contest by adding your name and email to my monthly newsletter (You have to sign up for the newsletter first to be eligible to win!!), see the full contest details here.
Take care, I send you high fives and tail wags,
Arwen
and

Spay Day 2009 - Join in and Help Your Community!

~Help to Support Spay Day by Shopping in the Stores Listed Below~

On February 24, 2009 join the online Etsy community in supporting Spay Day - a day to promote the spaying and neutering of pets to control the animal population, particularly the stray and abandoned animal populations. Listed below are shops on Etsy that will be donating to their local animal organizations to aid in this effort. I strongly encourage you to join in - not only will you be helping out, but these sellers have some fantastic items at even better prices!
Meghann

PARTICIPATION LIST WITH SPECIAL
(In order member joined the special)

1. Nancy - NanjoDogz.etsy.com - 20% to Illinois Doberman Rescue
2. Jen - DragonRags.etsy.com + jlynnpro.etsy.com - Free Shipping
3. Heather - aktie9.etsy.com - 50% of all sales on Spay day to the EFA charity
of the month (Rainbow Connection Animal Foundation)
4. El - elephantdance.etsy.com - 100% donations of profits to paws-saipan.org
5. Michele - mvegan5.etsy.com - 25% of shop sales to the EFA Charity of the
Month (Rainbow Connection Animal Foundation)
6. Marjorie - WHSKR.etsy.com - giving 50% of my sales
7. Meghann - littlestudiojewels.etsy.com - 25% of the total sales to the Lanark
Animal Welfare Society
8. Holly - silverrosedesigns.etsy.com - free shipping, and 50% of shop sales to
German Shepherd Rescue of New England.
9. Eva - alilsumptinsumptin.etsy.com - 25% of proceeds divided equally to HSUS &
SCGR Rescue plus Free Shipping
10. Linda - AllAboutCats.etsy.com - Free Shipping
11. Lynn - LolaLynn.etsy.com - 10% to the EFA charity of the month (Rainbow
Connection Animal Foundation), 10% to Sophia the dog for her heart surgery and Free
Shipping
12. Emily - punkybunny300.etsy.com
13. Heather A. - creaturecomfort.etsy.com - Free Shipping and 10% to the EFA
Charity of the Month (Rainbow Connection Animal Foundation)
14. Kim - veganessa.etsy.com + midnightrabbits.etsy.com - Free shipping on that
day and 50% of anything sold will be donated to: friendsoftheanimals.co.uk/neuter.htm
15. Kylie - silentlotus.etsy.com - 20% off all purchases, with proceeds being
split between the HSUS and a local Pittsburgh animal organization
16. Cynthia - kittyanydots.etsy.com
17. Bonnie - wovendreams.etsy.com - 10% off on dog leashes, plus many items 100%
donation to Dance with the Bunnies Rabbit Rescue
18. Julie - jbirkemeierphoto.etsy.com - Free Shipping
19. Lynn - aguavino.etsy.com - donate 20% off ALL sales that day to Pigs Peace Sanctuary
20. Ashley - NYCrochet.etsy.com - Free Shipping
21. Christina - KnittyKrissy.etsy.com
22. Cari - LoveLuca.etsy.com - 50% to an animal charity
23. Ginger - BarkingDogBlankets.etsy.com - 100% of the proceeds on the small
blanket sale to spay day
24. Wei - WeiOpenSecret.etsy.com - Free Shipping
25. Gina - claynfiber.etsy.com - Free Shipping for orders of $40 or more and
donate 100% of the proceeds to HSUS.
26. Akire - Lacewood.etsy.com
27. Rebecca - beckynot.etsy.com - Free Shipping
28. Ann - AnnRan.etsy.com - donate 25% of any of my reproduction prints (
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5532445&section_id=5316177 ) or earrings (
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5532445&section_id=5306725 ) sold on Spay
Day to one of my favorite local critter charities. Some of my listings already
specify a charity - for those listings I'll donate to that charity. For the listings that
don't specify a charity, I'll pick one.
29. Maria - pocketfulofsunshine.etsy.com - 100% of all sales from my "DT"
Collection and 25% of all sales from the rest of my shop will be donated to the Florida Boxer
Rescue
30. Karen - TheFaerieCupboard.etsy.com - 50% of total sales on Spay day will go
to Patriot Siberian Husky Rescue
31. Nita - ApacheMoon.etsy.com - Donate 50% of proceeds on two items
(http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9681161 and
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15483972)
32. Shari - CiaoHound.etsy.com + PetsJubilee.etsy.com - 20% Discount
33. Stephanie - LuLusPhotography.etsy.com
34. Renee - BelleSirota.etsy.com - 20% of sales will go to the EFA charity of
the month (Rainbow Connection Animal Foundation)
35. Gena - Dogonwear.etsy.com - 100% to spay day

Thankful Thursday - Hobbies are Wonderful Blessings!

So the last few weeks I have been pretty much incapacitated by pain and exhaustion due to my Fibromyalgia. However, I am not complaining as I have learned to take these times and teach myself various lessons: how to relax even if I don't think I can or should, how to find interesting, educational programming on television or the Internet, how to learn new hobbies like knitting and crocheting that don't require much more than my hands, brain, and a couch for me to stretch out on. It is times like these that, although I still get frustrated, are teaching me a lot about myself, and how much I am able to learn from my own living room. What a blessing in disguise!
I have just started learning amigurumi - the Japanese art of miniature crochet. All I need is a crochet hook, some yarn, and a great little book called, "Amigurumi World - Seriously Cute Crochet" by Ana Paula Rimoli. It is seriously cute, and seriously easy! I picked up some yarns on sale and have been experimenting for a few days now. I have made 2 bears (the first is now being chewed on by my mom's cat after I sprayed it with some catnip spray - pics to follow when my mom sends me some), and I am starting a pink elephant, lol. I am hoping to make these and sell them as cat toys with the proceeds going to animal shelters. I may also turn the smaller ones into key chains and zipper pulls, again, to sell for charity. I have some safety eyes on order so that they look a little cuter (not that sewn eyes aren't cute, but safety eyes stop me from poking myself with a sharp needle!), and each animal I make is getting better and better!
I'm not stopping the jewellery or photography, never fear, but having a new hobby is always a great way to return to your work with a fresh perspective. "A change is as good as a rest", as the saying goes, and that will certainly turn out to be true when I am able to get back to my jewellery table!
I am listing new jewellery items daily, as I had a bunch of pieces photographed at the same time, so please keep checking my Etsy store for new jewellery suitable for every budget and taste!
Meghann

Woo Another Treasury!

I managed to get another treasury on Etsy! This time I featured items from both the Capital Crafters and Etsy for Animals for a nice variety guaranteed to get rid of that winter chill. I hope you'll check it out, and don't forget to check out my SUPER 50% off Sale in my Etsy Store!
Also check out the January contest of the month and enter to win great prizes.
Meghann

Plea for Help!

The Etsy Artists Helping Animals 100% to the Animals store is in desperate need for sales to help their donation efforts to this month's Whiskerville Animal Sanctuary. 100% of sales goes towards the charity of the month. This month, sales are really down and the charity won't be getting much of a donation, and they really need all the help they can get!
Here is their Etsy shop announcement:

etsyforanimals's Shop Announcement --------------
All items listed in this shop are contributed by EFA members. $50 of our October profits will go to one lucky winner's favorite animal organization and the rest of the profits will go to the EFA Charity of the Month.

October Charity of the Month: Whiskerville Animal Sanctuary (a Hurricane Ike victim relief animal charity) - http://www.whiskerville.org/

See profile for more info on the Charity of the Month, EFA, and our funds raised for animals.

Combined Shipping is available. You will be promptly refunded if you have paid more than $1 over the actual shipping costs. Free Shipping is available on Sale Items.

Interested in contributing to the store? Please visit:
http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5837323

Please get out and help the animals!
Meghann