Puppy Momma, part deux

So everyone knows we got our sweet puppy Jasper just a little over 2 months ago. I can't believe how much he has grown!!! He has more than doubled in size and weight....my little pup is growing up! Definitely, the hardest part about going on vacation was leaving him :( Fortunately we found a great doggy daycare with overnight sitting and our regular dogwalkers do overnight sitting, so we were covered, but we definitely missed our little dude. Jasper had a great time while we were away and made lots of new friends....it was like puppy summer camp! He did so well, we decided our little guy could do with some company at home. So...........::Drumroll please::.......................

We got Mickey!!!!

We got Mickey at the same place that we got Jasper. They are actually only a week apart in age and Mickey was there when we adopted Jasper, but amazingly was still looking for a home when we went back 2 months later!!! He is a pure-bred Yorkie, so I'm currently reading up on Yorkies. He is one tiny little brother with big attitude and personality!!

So far Jasper and Mickey are getting along well, especially considering they are both super excited little puppies!! They share toys pretty well and want to play with each other, but we have to be careful because of the size difference between them. As they get more used to each other and the excitement wears off, I think we'll be all set.

On another exciting puppy note, Jasper starts his first round of training classes this weekend! We are very much looking forward to this because while we have taught him 'sit' and 'down' he is still a crazy puppy and we have a hard time controlling him when he gets excited or need him to sit still (like, for grooming).

Oh that reminds me!! How does Mickey look? When we brought him home his hair was super long, having never been cut. I think the idea was to grow it out into the traditional Yorkie 'cut'....super long with a topknot/bow:

I personally think this looks silly. Before we could decide about grooming, our little Mick, who has no potty-training experience to speak of, pooped in his crate during the night, laid in it and woke up with matted poop hair!! So, we cleaned him up and whipped out the scissors!! For no experience and no guide, just clipping where we thought it made sense, I think we did good! I don't have any before pictures to compare to. But I think we're going to keep Mickey in the hipper 'modified' yorkie cut...more like this:It's so much more handsome!!!!!!!!!!!

Blog rearrangement!

Due to the busy crazy schedule, etc....my book updates for the 52 books in 52 weeks will now appear in my regularly scheduled blog, KellieBelle Karma. Look for updates there!! Thanks!!

6 books down

So I finished book #6 tonight, Nightseer by Laurell K Hamilton. This was her first novel and I must say I found it to be pretty good. I enjoyed reading a straight-up fantasy novel (quite the departure from her typical sex romp vamp books, the Anita Blake series). There was a brief time near the middle that I was getting bored with it. Just lots of battle scenes and I was thinking...OK, fight fight fight, close call, fight fight fight....can we move on? This is really a common complaint for me with some action novels. But I stuck with it and I was quite pleased.

10.4%

of my way through the 52 books! I've read 5 so far. So, number 4 is:

I am truly a sucker for a good romance novel and this book is a collection of 2 short stories and a novella. I loved it....Yes, I'm a sap.

#5 was another Nora Roberts/JD Robb novella as well as 3 other novellas combining my love for romance with my love for sci-fi and fantasy!! The Laurell K. Hamilton one was the novella/early version of the Anita Blake book, Narcissus in Chains, so that was interesting because I got to see some of the changes made between this short form and the full-version that I had already read.

I have not decided on what to start next. I have a nice little stash, so I'll probably just close my eyes and point.

3 books down...

So I finished Danse Macabre AND the book after that one in the series, The Harlequin.

While I don't think these are as good as the early books, I certainly enjoyed them and devoured them at the same rate! I was disappointed that in Danse Macabre there was no 'police work' for Anita, but The Harlequin has a little of that. Also The Harlequin brought back Edward, one of my favorite characters! Overall, not bad reads!

I went on to read a very heartwarming book I got as a Christmas gift, Invitation to Provence, by Elizabeth Adler. This was a very easy heartwarming read. It was a nice breath of fresh air after all my suspense and vampire filled Anita Blake novels!! This is definitely a book that makes you long for and appreciate the simple things in life! Very good read!!

So what's next? I haven't totally decided, so it will be a surprise! Stay tuned to find out!!

The journey starts!

I love to read. I always have. In fact in elementary school I won a read-a-thon contest and still have my prize medals!! Oh, the joy!

I'm a geek and proud of it. I love books and everything about them. I love the smell of library and bookstores and often 'get lost' and spend hours wandering in them. I am now lucky to have an hour commute to and from work everyday. Why lucky?? Because I take a train and can READ! It is wonderful ME time built into my day!! As a result, my reading definitely increased this year. I read 35 books after I started counting around June!

So, when the members of Ravelry came up with the idea to start a "52 books in 52 weeks" challenge, I knew I could do this!! So, here we go!!

First on my list is Danse Macabre by Laurell K. Hamilton. This book is pretty far into the Anita Blake vampire hunter series. This series gets mixed reviews because it started out as a purely fantasy type series (it reminded me a lot of the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher, but a little more of a 'chick' version) but later crossed into more and more explicit sex scenes. A lot of people are totally turned off by it. I don't really mind so much because, while it does get wild and crazy, it is worked into the story and there are consequences to the characters. So, while the nature of the books changed, I remain nearly just as hooked as I was in the beginning. I am just starting this one, so we'll see if it lives us to the rest.