Style and Inspiration

This week we were given two awards, and I thought we'd pass them along before I forget who gave them to us or what the rules are.  Hopefully you'll find some new blogs to read in the process.  I know that they have given me a lot of smiles since I've begun reading all of them.

Our first award was from Cooper and Lola.  I was really honored by what she had to say about our blog.  A big thank you to them for the Inspiring Blogger Award. 

Now we are supposed to link back to the person who gave us this award and list three bloggers who inspire us.  We're also supposed to tell why they inspire us.  I'll also add to these bloggers to please not feel like they have to use this award on their blogs unless they want to.  I know that sometimes blog awards don't fit in with your plans, and that's okay.  Do let others know about the award if you are passing it along, though!  The truth is, it was really hard to pick three blogs for this, because almost all of the ones that we read inspire us in some way or another.

First is Romping and Rolling in the Rockies.  Not only does KB take some of the most amazing pictures that I've seen, she has an amazing spirit.  Every time I read her blog I'm inspired to go out and do something with my dogs.  The way she deals with overcoming chronic pain definitely makes me take stock and realize that I am very blessed in my life.  Not only that, her dog, K is overcoming a difficult bone infection.  K and R are two of the most gorgeous and well photographed Labrador Retrievers that you will ever see. 

Second is The Shenanigans of Shawnee the Shepherd.  Shawnee and her mom go on some of the most amazing hikes.  I find myself in total awe of the places they get to go.  When we added Morgan to our pack, we realized that our lifestyle was going to have to get more active.  Adding hiking to our weekends has been great for us and the dogs.  We're not sure we'll ever be the hikers that Shawnee and her mom are, but they definitely inspire us to get out there and see the world around us.

Third is Wilf the PON Discovers France.  They live in a small village in France and Wilf is enjoying the end of his life after his brother passed away last year and being recently diagnosed with cancer.  What inspires me about this blog is the wonderful descriptions of life in their small village.  I feel like I know the cast of characters they often meet on a day to day basis.  I'm also inspired by Wilf's gentle wisdom.  I'm not going to lie, I will cry like a baby the day I read that Wilf is with Angus and the Font no more, just like if he were my own dog.  I just love everything about their blog, the quiet comfort of life in their rural village, the love that's obvious for a sweet little sheepdog and the subtle humor. 

Second is the Stylish Blogger Award.  We were given this award by our friends at Dogs Rock!!  You're supposed to list some things about yourself and then choose five blogs to recieve the award.  Since I usually let the dogs tell about themselves when we do awards, I thought I'd break tradition this time and tell some about myself.

1.  I actually started this blog while I was dabbling in other short story and poetry writing because I wanted to try a new style of writing besides what I was doing.  I never, ever dreamed that other people besides a few of my friends would read it.  Then the blog took on a life of its own and now I rarely write things that aren't for the blog.

2.  Writing the blog lead me to a volunteer job I do as copy editor for Celebrating Greyhounds Magazine and a few articles that I've written for them in the past year.  That was also something I never expected!  I got a t-shirt from the magazine, a free subscription and bragging rights! 

3.  I am a voracious reader and I think the nook by Barnes and Noble is the greatest invention since sliced bread.  For those who are asking what a nook is, it's an electronic reader.  If I want a book I can purchase it and read it from anywhere in a matter of seconds.  Since I live out in the middle of the corn field, it's very handy to have.  I am always curious about what other people are reading!

4.  I once jumped off a twenty foot cliff in Colorado with my sister while we were on a canoing trip.  I am an incurable daredevil, it seems.  One day, I hope that if I'm sitting in a nursing home that I have enough interesting stories to keep people entertained for the rest of my stay here on this mortal coil.

5.  I love gadgets.  There, I said it!  Mr. Taleteller often gives me grief about this, but I am my father's daughter when it comes to electronic toys.  I don't know what it is about them, but they fascinate me. 

Alright, enough about me!  Now it's time to pick five stylish bloggers to share the award with.  That's a tall order, because there are lots of bloggers we know with style and panache, but we finally narrowed it down. 

Dennis' Diary of Destruction -- We know he's on hiatus right now, but when his dada gets done writing that book of his, we'll be happy to see the Sunday Awards and Memes Show start off with some awards.  He wears the most stylish hats ever, so he deserves an award for that!

Winnie's Dog Blog -- Winnie is a Greyhound and she looks similar to Bunny.  That alone makes her stylish in our book.  She's also a bit newer to the blogging world and would love to make more friends, so stop in and say hi!

Cult of the Greyhound -- The funniest Greyhound pictures around!  They do everything with their own sense of style and we salute them.

The Adventures of Anna the GSD -- Anna's a German Shepherd diva!  She always has stylish collars and backpacks.  We look to her for how a well-dressed Shepherd should live.

It's A Greyt Day -- I love this blog.  The pictures will make you want to go out and try to get some of your own dogs, but I don't think I'll ever be as good at catching a shot as she is.  Not only that, but she has the gift of giving you a great smile or laugh with just a few words. 

I hope you'll check out all the blogs that we have links to today.  They certainly make me smile or think every day!  

Wordless Wednesday 1/5 -- Ice Princesses

Frozen Waterfalls

Bunny here at the keyboard sharing our first adventure of the new year.

Some of you may remember that Morgan and I really wanted to hike back into Saint Louis Canyon in Starved Rock State Park this winter to see the frozen waterfall.  It was one of our big goals for hiking this year.  We'd planned to go on New Year's Day, but Mom and Dad were both sick, so we went on Sunday instead. 

I have to say that we chose our timing perfectly.  We had our third snowiest December in history here.  We've had more than seventeen inches of snow total for the month.  Then, on Thursday and Friday it warmed up.  As a matter of fact, Friday it was almost sixty degrees and we had crazy thunderstorms, although we were spared the tornados that they had to the South of us.  All that rain washed the snow right away.  Then on Saturday and Sunday, it got cold and freezing again.

Hiking through the canyon was more treacherous than usual.  Lots of places were solid ice.  Combine that with a cliff off to the side and it did make us proceed with quite a bit of caution.  As a matter of fact, Dad even fell once.  Sorry, no photos of that this time, but one of these days soon, I'll get one.

We were surprised that lots of people decided to hike down the canyon with dogs.  We saw more dogs there than I think we ever have before.  It was pretty cool to see so many people enjoying nature with their pups in the New Year.  Morgan would like it to be known that she was the only dog on the trails with no coat on. 

After we hiked and skated our way down the trail, we finally got to the waterfall.  Let me tell you, it was worth all that slipping and sliding!  I am so glad we made it down there.  It was like seeing something from a magical realm. 

We even shot a short movie so you could hear what it sounds like as the water falls down the ice.  It's still hard to believe that any sort of violence could happen in such a pristine place.  We really felt like it was a good sign that 2011 will bring all sorts of wonderful and magical experiences.

Dad was so impressed that he thought about taking off work on Monday and going back.  It was just that cool, no pun intended!  So, who else is accomplishing their goals for the new year?

Snow Flight

Bunny here, writing a little about our day after Christmas fun.

You may have noticed that certain hounds here at our house were rather unfairly neglected on Friday and Saturday while a couple of humans who call themselves "Mom" and "Dad" were off attending all sorts of family Christmas get togethers.  It turns out that no hounds were invited to these festivities.  I can't imagine that they had any sort of fun at these get togethers, and Mom assures me that it was truly a torturous experience.  After smelling Dad's gloves Friday night, I'm not entirely sure I believe that, but I'm a generous little hound and I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt.

Sunday, however, they redeemed themselves.  We had more snow on Christmas and the world was a wash of white.  Blueberry and I got all bundled up in our coats and we went with Morgan, Mom and Dad to the dog park to stretch our legs. 

It was glorious!  There was a Sibe there, along with a Sibe-Golden cross and a small spaniel.  They were more than happy to run in the snow with us.  We had the best time.  I believe our pictures speak for themselves.

We came home tired, happy dogs and took a long Winter's nap.  Now if I can just get them motivated to go see that waterfall!

 

Resolutions For A New Year

Bunny here at the keyboard, recording our resolutions for this year. 

We debated about doing resolutions, but in the end, decided that we'd give it a shot.  It's a fun time to reflect on what you want to do with your life, and we all have dreams.  So, I convinced my sisters to let me share their resolutions with you and I added mine, too! 

Blueberry says she resolves to be even more perfect and to worry Mom and Dad less this year.  (insert rolling eyeballs)  She says she's going to focus on her health and keeping in shape so she can keep up with me and Morgan on our outings.

Morgan resolves not to break any more windows.  She says that she makes no resolutions about not breaking toys or unstuffing stuffies.  There are limits to what she can withstand.  She is also going to try to loosen up a little.  (Ha!)

Lilac says, ahem, that she's "damned near perfect" and doesn't need to make any resolutions.  I tried to convince her, but it was a no go.  She did say that she's planning on seizing life with both paws and making the most of it, though.

I resolve to be the best me I can be this year.  I'm going to try my hardest to keep Mom and Dad in shape by getting them out on those hiking trails more this year.  I'm also going to work on challenging myself to try more new things and meeting more people so they can have the opportunity to pet me. 

So, there you have our New Year's resolutions.  We'd like to wish all of you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2011!  What are your resolutions for this year?

We're participating in this Saturday's Pet Blog Hop, hosting by Life With Dogs, Two Little Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume.  If you'd like to participate, please follow the rules and follow your three hosts, add your blog to the Linky and copy and paste the html code into your html editor.  Thanks again to our hosts for putting on the hop