On 2013, Blogging and Polyester-Headed Sourpatch Monsters (Illustrated with Funny Dog Photos)

Because there's no blogger support group that meets on the third Wednesday evening of every month (for example), and I keep most of these "business" things to myself 364 days of the year, I'm grateful for today's opportunity to participate in the (my third) Pet Blogger's Challenge. (Note: I think I just said I have 364 days worth of business to unload. Maybe you should run. Unless, that is, you want to see the PICTURES! Also, hint: I really don't talk all that much. ☺)

Thank you to (role-model) bloggers, Amy Burkert of Take Paws (Go Pet Friendly.com blog), and Edie Jarolim of Will My Dog Hate Me?, for once again hosting this beloved event.

When I first arrived here, three years ago -- on this exact Blogger blog, only with the "blogspot" still hogging up my URL, and a blog design with distinctly less TV in it -- I couldn't fathom any direction for The Chronicles of Cardigan, beyond showing off photos of my dogs to a group of fellow dog lovers who'd appreciate them. It was just plain old fun.

[pretend Jon Farleigh is me.]
I love my blog! Yay, blog!

Before long, though, I realized there was just as much (maybe more) fun in putting words together on the page than just putting up the photos, so I wrote every day, wringing my brain free of more droplets of creativity than it had given up in decades. And, I got burnt out.

[pretend stuffed corgi is this blog.]
JF: You've changed, blog, and I don't think I like you anymore.

Blog, you are a polyester-headed sourpatch monster! Go sit in time-out!

And, burn out led to ambivalence, which led to struggles with whether or not to monetize, which led to resentment over being "obligated" to do something with this space that could, eventually, take all the fun out of it. So (after some serious soul-searching), I stepped way back. Decided to lose the guilt for not posting, and gave my poor, overwhelmed brain a rest...

My brain is eating cookies in bed, and not taking a nap. 

Last year's Blogger Challenge (for context)...
  On 2012, Blogging and Elephants in the Room

This year's questions and answers...

1. How long have you been blogging? Please tell us why you started blogging, and, for anyone stopping by for the first time, give us a quick description of what your blog is about.

Three years. The reason I started the blog is up there, in the 3rd paragraph from the top. Here's the blog description from my About page: This blog is a disheveled stack of nonsense humorous and (sometimes) unconventional chronicle of my life with Jon Farleigh and Dewi (my two lively Cardigan Welsh Corgis), three (okay, SIX!) rescue cats, a husband and some kids. But really, it's mostly about the dogs. (In fewer words, THERE'S A PARTY GOIN' ON IN HERE, ALL THE TIME!) :)

2. Name one thing about your blog, or one blogging goal that you accomplished during 2013, that made you most proud.

I had LOTS of fun! (That was my only goal for 2013.)

3. When you look at the post you wrote for last year’s Pet Blogger Challenge, or just think back over the past year, what about blogging has changed the most for you?

I've managed to banish the guilt...for not posting enough, for not participating in enough blogger stuff, for not sounding like someone I'm not. I've also reestablished a posting rhythm, and have gone from publishing only once, to three times a week. And finally, after three years, I got paid* to write!

4. What have you found to be the best ways to bring more traffic to your blog, other than by writing great content?

 Twitter (which encompasses Triberr.com shares) and Facebook, in that order.

Oh, yeah, there you go. Stupid brain cookies tasted terrible anyway.

5. How much time to do you spend publicizing your blog, and do you think you should spend more or less in the coming year?

I only share post links (on Facebook, G+, Twitter and sometimes, Pinterest) when I've recently published one. However, I'm active daily on several social media platforms, where my blog URL is visible. I spend at least one hour a day just showing up in different places. This year, I intend to increase my presence substantially on Twitter and (hopefully) G+ (specifically hangouts).

6. How do you gauge whether or not what you’re writing is appealing to your audience? How do you know when it’s time to let go of a feature or theme that you’ve been writing about for a while?

They leave a comment? They share it? They don't call me bad names? :) As for the second question, I leave it when I'm no longer inspired to keep writing about it. (Boring does not equal fun.)  

7. When you’re visiting other blogs, what inspires you to comment on a post rather than just reading and moving on?

It's usually because I feel compelled to, which -- as with anything I say out loud (being more of a listener) -- happens when I'm passionate about the subject, and think I have something of value to add. Please note that feeling "passionately" about something, sometimes, equals having a burning desire to be a smart@ss. But I try to limit those comments to bloggers who already know what a harmless buffoon I am. :)

Pardon me, cat, would you get me some Grey Poupon and a can of sardines?

8. Do you do product reviews and/or giveaways? If so, what do you find works best, and what doesn’t work at all?

Yes, I will do reviews, when I've found something that's really awesome, and feel like sharing it with my readers. That being said, most of my reviews are unsolicited (meaning no one asked me to review it; I just did it). I will also do paid reviews (for brands who ask me to), but considering what I just said, I wouldn't even do a paid review unless I was certain I could give a sparking one. As for giveaways, they're fun, especially when I can afford to give away a gift card, or something whimsical that I'd buy for myself. I will consider sponsored giveaways only if I truly love the product, wouldn't think twice about buying it myself, and (hugely important) it fits in with my blog theme and writing style. 

9. When writer’s block strikes and you’re feeling dog-tired, how do you recharge?

For something less chronic than full-on burnout (which I've had, and I talked about last year), I just take a deep breath and post a classic (ahem re-run). (Yay, re-runs!) If I get so tired that I can't even post a re-run, I'm not sure a "recharge" will be what the doctor orders. At least not in the context of this question. 

OK, I'm feelin' groovy again. But, if blog wants to play with me,
some big changes are gonna have to happen. 

10. Have you ever taken a break from your blog? How did that go? Have you ever thought about quitting your blog altogether? What makes you stay?

Not an extended break, but I cut back to posting once a week for the first two-thirds of 2013, and...it was glorious! And refreshing! :) And, yes, I've thought about quitting (don't we all?), but I can't. I don't want to quit it. It's just plain old fun. 

11. What goals do you have for your blog in 2014?

Well? I think I'd like to branch out into doing recipes and cooking demos...NOT! (Reminder: I'm a harmless buffoon.) Gosh, I don't like this question! OK, other than continue to have fun, I'm gonna make more money with it (doing exactly the same stuff I've been doing already, just less sporadically). And, I promise you, it'll still be the same happy place it always has been! So, see you next week, OK?! :))

[pretend Lulabelle is me.]
Hey, blog. Long time no talk. Guess what? I always knew you were a cat person, so I made a few changes. I think this is gonna work out just fine, don't you?

 Thanks for reading!
☺☺☺

* My first paid writing job was through the BlogPaws Pet Blogger Network. 

Have you seen all these other awesome posts?

You Should See Me in My Birthday Suit

Caution! By order of the CDC (Committee for Dog[blog] Cleanliness), all readers must use this virtual can of lavender scented Comet to scrub their minds of any "gutter" scum before proceeding. 

Oh, hai, y'all! How'd you like that title, huh?

I wrote it...because today is MY 3rd BIRTHDAY!

Oh, and the mom-peep made me add that warning up there. Something about a crack-down on the spread of soiled minds brain dirt. Whatev.

So anyway, like I was saying, today's my birthday and like the title says, you really should get a'load of me in my birthday suit. And boy, do I have a surprise for you!

Close your eyes!

Now, open 'em!

Ta da!

That's my sweet mama Elowyn, my four sibs and ME - Dewi (on the far right) - at the dairy bar on February 14, 2010. We were all in our birthday suits, dude!

Too bad my face is stuffed in a milkshake, though. I kinda wanted you to see it...

Oh, wait! Here! Look at this one...

Can you tell which one is me?! Hint: HellOOooo, I'm right here in front! Duh!

Okay, back to the subject of birthday suits. Mom-peep said that a birthday suit doesn't have to be limited to the suit you had on when you actually got born. Which is lucky for me, because that teeny tiny old suit went up the vacuum a long time ago. 

So yeah, and the mom-peep decided it would be fun to dress me and JF up in party hats and make us sit in the back of her car so she could take our pictures for this blog post (which I am writing, by the way) just because she doesn't have the time to make us do our proper sits and stays. Pfft.)

Well, here is what I think of the whole car imprisonment photo shoot.

Wait, I think a treat fell down in this crack.

I'm pretty sure this is not a happy face.

Can I get out of the car now?

(P.S. No, we did NOT get to go for a ride. But the party later, when the peeps were home, where they sang to me and gave me and JF some doggie carrot cake with pink icing, rocked, dude!) 

And one last thing, before I go: 

CONGRATULATIONS, MERINDA!

You won the photo caption challenge!

I could hear mom-peep giggling (even over Jon Farleigh's snoring) when she opened up your comment. Said she could totally picture me saying that. As if. 

What's the big deal about how I'm sitting, anyway? I just don't get you peeps.

Okay, I think I'm done. Bye, y'all! Thanks for looking at my birthday suits!

Happy birthday to my brother, Kirby, and my three sisters, Anwen, Jacklyn and Penny!

*****

A note from the editor:

Congratulations, Merinda (of The Brews Brothers blog)! Your caption cracked me up! And as promised, I'll be posting it (with credit) all over social media (within the next 24 hours)!

But mostly, THANK YOU TO EVERYONE who played along! I enjoyed reading every single one of your entries and I think you are all awesome great sports!

In honor of Dewi and his littermates' birthday, and thanks to you all, CorgiAid is getting $40 to help with their rescue efforts. 

Well played! :-)

5 Reasons Why (I think) 95% of the People Didn't Caption My Dog's Photo

Thanks to Laurie Eno at The Daily Corgi, whom I persuaded* (with no less than NINE** adorable photos of Jon Farleigh and Dewi driving sitting in the front seat of my car) to add the link to my "out-of-the-ordinary" caption challenge (to benefit CorgiAid) to her Facebook fan page (with somewhere near a trillion likes)... 

[pauses to inhale]

...Dewi's photo-captioning post from three days ago is now the 6th most viewed post I've ever published.

So therefore, it's only natural that I've been fretting mulling over the possible reasons why only five percent of those who paid Dewi's photo a visit actually submitted a caption!

I'm sorry; have we met?
...because you left without giving me something ridiculous to say!

And now - mostly to make myself feel better - I'd like to offer just five of the several possible reasons why (I can't help but think) so many of you left...without so much as a peep!:

1. Your "commenting" hand has inexplicably fallen off. (ouch)
   
2. You are a professional dog-photo-captioner and didn't want to "show up" the nice people whose captions could never be as awesome as yours.
   
3. You were going to leave a caption, but then you thought to yourself, "If that comment-grubbing hussy really wanted to make a donation to dog rescue, why didn't she just do it, without dragging her poor derpy dog and me into it?!"
   (To which I'd say, "That wouldn't have been nearly as much fun, you silly!")
   
4. You accidentally wound up on my blog after searching for "rainbow clip art."
   
5. Your dog ate your comment. 

Might one of these pertain to your experience? Think I'm on the right track, here?? ;-)

THERE IS GOOD NEWS, THOUGH!

Even with the above-mentioned commenting "issues," I've still received lots of captions and am over halfway to my donation goal of $50! Yay!

WANT TO JOIN THE FUN AND HELP ME REACH MY GOAL?

Great! You still have through this Friday, February 8, to leave a caption, OVER HERE, please!

THANKS, y'all!

* Actually, it wasn't like that at all. Laurie is much too professional and on the up-and-up to succumb to  "persuasion" with adorable photos of corgis in cars. 

** Not all nine of the photos have been published to The Daily Corgi or its social media appendages. Only two of them have (so far) - HERE and HERE.

Look! Bonus photos of Jon Farleigh and Dewi sharing a doggie "cupcake" for Jon's 3rd birthday!

Not Your Ordinary Photo Captioning Challenge (to Benefit Dog Rescue)!

So I have this photo of Dewi:

Yeah, I know...

[crinkles nose and gestures running feathered fingers through Dewi's butt-cheek fur (aka pants)]

SQUEEE!!!

Okay, so yeah, I have this photo and I don't think there's ever been another (of Dewi) that I've wanted to caption so badly. :-)

And that is why I've decided TO ASK YOU (my fine, creative, generous, kind, compliant...) READERS to caption it for me!

BUT! As the title of this post suggests, I'm looking for captions that aren't exactly "ordinary" (or obvious). Obvious being, for example, "Belly rub, please?" or "Hey, ya want summa this?"
Make sense? 

I don't care how "out there" these captions are; in fact, the more "out there" the merrier. This is going to be fun!

AND THE BEST PART? 

FOR EVERY CAPTION RECEIVED
(up to 75, through 11:59 p.m. ET on 2/8/13), 
I WILL MAKE A DONATION TO
a fantastic dog rescue organization,CORGI AID*!
($1.00 for each caption up to 25, and $0.50 for each caption from 26 through 75, up to $50.00 max.)

This is Lucky, an owner-surrendered diabetic, but otherwise wonderful, 8-year-old corgi boy, and CorgiAid's most recent  beneficiary. His rescue story is here.

Think you can lend a silly caption to help Lucky (and his corgi/corgi mix brothers and sisters in rescue) out?

Oh, but wait, there's more!

After all the captions are in, I'm (somehow) going to pick my favorite, announce the human commenter behind it, edit the photo with the caption, and then share it all over the virtual earth (with proper credit, of course)! Think of the bragging rights!
(Note: My virtual "earth" might not be as large as some others', but it's plenty big enough for Lucky.)

So, as a recap:

<> Submit your caption of Dewi's photo in the comments BELOW (not on Facebook or Twitter, please!)

<> Comments will close after Friday, February 8.

<> I will post the final captioned photo (along with an announcement of the submitter - by whatever ID your comment leads me to) on Tuesday, February 12 (which also happens to be Dewi's 3rd birthday). Yay!

<> Needy homeless corgis and corgi mixes - by way of CorgiAid - are going to get some financial assistance!

THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING!

NOW GO FORTH AND CAPTION DEWI!


* CorgiAid's mission statement (from their Home page):

CorgiAid exists to provide a framework for support of rescue efforts for Cardigan and Pembroke Welsh corgis and corgi mixes, for the enhancement of animal welfare and the betterment of mankind.

On 2012, Blogging and Elephants in the Room

(Cryptic) Note: For those who've seen the teaser I added to the Linky List, thanks for coming back; I hope it's worth the click. ;-)

A year ago January 10, I published Wherein I Reveal My Blogging Secrets, my first attempt at the Pet Blogger Challenge, a blog hop collaboration between Amy Burkert, owner/author of Go Pet Friendly (dot) com and its blog, Take Paws, and Edie Jarolim, author of the book Am I Boring My Dog: And 99 Things Every Dog Wishes You Knew and its (now retired) blog Will My Dog Hate Me?. Today (5 days late, but with several excellent excuses), I make my second attempt (thanks, Amy).

I'll be sticking to the Q&A format, since the thought of writing a narrative makes me want to self-medicate with bloody Mary(s) Irish coffee peanut butter and chocolate.

*****

1. How long have you been blogging?

Slightly over two years, but it feels more like 12. (Not that that's bad!)

2. What do you consider the most important goals you set out in last year's post?

I only had one (sort of) and that was to market some Jon Farleigh and Dewi t-shirts. I did that (by setting up a Cafe Press blog store). Wisely, I did not include t-shirt sales as a goal. ;-) (The stuff's just way too expensive. And also, I'm no t-shirt designer.)

3. Have your goals changed over the past year?

Yes. 

4. How often do you post?

(Hold on, I should probably first [formally] introduce you to my "elephant," Shirley. As in, Shirley you've noticed a change in my posting frequency!)

About once a week (down from every weekday in 2011)...and I have worked hard to get to this point!

The truth is, I've spent much of this last year trying to recover from a gruesome case of blog burnout (the pinnacle of which occurred when I wrote this post, which I should aptly re-title "A Newbie Blogger's Cautionary Tale"). Or maybe it was blog addiction. At any rate, I came inches away from walking away from this (virtual) space, but after some drastic changes in blogging habits (including posting less - for now), I have grown more attached to the blog, as a creative outlet, than ever before. 

5.  If you post "as the spirit moves you" (vs. on a schedule), why? How do you think this affects your audience? How do you know when something is "post-worthy"?

A. Because on a schedule, the "spirit" was moving me to beat my blog with a rubber hose.

B. I expect most of my audience isn't affected at all (some might even welcome fewer posts to read). One or two, though, might miss the daily posting. ;-( 

C. When I can't get it out of my head.  

6. How much time do you spend writing your blog per week? How much time visiting other blogs? Can you share some tips for keeping on top of it all?

(Wait! Do you see the other..."ELEPHANT"? Yeah, that's Ima. As in, Ima SELFISH [recovering blog addict] TART for not commenting on your blogs [or replying to most of my own blog comments]. Please refer to #4 and accept my lowly apology.)

A. 2-5 hours (double if I'm forced to write it using my stupid mini notebook, like now)

B. 2-5 hours of lurking (I use a blog reader - Feedly - in Google Chrome.)

C. That's funny!

7.  How do you measure the success of a post and of your blog in general (comments, shares, traffic)?

A published post is a "successful" post. :-) As for the blog, "success" is such a subjective term. I'd be lying if I said I'd keep writing even if no one bothered to read. I need an audience (for accountability and feedback). This blog has done huge things for my self-confidence (as a creative writer) and my writing/social media skills. It's the reason why I've gotten involved with fostering and volunteering at a local animal shelter. And then, there are all of you (reading this when you could be pinning or shopping on Etsy, for example). I suppose if that's not success, I'm exceptionally blessed as a blogging failure.

8. If you could ask the pet blogging community to help with one issue you're having with your blog, what would it be?

I'd ask for patience, but not with the blog, with me. 

9. What goals do you have for your blog in 2013?

To have fun! To tell inappropriate and embarrassing tales! To upload way too many photos of my pets! But mostly, to simply keep posting (until the ideas run out...or a Cardigan Welsh Corgi jumps a wakeboard over a shark, whichever comes first)!

Thanks for reading and for being awesome!

*****

Have you seen all these other insightful "Challenge" posts?

Why Agreeing to Pay Google to Store My (Excessive) Blog Images Was a Wise Decision

Disclosure: I had some trouble deciding what to title this post, and because I find writing blog post titles so enjoyable (really, I do; can't you tell?), I've decided to go ahead and list a few of today's "honorable" almost-a-title mentions. (Of course, by that last sentence I mean that I have spent the last several days wasting time thinking up one brilliant title after another and, therefore, have had precious little time to think of anything else. ahem.)

So in case you've forgotten, the title of this post is:
Why Agreeing to Pay Google to Store My (Excessive) Blog Images Was a Wise Decision 

And here are a few "honorable" mentions: 

Dearly Beloved, We Are Gathered Here Today to Remember My (un-backed-up and deceased) Hard Drive

An Entire Photo Directory (and your not-printed holiday card address list...blah blah) Is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

Been Told Your Dead Hard Drive Took All Your Files to the Grave? Don't Buy It! For the Bargain Price of an Arm and HALF a Leg, Our Skilled Clairvoyants Engineers Can (probably) Get It to Give Up Its Ghost! 

126 Compelling Reasons Why Using a Steno Pad-Sized Mini Laptop (as your back-up blogging tool) Is Inefficient (and will make you cranky)

For $100 and a Free Spin: What are R S T L N and E? The Letters That Stick on My Mini Laptop's Keyboard!

Said My Hard Drive..."I've Shut Down and I Can't Boot Up!"

Said My Hard Drive to Me..."This Might Hurt (you) a Little (bwahahaha!)"

WOE, THEREFORE, UNTO ME!
(P.S. I dare you to say that out loud and not crack a smile.)

and finally,

Dear God, The Dogs Might Have Mistaken the Canada Goose Poop for Manna from Heaven. Please Advise.

[*#%&8#...oops. is my mic still on?]

*****

And now, a message from one of our sponsors:

Be sure to tune in next time when she might actually remember to include a post with her title.

Note: The image of Jon Farleigh (plus editing) is brought to you today by the $5/year Google+ image storage plan. (Now, if only I had proactively organized those 1,500+ images.)

;-p

All That and a 17-lb Bag of Dog Food

Note: There is a bonus link (to some hilarious pet photobombs) at the bottom of this post. So even if you don't have a blog and can't participate in this blogger pet food drive, please have a few smiles on me. Consider it a gift for your time and trouble (scrolling down the page). ;)

ALL THAT because in publishing this blog post and linking up to the blog hop (below), the charity arm of Pedigree is donating a 17-lb bag of food to an animal shelter. (And being that it's 104 F outside my door right now, I'm awfully glad I didn't have to lug that bag out of the grocery store myself.) :)

So according to Laurie over at The Daily Corgi (who was the first other blogger to clue me in to this worthy cause),

"For every blog post about the campaign between now and June 30th, Pedigree will donate a 17 pound bag of food to a shelter."

So what does this mean to you?

Well, it means that if you're reading this, like to help shelter pets and have a blog, you have ONE DAY to get your blog post up and linked to the blog hop!

You can even copy and paste this "official" image (and that handsome one above) into your post, if you want:

And that's it!

Except for this bonus, Friday-guaranteed-smile link: 45 Amazing Animal Photobombs (courtesy Huffington Post) 

This is just one of the 45 photos. :)

I think my favorite, though, is slide #45. :)

Thanks, everyone!

Have a great weekend!

This many bags of food have been donated so far...

How Dog-Friendly Is Seattle, Washington?

Or Portland, Oregon and Maine?

Or Cape May, New Jersey?

Or Burlington, Vermont?

Or Colorado Springs, Colorado?

Or Cannon Beach, Oregon?

Or Victoria, British Columbia?

I stole this wonderful photo of Temperance (the Cardigan Welsh Corgi) off of Shep's lovely blog, Cardigan Complex. (Which has PLENTY more gorgeous photos where this one came from. In fact, she has another Cardigan, Simon, whose "famous" face you might recognize from other pet-related sites around the web.)

Want to guess what city little Tempe is in? 

Do you think one of the eight cities listed above might deserve the title:

 Best City for Pet Travelers (in the US and Canada)?

Yes?

Well drop everything you're doing and click over to Take Paws, the official blog of Go Pet Friendly.com and VOTE VOTE VOTE! (Actually you can vote four times, but not for the same city twice. But hurry! Voting closes at 10 p.m. EST tomorrow, Wednesday, March 28!)

That's right, in case you don't know, Go Pet Friendly.com - the web site for people who love to travel with their pets - is holding their first-annual Best City for Pet Travelers Tournament and the eight cities listed above are duking it out to move on to the Final Four (Round 5).

And why am I invested in this, you might wonder? (I live in Virginia, after all.)

Hmmm, perhaps because I have a few peeps (human and canine) in or near a few (or all, I really can't be sure) of the eight final cities?

And I'd really hate for your city to get passed over just because you didn't know you needed to go vote. :)

Good luck!

And may the best pet-friendly city win!

Note: I do not represent Go Pet Friendly.com and they did not sponsor this post. I wrote it because I like to start trouble for fun! 

Can You Identify a Dog Breed by Its Butt? Take the Quiz and Find Out!

So Jon Farleigh and I went to an AKC all-breed conformation show on Saturday to cheer on his sister, Georgia, who was entered in Cardigan Welsh Corgis (and who, by the way, wound up getting Best of Breed - yay!) and to see all the other lovely dog breeds entered that day.

What kind of dog am I?

I got lots of great photos of Georgia in the ring (links to Facebook photo album), a few of Jon Farleigh and his nephew, Nick, getting a trim on the grooming table (which I'll save for another day), and, due to bad one-handed camera aim (as Jon Farleigh's leash was in the other), lots of pictures of random DOG BUTTS. (oops)

But do I despair and hide those lovely pooch booties away, never to be seen?

NO WAY, JOSE!

I make a fun game out of it! And here it is!

A 10-dog, multiple choice quiz to test your dog butt identification skills. How will you do?

If quiz doesn't load, click here.

More dog show photos coming soon!

My Five to Seven Blog Superlatives (or posts, which in my opinion, are super-something)

Since I'm already being selfish this week, I've decided to go ahead and throw in some narcissism, too. :)

But before you roll your eyes and click the "x" at the top, right corner of your screen, please hear me out.

So there's a blogger challenge weaving its way through the sphere called My 7 Links. I'm not listing the "rules" here because I'm blatantly not following them. Not to diminish them in any way, as I've read several legitimate, beautifully written and informative posts out there, like Kim's and Pamela's and Kristine's.

It's just that I have a burning desire to share some of my "super" posts with you (well, that and I might be too busy to write anything "new" this week) and, frankly, waiting for an "invitation" just isn't one of my strengths. That and I'm just a tad rebellious. (So rebellious that I'd choose to wear the most religious [aka: holey] underwear in the drawer just to "show" my mother, and the police officer who found my crumpled body after the crash, that I couldn't care less about how skanky I looked on the stretcher.)

But where was I?

Oh yes, so starting tomorrow (as I've already challenged your attention span for today), and through Friday (or maybe early next week), I will be reposting (from the archives) my

MOST SUPER POSTS EVAH

 (IMO, not necessarily yours), as follows:

• Most likely to make you wonder whether you've accidentally clicked into the Hallmark company's blog.
• Most likely to be reblogged at thedailycorgi.blogspot.com (or any of Laurie's social media satellites).
• Most likely to get me reported to the AKC or alienated by every serious dog-person who once followed my blog.
• Most likely to cause spontaneous farts, urination or computer screen ruination.
• Most likely to have been written by someone with a more serious, caring personality.

*****

So there you have it. Aren't you glad my kids are away for the week!?!

Happy Monday!

(Oh, and a token dog photo - for those of you who just skipped over everything I just wrote.) :)

Quick! Run for the hills!

Paranormal critter activity?





What do you think? Shadow? Ghost? Some *other* explanation?

:)

And the winners (yes, winnerzz) of the Caption-for-DM Challenge are....

For the *most* (as they all are) awesome caption:

Ashley (fellow blogger and dog mom) over at
 Running With the Fur-Herd, with:

"True Love always waits...its turn!"

For making lots of new blog friends:

ME!

For possibly seeing a CURE for Canine Degenerative Myelopathy (DM) in their lifetime:

The DOGS!

[Insert your dog's photo HERE.]

And, their PEOPLE!

[Insert YOUR photo HERE.]

The Chronicles of Cardigan is pleased to have made a $40 donation on behalf of its readers
to The Drive for Five at The Daily Corgi.

Final Push: Your Comment = $1 for Canine DM Research!

THANK YOU to all who've already taken yesterday's Photo Caption Challenge for Canine DM Research! 

As of this post, The Chronicles of Cardigan's purse is THIRTY-TWO DOLLARS lighter - all in the name of eradicating this horrible canine disease.  Woo hoo!

However, I'd love to see that number go HIGHER! 

Are you up for it?!  Click here.

Caption that photo! Challenge to Benefit Canine DM (Degenerative Myelopathy) Research

Firstly, as a relative newbie to the pet blogosphere, today marks my inaugural Saturday Pet Blogger Hop, and I hope to meet many new animal-lover friends!

Secondly, today I'm posting my very first-ever blog challenge-for-a-cause!  Here's how it works:

I need a caption for this photo:

You can learn how to create photos like this here.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:
From now until midnight Eastern Time on Sunday, Feb. 20, for each caption idea/comment left for this post, I (on behalf of The Chronicles of Cardigan) will donate one dollar ($1) to fellow pet blogger Laurie Eno's Drive for Five over at The Daily Corgi. *
Laurie is donating all proceeds from her campaign to The Canine Health Foundation for DM Research. **

That's right!  Leave a comment before midnight tomorrow and I'll donate $1 (each) toward this awesome canine cause!*

On Monday, Feb. 21, I'll pick my favorite caption and give the winner a shout-out on my blog.

Thanks for participating; you rock!

Notes:
*   Only one comment per person, please.
** Please visit The Daily Corgi for more information about DM research and The Drive for Five.