A busy two weeks.

This is going to be a busy two weeks and a rather long post!


First things first. Tomorrow is the Chinese New Years. We welcome the year of the Ox. I found this picture at http://dei--dara.deviantart.com/art/Zodiac-The-Ox-76935122

As a tiger, this is supposed to be very bad with only 3 neutral months and 9 unfavorable months. Luckily, I'm not worried about that. I consider it a general guide, not a specific telling of doom. A person's outlook is the strongest indicator of their future.

Want to know what you are? This site has birth selector and can instantly let you know: http://chinese.astrology.com/

Want to know what the year of the Ox means to your sign? This site can tell you: http://astrology.yahoo.com/page/2009-chinese-horoscope/

Next week, however, is Imbolc. Once again, I'm excited and preplanning the holiday. Imbolc is the halfway mark between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. This is why my "spring cleaning" happens so early. We begin to say bonjour to spring and au revoir to winter. I believe Christians still celebrate this holiday and call it Candlemas. Many pagans call it that, too, come to think of it, depending on the specific religious belief.

All that aside, I'm also cleaning up the place where I live. Once I'm done (since I work full time, etc, it isn't coming along quickly), I'm getting a puppy. I would like a party-mix toy poodle. If you haven't seen one of those, no worries! I have pictures.

I'm as bad as an expectant mother. I have bookmarks of stuff I want to get, I have been picking out names, and I have been planning which training classes we should attend. I have even picked out a puppy car seat. See ladies, this is what happens when you can't have children. You have puppies that are as important as them.

Before you get a puppy, you have to evaluate the lifestyle you actually have, not the wishful thinking one, but the real one. Then you have to research which breeds have the proper temperament to fit into that lifestyle. If you live in an apartment, you shouldn't have a Great Dane. I loved our Dane, Lobo, but he would have destroyed this place twice in the first month! Teacup breeds would get too easily lost in my apartment, so I decided that a toy sized would be about right. With the lifestyle and knowing energy levels considered, I looked into the breeds: http://www.akc.org/breeds/toy_group.cfm and then looked further into the breed of my choice: http://www.littlepawz.com/poodle.html and http://dog-gonnit.com/poodle-101-the-miniature-poodle/, http://www.officialpoodleguide.com/Poodle_Puppies/Poodle_Puppy_Care.php

Make sure you get familiar with the signs of healthy pets, because when you're meeting all the puppies, you want a healthy one brought into your home. Then you have to decide your buying philosophy. I would prefer buying through the ASPCA (http://www.aspca.org/), but if they don't have any appropriate pooches, then I'll have to check classifieds. I don't buy dogs at the mall.

Puppy names: Although I want to use GiGi (Georgianna) or FiFi (Francine or Francois), I'm open to changing that name when I meet le chien. I want a French name, but I don't want to name the puppy something common. So, more research, another link: http://babynames.com/ at the bottom, there's a selection of links to cultural names. They also have http://babynames.com/NSI/ which has lists of names, the bottom most is pet names that are listed by popularity.

Doing your research, you may have come upon http://petprojectblog.com/. If not, bookmark it now. They keep up with what is being recalled by companies, pet projects and weekly videos.

Now, onto the shinies!

• http://www.chloeschicboutique.com/catalog.php?category=37 Love the tiara!
• http://www.moderntails.com/home.php Pooch boutique. Don't miss the Empress Crown hair pins!
• Entirely fantasy, unless you have $32,000 dollars burning a hole in your pocket: http://www.blavish.com/hello-kitty-luxury-crystal-dog-house/
• I believe that collars are for dog tags and harnesses are for walking, so here's the harness I want for him/her on walks: http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3046150 and http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3046338 for when we move back the southwest and get out more.
• http://www.pampermypuppy.com/index.php a large assortment of shiny and stylish items. Be sure the see the Baby Heart Necklace.
• I like the pet strollers on http://www.petedge.com/
• The puppy car seat is at http://www.petsbestproducts.com/ just scroll down.
• The cutest teacup bowl! http://chezpaulettesfrenchmarket.com/themarket/index.php?cPath=45
• I collect crowns and Fleur de Lis for myself, no reason l'chien shouldn't enjoy a collection, too! http://www.roseblossomcottage.com/store/products/details/?product=6002-a
• Pet bowls, I think I like the teacup better, but this isn't bad: http://www.vintagetochic.com/catalog.php?category=15
• The simply named http://www.dog.com/ has a superstore amount of items.
• And http://www.denhaus.com/ has a small assortment of furniture style sleeping crates.

There are some DIY pet projects I have bookmarked, but those will wait for another day.

Ta, darlings!