L is for…you guessed it! Life with Arie.
I started this blog in the fall of last year as a creative outlet outside of my work in online content and social media to be sure I didn’t lose my love of the industry, and to discuss my growing life with my new dog, Arie. What I’ve found is an amazing core group of pet people who “get” me and how I feel about animals, lots of laughs, and a lot more. Occasionally, I also get a few blog awards, and get to participate in a few games. Some of these items are WAY overdue so bear with me.
First off, I want to talk about how to best stay connected with Life with Arie–After all, you can’t have a community without interaction! In my social media buttons, you’ll see the usual cast of characters, like the RSS button (subscribing is the best way to stay up to date with Life with Arie!), Facebook, and Twitter, but also a few others. Here are what they do:
The examiner button is a great way to see what I've written as the Atlanta German Shepherd Examiner. When I subscribe to blogs, I prefer to do so through email, so I've a convenient email subscription button as well.
Please find us on social sites and say hello! We love to keep in touch that way and through blogs, so if you can, subscribe, or consider adding us to your blogroll for a one click visit to the blog. We’re going to be adding a few more names to ours as well.
Now, onto the games and awards! Tag one of my favorite games as a kid. I may not have been strong, and I may have been several inches shorter than the others, but I was fast and a great hider. Now, we get to play tag with our friends on our blogs!
Lauren from Life with Desmond “tagged” me after she was tagged by Hawk from Brown Dog CBR and Jules from The Daily Dog Blog; she in turn tagged me! It’s a Q and A game, so here are a few answers from us:
- Describe yourself in 7 words/phrases: determined, an introverted extrovert (two words), rule bender, animal lover, cheese fanatic, well-meaning
- What keeps you up at night? 24 years worth a caffeine addiction, silly shows that somehow wrap me in when they were intended to be background noise, when a loved one is hurting, and Arie….because having a 95 lb dog that lays on you in order to get more room on the bed can get old really quick.
- Who would you like to be? Someone that is not remembered for the things they did for themselves, but rather the things they did for others.
- What are you wearing right now? The worst combination of pajamas you’ve ever seen. I’m not a matcher when it comes to sleep time, so my color combinations are hideous; I am also the queen of tacky pajama pants. You have been warned.
- What scares you? The idea lactose intolerance (see the cheese comment above). Failure. The idea of something happening to me, and no one being able to take Arie. The fact that, as the baby of the family, there’s a chance I’ll lose all of my loved ones before they lose me. Spiders.
- The best and worst of blogging. Best: developing an amazing community, having a creative outlet, friends who handle their niches well, without being the crazies of their niches (those of us who are the crazy dog/cat ladies without actually being crazy) Worst: keeping up with the commitment, and the crazies (trolls, aggressive bloggers that travel in packs, etc).
- The last website I visited: Life with Desmond of course, to get the questions for this questionnaire.
- What is one thing you would change about yourself? Get into running. I want to be a runner. I love how free people look in photos and more when they run; many of my friends run, and love it. I want to learn…right now, I’m a runner–walker—weezer–walker–runner–collapse on sofa-er. We’ll get there eventually.
- Slankets — yes or no? No. No to these and to snuggies. I have a very strange texture aversion–The touch of certain felts, velvet, suede, etc. literally makes my skin crawl. The texture of a Snuggie or a Slanket has the exact same effect. Odd, I know.
- Tell us something about the dogs/bloggers who tagged you. Desmond is a big love bug, like Arie, and I wish they were close enough for me to meet him. He and Arie have a few of the same issues with training and a few of the same strengths, which makes me love him even more. Lauren has been a huge inspiration/friend/peer in the dog blogging world. She helped me through the process of becoming an Examiner, and is always there for a great comment, tweet, or other interaction. She’s someone I definitely consider a friend, though we’ve never met and live on opposite sides of the Eastern seaboard.
We want to pass off the tag to Dexter’s Days and Doodling Dogs. Can’t wait to see their responses!
Now, onto a blog award! AGES ago we were given the One Lovely Blog Award from The Elka Almanac. I’m sure she told us, but we suck and let it slip out mind. Luckily, Technorati reminded us when it showed us posts that had mentioned us. Now to remedy this injustice!
One Lovely Blog Award Rules:
1. Link back to the one who gave you this award. Done.
2. Pass the award on to 15 other lovely bloggers. That’s quite a number!
3. Follow the person who sent it to you. Already done!
Now to the passing of the torch. If you’ve already gotten this, forgive me:
- Life with Desmond
- Life with Claire
- My Brown Newfies
- My Tail Hurts From Wagging So Much
- The Daily Dog Blog
- The Chronicles of Cardigan
- I Still Want More Puppies
- Snoopy’s Dog Blog
- The Mis(Adventures) of Sage
- Bringing Up Bella
- Luna, A Dog’s Life
- Life with Sampson and Delilah
- Dog is God in Reverse
- Live. Bark. Love.
- Affurmation
Thanks again for stopping by the blog! I love getting to know each and every one of you and your pets, and hearing what you have to say, whether we met through our blog friends or in person at Bark World. You’re all pretty darn awesome!
{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
Well that was fun, I never understood how a person can describe themselves in 7 words. Every time I read one of these I say….that describes me. LOL
Congratulations on your lovely blog award, well deserved and thanks for passing it along to us! I love how you incorporated it into your alphabet series.
I love so much about this blogging community, not the least is which people who let their 95 lb dog hog the bed!! Most nights that is me as well! LOL
Of course! I always love your blog and our conversations, so you deserve the award as well. We do have a fantastic blogging community.
Look forward to the rest of your challenge run…can’t believe we’ve had 14 days already!
–Damyanti, Co-host A to Z Challenge April 2012
Twitter: @AprilA2Z
#atozchallenge
Thanks for stopping by again…you’re an awesome challenge leader!
It’s hard to come up with that many people for blog awards! I much prefer it when they only want 5 or so ^^
It’s funny how many of those little “follow me here” buttons there are now, aren’t there?
I know exactly what you mean–coming up with that many people, making sure that they don’t already have the award, etc. can be a task sometimes. The “follow me” and multitude of sites is both wonderful and overwhelming; because I work in social media and online content, i’m on at least six platforms for various clients every day, including my own pages. Still, it’s nice to get connected to new people.
Social media is an interesting puzzle to get immersed in. It’s amazing how much time it takes on my own stuff, and I only really do the blog, blog comments, and twitter (though Facebook is becoming a consideration). Doing it for clients must be interesting!
Facebook is nice, but I’ve noticed my following there isn’t as strong as it is here and on Twitter. You seem to have a really strong group, though, so I think Facebook would be perfect! Handling content for clients at work and as a freelancer is fun, but a lot to handle–It’s like wearing 20 hats at once. Still, I love it–It’s fast paced, ever evolving, and creative.
Hah, I don’t want to say I’m “surprised” at my strong following (that’s tipping one’s hand, isn’t it?), but I will say that a surprising amount have asked if I’m also on Facebook, so there’s that.
Fast paced AND creative? Now that’s an employment miracle!
Hi There,
Thanks for thinking of me – you’re so sweet!!
I love that you’re getting into running – I love running and I go every day (nearly with my Mum) and my buddy Cosmo from next door – I had to work up to it too, so hang in there, it’s worth it!
Your pal Snoopy
Of course we thought of you! Enjoy the award. I hope I start running soon instead of the walk/run/wheeze pattern I’m in now. I’ll keep you posted on progress, and thanks for the encouragement!
Congratulations on your award and thank you for thinking of us. It really is much appreciated.
You’re doing an amazing job with this blog the alphabet challenge – I’ve been trying to read them all even if I haven’t been able to comment on all. I can’t imagine how you’re keeping up this pace! Really remarkable.
I got a chuckle out of your responses to the “Tag”. Spiders – right there with you.
Thanks again for thinking of us.
No problem! Like I said, I love my blog community, and you are definitely a big part of it. This challenge…not going to lie…is killing me, but it’s excellent motivation to keep me posting regularly and diligently, so I’ve enjoyed it. Thanks for the encouragement!
Spiders…seriously. Nothing should ever have that many legs.
OK, wait a minute… I seriously thought the “Spiders” bit was an after thought to the part about being the youngest in the family. As in, “Darn it” or “Drat” or “Blast”.
Yeah, I’m not normal.
just for you, I’m going to start yelling “Spiders!” when I trip over something or stub my toe. It will also help me clean up some of that potty mouth I developed while working in restaurants.
thanks for the award and the kind words!
i, too, wish i were a runner. everyone i know who runs is very happy and very lean. i try to run with desmond but leash reactivity makes it a challenge. we can run about a block before i have to take a good look around for triggers and then we can run again for another block. but he’s also freakin FAST and pulls out ahead often. sometimes i let him drag me down the block–i know how terrible that is… BAD trainer!!–because it’s hilarious, and i’m cracking up laughing the whole time. people who pass me in cars def think i’m crazy or he’s crazy or both.
We all get to be bad sometimes. True confession? Arie is a great dog for running…she stays right by your side…but she has a terrible running partner! I’ll run for as long as I can and then wheeze. During these wheezing epidemics, I get this look from her like “Really chubs? Really? You wonder why you gained a few pounds after college….” She’s kind a mean girl, haha.
Yay for cheese fanatics!
Congrats on the award, and thank you so much for passing it along to me!
Of course! I hope you enjoy it…and seriously, who doesn’t leave cheese?!
I read this the other day but didn’t have time to comment . . and now it has been 4 days? I’m going to be one of those old ladies that says “the other day” when it was really months ago! Thank you for thinking of me! Congrats on all of your awards . . I love the Q&A’s . .”an introverted extrovert” ..I can totally relate to that!
I already am the lady that says “the other day” about months ago, and I’m only 24, haha! Love your blog, so you know we’re going to think of you when it comes to awards.
Congratulations on your award and THANK YOU so much for recognizing my blog here! [sorry for saying so over two weeks late ;( ]
Arie is a beautiful dog! I have a huge soft spot for German Shepherds (and, frankly, consider my corgis to be shepherds without legs).
Love the term “introverted extrovert,” btw. I think I’m in extroverted introvert.
I’m glad you have a soft spot for Sheppies because I have a soft spot for Corgis, and I can totally see them as shepherds without legs.
What do you mean by extroverted introvert? We may be the same! I’m a very friendly person and do well with meeting others, but I need time to recharge, like an introvert. I like spending time by myself, and need to on a regular basis to be sane. Still, I do love meeting new people and going to social functions. I get to be a blend!
I’m a classic introvert AND I inherited a soft-spoken manner, but I think I’m a natural leader and I do need to be (enjoy being) around other people (but not small talk so much).
It’s hard to have a foot in both places sometimes, no? (I think this is why blogging suits so well.)
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