Celebrating a Second Anniversary as a Pets Blogger

Two years ago today I officially started on with Families.com as one of their newest Pets Bloggers. Ironically enough, two years later on my anniversary date, here I’ve turned in my two weeks notice. (I just realized as I started writing this that I did that on my start date anniversary.) It’s been a good ride, a very fun ride, and an amazingly informative one. I’ll still be around for the next couple of weeks, but I wanted to take a moment and reflect on some of my favorite blogs from the past couple of years. A Few of My … Continue reading

Virtual Pets

In addition to any real pets you may have, do you also claim any virtual pets? I don’t. But I think if Wayne finds out about them, the next time I feel like adding to our family, in addition to his “We don’t need any more animals,” spiel he always gives me, he also might add, “But if you really feel you need another, get a virtual pet.” What’s a Virtual Pet Anyway? That’s what I was curious to know. I kept stumbling across the term. At first I thought it was something where you make a donation to virtually … Continue reading

Drs. Parrott Marriage Book Blog Tour Coming to Families.com

Shortly after I returned home earlier this month I received an intriguing email. It was from a Mr. Michael Pritchard with Zondervan. His subject line read “Courtney, Les and Leslie Parrott Marriage Book Blog Tour Invitation.” Marriage? Books? Blogs? Some kind of tour and an invitation? Didn’t look like the run of the mill spam. Turns out it wasn’t. Zondervan is a big Christian publisher and here they were asking me to help them with a very cool promotion idea. The chance to read Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott’s newest book Trading Places: The Best Move You’ll Ever Make in … Continue reading

Pets Blog Week in Review: 3/17-3/23

Courtney usually handles the Week in Review duties, so bear with me while I fumble my way through a look back at March 17-23 in the Pets Blog. Monday, March 17 I’m a big fan of mythology, and the story behind the origins of the Pekingese breed is an interesting one. Check it out! The Iditarod was won in just nine days by Lance Mackey — a man who has survived throat cancer and gone on to win numerous dog sled races. Tuesday, March 18 A day late for St. Patty’s Day, I took a look at how you can … Continue reading

Frugal Ideas for Pets

Did you know that you can save money even when it comes to your pets? Here is a roundup of ideas that you can use to make Fido and Fluffy very frugal. Forget buying those expensive cat scratching trees and condos. I haven’t met a cat yet that will use them more than once. Instead, pick up some free carpet samples at your local hardware store or carpet center. Many times they will give you the samples for free. You can also buy small sample-sized rugs at home improvement stores for just a few dollars. Spread them around your home. … Continue reading

Selling a House with Pets: Getting Them Out of the Picture

Photo by Georgios M. W. I wrote about the problem of selling a house with pets, not realizing the chaos that would ensue once our house was market ready. Our agent is doing exactly what we want: marketing our house, which includes placing it in the MLS and on the web with pictures of the inside along with a virtual tour. Well, let me tell you, both the pictures and the virtual tour turned out fantastic, but we had to jump through some major hurdles to get those results. I’m not talking about the decluttering and staging process. I thought … Continue reading

Museums and Pets

Do you ever have days or weeks that revolve around a theme? Like you’ll see mention of a certain something in more than one place? This happens to me a lot. I remember the first time I really took notice of the phenomenon. I was a sophomore in high school and we had just started studying Shakespeare. Suddenly everywhere I turned I’d bump into references to his plays. Or when my old car, a 1992 Honda Civic, started having problems that required frequent maintenance, I knew the time was about to come for a new car. I really had my … Continue reading

The Pets Blog Week in Review for Feb 19-25

Presidents’ Day, Mardi Gras, and Ash Wednesday … ah, there was a lot going on in the “real world” last week, but what about in the Pets Blog? Miss anything? If so, here’s a recap of what Aimee and myself covered: Monday, February 19 Monday was Presidents’ Day. What better way to pay respect Pets Blog style than with a virtual trip to the Presidential Pet Museum to Hail the Resident Pets in Chief? (Of the many interesting facts I learned, the one that struck me the most was how pet-friendly our Leaders in Chief are or have been. Only … Continue reading

All the President’s Pets (Washington and Lincoln’s, At Least)

Monday was President’s Day. A virtual trip to the Presidential Pet Museum made it easy to hail the resident pets-in-chief throughout history. But to celebrate the two men whom President’s Day initially honored, George Washington (whose birthday is really today) and Abraham Lincoln (whose birthday was February 12th), I thought I’d profile the pets that were specific to their administrations: George Washington: Born February 22, 1732; Served as President 1789-1797 Technically his pets never lived at the White House, because it wasn’t built yet. (John Adams was the first president with the distinction and honor of residing there, and he … Continue reading

All Hail the Resident Pets in Chief!

Photo by Peter Mackay Presidents are often known for their policies, diplomacy (or lack thereof), and in some unfortunate cases their scandals or assassinations. In honor of Presidents’ Day, I thought I’d focus on a different side of the White House. One Pets Blog readers might better appreciate: the variety of pets who have called the White House home. I think the first pet I remember hearing of living at the White House was Jimmy Carter’s daughter’s cat. I was just a little girl at the time (maybe eight?), and it caught my attention because I was surprised a cat … Continue reading