Award Time!!

Have you heard??!...........have you?????

Apparently I'M INSPIRATIONAL !!

Let me explain. THREE (count em' 3) of my bestest mates (who also happen to be mini schnauzers) have passed on a Blogville award to me in the last week or so. Get ready - here it is:

Taaa Daaaa!!!!!!

These mates were YUKI the white mini schnauzer, then OSCAR, then SAWYER. Sawyer also awarded me the "Stylish Blogger Award" but I have already accepted that some months back. I need to get mum to put them up on my blog somewhere so you know which awards I already have!

So, back to this one. My mum wishes to tell everyone that it is a challenge to have a "pet blog" in Australia because it is quite rare to do that. Most people look at my mum real strange when she mentions it..... then pull a face, then say that she must have too much time on her hands!! My mum refuses to get into Facebook or Twitter so my blog is as far as she can stretch it. She does enjoy helping me with my posts....she is sort of the "director of operations" in a way. Therefore, if me, my blog or my director of operations are an inspiration to blogville, I say a big THANKYOU!! We try and keep it interesting and funny where we can.

I am supposed to now pick one of my posts which I consider inspirational..... and a further 10 inspirational posts from Blogville. I am going to bend the rules and give you 10 blogs rather than posts because we follow the blogs not the posts, after all.

I will link you to a great day I had at one of our beautiful beaches - I think the beach is my favourite outing! Click here.

As a very young pup - there are several blogs which stirred me in such a way that I just HAD to start my own blog....mainly because they were fellow mini schnauzers and their blogs were just crazy cute, funny, and inspirational. Excuse me if you already have this award...... but I wanted to give recognition where it was due:

1. The Daily Oskar. Oskar and his mom person Pam. Wow you guys totally rock - and Oskars' wicked sense of humour always hits the spot. He and his mom person also run "Pet Blogs United". 

2. Pup-alicious. My mum and I took an early shine to this (Aussie!) blog and totally loved that Sasha's mum even rescued a (part) mini schnauzer (Rupert) as well giving him a beautiful -last part- of his life. He is now playing over the rainbow bridge. Sasha and her mum don't blog very often anymore - I think her mum is waiting for a pay rise!

3. Schnauzer and Schnauzer. This is JD and Max's blog. What can we say - PAWESOME - that can sum it up. Like Sasha, there needs to be a pay rise appointed to the Female Human to entice more blogging activity.... but we will take what we can get! Truly inspirational stuff - and helped my mum formulate the  courage to go into the pet blogging world.

4. Santa, Minnie, Christmas and the girls. Not to mention Beckham and Bobby. A team of mini schnauzers which are truly wonderful to see. Santa has the best ears (more like a bunny) and what Diana can teach ...... tricks, flips, obedience and dancing etc - Wow! You have to see it to believe it.

5. Betsy-Boo from New York. Another inspiring blog which set me going. Betsy is as cute as a button and has Swedish parents (close to my ma as she has Swedish relies). Betsy has apartment living all sewn up, and she struts her stuff on the pavements of the Big Apple. Her blog helps us to see what a different world we all live in, with lots of description of their lifestyle and her rides in shopping trollies in some Pet-Friendly shops!!! (Unheard of here in Australia)

So they are the BIG 5 original inspiring blogs which took our breath away originally.

Thankyou ....... from my garden... and my rock.

The next 5 blogs are ones which have since tickled our fancy and we enjoy reading religiously. (PS: there are more.......obviously.....but we can only pick 5)

6. George the Lad. Who DOESN'T know George??! He is a Welsh Terrier with a wonderful sense of humour and GREAT peeps. My peeps love his peeps. My mum is GREEN with envy over the walks and scenery that George shows us. He makes her want to move to the UK. George also shows us that dogs ARE WELCOME in a lot of places and a lot of pubs...... unheard of here!

7. Downunder Daisy - 3 Scottish Terriers that are here in little ol' Aussie land. Daisy, Bella and Kendra write a great blog with help of HER. (Their camera shy mum person). They are too far away for me to visit just yet - but when we get the motorhome....

8. Living with 6 Hamsters (And 2 dogs). Tooki writes a wonderful blog, her intelligence and heart are inspirational. She battles a country which still has tradition and views that are sometimes very old fashioned and "anti-pet" and she faces the sadness of dog and cat homelessness - with animals having to scratch out an existence on the streets. Tooki had a mini schnauzer (Coco) and then took home a stray puppy (Wawa) and they are housemates now.

9. Gardening with Wyatt. Airedale Terriers Wyatt (and sister Stanzie) help their peeps in the family landscaping and gardening business. Wyatt, in particular, is an excellent helper. They are funny and cute - don't miss them.

10. Sarge Speaks Out.  My mate Sarge who lives in a cabin in the woods (no, really!) It seems to be the best place to live, just don't ask the chipmunks! Sarge is gorgeous and helpful and the Blogville chief of Pawlice. His dad taught him all about the law. Inspirational. 

So there it is. Whew!!!  Sorry that it was so long.... a lot of reading for pups....

*********

I leave you with a picture of yet another torture device bought for me by my mum:

She calls it a raincoat.  :-(

She seems to think that the glitter around the edges are enough to make me LOVE it! Peeps!!!

Apparently..... I'm STYLISH !!!

A while ago now, there seemed to be a lot of this award flying about the "cyber-inter-web-bloggies":

First it came from my good friend Lavi.  Thankyou soooo much Lavi - I thinks you're stylish too. My silly mum panicked and did nothing about it (!) :-o The reason she did nothing about it was that she is still not too fantabulous on the technical side of computer blogging and I heard her whine about not knowing how to paste in award images and how to put in links into her text to other blogs. Zoinks! - and this is in charge of my life!! She is a bit of a dunderhead novice on the computer.... so her brother (my dear uncie) has to roll his eyes heaven-wards and help her out. Like now.

The pressure intensified when another "Stylish Blogger Award" came to me from my dear dear mates and fellow mini schnauzer Santa .  Santa's blog was one of my true inspirations to begin my blog - I love hearing about them and seeing what they are up to. Mum couldn't run and hide again, and she enlisted uncie's help to do something about it.

As part of this award, I am supposed to tell you 7 things you don't know about me, so I've put on my thinking cap and come up with these:

1. Mum and dad went on holiday to Tropical North Queensland (Cairns and the Barrier Reef)  just before they got me. It was the only holiday that mum wished would finish quickly so she could get her hands on me as soon as she got back to South Australia.

2. Mum has a special nickname for me - she calls me "Boo-Boo". I respond to both "Rubie" and "Boo-Boo" equally. 

3. The first time I went to a dog-park I had a blast. Before we left some STOOOPID woman came in with her two big doggies, and they bowled me over and I was scared and shocked by the speed of it all. Ever since then, my parents have been too nervous to take me back to a dog park. 

4. I am training my parents. Initially they thought I would sleep in my blue doggie bed in the family room (on the other side of the house from their room). Ha. They contained me in a little jail enclosure. Then they put my bed next to theirs and that worked for a while. Finally - I have made it to the Big Bed where I was always supposed to be. Because of this I get a bath weekly so I can't leave good puppy smells in the bed.

5. I eat anything organic - and sometimes inorganic. This includes sand, dust, dirt, small pebbles, mulch, bark etc. It's horrifying to my mum. Because of my love of eating I am always on a diet. I always help my humans eat what they are eating - a pup has to do "QA" after-all.

6. Mum loves me LOTS - but if there was one thing about me that she could change it would be my independence. I don't feel the need to constantly sit on my humans or lean on their legs or touch them or even be in the same room as them. I have independence. She gets jealous when she sees my fellow mini schnauzers sprawling all over their humans being all soppy and sloppy. Toughen up mum! She also gets jealous when I hug all our visitors when they come over.

7. My tongue can magically extend to reach the very bottom of medium sized ice-cream plastic cups. I loves soft serve ice-cream, and would not entertain the thought of missing out on a single lick.

So that was all good stuff hey?!.   It's good that we could have this little bit of info share huh!?

Now the tricky part of this award.... I'm also supposed to nominate some blogs to receive this award. Well, as you can see on my blog, I don't follow many blogs, and the ones I do follow, I follow because they are interesting and stylish all in their own ways. So I don't want to play favourites. And besides, there are blogs I would nominate but they already appear to have already had this award given to them!! 

I declare mum and I have a special bond with one of my favourite blogs Living with 3 Hampsters (and 2 Dogs) because Tooki and my mum seem to have a special relationship. Mum says Tooki is a true animal lover and has a special warm heart. So I will pass this award to Tooki. So the other nominations I award to my followers and the blogs I follow. You are all Stylish and Wonderful, so go ahead and take this award. You deserve it! 

Special Tail Wuggles, Rubie.