Oh Mickey You're So FINE - A Wordless Wednesday Bonanza!

It's a BOX, It's a BAG, It's a BED? #chewyinfluencer

You may recall my PRE-VIEW from earlier this month when I mentioned that I was trying out and then reviewing the Gen7Pets Carry Me/Sleeper for Chewy.com. I am always HAPPY to help out my dear dear FURiends at Chewy.com because they are so good to me ALL THE TIME. Plus, after Bark at the Park this past summer (the backpack I was transported in BROKE) Mommy was looking at other options for getting me to places; and therefore the timing of this GIG was very good. So I have been using the carrier/bed as much as possible to establish if I like it or not.

Mommy had no problem coercing me into the bag because it looked very spacious to me and I was ready for a NAP. I walked right in, turned around, sat and pretty much made myself at home. Not all carriers allow me to do that. Actually, this fact is a bit of a red flag, if you ask me. AIRPLANE certified carriers do not usually allow me such freedom of movement. I can stand and move a bit - enough to legitimately travel in the bag - but that is about it. I am not sure the Gen7Pets Carry Me/Sleeper will fit under the seat as required. It might! I am not saying it won't because I honestly did not test it. If it does, COOL.

Some of the Key Benefits listed by Chewy.com are -

• Two modes in one―comfortable carrier easily converts into an on-the-go bed.
• Unzip the side to transform the carrier into a bed, and top with the cozy fleece pad.
• Comfy shoulder strap and carry tote handle makes it easy to take along with you.
• Keeps your pooch cool and comfy with plenty of mesh windows on the top and sides.
• Features convenient side pockets and a tether for maximum functionality and safety.

The dimensions of the carrier are 20" x 9" x 13" and it is suitable for pets up to 20 lbs. PUG SIZE!!!!! That is so rare. The pad (bed) is removable for washing, too. That is such a wonderful feature because. . . . . .  things happen.

At first, I thought the bed was pretty cool. I STILL think the bed is pretty cool. It is soft and comfy and just the right size for this pug.

I spent the whole first afternoon slumbering in the carrier. Molly and Sunshine both tried to bump me out so they could try it. I would not budge. Fortunately, I outweigh them both. Mommy really liked that she could put the carrier/bed in her office right by her feet and I could have two of my favorite things - a bed for a nap and my Mommy close by.

After that, Mommy took the carrier whenever she was going somewhere and wanted me with her. She was able to carry me into a number of stores but TARGET STILL would not allow me in the store even though I was in a carrier asleep. If I didn't weigh 17.5 pounds (I put on some weight) then it would be easier to carry me in it. Nonetheless, it is A LOT easier than trying to carry me in her arms. I get HEAVY real fast. Molly, on the other hand, is a featherweight and can be carried with little to no effort.

After I got used to the weightlessness of being lifted in the bag, I was pretty cool with it. It beats WALKING all the time. I missed the pee-mail and other assorted smells at ground level, though.

For going over the MEADOWS and through THE WOODS to GRANDMOTHER'S house, this is the perfect bag. It is nice looking, comfortable and sturdy. The outside of the bag can be wiped down to clean, too. And the bed is so so comfy.

We all gave it paws up for comfort and roominess. Did I say it was SOFT? And, I think, it is pretty nice looking.

The ends and one side of the Gen7Pets carrier are mesh for maximum breathing. It also lets the pet, whoever that might be, see out. I really thought that was a cool feature (see how I used my words there?). The cat carrier Mommy used once to transport me to Bellatrix's birthday party had no windows and it unsettled me. I got very very nervous when the BART train was in a tunnel and making a lot of noise because I could not see that I was not in danger. So this bag gets major props for the mesh "windows".

Overall, we give this carrier 10 PAWS UP. We refrained from giving it 12 only because (1) it is possibly not airline usable; and (2) the bottom is a little soft - sturdy but not stiff - which is why I feel weightless when first lifted. But hey! If you are just going on car trips it is PERFECT.

** We received ONE (1) carrier from Chewy.com free of charge for the purpose of trying the product out and developing an opinion of it. We were/are not paid for any opinions in this blog AND all opinions and observations are ours alone. We thank Chewy.com for this opportunity.

Catching That Gingerbread Man

Oh MY Dog! We had quite the time on Sunday. The house smelled of gingerbread from all the baking and prepping for the party. Come party time there was also additional FOOD smells like onion dip, cheese platter, fruit salad, and chinese noodles. It was an SENSORY symphony!

These are the NAKED houses. Don't they look FULL OF POSSIBILITIES? We were expecting about 8 kids including those from Casa de Noodles.

The way it was set up, the child would grab a plastic tub and fill it with the candy HE or SHE wanted on their house. And there was really no limit because we had A LOT A LOT of candy.

Here is a photo of the CANDY BAR.

Once they picked out their candy they went down to the table, picked out their house and a bag of frosting. Then it was DECORATING TIME. I was the official CANDY CATCHER and hung out under the table. I didn't get very much, though. Those kids were just too good with keeping the good stuff for their houses.

I think it took about an hour - hour and a half for them to finish decorating. Then the older kids talked and the younger ones took Molly and Me our for a walk/run. They were pretty funny. I got lots of attention of which I cannot get enough.

Here are the houses all decorated. I did not get a couple of them because the humans took them home before I got my act together with the camera.

This little guy is 3 and this was his FIRST gingerbread party

This little guy is now 10 years old! 

This minimalist abode was created by a 21 year
old

A budding architecture at 11

Cousin C could do better

This one has a whole story to it

This was a lot of fun and I cannot wait until next year's party.

Gingerbread Party

GingerNoodles

Lotsa lotda TO-DOing at Casa de Noodles. In addition to the usual Christmas Crazy, Mommys 1&2 are having a Gingerbread Party. This is a party where kids come over and decorate gingerbread houses. My mommys have been making and baking ALL WEEK. The house smells so heavenly. I have never EATEN gingerbread, but I can tell you it smells great. And I do have some treats which are gingerbread.

There is a whole process to this kind of party, you know. Mommy #2 has been doing it for a long long time so for her it is almost second nature. This year, for the very first time, Mommy #1 helped. In fact, she MADE the gingerbread almost all by herself. Aunt T helped some. This is HUGE - a real rite of passage.

These are the unbuilt houses. Mommy made 8 of them. She will construct them with royal icing because otherwise kids are waiting up to 2 hours for them to dry and be capable of being decorated. She uses a mold she bought decades ago when she worked at Williams-Sonoma. It makes pieces for the houses more consistent and easier to build. She has made a house without the mold. She said to her that was fun but for less patient. . . probably not.

This is some of the candy she picked up. She tries to think in terms of traditional (butterscotch drops, peppermint sparkles, candy canes) and the fun (pixie sticks, nerds, and Peep trees). Someone always invents new ways to use a candy.

She also brings out the sprinkles. We always have a lot because Mommy and Aunts B&T tend to buy seasonal ones at end-of-season sales. Then we always have something usable. This is a Christmas variety which will go quickly, I think.

Just in case a house falls apart or an additional friend drops by, Mommy has premade kits that she bought at a Black Friday sale. She does NOT normally shop on BF but this year I had a pawdecure scheduled. To bide the time while I was getting beautiful, she went to Michaels. Voila! 

I usually have a pretty good idea of what I want to make come PARTY day. This is what I decided to make LAST YEAR

It so reminded me of TAHOE and some of the houses nestled in the mountains. Can't you just smell the PINE AIR and feel that crisp cold wind flowing off the snowy mountains?

Well, I bet you can guess what happened. Yes, try as I might THIS is what my house looked like once I finished DECORATING

It's all in good fun - eh? We can't all be like Martha Stewart and her team of bakers. It is the process and the sharing time with family and FRIENDS during the holidays.

And the occasional piece of candy or cookie that makes its way to MY neck of the woods.

This is how I spent LAST YEAR'S post-Gingerbread Party.

One can take just SO much fun.

Sunshine Says TREAT Me, Woman!!! #chewyinfluencer

Sunshine is PUGLIKE in her devotion to TREATS. Whenever she is hiding and the 'rents want to get her to come out, they shake her treat container. Lickety-Split here comes Sunshine. Works every time. She sneaks outside and refuses to be corralled? No problem, shake the treat jar. So you would think she is not picky about treats. Well you would be wrong. There are many brands she does not care for and they are collecting dust on top of the fridge just to prove it.

So when Chewy.com offered some cat treats for their December reviews, Mommy jumped at it. I was a little peeved because I am always in the mood for a good treat. But Mommy said no to dog treats because, as she put it, I am getting a little portly. PLUS, she pointed out, I am testing in order to review an awesome carrier. So. . .

The treats were ordered and arrived at our abode in a scant 2 days. Yes! Just like that. . . ordered, BOOM! Arrived, BOOM!!

I believe those are for ME

Sunshine had picked out the very festive looking Temptations Holiday Dinner flavor. There are Turkey and sweet potato flavors and the treat nuggets are red and green.

I told Mommy she was wasting her time because Sunshine has never shown interest in turkey or sweet potato.Well, true to form, Sunshine totally proved me wrong. She went absolutely CAT-CRAZY for them! And she is STILL going whack-o when the container is opened!!!! She loves those treats! Most of you may not remember the Halo Chicken Live-a-Littles incident. Well, WE were testing them for review. We all (except for Sunshine who stayed home) happened to be out of the house for the day and when we got home, the Live-a-Littles container was on the floor, broken, with 3/4 of the treats GONE. Well, right after the Temptations arrived, we all went out for grooming. When we got home, the container was knocked ON THE GROUND. But this time, the container not only stayed closed, but it also did not break. My POINT is, Sunshine likes them enough to COMMIT A CRIME for them!!!

These treats are made in Canada, eh (heehee - see what I did there?) and contain vitamins, minerals and extra nutrients to make them a healthy treat for adult felines. The crispy crunchy outer shell is good for tarter control and the meaty interior is very flavorful.

And the snazzy SAFE container looks quite nice on her counter top. (She eats on the counter top because somepuggy tries to EAT her food because she is always trawling for food!)

In summation, We all agree that these treats are a great deal. They are reasonably priced, festive, good for kitty, and tasty. What more can one ask. Sunshine says she gives them FOUR PAWS up and would definitely do MORE of she could. Oh, though, she wants to request an EASY OPEN container so that she can help herself once in a while rather than making MOMMY do all the work.

** Sunshine, not me, received FREE OF CHARGE a container of Temptations treats for the sole purpose of  trying them and developing an opinion of them and then writing a RUN-ON SENTENCE about them. Haha! JK!! No, no. . . just so she could review them. All of the opinions on this blog belong to ME or are supervised by ME. And I don't even get paid for it. Noodles the Pug

Christmas Carols Everywhere

Molly walked into the kitchen the other day. "Noodles," she said, "Doncha just LOVE this time of year?

Well. I said, I certainly agree . . . but WHY in particular ARE you declaring this?

"Easy," said Molly. "Because everywhere you turn you hear Christmas music - and it is usually such HAPPY music. For example . . ." 

Oh, jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh

Jingle bells, jingle bells

Jingle all the way

Oh, what fun it is to ride

In a one horse open sleigh

I see your point, I said. I find many of the holiday tunes to be very fun and happy. I agree on your point.

With that I decided to sing a favorite Christmas tune

Sleigh bells ring 

Are you listening 

In the lane 

Snow is glistening 

A beautiful sight 

We're happy tonight 

Walking in a winter wonderland 

Oh GOSH! I said to Molly. I am feeling very very festive right now. What should we do? 

"Well," Molly said with a twinkle in her eye. "I am thinking we could try and do something very very exciting. . ."

Sabotage - Pug Style

Yes. I HAVE used this photo a number of times

I am the MISTRESS of sabotage. I have spent eight years honing my craft and today I can honestly say that I have totally ROCKED IT!

See. . . Mommy gets up very early every morning. Yes, she does so at MY prodding so I can get in on an early morning brekkie (breakfast). I make it virtually impossible for her to stay in bed past 6:30 am no matter what time she went to bed. Once I am done eating (like in .002 seconds after I start), I return to BED. Lucky for me I have beds in virtually every corner of the house (usually filled by Sunshine the Cat or Molly the Bed Hog - but they are not up this early). Mommy, on the other hand, is up and running with little to no chance of returning to the warm confines of her bed. 

Am I remorseful? Not a chance.

This was my latest SABOTAGE mission

Note the positioning - right on her LAP. Molly helped by snuggling really really close and restricting Mommy's movement. The trick to this move is to start SNORING as soon as possible. This makes Mommy feel guilty should she need to get up and "Disturb" us. We are not really asleep as is evidenced in our dashing into the kitchen should anyone enter in there. BUT until that happens, Mommy is my captive. 

This morning (when the photo happened) we managed to delay Mommy's getting ready and going to work by a FULL TWO HOURS! In the meantime, we were aided by the appearance of Zac Efron and Ed Sheeran on the Today show. If I could read, you would swear I planned it.

Do any of you sabotage your humans into doing YOUR bidding rather than their own?

Pre-View of My Review and a Day of Holiday Cheer #chewyinfluencer

'Tis the season to be JOLLY
..................................Especially on days like TUESDAY when I had the best time ANSWERING the door. WHY, you ask all innocently like? Well gather 'round my children and I will tell you the TALE. The Tale of the PACKAGE ARRIVAL day.

It was a day like no other I can remember in my WHOLE 8 years. It was a day of NON-Stop Christmas joy.

This was the view outside of Casa de Noodles

Close your eyes and just imagine what it was like to have the doorbell ringing CONSTANTLY and Molly yapping incessantly. Then, in your mind's eye, see package after package rolling in making the SEASON BRIGHT!!! By evening the packages lined the wall in the foyer (that's Mommy #2's fancy word for ENTRYWAY) and rose to almost 100 feet tall (editor's note - they were only 2 high and the foyer is less than 7 feet wide)!!!!

Admittedly, it was INSANE. A WALL of packages! Non-stop action at the door!

And that is the Tale of Package Arrival Day. Riveting, huh? 

Not ALL of it was for me, though. In fact, only ONE TRUCK in the sea of trucks concerned me. You can see it looming LARGE in the background.

CHEWY.COM!!!!!

You all know I love Chewy.com. They are the best in terms of product availability and customer service. Not to mention the variety of foods, vanity items, and variety of all manner of pet needs. I could go on and on singing their praises. That is why I became a Chewy Influencer way back when I was a wee pup.

This is only a partial SORTA review because I just got the item in question on Tuesday. But I wanted you to see my initial reaction and we can build from there.

This is THE BAG that I am reviewing. It is a Gen7Pets Carry-me Sleeper bag and Chewy.com carries it in 2 colors. I chose the ever chic Heather NAVY. I tend to go for less gender specific accessories because. . . well no reason, actually. I just do. My harnesses tend to be black and my leash is green. Non-specific. This blue is not really gender specific but I think it is less manly than the Heather Gray. It is, as I said, CHIC.

The Carry-me sleeper can hold up to 20 pounds so all of us at Casa de Noodles can use it from the lightest, Molly, to the heaviest, ME. That is a win win win! It is not specified for airline travel and eye-balling it, I think it is a bit tall. But I never travel by plane so it's okay.

I immediately took a look inside. I FIT!!!! I could TURN AROUND! It is very very comfortable. Molly wanted to try it out but. . . I wouldn't let her, hehheh.

 See how well I fit in there? Now, I was not a fan when Mommy lifted me up. I got a little scared because the bottom is a little soft and I felt like the bottom of the world was leaving me.

Maybe floating through space is a more apt description. Not that I didn't eventually get used to it. I did.

But back to my initial reaction - I loved it. I wanted to just stay there all day and be all mysterious-like. And maybe even do a couple of AMBUSHES at Molly and Sunshine. They deserve it, you know. They are always bullying me OFF of my beds. Look at photo #2. You can tell by my face that I am enjoying the carrier.


The biggest PRE-TEST was the bed function. This was a very important selling point of the carrier. Let's face it - there are a ton of pet carriers to choose from (Gen7Pets has several kinds, as a matter of fact) and they all pretty much get the job done. But the Gen7Pets Carry-Me Sleeper Bag features a bed and that sets it apart.

How would it look? How comfortable would it be? These are questions I set out to answer. Mommy opened the side of the carrier and pulled down the bed. Then she posed me on it. Yes, yes, yes! It is every bit as comfortable as it looks in the photos. But the real proof is in the pudding, Right?

I think the PUDDING SET

This was me the rest of the day until dinner

I Think the View From Here is . . .

(Me looking in a Mirror) 
What do you think? Is this my best angle? I think it might be because you can see how slender I am. You can also see how tightly curled my lovely tail is. . . how bright my coat it. . . And let's not forget my PUG PROFILE.

(Me noticing someone is watching)
Huh? Did you say something to me? I was - uh - just - making sure my scarf is on straight!
I don't have a scarf on, you say?
Heheheheheh. . .

There's a HAT for THAT!

Snow's a pilin'

Trees a lightin'

It's that crazy time of year

Sleigh bells ring

Here's the thing

There's a HAT for that

Choirs a singin'

cookies a bakin'

It's time for Christmas cheer

Holiday shoppin'

Cranberries poppin'

There's a HAT for that

Gifts in colorful wrappin'

Ribbon curls snappin'

It's fun doing MOST of the chores

Crisp wind blowin'

Icicles a glowin'

There's a HAT for that

EXCUSE ME!!!! Where is Molly's HAT

Broccoli - The Intruder

Do you see what I see? Not the adorable little Pug Princess in the Red Bed. Nope, I am talking about that GIANT in a red hat! He showed up last week from somewhere (Target) and took over. . . nay, DOMINATED, the 'rent's attention for the LONGEST time ever. That is NOT a smile you see on my face. That was a grimace. I was really, inwardly, shouting "WHATTHA????"

His name is Broccoli after another favorite food of Mommy #1's. He's lucky. He could just as easily have been called Brussels Sprouts or Tofu. But no, he got lucky there. Oh!!! That is what he SHOULD have been called. . . Lucky! Why? Well, he's lucky I didn't shred him, for one. And he's lucky to find such a great home as MINE. Emphasis on MINE.

Broccoli stood in the den for a couple of days, unlit and seemingly forgotten by everyone but Sunshine the Cat who found him fascinating. I would find her down there chatting him up in a way she never chats with me.

On this past Sunday, that all changed. Broccoli disappeared from the den and I could not find him anywhere. So I asked Mommy where he could be and she said he has a new place but is still very much a part of the family. This is his new "room" and his new roommate.

I think this location suits Broccoli very much and he agrees. He BEAMS happiness every night (from 6-11pm). Welcome Broccoli - I think (now) we are gonna be great FURiends.