#CookinWifBears Just Doesn't Have the Same Ring To It...

I'm assuming all of you know my super-famous pal @ZackRabbit and you watch his #CookinWifRabbits show every Saturday. Well, Zackary sent us a new pal, T. Nuki-chan! (Uh, he's the one in the picture who is not a bear.) So we thought we'd give Nuki-chan a proper welcome by doing some cooking!

Today we made green tea cupcakes. Mostly so we could use these cute Winnie-the-Pooh cupcake liners.

We started by creaming together the butter & sugar...

Then we added one egg + one egg yolk. Uh...I don't think Artie is using that egg separator correctly...

Then some milk, baking powder, pinch of salt, and our green tea powder...

After adding some flour it was ready to put in the oven!

While our cupcakes baked, we made the green tea frosting...more butter, milk, green tea powder and then some powdered sugar.

And voila! Green and glorious! Oh my, it looks like there may be extra..?

Yes, we could have left it at that. But we decided to take it one step further and make a super special cupcake inspired by our teddy-ness and our sweet teddy friends on Twitter!

I guess, in retrospect, it might have been more appropriate to make a tanuki-topped cupcake to celebrate Nuki-chan's arrival...or maybe a rabbit cupcake as a thank you to Zackary for our new friend? Uh...oops. Maybe next time, okay?

Happy Easter

Last year I wrote this post about how Easter is for everyone. To me, Easter at its core is about second chances. It's about forgiveness and rebirth. Because of this, I think that Easter is a holiday that people of all religions (or no religion, even) can observe.

I think that being forgiven and starting over has a certain appeal. Not long ago I ended up hurting my friend @TheRealStinky's feelings. I didn't mean to, of course, but I hurt him regardless.  I would like to be forgiven and give our friendship a second chance; though he doesn't owe me that, by any means.

So then I got to thinking...how many other pals have I hurt by accident? Perhaps with a careless remark or even no remark at all?

That is why to me Easter this year is about being a better friend.

Can We Give Pumpkinpuddy a Great Blogiversary?

It's almost @Pumpkinpuddy's blogiversary! To celebrate, she wants to give a nice donation to her favorite charity, http://www.duncansplace.org/

I've put up a widget on the right there where you can donate via ChipIn. ORRRRR...and here's a big deal: Pumpkin made this lovely book "Summer at the Lake with Petie." You really should buy it! Want to know why?
1) It's about the anipal twitter family, specifically @PetietheCat and those who rallied around for his health;
2) Profits go to Duncan's Place, not Pumpkin's (or anyone else's) pocket;
3) The way the publisher is set up...Pumpkin can't access the last bit of book revenues until she sells 6 more books this month! Oh dog! Okay, well, I'll go buy one so...now we just need FIVE more generous people to buy a copy!

Now, I know that anipals are a generous group sometimes almost to a fault and that several of us WANT to buy things or donate or whatever but are just "gived out" and don't have anything left. Totally understandable! But please, even if you can't donate or buy the book, can you tweet the link to the chipin or the book or even to this blog?

All your efforts--even the effort of just reading this post--are appreciated!

In Which My Big World Gets a Little Bigger

The other day I was talking with some anipals about all the cultural information I've learned from other anipals ("cultural information" usually revolves around food, but that's not really my point). We talked about the friends we've made all over the world, the amazing things we've learned, and about how when our people try to tell "outsiders" about tweeting animals and pawties they get the "Cuckoo!" look. USPS, FedEx, and UPS people all over are shaking their heads at this increase in packages they're delivering that are addressed to pets.

The other side of this is when disaster strikes across the world, there's usually an anipal in that place. This will sound selfish, but I'm a dog--my life is eating, sleeping, fetching, and potty. I didn't really care about other places. But as soon as I heard about the riots in Egypt, I immediately thought of @MisterSnoop and how grateful I was that he had moved & was out of harm's way. Looking at my tweets during that time, I saw a lot of other anipals felt the same way.

So naturally, when this latest awful quake hit Christchurch, New Zealand, anipals scrambled to check on the pals we know live there. What used to seem a distant, impersonal crisis became gutwrenching, terrifying, and very close and real as we waited for news of our friends. Our pals @whskr and @rumblepurr were far enough away from the devastation; however others like @PollyPuss11, @Baxter_Man, and @LilycatQueen were all too close for comfort. Twitter was frantic until they reported in safe. We're still waiting (at the time of this writing) to hear firstpaw from @Oslo_Pup (though I've been told that Baxter's been told he's safe) and awaiting word from @MrSootyMeowvins.

Anipals being anipals, we immediately started thinking of how to help. @Rumblepurr set up a ChipIn on his blog (I've posted the widget here too). At the time I'm posting this, the ChipIn has already exceeded the goal, which warms my heart to know there are so many eager to help. The great thing about this ChipIn is that Rumbles' capable paws will make sure the donation will get to the Christchurch SPCA (and not in his nip fund--or the nip fund of anyone else).

Donations are purely voluntary (I'm a chihuahua-not exactly made for threatening people). Prayers are also appreciated and don't cost a thing. :)

PS-I've passed on the information I've been told via Twitter regarding the safety of our NZ pals. I apologize for any possible errors; I'd appreciate any updates or corrections left in the comments.

Good Bye, Vixen

I did not know Vixen in "real life." She was not a tweeting anipal. But her people tweet, which is how my Girl knows them and how we came to know about Vixen...and then her suddenly, rapidly deteriorating health...

...and her last breath today.

Vixen was a 10-year-old border terrier and while most of us can say, "Ten years is a good life for a pet" I believe we'd all agree that ten years is in no way long enough. You readers understand the heartache of losing a beloved pet and I'm hoping most of you will comment here-I know her family will be reading this. My hope is they find some comfort in the sympathy and condolences of anipals.

Wednesday Roundup

Seems I'm on a kick of mish-moshy blog posts. I guess this way there's something for everyone! BOL!


First off, I want to link to @TeenysFriends really cool blog. You see, Teeny's goal is to provide toys to needy shelter dogs. "Socialized" shelter dogs (playful nice ones who are playful and nice from getting to play with toys--that's where you come in, pay attention!) are more likely to find furever homes. So it stands to reason that getting toys to shelter dogs means more of those dogs will be adopted! Now, here's how you can help--AND KEEP READING PLEASE because this month, you can help give a toy to a needy pup WITHOUT SPENDING A PENNY! From Teeny's own paws:

"This month I will donate 1 toy for each 50 new followers on Twitter, and 1 toy for each new "Fan" on Facebook and each new follower of this blog."

So click those links and help shelter pups! If you're so inclined, you can also help by participating in their one-for-one toy program (for every toy you buy, they donate a toy to a shelter) or by joining their used toy mail-in campaign. Check out the blog or Facebook page for additional details!


Okay, next on the list: @BorisKitty. He has a couple things going on. First off, Boris is trying to get his fuzzy mug on a Bissell box by entering this contest. You do have to register to vote but it's super easy and you can vote once a day. I'm sure Boris would really appreciate you voting for him. Girl thinks because we own so many Bissell products we should get extra votes but I guess it doesn't work that way. But hey, while you're over there on Facebook "Liking" Teeny's fan page, go ahead and Like Boris's #SciFiPawty fan page too, okay? #SciFiPawty was a blast last year and I'm sure you'll want to know all about the goings-ons (I don't know what that actually means) for it this year too!

Weeks and weeks ago, @mattiedog sent me this pawesome Hank's Bacon Beer keychain! Girl put it on my collar, thinking it would be easier to get a picture of me with it that way. Yeah right! Fat chance!

 I'm not snarling--she just gave me a treat hoping that would make me more pose-conducive. Instead I just look vicious!

 I think this pic really highlights the Girl's messy office rather than the keychain collar ornament

No, I can't see, but I have a special Spidey-sense that tells me exactly when to move to turn a great shot into a blurrrrr!


So now I think you're caught up on my Wednesday happenings. Thanks for stopping by!

Catching Up

This is kind of a mish-mosh of things I think are important.

First of all, here is a great post from @InformedFerret. I thought I linked to this before but can't see where I did, so I'm belatedly linking now! Though the post is about ferrets, I think it's very important and applicable to ALL pet owners/lovers and brings up important issues we need to consider and be aware of. Education and responsibility are key!

Second, you may have noticed the Pierre chip in to the right here. Our friend @MarioDaCat wrote a post explaining our pal @PierrethePoodle is a bit unwell and could really use a bit of financial help to get better. Please consider chipping in. Also, adding the ChipIn to your blogs or linking to Mario's post via twitter would be a great help as well.

Thank you for taking the time to check out these Things That Are Very Important To Me. Until next time..!