Lucy's Take... What I've Been Ups To!

Duke and I's human is very busy, and so's I begged to say hello to all of you for her!  And Duke's gonna gets his turn too!  We boths haves to step up to the plates and help da human outs!  She's really gots her hands full.  She's working every single day, ands trying to takes good care of us and da house and da yard.  Frankly, da bags under her eyes are getting kinda bad.  I wishes she coulds take us and run away on vacation...  but's she says she has sponsabilities, whatever those are.  We will just haves to do our best to be good little boxers.

Every single morning we reminds her to feeds us and gives us our Fish Oil.  Ands at night, we always helps her out by reminding her dat it's time for our walk, and times for bed, and times for our marrow bones.  We's are getting very good at reminding da human to do things.  It's a good ting too, because she's not too sharp right now.  What's would she do wits out us?  I can only imagines.

We hads a wonderful Tanksgiving.  Haves you ever had turkey?  Well, our human let us have some!  She tolds us we couldn't haves a bunch, but she gave us a little bit!  It's was so wonderful.  (Thankfully, da human mades a huge turkey and we hads leftovers for days, and days, and days!).  I'm not sure whats it was, but I felt a little sleepy after I gots da turkey...  I sure do love da new sofa.  It's perfect for napping!

Daddy came from Pittsburgh to spends da holiday wits us, and we had house guests too!  Dats was a lot of fun.  They really liked Duke and I and we mades sure that we snuggled wits them a lot so dat they will come back and see us again.

We spents most of da day outs in da yard wits Daddy, he was enjoying the sunshine cause he says dat there isn't any of it in Pittsburgh and dat it's very cold there.  Sure glad dat we're in Florida...  Cause I luvs da sunshine!

I really do loves living in Orlando.  But's it hasn't been wits out it's problems.  Ever since I's got here, I's been itching and scratching. Several weeks ago, da human tooks me to meets a new vet.  She was really nice, but she gaves me a shot and pills to take.  I's started to feel betters, but den I started itching again.

Da humans been trying all kinds of stuff to help me to feels better. She says dat she doesn't wants dem to give me somethins called Steroids...  So, she's been giving me honey, grown rights here in Orlando, apple cider vinegar, and fish oil.  To be's very honest wits ya, da fish oil is my favorite.  It smells wonderful and I look forwards to getting it...

She tolds me dis morning dats she doesn't tinks its working, I tinks dat might means we're heading back to da vets.  I hopes dat after I see da vet again, da human doesn't takes my fish oil away...

Oh, ands I almost forgot... my itchiness means dat I gets to wear all kinds of cool t-shirts and hoodies.  Da human even boughts me some of my very own.  Daddy's t-shirts are my favorite though, and I love da hoodie she boughts for me for our Christmas picture...

Well, I hads better run.  I'm sure dat there is something just waiting for dis little boxer to take cares of.  A boxers work is never done!  Ifs I don't gets to talk to you all again before Christmas.... Merry Christmas!

Another Long Absence!

Lucy, Duke and their humans have not fallen off the planet, we've just gone through yet another round of life altering events. It seems to be the norm for us rather than a rarity... What can I say?

Lucy, Duke and I are in Orlando! Our dream of opening an Amish Furniture store in Orlando became reality back in July. While we love being in Orlando, I don't have to tell you that opening a business in a completely new city, isn't without it's challenges. And to make everything even worse, my darling husband is still in Pittsburgh and has been going back and forth between our stores there, and his wife, boxer-kids and store here... I don't know, maybe I would be bored without all of the chaos and stress, but somehow I think that I would adjust.

Don't worry, the boxer children are settling in well and doing a great job of adjusting to life in a very hot city with a mother who seems to be running on less than a full deck of cards (I left the house this morning without my cell phone... and it's just been downhill ever since!) 

And of course, they're keeping me entertained in their usual fashion. It's great to know that some things will never change no matter how much other things change... Lucy is still crazy and silly, and Duke is still my mild mannered, sweetheart of a boxer!  As always, Duke takes on the role of man of the house with great enthusiasm, he's very serious about protecting his mother and his little sister.  There is not a noise outside of that house that Duke doesn't investigate with complete due dilligence...

And Lucy, well, what can I say?  Mischief still seems to seek out my little boxer girl, it just seems to be one thing after another with my little darlin, but I don't mind!

 Lucy is starting to settle down a lot and has become very cuddly and sweet when she's not possessed by the tasmanian devil that is....

Lucy still loves to help me out around the house... Her favorite past time- chasing the vacuum cleaner when the hose is attached!  I have no idea what it is about that combination, but it makes my little girl absolutely crazy!

A week ago, I was finishing up some things around the house, and one of my projects was ironing a bed skirt.  Of course, Lucy wanted to help!  She got right in there too...  Don't tell Lucy, but having her sitting on the bed skirt that I was attempting to iron, really complicated the process, but didn't she look cute sitting there?

And Duke has been busy finding the best places to lounge around the house, when he's not busy chasing Lizards up the trees in our back yard!  He loves laying in the entry way and watching the traffic on our street, although I suspect he's really watching for his Daddy.  And on the days when I have time to make the bed, he loves to snuggle at the head of bed in between all the pillows....

As you can see, he's also perfecting his "I'm going to die if you don't give me a bit of that" face...  Who could resist this sweet face?  I know that I can't- even though I try to avoid passing these kids table scraps....  What's a girl to do?

Long Overdue Update From The Trenches

I suppose you could say that this is a long overdue update on everything going on in our lives, and I apologize once again for being missing in action. It would seem that I don't have enough days in the week, hours in the day, or just enough time in general. But, we're all doing well, and we miss visiting with all of our blogger friends.

At the end of March, we celebrated the one year anniversary of the day that Lucy and I brought Duke home from Dayton, Ohio. It's hard to believe that it's only been a year that our sweet boy has been with us. Somehow, I can't even imagine a day without my sweet companion, he's definitely Mama's boy! I swear he's one of the most loyal faithful dogs on the face of the earth. I never have to look around to find him, he's usually at my feet, just like he is now.

The year has been so kind to Duke. I think he knows that he's loved more than anything, and that he is a treasured member of our family. When he came to live with us a year ago, he weighed about 50 pounds. When he went back to the vet a few weeks ago for his annual check up, he weighed in at a whopping 82 pounds! You couldn't look at this boy and think that he doesn't eat well or often!

... And Lucy, well she's still most definitely Lucy! Always in some kind of trouble, and always needin to be "splainen".

Last week, I was in the office on the computer when I heard an odd crunching noise coming from the living room. My little darlin' was taking apart my reading glasses, bit by bit with Duke laying next to her looking at her like what she was doing just wasn't a good idea. The glasses were not able to be salvaged! Thankfully, I had already ordered new glasses prior to this happening. My father in law spent the night at our house last night, and this morning he couldn't find his glasses, and neither could I. I am hoping that his glasses did not suffer the same fate as mine did, but I couldn't find even a tiny piece of them anywhere on the floor, and he has a tendency to constantly misplace things.

Me, well, I've been busy. The Amish Furniture Store keeps me very busy. I seem to be in charge of at least 11 different departments in this business, and never seem to have a dull day. 3 weeks ago, I chipped a part of one of my molars off. I was disgusted to learn that my only option for fixing this tooth, was a root canal followed by a crown. My appointment for my root canal was last Wednesday, but I still don't have a root canal because as soon as they numbed my mouth up, I passed out and the endodontist wouldn't do the root canal. So, I'll be heading back there tomorrow high on some valium.... Hoping this attempt has the outcome that I need.

TOM-a-TO, TOM-o-Toe!

For the most part, Lucy and Duke will eat anything. The other night, I was making their Daddy a salad, and both pups were sitting at my feet just waiting for something yummy to come their way. So, I decided to give each of them a little tomato and see what happened. I got a lot of giggles out of them in the next 10 minutes. Who knew a tomato could keep a boxer busy for so long?

"What the heck is that? And exactly what is it that I'm supposed to do with it, Ma?"

"You want me to do what with it? Eat it? I don't think so, but I might sit here and look at it for a while to figure out what it wants from me."

"I'm not sure what to do with it. The human says it's edibles, but I's isn't sure abouts dat. It doesn't evens smell like food!"

"I guess I'll try it. How bads can it be? She's was puttin it on Daddy's plate!"

"Hey, Lucy! What did you do wits dat thing Ma gave you?"

"I ates it Duke! Its wasn't anytin exciten, let me tell you!"

In the end, Lucy ate her tomato, and Duke's too. But, she didn't seem very excited about it, which was odd because she typically loves veggies! I guess that my kids, like me, don't like tomatoes! (And I've finally found something that Duke won't inhale!)

I Spy Two Boxers...

On Monday, I pulled everything out of the drawers in the chest and the nightstand that were in our bedroom! Rob and I had picked out new bedroom furniture and it was finally arriving. I couldn't wait! I piled everything neatly on the bed, and just as I thought that maybe it would be a good idea to close the bedroom door... Along came Lucy and Duke. This was the exact reason that I should have closed the bedroom door. Don't they look comfy?



Did you notice that all of my neat piles were gone? Too bad the pups weren't overly eager to help me fold all of that stuff back up!

A Birthday Mop For Lucy...

The day before Lucy's birthday, Rob brought both kids to the store to hang out with us as we started to work on the tax information... Fun, fun, fun! I had a couple of errands to run and figured I had better take advantage of being able to leave the store while I could. So, I leashed Lucy and loaded her into the Boxer Mobile. 1st stop the bank: I don't like leaving Lucy in the car, so I went through the drive through window. About 5 tellers came to the window to check out Lucy, and the end result was a milkbone sent in that funny little tube.

Next stop, Fed Ex where I neglected to shut the alarm off on the car when I locked the doors. I was in the store, filling out paperwork when I heard the sound of my alarm and realized that Lucy had probably moved! Sure enough, it was the Boxer Mobile and Lucy, little darlin that she is, was sitting in the middle of the back seat looking around trying to figure out what the heck was going on! Note to self: remember to deactivate the alarm when leaving the vehicle!

3rd stop, Petsmart! I needed to get something to occupy the kids while we did paperwork and I wanted to let Lucy pick out a toy for her birthday! Petsmart is Heaven to a dog, all of the smells, the other dogs, the toys, the bones... It's just Heaven! Lucy is very good with little dogs, and there was a tiny little dog walking around the store with it's owner, all Lucy wanted to do was give that little dog a kiss, but the owner of the dog wouldn't let her get closer than 2 feet. I felt so bad! And of course, Lucy didn't understand, she kept looking back at me like "What's da matter wit dis lady, ma?"

Lucy did pick out a toy, and several different kids of bones and other things to chew on. Every time I take one of those boxer kids in there with me, I spend a small fortune! They're like little children looking up at me with those big brown soulful eyes, "Pleeeeeze, ma! We's don'ts have any toys ta playz wits!!!"

I held onto to Lucy's birthday toy till we got home on Saturday evening. She wasn't very patient with me as I attempted to cut the tags off without my glasses on, and there were several protests about the length of time it took me to do so. Finally, all tags were removed and Lucy took off running through the house swinging her birthday mop all over the place! Of course, Duke wasn't far behind her trying to get in on the action. Now if only that mop would actually clean up the mud that they deposit on my floors...

Lucy Lou Bugga Boo Is 2!

I can hardly believe it, but my baby girl turns 2 today! It seems like just yesterday that I was counting down the hours till I could bring her home. The time sure does go by quickly.

I thought that in honor of Lucy's 2nd birthday, I would take a look back through some of my favorite Lucy memories... Besides, I love looking at her baby pictures!

Happy birthday, lil' Angel! Mama, Daddy and Duke love you to pieces!

Lucy was 5 weeks old in this picture, and it was her very 1st puppy bone! I feel so lucky that I got to know her when she was so young! I miss that little pink nose with black spots!

This one was taken at 7 weeks old... with her mama counting down the days till she could bring Lucy home! My little princess!

Lucy's first night home with us, no need to worry that she didn't feel right at home. She curled right up between our two pillows and fell fast asleep!

This is definitely one of my favorite pictures of Lucy! She was very good at posing when she was a baby!

6 months old, and on the job with her mama!

10 months old, reunited with her favorite toy after it had a slight accident! This was the picture that I didn't know I had until I uploaded them! I was so excited by her flying ears!

The day after her 1st birthday! Lucy wouldn't be Lucy without a little bit of dirt, and some paint.

Hanging out with her new brother, and her favorite toy the day after we brought Duke home!

Looking for trouble in September of 2011! She just wanted her toy back!

In the kitchen with me last night, wondering when some good food was going to drop!

On The Job With Duke!

Yesterday morning, we loaded the pups in the truck with us and headed to work. Lucy spent the day with her Daddy, and Duke spent the day with me! I just love having the big guy here to keep me company, and of course, to protect me!

Once a month, my Mom & Dad come down to Pittsburgh. My dad is receiving some kind of injections to help him with the back problems that he's having. While it's a horrible reason to have to come to Pittsburgh, they usually swing by the store to visit me, so I get to spend an hour or so chatting with them which I otherwise wouldn't be able to do. Yesterday was that day! Duke was so happy to see his Grandparents! He was so excited that his enthusiasm was impossible to contain for the first 10 minutes that they were here!

I'm usually the one behind the camera, so I don't have that many pictures of myself with the kids! Yesterday when Duke plopped down on my lap, my mom couldn't resist taking a picture of me with my "lap dog"! I love it! As you can see, he doesn't quite fit on my lap, but that doesn't deter him!

My parents aren't quite used to my wild kids, and my mom told me yesterday that she thinks Duke looks like he wants to eat her.... What this sweet face? He's a big love bug! I'm pretty sure it's just the size of his head that makes her think this way.

Duke settled down shortly after my parents left, he curled up at my feet by the heater and took a nap. Then he helped me eat some carrots at lunch time. We took several walks to take full advantage of the 60 degree weather and sunshine that was here yesterday. By 8:00, he was more than ready for his Daddy and Lucy to come pick us up. He was so ready, that he ran straight to the door, and waited! I can't lie and say that I wasn't ready to go home and see Rob and Lucy too!

I must say that I feel very lucky to be able to bring my boxers on the job with me! It's always great to spend the day hanging out with either one of them!

Time For A Bath!

I don't know exactly what made me decide that last night was the night, but I did. It was time for Duke to get a bath. I asked Rob to occupy Lucy whom I knew would most certainly want to jump in the tub if she heard water running and called Duke upstairs with me. I went in the bathroom and started running the bath water, and heard the door to the garage slamming shut downstairs and watched as Lucy jumped in the tub and Duke ran for cover. So much for Rob occupying Lucy!

Attempt #1 was a complete bust! I followed Lucy and her wet paws back downstairs laughing. Rob asked me what happened and I told him. He didn't think it was so funny and decided to help me. We went back into the bathroom and Lucy jumped back into the tub. Duke tried to escape again, but his Daddy was quicker! Before I even knew what had happened, I had two boxers in the bathtub- not exactly the best idea on the planet!

Attempt #2 went much better...I quickly soaped Lucy up, rinsed her off and turned her over to Rob who pulled the blow dryer on her and started to dry her off while I soaped up Duke! Lucy was not happy about the blow dryer, but Duke did okay in the tub. Despite his earlier intentions of avoiding the bath, he was very patient while I scrubbed him up! And when he was all done, he hopped out of the tub and let his Daddy blow dry him while Lucy ran like a madwomen all over the house trying to shake off the last remaining drops of water!

And so now I've got 2 very clean, very soft boxers! It all turned out much better than I had anticipated!

Guest Blogger...Remembering Marco

My Boxer Mailing List friend, Joanne lost her boy Marco several weeks ago. I've volunteered my blog as a tribute to her sweet boy. I saw Marco's sweet face on her Christmas card back in December and immediately fell in love! After seeing his puppy pictures, I'm even more enamored with him!

Marco was born on December 3, 2006. The breeder was in the family. We had been contemplating a boxer for a while, as we had grown to love the breed by seeing the boxers that our relatives owned. I had actually picked out another boxer from this litter, a light brindle female. But someone else came to look at the dogs, and fell in love with that same dog. So I had the option of keeping the female or letting someone else buy her and take Marco instead. I guess there was some karma there, as Marco turned out to be my heart dog. But I sometimes wonder how that female is doing.

Wasn't he a cute puppy?


One of the greatest joys in Marco's life was bestowing a face washing on one of his humans. Here he was 3 months old ready to give my grandson, Jordan a face licking!

This is one of anly a few pictures that I have with Marco and I, as I am usually behind the camera, not in front.




My grandkids had to look out for their toys with Marco around, especially when he was young (he was 7 months in this photo).


As you can well imagine this ball didn't last too long.

Again, Marco at his favourite spot with my grandson. They both loved looking out the window.











Marco had a few special dogs that he really liked - one was Gabby - they had some great times running around getting dirty.


As you BML owners with white boxers know,they sure can get dirty. By the way, Gabby is Jades mom.

















Marco was a pretty good big brother, but at first he was pretty rough on little Jade. We had to keep Jade outside the fence when she first got home, because he wouldn't let her go pee, and played quite rough. But as you can see, he also spent some time teaching Jade the 'ropes' on playing with sticks.



Jade and I miss Marco very much!

Lucy's Take... Reportin' For Duty, Ma!

Hi's everybodys! I gots to spend the day with my mama at work today, and thoughts that I would tell you all abouts da fun we had! I really enjoyed havings a girls day with my mom! She gaves me lots of hugs and kisses, and we played hides and go seeks for a little whiles dis morning! For lunch, we hads some pizza and Mikes and Ikes... I likes da yellow ones!

"I'ms ready to helps you sell some furnitures, Ma!! Brings on da customers. Where's dey ats?"

I hads some time on my paws, so I decided to finds a good spot to hide my bone for laters! This spot worked for a little whiles...

... Den da hooman found it and puts it on da desk by her coffee. I don'ts know why she puts it der, but I had to gets it back...

.. So dats I could chew on its! Mom boughts dis bone for Dukes a couples of weeks ago, I dont's know why he didn't likes it! I loves it!

Dis evening she let me clean out a peanuts butter jar! Dats was a lot of fun...

... Ands I mades sure I gots every last drop of da peanuts butter dat I coulds reach! My tongue can only get so far into the jar!

Mom's didn't gets any pictures, but I also gots to meet 3 little kids! She saids I was very good wits them! They gaves me tons of kisses and hugs and tugged on my tail! Dats was awesome... I wonders why we don't have any of dos at home? Mom... Cans we get some little kids? Pleeeeeze?