Lights of Christmas

I've always loved driving around this time of year to look at all the Christmas lights.  It is one of those vivid memories from my childhood - begging my mom to drive us through the trailer park by our neighborhood to look at the lights just one more time.  When Matt and I still lived in Seattle we would go to down the U-District to check out Candy Cane Lane which was a small cul-da-sac of decorated homes.  Since we live about 20 miles North of the city now we don't do that anymore and we really haven't found any neighborhoods in our area that go all out so this year I was excited when the Herald ran a daily deal for a BOGO on admission tickets to Warm Beach's Lights of Christmas!   

It was a bit of a drive since it is 45 minutes north of Everett, but it was well worth it.  The place was packed which was to be expected on a Saturday night, but they have the whole parking situation down to a T so it wasn't so bad.  From the minute you get on the property there are lights everywhere!  It is a rather large resort too so there are literally millions of lights!  We walked around for awhile before we grabbed a bite to eat:  Hot dogs and elephant ears.  Yum.  It was a great opportunity for me to play with my fancy camera too.  I'll leave you to enjoy some of my favorite pictures.  Enjoy!

Best of Friends

When I used to volunteer in the cat room at a local shelter it used to amaze me how many people didn't believe that you could introduce two adult cats and have them get along!  Most people, including myself, were brought up with the notion that you have to get cats and dogs as kittens and puppies if you want them to get along with a resident animal.  This is so not true and the Horton animals are a perfect example of that.

Our beloved Nikita was our first cat.  He was about a year and a half old when we got him and we instantly fell in love.  About 7 months after adopting him we decided he needed a friend because he wanted to play with me all the time and I had the scratches to prove it.  We adopted Fidel a loving 10 lbs. cat.  Nikita hated him.  He body slammed the poor thing all the time.  Fidel was in heaven and didn't care.  They got along for the most part.

Two years later we adopted Vlad.  Nikita really HATED him.  It was at this point that he decided he loved Fidel so the two of them teamed up and tortured Vlad for 2 years, turning him into the sissy cat he is today.  OK, so maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit.  Nobody ever got hurt and it wasn't constant.  They had their moments of jealousy, but for the most part we had a peaceful household.

Until we brought a dog home.  At first Luna was terrified of the cats.  She spent her first week home huddled and shaking in our arms.  We put a baby gate up in the hall way to keep the two species separated and it worked.  It took a solid 2 months before the cats ventured over to the dogs territory.  Somewhere along the way, Luna's herding instincts kicked in and she realized what great fun they were to herd around the house.  Nikita never accepted her and spent most of his time in high places staying as far away from her as possible.

Sadly, Nikita left us in 2008 after he developed lymphoma.  We waited about a week to bring Karl home.  It was instant love for everyone.  Fidel had a new best friend and Vlad was no longer tortured for being a big cat and thus a threat.  We'd often come home to the 3 of them snuggling on our bed mostly wrapping their bodies around Fidel to keep him warm.

We enjoyed a solid two years of harmony with our three cats, Fidel, Vlad and Karl plus our corgi Luna until we lost Fidel this past April to a myrid of health problems.  He fought a long battle with hyperthyroidism and kidney failure (CRF).  He developed anemia in the last few months of his life.  And even though we swore we would be a 2 cat household after we lost him we couldn't help but check out cats on petfinder.com  That's how we found Joey and the process of reintroducing a cat to house began all over again.

Joey and Karl relaxing after an intense game of sparkle ball.

Joey was a tough one because he didn't really any of the cats at first and definitely hated Luna, he was pretty vocal about that.  After the first month he had calmed down a little and was trying to figure out how to play with Vlad and snuggle with Karl.  A few months after that we caught him loving on Luna.  He now very openly headbutts her for love and cleans her ears and she takes it with a look of horror in her eyes, but I know she'll come around too.

We might not have the same mothers, but we love each other like brothers.  

I guess the lesson here is that it just takes time.  It's sad how many people don't want to put in the time and effort to adopt an older animal.  I also want to say it depends on the animal.  We had to find cats with the right personality or we knew it would work.

Happy Halloween and Luna's Photo Shoot

This year Halloween is all about dog parties!  That's right, Luna has more parties to go to them her parents. Tomorrow we are heading down to Greenlake in Seattle for our corgi group's annual Halloween Costume Parade.  I think we'll be breaking a record this year since 65 people have RSVPed already!  Can you even imagine what that many corgis in one place is going to look like?  Insane.  Unfortunately, if it rains in the morning then we'll have to cancel.  I'm just not interested in walking with a costumed dog in one of the downpours that we've been getting around here lately for 3 miles.  No thank you.  It's OK though because Luna has another event for later in the afternoon at her favorite store, Paddywack.  They are holding a Halloween Trick or Treat Scavenger Hunt to benefit the Grey Muzzle Organization.  Each dog receives a goodie bag and a set of clues that leads us around Mill Creek Town Center.  Along the way we get to fill up our bag with lots of treats for Luna.  At the end their is a Halloween party for the doggies!

 I can't wait to see what great costumes people came up with.  We went with another store bought one this year.  It was only $6 at Target though so I can't complain.  Luna on the other hand can and will complain.  She looks absolutely miserable in all the pictures I took of her this morning.  See for yourself:

I really want to be done now, Mom.  

Please tell me we are done.  PLEASE!  

I hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween!  Anyone else doing anything fun with their dogs this year?

Spoiled Dog

Yesterday I got off work early and ran to Paddywack at Mill Creek Town Center to register Luna for their Tricks and Treats Scavenger Hunt on October 30.  I was only going in to register not for anything else, but as I was leaving I noticed a beautiful thing - big, frosted cupcake for dogs!  Luna had to have it.  She's a spoiled princess after all.  It was pricey, but it was HUGE so it was worth it.

Of course, the instant I pulled it out of the bag once I got home Luna went insane.  Her eyes got huge and she started jumping up and down.  It took her a little longer than usual to eat it, but it was still gone in no time.  She's such a spoiled dog!

I love how it has dried berries on top!

Give it to me NOW, Mom!

First Pats Game at the Moon!

Being a New England Patriots fan on the West Coast can pose some challenges such as being able to watch them play every week.  This week's game against the Bills was one of those games.  Luckily, we live 2 blocks away from a sports bar that broadcasts every game every weekend so we headed down there. Even though this is our second time going to a 10 AM game down there I'll never get used to drinking that early.  Well, unless we are in Vegas, but South Everett is far from being a second Vegas.

Of course, we had to have our picture taken while we were there.  It's a little blurry, but it was taken in a bar so it's understandable.

The Pats ended up losing that day 34-31 to the Bills.  Let's hope this week's game against the Raiders ends in our favor.  And oh yes, we'll be at the bar early that Sunday too, just not 10 AM early.

Happy (belated) Birthday, Luna!

Luna's 7th birthday was on Friday, September 16!  She's the first dog that I've actually known the exact birthday of.  Since we had such a busy weekend we didn't actually get to celebrate it until Sunday, but I don't think Luna cared.  We took her to her favorite store, Paddywack, to get her some puppy pizza and a birthday cookie.  The cookie was free since it was her birthday!  As you can see in this picture, Luna was more than a little excited to get it!

Corgi Fun Day 2011

Luna enjoying a picnic lunch.

Today we took Luna to Corgi Fun Day at McCollum Park which is only a short drive from our home.  It was a beautiful day to mingle with some fellow corgi owners and lovers and we got to see a lot of old friends that we've made through the Meetup group.  As soon as we got there Luna started flirting with a boy corgi puppy!  It really was too bad that there was no off leash area because the two of them could have played for hours!  She also got to see her boyfriend, Milo, but by then she was too interested in the hot dogs that were cooking for lunch.  Matt finally got to meet Luna's sister (same litter) Shadow and her family.  I didn't get any pictures of her this time, but they are almost identical.  Luna's coat is a little rougher and Shadow is a little thicker around the middle, but they have the same face!  In true Luna fashion, she snapped at her when she got too close.  She had been doing so good up until that point.  Oh well, I guess we can chalk it up to sibling rivalry, but truth be told Luna is just a bitch.

Luna and I playing musical "hoops."  As you can see she was very into it.  

Before we left we played musical hoops (hula hoops instead of chairs) and we won 3rd place!  We even got a  3rd place ribbon.   They only had 2 pieces of agility equipment there:  Weave poles and a single jump.  I was SHOCKED when she ran up to the weave poles and started going in and out of them like a pro!  Sure, she skipped a few, but we haven't practiced agility in over 2 years so I was baffled that she would remember what to do at all especially since I didn't prompt her to do anything.  What a smart girl!  After seeing her take to them so quickly I was half tempted to sign her up for classes since there is a new club in Lynnwood, but I just don't think I have the time or energy right now which saddens me because she could really use the mental stimulation.     Oh well, it is something to keep in mind.

After we left we took Luna to Paddywack so she could pick out a bone.  Her birthday is in a few short weeks so we'll take her back to get a puppy pizza and maybe a birthday cookie.  Yes, they really sell such things there.

Once we got home, Luna immediately wanted to snuggle and fall asleep in my lap.  She's such a spoiled girl lately!  Next weekend, Matt and I are taking her to the 20th annual PAWSwalk to help raise money for the low-kill shelter where we adopted Fidel (RIP) and Vlad.

I was so proud of Luna when she remembered how to use the weave poles!

Shattered Stove

One day our stove exploded.

OK, so it didn't really "explode", but something crazy happened to it and the glass door shattered into a million pieces.

It was a Sunday night and I was getting ready to start another work week (ugh) when all of a sudden we heard the sound of glass breaking coming from the kitchen.  My first thought was that Joey had launched another plate off the kitchen counter or that the cats had gotten into something, but when we ran into the kitchen we stood watching in horror as the entire glass door of our stove slowly shattered onto the floor.  There were big chunks and little pieces all of over our small kitchen floor.  

Here's the picture I snapped right after it happened:

Notice how Luna's food and water bowls are right there?  So glad she wasn't eating dinner when this happened!

After we got all the glass cleaned up, it is surprisingly heavy by the way, I started Googling "shattered GE stove" to make sense of what just happened.  We hadn't been using it when it broke.  In fact, I hadn't cooked anything in it for a few weeks.  

What I found surprised me:  This is a fairly common problem!  I couldn't find an explanation for it, but it sounds like it is some kind of defect with self-cleaning ranges.  

I eventually called GE's Service Line and was given the prices for how much it would cost to send a tech out on a service call ($79.98) and how much we'd pay in labor per hour if we decided to fix it ($39.98), but I wasn't told how much the parts would cost and if all together it would cost more than the stove is worth.  Although it came with our condo when we bought it my best guess is it was around $400.  

Frustrated that it seemed OK that my stove could spontaneously explode for no reason I Googled this problem again and stumbled on a gold mine of information at a website called "The Consumerist."   The article talks about how a son helps his parents get their GE stove fixed after it shatters into a million pieces like ours by tweeting GE on Twitter!  Genius, I tell you.  Simply, genius.  I followed his advice and tweeted this:  The glass door of our 4 year old GE range spontaneously shattered! Scary - dogs dishes right by stove. Does GE have a Twitter account?   

Easy enough, right?

That same night I got this response:  GE_Appliances

@sabby12s Oh no, that's so scary! Pls email the details to xxxxxx@ge.com & we'll see how we can help. >Megan

Hey, I can do that.

So I sent the listed email address this note:  

Hello,

Megan from GE-Appliances on Twitter gave me this email address to send more information about our 4 year old GE Range.  I've attached a picture of the damage.  Thankfully, nobody was in the kitchen at the time, but what we find perplexing is that we hadn't used it in at least 2 weeks so it wasn't hot either.  After calling the GE service line to get price quotes on how much it costs to repair it we are not sure if it is worth it to fix the door or buy a new range.  I didn't get enough information from the operator to make a decision. 

The model # of our range is JBP70B0K3BB and the serial # is RL253512Q. 

I'd appreciate any help with this matter.

Thank you!

Notice how I didn't ask for anything for free because all I wanted was help trying to figure out whether my range is worth repairing or if I should just go buy a new one?  Pretty incredible considering I got this as a response just 2 hours after I sent it:

Hello Sabrina,

Thank you for reaching out to us at GE.  I'm sorry to hear that the glass in your oven door shattered but so thankful that no one was injured. I can certainly understand your concern and will be happy to assist you.

Although your range is outside the warranty, this is an unusual occurrence and not what we expect from our products.  Therefore, I would like to offer to cover the total cost (parts, labor, and home call) to repair your range. 

I have documented your information and this offer in case file number 12130147. If you would like to accept this offer, please reply to this e-mail with your complete address, phone number for service contact, and the days that are best for you to have a scheduled service call.  With this information, I will be happy to make the arrangements for you.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Sincerely,

Michelle

Social Media Solutions

GE Appliances

Holy schnikes!  My stove is getting fixed - for FREE!

OK, kids what did I learn from this?  2 things.  1.  The internet is a wonderful thing and 2. GE has the best customer service I have every dealt with.

I'll keep you posted on how the repairs go!