Hello sweet friends – welcome to my Paw Time with Houdini. Today is Cinco de Mayo and we here at the Hotel Thompson have been getting ready for the holiday all week. You might have read earlier in the week where daddy is going to join a mariachi band to attempt to make some extra money for our surprise in September. Well we know that every super hero – even a mariachi singer – needs a side kick. So mom went shopping with Nana and look what they found me – can you believe it?! My very own Mexican poncho with fringe – barks with puppy excitement. I think it fits my little bum just perfect. I am so ready to go out tonight for some partying…. just a couple of houses down from me they are throwing a party. We have been invited. Of course, they wanted Bacon as guest of honor so he backed out.
Go figure huh?
Between daddy dressing up with his guitar and me with my new poncho, hopefully we can make a little side money. Wish us luck.
But wait a minute, I’m not done. Barks! Nope I’m not.
I want to share what my brother Phenny’s dad made me from across the pond. *Now* I think I’m ready to start rolling some r’s and singing. Oh mom, can you practice some Spanish with me now? Hasta la vista babies! ❤
And now I leave you with Jokes with Daddy – enjoy my friends ❤
Our big surprise is coming up in September – just mere months away! So dad thought he would be resourceful and get a part-time gig with a mariachi band to help with saving some money. And with Cinco de Mayo being in a couple of days, what better way, right?
So the next time you are in your local Mexican restaurant, be on the lookout for my daddy. He will be the one singing off key with a southern twang. You might want to consider giving him a little something to be quiet.
I wonder if we can find a Mexican poncho small enough for Houdini so he can go as his side kick? You know – the more making extra money the better, right? Snorts with piggy laughter.
Welcome my friends to our weekly issue of Journey with Friends. This is a time that we come together for support, for encouragement, for fellowship – all with one single goal in mind – to live better. Welcome to our journey to share our goals and our accomplishments and our disappointments and frustrations.
Together we can do this!
Hey friends – Happy Monday. How are you doing today? How was your week?
I’m learning to be nice to myself. To take care of me first and then let others fall closely behind. It’s a hard thing to do but I’m trying and it’s a step by step process. Speaking of step by steps – LOL – I want to talk about something I got last week. It’s a knock off of the Fitbit. You know the little band you wear on your arm day and night that monitors your steps. I can’t say enough nice things about this. It’s awesome. I charged it up Tuesday morning when I got it. The only bad thing I can say is when you charge it, it pops into the charger and getting it out of the charger takes a little flexing. After 45 minutes, it was ready to go.
I put it in the band, downloaded the app to my iPhone, made some updates on the app and there you go – time to forget about it and get on with your day. Now the only time you take the band off is if you are showering (you don’t want to get it wet) or charging it. It connects on your cell phone over Bluetooth. Usually the face is black but I turned it on by a gentle touch to show you how it looks with the time. It shows you the time, the date, steps you have taken and converts the steps into miles for the day. At night, you turn it on sleep mode and it monitors your sleep patterns – how cool is that huh? AND, it has an alarm that vibrates on your wrist every 2-3 hours to remind you to get up and move around if you are to sedentary.
Now, I’m a true lover of this watch and in no way got paid for saying any of these things. I think this ‘knock off’ is ideal – especially when normal Fitbits go for around $130.00 and up. Since I’m a bargain buyer you know that’s just too much for me. I got this sweet band on sale from amazon for – are you ready for this – less than $20.00! It is totally awesome and I’m hoping that it reminds me to move it – move it. In fact the second day I wore it, I was up to over 3,000 steps which is great to me. My goal is to eventually get to 10,000 steps a day.
So my friends, what have you done lately to help yourself out? Have an awesome week – remember WE CAN DO THIS TOGETHER!
My great friend Cocco at http://myminipetpig.com/ has stepped in to do a special edition of Dear Cocco. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. That little Cocco is a very pigtalented little oinker. I think together, we could rule the world. Big thanks out to Cocco and his mom Katie for this special edition! We hope that you will do it again in the future ((HOGS AND KISSES))
We know you piggies are considered the fourth smartest animals around but did you know that we hamsters are very talented? We have formed a musical band and we are pretty sure you and your piggy friends couldn’t do that. Signed The Musical Trio
Dear Musical Trio,
We actually don’t need to form a band. We are a nonstop one-man band kind of animal. We can squeal, screech, snort, bark and kiss. We are innately musical so we don’t even require any instruments. Ha.
Did you know that cats can dance? We are extremely graceful and actually invented several moves. We are wondering if you can guess what dance we are doing. Signed The Stealthy Cats
Dear Stealthy Cats,
Why thank you for enlightening me. I wasn’t thinking you were dancing at all. I was thinking you were in the midst of a cat fight. Now that I know you were dancing, I am quite sure you were doing the Cha Cha.
Us dogs know revenge. My humans went on a walk and didn’t think I could make it the whole duration since I’m “getting old” so they left me home. Their mistake was leaving dinner to cool on the counter. These old bones jumped up and gobbled it all down. I’m feeling pretty smug. Signed One Smug Pug
Dear One Smug Pug,
I say good for you. You put your humans in their place. I bet you taught them a lesson and they will take you along next time!
Hippos love having their teeth cleaned. Trainers think we are just naturally obedient when it comes to teeth cleaning but the truth is our teeth love the massage. They squirt the water in, tickle our gums and then tell us “good job”. Did you know we hippos eat as much muddy grass as we can just to get those silly humans to give us a tooth massage? Signed The Toothy Hippo
Dear Toothy Hippo,
A tooth massage sounds like good clean fun. I’ll avoid one at all costs though and leave the enjoyment to your kind. The only kind of massage I like is of the belly variety.
Rocky the Squirrel told us to write to you. We are members of the band Squirrel. We play a lot around the Oaks and Pines areas of the neighborhood. You’ve probably heard us jamming to some classics like, “Shake Your Bushy Tail”; “I Love Nuts and Seeds”; and our biggest hit “That Dog is Mine”. Rocky says you’re the man to get some publicity. How about it oinker? Signed Band Squirrel
Dear Band Squirrel,
WOW – that Rocky gets around, doesn’t he? I guess that makes sense with him being a journalist and everything. Love your songs – keep up the great work and keep shaking those tails my friends!
What? Why do you look at me like that? Doesn’t your purr things wear glasses and read the newspaper while lounging on the sofa? They don’t? I’m shocked. I’m going to have to email those purr things of yours and get them educated. Signed Kitty Professor
Dear Kitty Professor
That is really the look. It just threw me off guard seeing you all like that as if you were well human. I’m more shocked than anything. My purr things don’t do that. I’m going to have to show them your picture of how an educated kitty acts around the house. Maybe the Mouse Girl will learn something new for a change. I can only hope! P.S. I have to ask. When you get done with that paper, do your throw it down on the floor and ‘use’ it? Snort – snicker.
You are not the only one that loves to have his belly rubbed. I do as well. For some reason though, no one will do it? What do you say little man, you want to be food rub my belly? Signed Croc
Dear Croc,
UUUMMM – I think I’ll pass. I wouldn’t want to become food friendly in that way with someone I don’t know. Momma said it wouldn’t be right. But, thanks for drooling thinking of me.
You see tourists all of the time doing their thing shopping, people watching and sitting out in the sun. What makes us any different? This is a picture of me on vacation last week. It was the life! Signed Big Man
Dear Big Man,
There is nothing like human watching while sunning oneself in nature, especially on vacation my friend. Mom and dad said they may take me on vacation one day. I think I may resemble your picture in the future!
This is me and my friend Dewey. Sometimes we don’t see eye to eye. You ever feel that way with the purr things? Signed Hector
Dear Hector,
Snort – pig laughter. Yeah me and the purr things don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things at the Hotel Thompson. Of course, we don’t physically get in that situation but I can relate. Just give in to little Dewey. I think he may own you! He been talking to Journalist Rocky the Squirrel? Snort – LOL
Miniature pot bellied pig and friends - Bacon, Houdini, Hemi and all of the Rock Clan with Journalist Rocky the Squirrel all out looking for adventures from the Hotel Thompson.
Go figure huh?
Piglove 
