A "Happy Birthday Indy" Christmas Corgi Give-Away!

Today is my Indy's 11th Birthday. A sweeter Corgi you will never find. He even answers to 'Sweetie' when we call him. Here he is with his birthday cupcake (he had two!) and his peanut butter birthday treats. He even got a squishy new furry toy, which will promptly be de-squeaker-fied, I'm sure. Besides warming my heart with love every day, Indy is also my little bed warmer. He is entirely snuggly. He told me that for his birthday, even though he can't warm your bed on these cold Winter nights, he wanted to send some warm Corgi (or hedgie) cuteness to one of our lovely blog readers.

I suggested to him that a sweatshirt may be just the thing!

To win Indy's warm birthday give-away, just leave a comment for him on this post from now through the drawing on Monday, Jan 5th, 2009. No strings attached. You don't need to post the giveaway on your blog (unless you want to!), you don't need to stand on one foot and pat your head while rubbing your tummy...not a thing. Whether you are a new reader or an old friend, all are welcome. The winner of this giveaway (chosen by random draw) will receive one sweatshirt in one of the designs below or another of his or her choosing. (Don't be shy, Indy would never bite.)

"Dressed To Kilt" Corgi Sweatshirt

"Fashionista Hedgie" Hedgehog Sweatshirt

"Walk Like An Egyptian" Corgi Sweatshirt

"Potting Shed" Corgi Sweatshirt

"Start Your Engines" Corgi Sweatshirt

• Winner will choose their sweatshirt size. They range from 'small' to '2x.' If you would prefer a tee shirt or different style shirt or design in my CafePress Shop, you may have one instead.


• Winner will be chosen by random draw on Monday, January 5th, 2009, late evening EST and announced here.


• Please email me at christmascorgi@aol.com if you are the lucky winner!

Good luck, tell your friends, and thanks for helping Indy celebrate his birthday! -CS ^..^

'Twas the night before Christmas...

The Corgis were nestled all snug in their beds,

while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Love and Corgi kisses,

Cathy

Come and play in the snow!

Mary Elizabeth took these fun photos of the wee beasties playing in the snow today. Even her horses were having a grand time!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend! Take time to savor this week amidst all of the hustle and bustle. We all get only so many Christmases in our lifetime. Cherish each and every one. Hopefully, with someone you love.

Last but not least, here is a photo of one of our little nut heads....she stuck her whole head right in the snow! Ta ta for now my little Corgettes! xo Cat ^..^

A Fresh New Year (filled with Corgis, of course...!)

Presenting The Christmas Corgi Calendar 2009. Thanks so much for all of your lovely emails requesting the new Corgi Art calendar. After a few glitches retrieving images I wanted to use from the older computer, I'm so happy about the way it turned out. I hope you will like it too! You can click the link below to my CafePress shop to see each Corgilicious page. When there, simply click the calendar link to see 'view calendar pages' and voila!~

*

*

The Christmas Corgi Calendar 2009

I like to have a desk calendar as well as a wall calendar. I need all of the organizing tools I can get, thank you. This one is fantastic and benefits the Pembroke Welsh Corgi Club Of America. It is lovely! A labor of love by Mari Carroll, Cheryl Heath and Joan Scott. Photos contributed by PWCCA members and wonderful artwork by Art Smith.

PWCCA Desk Calendar

Have a lovely weekend my lovelies! We are in for a snowy one here in New York. xo -CS ^..^

Decking The Halls

Greetings dear reader. Happy Monday! I thought I'd show you a few corners of our home that we've decorated for Christmas. As you can see by the baskets and wrappings on the table in the photo above, I was making progress in the night. First, I'd would like to show you a lovely gift sent from my friend Linda and her Annabelle doll, Annabelle of Oregon to our Annabelle. You can read more about our Annabelles on Suzanne's post here. This treasure trove of miniature gifts is to be opened each day starting St. Nicholas Day, Dec. 6th all the way through January! We are having too much fun with this.

Unfortunately, the gifts were too much for this wicked mouse to resist. Even though she looks darling in her Tasha Tudor style red cape, she is still a wicked, wicked little mouse.

She gathered up all the gifts that would fit into her little basket. She even carried off the lovely new shiny red coat stand so she could use it to hang up her cloak.


It seems these two even made off with the miniature Nativity set sent last year by Annabelle of Montana. Sigh.

We will leave these two little imps to their treats and wickedness while I show you a few more pretty little things.

...like one of Jerusalem's fantastic banners....

I've had this angel since I was a little girl.

This is just about the skinniest Christmas Tree I've ever seen. It belonged to my Grandmother, Gracie, as did the white glittery dove resting at the top. I have this in my bedroom on top of a dresser.

A Danbury Mint Corgi Christmas Tree

This photo is entirely too dark, but you get the idea :)

This just in: New information has surfaced as to why the Grinch

became so, well, Grinchy. Apparently he had auditioned for Project Runway and was

rejected. The Grinch, as it turns out, is just a big old green artist and crafter....

Have a fantastic week my lovelies! xo -CS ^..^

Where does the time go?

I love this picture. I know it is faded. I know it is fuzzy. It was probably taken with a disposable camera back then. But I love it just the same. It is of my kids, Johnny and Laura. I found it last night while going through some boxes and papers. I'm thinking this must have been taken in 1995? (I had Johnny when I was barely 21 so by their ages here that seems about right.) I remember stringing all of that popcorn with them. I was just reading a post by Liz about her lack of sleep and the neighbors seeing her out in her pj's. (She just cracks me up!) The combination of reading that and finding this photo made me think of times when I couldn't sleep. I'm not talking about my usual insomnia. I'm talking about when Laura was born. She was a preemie, 3 1/2 mos. early born at 25 weeks weighing 970 grams. Just under two pounds. 8 sticks of butter. Her fingers were the size of those little plastic things on the end of your shoe laces (did you know they are called aglets?) In the NICU for 2 + months with many ups and downs. For the few hours we left the hospital each day, there was no such thing as a restful sleep. A cry-yourself-to-sleep sleep, yes. Restful, no. The doctor came in one day after two months and simply said, "paint her room." It was his way of telling us she was going to be OK. She came home on a heart monitor which she had for about a year and a half. It would beep if she stopped breathing. Restful sleep? Mmmmm....not so much.

Then there's Laura's older brother, my dear sweet John Jr. What can I tell you about John? He is like the mayor. Always has been. Knows everyone, likes everyone. The most empathetic person I know. And stubborn! Good Lord is he ever. And, excuse the expression, but he could argue the pants off of the Pope. His teen years seriously contributed to my lack of sleep; as I'm sure mine did to my mother. Those with teenagers know what I'm talking about. ( Those with young babies, well, just wait. ) It was great when they'd just all come over. Food in the fridge = teenage hangout. Sleep was reasonably peaceful until some of the older kids started driving and curfews got later and later. John was pretty good about letting me know where he was when he was out. There was a point there where he wasn't so good about coming home on time. One night, he hadn't come home. It was about 2 AM. The Mister had just worked like 8 hours OT and was out like a light. I heard sirens. Wild thoughts started filling my head. My car was snowed in, so I grabbed my husband's keys to his work van and threw on my coat and headed out to find Johnny. I drove all over town until I recognized one of his friends smoking a cigarette outside the local 24-7 diner. I pulled the van up, (the friend had vanished) and walked into the diner to see if Johnny was there. Did I mention that I had on hot pink flannel Sylvester and Tweety pajamas, un-brushed hair sticking out like Medusa, a giant spot of green "Mint Julep Queen Helene" mask on a zit on my cheek? I went back outside, got into the van and saw Johnny and his friends sitting on the guard rail. I pulled the van up to the rail and opened the passenger side door without saying a word. Johnny and the whole motley crew piled in. It was so quiet back there, you could have heard socks drop. One by one I dropped them off at their houses until the last one just looked at me as he got out of the van and said, 'you know Mrs. S, you are a little scary sometimes.' When we got home, I was able to finally sleep knowing all of my chicks (and everyone else's) were back in the nest.

When our kids would do something stupid, my friend Tracy always would say, "They'll all be 25 one day." How right she was. Time flies. I wish I could clip its wings. -CS ^..^

Some of my new favorite things...

Oprah may have her 'favorite things' list, but here at The Christmas Corgi, we have a few spiffy new things of our own that we love this year. The best part? They are all hand made with love by some very talented ladies.

I am so excited about these whimsical charm bracelets from Melissa

over at Charm School Jewels. When I was a young girl, my mom bought me a really cool charm necklace that was similar to this. She remembers buying it at Saks Fifth Avenue. I remember it had tons of 'bubble gum machine' type charms and baubles on it. I wish I had it now. When I saw these, my heart felt like 10 lords a-leaping! The top green one is my daughter's. The pink one is mine.

All mine.

I can't ever resist the tea and cozies made by Susan over at T-Party.

Susan's Blend is my favorite, and her Jingle Blend is so nice for Christmastime.

Many of the cozies she makes have vintage fabrics and antique

buttons. They fit so perfectly over the little personal sized Bee

House tea pots she sells. I have quite a little collection of these. Actually,

I think the tea pot that goes with this new cozy is pink....

These are Corgi cards hand made by Ivy over at Paper Elixir.

They have really cute sayings in Welsh. The blue Corgi with the golden

crest card translates as, "I love reading." The one with the little crown

translates as, "Hello, my subjects!" So true for a Corgi, eh?

Aren't they all just fantastic? I think so! Have a lovely evening sweetie pies! xo -CS ^..^

Martha Stewart and all things sparkly....

Today was a fun day for me. I went to Jennifer Paganelli's Sis Boom Holiday Open House. Jennifer's home is entirely lovely. The minute you walk up the path you can see the most beautiful things she's created sparkling through the windows and beckoning you to come inside. I wish I thought to take some photos (I know, I know, sorry 'bout that, I was too wrapped up in chatting with others who were equally in awe of their surroundings...) but you can see some of her magical and lovely creations by clicking around on her website. I did buy a few of her special fabrics that just may find their way into some Original Christmas Corgi Art Dolls. While there, a man came in and picked out a gorgeous wreath full of sparkly vintage ornaments that his wife loved and told him about. What a lovely Christmas gift she will be receiving from her very thoughtful sweetheart.

Before I went to Jennifer's, I decided to brave the crowds at Stew Leonards in Norwalk, Connecticut where Martha Stewart would would be signing her new "Cooking School" book. I'm so glad I did. The entire process was run like a well-oiled machine. From where to park if you wanted to meet Martha, to police escorting you across the street, to very sweet employees taking you up to the beautifully decorated conference room, it was all very pleasant. My friends know that I am a bit (ok, a lot) claustrophobic so I tend to avoid situations where I may be squished like a panini with no way out. Stew's did a great job in making that not happen. Even as we had to serpentine to the front of the line, there were wide tables filled with cookies and their holiday brochures along the way. I was in line with a very nice gal, Katherine, who was as excited as I was to see Martha, which made the waiting time pass quickly. We really had fun anticipating getting our books signed.


Even though things moved along rather quickly, I must say that the atmosphere was happy and relaxed and Martha took a few moments with each person to chat. I have to tell you that she is really, really pretty in person. Right before it was my turn to see Martha, her adorable French Bulldog, Francesca, popped out from beneath the table. So of course, instead of telling her how much I have enjoyed the inspiration she has given me over the years, what is the first thing out of my mouth? "So, I saw your new Chow Chow puppy on your blog...he's really cute, are you going to show him?" (Which proves that you can take the girl out of the dog show, but you can't take the dog show out of the girl....) "Oh, Yes!" Martha said, and then she told me that she just loves Corgis, too. When my turn was over, we were directed back down to the front of the store. I ran in to buy a couple of 1/2 gallons of Stew's lowfat chocolate milk for my daughter. Come to think of it, I think it is the first time in my life that I've ever used the 'express' line at Stews, since I usually leave there with a basket full. The two police officers sporting their spiffy blue mirrored sunglasses were still outside to stop traffic so we could get back across the busy street to our cars. "I just met Martha Stewart" I told them with a smile. "Was it a 'good thing'?" they asked, smirking back at me. "Yes," I replied. "A very good thing!"

Martha's French Bulldog, Francesca with Martha's friends.

Martha and my new friend Katherine...

Some people bought lots....

Me and Martha!

Enjoy the rest of the weekend, my lovelies! xo -CS ^..^