It’s cold here in California! We need the rain but my poor dog is getting older and seems to feel the cold more this year. I’m making her a dog sweater using 3-color Tunisian crochet and the general dimensions of this dog sweater pattern on LionBrand.com . On the writing front, I’m working on the 2nd book in my Lady Wynwood series and trying to figure out my villain. I find I go to movies, TV, and novels for inspiration—I think real-life “bad guys” are too complex, psychologically, for me to use as fictional inspiration. Do you have favorite villains in movies, TV, or fiction? I could use some ideas.

( see full image ) At the vet. Hiding under the exam table bc she's not very happy. :(

Not the candy, just my dog. I'm using this to test if I can post to my blog from my phone.  ( see full image )

This is what Captain Caffeine got for me for Valentine’s Day! (Actually, what happened was that I saw it, ordered it, and then told Captain Caffeine, “By the way, this is what you bought for me for Valentine’s Day.”) Snickers was rather interested in the bear. Probably thinking it was some new chew toy. Captain Caffeine gave it only 3 days before she managed to slobber on it. Did you get (or get for yourself) anything cool for Valentine’s Day? And if you didn’t get anything, you absolutely need to go out and buy yourself something. Right now.

I wanted to take a picture of these new socks I just finished knitting, so I went outside where Snickers came to greet me, expecting me to play with her or at least scratch her tummy (which I did). And while she was on her side, I threw my socks on top of her and snapped this picture: Her look says it all: “I don’t believe you’re embarrassing me like this.” Wouldn’t I be simply AWFUL if I had kids???? I’d probably dress them up in tomato costumes or as mini-me.

I find it morally impossible to say no to a face like that. :)

From the Urban Dictionary: Photobomb: (verb)- to drop in a photo unexpectedly...to hop in a picture right before it is taken. The Captain couldn’t resist, apparently. Let me also mention that the ONLY reason Snickers’ attention is so firmly on the photographer (me) is because I was holding a piece of food right next to the camera lens on my phone.

My dog licked my toes . Twice! Then, while I was paralyzed by grossness, she licked ME! YUCK!

I ate some leftover pot roast and had some gravy left over. I looked at Snickers. “Do you deserve a treat?” Snickers looked at me: “Yes, you deserve a treat!” I gave her the gravy with a little bit of kibble. I am so pathetic.

Forgive me, I have to brag on my hubby a little. Captain Caffeine smoked a lamb in his smoker for Easter dinner and here’s the pics! He used a garlic and rosemary-infused olive oil to coat it, plus he added some sliced garlic and rosemary on the skin. It turned out perfectly medium rare. Naturally, Snickers was hovering. And a little too interested in droppage. For me, Easter has always had good food and family. I couldn’t be with my family this year, but we definitely had good food! How about you? What did you do for Easter?

For those of you who might have missed it on Facebook, I took a photo with my dog. This was a second before she licked my phone-camera!

What in the world are they doing? My dog is going nuts. I think they are deliberately baiting her .

Captain's Log, Stardate 03.25.2010 I'm over at Faithchick.com today talking about my doggie! Camy here! My dog Snickers has been getting lots of love yesterday and today because she went for her yearly vet appointment. She got poked and prodded (and was not very polite about it, to my mortification) and also got a slew of vaccines. Click here for the rest of the post!

Captain's Log, Stardate 01.21.2010 I tweeted a couple weeks ago about taking my dog walking in the rain with her yellow rain slicker, and a bunch of you guys asked about it, incredulous. Oh ye of little faith. The truth is, Snickers is not a water dog. She hates getting wet. She will shy away from sprinklers and hoses. Giving her a bath is a two-person job and she shivers and has her tail between her legs the entire time. I also am not that fond of wet dog smell. So when I was visiting my friend Cheryl Wyatt in Illinois, we went to a store called Rural King, and I got this cute doggie rain slicker. It works perfectly--it keeps the rain off her back and part of her head, and she smells much less when we're back from our walk. What do you guys think?

Captain Caffeine took this picture last night! Isn't this cute? Merry Christmas everybody!

Captain's Log, Stardate 09.30.2009 I couldn't resist posting these cute dog pictures that my Mom emailed to me! "Pardon me, I just farted." "You have a huge chunk of spinach in your teeth. Let me get it out for you..." Canine of the Corn A true photo hog This amazes me. My dog would not have this kind of self control. Nor this kind of self control, either! Naturally, I couldn't resist posting some recent photos of our dog, Snickers! Know why she's so focused? I am holding a piece of chicken and she is staring intently. We have a kotatsu coffee table , and for some reason (even in the heat of summer) she likes to lie under the cover. She will poke her head out and pant every so often, but she still won't come out. Dumb dog!

Captain's Log, Stardate 09.10.2009 I'm over at Faithchick today, talking about my "child"... Camy here, completely exasperated. So we just had our church directory photo last night, and they allowed us to bring our dog, Snickers. After all, she’s our “child” and we always like getting a good family shot for our Christmas e-newsletter. The last time we had a directory photo done, they also allowed us to bring Snickers, and while she wasn’t incredibly well behaved, she wasn’t a wild child. Not so last night. Click here for the rest of my frustrating night!

Captain's Log, Stardate 04.29.2009 Let me tell you the story of Pepper. Pepper is a Labrador mix who belongs to a certain editor who shall remain nameless. Pepper was an adorable puppy and remains a darn cute dog. He is black, with short legs and a barrel of a body. He also loves the cat he lives with. Snickers is a German Shepherd/Labrador/Pit Bull/name any dog you can think of mix who is a butthead. She went through SIX ROUNDS OF DOG TRAINING because she is such a butthead. Even our trainer said she was a butthead and that we got a difficult dog for our first pet. Lovely. While lots of other dogs responded well to their owners, ours did not listen. The trainer had to be—ahem—a bit forceful with her to get her to stop misbehaving. It’s kind of like having the problem child in a classroom full of brilliant overachievers. For my May 2010 book, my editor asked me to write about a dog. Naturally, being a dog owner, I jumped at the chance. Except I am the owner of one of the biggest b...