Tag Archives: MimboloveSchooner
*A small homage to what is possibly one of the greatest Christmas songs of all time.
It’s January 5! I know what you’re thinking – haven’t bloggers been posting holiday content since Halloween? I meant to get this post up just before Christmas, but the problem with that was I barely had my cards in the mail by December 25. Just not on my holiday correspondence game this year, you guys. Between moving off-island and seeing my husband pretty much only on weekends (and spending said weekends house hunting), not only did I not have a chance to schedule a festive family photo shoot for all of us, but I was just completely out of ideas this year for a theme. Unfortunately, we can’t always have the perfect concept that just comes to us out of nowhere one day and seamlessly fits into the pop culture ether a la 2015.
If you haven’t heard, Christmas cards are kind of a thing for me. For us. A staple of my childhood (and also, my adulthood). Years ago, I wrote a series of posts going through my family’s long history of holiday photo shoots, including a card deemed “inappropriate” by my grandmother and a special edition megacard for the 20th anniversary of our annual Christmas cards. Since Steve and I have been together, we have strived for the same level of festive excellence. I think we’ve done a pretty good job so far, none of which has been recorded on the internet because I have yet to digitally archive our own collection of holiday greetings. I’ll get around to it at some point (maybe for our own ten-year anniversary of sending Christmas cards – is that a thing?).
I was feeling a little down in the holiday dumps this year, especially once I ended up with a terrible cold mid-December. I was supposed to go to Nantucket and help Steve pack our apartment, and I figured while I was there I would enjoy a little bit of the classic Christmas spirit that the island does so well. Unfortunately I was so sick, I ended up staying at my in-laws in my pajamas and feeling sorry for myself. The most festive thing I did was watching the worst of the worst of Hallmark movies. Finally, after more than two days of the cold from hell, I came to my senses (maybe it was all the made-for-TV-movie inspiration) and decided I had to figure out our holiday card immediately (keep in mind it was December 17). But since I had no photo or witty tagline, I was kind of stuck.
One idea I had in my mind as a backup was to incorporate a painting that I had done of Schooner earlier this year by the uber-talented Meredith Hanson. Honestly, she is just about the sweetest human I have ever met, and like I said, so gifted in the art department. I had been following her on Instagram for awhile before I asked her to create a special picture done of Schoon for Steve’s birthday. We’ve been together for over twelve years now, and after a while, there are just only so many gifts you can get each other. This seemed like something way more personal that wasn’t just a “thing,” it’s something we can display in our home someday (and luckily, Steve temporarily loaned it to me to take with me to the mainland for when I was missing the little furry guy).
I decided for the sake of space to leave the boots out of this particular card, as that was more of an ode to Steve and his love of all things L.L. Bean. Luckily she had scanned it before framing, so when I reached out to her for a copy it was as easy at plunking the image in Photoshop, writing out a little message, and done.
Well not done done, of course, because it wouldn’t be the holiday season without a little drama. I could not figure out for the life of me where to get these suckers printed. I’ve used Snapfish in the past, and Vistaprint as well, but it was so late in the season that even with expedited shipping, I wasn’t going to get them until December 21 at the earliest. I know some of those companies will do a pickup in the store situation, but all the ones I researched would only print it on photo paper and I wanted something with a heavier weight to it (I know, beggars can’t be choosers, I get it).
After posting about my conundrum on my Insta story, low and behold, the internet came through. I don’t care what Steve says, they are my real friends! Multiple people responded to my story and said I should look into Staples which I was kind of like ehhh I don’t know… and then one special follower alerted me that there was a Groupon deal online for printing holiday cards there and I ended up getting 100 cards for $25. I don’t think even with all the deals I’ve done with Snapfish over the years have I ever gotten my cards for that cheap. I’ve always spent at least $75 and that’s not including stamps (and yes, I’m aware that it is crazy that I still send out one hundred cards, and you know what? I don’t care).
So I dragged myself off the couch and away from the television, shoved a few cough drops in my purse, and headed over to Staples with a flash drive and a dream (and tried not to touch anything). And that dream came true just four hours later – no shipping charges or time wasted. The paper wasn’t as heavy as I normally like to get, but it was definitely a step up from photo paper (and again, BEGGING). I sat down and banged out the first twenty-five or so that night, and each evening when I got home from work just addressed a few more, and then another couple, and eventually I was done!
And yes, I picked up a couple of metallic Sharpies for good measure. Also I couldn’t resist the new Hanson Christmas CD – their first one is SO GOOD (this one is okay).
As for the text? I literally Googled “holiday pet cards” and wrote down every tagline I liked, eventually picking the one that made Steve wince with embarrassment the least. “Paws & Enjoy the Season” was cute, but not predictably so, and just a general reminder that even though things aren’t perfect, and sometimes, you’re living in your husband’s high school bedroom amongst racks of your clothes while an ocean divides you from your two best guys and your future is completely uncertain, but there’s still good things out there in world and maybe you’re just too focused on what’s not going right to see them.
Or maybe it’s just an excuse to put a picture of a cute pup on something, I don’t know. Whatever it is, I’m happy with how they came out considering how rushed they were, and trust me – I am channeling all of this very important energy into next year’s edition.
A little disclaimer to everyone that received this card – I didn’t write anything on the back. Like not one personal message, not even to my parents. I was just so behind with getting them out, that I knew if I took the time to put something on each one, I would never get them done.
This holiday season just kind of reaffirmed for me that I was so ready for 2017 to be over. It definitely felt like a more stressful December than I’ve experienced in a while, and I am just really looking forward to the fresh start that a new year brings. Hopefully in December 2018, I’ll be writing this post from a home with a gargantuan tree and the most festive (but tasteful) holiday decor you ever did see.
Until then,
~L
It’s been almost a year since our little Schooner came home with us, and it’s been interesting to say the least. As someone who has never had a dog before, I’m not sure I knew what to expect. It’s definitely not easy raising a very energetic little puppy, but he’s also brought us a lot of laughs (and has only mildly ruined two pairs of shoes) and he continues to surprise us everyday.
It takes a village, as they say, and since we’re approaching one year of pet ownership, I thought I would put together a little list of some of Schooner’s (and our) favorite things.
Like Steve, Schooner’s signature color is orange. I know, you assumed it would be red, white and blue right? So did I. You figure a nautically-named dog would have coordinating accessories. But since the day we got him, the orange thing kind of just stuck.
We do try to do some local shopping at Geronimo’s or Cold Noses on Nantucket, we’ve also scored a lot of supplies on Amazon (because you literally can’t live on an island without having a Prime account) or on random Home Goods trips when we’re back in America.
Chuckit! Indoor Ball: Schooner LOVES this ball. One of my favorite things about him is that he clearly has Little Dog Syndrome, where you can tell he thinks he is much bigger than twelve pounds. This ball is a substantial size (almost as big as his head) but it’s made of foam or something, so it’s super lightweight. He just looks so proud of himself when he’s trotting around with it.
Packable Rain Poncho: I know this seems silly, but Schooner has very fluffy hair instead of fur, so when it’s raining (as it often is on Nantucket) he gets soaked. The hood is a bit silly since it doesn’t really stay on his head, but the coat conveniently covers most of his body and it has a hole for the leash to attach to to his harness. It also folds up nicely for travel.
Chuckit! Whistler Balls: Man, what is it about these Chuckit! products? Talk about knowing your audience. These are the perfect size for Schooner’s little mouth, they bounce, and you can get quite a bit of air behind them (and we don’t even have the additional arm throwing thing).
Remote Trainer: I was kind of against using one of these at first (especially when they’re referred to as “shock collars”), but by the nine month mark, I was at my wit’s end. We had been doing really well with training until about his seventh or eighth month, and then all of a sudden, Schooner’s concentration skills went out the window. The final straw for me was when he chased a deer and got lost in the cranberry bog at dusk, resulting in Steve and I running around screaming his name for the scariest half an hour of my life. I thought I was being a horrible dog owner giving in and getting once of these, until I realize how many people that I know that used it themselves. He’s not in it 24/7, mainly when we’re walking off-leash on the trails or going to busy public places. We keep it on a very low level, mostly using the vibration button to break his concentration when he’s about to chase a rabbit or something.
Cesar Millan Book: We have gotten multiple books about raising a puppy, and this one I’ve found to be the most helpful and easy to follow. By no means is our dog perfectly trained, in fact, I’m not even sure you could say he’s decently trained… but the positive things I have learned came from this book. It also introduced us to the lifesaver that is bully sticks, i.e., the only thing that occupies him when we’re eating dinner.
Chewbacca Toy: The day we took Schooner home, Steve ran into Petco to get a few “necessities,” and came out with this. It was his first toy, and he sleeps with it in his crate every night. We’ve had to buy a few of them now, since someone keeps chewing open the foot, but I know it’s his favorite. We actually have a plethora of the Star Wars collection plush toys, including the Death Star (complete with a mini-Vader and Storm Troopers), C3P0 and Han Solo. Unfortunately, all of them have lost a leg or a hand (which is ironic, since there’s no Luke Skywalker) and Chewy is all that remains.
Travel Set: This is probably the thing we’ve used the most, since we travel on and off the island to visit our families whenever we can. I guess it’s technically a dog “hiking” set, but we all know that isn’t happening any time soon. The water bottle is spill proof – the dog can only get the water to come out by licking the spout – and I like traveling with our own bowls. It’s nice not to have to ask your host if you can use one of their dinner bowls to put kibble in.
Leash: We had a plain black $5 leash until very recently (actually, we had two, but Steve lost one on the trail), and it was so thin that Schooner actually chewed through it once in a fit of rage when I made him wait two minutes while I put my shoes on. We just upgraded to this Red Dingo version, which I like because it’s reflective (we live on a dirt road with NO lights) and sturdy.
Natural Treats: We bought the blueberry flavor of these treats at Homegoods and Schooner LOVES them so much, we bought the pumpkin the next time we went back. They’re a little big, so I like to break them up and use them for training, since they take him a while to eat.
Harness: As you can imagine, Schooner’s harness is orange, but for some reason it’s the only color not shown on the Petco website (and it comes in many). This is our second harness, as his original one basically got destroyed in the first six months from his very active lifestyle. I like this one because it has two different spots you can hook the leash on, either closer to the neck (good for when he has a coat on in chilly weather) or at the end of the harness, which is good for us because Schooner is, as you would say, a puller.
Food Dish: We have two of these, one for food and one for water. Ours are a bit different (found at Home Goods, surprise), but these are super similar. I couldn’t believe how boring most of the dog bowls out there are – I mean, they are on display in your kitchen all the time. I like these because they’re funky, but the silver dish comes out easy for cleaning.
I know I’ve already left a few other things off this list, so I’m sure there will be another installment in the future. Am I missing any life-changing products? Has anyone invented some sort of toy that magically makes them quiet for all six hours of award show coverage? Let me know!
~L
Get Snappy
Follow legallylinz on Snapchat!
0