You see, it’s actually a good thing for these stores because what they don’t know is her Dad has really no sense of style, which is why bringing Abbie in with me is such a good idea because she’s is quite the Personal Shopper.

Just lead the way Abbie & Daddy will make sure his credit card’s ready.

With the Abbie’s new Chin-rest & head support, you’ll never have that problem again (NOTE: Abbie not included)

As expected, she came out worn out from all the fun and immediately went to bed, but I was lucky enough to steal some shots of her on the ride back home before she fell asleep, and I think we all can agree, what a difference a day makes.

Before:

After:

In addition to a bath & a grooming, she’ll be enjoying her time running around with some new friends in doggy day care. I can’t wait to pick up my stinky-free Abbie, who undoubtedly will be worn out from all the fun she’ll be having today.

I’ve come up with a pretty good measuring system of when it’s a good time to bring her in, and that’s when our little girl’s hair grows out and she starts sporting the old school bowl cut, just like her old Dad did when he was a kid.

Looks like things just got serious…I think we’re going to be here for a while.

Abbie can get a bit dramatic sometimes.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait. Rock on Abbie.

So, instead of running around the park or enjoying the fresh air during a long walk, Abbie’s probably just daydreaming about better times, like this time where she spent the day bumming around and soaking up the sun at the beach, enjoying the fresh ocean breeze, listening to the waves crashing on the shore & watching as everyone walked on by without a care in the world.

Not to worry my little Abbie, that rain will be gone in no time…

Now that I think of it, she seems a bit too familiar with this process…I wonder what kind of trouble she used to get herself into before she came into our lives…hmmm.

Just like our cat Ben, who spends the majority of his day staring out the window at everything that passes by, given the chance, our little girl Abbie could be found doing the same thing (although, in an arguably more comfortable position).

Looks like Abbie’s done with her pre-flight checklist and is ready for takeoff (and not a moment too soon). Happy Weekend Abbie, now let’s go have some fun.

Sometimes the job will require one of many trips to local home improvement store. And one of Abbie’s absolute most favorite places to go has to be The Home Depot.

With so many things to sniff (especially in the lumber section) and so many coworkers & patrons excited to see her, I am absolutely convinced that there is never a dull moment for our little girl at this big, box store.

As hard as Mondays are, the new week brings us closer to the next weekend full of new adventures, which in the most optimistic of terms, is only a handful of days away.

And what better way to get Abbie to understand this more than to let her see her website with her own eyes. You may not be able to tell from these pictures, but Abbie definitely approves.

Still insistent on getting her daily walks, Abbie has to sport her newest set of rain booties in order to keep her paws nice and dry. Does she like them? Not one bit, but it still doesn’t stop her from enjoying her walks just like she usually does, which is always a good thing.

Right as I took her outside, I noticed the dozens of birds, singing & playing in a tree/plant right outside. Our little girl must have been watching them this entire time, so I brought her closer so she could get a better look.

After taking Abbie back in after getting too tired of holding our 9 pound girl, the only downside was having to listen to her begging me to take her back outside again (which I did, 3 or 4 more times because I’m a pushover like that).

The best part of waking up that early is enjoying a nice sunrise on a clear morning, which Abbie seems to be taking in before moving onto the next tree to sniff around.

Although being so different, after spending so much time with each other they’re eventually bound to enjoy some of the same things. And just like how I showed off Abbie enjoying being wrapped up in a blanket on a cold night, it was no surprise that her best friend Ben also likes this sort of thing as well.

The Daily Abbie: 11/29/09

Maybe it’s a flu, maybe it’s a cold, but either way I probably feel like Abbie did in the picture below from a while back where our little girl was battling a bit of a bug of her own at the time.

From The Daily Abbie

Hopefully she knows she’s being missed by her Mom & Dad as well. And looking back as these years we’ve had her so far, we certainly can’t imagine how things would have been if our little girl wasn’t there with us, making us smile all along the way.

Thanks to her good friend Kristen & Bella, Abbie was able to celebrate her New Year’s Day with a special treat. And from our favorite shih-tzu to every single one of you, our little girl Abbie would love to wish everyone a very Happy 2010 as well!

We’re all excited, but it’s our little Abbie who’s playing it smart by resting all day in one of her favorite chairs (and getting comfortable in her own special way, I might add), all so she can have as much energy as she needs to party all throughout the night.

When the preparations are complete, that’s just the beginning of the long journey. From trying to squirm away to her crazy face drying routine, Abbie getting a bath has to be one of the most interesting & tiring things our little girl has to go through during that tough life of hers.

A Wet Abbie Right After Her Bath:

Video of Abbie’s Special Face Drying Technique:

A Dry & Extra Fluffly Abbie:

So instead of waiting for the car heater to warm us up like we usually do, I had to jump into action to avoid a frozen Abbie and wrapped up our little girl in my sweater…and from the look on her face, not a moment too soon.

Nobody knows how to break away from it all more than our little Abbie, who shows that something as simple like a bird singing in a tree or a curious noise in the distance is worth appreciating, regardless of how frenzied things can get around you.

WARNING: Upon application, user may encounter some difficulty in removing the Sleeping Abbie Bookmarker. Waking bookmarker suddenly may result in a very groggy Abbie.

What does Abbie do when she’s going through the same thing? Well, she’s got an ergonomic solution of her own that seems to work just as good as mine.

And you’d be hard pressed to find someone who didn’t wholeheartedly agree with our Abbie, who pretty much speaks for us all when she says that the weekends are just too short.

Even with the best gear on, Abbie still has some areas that are exposed to the elements. And even though she’s staying relatively dry, our “not quite waterproof” girl never lets a little water rain on her parade.

And there’s no better choice than her favorite pink sweater, which also happens to be the very first one we ever bought her many years ago that first day we brought her home and into our lives.

From the looks of things, it looks like I just came in on an A & B Conversation…and given I have no idea what Abbie & Muffee are saying, I guess I’ll just “C” my way out of it.

Best of all, she had a few extra days to spend with her Mom & Dad, who usually would’ve been at work counting down the minutes until they get to see her again.

But all that fun definitely took a toll on our little girl, who spent more energy than her little body had…and now she’s all worn out and sleeping the night away.

Good night Abbie…sleep tight & don’t let the bed bugs bite.

For Abbie, that means a surprise day spent with Muffee, which is a treat since she’s only used to seeing him on Sundays.

But seeing him ended up being the hardest part for Abbie, since our friend Muffee likes to tuck himself into bed (sometimes completely under the covers). He’s in there somewhere, I promise.

So, what do you get when you get a warm & toasty Abbie? A very sleepy Abbie too.

It’s Sunday again & that means a day spent with her best friend, Muffee. Abbie definitely is trying to say something to him, but from the looks of things it doesn’t seem like he knows what that message is (not to mention a little surprised by it all).

Lucky for us, Muffee is always a good sport and when there’s treats involved, they’re both too excited to really care.

One quality of hers that she’s become famous for around these parts occurs just about when we’re going to turn in. Abbie’s quite the opportunist and is quick to take up the most comfortable spot on the bed.

Today’s picture shows what happens when we get to that comfortable spot before her. As you can tell, even if someone is already there, that’s not going to stop our little girl from taking what’s rightfully hers. Nothing will stand in the way of our little hunter, who has claimed her spot at the top, taming the leopard blanket and calling it her own.

Watch out everyone, here comes Abbie and she’s taking this weekend on, full steam ahead.

As in the case of the loveseat below, you mind as well look for somewhere else to sit because our little girl is lovin’ that loveseat all on her own.

Today we have Abbie enjoying what all children around the world love to do, ride the Merry-Go-Round. Although most kids get excited when they’re doing this, I’m not sure if Abbie fully understands the concept quite yet.

That is, until Abbie got a hold of it and figured out how comfortable her neck was using it…I’m pretty sure this wasn’t what the manufacturer had in mind.

With a gaze like that & a fantastic orange bow in her hair, you can sure bet she’s ready for action.

There was this one time that it wasn’t an option & Abbie had to sit in the back. Without going into the reasons why, I can tell you that Abbie wasn’t too enthusiastic about that. At first, she thought she was just being placed there temporarily and was going to be moved up front before we got moving.

When she figured out that wasn’t happening, although she was a good sport about it, it didn’t stop our little girl from letting us know how she felt. And every time I looked in my rear view mirror, I got the stare…the stare of an unhappy Abbie. Luckily, it was a short drive because backseat driver Abbie wasn’t much fun to drive around.

During a long drive up the coast on PCH I think the big blue ocean caught Abbie’s eye. Either that, or she wanted to feel that cool ocean breeze in her hair. Whatever reason it may have been, our little girl couldn’t have been more happier and sniffed up a storm that day.

Usually, she starts off pretty excited that we’re off somewhere hopefully exciting for her. Then, as we get moving, she’ll start to nod off slowly. Then, without warning, I’ll have a sleepy Abbie on my hands…usually within the first few minutes of our drive.

Even though she’s supposed to be my navigator, I really don’t mind a sleeping Abbie. After all, a well rested Abbie means she’ll have all the energy she needs to take on whatever adventure I’m driving her to, which means more fun for all of us.

She goes with us to the mall, through drive-thrus, on vacation or just around town running errands. Her favorites are when we take her to the pet store or anywhere outdoors, like on the weekends to food courts for lunch or dinner.

Since she spends so much time in my car, I actually have a ton of pictures of her riding around with us. You would think that there could be nothing more mundane than driving in your car, but once you add Abbie into the mix that drive becomes pretty interesting, to say the least.

I’m going to spend the next few days showing off these pictures of our little girl as my co-pilot. And although she may not be as good as those fancy GPS navigation units, as long as she’s riding with us, I really don’t care how long it takes us or how lost we get.

The only problem with Abbie is that when she picks up another ability, she usually doesn’t know what to do with it. Most of the time, she outright uses it incorrectly. But, at least she’s learning, right?

An example is Abbie using her previously unknown talent of pointing. What is she pointing at? Who knows. Why is she pointing at it? Only Abbie can tell. Is she still an awesome dog? You sure bet she is.

Abbie has been able to convince one other human of this, which happens to be her Aunt. Shortly after spending a few nights with her Aunt while her Mom & Dad were on vacation, Auntie eventually saw the light and adopted a Shih-tzu of her own, appropriately named Grandma.

Grandma’s an older girl, but not that old if you consider how long our little friends can live for. Last week Abbie & Grandma got to hang out, along with our good friend Muffee (who always seem to be a little off in the distance).

Together they’re an interesting bunch, and combined with the laziness of a Sunday afternoon, there wasn’t much going on other than a houseful of lounging around.

It takes a little more planning than usual, but going on vacation with Abbie is definitely worth it. Here we see our little girl loving the sights & smells of a very dog friendly vineyard we brought her to. And from the way her tongue is dangling, you would think she had a little too much too drink herself.

There’s seldom a night that she gets to walk around for a few hours, from neighborhood to neighborhood with the entire family, surrounded by so many kids & parents with so much happiness from the joy of trick-or-treating.

From Abbie’s perspective, she probably just looks at it as one, long happy walk with the whole world along for the ride. And I guess for any dog, that’s gotta be a dream come true.

But what’s Halloween without a costume? Well, if you’re Abbie than that’s not a Halloween worth celebrating at all…so here’s a picture of our little girl from a previous year, full of Halloween spirit and all:

Shih-Tzu’s are a Chinese breed? I could hardly tell…

I have always thought that Abbie was an Ewok, but everyone I told didn’t quite think so. After receiving a very appropriate gift from Abbie’s Mommy, I finally have the incontrovertible evidence that proves that my Abbie has indeed been an Ewok this entire time:

Muffee is one of Abbie’s first friends ever and she has picked up a few of her funny habits from him. One habit, which she would’ve never known to do if it wasn’t for Muffee showing her, is relaxing on the couch. Well, Abbie’s always known how to find the most comfortable seat anywhere she went, but I don’t think she would’ve figured this one out if it wasn’t Muffee, the ultimate couch potato, showing her how it’s really done.

Since rain is a rare occurrence here, on any given Saturday you’ll find Abbie outdoors somewhere soaking up the California sun. After a tough week at work (or in Abbie’s case, at home alone waiting for us to come home from it), our weekend plans always include her.

Whether it’s meeting other dog friends on one of her many outdoor walks, laying out in the shade at the local park, running a few errands or just hanging out at one of the many outdoor shopping or food courts we bring her with us to, you can always count on Abbie being right there with us.

Undoubtedly, Abbie is definitely a Weekend Warrior and you will always find her enjoying them just as much as we do (if not a whole lot more).

Among other intriguing characteristics known to her breed, she also inherits a trait of stubbornness shih-tzu’s are famous for. In today’s picture you can see the face of our little girl that partied just a little too hard, and is a bit too stubborn to admit that it’s time to take a break.

Abbie’s Daddy: “Yes, you.”
Abbie: “Oh (brief pause)…HI DADDY!”

Have I also told you that Abbie’s not much of a morning person? Well, more on that in a bit.

Abbie just got a new toy the other day, Mr. Fox is his name.

Abbie was sleeping with him this morning & despite my best efforts, the commotion I was making bothered our little Abbie, where she ended up tossing & turning quite a bit. Abbie can be a bit dramatic as well, so she made sure to sigh quite loudly several times, to make sure I’m aware of the fact that I’m being too disruptive to her sleep.

As she rolled about, I thought I’d show her how silly she looked by mimicking her funny positions with her new toy. But, all this fell on deaf ears as Abbie didn’t want to be bothered & continued to sleep on while ignoring me, so I gave up, gave her Mr. Fox back and got on to getting ready for my day.

Muffee (who happens to be a boy, despite his funny name) enjoys the retired life with my parents. He was given to them by one of my coworkers, who needed to find him a loving home after his previous owners moved out of state and couldn’t bring him along. My parents are giving him that loving home and then some, and every Sunday I stop by with his best friend Abbie where they spend the day laying around & begging for treats together.

Muffee is definitely an interesting dog, to say the least…and teamed up with our very own Abbie, Sunday’s have become quite the Funday indeed.

Yes. Yes, I do.

I even put my rain booties on…oh poopy.

Despite how funny the past few days worth of pictures have been, in all honesty, the majority of the time our little Abbie falls asleep just fine. It’s when she’s sound asleep that I’ll find myself looking at her the most, which always helps to remind me of how sweet a girl she really is.

After a long & hard day at work (which consisted of many long & hard naps) our little girl decided to take advantage of this service. It wasn’t too long into the session that she fell sound asleep, which posed to be a problem for her personal masseuse (a.k.a. her daddy):

After so many minutes the arms holding her up started to give way, so the only course of action was to wake her, which from the confused look on her face wasn’t something our little Abbie was quite expecting:

From the looks of it, I think she was in the process of laying down, got stuck halfway through and just gave up. Or maybe this is some kind of strange yoga position that she invented that hasn’t really quite caught on yet. Either way, her half & half position seems comfortable enough to sleep in, and whatever makes our Abbie happy makes us happy too.

Worst Boss Ever.

It sure doesn’t look good, but if I try to move her, she’ll just go back into that position again in no time. Today’s picture was taken at my parent’s house, which shows you it really doesn’t matter where Abbie is, she’ll always find a way to get “comfortable”.

You would think this wouldn’t be a big deal since she does this all of the time, but then again we’re talking about Abbie here. For the next few days, we’ll highlight how funny our little girl can be when it comes to the simple task of falling asleep.

I also have a good feeling that Abbie’s responsible for a few of the funny habits our cat (and her best friend) Ben has picked up. As you can tell in today’s Bonus picture, there’s an uncanny resemblance to how Ben behaves and our Abbie’s slumbering ways.

In this photo, we just brought her home from surgery where she was spayed just a couple of weeks after rescuing her.   At first we thought she just happened to end up in this position by accident and was too tired (and drugged up) to move, but as I’ve learned throughout the years, Abbie is just a strange girl when it comes to getting comfortable in her sleep.

She had a funny haircut that left her with no fur on her body when we first got her, so we made sure she stayed warm her first night with a new pink, fuzzy coat.