I actually almost changed my name when I was 18 to Alyson-Chloe, not just because it sounded like French glamour and champagne kisses, BUT BECAUSE CHLOE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MY NAME.

What I do know is, my black beauty is getting older, and apparently at a more rapid rate than I thought.

Maybe one day Smidge will be so well-trained I can fully trust her while I am in a cemetery. It *is* always nice to have the companionship. But for now I can rely on Sparkle.

Love is in the air. / Valentine’s Day is near. / No Necco candy hearts this year. / I do not care… / Kidding. I do. / Candy.

Have you ever heard the old saying people look like their pets, or saw it in real life? Despite the evidence in my own family, I am finally convinced now this theory checks out.

I hadn’t given too much thought to resolutions for 2019. In fact, I actually took a resolutions-hiatus in 2018 to just allow life to happen. And as life happened, I got my dog, Smidge.

Maria von Trapp even said it herself – “these are a few of my favorite things” – and I, too, think it’s tough to choose when your options are everything from ceramic light-up trees and a dozen fresh donuts that were free, to snowflakes that fall on my nose and eyelashes and geese with the moon on their wings.