New Year's Eve!!

I hope you're all having a brilliant New Year's Eve, in your wonderful homes, with people and animals who love you. If you're alone tonight, give yourself a big hug, toast yourself with your beverage of choice and love yourself!

This will be a big weekend for us. Mom's brother, sister-in-law and her nephew, Spencer, are coming out from Austin tonight, and everyone will be up at Grandpa's house in the L.A. hills drinking champagne and ringing in the New Year. Uncle Mike is in the hospital - he's in and out several times a year because he has bad liver - so we'll be calling him at midnight to say "HAPPY NEW YEAR!," and he'll be joking with the nurses.

People love colored paper on New Year's Eve. I love it, too!

Sunday is Spencer's 7th birthday. He was born on January 1st! We're having a party for Spencer here in L.A. for the first time since he was two years old and we're really excited about that. Mom's making him white cupcakes with white frosting and colored sprinkles and she got a candle that plays happy birthday music that she's going to put in his cupcake. MOL!

On Monday, we're going to the ROSE PARADE in Pasadena! We have super awesome seats in the grandstands right above the press and TV cameras, and I'm going to be tweeting live from @cokiethecat with Mom's brand new iPhone, so be sure you're following me on Twitter Monday morning. Watch the parade on TV, too. You never know - you might see me!

You'll definitely see the Natural Balance Pet Food float - about halfway through the parade - that's going for another world record, this time for the longest and heaviest float. It will have an 80' wave machine on it, and a bunch of surfing dogs, including Tillman, who may also be tweeting, if he has his iBone. ; )

Tillman resting up before the Rose Parade.
Check out his bone shaped jacuzzi. MOL!

@RickRockhill, Sr Vice President of Natural Balance will be tweeting and maybe his dog @SheldonGriffin, too, and @Petco and @NaturalBalance. We'll all be using the hashtag #RosePets, so search for #RosePets on Twitter to follow all the parade action.

Click here to LIKE Natural Balance on Facebook!

Click HERE to enter.
Only three days left!

That's a lot happening in three days. I'd better take a nap!

New Year's resolutions

Happy New Year To All My Old & New Friends!

New Year's Resolutions

Halo, Purely for Pets surveyed more than 1,000 pet parents to find out their New Year's Resolutions. Among other things, they found that a majority of pet owners resolved to do a better job grooming their pets and almost half said they were going to help their pets lose weight. Almost 90% want to help them get more exercise, many planning more walks and more playtime.

I don't need to lose weight, but Mom and Dad have resolved to brush me more often and walk around the house dragging a ribbon behind them more. YES! I may be 17 and have to wear pants, but I can still get "strung out" on ribbon just like anyone else... ; )

I resolve to endeavor to persevere and make it through another year. =^..^=
What are your resolutions?

I wish you all a happy and healthy 2012!

Love, Cokie

Thankful Thursday Blog Hop ROSE PARADE!

I've been tweeting with Tillman the skateboarding bulldog (@tillmanskates) and with Rick Rockhill (@rickrockhill), Sr. Vice President of Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Food, Inc., and I'm totally stoked to tell you that in addition to my über cool Blog Giveaway (you can win a $200 Petco Gift Card, a Year's Supply of Natural Balance Pet Food, Rose Parade T-shirts and Mugs, & more), AND Natural Balance donating $1 to help homeless pets for each new Facebook LIKE through January 2nd - up to $25,000, I'll be tweeting LIVE from the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, giving you the play-by-play of the animals in the parade, animal themed floats, and of course, Tillman & Friends surfing on the Natural Balance float! (Wow, that was a really long sentence. I need to take a breath!)  

@RickRockhill & @SheldonGryffin

Watch Live Streaming Video of the Natural Balance Rose Parade™ Float Construction - Float Decorating Cam! Volunteers are working 8 hr shifts 24/7 through Sunday.

Video streaming by Ustream
You can also listen to Rick Rockhill's Palm Springs Savant & Co. BlogTalkRadio show from last night, with the player below. It's 30 minutes long, and Rick tells us all the behind the scenes details about the parade, Tillman, Natural Balance, the float, the whole ball of yarn...

Palm Springs Savant & Co #540: Gearing Up for The Rose Parade, by Rick Rockhill

 

Listen to internet radio with Rick Rockhill on Blog Talk Radio

I'm so excited!
     Chirp! 
   =^..^=

(Low Word Count) Wednesday: Xmas XVII

My 17th Christmas as a present. 

Yeah, yeah. O.K.

I'm a man cat. Just sayin'. 

Fine. Just let me have the paper. 

Bah. Humbug!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Mom & Dad woke me up & gave me to one another for Christmas.

They're very sappy & sentimental that way.

Mom wrote this dumb song in the shower this morning,

while I was in my bed next to the tub.

She sings it to the tune of "O Tannenbaum" ("Oh Christmas Tree"):

O Cokie Cat, O Cokie Cat

You are our kitty treasure

O Cokie Cat, O Cokie Cat

You give us so so much pleasure

You live your life contentedly

You wear your pants for all to see

O Cokie Cat, O Cokie Cat

You are our kitty treasure

  

Here's a video of me (in my pants) enjoying the Christmas nip that @tinypearlcat sent me, that she grew herself in her garden! It's really good nip... That's Doors music in the background.

I also want to share @myfavpupjasmine's super awesome Christmas movie, "Santa's Little Helper":

Happy Holidays everyone!

Don't forget to enter my Giveaway!

Love,

Cokie the Cat

=^..^=

Hobbit House

Mom always says I have hobbit feet because of the long tufts of white hair that grow out between my toes on the bottom of my paws.

I think she and Dad should build me one of these. Wouldn't this be a lovely place to spend Christmas!?

It only cost Simon and Jasmine Dale in Wales about $5000 US to build this wonderful hobbit house for themselves and their two little kids. Their website is here. Is this not the most perfect, snuggliest, most comfy cozy (real) house you've ever seen?

Remember that for the next week, Natural Balance Pet Foods is donating $1 for every new 'like' on their Facebook page, which will go to feed homeless shelter and rescue dogs and cats through January 2nd. They're almost up to $3000 in donations already! Please 'like' them and spread the word. An easy way to help animals over the holidays!

Merry Christmas eve, everyone!

Love,
Cokes

Thankful Thursday

Read more »

Wordless Wednesday

: ) 

; )

Natural Balance Pet Foods is donating $1 to help homeless pets for every new Facebook
LIKE through the holidays.   

They're already over $2000

 and there's still a week to go!

Tillman Tuesday!

The 12 Days of Tillman has begun, as we count down to January 2nd, 2012, when we'll all be watching Tillman and his friends surf on the 80' waveboard on the world record winning 'World's Largest &Longest Float' at the Rose Parade!

This is going to be out of this world!

Check out this awesome Tillman video, to see what all the fuss is about:



Then be sure to "like" the Natural
Balance Facebook Page. They're giving away $1 per 'like' to needy pets this holiday season. A great and super easy for you to help homeless pets get some good food!

Dick Van Patton and My Mom!

And, don't forget to enter to win my gnarly Natural Balance Rose Parade Giveaway, where you could win a $200 Petco Card, a years supply of Natural Balance pet food, or lots of other great stuff.

Come and get it at my the Natural Balance Rose Parade Giveaways page here!


Good Luck!


Cokes

How to Make a Dog Float!

I'll be posting a lot about Tillman, the skateboarding/snowboarding - and in this case surfing - bulldog and his friends until they appear (surfing) on the Natural Balance float in the Rose Parade on January 2nd. 

They'll be on "The Making of the World's Longest and Heaviest Float" TV special, which premieres on local U.S. stations this Sunday, December 18th. The schedule is on the Natural Balance Pet Food website here. Try to catch it if you can, it will be totally fun and interesting - so much goes into this stuff!

Enter here daily till January 2nd, to win a year's supply of pet food or other great prizes in my super awesome Natural Balance Rose Parade Giveaway!

Read more »

Natural Balance Rose Parade Giveaways! (Closed)

Thank you for entering. This giveaway is closed. 

Winners will be posted shortly.

Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Food is sponsoring these awesome New Year's Rose Parade GIVEAWAYS! We have 26 prizes for 26 winners!

One person will win a $200 Petco gift card, one a 1 Year's Supply of Natural Balance Dry Dog or Cat food (12 large bags), 12 will win commemorative Rose Bowl coffee mug and t-shirt sets, and 12 will win cases of Tillman's Treats! 26 winners! See instructions for how to enter at the bottom of this post.

$200.00

Win a year's supply!

Win an entire case!

2012 will be the fourth year that Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Foods has entered a float in the Pasadena Rose Parade featuring Tillman the skateboarding (snowboarding, surfing...) bulldog - and I'll be there tweeting live from the parade!!

They'd like to celebrate with us "The 12 Days of Tillman" as he prepares for his January 2nd parade, surfing on the world's longest and heaviest float. Facebook and Twitter will be filled with fun trivia, videos, pics and prizes as they follow Tillman's preparations for the big day.

Meanwhile, for every new LIKE on Facebookuntil Jan. 3, Natural Balance will be donating $1 to the Tree of Hope program, providing pet food to shelters and rescues.

Please read the Sponsors & Giveaways Page at the top of my blog for Terms and Conditions. The giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents, 18 years and older.

Thank you for entering. This giveaway is closed. 

Winners will be posted shortly.

To Enter:

Leave a comment below that you've "Liked" the Natural Balance Facebook page Include your Facebook name and email address so I can contact you if you win!* 

Extra Credit:   

Tweet about the promotion including the hashtag #RosePets, using the samples below. Be sure to leave a new comment for each entry and include your Twitter name. You may leave up to two extra credit comments per day, one for each different tweet.

Tweet #1:

Enter @CokieTheCat's Giveaway! Prizes include a $200 Petco card or a yr's supply of @naturalbalance pet food! http://is.gd/JL1h0e #RosePets

Tweet #2:
@naturalbalance is donating $1 to help feed homeless pets for every Facebook LIKE through Jan. 2! http://is.gd/UGenV9 Pls RT! #RosePets

Good Luck!!

This post is sponsored by Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Pet Food, Inc.
 
*Note: If you prefer not to visit Facebook and/or "Like" the page, you can just leave a comment below with your email address as your initial entry.

Thank you for entering. This giveaway is closed. 

Winners will be posted shortly.

What Part of "NO VET" Don't You Understand?

Mom came across this "Don't Pet This Kitty" video on YouTube today and swears it's exactly like me when I go to the vet - and even when a home call vet comes here!

This is a new behavior for me over the last couple of years. Only my Dad can dominate me when I get this worked up. Mom doesn't have a chance.

I don't know why I get so crazy. I just do. I did it when Grandma tried to put my pants on me when she cat sat me for a few days, which meant I had to stay in the bathroom for three days sans pants till Mom got home. 

Now Mom and Dad have to take trips separately, so someone's always home with me. Which is just the way I like it.  ; )

Dad swears I must be related to this kitty. 

Lunar Eclipse

This morning will be the last total eclipse of the moon for three years. It will be most visible in Hawaii and the western U.S. beginning at 4:45am PT - with the full eclipse at 6:32am PT.

Lunar Cat by Tsuki-moonwolf  (cc)

It will also be a very large and very red moon. 

Mom's going to set the alarm for us to get up and watch it! 

Scarlet Moon by Alex ~wonderwhatsfordinner (cc)

Thankful Thursday: Catvertising

I'm thankful for cat videos.

 

And So Begins The Christmas Season...

How to Wrap a Cat for Christmas

Thankful Thursday: She's HOME!

Mom went to Texas to spend Thanksgiving with her brother's family. I stayed home with Dad. We've had a great time.

I've been talking. He's been on the computer. I've been talking. He's been watching TV. I've been talking. He's been taking showers. I've been talking. He's been eating. I've been eating. He's been changing my pants. I've been talking. He's been writing.... and playing music (which I like). Then we'd call Mom and we'd all talk to each other.


She was gone for 8 Days!! But guess what? She's home!!

Me & My Mom

I'm very thankful this Thursday that Mom's finally back home and life is good. Thanks for sending her back home, Austin. I know you wanted to keep her.


=^..^=