Friendly Fill-Ins and Festive Photo Fails

Hello and happy Friday, friends! We're ready for the Friendly Fill-Ins, and we'd love for you to join us. My amazing co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two fill-in statements, and I came up with the second two.

1. I _________ on Black Friday.

2. Our Christmas tree goes up on _________ and down on _________.

3. It's important to _________ this time of year.

4. _________ helps me get in the festive spirit.

My answers are below in bold.

1. I stay home and deck the halls on Black Friday.

(My family has never been interested in the chaos of shopping on Black Friday, so ever since my childhood we've stayed home and put up the Christmas tree and other Christmas decor on Black Friday. I've continued with this tradition into my adulthood in my own house.)

2. Our Christmas tree goes up on Black Friday and down on the weekend after January 6.
(The day after Thanksgiving is when Christmas begins at our house. The tree stays up all through the 12 Days of Christmas, which end on Three Kings' Day, that being January 6. I've never taken the Christmas tree down on a week day, simply because I work full-time and taking down all the decor requires more energy than I can muster on most evenings. So, I enjoy it until the first weekend after January 6.)

3. It's important to remember the reason for the season this time of year.

(I don't have much more to say than that on this one.)

4. Listening to Christmas music and watching Christmas movies helps me get in the festive spirit.

(This is probably a very obvious answer, but it's also very true. I've been listening to Christmas music for a couple weeks now, and I've admittedly been waiting for Thanksgiving to come and go so that I can put up my Christmas decor. And now it's finally time. Oh, and another tradition in my family is that we watch my favorite Christmas movie, that being National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, after putting up the Christmas trees and decor on Black Friday. My parents are coming over to my house tonight and we'll all be watching that movie. Once I've seen that movie, it really, truly feels like Christmas to me.)

Now it's your turn!

To add your link to the Friendly Fill-Ins Linky list, just click HERE!

You can also click on the badge below to add your link.

You are also welcome to complete the fill-ins in the comments below,

or in the comments on Ellen's blog, 15andmeowing.

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And now it's time for the Pet Photo Fails Blog Hop, hosted by none other than Melissa and Mudpie of Melissa's Mochas, Mysteries, & Meows.

You better believe blooper queen Eddy is here to share some outtakes. Since we talked about putting up our Christmas tree, Eddy wanted to share her blurry love for her beloved fake pine.

Eddy lives in my bedroom, to put it simply. She doesn't like most of the other cats in my house (for the record, though, she absolutely loves Evan), so she has her own room. Eddy's extreme love for Christmas trees and climbing them led me to set up a Christmas tree in my bedroom for her years ago, and then I just never took it down. So, Eddy gets a Christmas tree year round.

This tree sometimes gets decor for other holidays throughout the year, but it especially gets decked out for Christmas, when it gets battery-operated lights put on it, red ribbons, and really only things that Eddy the Ornament Killer can't break. So, that there is one of the trees being decorated today. Eddy is always so very helpful during that.

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Flashback Doodle of the Day

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Tip of the Day

November is National Pet Diabetes Awareness Month. So, for the rest of the month, we'll be giving tips related to this disease. To begin, we'll start with a tip that you all certainly already know. And that is, to be very vigilant with regard to your furbaby's behavior and appearance, keeping an eye out for signs of diabetes, and of course for signs of any disease. How often is your kitty or pup drinking? How often are they urinating? What is the volume of their urine? The color of it? Has their appetite increased? Has it decreased? Does their fur look dry and dull? Are they less active than usual? Have any of these things changed recently? How recently? These are just some of the questions that, as a pet parent, you have to ask yourself on a regular basis. Regularly observe and check your kitty or pup for any changes in their behavior and appearance. What's more, as always, if you have any concerns, consult your veterinarian.