Best Dressed

Who can resist a furkid dressed in a costume? I can't. Which is why every year one of my favorite fall traditions is picking out cute costumes for my furbabies and taking loads of pics!

My almost twelve-year-old Pekingese Punkin Pie says they are not costumes, rather "torture devices",and that dressing them all up in these costumes is animal cruelty. Then I tell her she has no idea what animal cruelty is. Further, that if she wants to see what actual animal cruelty is to go on Facebook for about five seconds and she will see it with her own eyeballs on the pages of one of the countless rescue groups that work so hard to pick up the pieces for so many innocent creatures. Which is why I always give to as many as I can because without the rescues these animals would never get the second chance they so desperately need and deserve. Of course I talk to my dog... doesn't everyone? 

Anyhow back to a happy topic, pets in costumes. Now I would love to dress my two spoiled black cats up in costumes, but like Punkin says "they don't need a Halloween Costume because they come with a built-in one, they are black cats." Besides putting a costume on Jaxson and Bella would probably go about the same way putting their leash and harness on when they have to travel or go to the vet, which isn't a very pleasant experience.

So it's up to the dogs to fill the cute bucket year after year. So without further ado... I present the 2018 Aston Dogs Howl-O-Ween Costume Parade.

I give you Pepe. My little rescue monkey who is a sixteen plus year old Tibetan Spaniel new hope only euthanasia list survivor from the NYC ACC. He had a lot of issues when he first came to us, but after six years he is a very happy old man enjoying the life he should have had for his entire life.


Next is Punkin Pie. A beautiful Pekingese girl who is going to be twelve in November. We have had her almost her entire life and she is spoiled as it gets and we love her to pieces!




Next is little Lulukins. She is a Shitzu who is also a rescue from the NYC ACC the same shelter that Pepe came from. The vet says she is somewhere under five, we are not exactly sure. She was very young when we rescued her three years ago. Lulu is the without a doubt the happiest little dog I have ever met in my life, she literally bounces when she walks.



 









 And all together.... for the group humiliation shot (as Punkin would say) I present to you below... the Aston Furkids Halloween 2018 photo!

Shortly after we already assembled the group for the humiliation, we rescued a Japanese Chin who we have named Yuki. Since he is still settling in and learning what life is like around our house, new smells, new things, new people, new stuff... we did not want to stress him out by dressing him up in a torture device too ;o) So his humiliation pic will have to wait until next year when he can join the bunch for the Halloween Costume Parade. So for now, this normal un costume pic will have to do. I give you the newest member to the Aston pack... Yuki.

Happy Howl-O-Ween!

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xo
www.avaaston.com

Cute Overload

Halloween... the holiday where pet owners everywhere dress our pets in silly costumes. Attend pet parades and swap pics of our furkids going gaga over the cuteness. Isn't that what the holiday is all about? Well for some of us it is. So like always, I dressed my furbabies up in silly costumes again this year.

I swear if my almost eleven year old Pekingese "Punkin" could talk she would be cursing at me. Every time we put a costume on her she makes herself heavy and stiff like a little corpse. Maybe she thinks it'll keep her from having to don the costume, who knows, but the faces she makes the entire time just kill me.

Not just on Halloween, but Christmas and all throughout the year my fur babies have an entire wardrobe of outfits to keep them cute and in style. So without further ado, here is Aston furbabies "Howl-o-ween" Costume parade for 2017.

Punkin "I'm too old for this crap!"

Pepe is an NYC ACC "Urgent List" Survivor.

Lulu is also an NYC ACC Survivor.

Pookie "Is it almost over?"

For the grand finale... the group!

The cats just sit around looking at the dogs and probably thanking their lucky stars that their momma has not decided to add them to the costume parade. Although... you never know, I can think of two little black bomaby cats I know who just might start wearing silly costumes one day too.

Hope everyone has a fun time and stays safe. Happy Halloween!


Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xo

www.avaaston.com

Black Cat

I am now a cat momma. There I said it. What, whoa, whatchutalkinboutwillis? Greek Girl you have five dogs... That is exactly what I was thinking when I saw a skinny, dirty little black cat sitting on my moms doormat meowing his little head off.

My animal loving heart was saying, "Scoop this little fur baby up and keep him". My inside voice was saying "Cat... um, you have not one, not two, not three, but actually five dogs who do not particularly care for cats, did you forget?"

Now I know most everyone is probably more interested in the upcoming election and the latest wikileaks document dump, and Project Veritas videos than in my little black cat rescue story. However since almost everyone is on election overload, why not take a mini brain break? I mean even Hillary said looking at Cat gifs can be therapeutic. That she is right about. That may be the only thing in my opinion, but hey that’s a blog for another day.

So back to the story of how I became a cat mom. While we were on vacation in Greece and my mom was pup sitting our five furkids a little black cat starting sleeping on her doormat. Why didn’t she just bring him inside one may wonder. Well, that is because she already has a big fat spoiled rotten cat that does not like other cats. Besides, her own two dogs, and my five who were gracing her with their presence.

Fast forward to our return from vacation. We went upstate to her house and when I saw him I just couldn’t help myself. My mom had already brought him inside briefly to give him a bath, and try to get her cat to maybe accept him, which was not happening.

So for the few days we were there, I tried my hardest to find someone who could adopt him. I must have called or texted everyone I know, and got nothing. Sadly, since there are so many stray, abandoned, neglected and abused animals out there everyone I know is already over burdened with more pets than they ever planned.

Since Halloween was looming, there was no way I was going to leave a little black cat who was very friendly out on the streets for some lunatic to do God knows what to. He would actually go up to people walking by on the street meowing and following them. He clearly wanted a person of his own.

So, the day we were leaving I was on the way back from an appointment with the Mr. I started to ask him what we were going to do about the cat, knowing I didn’t really feel right about leaving him outside. Before I could even finish my sentence he blurts out “I think we should just keep him”. After I picked my jaw back up from the floor, I said “Really?” and he said “yup”.

So we made a pit stop to go buy kitty supplies. Carry bag, toys, food, etc. We got all the necessities. I let the Mr. name him, since it was his idea after all, his name is "Jaxson".  Then we made the three-hour drive home with five dogs in the car and one little black cat at my feet in his brand new carrier.

Since then I have learned the skill of wrangling animals. I keep the dogs in one area of the house locked into a few rooms, and the cat gets the run of the joint. Or, the dogs are out with run of the house and the cat is safe in his room along with his kitty dream house in front of the window, and about a bazillion toys.

I have learned all the things about being a kitty momma that I never knew before. Such as, if he eats too much too fast (which he likes to do since he was a stray) he will vomit and that can lead to an expensive vet trip, eh hem. Along with not to leave any kind of toys that have little strings out as they can cause a blockage due to cats tongues grabbing onto.

I have learned that kitties think they are ninjas, and that he pretty much can scale a small building in a single bound. The best thing I have learned though is that there is no greater feeling than to save the life of a helpless animal. Yes it may be a lot of work; yes you may spend money you did not plan to spend. At the end of the day though, when they are all curled up in your lap and they look up at you with that gaze that almost seems to say “thank you for saving me”, it makes it all worth it.

Can't forget to share the doggies in their Halloween Costumes...

October is “Adopt a Shelter Dog Month". Dog or cat, it’s always a good time to save a life and bring a little happiness to your life. Hey it’s good for your health too. Having a pet can lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol; bring companionship, and so much more. So what are you waiting for? Make everyday a happy day, don't shop adopt... your life will never be the same.

Blessings, Love & Music,
Ava xo
www.avaaston.com

Costume Party

Halloween (Howl-O-Ween for those of us who have pets) is right around the corner. I mean who can resist dressing up their furbabies in costumes anytime there is a holiday? Not this Greek Girl! Like everyone else life is busy and it can be hard to make time for just having fun. Even though I'm working on new music, making muckery and starting my own skincare line, it's important for me to spend time with my furry-babies!

Recently I indulged in the yearly fall ritual of laughing my head off as I picked out the costumes for my furkids, so I thought it would be fun to post a virtual Halloween parade. So sit back relax and get ready... Time to bring on the cute!

1. The furkids circa 2010: Left to right: Pookie dressed as an Angel, Bobo as a punk,  Punkin as a bug, Itty Bitty was supposed to be a pirate but he looked more like a little old lady (he is now at Rainbow Bridge).

The humanity...

2. Furkids 2011: Left to right: Itty Bitty (now at Rainbow Bridge) dressed as a punk rocker, Bobo top row dressed as a bumble bee, Pookie dressed as a bat, and Punkin again as a bug. (She was just too cute as it not to do it again).  

Just hurry up and take the pic so you can get these costumes off of us!

3.  Furkids 2012: A few days after Hurricane Sandy hit NY. We had no power, but in the midst of cleaning up we needed a good laugh, I mean there was so much sadness. We also had just taken in Pepe as a foster and wanted to get in into the swing of the costume routine. So... out with the phone. Top to bottom: Pepe dressed as a jailbird (fitting since we had just busted him out of doggie jail aka NYC ACC,) Punkin dressed as a skunk, Bobo dressed as a shark, Itty bitty (now at rainbow bridge) dressed as a pumpkin, and Pookie dressed as an alligator.

Um, hello mom in case you didn't realize a hurricane just happened here in NY we have no power... Why are you taking our pics in costumes?

4. Furkids 2013: Itty Bitty had just passed unexpectedly so we superimposed him into the pic. Left to right Itty Bitty, Bobo dressed as Elvis, Punkin as a Ladybug, Pepe as a dinosaur, and Pookie as a girl.

First Halloween without Itty Bitty he had just passed, so we super imposed him from last year.

5. Collage of some of my favorite costumes... Bobo as a bumble bee, Pepe as a lobster, Pepe as a jailbird, Bobo as a solider, and Punkin Pie as a witch. Which is what she says she feels like now that our latest addition Gracie has come into the house...

Collage of some of the furkids too cute!

6. Howl-O-Ween 2014: Their faces kill me in this one. First year with Gracie the King Charles we were fostering at the time and have since adopted. They are still not too keen on her, she's younger than they are. Hopefully time will change that. Left to right Gracie dressed as a devil (Punkin picked that costume for her), Pookie as a princess, Bobo as a soldier, Pepe as a dragon, and Punkin as a witch.

Bad enough we're dressed in costumes... now we have a new dog in our pack... Ov vey!

So there you have it, the Halloween parade until this year 2015 photo is taken. We will soon be dressing them up again and I personally can't wait to see my little monkeys dressed in costumes. Halloween isn't really a holiday we celebrate except for dressing the dogs, but if you ask me this is the most fun! Be safe and happy howling.

Blessings, Love & Music!

Ava xo
www.avaaston.com
www.glowosity.com

Hijacked

Punkin Aston here to ask you to help me

This is "Punkin" and I am about to flip my little lid.

If you don't know what I am talking about then it's time you were brought up to speed.  Here is what happened last year:

See what I mean?  Every single stinkin' year my mommy, Miss Ava-Aston, the so-called-self-proclaimed-doggie whisperer thinks it's a good idea to dress me up in a torture device.

What am I talking about?  It's simple really.  She thinks it's a good idea, no she thinks its a fabulous idea to ruin my dignity and embarrass me and all my doggie-siblings by putting us in ridiculous Halloween Costumes.  The worst part is, this year she is taking it one step further.

Now hear me out, I am all for a bit of fun now and again but this is just beyond torture.  Instead of just dressing us up one time for our routine march of shame, she decided to "try out" the costumes on us first.  What I don't understand is why she always thinks of me as a bug.  I am always getting dressed up to look like a stinkin' bug.  I am not a Bug or a Pug, I'm a Pekingese Dang'it!

Still not sure what I am talking about...?  Well here is the evidence:

Caught RED-HANDED buying the torture devices

See what I mean? She dressed me up to make fun of me.

For the love of God someone please make her stop!

So as you can see, it's time something is done to help me from this kind of ongoing and inhumane torture.  If you have it in your heart you will help me stop my mommy from always doing these terrible acts on us doggies.  Thank goodness my little brother "Itty Bitty" is in Heaven now at the Rainbow Bridge... at least he doesn't have to be humiliated anymore in the torture devices.  However the rest of us remaining four Aston doggies  (me), Punkin, Pookie, Bobo & Pepe we need our mommy to be stopped!

Thank you,
Punkin Aston

The Halloween Hijack: Punkin's Revenge

Oh, the humanity! I can't believe the atrocity of these forever humiliations in the Aston household!

Hello to all my faithful followers out there!  This is your favorite and most talented Pekingese dog Punkin Aston.  That's right, I have done it again.  I have gone in and hijacked my mommies blog! But this time I am out for some serious Halloween Revenge! You read it right. I am out for "R-E-V-E-N-G-E" Pekignese Style.  (For those who don't know, I am part Ninja because I am a Chinese dog, so therefore I am a ninja.)

Now, to get back to the atrocity and to qoute my favorite movie (mostly because I starred in it, though my scenes ended up on the cutting room floor)  If my mommy dresses me up in another dreadful costume ever again There Will Be Blood!  So instead of me going on and on about the kind of torture that has taken the Ava Aston household by storm I will invite you to watch this 3-part series and learn just what kind of monster my mommy really is.  

HALLOWEEN ATROCITY PART: 1


HALLOWEEN ATROCITY PART: 2


HALLOWEEN ATROCITY PART: 3




Now, if you have made it through all this muckery of which me and my brothers and sister have gone through, please call and report my mommy for puppy abuse.  Thank you and have a happy Halloween!


Blessings, Love & Music ~

Ava xox :D
www.avaaston.com

Happy Halloween - They're Ba-ack!

They're Ba-ack! That's right the McRib sandwich is back just in time for Mr. Bricks to scare Ava the Diva by almost killing himself.  That's right, Ava the Diva and Mr. Bricks have one of the most mucked up Halloween's ever.  


It all started when Mr. Bricks was driving his trusty companion Sunny the dog to the groomer when he saw that McDonald's was featuring the "McRib" sandwich...  and we all know what happens to Mr. Bricks when a McRib is in sight. So in an effort to avoid missing out on this short lived opportunity Mr. Bricks decided he would stop in for a bite or two or ten!  So, tune in and and see what happens when Ava finds Mr. Bricks on Halloween.

Blessings, Love & Music ~
Ava xox
www.avaaston.com

Help me support our wounded hero's and their families.

Eggnog: The Rocky Effect

Here's the Greek blonde girl before a recent show in Philadelphia

One of my all-time favorite movies is Rocky. There is just something very inspirational about this film for me. I really enjoy the message about going for your dreams and never giving up. I often have the film's theme song Gonna Fly Now by Bill Conti playing on my iPod when I am working out or on one of my runs.

I started doing some serious thinking (dangerous, I know)  and I realized there must be some connection to the movie Rocky and people drinking Eggnog at Christmas time. Rocky Balboa drank raw eggs during training and before the fights so he could get the instant protein and none of the fat into his blood stream. It is like an adrenaline rush to the body for boxers and others who work out when they drink raw eggs.

Isn't it odd that people don't start drinking eggnog on Halloween?There's no eggnog served with the ham at Easter. You don't really see eggnog being served alongside turkey and Aunt Zelda's green bean casserole at Thanksgiving, now do you?

But for some reason -- as the year starts to wind down, and right at Christmas time people start drinking eggnog. All of that raw egg starts making their brain melty and effects their decision-making. I did an earlier blog, which you can read here,  where people tend to make a fool of themselves at the company Christmas party. The main culprit of making poor decisions at any company Christmas  party is usually because someone dipped a little too much into the free eggnog.

When people drink eggnog and have all of this raw egg crap get into their brain and blood stream they get all loopy. The instant protein is like a shock to their system and they start going all Rocky on everything and everybody. They start making wild New Year's resolution to lose weight and get into shape. Not because it's a New Year, but because they are all hopped up on eggnog and want to be like Rocky Balboa.

Yo' Adrian, I have an example for yoos -- a 92-year-old man who's been smoking 3 packs a cigarettes a day for 75 years. He takes a sip of eggnog and all of a sudden he's stripping down and shadow boxing everyone in the room like he has become the next Apollo Creed. He crushes his cigarettes and vows to his family that his New Year's resolution is that he is going to start running marathons and he will quit smoking. Well, the next day after the eggnog is out of his system, old grandpa can be seen walking around his living room butt naked, tearing the house apart, cussing like a sailor, looking for his lost package of cigarettes.

In the original Rocky movie the The World Heavyweight Championship bout was scheduled for New Year's Day 1976, which also happened to be the kick off day to the United States bicentennial. So I think that also influences these people into making crazy New Year's Resolutions, they want to be like Rocky and change history and change their own destiny on New Year's Day.

New Year's resolutions are great. New Year's resolutions made under the influence of eggnog- not so much. Just Sayin'

Here's a quick montage from the original Rocky movie I found on Youtube. Check out 1:20 into this remix and you can see Sly downing the raw eggs.

Ok, Gonna Fly now...Blessings,

Ava

xox

Things that make you go hmm

Have you ever had a moment where you see something that is just so bizarre and so out there that it makes you stop breathing for a second? No, me neither. But there are times when I walk by something and then think to myself -- Wait a minute, did I just see what I think I thought I just saw? Most of the time I keep walking because I don't want to embarrass myself by turning around for a second peak. With it being so close to Halloween I thought I would blog today about things that make you go hmm.

Like Reptile Man.

or

Enigma Man.

Because I live just 10 minutes outside New York City I go there frequently for auditions (and shopping) and I have had my share of personal "What The Heck" was that moments. Most recently it involved a taxi cab driver and festish stockings...that's all I'm sayin'.  That is of course right after shaking hands with the man with 3 thumbs.  No I am not kidding and that is a blog for another day.  Just know this, shaking that hand did make me freeze.

Sometimes those bizarre moments also happen online. From time to time someone will send me an email with an enticing subject line like OMG! Have you see this?-- Well, I don't know about  you my fellow bloggers, but when I see that I just can't ignore it. I always have to open it to see what the fuss is all about. Note: I'm Blonde, I'm Greek and I'm a tad gullible, but I also have a great Virus checker on my computer (and I use a Mac),  so no worries my techie friends.

Nowadays with the internet and with Photoshop it sometimes makes it hard to believe what you are actually seeing because so many things are digitally enhanced. Take for instance the viral video that is all of the rage this week called The Charlie Chaplin Time Traveler.

Charlie Chaplin Time Traveler

First let me say, I do not need to promote this video any further because in about 10 days this video has had an amazing 3.1 million views on YouTube alone. The story has been a media sensation and has been featured on every major news outlet around the world.

It is interesting to note that the term "Charlie Chaplin Time Traveler"  now has more Google searches than "Lindsay Lohan Arrested", "Charlie Sheen In Domestic Violence Dispute" and "The Most Boring World Series" combined.

From the get go, when a friend emailed me the video and I watched it I thought something was fishy. First off, this dude from Belfast, Ireland who made this "discovery" just so happens to be a film maker who also just happens to have a new film coming out. Coincidence, I think not.

You can even see it in the screen shot of this original YouTube video he posted and then he takes a close up shot with the video cam of a movie one sheet (poster) for the movie, "Battle of the Bone" that he just made. After that he chats about all of his upcoming movies that will be coming out soon. Then, in trueShamwow fashion, there is a chyron graphic overlay with the website URL for the film festival this guy runs.

Maybe some people are buying into it, but not this Greek girl. I think it's a good old fashion publicity stunt from an Irish bloke to promote his fledgling Yellow Fever production company. I won't be a bit surprised if it turns out that he digitally enhanced the mysterious time traveller into the clip and that it doesn't even exists in the Chaplin movie at all. My sources tell me that the film, Charlie Chaplin's The Circus is in the public domain. If that is the case then the Steven Spielberg wannabe can do whatever he wants with it.

I know it is not polite to stare, but sometimes a human oddity or an unexplained circumstance can be like a car crash on the Long Island Expressway, you don't wanna look, but you do it anyway.

I know if I was having lunch at McDonald's with my manager Mr. Bricks as he  downed yet another McRib  (Don't worry, I won't touch either one of them. Mr. Bricks or the McRib) and a lady had a nose in the shape of a pig or the guy in this photo walked in

how in the world am I supposed to not stare? The Dude has a Mini-Me with a receeding hairline growing out of the top of his head.

Thank goodness it wouldn't of been me eating a McRib because at that moment if a dude like this wax figure walked in I honestly think there would have been some serious tossing of my cookies going on...  I'm just sayin'.

Well, now that I have given you sufficient things to ponder for the day, my job here in the blogosphere is complete for the day.

Have a happy and safe Halloween tomorrow...and don't believe everything you see!!

Blessings,

Ava xox

Howloween has gone to the dogs!

NOTE:  This blog has been hacked by Punkin

Do I have the words "stupid dog" stamped on my forehead?...wait a minute, do I even have a forehead???

Psssssssst, its me Punkin, and the rest of the Aston canine clan -- BoBo, Itty Bitty and Pookie. Hey, this is my third time in as many weeks to hack into my Doggie Mom Ava's Mac Book Pro and hijack her blog.  Her original password was my name  "Punkin."   That was only natural because I am her favorite and #1 dog. So, the next day after she read my blog she cleverly changed the password to "Pookie", you can read all about that episode right here.

Well  I'm no Mark Zuckerberg but it did not take a genius to figure out she was most likely gonna change the password again to another one of my canine siblings.  So with my little paws I typed in the letters  I-T-T-Y-B-I-T-T-Y and then I saw this logo thing appear on the screen

I don't know why Ava has a giant half-eaten apple  on her screen but for me,it's Mission Accomplished I hacked in again. So, I'm back and I just had to write you all out there in blogsphere  because, well  we're in dire straits here.  Guess what Ava did today? I will give you a clue, look at this picture

Do any of us look happy? No. We are not happy campers anymore. Look closely, I think she is trying to get her own designing show on HGTV or Bravo by putting these cheesy little gourds, Indian corn, pumpkins and squash things next to us. Is she taking our picture or getting ready to serve us for dinner??

Yah, were pissed alright.  I knew something was up when she said we all were going to Petco. We haven't done that in a couple of months since Pookie had that unfortunate incident with A  Lhasa Apso.  Anyway, Ava took us to Petco and bought us these costumes for Howloween.   Now, I use to love to go to there like any other dog.  At the store we all got free treats, we could get our picture taken, we could play with the toys and sniff the butts of other hot looking doggies who were there.  But now, well, I hate Petco.  They are evil. Most likely a Liberal style of company who profits off of  the humiliation of canines by selling Howloween costumes for dogs.  Hmmm, wonder if they ever heard the phrase, don't bite the hand that feeds you. Our Doggie Mommie always uses that one on us when she wants to make us feel guilty for not doing what she wants.

Next time I go to Petco I think I'm going to "have an accident" right at the front door. Although it won't be an accident, if you know what I'm sayin'.  Maybe it will make some people stop and not go in.  Anything to do my part for the species.

Ava  just didn't stop with buying us these costumes. She also sent our buddy, Sunny, who is Mr. Bricks' dog, a costume. Sunny just tweeted me this twitpic of him that Mr. Bricks took.  Embarassing.

Since I now have your undivided attention, I have further business I need to discuss with you.  This is important, so listen up.  I want to let you know that if you are a little kid and you are reading this, and you plan to come to my house to go trick-or-treating you are screwed.  Mom's already starting to dip into the trick-or-treat stash of candy.

Look what I saw in her hands today after she came back from a run.   

And then there is this photo piece of evidence

At this rate, by Sunday she will be fresh out of candy. Look for her to start handing out raisins or pennies then.

We all have had enough of the humiliation. We know if we stick around here, she will end up dressing us like Pilgrims for Thanksgiving.  So Sunny is going to run away from Mr. Bricks house and we all are running away from here. We're going to  meet up in Vegas. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Stay tuned....

Love,

Punkin

ruff ruff