First off, happy birthday to the United States Marine Corps. Thank you for two hundred thirty-six years of being the first in.

“They are in front of us, behind us, and we are flanked on both sides by an enemy that outnumbers us 29:1. They can’t get away from us now!”—Chesty Puller

“I have just returned from visiting the MARINES at the front, and there is not a finer fighting organization in the world!”—Gen. Douglas MacArthur, U.S. Army

“Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference. The Marines don’t have that problem.”—President Ronald Reagan, 1985

I can’t believe we’ll have had Taz a week tomorrow. I shall refer to this time forevermore as Hell Week. Yes, it’s an adjustment. Yes, it’ll get better. But the morning? Holy crap. He does well in his crate, but for the first hour after release he’s a whirling dervish of energy, fur and teeth. That hour is when Mini and I are suppose to snuggle on the couch and drift in and out of wakefulness. Now, it’s…hell. You know how quick movement shows up as a blur on film? From 6am to 7am, Taz looks like that to the human eye.

Holiday Sparks, my 2010 holiday novella from Carina Press, is only $1.99 for Nook and Kindle right now! A great price for a story to help pump up that festive mood. And, as I may have mentioned a time or twenty, Mistletoe and Margaritas is available for preorder for Kindle and Nook. (Or for the entire Holiday Kisses collection: Kindle | Nook)

Okay, so the creepy puppy. Taz is adorable. But he has these moments, when he’s sleeping, when he’s a little bit creepy. My husband disagrees and says it’s cute.

That face is creepy. If the Joker from Batman got busy with a polar bear and they had a baby, it would look like that.

What do you think? Cute or creepy?