Abraham's Oasis

I've been been getting a lot of requests for pics from out here lately and it dawned on me that I haven't really written about what I do for fun after work.  Yes folks, I do have fun out here...I'm pretty sure I can make anyplace or situation fun, I'm a Grogan, that's what we do.

Anyway, we decided that it was time to visit Abraham's Oasis.  Legend has it that the Oasis is where Abraham and his family drank from during their 700 mile trip from the land of Ur.  Surrounded by a lush palm grove, the Oasis's waters are filled with minnows, turtles, frogs, and birds.  It's almost surreal to stumble upon it because it's flourishing greenery is in stark contrast to the miles and miles of dirt and debris that border it.

Palm Grove by the Oasis

And that is your history lesson for today, back to our adventure - introducing Sam and Chris:

The man, the myth: Sam Peters

Sam is my friend from work in North Carolina, but he works on another project.  If any of you follow my Facebook pics, you'll have seen photos of Sam and the infamous camel spider, right before he squashed the crap out of it.  Sorry spider lovers out there, Meg + camel spiders = dead camel spiders, that's just the way I roll. 

Back to Sam...Sam enjoys drinking black and tans at the Irish pub in Swansboro, wing night at the rotorhead chowhall, and dome houses, not necessarily in that order.  Sam is always down for an adventure.

The notorious Chris Jones

Chris Jones is my buddy that normally works on the west coast, but out here we are one team one fight.  I like to yell his name out like the rap songs featuring Mike Jones.  "Chriiiiiiis Jooooones" I yell, it makes me giggle everytime.  Chris enjoys fishing in the Wadi, spending time with his family, and pancake eating contests.

Back to the adventure to the Oasis...At the Oasis I made the most amazing discovery.  Fish, turtles, and frogs, much like humans, love White Chedder Cheez-It's.  I am not really sure why I was surprised by this, Cheez-It's are fantastically delicious it's no shocker that wildlife would come to the same conclusion that humans do.  Below are some pics of us feeding the animals, don't worry they didn't bite.

Sam feeding the fish

I'm feeding the fish

and Chris is feeding the fish

No blog would be complete without photos of the happy customers, so I'll leave you with photos of the fish, turtles, and frogs.  Tune in next week to find out more about how my coworkers thought it would be funny to sell me to the Ugandan gate guards for 100 heads of cattle.

Now I snuck into mom's blog!

It's Ziggy and Tank again, we just snuck into Mom's blog!  Well, it's just me, Ziggy, Tank is just my muscle on this project.  I'm the smarter of the two of us, anyway, Tank just likes to play fetch and I...I can write blogs for pups sake!

Here is a picture of my dumb brother, Tank

Notice the big goofy tongue and bugs bunny feet...

Here is an amazing picture of the ever so smart and handsome, Ziggy (that's me!)

Mom took that picture one day when we went to Onslow Dog Beach, We looooove going there!  And we let everyone know it by yelling out the window as we drive down the road.

Anyway, we just wanted to let our momma know that we haven't forgotten about her over in Iraq.  We are having a lot of fun with our Uncle Troy, Aunt Ashley, Aunt Jynette, and all of our friends, Sarg, Bella, Dingo, and Cali.  Uncle Troy lets us stay up as late as we want and we eat a ton of treats...Sometimes we even get to hang out with our Uncle Deke, he built mom's website and sometimes he falls asleep on our couch!

Don't worry Sarg will protect him!

Well, it's time for my nap and I'm going to go trick Tankie into doing something stupid so he gets in trouble:)  Keep checking http://www.skatedogstudios.com/ and http://www.skatedogstudios.etsy.com/ for new feeders!  And then buy some, I, Mr. Zigmund, QA every single one of them, so you should definitely buy them!  Mom needs to put dog food on the table, you know!

Just in 25 new skate decks! Stay tuned for new feeder pics!

I'm now on Twitter!

Well it happened...I took the plunge and joined Twitter!  You can check it out at www.twitter.com/skatedogstudios.  I'm still feeling my way around it, but so far so good.  I'm making new twitter friends and tweeting away!

I also thought it would help my business by hiring a marketing consultant.  Being in Iraq trying to start a business back home is hard enough, so I looked to the expertise of Leslie May of Pawsible Marketing http://www.marketingmypetbusiness.com/ She's been fantastic!  With the help of Skype we've set it up to have monthly meetings on the phone.  I'm looking forward to some out-of-the-box thinking and expanding on my social networking skills.

One more new feeder and introducing Sarg!

Another new feeder is ready to find a loving home...It's a Bam Margera Black and White Heartogram deck

I'd also like to introduce a very special new friend, Sarg, my friend, Ashley's rescue pup and my very handsome new dog model.  Look at him he knows this is why he's hot!

New feeders

Hello everyone,

It's been a little while, but I'm back with two new feeders.  Check them out and let me know what you think!

I'm not going to lie, this first one has to be my favorite, guns and grenades classic.  I almost kept it, but it was too cool not to sell.

These feeders can be purchased, along with others at http://www.skatedogstudios.etsy.com/ for more of a selection check out http://www.skatedogstudios.com/

Week one down! Way too many to go

Well folks, I've made it a week so far in Iraq and it is not too shabby out here.  My routine is as follows:

1. wake up/shower
2. go to work
3. act like I'm working...just kidding if there is work to be done I am on it!
4. eat
5. go to the gym
6. shower
7. return to cell block "G" for the night

Overall life could be much worse.  The hardest part of my day is figuring out what to do with it.  When I'm not working, I spend a lot of time researching for Skate Dog Studios, advertisement, blogging, things such as that.  For instance, today's adventure has been setting up my Skate Dog Studios fan page...it's awesome you should become a fan http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hubert-NC/Skate-Dog-Studios/125246479451#/pages/Hubert-NC/Skate-Dog-Studios/125246479451
and then I twiddle my thumbs and think...because I might just be one of the most impatient people you have ever met.  I think about things such as "did I just waste my time on this fanpage?" "how are things going at home in North Carolina" "will people like my product" "how can I make my product better?" "how can I make my product better while I'm stuck in Iraq" etc.  the list goes on.  Sigh, I just hope the time passes quickly!

I'm Here!

Well after a long and drawn out journey I'm finally here in Iraq! It's a lot different than the last time I was here, that's for sure. The best way to describe it is that it is very modernized, which is nice because now I don't have to use a port-a-john (if you have never experienced it for months at a time I don't suggest it). There are fast food places, a movie theatre, and even a coffee shop...life for me in the next six months will be alright I think.

I also found out in transit that I sold my first Skate Deck Pet Feeder! That was the highlight of my trip, but I found out very quickly that it's sometimes difficult to convey exactly what needs to be done via email...everything is going fine, though, I have fantastic friends for sure! My sister also got the skate decks that I sent her in San Francisco, so I hope everyone has a positive response to them on the West Coast as well.

Finally, http://www.skatedogstudios.com/ is also up and running, thanks Deke! I wish I would have taken better pictures of the boards, my fault I was in a hurry to get everything done before I left, but overall it looks great and offers more options on boards that you can buy. Now here's to hoping I can get over the timezone hump out here and get a decent nights sleep.

Ellis Airport...take two

So I'm at the airport to leave for Iraq...again, yesterday I got rained out. This time I go over via Germany, so I'm pretty excited about that. I had my fifth going away party last night and I am not sure my body can take anymore!

I also might have my first sale on www.etsy.com very soon, super excited about that. It seems to me that I'm going to have to buy bigger legs for these decks because the people that like them have big dogs.

Here's to hopin the flight and the next six months go well, more to follow, it should be interesting.

Good news!

Sorry it has been a while, but I've been a busy busy bee. My Etsy site is up and running www.skatedogstudios.etsy.com and my regular website is about to be www.skatedogstudios.com . The boards are cut and my sweat shop is in full effect, thanks to my lovely drill press! Things are looking up for the Megster.

I also got an email today from Leigh from the Maryland SPCA asking for me to donate a Skate Deck Pet Feeder. Of course I complied, I love animals and will do anything to help out. Check out their Shop-a-Paw-Looza auction site at www.mdspca.cmarket.com and make a donation today!

We got a first timer here!

Skate Dog Studios blog...take one. So here we go, it's day one of my new blog and new business, Skate Dog Studios. I make elevated pet feeders made out of skateboard decks, my dogs seem to like them well enough. It's a lot more work than I ever expected, that's for sure. Right now I have about 25 skate boards laying on my kitchen table and more in the garage I just sanded down...did I mention that I also have a day job as a defense contractor that is about to send me to Iraq in a couple of weeks? It complicates starting a business just a little bit.

I've never written a blog before, I'm a first timer, so bear with me. I thought it would be interesting to not only record the ups and downs of starting an online business, but to outline my adventures from a far. It's going to be a busy next couple of weeks for sure...more to come.