I Heart Faces Photo Contest [] Puppy Love

Oh those eyes...that nose...those little ears and paws. It should be illegal to be that cute. Luke came from a backyard breeder who left him outside in the middle of the Arizona Summer. He was the only one left of the litter. A nice woman took him free of charge as a favor so that this woman could get "rid of him." Thank goodness for rescue organizations like Arizona Labrador & Giant Breed Rescue, Inc. It's because of them, this little guy has a wonderful life in front of him. Plus, he's just so darn squeezable!!!

I Heart Faces Photo Contest [] Puppy Love

Here's my entry into the I Heart Faces Photo Contest. There's nothing like getting licks and love from a puppy. This is one of the foster dogs we've had over the years. I sure hope he remembers all of this when he grows up. I think it's important to teach your kids about compassion, charity and responsbility. Even if it comes in the form of a little black fur ball.

For the iheartfaces.com photo contest. This one I have to name, Patience.

Found this little guy (the Mantis) in a rain bucket. I poured him out in the grass and of course Roger had to come over and see. He and the little Mantis sat there looking at eachother until the mantis finally moved. Roger jumped. It was like they were having a staring contest or something. Silly labs.

Coolest Halloween Costumes EVER!!!

I am a HUGE fan of Halloween. I mean I actually get goose pimples thinking about all the decorations, costumes and sugar highs that accompany this glorious holiday. Forget Christmas, forget Thanksgiving and even forget that I even HAVE a birthday. Halloween rocks!

So every year I ask the kids what they want to be for Halloween. We've hosted the vampire, the cowboy, Darth Vader and yes...even a Zebra. All pretty traditional. BOOORRING! I wanted to do something pretty unique this year and I finally found the perfect costume. We are going for the gold this year...the absolute pinnacle of cool.

Drum roll please!^^^^^^yes... it's the THE STICK MAN costume!




Hope you enjoyed that as much as I did. Some people have wonderful imaginations. Good thing too, because it's people like me who need to steal the ideas of people like them. Isn't America freakin' fantastic?!?

Summer Drive-In via YOUR COMPUTER!

It's been a while since my last blog, but hey it's summer and I'd really rather be doing something other than sit in front of this damn computer!

However in my quest for something to do, I discovered a great site called crackle.com. Of course, this site requires me to sit in front of the computer, but when it's 114 degrees outside, somehow I really don't mind.

The site plays free movies and classic tv shows, past and present. Everything from Bewitched and Green Acres to Rescue Me and Damages. They also have full length movies and right now they are promoting their 31 movies in 31 days. A free FULL-LENGTH movie every day. Today is All the Kings Men with Sean Penn and Ghostbusters starring Dan Akroyd and Bill Murray.

Pretty neat site especially when you are on a long flight or sitting in the doctors office waiting for your 5 minute visit from the doctor after you've sat in the waiting room for 45 minutes. (Yes, I'm bitter.)

Check it out and hope everyone is having a great summer!

Got Chocolate?

It's not everyday that someone offers you a free bar of chocolate. M&M Mars however is doing just that. Each Friday, through the 25th of September, if you are one of the lucky 250,000 U.S. residents to respond first, Mars will send you a coupon worth one free bar of chocolate.

Yes siree, one free bar of Three Musketeers, Snickers, Milky Way, Twix, Dove or Bag of M&M's could be yours for the incredible low price of F-R-E-E!

All you do is log on to their website at Mars Real Chocolate and fill in your email address as well as your home address, etc. They will then send you a coupon within 6 weeks (I sent them my information and got my coupon within two weeks.) You can only request the coupon on Friday's and they limit the total coupons you can receive to one per Friday and four to any one address. That's FOUR free bars of chocolate!

Now if you're wondering, I spent my coupon on my favorite candy bar, a Three Musketeers Mint Dark Chocolate bar. I was totally selfish and ate the entire thing by myself after amply freezing it for one hour. (It's the only proper way to eat it.) My next coupons will go to my kids and then to my hubby. It's only fair. However if the mood strikes and I'm PMSing, nobody better stand in the way of me and my Milky Way!

Have a gloriously chocolatey day!

Why I Foster Dogs

I watched a program the other day about a dog who had been hogtied, muzzled and then thrown in a garbage dumpster in Phoenix. The Humane Society was called in and rescued this dog before it had succumb to certain death. I just heard yesterday about a dog that had been left outside in 110+ degree weather with the owners leaving their back gate open hoping that it would just runaway. A rescue organization was called by the neighbors and the dog is now safely in their hands. I hear these stories EVERY DAY in the media and in the group forums that I volunteer with.

What is wrong with these people!

It for these reasons and many others that I foster dogs in my home. The perception that we are a throwaway society is no more apparent than when we treat animals like trash. You don't have to be an animal lover to know that we as a society are responsible for the care and welfare of all domesticated animals even if you don't want or own a pet. With that being said, I understand that many people these days are losing their homes and can't afford or can't care for their animals anymore. Although it is a national tragedy, here in Arizona it is a far worse fate because animals are left in conditions that mean certain death within hours, not days, with our scorching summers. There are organizations that are more than willing to take these animals no questions asked. Why then do people make their pets suffer needlessly?

My involvement came after we lost our beautiful lab of 14 years named "Dave". He was a pound puppy that my husband adopted at the age of 3 1/2 months. He had been previously tied to a tree in the yard and left alone. When the previous owner's husband left on a fishing trip, the wife, who didn't like the dog and was mad at her husband, returned him to the animal shelter. When the husband returned from the trip he tried to get the dog back, but my husband was already in the process of adopting him. I'm glad the Humane Society denied the man's pleas and we ended up with the best dog in the world. So when we lost Dave, I really couldn't bring myself to get another dog, but since we were set up as two dog household anyway, (we also have an 8 year old Lab/Great Dane named "Chloe"), I thought it would be a good way to keep Dave's memory alive by fostering dogs that came out of difficult situations like how Dave started out and the ones mentioned above.

So even if you don't want a pet or even like animals, please remember that it doesn't take much to be kind. To give some water to a thirsty dog or to take a stray cat to an animal shelter so that it doesn't get run over. (I actually keep the number to animal control on my cell phone in case I see a stray animal on the road.) If you're considering adopting a pet or even fostering, the need is greater than ever. We can't save all of them, but to the one you save it means the world.

Here are some links:

http://www.hsus.org/ (Humane Society)

http://www.azhumane.org/index.shtml (Arizona Humane Society

http://www.aawl.org/ Arizona Animal Welfare League and SPCA)

http://www.azlabsandgiants.org/index.html (the organization I foster for)

http://www.petfinder.com/ (Petfinder.com)

http://www.pets911.com/index.php (Lost and Found Dogs and Cats as well as adoption)

VIDEO ABOUT FOSTERING