Surf's Up Saturday- Gone to the Dogs

In honor of our new family member Spooky here are some great products and sites that I have found while looking for a new friend and of course all the accesories that go along with having her.

First off is Petfinder.com This site is a must for anyone looking to adopt anything from a new kitten to a retired horse. You can search really wide or as specific as you want. I wanted to keep an open mind because you never know what you will end up loving! I am a Doberman girl and here I am with a rescued mix. Pet finder was a great help in looking at the different rescues, what they require for adoption, and what animals were available that liked kids and cats. (Luckily, even though Spooky is from a county pound who knew nothing about her she is very kid friendly and seems to get along with the cats)

Next is another must if you are a pet lover- The Animal Rescue Site
All you do is click once a day and you help feed animals in shelters all over the country. Along with that good deed is the great choice of products to buy, all of which help feed the homeless animals. My favorite is this little Loofah dog with the breast cancer ribbon on it.

Of course this wouldn't be a Surf's Up without some Etsy members! While looking at collars this pretty design caught my eye from LodiandLewi. They have great designs for collars, leashes and such. Definitely will be on my list when shopping for doggy accesories.

And what dog could be comfy without a nice bed to lay on? (Unless she has a deck chair like Prasti's Blue) =) I love this bed, how perfect for a dog named Spooky?! Hand sewn by a newer Etsy member- sdamlo

And finally, now that we have our new gal there are tons of fun possibilities like these great photocollages by Yappyhappy. How fun to look at and what a great way to show your pooches personality. Once we figure Spooky's out we will have to get one made for her! This is my favorite from the samples.

Be sure to look at the other products at her store... I am in love with the Barking License Pet ID tag!!

Signs

Are you a believer that there are signs all around us, pointing us in the right direction, helping us make decisions and such? Whether you believe it is a higher power's plan or karma, I definitely do.

It is funny how when you make a decision to do something or not do something all of a sudden you see signs that reinforce that choice. We have been tossing around the idea of having a dog in our family again. Not a puppy, and not from a pet store or breeder, but saving a life that is in real danger.

Which bring us to today... we have been looking at adult dogs on Petfinder, MEDIUM adult dogs and thought that we found the perfect gal. We contacted the rescue, called 3 times and emailed... no reponse. Then inspired by a friend's success (Prasti from Here to There) at the county pound recently we decided to give it a go. This particular pound has a very high kill rate, high enough for me to know that I was going to make a big difference in a life.

There were so many dogs there...scared, lonely dogs of all shapes, sizes, ages, and breeds. We took the kids with us (plus Cayden, my "borrowed" kid) because any dog that comes near us has to be kid friendly. It was nice because they just handed us a leash and told us to take out whoever had a white tag. (Pink tags were non-adoptable because they attacked someone). First we took out a Doxie boy who was shaking and just glad to be out for a few moments. He was cute but not too interested in us. Then we took out an older Beagle girl who had seen better days but again wasn't into visting with the humans.

We walked around some more and then saw her... a beautiful medium sized girl with the most striking eyes ever- one was brown and one was a ghostly white blue. She wasn't jumping, barking or anything, just stood there with a nice wag and interested eyes. I could tell that Klint was in love right away, he handed me AJ and grabbed the leash to take her out. It was perfect. No jumping, no pulling, just a nice walk. She ran with Klint a little bit and when I brought AJ down to see her she sniffed and gave AJ a nice gentle kiss. Didn't try to come at her too much and wasn't worried when Gabby and Cayden reached to pet her.

We wanted to bring her home today but they have to hold strays for 4 days in case they are claimed. Tomorrow if she isn't claimed she will be ours. Klint right away named her Spooky since it is October and her eyes are just too distinct... and the funny thing was, as soon as we were driving home we saw a sign for the Lakewood parade that read "Spooky Pooch" and had a dog in a ghost costume. The last indicator that we were on the right path was I got an email from the rescue with the dog we were initially interested in telling us that she was not available anymore.
So wish us luck and I will keep you posted on whether the signs were right! Hopefully here is our new pup!

Wisdom of the Day

"If you want to feel rich, just count all the things that you have that money can't buy"

Tagged

I have been tagged by my bloggy friend Prasti at Here to There to do this bloggidy fun!!
Here are 6 random things about me (These will confirm to you all that I am indeed a freak)


1. I do not like balloons, they are unatural and I cringe when kids have them because then they are sure to pop which scares the crap out of me! To torture me in college my sorority sisters would hide balloons in my bed and since I was on the top bunk I didn't know they were there till I climbed up on the bed.


2. I don't mind being under 5 foot until I need to reach something on the top shelf or something happens like when my sorority sisters store my towels when I was showering, fully knowing that I was too short to reach the curtain rod to remove the curtain down to cover myself. They only gave it back when I threatened to come out in my birthday suit!


3. If I had super powers I am pretty sure that I would be on the bad side! (Is this bad considering that my husband is a police officer?)


4. I hate eating chicken, the mere thought of it makes me what to heave. I only eat chicken in fake forms like chicken wings and nuggets. Chicken that has been just baked with no coating is especially gross to me. Now give me a mdium rare steak and then we will talk!


5. I want to live in Maine. It is ideal weather, I love the sea, and lobster is on my "if I could eat it everyday foods". I peruse travel catalogs and imagine myself buying a house and a boat there that is all weather worn with a beautiful garden.


6. I would much rather talk to someone in person or over the phone than email. I can never tell a person's tone from an email and love the back and forth that goes with conversation.


Now that your fears that you are friends with a freak are confirmed here are the rules for the meme:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Write 6 random things about yourself.
4. Tag more or less 6 people at the end of your post.
5. Let each person know he or she has been tagged.
6. Let the tagger know when your entry is up.


here are the folks i'm tagging:
J.Leigh Designs
Bloggin It Up
Moxylyn
Wendolonia
How About Orange

Giveaway!!!!

To celebrate my great month on Etsy I am going to give away your choice of either 250 Mommy/Family cards or 20 invitations/baby announcements. Both items are pro-printed, full color, and the invites will come with matching envelopes. The invitations can be for a baby shower, a birthday, or an upcoming holiday celebration, whatever you need them for.

Just leave a comment with what item you would like and how winning it would make you happy! I will do the drawing this Friday and will announce the winner on Saturday morning.

(Only one comment per person please, make sure you leave contact information. If the winner does not respond in 2 days a new winner will be chosen. )

Happy Birthday AJ

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!!!!

Today we just kept it low key and celebrated AJ's birthday with lunch in Ashland with Klint's family and then dinner at Auntie Carena's complete with cheesecake! AJ got a whole bunch of really nice present including some new dolls, a Cabbage Patch doll (a tradition of ours), a dollhouse bookcase from Klint and I, and tons of great books. She didn't really destroy the cake as we were hoping she would, being a true fan of food most of it landed in her mouth neatly. (Waste not is her motto!)

New Listing on Etsy

A couple people have asked me whether I do birth announcements so I decided to give them a try!! Here are some designs for my store:

Surf's Up Sunday- AJ's Picks

Well, it is the one week countdown to AJ's first birthday. We had a small get together with family yesterday to celebrate since her birthday is next Friday which was a lot of fun. She got lots of baby dolls and books, her two favorite things, along with some fabulous clothes. What a little princess!

Here are AJ's picks of the week for this edition of Surf's Up Sunday!!

And finally I have to share the awesome scrapbook that was made for AJ by a very talented Etsy artist: J. Leigh Designz!!! I can't wait to add pics to it tonight... very beautiful work!!

More pics can be found on her blog: J. Leigh Designz

(I did her blog banner!!!)

100 Posts!

"Why do so many.... settle for so little? I don't understand why they're
not greedy for what's inside them." - Jack Gilbert

This quote fits perfectly for my 100th post! So many things have changed in my life since I started this blog, none of them I regret. I told someone back in January that I would give anything to be at home with my girls, to dance again, and to have my own business. And now, thanks to a leap of faith (that initially failed) I have all of that and so much more. If that friend would have told me that it was possible I never would have believed her, like Dorothy, it was something that I had to figure out for myself.

I hope that each of you can find it in yourself to really stretch your wings and reach for the impossible. What is the point of living if you spend 8 hours of your day at a place you despise, doing something you care nothing about, dreaming of better things? That is not living my friends. Don't settle, just go for it!

New Projects Abound!

So for those of you who truly know me you know that I bounce from projects and interest pretty quick. I like to change things up a lot and can't stand repetitive things that require the skills of a trained monkey to complete. I also love to learn new skills and to try new ways of doing things, even if they don't make sense initially. I have found that if something works, go for it, don't fight it.

Well here are some new projects that I am working on!

1. Resin Jewelry: This is a hot thing on Etsy and I was really skeptical to try it but so far so good... no reports of blindness or skin rashes. Here is the tutorial that I used to guide me, plus a kit that I bought from PatCatans. I will share pics as soon as the pieces are done hardening.

2. Chalkboard Paint: I really love the idea behind chalkboard paint and can't wait to complete the project this weekend in the girl's room. AJ is a natural troublemaker so writing on the walls isn't a farfetch. At least now she will have an area of her room to draw on and it will be ok, plus chalk is pretty easy to clean up.

3. Learning how to sew- This is a dream project meaning that I have every intention of learning but each time I think of how easier it is to use stitch-witchery or fabric glue and put the machine back. I have downloaded cute patterns for bags and pillows... even picked out fabric. Curtains are about all I can manage right now though. I would love to make an apron one day.... anyone want to trade skills? =)