Of Cats and Dogs

Yesterday Jesse and I volunteered at the local Humane Society, otherwise known as "the pound" (will that name ever die?). I joined a volunteer group sometime this past fall and have attended a few of the outings so far. I always find that when I join in the act of volunteering it is a very satisfying feeling. There's just something about it that makes you feel very grounded. I can step out of my own little world and see that there is so much need. I also realize that I am no saint. My semi-monthly contributions to the community are nothing compared to that of which some people do. For example, the man that gave us our orientation in the adult cat room. His name is Dick and I'm guessing he is in his 60's. He said that he has been volunteering for the past 6 years, every Sunday for about 5 hours. And there are many more just like him.

Needless to say, Jesse and I caught the volunteer bug after seeing all of those adorable cats (including the 3-legged orange tabby and the one-eyed brown and white spotted guy). We just may find ourselves spending more than a few Sundays cleaning the litter boxes, changing the bedding and vacuuming the scratching post (you'd be amazed at how much hair can accumulate on those things!).

I am going to shamelessly use this opportunity to remind everyone that if you add a furry member to your family, please please please consider adopting. There are so many wonderful animals out there waiting for a loving family to bring them home.

And while I'm at it (and since I forgot to add it to this post) I would like to urge everyone to become an organ donor. I mean, really? Whatcha gonna do with them after you're dead? Don't forget that you can also donate blood to help save lives. Now go make me proud!!

A Must Read

Want something awe inspiring to read? Then go here. I promise, you won't be disappointed.

I've been reading their story for several months now and I have to admit that I was drawn in from the very first post that I read. If you're going to get addicted to something, at least make it something positive!

Hello?

Ring....ring....

Roxanne: "Hello?"

Ron: "Hi, it's me."

Roxanne: Oh, hi.

Ron: Guess what? I got an email from Joe Blow Engineering Firm and they want me to come back to talk to them.

Roxanne: That sounds really good! I'm so excited for you.

Ron: I know. I don't think they'd be calling me back in if they weren't going to offer me the job.

Roxanne: That is so cool. We'll have to party tonight.

Ron: Well, maybe not tonight. That might jinx it. Let's wait til I go talk to them first.

Roxanne: Yeah, you're right. But we still need to party.

He has been waiting for a loooonng time to escape his current employment situation. I really, really hope this new place works out well for him. How can you go wrong working for a place that included in their help wanted ad that they have a foosball table in the office? For reals!

A few minutes later.......

Ring.....ring.....

Roxanne: "Hello?"

Unidentified caller: "Hi. (awkward pause) How are you?"

Roxanne: "I'm fine."

UC: "What number is this?"

I've always loved this question. I always want to answer with this question..."What number did you call?" But instead......

Roxanne: "This is Roxanne. Who is this?"

UC: "This is Meryl. Is this 555-6981?"

Roxanne: "No."

Meryl: "I'm sorry. Well, have a nice day anyways!"

Roxanne: "You too!"

That was the friendliest wrong caller I've ever met before. Maybe she'll call back another time so we can chat it up. :)

As of Late

**Jesse and I went to a potluck and board game night. It is a group that I found on meetup.com that is comprised of a wide variety of people looking for other people to socialize with and just have some good old fashioned fun. The group is open to singles, couples, single parents, married couples with kids. Basically anybody and their brother can join.

This party was by far the most fun of all the ones that we've attended. The game "Apples to Apples" was brought out and Jesse and I were hooked. It is a great game and I see us adding it to our game closet in the near future. But then someone brought out the Jenga Truth or Dare and things started to get a tad out of control. Why is it that a group of adults + alcohol always seems to = teenage behavior. The game soon became a little too racy and I had to call it a night. I guess that's okay, because when we got out to the car and saw the clock, it was 1:30 am! Bad mommy. At least we left before it turned into "Strip Jenga".

**I've been advertising (again) to get more daycare children. I currently have 2 full time and 2 part time, which does not contribute enough with the bill paying. Plus, I love to have a steady group of at least 4 a day to do my daily activities with the children. Every single time I've advertised in the newspaper, I get calls from people thinking I'm offering employment. WHY????? I've finally started to tell these people that, "No I'm not offering a job. I advertised in the "services" section NOT the "help wanted" section." Of course I'm polite when I tell them, but still! It gets rather annoying. The other thing that irks me? Is when I have a parent that sets up a specific day and time to come meet me and then they never show. And they don't have the courtesy to call and let me know they're not coming. Especially (ESPECIALLY!!) when it happens to be a Saturday morning and I woke up everyone else in the family to help clean. I guess it's a good thing to find out right from the start if a potential client is going to be that inconsiderate of my time/effort. I am definitely better off without them. You know? On a positive note, all of my current daycare parents that I have are great people. I'm hoping to find more just like them. :)

**I've added 2 new exercise classes to my repertoire. The first is a class that I figured I could actually pull off. It is called Zumba and basically consists of dancing to different types of music, mostly Latin but also some that I would classify as hip hop. It is F-U-N! If you hate the traditional aerobics classes and think they are boring/repetitive/or whatever, Zumba may just be for you! It is the most fun I've ever had working out. You even get to shake your hips and shimy your chest to your heart's content! I'm telling you, it is the most fun you'll have sweating (well, except for Richard Simmons of course!). Anywoo, the other class that I started is not quite as fun. In fact, I feel as if I am going to actually die every Saturday morning for the past few weeks. And yet I keep going back for more torture! The class? Cardio kickboxing (don't laugh). Yes, my old self thinks that she is going to kick some arse by learning how to kick some guy in the nuts if he so dares to attack me in a dark alley. The girl (she was complaining that she is old....at 20!) that teaches the class is like a mini Jillian, one of the trainers from The Biggest Loser. She is brutal. And also brutally honest...to a fault. I think she offended one of the guys in the class today. He was telling her that he's lost 130 pounds (and kept it off for the past 6 years) by going on the Atkins diet. She basically told him that that diet never works as everyone always gains the weight back. Well, he seemed to be pretty proud of himself (and rightfully so) for his accomplishments. I think she has some learning to do in the personal relations part of her job. Yes, it's okay to be "brutally honest and not sugar coat things" (her words) but it's also not a crime to give people credit where credit is due. Regardless, I'm still going to keep attending as I need someone to push me that hard. At the beginning of the session, she had everyone test to find out what their percentage of body fat is. Mine? 31%. Ouch! Her goal for all of us is to lower it down at least 1 percentage point. That, I think I can do. We'll see about the other 10% that it needs to go down. I guess as long as I have mini Jillian by my side, it should be no problem. ;)

The Daredevil in Me

I decided this morning that within the next two weeks I'm going to try some new things. On the list are skydiving, scuba diving with sharks, and bungee jumping. If I am able to cheat death, I'll be back to report on my adventures.








APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!!!



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