I've got some exciting news!

Geez, I've been pretty inconsistent with my posting. I'll have to change that!

Anyway, on to my good news... If you've been reading this blog, you know how passionately I feel about the welfare of animals, and when I had this idea to involve my parents' neighborhood in Indianapolis in on my helping animals, I got to work.

In order to successfully execute this plan, I needed to get permission from the neighborhood association first, so I emailed the president and was invited to go to the meeting last night. I was really nervous to go because I didn't want them to shoot my idea down after I had just driven 45 minutes from Bloomington for the sole purpose of meeting with them.

My idea was not only accepted--they loved it! And I left that meeting in a pure state of euphoria. It felt great, and I felt motivated to take on the challenge.

So the idea? Well, there is a "Mutt Strutt" for Indianapolis in which dogs and their owners will pay a registration fee and go to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to walk around the track to raise money for the Humane Society. I thought this was a great idea, so I scaled it down to size. I'll be hosting the same event in my neighborhood, and the registration fee will be $5 per person (free for dogs!), and we'll be walking/running a little over a mile for the event. Absolutely all of the money will be going to a local rescue.

Prior to the event, I'll be opening up a contest for the people in the neighborhood to send pictures of their dogs and cats to enter their furry friend into the cutest dog and cat contest. While registration is going on, there will be containers with pictures of the adorable pooches and kitties in which participants can "vote" on their favorites with spare change. While the walkers and runners are out on the course, the money will be counted up and winners of the contests will be announced. The dog and cat that raise the most money will be given a prize.

The neighborhood leaders loved the idea because it was unlike anything they had ever done, it spanned across all ages, and was easy to do.

Oh and by the way, they agreed to pay for the event! Can't get any better than that!

The other piece of great news is that Aaron and I adopted a beautiful new dog! She's chihuahua, and her name is Bella. She's five, well behaved, and up for anything that Aaron and I want to do. She's been so fun to have, especially because this is my first dog. I'll post something longer a bit later with pictures, but I thought I would share the news!