Check out this video made from pictures of animals at a shelter in Texas. It definitely tugs at the heart. Here are some ways that you can help shelter animals:
1. Volunteer your time. Many of these animals are lonely with little human interaction. Volunteer to play with cats, walk dogs, or just pet an animal that desperately needs human companionship.
2. Donate money. Animal shelters appreciate any sized donation.
3. Donate needed items. Find your local humane shelter's website to view their wishlist. Often times, they need towels, blankets, clay kitty litter, cleaning supplies, and other pet necessities.
4. Get your pets spayed or neutered. Please help prevent pet overpopulation by spaying or neutering your pets. You can save lives this way, and there are probably low-cost clinics that can do this for cheap.
5. Educate others about spaying and neutering. If you notice a friend with a litter of puppies, encourage them to seek to have the pet fixed.
6. Do NOT buy a pet-Adopt! Many animals come from facilities that churn out animals like machines, and these dogs or cats are very mistreated. They are lonely, not given proper veterinary care, and abused. Please view: http://stoppuppymills.org/ for more information
As always, thanks for reading and supporting your local animal shelter!
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Orange belt testing, and for those of you who can wear ear buds, I am jealous
Hello friends-I have good news for you all. I passed my exam last evening for my orange belt! I was soooooo nervous. After I was finished, I felt exhausted from the stress, and my hands were a-shakin'. I had a friend of mine test me and another friend from class work with me on the partner portions of the exam. It was so nice of them to do it! After it was over, I was so glad because it's so stressful, but as I was laying in bed last night, all I could think of was: I wonder how long it will take for me to prepare for the green belt test. ; ) I guess I'm a glutton for punishment.
Also, I've wanted to get something off my chest for the last couple of days. I HATE ear buds. You know those dumb headphones that everyone has? Yeah, well, I can't wear them because they
don't fit. I normally wear a pair that has a piece of rubber that goes over the ear, making the ear bud more secure, but recently I lost those and have had to deal with the normal ear bud. My attempts to wear these only lasted a day because wearing them was more frustrating than it was worth. Trust me, I looked while others were putting them in, while they were wearing them, and I still was not able to put them in properly so that they would no fall as soon as I made any minute movement. I must have defective ear openings.....
Also, I've wanted to get something off my chest for the last couple of days. I HATE ear buds. You know those dumb headphones that everyone has? Yeah, well, I can't wear them because they
don't fit. I normally wear a pair that has a piece of rubber that goes over the ear, making the ear bud more secure, but recently I lost those and have had to deal with the normal ear bud. My attempts to wear these only lasted a day because wearing them was more frustrating than it was worth. Trust me, I looked while others were putting them in, while they were wearing them, and I still was not able to put them in properly so that they would no fall as soon as I made any minute movement. I must have defective ear openings.....Sunday, February 15, 2009
A miscellaneous post!
This weekend was so crazy and all over the place! I loved every minute of it.
On Friday evening, I visited my high school youth pastor's home to help out with an activity they were hosting for middle school students called the Broken Hearts Banquet. They asked me to sing something related to their theme which is God's Love is Right Now, and I chose a song by a group called Avalon entitled "I'm Speechless." My parents came to support me, which was wonderful, and the speakers that were invited were so interesting to listen to. My parents also took video of it too, and I may post it if I can figure out how one might go about doing that.... The speakers were parents of some of the children who were in the youth group that had adopted children. I laughed and I cried; some of the stories about the individual children were hilarious, while others broke my heart. I've wanted to adopt children for as long as I can remember wanting to be a mother, and hearing these stories fueled that desire even more.
Saturday was of course, Valentine's Day, and it was different that what I had anticipated for the day. A close family friend's mother died last week, and me, my family, and my boyfriend Aaron all went to the funeral in the afternoon. I was asked to sing at the funeral, and I must say, I'm so glad I went first, because I was a wreck as the service continued. The woman who died was named Nellie, and her grandson did something so beautiful; he is a police officer for the city of Indianapolis and was given a medal a heroism which he placed in her casket because she was a hero to him! I didn't know Nellie very well, but it was heartbreaking to think about losing any of my own family and to see others grieving.
Later that evening, Aaron and I headed back to Bloomington to celebrate Valentine's Day and our FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!! I am in disbelief that it's been this long, and I feel so fortunate that I have Aaron in my life. He is my support and my best friend. I love you Aaron. Our first Valentines Day together happened after we had only been on two dates, so we went really casual and ate at China Buffet. It's been tradition that we eat Chinese every year for anniversary, and it's a tradition that we did not falter from this year either! Afterwards, we watched a movie and settled down just to relax and to talk. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed the evening; most nights, we work on things for our business, so it was great to just focus on each other. I somtimes forget how interesting he is to talk to.
I should be studying for my statistics exam which is Tuesday, but I've been busy today with a lot of exciting things! I lead an economics club meeting this afternoon at three which was a lot of fun because we had graduate students come and talk about their experiences. I learned a lot from them, and we had ordered some great pizza that I had never tried before. Afterwards, I headed to the library and started to study and then got distracted by working on some things to spread the word about animal welfare, and now here I am blogging.
I suppose I should get back to work and start getting serious about this exam! I'll update about how it goes, and I'll also be posting soon to tell about my upcoming belt test in hapkido. I'm going for my orange belt on Tuesday so wish me luck : )
On Friday evening, I visited my high school youth pastor's home to help out with an activity they were hosting for middle school students called the Broken Hearts Banquet. They asked me to sing something related to their theme which is God's Love is Right Now, and I chose a song by a group called Avalon entitled "I'm Speechless." My parents came to support me, which was wonderful, and the speakers that were invited were so interesting to listen to. My parents also took video of it too, and I may post it if I can figure out how one might go about doing that.... The speakers were parents of some of the children who were in the youth group that had adopted children. I laughed and I cried; some of the stories about the individual children were hilarious, while others broke my heart. I've wanted to adopt children for as long as I can remember wanting to be a mother, and hearing these stories fueled that desire even more.
Saturday was of course, Valentine's Day, and it was different that what I had anticipated for the day. A close family friend's mother died last week, and me, my family, and my boyfriend Aaron all went to the funeral in the afternoon. I was asked to sing at the funeral, and I must say, I'm so glad I went first, because I was a wreck as the service continued. The woman who died was named Nellie, and her grandson did something so beautiful; he is a police officer for the city of Indianapolis and was given a medal a heroism which he placed in her casket because she was a hero to him! I didn't know Nellie very well, but it was heartbreaking to think about losing any of my own family and to see others grieving.
Later that evening, Aaron and I headed back to Bloomington to celebrate Valentine's Day and our FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!! I am in disbelief that it's been this long, and I feel so fortunate that I have Aaron in my life. He is my support and my best friend. I love you Aaron. Our first Valentines Day together happened after we had only been on two dates, so we went really casual and ate at China Buffet. It's been tradition that we eat Chinese every year for anniversary, and it's a tradition that we did not falter from this year either! Afterwards, we watched a movie and settled down just to relax and to talk. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed the evening; most nights, we work on things for our business, so it was great to just focus on each other. I somtimes forget how interesting he is to talk to.
I should be studying for my statistics exam which is Tuesday, but I've been busy today with a lot of exciting things! I lead an economics club meeting this afternoon at three which was a lot of fun because we had graduate students come and talk about their experiences. I learned a lot from them, and we had ordered some great pizza that I had never tried before. Afterwards, I headed to the library and started to study and then got distracted by working on some things to spread the word about animal welfare, and now here I am blogging.
I suppose I should get back to work and start getting serious about this exam! I'll update about how it goes, and I'll also be posting soon to tell about my upcoming belt test in hapkido. I'm going for my orange belt on Tuesday so wish me luck : )
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Would you like to do something about Michael Vick?
Many know that Michael Vick was convicted of crimes related animal cruelty involving dog fighting at his home. He owned dogs that were trained to kill others dogs, and those who survived were brutally killed. Soon, he will be released from prison, and YOU can do something regarding his reinstatement into the NFL.
If you would like to sign a petition asking the NFL NOT to reinstate him, follow this link:
If you would like to sign a petition asking the NFL to test him for a psychological disorder before being reinstated, follow this link:
I urge you to consider the implications of these petitions. By signing them, you are communicating that you value integrity over talent and justice over suffering. I believe in second chances, but I also believe that this type of brutality can easily be translated from animals to humans. Please stand up for those with no way to communicate their pain.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
My guilty pleasures
Hello everyone! I'm taking a break from schoolwork right now, because I've had quite enough of statistics. If I never have to test a coefficient's significance the rest of my life after this class, I'll be ok with it!
This week has been so long, especially since each day has required me to be on campus for about 10 hours : o Today unfortunately, is no different, but I'm starting to wonder how I can make weeks like this more enjoyable. I know just the trick: my guilty pleasures! I'm trying to sprinkle these in every day so that I am not just spending my time on work all the time.
So here for your viewing pleasure, is a list of my guilty pleasures.
1. Oprah-I know she's a little crazy, but I must admit, I love the woman! In my opinion, she's the closest thing to American royalty, and I think she's a social genius.
2. The Ellen Degeneres show--what's not to love from her crazy dancing to her silly games? And besides, she's an animal lover!
3. Cheesy pop music. I love listening to upbeat music when I workout, so this type of music hits the spot. Rihanna where you at?!
4. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Yum!
5. Perusing through animal welfare websites to see how I can help stop animal cruelty. I would love everyone in the world to spay or neuter their pets and avoid unecessary and cruel violence against animals. That is all.
6. Naps-even a 15 minute nap makes me feel better. And there's nothing better than napping while it's raining.
7. Sitting on the couch eating dinner with Aaron. I'm so glad that we don't have to be formal together all the time.
8. Watching my bunny Mimzy run around my apartment. You know she's the love of my life!
9. Snuggling up in my kitty cat blanket. Aaron has threatened to throw this thing away because he thinks it's ugly, and because I've had it forever, but it is sooo comfortable!
10. Watching funny videos on youtube.
This week has been so long, especially since each day has required me to be on campus for about 10 hours : o Today unfortunately, is no different, but I'm starting to wonder how I can make weeks like this more enjoyable. I know just the trick: my guilty pleasures! I'm trying to sprinkle these in every day so that I am not just spending my time on work all the time.
So here for your viewing pleasure, is a list of my guilty pleasures.
1. Oprah-I know she's a little crazy, but I must admit, I love the woman! In my opinion, she's the closest thing to American royalty, and I think she's a social genius.
2. The Ellen Degeneres show--what's not to love from her crazy dancing to her silly games? And besides, she's an animal lover!
3. Cheesy pop music. I love listening to upbeat music when I workout, so this type of music hits the spot. Rihanna where you at?!
4. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Yum!
5. Perusing through animal welfare websites to see how I can help stop animal cruelty. I would love everyone in the world to spay or neuter their pets and avoid unecessary and cruel violence against animals. That is all.
6. Naps-even a 15 minute nap makes me feel better. And there's nothing better than napping while it's raining.
7. Sitting on the couch eating dinner with Aaron. I'm so glad that we don't have to be formal together all the time.
8. Watching my bunny Mimzy run around my apartment. You know she's the love of my life!
9. Snuggling up in my kitty cat blanket. Aaron has threatened to throw this thing away because he thinks it's ugly, and because I've had it forever, but it is sooo comfortable!
10. Watching funny videos on youtube.
Friday, January 30, 2009
Funny Cats ; )
Have you ever seen http://icanhascheezburger.com/ ? It has funny pictures of cats (and other animals as well). The website is great for animal lovers, and it's nice for a distraction as well. Note: There are pages and pages of funny pictures for you to look at during class or at work!
Here are a few of my favorites to get you started:
Enjoy!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Ode to Mimzy
As promised, here is my post about my beloved bunny, Mimzy.
She became a part of my family on June 30, 2007 when her owners did not want her anymore. I took her in, and she has remained one of the most important "people" in my life ever since! She currently resides in Bloomington with me in my apartment behind my red futon, where she happily munches on her hay, lettuce, celery, and other green goodies that she loves. Her hobbies include running around my apartment, being pet on the top of her head, shredding her phone book and towel, taking care of her stuffed animal, and of course, eating.
Don't be fooled by her fuzzy exterior; Mimzy is a beast. If touched in the wrong spot, she will turn into an attack bunny, and you'd better watch your fingers! Also, she will not stop at anything to be pet as she desires and will nibble your pants until you pay attention. It is best to keep valuables out of bunny reach too, as she loves to chew on anything that she can get her paws on!
This is one of my favorite pictures of the little girl:
I think she's beautiful! An update since my last post: It took me several days to recover from the video I saw last week. It has inspired me to become more involved in improving animal welfare. I plan to do all that I can to make progress towards this cause. One avenue that I would like to go down in order to achieve this goal is to educate people about animal abuse through my company. I plan to collect some literature about animal welfare to put in my office, and I know about a low cost spay/neuter clinic in Indianapolis that I want to share with others. I have about 400 people in my database of staff--what a wonderful opportunity to tell others about my passion! I also want to start donating food, litter, and blankets to the animals at shelters in town, and if I am able to (emotionally), I will certainly donate my time.
If you are interested in learning more about animal welfare, I am more than happy to share the little knowledge that I have accumulated over the last few days.
Also, I decided to post the video that impacted me so greatly from the other day. Please watch with CAUTION, however. It is very shocking and disturbing, but I think its purpose is to inspire others to make a difference in the lives of animals. Note: I am not a member of PETA, but I do support SOME of the things that the organization does, however, not all. This video is for educational purposes only.
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