An addition to the family

Guess what I did on my lunch hour on Tuesday? I went to the local shelter to meet my new boy. My friend Dogblogger at Dog and God posted a video on FB Tuesday morning, asking for help for a dog that needed a home. I watched the video and started bawling. Yes, I am a mush, but that's beside the point. The point is, that he is a sweet, mellow boy who'd been picked up as a stray in town. Sweet Boy's time had run out, and he needed to be adopted that day. Was I looking for another dog, no. But I couldn't let him die, either. The video really got to me. I emailed The Aussie, asking what he thought about a third dog, one who desperately needed our help. His reply: "Oh boy...will call you soon." When I told him what the situation was, he said "Go, get him. Send me a picture." So I called the shelter, emailed my boss to say I needed to take an early lunch hour, and at noon I headed to the shelter. When I got there the receptionist said that someone was already meeting him. *stops in tracks* Now what? I sat and waited, prayed for the best for Sweet Boy and to not be selfish because of what I wanted. About 10 minutes go by and a young woman walks out of the meet and greet room and tells me that I can go in. I poke my head in and smile at him, said hello sweet boy, and plunked down on the floor. He sniffed, let me pet him, had some treats while Shelter Man Joe told me about Sweet Boy. If it wasn't for the fact that he already had a "sticks like glue" dog at home, he would have loved to adopt Sweet Boy for himself. I hung out with Sweet Boy for a while, and by the time I had to leave, he was lying on the floor next to me, leaning in to me while I rubbed his head and his ears. He was still a little cautious, but seemed content. I looked at Shelter Man Joe, smiled and said I wanted to adopt Sweet Boy. So one day, and a rather "important" vet visit later, Sweet Boy came home. :) And they all lived happily ever after.

The moral of this story? Please save a life. Adopt a shelter dog or cat.

We can be...

Always on the lookout for new music to run to, I downloaded the Taio Cruz album on iTunes during lunch. I've heard the singles, lighthearted, fun songs. As I was listening though, another song stood out. I stopped what I was doing and really listened. And it made me think of so many of my twitter/FB/blogging friends. This is dedicated to you, who have touched my life in so many ways. Monique, Eddie, Lori, Nadeen, Joey, Jen (the whole lot of you!), Jenn, Shannon, Sue (all of you!), Jan, JB, Ryan (both of you), Terri, Trish, Kerri, Steve, Karen, Tara, Jack, Stephen, Mandy ... the list just goes on and on...

Together we are all stronger. Thank you.

Happy New Year and a 100th Post

100th post. How'd that happen? Well, since it's New Year's Day, I want to wish you all a wonderful New Year. Hopefully you're well hydrated and don't have too much of a hangover this morning.

I received a wonderful calendar from the lovely Healthy Loser Gal (Thank you!!) for Christmas. This morning I jotted down my goals and my training plan in this calendar for the Rock N Roll Half I'm running the end of March. It will hang out on my desk, gently nudging me each day and inspiring me to get moving in a way that a Google calendar reminder won't. It's kind of shocking, seeing my training plan written out, but I have to remind myself that I can do this, I have done this, and I will continue to do this.

I got outside for 3 miles this morning, some of it was a walk with the dogs, so the pace was rather eratic with all the stop, sniff, sniff some more, piddle, sniff... Overall, the 3 miles was done in 48 minutes. I've only run three times since White Rock, with 3.5 miles on Christmas Day in Virginia being the longest distance, so to say I'm rusty would be an understatement. Lol! Speaking of running on Christmas Day, when I got back from the run, The Aussie whispered to me that seeing me go running, especially since it was super cold and windy that day, kind of freaked my family out. I got a kick out of that, I have to admit. Almost as much as I got from the look on The Aussie's face when he opened up a present from me. It was a key ring weather station from National Geographic. He looked at it, looked at me, and with a shocked look on his face, because he hadn't figured out what it was yet, said "Is this for running??" Major LOL on that one! Sweetie, I love you, but I know you aren't ready to get off the couch yet. I'll be waiting for you when you are, though. :)

Well, I'm off to go do some New Year's pantry organizing. Yes, I know you wish you were me. Have an awesome weekend and do something to inspire you and get you moving! ...Now, where's my Rick Astley CD? He's great to clean to...