Make Your ♥ Melt Monday

Although I've never cared for volunteer work (after spending way too much time in assisted living centers to meet school community service requirements), I felt a strong need around Christmas time to devote my time and energy towards a greater cause. Immediately I decided that as a New Year's resolution/life change, I would start volunteering at the West Ottawa Harbor Humane Society. Animals, especially dogs, pull on my heartstrings more so than any other cause (environmental issues falls in second place).

When my family adopted Zayla a little over a year ago, we visited the Muskegon animal shelter almost every night for over a week. Yes, I cried every time I went there. It absolutely breaks my heart to see those dogs crammed in tiny, dirty spaces with little food and absolutely no love. It's a good thing dogs are such resilient creatures because how you could not give up hope on the human race after being abused, neglected and/or given away like a disposable item is beyond me. Breaks my heart over and over again. 

I've been at HHS almost two months now and I have the opportunity to interact with such incredible animals every Monday night. With that said, I'm dedicating my Monday post to the furry kids that bring such happiness and fulfillment to my life. Yes, it's terribly depressing to be there, especially knowing the animals can be euthanized at any time. However, I go in there every week with the attitude that if I'm the last person they ever interact with, I want them to know that they're loved unconditionally.

Below are this week's featured furry kids:  

Cheetoh is a male Chihuahua.

Kerri is a female Rat Terrier.

Chico is a male Dachshund/Chihuahua mix.

Yankee is a young male Pit Bull/Terrier mix.

Are you looking for a dog or cat? If you'd like to let me know what breed/size of animal you're interested in, I'd be more than happy to take a look through HHS or keep my eye out for new ones coming in. Anything to find these animals a loving home. If it's not the right time for you to have a pet but are still interested in helping out in a less timely, but still very important manner, here is a list of supplies the HHS needs on a constant basis. 

Well, I could talk about the furry kids all day, but I'll stop my rambling here. Please please please let me know if there's anything I can do to help your pet search efforts and feel free to send this link to others who may be looking. Thanks loves! xoxo   

Must be something in the water...

Since when did we all grow up? Facebook seems to remind me every day that my peers and I are no longer "kids." People I went to school with are married and on their first... second... third kid. I feel like in the last two years, we all of a sudden grew up. Engagements, weddings, kids, careers, purchasing homes... wow. It's just a little unreal to me.

Alas, the abundance of children that my peers have been, excuse me, "popping out" is more than my ovaries can handle some days. Talk about major "babies on the brain." However, like most things in my life, there's a time and place for everything. So while having kids is currently on hold in the Archambault house, I may be having a tough time not at least entertaining the thought.  :]

This is such a cute idea! I'm definitely copying this. 

Although impossible for Clayton to gain any sort of weight, I might beg him to try to put on some sympathy weight so we can take a picture like this someday.

So there. That's my random rant for this lazy Sunday evening. Check out my Pinterest board "babies on the brain" for more mini person related pictures and ramblings. Everyone have a great week and talk to you later! xoxo

Finally up and blogging!

Man, do I wish I were more tech savvy. I was so proud of myself for dabbling in some HTML to create and launch a new portfolio site a couple weeks ago, that I wanted to go ahead and start a personal blog with the same look and feel as my site. What I thought would be a simple task turned into a two week long headache. Blah!

Enough dwelling on that. I'm up and running and really excited about my return to blogging. I was one of those brides that kept a wedding blog up until the wedding, then gave it up and started married life.  ...but I kinda miss it. I love to write... er, type. Some days I just need to share/vent what's on my mind. Plus, with my parents living several hundreds of miles away, I figured it would be a good way to stay connected to them and other family members/friends I don't get to see that often.

Speaking of parents M.I.A... my mom is home for the next handful of days and I'm super excited about that. A girl's night is planned tonight with mom, Ashley (sister) and myself in Muskegon. The rest of the weekend consists of my grandpa's and twin cousin's 13th birthday party and a handful of my nieces, nephews, sister- and brother-in-laws are making there way to Holland for a much needed card night. I love card nights and luckily so does Clay and both of our families. I wish we could find some people in Holland who like to kick back on a Friday or Saturday with a cold drink and a deck of cards. Any takers?

Well, I won't go overboard on my first post. Besides, couple of things to wrap up at work and then I'm outta here! TGIF. Take care everyone and have a great weekend!