Make Your ♥ Melt Monday

So my blog focuses a little bit more than I had anticipated on the furry kids. Not that it's a bad thing, but I just really haven't had much to say lately. This past Saturday, I attended the Bodies Revealed Exhibit at the Grand Rapids Museum with my sister and two cousins. I thought it was absolutely fascinating and would encourage everyone to go see it. I especially loved the pregnancy section. Quite possibly too much for my ovaries to handle. To see a 4 week old fetus only an inch long and be able to see the fingers and toes was just so incredible. After the exhibit, we met up with Clay and another cousin back at my house for dinner and games.

Being that yesterday was an extremely lazy, rainy Sunday, I am having a rough time getting motivated today. I downed an entire pot of coffee before 9AM and am contemplating the 5 Hour Energy shot right now. I'm probably going to need it with both doggies and grocery shopping yet tonight. Eww. Hopefully I can make it through doggy time WITHOUT someone sticking their lovely poo-covered paw on me so I don't have to go to the grocery store in poo clothes. I brought an extra tshirt, but not extra pants. This could be interesting.

Although I love my weekly furry kids, I'm slightly dreading going tonight. Last week's visit was both physically and mentally exhausting. Most of the small (20 lbs. or less) dogs were gone, so I was responsible for the 20-65 lb. dogs. Having to reach over my head, get a good hold on the squirming dog, lift him down and put a slip knot leash over his head while he's freaking out is draining after awhile. I almost had a beagle get loose on me after I battled with his leash for 5 minutes. Hopefully I have some teeny tiny dogs who just want to be held and petted tonight. ::Wishful thinking::

But as always, here are this week's featured furry kids:

Boston is a male Labrador Retriever Pit Bull Terrier mix.

Dillon is a male American Bulldog mix.

Ernest is a male Boxer mix.

Lacey is a female Hound mix.

Lucky is a male Beagle mix.

Milo is a male Jack Russell Terrier.

5?F

I think I'll jump on the bandwagon with this whole Five Question Friday thing like so many other bloggers. I'm kind of a dork and like filling out those questionnaires and, let's face, my brain can't formulate my own thoughts or ideas this late on a Friday. So ladies and gents, the premier 5?F post:

1. Do you know what your REAL hair color is?

Unfortunately, it's a dishwater dirty blonde... I think. Well, I have winter hair and summer hair, so the dark roots coming in during the winter have to be tortured by highlighting kits. I hate my hair color. Sometimes I have the strong urge to go brunette... like way dark. If you know me though, you know I pretty much suck at hair maintenance. With my luck, my roots would decide to come in blonde then. Oh well. I guess the 50/50 peroxide water mixture and I will forever be friends.

2. Do you plan ahead for summer, or fly by the seat of your pants?

I'm a planner. Andrea doesn't know really how to fly by the seat of her pants. I like to look ahead: Where do I want to go? What do I want to get accomplished? What obligations are already in place? For example, this summer: 

• Anniversary road trip to Cedar Point and continued to West Virginia to see the folks
• I will kill that $%&@! ivy and grow grass
• We will be putting up a fence so Miss Zayla doesn't have to be put on a rope and so I can get my own dog.  :)

3. What is your favorite meal to cook?

Eww. I'm going to amend this question slightly because I'm not a fan of cooking... period. So, what favorite food must I prepare in order to eat? Probably enchiladas. It's the fastest to throw together, lower probability of screwing it up, and oh so nummy.

4. Do you get offended by not receiving thank yous?

I was raised that if you receive something from someone, a thank you card or some sort of thank you should follow in the immediate future. No, I don't raise a stink about not getting one in return, but I do think it's quite rude. If I spend the time getting you something or doing a favor for you, you can take 5 minutes to write a card and throw it in the mail. 

5. How did you meet your best friend?

I'm not the kind of person who has many friends. Sure, I have acquaintances and people who I see often and get along with, but few friends. The following three are my faves: 

• MOOSE We both played volleyball at Ferris and we met in 2004. Unfortunately, we didn't really become close until the semester before she graduated. And even more unfortunate-er, she moved to Florida with her husband. I miss her. :(
• CLAY I played club volleyball with one of his sisters, Abbey. I joked that there were no tall, good-looking guys at my high school, so she set me up with one of her guy friends, Bobby. We went on a group blind date to the movies and Bobby brought along Clay. This arrogant little shit threw candy at me during the movie and called me out on my dislike of cheerleaders in front of his cheerleading date. What an ass. Nine years later, he's still kinda an ass, but I love him.
• MOM Do I really need to go into detail on how we met? I miss my mommy. 

Make Your ♥ Melt Monday

Happy Monday everyone! Hope everyone made it though the day and wasn't completely thrown out of whack by the time change. I'm draggin' a little today, but nothing out of the ordinary. Great news though. My lil Cheetoh and Chico were rescued along with another small dog! I've been trying to find the Facebook post from the HHS about the 3rd dog, but I can't seem to find it. Oh happy days! I was afraid Cheetoh was going to have to be put down after he had bitten several volunteers and staff members. He apparently just didn't love them like he does me. :)

I also noticed Blitz (the chihuahua mix) was rescued! I'm anxious to see what small dogs are there tonight. As much as I love the lil furry kids, hopefully not many. ;)  Take a look at this week's featured pooches:

Bandit is a male Hound Shepherd mix.

Butters is a female Pomeranian Beagle mix.

Jack is a male Chihuahua.

Kelly is a female Hound mix.

Kimba is a male Bichon Frise Jack Russell Terrier mix.

Have a great rest of your day everyone and go home and show your furry kid some love! xoxo

Sweet sacrifices.

Oh Lent... hello, again. Can't say I enjoy this time of year, but alas, it's something I have to do. Like years past, I am choosing to forgo sweets until Easter. Honestly though, I debated whether to sacrifice sweets or do something new this year. Not because I couldn't make it through 40 days before, but more so because I find it so tiring explaining my decisions to the non-believers. Like a stand-up comic (whose name escapes me) once joked, lowering your sugar intake is hardly comparable to our Lord's ultimate sacrifice. Well duh. But like millions of people who can't control their portions, pass over that chocolate bar and who eat their feelings, I love food. Chocolate in particular.

LOVE CHOCOLATE.

So, for the millionth time over the last handful of years, let me clarify EXACTLY what I'm giving up. Sweets, to me, is defined as cookies, pies, cakes and candies. Eating banana chocolate chip muffins for breakfast in the morning, is simply that, breakfast. This is not a loop hole, this is not me being weak. If chocolate enters my mouth and does not fall under one of the four pre-mentioned categories, God won't judge me... so you shouldn't either! (You know who you are).

So yeah, there's my Lent rant. Good luck everyone with your Lent goals and feel free to pass along any non-meat dinner ideas... because I get really tired of tuna and perch. Take care loves. xoxo

Make Your ♥ Melt Monday

Yup, it's Monday. A busy, exhausting one at that. Swamped at work and the furry ones today had a lot more energy than I did. There were two 2 month old Black Labs today in the small dog room that were, well, puppies confined to a small space. It took everything I had to get them out of the cage, past the volunteer orientation and out the door. Phew. Although I have a whole folder worth of pictures today (because yes, it's still a packed house), I'm going to feature the litter of 9 Hound/Shepherd mix puppies. A.D.O.R.A.B.L.E.

They'll be available for adoption any time now and HHS is collecting applications for these precious lil ones. If you're interested, download an application and email it to office@harborhumane.org or fax it to 616.399.0374.

This litter of 9 were born 12.30.10. The mom appears to be a Shepherd mix, but we do not know what the dad was. They appear to have some sort of Hound in them or possibly Rottweiler. It is almost impossible to tell until they are a little older. They will be available for adoption any time now.

Point of view...

Tree-hugging, dog-loving, obsessive compulsive designer and dreamer.

After a few tries and some extensive Thesaurus use, that's what I came up with as my unofficial "about me tagline." Apparently, using the term "tree-hugger" was grounds for a very heated dinner table discussion the other day between my husband and I. Clay, being an avid outdoorsman, said I should refrain from using that because it will give people the wrong idea about me. Bad for business. So I turned to my trusty friend Google for his opinion:

"...derogatory term for environmentalists who support restrictions on the logging industry and the preservation of forests."

Clay 1, Andrea 0

But wait! Hold the phone. I'm not one to let Clay win THAT easily, especially on this. See, he doesn't quite understand my passion for recycling, not wasting things, animals and other environmental issues. So after a quick chat with my pal Google, I found this:

"...an environmentalist or one who believes trees and all living things should not be cut down or harmed. Someone who works to protect the environment from destruction or pollution."

Clay 1, Andrea 1

So I turn to you guys. Which definition do you most associate with the term "tree-hugger"? Would it turn you away from contacting me for freelance design work or wouldn't you think twice about it?  

Team Pink

Due to Valentine's Day and a broken water main, I missed two weeks in a row at HHS (sorry kids). I noticed a few things upon my return:

1. There's a new color coordinated system implemented so that dogs are monitored equally and the staff/volunteers can get use to working with a specific group of dogs when it comes to training. I'm on the pink team. This includes all the lil pups and some of the medium/large dogs.

2. My friend Tucker was missing. :( He was the first dog I had the chance to interact with at HHS and he had been there a really long time. Tucker was a 60-ish lb. dog who thought he was a lap dog. When I saw that his cage had a new occupant, I thought the worst. But alas, Tucker was adopted! Oh, happy days!

Well, normally I would reserve my furry kid rants to my Make Your ♥ Melt Monday posts, but I feel the need to add a couple more featured furry kids due to reason #3:

3. Every cage is FULL... plus some of the space in between cages used to temporarily hold the dogs while you clean the pens. So many animals, so few homes. :( 

With that said, below is part II of my cuteness overload because there's definitely an urgency right now to find homes for these animals. No empty cages = animals being put down. Take a look and, as always, please contact me if you have questions. xoxo

Aurora is a female Rat Terrier.

Brownie is a female Labrador Retriever.

Candy is a female Chihuahua.

Milo is a male Pit Bull/Terrier mix.

Patrick is a male Rottweiler.

Be sure to click on the captions to read more about each dog and take a look at all the other animals the Harbor Humane Society has to offer. 

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!