Puppy Power!

I am currently the foster mommy for three beagle mix puppies.  It's a bit like having a rough & tumble group of curious four-legged toddlers in the house. Puppies in general take time, patience, and understanding.  Three of them together can be, to put it mildly, Nuts. 

Molly is definitely the ringleader.  Like the kid who tends to instigate but then makes sure she's not the one doing something stupid when you come around the corner.  Buddy, being the only boy, tends to be the most vocal of the three. As if he's overpowered by his sisters and must make himself heard whenever possible. Gretchen is the calmest, but most curious.  She figured out how to open the back door by pawing the handle, and is the reason I reinforced the back fence as she discovered a tiny area where she could get under it to go explore outside the yard. There are constant, daily conversations with all three of them about not chewing on things like pillows, or furniture, or the staircase, and it's a normal occurrence for them to run in circles all holding onto the same toy at one time. I am definitely not lacking for free entertainment!

The thing is, even though any hope for a quiet, calm existence is currently topsy turvy, they are so sweet and lovey that I just melt and can't be mad at them. I came down with the flu a couple weeks ago, and woke up on the couch with all three of them napping on top of me keeping me warm. They'll lay their adorable puppy faces in my lap when I sit down and be content to snuggle while watching the news, and I've never felt so welcomed home when I open the door... even if I've only been gone for a couple minutes to get the mail!

I'm only their foster mommy, and eventually they'll be adopted by families who will love them as much as I do.  I'll be sad to see them go, but I'm enjoying the joyful craziness they bring while I'm lucky enough to have them!

~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress

If you're interested in adopting a furry family member, or want to foster a rescued animal, this is the link for the Animal Adoption League: www.mynextpet.com

Musings From The Outside Looking In

Just read the most amazing book, "The Celestine Prophecy".  I love fiction that has enough truth in it that it makes you think, question, and reassess. This book did exactly that.

Life has so much constant competition in it. There's the obvious, like sports, and politics, and careers.  Then there's the not so obvious.  Relationships of every kind have their own forms of competition. The child that wants to create their own identity separate from their parents, and the parents that want to mold the child's future in the way they believe is best. The friends that secretly try to ensure they have the prettiest hair or the most fabulous outfit, while outwardly complimenting their counterparts.  The constant push for being heard and understood in a relationship, or simply the battle against unseen outside influences just to keep that relationship alive.  So many of these "competitions" leave us feeling drained, exhausted, and stressed, instead of the happy, fulfilled exuberance that we all ultimately would want out of life.  Why do we tend to push so hard, when those battles create feelings of the exact opposite nature than what we want?

Imagine what life would be like, how our relationships with others would be like, if we focused on empowering everyone around us.  If we strove to listen with both our ears and our eyes to truly comprehend the honest needs of all situations, and then followed through with our actions to compliment that comprehension. How might we act differently, or react differently in basic everyday situations?  Would our relationships with family, with friends, with coworkers, even with passing strangers, become calmer & more positive or productive?  If absolutely everyone operated that way, wouldn't everyone become stronger, feel better, be more empowered on all levels?

I do not subscribe to the idea of a Utopian society, nor do I think that the world is not made better without a variety of opinions and different ways of doing things.  It would be an excruciatingly boring existence if everyone thought and acted the exact same as everyone else.  But if there were less focus on judging, on rooting out the negative, on how "I'm right, so you must be wrong" ..... wouldn't basic daily life be ultimately easier, ultimately better for everyone, regardless of race, creed, or religion?  Food for thought.

~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress

The Gaff of an Unrepentant Bully

http://www.npr.org/2012/11/05/164342230/a-special-olympian-on-pundits-use-of-the-r-word

I listened to the above piece on NPR today, and had to share it. John Franklin Stephens is an intelligent individual, that has accomplished more thus far in his life than many so-called "normal" people I know, regardless of the fact that he happens to have Down syndrome. 
 
Ann Coulter should be ashamed of herself. I'd like to see her overcome half of what many people with special needs overcome and successfully accomplish every day.  The additional fact that she feels she has no need to apologize for her gaff is inexcusable.  The use of harsh, ugly, discriminatory language, when there are a variety of other words and phrases she could have utilized to get her point across, only makes Ms. Coulter appear to be a horrible form of cyber-bully, and points to her own lack of intelligence.  Freedom of speech does not warrant a blantant lack of manners and empathy.


~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress

Blips On The Radar

I began writing a vent blog last night out of sheer frustration ... threw it out this morning.  The benefits from a solid night's sleep are amazing.  While the situation in question is still one of immense frustration and annoyance, looking at it through well rested eyes after a cup of great coffee allows me to put it in perspective.  Life's frustrations are simply blips on the radar.  To look at the big picture ... all the other good, positive things that are happening and I'm working on accomplishing, all of those in both the US and worldwide with major trauma and issues so infinitely greater than my own, well, those blips are just blips.  They're there, they're annoying, they can be blinding, and eventually they fade away into oblivion.  The only thing I can do is to focus on what's positive and what I can actually work toward achieving.  I am only responsible for my own actions and reactions ... how others choose to act and react is their own responsibility.  Onward and forward .. today is a fresh start for a new day!

"Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress