Oops...

So sorry for the unintentional break everyone!  With a dozen dates at Barnes & Noble - it almost felt like I lived there.

I hope everyone had an AMAZING Christmas!  Back to our regularly scheduled program...  I promise!

Thirty Days of Thankful - Hope

As this month draws to a close, I have hope.  Sometimes it's easy to feel cynical and occasionally even a bit helpless to the way life seems to be going. It's been a trying year, that has brought tears of sadness and frustration. But I have hope!

Hope that:

• I am enough.  A good enough sister, dog-mom, daughter, friend, co-worker and rescuer.
• Some day, my Prince will come...
• Sooner or later, I'll figure out what I want to be "when I grow up"!
• I find the courage to write a book some day.
• I keep loving blogging as much as I do now.  Views and comments aren't particularly high right now, but I love it nonetheless.
• All the trials and tribulations of this year mean that 2016 will be much easier.
• My rescue continues to grow and flourish.
• That a new blog design and moving to Wordpress are in my near-ish future.  :-)

What are you all hoping for?

England vs. USA

Every time I go to Europe, I'm amazed (usually pleasantly; sometimes not so much) about the differences between Europe and the United States.  Here are how things differ in a few areas...and a few anecdotes from the trip along the way.

COFFEE
England: You want instant coffee, right?!  Because brewed coffee is found only in select "fine dining" establishments or three (not truly widely available chains - Starbucks, Costa and Pret A Manger) chains.  Forget asking for a size.  Seriously.

United States: Instant is well...frowned up on in this establishment! LOL  You can hit a Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, Tim Hortons, Honey Dew and a variety of amazing local chains no matter what direction you throw in, get any kind of drink that you want and just about any size you want.

The second day into my trip I NEEDED coffee and hit the Starbucks in Covent Garden.  After they tried to give me a hot beverage three times, and declaring that they don't have milk, I gave up and drank my coffee black.  For this "iced only" lady, it was extremely disappointing.

DRIVING:
England: Wait, I have a horn on this car? Because I'm happy to just merge and keep going! Want to walk in front of my car; no biggie. Of course I'll get you where you're going!

United States: Did you not hear the first three times I honked?!  Merge FASTER. Stay in your lane. Do NOT walk out in front of my car. Um, is this corner close enough?  I don't want to circle the block so it's a safe place for you to exit and get to your destination.

OK...maybe I'm being a little dramatic.  But for all the time I was in London, I heard a car honk its horn three times - and once was to alert others that an ambulance was coming. That just doesn't happen here. Driving is faster, tighter (as in sometimes you are mere centimeters from the car next to you on those old roads) and much more civil there.  I can honesty say that I feel they are better drivers.

SMOKING
England: "Can I bum a cigarette off you"?  Sure.

United States: You SMOKE?!  Really???  Can I help you get into a smoking cessation program?

As an asthmatic, I am very sensitive to cigarette smoke.  So seeing so many smokers on the streets, huddled around doorways and bars was a little disconcerting for me.  If I were the NHS (National Health Service), my campaign for the New Year would be about stopping smoking...  Think of all the money their government could save in medical claims if they had fewer smokers.  (I know, my mind works in weird ways.)

PETS (aka your furrier family members)
England: Dogs WELCOME!!

United States:  Wait.  That is such a violation of the health code....

It's perfectly acceptable to bring your well mannered dog (not just service dog) into bars, many eating establishments, on public transportation, etc.  This is especially true once you get out of London.  If you're following me on Instagram, you got to see just a few of the many, many animals I met in bars, pubs, restaurants, on buses, trains, in castles, cathedrals and a number of other places in my travels over the past few weeks.  My heart was happy that their country has made (recent - as in the past two to three years) huge strides in allowing dogs to be fully integrated into daily life and seen as part of societal norms.  It's another thing that you'd just not see here.  Maybe someday!!

Speaking of pets, they do not have nearly the problem with unwanted animals (dog, cats, etc) that we do here and NO KILL SHELTERS!  Shelters are extremely rare, fully government funded and I hope that never changes.

TECHNOLOGY
England: Well, it depends where you are.  In London, you can get wi-fi without an issue at your hotel and in larger shopping areas/eating establishments.  Outside of London - it's a bit like living in the late 90's to early 2000's. Wi-fi is virtually non-existant and they are TOTALLY OK with it.

United States: Let's just say that on an average day, I'm on my cell phone, tablet, both a PC and Mac desktop and a laptop....

I'm a little ashamed to say this, but I was in almost as much tech withdrawal as I was caffeine withdrawal when I got to England.  I don't "unplug" well, so while I had my cell phone and tablet with me, I didn't have internet access often and when I did - I had pictures queued up to post and a few "must see" websites/apps.  In the countryside, getting any type of internet connectivity is a minor miracle and the folks at the timeshare told me they only got wi-fi last year and after a HUGE investment!

ICE CUBES/REFRIGERATION
England: Um...ice?  You want frozen water?  Isn't regular water good enough?  And you do know that eggs and butter don't need to be refrigerated, right?

United States: "Keep refrigerated at all times".  Ice?!  Have it by the bucket full!!!

I have no problem with tap water, but I really like ice.  I enjoy beverages really cold! When we got to London, we stayed at the Crown Plaza and I was so happy to see an ice machine fairly close to my room.  Until I realized it didn't work...  Turns out they don't always keep them on.  *sigh*  But they got me ice and I was a happy little camper.  I made my own ice at the timeshare. You know six cubes at a time from the tray that came in the mini fridge!  The real problem was when I got back to London and we checked into The Strand Palace.  They have ONE ice machine for the entire hotel - a LARGE hotel of 758 rooms.  Then they add insult to injury and not only charge you money to get ice, you have 20 seconds to get your ice and the "bucket" they give you is a styrofoam quart container.  I have issues with that whole thing...

Have any of you noticed any good (or not so great) differences between the States and Europe?

Dear (Fill in the Blank)...

Sorry, today is going to be a bit random.  Sometimes, we all have to just let out a little steam. ;-)


Dear Costume Companies,
I get that you all want to sell the newest and best costumes; you want to have something that is "you" and cutting edge.  But for the love of God - please stop freaking sexualizing every costume.    In my opinion, you'll sell just as much, if not more with a GOOD costume.  And maybe you'll be part of teaching teenage girls that Halloween doesn't HAVE to be sexy!  Sure, some adult women may want to wear a sexy maid or sexy nurse costume and I don't begrudge them that.

But these are real offering this year.  And I beg you to STOP!  A minion should never be sexy...

With thanks,
Someone who thinks costumes shouldn't mean catching pneumonia

_______________________________________

Dear FitBit,
I think you're great! Even if you are pointing out how many steps I'm not taking and how much I'm not sleeping!  But I've got a tiny complaint.  I've linked you with Facebook.  I know I have friends who use FitBit too!  Why are you not finding them?!  Some of your challenges look pretty interesting...but who wants to compete with themselves?

If any of you use FitBit let me know!  I have mine set to a different email address than I blog with.

Thanks!
A girl who really wants to "out walk" someone

_______________________________________

Dear Politicians,
We are a YEAR away from electing one of you clowns our next President.  Sadly, I'm already referring to you all as clowns....  If one of you all could get your act together so I feel confident you won't f-up the country, that would be super cool.

In the meantime, I'm already getting PAC robocalls which are annoying me to no end.  Stop it!!

Thanks a bunch,
The lady who really wishes we could elect Josiah Bartlet as our next President (I'll be over here watching West Wing again)

_______________________________________

Dear Co-worker,
We work in a small office and it's pretty clear that we all have quirks.  If you could PLEASE stop encouraging certain people's more interesting quirks, as well as stop forcefully shutting your door like a petulant child when people don't have time to talk to you...well, that would be great.

Mucho gusto,
A lady who just wants a few less "what the hell" moments in her day

_______________________________________

Dear Marketing Teams,
I'm happy fall is here.  I am!  The cooling weather, leaves changing color, apple picking, Halloween, return of my favorite TV shows...the list could go on and on!  Now, I get that you all think that pumpkin makes a fun fall flavor.  But if you could all STOP making everything pumpkin flavored, I would really appreciate it!  It's not a competition, really!

Can I suggest alternative flavors?  Maybe apple, caramel or just refocusing your existing products with fall packaging?!

With autumnal appreciation,
Someone who very much dislikes pumpkin flavored products

_______________________________________

Have anything you want to get off your chest?!

Wait. You Wanted Me to Help You?!

Friday morning I had a horrid customer service experience.  I'll give you a quick rundown in a second...but it essentially looked like this:

{via}

Like all of you, I get promotional emails in my mailbox multiple times a day.  Thursday evening I got an email that Swimsuitsforall.com was having a 60-80% sale.  Of course, I looked even though I had just bought a bathing suit.  I found a suit I LOVED!  But I'm on a budget and didn't want to make an impulse buy and the promo code found on the email said I had another 24-ish hours to take advantage of the sale.

Friday morning came and I still wanted that bathing suit, but the promo code wasn't giving me the 60% that it was supposed to.  Instead, it gave 30%.  Ordinarily, this would be a good buy.  But who spends twice the amount they thought they were going to a mere 12 hours earlier?  Being at work, I opted to use the chat function with their customer service department.  I didn't save our interactions, but the short version went a little like this:

CS: Hi, I'm Sue (name changed to protect the not so innocent).
Me: Hi, Sue.  My name is Cole and I'd like to get a bathing suit using the promo code I was emailed. It's only giving me 30%, not 60%.  Can you help me with that?
CS: Ma'am, did you actually place an order?
Me: No...I just explained that I want to place an order online using promocode: buyabathingsuit and it will only give 30% not 60% as described in your marketing email.
CS: Ma'am.  You need to call us.
Me: Why do I need to call you, Sue?  I'm at work and can't call.  Can you help me get a working promo code?  Is there a known tech issue that the code isn't working?
CS: Ma'am, are you near a phone?  You really should just call us.  It would be much easier.

That is where I gave up, and quite frankly, got ticked off!  Under normal circumstances, I would have just shut that browser window and moved on.  But the combination of calling me ma'am multiple times after I made a point of using her name (and providing mine more than once), and the CS reps horrible attitude pushed all the buttons I needed to go find the email address for Swimsuitsforall.com's Customer Relations Director.

I was wrote a detailed and slightly grumpy email that I tried to temper with desire to make sure others weren't having the same problem I was with their customer service call center. Honestly, I didn't expect an answer.  I was SHOCKED when I not only got a response, but it was within an hour of emailing!  My email was from Jessica, the assistant to the Customer Relations Director,  (Name not changed, as she is pretty fabulous.) who proceeded to ask all the right questions (what item # was I trying to purchase, can I replicate the error, can I try another promo code {which she provided}).

The end result is that Jessica's great customer service and desire to make things right meant I am getting my bathing suit at the right price!  Isn't it cute?!

(I am not getting paid for this post and do not have affiliate links with swimsuitsforall.com.  It's only because Jessica saved the day that I'm sharing their website info.)

Five on Friday

Happy Friday, everyone!! It has been a busy week and I am looking forward to the weekend so much!

This little lady turns ONE today!!! I can't wait to shower Vivian with gifts at her party on Saturday.

I only joined a gym a week ago and I already feel the need to say something about pool etiquette.  Somehow, I thought it was common knowledge that you're going to get splashed in a pool.  Darned if I didn't watch someone get all riled that they just had their hair done and didn't want it to get wet - all while she stood in water up to her shoulders BEFORE everyone in the pool started exercising.  Um, really?!  And two the two ladies who I watched put on perfume in the changing room before class, please don't.  Just, don't.  Mmmkay?!

I've decided that I am bringing back "Tuesdays at the Table", my weekly recipe link-up.  I loved hosting it and getting to try all those wonderful recipes!  I'm still working on a button.  Stay tuned for the button and more info soon!  I'm already getting excited to visit everyone and try some new recipes.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about getting another tattoo.  I already have two - a Celtic cross on the inside of my left ankle, and a heart on the inside of my right ankle.  Predictably, I really think I want a dachshund on me.  Obviously, I won't have anything inked on me until I find the perfect design, but here are a few of my favorite designs right now.

ICYMI:the knockout punch of SHIELDvsCARTER #SDCC15 #dubsmashwars #DontMakeMePutMyLipstickOn

A video posted by Clark Gregg (@clarkgregg) on Jul 12, 2015 at 5:08pm PDT

Little admission here...I am a total geek.  As in, "wow, I'd really like to make it Comic-Con someday" kind of geek.  As Comic-Con has gone on in San Diego this week, I've been entertained by the Marvel Agents of Shield vs. Agent Carter dub smash battle on Instagram.  If you don't want to scroll through a boat load of Instagram messages, you can see the progression of their battle HERE.

What's on your agenda this weekend?

Dear (Fill in the blank)...

You're all OK with a few random notes, right?!  OK!  Let's proceed!



Dear Marketing Directors,
Yes, my birthday is this week.  Yes, I did willingly a sign-up for birthday perks (OK, I remember signing up for most of them, but a few just came out of nowhere!) and appreciate even automated recognition of my birthday.  However, why do you all want me to visit ON MY BIRTHDAY?!  There's no way I'm hitting Cold Stone Creamery, BGood, Panera Bread, Starbucks, and Baskin-Robins within a few days of my birthday!  Can you do me a favor and consider making birthday perks good for two weeks or a month?!

Please and thank you,
The girl who wants her free birthday perks

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Comcast,
Somehow, I don't think it's funny that I lose wi-fi if I'm more than 10-15 feet away from the router.  It kind of defeats the purpose of wi-fi, don't ya think?!  Your customer support team suggesting that we upgrade to faster service isn't going to help either.  Just sayin'.

Thanks,
The lady who would like to watch TV and blog at the same time

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Beach-going people,
PLEASE, for all that is holy - STOP going in the water for a few weeks!  Or at least don't be so shocked that there are shark attacks.  Sharks live in. the. ocean.  We're in their territory!  I acknowledge that the sharks are more active this year.  But I'm not the only one that has seen the reports of shark sightings, right?

Sincerely,
Someone who doesn't want more "breaking news" of shark attacks

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Puppers,
I think that my insomnia has officially rubbed off on you.  Your desire to go out at 2, 3:30 and 4:30 each morning is cutting into the few hours of sleep that I usually get.  I'll work on my insomnia issues if you'll work on yours.

Woofs,
A very tired dogmom

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Mother Nature,
As us New Englanders say - it is "wicked humid out".  It's a nightmare for asthmatics. I know it's summer, and I'll curtail my complaints about the heat if you'll meet me half-way and scale back the humidity.

Thanks,
Someone who prefers not to wheeze every time I leave air conditioning


Do you have any letters to share?



P.S. Don't forget to enter my Jamberry giveaway.  It ends Friday at midnight.  :-)

Weather Junkie

I'm weird.  I admit it...  I LOVE thunderstorms!  I could do without the hail and wind that are due to come with it, but I really hope that the storms that the Boston meteorologists are right in predicting storms for Tuesday.

Do you like thunderstorms too?

And....I'm Back

Hi Gang!  Long time, no see!  I mean, unless you follow me on Instagram...in which case, it's just HAPPY FRIDAY!

I logged into Blogger for the first time in a long time (::cough, a year, cough::) about two weeks ago and instantly felt the pull to start blogging again.  That started me on a path of introspection about why I started blogging in the first place and why I'd consider doing it again.  What it comes down to is connection.  I miss the connection with everyone.  Some of you amazing, beautiful, talented ladies became my friends because of blogging.  I looked forward to reading what you had to say and seeing the pictures as your families grew, you got new jobs, you went on vacation...and you just experienced LIFE.

I became a social media manager for my day job, started a rescue and quite frankly, lost a little bit of me.  I lost the connection that I shared with many of you and the ability to share my thoughts as I took care of other peoples (and dogs) social media needs.  Yep, I'm still a social media manager and I'm still co-chair of a quickly expanding rescue....  But it's time for me to find time for me again.

So, I'm back.  I had to buy a new domain name and I hope at least a few of you all can see this post.  I'll be by to visit and comment and would love if you all could say "hi" too.

In the meantime, Paisley and Beckett wants to give you all a woof hello too!

P.S. I'm accepting all recommendations of blogs I should be following these days and technical advice on how to get my subpages to reconfigure so they don't go to my defunct domain name!

The Chronicles of a Klutz...

After telling you from time to time how much of a klutz I am, I've decided to start a recurring series.  First, it makes me feel better if I think someone is laughing *with* me and my stupidity antics.  Second, I think some of you can actually relate to this!

Just call me Princess Grace!  I preface my next statement by saying that I was neither drinking nor wearing footwear (such as heels or flip-flops) that can cause your regular stride to change.

I fell up my friend's deck stairs on Memorial Day. You know that feeling when you know you're going to go down and can try and brace yourself?  Yeah....that didn't happen this time.  One second I'm upright; the next, I'm inspecting the wood planking...as my friends gasp in unison.

 On the bright side - I didn't break any bones!

I now sport some pretty spectacular bruises.  A HUGE one from my left knee down to mid-shin, linear ones on my right and left thighs (where I hit the top two steps) and a big circle on my inner arm that I just. can't. explain. I don't see skirts in my future for a while!

I also pulled some muscles starting at my hip all the way down to my ankle and have bone bruises.  What?!?!  It takes talent to do that much damage!

I take solace in knowing that none of my friends got that on video.  Anyone else as clumsy as I am?

Favorite Quotes

I've seen a few people share their favorite quotes and thought I'd play along.

As a mom to four dogs, dog rescuer and all around "dog person", I couldn't agree with this quote more.  There is such trust, joy and unconditional love that dogs give you - that you don't get ANYWHERE else.

 

This is one of my favorite quotes and could be my favorite movie quotes ever.  There's such truth and openness to this; giving it such a good perspective on "every day" love instead of the romantic love that so many instantly think of when they're asked if they love others in their life.

The key to my heart is laughter.  If you can have an argument with me and still make me laugh afterwards - you win!

What are your favorite quotes?

Wordless Wednesday - Weinerbunnies

It's bad lighting..but Beckett willingly modeled his bunny ears!

Paisley was a little unsure of them...

 

 

I hope the Easter weenie...um, bunny was good to everyone!



 

I posted pictures to Facebook and got feedback that I'm mean for making them wear sweaters, a snugglie, etc....in this case bunny ears.  Sorry, but I'm not sorry!  Being my furbaby means you get good means, homemade treats, your own pillows (OK, I just let them steal mine), health insurance and endless love.  All I ask in return is a few embarrassing pictures a year.  Sounds fair to me! :-)

Defining Yourself

In my last job, I had the opportunity to go to conferences, classes and functions on a fairly steady basis.  On Tuesday, I went to my first industry related function for my new job.  I'm naturally a shy person...but my last job had me in front of new people ALL the time.  That I fell out of that "muscle memory" so to speak made me surprised a bit about how nervous I got.

To make matters worse, one of my co-workers was one of the two speakers for the night and he made the group go through the exercise of sharing three things about ourselves that are non-work related.

Sounds simple and innocuous, right?  Don't ask me how or why...but it made me start thinking about how people define themselves.  About how I define myself. 

I shared that:

• I'm on the board of directors of a dachshund rescue.
• I'm a voracious reader
• That I love to travel and always have my passport with me

I listened intently as people shared about themselves. After all, if you can find something in common - it gives you an opening to start a conversation.  The labels that were most utilized were: husband/wife and mother/father. 

I felt a little like a failure.  I'm neither a wife or mother.  Trust me - I wish I was both! (If you happen to see my Mr. Right...send him my way!  I've been waiting a LONG time.)  If you had asked me at 20 where I'd be in 2013, wife and mother would be on that list. If I had found the right guy, I would have happily tied the knot well over a decade ago.

Heck, if you had asked my high school or college friends where I'd be - almost all of them would predict that I'd be a wife and mom.  I was the one that helped them through relationship break-ups, make-ups and the occasional pregnancy test; didn't go through a "party" phase and played matchmaker for a number of people.

I guess I need to change my earlier statement.  I feel like a huge failure.  But it also make me curious how you define yourself.  What are your most important life titles?



*No, I'm not looking for pity.  Please just accept this as one of the few times that I'm sharing about where I feel lacking in life.*

What I'm Loving...

It's been a while since I've shared all the fun stuff that is on my radar.  Let the frivolity commence!

These suckers are YUMMY!  M & M should make them all year round.  And make them available in places other than Target (not that I need another excuse to go to Target!).

Does anyone else utilize the free promo code from RedBox every month?  A free movie from them?  Sign me up!

I keep a box of these by my desk for an afternoon snack.  Very tasty for being a "diet" food.  :-)

Don't think less of me...but from time to time, I put eyeshadow on in the car during red lights.  This shade duo (called Covet) is in my "car kit" of makeup.  Great color combo and the gold mixed into the lighter pink gives a nice shimmer.

I won a new collar and leash set through Nola and her momma, Amanda.  I haven't picked out the set yet...but Puddle Jumper Pups has some great choices!  Any suggestions?  (I'll give a review once I pick out the set and it's can see how it stands up to my active dogs!)


What are you loving lately?