Share a Little Love

(My bulldog puppy in flight at nine weeks old)
Obviously I'm a sucker for all things bulldog. I suppose I was born into it. My mother attended a high school whose mascot was a bully so the loyalty was in my blood. As an adult I have acquired a 15 pound bronze bulldog by my front door, a bulldog mug from England and, let's be honest, if I could tolerate the pain I would have a bulldog tattooed on my ass. But recently I became even more of a bully-lover, nay, a bully advocate.
Bulldogs are a very misunderstood breed. Most people think of them as junkyard dogs that hang around old cars ready to attack and eat the trousers off anyone who crosses their path. But bullies are actually meant to be indoor dogs. They have the biggest hearts and could be classified as "lumps of love". However, their senstivity doesn't stop with their hearts, they also have very sensitive skin and eyes. They require frequent baths and, sometimes, daily wrinkle cleanings. Because most of the public has the wrong perception of how to accomodate this breed a lot of these dogs end up with several medical problems that their owners either don't want to or can't afford to address.
Bulldog rescues across America are designed to take these dogs off the hands of those who can't care for them. We recently donated to help out a pretty bully girl at http://www.cascadebulldogrescue.org/ This organization offers help for english and french bulldogs (mine are of the english persuasion, hence the mug mentioned above). They start out by rehabilitating the dogs and getting them the medical help they need before even considering putting them up for adoption. Health comes first.
I can't believe, that as a dog owner, I haven't donated some form of help to a rescue facility before. But I am hooked. My man and I agreed that we'd donate to these pups in need every year in lou of buying each other gifts for holidays, etc. What a nice feeling to know that we can make a difference by helping out God's creatures AND we don't have to worry about getting each other a card!!
To find out how you can donate to a breed of your choosing, click here

Only have time for a quick post. It's midterms people!! AAAGGGHH!!

I wanted to share an artist I discovered. This little lady and her music has a very soothing (but still motivational!) effect.

The artist is Natalie Grant and her voice is AMAZING!! Check out her website here. Or check out her MySpace page where you can listen to the music and watch a couple of videos. My personal favorite? "In Better Hands".

Enjoy!!

Heaven awaits change

I read a great article today by Chi-Dooh Li of the Seattle P-I. He spoke about change. It's certainly something we're all hearing about with politics flooding the airwaves. But how many of us actually do change?

I know a lot of people who changed their garbage cans. They now have one specified for recycleable materials and another for waste. Some people have even changed their cars or the way they get to work. These folks do deserve kudos. Change in any form is never easy. Heck, I can't even manage to floss regularly. But how do we go from wanting to change to actually doing it?

I suppose it all comes down to baby steps. One day at a time. Look at how quickly the organic market took off. Why? Because people were willing to change the way they saw milk, eggs and soap.

Education is another the key. As Li said in his article, "change begins with you and me, our own desires and our own pocketbooks." Do we even know what that means anymore? How about finding out where more than just your dairy products come from? Where do your clothes come from (Singapore?), your long distance service (Bangladesh?) or even (yikes!) your make-up (baby rabbits?).

Of course we all know Rome wasn't built in a day. I haven't even got a clue what's in my make-up, let alone know where it comes from. But maybe, by drawing attention to it in this post, I've started change, one letter at a time.

frustration knows no bounds

I cannot believe I just spent 45 minutes (!!!) trying to log onto to the wireless network here at school. The problem? One, my computer kept defaulting to the wrong password and two, four other people around me were already on line. I have no idea how things were corrected (divine intervention maybe??) but THANK GOD they were. I was about to throw this laptop through the window next to me. But that's just the beginning...

I have also been spending way too much time working on my resume, financial aid and registration for summer quarter. What a joke. The limited amount of guidance I've received here has done nothing more than frustrate me beyond measure. It's a good thing this is a dry campus, otherwise they'd be dragging my totally drunk ass out of here naked and singing the Star Spangled Banner at the top of my lungs.

I'm starting to think my frustration is contagious. My poor husband, sick and tired of listening to my whine, came home the other day with a NorthFace backpack for me. "So you can fit in." he said. He had a look on his face like a big boy who just learned to use the potty. How could I refuse his offering of limited social acceptance? It's not as large as my "yellow submarine" backpack, but I think one of the "cool kids" actually smiled at me today. (The power of material goods is amazing!)


Now if I could just work on my gray hair...

another day in the life...

Time for another daily post about life here on campus. But before I begin that I'd like to say that I will be attempting to blog more frequently now that I have FINALLY got the hang of the wireless network here at school.

And now...

A day in the life - April 7, 2008

Realized today that I am officially a "nerd". I have noticed that "geek" has recently gained notoriety in the public eye and thus is considered "cool". I, however, couldn't be further from it - at least here on campus anyway.

I noticed as I sit here in this sunshine-streaming-books-laying-dormant-as-a-thing-of-the-past-world that the younger crowd all have little teeny Apple notebooks. They sit here for hours seeking out the latest message left on their MySpace page and taking up the only good tables with a view of the city. The only people in here with out one is me, some 75 year-old man in the corner who (I think) is asleep and the librarians (who have their own PC's to play on).

I'm guessing that these kids have to swear on Coach bags that they use Apple-light-as-an-effing-feather notebooks to gain access to the cool crowd. Not too mention be able to demonstrate wicked fast typing abilities so that it sounds like the three blind mice scurrying around on their keyboard. This ability is clearly meant to serve two purposes: one, to annoy and distract the hell out of me and two, to wake the dead(??) guy in the corner. Whew, thought I was going to have to ignore him all day!
But I'm not bitter about it. Let them have Apple, let them have Coach. I'm a home-owner bitches!

Keep it Hoppin' Yo

Wanna see how we roll on a rockin' Saturday night?

And that's just the dogs. God bless 'em - this is their (and my) favorite activity.

Tales of School Daze

I've decided to keep a running log on my time at my new school. I had NO IDEA what I was in for and I need to share with others as a form of therapy. So here ya go world, share in my craziness that is now my "school daze".

Entry One

4/2/08

Right now I am completely sweat soaked. I dressed for being outside (35 degrees) not for the ovens they call classrooms (hotter than hell). To make matters worse, I'm toting around 35lbs of books on my back. Yeah, spinal injuries rock!
Today I feel like I must really show my age. I feel like all these kids (literally - they're all 19!!) can see straight through my Seven jeans and North Face jacket (the prefered uniform of 'the tribe'). My wrinkles and my wedding band betray me. I'm 32. Thirty-two. Trente-deux. ouch. I have no children. ouch. I must apply lotion daily to old saggy scaley parts that I never used to have. double ouch. I was just rejected in french class by two 19 year-old rich (ie-mean) girls. super hurtful ouch.
I'm really feeling the gap between who I was and who I want to be. I was an insecure pea brain who had no faith in herself. I want to be an intellegent mature woman whose competent & proficient in all she sets her mind to. What I am is an insecure "mature" (read 'old' by university standards) woman whose semi-competent at a lot of incredibly non-proficient things. sigh.
I've always struggled with the balance of trying to "fit in" and trying not to care about it. I could manage it at junior college because I could relate to the material being studied, sound smart and relate to the teachers. But here at university I feel like everyone is brilliant - but me.
I have to shake this if I'm going to get anything out of this experience. I know this new tribe can sense fear. Or maybe it's my dorky yellow backpack.

Making it Through the Rain

Well, I did it! I managed to complete my AA degree with a 3.8 GPA. Yes folks, count that as a graduation with HIGH HONORS! High honors was not what I initially set out to procure, but considering the final quarter I had, I'll take what I can get! So many heartfelt thanks and hugs are going out today to those who shared a shoulder or an ear when I needed one. Now? ON TO THE NEXT GREAT ADVENTURE. What shall it be? A trip to France or perhaps an African safari? Maybe a week in New York shopping at Barney's. Um, no. Instead I am choosing to celebrate by... more schooling. I will now be working to achieve my BA at a fabulous private school in our great metropolis.

I started last week at my new ritzy school and it proved to be an interesting one. I cannot get over how smart (and I might mention, well dressed) the students are here! I feel like the nerdy kid with the wrong shoes all over again. I think I need to do some shopping. Oh, and maybe brush up on my latin. Ha!

It has been a very surreal experience so far. But I keep reminding myself, I am here for one purpose - to figure out a way to make words into money baby!!! One day at a time.

I'll make sure and keep you posted. That is, if I don't get beat up by the Ralph Lauren biker crew for wearing espadrilles before Labor Day.

Take care all, and God Bless!!!