Super Shoes

I saw these amazing shoe add-ons on Design Mom and had to share. I could definitely use all of my Superhero capabilities with a pair of these babies:

What could you do with a pair of shoe wings? If I ran races, I would definitely buy a pair to add to my shoes and thus intimidate all those around me.

The Case of the Hiding Dog

So, as MacGregor gets older, he has started having some health issues. He can't see very well and his back legs are really weak, so he is constantly bumping into things like door jamps, walls, you name it. Luckily, he spends 23.5 out of 24 hours of the day sleeping, so he doesn't run into too many things.

One of the funny things that has changed, recently, though was that last weekend he went through a phase where he decided that he wanted to sleep in hiding.

After a Saturday morning where it took 25 minutes just to get him into the bathtub to wash him off (and not because he is mean, but because he is a heavy golden retriever and when he doesn't want to do something he becomes completely limp and is really heavy to carry), he decided to hide from us. The only way we found out where he was sleeping was because my Mom went over by the computer and heard a little snore. She looked over, and there he was, fast asleep, between the step maching and the window - completely hidden.

Then, the next morning, while getting ready for church, I heard this amazing snore coming from the bathroom. I turned around and couldn't see anything through the partially-opened bathroom door. I poked my head around the door and this is what I saw:

He slept in the hidden bathroom spot for over 4 hours. Wow. Apparently, he really wanted to remain hidden and was still traumatized after the bath from the day before and needed to recover his strength.

Oh, Gregor, how we love you. I know Grandpa always says we should put you down, but we like you around, even if you just sleep all the time!

What the...seriously?

One of the weird things I have noticed working at a nonprofit is that everyone feels like you owe them something.

We seriously had a woman contact one of our staff members wondering if she could get a cookbook at a discount or for free because she had fundraised $50. Seriously? I don't even get a discount and you think you should? Why don't you just not give that donation and buy the book yourself? Sigh.

And, no, I don't want to feel pressured to buy Tupperware from you because you are on my volunteer planning committee - I work for a nonprofit, not a moneypot!

They also think that your logo is free property and have no issues with stealing it off the website and using it in company emails, shirts...whatever. Really? Would you do that with the logo of, say, McDonalds? Toyota? GAP? No! Why would this be any different??? If anything, nonprofits need to be even more careful about how their logo is used!

Anyway - just wanted to get some of that off of my chest.

Just Not Strong Enough

Sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed by all of the websites and networks I am a part of and think I need to cut down. But then I can't. I just stay connected and constantly feel guilty that they aren't updated. Is that weird?

Spider Love

So, I don't know what's been going on recently, but I have been surrounded by spiders. Not just any old spiders, but big, ugly spiders. I mean really big. Bigger than I have ever seen in the area (though I do have to admit that they are not bigger than the spiders I saw in Mozambique and Brazil). The thing is - I really think they are following me.

For example, in the last couple of days, I have had some serious sightings. First, we spotted one of these really large, fat spiders on a web while going on our lunch walk at work. Not only did we just spot it on it's really large web, we saw it attack and eat a fly as we walked by. That sucker was fast for his girth, that's for sure.

Then, on my walk around the block, I had to duck under another really big spider web with a big fat spider on it multiple times.

What really convined me that they are following me, though, is that between my 2nd and 3rd times around the block (probably about 7 minutes apart), one of the big fat spiders literally built his web across the sidewalk and saw there waiting for me to walk through it. Really, just between those 2 rounds around the block, the stinking thing set a trap for me.

All I'm saying is that the spiders have it out for me. Maybe it's a part of our weird El Nino-ish weather this year. Maybe I just never knew it, but spiders are a part of the Halloween festivities because they normally come out more this time of the year and I never really noticed?

Not sure, but I just have one request - if they can't leave me alone, can they at least make their webs very visible? I definitely wouldn't want to accidentally run into one of these bad boys.