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Triple Dog Dare Day

On several occasions recently, I have seen stories on the ‘net about random acts of kindness. Folks paying grocery bills for strangers. Paying off a holiday layaway. Buying a homeless guy lunch. The list goes on.

There was an interesting article on NPR about how teaching kids how to perform random acts of kindness can make them better people. The article said, “Similar experiments in adults have shown that being actively kind increases happiness, and happier people then become more likely to help others.”

I thought it might be fun to go out and DO something. And I posted this on Facebook daring my friends to do the same. Or at least spread the word to get others to act.

IMPORTANT Triple Dog Dare… I’m going to help some anonymous person tomorrow (which is now today). I dare you to do the same. Not sure what yet. Pay for someone’s gas? But someone lunch? Slip someone $20? Not sure what or who or even where. But I keep reading about anonymous people swooping in and doing something nice for random folks. If you think it’s a cool idea and accept this triple dog dare, share this and then let us know what you did. Big or small, the value doesn’t matter. You could even offer a service if you prefer. I just dare you to do something nice. It’ll feel good, I promise. This sad world could use more good deeds. Don’t forget to like and share to spread the word!

It doesn’t have to cost you a cent, either. And it could be a small act. Little things add up!

Don’t know what to do? Here are some links that may help.

You can actually start right now by sharing a link to this post with everyone you know.

Feel free to comment about your act, no matter how small. Or be kind anonymously. The important thing here is for you to DO SOMETHING NICE TODAY! Even a small act like guiding folks to this post could have a bigger impact than you could ever imagine.

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Just Because

I’ve used this pic before, but had forgotten about it until this morning while combing through old un-published post drafts.

It still makes me smile, so I thought I’d share it here.

 

What do you think? Funny? Creepy? Or both?

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Parade!

Who doesn’t love a parade?

I mean, really. How can you not love the spectacle of it all? Small or large. Patriotic or cause-related. As long as there’s a band, I’m happy.

I realize this post is a bit late, but it’s been a busy week. Take a normally busy five-day work week, cram it into four days, and see how hectic things become.

I’m not complaining about the short week. I’ll take a three-day weekend any time. Especially when we get to spend it with the family. A couple of the kids were missing, but it was still nice hanging out with Amy, TJ, and the grand kids.

My last post talked all about what we did on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. They left around midday on Monday. But not before we got to see the parade.

I love parades, but usually don’t go out of my way to see them. Until recently, seeing a parade would mean piling into a car, driving, fighting for parking, and then battling the post-parade traffic to get home. But now, since we live in this cute little town, we got to walk to the parade. It was all of about a four-block hike.

I don’t have a whole lot of time here, so I’ll just post my favorite pics and let the images (frantic snapshots) and their captions tell the story.

Waiting for the parade to start, we saw the cutest little bicyclist EVER.

 

And they're off, with the town police in the lead.

 

It was quite fitting to have the local ROTC group in the front.

 

They were followed by a conglomerate of adult veterans and active service members.

 

What's a parade without fancy cars?

 

And patriotic motorcyclists?

 

Proud to be an American.

 

Does this shot scream small town or what?

 

The local chapter of unicyclists. I never knew there was such a thing.

 

Love the VW! But I REALLY love that canine co-pilot.

 

And here comes the band!

 

Band mascots? The place was crawling with dogs. We even took our girls along.

 

No surprise that this is my favorite band section. I drummed a mean cadence back in the day.

 

We can't forget the Cub Scouts.

 

Or the Boy Scouts. Especially the Boy Scout on stilts.

 

Bag pipers and the Warrenton Fire Department brought up the rear.

 

It was short, but awesome.

The bagpipers reminded me of one of MANY funny kid sayings from the weekend.

Upon seeing one of the bagpipers before the parade, Joey said something like, “Why is that man wearing a skirt?”

Gaige, in his infinite eight-year-old wisdom, answered matter-of-factly with, “Because he’s a Leprechaun.”

Oh yeah, and the next funny thing came after I tried to explain how you can be Irish or Scottish, but live in the United States.

Brianna (11) and Gaige (8) were my audience. I said to them both, “Scottish and Irish really just explains their heritage. Their ancestors were from Scotland and Ireland, so they are of Scottish and Irish descent. You know, like how you guys are Italian, but live in America?”

When Brianna exclaimed with a look of confusion and disgust, “We’re Italian!?!”, I about peed my pants. I guess no one remembered to mention to the kids that they are part Italian.

It was the look on Brianna’s face that really got me. I so wish I had captured that image to share.

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A Bit Too Personal

I’ll start this post on a positive note by saying, with complete honesty, I love this company.

PersonalCreations.com has the coolest stuff.

Kitchsy? Maybe. Campy? A little. Unique, personal, and fun? Yes, yes, and yes!

That’s where Hubby bought the Meg Rug he gave me for Christmas.

Meg Rug

Okay, it’s a doormat. But it’s a nice doormat. Well-made. Clear image. It’s holding up very well. I love it.

We liked it so much, we bought one for our friends. Except we used a different picture.

I told my boss about this company and so far she’s gotten at least two things that she LOVES, a throw and a color-changing mug. She’s sent me pictures of each. And she just gushes about the good quality of the merchandise.

How many times have you bought personalized gifts online or via a catalog advertisement and received tacky junk? Even if it was only one time, wasn’t that enough?

PersonalCreations.com sells great stuff. Truly.

But after seeing page one of their special Father’s Day ad, I couldn’t help but poke fun at them.

Big what!?!

Would you want your Hubby wearing this shirt? Even if your last name is Petersen?

I guess it’s a cute idea, but I think they could have picked a different last name to use in the ad.

It's a Family Thing

I mean, really. It all seems a bit in-your-face to me. And sexist!

Hubby agreed. But then having raised two girls, he’s a big proponent of equal rights for us chicks.

Come to think of it, it’s also a bit exclusionary.

You’ve got a well-endowed Dad, one not-so-lucky son, and a son that’s too young to judge.

What options are there for the girls? Dad’s proud of them too, right?

Hubby and I put our heads together and came up with a few choices. Which do you like the best?

Choice #1

 

Choice #2

 

Choice #3

Three options. That’s it.

Just let me know which is your favorite. Choice number one, two, or three?

Oh, wait. Here’s a late entry…

Choice #4

Personally, I like #4 the best.

Do you have a favorite?

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Why the Sudden Cloudburst?

When I asked Hubby yesterday if he’d seen the dog cartoons I posted, he said no.

I had just posted them.

Then he asked if they are funnier than his new-favorite cartoon.

It’s close, but I think his is funnier.

He’s got a Rubes calendar, and here’s the cartoon from April 9…

 

 

So, if you’ve ever wondered where a seemingly out-of-nowhere rainstorm came from, now you know.

To see more Rubes, check out this blog.

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For the Dog Lovers

Our dogs are pretty popular here in town. I can’t decide if it’s because they’re cute (well, they are), because they look so happy when we are out walking, or just because there are three of them, which is sort of rare.

I often get comments like “boy, you have your hands full!” And more than once I’ve been asked if I am a professional dog walker, if I work for animal control, why I have three dogs…

It’s funny.

Because I have been walking them for a while now, observing the different reactions from folks we encounter, I have learned to spot the people who just aren’t “dog people.” They’re the ones who don’t even glance at us or crack a smile.

They don’t know what they are missing.

Our dogs are a never-ending source of entertainment.

Sometimes, I think they do stuff just to make us laugh.

 

 

Other times, I think they are just being dogs.

 

I came across a cool dog-cartoon site as I was looking for some interesting clip art to add to this post.

 

 

Every time I thought to myself, “Okay, this is the last one I’ll share…” I saw another I just had to include.

 

The site, a blog, I think, is FunnyFidos.com. I think there’s more than just cartoons there. But I’ll have to check it out further some other time. Because I already wasted enough time scrolling through the cartoons.

What I really wanted to do was share some recent shots of our girls. Because I know at least one of my followers really looks forward to dog pictures.

Remember what I said about them being entertaining? Like kids, sometimes these dogs do the darnedest things.

 

Belle

 

Hubby was playing with Belle the other night. She plopped into her bed at one point and he put one of the other beds on top of her. She likes being in and under things, so she stayed like that for a while.

 

Hubby and Belle

 

After Hubby left, K and Belle were knocking the beds around (they are very light). One ended up, upside-down in the doorway of my office. I was on the phone, so I just left it that way. A little while later, I noticed the bed was occupied.

 

K on the Upside-Down Bed

 

Belle and K are really funny together. They love to wrestle and play. One of these days I’ll have to get a video of them playing in what seems to have become the wrastling room.

Oh, and I can’t forget to mention Meg. She doesn’t enjoy playing as much as the younguns, but she’s still funny.

 

Meg

 

That’s one of Meg’s favorite sleeping positions.

And that concludes my dog post for the day.

Almost.

Are you a dog person? Not sure? Take a look at THIS CHECKLIST to find out.