Are You Kidding Me Right Now?

You have to be flipping kidding me. I really can't even believe this. This morning, the weather guy said it would be cold today with a chance for a few flurries. A chance. It started snowing today at 8:00 a.m. and didn't stop until--oh wait...until never. It's still snowing. Granted, at this point there are only flurries coming down, but really it's just the point. Earlier today it was snowing really hard. You probably can't tell from my cell phone picture here, but outside my office building around the lunch hour there were tons of huge flakes coming down. Those streaks of white are big old flakes flying by!

I know the whole country is having bad weather, so I really shouldn't complain. I think our friends in the Dallas area even got snow this morning! Even so, I'm about to lose it with this cold. I'm definitely praying that spring gets here soon!

Pearly Whites

Today Hope and Celtic got their teeth cleaned. A teeth cleaning is always a big ordeal for dogs since they don't submit willingly to having a sharp object scraped around their gums. Since they have to be put under general anesthesia, it's hard on their little bodies (not to mention expensive)-- especially for old guys like Celtic.

Unfortunately, even though the dogs had their teeth cleaned just over a year ago, they were both due for another cleaning already. Celtic's teeth just tend to form plaque really quickly, while Hope has lots of damaged teeth (we guess from lack of dental care and good nutrition) from the first 5+ years of her life, before she came to live with us. I can't imagine that her neglectful owners actually gave her any chew toys, and since she's an aggressive chewer who loves rawhides, cow hooves, tennis balls, rope toys, acorns and anything else she can chew on, I picture her chewing on any rocks within reach while chained up in their yard.

Anyway, today poor little Hope had to have one of her damaged teeth pulled, as the root was exposed and was starting to get infected. She came home with stitches in her mouth and loopy from the anesthetic, but thankfully she doesn't feel too bad because she's doped up on painkillers. She's just been staggering around like a drunk most of the evening, acting slightly weirder than her normally weird self. Here are a few funny pictures from this evening for a good laugh.

Huh? What are you saying to me?

My mouth ith a littthle numth.

I can't seem to keep my eyes open.

Oh hello, Mr. Wall. How are you today?

Celtic didn't have anything so exciting as an extraction today, but his dental visit was still a little rough on him. He has been so darn lethargic this evening, I think he's having a really hard time shaking off the anesthetic. He wasn't even interested in watching us eat our dinner, so I know he must be feeling really crummy! His pictures aren't funny--just a little sad!

I'm glad to be home so I can get some sleep!

I'm just going to crash out here before I even get to my bed!

Quit bothering me with that camera, Mom. I'm tired and cranky.

Just for good measure, I have to include Mr. Sad Eyes. Don't let him fool you--he's really a very happy dog. He's just not very good at smiling for pictures!

Blue Plate Dinners

A couple of weekends ago my friend Emily and I tried out the locally owned meal-assembly store called Blue Plate Dinners. You might remember that many months ago Chad and I tried out similar meal preparation places in and around Lawrence, one called Social Suppers here in town and one in Topeka called Menu Makers, now known as Chef Alli's. After our first trip to Social Suppers, we were really pleased with the meals, so we went back for a different menu a few months later. Our second month's meals were good, but they certainly weren't great, so we just hadn't had the urge to go back since. We liked the concept though, so when Emily wanted to try out Blue Plate, I was excited about going along.

In general, the experience at Blue Plate Dinners was very similar to that of Social Suppers. Both establishments are clean and organized and the staff at both stores is very friendly and helpful. Blue Plate got a couple of extra points from me for having O.J. and pastries on a Saturday morning, and for having a special shelf in the big fridge designated for each "cook" of the day, so that all of your meals stayed cold while you were preparing the rest of your food. The Blue Plate staff was maybe slightly better prepared than that of Social Suppers, and although it's a little hard to say for sure, the ingredients seemed just a little more fresh as well. The biggest difference, however, was just the recipes. Social Suppers is a franchise, with the same recipes in all of their stores throughout Kansas and Missouri. Since Blue Plate is locally owned, they created all of their own recipes, which were all very tasty and worth making again!

Our favorite BP meal in February was the calzones, which you can fill with your choice of about 20 different ingredients. I don't even usually like calzones since they're so "bready," but these were awesome! The great thing is that they're on the menu for March as well, so we're definitely going back this month. We also enjoyed the Pork Chops with Cherry Pan Sauce and the Pecan-Crusted Tilapia. The BBQ Pork Sandwiches were really good and one of the easiest things to cook since they just went into the slow cooker. We have yet to eat the Popeye Pasta, but I'm looking forward to that this week since it looked delicious while I was making it!

Obviously, we're big fans of Blue Plate and are looking forward to going back. It's definitely more expensive than cooking at home, but the convenience of having everything purchased, cleaned and chopped (and even prepared for you if you want to spend a couple extra dollars) is so worth it. Plus, it's way healthier and way less expensive than eating out! You can check out the March menu on their website if you're interested!

Basketball Fever

It's that time of year again. March is here, and March Madness is right around the corner. I've been in full out basketball mode for quite a few weeks now, although I haven't actually developed basketball fever as of yet. That ailment won't be officially diagnosed until brackets begin to bust and tears begin to flow during the tournament. I can tell the fever is coming on though. Last weekend, when we lost in the finals seconds of the game in Stillwater, I despondently laid face first on the basement floor groaning in agony until my husband prodded me out of my misery by insisting that I pull myself together. He's much more immune to the fever than I am.

I almost blogged about that loss right after it happened, but I was afraid that me venting with such fresh emotion would probably just come off as just a whiny Jayhawk fan. It probably still will, but let me just say that there were a ridiculous number of fouls called in that game, which definitely hurt the Jayhawks' offensive rhythm. The Cowboys' pathetically boring (but clearly effective) offense consisted of dribbling out the clock and driving into the lane like a bull in a china closet to pick up the foul, which they usually did. I insisted immediately following the game that there must have been a record number of fouls called, which there weren't, but there definitely were a higher than average number called. Regardless, it was painful to watch and painful to lose to a clearly inferior team.

Thankfully, since that loss we've pulled it together and come back with three solid wins, the most satisfying of which came on Saturday against K-State. We played well against the Cats and won without too much difficulty, despite the fact that the refs called fouls on our players when they breathed in Michael Beasley's general direction. Okay, so I might be exaggerating just a little, but I still have to say that I think a completely objective person (which I am obviously not) could re-watch that game and tell that we did not have the home court advantage when it came to the officiating!

The most fun and exciting of our recent wins had to be tonight's game at Allen Fieldhouse against Texas Tech. In this Senior Night massacre, all five of our graduating players (only 2 of which are normal starters) were contributing scorers, as were about 10 other Jayhawks. Bill's boys looked liked they were playing a bunch of high school girls they were so dominant. Pat Knight pretty much admitted in the halftime interview that he was completely giving up. It would have been sad if it hadn't been so awesome. :)

I'm sure being at the Fieldhouse tonight would have been incredible. The Senior Night crowd is always amazing, but with such a huge win in the last home game of the year the fans looked like they were completely out of control. Allen is such an amazing place to be--and it's not just me who thinks so. Check out this great article by an Oklahoma Sooner about his first KU game at our hometown venue. His accomplice, who happened to be a grad of North Carolina, said that none of his experiences at the "Dean Dome" even could compare to Phog Allen Fieldhouse!

Obviously my basketball obsession is already a little out of control, and March has barely begun. If you need some help getting into the spirit of March Madness during these next couple of weeks, checking out this fun website. It's an unofficial page of KU related videos that my friend Brenda sent me a link to a couple of weeks ago. You can watch highlights of basketball and other sports, as well as a few classic games from years past. It will definitely get you fired up with some school spirit!

No More Homeless Pets

This morning I'm getting ready to head over to the Lawrence Humane Society. I'm especially excited about going to exercise dogs and take their pictures today because it's actually supposed to be warm outside--around 60 degrees!! With that said, there are definitely weekends that I don't feel like volunteering: when the weather is bad, when I don't feel good, when there's stuff around my house that needs to be done, when I feel bad about leaving my own dogs to spend time with other dogs, when I'm tired from a long training walk (during the 3-Day season), when I haven't spent enough time with my husband during the week--the list goes on and on. For the most part, I generally go anyway.

A lot of people don't really understand why I spend so many weekend hours at the shelter. I can't tell you the number of times people ask me if I still "work" there, as if it's my second job for which I'm actually paid. When we're talking about weekend plans, my friends frequently ask if I "have" to go to the shelter. I never have to go. The shelter won't close down if I'm not there, although I will catch some good-natured flack from the staff if I don't show. It's more like I need to go. I need to go because the dogs need me. They need exercise, they need companionship, they need training and they need socialization if they're ever going to get out of that place. While many of them will meet their forever families just by hanging out at the shelter and being cute, many, many others will first be introduced to a family through their Petfinder ad. I want every dog to have that opportunity. That's the main reason I need to be there--to take their pictures for Petfinder. My short-term goal is to have every available dog and puppy have their own little space on the web so that their forever family will find them.

My long-term goal is much different. Eventually, I'd like to have my weekends back. My goal is to not go to the shelter every weekend. My dream is that there won't be hundreds and hundreds of homeless animals who've been discarded by their original families living in tiny cages. My hope is that our society will become better educated about spaying and neutering their pets, so that there won't be 10 litters of adorable yet unwanted puppies growing up at the Lawrence Humane Society at any given time. My desire is that families who are thinking of adding a four-legged member would think first of rescuing a homeless animal instead of buying a puppy from a breeder. My wish is that people would become educated about how many purebred, well-behaved, well-adjusted dogs there are available from breed-specific rescues around the country. My dream is that our society would start thinking first about saving a life instead of thinking about their own selfish wants when it comes to owning a pet. My hope is that people would someday realize that somewhere around 7 million animals are euthanized in U.S. shelters every year. To me, this is heartbreaking. To me, these animals are worth saving and worth being memorialized. To me, it's a cause worth giving up one day of my weekend.

There are other people who share my hopes and dreams. Hundreds of shelters and rescue organizations exist in our area alone, and each organization has its own list of dedicated volunteers. One such organization which is new to the KC area is No More Homeless Pets KC. This coalition of vets, shelters, rescues and individuals is working towards the goal of (you guessed it) no more homeless pets in the KC metro area. They are leading a cooperative effort to end pet overpopulation in Kansas City. It's a big job and a big dream, but the goal is achievable. There are other areas of the country that don't have the overpopulation problem that we have here in the Midwest, because their communities have become educated about spaying, neutering and adoption.

So check out the No More Homeless Pets website. There is tons of good information about spaying and neutering and about pet overpopulation. You can make a donation or find a place to volunteer in the KC area. You can pass along this great information to your family and friends, some of whom might need to get their pets spayed or neutered. You can help educate our communities and be a part of the solution. You can dream of a day when maybe, just maybe, I won't feel the need to get on my soapbox and deliver ridiculously long lectures on my blog. :)