Why Our Family Dog Sometimes Gets Preferential Treatment

We have been dog-owners for a long time! My first dog was Duke, our German Shepherd. I was around 16 years old and didn't really appreciate Duke because although he was lovable and friendly, I didn't fancy him jumping up and licking me with his "disgusting" slobbery tongue. He just wasn't my cup of tea....until I got older and learned that he could accompany me on walks and runs. We soon became fast friends. I remember how sad we all were when my dad finally had to put him down because of hip dysplaisia. It wasn't until I got married that I rediscovered dogs and the wonderful friends they are. I've brought a few puppies home, to the surprise of my husband and delight of my sons. 

For the last 14 years we have been border collie owners because they are so smart and we both had to agree on one breed. If you can weather the puppy stage with nothing more than a few things chewed up, border collies make the best of friends, as I imagine any other breed does, depending on the characteristics that you prefer.

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Once in awhile my husband gets mildly resentful of how much our dog, Evee, and I get along and my sometimes seeming preference of her over him. He has actually said that sometimes he gets jealous! Imagine that, preferring my dog's company over a man! Here are a few reasons my dog may sometimes get the nod before some humans!

1) No sarcastic comments - Granted, there are usually no comments from Evee, but the sarcastic kind especially are not to be found. I find that very relaxing and refreshing after being at work at a high school! Evee has her own way of telling me where to place my priorities and usually that is by her body position. She literally blocks me with her body from things I may be doing that don't involve her! I somehow find that cute! Now if my husband were to do that....

2) Doesn't bargain for my love - My dog loves me unconditionally, and if I don't feel like being warm and fuzzy at the moment, or the whole day, she will wait patiently until I feel up to it and will love me no matter what.

3) No idle chit chat - A friendly lick, nuzzle, or thump of the tail on the floor is sometimes all I really need or want.

4) Submits to my rules - If I decide that today is an outside day, then outside it is! My chair is my chair and that is that. No sitting in the car front seat and no eating people food (unless it's a special occasion, like leftovers! heh heh) No questions asked, she's happy to oblige. She knows she gets lots of special things and knows that rules are necessary for mama's well-being and happiness!

The Most Versatile Skirt From Cariloha Bamboo

I've had a great skirt to relax, go places, and be comfortable in this summer. But the great thing about it is that it can carry me all the way through fall! It's the 'Bamboo Burnout Reversible Skirt' from Cariloha!

It's so comfortable!

It's casual yet nice-looking

Best of all, it's reversible! That means I can get a few more looks from it!

I can see myself throwing on a vest and some boots for a great multi-season look!

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I love getting mileage out of my money, I like getting quality items, and I like the feel of bamboo! The skirt is so comfy to do anything in and no worries about modesty. The double thickness  of soft bamboo takes care of any transparency issues. Plus, bamboo is naturally odor and allergy resistant! Go check it out!

What Your Gums Could Be Trying To Say To You!

Let's talk about the health implications of the mouth shall we? I'm not talking about the whiteness of the teeth or the minty freshness of your breath. It's the oral bacterial climate in the mouth that is an indicator of your overall health and predictor of future problems that may erupt. 

Gums Can Tell You Things. Your gums should be considered one of the key indicators of your health. They really do tell a story, if you have the information to interpret it. First of all, have we all heard that gum disease not only means your teeth are in danger, but that you may have inflammation in other areas of the body? When your mouth is out of balance, you are at risk for diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and Alzheimer's, to name just a few. Advanced gum disease can raise your risk of heart attack by 10 times, AND if you get a heart attack stemming from gum disease, 9 out of 10 times it will be fatal.

#MyPostMonday Link-Up #27 The Week's Best Original Content

I used to think that once I met my husband and got married, that my life would be set and I would achieve my happily-ever-after. Wow, was that delusional or what? I had so much living yet to do and so many experiences that would make me the awesome, cynical, sometimes-depressed, introverted, and opinionated person that I am. And I know that I'm not even close to done yet! I love the photo below because it really illustrates that one may have done quite a bit to be where they are at an exact moment, but we are certainly not ever done! I believe in continuous movement. Whether that is going backwards or forwards, it is constant. I am the one that will choose which way I want to go!!

Image - Colleen Awsumb

Today is "My Post Monday!" It's all about original content from bloggers who care to share what is on their minds--from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain!  I  open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks, believes, and knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up and share it with you here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag!  I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!  So, in addition, if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too!  I'll visit your site, comment, promote and publicize! (Affiliate links welcome!)

#MyPostMonday Link-Up #26 The Week's Best Original Content

Along The Extra Mile
Suffice it to say that a picture can speak a thousand words and leave it at that! This is one of the many shots my son got while he was hiking in the back country of Wyoming with his college roommates. We have a great working partnership, he and I. He gets all these amazing shots of places that I can't get to 'cause I don't own a helicopter. Then I put nifty captions on them and sometimes put in my two cents worth. Not a bad deal, eh?

image - Ed Whitmore

Today is "My Post Monday!" It's all about original content from bloggers who care to share what is on their minds--from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain!  I  open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks, believes, and knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up and share it with you here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag!  I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!  So, in addition, if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too!  I'll visit your site, comment, promote and publicize! (Affiliate links welcome!)

#MyPostMonday Link-Up #25 The Week's Best Original Content

In The Middle Of Nowhere
The school year has begun and I'm saying a fond good-bye to my summer! I enjoyed it so much! I feel rested and energized. 
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As I walked into the high school early this morning. it was still practically deserted. A few students were sitting in the hallways and on the stairs, probably dropped off by parents who needed to get to work early. They were still rubbing sleep from their eyes, just like I was. Eventually the students that are assigned to my charge arrived on the bus or were dropped off. They seemed happy to see me. One of them offered to buy me a treat from the snack machine! We continued down the hall to breakfast, where I greeted my friends there. Lisa, the head of the cafeteria, one of the nicest women I know, greeted me warmly. There was Steve, the maintenance guy, wearing his familiar kilt. He was high on a ladder, seemingly oblivious to the fact that people who walked underneath might get an eyeful. Maybe someday I just may do that, walk underneath out of sheer curiosity! I'm almost sure he must wear shorts or something underneath, unlike the original Scottish men, who.....didn't! My only question would be, why wear a kilt if you need to wear shorts underneath? Wouldn't it be more comfortable to just wear shorts minus kilt? 

Some people may wonder why I continue to work as a learning assistant, commuting over 30 miles each way, when I have a degree in Special Education. It's easy. I tried the teaching route and I don't like it. I don't like the hours, the paperwork, the meetings, the answering to several groups of superiors--parents, administrators, district officials, psychologists, and the school Special Ed coordinator. Each of them has a specific agenda, each of them has an idea how your classroom needs to be run. However, I love working with the students and my co-workers. We have become really comfortable and we understand the philosophy of our teacher, Troy, who will be retiring this coming year. I'll miss him when he leaves. He has dealt with everything so well, but he leaves a little disappointed in the whole system and the seeming lack of appreciation for all that he has done over the years. I hope that when he leaves that he will be able to get a sense of how much good he has really done during his tenure! 

Because of his and our efforts, there are a few kids who actually will have a chance in life. They have learned things that they may never have otherwise learned. Possibly not things like reading, writing, or math, although that has been a huge part of the day. But more likely things like learning responsibility, how to work for what you have, what to expect when you don't have someone to catch you every time you fall, how to act when you are on the job, how to talk properly to people in public, that you're stronger than you think, and other important life lessons you can't learn in a textbook! It reminds me that no matter what background you come from, there are those who will always find a way to thrive with just a little nourishment!

image - Scott Morgan

Today is "My Post Monday!" It's all about original content from bloggers who care to share what is on their minds--from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain!  I  open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks, believes, and knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up and share it with you here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag!  I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!  So, in addition, if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too!  I'll visit your site, comment, promote and publicize! (Affiliate links welcome!)

 

The Ups and Downs Of Socks! Cariloha Bamboo Socks

There is nothing like putting on a fresh clean pair of socks! Better yet, there's nothing better than putting on a fresh, clean, new pair of socks! It's just the best feeling ever and I think I may not be the only one that feels like that. 

I may have this feeling because, on the other hand, there is nothing quite as annoying as putting on a pair of socks--only to find out that there is a hole somewhere. Usually it's the toe or the heel. It just feels wrong!

image

There was a time when I was a poor, struggling working girl-- at least poorer than I am now--that I had to make choices as to what I would sacrifice in order to make ends meet. One of the things I did without was new socks. I made due with the socks I had and tried to make them last as long as possible. I tried to never lose a sock mate and if I did, I'd take another sock without a mate and pair the two together, wearing them at night around the house. But after a year or two (yeah it was quite a stretch), I realized that most of my socks were wearing really thin or already had holes in them. I then took to layering them, wearing two socks at a time. Even if the two socks both had holes in them, they usually wouldn't have holes in the same place, so it worked. 

Today I am somewhat of a sock snob because I really appreciate a good pair of socks. The ones that were a little more well-made and of course, a little more pricey, they were the ones that lasted throughout those lean times. I really came to appreciate the value of a good sock!!
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Cariloha Bamboo is a sock snob's dream. They have the best socks. Not only are they well-made, but they have an extra ability to keep that damp sweaty feeling from getting on your feet because of the natural moisture-wicking quality of bamboo! And if your feet aren't sweaty, there's a real chance they won't be stinky either! (Unless your shoes are the culprit!)

Cariloha has 3 basic kinds of socks - the ankle sock, the boot sock, and the Softy Sock! 

Ankle Sock: These socks are generous fit and can actually be rolled down once to your ankle coverage preference. They are thick and soft, but will fit nicely in any athletic shoe! Get them in white/orchid or white/Carribean Breeze (like mine)!

Luvin' My Cariloha Ankle Socks!

#MyPostMonday Link-Up #24 The Week's Best Original Content

What The Meteor Showers Taught Me
The Perseid Meteor Shower happened last week. We love to watch cosmic displays when possible.  One year we took our blankets, pillows, and pet to a well-attended park to see the phenomena! It was going to be an amazing time!!! It started out so great--people laughing, talking, oohing, and ahhing when a meteor was spotted! And then, two hours into it, all the sprinklers came on, dousing us and everyone else. I'm not going to lie, it also kind of doused our own enthusiasm and we left in a hurry.
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We hadn't tried to go again until last Thursday, the 11th of August, because this time it was going to be an "outburst"--meteors showing at double the rate!  I said something like, "Let's go! We are so much more experienced than before and have our acts together. We're seasoned and will be able to navigate this. We won't hit a park, no siree, we're going up to the heights of the mountain, out of the light pollution, to see it in as much glory as we can possibly see it, without traveling hundreds of miles." (After all, this was very spontaneous.) So again, we gathered our supplies--the anti-gravity chairs, the tarp, the sleeping bags, blankets, some snacks, and headed up the mountain to Alta! Our destination was the Albion Basin Campground, high above Salt Lake Valley.

We set everything up out in a meadow, near the parking lot. It was a cool crisp evening, almost 25 degrees cooler than where we live below. But I was fine, I had a blanket and a sleeping bag to snuggle in on my own anti-gravity recliner! But soon I felt the need to keep my entire face covered because it became uncomfortably cold, not the ideal position to be in if you want to see a few meteors whizzing by! I must have fallen asleep because my husband patted my head and asked if I was O.K. I said "yes, but I'm freezing!" Apparently he was too, because he wanted to pack it up and go. He wasn't dressed as warmly as I was, having worn cargo shorts. So once again, a rather anti-climatic end to a rare show in the night sky. That's OK, I saw a few meteors and they were beautiful. I just didn't experience the deluge of falling light that I had envisioned. But, all it takes is one shooting star to make a wish come true! I also love the quote below, along with a beautiful image by someone who planned much better than we did!

Image by Ryan Jones

 Today is "My Post Monday!" It's all about original content from bloggers who care to share what is on their minds--from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain!  I  open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks, believes, and knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up and share it with you here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag!  I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!  So, in addition, if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too!  I'll visit your site, comment, promote and publicize! (Affiliate links welcome!)

The Dog Day Of Summer At 'This Is The Place Heritage Park'

I feel like I have become an unofficial ambassador of sorts for 'This Is The Place Heritage Park! It is just the best place out there because of all the fun family events and amenities. Now they've got a new event that is coming up this Saturday! It's called, appropriately, the 'Dog Day Of Summer' Event!

 For any and all of you who have and love dogs, this will be THE place to be! Check this out:
Just $5.00 admission, this will be the best time for your dogs to be the focus of your time and attention. Not only will there be a route for a walk in the park, but sponsor, "I And Love And You" dog food will provide a free meal and poop bags for your furry friend! But that's not all! Meet celebrity dogs, Harlow, Indiana and Reese! Get your pics taken with them and check out their New York Times Best-selling book and have it autographed while you're there! There will be swag and free dog treats available, as well as dog bling at the Heritage Park Gift Shop and other vendors!

 You can find the route for the dog walk here. If you would like to participate in the walk/parade, please register here!

You can bet we'll be there with our feisty rescue girl, Evee! She is a border collie that we found in our local paper for $50. She snarled at me the first time we met and bit my husband's hand when he wanted to pet her. It's been almost 7 years, and she has made such progress! She catches frisbee like a champ and is so loving in our family. But she still has some spunk and feistiness left!

Don't have a dog? Maybe you'll find your match at the event! There will be dog adoptions through the Utah Humane Society from 10:00 a.m. through 1:00 p.m.!

Psst....don't forget to mention 'A GAL NEEDS...' for $2.00 off the price of regular admission every day!(A portion of all proceeds will be donated to animal shelters and other animal friendly organizations.)
Disclosure: I was provided free admission to this event in exchange for PR. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#MyPostMonday Link-Up #23--The Week's Best Original Content

Waiting For Perfection
The wisdom in the image below applies to everyone except for Olympic Athletes! "Don't wait for everything to be perfect before deciding to enjoy your life."  
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Yay Team U.S.A, off to an amazing start with Women's Gymnastics, Swimming, and more! For an Olympic Athlete, everything has to be as physically perfect as possible in order to bring home the Gold! This saying is wrong for them, because they can't wait for everything to be perfect, they have to work for everything to be perfect! No waiting about it! For the rest of us, we should neither wait nor work for everything to be perfect before we find ways to enjoy life while doing both! 
Things are definitely not perfect right now for me, I'm going through some issues that aren't fun. But I'm sure you are too. If picked apart with a fine-tooth comb, pulling aside the curation of Instagram, Pinterest, and blog posts, you would see that there is no one in ideal circumstances. That's life, there's no refunds. But does that mean I don't enjoy many aspects of my life? Absolutely not! I have found just a few things that I truly enjoy no matter what is going on, that won't make me regret it in the morning! One of those is my love of nature. If you haven't noticed, most of  'My Post Monday' installments will have a nature shot, and more specifically a nature shot from Utah, the state where I live. That's because I love it, and it puts me in a better place! If  I can get out into nature once a day, I can handle just about anything. Thank goodness, every place that I have lived has had some sort of out of the way place I can go where I feel at one with nature. 

If you can find just a couple of things that you truly enjoy, preferably that don't set you back mentally, physically, or spiritually, you can always default to them when things just aren't going your way! Anyway, nothing heavy here, just know that we deserve to be happy. We deserve moments of pure pleasure, no matter what is going on around us!

Image by Ed Whitmore

 Today is "My Post Monday!" It's all about original content from bloggers who care to share what is on their minds--from Crafts to Camping, Wellness to Wealth, Fashion to Food, and whatever else is on the brain!  I  open up with a post of my own and then follow it up with a linky of the week's top original blog posts! It's all about what the writer thinks, believes, and knows--in other words, they are active, writing blogs. If I happen to find a great original, non-sponsored post, I'll link it up and share it with you here and on Twitter via the #MyPostMonday hashtag!  I can miss some amazing posts, but I don't want to!  So, in addition, if you'd like to link up yourself, you can do that too!  I'll visit your site, comment, promote and publicize! (Affiliate links welcome!)