Meet The New Member Of My Family
December 29, 2008
What a Merry Christmas it was in my house. This year, I surprised my fiancé with a little black lab puppy for Christmas!
Meet little Bear (although he won’t be little for long). Isn’t he sooo sweet!
My fiancé has talked about wanting a lab forever and I mean FOREVER. So, I finally gave in and surprised him. And let me tell you, he was shocked!
Yep Bear is now a member of our family. It was really meant to be. The very first day I started looking for a puppy, a new ad was posted on Craigslist for black lab pups (literally within the first 20 minutes of me searching). Two weeks later Bear came home with me.
I love him….in fact I may just be obsessed with him. Although you hate to say your mother’s right, this time she was, even though it pains me to say that. My mother warned me how much work a puppy would be, but I really had no idea! My life is now revolving around this puppy. It’s all puppy, all the time! Between feeding, playing, walking, training and sleeping, I have had no rest. If this is what an actual human baby is like I am by no means even close to being ready, not to mention the fact I about gag every time I have to pick up his poop. It’s certainly been an experience so far. 
You know I must say I love little Bear and dogs in general, but cats are so much easier.
I mean look at these two. They are and always will be my first loves. Plus they are so independent. I actually feel horrible because I have been neglecting them lately because of Bear.
And it’s no surprise they aren’t really into the puppy, especially when Bear goes prancing after them. Nope—they are NOT about that at all! The two of them are very tight and have already started to gang up on the poor unsuspecting pup.
And since we’re talking about my Moo and Jack, check out their Christmas costumes.
We originally gave Moo his name because he’s black and white like a cow. However, his name is more appropriate now because he’s so fat. He eats his food, Jack’s food and now he tries to get in on the dog’s food too. I mean seriously!
Anyway, so it’s only appropriate this year that Moo is dressed as Santa (a fat Santa) and Jack his little helper elf. Don’t they look so happy (Jack looks particularly happy in the above photo)!!! They love to be tortured by me dressing them up. I just think it’s hysterical! I forced my sister to take as many pictures as possible in the short amount of time that they would hold still.
Needless to say, our merry time of dressing up didn’t last long.
Have a great New Year everyone!
Free Shipping Day
December 18, 2008
Holiday shopping procrastinators, listen up!
TODAY (Thursday, December 18) is just for you.
Today is Free Shipping Day, a first-of-its-kind event which represents a day when participating online retailers offer free shipping with guaranteed delivery by Christmas Eve.
More than 200 online retailers are participating including Bloomingdale’s, Circuit City, Macy’s, JCPenney, Crate & Barrel, Eddie Bauer, Kmart, Nordstrom, Sears, Toys R Us and Target just to name a few.
The creators of FreeShippingDay.com say it’s a way to reward all of you who wait until the last minute to do your shopping, but today also rewards participating retailers by giving them the opportunity to increase sales just before Christmas.
This is the first year for the Free Shipping Day. However, the creators say it will become an annual event.
CLICK HERE for a link to FreeShippingDay.com, other free shipping sites and my favorite online coupon sites.
Please note: Cabela’s is listed on the FreeShippingDay website, however the retailer is not participating in free shipping today.
Dancing With The Pittsburgh Celebrities – UPDATE
December 8, 2008
Well, all the practices and rehearsals are over! YAY!
The overall event winners from the “Dancing with the Celebrities of Pittsburgh” charity event were Tracy Malone and her professional partner Bill Grainer. Not only did Tracy and Bill win the judges technical award, but they also won the popular vote. They did a Viennese Waltz which was absolutely beautiful!
It was such a great experience and I want to make sure to thank my partner Jeff and his wife Colleen Shirey. The two of them are absolutely fabulous and have an incredible amount of talent.
Jeff, thanks for putting up with me over the past several months. I know it wasn’t always easy, but all our hard work paid off. You’re awesome!
Check out all three of our dances!
Pittsburgh’s Online Donation Center
December 4, 2008
To many, this time of year is known as the season of giving. But sometimes it can be hard deciding where or who to donate to.
The Pittsburgh Cares Online Donation Center is a new local site where you can connect directly with nonprofit agencies that are in need.
The site is filled with non-profits’ “wish lists.” You can use the site to browse different wish lists. If you have something specific you’d like to donate, head to the search bar.
For example, if you search clothing, up would come a list of all the nonprofitswho are in need of clothing. Once you find an agency you wish to donate to, a page with contact information will pop up and you can contact that nonprofit directly.
I think this is a wonderful concept. How many times have you gotten rid of something knowing it could probably be used by someone, but you just didn’t know where to turn? The Pittsburgh Cares Online Donation Center takes all of the leg work out for you.
The site was created by Pittsburgh Cares (an organization that connects volunteers to nonprofit organizations throughout our region) with 20 pilot agencies, but they’re looking for more.
If you are a nonprofit and want to be a part of the site, contact Pittsburgh Cares to be added to the list.
