Cuteness in my City

I decided to give myself more time to edit the prom pics, and post some pics from this weekend today.
I'm making you wait for the prom pics.  Because I am evil like that.

But it's okay, because for today, I offer you CUTENESS OVERLOAD.

My Mother-in-Law just got her second toy Australian shepherd puppy.
Her good friend Sue did the same.  They now have four different toy Aussies of different ages and sizes, between the two of them.

It's like a Puppy Chow commercial when her friend is visiting.
TOO DARNED CUTE!!

Meet Tucker, my MIL's new pup.
He is 3.5 months old.

Tucker is sweet, cuddly, and kind of a fraidy-dog.
I wuv him.

This is Tanner, 8 weeks old.
He is feisty and probably thinks he's a rottweiler.
GRR!

"I am Tanner; I am FEROCIOUS!"

"I am also a big fan of belly rubs."

Tucker, Toby, and Tanner.
MIL's friend Sue's oldest dog, Buddy, would not pose for me.

And here's what I did today:
relaxed by MIL's pool.

Life is good! =) =)

Visit Unknown Mami for more SIMC posts.....

It's 'My Friday' {Fragments}

Work-wise, Wednesday night was "My Friday". 

 That's common hospital-speak, and probably common in other places that are staffed 24/7. 

The last shift you work in a week is called "your Friday".

Wednesday night was My Friday and I am off until Monday night.

WELL deserved!!!  This week was insane.

SEE THIS?!?!?!?

my severe, life-threatening injury.

 
What do you think this is?  Snake bite maybe?
(Trust me, if it were, I'd be locked up in the mental hospital. Forever.)
It is, however, a bite.  A vicious bite from a ferocious animal.

 Her name is Coco.  She's a lop.  A vicious little lop. 

In all seriousness, she is a rescue Bunny.  Elayna's early birthday present; she has been BEGGING for a bunny.  (her birthday is next week - she will be TWELVE!!)

Coco was taken in by a woman who raises rabbits.  She was starved and near death.  So, she has a wee bit of aggression when it comes to food, and apparently when it comes to me suddenly sticking my hand in her crate.

ferocious.

I still love her.
I'm a sucker for a rescue.

pretty sure Mama Kitty is thinking
"that is the biggest effing mouse  I have EVER seen".

Tonight I made chicken & dumplings and baby lima beans for the whole fam-damily.

It was delicious and I so enjoyed having all three kids here.
(even my BIG KID who will be 20 YEARS OLD in a couple of months!!! EEK!)

We have some major illnesses going on in our families right now
Like "C" word illness.
I really hate that word.
Hunter's dad, particularly, is very ill.
All we can do is pray and keep him comfortable.

I need a HAPPY weekend to combat my STRESSFUL week. 

So far so good.....

Hope you have a HAPPY WEEKEND too!!!

There will be NO images accompanying this post for effect. Because OMG OMG OMG ICK EW. ACK.

So the other day I had worked a 12 hour overnight shift and finally I was at home in my incredibly comfortable bed (feather mattress baby - aaamaaaaazing!!).

I was sleeping like a log when suddenly Hunter came in waking me up.  "Baby! Baby, look what I found outside!"

Thankfully, I was sleeping soundly enough not to immediately jump up (oh who am I kidding, I NEVER jump up...).  I had my back to him (THANK YOU BABY JESUS!).

And also THANKFULLY he kept on talking while I slowly came awake....

"...I was outside taking Mackenzie for a walk and I moved this sign and something fell down and then Kenzie was tripping out and I realized it was a little baby SNAKE!"

To which I calmly replied.....
"GET IT OUT!!!  OMG GET THAT THING OUT OF THE HOUSE NOWWWWWW!!!!"

Hunter said "You don't even want to see it?  It's a pretty little sn-"

"GET IT OUUUUUTTT!!!! I can't believe you brought that thing in the house!  GET ITTTT OUTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!" I shrieked from under the covers.

Hunter: "Does this mean I can't keep it as a pet?"
Me: "OMFG GET THAT OUT OF THIS HOUSE RIGHT NOW!!!!" I screamed from the fetal position,
and then my voice went to an octave that only dogs can hear.


Something must have told him this was not my normal behavior and maybe, just maybe, he should take that snake and GET IT OUUUUUUUUUUTTTTT!  Because he did.

The poor man knew I didn't like snakes; he did not know that I hate loathe and despise them, am terrified of them and traumatized by them, and have nightmares starring snakes several nights per week.
In fact, I'm pretending that whole scene was a dream because I refuse to accept that there are, in fact, real live snakes slithering (*shudder* - I hate that word) around in this very wooded property of ours with two creeks running through it.  Clearly not a snake-friendly environment....amIright?

 I'm also pretending he didn't casually mention that it was the second snake he'd seen here.
Anyone know Billy the Exterminator's number?

Rest in Peace, Lilly

Lilly was hit by a car last week & died instantly.

We miss her so much.

Like Peas & Carrots

In June, 700 cats were seized from the largest hoarding case The Humane Society has ever seen in the United States.

This happened just a few miles from my home.

According to the article, "People who needed to give up their cat and who visited Haven Acres likely got to see only the part of the facility that showed it in its best light, Animal Services Director David Flagler said.

"They thought they were taking their cats to a country club environment, and even some of our own staff thought the conditions were much better than what was found," Flagler said."

Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while will understand that I followed this case closely. We are animal lovers and rescue advocates, and have done a lot of volunteering and fostering throughout the past few years. I also have a personal connection to the situation; I went to school with the daughter of the man who was arrested in this case. I've talked to her on Facebook about the situation. She cut all ties with her 'father' years ago, and was so happy and relieved to hear that the couple was finally arrested.

So I'm sure it will not come as any surprise to any of you that, when they announced that the cats were now available for adoption, I felt compelled to get involved.

This weekend, The Humane Society held a huge event called the Florida Feline 550. Out of the 700 cats seized from the hoard, 550 were available for adoption this weekend. Many of the cats had to be euthanized, some are still undergoing medical treatment, and some are being held to be used as evidence in the criminal case.

The rest, five hundred and fifty cats, were at our local Humane Society, looking for homes.

And naturally, I knew one of them had to be mine.

It wasn't hard to find a cat to adopt; what was hard was to narrow it down to only one. But we already have four cats; one was my limit.

{she loves MY pillow.}

And once again, those of you who know me will not be surprised that the cat I chose has only one eye, and one kidney. I gravitate towards the animals that most people wouldn't want. There were many beautiful cats there. It's astounding how wonderful they look now, considering the condition they were in when the HSUS found them. One tiny cat that I really liked has gained three pounds since she was brought in. She only weighs about 5 pounds now. Three months of good care makes a world of difference.

I'm a huge fan of Forrest Gump, so when I saw a cage containing two cats with the labels "Forrest" and "Jennie", I naturally looked in. And that's when I saw my sweet one-eyed girl.


After being reassured by the vet that her kidney issues wouldn't require expensive medical care that we just can't afford, I knew Jennie was our girl. (I'm not sure if we'll keep the name or change it.)

She was born with two kidneys, but while at the "cat haven", she became pregnant and got an infection, involving her uterus. When the UF Vet School opened her up, they found severe infection and a mummified kitten. There were adhesions attaching it to her kidney, which is why it had to be removed as well as the reproductive organs. But she will be able to live just fine with one kidney. She was born with two eyes as well, but one ruptured due to untreated infection.

To me, she's beautiful, just the way she is.

She's settling in well. She explores when she feels like it, and hides when she feels like it, but mostly hangs out on my bed, on my pillow, looking out the window.

I hope she understands that she is safe now. She'll never be stuck in a cage again with minimal food and water. She'll always have a home, and food, and love.

Linking up with Unknown Mami's Sunday in my City.

AND!!

The brand new meme over at Miss Elaine-ous Life!

I Believe.....

I believe that which does not kill us makes us stronger.

I believe that there should be cupcake trucks. They should be a hybrid of an ice cream truck and an ambulance; circling around playing music, but with lights and sirens for those cupcake emergency situations.

I believe that the system failed Jaycee Dugard in so many ways.

I believe that all of the people directly involved with this failure should have to clean sewers for the rest of their lives, and hand their paychecks over to Jaycee Dugard.

I believe that, after buying food for my pets today, I will no longer be providing them with their own food, but they shall now have to forage for their meals. They are animals, isn't that instinctive or something?

I believe that the Food Network is going to be the death of me! Their new show Tough Cookies has me wondering if I have the ingredients to make snickerdoodles! (or peanut butter cookies. Or oatmeal cookies. Or....)

I believe that Google+ is going to slowly suck me in. Find me on there if you haven't already! (puttingthefunindysfunctional(at)gmail(dot)com .)

Can I Have Some of That?

Do you get your Daily Dose of Jack?

No, I'm not talking about this.

Although if you do get your daily dose of that Jack, that's certainly none of my concern. Party on, with your bad self! I'll be over here praying for your liver.

Anycirrhosis, that's not what this post is about. This is about a whole 'nother kind of Jack. This Jack is so awesome, if he had thumbs, he would rule the world.

As it is, he's written two books! This latest one is a cookbook, and yours truly (that's me) contributed a recipe to this awesome book. It's now available for your Kindle! Can I Have Some of That?

And best of all, all of the proceeds go to French Bulldog Rescue Network and Chase Away K9 Cancer. Even if you don't have the Kindle, if you purchase the Kindle version, Jack will send you a PDF version for free. That way the charities still get some bones (haha!) and you still get your book. Win/win!

So check it out, and while you're at it, check out his fabulous first book, Jack: A Book About a Dog Where the Dog Doesn't Die at the End.

Dogs everywhere will thank you!

Oh, Deer!

I just mentioned yesterday about all of the wildlife that hangs around our home. We are animal lovers, and we are so enjoying this. Today was the best of all, though.

While we were eating dinner, the dog started barking and running down the driveway (which leads to a large field). Elayna looked out the window and saw that the dog was barking at a big doe. The doe was jumping around, and at one point she ran away, came back, and then ran away again. About half an hour later, we had to leave, and when we got down to the end of the driveway, I saw something in the grass......

.....it was this baby deer!

It let me get close enough to take this picture with my cell phone, but then when I tried to touch it to see if it was okay, it jumped up and ran away, bleating at me the entire time! I am thinking that the doe was this baby's Mama, and I really hope they found each other again.

We're living in a wildlife lover's paradise!

Check out Amanda & Angie for more Wordful Wednesday posts!

Putting the FUN in Canine Cognitive DysFUNction

a.k.a. Doggy Dementia.

This is about our oldest dog, Suzie. She is a miniature dachshund and she is somewhere around 18 years old. Which puts her somewhere around 126 years old in dog years.

And her mind, it is a'slipping.

This about.com article describes Suzie's behavior so well, I am suspicious that they have been peeking in our windows.

She stands at the hinge side of the door, wondering why it doesn't open and she can't get out of the room.

She randomly walks in circles. Over and over and over.

She gets stuck under things like end tables and Sofia's feeders. She wanders into the closet and stares at the walls.

And we laugh hysterically.

Because truly, these things are funny! She's cute. It's endearing. When you see her running around the house trying to get the little metal decorative table off of her back, what else are you gonna do?

Besides help her, of course. Once you contain your laughter.

She also does things that are not fun. Not funny. Not even a little bit endearing.

Like, her "loss of housetraining". Sigh.

She doesn't respond to commands. We thought she was going deaf, but it appears that she can still hear, it's just the dementia. But the sleep irregularities and barking for no reason? They are the ones that are going to drive me completely off of my rocker. She has combined the two, to save herself trouble I suppose. So when the house is quiet and she should be sleeping, she randomly decides to bark. Except that it's more of a "yelp". It is extremely loud and piercing and makes me want to rip my ears off of my head.

Alternately, I have considered putting Suzie in the washing machine and setting it on SPIN.

(I'm kidding, PETA, and stay off my blog, ya freaks.)

I honestly have no idea when I've slept for a reasonable amount of time. Sometimes, we can quiet her by wrapping her in a blanket and sort of tucking her in to her doggy bed. Sometimes, there is no consoling her. She doesn't like to be petted, picked up, or touched at all, really.
Sometimes, she wakes up the other dogs and they start barking, too. We can't keep her outside so that we can sleep, because I'm afraid she'll wake the neighbors. Even though we are a good distance away from our nearest neighbors. She is LOUD.

She is not in pain. She's just cognitively dysfunctional. The dysfunction is taking over!

There's not much we can do. And I don't feel guilty about laughing at the funny parts, not for a minute. When we were fostering for the dachshund rescue group, I picked Suzie up from the shelter. She had been dumped off by her former family because she was old and they wanted her put to sleep. They weren't willing to pay for it, though, so they just surrendered her to the shelter. There was nothing wrong with Suzie except for untreated worms, which were quickly cleared up with meds. We kept her, thinking she would probably not live long and we didn't want her to be put through the trauma of going to yet another home. And I was attached.

That was about three years ago. She has basically been spoiled rotten for three years, because we figured she didn't have much time left and wanted her to be comfortable and happy. She had her own bed and her own blanket, and she was kept away from the other dogs a lot because they annoyed her. She has lived the good life. And we will continue to keep her comfortable for whatever time she has left here.

I just wish they made Ambien for dogs.

A former foster, Honey, with Suzie.

Ace of Hearts

{Our hearts, that is!}

Shelbie, my 15 year old daughter, has wanted a small dog for a long time. She loves pugs & chihuahuas. She wanted a dog that would be her baby.

And last week, I got a Facebook message from a friend,

with an offer we couldn't refuse.

She had developed allergies to her adorable, two year old, long-haired chihuahua, and wanted to know if Shelbie wanted him. He is CKC registered, perfectly healthy and adorable. He just needed a new home.

So naturally......he has found his new home, with us.

Introducing Ace, the newest member of the DysFUNctional Zoo!

Shelbie is spoiling him rotten!

She spent a chunk of her birthday money on a collar, leash, tag, and toys for her new baby.

He has won all of our hearts!

****I'm so excited - Wordful Wednesday is now CO-HOSTED by Parenting By Dummies and the original Wordful Wednesday host, Angie of Seven Clown Circus!

I love both of these awesome ladies!***

Check them both out for more Wordful Wednesday fun.

Goals: Achieved

{Me, circa First Grade.}

So maybe I didn't become an actress, or an artist, or a teacher, or a model.

But as I was looking through some old boxes last week and came across my old School Days book, I realized that I have definitely achieved some goals that were obviously important to me from a very young age.

I have a house FULL of children and various rescued animals.

I have arrived!

Visit Parenting BY Dummies to join in the WordFUL Wednesday fun!

Little Bit of Cuteness

Did you know that cows come in mini-size?
No, not snack-size, you carnivores!
Miniatures.
I have seen miniature horses, and miniature goats (which I LOVE!!). But never cows...until Friday!
John and I were stopped near the interstate and I noticed this trailer.



Always nosy curious, we just had to check it out. The drivers were nowhere to be found, but I poked around anyway. I mean, how could I not, with this sweet thing poking its head out at me?




They look like babies, only they're not! They are, however, super cute.

Add this to my Christmas list!

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