Huge Dilemma! I NEED your help!!!

Alright folks.  I need your help right now.  I am in the midst of a major internal debate.  I know this is a long post, but please stick with me; I am begging for your  input. 

While I was home over my lunch hour today, I randomly decided to peruse craigslist.  I have not looked at craigslist since job searching 3 months ago and I haven't looked at it for anything other than jobs for probably a year.  Well, on a whim I  just decided to search EVERYTHING on it today.

I purposefully do not allow myself to look at the pets on craigslist ANYTIME I'm on there because I can not turn myself away from a friend who needs a home.  Guess what I did TODAY though.  I LOOKED AT THE PETS!  Here-in begins the story of Bronko.

This is Bronko.   Bronko is an English Mastiff.  Bronko is absolutely AMAZING.  Bronko had a really nice write-up about him on craigslist.  The family rescued him from a home where he was terrorized by young children.  The adoptive family has a 10 year-old and a 14 year-old at home.  Bronko does fine with these two but he gets spooked easily, so, long story short, they are looking for a more suitable home for Bronko.  Here-in lies ME!

On a whim, before even speaking to my fiance about the matter, I decided to do some follow-up on my dearest Bronko.  I asked if he does okay with other dogs (the family had said that he has a high prey drive and doesn't do well with small dogs, so I asked about larger dogs, like Kaiah.)  I also asked about the re-homing fee, because let's face it:  I'm gonna need that money to feed this sucker!  He is 170 lbs.!  That is 75 lbs. bigger than Kaiah!

Speaking of Kaiah, here she is.  Does she look like she needs a friend?  I told her about Bronko and then we went on a walk and it is literally the best behaved she has ever been on a walk before.  Do you think this means that she is saying, "Hey Ma!  Look at how good I am!  I deserve a friend!" OR do you think she is saying, "Mom!  I'm being so good!  You don't have to get another dog to show me how to behave!"  (The family also mentioned how well-behaved Bronko is and I had told Kaiah that.  She understands human-speak perfectly fine, thank you.)

Back to Bronko though.  I received a response and the first line stated that I had almost brought the woman to tears with the mere mention of my having a dog named "Kaiah" as they had a St. Bernard named "Kyah" who passed away due to cancer in February.  What are the odds of THAT?  Kyah and Bronko had been BFF's so the family thought that Bronko and Kaiah could learn to love each other like Bronko and other Kyah had loved each other.  The kicker?  The family is willing to have no re-homing fee.  They just want the perfect home for Bronko.

Speaking of kicking, I then kicked myself in the ass for even having emailed the woman about Bronko.  I hadn't even spoken to Jack about him and now I was getting the family's hopes up that we might be a fantastic fated match for Bronko.

So, I talked to Jack and, no surprise here, he was all about it.  Loves the idea of it.  So I emailed back and forth with the family a couple of times and they would like the dogs to meet each other and they would like to meet us, so we are setting this up for Sunday.  This is the picture that I got in the most recent email, with the caption "Bronko looking at Kaiah".  She then explained in the email that she showed him the picture I had sent of Kaiah and he started sniffing the screen and staring at her.  See!  He loves her already!

Okay, so here are the facts.  I need help in my decision-making.  I will make a bulleted list for you, because let's face it; I've written way too many paragraphs and I've maybe held on to half (if that) of my readers.

To Start: Things that People Might Normally Think Are an Issue, but Truly are NOT for Us

• He is 170 lbs. of dog  (Jack and I are not even phased by this.  Other than the fact that we already have one 97 lb. dog sleeping with us.  Can you imagine another 170 lb. dog?  Good thing we have a king...)
• He slobbers (So what?  So does Kaiah.  You get used to it.)

Reasons NOT to get Bronko

• Kaiah gets spooked by other dogs  (Sometimes she loves them though.  She's big on first impressions.)
• Bronko gets spooked by kids (We have nieces and nephews.  We DON'T have kids though and we don't plan to anytime soon.  The extended family isn't around Kaiah that often the way it is.)
• 2 big dogs in the bed?
• We don't have a fenced-in yard (We plan to get one eventually, but right now Kaiah is on a long tether in the yard.  The family doesn't tether Bronko as they feel he would bolt if he got spooked so he only goes out on a leash.  They also do not have a fenced-in yard.)
• Big dogs are expensive.  (We know.  We have one.  We WILL afford it, but is it the smartest?)

Reasons TO get Bronko

• Look at him!  ----------------->
• He needs a good home and I know we can provide that!
• He is reportedly well-trained!  Extra bonus!
• He is used to having free reign of the house, which is fabulous because we NEVER lock Kaiah up!
• He doesn't chew on things he isn't supposed to
• He is a lover
• He is free to the right home and you better believe we have a GREAT home!
• He is one of the most handsome men I've ever seen!
• It's fate!  Let's face it people.  This IS fate.  I never get on craigslist anymore and on a whim I did and he was posted TODAY.  They used to have another dog named "Kyah" and WE have a "Kaiah".  Anytime that Jack and I talk about getting another dog, we always say that we want an English Mastiff and here one is.  AND Bronko needs us!

I'm sure there a bunch of other reasons I should and should not get Bronko, but my mind and stomach are both going crazy about this issue.

Seriously folks.  I am BEGGING for your help on this one.  This is a huge decision.  I know what my heart says and I know what my head says and I need help right now in deciding which one is smarter.  Help?  Leave me comments on this one.  I don't care if you never comment any of my other blogs and I don't care if you don't follow me.  Comment anonymously if you have to.  Just help me out here!

Ob-la-di, Ob-la-da!

Just thought I'd share my mood today.  I am aware that I am not an artist, and I am even more aware that there are no rainbows without rain.  This is just how I feel today.  Enjoy.

How Have I Not Seen This Movie Yet?

I just watched "(500) Days of Summer" last night for the first time.  How is it even possible that I had not yet seen this movie?  I loved it.  LOVED it! 

It was one of those movies that are on my list to watch, but that I hadn't gotten around to yet.  Mostly because Jack is very uncooperative about watching movies that he thinks are too "girly".

I added this movie to my favorites list.  While my favorites list may look random and stupid, it is actually quite hard to get on this list.  If you check it out (on my profile page), you will see that it has been a very long time since I've added a new movie to this list.  It seems outdated.  It's NOT folks.  There just hasn't been anything I've wanted to add in a LONG time.

This all means it's a good flick.  So if you haven't already, check it.

"Because my love, my love, my love is my Dog"

Am I the only one who does this?  I sing to my dog.  Constantly.  I change the words so that they apply to her.  Her personal favorite is "If Kai were queen of the forrrrrrrrrr-est!  (Roll the r's people.)  Not princess, nor duchess, just queen."  (You know it... Wizard of Oz!)


I totally dance with her too.  More like dance AT her.    I think sometimes she gets scared of me.  Don't act like none of you do the same thing.


Lately this has been the song of choice... only because it's on the radio at least once per hour.

P.S.  If you even for one second think that the very idea of all of this is stupid, you need to get your life in order people!  You have to live life and love it.  Thus, I sing loud and I sing proud, even if it makes my pup suffer.  : )

(Please, double-click the picture so you can see my artwork at it's finest!)

Sometimes it's Like I Never Left (and I Love It)

I headed back to the Maq. this weekend to celebrate my friend Kate's birthday.  This was honestly one of the best weekends I've had in a long time.  For those of you who don't already know it, Kate's birthday is a national holiday.  It's a big deal every year and if you aren't there to celebrate with the right people, you WILL be in trouble.  That being said, I am so happy I went back last weekend!  It was the most fun I've had in so long.

The main event involved getting some sun time in but as we all know very well, the sun and I do not get along.  (My back is FRIED!)  Here's a picture of all of my lady friends that helped celebrate Kate's birthday.  (Kate's in the front middle, for those of you who might notknow her.)

It's funny how I can spend so much time away from my friends but we always fall back in to "best friendship" when we are together.  I love these ladies with all of my heart.


Friday night we got to spend some time with a few of our guy friends, which was nice since it has been so long since I've seen any of them.  The same thing applies with them though... once we get together it's like we've never been apart.  It's interesting really how that works.  You know, I've always felt like our group of friends from high school were different than a lot of people's "groups".  Maybe because I'm on the inside of that group, it's easy for me to say... maybe everyone feels that about their friend groups.  Our HS friends are like the friends that most people make in college though.  Those solid life-long friendships.  I may not get to see these ladies and gents as often as I'd like to (living several hours away from most of them), but it doesn't matter because when I see them again, it's like I never left.

Here's a bit more of how we spent our Friday night.  We grew moustaches!  On our FINGERS!  Kate's sporting "The Hitler"... she didn't center it on her finger very well though so it was "The Crooked Hitler" most of the night.  Megan's sporting "The Handlebar" or, as she calls it, "The Maq-stache".  Lanham is sporting "The Charlie Chaplin" and I've got "The Fireman" going on.  I know you all are jealous.

Saturday then was pool day.  We got some good sun time in and drank a lot of bucket drinks.  It was fantastic (aside from that whole sunburn thing).   Then Saturday night we got to see some of the boys again.  The boys were hosting the 3rd Annual "Feets of Strength" challenge, so several of them were in the area.  (Yes, I'm aware of how Feets is not spelled "feats".  They were barefoot for the events.)  Anyway, we had our own tournament, a little flippy cup action, as usual.  Well, we made it a high stakes tournament and if us ladies won we got the extra "Feets of Strength" t-shirts.  Needless to say, this is how we roll:

Team One & Done.  Notice all of our cups are flipped?  That would also be my free t-shirt!  Sorry boys, but you should really know better by now than to challenge us.

I'm so glad I made it back for the weekend.  I couldn't ask for better friends.

Oh yeah!  Something else exciting happened this weekend.  But, more on that later!

Reasons to Go Back to Maq-Town

See the family...

 

But the main reason I'm going back THIS weekend:

Rum Sump Pump Punch

Hello readers,

  Let me tell you a little bit about why I am sore.  I put a sump pump in yesterday.  Yep, me.  I did.  Well, I helped.  My "plumber" (okay, fiance) made me do all of the heavy lifting though!  I had to dig out all of the concrete chunks after he pounded the crap out of it with the sledgehammer.  Really that's the only reason I'm sore; from squatting for an intense amount of time.  (I clearly need to work out.)  I was very nervous for my basement floor once he started pounding on it, but it looks pretty good now.  AND hopefully there will be no more opportunities for pictures like the one I posted in my previous blog (us vacuuming all of the stupid trespassing water out of the carpet).

Anyway, moving on.  For those of you who don't know, the 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays.  I just love spending time in the sun with friends and/or family.  The last few years we've celebrated with Jack's family but this year we are celebrating with one of Jack's friends from high school and his girlfriend.  I just made a ton of food/drinks (Rum Punch that is AMAZING & some jello shots!  Hello alcohol!).  Yummers!  I've decided that I like being a hostess.  I like prepping for shindigs and whatnot... I think that just comes from my liking to organize in general.  Maybe I should be a party planner!  Anyway, the cool thing about tonight is that we are not getting together at our place.  This means I get to do the cooking and planning and then I get to take it all elsewhere and I don't have to deal with the part of hostess that means that I have to show everybody where everything is!  YAY!  (Plus I don't have to clean up for the event!)

Nothing exciting today, I know.  Here's a picture to make it all better.  Okay, so I know the picture turned out kind of dark but Kaiah moves anytime she catches me trying to take a picture of her when she sits here.  We have that little bench in our front yard and she seriously will go out there and just perch on the bench like it's her own personal throne.  She's too funny.

I'm an Embarrassment

Friends and family tell me often that they follow my blog, but have not clicked to become a "follower".  Does this mean they're embarrassed to follow me?