I'm back and ready for fall?!

Hello, my Zodiac Zoo Crew! I have missed you all so much! The reason for the title is that this hasn't been the most wonderful summer for me, which is the reason for my absence. I won't sadden you with the details for now (I'll save that for a day when I'm not so chipper), but let's just say that two funerals in a summer is NOT something I want to repeat EVER again.

On a happier note (I hope), what have you all been up to? I just spent a great Labor Day weekend at the lake with some friends, and this was our horrible view.

It was absolutely perfect weather, including the rain the first night we got there to cool it off before we hit the water. Pretty much all of the guys around here were in the woods since it was the start of hunting season, so us ladies hit the lake. We had a great time cooking ourselves on the water by day, and playing games and drinking the evenings away. What a great way to spend the weekend, no?

I was so tickled to be invited since I only knew two of the ladies, but I hope to be included in more of these outings in the future. I really had a great time and felt like I could be myself around every one of the ladies who showed up. They actually tried to hold me to a comment I made about letting them have the approval of any pictures I posted on Facebook. Ha! First of all, you cannot limit me to things that were said while spending the evening enjoying the company of my good friend, The Captain. (Yes, that would be Captain Morgan.) And secondly... Well, I guess the "first of all" thing said it all, right?

Unfortunately, in the end I caved because honestly, I want to be invited back. I didn't technically let them approve photos, but I made sure only the best photos of them were posted. See, I'm smart enough to stay behind the camera so I don't usually have to worry about what is going to get posted of me. My momma didn't raise no fool. :-)

As for being ready for the fall... I am ready for it to cool off, which it is doing very nicely recently. We had a long hot summer, and I know I'll be whining about the cold before too long, but still. It's nice to be able to breathe again.

Also, fall means football! Although my Steelers did not show up on Sunday against the goon squad that is Baltimore, I did get to enjoy one afternoon at training camp this year. I got some awesome photos, and I'm sure I'll share more with you later. This was one of my favorites though.

LaMarr Woodley (our 61 million dollar man) and Larry Foote

I'm just extremely glad there IS football this year. It was touch and go there for a while, and I was afraid the douche bag Goodell was not going to get it done. I think the players association screwed up in some of the things they gave up, but at least we have football!

So for now, let me leave you.. I have a ton of things to get done, but I did not want to put off posting to my loyal followers for another moment. I have neglected your blogs and mine for too long, but I'll be swinging by soon.

Friday Foolishness and boy do I need it!

Friday Foolishness is my day to just write about random things that have happened in my life or things that have crossed my path to hopefully brighten up the end of most of your work weeks. Since I'm sure many of you read that this has been a long week, I need to be able to laugh off some of the things I encountered.

First of all I planted some flowers in front of the house at the beginning of the week. This is how they look now...

They were so pretty before, too! They looked like little daisies. *sigh* It took me enough time to sweat out about 2 gallons of body fluid to plant those suckers along with some others, and they are DEAD. I specifically bought them because they like full sun. Well, apparently they don't. Or they don't like South Carolina sun. Or the person who wrote the instructions on the care of these plants just wanted people to have to go buy more pretty damn quick.

However, my new dog is cute though, right?

I love him! I got him on a recent trip to Pittsburgh where we have to stop at every Cracker Barrel possible according to my parents. Well, not EVERY one, but that's what they are looking for when it's time to eat, by God. Sure, make me spend more money on an already expensive trip because I can't walk through their store without finding something I have to have! I got some adorable stuff for the kitchen, too. And some other stuff..  Like I said, I can't leave that damn place without buying something, and we stopped at 2 of them on the trip.

The other night I was watching TV when I heard this loud SNAP and a crashing sound. Bailey was sound asleep and jumped to her feet, and several neighbors and I had to run outside to see what the hell was up. Now there was no breeze blowing (because you know Mother Nature is trying to suffocate us to death with this summer heat) and no storm pending or anything. But a neighbor's tree just snapped and fell on another neighbor's fence. Needless to say, the tree won that battle since this is what the fence looked like afterwards.

So before I was able to get this shot of the fence, the tree had to be removed, right? Well, apparently the best time to do that is at SEVEN A.M. in the freaking morning! I woke up to this scene yesterday.

Please explain to me why this LOUD job needed to be done so early in the damn morning! Granted, I was in the process of enjoying the snooze option of my alarms, but STILL! They got some pretty dirty looks from me when I took Bailey outside.

On a happier note, a friend of mine came up with a cool idea for my graduation present. It was probably pretty time consuming, but she was out of work for a medical reason when she came up with it. I wish I had taken a picture before I started taking things out of it, but you get the idea.

That is tissue paper with mini-bottles of liquor stuffed inside it. Genius, I thought! (For those of you who live in free-pour states, laws down here required that bars use mini-bottles until recently so most of the liquor stores carry them. Yeah, we weren't going to get as drunk on mini-bottles, you Bible thumpers. Sure!) Anyway, I thought it was a great gift to help celebrate my accomplishment. It doesn't take much to amuse me, can ya tell?

Finally, for the ladies... Did you see this picture of the New Kids on the Block with Kathy Griffin?

I could really care less about the rest of them, but I swear Donnie Wahlberg gets better looking with age. I'm sorry, but the boy is HAWT. God Bless America! :) Loving that show Blue Bloods by the way, if you haven't checked it out.

Oh, and let me know what you think of the new look. I needed to change it up a bit. Hope you like the new digs.

Hope you all have a great weekend! I'll have a drink for each of you from my basket.

WTH do you mean it's only Wednesday???

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My week has been pretty chaotic so far, and yours? First, we had a surprise inspection by a government agency that shall remain nameless... *cough* EPA! ... along with their local counterpart. That was a joy that I can never fully express. I'm sure some of you know what I mean.

Then yesterday we had a quality (customer) auditor come in who tried to be very nit-picky. He tried to trip us up, but we prevailed.. I think. Final reports are still pending for both wonderful visits, but we are optimistic. Yay!

So then I woke up this morning thinking exactly what the title of this blog says. I mean, seriously? I've had a full week already, you calendar scumbags! Calendar scumbags? Don't ask... See, my brain is fried, I tell ya.

I figured you all might need a laugh as much as I do on this Hump Day, so I did one of my famous searches for funny cartoons. Not so famous, you say? Well, damn. Enjoy them anyway. I'm sorry, but this first one literally made me LOL! Probably not wise since I did the search at work, but still...

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 Hope you all are having a bitchin' week! I at least hope it's better for you than it is for me. We have to just laugh it off and press on, right? That's why I'm heading to your blogs shortly. TTFN!

You don't know what HAWT is!

I know many of you who live up north or in other countries get tired of hearing us southerners when you are suffering during the snowy and icy winters you get. Our winters are pretty great, but our summers... Well, let's just say, our summers are not picture perfect like this...

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Instead we feel more like this for much of the year...

Except you wouldn't catch me with anything on my feet unless I have to have them, and then it's usually flip flops or sandals of some kind. And we won't even discuss a bikini, but you know what I mean!

Funny that I really couldn't find a perfectly happy looking couple on the beach under the "perfect summer" search of images. Ha! See, it's too freaking hot EVERYWHERE! And who wants to take pictures of themselves dying of a heat stroke on the beach? They'd rather be doing this...

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Or even this...

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I'll admit I have left the freezer or fridge door open longer than normal in the summer just because I want to feel the cool air that is like none you can ever get from the AC. Bailey has her own kiddie pool for when we dare to go outside. I want to get some sun on my white self, but who can stand it? And it's only the middle of JULY! I don't even want to think about what August is going to feel like. We just won't even be able to breathe then.

Not to mention, we are in the first stages of a drought because the rain has totally abandoned us. We got a little last week for the first time since... God, I don't even remember when. The ground soaked it all up like no water had even fallen just shortly after it stopped. We have seriously been talking about doing rain dances. Know any good ones?

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So as much as many of you whine about your horrible winters, I thought it was only right to give you a Taste of Summer... Southern Style. If you don't hear from us during the summer months, how about send us some of that melted snow?!

Monday Madness

Hello, strangers! How the hell are ya? I swear, I feel like I have been away FOREVER! I never meant for it to be so long, but I think you'll understand a bit when you hear all of the crazy things that have been going on in my life. This post will probably be all over the place, but I have so much to tell you. First of all....

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I really and truly did miss you all! My Reader is overflowing with things that I have missed, and I hope to get caught up on all the happenings in your lives as soon as I can. I can't wait! I love having plenty of reading material, and you all always keep my supply up.

Next, I finally finished school!

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I am officially a graduate with a BS in Occupational Safety & Health as of June 30th. How about them apples?! And even better, I managed to finish with a 4.0 GPA so I graduated Summa Cum Laude. I know that probably means nothing to anyone but me, but I'm glad I managed to do it!

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You would not believe how much of a weight is off of my shoulders with school done. I did absolutely NOTHING last weekend just because I could! It was so funny, but I kept thinking, "What time is my next assignment due?" Then I'd do this evil laugh and remember that I never have to turn in another thing. I think my mom was a little surprised that I actually finished. When I called them the night I turned in my final assignments, I asked her, "You didn't think I'd ever really finish, did you?" Her answer was a very honest, "Nope!" Gotta love Mom.

The new family member we got during my last post has moved on to a wonderful family that has two kids who are spoiling her rotten! They fell in love with her so much that I couldn't resist letting them have Sadie, and she's enjoying the hell out of them. Here she is in her new home the first night there with a brand new fancy collar and bed after they wore her out.

It was meant to be, I think. I'm just glad we managed to save another one from the shelter and the fate that happens to so many there. She's a great dog and she has completed their family.

I have a lot to tell you about what has happened with our shelter too, but I'll save that for another day. For now, I have a ton of reading to catch up on and I need to decide what my long-term career goals are. That's the biggest problem because I'm meeting some obstacles at work so we'll see what I end up doing moving forward. Updating the resume is step one though, whether I move around in the same company or move on. Geez, it's been FOREVER since I did a resume.

Hope you all have a great week! I'm so glad to be back, and I'll be keeping up much better now that I have less responsibilities on a regular basis. Oh, and I don't think I pointed out that little box on the left over there before. You can get my posts right in your email box now! Just put in your email address and it's magic, right in your email whenever I post. You know ya wanna... So go do it. Now I am off to read some awesome blogs and get some lunch since my stomach is currently gnawing on my backbone.

20 lbs of Pure Meanness

Sadie has been with us since Monday night, and boy has it ever been a ride already! She has had accidents in her cage repeatedly, she bites and chews on everything (more so than even normal puppies), and she has been the craziest bath recipient that I have ever seen. It is so hard to get mad at this face...

But it's not impossible by any means, especially when you are sleep deprived. The first night, I don't think any of us got a bit of sleep. She pretty much whined and barked all night long. She really should have been hoarse the next morning. I thought as much as she and Bailey played that she would get some sleep, but if she did it was very quick naps.

I don't know how many times this week I have taken her out and then put her in her cage to take Bailey out. When I return she has pooped in her cage! *sigh* She is just a confused puppy because she spent the first three months of her life outside and then spent two weeks or more in a cage at the vet's office. She just doesn't know where she's supposed to go, but we are working on it. I know this has been a crazy week, and it has taken every bit of patience I have to handle her.

Don't let this innocent face fool you though. She is pure meanness! At one point, Bailey thought that she could squish her against the couch to make her stay put and stop biting.

Yeah, that didn't work. Sadie just figured out that she shouldn't get next to the couch. She also figured out that Bailey's bed is the best place in the house that she's allowed to lay so she stole every toy and put it on the bed with her. This is Bailey debating whether she's going to take them back.

The face-off that happens about every 5 seconds now...

This look on Bailey's face pretty much says it all...

Sadie acts like a deer the way that she leaps, but she doesn't have control over her lanky legs yet. It's really funny to watch except when she jumps at something that I don't want her to. She is definitely a trip! This has been a stressful week so I really picked a bad time to get a puppy, but I couldn't let her go to the shelter. I'm hoping she'll calm down some soon and get into a routine.

Bath time last night was crazy! The girl at the vet's office told me she didn't like it, but I have never had a dog act like THAT! I ended up using way more water than I normally would because I was trying to calm her down while the water was just running away. I think it was just the noise, but I wanted her to get used to it. I kept talking to her and stroking her and slowly putting handfuls of water on her to show her it wasn't bad. She was awesome by the end of it, so we'll see how she acts next time. That is so different from Bailey who is such a huge water dog. I mean, Bailey doesn't care for baths, but I think that's just the bathtub that bothers her. She doesn't care about the water.

So some year I'll get sleep again... I hope. I think Sadie was taken from her siblings too young because she is a much more aggressive biter with Bailey than most puppies would be. Bailey has put her in her place a few times, which shocked me. But I think she's tired too, and she's had enough. I'm letting them work it out except when Bailey is huddled next to me and they start. Then I say something because I don't want to get bitten by Bailey accidentally.

Oh, well. I guess we'll see how things go. If nothing else, I'll find her a fabulous home. I know someone needs to slap me for wanting to put my household through a puppy though. I'm sure Bailey would like to have the honors.

Can I smack a person and then give them a hug?

This sweet-faced puppy was left at my vet's office last week. She had Parvo and the woman who dropped her off just decided not to come back. My vet is the best vet I have ever met, and he didn't want her to go to the shelter. I think most of you know I'm on the Board for the shelter, and we've been having some problems up there. I'll be able to tell you more about that soon, but I'm glad he called one of our Board members before even thinking of sending her up there. I got a picture of her Saturday so I went to meet her.

She stole my heart from the minute I laid eyes on her picture. The vet was going to let me take her, but he ended up saying that he better wait until Monday. He had called Animal Control who is also a deputy sheriff and asked him to go by the person's house to try to get his money, so he didn't want them to come pay and demand the dog without her being there. We had every feeling they weren't coming back, but just to be safe I waited.

Before leaving the vet's office, I had her on a leash in front of the other dog pens. She was pouncing and jumping at the other dogs like she was trying to play, and she never even barked! I think she's some kind of Feist mix, which is a hunting dog that the Rat Terrier is a form of. The descriptions and pictures I found online sure look like her. But the way she was acting, I'm thinking she'll be a great playmate for Bailey. If she doesn't fit, then I'll find a home for her. I have a feeling she's going to be great though! She's only about 4 months old.

I ended up posting her picture on my personal Facebook page and asking what names people thought fit her. I had come up with Sadie, and without seeing what I thought my sister popped out with that name, too! So I think it's safe to say she was meant to be a Sadie.

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This morning I called to leave my number so he could let me know as soon as he found something out. He called back within 30 minutes to tell me that Animal Control went by the lady's house. She was just driving up and she took off when she saw him. What brain children we have in this world, right? Of course, he chased her down. Her mother called the vet and they settled for less money with the condition that she give up the dog and that the woman who left her is never allowed to come back to his office.

Thus the title of this post. I would love to smack her around for leaving the puppy but hug her at the same time for dropping Sadie in my lap. I am hoping she is just what Bailey and I need to complete our little family. She is so sweet, and I haven't been able to stop thinking about her since Saturday. Now I have to go home and puppy proof the house with a puppy running around. Ha! Guess I should have done that yesterday just in case, but would you really expect me to think ahead like that? I am the world's biggest procrastinator, just ask my professors. I also have to go buy a crate, food, a collar... Geez, this will be an expensive day. It's a good thing I have an "in" at the hardware store in town to get most of it.

I'll post more pictures of her after I take care of the house and introduce her to Bailey. Crossing my fingers that she works out! I'm sure you can tell that I'm excited because I couldn't wait to even bring her home before sharing her with you all. Her golden eyes would have made you a sucker, too.

Friday Foolishness returns!

What in the world have you wonderful folks been doing to kill off your Friday workdays without my Friday Foolishness? I figured I better end your drought from it and give you a little giggle for the day. For those who don't remember them or weren't around the last time I did one, Friday Foolishness is just a post where I talk about random things and show you some silly photos. So basically, it's a look into the little things in life that amuse me. Scared? Yeah, I would be, too. At least you'll get some laughs along the way.. I hope.

First of all, this has been the LONGEST short workweek EVER! Do you hear me? For those who don't work, bite me! Seriously.. I mean, I saw a friend post on Facebook a little while ago that she was so excited it was Friday. Then she said, "Of course, I don't work like you sorry people, but I love Fridays anyway." If you aren't working, then what is the difference between Friday and Thursday or any other workday for that matter. (For one thing, I guess you don't call them workdays, huh?) Hell, when I'm on vacation (what is a vacation again?) I can't keep straight what day it is. It's really a shame that I'm going to have to work until I die because I could really ROCK retirement.

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Something I have been meaning to tell you all about since all of this Rapture business came up just came back to me, too. A friend posted a story on Facebook that Atheists were offering to save any family pets that were left behind afterwards. All you had to do was pay them and give them a key to your house, and they would come collect your animals after you were gone.

Okay, let me just point out that I think Bailey would be "chosen" before me.. and before most of us, really. Animals are God's creatures so why would he leave them behind? I refuse to believe it. Secondly, if they are Atheists why did they offer because they wouldn't believe in God so they wouldn't believe it was going to happen, right? I mean, am I not right here? Or was it all a ploy to get good (and in this case naive) Christian folks' house keys and money? Alright, I'll move on, but I just had to tell you all about that if you hadn't seen it.

On that note, I think I'll go read some of your blogs and leave you with some Friday funnies.

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Source - I LOVE this one.

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Chin up, everyone. It's almost cocktail thirty. Cheers and have a great weekend!

Two weeks of insanity!

Oh. My. God! I can't believe it's been two weeks since I wrote something for you wonderful people, let alone got the chance to read about what you all have going on! What did I miss? Who's pregnant? Who got married? I bet some of you got laid and I missed it, right? Lord only knows how many poop stories I missed! I mean, that seemed to be a trendy topic there for a while. And boob flashes were flying around too, weren't they?

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Anyway, I am back, and I promise not to ignore my Zoo Crew like that again. It has just been so crazy around here. My father ended up having a heart cath done, and they put a stint in. He's feeling pretty good so we were happy they didn't have to make him go through another surgery. There has been a lot going on with the shelter, and pretty much the whole town is mad at us. I can't really talk about it right now, but let's just say we are doing what we think is right for the animals. I'll fill you in after all the smoke clears.

I have only three weeks of school left. Yay! I am trying to work ahead so that when all of the assignments are released I can get it done and graduate! I submitted my petition for graduation yesterday so I just have to get my work done and wait for them to review my records. I must say that if I don't get to finish with my 4.0 GPA at this point, someone will have to die a slow painful death. Wait.. I guess I shouldn't post that all over the internet in case I have to kill someone, huh? But you all are my peeps and you wouldn't rat me out, right? I said, RIGHT?!

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You would think after two weeks I'd have a lot to say, wouldn't you? I can teach you a bunch of chemistry equations that I had to relearn with this stupid hazardous materials class. That doesn't float your boat? Well, damn. What the hell am I supposed to talk about today?

Okay, I guess I'll just go try to sort through my Reader and see what the trend is nowadays.. And then I'll write about something different. Hope you all are having a great short work week.. for those in the States, anyway. Why is it the short work weeks always seem longer? And next week will feel like an eternity!

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Bear with me....

My Dad had to have a heart cath and a stint put in so I am trying to catch up on things. (By the way, last year he had heart surgery and a brain tumor removed, so this was a bit of a scare for us for him not to be done with all of the health problems.) He's doing well although they had a bit of trouble getting his blood pressure under control. Hopefully, he's going home today. The man really needs to catch a break, health-wise.

Of course, that means I'm behind on school stuff and trying to get that finished! Anyway, I just wanted you all to know that I haven't fallen off of the planet, and I will get back into the swing of things soon.

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I miss all of you, and I'll never catch up on my Reader at this rate. Let me know if I've missed anything important. For now, it's back to work and wishing I could curl up in my bed and sleep for about a week. Can someone arrange that for me? Anyone who would like to do a guest post around here, feel free to let me know. I have a couple of people who are thinking of some things, I think. I haven't had anyone visit in a while though, so I figured it would help get this blog back on track. School should be over in about a month now!

Is it Friday yet?

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I can't believe I'm saying that on Tuesday this week! I need a vacation. Really bad. I mean seriously, really bad. See? I can't even speak correctly anymore.

I thought about just taking a week and being a bum. Unfortunately, I want school to be over before I do that so I can really enjoy myself and not have to do anything. And so that when the vacation is over I know I don't have to get back to this craziness of working and going to school. *Sigh* Can I make it until the end of next month? Hmmmm....

We had a great time at the Paw-ker Run for the animal shelter Saturday. We had 25 bikes and they played 30 hands, so I thought it was a pretty good turnout for the first time we put on the event. They all promised to come back next year and bring lots of friends. I think we are going to push it back to the last weekend in April next year though because we were competing with a lot of other things. Otherwise, I think we would have had a better turnout.

The Hell's Angels group from the beach was supposed to come, but they had one of their guys get killed during a Run in Virginia so they had other things to deal with. I felt bad for them and they were worried about not participating for us. That would have been a nice addition, but we understood.

The guys even had to push start one after the run. I guess the bike decided it had done enough that day.

There were some really nice bikes there, and the guys suggested we have a bike show next year, too. I'll have to remember to write that in my notes. They spend a lot of money on those bikes, so I'm happy to do anything that will get them to participate and let them show off a bit.

I was REALLY excited that the winner of the event ended up giving us half of the pot back as a donation. Yay! I can't believe I didn't take a picture of him, but here's his bike.

I love the sounds the Harleys make. They just sound so damn cool! Okay, that sounded like a pretty nerdy statement, huh? Oh well... I'm sure everyone in our small town was wondering where the hell all of the bikes were coming from. Get used to it, folks! This will be a yearly thing, especially because these guys have proven how generous they can be. Gotta love 'em. We made some decent money to help save some puppies and kittens.

Now it's on to the planning of the event I'm in charge of in September. We are planning to do a big thing down at the river. We are going to have our President demonstrate with his dogs in the water retrieving and have booths set up for lots of fun stuff. I'm thinking of doing a dog walk event where people get sponsors to donate for those who are walking. Of course, we'll have animals out there for adoption, too. I just have to figure out who all to contact that will be generous. Any ideas you all have from events you've attended would be greatly appreciated. September will be here before I know it. Ugh!

I ask you again... Is it Friday yet???

Friday foolishness and a busy weekend

Another week almost over! I have a lot to do tonight, with the animal shelter's 1st annual Paw-ker Run tomorrow. For those who are new around here, I am the Treasurer for our local animal shelter. We have a very small shelter and we need all the help we can get.

Anyway, tomorrow we our having what most people know as a Poker Run. It's where mostly motorcycles (although some participate in vehicles) meet at a given place to sign up, and they ride to other locations to pick a card from the deck located there. The rider with the best Poker hand when they get to the final destination wins a cash prize depending on how many entrants we had in the ride.

Of course, we'll be doing raffles and other things, too. I'll be selling some dog shampoo that I got a recipe for that I have to go home and make tonight. I told them the proceeds from the shampoo would all go to the shelter. (I have a new label for my personal products I will start selling, so some of you might be interested in those once I get the website together.)

We will eat, drink, and be merry to the DJ's tunes after the ride is over. It's supposed to be a beautiful day, so I hope we have a great turn out. There are a lot of bike riders around here who love doing this sort of thing. I'll take pictures and probably post a few next week. I wish we could have some animals out there to get adopted but the bikes would be too loud and scare them too much.

For now, I have tons to do so I'll leave you with some funnies... or rather foolishness to brighten your Friday afternoon.

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Have a great weekend, everyone. Cheers!