This past weekend, post-StandDown, I headed off on a fun weekend trip with my mom to Laughlin, Nevada! Laughlin is like a mini Las Vegas for old people. (Emphasis on the old people part.) My Aunt Leslie & Uncle Dave where chaperoning my Grandpa & Grandma on their last big gambling trip out west, while my Uncle Duke & Aunt Linda were flying from Florida … Continue reading Mini Family Reunion

A the Beauty to the RESCUE event, I was approached by another volunteer, who asked if I thought Sunny would be a good candidate for an upcoming school visit.  I told her Sunny would be perfect for the job!  I’ve had my fingers crossed ever since that Sunny would be the “chosen one,” and I found out earlier this week she was! Today was the … Continue reading Sunny goes to school!

This past Friday, I had the opportunity to volunteer at StandDown Arizona!  StandDown is a US Department of Veterans’ Affairs event, held in different cities across the US during the year.  The event in Phoenix is the largest in the country, serving over 1300 homeless veterans in two days.  These veterans– from what I saw– range from just over 18 all the way up to … Continue reading StandDown

  Well, even without going into detail on the perfect family & second-runner up family I met for Sunny….I still must have jinxed it.  Despite leaving Pet Club with a leash fitted to Sunny (it was purple, our favorite color), food, a dog bed, bones & toys….the perfect family never submitted an application for her.  Nor did the second runner-up family, who visited Sunny two … Continue reading Sunny’s First’s

I am superrrr late on posting this.  Other more exciting things got in the way!  I still wanted to fill you all in though on the second book I had read in January— “11/22/63” by Stephen King.  A NY Times review can be found here. As one of my volunteer activities with Intel, I have spent time the last two years at Canyon State Academy … Continue reading The day JFK was shot.

(Warning: This is about to be a long post with 500 pictures, but my Grandma Dolores said she likes the pictures, so I made sure to take a lot this weekend!) I had the awesome, incredible, wonderful, luck to be Sunny’s Dog Caretaker on both Saturday & Sunday this week.  When I got the email saying I would have her Saturday, I sent off a … Continue reading Sunny! My favorite topic 🙂

On Thursday & Friday, I read my first book of February– “The Long Run,” by Matt Long & Charles Butler.  You can find it online, here. I think the fact I read it in about five hours tells how much I enjoyed it.  It tells the story of Matt’s recovery from a horrific accident.  (I may or may not have had to check to see … Continue reading “The Long Run”

On Saturday night, I had dinner with Rachel Clause…oops I mean Braten!  She reminded me that I had to change her last name in my phone now that she’s been married for over three months!  It was somewhat surreal.  She had been “Rachel Clause Phi” (as in Alpha Phi) in my phone contacts for forever, and then suddenly she became “Rachel Braten Phi.”  I’ll get … Continue reading Life passes you by

I had the pleasure of spending Sunday with my best friend, the adorable sweetheart Sunny! When I went to pick her up from Dog Days Daycare, I got there right when the doors opened at 7AM and peeked through the waiting room window as they went back to get her.  She looked up & saw me way on the other side of the room….and totally … Continue reading Update on Sunny!

Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year! It is now the year of the SNAKE! I work with a TON of people in Asia. All of last week, they were leaving for their vacation (they get two weeks starting tomorrow) and wishing me a happy new year, one by one. I didn’t know too much about the Chinese New Year, so I … Continue reading Happy Chinese New Year!