One of the most challenging things about having dogs is going on vacation. What do you do with them while you’re gone?
Boarding is of course always an option, but it can get expensive, especially if you have more than one dog. Sometimes we solve the problem by asking a dog-loving friend to stay at our house while we’re gone, but we’ve also brought our dogs with us before on our trips.
Of course, traveling with dogs introduces a whole new set of interesting challenges. If you are staying with friends, will they be okay with having your dog tag along? And if not, you’ll need to find a hotel that allows dogs — which is sometimes difficult, especially if you have BIG dogs.
One way to find dog-friendly hotels is to do a quick search online. For instance, you can search for the phrases “Atlanta, GA hotels” and “allows dogs” for a list of related web pages. Or you can search for a specific hotel to check their pet policy on their website — for instance, by searching for “Quality Inn Phoenix airport.”
Traveling with your dogs definitely makes things more difficult, but I always liked having them along. I tend to miss my pets when I travel, so this way I at least had some of them with me!
Last night, my husband and I watched a horror movie that he’d ordered from Netflix after seeing it featured at Barnes & Noble. The movie, Splinter, seemed to be a bit low budget — the special effects weren’t totally bad, but you could tell when the camera work was a bit vague so that you couldn’t see that it was just a dummy with a dirty blonde wig on.
Basically, the premise is that while on a failed camping trip, this couple is kidnapped by another couple, on the run to Mexico. The first couple is celebrating their anniversary, and the girl is obviously the bold and capable one, while the guy is a bit of a pansy. Of the second couple, the girl is obviously unwell, and the guy seems to be a pretty hardened criminal.
Anyway, after running over an animal, blowing out a tire, and running out of engine coolant, they all end up trapped in a gas station out in the middle of nowhere, being stalked by a parasite that invades the bodies of its victims and uses them to kill more people.
It was a good idea for a movie, reminiscent of movies such as The Ruins, but what I thought was the best part was the character development — much better than you would expect from a horror movie. As I already mentioned, the main girl was a strong character, her brainy boyfriend turned out to have some pretty valuable skills, and the bad guy wasn’t at all the type of person you thought he was in the very beginning.
One of my closest friends is getting married this summer, and I’m going to be one of the bridesmaids in her wedding. It’s so exciting! We’ve already ordered all of our dresses, and I need to go shoe shopping sometime soon to complete my outfit.
The only bad thing is that David’s Bridal seems to be convinced that my friend is Bridezilla. A few months ago we went in to fit our bridesmaid dresses, and they seemed annoyed that we weren’t ordering them on the spot. Then they pestered my friend with calls to tell her we hadn’t ordered the dresses yet. Now they are pestering her with calls to remind her that we haven’t picked up our dresses yet.
It’s all pretty ridiculous, because my friend is totally not a bridezilla at all. She knows that we are all responsible, and if we don’t pick up the dresses right away, we’ll certain get them before the wedding.
But I guess most bridal boutiques must deal all the time with the type of bride that has to know everything, and that everything must be perfect — from the veil to the expressions on the wedding party’s faces in the photographs. I wonder how people who work in the wedding industry do it — I imagine you must have a lot of patience to make custom veils for certain brides.
Thank goodness my friend isn’t being that way. My sister, who is getting married earlier in the same money, IS, on the other hand — so I know exactly how much I should appreciate my friend’s laid back attitude!
On a recent trip to see a very old Aunt of mine, I was, well, shocked to see how she was living. Auntie had always been somewhat eccentric when it came to caring for her animals. However, in the 20 or so years since my Uncle had passed away, she had done a bit of remodeling to her home.
Cat furniture now completely overshadowed people furniture. Knowing how my Aunt rationalizes things, she’d tell you that there is only one of her, and she only needs one place to sit! While I was unable to pin her down on the number of felines she owned, I think that might be due to the fact that she really had no idea.
Thanks to the wonder of the Internet, she no longer even had to go to the store to ensure she had enough supplies for her animals. Places like Amazon.com/PetSupplies would deliver many of their dietary requirements, so she would only have to bring some of the heavier boxes and bags of food from the front door into her house. This saved her from driving to the store, and lugging those items to her car.
She was very proud of her newest cat condo purchase. Apparently, so where a number of her cats as I had to shoo some of them off just to get a peek at the thing!
Do you have an office that is too cluttered? This can seriously decrease your productivity. It can also reduce your motivation to work. It can even make you depressed.
You really don’t need to have a lot of stuff in your office to do most jobs. Here is a short list of the few things that a simple office might need.
An office desk and office chair. Get ones that are simple and functional in their design.
A computer. The majority of people need a computer to get their work done these days.
A light. It’s important to have good lighting when you are working so lamps and overhead lighting are necessary.
Writing pad and utensil. Most people do not need more than one of each of these items.
One small memento. You don’t need a whole cubicle filled with photos of your family but one is nice.
The specific equipment needed to do your job. A book binder needs a paper cutter. Someone who sews needs a sewing machine. But you probably don’t need everything that you have. Go through the office and ask yourself if each item is truly necessary to the job.
Making the effort to simplify your office could make you feel a lot better about your work. Try it and see.
