Lost & Found

I work at a college. I work under the umbrella of Public Safety. On top of the hundreds of things Public Safety does, one of the least favorite things we do is collect lost and found items. We have seen MANY odd and unusual things turned in over the years, like one shoe or old text books from two years ago. Along with those odd things there have been the valuable items that someone is thankful is turned in like car keys, iPods or cameras.

Well, yesterday I witnessed the strangest thing to be turned into lost and found in my 10.5 years working there. A dog.

He looked like this puppy in the image, but a little older

The poor thing was visiting from North Carolina with an irresponsible owner. After calling the vet that was labeled on his tags, they mentioned that we were the second caller for the dog "Pepsi" and the owner said to just let the dog roam and he will find his way home. Um, no! There are busy streets around campus and we were not going to allow that! Also, the dog was not in his home territory. So Char did some investigating to locate the owner directly and strongly urged that they come pick the dog up rather then letting him roam around the area. Good thing!

In the mean time, our new visitor was a happy go lucky, clean and healthy looking bundle of energy. He kept going back and forth between offices for attention. He was definitely the best entertaining lost and found item I've seen!


About a half-hour later, Pepsi's owner stopped by to pick up her dog. I'm not too sure how I feel about Pepsi's owner, since she had not expresed concern that he had got out in the first place, but I'm happy he found his way to us yesterday morning so he wouldn't get hurt. He was such a wonderful surprise on a Monday morning too!

Shopping for a Princess

Yesterday, I was in the mood to do something, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to actually do. I'm sure you've had that kind of day and it can be a little tiresome trying to think of something to do. First,I figured I would go to the local grocery store and cash in all my change (in the Coin-Star machine).

I hit the jackpot! I haven't cashed in my change since before vacation time, 2 summers ago. So, I picked a few things up at the grocery store, but after I got home I still had the urge to do something. Jeff didn't want to do much and my FIL was out cruising the town on his bike.

So, after lunch I decided to go birthday shopping for Ally. I know her birthday isn't until 11/2, but I had little extra coin in my pocket and I was looking for something to do! So, I hopped in the van and headed to the closest Toys R Us to check things out.

I browsed the whole store. It ended up being between pink playschool golf set or anything Princess. I went down pepto pink isle of Princess Land and figured out she would like something in this genera. I know she would love anything from us, but its just makes it special when you see that look of amazement when she opens her presents, like it was the best thing in the world!

The potential golf set (except in pink) but Princess stuff won this year

I couldn't remember which Disney Princess what her favorite at the time, but also I knew that could change by the time her birthday rolled around. So, I decided to buy dress-up stuff. Ally is starting to get into that sort of thing right now so I thought it was perfect. So, our little Princess will get an Ultimate Princess Dress-Up Set

and a Princess Dance-Along Studio (it has a floor mat to show her dance moves, DVD & magic wand). She can use her new dress-up clothes to dress up like a Princess while she learns the moves!

Now, I can't wait for her birthday!

Whats Zack been up too?

He's enjoying 5th grade. Zack likes his teacher and is making tons of friends.

He's has two fundraisers going on right now. One is for a Virginia nut company. He had this one last year and they were OK. Last year I bought peanuts with Old Bay seasoning on them, but they weren't that good. So, this year I'm trying pistachios. Jeff just got mixed nuts, can't go wrong with those.

The other is to collect as many water (Nestle brand) and food (Campbell's soup, Tyson Frozen food and box tops)labels so the school can earn new equipment. This contest will go on all year. Also, there is an individual contest to see who collects the most, gets a prize.

I know the fundraisers help the schools (even though only 40% goes to the school), but they are one after the other on top of school pictures, sport pictures, and any other school related cost. Phew! You can go broke just putting the kid through elementary school.

The poor kid just had bronchitis too. He's feeling much better, but it always makes you feel bad when your kid is sick.

Our next visit with him is over Thanksgiving in Maryland. We can't wait to see him!

I {heart} tags

Thanks Amy for the Tag.

Here are 7 random factoids about me!

1. My right foot is slightly longer then my left foot. When I'm trying on shoes, I always go by how my right foot fits and feels in the shoe.
2. I've had two dogs during my lifetime. Tasha who was a husky mix who lived to be 18 years old (she was part of the family before I was born) and Rowdy who lived to be about 13 years old who was a shepard mix. I miss them so much! I REALLY want a dog in my lift right now, but my stubborn landlord (my FIL) won't let me get one.
3. Christmas is my favorite holiday.
4. I send a birthday & anniversary cards to everyone in my family.
5. I have 22 cousins (not including their spouses) I have contact with on my side of the family. Who knows how many others are out there that I don't know who they are.
6. I like the house to be silent when I am alone (when I'm not watching TV). I'm not sure why??!
7. I've had grey hair in spots since I was 18 years old (thanks mom for your genetics). I've been coloring my hair for about 6 years to help cover up my patch. Its noticeable when I need a color when I pull my hair back and stray hairs can be seen on my right side of my head. Yikes!

New Arrival!

I would like to introduce you to my new cousin, Sebastian Michael. He arrived yesterday, 9/22/2008 at 4:50pm. He weighs 7lbs, 14 oz and is 21.5 inches long.

Happy Fall, Y'all!

Fall is here! This time of year is starting to become my favorite season. I still adore Spring and Summer for all of its slender, but Fall is starting to rub off on me since the Ol'New England Charm comes out the most during this season.

So, here are my favorite things about our current season:

1. Apple Picking
   
2. Leaves changing to brilliant colors
   
3. County Fairs
   
4. Sweater Weather
   
5. Beautiful fall weather
   
6. All the decorations to celebrate fall and Halloween
   
7. Carved Pumpkins on display
   
8. Halloween/trick-or-treaters
   
9. Planting for the Spring
   
10. Finishing up the yard for its last grooming before winter
    

Jeff Dunham Show

Last night, Jeff and I celebrated his birthday present. I know, those who read often know that Jeff's birthday is in July, but his birthday present was tickets to the comedian Jeff Dunham Spark of Insanity Show.

Jeff Dunham is the ventriloquist (that's a hard word to spell, thank goodness for spellcheck!) comedian who is hilarious. He's been on Comedy Central several times. Actually, we watch him when ever we notice he's on TV. This is what sparked my interest when I found out he was going to be in our area.

I was going to tell Jeff that he was coming and let him make the call if we go see him or not, but then I realized that I didn't know what to get him for his birthday. The tickets went on sale several weeks before his big day, so I decided to purchase the tickets and give them as a gift. Presto! The perfect gift!

So, last night was the show. There was an opening act who was hilarious. I don't remember his name, but he kept referring to himself as the guitar guy. I guess he's all over youtube. But, he was a good opening act. He got the audience laughing and ready for the headliner.

Jeff Dunham was so funny. He even made himself crack up, but the amazing thing was, he would look like he was starting to laugh but the puppet would still be talking. How the heck did he do that?!?!? He was on for about an hour and half and making everyone laugh for the whole time. Also, the guitar guy would come out and assist. Jeff Dunham was working on matireal for his Christmas Special, so he needed Christmas music for some of the acts!

It was such a great show. It wasn't a real family friendly show, more for the adults (just a heads-up), but it was so much fun. I'd definitely go see him again if he comes back to the area.