Search Results for: blog ten ways to help your shelter

Never Too Old To Help a Friend

I recently read an article about a sweet 82 year old woman here in Utah who has dedicated her life to serving those around her. For years she has volunteered her time at the hospital lifting people’s spirits. Her goal is simply to make all of the patients smile. Even at the ripe old age of 82 she is committed to this work. She wants to make a difference in people’s lives and is doing just that. People often ask her when she is going to retire. Her reply is always, “When I can’t crawl anymore.” If only we could … Continue reading →

This is the Rest of Your Life

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Have you grieved for your marriage? If not, you can’t heal. Although it’s not an actual death it is the death of your dream, that one that you’ve been carrying in your heart since you were a teenager. Mom and Dad who love each other raising a few perfect kids in a house with a white picket fence. It’s hard to let go and in order to let go you have to grieve what is lost. I’m not saying that you should wallow in that grief but just know that it is part of the process. Give yourself time to … Continue reading →

Count Your Blessings

I don’t consider myself a selfish person. Of course, none of us believes we are selfish or spoiled or any other negative adjective, but my thoughts on that are changing. I’ve been whining, yes, whining about how hard it is to be a single parent, to raise a child on one income, to not have any time for myself and on and on it goes. I think we are all guilty of complaining, at least I hope so, I would hate to be the only one. I belong to a meetup group and every year they do some charity thing, … Continue reading →

Glam Shots for Shelter Animals

Do I look cool/cute enough to take home? I have a horrible addiction: I love to look at pictures of dogs and cats on petfinder.com. I know I shouldn’t, but sometimes I just can’t resist. I’ve always been an avid Petfinder follower. I’ve spent time looking at it since I was in high school, and I found the first two pets of my adult life through the site. At this stage I can reasonably say I’m a Petfinder expert. One thing I’ve learned from Petfinder is the importance of creating a good profile for the pets. I’ve seen some pet … Continue reading →

Fun Ways to Rid Your Home of Halloween Candy

Sure, you can donate your leftover Halloween candy to hospitals, food pantries, churches and shelters. You could also send excess hard candy (chocolate melts in the desert) to troops based overseas. There are even some dentists and retailers who are buying kids’ Halloween loot. However, none of those ideas scream F-U-N to me the same way eating does. When I was young I refused to part with any of my sugar stash. After all, I schlepped for three hours collecting all that junk, and by gosh, I was going to devour every last calorie… unless it started with Laffy and … Continue reading →

Retrofitting Your Home Against Wind Damage

Protecting your home against wind damage, and the areas where wind can enter your home is probably the most important thing that you can do to reduce damage to your home and property in the case of a hurricane or other weather phenomena with high winds. Securing or retrofitting your home is easiest done when you are already planning a renovation. This way, both your time and your cost will be lessened. There are several areas of your home that you can reinforce: Roof, Shutters, Straps, Doors and Windows, and Garage Doors. These are not listed in priority. All areas … Continue reading →

Some Pets Help Sell Homes

The New York Times recently posted an interesting article relating to pets, one that the story itself acknowledges contradicts popular assumed wisdom: pets help sell homes. Normally one would assume that leaving pets in a house or apartment while it’s toured by prospective buyers is a bad idea, because who knows how potential buyers feel about animals? To an extent that will always be true. People touring the house might have severe pet allergies or phobias. Some pets might be ill-behaved, following the tour around the house, making noise, and perhaps even trying to jump on people. Certain hallmarks of … Continue reading →

Visiting and Helping an Animal Shelter

We love animals. My daughter would like a dog, but I think that we are full at the moment. With fish, two pet rats, and four – ack! – cats, the ark is definitely not taking any more animals at the moment. She would also like to be a vet (and a sushi chef, and a doctor, and a …). She likes to pretend that she is rescuing animals. If you have a child who also loves animals, visiting or helping an animal shelter or rescue center is one way to encourage their interest. If you can visit the shelter … Continue reading →

Physical Abuse Can Go Both Ways

We all know that it’s not right for a man to hit his wife. There are all kinds of protective agencies and laws in place, shelters for abused women, support groups that meet both online and in person. This is how it should be, but what about marriages in which the wife is abusive to the husband? It does happen. Most of the time, the husband is physically stronger than the wife, and if he’s the abuser, he can inflict a lot more damage. He can break her arms and ribs, give her concussions and bruises, and even cause wounds … Continue reading →

When Your Choices Offend Others

Recently, I offended some people. I probably do this regularly, even though I’m not someone who tries to be offensive. In fact, growing up I always tried to please people in power, usually my teachers. Again, this is one of the reasons I like homeschooling. I like fostering my child’s innate drive to learn, rather than a drive to please the educational system. I feel that while the education system was certainly encouraging for a bright little girl who liked science, it took a long time to buck the desires of others and follow what delighted me, which was science … Continue reading →