Fun weekend

Probably one of the last nice weekends up at The Lake, and boy, was it a nice one. The weather was great, everyone was in fine spirits, and I got to meet Adyn. I'd show you a picture, but his parents seem to be woefully slow in sharing said pictures. He's pretty dang cute, though. And he has heart-shaped nostrils, which for some reason absolutely fascinates me. I spent the whole time I was holding him looking up the poor kid's nose. Hopefully he won't be scarred for life. Then again, he probably isn't the first, nor will he be the last, child to be forced into years of therapy by something weird I do. TTFN!!

A forensic PLUMBER?!?!?

I'm sitting here watching Forensic Files on CourtTV, and they've enlisted the help of a forensic plumber. Er, what? I think I'm going to become a forensic furniture refinisher. Yeah. Or maybe a forensic platypus wrangler. That would be cool.

Puppies and kitties and stuff, oh my!

Yesterday was a kick-ass day at the shelter. For those of you unawares, I volunteer 3-4 days a week at the Humans Society of the Lakes animal shelter just north of Detroit Lakes. Now, I know there are those of you out there who are probably of the opinion that shelter dogs are not as good as pure breeds, and I could go off for several pages about the shelter in Brooklyn that has to euthanize 30 dogs every day and puppy mills and inbreeding and the like, but I'm not going to do it. Really. And while I do understand wanting a certain kind of dog, the fact is, you can probably find that kind of dog in a shelter. A couple of weeks ago we had a Welsh Terrier that had papers and everything. His owner had to move and couldn't take him along, so she asked us to help him find a good home. Which we totally did.

This job has probably done more for my mental health in the last six months than all of the medication, therapy and group meetings put together. I could go off for pages about the warm, fuzzy feeling I get from helping a family find just the right pet, but I'm not going to do it. Really. Suffice to say all the sappy Hallmark cards in the universe couldn't come close. And if you want a little bit of that feeling, (here comes the sales pitch) you can donate time, or money, or even just old blankets to your local shelter. The Humane Society of the US and the ASPCA would be good places to start. Thank you for letting me preach at you.

Attacked by wolverines

I look like I have been. Honest. I'd post a picture but my brother has the digital camera in Michigan or something. I wasn't actually attacked by wolverines (duh). I was helping give kitty shots at the humane society and a couple of them decided I'd make a good scratching post. Oh well, at least it's less embarrassing to explain than "tripped over a crack in the sidewalk" or "burned myself making microwave popcorn". Nothing interesting to report, although I did make molasses cookies. TTFN!!

I had a really cool title in mind...

...but then I forgot it. Oh well.

Anyway, I've been reading lots of Stephen King lately. I have read his stuff in the past, but kind of got out of the habit for a while. I started again because I thought his stories would be engaging enough to keep my attention. And, lo and behold, I was right. I'm on my third book in three weeks. That's a really big deal for me. I've spent the last year and a half feeling like half of my brain fell out somewhere, and now I feel like it's maybe back in there. Not quite up to speed yet, but getting there.

In other news, er, my cat seems to have stopped pooping in the living room. Wow. That's honestly the most interesting thing that's happened lately. Wow. I really need to get out more. Also, I learned that the aspartame in diet soda breaks down into formaldehyde. Not enough to really hurt you unless you're drinking an obscene amount of it, or if you're bipolar. It's a bad idea to drink or eat anything that has Nutra-sweet in it if you're bipolar. I'm just saying. Well, the cat's snoring has distracted me to the point of losing any sort of train of thought I may have once possessed. That, and I'm about 20 pages from the end of Cujo. TTFN!

I'm an auntie! (Sorta)

I'm excited to report that Kay had a healthy baby boy yesterday at 6:50 pm. He was 8 lb. 11 oz. and 21 inches long. His name is Adyn William Lienke and mom and baby are doing just fine. Good job to everyone involved!

Dane Cook is NOT the new Ryan Reynolds, dammit!!

OK, so I don't think anyone has actually said that, but I'm staging a preemptive strike, here.

• First of all, Dane Cook is not funny. I will admit that, at first, I laughed along with everyone else. After about 5 minutes, though, I realized that he's really just a younger, scruffier version of Jerry Seinfeld without the whiny voice. Pointing out obvious things so show how hilarious they are is not , in my opinion, comedy.
• Second, Ryan Reynolds is obviously much hotter than Dane Cook. He does clean-cut better, and he does scruffy better. Even though Dane Cook has never done ripped hottie, I'm still willing to bet Ryan Reynolds does it better. I mean, have you seen Blade 3? Horrible movie, granted, but come on! Yum!
• Third and theoretically most important, acting. Dane Cook plays Dane Cook very well, but that's the extent of his range. Ryan Reynolds can do comedy, drama, action, etc. I'm not saying he's the next Marlon Brando, but he's better than at least half (okay, maybe fifty percent) of the actors out there.
  

So, in conclusion, (even though I know it's cheating to use those words to begin the conclusion) Ryan Reynolds rules and Dane Cook drools. The end. TTFN!!