Why Do They Make It So Hard?

Ok, I suppose I do understand, on the most simple and basic of levels, the "why" behind the 4-page application process, the home visit, the neutral territory visit between the dog and family, the requirements for obedience training, the whole nine yards.  BUT, shelters often wonder why people would choose to spend $800 and up on a puppy or dog they find on Kijiji rather than adopt some poor creature who, through no fault of their own, needs a home.  We live in a modest sized townhouse.  We have a fenced-in yard.  We live a fairly active (often outdoors) lifestyle.  And yet I have to admit that the idea of all the various things that we have to do in order to apply for the puppy that my husbeast and I have taken a liking to is rather daunting.  I mean, my family and friends will be contacted to see what type of people we are, there will be background checks into both of our lives, there will be a surprise visit later in life *if* we are successful in adopting...and on and on and on.

Yes, we like the little guy that we want.  Yes, we know the cost for adoption as well as the cost for the obedience training.  Yes, we know that he is a puppy and will need training.  We are prepared to accept all that comes with a dog.  And we would prefer to do it in a manner that helps the wonderful people who foster and try to save as many animals as possible from "kill shelters".  But I am on the fence about if I really want to open my life up as much as I am being asked to to complete strangers who will then judge whether they believe we are fit to have an animal (especially given that, if they deny us the adoption, does that mean that they actually feel that we are worse for an animal than a shelter that would eventually kill them?).

I suppose I will have to think on it a little longer.  I mean, we have waited this long to find someone who would be a good fit for our family...if the little guy we like is adopted  before we make any decision, such is the way of life.  What is meant to be will be.

ttfn

Yarn Yarn Everywhere

Well, I am happy to say that a few days in to my Pinterest driven motivation, and I am still going strong.  I am on the last change of needles for the socks...looking good for me actually getting a pair done.  WEEE!!!  And, the obsession doesn't particularly seem to be held at knitting.  I have been stalking eBay for discounted yarn.  I have found (and bought/bid on) a few different skeins of yarn with specific projects in mind (and one I admit that I just really liked the colours).

I find it rather odd, however, that the two main projects that I am working on (there is a third that I am working on...an afghan that is based on a stitch that my nanny (my grandma) showed me when she was down here visiting...but I know that that is going to be one of those "oh look, I finished it on December 24...just in time for Christmas" things), they are both kinda at that numb stage.  I know the patterns that they both follow.  I am aware of where and when to expect increases and how said increases are worked.  So I am finding myself getting much further on them then I realize in my sleep-deprived, I have a teething 4 month old zoning out.  I look down and it is suddenly one of those "oh, i am on the last repeat of the first leaf pattern" moments.  I like this, really I do.  But without the instant gratification found in bulky yarn projects, it is kinda ticking me off.  I mean, I am further than I realized...further than I thought...but I still have all this to do still?  Really?  How is that fair???

Oh well...such is the life and times of an overly tired, often hormonal and cranky, mother of three with attention issues.  :S

I have also run out of shows to watch.  I hate that.  Totally unrelated to anything else in this post, I know, but it is true.  I fell in love with Terra Nova, only to find out that the first season was also the last and only.  :(  Boo Fox.  And now I am on the last episode of Primeval.  My Doctor is all up to date.  I need more sci-fi shows that are interesting and watchable!  Bah!

Sometimes I am a Little Slow

So, we all say it.  "This year, I am going to keep up a little more with my blogging."  But, inevitably, life gets in the way.  :S  Go figure...I want to share the comings and goings of my world with others, only to have said comings and goings get in the way of my telling anyone about them.  Yep, that sounds about right.

Anywho, I currently have one sleeping child and one who is, for the moment, content to play in her chair, chewing happily away on her fingers and, from what I can ascertain, trying to figure out why the fingers that are below are not so easy to get in her mouth.  I am sure that she will eventually get them, but for the moment, the 5 point harness is keeping her strapped in position and providing a nice diversion.  I will take the break where I can get it.

For the last little while, I haven't been on a finishing kick in any way, shape or form.  I have worked on a helluva lot of different things, and in all different areas of "artsy fartsy" stuff, but nothing that I have been all "look at me, I did that".  HOWEVER, that having been said, I have discovered that my friend's addiction to Pinterest has led to my addiction in actually wanting to start AND finish items.  It is kinda neat the feeling you get when you start and finish something in a relatively logical sort of time frame.  I mean, I have had things that sat around for months and months (some of them to the point where I could no longer recall where I was in the pattern, even after looking at it row by row and eventually ended up frogging...I guess you could say that the drive to complete said pattern just left).  But, as I said, a friend of mine recently has become a Pinterest junkie...which has led to her finding some awesome hand made items on Pinterest and tagging me..."can you make this?"  It is almost like it is a challenge.  I don't know...can I?  Can I do this in a relatively short time frame, since the item she has tagged me in is a summer item, and it is currently summer time?  Hmmm...lemme see.

And off I go.  This has, in the last week and a bit, led to this:

Even I am impressed with myself.  I am actually much further along on the socks than that.  The picture above was taken yesterday.  Now, I am up over the knee on the thigh high buggers.  Of course, the real challenge will be how long it will take for me to do the other one.  At the moment, I am planning on casting on the other one this evening, since the needles that start these socks off is a size 2.

Well, that is really all that is going on at the moment...I am loving Pinterest, but purely because of what it does to other people...which in turn motivates me.

I currently have an ant playing on my thigh under my pants, so on that note, I am going to sign off and go squeal like a girl until it is gone.

ttfn

kb

CIBC Run for the Cure

Yeah, okay, so it has been a very long hiatus. But in my defence, I have been busy as all get out. We are finally settled here (mostly), and we are now a family of 5 (eek!).

However, more importantly, to those of you who read regularly, and for those who don't and just somehow stumbled upon my blog, please support an excellent cause.

On September 30, 2012, I will be participating in the CIBC Run for the Cure. Every donation helps. 
CIBC Run for the Cure Donation Page

Cheers!