Taking the Bad with the Good :)

Isn't it strange that everything can be going wrong; you can have an awful day or week, then one moment just reminds you that everything is okay? Enjoying simple moments in life and letting go of stress is very good for your mind and body.

I had a bad week this week or maybe it was just a long bad mood. Last night, I couldn't wait to get home. I just wanted to go home, throw the covers over my face, and wake up to a new day. I ended up watching a so-so movie with the boyfriend last night after eating a quick dinner and sitting by the fireplace. When it was over and the lights went out, the monstrous 16 lb. cat we're 'house-sitting' for crawled on top of me. He put his cold paw flat on my face and laid his chin on it and purred so loudly. My boyfriend cuddled up to me and kissed me on the cheek. We said 'I Love You, Nite' and smiled at each other. I felt so lucky. I hate how I let little things get to me so much.

Anyone else have a similar simple yet clarifying moment lately?

How do you handle the little things and stay stress-free?

A Growing Panda

I got these pictures in an e-mail of a baby panda growing and had to share. They are adorable!

And the full grown ones are cute, too :)

Ellen DeGeneres

I just wanted to write something to show my support for Ellen DeGeneres. I have always loved her show and she seems like a great, caring person. She's actually an animal lover and has won a Founder's Award from the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). If you look at her website, she has ads for HomeAgain, which keeps you from losing your pet as well as promotions for Susan G. Komen.

She is in trouble with a dog rescue agency called "Mutts for Moms." She adopted a dog from their agency and apparently spent over $3,000 to train the dog to get along with her cats. It was unsuccessful though so she did what most people would think is a good thing, she found it another good home. After giving it to her hairdresser, the agency found out and repossessed the dog from her home like a car. I guess the hairdresser had two kids that were attached to it and now


Ellen feels guilty for causing them that pain. She had a huge display of tears on her TV show to give the dog back. I feel so bad for her and the family that lost the dog.


Do you think they should give the dog back to the family, given it's deemed a safe home for the dog? Or should it just go by the rules? It would be better for the dog to be in a home with a nice family than locked up at the rescue organization, so why not give the hairdresser a chance to adopt it?

Interspecies Love :)

I'm sure many people have heard this story - since it's on most popular Yahoo! news but I had to include it on here. A guy from Virginia found a kitten inside an old tire and took it home. It refused to drink from a bottle and the family was scared it would die. Somehow their golden retriever, hearing the cat crying from hunger, began producing milk for it. It said she thinks she is a dog now but that's excusable. Here is the picture of them:





How sweet! If only people could learn this kind of kindness for strangers... but then again if you read my other blog on that weirdo, maybe it is a good thing we don't - it'd be nice if we (safely) could though.

Money-Worthy Products

I decided to make a list of products that are environment and animal-friendly. I will probably update this somewhat regularly as I find new and interesting products. If they have websites, I'll leave links so you can check them out on the web. If you have any recommendations that fit into this category, please let me know.


Bath and Body Works: They never test on animals. They are always coming out with new products that smell wonderful. This pumpkin is a nightlight that scents the room with creamy caramel. It lasts up to two months (plenty of time to keep up Halloween decorations.) There are other holiday styles and every day styles as well.







Burt's Bees: "Earth Friendly, Natural Personal Care Company." They had to convince a company to produce recycled plastic for their lip balm, which took years, and now it is widely used. They do not test on animals and produce very high quality products from natural ingredients. I Love this stuff! A great humanitarian company!











Alba Organics Skincare: Just tried the bubble bath and it is wonderful :).
My skin felt so soft and smooth. A bit pricy at $8.00/bottle but worth it.
They have a variety of products from skincare to lipbalm to hair products made from cruelty-free ingredients.






Eco Animal: Adorable products for your pets such as this treat jar that are non-toxic and earth-friendly, too. They also have biodegradable items such as litter liners. (They are part of Eco Choices, which has many divisions - not just pets.)

CharityUSA.com has several sites of which the proceeds go to great charities. They have stores with clothing, gift ideas, jewelry, holiday items, and more. There are separate stores set up to help causes such as the rainforest, literacy, hunger, breast cancer, ecology, and animal rescue. I am ordering the cutest kitten calendar for next year :) . You can switch easily from one store to the other. Great site for Christmas shopping! The Rainforest Site Store

Want something more affordable? I have been using St. Ives products for years. They are made from natural ingredients and do not test on animals. You can find their products everywhere. My favorites are their 24-hour moisture lotion, their regular apricot scrub (exfoliator) for my body, and sensitive skin apricot scrub for my face. It leaves your skin soft and pretty :) . There's an even bigger selection of products online.

Animal Rescue

Animals, especially cute little baby animals, always bring a smile to my face. I have been an animal lover since birth; so I figured what better topic to start my 'happy' blog with than my favorite thing, animals... I read through a lot of animal rescue stories but this one really got my attention.

I will paraphrase because I'm not real familiar with copyright laws, but I'm sure I won't tell it quite as well as this woman from Philadelphia did.

A woman started her engine and heard a horrible sound and a painful cry from a cat. She hurriedly turned it off, opened her hood to find blood and fur, and was crying uncontrollably trying to get through the engine parts to find a baby kitten.
She rushed it to the vet and found it had many severely broken bones. The bill was going to be thousands of dollars if she didn't euthanize her but she hadn't worked in a while herself due to a car accident. She couldn't put her down so she called many radio stations and talk shows and pleaded for help.
Calls started pouring in and vets were willing to help with the costs as well. The cat ended up making a full recovery and lived happily ever after with that woman. :)

It's so great to know there are such kind, generous people out there in a world that isn't always so friendly.

I absolutely adore these "tea-cup" persian kittens than run hundreds if not thousands of dollars. I would never dream of buying one, even if rich. There are so many pets that need rescued from shelters. Why breed animals when there are so many without homes? Many breeding practices have been shown to be unhealthy anyways.

Do you have any animal rescue stories? Please share them! I love to read those kinds of things. Have you ever volunteered for an animal shelter? What do you think of breeding?