Mothers: Take Note

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-gj8_2FtVA

Bow Wow Beds

Since Matt and I don't have any kids yet (much to his dismay), we tend to obsess over our dog Luna. The poor girl is going to be in for a terrible shock when we do have kids and she takes a back seat.

Anyways, I have been looking for a dog bed for her for a long time. We've had her since March and just got her a bed this week. Of course this has something to do with my indecisiveness, but more so with the fact that the majority of dog beds are way over priced and just plain ugly. Who wants to spend $80 on an ugly, polyester and sheepskin mound to lie in the middle of your living room? Not me.

I finally found the perfect dog bed! I found this company on Etsy. If you aren't familiar with Etsy, it's a website where you can buy and sell all things handmade. It's really cool, and they have some great stuff. Of course, they also have the occasional clump of moss with googly eyes and pipe cleaner hat, but the majority of the items on there are really cool. Jewelry, clothes, furniture, etc. (Whitney - they also have a section for vintage items; it would be a great place to sell some of your jewelry!)

The company is called Bow Wow Beds. You can search for them on Etsy under "vendor", or you can visit the website: http://www.bowwowbeds.com/. The beds are handmade out of duck canvas, and come in 20+ colors. I got one in Avocado. They are like a giant pillow sham - no zippers or Velcro for your dog to chew on. You just stuff some sort of filling inside (I used two pillows, but you can use blankets, an egg crate, etc.) and ta da! A cute, durable, colorful dog bed! The cover was around $30, plus shipping, and I spent $10 on the pillows. When it's all said and done, it cost less than most of the beds from Pet Smart that are comparable in size, and it's so much better looking! And Luna is happy as a clam. See?

Quite disturbing

Sometimes I joke about being part albino. Mainly in the winter. And, sometimes Matt and I talk about the fact that our kids are going to be freaking clear. So. Last night I was flipping channels and found a show on TLC called "My Shocking Story: Albino Island". Naturally I had to watch. It was muy disturbioso. Apparently, in Tanzania, it's widely believed that the albino him/herself is bad luck. Unfortunately, a few witch doctors have led people to believe that the arms and legs of albinos bring good luck. So - you can probably see where this is going - these poor albino people are murdered for their arms and legs. It's terrible. They are rejected by their community and hunted.

We were introduced to one particular family with 5 children - 3 of which were born with albinism. They live a mile or 2 outside the village and their extended family has deserted them because they don't approve of the albino children. One of the characteristics of albinism is poor eyesight, and their eyes are extremely sensitive to the light. The albino children were the oldest children in the family, and therefore had to take on a lot of responsibility. They had to walk 2 hours round trip to the nearest water hole (which didn't look like something fit for washing clothes in, much less drinking out of), chop firewood, and perform other various chores essential to their survival. Of course all this is done in the blistering sun, and these poor girls can barely open their eyes in the daytime to begin with. Their skin has been badly burned repeatedly, resulting in wrinkled, leathery, blistered skin. It's so sad.

Even more sad, was the story of how their sister was murdered. They woke up in the middle of the night to men standing over them with machetes, threatening to kill them if they looked at their faces. Then, while they lay there, they heard the men cutting off the legs of their sister with a machete. While she was alive. She died shortly after from blood loss. If that is not the embodiment of evil, I really don't know what is. The family lives in fear, because they have no protection and know that this could happen to them again at any point. The 2 surviving girls spend their days doing chores outside in the Tanzanian sun where they are being burned and practically blinded by the sun, and they spend their nights in fear that they could be killed. It was such a tragic story. It makes me anxious for heaven.

+'s and -'s for the Fallter. (That's my made up E! name for the Fall/Winter season.)

+'s:

1. Wearing my Kelly green peacoat.
2. Smearing Burt's Bees chapstick all over my lips and enjoying the tingling feeling that comes when I step outside.
3. Scarves!
4. Making soup for dinner.
5. Busting out the Christmas decorations (and music). And buying all sorts of unnecessary new decorations that I don't have the space for.


-'s:

1. Getting shocked every time I close my car door.
2. My skin's return to it's natural shade of clear.
3. Standing out in the cold with Luna every morning while she takes her SWEET time to go to the bathroom.
4. The itchy feeling I get on my legs when I go for a run outside.
5. Giving Luna a bath (outside) after she submerges herself in a stinking, stagnant, decomposing muddy bog. You know, the kind of place where Shrek lives. We have one in our complex. I know this is going to happen to me (again).

Chiropractic Massage

I need to share the experience I had last night. It was quite interesting. I bought a gift certificate through an acquaintance for a fundraiser. It was a gift certificate for a "wellness exam" and hour long massage from a local chiropractic center, valued at $145. I got the certificate for $25, which is awesome. I love getting massages, but since they are quite pricey ($80/hour at Urban Nirvana, plus tip) I usually only get one a year in the form of a birthday present. So - I jumped at the chance to get an hour long massage for the low low price of $25!!


I scheduled my appointment for last night. This particular chiropractic office was located in a strip mall on James Island. Upon entering the office, I was immediately confronted with a giant framed picture of the chiropractor shaking hands with Arnold Schwarzenegger. This was a little odd, in my opinion, but I figured, "Hey, if this guy's good enough for the Governator, he's good enough for me."

The next thing I noticed, were these two tiki heads sitting on the reception desk with flowers floating in their water-filled open skulls. One was blue and glittery, while the other was more traditional looking. There was a sign advertising them as "Custom-made tiki heads individually numbered and signed by Dr. Smith. Only $39 each!" What a steal!

After fighting the urge to purchase one of these Hawaiian keepsakes, I filled out some forms and was led into a little room. Here I watched a video of various patient testimonials. It was great. The video quality made it apparent that the video was shot by a midget with a shaky hand. The tag line at the end of each testimonial was "Thanks Dr. Smith!" One particular patient finished his testimonial and sat smiling at the camera for a good 10 seconds. At that point you could hear the individual with the camera whispering, "Say 'Thank you Dr. Smith!' " I guess my hearing is better than his, because after a few seconds of prompting, he still remained smiling silently at the camera. Not awkward at all. . .

Finally, the time came for my massage. I was a little apprehensive about where this would take place, given the layout of the office. I have never been to a chiropractor before, so I'm not sure if this is how all their offices are laid out, but there was no privacy. There were 4 or 5 different tables and machines throughout the office where people could be adjusted, but they were all out in the open. One particular treatment area was located in the back next to the bathroom. Before my massage I went back to use the bathroom, and had to squeeze by a man strapped to some sort of vibrating machine, belly up. The bathroom door almost clipped his feet as I was opening it.

Luckily, the massages are given in a completely enclosed room with a door. It was located directly off of the main reception area, which I noticed was being set up for a class later in the evening.

The massage was great. It wasn't given by the chiropractor, but by a licensed (I'm assuming) massage therapist. The only low point was somewhere in the middle of the massage, when I heard a knock at the door. It was opened a few seconds later, and as I lay face down on the massage table with the upper half of my body exposed, I could hear people talking outside. It was the class they had been setting up for earlier. I'm not sure how many people were outside the door, and I don't know how far into the room they were able to see, but it was definitely not the most comfortable situation to be in.

The rest of the massage went by with no interruptions. As the massage therapist was leaving so I could get dressed, she warned me that there was a class sitting directly outside the door, and to open it carefully. Five minutes later, hair disheveled and completely covered in coco butter, I tried to make my escape. I'm sure they heard me coming because it took me a good minute to open the door with my greasy hand unsuccessfully trying to grip the doorknob. I was finally able to turn the darn thing, and as I opened the door I could see that there was a man sitting in a chair about 12 inches from the door. I opened it as much as I could and squeezed out, and found myself standing in the middle of a class of 15 or so people who were learning massage techniques. They all turned their attention to me as the chiropractor asked how I had enjoyed my massage. I murmured something about it being great, and made a beeline for the door. I was in such a rush to get the heck out of there that I forgot all about the tiki heads! That is until I felt their evil little eyes boring a hole into the back of my greasy head.

Jacksonville

This past weekend I went to Jacksonville for my friend Ali's baby shower. Her son, Gray, is due right around Thanksgiving. Ali and I have been friends since elementary school, and it's so neat to think that she is going to be a mother in a few short weeks!

Myself, Ali, and her sister Whitney.

My mom came over from Tallahassee for the shower and we had a great time together. We went to PF Chang's on Saturday night (hate to say it, but it did not live up to the hype), and shopped at the St. Johns Town Center on Sunday before heading home. That place is redic. Every store you can dream of, including a West Elm and Ballard Design. Can I just say that I LOVE Anthropologie? Really. I would like to live in that store. I get particularly excited about the housewares section. I get giddy walking around looking at all the bedding, lamp shades, glassware, dish towels, aprons . . . . .

I got this fabulous dress:

Too bad I'll have to wait a while to debut her.

On another note, my sister's boyfriend, Brandon, just walked on to the FSU football team! There were about 40 guys who came out, and only 7 spots. Brandon was one of the 7! Go Brandon!!

Get your DVR ready....

For "My Monkey Baby": Sunday, Oct. 4 at 9 p.m. on TLC.

WTD. I'm not sure which is weirder. This is a close contender.