Animal Lovers: Please Read This

The Shelter Pet Project has just launched! In an effort to save the lives of the three million healthy and treatable dogs and cats who are euthanized in animal shelters each year, this national public service advertising campaign encourages animal lovers to make shelters the first place they turn to when adding a pet to their family. The Shelter Pet Project is a collaborative effort between The Humane Society of the United States, Maddie's Fund, and the Ad Council, in partnership with the entire animal welfare community.

There is a common misconception that there is something wrong with shelter pets. But think about what would happen to a dog whose owner is going to jail for fraud...Or a cat whose owners go through a nasty divorce...Or a dog whose owner leaves him on the side of the road? It's a sad fact, but these pets end up at animal shelters through no fault of their own. Beginning very recently, several humorous Public Service Advertisements created pro-bono by Draftfcb Chicago, which aim to break down negative stereotypes associated with shelter pets, have hit the airwaves across the country. You can watch the commercials now and even find a shelter pet of your own at The Shelter Pet Project's website, www.theshelterpetproject.org!

So come explore the website and test out the Pet Personals, a matchmaking tool that uses the Petfinder.com database to identify local shelter and rescue pets that fit your lifestyle. Also, play around with the Adopt-A-Gram, an interactive e-card that you can send to friends and family to encourage them to adopt a pet, too!



If you live in the Loudoun County, VA area like me, please check our local shelter for some wonderful animals including dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets, and more!

Back to Blogging and a Wednesday Welcome: Glass In The Hand

Each week I'm using Etsy's Pounce feature in order to discover new items "from undiscovered shops waiting for their first sale" as the Etsy site states. This week's welcome is extended to A Glass in the Hand of Brick, New Jersey. This shop is run by a mother and daughter team. Their hand painted glassware can be personalized at no charge, and you can often choose your own colors and themes. These would make great gifts for so many different occasions, just use your imagination!

The Life You Save May Be Your Own

Sounds dramatic, right? But when it comes to prevention and early detection of breast cancer, a bit of drama is warranted if it will bring attention to this topic!
Today I went for my annual screening mammogram. It took less than 15 minutes which was faster than in the past; it turns out that the radiology center near me invested in a digital machine since my visit last May. I can't say I enjoyed the whole experience, but the slight discomfort is worth knowing that I'm doing what I can to help myself.
This post is intended to help others by serving as a reminder to perform your own monthly self breast exams and to follow the recommended guidelines from the National Cancer Institute (yes, I used to work there!):

• Women age 40 and older should have mammograms every 1 to 2 years.
  
  
• Women who are at higher than average risk of breast cancer should talk with their health care providers about whether to have mammograms before age 40 and how often to have them.

To learn how to do a self-breast exam, you can click HERE to see instructions with illustrations from the Mayo Clinic.
For more information about risk factors for breast cancer, click HERE to visit the NCI fact sheet for screening mammograms.
Remember, the life you save may be your own!

Thank You

Today I'm sending out a THANK YOU to Andrea at Kitch for featuring me on her Inspired by Etsy blog! This is actually a belated thanks because I was also on her DC Lovin' board on April 27th. Hopefully she understands that a belated thank you from me is no less sincere than an on-time thank you!
Here is a photo of today's CREST board showing my Morning Glory Everyday Bag in the upper left corner and one of my fabric note cards in the top center position:



















And the one from April which shows a set of my magnets in the upper left corner:

31 Cent Scoop Night

Tonight is 31 Cent Scoop Night at Baskin-Robbins®!
They'll honor America’s firefighters with a $100,000 donation to the National Volunteer Fire Council (NVFC) National Junior Firefighter Program. Participating stores will reduce prices of small ice creamscoops to 31 cents. At some locations, you may also have an opportunity to make a donation to local fire charities.

Wednesday Welcome: Green Earth Jewelry

Each week I'm using Etsy's Pounce feature in order to discover new items "from undiscovered shops waiting for their first sale" as the Etsy site states. This week's welcome is extended to Green Earth Jewelry of Philadelphia. This shop is a perfect choice for an Earth Day feature since this jewelry designer says in her profile "My second love is the environment, which is why I only use recycled metals in my designs now. I purchase my metals from a refiner that never buys metal from mines, meaning they recycle precious metal scrap from jewelers or buy from other refiners who do not buy from mines. I also use fair trade or responsibly mined gemstones when possible." Nice policies and nice jewelry!

Home Sweet Home

It is great to get away with the family for a vacation but it is also good to be home. We had a fun time in Florida over the kids' spring break earlier this month. We enjoyed beaches, pool time, a day at Epcot, mini-golf, and even an ice hockey game in Tampa.
While we were away we celebrated my husband's birthday, our 15th Anniversary, and Easter. It was a busy trip and a long drive but well worth it all.
Our time in Sarasota was fun, but I am glad to be home and have some quiet time to myself with the kids back in school and the hubby back to work. Although I've been working at catching up on laundry and house cleaning, I still squeezed in some much needed exercise time at Jazzercise and a few volunteer hours at the animal shelter where I'm a "cat cuddler".
And now we're all caught up! Did anyone else travel this month? Tell me about it!