Sponsored Post: Puppies vs. Babies

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Puppies vs. Babies for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Puppies vs. Babies

Sooo... someone finally did it.  They have a contest for which is cuter - puppies or babies?  No really, go look - Puppies vs. Babies online contest.  See what I mean?  You have until November 23 to vote.  So, that means TODAY.

Personally, this is a hard decision.  Some babies are absolutely adorable, and melt everyone's hearts.  But puppies.... puppies are cute.  And grow into dogs, which are cute too.  I mean, Jager is still my puppy, and he's still cute.  Even when he's in trouble, those big eyes can melt my heart.  When a baby is crying.... not so cute.  Really - a screaming child?  There is nothing cute about that at all.

Who would you vote for?  Could you choose between babies and puppies?  I am interested to see these comments - how do you decide?  If I had heard about this contest, this picture would have been entered immediately:

I mean really, how adorable is that?  A baby would be all hidden in a car seat, unable to decide it was naptime.  Jager just curled up on his way to see Santa.

I was undecided when I first saw this contest, but if I had to choose a group, it would be puppies.  No matter how naughty they are, puppy dog eyes win out every time!

Don't forget to tell me in the comments who you are going to vote for!  I want to see who you all think is cuter :)

Ooops

Hi there.  Yup, it's me, the missing blogger.  I've been busy living life and trying to keep up with all of my "real" responsibilities.  I wish I had a way to talk and compose blog entries in the car - you would probably get one every day!

So, let's sum up October.  I got sick with bronchitis, but got a Rx and got better pretty quick.  I saw two good friends get married in the same day.  Kristina, aka Kik, from Misters and Misses was an absolutely gorgeous bride!  I was lucky enough to be able to attend her ceremony with friends from work, and then meet Josh to go to Abby and Bryan's reception.  No pictures from Kik's ceremony - I wasn't in a good spot to pull out my camera.  Some pictures from Abby's reception though, which was held at the beautiful Chateau Pomije, where we were definitely at the best table.  Great company, great wine - it was a great way to celebrate Abby and Bryan's marriage!
 
Me and Josh (and you can see some of their beautiful decorations!



Me, Brie, and Andrea


Andrea and Abby, the bride :)

 
Her beautiful toss bouquet, which came home with me! ;)

The day after the weddings was my birthday.  I got new hubcaps for the Mustang!  I have to wait for the spring to put them on because she's in storage for the winter, but they will definitely help with sprucing her up.

The following weekend was Erin's shower and bachelorette party.  Everything went off without a hitch, for which I am so grateful.  It is definitely more difficult to plan things from 3 hours away, especially when you don't know the area.

Her wedding is next weekend, so I am super excited!  The next two weeks are incredibly busy for me - speech team competition, some work time at the Slopes, her wedding, watching some of my students perform, and my own 5th grade performance.  Here's hoping it all goes smoothly!

Exercise Log 8

So, it's been a while since I did an update, but I've been quite active!  I still haven't seen any scale movement, which is very frustrating.  I've been at this 3.5 months and I don't see a difference.  Other people do, but I don't, which is very discouraging.  I was hoping I would need some new pants for the coming winter!  Here it is in dates and numbers, just the basics since it's been so long.  I'm pretty excited that I've been going so consistently - now I'm ready to start seeing some results!

M Aug 29 - 50 laps in 31 minutes
T Aug 30 - weight room
W Aug 31 - 40 laps in 24 minutes
R Sept 1 - weight room
F Sept 2 - mile in 45 minutes
M Sept 5 (Labor Day) - Jillian
T Sept 6 - weight room, added weight
W Sept 7 - 12 minutes on elliptical, then 40 laps in 26 minutes
R Sept 8 - elliptical, ab work and machines, then 30 laps in 24 minutes
F Sept 9 - 40 laps in 25 minutes
Sat Sept 10 - ran/walked a 5K in 40:52
T Sept 13 - machines, ab work, swam 30 laps in 20 minutes
W Sept 14 - 50 laps in 30 minutes
R Sept 15 - weight room
F Sept 16 - 40 laps in 24 minutes, 44 in 26
T Sept 20 - weight room
W Sept 21 - mile in 45 minutes
R Sept 22 - weight room, upped level of elliptical
F Sept 23 - 50 laps in 34 minutes
Sat Sept 24 - walked over 5 miles
Sun Sept 25 - Jillian
M Sept 26 - 50 laps in 35 minutes
T Sept 27 - weight room
W Sept 28 - mile in 44 minutes
R Sept 29 - weight room
F Sept 30 - 40 laps in 27 minutes
M Oct 3 - mile in 44 minutes
T Oct 4 - weight room
W Oct 5 - swam 40 laps in 28 minutes
F Oct 7 - 40 laps in 25 minutes

If you're just joining in - I swim Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  When I go to the weight room, we do an ab workout (crunches, side crunches, bicycle crunches, etc).  Then I spent 30 minutes on the elliptical.  Machines consist of assisted chin-ups and dips, an ab machine, press machine, curl machine, and two leg machines.  I usually end up walking a few laps on the track as well.

Perspective

Sometimes, God sends you perspective when you least expect it.

As a teacher who is also a coach and director, I become very close to some families in our school.  One of these families was expecting baby #6, and their other children were ecstatic.  The kindergartener was hoping for a girl, because they would have 3 girls AND 3 boys and it would be even again.

He got his wish - a baby girl born with an uncertain diagnosis.  At first it was positive for Trisomy 18, then that was negative.  This week they got a positive for Trisomy 13, but she seemed to be making progress.  they had moved her out of NICU to a step down unit, and there were a lot of positives happening.  The other children were so excited, even though her difficulties meant their parents were spending most of their time at the hospital.  Throughout this whole ordeal, the father has found time to send email updates to a teacher who redistributed them, and then to update a "blog" provided through the hospital with daily updates and pictures.

This afternoon, I found out that this little girl was called to Heaven last night.  After just 17 days here with her earthly family, she's home with the angels. 

Yet her father's last post is extremely full of hope and thanksgiving.  He knows his little girl is with God, and God's will had been the prayer from the beginning.  It gives me such a wake up call.  I take my faith for granted - I know God is there, and I know it is always HIS will that is done.  Sometimes it is hard to understand why, but especially with the events of the last two years, I've accepted that we're not always supposed to know why.  But do I pray continually for God to do things His way?  Or do I selfishly pray for the results I want for myself and loved ones?  I know it is the latter most of the time, even if that just means to wrap them in His love.  The father mentioned things he is thankful - they never had to discipline or argue with their youngest daughter.  Most importantly, her life was about love.  Everyone who heard about her showed love - to her, her siblings, her parents, her faith community.  He is thankful for all the people who have been praying for this daughter, and he is thankful for the people who were brought to prayer because of her life.

Over the past few weeks, all of this has made me stop and think. 

• A lot of times I will compose a blog post in my head while driving, but then I'm too busy to type it out.  How can I be too busy, when he was taking time away from his daughter or other children to type an update?
• Someday, I hope to be having children of my own.  Could I place their lives into God's will so easily?  Or would I fight to keep them with me, no matter His will?
• I offer my prayers to God, but I don't think I stop and talk to him.  Maybe I need more of this in my life.

This little one was with us for 17 days, but made such an impact with her short life.  If all I gained was a little perspective, I can only imagine what others gained.