So... I am a little obsessed with Doctor Who right now. If I had more time, money and patience for interior decorating, that would probably show a lot more than it already does. It is my not so private dream to join the BBC and write for it one day. ^_^ ANYWAY! So at the beginning of the most recent series, they KILLED the Doctor! -Which can happen because of time travel, and they were really getting a riff going when SUDDENLY DNH DNH DNH!!!! The series stops. Mid-series. I was just about to have a cow.. and maybe a few kittens... and perhaps a mallard just for sport- What I'm trying to say is that I have been at the edge of my seat for the past... oh I don't know- MONTHS, waiting for Doctor Who to come back on and here it is. Doctor Who. It's coming out on Saturday. *fangirl squeal like I've never experienced before*

You really don't know what this means... I mean- I didn't even get this excited about Harry Potter and EVERYONE got excited about Harry Potter. NSync... not quite the condiption fit that I'm having over this. What a beautifully written elegant piece of writing... so pop, so wacky, so sci-fi. I'm just- Thrilled.

Yup, that's all I wanted to say. Three hundred words to say one and all of it's synonyms: thrilled, excited, confounded, wetting my pants, screaming like a fangirl, out of my mind excited.

End.

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Well, I've got my Zanzi back! At least for a little while. It's been so long, it's good to see her home. We had the traditional welcome back dinner and there was a lot of grunting and lifting of suitcases.

For me, it looks like I might be moving into my new job on Monday. The sky is blue, the grass is green, the heat wave is lifting and I feel very good about my fortune at this stage in my life.

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There is this white box challenge on HGTV's Design Star. They have this completely white box with a white sofa and a chair and you are supposed to throw color and paint all over it and make it into something amazing. That's the idea, anyway.

I think I always have this addicting notion of getting on that show, running up to that box and- not painting it at all. Maybe, if I got really wild I would put and Alpha and an Omega overlaying one another in the top right corner of the room, but for all intensive purposes, I would just take that beautiful white room and I would leave it AS a beautiful white room.

They'd either call me a genius or and idiot, but those are sometimes not so far apart.

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A lot of people ask me why I got a purebred dog instead of a dog from the pound. "They're perfectly good dogs" people argue, "and they really need a home". They also go on to tell me that my dog is inbred, unhealthy and less smart than their dogs, but then again, that's just people for you. The truth is that I did not start out wanting a purebred dog, I started out wanting a puppy and after maybe four or five years of research and begging, I learned about responsible hobby breeders, many of which are involved in show breeding today. The advantage of hobby breeders is that they protect your dog, grandparents to grave.

Why are there so many animals to adopt? It is partly because we are not doing what we need to control the pet population. This is done primarily by spaying and neutering the pets that we don't want to breed, but what about the new generation of dogs. Who is looking out for their welfare? The answer is, responsible hobby breeders. Now, note the important word there, that's 'responsible'. There are purebred breeders out there who are not breeding responsibly and there are probably cache mutt breeders who are, but so long as I have been into dogs, the hobby of purebred breeding is what breeds and manages some of our best dogs. A breeder who is only try to sell their dogs are much more likely to fall into the trap of 'doing it just for the money'. They are more likely to breed for quantity than quality "how many can I sell". On the other hand, a hobby breeder, a kind of breeder that is really uniquely supported by the purebred community, will go to Africa to freshen up the gene pool (basenjis) and will hang up the phone on anyone who tries to buy a dog small enough to fit into a stocking. A hobby breeder does not breed his or her dogs when they do not have enough responsible owners waiting for a dog and they will only breed the highest quality animals. When you buy from a responsible breeder, you are supporting a community, a way of treating animals that is sadly different, but wonderfully ideal for you new furry family friend.

One thing that might turn a lot of people off to purebred breeders, but is actually one of their best qualities is that they are very picky about YOU. You, in this case meaning: the future owner, are sometimes asked to take quizzes, sit through interviews and all for the chance of buying one of their dogs. I know, it sounds a little arrogant, but think about the alternative. You neighbor's sweet and loving dog "big gal" has a litter of beautiful furry little puppies. Desperate to get rid of them, you neighbor (a nice and well meaning person, despite not having spayed her animal), puts up a sign in front of her house that says, "FREE PUPPIES". Without a thought, you neighbors pushes the dog into your hands and you take it home. Almost the moment the dog gets home, it starts peeing on your oriental rug, chewing up your fine furniture and tracking mud across your nice clean floor. You work a lot, so the dog ends up being at home alone for much of the day. It gets lonely, so when it's not chewing up your sofa, it's howling with the great painful sobs of something that been beaten or been thrown into prison. Eventually, you get so fed up with the dog, that you decide that you have to take it to the shelter. They try and place your dog, but their shelter is so full and you have done so little to add to it's formative training that the dog ends up being put down. Now this happens a lot more than you think. Now imagine if you friend told you, "No, I will not let you have one of my dogs. These are big dogs and I don't think you're ready for it. I'm also not so sure that you'll have time to take care of a dog like this". You would think that your neighbor was just being arrogant, but look: your neighbor just saved your dog's life.

Another neat thing about getting a responsible hobby breeder is that they are actually interested in your dog as it grows up. This not only means you have an audience for you adorable puppy photos that only you seem to enjoy, but it also means that when things get rough, you have someone in your corner. When I got my dog, my breeder was there to help me with everything from grooming tips to training tips. I remember when Maggie was young, she told me to take a wet wash cloth and freeze it in the refrigerator. That, she explained, would soothe the dog's gums and it was growing up. Maggie never tore up any furniture. Additionally, it something big does change in your circumstances (you lose your job, you have to move, you don't end up running as much as you hoped) many breeders will take the dog back and either keep it for the remainder of it's life or seek to place it with a new home. That concentrated interest is unique to hobby breeders.

If you want to buy a puppy, I recommend that you get it from a responsible hobby breeder. They are discerning about breeding, careful about whom they place animals with and they make sure to be supportive throughout the life of the dog.

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The little dog was eating something wretched, but I was wary to take it out.

"Oh, she eats random stuff all the time," my friend assured. It sure did and every time I saw its mouth opening and closing over some new item, a little shiver went down my spine.

That's when I saw it, hot red blood, dripping off of her beard. I checked it, but found nothing, but as I pointed it out to my friend, we agreed that we better get back as soon as possible.

A little more gnawing and a little bit of silver popped out of her mouth. I rushed over and stuck my thumb on her tongue to keep her from closing it. What I found was a small fish hook. We took turns in trying to wrench the little thing out of her fur, since that is all that held it to her mouth now. Finally, she ran off to get her parents.

In my moment alone with the dog, I grabbed her snout by the small hairs on her nose, the way I would my own dog, and having her full attention, was finally able to wrench the hook from her fur.

I took the dog back and we discussed casually about it's condition. They said that she had only pricked it and she would be fine and they gave her a bowl of water to wash away some of the blood. The blood. The oozing red hot blood. I had been staring at it all along, but only then did my stomach start doing loop-di-loops, forcing me to wretch drily behind the car. So I succumb to my traitorous stomach.

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Well, my new 'metabolism and energy' vitamins seem to be working. This is both a blessing and an incredible inconvenience. One the one hand it means that I can get done a lot of things weighing on my mind, on the other, it makes opportunities previously detestable on their own account, available without excuse. For instance, breaking out that workout DVD has risen in my priorities. Particularly since I have 'nothing better to do'. Also, my STUFF is perfectly available to be sorted through and cleaned up, despite there being no real place for it to go. I suppose that means I will have to actually take care of some of it... or I could just get back to editing my book ^_^

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