Her Name Is Joy

They’re furry, they’re fluffy, and they’re playful. I’m sure you’re already speculating, guessing, or maybe even confident that you know what I am referencing. And if you are thinking that perhaps I’m referring to a family pet, you are correct.

In our home, we call them our fur babies. Yes, they are our pet rabbits, but they are so much more than just pets.

They bring us joy!

We have special little voices we use when we talk to them. Oh yes, I have a certain inflection in my voice that I use when I announce it’s snack time. When I go to the store I’m sure to purchase their favorite treats. And I know if you have a cat or a dog, you most likely do the same thing. Why, why would we do this? Because…

They bring us joy!

In our house it’s not uncommon to have a conversation that revolves around what the rabbits were doing when we got home, how much food they ate while we were away, and well, if they pooped! I send Snapchat pics of my rabbits to my family and friends, just to keep them updated. I know; it’s weird! We care for them just like we care for a child. And we do this because…

They bring us joy!

Our little fur family began in 2014 when we became empty nesters. In fact, we adopted a new member each year since 2014. That’s right, our first rabbit in 2014, our second rabbit in 2015, and our third rabbit in 2016. Rest assured though, there will not be a new member in 2017! I know that some people don’t understand and perhaps find it odd, but our fur family gives us a purpose.

They bring us joy!

When we adopted our third rabbit at Christmastime in 2016, we couldn’t help but to name her Joy. She was our first female rabbit and she bonded with our sometimes grumpy male rabbit.

She brought him joy; she brought us joy!

Animals are amazing in the way they unconditionally love humans – the way they make us smile and the way they help relieve our stress. They are there for us day in and day out. They are therapeutic.

They bring us joy!

Her name is Joy and we love her dearly!

 

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What does JOY mean to you? What brings you JOY? How do you sprinkle JOY in your day? Write about it and share your post with the #TeachWrite community by linking up to our blog here.

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the best part of my ( ____ ) world

the best part of my RUNNING world…

Race day! It is right around the corner. As a matter of a fact, it’s Sunday! I will lace up with more than 40,000 runners from 49 states and more than 20 countries to run my 10th 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles). All this will go down in the beautiful city of Pittsburgh. I’ve planned. I’ve complete my training. Some of my training runs I nailed. Some of them I bonked, and some were right where they were suppose to be. What’s left? It’s time to get my mental game on and, of course, pick out which sneakers I will wear.

the best part of my READING world…

Poem in Your Pocket Day! My readers and Mrs. H.’s readers gathered the perfect poems, jotted them down on a pocket, and cut out all those pockets! Our school celebrated by passing out 600+ pocket poems! It was a day centered around sharing and celebrating poetry. Smiles and poetry galore were everywhere!

the best part of my ROCKIN’ MOM world…

This girl! Since we are running in her city, her city of Pittsburgh, I’ll be spending some time with Maddie this weekend. Matt and I will be pounding the pavement and sailing across the bridges as Maddie cheers us on for race day. And, of course, we will try to squeeze in a little celebration for the end of her junior year at college.

the best part of my RABBIT world…

Story time! Two of my fur kids, Joy and Buddy, enjoy story time. My little Yoshi, on the other hand, decided to just hang back. There’s always one in the crowd who doesn’t participate.

Joy reading Wally: The Life of a Punny Bunny

Buddy reading snacking on Wally: The Life of a Punny Bunny

Yoshi…just chillaxing

So there you have it!

The best part of my world!

Now I’m wondering, what’s the best part of your world?

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Those Treasured Photos

Growing up, I was a normal kid. I lived with my mother and father and my sister. We always had two dogs and two cats. 

We were a normal family.

Then I got married.

There were no dogs and there were no cats. Zilch, nada, none!

But there was an iguana (actually two of them), a chinchilla, a hermit crab, some goldfish, and a beta fish. Of course, today there are rabbits.

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Meet our green iguana, Monster. 

His name was appropriate for him. He was as large as a monster, and truthfully, he looked like one too!  When friends and family came to visit you could see their eyes enlarge. You could espy them taking in a deep breath and pulling back away. For you see, Monster was allowed to “rome” the house when we were home. He sat on the back of the couch, he had a special “lizard door” so he could go outside and sun himself, and he went up and down the stairs. 

It’s always fun to browse through those old treasured photos. And when I came across these, all I could do was wonder what in the world were we thinking?

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Coffee & Confessions

I’m glad you’re here.

Enjoy your morning, afternoon, or evening coffee

while I share my latest confessions.

Confession #1

First off, I confess I don’t even drink coffee! I love the way it smells, but the taste, not-so-much. So, I’ll be enjoying my favorite hot drink, a chai latte.

Confession #2

Remember that 11 mile run I blogged about last week?  The training run I didn’t want to complete? The one where you gave me all kinds of encouragement?  Well, you would think all that encouragement would be enough to get me through my last long training run, but it wasn’t. I confess, I skipped, passed over, disregarded my 12 mile training run this past Sunday. It’s so not like me to do so, but I did.

Confession #3

Not only did I skip my long run on Sunday, but I confess that for my dinner on Sunday I ate one two soft pretzels and enjoyed a glass of wine with my soft, doughy, salty pretzels. Such a strange combo, I know, and topple it with a whole bunch of empty calories and a few tons of carbs-not the best choice for sure. But, I confess, it tasted oh, so, delicious and I would probably do it again if we ever allow those soft pretzels to enter our house!

Confession #4

To make up for the fact that I skipped my long run on Sunday, I decided there was absolutely no way I was ditching my 4 mile run on Monday. With that being said, I was determined to run those 4 miles as.fast.as.I.could! No excuses! And that I did. I’m pretty sure they were the fastest 4 training miles I ever ran! (It must have been those pretzels!) Since I ran those 4 miles and I ran them fast, I decided I needed a little pampering afterwards. I thought it would be perfect to treat myself to a pedicure at the salon home.

one fast run!

happy feet!

Confession #5

I confess, I’m not one who enjoys decorating for the holidays anymore. It’s kinda a bummer, I know, but I just don’t get too excited about it. However, I kept driving past the local farm market and this giant pumpkin smiles at me every time inviting me to stop, so I did. I decided I would purchase a few three pumpkins and place them by our front door. Yes, three pumpkins are a bit lame, but it is what it is.

Confession #6

I made dinner on Monday! This is a big hoopla for anyone who knows me personally because I despise cooking and the kitchen. This is partly because Matt is an excellent chef and cooks all the time and partly because I’m lazy when it comes to eating. I could pretty much care less. I didn’t do anything too wild now. Just broke out the crockpot and made Minestrone soup. It’s an Olive Garden copycat recipe and it was quite tasty! Matt even said so himself. And we have plenty of leftover soup for the rest of the week! I must confess, I’m pretty proud of myself!

Confession #7

And last but not least, I confess that this little nugget melts my heart. I could just give him kisses all.day.long. Isn’t it silly how happy a little ball of fur can make me!

I hope you enjoyed your coffee, and thanks for hearing my confessions.

What confessions do you want to share?

~~~~~

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Bunfest 2016

As I mentioned in an earlier post I volunteer at our local SPCA animal shelter, and this Saturday was my turn to volunteer spend time playing with the bunnies. That meant at trip to BJ’s to buy “greens” for the shelter rabbits and Guinea pigs. The weekly trip usually ends up with me purchasing an obscene amount of lettuce, kale, and carrots.  I often wonder what the employees at BJ’s think when they check my receipt. For the record, I’m not a vegetarian.

buying the greens

This Saturday was a special Saturday though.  Not only did I volunteer but I attended the yearly Bunfest.

our SPCA

Quite simply, Bunfest is all things bunny related, but the major focus is to emphasize animal adoption (#adoptdontshop). There are healthy treats for our furry friends, pictures with our furry friends, and volunteers crazy rabbit ladies available to answer questions about all things bunny related. People are even encouraged to bring their fur baby, or babies, along.  I saw rabbits in special bunny strollers (I kid you not!), and I saw rabbits in snuggle sacks. My rabbits, Buddy & Yoshi, stayed at home.  They are true introverts and the whole Bunfest thing would stress them out! *sigh*

Photo credit: YCSPCA BUNFEST 2016 FACEBOOK PAGE

I entered the Small Animal Room (SAR) and I was greeted by eleven rabbits and six Guinea pigs screaming FEED.ME.NOW! Our Small Animal Room is filled to the max! It would take me forever to clean the cages, let the animals out for playtime, and feed them. I.WANTED.TO.CRY!  And, just so you know, I can run a 1/2 marathon faster than the time it takes me to clean the SAR.

a snapshot of part of the Small Animal Room

I cleaned the cages, gave them breakfast, stole a kiss or two, and saw that they got their medicine.  These two made my heart melt, but I know I have to say “no” to anymore rabbits in our home, so I snapped a picture just for fun.

Smoke & Expresso

By 12:00pm I finally wrapped things up in the SAR and headed over to the Bunfest.  I’m happy to report that the community room was packed with bunny lovers of all ages.  I ended up making some purchases for my two rabbits, participated in the silent auction, and bought a rabbit book from a local author, who donated all the proceeds from Saturday’s Bunfest book sale to our local SPCA <3.

just a few purchases

The Marquee Sign by Gretta Parker

It was a worth-while and a fulfilling morning.  Kudos to the volunteers that made Bunfest 2016 a huge success.  And last but not least remember:

~~~~~the only bunny that should be given this Easter is a Chocolate one!~~~~~

#adoptdontshop

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Meet Yoshi!

Adorable, spunky, jovial, and amusing-Meet Yoshi!

Yoshi is a Lionhead rabbit and what I refer to as a foster failure! Yes, a foster failure. You see, I started volunteering at the SPCA after we adopted our Jersey Wooly rabbit, Buddy. Of course, people ask if it is difficult to volunteer there.  Asking questions like:

don’t you want to take all of them home?

or

don’t you feel sad when you visit?

or

doesn’t it break your heart when you leave?

Honestly, yes there are emotions associated with volunteering at the SPCA but the animals there are very well cared for, sometimes better than their previous home. I also tell myself that I’ll shower them with all the love I can for the time I’m there.  They’re always happy to see me, wondering if I brought them a treat! Of course, I have treats for them when I arrive and when I leave.

FLASHBACK:

October 31, 2015: I volunteered at the shelter and that’s when I spied that little Lionhead, snapped a picture of him, and sent it to my daughter.  Right away she said,

Bring him home now!!!!!

A few days later…

I tried to forget all about Yoshi! But then I received a call from the SPCA,

We have too many Guinea pigs, can you foster a Guinea pig?

or

Since we have too many rabbits, would you be interested in fostering Yoshi?

Oh, Yoshi-that little Lionhead! I tried to forget about him!

Yes! I’ll be a foster mom for Yoshi! How could I not be?

It was November 6th when that little Lionhead entered our home. And, while he stayed I reminded myself:

Yoshi is just visiting.

Yoshi is not yours.

You don’t have time to care for another rabbit!

Someone else would be happy to give Yoshi a home.

BUT…

Would they love Yoshi as much as I do?

Would they feed him his favorite salads and treats everyday?

Would they get him out to play everyday?

PROBABLY NOT, at least that’s what I told myself!

By November 28, Yoshi was ours. His Gotcha Day, my forever foster failure!

Meet Yoshi-adorable, spunky, jovial, and amusing!

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this is just to say…

Oh, Buddy, our Jersey Wooly rabbit, can be quite a handful! He always keeps me on my toes, so here’s a quick little apology that he wrote to me.

~~~~~~~~~~

this is just to say…

i jumped out of my cage

this afternoon

while you were at school

~~~~~~~~~~

which mostly likely

you will probably

have a heart attack

when you

get home

~~~~~~~~~~

forgive me!

i just wanted

a lazy day

in which

i could

play!

~~~~~~~~~~

just hangin’ out!

Mentor Text: Forgive Me I Meant To Do It, False Apology Poems

by Gail Carson Levine.

“This Is Just To Say” by William Carlos Williams

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Meet Buddy!

I had fun playing with personification as I wrote this poem about Buddy, our Jersey Wooly rabbit that we adopted from the SPCA.

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here I lay,

just a Bud on a bed.

I know, I know,

I look cute,

and actually I am very cute,

buttttttt…

I can be quite mischievous!

don’t buy me any of those

toys-

fancy toys,

the ones from

the pet store.

I rather eat your woodwork,

chew on the carpet,

AND

I’ll even snack on the drywall!

And you,

yes you,

will love me anyway!

~~~~~~~~~~

Just a Bud on a Bed

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