Random Thoughts...Food, Firearms, and Fun

When perusing Facebook recently, I noticed a sponsored post for "Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co." I clicked on the post, because there isn't much I like better than coffee and dogs! I figured it was probably a single coffee shop somewhere that allowed dogs or such. I was thrilled to discover that it's not a coffee shop like Starbucks, but rather, a company that sources fair trade, organic coffee throughout the world, and then roasts it, and sells the whole beans to consumers, via their website, groundsandhoundscoffee.com. I know, you're thinking, "That covers the coffee. Where do the hounds come into the picture?" This is why I was so excited to discover Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co!!! They donate 20% of all Grounds & Hounds revenue to no-kill rescue organizations across the country! Why would a business give up 20% of their revenue to help no-kill organizations? On their website they say, "Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co. was born out of our...

Mac and I are frequent visitors to Chick-fil-A on the weekends. I won't get into political views, because that's usually not what my blog discusses. We enjoy it because their breakfast is decent, it's inexpensive, we don't feel rushed, as there's not a server looking to turn over our table for another tip, and we can sit and catch up after what can amount to some pretty crazy weeks. I also occasionally stop in for a quick breakfast to go during the week. It's not the healthiest, but I can usually make the points work, and I never wait long. So, some of the regular morning employees know us, and know our orders, or they try to guess our orders. I stopped by on Wednesday morning for breakfast, and the employee working guessed at my order when she saw my car pull into a parking space. She included coffee, but since I'm currently tasting various Grounds & Hounds Coffee Co. coffees, I've been ensuring that I bring coffee with me to work, so I can real...

Years ago, Mac used to work part-time for his parents, at their machine shop. He worked there while he was in school, and even a bit after he graduated, when they were very busy and could use an extra set of hands. It was mutually beneficial for all involved. He received a decent paycheck, more than most part-time jobs, he received hands-on training, from one of the best machinists (his father), and they had a willing part-time employee, who was fine with working when needed, but didn't expect full-time hours or a full-time wage. As part of that, what we didn't know was that when there was profit sharing, they were contributing to his 401(k). Their account was with Great-West Retirement Services, and only after he stopped working there did they tell him about the account. They've since sold the shop, and the new owner, after discovering a lack of interest in the 401(k), opted to discontinue participation in it. Great-West rolled all of the 401(k)s into individual IRA ac...

If you’re new to the blog, I’m into animal rescue. I drive rescue transports, I monitor rescue transports, I adopted two rescue dogs, I occasionally do temp fostering, etc. I’ve transported rescue dogs straight from shelters, I’ve transported rescue dogs who’d been in boarding for ages, I’ve transported rescue dogs from a temporary foster or even a long-term foster. I’ve had dogs pee and poo in my car. I’ve had dogs with ticks in the car, usually because their flea and tick medication hasn’t kicked in yet. If you see a loose dog on the side of the road, and a woman outside of her vehicle, trying to get to it, that’s probably me! I keep slip leads, treats, water, and bowls in my car. I’ve stopped to pick up strays, and I’ve politely asked dog owners to take better care of their dogs when they get loose. In February or March, Mac and I were visiting my parents, and we were on our way home from a late dinner. It was very cold, late (after 11 or so), and a block from their house, we s...

On July 4th, one of the sponsored posts that popped up in my Facebook news feed was for SummersPaw.com. It advertised a free bag of Fromm dog treats for liking the post and sending your address via PM. I was a bit skeptical, but figured why not? I was reassured by the response to my PM, and I shared their post and tagged a few friends with dogs to share the fun! I wasn't expecting the treats to arrive this week, and had, to some extent, forgotten about it. It was a rough weekend last weekend, and it's not been a good week, thanks to poison ivy and a sinus infection. Mac and I went to our standard Saturday breakfast, and when we got home, the mail had already been delivered. Cobaka and Geno received a USPS Priority Mail box from Summer's Paw. I was a bit confused, and said to Mac, "I don't remember ordering anything from there." When I opened it, I realized that it was the free treats! There were two bags of Fromm treats: Lamb with Cranberry and Parmesan Ch...

I quit! I’m done being a responsible adult! No, not really, but some days, I wish I could! Some days, I think I should just stay home, curled up in bed with the dogs. Mac and I did a bunch of landscaping over the long weekend. Well, really, we ripped up everything in the flower beds, turned over the soil, and then mulched like crazy. All’s wonderful, except that somehow, I ended up with poison ivy on my right arm. I’m not happy! My arm itches like crazy! I had a follow-up with the rheumatologist yesterday, and we’re trying meds to help me deal with the pain, hoping that perhaps I can get more sleep, etc. While there, I mentioned the poison ivy, and he sent a prescription for some steroidal anti-itch cream, in addition to the pain meds. He sent those in around 4. When I stopped at the pharmacy at 8 PM, they still weren’t ready. Mac was with me, and well, let’s just leave it as we fought the entire way home… I was uncomfortable and unhappy, and he didn’t help matters by not ...

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Funkyflick Company . All opinions are 100% mine. I love movies. I guess I should revise that to say that I love old movies, and movies that aren't your typical Hollywood flicks, boy meets girl, boy and girl fall in love, one of them screws up, then fixes it, or the typical Hollywood action--shoot everything and what you don't shoot, make explode somehow. Finding movies I'd enjoy can be a challenge, as while one of my friends is a huge movie buff, he's into horror movies, and that definitely doesn't pop my popcorn! I've tried asking other friends, but their tastes can be very different. I've tried IMDB, Rotten Tomatoes, and other sites, but that too is dependent on other's opinions. Enter http://www.funkyflick.com, a site that recommends movies for you, based on a movie or book you select. It then searches the wiki pages for that movie, or book, and pulls out actors, plots, and themes from that movi...

I've realized that while everyone tells you not to sweat the small stuff, at least in my case, it should be, "Don't sweat the bad, small stuff. Embrace the good, small stuff." When Mac and I got married, I knew he'd never send me a dozen roses for every year we were married, or sweep me away for a spur of the moment romantic getaway. That's just not his thing, and being realistic, it's not really my thing either. Roses die, and at least now, with the dogs, spur of the moment is taking them to the dog park on a Saturday after breakfast, rather than heading back home! I'm fine with that. As Mac's said, we're probably two of the most boring people. We don't like drama, we try to avoid drama, and we're content to have quiet nights at home quite often. It's also the little things that make me appreciate him more and more every day. We were having leftovers for dinner last night, and I told Mac that I'd get dinner started once I g...