animal adoption – The Cheerful Times

I have exciting news to announce! October is Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month and Malcolm and I did just that — adopt a shelter dog!

Meet the one and only Abby, the newest contributor to The Cheerful Times.

Abby is a five-year-old chubby wubby Puggle (that’s a beagle and a pug mix), and is the absolute best, cutest little princess.

Wubby wubby — Little wubby! This photo is from one of the shelter’s photo shoots.

Abby likes:

Snuggling humans
Snuggling cats
Burping
Showing her pudgy belly for scratchies
Making cute faces
Her two stuffed toys/dolls
Sleeping on items that are neither of her two beds
Forcibly suggesting you pet her
Soaring through the air onto the couch
Snoozing on the couch
4:30 a.m. sneezing fits
Falling asleep as you scratch the top of her head, behind her ears, on her chest, tummy, neck…
Licking the foundation off my nose to reveal its true Rudolph-like complexion
Frolicking up every driveway and walkway we come across in the neighborhood
Meeting new people
Helping put on her martingale for walkies

Abby dislikes:

Closet doors — those sneaky things look just like a front door, so she waits next to them when she has to go potty
Berkley, the hound dog at her shelter who ate her favorite toy

Continue reading “Meet Abby: Celebrating Adopt-A-Shelter-Dog Month” →

“I wish I could do something like that but I just don’t have the time!”

said every person ever.

Dedicating some of your time and energy to a good cause sounds so ideal to many, but it’s often dismissed–staying just an ideal and not becoming a reality. Whether we’re spending our time working, going through school, interning, running never-ending errands, or doing chores around the house, it seems like there’s no time to squeeze in something that doesn’t have a direct and immediate impact on our lives. Things we all would love to do we just don’t seem to have time for anymore, including giving back to others.

Hey! Cheer up, busy bee! Doing something that makes you feel good isn’t an added stress, it’s a stress reliever! As impossible as it may seem in your life right now, it is entirely possible to lead the giving lifestyle you’ve been yearning to lead without sacrificing a thing that you’ll miss. Do you want to know how and why?

When you’re giving your time to something you’re passionate about and that you really love, it doesn’t feel like you’re giving up anything at all.

About a year ago, I needed a life pick-me-up… I was growing increasingly tired of the “me”-driven behavior that naturally reigns supreme in my collegiate age group. The circumstances surrounding growing up lead us to act in this way, but it’s just not who I am. So, I began my personal endeavor to start donating my time and efforts to places that could use it more than, say, …Facebook.

As a busy college student, I started with a very small commitment that I actually did not complete until recently:

locks-of-love-before-and-after-haircut — Bye bye, mermaid hair! Hello, Locks of Love! My “Before” and “After”

Since that time last year I tried my hardest to grow my hair out to straggly mermaid lengths, getting it chopped off and donated to Continue reading “How To Be Happy: Give Without Giving Up” →