Good news for the animals!

I'm up early this Saturday morning and I know I was a little negligent about Friday's post. So here I am at 8:54am posting about animals. Don't judge me. I posted about this on my Facebook page yesterday so I figured it should be talked about in detail here, since I can go on forever about my love for animals.

If you click here you can see that Laredo has finally done something legitimate about the horrific conditions that strays have to face. They opened up a new facility with a little over 80 kennels. It's a two-phase project that costs the city 1.5 million dollars. The first phase is now open and the second one is underway. In this video, it says 1.5, but in the Thanksgiving front page of the Laredo Morning Times (LMT) print edition I'm pretty sure it said 2.4 million but don't quote me. Supposedly they're also going to require pre-adoption classes on owner responsibility. This really made me very happy to see. The animals are even getting normal things like fans and proper care now.

Laredo Animal Protective Society (LAPS) has also significantly increased their efforts. There was a petition online (which I signed) to either destroy it and build a new shelter or to completely restructure the place. The city of Laredo used to use LAPS as a pound basically and would euthanize about 80% of the animals admitted. Since then, the city and LAPS have parted ways, taking LAPS back to their role of humane society. They also don't euthanize anymore and have a new executive director  If their Facebook page is an accurate description of their efforts, they are also doing a great job.  I used to frequent the shelter and every time I'd leave sad. All the dogs looked famished and frustrated and the ones that didn't were bound to get all the illnesses spreading. I always wanted to leave with one every visit and couldn't believe the place didn't aggressively try to adopt them out. Now, they have a website and a Facebook page that is constantly advertising adoption events around the city. It doesn't seem like much, but just last year LAPS wasn't doing any of these typically normal functions.

I'm glad to see that local advocates could bring change. They went to countless city council meetings and pushed for change. I'm including a video that shows them trying to show the conditions through a slideshow and then being asked to stop because it was "defamatory". This kind of action shows me that people here still care. It gives me hope that not all people in Laredo are stupid.

Have a great weekend!

'til next time, stay classy!♥

-M

Long time, no see!

I know I say this all the time, but blogging is always running through my mind!
This summer has been crazy busy! Between going to Oklahoma (which is where I last left off) and coming back (present), it's been non-stop hustling on my part. I was doing work and summer school full-time and I'm kind of in the middle of trying to start my own eBay store so that's been the thing that takes up my free-time. I have found ways to make it easier for me though (eBay shipping labels, USPS merchandise pick-ups at home) so it's gotten a little more manageable. I've made a bucket list of things I wanted done by the end of the summer:

• getting my dogs their year supply of heartworm pills
• getting restocked on flea preventatives
• renew my B&N subscription
• get Dusty neutered
• court payments
• give $150 to my ex-roommate to pay off debt on our lease (that was HER fault but messed up my credit in the process.)

So far, I've done the first three. I am looking into getting Dusty neutered in late July or early August. I checked online on my credit score website and I supposedly have no court payments pending but since I know I put off 3, I'm going to look more into that. The $150 dollar thing isn't even my fault and I know I should be more pro-active on that but frankly, I don't trust my ex-roommate. She blows all the money she has on booze (including money her mom gives her for other things) and I don't think she'll actually pay with the money I give her so I want to go with her when she does and I want to see the progress (she supposedly already set up payment plans). I also had several things I wanted to get my dogs in my planner and all of that has been done, too. I know I shouldn't focus so much on material things but most of them aren't even for me. It feels good to scratch things off, too. It gives me a sense of responsibility, progress, and growth I haven't experienced in a long time. I also took initiative and hustled my way into getting a free meningitis vaccine ($100+ value that Texas makes college kids get now). ALL this AND dating has been pretty tedious BUT I didn't do summer session 2 so for about a month, I have a relatively more relaxed schedule.
August is just around the corner and that means school..again, lol. MAKE IT STOP! I thought about blogging about all my business all summer and barely had time today to elaborate. I really thought of this thing when I saw two videos:


and this one:



The first one really struck home with me. Ignore the fact that it ends up talking about sex (lol) but it's true. We have replaced the more meaningful things in life with mere illusions of intimacy. It's pretty sad. That's why I'm off Facebook. I will confess I recently got into Instagram so I won't lie that I am completely disconnected but it's really helped me live in the moment. I might get on Facebook to push myself to do Tapout XT. Not only am I going to start documenting my results here but I want to put it on Facebook. I think it will be a motivation factor I haven't tried before. You can also mail in your before and after shot and get a "Earned Sweat" T-shirt that isn't sold anywhere. You have to earn it by completing the program and I think that's a really cool new way to get people pumped. My copy is due in a week and I'm looking at either August or September to start. I won't start right away because if I'm realistic with myself, I've let myself go. I really want to stick to this (food guide and all). I had p90x but was unmotivated due to the fact that my dad kept taking the videos away claiming they were his. I want my own set of workouts to give me that piece of mind. Also, I am starting my Happiness Project (finally!) in August. I may have been M.I.A. for summer but get ready for a lot of updates come this semester!

'til next time, stay classy!♥

ROMANCE UPDATE:
After a rocky start, we're 6 months strong, tight as ever, and laughing daily! <3

DOGGIE UPDATE:
Still cute, more spoiled AND Dusty's hair has grown back.
 (I have cuter, more recent pictures on my phone but this will due for now!)

late again..

This entry is about two days late from my usual time slot on Sunday.
I didn't write last weekend but it was finals week, so please cut me some slack.
It was a busy semester but I ended up having the best overall semester in my entire college career (with the exception of one class).
I think it was a matter of focus...I hadn't really given school much importance these past few years and I finally feel a little more in control now that I can see the fruits of my labor.
As I've mentioned before, I finished reading The Happiness Project and I convinced my boyfriend to start one with me. I also went on the website for starting tools and it's pretty cool that all these resources are free. Most authors won't do that. I mean, she does have a one sentence journal she's trying to profit off of but other than that, she's not trying to drain you of money with millions of spin-off projects/products. On this website was a list of happiness projects groups in the US and I e-mailed a girl in San Antonio (since she was the closest one).
I've felt kind of trapped lately. The city I live in doesn't give you much variety and I wanted to devote my summer to "Being Michelle" and exploring things I want to explore...but I can't here. We'll see how that goes.
I also think that I'm going in a different direction than my friends..I have thought this before when I was engaged but this time is different; I'm talking about a difference in preferences. I used to bond with my friends a lot more because we shared the same interests but I find myself more willing to meet people who are more in tune with what's interesting me lately: books, good TV, art, writing, dogs, fitness, and spirituality. It's getting a little harder to relate when you can't get excited over the same things. 
I think I've always kind of question this thought but it's just become more and more obvious as time passes. I want to grow and I feel like I'm being stunted. 
I'm taking steps to change that though; I'll keep you posted. 


'til next time, keep it classy♥


Here's a picture of Eric and I on the day of his graduation:

Of course one of the dogs had to get in. They are really taking a liking to him lately and vice versa. It's so cute. :)