Live Cam: Service Puppies

Posted by random olio

Last week I wrote about Chris’ Great Dane, Belle. Siouxsioux commented on my blog post and shared this live cam indoor puppy room that is used for Great Dane service puppies. This is the outdoor area for these same puppies. It will suck you in. Check both links, as some of the puppies might be inside and some outside. On Sunday I kept the page open on my computer and would go back and check on it throughout the day. I love it most when they are inside curled up together. What is it about this live cam that makes me want to just sit and watch them interact and play together? Just as I wrote this post I toggled back between writing the post and checking the cam to see what they were up to.

I wonder if this live puppy cam should be installed in animal shelters so more folks looking for a pet will come and watch their potential future dog and how they interact with other dogs. I think shelters might find more potential dog owners showing up at their door, because they will become addicted watching them. While this puppy cam is in Ipswich, MA, it makes me want to go and bring one home right now. The Harlequin is going to be a bit Great Dane (just look at his head and feet compared to the other Great Danes).

Precious Danes 🙂

Are you hooked?

“Designed To Move” – Nike Does It Again

Posted by random olio

Hope you had a good weekend! It is hard to believe it is October 1, 2012. A quick housekeeping note: I have changed the look and feel of my blog. Let me know what you think!

A while back I applied for a job with the “Alliance for a Healthier Generation.” It is connected to the Clinton Foundation and the American Heart Association and its purpose is to assist with childhood obesity. Much of the work they do is with kids and schools. While I did not get the job, I continue to watch what they do, and childhood obesity is still a subject that extremely interests me. We need to have more education and understanding about how what we eat and how we move affect our health. Both can be strong contributing factors to childhood obesity.

Which is why I was giddy when I heard about Nike’s “Designed to Move” campaign. For those of you familiar with The Girl Effect, you will know what I mean when I say their campaigns are just one word: badass. You should also check out this ESPN article for more details and background on Designed to Move. Be sure to sign up for email updates and share with others on Facebook. This is an initiative we all need to be behind.

This video, as well as a conversation I had while having dinner with my sister and her boyfriend over the weekend, reminds me of my own childhood sports experiences (or non experiences). I wanted to play basketball in middle school. The only shoes I had at the time were fake “Keds.” Due to regulations with playing on a basketball court, we had to have non-marking basketball shoes to play. However, we could not afford them. Back then, few people had credit cards to put items on when you could not afford your purchase. There was layaway. Which meant we had to wait a long time to actually receive our purchase. We also did not have a car at the time to take me to basketball practice. So I never got to play.

I do not want the same outcome for my children. I want them to play soccer if they want to play soccer. I want to be able to have whatever opportunities are available, if they are interested. I want them to move, be active and challenged, and eat healthy. Every child should have the opportunities available to them to play ball, eat healthy, and be educated on their choices!

We All Just Want To Be Loved

Posted by random olio

It seems like with everything I do the idea that continues to come back to me again and again is that we each just want to be loved. Whether it is a child acting out, another starting a tantrum, or a child that does not stop talking because all they want is attention. It might be the co-worker that does a certain thing that when you watch from the sidelines you see it is a call out to all to listen and see them. It might be a boss that needs a bit of love too. We all need love no matter what role we fill. Sometimes, though, some of us do not know how to ask for love, or to show others that we need it and to compensate, we act out. Others may find us acting needy. When really all we are want from the deep parts of our soul, is to feel and be LOVED.

Do you know others around you that you can see so badly want to feel loved? Do you give them the love they need? Do you know how? Sometimes even those crying out for love do not know how to receive it in return. For me, when I am in a conversation with someone else, I want to focus on that conversation and connection completely. I want to give of myself during that time period. However, when I find those I am interacting with are not present or are distracted, it often sends me a message that I am not valued, heard, or loved. It is a place of frustration for me. So I focus often (or try to) on what others are saying and being present in my conversations with them. I want them to know and feel that I care and am present. I want them to feel that I hear them. It is all a form of love.

a little LOVE in Venice, CA

Do you agree? Do you think that at the core of all we do we all just want to be and feel loved? If you agree, how does that help you to focus differently on others today? Tomorrow? The next day?

“Forks Over Knives”

Posted by random olio

It is imperative that you watch the documentary: “Forks Over Knives.” We saw it Tuesday night, and I cannot tell you loud enough that you have to watch it. It is a fascinating take on our health, food, obesity. So the first quote that hit home at the very beginning was this one:

“We pay more for health care per person than any industrialized country in the world, yet we are sicker than ever.”

Wow. That says a lot doesn’t it? We spend so much money on our health, when really we should be spending our money on buying good fruits and vegetables. Throwing away the sugar, cookies, pop-tarts, etc. My rule of thumb is to try to eat as much of my food that is alive. Fruit is alive. Vegetables are alive. They are grown through the sun. They were not made with chemicals in a lab. They were not created with artificial flavors. Anything created from fake sugars, flavors, and preservatives were never alive. Something that was alive transfers that energy to you. You want to eat that real energy. Alive = real energy = your energy.

I found this quote fascinating:

“Let food be thy medicine.” Hippocrates

Hippocrates said this. Wow. Hippocrates was born in 460 BC and died in 370 BC. He was definitely well before his time. We should start listening to him now. Food that is alive is the best way to care for the body. Which leads me to my next fascinating quote from this documentary:

“The doctor of the future will no longer treat the human frame with drugs, but rather will cure and prevent disease with nutrition.” Thomas Edison

Edison was born in 1847 and died in 1937. It sounds like we still have not seen the future. It is starting though. More individuals are finding that whole foods, vegetables, and fruits are the best way to take care of the body. Yet, we are still treating most ailments with drugs. Why? Because it is easier. It is maybe the easiest thing. Pop a pill or eat spinach? Pop a pill or have a salad? Pop a pill and have a cookie? It seems easiest to just pop a pill. What is harder is to change our habits and make eating healthy food a priority in our life. Whole foods fill our stomachs and we do not eat as much. Eating foods that do not contain natural fibers mean that our stomachs do not fill up as full, and we eat more, gain weight, and the result = unhappiness. It is a continuous process from day-to-day. Two more interesting quotes:

“He that takes medicine and neglects diet, wastes the time of his doctor.” – Ancient Chinese Proverb

“One-quarter of what you eat keeps you alive. The other three-quarters keeps your doctor alive. -Ancient Egyptian Proverb

All such great ideas. Go out and watch this documentary. It might change the way you view food and your doctor visits. It might change your life.

Belle, George, and Zeus

Posted by random olio

BC. Before Chris.

Great Danes were not part of my life, BC. Growing up we had black Labradors and German Shepherds. Never a dog the size of a horse. Belle was Chris’ dog when I met him. A beautiful black Great Dane, so gentle and sweet. Well, except around me. Somehow I think Belle knew that I was taking more of Chris’ time away from her. She was an angel when Chris was around, but if it was just me, she would get into things, make messes, and be ornery.

In any case, Belle made me appreciate Great Danes, and she made Chris completely addicted. We will walk down the street and see a Harlequin or Brindle Great Dane, and he will talk like I would if a little baby was walking by…(oohhs and aaawws, and a sad face). We have known about Giant George, who was the tallest dog in the world (until recently). He was on Oprah, has a website, sleeps on a queen size bed, and consumes 110 pounds of food a month. You can read more about Giant George at the above link, and be sure to click on the Photo link on George’s website!

Recently, George was pushed out of first place by Zeus. The newest dog to be the tallest in the world. Zeus beat George by one inch. Zeus is 44 inches tall, weighs 150 pounds, and stands at 7 feet 4 inches tall. Crazy! I was not able to find a website for Zeus, but maybe soon.

Note: F or those on their way to get a Great Dane – both George and Zeus drink directly out of the kitchen faucet.