McKenzie- Foster Dog- ADOPTED by US!

We have officially made McKenzie a part of our family and could not be happier!

So, I haven't written in sometime. I decided to take a step back from fostering for about a month after the holidays. I had become emotionally, mentally & physically drained- and so was my pack. I needed to get them back up and running, get them back to themselves and to get our house in order. Spent sometime with Quincy during therapy work with children, elderly & mentally challenged- which was beyond rewarding!

 So- without a foster in a month- felt a bit of emptiness. My home was quiet. My pack was quiet. I was bored. I needed to fulfill the urge to help & needed to make sure that I was needed!

AND GUESS what? I landed the sweetest FOSTER- ever! I thoroughly enjoy fostering the large breed dogs and have a soft spot for Saints. I feel as if the Saints are eager to please, quick to learn and have such a well disposition for our family & our pack!


So we now have McKenzie. Her name is of Gaelic (irish) origin- so a sweet lil irish lass in the Bross household.  Both being Irish- it is kind of a nice touch. So we now call her, Kenzie doodle, Kenzie Bear, Princess Kenz, McKenzie (haha, of course) etc... the nicknames will keep flowing... believe me!

She is a SUPER DUPER sweet & affectionate senior saint bernard. She LOVES belly rubs and get very excited when she knows she about to get one. She is GREAT on the leash and loves the snow! She depends highly on Quincy to help her figure things out and understand how she landed here! She needs the constant companionship of human & of dog. She is amazing with my littles and my cat, which also makes her a cake walk foster!

She brings a level of calmness to our pack. At first, Quincy wanted to play with her. He learned quickly that she prefers nice slow playing. So now, he runs circles around in, just in case she changes her mind and decides she wants to chase him!

A wise lady once said " you will see how appreciative the senior saints are and how grateful they are for all that you do". (haha, you know who you are!!). Being a puppy lover, it is AMAZING to see what we can provide to this ol gal and what she gives us in return. She is patient, she is kind, she is sweet and she genuinely appreciates a nice meal, a warm bed (or couch) and love. She has COMPLETELY shown me the difference between a puppy and a senior- and how easy it is to fall in love with one!!! There is no work  to have McKenzie in our home. I can't wait to get out of work and rush home to a spotless house with lots of slobbery kisses!

McKenzie is settling into the Bross household very nicely, maybe to nicely! She is a quiet pint sized senior saint (MY FAVORITES) deserving of a life of PURE indulgence!!!

Her information and adoption application can be found on her petfinder ad: McKenzie!


If now is not the time to adopt, you can still help McKenzie! The costs of her vetting will far surpass her adoption fee. So, if you would like to make a donation please feel free to donate via pay pal to SAINTLY BERNARDS RESCUE at Saintly Donations or send checks directly to the veterinary clinic helping care for McKenzie at Steinbach Veterinary Clinic 120 Skippack Pike Blue Bell, PA 19422 (215) 646-0462 (in memo please put Saintly Bernards Rescue). Thank you all for your constant support!


Many Many Many Pictures to follow!!!

Saintly Bernards Bake Sale!

It made the news!Delco News Network SAINTLY BERNARDS BAKE SALE

I am always talking about Saintly Bernards- and for a very good reason! They are a rescue group truly dedicated to the breed. THEY KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT THE BREED! They are indirectly the reason I have my best friend, Quincy, these days! They are devoted to education, advocacy and dog rehabilitation. To help this group start the New Year off right- we did an amazing BAKE SALE with LOTS of yummy goodies at Nirvana Salon & Spa in Springield, PA. We had MANY people bake many great things to help raise money for Saintly Bernards!

Special props to all of our bakers! We had oreo bombs (which sold out instantly!), chocolate covered pretzels, a vast array of bark, dirt, cherry cheesecake cupcakes, grasshopper brownies, peanut butter kiss cookies, pizels, keylime pie cupcakes, brownies, rice krispy treats, bunt cakes, pound cakes, sugar cookies, chocolate chip cookies, biscotti, pistachios peanut brittle, ooey gooey cookies, snickerdoodles, ginger bread cookies & much more!! Thanks to the salon staff & friends who made this all happen with your creative baking skills!

We were able to raise close to $500 towards saving abused, neglected & unwanted Saint Bernards. This will help off balance the cost of vetting & boarding while rescued Saint Bernards wait patiently to meet their forever families and best friends.

We were even graced with the presence of 5 very SPECIAL SPECIAL dogs who have helped make Saintly Bernards who they are today. Angus, Sarge, Moses & Boz the bull dog are 4 of Saintly Bernards working crew. The working crew helps temp test, rehab and help new Saint Bernards get ready for the real world. They help bring balance to dogs that have been through TOOO MUCH!

Once again- thanks to all of the people that make rescues possible. It is through dedication and devotion that rescues can operate and save dogs in this world! All of us together can make the difference in the lives of many dogs!

Please consider the following things: Adopt, Donate and FOSTER! If you would like to make a donation to Saintly Bernards Rescue please follow this link Saintly Bernards Donation LINK!

Archie -Adopted!!

Archie was  adopted on December 23, 2010! He went to an amazing woman in Lake Ariel and now has a brother and sister cat! He is doing GREAT and so happy to have spent Christmas in his forever home! His new name is Bubba :) Waiting for some pictures to post!!
Thank so much Jan for giving this senior dog a second chance at life. You are TRULY his Christmas Savior!


Archie- The Christmas Dog

Archie found himself at the Philadelpa SPCA on a cold concrete floor after looking his owner and his best friend. Archie had age against him and desperately needed out of the shelter. A good Samaritan saw a sparkle in my eye and believed he deserved a second chance. A chance to live out his golden years in a warm house and yummy food- a retirement home if you will! Senior dogs tend to be overlooked and not given the proper attention. A senior dog aims to please, is grateful for life and already trained!

Archie is 100% house & crate trained. Archie loves treats and short walks! Archie loves ALL dogs, is very submissive, and doesn't pay any attention to cats. He is a quiet and laid back dog! He is a well rounded dog looking for a home for the HOLIDAYS!

Archie is a senior American Eskimo dog. He is weighing in at 32 lbs, but DESPERATELY needs to lose at least 5-7 lbs! With short walks and a good diet he is sure to be in tip top shape for a beautiful senior dog! He is good when being groomed too!

Archie is UTD on all shots, de-wormed and neutered. He is very ready for his forever home! Archie even had his teeth clean, bad teeth removed, and even had a  blood scan (showing his is healthy for his age)! Won't you please consider making a difference in the life of his amazing senior dog?

Please e-mail Kandiceavery@Gmail.com for more information!

Please consider adopting Mr. Archie! This is  the necessary adoption application:
http://www.pspca.org/docs/Adoption_Application.pdf

Portugal 2010

I do not even know where to start with Portugal. Compared to my many voyage this far in my life- it was pretty tame. Minus night 1. But we won't go there. That's part of the "whatever happened at Lux, stays at Lux" motto. I know... you don't get it. Had to have been there.

So we started the trip by flying 8 hours over the Atlantic and arriving at what Europe considers a 4 star hotel. We would consider it a modern Super 8. But, Hotel Florida definitely gets props for trying. The decor...ikea meets beetlejuice (picture noted above was Tom & Meg in the lobby). The rooms were named after movies and had cheesy movie posters on the wall. We got blade runner. Ugh. But, the lucky folks next to us got Audrey Hepburn. Ugh. Wish we got that. Instead we tortured them with them with late night romps and much carrying on. Oh well :)

After a nice 4 hour nap, we realized that my translation to Trindade was "we welcome you and can't wait for you to eat here". When I showed it to the concierge...she informed me the translation was "sorry no reservation".  So, they suggested a restaurant in Chiado called "sacramento". wow. Amazing. Delicious. Tom & I both had filet mignon, with a tomato mozzarella salad, amazing white wine and a mint cheesecake for dessert! Megan & Harris split a $70 sea bass-which they raved about. After spending hours with wine and talk....we headed out to the night club. You can see the pictures. We have the memories.

The rest of the trip was pretty much eating, drinking fabulous wine & sagres, sight seeing and exploring this new and exciting culture. Some highlights:

• Sintra- WOW! Breath taking views. About an hour outside of Lisboa

• Hard Rock Cafe- Where you go when you cannot try new food anymore & are American

• Castle of Jorge- First sight seeing spot in Lisboa & Favorite!

• Coffee- Smallest coffee on earth. Even starbucks could not get it right!

• Greve Greval- So Harris tried to fly out of Lisbon when the entire country went on strike. Not fun.

• Trinade-Bruno
• Aquarium- Highlight alert- Sea Otters! See video below.

• Moamba- I needed a Xanax to try this food...but overall impressed. Minus the flesh paste.

Overall- Amazing fabulous time with amazing fabulous friends. Traveling to Portugal and Europe opens your eyes to new cultures. I thoroughly enjoyed the entire trip & look forward to sharing the memories with all!

Home

Home is where the heart it.

It is so easy to be consumed by our everyday routine and not take  a step back and realize where we come from & what we stand for. I come a small town, where everyone knows everyone. Now that I live in modern day SUBURBIA, I think I am all that and a bag of middleswarth's chips. But I am not. I am still the small town girl who happens to live in the big bad world now. Ahh, what I would give to go back to the days of walking to school and stopping at Sanitary Bakery for a croissant to walk with. I remember how cool it was to go to school late during activity period. Making the best of what we had. Life was so much easier before it got so complicated.

Going home to visit my family & friends always humbles me. The drama I may have in my life now seems so trivial. Sitting and having coffee and laughing at "awkward family photos" is enough to fill your heart with love. Watching 48 hours and spending hours trying to figure out more clues to the case- priceless. Taco night at your brothers new house that has so quickly become a home- wow has time flew by. 3 days at home with the family is an easy way to get your spunk and determination back.

Living in the south robbed me of the spending time with my family during their birthdays! You take for granted the special day we each have once a  year. Getting to sing happy birthday to my mom with all of my siblings and my spunky "full of beans" nephew was perfect. Oh- and having sanitary cake- you can't beat that.

I hope everyone feels as inspired by their family as I do. As we grow up and start our own families- we also grow closer. I remember being little kids and being the "queen" and having my two  little servants :) Now we have surpassed the golden age and all have become amazing, hardworking, dedicated people. I stand by my family through the good and through the bad. I love the little bickerings we all have- because it shows that we all have a little bit of each other in us and can't turn down a good squabble. Even though- we know that the MOTHER is always right :)

We talk, text and facebook message everyday. We listen to each others passions. We let each other be ourselves and accept our differences. I love being us :)

Favorite quote from the weekend:

"Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are raise your sights and see the possibilities-always see them, for they're always there."

 

Live it. Breathe it. Be it.

 

Love-

K