Strut Your Mutt

Proud members of the "Star Pups" pack!

Strut Your Mutt is a fun event.

Since our mutts love to strut, we just had to participate.

I had been meaning to post about this for awhile now, but I got sidetracked with school and life in general. If you'd like to learn more about the event, you can check out their website.

You should also spend some time looking into Best Friends Animal Sanctuary. They're doing some amazing work in Utah. We need more organizations like this throughout the nation.

As you can see, our boys had a great time strutting. Looking forward to next year!

Mormons and Gays

The LDS Church once again made headlines during the latter part of 2012, this time due to their website called Mormons and Gays.

The optimist in me acknowledges that this is a step in the right direction. The church is basically saying that they will no longer excommunicate you or banish you simply for being homosexual. Most importantly, they are acknowledging that homosexuality is not a choice; rather, it’s something that you are born with. The church is also advising members of its community to accept homosexuals and not to shun them or turn them away.

Temple Grandin Answers Questions via AutismLive

In this video, Dr. Temple Grandin answers many viewer questions. Topics include advice for parents of children with autism, some words about the Sandy Hook tragedy, and upcoming speaking events, to name a few.

The video is a bit lengthy- 40 minutes long- but well worth watching. The beginning of the video offers an "index" of sorts, listing the times for each specific question. So, if there are certain questions/topics that you're interested in, you can easily skip through the video.

The Parker Five

(Image courtesy of the Parker family.)

As I writer, I know that the act of writing can provide a therapeutic effect in addition to being an outlet for creativity. In the wake of the Newtown, CT tragedy, the Parker family has created a blog in order to express their love for Emilie, work through the difficult days without her, and to share their story- and Emilie's- with the world.

Needless to say, the posts were amazing to read. I can't even imagine how it would feel to lose a child in a tragedy like this. The Parker family has worked very hard to rebuild their lives and to unify their "family of five." You can read their blog at the following link:

The Parker Five

SLC Air

The air in Salt Lake City, Utah is sickening. Literally. This winter has been especially bad. So much so, in fact, that the air pollution in Salt Lake City prompted this petition from Utah doctors. In their petition, the doctors offered various suggestions for improving the air quality: lowering highway speed limits, making mass transit free for the winter, curbing industrial activities, placing a permanent ban on wood-burning, and initiating a strong push for employers to allow their employees to work from home.

It may sound a bit extreme, but the doctors have every right to be concerned. The toxic air is creating many new health problems and worsening the health of those with respiratory issues. During these "red air" days, the doctors have been advising people to avoid the outdoors. It was also suggested that introducing anti-oxidants such as fish oil or chocolate into their diet may help the citizens of Salt Lake City to fight toxic exposure.