NOTE: Today is the last day to sign up for a chance at $20.00 to spend at Amazon. If you are a prime member that means you can buy two copies of Out of the Frying Pan. Ha Ha. Or some other cool stuff! Go here to sign up!!!
I tend towards optimism. Having been called Pollyanna a time or two, maybe a little too much. My mom has said I get it from my dad. She thinks we both encounter a huge pile of horse poo and start digging because there has got to be a pony in there, right? Maybe I've been gifted with a little more faith. Where I know Who's in control and that I can trust Him. I can't say I always trust or always feel this. Sometimes I get down in the dumps and cranky and feel sorry for myself, overwhelmed or depressed. But I'm always looking for a glimpse of blue in that gray, murky sky. I can't stay down long. Which is something I'm grateful for. I don't have a long list of grievances that I can stew over or chew like a cud. I generally take things as they come, planning ahead to keep the crazy controlled if I can. And accepting it if I can't. I also don't take myself too seriously. Which makes me terrible at grammar and the annoying details of writing a book. Oh, the trade-offs in life. A comma placement isn't going to make me crazy but I sure know some who'd fall on their sword over grammar. When I run into other optimists I can't help but just bask in their attitude. This guy, Adrian Solano is from Venezuela and his first experience with snow, ever, was basically as this was filmed. He trained by roller skiing at home in Venezuela and had never seen snow. He had planned to practice a month or so before the trials on actual snow but the border authorities didn't believe his story so he returned home. He finished dead last. But said the best part was falling because then he could get up again. Read his story here. (And if you feel really optimistic after reading this...sign up to win the $20.00 Amazon gift card I'm giving away. The rafflecopter link is here. http://fernandzula.blogspot.com/2017/02/money-money-moneymoooonnnnneeeyyyyyy.html )
I'm excited to announce that after seven or so grueling hours I have put together an adorable play kitchen. We've had a borrowed one that gets loads of action. But it had a new house to go to and since our wall was now blank, and Amazon gave me $8.63 off of a purchase, and the new kitchen was adorable retro turquoise, and an 18-month-old chef hangs here and loves it, and scads of visiting cousins might just want to play with it, I pressed submit order. It came in a flat box. Very flat. I've lived long enough to know that flat boxes mean lots of assembly. Whew. There were 38 pieces...maybe 39. And then all the supporting screws and bolts and nuts and accessories. I ripped the box open and began tediously putting this together. Note: If you want a play kitchen and you know it will arrive in a flat box, do not, I repeat, do NOT start this project two hours before gifting hour. You will hate yourself. This is not a Christmas Eve project. (Unless you start at 6:00 a.m. that is.) I did have to enlist Rob's help. For a few things. A) when I exuberantly overtightened a screw on an accessory and heard a crack and suddenly the screw turned real fast I realized I broke the plastic screw housing. Rob came to the rescue with his super glue. Thank goodness the break was behind the cute medallion. B) The HINGES!!!!! I could not get those suckers right! Holy sweet everything that is good and wonderful!!!!! The HINGES!!!!! AUGH!!! So he invested an hour of his life in this activity as well. Ironically, I had been thinking I loved the fact that Kidcraft's directions were helpful. Rob did not think so. Apparently, our minds process instructions differently. We both loved that the screws etc were mostly in a bubble packaged box cardboard backing and the letter of the item was on the front and the back. No bags of screws! Once everything was open it turned into a little more complicated mess but it was less overwhelming than 15 bags of screws/nuts/bolts. Rob was so impressed with the quality and workmanship. Every piece of word and screw hole etc was perfectly lined up. The finish is great and it's rock solid. Definitely worth the price. For the record I got it for $112 before the discount. I included a link to it but it looks like the Amazon ones are sold out and it's third party only so definitely look around if you are thinking about getting it. It is so cute! And it's done! Yay!!!
In my never ending marketing of...wait for it....drum rollapalooza, my one and only book, Out of the Frying Pan, I'm giving away an Amazon gift card. You might wonder what the strings are. Well, they aren't too terribly, mind-numbing. Simply a) Join my Author Page. b) Follow Zu-Fer's Facebook page, C) do some dang tweeting. There you go. Author page: http://www.bookfun.org/group/kelly-klepfer-author-groupHint. You get an extra play for this. Just sayin. And if you tweet every. single. day. you can get 3 entries every. single. day. I mean, it's easy. Not like you have to bake a cake and decorate it.
Somehow I missed National Love Your Pet Day. But I'm still in the week, so that counts. Just don't tell the girls.
Extra treats for everyone!!!!!!
Anyhoo I was asked to post this graphic about dog pairings. Ha. No it's not like pairing wine with meals. A little more complicated than that. However, not all breeds are cuddle buddies. My beagles get along with each other (mostly) and their boxer/lab nieces. But they come running when one of the big dogs gets too playful. They've also hung a bit with a German Shepherd, some dachshunds, and a few Heinz 57s and seem to do okay. In my experience the personality and heirarchy seems to be the key with my pups. If you are a dog person, here's information you just might need! PuppySpot is a service committed to helping responsible breeders place their puppies with caring individuals and families. They take pride in their No Puppy Mill Promise and have a zero tolerance for puppy mills or substandard breeding practices of any kind. If you are looking for a new puppy, check out their adorable puppies for sale!
NOTE: Today is the last day to sign up for a chance at $20.00 to spend at Amazon. If you are a prime member that means you can buy two copies of Out of the Frying Pan. Ha Ha. Or some other cool stuff! Go here to sign up!!! 
