You Call It Venison. I Call It Bambi.

I am not a vegetarian.

I believe that animals were created for a purpose. For nourishment and food.

I love animals, but I don't judge people who hunt. (I might give them a hard time about it, however...).

I love chicken, I love pork, and I love beef.

But I will NOT, under any circumstances whatsoever, EVER eat a deer.

I'll be the first to admit that I'm a picky eater and don't like trying new food. However, from what I've heard about venison, I honestly think I would like it. That is not why I will not try it.

I won't try it because, while most people just see really good meat, I see a poor, helpless doe who couldn't outrun the daunting speed of the piercing metal bullet. I see a little fawn watching with horror its mother stumble to the ground and breathe her last breath.

I see Bambi.

And I mean, come on. How can you eat everybody's favorite Disney character?

How can people eat this with a clear conscience?

Okay, fine. So Belle was my favorite. But still. Bambi was a big part of my childhood. And it has forever made me love forest animals. I am even slightly saddened when I see a dead skunk in the middle of the road.

Of course, I usually quickly forget about that, because the sight of a dead skunk tends to be quickly followed by the lovely skunk aroma in the air for the next mile and a half. And then if a whole family of skunks happens to have been killed at the same time but each one is separated by about 20 feet, you get to enjoy the scent all the way from your house to your school. That happened once.

And then, of course, it's always fun when a skunk sneaks in your school and then dies and you are basically bathing in the scent all day so that by the time school finally lets out no one even wants to be around you anymore. That happened once, too.

Anyway...back to cute animals...

I will also not eat rabbits. Partly because of Thumper, and partly because I have a rabbit and I think he's really cute, and I'm pretty sure it would freak him out if I ate one of his kind right in front of him. I know I would be freaked out if I caught little Nemo nibbling on a human... *shivers*

Other animals I will not eat include cats, dogs, horses, dolphins, and fish. Mostly because I think those are illegal to eat in the United States. Except for fish. I just don't like fish. They taste too ocean-y.

And then of course, I would never eat a rat, possum, or, well, a skunk. Because that's just gross.

I recently found out that in Canada, they eat moose...which I was a little surprised at, because I thought it would be illegal in Canada to eat moose. You know, because it's the national animal.

Then I found out that countries don't have national animals....

But I think that we should and I am hereby establishing deer, bunnies, dogs, cats, horses, and dolphins the national animals of the United States. So don't eat one. Because it's illegal now.

But please eat spiders. We need less of those in the world.

Almost a Good Samaritan.

The other day I was driving home and pulled into my neighborhood. And on the sidewalk was sitting a crate.

The crate had a sign on it. It had a picture of something, but I couldn't tell what. The only word I could make out was "FOUND."

I kept driving, but thought it was weird that someone would set out a crate with a found sign on it rather than just, you know, doing what most people do and taping the posters up on light poles and whatnot.

And then, as I'm about to pull into my driveway, the thought occurs to me: Ohmygosh what if there's a puppy trapped inside that crate!

Keep in mind that I live in Texas and it's like at least 100 degrees here. Texas heat + puppy - water = dead puppy.

So I pulled into my driveway, ran upstairs and quickly changed into some clothes that wouldn't cause me to melt into a puddle. Then, I went for a little stroll. You know, in the scorching, furnace-like, Texas summer heat. All the way to the entrance of our neighborhood (it's about, like, half a mile, total, going there and back to my house. Maybe less. I don't know. But it felt SUPER LONG.)

I was going to be the super hero. Save the poor dehydrated puppy in that crate. Take it home and give it water and if it was a chihuahua, name it Jorge (pronounced "hor-hay", not "George". Chihuahuas are Mexican and therefore deserve the Spanish pronunciation of the name).

So, I got there, looked in the crate...and it was empty.

Well, it wasn't empty...there were rocks inside. You know, so the crate wouldn't blow away. You know, because there's so much wind in Texas in the summer. (I wish...)

And in all honesty, as relieved as I am that there wasn't a puppy in there...I was also kind of disappointed. I wanted to bring home a puppy. (Plus it was SO not worth the walk).

So I trudged back another half mile (or whatever) in the scorching heat and then went swimming in my imaginary pool to cool off. Since, you know, this story is full of things that I wish had happened but didn't. 

So that's my I-almost-saved-the-day-but-didn't-because-I-underestimated-the-goodness-of-mankind story. I have a couple of those, now.

I have an active/slightly wild imagination.

But it's okay. My mom still thinks I'm great and that means I must be doing something right.

...right?

And Now, the Post You Have All Been Waiting For....

...my Christmas post!!

I know you are all just itching with curiosity and excitement to hear all about how my Christmas went. ;-D

Well, here you go!

I think I can honestly say this was the best Christmas I've ever had. It all started on December 24th....

Christmas Eve started out pretty crazy. My dad's family was coming over at 11 am for a brunch and gift exchange. BUT my mom woke up with a migraine...so the morning began with moving brunch to 12 and making a trip to Grandma's house to pick up some medicine. And then we had to clean the house and cook....and my aunt forgot she was supposed to pick up my grandma...so it was even later...haha, but, eventually we got everyone in the same place and were able to sit down for a wonderful meal and open presents.

My cousins got me Tangled on DVD, which is pretty awesome because that was actually something I wanted but never asked for. (Tangled is an awesome movie, btw). I also got a bracelet and a giftcard to Kohl's.

After they left I went into baking mode...I had a chocolate mousse pie to make for the following day, and chocolate chip cookies for my friend. AND I did some last minute stocking stuffer shopping....

That evening, Christopher's family came over because they had a Christmas present for me. A Christmas present that couldn't be brought to church....

 

 This picture was incredibly dark, so I tried to fix it. However, I suck at photoshop, in

case you thought it looked kinda weird.

Isn't he cute?? His name is Nemo. I've always wanted a bunny, and they have a couple to spare...so, now he's mine!! 

Anyway, after that we went to a movie (We Bought a Zoo) and then went home so I could finish making all the Christmas presents I hadn't finished making yet...haha.

The next day was CHRISTMAS!! Yay. My family opened presents early, since we had church at 11:30. Here I added to my possession a GPS. Which everyone finds extremely funny. Because I'm kind of terrible with directions. I personally just think Google Maps gives faulty directions half the time, but everyone else has a different opinion.

Also, my mom made me a beautiful quilt that she was apparently working on every time I left the house. haha Here's a picture:

It's so pretty!

This quilt basically combines three of my favorite things: the combination of purple and green, daisies, and blankets! It's awesome.

Then we went to church where we had an awesome Christmas service. I loved it, minus the candlelighting ceremony...because that always makes me nervous with the fire and the small children....

Also, I gave my friends their Christmas presents here. I made Ellen a...thing...I don't know what to call it...a poster? It's small though...I don't know, but it has pictures of us on it. :-) haha I bought Meagan a really cute picture frame and put a really cute picture of us in it. And for Christopher I made a calendar with pictures of friends for every month (which so does not compare to a bunny at all...but he's hard to shop for). As far as I know, they all liked their presents, which made me happy. 

Oh, Ellen bought me a scarf and Meagan got some really awesome smelling lotion and an iTunes giftcard.

And Jonathan (my illegitimate little brother) enjoyed his chocolate chip cookies.

THEN (it goes on...) several families got together after church for lunch and games. That's what my pie was for. That was fun. We played a giant game of Kingdoms, which was kind of ridiculous because I hadn't heard of half of the names. I didn't last long. lol

My family had to leave early to go have our last Christmas (for this year) with my mom's family. We had dinner and opened presents at my grandparents' house. My grandma had a fun little drawing for the girls where we each took two numbers and got to open the corresponding presents. It was just random stuff that she didn't want anymore, but I enjoyed what I got: a really good smelling candle and a GIANT tub of strawberry lemonade mix.

I also got some money and a really pretty bracelet from my grandma. 

Then I went home and cleaned my room...haha, I needed room for all my new possessions! But all in all, I had a really fantastic Christmas. I had a lot of fun putting together the presents for all my friends, and I got some things I've wanted for a really long time (a bunny, a GPS...lol).

God is awesome. 2011 started out pretty rough, but turned into one of the best years of my life. I'm going to miss this year...but can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for me. I know I will make plenty of memories as I go into 2012. I know one thing's for sure....

I'M GRADUATING!!!

I felt that that deserved a really big font. :-)

Anyway, I hope everyone had as great of a Christmas as I did, and a happy new year, too. Don't party too hard tonight!

Happy International Red Panda Day!

This adorable little creature is a red panda, also known as a firefox. But don't be fooled; hes not a panda or a fox. He's a member of the raccoon family.

I am a tad bit (VERY) obsessed with red pandas. I think they are the cutest creatures to walk the planet.

Tomorrow is International Red Panda Day. Aka my new favorite holiday.

Just wanted to share that so that no one forgets to celebrate. :-)

P.S. Sad story: red pandas are endangered. Click here to read more about that.

P.P.S. There are adorable videos of red pandas on YouTube. Find one. You'll love them.

This Is What I Call Success.

Finding the perfect name for a bunny.

A difficult, but rewarding, task.

I mean, seriously, I have spent second after second, minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day searching for the perfect bunny name. I went through umpteen-million endless lists of bunny names. I battled computer viruses, pop-up ads, and even DRAGONS to find a name suited for a black Netherland Dwarf bunny.

Okay, so maybe I didn't battle dragons. And maybe it did only take me about 15 minutes. And maybe it really wasn't that difficult a task. But hey, I got your attention, right??

Now, behold! I introduce you to:

 

Avellana the Bunny! 

Lana for short. :-)

Is that not the best bunny name you've ever heard?!

Disclaimer: This is not my bunny, unfortunately. This bunny is property of Google Images.