I never rarely sunburn

This weekend was beautiful. I'm so sorry it's over. It was absolutely gorgeous, and sunshine-y, with a breeze and blue sky and clouds.... As a result, I spent quite a bit of time outdoors. And as a result, my arms are currently the color of the red bricks that make up my house.

See, when the boy burns (which he often does, and did this past weekend as well even though I told him multiple times to put on sunscreen...) he turns this alarming fire engine red. It really does scare me. We're talking a red that glows in the dark. He then inevitably blisters and peels. And he tells me it's painful. It certainly LOOKS painful.

My burn is not like that. Oh, it still hurts, but it's more of a brick red that will eventually settle into brown. I've only peeled once, and it was after the red had settled into this great dark tan color that I was sad to see wasn't actually tan, but burnt skin instead. After that I started using more sunscreen and less tanning accelerator. It was also then that I began using the word "rarely" instead of "never" when discussing my sunburns. I was 21. See? An old dog CAN learn new tricks! And I actually did use sunscreen on Sunday. Unfortunately, I got burned on Saturday.

Why was I outside so much? Well, on Saturday I took a bike ride with my good friend Candy. We only road about seven miles. Not like last time. But still, there were hills, there was Emily with her dog, I think it was a fun time for everyone.* Dmoore, I promise that if you want to come next time, I will leave Casey at home.

On Sunday, I walked with my friend punkinmama in the March of Dimes walk for babies. In early April, the blogosphere was saddened by the death of Madeline Alice Spohr. I had never read her mom's blog before, but punkinmama is a longtime reader, so she was especially moved by the news. She got super motivated and ended up raising over $700 for the cause! It was awesome and I am so proud of her. There's not much that gets me so motivated, so watching punkinmama was a real inspiration and I was really glad to see all of her hard work go towards such a good cause. (Still, I'm not gonna lie. I was a bit of a fish out of water at this event. Hmmm...) We even met other cool bloggers who were rallying for Maddie. The walk was five miles and began at 10:00am. Incredibly, we finished by 11:20. Look at us go!! The weather was beautiful, I got to see punkinmama's little munchkin at the end, and I totally judged a woman who was walking an incredibly fluffy standard poodle with a rhinestone tiara. It was a good day. The only trauma came when punkinmama made me wear beads.**

After those five miles, I headed over to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the HSI Mutt Strutt. (Note to fundraising organizers - if we can schedule these for separate weekends so that Emily has time to rest, that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!) Casey and I made our way around the very same track that is home to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing!!! She wasn't very impressed. I think she only did it for the compliments (look at her eyes!!) and the doggie treats supplied by Three Dog Bakery. (She recommends the peanut butter variety.) Casey was an angel in the madness that was what felt like thousands of dogs and their owners walking at once.***

After that Casey and I pretty much crashed on the couch. I woke up when I rolled over and something was hurting my shoulder. I realized quickly that it was the sunburn pressing against the couch that was hurting my shoulder. Marvelous. Luckily today is just as sunny as the weekend was, so I'm not tempted at all to skip class and spend more time outside. (<-- Sarcasm.) Now if you'll excuse me, there's a bottle of aloe that has my name on it.

*Yes, this means that Casey ran with us for about seven miles. Ran. For seven miles. I'm now 100% convinced that that dog would run to the ends of the earth for me. She didn't seem any worse for wear on Sunday, and seemed a bit miffed that I didn't want to take her to the March of Dimes walk with me. I then explained that there would be quite a few children there, and she went willingly into her crate.****

**My choices were, beads for parents, beads for future parents, beads for parents who had premature babies, beads for parents who have children who suffer from birth defects, and beads for parents who have lost a child prematurely. Guess which ones I had to wear? Yes, punkinmama made sure I was "walking for my future baby."

***I would just like to issue a public service announcement here. If you never walk your dog, if your dog's idea of exercise is being let into the backyard to use the bathroom, perhaps (PERHAPS) you should not think it is a good idea to take your dog on a 2.5 mile walk in temperatures above 80 degrees farenheit. Just a suggestion. Otherwise, you might end up carrying your dog for a good portion of the walk. And if your dog isn't getting regular exercise, I'm going to venture a guess that it's not the lightest dog on the planet.

****I don't actually talk to my dog, you know.

Look ma! I'm famous!

So, you know how, if you have a child, and they get this tiny bit part in a play or musical, you, as a parent, have to go to the play or musical and sit through the entire thing even though you only get to see your child for, like, two seconds? I know my parents had to do it for me...and my brother. And I've seen other parents have to do it, so I (as a non-parent) think that this is actually pretty common. You have children, they are involved in something, it is a Big Deal!! Parents, friends, neighbors, family must attend! Um, okay. Parents. Parents must attend.

Then, after the play, you have to praise your child from here to eternity for being in the play. They were just so adorable! And their part was very important! No one could have done it better!! It was a vital role and the play wouldn't have been the same without them!

This phenomenon also extends to any sort of spelling bee, choir performance, marching band competition, chess competition, etc etc. I'm pretty sure it's an important part of anyone's progression through childhood. At least, it should be.

Eventually most children outgrow this need. I mean, I think they do. Parents generally realize that their child is not the next Picasso or Mozart (even when they're heaping the praise) and the child eventually does too. The profusion of praise and joy trickles out and is reserved only for events that are a Really Big Deal, like some sort of graduation or nationally recognized promotion.

Me? Um, I never outgrew this need. At least, in some situations. Usually completely random, ridiculous situations. In these situations, I get super excited... and when I'm super excited about these little situations, I still want to be patted on the head and told something along the lines of "Emily, that is so awesome! I am so excited for you!"* Or, you know, something along those lines that you would say to a 31-year-old instead of a three-year-old.**

So here are your instructions. Watch the following promotional video for the Humane Society of Indianapolis. After watching, if, you know, you see anything worth commenting on, go ahead and leave a comment on this blog. Go on. I won't mind. Feel free.



*I don't care what you're thinking when you tell me these things. It might be insignificant to you... okay, it's PROBABLY insignificant to you. But I'm excited. Just indulge me :-)
**Even if it's something completely random. I mean, I know it's random, but I'm excited.