A Little Piggy Told Me We Reached Our Goal At Telethon

Our goal was to raise $234,000 and we reached $236,654!  Thanks to all of the wonderful volunteers, staff, and friends of Lollypop Farm who made it possible!


The set


Big donation on a big check.  I wish banks offered these as an option for check books.  I'd love to pay my bills and groceries with one of these.


Never underestimate the power of puppies to put a crowd into a trance!  

Oh Tim, what a wonderful backhanded comment to your fellow retail team.  I always aim to be "not the worst ________" in all I do...


Petpalooza Dog Car!  I'll have to ask how much it cost to do this.  Something like this needs to be done to my ride. 


PIGLETS!!!


"We are so little and oinky!"


A pig pile under the heat lamp.  


Thanks Adrienne for providing me a website to look up Rochester graffiti at: http://wall-therapy.com.  This is "Bears" by ROA (http://unurth.com/filter/ROA) located at St. Paul Street and Pleasant Street.  Where...  Do...  I...  Begin...

That's it for now.  Off to see Book of Mormon (http://www.rbtl.org/). 

Lollypop Farm Telethon 2013 Today!

Join us as we celebrate our 17th year of Lollypop Farm’s Telethon, our largest fundraising event for homeless and abused animals in our community. This annual animal extravaganza will be broadcast live from Eastview Mall on 13 WHAM-TV, Rochester's CW, and 13wham.com from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m.. - See more at: http://www.lollypop.org/site/c.clKUI9OQIoJcH/b.8484615/k.352D/Telethon_2013.htm#sthash.RlryD2Lq.dpuf

The six-hour broadcast will showcase the diverse and meaningful work Lollypop Farm performs each and every day. Celebrate our far-reaching community programs, successful adoptions and hear stories of some of the special animals that have touched our lives.

Your support is critical! All funds raised help Lollypop Farm care for homeless and abused pets and continue to bring valuable services—including humane education, cruelty investigations, and much more—to the Rochester community.

Make a difference in the lives of homeless animals with your Telethon donation. Remember—every dollar raised stays in the Rochester community and helps change a pet's life for the better. See how your donation is put to work:

$25 = Spay/Neuter one animal
$50 = Purchases surgical instrument trays
$100 = Purchases animal capture gloves
$200 = Purchases a veterinary heating pad
$500 = Allows for surgical and rehabilitation of one animal cruelty victim

- See more at: http://www.lollypop.org/site/c.clKUI9OQIoJcH/b.8484615/k.352D/Telethon_2013.htm#sthash.RlryD2Lq.dpuf

Growing Our Family

For a couple of years, Megan and I have struggled with infertility.  After lots of consideration, we have decided to start the process of adopting a child.  At this time, we are taking classes, filing out tons of paperwork, having home inspections before we seek the right child for our family.  

There are lots of questions you may have about adoption and here are some links that may help:

http://www.adoptivefamilies.com/ - The award-winning national adoption magazine is the leading adoption information source for families before, during, and after adoption. 

http://www.creatingafamily.org/ - A blog that provides education and resources for infertility and adoption

http://www.representmag.org/ - The Voice of Youth in Foster Care 

http://www.adoptionlearningpartners.org/ - Adoption Learning Partners offers an array of interactive, e-learning courses that will increase each participant's understanding of the joys and challenges of adoption.

http://www.adopt.org/ - Their inspiration comes from the belief that "there are no unwanted children, just unfound families" 

Once we have finished our classes and inspections, we will re-evaluate our situation.  If we decide to proceed, the waiting period can range from a couple of months to a few years for us to be matched.  In the meantime, your support will mean a lot to us.  We're excited about starting our family and hope you'll welcome our child when he or she finally arrives!

If you have any questions for us, please feel free to contact me at: MikeKKraus@gmail.com

Sincerely,

Mike and Megan

A Horse Is a Horse Unless of Course

I think he thought I had food for him.  The disappointment he must have experienced when he realized it was only a camera...


Heeey Wilbur...


Deer were celebrating President's Day in my back yard.  Nothing like making a pot of coffee and having nature come to you.


My neighbor is my inspiration.  He builds all of these snow forts and other creations.  It's only a matter of time before our yard looks like it's from Calvin & Hobbes.


Mural on the backside of the Catholic Family Center building in downtown Rochester.  I couldn't find anything on it.  Not sure if it was commissioned or anything.  Anyone who knows about it can put it in the comments.


That's all I can really report at this time.  So it goes...

It's Snow Problem

SNOWSTORM NEMO!  This was on my very, very slow commute home.  I think I counted 4 separate car accidents (including a semi vs ambulance).


Lots of pretty trees...






Ugh...  Shoveling...




First shovel break:  Let me take a second to snap a pic of the house


Second shovel break: Another shot.  Man, how much snow is there.  I am literally only cleaning out a one foot clearing around my subcompact...


In the pine, in the pines...


Megan and I didn't realize this when we bought the house, but we are in the township of Narnia.

Speaking of which, I just finished the epic Harry Potter collection.  I have to say that it was better than I expected.  But, I didn't realize how much I didn't really understand from the movies.  I guess you have to leave some stuff out when you write 1,000 page tomes.  

Thanks to Pete and Simon for fulfilling my need of hanging out playing video games and eating junk food.  It is truly the only way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Master of the House... Doling Out the Charm

"Are you going to eat all of that?"


"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"


Please check the recycling before placing it at the curb.


Checking out the Mexican restaurant, Itacate, at the end of our street.  I have to say, great location.

Some kind of pork thing.  Don't remember what, but it was good.  I had a burrito that hit the spot.  A nice way to start a date before watching Les Misérables, which was pretty good even if Megan didn't care for Russell Crowe.


St. Joseph Church ruins in downtown Rochester.  The facade was preserved after a massive fire.  It's one of my favorite buildings in the region.  Something unique and saving a piece of local history.


From preserving the past to promoting the future.  The ground has broke on the new Regional Transit Service (RTS) Transit Center and will open in 2015.  A way better land use for downtown than a black tar desert surface parking lot that it replaced.  


Master of the house, keeper of the zoo
Ready to relieve 'em of a sou or two
Watering the wine, making up the weight
Pickin' up their knick-knacks when they can't see straight
Everybody loves a landlord
Everybody's bosom friendI do whatever pleases
Jesus! Won't I bleed 'em in the end!

"So, that's the song George Costanza sings in that episode of Seinfeld..."

That Snape Is Such A Jerk!

SNAPE KILLED DUMBLEDORE!  Why did he ever trust him?!?!  Just more evidence that I remain 12 years old (and my wife encourages it)...


So, Megan is out of town and I'm left to my own devices.  I didn't intend to buy this for dinner, but when I saw that Hamburger Helper had Beef Stroganoff and ULTIMATE Beef Stroganoff, the decision made itself.  What makes it "ultimate;" not sure...


Another "perk" of Megan being out town is watching terrible movies like Omega Man starring Charlton Heston.   Classic zombie flick.


And speaking of my blushing bride, here she is!  Who knew when I made these for our wedding that it was going to be a decoration for the house?


And, Megan's idiot husband...


So dreary.  I think this is as bright as it got all day today.  At least it wasn't a foot of snow or another ice storm.  

That's about it.  I've been pretty boring lately being sick and all.  Waiting to hear if Megan's flights will even make it in tonight.  Blah, blah, blah, etc...

March of the Penguins

This is one of our newest acquisitions to our art collection.  Obviously, its a bunch of penguins painted by Megan's great grandma "Baba," from an experience she had cruising around the world.  

Not too much to report.  Dishwasher is now fixed.  No need for a new one as it was just a blown fuse.  Thank for all the help and advice on that.  Otherwise, been laying around the house.  Last weekend I was pretty sick with a cold and ended up reading tons of Harry Potter (I'm on the Half-Blood Prince for those keeping track) and the entire first season of Meerkat Manor.  I'm no longer contagious and the medicine seems to be doings its trick.  But, it's still lingering.  Maybe I'll be healthy this weekend?

Sleepy... So Very Sleepy...

Feeling like this guy lately.  I think I've been battling a cold that everyone's been getting, which is better than the flu.  Anyway, it seems our house is becoming the house of weird cookie jars.  And yet, we never have cookies...


Bad ass motorcycle gang member made of shells!


SANTASAURUS REX!  Saw this guy on our walk through East Rochester last week. 


It's amazing walking through work these days because doors and hallways just magically appear out of nowhere. This one leads to the new clinic


My coworkers daughter makes all sorts of creative desserts.  Here's a teddy graham fishing swedish fish.  



"I KNOW YOU!  HELP!  I DON'T BELONG IN THIS OFFICE!"  Congrats to Karen on her new job even if Chance seems really confused on top of your desk.

That's it.  Nothing much happening lately and I'll probably rest a lot on the long weekend.  Some football tomorrow.

Broken Dishwasher

So, our dishwasher decided to stop working last night.  There is no power to the unit.  I checked the circuit breaker and it has not tripped.  It has a direct line for electricity and I cut power to it for a little bit to reset it with no results.  The door appears to be latching properly.  In general, nothing appears to be wrong with it.  Anyone have any ideas before I drop a fortune on repairs/replacement?

Homeownership...

Oh Deer...

Ice skating with Rachel.  She's showing off her best figure skating pose.  


Deer wandering at the way back of the property


Pretty good sized deer.  And just look at how:
a) stubby his legs are
b) deep the snow is

MORE LOST ART FOUND!Who knows how much more of this stuff I have...


Obviously, I did not come up with the "Crazy" Tiger logo of the Detroit Tigers (why are his eyes perfect circles?).  This banner was for some project.  So, think of it as my version of Andy Warhol's Campbell Soup cans or something...


And, as everyone already knows, the holy war begins at home...


This is some kind of project with a bunch of figures from art history.  I don't remember why I made it.


Punk Rock...


Front side of a clipboard 


Back side of a clipboard.

That's about it from very snowy Rochester.  Got to go shovel some more!