Welcome to Animal Nation!

Lions and tigers and bears ... oh my! Pets and the wild and their rights ... oh my! We will now be writing a weekly posting dedicated to all things animals, called Animal Nation!

I would like to start this off on a cute and funny note about my dog Hannah (a.k.a. Hannah Banana .... also, the love of my life). There's no doubt that pets have a way of brightening your day. Nothing compares to that unconditional, never ending love they give .... and of course, who can forget all those entertaining and hilarious moments.

Hannah has acquired this quirky new habit lately of sleeping with her tongue sticking out of her mouth. The first time I noticed it, I laughed so hard and grabbed my camera right away to make sure I could document this kodak moment. So, here is my Hannah Banana caught with her tongue out ... hehehe!

ENJOY!


On this day, the tongue was slowly making it's way out ... lol

Revitalize Your Soul - Honesty Series 2

“If it is not right don't do it; if it is not true don't say it.” ~Marcus Aurelius

Enough said ....

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing moms of this world! Hope you all enjoyed every moment of your special day and wishing you many blessings, laughter and love to warm your hearts always! BIG hugs!!!

“A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine, desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.” ~Washington Irving

“A mother is a person who, seeing there are only four pieces of pie for five people, promptly announces she never did care for pie.” ~Tenneva Jordan

“My mom is a never ending song in my heart of comfort, happiness, and being. I may sometimes forget the words but I always remember the tune.” ~Graycie Harmon

“Mothers hold their children's hands for a short while, but their hearts forever.” ~Author Unknown

“Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.” ~Marion C.

“I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me. They have clung to me all my life.” ~Abraham Lincoln

Revitalize Your Soul - Gratitude Series (repost)

Happy Mother's Day mom!!!

Today, I am thankful for my wonderful mother. She is an absolutely amazing woman, beautiful inside and out. An incredible mom, full of unconditional love, never ending support, the warmest heart, sweet compassion, full of wisdom and healing hands...she means everything to me, she is my best friend, my rock, my “go to” person. She has taught me so much in my life, molded me into a caring, loving and nurturing person. She will baby me when I need it and will give me tough love when it’s necessary. She knows my strengths and my weaknesses...without judgment, without disappointment, she listens to me no matter what state of mind I am in. I am so thankful for the unbreakable bond we share that continues to grow each day. I love you and adore you ma! I am sooo lucky to have you!

What are you thankful for today?

Me and my mommy! :)

The Gratitude Project by Thankasoldier.net

We are so honored to share with you the information on The Gratitude Project brought to us by Thankasoldier.net.

As we all live our every day lives, our brave soldiers are far away from home and often feel forgotten by us. The Gratitude Project has been created as a effort to let our troops know how much we love them and how thankful we are for what they do and what they sacrifice for us.

Thankasoldier.net has come up with this great idea to make a YouTube video that will be send to soldiers serving in various locations around the world. The video will be a collection of photos with people from everywhere (not just their home town), who want to let our soldiers know that they are NOT forgotten. This is an opportunity to come together and express our gratitude. The video will be a filmstrip of photos that will warm their hearts and remind them that they are in our thoughts and prayers…and that we love them.

Here’s how you can be a part The Gratitude Project:
1. Snap a photo of yourself with the word “Thank You” in it somewhere. It can be on your hand, on a sign, spelled out with people it doesn’t matter. PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR LOCATION in the photo somewhere e.g. “Thank You from Boston, MA”
2. Email it to ThankYou@thankasoldier.net
3. If you’d like, you can also include a suggestion for what song should be playing in the background of the YouTube video.
4. Share the YouTube Video with friends to get the word out.
**The deadline for the photo submission is February 28, 2010

Get Revitalized! We are so excited to join this awesome project and submit our photo!

Peace, Love and Light!
~Ami

The people of Haiti need our help!

We are all saddened by the devastating affects of the earthquake in Haiti this past week. We have also been amazed by how so many people have come together already to help in any way they can. There has been a huge outpour of love, support and donations to help provide food, shelter, medical care, water, and other necessities to the people of Haiti. Unfortunately, they still desperately need our help.

We’ve gathered information to share several ways that you can help with the Haiti relief:

Send a Text Message.
Texting seems to be the most immediate way to help. Send a quick text to the numbers below and a small donation will appear on your next phone bill (about $5-$6). This donation will go towards helping the earthquake victims in Haiti. It’s easy, fast and convenient!
• Red Cross – text ‘Haiti’ to #90999
• Yele Haiti – text ‘YELE’ to #501501
**T Mobile, AT&T and Verizon have all waived their text messaging fees for Haitian relief.
**Texted donations can usually take approximately 90 days to get to their destinations. But all parties involved in this effort are working extremely hard to get the money to the charities as quickly as possible.

Donate to a cause that is specifically fundraising for the Haiti relief.
• Doctors Without Borders
• Unicef.org
• Friends of the World Food Program
• International Rescue Committee
• Partners in Health
• Clintonfoundation.org/haitiearthquake
• OxFamAmerica
• United Nations World Food Program
• Yéle Haiti
**If you donate by credit card, Visa, Master Card and American Express have all agreed to waive donation percentage points they would normally get off of your charge. Good for them!

If you can contribute to help fund these emergency efforts, please do.

Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with everyone!
~Lovebug

The Gratitude Project for our troops

Be a part of The Gratitude Project and submit your special thank you to our brave soldiers. Watch this video to find out how.

Much Love,
Ami

Our troops .... Our heroes!

This commercial really pulled on my heart strings. Our troops are our heroes and they deserve to be acknowledged, loved and appreciated. May God bless our soldiers and bring them comfort on a daily basis. As we all enjoy the conveniences and joy of being home, lets always remember to keep them in our hearts, thoughts and prayers.

With the warmest wishes + deepest love,
Ami

The Shift - A movie being made by a movement

Check it out!

Revitalize Your Soul

Forgive quickly. Love without boundaries or fear. Laugh without control. Never stop smiling. Be thankful for all your blessings. Live with hope and positivity. Embrace every moment.

xoxo,
Lovebug

God and Dog

This is so beautiful! Made me appreciate and love my Hannah even more. Can't wait to take my morning walk ... and my walks are also my pray time. This video really touched my heart :)

Red Fridays - Support our troops

Wear your red on Fridays as a sign of support and love for our troops. Lets no longer be silent and voice our gratitude and warm wishes to all our brave soldiers away from home. They need to know that they are not forgotten …that we have them in our hearts and prayers.

By word of mouth, press, TV – we can all come together in making the United States a sea of red on Fridays …. much like a homecoming football game in the bleachers. If every one of us who loves our troops will share this with acquaintances, coworkers, friends, and family, it will not be long before the USA is covered in RED and it will let our troops know that we are all on their side more than ever.

So don’t forget to wear your reds this Friday to be a part of showing the solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect -- and continue each and every Friday until our troops all come home!

The first thing a soldier says when asked "What can we do to make things better for you?" is. "We need your support and your prayers." Please help to spread the word….

Order holiday cards + ornaments that help animals

Purchase your holiday cards and ornaments through the Humane Society of the United States to support this amazing organization and help our beautiful animals.

Choose from a beautiful array of holiday cards or fun ornaments!

Spread the word and send this link to your friends and family.

Much Love!
~Ami

Revitalize Your Soul!

Good morning! And what a beautiful morning it is! Remember to smile today and take time to be thankful for all your blessings. Stop and smell the flowers or (depending where you live) stop and breath in the crisp air and take in the beautiful colors of the falling leaves. Do something nice for a stranger. Tell someone special in your life that you love them or how beautiful/handsome they are. Brush off your challenges...they are probably smaller than you think and soon they will be in the past. For those of you going through any real tragedies, may you be surrounded by love and comfort that will heal your heart and bring you peace.

Sending my warmest wishes to you all!
~Lovebug

Earthlings - Intense!

The trailer to this documentary called Earthlings is why I am a vegetarian. Please prepare yourself before watching this trailer. It is intense - AND real! I've read a bunch of details about what we are doing to our animals and could barely get through each word, but actually seeing some of it goes way deeper. The cruelty and inhumane torture of animals is beyond my comprehension. Please take the time to watch this....it's hard to watch, but if we can eat it, we need to see it .... we need to know.... we need to be aware of what we are promoting by what we eat. So please have the courage and the heart to watch this and help spread awareness by sharing it with others.

Earthlings - watch the trailer here

Buy from Staples to help cancer research

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and Staples is offering you the opportunity to help make a difference with your purchase. When you buy select Pink Ribbon products this month at Staples, a percentage will go to breast cancer research. So check out their selection and spread the word!

Help our wounded soldiers

Give back to those who've given to America by making a donation to the Pentagon Federal Credit Union Foundation. This is a Military Heroes Fund that helps provide emergency financial support for our wounded soldiers and their families. This fund also helps pay for daycare expenses at Walter Reed Army Medical Center for children of the wounded.

Read more about the Foundation's accomplishments.

The Pentagon Federal Credit Union Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Pentagon Federal Credit Union pays all administrative expenses. Every penny you give goes to programs.

Much Love,
Ami

The gratitude campaign

Jessica and I both had the opportunity to watch this video for The Gratitude Campaign before we went to NY on vacation. While we were in the city one day, we passed by several soldiers at Penn Station and we both took the opportunity to acknowledge them, say hello and most importantly ...to say Thank You. They smiled at us and you could tell that it meant a lot to them. It truly warmed my heart and felt wonderful to show my gratitude. I promised myself that I would post this video when I returned to share it with all of you.

Check it out and pass it on to others.....

With deep gratitude, warm thoughts and peaceful wishes to all our brave soldiers!

~Lovebug

Great Love Song - Had to share

CLICK HERE: He Loves Me by Jill Scott

"You love me especially different every time
You keep me on my feet happily excited
By your cologne, your hands, your smile, your intelligence
You woo me, you court me, you tease me, you please me
You school me, give me some things to think about
Ignite me, you invite me, you co-write me, you love me, you like me
You incite me to chorus, ooh
Ooh...

You love me especially different every time
You keep me on my feet happily excited
By your cologne, your hands, your smile, your intelligence
You woo me, you court me, you tease me, you please me
You school me, give me things to think about
Invite me, you ignite me, co-write me, you love me, you like me
Incite me to chorus
La, la, la...
Da, da, da...
Do, do, do...

You're different and special
You're different and special in every way imaginable
You love me from my hair follicles to my toenails
You got me feeling like the breeze, easy and free and lovely and new
Oh when you touch me I just can't control it
When you touch me, I just can't hold it
The emotion inside of me, I can feel it

Ah... "

Revitalize Your Soul! - Life according to Mister Rogers

A friend of Jessica's posted this on facebook and we wanted to share this wonderful message with everyone:

"If you could only sense how important you are to the lives of those you meet; how important you can be to the people you may never even dream of. There is something of yourself that you leave at every meeting with another person." Mister Rogers

Every encounter we have leaves a lasting effect; even when we don't realize. And the ripple effects are limitless. We should always present the best, most real version of who we are in all we do.

"Won't you be ....my neighbor?"