Pink papers, preparing for the worst and prancing puppies

It's been at least a week since I have blogged, but that definitely doesn't mean that nothing has been going on. Welcome to my bulleted list.

• Newspapers preparing for the worst

Last week, former President Jimmy Carter was hospitalized for a viral infection in his stomach. That day at my newspaper's budget meeting, we held a short "what if" session mainly focusing on if the former president were to die. What would we do in the paper? How would we treat it? Would we go poster-size on his photo? In case you didn't know, Carter is also a former governor of Georgia, and he announced his bid for presidency at a local restaurant in Savannah. Since that conversation, we have started to compile photos the paper has taken as well as AP photos for the inevitable day when he passes. I actually might create a multimedia project to go along with it ... That could be exciting!

• Wiener dog races

The starting gates for the wiener dog races.

The Savannah Morning News helps to sponsor the wiener dog races for Oktoberfest, which I volunteered for this year. I know what you're thinking: If you're not absolutely disgusted, you are absolutely confused. Yes. Wiener dogs. Racing. Adorableness. We raced about 150 dogs Oct. 2, and the fastest dog of the day, "Frankie" of Savannah, made the 50-foot trek in 2.3 seconds. Not all the dogs came running when the gates were lifted though. Some were too scared to leave, some just wanted to play with the other dogs. It was super entertaining.

I was in charge of getting the dogs ready at the starting line. I handed each owner a bandanna, and I made sure that all the correct dogs were racing in their correct heat. I tried to at least. People were crowding and confused, and I tried to make everyone happy. After all, this event is about Dachshunds! How could it not be happy?

• Breast cancer awareness in Savannah

Courtesy of Savannah Morning News

I never knew how incredibly HUGE Breast Cancer Awareness month was in this town! SMN and St. Joseph's/Candler hospital team up every October to "Paint the town Pink." The SMN building was "flocked" for the event (see the photo), there's a large ribbon in our main window and a bright pink golf cart in our foyer (Apparently it's a prize for a raffle of some sort at the end of the month), and the paper sports a pink ribbon on its masthead the entire month of October.

One of the more interesting things the paper does, though, is it publishes a pink newspaper. On Oct. 3, the newspaper that people bought at the grocery store or had delivered to their home was entirely pink. So, this is my pink 1A. Thankfully I didn't have to design on a pink computer screen that night.

I think what the community does for breast cancer awareness is really cool -- especially when several big organizations in the community come together for a common cause.

I'm on my way to Crazy Cat Lady status

On Thursday, I decided to check out the local Humane Society. I have been toying with the idea of getting another cat, and I really wanted to find someplace where I could volunteer during the day before work, too. I had volunteered at the Central Missouri Humane Society, and I have had pets my whole life. I talk to animals as if they were my children. They don't even have to be mine. I fit in at the Humane Society.

After I signed in at Savannah's shelter, I walked around the dog corrals. I talked to the dogs, played with some puppies and imagined adopting every single one of them. Then, I ventured into the cat room. It was almost dinner time, so they were very active, vocal and, of course, ADORABLE. I eavesdropped onto a conversation between one of the workers and a younger couple. The couple was interested in fostering kittens, but they ended up exceeding the pet-per-apartment limit. After they left, I asked a bit more questions about the fostering process and ended up filling out an application. The next day, I went back to pick up five five-week-old kittens.

And now for the pictures...



There are three black and white kittens, but their black has some red tints to it, too. The other two are all black. They came with "Spaceballs"-influenced names, but I will probably be changing them. If you know my history with "Spaceballs," you'll understand. The names are completely arbitrary anyway because they will be renamed when they are adopted.

I will have them for 3-4 weeks until they weigh enough to be adopted out.



They are all holed up in my bathroom for a couple of reasons. #1 So I can keep an eye on them. #2 Because Maia doesn't quite like them yet. She is being all "My momma is trying to replace me" and whining about it. Hopefully, she will get use to them in a week or so. That's what the professionals say at least.



Here's all five of them. They like each other. They also make a huge mess. You know how kids like throwing dirt and sand at each other? That's what these five do with kitty litter. The cuteness makes up for it. Revel in the cuteness.