It would seem that there's a server error over on MM.org, so I'll be posting my 100 Words over here for now. (100 Words, compliments of Velvet Verbosity: http://velvetverbosity.com/100-words/)

The theme for this week is HIDDEN.

However way in which one wants something to be seen, sometimes the only real way
In which one can truly be taken seriously in any absolute situation is a time when they
Deign to remain... unseen. Perhaps it is the quality of the mysterious and the unknown that
Draws the attention of so many. Perhaps it is the nature of the unseen to markedly
Embark on an adventure so great that to reveal it to the unprepared world would be
Not unlike casting pearls among swine. And what a true and great waste and crime that would prove to be.

I know most of you are familiar with Lotus/Sarcastic Mom... and if you aren't, then where on earth have you been??? Go check her out! ( http://www.sarcasticmom.com )

ahem Sorry... anyway...

Lotus is the bee's knees, lemme tell you what. She's also one of the recipients of the Cat's Meow award!

Lately, her living conditions have plummeted. Her house is unlivable! There is mold everywhere! She has a little boy, and she and her family are getting sick! Her lazy landlords won't do jack for them, so they're stuck trying to find a new home. (Mold: http://sarcasticmom.com/?p=275 )

Sadly, there's not a WHOLE lot I can do, though once we get paid, I'm gonna be running and altering this. I can't afford much, but every little bit helps!

A Whole Lot of Nothing ( http://awholelotofnothing.net ) has put together the HoF'oSho project to help Lotus! Click on the link below, and you'll go to the page she's set up. There are several ways to help, so don't be afraid to do something! Even if it's only a couple of dollars, everything helps. I know I'll be cashing in our bucket of change for a gift card for her to use to replace things that have been molded to death. (HoF'oSho: http://awholelotofnothing.net/lotus-hofosho/ )

If you can't afford anything, spread the word! Let's help out a fellow mommy blogger! And I'm very sure all prayers will be appreciated as well!!

This past week has been fairly eye-opening for me. I am far from being a newbie blogger, having had several blogs over the years, and one has even lasted me over two years now. However, the breadth that they span never ceases to amaze me.

Something, though, that also surprised me, though it probably shouldn't have, is how seriously people take their blogs. After all, they ARE just blogs. Journals on the internet, through which, many times, we meet new people. But overall, they're just journals. They are not our lives.

Admittedly, I'm probably just as guilty. I can't deny that I've sat there in a situation and thought, "OMG... I am TOTALLY blogging this!" Even my husband has asked a couple of times if something happening will be recorded in my blog. But I digress.

Another blogger mom, Mrs. Flinger, started a site which really got me to thinking. http://blogguiltfree.org/ Read it. In it, she discusses, in some ways, some of the same things I am attempting to address here. She really has a point. And from that moment, I vowed to blog, not for the people that might read it... not for the comments that I might receive... but for myself alone. I Blog Guilt Free. I will remember that my blog is nothing more than just that... a blog. And I will not let it rule my life.

I value the friendships I have made... and I plan to continue to nurture them, but I will not allow them to be an excuse for me to make my blog my life.

Taking a page from BusyDad, I thought that maybe I would give you all a chance to find me around the Internetz, besides just here and my blog. ((That's right, you cyber stalkers out there... hunt me down!))

And before anybody else gets a chance to point fingers, I'll do it first. It's true. I have no life.

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/detailoring

Facebook: detailoring@gmail.com

StumbleUpon: http://madame-meow.stumbleupon.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/madamemeow

YouTube: http://youtube.com/profile?user=detailoring

MSN Messenger: detailoring@gmail.com

Yahoo IM: madame.meow

Google IM: detailoring@gmail.com

I'm trying to get as many opinions on this as I can. I posted this in the Moms forum, and I'm going to post it here as well, to try and get a wider variety of answers.

I just wanted to know all y'all's opinion on something.

A friend of mine is looking into getting a new dog, and I recommended going to the local humane society. That's where I've always gone for a pet in the past--all of like... three times--and I've had wonderful experiences.

She insisted that she wouldn't be able to do that, though, based on uncertainty of "triggers" that the animal might have, had it been abused in the past, or whatever. So she's planning to breed her parents' pedigree lab with another pedigree and take one of the puppies.

While I understand her argument, I believe, if you look through the dogs, not all of them are going to have frightening triggers, and if you speak with the workers at the shelter, they usually have a pretty good understanding of each of the animals there, and which ones might be better suited to homes with small children, such as the ones that my friend and I have.

What would you do in your situation? Would you forgo the humane society in favor of a new puppy? And if you would, would it be for those reasons, or just because you wanted the puppy?