Missin’ You Mowgli

Mowgli (Mr. Handsome, Kenosha’s sweetheart, boss dog, sunshine boy, crazy pants, Grinch) 11/16/15 – 2/11/22

On Friday, when I came home from work, I found Mowgli paralyzed basically from the ribs down. After a visit to the ER, it was found out that even after an unimaginably expensive, tiresome procedure, it would be very unlikely Mowgli would ever walk again. It’s hard to say what happened because at the time of injury, he was home alone. Maybe he was napping or playing just a little too hard. He did everything with a little drama to it.

Mowgli’s training was imperfect, but what I realized recently is that I accidentally, or maybe purposefully, trained us both to almost annoyingly always be by each other’s sides. Life with Mowgli was one big game of follow the leader. We even took turns being the leader!

Clearly, this’ll be the longest post I ever make because if there’s one thing about Mowgli it’s that he always had A LOT to say. Today, I want to share some of my favorite memories with the best dog ever, his last words and our favorite things to do together.

I took this photo last Tuesday. What the heck was he doing, my goofy dog ❤

Some of our best memories and rituals:

• The only thing that stopped Mowgli from barking when we first got him (Dec. ’17) was when we played him a voicemail saying if he continues after February 1 we were going to get evicted.
• Every time I gave him a bath I would spread peanut butter on the side of the tub to keep him calm. Mowgli has his own jar of peanut butter in the cupboard.
• Whenever mowgli heard kissing he would come running. Cock blocker.
• One time, when I was late to pick him up from the groomer, he was in a kennel barking his head off with a blanket over it. A couple other dogs were going by him sniffing around wondering what the heck was upsetting him so much. The groomer continued to tell me how good of a boy he was. I don’t believe it.
• His greatest fear as of recently was plastic water bottles. Shiver me timbers.
• The only time Mowgli abandoned me was one time when the fire alarm went off in the middle of the night. He ran out of the room with Alex without even looking back at me. We joke that he was saying something along the lines of, “Screw her, i guess it’s you and me now dude,”
• I have several instrumental playlists saved in Spotify for Mowgli, and now they’re for me.
• I recently taught Mowgli how to crawl under the bed, and sometimes I crawled under there with him. All I had to say was “Under,” and he would go hide.
• I always wondered what Mowgli did when maintenance came into the apartment. I’m guessing that as long as they didn’t have their dog with them he just brought them a toy to play with.
• His tail always wagged the hardest whenever I called him a bad dog, so tried to never give him that satisfaction.
• One time Tony, Mowgli and I almost got hit by a car. I yelled at the driver for almost hitting my dog.
• When I first got him he would throw up everytime he went in the car. He finally was used to it and even started sticking his little nose out the window.
• Whenever he had a little lick of goose poop it was like he got a power up and immediately ran as fast as he could.
• The zoomies. The zoomies. The zoomies. Mowgli had no sense of boundaries and wouldn’t hesitate to run full force right into you, even if he had a sharp stick in his mouth. This often ended with both of us grunting and falling to the ground.
• At one of his puppy school classes we were practicing long leash exercises. At home, the long leash was Mowgli’s cue that it was time to go crazy. As soon as I clipped the leash on to him in class I knew exactly what was going to the happen. All the other dogs were sitting perfectly calm 30 feet away from their owner. I told the teacher, “I think he’s about to go crazy.” She told me, “That’s okay, let him go crazy.” “GO CRAZY!” He ran in circles as fast he could way longer than I probably should have let him. When he finally slowed down, he was so proud of himself, smiling so big and probably thought he showed off so much to the other dogs.
• Another puppy school moment.. in one exercise we switched who’s dog we were handling to see how they respond to new people. Mowgli received great feedback, and the other owners said “We told him to sit, and he kept doing this really cute thing where he put his paws up in the air.” Once we taught mowgli how to sit pretty, he never stopped sitting pretty.

Some last words, from both of us:

• To the little white dog across the street who Mowgli almost tore to pieces three times over, we’re sorry, and also … loosen up a little.
• To the two dogs next door who Mowgli who has been playing with through the fence, to be honest, I was never too sure if you were playing or fighting, but Mowgli always ran the fastest when he was with you.
• To everyone who has ever dog sat for me or had a doggy sleepover, thank you for following Mowgli’s laundry list of to-dos.
• To my neighbors, and roommates, at Hidden Oak who had to listen to Mowgli bark literally all day and night for the first two months, thank you for your patience.
• To all my friends who have snuck Mowgli into their no-dogs-allowed living areas or who covered Mowgli’s eyes so we can sneak past another dog and avoid absolute chaos, I cherish these moments.
• To everyone who has come over to my house and leftand left covered in dog fur, that’s not ending anytime soon.
• To Loving Paws and Safe Harbor Humane Society, thanks for caring for my best friend.

And if I could give Mowgli one last day full of our favorite things, here’s what we would do:

• Watch 101 Dalmatians
• Go on a long walk far from home, settling in in a nice shady spot with a book and a bone
• Dance around the living room to Heart of Glass or Dancing Queen
• He’d eat that gross thing under the fence a couple more bites than usual before I start yelling at him
• Chase the geese in the field across the street and find more gross stuff to eat
• Share every meal
• Mix some Chipotle taco bell sauce in with his dog food, and then for dessert we eat some sour patches, a spoonful of peanut butter, and ice cream.

So treat your dog to that thing you can enjoy together as often and for as long as you can because even if I could wake up and take Mowgli out to poop at 7am in a freezing blizzard, I wouldn’t bat an eye, well … Just be thankful that you have the second best dog in the world.

ps. in the next couple days I’ll probably do one last photodump into his Facebook album, so that I have another nice place to go to cry about it. Until then, here’s an old collage.

Ring, Ring, It’s ThatGirlMarisa!

Leave a message at the tone, beeeeeeep

Hello? Hey, hi. It’s ThatGirlMarisa.. Umm, I’m just calling because, well, you see, another year has gone past, and I’ve barely heard from you, sooo, what’s your deal?

What’s up, everyone? It’s great to be here with all of you again for my annual, “Oh shoot, I should make a blog post” blog post. For the new friends, I am happy to have you join us for this wild ride we call life. It’s truly amazing how time literally ~flies~ by. If only it didn’t catch me so dang off guard, then maybe I’d have more updates throughout the year. In fact, I’m not even quite sure what I have been up to instead of blogging, especially since I still haven’t finished that Spanish course or made a five-year plan like I mentioned last year. I digress.

In 2018, my big milestone was surviving my first full year of working full-time. In 2019, I kept on keeping on. I guess that’s what life is like now — working full-time. Amidst my mundane routine, I have found happiness in looking forward to the little things. Every year doesn’t have to be a milestone when its full of so many small, cherished moments.

See! 2019 was full of fun times! Some of my little victories include getting my motorcycle’s license (and a motorcycle!), running my first, and second, half marathons, finally road tripping to Canada and making more use of my Santa Claus costume. What a strange little collection of memories. Stay tuned, and I’ll let you in on more details!

Side note: actually, I did start a new job in 2019. That is definitely a milestone but not every success has to be work related. Right? — GAH!

Sure, maybe I’ll blog more this year, or maybe I won’t. ~2020 vision bby~ I’m looking forward to my best friend’s wedding in Costa Rica and am hoping to go sky diving, get a new tattoo and run another half marathon. This year also signifies my quarter-life crisis, so it might just be a self-inflicted bumpy ride. I’ll keep myself and you on our toes to have even more fun. That’s the whole point of this thing anyways. Right? — GAH!

Get Crafty: DIY Krusty Krab Hats

It’s the most wonderful time of the year: Halloween! And this year, we’re taking a trip all the way down to Bikini Bottom.

The gang’s all here!

I had an eye-opening realization during my search for the perfect Squidward costume. The truth is, there’s just not nearly enough tutorials on how to make a Krusty Krab hat. So,  here’s one to add to the vast web!

Materials:

• Recycled Cardboard
• Felt
• Black (glitter) Cardstock
• Pipe Cleaners (blue and black)
• Red Puffy Paint
• Hot Glue Gun
• Newspaper

Directions:

1. Cut cardboard to size of hat, roughly 4″x5″, but cut to the height you prefer.
2. Repeatedly fold cardboard into a cylinder to work out any existing folds.
3. Hot glue cardboard into a ~2″ round cylinder. Paint the cardboard white to limit color showing through the felt covering.
4. Cut felt to equal size and carefully place hot glue along the edges to cover up the cardboard completely.
5. Cut a piece of the black cardstock to glue as the hat rim. The measurement I used is about 3/4″x5″. The cardstock I used also had a nice glitter undertone, but that obviously isn’t necessarily. OR, just use black paint, as always, this is your world and your hat, use you discretion.
6. Next up is the hat brim. Cut a piece of card board in a, uhh, rounded square shape. The width should equal the diameter of your hat, and length should add 2-3″. Curve the rounded edge to stand up.
7. Cut a piece of blue felt and black cardstock to the same size as the brim and glue onto your brim. The blue will be the bottom and the black on top.
8. Hot glue the brim onto the bottom of the hat.
9. Fill the hat with crumpled newspaper, you know, for added stability.
10. Cut a circle of carboard the same size as the top of the hat. Crumple half a piece of newspaper and glue to the cardboard circle. Cover with a piece of white felt. This will be the hat’s poof!
11. Glue your poof on top of the hat’s base.
12. Make the shape of an anchor using a blue pipe cleaner and glue to the front of the hat.
13. Make the shape of a spiral with a black pipe cleaner and glue to the top of the hat as the button.
14. Using red puffy paint. Draw the seams from the hat brim to the button and back down on either side.
15. Once dry, use hot glue to attach your hat to the headband of your choice.
16. Let the Halloween party commence!

This reminds me of a project we did freshman year of high school where we had to write down the instructions to how to make a PB&J. The lesson was that if you left out even one small step, the user could make an avoidable error. Basically, what I’m saying is, “Good Luck!”

What has been your greatest Halloween DIY costume success? Share in the comments!

An Awkward Intro for the New Year

Knock. Knock.
Who’s there?
That Girl Marisa.
That Girl Marisa who?
You know, the millennial…

Hey, guys, it’s me, Marisa! Thanks for stopping by again. For those tuning in for the first time, at the beginning of 2018, I set out with the goal of starting a blog. I can hardly believe it’s been almost a whole year since our first awkward encounter. This is where I could add in a cliché about how a lot has happened since then, but the truth is while it has, it also most certainly hasn’t. Let me explain.

A year always seems to fly by, jam packed with day to day shenanigans, but still, it’s so easy to feel stuck in a routine. Our whole lives we were taught, nay, conditioned, to prepare for the future – high school, college, the “real world,” etc. Well, now I’m here, and I’m not quite sure what’s next. I’ve come to long for big changes but don’t have anything coming up on the horizon and now just need to learn how to be happy, content with the here and the now … or do I?

You see my issue here? Once I set aside this daily conundrum, taking a step back to appreciate the memories and adventures that were had, 2018 sure cracked up to be a great year. In fact, it was my first full year of working (#adulting) full-time after graduation.

From Memphis and Reno to the Grand Canyon and the Hoover Dam, there were a lot of new places to explore as well as life’s treasures right here in Kenosha, like meeting Mowgli’s first puppy-school friends, limiting guinea pig escapees and electing more women to congress than ever before. In 2019, there’s of course some things I want to accomplish, including that Spanish course I paid for two years ago, creating a five-year plan and running at least a 10K. No matter what happens, this blog serves as a digital scrapbook to keep track of where I’ve been, where I’m headed and where my daydreams wander off to.

And that, my friends, is all I have to say for now. You can always browse available categories to get a glimpse of what’s in store. If you choose to follow along with whatever ensues, thank you, and if you need me, you know where to find me.

-xoxo, mar

 

Meeting an Angel Face-to-Face

The x-mas spirit lives inside all of us, ya just have to find your inner santa!

I’m still convinced that around this time last year I met an angel, so here’s my holiday cheer story

One morning when I was almost at work my “low fuel” light turned on. I thought, “I’ll get gas after work – no big deal.” Well things are never easy, are they?

After work I decided to risk it and try making it to the gas station that’s on my way home at the Lake Forest Oasis, as opposed to the one a minute away and around the block from work. I made it there, but I could tell my little ol’ car was struggling. I pulled into the parking lot and maneuvered to a newly opened pump and quickly realized, naturally, this one was out of service. I tried turning around but because there were so many cars the only option was to leave the parking lot. Thinking I could easily turn left out of the gas station and then turn right back in, I didn’t see anything wrong with that.

As I was attempting to pull out, a few cars honked at me. I realized it was a one way and there was no chance of me proceeding that direction. I turned right and found myself in the parking lot of the oasis with no clear way to get back to the gas station because of the one way street. My car had beeped a few times really reminding me I better get gas, and quick. Don’t you think it could tell I was trying? Not to mention I only had this car for about three months and wasn’t quite sure how far it could drive on such low fuel.

After panicking (and FaceTiming Korey), we decided that the best move was to buy a little gas tank, miserably fill it up, walk it over to my car and then try making it to the next gas station, which was maybe ten minutes away.

I went into the gas station market and bought my eleven dollar gas tank. As I was standing outside planning my next move and panicking some more about what to do, a VERY NICE older gentleman approached me and said, “Excuse me, is your car sitting somewhere out of gas?” To which I replied, “Well, kind of. You see…”

He asked me to show him where my car was, so I did. It really wasn’t that far, but it would require a little bit of illegal driving. He looked at me and said, “Listen, pull your car around to here. When I see you, I’ll start stopping traffic so you can drive by. When there’s no cars coming, come this way because that means I’m stopping them all.”

HE STOPPED ALL OF THE VERY ANGRY HOLIDAY TRAFFIC — just for me!!

I rolled down my window to thank him as I was driving past him and he said “Okay, drive safe now!”

That’s the story of how I met an angel, and you can’t convince me otherwise. I don’t know where he came from, or where he went after he helped me, but I hope he has a happy, healthy holiday this year and every year to come. To whoever’s brother, husband, dad, friend, coworker etc. saved my day — Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

🌈To top it all off as I was continuing on my way, a rainbow appeared in the sky above me. If you know me, you know my guardian angel is a hard worker, and I think it’s clear she was working overtime today. Thanks girl! 😇

Small acts of kindness go a long way, okay! I’m still feeling very grateful from this stranger’s gesture!

Do you have a story that might spread some holiday cheer? Share it in the comments!

Harvesting Hope and Change

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” –Albert Camus

Autumn is here, and the slowly transforming leaves are turning into beautiful sights to see. A walk through the cul-de-sac during this time of the year looks like a scene that would be described in a Nicholas Sparks’ novel. The gusting winds are blowing the crunchy, colorful leaves every which way, much to Mowgli’s amusement. Each day brings new colors, new views and new beauty.

It seems like just a couple weeks ago, we were celebrating the summer’s warm weather. The flowers were blooming, and the trees were as green as they could be. Now, all of the colorful leaves are fluttering through the air. We are used to seeing these colors every autumn, but every year they are just as breathtaking.

During other months, you might walk past the trees without thinking anything of them. Now that we are bracing ourselves for the six months of cold weather that is on the way, it is a good time to take in all of the beauty that can be found around us. Look up as you’re walking. Notice the changing colors and embrace the pure beauty. It is not everyday that such beautiful changes in nature surround you.

When the flowers begin blooming in spring, everyone becomes excited for the warmer weather and sunny days that are to follow. Sure, the changing leaves are one sign that winter is on its way, but there is no reason why autumn should not be celebrated as well as spring. Embracing the change, and the beauty, is one manner that can make the cold weather that is on its way much more welcomed.

Consider how every year the leaves fall from their trees. In the spring, every tree grows new leaves and looks just as beautiful. Apply this to your own life. Take autumn as a time to throw away aspects of your life that might be preventing you from transforming. Turn your negativity into blooming seeds of success. Work towards growing in directions that will make you a better you.

Each changing leaf is different from the next. The beauty comes from the idea that with change comes newness. A new season, a new chapter and a new perspective full of hope all make a great reason to dive head first into the changes you have been putting off in your own life.

Kick-Starting Autumn with Apples

In the mid-west, we’re counting down the days to below zero weather and snow days. Until winter hits, I’m celebrating with all things fall, like apple orchards and cozy new recipes.

 

First stop? Harvest Time Orchards for roughly forty dollars worth of apples, which is enough apples for a lifetime, if you were wondering. No, we didn’t WANT to buy forty dollars worth, but that’s just what we had to do. Though it was fun to prance around finding the tastiest ones, which by the way were the Johnathans, I won’t be rushing to the grocery store for apples anytime soon, trust me. I will, however, be putting each and every lucky pick to good use. No. Apple. Left. Behind.

For starters, my sweet tooth was calling, so I went a-looking and stumbled across these tasty Apple Butter Bars. Oh right, did I mention I had a huge jar of apple butter to use up too? Two for one combo right there. I was a little too eager to use up all those apples, making it a texture more comparable to bread pudding, but it was still a nice treat.

Carmel apples were the next obvious choice, and no regrets were made. We heated up the caramel sauce like a fondue – a messy but thrilling experience. Once doused in probably way too much caramel, the toppings came next, and ours included CoCoa Puffs, Reese’s Pieces, chopped nuts, etc. Yumm!

Now, to put the rest of that apple butter to good use, I turned to this completely out of the ordinary Apple Butter and Chipotle Chicken.

In fact, this recipe turned out so uniquely delicious that I’ve made it a couple times. Who could resist pretending the blender works the same as a food processor? Not me that’s for sure. The smokey taste of the chipotles in adobo sauce combined with the sweetness of the apple butter just makes such a unique blend of flavors, satisfying any delectable craving across all your tastebuds. Then again, I could probably say that about any recipe I whip together.

Together, these three new recipes wrap up my fall festivities. You know, because we’ll have snow any day now. But I still have ~15 apples to go, so let’s see where life takes us. What are some of your favorite fall recipes? Share them in the comments!

Meet the Spice Girls

Now this is a story all about how
My life got so full of hay
And I’d like to take a minute
Just sit right there
I’ll tell you how I became the parent of two little piggies

As I write this, there’s a slight stench in the air, serving as a reminder that it’s about time to clean my guinea pig cage. But first, let’s rewind. If you’ve been here since day one, then you know my two guinea pigs are quite the messy little trouble makers.

Last year, I found myself with an abundance of time. Time that I thought would be best spent taking care of a pet. A dog? There’s no way I was ready for that. (Ha!) When I saw these piggies posted on Craigslist, I just couldn’t resist. Two little critters for the price of one? Count me in!

Their names are Ginny (Ginger) and Nutmeg, or as I like to call them: The Spice Girls. We’ve had a lot of fun together so far, like their first trip to the groomers to get their nails clipped and regularly chasing them around my room because they are such expert escape artists. Oh, the good times we’ve had.

Did I mention the hay? It’s everywhere. I find it in the tub after I take a shower. I find it in my hair. It’s on my clothes, in my lunchbox, everywhere – I’ve lost control.

In honor of this hot mess, and my sweet girls, I’ve crafted my first “music video.”

Yes, a music video. I know, I’ve really out done myself this time. Spoiler: it’s sung to the tune of Fresh Prince of Bel Air just in time for Will Smith’s 50th birthday. For the full video, click here. Enjoy!

Add in Mowgli, who we most certainly were ready to adopt just two months later, and we have quite the little family going for us these days.

Do you have any advice do for first time guinea pig owners? Or pet owners in general? Share your tips in the comments!

Splashin’ Around with Summer Reading

As kids, my sister and I would play a game we liked to call “library.” Essentially this was when we paraded around the house reading. We were wild animals, I know. Now this is where I’d add a cliché about how books have always opened doors to new worlds, sparking curiosity, but for the sake of time, let’s just continue on, shall we?

Without any grueling assigned readings hovering over my head recently, I’ve actually had the time to read a few books just for FUN again, and it’s freaking awesome! If you’ve been following me on Goodreads, then you probably know what I’ve been up to. If not, then here are my thoughts regarding some of the books I read leisurely this summer, including “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda” and “A Walk to Remember,” among others.

“Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda” by Becky Albertalli

Few things can make me think positively about high school, but this book nailed all of the drama into 300 pages of raw emotion. The characters are relatable, making the reader feel second-hand embarrassment, bliss, frustration and so much more with each page turn of this modern day love story. In fact, the complicated dynamic between Simon and his family, close friends and classmates is just messy enough to capture the unavoidable disasters of day to day life. The writing style, which includes e-mail excerpts, keeps things entertaining, interesting and suspenseful … and who can resist a dog named Bieber?

“The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time” by Mark Haddon

… Speaking of dogs … this next book follows Christopher, a wittily knowledgeable teenager with autism, along his journey of solving a nearly unforgivable mystery. His perspective on life, and everyone and thing within its boundaries, is one-of-a-kind. The author begs the question of who deserves to know the truth or when the truth is absolutely necessary, if ever, all while balancing complicated parent/child relationships. If you’re looking to think from new directions, this could be the read for you.

“Robyn’s Book: A True Diary” by Robyn Miller

All of a sudden I had a memory of reading his book in seventh grade, and I had to pick it up again. Robyn’s Book offers such a creative writing style and an inspiring, tear-jerking story. Just as I remembered, this book portrays a vulnerable, genuine story of the heart-break, daily struggles and triumphs of those fighting life-threatening illnesses, specifically that of cystic fibrosis. Here’s in memory of all those who had no choice but to give up the fight, living to the fullest up until the last breaths with wisdom beyond our grasp.

“That’s What She Said: What Men Need to Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together” by Joanne Lipman

If you are in any shape or form associated with corporate America, please drop whatever you are doing and pick up this book. I’m not only excited that I found and read this book, period, but I’m so happy I read this book WHEN I did. With over nine months of official work experience under my belt, I clearly still have so many more lessons to learn. For starters, there are so many ways we can change our daily lives to help every workplace foster diversity, and not just for legal reasons. It sure is about time we stop treating women how men want to be treated and start treating women how they want to be treated, dammit. Man, what an eye-opening read!

“She Caused a Riot: 100 Unknown Women Who Built Cities, Sparked Revolutions & Massively Crushed It” by Hannah Jewell

The thing about millennials is that our media consumption is basically through the roof. Websites like BuzzFeed cater to our every need with cute-sy blogs and listicles that spew news and opinions. These sources differ from traditional media because they often rely on sarcasm and irony to get information across. Here’s where I’m going with this: within the first 10 pages of this book, I was getting very BuzzFeed-y vibes, which I guess could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on your mood. Imagine my surprise when I flipped to the back of the book and found out that Jewell is actually a former BuzzFeed writer. Overall though, this was a nice collection of bada$$ short stories that truly deserve to be shouted from the rooftops. Behind every man, specifically the racist, sexist bigots, is a brave, strong woman. 🤟 Rock on fellow baddies!

“A Walk to Remember” by Nicholas Sparks

Yes, I know it would have been easier just to watch the movie, but instead I did the unspeakable – I rented an audiobook. Having never read or watched this story before, it actually was a pretty entertaining, albeit predictable, read listen. Actually, it had been a while since I dove into any of Sparks’ work, and it was exactly what I was in the mood for … a simultaneously heart-warming and breaking love story.

And that’s a wrap (for now)! Because, well you see, I’ve been trying to join a book club at the library all year, but I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Stay tuned for this thrilling reading adventure. What books have you read recently? Share your recommendations in the comments.

Finding the Magic in an Outdoor Movie

With the fluffiest grass underneath your blanket, a tasty bag of popcorn by your side, a cinematic classic playing nearby and the twinkling stars in the sky above, there’s nothing quite like the magic of an outdoor movie experience. I bet you’re picturing the drive-in, aren’t you? Wrong.

Over four years ago the Kenosha drive-in closed for the season. Actually, it closed indefinitely, which is why visiting the historic site wasn’t included in the legendary “How Kenosha Are You?” quiz. Womp, womp. I won’t let that stop me from watching a movie under the stars though.

All I had to do was find some showings in the park, and my wish would be granted. Luckily in Kenosha, there’s a whole lot of free, outdoor movies for us townies to take advantage of. If you’re curious about my whereabouts, which you are if you’re reading this, this summer, I just could’t pass-up watching CoCo at the Kingfish Stadium.

You know how some movies are meant to be seen with other people in a theater on the big screen? Well, I officially believe that some movies are meant to be seen on a blanket in the park as a sing along. It’s quite a nostalgic, irreplaceable community viewing experience.

Well, there is one alternative. Let me speak from personal experience here. You could also try renting a projector from the library to create your own at-home movie experience. Now that’s the perfect way to capture all the fun of a drive-in right in your own backyard!

And I bet there’s a whole bunch of similar events in your town also. Although, it’s probably too late in the season to find one, so maybe we should just put a pin in this one until next year.

What types of community events have you taken advantage of lately? Share your stories in the comments.