Sunday Stuff

1. I love getting the Sunday paper. For as long as I can remember, I've always sorted the paper into two piles, the regular paper sections and the ads, and then I went back through and sorted again into the sections that I wanted to read. I'm sure my parents loved this... I still love sorting the paper, and I think Mike secretly does too, because I have to fight to get to the paper first to get the right to sort it.

2. Gawker's Fruits, Ranked is funny on its own, but the comments are great too. This one made me giggle.

3. Stunning. 2012: The Year in Photos (part one, part two, part three)

4. Sending Christmas cards? Want to fill your head with fun facts about them?

5. Cranky rant time. If you're a dog owner, please be responsible and use a leash. Like a lot of cities,  Ann Arbor has a lease law, which means if you are with your dog in a public space - the sidewalk, a park, a trail, downtown (pretty much anywhere other than your own lawn) - your dog is supposed to be on a leash. Our dog has been attacked multiple times, and we continue to have close call after close call. Today a large dog came charging at us while we were out running. Luckily, we saw it coming, and I had time to pick up our dog to get her out of harm's way, but I just had to hope that the other dog wasn't in the mood for a taste of human leg.

We've heard all of the excuses, and I'm tired of them.

"My dog has never done this before!!" and/or "My dog is really well-trained!!"

• Great, I'm sure it is, but there's a first time for everything. One of our dog's trips to the doggie emergency room was courtesy of "well-trained" dog who had "never acted like that before."

"Oh, I didn't think anyone was around."

• You're out in public!? This excuse is the lamest of them all.  

"My dog needs to run."

• Visit a dog park! Or start running with your dog (with a lease)!

You're making responsible law-abiding dog owners look bad, it's irresponsible, and can cause problems, not just with other dogs, but with small children, people who don't like or are scared of dogs, etc. Please, just stop. Thank you.