So maybe the forever home was my home and I'm a complete foster fail, but this definitely counts! When we lived in Charlotte, D and I volunteered with Family Addition Dog Rescue and as part of our volunteer work, we also fostered.

Autumn arrived to us in the fall of 2012 with a skin condition and heartworms, and she had also recently had a litter of puppies. Despite seeming to have some kind of abuse in her past, this dog was the sweetest little dog and all she wanted was love.

We saw her through her skin and heartworm treatments and by the time those were finished, she and one of our other beagles, Lucy, had completely bonded. And given Lucy's issues with separation anxiety, we thought it would be a good thing to just add Autumn to our family*, so we officially adopted her in the spring of 2013 after nine months of fostering.

She's silly, clumsy, loving, loveable, and just plain fun. And she's going to be my new running partner since she likes to run, but she needs to lose some weight (a trait that earned her the nickname "Tootsie Roll" because, well, she looks like one). This dog makes me laugh every day and she definitely was meant to be a part of our family.

*Real talk: I have a beagle problem and I'm never allowed to foster another beagle again because I will end up with all of the beagles. Someday, I'd love to run a beagle rescue, so I may have to overcome that little problem.

35 Before 35 is a list of 35 goals I want to accomplish before I hit 35 in August 2014. Some of them are big things, some small, but all of them are things I really want to do, and what better time to do them than now?