Not much, but thought I'd drop by...

Ok, hopefully tomorrow I'll have some news to share, but I don't want to give it away before it's certain. Sorry guys, you'll have to stay tuned. :)

A very dear friend sent this to me, and I thought it was touching enough to pass on. May we all learn a thing or two by it. It shows that friendship knows no bounds or prejudices. Enjoy....
http://www.slide.com/r/hD6DvyAOxD9ClUhvUpVcUMABW9QzpGnQ

Have a good night!

The A-Z of friendship...

A Friend…

(A)ccepts you as you are
(B)elieves in "you"
(C)alls you just to say "Hi"
(D)oesn't give up on you
(E)nvisions the whole of you (even the unfinished parts)
(F)orgives your mistakes
(G)ives unconditionally
(H)elps you
(I)nvites you over
(J)ust wants to "be" with you
(K)eeps you close at heart
(L)oves you for who you are
(M)akes a difference in your life
(N)ever judges
(O)ffers support
(P)icks you up
(Q)uiets your fears
(R)aises your spirits
(S)ays nice things about you
(T)ells you the truth no matter what
(U)nderstands you
(V)alues you
(W)alks beside you
(X)-plains things you don't understand
(Y)ields to your loving touch
(Z)eros out your worries

I've got a stalker!

I officially know how it feels to be an A-lister celebrity. And boy do I feel sorry for them! Not only do they have to deal with the paparazzi, but they get stalkers who watch their every move, follow them, and basically live in their shadow.

Don't let this face fool you...

He's as dangerous as any of those crazy stalkers running after celebs! I was in the bathroom yesterday, and all of a sudden I saw that someone started sneaking around trying to see if I had a security system...

When he saw that it was safe, he attempted to open my door...

Fortunately for me, the door was locked and out of desperation, he wildly reached out for any way of getting in...

After that was unsuccessful, I caught him peeking in to make sure that I was still home...

After about 5 minutes of unsuccessful break-in attempts, he decided to leave, waiting around the corner for another chance to get to me.


****Taz was already trying to get in, so I left the bathroom to get the camera and returned to the bathroom. So no people, I did not have the camera in there with me to begin with!!! Get your minds out of the gutter.

He's home!!!

After spending two nights in the vet's, Binx has finally come home. Poor guy! He was so happy to come home. He didn't eat anything at the vet's the three days he was there. So of course, that isn't a very good thing. He has ate maybe a couple bites of food since he's been home, but that's about it. He has lost a lot of weight, but the vet couldn't find anything wrong with him except that his white blood cells were slightly elevated, signaling a slight infection. He has been sneezing, and has a runny nose, so we're hoping it's just a cold. Cats tend to stop eating when they can't smell their food.

But geeze, Paul (the owner of the vet clinic, and our friend) told us that he is a dangerous cat and they didn't do all the testing they were going to, because he kept hurting them. We warned them when we dropped him off, that they should put on armor, but they thought we were playing. HA! We used to call him Satan because he was a very dangerous kitten. When he was younger, Mark would rough house with him and it literally turned him mean. He'd bite and attack, thinking he was playing. Well once momma stepped in, he settled himself down quite a bit. The last straw was once when I went in and put my knee up to get in bed, Binx ran up, wrapped his front legs around my thigh (with nails digging in) and bit my leg. That's the last time he has purposely bit me. Sometimes even now when Mark starts playing with him, he'll get out of hand and refuse to stop. I have to literally get involved to settle him down because he thinks Mark is still playing with him when he scolds him. I told Mark that he IS NOT playing with Taz like that!!! A little play is ok, but I will not stand for Taz to become a nightmare.

So anyways, Binx is still moody and has calmed himself down a LOT, but he still hates strangers, and I guess he showed the vet and nurses that. They were happy to send him home.

Let's just say that we hope that our little devil gets his appetite back and that we've seen the last of the vets' for a while. Almost $900 for three trips and two pets, kinda gets to you.

Gas is crazy!!!

Have you guys seen the prices? Geeze!!! Right now, the cheapest place is $4.15 in town for unleaded. I have a serious problem with the way the prices keep going up. They keep telling us that it has to do with the price of the barrell going up, but how can that be? If you drive down to T.J. Mexico, which is right on the other side of the California border, they only pay $2/unleaded. And that's a TOURIST TOWN!!!

I seriously feel like we are getting screwed!!! Gas corporations are getting richer, and my pockets are getting poorer. I can only imagine as the prices continue to rise, how this is going to affect the economy. It's inevitable that we're going to end up going into a depression. People aren't going to be able to afford driving to work daily. I even heard that people are stealing other people's gas, from their cars. Who does something like that? I'll tell you who...desperate people. And as more and more people get desperate, it's going to get a whole lot more dangerous out there on the streets.

I think it's time that I move out into the middle of nowhere!!!

"Wake up call"

I can remember the first time I stayed in a hotel that had a wake up service.
Just call the operator, and tell him/her when you want to wake up. What an
incredible idea! Particularly when you apply it to waking up in your Spiritual
Life.

"You mean I can call the Source, God, and say I am ready to wake up, now!
Please give me a wake up call at ages 17, 25, 42, 56, and 81. Please keep
trying to get me because I'm going to be very busy with my life and will need
lots of repeated wake up calls to get it."

"Oh, of course, if all else fails, just give me one good blast on my way out.
That should do it. I'm sure I'll see the Light. When I'm dying, I won't be busy
doing anything else. I can give you my undivided attention then. Remember,
don't give up on me just because I haven't been listening."

Keeping my big mouth shut!

I posted yesterday that Robert's cat had six very healthy baby kittens. Sadly, he called this morning to tell us that he woke up this morning and three of them had died. They were only three days old. I went over there to see the remaining three, and they are BIG babies. He said the other three were the same size. The momma looks healthy, and her nipples are swollen, so my honest opinion is that those three made their way away from momma and froze to death. He said those three were away from the live ones, so that would give truth to my theory. Or perhaps she laid on them and squished them to death. It's really hard to say. But it's really sad because he had already gotten attached to them.

I need to stop posting on here, happy updates. Just like with Taz. Everytime I say he'd doing good, he ends up at the vets. It's not fair! Hopefully, we'll be bringing Binx home today, but there's no guarentee about that either. Taz is eating like a pig, and enjoying following me around EVERYWHERE. But he's limping on his front leg. He jumped off out couch the day we brought him home, so we think he landed wrong on it. It's not broken, you can just tell it hurts him. Poor little guy. :(

The clone wars

Nope, not the next installment of Star Wars. But I did think it was a good title for todays post.

If, or I should say "when", the government announces that it has successfully cloned a human, I can imagine the debate that will follow. My brother and I got to talking yesterday and he brought up some really interesting facts. Ok, let me backtrack a little. My mom took my brother and I out to lunch, and while we were eating, she announced that there was a broadcast on the military radio station, where the DJ said that people should realize that there's a lot of truth to sci-fi movies, and all the weird things that happen in them, like the experimenting and stuff.

Ok, so like Jurastic Park? I've always said that movie was too well "researched" not to have been attempted! I mean seriously, how can someone actually think some of this stuff up? And if it makes sense to me, of course it would make sense to scientists! It's a scary thought, what if they are indeed practicing on making zombies... I've had numberous nightmares about them, and they scare the hell out of me! I'd rather chance dinosaurs! And we all know it's only a matter of time until robots rule the world, or aliens come to destroy us.

But the guy said that scientists are actually regrowing peoples limbs, like fingers, arms and legs. It's to help the soldiers who come back from war. Sort of like how a lizard can grow it's tail back. Ok, how in the hell can you grow a limb back? That's a really weird concept. On one hand, it's exciting if science has actually gotten that high tech. What would be next? But on the other hand...how are they doing it? And if you can actually generate new cells like that, whats to stop it from overgenerating and causing all sorts of mutations or deformaties?

I'm all for science and trying to make our lives better. But where and when should those experiments end? Mankind is literally becoming God. YET we can't even find a cure for cancer? Now you know something is awefully fishy about that! Even if they had a cure, they would never ever share it because cancer raises millions apon millions of dollars every year. Ok, so now back to cloning.

I know we all have our own views on it. Personally, I think it's awesome that research has gotten that far and someday, us women might not even need men to survive. We could become a species of our own. However, I can honestly say that I love men, and I would seriously miss not having them around. :) Personally, I wouldn't want to eat meat from a cloned animal. So when they begin shelving it in our local grocery stores, I pray that they have to have a lable telling you it is man-made meat. I don't give a shit how safe the FDA tells us cloned meat is...it hasn't been around for decades, so there is no research old enough to make sure that it won't have some kind of long term effects on our health. Not only do we have to worry about pesticides, hormones, and bacterial issues, now we have to worry about cell malformations.

And that leads me to my original point of this post. My brother and I were wondering if cloned animals/humans would have a soul. Scientifically, they can think, feel and function like any other uncloned creature. BUT from a religious view, a clone is not God made. God didn't give it it's soul. So if a human is cloned, and is a decent person, how would God view it? Would he welcome it, or would he turn it away since it isn't one of "his" creations (assuming that it didn't come from a man and woman, the way God intended)? Like I said, I think there would be a very heated debate, when they come out with the first cloned human. People are against gay marriage because it isn't "what God intended". So how are cloned humans going to be viewed?

Very interesting questions...and I have a feeling that we won't have long to find out the answers!

The Answer Lady, Oh My God!

O.K., now fans, those of you who wait anxiously for my next wonderment each month, it's time I update you all to the "in" lingo which anyone who is in touch with what's way cool, like Moi, will be using. This is the age of fast food, fast sex, easy cash machines, quick dry cleaning, 15 min. buns of steel, 1 hr. photo developing, mini-marts, drive-through liquor stores, the 12 minute tan. It's a quick-fix life. We all live in an instant gratification kind of world. So now, dearies, we've created a quicker way to communicate with one another. Our words and language can be so bulky and tedious, don't you agree? So, from now on, let's all agree that the following will have universal meaning:

bic = because I can
brb = be right back
convo = conversation
d&c = dazed and confused
filfre = feel free
ffm = frequent flyer miles
gac = get a clue
goomm = going out of my mind
imho = in my humble opinion
irl = in real life
ituwml = I trust you with my life
iwegt = I won't even go there
litfl = life in the fast lane
lol = laughing out loud
mso = my significant other
nri = not really important
nsl = no such luck
rotfl = rolling on the floor laughing
sool = shit out of luck
s&str = stop and smell the roses
tbk = truth be known
wagtd? = what's a guy to do?
wigfy? = was it good for you?
wiwy&f = when I was young and foolish
yr = yeah, right

You ARE getting the idea of this, aren't you? Some of you, however, are getting way more than the idea, they're getting very carried away with all of it. Take, for example, this letter I received this a.m. (that's morning, of course):

Dear Answer Lady, Oh My God!

I'm an IBM repairman. Well, actually, irl I'm a G-man with the FBI. I used to be with the CIA but tbk, we're all in cahoots with one another. I specialize in decoding. My specialty within that field has been working the KBG of the USSR. Now that we're no longer enemies, I'm feeling sool.
I'm real insecure about my future with this agency. I've got my PhD from UCLA and I know a lot about technology from my previous work with At&T. But now mso, DeeDee, won't marry me because of my uncertain finances professionally. I'm goomm, Answer Lady. I love her so much. She was Miss USA and a hostess on MTV. Unfortunately, she has a real low IQ, (but her EE bra size makes up for that). Also, she's real trainable.

Imho, I'm a "good catch". In fact, the AFL/CIO is asking me to work for them. I'd have to move out of DC and into NYC, though. It would mean leaving my XKE behind (I wouldn't dare drive it there) and DeeDee's MBW as well - that is, if she would agree to come with me. Now she works for GTE where her dad is CEO. I'd like her to transfer to MCI so we could earn ffm with AA.
Oh Yeah, I have one other little problem. It's nri, but the IRS is after me for taxes from 16 years ago. Wiwy&f, and doing a lot of XTC, LSD, and PCP, I guess I made a lot of screw-ups. Now they've got my #…they're after my ass! Maybe that's another reason to move?
Please, AL,omg!, E-mail me ASAP. This is a 911. I'm d&c. I worry about this 24/7. Ituwml!

Signed, WAGTD?

Dear WAGTD?

You know I'll always tell you like it is, but gac! Your life is, i.e., an alphabet soup. You make me want to buy a vowel just to talk to you! Your high IQ should help you decipher these q&a's. Running away with Ms. EE DeeDee won't solve anything. Tbk, I'm rotfl. Your quick fix mentality is consuming you! Your quick EVERYTHING will simply get you doa sooner (so, I guess, THEN you can rip) but why not enjoy life. When St. Peter asks wigfy?, you'll have to say, "Sorry, I missed it." S-l-o-w down, G-man. Breathe. S&str. Stop litfl - pull into a rest stop. Snuggle into those EE's and enjoy life. There's IRS in NYC too, bub. You might try Tahiti, though. Find a different pace than our US of A has. I can see that it's getting to you. Lose the alphabet life and get into song. A lullaby, for instance. You're a "do-run-run" kinda guy without a clue. Chill! Why do I speak so harshly to you? BIC!

I'm The Answer Lady, Oh My God!

For those who take life too seriously...

1. Save the whales. Collect the whole set.

2. A day without sunshine is like, night.

3. On the other hand, you have different fingers.

4. I just got lost in thought. It was unfamiliar territory.

5. 42.7% of all statistics are made up on the spot.

6. 99% of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

7. I feel like I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe.

8. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say will be misquoted, then used against you.

9. Honk if you love peace and quiet.

10. I wonder how much deeper the ocean would be without sponges.

11. Remember - half the people you know are below average.

12. Despite the cost of living, have you noticed how popular it remains?

13. Nothing is foolproof to a talented fool.

14. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.

15. He who laughs last thinks slowest.

16. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

17. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines.

18. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

19. I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol.

20. I intend to live forever - so far, so good.

21. Borrow money from a pessimist - they don't expect it back.

22. If Barbie is so popular, why do you have to buy her friends?

23. My mind is like a steel trap - rusty and illegal in 37 states.

24. Quantum mechanics: The dreams stuff is made of.

25. The only substitute for good manners is fast reflexes.

26. Support bacteria - they're the only culture some people have.

27. When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane and going the wrong way.

28. If at first you don't succeed, destroy all evidence that you tried.

29. A conclusion is the place where you got tired of thinking.

30. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.

31. For every action there is an equal and opposite criticism.

32. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.

33. Never do card tricks for the group you play poker with.

34. No one is listening until you make a mistake.

35. Success always occurs in private and failure in full view.

36. The colder the x-ray table, the more of your body is required on it.

37. The hardness of butter is directly proportional to the softness of the bread.

38. The severity of the itch is inversely proportional to the ability to reach it.

39. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research.

40. To succeed in politics, it is often necessary to rise above your principles.

41. Monday is an awful way to spend 1/7 of your life.

42. You never really learn to swear until you learn to drive.

43. Two wrongs are only the beginning.

44. The problem with the gene pool is that there is no lifeguard.

45. The sooner you fall behind the more time you'll have to catch up.

46. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

47. Change is inevitable except from vending machines.

48. Get a new car for your spouse - it'll be a great trade!

49. Plan to be spontaneous - tomorrow.

50. Always try to be modest and be proud of it!

51. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.

52. How many of you believe in telekinesis? Raise my hand …

53. Love may be blind but marriage is a real eye-opener.

54. If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving isn't for you.

Clouds are gone, but it's still raining!

I haven't been online in three days...yes THREE days. That's like an eternity for me. I felt so out of the loop with whats going on in the world. But I did enjoy getting in some extra reading. SO let me catch you up on what's been going on.

Sunday, I gave the horses hay from a new bale. I swear, I don't know if it has a lot of dust, or if I am highly allergic to it, but I instantly went into either an severe allergy attack or an asthma attack, and I don't have asthma. All of a sudden, I began sneezing, then coughing, and then I couldn't breath. I was inhaling so deep because I couldn't get any oxygen to my lungs, my airway swelled up that much. I stayed back there gasping for air, then I gasped my way home, where I continued having a hard time breathing for another 30 minutes. I had no idea what to do because I've never had anything like that happen before. I ended up taking a Claritin 24, and within 20 minutes, my airway opened up again. Within an hour, it was like it never happened. I had some red bumps on my arm, so maybe I had a severe allergy? I ended up looking at the ingredients shortly after I took the claritin, and wouldn't you know it? It had the same ingredient found in Dynatap, and because of my HBP, i'm not supposed to take it. But get this...the pill I took, had 16 times more in it than a normal dose of Dynatap. Yep, I was worried, I'd end up dropping dead from that! But I'm here and I'm alive. :)

Later Sunday night, Taz stopped eatting as much as normal. Around 2:30 in the morning, he got diarrhea again, and that morning, we decided to take him back to the vets. But because it was a holiday, our vet was closed. We had to drive 30 minutes to a vet in the next town over (whom I hate), and they said he was slightly dehydrated again. We had to leave him over night, which cost $170, and they told us that I could call between 5 and 5:30, to check on him before they closed. I called them four hours after we left him (which was around 3 pm) and I got a recording saying that they were in a meeting and to try back. I called back every 10 minutes until about 6:30, and got the recording every single time. So I'm guessing that they left for the day early, and I was beyond pissed. That meant that he got less than 4 hours of treatment. If I would have known that, I would have taken him to the emergency vet, and let him be monitored all night.

When we got home from dropping off Taz, Binx was sick. He kept throwing up hair all over the house, and he didn't want to eat anything. There was no way we were driving him back to the vet that was open, and we were hoping that he just wasn't feeling swell and it would go away. Tuesday morning came, and he wasn't any better, so we had to take him to our local vet and leave him there for testing. Then we had to turn around and go and pick up Taz. They told us that he was still slightly dehydrated, and still had diarrhea. But he was healthy and they wanted us to give him a new antibiotic. They didn't want to keep him the extra two days, that they were going to originally keep him for. We get him home, and he's squirting all over. His appetite is there, but I just don't know what else to do for him at this point. He threw up at 2 this morning, but as of now, he doesn't have the squirts, it's just not firm. I guess watching and waiting is the only thing we can do right now. Binx is still at the vet's, and he may be spending another night there. Things just aren't the same at home without him. In over 6 years, last night was the first night he's ever slept somewhere else.

On a bright note, Taz has started drinking water on his own. Hopefully that's a good sign. I'm really needing one right about now. Also, my surgery has been rescheduled for June 13th. That's FRIDAY the 13th!!!!!! Spooky! Let's hope I'm well, and that all the fur-kids are well by then. I can't wait...I need relaxation!!!!

Oh and the cat I gave to Robert, had 6 healthy little kittens on Monday night. :) I've about had my share of kittens, but I wish him all the best!

Death of the Pillsbury Doughboy

Veteran Pillsbury spokesman Pop N Fresh died yesterday of a severe yeast infection. He was 71.
Fresh was buried in one of the largest funeral ceremonies in recent years. Dozens of celebrities turned out, including Mrs. Butterworth, the California Raisins, Hungry Jack, Betty Crocker, and the Hostess Twinkies.

The graveside was piled with flours as longtime friend Aunt Jemima delivered the eulogy, describing Fresh as a man who "never knew how much he was kneaded."

Fresh rose quickly in show business, but his later life was filled with many turnovers.
He was not considered a very smart cookie, wasting much of his dough on half-baked schemes. Still, even as a crusty old man, he was a roll model for millions.

Fresh is survived by his second wife. They have two children and one in the oven.

The funeral was held at 2:25 for 20 minutes.

What a day...

Well, sadly, Big Red passed away yesterday afternoon. My brother and I kept going out to check on him and he kept hanging on. I went down town for about 30 minutes and when I came home, my mom told me the bad news. She's the one who ended up finding him, and she was the closest to him out of all of us.

Trouble...I mean...Taz, is doing really good (knocking on wood). He's getting big, and we keep calling him a big ole' tubby. He keeps eating to the point where he looks pregnant, but he's alive and that's what counts. He holds his potty most of the time, until we're able to take him to the potty box (still doesn't know he's supposed to walk to it), and he's running all around the house. Very very playful, tries to eat our ears, fingers and toes. And he'll attack our clothing and shoes. He's a little motorboat, but he still naps pretty good. :) His potty still isn't solid, but it is firmer than it was, and he urinates regularly, so I know he's got plenty of liquids in him. I hope to start him on dry kitty food on Monday, but we'll take it slow.

Went and saw Indiana Jones today. It was really good, although I don't think it touches the old ones. But hey, Harrison's in his 60's? now, so can't expect too much. He's still looking good and plenty active enough. :) That's about it, except I also went to the doctor's today because I think I'm getting bronchitis. Now I'm on antibiotics. :( Hope you all have a good weekend....

Poor guy

We're pretty sure that our rooster, Big Red, is dying. My mom said that he hasn't been eating very well the past few days, and today, he's lying down and keeps closing his eyes. When my brother picked him up, he gave no resistance. :(

Long story short, we never wanted any kind of chickens, geese, anything. When I was a small girl, my aunt had chickens, and I hated going into the chicken pen. She had a rooster that would try to flog you everytime you turned your back. I hated big birds! Well three years ago, I heard kids making a commotion outside. I looked out and saw them throwing rocks at this rooster, and laughing. This rooster was on the side of my house, and my biggest fear was that they'd hit a car window or something. I went outside and told them to stop, and they gave me belligerant looks and kept throwing them. The rooster wasn't doing anything except trying to find shelter in the trees. I got pissed and told them that if they didn't stop, I'd call the cops. They stared me down and walked past my house.

Over the next couple of days, the rooster stayed right at our place. He'd go out pecking to find food (I saw him pecking an old chicken bone), and I realized he needed some food. I had bread and some bird seed from years ago, so I'd go out every morning and feed him some. He was the most docile chicken I've ever seen. Not aggressive what so ever. Then about a week after he showed up, I heard dogs barking, and I went outside to see where those dogs were. Two were chasing and tackling the rooster. I threw rocks, ran at them screaming, and finally they left. I sent Mark out that evening to get the rooster.

We only had a small rabbit hutch, so we had to keep him in there until we built a small pen for him. Now it was a small pen, but he had a perch, and shelter, and room to spread his wings. It was always a goal of ours to move somewhere, where we could build him a big coop and get him a couple of females. He's been very spoiled over these three years, and my mom feeds him whatever he wants as a treat, although he doesn't like to be handled. She knew something was wrong when he didn't want the food. :(

So anyways, he's practically lifeless, and we know that he's pretty old (his spurs are HUGE). He's led a safe and hopefully happy life with us, and it will be sad when he's gone. He probably won't make it past the next hour or two. Poor guy.

Emergency Kits

I'm compiling a list of things to add to our emergency kit. Don't really have much of one yet, but we're trying to get one together. With all the things happening now days, it's only a matter of time until we are faced with "the big one". I want to be prepared. I don't want to panic because we don't have enough food, water or shelter for ourselves and our fur kids. I've been doing some research, and while looking through other's emergency kits, I stumbled onto this one. It doesn't really accomplish much for MY kit, but it does supply the type of kit we should all have on a daily basis. Enjoy.


A Daily Survival Kit(includes the following)....

Toothpick - To pick out the good qualities in yourself and others. Sometimes you have to really pick hard, but they are there.

Rubber Band - Reminds us to be flexible. Which is stronger, the oak tree or the willow tree?Depends on what the task is.When snow piles up on the branches of the oak tree, the branch will eventually break when the load becomes too heavy. When snow piles up on the branches of the willow tree, the branches bend and the snow falls to the ground. Sometimes we have to bend to keep from breaking.

Band Aid - Reminds us to heal hurt feelings. Others' feelings, by noticing and sometimes just being there. Our own feelings, by forgiving and moving on.

Pencil - Required to list our many blessings.

Eraser - To remind us that mistakes are okay. As a matter of fact, a mistake is evidence that we're trying to achieve something. We may just need a little extra coaching. We make mistakes because we're all FHB's - fallible human beings.

Chewing Gum - Reminds us to develop a stick-to-it attitude, that allows us to accomplish the seemingly impossible. You just can't beat the person who sticks to it, no matter what.

Mint - Reminds us of our worth to our Creator. We each are worth a mint. Discover and develop your uniqueness. You may even be able to market it!

Candy Kiss - Reminds us to give a kiss or a hug everyday because we seldom receive that which we do not give.

Today is...

Freakin freezing!!! We were HOT a couple of days ago...and today, I'm getting ready to go put on a sweatshirt. Dark clouds everywhere, with some rain off and on. It says that it's 61 degrees outside..........that's a lot colder than the 90's or 100's we had on Monday. Geeze! It's almost June in the desert people!!!

Patriotic churches?

Alright, if you are strongly patriotic, then I suggest that you don't read today's blog. With Memorial Day coming up, I know that it is inevitable that I'll end up driving by a church or two that are flying the American flag up high, so I thought today I'd share an opinion I've had for years.

As many people know, I don't attend a church right now. Mark and I tried a couple of years ago, and the church we went to, had me in shock by the time we left there. It kind of made me realize that my search for a church was going to be harder than I thought. In my opinion, it is NOT ok for a church to be patriotic!

I DON'T know everything about the Bible or God's word, but I DO know that it is a commandment from God, to not idolize false idols. People have given the flag a persona. They salute and worship it. How is this any different than the people who worshipped the golden calf? It too had a meaning...it symbolized their victory, wealth and power. Yet it was strongly against God. Now, I have no problem with people saluting whatever they want, I'm open minded. BUT I do believe that a church above anything else, should follow God's word and not set a bad example.

Also, in the house of God, they should say "God bless EVERYONE"......NOT "God bless our troops". We are ALL equal in God's eyes, and as far as I know, America is no better than any other country to him. Also, there are a lot of innocent people - Christian or not, dying over in the other countries because of our troops. I'm patriotic to a point, but for some reason, the thought of the innocent dying, doesn't appeal to me as something God would be ok with, no matter what the reason (and war is always a greedy reason). It just doesn't seem right that they'd ask us to only pray for our people. I pray for everyone involved, including those who fight in other nations.
Maybe I should just stay home on Memorial Day!

Update

Well I guess I'm not having surgery tomorrow. Corrina told me that she'd contact me and set it up if it was going to be the 23rd for sure or not. Never have heard anything from her, so I'm assuming that it's not happening. Right now with everything else going on, I'm kinda relieved. Taz is a fat little rolly polly today. He ate and ate and ate yesterday. Around 4:30 am this morning, he had his first solid poop. Hoping that's a good sign of many more to come. I know he isn't pooping as often, so maybe that means it's firming up in there. You know, it's gross when you realize that a few of your entires revolve around poop. His appetite is still good, although he isn't eating as often, must be all that excess in his tummy.

Days ago, we were beyond hot here. I think we were in the high 90's or low 100's. Yesterday had nice temps but it was windy as hell. Today, it's actually overcast and the temp is cool. No wonder why everyone I know is sick! The weather has no idea what it is doing. I love the weather today though, so no complaints from me. I wish we always had this weather, not too hot and not too cold.



Hey, the new Indiana Jones movie comes out today! Anyone planning on going and seeing it besides me? I absolutely love Indiana Jones, and would pick it over the "Star Wars" trilogy (or is that ??? What's the word for six???) anyday! Whoo hoo, can't wait.

Indi...Indi...Indi...

Since I've been spending time getting my "emergency kit" together, I decided to go out and spend the morning playing with the horses. If I have the whip in my hand, they know I mean business, but on the days when I clap at them, they know that basically anything goes. It was pretty fun. :) So since I haven't shared any pics of them lately, thought I'd get around to doing it today.


Horses getting up from a nice roll...


Running around...

Rough horse playing...(lol)

And finishing with s snack...

Second best....

You know how parents always tell their kids that they love them equally? It's a lie. Parents are always closer to one child...it's inevitable. I grew up with my mom telling me the same thing, and until recently, I was blind to the truth. I know she doesn't try to, and she'd deny it, but she loves my brother more. Maybe it's because he's the baby of the family, or the fact that he still lives at home, or maybe it's because he doesn't have the guts to stick up to her when she's wrong. I don't know. But it's definately there.

She has always taken his side over everything. Doesn't matter what it is, or how wrong he is. It's always been that way, and it will probably always stay that way. She has this really bad habit of agreeing with me and she'll tell my brother that I'm right, then when he gets all mad and pouty, she gets mad at me and everything is all my fault. (Like I made her agree with me!) I've never really cared, because I helped raise him, and it's hard not to love him unconditionally. But I do have a problem when she sides with me initially, then changes it on me and makes me the bad person. It's not fair to me. In her eyes, I'm always wrong if something upsets him.

Now that I've thought about it, in every single family I know, I can spot the child who has their parents affection, over the others. So I assume that this is the norm. It's just irritating sometimes when I'm 27, and he's only 19. The child is coming out of me but....

Yesterday was a very bad day!

It's touch and go for Taz right now. Monday night, he was fine except that he had diarrhea still. Around 3 in the morning, he went to the bathroom again, and then started leaving a watery trail after him. I assume it was water falling from his butt. He was still running around, and was hungry. I told Mark that I'd be taking him to the vets as soon as they opened just to be safe. I stayed awake until around 4:30, watching over him.

Mark left for work at 5:30, and I fell deeply asleep. Now where the baby sleeps, I can't hear him crying unless he's really really loud. While I was dreaming, I heard him softly meow twice, and I instantly opened my eyes because I figured he was awake and wanted to potty. Not even 5 seconds after I opened my eyes, Mark called to let me know that he got to work safely. This was at 6:30. I got up, when I normally ignore his phone call (he lets it ring twice, so that it doesn't keep me awake). I go in and check on what I assume is an awake Taz, to find that he is sprawled out face down in his bed asleep. I rubbed him, and he rolled over. He was too weak to stand up, so I grabbed him and his lips were blue. He was really cold and I knew he was dying.

I took him in the kitchen in my arms, and quickly made sugar water. I squirted some of it in his mouth, and he flung his head all the way back (where it was literally laying on his back) and stiffened his legs outward, like baby birds do when they die. I had to pry his head back up in a normal position, and he refused to keep it like that. So I had to get a blanket and wrap him in it tightly, where he wouldn't be able to fling his head backwards. Then I made up some of his milk really quick, and gave him about 5 ml of it. Then I held him tightly against my body, and I was walking in circles, crying and praying that I'd be given a miracle. I knew he wouldn't make it another 30 minutes without one. I wrapped another blanket around him, and continued holding him for 2 hours. I think he was in shock because his eyes were open, but not moving, and his breathing was so shallow that I thought he was dead several times. I even laid down and wrapped myself in a blanket to help generate more body heat.

Around 8:30, he was still lifeless, and Mark called to tell me that I still needed to take him to the vets. I figured that it would be pointless but I was going to do it anyways. I put Taz down, so I could get ready, and I noticed that under his belly was really warm, and that his breathing had deepened. I rushed him to the vets, and when I had to take him out and put him on the scale, he was sitting upwards. Then he was standing by the time he was on the examining table. I explained everything to the vet, and he said that Taz was extremely dehydrated. He also said that it sounds like he was suffering from Hypothermia when I found him, and that warming him up and giving the sugar water probably saved his life. He wanted to hospitalize him and give him fluids, and of course I said yes.

The hardest part was leaving him there and not knowing whether he'd be ok or not. I've always been one of those people who would rather allow the animal to die at home in familiar comfort and love. So 7 hours go by (and two concerned phone calls from me), and then we went to pick him up. The vet said that he has a stomach infection and gave us antiobiotics for it. He also said to water down his food, for him. Spent $147 to save his little life, and we're still not out of the woods yet. He was so little, they didn't want to insert an IV, so they had to give him fluids under his skin. He is still having cow patty poops, but we're trying to push the food in him and we're giving him eyedroppers of water every couple of hours. I'm scared we'll drown him. Today, he seems weak still, sleeping alot, and doesn't have a huge appetite, but he's still here with us. I'm watching him really carefully, because at the first sign of trouble, he's going right back to the vets.

I am EXTREMELY happy that I heard those two little meows because any longer, and we no doubt would have lost him.

Oh and I'm seriously lacking on a good night's sleep!

Intentional cheating is still cheating!

I seem to have a lot to post about today, lots of things on my mind. But I guess I'll start out with a movie I saw yesterday. I don't know what the name of it is, but it was on Lifetime, Oxygen, WE or one of those woman's channels.

So here's the plot, then I'll tell you my opinion on it. A married woman meets this married man on the internet. She starts to fall in love with him, and would leave her husband for him, if he was willing. Unfortunately for her, the married man is playing her along "as a friend" but is not willing to split up either his marriage or hers. She confesses her new love to her husband, just to find out a few months later, that he's been having a physical affair. She gets beyond pissed, divorces him, turns their 2 teenage kids against him, and then takes him for an ugly divorce.

Now although it was a good movie, I didn't feel all that sorry for the woman. She was a pretty big hypocrit! I don't believe in cheating but how the hell can you attempt to leave your partner, and actually tell your husband about your feelings for another person......and then get pissed when he turns around and does the same thing? They didn't stress whether or not his affair happened before or after she wanted to leave him, but does it really matter? She "would have" and "tried to" do the exact same thing, it just didn't work out in her favor. And how dare she pull the kids in and turn them against their father, like it was all his fault. She wasn't stressing to them, that she would have done it too if the situation was different.

My personal feelings are this....once you find out that your partner is wanting to cheat on you, how can you be expected to stay faithful? That's a really big ego buster right there, to know that someone wants to leave you for someone else. Anyone in their right mind would either leave that person, or try to get some of their own back with someone else. You actually find out that the woman had been neglecting the husband for years, as far as intimacy and friendship. Yet she wanted to give that to another man. I actually felt bad for her husband, and we all know what a chauvanistic woman I am (Guys suck! :P). People need love and to feel like they're wanted and needed. It's only natural that if the woman wasn't giving that to her husband for so many years, that he'd try to find it from another woman. Can she really blame him? She truthfully had no one to blame but herself. What she needed to do, was realize and own up to her own fucking faults, and then forgive her husband for his transgretions!

While this movie was probably fictional, it was definately an eye opener. People need to cherish what they have, or you just might end up losing it altogether!

*Edited to add, one of my friend's caught the ending of this movie and she loved the idea that it was the woman's fault, instead of the man's. Most of the time, the man's the guilty one. (My sexist side coming out again). :P

Awww.....relief!

I spent the whole weekend watching the little guy carefully. Could not get his diarrhea to stop. But at least he started using the potty box. He makes this little meow sound when he wakes up, and if you notice it soon enough, you have just the right amount of time to get him there, where he'll go. We tried solid moist food, and it firmed up his stool for a time or two, then he had black squirts. It apparently gave him a tummy ache because he'd go 8-12 hours without wanting anything else to eat. So switched him back to milk, and the color changed but he still had it. He did have an appetite though. Noticed yesterday that he was losing weight, and for as small as he is, it doesn't take a whole lot to notice a difference. So we tried to add meat again. Still the same thing. So Mark soaked some dry cat food in water, we added some pedilyte and yummy smelling meat, and he's slowly but surely started firming up some. Now we have semi-firm poop, and he's going every 7ish hours, compared to 4. Let's hope this is a good sign!

Personality wise, he's a ham. He is not happy unless he's on your lap or shoulder. If you put him down, he'll cry and climb his way back up. And he follows me everywhere. My mom said he's just like a baby, he's only happy when he's being held. I have no idea how people can put up with it non-stop. Geeze. I just want to put him in his bed-box and walk away. Lol. He has decided that he likes sleeping on the back of the couch when I leave the house. That is NOT going over well with our other two cats. That's their sleeping place. Not too much hissing going on anymore, although they both avoid him. Haha. Poor little guy. We bought a new shed Saterday, so Mark spent the weekend putting it up. It was way too hot out there, so I had mega time to spend with the baby.

So here's some updated pics from the weekend....

Fighting for attention...

Playing with dad...

Resting afterward...

Playing by himself...

Saying hello...

New favorite place...

My favorite...

Taking a nap with dad (after dad spent the day in the sun)...


And so some of the other kids don't feel left out...

Binx up close and personal...

Willow stopping to smell the...shoes?

Hmmm bad luck???

Didn't get on yesterday to post. Taz was sick on Thursday, with diarrhea, vomitting and lots of sleeping. Decided to stay home with him yesterday and really monitor his eating and sleeping. He was wonderful, had a healthy appetite and everything. Then I noticed early this morning on a 4 am feeding, that he wasn't hungry. He also got the diarrhea back, but this time it's a dark green color. He's not too hungry yet today either. So now, I'm starting him on Pedilyte to combat the dehydration. He's up and playing, so that's a good sign. I just hope that he starts having normal bowell movements, he's such a sweet little guy, not like all the other kittens back there that take off running when they see you.

Anyways, it's not like I haven't bottle fed baby kittens before. About 6 years ago, we saved 3 babies by bottlefeeding them and then weaning them. We still have them! But for some reason, I'm having really bad luck with these baby cats. It's not fair!!!

As promised

Here's the pics I promised of Taz....

Him and me...


Him and Marcus...

Binx being curious of who's new in his house...


If he doesn't watch out, I may end up doing this to him....(Binx when he was a baby - as a bee)...

Oh yeah....

I forgot to update everyone on the stray cat that we gave to my mom's ex-boyfriend. He loves having her there, but recently my mom confirmed that she is very much pregnant. Poor guy, he does something wonderful, and he gets stuck with little ones. He hopes to adopt them out though, so we'll probably be helping him out.

* Bridget...by then, you should be out of that apartment, right??? Hint, hint!

He's here to stay!

So yesterday, we left the kittens out in the box for several hours. Momma never came back, so I go out to check on them. The box is in the sun, and we were probably in the 80's or 90's yesterday. I was scared they'd cook in there.

Peeked in and the one little one was sprawled out. I reached in and he was really warm. I brought him back into the house, and left the other two who would not leave each other's sides. They wanted nothing to do with the other little one. Waited 7 or 8 hours and she never came back. I ended up bringing the other two inside as well (they were not very friendly at first). Gave them some milk and put all the babies down for a nap. We realized that the little guy couldn't be from their litter because he has his eyes wide open and their's are still slanted. He also walks really good and they still wobble a bit. That would explain why they wanted nothing to do with him.

Waited until it got dark outside, then took the other two out to Dorothy's back porch. About 10 minutes later, momma cat came and watched them for a bit. I told Mark that she wouldn't do anything until we left, so we walked back to the horses again, and when we came back up, she was gone. Kittens still sitting there meowing at us. Mark wanted to bring them home again, and I told him no. We'd give her a chance because she was interested in them. I could tell he was worried about them. See...that's my problem....I'm married to a man who has a heart of gold too. How can I say no, if he tries to talk me into it???

But it was too late for the other little guy. I am soooooo attached already. How can I help it? Between the 2 am feeding, him following me around everywhere, him meowing when he hears my voice and the fact that he wants to be held nonstop. Somewhere between 2 and 3 am, I decided that his name is Taz. I have absolutely no idea where that name came from...I was holding him and I looked down and called him Taz. It seemed perfect somehow. So as of now, he isn't going anywhere.

This morning, I was happy to see momma cat with the babies following her. I knew she wouldn't abandon them, she was too curious. Last I saw, she was playing with them on Dorothy's back porch, where they have shade and it's nice and cool. A whole lot better than that box.

I've got pictures to share, but right now Taz is sleeping, so I don't want to open the door and chance waking him up. It's hard getting him to go back down for a nap. I am finding out that I do like smelling like baby formula though. Weird....must be the maternal side of me coming out.

Thou shalt not say "No"!

I've always believed that whatever happens, happens for a reason. That is my biggest philosophy. Yes bad things happen, but usually something good is going to come out of it, even if we're not open enough to see it.

I was taking yesterday really badly. I WANTED to get my surgery done and over with. Could not understand why it was postponed. That is until last night. Mark called me on his way back to feed the horses, to tell me that there was another kitten yelling from the barrel that I had to pluck the other 6 out of. My first reaction was "oh shit, Dorothy's gonna have a fit". Dorothy is my neighbor, the one who was going to call the humane society on the other kittens if I didn't get them out of there. So in a way, I blame her! Why couldn't she turn a blind eye to the fact that a cat had kittens in her front yard?!?

Last week, another mother cat (yes we're surrounded in strays) had one of her babies right in front of the barrel, nursing. But this baby was already walking with his eyes open. I shooed her away, grabbed the baby and took it to Dorothy's back porch, where she never goes. A day later, I hear the baby screaming bloody murder when my mom and I were back at the horses. Came up and peeked into the back porch and there are two (the one I moved there and another one). We watched, smiled, then left.

That is until last night. I tell Mark that the momma has the babies on the back porch and to take it there. He did, then went back to feed. On his way back up, he calls me ot let me know that it is sitting in the wet grass all alone, walking to him. He actually brought it up to our house. I don't know what he was thinking. I sat down with it for a little while, then we walked it back to her back porch, and put it down. It began screaming, so we waited back at the horses until it quieted down. I told him that if it was still there all alone this morning, I would bring it home and we'd make a decision then. I mean...how could I say no to this??????




Wouldn't you know it, it was right there crying as soon as it heard me approach the back yard. I tried to ignore it, and went back to feed. It was still going when I was walking back home, but I couldn't see it when I peeked into the porch. I began talking to it, and it crawled out to me. I couldn't walk off and leave it. It still had the gook in his eye from last night, so obviously momma didn't come back and take care of him. So what was I to do with a little kitten? At least this one wasn't near as young as the last three. I couldn't think of anything else, so I came home and called my mom. She works with some really nice people and I knew if I gave them a sad story, they wouldn't be able to help themselves and they'd take him off my hands.

HA! I drove him over there, and my mom's friend fell in love with him. But they already have three adult cats. So they told me they'd take him if I couldn't get anyone else to. I drove home, (meanwhile, this guy is starving!) and I take two steps into my house when my mom calls and says that someone else there is interested and to bring him right back. Drove all the way back there (in my PJ's still) and she shows him to everyone. Several people said that they'd take him as a last resort. I don't want him to be someone's last resort. So I brought him back home. My mom went to Walmart and bought 5 things of milk, and I already had bottles on hand. Fed him and put him down for a nap.

Prissy was not amused to have a noisy little one in our house.


Walked back to the horses and was feeding hay, when my mom called with a bombshell....she found the other kittens. They were in a box in her back yard. So apparently, momma was in the process of moving the kittens and left this little one behind. So now, there are THREE...YES THREE...kittens (again!). That must be my lucky number! We pulled the box into some shade, and put a blanket in there, and reintroduced the napping baby with "hopefully" his siblings. We also put food and water right by the box, so that hopefully the momma will keep them here. Geeze. Never even dreamed, she would move them to our yard.

Here's the box that she moved them to... (Mark's TV box)

And here they all are together...



I'm seriously thinking about opening up a rescue center and calling it "Can't Say No Rescue Center".