Eclipse: Book 3 of 4 of the Twilight Series

Let me say that after reading this book on and off for over a year that I am less than thrilled. I finally finished Eclipse; It was awful!!! There is one big event in the entire book and I'm sure you guys have seen how BIG the book is. Hopefully the movie is better because Eclipse is a waste of time. On to Breaking Dawn (book 4) which also got horrible reviews from Critics....bummer!

Koda's first duck hunting trip

My boy did it, he learned how to retrieve on his first duck hunting trip! I had to share 3 of the best pictures of his first duck-tug-of-war with Sian:

Give it Sian!!!!

Sian, gimmie!!!!!!!!!!

I won!!!

Who says an Australian Shepherd can't hunt????

Happy Halloween!!!

Sorry I've been so MIA. Things have just been so busy. :)

Koda is no longer having to be dipped, his mange is completely gone....let the hair grow back!!!

Josh shot a nice doe this morning, Happy Halloween to him!

I'm crossing my fingers that as the winter comes I will have more time to start sewing, hunting and cooking.

Hope everyone is doing well!!!

Koda's latest issue...my poor boy!

So about 2 weeks ago as Koda (now 50 pounds!) passed his 7 month birthday, I noticed a spot of hair missing above his eye. I figured it was ringworm or scabies (yikes!) and took him into work with me only for my vet to diagnose him with Demodex aka Red Mange. Inherited from the dog's parents in their first week of life, red mange is a mite that all dogs have inside their hair follicles but only when the dog's body can't defend itself is it actually an issue and the dog is diagnosed with this non-contagious condition. When it is localized, in Koda's case, it's not as difficult to treat...or so I thought.

What we saw under the microscope:


The cure for demodex is to give high doses of Ivermectin (an anti-parasitic drug). Well, low and behold, Australian Shepherds and other herding breeds are known to have a gene mutation in their brains that do not allow them to process Ivermectin out of their system. Ivermectin has been known to kill Aussies and Collies...so, after giving 2 doses of the nasty stuff, I talked my Vet into getting Koda tested for the gene. If his test came out negative, we would could give him ivermectin...if the test was positive, he would have to be dipped which has horrible side effects and makes the dog very sick. I crossed my fingers that his gene mutation test would come back negative, but we weren't so lucky. :(

Friday the results came in. Koda carries the gene (of course!). Now, we have to dip him this week which i am NOT thrilled about. I don't want to make my little boy sick. It hurts my heart. I had to shave his beautiful coat off...

Before:


After:


I feel blessed that the MDR1 gene mutation test is available thanks to Washington State University because without that we would have continued to treat him with Ivermectin and he would have most likely died. It was $150 to find out that he has the multi-drug sensitivity and a lot of the drugs Koda cannot take are common ones used to treat diarrhea or sedation drugs. He now will wear a medical alert tag just like some people have to. Koda's story will be featured on Washington State University's College of Veterinary Medicine's website and I'll let you all know when it's available to view. :) He may help save another dog!



If you know anyone with Aussies, Collies, Shelties please forward them this link: http://www.busteralert.org/

Another pet loss...

My dear sweet Hope was put to sleep Thursday. After battling with Feline Stomatitis and recently being diagnosed with Diabetes, I decided it was best to let her go. It was a tough choice considering she was still mentally aware of her surroundings and purring like a kitten every time someone even looked at her, but Hope had become very lethargic and her body was completely shutting down due the years of steroid injections that kept her comfortable. She lived a good life for 10 years.

I couldn't sleep Wednesday night because I kept wondering "what should I do?", "should I put her down?", "can we fix this?". I realized at 5 am that the right thing to do was to end her suffering. She was not the same cat anymore. On my way to work Thursday morning I saw a complete rainbow!!! That was my sign that I was doing the right thing and Hope would be crossing the "Rainbow bridge" that day.

There were 3 of us in the room, Dr. Casi and Jessica joined me. They had grown to love her, who wouldn't??? They had tears as big as mine as I held Hope in my arms (still purring) and Casi injected the medicine into her veins. I felt a calm feeling as she died and I knew that Hope was telling me that it was ok let her go. It was the strangest but most reassuring feeling I had ever had! Definately God's hand!!!!

Deciding to be there with her during the euthanasia was the hardest thing I've ever done but I feel we owe it to our pets for them not to be alone during that final breath. They love us with all their hearts and all they have is us. We have the entire world and its "worldly things." Take my advice and support your pet on their final journey when its their time.

Louisiana Wildlife

I was able to take some great wildlife pictures recently. Make sure and say a prayer for all of the wildlife in distress along the coast of our beautiful state.

HELLO ALL....

I know, I know, I've been MIA for quite some time! Sorry! Life's gotten a little crazy. Between work and work and work...there seems to be no time to do anything else. I've been told this is a crazy time of year for animals (more like an INSANE time) but it's really been nutty. One day last week I actually worked a 12 hour shift, all the other days were only 10 to 11 hours, lol! Trust me, this is the first day I can smile about it. I don't feel secure there. I don't know if I ever have. That's a whole other stress. I have a meeting at 6:45 tomorrow morning which will tell me if I'll still have a job on Wednesday. Life as an adult is hard.



I hope everyone else is having an ok time. I've been so out of touch, sorry!

Introducing...

...Koda (which means "friend" in Native American)!!!


My new little man! :) He is a 12 week old Australian Shepherd and he is so awesome! Such a smart baby.






I'll post more later. He's keeping my hands full. Just wanted to drop a line and say hello to everyone.

I've completed week 6!

I didn't want to jinx myself so I had decided I wouldn't blog about this topic until I reached week 6. Well, i'm going on week 7 of faithful exercising! Whoo hoo!

I joined a gym in Abbeville and have been going 5 to 6 days a week for 6 weeks now! I'm so darn proud of myself and have really noticed a difference in muscle mass and I can finally keep up with Josh when we go on our 3 mile hikes through the woods. :) It feels awesome to be in shape and I enjoy the heck out of going to the gym. I go every day during the week from 12 to 1 and always look forward to it. It's my escape from the stress of daily work life. I finally stuck with something and its paying off. I am my own motivator!

I've downloaded some great motivational upbeat tunes to listen to and let me tell you, good music makes all the difference! From Fergie to Britney, Pussycat Dolls to Kesha and Lady Gaga to Lasgo, these artists get me through it.

Another big motivator besides the music, Robert Kennedy's Oxygen magazine! They have great tips when it comes to foods and exercises. It was definitely my biggest inspiration to start building my healthy body.



They always end the magazine with "Exhale" which is a motivational quote that I stick on the fridge to remind myself to stick with it!

Happy exercising!

My little man is gone...

...along with a piece of my heart.

Monkey had been missing for 2 weeks. Yesterday morning I woke up from a terrible nightmare about him being hurt and not being able to find me. I told Josh that I sure wished that I knew whether he was ok or not and that the worry was making me sick. That's when I walked up to him and asked "Do you know where Monkey is?" He calmly shook his head yes and I knew then that Monkey was not ok. I asked him if Monkey was dead and he shook his head yes again.

He died two weeks prior and Josh did not have the heart to tell me. He was hit by a car.

I've only cried 4 times today. Yesterday I thought I was going to have a heart attack from emptiness I felt. He was my baby boy, Sian's little brother. We loved him so much.



I can only hope that what they say about Rainbow Bridge is true...



because I have a hole right now that seems like it will never be filled. I never thought I could love a pet this much. I never thought this day would come. He was just a baby.




Rainbow Bridge:

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.
There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together.
There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.
The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....

-author unknown

And it's over, just like that.

Another deer season (and my second) has come to an end. Rifle season officially ended today and because bow season closes on Friday it really doesn't look like I'll get to hunt until the 2010-2011 season. That's ok though. I had a great time killing my first buck and double in the same day. I'm blessed to be able to live in an area where we can drive 15 minutes to our hunting destination! The deer just weren't really in our area this year. Maybe because of the extreme heat and a ton of rain so late in the season, who knows? Maybe next year we'll have better luck...until then, let the antlers grow!

Christmas 2009=awesome!

As always, Christmas was awesome! I got to spend quality time with my wonderful family and great friends! We started off at mom and dad's for finger foods and card games! It was great, I had a ton of laughs with my folks and we exchanged awesome presents! My parents are so wonderful and I love being with them. :)

Last night we went to Josh's grandmother's house and then on to his mom's. We exchanged gifts there and sat around the tree. :)

Josh and I exchanged presents on Christmas eve. I got him a new target bag and his very first deer decoy! Very cool....the head moves!



And to my (huge) surprise, I got my very own Mathews bow!!! I had been wanting a bow of my own and Mathews came out with this women's bow this fall. I could not believe it!!!!! I was about to cry (happy tears) but fought back. :)




Its not just camo either, it's got little camo flowers all over it. So pretty!!!! I love it!



And Tiff (my hero!) shoots one too:


Here's a picture of Tiffany's huge buck that she killed on Christmas Eve, Alright Tiff!!!!!


I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and you were able to spend it with the ones you love.

Every time I want to hunt...

I haven't deer hunted in what seems like years! We scouted last weekend and found SOOO many tracks in front of my stand. I'm finally off of work for a few days and I wake up this morning at 5am to see this...



I don't hunt in the rain, especially THIS rain!!!! They are saying we're getting an inch today.

You see where the vermilion bay is???? That's me! Poor little me. :(

Poo on rain!

A weekend of firsts :)

Not only did I shoot my first snipe this weekend but I shot something I said I would NEVER shoot!

We were searching for woodcock and this rabbit zipped out of the bushes to my left (into more bushes). I shot 3 times and he went down. It was very exciting! I was just saying yesterday how I didn't want to hunt bunnies, lol! One of my favorite dishes is fried rabbit dipped in cheese from La Fonda's so I'll try and recreate it tomorrow night. YUUUUM!





Another cool thing is that I got to see Josh's pig that he shot earlier in the week. He had hauled it off into the bushes Monday and I had been saying that I wanted to see it. Lets just say that it REALLY stunk!!!! It's face was half eaten....ugh. I almost vomited but i just had to see it. Sorry, the picture was taken after dark moments after he shot it.


We sat in the deer stand on the pipeline tonight and I heard a fawn bleat for the first time!!! It was really close but we could hear it as it walked away from us.

What a great weekend!