Common Sense for Dog Owners

Occasionally I feel the need to remind people that they are being idiots. Unfortunately, many of the people I feel the need to say this to are driving down the road and cannot hear me yelling at them from my car. Today's victims are dog owners. We've all seen them, dogs precariously hanging out of windows or over the sides of truck beds. Heads sticking as far out of the left hand windows as the dog can get it while semis whip by only inches away. So, today I am going to address a few of these dog owners whose judgement is somewhat lacking.

Heads Out the Window

We've all done it and let our dogs hang their heads out the windows. The exhilaration of all of those smells rushing into their nostrils is too much for most dogs to resist. It's the same type of exciting curiosity that drives children to stick metal objects into electrical outlets. Do yourself a favor and educate yourself on the damage that can occur to dogs when all of that air is rushing into their lungs at 80 mph. If you just can't help yourself and restrict your dog to amusing himself inside the car, please do me a favor and only open the window far enough for his head to fit through. You see, the problem with letting dogs hang their heads out the window is that they often want to hang most of their body out of it as well. I've seen one of two things happen that I'd rather not see again: the dog will be decapitated by an on-coming vehicle or street sign or he will lean a little too far out and land head first on the asphalt at 80 mph. Since I know you're being a good driver and looking forward, you will not be the one with the front row seat to this tragedy. I however, following at a safe distance behind you, will be. Leave the window at least half way up and try to restrict your dog to the passenger side window. Here's a little secret: if that's the only window that you leave open, that's the one they'll sit by. Whatever you do, do not let them put their paws out the window. That is a recipe for disaster.

Small Dogs Out the Window

Really, I don't like having small dogs loose in the car period. It's a lot like having a cat loose in the car. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. Like children, they are best left in the back seat. Better for them to hit the back of your seat than the dashboard or windshield. And under no circumstances should they be allowed to hang out the window. Believe me, even if you think you have a hold of them, they can find a way to fall out the window. Unlike big dogs, by the time their head is out the window, the rest of their body isn't far behind. Keep them on the seat or in your lap if you insist on having them out of a crate. You do not want to see what your pup looks like after hitting asphalt. It isn't pretty.

Dogs in the Truck Bed

I understand that sometimes dogs need to travel in the truck bed. It's a way of life in the country. However, even the seasoned truck bed traveler should be tethered. I have known dogs who have ridden in a truck bed for years to suddenly decide to jump from the moving vehicle for one reason or another. Unfortunately a couple of them made that jump right in front of another vehicle that was following behind the truck. Then there was the lab puppy I saw in the back of one truck traveling 80 mph down the highway. The pup couldn't have been older than 6 months and obviously didn't know what to do about being in the bed of the pickup. The puppy paced from one side of the bed to the other watching other cars whizzing by. Twice I watched him put his paws up on the side of the truck bed and look for all the world like he was going to jump out. I quickly sped up and passed the truck before I saw what happened next.

Now, that doesn't mean that just any tether will do. Too long of a tether can cause more harm than good if the dog does jump and ends up hanging himself or being dragged. The tether should be anchored at the center of the bed without enough slack for the dog to put his paws up on the truck bed. Also beware of tethers long enough to allow dogs to stand on the top of tool boxes. Just a couple months ago I watched in shock and fear as a truck traveled down the highway with the dog standing on top of the tool box looking over the cab of the truck. Let me give you a little lesson in physics: if the truck stops, the dog's body will keep going. The result will be either the collar coming off the dog and him hitting the road in front of the truck or the dog being decapitated by the collar and his body hitting the road in front of the truck. Either way, not a result I want to be witness to.

Unruly Dogs in the Vehicle

This is different than small dogs in the vehicle, but it can apply to them as well. Point blank: it is best for your and your dog's safety to keep them crated when in a vehicle. That being said, I rarely if ever crate my own dogs when traveling. That is because my dogs know two rules of the road: 1) They stay in the back seat and 2) They stay seated or lay down. If their feet so much as touch the center console, I tell them "back" and they get back in the back seat. I've been lucky that they stay calm in the car and do not pace. If your dog cannot follow these rules, then for everyone's safety please take proper precautions. If you have a larger vehicle, you can get a pet grate installed that will keep the dogs restricted to the back of the vehicle. That is the best option if you have large dogs period. Even if they travel well, do you not want to be fighting to keep a Great Dane in the back seat when you are trying to drive and he sees something worth barking at. And good luck trying to fit a Great Dane crate in your car, much less put the dog in it. I can barely fit my Great Dane crate in my car when it's broken down. Your other option, crating, is a great idea if you have a smaller car and especially for smaller dogs. Having a dog in your lap while driving should never be an option. Not only would they be crushed if you were in an accident, but they can easily get tangled in the steering wheel while you are making a turn and quite literally run you into the ditch. Believe me, I have first hand experience on that one, except it was a cat. If there aren't laws against it, there should be. And then, another reason for keeping your unruly dogs contained is for when you inevitably have to get out of the car. At the very least, you want to be able to get out of the driver's seat without a dog trying to climb over your lap to get to whatever is outside the car. It might be cute if he's excited to play at the park, but it could be a lawsuit if he wants to eat the Toy Poodle.

Now, I know what a lot of you are probably saying, "I haven't had anything bad happen YET." Yes, well, I've been driving a car for 13 years and haven't totaled one yet either. But I still wear a seat belt every time I get in the car. I still drive defensively to avoid hitting all of the other idiots on the road. The problem is that accidents happen. You can't predict what's going to happen in the next minute. Most accidents aren't caused by your bad judgement, but by someone else's. Do you want to take that risk with your pet's life? I don't know about you, but these guys are my kids. I would be devastated if something happened to one of them, especially if I could have prevented it. Yet I see people treating their dogs with such disregard that I hope they don't have human children. Perhaps they just don't know the risks, but I'm afraid that it's often because they've always done it this way and nothing bad has happened...yet.

Then again, maybe not

Well, the roosters got a stay of execution. There just aren't enough hours in a weekend. And given the fact that next weekend is our Halloween Party and the Hope Equine Rescue Poker Ride, it won't be happening next weekend either. Matt says he'll do it while I'm gone for my military weekend, but I have my doubts. This is the same man who wanted to keep Red "because he's pretty." Oh well, I love him anyway. Now I need to rush off to a dental appointment. Adios.

B-Day

Today is B-Day for three of our roosters. No, it's not their birthday. It's their butchering day. I had really hoped to find someone else to do the deed for me, but I have yet to find a single butchering shop that will take chickens. The one facility in Ocala, Seely's Ark, that does slaughter chickens doesn't find it necessary to return my phone calls or e-mails. So now we're going to do the deed ourselves. Hubby and I compromised and decided to keep two of the boys. Red is a Brown-Red Maran and my other boy is a Cuckoo Maran. I guess I'm going to be getting into the Maran breeding business. I also need to name my other boy. These two are the most docile, but they are also the most vocal. Red is also the dumbest bird I've ever met, but you know what I say about breeding for looks...you don't get brains. The other three have been attacking us and the hens, so they have got to go. I can't keep getting up every morning to nurse an injured hen.

Step number one is to keep the roosters off food for 24 hours. Well, since we didn't learn about that step until tomorrow afternoon, they're going 12 hours without food. It's better than nothing. We let our two keepers out of the pen and the other three are pissed. The two keepers aren't doing much to endear themselves, however. I've already had to physically kick them off of one of the hens once. I guess being gang-raped by two roosters is better than by five. I'm chalking it up to the excitement of being out of the pen for the first time in three days. If they keep it up, we'll be going for round two next weekend.

I can't keep them all

The chances are good that Rojero will have a new home soon. The rescue seems to be getting a lot of interest in her recently. I should be relieved. This horse has cost us a lot of money between feed and vet bills. She came here with no medical history and teeth that looked like mountain ridges. She got a full round of wormer and vaccines. I also had her teeth floated and her feet done every 4 weeks. Add to that the emergency vet call, the colic, and the miscellaneous first aid supplies. Then there is the time applying ointments and changing bandages. That doesn't even take into account the 4 a day feedings, the round bale a week, and the double rations of oats. We should be able to save a lot of money when this horse leaves.

But with all of that time and money spent, there is the rewarding feeling of accomplishment. There are the pictures of her progress throughout the summer and seeing her fill out and gain weight. There is the time riding her and seeing the proof of her building strength. There was the trail ride when she was surprisingly well behaved and fun to ride. There was the day she came to watch me bleach buckets just so I could rub on her afterwards. There is the sight of this once weak, tired rescue coming running from across the paddock at meal times.

Then I have this fear that I'm sure all rescues experience that she'll leave me to get passed around again. It's already happened to her once in her life. It is obvious that she was once a well cared for, well trained horse that someone loved. Then she went on to be starved and neglected in someones too small backyard. And she's only eight. How much more of that will she be forced to experience over the next 20 years? Is it wrong to want a forever home for a horse? Horses like stability. How does it make them feel to go to a home and not know if they'll be staying there 6 months or 6 years? Or worse yet to go from one home where they enjoy a good life with plenty of food and knowing that they are cared for to going to a home where their bellies are empty and they don't get any attention. It's no wonder that Rojero had such an empty expression when we picked her up. The superficial sores were only the outward scars. I wonder who it was who put so much time and training into her once upon a time. I wonder if they know the fate she suffered or that she's now up for adoption.

I have to keep reminding myself that I cannot keep them all. Having six horses has put a real financial strain on us this summer. She needs to go to a new home so I can continue to care for my other five horses. My other five horses who eat half of what she does in a given day. My other five who are less of a fall from the ground not if, but when I do fall off. Like Lisa Aldridge says, "I'm not the only person who can take care of my horses." I just wish I had more faith in humanity. I wish humanity gave me more reasons to have faith in it.

Operation Matt's Birthday

Overall, I would say that Operation Birthday was a success. It didn't go over quite like I had planned, but what does?

I found a great recipe for chicken cordon bleu using panko crumbs for the breading. It's hubby's favorite dish, so I decided that I just had to serve it for dinner. I decided to serve it with roasted red potatoes and asparagus. While I was at it, I picked up a chocolate cake from Sweet Bay, had them inscribe "Happy Birthday Matt" on it and got a bottle of Walnut Crest Chardonnay. The Chardonnay was the wine that we had at our wedding, but I'm sure Matt doesn't remember that. He's not much of a wine drinker, but he does like that one.

So yesterday morning I had a post-op follow up in Tampa, after which I went shopping for Matt's birthday. I knew that Matt needed some new shoes, so I went to Ross and found the perfect pair. They're Polo brand slip-ons with leather uppers and a rubber sole. Then there is a tongue that comes across the top with a magnet that sticks to the other side. They only had one pair and they just happened to be size 11. Ah, fate. I also got me a dress because I decided it would be nice to dress up for my husband. Then, since it was next door, I went into Bed, Bath & Beyond to pick up gifts for the rest of Matt's family who also have birthdays this week. I swear, I am not having children in September. There I found another addition to Matt's gift, a Betty Crocker Grilling cookbook. He does insist that he's the Grill Master, after all. So, got the gifts, picked up the food from Sweet Bay and headed home.

By this point it was a little after 2 pm and Matt was expected home at 7 pm. No problem. Of course, part of my plan included cleaning the house, feeding the animals, prepping and cooking the food, and getting me bathed and dressed up all before he got home. Keep in mind that I still have a bandage, albeit smaller, on my nose that cannot get wet when I wash my hair and face. Problem. Well, long story short, I managed to clean and reorganize the bathroom, vacuum the living room, couch and under the couch, clean off the kitchen counter tops and dining room table, feed all the animals, prep the food, and get a bath all before Matt got home. He also didn't get home until 7:30. So I stick the chicken and potatoes in the oven and start getting ready.

The chicken recipe said to cook at 350 for 20 minutes. Yeah right. The potatoes were still hard and the chicken breading was barely brown. Five minutes more, ten minutes more, it's not much better. Well, I need to get the bread in because it takes 15 minutes, but it needs to cook at 375. So, turn up the temp, rearrange some cookie sheets, and in it all goes at 375, but this time I got smart. I put my digital remote meat thermometer in the center chicken breast. Yeah, it was still at 120 degrees. Needs to be at 180. Well, half an hour later, the chicken was finally done. I'm changing my recipe card to read 375 for 60 minutes. Then we finally got to sit down to dinner and enjoy the perfectly cooked chicken cordon bleu, roasted red potatoes, asparagus and French bread with our Chardonnay. Actually, I think I was on my 3rd glass by that point and realizing that I hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch. Oops.

Then it was time for the cake. I, being the funny person that I am, decided to get trick candles for my husband's cake. Unfortunately for me, my husband can spot trick candles from a mile away, or at least from the dining room to the kitchen. He pointed this fact out to me, but proceeded to play along anyway. Then much to both of our surprise, the candles blew out. I always knew my husband was full of a lot of air, but come on! So he relights then off of the candles on the table and tries again. And they go out again. Leave them lit for longer, try again, and still they go out. This is not cool. We gave up because we realized we were spending way too much time trying to figure out the candles instead of eating the cake. Matt says he's going to write to the manufacturer.

In the end, Matt loved his gifts and his dinner. He really liked his drunk wife in her new dress that shows way too much cleavage. We restarted Glee on the DVR and watched that until long after Matt passed out on the couch. We now have enough chicken cordon bleu to make dinner for tonight and I think I can squeeze one more glass of wine out of that Chardonnay bottle.

Random Updates

It's one day until Matt's birthday, and once again I don't know what to get him. I have a couple ideas, but they're all out of my budget. I need to come up with something. I'm tired of shopping the day of his birthday. I was supposed to stop by Dick's Sporting Goods yesterday after my doctor's appointment, but I started talking on the phone and completely forgot. I have another appointment in town tomorrow so maybe I'll try again tomorrow. If Dick's doesn't have anything, TJ Maxx and Ross are also right there. And if all else fails, Toys R Us is in the same complex.

It's almost time to replant the vegetable garden. My spring garden was pretty much a bust, between getting the seeds in too late and the soil being too poor. Then the weeds took over. I'm going to get some weed killer and spray down the whole garden. Then I plan on tilling in a combination of manure and bagged fertilizer. I'll probably do the manure first, then do my soil testing to determine what type of bagged fertilizer I should add. In the mean time, I need to determine which seeds to plant for the fall and get those ordered. I also need to figure out a better type of fencing to keep the raccoons out. I actually think that orange barrier fencing used with electric fence posts will do the trick. We've been using a similar set-up in dog training and it seems to be really sturdy.

I had my second and hopefully last surgery on my nose last Thursday. My surgery in May was fairly non-invasive. The surgeon used scopes to go through my nostrils and straighten my septum and make my sinus cavity larger. There were no bandages and I was off work for less than a week. That surgery worked very well. I went from having headaches every day to about once a week. The problem was that I still felt congested every time I breathed through my nose. It turns out that I have small valves in my nose. Breathe Right strips helped tremendously, but they were causing sores on my nose and cheeks from wearing them every day. So I was referred to a second surgeon who decided to put cartilage grafts inside my nose to make the valves larger. That means cutting my nose across the bottom, harvesting cartilage from my septum, and wearing a splint over my nose to keep the grafts in place. I am 5 days post surgery and my nose is itching like crazy. The splint covers my nose from the tip to between my eyebrows. Tape holds the splint in place and stretches across both cheeks, up my forehead and down the sides of my top lip. I look like Hannibal Lecter. I cannot wash my face. I cannot take a shower. I have to take bathes and Matt has to wash my hair for me. My ears have dead skin pealing off of them in sheets. I can only imagine what my nose is doing under this bandage. I'm going to need a facial when this is all said and done. I really hope it's worth it.

Ah, country life

So Friday was a day of mysteries. First, Matt and I get home from work and are only greeted by one dog at the back door. Odd. Then we hear Greta whining from...the hall bathroom? See, the hall bathroom has been dubbed the "cat's bathroom." It contains their food, water, and litter box. It is also blocked off by a 3 ft tall child gate, the very purpose of which is to allow the cats the ability to escape Greta. And this is where we found Greta, behind the child gate. The gate has a door so that people can walk through, but that was latched. Matt's thinking that maybe he accidentally locked her in there that morning. I certainly hope that's the case and not that she jumped it sometime during the day. That means she's been in there for 12 hours and likely ate the cat's lunch when it dropped from the automatic feeder. I would say that's a highly likely scenario since she now runs for the hall bathroom every time she hears the feeder drop food.

Then, after much arm twisting, I convinced Matt to go running with me. No, that's not the surprise, lol. We get to the end of the driveway and do our stretches. Then I turn up my music and take off running. I get about a quarter of a mile down the road when it occurs to me that Matt should have passed me by now. I turn around to look, no Matt. Oh no, he's not getting out of running that easily. So I pause my workout (using the Nike+ app) and give him a call. Turns out he had to go back and put Rusty in one of the horse paddocks. Why? Because right after I took off running, Rusty came running from the neighbor's house to greet Matt. I told you our goats are like dogs with hooves. He must have walked through the fence because the electric was left off. No idea how long he's been out or how much he may have eaten in that time period. Keep in mind, this is the same neighbor who bought a shot gun to keep squirrels from eating his Bird of Paradise plants. Really hoping Rusty stuck to the weeds.

In other news, I've decided to give my Shure Pets business a kick in the pants. I may not go back to the Brooksville Farmer's Market for a while. I want to get my focus back on pet-centric events. I still want to start going to dog shows, but I'm going to have to expand my business if that is going to be a success. I'm going to be hosting my annual Mutts & Margaritas Party at my house on Sept. 19. Then on Sept. 26 I'm going to be at San Antonio's Paws in the Park. I'm also planning a Mystery Hostess Party for sometime in Nov., but I want to get a park pavilion locked down before I start advertising date and time. The home office is offering a lot of great incentives right now, so I'm hoping that will increase interest in party bookings. The parties really are the heart of the business and it hasn't been as much fun since bookings have been down. If you want more information or would like to be added to my mailing list, just let me know.

Well, that's really all for now. I'm waiting to go trail riding, but I have to hear back from a friend of mine first. It's really my fault for not having everything planned out yesterday. I got so wrapped up in the Shure Pets stuff that I spent all day yesterday inside. Then I ended up with a colossal migraine last night. After laying on the couch with ice packs on my head, I took a vicodin, went to bed, and hoped it would be gone by morning. For the most part, it is, but I need to drink some water.

Territorial Chickens

I have some of the strangest animals. First of all, I have to start by explaining the habits of my chickens. I have 5 roosters and 2 hens. When we are home to watch them, we will let them out of their coop and instantly run to the front horse paddock to pick through the manure. I can't complain. They do a great job spreading the manure for me and keeping the bug population down. My guess is that they are actually looking for left over grain that has passed through the manure. There is one big, black rooster who is certainly the head of the flock. He will watch the flock, crow when he can't see any of the chickens, and herd them to where he wants them to go. He will usually keep the flock in the front paddock or under the Gardenia hedge. Occationally they will also wonder over to the side paddock to clean up the manure there. When the sun goes down, he will make sure they all go back to the coop where they belong.

So Sunday night I decided to ride Lilly, who happens to live in that front paddock. We are riding around the pen when this black rooster comes over to check us out. He then proceeds to come inside the round pen and chase us around the circle. Matt and I were cracking up laughing. I can only guess that he considers Lilly to be part of his flock and he felt that she needed to go to the coop with the rest of the flock. He even went back to the coop and came running back to the pen when we continued riding. He then stood in the middle of the ring and started crowing at us. It had to be one of the funniest things I've seen these chickens do yet. He wasn't be agressive and he kept his distance from her hooves, but he was running at us like he does when he wants the rest of the chickens to move a certain direction. I just wish we could have gotten it on video. He did eventually go back to the coop and leave us alone, but you could tell that he was very upset that we were not with the rest of the flock. Silly birds.

Personal Perspectives

I am quickly becoming more and more disappointed with the attitudes fostered in the military today. It’s the mentality that if you aren’t skinny and can’t run well, then there must be something wrong with you as a person. I am beginning to come across this attitude more and more these days. Many of the people I meet are vein and superficial. Their attitude extends beyond the reach of other military members, but to the general public as well. Are they so conceited to overlook how privileged they are? Not everyone works for an employer who gives them a free gym membership and time off from work to workout. Not everyone lives 5 minutes from work and has the extra time in the day to dedicate to fitness. And, even more incredibly, not everyone chooses running as their hobby of choice. There are many, many ways to be fit and healthy without running a step. And what about those of us that are trying? Has it been so long since you've gotten into running that you forget that not everyone can run a 9 minute mile? And, please, spare me your pat on the back. I don't do any of this for your approval.

There are also many circumstances that may have lead to people not being as fit and skinny as you think they should be. To blame their condition solely on laziness is simply arrogance on your part. I’m not even talking about people who blame their thyroid or genetics as you are so often to dismiss as excuses. There are thousands of people in this country who suffer from back and joint problems which restrict their mobility. They fight every day to get back of piece of what you so arrogantly take for granted. There are also those who have gone through surgery after surgery and several periods of bed rest to fix a problem that doctors can’t even diagnose. Each time it gets more and more difficult to regain their strength, not to mention their motivation. Who are you to judge these people when you know nothing about them or their situation? And, no, that does not mean that you have a right to know their whole personal history. You deal with your life. Let them deal with theirs.

Likewise, I’ve seen this same attitude towards people in debt. Some of these people forget that from the time they came into the service most of their expenses were either covered or discounted. They didn’t have to worry about covering college expenses that were not covered by financial aid or even the added expense of living in the dorms. They never had to worry about being laid off or taking a pay cut. They’ve led a reasonably sheltered life. Granted, there are those military members who have debt and struggle like the rest of us, but there are a great many more who take for granted the good fortune that has been handed to them, albeit at a price. It simply adds insult to injury when one of these service members looks down their nose at someone who is working diligently, in a down economy, to get out of debt because, in their mind, the individual wasn’t “smart enough” to stay out of debt in the first place.

Do not presume to think that you are better than me because I do not choose your lifestyle.

And while we are on the subject of lifestyles, the way I choose to live my life is my choice. It may be different from yours, but that does not make it better or worse. So what if I do not want to move every three to four years? That is fine if it is what you are accustomed to in the active duty military. I chose not to go active duty for that very reason. I happen to like having the choice to move when and where I want. So what if I do not want to stay in a career field that almost always requires you to relocate every time you change jobs? There is more to life than money and certainly more ways to make money than this job.

I am a country girl. Period. I enjoy having my hands in the dirt. I enjoy living off the land. My hobbies of choice include horseback riding and gardening. It is what makes me happy and relieves my stress. I like the peace and quiet of the country. Granted, I may need to live further away from my job in order to afford what I want, but it is a sacrifice that I make willingly. Better than the constant worry over traffic, crime and stupidity. I want to have a family. I want my children to know where their food comes from and the joy of playing outdoors. I want my family to know the stability of living in one place and having friends and neighbors to rely upon. I am sorry if you think those are stupid and old-fashioned ideals, but then I think that shows a greater reflection upon your life than mine.

Summer's Here

Gosh, where has the time gone? On my path to self sustainment, I've started a garden and gotten chickens. Of course, we got chicks and it'll be August before we get any eggs from them, so I turned around and got two adult hens so I can have eggs. We are now up to two dozen eggs in the fridge and can't eat them fast enough. I'm going to boil the batch of them and made salad and deviled eggs for the fundraiser next weekend.

And why would I be hosting a fundraiser? Because we took on another horse. We're actually fostering her for Heart Land Horse Rescue. She's an 8 year old, 16h Thoroughbred mare named Rojero. I'm going to change the name, but I don't know what I'm going to change it to just yet.

Matt's back to work at his old firm. It's not truly full time, but they aren't taking taxes out either so it's almost the same take home pay. I'm worried about what it will mean come tax time. I change my deductions at work so more will be taken out and I'm putting money aside whenever possible. We're starting to pull out ahead. I've also gotten back to paying down the credit cards. I hope to have them all paid off in three years. I hope it works out because I will be so glad when I am done with them.

Matt has also gotten into the handy man business. He built me a chicken coop and then had another lady call asking for one. Now all of her neighbors want one. Bat houses will be next. I have to have something to combat these

mosquitoes.

More Drama

First Sergeant decided to have a talk last night with the girls about the hotel situation. Two girls who I thought were rooming with me and my roommate decided to room with two other girls, leaving us to split a room between just the two of us. I can't afford that. It brought all of my money fears to a head, in addition to how I'd been feeling all day. I hate crying in front of people, yet I ran out of the room sobbing. I locked myself in a bathroom stall for a while, then walked to the phones to call Matt.

I can only imagine what he thought when he answered the phone to my crying. He made me feel better though and told me to go on the trip anyway. Sgt Wills & SrA Vincent stopped me on the way back to my room to talk to me and offer support. Sgt Wills prayed with me. When we got done with our prayer, the black dog who hangs out on base walked by. I think God knew I needed an animal to comfort me. He happily came up to me and I petted and cried on him for a few minutes.

The First Sergeant found me when I got back to the dorms. He told me that the Commander was going to help pay for my room. He also let me know about some assistance funds available through the Air Force and the state of Georgia. That made me feel a little better. I think I finally got to bed around eleven.

Today, the two girls who made me so angry yesterday won't look at or speak to me. That's ok, I'm not exactly in the mood to deal with them. Tears were close to the surface this morning, but work did me good for all that it was messed up. I think we've got a handle on it. We've made a lot of progress today. We got the faces for all of the soffits measured and half of them cut. We should be able to finish mounting the panels this week and do finishing work next week. If not, that's up to the next team to do. Hopefully we get through the rest of these panels with the saw blades we have. I don't know when we'll get more. But the day went fast aside from some stomach issues. Nothing a little Pepto can't fix. I wish I could figure out which food is doing it.

Then tonight I called Matt in much better spirits. He's applying for a couple jobs today. Hopefully something comes of it. I need a reason to celebrate.

Eilat

Yesterday we went to Eilat and the Red Sea. It was a beautiful ride out. The land here looks more like canyons than sand dunes. Lots of rock with mountains in the distance. The strangest things to see were dairy farms in the desert. There is not a single blade of grass, but all of these cows were living under sun shades, living off of hay and grain. I don't know where they find the hay, but the bales were huge. They were also bleached yellow by the sun.

The Red Sea was beautiful. I wish I'd had the money to go snorkeling. It's probably best I didn't bring a swimsuit because I would have spent money I didn't have. We did eat at a really good place called Boston Seafood and Grill. I had a shrimp and calamari salad. Very tasty. Then we walked around. We didn't get to see much beyond the boardwalk. The shops were mostly trinkets. I decided to save my shekels for Jerusalem. I did get a couple postcards though. Now I just need to find stamps. I tried calling Matt when we got back. I really miss him. I couldn't reach him at the house or on his cell, so I called my parents instead. Dad was home, so I got to talk to him, Mom and Tyler. Ryan and Anna were at a retreat. I tried Matt again and still couldn't reach him so I went back to my room.

I spent this morning shoveling bird poop out of a warehouse. I spent the afternoon feeling ill. Part of it was the heat, part of it was needing a break. There are people everywhere. I can never get time alone. My roommate interrupts me when I'm reading. People try to make polite conversation or ask what's wrong when I'm lost in thought. Everyone seems to annoy me. Maybe it's because I don't feel well. Maybe I just miss Matt and how well he understands me. I should try calling him, but I just don't feel very talkative right now. I think I'll just throw my clothes in the dryer, take a shower and go to bed.

Second Day in Israel

I'm amazed I even know what day it is. We left Robins AFB Tuesday evening. I hated to say bye to Matt, but I'm glad he drove me. It was good to spend a few more hours together before I had to leave. This is going to be a long two weeks. Ok, almost three weeks, but who's counting? Then we spent Wednesday in Sicily. I would have loved to stay there longer. I tried speaking a little Italian. I ended up ordering five deserts when I only wanted two. We walked around Catania and tried taking pictures, but it got dark. Then it started raining and we got soaked. Umbrella vendors kept following us, trying to get us to buy them. I think I said no out of spite. Beautiful city. I really hope to go back someday.

Then Thursday we got into Israel. We haven't seen much of it yet, but we're going to Eilat and the Red Sea tomorrow. Today we went to Arad for a bit. Everything was closed because of Shabat. There were a lot of cats though. The one I stopped to pet would have stood there all day if I hadn't needed to catch up to the group. Sheep herding is big here too. It's like the old days before fence laws and shepherds took their flocks from place to place in search of grass. I noticed a lot of underground rivers and oasis here that had herds grazing on them. We also saw a lot of folks riding donkeys. Saw a few horses and camels as well.

Tonight was Shabat. There were Hebrew prayers followed by a banquet. It was delicious and there was so much of it. I shouldn't have eaten as much as I did, but I couldn't help myself. A lot of veggies too, so it was kind of healthy. Got a chance to talk to Matt after dinner. I hate when there is drama at home and I'm not there to help. He lost his job Monday and is having trouble filing unemployment. He's trying to work on the taxes and doesn't know his password. He got into a car accident Wednesday (not his fault) and now has to get a quote to fix it. The dogs are getting loose and not listening. Apparently he's forgotten when he learned in dog training. Now I'm stressed and feel guilty about being here. I did send him a post card from Sicily. Hopefully it cheers him up. I'll have to send him one tomorrow as well. I don't want him to feel forgotten. All I think about is how much I wish he was here to share this with.

Organization

Wow, has it really been November since I posted last?  The holidays really got away from me.  December was a rough month for us financially, but we came through it and I think we've learned some lessons from it.  I've put a plan into place to pay off all of our credit cards.  Hopefully that will happen in the next five years; sooner, if we can ever refinance the house.  Let me just say this right now, if you don't have credit card debt then keep it that way.  There are better ways to earn credit then a revolving account.  Much better ways.  We would have a lot more money in our pockets if we didn't have to pay so much in credit card payments every month.  They have gotten out of control.  Some of our minimum payments have tripled.  It's just not worth it.  We have also stopped using the credit cards.  It's tough to feed all these animals and still only spend the money when we have it, but we're getting there.  Which brings me to my main New Years Resolution: stick to a budget.

Budgeting means a lot of changes.  First of all, I've gotten back to keeping a ledger with my checkbook so I always know exactly what we have available.  That has really helped a lot.  I shouldn't have waited so long to start keeping one, but the computer that I had kept the ledger on finally bit the big one, so I didn't have much of a choice.  The Lord works in mysterious ways.  Second of all, that means translating that ledger to the  budget.  I'm finding that we don't spend the money on the things I thought we spent it on.  Too bad that also means we've spent more money in some areas than we should have.  I'm definitely working on that.  The tough one has been the grocery bill.  We have expensive tastes when it comes to food.  A couple of new resolutions have come of that.  First of all, only buy meat when it's on sale.  Second of all, stick to locally grown, in season vegetables.  That's easy since we have Beasley's around the corner; however, I am in the process of starting my garden in the next month.  We are also packing lunches and limiting dining out to only very special occasions, or at least no more than once a month.  It's also causing us to eat healthier which is never a bag thing.  I'm drinking water like it's going out of style.

But the biggest project of all it getting all of this organized.  Lately, we have taken to throwing all of our bills in the filing cabinet drawer.  Now I can't find a darn thing.  That's bad when I have medical bills that need paid off and I don't trust these people to apply my payments correctly.  So I came up with a great filing system that will organize our bills by payee and make everything easy to find.  The only problem is that I now have to organize two drawers full of bills (some dating as far back as 2002) and putting them into said files.  So guess what I'm supposed to be doing right now instead of posting this blog.  oops