Nessas Place

It's 2012!! Yippee........or something like that. I don't really get why some people are so excited about the year changing. It doesn't feel any different. Nothing changes but the year.  Anyway, like most everyone I have made some plans for changes in this New Year. Yep, I said before that I didn't believe in making "resolutions" because I know I'll break them in no time flat. Don't we all? I will however make a few promises to myself this year.

A. Get in better shape. I've already started on this but I want to expand on it. With the cooler weather, I want to go hiking on the weekends or biking through the rails in the State Parks. We did it last year and it was a great time. 

B. Get a better job. I don't think that needs much explanation lol. I want more money! Period.

C. Get back to my crafts. I love to crochet and "George" got me a sewing machine for Christmas that I wanted. There are so many things I could be doing instead of playing Farmville and such. Productive things!

D. Enjoy the sunshine more. Because I work from home, I am in the house a great deal. I'm tired of it. "George" got me a great table and chairs for outside and I have this huge yard. I could be planting flowers, or even taking some of my work outside. 

E. Declutter! I'm actually doing it this week. Going to get a garbage bag and start throwing crap away. If there's not much in the house, then there's not much to mess up. That's the theory anyway.

So there they are. Promises made to myself and I will be keeping them.


On another note, as most of my readers know, I love animals. Particularly dogs. I honestly feel that they are God's gift to mankind. They're a reminder of his unconditional love and a companion who doesn't lie or cheat and their greatest joy in life is simply to be with the people they love.  When someone cannot or will not return that love it's just a truly sad and heartbreaking thing to see.

I know this from past experience with the pit bull, Big Max, that we adopted and I saw it again today. I've been extremely sick the last few days and finally decided I desperately needed some Ibuprofen for my headache. So I made my 16 year old go with me to Wal-Mart so that we could get that as well as a few other things.

As we pulled up, we saw a group of people standing around a grassy area where a dog lay. She was moving so I thought maybe she was just attracting attention, but the worried looks on some people's faces told me there was more to the story. Nosy ass Caring person that I am, I went and checked to see what was going on. I was told that the dog had been in the parking lot for several. days and that for the last day or so had become lethargic. Around her there were hamburgers from MCDonalds where several people had tried to get her to eat. She simply had no interest. She was just laying there. 

Others who had seen her said that she had lain in the same spot overnight in 30 degree weather and that it was painfully obvious that she was waiting for someone to come back and get her. Every time she heard a loud muffler her eyes would spark up, her ears would stand up and her tail would wag. I'm guessing that whoever dumped her had a loud truck and she associated it with them. It was heartbreaking to watch.

As we were all standing there deciding who might help, I was informed that Wal Mart Had been calling the SPCA and the animal control unit to come get her. Since she appeared sick it was pretty clear she'd likely just be euthanized and I just wasn't having any of that.

So I called a local rescue that I know of and asked if she could possibly take this sweet girl in. I told her I'd bring Dog food for her and help find her a home and the rescuer agreed immediately to help. I know she would have done so without any offers of help though. She truly cares about animals and their care. As a plus, she's also a groomer and I knew that she could give this gal a bath and help her look pretty for a new potential owner.

So I had my son stand with the dog in case animal control came to get her so he could tell them we were going to take her and their services were not needed. Then another young girl told the manager of walmart that I was taking the dog to a rescue and to please call off animal control. While I was standing in line, this young lady and the manager came to get me out of line. Apparently the manager of Walmart wanted to help after all and offered me a gas card and to pay for the 2 bags of dog food I had already chosen. I turned down the gas card since it was on my way anyway but I did let them comp the dog food. I figured that way, if it took a little time to get the doggie a home I'd still be able to afford to buy a couple more bags of dog food.

So we dropped the little gal off and as of the last report she's eating, she's wagging her tail and that spark is coming back in her eyes. I really hope this sweet girl gets the home she truly deserves. The loyalty she was showing by remaining where she was set out deserves to be rewarded. I know that somewhere out there is a perfect home with someone who will love her like all God's animals deserve to be loved. 

I also hope the people that dropped her off, find themselves in 12 kinds of hell for the rest of their life and I hope their kids are treated better than the dog was. Personally, I think if you can't treat a dog or any animal right, you have no business forming a human being........the things you'll be teaching them, aren't anything the rest of us care to see in the world.

Happy New Year and may you all get exactly what's coming to you. You have the power to decide whether it's good or bad. Choose wisely :)

Nessa

So, I finally started my shopping. I'm famous for waiting til the last minute but I don't usually wait THIS long. I'm not really sure why it's taking me so long this year either other than I just don't feel like it. I kicked off "Fudge Season" On Thanksgiving just like normal. Mostly because I probably would have been killed otherwise. One of my sisters wouldn't hear of fudge season not happening. She didn't get any of the first batch though because it got eaten in pretty short order.

So Saturday I made some for her since I knew I would see her the next day and I eve made banana bread too. I figured that baking and making the holiday favorites would help get me in the Christmas Spirit but it didn't. Not even a little. I walk through Walmart and keep wishing they would stop playing the darn music. I swear if you are shopping for more than 30 minutes you will hear the same song at least 3 times in 3 different versions. For instance, Rudolph was heard the other night sung by Martina McBride, George Strait and I think Bing Crosby. I realize there are only so many famous Christmas songs but come on!!! Mix it up or something! I don't like ANY Christmas song THAT much.

So here I sit, feeling all Bah Humbug-gy. Maybe I should get out my Santa Claus is Coming to town movie. I know every single word of the show by heart but it always makes me smile. If that doesn't work, i might just have to resort to more drastic measures. Like a 24 hour Christmas movie marathon, with fudge, hot chocolate, spiked eggnog and a really gross looking fruit cake that no one will eat but will definitely remind everyone of the holidays. I can hear the kids groaning already and I haven't even published this yet lol.

Nessa

Every year since my kids have been small I've asked them what they want for Christmas. They always had this huge list of things. Some they got, some they didn't. As the years have gone by the list has gotten slightly smaller, but the items on it have gotten much bigger in terms of cost. For instance, this year I'm supposed to find a way to get a Kindle Fire but an IPAD is acceptable. I'm also under orders to get things like Laptops, Netbooks, Cowboy boots and miscellaneous other items that cost way beyond what I can spend. Awwwwww, the joys of Motherhood right?

This year I got smart though. Rather than try and kill myself trying to pay full price for items they want I've learned to shop online. more importantly, I found a place to get coupons to save on the exact items the kids are asking for. Geek Alerts has a collection of the best Apple coupon codes I've found. There are codes for free shipping, free laser engraving for Ipods, IPhone coupons, smart cover coupons and much, much more. The best part is, I can get great savings and not have to fight the crowds in the stores. I make the purchase and it comes right to my door. I can't help but love that! Plus since many of the requests on their wish lists are for Apple items, these Apple coupon codes are really coming in handy!

Not only does geek Alerts have coupons for the Apple Store, they also have coupons for many other awesome online markets as well, such as Overstock.com, Bestbuy.com and Officedepot.com. I don't have all day to tell you all the coupons you can find at Geekalerts.com. See for yourself, save some money and make someone on your Christmas list very happy. Your bank account will thank you for it! Time for me to go do some shopping. Merry Christmas!

Nessa

For as long as I can remember I have had unwavering and completely irrational fears. They were drilled into my brain with the force of a jackhammer over and over and over. These weren't things I came up with on my own or decided to be afraid of on my own.

So most of my family knows the continuing saga that I face with my idiot neighbors. Last week I vented a bit about how sick I am of the problems and their continued refusal to attend to their dogs. About 15 minutes after that posted, I ended up in the hospital for most of the day.

Yep, I'm still around. I know some of you are cheering. I'm equally sure there are a few who were hoping for a death notice. Get over yourself. I'm not going anywhere. 

Shall We Count The Ways?
We love that creepy little grin that Tyler gets you to do.
We love it when you chase off HUGE dogs that are 50 times your size because they dared to come near your kids.
We love how we can't leave anything sweet around because you will sneak it at the first opportunity.
We love how you stand and shiver staring at us in hopes we'll let you snuggle on the couch with us.
We love how you bite us for trying to give you a bath. It's annoying for sure but it's always been your way.
We love how we have to warn the Vet that he'll need to sedate and muzzle you to do almost anything and yet your part Pitt bull brother allows the vet to do anything he wants. Irony there.
We love you totally and completely for just being you.

Now why am I listing all these things? I'm calling it a forgiveness list. Minnie had her surgery yesterday. When she first came home she was still woozy and probably a little in shock so she was all for some snuggling and sleeping. Then at 4 this morning, she snapped out of it and let me tell you........she's pissed. I can't say I blame her really either. We know she hates to be messed with, especially by strangers.

Yesterday when we took her to the vet, we handed her over to a stranger. Strike 1
Strike 2 was when the strangers actually dared to try to take blood for a test and we didn't save her.
Strike 3 was when she woke up after the surgery and realized we weren't there.

At 4 this morning, I don't know what happened, but I was laying there sleeping and the next thing I know the little bundle on my bed came alive and she was standing there staring at me like "WTF have you done?" I tried to sweet talk her and get her to calm down but it took awhile. This morning she pretty much won't even look at me. Like I said, at this point I don't blame her.

She has staples from her hind legs to her front legs. She lost right at 3 pounds during the surgery. I was told yesterday that it was 2 but the vet tech called this morning to check on her and told me it was 3. Minnie is a chihuahua so she doesn't weight much to begin with. But all the weight we thought she had turned out to be the fact that her uterus was incredibly enlarged and then she had the tumors as well.


Sooooooo, not only did she have the tumors removed, she also had a complete hysterectomy as well. Now she feels like half the doggie she was before when we pick her up.....very carefully. Mostly we try to NOT pick her up unless she just really insists. She bites us every time no matter how careful we are so I feel like the more we can get her to stay on the ground in her bed with a blankie the better off she'll be and the faster she will heal.

On the upside, when she woke up again at 6 we got out of bed and she walked around for a few minutes. She kept staring at me like she wanted something, possibly to kill me. So I got her a bowl of food to see if maybe she was hungry. She ate a few good bites and drank some water. Then she started trying to lick the incisions so I realized she might need her pain meds. The easiest way to give them to her since it's a liquid is to hollow out part of a hot dog, squirt the meds inside and then she'll take it just fine. She also ate most of the rest of the hot dog as well. So she's doing pretty good i think. She's resting comfortably now in her blankie.

Keep saying prayers though please.......she has to keep the staples in for 2 weeks and we are waiting for the test results to tell us if the tumors were benign or not. We're desperately praying that they were just a product of the over enlarged uterus and high hormone levels, which is a very good possibility. She's heart worm negative and the x-rays did not show any spreading so we're hoping that's a good sign. She's 14, we know we won't have her forever, but we have always tried to make sure she's loved, protected, kept in good health and spoiled in a manner to which she's become accustomed. We wouldn't want it any other way.

Nessa

I woke up this morning with an attitude. I admit it. I can't say anyone in particular put me in this mood. In fact i think I went to bed with the attitude as well. No one really caused it. I think I'm just sick of the stupid crap that seems to plague my life. Normally, it just irritates me. Which causes me to be in a bad mood and irritate everyone else. So this morning, when I got up with the attitude and read some emails, I decided that I have 3 choices.

A. Get even more irritated and find a way to go through the computer to bitchslap stupid people. This would probably be the most satisfying approach. I won't lie..........I'd love it if I could figure out how to do it. The problem is, I'm no mathematical genius with the abilities to design a time machine or wormholes through space, etc. If those ever become available, people better watch out, but until then, I think another approach would be better.

B. Ignore them. Ummmmm, yeah, that might work for some people but not me. I'm entirely too bitchy and smart ass to allow true stupidity to pass without comment.

C. Laugh. Nothing makes stupid people madder than being laughed at and having their stupidity pointed out to themselves and others. No, it's not nice, but this debate isn't about how to handle the matter sensitively. It's about me finding the best way to deal with stupid people and ignorant situations in such a way that I don't stay mad all day and others aren't harmed.

So, armed with those choices, I chose the latter, more ME approach and have decided that from now on I will save all my "stupid moments" up and share them on Wednesdays. That way I can look forward to sharing them and maybe some of you can grab a few laughs as well.

So here it is for your reading pleasure. Stupid Moments Of The Week. First Edition:

#1. I listed a GE Mini Refrigerator yesterday for $40 as a Today ONLY special. At the end of the listing I specified I would NOT hold it for anyone. I got the following email, not once but twice from the same person. This is a copy and paste, not MY spelling.

"Hi can you hold the refigertator until Friday and deliver it? I can buy it from you for $35. Thank you." ( gee thanks!! You mean I can, hold it, take less for it AND deliver it??? Where do I sign up?"

then I got :

"If you are unable to sell this I would be happy to take it for free" ( I realize the economy is tight right now, but hello??? I'm pretty sure most people would love for me to give it away as well genius, but i'm glad you're willing to be so generous)

On put this on an auction site almost a week ago:

Very cute design for backpack, t-shirt or pretty much anything. iron on is great quality and good for one use. Includes instructions

I was asked this question:
"can it be used on skin and how long does it last" I answered about as politely as I could but the whole time I was thinking " i almost want to say yes, just to see if someone tries it". Aren't you glad I'm nice?

Last but not least, I listed the following on craigslist:

Non-running EZ-Go Golf cart (Yes this was the actual title)
I was asked by 4 different people "Does it run?" Because the question was just too stupid for words I sent them all the following picture in reply:



Nessa

I know i'm starting to get redundant. You don't have to tell me. We just had such an awesome day at the lake last weekend. The sky was beautiful, the water was nice, cool and not too many waves. There weren't a whole bunch of boats in the way to mess things up for us either. So we had loads of room to pull the tube and ride the jetski. Awesome, Awesome day!

On the downside we probably won't be able to do it again this weekend. Our little Minnie is going in for surgery on Thursday. I'm actually pretty angry about her needing to have this surgery at all. I had taken her in about 4 years ago and asked about her getting spayed. she was 10 at the time and the vet told me that there wasn't really a point in getting her spayed since she was always with us and due to her age. So I listened to him and left well enough alone.

Then about a year later I took her in because I noticed she had a knot on her stomach. The same vet said it was a Mammary knot and not to worry about it unless it started growing. It stayed the same for years and in the last 2 months started growing at an alarming rate. So we took her to a vet in our new area and now we are headed for surgery. She'll have the knots removed as well as be spayed to prevent any further issues.

To be honest, I'm conflicted about the whole thing. One one hand the knots have to be removed. On the other, she's 14 and I'm so afraid she won't survive the operation. The vet says they are going to do several tests before they do anything else and if it's not safe, they won't do the operation. if it comes to that the plan will be to make her as comfortable as possible. She's not in pain it seems, and anti-inflammatories keep the biggest knot from impeding her ability to jump on the couch , etc. She eats fine, she plays, she is her normal self so she is definitely not suffering. Hopefully, she will be okay and this will just be something that will piss her off a bit but keep her in our lives a bit longer. We'd be lost without her.

Sooooooo, please keep a prayer in your heart for her and "her kids", AKA, my kids lol. They need each other.

Nessa