Most disturbing.....

As much as I despise this subject because of it's brutality, I think it is important to bring it up as often as possible. I was out to lunch with a good friend yesterday and she mentioned it while we were at Ulta. I had forgotten.

I am still trying to figure out why we are still testing on animals when we have such advanced technology?

How barbaric! To torture animals for aesthetic reason is beyond understanding. Or to see if Cleansers and cleaning products will harm us.

Do you want to live an extra 20 years because of animal torture? That is the medical communities comments. Because of animal testing you get to live till your 100 and pooping your pants, how fun!!

Finding a cure for deadly disease. We can't do that without animals? We can't grow ears and heart valves in petrie dishes? We have come so far, to take 100 steps back.

I love animals, but sometimes I feel like a hypocrite in the face of them. I don't live my life entirely vegan. I like being a carnivore, so I struggle with that part of me everyday. I am not preaching for you to become a vegan, but to try and make just a small difference.

I also do not know what I would advocate if Sam needed a new heart valve. Would I sacrifice one of my animals for him? It is something I struggle with every day. In the meantime, I try to make a small difference out of love, but also out of guilt for the selfish way I live.

Please be aware, some info and pictures on the sites below are disturbing. But please, take time to read. Without your awareness, we can do nothing.

The site below will give you an idea of the companies that sell cruelty free products.

There are tons of cruelty free products out there. Not all are expensive premium products. You will be surprised.

http://www.caringconsumer.com/index.asp

http://www.dosomething.org/whatsyourthing/Animal+Welfare?gclid=CPr__8PenKECFSGA5QodbzOnyA

Dosomething.org is a wonderful and informative website on things we can do for this planet. Check it out.

Now...after all is said and done, and you have shrugged your shoulders because the subject is too heavy for you, picture one of your beloved pets being tortured for the price of humans.

Earth Day

I LOVE our planet!! And yes, I am about to naaaag you, so pay attention huh? : )
It is Earth Day's 40th year! Started in 1970 and celebrated by billions of people!
We have a long way to go to save our planet.
Pay attention! People often forget as life goes on with out reminders that our planet needs preservation. And as we move forward I wonder if what we are doing is enough? I hope so because there are so many wonderful things on this big round ball. Amazing things that I am in awe of. They are our responsibility and I hope we do what needs to be done. I am proud of what we have accomplished in just the last 10 years, but we need to do more. So go outside and look around. Take in our planet. Be in awe of what we have been given and then do something small to make a difference.Or something ginormous! Plant a tree. Donate to a fund (WWF, NWF, WW ect. ect.) in the name of some one you love. Visit the zoo. Get together and clean up the park, rail trail or the like. Sign a petition saving some land, forest or Steve Irwins Wildlife reservation. Go and See Disney's OCEANS. Part of every ticket purchase goes to preserving our coral reefs!
And to make things even more exciting. AVATAR is being released today on DVD and Blu Ray. Now if you have not seen this absolutely stunning and moving movie, rent it.
There was a lot of politics surrounding this flick..well good. We as humans have always taken what ever we want. This movie is a perfect example of the destruction greed can cause.
I often feel connected to this planet, so I would fit right in on Pandora! And blue is one of my favorite colors! : )

http://earthday.org/
http://www.avatarmovie.com/

Oh poo bear!

See what happens when the pack leader watches a sad movie? The dog gets worried!!! : (

Then falls asleep!! Maggie our 9 year old lab/golden mix is my shadow. Look at all that white hair! Just like her mom, except I do the dye! (Shhh!)

She is an amazing animal and helps keep me an amazing human every day!! And some days she works harder then others! I will be doing a Meet Maggie soon! Thought you would enjoy the pictures!

April is Prevention of the cruelty to animals month

April is the month to make a difference for all the animals out there with no voice being abused or neglected.

In an effort to really make a statement the ASPCA asks that you wear Orange and make a small donation to the ASPCA or your local shelter. (Even $5 makes a difference!) Or drop off some much needed supplies.

http://www.aspca.org

I am attending a HSUS meeting in my local city next week with the state senator to discuss ways this state can better the laws and regulations against crulety to animals. You can search the ASPCA website to find a meeting in your area.

Visit the ASPCA website using the link below and take the pledge to do what it takes to recognize crulety and abuse and to do something about it!

http://www.aspca.org/about-us/aspca-april/

Also, Walmart carries many ASPCA products. They also give part of the purchase price to the ASPCA. So next time you need a crate, brush or any kind of supply, think Walmart.

http://www.aspca.org/walmart

You can purchase your orange supplies at the ASPCA website here:

http://www.aspcaonlinestore.com/index.php?categoryID=107

Dawn dish soap

I know I have pushed this product in the past, but I am going to do it again. Anything to help wildlife.

I love the commercial, but truly love this cause. I have always used Dawn, way before they had the commercial.

I had seen a documentary years ago about one of the oil spills and the clean up crew used Dawn on all the animals.

It is a very easy process and only takes a minute. Go to the website below and enter the code from the dawn soap bottle and Voila! A $1! Easy. I have also put a link to the commercial if you have not seen it.

http://www.dawn-dish.com/en_US/savingwildlife/home.do

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcv7-B8e02g

Soulful Hamster

Last summer during the previews at the theater, they always played this commercial.

I LOVE IT!! Those hamsters are soooo cool! They give the nod to the hamster in the wheel....I especially love the one driving as he bobs his head to the music, his little ears go up and down. Makes me laugh every time!

The commercial is obviously for the Kia SOUL.

Love the music, but there are 5 different versions of this commercial, so I am not sure which song goes with this youtube. : (

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQ-CDE_r_wg#

http://www.soulhamsters.com

Disney OCEANS

I saw the movie trailer for this wonderful film this morning on Hollywood dailies. (REELZ channel) I DVR all the movie trailer shows!

It looks just fascinating! Anything about the sea is so magical to me. The film states that we have only seen 5% of our oceans! Can you imgaine the things that have been undiscovered?

How exciting! I think seeing humpback whales on a movie screen is like seing them in real life, which is a dream of mine.

Due to be released on April 22nd which is EARTH day!! Be a part of Earth Day by getting out and seeing this movie.

Rated G

See the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwxZuKErHs8

More info on the film here: http://disney.go.com/disneynature/oceans/

Facebook page to promote the film here: http://www.facebook.com/Disneynature

Meet Ziggy

Ziggy is our yellow sided conure. She is one of the smallest conure species and the quietest. So they say!

We have had Ziggy 2 years this August. As you can see from the pictures, we have known Ziggy since she was just a fledgling. It all started the summer of 2008.

Sam and I were on the hunt for a certain color Lovebird and stopped at one of our favorite bird breeders. She did not have any lovebirds, but had a large aquarium full of these little green birds.

Sam stuck his hand in there and out he came with a baby bird. She clung to his hand with all her might. And that was that. He played with her for a few minutes while I talked to the breeder. Then we left. On the way home I noticed Sam was being so quiet. He was in tears!! (Shh, I told him I would never tell...) I thought he was hurt, so I pulled off of the road. He looked at me with tears in his eyes and said "Mom...I love her..." Who?" I said. "That bird", Sam replied." I laughed, relieved that he wasn't hurt in some way other then his heart. And I told him I would never tell. So when I got home, I called the breeder and asked if we could put the bird on "layaway". It would be 3 months until she was ready to go home anyway. And since it was summer, we spent a lot of time at the aviary playing with the baby bird we were now calling Ziggy. She knew Sam right away and would crawl up on his hand and hang out on his shoulder until we left, where she would cling to his shirt in protest of letting him leave, again!

Ziggy is now almost 2 years old and talking up a storm. She says a number of things.

When we leave the room, she hollers Sam! Comere! She says Baby bird, dances while saying dance, dance, dance, does the crazy bird, says silly bird, pretty bird, What!!, peek a boo and what cha doin? She says some other things we have not figured out yet.

She is such a neat bird. She loves us and loves being with us. She really loves carrots, animal crackers and sharing trail mix with Troy. It's neat to see her hold things with her foot.

I would recommend this type of small bird to anyway. They are however high maintenance. They need attention daily and lots of it! If she doesn't get her way, she screeches.
It is fun to watch her play with her toys and get goofy in the evening when this species is more active.

Stamps to the rescue

I am a huge Ellen Degeneres fan, not only because she is funny, but because of her selfless, constant work with shelter animals.

Ellens dog and cat food company HALO is donating a meal for every stamp set sold. She wants to feed a million dogs and cats. How wonderful is that??

You will have to get in to the P.O early if you want to help with the cause. There will be limited supplies.

Available April 30.

http://www.halopets.com

http://stampstotherescue.com/

Just watch it!

Ok, as we all know, I am easily entertained. I could watch the Dramatic "chipmunk" video over and over and over and still laugh till I cry...it's just who I am!!

Again, I find this video on the net and think it is so cool!! Yes! COOL! So watch it, you know you want to! : )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZy2I8csVQU

xoxo

Holy Kracken!!

I totally forgot to bash this movie!! ;-p

No....it was very good. I loved the story, although it was changed up a bit and as expected it was a CGIfest. Pegasus got plenty of camera time and so did Sam Worthington. I thought Medusa was too pretty for a woman who turns men to stone because she was cursed by the gods for being too beautiful....she should be terrifying.

Clash was fast paced and a lot of fun. I don't reccommend paying the extra squealers to see this film in 3-D. It was not made for 3-D and you will be wasting your money! I watched most of it without the glasses.

We all know how the first one ended, but this one has a little twist at the end. I LOVE that Bubo, the golden mechanical owl made a quick and questionable appearence.

Meet Leland

Back in 2006 in late winter a friend of mine came driving up with his horse trailer, jumped out so excited and said "Look what I bought you!!" I took a deep breath, hoping it was not that camel I had mentioned I wanted a few months back.....

I opened the side door to the trailer and out popped a pair of HUGE, fuzzy ears! That's all it took, one look and I was in love!

So we worked out a very modest price and this fuzzy, dopey, sad looking donkey now belonged to me. I found out later that he was bought out of the meat pen at the New Holland Auction with another donkey for $100.

After getting him to the barn. I slowly realized how much of a mess he was. He was covered in poo, urine, his feet were
over grown and he was underweight. He was also covered in lice and was full of worms. He looked so depressed. Believe it or not, animals can become depressed when in a stressful situation and without some sort of secure, consistant life.

I had set him up in a small barn in the backyard with about 4-5 inches of fresh wood shavings, a fresh bucket of water, a huge pile of hay and a bucket with some feed in it. He was not sure what to do. He ate, drank, laid down to roll, ate, drank, laid down. Etc. etc. He was so appreciative of his new "room". Over the next 2 weeks, Lee really blossomed. Then Nikki had her stroke. Leland really let me love him and lean on him when I thought for sure it was Nikki's last day and when I look back on his rehabilitaion I know that we saved each other. He was there for me 100% emotionally, leaning on me, letting me care for him and being so patient.

It has taken many years to get Lee 100%. He has never protested anything I have ever done to him. I body clip him every summer and he never fights me. He doesn't mind worming, shots he is "ok" with, but I can stick my hand in his ears, mouth and we are working diligently to get him to trust us with his hooves.

He was castrated last summer and has really come a long way to being a great pet. He adores people and his pasture mate "Calico". He especially loves his groceries. He gets grain in the winter and then just treats in the summer. He has the sofest muzzle. I love kissing it and one summer he was messing with some poison oak and guess who got poison oak on her face??

I love him more then I can say. He has so much personality and charisma!! And YES! He was named after Dog the bounty hunters son.....: )

Pictures: TOP TO BOTTOM

Lee this past winter being a hambone!

Lee and Mazzie 2 springs ago.

Lee and Cal. Best buds!

And these 2 bottom pictures are Leland a few days after he arrived.

Let er buck!

I was going through our DVD's over the weeked and ran across Hidalgo. I had forgotten all about this movie, so decided to watch it. What a wonderful film. The horse reminds me of our gelding "Kid". He has the same personality and conformation. Kids father looked a lot like Hidalgo.

The movie is the story of Frank T. Hopkins and his adventurous journey through life with his horse Hidalgo. The end is one of many favorite parts in the movie and I cry like a baby everytime!

Exerpt from the web: An excellent, epic tale. This is not a fast-paced film; rather, think of it as a story unfolding before your eyes, so sit back and enjoy the ride.

There's plenty of adventure along the way, and I shed a few tears as well.

It is a moving narrative.

Viggo Mortensen plays the lead character, Frank T. Hopkins, with aplomb, humor, humility, and spunk. Hidalgo, his painted mustang, plays his part well, also!

Hopkins is a cowboy/Pony Express rider with a heritage that he holds to himself and is revealed in time. Especially heart-wrenching is the Battle of Wounded Knee. More massacre than battle, it had a profound and personal impact on Hopkins' life.

In the legendary 3,000-mile Ocean of Fire race across the sands of the Arabian desert, Hopkins and his horse must face treachery and the cruel desert elements in an endurance race that pushes man and beast to their limits.

If you like horses, adventure, and epic films, this is a movie for you. Expect moments of triumph and humor that make you laugh and cheer, as well as moments of tragedy.

It is a story beautifully told and carefully crafted, though not without mistakes.

The relationship Frank T. Hopkins has with his horse in this movie is especially touching, and is perhaps the highlight of the film.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317648/

Meet Kirby

I don't think he could be any cuter!! Love those ears!!

Kirby has settled in, but will not let me touch him. He does come over for a treat.

I will get more pictures as he grows. He has more brown on his body...didn't want to push it with the pictures.

More random silliness!

OMG!!! I saw this 5 second video on G4 the other night and could not stop laughing. (Remember, I am easily entertained!)

But you have to admit, this is so funny. Silly prairie dog!

Be sure to check out the other dramatic "chipmunk" videos. I really like Dr. Evil!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Y73sPHKxw#