Distraction

I'll use any excuse I can to get out of studying for the GRE. I'm scheduled to take the exam on Tuesday and am not feeling confident, not confident at all. I still have a couple days to get in some exam cramming but it's hard when you have something as cute as this next to you. This excuse is called cute distraction, aka Omega.

Art For Animals

A CALL FOR ART FOR "A PLACE TO BARK"

I discovered Bernie and her mission this morning and am feverishly spreading the word. I'm encouraging all papercrafters, knitters, jewelry makers, painters, and artists of all kind to create and donate. Send along something to help Bernie, an artist herself, and her mission to make a difference. Oh, and she says kids art, too! So why not make it a family project!

From her website:

This is the official call for art for A Place To Bark's Artists Unleashed Auction. An Artful Fusion of Hearts & Hands working together to benefit animals in need. This auction will benefit A Place To Bark Animal Rescue. The numbers of animals I take in every year continues to grow and so, a shelter & funding is needed to help foster the animals and keep our rescue alive. We have 20 acres here and plenty of room to build. Since moving to Tennessee in December of 2005, we have taken in, fostered, transported and found new homes for over 100 animals. We will continue doing as much as we can, but cannot do it alone. Our euthanasia rate in the area I live, is 95 to 98 percent. Animals being put to sleep every 3 to 5 days. Lives needlessly wasted. By coming together and sharing our gifts of art, you will help animals in need and save lives. Together we can do great things!!!

Artwork does not have to be professional, we ask all levels of artistic talent donate, kids too!!! Everyone can contribute in one way or another.. Help spread the word to others.. I hope you'll join in and help me, help the animals...

Specifics to donate art:
Please send your art to:
Bernie Berlin
c/o "A Place To Bark"
375 N. Jones Road
Portland, Tennessee 37148
(414) 732-3211

Art due date: October 25th
Enclose your name, address & e-mail & value of artwork. I will then send you a receipt for your donation that you can use for a tax deduction. All my paperwork for prior & current donations will be done by the end of the year.

The art auction will be advertised in the next Winter issue of Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine. Please look for it on the newsstand soon!!

The dates for the Auction will be: November 5-15, 2006. Our auction will be done via E-bay so that no matter where you are you can bid on the art.

No Need To Be Nervous

More mail love today... this time in trade. I keep a list of items I'd like to trade: crafty items like scrapbook papers and embellishments, maps for art journals or envelope making, beads for beading, etc. on Nervousness.

This nervousness person sent me a wonderful box of goodies! Some of the included items were: handmade soaps, vanilla scented candles, rub-on letters, blank colored envelopes, and an alphabet stencil. She was sweet and sent along a handmade lavender wand and the handmade paper box of beads was a fun surprise, too. I have her list of requested items which I'll gather and drop into the mail for her as my part of the exchange. It's like a bartering market but through the mail. I love it!

Note to Self #62

Note to self: Eat healthier. Buying fruit isn't enough... you must actually eat it to benefit from it's natural goodness. Do NOT eat a log of raw cookie dough again! Yes, it took you three days, but still...

Showin' Yours

Those friendly folks over at High Hopes Gardens just don't have enough to do around their homestead! They're encouraging folks to show 'em theirs... so I did. Show Me Your...

Sun Shadows

It's raining here this afternoon and I love that. Not only are we, like so many areas in the country, in need of rain, it just makes for a nice afternoon. It makes me glad for the sunshiny day we had a couple days ago when I was able to put my laundry on the line to dry. Sheets dried in the fresh air are the best.

Little Miss Sunshine Here

Ok, a post about some good things.

Last night, we set our cheapness aside and went to a "night movie". You see, we know that movies all end the same way no matter when you see them so going to a matinee is usually our thing but last night, well, last night we needed a special treat. Ok, what we needed was an escape. Our hearts were heavy and our eyes were weepy so we forked out the cash and went to see Little Miss Sunshine. I tend to enjoy and appreciate the non-Hollywood blockbusters and choosing this film to see last night was an excellent idea.

I needed the reminder that people never fail for trying. We must do what calls us, drives us, motivates us, moves us and do those things without the fear of failure. Write a poem, paint a room, run a marathon, whatever it is that you want to do. Do it. I needed that reminder in the worst way because I am one of those people who sees the finish line before ever putting on their shoes. I have this internal editor who works overtime to make sure I stay still. She's succeeded at keeping me from creating, from setting or pursuing goals, you name it, she's really amazing at keeping me stagnant. I've told friends that I feel like my life is all in past tense. I look back on my personal achievements without having any to look forward to. That's not how I want to live and it's not how I encourage others to live.

So, onto one goal: earning my Master's. I've decided to pursue my M.A. in Library and Information Science and complete it within the next three years. There, I said it. I wrote it. I shared it. Now it's up to me to do it. I have been haphazardly researching distance learning programs that are ALA (American Library Association) accredited but now is the time to actually make the effort to apply. I've got a few factors to consider before making my choices on where to apply. (the GRE-blech! I don't want to take it and YES, there are programs that will waive the exam based on my undergrad GPA! Go me!) I want to narrow the field to two or three schools and will have to carefully determine their requirements. Some uni's require campus visits for orientation and/or class attendance. I have to weigh that carefully due to distance, time and cost. That's nothing that can't easily be worked on so no obstacles there.

In all my sadness yesterday, I was reminded of the moments that warm my heart and put a smile on my face. This time with Zoe was one such moment.

Living With Decisions

It's important to not make decisions that one will later regret. Today's action on a decision made several days ago is not settling without a fight. It came to a point of choosing our personal welfare over the welfare of a couple chickens. It sounds really stupid to someone who doesn't embrace animals or to someone who doesn't consider chickens animals of the pet kind. I never would have EVER thought I would EVER have chickens let alone think they could even become pets. But now that I've experienced it, I know that it is wholeheartedly possible. Moreso, now that I no longer have chickens, I know the pain I feel without having them around.

Living in the suburbs and having chickens just doesn't mix well. Especially if you're in a city that doesn't allow zoning for those chickens. As many people know, and even more don't know, large metro areas are passing ordinances that allow city-dwellers to have 2-3 hens for home egg production. My metro area isn't one of them and so we decided to say SCREW THE MAN and get a couple of layers anyway. We didn't have any complaints and therefore no run-ins with the law but we made a difficult decision to get rid of the girls anyway. The bottom line is now isn't the time and here isn't the place to have them. They're very, VERY fussy in the morning, well, Ella is. And in the afternoon, Ginger chimes in. There is no way our neighbors could allow that noise for much longer without bringing it to our attention. And not to mention, it was getting on our nerves and so our personal welfare was at odds.

The girls almost moved a couple weeks ago but I backed out. My heart was so set on keeping them and I felt that we'd not fully given them a chance to mature and settle in to their hen-ness. They had some adjusting to do and I decided that we needed to allow them the time to do so. Apparently, our girls just like, no, LOVE attention and so I found myself catering to their every need. What can I say?.. I have my nurturing moments. Over this last long holiday weekend, with neighbors throwing pool parties and hosting cookouts, it just got to be too much. It had become completely apparent that our chickens owned us instead of the other way around.

So, I took them to a feed store this morning and am struggling with that decision. When I saw the other chickens at this place, I couldn't help but see how gorgeous our girls were! Plump and prissy, so pretty. It's going to take me some time to settle down and take comfort in knowing that we did what was truly best for us. It was a learning experience, they're just dumb chickens, right? But it didn't help that Ginger hopped up on my shoulder this morning and nestled into place where she felt completely comfortable and cared for. They trusted us and I trust that we made the right decision for all of us.