FRIDAY HIGH FIVE

SORRY FOLKS!

I SCHEDULED THIS TO POST LAST NIGHT BUT ENTERED THE WRONG DATE!! OOPS!

Time for Friday High Five!

Come join in the fun....please!Make a list of 5 things ~ ANY five things you want! 5 favorite things, Top 5 Vacation spots, 5 most embarrassing moments, 5 favorite pics, 5 reasons to not pick your nose......A LIST OF ANYTHING YOU WANT IT TO BE....funny, serious, sentimental, to dos, pictures, no pictures ~ anything!

To see my Friday High Five posts for examples, click here!

Post about it, linking back to me (now you can copy and paste the HTML at the bottom of this post for a button!) then sign Mr. Linky! Please use the Friday High Five URL post in Mr. Linky's URL section instead of your blog URL and here is how: write the post, publish the post, go to edit posts, VIEW the High Five post, copy the URL in the address portion at the top of the screen then paste it in the URL section of Mr.Linky!!

Sounds complicated but it isn't too bad!

If you need help, let me know in the comment section!

Go view all the other High Five posts and comment away!

Have fun!

5 THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT OCTOBER

We all know....or at least you should by now......that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month but you all know I like looking up things at Holiday Insights esp the Bizarre and Unique Holidays.  Here is what I found out about October as a month.

5.  Adopt a Shelter Dog Month........I have a rather strong opinion about this idea.  If a dog was let's say lost, then I have no problem with adopting it BUT most of the time the dogs are there for a reason.  I know, I know you all are going to hate me BUT people take dogs there for many reasons.  Sure there are reasons like they can no longer afford to care for the dog properly or they are unable to spend time with the dog but they could be there for chewing everything in sight, not being potty trained, hyper or maybe they bite.  I am not saying never adopt a dog because they all need a home but I am saying you never know what you are getting into....be careful!  Yes, I know abused animals are there too and they need serious love but be careful around your children since these animals will be frightened at a mere jump or playful scream!  Enough of that moving on..........

4.   Cookie Month.........WOOHOO!  I love cookies!  I love chocolate chip oatmeal cookies!  I love snickerdoodles!  I love oreos!  I love butter cookies!  Ooooooooo.....the other day Chai brought over a batch of cookies and NO she did not make them her friend did but they were the BEST!!  Soft!!  Mmmm.....I can taste them now!  They were chocolate chip peanut butter.......wow they were good!  I will have to see if I can get some more of those or maybe the recipe!

3.  National Pizza Month........I love pizza too!  Don't know why I am fat between the pizza and the cookies!  Ha!  Anyway I love pizza with jalapenos on it!  I love pizza with those little red pepper things on it!  I love pizza without sauce!  Yes, you read that correctly!  Esp Dominos Extravaganza pizza with NO sauce!!  Often times when ordering pizza without sauce you have to repeat it several times because they think you are nuts!!  Most of the time we make our own pizza.  The kids get to help and it is oh so good and super duper cheap!

2.  National Diabetes Month........this is important to us since Hubs, my Father, my Grandmother, a few friends and two of Elijah's little friends have diabetes.  Check yourself!  Just because you pass one glucose test per year does NOT mean you do not have diabetes!  I could go on and on about this topic.  I believe the doctors should test patients twice within one week every 6 months if a patient has a family history of diabetes or many of the warning signs.  If you have recently been diagnosed with diabetes or have lived with it for years, I urge you to take a diabetes education course.  Most hospitals can tell you where to find one close to you!  You will learn so much and most will offer an update course every year so you can learn new info since the medical field learns something new everyday! It is a manageable disease with so much to learn.  Information is key to the disease in my eyes!  Diabetes should be considered an awakening not a death sentence!

#1

Last but certainly not least......

October is Sarcastic Month!

Woohoo!

Finally, a month for my family, friends and I to honor in our God given talent!

<center><a href="http://angeleyesadventures.blogspot.com/search/label/Friday%20High%20Five"><img alt="Angela's Adventures" src="http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r134/gigibryan/HighFive-1.jpg"/></a></center>

WRITER'S WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY

Time to join in the Writer's Workshop Wed fun with MamaKat!!

I choose #4.....

If your pet could talk, what would you want to know?

I would definitely have a little chat with our English Bulldog Moose!

WHY DO YOU CHASE YOUR TAIL 24 HRS A DAY?

Don't you realize by now YOU WILL NEVER EVER CATCH IT???

Do you not understand you wouldn't have to pant and slobber so much if you would just sit still for a minute and STOP CHASING YOUR TAIL??

Do you honestly think running in a circle and then BARKING AT YOUR TAIL EVERY SINGLE MORNING will make the tail give up and hop into your mouth?  The tail is NOT scared of your bark and this only frustrates me more!!

Do you do all of this because you don't like me and you KNOW IT ANNOYS ME?  THE FEELING IS MUTUAL! 

You better be glad Hubs likes you!

Why do you sniff Samson's butt and lick his privates? 
That is so disgusting!

OH and why all of the sudden are you pooping on the back porch instead of the grass? 
You have pooped in the grass for years!  What is the deal?

SMALL TALK SIX!

6 animals (domestic, wild, or exotic)

you think would be fun to own as pets

1. Elephant ~ I have loved elephants since I was a little girl! Gentle, awe inspiring giants of beauty!
2. Siberian Tiger
3. Chimpanzee only if it would use the toilet since I do not want to start the whole diapering issue again
4. Killer Whale
5. Giraffe
6. Another Great Dane because I really miss Daisy!
   
   

I HEART FACES ~ PETS! THE EYES HAVE IT!

Week 4

"Anything goes"

I've posted this picture before on my blog~ probably a couple of times BUT

I LOVE IT!

AND DAISY HEARTS FACES or LICKED THEM!!

RIP SWEET BABY GIRL!

WORDFUL WEDNESDAY

This picture of Isaiah and Daisy was taken a year ago but it is still one of my all time favorites and I still can't believe I caught it. Daisy died last March and it was devastating for all of us. She was part of our family ~ a huge part! Daisy was our almost 5 yr old Great Dane. When we got her Elijah was 18 mos and she barely came up to his butt. When she died, her head came up to my chest but she acted as if she was a little Chihuahua always wanting to sit in our laps. She was a gentle giant and she loved us just as much as we loved her. I absolutely love this picture and I call it True Wuff (Love)! She was SO BIG and he was so small but they were quite a pair together. He still asks why she died and if we can have her back ~ so sad and so sweet! She protected me and her boys like no other and loved us until the day she died. We miss our BIG baby girl!

Hop on over to

and join in the fun!

And come check out my 1st giveaway:

MY DEC 12TH PHOTO

My Dec 12th picture for the December *08 Photo Project is of our English Bulldog Moose. I actually don't really like Moose b/c of his snoring, drooling, odor, clanking of his nails on our wood floors, totally flipping out and biting if we attempt to cut his nails, drinking out of toilets when the boys forget to close them, chewing ANYTHING in his path, constant licking, snorting, sneaking out the front door every time it opens, bullheaded.......You name it - it gets on my ever loving nerves BUT he is so cute and sweet when he is sleeping!

BODY DYSMORPHIC DISORDER

Good news and bad news to follow. The good news is Samson has brought new life to Moose. They play and play. Samson loves to play tug of war with Moose. Samson also likes to play keep away. He grabs one of his toys and runs like the wind around and in between things like a little lightning bolt. He is super fast and although Moose obviously has more strength, speed is not one of his better known qualities. Moose tries to catch Samson in order to get the toy and it cracks us up while watching. Here is where the bad news comes in. Sadly I believe Moose has body dysmorphic disorder! lol He will be chasing Samson around and when Samson runs through a tight space Moose will be running as fast as his short little legs will carry him and then suddenly stop and get stuck. It looks like trying to stuff a hot dog into a pinhole - it won't work! He just gets stuck then barks and barks. We just laugh and think "did you really THINK you would fit through there!". Sadly thinking is not a prominent quality of his either. He really has no idea of his size. Poor Fat Pat! The picture is of Moose trying to fit into baby Samson's new bed!!

SAMSON

I guess I made my decision and I must say for now I am happy with it! We brought home the Boston Terrier on Thur. the 17th! I sure hope I don't regret this. We decided to wait about two years then get another Great Dane when the boys are a little bigger and we will surely have a larger house by then. We decided "Martez and I" could wait for "our" dog and let the boys get something they can play with outside that won't run them over by accident. I feel bad though like I am acting like Daisy wasn't all that important and I am merely replacing her but then I think well you can't replace DAISY WITH A BOSTON TERRIER so that is a crazy thought!! I also thought it will be easier to add a Dane to the mix later. The first night was truly scary. Moose, our English Bulldog, was determined to EAT the new puppy. Seriously he attempted many times to eat his head. We could not put the puppy down and even holding him in our laps was a feat because Moose was still trying to attack him and drooling all over us. That is truly disgusting! Yes, Mel I was gagging!! Samson must know how unsure I was about this decision to bring him home because he hasn't had an accident yet in the house OR in his crate, he has slept all night in his crate WITHOUT crying and he hasn't been hyper!! Yea for him - I'll let him stay! Moose is fine as long as the puppy doesn't move - ha! Seriously though the puppy can only walk. If he tries to run or make any sudden movements Moose pounces him like a little rat!!

Until today that is when we finally heard Samson bark, I think he got tired of Moose always up his butt so he turned around yapped a little and Moose looked at him in total disbelief then turned around and walked off as if he had been hurt. Losing Daisy has been hard on Moose which is another reason we needed to get him a friend. He didn't eat for days after her death and honestly I don't think he had turned down a meal since birth. He has never met a food, toy, slipper, flip flop etc he wouldn't eat! He has lost weight which needed to happen anyway. Now he gets on the couch and to this day he licks where she always slept as if he can still smell her and misses her but that just grosses me out. So hopefully this will be a pick-me-up for him if he
doesn't eat our new family member!

MY HEARTBREAKING DILEMNA

CAUTION:

THIS BLOG IS EXTREMELY LONG

Well as many of you already know our Great Dane Miss Daisy Mae better known as Daisy passed away on Mar. 31. I used to be one of those people who didn't understand why people got SO upset over losing a pet. I have lost many pets and cried over some but I was a wreck when Daisy died and still can't really talk about it in detail without breaking down which I will probably do now. I think this blog is more for me than any of you. I am having a really hard time "getting over it" and thought maybe writing/blogging about it would help. Working in the pet business since I was 10 I have seen many people buy new pets when one dies and that is my dilemna now. Do I or don't I? But first a little background................we got Daisy when she was 6 weeks old and Elijah was just a LITTLE 17 month old. She only came up to his butt and they were so cute together. Minor attitude adjustments were made by our two cats but we were all in love with our new puppy and she was a perfect fit. Elijah and Daisy were hilarious together both sweet, innocent, wobbly and clumsy! A few months later we thought we might lose her when she started limping and completely stopped eating. After many trips to the vet fearing the worst she was diagnosed with metabolic bone disease which in short form is basically growing pains and an imbalance of minerals. She made it and grew to be the biggest baby ever. Fast forward to 4 1/2 years later............Daisy was MY dog and she knew it. She was amazing! She was always by my side no matter what, seriously. If I went outside, she went or sat by the door waiting for my return. If I was going to the bathroom and didn't shut the door completely, there she was sitting in front of me repetitively raising her paw up to my chest for me to shake not realizing it was not the best time. I would tell her to get out so she would raise the other paw just in case I changed my mind. If I was home cleaning, she would follow me from room to room. If I was in the garage doing laundry, she was right there waiting for me. She could be totally passed out on the couch that she never learned was not actually her bed and if I left the room she would pop up and follow. She laid on the floor next to the bed that is if she wasn't trying to get on the bed. She slept with us for many months as a puppy NOT BY OUR CHOICE. I would wake up feeling trapped under the covers and there she would be laying between my legs totally paralyzing me between the sheets. Not funny I used to panic! I tried for months to stop it but she would always sneak up in the middle of the night. Soon she got WAY to big to fit on our bed with us but as soon as Martez would leave for work in the morning or if we got out of bed she'd pop up there like it was hers. I never seemed to make her believe it wasn't! She learned to let herself out to pee and then learned to open the door to let herself back in. Boy that really freaked out company! She later trained our English Bulldog to do the same although there are many times I wish she had kept that trick to herself!! I always felt so safe with her! She was sweet but people were VERY intimidated by her size and I liked that to a certain degree. I always thought if someone were to come in they would probably see her and turn around and if they didn't I honestly believe she would NEVER let anyone hurt me or my family. Martez could walk by and smack me on the butt and you could hear her nails on the wood floors running to my "rescue". She did that for any of us though.......sometimes I would smack Martez and call for help just to see her run and try to stop HIM when he was just standing there the whole time! Ha! If Martez and I were playing with the kids on our bed and we got too rowdy, there she was climbing up to stop the chaos and lay on us all! I won't lie Daisy occassionally was not the perfect angel. She would often grab stuff off the kitchen counters but at least she didn't climb on them because it was right at her level for the snatching! And the number one rule in our house was NEVER EVER leave your food unattended because she will snatch it and run out the door within seconds and you can't blame her if you leave it! One time she ran out the door carry a brand new box of cheese bread left on the counter and I think she got it out and ate it whole. Boy that was a hard one for Isaiah to learn!

She liked to play in the snow then track it all in no matter how many times I would shut the door she would just open it and go play. She often got stuck in bathrooms by merely walking in then accidently shutting the door with her hiney while turning around. She would then scratch at the door periodically until someone heard her. I always wondered why she didn't just bark. The scratches were nothing some Old English wouldn't fix! No matter what she did or how annoying it was to keep everything 6ft high, how many meals she stole or just annoying me at times for always being right there........I would give anything to have her back right next to me!!

Mar. 31
4:45am Martez leaves for work and Daisy is asleep.
5:55am I get up and I normally get her to go outside then she will crawl into our bed and watch me get ready BUT I heard her go outside on her own so I just went about the normal morning routine.
6:50am Now I am making the boys lunches and notice Daisy wasn't RIGHT there in case I drop something she is the instant quicker picker upper!! I thought that was odd so I call her name with no response which is HIGHLY unusual. I figured she was playing outside but she would come when she heard her food hit the dish.
7am I put food in Daisy's bowl with no running response. I look out the back glass door and see her laying on the ground which is odd since she only does that when it is sunny. I call her name several times and I stand there thinking to myself wow she is so big. I noticed what at the time seemed to be hiccups and walked out there only to watch my big baby take her final breaths with me pleading for her to just get up. Her stomach was HUGE and hard. I felt SO bad! I was wailing and so freaked out! It isn't like I could just pick her up and take her to the vet. She was easily 150 lbs. or more! I kept calling my mom and dad with no answer. I just stood there bawling loudly wanting anyone to answer the phone. I was in complete shock and had no clue what to do, I felt helpless. I kept saying "No Daisy we have to get in the car!" I kept walking around to the side of the house so the boys wouldn't hear me and see her dead on the ground. I was so hysterical! I finally got ahold of Martez who in disbelief and total fear from me screaming on the phone left work to rush home. I then finally talked to my mom and dad and then the vet. I was so lost! I had no clue what to do. When I was younger we lived in the country and when an animal would die we would just bury it. It is now against the law to bury pets within city limits and even if we wanted to we would have to have them come out to mark the lines. Can you imagine the size of hole we would have to dig about 5ft by 5ft then however deep......we would have to have a backhoe. So I call the vet and ask what I am supposed to do and who to call.....here were my options as explained to me by the vet....1) Bring her into the office and they will arrange to have her cremated 2) I can keep the ashes in a "beautiful, handcrafted" urn or they will scatter them "at a beautiful peaceful" place for us OR option 3) you can call the city and they will pick her up and dispose of her AKA take her to the dump for ONLY $10.......I lost control spouted some unpleasantries at the poor woman and then quickly apologized. I just wanted her buried I didn't know how or where but I wanted her buried not cremated. I have problems just thinking about cremation. It is a personal decision everyone must make and people can fry themselves if they want but it is not for me well or Daisy.
We finally made arrangements for Daisy to be buried at a pet cemetary......and yes nutjobs I have some issues with that simply from seeing the movie as a teenager but hey what was I supposed to do. We load Daisy and take her to the cemetary where we are informed he can not bury Daisy because he does not have a casket large enough for her. He said in 30 years of being a veterinarian and running a pet cemetary he had never seen a dog that large. I said so people don't bury big dogs and he said he hadn't even seen a Dane get that big especially a female. (I am quite sure by the way there are many Danes larger than her that have died and been buried!) Great now what! I explained that although she was a very large girl she was not always that fat in the stomach area and he said she obviously died of "twisted gut or bloat" and was extremely bloated but he had no way to bury her. They called another cemetary for us and they said they would take care of us. So we drove to Pet Memorial Gardens......a much nicer place than the first cemetary anyway. It proceeded to pour down rain get very windy and the electricity went off as soon as we got there. At a pet cemetary in a storm with no electricity......that situation seriously made me think of the movie!! SO we had to sit there until it all subsided and then the electricity came back on...Thank God b/c I don't know how much longer I could cope with my dog dying and having to sit at a pet cemetary with no electricity and really no way out b/c of the storm!!!! The lady was odd but nice she saw Daisy then said WOW she is big! I started crying and said please say you can bury her for me! She said well let me measure her......44in long but only from ears to base of tail (basically this didn't count her head) then 38.5in tall at the shoulder which doesn't include neck and head.....it was awkward because it was still raining and we were measuring her in the back of the truck. She then she measured the caskets....too small....too small.....too small....she thought she would be able to use the next to largest casket however she wouldn't fit so they used the largest casket they had which they had NEVER used before but thankfully only charged me for the one right below it and we had to pay for two lots. I know it sounds completely crazy but she deserved it. I never buried a dog in a cemetary before and don't know if I would again unless they were special like her. I cried everyday straight for at least a week then cried sporatically after that. I looked up her cause of death and bawled as it was described as "excrutiatingly painful" and most will die of shock. You only have 1 to 2 hours to get the dog to the vet and have the costly surgery done before they will die. The guilt just kills me. I constantly think why didn't I check on her when I realized she wasn't in our room since she was in there EVERY morning, why didn't I go outside before I did, was she laying out there just wondering where I was, did she cry for help and I didn't hear her, and did she wait until I finally came outside to take her final couple of breaths? No one can answer all my questions. Now I had the painful task of telling Elijah. He actually did pretty well as far as not crying but he brought it up constantly. Isaiah wouldn't be able to really understand and that entire evening he kept saying "Daidy outside!?!?" Then the next day as I was cooking dinner I could hear Isaiah outside yelling "Daidy comere honey! Where are you? Daidy where are you?" He then came inside asking for her and I attempted to explain she had died and he just yelled at me "Daidy not dead!" and walked through the house yelling for her and then outside again. It was sad but I had to let him look so maybe it would help him understand. It broke my heart listening to him. For weeks out of habit I would call her name, yell at her to get off my bed when I walked out of the bathroom, tell the boys to watch their plates....you name it I did it. I felt so incredibly stupid too! I don't feel as safe anymore. It isn't that I think something will happen to me I think I just relied on her to protect me if God forbid someone were to break in or try to harm my children in anyway. I always felt safe with her. I am sorry this is long but the point of me writing all of this is:
Do I get another Great Dane? If so now or later? Will I constantly compare the new one to her and resent it when it isn't as good? Maybe a different color will help? Would I just be replacing her? I don't know. Then my boys saw a Boston Terrier up at the store and asked if they could hold it. Sure I said and that was it, they fell in love. I would never in my wildest dreams think of ever getting a Boston Terrier. Hello.....Angela and Terriers do not mesh well. I don't like hyper dogs. I think Bostons are bug eyed and ugly. Well we left the puppy there and hours later Elijah comes to me all sad and says, "Mommy I really like that puppy! Can I have him?"
I said, "No baby I am sorry but I think it would be too hyper for mommy. Maybe we'll go look at some Great Dane puppies this weekend."
He replies with, "but I want that little puppy!"
I explained to him that the Boston won't stay that size forever and he would probably just want every puppy he saw that wanted to play with him. He then pleaded, "I want a puppy that will stay small so I can sleep with it and play with it and it won't knock me down." I said, "Well Daisy used to try to sleep with you and you didn't want her to!" He cameback with, "MOM she took my whole bed!" I just started crying! I guess I just assumed we needed another Great Dane but that little fart made me think. We are wanting to sell our house within the next year and find a bigger house so showing a house with a clumsy Great Dane puppy could be a pain. It would be easier to get a small dog now then add a Dane later rather than adding a small dog to a Dane. I guess I never really thought about life without Daisy. She was the most gentle dog and she loved HER boys however she couldn't really play with them. You see Daisy weighed around 150 but in her eyes she was a 10lb lapdog! She would never purposely hurt the boys but sometimes through excitement she would whip them in the head with her tail (which hurts) or knock them down unintentionally of course. They could sleep ON her, play ON her but they couldn't really play WITH her. Well the next day we saw the Boston Terrier again and the smaller of the two is actually really calm, cute and not really buggy eyed. He will play for a while then go off by himself to play then just crawl up in Elijah's lap and fall asleep.

Now the bigger one of the two Boston Terriers I believe is on crack and would never survive in my household but the smaller one is unusually calm. SO FINALLY HERE IS THE HEARTBREAKING DILEMNA: Do I get another Great Dane? Wait a couple of years until the boys are a little bigger and we have a bigger house? Do I get the Boston Terrier? Or simple a smaller breed dog? Can I live with a Boston Terrier? Do I get the dog my boys can play with then get a Great Dane later? Or will the novelty of the small dog wear off and the boys will quit playing with it? WHAT DO I DO?

POOP EATERS

Imagine going to work and having to answer this question about twice a week: Why does my dog eat its poop? Welcome to my world! Thank God I am trapped in the office the majority of the time! I think my dad did that on purpose because after years of dealing with the public I was becoming quite bitter and rude towards customer. I get sick of answering the customers questions and they always have a rebuttal or just don't believe you. If you don't want to hear the answer, then don't ask!! So here is the proper business answer to the ever so popular question: Dogs eat their poop for many reasons such as hiding an accident, an internal parasite, boredom, a disgusting habit but mainly because they lack nutrients in their diet. Cheap foods aren't for the most part nutritious. Go look at your dog food since I know most of you aren't feeding a premium dog food and see if one of the first three ingredients is corn. Corn is indigestible. Have you ever looked at your poop after you've eaten corn? I know that sounds nasty but you all now it looks just the same coming out as it did going in. They use corn and rice in dog foods as a filler - it will fill the dog up but supply no nutritional value. Dogs can smell the undigested food in the dog poop so they will eat the poop too. If they eat proper food that is highly digestible they won't need to eat the poop to satisfy their nutritional needs. However if it has been eating poop for awhile it has just become a nasty habit but there are pills to help stop that! Cheap foods are simply that cheap but not inexpensive because you will feed twice as much of it to meet the dogs needs. Buy a premium food for 60 days and feed according to the instructions and you will see your dog will eat less, look better, and poop less. So in the long run the premium food will save you money and the dog will be healthier! NOW the answer I really want to say is: YOUR DOG WILL STOP EATING CRAP AS SOON AS YOU STOP FEEDING IT CRAP!! If you don't want to buy healthy food for your dog, then when it eats its poop turn your head and then thank the dog because now you at least have less poop in the yard!! Guess you are saving money on a pooper scooper if the dog eats crap! Have you ever heard the saying just because it tastes good, doesn't make it good for you? The same goes for your animals. Lets face it most dogs will eat anything but that doesn't mean you have to feed them junk food. Do you feed your kids candy and fries for every single meal every single day of their lives? No so why do it to your pet!! And don't feed canned food unless as a treat or unless the dog won't eat ANYTHING else - it is 70% water and not good for their teeth!! Thank you and have a nice day!! Lovely topic a!! If you couldn't tell I got asked this question AGAIN today and I've given up on why the dog really eats poop like stated above and just handed them the pills to help stop but their dogs will still be under nourished and probably still eat poop! They never really care though much like most of you reading this wondering what screw is loose in my head!! They all are!! Sorry I am climbing down my soapbox now!! love ya'll