Archive for July 2008
Thursday Randomness
July 31, 2008 | 
Author This is kind of late, but I was watching TransAmerica on Lifetime and wanted to finish it before I really got into writing a blog and posting my scrappy layout for the day. The movie was good. Kind of weird to see a woman playing a man dressing as a woman, but the movie was good.
Earlier this evening, I had to cut some mats off the back end of Topaz. We’ve totally neglected to pay attention to his hind end. He won’t let me brush that area so it got so matted. I had to cut them down pretty close to the skin so now the poor boy has a really bad cut on his back end! I feel really bad, I hope he doesn’t get a complex…but the mats are gone. And I’ll have to keep up on the brushing to make sure he doesn’t get anymore. Unfortunately, I didn’t get pictures. Maybe tomorrow. He also slept a lot after he was outside “swimming”…I really hope he’s ok. It’s been 94 days since his last seizure and I’d like to keep that streak going!
On to the scrappy things because I have to get to bed.
This page is of my husband. Because of his diseases, he has memory loss. It’s so frustrating at times, but we really try to keep things light and fun, so I’ve been telling him to look on the bright side…when he watches tv, there’s never a rerun on! He doesn’t ever remember if he’s seen that episode or not! haha. I’m not making fun, really. I’m trying to make the best out of a not so great situation…what else can ya do? It’s all in love anyways.
Template by Curth’s Digital Designs
Papers from Just A Boy freebie kit by Purplecolourz
Posted in 
Rude Weight Comments….Rant
Ok, here’s my rant blog entry.
I have no clue why people think it’s their business to tell people that they’ve put on weight. Don’t you think that whoever they’re saying this to KNOWS that they’ve put on weight? What makes you think that they want to hear about it? And what gives you the right to say something about it?
Especially in a tone like, “Oh, I can’t believe you let yourself gain that weight back.” Like this is going to change how people feel about you. Like people who love you won’t STILL love you because you’ve gained a little weight.
The thing about weight is that it also can be lost. People can lose weight. People gain, people lose…what the heck is it to you…you as in you people who feel like you cannot live with yourselves until you say something.
I don’t get it.
I don’t think it’s anyone’s business to say something. Unless the weight gain is so sever that it’s causing health problems, what’s it to YOU is I have gained some weight?
The incident that has my undies in a knot did not happen to me, personally. Had I been there I would have had some choice things to say because to me, that’s the rudest thing in the world. Not many things really get me too upset…this is one of those things though that just irritates me to the core. I just do not understand people!!!
You never know what’s going on in people’s lives. Maybe they have a medical condition, maybe they are depressed, maybe they haven’t had time to exercise or maybe they haven’t had much money to buy healthy foods to eat. You just never know what someone’s situation is…even if you are close to that person. Yu never know.
And honestly, does the weight gain make you feel less about that person? Do you look at them in their “fat pants” and say, “oh, that’s such a shame…so in so was such a nice person but now they are fat so they’re dead to me?” Come on now…I don’t think so.
So maybe, just maybe the next time you notice someone has gained (shoot, or even lost) weight…you may want to stop yourself before you say something rude and embarrassing to that person…like they don’t already know they’ve gained weight. And maybe you should ask them if they are doing ok and let them be.
And I’m not talking about weight gain that’s out of control and unhealthy. I’m talking a little weight. But even then…have some tact. I know there are people out there who try to gain weight on purpose, but chances are the person isn’t one of those…and something’s going on with them.
Be considerate of people’s feelings and stop being so dam rude. It’s truly a prejudice against fat people and it’s just ridiculous. We’re people too. And your rude comments you think are helping us…hurt our feelings.
Manic Monday
Ugh…Mondays suck, plain and simple. And this will be random…but that’s my style LOL
My husband has been having major issues with his depression lately and with the newest developments, that’s probably not going to get better for a while. Good thing he goes to see his pdoc this week.
My husband has a disease called Antiphospholipid Antibody Syndrome along with a handful of other autoimmune diseases. He’s on disability, although we have yet to see a check…grrr…but he’s still working. He’s had a number of TIA’s (mini strokes), has daily migraines, and omg I could go on and on. If you want to read his story it’s located at this link: http://www.apsfa.org/docs/APSFAVol9SprSum2008.pdf on page 9. It’s a mess and it’s been a long few years since his diagnosis.
We’ve been through a lot and will continue to get through things. So it’s ok. I don’t want to wallow or dwell on him and his disease…
Tonight was the season premiere of Paranormal State. I love this show, along with Ghosthunters. They both freak the heck out of me, but I really enjoy them. A friend of mine who also enjoys GH got a letter from someone telling her how she can “save” her and it had all this religion, like bible beating religion, crap in it and also things about the occult. Now why in the heck do people automatically assume that someone who finds paranormal things interesting worships the devil or is wiccan? Both my friend and I were raised Catholic. We both believe in God and Jesus and all of that. I am not sure if she calls herself “Catholic” or not, but I do. And FGS neither of us worship the devil or need “saving”…geez people, get a fricking grip already!!
Ok on to scrappy things. I still have that big ranty blog to write…I’ll get to it, I’m still mad about it!!
This layout took me FOREVER! omg I worked on it for a long long time. I may have to do the credits tomorrow because after a while I was just trying to find things that matched the color sceme. I found a BUNCH of new templates tonight that I cannot wait to use.
Ok here is…
Template from Sweet Shop Designs
Most elements from various kits by Krista
Crown by Kirsty Wiseman
Papers from Sable Brule freebie kit…various artists
2 Scrappy Layouts
Today I did two layouts. I was going to blog earlier, but I just have time to post these two pages now. I have to get my lunch together for tomorrow and clean up the kitchen before Army Wives is on at 10:00.
Page #1 is my nephew. He had that long hair do that is so popular right now and then he got his head shaved! It’s such a change! His favorite color is orange, so that’s why I use a lot of oranges for pages I make of him. And the Digitreats Jump and Run kits have good oranges in them so I used them again for this page.
Credits:I don’t think I used a template
Fuzzy Wuzzy Alpha by The Digi Twins @ Digital Candy
Papers from ABC Jump add on kits
The second page is of my big puppa, Topaz. He LOVES his kiddie pool! And I love taking pictures of him in it! lol
Template by Purple Tulip Designs
Elements and Papers from Refresh freebie kit by Scrap Girls
Family Day Again
My family is coming over today for a wedding invitation putting together party and also for a bbq dinner. I may try to take some photos…hehe They don’t like that though!
So I may not have a scrappy page today. It’s been a busy week, so I haven’t had time to make many pages this week, unfortunately.
I have a layout in my head and will make it as soon as I get some extra time this weekend.
I also have a huge ranty blog I’m itching to write. I think it will go hand in hand with the layout I have in mind.
Back to printing invites!
Wednesday Scrappy Layout
I started this last night and my cousin and her parents came over tonight so I put some finishing touches on it.
Background…our poor little Onyx has been called an anteater and a needle nose since we brought her home. I, personally, don’t see the resemblance. LOL But I may be bias.
Credits:
Template: Lively Up! Designs
Papers and Elements: Picnic & Spring Fling Bling by liella
Anteater by Grafx 4 All
It’s Official…Canidae/Diamond
I have been reading on my dog forum and on other sites around the net that not only did Canidae change their dry formulas, but they also are now being manufactured or partially manufactured by Diamond.
We don’t feed this to our dogs any longer, but my mom feeds Mickey their canned food (that’s really all he’ll eat) and so I still try to keep up with the recalls and what’s going on in the pet food world.
This really concerns me because we lost two cats to the Diamond recall of 2006 and frankly, I just will never trust any brand made by Diamond again.
So I emailed Canidae…and here was my response from them.
http://www.canidae.com/new-formulas.html
Dear Heidi,
Please click on the above link, we have updated our site to insure all your questions are answered about our newly improved formulas. Be sure to scroll all the way to the bottom of that page.
Due to overwhelming customer support and increased demand on our products, we have been faced with unique production capacity challenges. Our growing customer support and demand has pushed for increased capacity, therefore we have outsourced additional production from Diamond Pet Foods. Our customers demand and deserve no less than the highest quality safe ingredients, as well as state of the art consistent manufacturing. Outsourcing additional production from Diamond comes not without first carefully instating and accepting only the strictest testing protocols, as well as mandating stringent operating procedures to ensure the highest quality products possible at every level of production. We are very happy with this relationship and the high quality formulations we are able to bring to you. Expect Excellence!
Our quality of raw material as well as quality control has actually increased not decreased. Yes we have diversified our complex carbohydrates as rice continues to climb and high quality availability decreases. Our products are better than ever and more consistent. Yes we have cut costs on shipping rates as fuel continues to go through the roof. To ship pet food from one location is no longer cost effective. Our economy is facing some challenging times and we are being proactive in offering you the highest quality products, yet affordable enough for our consumers to purchase. We are not sure about other companies and their plans for change or their reasons in the past, however we feel we are being open and honest about our changes. We are getting alot of positive feedback from our customers that are actually feeding their pets our improved formulas.
We thank thank you for your comments, and hope your pets are able to receive the benefits of our products.
Personally, I still wouldn’t trust them. But that’s me and it’s really a personal preference.
Added 8/11/08.…many people have come to my blog to read this post so I thought I’d also include a list of foods that are made by Diamond. I copied this list from a dog forum I participate at and so I cannot account for it’s accuracy. But thought it was worth adding.
- Kirkland is made by Schell and Kampeter who also is dba for Diamond. (imo pretty sneeky way of not coming right out and saying what foods Diamond does make)
- TOTW
- Solid Golid
- Country Value
- Diamond
- Professional
- Natural Balance
- Artemis
- Chicken Soup for the Soul
- Canidae
- Nutra
- Premium Edge
- Menu foods makes canned Nutro
Like I said, I cannot account for the accuracy of this list. I hope that a food like Artemis is not made by Diamond, but I have no clue and cannot say. I’ll have to look into it.
Here’s a site that has a good list of many foods and their ingredients: The Best Dry Dog Foods
Dog Products that contain Xylitol
This was posted in my Epi-K9 list and it gives permission to cross post, so I thought I’d share.
As many of you already know, Xylitol, a natural sweetener, is very toxic to dogs, causing hypoglycema (low blood glucose) that can lead to depression, vomiting, seizures, and even death. Even a very small dosage can cause toxicity: 41 mg may cause hypoglycemia in a 100 lb dog, while a single stick of chewing gum may have two grams (2,000 mg) of Xylitol. See the following web sites for more info on Xylitol poisoning in dogs:
http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/sep04/040901c.asp
http://www.aspca.org/site/DocServer/Foss-Tox_Brief-Nov_VT_04.pdf
http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc_news082106
http://www.mainetoday.com/pets/dogslife/004476.html
Note that the sweeteners mannitol and sorbitol are NOT toxic to dogs.
I recently learned that there are a number of products marketed for dogs that contain Xylitol among their ingredients! Here is a list of the products that I found:
Advanced Dental Chews, made by Animal Dermatology Laboratories
http://www.calvetsupply.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1062
C.E.T. AquaDent (drinking water additive) and Petrodex Breath Spray For Pets, made by Virbac Animal Health
http://www.medi-vet.com/detail.aspx~ID~3009
http://www.virbacpets.com/petrodex/product.php?pid=198
BreathaLyser Plus and AQuala (drinking water additives), made by imRex, Inc.
http://www.healthypets.com/brwaad1.html
http://www.petacular.com/products/Aquala-Dog.html
CurTail Pet Food Enzyme Drops (used to treat gas), made by AkPharma Inc
http://acatdog.com/detail.aspx?ID=25
I also saw xylitol listed as an ingredient in Dragons Teeth and Dragonette Dog Biscuits made by Solid Gold, but it was not among the ingredients listed on their web site, so I wrote to the company and they told me that they removed xylitol from their biscuits about eight months ago, which was good to hear.
I have written to each of the companies that manufacture these products. Only two of the four companies responded. Here are the responses I received:
imRex (BreathaLyser Plus and Aquala) claimed that there wasn’t enough Xylitol in their product to be concerned about, but then said that “the dog will drink a maximum of 0.05grms per day.” 0.05 grams is 50 mg, enough to potentially cause hypoglycemia in a 100 lb dog. That also doesn’t account for owners who might give more than the recommended amount, or spills that the dog might lap up. There’s simply no reason why a company should add a potentially toxic ingredient to products made for dogs, no matter how small the amount.
AkPharma (CurTail Pet Food Enzyme Drops) thanked me for contacting them and said, “We have never had a report of any such reactions in the 6 years that our product has been formulated with xylitol. Nonetheless, having seen the information that you sent, we are withholding sales until we investigate further.” I was very impressed with their response.
Neither Animal Dermatology Laboratories nor Virbac responded to my inquiry.
I would suggest contacting the companies that make these products and letting them know that you will not use their products, and will be warning others against them. If they hear from enough people, it should give them incentive to change their formulas.
It would also be helpful to let any company who carries these products know about the dangers. One company that I contacted has already decided to stop selling the product that they carried once they learned about the risks of xylitol. Again, if companies will not sell these products, the manufacturers will have to take action.
Here is the contact info for the companies that make these products:
Advanced Dental Chews
Advanced Animal Dental Laboratories, a division of Animal Dermatology Laboratories
P.O. Box 19097
Irvine, CA 92623
http://www.adlvet.com/
e-mail: adl
800-521-2525
C.E.T. AquaDent
Petrodex Breath Spray For Pets
Virbac Animal Health
3200 Meacham Blvd.
Fort Worth, TX 76137
http://www.virbacvet.com/
http://www.virbacpets.com/petrodex/product.php?pid=198
e-mail: mwalsh
800-338-3659
BreathaLyser Plus and Aquala – Dental Care Water Additives
imRex, Inc.
2 Pioneer Drive RR #5
Komoka, Ontario N0L 1R0
http://www.goimrex.com/
e-mail: romanowski
800-851-3819
CurTail Pet Food Enzyme Drops
AkPharma Inc. (note this company is already looking into changing their formula)
http://www.akpharma.com/curtail/curtail_index.html
Permission is given to cross-post this information to other lists.
Mary Straus
http://www.dogaware.com
Onibasu Link: http://onibasu.com/archives/kn/152034.html
Attention Raw Dog Feeders!
Here’s a link to get a buy one get one free coupon for Nature’s Variety raw food.
http://www.naturesvariety.com/tryit
Just sign up and you’ll immediately receive a coupon for buy one package of raw, get one free (medallions).
We can’t feed it to Topaz because it has rosemary in it, but Onyx will enjoy it!
Also, watch the Honest Kitchen blog because they have coupons all the time and do giveaways and stuff. I just won 5 of the travel size packages for free and before that they sent me 6 samples (one for each animal)!!
A Case of the Mondays…
As I was sitting at my desk staring blankly at the screen…while trying to not get caught just staring at the screen…a layout popped into my mind. I love when I can envision it before it “happens”.
Digiscrapping has let me really use and explore my creative side. Especially since I’ve really been trying to make a layout a day. I haven’t run out of pictures or ideas and actually it’s all kind of come to me…just like today.
Last night while eating dinner with my husband (we grilled steaks and corn and had potato salad and noodle salad…YUM!) I was looking at this picture we have on the wall of my niece. It’s got soft colors and is the cutest picture ever. I just KNEW that would look awesome in a layout using Digitreats “skip” sets and it does! After we were finished eating I went and played around and whipped it together. I’d show it, but she’s nakkie and I still am not sure about posting pictures of the kids. But it’s cute cute cute!
Here’s the layout that was in my head. And a way to also learn a little bit about me. This was the layout that came together in my head. And this is the sweetest kit and it was a freebie too!
Credits:
Papers and Elements: “Simply Adorable” by Christie at Sweet Scraps
No Template!
