Finding POSITIVES in the NEGATIVES.

Maybe I was mumbling this week because
The Universe was not getting my messages correctly.
Maybe I lost focus and somehow concentrated on the wrong things but
this week kinda sucked.

There I go again. I just focused on the negative!
I need to shake that off and look at the positives!
I tell ya, this is a real learning process.
I have to keep catching myself and adjusting my attitude.

OK, where should I start?
Here's a positive!
I had received several emails (FOUR) from VIDA about them liking my Art
and asking me to submit some artwork.
I looked over their website and it appeared to very nice high-end clothing
and I REALLY liked how they helped their workers to become literate.
They set the prices and handle all the production and shipping
and then I get 10% of the sells.
You can read about that HERE.

So I made an account with them and submitted some of my photos for silk scarves
and they were "pending" and then they evidently liked them and posted them.
Only problem was, they weren't a high enough resolution.
They asked me to correct that and I just don't think it's possible to get them to the pixels and dpi that they need.
Truthfully, I don't know much about that kind of thing and they suggest Photoshop, which I don't have.
I tried to change them in my "Paint" program but then it wouldn't let me open it up and do any other editing.
So I went to my account and took the images off.
I don't want someone to order one and for it not to be available.
I took some quick photos to show what it DID look like before I took it down-

So the Positive of this Negative is, they liked my work.
To be honest, I'm not that majorly bummed.
I mean I thought it was cool but it wasn't the direction that I dream of going towards.
I have THAT worked out in my head and will share for another day.

Kinda tied to that because it is computer related is the Negative that my older PC is done.
It started out with the cat puking on the keyboard and then another day he jumped on me while I was drinking coffee and it spilled everywhere.
Of course the fact that  he was always walking on it probably didn't help.
Then finally it just came on in the middle of the night and the screen was glowing and making weird sounds.
When it happened I woke up to this eerie light in the hallway and I walked out and down a couple of steps and peered through the banister at the computer screen and I immediately thought of Poltergeist and quickly ran down and shut it off.

My laptop has been on the fritz for a while too.
It was refurbished to begin with and it runs very hot and sometimes just blacks out and shuts down when it's not plugged in.
The Positive! - I can do a lot on my iPhone. It's hard for me to comment on other blogs sometimes but I can do partial posts on it and upload photos and sometimes I can use my work computer on my lunch hour to finish up stuff.
Another Positive is that I think by keeping it plugged and if I get a laptop cooling pad it will solve that problem.
So I'm optimist about that!

OK, here's another Negative -  this Shingles thing I have, maybe.
It's called Zoster vine Herpete and it's basically shingles without the rash.
I have all the symptoms, the burning feeling on the skin
not a deep pain like somethings wrong in my tummy or in my side.
But I got to thinking, maybe it's a pulled muscle.
I did try to move/lift some thing a few weeks ago that weighed A LOT.
(Probably 200 lbs at least)
and I did lift a couple of bigger dogs this week to bathe...

Anyway I'm really done with it.
I want it over and I'm sick of it hurting but
on the POSITIVE, if it's the Shingles thing, it could be the one with the rash and
it could be somewhere visible so I'm lucky it's not that and
if it's a pulled muscle, it will eventually heal
so I need to shut up about it and count my lucky stars.

Then... I hesitate to post this but I share everything here so....
GULP.
I have (had) a HUGE vet bill.
Doc is aware of it but has been tolerant of it because every dog bath I do,
the money goes directly onto my account.
Sadly I only make between $5.00 to $7.50 a bath so realistically I'd probably be dead before it got paid off
(if I just paid it down that way.)
So I've also made monthly payments to it too.
OK, so this is what happened -
#1 Mean Girl jumped my niece about her bill and made a HUGE deal about it at work
and then dragged my name and the amount of my bill into it too and then Doc walked into the room and she started ranting to him about it.
It kinda put him on the spot, as others do not have such a high balance.
In the past I've gotten my bill pretty low but then someone has gotten sick and...

Anyway. I didn't want Captain Mean Girl to make it into something REALLY BIG
and gossip to everyone about it so I went and took all my emergency money that I had (per advice of Tammy and Sharon) and
applied it all to my bill and put the rest on a super low interest deal that my credit card company was offering.
BUT the positive is THAT bill is gone and next time when they ask me to bathe a huge rowdy out of control dog who's sure to throw my back out or pull a muscle, I can politely decline.
In the past I felt obligated to do it because of my bill.
Another Positive is the fact that I have GOOD friends who had told me to accumulate a emergency fund and therefore I had it to use!
Another Positive is that I'm not worried about it.
I will make more Art and more cash will come my way and my bills will disappear!

Finally, my last Negative is... I realized this week that my Blue isn't young.
I mean, I knew that but this week it hit me hard and I'll tell you what happened to make me realize it but first I will share how the same thing happened to me with my Dad.
My Dad always looked MUCH younger than his actual age but we all do age.
It just happens, but sometimes it does it so slow and that it creeps up and you don't realize it.
Yep, that and a big heaping lump of denial stirred into all.
Anyway I had gone into a restaurant to pick up an order many years ago and a man walked in who I thought at first glance was my Dad.
Just as I was about to call out to him, I realized it wasn't him at all.
It was just an elderly man that looked like him.
I was depressed for days.

So...with Blue.
He hates nail trims.
He curls his lip and runs and hides under the kitchen table (or tries to but he's too big to get all the way under there) but he hides when he sees the nail clippers.
So I've always just taken him to work and they have him step on a "bale" that Doc uses for "big" chiropractic patients. (Huge dogs and horses).
When he was young it took a vet tech on each side of him and one behind him and me scratching his forehead and keeping him focused on me while a 5th person cut his nails.
Over the years, the number of people it takes to do the job keeps going down.
Now it's only two people.
So when I took him in this week to have them trim them, I took photos of him.
Later at home I looked at the photos and it hit me,
My Blue is an old man.

Then the night before last, he wouldn't eat his food.
If someone asked me about their own dog skipping a meal, I would say not to worry.
I'd say - Give it 24 hours and see if he just had an upset tummy, To let it settle.
Not to worry as long as his belly wasn't hard.
A hard belly can mean bloat and in that case you must rush your dog to the emergency vet immediately.
Anyway.
I felt his belly, it wasn't hard.
Then I called my sister and told her he wouldn't eat and then I burst out crying.
Finally she calmed me down and asked me what was wrong and I told her that Blue was old.
God, I'm tearing up writing that!
Jeez.
The Positive - The other morning I gave him special canned food and he ate it.
and last night he ate his regular food like no one's business.
The Positive - Blue is fine.

Yep, It's been quite a week.
I've struggled, I'll be honest.
I've gotten upset over the fact that I've only made a small dent in my clutter
and my vacation isn't very far away and I was feeling myself slipping.
I would forget to put it out to The Universe and to believe it.

But Hey! It will all work out because I'm focused again
and I'm SCREAMING it out to The Universe.
Things might take a while to come around but come around it will!

and then I read Tammy's latest post, about all those people losing everything in those horrible fires in Canada.

Whoa. What a reality check.
I'm so fortunate!
and I could hear my Dad's voice in my head.
His words he would always say to me when I would start to complain about anything.
Yep, I can hear my Dad telling me to "Quit your belly-aching!"

So I'm quitting my belly-aching.
I'm putting it out to The Universe.
I know everything will be fine and turn out as I dream.
But I just wanted to share all my Negatives
in case someone else is having a week that sucks.
There are Positives.
We just have to remember to look for them
and to THINK Positive
and count our BLESSINGS!
XOXOXOXOXO

Belly-aching

I'm really sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Could there be anything more boring to read about?

I doubt it.

But this might surprise you -

I actually left work and went home sick!

Yep. I was trying to tap this post out on my phone (in between letting my boarding dogs outside to potty) and my head was swirling every time I stood up, it occurred to me that I have never been completely 100% well, in a long time.

I'll get to the edge, almost feeling really good and healthy and  then BAM!

Back to sick and tired.

SO, I finished up what HAD to be done.

I wrote out notes and instructions and then took my files up to the office and told them that I was sick and going home!

I know. How dull. This is such a fascinating blog post.

Blah, blah, blah. 

Truly, BORING!

I used to read a particular blog and while I liked the author, she moaned and belly-ached so much that I had to stop, it was too depressing.

I thought about her today and realized, I'm pretty much the same.

I mean, who wants to read that?

So, I'm focusing on the NEW YEAR and all the things I will accomplish!

I'm going to blog more about Art and no more whining.

But FIRST, just a tad bit more! Lol!

Currently it's packed at work.

One of the differences between our clinic kennel and a regular kennel is that we cater to the old, frail and sick.

That means boarding animals that other places might turn away because of all the "extra" medical issues.

Right now I'm caring for this guy -

To be honest, his face looks like I feel!

I make sure he's eating and that he gets his twice daily medications.

Luckily he's a sweetheart.

I also am taking care of a couple of diabetic dogs (different families) who must have insulin injections twice a day.

But only after they have eaten something.

If they don't eat, I need to get creative and find something they do like.

One of them is a regular boarder and he's easy to care for.

The other is elderly, blind and finicky.

He will be here for 3 weeks.

Yep, no pressure on me there! Lol!

Then we took in a rescue dog.

He actually jumped into a client's car as she was delivering meals to house-bound people.

She said she couldn't bring herself to make him get out.

He had a huge prong collar on and was filthy.

Big patches of hair were missing from his back

And his head tilted and he walked at an angle as though he had been hit by something or someone on that side.

One of the techs gave him a good bath and I've been taking care of him ever since.

The Rescue is going through the proper steps and fortunately his old owners haven't bothered to look for him.

One of the rescue people said that sadly those owners probably will just go get another dog.

He actually has been very easy to care for.

He's calm and quiet and gently takes treats from me.

He pays no mind to other dogs as they walk past his kennel.

No aggression at all.

But when he sees a cat! Omg! He does NOT like cats.

I find that odd, that he could care less about little yappy dogs but hates cats so much!

Who knows, maybe something bad happened between him and a cat?!

Here at the clinic, they did a skin scrape on him and it's not a staph infection or anything.

Hopefully with proper diet and care, it will grow back.

Rescue will be taking him on Monday.

(Which is good because I will need the kennel space for the Holidays.)

Finally, and I suppose I should just put this in a separate post but...

I fostered (?) a little dog for 3 weeks.

CeCe

She had boarded with me a few times.

Her owner had told me that he was getting allergy shots so that he could keep her.

He said so far nothing was working and I wished him luck with that.

Then one Friday night as I was about to leave work, they called me up front.

The owner was in tears. He just couldn't keep her, he said and he couldn't bear to take her to a shelter. He wanted to know if I'd take her or find her a good home.

So I took her.

I told everyone that she was much too young for me to keep and that I would find her a home.

No one believed me.

But there was no doubt in my own head and even if there had been, I quickly realized she would never work in my home.

My other dogs have clicked into place like puzzle pieces, like it was always meant to be, but not CeCe.

My Ping, who always has to be in my lap or close to me, quickly hated her.

CeCe wanted to be in my lap!

Ping would climb on top of her and push her away with her butt.

When I slept, CeCe would try to snuggle up to me but Ping would have a fit and they would battle and I would have sit up and stop it by throwing the comforter over them.

In the meantime I had contacted a very sweet woman I knew whose little dog had passed months back.

I told her I had THE dog for her and sent photos.

She was very excited!

She said she had to have her!

But....

She was getting her carpets replaced and then she would be out of town for a week over Thanksgiving.

So I told her no problem. I'd take care of CeCe until she got back.

So... CeCe was mostly good.

She LOVED playing with Ricochet.

But she was bossy and would get into the other dogs faces.

One day she decided to take Jimmy on, over a toy.

He quickly wrestled her and pulled it away but she was having none of it and tried to battle him!

She ended up with a good scratch on her head. 

You can see in the photo where the scratch (tooth mark?) was still healing above her right eye.

Then came the night that CeCe got into Blues face as he lumbered up on the end of the bed!

Luckily I was able to grab CeCe away before a major incident!

Finally the day came and CeCe met her new mommy!

She had bought CeCe a coat and jeweled collar and a matching leash and a new bed and lots of toys.

They were both overjoyed to meet each other and were instantly the very best of friends.

My friend then suffered a loss in the family the very next week and she said having CeCe to hold and love, helped her through such a difficult time.

Yes, it was meant to be.

So, yeah.

Just a few of the things going on that have left me tired.

So now I will stop complaining.

I'll try not to write about it any more.

I'm even pondering about possibly letting this blog fall silent....  for a while,

or maybe forever?

I'm thinking about just go full force on my Art blog after the New Year.

(once I get it up and running and connected to my dot.com)

I mean, I'd still write my stories...

I have a few more things to share.

But NEXT year maybe just short ones

and doing an illustration with them.

Or maybe some days-

just the illustration...

Oh, I don't know!

I'm starting to feel very achy and I'm getting the chills....maybe it's the flu!?

Oops! No more belly-aching!

Xo