To the Dentist We Go!

I finally made it to an oral surgeon today, sure I've been before but this time

I'm actually going to have my teeth pulled.

A very dear friend of mine actually works for him, and I don't know how

to react to the kindness that was shown to me today.

For more years than I can remember my wisdom teeth have caused problems.

Its been constant issues with pain, teeth shifting, and cavities.

These last few months have been more than I can handle, the pain now

finding its way into my front gums and teeth.  The pain

seeping through to cause

the bone to ache.

I always knew it was going to be upwards

of about $3,500 to be put to sleep and have it fixed.

Today however, I was taught that good people do exist. 

This oral surgeon has agreed to numb my mouth and

pull 6 teeth for $700, also allowing me to split that amount into 4 payments.

Not only did he do me this huge favor, but he spoke to me with compassion.

He treated me not like I was just another patient, not just

another pay check, but rather someone who was in constant pain.

Its like he knew what these 6 teeth felt like.

My appointment is October 22nd and while I'm nervous about having

to be awake while these teeth come out, and I'm

lost as to how I will come up with the first $175...I am so thankful

to know that someone out there actually cares enough to

help me.

Tiana the Activist

I have been called a lot of things in my life

but activist was never one of them.

For the first time its a title that I am actually proud to wear.

It wasn't until about the last year that I really became passionate about a

few things, realizing

that I didn't have to be afraid to stand up

for the things I believed in.

Everyone knows how I currently feel about Chick-Fil-A (regardless

of anything recently in the news...my boycott still stands!) and I've made 

it clear who I am voting for.

But there are a few other things that I support or I am a part of

that I would like to share here today!

 http://www.facebook.com/prayfornate - That is the link to a page that I help run for my friend Christina.  It is a page for people to show their support of the family and send prayers.  There is information on the page about her son Nathan, who was diagnosed with a terrible disease.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Protect-Pit-Bulls-from-BSL/317242708299732 - This is actually a new page for me but I love it!! I have three pit bulls so seeing pages that give these wonderful animals a voice against all the hate in this world makes me smile.  I can't wait to show my Pit Bull pride when my babies get a little bit older!!

http://www.facebook.com/groups/364035333670281/ -  This is a group
I belong to that started out as a "Boycott Chick-Fil-A"
group.  It has since become a place for everyone
to share stories, news, pictures, & their voice for the LGBT Community.

As time goes on, I will revisit this entry and share other websites
that I find or share things that I feel strongly about.
Enjoy!

Honorable Mentions

A few days ago I started posting special blogs 

for all our animals.

Today I wanted to wrap it up with "Honorable Mentions".

These are pets that we may still have

but don't take up as much time,

or that were with us at some point

and have been re-homed for whatever reason.

Draco - A 4 year old German Giant Het Translucent Bearded Dragon

Levi & Luca - 4 month old Siamese kittens.  Levi is the little girl, she has the white paws and lighter mask (we still have her) and Luca is the boy with the darker maks (he went to live with a little old lady).

Jethro - 6 month old Pit mix.  She recently went back to live with her mom.  She just had way to much energy for our life style.

Leelo - I've lost track of how old she is but she will always have a special place in my heart.  She is still with us but for whatever reason decided 
that she no longer wanted to be a full time indoor cat.

Zmai & Pharrah - These are the first two bearded dragons we had.  We have recently re-homed them because our finances wouldn't allow us to keep up with their eating habits.  Zmai went to a really cool couple and Pharrah actually went to a 3rd grade teacher.

Cali - My precious baby.  She had to be re-homed because she was too loving.  Weird right?  Well she had the kind of personality where she needed to be with someone who either worked from home or was retired.  My long work hours meant she had to be kenneled a lot and had to be left alone for most of the day.  Her behavior suffered because of it and I knew she was acting out.  She went to a lovely couple, Judy & David, down south.  They own their own home, with a large fenced in back yard.   They also have experience with the breed & keep in touch with me.

Elvis - She is a crested gecko that we had for only a few days.  She went back to the store due to health issues.

The un-named mice - While we love all our mice they serve a purpose...they are fed to Tesla.  I know...its sad but seriously when its $2 or $3 PER MOUSE its so much cheaper to just raise them ourselves.  Besides its pretty cool to watch them be born and to watch them grow!!

Tesla

This is Tesla.

He's gross.

I don't like snakes.

Can you tell?

Cora Mae

Cora Mae is the newest member to our home.  This sweet

blue nose pit sort of just found her

way to us.  Some lady pretty much thrusted

this puppy at us, said

"Do you know anyone that wants a puppy?"

and when we saw what was wrong with her

it was a no brainer;

she had to come with us!

We still aren't sure what is wrong with her; it could be anything.

We tossed around the idea of flea bites or bug bites.

We've also considered that she was dipped 

in a flea bath that was too strong,

bleach because they didn't like her fur color, or acid of some kind.

But after a couple of antibacterial baths, ointment, and anti-itch gel, it has gotten better.

We are now tossing around the idea of a grass allergy.

Cora Mae coming in at just about 4-5 weeks old has wobbled her

way right into our hearts! With a sweet face like that can you blame us!?

I'm not sure if this is a case of abuse but certainly

neglect; fur loss on all four paws, tail and chest doesn't

just happen over night.

For what its worth Cora showers us with those treasured 

puppy kisses and rewards us regularly

with a happy tail wag.

<3

Louis Vuitton

Tonight's writings are for our little Louis Vuitton.  Within the first few days of having her she came upon plenty of nick names:

Louie, Lou, Lou-Lou and Lou Lou Kachoo.

We almost never call her by her full actual name, I'd be surprised if she even

knew her actual name.

Lou Lou has a very interesting story.  She came to us at a time when we really didn't need another baby (at the time we had two others) and we

financially were already struggling.  There was a sign on the side of the road that had "free puppies" painted in large red letters.

"I just want to stop and look!"

It was one of the saddest things I've actually seen in person.  There were

6 or 7 puppies all laying in the dirt.  None of them jumped

up to greet us like normal puppies,

none of them could really stay awake (and were old enough to have 

been awake), and one of them

was laying in a pan of dirty water and hardly breathing.

I knew then we were taking one home.  I picked up the smallest

one I saw and she was nothing but skin and bones.

When we got her home we found that she was flea infested, worm infested, had sway belly, and was skiddish.

She was 7 weeks old and it broke my heart

Now, at 6-7 months old she is fat, vocal, and never without a wagging tail.

While we have some behavior issues (she still likes to potty in mommy's 

house!) she is one of the most

loving dogs I've ever seen.

She adores sitting there with her head in your lap

just getting love.

<3

Chole

People always look at us crazy, tell us were crazy, and typically say

"You got another animal?"

It makes me feel bad sometimes but then I remind myself that my

house is always clean, my bills are always paid, and my animals taken care off.

I decided that since my pets take up a large part of my life

that I would give each of them their own blog, with an "honorable mentions"

blog (for pets that went to better homes).

Tonight's blog will be for Chloe.

Chloe is our first fur baby and our only one without a sad story.  She is currently a 6-7 month old Pit bull/Akita/Ridge back mix and too smart for her own good!

She mastered sit, stay, down, sit pretty, shake, and high five within the first few weeks of having her!  While she makes us crazy right now, we know within the next six months shes going to grow to be 

a really great dog!  She certainly has the "teenage" personality

out of all of them, always into something she knows shes not supposed

to be into, but like our others she'll snuggle you to death

if you let her!!

<3

Busy Weekend!

This week has been full of so much fun! Crystal (shes my one of my closest, dearest friends) celebrated

her birthday!

We started with dinner at Joe's Crab shack.  Let me just say if you haven't

been here yet...you must go.  The food is amazing and we chowed down on so.much.seafood.

Crab, shrimp, lobster, and craw fish!

We decided that, as part of her birthday, we would spend the weekend theme parking it up!

Saturday belonged to Sea World!

I have to say, out of all the times I've seen the Shamu show, this was probably the best one!  You really got to see a lot of the whales and all the tricks they do!  This was also the first show I saw where the trainers didn't get in the water with them.  I hope they keep it that way.

We saw lots of pretty cool sea creatures, like the sharks!!  I even touched a sting ray and saw a dolphin up close and personal!  They have this new smaller version of a dolphin cove, where they swim up to the wall and you can touch them.

We rode their new roller coaster Manta...it was terrifying.

Sunday was spent in Tampa at Busch Gardens!

I realized today that this park is a glorified zoo with roller coasters!!

The amount of animals that we got to get close to (close as in

just a thick glass separating you) was amazing.

Nothing can top feeding the birds or hand feeding a kangaroo though!!

This beautiful white tiger came over to the glass when I crouched down.

It sat there for a few short moments and looked me right in the eyes!

Certainly a moment to hold your breath when you're this close!

Being of Little Means

My heart aches today. 

It aches because I learned a very big lesson; never make friends with people who have more money than you.

Well...don't make someone who has more money than you your best friend.

Maybe this is a generalized statement but...there it is.

I realized today that the person in question actually infuriates me and that over the years this person has always left me feeling like I am some how lesser. 

Lesser because I've never made more than minimum wage, I've never been able to go out to expensive dinners, or just go shopping whenever I want.  I was always okay with that, its how I had always lived; even as a child. 

But then...I always felt excluded because I couldn't afford to go.  I felt like being invited was always a way of rubbing it in my face.  Then I got an office job that pays more than minimum wage...I still live pay check to pay check but it was easier to pick up my own tab and it made me feel really good about myself and my hard work.

I wrote recently of fighting for what you stand up for...that blog, like this one, was inspired by the same person. 

Today my friendship ended because this person wanted to add fuel to the fire, and wanted to remind me of their expensive high horse.  When I returned fire their response was "I don't care and I don't have time for this : )" making me feel as if I was the immature one for proving a point.  That just because my beliefs were different from theirs didn't make either of us wrong...but "I don't care and I don't have time for this : )"
It is as simple as I called this person out and they didn't like it.

Dear Mr. President

                It is with a heavy heart that I write to you this evening.  I am an American woman living in this great country and I enjoy the freedoms that every American should have the right too.  I enjoy the freedoms that those before me have fought for and that are still fought for today.  I have hopes and dreams for the future of not only myself but of this country.  I have hopes and dreams for the children that my husband and I have yet to be blessed with.  I hope that my children will be born healthy, will be able to play in the streets as I once did without worry, and that they will be blessed with the privilege of a good education.  Among the things I hope to promise to my children, I also hope that I can bring them into a world without prejudices, a world made better by the simple act of love, and a world that will see them for the beautiful creatures God intended them to be.

           

     I am saddened when I look at the shambles this country has been reduced to.  There is not a moment in our history when we lived as a single, united nation free of hate for one another.  I have always been very passionate about equal rights for all people regardless of their skin color, religion, or sexual orientation.  I was raised to love everyone and to accept others for who they were regardless of my beliefs or opinion.  I was taught in school that separation of church and state meant that our precious government was not allowed to make a religion and force it upon us; force us to follow one God.  By denying the LGBT community the equal rights they so desperately need are you not forcing them to follow the laws of one religion?  Is it too much to ask that our government, made of men and woman smarter than I, set aside their personal beliefs and opinions long enough to realize that underneath all of our self-imposed titles we are all the same?  We all look the same when these things are stripped away.  Is it so much to ask that my children be given the chance to make choices for themselves knowing that this once beautiful country will support them? 

I understand that, from a religious stand point, homosexuality could be considered wrong according to the bible.  However people are quick to overlook the smallest verses, the easiest of those being, “Judge not least ye be judged” and “Let him free from sin cast the first stone.”  It is also said in the book of Mark 3:25, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.”  Let this be the principle that brings the country together in this great time of need.   I know this country weighs heavy on your shoulders but sometimes the toughest problems have the easiest solutions.  Give the LGBT community what they deserve; equal rights. 

I am writing to you tonight, Mr. President, with the hopes that my voice will be heard.  My hope is not to change the world but rather to be the voice of those not strong enough to speak on their own.  To be the voice of so many who have taken their lives because of the hatred that is prominent in this country, and to be a part of the voices that cry out from the streets.  Can you hear them Mr. President?  They do not cry out to the churches for their blessings, they do not cry out in anger but from pain, and they are crying out to you.  I beg of you, set aside your personal beliefs for just a moment and be the change this country needs.  Your first campaign platform was, “Yes we can” and I believe that if we come together as a nation we can overcome anything.

This voice inside me

I've always known that writing would be my creative outlet and that my voice, however small it may be, needed to be heard; that I had something to say.  I'm still not very sure what it is exactly that I need to say but some where along the way I'll figure it out.

I lost my best friend today. I lost the person that I thought he was, the person I'd grown to love and depend on when I needed someone to be my rock when I wasn't strong enough to be.  It's been a long time coming but I had always hoped it was just me being a girl, over reacting.  Last year  I grew very close to him, helping him through one of the most difficult times of his life, yet recently when I needed him he wasn't there for me.  Yes, were both growing up.  Yes, we both work full time jobs and have our own lives but I never imagined that I would be left with this ache, this void.

He grew up with money and maybe that's the first problem with our friendship; I never had money.  Some how though we always made it work; never one without the other.  In light of the upcoming election I am sad to say that our friendship couldn't withhold any more pressure.  Our political beliefs are very different and we will be voting very differently.  It's sad that this is the reason for the loss of friendship; in his eyes at least.

I have always said that your beliefs and opinions are your own, just as mine are mine.  I would never try to change those.  I can discuss these things with you, without using name calling or belittling you for your choice.  Is it so much to ask for the same respect in return?

Today he posted on facebook who he was supporting in this upcoming election; He will be supporting Mitt Romney and  I will proudly be voting for Obama.  This is also my first year voting.  Now, I'm not exactly smart when it comes to politics...half the time I don't understand what they are talking about.  But there is enough about Mitt Romney that I understand that makes me afraid of the day he may actually be in office.  Things like...cutting funding to Planned Parenthood where I go for my birth control and my monthly visits.  It wouldn't be such a big deal if the birth control didn't help control my PCOS or help regulate the hormones in my body caused by PCOS.  It would also be different if I could afford the health insurance to go somewhere else.  Romney wants to cut funding to PBS...I'm sorry but PBS is one of the last good channels for children these days.  Then you have Tod Akin from the Republican party who believes a woman wouldn't become pregnant if she was a victim of "legitimate rape" and that homosexuality has been proved to be cured by drinking a woman's breast milk.  Why would I vote for anyone other than Obama with scary things like that?

With that being said, he proceeded to voice is opinion but when met with questions about it he "didn't have the time to discuss it."  This was also how he felt when the Chick Fil A bandwagon went around; he was "tired of hearing about it."  If you're going to voice your opinion on a public forum...have the guts to stand up for it.  I was very sad to see that everything he said made him look like a hypocrite.  For the last few months hes done nothing but belittle me for my thoughts, telling me that jumping on the bandwagon was a waste of time, stupid, and would achieve nothing...yet today he says he is all for the equal rights movement and that he  "donates hundreds of dollars a year to the LGBT"...yet my actions to fight for equal rights are stupid and beneath him.  When brought to his attention, he ran with his tail between his legs, and instead of defending himself he said to me "I am no longer going to argue with you about it."

I learned something today...not everyone is going to see the world the way I do.  Not everyone is going to be as vocal about their beliefs as I am.  The difference from me and everyone else?  I am not afraid to stand up for what I believe in.  I am not afraid to be who I am and I am not afraid to make my voice heard.