Ridgeback Rescue Fundraiser

From now until March 31, 2011, Pacific Northwest Soaps is donating a portion of their sales to one of three Ridgeback Rescues (Ridgeback Rescue of the US, Rhodesian Ridgeback Rescue, Inc and Ridgeback Rescue of Northern California).  Before you start shopping, make sure you choose from the drop-down menu which Rescue you wish your purchase to go towards.  All three groups work hard to help Ridgebacks in need so no matter which group you choose, your donation will be appreciated and put to good use!  And you get some great soap as well!

Best Friends

Tori (Rhodesian Ridgeback) and Tom (Domestic Shorthair) don't care that they look different from each other.  All they know is that they like each other.  And for those of you who continue to insist that dogs and cats can't be friends?  Look at this photo and tell me again!

This photo was not staged in any way, shape or form.  I got up from the couch and when I came back, this is what I found.  They CHOSE to sleep in this position (and before anyone tries to tell me that Tori is sleeping with one eye open so she can keep an eye on the cat, she's not.  She's watching me because she knows I am taking her picture, one. more. time. and she's tired of it. :-))

Listening to your dog

So apparently Wellness Dog Food and my dogs don't like each other.  Or rather my dogs liked Wellness just fine, it just didn't like them!  For those of you who don't  know, I normally feed Flint River Ranch.  My dogs love it and they do great on it.  I also love the fact that I can have it automatically shipped directly to me (with FREE shipping!) from Feed My Pet.  I have it shipped to me every 6 weeks.  This usually lasts the dogs fine but, on occasion, it doesn't and I supplement with a different food that I can buy at the local pet or grocery store.

So, I ran out of Flint River Ranch early last month and I chose to feed Wellness this time until my next order arrives.  I have always heard good things about Wellness Dog Food and figured, why not give it a try?  Well, now the fun begins.  Everything went fine for a little while and then I started seeing some changes in the dogs behavior.  Shortly after switching Sadie started to eat (prepare for grossness) poop and then a few days ago I caught Tori eating dirt!  Yikes!  Both dogs were also pooping more. Something was definitely not right.  Hmmmm....the only major change was the dog food.  And my FRR doesn't arrive until next week.  Now what do I do?  Well, I'll tell you what I did.  I took myself down to the local PetCo and bought some Purina ONE Sensitive Stomach.  Both dogs are MUCH better this morning after only two meals with the Purina ONE.

I did not initially connect Sadie eating poop with the food switch, however, after two meals of Purina ONE she is no longer hunting the back yard for (ick) poop.  And I also haven't seen Tori eating dirt.  I'm not saying that Wellness isn't a good food because it is.  What I *am* saying is that it wasn't right for my dogs.  Just because the food is high quality DOESN'T mean it's right for every dog. Listen to you dog.  I can't wait until my FRR comes in next week...

Paperback Swap

Paperback Swap is a great way to trade books you've already read (and have no desire to read again) for new books!  I've been a member for about 3 years and have really enjoyed the opportunity to read books that I wouldn't normally read.  You know, those books that look interesting but you're not sure they're worth paying 8 or 9 or 24 dollars for?  We ALL have those books!  Well, PBS gives you the chance to read those books without paying a bunch of money.  Any books mailed to you, you don't pay for.  In exchange, you pay the shipping for any books requested from you.  Shipping is usually only a few dollars if you use Media Mail.  And for each book you mail, you get a credit you can use to request a book from another member.  I've recently started going through my bookshelves and have posted a bunch more books.  My bookshelves were overflowing with books that I enjoyed reading but will likely not read again anytime soon.  So, if you've got books you want to exchange for other books, check out this site! :-)  (And just because it's called Paperback Swap doesn't mean it's only paperbacks.  You can also trade Hardback books!)

Scentsy Party!

Do you love the smell of candles but won't light them because you're worried your curious Ridgeback will burn their nose or set the house on fire with a careless wag of their tail?  If you're like me, you are!  And that is why I decided to start buying Scentsy products.  And I love them so much, I decided to go ahead and sell them too!  Scentsy is a line of wickless candles that are perfect for pet owners!  Instead of lighting a candle to make the house smell nice, you melt the wax in a warmer using a low wattage light bulb.  Scentsy has over 80 scents and over 80 styles of warmers (full size, mid-size and plug-ins).  They also sell scent circles for your car, hand sanitizers, stuffed animals, room sprays and scent paks (perfect for gym or school lockers or your closet at home!).

There are three ways you can purchase Scentsy products:  

a) host a home party (Houston, TX area residents only) - I will come to your house and talk with you and your friends about Scentsy.  I will bring a variety of Scentsy products, testers of the available scents, catalogs and order forms.  This party also comes with an online catalog (for the duration of the party) so any friends or family who can't make the party can still order from you.  Every order over $150 comes with free shipping!  A few days after the party, I'll in put all the orders and close out the party.

b) host a basket party (anyone within the US) - I will mail you testers of the available scents, a room spray, catalogs and order forms.  If you do not have a Scentsy warmer, I can also mail you one of those plus a scent so you can show your friends and family how it works.  I will also provide you with any support you need.  This party typically last 7-14 days.  It also comes with an online catalog (for the duration of the party) so any friends or family who don't live near you can still purchase.  All you have to do is show your friends, family and coworkers your Scentsy products.  Scentsy tends to sell itself pretty easily so have some friends over for a movie night and start up a warmer.  Or take the catalog to work and let your friends look at it.  Pretty simple!  At the end of the party, you mail everything back to me (completed order forms, money, testers, etc) and I'll submit the orders, including your free and half price items to Scentsy. All orders NOT ordered through the party's online catalog will ship to you (unless it specifies otherwise on the order form) and then you take it to the friend or family who ordered it.  Again, any orders over $150 will receive free shipping.  So if I input over $150 in orders for your party (and the total order gets shipped to you) there is no shipping charge on those orders.

c) order through my website - if you don't want to host a party you can still buy Scentsy products!  All you have to do is go to my website, click on "buy" and order whatever you want!  It will be shipped directly to you. :-)  If I have an open party (which I currently do! Open until March 30, 2011!!  Click here to go directly to the party's page. :-)) you can click on the link next to it to shop as well!

There are , of course, benefits to hosting a party vs ordering from my website.  The main ones are:

Once the party reaches $150 in sales (not including tax or s/h) you start receiving credit you can use to buy Scentsy products.  Of course, the more you sell, the more you get. If you sell $150-$249 you get 10% in credit plus 1 half price item.  $250-$399 you get 10% in credit plus 2 half price items, $400-$999 - 15% in  credit plus 3 half price items, $1000 or more - 15% in credit plus 4 half price items.  So if you sell $150 at your party, you get a credit of $15  to spend on Scentsy products and the option to purchase 1 item at half-price.  If you sell $380 worth of product you get $38 in credit plus the option to purchase 2 items at half price. So the more you sell, the more you get! :-)

Sadie Update

I took Sadie to the vet last Thursday for blood work and because her current dose of Phenobarbital no longer appeared to be controlling her seizures (2 seizures in just over 3 days!).  I got the results yesterday.  Her blood work looks good (Yay!!! No liver issues yet) and her phenobarbital level was 25 (needs to be between 15 and 40).  Since the seizures were coming more and more frequently on her current dose, and there was room to increase before maxing out, Dr H decided to up her dosage of phenobarbital.  Let's hope this works!

Japan

As the world community watched the disaster unfold in Japan many of us were wondering What can we do?  We are only one or two or three people.  What can we do to help the people and animals of Japan?  Well, here's one thing you can do.  You can donate $1 to World Vets.  If every one of us donated $1 single dollar imagine how many animals could be saved?  Imagine how grateful they would be.  Imagine how grateful you would be if you had lost everything but your dog or cat was saved because someone donated a dollar to an organization that could help them.  For some of these people, their pet is all they have now.  So give up your Starbucks coffee for one day, or you McDonald's lunch.  Eat at home one extra night this week.  Or just donate a dollar.  That's all you have to do and, for many of us, that's all we can do.  But it's something.  And it matters to every single animal that's saved by World Vets.  And it matters to the people of Japan.  If for some reason the ChipIn link isn't working, go to World Vets directly and click on the Donate button.  The people of Japan will thank you!



And before anyone thinks that I'm just preaching here, that I'm not putting my money where my mouth is, yes I donated.  In fact, I chose to do a recurring donation to World Vets.  But I'm not asking you to do that.  I'm only asking for a one time donation of $1.  That's it.  :-)

Sadie Update

Dr H said that her being in estrus could have possibly altered her threshold. However, she started having seizures again before coming into estrus (which was the beginning of March). She had one in both Jan and Feb as well as the 2 this week. He considers one seizure a month as too often. He would like to see more time between seizures or no seizures at all. So. We took blood to a) check her phenobarbital levels and b) check her liver/kidney/etc values. He reminded me that technically she is on a higher dose than when she started the phenobarbital last Oct.  We never changed her dosage as she lost weight and back in Oct she weighed 94 pounds and now she's a svelte 79. However, the dosage she's on isn't doing the job. So...after we get the results from the blood work (tomorrow sometime) he is going to either a) increase her dose or b) add another drug. And that's where we stand now. 

Sadie again

And as if my life weren't interesting enough, Sadie is now in estrous so she gets to wear these whenever she's out and about in the house!  I now know for a fact that I have no desire to ever have an intact bitch again! lol

Seizures...

Sadie's now had two seizures in just over 3 days.  This can't possibly be good.  At some point something's got to give and if the seizures keep coming with more and more frequency, I'm going to have to make a quality of life decision. :-(

For those of you who don't know Sadie, let me introduce you. Sadie is a 13, going on 14, year old Rhodesian Ridgeback that I adopted from a shelter in Miami, FL.  Her owner had died and that's what she got out of the deal.  Dropped off at the shelter.  But, it could've been worse.  Her owner wanted her euthanized when he died so at least his heirs gave her a chance by taking her to the shelter.  After several days, lots of phone calls and lots of good Samaritans (one of whom spent hours at the shelter every day trying to get her out and several who drove her the several hundred miles to get her to me) she arrived in Houston at the end of Sept.  And ten days later, give or take, she had her first seizure.  Or at least the first seizure we were aware of.  And then 20 hours later she had another one.  So off to the vet we went and after blood work, xrays and a thorough check up she was started on phenobarbital.  And she was seizure free until January.  Then, ~5 weeks after that one, she had another one.  And then 3 weeks later another one.  And then 3 days later this one, at 630 in the morning.  And these are just the seizures I know about.  It's entirely possible she's had more while I was at work.  So, today we are off to the vet.  Since she's due for blood work anyways I figured why not do it today?  I'll let everyone know what Dr H says.

Lure Coursing

Last Saturday Tori and I attended a lure coursing event, our second one ever!  We got there late but just in time for the Best in Field run and the fun runs.  Here are a couple of photos I took.  The rest can be viewed on my here, on my Flickr page.

 Greyhound on his *first ever run*!  This dog is not from the track and has never chased a lure!

 A 10 month old Ridgeback on a fun run. :-)

 Borzoi "catching" the lure and being greeted by his owner. :-)

 10 month old Ridgback puppy giving her owner some love.

A Silken Windhound.  My first time ever seeing the breed in person!

Scentsy

I've recently become an Independent Consultant for Scentsy, Inc.  I love this product!  For those of you who know me, you know that's true or I would never have agreed to sell it. :-)  Visit my website to read my Scentsy story!

Love the smell of scented candles but won't light them because you're worried your curious Ridgeback will burn their nose or the set the house on fire?  If you're like me, you are!  And that is why I decided to sell Scentsy.  Scentsy is a line of wickless candles that are perfect for pet owners!  Instead of lighting a candle to make the house smell nice, you melt the wax in a warmer using a low wattage light bulb.  Scentsy has over 80 scents and over 80 styles of warmers (full size, mid-size and plug-ins).  They also sell scent circles for your car, hand sanitizers, stuffed animals, room sprays and scent paks (perfect for gym or school lockers or your closet at home!).

There are three ways you can purchase Scentsy products:  

a) host a home party (Houston, TX area residents only) - I will come to your house and talk with you and your friends about Scentsy.  I will bring a variety of Scentsy products, testers of the available scents, catalogs and order forms.  This party also comes with an online catalog (for the duration of the party) so any friends or family who can't make the party can still order from you.  Every order over $150 comes with free shipping!  A few days after the party, I'll in put all the orders and close out the party.

b) host a basket party (anyone within the US) - I will mail you testers of the available scents, a room spray, catalogs and order forms.  If you do not have a Scentsy warmer, I can also mail you one of those plus a scent so you can show your friends and family how it works.  I will also provide you with any support you need.  This party typically last 7-14 days.  It also comes with an online catalog (for the duration of the party) so any friends or family who don't live near you can still purchase.  All you have to do is show your friends, family and coworkers your Scentsy products.  Scentsy tends to sell itself pretty easily so have some friends over for a movie night and start up a warmer.  Or take the catalog to work and let your friends look at it.  Pretty simple!  At the end of the party, you mail everything back to me (completed order forms, money, testers, etc) and I'll submit the orders, including your free and half price items to Scentsy. All orders NOT ordered through the party's online catalog will ship to you (unless it specifies otherwise on the order form) and then you take it to the friend or family who ordered it.  Again, any orders over $150 will receive free shipping.  So if I input over $150 in orders for your party (and the total order gets shipped to you) there is no shipping charge on those orders.

c) order through my website - if you don't want to host a party you can still buy Scentsy products!  All you have to do is go to my website (https://sibtigre2.scentsy.us/), click on "buy" and order whatever you want!  It will be shipped directly to you. :-)

Benefits of doing a party vs ordering from my website are:

Once the party reaches $150 in sales (not including tax or s/h) you start receiving credit you can use to buy Scentsy products.  Of course, the more you sell, the more you get. If you sell $150-$249 you get 10% in credit plus 1 half price item.  $250-$399 you get 10% in credit plus 2 half price items, $400-$999 - 15% in  credit plus 3 half price items, $1000 or more - 15% in credit plus 4 half price items.  So if you sell $150 at your party, you get a credit of $15  to spend on Scentsy products and the option to purchase 1 item at half-price.  If you sell $380 worth of product you get $38 in credit plus the option to purchase 2 items at half price. So the more you sell, the more you get! :-)

If you're interested in hosting a party, or in joining Scentsy, please message me!  I love my hosts, hostesses and consultants!  I also love referrals.  If you know someone who loves candles, they'll also love Scentsy!  And Scentsy is much safer than traditional candles.  :-)

Susan Shepard

Independent Scentsy Consultant

sibtigre2@earthlink.net

https://sibtigre2.scentsy.us

New Roof

It's been over 2 years since Hurricane Ike made landfall on Galveston Island.  Ike completely changed hundreds of lives.  So many people lost their homes, their belongings, their jobs.  I am a lucky one.  The only damage I received was losing some shingles from my roof.  Right after I got home from NYC, shortly after Ike made landfall, I was able to get the roof patched.  But the cost of completely replacing the roof was astronomical.  And how to know which companies were good?  So many fly by night companies show up after these disasters.  They do shoddy work (or none!) and then they're gone.  So I waited.  A year later I got some quotes.  One company wanted to charge me $8,000-$10,000 to replace my roof!  This is a single story, ranch-style house.  That wasn't going to happen.  The roof wasn't leaking so I waited some more.  Finally, last week, I started my search again for a contractor.  And I found one.  Bay Area Roofers will be coming by next Wednesday to completely replace my roof.  And they're not only replacing the roof, they are adding gutters as well!  The cost for this?  Just over $6400.  That total includes replacing the roof, upgrading the shingles, the gutters and tax.  This company has really good ratings with both Angie's list and the Houston area BBB.  More importantly, they *act* like they want my business and aren't going to charge an arm and leg for me to get it!  I'll let everyone know how they do with the actual work! lol

Scentsy Relay for Life fundraiser

From now until March 8, I am hosting a Scentsy basket party.  This party is a fundraiser for my Relay for Life team, Wild For A Cure.  20% of the total order will go towards my team's fundraising goal of $1000.  Please check out our party and see if there is anything there you would like.  Alternatively,  you are also welcome to make a donation to the team or an individual by visiting our team website.  With all of us working together, we CAN find a cure for cancer!

Scentsy

Do you love scented candles but are afraid to use them because your dog might burn her nose or you cat might light her tail on fire?  Are you worried that your child or children, or your dogs or cats will knock them over while playing?  Are you afraid you'll forget to blow them out when you leave the house?  If you're like me, you do!  Luckily, there is something out there for us.   And that something is Scentsy!  Scentsy's wickless candles are perfect for pet owners and families alike.  But if warmers aren't your thing, you should still check out Scentsy because they have more than just warmers and candles.  They also have hand sanitizers, car and locker fresheners, stuffed animals and travel tins (for those hotel rooms when you're traveling!) All you have to do to order is go to my website and click on a party that's in progress.

If there isn't one in progress, consider hosting your own!  Basket parties are the easiest and simplest to do.  I'll send you some scents, order forms and catalogs.  All you have to do is share Scentsy with your friends and coworkers.  If they find something they like, they fill out an order form or they can go to the website for your party.  And for every party that earns more than $150 you, the hostess, gets FREE SCENTSY!  If you're interested, please visit my website!