Wednesday, January 25, 2012
On The Move!
I have moved this blog and am now posting my thoughts and adventures at BananaBuzzbomb.com. I hope you come and continue my journey!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
New Blog
We hope you have enjoyed reading, however this is no longer an active blog. If interested, please check out my new blog: Banana Buzzbomb
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Arrrrrr
My Pirate Name: Captain Bessie Flint
Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!
Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Like the rock flint, you're hard and sharp. But, also like flint, you're easily chipped, and sparky. Arr!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Change Of Pace
For the past several months I've been quietly working part time with the schools doing substitute custodial work. I've loved it. Upon becoming a part of the substitute list I was then eligible for a permanent position if one should arise and no one in the union bids on it. Well, several weeks ago a job came up for bid. I patiently waited for no one to bid and then was interviewed for the position. I got it.
Over the past year I've been looking for a change of pace. I've stated in previous posts, most people don't know what I do. I don't just put a client in a room and my job is finished. I put the client/pet in a room, get a history, temperature, weight. I'm the restrainer for the doctor while they perform the exam. I'm the first in line to get bit or scratched. I fill prescriptions, make labels, present estimates, write up payment plans, complete charges. I maintain controlled substances and logs, take radiographs, calculate/draw up/administer/monitor anesthesia. I draw blood, place IV catheters, administer fluids/vaccines/medications/injections. I perform blood testing/urinalysis/fecal samples/ekgs/blood pressures. I count blood smears and read microscopic analysis. I'm a pet owner educator and a shoulder to cry on for those having their pet euthanized. I clean the clinic from top to bottom including dusting/mopping/trash. The list goes on, but in other words, I have a lot on my plate.
It's kind of hard to explain why I'd want to switch careers. One thing that made me want to change. Benefits. The benefits as a veterinary technician aren't the best, especially with healthcare. I will now have decent benefits which I haven't had since the military (yes, I'm calling the military benefits good compared to what I've recently had). Other than benefits there are many other reasons why I have chosen to take a step back. Too many to go into here. I have given my current employer notice that I'm willing to stay on part time or as needed. I still want to keep my hands in the field if at all possible and will keep up with my registration.
I know there's a stigma that comes along with being a custodian, but I'm not too proud to become one. As with reasons why I'm stepping back from the vet world, there are reasons why I want to work for the school. Just a few....Believe it or not cleaning is a passion of mine and I like to work independently, so it's a good fit. I'm currently working with David, which will not always be the case, but we both enjoy the time together. This is a way for me to give back to the school I once attended and it has allowed me to face some demons that I left there upon graduating. As David did, I'm currently working to earn my boilers license. After completion of my class I will then log hours on a boiler then be able to take the class. Become a fireman/boiler operator is not an immediate position upon earning my license (as with David) but in time we'll both be able to move up. And sad, but true, I will be able to earn more as a custodian/boiler operator than as a veterinary technician.
There are many changes that happen throughout our lives. I'm not closing the door on being a veterinary technician, but I'm opening the door to other opportunities. You never know, in a few years, I may want to pursue something else, but I'd hate to look back and regret not trying something new.
Over the past year I've been looking for a change of pace. I've stated in previous posts, most people don't know what I do. I don't just put a client in a room and my job is finished. I put the client/pet in a room, get a history, temperature, weight. I'm the restrainer for the doctor while they perform the exam. I'm the first in line to get bit or scratched. I fill prescriptions, make labels, present estimates, write up payment plans, complete charges. I maintain controlled substances and logs, take radiographs, calculate/draw up/administer/monitor anesthesia. I draw blood, place IV catheters, administer fluids/vaccines/medications/injections. I perform blood testing/urinalysis/fecal samples/ekgs/blood pressures. I count blood smears and read microscopic analysis. I'm a pet owner educator and a shoulder to cry on for those having their pet euthanized. I clean the clinic from top to bottom including dusting/mopping/trash. The list goes on, but in other words, I have a lot on my plate.
It's kind of hard to explain why I'd want to switch careers. One thing that made me want to change. Benefits. The benefits as a veterinary technician aren't the best, especially with healthcare. I will now have decent benefits which I haven't had since the military (yes, I'm calling the military benefits good compared to what I've recently had). Other than benefits there are many other reasons why I have chosen to take a step back. Too many to go into here. I have given my current employer notice that I'm willing to stay on part time or as needed. I still want to keep my hands in the field if at all possible and will keep up with my registration.
I know there's a stigma that comes along with being a custodian, but I'm not too proud to become one. As with reasons why I'm stepping back from the vet world, there are reasons why I want to work for the school. Just a few....Believe it or not cleaning is a passion of mine and I like to work independently, so it's a good fit. I'm currently working with David, which will not always be the case, but we both enjoy the time together. This is a way for me to give back to the school I once attended and it has allowed me to face some demons that I left there upon graduating. As David did, I'm currently working to earn my boilers license. After completion of my class I will then log hours on a boiler then be able to take the class. Become a fireman/boiler operator is not an immediate position upon earning my license (as with David) but in time we'll both be able to move up. And sad, but true, I will be able to earn more as a custodian/boiler operator than as a veterinary technician.
There are many changes that happen throughout our lives. I'm not closing the door on being a veterinary technician, but I'm opening the door to other opportunities. You never know, in a few years, I may want to pursue something else, but I'd hate to look back and regret not trying something new.
More On Elwood
David beat me to a post on losing our froggy friend Elwood. It's amazing to me how such little fella can impact your life. I never imagined I would touch a frog, let alone hold one. Although he was an amphibian and not a reptile, he helped me face my phobia of snakes. I still have a decent fear/phobia of snakes and would like to stay as far away from them as possible, but they don't freak me out as much.
A couple months ago Elwood started to have lumps under his skin. After research we believed we found a diagnosis/treatment. Cestode worms. We performed treatment and the lumps resolved. Unfortunately I can't help but think he was never fully healed. Within the past several weeks he developed multiple skin lesions (some in the form of abscesses), his appetite diminished, and another large lump appeared on his head. We were treating him with antibiotics but he was to the point where he would not eat for days at a time. Finally, I decided to puncture the lump near his head and removed discharge. The following day we found him after he had passed with the same discharge seaping from his entire body. Ultimately we believe his body was full of some sort of infection.
As David said, this truly saddens us, however we also understand that this comes with keeping pets. He brought happiness to our lives and I hope he enjoyed his habitat as much as we enjoyed building it for him. We still have Whompy, our other frog, and he seems to be doing well.
A couple months ago Elwood started to have lumps under his skin. After research we believed we found a diagnosis/treatment. Cestode worms. We performed treatment and the lumps resolved. Unfortunately I can't help but think he was never fully healed. Within the past several weeks he developed multiple skin lesions (some in the form of abscesses), his appetite diminished, and another large lump appeared on his head. We were treating him with antibiotics but he was to the point where he would not eat for days at a time. Finally, I decided to puncture the lump near his head and removed discharge. The following day we found him after he had passed with the same discharge seaping from his entire body. Ultimately we believe his body was full of some sort of infection.
As David said, this truly saddens us, however we also understand that this comes with keeping pets. He brought happiness to our lives and I hope he enjoyed his habitat as much as we enjoyed building it for him. We still have Whompy, our other frog, and he seems to be doing well.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
We miss our boy
Hey everyone, this is David. I wish I could say I had good news, but I don't. Some of you may know that Elwood our tree frog has been ill. He was fighting a skin infection and yesterday afternoon Heidi and I came home for lunch. As soon as I saw him, I knew he had passed on. It was almost a year ago to the date that we bought Elwood. I understand he is only a frog, but we truly love our animals and our hearts are very heavy. I am glad he is no longer suffering, but we still miss him very much. We bought a little wood box with a latch, and we made a little plot for him next to our garage. It's true that we've saved our animals and given them a great life, but they have also rescued me. Caring for them is therapeutic for me, and they can get me through some tough days. Rest in peace Mr. Wood
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Heinz 57 Ketchup
This is a Heinz 57 Ketchup post.....oh, I mean catch up post. Tee hee. With the dawn of Facebook I don't tend to blog often. Where to start? Let's start with the kids.....
Spencer's doing better with his seizure and auto-immune disease. No seizures since starting his medications and his itchy/hurting mouth is much better. As of this moment he has started a second anti-convulsant medication. Our hope is to acquire a stable state on the second medication and wean him off the first medication. We're doing this to protect his liver long term. After the change, we'll then start the transition off of one steroid to the other for his auto-immune mediated disease.
Jax. Well everyone knows he has FIC (Feline Interstitial Cystitis), however over the past 2 months he was coughing/sneezing. We initially thought it was hairballs and treated as such. It continued, so we went ahead with a workup with radiographs. We found he had no problems with digestion and tried a few trials on medications with no success. With the process of elimination and watching his symptoms he was diagnosed with feline asthma. It is a condition that needs to be addressed. If it is not addressed it will get worse and can be fatal. If you do treat, it will still get worse, but you can help to control it. We went ahead with an injection of steroid to give him relief. It helped. Not only did it help, but it definitively diagnosed the asthma since he had a positive reaction to the medication. There are several treatment options but most consist of being on some sort of steroid regime. As with Spencer, and any other animal, you want them on the lowest effective dose. So only time will tell as we go through the next few months, but hopeful we'll get a handle on his condition as we did with Spencer.
I've posted before, but all of our animals have some sort of condition. Most have multiple conditions/diseases. When I told my mom about Jax, she couldn't believe it. She said, "Only your animals." Most people have pets that may have one to two major health problems in their life, ours keep adding. I'm just thankful that our pets are with us. They are worth it.
David's still a vegetarian. Actually he's a vegan. He doesn't want to say he is because there's a stigma that comes along with it. In addition, although he's strict with his lifestyle, he knows there's room for error. I'm amazed at his transition. I would never have guessed he'd go down this road, let alone as fast as he has. In addition, he's soda free. Yep, you read right....no soda pop. That in itself is amazing. Although he drank a TON of water, he also loved his soda. So giving this up is huge. He loves where he's at and I don't see him ever looking back.
As for me, I'm still dabbling in the raw vegan world. Actually, I have transitioned from high raw to low raw. Basically what that means is I've moved from using a lot of nuts to focusing on fruits and veggies. I was 100% low raw for a month, felt great, doing awesome and last week had a bit of a hiccup. I don't want to call it that, but have no other word. There's too much that goes into this lifestyle that it's hard to explain here. But, in a nutshell, it's all raw, no added spices (including salt, etc), focuses on LOTS of fruit and veggies, and LOTS of water. I plan on keep on keeping on with it, but not as strict as I was initially. I have an addictive personality and cold turkey is the best way for me to do things. Unfortunately cold turkey changes don't always make for the best long term changes. I ulimately would love to be 100% low raw and know I'll get there, since I've already been there and have felt the amazing changes. But, for the time being I'm going to work towards that target and feel positive that I'm moving in the right direction.
I've gotten back to running pretty solid. In addition, I got a Trek bike for mother's day and plan on biking to work this summer.
I'm glad for the positive changes in our lives. I'm grateful for everything in our lives. After these recent changes I've realized that not only do I need to see what I'm grateful for, but also verbalize it. Hence, my daily "4 gratefuls". It's not about throwing stuff in people's faces (the I got this and you don't type of thing) it's about being positive and spreading happiness. Maybe if more people did it, the world may be a better place. Wishful thinking? Meh, maybe, but it's worth a try. It's easy to see the negative and get down on yourself. When I first started my gratefuls I found it hard to think of 4 for each day. Now I go through my days constantly thinking, "I'm grateful for this...." It's hard to narrow it down at the end of the day oftentimes. That, or trying to remember all what I said I was grateful for during the day.
Well, I believe that's about it for the catching up. Until next time...
Spencer's doing better with his seizure and auto-immune disease. No seizures since starting his medications and his itchy/hurting mouth is much better. As of this moment he has started a second anti-convulsant medication. Our hope is to acquire a stable state on the second medication and wean him off the first medication. We're doing this to protect his liver long term. After the change, we'll then start the transition off of one steroid to the other for his auto-immune mediated disease.
Jax. Well everyone knows he has FIC (Feline Interstitial Cystitis), however over the past 2 months he was coughing/sneezing. We initially thought it was hairballs and treated as such. It continued, so we went ahead with a workup with radiographs. We found he had no problems with digestion and tried a few trials on medications with no success. With the process of elimination and watching his symptoms he was diagnosed with feline asthma. It is a condition that needs to be addressed. If it is not addressed it will get worse and can be fatal. If you do treat, it will still get worse, but you can help to control it. We went ahead with an injection of steroid to give him relief. It helped. Not only did it help, but it definitively diagnosed the asthma since he had a positive reaction to the medication. There are several treatment options but most consist of being on some sort of steroid regime. As with Spencer, and any other animal, you want them on the lowest effective dose. So only time will tell as we go through the next few months, but hopeful we'll get a handle on his condition as we did with Spencer.
I've posted before, but all of our animals have some sort of condition. Most have multiple conditions/diseases. When I told my mom about Jax, she couldn't believe it. She said, "Only your animals." Most people have pets that may have one to two major health problems in their life, ours keep adding. I'm just thankful that our pets are with us. They are worth it.
David's still a vegetarian. Actually he's a vegan. He doesn't want to say he is because there's a stigma that comes along with it. In addition, although he's strict with his lifestyle, he knows there's room for error. I'm amazed at his transition. I would never have guessed he'd go down this road, let alone as fast as he has. In addition, he's soda free. Yep, you read right....no soda pop. That in itself is amazing. Although he drank a TON of water, he also loved his soda. So giving this up is huge. He loves where he's at and I don't see him ever looking back.
As for me, I'm still dabbling in the raw vegan world. Actually, I have transitioned from high raw to low raw. Basically what that means is I've moved from using a lot of nuts to focusing on fruits and veggies. I was 100% low raw for a month, felt great, doing awesome and last week had a bit of a hiccup. I don't want to call it that, but have no other word. There's too much that goes into this lifestyle that it's hard to explain here. But, in a nutshell, it's all raw, no added spices (including salt, etc), focuses on LOTS of fruit and veggies, and LOTS of water. I plan on keep on keeping on with it, but not as strict as I was initially. I have an addictive personality and cold turkey is the best way for me to do things. Unfortunately cold turkey changes don't always make for the best long term changes. I ulimately would love to be 100% low raw and know I'll get there, since I've already been there and have felt the amazing changes. But, for the time being I'm going to work towards that target and feel positive that I'm moving in the right direction.
I've gotten back to running pretty solid. In addition, I got a Trek bike for mother's day and plan on biking to work this summer.
I'm glad for the positive changes in our lives. I'm grateful for everything in our lives. After these recent changes I've realized that not only do I need to see what I'm grateful for, but also verbalize it. Hence, my daily "4 gratefuls". It's not about throwing stuff in people's faces (the I got this and you don't type of thing) it's about being positive and spreading happiness. Maybe if more people did it, the world may be a better place. Wishful thinking? Meh, maybe, but it's worth a try. It's easy to see the negative and get down on yourself. When I first started my gratefuls I found it hard to think of 4 for each day. Now I go through my days constantly thinking, "I'm grateful for this...." It's hard to narrow it down at the end of the day oftentimes. That, or trying to remember all what I said I was grateful for during the day.
Well, I believe that's about it for the catching up. Until next time...
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Tomorrow's A New Day
I'm anxious, excited, and nervous for this upcoming week. Unfortunately everything that I'm anxious, excited, and nervous for I cannot blog about just yet. However, in a nutshell, it has to do with changes in my lifestyle that effect me directly....no one else. I'm sure this next week will be a challenge, but I'm so ready.
Friday, April 09, 2010
My Husband, A Vegetarian?
On Wednesday David went out to eat for lunch. He had a salad with grilled chicken. Unfortunately the chicken did not sit well in his stomach. This is not anything new for him. However, he tends to go about his life, eating meat, feeling sick, and repeating. But after Wednesday's problem he came up to me, put out his hand, and said, "I'm going to try." I looked at him slightly confused. He then went on to explain, "I want to try to be a vegetarian and want to shake on it." I said, "I'll shake your hand, support you, but it's all on you and the choices you make."
At no point since I've become vegetarian and now vegan have I pressured David to change his lifestyle. I will admit I'd love him to drop the soda habit, but that's the only thing I've brought up. So this is a choice he is making on his own. Of course I fully support his choice and hope he succeeds. At this point his choice is to become lacto-ovo, just like I had been for 2 years. Lacto-ovo, meaning eggs and dairy will be allowed in his diet. With that being said, he's already been limiting his dairy products for over a month due to lactose-intolerance (got to love almond milk). So he's not gorging on egg/dairy products, but by maintaining a lacto-ovo status he can still eat food options with dairy/egg products listed in the ingredients. Obviously his current focus is to eliminate meat products in hopes of feeling better.
Although I'd love to succeed and know he will, my ultimate hope is that this will improve his health for the better, allowing him to feel better all around.
At no point since I've become vegetarian and now vegan have I pressured David to change his lifestyle. I will admit I'd love him to drop the soda habit, but that's the only thing I've brought up. So this is a choice he is making on his own. Of course I fully support his choice and hope he succeeds. At this point his choice is to become lacto-ovo, just like I had been for 2 years. Lacto-ovo, meaning eggs and dairy will be allowed in his diet. With that being said, he's already been limiting his dairy products for over a month due to lactose-intolerance (got to love almond milk). So he's not gorging on egg/dairy products, but by maintaining a lacto-ovo status he can still eat food options with dairy/egg products listed in the ingredients. Obviously his current focus is to eliminate meat products in hopes of feeling better.
Although I'd love to succeed and know he will, my ultimate hope is that this will improve his health for the better, allowing him to feel better all around.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Nothing New
Why do I never get around to blogging anymore? I still find it so enjoyable, yet never write. Bah.
I'm still doing the raw vegan thing. Still loving it. There are multiple "forms" of going raw so I've decided to venture into a specific area. In a nutshell it focuses on increased fruit intake which means it has lower fat intake. I enjoy fruit so I see this being a positive thing. As always, only time will tell, but I'm willing to try it and see if it "works" for me.
Spencer's doing well. I'm thankful that we've started to taper off of his steroid. He was to the point of needing to go outside every 2 hours and having accidents in the house. He's a good boy though and found the puppy pads all by himself (we have them setup for the other dogs and everytime he's used them). Unfortunately I feel horrible when he has to use the puppy pads. Although he's relieving himself in the right area, in his head I know he thinks he's having an accident. He knows he is only supposed to go potty outside, so I know it's probably a mental battle as he tries to hold it as long as he can. Thankfully mom and dad have been able to check on him which has limited his need for accidents. I'm looking forward to continuing to taper off his steroid and getting to the lowest dose possible. Within the next week we also hope to start to transition to the other anti-convulsant medication.
Other than that nothing much has been going on. Warmer weather is around the corner. We're ready. Both of us have been sick over the past 2 weeks with head colds and just want to feel better.
I'm still doing the raw vegan thing. Still loving it. There are multiple "forms" of going raw so I've decided to venture into a specific area. In a nutshell it focuses on increased fruit intake which means it has lower fat intake. I enjoy fruit so I see this being a positive thing. As always, only time will tell, but I'm willing to try it and see if it "works" for me.
Spencer's doing well. I'm thankful that we've started to taper off of his steroid. He was to the point of needing to go outside every 2 hours and having accidents in the house. He's a good boy though and found the puppy pads all by himself (we have them setup for the other dogs and everytime he's used them). Unfortunately I feel horrible when he has to use the puppy pads. Although he's relieving himself in the right area, in his head I know he thinks he's having an accident. He knows he is only supposed to go potty outside, so I know it's probably a mental battle as he tries to hold it as long as he can. Thankfully mom and dad have been able to check on him which has limited his need for accidents. I'm looking forward to continuing to taper off his steroid and getting to the lowest dose possible. Within the next week we also hope to start to transition to the other anti-convulsant medication.
Other than that nothing much has been going on. Warmer weather is around the corner. We're ready. Both of us have been sick over the past 2 weeks with head colds and just want to feel better.
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