My 21st

Is he a who or a that?

After much debate and a little research, I have decided that Luigi, Bailey, and Corky are all whos as opposed to thats. They are named individuals who have unique personalities. The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar agrees. Therefore, I am rejecting the suggestion given by so many who proof-read my vet school application to refer to Corky as that. He was the first dog who captured my heart, who loyally defended me for 11 years, and who perhaps initiated my interest in veterinary medicine. Grammar police do as you will.

Applying for Vet School is Stressful....

Applying for vet school is very stressful...I know, deep down inside, that everything will work out....The good Lord is going to take care of me even if it's not in the way I would have expected. Right now, pre-reqs are frustrating me. I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier... It turns out, LSU says they aren't going to accept a higher level biology in place of zoology like they said earlier. I still haven't given up yet, but it's very discouraging. Additionally, it occurred to me that some schools may not accept me AP credit as pre-reqs. How ridiculous would it be if I was rejected by all the schools because of pre-reqs? I guess I would just take one more year of college to get them, and get a business minor while I'm at it...and maybe a Spanish minor too. It would be completely ridiculous to have to take biology and zoology after all my Animal Science classes, comparative vertebrate morphology, and microbio. It would be equally ridiculous to have to take University Chem I after making an A in Chem II...and passing Organic Chem and Biochem. So those are the current worries. I know I should worry about it...it's going to be ok in the end.

New Clothes!

I bought 2 new shirts and a new pair of jeans! I'm such a goober...

I cooked dinner

I really like my salad dressing :D

Dying Begonias and Bleeding Thumbs...

Ok...so I guess I'm not in the best mood right now. I had a wonderful weekend, but I ended it by gashing my thumb open with a knife while trying to open a package. At least the knife was brand new and produced a very clean cut. It bled for a little while, but I didn't feel it was necessary to go to the emergency room. It hurts, but hopefully will heal well since I'm taking care to clean it and treat it with antibiotic ointment. It was a pretty deep cut. I imagine I got fairly close to the bone. That sucks. I waited 2 hours as a walk in appointment at the health center just to have a nurse tell me keep it clean and if it turns red, swells, or produces heat come back for antibiotics. Yay. You can't see it in the picture...because I'm wearing a bandaid, and taking a picture of a nasty cut is just wrong anyway.


In other news...my begonia appears to be dying. I'm bringing it in with the hope I can nurse it back to health. But...it isn't looking good...



















I figure those are fairly symbolic of my mood... Bleeding thumb and dying begonias.

Home for the Weekend

I've survived the first two weeks of class...although it feels like only a couple of days. Now I'm sitting at home, watching Lord of the Rings with my dog at my feet. Wonderful, wonderful movies! Perfect!

Poor Luigi got neutered and chipped today! It was a bad day. He's all swollen where...um...they used to be. He also has a shaved spot on his leg and back. Poor little ragamuffin. Every chance my parents get, they bring up how you should always have more than one dog...how Bailey and Lui play every morning. Their tactics are working...I don't know if I have the heart to take him away from Bailey. But I really want him too.

I also got my pottery back. It isn't quite what I imagined, but it is still pretty.

Pictures later if I feel like it.

My room

Apartment

I'm officially moved into the apartment :D. It's looking pretty cute. My room is great! It's still so early in the school year, my room is clean and uncluttered. I've gotten a lot finished the last two days. I put up 3 curtain rods (lots of drilling!), assembled my shelf, put away all my clothing and stuff, set up internet, purchased football tickets, purchased a parking permit, and hung the pictures. Most of the time the apartment is fairly quiet. I still need to buy a fan though...sometimes neighbors play their music loudly and I think a fan would help drown it out. I still have so much to do... *big sigh* I can't wait until I get my planner. I'm going nuts without it.

Puppy Love

Progression of Fungus-Face

Lu has a ring worm infection (or maybe another fungus)...poor guy. It started as just a few bumps...and then progressed to a series of nasty, bloody lesions. Oh, my poor, poor fungus face....I'm treating him with a topical antifungal and lidocaine (in hopes he doesn't rub it all over the house) as well as oral antibiotics so he doesn't get an infection on top of the fungus. Hmm the antibiotic is Cephalexin which is used to treat skin infections in dogs...So maybe the vet isn't sure if it's fungal or bacterial. Either way...the oozing lesions would be likely to become infected anyway.

The Naughty Me...the Wonderful Luigi

I was really naughty today. Yup...I did what I always joked with my parents about....I brought home a dog. He meets my approval...













And George's...and mom's (she's sitting next to George)

















Megann fell in love too....how can you not?
















Mary Beth loves him...she came over just to meet him.












Luigi is a corgi-mix that was found on the side of the road. I fell in love almost at once...and when the animal control came to pick him up from the clinic...I told them they could take the other dog, but this one stays. I had him vaccinated and checked up. Heartworm and intestinal parasite free! He must have been someone's pet...but to let him walk around without a collar and un-neutered is just irresponsible. And he can't have better fortune than to find a home with me and my family...esp since I get a discount at a vet clinic. He's the most loveable dog!! I just adore him. Lu is really humble too...which is good. Hopefully old Mr. Bailey will adjust soon.

Poor Teeth...

I admit...I've been bad. Instead of getting my teeth cleaned 2 times per year, I've had them cleaned every 2 years. And now I pay the price. A whopping 5 teeth need work. Yikes. I had never had a cavity before this ....now I have 5. Poor parents, but I'm very thankful that they still pay for my medical bills etc. Poor teeth. I promise I will floss as much as I should now, and no more sodas! I already brush fairly often. *Sigh* How embarassing...

Baby Gourd

Well I guess my expedition into gourd-parenting was successful. Behold the baby gourd! I think I'll name this one Ginny, but I don't think I'll name all of them. This one was the first one really to start growing. I should go water them now.

In other news I'm starting to get everything ready for my apartment. I purchased a lamp today. I can't wait to move up there. I can't get a dog....no dog, no dog, no dog. Although...if a good dog crossed my path who needed a home...I just might take it.

An official Post

Well, I haven't updated in awhile, but not much has changed. I still don't have my vet school application finished...although I've officially asked Dr. LaVergne if he would write a recommendation for me. He said he would, now I'm just waiting for him to finish it. I think I'm going to ask Dr. Powell and Dr. Jack to write my other two. Dr. LaVergne has seen me with small animals...Dr. Jack with horses...and Dr. Powell from a leadership/academic perspective. *Sigh* I guess I should give them some warning, and I need to finish my part of the application. I want to have it finished and turned in by my 21st b-day.

Work is still work. It seems like there has been more sick animals this year than last. On Friday, 2 animals passed away, and today we had 1. It's always so sad, but Dr. LaVergne does everything he can for an animal before euthanizing it. I think he's more aggressive seeking treatment with animals than other veterinarians...which means fewer animals die preventable, premature deaths. Very good indeed.

In other news, I finished the last installment of Harry Potter. It featured some very interesting twists and was highly entertaining. I recommend reading them all. Such a good story...

Cheerio! It's bed time for me. I have to work (as usual)

Flower

Look what greeted me when I came home from work! One of my gourd vines has 4 blossoms on it! 3 female + 1 male (the female flowers have a bulb which the gourd will grow from). I'm so excited! I wonder when the gourds will start forming. I was too impatient to wait for a bee to do its thing...so I took a a piece of cotton and dabbed the male flower and then a female flower...I wonder if it worked? I wish my other vines were ready...I wanted to try crossing the typs of gourds to see what would happen. I hope the picture sticks around this time...

Update

Well, I've been back from vacation. Lol, it was nice, but now it's back to the daily grind. :D Work is good though. I like it, but I'm ready to go back to school. I feel up to doing stuff in the evening. I guess when I get old I'll have to find stuff to do during the evenings..like kid's baseball games etc. I like being busy. Weeeellll..that's it. Nothing interesting to say...

I hope everybody is doing well. <3

Zoo!

Gourd-eous

This gourd is doing better than all the others...It has dried up or been attacked by dad with the lawnmower. Lol...Although I noticed something has been nibbling at it's leaves.

I'm really tired this week. I've put in 41.33 hours this week and I have to work tomorrow as well. I hope Dr. LaVergne realizes I'm working overtime. I'll probably get 6 hours time and half this week. whoops. But the main vet assistant needed some time off so I filled in. I'm glad they trust me with so much responsibility. I'm definitely ready for vacation though. Gah...I really need to finish working on my vet application. I really don't want to save it all for the beginning of the school year. I think the next section I want to finish is the animal exp section. It might take a while...

1 gourd down.

Not a good day for my gourd plants

Today was obviously not a good day in the life of my gourd plants. As you can see from the pictures...Plants 1 and 2 desicated. No bueno. Plant 1 was 8cm last night. Poor thing. Plant 3 is still just a seedling...I'm hoping it will spout soon...It has roots already. Plant 4 I am proud to say is doing well. Lol...I'm glad at least one is doing well. Aunt Kim said you just plug them in the ground, water them every once in awhile, and leave them alone. Well I guess that work for a cooler area. Hmm, maybe next time I'll try to give them an adjustment period before such a rude awakening to Arkansas heat. Poor things. Maybe their roots are still alive. I'll water them for a couple of days to see. I accidentally broke off plant 5's leaves while planting it. I'm hoping it will be ok anyway. Plant 6 is a seed I just plugged in the ground. Wouldn't it be cool if plants 1 and 2 looked good as new in the morning? I can hope, right?


In other news...today was a fairly good day at work. I worked very hard cleaning the clinic since we had no appointments. AND Dr. LaVergne hired an assistant for me. How cool is that! Today was a perfectly good day for getting out on time, but unfortunately the kennels weren't ready...Bleh...I had my part completely finished, but I had to go pick up some slack. Oh well. I'll train my "assistant" to work hard and get everything done on time so we all can get out on time. I'm sure the two of us together can get things done to get out on time. >-)

Pretty things

Pretty flowers outside ^_^

My Gourd Garden (To be...)

Grow! Grow! Grow! I planted 6 seeds/seedlings. I hope they all grow and produce lots of gourds :D

More Gourd Seedlings

My Little Gourd Seedlings

Grow little seedlings! I thought I planted 1 seedling in each cupcake holder...Somehow I must have planted 2 in one. So 6 in all. 5 out six grew. Hehe, of course the only one that didn't grow was the one of two seeds that Aunt Kim gave me for the Martin house gourd. I'm going to retry it with the last seed... All the others grew though! The fifth seedling has roots but hasn't surfaced yet ^_^ I planted them today! Grow little guy! Stretch up to the clouds!! I think this one is the biggest. I decided to plant most of them away from a fence...because I want them to have flat bottoms for vases/ baskets etc.