Ah, it has been a little while......

HAPPY SPRING!!!!

Hey everyone in blog land! It has been quite some time since I have blogged. I have a new laptop and internet at my house so I will be online more often. Not sure who reads my blogs or cares, but I like expressing myself, it feels good. So I will blog when I can again soon about my life, trends, likes,dislikes, etc. A lot has occured in the past month and I can't wait to update and share about the good things going on in my life!


xoxo- Andrea

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day. Do you know where it originated from? Go to this link for more information

History of Valentines Day


Sometimes you celebrate this day, sometimes you don't. It is a day where you are suppose to show the person you love much more love and appreciation. I feel you should be doing that everyday. I am sure if I had someone though in my life, I would expect flowers,dinner, or cuddling but I am single. Last year was my first year of being single in over like 12 years. I had a date and it was fun but that's all it was. This year for valentines day- their was one man I wanted to see and it didn't work out. Their was one best friend I wanted to see and it didn't work out. But that's OK because I know they got love for me. So instead I am going to bring flowers to my grandma. She was married to my grandfather for over 60 years and he passed away about 3 years ago. They were the couple from the Notebook. They were so adorable and she is quite lonely on Valentines day. She even put out old cards out he gave her. So I will bring her flowers and hang out with her. Then my plan is to lay in bed with my loves- my pets and watch what I love- Glee, the Valentines Day episode. Seems like a regular ordinary night for me and it is. I am happy I am not sad about being single, infact I am quite overjoyed. I am not depressed I don't have a Valentine because I know I am loved and I am 100% ok and have accepted my singlehood! It feels good to be single and I enjoy it.

I wish you all a wonderful day- if you celebrate Valentines day or not, I hope your day is lovely with yourself, your spouse, your kids, your pets,whoever or whatever.... Just enjoy yourself and know you are loved.

dirty show, why you must go

                       The Dirty Show

http://detroit.metromix.com/events/standard_photo_gallery/party-pics-dirty-show/3000452/content

Take a look at these photos. I found these online and they are some pics from last weekends show.
 It continues tonight for Valentines Day and also runs this coming weekend Friday and Saturday. It is always a blast. I drove my ass downtown Friday during a snow storm and attended. Their is naked/.exotic artwork, great buys, great performances, dancers, etc. the people watching it amazing and you can go there and be free- you can just be yourself 100% and I love it. If you have never been, I suggest you go

Tickets are $20.00 and you should by them in advance because it does sell out!

The Beginning of February

Wow I  had a severely rough work week at my sales job the first week of February. I got denied going to a 4 day conference for my sales job. Well OK not denied, I get to go for 1 day to Columbus at the end of the month. Other conferences occur for the human sales rep and I know they can afford to send people, so I don't get why they can not send me longer?  I am not happy in my sales job, but I do the best I can to still benefit and promote it regardless. This full conference would benefit me as a sales person and as a technician . I was so worked up last week. Lots of emotions and feelings esp about MI vs NC decisions and feelings and what to do about it all! Heard also some new news about my ex, the drug addict and abuser and you can't help what you hear or what you are told but it just affected me.

Luckily my new nighttime medication protocol is working and I am now on almost 3 weeks of night terror free! It feels beyond amazing to wake up refreshed and awake. And I actually look forward to sleep at night. So of course the one thing  that makes me insanely happy and what gives me something to look forward to on the weekends is the Sanctuary.

So on Saturday Feb 4th, I headed out there. Over that week, I got a list of things they needed and got supplies for the reptiles,birds, and primates. I couldn't wait to give every animal their new treats and toys! As I was headed there, my main lady texted me saying that Earl, the pig I discussed in my last January weekend blog, passed away the night before they believe from another seizure or stroke. My heart sank. I understand in the animal field you lose animals, esp at a sanctuary. Sometimes we don't know their history and try to just keep them comfortable and happy. We did know this guys history and it's not a surprise he passed away, but just very sad. When the grown unfreezes, Earl will be buried in the pet cemetery at the sanctuary.
                                                              R.I.P.  EARL 2/3/12

Onto a brighter note, after having tears on my drive there I was able to talk to my brother on my drive up there because it was my nieces 2nd birthday! I can't believe it already. So of course that made me emotional because I can't be with her. So by the time I got to the sanctuary I was ready for hugs from my co-workers and some animal loving, I received both.

To start, it was a sunny day and warm for Feb- the high was almost 50. We had an extra volunteer that day so we got to get so much done in a faster amount of time. Every Saturday we clean out all the cages/enclosures. Because we had things thawed out, we were able to pick up any left over "items" in the outside enclosures.

Here are some of the animals enjoying the warm sunny day

                                                The Artic Fox lounging in the sunshine

Buffy, the buffalo. Surprising he is so nice! He came right up to me and ate a bagel out of my hand! He is so big!!! You do have to be careful thoguh obviously, he could charge at the fence. But he let me rub his nose. I always find myself liking the oddest animals the most at times!

                          The exotic domestic cats in their enclosure indoors, all clean and comfy!

Here is the damn Emu again. I wondered why he was poking his head out so much and being alert. Turns out, his lady friend laid a giant egg and she is sitting on it and he is "on guard". No worries my emu friend, I will NOT be entering your enclosure anytime soon.

The Iguanas  and the water dragon all spread out under their hot heat lamp after they got a nice warm soaking bath

 The Amazon (pictured here), the Macaws, and Cockatoo were so happy with their new cage toys for their beaks ,berry treats, and mixed nuts! yum yum, they ate the walnuts up so fast!

We then made rounds outside for feeding and cleaning. The water was not frozen in the hoses so we were able to give water to everyone after we did the bear feedings. Bears get huge full buckets of food!

                                                     Here is Mohan,the white tiger.
                        He is walking around enjoying the sunshine and getting fresh water.

   
                                                          Kelsey and her favorite man

After tending to all the other outdoor animals(turkey,foxes,ducks,snow macaque,tigers, bears,etc) we had one tiger left to tend to. Biggie is a tough one. She is very vocal and likes to play but was abused. She was going into trap doors for feeding and cleaning at her previous location and the trap door would be shut down on her tail. She only has a half of a tail now. So the sanctuary took her in but she may be transferred soon. The frankenmuth zoo needs a tiger and she may be shipped there to her new 2nd and safe new home.
 Kelsey and I were determined though to give her water because she kept licking her bucket acting like she wanted it. Everytime though we stuck in this metal hook to flip the bucket over and towards us, she thought it was funny to jump on it so we couldn't.

Finally I distracted her as Kelsy flipped the bucket and we were able to give her water.

When I first started at the sanctuary they told me and warned me not to put a hose in all the way because they will grab it with their teeth or claws and want to play with it and/or rip it. I took it seriously but didn't believe it'd happen. Well it did. Biggie grabbed the end of the hose and pulled Kelsey. I quickly grabbed the hose and then 3 other workers jumped in and we were all playing tug of war with a hose and a tiger. Funds are low for these long hoses so we needed it back, or part of it! After 20 minutes of pulling with all our strength, we lost. She won.

                    If you look closely, you can see part of a green hose in her waterbowl.
                                          She then played with it and acted proud.

Damn her, my body hurt for almost 48hrs after this because of her strength! I think next week I will pick up a big ball from the dollar store for her to play with.

And that was my day. I ended up hanging out with my new co-workers/friends,had dinner, and chatted. The owner of the snctuary told stories and educated me. I love this little family and all the animals. It was a 12 hr day and it could not have been more perfect.

Closing Out January 2012 in a Positive Way

The last weekend of January has come to an end. I have been officially volunteering at the sanctuary now for a month, every Saturday. I wish I could be there every day.

Not only do I get interaction with animals, but I am learning so much about animals. I love tigers so much but I am amazed how much I did not know about them. And primates, don't even get me started!!! The owners of the Sanctuary are teaching me so many things. They even informed me about different ways to go about getting my licenses in wildlife rehab and sanctuary work, as did the bird center I will be volunteering at. I am so happy to be getting my education on it's way. Now all I need is a laptop and money for these classes(thankfully they don't cost too much) I can also get my license fully for MI or NC. The reason I throw in MI is because IF the Bird Center can offer me a paid position, I'd reconsider staying but that doesn't occur til Spring. ALSO the Sanctuary DOES NOT want me to leave. In a mth they say I have made a huge difference and I agree. I mostly help out with the birds and reptiles until I learn more but I have had interactions with the large cats and primates. I love just watching them walk around and moan. It is amazing to me. They also informed me because they do like me so much and don't want me to leave that they want to get a grant from the state to hire my full time w/ benefits. Now why does this have to occur? I have all these plans set to move to NC,be by my family, and get a job there. But at the same time, I love this place and I never want to pass up an opportunity. I want to stay in MI and I don't. I want to move to NC and I don't. So I still am giving myself til the end of this year, hopefully before the end, to make the decision and see what happens. I feel so comfortable at the sanctuary. We all get along great, we work as a team, have fun, etc. I feel like I have been there for years and know everyone so well. It’s really crazy how much I am in love with it.Of course all good opportunities have to come at once. Why is that?! Well, least I am getting them right?!

Well on this particular Sat it was a cold one. Sun was out but the wind was blowing like crazy. At times it was snowing and just hitting your face hardcore. The hoses were frozen so we had no water and the elevator to get all our hay and straw and the packing company was frozen. Ah shoot. So we couldn't do as much work as planned. Saturdays are the FULL clean out the cage day. So out routine is cleaning and feeding everyone. Well we did the feeding and cleaned what we could. But their is always something to do.

My girl that's in charge took my around by the tigers. You def can't pet really any of them threw the bars. Passion the leopard acts all friendly and rolls on her back like a kitten but she'll grown insanely loud at you! But you can walk in the back (where we feed threw trap doors and say hi to the tigers. they will "talk to you" But Sher-Kan is the nicest one. He comes up to the cage, purrs and puffs at you, and lets you pet him. He is amazing.

After hanging out with the tigers I took a walk around. I found that we have a goat. The news excites me insanely because I am beyond obssessed with goats. His name is Blueberry and he is a Billy goat. He is my new best friend!

                                                I also found 2 emu’s, so not a fan of these large birds!!!!!

I also got some one on time with Spike. I feel so bad for him, he lost his female mate a few months back. He is a sweet guy. He will pick at your hands and arms trying to get you clean. It is an amazing feeling to have a monkey do that to you. Their hand looks and feel like a humans.

The birds since I have been there have been getting better nutrition and assortment of foods. I noticed that day that there were4 eggs in the enclosure where there are 2 macaws! This is great news because she has not laid eggs in 15 yrs apparently and because she did, that means she won’t get eggboundor sick. I kept the eggs and froze them to blow out the yolk and make something.

And lastly on this day me and the other volunteer Kelsey saw that this pig was sick. He didn’t have a name so we named him Earl. He has been there for about a year and come to the sanctuary from an owner. He was so fat that I guess his stomach rubbed and ripped on the ground and his tusks were overgrown into his face. The sanctuary fixed him up and he lost weight. Sadly though because of that weight loss, he could have become diabetic or gotten a thyroid condition. He also had severe arthritis. We believe that day he had a seizure or stro0ke. Kelsey and I tended to him by sitting with him threw the end of it, helping him up, gave him water, and then did the only thing we could think off- because it was so cold we got a huge blanket ,put him on it and rolled him into his hut. We got lots of hay and made him a warm bedding. We sat there with him and I hand fed him potatoes and tomato's until he ate and he did. I was so happy. Later that evening after we took our break and gave him time, we checked back on him and he was pushing the hay towards us like he wanted to play. He was all burrowed in his little enclosure and looked good.

I expected to stay there usually every Saturday from 10-11am and leave by dark around 5-5:30. But that day and now others I don’t l;eave til almost 10 pm. I want to stay and check on everyone, I want to stay with my new friends, I want to stay at a place where I am happy!

All my weekend in January were good. I had  a lot of fun actives with friends and the Sanctuary work really has helped me a lot. It gives me something to look forward to during the week bed cause I am quite unhappy at my sales job. Somethings are because of the company and others are because I am just not the sales girl. I want to be hands on with my animals……..they are like children to me.

And the next day- this was the result of the weather, we actually got like 3 inches in MI in Feb. Worst winter ever by the way!

It's Friday Bitches!

I know I have been posting a lot lately more so of photos and trends, which is ok in my opinion- my blog and I can post what I want. But I promise next week I will update more. It has been one rough hard week at my sales job but it was an amazing week last week at the Sanctuary. I want to post about that and some new medical issues that are occurring (good news!) and basically just blog and chat to myself and you.

For this weekend I am booked! I am off work here soon and I will be running a few errands for the sanctuary. I am then attending my 2 favorite bars this evening. Tomorrow I will be working a full day at the Sanctuary. Sunday my plans is to sleep in and then do something somewhere for the Superbowl!

I hope you all have had  a good week or as best as you could have. Also have an amazing weekend friends :) -Andrea

The Gift of Life

On 1/17/12 my girlfriend I have known since I was in 2nd grade delivered her 2nd baby.Her first with husband Kyle  is Sophie Ann who is about 21/2 now.
 Stella Lauren was born at 4:45pm weighing a whopping 5.11 lbs!!! She is so damn tiny with a full head of hair. Her and her mom are healthy and doing well. I am not a fan of kids, but I do love and adore my family and my friends children so so much. Here are a few photos of the beautiful event that I rushed to RIGHT AFTER WORK!