RAVE HERE thread

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So mean! Poor Duncan. I'll have to give him a big smacking kiss to make up for your meanness - I know how much he lovessssss kisses

He loooooves having his little nose kissed.
Don't you know, that's how he got his show name? He's a hell-beast "In Disguise" as a nice horse. Actually since he's the opposite at horse shows...there's a nice horse under the psycho Thoroughbred! (That's actually a lie since he came with the show name, but it makes a good story!) Hell-beast is going to be in for a surprise when I get back from riding boot-camp over new year's!
 
Im totally going to be that person and just put it out there: Im HAPPY!!!! for once 🙂 Usually I dont get to be this way, and telling people in person makes me seem like a jerk. Maybe the sdners will kinda appreciate this, and take it as a non-jerk RAVE of joy.

Despite my bike being stolen, family problems, missing my dog who is still in VA, and fleas (ICK)...

(1) I have had a great move to OR, I had my pick of jobs and I even landed a dream job working with monkeys!! (which was ultra competitive position), and my coworkers are ultra supportive of me going to vet school (letting me travel to any interviews I get and setting up mock interviews in preparation)
(2) I actually have interviews to go to this year!!! (I had NONE last year), my BF has been ultra supportive... even flying to me to interviews
(3) I was able to pull of "schedule-impossible" over the last spring and the summer (which is why I disappeared from SDN for so long) improving my GPA across the board and GRE, and gaining additional/new veterinary experiences, and adding on major volunteer hours too

I really hope the good keeps rolling in, its nice being the happy person who can be there for others rather than having to worrying about my own problems.
 
Im totally going to be that person and just put it out there: Im HAPPY!!!! for once 🙂 Usually I dont get to be this way, and telling people in person makes me seem like a jerk. Maybe the sdners will kinda appreciate this, and take it as a non-jerk RAVE of joy.

Despite my bike being stolen, family problems, missing my dog who is still in VA, and fleas (ICK)...

(1) I have had a great move to OR, I had my pick of jobs and I even landed a dream job working with monkeys!! (which was ultra competitive position), and my coworkers are ultra supportive of me going to vet school (letting me travel to any interviews I get and setting up mock interviews in preparation)
(2) I actually have interviews to go to this year!!! (I had NONE last year), my BF has been ultra supportive... even flying to me to interviews
(3) I was able to pull of "schedule-impossible" over the last spring and the summer (which is why I disappeared from SDN for so long) improving my GPA across the board and GRE, and gaining additional/new veterinary experiences, and adding on major volunteer hours too

I really hope the good keeps rolling in, its nice being the happy person who can be there for others rather than having to worrying about my own problems.

That is great!! Now you just need to add this:

(4) Acceptance to vet school!! 😀

I will be :xf: for you!! 🙂 :luck:
 
That is great!! Now you just need to add this:

(4) Acceptance to vet school!! 😀

I will be :xf: for you!! 🙂 :luck:

I will be too! Perhaps we will end up at the same school!😉
 
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It is snowing in Fort Worth.
It has been really mild here on the east coast. We got our first snow over the weekend. Damn you global warming.
 
As much I love giving and family time and baking and cooking and all the heart-warming Christmas stuff... I have to rave that my amazing Mom and Step-Dad got me a PS3 Assassin's Creed III bundle for Christmas. I'm a gamer and have been wanting a PS3 since it came out, but could just never justify the cost for what is essentially a toy. I didn't ask for it (I'd never ask for something that expensive) and Mom is pretty anti-video game so I never would have guessed in a million years they'd get it for me. It's too bad Mom didn't record my reaction. It was probably YouTube worthy. :laugh: 😍
 
Man, where at in Texas? It's just hella windy in Austin...

It is snowing in Fort Worth.
It has been really mild here on the east coast. We got our first snow over the weekend. Damn you global warming.

Yep, I'm in the burbs near Ft. Worth. Pretty much right in the middle of Dallas and Fort Worth, like 30ish minutes from downtown in each city. My husky loved going for a walk out in the snow 😀
 
We had near white out conditions on Wednesday that culminated in about 6-8 inches of snow. Luckily, we had a lot of rain on Saturday that washed it all away and we're blissfully green and brown again. We're supposed to get more snow on Sunday. Bugger.
 
They may have figured out what's wrong with me!!!

I posted in the 2015 thread a while back about some health issues I've been having - basically recurring bilateral uveitis and chronic headaches. I've lost a lot of the visual acuity in my left eye and the only time I'm comfortable is when I'm on systemic prednisone. We've run every test in the world from basic CBC/Chem to MRI and xrays and they couldn't figure out why it was happening. I don't match the normal "idiopathic" uveitis classification but everything was coming back negative so they just keep pumping me with the steroids.

ANYWAY: Today, my test for Bartonella henselae came back positive!! (For those of you who don't know: bartonella is a bacteria carried most commonly by cats and can be transferred to humans in a scratch or a bite) A lot of doctors dismiss Bartonella because its classic clinical presentation is of Catch Scratch Fever which involves enlarged lymph nodes, fever, etc. However - bartonella is linked with all sorts of things: including triggering autoimmune diseases which cause uveitis!!

SO - I'm on Rifampin and Doxy for 6 weeks (as long as my liver holds up to the rifampin) and I am so hopeful that this will end all this drama! Vet school + losing vision = not fun.

SOAPBOX:
The veterinary community is GREATLY at risk for contracting Bartonella and more often than not: our symptoms are NOT cat scratch fever but manifest themselves in weird ways. The human medical field thinks of Bartonellosis as something that is self-limiting OR only effects immunocompromised people and this is NOT TRUE (especially for veterinarians because we are exposed to it on such a regular basis). It has been linked to numerous different diseases and should always be on the differential list of a person in the veterinary field with abnormal medical conditions (or with an owner who has a positive cat). Also, the antibody test is not very specific. It has a high rate of false negatives but there is a PCR test by Galaxy Labs is now available commercially which is supposed to be better. I was positive on the antibody test - but would have been pushing for the PCR test if I had come back negative.

WEAR GLOVES WHEN DOING A FELINE ORAL EXAM. Yes, it is a pain but by the time you have stuck you fingers in their gums and pried open their mouth to see that they have the tell-tale signs of bartonella, you could already be infected. Take the extra 20 seconds and put a pair of gloves on.

/end soapbox

I'm really hopeful this will be the end of the issues - with the horse's injury and my eyes I have been so down lately. Maybe things are starting to look up!
 
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So I went to goodwill today to buy a joke cat gift for my friend since the whole store was half off and figured I could get some good stuff.

So I wandered over to the books and went to the pet section.

Found a cat book for 1.50 = 0.75.
Looked it up on amazon to see how much it's worth and boom. $60-$250.
Score.
 
Heylodeb- I am so glad they have figured out what is going on!! :xf: :luck: I hope the meds do the trick!!
 
Heylodeb- I am so glad they have figured out what is going on!! :xf: :luck: I hope the meds do the trick!!

Me too, Deb. I was worried about you.

Wonderful news Heylo! Hope you are back to normal soon soon soon.


Thanks guys! In the meantime, I'm enjoying the fact that the drugs are making me pee extremely interesting colors and if I can figure out something to cry about - my tears will be orange.

Today, I woke up without a headache! 😍 First time in almost 3 months that I haven't had a headache without the help of prednisone!

AND - gelding didn't seem nearly as depressed today and yesterday as he has been. He hasn't been coming into his stall for breakfast, has no interest in playing, etc. This morning he greeted me at the stall door and gave me kisses first thing which he hasn't done in months. Maybe he is feeling better, too! 😀
 
the one and only football game i got to watch my team play this fall was a win! 😀 we won by the skin of our teeth and the whole game/season has just been a pathetic mess, but i'll take the win! i also forgot how much more anxiety is associated with watching a game live versus watching the little gamecast thingy! 😱 :laugh: Go Hokies!
 
I love my new juicer:
ImageUploadedBySDN Mobile1356810060.913706.jpg

For lunch, I am drinking pear, papaya, cucumber, lemon and Swiss chard.
 
Just bought 4 of the Game of Thrones books for $12, an AWESOME solid oak entertainment center for $100 and sweet large decorative votive wrought iron thingy for the wall for $20.

I love facebook Sell It! :laugh:
 
I've been keeping Maisha at a different clinic since Saturday to save money. Apparently her values are back to normal and she can go home today. 🙂

Hopefully her values will stay good even off the IV fluids.
 
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I've been keeping Maisha at a different clinic since Saturday to save money. Apparently her values are back to normal and she can go home today. 🙂

Hopefully her values will stay good even off the IV fluids.

So glad to hear that PP! Keep keeping us updated!
 
I've been keeping Maisha at a different clinic since Saturday to save money. Apparently her values are back to normal and she can go home today. 🙂

Hopefully her values will stay good even off the IV fluids.

yayyy!!!👍👍👍
 
I've been keeping Maisha at a different clinic since Saturday to save money. Apparently her values are back to normal and she can go home today. 🙂

Hopefully her values will stay good even off the IV fluids.

That's so good to hear!
 
I've been keeping Maisha at a different clinic since Saturday to save money. Apparently her values are back to normal and she can go home today. 🙂

Hopefully her values will stay good even off the IV fluids.

Yay! Fingers crossed for her!!
 
She's home! And she looks so much happier. She's eating right now and has been playing a bit. And she's a bit cuddlier.

ImageUploadedBySDN Mobile1356997470.284515.jpg
 
Thanks guys! In the meantime, I'm enjoying the fact that the drugs are making me pee extremely interesting colors and if I can figure out something to cry about - my tears will be orange.

I have not been following, but I hope that things get better for you soon! And the soapbox rant was great, after all, "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"...yes. yes, I did just quote my grandmother :laugh:

And on another note...not to be disrespectful, or gross, but I have been thinking it would be funny to have a "TMI" thread...this could be a great starter!
 
I love my new juicer:
View attachment 22097

For lunch, I am drinking pear, papaya, cucumber, lemon and Swiss chard.

was this any good? I keep thinking a juicer would be a good way to get all those veggies and fruits I miss out on...of course, this is kind of because how expensive eating fresh can be!
 
was this any good? I keep thinking a juicer would be a good way to get all those veggies and fruits I miss out on...of course, this is kind of because how expensive eating fresh can be!

I LOVE my juicer, you need to be careful though, especially if you're not used to eating your veggies. It's easy to overdo the dark green veggies and get an upset stomach!

I would suggest getting one that doesn't suck to clean, my roommate had a difficult one last year and knowing you have to clean it prevents you from using it as often as you could.
 
WHAT. THE. EFF?!?!?!?!

I just almost shot my boyfriend bc I was sleeping at my parent's house and he walked into my bedroom door. What is he doing here? He's supposed to be in NY. He just decided to randomly surprise me even though I'm flying to see him in a week. 😍
Holy crap.

Sneaaaky!! Em, I really think this year you are Not gonna get a lame Christmas gift lol... I've already said what I think is gonna happen, this just confirms it in my mind :laugh: 😍


I agree. :laugh: 😍



Haha we'll see. I have a theory about this surprise visit but I'll just wait to see if I'm right before I jinx it 😀

...
 
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was this any good? I keep thinking a juicer would be a good way to get all those veggies and fruits I miss out on...of course, this is kind of because how expensive eating fresh can be!

Mine is a pain in the butt to clean. Every time I make juice, I have to rinse the parts and use a toothbrush to scrub the spinning mesh thing. Then I just set it out to air dry. If I don't clean it right away, the pulp would likely become rock-hard and make it difficult to clean later on.

That is the only downside to it.

So far, I have juiced apples, carrots, spinach, lemon, lime, pineapple, pear, Swiss chard, oranges, ginger, cucumber, papaya, berries and celery. If the juice tastes a little odd, juicing a lime into it makes it yummy.

We just have a juicer that spins to produce the juice. The ones that masticate are healthier because they do not heat up and they leave more fibre. They are more expensive though.

When I decided to go vegan, my stomach was a little upset for several days due to me replacing processed snacks with nuts and veggies.

Having fresh juice once or twice a day made my stomach feel a little wonky again, but that is getting better as I get used to it.

With eating healthy, it is not a bad idea to take it slow. The boyfriend increased his veggie and nut intake ten-fold since I decided to eat healthier. He didn't feel well for a few days. He did some reading and apparently he is supposed to slowly increase his fibre intake because a quick increase can throw everything out of whack.

My rave: I was eligible for repayment assistance with student loan. My repayment went from $540ish/month to $125/month for the next 6 months. Yay!!!
 
I apologize for any bad grammar in the above post. Either my vision or contacts are wonky and are making it difficult for me to read this forum 😛
 
So far, I have juiced apples, carrots, spinach, lemon, lime, pineapple, pear, Swiss chard, oranges, ginger, cucumber, papaya, berries and celery. If the juice tastes a little odd, juicing a lime into it makes it yummy.

My dad got a juicer a couple Christmases ago. We concluded that in juicing, apples make everything better. Don't think we've used the juicer since that year though.
 
😍 :soexcited: :claps: :banana: :biglove: :zip:

Yay yay yay!! 😍 I kneeeeew it 😀 so happy for you !! 😀
 
😍 :soexcited: :claps: :banana: :biglove: :zip:

Yay yay yay!! I kneeeeew it so happy for you !!

Thanks! 😍
I'm on cloud nine. He proposed in the middle of this bridge in the background in front of a waterfall (for everyone besides Kpowell who already saw it) 😉
He did it Saturday. :biglove:
I cannot get a picture of the ring that does it any justice. I just love it. And I love him. And yay!!! 😀
ImageUploadedBySDN Mobile1357027608.486500.jpg
 
Thanks! 😍
I'm on cloud nine. He proposed in the middle of this bridge in the background in front of a waterfall (for everyone besides Kpowell who already saw it) 😉
He did it Saturday. :biglove:
I cannot get a picture of the ring that does it any justice. I just love it. And I love him. And yay!!! 😀
View attachment 22105

aww congrats! 😍 😍 😍
 
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