Happy 4th of July!

To all who are celebrating the 4th of July with fireworks, just be careful with them. Make sure you have a bucket of water near you in case they catch on fire. But have fun!

Make sure to keep your pets inside  because the loud noises from the fireworks can scare them.

Pretty Sky

We were on our way to Mt Charleston a few years ago and this is how the sky looked when we left. I thought it was so pretty I took a picture of it. 

Ken and I took a road trip to BullHead City one day just to get out of the apartment and stopped to take a look around and I snapped this picture. If you get out of Las Vegas you can actually find some green. lol 

Another picture from our trip to BullHead City which was fun. it's nice just to get out and drive with no place in particular in mind. This is where we ended up one day and it was a pretty day. 

There Be Ants!

I've had an ant problem in my bathroom every summer for about 4 years. Last year drove me crazy because the little bastards were killing each other and throwing the losing opponents dead, headless body down through my vent and right into my sink. I must have found 5-6 decapitated ants every day last summer and it drove me beyond my breaking point..seriously. So this summer I got out the caulk and caulked up every single crack, crevice and hole in my bathroom that I could find...but the little biting buggers kept getting in and I had no idea from where.

I saw a couple ants getting in from around the tub enclosure hubby put in the bathtub a couple of years ago so I went to check out if there was enough space at the top for them to get in and there was, so I caulked it. Ha ha can't get in now, can ya?

I saw that a couple of ants were getting in around the metal bar that separates the bathtub enclosure from the bathroom wall...caulked that up. Yes, I did.

Caulked the entire top of the tub enclosure..hubby didn't do it when he installed it and there were a couple of gaps just big enough for an ant to get through. Ha ha ants, foiled again!

I wasn't about to put up with the decapitated bug corpses being throw down my vent this year, so I had hubby use some really sticky tape and tape up the vent. ha ha ants, not getting in that way!

There's a crevice right there...caulk it up. 

Yep, the ants are not getting in my bathroom this year...

All caulked and haven't seen an ant in days...yeah me!

Send A Bag Of Poop To A Bad Neighbor

No, I'm not off my medication and yes, you did read the title right. There is a wwebsite called Poopsenders where you can order *are you ready for this* a quart or gallon of cow poop, Elephant poop or Gorilla poop and they will anonymously send it to anyone you want!

You just can't make this stuff up! Go to the Poopsenders website to see for yourself.

Do you have a hateful neighbor that never picks up his dog shat and you want to send him a message? I think this might be the website for you.

How about a brother who is a big douche? Yeah, I think we all have a family member that fits that bill, now don't we?

So send them a gallon of gorilla crap and let them know *anonymously of course* that someone out there thinks they are full of crap, or that they stink, or that someone thinks all they deserve is a large, smelly bag of poop.

Heck if I could buy an entire dump truck full of this stuff and bury a certain person up to their armpits in it...I would. I like to give things and this is one of those things I would happily give.

so do you think this is a good or bad idea? Would you do it?

Weekly Rat Facts: Cost

Each week I'll being making a "Weekly Rat Fact" where I'll give you advice about what you should know before owning a pet rat. I think rats make great pets but unless you have the time, money, space, patience and know what they need in advance of getting them, I don't advocate adopting a pet rat until you do.

As with any pet, rats do cost money each month in order to keep them happy and in good health, I spend anywhere between $40-$80 a month on my 3 boys and that's just for food, treats, cage accessories and extra fresh foods like fruits and vegetables. 

That cost goes way up if they get sick and you have to take them to the vet. I had to take one of my boys to the vet and have him put to sleep a few years ago and it cost me $80 and most vets won't let you set up a payment plan. It's either you pay at the time or they won't see you. 

I have a credit card that I use specifically for any emergencies for my rats. It doesn't get used for anything else. If your rat gets a tumor and you want to have it surgically removed that can cost anywhere between $200-$300. 

Before adopting a rat most people think they only thing they need to buy is a cage, bedding, food and some toys. While those are necessities you also need to think about what you'll need if your rat gets sick, gets mites or lice or an abscess. 

List of things that should be in your ratty first aid kit: (Instructions on how to use these things will be below)

Neosporin with pain relief  $8.00 (this can be applied to small wounds, cuts and abscesses.)

Revolution for cats $17.95 (One drop of this on the back of your rat will get rid of lice and mites)

Aquatic Amoxicillan $8.99 (Needed for upper respiratory infections)

Hydrogen Peroxide (for cleaning wounds)
Q-Tips and cotton balls  (for swabbing minor wounds)
Eye dropper (for flushing abscesses)
Small diabetic needle (can be given to you by a vet for treatment of dehydration)

Instructions for Diluting and Giving Medications

Most pet stores don't carry medications for rats so we rat owners have found out that medications for other animals work quite well for out furry little friends if used the right way.

Revolution for cats- it has to be the version for cats because the version for dogs is stronger and can harm the rats instead of getting rid of the lice or mites. You put one drop of the revolution liquid on your adult rats back, between their shoulder blades and then you distract them so they don't clean it or lick it off, until it is dry, one treatment should get rid of all the rat mites or lice they have. 

Aquatic Amoxicillin- Mix 5ml of water with a 250mg capsule. That would make 10mg for every .20ml of water. You should give a sick rat 10 milligrams per lb of rat of amoxicillin per day for 14 days. 

You would need small diabetic needles which you can get from your vet if your rat gets sick and needs fluids but they won't drink. You would have to give your rat a subcutaneous injection of saline.

There are other costs as well, like hammocks, food bowls, fleece to line the cages with, toys, beds and wheels. I buy new fleece hammocks and bunkers every couple of months because my boys chew them to shreds. I also have to routinely replace the fleece blankets I use as bedding because they chew holes in them.

So as you can see there's a lot more to having pet rats than just buying a cage, bedding and food. As with any pet, if you're not willing to take them to a veterinarian when they get sick...don't adopt an animal.

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too.

This week I found links to all of these freebies at Freebie Shark. I received...

A free Scents trash bag

2 Juice Beauty face care samples

1 Seventh Generation Mandarin facial cleansing cloth

2 Ovaltine samples

Downy unstoppables

Gain Fireworks clothes soap

Marbles Chirping and Bruxing

My 3 year old rat is very happy right now. That's why he's bruxing (chattering his teeth) and chirping.

It's Been Two Years...

It's been two years since my mom passed away. I thought that the pain would subside over time but it doesn't really seem to. Still feels like yesterday. 

Think about you daily and wish you were here with me. 

I Can Finally Spill The Beans!

Back on March 22nd...I won a Kindle Fire 7! I won it from joining in a chat discussion on Discover A New Love and as you can see in the picture or by clicking the link...I won the big prize that day.

It came in the mail just a few days later...Thank you so much Grace Burrowes and Discover A New Love. Now the reason I kept it a secret for so long is because I gave the Kindle to my daughter for her birthday a few days ago and I had to wait until I did that before I said anything about winning it. My daughter has been wanting one for a long time and I couldn't have won this at a better time. 

My daughter got a Kindle fire for her birthday!

She could hardly believe it. lol 

I think this is one of the biggest prizes I've won from a blog contest. Just goes to show that all those hours entering contests and giveaways really does pay off. I win stuff all the time.

Do Rats Get Diabetes?

A friend of mine had been telling us about her rat who has diabetes and she updated our rat group about what she was doing to get him better and keep his diabetes under control. I figured most people probably didn't realize that rats just like humans and other animals could get diabetes so I asked her if she would be willing to be interviewed by me for an article. She agreed and that article is now live. Above is a picture of her rat, Boo who has diabetes.

Interview with a Rat Enthusiast: What Do I Do when My Rat Has Diabetes?

I love this picture of Boo, how sweet is that?

Here's Lucky With His First Fleece Cube

Promote A Post on FB?

Have you ever wondered what that little "promote" button under some posts on Fb does? Well, I did so I clicked on it and this is what popped up. 

For $6.99 credit card or paypal...you can pay to have one of your posts promoted so it shows up at the top of your friends news feeds. 

I suppose if I have something reaaaaly important to say to my friends...I'll promote  just ask them to take a look at it. No friends, I will not be paying to get my funny pictures, rat funnies or the hilarious tales of my family at the top of your news feeds. 

Who does this?

Happy 22nd Birthday To My Daughter

My daughter has had a big year, she had a son on January 31st of this year and he's 4 months old now. 

But this is how I mostly remember her...a little girl always ready to get dressed up on Halloween and get some free candy. lol 

My daughter and her boyfriend Josh. I had a little fun with this picture..lol 

Happy Birthday to my little girl.

Paula Deen Fired?

She said it's been a long time since she used the "N" word. I really think people are making a bit too much a deal over this. I have to say I'm a little surprised by this. This all came about because...

She never said that she uses that word now or anytime recently. The fact that she answered the questions truthfully should say something about her character. She could have lied about it.

Taken from:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/19/showbiz/paula-deen-racial-slur
And
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/21/paula-deen-fired-food-network-cancels-show-after-racism-scandal_n_3480517.html

"Court records show Deen sat down for a deposition May 17 in a discrimination lawsuit filed last year by a former employee who managed Uncle Bubba's Seafood and Oyster House, a Savannah restaurant owned by Deen and her brother, Bubba Hiers. The ex-employee, Lisa Jackson, says she was sexually harassed and worked in a hostile environment rife with innuendo and racial slurs.

During the deposition, Deen was peppered with questions about her racial attitudes. At one point she's asked if she thinks jokes using the N-word are "mean." Deen says jokes often target minority groups and "I can't, myself, determine what offends another person."

And from another article...

The language in question was revealed recently as part of a deposition of Deen by Jackson's lawyers in May.

Jackson lawyer: "Miss Deen, have you told racial jokes?"

Deen: "No, not racial."

Jackson lawyer: "Have you ever used the 'N word' yourself?"

Deen: "Yes, of course."

Deen testified that she probably used the racial slur when talking to her husband about "when a black man burst into the bank that I was working at and put a gun to my head."

"I didn't feel real favorable towards him," she said, referring to the robber.

Jackson lawyer: "Have you used it since then?"

Deen: "I'm sure I have, but it's been a very long time."

Deen said she couldn't remember other contexts in which she used the slur, but "maybe in repeating something that was said to me."

"But that's just not a word that we use as time has gone on," she said. "Things have changed since the '60s in the South. And my children and my brother object to that word being used in any cruel or mean behavior."

Freebie Friday!

Welcome to another edition of Freebie Friday, where I tell you what free samples and full sized products I received in the mail and how you can get them too.

This week I got some awesome freebies. Here's what I got. 

A coupon for a free Tai Pei single serve Asian Garden product- I found out about this free from Freebie Shark.

A coupon for a free 2 litre bottle of Pepsi- I found out about this freebie from Hey It's Free

A coupon for a free 20 Oz bottle of Coke - I got this from turning in some of My Coke Rewards. 

And I won The Barefoot Contessa Cookie Mix and Tiki Knives from Lisa Renee Jones blog Thank you to my friend Elf at The Reading Addict for letting me know about this contest. 

You can click on all of those links and find out how you can too win stuff on a blog, enter coke rewards codes or sign up for great freebies. 

New Cube In Lucky's Cage

I bought a new fleece cube for Lucky's cage and put it in today. 

He has a bunker hammock that he lays in sometimes so I thought he would like this as well.

They look comfy, right?

Lucky was not impressed.

He laid in it for about 5 seconds..and then...

He started chewing the heck out of it. In 5 minutes flat there were huge holes in it. Maybe he'll like it better after he's done redecorating it? 

Nevada Soon Will Have Legal Marijuana Dispensaries

To say I'm disappointed is an understatement. The only good thing about this bill is that it's going to be more regulated. So weed smokers are still going to go to jail if they smoke and drive or smoke and drive and cause injuries because they are high. And let me just predict how this is going to happen, mmmkay?

You know damn well that the pot heads are going to be smoking and driving and causing accidents..hopefully they get the book thrown at them for doing so. And the fact that people can only grow their own until 2016...isn't going to stop them from growing and the pot heads are going to mumble and grumble and complain about this left and right. 

Taken from... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/13/nevada-medical-marijuana_n_3433806.html

CARSON CITY, Nev. -- After 13 years of waiting, medical marijuana patients in Nevada will soon have a legal way to obtain the drug without growing it themselves.

Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval signed SB374 into law Wednesday evening. The measure establishes the framework to make pot available to medical marijuana card holders, and imposes fees and requirements for growers, processors and dispensaries. It also contains provisions to continue to allow home-growing until 2016.

The tax revenue created will first fund the regulation of the dispensaries. Any remaining revenue will be funneled to education.

According to the National Conference on State Legislatures, Nevada is the 14th state to legalize medical marijuana dispensaries, and one of 19 states to allow medicinal pot, along with the District of Columbia.

My Brother Had Back Surgery on the 11th (Pictures of post OP surgery)

If you get queasy easily...you might not want to look at this post. I don't think the pictures are all that graphic but others might.

But as you can see...he's doing fine. lol Posing for the camera and smiling.

The surgeon went in from the side and fused two discs together. Hopefully this will stop his back pain. 

He's home now and doing fine. 

Sign Up For BzzAgent

And this is why it pays to sign up for BzzAgent.com I just got 6 coupons for free stuff in the mail that I can get at my local grocery store. Stuff like a free bottle of Maple Syrup, free bread crumbs, free dry rub, free natural preserves, free bread, and a coupon for $3 off meat in the meat dept. I get free products to try from them all the time. If you'd like to get free products too just go to BzzAgent and sign up for an account. My brother did and he got a free electric beard and mustache trimmer.

This month I also received a free pair of Dr. Scholl's Massaging Gel Insoles from them and soon I'll be getting a free box of MidNite Sleep Aid. 

All you have to do after getting these things is try them, and then write a review or share it on social media like Twitter and Facebook. 

Happy Father's Day!

I just wanted to wish a great big Happy Father's Day to all the father's out there. My dad likes sweets so this year I sent him a cookie basket and he loved it.