This May Save Your Life-Important

The weather at this time of year in many areas of the country can cause flooding as heavy rains cause creeks and rivers to spill over the banks. Driving conditions can quickly become hazardous when you drive onto a flooded road, or a flash flood picks up your car and the strong current carries it away.  The way that todays car are made, the bottom of the car is quite flat and low to the ground, water quickly builds up underneath, causing your car to be picked up quickly and swept away as it fills with water. I just saw these tips about surviving an incident of this type, and thought I would repeat them here. Following these tips greatly improves your chances of surviving and being rescued. The life that is saved could be your own.

1. Avoid flooded roads if you can. Many times, a driver will crest the top of a hill, only to realize too late that the road below is flooded.  If you can avoid it, do not drive onto a flooded road.

2. If you are on a flooded road, the car has stalled and water is rising, open the door and get out, head for high ground. Call for help if you are able.

3. If you can't get out, and you still have power, take off your seatbelt and roll down your windows before the car stalls. (assuming you have power windows, if you have manual windows quickly roll one down. This is scary for people because you may let water into the car, but you have to be able to get out!)

4. If you can't get out, the car is stalled and you have no power you will need to break a window. It's suggested that you carry a small ball peen type of hammer in your vehicle for just such a situation.  Otherwise you will need a heavy, pointed object. You need to break a side widow,  do not try to break the windshield, it's laminated for safety and it will not shatter and fall out so that you can get out. Take your hammer and hit a side window in the bottom corner closest to the front of the car. It might take a couple of tries, but it will shatter and all the glass will fall out.

5.  Climb on top of the car and wait for rescue.


6.  If the car is sinking and you have to start swimming here is what you do. Enter the water feet first. Swim in the direction of the current towards the roadside. Look, reach and feel for something to grab onto, a branch, tree, large rock, etc... If you are able, climb onto the overhanging branch or tree and wait for rescue. According to the report, remaining as calm as you can and following these tips greatly improves your chances for survival. 

This is something I hope none of us ever needs, but if it happens we should all be prepared and know what to do.

The Secrets to Live, Love and Avoiding Insanity

 I wrote this some time ago, as I sat around pondering the approach of my 44th birthday, I was a little depressed about it, and I was thinking of things that I had learned in my life.  The man that I allude to...when I speak of finding the perfect person for you and running like hell (towards them, not away), actually became my husband on October 30th 2010. It's funny how things change;) 

I thought I'd like to share it with you!

This is what I've learned as I've grown older....

Dates/spouses/boyfriend/girlfriend, may come and go....but you're REAL TRUE friends really are there forever...don't throw them over for your relationship.
Men/women basically don't change, you shouldn't try to change them, it just isn't fair.
When the car is on E, stop and get gas...your Father won't always be around to bring it to you.
When raising children, throw out all the rule books, you'll get it right all by yourself. (with some help from MOM)
Sisters are your best friends...and your worst enemies....I'm so glad you can't hide the last can of Coke from me ever again....(Laura, Michelle and Rachel-HA!)
Pets are great to talk too....they don't talk back, they  kiss you when you need it, you can kick them out of the bedroom whenever you want, they are soft and feel good, they love you no matter what, and they don't judge you when you are getting out of the shower..naked.
Speaking of pets, the death of  a pet can affect you just as much as the death of a friend or loved one.  I have learned that the pain will ease, but you will never forget.
I have learned that promises are broken, in fact, they may be meant to be broken, and it only makes you stronger.
That there are no rules to relationships, you just try to do the best you can, and hope for the best.  Give 100% to someone you care about, and hopefully they will give back 100%...if they don't, kick their butt  to the curb. They're not gonna change. Just pick yourself off and dust yourself off, and get back on the horse.
That web dating is a crap shoot.
That the people you are interested in romantically almost always seem to live too far away, are already taken, or are not interested....so when you find someone thats available, scoop them up and run like hell.
That when a man says he doesn't have time to see you, or hes always working, or hes always..for whatever reason unavailable...get the heck out. Quit torturing yourself. face up to the fact that he is just not that into you, and that he just doesn't have the guts to tell you.  Grab your bruised heart  and run... remember, hes not gonna change. (I guess this can apply to women too)  Remember, and repeat after me..."He/she is not gonna change."  (wish I wouldve learned this one 20 years ago...would've saved myself a lot of heartache.)
That fate may play a part in where your life heads...but you really ARE in charge of your own destiny.
That black grains of rice in the white rice box are not wild rice....a mouse has gotten into your cabinets.
That a cat can solve the above problem.
That some of the grossest bugs in the world are 1000 leggers and silverfish, both freak me out....
That smokers believe they have a right to smoke, and non-smokers believe they have a right not to have to smell/breathe it...and that they are both right
Take care of your Mom, or whomever the adult was who raised you.  They may not have been the best MOM.,(my Mom is the best, love you) but they did the best they possibly could.
Treat your children well...see above. LOL
That "I'll call you" does not imply a promise...which is meant to be broken anyways...It can mean all kinds of things, some not nice, and instead of getting upset about it, move on. If its meant to be, it will.
That events/experiences which happen in our lives can completely change the direction our life is taking...and that it's ok. Roll with it.
That it's better to have an opinion and take crap over it, than to not have one at all.
That listening is sometimes more important than talking, (usually) LOL...unless of course, you are stating your opinion.
That the perfect person is out there...the one thats perfect for you. The one whose faults don't make you crazy..or if they do make you crazy...you can still function normally in public . But be aware  that you may only have them for a short time....so don't make yourself crazy over analyzing every word he/she says, or does, and enjoy the time you have with them, no matter how long, or how short:(
That the dead probably do walk.
That the love of a child is love in it's purest form, especially if it's from your child
That sometimes you just have to say "wth?"
That rolling on the floor laughing is fun, and everyone should do it.
That you should never be too specific when giving a child instructions...My Son was 7 years old, i think, and I told him Mommy was gonna take a nap. "Do not wake me up unless the house was on fire." I woke up an hour later...and whoops!!! Stepped into a huge pile of dog poo . I asked him" why didn't you wake me up if the dog had to go out""...he replied "because the house wasn't on fire."
That sometimes you give a lot more than you get, but the person you gave to will remember forever.
That exes are exes for a reason! And, it's not too smart to go back:)
That exes teach you. They teach you to know what you don't want, what's a deal breaker , and that looks aren't always everything. Exes allow you to realize what you have found once you find it!
Exes are also good for giving you the most important person, or persons, in your life, your children!
I have learned that just because they make it in my size, it doesn't mean I should wear it.
Never ask an honest person or a relative if something makes your butt look big. In my family, that is a recipe for disaster!
That your Son can be 6'1" tall, and 215 pounds, but when you look at him you still see the baby, and the boy...behind the man he has become!
That my Dad was right when he told me I had to learn to drive a stick shift because that meant I could drive anything if I had to or wanted to, and then he taught me. I have driven stick shifts, automatics, motorcycles, dirt bikes, ATV's, big trucks, little trucks, dirt bikes and more! Thanks to Dad's excellent instruction my body is still intact. Love you Dad!


I'm sure if I think on it a while I will be adding to this, so stay tuned for part 2!

The Last Word.............

My husband and I were having a disagreement, by text message no less, lol, last Thursday. I was at work, he was at home. We work 2 different shifts. I cannot for the life of me remember what is was that we disagreed about, but he finally said "forget it, it's not important."  I said" I'm glad that you have decided to concede and admit defeat." He said" When I met you I decided that I could be happy, or I could be right!". Perhaps THAT is the secret to happily married life!

I love you Robert!

I loved you the minute I heard your heartbeat. I loved you the minute you were born; then I saw your face and fell in love some more. You were only a minute old, but I knew I would die for you and to this day I still would. When you choose to have a child, you make a conscious decision to allow your heart to walk around outside of your body.

Need help losing weight?

For the ladies who worry about their weight. I've figured out why I can't lose the weight - The shampoo I use in the shower that runs down my body says "for extra volume and body". Going to start using Dawn dish washing soap. It says "dissolves fat that is otherwise difficult to remove". Stole this from a friend. Had to do it.

Vintage 1956 Horse Magazine

http://www.bonanza.com/booths/Vintagepaper66

 

 

March 1956 Horse Magazine.

Contents: The Horse in Antiquity

The Great O'Neill

Let's Race to Yon Steeple

A Good Jumping Position is Easy to Learn

Horses Are The Travelin'est Animals

Horse Shows Abroad

Ponies

Sleighbells In The Snow

My First Horse

Vaughn Flannery and more!

Very good condition with mild corner, edge and spine wear. A deep bottom right corner cover crease. Most items ship within 24 hours of receiving cleared payment, business days only I do combine shipping, international buyers contact me for a shipping quote before purchase. Paypal is accepted, other payment methods available, just ask. International buyers are responsible for customs fees.

A Shelter Managers Letter

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  I am not the original author of this letter, but thought it was important to share with everyone, especially during such tough economic times when many people can't afford to keep their pets anymore. The shelters are OVERFLOWING, so please don't adopt from a breeder or worse yet a puppy mill.
  
  A Letter from a Shelter Manager
  
  I think our society needs a huge "Wake-up" call. As a shelter manager, I am going to share a little insight with you all...a view from the inside if you will.
  
  First off, all of you breeders/sellers should be made to work in the "back" of an animal shelter for just one day. Maybe if you saw the life drain from a few sad, lost, confused eyes, you would change your mind about breeding and selling to people you don't even know.
  
  That puppy you just sold will most likely end up in my shelter when it's not a cute little puppy anymore. So how would you feel if you knew that there's about a 90% chance that dog will never walk out of the shelter it is going to be dumped at? Purebred or not! About 50% of all of the dogs that are "owner surrenders" or "strays", that come into my shelter are purebred dogs.
  
  The most common excuses I hear are; "We are moving and we can't take our dog (or cat)." Really? Where are you moving too that doesn't allow pets? Or they say "The dog got bigger than we thought it would". How big did you think a German Shepherd would get? "We don't have time for her". Really? I work a 10-12 hour day and still have time for my 6 dogs! "She's tearing up our yard". How about making her a part of your family? They always tell me "We just don't want to have to stress about finding a place for her we know she'll get adopted, she's a good dog".
  
  Odds are your pet won't get adopted & how stressful do you think being in a shelter is? Well, let me tell you, your pet has 72 hours to find a new family from the moment you drop it off. Sometimes a little longer if the shelter isn't full and your dog manages to stay completely healthy. If it sniffles, it dies. Your pet will be confined to a small run/kennel in a room with about 25 other barking or crying animals. It will have to relieve itself where it eats and sleeps. It will be depressed and it will cry constantly for the family that abandoned it. If your pet is lucky, I will have enough volunteers in that day to take him/her for a walk. If I don't, your pet won't get any attention besides having a bowl of food slid under the kennel door and the waste sprayed out of its pen with a high-powered hose. If your dog is big, black or any of the "Bully" breeds (pit bull, rottie, mastiff, etc) it was pretty much dead when you walked it through the front door.
  
  Those dogs just don't get adopted. It doesn't matter how 'sweet' or 'well behaved' they are.
  
  If your dog doesn't get adopted within its 72 hours and the shelter is full, it will be destroyed. If the shelter isn't full and your dog is good enough, and of a desirable enough breed it may get a stay of execution, but not for long . Most dogs get very kennel protective after about a week and are destroyed for showing aggression. Even the sweetest dogs will turn in this environment. If your pet makes it over all of those hurdles chances are it will get kennel cough or an upper respiratory infection and will be destroyed because shelters just don't have the funds to pay for even a $100 treatment.
  
  Here's a little euthanasia 101 for those of you that have never witnessed a perfectly healthy, scared animal being "put-down".
  
  First, your pet will be taken from its kennel on a leash. They always look like they think they are going for a walk happy, wagging their tails. Until they get to "The Room", every one of them freaks out and puts on the brakes when we get to the door. It must smell like death or they can feel the sad souls that are left in there, it's strange, but it happens with every one of them. Your dog or cat will be restrained, held down by 1 or 2 vet techs depending on the size and how freaked out they are. Then a euthanasia tech or a vet will start the process. They will find a vein in the front leg and inject a lethal dose of the "pink stuff". Hopefully your pet doesn't panic from being restrained and jerk. I've seen the needles tear out of a leg and been covered with the resulting blood and been deafened by the yelps and screams. They all don't just "go to sleep", sometimes they spasm for a while, gasp for air and defecate on themselves.
  
  When it all ends, your pets corpse will be stacked like firewood in a large freezer in the back with all of the other animals that were killed waiting to be picked up like garbage. What happens next? Cremated? Taken to the dump? Rendered into pet food? You'll never know and it probably won't even cross your mind. It was just an animal and you can always buy another one, right?
  
  I hope that those of you that have read this are bawling your eyes out and can't get the pictures out of your head I deal with everyday on the way home from work.
  
  I hate my job, I hate that it exists & I hate that it will always be there unless you people make some changes and realize that the lives you are affecting go much farther than the pets you dump at a shelter.
  
  Between 9 and 11 MILLION animals die every year in shelters and only you can stop it. I do my best to save every life I can but rescues are always full, and there are more animals coming in everyday than there are homes.
  
  My point to all of this DON'T BREED OR BUY WHILE SHELTER PETS DIE!
  
  Hate me if you want to. The truth hurts and reality is what it is. I just hope I maybe changed one persons mind about breeding their dog, taking their loving pet to a shelter, or buying a dog. I hope that someone will walk into my shelter and say "I saw this and it made me want to adopt". THAT WOULD MAKE IT WORTH IT.