As I Wait

Today is the end of the world. Well, not so far. I woke up this morning as Craig was leaving for work. I asked him, “are we still alive?” “Yes, Tara…” I’m glad I have today off so that I can spend time with my fur babies though. As I am waiting to meet my maker, I will post the pictures from Bellingrath for your viewing pleasure.

We went to Bellingrath Gardens with Tina, Drew, Tristan and Allison the first weekend of December after decorating our house. Bellingrath is the home of an insanely rich guy. He wanted to please his wife so he surrounded it with a giant garden. These folks are long gone now and the gardens are open for public viewing. During the holidays, thousands of lights are put up for viewing. Craig and I went last year for the first time. We enjoyed it, so I think it may become a tradition for us.

Cheers!
Tara

 

Merry Smith Christmas!

I wanted to share holiday spirit with everyone, so I took a few pictures of our home. We decorated the first weekend of December and have enjoyed the decorations as I always do. Craig, on the other hand, was hesitant as he always is to get motivated. He doesn’t like to decorate, but I really do believe he enjoys it just as much as I do when everything is finally up. Junebug has particularly enjoyed her first Christmas. You may notice the absence of gifts under the trees. This is due to Junebug. I have to re-wrap several gifts because she was just too excited about Christmas that she decided to unwrap them. No, literally, the paper was shredded and the gift bags had all the tissue paper removed.

We also had a fun trip to Bellingrath Gardens. I will post our pictures in the next blog. I hope you enjoy our home as much as we do. Have a very Merry Christmas!

Cheers!
Tara

Our Beautiful Home

The Lights at Night

 

Our Living Room "Family" Tree

 

My "Nice" Maroon and White Tree

 

Details on my "Nice" Tree

Our Stairwell

Junebug likes to play with the bell

The stocking are hung by the chimney with care...

Mantle details edited

 

Mantle details unedited

After the gifts were gone, she wrapped up herself in the tree skirt...

 

Anxious Vet Post

As I sit here at Urgent Care on my first emergency shift anxiously awaiting a horrifying emergency to call or walk in at any moment, I am filled with utter terror. Not just on the medical aspect either. I am not prepared for this. I wasn’t prepared for this. Looking back, perhaps taking this position wasn’t such a wise decision. But, when you have student loan debt up to your eyeballs and your family is eating slim pickings, you somehow have to muster up the courage, put you big girl panties on, and deal with it. And that is exactly what I am doing. I already deal with anxiety issues on a consistent basis, so this is extremely difficult for me. I think writing this blog is helping release some of this anxiety, so I apologize if you were expecting an upbeat, happy go lucky blog. Read no further if that is the case.

Anyone that really knows me knows that I am a pessimistic person. I, however, prefer not to think of it as pessimism. I, my friends, am a realist. The definition of realist is as follows: a person who tends to view or represent things as they really are. Yes, that is me. This is me more so than it ever has been. People, as a whole, have really disappointed me, especially since graduating vet school. I suppose it is because it has become more obvious. I have somewhat grown accustomed to clients absurd requests and declining of services for there sick and dying animals. Nothing breaks my heart more than to watch an unwell pet walk through the door with next to nothing done to heal or safe it’s life. Unfortunately, this happens. This happens A LOT.

Today, for example, a sweet black cat with epistaxis (nosebleed) and dyspnea (breathing difficulty) came to me for a visit. The kitty has been like this for a few days but the nosebleed is more recent (blood tends to make people freak out a bit more). The owner, a very nice older man, was a very heavy smoker as far as I could smell. The kitty was mostly indoors but occasionally crossed over the threshold for a leisurely visit to the great outdoors. Not up to date on vaccines and not on heartworm/flea prevention. Yes people, cats do get heartworms. He claimed to only be able to afford the office visit, but after some poking and prodding, we were able to convince him that the cat in the very least needed some medication. He finally agreed. Only problem is, I have no idea what is wrong with this cat, and I had to completely guess on medication. This was just one of a few this morning that played out exactly the same. “What’s wrong with my pet? I can’t afford testing so can’t you just give me some medicine? Why is this so expensive?” Blah Blah Blah. Here’s a brilliant idea! If you can’t afford to take care of a pet (healthy or sick), then maybe you shouldn’t have one. Ya know, kinda like kids, oh wait… Or maybe, you could give up all your addictions (alcohol, smoking, drugs, shopping, etc.) and have more money to spend on your “family” member. Just a thought…

All this brings me to my main point. If I am sitting here waiting on a sick or hurt pet to visit me, and this person arrives with no money to spend. What in the hell is the point? Why would you waste my time, your time and stress your pet out to come up here and tell me that you just want me to tell you what is wrong with your pet. Hold on a second. Let me go to the back. I just recharged my crystal ball so it should be up and running. Sorry sir, it’s currently not operational, but luckily I have my magic wand. Let me go grab it. Oh again, I’m very sorry, I’m fresh out of fairy dust and my wand just won’t work without it.

I’m sorry for being so bitter, but this is real. I suppose I chose the wrong profession. But, I can see how this would apply to many other professions as well. I am steadily getting more resentful all the while. It really is just a damn shame. I fear it will only get worse as the economy gets worse. I just hope and pray that something will change. I hope people will respect life and health more, human or animal. I hope people will respect and care for others’ thoughts, values and opinions. I hope people will stop being so materialistic and focus on what really matters in life. These are a few of my hopes. Hey, we can all hope for something, right? But then again, I am a realist.

Not So Cheery,
Tara

 

Non-Stop November

I apologize for not updating since last month. November has been a very busy month for us. Many exciting weekends and life changes have occurred. The Peter Anderson Festival is held in Ocean Springs, MS the first weekend of November every year and is my favorite event. This was also a great weekend because I was able to hang out with a few good friends that I haven't seen in awhile. Kati also opened her new store this weekend to drive in some early sales.

As always, I wake up earlier than the festival starts so that I can grab a good parking spot and find the best artwork first. I went straight to Kati's shop to see if she needed any last minute help and then started the walk. No more than 2 minutes after leaving, I had already made a purchase (a beautiful piece of pottery). I had a small amount of cash and reached my budget rather quickly unfortunately (within a few hours). But, I found a Christmas present too so that made it seem better... well, at least in my eyes. After the money disappeared, I headed to a friend's house for mimosas. It was great seeing these old friends. I decided to walk around the festival with them and proceeded to drink from the Blue Moon beer stands that decorated the sides of the streets. This is the first time I have ever drank because usually I have a much larger budget and shopping list. I had a GREAT time. This will definitely be something I will do in the future. During the next week, we were able to get our portraits done for our Christmas cards. They turned out great! Here is a preview.

The next weekend was eventful as well. We were not able to go to Gatlinburg as we previously had planned because Craig was not granted time off. We will try again to go up, hopefully in the beginning of the year. I am happy that it worked out that way because I was able to witness the beautiful baptism of Tristan. Tina had planned this event after our planned vacation but God had another idea I do believe. I was able to attend my cousin's birthday party before the baptism as well.

Josh's Birthday Bash

Tina did a wonderful job planning the event. I rode into town early to try to help her finish up some last minute projects and get the food together. When I arrived, Tina was grocery shopping, so Drew and I decided to go eat at the local Chinese buffet. It was so funny because the wait staff kept asking Drew about Tristan and where his wife was. I swear I got the death glance a couple of times while I was there. This also reminded me of when I went to the hospital with Drew and Tina for Tristan's birth. The sweet nurses in the hospital were somewhat confused and asked if Tina and I were the parents. Bless their hearts. Anyways, Tristan was so well behaved during the whole ceremony. There was another baby there as well, and I have to say, Tristan was better. Even his name was better. This poor child's name was "Massimo." C'mon, I mean really... Those parents are just cruel. Tina invited everyone over after the ceremony for a reception. The food was great and the decorations were beautiful. Luckily, Tina was able to receive and print his newborn pictures just in time. Kati brought the cake over from one of her client's bakeries. Check them out here. I love that I was able to be a part of such a special event. And Tristan, I have to say, loves his Auntie Tara. I also got to witness him holding his bottle by himself at 3 and a half weeks! Can you believe that!?

 



 

I returned late on Monday after Tina bribed me to stay for a trip to the fabric factory where you can buy high end fabrics for dirt cheap. I got several "scraps" for a $1 each that I intend to make pillows with but we'll see if that happens anytime soon. The reason why is because, on my way home that evening, I received a phone call asking if I was interested in a position for a full time associate veterinarian. Absolutely! I set up an interview for that Thursday, was offered the position on Friday, accepted it on Saturday, and started on Tuesday. I met the practice owner randomly at a Continuing Education seminar on a Sunday last month. Apparently, I made a good impression. But, what is really strange is what my fortune revealed when I ate the buffet, "A chance meeting opens new doors to success and friendship." Crazy, I know!

I accepted the position while I was in New Orleans. I traveled there for a wedding of a long time friend. I suggested that several of us get together for some much needed girl time and everyone agreed. I checked in at our very nice and very large room at the Hampton Inn downtown and headed to the wedding. The ceremony was beautiful! It was set up on top of the Jax Brewery and occurred as the sun set in the background. A bit of a chill drew the crowd into the reception directly after the bridal party departed. Guess where I went. Yeah. I went to the bar. As a matter of fact, I went to the bar one to many times that night. I had great conversations up until we left at shut down time. The rest of the night was a blur, or perhaps, non-existent. I recall meeting a dude from the real world, drinking a hurricane at the swamp, and that's. about. it... My babysitters say that I was a blast in a glass. I hope they got some good memories out of me because I have none. All I know is that, I woke up the next morning with a buzz, a right leg lameness, and a pain in my ass. Literally. I had a massive bruise on my left butt cheek that is still present.

 

 I had to wake up early that morning to attend a family Christmas party. Epic fail. Not the waking up part, no I was good on that. I left the hotel and headed to the parking garage only to find that my driver's side front tire was completely flat. No biggie, right? Oh so totally, WRONG! A nice gentleman that worked at the garage helped me change to my spare tire. It looked a bit flat, but I was assured that it just needed some air. OK. I hooked up my portable air compressor and it was broken. OK. Let's just try to find the nearest gas station to put some air in it. NOPE! As I backed out of the parking spot, Tina shakes her head. Dammit. The spare was now completely flat. It was decided that I just needed to go and get some lunch and chill. I didn't have much of an appetite after this debacle and the liquor was still swimming in my stomach, but I managed to choke down a roll. I learned some baby stuff from the mommies at the table too. Interesting, and we'll leave it at that. Tina drove me back to Ocean Springs with my flat tire in tow and my car left behind in NOLA. It was Sunday, so I would just have to wait to get a new one on Monday. Finally, I was able to get it repaired. I hitched a ride with my sister and bro-in-law who had flown in on Saturday and replaced the flat spare. Needless to say, I now know how to change a flat tire.

The next week was spent hanging out with the family and getting fatter. Our family really pulled together to make this Thanksgiving memorable and delicious. Mimi is still unable to walk, so it was important to all of us to keep it just like every other past Thanksgiving. She is the leader of all of our great meals and is in charge. With Mimi's guidance, the food turned out just right. Everyone enjoyed it, and I think Mimi felt better after it put people in their normal food-induced comas.

My first day on the new job was somewhat busy. I performed six elective surgeries and saw a few rooms. I am hoping that this position will provide me with what I was seeking at my previous employer. I will have emergency call for the first time and that makes me somewhat nervous. Over this past week, I am learning how to be a veterinarian at a new practice with new protocols, new meds, and new rules. This is typically a slower time of year, so I don't have to learn by leaping. It is very different from what I am used to, but I have managed to adjust so far. All of the staff is very nice, and I feel comfortable with them so this helps. I am hopeful and optimistic that this will be a good fit.

So, as you can see, my November was very busy. Tina, Drew and Tristan are coming over tomorrow night, and we are all going to go to Bellingrath Gardens to view the Christmas lights. I am excited to see how Tristan will react. We have mailed out our Christmas cards and will be putting up our Christmas decorations this weekend also. Time to get in the Christmas spirit! I hope I will be able to post next month and keep up with this blog now that I have less free time. See you soon (hopefully)!

Cheers!
Tara