Thursday, June 28, 2012

~ Thrifty Thursday ~

Hi Friends!

Happy Thrifty Thursday to ya!

I have some fun finds to share with ya this week.

Two adorable cat stitchery's. $1.00

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6 Acorn molds $2.00

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6 molds for making my smell good pantry cakes. Yum!  $2.50

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A wonderful sign. $2.00

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A nice watering can. $2.50

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A tiny spittoon. $0.50

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A wonderful vintage enamelware soap dish with lid. 

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So cute!   $1.00

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Until next time…

Carmen and the Primcats

Monday, June 25, 2012

~ Crafters Wanted ~

Hi Friends,

Happy Monday to you!

I'm not much on Mondays. They certainly do seem to ruin every single weekend don't they? ;o)

Lets see... what is going on in my world?

Not much. Last Friday night we went to dinner with friends. Had some delish pasta and splurged on myself. Spent some major ww points on that dish! lol! YUM! So good. But that’s the reason I love this lifestyle change so much. I still get to splurge. Everything in moderation and them BAM! Shrimp Scampi Pasta for me and I don’t even have to feel bad! After I was happily buttered and carbed out so I went to bed way early so I would be good to go for Zumba Saturday morning.

Saturday and Sunday both I just worked around the house. Saturday we did a little quad riding and Sunday I floated in my pool and read some. It was a really nice weekend.


LOL! Makes me laugh!
 
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I received a request to post a crafters wanted on my blog... never one to let a show down... or my fellow artisans… here ya go. If your looking for a show to do this fall, this information might be just what you are looking for!
 

CRAFTERS WANTED! Hara Arena in Dayton, OH is accepting applications from crafters for booth space in the 2012 National Holiday Gift Show Thanksgiving weekend.  The National Holiday Gift Show at Hara Arena is one of Ohio’s largest indoor handmade crafts show.  Thousands of shoppers will be browsing through over 370 booths featuring arts, crafts, collectibles, ceramics, personalized items, toys, holiday and home decor, floral wreaths, arrangements and much more!  Show hours are Friday, November 23 & Saturday, November 24 from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and on Sunday, November 25 from noon to 4:00 p.m.  Admission is $5.00 for adults, FREE for children 12 and under.  Parking is FREE. 


For more information about the show or to download an application go to

www.haracomplex.com or contact the show manager Brooke Folkerth at (937) 278-4776 x215 or by email at bfolkerth@haracomplex.com.
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Until next time…
 
Carmen and the Primcats

Thursday, June 21, 2012

~ Thrifty Thursday ~

Hi Friends... 

A couple of goodies for Thrifty Thursday... 


Cute little buttocks basket. $0.50


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A box of nice tapers to grungy. $1.00

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And the find of the week... 

a nice farmhouse scale for $15.00.

Love this!! ♥♥


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Until next time... 

Carmen and the Primcats

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Happy 12th Anniversary and Happy Fathers Day!

Happy Sunday Friends! 


Two celebrations today! 


Happy 12 year Anniversary to Shane and I!!! 

♥♥♥♥♥♥ 


We are blessed! 



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And Happy Fathers Day to my Dad! 

♥♥♥♥♥♥



Happy Fathers Day to all the wonderful dads out there!!! 





Until next time...

Carmen and the Primcats

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Feline TNR – Trap, Neuter and Release

Hello Friends,

Today we are having a little Feline FYI for Caturday.

whoah-it-caturday[3]

Have you ever seen a cat with a tipped ear?

TNR

Well if you never have… now you know what it is if you do see it.

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Lets delve a little deeper:

From the ASPCA:


What Is Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR)?

TNR is the method of humanely trapping feral cats, having them spayed or neutered and vaccinated against rabies, and then returning them to their colony to live out their lives. TNR also involves a colony caretaker who provides food and adequate shelter and monitors the cats' health. TNR has been shown to be the least costly, as well as the most efficient and humane way of stabilizing feral cat populations.

How Does TNR Help Feral Cats?

Through TNR, feral cats can live out their lives without adding to the homeless cat population. “It is very important to have all feral cats spayed/neutered because it is the only 100-percent effective way to prevent unwanted kittens,” says Aimee Christian, ASPCA Vice President of Spay/Neuter Operations. “Feral cats are prolific reproducers.”

Furthermore, by stabilizing the population, cats will naturally have more space, shelter and food, and fewer risks of disease. After being spayed or neutered, cats living in colonies tend to gain weight and live healthier lives. Spayed cats are less likely to develop breast cancer and will not be at risk for ovarian or uterine cancer, while neutered males will not get testicular cancer. By neutering male cats, you also reduce the risk of injury and infection, since intact males have a natural instinct to fight with other cats. Spaying also means female cats do not go into heat. That means they attract fewer tom cats to the area, reducing fighting. If cats are sterilized and live in a colony that has a caretaker, they may live more than 10 years.

How Does TNR Benefit the Community?

TNR helps the community by stabilizing the population of the feral colony and, over time, reducing it. At the same time, nuisance behaviors such as spraying, excessive noisemaking and fighting are largely eliminated, and no more kittens are born. Yet, the benefit of natural rodent control is continued. Jesse Oldham, ASPCA Senior Administrative Director of Community Outreach and the founder of Slope Street Cats, an organization dedicated to feral cat welfare, notes, “TNR also helps the community's animal welfare resources by reducing the number of kittens that would end up in their shelters—TNR creates more space for the cats and kittens who come to them from other avenues.”

What Is a Colony Caretaker?

A colony caretaker is an individual (or group of individuals) who manages one or more feral colonies in a community. The caretaker keeps an eye on the cats, providing food, water, shelter, spaying/neutering and emergency medical care. In most cases, organizations and vets know these people because of the community service they provide. Some shelters and rescue groups even give out free or low-cost spay/neuter coupons to colony caretakers.

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I was a colony caretaker. The pic above is two of the cats from a colony I TNR’ed. We TNR’ed 12 cats and removed 17 kittens from the property. That’s 17 kittens that went to good homes as healthy spayed and neutered cats. And 12 cats that were feral and came back to live their life on the farm they were abandoned at.

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It was very sad to me to see these cats sick and unhealthy because all they were were baby making machines and territory fighters. It was just bad. :( They could never get healthy. And even when the kittens were healthy they would end up dead on the road. I can’t tell you how many. Feeding them alone did no good. It only made the humans feel better. But sadly it really just allowed the cats to continue to reproduce and die, reproduce and die. :( A tragic cycle.

They were not mean cats. Though they would seem scary to a human not used to their feral behaviors. They would lunge and hiss and growl and swipe at me the first few months I cared for them. But not because they wanted to hurt me… because they thought I was going to hurt them.

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So I set out to give them a better life and stop the cat population on my road from growing any more than it already had.

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I contacted my local humane society and was pleased to find out they had just started a TNR program in place for my county if I would be their caretaker. They wuld spay and neuter, test and vaccinate and take care of fleas, worms and ear mites. I jumped right at it!

We trapped them, took them in to be speutered and then returned them to the property.

I was lucky enough to rehome one sweet cat from the colony and then spent 3 months taming this one so she could go live with her sister.

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I spent hundreds of hours on that concrete porch just sitting there… waiting for her to realize I meant her no harm.     

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And look at that sweet face. You can’t tell me it wasn’t worth my time and effort.

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The population of cats has dwindled and those who were spayed and neutered and returned to the farm have moved on as time has passed. Someone finally moved into the house after it went to auction and there is a big dog there now. I am hopeful that the TNRed cats moved on to the other farms in the area and are still keeping our area as their territory. I am confident that is the case as the stray cats are nary seen these days. 

The one thing I am certain of is that where ever they are… they aren’t making more babies and I am very happy about that.

If ever I am called upon to again TNR cats or care for a colony I would jump in and do it right away without hesitation. It is the BEST thing you can do for stray cats!

Until next time…
Carmen and the Primcats

Friday, June 15, 2012

Why you should add the "Follow by email" gadget to your blog!


Hi friends,

Happy Friday to you! Hope everyone is ready for the weekend and has some relaxing in mind. I am hoping to chill in my pool this weekend as last weekend I didn’t get too really enjoy it. I was to busy doing other fun things!

Tonight I’m going over to see that cute little baby Anson who came into the world last Saturday.

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Can’t wait to hold him again. He is so beautiful and such a blessing!

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So my post today is really about a great way to follow your favorite blogs and not miss anything.
Lately I have been terrible about visiting blogland and keeping up with everyone’s new posts. So I started signing up to get your posts emailed to me whenever I see that you have the gadget available to me. And it is sooooooo great! Your blog post arrives in my email and I miss nothing! Love it! No spam… just a nice neat little blog post!

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I have the gadget right up there in my top right hand corner and all you do is put in your email address and then confirm it by clicking a link sent to your email. Walah… you won’t miss my posts either!




Subscribe

And please add this wonderful gadget to YOUR page so I can sign up for yours!!!

- Go to your dashboard

-Go to layout

- Click add a gadget

-Click Follow by email

-Fill it out and then save!

Done… and I won’t miss your posts once I subscribe!

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Also… if you have a second or two during your visits please click and check out my ad sponsors. I would really appreciate it! I’m trying to get me a pedicure! ;o)

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Gonna end with this one… Because it’s hysterical!!!!

Michelle sent this to me and said it reminded her of me! Look… it’s me and 14 cats! Ha! I need it!
Does anyone have a cricut cutter with vinyl. I need me 14 cats! Oh and a Mr. Primcat!!! LOL!

Cats

Thanks Michelle! Cracked me up!

Until next time…

Carmen and the Primcats

Thursday, June 14, 2012

~ Thrifty Thursday ~

Hi Friends!

Bet this one threw you off didn’t it? It’s been so long since I’ve had anything worth showing for Thrifty Thursday. I’ve gotten a  few doodads lately though… lets take a look!

As always my little cat-dog Tracy is right there to help me. :)

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Found this wonderful canning Jar. $5.50. Love it!

Looking for some flags to put in it.

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A cute wall box. $1.00. No Makeover needed. Prim perfect as is!

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A lovely salt glazed pottery piece. It’s big. Probably 8” across. Pretty cool!

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A nice 10” crackled plate.

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A 12” pewter plate.

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The pickins’ have been slim… but I think I found a few keepers. :)

Until next time…

Carmen and the Primcats

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Thank you Cindy ~ Cynthia Lee Designs

 

Hi Peeps!

I need to send a huge thank you out to Cindy at Cynthia Lee Designs! 

  http://cynthialeedesigns.wordpress.com/

Look what she made me!

Squeal!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Thank you so much Cynthia!!! I love this so much!!!

Wonder if she could put it on the back of my biker vest! LOL! I totally would!!!!

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I had come across this hammered candy dish for her a while back and sent it to her. She collects hammered pieces and I just knew she had to have it! It’s different. I liked it a lot… and luckily she did too!

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If you don’t know Cindy… you are missing out!

Head on over to her blog and say hello!

  http://cynthialeedesigns.wordpress.com/

Until next time…

Carmen and the Primcats

Monday, June 11, 2012

Reasons I will never forget last Saturday :)


Hi my wonderful Friends!


Thank you all so much for the blogiversary wishes! I appreciated each and everyone and much as I appreciate you and the last 3 years!


While you were wishing me happiness… I was getting a full days dose of it! Saturday was Awesome!!! A day I won’t forget anytime soon!


Reasons I will never forget last Saturday!


1. You and your kind words about my silly little blog! Seriously. THANK YOU ALL!


2. Zumba. Had a great Saturday at Zumba! It was rocking and I burned some mad fat! Woohoo!


3. Personal Training! Woohoo! Loving it and getting stronger! I totally PLANKED for 30 seconds TWICE! 3 weeks ago I could not plank for 5-10 seconds without collapsing. Woohoo!


4. (But most certainly #1 here!) My newest nephew has joined us and I was blessed enough to be there!


Meet Anson Wayne Ballenger.


9 pounds 1.6 Ounces


Cutest little boy ever!!!! Adorable!


And big! He’s a chunk! Love me some baby fat!


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Vicki, my best friend of 30 years, her husband Kenny brought their 3rd beautiful baby into this world and again they allowed me to be a part of his arrival. I have been a part of all of their births and I am so blessed that she loves me enough to want me to be there when her little angels are brought into this world.
Look at those little baby bow lips. ♥


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Here’s the proud daddy, Kenny. Sorry no pics of proud mama. After baby was born he took straight to the nip and I wasn’t about to put a pic of that on here. lol! It doesn’t offend me in the least… but I’ll be darned if my bff wants her boob on here. HA!


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Vicki had a very fast Labor. I barely made it there. I got the text after the gym and rushed home to shower thinking I had plenty of time. Nope. She had a 3 hour and 10 minute labor. I seriously walked into the room and 15 minutes later he was out! I am glad this labor was short. Her last 2 were not. She deserved a short one!

So yeah… Reason #4 is really reason #1 because nothing makes my day brighter than my bff and fam with a new happy healthy baby!


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But since we are going in order…

#5 Next… a call from Hubby to meet me for dinner and playing on the quads with friends!

Well ok! On my way! What a day!

All 5 ready to go!

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Maiden voyage on my fixed Quad!

Chillin’ on the hill!


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Mr. Primcat and I.

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♥♥ Awwww. He lubs me! ♥♥


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All in all it was an amazing Saturday!!!


Lets just say Sunday was mostly sleeping Saturday’s celebration off! Why you ask? Well because these are WAY to good for your own good. ;o)


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Drinker beware. They go down WAY to smooth on a hot Summer evening celebrating with your friends! LOL! ;o)


Monday, I had a tiny surgery. No biggie. Back in 2008 I had a cyst removed from my left ear. It was not in my ear but the roots of the cyst were wrapped around my ear canal and had to be surgically removed as not to cause damage. All was well and then last last year I felt that crappy pang in my ear and knew it was back. DARN!


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I decided to wait until this year to get it removed again as I wanted to lump all my medical together so I can write it off major next year. So far I’m up to over $5,050 in bills this year with my appendix surgery and my lasik. I’m sure this one will cost me near $3000 too and then I have an $800.00 bone scan to be done for my ostiopenia (early Osteoporosis from all the steroids for my Crohns.) And probably a pill cam running about $1500.00 for my Crohns. And then last but not least Rheumatoid testing. That comes to about 11,000.00. I do have insurance with a 3,000 deductable BUT I just started meeting that with this surgery because my appendix fell in last year and my lasek doesn’t count . So yeah spending a pretty penny this year but it HAD to be done. Can we say BROKE! LOL!

Any whoo The last time I let this ear thing for it got so big and painful. Sad smile So off to Surgery we went yesterday.  It went fine though he is unsure what it really was. Before surgery I was sure it was another cyst. He thought it was a stitch from surgery #1 that didn’t dissolve. Once he got it out though it had roots but he still wasn’t sure it was a cyst. We have to wait on pathology. I’m still confident I am right and it was just a little cyst. The first cyst he removed was BIG because I waited so long. Glad I got this out early. It’s gone now and I’m just praying for good pathology.

I have 5 stitches on the side of my head.

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They come out Monday. And it should heal up as nicely as the last time.

That’s all for me folks!

Until next time…

Carmen and the Primcats