Do You Have a Preference - Pointed or Flat?

Are you prejudice against certain dogs?  Do you stereotype them?  Do you believe some are smarter than others?

Our family has rescued over 30 dogs.  The other day it occurred to me that we have never adopted or rescued a flat-nosed one.  I asked my husband why and he simply said "I don't like flat-nosed dogs."  Come to think of it, I do prefer the long-nosed ones as well.

My question to you is this:  Dogs find us.  We must have some kind of internal magnet that draws the lost, the strays, the hurting to us.  So......how do they know we prefer long-nosed dogs? 

I did a little research to determine what differences there were between long and flat faced dogs.  Flat faced dogs often have breathing and respiratory complications which can lead to  health 

issues.  They are also more prone to infection, i.e. ear and eye problems.   It doesn't answer my question as to why only long nosed ones find us.  Do they SMELL us from afar?  And follow their noses?

Many of you have followed my rescue dog stories long enough to recognize many of these critters.  I have shared a few of their story links beneath their picture.  If you are a dog lover and want a laugh or a good cry -- here you go:

Abused Bernese "Charlie" was out of control
Now...two years later she is one of the best dogs ever

Do Fragrances or Music Trigger Special Memories for You?

Walking through the meadow, I could smell the wild lilies.  This was remarkable considering I know little to nothing about gardening and flowers.  But I do recognize the difference between a rose and a lily (most of the time). Fragrance always triggers memories for me as much as hearing a song from the past.  Especially Rock from the 60s and 70s like the ones played in What memories are triggered when you hear these songs?  

Today was a day of reflections and my walk in the quiet country was what this Type A gal needed. The potent smell of lillies took me back to the most beautiful wedding I ever witnessed - my daughter's.  

As mothers everywhere, we hope and certainly pray that our children will make us proud, and I am no exception. What surprised and blessed me was how incredible my daughter turned out. 

Watching her grow up and mature into a beautiful woman and mother, I am awed by her wisdom and trust I had a little something to do with that.  As a mom, you will relate to my heart-warming letter in Dear Daughter, Why Did You Turn Out this Way?


Continuing my walk I reflected on my life and the major turn it has taken these past few months.  For years, I was a charter member of the club for people who had low self-esteem or poor self-image yet could hide it well.  So well, in fact, no one ever guessed what had happened in my life, tainted by abuse,

Why is Alzheimer's a Commonly Seen Word in Health News?

One of the keywords we read in health news is the word "Alzheimers." Almost weekly, I receive an article regarding this debilitating and threatening disease that is affecting countless people no matter what their social standing or education level may be.

What concerns me is that I have yet to have an article come across my desk regarding a cure or preventative measures we can take. As a health coach, this is disturbing. The media is always quick to reveal anything negative and to instill in our minds that there is no cure.

However, there is a lot of information available on prevention of the disease and how to feed the brain proper nutrients and keep it stimulated in an effort to keep it healthy. I will share some of that research in this post.

World's Greatest Con Job - Does it Really Matter?

Do you care what is in your vitamins?  Do you think it matters? It matters enough that it could mean the difference between life and death.  I choose life -- what about you?

I know I would not be alive today if I had not done my research 40 years ago and switched to a safe brand.  I had been diagnosed with cancer and turned to nutrition for help.

This is week five of my series on how we are being conned by numerous vitamin and pharmaceutical companies that claim their products are the best; the safest.   Don't be easily fooled.  There are a few simple questions you can ask about your brand to determine if you are being conned.  This is the purpose of these posts.  I recommend you start with Week One to get the full picture.

Week One:  Are your vitamins synthetic, natural altered or natural unaltered?  Click here.

Week Two:  Does your brand produce vitamins with the life factor intact?  Or are they over processed and of little value?  Click here

Week Three:  Does the company produce any products on the Dirty Dozen list?  Click here.

Week Four:  The nitty-gritty on how your nutrients get into your bloodstream, where they can work for you.  Click here.

1.What is the difference between Kosher and Certified Organic and why should you care? Kosher requirements are far more stringent than Certified Organic.  Isn't your body worth the best?  Without getting technical about the differences, here are a couple basic reasons to use Kosher vitamins.

Making the Switch from Shepherdess to Formal Attire

This month, I don't have any earth-shattering news like last month's Fly On The Wall post where I shared how my memoir, Battered Hope, and my radio show Never Ever Give Up Hope were 'discovered' by Washington D C where I will be attending a gala affair in October to be recognized and awarded.

As a result, I have had several more requests for speaking engagements and am booked solid until February.  My head is spinning with excitement and I keep pinching myself to be sure this isn't a dream.

I ordered my gown on-line which was risky, but I couldn't find any formal attire in our small town.  It fits beautifully and hubby is making me a sapphire necklace and earrings to go with it.








This week, I am at my daughter's farm doing the house/dog/cat/sheep/goat sitting stint while she is traveling.  It is a wonderful time for me to play catch-up with my writing and on-line activity. Have you ever had a week to work without interruption?  To eat when you are hungry and stay up all night writing?  I rarely leave the property although a bit of cabin fever is threatening me.  Maybe I will venture out into the real world today.

Miss Daisy is the sweetest, most lovable goat

Rescue Dogs Make the Best Pets

My name is Star.  I am a long-haired 
mini Dachshund.  I was adopted by 
Carol  six months ago. 

I will try to paint you my story in 
words to the best of my ability.

It is hard to believe or understand why Mom had to jump through so many hoops to adopt us.  Finally after being awarded custody, her 14 HOUR journey to pick us up was hilarious. 
You can read about that here.

I have learned what heaven must be like since meeting my new parents.  I know they don't understand dog language, but they understand the language of dogs.  I do the best I can to tell them how grateful I am and try to show them what my life used to be like.  I was abused and neglected.  I moved into my new home with my "husband" Gunner. Mom and Dad are not sure if we are brother and sister, husband and wife or father and daughter.  I assure you we are husband and wife.  He is the father of my babies I had years ago.  

Do You Have It All? Are You Happy?

If someone were to ask you if you 'have it all'  or "How happy are you?" do you know how you would answer?  Would you answer quickly with "Of course, I'm happy"  or would you think about it for a moment and then say "Yes, I am as happy as I could hope to be."

There are actual Happiness Quizzes you can take online which were developed by psychologists to help you determine your state of mind.  Personally, I don't need to take a quiz to read my happiness thermometer.  

Even when we go through dark times we can focus on the good in our lives; things we are grateful for, and look to better times ahead. The 'attitude of gratitude' buzz on the internet over the past couple years has certainly made more people aware that we need to daily remind ourselves of what is good and positive in our lives.

If You Quit, You'll Never Know if You Would Have Made It

This past month is a blur.  It is hard to believe that less than a week ago, my world shifted on its axis. Has that ever happened to you?  Sometimes our lives change in an instant; it could be a good thing..... or not so good.

I have had more than the allotted amount of difficult times that any one person should have to endure in a lifetime. Yet, almost daily, I am reminded that I am blessed and more fortunate than millions of other people.

There is good stress and bad stress.  Sometimes they are equally difficult to handle.  After years of things going wrong, discouragement after discouragement, shattered dreams and broken promises, I became conditioned to question everything, not trusting; yet never giving up hope that someday, somehow, somewhere, it would be my turn.   Often it would take every ounce of effort I could muster to get up in the morning and make it through another day.

Putting one foot in front of the other seemed a greater feat than I might be able to accomplish.  I had to stay strong.  It was a constant battle.