There And Back Again

Let's begin with the obligatory late August photo: 

And now on to today's episode!

I gave it my best.

The  'serious'  blog.

Let's get real, folks-I mean have you seen me in real life?  

My life isn't pristine and pretty but it's certainly not an apocalypse.

NOTE:  I was looking at the online thesaurus for a fantastic replacement for apocalypse. This was the first thing that showed up so I stopped looking  and settled for it because here we are. 

So I guess it technically could be considered an apocalypse in the overall picture even it is a bit of a stretch. 

My life isn't something that can stay within nice defined boundaries.

I color outside the lines.   I remove mattress tags.  

I occasionally run with scissors. 

I drink milk past the expiration date.  My Christmas tree is still up. 

Yes, I march to the beast of my own drum.

No that's not a typo.  I said beast. 

I will elaborate on that another time. 

My intent was to post meaningful things that provoked thoughts that were philosophical in nature and not the I wonder if she's off her meds kind. 

The funny thing is that I had people message me asking if I was off my meds. Oh the irony....

 I'm more like an eclectic mix of chaospasm mixed in with passion, insanity, and a side of occasional adulting. 

What snapped me back into myself?  

An audio book I was listending to. I randomly checked it out from the online library because the title called to me for some reason. Include the cover shot of a raccoon that looked like it was on an extended mania spree pretty much sealed the deal. 

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson

Pictured is the author and the book cover

This link will take you to the  free preview of the book. 

 Disclaimer: It is peppered with language but I promise if you can overlook it it's worth it.  

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Furiously_Happy/FS6NBwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

As I have listened to it I got really excited because  I get it. 

I thank those of you who have stuck with my through the growing pains of finding myself back to this blog. 

 For some reason I got it in my head that by writing a 'serious' blog I was going to be a 'better' blogger.  

Well we can all see how that turned out.  

So this is just a quick update to say that I'm back-really back-and we shall continue on forging through this fantastic life of mine filled with nonsense and grit. 

The grit part isn't always fun to share but it's who I am and this is all-in or all-out.

At times we may go to uncomfortable places but they are part of the package. 

I hope you enjoy the ride. :)

Until next time,

-R

As always remember that there are only: 

Please Stand By AKA That Escalated Quickly....

I had only meant to take a month off from blogging to let come creativity perk for some other projects I was toying with...and here I am almost FOUR years later. Don't get me wrong-I had my moments of " I really need to update so they know I'm alive" ....but as you can see the\is never came to fruition.

Where did the time go?

Shortly after my last post a series of events took place in my life that ended up with this blog that I swore would keep updated quickly feel to the wayside.  

Afore mentioned series of events.

I have used my FB page as a timeline reference to organize the highlights and give a somewhat consistent chronological timeline....but as with all things me, this is subject to change according to my random sporadic thought pattern.

What you may ask, caused this epic extended vacay from the blogosphere?

I think updating one category at a time will allow me to retain most of my sanity. 

Stay tuned! 

A Few Thoughts On Pet Food

I often think that the explosive market in the specialty pet food industry has overall created an incredible level of confusion-even causing pet owners to viciously attack one another over what brand is 'better' and how if you feed a certain brand of food you should be criminalized and never own pets again. I see this so often on many sites-FB groups being among the worst-and have left many because of it.  

When I worked in pet retail years ago there were maybe 10 premium brands. We had to go to pet food 'school'  to learn about the ingredients. (Boy was that eye opening).

Several years later our Shih Tzu Ming had serious food sensitivities and I felt so lucky we were able to easily find a formula that fit; however, looking for a basic good food for Misty has been really overwhelming. A very honest store associate told me the other day that among the premium foods, they all accomplish the same thing-providing accurate nutrition but the only real difference are the ingredients that get you there. (I'm not talking about the grain free, etc., but the 'normal' formulas)

Whether it be a high end super organic formula (like Merrick), a warehouse brand (like Kirkland), or a smaller basic brand  no one should be afraid of sharing what they feed. Most people talk to their vets and the vet will let them know if they should use something better.

 I talked to mine today and they suggested a food that is a bit more economical for me. They told me that it was a perfectly good food and the retailer assured me that there would be no problem with a return if any issues came up. The key was to make sure it was a specific puppy formula.

And even now, after my vet's approval I'm apprehensive to share.  When did it become a competitive obsession to police each other's pet foods?

I know this isn't my normal vein of blog topics but with the continuing viciousness that has broken out from the Blue Buffalo court case and seeing people's reactions to it I felt I needed to share my thoughts on the topic.

Do I share what I know with friends who feed a food I think might not be so great?  Sometimes-it depends but it's their pet. There is only one food I'm adamantly against and I won't name it here. If you know me you know the brand. 

Until next time,

Robyn :)