Good friends!

Today was a great day. It was my second time volunteering with the free clinic for pets. This time my good friend, Keith joined me. I invited him to come over yesterday and stay the night. We stayed up pretty late making catnip sachets to give the cats at the clinic. Earlier in the week, I made bandanas for the dogs. We had such a great time talking and and making the sachets. Keith is a veterinary technician and I knew he would be of great help at the clinic. It was a very busy day for all of the volunteers. The day ended with us having seen about 60 pets! It's so rewarding. Keith absolutely loved it and will try to volunteer again. As for me, I'm planning to go every month, especially since I have Saturdays off from my job.

Another good friend, Theresa recently called me about doing some business marketing consulting. Okay, I should back-up abit and share some history. Theresa used to own a dog boarding facility for about 7-years and sold the business to retire in 2007. Well, the new owners have not been doing very good and she asked me for help. She also asked if I would be interested in managing the business. Apparently the current managers lacked the experience to grow the business. So, now the owner is feeling it. We have a meeting next Saturday where I will observe the current business and make recommendations. My experience in this is 9-years at my last veterinary hospital. They had a wonderful hospital and pet boarding, but did not know how to market the services. I was the kennel manager at the time and began brainstorming ways to build the business. Soon, they promoted me to an Assistant Administrator position in charge of marketing & promotions. To make a long story short, the business began to increase at a steady rate. It remained that way until upper management/owners made drastic changes that resulted in the decline of business and ultimately the close of the hospital. There's really more to this story, but I just gave you a quick picture. Anyway, I'm really excited about this consulting work and where (if anything) it might take me. Wish me luck!

Time Flies By...

Wow, has it really been 1-month since my last posting? Where did the time go? So many wonderful things have happened in that last month. Now, I'll have to play catch-up.

We had a great game night & potluck recently for my men's group. Welcomed a few new members and had a wonderful time sharing good food and company. We played a game called "catch phrase". Kind of a cross between Hot Potato and Charades. Only with this, you can talk. Anyway, it was a blast and is now the official group game.

I was invited by friends to thier Oscar night party in Seattle. Never been to one and really most times do not watch the Oscars. Okay, I admit I like to watch the Red Carpet and see the fabulous (and not so) gowns. Having designed wedding and evening gowns years ago in Los Angeles and Puerto Rico, this is my favorite part. It's been many years since I designed gowns. The last was a wedding gown in Puerto Rico well over 15 years ago. Anyone getting married soon or in need of a fabulous gown?

Our men's group is getting ready to start our first season hikes. I just love the outdoors and am fortunate to have friends to enjoy it with. Next weekend I'm hosting our meeting to welcome new members and discuss activity ideas. So far, lots of great suggestions. Just need to get them on the calendar.

Work is going very well and has kept me pretty busy. Just recently started volunteering with a group in Tacoma that offers free basic veterinary care for low income folks and seniors for thier pets. They meet on the 2nd Saturday each month and see between 45-50 animals. Everything from basic care, vaccines, flea treaments, food, etc. Everything given is donated and volunteers staff the clinic. My job is front of the house, checking in the clients, finding out thier pet's needs, applying flea treaments and just being a compassionate ear. Everyone is there for a reason. Bottom-line, they love thier pets and just need some help. They are so appreciative for the services we provide. I already have a few friends interested in volunteering next clinic day on March 14th.

Just looked outside the window and it is raining. Sure beats the crazy snow we had! We're in the northwest and learn to deal with it. It's all good!

Okay, this was just a very quick catch-up on my latest happenings. Stay tuned for more. Bye for now.