The Cattle On A Thousand Hills

Summer Time

2009-07-07T20:41:00.000-07:00

Geez Louise! I cannot believe that it is the middle of July already. In just a few short weeks summer will be over and it will be time for me to head back to school. What a summer it has been so far! Already, I have spent a week learning about the demographics of rural life, spent a week at a slaughter plant (deserves it own blog), spent a week at a conference and I am now in my last week of a 4 wk externship in a rural mixed animal practice. I have also being staying with relatives in southwestern kansas and have been helping with harvest and other work around the farm/ranch.

Let's see........some stories:

1) Today, I pre-medicated my first animal for a elective surgery (castration.) I hit the vein on the first try! *milestone---my mom would be proud* I also drew blood for a Heartworm test (also hit the vein on the first try)

2) This summer I also got to neuter my first cat. A simple surgery that pretty much made my summer and made me feel like a doctor. *Im cheesy...I know I know!

3) I also complete another successful harvest w/o running the grain cart into the semi or driving into the combine tires when we were unloading on the go!

4) I did almost however, burn down the renter bailer. *NOTE* When you are bailing round bales make sure to fill up the bailer even on both sides. Bad things happen!

5) I have also gained more confidence around bulls----I would much rather working on a 2000 lb bull than drive a grain cart across the county!

6) I've had the privelage of working with some really cool people this summer!

I have also found out that tuition prices have increased AGAIN.....This will really be a test of my faith. But I now God IS FAITHFUL and HE will provide and guide me. However, while I am facing being over 100,000 dollars in debt and relying on the government and what little work I can get is nerve wrecking. All that has been provided for me has been through HIM and I am so not worthy of his grace and love. I ask you readers to keep me in your prayers as I continue this journey that God, my family and I are embarking!

Daisy Doo's New Bed

2009-05-27T16:18:00.000-07:00

Daisy has a new bed.....

It is not just any old bed it is the mother of all cat beds. If I WAS a cat I would be JEALOUS of this bed. The bed was a gift from my good friend, Johna for my b-day. Her step-dad handcrafted the bed that is in a shape of a fish. Daisy's name s wood burned on the front and the fish scales were wood burned too. The detail on this bed is amazing.

Here are some pics of Daisy enjoying her new "Command Post."

1st Year is DONE!!

2009-05-15T10:54:00.001-07:00

As of 10:30 am I finished my last final of my first year in Vet School. And I am trying to relax but I have these "phanton fear" that I need to study or prepare for some test!

Now, on to my next adventure to the summer. I am not sure if my summer will be any slower than school was BUT I don't think I know HOW to slow down! :)

So here is the run down to my summer:

1) Going home for a week
2) Saturday going out with my partner in crime (Goodbye Martha) for a night out on the town!
3) Chillin at home----riding my wild stallion!
4)Come back to Manhattan, Ks for a week of Rural Engagement Training.
5)Spend a week in Dodge at a packing plant.
6)Back to Manhattan, Ks for Veterinarian Conference and Emergency Disaster Training.
7)Out to Protection, Ks to do an externship in Ashland, Ks.
8)1st of August going to Neva Diva's wedding!
9) 2 wk externship at a Equine Practice in Oklahoma.
10)Back to School!

In between all of this I am going to enjoy my summer and look at some notes for next year!! Whew.....

This wears me out!

Friend Making Mondays

2009-05-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

I am a slow blogger.......

But, I was reading my cousins (Goodbye Martha) and I came across this. So here I go with this. This one was fun! And harder than it looks!

5 Toys That Remind Me of My Childhood

1. My brother and I had hours of fun with this slide. It was a sad day when we finally outgrew it and broke it!

2) I am with Lins on this one. The Little People were the coolest! 3) Technically, this is not a toy. I know that! But I was/am a nerd and I read this series and pictured myself part of the "Club." 4) Obviously, I am horse crazy! It was instilled in me at birth! loved/love collecting these ponies.

5) Waterbabies!!! I had a doll EVERYWHERE I went.

There you go. These are my five "toys." Oh, the memories!!

P90

2009-05-03T21:24:00.000-07:00

So vet school has not only expanded my mind BUT my waist band too! Not, that I was ever the most skinniest person but I was happy with my waist. Not so much anymore.......

So Johna (my good friend from school) and I have decided to start working out. School is almost over (2 wks to be exact) and it is time to get our tail ends in gear. Johna did her research and came across P90, which stands "Power 90." This program is a 90 day workout that has four levels to get through in 90 days. Once you get through these levels there are more programs. The next one we want to try is P90 X.

Right now we have made it through two workouts. Tomorrow will be day 3 and we are also beginning a Weight Watchers diet. So far my thighs and arms are as sore as can be! Time to see results!

Check out this website if you are intersted in the P90 workout: http://www.beachbody.com/product/power90.do

Odie Maximillion Wright

2009-04-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

Let me introduce you to my one of my children! Okay, he is not actually a child but he is treated like one! Odie Maximillian Wright is a 9yr old long-hair Chihuahua and spoiled rotten! Odie was my Christmas gift my 8th grade year. He has been through every major milestone in my life. Currently, Odie is living back home b/c he would be miserable going to Manhattan with me. He LOVES sleeping with my dad (dad works night) and snuggling on the couch with my mom.

I have to admit that I am one of those people who dress up their dogs. Odie is not a very happy camper when I dress him up. But over the years he has started to tolerate the outfits a lot more.

Even though Odie is a snuggly bunny he can get an attitude if someone (especially Milo) invades his personal space. He LOVES to go outside and roll in the horse manure. He also LOVES pasta and I think the dog eats more human food than he does dog food.

Here are some photos of Odie aka Tootie through his years:

*Family Shoot*

*Odie and I*

*Tootie visiting me at school*

*Christmas 2007*

*Halloween 2008*

*Halloween 2007*

*Yappy Days*

"Priceless"

2009-04-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

I love warm weather. Love JUST about everything about it. The sun, the smell, the long days, etc. However, what I don't love is mowing. Some people may think "yea, whats the big deal? You hop on a riding lawn mower and away you go."

Welcome to my family for the past two years. We HAD a riding lawn mower and then it decided to go into early retirement. It cost more to repair then it was worth. So we sent it on to the junk yard. This left us with a little problem. We had abou 2 acres to mow. For the past two years we have been using a push mower for it all. Honestly, my mom was who mowed the majority for the past two years. She would come home from a long day at work and then started mowing til dark. The rest of us tagged team but mom was the one who did it the most.

Well, times have changed and yesterday a riding lawn mower was delivered to the farm. Mom sent me this email:

Gas for riding lawn mower $10.00 Riding lawnmower 1000.00 Being able to walk and breathe the next day after mowing PRICELESS !!

Summer just got better........

2:10 AM

2009-04-17T00:10:00.000-07:00

So its 2:10 am and I am STILL UP.......

I have exactly 7 hours until T-Time (Test Time.)

Topic of study this week: Reproduction

Reproduction at the cellular NOT one of my favorite topics.

All the LH & FSH hormones, where they are secreted from, what cells they act upon, what their function is, blah blah blah. I totally understand the importance of learning this stuff but mercy sakes I CAN'T IT ANYMORE!

*On to a new subject*

Disclaimer: I have respect for our professors. After all they put up with our questions the SAME questions day after day. BUT sometimes the language barrier is confusing.

The following are some examples we hear during class:

Spum-----Sperm
Shematic ee laceration-----Schematic ILLUSTRATION ( took me about 2 weeks to figure it out)
Sym-pet-a-d^*$----Sympathetic (use your imagination for this one)
Tie Mus----Thymus (Makes T-lymphocytes)
Cashium----Calcium
A-sinner cells (apparently cells from Adam & Eve)------Acinar Cells (acutally pancreatic cells)

We also are interrupters:

Doe Honkey-----Do Hickey (Personal Favorite)
"Quiet Cat Jumps Biggest"--- "Still water runs deep"
"Someone is shooting the sheep"----"Someone is stirring the S----
excuse my language for the following:
"Shnitzles and Gitzels"---- Shits and Giggles (story behind this one)

Well, now it is 2:31 AM. I didn't know this time even existed!

Enough stalling..........Go to bed..........Going........Going.......GONE!

"Pints and Quarts" and other random facts

2009-04-14T07:16:00.000-07:00

Instead of listening to Parietal HCl Secretion in Monogastric Physiology I looked up some random facts..........

1) If you have 3 quarters, 4 dimes and 4 pennies you get a $1.19. Mind blowing I know BUT did
you know that it is also the largest amount of money you can get in change w/o being able to
make change for a dollar.

2) The most common name in the world is Mohammad. Scary huh!

3) The first known contraceptive was crocodile dung used by Egyptians in 2000 B.C. That will
make you wait!!

4) Cats sleep 16 to 18 hrs a day. Of course, they time it so when they are up and ready to go is
when you are just in a deep sleep!! (Daisy, you know who I am talking about!)

5) 1 in 5,000 north Atlantic lobsters are born bright blue.......yea

6) American car horns beep in the Key of F......

7) Charlie Brown's father was a barber. Bet you didn't know that one :)

8) Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

9) It is impossible to lick your elbow. Go ahead and try I know you want too!

10) If a statue in the park of a person on a horse has both front legs in The air, the person died in battle. If the horse has one front leg in The air the person died as a result of wounds received in battle. If the Horse has all four legs on the ground, the person died of natural causes.

11) In Shakespeare's time, mattresses were secured on bed frames by ropes. When you pulled on the ropes the mattress tightened, making the bed firmer to sleep on. Hence the phrase "goodnight, sleep tight

12) In English pubs, ale is ordered by pints and quarts. So in old England, when customers got unruly, the bartender would yell at them mind their own pints and quarts and settle down. It's where we get the phrase "mind your P's and Q's"

Be honest........

How many of you actually tried licking your elbow???? :)

Frosty

2009-04-04T19:40:00.000-07:00

Today, two of my friends from school and I volunteered for the GROW program at K-State. This is a program that shows middle school girls what is out there for careers. We did Horses 101, which was a presentation on horse handling, horse feed, horse colors and how to listen to heart, lungs and gut sounds. It was a lot of fun! At the same time I learned that I will not EVER become a middle school teacher. 72 girls went through and they were all respectful and paid attention BUT its not for me........

We used a pony for the girls to palpate, brush and listen to body sounds. Frosty was the pony we used. She is a little shetland pony that the school has for teaching purposes. As freshmen we use her to palpate different regions of the equine for Gross Anatomy II. We gave Frosty a bath---first bath she had in a year AND she is white. Needless to say Frosty, was not a fan of the bath and put up a pretty good fight. However, we prevailed and she looked like a little snowball when it was all said and done. Frosty, got the full treatment. My two friends braided her mane and her tail and put little ribbons at the ends. Her forelock (horse bangs) were OUT OF CONTROL. So we gave her a faux hawk......

Beef Checkoff

2009-04-01T08:11:00.001-07:00

A very popular issue in the news these days is Animal Welfare Rights towards cattle and the safe handling of beef products. Being a person who is involved in the beef industry, I feel there is a duty to educate people on how the beef industry actually operates. A lot of times only the "bad apples" of the bunch are showcased for the public to see and bias opinions are formed because of this.

The beef industry has ZERO tolerance for those inside the industry who choose to not follow the guidelines and ethical behavior that is instilled. The link on this post will take you to a website supported by the Beef Checkoff that has info on how the beef industry is assuring the consumer humane animal practices and a safe beef supply.

http://www.beeffrompasturetoplate.org/animalwelfare.aspx

Renal Physiology

2009-03-30T08:42:00.000-07:00

I have until Friday to learn about the kidney and its importance for the body to function. I have roughly 96 hrs to get his task complete. And so the countdown begins......

I have 130 slides to go through on Renal function between studying for a Gross Anatomy test and a two quizzes. Panic has not settle in yet BUT it is only Monday. Wait, til Thursday that is when things get interesting. By Thursday we are not just counting down hours BUT MINUTES!

The kidney is actually a rather interesting organ that is instrumental in the orchestra of body function. As a I was going through my notes and looking at the nephrons (functional unit of a kidney) :) I was looking at diagrams of the system. The tubule system looks like a complicated maze. In fact, if it was a corn maze I am sure I would wet my pants out of fright and never find the end!

compliments of google

Roommate(s)

2009-03-26T18:36:00.000-07:00

I have two roommates, my 21 year old brother, Jarett and a three year old.......

CAT! Daisy

I am actually not sure which one is the better roommate :)

Jarett and I are two years apart and sometimes people mistake us for being twins. Right now I am at the stage where when people think he is older I actually take a minor offense. I know, I know, I know that one day I will hit the mile marker where it is actually a compliment!

Jarett moved up to Manhattan in late January. He accepted an offer with the K-State football team to walk-on. Living with your demanding older sister is not something that most people would take on. But somehow Jarett and I are making this work. He is exhausted physically most days as much as I am exhausted mentally. So in essence we balance each other out. I am proud of my little brother (I should actually say younger) because he is going after his dream of playing DI football. The road for him to get where he is has not been an easy one. He has experienced disappointment, sacrifices and injuries along the way. Even though I planned on not having a roommated, Jarett is the best one I could have.

Now on to my other roomate......Daisy

Daisy is a three year old long-haired calico cat that I bottled fed. She was a farm kitty at my uncle's. One day I was at his house with gma and Daisy came up to me. She was the most pathetic looking 4wk old kitty I had ever seen. She was so tiny, with a pot-bellied stomach and gunky eyes. My gma told me to walk away but both of us couldn't help it. We were hooked. I had this great idea that we could use neosporin ointment in her eyes. After all I had seen my mom (a vet tech) use ointment on our farm kitties all the time. So I dabbed some on her eyes and sent her on her way. What I did not realize is that the ointment mom used was a special eye ointment and that the pH level in neosporin could damage the eyes. Needless to say, Daisy went into a seizure and my gma ended up taking her to the vet ( and people are going to entrust me with their animals?). So began the adventure of bottle feeding Daisy.

The deal with my parents was I would care for Daisy until she was weaned and her worm probelm had been taken care of (pot-bellied stomach). My gma and I took care of her all summer and she was quite the entertaining kitty. She loved her litter box and to this day she will do backstrokes in as soon as I clean it out.

I honestly tried to find her a home. In fact, gma had a home for her. Scott, the bug man saw little Daisy and said he would take her hom. Next time he came out Daisy would be hold enough and we would send her with him. Scott started telling us about his 4 kids and how they had gone thorugh numerious kittens. It was like a record screeching to a halt when he told us this. After he left gma and I began devising a plan on how to 1) tell Scott he could nto have Daisy 2) convince my parents to let me take her home. Gma took care of Scott by telling him I had detachment issues and I began working on my parents. We worked out a deal where Daisy could come home with me until I found her a home. Here she is three years later still with me.......

Jarett is Daisy's favorite person and she has one of the most unique personalities I have ever seen in a cat. She loves cell phones and would carry around Jarett's old phone like it was her baby when it went off. She likes to be around people and will help Jarett and I with out homework. The funniest thing about her is how she will pretend to be all lovey dovey by licking your fingers and rubbing up on you. THEN w/o warning she will strike like a wild lion and attack your fingers. Jarett's favorite thing to do is anatagonize her until she goes off on him. I used to not think I am a cat person, I could take them or leave them but Daisy's personality is hard to resist.

Vet School: Why???

2009-03-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Seriously...........

When I am knee deep in a text book, physically and mental exhausted I often find myself asking this question. Who in their right mind would want to go through four years of intense studying, gray hairs, sleep deprivation, no social life and constant anxiety for a job where the salary does not always make up for the mental boot camp you go through? *run-on sentence sorry*

My answer:

It is not only a love for animals that I have (who doesn't) but a calling to this profession. I love the science (even though it doesn't always love me), I love the challenge and I love the fact that I am being a steward to one of God's greatest creation. I also believe that everyone has a role in our society to make it function properly. The role that I am comfortable and passionate about is veterinary medicine. I don't mind being knee deep in cow manure or blood and guts. I love problem solving and knowing that I am a voice for animals who cannot tell us what they want or need.

I also believe that veterinarians do more than take care of animals. We also play a major role in the community. In regards to public health and biosecurity, veterinarians are at the forefront of these issues. I love the profession I am working towards. It may be because I am young and have not felt the total exhaustion and financial drain from this profession but for right now I am going to be naive and enjoy my enthusiasm.

So, even though I go through constant stress and anxiety worrying about tests, passing, etc at the end of the day it is all worth it. I love where I am at and would not change it for the world!

****alright, I should be getting back to Gross Anatomy II*****

Psalm 50:9-11

2009-03-26T10:16:00.000-07:00

Psalm 50: 9-11

9 I have no need of a bull from your stall
or of goats from your pens,

10 for every animal of the forest is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.

11 I know every bird in the mountains,
and the creatures of the field are mine.