The Strange being called Hubby !

Our 5 Year Wedding Anniversary is coming up (Feb 3). Instead of planning a celebration, my hubby is freaking out. He is getting all jittery! I think the big 5 is looking very big to him :). He gets all tingly about long term things :) He now wants to move to a new place coz we have been in Seattle 5 years too.. too long :) Change change change is the name of the game for him.

I, on the other hand, am a very settled person. I go through a couple of years of adventure and changes and travel then a couple of years of settlement and the cycle keeps repeating. But mostly I like the idea of having my own house and living there for a long time and making plans accordingly.. (Or maybe this settlement has come over me in the past few years)..But thats the way I would like to head.

And how you ask we 2 got married.. Now that is a looong story!..:)

We have been through thick and thin, crazy and even more crazy, weird and nice, fights and wars, love and more love in the 11 years we have known each other. And how much ever absent minded and crazy my hubby is, he is the most resilient person I've known and also the sweetest. He is going to make faces at me for writing this post:)

People who know him from his undergrad will never be able to believe that he actually learnt to cook for me. When mom left after 6 months here in 2007, He had to figure out how to cook. He picked up the challenge and made not just edible, but really good food! I still get to see that genius on some lucky days!

There are a lot of such challenges that he has had to work on and he never gives up! Biggest one named Me:)

Babes, Wish you a very happy and chilled Anniversary! Love you! And Thanks for dealing with this crazy me!

A poem

A Poem to my Foster Dog -- by Diane Morgan. http://www.pomrescue.com/pomrescuecom/motivationals.html

I am the bridge between what was and what can be.

I am the pathway to a new life.

I am made of mush, because my heart melted when I saw you.

Matted and sore, limping, depressed, lonely,unwanted, afraid to love.

For one little time you are mine.

I will feed you with my own hand.

I will love you with my whole heart.

I will make you whole.

I am made of steel. Because when the time comes, when you are well, and sleek, when your eyes shine, and your tail wags with joy, then comes the hard part.

I will let you go--not without a tear, But without a regret. For you are safe forever. A new dog needs me now...

----------------------------------

I saw the caged animals, saw the abused ones, saw the kitty with legs chopped off, saw the pitbulls with their ears ripped. I saw in their eyes love and hope, fear and dread, sadness and betrayal. And I was angry.
"God," I said, "this is terrible! Why don't you do something?" God was silent for a moment and then He spoke softly.. "I have done something," He replied.
"I created You."

Life is more than just doing what everyone around you does.. education, job, family and fun... There is so much more that can be fit into it. Look around and help someone each day!

Cruelty Free Pet food

If you thought that your pet is living cruelty free .. think again.

Companies like Iams, Purina and other biggies, have animal testing labs where animals are kept in small cement enclosures and their stomachs pumped with food. Several other tests are conducted and the animals are then euthanized once they are incapable of being tested on anymore. There is more to this and it can be read here http://www.iamscruelty.com/

I just dont like shocking people into action because I know how much of a heartache it is to watch any such video of crazy inhumane humans. But sometimes it is quite necessary.

One day, hubby dear made a small joke about fur and I did not take it well. So I sent him some videos of how animals are skinned alive and how they are transported to and from the cruel facilities where they are skinned alive and left to die a slow painful death. He could not eat dinner that day! and now he will always remember to a) never buy fur, b) check all not that visible fur trimmings to see if they are faux or real. (trick to check faux fur -> http://www.hsus.org/web-files/PDF/fur/field-guide-on-real-vs-fake-fur-final.pdf )

Heres a list of pet foods from PETA which are cruelty free.

Though cruelty free is a general term used by anyone and everyone, my definition of cruelty free is no animal testing on finished product as well as ingredients. On my blog i will usually add another category called cruelty free and vegan meaning no animal by products were used along with no animal testing.

• Amoré Pet Services, Inc., 1-866-572-6673; www.amorepetfoods.com
• Animal Food Services, 1-800-743-0322; www.animalfood.com
• Artemis Pet Food, 1-800-282-5876; www.artemiscompany.com
• Azmira Holistic Animal Care, 1-800-497-5665; www.azmira.com
• Bone Vivant, www.bonevivantstore.com
• Boston Baked Bonz (entirely vegan), 781-752-4040; www.bostonbakedbonz.com
• Bravo Raw Diet, 1-866-922-9222; www.bravorawdiet.comn
• Burns Pet Nutrition, 1-877-983-9651; www.burns-pet-nutrition.co.uk
• CaniSource, 1-888-347-3523; www.canisource.com
• CountryPet Pet Food, 1-800-454-7387; www.countrypet.com
• Dr. Harvey's, 1-866-362-4123; www.drharveys.com
• Dynamite Marketing, Inc., 208-887-9410; www.dynamitemarketing.com
• Eagle Pack, 1-800-255-5959; www.eaglepack.com
• Evanger's Dog and Cat Food Co., Inc., 1-800-288-6796; www.evangersdogfood.com
• Evolution Diet, Inc. (entirely vegan), 1-800-659-0104; www.petfoodshop.com
• Feline's Pride, www.felinespride.com
• Fromm Family Foods, 1-800-325-6331; www.frommfamily.com
• Great Life Performance Pet Products, 1-800-470-2001; www.greatlife4pets.com
• GreenTripe.com, 831-726-3255; www.greentripe.com
• Halo, Purely for Pets, 1-800-426-4256; www.halopets.com
• Happy Dog Food, 1-800-359-9576; www.happydogfood.com
• Harbingers of a New Age (entirely vegan), 406-295-4944; www.vegepet.com
• Holistic Blend, 1-800-954-1117; www.holisticblend.com
• The Honest Kitchen, 1-866-437-9729; www.thehonestkitchen.com
• Know Better Dog Food, 1-866-922-6463; www.knowbetterdogfood.com
• KosherPets, Inc., 954-938-6270; www.kosherpets.com
• Kumpi Pet Foods, 303-699-8562; www.kumpi.com
• Mark & Chappell, 1-866-547-3368; www.markandchappell.com
• Max & Ruffy's, 703-465-4481; www.maxandruffys.com
• Natural Balance Pet Foods, Inc. (vegan options), 1-800-829-4493; www.naturalbalanceinc.com
• Natural Life Pet Products, Inc. (vegan options), 1-800-367-2391; www.nlpp.com
• Nature's Variety, 1-888-519-7387; www.naturesvariety.com
• Newman's Own Organics, www.newmansownorganics.com
• Nutri-Vet, 1-877-729-8668; www.nutri-vet.com
• Oma's Pride, 1-800-678-6627; www.omaspride.com
• Onesta Organics (entirely vegan), 619-295-1136; www.onestaorganics.com
• Pet Chef Express, 604-916-2433; www.petchefexpress.ca
• PetGuard (vegan options), 1-800-874-3221, 904-264-8500; www.petguard.com
• Pied Piper Pet & Wildlife, 1-800-338-4610; www.piedpiperpet.com
• PoshNosh Inc., 613-302-3156; www.poshnosh.ca
• Raw Advantage, Inc., 360-387-5158; www.rawadvantagepetfood.com
• Sauder Feeds, Inc., 260-627-2196; www.sauderfeeds.com
• Solid Gold, 1-800-364-4863; www.solidgoldhealth.com
• Sojourner Farms, 1-888-867-6567; www.sojos.com
• Timberwolf Organics, Inc., 863-439-0049; www.timberwolforganics.com
• V-dogfood, LLC (entirely vegan), 1-888-280-8364; www.v-dogfood.com
• Veterinary Nutritional Formula, 1-800-811-0530; www.vnfpetfood.com
• Want A Cookie?, 250-665-7387; www.wantacookie.ca
• Wow-Bow Distributors Ltd. (vegan options), 516-254-6064; www.wow-bow.com
• Wysong Professional Diets (vegan options), 1-800-748-0188; www.wysong.net

Please check PETA's list for updates here http://search.caringconsumer.com/

Thanks for reading, and please spread the word. We, the net gen use the viral nature of net for all stupid things like a stupid video of a guy shaving his bum.. but will not pass around some simple things which can make such a difference in the world. I think this is because it sounds too preachy, and is not fun. Not everything in life is fun ! and please dont wait for a life changing event to have that Aha moment.

Please also bookmark Emily's blog here http://www.livingcrueltyfree.com/

She has dome some awesome research and contacted many companies. If in doubt about anything, do look her blog up. She might already have that information on there.

Tuggs

Phew! Crazy December.. I have to put up a more comprehensive list of cruelty free bath, body, kitchen, house items and also include a list of vegan options. I did manage to make part of the list and wrote to a couple of companies to clarify on their animal testing policies. But this is going to take time and having an untrained foster puppy does take up almost all of the time!!

Tuggie/Tuggle/Tuggs is our second foster. He is a super cute 7 month old rescue pekingese chihuahua mix puppy. He was rescued from a Puppy Mill in Tacoma along with 20 other puppies and several older adults. The older adults are still being rescued 10 or 20 at a time every weekend. He was very skinny and starved when we got him, but he has already put on some healthy fat and muscle. His coat is shinier and softer and he smells great too!.

He is a very mellow dude. He doesnt mind getting roomed or bathed. He gets along very well with dogs,cats and all people. He is not a yapper, does not bite, does not chew on anything except bones, and is a cuddler. He will sit and cuddle and watch the whole movie with you! Here is a video of the cutie !! http://www.dogster.com/video/1086749/our_foster_dog_tuggie

He loves running in the yard and loves being with other dogs. He has an adorable under bite. He looks more like a chihuahua and has a pekingese jaw structure with the underbite and long floppy ears. He looks like Yoda from StarWars when he lifts his ears to listen to you :)

Because of this huge selection of similar looking puppies and adults, the adoption of each of them is taking time. If you or anyone you know are interested in Tuggs, please do contact me. Please do share and forward this around. Lets get some real use of the viral web!