Domestic Geek

There are more and more of us DINKs out there (Double Income No Kids) and since we don't have children on which to spend our hard-earned dollars, we opt instead to spoil our pets.

If you have a pampered pooch or feline, why not check out the great luxury pet items over at The Gilded Paw? Whether you're looking for fancy cat collars or designer dog apparel, this is the place for you! If you don't have a pet but know someone who does, check out the Pet Lovers Boutique (they have an absolutely awesome Dog vs. Cat Chess set).

The site is extremely easy to navigate and has their various items divided up amongst different boutiques — Cat Boutique, Dog Boutique and Pet Lover Boutique. They are also arranged by category, so you're sure to find the perfect gift or accessory you or your pet will love. They're currently having a summer inventory blowout through August 6th, so hurry over and check out these select items.

For many people, their pets hold a special place in their hearts. Finding unique gifts for those people and their pets is easy when you visit Big Paw Designs. Founded in 2002, they specialize in quality, hand-crafted, made in the USA charms, accessories and gifts for pampered pets and their owners. They have a little bit of everything for dogs, cats & humans: pearl collars, pewter charms, keychains, earrings, magnets, frames, treats, toys and so much more. I'm thinking of purchasing a book to make homemade dog treats.

What is truly special about this place is the line of items geared towards "resuce" animals and their parents. I'm a strong proponent of rescue groups and admire those whose utmost concern is the wellbeing of animals and finding them a loving home.

They also get involved in various charity and relief efforts. They currently are offering a special pewter charm or keychain called the "Woof Fleur de Lis," a part of the whose proceeds benefit a very worthy cause — animal rescue efforts in New Orleans.

The site is more than just a store, it's a community. There are contests, links to rescue organizations, a blog and even a pet birthday club. Add them to your list of places to go for information, gifts and supplies for your pets or those who love them.

Marcus and I lost our third pet in less than two months early this morning. Brittney died sometime after Marcus went to bed and when I got up. I didn't write about Christina's death, but she died on the 10th. Something is wrong with Trinity and we're not sure how much longer she'll be with us. Pile all of that on top of losing Skippy and I've been a little bit of a mess. Actually, looking at those old web pages I made in my Into to HTML class make me really sad. Out of the 10 pets I had then, only 4 are left—three rabbits and the lovebird. Anyway, if I'm not around much the next few days, it's just that I am a little depressed and this whole blogging thing seems a little pointless right now.

Since I was talking about fish a couple of posts back, I'll tell you about some that we used to have. When we lived in Colorado Springs, the owner of the pizza place we had worked at gave Marcus his fish because he couldn't keep them anymore. The were two huge Oscars (part of the cichlid family) that Marcus named Bob and Steve (after two local radio personalities). Marcus had wanted Oscars because he liked how they eat goldfish (he had a strong hatred of goldfish, I think). We ended up getting another couple of Oscars that someone had given to a pet store and they were letting them go cheap. It was cool watching those big fish swim around. One was albino and the tank lights made it look so pretty. What is great about Oscars is that have very distinct personalities. I couldn't handle watching during feeding time, though, so I always left the room until the goldfish were safely in the Oscar's bellies. When those eventually died, Marcus purchased some African cichlids. They're significantly smaller than Oscars, so we got several. One of them was really aggressive and ended up killing the rest. It was so sad.

I wished we had had access to a site like AllCichlids.com back when we had them. The employee at the fish store told Marcus that you couldn't put African cichlids with cichlids from other regions and that is supposedly a myth. Anyway, it's a growing site and wants to be the top online resource for cichlid information. They're offering to share adsense revenue with authors that write articles for their site. I may do that.

This is a sponsored post.

I've been really lucky in the past in that the critters in my urban zoo have not needed a lot of medications. Surprising, really, considering how often I get sick. I haven't had need for flea and tick products because those pests are not really a bother in this particular climate. Whenever I see commercials for Frontline® or Advantage® flea products on television stations, I'm glad that I don't have that cost associated with keeping my beloved animals. Worms aren't even a problem much around here. The only thing special I did was add Glucosamine and Chondroitin to my dog' diets to alleviate some of the bone and joint problems that large breed dogs have when they get older.

The one exception to this has been the fish. The fish were constantly getting some sort of disease or illness. On more than one occasion we had to get fish antibiotics to clear up something all the tank occupants had contracted. What a pain.

I'm sure my luck will run out, though. I found a great online resource to get pet medications and pet supplies. It's called VetDepot. The carry discounted brand name medications and other stuff like shampoos and nutritional supplements.

Well, at least today is going better than yesterday.

We went to CompUsa to exchange the Animusic DVD. Wouldn't you know it...there were no more in stock. *sigh* Oh, well. At least they took it back. The good news is they had a manager's special on the iSight Accessory Kit. It has a magnetic stand (among other ones) that attaches the camera to the top of a cinema display. It normally retails for almost $30, but they were on sale for $2.97. Whee! Marcus and I each snagged one. Now my iSight is sitting happily atop my display, just like at the Apple Store. Now if only I had somebody to chat with.

They're having a Dumb Friend's League telethon on Fox31 today. I'm sad...that's where we got Skippy from. I really want another dog, but I'm going to be strong and not do it until we get out of this park. I am going to blog for them as my charity this year in the Blogathon. I was torn as to which charity to pick last year, but I went with Livestrong because I knew that Marcus would donate for that charity. I've thought about volunteering down there, but I don't think I could do it. Not being able to save every animal would kill me.

Hey all — sorry about my absence of late. First off, I jacked up my hand somehow on New Year's Eve. That or I've developed carpel tunnel. Either way, my right hand has been killing me. It hurt so bad on New Year's that I couldn't even sleep. I also couldn't take any pain killers since I'd been drinking over at Dave's get together. Typing and mousing has been excruciating. I was bummed about the Bronco loss on Sunday, but that was quickly overshadowed by the news that Darrent Williams had been murdered. All of that in conjunction with losing Skippy, I've been in a depressed fog all week. I'm also having insomnia again. No matter when I go to bed, I can't sleep. I haven't allowed myself to resort to NyQuil or anything to help me sleep this time, but I'm really dragging.

I had a breakdown yesterday when the vet that we took him to sent us a condolence card. That in itself wasn't so bad, it was very thoughtful. What really tore me up was a paper with The Rainbow Bridge story on it and Skippy's paw prints. I totally broke down crying. I miss him so badly. It is so weird coming into a dogless house.

I do have a big of good news, though. I finally got full time at work. Good thing with the lack of PPP money I've got coming in the next few weeks. I also probably got $1/hr raise, but the owner of the company has to approve it first. The HR lady told me he would more than likely approve it, but it all depended on the mood he is in when it crosses his desk. He has seemed to be upbeat, so keeping my fingers crossed on that one. Now I'm eligible for paid holidays. In 90 days, I get full paid benefits. I've never had a job with benefits before. I think I actually get paid vacation in a year, too. I'll have to look at the handbook.

I had other things to say, but can't remember right now and my hand is hurting. I guess that's it for now.