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There Are Days...

      Somedays I wish life would just go back to normal. A time where all I had to worry about was going to work and feeding my dogs. Now there are so many extra chores, worries, and overall stress. I spend days just trying to get through.      I've started to resent living on a small hobby farm. The constant battle with neighboring rogue dogs has become quite the hassle. As it turns out, sometimes you just have to put them down. It was just Taylor and me yesterday when all heck broke out. I was surrounded by a pack of dogs with my toddler. One got into the pen with my goats, five whom are heavily pregnant. I didn't have anywhere safe to put Taylor so I had to make the split decision to shoot the dog to save my goats. If I would have been in there by myself I probably could have caught it and tried to figure out whose dog it was. With no collar I assumed it was a stray. Poor thing was emaciated and it looked pitiful.  I must have only grazed it, becaus...
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Bestie for LIFE

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      Right here is the most loyal man I know. He is one of two dachshunds in my household. Mr. Buck has been my right hand man from day one. He is around 15 years old and still a spring chicken when someone knocks on the door.      Today, has been really rough on Mr. Buck. His seizures have returned and he is currently stable, but due to his advanced age it will take him more time to recover. He has them several times a year. We had him on medication to prevent them, but it caused other issues that were worse.      He has been my cuddle buddy for so long I don't know what I'd do without him. He is my little guard dog who always protects me. Even with his low stature and all 13 lbs of him, he still manages to bite whoever is horsing around.  I'm hoping he will recover to 100% in the next few days. 
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Closer by Dannika Dark

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      Book 5.5 in this series was wild. It didn't even have anything to do with the main set of books. These are characters aren't in the main series. This could have served as a stand alone book.      I would have loved for this to be book one for a separate series. Carrie was a strong female lead and diving deeper into the breed world  fascinates me to no end. Once gain, let me reiterate: this should be a solo stand alone book!     I would happily rate this book a 3.9 out of a 5 for sheer annoyance of deviating from the original series it's supposed to be a part of. I also feel like I over paid for this VERY short piece of literature. I just had higher expectations. I would love to learn more about Geminis and their powers. I think randomly throwing this into the mix loses the appeal of the main books. 
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Oh, Geese

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      I finally took a picture of my new babies. These are the three that I decided to keep. I have been handling them daily and feeding them out of my hand. I"m going to have these juveniles well trained before the fully feather out.      My toddler absolutely loves to go down and play with them too! Now I need some cute names. There are two females and one male. Any suggestions? 
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First Day

      There's exhaustion and then there is teacher exhaustion. It usually takes me around two weeks to fully adjust back into "teacher mode." I have around 124ish names along with a million passwords that I have to know by heart by the end of the week. Those first day jitters you get as a student, well teachers have those too. We want everything to be a smooth transition into our grade band.      Up by 5 and on the go until sometime after 10. Yeah, I'm going to have to adjust to that as well. We get lazy over the summer and our routines are altered. So for the next two weeks I'm going to be fighting sleep and adjusting.     My students were and are the absolute sweetest! This year is going to be fantastic! One student even left me a small sticky note telling me thank you for posting her birthday on the wall. 
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Where?

      Where do I see myself being at in the next ten years? This question was presented to me on the radio this morning via station 99.9. I'm not so sure what my future holds in the years to come. Hopefully, I will still have the same career and my child will be 12. I plan to live in the same area and expand my fencing.      I can see myself possibly going back to school yet again, but I'm not sure what additional degree I would want or need. I can also see where that might be a waste of money if I don't have a set plan. Maybe I will have more of a functional farm by then? Who knows?      It was a great way to advertise a lasting roof. I did sit and actually think about what the announcer said and how the choices we make today have a lasting impact on our next ten years. 
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Asheville Outlets

      Asheville Outlets had a "Back to School Bash" today, and honestly I wish I would have known prior to making the two hour drive. It's not often that I get to make the rather long journey to Asheville, so I feel somewhat annoyed with a wasted trip.     The outlet was beyond packed. In the Croc's store alone I must have bumped into thirty people. Trying to shop with a toddler in tow is  ridiculous, even with a husband there to help; I felt overly boxed in. People just let their kids run wild and didn't even seem to care if they were making messes and being rude. I ended up only going into three stores in total, which is a shame. I had several coupons clipped and ready to use. Too many people and too many unsupervised youth makes for a disastrous trip.      There were small booths and family games set up throughout the loop in the outlets. Small children were running here and there. The restrooms were nasty. By the way, the outlets are...
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Early Education

      In my own community, I see so many children with tablets/phones stuck in their faces when I go out and  about. Even in the grocery store they are handed a tablet to appease the child instead of the parent actually dealing with their behaviors. Soon the child learns if they pitch a fit you will simply hand over the tablet. With that being said, I'm completely against children having such technology at a young age. It is my belief that it ruins their attention span. You do you, though. In my house we read, practice, go outside, and do crafts.      I want my child to transition into school flawlessly. I'm not sure how it will go, but I'm determined to work with my child. We read several books everyday along with using flash cards. I have purchased workbooks to work on Taylor's fine motor skills (tracing). She gets to use scissors weekly to hone in on that skill. It's my job to help prepare her. I spend an average of 2-3 hours daily working on school...
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And Then She Vanished by Nick Jones

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      I had to take a break from Ms. Dark. My current favorite  series isn't cheap to continue to buy and our local library doesn't have a copy. This book by Nick Jones was free in the Audible Plus catalog.      I didn't even realize I was entering yet another series, but this book took me by surprise. The life of an unexpected time traveler trying to save his sister who was abducted 20  years prior. I think this book really makes it evident of the mental load that the families have to endure when their children are taken. We usually read stories in the girl's perspectives, but this book is in the brother's point of view. My heart cried out for our main character on and off again. His emotional state of reliving moments made me sit and day dream of what I would do with this power. What would you really do, if you could travel back in time? The possibilities are endless.      Slow pacing made this book very boring for the first five ...
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Creativity

      You just cannot beat a veteran teacher's resourcefulness and how they use that to make their classroom flourish. I think a veteran teacher is defined by teaching experience, so 15 years plus. That will be something I will proudly be that teacher at my school one day.      Today, I just couldn't figure out how to write in bubble letters, and my fellow teacher took time out to show me how they did it the "old school way." She can freehand cut lettering to look like something you purchased from the store. No  templates, no prepunching tool, just pure creativity. Practice makes perfect and I will be spending time this weekend finishing up my letters for my last bulletin board. 
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