My boy in his ThunderShirt posing with his fearless sister.

Trick or Treat time is right around the corner, and while it’s great fun for kids dress up and collect candy, it can be a nightmare for many pets. Strange looking beings ringing the door bell and shouting loud greetings can send your skittish doggie pacing and drooling , while your scaredy cat hides under the bed.

Many cats will find a good safe hiding place and stay there until the “guests” stop coming, but some dogs will bolt out the door and take off into the night (or afternoon, depending on your neighborhood).

Here’s my friendly advice. If you have a pet that is sensitive to all this holiday activity, please be considerate and put them in a safe place while the goblins are about. Shutting your pet in your bedroom with a bowl of water and a favorite toy or two will make her feel better and keep her safe.

My male dog is terrified of fireworks and thunderstorms, so I purchased a “ThunderShirt” for him. When he’s wrapped up tight in his stylish shirt he is still nervous, but not terrified. I plan to put this on him while the trick or treaters are on the prowl. I’m also hoping for a nice fall day/evening so I can set up my lawn chair in the driveway and meet the kids before they ever ring the bell. This way my dogs are disturbed less and the kids get their treats faster and move on to the next stop.

As a bit of extra protection you should but a collar on your pet that includes an id with your phone number on it. Even if you don’t usually keep a collar on your pet in the house, at busy times like this it’s best to be prepared for the worst. If your beloved pet does slip out you have a much better chance of getting him back if the person who finds him knows who to call. Without an id your pet could wind up spending the night in a kennel with a bunch of other frightened animals.

With a little planning, you can enjoy handing out treats to the little beggars without traumatizing your furry family members.

WARNING: If you have little goblins bringing home treats, don’t let them share with your pets; chocolate is very toxic to both cats and dogs and Xylitol, a sugar substitute found in a variety of sugar-free and dietetic cookies, mints and chewing gum is proving highly toxic, even fatal, to snack-snatching dogs.

In March I saw a post on LinkedIn calling for original stories or poems by women about life in the military.  I wrote an essay, My Recruiter was Right and spent a couple weeks editing it until it was short enough to submit.

Months went by and I did not hear anything regarding my submission.  I checked on-line and saw they were still accepting submissions, so I figured they either had not received enough to go to print or, they had not received enough GOOD stories to go to print. I was WRONG. They received hundreds of stories and poem and read them over and over trying to find the ones with the right amount of “Heart” for the book.

On  October 18  I received an e-mail from Sheryl indicating that she and Eldonna Lewis-Fernandez were editing the final manuscript, needed a few more submissions from Coast Guide contributors and would be notifying the chosen authors soon. A week later, I got the word that my essay would be included in the book.

Today I called Sheryl to order a couple copies, I want to see what other people wrote and want to give some out as Christmas gifts. I called Sheryl and told her who I was, she paused for a minute and said, there’s a name missing. I laughed and said yes, I used my maiden name as my middle name when I sent in the article, she knows me as Julia Borchardt Rasmussen. She immediately knew which story was mine, that is made it through five cuts to be in the final edition,  and told me how much she enjoyed it.  Turns out her folks met in the military too. Mom was Rosie the Riveter and Dad was in the Army Corp of Engineers. Small World.

If you’d like to order a copy of the book, please click here.

Lynn’s sick. I was going to make the Valerie Bertenelli soup, but there wasn’t any eggplant or yellow squash at Fresh and Easy so I bought their home make chicken soup for him instead.

Just keep moving. It makes a difference. Even though I could not exercise recently I was able to maintain my weight that week and lose weight the following week by watching my intake numbers and staying active (cleaning house).

Rest time is over. I’m feeling normal. I forget that I had the cancer removed until I look in the mirror or reach up to touch my cheek and notice the stitches.

More cloths fit. My bright yellow capri’s fit again, I wore them out to dinner Friday night. I can now zip up and button my favorite white capri’s but they are still to tight to wear. This is a big deal, just a couple weeks ago I was considering getting rid of my capri’s because I could not zip them up.

Halloween costumes complete. Skirt, blouse, mask, princess dress and cape. I love making costumes.

Three job openings of interest. (None worked out.)

Going to California next weekend. (Went and had a wonderful time!)

Blue Boat through the trees, originally uploaded by Julia Ras.

I guess I can now call myself a published photographer. I received word today that this photo is in the new Schmap Phoenix Guide. Before you get too excited, there are hundreds of photos in the new Schmap Phoenix Guide. I’m happy that one of them is mine, but I’m not going to quit my day job and live off photo royalties. For one thing, I don’t have a day job, and another, there are no royalties.

I hope you like the photo.

You can check out other photos taken in the Desert Botanical Garden at  Schmap Phoenix Guide.

Shared via AddThis

Shared via AddThis

I hope I don’t gain back all that I’ve lost while I’m recuperating, but I am following doctors orders and taking a few days off from the yoga and bike riding and pool exercising. Actually, the pool exercising may be done for the year. The pool temp is now around 70 and to me that feels very cold, but who knows, if the air gets warm enough I may want to be in the refreshingly cool water.

 Yesterday I wished for something stronger than Extra-strength Tylenol as I surfed the web, wrote a use case, proofed the Maddie’s Project Volunteer Manual and kept checking the mirror to see how discolored my face was getting. The swelling and color weren’t too bad, but my skin felt like it was stretched way to tight and really hurt. Carly arrived around 3 pm so I took a break and watched her run around the house and yard with my dog Chopper. Carly is a tiny Wheaten terrier with a lot of energy that I’m dog sitting until Tuesday. Just watching her run around is exhausting. I’ve been trying to get some pictures of her and Chopper together to share with you, but she is not very cooperative.

 Today when I woke up to multiple dogs barking I could tell my right eyelid was somewhat swollen because it wouldn’t open as much as my left. A quick glance in the bathroom mirror confirmed my suspicion, my lower lid is VERY colorful and slightly swollen. I put on my cool gel eye-mask and rested till it was no longer cool then got up for the day. I miss doing my morning stretches, but since my stretches involved putting my head lower than my heart I don’t think that’s a good idea yet. I feel much better than yesterday, but I look much worse.

  Ever since I was laid off, I’ve been considering doing some volunteer work. Last week I took the plunge and applied to assist at Maddie’s Projects Adoption Center and they accepted my application. I visited with the Volunteer Coordinator on Monday and we decided to schedule me for the 6 to 8 shift so I will still be available to interview and ultimately work, during the normal business hours of the day. I have my volunteer training session at Maddie’s Project Adoption Center this afternoon. I hope I don’t scare my trainer

I better sign off and go ice my eye one more time before heading out into the world.

 What to do? Add more exercise of course. But what will I add?

 I visited a friend last week. She suggested I try out her Wii fitness program. She and her kids have been using it and really enjoy it. Nothing like having others watch you exercise to keep you honest on track. I figured, why not. I played the Wii bowling game last winter and really enjoyed it, and I was very curious how one would do yoga on that fitness platform. My first impression, wii hates me. I know, it’s an inanimate object, it has no feelings, it can’t possibly hate me, BUT IT DOES.

I did what it asked. I stood still and let it scan me. It told me my BMI was high, which I expected (I don’t remember the actual result), it told me my optimal weight would be 124 (six pounds lower than my goal), but then it went on to tell me my Wii fit age = 75, I nearly fainted. I went through the body test, hula hoop, ski jump, soccer heading and the tree (yoga pose). We all laughed at my inexperience, my poor eye hand coordination, my lack of balance. In a word, I had fun. I admit, it was a little strange holding on to the controller while doing yoga, but I think I could get use to it. I left that night promising to return and try again.

 Today I went on line to look up some information about Wii fit for this posting, and to my surprise . . . . Coming October 4, 2009 Wii Fit™ Plus

 Wii Fit™ Plus builds upon the original Wii Fit™ software, works directly with your Wii™ console to bring you a fun and exciting way to experience fitness. Get fit with over 60 activities and exercises, including over 20 new strength training, aerobics, and yoga activities.

Oh Yeah, I want this, unfortunately I can’t rush out and get it. You see, Karen reminded me, it’s October. My family has a rule that we can not buy any “fun” stuff for ourselves after the first of October because someone may have already purchased said item as a Christmas gift, and if we buy it for ourselves we will spoil their surprise. Of course today I think this rule really sucks. If I got a Wii fit now, I could ask for the “Plus” upgrade for Christmas. That way I could increase my activity level and make my goal by Christmas. Sounds rational right? But I won’t break the gift rule because, 1) I’m still unemployed and 2) my daughter would yell at me. I hate it when she yells at me, so to avoid that I will not make this purchase, instead I’ll bug my family regularly with hints of what I want for Christmas. I think I’ll start by e-mailing them this entry.

If you have not experienced Wii Fit for yourself, you can check out videos that give you an idea what to expect at youtube and/or http://www.wiifit.org/category/wii-fit-videos

The past week has been interesting. I had my birthday. As a result I had to change my information in my body fat analysis scale. I received a bunch of birthday wishes from friends on Facebook, my AARP card, and lovely gifts from my daughter. She took me out for wine and pizza. We had a lovely time and I only ate 500 calories more than I exercised that day.

 I scheduled surgery to remove a basal cell carcinoma growth from my face. On my surgeon’s web site I found information indicating I am to abstain from taking aspirin for a week before the surgery, and I am not to drink alcohol for 24 hours before surgery, but I’m going to discontinue alcohol now. That way I should not need any aspirin for a while. Besides, eliminating beer and wine from my diet will left me eat more.

I have to go now; it’s almost time for the season premier of “Dancing with the Stars!” I want to see who will be dancing this season, and pick the couples I will be voting for!

• Monday– Cholesterol lab drawn – Sushi and Kirin Lite with friends for dinner – I ate more then I exercised
• Tuesday – Dermatology Clinic, I had the nurse practitioner check me over. She found 2 spots that needed biopsy.
• Wednesday– Mammography – I found the Habitate for Humanity resale store in the same strip mall as the imaging center, so I did a little browsing after having my “pictures” taken.
• Thursday – No more health stuff, thank goodness. Instead I accompanied a friend while she made a mystery shopper visit to Cartier in the Scottsdale Fashion mall. My first trip to Scottsdale. The mall is huge. By the time we were done our feet were sore (we wore heels and “nice” clothes so we would look like we belonged there), so a quick stop for refreshment before returning to the HOT car.
• Friday – Lunch with Elaine and Karen at Euro Cafe. It was heavenly. I went way over my calorie limit, and I did feel a little guilty, but what a way to over indulge. Needless to say – I ate more then I exercised
• Saturday – Stayed home, worked on my writing project, spent an hour exercising in the pool.

End result: my weight this morning (September 6) is the same as Wednesday’s low 148.2. Amazingly things are slowly headed the right way.

I only have one outings scheduled for this coming week; A quick trip to the library. The hurricane pushed through here this weekend and gave us a little rain, humidity and lower temps. I’m hoping the lower temps will stick around so I can increase my out door activity; maybe even bike to the library. I have not done that since May. I have a number of writing projects for this week, so I will have my hands busy on the keyboard and not feeding my face.

Here’s the numbers:

Statistics through Sept 5