#NerdsUnite: The secret life of a veterinary technician (10 Life Tweaks for 2012)

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Lindsay. She and I met ... well, somewhere in the social space. I think we might have started talking through this site directly, then through facebook - maybe ... I'm not sure. But she's awesome. I talk to her on twitter almost every day, and she's really rad and TOTALLY a big huge animal lover. Like crazy huge!! In these series of posts she will be talking about her life and random adventures with sometimes more than two legged creatures. I guess there's only one more thing left to say ... HIT IT LINDSAY!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @TheCraftafarian

Hey Nerds! I hope everyone is having a great holiday and winter season :)

Since it is New Year Eve Day I decided I would share with you all my 10 little life tweaks for 2012. I guess you can call them my New Years Resolutions. This year has been pretty good, its had big ups and HUGE downs but I know 2012 is going to be EVEN BETTER!! And you know why? Because I'm going to MAKE it that way :)

10 Life Tweaks for 2012

1. Rid myself of excess things--Stuff I really don't need or don't use. Donate to goodwill or whatever. Get it out of my apartment. Clutter makes me feel anxious sometimes.

2. Exercise routinely. Eat healthier. Take better care of myself. This really doesn't need much clarification but I'm trying to eat fresh fruits and vegetables and less processed foods. It seems that is better for your body and I know when I eat better I feel better. Which means I have to cook more for myself...UGH! My BF cooks for me pretty much all the time. I cook some things or I get take out. Ha! Time to pull Fanny's recipes (you know-- Fanny and Olive?!) out of the bookmarks and actually put them to use!

3. Have a more positive outlook/attitude. I admit I can be a very negative person at times, especially when I'm already upset. The BF always tells me to think positively and like Jen always says positive energy brings more positive energy--I know they are both on to something there so that's another thing I really want to work on.

4. Spend more time with the people (and animals) that I care about. I really feel like my BF and I don't enough time together. We work kind of opposite schedules and almost never have the same days off. I often see him at night after he gets off work as I'm going to bed and in the morning he wakes up when I'm going to work.  Also some family and friends need my attention and my pets. Poor neglected beasts.

5. Read and write more often. I read blogs almost everyday and I write in my blog...sometimes. I'm getting better. Its hard for me to put my thoughts and feelings into actual words--is that weird? Like my mind is racing but ask me what I'm thinking about? Uh...nothing? I don't know? *sigh* Its super annoying because I'm a really creative person but its like I get stuck inside my own head. I don't get it. I want to be able to express myself more in words and also read for fun more. I read vet magazines but I haven't read a good book in FOREVER. I may get a kindle. My dad gave me his old andriod a7 tablet that has kindle for PC but it hurts my eyes after a while. I also have a bunch of books that I haven't read yet so I don't want to buy a kindle before reading those!

6. Recycle more. At work we recycle EVERYTHING. We actually have a special dumpster for recyclable materials-- which we produce much more of than actual trash. Anything paper or plastic we've been instructed to put in there. At home however my apartment complex does not have an area for recyclables. So I decided I should get a new trash can (also because my stupid dog Wynnie likes to treat herself to stuff from it as the lid doesn't work) and use the old one for recyclables--then take them in a bag to work and recycle. Yay!!

7. Figure out what I want to do as far as school is concerned. I have an AA degree, which is a two year college degree but I really want to get my bachelors and eventually maybe work towards a doctorate in biology of some kind (nerd!) or DVM (doctor of veterinary medicine) but I need to figure out how I can pay for it and how I can fit it into my life. I'd like to have a well thought out plan (and savings) so that I can start by 2013.

8. Figure out other life goals, not so much work and family but things I WANT to do. Like visit california to see many of my nerdy gals. I don't really know what I would like to do, I'm such a workaholic I haven't even really thought of anything else.

9. Whenever possible purchase and use cruelty free/animal testing free products. I already do this for skin products that I purchase but I need to inform all my family and friends so that I only recieve products that are animal friendly.

10. Keep my damn etsy shop stocked...I'm such a bum sometimes. I have like 5 pendants that I need to photograph and list and attempt to sell. I need to pay off my vet bill because of my darn sick kitty! I plan to donate a portion of my profits to animal charity and the remaining to pay for my cat's labwork and treatments.

Cat Update: So we did the ultrasound. Found slightly enlarged lymphnodes in the abdomen (thats it! what the hell is wrong with this cat?!) and the specialist took a sample of cells within the nodes to send to the lab. That test did not come back as a definitive yes or no--just hyper activity within the lymphnode basically-which means maybe cancer maybe not. She wasn't doing well two days ago but is better today. Yesterday we gave her vitamin injections, fluids, special food and appetite stimulant. If this bloodwork comes back normal the plan is to treat her for lymphoma (cancer) as she has no other symptoms and is losing weight and perkiness. I'll keep you guys posted. She's a good little cat, who may be taking advantage of my pity and is ordering me around quite a lot today. I think she's taking lessons from Olive.

#nerdsunite

<3 Lindsay
twitter: @thecraftafarian
blog: craftafarian.blogspot.com
email: craftafarian at gmail d c