The Blackburn Family

Sorry for the delay in posting, but Christmas is a busy time. Plus I have gotten hooked on a wii game that is occupying all my time. I had to set some limits for myself or nothing was going to get done. Now I understand why Casey plays every night! No, I am not playing WOW. I am hooked on Animal Crossing. I decided to rent it from Blockbuster before investing in the game and the first night I played it was a bit boring. Then I kept playing and I read a bit online about all the cool things I can do! Ever since then I have been glued to the TV playing. It is one of those games that never really ends. You sell things, buy things, go fishing, visit the city, go to friend’s towns, design clothes, get your hair done, you know fun girly things. Casey thinks it is ridiculous, but it is the EXACT same thing as his game except for girls.

Casey really wants me to mention that before Christmas he went to tour the Childress race facility. Here are the pictures he took while he was there. I let him take my camera even though I really didn’t want to! He didn’t break it.

I also put some pictures from Christmas on flickr here. For Christmas this year we gave Casey’s parents a new bathroom! The kids all went in together to remodel their hall bathroom. We took down the wallpaper, painted, cleaned the tile and added some new accessories. There are lots of pictures in the flickr album. We also played a lot of Mario Kart with the kids while we were down there. Karley and I usually worked as a team (me steering and her hitting the gas) and we always had to be the princess. Also, mom got the mink this year as a present from Sally and Kenny. I am pretty sure I mentioned the mink awhile back when she lived with us, but just in case here is the story. Mom found the mink when cleaning up Uncle Ned’s house (which is also the house she grew up in). The mink belonged to her grandmother so she decided all the descendants should care for the mink. I got it two years ago at Christmas and it was disgusting. It is an actual mink complete with toe nails and eyes. When you open it up (especially when you aren’t expecting it) it really freaks you out. Make sure to check out the pictures of mom’s face when she opened it. Here are the pictures from when the mink lived with us. Here are the ones dad took when I opened it.

We didn’t do anything special for New Year’s Eve, but I did manage to stay up until midnight. I am not sure why since all we did was watch them count down and then I went to bed. I might as well have just gone to bed at 10. New Year’s Day we cooked a special meal (per Casey’s instruction). We had black eyed peas (I think for luck), green beans (for money, I don’t eat any other greens), ham (no idea why) and sweet potatoes (also no idea why). Hopefully it will bring us luck and lots of money! I didn’t much like 2008 so I have high hopes for 2009. I feel like it will be a much better year than 2008. At least I am not turning 30 this year.

Okay, I think that is enough! I have a couple other things to do before I can play my game again!!

Here are a few pictures I took today of the bunnies and JD. They had a really hard day.

No, not JD this time! Today Tuscan and Moose had to go in for their yearly physical. They both look great, no problems! Tuscan weighs in at 4.5 pounds and Moose at 2.7 pounds. They both have lost a bit of weight since their visit last year. Usually I take them in for their examinations and then bring them back, but now my work is 5 minutes from the vet and 35-40 minutes from the house so they had to stay there all day today. It was the first time I have left them anywhere since I adopted them almost 5 years ago! As soon as I got the carrier out this morning they started thumping and hiding from me. They are still in their room and Tuscan is giving me some nasty looks.

When I got to the vet’s office to pick them up after work they told me Moose had managed to break out of the play area they had set up for them this morning. She is a crafty little bunny. The vet tech said they had them in a play area together with a litter box, but then they had to seperate them to try to get fecal samples. They put them in seperate cages, but Tuscan was the only one with a litter box. They tried to get a sample from Moose most of the day, but nothing. So they put her in the play area with a litterbox and she ran right over and started using it. She wasn’t giving a sample because she didn’t have a litterbox! What a good little bunny.

JD has been a bit out of it this week thanks to all his pain medicine. Extra loving and really sleepy (even more than usual). Well tonight Tuscan and Moose decided to check him out on the couch. Usually JD is scared of the bunnies and he freaks out if they get too close to him. He didn’t mind either of them sniffing his shaved back or walking all around him. Tuscan even gave him some nose kisses and stood in front of JD’s face for a long time sniffing at him. One time JD seemed like he was going to bop him on the head like he usually does, but he didn’t seem to have the energy or desire to do it. Those are some good drugs.

On another note, I cleaned downstairs tonight since Apple is gone. It is the first time in 1.5 years that I haven’t had bunnies downstairs and I don’t like it!! It is too empty down there without them.

Apple came to live with us a few days before Christmas last year as a short term foster. Unfortunately the family that was interested in him didn’t work out so he stayed here with us for almost a year. Everyone that came over and met him loved him. I have had 10 foster rabbits, 2 of my own rabbits and have worked with at least 30 rabbits at the SPCA over the years and none has been as special as Apple (don’t tell the others!). I know some of you don’t understand having a rabbit as a pet and it may seem strange to you, but they are wonderful pets with as much personality as any dog or cat. Apple is a very unique rabbit. He loves people and would always run over to get some love from anyone willing to pet him. He isn’t shy or scared of people like some rabbits. He always came running to greet me when I came home and would usually come when we called his name. I am so excited that he has such a wonderful new home, but I will really miss him.

JD is doing much better, but the drugs have him really out of it. He is extra loving while on his meds and extra sleepy. His fur isn’t growing in much yet, but no more diarrhea. He goes in next week for a check up and to check his urine. Hopefully the stones will stay away for awhile.

To see Apple’s flickr album click here.

Before I get to the fun stuff (my latest video) I want to mention two more serious issues.

First, Rabbits are NOT good gifts at Easter!! Please see my banner to learn more about rabbits as pets before you decide to bring one home! Help me spread the word that rabbits and Easter don’t mix.

Second, for those of you in Wake County please see the link below to the SPCA’s website. The county decided a few weeks ago to change where animals in our county are surrendered. Currently the SPCA acts as the intake facility for the cities of Raleigh, Cary and Garner. Animals from all other areas of Wake County are taken to the Wake County shelter. Starting July 1, 2008 the animals from Cary and Garner will not go to the Wake County shelter. The county shelter is not equipped to handle these additional animals. Plus the Wake County shelter still uses the gas chamber as a form of euthanasia, the Wake County shelter doesn’t spay/neuter all animals adopted out of their facility and the Wake County shelter doesn’t meet standards for cleanliness leading to disease outbreaks. Please read more about this situation!!! We need people to email, call and write their county commissioners to request the conditions at the county shelter be improved immediately and the decision to change the intake agreement between the two shelters reversed!

SPCA Watchdogs

Now, the good stuff. While I was getting our Plush Pet Packets ready I put all the stuffed animals on the couch. Tuscan and Moose just couldn’t resist. I didn’t have my camera near me, but I did have the camcorder. I thought it was cute, but then it got really funny. I don’t want to spoil it, but you have to watch the whole video to find out what happens.

A few pictures I took this weekend. Here is JD enjoying our papers

Here are a few of Tuscan

I went ahead and made another video! I know all of you were curious about how exactly I get my Christmas card photo each year. I set up the camcorder during the 2006 shoot and recorded at least an hour of footage. Yes, it takes at least that long to get that one picture I put on the card. This year I actually had to do multiple shoots….. Don’t worry you don’t have to watch hours of footage. I took over 20 minutes worth of video and made a two minute video for your viewing pleasure.

Well, it only took almost a year, but I finally made a video of the foster bunnies when they were babies. I am going to work on another this week that I think you will get a kick out of…. or maybe not.

Okay, I made a really cute video with music, but YouTube says I can’t use the song because of copyright crap. So, I guess I will have to post the video without the music which is no good!! The music is the best part. I guess posting TV shows, commercials, music videos, etc is fine, but heaven forbid I put a song on my movie - a song I actually purchased. So why doesn’t YouTube crack down on all that other stuff?

So here it is without music…. trust me it is much better with music, but apparently unless I want to write my own song I won’t be able to put music to it. So just hum to yourself while you watch it. I guess that is legal. Just don’t hum someone else’s song because that is probably copyright infringement. So to be on the safe side you should probably hum a made up song and then copyright it just in case someone tries to hum your song one day……

I took a few bunny pictures this weekend. I like taking close-ups of their faces now…. I didn’t mess with Tuscan today, but I got a few of Moose and Apple.

We catch Apple sleeping like this a lot. He loves to stretch out his feet. Doesn’t he have the cutest little feet! His legs are so short!

Well, this year I decided to use Christmas presents for our photo shoot. I also decided to not put J.D. in the pictures. I took pictures three different times to get the one picture I liked!! I just couldn’t get the lighting right and the wrapping paper on the packages was reflecting so much light. On our first attempt Moose decided to pee in the box. I had asked Casey to get something to put in the bottom of the box since Moose was too small for the box. He brought back my Sex and the City DVD’s. Luckily I went and got a towel to put on them…. otherwise they would have rabbit pee all over them. Moose had a really good time digging up the towel and playing with it. The hardest part of the shoot this year was getting the rabbits to move! Once I put them in the box they just froze. It took both of us to perk them up. Here are a few of my favorite outtakes. Click here to see my flickr album with all of them. No, not all 400 pictures I took, just my favorites.