How do you fast forward this thing?

Ever see a federal tax exemption application? It's 25 pages long. Ugh. As Not Without My Pet has recently gotten a new treasurer and things are a little up in the air right now, it's fallen to me and Raquel to fill out the application from hell. Progress is being made, but it's slow going.

The good news is, a CPA has volunteered to do our tax return. YAY! One pretty major thing off the to do list.

In the interest of not scattering my energies amongst 5,000 projects like I normally do, I've temporarily suspended my Etsy shop, Luminosities. I need to narrow my focus for the moment. Luminosities will be back, for sure, but first things first.

Understand that I'm not really complaining, unless it's about the day job. lol These things that I'm doing, I'm doing because I want to and because they are meaningful and important to me.

Oh, and I have mentioned that I am finally, finally going to see Green Day?? YES! Floor tickets, bay-beeee! Just try to keep me away from the stage.

And next month? Social D again. Everybody needs a little recreation, right? ;)

Not Without My Pet in Oprah's Magazine!

Not Without My Pet is in the March issue of O, Oprah's magazine! We are on page 32, under the picture of the dog's face.

We are so excited to be in O! Oprah, as you may know, is a big time dog lover.

Our deepest thanks go out of everyone at O for giving us this fantastic exposure. By putting us in the magazine, they are helping us to help domestic violence victims and their pets. Yay, O!

So...I made a life list

Life List

1. Stay in a house on the beach by myself for a week
2. Create my own Tarot deck
3. Ride in a 1958 Edsel
4. Make love in a graveyard (without getting arrested)
5. Learn to play the drums
6. Ride in a boat on the ocean (done)
7. Ride in a helicopter (done)
8. Adopt three dogs
9. Build and live in my dream house
10. Meet Keanu Reeves
11. Take a motorcycle riding class
12. Go to a shooting range
13. Finally watch Jason’s Bad Religion DVD (done)
14. Write my autobiography
15. Get more tattoos
a. Fall Child
b. Bast(done)
c. Scarab
16. See a wolf in the wild
17. Kick fibromyalgia’s ass
18. Meet Angelina Jolie
19. Work full time for Not Without My Pet (at a higher level of prosperity than ever before)
20. Get my nose pierced (done)
21. Donate books to the library
22. Quit smoking
23. Take a train all the way from one coast to the other in the U.S.
24. Finish Certified Humane Education Specialist program
25. Finish curriculum for Hecate’s Torch
26. Take an acting class or otherwise find out if I can act
27. Learn to sing
28. Read The Inferno
29. Read Nicholas Nickleby
30. Read The Waste Land
31. Read Moby Dick
32. Read Turn of the Screw
33. Read The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
34. Read As I Lay Dying
35. Read Mrs. Dalloway
36. Read Candide
37. Read Gulliver’s Travels
38. Read Ethan Frome
39. Read House of Spirits
40. Read Jude the Obscure
41. Read Lolita
42. Re-read Lord of the Flies
43. Re-read To Kill a Mockingbird
44. Read The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
45. Read Madame Bovary
46. See Bad Religion live
47. See Green Day live
48. Win $10 million in the lottery, or some other contest thingie
49. Ride a horse bareback on the beach
50. Tour New Orleans – French Quarter tour, Garden District Tour, Graveyard Tour, Ghost Tour.
51. Visit the Louvre, Notre Dame and Pere-Lachaise Cemetery in Paris
52. Visit the Pantheon and the Colosseum in Rome
53. Visit Tara and Newgrange in Ireland
54. See the architecture of Antoní Gaudi in Barcelona, the Alhambra in Granada and the Royal Palace in Madrid, Spain
55. Stay here for a week: http://www.mayatulum.com/ (Mexico)
56. Go on a polar bear watching tour and see the Northern Lights in Manitoba, Canada
57. See the Sydney Opera House, explore ancient rock art and cave paintings at Kimberly, Australia
58. Visit the Egyptian Antiquities Museum, the Great Pyramids, the Sphinx and the Valley of Kings in Egypt
59. Visit the Acropolis, Delphi, the Dionysos Theatre and Eleusis, Greece
60. Visit Butterfly Creek, Kelly Tarlton’s Antarctic Encounter & Underwater World, Howick Historical Village, the Whitford Bird Garden and Rotorua's arts centre in New Zealand
61. Visit Glastonbury Tor, Stonehenge, Lincoln Cathedral, Salisbury Cathedral, Wells Cathedral, York Minster, Westminster Abbey, Durham Cathedral, Windsor Castle, Warwick Castle and The Globe Theatre, England
62. Visit Chartres Cathedral and the Palace of Versailles, France
63. Visit the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve and butterfly garden and ride the Rain Forest Aerial Tram in Costa Rica
64. Visit all 50 states
a. Alabama
b. Alaska
c. Arizona (done)
d. Arkansas
e. California (done)
f. Colorado (done)
g. Connecticut (done)
h. Delaware
i. Florida
j. Georgia
k. Hawaii (done)
l. Idaho
m. Illinois
n. Indiana
o. Iowa
p. Kansas
q. Kentucky
r. Louisiana (done)
s. Maine
t. Maryland
u. Massachusetts (done)
v. Michigan
w. Minnesota
x. Mississippi
y. Missouri
z. Montana
aa. Nebraska
bb. Nevada (done)
cc. New Hampshire
dd. New Jersey
ee. New Mexico
ff. New York (done)
gg. North Carolina
hh. North Dakota
ii. Ohio
jj. Oklahoma
kk. Oregon (done)
ll. Pennsylvania
mm. Rhode Island (done)
nn. South Carolina
oo. South Dakota
pp. Tennessee
qq. Texas
rr. Utah
ss. Vermont
tt. Virginia
uu. Washington (done)
vv. West Virginia
ww. Wisconsin
xx. Wyoming
65. Take horseback riding lessons to become a better rider
66. See dolphins in the wild (done)
67. Volunteer at Best Friends for a few days, while staying on site
68. Be on Oprah to promote Not Without My Pet
69. Develop a nation wide network of foster caregivers for domestic violence pets
70. Get paid for public speaking
71. Help build 50 on-site pet facilities at domestic violence shelters
72. Pay off credit cards and my school loans
73. Stay in a 5 star hotel
74. Get my Italian poster for The Crow framed
75. Scan my old photos

Good news/not so good news

Well, I have an explanation now for why I'm so exhausted and in pain all the time. Which, in turn, explains why I've been MIA from groups and teams I belong to.

The not so good news: I've been diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Many people are familiar with this as a chronic pain illness, from the television commercials. It is that, for sure, but it's more than that. There is no cure for fibromyalgia, but there are a wide variety of (mostly experimental) treatment options available. For now, my doctor is starting me out with a medium dosage of an anti-depressant which is different from the anti-depressant I already take and does not conflict with that or my migraine medication. I'm going for blood tests as well, to help him
understand what treatment(s) may work best for me.

The good news: Fibromyalgia is not progressive, so it won't eventually cripple me or kill me or anything. Certain conditions and behaviors will make the symptoms better or worse, but the illness itself won't get worse, if that makes sense.

For me, the good news is that all the things I've been beating myself up for are actually not my fault! That alone makes me feel better. It also explains several things I'd previously thought were individual physical issues. It turns out they're all part of the same thing!

This diagnosis explains why I'm exhausted all the time and why I'm in pain all the time. It explains why, when I get home from work, all I can do is sit on the couch for an hour or two and then go to bed. It explains why my weekends usually consist of alternately sitting on the couch and sleeping. It also explains why I get sick all the time, catching any little bug that comes along. It explains my sensitivity to scents, sounds and light. It explains my memory loss issues and it explains why I can't think of the word I want in conversation. (Yeah, I know everybody does that from time to time, but it's a matter of degree – how much and how often.) It may also explain why I get migraines in the first place. It explains a few other things that are too icky to share.

Right now, we're at the point of seeing what the new medication does and waiting for lab results. What I need from my friends and family is understanding. Please understand that when I say I'm tired, I don't mean the kind of tired that many adults in the modern world experience, which sucks enough as it is. I mean I'm exhausted. I mean I'm too tired to answer the freaking phone, if you can believe that.

If I don't accept invitations to do things and I don't come visit, it's not at all that I don't want to see you or that I don't care or whatever. It means that just driving for an hour wipes me out for a couple of days afterward. It means that I've been instructed by my doctor to lie down several times during the day. It means that it takes me so long to recover from any activity that just thinking of going to do something makes me want to climb in bed, pull the covers over my head and cry.

It's been like this for a while now, but now that I have a diagnosis I feel like I can tell people how I've been feeling without worrying that anyone will think I'm making excuses or exaggerating. It really is this bad.

But…I am hopeful now! What's wrong with me is not my fault and there are real treatment options! I'm looking forward to feeling better and getting my life back. I'm also happy to have finally found a doctor who has given me a correct diagnosis and who can help me. Maybe now I can jettison some of these other doctors and stop supporting the entire AMA. Ha!

I hope that everyone will all bear with me as I try out treatments to see what works. Thanks for reading my loooong post.

What the Military does with Animals Rescued by Soldiers

This is so horrible I can't even bring myself to tell you about it. Please sign this petition.

Petition to Change Military Policy About Animals Rescued by Soldiers

I don't usually post things like this, but this time I'm bugging everyone I know, everywhere I can, in every way I can.

Join Us on Facebook and MySpace

Not Without My Pet is now on Facebook and MySpace!

Add us as a friend on MySpace: Not Without My Pet

Join the Not Without My Pet cause on Facebook.

We Did It!

Not Without My Pet's first fundraiser was a success! We exceeded our goal by almost $200. After a long, hard day of hawking donated items to shoppers, we packed up what remained and donated it to Goodwill, who was kind enough to come and pick it all up.

NWOMP wishes to express it's gratitude and appreciation to all those who made our event possible. Linda of Linda's Claws and Paws allowed us to use her parking lot for the sale. Thanks, Linda! The bar next door, The Benchwarmer, allowed us to use their, um, facilities. Thanks, Benchwarmer! Heather, an Arbonne representative, brought her wonderful skin care items and held a raffle. Thanks, Heather!

The delightful ladies of the Blue Thong Sisters helped in so many ways. They donated items, they helped us set up, they stayed for the sale and provided assistance, companionship and occasional comic relief. Thanks so much, BTS!!


Here we are in front of Linda's Claws and Paws. Look at all that stuff!



Heather with her products and her charming family.


The Blue Thong Sisters!!! Gail Cullins, Deane Reed, Sharon Reed, Nina Rubin, Marlayne Bellenson and Shari Markwith. Additional help from, (not pictured), Rosemary Wilde, Sue Crespo, Dusty Miller, Gaby Flores, and Denise Viau


Sue Crespo flagging down passersby, with the Benchwarmer in the background.



Are we having fun, or what?


Marlayne considers leather; Shari apparently disagrees. hehehe


Shari, Deanne and Sharon...shopping?

Etsy for Animals Birthday Bash!

The EFA Artists Helping Animals Team has been working hard pulling together our first year anniversary Birthday Bash Extravaganza, a celebration where buyers and sellers all WIN!
We are so excited about this party!



Make a note of the dates : September 15th to September 30th In honour of the Birthday Bash, during this period, I will be accepting the 20% off Coupon in my shop. My code is LUMIN. Just put that code in the 'Notes to Seller' box on your order and DO NOT pay for the item. I will send you a revised invoice! You can visit my shopLuminositiesto receive your discount on all of my items!
PLUS! there are over 170 shops that are currently signed up to accept the 20% off coupon here at Etsy including the EFA TEAM STORE.For a complete list of those shops stay tuned at the EFA website. You can use my code LUMIN in any of those participating shops.

It's time to start thinking of early Christmas presents so check out the Birthday Bash.

Not Without My Pet Weekend Update

I just created an event on MySpace and invited 40 of my "friends" to next Sunday's fundraiser, including the following famous people:

Don-Henrie (the vampire)
Social Distortion
Exene Cervenka
Caitlin Kiernan (author)
Christopher Penczak (author)
Adeline Records (Billie Joe and Adrienne Armstrong’s label)
Aaron Leitch (author)
Ellen Dugan (author)
Konstantinos (author)
Panpipes (store in HW)
Green Day

Wouldn't it be a hoot if some of them came?? hehe

My fabulous chiropractor, Dr. John Craviotto donated $100 to our cause on Friday!

This weekend, I put up flyers advertising our fundraiser around town, including in all the major grocery stores. Everyone goes to the grocery store, right? I spoke to random strangers about our event and gave them flyers (who am I and what have I done with the real Nicole?)

I took a load of stuff for the sale over to Linda’s and put it in her storage space. There’s plenty of room in there!

Raquel got a canopy and a cash box for us. She is also working on NWOMP thank you cards we can send to donors! Raquel has a list of facts she’s used to create a handout for our event, too.

Debra is working on putting up a simple splash page for us at our domain, nwomp.org. Just something to have up there now so people can see we’re legit. When she’s finished, the page will be more comprehensive, but we needed something up there in the meantime.

Raegan is working on getting us a bank account. I dropped off a letter for the bank and a check last Friday, so we’re making progress!

Tina has agreed to hand out flyers to the other water polo moms and whoever else she comes across in her travels. She already has one on her office door at work.

Julie has a flyer on her office door too. She’s also invited me to speak to her marketing classes this week, so I’ll be giving out flyers to them as well. I’ve already spoken to my Psych class about us and our instructor is allowing me to give out flyers to that class, too.

I learned something important this weekend. Kinko’s may not be the best place to make copies on a budget! They came out really nice, but they were pricey.

Speaking of pricey, ads for our event have been put on craigslist, in the PennySaver, Ojai Valley News and the Ventura Star. (the SB Independent won’t do it because we are not in SB.)

Next Sunday is the big day!

Fundraiser for Not Without My Pet

Our very first official fundraiser!! Come visit us and shop great deals!

If you are interested in donating items or volunteering to work the sale, e-mail me at ngilbert@nwomp.org

Not Without My Pet has a Logo!

Our Director of Development, Raquel Griffiths, has designed a logo for Not Without My Pet! It's lovely! Thanks and kudos to Raquel!

Big Doings at Not Without My Pet!

Last week, I met with the members of the local chapter of the Blue Thong Society, who have adopted Not Without My Pet as their charity. What a fun evening that was! We met at Black Angus here in town. Over dinner, drinks and appetizers, we discussed what they'd like to do to help NWOMP.

The first event we are doing together is a tag (rummage) sale in the parking lot of Linda's Claws and Paws. Linda's Claws and Paws has been voted Best Pet Store in the local area 4 Years Running! Linda has generously offered her parking lot as a place to hold our sale. We are in the process of raising the $500 we need to file for tax exemption.

In the course of my evening with the women of the BTS, they had a thing they call "Lucky Buck." This involves everyone pitching in a buck or two and a drawing to see who wins the pot. The winner then splits the pot with the charity. I drew the winning name and the winner, Sharon Reed, co-director of the local chapter, gave her half to us as well! Lucky buck, indeed! And there's more...they had some other sort of challenge while I was away from the table and presented me with even more money when I returned!! All in all, they donated $65 to NWOMP! Yay, BTS!!

Added to the $100 Raquel Griffiths, NWOMP's Director of Development, has raised, we are now on our way to being able to file!

Yesterday, the board of directors met at my house. The board is comprised of me, Nicole Gilbert, President; Raquel Griffiths, Director of Development; Julie Brown, Secretary; Tina Kistler, Treasurer and Debra Fondren, board member, grant writer and webmistress! Tina couldn't be present physically, but she called in and joined our meeting via speaker phone.

At the meeting, we ratified our bylaws, confirmed our officers, chose our logo and picked a date for our tag sale.

All that discussion was hungry business, so after the meeting was adjourned, we feasted!


Debra, Julie and Raquel.


Debra and Julie.

Happy Birthday to Me!

Last Thursday was my birthday and I milked it for all it was worth! For the past several days I've been doing things I rarely do, as birthday treats.

I went to Lu Ross Academy and had a mani, pedi and facial. Not only was it all luxurious and pamper-y, but I met some interesting people and had some fun conversations. Laura, who did my facial, is a professional makeup artist. She recommended I use Prescriptives foundation, so I vowed to check that out later.

After my Lu Ross adventure, I went to The Massage Place to get a massage. I met a woman named Geneva who makes pasties for Pastease. They have skull and crossbone pasties! Ha!

Later that night, my friend Erika took me out to dinner at Kyoto Sushi. It's a little hole in the wall place in a strip mall. It doesn't look like much, but, man, it was excellent! We've both decided it's our new favorite sushi place. It was recommended by my hair stylist, Maureen. Thanks, Maureen!

Friday, I made a beeline for Macy's to check out Prescriptives. A totally cool guy named Saul did my makeup using their products. Like me, he used to live in Hollywood, so we ended up talking about our old neighborhoods and comparing tattoos. I loved the makeup, so I bought it. I've been through this before and ended up not liking the makeup a few days later, but this time I still really like it.

After that, I went to my nemesis, Barnes and Noble. I can spend hours in there, browsing. This time, though, I found several things I wanted within the first few minutes. I bought ten books and two magazines!

My friend Erika wanted to see the new X-Files movie, I Want to Believe, so I went to rent the first movie. I had a helluva time finding it, but I finally did. But first, that night, I went to see The Dark Knight. Loved it! Heath Ledger's performance lives up to the hype. We saw I Want to Believe the next night, and I liked that, too. There are some sad dog things in that one, but I'd been warned by my friend Debra, so I knew when to look away.

On Sunday, I went to Riverside to visit my friend Jessica Black of Primalx. We had a truly fabulous lunch at Yard House. The food was really, really good and I had two pomegranate martinis! Jessica's husband, Larry had a Hpnotini and Jess had an Espresso martini. They let me have sips and theirs were just as good as mine.

Today I'm tired but happy. What a fabulous birthday I've had!

We're in the Local Newspaper!

Nina Rubin, of the local chapter of the Blue Thong Society, did a write up for the Ventura Star about her chapter. She mentioned Not Without My Pet as the charity they've adopted!

Check it out:

It's Official, We are Incoporated!!

I got the articles of incorporation for our nonprofit back from the Secretary of State! I used Attorneys Corporation Service to file. It cost me more, but their turn around time was only a few days, compared to two to four weeks or longer if I'd mailed it in myself. I used their FaxIt Corporation Filing Service. It's not that expensive and it's quick and easy.

And now, what you've all been waiting for...drum roll, please...the name of our nonprofit corporation is....Not Without My Pet.

We have a registered domain name, nwomp.org, but no actual website just yet. I do have a new e-mail address, though, for e-mail relating to Not Without My Pet - ngilbert@nwomp.org.

We Have a Winner!!

After consulting little kitty, together we have chosen a name for her from all the wonderful suggestions that were submitted.
Chris at IdeaSign was the first to submit "Poppy" and that is the winning name!!

So many wonderful names were suggested that I'd like to thank each and every person who participated! It was great fun.

I've decided to post a list of runner-up names and the Etsians who suggested them.

First runner-up was the name "Wednesday" after Wednesday Addams, submitted by Greenfingers

Other honorable mentions include, in no particular order:
lostinfaerieland - Jezebel
thelittlereddoor - Hepzibah
CoraMarieBoutique – Eclipse
DanishMade - Sarafina or Tilda
GirlyGirlBags - Matisse
JazziesJunque - Etsy (Jazzie was the first to suggest it, followed by designsbyvanessa)
KarmaRox - Karma
ArgentTadpole - Luz or Luzia which means light; or Aurelia.
artbarkers - Acacia
ravenwolfgallery – Pauper
daisytoad says: daughter says soot

Sugarberry suggested some cute names, too, but I love the name of her shop itself as a kitty name! So, Poppy did come close to being named Sugarberry!

I would encourage everyone to check out the shops of these wonderfully creative Etsians!

Thanks again to all who contributed to the Name the Kitty contest!

Name the Kitty to Win!!

I have this kitty I rescued and I'm having some trouble naming her, so I'm having a contest!

Whoever submits the name I choose, wins his/her choice of this lovely hand crafted copper, Swarovski crystal, aventurine, malachite and class necklace

OR

This wonderful healing magnet


You can see more pictures of the prizes in my shop, Luminosities

Here are some pictures of the little kitty. She's about a year old and still quite playful.







You can see more pictures of her here and here

Go HERE to submit names and may the best name win!!

Exciting nonprofit news!

Yesterday, I sent our articles of incorporation off to be filed with the Secretary of State! Again, I used Attorneys Corporation Service to file. It costs a little more, but their turn around time is way, way shorter than what you'd have if you sent it directly to the Secretary of State yourself.

That means, in just a few short days, I'll be announcing the official name of the brand new organization!!

I'm working on the bylaws now. That's pretty complicated, but I'll get it done. Off the top of my head, I think I have to send those with my tax exempt application to the IRS. I've also registered a domain name for a future website and created e-mail addresses for all my board members.

Stay tuned!

Little Kitty News

I've had that little kitty locked in my bathroom for two weeks. She's been sneezing and had a runny nose the whole time. She's been to the vet twice. They gave me antibiotics so it doesn't get worse and those little kitty nose drops.

Here's the thing...
No symptoms when I first grabbed her or for several hours afterwards.
No fever.
No loss of appetite.
The other cats didn't catch it (which the vet said they would have, despite the extraordinary measures I've been taking, and I do mean extraordinary)
It's hung on for two weeks and will not go away.

So we decided she was allergic to something in my bathroom and had never actually been sick at all. Linda, at the pet supply store, said it was probably the silica in the clumping cat litter I'm using, combined with kitty being shut up in such a small space. I google'd silica and kitty respiratory problems.

Turns out, the silica in clumping cat litter may have deleterious effects on both cats and people. It's a bit controversial. You can read about it here:
The Cat Site
Pet Care Tips

I don't know if that's what's causing the problem or not, but now I'm using a different kind of litter, Feline Pine. It's all natural, biodegradable, organic and chemical free. There's no odor, no tracking, no mess, no silica dust and you just scoop and flush solids. When it's time to change the box out completely, you can use what's left as mulch or compost. How cool is that? So far, I'm really liking it.

Since the kitty is allergic to something in the bathroom, it's clearly time to get her out of there. Cats aren't pack animals like dogs and they're territorial, so introducing a new kitty needs to happen gradually. She's been in there for two weeks, so both Ophelia and Grainne are aware of her, and she of them.

Ophelia:



Grainne:



Yesterday, I put Ophelia (aka "Fuzz Butt") and Grainne, (aka Binky) in the bedroom and closed the door. I let little kitty out to explore the rest of the place. She was out for several hours, long enough to investigate every nook and cranny and get comfortable enough to take a nap on the couch.

Then I put her back in the bathroom and let the other two out to sniff her scent all over the apartment. That went on for a couple of hours and once they settled down, I let little kitty out. Well, I opened the bathroom door, anyway.

There was a little hissing and growling, but no actual fighting. Little kitty decided she was safer in the bathroom, so she stayed in there, curled up on her towel. Not exactly what I had in mind.

I closed her up in there again last night when I went to bed. I didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night to a cat fight on my head!

This morning, I've opened the door again. There was some eyeballing and sniffing from a distance, but no growling or hissing. She won't come out, though. She's still in there, curled up on the counter. Every time I walk by the bathroom, she meows at me, but she won't come out. Grainne and Ophelia will go up to the door, but they won't go in.

When she was out yesterday for several hours, she stopped sneezing and her nose dried up, so I think we're on the right track with the allergy thing. Now if I can just get her to come out of there for good!

Stay tuned!

Updates

It's been over a week since I posted anything new. That's because I've been really sick. I had a fever of 103, which shocked me! I'm still sick, but not nearly as sick as I was.

The little kitty I found is still sick, too. We went back to the vet and now I have nose drops to give her. Little kitty nose drops. Who knew?

As might be imagined, I haven't made much progress on the non-profit thing. I did receive confirmation from the Secretary of State that the name has been reserved. It will be held for sixty days. I have until then to submit my Articles of Incorporation and whatever else is required.

I did manage to get a few more pictures of the little kitty, though! Here she is: