Experiencing the loss of a loved one is tragic and difficult. I experienced such a loss about a week and a half ago, when I lost my beloved companion and sidekick, Libby.

Libby was a beautiful black lab that I had adopted when she was only 8 months old. When I first brought her home, I had to keep her on a leash at all times. If I didn’t, I could expect a chase that would last a minimum of 2 hours. That dog had legs that just didn’t tire. She also had a taste for dead animals that she stumbled upon during her travels. Libby ended up at the vet’s office during one such occasion. She had found a decaying porcupine and made a buffet meal out of it. (Feel free to cringe here.)

A couple years later, we had our first skunk episode. It was late at night and my “Bibba” had run off again, though she was finally beginning to stay closer to home. My mom and I chased her onto the neighboring golf course carrying her favorite squeak toy, our newfound secret to retrieving a runaway lab. Libby heard it and came, sure enough. We smelled her long before she reached us. I can remember what a long night we spent trying to scrub her clean. I recently threw out the bandana she had been wearing that night. When I finally got the stench out of it, Libby wore it for a good 2-3 years until it was torn and ready to retire. Now I wish I still had it.

I can’t forget to mention the time Libby got ringworm. Where’d she get it? An unlikely source: ME. I’d pick it up at a neighbor’s house when I’d snuggled a new kitten they’d adopted from the SPCA. That was quite the experience. On top of that, we were trying to re-home my dog due to so many training issues. We already owned 2 labs and one had to go. Well, needless to say…you can’t exactly give a dog away with ringworm. That worked out in my favor.

We did end up giving her away at one point. We gave her to one of my riding instructors, but it broke my heart so bad that we got her back the following day. I don’t really understand why she had to go in the first place…other than the fact that she seemed impossible to train.

From there on out, I took over all training responsibilities. Libby was my dog, and I wasn’t going to lose her again just because she was such a handful. I kept her on a leash, filled my treats with pockets, and took her everywhere with me. Eventually the leash came off, and my dog turned into the most obedient dog of the three dogs we owned.

Then one day, I got a call while working a babysitting job. My dog had been hit in the road. But, it was okay…she’d just been grazed and she lived through it. She didn’t even need to go to the vet. I remember how scared I was for the brief moment that I thought I’d lost my dog. When Mom said, “She’s gonna be fine,” I almost cried. Maybe I did. The memory is a bit hazy.

On October 19th, my baby girl started vomiting. It wasn’t unusual for her to eat something strange and throw it up later, so I waited it out. After all, we live on a farm, and one thing I could never train her NOT to do was eat chicken crap and horse poop. (She was a dog, what can I say…) I thought this was probably the case. Then she started sleeping outside. Libby never slept unless she was in the house…for her to sleep outside was not like her. By evening, she was stumbling. Something was wrong.

My mom woke me early the next morning, around 6:30am. “I’m taking Libby to the vet. She’s not any better this morning.” I nodded and dozed back off. Three hours later, I got up and checked up on Libby’s status.

“There’s nothing they can do.”

No. Please, no. She was euthanized within that very hour. I hadn’t even said goodbye.

I don’t really know what happened to my girl. They said she must’ve eaten something toxic, and by the time she started showing symptoms, her kidneys were shutting down.

At this point, I can’t really put my emotions into words. The first week was very hard, probably one of the most difficult things I’ve ever experienced. I’ve never lost a person close to me, so this loss hit me hard. I am doing better, so please don’t worry. I started “dog shopping” only a few days after Libby’s death. I looked at a Labradoodle that was adorable, but not a good fit. Then I found a little black dog named Lexi, and she was the right one. She’s a lab/beagle mix that looks like a small version the dog that I lost. She’s not the same as Libby, of course, but she’s a lovable darling that I keep by my side at all times. On numerous occasions we’ve already found ourselves slipping up and calling her “Libby” by mistake. It will take time. But I am grateful that after the passing of an old friend, I can make a new one. Lexi is a reminder of how I am always moving forward, never back. Even as I type right now she is sleeping no more than two feet away from me. God is my comfort in hard times, and I am very blessed, regardless of the loss. He holds true to His promises.

Authorities have finally announced that the Falcon Heene balloon incident has been deemed a hoax and publicity stunt. The parents will be facing criminal charges in an effort to get them to cover at least some of the costs for rescue attempts made during the ordeal. Read the complete story from USA Today by clicking here.

Photo by David Zalubowski, AP (From USATODAY.com)

Uh-oh. Falcon Heene spilled the beans and his parents don’t know what to say.

Whether this whole shebang was a publicity stunt or an honest mistake, I can’t say. But I do know that I was never an alien:

UPDATE: (6:15 EST)  @CNN “Colorado Sheriff says boy was found in box in garage attic.”

UPDATE: (5:28 EST) Officials saying the basket was seen seen falling! No reports as to whether or not boy was inside.

UPDATE: (4:55 EST) @amyCNN “Reports: basket attached to the balloon is missing.”

If you visit Twitter right now, you’ll see #SaveBalloonBoy trending. Don’t know the story? Well here’s a quick summary:

Reportedly, six year old Falcon Heene entered his father’s homemade aircraft in Colorado and let it loose, taking authorities two and a half hours to chase it down. The mylar aircraft, over 20 feet wide and filled with helium, eventually brought itself to a halt in an open corn field. From there authorities discovered that there was no child inside.

So where is Falcon? Was he really in the balloon to being with? Some are saying this is a publicity stunt planned by his risk-taking family, who also happened to be featured on ABC’s Wife Swap. Or perhaps we should look at Falcon’s 8 year old brother, who reported seeing Falcon enter the aircraft. Was he being truthful?

Regardless, I have to wonder why the parents seem to be so clueless as to where their son is.

Visit the Huffington Post story for more details.

Photo from CNN.com

Photo from CNN.com

Back in early August, I was eagerly anticipating my 5,000th tweet. This may sound a bit nerdy to folks who don’t understand Twitter, but for me, my 5,000th tweet was going to be special. A day to remember. It would make Twitter history for me.

And then, the unimaginable happened.

My tweet count fell from 4,900-something to 120.

WHAT THE HECK?!

I was annoyed. No, I mean, REALLY annoyed. How could Twitter make me look like such an amateur?! I quickly did some investigating and discovered that other users were experiencing the same problem. Twitter Help offered a fix though, so I relaxed and reassured myself that it would be okay. “Just comment on the this thread with your user name and amount of tweets missing, and someone will take care of the issue.” Easy, right? Day in and day out, I checked my count. No change. Two weeks later, still nothing. I went back to the same help thread, and commented again, thinking maybe they’d missed me somehow. Still nothing. What does a gal need to do to get some help in Twitterland?

Tonight, October 8th (yes, two months and four comments later), I went back to the thread. The comment section was now closed, but I noticed (after a brief moment of panic) that Twitter Help offered a new solution. All I needed to do was send an @ reply to @Charles that said “ungulation”. (FYI, I have no idea what the word means.) So I did. What did I have to lose? Within minutes @Charles had fixed my tweet count. Hurray! Though it took an entire two months for me to find a solution that worked, I was delighted that it was fixed so promptly by this Twitter techie. So if you need your tweet count fixed, take it up with Charles!

Check out my interview with Youth In Action Magazine!

(Click the image below to read the full article.)

I have a lot of interesting memories from the past few years. I was recalling one memory in particular yesterday that made me laugh out loud. I’ve told the story many times, but in case you’ve never heard it:

I was 19 years old and a cell phone sales rep for R-Solutions (a small kiosk located inside of Sam’s Club). Just as one may encounter with any job, I dealt with my fair share of cooky customers. Some folks yelled at me for their cell phone bills being too high. Others were annoyed that I wouldn’t give them a new phone for free after they dropped theirs in the toilet. And other customers, well, they just wanted a date with me. No matter what the situation, I always tried to deal with it in the best manner possible. That is, until I met Justin.

I was an extra that day, working the afternoon shift as I observed my boss try to fix Justin’s phone. Justin was a military man about 24 years old (if I had to guess) who had supposedly turned his phone off during deployment, but had later ran into problems with his carrier upon his return to the States. I was oblivious to the details and attempted to mind my own business, seeing as Justin was quite the talker and I really didn’t have any reason to get involved. However, that didn’t faze the extroverted man in any way, and his smart remarks toward me were less than desirable. I noted his flirtatious manner and made all the more effort to nonchalantly ignore him and go about my own tasks.

When a young blonde woman showed up by his side, I assumed she was his girlfriend and I relaxed as his smart comments came to a halt. My boss concluded that there was nothing more he could do for Justin at the present time, and sent him on his way with an apology.  I was more than glad to be rid of him.

Unfortunately, my relief was short-lived. Justin came back less than a week later, and my boss discretely whispered to me that he was beginning to think Justin was playing us for the fool. T-Mobile Customer Care insisted that there was no problem on their end and that our customer was responsible for the s0-called “issues” he was dealing with. Since T-Mobile upholds a great reputation for customer service, we were a bit concerned that we were wasting our time with Justin.

My boss yet again dialed Customer Care, and stayed on the phone line for as long as possible, waiting on hold to talk to another representative. By then, it was getting late, and my boss needed to leave to pick up his children from school.

“Here, Mandee, I’m going to have to let you finish this up,” he said to me apologetically as he handed me the phone. He knew Justin was making me uncomfortable but I understood that he had to go.

“Okay,” I responded, making a face while Justin’s back was turned to us.

My boss grabbed his coat and bid us goodbye. I was alone.

At almost the very moment my boss was out of sight, Justin turned to me and grinned. I knew it could mean nothing but trouble. “Soooo,” he said in his high-pitched southern drawl. “You got a husband? Boyfriend?”

I wasn’t in the mood for games, and his accent was beginning to irritate me anyway. “I don’t really think that’s any of your business.”

Justin was not fazed. “Well, what if I wanna take you out to dinner? Get to know you better?”

I didn’t miss a beat. “Well what if I don’t wanna go?” I raised my eyebrows at him and gave him a glance that read ‘in your dreams, buddy’.

He sat there, taken aback. Apparently this good-looking fellow (as I’m sure he honestly believed of himself) was not accustomed to rejection.

His shoulders slouched, and I knew I’d knocked him down off his high horse. “Uh, well, I guess that’s up to you.”

Darn right it is.

Five minutes later, Justin called it quits. “I don’t think T-Mobile is going to help me. I’ll see ya later.” And with that, he was gone. Good riddance.

After Justin left, a Sam’s Club employee walked up to check on me. “He left, huh?”

“Yes,” I said with a dramatic sigh. I proceeded to tell Joe the story as he listened intently.

“…and then I said, ‘Well what if I don’t wanna go?’”

Joe burst out laughing. “OUCH! Wow! I’d never want to ask a girl again after getting a response like that!”

“I didn’t know what else to say. It was the first thing that came out of my mouth.” I chuckled.

Joe couldn’t stop laughing. “That’s awesome.”

I heard later that the story of Justin was circulating around the store. Joe called my boss that evening to tell him the story, laughing his head off. The next day, my boss thanked me for getting rid of Justin. “It just wasn’t adding up. I think he was playing us. I can’t believe he actually asked you out as soon as I left.”

“I can’t believe it myself. You know, he insulted me too. Did you hear him say he liked my hair straight last night because it was ‘way too poofy’ when he was last in? Who says something like that and then asks the girl out?”

We shook our heads and laughed.

ONE YEAR LATER: I passed Justin in the checkout of a sporting goods store as I was heading home one night from my new job. I couldn’t place him at first, so I studied him as he looked back at me. Then it clicked. I quickly averted my gaze and bit my lip to keep from laughing. Did he remember me? Maybe. But I wasn’t sticking around long enough to find out.

I don’t think this picture really requires an explanation.

September 19th 2009 marked my fifth anniversary. (“But Mandee, I didn’t know you were married!?!”) No, not that kind of anniversary. 5 years ago to date was the day I met my Lark. It was the day I came home to discover my family had smuggled this loud mouth little Paint mare to our home. I remember getting back to the house after a shopping trip to Tractor Supply.  I got out of the car and as I shut the car door, I thought I heard a whinny from the barn. As quickly as that thought entered my mind,  I was sure I imagined it. Turns out it was really the mare my parents had hid away in the barn, and apparently Lark hadn’t received the memo that she was a surprise.

If you haven’t met Lark, then you’re missing out. She is the sweetest, gentlest horse I’ve ever owned. (Yes, there were a few before Lark.) Kids love her. The kids’ parents love her. Strangers say they’ve never met a horse so cuddly, and my heart swells up whenever I talk about my beloved girl. She’s probably all the more spoiled considering that she is my only riding horse.

I took my best friend out for a bareback ride tonight and the two of us stood still for some time, amidst the serenity of the evening air, my arms wrapped around her neck. Lark has a forever home with me. It’s been five years baby, and that’s just one milestone in the many years to come.

Our 5th anniversary ride

Moments after discovering my birthday surprise

Dressed up for the filming of the Lion Vrie book trailer

Friends for life

One of the best rides of my life...running wild and free together