ellen5e.com » LIFE http://ellen5e.com Blogging about my 5 E's Sat, 08 May 2010 05:23:19 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Know Your Dog http://ellen5e.com/p/know-your-dog/ http://ellen5e.com/p/know-your-dog/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:13:00 +0000 ellen5e http://ellen5e.com/p/know-your-dog/
(Click on image to enlarge) One of the things that we strive to do in Warren Waggers 4-H Dog Club is to help you to know your dog better. Today we will be looking at the different body parts of your dogs. I am posting a copy of an illustration from your 4-H Wiggles and Wags Handbook here for you to be able to help memorize the body parts on a dog.

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]]> http://ellen5e.com/p/know-your-dog/feed/ 0 DOG BUCKET LIST http://ellen5e.com/p/dog-bucket-list/ http://ellen5e.com/p/dog-bucket-list/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 20:00:00 +0000 ellen5e http://ellen5e.com/p/dog-bucket-list/
Here is a list of all kinds of dog equipment that you may be using as you train your dog in while doing the 4-H Dog Project. You will NOT need ALL of this. But you should keep what you need to go with you in a show bucket or bag. I personally like a bucket with the handle : ) Carry only what you will need. KEEP your equipment in the bucket when you are not using it and it shouldn’t get lost . Then when it’s time to practice or leave on a trip, everything is in one place.
THE ITEMS THAT ARE CAPITALIZED ARE THOSE THAT SHOULD BE IN YOUR BUCKET EVERY TIME.
VET FORM – you must have proof that your dog’s required shot’s are up to date. If you have not yet done so please visit your vet to have them complete your 4-H Vet Form. A new form is required every year.
LEASHES -6 FOOT leather or nylon, chain leash, retractable, martingale
COLLARS – TRAINING (choke chain), flat (agility), household collar, showmanship
TREATS- (small) string cheese, “sausage” pressed (ask Ellen), hot dog, pellets or cookies. Most important is that is something special that your dog will love and that it is easily carried, given and consumed. Only treat when rewarding for successes. A Ziploc or treat dispenser to carry treats in.
PICK-UP KIT – Poop bags or Ziploc baggies, and some paper towels or napkins.
Toys squeeky, jack, kong, bone, rope, frisbee
Grooming – any kind you use, curry, paddle brush, rubber brush, T-comb single, T- comb double coat, any grooming spray or perfume. Toe nail clippers or file.
First Aide Kit (optional) few bandages and whatever else
Advanced Training: Dumbell, Scent Articles
Clicker (if used)
Hand Sanitizer (good idea)
WATER – In a well-sealed bottle, & bowl to drink from or reusable glad containter.
VET FORM – ALWAYS HAVE IT (put it in a large ziploc or page protector.
Armband for Show Number (optional)
DON’T FORGET ABOUT YOU:
CHAIR- camp or folding chairs if not at site.
NOTEBOOK: Paper, pen, calendar
DRINK: waterbottle, juice or whatever. Plus any snack if you need it.
MONEY: If you are going to another show, it’s always good to have a little $.
NOW…. What’s in YOUR bucket? (or bag)

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]]> http://ellen5e.com/p/dog-bucket-list/feed/ 0 BASIC WAGGERS DOG CLUB INFO http://ellen5e.com/p/basic-waggers-dog-club-info/ http://ellen5e.com/p/basic-waggers-dog-club-info/#comments Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:44:00 +0000 ellen5e http://ellen5e.com/p/basic-waggers-dog-club-info/ Complete your Online Marion County 4-H Enrollment at:
After enrolling online be sure to print, sign and mail to the address indicated BEFORE May 15th to be able to show at the county fair.
About Warren Waggers 4H Dog Club Dog Club
Our club meets Thursday eves at the Marion County Fairgrounds Exposition Hall 6:30 – 8 pm (April-June) with additional times added by club calendar.
2010 Dog Vet Forms, State Fair Forms, and other Dog Forms at:
County Fair Registration and State Fair Registration are both due July 1, 2010 at their respective places.
Marion County Dog Committee Chair: Sue Barlow: fredandsue@aol.com
We focus solely on: Obedience, Showmanship, Agility, Poster and other information. We are open to all enrolled Marion County 4H members grade 3 and above.
Bring to Club:
Completed Vet Form – MUST have all required shots up to date
Your Dog – healthy, clean, and not “in season”.
He or she is your partner, so work and play with them throughout the week to have the best experiences.
Your Show Bucket/Bag should include at minimum:
Appropriate collars:
OBEDIENCE- training color (slip chain);
SHOWMANSHIP – Martingale Show Lead;
AGILITY- flat collar with NO tags.
6 Foot leather or nylon leash.
Dog Mess Kit: p/u after your dog
Training treats –
Dog water bowl
water or snacks for yourself
Yourself - be accountable to someone when you can’t make a meeting :-D
Be sure to be wearing sneakers. No flip flops, crocs or such. Safety and movement first.
Please dress casually, but modestly.
If you have any questions please contact
Warren Waggers 4-H Dog Club Leader,
Ellen Spencer 317-351-9503 Home or email

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]]> http://ellen5e.com/p/basic-waggers-dog-club-info/feed/ 0 Can My Dog Come? http://ellen5e.com/p/can-my-dog-come/ http://ellen5e.com/p/can-my-dog-come/#comments Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:32:00 +0000 ellen5e http://ellen5e.com/p/can-my-dog-come/ “Can my dog come to dog club?” That is a question that I have been asked repeatedly. Here is the answer.

In order for your dog to attend our Warren Waggers 4-H Dog Club the following must be true:

* the clubber is (or is in the process of getting) registered as a 4-H member with Marion County. NEW MEMBERS need to leave their dog at home for at least their first meeting.

* the animal is healthy: Current on required vaccinations (you need to be able to prove it with vet papers, so keep a copy of papers with you), dog is not “in season”, and mustn’t show fleas or other communicable malady. Returning members may utilize last years vet paper for first few meetings IF shots are still current to allow for vet visit. Please have current year 4-H Vaccination Form completed & signed by your vet by May 15! 

* Dog’s age – the animal will be at least six months old at show time. Dogs under one year must not jump in agility. 

* Dog’s Behavior – a dog that the leaders deem as a danger to any other person or animal may not attend club. Dogs which have excessively disruptive behavior may be pulled aside for additional behavioral training.

There you have it. I hope that helps make it clear for you. If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

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]]> http://ellen5e.com/p/can-my-dog-come/feed/ 0 Tiger Encounter http://ellen5e.com/p/tiger-encounter/ http://ellen5e.com/p/tiger-encounter/#comments Fri, 19 Mar 2010 02:14:32 +0000 ellen5e http://ellen5e.com/?p=567 I was blessed to be able to have one of the best animal encounters of my life when I was able to do the Tiger Cub Encounter at the Gulf Coast Zoo (a.k.a. “the Little Zoo that could”).  The zoo currently has two six-week old bengal cubs that they allow you to actually play with for thirty minutes for a fee. What a special once-in-a-lifetime experience for animal lovers like Michelle and me. The tiger has always been my favorite!

The little white male tiger is called Mysore. The little traditional orange cub is a female named Kandy and she was my favorite because she really seemed to like me.

It was absolutely incredible to have one of these precious cubs climbing on me and playing with me. However, the best for me personally was when I fed her a bottle of warm milk. Kandy was a very good nurser and had all ten ounces down in no time. The next thing you know she was fighting to keep her eyes open as she cuddled up to a soft stuffed animal and started to take a cat nap.

This is a segment of video where the female six week bengal tiger named Kandy was playing with me while mouthing a lot. The two little cubs are teething and the animal handlers said they are encouraging them NOT to bite. She is really quite gentle, but you will see me guide her off of biting on my socks or my jeans, etc.  I asked the zoo person what I should say;  like “be gentle” or “no bite” and he said when they get bigger all of that “goes out the window” and a handler will most likely get scratched up in those encounters. That’s part of why they are doing so much handling at this young age. One of the zoo’s goal is to be able to handle the animals for regular exams without the need to use sedatives, yet, realizing that these are wild animals and a person can get hurt. Mutual respect is practiced here.

I was so very blessed to be able to have this encounter while I was visiting my parents who lived in the area of this zoo.  There were only a very few time slots left so my daughter and I went in at different times, but the way it worked out, we were better able to witness the other person having fun and take more photos that way. : )  Plus, I discovered the cubs will actually be gone for the next couple of weeks at another zoo. So it is amazing that the timing worked out.

I talked to other zoo visitors about how it must have been like this in the garden of Eden. God had originally intended for man to live with the animals and subdue the earth. It was fun to think about. Well I can now check this special experience off of my “bucket list.”

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]]> http://ellen5e.com/p/tiger-encounter/feed/ 0 Turning the Page http://ellen5e.com/p/turning-the-page/ http://ellen5e.com/p/turning-the-page/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 02:17:56 +0000 ellen5e http://ellen5e.com/?p=561 I HAVE TURNED THE PAGE! January 2010 is a time that I can look upon as a time of new beginnings. I continued to use my contemplations of December’s poor energy from CFS and come up with some kind of plan.

First, honestly assess where I am. I am in poor health and am driving myself unrealistically to do more things which only increases stress and puts importance on achievement of activities to determine my success. WRONG! This Christmas, God gave me the gift of honestly facing the fact that I have serious physical limitations that may never go away. Rather than being mournful over the time that I’ve lost, I want to celebrate what I can do.

So, secondly, I used the current Women in the Word Bible study materials that we are using called “Seeking Him” to launch me into personal inspection for the purpose of spiritual revival. I have been searching for how I have been falling short of God’s best for me. As a result, I went to my husband and a pastoral mentor and we did a great deal of growing.

Thirdly, this friend suggested that we follow the Bible’s instruction “Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.” –James 5:14.  On December 27th, 2009 Steve, Michelle and I went into Pastor’s office and were surrounded by the deacons of the church and I received encouragement and much prayer. Many of them had not been aware that the Chronic Fatigue has been a battle for fifteen years, the chronic pain since Sept. 1987 and now the mysteries of the Foreign Accent Syndrome posed it’s own challenges. These men blessed our family greatly at that event.

Through a series of events and with the help of FaceBook on the internet, I met a Christian lady who did network marketing of a supplement product that we believed might help me. I was given a two week sample and I tried it. It is called MaxGXL. It is a glucothione accelerator which works at the mitochonrial cellular level and has had wonderful effects! There was a period of some detox side effects like headache, but my energy increased so that I was actually able to do more.

I am experiencing more stamina now, and so have been able to actually reorganize my pantry. It may sound like a little thing to most people, but it is something I count as a blessing.

Next, I came to the understanding that I do have great mental challenges when it comes to categorization. However, I simply don’t know what to do about it. It greatly effects my inability to file papers and organize things. I do well with my artwork materials because I have those relationships ingrained, but many other things have me stumped.  I have noticed the problem over the last two tax seasons, but it has gotten increasingly worse. I have told Steve of the problem, however, whether he doesn’t understand that I have a problem or simply doesn’t know what to do about it, in either case I am still in need of help.

Therefore, I did the next hardest thing to admitting I have a problem. I asked for help!  Now, when it comes to finding that person to help me, I am not asking someone to just come in and work at cleaning my place up. No! I am more than willing to do the work, although I wouldn’t turn down the help :0) because there is so much backlog. What I really need is someone to come in and teach me methodology. I need to be taught a process which before now just came naturally. What do I do with this? It is very humbling, but I am desperately in need of that help.

I have set, what I believe to be a realistic goal for myself, to have things in order around the house before the end of March. It really needs to be straightened out yesterday, but I am trying to be sensitive to what is a reasonable goal so that I can break it down to doable tasks.

I would appreciate your prayers in this, as that certain person or persons to come meet this need that I have so earnestly prayed for has not yet arrived. And as I attempt to do it on my own, I seem to make more messes, before I make any small progress.

All in all, January has been a time to “turn the page” as I start a new chapter. I have been attempting to accurately assess where I am, address what I can reasonably change, ask for help, and make definite progress as I seek God’s best for me. Prayer and studying God’s Word have been foundational in keeping me moving forward through the trials. It is so hard, but so worthwhile when I realize that as I put forth my best God will honor my efforts by transforming me to be better than I was before.

Here’s to new beginnings . . . and the God of all grace who makes it possible!

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]]> http://ellen5e.com/p/turning-the-page/feed/ 0 The Reason for the Silence http://ellen5e.com/p/the-reason-for-the-silence/ http://ellen5e.com/p/the-reason-for-the-silence/#comments Mon, 01 Feb 2010 01:31:18 +0000 ellen5e http://ellen5e.com/?p=558 You may have noticed that I haven’t been blogging regularly since the middle of December. That is because I made a conscious decision to step back from many ventures during the Christmas season to focus on the most important areas of my life. I focused more on family and the celebration of what the birth of Jesus Christ means to me.

Also, in December I had been increasingly afflicted with the extremely low energy associated with Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome. As the daylight hours reduce at this time of year, the ability of my body to function decreases as well. Even the simplest of tasks takes exponentially more energy to accomplish. So I ended the year refraining from blogging.

As I increasingly pared back on what activities I attempted, I found myself discovering what I valued most. My husband and I grew closer together in our prayer and Bible study times together, as well as those that we shared with our daughter. We communicated more with one another what we really value and the dreams that we have. As a family, we didn’t worry that we didn’t have a lot of money for gifts at Christmas, but dreamed of ways to do the most with what we had.

I became a baking fool. I literally spent 2 weeks in the kitchen baking various candies and a few other baked delights to hand out to some friends. Steve’s work alone had 18 little packages of goodies which yielded smiles and happiness at his workplace. I guess one of his coworkers in particular found that she is somewhat addicted to my Buckeyes (chocolate covered peanut butter nougat balls). I did somewhat perfect the peanut brittle this year too.

We mailed off Christmas packages to relatives via Priority mail to arrive before Christmas only to find that 2 of the 3 were addressed wrong and returned the second week of January!! Argh!  However, we did spend a lovely Christmas Eve at Steve’s folks and had a wonderful lamb feast with family before returning home between bad ice storms.

As New Year’s Eve arrived, I was ready to put 2009 behind me and start a new decade.

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]]> http://ellen5e.com/p/the-reason-for-the-silence/feed/ 0 The Christmas Gift http://ellen5e.com/p/the-christmas-gift/ http://ellen5e.com/p/the-christmas-gift/#comments Tue, 08 Dec 2009 02:43:23 +0000 ellen5e http://ellen5e.com/?p=550 The manger stays empty until Christmas Eve.

The manger stays empty until Christmas Eve.

As economic times are tough, I have had a real challenge of figuring out about what gifts I might be able to afford. There is just no way to be able to do the usual extended family Secret Santa gift exchange this year. The family vehicle needed repairs that cost more than our Christmas gift-giving budget would have been.

So, I have had a chance to think even harder about the really important aspects of Christmas being so much more than pretty presents under the tree.

I want to share with you a family tradition that we have had for several years. Front and center under our family Christmas tree is placed a small manger. We place raffia straw in it and it sits that way until Christmas Eve. The last thing that I do before going to bed on Christmas Eve is to take a baby doll and swaddle the doll in burlap and lay it in that manger. THAT is the greatest gift of all.  That reminder greets our family when we desend upon the tree Christmas morning.

Emmanuel, God with us…. what a wonderful gift! To know that God gave His only son so that we may be called His children forever, if only we accept Him as our Savior. We were in such great need when we were dead in our sins. And now, as we celebrate with the lights of the season, the Light of the World has come. We have received the greatest gift of all!

There is no greater gift that I could wish for you my friend than that of Jesus Christ the Savior. Do you have Him? If not, He is waiting to be invited to be your Savior and Lord. Once you have received that gift, what more could you possibly desire?

When it comes to the very real human feelings of sadness that I cannot just go out and buy some things that I know would make my friends and family happy to unwrap on Christmas morning; I just acknowledge that I am sad. But, then I think back to that wonderful traditional claymation video that used to be shown every Christmas season on television called “The Little Drummer Boy”.

The little drummer boy was extremely poor and had absolutely no gift to give to the baby Jesus. However, he was able to play his drum for Him….  par rup up pum pum…rup up pum pum…rup up pum pum.  And then, the baby Jesus smiled at him. How cool is that?  Just a fictional story, perhaps, yet it is true that Jesus doesn’t require anything from us other than our desire to have a relationship with Him. Everything else that we do from that point on will bring honor to Him as we get to know Him more and obey what He teaches.

Merry Christmas!

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]]> http://ellen5e.com/p/the-christmas-gift/feed/ 0 Procrastination: What’s ‘pro’ about it? http://ellen5e.com/p/procrastination-whats-pro-about-it/ http://ellen5e.com/p/procrastination-whats-pro-about-it/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:51:36 +0000 ellen5e http://ellen5e.com/?p=530 I am developing a plan to get a task done. Or is it that I am beginning to start to plan?  The prefix ‘pro’ usually means moving forward, bettering, such as in the word progress. Procrastination: what’s ‘pro’ about it?

Here is a video that someone sent me a link to. This was the inspiration for finally writing this blog. Something that I had been meaning to write for some time. LOL

WHY do I procrastinate.  Why wait to do what I know NEEDS to be done?  I believe there are a few things worth considering here. Perhaps the greatest deterrent to getting something done is FEAR. Fear of failure, or that I will mess things up. Maybe my bent toward perfectionism is screaming at me to “Wait! You SHOULD do it this way. This other way may be better.” It’s the dreaded “Shoulda, woulda, coulda”s of an overly creative mind that can bog me down. And, just maybe, it is that FEAR that overrides our desire to just get on with the task at hand.

Don’t get me wrong. I do believe that one shouldn’t just barge forth without any direction or preparedness. But I see that there is this (sometimes hard to define) borderline between appropriately pausing and taking careful steps to proceed versus stopped and not willing or apparently unable to proceed. A procrastination paralysis produces a productivity nightmare!

The solution? Ha! If I knew that I could be a millionaire as a result of all the motivational speaking engagements that I could do at the conventions full of the myriads of people who are searching for a way out. I would right a book and go on book signing tours.  Well, maybe someday.

Seriously, as I think about it now, I believe one of the biggest solutions to my bouts of procrastination is to face the fact that I am doing it. Call it what it really is. Procrastination in my case is a sin.

Does that seem harsh to you? Well, remember, this is in dealing with my own procrastination. I am going to treat it as a sin because sin is defined as being “off the mark”.  I believe that God does call me to be holy as He is holy; to strive to live a righteous and productive life. I also believe that the ONLY way for me to do that is by utilizing the grace of God given to me as a free gift when I became His child. At the moment of my salvation, I was saved. That is past tense. It’s a done deal.

Now, as I “seek first the Kingdom of God,” I am challenged to grow up into a better way of doing things. I daily “walk by faith” when I study the Bible and use God’s Word to transform my old ways of thinking and doing things into a better way. So, you see, if I am applying what I am learning,  I am always growing. There is no room for procrastination there.

As I face this personal sin of procrastination I need to remember to say “STOP! This is wrong.”  I must admit that I am choosing to allow my fear of the unknown future to allow me to enter into an old, prideful way of thinking that based my success on what I did and how well I performed.

So, for me, stopping procrastination is getting back on track. Stop what I am doing wrong, learn the correction, and do that. I actively choose to say, “Lord help me: remind me to place your love before my fears.”  I need to remember that perfect love casts out fear and practice that.  It does take practice.  That perfect love is available to me (and to you too) in the redeeming work of Jesus Christ who provides a way . . . the ONLY way out of the fear and into the love.

1 John 4:18 (NASB)
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

At this moment, I can say I am not procrastinating. How about you?

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]]> http://ellen5e.com/p/procrastination-whats-pro-about-it/feed/ 0 Silent Surprise says “Open Your Eyes” http://ellen5e.com/p/silent-surprise-says-open-your-eyes/ http://ellen5e.com/p/silent-surprise-says-open-your-eyes/#comments Wed, 11 Nov 2009 02:55:35 +0000 ellen5e http://ellen5e.com/?p=524 DOWNTOWN INDIANAPOLIS- While I was putting coins in a parking meter on Meridian Street I glanced about the Indiana War Memorial Plaza and took in all the flags at half staff. Tomorrow is Veterans’ Day and most flags are at half staff in honor of a tragic shooting last week claiming the lives of many servicemen in Texas last week.

While taking in the serenity that was accompanying the sunshine on this fine, fall day, I noticed a peculiarity. There was a woman in white at the base of the flagpoles, all dressed in white, moving with tai chi like movements. No sooner had that registered when I realized that there was another woman several feet away mirroring these exact movements. They both were facing southward toward the World War Memorial Building on Michigan street where there were even more ladies in white making these same graceful movements. Now glancing all about, I noticed that there were about a dozen of these white clad dancers spread over the city block square area. What was going on?

Since I always have my digital camera with me, and my curiosity was peaked, I took out my notebook to collect some news. This is what I discovered.

I had stumbled upon RANDOM ACTS OF IMPROV. This was one of several surprise activities that will take place throughout the city during the ten days of the SPIRIT AND PLACE FESTIVAL taking place November 6 – 15th. (see Spiritandplace.org for more details).

This particular display, put on by Susurrus Performance Group (website click here) happened right at the noon hour, causing many city pedestrians stopping on the sidewalk and asking me what was going on. They joined me watching in wonderment momentarily before they continued on their way.

I believe that this is one of the goals of Susurrus and the many other performance groups partnering with the Spirit and Place Festival as they encourage some people to interrupt their mundane routine long enough to get involved in their surroundings; to stop and take notice of what is happening in their neighborhood. How refreshing it is to enter into a moment of wonderment and to take time to engage with other people that we would normally just walk by.

In that regard I challenge those of you in the Indianapolis area to keep your eyes open for surprise happenings and the opportunity to engage. There are going to be dozens of happenings over the next week that are unannounced. Thus, the Random Acts of Improv will surprise people. So keep your eyes open. Maybe we will learn to be not only see our community with fresh eyes, but perhaps, we might take it a step further and become actively engaged.

NOTE: not all events are surprises.  There are also 40 events–nature walks and driving tours, dance and theatre performances, conversations and workshops, panel discussions and potlucks, and much more! Over 85% of these activities are FREE!

Former Indianapolis Mayor Bill Hudnut will be present at the marque event on the last day. There is simply too much to cover here… so please visit the Spirit and Place Festival web site by clicking here.

Thank you to Susurrus and the Spirit and Place Festival (and the many other partners) for being such a blessing to our community by reminding us that we all can bless one another by just taking a moment to engage with another person in creative ways.

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