Best Friends Animal Society National Events @BFAS

Best Friends Animal Society National Events @BFAS

Lexi Lee

I'm walking to support Best Friends Animal Society's Los Angeles programs. Your donation will help Best Friends continue lifesaving adoption and spay/neuter programs, rescue at-risk animals and find new homes for them, and save animals from the misery of life in puppy mills.

At the very core of all the work of Best Friends Animal Society is the dream that one day kindness will replace cruelty, and animals will no longer be destroyed because they are unwanted or imperfect. Spaying and neutering will become commonplace, and adoption will be the first choice for everyone. Shelters will have the knowledge and resources to help rehabilitate special-needs animals and find the right family for every animal. Making this dream a reality is the mission we call No More Homeless Pets®.

More than five million beautiful, healthy animals are euthanized in shelters every year. Supporting my fundraising efforts for Best Friends is one way you can help to change that tragic reality.

These are just a small number of examples of all the good things your contribution makes possible:

--$5 feeds 5 dogs a day

--$25 is enough to fix a dog or cat to prevent
unwanted litters

--$50 can provide five cats with microchip IDs
to help them find their families if lost

--$100 is enough to get a homeless dog or cat
out of a shelter and into a forever home

--$200 can provide bottle feedings and TLC
for two orphaned puppies

--$500 is enough to save 10 dogs from the misery
of life in a puppy mills

--$1,000 can provide shelter and care for 50 animals
displaced in a natural disaster

Thanks so much for your support!

I am here in Los Angeles working at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. It has been a short assignment, only 8 weeks long, but full of fun...

I have been having a BALL here in Hollywood. My apartment is AWESOME!!! It isn't the nicest apartment that I have lived in BY FAR... the building is really old and a little shabby, but the manager is so nice, the apartment, although small is very cute and cozy and perfect for the dogs... The location is perfect!!! I am just 1/2 a block from Hollywood Avenue right behind the Kodak Theater. I just walk over there and people watch. I have seen the Prince of Persia movie premiere and saw Jake Gyllenhall in person walk the red carpet... VERY CUTE!!! I saw the premiere of The A-Team... they had the whole street closed off and Bradley Cooper arrived in a tank and they had an A-Team helicopter circling that I thought was going to land in the street.. It was COOL!!! My mom has been here 3 times and I have managed to see most of the touristy things. When the Phoenix Suns were playing the Lakers, we went down by the Staples Center and had dinner at ESPN Zone and watched the crazy people and the game. We tried to get into see Jimmy Kimmel Live, but they were sold out... We even found out where the Playboy Mansion was and drove by.. didn't spot Hef or any of the Playmates, tho... Darn!! The only thing I have to do is I want to take a city tour.. They have the Hop On Hop Off ones that I will probably take.

My job is amazing!!! I LOVE it!! The people are all so nice. There are 3 girl nurses, 2 full time, one part time, all working 10 hour shifts, so there are usually 2 nurses in the lab every day. There are 2 other techs. The one just came back from knee surgery. They are both men, 55-60 years old, and, well, not all that "spunky". The one that was left with me, Oliver, is pretty set in his ways, but I won him over somehow and the girls want to know my secret cuz he hasn't been this happy at work in a long time... hee hee.. who knows!!! Now that the other guy is back, there are 3 of us there each day cuz we work 8 hour shifts.. We usually do 2-3 cases a day, (they usually run 2-3 hours a piece, sometimes takes an hour for an IV and access...), but they are getting a new group of doctors starting in July or August and they want to run 2 rooms. They are building a new hospital that is set to open next year. There has been a third tech position open for over a year and they tried REALLY hard to recruit me as they saw me as new blood and would add a little pep to the ol' men... As much as I wanted to, I just couldn't afford it... I tried to get them to keep me on as a traveler, but the manager said they couldn't afford me. BUMMER!!!!!

Soooo.. I got another assignment at UC Irvine in Interventional Radiology. It is a 26 week assignment and it will take me through the first of the year. I am hoping by then Children's will realize they really need me and will take me back as a traveler. My last day at Children's is July 9 and I start at UC Irvine July 12. I found a really cute apartment in Orange. I was going to try to live on the Beach in Newport Beach, but couldn't make it to the hospital in 30 minutes as I will be on call quite a bit.

Also since I have been here, I have joined LA Fitness as there is a gym 3 blocks away. I even bit the bullet and got a personal trainer and OMG.. he is HOT!!! Hottie Watch 2010 DEFINITELY!!! I hate to work out but LOVE to go see him 3 times a week!!! I am so sad that I am moving away and had to break up with him tonight... I asked him if he would come to the OC to train me and he said he would for $80 an hour... Well, as hot as he is.. there is an LA Fitness close to the hospital and I am going to try to find a hot trainer there to "inspire" me... I will miss my Joshie, tho...

So, this is my last weekend in Hollywood. I am very sad to leave.. I am sure, tho that the OC will be fun as well.....

Hollywood BABY!!!!!

Well, here it has been almost a year and I haven't updated my blog... good grief... I am TERRIBLE!!! Oh well... I am just going to start fresh....

I finished my assignment in Santa Clara after being there a year. I have some really good friends there and am sure that I will be back there again. For my going away party, we rented a party bus and 20 of us took it into San Francisco and partied like rock stars... It was so much fun!!! And what a way to exit... whew....

I just started a new assignment at The Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. I LOVE my job!! Th people there are so nice and the cases are very interesting.. it is amazing what we can do to help these kids!! I am living a block away from the Kodak Theater on Hollywood Blvd. where they have the Academy Awards. My apartment is in a really old building but it is cute and the location is AWESOME!!! There is always so much going on, that I am sure I will never get bored... I have only been here 10 days and there have been 2 movie premiers... SWEET!!! I love to go over there and people watch... there are some CRAZY people out there. People just dress up in costumes and stand out there and have the tourists pay them to take their picture... AND PEOPLE DO IT!!!! What a racket... their costumes aren't even that good.....

I also turned over a new leaf and joined a gym. I HATE working out, but I need to get back into shape... so I joined and got a trainer... I met him Monday for the first time and HOLY HOTNESS!!! He is so yummy to look at that I actually look forward to going there. Maybe oogling him will keep me motivated and I will keep going....

Well, that's all I have for now... I will try to be better at updating.... Yea, right!!!!

SLACKER!!!

Holy crap.... where does the time go?? My mom keeps telling me I need to update my blog and I didn't realize how long it has been... Sorry... Well, I am no longer in the shit hole they call Kentucky. I left there the first part of May and headed out west. I made a pit stop in Phoenix to see my mom and take care of a little business. Amazingly, I was able to downsize and sell the trailer!!! YIPPEE!!! I then headed back to Santa Clara, California where I am working at a hospital here that I worked at last year. The road trip went well except when I lost my bike off the back of my car TWICE in Palm Springs. Here I am, just tooling down the road, and this lady comes up beside me and starts waving her hands and pointing back... so, I pull over (mind you I am on the side of the interstate in the windiest part of Palm Springs) and here is my poor bike hanging by it's front tire. How long it was like that, who knows.... So, I strap it back on and head out again. FIVE minutes later, another lady flags me down... this time I had to pull over on the left side of the freeway and looking back, that wasn't probably the smartest thing to do. My butt was puckering as I was hoping somebody wouldn't plow me over... Once again, my bike was hanging by the front tire. The strap on the bike rack had broken and so I put it back on the best I could and had to find the nearest store and bought a bunch of bungee cords and strapped it in place... Very well, as it took me 20 minutes just to get it off of there when I got here!!! Needless to say, I am in the market for a new bike rack!!! I have alot of friends here and we are a very social group, so there is always something planned... hence the lack of blog additions. I am living in an apartment that I swear is on the runway of the airport... all day long I get to hear the roar of planes taking off.. thank GOD I work alot!! I am currently looking for a new place as we speak. I have extended here until the first part of the year, so I DEFINITELY need to move... Work has been keeping me on my toes as we are a very busy lab. The weather has been fantastic!!! I have been so busy I haven't even had a chance to go golfing... I did, however, take the dogs on their inaugural bike ride. I have a basket on the back of my bike just for them. So, I put them in, put the safety leash onto their harness and took off. Next thing I knew, Moco was flying off the back... He wasn't having it and bailed. The velcro on his harness gave and it set him free. Luckily he wasn't hurt, just a little stunned.. I put him back in and eventually he got the hang of it and actually enjoyed it. Bailey, of course, loved it. I have tried to take them to dog parks, and for the most part it is OK, until Moco decides to beat up another dog. He really isn't that bad, he just needs some manners... He needs to go to school and I am looking into it. I went back to Montana for a week in June and had a great time. Since I have 2 dogs now, I couldn't take them with me, so I had a dog nanny come and stay with them while I was gone. Yes, a DOG NANNY... no joke, there are people who will come stay at your house and take care of your dog... Sounds crazy, but it is pretty big around here. Back in Montana...7 girls that I went to high school with met in Cour' de Alene, ID and had a reunion weekend. It was a BLAST!!! Hopefully it will be a yearly event. Upon returning to Great Falls, I had some bad news. My good friend Heidi's husband was killed in a motorcross accident. I was glad that I was able to be in town and be there at the hospital for her and am very thankful that I was able to attend the funeral. I think of her every day and my heart goes out to her and her boys. On a lighter note, we are planning a houseboat trip over Labor Day weekend. We rented a houseboat on Lake Berryessa and 12 of us are going and it is going to be a BLAST!!!! I can't wait!! I am sure there will be some stories to tell!!! Peace out, until next time!!!

Hillbilly Festival

Well, today, a friend from work, her boyfriend, another traveler, his wife and I loaded up in the expedition and headed to Pikeville, KY for the annual "Hillbilly Festival". I wasn't sure what to expect, but was certain that I would be in for an education. I was not disappointed. Pikeville is about 80 miles from Corbin, so along the way we decided to take the back roads to see some "real Kentucky".... After about 10 minutes weaving through the country I realized it wasn't such a good idea. Apparently, I now get a little car sick on windy roads.. Neat. So, we  quickly got back on the main road. All was back on track. We arrived at the festival about noon and started walking. It was streets full of carnival rides, fair food.. (fried anything you can imagine), music, a cornhole tournament, even a parade. It wasn't as "hillbilly" as I had expected, but there was definitely some good people watching. Apparently, here in Kentucky, it is fashionable to let your fat belly hang out of your shirt (man or woman)... UUUGGHHH!!!  Oh yeah.. bras are optional, too.. not to mention the teeth... or lack of... When you think of "Billy Bob teeth".. is is truly a reality here. Yep, us 5 were pretty much the cutest people in 5 counties... no joke!! After baking in the sun and stuffing our faces with all of the disgusting fried food, we headed for home.  About half way home, my friend wanted to take us to this place her uncle had taken her to get a really good hamburger. Place called Pete's Pool Hall in Manchester, KY. When she went before, (8 years ago) her uncle ran in to get the burgers because he told her that if she went inside she probably wouldn't eat them. Well.. he wasn't just a whistlin' Dixie.. When we pulled up, the place looked shut down, but we saw the open sign and ventured in... The place was a total shithole... It had a bar that ran the entire length of the building with most of the bar stools missing. The "kitchen" was basically just a grill behind the bar and a couple of fridges. There wasn't a person in there except two women, one chain smoking behind the till. We took in the sights, from the standing water in the bathrooms, to the back pool room that hadn't been used in years and threw caution to the wind and bellied up on the 5 stools that we could find. We ordered cheeseburgers, chips, and a pop. One of the women got to work whipping up our order. While we were waiting, a couple more people came in and ordered burgers. We got our burgers and they were DELICIOUS!!! As we were enjoying our burger, a guy came in with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth carrying a couple of bags. He went behind the counter and unloaded the bags.. they had some cleaning supplies, so we figured they must clean something, even though you couldn't tell.  He was talking to he women and reached up on a shelf and pulled out a stick of deodorant. I was thinking to myself, "Oh no he isn't"... well YES HE DID!!!  He lifted up his shirt and applied a couple swipes of deodorant under each arm, crack and all sticking out. I started laughing so hard I thought I was going to die.. Thank God we were done eating, cuz that pushed us all over the edge, so we quickly paid and got the heck outta there. We laughed the rest of the way home. As I am sitting here writing this I am certain I will regret that burger, but boy it was good. Her uncle was right, though, we should've stayed in the car....

On my own again....

Well, after a year of traveling with me, my mom had decided to move back to Arizona and get some normalcy back in her life. This "gypsie-thing" was not her bag. We had a fun year, though, and I am so glad we did it. Getting her car packed, well, that is another story.. You see, I came to California with just my car full of stuff... yes, it was packed on the verge of busting open, but hey, it all fit... Then mom met up with me in California.. She too, had just a car full... Somehow, in the 3 months we were in California, our stuff decided to be like rabbits and just magically multiplied!! So much, that I had to buy a 6 X 8 enclosed trailer just to get our crap outta there. So, we have been hauling a trailer around since then.. She says it is all my stuff, I say it is all hers.. Well.. last week when she was packing up, she had to make a couple of trips to UPS to ship stuff home. Then D Day came on Sunday when we tried to cram everything else into her car... She had bought a Rooftop bag that we were going to put extra stuff in, but we soon realized that we were 2 roof racks short of a load to make it work... Thank GOD.. because I didn't know how we were going to get the crap up onto the roof in the first place, and she FOR SURE was going to have a hell of a time getting it off.. A friend of mine had suggested the night before a rack-thingy that you put on the back trailer hitch and pile stuff on that. So, we headed to trusty ol' Walmart and picked up a rack. Luckily, a couple of friends from work were there.. (not much to do around here on a Sunday afternoon..) and they agreed to come over and help us put it together... Good thing, because we would still be trying to put the damn thing together. So, we got it all together and mounted on her hitch and loaded up. We wrapped it all up with a tarp to keep any rain out... It was then that my friend's boyfriend piped up saying that it might not be good to leave that sitting out like that 'cuz 'round here people just help themselves...(we totally live in the GHETTO!!!) Well, mom was leaving at the crack ass of dawn and none of us wanted to unload it and reload in the morning, so we took our chances... As it turns out, nothing was bothered and she left the next morning and should be almost to Arizona by now. I will miss her as we had a great year and it was fun to have her around and to get to explore new areas together.. even if one assignment was in Phoenix in the middle of summer... UUGGHH!! So, now it is just me and my 2 dogs, Bailey and Moco. I left them home today for the first time by theirselves and I hope they are OK.. I was going to lock them in the kitchen for the day, but they were both sacked out on the bed when I left, so I took my chances... Hope all is well there.....ZOIKS!!! I kept the curtains closed because Moco thinks he is a big, tough, cat killer and goes CRAZY whenever he sees the cats outside. Hopefully he hasn't scratche dthe door down... Wish me luck!!!!

BOOGITY, BOOGITY, BOOGITY!!!!

I went to Bristol, TN for a NASCAR race the weekend of March 21-22. My cousin, Duke flew in from Montana to go with me. A friend at work hooked me up with some tickets and some original, down home moonshine... WOO WEE.. that stuff is SERIOUS!! Duke and I took one sip and it gave a new meaning to "Fire in the Hole!!!" We pretty much stuck to beer the rest of the weekend. Saturday when we got there, we checked into our room.. we rented a room in a person's house about a mile and a half from the track. We didn't want to have to drive, and with the short notice, it was as close as I could get. People actually rent out bedrooms in their house to people like us who come to the race, and some of them stay, but our owners left for the weekend. It was kinda weird, but, hey, all we needed was a bed and a shower, right??? So after we got settled, we headed for the track and took in the Nationwide race. We had a great time and afterwards, shopped at all of the booths lining the streets. It was like a huge block party... We had a blast. That night we definately "got our drink on.." Hee hee... We got up early Sunday and headed back to the track. A bunch of people from work were going to meet us there as we all had tickets together. We made it down to where they were filming "NASCAR Raceday" and tried to get on TV, but I don't think they put us on.. We were right in the middle of it, though.. but I think the guy wearing a zebra striped dress and high heels aced us out of our 15 minutes of fame... We met up with my friends from work and headed to our seats. The race was great, however, it could have used a few more wrecks... Afterwards, since we were staying the night and a friend and his wife from work wanted to let the traffic clear out, we walked around and watched the people. I realized that Duke could make friends with anyone when he started chatting up some random guy at his campsite about hunting. We had to literally drag him away from this guy and his CRAZY wife...Then, to top it all off, the beer stands were closed, so ol' Duke came to the rescue and asked some guy if he would sell us his beer and he had had enough, so he sold us his whole cooler full... SWEET!!! That Duke, he is such a hoot!!! We had a blast!!! We spent the night and headed back to Lexington on Monday so he could catch his plane back to Montana. The weekend was a TOTAL success and I am so glad I did it. Next, I want to go to a race in Talladega and do Speed Week in Daytona.... Yeah!!!!!