Snapshots Lately

I'm trying so hard to enjoy Christmas but it's been a little hard. Between my full time job, all the holiday photo shoots (December is always my photography busy season), and then trying to just keep up on the house and making Christmas gifts... I haven't had much time for myself or to just relax. That's why I switched shifts this weekend so I could finally get a Saturday off and spend time with Johnny and my friends to go play in the snow at the mountains and finish up some things I desperately need to catch up on. 

That's not to say that I'm not loving my time by the fireplace and the nostalgic warmth I get when I look at the Christmas tree after coming home after a long shift. Or when I see Murderface curled up in Jasper's bed even though it's ten times too small for him. Speaking of cute puppies... Wishbone never found her owner, she wasn't chipped or spayed so she has gone into the rescue I work for. We have a groomer who also foster's so she took Wishbone on for us and that's where she will stay till she finds her forever home. I loved having her here with us but she is very much a puppy. The other foster has more time to do stuff like potty training where I'm more of a medical/older foster dog household. 

I've been crafting up a storm as most of my gifts will be homemade this year. I saw this post on how to burn snowflakes into birch ornaments. I tried out a few owl sketches as well, these are so cute and personal! Not to mention that wood burning is pretty therapeutic. I've never been the best at drawing but with some practice I'm hoping to get better. 

Here's one of my owl ornaments now hanging on our tree. Also, my cute unicorn ornament from Gypsy Warrior finally came! I love it so much!

That wasn't the only Cyber Monday package I received this week. I recently discovered GracemereWoods, and she is amazingly talented. I wish I could carve and paint half as good as she can. You might say I'm having a small obsession with wood ornaments lately and that's ok. We all have our vices. Now I own these amazing pieces and can't wait to add more to my collection. She also included a sweet handwritten note which is always a lovely gesture.

Wrapping things up, another reason I'm making sure to take some added days off is that I'm starting to feel that rescuer burnout. Yesterday we had a family come in with their 12 yr old dog that was suffering from pyometra. Pyo's happen when a female dog is not spayed and the uterus becomes infected. It's very serious and without immediate surgery the animal faces death. The owner was in tears because couldn't afford the surgery, she only had a type of credit that my company doesn't accept. The dog was so sweet and I can't handle people crying... Plus the weight of guilt that was creeping up on me at the thought of them leaving and having their dog die or euthanized when there was a chance of a few years and quality of life left... I couldn't just sit there and hope something would happen. I called in some other rescue groups who luckily felt the same way I did and two of them stepped up and each paid a large chunk of the surgery. The owner had taken out a loan and come back, she was so desperate to save her dogs life which I totally admired. It was awesome being able to tell them they could pay back a large amount of that loan AND get the dog in for surgery. I literally almost burst into tears about twenty times that day and when the dog was curled in the backseat of the car on her way home for recovery in the arms of the owner's child... It made all the stress and worry worth it. 

My emotional state is a little too fragile though and with everything going on in the world as well as the day to day cruelty and unhappiness I see in rescue... I need a few days to regroup and recharge. That's how rescuer's burn out and I finally get it since I'm experiencing it myself. Stepping away from Facebook and not seeing bad things for a few days, focusing on things that make me happy and loving on my own dogs, not having to take on the usual stress of my demanding job (and it is stressful working at a low income spay and neuter facility)... I'm hoping it will help. 

How do you guys usually recharge your batteries? How are you getting ready for the Christmas season?