Kelli Colleen

Wishlist Updated------->

2011-11-09T19:15:00.000-08:00

Not in any particular order

Madison's Senior Photo Shoot

2011-10-21T19:16:00.001-07:00

http://www.makingmemorieswithlisascott.com/

http://www.makingmemorieswithlisascott.com/

Miracle Lola

2011-10-21T19:08:00.000-07:00

On a Friday, my usual day off, I stroll out of bed and notice the hamster cage was hacked into. Immediate panic set in. Lola. Is. Dead. I was terrified to even start looking for her, I didn't want to find her dead body. I finally got enough nerve (after several frantic phone calls to both parents) to start looking but no luck. I locked both cats downstairs and headed out for the day. I just couldn't stand being in the house knowing there might be my precious dead hamster somewhere. Besides even if the small chance she was alive she'd be sleeping since it was daytime. We looked all day and all night and all day Saturday but nothing. I was sweeping downstairs and did find little poopies but didn't think much of it. I locked both cats overnight downstairs hoping the it'd give Lola a chance to stay alive if she was alive. Saturday night I get a phone call saying the my dad found Lola DOWNSTAIRS ALIVE. He was watching a movie when he noticed my cat, Jack, stalking something over by the computers. There was poor lil Lola. She seemed perfectly fine, just super thirsty. She's a miracle hamster that's for sure! I guess God cares for even the little guys!

Texas Trip

2011-10-21T18:57:00.000-07:00

Haven't blogged in a bit and just wanted to update to whomever checks my blog! I was planning on moving to Texas the end of September. I made a trip out there to get a job and apartment lined up a couple weeks before then so that I could put in my two weeks at work etc. My mother and I drove to Texas (13 hr drive) on a Wednesday and left Sunday morning. I wasn't as prepared as I thought I was for I was smacked in the face with how hard it was to find an apartment. Austin is a college town and most of the apts were taken since school was already in session. Amy (my sis-in-law) was a HUGE help and even recommended the same apartment locator lady that she used a year earlier. The lady I think was going through a rough period in her life for it didn't go so well with her. Since my income is based on commission is it difficult to really get a firm price range for an apartment. My job interview was alright. Not super crazy about the job (since it's so different from Kennelwood) They had me groom a black standard poodle with NO clippervac system (a system used by few groomers that makes grooming faster/easier/cleaner) so there was A LOT of scissor work! I was hired on the spot so I must have done an alright haircut. (The dog I later found out was one of the other groomer's dog) I had seven people stare at me while I groomed this dog. It was very nerve-racking! Since I still have a lease here in STL I decided to stick out the rest of my lease here and then pick up things in Texas. For now I'm saving up money like crazy. The trip to Texas made me realize I didn't have enough money to move and I needed to wait out my other lease here. It was nice to see Tom, Amy, Joni and Jackson though! I really missed them!

Meet Lola!

2011-06-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

This is Lola! She is a teddy bear hamster and I do adore this little girl! She hasn't bitten me yet and seems to have an overall good temperment.

Jack's 1st Birthday

2011-06-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

Birthday Dinner!

Jack-when we first got him (4-5months old) Me & Jack

My dear baby jack,
You may act like you don't care about me but I know deep down inside you do love me as much as I love you. You are such a blessing in my life and so grateful to have you a part of it. From the first day I got you I knew we were going to be grand friends. You are for the most part very well behaved and clean. Thank you for always cleaning up after your brother when he doesn't cover up his poopies very well in the litterbox. Thank you for always reminding me when the food/water bowl is empty. I feel like you sometimes take care of me. I will always think you're the most beautiful cat I have ever seen. This first year was amazing and look forward to the next 20+. I love you so much my baby boy. Happy Birthday!!!

Love, Mom.

Rearranged Apartment...again!

2011-06-01T20:06:00.001-07:00

Bedroom

Living Room

(L)Living Room (R) Kitchen

Bathroom

Update #3

2011-03-11T19:29:00.001-08:00

Got a cat tower! They absolutely love it, they're always playing or sleeping on it.

Updates #2

2011-03-11T08:53:00.000-08:00

New decorations! (top left: living room w/mounted tv, left middle: dining room w/ cat tower, left bottom: Popper's bench w/ flowers in living room, top right: bedroom, bottom right: bathroom wall)

Updates #1

2011-03-11T08:38:00.000-08:00

Remember my alien toe?

It then turned into this. Now it looks perfectly normal (well...as normal as a pinky toe can look!)

A Year in Review

2011-01-01T14:23:00.001-08:00

(thanks Amy for the great idea!)

My Alien Toe

2010-12-22T18:07:00.001-08:00

This is what happens when your mischievious cat pushes your parents' bird cage off the kitchen counter in the early hours of the morning. One bird gets out and this same devilish cat tries to eat your parents' beloved bird. Stubbed toe=it immediately turned this same color but got a bit bigger than the picture shows. GROSS!

Christmas is in the air!

2010-12-06T18:56:00.001-08:00

"Oh no! Am I next to be tortured?!?"

"Yup...dude...you look retarded!"
"Have you looked in the mirror lately, Scrooge?"

Christmas Cards

2010-12-06T18:54:00.000-08:00

Mom helped me again for hours and hours on end to help me make these cards.

I'm official!

2010-12-06T18:52:00.000-08:00

HAIRCUT!

2010-12-06T18:48:00.000-08:00

BEFORE... AFTER!

Pics of my babies

2010-12-06T18:45:00.001-08:00

An email sent...

2010-12-06T18:38:00.000-08:00

This email explains it all...

"My name is Kelli Sowards and I am a new customer of Sears. I have recently ordered tires online Monday, November 22 in which the email gave me the estimated delivery of the tires of 1-3 days. I set up an appointment through the online sears tires for friday. As the email directed, I should expect an email confirming not only for the delivery of my tires but maybe even when they were shipped. I received neither. Saturday rolls around and I still hear nothing for Sears. I called the Sears Auto Department at the Mid Rivers Mall (636-970-4535) at 3:04pm in which the young man asked for my name and number and he'd call me back as he was with a customer. He never called me back. Monday at 12:22pm I once again called the Sears Auto Department and I get the same thing. He asked for my name and number and he'd call me back. He never called. I then called the Customer Service (1-800-689-4461) at 1:30pm to get some information. The phone rang at least 15 times before someone finally answered. He ended up being very helpful and if I could I'd give him a raise I would. He checked my order and found that the tires were not suppose to arrive until Wed December 1. He then said that if I did not receive a delivery confirmation email by then to call back for a compensation. By 4:17pm on Wednesday December 1, I still had not heard from Sears. I called the Customer Service number where a young man informed me that the systems were being updated, to call back in an hour. I then called the Sears Auto Department at 4:23pm to see if they knew anything. The young man tried looking up my information on the computer but did not find my order. He then went to the back to search through the new shipment that was just made. He said that they had not gone through the shipment, my tires may be there. I then called customer service back at 5:54pm and the systems were still being updated. I am quite exhausted with something that should have been an easy transaction. I had high hope for Sears but have not received a good impression. I am to the point where I just want my hard earned money back and take my business where I'll recieve my product in a timely manner."

I eventually asked for a reimbursement and have yet to hear back from anybody about it. I did receive a response and all it said was my order was still processing and sorry for the inconvenience.

Thanksgiving cards for my doggies

2010-11-14T20:41:00.000-08:00

Me and my mom have been working on these little cards for hours tonight. They turned out even cuter than I expected! I'm so excited to give them to the dogs I groom. I hope they like them as much as I do. I look forward to christmas and future holidays even more now!

Please be kind...leave the sign!!!

2010-11-14T20:30:00.000-08:00

As many of you may have already heard, I had the grand idea of putting up an advertisement for my work. Had 14 business cards along with the sign. Two days pass, 5 cards are taken. Third day comes and the sign was taken down. As a side note the same day I put up my sign another grooming facility put up a sign for their business. That's fine. I like competition. But taking down MY sign? Now the REAL competition is on. I made sign number two. Not as cute. Only 5 business cards. Next day 3 cards are taken. Day two the sign is taken down yet again. Now. It's. On. Now, I have thought of many plans of attacks. Putting a picture of Jesus next to my sign. On the bottom of my sign say, "Please be kind, leave the sign," "Smile, you're on camera," "Come to the grooming place that DOESN'T take other people's signs down." I'll talk to the management first, I doubt they can do anything anyways.

Frankie & Jack are BFFs

2010-10-24T17:50:00.000-07:00

Halloween at Kelli's Place

2010-10-24T17:41:00.000-07:00

Cats...ugh!

2010-10-09T19:34:00.000-07:00

I am NOT a cat person. I repeat I am not a cat person. I groom them, they're cute to look at, but I never dreamed I would ever actually own one. Or even two. That's right...I now have two cats. I mean I have two kittens. Two toddlers. Two always playing, always pooping, always eating kittens. But I sure do love these two little guys. They consume my time now and are a blessing in my life. But what have I gotten myself into?!? :) The new guy is about 7 weeks old. A co-worker's mother found a box full of kittens by the river. I offered to take one. The grey and white one stole my heart and is the sweetest thing alive. The meeting was rough with Jack. Jack hated the little guy. After these past three days they have finally started to play with each other and no more growling, hissing, spitting.

Another great video to share....

2010-09-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

Check This Out!

2010-09-20T19:26:00.001-07:00

K-wood

2010-09-02T16:13:00.000-07:00

A few months ago I was selected to make a shed-x video for Kennelwood to be put up on their big screen tvs each store has up front. The first time I did it we used a GIANT brown Newfoundland. The video ended up being in the wrong video form or whatever so we had to redo it. Round two went smoother and we used one of my clients, a husky mix. Then Ladue News was doing a section on dog services around St. Louis area and I was again selected. What a compliment! Since my move out in the St Peters area I have requested if I could be transferred to the St Peters store since it's a 2 min drive versus a 20 min drive to the Page location. They are now allowing me to work at the St Peters location on Saturdays so I'll be making a lot more money and saving gas. Whoot whoot!

Fishies

2010-09-02T15:32:00.000-07:00

I have a total of seven fish. A pink fish, yellow fish, orange fish, white/orange/black fish, shark fish, frog, and an algea eater.

JACK ATTACK!

2010-09-02T15:19:00.001-07:00

Who would have thought that a face like this...

could look like this?!?

Jack has definantly come out of his shell. I thought I got lucky by getting a pretty relaxed kitty. Boy was I wrong!!! I took him to a vet check up and he had some ear mites, worms, and another thing kittens/puppies get. I figured he'd have something since he was feral but holy cow. The vet visit was free and meds were only $25 so I got off easy. His new favor torture game is to climb, with all of his CLAWS if i may add, UP. MY. BARE. LEGS. My hands and legs are just covered in scratches. You can't help but love this little guy though. His favorite toy was given to him by Emma. It's a little bird on the end of a stick and string. He drags that thing around with him like a binky, tosses it in the air, and pounces on it like it's going to go somewhere. I sure do love my 'lil boy!

Ceiling "uh-oh"!!!

2010-09-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

The mold spot you see left was there about 2 weeks before the crack appeared and started to drip. That's when I called the maintenance dude. 5 days after they tore my ENTIRE ceiling down I got a brand new fan. (see below) I guess it was worth the nuisance.

Meeeeeeettttttttttttt......JACK!

2010-08-17T19:04:00.001-07:00

I adopted him Friday at a local humane society. He's 4 months old! He is a very good boy and is such a joy to have. So excited to have him in my home!

My Apartment

2010-08-17T18:59:00.000-07:00

I'm only a month and a half late but here it is anyways...

New Bike!

2010-05-31T20:32:00.001-07:00

I love this bike sooo much! It's the old style cruiser, the picture doesn't give the color justice. It's more of a blue green than a light blue. Dad helped me put the basket on and I plan on getting a bell too! I've already had a ton of fun on it.

Graduated from Styling School

2010-05-31T20:24:00.000-07:00

After 14 weeks of rigorous training I have finally completed it. I am officially a dog stylist at Kennelwood Pet Resorts! At this point I am more nervous than excited. Today was my first day by myself and it went well. I did two yorkies and an american cocker mix. Mom and dad took me to applebees to celebrate with me. yum!

Dog Show

2010-05-31T20:09:00.000-07:00

As part of my final training, I had to complete a scavanger hunt at a dog show. Here are some of the pictures taken:

Owl City-Round 2 (and a whole lot better)

2010-05-09T19:05:00.000-07:00

Wicked Cool!

2010-04-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

I had to work an Cooper Mini event that Kennelwood was participating in on Saturday. It was a rainy day so the even was super slow. Our trainer came to do some demonstrations with his dog, Stewart. He does some police dog stuff and I asked if I could do it. To my amazment he allowed me to do so. Are you kidding me?!? I've always wanted to do it! So here charges this ferocious beast and tackles my well-patted arm. It almost sends me to the ground. This. Dog. Is. Strong. No joke. It was such an amazing experience!

Kickboxing

2010-04-25T22:04:00.000-07:00

I have been kickboxing/muay thai/wrestling with a group of co-workers since Setember and have lost a total of 20 pounds!!! I go three to four times a week for at least a couple of hours. It's the hardest workout I've ever tried (not saying much, i never have worked out much my entire life) but I la la love it! I'm not allowed to video/take pictures per my trainer but i will show you the effects of it...*warning* not for easy stomachs- my massive thighs make me want to puke sometimes too. :) I get a bruise or two each time i go, over extend elbows, get all my joints poped including my neck, wrists and ankles. Why do i torture myself so? So I can protect myself and others around me.

2010-03-24T20:27:00.000-07:00

Humane Society #4

2010-03-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

I'm kicking myself that I haven't been writing each week of my adventures at the Humane Society. I go there every Tuesday along with Jan, my instructor, and Rebecca, another student. It was extremely hard the first few times going and not crying. Just seeing the vast number of dogs ranging sizes, ages, shapes, barks, etc. Those eyes...I can't describe how pitiful they look, like this scene in Lady & The Tramp. That is how tear jerking it is. However, I am there to help. To give them a better chance to find another home.

With my soap opera aside, writing about my past three visits will take too long and are just as sad. On the bright side, I love coming back to find that all of the dogs I've groomed have been adopted out. IN A WEEK!!!

Today we got our usually list of around 6 dogs who desperately need TLC. Our first patients: two 5 month old baby girl great pyrenees. Their names were Jasmine and Glacier. They were CAKED with mud. CLUMPS of mud. FLEAS. TICKS. SORES. You name it they had it. They were part of a raid the following night. The bath alone took me an hour. I wish I had taken a before and after pictures of them, they weren't recognizable by the time we were done with them. They were black in the beginning and were finally turned to white again. We put two big pink bows in their hair. They held their heads high on our walk back to their kennel. I have purpose in life again. It makes me feel like I'm making the world better. ONE. DOG. AT. A. TIME.

Styling School

2010-02-26T11:27:00.001-08:00

This is Peso, a 8-month old Bichon. He was my very first dog that I styled and groomed! My first day went incredibly smooth, thanks to my instructor Jan. She is a wonderful teacher and I am excited for the next three months. I am enjoying it quite a bit but how different it is from being a groom technician! He came in around 11am, I then prepped him and then bathed him. I went to lunch for a half hour and then came back and worked on him nonstop until 3:30! It's so weird going from 8-10 dogs a day to one or two a day. I love it though. :)

Oh Owl City...

2010-01-29T16:35:00.000-08:00

I adore Owl City but our relationship was quite strained last week. They were scheduled to perform last saturday at the pageant. Erica and my friend suprised us with tickets to the show and to this day I don't know how he managed that one, since Erica and I were trying to buy them ourselves and they were going for $180+ on ebay. ANYWAYS...Saturday rolls around. I woke up super late for work, so the day got all screwy from the get go. I then ended up with 10+ dogs. To put this in perspective, I can do a dog an hour and a full day of work is 8 dogs. This doesn't include 8 goldens, pyrenes or any other kind of huge, hairy dog. I was a mess. I finally got out of there with 9 hours under my belt and slowly got excited about the upcoming show. We get there all pumped...walked up to the door...and BAM! "OWL CITY-postponed for unseen circumstances. Tickets will be refunded next week" NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! We shuffle back to the car, well until it started pouring rain and then we ran back to the car. We pulled out, headed towards home...and BAM! The car in front of my slams on his brakes because the car in front of him slammed on his brakes. Because of the rain, I was less fortunate to stop in time. I slid into the guy's car making Erica and me fly forward. My first thoughts were that I just totaled the car. We pulled into the nearest subdivision to assess the damage, call the cops, etc. All it ended up being was a small scratch on his car and my license plate was slightly bent. We were truly blessed that it wasn't worst. The next day Erica and me were extremely sore throughout of back and neck but all is well. Talk about the worst day ever!

My History Final Project

2009-12-26T11:36:00.000-08:00

We were assigned to visit several historic sites around the Saint Louis area. Here are some pictures of our adventures.

top: Cahokia Mounds

Right top: Piasa Bird

Right bottom: Clark Alton Bridge

New House

2009-11-25T14:11:00.003-08:00

Erica & I
Front room, living room & kitchen

New Car...

2009-11-07T10:52:00.000-08:00

Redecorated Bathroom

2009-09-06T14:37:00.000-07:00

It's actually been a while since I redecorated my bathroom, but at the time I didn't think it was blog worthy. But now I have nothing to blog about, so here you go! :) I don't have any "before" pictures and I'm kicking myself. Just imagine the bathroom being pale white, the sink vanity and wall mirror is a disgusting yucky wood, and there are no wall decorations...and you got it!

Sowards & Gardner Family Blog

2009-08-21T14:17:00.000-07:00

I decided to make a family blog, I thought it would be fun to have. Here's the link:
http://sowards-gardnerfamily.blogspot.com/

Home Again

2009-08-21T13:41:00.000-07:00

I arrived home August 19 and a wild ride it was! My flight was delayed an hour and a half, which put my connecting flight in danger of missing. Luckily the other flight was delayed too so I made it just in time. Also, my seat on the plane was soaking wet, which made my butt wet too...joy. The next day I got my classes set up at Florissant Valley Community College. I will be taking night classes and they are: American History, College Composition, Intro to American Politics and Foundation of Education. I also got my job back at Kennelwood and will be starting Saturday, August 22.

Phoenix, Arizona

2009-08-13T13:00:00.000-07:00

I then went to my other sister's house, Tara, to spend another couple of weeks there. I arrived in Phoenix August 8. (bottom)Tara and Jared took me to the best snow cone place EVER: Bahama Bucks. (top) Tara's huge sunflower. (middle) Eva Diva's hot pink high heels :)

Tucson, Arizona

2009-08-13T12:53:00.000-07:00

I flew to Arizona with Megan, my sister, on July 27. I was very glad I could help her with cleaning her old apartment and putting things away at her new apartment. While my stay there, I got addicted to LOST. Now I can barely go a night without watching an episode or two...or five. :)

Colorado

2009-08-13T12:47:00.000-07:00

We then drove to Manassa, Colorado July 23. They always have a Pioneer Days parade/festival/carnival around this time of year, so it was fun to be there during that special occasion.

New Mexico

2009-08-13T12:41:00.000-07:00

We left around 2am July 18 and arrived at New Mexico around 8 pm. July 20, we visited the Alpaca ranch. We also worked on the terraces. (left photo)

The Fray!

2009-07-04T09:07:00.000-07:00

This was my first REAL concert, and I was lucky enough to start off with an amazing experience with the fray. We had an incredible experience!

Sting(less)rays at the zoo!

2009-07-04T09:01:00.001-07:00

We went to the zoo to see the new exhibit of stingrays. It was so amazing to see these rare animals!

So Long Kennelwood...

2009-06-24T16:38:00.000-07:00

My last day at Kennelwood is July 15. How that day is coming up so quickly! I have mixed feelings about leaving: sad to leave the (nice) dogs/employees but relief from all the drama and stress. I'm excited for my move and am looking forward to this next month! Woohoo!

Pepe's Dance

2009-06-22T16:47:00.000-07:00

If you have ever heard the background noise when you've called our house, this is what you're hearing:

Bark in the Park

2009-06-22T16:03:00.000-07:00

New Cell Phone Number!

2009-06-12T13:47:00.000-07:00

Once again, I have a new cell phone number. This will be my permanent number, so keep it saved! :) 314-258-0254

This is Rosco...

2009-04-02T16:00:00.000-07:00

I very much want to keep this extremely sweet dog, but under my circumstances *cough cough...mom* I don't think that's possible. He is a stray that I picked up and tamed. He knows how to sit and lay down. He loves treats and loves to play tug-a-war with you. He is still a puppy somewhat. I am taking him in Tuesday, April 7 to get him neutered. Free to good home!

2009-03-24T08:11:00.000-07:00

New Haircut & Kennelwood Cont'

2009-03-16T17:16:00.001-07:00

I got my hair trimmed a couple of days ago, not much of a change. I have been taking Maddy to work since Thursday and so far it's been going pretty good. She stresses out though whenever I have to leave the room for a few minutes, but everyone is being patient with her. Today was my first day being by myself. I stayed very busy, washing dog after dog. I'm starting to enjoy it alittle more now that I've gotten a hang of things.

Stinky!

2009-03-12T17:43:00.001-07:00

I hit that day...the day that all groomers said I would have to face...the day that you go home stinkier than the dogs that came in. It's SO much hard work, but it's the healthy work that leaves you satisfied. I start work at 7am and usually get done around 1 or 2pm, depending on when I finish with my dogs. I am officially NOT getting a bull dog. Another bull dog, Louis, came in and sprewed feces all over his cage. I laughed and said, whoevers dog that is needs to clean up ALOT of crap! I later found out that it was MY dog. I shut up real quick! :) As a side note, I hopefully fixed my blog so that you can now leave comments. Let me know if it still doesn't work. The terror of ferrets are doing good, they're so much fun! That's my life in a nutshell right now. Love ya!

Kennelwood

2009-03-04T18:19:00.001-08:00

My first couple days I just watched what goes on in the grooming department. Today I actually got assigned a few dogs: Beau (Lab), Sherlock & Watson (Bassets). I shave their paw pads, file thier nails, clean out the ears, give them a bath, blowdry, cologne and a bandana for the finish...whew! I have never seen a bulldog in person before, but today I got to see TWO, Maggie and Lulu. Maggie pooped this HUGE log in her kennel after we bathed her and everybody starting gagging because it smelled so bad. Ahh...good times. Then an Irish Wolfhound came and he was as big as a HORSE! No kidding. His name is Gore.

Got a Job!

2009-02-20T23:00:00.001-08:00

I was informed this afternoon that I am hired at Kennelwood Village, a dog boarding & grooming palace. I am going to become a grooming technician. They provide paid training and everything else you can imagine, with high tech equipment and more! I'm so excited!

Valentine's Day

2009-02-13T17:46:00.000-08:00

The day all single ladies out there dread: Valentine's Day...AKA "Single Awareness Day". There's no reason why we should be embarressed but we still manage to feel sorry for ourselves. Know that I do love all of you, so if you're alone like millions of other Americans on this day, know that there's a girl in Missouri who does in fact loves you! XOXO

Our New Ferrets!

2009-02-04T21:20:00.000-08:00

Molly & Jade-

An update...

2009-01-19T21:56:00.000-08:00

I am currently at home attending a community college. I am also trying to find a job to pay for my trip to Jersualem.