Chipotle Mexican Grill

Ok. So I don't eat out much. Nor would I have ever thought I would fall in love with anything from a "fast food" chain. However, I am in love with Chipotle's Chicken Fajita Burrito. It is super awesome. I have had it twice and I could have it again and again.

I was first introduced to Chipotle about a month ago. My friend Julieanna and I got together for lunch in Chapel Hill and decided to go there. I wasn't sure what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised. While the number of their menu items is relatively limited, the food is excellent. It is fresh and prepared in front of you.

I would go as far to say that I like Chipotle's burritos better than Moe's or Qdoba. They are fresh and light. Basically what makes the fajita burrito good (outside of the good chicken) is this: they use an awesome cilantro-lime rice (I don't like too much cilantro, but this is just right), onions and green peppers sauteed in soy oil (instead of beans), and a plethora of toppings, of which I enjoy adding their fresh salsa, sour cream, cheese, and lettuce. I really need to try some of their other menu options, but I am totally relishing this one particular burrito.

What brought me there yesterday was a free burrito coupon. Not even I can turn down free food. It was something different from the diet of bars and slimming shakes I have been on for the past week. However, I didn't feel guilty for eating my free burrito after my low-cal week.

Chipotle has a "Food with Integrity" mission as compared to the norm of fast food. Their ingredients are mostly all-natural. I like that. Oh, and I really enjoyed the all-natural juice they had as a beverage option (pineapple, orange, and banana mix). Yum!

Random fact about Chipotle.... it is connected to McDonald's. Crazy, eh?

I like my meat, but vegans could eat well there too. =)

Unbelievable!

I can't believe this.... I am frustrated and sad. We are out there to help people, and I believe we have helped and saved birds. When one can't even share a different point-of-view, it really bothers me. We were a part of this particular forum (which will remain unnamed as I won't defame them) and I just wish it could have been different.


Single parrots???? Small cages???? Handraising???? Clipped wings??? C'mon. I just can't believe that we are so controversial. This is the only forum that has ever completely disagreed with our views. We are a part of 3 other forums actively and a few others not real actively and will continue to be a part of those.


Re: handraising

---

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnathan ***** Hi Rodney and Tamara, As you know at ******** *** ****** we promote species appropriate pair keeping. Some examples of anti-species appropriate keeping - advocating or supporting single parrots, small cages, hand raising of babies, clipped wings. I am going to have to ask you to remove the pictures you posted that make it clear your babies are hand raised. We love seeing pics of the lovebirds and we welcome you to post more pictures. However we cannot let other members think that we would promote handfeeding. We are going to go ahead and remove the ones that we feel are inappropriate for this forum.Your lovebirds are adorable and I hope this doesn't discourage you from posting more pictures of them in the future. Thank you and have a wonderful day Johnathan

*****-
I posted for the first time in a long time today on your forum. I was angered, sad, and disappointed in the closed-mindedness of this administrator. The sad part of this all is that you invited us to join this forum and this was the very 1st forum we ever joined on the web. Even in the past when highly debatable topics came up, I have never felt so defamed, slandered, or wronged. I am sorry that we disagree with some of your views and the views of this forum. To be honest with you, when everyone just allows themselves to agree with everything that is said and not allow any other views to be discussed or shown, it shows very closed-mindedness. It hurts us, but we have decided to no longer be a part of this forum. In fact, we would ask that you remove all of threads and posts throughout this forum to protect our integrity as a credible aviary. Thanks so much for the respect you have showed us in the past.
~~Tamara (& Rodney)


This is what they saw so offensive:
**************
Now you all are in for it! I am going to post some baby pictures.
(You have been warned.)

Faith (aka Mar)

Hope (aka Tudor on top) and Faith (aka Mar on bottom)

The Hobbits

Kiwi (boy) & Gizmo (female)

Luna, Sunny, and Star (the little one)

Love (aka Jake!)

Irene (aka Joy) and Jake (aka Love)



Roxy Sky and Rainbow

Bella (aka Sunshine)



Top left, Trinket, to the right is Mango, and on the bottom is Coconut.



Cherry and Apple



Mango

One of my piano students, Mary Beth, with Trinket

All 5 Fruity Babies (with Mango's booty!)

10 Babies! (And yes, I can name everyone of 'em.)

Musical Babies! (Cookie is bottom left, Harmony is on Cookie's right)

Sapphire has actually regurgitated to Ruby!

Opal

Pearl

...and me with the biggest baby of them all, my 2.5 year-old BeBe!

~Rodney

****************
Is that post so controversial? Thank you. I didn't think so either.

Trusting in Him

I find myself getting constant reminders of remembering to trust in God. He is my provider and He has never failed to come through for me. Even if it is not in the way I desire, I know that it is within His will.

Once again, I got that reminder recently.

The First Chain of Events:
As many of you know, Rodney is living up in Surry County during the week and is staying at Dennis & Terre's farm house up there. We got the recent bill (we are paying the difference in the electricity) and it was quite high. Mostly, it was a misunderstanding on how Rodney was to be heating the house to protect the pipes.

I will say that I was frustrated. I shouldn't have been because I know it is not in my control and I couldn't change it, but it wasn't what we expected. We moved some bills around and it worked out ok.

Well, Dennis & Terre decided to bless us and take care of part of that bill, and while it is always hard for me to accept blessings in that manner, I was grateful. It gave us a little more wiggle room.

The Second Chain of Events:
After church, I walked out feeling pretty good. I was grateful to God that he gave such awesome hearts to Dennis & Terre! However, how I responded to the next thing that came upon me in no way reflected my gratefulness.

My car had a flat in the church parking lot. I had ran over a roofing nail. How? When? Who knows?

Now, it was not too bad at first, but it was a small inconvenient set-back in terms of time.
After my Dad and brother Tim started working on putting the spare, I was confident that all I needed to do was mosey on down the road to the tire place where my tires are under warranty for free fixing or replacing.

However, it was not that easy. Somehow or another, the bolts and lug nuts got stripped and just driving it down the road would not be an option. This was where I emotionally responded, not only not being grateful to God for giving His blessing earlier and in having a Dad & Brother who could at least try to help me, but also by hurting my Dad's feelings by blaming him when I shouldn't have. Later on that day, I was truly ashamed of myself.

Many of you know that I have really gotten my money's worth in my AAA membership since October in dealing with my "new" car. In fact, I have towed it twice, replaced the transmission, and locked my keys in it. So, I had to get my car towed, once again (the 3rd time!), and pray that I could get it fixed that day so I wouldn't be car-less the next day. The tow went fairly well, even though I was severely unhappy for having to pay for another tow (which wasn't that expensive, but I was expecting to not have to pay for anything involved with the flat as my tire was under warranty).

All this being said, I thought I was going to get my car back that day, and, in the end, I didn't as they didn't get in all the bolts and lug nuts needed. It was Sunday, so I did give them a little slack, but again, I wasn't too happy because now I had no car for at least the first part of Monday.

Thankfully, my Dad was able to give me a ride to work the next day. Of course, I apologized for my behavior from the previous day, but he had already forgiven me.

Third Chain of Events:
Monday night was the big party. A dear lady of the church, LaVerne, was turning 90 and I had graciously agreed to take pictures for a scrapbook that would be made from the event. The party was lovely and I took some great pictures (if I do say so myself).

Well last night, Angie, LaVerne's daughter, blessed me with some compensation. I had in no way expected to be compensated. In fact, I had agreed to the task thinking I was just helping out! I was helping out, and feeling honored to be even asked to take on that task. I, hesitatingly, accepted the gift.

The Culmination of all 3 Chains of Events:
The kind hearts of Dennis & Terre as well as the gift from Angie almost exactly equals the amount of money we had to spend to replace the bolts and lug nuts on that wheel that had been flat.

Lessons learned:
Trust that God intends to have you learn and become a better follower of Him in all things that occur. It's how you choose to use and respond to those opportunities.

My car is a sensitive subject because I have dealt with so much concerning this particular car in the past few months. Unfortunately, I didn't initially respond to the test in the most Christian manner, but I do feel confident that I acted later according to what needed to be fixed in my life. Most of the time, I struggle mainly with issues that are out of my control. All in all, I need to constantly remind myself that God is the one in control anyways.

I get surprised probably more often than I should when God shows me that I should have trusted him all along! But, I know that I grow a little each time He demonstrates Himself in my life.

God blessed me not just monetarily (taking care of the unforeseen extra cost) but also in teaching me a lesson to relax and take heart in knowing that it will all work out in the end.

^{Psalm 139:23-24
23} Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

Aldi

So, I discovered Aldi today. There was one in Greenville, but now that I think back, I don't think I ever went there during my 6 month stint.

I really liked it. Granted, you have to have a quarter deposit (which you get back by the way) to get a shopping cart, the prices were surprisingly refreshing. Most of the items you'll find at Aldi are not brand names, but I have never really been brand-name loyal. There are some generics I will avoid, some grocery store brands that aren't really that good, but then again, you might just find that some non-brand name goods are just as good as the brand names. What makes a brand name anyways? Commercials... Some brand names are lower quality than the lesser known names with which I know first hand. But, don't start me on that rant.

Anyways, back to Aldi. They did have some brand name items which were, as they advertise, "good deals!" The other brands were extremely cheap. I walked out of there with lots of good stuff and we started trying some of it tonight. We cooked a "Mama Cozzi" pizza that tasted really good. In fact, I would say it was as good as a DiGiorno Pizza. I grated some "Happy Farms" mozzarella that made it even better (of course, I always put extra cheese on our pizzas anyways). For dessert, I had some "Mercer" animal crackers that taste just like the brand name! Rodney is currently drinking some brand-name V8 splash which was a very good price.

So far, I have no complaints about the quality of products I got there. I am looking forwards to trying the whole pears I got there, which the produce section has not only good prices, but nice and fresh produce as well. If you like fish, they have excellent prices on frozen fish. If you like fresh meats, the prices are good there too.

Granted, I am not going to buy everything I ever need from Aldi (I am an avid online shopper as I like deals, getting paid, and delivery to my door), and I may even still visit Kroger or Harris Teeter on occasion, but it is nice to be able to get my milk for $0.30 cents cheaper when I need it, for example.

So, bring along your quarter, be prepared to bag your own groceries (cuts overhead and keeps their prices low), and save some money: Aldi is a great place to shop. They have even gone "green" only using paper bags!

Pigwidgeon's Tumor

The pictures I have below are for awareness and education. In no way do I intend to "gross you out" or depict something that is offensive. There are a few "graphic shots" below the shot of myself and Pigwidgeon.

This is Pigwidgeon right after we got him last year. Shortly after we got him (at the end of April 2007), our vet didn't give him a very good prognosis. He has lived longer than any of us ever thought he would and it is probably partially due to the better diet and companion he has with Hedwig. She really livened him up!

Well, his tumor has grown. I took him to the vet yesterday along with the babies. Originally, I thought I wouldn't need to, but Pigwidgeon had regurgitated on himself yesterday morning. This is one sign that the tumor could be affecting how he feels overall. He only has regurgitated on himself two other times, but it still frightens and upsets me when I find him after he has. As you can see, his lower abdomen is swollen.

What you are seeing here is actually his gizzard protruding out (like his intestines). Above it, I think you can see part of the tumor. Dr. Burkett has given him another 3-6 months prognosis, but who knows? He could surprise us! After we got home from the vet, Pigwidgeon seemed to be his normal (well, normal for him as of now) self again.

By the way, as we arrived to see Dr. Burkett, another woman was leaving with her budgies who had just been diagnosed with tumors as well. This is a heart-breaking normality seen in many budgies obtained from pet stores who get their budgies from breeders who do not control inbreeding. Click here for the original prognosis post from last year and info about the early symptoms of a tumor.

I love him. He is very dear to me. I will miss him, but I will also enjoy and cherish the time I have left with him.

Annoyed...

I consider myself a sensible and nice Christian lady, but there are times when people annoy me. I have been especially annoyed with people who make snap judgments and give us flack (even behind our backs) without first asking for clarification.

Mainly, this all has to do with our aviary business (not the products but our babies). It all started with a YouTuber who must have emailed us asking us about prices. When we shared our prices with them, they eventually made a comment on one of our videos. Now, I have the full right to remove comments I don't like or ones that have crudeness, spite, cussing, etc in them which I do not approve of. Well, when I removed the comment that mentioned our pricing and that expressed their outright misunderstandings about our pricing, they immediately (how juvenile!) came back and re-commented in the same way AFTER I had sent them a PM to help clear up their misconceptions.

Ok, now, I was bold enough to leave their second comment up because two people had already replied to it (in support of us as it would seem!) with of course a couple of replies from me to clear up the misunderstandings.

Now, here is where it gets interesting. We do track hits and occasionally google ourselves to see how people can find us. Lo, and behold, we find a forum that is commenting on our pricing. Once again, people have misunderstood our pricing and before seeking clarification have bashed us as high and mighty, over-priced, etc. I do believe people are entitled to their opinions as long as they have all the information to back it up. However, if you are going to misquote, misunderstand, bash us, etc., then how does that reflect on you? I think pretty poorly.

Why do you think we don't post our prices on the web???? For the very reason that people can completely misunderstand and dismiss us as over-priced and high & mighty.

Now, if they really took the time to get to know us, as ALL of our clients have at least attempted to do, then they would realize we do not consider ourselves to be all-knowing, high & mighty, or holier than thou!

I truly believe that when pricing becomes the issue over quality and finding another member of the family, then they probably weren't the right home for our babies in the first place. Remember, we aren't just looking to unload our babies onto just anyone. I do understand about finding deals. Believe me, I like a deal just like anyone else, but when it comes to the important things in life, "a good-deal" usually doesn't cut it (from my experiences).

I also get annoyed with people who aren't honest with us. We really do try and find the right homes for our birdies, and will really go out of our way to do so. With gas prices these days and the value of our time, our mere willingness to do whatever it takes should at least be a small indicator of our high integrity and how much we care about our birds. We don't just let anyone come in and adopt.

When we recommend a bird to someone, we make sure that they have as much access to that bird as possible. If it is a long distance client and they can come in and visit the bird before they take it home, that is great! If not, we hope that they can trust us at least a little bit since we are so "out-there" throughout the entire raising of each clutch. We post videos, pictures, answer questions, talk on the phone, everything!

Hypothetically speaking, if a long distance client expressed interest in adopting our one of our babies, couldn't come and meet the baby ahead of time, but then met the baby on the day they were to adopt and didn't like them, then they wouldn't have to adopt it! We wouldn't charge them a thing for the time and energy it took for us to try and find a home for that baby. We do understand business, you know!

To get this off my chest, we really do make our babies worth the price. When you get one of our birds, you don't just get the bird and that's that. You get a vet-checked bird (included in the cost.... you try and get a new pet vet-checked and see how much it costs you, especially if you don't already have a relationship with that vet), which is a very RARE thing to get from a breeder. Having a vet checked bird reduces so much risk when you bring him/her into a multi-bird environment especially! You also get a week's worth of food/treats. You get a birth certificate. You get a handmade toy. You get extra shredables (finger traps, shredders, straws). We spend as much time as you need the day you come to pick up your baby answering questions and explaining & suggesting things. You get the ability to come in and play with your babies before they wean as much as you and I can arrange!!! You get a personal relationship forever with us. We won't abandon you. We are available for questions, suggestions, products, etc! We essentially are committing to a 15-20 year relationship with you!

Whew.... well, now I do feel better. I have gotten this off my chest. I just really feel like people should give the benefit of the doubt. We try to in everything we do, but sometimes, to protect our reputation (and yours for that matter), we just need to clear misunderstandings up! We aren't lying to you when we tell you that people, our vet, and pet stores recommend us. We know because those are where we get some of our referrals from. Why would we lie about that anyways? This isn't how we make our living, but even it it were, we wouldn't tell you something to hurt you because then it would just hurt our babies somehow too!

Just realize this. We spend A LOT of time answering emails, comments, PMs about birds and really do feel like we are making a difference. Even if we just save one bird's life through a helpful hint or suggestion, we have accomplished what we are out there to do.

Read our website. You'll find we are genuine people and, really, the money we make from selling our babies goes right back into our flock as it is.

Shopping from Home...

Now this I love!
(stole it from a friend!)

Vote 2008- Do you need help making a decision?

I got this email from a friend in Iowa, and I definitely think you should utilize that website!!!

We were bombarded with political ads and campaigns for months leading up to the Jan 3 Iowa Caucuses. It was overwhelming and frustrating and annoying. However, we do have an important decision to make this year. We are electing a new President. Some people live for election year, not me. I can honestly do without all the ads, debates, and he said/she said stuff. I do vote and I do believe it is important for all Americans 18 and over to vote. Have thought about who you will vote for yet? I knew what some of the candidates were about, but not all of them and not to the extent I was ready to put my support behind one of them. I tried to find stuff online and read the newspaper (that was a joke- a former co-worker once claimed that all media is controlled by the democrats except Fox News) but still had a hard time getting the info I needed.

I have found a website that was developed to help you with all of these questions. www.votehelp.org. You will be asked to answer some questions and then rank their importance to you. Based on your answers you will see how the candidates agree and disagree with you. You will get a brief overview and you will have the option of seeing the detail on each subject and where the candidate stands.

I hope this website can help you make a decision on who to vote for. Come November if you are still undecided that is OK, but please if nothing else exercise your RIGHT TO VOTE!!!!

Special Baby Story

This is a very special baby. We came home last night and found this little guy on the grate in the bottom of Cody and Mia's cage. It wasn't a huge fall as Mia is sitting on these eggs in a Tupperware container at the bottom (getting a nest box ASAP). When I grabbed him up really quick after a small freakout, he was cold. I put him in my hand and, surprisingly, he was still alive!

Quickly, I warmed him by cupping my hands and blowing warm air on him. He started getting more active when I did that. We also started warming some baby food for him because his crop was nearly empty. We warmed a heating pad and prepared a brooder because we weren't sure if the baby falling out was an accident or if he was pushed out for some reason.

After feeding the little guy some food (and getting it all over him! he's so little), he was doing much better, but I was still worried. Would Mia take him back? Did she want him? He is such a cute little dutch blue!

We put him back in her nest and within a couple of minutes, she had pushed him under her wing. Within 15-20 minutes the baby was crying like normal too!

This is our miracle baby. He looks so great this morning. He has even gained weight (went from 3 grams to 4 grams). It looks as though it may have been accident that this little guy ended up out of the nest. Mia is feeding him and warming him.

I noticed this egg this morning. It has a "peck" but we don't know if it will hatch.... we'll see!

Anticipating Christmas on Thanksgiving

While I know it is Thanksgiving.... I still am fully in anticipation of Christmas! I can't wait. It is my favorite holiday. I have asked Rodney for a Zune which I know I will get (he's ordering it today at a good price!).

Plus, you just can't help the Christmas Holiday Spirit. It just makes you happy.

Well, eat you some good Pumpkin Pie (my favorite!) today and sit back and relax enjoying the blessings you have had this year. Even if it was a hard year, you can be thankful that it is almost over! I am thankful for my God, my family, my friends, and my business.

Sending Babies Home

Raising Lovebird babies is fun and demanding at the same time. It is hard to part with each and every one of them, but I know they are going to special homes where they will get more attention there than with us because those homes tend to have less birds to divide their attention amongst.

A tradition of ours is to take a picture of me and every baby that goes home. These are the first 9 from the last "Lucky 13" babies we had from July & August.

Sunny

Luna

Love & Joy

Star

Rainbow

Sunshine

Cherry

Apple

It does give me joy to bless others with our wonderful lovies! We are certainly on our way to breaking the lovebird stereotypes.

Life Update

So, hmmm.... life. Life is busy. But, good busy that is.

Rodney is now working out of town during the week. While him having a full-time job is a blessing, I also miss him dearly during the week (and so do the fids!)! I am still working part-time during the day for the ESL program at DTCC. While having that job is good, it's not what I truly am excited about.

Many of you know my business-mindedness. I am not ashamed of it, that's for sure. The reason is that I know that I am a super-successful business woman! Currently, I am, for all intensive purposes involved in about 4 business. Sure, I clump three in one! I am very active and excited about my internet business. The payoff so far is huge in all aspects and it is only going to get better!!! Then, True Love Aviary is a hit as well! Under the TLA banner, I am Co-owner, toy-maker, and webmaster. So, all of that basically means that I help sell lovebird babies, do paperwork and taxes, make toys to sell online, and now am going to be running an online bird supply store (launching, hopefully, on Oct 1st or at least before the NC State Fair).

This is my life now and I love what I do outside of my day job. Those of you who aren't really business-minded won't really understand why this all excites me.

Some people are still wondering how I could've turned down Med School. That was probably one of the best decisions I have ever made!

Pondering a few things....
I am still grieving for my dear, sweet Angel. It's been almost 2 months since she went to the Rainbow Bridge to wait for me, and home life is not quite the same without her. This week is also the one year anniversary of the death of my Grandmother. I miss her dearly as well. The holidays will never be the same.

Yesterday, I drove to be with Julieanna as her Mommy passed away in the ICU at Baptist hospital. Her death really touched me. I love Julieanna as a sister and to see how this deep loss has affected and to know how it will affect her cuts at my heart. It was not but about 5 years ago that my own Mother could've been taken from me. Thank God she wasn't! Even still, the tears I cry are empathetic. Vicki was a true woman of God and I was honored to know her. This will be my memory of her:

(I made them do this shot. I certainly don't regret it either!)

Beyond the loss, happiness still reigns. The little lovie babies we got in the house always touch my heart when they pop out of their cage at the mere creaking open of their cage door! I also know that I am already making an impact in people's lives. That's what counts and that is what my purpose is in this life!

Remembering 9/11

I love this image. Oh, how it is so symbollic. Our troops are still out there fighting for freedom. They are true heroes and I totally respect their bravery.

I certainly shall never forget! I remember where I was. I remember watching the tragedy as it occurred. I remember the tears I shed and holding hands. I remember classes cancelled. It's sad that even the younger people have no real recollection of that day. It is a day that changed our country. I shall never forget.

You all really need to hear the piece my hubby wrote in memoriam to 9/11. It'll make you cry.

Never forget.

Meet my Neighbor...

The Praying Mantis!!!It was just chillin' outside my apartment!!

Happy Birdday Evee!

Happy 1st Year Birthday Evee!

She was so tiny; our first hand-raised baby! (12 hours)

She amazed us so much! She grew fast! (2 weeks)

Look at the black going away!! (3 months)

We love our Evee!!! Happy Birdday Darlin'!!