Texas State’s graduation is fast approaching, so you had better get ready. Here’s what you need to do to prepare. 
If you have applied to graduate and want to walk in the commencement, you will need to buy a cap and gown. You can find them at the L-B-J Student Center in the book store for about 30 dollars. Other optional purchases include invitations to send to your friends and family, class rings and diploma frames.
Academic Advising Supervisor Amy Beck says once you have your cap and gown, the only thing left to do is finish your remaining classes and look forward to the ceremony. 


Over three-thousand students are graduating this December, so plan to arrive early. On the day of the ceremony, you will first check in at Jowers Gym 101 and 102. Your advisors will be there to hand you a card with your name on it. This will help you find your place in line and provides information for the photographer. Once you are in line, you are ready to walk the stage.
Graduating senior Robert Nunez and many other soon-to-be graduates probably share similar feelings of anticipation.

The ceremonies begin here in the Strahan Coliseum on December 13th. For more information on how you can prepare, contact Academic Services. 

What’s the first image that pops into your head when you think of “Britney Spears”? For many, it’s the sex kitten Britney we saw dancing with a snake or kissing Madonna. Men and women alike lusted over her as the sexiest pop star of the time. Things have changed though, and while she’s still young and beautiful, the Britney of today is different than the Britney of over a decade ago. Whether it’s because of her kids, her self-image, or a combination of that and more, she’s made it clear that she no longer feels she fits that role.

In 2013, we saw Britney take on a new project and make a family-friendly music video for the Smurfs 2 movie. What we got was a video where she looked more energetic, more passionate, and more excited to perform than we had in years.

Her next music video was Work B**ch, and while it’s arguably the best music video she’s made since Circus, in the more risqué scenes she was visibly uncomfortable. Then during promotions for Work Bitch, she let it slip that she only acts sexy to keep up with her brand. She later dismissed what she said to avoid a media outrage, but her message was understood. At this point, trying to get Britney to still be that 20-year-old vixen is like trying to put a square peg in a round hole. It’s just not working.

So where does she go from here? Even if she wanted to only release music like Ooh La La, I would support her if we could see that she was happy. We all want her to continue with her career, but it would be cruel to make her do something she is not passionate about. There are ways to release good music without having to constantly exude sex, and I have faith that if she lets go of her current image she can make it happen.

There have been rumors that she wants a rock sound for her next album, and I hope she gets what she wants. While we cannot dictate completely what kind of music she releases, it’s still fun to to speculate. What would you like to see from her in the future?

Soon this room will be filled with voting booths where Texas State University students will be able to cast their ballots from the convenience of their own university. 

According to the United States Census Bureau, adults aged 18 to 29 make up almost one-fourth of the voters, yet turnout rates are among the lowest in this age group.



Some Texas State students say having polls on campus is a convenience.
 

You can vote in many locations in Hays County starting on October 24th, but if you want to vote on the Texas State campus you can do so from October 27th through the 30th at 11 a-m to 7 p-m in the L-B-J ballroom. 
The general election is Tuesday, November fourth. For more information on voting locations, visit the Hays County Government website. 

For Bobcat Update, I’m John Wilkinson.

The tick population is on the rise! With the rise in population, there has also been a rise in tick-borne diseases. It can even be difficult to determine if you are suffering from the diseases they carry because tick bite symptoms share many characteristics as flu symptoms.

Ticks are unlike fleas because they do not jump on you. Ticks attach to people by waiting on grass blades and brushes with their legs sticking out, waiting for a host to brush by them so they can latch on. This means they can be in your lawn’s grass or in its shrubbery, so when you, your kids, or pets play in the yard they can bring back ticks with them! This is alarming because tick’s can carry several diseases that can be transferred to humans if they aren’t removed in time.

There are really four major categories of tick diseases, viral, bacterial, protozoan, and toxic:

Bacterial

Lyme Disease

Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Relapsing fever

Typhus

Ehrlichiosis anaplasmosis

Tularemia

Viruses

Tick-borne meningoencephalitis

Colorado tick fever

Protozoa

Babesiosis

Cytauxzoonosis

Toxin

Tick paralysis

If you think you’ve been bitten by a tick, look for the following tick bite symptoms to determine if you need to go to the doctor immediately.

Fever

Coughing

Fatigue

Muscle or Joint Pain

Altered Mental State

Paralysis

Remove the tick immediately. Carefully using tweezers, grasp the tick near its head or mouth and then pull gently to remove the whole tick without crushing it.

Keep the tick in a container. Keep it in your freezer so that your doctor can see the tick if you develop signs or symptoms of illness. This may help him determine the issue.

Wash your hands Using soap and water, wash your hands and the area around the tick bite after handling the tick.

Call your doctor if you aren’t able to completely remove the tick.

So what can you do to prevent ticks from being in your yard? There are several pest control options, but we recommend a natural solution that will kill the ticks without killing beneficial insects like butterflies that live in your yard, and (most importantly), causing harm to the pets and family you love. We recommend using Wondercide as the best option to prevent a tick infestation because it’s safe and powerful.

View full blog at https://blog.wondercide.com/different-tick-bite-symptoms-and-diseases/

Natural tick spray is all about routine maintenance, but many people wonder how Flea & Tick Control for Pets + Home fits into their current lifestyle. Natural products will help your dog live a happier and healthier life in the long run, so we want to share with you some ideal times to spray your dog and prevent or kill ticks naturally:

Once your dog is clean and looking good, you’ve got a fresh start to keep him totally pristine. Why not dry him off, spray him down, and ensure he’s protected from fleas and ticks, too? Flea & Tick Control for Pets + Home is made from cedar oil and comes in fresh cedar and cedar & lemongrass scents, so your dog will smell like a fresh forest when you use this natural tick spray.

Before a walk is a great time to spray your dog because cedar works as a powerful, natural repellent to ticks. Spraying him down before your walk helps to create a barrier that keeps the ticks away and prevents them from attaching easily.

If you forgot to spray your excited pup before the walk, spray him with Flea & Tick Control for Pets + Home after your walk to ensure that any ticks that may have hitched a ride are killed. Flea & Tick Pets + Home is not only a repellent, but it is also a fast-acting, contact-kill solution. So, spray the ticks, and they will die within minutes. That way, ticks don’t end up on your furniture, yourself or your pet!

These tips on timing can help you easily incorporate natural tick spray into you and your Wonderpup’s routine. You will find that since it’s easy to apply and so versatile, it can easily become your favorite tick control solution!

View full blog at https://blog.wondercide.com/3-tips-for-when-to-use-natural-tick-spray/

While it may be warmer here in Austin, we know it’s been very cold throughout the rest of the U.S. Here’s a list of five tips for pet health in cold weather from the ASPCA!

1. During the winter, outdoor cats sometimes sleep under the hoods of cars. When the motor is started, the cat can be injured or killed by the fan belt. If there are outdoor cats in your area, bang loudly on the car hood before starting the engine to give the cat a chance to escape.

2. Never let your dog off the leash on snow or ice, especially during a snowstorm; dogs can lose their scent and easily become lost. More dogs are lost during the winter than during any other season, so make sure yours always wears ID tags, just in case.

3. Thoroughly wipe off your dog’s legs and stomach when he comes in out of the sleet, snow, or ice. He can ingest salt, antifreeze, or other potentially dangerous chemicals while licking his paws, and his paw pads may also bleed from snow or encrusted ice.

4. Never shave your dog down to the skin in winter, as a longer coat will provide more warmth. When you bathe your dog in the colder months, be sure to completely dry him before taking him out for a walk. Own a short-haired breed? Consider getting him a coat or sweater with a high collar or turtleneck with coverage from the base of the tail to the belly. For many dogs, this is regulation winter wear.

5. Never leave your dog or cat alone in a car during cold weather. A car can act as a refrigerator in the winter, holding in the cold and causing your beloved pet to freeze to death.

Also, if your dog is itching and scratching from the dry winter air, try out our amazing Skin Tonic Spray. This organic spray provides fast-acting itch relief powered by neem oil. It’s a Wondercide team favorite!

For more tips on cold weather, visit the ASPCA website. And stay warm!

View full blog at https://blog.wondercide.com/pet-health-5-cold-weather-tips-from-the-aspca/

All over the country, fleas & ticks are coming out sooner and staying around longer due to the hot weather. Typically, fleas without hosts are killed off when the weather gets colder, but it didn’t get cold enough in much of the southern United States this year.

Warmer weather has many pet owners applying flea & tick topicals (aka spot drops)  treatments to their pets because of the increased pest pressure. But, these products can have harsh effects without much payoff. Many users are reporting the treatments are no longer effective at keeping fleas off of their pets.

The spot drop treatments are put onto your pet’s skin and absorbed into their blood stream, then the fleas must first bite the pet, ingest the pets blood that now contains the chemicals, and then they finally die after the chemicals have attacked their nervous system. The fleas are not repelled by the treatment at all, so you will continue to have fleas around your pet and yourself. Plus, some fleas are building resistance to these conventional pesticides.

With the increasing pest pressure across the US, many pet parents are choosing other forms of protection from fleas & ticks. Wondercide’s powerful flea control, Flea & Tick Control for Pets + Home, kills by contact, and unlike topical treatments, it repels fleas to help prevent them from ever reaching your pet in the first place. It works faster than topical treatments because there’s no wait time for any chemicals to seep into their system. Wondercide natural flea control is a simple spray that protects your pet as a repellent and kills fleas & ticks. Most importantly, the toxin-free product is safe for your pet and your family, too.

This warmer weather is also allowing for fleas and ticks to thrive in pet owner’s yards. This is why treating your lawn for pests is just as important as treating your pet with natural flea control. Controlling the environment where your pet lives reduces their risk of exposure to fleas & ticks. Wondercide Flea & Tick Control for Yard + Garden is a natural way to rid your yard of fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, and other pests. Just like all of Wondercide’s products, it’s effective and safe.

While we can’t control the weather, we can control how we respond to its effects. Choosing a safe & effective natural product like Wondercide to control fleas & ticks is the smart choice for a healthy and happy pet, family, home, and earth!

View full blog at https://blog.wondercide.com/natural-flea-control-vs-topicals/

Natural tick spray is an easy and effective solution for repelling ticks, but for some people using a product like Wondercide Flea & Tick Control for Pets + Home is a completely new concept. It differs from how traditional spot-drop treatments are applied and used. Since natural tick spray can help your dog live longer and stay healthier by staving off Lyme disease and avoiding toxins, we’d like to offer some tips for making Flea & Tick Pets + Home a part of you and your dog’s lifestyle:

There’s the saying “out of sight; out of mind,” and this can definitely be true for natural tick spray. Because this is a natural product, the key to its effectiveness is routine spraying. Flea & Tick Control for Pets + Home is non-systemic (does not enter your dog’s bloodstream like other conventional pesticide products). That’s why keeping Flea & Tick Control for Pets + Home near your pup’s leash will be a helpful reminder to repel ticks by spraying before going on a walk. It will get your pup used to the routine, too!

Flea & Tick Control for Pets + Home works by creating a barrier around your dog so that ticks are repelled before even reaching your dog. However, if you simply spray your dogs fur and let the natural tick spray sit on top of the fur, but it does not reach the skin, its effectiveness for repelling ticks can be lowered. This is why you should rub your dog’s coat in the opposite direction of growth to make sure the natural tick spray reaches your dog’s skin and can create an effective barrier from ticks.

This is related to tip #2 and making sure the product penetrates all areas of the skin. Once the product is sprayed onto your dog, give your dog a massage to make sure it spreads all over their body. Dogs love bonding with their owners, and the greatest way to bond with them is by taking them on a walk. Adding a massage in beforehand will only add to the experience that they enjoy so much.

As long as routine maintenance is exercised when applying Flea & Tick Control for Pets + Home, you can easily repel ticks and do it safely. This natural tick spray will help you and your dog avoid all the side effects associated with conventional pesticides and help to give your dog a long and healthy life.

View full blog at https://blog.wondercide.com/3-tips-for-using-natural-tick-spray/

For many people, fall is their favorite time of year because as the weather changes new fall trends and favorites begin to appear. At Shop LC, we celebrate all the great things of fall! Here are our six favorites:

MOSAIC

From your home decor to your jewelry, Mosaics make a big impact this season. This pattern adds dimension to any piece you care to display.

FALLEN LEAVES

Leaves are always the first sign that fall has arrived, and Nature’s D’Or captures that with leaves overlaid in brilliant metals.

AMERICANA

Many designers are finding inspiration from all things Americana. From turquoise and feathers to red, white and blue, pride for the USA is going to be a big hit.

FALL CLASSICS

Some trends are always in style, including October and November’s birthstones, opal and citrine. Then there’s our favorite trend—staying warm! Deck out your home with a blanket for every room, just in case.

ROYAL BLUE

When Shop LC was invited to Zang Toi’s ‘Brilliant Royal Blue’ show during 2017’s Fall Fashion Week, we fell in love with this versatile blue color that you can wear for almost any occasion.

GIFT GIVING

With many birthdays during the autumn months and Christmas quickly approaching, fall is one of the biggest times of the year for gift giving. Great gifts can help make memories that will last a lifetime. Check out the online auctionsfor even more ways to save!

Indulge in the joys of fall with great trends and timeless favorites. What’s your favorite part of fall? Let us know in the comments!

View full blog at https://blog.shoplc.com/fall-trends-2017/

One thing we noticed about 2017’s gemstone trends is that most are refreshes of classic beauties we’ve loved for years. This year’s trends are all about earthy tones and muted hues that make pairing easy and never go out of style. This is a refreshing change for anyone who’s looking for something new but wants a look that’s going to last.

Here are some of our favorite gemstone trends this year:

IRIDESCENCE

Unassuming stones that surprise with every turn!
At one angle, iridescent gemstones may look like your ordinary opaque stones, but as soon as a flash of light hits them they radiate with a kaleidoscope of colors you won’t expect.
Where to find it:
—Rainbow Moonstone
—Welo Opal
—White Opal
—Boulder Opal
—Labradorite

BLUSH PINKS

A soft, pastel shade with a touch of feminine beauty.
Everywhere you turn these days, there’s a designer praising the name ‘millennial pink’. While blush pinks are reminiscent of one of the most popular colors at the turn of the century, this version has a touch of tongue-and-cheek. They’re aware of our by-gone styles and are here to do it better than ever.
Where to find it:
—Rose Quartz
—Peruvian Pink Opal
—Kunzite
—Pink Tourmaline
—Marropino Morganite

NEXT GENERATION TURQUOISE

The color you love in refreshing new gemstones.
Likely the boldest color in our collection, the turquoise has been a fan-favorite of the Southwest for decades. Now you can look mean in blue-green in a number of different gemstones that each bring a unique twist as next generation turquoise.
Where to find it:
—Larimar
—Chrysocolla
—Apatite

GREENERY

Named 2017’s Color of the Year, this shade is one of the hottest trends!
Each year, a certain company picks a color that represents the state of the world at that time. With technology ever changing and the world in a head-spin, Greenery is the perfect color to take us back to our roots.
Where to find it:
—Peridot
—Jade
—Canadian Ammolite

BLACK BEAUTIES

Chic and mysterious, these dark stones add a touch of drama.
Everyone knows a little black dress is a must in every wardrobe. The same can be said about a little black gemstone since these black beauties can be worn at almost any event, occasion, or time of year. Flattering on any skin tone and with any look, black stones are a staple for any collection.
Where to find it:
—Onyx
—Black Jade
—Black Tourmaline

METALLICS

Mixing metals is faux pas no more!
Gone are the days when you would be ridiculed for wearing more than one metal, mixing and matching metals is now considered chic. Pair various metallics for a unique look all your own.
Where to find it:
—Silver
—Gold
—Stainless Steel

COLORLESS CRYSTALS

Classic without color, these timeless stones add sparkle and shine to any look.
Colorless crystals will dress up any look without distraction. Bright and bold, or soft and sweet. No matter what your clothes are saying, these clear stones will dress up any look without distraction.
Where to find it:
—Clear Quartz
—Diamond

WARM TONES

Get in touch with nature with warm tones reminiscent of earth.
Dark oranges and beautiful browns complete this collection. Adding often-ignored warm tones to your outfit will give your look something unique without making you feel like you’re shouting “I’m different!” from the mountaintops.
Where to find it:
—Jasper
—Agate
—Geode
—Baltic Amber
—Smoky Quartz

Wear these trends with pride, and you’ll soon be your social circles go-to for all things fresh and new. Online auctions offer a great way to discover these and many more exciting gemstones!

View full blog at https://blog.shoplc.com/gemstone-trends-2017/