I like retrospectives. It's a good opportunity to reminisce on what we did well (travel!) and perhaps those things we did not do so well (remain patient during the arduous relocation process, for example.) I'm glad the year is done. All's well that ends well, but man was it a slog for a good portion of the year. Like all things in life, the year's end is bittersweet, with a good thing and a bad thing I need to write about. But not today. Today, it's a day to reflect. And lest I spend the ... Read more »
Archives for 2012
Oh, the places you’ll go (like Pasadena)
I've loved watching the Rose Parade ever since I was a little kid- you know, when they aired it without commercials and Bob Eubanks and Stephanie Edwards were providing the commentary (wait, they still are? Wow.) And I've always wanted to see it in person, because it's like the Grandaddy of All Parades, but somehow I never convinced anyone else it was worth giving up New Year's Eve to go and line up at 4 am. This year I was even more excited about the parade because the Grand Marshal is Jane ... Read more »
The truth is out there
I've been leaving everyone to their own devices to figure this place out in the week since we've moved in. I've been too busy unpacking and Christmas-ing and tagine buying to coddle the cohabitants. The cat has figured out where the litterbox is (it took a while), the dogs are learning where they are supposed to sleep, and slowly but surely it is dawning on them that this is their new abode. There are different sounds to learn, a new territory to navigate. Apollo has to re-learn where the ... Read more »
A very merry holly jolly ho ho holiday
Visitors to Knott's Berry Farm, the redheaded stepchild of Anaheim amusement parks, are well familiar with Montezooma's Revenge, a nasty torture device masquerading as a roller coaster in the heart of jam-land. The ride is basically one long curlique. You get dragged up one side, shoot down through a loop, and zoom up a tower on the far side. You pause for one horrifying moment at a terrifying height, then slide back down the tower, backwards through the same loop, and then you crawl off to ... Read more »
We are Newtown
I haven't watched TV much this week. Between packing up the apartment and taking care of a really sick little dude, I've had plenty to keep me busy, but the reassuring background murmur of the TV isn't something I could bear this week when it was nonstop coverage of little ones' funerals. We've been watching Christmas DVDs instead, a distraction for me, and the only way I can keep my kids from overhearing news I'm not quite ready to explain to them. I knew right after the news started on ... Read more »
Wordless Wednesday: Pooped
One week in Orlando. Flew home to child with, I just learned today, strep throat. And we move on Friday. This is how I am feeling right now: And that includes all the hair and assorted detritus scattered about. ... Read more »
Celebrate Love
Friday, 11:30 am. I'm wandering the halls of the Orlando Convention Center as it's gearing up for this weekend's Celebrate Dogs event. I've already been there since Wednesday, working on a couple of projects before the main event, but now I'm just wrapping up interviews with Beatrice and Lambchop, otherwise known as: Stella on Modern Family; and Yakult on Suburgatory: I was really happy to get the chance to meet these celebrity dogs up close and personal. This is the first year the ... Read more »
The path to canine enlightenment
I'm a dog person. I've always said this. Which is why December is one of my favorite times of the year. I'm getting geared up for the big Celebrate Dogs event in Orlando this weekend. I'm really excited about the whole event, because in addition to the actual AKC/Eukanuba National Championship, they've really expanded the show to become one that encompasses all aspects of dog-dom way beyond the conformation ring. There's dock dogs, Super Dogs, Soccer Dogs, agility, obedience, and Meet the ... Read more »
One man wolf pack
I admit, sometimes I feel like a lone wolf out here in the veterinary world, wandering aimlessly in the backwoods of Facebook while my more distinguished colleagues do things like invent CPR simulator dogs and dart rhinos and perfect orthopedic surgeries. I, on the other hand, put aside the glory of a specialty and focused on becoming the best GP I could be. I did it quite well. I treated untold ear infections, spayed I don't know how many dogs, and saved too many carpets to count from the ... Read more »
Santa Baby
One of the little perks of doing what I do happens at Christmastime, when I get to go on Fox 5's local morning show with the Rancho Coastal Humane Society and present "A Dog's Holiday Wishlist." I don't have the video downloaded yet, but I'm working on it because it's really silly but also just fun. I'm with the anchor while each adoptable pet goes up to Santa. They (and by they, I mean one of the producers or camera guys behind the scenes talking in a goofy voice) tell Santa what they want for ... Read more »
Do you ever feel like a plastic bag
The call came yesterday evening, when I was sitting on the couch trying to block the sounds of the upstairs neighbor's daily dance exercises out of my cranium. He or she was dancing to "Firework" on this fine evening, jumping up and down to the beat on top of my head. Do you ever hate (jump) walls so paper thin (bump) Like the ceiling's bout (smash) to come caving in (crash) Neighbor you're a piece (thump thump) of work- (thump thump) C'mon let your ear (tap tap) drums burst - (splat ... Read more »
Next Step Baby Monitors: Exonerating pets since 2012
It's been a long time since I've needed a baby monitor. Not that long, mind you, but long enough that technology has apparently been soaring by me in leaps and bounds since the year I slept with static-y radio by my side. When I was asked by Next Step Baby monitors if I wanted to review their cameras to see what my dogs were up to while I was gone, I agreed, because oddly enough- and this never ever happens- my husband had JUST SAID "We really need a baby monitor or something to figure out ... Read more »
The Long Dark Tea Time of the Brode
This is my life right now: Commute kids to school. Get loan documents. Get more loan documents. Write. Provide more loan documents. I have done this house buying thing once or twice in my life, but it's never been like this. I get it, things are different now. But it feels almost violating, some random 20 something loan intern combing through the minutiae of your life's history, eyeing you with mistrust, as if YOU'RE the one responsible for the current housing mess. While our mortgage history ... Read more »
The 2012 Howliday Gift Guide is here!
Happy Holidays! I've been lucky enough to attend both Global Pet Expo and SuperZoo this year, skulking about the aisles in search of my favorite pet items of the year, and fortunately for us there was plenty to choose from. I've teamed up with the pet enthusiasts at Blog Paws to bring you some suggestions from the BlogPaws Great Gifts for Pets Holiday Gift Guide. (The guide in its entirety is viewable at the Blog Paws site.) Here are some of my favorites for under our tree, which if fate and the ... Read more »
Adopt the net: Transitioning a rescue pet into a new home
We, the collective animal loving internet, have done a great job of telling people to "Adopt, Don't Shop." We do it so much that people say it without thinking, assume without asking, and demand without discourse. Now, don't get me wrong: I absolutely support the concept, and this is why I am here writing a post today in honor of Petside's Pet Net Adoption Week. It's why I've adopted lots of pets over the years. But this is only half the equation. We tell people they should adopt, and why they ... Read more »
Have Fido, Will Travel
Heading out for the holidays with Fido or Fluffy in tow? Bringing your pet with you can be a great alternative to boarding or housesitting, as long as you plan ahead and make sure you are prepared with pet-friendly accommodations. There's few things worse than showing up at Grandma's, dog in tow, only to have her stare in horror at your dog and say, "I didn't know you were brining HIM," while pointedly stroking her Persian cat and glaring at you. Assuming you know what you're going to do when ... Read more »
I am grateful
Normally, I'd be spending today running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Thanksgiving is MY holiday, the one I normally host at my house. My mom gets Easter, my mother in law gets Christmas, but this is the one I take because I love going overboard on things like caramelized squash bisque and focaccia sage stuffing and pretty much every kind of turkey shaped serving dish one can own. Well, all the turkey shaped serving dishes are currently in a storage facility and I barely have ... Read more »
Awkward Massage is Awkward
So I made it back safe and sound from lovely Granda. The Technical Animal Rescue course was absolutely amazing and a fantastic program for anyone who is interested in animal rescue- but before I go into the water rescue, the ropes course, or all the exciting things World Vets is up to in Nicaragua, I promised Sarah I would share the story of the world's most awkward massage so my stories are going to be in reverse chronological order. The last day on our trip was a free day, to wind up loose ... Read more »