It's Be Kind to Animals Week! Did you know that? You may know the American Humane Association best as the group that oversees animal use during filming and bestows the "No Animals Were Harmed" disclaimer at the end of shows and movies, but they are very involved in advocacy for not only animals, but also children- society's most vulnerable members. Anyway, they started this special week and it's a lovely opportunity to step back and reflect on what we are doing right, and what we could be doing ... Read more »
Blog
Stay bloodthirsty, my friends
I couldn't figure out why every single babysitter on our list turned us down for Saturday , and then I realized- oh, it's Cinco de Mayo, otherwise known as A Good Day for Tacos and Cervezas here in San Diego. No self respecting college kid would be at home. In honor of the occasion, I'm going to whip up some Brody's Surf Shack Fish Tacos, crack open a Dos Equiis, and oh yes, put a sombrero on the dog. *cue music* He walks himself...because no one can do it better. Cats hate him ... Read more »
A brief deviation
I'm not really a football fan. Let me say that from the start. I married a hardcore Chargers fan, so I tolerate it out of necessity, but it's never been a game I had an attachment to. But I was a Junior Seau fan. I grew up in Oceanside, Junior's hometown, and our little town couldn't be more proud of his success. He would come to high school pep rallies. He took care of his family and friends and neighbors and was actively involved in philanthropy. You couldn't find a single person willing ... Read more »
Hiking With Brody: The Snack Factor
I can't exercise on a full stomach. I feel gross, unenergized, and dull as all my energy is taken up with trying to digest. But I also can't go on nothing- I mean, I can, but it's not the most high energy workout. I've spent a lot of time testing out different pre-exercise nutritional choices, from nothing, to just coffee, to smoothies and Power Bars and have finally hit upon the right combination. It has to be either the mango macadamia Honest Bar, or half a banana. Nothing else will do. And it ... Read more »
The Realtor, by Edgar Labby Koe
Once upon a midday dreary, home from working, weak and weary, Staring with resentment at the “For Sale” sign perched near the door, While I Facebooked, blogged and Tweeted, on the sofa, softly seated, Suddenly I felt quite heated, heated staring at the floor. “Tis an old juice box,” I muttered, “sitting crumpled on the floor- Garbage there, it makes me sore.” Ah, so clearly I recall that it was in the chill of fall, And each separate messy creature wrought its carnage on the ... Read more »
Dr V at the movies: Chimpanzee- GO SEE IT!
As you all know, I am a chimpanzee fan. I had planned my bucket list trip to see chimpanzees before this movie was ever announced; I've toyed with the idea of making primate medicine a career; I got emotional and weepy when I heard Jane Goodall speak for the first time. I don't think I ever posted this snippet from October because it looks like a bad outtake from Blair Witch: Africa, but my eyes were THAT WIDE because it was seriously that cool. So needless to say, I had high expectations ... Read more »
Happy National Hairball Awareness day!
It's National Hairball Awareness day, and Snooki and I would like to remind you all of the importance of good deshedding on your pets. So to celebrate, here are 3 reasons you should remember to groom your dog or cat regularly: 1. Having to tell a guest "Excuse me, you have a fur tumbleweed on your butt" is really embarrassing. 2. Stepping in a wet hacked up furball in the middle of the night is, short of stepping on a snail barefoot, one of the grossest things that can happen to you. ... Read more »
This is why I don’t travel with family
Passengers on a flight from Detroit were held aboard a plane at Chicago's Midway Airport for more than two hours after a female passenger was suspected of having monkeypox, officials said Thursday. The woman had been travelling in Uganda, according to officials, though they didn't say when. She boarded a flight from Detroit to Chicago and while on baord, developed a rash. A family member told flight attendants that they suspected this woman had monkeypox, so the Chicago Fire Department called ... Read more »
What to do with that leftover Vicodin hanging out in your cabinet (Not Craigslist, people.)
As a medical practitioner, I've been trained from day one to be excruciatingly careful with controlled substances at work. We painstakingly log every tenth of a cc of morphine, keep impeccable logs for the DEA, and keep all that stuff locked up tighter than the gold bars in the US Bullion Depository. We do it not because we like making our lives- and yours- all that more difficult, but because unfortunately controlled substance abuse is a huge problem. And many/ most of the controlled ... Read more »
How his holiness got me safely off the mountain. Kind of.
It wasn't until I almost passed out at the top of a mountain that I really understood how much I underestimated the effects of dehydration. I have the Dalai Lama to thank for this, you know. No, really. Sure, I knew hydration was important for everyone else, but I figured, meh, I can do without for a bit. When I went out hiking last week, I packed a little water bottle for Brody- he hikes with a fur coat on, after all, and filled my little Camelbak running pack and set it on the counter, ... Read more »
