Those ornaments we were hanging on the lobby Christmas tree were glass. I really did think they were plastic. I am so very grateful to Brody for smashing one on the ground and sampling its shardy goodness on behalf of dogs everywhere, so we knew in advance before unleashing them on the general public. Way to take one for the team there Brode. I'm even more grateful to the tech who heard the ornament shatter and tackled him, sticking her hand down his throat to sweep out any offending bits ... Read more »
Daily Life
It’s done.
Brody is a eunuch. I had intended to wait it out until a year, but there were several reasons to do it now. One of the main ones being, I have a doggie daycare very close to work but they have to be neutered in order to go- and he NEEDS the stimulation! Plus the kids were asking too many questions about what he was doing with his dog bed the other night. I had intended to ask my boss to do the neuter, because I couldn't imagine the idea of something going awry and me being too distraught ... Read more »
You’re a bad one, Mr. Brode
You're a stinker, Mr. Brode. You really have some gall! You won't stop jumping on me And chasing kitty down the hall Mr. Broooooooo-ode I was going to wait until you were a year but I think I have no choice To go ahead and remove your balls! You're a rotter, Mr. Brode. You're the king of eating junk! Your belly's full of earplugs and your ears are full of gunk Mr. Broo-ode! The three words that best describe you are as follows and I quote: STINK, STANK, STUNK!!* *In a fit of pique ... Read more »
The 2009 Holiday Gift guide is here!
It took me the better part of two weeks to sort through everything, look though all the suggestions, and run a few items by Brody, but I finally came up with what I think is a fun selection of my favorite cat and dog items for 2009! (The Flash gallery is a new addition here, so be sure to click the little "i" in the corner in order to see the accompanying text.) [flagallery gid=2 name="Gallery"] There were so many great items out there that I couldn't fit them all into the gallery, so I'm ... Read more »
Preparing for the blow
As I'm assembling items for the holiday gift guide, it occurred to me that I am going to have to get a Christmas stocking for Brody. I always have stockings for my pets- and with 4 pets plus 4 people, we pretty much took up the entire mantel. On the heels of yesterday's post, it kind of sucker punched me yet again to think of what is going to happen when I open the box with all my pet stockings and stocking holders. Of the 4, I will have to pull three out. Three that I have lovingly hung and ... Read more »
Grace
I am, quite obviously, thankful I have Brody in my life. He is a joy and a delight and he makes me laugh every day, even when I'm cleaning up a mess or saying "Down Brody, Down Brody, DOWN Brody" x 1,000,000. I adore him. That being said, it's hard to say unequivocally that I can't imagine life without him- because the only reason I have Brody to love and spoil is because I lost the best dog I've ever known. It's very easy to imagine life without him, where lymphoma did not weasel its way ... Read more »
We’re ready- are you?
Brody heard me talking about "Thanksgiving GI upsets" in one breath and "early starts" in another, so he decided to go ahead a day early and greet me with a wee bit of explosive diarrhea of indeterminate origin this morning. And this without a single bite of turkey skin or cheese. Keep the bird up high, y'all. And have a great day! ... Read more »
Prepare for battle
In Valhalla, Kevin slumbers, fingers twitching intermittently to steal a tiny soul but as a whole, laying quiescent. The shortening days and the chill in the air tickles his nose, ending his long hibernation. He awakens. And he is hungry, the rotten jerk. I used to love the holidays, until I became a vet. I still love the holidays, but I hate working during them. Work is the opposite of merry and gay. Work is destruction and sadness, year after year and I can't explain why, bizarre in its ... Read more »
Thanksgiving treats
I'm kind of ready for Thanksgiving. I mean, sort of but not really, not the way I should be with the holiday just a couple nights away. I haven't even solidified the menu yet. I spent the weekend flipping though a library copy of the French Laundry cookbook looking for ideas for something a little extra special, but the idea of spending 4 hours on a crudite and having truffles fed-ex'd from Italy had me a little flummoxed, so I'm trolling the web for something somewhere between "instant ... Read more »
Saturday Sillies
Photo left over from my various workings on the calendar: (You have to read this line in the Dug from Up voice) I shared because I love you. ... Read more »
Gift guide? Gift guide!
I want to do a gift guide! Gift guides sound like so much fun! I've never done one before but I figure featuring a variety of items from stocking stuffers to ridiculously extravagant would be a blast. As it stands Brody is still eating out of an old metal dish my boss gave to me from her backyard (I can't bring myself to let him use Emmett's old bowl, am I a freak or what?) and sleeping in his crate. He's worked his rear off being the face of this blog the last half of the year so I think he ... Read more »
I know we’re in a healthcare crisis but….
I can't say I wasn't expecting it, since my technician warned me it would happen, but it still caught me off guard when a client pulled a picture of her toddler out of her purse and asked me if said toddler was allergic to her dog. I peered at the picture of her daughter. It was a photo of a typical looking girl, no eyes swollen shut, nothing out of the ordinary. "Well," I said hesitantly, "You need to ask your pediatrician." She looked blankly at me. "If it's a concern for you, there are ... Read more »
FYI
I have never seen I Am Legend, and based on the comments I got multiple times in the last entry- I never will. :D ... Read more »
Sap!
I thought that with age and wisdom we were supposed to become more jaded, more distinctly un-sentimental. In some aspects, this is true. For example, I can't watch one of those Disney princess movies without wanting to gag- I mean really, Prince Charming is kind of skeevy when you think about it: stalking women and throwing shoes at them, hints of necrophilia and the like. I look at my little scrapbook pile of love notes from high school and want to laugh and/or cry at my naive ... Read more »
Maybe they did have a good idea after all
My daughter is glued to the TV like a barnacle these days, announcing "I wish I had that," and then, "I wish I had that" every two seconds as the generous spirit of Christmas sinks its greedy talons into our daily programming. I suppose I could avoid this by not having the TV on at all, but ha ha, not in this lifetime. I haven't even thought about starting my holiday shopping, which is probably not smart, but that's always been the way I roll. Last minute central. I could only hope she didn't ... Read more »
calendar girl (guy)
Doing this calendar thing sapped pretty much my entire weekend. I'm not the most tech savvy person, so sitting with a bunch of raw files in Aperture and trying to figure out how to export, open in Photoshop, edit, manipulate, and reform into something visually appealing is a huge undertaking. But, I think the results are worth it! I will remind you for the record I had no intention of doing this but you asked for it, and I promised, so here you go. I did three versions (different sizes, but ... Read more »
We salute you
This week we commemorated Veteran's Day, honoring the men and women who have served our country so bravely. I live in a pretty military-focused area, so every time a ship returns from overseas the news is there to show the tearful reunions between service member and family. But they don't show what happens when they return home to greet the other family member who has been waiting so patiently to say hello. Fortunately the people over at Mental Floss were kind enough to ... Read more »
Time to go home!
I get on a plane to go back home tonight. This is a good thing. I miss, in no particular order, my kids, my pets, my husband, my bed, and my Keurig. I realized that I am not at all prepared for my role as Art Docent in my daughter's kindergarten class this Friday, so when I get home late tonight I have to immediately launch into tracing 30 yellow construction paper corncobs. There are many things I would rather do after staggering in the front door after a long week of learning, but ... Read more »
