When pets start to look like their owners

I swear I found Rasta like this!  I think he was trying to hack my Myspace, Facebook, or even my blog!

I am Beethoven!

I LOVE Craigslist!  For months I've been searching for an affordable baby grand piano in good condition.  Last September, I was very surprised to find this bad boy for only $100, NOT including the piano movers Alan found later ($175 extra, still not a bad price considering the GREAT condition of the piano).  But after all was said and done, this turned out to be my early birthday present from Alan!  I must say, this is the best present I've gotten for my birthday.  I play it almost everyday!

Yes, we realize it was painted a lime green.  But after we are done restoring it, it's going to be quite a gem!!!!!!!!

Congratulations Deb and Eddie!

Congratulations newlyweds, Deb and Eddie Montano!  Unfortunately, I don't have a pic w/ the bride AND groom to share, this is what happens when there's a bottle of Stoli Vanilla Vodka and a SUV limo filled w/ party people... I forget my camera!

Happy ER nurse week!

My friend from work, Debbie Goodchild, wrote the following poem in honor of Emergency Nurses Week 2008.  I thought it was perfect!!

Eternity - How long a shift lasts.

Morphine - The most requested drug in the ER.

Emergency Room - A place to go when you are too busy to call your Doctor.

Recurring Pain - What frequent fliers have.

Geriatrics - What family members of elderly consider a reason for hospitalization.

Excuses - Te most often thing hear in the ER.

Nurses - Your personal servant while in the ER.

Cardiac Arrest - God's way of recycling.

Yellow - The color of most body fluids seen in the ER.

React - What ER staff does when an ambulance arrives.

Overreact - What most patients and family do.

Overtime - Expected daily occurrence.

Moron - Anyone who thinks that ER medicine is just a profession, when we all know it's a way of life.

All Dogs Go to Heaven

1997 - 2008

It is with deep sympathy to announce the passing of Cappuccino "Cino" Reglos.  He lost his short battle with cancer at 11 years old.  He is now reunited with his sister, Happy...

cousin, Cookie (below),

Peaches (below)

Muffy (below)

and Goldie (below)

Cino leaves behind his brother, Eddie.

Dog fight and stitches

Lucy has been on a crazy jealousy rampage where she will full on attack poor little Fred at any little growl, regardless Fred will tear her up!  And when I say tear her up, I mean he will grab onto her face and not let go.  The end result is never pretty, hence her new temporary nickname Scabs.  Well, Alan and I have been monitoring her closely, watching for any sign she is going to attack Fred, and divert her attention before any attacking happens.

One morning, I was by myself and had my back turned for a second.  Mind you, she was on good behavior for a week.  Anyways... I heard Fred growl at Rasta for his rawhide and Lucy attacked.  And attacked, and attacked.  Fred fought back.  Lucy was pinned down with Fred on top so I decided to pull Fred off.  Lucy accidentally grabbed my arm and clamped down.  The shock that she had my arm in her mouth and the soreness that followed were all I could remember.  

I managed to lock Lucy up in the bathroom to separate them.  I took off my fleece sweater to find a 1 1/2 inch gash on my left forearm with the subcutaneous fat coming out!  Thank God for shock!!!!!!!!  My arm started shaking and I started to panic.  Maybe I could use steri strips for this!  Maybe I could use Dermabond to close it!  I couldn't... I had to go to the ER.  I called John and all I remember crying to him was "I got bit by Lucy, there's fat coming out of my arm!"  "I'm on my way" he said.  From the time I hung up till his arrival, I managed to notify Alan of the incident, take a shower, and put on most of my make up (with one functional arm).  John has a love for Friends and can remember each and every episode.  Upon finding me in my room putting on my make up calmly, he referred to me as Rachel.

It was my day off, and I was at work again.  I had to file a dog bite report, was triaged, and escorted myself into my own room.  I was scared of the lidocaine shot that would make stitches tolerable.  From what I've seen, it looks soooo painful.  Mind over matter, my friends.  Unfortunately, before my arrival, the ER had just received 5 runs for 1 doctor.  So it took 1 hour for Dr Canby to see me.  And the lidocaine wasn't bad at at all, literally a little poke (I usually say that to my patients, but I know it must feel worse most times).

My prize... 5 blue stitches and an Rx for Keflex 4 times a day and Vicodin.  Score!  Not bad for a traumatic morning!

Bad Luck Truck

I thought I was being a good best friend by borrowing Alan's truck to deliver Stink's new headboard from Oxnard to North Hollywood.  And I thought I would also be a good girlfriend by driving responsibly and return the truck safe, unharmed, and with more gas than when I started off.  Well, 1 out of 2 isn't so bad.

First, it took me and Stink 25 minutes of sweating and trying to coordinate each other across a street, up stairs, through a lobby, and into an elevator while carrying her cardboard-wrapped headboard.  Afterwards, we put her bed together, then walked down the street for some ice cream.  Little did I know when I returned to the truck, damage was discovered.  

I saw a note on the windshield, then looked down and saw tons of broken glass.  "Oh shit, someone broke into Alan's truck!" was my first thought.  After much detective work, I found all of the windows intact.  "Where the hell did all this glass come from?"  I read the note "I collided w/ your vehicle..." was all I read.  I called Alan to let him know what happened and reassured him the only thing wrong was his left headlight, which took him a month to fix.  I gave him the details from the note and called Stink to let her know what happened.  I almost drove off until she offered to come back out to take pics.  

It turns out that the lady who hit the truck was going too fast around the corner and slammed her car head on into the parked truck.  The neighbors came out and wrote down her license number in case she tried to drive off.  Well, she drove off!  But... she came back, in another car.  She left all her informations on the note and left.  She just totalled her brand new Infiniti.  Turns out, she bent the truck frame and Alan's truck ended up totalled as well.  He was due for a new one anyways...