Thursday, March 17, 2011
I'm Old, and I Could Die from Stress!!
Every day at work leaves me laughing about something crazy that happens. Today was an 80-something-year-old couple, babysitting their son and daughter-in-law's old dog for a couple of days. Apparently Grandma felt that the dog needed a little special TLC to make him feel better. Now, her son is an apparently wealthy attorney. And conveniently, he has a credit card on file for emergencies, for when he is out of town. Now Grandma came in today, with a list of demands to make the dog's life more comfortable. And kindly reminded me that when both her son and daughter-in-law drive $100,000 cars, he should be able to afford a few hundred dollars for his pooch. When I asked her if she'd like me to call her son to get the charges pre-approved, she gave me a look of shocked horror, grabbed her chest, and said..."Seeing this dog uncomfortable is stressing me out....and I'm old. My heart is old. And I could die from this kind of stress!!" Then she winked, and continued... "I raised my son to treat his dog better than this. If he needs some cash to cover the treatments, I'd recommend that his sorry self sells one of the Porsches!"
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Yummy Veggies!!
I decided to make pasta & veggies for dinner tonight. We have really been in the mood for fresh veggies lately. I used about 2 cups of chopped broccoli florets and 2 yellow summer squash. We didn't eat any meat tonight. I love to make simple pasta dishes because they are tasty and fresh. You can use really any veggies--asparagus, peppers, carrots, etc. I typically use bowtie pasta.
I started by boiling my bowtie pasta. While that was cooking I started my veggies. I peeled and minced 4 fresh garlic cloves. I chopped up 2 cups of broccoli florets and 2 yellow summer squash. I cut the squash into about 1" thick pieces because we don't like it mushy. I heated a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in my wok on medium-high heat and let the garlic cook for about a minute until it was just turning golden. Then I added the veggies and sauteed them about 4 minutes until tender-crisp. I added a little seasoning salt, garlic & herb seasoning, black pepper, fresh grated parmesan and tossed in the pasta. Yum.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Fresh Produce is Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!!
I also got to use my new reusable bags. They are just 2 that fit neatly inside the cart. I LOVED them as much as I thought I would. Gaze upon their awesomeness HERE and see where to buy.
Friday, March 11, 2011
DEATH TO PANDA BEARS
I began the drive home, and when I was driving down the highway I noticed that my food smelled a little funny. I opened up the box and discovered that my box contained fried rice (GROSS) and mandarin chicken. Now excuse me but I didn't order that. However, it would have been a HUGE hassle and a 30-minutes round trip just to go back and get the right meal. With the current price of gas these days, the gas money would have probably cost more than the food.
Panda Express, if you're reading this, I WISH DEATH TO PANDA BEARS!!!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Just Another Day at the Office
There's one thing that's always been true about my job. No two days are the same! Now you may wonder why there is a picture of a baby peacock in all its shiny blue and green glory on my blog post when I work at a dog/cat only practice. Well....
Today started out normally. Everything was going well until a patient (aka dog) that had been hospitalized for several days collapsed in the dog-yard during his morning potty walk and...died. The dog had been sick for several months, and a TON of different doctors, ultrasound specialists, radiologists, internists, etc. had not been able to diagnose exactly what was wrong with him. Once we got the go-ahead from the client, we performed a necropsy on the dog. Since it was a busy day and the dog was being sent out for a group cremation, the Dr. decided not to suture the dog closed after taking samples from the body cavity. We bagged up the dog and stuck him in the holding freezer. That's when the client's agent called (yes, to add to the story, he is one famous dude) to inform us that he and his band had decided to come and "view the body." Unfortunately by this time the dog had been in the freezer for a few hours. And, oh yeah, his intestines and organs were hanging out. What a peaceful way to see Fido for the last time.
With about 25 minutes to go, we RAN back to pull the dog (name withheld due to doggie HIPAA, lol!) out of the freezer. His frosty little paws were not a good sign. We placed his abdomen on heating pads, so that the skin would be pliable enough for us to stick his guts back inside and staple him shut. Also his face had frozen into a funny position so heating pads were stuck there, too. His ventral abdomen (the bottom side) was covered in gut goo and some other bodily fluids had leaked out and frozen by then as well, so the next thing you know there is a dead, partially frozen dog in the bathtub getting a full-on spa treatment. Just for the record, it is super creepy to bathe and blow-out a dead animal. By this time we are all laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.
Enter, PEACOCK!! A girl comes running in the front door, and says, "There is a peacock on the highway!!! We are feeding it a bagel but it is trying to cross the street and we aren't sure what to do with it!!" The next thing you know my boss is running out the door to catch the peacock. I'm unsure how that whole chase went, but about the time Mr. Famous and his band pull up, she is running back in the door with a clucking peafowl in her arms. Somehow we all managed to pull a straight face, and it's a good thing this dude always shows up stoned...otherwise I'm sure he would have caught the undertones of hysterical laughter. We were all barely containing snorts of laughter.
At the end of the day Mr. Famous got to see his dog, "sleeping" peacefully, the peacock was contained, and everything was ok but WHAT A RIDE!!!! I guess that's why I stay in this field; it is certainly never boring. It makes me laugh inside when I tell people I work in an animal hospital and they say..."Awwww....it must be so much fun to get paid to play with puppies all day!!"
There's one thing that's always been true about my job. No two days are the same! Now you may wonder why there is a picture of a baby peacock in all its shiny blue and green glory on my blog post when I work at a dog/cat only practice. Well....
Today started out normally. Everything was going well until a patient (aka dog) that had been hospitalized for several days collapsed in the dog-yard during his morning potty walk and...died. The dog had been sick for several months, and a TON of different doctors, ultrasound specialists, radiologists, internists, etc. had not been able to diagnose exactly what was wrong with him. Once we got the go-ahead from the client, we performed a necropsy on the dog. Since it was a busy day and the dog was being sent out for a group cremation, the Dr. decided not to suture the dog closed after taking samples from the body cavity. We bagged up the dog and stuck him in the holding freezer. That's when the client's agent called (yes, to add to the story, he is one famous dude) to inform us that he and his band had decided to come and "view the body." Unfortunately by this time the dog had been in the freezer for a few hours. And, oh yeah, his intestines and organs were hanging out. What a peaceful way to see Fido for the last time.
With about 25 minutes to go, we RAN back to pull the dog (name withheld due to doggie HIPAA, lol!) out of the freezer. His frosty little paws were not a good sign. We placed his abdomen on heating pads, so that the skin would be pliable enough for us to stick his guts back inside and staple him shut. Also his face had frozen into a funny position so heating pads were stuck there, too. His ventral abdomen (the bottom side) was covered in gut goo and some other bodily fluids had leaked out and frozen by then as well, so the next thing you know there is a dead, partially frozen dog in the bathtub getting a full-on spa treatment. Just for the record, it is super creepy to bathe and blow-out a dead animal. By this time we are all laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation.
Enter, PEACOCK!! A girl comes running in the front door, and says, "There is a peacock on the highway!!! We are feeding it a bagel but it is trying to cross the street and we aren't sure what to do with it!!" The next thing you know my boss is running out the door to catch the peacock. I'm unsure how that whole chase went, but about the time Mr. Famous and his band pull up, she is running back in the door with a clucking peafowl in her arms. Somehow we all managed to pull a straight face, and it's a good thing this dude always shows up stoned...otherwise I'm sure he would have caught the undertones of hysterical laughter. We were all barely containing snorts of laughter.
At the end of the day Mr. Famous got to see his dog, "sleeping" peacefully, the peacock was contained, and everything was ok but WHAT A RIDE!!!! I guess that's why I stay in this field; it is certainly never boring. It makes me laugh inside when I tell people I work in an animal hospital and they say..."Awwww....it must be so much fun to get paid to play with puppies all day!!"
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Monday, March 7, 2011
A Little South Florida Remix
Jamaican Banana Bread
Cooking spray
2 tbsp stick margarine, softened
2 tbsp tub light cream cheese, softened
1 c sugar
1 large egg
2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 c mashed ripe banana
1/2 c skim milk
2 tbsp dark rum or 1/4 tsp imitation rum extract
1/2 tsp grated lime rind
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 c flaked sweetened coconut
1/4 c packed brown sugar
2 tsp margarine
2 tsp lime juice
2 tsp dark rum or 1/8 tsp imitation rum extract
2 tsp chopped pecans, toasted
2 tbsp flaked sweetened coconut
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat an 8"x4" loaf pan with cooking spray; set aside
Beat 2 tbsp margarine and cream cheese at medium speed; add 1 c sugar, beat well. Add egg; beat well.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir well. Combine banana and the next 5 ingredients (banana through vanilla), stir well. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, alternatively with banana mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, mix after each addition. Stir in 1/4 c pecans and 1/4 c coconut.
Pour batter into prepared pan; bake at 375 for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, remove from pan. Let cool slightly on a wire rack.
Combine brown sugar and 2 tsp each margarine, lime juice, and rum or extract in a saucepan; bring to simmer. Cook 1 minute; stir constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in t tbsp each pecans and coconut, spoon over loaf.
Cooking spray
2 tbsp stick margarine, softened
2 tbsp tub light cream cheese, softened
1 c sugar
1 large egg
2 c all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 c mashed ripe banana
1/2 c skim milk
2 tbsp dark rum or 1/4 tsp imitation rum extract
1/2 tsp grated lime rind
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c chopped pecans, toasted
1/4 c flaked sweetened coconut
1/4 c packed brown sugar
2 tsp margarine
2 tsp lime juice
2 tsp dark rum or 1/8 tsp imitation rum extract
2 tsp chopped pecans, toasted
2 tbsp flaked sweetened coconut
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Coat an 8"x4" loaf pan with cooking spray; set aside
Beat 2 tbsp margarine and cream cheese at medium speed; add 1 c sugar, beat well. Add egg; beat well.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; stir well. Combine banana and the next 5 ingredients (banana through vanilla), stir well. Add flour mixture to creamed mixture, alternatively with banana mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture, mix after each addition. Stir in 1/4 c pecans and 1/4 c coconut.
Pour batter into prepared pan; bake at 375 for 50 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pan 10 minutes, remove from pan. Let cool slightly on a wire rack.
Combine brown sugar and 2 tsp each margarine, lime juice, and rum or extract in a saucepan; bring to simmer. Cook 1 minute; stir constantly. Remove from heat. Stir in t tbsp each pecans and coconut, spoon over loaf.
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