Friday, April 22, 2011

Random Musings

This morning , I broke the crock pot. I was washing it and it slipped and a piece broke off when it hit the sink. I had the same thing happen with a light globe from the ceiling fan when I was cleaning it. Cleaning things is hazardous, and I should give it up.

Seeing a semi truck's grille when it turns into my lane when I'm driving a small car is scary. Seeing the words "student driver" on a banner across the grille may necessitate a change of underwear.

What the hell did the dog eat and why must he fart in the room I'm in?

Why must 2 of the most PITA clients come on the same day? And who did I piss off that made them show up at the same time?

It's bug season, and also flea and tick season. Be Ready.

I have to work double shifts and 6 days next week and I'm already getting cranky about it.

Happy Good Friday! Happy Earth Day! Happy Easter (my favorite holiday)!!

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Spa Therapy on Etsy- A Review

My skin is crankier than I am. Having battled acne in puberty and beyond, I'm now in that middle aged state of flux with occasional acne, wrinkling and sun damage. Finding that perfect balance between being an oil slick and a dry desert is a constant work in progress. Especially when the weather is being fickle.
One ingredient I've found that works well for me are moisturizers containing either pumpkin or pumpkin seed oil. I had found an awesome indie seller who made some of the best facial stuff containing pumpkin, along with some of the best soaps I've ever used. Unfortunately, she decided to close her shop, and I've been looking for replacements for my ever dwindling supply. I tried Mychelle's pumpkin products, and while I like them, they're pretty pricey, and I prefer to buy handcrafted.
I found Spa Therapy's Etsy shop doing a google search for moisturizers with pumpkin. The first thing that popped up was the Daily Facial Cream with pumpkin seed oil in the 2.4 oz size for $11.80, so I decided to check it out. Spa Therapy has been on Etsy since 2007 and with over 7,000 positive feedbacks, I decided to try it.
The site is typical for Etsy, with pictures of all the items and clear descriptions, along with the ingredients. Besides facial care, there are lip balms, body scrubs, perfume oils, body lotions and mists. bath and shaving soaps, and vegan deodorant. Since I wanted to sample, I ordered a facial travel pack (which isn't listed as I write this) and a full sized bar of  shaving soap in Sweet Blueberry.
Ordering was as usual with Etsy. I received an order confirmation and a shipping notice within the turnaround time stated. There was a handwritten thank you on the invoice, and a sample of body lotion in pink cupcake. Everything was well packed and none of the jars were leaking.
The travel pack was a small plastic bag with a button closure. It contained .5 ounce plastic jars of Velvet Face Daily Facial Cream, Night Repair Overnight Recovery Cream, Tea Tree and Papaya Clarifying facial scrub, and a small bar of  Patchouli Mint French Green Clay Face Soap. All you need with this package is some eye makeup remover, and you're good to go for facial skin care when you travel.
Patchouli Mint Face Soap-I like this. It takes off my face makeup and gets my face clean without it feeling stripped. Wonderful scent and not overpowering.
Tea Tree and Papaya Clarifying facial scrub-this stuff is WOW in a jar. If you've ever used any kind of papaya mask and marveled at it's drawing properties, you're going to love this. I put some on before I step in the shower in the morning and let it sit before I scrub. My face feels really clean and fresh and soft. Although it's a scrub, there's nothing harsh about it.
Velvet Face Daily Facial Cream- I'm in love. I like that it absorbs and moisturizes without feeling greasy, and my skin likes it. No obvious scent, which I like.
Night Repair-Nice, but not for me. It would be great for people with much drier skin than mine. I'm sure I'll be reaching for it when I've been outside in windy weather and my skin is parched.
Sweet Blueberry shaving soap-Those of you who have never used a good shaving soap have never experienced the joys of having the towel slide right off your legs after shaving. I've been looking for a good one since my usual source dried up, and I'm happy to say I've found it. Very creamy lathering and great razor slip, plus so moisturizing I don't have to apply lotion after I shave. Nicely scented (no fake flavoring scent here) but the scent is light enough not to clash with other scents.
The excellent customer service, good products at reasonable prices make Spa Therapy a shop I recommend. I've already made another order.

Monday, April 18, 2011

Who's Your Daddy?

Today, I get a call from a woman who asks me to look up her file and check records. This is a pretty routine call. I check her file and we haven't seen any of her pets for a couple of years.  Then she proceeds to get really rude and nasty and informs me that her dog that we neutered 2 years ago just fathered puppies. According to her, he was kenneled with her intact female and she's in the process of giving birth. And we're responsible for the costs, plus the female is having birthing complications.
So I put her on hold and go get Boss Man. He says "tell her to kiss my ass." Which I would like to do, but we obviously have to tell her something. Like an arrogant zit on a special occasion, she's not going away any time soon. So I tell her to bring the male dog in for us to check him.
For the uninitiated, when we neuter a cat or dog we take the testes, which are the sperm machines. It's not like a man getting a vasectomy, there is no reversal, no "growing back." It is possible (but highly unlikely) for a neutered male to have live sperm right after neutering if there are some sperm in the gland after the testes are removed but 2 + years later? NOT. Also this woman also owns an intact male dog, but according to her, it would be "impossible" for that to happen, since her kennel can't be gotten into, the female is a small breed, and the intact male is over 100 lbs. I've got news for her.  A female in heat is the doggie version of a new phone number on a bathroom wall, and all the intact males within miles will travel to get some of that. I've seen breeding happen between the very large and very small, through fences, you name it, when nature calls they answer.
So she brings the male dog in, Boss Man motions her into an exam room and closes the door.  Someone else walks in and I'm busy with them but I can hear the snarky accusing tone she takes with Boss Man. I hear him give her a name and number and tell her "This is a specialist. Take him, the female and the puppies and get DNA testing. If that dog is the father, I'll pay all the bills myself." A few minutes later I hear whining and sobbing.
She leaves and Boss Man tells me that she's going through hard times and all of this is a ruse because she can't afford a possible C section for the female dog. He asked her why she just couldn't tell him the truth and ask for help, and he'd do what he could to work with her. So she brings back the female and puppies. Nothing happens after a couple of shots, so we ended up doing surgery. There were no more puppies.
Of course, she's hanging out in the office for all of this. I do my best to avoid her, since I despise liars. We have her hold the female as we are putting her under anesthesia, and she mentions she used to work in a vet's office. So she's the worst tech to ever disgrace a vet's office, AND she's an ignorant liar. The puppies are huge, there is no way the neutered male could be the father.
I wish Mercury would get out of retrograde or whatever phenomena is causing people to behave this way. My last nerve is gone.
The obvious moral to the story: if you don't want puppies, spay your females!

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Spring Cleaning

I mentioned awhile back that I'd do a post on other ways to help animal rescues if you can't spare money to donate-and with prices these days, a bad economy, and others needing help, who can? Anyway, as you spring clean, here's some ideas for items a rescue may be able to use. Be sure and check with the rescue first.

The most obvious-pet items, such as beds, collars, toys, leashes, food dishes. If you have leftover food that a picky pet has refused, pass it on instead of tossing. Leftover medications may also be appreciated.
Stationary/office items-printer paper, printer ink, pens, pencils, postage stamps, file folders, tape.
Old newspapers-great for lining cages or cat litter boxes. Storage boxes/bins/cabinets are always put to good use. Old cake pans can be put to use as a temporary litter box. Reptile and  some of the small critter rescues can put old aquariums and plastic boxes to good use.
Sheets and blankets and old towels are always appreciated. Some places are willing to take old t shirts since they can be used as part of bedding or cut up for bandaging.

I hope this small list helps when you start your spring cleaning, or as we call it, decrapification. A small thing you were going to toss may make a big difference to a rescue animal.  Have fun!