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Wednesday, March 30, 2011

It's Florida thing! Floridians will understand! Coffee Mug from Zazzle.com



Floridians unite! We all know the best things are in Florida, but no one else can really understand. Remind them with this mug of your choice saying "It's a Florida thing!". And then take it outside to enjoy the beach.....swamp....lake.....river....sunshine....or your own backyard. Ahhhhhhhh!

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Single yellow rose with "Rose" in yellow & Orange Letterhead Template from Zazzle.com



One of our most popular designs, this features a single yellow rose photograph with the word "Rose" underneath in yellow to match. Adds a subtle touch to any letter! great for any rose fan!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

It's a brunette thing! Brunette pride attitude! Mug from Zazzle.com



Why should blondes have all the fun? Show that it is really a brunette thing! Use this mug (or change the style to a different type) and let the world know that, after all, it's a brunette thing!

Friday, March 25, 2011

Monday, March 21, 2011

Abstract Peacock Head Coffee Mug from Zazzle.com



An original painting made in mostly yellow, purple, and blues of the best pet peacock ever-Peaburd. Peaburd faces the viewer head on with a yellow burst around his head. Peacock fans love this mug! Change the style of the mug too!

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Psychadelic look sometimes works as a great background!



I would've never thought that random bright colors behind a fukien tea bonsai seedling would work well as a design, but something about this resonates well!

Thursday, March 17, 2011

It's a mommy thing! Mommy pride products Mug from Zazzle.com



Show everyone how special being a mommy is with this "It's a mommy thing!" mug. Great for the morning pick me up, afternoon calm me down, or nighttime hope I get sleep beverage!

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Bonsai time coming up! Yea!

It's coming up to that time of year again! Time to repot, trim back, add weights n wires, and seriously think about major restyling to take place in two months. Gotta love bonsai!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

It's a chemistry thing! Science attitude design Coffee Mug from Zazzle.com



Is H20 your favorite saying? Can you name an acid and a base in 1.2 seconds? Do you know what chemicals NOT to mix? Then this chemistry mug is for you! Show off your wizard brain!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Circle swirly drawing thing.....



Does anyone remember those swirly design kit things? It was a piece of plastic with a circle cut out of the middle, and smaller circles shaped like gears that you'd stick a pen through and swirl around the inside of the big piece.....those were fun! You'd usually end up with something like the above design!

Friday, March 11, 2011

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Finding a vet, Part II- Success!

So the fourth phone call was to a place called Morningside Animal Hospital. By then my kitty was on another blast of inhaler and I didn't want to have to keep doing that every day without knowing if it was ok........ I despared of anyone seeing him.....

I called up Morningside and talked to a really pleasant girl. Asked her office visit price, she gave that willingly. Told her the situation, told her no other vets would see him without demanding tons of tests, all I wanted was a chest xray for now, and he was getting worse..... she asked me the symptoms and asked me to hold. Shortly thereafter she came back on and said sure, bring him in on Monday. She gave me the price for the chest xray without hesitation when I asked too.

YIPEE!!!!!

Fast forward to Monday. He had been really bad that morning......so of course it figures when I put him in the carrier he suddenly had no issues. Off we go! The people at the vet were just as pleasant in person as they were on the phone. We were shown to a room within a few minutes, where they weighed him (11.1 lbs!) and then told me I could let him roam around the room while waiting for the vet.

I found out that the kitty condo was a huge hit and next thing you see of the kitty is just a pair of yellow eyes staring out of a hole. We didn't wait long, maybe 5-10 minutes. I told the vet (Dr. Gimble) about the situation and what I had tried... he listened to me without interrupting or making me feel like I didn't know what I was talking about. After taking his temp and listening to Rudy's lungs, Dr. Gimble agree it was probably asthma. Gave me the choice of what tests I wanted to do to confirm, I chose to go ahead and just try the asthma shot (same one the online vet had mentioned) since I was positive that was the issue. Dr. Gimble answered all of my questions and didn't seem like he was trying to rush me out. Turns out one of his own cats has asthma that's maintained by 2-3 times a year shots too.

A vet I like finally! Rudy of course didn't make a huff or puff the whole time, but the vet told me that's normal due to the excitement. So, Rudy got a shot given by a really friendly nurse and we went home with the good flea treatment (and they were cheaper than petmeds.com!!) and a visit/shot bill.

I can't recommend Morningside Animal Hospital enough. Friendly staff, didn't rush me, listened to my concerns, handled Rudy well, and very reasonable prices.

As for Rudy, so far......three days now and Rudy only hacked once (and that was right after he went home). He didn't eat much the first night, just slept-but as bad as the attacks had been he had to be worn out. Now he's pigging out and his normal self. And as for the inhaler I had puffed by him.......turns out it's the same meds that step two will be if the shot doesn't stay working! Am keeping everyone's fingers and paws crossed that this will work.

So if anyone in Port St. Lucie area has been avoiding the vet for fear of sneak charges or is tired of vets only worried about the bottom line and not the animals....I highly recommend you go to Morningside Animal Hospital. Like I said, first vet in a very long time I've been completely happy with!

Next up.......the dog gets to go in so we can get her the good flea stuff too :).

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Finding a vet for Rudy the cat...........part 1

Well, the benadryl stopped having an effect on my cat's hacking up his lungs. He had a particularly bad couple of nights where neither one of us got much sleep. Out of sheer desperation at 3am I took my Albuterol inhaler from when I had bronchitis and puffed it past his nose...... the hacking stopped within 30 seconds and we both got sleep!

That did it. Kitty needed a vet. From my research and based on the albuterol working, I figured he has asthma that would need a treatment.

So, nice and early Saturday morning, I start making phone calls. I had consulted with a vet online who told me that a simple chest xray plus the symptoms I described could confirm asthma, no bloodwork needed. And if that was the case, a simple shot may stop the asthma and only need to be done a couple times a year.

Armed with info, I started calling local vets. What I told them was I had a suspected asthmatic cat who would be a new patient, but the only labwork I wanted was a chest xray for now....will they take us? Here's the results of that query:

Vet A (no names here LOL)is obviously really busy. The girl on the phone must have said that three times. I tried asking office visit prices and got told she didn't know those. Really?! I then asked about bringing him in for an xray during the week, she put me on hold to go ask a tech if they'd take a new patient in just for an xray...... 10 minutes later without even a "I'm still waiting" I hung up.

Vet B also wouldn't give me office visit prices, and the girl said no way are they taking in a new patient without a full blood panel and fecal panel. Prices? Depends on what the vet says. Thank you.......click.

Vet C was nice and did give me office visit price, but when I asked if the vet would see the kitty without demanding full bloodpanel etc......she put me on hold for a minute and asked someone.....answer was sorry but no. Ok, at least they were nice. Click.

To be continued..............

Vintage drawing of a standing skeleton mugs from Zazzle.com



A standing human skeleton leaning on a desk pondering another human skull is drawn in black and white on a white coffee/tea mug. Makes you wonder what he's pondering, or just appreciate the anatomy for all the medical professionals out there. Make your favorite nurse smile! Add your own custom text for a personalized custom product.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

How to ship your cat in an envelope...funny print from Zazzle.com



This was just TOO funny not to share.......what a cute poster! Cat + envelope + camera= funny cat poster!

Friday, March 4, 2011

We won an art contest online!

One of my designs won an online art design contest! The contest was here http://www.squidoo.com/lace9s-art-arena. Thanks everyone who voted!

Winning design:



Susan's Zoo Crew

Thursday, March 3, 2011

It's a dog lover thing! Dog lovers, unite! Coffee Mug from Zazzle.com



Woof woof! It's a dog lover thing! You already know it, so show it with this custom mug! Customizable text states "it's a dog lover thing". Wag those tails!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Feisty breaking waves on a florida beach postcards from Zazzle.com



It had been quite stormy for a few days, and that usually means good shells on the beach so I headed down to my favorite area. Somewhere between Ft. Pierce and Port St. Lucie Florida I captured this furious wave breaking as it came ashore.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Surf's Up! Surfboard waits on an eroded dune Post Cards from Zazzle.com



A lonely surfboard was sitting on an eroded beach on the South Jetty Beach, Florida. The erosion does make a convient shelf, but wrecks havoc on the sea turtles....

Toothache ……and ways to get rid of em……and a digression on dry socket

For some unexplained reason I had a toothache today. And I *really* wanted to get rid of it….without doing an emergency dentist visit (is there even a dentist open after 5pm around here? I doubt it…..).

So I headed over to Walgreen’s and hit up the toothache section. After reading a billion boxes, I came to the conclusion that all of the pain relief stuff had the exact same active ingredient! Even the one claiming nighttime relief was no different from the “regular” stuff, except in price. So I grabbed a tube of regular… but I remembered last time I had a toothache that stuff only worked for a few minutes until it wore off. Not to mention too much of it and you’re drooling because you can’t feel your mouth! I felt like I’d need more….

Digression time!

When I had my wisdom teeth pulled, I ended up with something called “Dry Socket”. Doesn’t sound too bad, does it? Wellllll let me tell you-that was the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my life. Breathing through my mouth hurt (and I had a cold and no choice), swallowing hurt, my ear hurt, my throat hurt, everything! I was willing to do ANYTHING to stop that pain. I clawed myself up pretty good trying to even scratch away the pain through my cheek….OW!!! Called the dentist up and told them that it reallllllllly hurt-the receptionist basically said oh, that’s normal. I said NO it’s not-I’ve taken 4 ibuprophen, 2 aleve, half a bottle of toothache liquid and I’m still dying here! She still sounded dubious, had that someones-being-a-big-baby tone, but told me to come in.

My tooth was hurting so bad I could barely see straight but I drove back there. The receptionist kinda poo pooed me as I signed in, but the dental hygenist who knew me walked by and saw the look on my face and immediatly got the dentist. I was in the chair in a minute flat! The dentist was a nice guy, did the “Ok, what’s going on here?” Told him owowowowowowowwwwwwwww and pointed. He got out the mirror and had a look…..

I’ve never seen a dentists’ face go pale after looking into someones mouth before! He goes, “Oh you poor baby” and takes off down the hallway… I’m in the chair with a reallly puzzled assistant standing there too! He comes back with this little jar and goes, “You’ve got dry socket. I’m so sorry! This stuff is going to taste horrible but it’ll take away the pain immediatly…..open up!”

Hey, at this point I don’t care if the stuff required me to stand on my head for 10 minutes to work, HAND IT OVER! Open up I did…..and awful it was. Cat butt awful…….but oh man, the pain…… like someone dialed the guitar amp from 11 down to 1. ahhhhhhhhhhh blessed relief! He told me it was an all natural paste made from ground up cat butts and clove oil. Ok, maybe I exaggerated the cat butt part but the clove oil was true. Turns out I was the first person in 5 years at that practice to end up with dry socket, hence the disbelief. Well, at least I wasn’t just being a baby! He explained that dry socket meant the blood clot fell off leaving the bone exposed to air, and that it is a very painful thing (duh!). Usually only happens if you smoke (I don’t), throw up (nope), or suck through a straw (nada) after a tooth extraction.

I was sent home with a socket packed with cat butt clove oil paste and gauze and firm orders not to smoke/drink through straw/toss up my cookies. No problem! The gauze stayed in for about 3 days (as did the cat butt taste) but the pain never came back like that.

/digression

The reason for the digression is that I remembered how well that clove oil stuff worked and was hoping I could buy something….found nothing that said “clove oil”. Did find a little kit that had tiny cotton balls, tweezers, and a vial of liquid….directions made it clear not to get it on anything but the hurt tooth… I figured that had to be potent stuff. The main ingredient was Eugenol oil. So it was buy one get one free …..added that to my basket. There was some of this gum stuff to cover sensitive areas, added that. Hey floss that whitens as it goes! Added that….. out we go.

Get out in the truck and immediatly try the benzocaine gel. Numbed my gums and tongue but didn’t get to the tooth. BAH. Headed for home.

Now kinda desperate, I immediatly went and scrubbed my teeth, flossed with new floss (hoping it was just stuck food) and used my water pic. I put hyrdogen peroxide in the water tank of the water pic, about 25%, figuring it wouldn’t hurt.
Then I busted out the super do-not-put-anywhere-else stuff.

Guess what? Eugenol oil *IS* oil of cloves! WHOO HOO!!! Grabbed the tiny ball of cotton, tried to soak up just a little of the oil, ended up with a dripping ball of cotton. The instructions had it in BOLD not to spill it, so I squeeze it out….stuck the little cotton ball on the hurting area and got…….cat butt flavor! Got it in half my mouth somehow, I wasn’t so good that holding the cotton ball on the tooth. It burned a little but within 10 minutes no more tooth ache! Ahhhhh. Slapped some of the gum stuff between the two teeth just in case and right now, so far so good and it’s been 3 hours.

So, the best stuff (but be careful) is called “Red Cross Toothache Kit”. Got a red cross on it, comes with small tweezers small box of tiny cotton balls and tweezers. It works! Was $7 at walgreens. The gum stuff is “Dent’s Toothache Gum” in an old fashioned looking box that’s mostly blue and white. You cut a little pieces off, soften it in your mouth for a sec (don’t chew) and put it over the hole. Those two rock! And oh, go make a dentist appointment…..which is where I”m heading now :)

Edit: This stuff, but go get it locally and save the shipping:
Toothache stuff