Flea Factor

I was the star this week of a hit reality show called Flea Factor. Ya know, the one where your biggest fears are tested and you either survive or cripple in a moment's worth of willies. My fear: fleas.

My dog is perfect. I mean, duh. Besides the chewed up window blinds, sporadic carpet soilings, neurotic door scratching, and obsessive licking, there is absolutely nothing wrong with my dog. So, imagine my surprise when on this perfect tuft of fur, I found a fucking flea.

Princeton gets a bath, oh, ya know, every three days. The dog is as clean as Danny Tanner's countertops. I mean, sometimes I don't even want to take him for a walk because I want to maintain his pristinely bathed coat as long as possible. I'm tellin' ya: the little man could perform open heart surgery. Dr. Princeton. I like it.

Anyway, I noticed he'd been scratching this spot in his groin area. No big deal. He's a self-scratcher, OCD-style. Around the same time, Bryan and I noticed we had identical clusters of small blemishes that itched on our arms. We figured some hungry bugs got to us outside on a walk.

So when my mom and I found a sick, slick, quick-moving critter on Princeton's tummy the size of a tip of a flathead screw driver, I jumped! And so did Princeton when we pulled his fur out to catch the intruder. And so did the flea when we tried to kidnap him from his canine blood buffet. Those guys jump. Apparently, 3 to 6 feet. On the third try, we (my mom) finally nipped the flea from P's skin and watched him go bye-bye down the sink drain. Awesomeness. But common sense tells us that when there's one, there are many more, so my already-heavy neuroses increased greatly and I suddenly had to know everything about fleas and clean-up and prevention.

There's really no way to describe my horror and panic upon learning that Princeton is a flea bus. That means, then, that there's absolutely no way in any dimension to describe my horror upon finding out that Princeton's flea bus hosted stowaway passengers: Tapeworm!

Quick research told me that fleas carry tapeworm and if they get swallowed by a relief-seeking dog, the tapeworm lives in the dog's intestines. Tapeworm can be 1 to 3 feet long and resemble an ongoing spaghetti. Gross. Seriously, GROSS. As the tapeworm sheds itself from the pup's rear, it releases little tiny granules of what looks like uncooked rice. Hmm. Okay. Funny. Just 2 days before the Great Flea Debacle of 2008, I was making my bed and thought to myself, "That's weird. I haven't cooked rice in the bedroom. Okay. Whatever!" I picked it up and flicked it toward the trash. So, back to present time...  ohmyfuckinggosh.  PRINCETONHASTAPEWORMANDINOTONLYTOUCHEDITBUTIIGNOREDITANDNOWHEISGOINGTODIE.

That's it. I was bouncing off the walls. I was hysterical. The dog mom in me was panicked for her innocent furbaby and the germ freak in me was having a fit about the larvae and the pupae and all the other disgusting vocabulary I was learning in my Fleasearch.

At home, I immediately washed my sheets, vacuumed the carpets and obsessively checked Princeton for more. I didn't sleep a wink and I woke up the next morning to call the vet. They normally don't see you if you just need to solve a flea problem, but the tapeworm warranted a sit-down with the doc, so Princeton strutted into the vet's office, completely unaware of his creepy subletters and what it would take to evict them.

We discussed flea treatment and decided on Comfortis. It's a monthly pill that is supposed to kill fleas on contact. Hell yeah! And then the doctor explained that one squirt of an injection in Princeton's shoulderblade area would kill the tapeworm inside of him. Injection? Uh oh. The vet instructed me to hold Princeton's collar and scratchy-scratch behind his ears while warning me that it's one of the most painful shots he has to give, which will make Princeton cry for a minute or two from the sting. Oh.

Lemme tell ya, Doc didn't get his license from being stupid. Brother was right on. Poor Princeton wailed and wailed with little whimpers and cries sprinkled between. He was in so much pain and had had no idea what happened to him. Poor guy. Poor mother. I was just as much a wreck. I feigned a pretty bad smile of understanding, but really, I wanted to hide under the chair in the corner just like Princeton did after the shot. I felt awful. I've never seen the baby in so much pain and it broke my heart.

$199 later, we scurried back to the car, anxious to get home and get the pill to work. Poor boy is still itching a little, but I haven't spotted any other fleas. Whatever was left on him should have died within an hour of Princeton taking the pill, so hopefully it remains a miracle drug that all the message board reviews claim it is because I just cannot handle one more minute of my poor pooch in pain and my OCD on overdrive.

Kids, spay, neuter and flea-prevent your pets!

Or this

will be home to this:

 

 

Ugh. Nightmares.

Must end blog with pretty picture:

A Wonderful Opening

After six long weeks of rehearsals that included tons of conflicts, varied venues, and difficult music to learn, our cast enjoyed a great opening weekend of A Wonderful Life: The Musical.

I haven't talked about it very directly in my blog. I mean, it IS the reason why I haven't blogged much in the past month and a half because it's taken up a lot of my hours that I normally devote to blogging. But now that the show has opened and I've given it my own little stamp of approval, I thought I'd share my pride and excitement for this musical take on a holiday classic.

To be perfectly honest, the source musical material is not spectacular. With the music and lyrics team behind the piece (Harnick and Raposo), I expected more. There is a handful of catchy, toe-tappin' songs, but a lot of them don't gel with my preference in musical theater numbers. Thankfully, everyone knows the story and has related to Jimmy Stewart's George Bailey throughout life, so the mediocre music doesn't affect the wonderful show. Our cast sealed the deal with a stellar leading man who acts the part perfectly and has gained my respect as a fellow actor, and the performance for his wife, Mary Hatch Bailey, is extremely likeable and I'm glad to call her my off-stage friend.

I always adore seeing my husband up on stage. It's just so much fun to what you love with the one you love. Bryan plays Ernie, the cab driver and is an important part of the show. Plus, he's dead sexy in a cabbie hat.

I have a bit part as Ruth Bailey (as well as featured ensemble roles) and I'm having a terrific time bringing Ruth and other wacky characters of Bedford Falls to life. Over opening weekend, I received some great compliments about my work on stage and I'm glad that my efforts have been recognized. I always put a great deal of thought into my characters so I can represent the material with truth and reality in the pretend world on stage. I've never received the same compliments with such sincerity in previous productions, so I finally feel like I've leapt into a new category of capabilities. It feels like a million bucks and I look forward to future hurdles and challenges that my passion for theatre brings.

Overall, I think the next five weeks of shows will be super fun. Best Man Extraordinaire Brian is also in the show and he actually plays my husband! We have a great time on stage together and it's so clear why my Ruth loves his Harry Bailey! He's a fantastic dancer and looks resplendent in his military getup!

I think this holiday season will be just a little sweeter with this show catapulting us into the end of December. It is heartwarming and fun and really, who can resist that little pile of adorableness, Little Zuzu, when she says "Listen Daddy! Every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings!" ?? Only a Scrooge. But that's a totally different show altogether!

Dress rehearsal photo of my "husband" Harry Bailey toasting his newly rich brother George (I'm right next to him, not yet wigged!)

What a trick-or-TREAT!

Ever since I started planning my wedding, I started looking at photographers' blogs to catch up on the current trends in photography and weddings. I learned so much about styles of photos and reception decor, yes, but I also learned about the publishing of a blog.

I'd be lying if I said the wedding photography blogs I read didn't inspire me to create my own blog almost a year ago. And while I have no intentions to be a professional photographer or work in the wedding business, I've always wanted to blog like a wedding photographer. Their blog entries are so personal -- not about themselves -- but about their subjects. They really write beautifully AND showcase their gorgeous photos and by the end of the post, you feel like the featured person or couple are your best friend.

Some of my favorite photographers categorize their blog entries:

Day After: Marge and Homer, Anytime: Wilma and Barney, Wedding: Lucy and Fred... and then follow with a series of photos from that shoot.

Well, for one day, I present to you :::cue:  magical fairy dust and bell chime flourish music:::

AliGoesPHOTOBlogWild.

 

Halloween: Princeton

Princeton is a sweet dog with a great personality. He's such a loving creature and enjoys the company of his human friends and family. His good looks and expressive face make him a wonderful photography subject, so on Halloween we conducted his very first photoshoot with many poses and candid moments. Princeton, all dolled up in his PetSmart pumpkin costume, worked the camera and was totally feroche. I love when my clients feel comfortable in front of the camera so I can really capture creative poses. Princeton was so cool; he pretty much did anything I told him and was open to my ideas. Thanks, Princeton, for letting me a part of your special first Halloween! And now, without further ado, Princeton as the Great Pumpkin.