I experienced this for the very first time. Hubs usually takes her because in the past she's been (as he puts it) a "handful." But I had the honors of escortin' her this time.

She started to become possessed when we pulled into the parkin' lot. She immediately crawled up my shoulders and literally onto my head. I tried to calm her down by talkin' to her and bribin' her with her Nyla-Bone. She was havin' no part of it and continued to crawl all over me as we sat in the waitin' room.

The door opens and a sweet lil' dew drop of a girl says "Gracie?" "That's us." I responded, and we proceeded to walk into the exam room.

I placed her on the exam table. She sat there petrified but was bein' a good girl. That was until our vet walked in the room... Then all h*ll broke loose! She must have left an impression on him since her last visit because he had a tiny lil' muzzle in his hand along with her chart.

"We just have to slip this on her face.", he says. "WE?! You got a mouse in your pocket, Doc? Sorry, I'm not on your payroll", I thought to myself. But I knew there was no turnin' back and I had to get the job done.

So after usin' a few Greco-Roman wrestlin' moves on her (I learned while watchin' the Ultimate Fightin' Championship), we finally got the muzzle on. Whew! Now he comes at her with the nail nippers. I saw the look in her eyes... She literally put her front paws up to the sides of her face and whipped it off her head. I swear Houdini couldn't have gotten out of that muzzle faster than she did. If there was a doggie world record, she would have taken the gold.

Round two... We get the muzzle back on her. This time usin' a double knot, staples, velcro and Gorilla glue. (Nah, I'm just pullin' your leg, I was tempted though) But we made sure she couldn't get out of it.

He proceeds to try and clip her nails as all three of us "dance" around the exam room. After carvin' me up like a Thanksgivin' turkey with her nails, I said I have had enough. He got all but two and that was good enough for me. As I wiped the sweat from my forehead, I apologized for her wild behavior and paid the bill. I'm surprised he didn't charge me triple for that one.

We get home and she's back to her sweet lil' self, rompin' around the house and playin' with her sisters like nothin' ever happened. Meanwhile I'm in the bathroom with the First Aid kit tendin' to my battle wounds. I even had scratches on my stomach!

The culprit... This ratty ol' wood bin. We have it on our property to store some firewood. After hubs splits it, my job is to stack it. This is the last place I like to store wood because its such an eyesore. I never did like this dang gum thing and after today, I will be usin' it for kindlin'.

To get the firewood in, I have to duck down and toss it in to stack it. Well I was pitchin' 'em in there like Roger Clemens durin' the World Series. Sure enough, one log hit the back wall, bounced back and hit me square on the chin.

I can attest to the fact that y'all really do see lil' birdies flyin' around your head like in those old cartoons.

So after I got my wits about me (well, that's a stretch), I went in the house to assess the damage. And again just like in those cartoons, I watched my chin grow a lump like a jumbo Eggland's Best right before my eyes. Man, those cartoon folks are right on the money when it comes to this stuff. I just needed Mel Blanc here to do the sound effects for me. **doink**

Now my chin is a lovely shade of purple with some flecks of red.

Since my head feels like its goin' to explode off my shoulders, I think I'd better go lie down for the rest of the day and pop Advil like Tic Tacs.

1. I'm a New York State licensed hairdresser. Yep, its true. By lookin' at my wild dollies hair-dos; I reckon y'all would have never thought so. It must be the rebel in me not wantin' hair to be neatly coiffed.

2. I love Brussels sprouts.

3. I was on my honeymoon in Cancun Mexico when Hurricane Gilbert hit back in 1988. We were stranded there for a week. Needless to say the marriage ended in divorce. I should have (literally) taken that as a sign from above tellin' me, "I told ya not to marry him!"

4. As a young'un I wanted to be a background dancer for the Carol Burnett Show. But I've got two left feet so instead I just stood in front of the television and "danced" along with them. I guess a Solid Gold Dancer was out of the question too. Hmmppff!!

5. When I was 4 years old, my folks had a big ol' B-B-Q with lots of family and friends over. I came flyin' out the back door in front of everybody, buck neked with only my red rubbers on. I threw my arms up in the air and yelled "Ta-dah!!!!" I bet my hubs wished I would do that now for him. (Sorry darlin', those red rubbers wouldn't fit me anymore) We still laugh over that one. A few years back my sister presented me with a doll, callin' it "Childhood Flashback starring... Karin". Its hysterical and it graces my work room.