After being told Blue was doing so well that she could come home today, I instead received news that she is vomiting again and her nausea has returned full force. So she needs to stay tonight at the vet's for monitoring. It has been one week since she's been hospitalized; we are walking on eggshells, praying hard that she recovers swiftly. This is how my craptastic day started. All I kept thinking about was Blue and I was in a funk all day long.





I only prayed that the evening could get better...and it did.

I came home to discover Carmela had a package waiting for her. I quickly asked her what the hell she had ordered this time and started to fear she racked up massive debt ordering cookies, collars and beds online. I had visions of begging the vet to let me make payments on Blue's bill and hoping the vet would believe that Carmela maxed out my credit card.

But then I quickly remembered that usually packages addressed to Carmela come from our very good friends. I took one look at the return address and felt myself smiling when I read the name "Diamond."




Diamond is an American Bulldog who has the best smile in the entire world. She's also Bruno's girlfriend, albeit a long-distance one.




Diamond is best known for The Couch Incident. Diamond one day got stuck in the couch. Her mom, Susan, came home to find this scene:




This is one of the many reasons we love Diamond. :-) Diamond also shares Bruno's addiction to Block Dog Collars. See, they were meant to be!

Diamond and Bruno frequently talk to each other about the humiliations they are constantly put through. They talk about running away together and never having to wear another silly outfit again.




But they usually come to their senses once they realize that it would be very tough for them to buy cookies and toys (especially Frisbees!) without their moms.

Back to the package...

Carmela was ecstatic to receive another gift in the mail.

Well, at least Blue seems to know what I'm talking about. She always feels like there's someone silently nagging her too.

My heart is breaking.

I was able to see Blue today. She is completely yellow. Ironic that a cat named after a color ends up being the wrong one.





She perked up when she saw me and I stayed for an hour petting her to her heart's content. She can't come home yet. She can't be released until she starts to show interest in food on her own; until then, she is being force-fed.





As you can guess, she is not happy about the forced-feedings.






I had a pep talk with her. I told her she needs to eat so she can come home soon. She heard what I had to say, then promptly went to go hang out in the sink. Huh?!




All the juju and prayers everyone is sending our way seems to be working. If she's feeling spunky enough to hang out in the sink, then she's fighting these horrible disease.

Tomorrow, she has an appointment with an ultrasound specialist. An opaque area was found in her x-rays right underneath her liver and the vet wants to rule out a tumor. Please say a small prayer for Blue during 9:30 AM as this is when her ultrasound is scheduled. We'll even take miracles. Anything you can send our way is greatly appreciated. ;-)

Blue refused to eat any food for a day and a half. When she refused breakfast this morning, we rushed her to the vet. Our vet diagnosed her with Feline Hepatic Lipidosis (or Fatty Liver Disease). The cause of her state is unknown; tests are still pending to rule out any toxins or bacterial infections. Currently, she is being force fed via a tube and is on IV fluids for dehydration.


Although The Canine Mafia will never admit it, Blue secretly runs The Organization. She is the hidden consigliere that operates behind closed doors. We need her back in full force!




Please keep Blue in your thoughts and send her speedy recovery vibes. The Canine Mafia thanks you from the bottom of our hearts.

We went to visit our good friends Clio and Murphy.

By we, I mean just me, because well...because sometimes I just need to see some of my canine friends without worrying about my own four dogs. Selfish I know!

Pugs are highly easy to entertain. You can create just about any game as long as the game includes something edible and Pugs are willing to play.


Case in point: The Grass Game.


Throw grass in the air, and The Pugs will launch themselves as if pieces of bacon were being flung.







Bruno thinks this game is really lame and that Pugs are stupid. After all, a stick is waaaaaaay better than grass being flung at you!




Bruno does admit that the upside to this game is watching The Pugs make themselves looks like fools. Usually, they don't have to try too hard, but whenever they play this game, they exemplify foolishness!





You can laugh at The Pugs as they pull out defensive moves...








Or as the whip out Matrix-style moves...







You can laugh at them when they try to use their tongue for extra leverage...









Okay, Vinnie, I think you went just a little too far with the using the tongue thing. This is just downright freaky!







But overall, you can just laugh. That's what Pugs are for!

The Mafiosos have some visitors this weekend. Bison and Lindsay, their cousins, are visiting us for the weekend while their parents attend a wedding. Today is the last day of their extended stay.

Bison is so happy to be here, you can totally see it in his face:





He's actually very happy to be here, he's just so pooped out from all the wrestling with Bruno. Don't let that face fool you. ;-)


Lindsay keeps asking me why the cats are off limits. I keep trying to tell her it's because they will claw her eyes out, but I keep forgetting Lindsay's deaf. Let's just say that this weekend I've been using the "No" signal (waving my index finger back and forth) a lot!



However, if you manage to catch Lindsay not moving (which has happened a total of two times the entire time she's been here...and I'm not kidding!), she ends up looking ridiculously cute.




Lindsay is taking the job of making sure my yard is eradicated of all squirrels very seriously, even when she is indoors. I made sure to thank her appropriately in the form of lots of biscuits.



This weekend was the first time Carmela met her cousins. She did better than I thought she would. She was a little hesitant of Bison, especially when Bison play bowed her and began a chase game. But she's accepted him as part of the family.


Carmela was more than accepting of Lindsay. In fact, she's in love with Lindsay. I actually caught Carmela being polite, which is a turn from her bossy ways with the boys!

Mission accomplished! One less fur tumbleweed taking a stroll through my floors!

That's not very nice, Mafiosos. Apologize to your big brother.










And just because we haven't had one of these in a while...






Seriously?! Frog legs?? Only at the Good Ol' California State Fair!

I swore I wouldn't buy Carmela clothes. She's a dog, not a doll. She has fur to keep her warm. But she keeps walking around the house shivering and she tries to find any available source of body heat. Although she has fur, she doesn't have much body fat to keep her warm. So I caved.

Carmela now has doggie couture.







That still doesn't stop her from using the boys as her own personal heaters. Smart girl!





















Remember when I told you she was a smart girl? Well, Carmela figured out why choose one dog to use for his heat when you can have all three!

Just in case you were wondering what Bruno's open mouth looks like, you can rest in peace.

Today I am dog sitting at Kelly's house for a few hours. Kelly is off gathering votes for the upcoming election. Kelly is good like that.







These two are also full of questions. Murphy wants to know why he can't help his Mama gather votes. He could totally do it! He also wants to know why I go to the bathroom with the door closed. We had a long, frank discussion about privacy which I still don't think he understood. Clio wants to know why I didn't bring the Pugs with me.

Tell me that isn't the most forlorn face you have ever seen!

And for the reader that asked for my spaghetti sauce recipe, here it is! All Murphy asks is that you mail him a gallon-sized Zip Loc bag as soon as you are done cooking it. :)

Mafioso Spaghetti Sauce

1 pound lean ground beef or turkey
1 (28 ounce) can Italian style stewed tomatoes
1 (6 ounces) can of tomato paste
1 (16 ounces) can of tomato sauce
2 (4 ounces) cans of sliced mushrooms or 1 tub (8 ounces) of fresh, sliced mushrooms
4 fresh Roma tomatoes, sliced
2 yellow onions, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large stock pock, brown the meat until no longer pink.
2. Drain off all fat.
3. Add remaining ingredients (including liquids in cans) to stock pot and stir until well blended.
4. Let simmer on low heat for approximately one hour, stirring at half-hour intervals.
5. Taste sauce and add salt and pepper as desired.
6. Freezes well and can be used in lasagna recipes as well!
   

Vinnie manages to improve his flying skills on a daily basis. Today, he just about had me scream "Land! Land!" when he kept running with all four paws off of the ground.






I see Vinnie has also managed to incorporate his flying skills into other useful skills...such as wrestling. You have a better advantage over your opponent if you can manage to leave the ground for a few seconds during a battle.

A package arrives...addressed to Carmela. I start to worry. Is it the Corgi next door sending her a mail bomb for all the trash talking she does through the fence? Could it be something expensive she ordered online while I was at work?







I quickly check my credit card statement to make sure she hasn't ordered anything expensive. Nope, credit card is safe and no charges have been made!



There appears to be a message in the package. It reads:






O.M.G.

The Persian Mafia sent us a gift! They recognized us!






Can't wait to see what it looks like!








It's perfect! A pink skull and crossbones collar!







And it fits perfectly!







Thank you Persian Mafia! You are most generous! Carmela loves it and it suits her to a tee!

See this?




This is a huge pot of spaghetti sauce I made. I made a batch like this a few weeks ago, and now Ryan only wants to have homemade sauce. Can't blame him...it taste better (and I'm not just saying that because I made it!), but it's also a lot cheaper than buying jars of store bought sauce.



See this?



These are hopeful Mafiosos. They are hoping that I possibly spill some sauce on the floor while I spoon it into Zip-Loc bags for freezing. Shoot, it might even be their lucky day and perhaps the whole pot will fall on the floor!

Ryan took a small video of some crazy lady and The Canine Mafia at Dillon Beach. For those of you that were wondering how small Carmela really is (or even perhaps how large Bruno really is!), this might give you an idea.

Daisy has brought it to my attention that this poster needs to be spread around.




Please, help spread the word by taking this poster and passing it to others. Let's do what we can to prevent the purchase of Chihuahuas from back yard breeders (BYB) because of the release of this movie. Carmela sends her thanks and promises to add your names to The Book if you do so. :)

Gino is such a nice big brother to Carmela. This was Carmela's first trip with us to the beach and Gino was there to guide her.












Great. Thanks to Gino's advice, now Carmela flies, too.