Happy 10! Project: Red White & Blue

This morning, I had a major case of the Monday blues after the long holiday weekend...it was a really nice stretch of relaxation and quality time with the family and unusually nice and dry weather for this time of the year. I was definitely sad to see it come to an end. One of the fun things we did over the weekend was the red white & blue photoshoot in honor of the Independence Day. Here's how it turned out:

Happy 238th Birthday, America!

7.2.2014: Silly boy...

As we get ready for the big Fourth of July weekend, I wanted to take a moment to share a funny thing (sort of) that happened last weekend. We were out and about shopping and dogs were left home alone...nothing unusual. What normally happens when we return home is, we can hear Jasper barking to greet us even before we park our car in the driveway. So, we thought it was a bit odd when all was quiet on this particular return and when we unlocked the door, there was only Misty waiting for us. You have the understand that this NEVER happens at our house--if anything, sometimes Misty may decide that it's too much trouble to get off the couch for us may be hard of hearing and miss us come in, but Jasper has never missed his greeting by the front door, not once. So, of course we panicked and started to look for him, imagining something terrible has happened to him. We quickly worked our way through all the obvious rooms and places but did not find him, and that really scared us. We were calling out his name and was about to search the backyard next when we heard his muffled bark coming from the little toilet room in the master bathroom, the furthest back part of the house. We opened the door and he popped out all distressed and happy at the same time. He wagged and rubbed himself all over us while letting out little whimpers for several minutes before finally calming down. We gave him lots of kisses and hugs and let him take a well deserved nap on the couch while we tried to figure out the mystery.

exhausted little pup

We had no idea how he got himself in that predicament, but after couple of hours of resting, Jasper was all back to himself and he even reenacted the scene for us--we had him follow us into the bathroom and he had no hesitations or fear, so that was a good sign. We watched him as he sniffed the floor so we figured he must've followed a bug or something in the first place and that's when we also noticed the door slowly closing on its own. Well...I did put some oil on the door hinges not too long ago because it was squeaking and I guess that lubricated it too well. Now, the door did not close all the way, so I went out and called him to come and that's when he slapped the door shut with his paw in his effort to open it...mystery solved! We felt so bad for the little guy, having been trapped in a dark little room all by himself for who knows how long (we were gone for about three hours), but it was really kind of funny at the same time...what a silly boy!

Happy 10! Project: Bubbles!

After taking a bit of a break, we finally resumed our photo project last week. We're more than half way done with June already...can't believe half a year has gone by! Well, it's definitely summer outside now, and blowing bubbles was one of my favorite childhood summer activities, and therefore our chosen theme for this photoshoot--it's playful, happy and magical.

Although I've always loved looking at photos of bubbles, I have never tried taking one myself, so I had no idea how this photoshoot will turn out, much less how my dogs might react to this "foreign floating substance". For the session, I bought a little battery operated bubble blower for about $10 which also came with a small bottle of solution. Turned on, the motor was somewhat noisy, but not obnoxious, and while it did produce a ton of bubbles, it went through the solution pretty quickly. My dogs were definitely more cautious than curious and would not sit for too long of a stretch at a time, so I had a very small window of opportunity to work with, making this probably the quickest photo session I've ever done! At the end though, I did manage to capture a few interesting and adorable shots, so I'm more than happy with the results. Here they are:

raining bubbles!

I love all the colors captured in the bubbles!

a little bit curious...

"can I eat it?"

bubble bokeh

not impressed...

Happy Summer!

6.19.2014: New breakfast menu

After returning from the San Diego Marathon, we discussed over how to change up our diet now that we're no longer in training and our bodies certainly don't need all the extra calories and carb. So, one of the first changes we've made was with our breakfast. During training, it usually consisted of bread or rice with eggs, a banana, a glass of almond milk and/or orange juice. In our effort to cut down on calories and to just go back to a more simple and light eating, we decided on fruit smoothies. The summer is really the perfect time for this, as fresh fruits are in season and easy to come by. So, we took a little trip to Costco and our local farmer's market for all the necessary ingredients.

ready for the blender!

kale, superfood!

The beauty of a smoothie is that there's really no set recipe to follow--you can add just about any fruit or vegetable to your liking, throw in some yogurt for thickness (and a dose of protein), and there you have it. I like to sweeten my smoothie with some mango--fresh if at all possible, but a little mango nectar is also good (and less messy). I was a bit weary about adding the kale (or any other green vegetable), but to my surprise, it was actually kind of refreshing. I also thought it would be very time consuming and fussy to be making smoothies in the morning, but it's really a lot quicker than cooking a conventional breakfast, and cleanup is also minimal.

quick and easy breakfast, and good for you!

We've now been doing this for the past 2 weeks and I think this new breakfast routine is here to stay for a long time. Right now, we're doing the strawberry, blueberry, banana, kale and mango smoothie, but we're also excited about trying some of the other superfood like acai and chia, in the future.

6.16.2014: Post San Diego Marathon

Returning to life and blogging after a little marathon hiatus...It's been 2 weeks since the San Diego Marathon and I'm finally starting to feel like myself again. This was our 4th marathon and it was the hardest and the worst one to date. It's a bit of a let down since we had the best training ever and yet the results don't reflect that, unfortunately.  Well...as in life, that's just how it goes sometimes--it's not always about the results, but the process. Not withstanding the ridiculous course planning by the Rock 'n' Roll franchise (I won't even go into that), the biggest factor in our shortcoming was the relentless heat. Going into it, I knew it was going to be tough, but even so, I underestimated the power of the Southern California sun by miles! (Pun intended.) Plus, the other 3 marathons were all during the fall with a nice 50 degree weather, so I guess my body just wasn't ready for a summer marathon. There's a reason why all the big races are in the fall...lesson learned.

nasty sun burn!

unexpected chafing spot where my sweat-drenched shorts rubbed against my skin.

Not only did it wipe me out during the run, but it's impact on my body was quite long lasting, definitely longer than any other times. This recovery period was also a bit odd in that, whereas my legs recovered much easier and quicker than the other 3 marathons, I was debilitated for the first time with a weird vertigo symptoms affecting my hearing and balance for well over a week. Initially, I thought it must be from dehydration and electrolyte deficit, so I loaded up on water and Gatorade, but then after a week and still not feeling 100%, I self-medicated with 3-days course of penicillin and that finally did the trick.  So, I presume it might have been some sort of sinus bug? Who knows...anyways, I'm almost all better now and can resume my life. Though I suffered through this marathon, it was still a great experience and I have no regrets. Now on to the next adventure!

5.15.2014: The hunter strikes again

Just as we thought things were quieting down after Misty's health scare last week, we had to deal with another sad misfortune...this time in our backyard. Jasper's biggest joy in life is to hunt...this we cannot deny. It was a curious discovery when he let out his first little howl as a puppy even before he learned to bark, and we have learned since then that he is indeed a part hound, most likely a coonhound. Over the past 10 years, he has managed to hunt down half a dozen chipmunks, couple of squirrels, couple of birds and has cornered one giant sized opossum before I frantically ran after and managed to pull him away. When he's outside, he has zero interest in anything else other than looking for things to hunt...even at dog parks. I'll never forget the day when he ran through the wooded edges of a fenced dog park and came out in the open with a proud kill in his mouth for all dogs and dog owners to see! What followed in the next several minutes is just like a scene in a movie--us chasing after him while repeatedly yelling "drop", and other dog owners looking on, some with a mild shock on their faces...perfect.

At almost 10, he has shown very little signs of slowing down, both in his speed and in his enthusiasm. We have long since accepted this unpleasant behavior of his and can only stand aside and cheer and pray for the underdogs to safely escape their fate each time we open the door to the backyard, but for today we hold yet another animal funeral...

so sorry, little chipmunk.

we made him pay his respects, but he was already looking for his next prey.

5.7.2014: A big sigh of relief

We took Misty in for her routine annual checkup last Friday.  As well as needing her vaccinations renewed, we also wanted to check on a lump on her leg we found recently. When the doctor took a look, she raised immediate concerns and wanted to do a biopsy to rule out a malignant cancer. The other possible suspects were either a weird skin infection gone awry, or a benign tumor. We left the vet's office heavy-hearted, with Misty's leg bandaged up and with a supply of antibiotics. Although we tried to remain positive, we spent the rest of the weekend feeding our worst fears with hours of internet search.

After we returned from her vet visit, all bandaged up but in good spirits.

Well, we finally heard back late last night and thankfully the results of the biopsy show that it is a benign mass with a possible secondary infection. Words cannot express just how relieved and elated we felt! For anyone who's had a dog go through a similar situation, I'm sure you can relate.  When a dog has been with you since it was a puppy and has been every part of your life for the past 10 years, he/she really is family, no different from a child.

Both my dogs have been healthy for the most part up to this point, and it's so ironic that right after celebrating her 10th Birthday in March that we are faced with this first real health scare. I know these "incidents" will be more frequent in the future, and maybe the next time we won't be so lucky. I'm going to try hard and not think too much about the future, but instead concentrate on cherishing the time I DO have with our dogs...and yes, Happy 10! Project will go on!

Is it possible though to ever prepare one's heart for the eventuality that awaits?

"let's stay awhile..."