Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Sick

I must have caught something - thought it was my allergies but didn't go away. I'm better now but I was pretty bad on Saturday (while visiting my in-laws in the desert). I even missed the Mission Viejo Triathlon. Chuck and I were suppose to go cheer competitors on. I stayed in bed but Chuck did go -- 3 hours later, he decided to come home :D I wondered what he was doing for 3 hours but he said watching them compete was captivating. He took some good picture which I'm certain he'll share with us all on his blog!

I'm slowly but surely making a come back.

I've also started to conceptualize some more dog coats and started knitting some more beanies. My garden is doing well. We realized that in order to expand it, we probably needed to add some drainage lines - requires time, hard work, and money.

We'll definitely get to that -- I think after our travels in November D:

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Weekend Recap

Saturday morning was busy -- thankfully Ripi was good to go and we didn't need to take her to the vet. But later that morning I had scheduled a strategic meeting for the non-profit group that I chair. So that took some planning and organizing. Luckily, Chuck had been helping me during the week so most of the running around was done. He also picked up a delicious ring sandwich from Claros! (our favorite Italian deli in Tustin).

After the meeting, we got home just in time to get ready for our friend Marc & Joo's wedding. After dating for 5 years, they are official. It was a backyard wedding, very intimate. We had a great time.






Sunday, we started off the morning kind of slow but eventually ramped up by mid-afternoon. We devoted time to the Garden Expansion Project - I guess this was phase II (check out the slide show). Using his brutal strength, Chuck was able to dig out the grapefruit tree and stump. This means we're ready to measure and order more high quality, grade A "planters mix" for the garden. I always wondered where people got the mounds of dirt from, apparently if you call any gravel/rock mining company and they will sell dirt in addition to pavers, sand, sand bags, regular dirt, etc. We're probably going to go with Planters Mix since it's 50% sand, 50% compost -- should be good for my garden!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Almost Lost It

I came home Friday and I found the dogs playing in the backyard. I called them over to give them their evening snack (as usual). Our daily routine: Trini gently grabs the snack from my hand and takes it over to the grass, she then stands there, and waits to see if I'm give out more snack which she will then come to "collect" (like a chipmunk) - ultimately heads back to her little area where she will then eat at her own leisurely pace. Ripi on the other hand needs supervision. She's overly excited when it comes to food (a little like her mom) and regularly forgets to chew, almost on the verge of choking. To offset this behavior I end up breaking up her snack and hand feeding her pieces at a time (it's time consuming but I don't know canine CPR - so I think it's well worth my efforts) :D

So I change out of my work clothes and head back outside when I notice that Ripi's dewclaw on her right paw isn't looking too good. My only explanation is that she may have gotten it stuck on something. The nail was hanging on for dear life, there was some blood (so that made me weak). I pulled myself together and upon closer inspection, realized the dewclaw was obviously broken. The nail broke at the base and was still very much attached, it also bent to the left. Believe, you , me - I a little freaked out. Carlos eventually got home, he saw it, and we decided to take her to the groomer or vet the next morning. All the while, Ripi is prancing around like nothings wrong and periodically stopping to lick her wound. I of course call my parents for some sound advice, like any good Mexican mother - my mom recommended that I put savila (aloe) on the wound to promote healing (because it really does work). So later that night, while she's hanging out in the living room I tackle her and try to apply the slippy, bitter, goo to her paw. As soon as I put it on her, she started to lick it off (so much for that)!

Torn off dewclaw
Ripi's good paw








The piece of dewclaw that Ripi chewed off!

The next morning, she was walking around on the patio and all of a sudden started to chew on something -- I walked over to her and realized, it was the broken dewclaw. Oh that resourceful Ripi.

**FYI - Dewclaw definition: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dewclaw

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

SUCKED IN!

I told myself that I would try to minimize my TV viewing but last night -- THE BIGGEST LOSER (FAMILY) started up. I was dumbfounded, each year they seem to find bigger people. America we have a big problem!

http://www.nbc.com/The_Biggest_Loser/

I DVR'd the episode but had to fast forward -- when they spend 30 minutes videotaping (inactive) people struggle (since they've never moved that way before in their life) and (some) complain about doing a hike on a hill in 110 degree weather, I couldn't take it. I had to fast-forward.

Shockingly: after a week (of eating right and extreme workouts), some of them lost up to 25 lbs. I can't manage what they were doing to their bodies on a regular basis so that working out and eating the right portions made them lose that much weight. I'm at a loss for words. I really doubt it's a healthy way to diet.

But hey at least this time, I got fired up and motivated. I did some bicep curls and other arm exercises as I watched them struggle.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Garden Update

Chuck just made me laugh - he's so official in his terminology. I asked him "how much more do we have left in my garden?"

He's calling this: The 1st Phase of the garden expansion project.

My pals (Trina, Chris, Danny, Kat, Jean & Christopher) surprised me with a gift card to HOME DEPOT, a sweet veggie/herb organic reference guide, and some new pots and plants. Without hesitation - we decided to start our task.

Task 1: Get rid of the brick & concrete boarder


Rented a sweet electric jack hammer from Home Depot.


Cleared out the brick & concrete in about an hour.


Put up a temporary new fencing area to keep the dogs out of the trench.


Now we have to clear the grape fruit tree, remove the stump, level out the yard and start to transplant and plant some more.

I'm excited - this is PROGRESS!

More pictures of B-day!

Here are some random pictures of the festivities!

The Gang at Maggianos.


Chuck building me a cake!

Lemon cake with chocolate frosting.




Chuck got me a Kate Spade wallet - FANCY!
And Keisha Cole CD + manual labor for my garden.






Flowers from my pal - Marcelo.







B-day Recap

Having a b-day on September 11th has been interesting. After the attacks in 2001, my day usually starts and ends with some sort of mention or a memorial focused on remembering those people lost in the world trade center attacks. I think it's important that we continue to heal so I don't really mind but it sucks to start and end your special day on a sad note.

My family, friends, and even co-workers have all be great! Instead of 1 day focused on my b-day - lately, I've been able to squeeze out almost a week of celebration. Granted, a lot of it has to do with scheduling but I'm still very honored to have such support and love!

*BTW: My sister was sworn in on my b-day. It's official she can VOTE! Congrats -Nanita!

After we got back from the river, my family had a small get together for me. We had some delicious enchiladas verdes and carrot cake.

Sitting with my favorite niece as she sings Happy B-day to me. (But she really thinks it's for her :D)


Ripley enjoying the car ride home, their grandparents were dog sitting.


Trini looking out!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Parker, AZ

It's been a while -- But I'm back!

After labor day, we spent a couple of days with our pals (John, Joe, Jess, & Howard) in Parker, AZ. Since we were newbies to the whole experience, we weren't sure what to expect but our pals made us feel right at home.

It was very relaxing -- we hung out, ate some delicious food, listened to music, played games, frolicked in the water. Here are a few pictures of the trip!

Carlos hanging out!
All our toys.












Me in the water.

Street view of the river, CA is right across!
















Quail. There were more but only this one came out.














Gigantic fish - Trina would have died, we were swimming with some!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Train Wreck

Yesterday, I caught up on my new favorite show: Keyshia Cole's - The Way It Is

http://www.bet.com/OnTV/BETShows/keyshiacole/default.htm

Her biological mother has 7 kids, she didn't raise any of them because she is a recovering prostitute and crack addict. And Keyshia is trying to figure out who her biological father is......lets just say .....I was hooked!

Disney 1/2 Marathon

Read Carlos' blog for a really detailed version........I was doing great time until my stomach started cramping up at the 10th mile. I was forced to walk until the finish line - which, I found the most challenging part the finish line!

The race ends at downtown Disney, you have to be quick on your feet since you're dodging fellow runners, big tree planters, some benches, and the path is narrow and windy with a slight incline. It's not a straight away where you can confidently run in and not crash into anyone.

Would I do it again? Perhaps if my time is faster, (I came in at 2.55). I noticed that a lot of faster runners ran into the park - took pictures with all the cast members and attractions then hauled butt to finish the race. I think that's the only realistic way to really finish this race - you're capped at 3.5 hours. Disneyland wants to capitalize from this busy weekend and of course open the park without any delays.

Your $100 entry fee doesn't cover park entrance (after the race) or parking. It's PRETTY PRICEY! But if you're a big mouse fan - it might be worth it :D

All I want for my b-day is a bigger garden!

I don't know what's come over me -- I can't stop obsessing over my garden. Carlos asked me what I wanted to do for my b-day. Since we're going to Mexico in October, I decided that we should put all our efforts into expanding my garden!

It's 6ft x 17ft, as we speak and after taking some key measurements I think we're widening to 16ft x 17ft. In preparation, we cut down the mature grapefruit tree. Don't worry it's not the pink kind and it was plagued. It was time to go! The tree was also shading my garden a bit too much - my veggies need SUN!

I obviously need more plants to expand my garden, a good way is to take cuttings from your existing plants and use them to propagate new plants. Check out the link for detailed info.
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8702.html
Info. on creating your own organic rooting hormone: http://rubyglen.com/houseplants/rooting_hormone.htm

I'm also looking forward to growing different veggies: sweet potatoes, beets, carrots, garlic, fingerling potatoes, etc. We'll see how we do :D