Chiweenie Coma

On Saturday morning while I was out running the dogs, Jim got their food ready and put out their bowls. Upon returning, Ahi ran into the house and immediately started scarfing out of Daisy's bowl. You wouldn't think that was a problem, but Daisy's bowl contained her medicine for urinary incontinence! And it contained a dose for a 70 pound lab NOT a 10 pound chiweenie!

The medicine is a antihistamine which effects Daisy by making her thirsty and eliminating the incontinence. For Ahi, it put her in a chiweenie coma -- it made her super sleepy! And every once in a while she would lift up her head and smack her lips like she was thirsty! She basically slept all day on the couch. And then at 11pm when the meds wore off, she ran around the house like a wild animal!

Chiweenieasaurus

Here is Ahi's Halloween costume! The rare nearly extinct chiweenieasuarus!

Happy 10th Bday Gracie

Here she is eating her birthday blueberry pancakes off of our family birthday plate!

Hillbilly Visit

Auntie Patty and Uncle Dave are visiting from Kentucky. Uncle Dave spent the day with us hanging out on our couch. We had a wonderful day! Ate some caramel apples, played Uno and made Gracie's halloween costume.

Birthday Pies

We are celebrating Gracie's 10th bday and Grandma Kathy's 65th bday tonite. Grandma and Grandpa made spaghetti and meatballs and we made these pies. One is apple blueberry with a crumb topping and one is ollalieberry. YUM!

Grandma took Gracie out today to get a fish for her birthday. They could not get the fish today because the water had to sit and be de-chlored. So tomorrow we will run out and get a black gold fish named Abraham.

It's a holiday....of sorts

Today is International Hug a Vegetarian Day!

I am at home waiting.....

Divorce

Drew and I were out together the other nite and as usual when we are alone, we do a lot of chatting. I was telling him about someone we know who is getting a divorce and mentioned that he was really lucky that his parents were still married to each other.

And his response surprised me....

He said, "You would be stupid to divorce Daddy."

My response, "Why do you say that?"

He said, "He is a perfect guy."

And then Drew went on and on siting every one of Jim's great qualities. Among them were:

* Who else could fix a electrical short in 10 minutes? (he had done that earlier that evening).
* He can do anything, including building our house.
* He knows everything there is about boats.
* He can navigate around the wilderness without ever getting lost. (And then he giggled about how he can't find his way around a city!)
* He loves the Chiweenie!
* He catches us our food.

I couldn't argue with Drew. Jim is pretty much the perfect man (as perfect as any man can be).

I did take the opportunity to point out additional qualities that Jim has that are qualities that are important to be a great Dad and husband (I had to make sure this was a learning moment and not just about boats, building and the wilderness!).

It was really a cool moment because its clear that Drew is thinking for himself and that he notices that he has a great Dad.

In the spirit of full disclosure we did have some good laughs at some of the goofy things Jim does and things he is not good at (ie spelling!). But that's what makes the whole package so lovable.

More awesome dinners

I am super motivated about getting away from the same old dinners. This was last nite's dinner. I took Aidell's apple/chicken sausages and skewered them with apples and onions and then BBQed them. Served it with pasta pesto and steamed broccoli. The meat eaters in the family loved them!

Naptime

It's naptime for the Chiweenie's.

3 Chiweenies

Here are pics of the Chiweenies from next door. The one with Ahi is Rico. The other one is Rufus. Rufus is Rico's Dad. And here is the hole in the fence that allows them to run back and forth.

Ankle update

For those wondering, Drew's ankle is better and we are not getting an xray. He has it taped up and is icing it like crazy. He almost walking normal. He still groans when he walks down stairs. Hoping he will be able to play this weekend.

The "new" meatloaf

We had a new type of meatloaf today and boy was it a hit. You make normal meatloaf mix and then put it in muffin tins to bake. You end up with what we call meat muffins. Of course, I found it disgusting but my family almost had wrestling matches over them!

Dog Watchers Inc.

Our neighbor, Rob the Bread Man, is on vacation for 10 days. His dog sitter came down with mono at the last minute and couldn't watch his 3 dogs. So we are now the proud temporary owners of an extra lab and 2 extra chiweenies! We opened up a couple slats in the fence between our houses and let the dogs all run back and forth. It keeps them busy and makes them very tired at nite! I will post some pics as soon as I get a chance to take them. They are all pretty cute together.

Weekend Update

What a whirlwind of a weekend. We had 4 soccer games and the first hockey practice of the season.

Drew's team lost one game and won one game. Drew ended up with a sprained ankle that is still swollen and hurting. If it is not better tomorrow we may need to get it xrayed. In the meantime he is resting and icing it. This is the first day he has ever missed PE due to an injury.

Gracie's team won both their games. So, they are undefeated for their first season as a competitive team. This last team they played really gave them a run for their money. They got lucky with a couple shots going off the goal post or it would have been tied! One shot ricocheted off of 3 posts!

This coming weekend is a little slower - Drew only has one game and Gracie has none!

A face only a mama could love....

This dog belongs to one of Gracie's team mates. It has a freakishly long tongue that doesn't fit in its mouth. It hangs out even when its not panting. It made me crack up everytime I looked at it.

Who is that imposter???

Imagine our suprise when we show up to soccer pictures yesterday and there is an imposter chiweenie!!! This is a pic of Jim rubbing the belly of a 4 month old chiweenie who looks JUST LIKE Ahi! And sure enough, she is a chihuahua weiner dog mix! And the family actually got it from a breeder and paid for this dog. Ahi Wasabi is THE original Chiweenie - there can be no imposters!

Gracie's team

This is one good looking team! And they can play soccer too. They won their first comp game yesterday - 2 to 1. Gracie made an amazing goal from the side line up and over into the top corner of the goal. A professional goalie couldn't have saved it.

A promotion

I got a promotion! But not one I wanted.

I volunteered (I use the word "volunteered" loosely) to be Team Mom for Gracie's new comp soccer team. I have years of experience being team mom and was up for the job. However, when I wasn't looking I received a promotion to team manager! Unfortunately, I don't know how to do that job! Lucky for me, my dear friend, Tracy, is a Team Manager Extraordinaire and she is my mentor.

Team manager requires a lot more work and there is no manual. Plus - it is not intuitive. So I am fumbling around trying to figure it out.

New Couch

This is Ahi's new spot to sit on the new couch. It's like a perch where she can see her world go by!

THE DOCTORS SHOW - Transplants

California Transplant Donor Network(CDTN)along with Donate Life Hollywood have been working with the producers of THE DOCTORS on an organ donation show, which will be airing on Wednesday September 9, 2009. The Sept. 9th episode of The Doctors focuses on four individuals currently awaiting heart transplants. It also covers the first time meeting of a heart recipient and donor family. CTDN was able to bring Nicole Towns, whose husband Dan (31) became a four organ donor after falling from scaffolding on 7/28/08 and passing away, and Harry Hoch (64) ,who received Dan’s heart after waiting three months for a transplant, together on The Doctors
for a first time meeting. Nicole and Harry were both excited about having the opportunity to meet. Harry couldn’t wait to thank Nicole.

See a promo of the show:

Find your local listing for the show at: http://www.thedoctorstv.com/main/local_listings (The show is
syndicated and airs on different stations/times in different markets)

Arizona Grand Resort

This is where Grace and I stayed this past weekend:

http://www.arizonagrandresort.com/phoenix-luxury-hotels.php

It would be really fun to go there with a group of friends. Anyone interested?

We miss Drew....

During lunch today, Gracie looked at me and said, "I miss Drew...". I almost fell off my chair. I asked why she missed him and she picked up the giant pickle on my plate and said, "because of this." Drew is known as "pickle boy" because of his love of pickles! The giant pickle reminded her of her brother and caused her to miss him! I guess that is what I call a birthday miracle.

Arizona

We are into our second day of Gracie's birthday trip. And we are having a great time. Thankfully, she left her squirelly behavior behind in yesterday!

We started today with a hike in the wilderness area behind our resort. It was typical Arizona topography with cacti and barren looking plants. We did see a bunch of quail and one bunny!

Then we came back to our room and changed into our suits. We went to the water park and went round and round in the lazy river. That was fun! And so refreshing because it was HOT.

At 11:30 we headed to the fitness center to warm up with some racquetball before we took a family yoga class! Gracie was hilarious in yoga....at one point, I looked over and it was like doing yoga with Jim --- all I could see was arms and legs! She is just like Jim and Drew -- those long limbs are not very flexible. It kept making me laugh!

Next it was out to lunch. I had a portabello mushroom wrap and Gracie had pasta pesto with sea bass. It was really yummy!

The oddest happening for the day was when Gracie announced that she was ready to get her ears pierced! WHAT?!?! So we asked at the salon/spa to see if they do it there. Lucky for us, they do NOT! I figure that she will lose interest by the time we get back home.

Next up is manicures and pedicures, followed by dinner at the Rustler's Roost for an official celebration of her birthday!

More pics will come later.

In AZ

Gracie and I are in Arizona at a resort for her bday. She is like traveling with a squirrel - she does something for 10 minutes and then changes activities! But it is all about her this weekend, so I just go with it So far we have played raquetball, went swimming, had lunch and watched a movie!

You never know....

We have this saying at work..."I will give you a copy of this document, just in case I get run over elephant".

Never say never....

Billionaire software entrepreneur Tom Siebel early last month was nearly killed by an elephant while on safari in Tanzania, the San Jose Mercury News reported this morning.

Siebel, a 56-year-old who made a fortune when he sold Siebel Systems to Oracle four years ago, said that on August 1 an elephant attacked him after first plowing into his guide. The elephant broke several of Siebel’s ribs, gored his left leg and crushed his right leg. Siebel said he and the guide were only able to radio for help after the elephant walked away, and that it was three hours before he received medical help.

The guide suffered broken ribs and other injuries, the Merc said.

Siebel was eventually airlifted to Nairobi, and then flew back to California. The Merc says he spent 18 days in four hospitals before returning to his house in Woodside. He is currently in a wheelchair, but the Merc says he has told friends he expects a full recovery after reconstructive surgery and physical therapy.

As for the elephant: his whereabouts are unknown.

Fries

There is a long ongoing disagreement in our house about In-n-Out fries. I think they are nasty but the restof my family likes them (I actually think everything about In-n-Out is nasty. Today on our internal engineer alias, one of the engineers said it better than I ever could:

"In-n-out fries taste bad. They are starchy and flavorless. This is because they are doing it wrong, As you mentioned, they just cut a potato and fry it. This is because at the high oil temperature required to make the fries crispy they will burn before the inside is completely cooked. Any one who has eaten undercooked boiled or baked potatoes knows the sort of bland starchy flavor you get.

This problem is well known by everyone who make fries at home or in restaurants. I don't know how In-n-out missed the memo. When I make french fries I cut them, boil them, dry them, then fry them. The result is oh so tasty. The belgian way is to actually fry them at a low temperature to cook them through, then fry them again at a high temperature to crisp them.

Mcdonalds and other fast food fries are generally cooked before they are frozen and sent out to the restaurants. Result: they taste better.
Generally the fries you get at applebee's or chili's are also frozen, but boiled at the factory before freezing."

So happy to know that I have others on my side!