Once Upon a Time

The title of this story is.....You Can't Lose a Good Chiweenie

Once a upon a time a Queen went out for her morning run. Since she had a new Chiweenie, she ran laps around the school so that the Chiweenie could be off leash during the exercise session and the Queen could get in a good workout. (Young Chiweenies shouldn't run for 4 miles on a leash). So the queen is running laps, in the dark (its 5:30 am). The Queen's trusty Labrador is by her side the whole run. The Chiweenie was darting in and out of the run. The Queen finished the run and did some lunges and squats. (Note: this is not one of those stories where the queen is a big fat out of shape queen.)

This is when the Queen noticed that the Chiweenie was no longer darting about. In fact, there was NO Chiweenie anywhere to be found!!!

The Queen swore like a sailor.

Then the Queen did laps around the school looking for the Chiweenie and whistling.

No Chiweenie! (Note: The trusty Labrador was secretly doing a happy dance!)

So the Queen decides to run the route she normal takes home from the school hoping the Chiweenie was smart enough to head home. (Note: the Queen quietly notes that the Chiweenie's brain is the size of a pea and it is unlikely that she could find her way out of a paper bag. But there is always hope).

So the Queen and the trusty Labrador run home, whistling the whole way. (Note: not whistling like the 7 Dwarfs, whistling like calling a Chiweenie).

When the Queen got back to her castle, there was NO Chiweenie and the King was in the front window looking out and clearly wondering where his Chiweenie was. When the Queen entered the castle, the King jokingly asked, "Dd you lose my Chiweenie?" To which, the Queen replied, "Yes - she is gone." At first the King could not believe the words of the Queen.

But when the Queen got the keys to her rig and headed out the door to search for the Chiweenie, the King new it was true. The King, being a trusty and helpful King, started to get his bicycle while the Queen jumped in her rig. As the Queen was backing out the rig, the King declared, "There is the Chiweenie!!!"

Across the foggy street, came the Chiweenie, running like a boogie man was chasing her!

The Queen had doubted the Chiweenie could find her way home -- But as a wise man once said, "You can't lose a good Chiweenie"!

OK....the wise man was actually Grandpa Roy and he said, you can't lose a good dog but the morale of the story sounds better as..."You can't lose a good Chiweenie!"

Mothers Day Tea

We went out for our annual mothers day tea today. I know it is a little late, but it is the first time we could all get together. Plus we had the great fortune of my Auntie Potty (AKA Aunt Pat) being in town from Kentucky - so she could attend to! I just love going to tea. It is such a relaxing way to spend a couple hours. And I love being with all the ladies in our family.

Big time wrestling

All in a day at our house! Daisy always wins but Ahi puts up a good fight.

What could have been.

Conversation between Gracie and I:

Grace: "Mom, come here."

Me: "What?"

Grace: "You gotta see this."

I follow her and she points out what I see in these pics.

Grace: "Look at Ahi. She is livin' the dream...."

Sure enough, Ahi is living the Chiweenie dream! I leaned down and told Ahi, "I told you that you had won the doggie jackpot when you came home with us.....if it weren't for us, you'd be deader than a doorknob".

Lucky for Ahi, she doesn't understand what I am saying or it would have ruined her moment of "livin' the dream"!

Trapped!

This happened last week and I almost forgot to blog about it:

I ran out to get a newspaper at about 6:45 am. Ahi heard me grab my keys and came running to go with me. We jump in the truck and off we go. I pull up right in front of the grocery store, hop out of the truck and get a newspaper from the machine. I walk back to the truck - which is running - and try to open the door. Ahi is inside and has pressed the lock button locking herself in the running truck in the emergency lane outside the grocery store!! And my phone is in the truck with her.

Luckily the grocery store was open and I borrowed their phone. Here is the call I made:

Jim: Hello
Chris: Hi! Would you care to run up to the store with my extra set of keys and rescue a very worried chiweenie who has locked herself in my truck that is running????
Jim: ha ha ha ha ha ha.....I will be right there!

That chiweenie cracks us up!

Turkey Trot

I have always wanted to do a "turkey trot", only because the name makes me giggle! Well, I finally got my opportunity. I did the turkey trot yesterday at work and was lucky enough to come in first place. And it was a real win because most of the folks took a short cut and I did the whole route! Lots of drama about the shortcut! The best part is I won a pair of shoes from a local running store.

Girls weekend - Cabin

I went on a girls weekend with 6 girlfriends this last weekend. It was our book club meeting for this month. We covered the book in about 5 minutes while eating lunch on our way up to the cabin. Then it was just all rest and relaxation.

It had to be the best girls weekend of all time. Not because it was wild and crazy but because it was totally restful. I literally did everything I love to do to relax:

* read a whole book (The Honeymoon by James Patterson)
* played games
* hiked
* kayaked
* walked my dog
* ate yummy mexican food

I did not bring Ahi with me. I am sure she was distraught at first but she got over it. When I got home, she was pretty happy to see me. But while I was holding her, she looked down at Daisy Mae and got all fired up! She was even happier to see Daisy!!!

Presidential Dog?

This is one of the dogs that is being hailed as a possible hypo allergenic first dog for the Obama family. It is a Peruvian Hairless Dog. This is exactly what Ahi would look like without hair! She is such a trend setter!

Tug -O- War

The two dogs are getting along well. This weekend they played a rousing game of tug-o-war! Ahi was flung all over the room!

Thank You!

As most of you know, Tina and Marty were our day care providers for 12 years. They recently closed up their daycare business to start a new catering and personal chef business. A few of the families they provided care for started talking about how to thank them....we decided to do a surprise party which occured on Saturday nite. Sixty eight people came - one family came from Colorado - to honor and thank the people who helped raise our kids. This picture shows the kids who came to the party. These kids are lucky to have such wonderful adults in their lives!

Thank you Tina and Marty for helping us raise our kids! We could not have done it without you!

Play by Play

Here are the text messages I got from Jim on Saturday nite while he was watching Gracie's very 1st hockey game. Gracie played goalie on an all girls team and they played against an all boys team. I was at a party.

6:06 - 3 to 3
6:13 - 4 to 3 girls
6:14 - start of 3rd period
6:18 - woo hoo 6 to 3 girls
6:26 - grace making save after save
6:27 - 4 min left
6:27 - Doh 6 to 4
6:30 - shit 6 to 5
6:30 - aaaagh 6 to 6
6:31 - Doh 7 to 6 boys
6:32 - stupid boys

Soccer

We had 6 soccer games and 2 hockey games this weekend! Talk about being overscheduled!

These are some pics from Drew's game this weekend. They played at a local high school on a turf field which is a cool experience for them.

Drew made the only score for his team in this game....and he made it off his face -- not his head -- his face! It rebounded off the goalie and another player then hit him in the face and went in the goal. Way to be in the right spot!!!!

He is the closest one in blue in the pic with the refs, the one on the left in the pic going full speed towards the goal and the one trapping the ball in the last pic.

Soccer Jamboree

Gracie's team had their soccer Jamboree this weekend. Her team game in second place against the very big, very fast, very strong Sharks. They played great and should be very proud.

Dollhouse

Gracie donated her giant wood dollhouse to Amelia and Amelia LOVES it. Here she is putting all her princesses to bed. She particulary likes the benk bed which travels with her most of the places she goes.

She was quite alarmed with the Dad that came with the dollhouse as he only had one arm! Daisy Mae chewed the other arm off! So now the dollhouse only houses princesses.

Pilates

I have been taking Pilates at lunchtime on Wednesdays for about 6 weeks now. I really like it as an addition to my workout. I feel a lot stronger and more toned. Although there are some regulars, most people seem to come and go in the class. I assume that folks don't come back because it is hard work and if you are not in, at least, decent shape, you could be really miserable.

Today there was a lady next to me that I am pretty sure won't be coming back....ever! She moaned thru the whole class! Like she was having a baby! It was so ridiculous that I was almost giggling! She was completely out of her element!

Love...

After spending all day on Sunday with his cousins, Drew proclaimed, out of the blue: "I love Sam and Jack!". Gotta love a teenage boy who can express his emotions.

Pile of cousins....

Sam and Jack were over this weekend and there was a big wrestling match! That is all 4 cousins in that pile! Mimi was home with mommy and daddy.

Assume the position....

Ahi has gotten right into the habit of laying in the window in the sun! Great views of the action in the neighborhood.

Beauty Queen?

Drew said the funniest thing the other day. It made me laugh so hard that I had to share.

He was all in a tizzy about something ridiculous and was starting to take his frustrations out on Grace. He walked by her and pretended to elbow her while she was sitting at the counter peacefully eating her breakfast. I was sitting right across from her, saw it and told him that it was unacceptable and not necessary to do that.

He walked away and denied he had done anything and then started ranting and raving about how we treat Gracie better then him and that we treat her "like a beauty queen"! I almost spit out my breakfast laughing so hard. Gracie started giggling too! Beauty queen?????? Gracie????? Has he never looked at her before????

I looked at Gracie and said, "you could look like a beauty queen if you wanted to but most of the time, we are lucky if you hair is combed and your face is clean!" She laughed and agreed!"

That has got to be the most off base thing Drew has ever come up with.....we treat Gracie like a beauty queen? Yep....that is what we are doing when we tell her not to beat up her brother, knock down her soccer opponents, wrestle with her brothers friends or fall out of trees!

Ahi Baby

Gracie loves having a little dog to carry around. Not sure Ahi likes it so much!

Honestly, I can't believe this is the same dog that would not come out of her crate 2 1/2 weeks ago. She is a lively little bugger who is acting more and more like a puppy.

Carving

The kids carved their pumpkins last nite... They turned out cute!

Friends?

The dogs are getting along well....

The only thing is that Daisy wants to play too rough and it freaks Ahi out!

Cousin Time

Gracie went to the pumpkin patch with her cousins this weekend. Great pics!

Mystery Solved

I went out to the kitchen to warm up tea and I found this....it is Ahi's food bag pulled out of the pantry and ravaged.

Then I looked further and found this....Daisy Mae with a BIG FAT belly ache!

Bad dog!

A day in the front yard

Ahi and Betty had a nice time hanging around in the front yard. Daisy was next door waiting for Toby to come out and play.

A wedding at the Ritz

We went to Jim's cousin's wedding at the Ritz Carlton this weekend. You can put the dorks at the fanciest hotel around.....but you can't make them act like adults!

Asiago Dip

This is a great dip!

1 cup light mayo
½ cup thinly sliced onions (I do not use onions)
1/3 cup grated asiago cheese (can use parmesan but I don’t think it is as good)
¼ cup sliced mushrooms
¼ cup sun dried tomatoes chopped (I use the kind in oil)
1 8-ounce carton of lowfat sour cream

Mix all ingredients. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of asiago over the top and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Serve with French or sourdough bread squares or crostini.

Is she adjusting?

Here is what the dogs looked like at dinner tonite. Ahi is still adjusting but so far, so good.

Getting ready

Jim has been spending every free second getting ready for crabbing. Here is one of the many crab pots he has put together. See those orange things on Jim's head? Those are new doors that he is testing for someone. The came in a box in pieces and then he used stinky glue to put them together - made the garage smell like skunk for days. Anyway, the theory is that crabs don't like to climb and with these doors, they don't have to. But some people don't think they hold the crabs in....Jim is going to use both types of pots and report back to the "door man" with the results.

Happy Anniversary

Just in case you were just starting to think, wow....Chris and Jim aren't that old....this will change your mind: Today is our 18th wedding anniversary! Eighteen years of wedded bliss! Honestly, I have to keep him as a husband because:

He is the only man on this earth who says: "No chickens!" and then comes home from work at nite and says "how were the ladies today".

He is the only man who I can trust to not want another dog and within a week of getting one, say, "she is really cute."

He is the only man who will stay during a party with all my girlfriends and get drinks for them.

He is just a plain old good guy....very worthy of hanging out with for the next 18 years!

You won't believe this!

I was talking with a neighbor yesterday who told me that one of the mail carriers who delivers to our house harrasses Daisy Mae by standing on the lawn and waving his arms and jumping around while looking in the window at her! And last week he was on his hands and knees tormenting her from the front yard. My neighbor said Daisy goes crazy - running from window to window!!!

We were FURIOUS when we heard this! I respect the mail carriers by keeping my dog inside when they are delivering mail....they should respect my dog by not tormenting her from her own front yard!

So I called the mail carrier's manager today and gave him the details. I told him if it does not stop we will be videotaping him and I assured him he did not want a video tape of this type of behavior as I am sure it would make it onto youtube.

I work here?

There was a whole discussion over an email alias today about the best place in the bay area to get tattoos. And I am NOT kidding.

Day 2

So, Ahi has only been with us for about 24 hours and she has made quite a bit of progress but has a looooong way to go! She is such a nervous nelly! She slept with Drew on the couch for an hour last nite then snuggled with him again this morning, only to bark at him 10 minutes later when he walked down the stairs. It was like she never saw him before.

She is most afraid of Jim and most comfortable with me. I posted this pic of Jim and her and Daisy to show you the size difference. Don't worry that Jim looks half dead - he is - he has a bad cold. And just woke up. Daisy is doing well with her - she does her normal behavior of ignoring her.

Ahi Wasabi

Our new family member has arrived. This is Ahi. She is about 6 months old.

Daisy and Ahi seem to get a long fine. No aggression at all from either of them. They seem interested in each other on and off.

Ahi is very scared as she was just rescued from the shelter last Thursday, fostered for 3 days with an older woman (and her 6 chihuahuas - that is a whole other story!), and then spayed yesterday! So it has been a rough week for her. I plan to give her a couple days to get adjusted and heal from her surgery and then its training drill Sergeant time!

She has been hanging out with me in my office - she is in a crate. She is happy as long as I don't leave the room. I hope this all goes ok! Stay tuned.

Pure labrador joy!

I put a peanut butter sandwich in Daisy's kong and she spent 5 minutes trying to get it all out. Most of it was on her back using her paws like hands.

What is an Ahi?

A. A type of tuna
B. A sushi roll
C. A Japanese sneeze
D. A chihuahua/weiner dog mix that we just adopted

The answer is A and D!

Her name is Ahi Wasabi - That means hot tuna doggie! She is getting spayed on Monday, so we won't actually have her until Tuesday. She is a cute little thing and we can't wait to introduce her to our home and family. Pics to come later in the week.

Antelope dinner

Jim was so proud of his antelope dinner that he took pics. I was disgusted by the meat - it smelled horrific! But the rest of it, which Drew and I made, was delicious....broccoli, harvest grains with carrots, pasta with garlic and olive oil and tomatoes with marinated mozzarella and balsamic vinegar.

Rock Slide in Yosemite

SCARY... I often think of this while ice skating in Curry Village.


(10-08) 12:30 PDT YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK -- The Curry Village resort in Yosemite National Park was ordered evacuated today after the second rock slide in two days struck cabins, knocked down trees and sent plumes of dust into the air.

Two children suffered cuts and other minor injuries, a park paramedic said.

All occupants of the more than 600 tent and wooden cabins and a small, hotel-style building at Curry Village have been evacuated as a precaution, according to a hotel clerk.
The slide occurred shortly before 7 a.m. and sent boulders into the area near the village amphitheater, witnesses said.

"I heard a huge rumbling," said Dennis Steffen, who works at the nearby Yosemite Stables. "It echoed through the whole valley. You could feel it. A huge plume of dust went up."

Curry Village, founded in 1899, includes the most modestly priced accommodations in Yosemite Valley. It has 427 tent cabins and 180 cabins with baths, along with communal facilities, restaurants and shops. It is located in the eastern end of the valley.

On Tuesday afternoon, another rock slide struck the same area. No one was injured in that slide, which reportedly struck only an unoccupied tent cabin. Part of Curry Village was ordered evacuated afterward.

In July 1996, a slab of granite weighing as much as 162,000 tons broke loose from Glacier Point and plummeted onto the Happy Isles area about a mile east of Curry Village. The massive blast of air caused by the rockfall knocked over 500 trees, one of which killed a 20-year-old man from Southern California who was near an ice cream stand. Four other people were injured, including a woman who was left paralyzed.

Tom Trujillo of New Milford, Conn., who was attending photography classes at Yosemite Institute, told the Associated Press that he had seen today's rock slide.

"Trees were crushed all over the place," he said. "It was a really big mess. Tents were crushed, trees were knocked down, hard cabins were moved out of their positions, with boulders blocking their doorway."

Carol McElligott, a clerk at the Ansel Adams Gallery in Yosemite Village, told The Chronicle that the sound of the slide was a "very loud rumble and it went on and on and on." The dust cloud rose hundreds of feet in the air, she said, and was still visible nearly four hours later.

"Mother Nature owns this park," McElligott said, "and she changes it all the time."

Home Home on the Range....

This is the song I sang last nite during dinner. I changed the versions every so often, but you get the idea:

Oh, give me a home where the buffalo roam
And the deer and the antelope don't play

Where seldom is heard a suffering word
And the bbqs are not smokey all day

Home, home on the range
Where the deer and the antelope can't play

Because antelope is crispy
And the deer are left lonely all day

Dinner???

Me….the vegetarian….went out to the kitchen at lunchtime to fix something to eat….

Only to see that my husband….the carnivore….has taken antelope out of the freezer for dinner!

Antelope?@?@?@

Who in the world eats antelope???? And why is it in my house?????

ICK!!!!!

Random Thoughts

It has been a while since I have posted random thoughts. I think I have been too busy to ponder random thoughts...but I had a thought this morning....

There are two things that I have been really enjoying lately:

* Steel cut oatmeal
* "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson

They are not related at all, so don't try to find the link.

Steel cut oatmeal is also known as Irish oatmeal and it is way less processed that our Quaker Oats oatmeal. That means it is really "meaty" and has a nutty flavor. Grace says that it tastes like rice if you don't put brown sugar on it! Anyway, I eat if for breakfast with golden raisins, brown sugar and walnuts. It is really yummy - you should try it! I buy it at Trader Joes. I have also seen it at Nob Hill - but it was way more expensive.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel-cut_oats

"Three Cups of Tea" is a book about an amazing American who built schools in Pakistan. The book not only gives you a better understanding of that part of the world but it also highlights the good in people and the similarities of people regardless of your location, religion or ethnic background. "Three Cups of Tea", refers to: the first cup of tea with someone - you are a guest, the second cup of tea - you are a friend, the third cup of tea - you are family. Nice way to look at life.

Team Pic

Here is a pic of Drew's soccer team.

Grandpa Tom bird

When we were in San Diego, this is what we called the Grandpa Tom bird, because he looked very grumpy!

San Diego Birthday Weekend

Grace and I are back from our girls weekend in San Diego to celebrate her 9th birthday! We had a wonderfully, quiet, blissful time! That means there were no fighting kids and older brother drama! Here are the highlights:

* Went to Old Town San Diego and had lunch, made a candle and took a horse and carriage ride. Turns out that the buggy driver worked in Yosemite for years as a teenager. So we talked about the Iron Door Saloon!

* Went to Legoland. Enjoyed the mini lego cities. Had some drama when a 10 year old girl with obvious behavioral issues got onto a tour boat for lego cities and she tried to jump off! We waiting for 10 minutes for her to calm down, reseated her in the back of the boat and tried again....nope! She tried to jump off again. So the poor thing had to be hauled off kicking a screaming. Very sad.

* Went to Wild Animal Park and took a photo safari. This meant we went in the back of a safari truck to to see the animals close up! What a thrill it was to feed giraffes! And we got quite a kick out of the ostriches - which are like giant grumpy chickens!

* The last day was a quiet day. We went for a long walk on the beach and did some swimming.

All in all a great way to spend a birthday!