The Senakams | Corgi + 3

Breastfeed or perish!

Thank you everyone again for coming to this neurotic new mom's rescue!

All you comments and e-mails channeling positive energy and sharing your personal experience really helped get me through this past week, as I learned how some of you have gone through the exact same struggle with breastfeeding and the dilemma with formula.

I've since ditched the whole "breastfeed or perish" mantra (where did that come from? More later in this post), and accepted that whatever works for us will have to do.

But here's the ironic thing... no sooner than I semi-gave-up on this whole breastfeeding deal, that things started turning the corner for us. Maybe it's the more relaxed attitude, or the help (i.e. the super potent steroid/antimicrobial cocktail unguent) we got from the lactation consultant, or just sheer luck (or stubborness), breastfeeding has gradually become less like a contact sport (involving lots of sweat and tears), the pain more manageable (I no longer compare that to childbirth itself), and has gone from "there's no way I can do this" to "this is hard but it could be manageable".

We're still supplementing, and I still don't know what the future holds for us in this department, I'm just glad that feeding time no longer resemble interrogation at Guantanamo Bay.

At this eerily calm feeding session at 4 a.m. this morning, staring down at Eva contently attached to my breast, I suddenly realized why new moms (or at least I) am so emotionally charged when it comes to breastfeeding...

For nine long months, you're physically connected to this being in every way. You grow and nurture her without ever having to think about it. It just happens. But when she's born, all of a sudden she's no longer physically attached to and dependent on you. Everything that she needs- diaper change, burping, holding and loving, even feeding if formula is used, can be provided by someone else. It feels as if breastfeeding her is the last visceral connection you can still have with your baby. Being able to breastfeed provides the validation that emotionally vulnerable new moms (i.e. I) need in order to feel "needed" by their babies. In other words, I'm selfishly breastfeeding her more for myself than for her.

Well, at least that's my theory.

By the way, today's my birthday, which I almost forgot if hubby didn't remind me yesterday. It means so much more now that I've given birth to Eva to know what happened today 30 some years ago when my mom pushed me out to this world (and without an epidural too, thanks, mom!) Apparently my parents will be looking after Eva while hubby takes me out to dinner tonight. I've heard of new moms breaking down in tears at their first outings without their babies. I'll let you know how ours go!

Here are some random pictures from this past week (sorry for the poor quality as they're from hubby's phone, don't have time to whip out the "real" camera...) Enjoy!

 
Buckteeth! Naw, just a sucking blister that's coming off :D LOL!

 
Wide awake- with her eyes open, she's starting to look more like her daddy...

 
Fresh air and adult company- all I need to feel like myself again (thanks, Auntie Aimee!)

 
Bryson enjoying the fresh air too!

 
Out at a cafe- she loves being in a crowd. We should live out on the street.

Our Babymoon!

We're back from our babymoon and 3 busy, busy days of last-minute baby prep!

But before we go into that, I'm sure you want to know how Bryson's doing with his Addison's. Remember last week he had a small set back, throwing up and having diarrhea with severe drippage for 2 straight days (sorry, tmi but you get the picture).

We were worried sick that it was his Addison's acting up, turns out it was just some icky stuff (probably other dog's poop and other miscellaneous crap) he feasted on. Whew! It ran its course and now he's once again his perky usual self :) We're going back to the vet next week for more testing, will keep you all posted on how he does then.

So, back to the babymoon... This is the first week of my maternity leave (just 4 more weeks to D-day, can you believe it?!), and I literally worked till the minute before hubby finally peeled me off my computer and packed me into the car so we can take the hour-long drive to escape reality for a few days.

Our destination is the rustic yet luxurious Carneros Inn, somewhere halfway between Napa and Sonoma. Think sprawling vineyards on rolling hills, dotted with clusters of cottages, cozy restaurants, a world class spa, all interconnected with pretty orchards and gardens and outdoor gathering places. (Sorry you probably couldn't tell that from our sub-par photos, it's hard to shoot when you're carrying around a watermelon. But you can see them here on Flickr if you'd like)

It could easily have been the most relaxing trip I've ever been on, except... well, I'll just say this- ladies who are or ever contemplate to be pregnant- do NOT plan your babymoon in the last month of your pregnancy.

Just imagine this- whenever you're upright, you feel like your bladder's about to explode; you lie down for some relief, and now you feel like you're suffocating with the baby up in your lungs; and when you finally have no choice but to haul yourself up to go pee for the 10,000th time that hour, you flounder around like a beached whale, and you can only hope that your spouse on receiving your distress call would go fetch that small crane and come hoist you up. And these are just the atrocities fun stuff I could mention here on this G-rated blog.

With that and a couple of freaky moments thinking I'm going into labor (I lost this while in Napa, oops), our trip consists of mostly laying low at the resort...

Reading my new Kindle (my wedding anniversary gift from hubby :>), having alfresco breakfasts in our bathrobes on our tiny little private patio...

    

... getting pampered at the spa, then tanning back in our patio au naturale so baby can get some vitamin D too (sorry, no pictures of that, you wouldn't want to see it anyway)...  

... eating stuff I'm not supposed to at the Oxbow market (oysters with sips of chilled, white wine, shhhh...), and taking long, cool naps under a fully-blasting A/C (except for this one unfortunate incident where hubby got himself into the dog house messing with my temp control and the blatant cover-up attempts that ensues... but we won't go into that now).

 

Above unfortunate incident notwithstanding, we're a couple of happy campers at the end.

 

And now we can go back to freaking out about getting ready for a potentially early arrival *shudder*. Stay tuned!

Dear Pixar...

Our family loves your cute animated movies, and has generally tolerated you as a neighbor, even though you don't care to share any part of your beautiful campus with us.

But this... this horrible (HARRRIBLE!!!!) construction noise is just about to push me over the edge:

Well, that was 47 seconds of it, multiple that duration by about 500 times (i.e. 8 hours a day) and you know what we've been living with for these past few weeks on a daily basis.

Seriously, Pixar, can you hurry the &*%# up and be done with it soon? What?! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!

And then imagine being almost 8-months prengnant, sleep-deprived, and dealing with a sick puppy (as diagrammed below) on top of all of these: 

This is our dog, poor Bryson, who has a "hot spot" in his groin area that makes him super irritated, thus the neck guard to prevent him from reaching and licking it. Vet says it could be stress-related. Pixar, hear it? You're even STRESSING OUT OUR DOG. Not to mention the damage you've probably already done to our unborn child.

Mr. Pixar, this is our desperate cry for help. JUST MAKE IT STOP!!!

Sincerely,

Your disgruntled neighbor

P.S. We were really looking forward to see your movie "Up", but now we only wish that our home will fly away to a quieter place as in your movie... Care to provide us with some balloons?

An (Almost) Spring Day at Carmel

First of all, thanks everyone for your advice on my sewing questions! I know you guys will be my Obi Wan Kenobi :) With all your suggestions, I've signed up for a 5-week "Sewing 101" class at a local fabric store, and bought this Sooooo-cute-I-can-die baby sewing book by Amy Butler *adore!*. Now I just need to learn how to sew :)

And on a completely different subject, this past weekend we made a short trip down to the Carmel/ Monterey area so Bryson can stretch his little legs on the many dog-friendly beaches there to celebrate the beginning of spring.

While the weather was not exactly springy (what was I thinking, it's Monterey...), Bryson thoroughly enjoyed being out and about, exploring the many tide pools (checking them for little mollusks he can suck up for a snack), and not to mention the gourmet quarter-pounder he enjoyed at the uber-dog-friendly Forge in the Forest:

 
Whoa, that's a LOT of meat. I can't believe we ordered that for him, but he inhaled it before I had a chance to question it... And check out that nose.

 
"Now I have the energy to ROAR!!!"

Can't wait till the weather gets warmer so we (including us humans) can actually enjoy being out in the sun :)

More photos of our day on Flickr here, and some belated photos of our earlier Nude Beach visit here.

(Nude) Beach Bumming

I was reading through some of our recent posts here, and noticed that Bryson has been horribly neglected in this space lately.

Part of it is probably due to the obsession we have towards this new creature brewing in my belly (don't tell Bryson...), and part of it is probably related to the lack of motivation to do anything due to this foul weather. This is what he ends up doing most days, which seems hardly worth reporting...

 
Are we ever going out again? *sigh*

So, when there was a break in the rain this past Saturday, we took the opportunity to dust off our walking shoes, brave the gray skies, and headed to explore the old batteries and one of the most "scenic" beaches around San Francisco...

 

 
It was fun in a slightly eerie way weaving through the many levels of the an abandoned battery that guarded our coast at the turn of the 19th century. There are plenty of dark and hidden nooks and crannies to explore (and if it starts raining there're plenty of good places to hide). Pretty fascinating stuff.

    
"Look, Bryson! There's the famous Golden Gate Bridge!"
"Golden what? Who cares... ooh, look, there's something dead and stinky to roll on right over there. I'll be irresistable."
"Say cheese, Bryson! Whoa, wait... what's that smell?!"

 
Just look into my eyes... You can't possibly be mad at me... *twinkle twinkle*

   
Nothing beats a good romp on the beach to round out the day. And not just any beach, but the (in)famous Baker Beach, San Francicso's premiere nudist beach. As if the GG bridge isn't enough of a jaw-dropping backdrop, if you're "lucky", you'll also have a few of these au naturale folks in your frame. Fortunately for us, it was a very breezy day.

(Disclaimer: even though you can't see us in these photos, rest assured that Bryson was the only one dressing to the beach's protocol here. Trust us.)

"Contemplate the Beginning and End of Each and Every Day..."

First of all, thanks everyone for your suggestions on our babymoon! There are definitely some great suggestions there that we would consider (and many that are already high on our list... great minds think alike, ha ha!).

I'm in Miami this whole week for a meeting, but I had this incredible conversation the other day that I have to share with you before I forget (my mind is like a very shallow bowl these days).

OK, a little bit of background. If you live near us around the Berkeley area, you'd know that Elephant Pharmacy is not your regular mom-and-pop drug store. Elephant Pharm (as they'd kitschy-ly like to be called) has in addition to its "normal pharmacy" this huge alternative/ complimentary medicine department completed with its own library of resources. In other words, totally hemp-wearing Prius-driving tree-sitting Berkeley.

So, when I needed something other than my trusty Ambien- drug of choice for my horrible jet lag that I can't use anymore due to my current condition- I went to Elephant Pharm hoping for some guidance on alternative therapies.

Knowing where I'm going, I really should have been prepared for this conversation below, but somehow I was still struck speechless with the brilliantly simple advice I got.

(Hubby and I approaching alternative therapy section tentatively, grundgy yet helpful looking man came up to greet us)

Grundgy storeperson (GS for short): Helloooo ma'am! How can I help you?

Me: Eh, hi. Can you recommend something for jet lag? I'm pregnant and can't take my usual prescription medicine.

GS: Hmm, first of all, if you're pregnant, I'd probably recommend that you stay away from any oral therapy.

Me: Ehhh.... OK. But I need something. Last time I travelled for work without my Ambien I ended up in the emergency room with an irregular heart rhythm caused by exhaustion.

GS: Oh, hmm... (looking thoughtful) In that case, I'd recommend that you rise with the sun and go to sleep with sunset.

Me: (What are you smoking?!) Hmm, that sounds nice but the sun sets at like 5 p.m. when normal people I would still be working.

GS: Oh (looks surprised), then at least spend a few minutes watching the sunrise and sunset, then contemplate the beginning and end of each and every day... (looking irritatingly serene)

Me: (Speechless, and kinda waiting for him to say "I'm just kidding!" which he never did). OK, forget that scenario where I'm pregnant. Can you just show me the aisle where the homeopathic sleep aid is?

GS: Sure! Right this way.

Yep. That's why we love where we live.

Day 28: Black Friday Shopping

We live close to a mall/IKEA complex, and I was already planning an alternate route last night so we can get around today without getting stuck in Black Friday traffic.

Lo and behold, after walking Bryson this morning at Point Isabel, I completely forgot about it and took the exit I should have avoided like a pest. There was almost bloodshed in a fit of Black Friday road rage. *sigh* Patience's just not my thing.

There actually is a piece of furniture we're looking for- a decent sleeper sofa. And there appears to be some deals to be had, but picturing the crowds made me feel lightheaded already (not to mention crazy incidents like this fatal stampede at a Walmart this morning). Scary, eh?

So I've been doing my sleeper sofa shopping online in the safety of our home today. I'm a bit conflicted- it would really work for our space, but I've had nothing but horrible experiences with cheap versions of these modern conveniences. The mattress usually sags, and as you shift to find a comfortable position the metal frame creaks like it's about to fall apart. You wake up more exhausted than before you tried to sleep.

But my research today turned up some reviews of decent sleeper sofas, boasting new features such as a built in standard mattress (no more sagging), solid wood frames (instead of creaky metal ones), and much improved designs so they don't look like they belong to your grandparents' basement.

The good quality ones seem expensive (although furniture seems to be the last department we've graduated from their college versions- so "expensive" here is relative). But I'm willing to invest in one if it means saving anyone even one night of sleep.

Any suggestions on where to get a good one that won't break the bank?

Day 26: Vote for Hope Dogs!

**Due to some technological difficulties, this post which was posted yesterday never showed up. I swear I didn't cheat! But here it is, a little out of order. Oops.**

OK, people, I know Nov 4 has come and gone, but it's time to vote again!

This time it's for Bryson and Picasso as Calendar Boys on the 2009 mycorgi.com calendar!

   

You can cast your vote here.

Oh, and while you're at it, don't forget to vote for Bryson's buddies Theo and Gibson as well :)

The selfish part of me hope the boys will make it this year, but since Bryson was both Mr. Feb and Mr. August on this calendar last year, the "Good-person voice" inside me says that maybe we should let other corgis (especially new pups who weren't around last year) take the spotlight this time around.

Argh, conflicted! Just vote for the ones that make you smile. Can't go wrong with that, right? :)

Day 27: Happy Thanksgiving!

Growing up in Hong Kong, I've never celebrated a Thanksgiving with my family. I didn't even know what it is till I moved to the States when I was 18. And my mom will tell you that turkey is "rubbery and tasteless", so carving a big fat turkey and having huge family dinners has never been a tradition for us on Thanksgiving.

So hubby and I kinda created a different tradition for ourselves.

We started volunteering for the Salvation Army, delivery meals to homebound seniors about 4 years ago, and have done it almost every year since. This year hubby has to work, so I persuaded some friends to do the deed with me. 

Having to get up at 6 a.m. on a holiday made me almost murderous, but as I tell my friends, not only do you feel all warm and fuzzy when you receive all those heart felt thank you's, you also gain some valuable karma points to make up for the time you "neglected" to give up seat for the old lady on the bus or pick up that last piece of dog poop coz you ran out of bags...

Hubby and I are probably just going to spend a quiet evening home by ourselves. For those of you celebrating today with your family and chowing down on big, fat, juicy turkeys, have an extra piece for us :)

Day 25: Holiday Open House and BIG Giveaway!

OK, back onto the subject that I was going to write about yesterday- the Holiday Open House I'm going to be selling at *super-psyched*!

And, there'll be another FREE Giveaway! (Keep reading...)

A few of my letterpress classmates and my letterpress teacher will be selling there as well, I've seen some of the calendars, cards and hand-bound books they created/ letterpressed, they're SOOOO unique and gorgeous I think I almost drooled on myself...

And here are a few things I'm thinking of selling there (plus a few more "new" holiday items little procrastinator me's still scrambling to put together):

Here's a bit more info for the Open House:

I realize that this sale is on the same day as the Dixon Corgi Fair! Arrgghhhh... it couldn't be a worse conflict!! I know a lot of you local corgi people are going to Dixon, if you happen to drive by Berkeley maybe you can stop by our little Open House and say hi!

In fact, come to think of it, to thank you for driving all the way to Berkeley, I'm gonna do a Free Giveaway to the first 10 folks who stops by to say hi to me at this Open House!

Yep, you heard me right, another { Paper Elixir } Giveaway!! Remember how fun the last one was? ;)

And I'll make it oh-so-easy for you to win free stuff:

• Just be one of the first 10 people on Dec 7 to come to the Open House between 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. (location on invite above)
• Find me :)
• Say an enthusiastic "Hello!", and tell me this blog sent you there
• Voila! Free gift from { Paper Elixir } is yours

And no, there's no fine print, you don't have to buy anything (but of course it'd be nice if you do find a few suitable holiday gifts there) :)

I know quite a few of you "virtually", but it'll be so nice to finally meet some of you in person! So bring your friends and family and come see me hawk my goods in Berkeley on Dec 7!

P.S. For those of you who don't live in the SF Bay Area or can't make it to Berkeley that day, you can play too! Just purchase one thing from my etsy store that day, and you can get a free gift too! See, I'm totally fair-minded! :D

Day 23: Bazaar Bizarre is almost here :)

I'm so psyched, one week from today it's Bazaar Bizarre time again!

What's Bazaar Bizzare? Well, I really can't say it better than what's on their banner- it's "not your granny's craft fair".

Think of it as sort of like a real-life etsy. It's chock full of talented local artists/ craftspeople , selling their handmade and very hip and chic holiday gifts, jewelry, houseware, clothing, stationery, etc, etc. In other words, a very dangeous place for your wallet.

They're in SF next Sunday, and as you can see, you may have one coming up in your home town as well :) Consider yourself very lucky if you live in/near one of these very cultured cities, ha ha!

But you know what's more exciting than BazBiz? There's another craft fair in the SF Bay Area on Dec 7 (the following Sunday) that I'm even more psyched about!

Why, you ask? Coz I'm gonna be selling at that fair!

Where is it, you ask (because you so desperately want to patronize me)? Well, that you'll have to wait. More on that tomorrow! (Don't booo me, please...)

Day 18: Absinthe

I just came back from Absinthe, one of San Francisco's more popular restaurants, and I feel I have to set a couple things straight about this legendary liquor that's purportedly caused Vincent van Gogh to cut off his ear in a fit of delusion.

I've always been curious about this banned liquor that's been portrayed as one of history's most villainous psychogenic beverage. Could it really have inspired the work of all those brilliant French impressionists? Or is it really the evil substance that's caused legions of men and women to waste away and look like zombies?

Apparently, the latter view was never substantiated, and thus after a ban that spanned almost a whole century, absinthe is legalized in the U.S. again last year.

Driven by curiosity, including this whole "ritual" of how it has to be prepared under a cold water fountain with paraphernalia that looks like you're about to perform lobotomy on someone, I had my first absinthe earlier this year, and just to make sure my experience is duplicable, again a small sip this evening.

All I have to say is:

(1) I did not feel like cutting off my ear after drinking it, more like my entire HEAD coz it gave me a huge headache

(2) I did not feel especially inspired, artistically or otherwise (too busy looking for the Exedrin bottle)

(3) It tastes like drinking liquid licorice with alcohol in it, in other words, ACKKK!!! Unless, of course, if you like licorice (ugh).

So, even though this legendary and once-clandestine liquor can now be purchased at your neighborhood BevMo, I don't think I'm running there anytime soon to get my own bottle. But if you think otherwise of absinthe (especially if you have good hallucinogenic experience with it), do share!

P.S. At the end of dinner, I found out that Absinthe (the restaurant)'s Executive Chef, Jamie Lauren, is on this season's Top Chef! That might just be another show I've gotta set on my Tivo now...

Day 17: Fort FUNston

Thanks everyone, I think I'm feeling better today. I just wish I can get part of my weekend back :P

But I guess I really can't complain, coz on Saturday we had a mega fun day at the beach at the appropriately named Fort FUNston with Bryson!

Fort Funston is probably one of the most popular dog parks in San Francisco. With all the trails in the sand dunes, old battery remains and a long sandy beach, it really has something for every dog.

And with the freakishly warm weather (in the 80's, thanks to global warming), it really felt like summer all over again. Which stood in sharp contrast to our winter trip just 2 weeks ago...

   
Snowy Paws (2 wks ago, 19F)       Sandy Paws (this weekend, 83F)

Here are some more photos of the day:

 
Hopping down a sand dune on the way to the beach

 
Let's see if there's any edible sea junk over there...

 
Oooh, is that fresh sashimi?

 
Oh wait, these don't smell like seafood... Er, are these horses?

 
Look, mommy! I'm wearing a new cologne, Horsie Poopie, like it?

 
What? You don't like it? OK, I changed the scent to Salty Seawater

 
Daddy I'm such a good boy I deserve a treat

 
OK, my stomach is full and I've had enough fun with horse poop. Let's go home.

Day 2: Winter Road Trip!

A mere 12 hours after the last blog post, here I am again (I really hope I won't be boring you to tears with this daily blogging thing...)

But today, I have a reason to blog early, coz we'll be leaving for a road trip (yup, another one) in a couple of hours! It wouldn't be as epic as this last one, but it'll mark another first for us- taking Bryson to snow country!

We actually don't know if he's seen snow before (remember we got him as a show dog retiree), so we'll try out best to keep him warm and safe, e.g. bringing his coat and doggles, feeding him plenty and often (which in itself should keep him happy), trimming his feet fur so snow wouldn't get stuck, and keep our fingers crossed that he'll have a good time :)

So where are we going? This will give you an idea:

We're staying in this mountain lodge in June Lake, CA, which is just east of Yosemite, close to the Mammoth Lakes ski area. We've been to Yosemite a few times, but never with Bryson and never after it started snowing.

I've marked San Francisco and LA with pink arrows so you have a rough reference of the distance we have to travel. The red route is the more direct route that we would have taken if it's not snowing, but due to winter road closures, we're now taking the blue route, which according to google map will take us around 6 hours.

I'm giddy with a mix of excitement and anxiety (the venti coffee this morning probably didn't help with this weird feeling in my stomach either). I know we'll have fun hiking and exploring, but after a flip-over accident in the snow with my family a few years ago (where miraculously none of us was hurt seriously), I've been apprehensive about driving in snow.

Plus last I checked it's snowing up there, with a forecast of a high of 31 and low of 14 tomorrow. Brrrrrrr!!

It really seemed like a good idea when we planned this a few weeks back when it was nice and sunny... now it can turn out to be either a blast or a complete disaster. Wish us luck!

(P.S. I'm bringing my laptop as there should be internet access at the lodge. If you don't hear from us tomorrow, either internet doesn't work there, or we've perished in the snow...)

Day 1: { Paper Elixir } @ Relish at Home

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first day of my month-long participation in NaBloPoMo!

Yep, that's that crazy blogging-every-day-deal for the whole month of November. But I'm real glad I have blog friends like JuLo and Lynn and flanthrower doing this with me! It's kinda like having friends to join the gym together, so we can give each others a virtual kick in the behind when we slack off (but hopefully I won't need one).

So, remember I told you earlier this week that another store in the area started carrying my goodies? Wanna know who it is? Well, wait no more! I'm excited to announce that my gocco/letterpress cards are now sitting on the pretty, pretty shelves in the store...

Relish at Home!
An uber chic boutique in Berkeley, CA (7th St and Pardee)
(Check out all their rave reviews on Yelp!)

I was so psyched when I discovered this little gem that carries the most unique handmade items when I first moved to neighboring Emeryville a couple years ago. Since then, many a friends (including myself) have received their birthday/ X'mas/ house-warming gifts from here ("one for you, two one for me...")

And ever since I started making greeting cards, I've squandered away many hours, standing in front of the beautiful card display, and entertained myself with daydreams (with harps and everything) about seeing my creations there along with all these other gorgeous handmade cards that I drool for... (and if I actually drool I plan to frame Bryson). 

So, many moons later, when I felt that my creations have progressed to a semi-decent level, I gathered my courage and chatted with the owner, Kelly. And after talking to her for just 5 minutes, I wondered why on earth did it take me so long to approach her?

It turns out that apart from being uber talented and tasteful, Kelly is also super-duper nice, and totally supportive of local artists and craftspeople, and embraced the idea of carrying my cards pretty much right away! I was psyched beyond words :)

And here's the result:

    

Notice the very cute card display on the left (don't you love the colors?). And there, squint a little harder, do you recognize something familiar in the photo on the right? (hee hee!) 
There they are, 5 of my babies greeting cards among the sea of fabulousness! (The Simple Baby card is not pictured). If you're due for an eye exam, you can test yourself to see if you can pick them out :)

 

And while taking these photos in the store and the card display (which Kelly was totally cool about, even though it's slightly dweeby and a tiny bit annoying, I'm sure), I caught this photo above with her in a brief cameo (yup, that's her in the cute red headband reflected in the mirror, and the weirdly amputated arms belong to me).

I don't know what it is, there's something about her warmth and presence, not to mention the cute stuff that overflows the store, that makes this place really special. And I'm so honored that my little creations are part of this wonderfulness now :)

Dogzilla!!!

It's been such a dreary day. It's cold (by San Francisco standards), it's wet, and it's dark by 6. I can feel my old friend SAD knocking on the door. I just feel drained and unable to operate normally. It's annoying but I really am that sensitive, you'd think I have a solar panel on my back. 

And these are the times I'm extra grateful of having a dog. I mean, short of advocating for Prozac in the city's water supply, I can't imagine anything else that can save me from a whole winter of depression.

Just look at these photos from last week. We were by the water front in the city, getting Bryson to do his usual pose-y thing, when we noticed he was up to something devious...

Was he really trying to eat a BEE mid-flight?!

   

 

 

I swear the way he was smacking his lips had us thinking he'd actually ATE that poor bee. But upon closer examination of the above freeze-frame slo-mo sequence, we're glad to see that the bee had deftly escaped the maw. Whew!

And this is probably what it looks like from the bee's perspective:

 

Whaaaa!!!

Seriously, you'd think we never feed him.

And here are a few more doses of anti-depressants from the day:

  
  

 

 

Think I feel better now :)

By the way, I've finally taken the plunge and joined NaBloPoMo at JuLo's urging! Nablow-what?! Well, it's basically a group of bloggers who'll dedicate a month of their time to daily blogging. Yup, that's one blog post EVERY DAY for a MONTH!

Lynn at Craftstew is also in this crazy deal. Well, it's not unlike having friends to go to the gym together- you know it's good for you but sometimes you're just too lazy for it, so it helps to have a friend motivate you kick your butt when you're being a slacker! We're gonna start on Nov 1, anyone else wanna join in the fun? ;)

Corporate Re-org (Again)

Thanks to all of you who've shared your Myers Briggs type here! And what's all this ISTJ/ISFJ business?? All you accountants and lawyers and engineers and rational folks out there... makes me feel like an airhead! Or maybe opposite attracts? :)

(BTW, hubby is an ISFP. So I guess my "opposite attracts" theory partially holds true).

To some degree of irony, as soon as we came back from our training meeting in Phoenix, we found ourselves subjects of another round of "re-organization" in our company (that's corporate code word for restructuring with possibilities of lay-off's).

Yup, I said the "L" word. And that's the second round in the past 10 months.

Well, with a palpable air of anxiety, we were relieved to learn on a Monday morning conference call with that the axe fell somewhere else in the company this time.

We're safe, whew! For now.

It almost make me feel a bit guilty to think that, realizing hundreds of hard-working people elsewhere in our company are being handed their pink slip. And I'm sitting here complaining about not having enough time to do more gocco'ing and worrying about stupid stuff like Cosmo-bots hijacking my blog...

Isn't that totally selfish and self-indulgent in these hard economic times? Do I need to give myself a big, fat slap?? (OK, I'm not really sure I'm ready for your answer...)

Hmm, things seems to be getting a bit heavy here. To lighten things up, here're some photos of Bryson and friends having a fun outing at nearby Redwood Regional Park (Bryson saves the day again, yay!)

Bryson, Picasso and Chorizo burning some rubber on this lovely redwood trail.

 
Face off! (with Chorizo as referee)

 
:: ¡Chorizo for President! ::

 
Low dogs celebrating a successful walk (despite of a hairy situation involving one of them sliding off a 2-storey-"cliff"... No one got hurt, and said-canine pulled an amazing recovery climbing all the way back up by himself with cheers from his buddies. Disaster averted!)

Go to our Flickr album for more pix of the day!

Night at the Museum

Remember, that Ben Stiller movie about things coming alive at a Natural Science Museum? I know, it's silly and adolescent, but I can't resist any Ben Stiller flicks (could you?).

Anyway, our night at the museum, or rather the much-anticipated Pre-Opening Event at the California Academy of Science, did not involve mammoths running lose or Teddy-Roosevelt-played-by-Robin-Williams, but it was almost just as colorful.

You see, most of our fellow visitors are hubby's colleagues in the Hotel Concierge business. Yep, these are the highly-cultured/ fashioned/ polished men and women who sit behind shiny mahogany desks at classy hotel lobbies, hook you up with sold-out Miley Cyrus tickets, and are oh-so-full of "personalities" (hubby is the minority in his business as a rare heterosexual man). As we were mingling, chatting about the finer things in life on the "living roof" of the Academy, I was acutely aware of the green gocco ink I had under my nails ("Oops, those North Sea green caviar sure stains... ha ha")

Speaking of green, I actually fit in quite well with the green theme of the Academy. Just look at the photos (other than the ones I photoshopped to b&w for a bit of drama). Click on the caption if you wanna know what you're looking at. You can see I'm getting quite fond of this mosaic thing (you like? too busy?)

1. Is that a Cockroach?!, 2. Toast to T Rex!, 3. The End, 4. Sphere from 3rd level, 5. Algae display?, 6. Rainforest entrance, 7. Charles Phan- Slanted Door, 8. Is that a real aligator?!, 9. Indoor shore life, 10. Glow, 11. Finding Light, 12. Free-falling ants (?)

Not all the exhibits are opened yet, we're disappointed that we couldn't get into the Planetarium nor the huge glass dome that's housing a miniature man-made rainforest. And I'm shocked (no pun intended) that one of my favorite exhibits- the earthquake simulator- has been scrapped (we totally need to feel more earthquakes here in California).

But between the interactive Madagascar Hissing Cockcroach display (these cyber cockroaches crawl out from under your feet as you step onto them), watching the poor albino aligator scared stiff by his supposed "mate", and the free-flowing pinots and famous meat balls (which by the way go perfectly well with conversations about green caviar), we were thoroughly entertained for a couple of hours.

Love to hear what you miss about the old Academy!

Where Did the Weekend Go?!

Can't believe it's Sunday evening already. I'm exhausted and Monday morning is just around the corner... Where did my weekend go?!

Hmm, let's retrace our footsteps...

(1) On the creative front- perfect example of "when it rains it pours"- printed a bunch more gocco and letterpress cards (some exciting stuff, photos to come); put up a few in my etsy shop; finished a special order of collage cards; sent samples to Pegasus Bookstore; took up another custom order (interesting request I got through etsy, again, more to come); signed up for another gocco swap (yep, can't help it). 

OK, I guess I knew where my time went. It's hard to notice though when you're running on caffeine and adrenaline.

Shout out to those who've ordered from my shop this past week! Thanks!!

(2) After almost 9 years of closure and remodeling,the California Academy of Science in the Golden Gate Park will finally celebrate its much-anticipated reopening as the country's "greenest" museums in 2 weeks- and hubby and I got a sneak peek today at a special pre-opening event :) More to follow.

 
Nothing better than mingling with T. Rex with a glass of pinot in hand.

(3) After months of various conflicts, finally made it to this month's SF Corgi Meet up! It started out foggy and overcast (surprise, surprise), but ended up nice and warm as the afternoon rolled by. I hate to say this but I think fall has arrived.

This time I had both Picasso and Bryson with me, thought that would help Bryson be less anti-social- but no. He's worse than ever. Tried to escape when no one's looking so many times I finally had to leash him to the picnic table :( But hey, that's prime treating/petting spot + it's Lleulu's birthday party so there's plenty of yummies there, so I guess he doesn't mind that much after all. (Happy birthday, Lleulu!)

The puppies (and some puppies-at-heart) played up a storm (and dug a few big holes). It was quite cute. And Toast's baby sister just let everyone hold her and took it all in. What a great baby :)

1. Wendy, 2. Treeeat..., 3. Starbuck, 4. Scratch it good, 5. Runaway Bryson, 6. Rolls, 7. Pet me, 8. Ooh, stick..., 9. Nub wag, 10. No, it's MINE!, 11. Love you too, 12. Love from Barclay, 13. Itchy, 14. It's nice to be taller, 15. It's MY hole!, 16. I'm tall, 17. I'm cute, 18. I die, 19. Hi Baby!, 20. Hey, watch it, 21. Hey, 22. Happy 9th Birthday, Lleulu!, 23. Group feeding, 24. Group, 25. Feed me

If that's not enough corgis for you, go to our Flickr album, there's more!

The Buddies

After all the actions of these past few weeks, I'm having an unusually quiet Labor Day weekend here- Jacques' working all weekend, all my friends have taken refuge in Southern CA, even Picasso, who's been staying with us since we came home from Kauai, has bid his farewell and gone home with his parents.

Just me and good ol' Bryson staring at each others at home. I think I'm going through withdrawal...

Here's a pick-me-up for myself, some of Bryson and his BFF Picasso's photos from these past couple of weeks:

 

Jacques was getting them to "line up" for a photo with a treat (I'm sure you can tell by that crazed look in their eyes). As you can see, Picasso is a natural when it comes to using your "assets" to edge out your competition.

We took the boys to Point Isabel- our fav (and purportedly the country's largest) offleash dog park for a evening walk one day, and ran into these 2 other shorties! It's usually a rare treat to run into another corgi, let alone 2 (while we have both of them too!) I just can't resist the temptation of lining them up for a group shot. I call them the "Fantastic Four" :D

But see how anti-social Bryson's totally uncomfortable with the proximity to other dogs (that ears-back-nervous-smile look)? He wouldn't have sat there if he didn't have Picasso as a "buffer". I just wish he could relax with other dogs!

This was taken another day when we took them to the Cesar Chavez Park at the Berkeley Marina, another wonderful offleash park in our area. You may recognize this location, yep, it's one of our favorite spot to take photos. The light is usually just right over this "Hope" rock around sunset.  And as far as they're concerned, for a treat, they'll pose on it even if it says "Corgis are tasty".

  
"Hello, ma'am! You wouldn't happen to have a spare treat in your hands, would you? I wouldn't mind offloading that horrible burden from you. Really, I'm that nice a doggie."

Lick Observatory

You know I've got a new camera lens recently, and have been dying to try it on a subject other than Bryson (no offense, Bryson, you can still give me a Blue Steel any day).

So, when fellow photography/corgi enthusiast mrjoro invited us to the open house at the University of Califiornia Lick Observatory with promises with photo ops like this one, we showed up with all my camera gear (which isn't much) two hours before the event, totally psyched!

But as with all my best laid plans, there's always a fatal flaw.

I forgot to charge my camera's battery.

Yep, last time we went out I forgot my memory card. This time I double-checked on the card, but then sadly, neglected the juice factor. I didn't even get to use the tripod I just bought that day and lugged around with us the whole entire evening. *Kick self repeatedly*

Given my lack of preparation, I have precious few photos to show for it, below are a few of my fav's, and you can check out the rest here. For better coverage of the day, you can check out mrjoro's album here.

This is the main entrance at dusk. It's only about 20 miles from metropolitan San Jose, but it's situated way above the city in a totally remote part of Mt Hamilton, so it can get away from all the light pollution from civilization. The dome to the left is where one of the observatory's century-old telescope is housed, which is mostly kept for its historical significance and not used for research any more. 

 
We got a chance to get in to the larger dome for a public lecture about its history (above). And when the lecture was over, this wooden "floor" was raised about 20 feet by a century-old hydraulic lift, so we can step up to and look through the ginormous 57-feet telescope (below) that purportedly was used in the discovery of Jupiter's "5th moon" over a hundred years ago. (See the sliver of light? That's where the dome opens. It was quite a site to see it in action)

I'm no astronomy buff, but this place's colorful history and beautiful setting can totally sweep you off your feet.

 
Left: Me taking a photo of mrjoro snapping a pic :D
Right: Mrjoro taking a photo of me snapping a pic :D

Brunch with Bryson and Gang

It's been such a hectic week, I can't believe it's only Wednesday! Let's see what's going on...

I'm getting ready for a work trip to Chicago next week; trying to communicate (emphasis on the "trying" part) with my family which is scattered around the world in Seattle/ Hong Kong/ Boston about a family trip to Maine in October; and re-embracing my creative life, by signing up (finally!) for the Gocco swap among other projects that seem to have sprung up all at once at the same time from out of nowhere. Whew! I feel tired just typing it all out.

So, looking back at these photos from last weekend when things were all fun and relaxed, it somehow feels like centuries ago.

This past Saturday there was a fund-raiser for an animal adoption agency, so my friends and I thought it'd be great to take our pooches (plus Picasso, who was staying with us) to grab some brunch and go do some good deed for the less fortunate pooches. Yes, that's 3 chicks + 4 dogs that want to go in 4 different directions simutaneously.

In the end, we were able to get them under control, and actually ended up enjoying a great day out, doing lots of eating and shopping (and a little bit of fund-raising- oops, got a little carried away). I'm already in need of the next weekend :)

Sit for your treat (and no stealing, Xena)! 

I may seem like a psycho sometimes (especially when the car stops moving), but I do have a tender, loving, adorable side :D

We're starving! Where's our eggs benedict and mimosas?!

I miss my friends...

Check out our Flickr album for more photos of the day.

New Lens! Test Photos

I finally plunked down the cold hard cash (uh hmm) and got myself the 50mm f1.8 portrait lens!

Backtracking a bit (rewind, rewind...). Ever since I got my first SLR last year, I've been contemplating "upgrading" to a more specialized lens. But then I was shocked to find that there are as many choices on the market as there are riders on a Japanese rush-hour bullet train. And they're advertised with all different kinds of bells and whistles with big price tags to match. I've since gone into a analysis-to-paralysis state.

But recently talking to someone in the know, who has also kindly let me play with his 50mm lens (a f1.4 one) which yielded photos like this one, I'm instantly sold! (The $85 price tag of the one I got didn't hurt either)

And now I got this hot little piece of lens in my hands, we got to try it out today! I obviously still have a lot of learnings to do and adjustments to make (e.g. realizing that you have to constantly move back and forth with a lens that doesn't zoom, which I have conveniently forgotten about).

And even though photography has gotten a bit more aerobic for me, judging from these preliminary results, I'm ecstatic :D

 

Check out our Flickr album for more test photos!

Field Trip: a Berkeley Print Shop

You probably know that I'm still taking my weekly letterpress class, even though I'm not horribly productive lately due to my grim prognosis from Blackberry-itis.

So, I was relieved that for last weekend's class, instead of having to call in sick again since I can barely hold a pen, that we're going on a "field trip" to one of our teacher's fellow printers in Berkeley.

But since I've missed so many classes, I have no idea where we're going, except that this is also where our film (for our photopolymer plates) come from.

And there I thought, Great, we're going to watch someone make film in a dark room for 3 hours... whoopie doo...

So, imagine what a pleasant surprise it was when I realized our destination is this lively printing studio with 30+ years of colorful Berkeley-an history; and right at the door greeting us were owners and printing world celebrities, David Goines (of Saint Hieronymus Press) and Richard Seibert (of Letterpress)!

Geez, do I feel stupid now thinking we're going to watch film dry...

And as soon as we stepped in, our excitement continued to bubble as we laid eyes on the studio lined with all sorts of working presses and printing paraphernalia, smelling fondly of paper and ink and grease, and packed to the gills with the most fantastic lithographs and printed work as far as the eye can see. 

 

David and Richard are the most gracious hosts, taking us gaggle of students all around the studio, explaining their artistic approach and their preferred printing process (David does mostly lithograph, whereas Richard does mainly letterpress), and answering our endless questions patiently. They've only resorted to an ever slightly menacing tone when asked how their apprentice program works (well, suffice to say I'll never be accepted here, ever).

 

We were fasincated by the work produced through the years here, many of which are immediately recognizable, including posters/art work for the internationally acclaimed "Mother of Californian Cuisine", Chez Panisse, the logotype of Acme Bread, Ravenswood Winery, and business cards and logos for countless businesses big and small that share the common theme of having their roots here in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

We had such a wonderful time that we didn't even realize we're at the end of our visit till we had our hands shaken and were kindly shown the way out. But not before we were each handed our own goodie bag, packed with parting gifts and wisdom from Richard and David!

What? You got a goodie bag?! You lucky bastard!! What's in it? Uh hmm. Can't tell you, or you'll die with jealousy! *evil chuckle*

I'll just say that what we've received today will enrich and inspire our printing endeavors for many years to come.

P.S. Oh, and yes, we did get to watch film being processed. And yes, it would have been painful if we had to watch that for 3 hours.

For more photos of this fantastic field trip, visit my Flickr album.

Lazy 4th Weekend

Hope everyone had a good 4th of July weekend! We had all kinds of big plans, but with the crazy work schedule last week, we ended up abadoning all ambitions and just had a lazy (but even better) one.

For Friday and Saturday, me and my girlfriends were supposed to have a movie/spa/slumber party. But by Thursday, we realized we were kidding ourserlves to think that we'd have the energy to plan for anything (other than the slumber part, perhaps). So what did we do?

We shopped till we dropped (look at these shoes!), ate spicy Korean Tofu soup (yummm), drank a few bottles of good wine, chatted till we were incoherent, and fell into a deep slumber. Woke up the next morning still buzzed, nursed that with some strong coffee and greasy breakfast, and shopped some more. In other words, we had a perfect 2-day girlfriend get-together.

So glad I found these this weekend at Jeremy's! Aren't these the cutest and funkiest shoes ever? Reminds me of an old bathroom mat we used to have when I was a kid.

Then, on Sunday, Hubby and I got an invitation to take the 45-min drive out to Half Moon Bay to hang out with Brian, Rita and Picasso, who're spending some R&R time at this picturesque coastal town (which you may be familiar with if (a) you've seen American Pie 3, that's where Jimbo and Michelle got married at, or (b) you're a surfer and know what the Mavericks is).

We had a grand ole time at the Miramar Beach (near Half Moon Bay), where the dogs could run around the beach and play in the surf. I don't think this beach is officially an off-leash beach, but seeing that most every dog is sans leash, we figured we have safety in numbers (or we can run away really fast).

 

Crazy cross-eyed Bryson- life is tough when your mommy's luring you to pose for treats while the surf is looming dangerously close!

 
Bryson and Picasso in a mid-surf hug, just in case the other got swept away. "Duuuude, I'll miss you..."

(For more photos of the beach boys, check out our Flickr album)

After frolicking at the beach, we headed over to the famous Half Moon Bay Brewery for a microbrew and beach food. By this time the fog finally burnt off, so we could hang out on the sunny patio and not freeze our tushies off. This place is super laid-back and dog-friendly (think surfer-chic), there're probably at least two or more dogs under each and every table. We stuffed our face with ceviche and fish stew, and washed it down with pints of the most delicious amber ale. *BURRRP* 

Abadoning earler plans to continue down the coast to Santa Cruz after lunch, we made a sharp U-turn, drove our lazy asses home, and took a looong nap. Life is good.

Wine Tasting with the Boys!

As promised in the last post, here's a recap of the fantastic wine tasting trip we went on with Brian, Rita, and the boys last weekend where we all had such a blast (and buzz).

Before making the 40-minute drive to the Livermore Valley wine country, the smaller and lesser-known little cousin to the famous Napa Valley 1.5 hr to the north, Rita hands out treats to Bryson and Picasso in exchange for good behavior when we get to the wineries (don't wanna ruin it for all the future canine visitors!). We're not huge wine snobs, just psyched that we can take these guys along to these dog-friendly wineries so close to home!

Livermore Valley Cellar was the first winery we hit. They're in a tiny little shack in the middle of a housing development, kinda a strange place for a winery. But they more than make up for it by making some damn good big-ass zin's. Check out their appropriately-named "Derriere Series" with names like "caboose" and "weigh behind". Cute. We also got their arcanum (a cab/merlot/syrah blend) and syrah, both are super yummy. Just thinking about them now make me crave a filet mignon or lamb chop, hmm... (*salivating*).

**At last check, LVC's website is loaded with viruses! Visitors beware**

Anyway, back to our wine-tasting day last weekend. It was a super hot day and LVC just wasn't big enough to accomodate all of us + Bryson and Picasso (all squeezed inside for the free A/C, of course), so we headed over to Tenuta Winery a few minutes away.

Brian and Rita told us the best thing about this winery (apart from being dog-friendly, as is LVC) is that they do barrel tasting. We've never done it before, and we're very happy to learn that this is how you get "first dips" at a good deal. Basically, you taste the wine when it's still in the barrels, then buy them as "futures" if you like them (i.e. paying a discounted price now and pick up when they're commercially released, usually a few months later).

And that's just what we did when we got there. We got to taste a really awesome primativo (essentially same thing as a zin, as I understand it), which we got for 30% (+ another 20% off since we got a case) off the final retail price. The down side of course is that we'll be thinking about it every day till we can actually get our hands on it when it's released this fall. *sigh*

 

The picture above on the left is the public tasting room, and the one to the right is our "private tour" to the barrel room in the back, which the boys enjoyed very much, being able to sniff out all the weird smells of fermenting grapes and wet oak barrels (they probably wonder why we like such foul-smelling stuff, just like we wonder why they like to roll in poop, ha ha).

And I have to say being taken "back stage" to the barrel room by the very patient and friendly Rich, seeing the inner workings of a small family-owned winery, tasting wines straight out of the barrel, and doing all that with our dogs by our side was a pretty unique experience. 

They've also invited us back during harvest season to process grapes with them- no stomping grapes I-Love-Lucy-style though (how disappointing!), but we'll be working the machines that pick grapes, and learn how they're pressed and processed. In turn we'll get a couple bottle of wines as our "wages" for the day. How fun is that?! (Fellow Bay Area residents- wanna bring your pooches and come join us? :>)

And below is Bryson before and after a nice glass of primativo. ("Nice buzz...")

Check out our Flickr album for more photos from this fantastic day!

Memorial Day Extravaganza!

For some reason, 3-day weekends always feel shorter than a normal one.

I think it's because we always start out being overly ambitious, planning to do too much that at the end, we completely exhaust ourselves and feel like we didn't even have any time off.

Such is the case this Memorial Day weekend (some people just never learn). To recount events, we'll have to start from that gloomy Saturday morning...

It had rained all night and the morning was still sprinkly. We were disappointed coz we thought we might have to cancel plans to meet up at Point Isabel with Bryson's corgi half-brother, Wally.

Oh no, you forgot? It's Wally! Recall that we met this handsome boy at the SF corgi meet up last year, and one look told us him and Bryson are related- and upon chatting with his people, we realized they are indeed half-brothers, sharing the same mommy and probably just one litter apart! Remember this?

Anyway, the day eventually cleared up, and we were able to hang out and let the brothers reunite. You can tell from the photos (all taken by the very talented mrjoro) that they had a fantastic time!

It's pretty funny that even though Wally is younger and smaller, he's the more outgoing one that often end up "protecting" Bryson when doggie brawls break out around them. What a great brother!

And you won't believe who we ran into halfway into the walk... Picasso! The day just keeps getting better :)

We ended our day with a yummy brunch at Sunnyside Cafe on Solano in Albany. Their breakfast sampler menu changes every week, and they give you 1/2-orders of 4 of their specials + 2 mimosas + fruit cup for 2 to share, AND they're uber dog-friendly. You don't get a breakfast place better than this :)

 
Left: Peanut butter caramelized banana french toast, yummmmm!!
Right: Wally or Bryson waiting for scraps? (Try to resist clicking on it and cheat...)

And after laboring for 5 hours at the letterpress studio on Sunday, we headed out for another short day trip to old town Benicia on Monday. 

Benicia is small town fairly close to us (30 min. to the northeast), but for some reason, we never head that way and thus have never been there. But after reading a few articles about this charming little town, we decided it's time to hop into the car with Bryson and go check it out.

And Benicia is just as advertised- quaint, historic, and smells like the ocean.

We greatly enjoy a stroll on the main drag- First Street, having lunch at a streetside cafe, browsing the ubiquitous antique shop (some closed due to the holiday though), and snapping some pix of our boy (these Benicia photos are taken by moi).

And that's what we love about where we live, it doesn't matter how long we've lived here, there always seems to be an unlimited supply of little coastal towns waiting for us to discover- and plenty of unspoiled hydrants for Bryson to lift his leg at.

  

See our Flickr album for more pictures from our Benicia day.

Springtime Activity: Antique Hunting

As March arrived, so did warm, almost spring-like weather here in the Bay Area. Yes, spring-like. I don't want to jinx it.

We've been stuck indoor with this wet winter for so long we've started growing mold. So as soon as the farenheit hit the 60's, we declare hibernation's over, and time to dust off the winter blues and embrace the warm and longer days.

Bryson started celebrating spring by devouring tufts of fresh, green grass by the mouthful at all the nearby parks ("the world is my salad bar"), which is quite hilarious.

We celebrated by admiring the first cherry blossoms in our neighborhood, going al fresco dining with Bryson again sans worries about frostbites, and hitting the Alameda antique fair which I've been dying for ages to visit.

This sprawling monthly antique fair really has something for everyone. Not only did I score a big stack of vintage (1920's) music sheets with fantastic accompanying graphics for $5 (haggled down from $6, a whopping 17% off, woo-hoo), we also ran into Design Star winner and super hottie, David Bromstad!

I've watched a few episodes of his current show, Color Splash, which is apparently shot here in the Bay Area, and I've always wondered when I'll finally run into him in my neighborhood Home Depot or West Elm (they seem to go there a lot). And there he is! Right next to us! OK, actually, Jacques saw him first, but by the time he said "hey, isn't that the guy on TV...", I looked over and he already turned around. He has a cute back. *sigh*

Oh, and that's me below burying my nose in truckfuls of vintage books and various knick-knacks. While it can be lots of fun, the old book smell, dizzying layout, and throngs of treasure hunters can get pretty overwhelming after a couple of hours.

But who can complain, spending a few quality hours outdoors browsing useless junks accompanied by surprise celebrity sighting- it's really a successful day all around.

How come you get to go to the fair while I get stuck here eating grass? Life is so unfair.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

3 days into this short work week and I'm already feeling exhausted... Why?

I blame it all on this foul weather! Not only has it been raining non-stop for the past 24 hours stranding us at home, the winds are also howling non-stop like a hyena and keeping everybody up at night and sleep-deprived (just ask Bryson and Picasso who probably didn't get a stitch of sleep...)

And look at this satellite map- seems like the entire country's moisture is falling upon us in the west coast. There's power outage and mud slides going on left and right, and our windows are still leaking (our HOA is supposed to have negotiated a deal to fix them the day we bought our loft almost 2 years ago... I guess one could get used to living in a swamp.)

Now just imagine dragging 2 grumpy, sleep-deprived dogs who do not like water out on walks in this crazy storm...

Don't they look thrilled?

Remember that yellow raincoat that Bryson rejected? Since it was too big, I thought it would fit PIcasso just fine. And it kinda did, I thought he looked pretty spiffy, but I forgot the fact that just like Bryson, he's also vertically challenged... Well, the novelty of the raincoat lasted till we hit the stairs. He tried going down a few steps but I could already visualize him tripping and tumbling all the way down to the first floor like a yellow twinkie. We promptly removed this hazard.

I don't know if it's the pouring rain and howling wind, or the fact that Hailey (Bryson's nemesis- the neighbor pit-bull mix) greeted us right when we walked out of the building (whom they promptly greeted back with incessant pulling and barking- well, fake barking for Bryson), both of them refused to pee and poop for the longest time while we all got drenched.

We all had a thorougly wet and miserable day (and constipated as well for the boys, I can imagine). This rain had better stop soon.

Twelve Days of X'mas

OK, this is probably one of the funniest X'mas videos I've ever seen!!!

We feel compelled to share this most original rendition of the Twelve Day of X'mas by the Indian Boy Band sensation, Boymongoose, with you. Enjoy!

(Disclaimer: if you're easily offended, watch this video instead)

You can download the whole album on Napster as well. We did and we've been listening to it every day, never been in a more cheerful holiday mood! Worth every penny!

Other than listening to Boymongoose, we're also engaging in more traditional holiday activities, such as decorating our X'mas tree.

This year we got a "smaller" tree- a noble fir standing at merely 6 feet, which would've been dwarfed by the ginormous 9-footer we got last year. Yeah, we went a little crazy last year coz it was the first year we lived in a loft with a 14-foot ceiling. It was like living in a forest.

And as we were decorating the tree, I thought it was so cute when Bryson busied around us sniffing out the ornaments. But of course by the time I take out the camera, he lost his interest. So, in order to re-create the moment, I cheated... I stuck a treat in the tree at his nose level and led him to the tree, and this is the result (he looked so strained and glassy-eyed it was actually a bit scary):

Happy Holidays!

World of Good

It's that crazy time of the year again to brave the crowd and venture into the inevitable holiday shopping season.

Even I as an avid shopper am fazed by the holiday mob scene in San Francisco- the mix of gung-ho local bargain-hunters and tourists who think there's still gold here turn downtown into a positively chaotic mosh pit.

So I'm delighted when I found out there'll be a warehouse sale close to my house, hosted by a company called World of Good that promotes fair trade with artisans in developing countries.

Now, I don't know if every cent we spent there is really used effectively to help these artisans, nor do I believe I can't get the same thing cheaper at Walmart or some backstreet shop in Chinatown (which I probably could, but that's why we need fair trade), we were still happy to have got quite a bit of our holiday shopping done there.

Coz for one, there's no mob, and secondly, the stuff is actually pretty nice, and lastly, even the idea that we're doing something positive for humanity during this holiday that has evolved into this huge consumerism party is consoling.

So boys and girls, I'm sorry that if you're on our gift list this year, the surprise is somewhat spoiled. But do visit their website which has an online store, and feel free to pass on a good word.

Newspaper shopping bag- get shopping done and get the latest news from India

Fall Day

Fall is not my favorite season.

Even though I enjoy the way everything looks golden under the low-slung sun, and making crunchy noises when you walk on piles of fallen leaves, and slurping down piping hot butternut squash soup, fall is inevitably tinged with a bit of sadness...

...Coz fall means winter is right around the corner, which of course means you'll be shrouded under a bleak, gray sky for months. Yuck.

With the only thing to look forward to during winter being X'mas, I secretly wish that right after I open all my X'mas presents, I'll wake up and find myself on a beautiful spring day in April. I should have been a polar bear.

Thanks goodness this winter we've got Bryson, who gives us a reason to wake up every morning- especially since he learned barking incessantly (and hoarsely) will get us out of bed and feed him his breakfast at his will. Although, I'm fairly sure he wouldn't mind gorging himself on a feast then going into hibernation with us for a few months.

Big Bryson Smile- better than Prozac for those icky winter blues

Check out Bryson's Fall Day album any time for a dose of anti-depressant.

Paper Elixir

Ah, Paper Elixir.

No idea what it is? I don't blame you. It's a company I started a few years ago when I started selling my hand made greeting cards at art fairs (like this one, the Millbrae Art and Wine Festival in 2002).

It was a huge deal for me. Ever since I was a kid, I've always thought that I'm all left brain and have no artistic talents whatsoever. The last art class I took was probably when I was in 6th grade, where I had to beg my mom to make me something so I wouldn't fail.

So when I discovered by chance a few years ago that the creative part of my brain was alive and well, and I've got this inexplicable affinity (addiction) to paper, which inspires me to create beautiful things that people would actually pay money to buy (what a novel concept), it was like a long-dormant light bulb suddenly went on inside me. I was full of passion and dreams to pursue a life in the arts. I thought I was done being a ho-hum pharmacist.

Let's just say that I'm glad I didn't quit my day job. Reality was I had no idea how to run a business, I didn't know where to go from there, and most of all, I didn't realize it would be so hard to take criticism for my work that I thought represented who I was.

In time, difficulties accumulated, my "real life" took over, and Paper Elixir sadly devolved in neglect. I still remember the day I had to turn in my resale license since I wasn't doing business anymore, I was in tears.

But as Forrest Gump would say, life is like a box of chocolate- you never know what you're gonna get...

Just as Paper Elixir is fading away as a long-forgotten dream, my friend Rita (Picasso's mommy) glanced over at my craft table one day and said, "Wow, you made all these cards? I'd be interested to see what you can make for my store."

What?! Selling Paper Elixir cards in a real store? (Rita owns a beautiful boutique home store in Oakland called Make My Day) It would be beyond my wildest dream! And it couldn't have been a better match- her store exudes warmth and beauty in their choices of furnishings and accessories made out of rich woods and exotic natural elements, all with a hand made quality to them. Plus, Bryson loves hanging out there so he can play with Picasso, or mess with his toys and eat all his treats when he's not around.

And from this initial discussion and tons of support and encouragement (mucho gracias to Rita and Brian), born the first Paper Elixir Holiday Line, now commercially available exclusively at Make My Day! Yippee!

It is a very small collection, just to try out the market, plus I've been so overwhelmed with my day job I hardly had time to make these cards (and for that, I have to thank my husband for burning the midnight oil with me being my trusty paper-cutter-and-folder).

But it represents a brand new beginning that has rekindled a very small flame in a long-lost passion. I can't deny, there's still fear, and there's still uncertainty. Honestly, I still don't know where I'll take Paper Elixir yet (or rather, where it'll take me), but for now, I'm just full of excitement and anticipation as I deliver my first batch of cards to Make My Day. They'll hit shelves the day after Thanksgiving. Wish me luck.

Just Another Earthquake

I just saw on the news this morning that the 5.6 quake we had last night (briefly covered while I was in the middle of this post) is the strongest one since "The Big One", aka Loma Prieta in 1989 which took down the Bay Bridge and killed dozens of people.

With this kind of credentials, thought I should give it a bit more coverage here. But since it's relatively far from us (compared to the last one we felt), we didn't get as much action up here, even though it registered stronger on the scale.

Everyone's talking about the next "Big One" now. Hmm.....

An (almost-)perfect day in Sonoma

I'm still feeling too lazy from our spa day yesterday in Sonoma to write much, just want to post some pictures of this gloriously beautiful day before this becomes last week's news...

(If you're looking for pictures of the spa, sorry you'll be disappointed. The Rebel just wasn't the right piece of accessory to lug around with a plush cotton robe. The spa at the Sonoma Mission Inn was quite nice though.)

We started the day visiting the Jack London State Historic Park in Glen Ellen, 15 minutes north of Sonoma. The park currently sits on "Beauty Ranch", where legendary writer Jack London called home and got inspiration from for most of his later work. We were hiking down the Beauty Ranch trail in the photo here, where I thought we were all absorbing the beauty of nature and thinking some zen and quiet thoughts, only to find out when I caught up with my girlfriends that their neurons were all firing about what business we should go in together... "SERENITY, people!!!" Let's say I didn't feel so serene after lecturing my friends that we should all be feeling serene.

I have to thank my friends for trying to get into the Jack London-nature-serenity thing. See, they're even reading about Jack London's study here in "the Cottage", which is his old residence on the Ranch, now a museum showing glimpses of his colorful life as husband, writer and traveler. What can I say, I love my friends.

Rolling autumn vineyards viewed through an old wall of the ruins of the Kohler and Frohling winery on the Ranch, damaged first by the 1906 great San Francisco earthquake, then by fire in 1965. If this photo doesn't conjure up some serene thoughts, I really can't help you.

I'm not a quoting person, but this quote from Jack London (probably inspired by a scene just like this right out of his windows) describes quite accurately how we felt after an (almost-) worry-free day soaking in the beauty at the ranch and getting pampered at the spa with some of your best friends:

"...I have everything to make me glad I am alive. I am filled with dreams and mysteries. I am all sun and air and sparkle. I am vitalized, organic." - Jack London

For more pictures, take a look at our Flickr album.

Go San Francisco DINKs and Dogs

If you've been reading our blog and think we're spoiling Bryson absolutely rotten, you may change your mind after reading this article in the San Francisco Chronicle yesterday:

"Pets in America have $40 billion spent on them by their owners".

According to this article, San Francisco is where you can find pooches sporting $5000 diamond-studded Cartier collars, rolling in luxury sedans- in the front seat, and strutting into the downtown Bloomies with their humans for some serious retail therapy.

So we're perfectly justified when we buy Bryson an occasional doggie cupcake and take him on vacations with us every so often. And yes, he rides in an Audi- but he always sits in the back- perfectly appropriate for a well-behaved doggie.

And what makes San Francisco the super dog-centric city it is? The article explored several theories, and one that especially strike a note with us is the fact that there're more DINKs here than anywhere else in the country.

DINKs?! Yes, I said DINKs. Double-income-no-kid couples.

They're young, career-minded, enjoy an occasional night out, and doesn't want all the responsibilities that go along with having kids yet. And so they get a dog, a child substitute really, and focus all their time and energy and resources on it while escaping the worries about toxic Chinese toys and saving for college funds.

And yes, that sound very familiar to us. Why do we live here even though it costs all of our 4 arms and 4 legs?

It's because San Francisco has what all DINKs are looking for- a liberal and edgy climate where opportunities abound; a vibrant city with enough culture and good food to entertain you every night and day; and when you're sick of the city, you can drive half an hour in any direction and you'll find yourself immersed in the beauty of nature- mountain trails, ocean beaches, redwood forests- you name it, you got it.

In our minds it's really pretty close to having it all- us, Bryson, and the beautiful place we call home. That is, until the some-day child decides to barge into our lives and we become DINKs no more. That's when we buy a minivan and move to somewhere like Suburbia, TX. Ugh. (No offense, Texans. It's a joke, of course. Hmm.)

America's Next Top Rally O Star!

Bryson is inspiring to be the America's Next Top Agility Rally O Star!

Yep, you read it right. The focus of Bryson's ambition has taken a slight turn. Agility- out. Rally O(bedience)- in.

We've probably made a mistake in diving head long into an agility class that's really more suited for serious competitors (I just can't get over the no-tug-no-good philosophy). The lack of space in our living quarters also makes practicing challenging- even downright dangerous if you consider my own level of agility.

Recently, we heard through friends about this other dog sport called Rally Obedience, Rally O in short. It's sort of a hybrid between agility and obedience (maybe a bit more obedience). Read here about what it really is.

Considering the fact that Bryson will do any numbers of sits and paws and rollovers as long as one tiny kibble is in sight, and that he's starting to give us the I'm-so-bored-I-could-chew-up-the-new-rug look, we thought we'd give Rally O a try. Above is a pix of Bryson in his Berkeley Humane Society Rally O class (he's only got one other classmate, individual attention is never lacking).

And over the weekend, there is a Rally Obedience competition in the area, so we took the boys (Picasso is with us again) for an immersion experience. We expect they can learn by osmosis.

We're mesmerized by these dogs' obedience during a trial. What's really in their head? "Arrgghhh, that itch behind my ear's killing me!" "This is SO boring..." "What's for dinner, hmm..." "ZZzzzZzzzzz..."

Bryson: Hey, are you paying attention? Look what they're doing there. We're supposed to learn.
Picasso: Yeah, but there's a squirrel over here...

Dog and person in unison- the beauty of Rally O

Um, excuse me Daddy, I think I'll observe better if you can get that leash out of my eye

Life BC (Before Chaos)

Pure chaos. That about sums up this past week. You'll agree if you've read the last few entries. Plus I'm starting to develop a cold. Just perfect.

It was only last weekend, but it seems like a lifetime ago when we spent a blissfully quiet and content day with Bryson at Point Reyes National Seashore.

No crying babies, no limping on crutches, no runny nose.

Only strolls down picturesque streets of the quaint little town of Point Reyes Station (where Princes Charles and Camilla visited 2 years ago), munching on organic salads and downing pints of the finest ale (which Bryson also got a taste of, shhh...), and slurping down oysters harvested fresh from the sea and shucked right in front of your eyes.

With our stomachs full, we filled our day hiking in hills scattered with rutting tule elks (Bryson is safely out of their way), getting our feet wet and salty on the dog-friendly beaches with Bryson, and visiting the famous dairy farms that produce much of the "Happy Cows Come from California" dairy products.

We take blissful days like these for granted, and only now stuck on my butt with crutches by my side do I realize how fortunate we are to live the lives we do. I hope this is the end of the series of chaotic events, honestly, I'm quite done with it.

 

 
Dairy cows, oyster farms, a Pulitzer-prize winning community newspaper- you can find it all in Point Reyes

 

For more photos, check out our album on Flickr.

Oops, I did it again!

No, this isn't a tribute to Britney Spears' appalling come-back attempt.

I'm referring to my stupid ankle, sprained and swollen like a black and blue balloon, again, for what seems like the umpteenth time, just after I got back from Seattle today. All because I am too stubborn to admit that my body can no longer handle what my mind demands of it.

How did I become an ankle-spraining expert?

It all started when I was playing basketball and sprained it real bad when I was 16, I was on crutches for almost 2 months and it hasn't felt right ever since. It was explained by one doctor to me that once your ankle is injured like that, the nerves may not grow back right and your ankle gets "dumb", not being able to sense and react to uneven terrain, making you more prone to future sprains.

And thus the cycle begins- I would sprain it, be on crutches for a few weeks, start rehab (but never finish), gradually feel better, forget all about the last sprain, get reckless, and sprain ankle again. Rinse, and repeat.

So, my ankle-spraining ritual is not unlike the Harry Potter movie sequels- it happens about every other year, and they just keep coming.

This time, what got me is this short but steep (1000 ft gain in <1 mile) hiking trail that's only 15 minutes from home, the Claremont Canyon Regional Preserve.

This picture doesn't do this trail justice (the pix is from Wikipedia, BTW). The gorgeous panoramic view at the summit (together with your boiling blood) makes you feel so renewed and invigorated.

Unfortunately, it also instills a sense of invincibility and recklessness.

I quickly realized that I was going down too quickly when I started losing my footing just after the descent. But it was too late, I heard a pop in my ankle and I was immediately gripped with pain and a terrible realization of what's to come from my years of experience. 2 hours later, I crippled back to the car with the help of a friendly stranger and a very patient Bryson.

I knew perfectly well that it's going to be risky going up by myself with Bryson. But once you're faced with the challenge, the prospect of giving in to your fear just isn't something I can stomach.

And it's this same mentality that has given me so much trouble with my ankle through the years. I've always subscribed to the motto that "if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything." Well, maybe my ankle is just too darn dumb for this mind-over-matter attitude.

I mean, other than "oops", what can I say?

Son, Before You were Even Born...

For those of you who participated in the "Finding Bryson" game in the previous post, Bryson wants to thank all his fans for their interest and support. He has posted the answers in the comments section of that post. Go check it out.

And speaking of taking a stroll down Memory Lane, I discovered that Memory Lane's in fact one long slippery slope, once you head down, it's not so easy to stop.

Looking back at the blog and photos from many significant events of our lives through the years, we almost can't remember what life was like before we had Bryson, even though that was only 9 months ago...

But what if Bryson WAS with us the whole time? We sometimes wonder what life would have looked like, what if he was there? (For one, he'll definitely be the ring bearer at our wedding...)

The good news is, with the aid of modern technology, we don't have to wonder anymore!

Here's the artist's rendition of "What Life would have Looked Like if Bryson were there...":

This is us one October day 4 years ago, having our engagement pictures taken at the beautiful Baker Beach by one amazingly talented photographer Sharon Dawson (who also took our wedding photos). But even then we thought something was missing... Isn't the digitally enhanced picture so much more perfect?

You may not know this, but Bryson was also there at our wedding 3 years ago at the picturesque Mission Ranch in Carmel.

OK, we made all that up. But really, how did we manage all those years without seeing this happy face every day? I seriously don't know. All I know is we look forward to having him with us- and our future children- every single day, for a long, long time to come.

Will the Real Bryson Please Raise Your Paw?

We took a stroll down Memory Lane the other day, looking back to our first blog some 8+ months ago when we first got Bryson. Looking through his photos, we thought we could recognize every funny cowlick and every uneven toenail that's uniquely Bryson.

Well, we were wrong...

At the SF Corgi meet up last weekend, we ran into this other most handsome corgi, Wally. You look at their faces and you'd think "Oh, Bryson's right here... or wait, is that Wally?!", and you feel totally guilty for almost picking up the wrong kid.

Upon chatting with Wally's humans, we made the discovery that the reason they took such resemblance to each others's coz they came from the same breeder, Faerie Glen, AND they could be half brothers with this beautiful pooch (I'm declining to use the "b" word), Dina, as their mom!

Now, Loyal Readers, if you've been with us for these past few months and you think you know Bryson, go ahead and try the "Find the Real Bryson" game below with pictures of Bryson and Wally:

Question 1: Which picture depicts Bryson chilling on a picnic table at Point Isabel?
                   (a) Left (b) Right (c) Both (d) Neither

Question 2: Identify the handsome corgi in the picture below.
                  (a) Wally (b) Bryson (c) Wal-son

Question 3:  Which heart-shaped butt belongs to Bryson?
                   (a) Left (b) Right (c) Woo.... Are these augmented?

 

Question 4: Which blinking corgi is Wally?
                  (a) Left (b) Right (c) Is this a trick question?

Question 5: Who's eating what?! (and you wonder where the butts come from)
(Free text) ________________________________

 

Feel free to submit your answers as a "Comment"! Stay tuned, answers will be posted shortly (or you may have already found them...)

( BTW, Wally's human, mrjoro, turns out to be a most amazing photographer- all the photos of Wally above are adapted from his Flickr collection, hopefully with his permission... Check out his non-dog photos too, it reminds us what a beautiful world we live in)

September Corgi Meetup

After months of absence for various reasons (all inexcusable according to Bryson), we're finally back to the San Francisco Corgi meetup today!

Bryson is happy to see his friends again, even though he doesn't seem to enjoy the games of ball-chasing and play-fighting, he relishes the time spent being the watchful observer, says he's a herding dog afterall, and in case someone drops a treat, you don't want to be so busy playing you miss out on that, right?

The biggest treat-sl#ts: (seated from left to right) Lleulu, Bryson and Toast

Today seems to be puppy day, they have so much energy it's hard to keep up with them... one minute they're taking an unscheduled bath, next minute they're all over you scheming treats out of your pocket with that sweet little puppy face

What are Bryson and Toast doing under the bench, you ask? Very simple, there's always a chance that if they cause enough disturbance, someone could tip over a treat jar and cause major spillage = free treats for all!

Corgis, corgis everywhere (ehhh.... where's Bryson?)

I'm here, mommy! Just staying camouflaged so I can keep an eye on everyone.

For more photos, click here.

Bryson and Picasso go to Napa Valley

Picasso is staying with us again as his parents went on vacation, and the buddies are ready for another adventure- this time they have their minds set on a more grown-up trip- so off we went to Napa Valley, Calistoga to be exact, "Sideways"-style.

The deal is Jacques got a last-minute offer from work to spend a free night at Calistoga Ranch, one of the Top 50 Resorts in the country. Seeing that their rooms average a whopping $1000/night, plus the fact that it's less than a two-hour drive from us, we can't help but drop everything and take the boys there to have a taste of the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.

(For more photos, click here)

Calistoga Ranch, we have ARRIVED! Where's the Welcoming Committee?

 
Left: Right: Golf cart ride to our private lodge (Bryson: Please don't hold me like a baby in public)
Right: Quiet lake on the property (that's the restaurant house near the center and our lodge is one of the houses on the left)

Our One-bedroom lodge: with the sleeping unit to the left, connected to the living unit to the right by a patio with its own tree

The brothers checking out the living unit: wow, this is nice, can we move here?

 
Left: Chilling on our private patio, if it were not 90+ degrees that day, we would try out the cool indoor-outdoor fireplace
Right: Check out this bed! It's soooooo comfy... maybe you guys could try the dog beds

 
Left: Bryson checking out our own outdoor shower- "I'm not into public nudity, thanks"
Right: Wine barrels littering the grounds, reminding you where you are

Alfresco dining vs stealing from the breakfast table: hard to say which is more attractive

This is all very nice, but I'm kinda missing my daddy and mommy...

No trip to the wine country is complete without visits to a couple of wineries. Here we are at Clos Pegase. Bryson's verdict: Yuck! Look at all the grapes behind me, don't people know they're toxic to dogs?! (Our verdict: their pinot noir is quite nice)

Are we back in Europe? No, it's Castello di Amarosa, another new and gimmicky winery that seems to be popping up everywhere around Napa Valley. While I'm sure it draws in tons of curious tourists (we can't deny we were drawn in to take a peek as well), these places are really turning Napa into a DisneyWorld of sorts. I guess there's a reason why native Napa Valley residents hate outsiders so much...

Do we have to go home? We really don't mind staying a couple more days...

Picasso's Sleepover

It took me a while to organize the rest of the pictures of Picasso's sleepover with us a couple weeks ago, hope you agree it's worth the wait...

Check out our Photo Album for more.

Birthday brunch with the girls

We had a girlfriends' birthday brunch last weekend at this funky place in the Mission District called Foreign Cinema.

It's a defunct-cinema-turned-industrial-chic restaurant featuring sophisticated Californian dishes. True to the nature of the original establishment, there is a movie screen in the courtyard that screens silent indie movies.

I have to say that when we first drove by, we weren't sure if we should get out of the car. The neighborhood is just... a tad bit... well, ghetto. Let's say after we found parking around the corner, it took some persuasion for me to leave Giselle there alone (oh, forgot to mention, my Audi is Giselle now, you know, German and kinda lithe and sexy).

The front of the restaurant doesn't inspire a lot of confidence either- it really just looks like a defunct cinema. There are homeless people pushing their carts just around the corner. But once you push through those doors, you're greeted by a cool breeze from the courtyard filled with swaying bamboos and a smiling hostess (with acid green hair, no less).The decor is modern and inviting, and I happened to sit under a sky light which bathes the room with a bright and cheerful glow, but also left me feeling a little fried at the end of brunch (it could also be the bellini though).

The food was tasty and the service friendly (you can see our server doubling as our photographer in this picture). We tried a bunch of standard brunch fares, including something that looks like soy sauce over poached eggs (it's really balsamic vinegar) and tastes reassuringly more sophisticated than it looks. The French toast also really stood out as something to remember. With birthday candles blown, gifts exchanged, champagne glasses emptied, followed by some retail therapy, the perfect low-key birthday celebration with your gal pals is complete. (I do have the best gal pals in the world, what can I say...)

Oh, and in case you're concerned, Giselle is just fine after being left on the street corner for a couple of hours. So, never judge a book by its cover. We'll come back to Foreign Cinema again for sure (maybe with covered garage parking next time).

Look! Bryson's on the Jumbotron!

Finally, after months of anticipation, the annual SF Giants Dog Day of Summer is upon us!

We've been waiting for this day since before we even had a dog (it crossed our mind to borrow someone's dog just so we can join in before we had Bryson). It's a super fun day for human and pooches where they get to watch the game, catch fly balls and eat hot dogs together, and even participate in a parade around the field and say hi to the players just before the game. How cool is that?

Say cheese!

It's a beautiful day for a parade, and Bryson thoroughly enjoys being in the lime light. But his clumsy mommy can't quite juggle keeping Bryson in the frame of the video camera and watching my step. So when someone yelled "Look! Bryson's on the Jumbotron!", I turned around, tripped magnificently, barely caught a glimpse of Jumbo Bryson with that Jumble grin on the Jumbo screen, gaped in awe, and completely forgot to take a picture of it. So sorry to disappoint you, but you won't find a picture of Bryson on Jumbotron here... (but trust me, it was awesome!!!)

Bryson says hi to Aisha Bonds, Barry Bond's daughter. And that's Barry Bond's wife Liz at the back (poor woman...)

 
Introducing... Wonder Dog! Rescuing the troubled and helping the poor

 
Left: The Don't-Mess-with-Us Gang; Right: who knows you can ride a cable car inside the park?

Bryson: Look, daddy, they turned an amazing 4-6-3 double play! Did you see that? Jacques: Son, I'm proud of you.

So 6th inning rolls around, the Giants sucked, Bryson looked tired, and I needed to grab a bottle of water. Jacques kept stalling, saying that we shouldn't leave yet, and tried to persuade me that I wasn't thirsty, blah blah blah... and then it hit me, something was up... I looked around, and saw this birthday message above from my lovely family on the Jumbotron! OK, I'll admit it, that was pretty awesome. (I love you too!!)

756!

He did it! With #756, Barry Bonds is now officially the new all-time MLB home run record holder!

Great, now the speech is made, tears been shed, and the firework and fanfare blown over, we can go back and wallow in our misery being last in NL West. *sigh*

Emeryville Canine Boarding Kindergarten

Picasso has officially begun his summer school program at the Emeryville Canine Boarding Kindergarten with Bryson (that's canine-talk for his parents had to leave town for a few days and he's staying with us)

The first night was kinda rough, he doesn't know whether he's supposed to sleep or to wait for his parents to come pick him up. But the second day comes around, we think he's gotten into the rhythm.

Here are some snapshots of a typical school day:

An invigorating morning walk around the block (this is the Emeryville City Hall)

And before you know it, it's snack time...

...followed by a mid-morning nap

Play time at the park is essential for a healthy body and mind

Who loves the Emeryville Canine Boarding Kindergarten? Me! me! me!!!

Bryson goes to Hogwarts

Finally, July 21, 12:01 a.m., Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is here!

Being the ever loyal HP fans we are, we couldn't wait to introduce Bryson to the magical world of fanatic Harry Potter mania. We of course have already pre-ordered our book online, but who can resist the opportunity to dress up your dog in the finest wizard robes and attend the nerdiest book party in town? We couldn't. So after laboring over his attire (shamelessly taped and glued together by his very talented mother), we set off to the magical land called Barnes and Noble, Emeryville.

(For more pix of Bryson's first day at Hogwart's, check out our photo album here.)

Final robe-fitting: you sure this is the standard Hogwarts uniform, right?

Hi, Harry Potter, nice to meet you.

Hi, I'm Bryson Senakarn, 1st year student, just sorted into Gryffindor.

Are you a new student at Hogwarts too? I didn't know they have a kindergarten here.

Excuse me, is this the line to register for the Care of Magical Creatures class?

I don't know why but my classmates seem to be on the verge of tears receiving their first textbooks...

 
Look, daddy! This is my new buddy, Ron. And I'm kinda tired, can we go home now?

Earthquake!

We were awaken this morning some time before 5 a.m. with a jolt, a 4.2 earthquake epicentered just a few miles to our east around Oakland. It seemed to go on and on and on (when in fact it was only about 7-8 seconds).

Living in earthquake country, we've been through many earthquakes in the 3-4 range, but this one took us by surprise by how strong it shook (probably since it's so close to us), and the fact that it woke us from sleep (I wear earplugs so I wasn't roused until Jacques and Bryson were already jumping all over me).

This is also the first time we sustained any earthquake-related damage- a vase fell off the bookcase and scattered sharp shards all over the place- a small damage, but enough to rattle a nerve. It also got us vacuuming at 5 in the morning since we've had enough vet visits lately. Our building (Besler Building) has been standing since the 1920's as a steam engine factory and then as residential units since the 80's, and has lived through Loma Prieta (a 7.1 earthquake that caused widespread damage in the Bay Area) without any major damage. With that thought, we all went straight back to sleep.