The Senakams | Corgi + 3

Bryson's Extreme Makeover- Part II

I know last week when we posted about Bryson's spa day when he was chosen as "VIPet of the Week" at his groomer, Lena Swann's fabulous doggie boutique, we promised you pictures of his beauty makeover...

Well, wait no more!

We just received these from Lena- including Bryson's personal "bio" (read what his "mantra" says), and some pictures of his fabulous transformation.

I was shocked when I opened the pictures- he's beyond pampered! Complimentary blueberry facial? Cucumber eye treatment?! Can I get one too??

I know, I know, some of you may think we've turned Bryson into a metrosexual. But hey, this is the San Francisco Bay Area afterall, and he's even more like his daddy now. (Ha!)

"Um, excuse me, is blindness one of the side effects of this treatment? I can't see..."
"Oh and by the way, the blueberry facial is quite tasty. May I have another round, please?"

Etsy Debutant!

For those of you who're sick and tired of hearing me talk (including myself) about putting my little handmade greeting business Paper Elixir up on Etsy but never get my act together...

Rejoice! The Paper Elixir Etsy shop is finally up and running!

Please check it out here and read about Px's Etsian profile here and tell me what you think! (And yes, the falling hydrangea into a mortar-and-pestle thingy is a continuation of the same theme in my letterpress business card).

In this short period of time, I've already begun to appreciate what I've been told about the reality of a creative business: that the balance of time between business and creating is about 70/30.

But, seriously, 70/30?

Just think about it: after holding down a full time job, raising a corgi, doing just enough housework so you don't feel like a homeless person, taking photos, posting photos, maintaining a blog, reading, volunteering, trying not to ignore your friends, AND keeping up with all the world's best (trashiest) reality shows... *whew!*

Paper Elixir time is very scarce and very sacred!

I really don't want to waste anytime being inefficient at my business tasks. And so I bought this book, Craft, Inc., which talks about the nuts and bolts of running a creative business.

I'm only about 10 pages into it (hard to keep eyelids up at 1 a.m.), but hey, maybe it'll make me a Martha Stewart-esque Creative Tycoon some day! If not, I'm only down 12 bucks (plus one amazon coupon I've been hoarding).

And for those of you who're more experienced at this than I am, tell me how you do it all!

Low Rider Convention

This weekend we're having a Low Rider Convention at our place to determine who'll be representing the Low Dog Party at the upcoming primary election.

On Saturday, we were visited by 1st-floor Delegate, Chorizo, the delicious hot dog from our neighbor Audrey downstairs. He's seen here mingling cautiously with 3rd-floor Delegate, Bryson. Chorizo's platform is based on Universal Treating.

Today (Easter Day!), we're visited by the San Mateo Corgi Delegate, DJ. DJ will be spending the next 4 days here visiting the Emeryville district, getting to know the voters here better (and his parents have to make a trip to Florida to pull in absentee votes for him).

His platform is based on the "No Poop Left Behind" Program.

But wait... is that poop on the white shag rug? ... *Gasp!*

The evidence was quickly cleaned up, but you can still see the faint smudge the doodie left behind...

We think we know who the culprit is. But who do you think is the Mystery Pooper?

Is it Delegate Bryson on the right, trying to sabotage his rival from across the Bay? Or is it DJ, too excited at the prospect of representing his party and couldn't control his bowel?

You decide (while we go out to get our SECOND Rug Doctor since the first one doesn't FRIGGING work)!

The Dragon's Lair

I was cleaning up the photos on our computer today, when I came across this one that we've forgotten about:

I think it was a day we were vacuuming with our new Dyson Animal.

He was deathly scared of that whooshing noise (and still is to a lesser extent), and so he was hiding in his dragon's lair- the corner under the dining table. He wouldn't come out for the longest time. We know there's only one thing that can lure him out- a tasty bit of chicken jerky.

And here he is, peeking his head out from under the table, investigating if it's safe for him to come out of his lair with that big, wet nose. You can see that hopefulness mixed with a bit of worry in his "eyebrows".

After just a moment of hesitation, he stretched his neck, snatched the jerky, and chewed with gusto, and the Dyson was forgotten. Until we vacuum again.

Letterpress stationary wrap-up

This project seems to have dragged on forever... I'm glad that my letterpress stationary for Paper Elixir is finally done! Yippee!!

And as I discovered in this arduous process, this 75 year-old Vandercook press is very temperamental. Like a grumpy, eccentric old man.

If I'm grouchy with him (because he's old and malfunctioning!), he gets all sensitive and eats up all my prints. Arrrgh...

So I had to force a smile and try to be all nice and gentle with him- which is hard since I have the patience of a 2 year-old! But believe it or not, it works.

I guess in his mind, he's been doing the same thing, churning out prints day in and day out since the day he was born some 75 years ago. He's probably sick and tired and he's waaaay pass retirement age. So he can pick and choose who he wants to work with- and it's definitely not grouchy psycho-bitch.

Well, now looking at this stack of beautifully coordinated pieces of letterhead and envelopes, I realize I have a new problem... Who on earth am I going to write?

Anyone want a letter? These things are burning a hole on my desk!

Bryson's "Beauty" Shots

On this sunny and spring-like St Patty's Day, we walked Bryson down to nearby city hall to snap some beauty shots after his spa day. Yes, he had a SPA day (!!!) since his groomer chose him as "VIPet of the Week"! Blueberry facial, PAWticures, he got the full royal treatment (pictures to come).

Wait a minute... How come I've NEVER been chosen as customer-of-the-anything??? As Bryson would say as he comforted me, life's good when you're a cute pup. *sigh*

Here's our attempt to get some nice head shots in case Iams or Merricks are changing their packaging some day...

"Is it cheese? Is it cheese?? Tell me it's cheeeeeze!!" (He obviously didn't care that he has green nail polish on...)

All supermodels have to learn their best angle... especially after too much cheeeez...

What do you wanna be when you grow up? PHARMACIST!

A couple weeks ago, I was asked by someone if I want to volunteer at a career day at an elementary school. I would try to tell the kids why they'd want to grow up to be a pharmacist.

You've gotta be kidding me, right? was my response. Me? Talk to kids?!

Everyone knows I'm a kiddophobe. I just don't get kids. I don't know what they want when they look up at me with those watery eyes. I don't know why they eat their own booger. I just DON'T get them.

I mean I love my nieces and nephews, but I can only handle them as long as I know their parents are there to take them back as soon as they break out in their chorus of tantrums.

But I did it. I persuaded myself they're probably harmless.

And you know what, even though I ended up with a migraine, I came back feeling pretty inspired.

First of all, I've got secret weapons. Not only did I made colorful charts with names like Dr. Madison R. Good and Mr. I. M. Sic, I brought bribery... Stickers for everyone!!

And to my relief, they loooove the stickers! They were practically jumping out of their seats to answer my questions when stickers are on the line. I pratically had them all chanting "Pharmacist! Pharmacist!" when I asked them what they wanna be when they grow up. The power of bribery. But I did secretly hope that maybe some of them actually meant it...

And a few days later, I got this big fat envelope in the mail. And there they are, these super pink art work done by some of the kids who apparently did decide to enter the profession of pharmacy! (Yes, they are 6 years old but it's never too early to apply).

I was touched, but also embarrassed that these kids embraced our little encounter without question, even though I was all skeptical about them. But maybe they sensed it and that's why I have a blue face in one of the pieces.

Spring Fling

As we people are basking in this spring-like weather, Bryson and friends frolicked at the monthly SF corgi meet up this past Saturday!

Despite of a few attempts to escape when minor scuffles broke out (what can I say? He's just a non-confrontational kinda guy), he enjoyed the attention (well, mostly treats) showered upon him by fellow corgi-parents.

It's just so fun to see the the corgi puppies grow up, share horror stories about poop-eating incidents, and compare how much our corgis are eating (always a favorite topic for corgi-owners!).

For more pix, check out our Flickr album:

Hi People! I've arrived!

Chain Sniffing! Open to all breeds.

On a separate note, our friend CorgiCaper on mycorgi.com has put together this amazing video slide show. It's such a wonderful tribute to all the corgis in the world that we love. Bravo!! (Bryson has a small walking part in it as well!)

SCANDAL!! -Canine National Enquirer

Don't be fooled by his sweet face and squeaky clean image!

Bryson's dark side as an out-of-control, treat-craze dog was exposed by papparazzi in this week's Canine National Enquirer!

You won't believe your eyes as the scene of a slightly-altered Bryson losing all inhibition for one measly piece of lamb cracker unfolds...

Even though he tried to regain composure in the last frame, the dog is out of the bag!

Would his fans reject him as the betrayer of their love and loyalty? Or embrace him as just the normal teenage dog-next-door??

Give Bryson a piece of your mind!

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.