.:shy:.

curry, curry, curry

i've been on a curry-kick as of lately.

west-indies, east indian and now, tonight, thai.

and just before that, i was strangely on a jalapeno kick.

spicey food for the cold, autumn days.

can't beat that!

so yesterday was interesting...

to start - i was peacefully sleeping the night before when doug not only decided to take hobbes out for his last potty break around midnight (later than usual), but also decided to go for a quick run with him.

do you know what that does to a 5 month old dog? even one that was dead asleep just minutes before?

lets just say that after they came back, hobbes stormed upstairs, ran into our room and not only did he pounce onto my bed but he pounced onto me. as in MY BODY! and rather than just lie on top of me all sweet and cute, the moment his front paws landed on me with a thud, followed by his back paws, he took off again.

and do you know what THAT does? the push-off of his back paws is even more forceful than the initial pounce!

yeah - TRY TO FALL ASLEEP AFTER THAT!!!

even when i did fall asleep, though, doug's snoring came just in time to make me grumble. i had little choice. i was pretty much, inadvertently, kicked out of my own room. so... i went down to the office where i've now strategically placed a fold-out, single futon mattress, an extra pillow and an extra comforter. anytime doug's snoring becomes painful for me, i move myself down there. i've discovered it to be just way easier than to spend the rest of the night, kick doug's bed at 10-20 minute intervals, telling him to SHUT IT!

it's sad - i know. i'm like in no-man's land as far as bedrooms.

anyway, usually, the office is quite cozy and i find myself drifting off really fast (must be the comfort of sleeping next to my computer - i am, after all, a true geek). but that night, i just couldn't fall asleep. i don't know why - oh wait, yeah, i do. a had a 10 lb furball rebound off of me, thereby scaring me half to death!

still... it was my first week back to working out after taking a couple of recovery weeks from my last round of p90x. i wanted to stick to it. so i hauled my ass out of bed at 5:20am to do my plyometrics. and to be honest, even if i did sleep for another hour, which was all i would have had time for, i am sure i would have still shown up at work as a zombie.

i went home at lunch to let hobbes out and intended on just cuddling with him for a bit while i chilled out on my bed (since i didn't get to spend much time in it the night before). i hadn't planned on falling asleep - which was exactly what i did!

when i realized i had been napping during my 1-hour lunch break, i jolted myself up and basically rushed hobbes out for one more chance to pee, close him in the kitchen and didn't even turn back to wave at him as i rushed out, already late for work. actually, i wasn't that late but what then happened was that i completely missed lunch. because i left late, i didn't even have time to go through a drive-thru.

at around 2:45pm, still feeling completely zonked, i decided to zip quickly over to the gas station which also has a drive-thru tim horten's. wouldn't you know it, i get into my car, turn the key and voila... nothing.

it's the most horrible sound a car can make. that nothing sound... you know, when it's suppose to be doing just the opposite.

after a call to doug, i basically tried to keep my mind busy because i am useless with cars. i mean... it didn't even turn on. wtf? that's got to be bad, right? to me, that's just saying, "hey - you need a new engine. so you might as well get a new car!"

we have no money for a new car right now. there would be absolutely NO WAY we could finance one. and that was my greatest fear.

not to mention having to ask my parents to come 30 minutes into town to pick chaeli up from school, give her dinner, let hobbes out for a potty break and feed him. all in the lovely downpour we had yesterday too.

anyway, we did try to drive the car after doug boosted the batteries but the battery would not keep the charge. it died in the middle of the road in rush-out traffic (and in that downpour) WHILE I WAS DRIVING IT! it was the scariest thing and i was extremely glad doug was following right behind me just to be on the safe side. as the car just shut off like that, i had to put the car in park and pull on the parking brake to stop the car because the brakes wouldn't move (luckily, i was going slow enough so that i didn't crash into the car in front of me).

CAA came to whisk us away - like an hour later. meanwhile i made some calls home just to update my parents.

and the one call - the one and only call that made my day yesterday - is the real reason why i wanted to post my crazy, fucked up day. i spoke to my dad to give him an update and all i heard was chaeli just freaking out in the background

not like she was in any danger type freak-out. nor was she crying. but it was like one of those drama-queen moments that she could have only gotten from me (doug remains calm pretty much during anything - a building could fall over, aiming at squashing him and he would just take a breath and calmly jog out of its way).

so i asked my dad, "what the hell is going on?"

my dad responds, "oh... mom just took hobbes out for a pee and poo. but she doesn't know how to clean him properly. chaeli's freaking out because hobbes is dragging his bum across the kitchen floor."

i started laughing right there and then. simply because i can vividly picture chaeli standing there with her hands out, screaming, 'ACK! GROSS! HE'S GETTING POO ALL OVER THE FLOOR! SOME ONE STOP HIM! HE'S GETTING IT EVERYWHERE! OH MY GOD THIS IS HORRIBLE!!!"

when i got home, i had to pluck dry poop from hobbes ass-fur while chaeli re-enacted the whole thing as if it JUST happened and was something that has ruined her life forever.

can it be called sibling rivalry when one of them has four paws?

a lot of people ask me, "so how does chaeli like having a puppy?"

well, for the most part, she loves it. hobbes and her are really bonding well. every morning, while i have my hands full with a plethora of things to do, i get hobbes to go in and wake chaeli up - he usually does this by jumping on her bed, finding her face, and licking her almost to death.

usually, she giggles - sometimes, she bats him away. can't say i blame her.

hobbes will even stand in front her door, taking turns to look at it and then turn back to look at me as if to say, "hurry up, woman, will ya?" in fact, one morning, while chaeli was staying at my parents' place, he went to her closed door (we keep in closed while he's up and about so he doesn't go in to steal one of her toys, of which i have caught him doing a couple of times) and just stood there, wondering why he wasn't being asked to perform his usual wake-up call service.

each morning, while chaeli sits on my bed to have her banana and milk (while watching cartoons, of course) hobbes jumps up to sit behind her - always bringing one of his favourite toys - while i get ready for work.

i ALWAYS catch a glimpse at this scene and it never fails to make me smile. it's THEIR ritual and i love it.

having said all that, there's the very odd time where hobbes can totally annoy chaeli.

like last night, when it was just chaeli and i. we were getting ready for bedtime - i wanted to spend the end of the evening queitly with her, reading one of her new books.

hobbes, however, had other plans.

rather then lying on her bed or on the floor by the foot of her bed quietly as he usually does, he wanted to play instead. so while in bed, he spent most of the time rolling around. i finally had it and shooed him off, not letting him back on.

then it was trip after trip to get some water or go out for a pee-break. i must have said to chaeli at least three times, "sorry, chaeli - this will just be a minute... HOBBES!!! STOP IT! GET BACK HERE!" each time, i had to put the reading on pause.

it was after the last time, while i was walking out of her room, i heard chaeli say under her breath, "dumb dog."

i'm sure it won't be the last time she says this.

semi-sweet news

i suppose 'semi-sweet' is misleading. but i'll get to that part at the end...

my cousin just brought her boyfriend home to meet her parents. apparently, it did not go over well. my aunt and uncle gave a small, cold greeting towards him with the initial introduction and then proceeded to ignore him.

not only was he not chinese, but he was east indian. and that was NOT in my aunt and uncle's plans.

plus - lets be honest. they are racist.

i feel really bad for my cousin. i admit, i know nothing about this guy - but for her to bring him home to meet her parents must mean that he is a significant part of her life. personally, i wouldn't care what his background culture/ethnicity is - just as long as he treats her well and makes her happy.

i'm looking forward to meeting him - and if this is the one that's sticking, i pray that my aunt and uncle will come around.

anyway, my father told me this and said that he thought it was absolutely a bad move on their part to not give the boy a chance. my cousin is 34 - they risk losing her. forever.

she's old enough to do as she pleases - they can not control her. especially who she chooses to be with.

i hope they realize this before it is too late.

so - the bittersweet part? the knowledge that my father has come so far on his own path. to see him stand up for her was a great feeling. he is older then my aunt, his sister, and he came from the same, conservative, old-school way of thinking.

but he's come a long way - i'm proud of him.

hiking at crawford lake – bruce trail

we figured that today might be the last fall day we have time for a good hike - plus we wanted to take advantage of the dry mornng/afternoon as rain has already started to fall here in the evening. this was also part of the bruce trail. and i chose it because of two things: 1) it's part of an iroquois, historical land where archaeological digs came up with an old indian village - they resurected it in order to create a time-piece museum; 2) the end of the trail loops around a small lake that is of an interesting phenomenon - according to the bruce trail site:

It is a unique geological time capsule where a curious phenomenon occurs. The lake is meromictic, so deep for its surface area that the lower levels of water are never disturbed by wind or temperature changes. Without an annual turnover of water, there is little oxygen present in its depths, and therefore minimal bacterial breakdown. Layers of sediment build up and provide an accurate record of the human and natural history that has surrounded the lake since it formed. Corn pollen discovered in the sediments on the bottom of the lake made researchers aware of a fifteenth-century Indian village buried under the ploughed field to the north of the lake.

our hike lasted about 2 hrs - a bit longer then we had planned. but we could not move too quickly becuase chaeli is still getting use to trekking along rocky paths, which basically encompassed the first half of our hike.

we brought hobbes because he matches the colour of the leaves

amazing caves along the way

here is the small, but beautiful crawford lake

traditional longhouse of the iroquois indian village

chaeli examining a deer skin

chaeli all pooped on the way home

chaeli wasn't the only one tired - hobbes was totally out!

full album found here: crawford lake - bruce trail

forum politics - even when it comes to raising dogs...

oh my god. i shouldn't be surprised. i'm not really, but still... i can't help but to roll my eyes.

i joined this forum belonging to dog and cat owners. reason being, i was curios if anyone had anything to say about reputable dog services or products.

one thread was about doggy daycare. the person asked what others thought about doggy daycare.

i decided to leave my own personal oppinion.

what did i get? one of those annoying dog owners who think that he/she is some dog expert. and that everything he/she says is the golden rule.

*barf*

it was so ridiculous. all i said was that in regards the puppy daycare, between month 4 and 8 is the most crucial time for socialization. after they turn a year, they don't need it as much.

never did i say that they needed ZERO socialization but they just don't need it as often. definitely not daily. hell, even at this age, hobbes does not need it daily - we would never be able to afford it!

so this 'dog expert' said that my statement was incorrect. that the most crucial socialization was BEFORE 4 months - during the first couple of months where they get socialization from it's mother and siblings as humans can never provide this.

my response? uh... really? gee... thanks! i had NO IDEA! correct me if i'm wrong but aren't we talking about doggy daycare and it's purpose in socialization? from what i understand they do not accept dogs less then around 4 months because they need full vaccination and 4 months is usually when they get that!

DOUBLE DUH!

then he/she went on about how they still need it after they turn a year. and so i pointed out that i never said they didn't. but they just did't need it daily because most people can not afford doggy daycare daily!!!

i have to wonder where these people come from. doggy daycare is a modern concept. and it's JUST like how i get so annoyed with other parents who think i'm being less of a mother simply because i do not baby my child.

I DON'T WANT TO BABY MY DOG, EITHER!

good grief. i love hobbes. and i do what i can for his mental/physical health because in some ways, he is almost like a second child (i say almost because chaeli is still my first priority) and most definitely an important part of our family.

but at the end of the day...

HE'S STILL JUST A DOG!!!

why do dogs' fart smell so bad?

that was the search inquiry i made in google the other day.

google actually brought up the complete search of stringed-words up for me - before i even had a chance to finish typing. apparently, in this word we live in, i'm not alone with this inquiry...

anyway, the answer i received had to do with the fact that dogs have a high protein diet (especially puppy). and while the fart is small and soundless, it is extremely potent due to the high, sulphuric gas contained and released from such a diet.

i told this to doug, who asked, "small release of gas?"

"yes," i said. "apparently, it's very small."

"imagine if hobbes let out a human sized fart?"

"we'd have to evacuate the house for a week."

christmas shopping

even though i started much later in my christmas shopping, i will most likely be done earlier. i think, though, it's only because i bought just so much less year due to a stricter budget. but i'm happy that a lot of what i got, i watched for price drops. i don't think i paid anything for it's full price - some were a steal.

i only have to buy for my mother, one more stockings stuffer item for doug, two gift certificates and a couple of birthday presents that fall around christmas time.

i was going to add presents for the teachers but i remembered we were going to bake a variety of different types of cookies for them and make them into packages. i may even look into making chocolate truffles.

random confessions

i suppose i have a narrow mind about people with narrow minds. i guess i can't help it. but basically, i don't know how to talk to these people. because they seem to want to argue with me about everything and anything - right down to my personal preference in underwear colour.

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i have family friends of my parents and some relatives who, whenever they see my parents, give them a present to pass on to chaeli.

my parents then tell me that i have to call so-and-so (and never wait more then 24 hrs) to thank them.

to be honest, i hate doing this calls. because i never asked for theses presents. it's one thing if it's around christmas or her birthday, in which i can sit down one afternoon and write out thank-you cards (of which normally never get mailed but hey... it's the thought that counts, right?) but when it's multiple times in a year from various people, that's just a LOT of people to call.

and i'm not a phone-person as it stands.

so this most recent duty-call is for one of my aunts (whom i'm not close to). for the first time, i think i'm going to lie and say that i did call when my parents ask me the next time i see them.

if they find out it's not true, i'll either fake a, "really? but i'm sure i called" or a "hmm... i wonder who i was thanking, then?"

think either would work?

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i use to have a crush on michael damian (from the young and the restless).

i honestly blocked this out of my mind but then i was at the gym, watching the music station and they ahd this feature of actors/models pretending to be singers.

it was so bizarre. i'm working out, sweating away but every now and then i would look up and think to myself, "hey... isn't that scarlett johanssen? she sings? and why is ron howard in a jamie foxx video? wait... jamie foxx has a video? since when?"

anyway, they showed this early 80's video and it was michael damian's song. at first, i couldn't put my finger on who it was that i was watching until it dawned on me that he was a soap opera actor.

i loved him on y&r and will forever be completely ashamed of this fact.

the pain of doggy daycare

i swear i can not WAIT until hobbes will not require doggy daycare anymore. this is worse then when we went hunting down for a suitable daycare for chaeli.

daycare #1:

love them. really - they are great with hobbes and hobbes loves them. these people are flexible, too. not high-maintenance. and they cater to us, the owners/clients.

but... they open at 8am. and while they do their best to open a bit early for me, it is still too late. i hate being late and i really don't want to be any more late for work.

it's sad to have to say good-bye to them. i have two more full days on our ten-day package and then i won't be sending hobbes there anymore unless it's for overnight boarding.

daycare #2:

hobbes is there right now.

i have to admit, driving into work EARLY made me feel confident. i said to myself, "finally - i have found a place for him that opens early, is more towards chaeli's school and work and does not throw me into the worst part of morning rush hour traffic!" it only took me about 45 minutes this morning - that's 20 minuntes less then if i send him to doggy daycare #1.

sure, it is a bit more expensive then what we were use to paying but totally worth it.

the problem? i just got off the phone with the girl working there (had to call to ask her a question) and she kind of gave me a lecture about making sure to take him to their front lawn and making him poop before bringing him in.

i tried to explain that he wouldn't go. that he goes first thing in the morning, eats and at the most, piddles before leaving again. but he doesn't poop until close to noon.

now - because he's in a new setting and is probably excited with all the new dog-smells and such, his nervous stomach probably could not hold it.

my issue? their service is directly related to working, full-time people who have really busy mornings. why am i paying them that much for a job that they should be doing for me?

so my decision? yeah - moving on.

daycare #3:

i just talked to them and for the same amount of money and pretty much in the same location (just 2 minutes further). they have a special area for potty breaks that they dogs are allowed to go to as early as when they first get there.

they seem friendly and laid-back. i may have doug bring hobbes in on his day off just for half a day (6 hours) as a trial.

i'm keeping my fingers crossed!

i'm also telling myself that this is just until the christmas holidays. after that, hobbes will be able to be on his own for a full day at home - in the kitchen where he'll have the room to stretch his legs, play and run around a bit.

i'm not saying i won't bring him in to doggy daycare but it will be limited to about once every week or two as he'll still be going to my aunts every other week or so.

but by the new year, he will be around 8 months old and socialization is more important between 4 and 8 months.