Browse Category: dog

Monday off

Yesterday I had the day off to off-set the upcoming 7-day work week.  With Jes in NYC for the next two weeks, I guess it was good timing for me to have a 2-day course over the coming weekend.  Anyway, I managed to be very productive on my day off.  Stopped at work to turn in my parking application and brought Koa along to take him to the dog park nearby.  Unfortunately, it turned out to be a rather ghetto fenced-off area with asphalt and dirt. I suppose it’s a good use to dead space under the freeway.

Koa was a little confused and didn’t know where to poo but eventually gave in and took care of business.  Once that was done, he was able to run around and sniff the two other dogs that were already in there.

Later that day, I cleaned the house, did 3 loads of laundry, and went to Trader Joe’s to buy groceries for the week.  With Jes gone, it was time for me to detox and experiment with new products.  I bought a box of red quinoa, a jar of sundried tomatoes, whole wheat flatbread, and a jar of green olive tapenade.  I made the quinoa in the rice cooker and it came out perfect!  Then I added a tablespoon of olive oil, halved cherry tomatoes, chopped sundried tomato, and a pinch of salt.  Added to a bed of arugula and accompanied with a soft and chewy flatbread plus a small scoop of tapenade, it was a tasty but fiberlicious lunch for me.

Look who had too much ice cream…

Last night Jes made pot roast and the Sokol-Juns came over to eat with us.  When it was plated, Jack said “Cupcake?!”  Ryan corrected him by saying “No, it’s meat cake!”  So for the rest of the night, we ate our meat cake and Jack did too.

After dinner, Ryan turned on the YouTube clip that Jack has been watching over and over again at home.  He’s watched so much that he sings, plays his guitar, and follows along with gestures and clapping.  Michelle made some chocolate chip cookies for dessert and we all enjoyed them with some vanilla ice cream.  Jack loved it so much that he asked for more and we gave it to him.

As a result, we got a little performance from the little guy and I got a long clip of the action.  By the way, the spoon is a guitar and the bar stool is a microphone and the dog is playing back-up. Make sure to turn on your sound for the singing and narration in the background.  You can probably hear me laughing in the background too.  If it’s not funny, I guess you had to be there.

Orange is back.

Today was the first home exhibition game for the Giants and so the season has officially begun for the neighborhood.  This morning as I walked the dog, I noticed the lights on the stadium were on and the flag was flying high.  That’s how I know there’s a game today and I debated over and over in my head this morning about whether to drive to work today or not.  I think I lose either way.  Do I drive in traffic over the bridge or fight the crowds on Muni on my way home?  Hm…

The sunrise was spectacular this morning.  It’s one of the only good things about walking a dog before the sun wakes up.  As you can see in the first photo that it’s not even 7 am yet!  *sigh*  At least I got this shot of the sunrise over the water and below the clouds.  By the way, I must give props to my iPhone for helping me capture some pretty cool moments this past year.  This photo was uploaded straight from my phone.  Not bad, right?!

So, baseball season has arrived once again and there was a buzz of excitement this afternoon as Dog and I took our usual stroll around the stadium.  My favorite Muni dude, who does crowd control and helps us cross the street, was even there to greet us this afternoon.  He calls Koa “Rin Tin Tin” and remembers Mommy from one of the weeks that she was staying at our place while we were away.  He usually yells (as we cross the street) “Hey! How’s my Rin Tin Tin?!” and I’ll usually respond with “Hi, Muni Guy!”.  Sometimes he even has time to ask me “How’s your mom?!  She looks just like you!”  Funny.  I guess it’s nice to know that there’s someone out there that has your back among the Orange People (Giants fans).

Sunset at Fort Funston

On a whim, we took Koa to Fort Funston yesterday and got there just before sunset.  We’d never been there so late in the day it was a nice treat for all of us.  Koa got to run free and seemed so happy.

I got to watch the sun set over the Pacific Ocean and the waves were pretty crazy that afternoon.  Perhaps it was a result of the earthquake in Chile?!

Instead of going down to the beach, we stayed up on the cliff.  I think it’s one of my favorite spots because of the pretty green rolling hills and has sweeping views.  This warning sign is kinda funny.

This afternoon, I took Koa to the bathhouse for his pending doom…a bath.  Thankfully it didn’t last long because he put up quite a fight and screamed his head off again in the store.  The employees there know him and they had their dog there who came by to check on Koa during the bath.  Ugh…such drama every time.

After the bath, Koa got his treat, clutched it in his mouth, and dragged me all the way back home.

Happy Everything!

This weekend was ridiculous. It’s Valentine’s Day, the beginning of the Lunar New Year, AND President’s weekend! Whoa. Yesterday Jes and I took a walk to the Ferry Plaza for some spicy noodle soup after a lazy morning in our jammies.  I guess you could say that this was our Lunar New Year’s Eve meal.

Early this morning, I took the dog for a run in the fog. It was so thick that you couldn’t see the bridge and the fog horns from the container ships were going off every few seconds. For breakfast, I made some mini pancakes and Jes made some breakfast sausage.

The dog joined us at the coffee table and got a taste of sausage and a pancake for himself. Lucky dog.

The rest of the day was spent watching the Olympics and getting the house cleaned up for the new lunar year. In the evening, we took a walk and I got a shot of this really pretty sunset. Jes made me one of the best rib eyes I’ve ever had. Seriously. There was something extra tasty about it…savory but a little sweet. Yep, sweet. It was an organic piece of beef that we bought from the deli at the Ferry Plaza and it was magical.

For dessert, I made a skillet apple pie and I think I’ve found the perfect crust recipe. Surprisingly it was really easy too!  Perhaps with a little more practice, I’ll have a winning pie by November.  Heh heh.

Tomorrow I’m going to work while most of you have the day off.  Thankfully I’ll get paid time and half.  Gotta makes me the moneys!

Wolf Moon

When I stepped out of the building to walk the dog last night, I was greeted by a big bright moon. I don’t think it was at it’s fullest (actual day is 1/29/10) but it might as well have been. It looked so cool behind the baseball stadium.  I saw on the news that farmers call this a “Wolf Moon” because it’s bigger and brighter and occurs in January.

When I arrived at the docks (Koa’s usual pee spot), I shot this one. The lights were on in the stadium because they were setting up for the motocross event this weekend and made for a really cool shot of the moon behind the boats and water. I simply set the camera to ISO 800 and snapped. I love taking photos at night when there’s a full moon. You should try it out sometime!