Grandma's House

The groomer that our pup (now pups) go to is near my parents' house in Walnut. Before there was only Kirin, but now there are two! Thankfully, my mom is still gracious enough to keep them overnight so off to Grandmother’s house we went! (It’s really Grandparent’s house, but that’s not a saying!) We tried out the dog seat belts on the way there and despite their cries and whimpering the ENTIRE way there, we made it! (I guess maybe we can use it as practice for future kids??) Sorry in advance for all the blurry pictures, they were running around really fast!

Pre Grooming

After Grooming

Hosting

Last week one of Jason's good friends from Japan stayed with us for a couple days. We were only able to take one day off so our guest took advantage of golfing in the California weather and our days together essentially consisted of eating...eating...and more eating! Since getting a pup that is not house broken the day before a guest is coming to stay with you is not a good idea, Sofi ended up wearing a diaper for the days when he was here to ensure he didn't come home to any surprises.

Here was our schedule for the week:

Sunday - We went to a couple breweries- Anaheim Brewery & Bootleggers
Sunday Dinner: Mortons

Monday - Jason and Daijiro went to Temecula during the day for wine tasting while I stayed home with our newly acquired pup to get her more acquainted with our other pup.
Monday Dinner - Les Amis

Tuesday Dinner - Baci Di Firenze

Wednesday Dinner - Sushi Murasaki

Ten pounds later when Thursday rolled around we were sad to see our guest leave but happy for the time we were able to spend together. We are excited to see him in October during our trip to Asia!

One Year

It's hard to believe it's already been one year since we got married! It's amazing how time flies, but it's been a fantastic year. Not to sound corny, but if people say the first year is the hardest, I don't know how it could get any easier! Happy Anniversary to my favorite husband! ;]

Pictures of how we celebrated to come later!

Man up

 

We got new harnesses for the pups in an attempt to make them not look so girly for Jason's sake. Little white fluffballs wearing bright pink heart vests was getting to be a little much even for me, and that's saying something!

This past weekend

Meet Sofi

We've debated a couple times in the past about getting another pup. We started with one, had two, then had one again and weren't entirely sure if the one would appreciate some company. We've looked at www.petfinder.com many times, but I think we were always afraid to actually go for it. Recently, Jason found out one of his friends wanted to give away her pup because she didn't feel she had time for her. We found out she was six years old, which would mean she would be older than our current pup, so initially I really wasn't sure about "adopting" a somewhat older pup. We threw the idea around, he met the pup, fell in love, arranged for us to meet today, I fell in love and here we are.

Throwback - Christmas Day 2012

Continuing the throwbacks...Christmas day 2012! One of the few days of the year that we have family photos. My brother wasn't back this year, so it did feel a little different. It will be difficult with both of us getting married within a year to figure out the holiday situation going forward, but hopefully we will get to spend some holidays together this year.

Throwback - Christmas Cookies 2012

In going through pictures on my camera lately, I realized I've done a really poor job of keeping this blog up and running. Although, I am unsure how far back a "throwback" post needs to be to be considered "throwback," I have no idea what else to call them so here we go!

We decided at Christmas time that we wanted to make cookies, but none of the stores we went to had the right food coloring! We ended up with Valentine's/Easter colored cookies, but they were still a lot of fun to make and delicious. The last one is supposed to be Kirin... :]

Daily Life

Haven't been much going on around here, just the usual daily life consisting of working, eating, sleeping, and walking the pup pictured above. We've been going on more daily walks to ensure the bub is getting enough exercise. How far we walk is completely dependent on her mood, but we're usually able to make it fairly far.

We're planning a trip to Asia in October, but before that we have a couple of weddings. Julia & Ben's the first weekend of May and my brother's the last weekend of May! After reading my brother and his fiancee's wedding site, I already know I'm going to cry at their wedding. I'm so happy (although, I feel "happy" doesn't begin to describe it)  that he has found someone who makes him happy and has been so supportive of him during his time away in medical school. Really excited for both weddings!

Portland

Ever since we went to Seattle a couple years ago, Jason has been sold on the Northwest portion of the United States. Immediately after we came back, he asked if I wanted to move there. I think the fact that we went during the summer time, when there is less rain and lots of sun, was a selling season but not a good indicator of the actual weather majority of the time there.

The thought is back now with taxes around the corner, except now the thought is to move to Portland. Starting over in somewhere new in a wholesome place to raise future kids doesn't sound like such a bad idea. Except the wholesome thought is basically a dream of what Portland is, because we've never been there! Also, we would be leaving all our family and friends behind, not only in California, but also we'd be further away from Nevada where much of Jason's family is. Which are all many strong negatives among dream positives.

It's just a thought for now. We plan on visiting this summer to actually find out what Portland is about.

One of those people

"Those" in the title needs to be in italics. Our pup sling is here! Time to go hiking!

A Day At the Beach

This warm January weather got us thinking about an outdoor activity to do with our bug. After much debate between hiking or the dog beach, we settled on the dog beach since we are still waiting for her pup sling. (I know, I know...we're one of those people). Since she's so small, about five pounds, we really don't think she'll be able to make a hike the whole way. Add in the fact that she already has joint problems, it's best to be able to carry her when necessary! Trying to keep her happy and healthy is the main goal. Back to the beach, she seemed to have had fun. Chasing after dogs much bigger than herself, going over and visiting other people's blankets, sitting on people's backs, and probably the fact that Jason didn't dunk her like he said he would was on added bonus. This warm weather is a little unusual for January, even in California, but was much welcomed after the cold weather we've been having lately.

Happy New Year!

2012 was an exciting year for us, looking forward to even more exciting years to come!

Bits + Pieces

Andddd we're back!

1. papa kisses
2. new initials, new mug!
3. at The Lab in Costa Mesa
4. a kir and her papa
5. beer flight at the Anaheim Brewery (the hef is pretty good!)
6. still a fan even after this past weekend's game vs. UCLA :[

Nabe

Nabe, short for nabemono, is a term used for Japanese hot pot, also known as one pot meals. The great thing about nabe, is you can add basically whatever you like to cook in the broth and it can result in a variety of tastes even when using the same broth for many meals. The hubs and I enjoyed Nabe for multiple meals this past weekend.

For the broth:
niboshi
kombu

To add to the pot:
tofu
shrimp
spinach
fish balls
carrots
green onions
shrimp balls
white fish
yu choy
bean sprouts
thinly sliced beef
napa cabbage
enoki mushrooms

Super simple, but very delicious and will be great for the cold weather that is a coming. (hopefully? it's still 80 degrees in California and we're almost into November!)