skeena - the rest of the weekend

well, now that it's monday morning, the entire weekend seems to have passed in one big blur. i tried to keep skeena busy all weekend, however since she's just 11 weeks old, so she wanted her beauty sleep :-)











on saturday, we hopped onto the skytrain and 2 buses and headed down to chris' shop. she was very well behaved on transit, and managed to keep her paws (and head) from being trampled on. most of the time people didn't even notice her because she blended in with the floor :-) in the afternoon, angela & amy came to visit w/her, but skeena apparently had a mind of her own, and just wanted to sleep. in the evening we went out for dinner at milestone's, where we happened to run into chris c. and his wedding party. skeena was pretty tired at this point, and i had to pretty much drag her to our table :P

*NOTE TO ALL PPL* when you see a puppy or a dog with a cape on, generally they are assistance dogs or assistance dogs in training. you should never approach these dogs without asking the handler first. they go through rigorous training classes and are exposed to different environments so they learn to ignore distractions. i know it's always tempting to pet puppies, but it's not always the right time. if you ask the handler if you can pet the training puppy, then they would be more than happy to oblige, and explain the "rules" of petting an assistance dog.
i was extremely frustrated at both earl's and milestone's when we dined out. it's hard enough to get a puppy to obey a command in a noisy environment, but when you have 10 pairs of hands reaching out for her as we're walking by, it's 10 times more difficult to get the puppy to behave.

on saturday night, apparently skeena thought that 12:30 a.m. was an appropriate time for play. so needless to say, chris and i were up until 2 a.m. playing & toileting her. puppies.....they're just like little babies :-)

sunday morning, we were up bright and early because someone had indigestion in their tummy. later, we took a little trip to starbucks, so i could re-energize with a much-needed coffee :-) then my co-worker and her daughter came by to visit skeena. afterwards, i loaded her into my car, and we went to see my grandma at the old ppl's home. by mid-afternoon skeena was absolutely exhausted, but we weren't done yet! we had a family dinner in north vancouver, which was immediately followed by chris' volleyball league at harry jerome.











we had a very busy weekend together, and i feel like she saw and experienced enough to last her until next weekend when she'll go home with someone else. i was very glad to take her back to PADS this morning.....she was a handful to watch over. between biting our table & chairs, jumping onto the countertop, eating the roll of toilet paper, and her little accident in the hallway, the action was non-stop. thank goodness i had chris to help me out, because otherwise, i would never have been able to go to the bathroom! hahahah! yup, skeena wouldn't even leave me along for 2 minutes!

ah well, it's all good :-)

the world's laziest puppy

meet skeena....

i picked her up from PADS today after work, and she was up in the office sleeping under the desk. she was so funny.....nothing in the world was going to make her get up! while i loaded my car w/her kennel and food, the PADS intern convinced skeena to get up and made their way down the driveway to my car. skeena was so sweet, plodding along...."do i have to?"

our weekend adventure had just started :-) the training centre is only 10 minutes from home, but she managed to fall asleep within the first 30 seconds. by the time i parked the car, she was fast asleep and i had to drag her out of the car. she managed to rustle up some energy just when we got into the condo. swell :P but i took care of that w/a 20 minute walk around the 'hood. by the time we got home, and loaded ourselves back into the car, she was ready to zonk out!

we had our first outing together.....we went to meet chris at the shop, and then we had dinner at earl's. to the men out there.....if you're looking for a way to attract the women, just get a puppy! the hostesses at earl's just flocked to skeena. our table was almost at the back of the restaurant, so making our way past all the other tables was an adventure in itself. she's very lazy, and she was literally sitting down every 2 steps. i wanted to celebrate by the time chris and i got to sit down! skeena was very well behaved, and had a snooze under the table. i had to keep tucking her paws in so she wouldn't get stepped on!

we dropped by my parents' house as well, and again, she was so lazy and tired that i had to carry her out of the jeep. and then she just stood still.

so that was pretty much day 1 w/skeena. she's absolutely exhausted right now, and she's been sleeping on chris' lap for the past 20 minutes. one more stroll around the block tonight, and then we'll be ready to go to sleep. i'm absolutely exhausted....i tell ya though....this is probably very similar to having a baby, except at least a baby wears a diaper, and you don't have to worry about stepping in pee/poo :P

a legal name change?

so when i got married last year, i decided to hyphenate my last name. true, it was pain in the ass, and cost me a bit more money than just taking chris' last name, but ultimately, i love my name, and the way it flows together :-)

last night i received a phone call from PADS, advising me of a name change. bellina now goes by skeena. i don't think any legal documentation had to be filed. i don't think pawprinting was a requirement from the police department. it's so much easier to re-name an animal.

starbucks prices going up....

......i'm gonna need a raise!

(copied from www.msn.ca)
Starbucks jacks up prices of coffee, beans in U.S. and Canada
Posted 9/22/2006

SEATTLE (AP) - Starbucks Corp. said Thursday it plans to raise prices of its lattes, cappuccinos, drip coffee and other drinks by five cents, or an average of 1.9 per cent.

The increase, which goes into effect Oct. 3 at all company-operated stores in the U.S. and Canada, will mark the first time the company has boosted drink prices in two years. Starbucks also is increasing the price of its coffee beans by about 50 cents a pound, or an average of 3.9 per cent. That's the first price increase for whole beans in nine years, spokeswoman Valerie O'Neil said.

Starbucks isn't raising prices on the prepared drinks it sells in refrigerated cases.
O'Neil said the company decided to charge more because costs, including fuel and energy, are going up
.
"It's not one specific thing. It's part of our ongoing evaluation of business costs," O'Neil said.
Starbucks' pricing varies based on the market, but the five-cent price increase will be across the board, regardless of drink or part of the country, O'Neil said.

Currently, a tall, or 355 millilitre, cup of Starbucks coffee costs between US$1.40 and $1.65. The same sized lattes cost between US$2.40 and $3.10, depending on the market and a tall mocha costs between $2.70 and $3.40.

Seattle-based Starbucks had 8,624 stores in the United States as of Aug. 30, about 5,500 of which are company-operated. O'Neil said the company does not break out how many stores it has in Canada.

The coffee retailer has said it expects to open as many as 30,000 stores worldwide.

here comes bellina!

i got the call. it came on monday night at work. i got to work today at 6:15 a.m. and listened to my v-mail. this was it. i was getting my puppy! except 6:15 is a little early to return a phone call, so i had to wait it out until 8:10 a.m.

i'm taking a PADS puppy home this weekend, and i couldn't be more thrilled! right now, her name is bellina, but PADS might be changing it later this week. they like to categorize the litters...i.e., olympics, rock and roll, weather, etc. etc. i'm going to be picking her up on friday after work and taking her with me wherever i go. she's an 11-week-old black labrador retriever, and is as cute as a button. i played w/her last night, and she's such a good girl.

so now, i've managed to fill up some of my days w/lots of visits with friends and co-workers. i'll probably also take her for a bus/skytrain ride, so look out for us around town :-)

if you wanted to meet a PADS puppy, i'm sure bellina will be just the first of many different puppies that i'll be caring for.

i laughed, i cried, then chris fell asleep

what a gorgeous day we had in vancouver yesterday. the sun was shining, the wind was calm, and everyone was dressed in their best for priscilla & dave's wedding :-)

the ceremony was at west point grey, and all the friends were gathered about catching up with geoff and sunny, who came specially for the wedding. so nice! we all sat together near the back of the church, and awaiting for the big moment to start. the moms walked in together and lit the unity candle, followed shortly after by the 2 bridesmaids, sandra and cheryl, and then maid-of-honour, letitia. and finally, the grand entrance! outside, the rcmp honour guards formed an archway and then priscilla and her dad entered the church. she looked so beautiful in her wedding dress, her hair and make-up were flawless, and they confidently walked down the aisle. pris' arrival not only brought lots of joy to everyone in the church, but a few tears of happiness were shed by friends around me :-)

the 40 minute ceremony was perfect. some solemn words from the minister, singing some hymns (i actually knew joyful joyful, because it was a song from sister act 2!), the vows between priscilla and dave, and then it was official....they were married. as they walked down the aisle together, they were both beaming from ear to ear. it was a wonderful sight to see 2 people so happy in love.

after pictures with the honour guards, we friends took off together and hung out. starbucks was definitely in order.....sunny and i only had 3 hours of sleep after a long, long night of poker. geoff and chris were more fortunate and managed to get a few more zzzz's.

we arrived at the reception, the vancouver club. my first, and probably only, visit to this exclusive club. we enjoyed a cocktail hour on the main floor and mingled amongst ourselves, while the two families greeted all their guests. when dinner was announced we made our way upstairs to the dining room. so, i'm not very good with big words because i don't actually know many, and i'm not gonna embelish by using the thesauraus, so here's my description of the room.....

• it was big
• it had dark wood beams
• if you looked out the window, there was a nice view towards stanley park (i think....i didn't actually go to the window and look)
• the head table was tucked into a little alcove-y type thing
• the buffet table looked fabulous, and had a huge ice sculpture on it. i assume the character said double happiness, or something along those lines :-)

after dinner, the speeches started. priscilla's dad told a few sweet stories about priscilla from her childhood, which happened to include a few life lessons; letitia gave a toast to priscilla; followed by jake for dave; then priscilla and dave gave a joint speech. i find speeches to be the most emotional time during a wedding. this is when ppl start talking about their relationships and how much the other person means to them. this is exactly what dave did. i admit that i shed some tears as dave bared his soul to all the guests. priscilla also said a few words to her parents, and more tears crept out of my eyes.

and then the party got started. we headed back downstairs for dessert and dancing. i tried to sample a bit of all the desserts, and was not disappointed. my fave dessert, creme brulee was out on the table calling my name. delish!

we got the dance floor heated up and had a great time. i think the videographer has a lot of footage of us girls having a ball. unfortunately like all good things, the evening came to an end at 1 a.m., and we all headed home. a fabulous day, a fun evening.....what could be better? well, i guess chris could've stayed awake until the evening was over. as we were all sitting around chatting, my dear husband fell asleep. i should've cut him off from more wine after he not-so-gracefully knocked his wine glass over at dinner, and stained the white tablecloth a lovely shade of red. seriously, i just can't take him out in public :P

pris & dave, thanks for creating such a wonderful day for us all to enjoy. have a great time on your honeymoon, and i look forward to seeing you both when you return. cheers!

Researchers: Homes have more TVs than people

this headline was straight off cnn.com....

NEW YORK (AP) -- The average American home now has more television sets than people.
That threshold was crossed within the past two years, according to Nielsen Media Research. There are 2.73 TV sets in the typical home and 2.55 people, the researchers said.

i hate to admit it but chris and i fall under this headline. it wasn't planned, it wasn't intentional, but it's true. for a month, we even had 4 tvs in our little condo. and yes, they were all functioning - none were broken. funny enough, we have 3 cable outlets, so one just sat unused. that tv has since moved over to my parents' condo for storage.

it actually does makes sense for us to have 2 tvs....we rarely watch the same tv programs, so at least we don't argue over "tv time". the 3rd tv was leftover from when i lived at my parents' house. it's actually my tv, so i don't want to part with it. we also have the ps2 hooked up to the tv in our bedroom. i think it's just the convenience of being able to watch tv wherever you are.

apparently i can't get enough tv. well, i'm off to watch days of our lives :-)

the perfect day

i'm writing my blog today on behalf of sunny, since this was her "idea". what is the perfect day? here's sunny's....

• sleeping in....not too long, but just long enough
• breakfast cooked by mom-in-law....eggs, ham, hash browns
• a skoah facial....more to come after this list
• lunch on a patio....today's a beautifully sunny day
• starbucks....nothing completes a meal like a good coffee
• shopping....you never know what you can buy
• nap....after all that eating & shopping, of course you need a nap
• dinner....more food
• poker....now this is truly a perfect day!

so anyhoo, back to the facial :-) sunny and i had our extreme facial at skoah yaletown (deep cleansing, exfoliating, delicate extractions, stimulating and treatment masques, foot facial and scalp massage). i fell asleep 3 times during the facial - once during the foot facial, once during the scalp massage, and once in-between. i was so disoriented when it was all over, but boy, did i feel good! unfortunately they changed their service menu and no longer offer this treatment. but i'm glad i could experience it at least once. there's always the facialicious!

for lunch, we checked out a restaurant in yaletown.....i'd never heard of BRB Brown's Restaurant Bar. we sat on the patio and enjoyed the arrival of the sun, which just happened to coincide with geoff and sunny's trip to vancouver. coincidence? i think not! this is vancouver's way of telling those newlyweds that they belong here :-) i truly wonder if vancouverites actually work....there were a lot of ppl sitting on restaurant patios.....! anyways, back to lunch....sunny ordered the hollywood cheeseburger w/fries, and i had the hickory burger w/fries. the fries were super yummy....and had i read the menu properly, i would've noticed the burger said canadian back bacon. i just saw bacon and ordered it, so i was a bit disappointed that it wasn't the normal sliced bacon. but that was my own mistake.....and, the burger was still good :-)

and now, i'm just gonna kick back for awhile and enjoy the rest of my day off! toodles!

watch out for the wildlife!

when my parents first moved to richmond, one of the first stories to come out involved my mom. it was a sunday night, and chris and i were at QE theatre to catch a show. for some reason i had to call my mom before the show started. the conversation went something like this....

me: hey mom
mom: hey sweetie. how are you?
me: i'm fine. u?
mom: i had a cow last night
me: what did my brother do now?
mom: no, i had a cow.
me: i know! what did he do?
mom: nothing! we had a cow walking down our street!
me: WTF?
mom: i was w/laurie in the dining room, when we heard a strange noise. so we took a look outside, and there was a big cow moo-ing down the street!
me: HUNH?!

yup, right in the middle of richmond, was a cow walking down my mom's street. so what did she do? well, what would you do?! she called the cops! hahahah! they actually did show up, but the cow had somehow made a quick escape. so they told her to call them again if it reappeared. sure enough, my mom was taking the dog for a walk the next morning, and a pair of great big eyes were watching her from behind a dirt pile. it was a fairly large dirt pile.....there was a lot of construction back then. so she called the cops. this time they showed up and the cow was hanging around. unfortunately i can't exactly remember what happened after that. apparently the area used to have some farmland which has now become residential. the cow was probably a little homesick for the old 'hood.

next up......bunny rabbits! yes, bunny rabbits. this neighbourhood seems to have an abundance of rabbits. every time i walk down the street from the bus stop to my parents house, i can inevitably see at least 2-3 bunnies. they are really super cute, but seriously, what are they doing hanging around construction sites?! i fear for their safety sometimes....they're sitting by the side of the road keeping an eye on things. maybe they're the neighbourhood watch! someone's gotta do it, right? :-)

happy anniversay!

happy anniversary to me!
happy anniversary to me!
happy anniversary dear me (and chris)!
happy anniversary to me!

wow. it's hard to believe that chris and i have been married for a full year. i still remember all the details as if our wedding day was yesterday. perhaps it's because i keep watching our wedding dvd over and over and over. or perhaps it's because it was such an exciting and memorable day. or perhaps it's because i was so detail-oriented that i noticed every little thing on september 17, 2005.

our first year of marriage was a busy one. after the excitement of a wedding, there's the aftermath. we spent months writing our thank-you cards, looking at photo proofs, sharing photos with everyone on the planet (or so it seems, thanks to grandma :P), sharing the wedding dvd, and storing our gifts away until the big move. no sooner had things died down, when our first christmas as a married couple came barrelling through.

because chris and i are both fairly stubborn we weren't quite ready to give up our family christmas traditions. so to keep the peace we decided to visit everyone. perhaps that was a big mistake, because by 10:30 p.m. i was passed out on my parents' couch while everyone else played texas hold'em.

after the holidays, we started to get ready to move. the big day was february 12. it was such an exciting day...i couldn't wait to live in a brand new place and get all set up! after 7 months of condo living, we're still loving it. shared living spaces isn't always the best...we've had our fair share of car thefts, shootings, tenants falsifying police reports, fire alarms through the night, etc. etc. i like to think that things are settling down a bit, since our strata has created all the "rules" for residents. i guess the newest development is the concrete deficiency. we're not really sure what that means, but we did notice a few small pieces of concrete that were "missing" from the tower. i don't think it means our place is structurally unsafe. at least i hope not!

anyways, i'm looking forward to our many years of marriage ahead of us. happy 1st anniversary to all the other 2005 brides & grooms, especially to samantha & david, rob & rachel and sharon & travis!