Chuckie's Coat!

Last year I was worried that we would have a cold and snowy winter like 2 years ago. In anticipation of that, I wanted to get Charlie a coat because he tends to get cold since he's got a pretty thin coat. When I went to look for one at stores or online, I had a hard time finding anything that would fit him for a decent price. Then I jumped to my usual conclusion when I can't find something I want... I'll just make one!

I found a pattern online for a smaller sized dog, and just blew it up a little bit to fit Charlie. For the fabric I used some no-pill fleece; enough to make two copies of the pattern. Then just cut, sew the two pieces together, and attach some velcro for the belly strap and a clip for the part around his neck to make it a little more sturdy. I also put some reflective tape along the collar for those walks in the winter dark. In total I spent maybe $12.00 with $4 of that being things that I can use again on another coat! So far he loves it, and it helps keep him warm. It's also machine washable and I saved the pattern so I can make more in the future. I may also experiment with some weatherproof fabric and insulation for a heavier-duty coat.

Dark picture but it shows the coat a little better

Chuckie loving his coat for camping!

Rainy Days and Cookies



How dare you let me out in this weather...

Here in Dallas, we graciously accept whatever rain we can get, but on weekends like this one when there are so many outdoor festivals going on, it gets a little boring. Even Charlie isn't a fan of the weather, and when went to check on him after letting him outside, he makes sure to let me know how much he doesn't care for the wet by sitting in the wicker chairs.To fight the cabin fever blues, I decided to make cookies, both human and canine.

The human cookies I cheated on, we had a bag of the Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie mixes on hand so I went ahead and used it. While of course cookies from scratch are the best, I think these are the next best thing if you don't feel like dirtying the whole kitchen up. Most of the time people don't even know the difference if I bring these to events! As always, you can customize it easily to suit your preferences, I often throw extra chocolate chips or mix it up with butterscotch or white chocolate. It's a great way to get that homemade taste without the mess, and its SO much better than those refrigerated ready-made doughs.



Cute puppy themed shapes for cute pups!



Unfortunately the concept of keeping the kitchen clean by using the mix was defeated by making cookies for Charlie and Luke.We usually get just a giant box from Costco, but sometimes its nice to do something nice for the pups since they love these ones so much. Its also a good opportunity to really KNOW whats going into their treats since its all being done from scratch. I love the recipe because its so flexible and easy to customize to your dog's tastes; and if you're REALLY curious, you can try some yourself. Click Read More at the bottom to check out the recipe.

Silverton, Colorado

View of Silverton from USH 550

On our trip to Colorado, one of the few 'planned' destinations was the cute town of Silverton. Silverton is an old historic mining town nestled in the mountains north of Durango, famous for its steam train, mining tours, and expansive off-road trails. Only one highway goes in and out of Silverton, and during the winter it is often inaccessible by road. There is one campground available on the outskirts of town, but we decided to stay in a beautiful campground outside of town called Molas Lake Campground. The sites were simple and lacking any hook-ups, but there was water available at the office and outhouses within decent walking distance. They also have picnic areas and grills at most of the campsites, and a variety of site choices depending on where and how you want to camp (woods, lakeside, tent, RV).

Molas Lake Campground

What sold us was the view at this place. Molas Lake reflects the nearby mountains with an almost pristine quality when the wind is calm, and the fish are active and ready to be caught. Generators are also banned throughout most of the park, so the campground was peacefully quiet most of the time.Charlie was a big fan of the lake. Thanks to the long leads that I had, he was able to romp in the water and chase the ducks (who were only slightly annoyed by his antics) while I stayed warm and dry on the shore. Although we didn't get much chance to seek them out, there also several biking, hiking, and walking trails that had access points stemming from the campground.

After settling in, we made our way back to the town of Silverton to explore and stop by the visitor's center. Charlie came along with us and surprisingly, was on his best behavior. He was able to share the sidewalk with gaggles of tourists and other dogs, and sat politely as families passed us by while we waited outside the visitors center. He even gained some new fans as children came up to play with him. So, we were surprised after all this good behavior when he started growling and barking for absolutely no reason. When we realized why, we had to take a video.

 

The poor pup was TERRIFIED of this strange wooden man. Even passerby's couldn't help but stop and laugh at his misfortune, but eventually we showed some mercy and moved on. 

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Our first real stop on our Colorado trip was at the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Located outside of Mosca, CO. The park, which I am going to shorthand as GSDNP, is home of the tallest sand dunes in North America, as well as pretty much every ecosystem you learned about in elementary school (excluding maybe 'ocean'... although some couple million years ago it probably included it). Anyone who knows me can tell you that I love variety, so this place really fit the bill.

If you can't tell, those are
MOUNTAINS next to the dunes

Since we got there close to nightfall, all of the 88 available campsites were full, and we had to retreat outside the park at the Oasis Campground. Although we were a bit disappointed not to be in the park, we were pleasantly surprised by the beautiful panoramic sunrise view of the dunes the following morning. The campsites were also spaciously separated from one another, and alas, we had utilities, real toilets, and free showers available for use; something the national park campsites were lacking.

Hiking Chuck!

This was our first opportunity to really check out the park, so that's what we did. My boyfriend was itching to try out the 4x4 trails with his truck, which ended up a near failure. Let it be known that a 8,000 lb lifted diesel truck and a deep, sandy, slopey trail should not meet. We managed to get down and back from the first checkpoint without much issue, but it was obvious that we wouldn't be able to continue to our intended destination without the security of a winch. After humbly backing away from that challenge, we decided on an easier task: climbing a mountain. Since most of the trails were either accessed by 4x4 vehicles or from the complete opposite edge of the park, we began on the Mosca Pass Trail. For the most part it was kind, but for being out of shape and unadjusted to the altitude, we headed back after about a mile. Chuckie was a champ the whole way, and proudly carried all of his things inside of his cute backpack.

He also kept licking the sand...

I had to stop from singing
"Arabian Nights" the whole hike

The following day, we got up early (at least as early as we could) and left to tackle the sand dunes. Our mission was to hike up High Dune, which stands at about 650 ft tall. The sand was a lot harder to hike through than we had expected, so I ditched my boots and went barefoot. Losing the shoes not only helped with gaining some footing in the sand, but it allowed me to keep an eye on the sand temperature. During the hot sun of the summer, the sands can reach over 150 degrees Fahrenheit. With Charlie coming along with us, we were racing the temperature to finish the hike and return before it was dangerous for his feet. Lucky for us, we had some heavy rains the night before so by staying on the shady side of the dunes we could keep both our feet and Charlie's black body cool. Charlie thought the sand was amazing. Every time we stopped he would begin digging nonstop; you can check out a video of it here.

Charlie, waiting to pounce

We managed to make it to High Dune in a couple of hours (some kid we met up there probably did it in half that time, and he wasn't even tired), and we took some time to enjoy the view. I've never seen anything like that view, a combination of several landscapes. To the east you see mountains, west is plains, and to the southeast you see remnants of a creek that is full of life during the cooler times of the year. As we headed back down, you could tell Charlie was excited about our increased pace. Down was much easier than up; you could almost skate down the slopes on your feet. We almost regretted not renting one of the sandboards the campsite had available, Charlie could have just pulled us down the whole way.

 In all, I'm glad that we were able to stop at GSDNP. I think it was one of our favorite parts of the trip, and definitely a new and unique experience that I (and hopefully Charlie) will never forget.

Pooped puppy

Luv-My-Pet Vaccinations

Naturally, before our trip to Colorado, I began to compile a list of everything we needed to do before we left. When I started thinking about what Charlie's list would consist of, I realized he was getting close to needing his vaccinations done again. Unfortunately, our awesome vet had retired earlier this year and we have yet to find a new one, so I was in a pinch trying to find a place on such short notice.

Rockstar Chuck gaining attention!

I searching around online and figured one of the "lost cost vaccination clinics" would probably be our best bet. Lucky for us, there was one being held at a local Petco. This particular clinic was being held by a company called Luv my Pet.  At first I was a little bit skeptical about a mobile vaccination-only clinic, but after looking at the prices I couldn't complain. There's no office visit fee just for walking through the door like most typical veterinary offices, and the services were fairly priced.

You've only got a couple hour long window to get your pup (or kitty) in to get his work done, and if you don't go early on then expect a long wait time. We were there 5 minutes prior to the clinic actually beginning, and we still had a 20 minute wait in line. Otherwise everything went smoothly and the vet and vet techs that were assisting with the shots (we needed them with two 80 lb dogs) were friendly and confident. Charlie's vein was a little bit hard to find for the heartworm test, but the tech was reassuring and Chuckie stayed nice and calm. I was so proud of him!

All in all, I was really happy with their services! We even had some time to do some Chuckie publicity... the kids loved him!

Homemade Fuzzy's Tacos

Credit: here

I love Fuzzy's. The first time I went and got the shrimp tacos, I couldn't get enough of them. What I didn't love was $2 price tag on each of these tiny things, which is pretty much why I could never get enough of them to get full. My family was craving some Fuzzy's, and it occurred to me that we can probably just make them at home. I was right! For less than the price to feed two people at the restaurant, we were able to feed five and have leftovers! For generosity's sake, we made both chicken and shrimp tacos. We served this with some Mexican rice (A recipe I may share eventually, but for now I'll keep the secret), chips, and a creamy avocado lime dip. Read More for the recipe!

Yum! Served with tortilla chips and a creamy avocado dip

New England in Review

This Fourth of July we had an excuse to go on the first real vacation we've had in a LONG time. My cousin was getting married, so we took this as a sign to return to the area where I grew up, New England! Just a warning, this post may be a long one, so utilize the Jump Break if you want to keep reading!

Oysters on the Half Shell at Legal Sea Foods

Our trip began in Boston, where we walked the freedom trail, ate lunch at the delicious Legal Sea Foods, and watched the fireworks show with the Boston Pops. 

Fireworks!

At first, the fireworks show was held up because of threatening lightning storms across the river. Even though the crowd had technically 'evacuated', we held our ground and we were glad we did! It turned out we were sitting right in front of the barges, and when the fireworks show finally started, it began POURING. Thankfully, the fireworks continued on and the rain just made it all the more memorable. It was definitely a show I will never forget, and possibly one that won't be beaten. If you'd like, you can watch a short video of it here. Please excuse my exclamations of rain during the video.

PEI mussels at Kitchen Little

We later moved on through Plymouth, MA, Rhode Island, and finally Mystic, CT, where we stopped for some great seafood at a small local restaurant called Kitchen Little. We sat on the patio and watched over the marina at sunset while eating our dinner. Unfortunately there were bugs, so we did sustain some mosquito bites. If anyone ever gets a chance to go, their daily specials seem to be even better than their menu items. The Caldareida, Sardines escapage, and PEI mussels were my favorites.
After a night at a mediocre hotel, we visited the tourist Mystic downtown, which was a lot smaller than I had remembered it at a child. Nonetheless it was fun to watch the yachts and poke around at the small stores. One of my favorites was The Black Dog, a place I'm sure Chuckie would have loved if he was there. They had people clothes, accessories, and tons of cute doggie things perfect for big dogs.

A Tribute to Bacon

Since I've been at my parents for a while, I haven't done much in terms of cooking or puppy activities, so I thought I would make a slight tribute to one of my favorite foods: BACON.

 Lately bacon has gotten quite the reputation for more than just the delicious smokey strips that you eat for breakfast. You can now buy bacon themed items in almost any genre, such as non-breakfast snacks, body care, and dental hygiene. Who would have thought? Here are some of my favorite examples:

Bacon Air Freshener

Bacon Pop - bacon flavored popcorn

Man Bait- Maple Bacon Lollipop

Fair enough, a little strange, but here is where stuff starts to get REALLY weird...

Bacon Soap

Bacon Toothpaste

So for all you bacon lovers, there is a bacon themed product to match your every need.  Although, you may want to skip out on some of the body care bacon items.

A while back, there was also a magnificent thing called the Bacon Shake at Jack in the Box. Unfortunately I couldn't find anyone brave enough to try it with me and I was too wimpy to try it alone so I missed out. If you're still in doubt, you can read more about it here.

Quick Procrastination Cookies

As final exams roll around, of course I would find ways to substitute studying with eating.  These cookies were a quick and easy solution to my sweet tooth procrastination. I love cookies because its so easy to experiment with the ingredients once you have the basics. Oatmeal, nuts. and vanilla extract can be added to your liking, and I also added coconut flakes to some of the dough - the result was cookies resembling almond joys. If you prefer the taste of brown sugar to white sugar, you can substitute to your liking. Also, I only have myself to eat the cookies, so feel free to double the recipe to make more. Read More for the recipe!

Cooking chicken on a pig

The idea of attempting to operate a real grill intimidates me, so when I saw this cute little Terra Cotta Pig at World Market, I thought it was right up my alley. Combined with a $10 off coupon I couldn't really say no.

I made my first attempt with it the other day, and confirmed my fears of the grilling world. After a lot of lighter fluid and several dangerous pyrotechnics, I managed to get the coals lit. Needless to say, the food was the easiest part, I went with the simple route and made some Hawaiian Chicken Skewers, with chicken, pineapple, and green peppers. The ones that I had put on the pig first were a little smokier, but had a questionable taste from what I am assuming was the lighter fluid.... but the rest were good! Just put the skewers over some white rice and made it a meal. The leftovers made a really delicious and fresh tasting lunch the following day as well.

Next time I make this I will:

1. Wait until my boyfriend is around to start the charcoal for me. I could learn myself and practice, but why do it myself when I can get him to do it?
2. Not wait until last minute to start making this. It does take a couple of hours total to make (a lot of it is just waiting, maybe only 20 min of actual work), so this is not a good dish to make if you're hungry RIGHT NOW.

This recipe is really flexible depending on how much you want to make (so I won't put amounts), and its easy to get creative with! Make more or less marinade depending on how much chicken you make. Read More for the recipe!

Pan-Asian night

So tonight I wanted to cook something a little bit different, so it was coconut-curry chicken and a vegetable stir fry. Yes, I realize that those two really aren't supposed to go together since they're from two different countries, but I needed to vegetables and I wanted an excuse to have baby corn.

This was my first time doing any real (at least from scratch) cooking with curry, and lets just say I had a slight learning curve at the beginning. I was tossing around whether or not to use curry paste or curry powder, and the first time around I made the big mistake of heating the oil BEFORE adding in the curry paste. My white wall next to the stove is now tinged a little bit orange. After sufficiently burning the paste while trying to mix it with the oil, I gave up, washed the pan, and started over... this time heating the oil with the curry powder at the same time. Much better, and virtually no splattering. Unfortunately I found other ways to make a mess, flinging the curry sauce between the crack next to the stove top, and spilling coconut milk everywhere (let it be said, that if you get the Thai Kitchen coconut milk, you're supposed to open it from the bottom end). Otherwise it went seamlessly once everything got added in. I only put in about 1 lb of chicken, and I let it simmer for a little while longer (hourish?) because I prefer a thicker sauce, and the results were pleasing. Even my roommate who tends to prefer bland flavors really enjoyed it. I think the tomatoes created a fantastic bridge between the curry and the coconut flavor.

Next time I make this I will:

1. Open more windows (and subsequently annoy the neighbors in my apartment)
2. Possibly invest in a splatter guard
3. Add some fresh tomatoes and/or add a little more 'kick' to it.
4. MAYBE try again with the curry paste, since word on the street says it makes curry dishes all the more delicious.

As for the stir fry, the consistency and the vegetable flavors were great (carrot, broccoli, green pepper, baby corn, water chestnuts), but I'm starting to realize not owning oyster sauce is going to cause me to run into some problems as I cook some more Asian dishes.  Putting that on the shopping list for next time. Sauce for the stir fry was okay, but without any oyster sauce and using soy sauce and teriyaki sauce as a substitute, it didn't really have much character. Since I didn't really follow a recipe, I won't write one until its a little better tasting. Read More for the recipe!

Clicker training

Began clicker training with Charlie today. Just got one of the cheap $2 ones at Petco and so far it's working fantastic. I think he's really starting to get the point of it. Started working him with the basic commands he already know (sit, down, ote, okawari) and introduced some hide and seek to him. For right now I'm just using his regular food for treats, but I suppose since he's got such a love affair with food it's working fine. Had a couple of short sessions, and to finish the day off I took him out to the park to try and work on some recall (something he has become notoriously bad about). Got a 50' lead that he seems to really enjoy because he's got a little more freedom to explore. Tried a few recalls with little to no issues until he got too hot and bored to care. For the first day I think it was pretty successful. Only way to go is up from here! Tommorow well work on the same stuff, and hopefully I'll do some kind of Asian cooking for dinner. Friday Im thinking a day out volunteering at Passion Horse Rescue and fried chicken with collards for dinner. One more day and its three day weekend!

GENESIS

So, this will be my first time to do any kind of blogging! Mostly my goal is just to have something to write stuff since facebook tends to be my arch enemy in terms of productivity, this way I won't have to lurk around to feel like I'm doing something. Looking forward to seeing how this will turn out...