FLIP + CHING

Old Dogs

Posted on May 15, 2010 by Ching under Family, Movies.

Speaking of old dogs, here’s a picture of me and Pogi. Pogi was our old chocolate lab when we lived on South Valley Stream Drive, mom and dad’s first house in Derby. Actually, that’s their first house ever in the US. Pogi was our first dog in the US. Mom and dad haven’t had another dog since so I guess, he’s the first and only dog they’ve ever had here.

Incidentally, Brian and I watched Old Dogs yesterday. It wasn’t even about dogs at all. LOL. It was about this two old guys played by Robin Williams and John Travolta. I really like Robin Williams and he’s usually hilarious (think The Birdcage — love that movie). Not so much in this one, though. There were a few laughs, but the movie was just so-so.

Come to think of it, I haven’t seen a really great funny movie in a long time. Do you guys have any recommendations for me? What should I watch next?

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All About Molly

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Ching under Babies.

This weekend is all about Molly. When Tita Sol first called us about dog-sitting Molly about a month ago, I was both excited and worried at the same time. We hadn’t seen Molly in a long while and so I was really looking forward to the opportunity to spend time with her. However, I was worried about our landlord getting mad about us having Molly at our place since we told them we didn’t have any pets and didn’t pay a pet deposit at the time we signed our lease.

Normally Tita Sol’s son watches Molly when she goes out of town, but he just happened to be out of town himself this weekend as well. It worked out because then Tita Sol thought of us. I very much wanted to take care of Molly while Tita Sol’s in LA so we agreed to take her.

Since Brian and I are sticklers for the rules, we immediately told our property manager that we would be dog-sitting for a weekend. Luckily, they were okay with it as long as it was only a temporary arrangement and we wouldn’t be dog-sitting on a regular basis. Otherwise, they’d have to insist that we pay the pet deposit. I’m glad we didn’t have to pay it because the amount of the pet deposit is half of our rent so it’s quite hefty. She did say that we’d have to assume responsibility of any damage that’s done by Molly while she’s staying with us, and we’d have to pay for it out-of-pocket since we don’t have a pet deposit.

With our landlord notified, my next step was to take a couple of days of vacation so I could spend quality time with Molly. I scheduled a day of vacation on Friday (today) and Monday. I figured this way I could keep Molly company so she isn’t by alone in a strange, unfamiliar place.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, I got sick. Brian wanted me to see the doctor, but I didn’t want to miss work so I asked Brian to schedule it for Friday since I was already off on vacation on that day. Brian decided to take a vacation day also. It was more so that he could go to the doctor with me, rather than to stay home with Molly though. I think he wanted to make sure I went. LOL. I’d been better for about a week, but we decided that I still needed to visit with the doctor to discuss some stuff.

Another appointment that I ended up scheduling during my time off from work is my dental appointment. It was initially scheduled for Wednesday, May 19, but we’re touring the Kansas Underground Salt Museum on that day. Brian called Gloria and rescheduled my appointment to Monday, May 17, since I’m already off on vacation. Molly will have to be by herself for a couple of hours on Monday while I go to my dental appointment.

Other than the two appointments, Molly won’t be alone at all this weekend. Brian and I cleared our schedules just for Molly. We’re not even going to the gym or anything. As in, I’m missing my favorite group fitness class on Saturday morning to spend every second of the weekend with Molly. We’re even missing Eli’s birthday party, since we can’t take Molly to Chuck E. Cheese. It’s okay, though, because Jenni already delivered our gift.

Our plan tomorrow is to take Molly to the KMMH open house in Augusta. Then on Sunday, we’ll take her to the new dog park — weather permitting, of course. I’m hoping that Misty will be back in town and won’t be too tired so we can stop by and introduce Molly to Misty’s dogs.

Jay called me earlier today and asked if Brian and I wanted to play racquetball with him and Ronnie at the South branch YMCA. At first I said yes because I love, love, love to play racquetball — but then I realized we had Molly and I didn’t want to leave her by herself. When I told him the reason we couldn’t make it to racquetball and that we wanted to show Molly a good time this weekend, he laughed. I guess it sounds weird because we’re treating Molly like a person. I don’t know how else to treat her, though. Tita Sol treats Molly like a person. She even packed several outfits for Molly to wear over the weekend.

Molly has been accustomed to being treated like a princess ever since she’s been with Tita Sol, getting her hair brushed and a wet-towel rub every night before bed. I can’t really imagine treating Molly any other way. Plus, we promised Tita Sol that we would take very good care of Molly while she’s away so we’re going to take very, very, very good care of her.

So far it has been great. Molly is perfectly well-behaved. She hasn’t gone to the bathroom inside the house at all. When she’s really to go pee, she just starts whining. That’s how she signals for us to take her outside. As far as pooping goes, she poops a few minutes after eating. Just like clockwork. It makes me wish my bowel movements were just as regular.

Last night she went through the night without waking us up to go to the bathroom. She held it until 6 AM, when I woke up to take her outside. Molly has been absolutely perfect. The only problem we’ve had so far was with her not wanting to eat. I even locked myself with her and her food in the powder room for almost an hour this morning before we went to the doctor to try and force her to eat. Nothing worked.

We finally just gave up because we had to get to the doctor’s office. Brian said that she’ll eat when she’s hungry. It still made me worry, though. When we got home from the doctor, I fixed us lunch. When Molly saw Brian and I eating lunch, she finally ate the food in her food bowl that we’d left on the kitchen floor for her. Tita Sol mentioned that she liked to eat when you eat, but I didn’t realize it was to this extreme. She doesn’t eat by herself at all. She refuses to eat unless you’re eating too. So now Brian and have to make sure that we eat on Molly’s meal schedule. When it’s time for her to have her morning meal, we have to sit down at the dining table and eat so that she’ll eat. Same thing with dinner. It’s very weird… But very cool at the same time. I’m tempted to put Molly in a booster seat and have her eat dinner with us at the dining table because she’s so well-mannered now.

Tita Sol has really trained her well. She’s was a misbehaving brat when we had her. After a year with Tita Sol, she’s turned into the perfect dog. Not to get any ideas because Brian still doesn’t want any more animals. Besides, the pet deposit and the additional amount that will be tacked on to our rent each month isn’t in the budget. =P

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At the Doctor

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Ching under Health.

Brian went with me to the doctor today. We were bored while we were waiting so we had to find something to do. Boredom is supposed to be bad for your health.

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Aveda Stimulus Package

Posted on May 14, 2010 by Ching under Coupons.

I scheduled a haircut at Elements and redeemed my Aveda stimulus package coupon at the same time. I really didn’t know what I was in for. I was mostly just interested in the free tube of hand relief cream. LOL.

The nice folks at Elements served me Aveda’s comforting tea. It was delicious. I’m not a tea drinker but, after that stuff, I’m converted. I’m going to start drinking Aveda’s comforting tea from now on.

Before my haircut, Crystal had me smell this aromatherapy stuff on her hands. I think that’s the “aroma sensory journey” part of the whole experience. Then she gave me a neck and shoulder massage before washing my hair. She used some kind of smoothing shampoo and conditioner made by Aveda. It smelled good. I love Aveda stuff. Haircut followed. After my haircut, Vanessa did my makeup.

I got pretty much everything listed on the coupon except for the “stress-relieving hand therapy” but Elements threw in a free sample of Aveda’s hand and body wash so I didn’t really mind.

How about you? Have you redeemed your Aveda stimulus package coupon yet? Where did you go and what did you get?

P.S. Oh, and I also learned that they do something similar to “rebonding” at Elements. It’s called CHI hair straightening. The only difference is that it’s permanent (as opposed to only lasting six months) and it’s not as damaging to your hair. Oh, and it’s tons more expensive. It’s like $100 an hour and the process takes about three hours. It is cheaper than flying to the Philippines just to get my hair rebonded again, though. =P