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J: BLOG AND DOG

Tue, 29 Jun 2010 16:07:51 -0700

Since I'm at home with this bum neck, there's no better time to recap the last 6 days since we adopted Penny. Here's the story:

Pam and I have been contemplating on getting a dog for a while. We both agreed that it would be a long term commitment and since we both were working full time, it almost seemed unlikely we would get one for our condo.

Then, it all started when we visited Tara at ARF (http://www.arf.net/). Tara was nice enough to show us around the clinic where we saw 3 dogs in the back. One dog especially caught our eye, Concordia. A white chihuahua that had a sweet temperament and liked to cuddle. Unfortunately, she was adopted by the time we came back to Vegas. After a couple more visits to ARF and checking out some shelters online, we decided to spend a Saturday morning to visit the Fremont Animal Shelter. We had our eyes on 3 dogs: Stella, Bruce and Nelly. We had the opportunity to play with each one and we both agreed that "Nelly" was the one. I went to the front desk, told the shelter we wanted to adopt Nelly. After some paperwork, paying the fees, and waiting 4 days, we finally got to pick up our dog.

How we picked her name: We were driving down 680 thinking about potential names for our dog. Names like "Honey", "PJ" and "Akina" came to mind. Then, as we passed by Sun Valley Mall and saw the JC Penney sign.. I randomly blurted out "How about Penny?". Pam and I agreed that was the name for our dog.

Day 1:
"So jealous Jon gets to pick her up!!! Meet our new doggy. A 2-yr old Tibetan Terrier/Jack Russel Terrier. Can't wait to get off work!!!!" - Pam' FB status update 4:16pm 6/23/10

Thanks to my boss, I was able to leave work early to head out to Fremont to pick up Penny. I had so many mixed feelings during that drive. I was more excited than anything, but I was also nervous. I wasn't sure how Penny would react to me because the folks at the shelter told us she was a very timid dog and would need a lot of work. When the volunteer walked out with Penny, I felt like a father seeing his newborn for the first time. She eventually warmed up to me and allowed me to walk her. The car trip home, I couldn't keep my eyes off her’s. She would look at me with her puppy dog eyes that could melt anyone’s heart. She left me a nice surprise right as I pulled up into our condo parking lot... she threw up a nice bright neon yellow mixture of stomach acid, dog food and who knows what. (note to self: Penny might have an issue with car sickness).

"After bringing Penny home from the Fremont Animal Shelter, we have learned that she is afraid of EVERYTHING, she has separation anxiety, and she's not encouraged with treats and toys. It's gonna be a long process, but she's worth it =)" - Pam's FB status update 11:01AM 6/24/10

Day 2: Woke up at 6AM to take Penny out for her first walk and attempted to get her to go potty. She immediately found her spot and did her bidnesssss. It appears that she's pretty well potty trained (huge plus in our book since we all know poop and pee don't exactly smell good in a home). Separation anxiety still remains, plus she follows me EVERYWHERE!

Day 3:

"New dog update: Penny's super attached to Jon, she cries when he leaves the room. Everything still scares her but I can tell she's slowly getting more and more comfortable. She's potty trained already! This weekend she's gonna meet Lani & Daisy. She's not allowed to meet boy dogs for another 2 1/2 weeks (Sorry Whisket ...& Ody), and we can't give her a bath for 1 1/2 weeks, so the house smells like dog!" - Pam's FB update 9:18am 6/25/10
Attempted to do some separation anxiety training. Still a lot of work to be done, because she cries and howls whenever I leave the condo for work.

Day 4: 6AM Saturday... up bright and early to take Penny for her walk. It's going to be one of those things where we have to get used to waking up early EVERY day. It's our first full day with her, so we had a chance to give her a hair cut and because she was spayed recently, we wouldn't give her a bath yet. However, she smelled REALLLLY bad, so we picked up some waterless shampoo from Petsmart (apparently we're frequent shoppers there as we went there 5 days straight). So, she had the full spa treatment. Hair cut, bath and gave her a teeth cleaning. Take a look, she's lookin' so fresh and so clean!!!

Day 5: Scheduled her first check up at the vet. We took Penny to the Antioch Veterinary Hospital (http://www.antiochvet.com/), the same spot where Daisy and Lani go. Had her shots and blood examined. Also found out that she wasn't a previous mommy (mammary glands were not enlarged, just happen to have long pencil eraser tip sized nipples due to her being in heat). Overall, we have a healthy (and very cute) dog. She's slightly underweight, but she's still at a healthy weight range. We'll want her to gain a few pounds (and so do I). So it looks like Penny and I will both go on a weight gaining diet. P90X for me and maybe some D90X for Penny?

Also earlier that day, Mr. and future Mrs. Bounong came over. Lani and Penny had a play date. We're slowly trying to get her to socialize with other dogs and people. Overall, it was a successful play date.

Day 6: Well most of you guys know either through FB or Twitter that my neck got messed up, so my work day got cut short. My parents finally got a chance to meet Penny. They were surprised at how good she is/was and hopefully I can set up a play date with Rocco sometime soon.

J: An addition to our family

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 00:07:51 -0700

She’s a 2 year old Tibetan Terrier/Jack Russell Terrier Mix. We get her on Wednesday.... Stay tuned for additional pics, vids and more info on our new adventure with our new dog!!!!!

J: TOTES!! EPIC WEEKEND

Mon, 5 Apr 2010 22:39:13 -0700

This is going to be one of the rare blogs that has nothing to do with our condo or even have any pics of our condo. This past weekend consisted of awesomeness of epic proportion. As many of you know, Pam’s sister, Bernadette and her bf, Mike, were engaged. Pam and I were fortunate enough to be a part of their magical moment.

I’d like to say congrats one more time of the engagement and I can’t wait for your wedding!!!!!!!

To top the night off, we went to the Regency Ballroom to watch one of my favorite musicians, Matt Wertz (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fDBVWhv03w&a=YLDtIsCwiA8&playnext_from=ML) perform. We got their 2 hours early to ensure we would get the closest view in the house. Most of the folks in line were there to see Five for Fighting, and haven’t even heard of Matt Wertz before. Mike and I were able to talk to one of Five for Fighting fans (late 40 year old guy) and after the show, I think he was successfully converted into a Matt Wertz fan.

When the doors opened, all 4 of us (Pam, Bern, Mike and I) ran to the front of the stage to get front row. Check out the view:

After the awesome performance, we had a chance to meet Matt. Pam managed to have him congratulate her sister on their engagement. We caught it all on video (youtube link to come?). We grabbed a few autographs and got some pics with him.

Seriously, the dude is hella down to earth and if Pam were to leave me for him, I wouldn’t hate on it.... j/k ;)

Anyways, gonna end this blog on another note. I <3 SF!!!! I need to move here and this picture will be a constant reminder of that!!! Pam and Jon Blog 2.0 coming from SF in 2012?

J: Plants and s#!T

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:30:47 -0700

Hi All! Sorry for the lack of updates.. been too busy with work, gym and watching the Warriors lose. Pam and I are still working on our culinary skills and gradually adding some upgrades to our new home. Nothing drastic, but this past weekend, we finally put together the bookshelf. It was a much needed storage unit. I don’t know why, but I felt pretty accomplished for putting it together (I know, I know, it’s Ikea furniture, a 1 armed midget could probably do it.) Check it out though, this piece is a thing of beauty!!

Other than the book shelf, Pam and I decided to get some plants for the home. I read this article online that said:

“Plants bring natural beauty to our living spaces. By creating texture and balance, a room can be transformed into an environment that comforts and welcomes.”

Let’s hope it holds true. Anyways, stay tuned for a small housewarming/get together. I know most of my friends still haven’t come over yet to check out our new home, and some have said “Where’s my invite?”. Truth be told, if you’re a true friend, you don’t need an official invite. Just text me or hit me up for our address and stop by.

In the mean time, stay tuned for the next update with some awesome content (pics, videos, stories)...

J: EAT WELL, SAVOR LIFE

Mon, 1 Feb 2010 23:15:36 -0800

The past couple of weeks have been a true test of Pam and my (mostly Pam’s!) culinary skills. Not much to really write about in this blog, but please enjoy the pictures. The quote above, was seen on the cover of Bon Appetit magazine at the check out stand at Raley’s. I think it holds true on so many levels. Often times, I’ve complained about being tired or not having enough free time, but ultimately, I need to realize I need to savor life. The pics will show that we’ve definitely been eating well though! =P

Cream cheese, (imitation) crab meat, green onions, garlic and wonton wrappers = deep fried wontons (LowTec Bry and MDEEEZY, the open invite still stands for you 2 to come through!)

Not sure what the ingredients of Pam’s Enchiladas were, but she whipped it up at 10 PM tonight, which will ultimately be our lunch and dinner tomorrow.

And for those who still haven’t dropped by, here’s a pic with my trusty eBay fisheye lens: