Lucy's first walk!

Lucy got her third and final set of vaccinations this morning, which means we can safely take her out to public places now! And so before lunch, the To family went for a nice walk around the canal by our house.

When we first got Lucy, she reminded me SO much of Indee... in how she looked and in her mannerisms. I kept calling her "Indee" for at least a week (and still do sometimes when I'm not thinking). As Lucy is growing older, I'm seeing more and more how she has her own personality, which in many ways is very different from Indee. One such difference is how Lucy is a lot more adventurous than Indee. The first time Indee went for a walk, she freaked out and tried to scamper back up the driveway into our house. We decided to carry her down the block and start our walk there, but Indee proceeded to scamper up EVERY driveway, in desparate hope that it would lead to home, until we finally reached our house.

Lucy, on the other hand, has been itching to venture past our fence for a long time and was SO excited during her walk. She trotted and sniffed, chased little animals and marked her territory, like a seasoned pro. And when we finally returned home, she was so tired she barely made it to her water bowl for a drink before konking out in the middle of the kitchen floor for a long nap.

I'm excited for my new running buddy! ... except, I think we're going to have to work on her endurance.

look at the proud dad with all his camera gear!

this is how we play tug-o-war...

she's either lazy, or... doesn't get the game?

i love how she falls over "dead" at the end. :)

a fair weather fan

I am tired of this cold and gloom. Having lived in San Diego for so long, I have been so spoiled as to expect "winters" that last a month and then dissolve into the usual warm, sunny flip-flp weather that has become my climate norm. But this is not so in Sacramento (my poor flip-flops are gathering dust and cobwebs). And while I know it could be MUCH worse, I am a wuss when it comes to cold, so please, just be sympathetic.

Cold weather debilitates me. This is one of the reasons, if not THE reason, why I don't enjoy skiing, even though my dad is a fanatic and we grew up visiting the slopes numerous times each season... On swim team, as a kid and even as an adult, I was always the last one in the pool (or in the ocean, when I was triathlon training), negatively anticipating that moment of icy daggers puncturing each inch of my flesh (let me exaggerate). My coaches would always be yelling at me to get in, succeeding only after threatening me with extra laps, or pushing me in, which did happen on several occasions.

And so in my first Sacramento winter, I have been a shivering ball of misery. Yes, we do turn on the heater, but I can't control the climate outside, which has been gray and prickly for some time now. Perhaps I am like Superman; depending on the sun to give me life, energy, and initiative to venture out of the house. I've even stopped running(!) because I am waiting for the sun to shine.

I realize, though, that the sun can't always shine, and it's irresponsible of me to put all things on hold until it does. I am a fair weather fan. Literally, but also metaphorically. And so today, I decided that I would bundle up, brave the elements, and face my storm... and run.  I have to get used to it sometime...

lost

Wayne lost his wedding band last night somewhere between puppy class, Circuit City, and home. He's bummed, but it's not his fault. It was slightly too big for him, and the winter cold that shrinks the blood vessels in his fingers didn't help. He's accidentally flung it off on a few occasions, but he's usually cognizant of its absence and proceeds to retrieve it. This time, though, I guess it just slipped off and he didn't know. He's notified the managers at both PetSmart and Circuit City, and we'll wait a week before purchasing a new one.

Secretly, or maybe not so secretly, I'm not too upset, because 1. his ring was an inexpensive tungsten band that we purchased on amazon, and 2. now we can find one that fits better--size-wise and style!

as promised...

... a picture of Lucy with rice on her face, after stuffing herself silly on the jook I made for her. :)

"please, sir... can I have some more?"


and this is Lucy playing with the new (stuffed) lemming I got her. I love how it looks so real! (I think... I've never actually seen a live lemming).

"You, Mom? RUN?!"

confession: I haven't run in a long time... a really long time. I blame the cold and the dreary weather, but I know I can really only blame myself and my lack of discipline.

I had a little conversation with Lucy today that was pretty convicting. It went something like this:

Me: Hey, Lucy. I see a clearing in the rain. I think I'm going to go for a run!
Lucy: You, Mom? RUN?!
Me: Yeah... why do you seem so surprised?
Lucy: I don't know... I've just never seen you exercise before. I mean, MoMo's mom does a lot of yoga and goes to bar method classes, so I can see her being physically fit. You just kind of sit around and stay home a lot. I just didn't know you were into stuff like that...

Ouch. But you know what they say, kids and puppies say the darnedest things, but also speak the truth.

So I laced up my shoes (took me a while to find my running hat; it's been so long), and went for a quick 3-miler--nice and short to start out with... and turn this thing back into more of a habit than an aberration.

picture (im)perfect

I just got my new drivers license in the mail... it's alarming.

"Kittens", Inspired by Kittens!

hahahaha, Angela just shared this hilarious clip to me!

sick puppy. :(

Lucy is sick. The vet suspects that she has a urinary tract infection and has prescribed some antibiotics for her to take for two weeks. In the meantime, though, Lucy feels the urge to pee every 10 minutes or so, but the poor thing has nothing to relieve. She's also been vomiting, and so to soothe her stomach, I made her some jook with poached chicken. The bright side to all this for Lucy is that she LOVES her new diet! She ravenously polished off her dinner and kept asking for more.

We got pictures of rice sticking to her face after her meal, but it's on Wayne's camera, which he shot in raw something something, and I don't understand, but he says I won't know how to get the files and he has to do it. ... so later I will post cute pictures of Lucy with rice on her face. :)

a sometimes stalker.

I have a strange fascination with beautiful people. Wayne can attest to that. While on our honeymoon in Maui, we attended a luau where I spotted "J. Crew Family". J. Crew Family was the name I gave this gorgeous young family that consisted of Dad, Mom, 6-year-oldish son, and 4-year-oldish daughter... all blonde-haired and blue-eyed, tanned and beautiful. I couldn't take my eyes of them! I just loved watching their family dynamics, trying to decide which child looked like which parent, wondering where they were from, making stories up about them. I kept asking Wayne to stealthily take a picture of them, but he wouldn't resort to stalking, like I so blatantly had already.

(However, upon returning home and reviewing our photos, I found a picture of the back of J. Crew Dad that Wayne had inadvertently taken while trying to capture the buffet spread. He is in the white linen shirt on the right. Too bad you can't see the wife and kids.)

Today was another instance in which my stalking tendencies manifested itself. Sam's roommate is getting married this summer, and out of curiosity, I asked if the couple had a website, so I could see what they look like, since I've heard so many stories about them from Sam but hadn't actually met them. So Sam gave me a web address, except that it took me to this pregnant woman's website who was tracking her monthly progress with pictures and blog, etc. And even though it was clearly the wrong site, I couldn't help but take a gander, and spent a good 15 minutes looking at photos of this unknown-to-me woman's pregnancy and her new baby, Ella Claire (who weighed 6 lbs 7 oz at birth and was 20 inches long). The woman is young and really cute, Asian (Indonesian? based on the sound of her last name)! She sports a belly button ring even through her pregnancy and her nursery looks like a page from Pottery Barn! Creepy, I know, but I couldn't help it. It was all just so fascinating to me...

I think I have too much free time.

all smiles!

The high point of my day was going to see my dentist! (This either means my day was really sour, or that my dentist is a superstar. Luckily for me, it's the latter).

This was my first teeth cleaning after a year and a half (!), since I didn't have dental insurance while I got my teaching credential, so I was pretty stoked to get my teeth all spruced up (yes, I'm one of those people who LIKE the dentist). And this was also my first time at Laguna West Dental Care, where Wayne is also a patient.

Everyone, from receptionists to x-ray technician to hygienist to doctor, was SO nice and genuinely caring! I chatted with Dr. You (dad to Kelly You, whom Wayne knew growing up) for a while about his kids, church, Southern California, etc. And he told me I had GREAT teeth! And Avonna, the hygienist, was extremely thorough with my teeth and kept me entertained by telling me stories about Dr. You and his wood-carving adventures. AND she gave me a bulging goody bag stuffed with all sorts of dental fun, including a magnet in the shape of a tooth! And before leaving, the receptionists even gave me a $10 Starbucks card as a thank you for choosing their practice!

I LOVE friendly people and good hygiene and goody bags! And... I know this post sounds more like an excerpt from yelp, but really, Laguna West Dental made my day! Here's their info, in case anyone is in search of a denist in Sacramento:

Laguna West Dental Care
9098 Laguna Main St. #8
Elk Grove, CA 95758
(916) 683-7300

(Angela and Clark, I hope this post made you happy! :) )

First Day of School

Today was Lucy's first day at puppy class! Ten puppies plus their owners made for quite a group. We learned how to use a clicker to train our dogs and "watch me", and received important tips for potty training. I feel so much better after going to class... I saw that other puppies were acting just like Lucy and that our puppy is quite normal, and it's okay that she's not perfect right now. It also makes me feel better to know that Wayne and I are on our way to being better equipped, and Lucy is going to learn so much!





making friends with Abby


listening in class

"Lucy... You've Got Some 'Splainin' to Do!"

(said in Ricky Ricardo voice)

Lucy had a rough day today... actually, she's had a rough past few days. Wayne and I think she's going through her terrible two's. The puppy book that finally came says that at 12 weeks, she's just beginning adolescence. That explains a lot.

She's really not SO bad. Actually, she's REALLY good most of the time. She sleeps through the night, doesn't bite or chew on things much, and sleeps--a lot. When we first got her, I was worried she was sick or mentally retarded! But no, she's neither of those things, and really is not such a bad puppy. It's just that when she is bad, she doesn't listen and doesn't seem to respond to discipline like a normal dog or living thing would. She kept stealing my flipflops today, and then my slipper. She would gingerly take it and scamper away, right in front of me! And when I told her "no", she would relent a little, but do it all over again... like it was a game. AND she even had an accident in the house--something she hasn't done in a long time. Needless to say, she had many time-outs today.

At first, I thought maybe she was deaf. But no, she responds to noise... Or maybe dumb? maybe... but more than anything, I've deduced that she's just plain willful. And mellow... meaning that she just doesn't care if she's being disciplined or if something makes us upset... or if Sam picks her up by the scruff of her back... does she even notice? The mellowness thing makes her a "good" dog most of the time, but in reality, I guess she's not really being "good"... just mellow?

Ugh... but she's so darned CUTE, even when she's being bad, that I have to fight the urge to take pictures of her instead of disciplining her. I do have to remember that she IS a puppy and I can't expect her to be like Indee right away. I'd also like to think that she does have a conscience and that she DOES know how to be good, not just mellow or apathetic. sigh... Lucy, I still have faith in your character!


Lucy, caught stealing my dog hat.

Dinners at the Orange Door Inn

Dinners at the Orange Door Inn vary drastically according to the Innkeeper (aka me). Sometimes, we'll have a tried and true favorite, like Dalia's poppy seed chicken casserole or chicken chili with buttermilk cornbread. Other times, I'll try something new, like Hong Kong style baked tomato pork chop or cioppino night that we had a couple of weeks ago (thanks to Chris Tan, who offered to buy all the ingredients if I'd help him turn it into the fisherman's stew--the stew was to die for, by the way. We were very proud of ourselves.)


cioppino with crusty pugliese bread and parmesan twists

Tonight, though, the Innkeeper felt like pancakes. So we had... buttermilk, chocolate chip, banana, banana chocolate chip, and raspberry chocolate chip! And... to round out the meal, Wayne also had a cup 'o noodle.


Wayne is trying to fend off Lucy from our pancakes.

I suppose my capriciousness in menu planning will need to end when we have kids with actual nutritional needs... but for now, I enjoy the variety!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree...

J.Crew is one of my favorite stores... but really?



And get this, the dress, aptly colored "pine bough", is on sale for $300! (down from $650).

cute sweater!

I've never been a huge fan of clothes for animals, but this makes me want to change my mind!


This is the Lambswool Cable Sweater in muslin, on sale for $29.99 at jcrew.com (originally $60). Too bad they only have xxsmall left. It's such a cute sweater... I wouldn't mind owning one too! haha, then Lucy and I could match!

Officially Mrs. To

So I finally went to get my name changed today. At first, my delay was for practical reasons. We were traveling and I needed my driver's license to match my plane ticket, and then I had to re-register for voting and, again, needed my ID... and then... I just sort of dilly-dallied because after 27 years, I've kind of grown attached to my name.

But I knew what I would eventually have to do, so armed with every piece of identification and documentation in my previous name, I made my way to the Social Security office today. Even then, it was a struggle as I handed over my stack of papers. As she typed in my information, I scrambled for maybe some way I could preserve "Li"... maybe alter my middle name. Or maybe a hyphenated last name? I actually had to fight from crying, lest the Social Security lady think I was crazy (which I probably am... I mean, people do this all the time!).

In the end, I left my middle name in tact and left out the hyphenation. I am officially Cecilia To. Or... ceciLIa To. (or Ceci Li—a To. neat, huh? cheesy, but it helps with the transition...)

Rascal Flatts in San Diego!!!

Not only is "What Not to Wear" coming to San Diego, Rascal Flatts is coming as well--March 13!!! AHHHH!!! ... and yet I am so far! :(