Life with the Three Crazy Dogs

Last Saturday Nadine and I went to the mall. After I picked up my samples and a short chat with the lady at the beauty counter, Nadine and I headed to Nordstrom. She bought what she wanted and soon after I told her I’m going to the cheaper Nordstrom! It is the Nordstrom Rack where the clothes are sold at super cheap prices. I saw couple of sweaters but only bought one style but in three different colors!  I so want to get some pants but I could not find one that fits me.  Oh well, there’s still other department stores to check out next week.

And after the mall, Nadine wanted to go to Lowes out in Shakopee. She wants to check out Moen kitchen faucet for her kitchen. She said Mike was suppose to do it but she took the duty of finding one that suits her like on herself. I know why because I knowing her, her hubby will get the complete opposite of what she wants.  So  yeah, she found and bought the faucet she desired and we headed to Grizzly’s for late lunch.  Great weekend that, again, went by super fast.

I was looking toward the weekend.  It came and left too darn quickly.  I am thinking of working 4-10 hours which will leave me 3 days off during the weekend.  It could be a Monday or Friday.  This weekend we were cleaning and did some unpacking.  DB was tinkering around with his rust bucket truck.  I bathed the dogs and cleaned the shower stall.  After all that I was spent, didn’t want to do anything else.  Wanted to sit on the couch and waste the rest of the day away but no can do.  Have to vacuum.  Since this is not our house, I vacuum every weekend, just to keep it up with the cleaning in case the landlord/lady shows up unexpectedly.

DB actually put up the ceiling in the bedroom couple weeks ago.  Finally since he had been working weekends he had no time doing anything else in the house.  I told him the good thing about where we are at we don’t have to mow the grass.  If he had to mow the grass he would be dead meat.  Anyways, the ceiling fan in our bedroom is up.

Before:

The industrial floor fan we have been using for many years that drowns every damn noise

My electrician aka tool man at work installing the bracket for the fan

The “spectators” wondering where their dinner was since it was past 5 when we were working on this project. Missing one spectator is in the bathroom snoozing away by the air conditining.

Almost done

And all DONE. Lights and fan working perfect. It does not drown all the outside traffic noise but it sure is better than the floor fan.

The landlord brought the fan over several weeks ago. I thought he was going to set it up but DB said since we were the ones who requested for a ceiling fan, they bought it at Menards and delivered it for us. So DB said we should be putting it up ourselves.  But guess what???  The landlord and lady came over couple weeks ago impromptu-ly due to the water leakage problem.  They saw the  fan in the room up and apologize profusely saying they will pay us for installing it and also the pantry selves.  They said they should be doing it as landlords.    Thank the good Lord for such great landlord/lady.

Yesterday, Sunday I baked a cake.  I had too much time after I got done cooking for the week.  I made a banana upside down cake, recipe from Gertrude.  No pictures coz when I turned the cake over, it didn’t come off the pan, I had to bang the bottom of the pan, the cake broke loose and broke it did – into a few big pieces and also the coloring was kinda pale compare to Gert’s even though I used brown sugar!  Totally not worthy of pictures!!!  I really have to keep some dark brown sugar in the pantry.  But nevertheless, the cake tasted damn good.  Half the cake gone between the two of us.   Will have to try my sister’s choc mudd cake this weekend.

It has been ages since I really posted  something non paid!  Sad isn’t it? 

The only thing that is really worth posting is what I baked during the weekends.  Pretty much every weekend the oven is on.  Last weekend I must have been super hardworking, full of energy I guess.  I baked a banana bread and blueberry crumb cake.  On top of that I prepped for the week’s dinner.  I was tired the morning up till I started working on the nana bread.  Whatever happened, I have no clue.  I was cooking away in the kitchen.

My disgusting looking blueberry crumble. Tasted darn good though.  We have been eating it with vanilla ice-cream.

Here’s the banana bread. Why do American’s call it banana bread and not cake? This nana bread is a favorite of the man, so he does put in quite a few requests a month!

I told DB no baking this weekend.  I need to let my over flowing muffin top a rest.  It’s more like giving my pants a breather.  No joke, my pants are screaming at me for suffocating them.

Since it has been hot and hot and humid and more humid (seems forever), I have shorten my walks with the dogs.  I still walk them in the afternoon after I get home from work.  The temperature is like 89F or higher plus no shady spots.  The boys, no matter how damn hot and humid it is, they still want to go for their CSI walks.  I call it CSI because they have to snoop every 10 yards or less!!  We walk them again in the evening since they cannot roam around the yard on their own, we walk them and get their business done for the evening/night.

Here’s a pic of Cooper after his walk. Catching some coolness in the kitchen tiled floor.  This fella is getting whiter day by day, but still loves his long walks.

Ranger at the entryway. Everyday when we come back from a walk, he will lay just like that to cool off.  He is the real crime scene investigator.  Anything that is 5 yards or less he will stop to check it out. 

Chase after his evening frisbee session in 90F temperature. He’s a slob. There’s water on his snout and he is my shadow.  Follows me every where in the house.

So there, my updates for now till Lord knows when.  :)  TTFN

The boys, Cooper and Chase and I were out for our morning walk on Saturday. All was good till we made the turn on the road heading towards our house. The boys started running fast towards some thing. I was sort of day dreaming and when they both started scrambling towards the shrubs it took me by surprise. I then saw a doe, a very big white tail, right in front of the boys trying to attack them and the boys were going for the doe.  Picture of the doe is similar to the one here. (Picture source and you can also read more about the white-tailed deer.) 

I have the boys on their leashes.  I should have just let the leashes free.  I was protecting the dogs but when I told DB what had happened, he said the boys are actually trying to protect me. 

Anyways, the doe was not a happy camper.  She was huffing and puffing and going back and forth across the marsh and the pond where all the tall shrubs, trees and prairie grass are.  Cooper took a few tumbles when I tried to pull him away from the deer.  I could see the doe was ready to kick, stomping away!  Her hooves are loud when she cross the road, clomp, clomp, clomp and when she was stomping on the road.  And the way she was leaping high over the tall, tall shrubs was a sight. 

Once I got the boys in a short leash I walked so damn fast away from the doe but she kept following us and huffing away.  If the temp was in the 40’s F I would be able to see the steam from her nostrils!  She was hopping along the shrubs on my side, disappear into the thick shrubs and popped back out with just her head, exactly like this picture below.

(picture source)

 And here I am trying to get across the road but she did the same.  I finally went over to the side where there are town homes.  I heard a lady’s voice saying get away from the deer quick (the lady was standing on her balcony watching the whole thing).  When I got over to the row of town homes, the lady said she has seen the doe around lately.  She just gave birth and she also pointed to me where the doe had her baby….right by the marshes…..tall prairie grass.  The lady said it is very common for a doe to do what she just did when she sees other animals….proctecting her fawn(s), just in case the animals eat her fawn(s) up.

That doe kept following us all the way back home doing the same thing, disappear behind rows of homes and reappear.  She was so, so  fast.  Finally she disappeared into another wooded area when we were nearing our house. 

That was my very first seeing a deer/doe standing right in front of my face, blowing steam!  Usually when deers see humans, they will run super fast but this doe is keeping her hatch safe. 

DB said she could have came forward and start kicking at the dogs and me as she see us as a threat.  That was why he said I should let the leashes free.  Dogs no matter how domesticated they are will know how to defend their master against other animals.  That’s what the man said but honestly, that was my first reaction…keep the dogs safe – the opposite of his thinking.  Is it a woman/motherly kinda instinct?  Honestly, I was a little scared and yet wanted to take my phone out to take a pic of the doe!  Crazy right?    Of course I couldn’t, no free hands.  As for the boys, them boys were growling and heckles were up.  So they must be pissed of too! 

This morning, when I was out for my walk with the same C’s, I saw the doe again…but this time I was at a distant away.  She must have smelled us (per DB) and she hopped away into the marsh.  I continued on with the walk and she didn’t pop her head out.

Finally DB and I went to Great Clips IMAX at the Minnesota Zoo for our Avatar movie. We went yesterday, Sunday, for the 11:45 a.m. showing. Even though I bought my tickets at work, I still need to stand in line to at the ticket booth to get a “real” ticket. We thought we were early since we got there at 11:20 but dang, that place was jam packed. The line to the cinema was so long….waiting to get in took about 10 minutes after we got our “tickets”.

We were given the 3-D glasses, I called them the 70’s bug glasses. The theater was busy with kids and adults looking for the best spot, I guess. There some kids around the age of 8 and above. Since it was first time at a 3-D theater, I was all pumped, couldn’t wait for the show to get going. Of course before each movie, there’s movie trailers…all in 3-D…schweet!! The next one I really want to see is The Space Hubble.

Avatar finally came on 10 minutes later….this show is a must see again. It got my attention for the whole 3 hours.  The kids in the theater were quiet….not a sound from any of the moviegoers.  So worth the $13. This movie is a definitely all Oscars. The visual effects, graphics, the technology used to make this movie is spellbinding. Of course with the 3-D effects makes everything stands out much more. 

I thought the 3-D effects will bother me but it didn’t. I wasn’t jumpy like how when something flys right infront of you and you try to avoid it? The only one part that got me good was when the Marines threw smoke bombs to the bottom of the big tree. It felt as if the bombs were thrown directly at me!

So, yes, all the raving, the great credits of Avatar, I will add my rave too, this movie is worth a second go. It’s mind blowing!  Even when i watch the making of the movie, I watched it a few times! That’s how good the movie is. I think I’m more fasinated by the making of the movie than the storyline. The story line I saw on the web said is similar to “Dances with Wolves”, or I see as the same as “Pocohontas”.  And movie reviewers on our radio talk shows said there’s big time racist in the movie.  I will shut my pie hole on this topic.   This movie is well rooted, in my opinion, and gives you the lesson of respecting and value what you have and also the differences in the world.  Big corporations with big bucks do not mean they can get their way! :0

DB and I will probably see this movie again with SD and BF, when, I’m not sure.  That’s how much we both think of this movie! :)