The Daily (Doggy) Grind: The Early-Morning Hours

The cellphone alarm goes off at 5:40AM. I snuggle deeper into my pillow, it's too damn early and the bed is so inviting! Alas, if I don't get up now another louder alarm will wake me up a few minutes later anyway - the sound of five canines who need to go out to pee!

So it goes every morning. Mommy K needs to get up and put on requisite outside clothing (boxer shorts and sando does not an outdoor outfit make). She then needs to struggle with getting only the chosen dogs - if the girls go first, then the boys need to be made to stay inside. Vise versa if the boys go first, which is usually the (harder) case.

After a walk around the block, a few deposits of P&P have been made - scooped up, bagged, and disposed off - and Mommy K is ready to head back to get the next batch of canines.

She then needs to measure out five portions of dog food - each of a different weight and food combination (in case of the youngest, who still eats puppy chow) - into five different food bowls, top with a dollop of warmed canned dog food and mixed like Beef Pepper Rice.

Each bowl on the floor, the struggle is an old one - how to ensure no dog eats off his brothers' or sisters' share. It's madness; it's chaos - exacerbated by times when the youngest boy or the middle girl refuse to eat - the need to hand-feed is imminent!

After the Great Chow-scapade, Mommy K washes the gravity waterer and refills with another 1.5gallons of agua . That's just enough to last these five bundles of energy about ten hours - the time between Mommies leaving for work and returning home.

While Mommy K attends to the kids' (pups' ?) nutrition, Mommy J sets about making sure the floor is clean of any drool, spilled food or misplaced pee (yes, that does NOT belong on the floor, dear canine).

This is a snapshot of our Early Morning Hours... and while we do this 7 days a week, we Mommies would never trade it for anything in the world.

*** Edit: That's just two bowls of dog food now. Nikka, Deedee and Hunter are now on RMB's (raw meaty bones) starting with chicken quarters. Yum! You should see them crunching on them chickies like it was their job! Proud momma moment!

Goodbye 2010

The weather has been generally wonderful for the past week: cloudy, gloomy, overcast with a few periods of light drizzle.

I've had good times, mostly. The ducks, the dogs, Jen and I spent both holidays with my parents and siblings. Food - and lots of it. Long talks with my siblings, mostly deep into the night. Interacting with my Dad, whom I get to see so infrequently.

For the first time in 5 years, Jen spent New Year's Eve with me and my family.

Nadyne shaked like a leaf in the minutes leading up to and a few minutes after the midnight firecracker spree.

Nikka was nonchalant; it's her second time to be exposed to such decibel levels.

Happy 2011, everyone. Here's to wishing it will be kinder than 2011. May we all find what we're looking for.

Pilipino Ako!

I am proud to be Filipino. On the streets of my own hometown (city?), I have had my fair share of "Pinoy ka pala, akala ko Vietnamese/Thai/Japanese/Chinese/Singaporean ka!"

Granted, my eyes are a little smaller than the Pinoy norm, but I am still 100% Filipino - despite the Japanese-sounding surname, the German-sounding middle name, and the Russian-origin first and second names. I will pick bihud (fish eggs) over caviar and ikura (salmon roe) anytime... well, most of the time. Nyahehehehe...

Anyway, Jeni collect cards - playing cards, that is. Most of the decks she has are Bicycle decks and I have gifted her with numerous unique, colorful, and delightful (for me visually, for her numismatic-ally) decks over the years.

So when she told me that the Pilipinas Bicycle deck has been launched, I naturally had to pay Cutting Edge a visit to procure said collectible for my sweetheart.

The Pilipinas deck is specially made for Cutting Edge Philippines, though I'm not sure if they are the sole distributor. The back is done in violet to red degrade with yellow graphics. Three stars and a sun, done in yellow, appears in the middle of all the numbered cards while a yellow sun appears on two edges for the royals.

This deck is a good way to express your nationalistic pride... after all, you can perform kick-ass tricks on a kick-ass deck of cards and be patriotic at the same time.

All this for Php500 (around $12). Go get your own deck. NOW!!!

The Duck House

As I said in my previous entry, Jeni the macho woman was going to attempt to build a house for our little duckies. So on a Sunday she came back with pieces of wood and chicken wire - which she proceeded to saw, hack, cut, hammer, and staple into a duck house.

1) With her assistant, Nadyne and a sleepy Nikka in the background 2) Nikka and Nadyne in the half-finished house

She wasn't kidding when she said she could do it. At ten pm, the last nail was pounded into wood and the little duckies had a home. The doggies liked it too!

Nadyne was very enthralled with the ducklings... the ducklings too, apparently, as they would rush over to whatever side of the house Deedee (Nadyne) was on. Congratulations, my partner in crime. Next time, build a house for us and the four babies. =)