Elaine's New Rope Toy

Update 03/01/2010
Looks like Elaine prefers the old rope toy after all. I've trimmed and removed the ends of the old toy as it got too worn and scraggly. But she still likes it better than the new rope. The new rope falls apart easily too. Same brand. Guess they don't make them like they used to :)

It's the Little Things

Forgot to buy more peanut butter for my PB & sliced banana sandwich for breakfast. Banana slices on dry toasts just don't look right so I mashed the banana with a fork and spread it on toasts.

Yummy!
Just the right amount of sweetness.

Why did it take me this long to discover mashed bananas!?!

Re-Discovering the Outliners

I've enjoyed writing the product reviews for work. I get to spend more time doing things with Elaine that I probably would not have otherwise. She continues to amaze and surprise me with her eagerness and cooperation. The other perk is refreshing and improving my writing skills.

I used to write a lot for classes in high school and college. The writing tapered off in veterinary school and almost came to a complete stop after graduation. Medical records are written with abbreviations, notes, and incomplete sentences. Unless I'm writing a referral report, paragraphs have no place in medical records. Frankly, I think the other doctors prefer the abbreviated versions, not the long proses.

One reason I took up journal writing was to practice my writing skills. Actually, it started as a way to practice handwriting skills as that, too, was falling on the wayside as computers took over most aspects of my life. Hence my interest in paper journals and pens. I soon learn that even though my handwriting is still pretty good, I had forgotten how to write things coherently and succinctly. I still don't do it well but, at least, I am working on it and blogging is a good outlet for it.

Outliners had always been a great help with my writing. I used Bonsai back in the days when I thought it was the answer to my GTD implementation (I was wrong). I was clearing out my Palm OS application folder when I came upon Bonsai again. Lo and behold, within minutes, Bonsai spat out an outline for the Canine Vehicle Safety Restraint System review.It feels good to have a big picture of where I'm going with the review. The ability to carry this outline in my Treo is a bonus. I've been known to get the writing bug while waiting in lines, dental appointments, etc... With Bonsai, I can access the outline and work on the review on my Treo. Bonsai has a lot of feature (to do's, etc...) but I'm only using it for the traditional basic outliner.

I stopped looking for a jack of all trade software. Why use an outliner to manage tasks when I already have something for that?

I'm using an outliner to create outlines. Big revelation, I know :)

Year of the Tiger

My Sariah

Lis got this nice one of Sariah, lounging in her bed. Best picture of her. Period.
Thanks, Lis!

Dead Clock

What's wrong with this picture? It was taken at 5:37 pm today. At the time, I thought it was still early afternoon because the last time I checked the clock a couple hours earlier, it was about 9:35 am.

Downside of working in a windowless room and not taking breaks to look outside.
Time is determined by the clock --- even when it is not running.

Needless to say, I was late for several meetings.
On the good side, I was able to finish working on the Roadie review.

If I wait another 40 minutes or so, the clock will be on time again!

More of Elaine & Roadie Elite

There are tricks and tips to help in putting the Roadie Elite on your dog. I had a difficult time in the beginning. The company website's video made it look so easy. I saw the difference was that I was pushing Elaine's legs through the opening, whereas the demo video (animation) showed the legs being pulled through the opening. So I gave that a try today and it was easier. I still have my doubt about using it for geriatric dogs and/or those with joint problems. I can still see dogs that are not used to harnesses or restraints panicking when one of their legs is still caught in the opening and hurting themselves trying to get free. Probably not a harness for first-timers.

Taking the harness off can also be a challenge --- at least, it was for me. Maybe I had my directions and orientation confused trying to face the camera. Instead of reversing the leg out of the opening, I tried to pushed the leg through into the next opening (for the neck). Luckily, I realized my mistake and backed out in time. Once I re-oriented myself, taking the harness off was not that bad.

After the videos, we went outside for some pictures and a test drive. The Focus is a small car. Even with the harness, Elaine can easily slobber on the front passenger. We will remove the wire barrier as soon as Elaine gets used to the harness and learns some carpooling etiquette :)

Click on image to enlarge

Plan to finalize the review for the Roadie tomorrow. (02/09/10: Done!)
Next week, it's the Champion Canine Restraint System!

Spring is Coming (& sore knee)

We went for our Mom & Me walk this morning. Love this time of the year when it's still chilly but signs of Spring are emerging. We came upon this front yard with 3 short trees of sort. They had blossoms that reminded me of cherry blossoms. Mom said they're not. She should know as she visited friends in DC and saw lots of cherry blossoms. Dad saw the pictures and said they are some sort of cherry blossoms (at least, that's what I get after I translated it from Vietnamese!). Anyway, they made me think of Spring or at least the passing of time. I walked by this house with Mom weekly and ran by it several times a week. Up until this week, those trees had been bare --- twigs sticking out of trunks. But then the little buds started appearing and this weekend, all the buds seemingly exploded into blooms.

My favorite one of Mom after our walk

There were also red and pink ones but not as full as the white ones above. We did a shorter walk this week as my right knee was bothering me a bit. I probably overdid the running this past week. Ran another 3.6 miles late last night and exceeded my week's goal of 9 miles (yeah!). But I may have increased my distance too quickly, going from not running for a couple of weeks to running 3.6 miles every other day. I need to remember to slow own or I'll get hurt again. I was planning to take it to 4 miles this week but it may be more prudent to stay with the 3.6 miles or even less if my knee is still bothering me.

Mom said I was slowing her down on the walk :). We covered 1.5 miles in about 28 minutes; slower than we normally do so she had a point.

Still a gorgeous morning.
And a good harbinger of wonderful things to come the last week of this lunar year. Lunar new year (Tet) this weekend! Year of the Tiger!

Running in Circles

Tonight was my first time back on an indoor track since C25K intervals. It was raining again and I did not want to slowly slack off in my running again. I didn't think I would be able to run for long on a track and was considering the treadmill instead. But something about running for 30+ minutes and not going anywhere does not sit well with me. So around the indoor track I went. Roughly 33 times around the track, to be exact. About 3.6 miles in 39 minutes and 55 seconds at 11:06 pace (5.41 mph)

It was another great run. I feel like I could go longer but did not want to overdo it. Maybe I'll go for 4 miles next week.

The best part was cooling down to Michael Buble ''Haven't Met You Yet." I skipped and (almost) danced around the track. Must have been a sight :)

Some rude comments in the locker room threatened to end my evening on a sour note. But I managed to remember the feeling I had skipping around the track to the catchy tune of "Haven't Met You Yet" and things got better.

So not worth ruining my run and evening.

With tonight's 3.6 miles, I met this week's 9 miles goal! If I can get out again on Sunday, I'll pass 10 miles for this week!

Runner's Buzz

Tonight's run was the best one so far in my young running venture. It was late by the time I got home from work. But I was not tired and the streets beckoned as they have not for a while. I changed shoes and hit the road.

It was a wonderful run. I did not struggle through the first mile like I usually did. Seems I found my stride right away and the rest of the run was effortless (well almost!). I still felt good when I neared the last turn for home. I passed the turn and ran another 1/2 mile --- making this my longest non-stop run, 3.64 miles! And I could have gone more to make it 4 miles if I had any sense of timing and direction. Hoping to get at least another 3.5 miles in later this week to meet my minimum goal of 9 miles this week.

Distance: 3.64 miles
Time: 0:40:19
Pace: 11:05 (5.42 mph)

I hope this feeling and sense of accomplishment will motivate me and keep me on track to the 10K. After slacking off the last few weeks, I was not sure if I can run 3.1 miles non-stop anymore. Tonight's run put that worry to rest. And that, oooh, feels so good. I think the worst part of slacking off was thinking that I wasted all the time and effort that went into getting to the 3.1 miles mark. I did not want to be a C25K alumni who loses motivation and stops running after graduation.

Not quite a runner's high.
Definitely, a runner's buzz.

RuffRider Roadie Elite

As you will see, the Roadie is not really the easiest harness to put on, especially if it's the correct size (not too loose). This was the first time (actually second if you count the time I put it on incorrectly) putting it on Elaine. Maybe it will get easier after the harness stretches a little? I had to flex Elaine's paws and elbows quite a bit to get her legs into the correct openings.

I will try to get better videos later to show tips on how to get the harness on. But thought this was a good one to show how difficult it can be in the beginning --- and Elaine was good for this; can't imagine a dog who is not used to wearing a harness in the first place. Also tricky to get the harness OFF. That will have to be another video later.

Brushing Dog's Teeth - Rehearsal

We've been thinking of doing some short videos on pet care. Elaine is turning out to be quite cooperative for my crazy schemes. The problem is that she is not that well-behaved with other people. You have to meet her to believe me :) --- completely my fault; never really socialized her after the trainer for her puppy class told me to consider private training since other puppy owners may not feel comfortable with a pit puppy. I know, crazy but that was almost 8 years ago when the anti-pitbull sentiment was prevalent. Anyway, I managed to convince the trainer to let us stay with the class. But we had to be off to the side :( and none of the other puppy played with Elaine.

I probably should have pushed harder to socialize her but what's done is done. She is great with me and the staff but really would just behave with me.

Anyway, what does all that have to do with videos?
I can't have someone operate the camera! Elaine turns into a misbehaving crazy maniac with other people around. So I figured a way to use a tripod and am playing with different ways to record stuff.

Here's a "first take" on brushing her teeth. I'm just trying to get an idea on where to place the camera and how to position ourselves, etc. Guess we have to figure a way to do close-ups on the teeth. Maybe Elaine will be good with Elias behind the camera.

Note the last part of the video when Elaine gobbles up all the treats on the bench as soon as I turned my back!

Re-Focusing on Running

I have not had a chance to blog about my running. To be honest, I have not done that much running since New Year's so there was not much to report. I ran about 5 times after New Year's, most of which were in the second week of January.

I don't know why I suddenly lost the urge to run --- stopped lacing up after work. Runningman was kind enough to check in on me recently. He made me think and I realized that part of the fizzle was because I stopped reading the running blogs. You see, I am a relatively new runner. Running is not second-nature to me (yet). I have to think and focus on it, otherwise, other more pressing things in life will push it aside. Reading about running helped keep it on my mind.

When I temporarily stopped reading blogs as a way to gain more time for work projects, running faded out of sight. I became a Monday runner, running only once a week. I still enjoyed my runs --- when I finally got out there.

So I pruned my reading list and will refrain from reading every blog; maybe just skim the highlights and skip the posts that I don't relate to --- i.e. I don't run with music so why do I still read posts about Music Mondays, etc...?

I am slower (if that was even possible!) but am thankful that I can still run a 5K. I can feel the difference (not good) compared to my 5Ks in December. Worried that I will eventually lose all I gained since my C25K days several months ago, I am re-focusing on my running again.

I had modeled my running plan after the One Hour Runner, using distance instead of time. I was on week 2 when I stalled. I am going to restart from the beginning since I want to be "comfortable" with 5Ks again before upping the distance.

So for this week, I plan to run three 5Ks (3.1 miles), or any combination of runs to total at least 9 miles. I was late this morning and only ran 2.2 miles.

7 more miles to go for the week!

Elaine & Roadie Elite

Sweet Elaine was a trooper today. She modeled the Roadie Elite harness. And thanks to my clumsiness, she also modeled what the harness looks like when incorrectly worn. Check out this video and you can see how getting the harness on properly can be a little tricky.

Click on image to enlarge

Click on image to enlarge

These will be used in a series for work as part of my review on canine car restraint systems. We're looking at the following harnesses:

• RuffRider Roadie Elite
• Champion K-9 Seat Belt System (*** Do NOT order from champk-9 site; use usak9outfitters. See the review later for details)
  
• BeBop Secure Fit Harness
• Easy Rider Harness
• Four Paws Harness

Should be a good one. Just hope I can do it in a timely manner!