Elaine Acting Her Age (Not)!

A ritual for Elaine. She runs circles around the treats or toys before picking the one she wants.

Had Forgotten the Colors!

I don't think I ever noticed how colorful food is in its natural, uncooked state. Yes, we added food colorings when we cook and we made stirfry colorful with the different veggies. But that can't compare to the innate color of food.

I was prepping tomorrow's midday snack - honeydew melons (I picked a winner!) - when it hit me. I had cantaloupe today, a nice rich orange and tomorrow, I'll be eating light green honeydews. My salad and avocado salsa side is like a color wheel, especially when there's a tinge of purple from the red cabbage.

Colors that would have looked out of place in a traditional cooked meal seem very at home and natural with my new fresh food meals.

This honeydew camera-phone picture in the dark kitchen doesn't do the color justice. I just have to look at the pictures from the previous post to see the food rainbow!

Fresh Food

Never thought I would enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables so much. It's been 2 weeks since I switched to a raw vegan diet. I figured it would be a good food trial to see what I may be reacting to. I suspected it was to flavorings and seasonings, not necessarily the meat or nuts themselves. And since cooked food without seasonings can be bland to me, I tried the raw vegan diet and things have been going very well. I'll probably write more later but just want to add some stuff here to capture the "beginning."

Stocking up with fresh fruits every 2-3 days.









Mom's stockpile of bananas. We froze some to use in fruit smoothies. We finished the box in 2 weeks.








Learning how to pick melons was a challenge. I got the cantaloupe down (tan or not-green veins and some give on the end) but still hit-and-miss with the honeydews and watermelons.

Waited too long to eat this cantaloupe :)





Dinner from last night. Loving my salads right now. A mix of red romaine lettuce, saladson or what I call bitter lettuce (I get them at the local Asian Farm Market), chopped cabbage, tomatoes, red bell peppers, onions, Thai chili (for the spicy kick!), cucumbers, and a variety of fresh herbs (basil, mint, rau ram). Dressing was lemon, apple cider, olive oil, salt & pepper, and more Thai chili :)

I experimented with a salsa-like side dish and absolutely loved it. It was supposed to be a thick salad dressing but I went overboard with the tomatoes and onions and it became a side dish. Chopped one tomato, one medium onion, half an avocado, juice of half a lemon, half a Thai chili (yes, I like my food spicy!), and salt & pepper if needed (I didn't need it). Mix them all together and yummy!
I chop and prepare extras when I make the salads in the evening and save a large portion for the next day's lunch. The dressing marinates the salad and it tastes even better the next day. I did one with mostly cabbage and it turned out like a healthy coleslaw -- without the creamy mayonnaise. Elias call them "veggie ceviche" --- I can get really heavy handed with the lemon vinaigrette; the onions and tomatoes swim in the dressing.

Added blueberries to this morning green smoothie (bananas, spinach, blueberries, water).

The reusable Copco tumbler from Bed Bath & Beyond is one of my favorite recent purchase. Makes smoothies taste even better and helps me keep up with the water intake during the day.






Cantaloupe for mid-morning snack. If you told me 2 weeks ago that I would eat a whole cantaloupe by myself in a day, never mind as a snack, I would think you're crazy.

Now, I buy these cantaloupes, honeydews and mini-watermelons and eat the whole melon as a snack.




The problem I had was eating enough calories to keep me going during the day. Ha! Can't even believe that I am having problems eating enough calories :)

These smoothies come in handy. Bananas, mangoes, strawberries, apples, and water. Got the fruits in me that would probably have taken me the whole afternoon to eat (assuming I would be able to eat all of them).

Oh, another new find for me ---- all these different nuts. Eating almonds and cashews for now -- unsalted and unroasted; they actually taste great. Throw them on top of the salads or eat as a snack.

Anyway, more later. Things have been busy so I have not blogged much but hope to catch up soon. It's been great though, not having to fight through the mental fog either from the food I was reacting to or the Benadryl I took to counteract it.

Looking forward to sprouting chickpeas to make hummus and trying some tomato soup recipes in the blender!

Adventures in fresh food. Who knew?!! :)

Memorial Day 2010

I left for my morning run around the neighborhood as planned this morning. Not long into the run, I wondered how far it was to my grandpa's grave. A quick call to my mom determined that I was on the right track and should make it there and back without any problems. Round trip is less than 7 miles.

Running there was nice as it was still early and barely any traffic. Passed some people waiting for the shuttle to Vegas in the supermarket parking lot.

I walked once I got on the cemetery ground. Just did not seem right to go running around the graves! I quickly found Grandpa and Grandma's place.

Took a quick snap of me at the marker --- surprisingly got it on the second take.
Grandma died in Vietnam in 1989. We were finally able to sponsor Dad and Grandpa over in 1991. Grandma was cremated and the ashes brought over later by relatives.

I am glad we were able to bury her ashes with him. I like to think he is less lonely that way.
The photo is one of my favorite of him. It captured his smile and cheerful look just right.

Across from Gramps' place is the Vietnamese Veteran's Cemetery. I stopped over there and paid my respect.

Thank you.

Simple things.

Feel good just using them. Spoon from Cha for Tea. Hotel plastic coffee stirrer.

Kobi and the Bebop

We had a full day today. Worked on Kobi and the Bebop harness trial. Still need to do the write up. Probably won't have a chance until next week.

click on image to enlarge

The harness was not very impressive at all. It was supposed to be padded but it looks just like a regular walking harness. The description noted that the straps are lower on the shoulders to avoid damage to the trachea but I could not appreciate the difference compared to the regular harness from American Kennel Club.

What I do like is the Safety Strap. It keeps the restraint strap off the seat so less tangling. I wonder about it's sturdiness though. It looks fine for a small to medium sized dogs but any dog over 40 pounds? Not so sure. Will have to test it out on Elaine later.

click on image to enlarge

It does give Kobi a lot of freedom to move around and he did not seem to mind it at all. Initially, he did wrap himself with the safety strap when he circled around in the seat. But he quickly learned to duck under the strap to avoid tying himself against the seat.

Overall, good impression of the harness system. Disappointed that the harness was not padded as advertised on the website. Also so-so customer service as my emails regarding the padding were not answered.

A Running Milestone at Mile Square Park

Remember back in October when I first discovered Mile Square Park (MSP)? Of course you don't. It was nothing special, no earth shattering event to make it memorable to you.

Why do I remember that day?
1) My airheadiness for thinking it was one mile around the Mile Square Park. How long have I been around Fountain Valley? But in all those years, I have never really gone to this gem of a park -- until I took up running.
2) October was when I decided to take up running. I think that day was day 2 of my running project.
3) I remember huffing and puffing on those 45 seconds running intervals and wondering if I would ever be able to run a block non-stop, never mind around the park.

Well, I went back to MSP this evening to do my 4 mile run. What a difference 6 months have made. It was a great evening for a run; a little breezy but that just made me feel as though I was running fast with the wind in my face :).

Every time I run in the OC, I feel a little nostalgic and sad about my hometown LB. It would have been perfect if the scene at MSP was in LB.

A lot of people were out and about. All ages. Seniors walking. Mothers and fathers running with the strollers. Families with kids running together. And serious runners passing all of us. Oh, and dogs, quite a few dogs running -- and behaving -- with their running partners. One of these days, I'll have to take Elaine running here.

I ran a little over 4 miles, about 4.2 miles in 46:45, 11:04 pace. I felt great; no pain.

I was able to talk to some of the kids running with their family and dog. The kids and dog were doing one of those run-walk yo-yo. They ran full speed ahead of me then stop when the dog stopped and walked. I would pass them with my slow steady pace. Then later, they would all run full speed and pass me again. Repeat for several times until I finally noticed that the dog was limping on his right rear leg. I told them when I caught up with them. They must have thought I was crazy, breathlessly telling them that their dog is running as though his knee is bothering him. Fortunately, the dog picked that time to start running on 3 legs so they stopped him and waited for their parents. They walked the dog the rest of the way and waved as I continued with my run.

Before long, I made the final turn and completed the run around Mile Square Park. This was not my first 4-miler. I ran the first 4-miler last Monday. But, for some reasons, this 4-miler made a bigger impact on me. Maybe because I feared that last week was a fluke, that no way can I run 4 miles non-stop. Maybe because MSP was where it started and running it today became a milestone, a reflection of how far I've come since October.

What a great way to end the day.
Elaine behaving superbly in Petco. Delicious lunch prepared by my nephew. And a run around Mile Square Park to commemorate my 6th month of running.

Elaine & Rope Ball

Elaine chewed up the last rope toy (knot) easily. They used to last months; we'd buy a couple a year. But this last one was chewed up in a month.

So we went shopping at Petco.

This was our second trip to Petco. She did great. Not even a growl or bark. She was a little nervous when a nice brave Petco employee approached us to see if I had any questions. She (the employee) wisely kept her distance and did not try to baby talk or coo-coo at Elaine. Then a pit puppy came bouncing down the aisle and I thought "uh oh." Lo and behold, Elaine sat down and just looked at me! Needless to say, I couldn't hand over the treats to her fast enough :).

The same employee started talking to the puppy owner. I took that opportunity to test Elaine and gave her the "down" gesture. She plopped down and stared at me. She always had problems in a strange environment and is easily distracted. But not today. She did us proud!

We had a small glitch at the check out line when a lady pushed a full shopping cart towards us. Elaine had been wonderfully by my left side the whole time. She was freaked by the cart coming at us and scooted around and hid behind me! So much for guarding me! But she redeemed herself by patiently waiting by my side as we paid for the rope ball.

Notice the furrow between her eyes as she kept a wary eye on the shopping cart

Everyone kept their distance and I was careful to turn corners ahead of Elaine to avoid walking into anyone, 2- or 4-legged.

The car ride was also great. No jumping around or barking after skateboarders. We used the Roadie today. She did not seem as comfortable (compared to the Champion Canine) but tolerated the harness fine.

So far, she seems to like it. And, Lis, yes, it does roll away :).

Bloopers - Demonstrating the Floating Chest Pad

Elaine had a full day today. Before we left for the day trip, we taped a quick segment showing the floating chest pad in action. One of the feature of the Champion Canine Seat Belt System was this floating chest pad but I never understood its purpose until I saw it in action. Basically, it allows the harness to be pulled down the side without twisting the harness under the dog -- the chest pad stayed on the chest, not pulled to the underarm.

To be honest, I thought it was just a neat feature but didn't think it was such a big deal. But after using it these past several weeks, it does seem to make a big difference. I don't see Elaine getting twisted in the harness as she turns every which way in the backseat.

Towards the end of the video, I had tightened the harness so it couldn't slide as designed. Ended up wrestling with Elaine instead.

It was an impromptu taping. I have been putting off finishing the reviews since we've been busy at work. I also had to postpone Kobi's part when he hurt his back a couple weeks ago. So, on a spur of the moment, I grabbed Elaine for the segment. Only after did I realize I was wearing my colorful Farmer Tran plaid shirt I bought years ago for my New Zealand farm visits. Oh well, may not be professional, but I guess it's in keeping with the informal nature of the reviews.

This is what it looks like when I edited out the end.

Day Trip w/Elaine

Elaine made her first visit to the "new" Petco in town. It was a better place for her because it's still not busy midday. We did not have to worry about other dogs or too many kids. We were going to the park afterward but changed our mind (rather I changed my mind). This parking lot was up the hill and isolated. We end up walking around the mini plaza instead. Elaine did well considering she is still confused about walking on my left instead of my right.

That's what I get for not knowing any better when I first leash trained her. She got used to walking on my right. Now, I'm trying to retrain her to be on my left so we can go running (safer for her to stay on my left).