Happy Dragon Year

Happy Chinese New Year! It has been a couple years since I spent Chinese New Year celebration with my family. I miss sitting at the round table and eating non-stop. Every year there is at least two whole chickens, two fish, duck, pork, and more side dishes on the menu. Then for all those who are unmarried get the red packets with money inside. On Saturday, Jake and I went to see a Chinese New Year Celebration Performance in downtown Lexington. Although not as grand of a celebration like I would have at home, it made me feel warm at heart. Tonight I am cooking up some Chinese dishes for the two of us.


Lola did get her red packet this year, filled with treats, of course.

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At first she didn't know what to make of it. There's treats inside, but how do I get them out?

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Hmmm....

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I got it! I got it!

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Happy New Year!

The Peppermint Thief

Tomorrow I will be driving back to Wisconsin to spend Christmas with Jake's family, then I will be flying to Hong Kong to see my parents. This means I have been busy the last few days even though I am on winter break. Hopefully I will be able to update during traveling.

Yesterday I made four batches of almond toffee (one batch burnt). Candy making is a form of art and requires lots of patients. Even a few degrees will make a difference. I stood in front of the stove for an hour constantly stirring while watching the thermometer like a hawk.

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The hard work paid off when I see these cute Christmas tins filled with almond toffee.

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 It makes me smile even more when I see a box filled with presents

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Lola, on the other hand, has been quite busy herself as well.
She stole peppermint candies from my desk! Peppermint thief! I could tell she really tried to climb on my desk because my backpack and the boxes around it were all knocked down.

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Now she has to figure out how to get back on Santa Paw's nice list. Probably a little too late now, Lola. Should have thought it through before taking my peppermint candies. Tonight my little family will be doing gift exchange before the big road trip tomorrow. Maybe...maybe Lola will get her n-y-l-a-b-o-n-e.

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I hope you all have a lovely Holiday!

The Thing That Neve Ends

The other day I found this.
Gross, you might think.
Yes, it's everywhere.
On the couch, in every corner of the apartment, and on everything.
By everything, I mean everything.
I knew, it was that season again.
The season that never ends.

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Naturally I went to the source of this grossness.

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"What?! Me? Never!" Lola claimed.

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So I followed the suspect out to the balcony.
There it was...dog hair.
Everywhere.
So much that it forms a giant hairball big enough to soak up all the spilled oil on the Gulf Coast.

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So I started brushing, day and night.
I kept brushing but more hair kept coming out.
There is no end to this.

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I am sure there are some happy birds out there thanking Lola for her hair.
Not me.

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I run my vacuum twice a week.
I brush her everyday, three times a day.
I don't know where all these hair is coming from.
Enough.

But how do you say no to this cute face?

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A Day in Lola's Life

A day in Lola's life includes but not limited the following:


Waiting patiently for a good belly massage

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Begging for some yummy human food.

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Then on to being a porch monkey for a couple hours.

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Taking power naps.
 In the warm sun, of course.

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Then more begging.

"Is that cantaloupe? I like cantaloupe"

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Napping after a vigorous play date with her friend Miss Hedgehog

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I can definitely see how it is hard being a dog :)

Lessons From Lola

Since Lola came into my life three years ago, I have learned many life lessons from her. It might be cliche to say that she's my best friend, but she is.

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She looks at my with admiration and thinks I am the greatest person in the world.
No one gets as excited as she does when she sees me coming through the front door.
Even if I was gone for the whole day.

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Her silliness makes me laugh.

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She listens attentively to my sob stories and my happiest moments.
No judgement and questions, just listens.

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She follows her little button nose and her instincts.
She lets me know when things aren't right..or when she's hungry.

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She starts her day with a smile as if today is already better than yesterday.
No matter what happens, you still see her smile.
She lets you know that she loves you unconditionally.

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These are the little lessons I learned from Lola on how to treat your love ones.

What if we start treating people around us like our canine best friends do?

If Lola can do it, why can't I?

Afternoon Nap

This is Lola.

You probably know her already.


On this warm Wednesday afternoon, she decided to take a nap.

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You may wonder.

Why, Lola, your nap spot looks awfully comfortable, what part of the house is this?

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The thing is, you never wake a sleepy wolf.

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Oh com'on Lola, where is it?


"Alright, alright. It's my mom's lap" Lola said.

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What a lazy dog I have.

Happy Wednesday!

Happy Birthday

Today is Lola's 5th birthday.

In a few days it would be her third year home with me.


She is not only my best friend, but also...

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my comedian....

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my sleepy head...

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my goofball...

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and my loyal companion.

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Happy Birthday, Lola girl!

Lola and Her Red Bandana

This is a story about Lola and her red bandana.

 


One day, Lola found her old red bandana in her basket o' toys.

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 So she started wearing it around everyday.



On some days, she would pretend to be an one-eyed pirate.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
 

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On other days, she would pretend to be a girl scout learning about plants and such. More like how to spy on your neighbors.

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Sometimes Lola thinks she's Rosie the Riveter.

"We can do it!" she barked.

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Or she became Lola the Bandit who just robbed the storage closet that contains a 35 pound bag of kibble. 

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On sunny days, her red bandana became a sun bonnet. Like Scarlett O'Hara's.

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Until one day she heard that word.

The V-E-T

Then she put on her sympathy face with her red bandana

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The plea came a little too late. At the V-E-T she was to lose five pounds and she should exercise more.

Lola could not care less.

As long as she could still wear her red bandana

The End.

A Day in Lola's Life.

A day in Lola's life is full of excitement.

Lola's day involves hanging out with Goose,

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taking power naps through out the day,

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and begging for food scraps in the kitchen.

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Sometimes Lola pretends she is a snow bunny,

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or the Queen of Dog Park,

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or the Original Melon Dog (not to be confused with the Original Melon Cat).

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Most of all, Lola likes to play dress-up,

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hangout at her favorite sunny-spot in the house,

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and be my goofball who greets me when I come home.

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She's Lola. The one who will loves me for who I am, even if I come home late, or forgot to feed her, or take her on a long run. She's Lola.