all about dogs

I never liked dogs. Or any animal at all. I find them dirty, stinky and savage. I never imagined taking care of any member of the animal kingdom. Our houses are meant for humans to inhabit. Therefore, animals are uninvited. Uncivilized. Fierce. Unruly. That is how I perceive animals. That was until we welcomed Claudia into our home.

Born January 13 of this year from a black dam and a chocolate sire, Claudia of Christopher Anne is our 3 month old black Labrador Retriever. She is a combination of charm, wit and misbehavior. At her age, she weighs a whopping 10 kilos and stands at 17 inches! Her daily routine consists of eating, walking, playing, sleeping, running and learning. Most of the time though, her play button blinks!


You are probably asking yourself why I suddenly had a change of heart. I have always envied K9 units in the malls with their bomb sniffing Labrador Retrievers and German Shepherds in tow. Often, I end up thinking, can dogs really be trained to obey and protect their masters? As I did my research and familiarized myself with my brother-in-law's Labradors and Belgian Malinois, these large breed dogs took my heart! Like excited parents, Gino and I began making a checklist of things to purchase as we awaited the arrival of our first ever pet, Claudia.

Sure. Having Claudia in our home has changed our routine and financial obligations (friends tell me having her prepares us for future parenthood). She is an attention-seeker and a people pleaser. It means a lot if you play with her and praise her for every correct behavior she has shown. She is an eating machine --- devouring 18 kilos of Eukanuba monthly, wolfing hard-boiled eggs for her in-between meals daily and delighting on her dog treats after every training lessons. Not to mention the costly monthly veterinary home visits her doctor does.

Do the math if you will, but thank you, we don't want to know the sum you'll get. What matters is at the end of the day, we have Claudia running to us, graciously retrieving the tennis ball we threw. As she gets her dog treat and a well deserved praise, she affectionately lies her massive 10 kilo body on my feet and stares back as if saying "Don't you just love how smart I am!"

View Claudia's other photos HERE.

food for the soul 04.2010

"What a man accomplishes in a day depends upon the way in which he approaches his tasks." -Arland Gilbert

Do you go to work each day grudgingly, or do you approach things with a cheerful attitude and view them as challenges? This distinction can really make a difference. You’ll waste more energy complaining about or dreading something than if you were to just go ahead and get it done. You’ll make better use of your time, as well, by just going for it. Are there days when you sit at work or somewhere else just looking at the clock, the minutes creeping by? This could be because you are avoiding your work and don’t really want to put in the effort. But on days when you bury your head in your work, accomplishing a lot, it might seem like time just flew by. So have the right attitude. Whistle while you work. -SPARKPEOPLE TRANSLATION

tamed and domesticated

Like a puppy being trained to be familiar with her human pack, I too was tamed and domesticated the whole month of April. But it wasn't my human pack I was being trained to. It is the day to day routine of being a stay-at-home-wife!

April 2010 has opened my eyes on what it feels like to be a housewife --- waking up early in the morning to cook breakfast, cleaning every corner of the house, tending the garden, feeding and walking our Labrador Retriever, eating lunch alone, taking a nap, teaching our dog new tricks and then finally preparing dinner while waiting for my husband to get home. While it sounds tiring, I must say that it is very interesting to do all of these chores. By the time the evening news starts, I pat myself for getting through the day without entertaining boredom in the house! There was never a day I would sit at the swing on our frontyard with my palm on my chin. There is always something to do. And this something is what makes me look forward to another sunshine!

I need not say how busy my life has been the past weeks. Yet I know that shouldn't stop me from blogging. Pages and pages of stories have been left unwritten here. With much longing, I hope to once again fill my blog with photos and narratives for you to read and dream with.