Monday, February 25, 2013

Fort Funston Sunday

We were planning to join a mini Shiba Inu meetup at Fort Funston today, but someone failed to get out of bed... Since the weather was so nice and Maya really needed a bath, we still decided to head to the beach. Though we didn't get to meet any Shibas, Maya still had a lot of fun chasing other dogs down the coast.

After the trip, we went to Pet Food Express for a bath. I'm glad we didn't bathe her at home, cause she covered the whole sink with fur. We still weren't able to get all the fur out at the store, so she got a good brush after we got home and I ended up having to vacuum the entire living room.

"Please let me off leash!"

Queen of the beach

We are getting better at taking action shots

And she's getting better at posing

Testing out her new travel bowl

"DO NOT LIKE!"

How can such a little thing produce that much fur?

Friday, February 22, 2013

New Camera

Yay! I finally made up my mind and got myself a new camera. Hopefully, I can stop posting iPhone pictures that were usually blurry and out of focus (because I was stupid and scratched the lens). Since this is my first non-point-and-shoot camera, so there are still lots to learn, especially when taking Maya's action shots.

New toys arrived today, (hopefully) last blurry shot from iPhone

With the camera, I also got an Eye-Fi Memory Card. One of the main reasons I like to post pictures from my phone is because I'm always too lazy to get pictures out of my camera. With the help of the built in Wi-Fi function, this new memory card can transfer photos directly to a computer or iOS/Android device straight from the camera. The setup is super confusing, even for someone who's a pretty tech savvy. I was so close to returning it, but decided to give it one last try and somehow it magically worked. Since it serves my purpose, I guess I'm keeping it.

Due to the stupid memory card, I haven't had much time to play with the actual camera yet. However, I can foresee Maya being so annoyed by me which all the click click click... Anyways, here are some test shots.




Monday, February 18, 2013

Biking by the Bay

During our last trip back to Taiwan, we brought back two folding bikes with us. I enjoy biking, but riding on the streets has always been stressful, especially when we have Maya with us. Now we can put both bikes in the trunk and go biking wherever we want.

There are many nice bike trails along the bay with great scenery. Last week, we went to one that's less crowded and let Maya run beside us. She did pretty good this time, and ran for a few miles. (The first time we took her biking, she quit on us after a mile and Daddy had to carry her back.) Of course the yummy treats we gave her along the way helped a little.

I have to say, Giant bikes are awesome! It only takes about 30 seconds to fold or unfold, and it rides much smoother than the mountain bike I got for about the same price few years ago. While doing research, we saw a folding bike at our local bike shop, which costs almost twice the price, but not even half as nice. The bikes were nicely packed when delivered to us and were counted as two checked-in luggage when we flew back without any extra charges. For anyone traveling to Taiwan, it's definitely something worth bringing back.

Giant Halfway folding bikes

Fitting both bikes into the trunk

Maya running nicely next to her daddy

Best part of the trip: yummy treats!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Snoopy Decal

I got a Snoopy decal for my laptop, because between the two of us, we have 4 computers that look exactly the same. (Each of us has 1 from work and 1 for personal.) I was afraid that one day I'll grab the wrong one as I rush out to work and that'll be really embarrassing, so I need a way to differentiate the machines elegantly.


I was trying to find a Shiba Inu decal at first, but the ones I found were either too realistic or ugly and none looks like my long-coat Shiba. Since Snoopy has always been my best doggie friend before I met Maya, he is no doubt my top choice. For $1.35, I'm pretty happy with the result. Let's see if it can sustain the everyday wear and tear.

My first Snoopy at my 3-year-old birthday


Monday, February 11, 2013

While I was Gone

I have been on a few lengthy business trips since I started my new job in December and it was kind of hard for both humans. For me, I'm so used to staying home with Maya, it's weird to not have her in my daily routines. For Maya's daddy, it's his first time taking full responsibility of taking care of her, and it sure wasn't fun having to walk her early in the morning before work, and rushing back after work to take her out again.

As for Maya, she seems to adjust well without me. She went to a friend's house for a doggie party:


She somehow sneaked into a Japanese bento shop where she usually waited outside, because the owners wanted a Shiba Inu badly and was thrilled to meet her:


However, not all places were that welcoming, and she wasn't able to enter the Japanese garden:


Thanks to the technology, I was able to video "chat" with her every night. She wasn't able to recognize my face on the screen, but do response to my voice, especially to that "NO" when I caught her trying to steal a treat from the coffee table.

Nothing is more heart warming after a long flight home to see a pup dashing to the door, wagging her tail and jumping up and down. Since I got back, she has be extra cuddly as well.


Sunday, February 10, 2013

Monthly Expenses: January 2013

It's been a full year since I started to track my monthly pet expenses. Though the number was shockingly high and painful to look at over and over again, it's been a great exercise and I'd like to keep this habit no matter how busy I get. So, without further ado, here's the first month of 2013.

January 2013
  • Food: $147
  • Accessories: $43
TOTAL: $190
YTD TOTAL: $190


Food

We got Maya 3 boxes of 4 lb. the Honest Kitchen Zeal. I usually purchase the 10 lb. box online, but after some calculation, I found that if we get the "buy 3 get 1 free" deal from Pet Food Express, it's actually cheaper per lb. to get four 4 lb boxes than a single 10 lb box elsewhere. (Of course it'll be even cheaper to get four 10 lb boxes, but she won't be able to finish that much food in time.) When we were at the store, they only have 3 boxes left, but was kind enough to still apply the 25% off, which was even better, because I'm still not sure if I'd like to keep her on the food for too long.


Accessories

Maya finally got a new bed! Because both of her old ones were half destroyed and too small, we wanted to get a new one for a long time but weren't able to find one we liked with a reasonable price. One day, Maya's daddy came home with a new bed he found at Taget, so now instead of hopping between two beds at night, she's cycling between three. She seems to enjoy sleeping on different beds during different periods of the night...

A new bed that finally fits her

Maya's old beds

Besides a new bed, we also stocked up on poop bags from Daiso ($1.5 for everything store). The black ones are a bit more expensive at 70 per box, which we only use when we need to carry her poop around, like going on hikes. The translucent ones are 170 per box, which we use during normal walks since there are trash cans in the park every few steps away. Either type of bags are much cheaper than those doggie bag rolls, which I always pull too many out at once, take forever to open and run out on the day she decided to take two poops per walk. I usually keep a box of the black ones in my car and a box of the translucent ones by the door with her leash.

Black bags on the left, translucent ones on the right

We also got her two stainless steel bowls at the $1.5 store. It comes with lids that seal up the bowls nicely for bringing food and water on the go. A hair stopper for our shower drain also cost us $1.5, but I did not add it to our pet expenses, since it stops more of my hair than her fur on a daily basis.