Six months and just a dog

January 2nd was the six-month anniversary of our wedding. I am not a big anniversary-celebrator. I am not much for flowers, cards, or cheesy other things that go along with celebrating silly little milestones (or Valentine's Day-- I can't believe there's already stuff out in the stores). Twenty-five years? Probably worth celebrating. Six months? Not so much. Actually, I am not sure I would have remembered this half-year milestone had it not be for this little email I received from TheBump.com (sister site to "The Knot," which was actually a decent site for help with wedding planning) entitled "It's been 6 months since your wedding...":

With TheBump.com you can:

- Find a friend's baby registry
• Search for baby shower ideas
• Forward this email to a friend

• Get pregnant faster with our must-have tools
• Get stage-by-stage pregnancy and baby advice
• Chat 24/7 with other women trying to conceive

Geez!! I was a bit offended by this e-mail, actually. It presumes that, six months into a marriage, I should be well on the road towards planning imminent childbearing. Certainly well aware of all the risks of AMA ("Advanced Maternal Age") pregnancies (pregnancies where the woman will be over the "old" age of 35 at time of delivery), I have nothing against people trying to conceive soon after their wedding or at an age when they are definitely more fertile. Many people have been with their partners forever, regardless of when they tied the knot, and are ready to get the child-rearing show-on-the-road. However, I was 29 at the time of our wedding, and while I am lagging well behind most (er... pretty much all) friends in the baby-department, and do really love OB/pregnancy care and counseling as part of my job, I am not really one of those "can't wait to get pregnant" people.

I personally think that 2 years is a minimum to be married before contemplating children and feel that 4 years is the optimal interval between children if you can plan it that way. I think six months of marriage may be an appropriate time frame after which one might think one can handle a dog, but (for me), it is definitely too soon to contemplate trying for a child. I do want children. I just do not want them yet.

So, The Bump, I think I'm going to have to ignore your e-mail for now. Try me again in a couple of years. And, to friends and family, please don't expect any "announcements" anytime soon :)

2011 in Pictorial Review (Part 2 - Humboldt)

The second half of 2011 was spent adjusting to our new life in Humboldt County.

SEPTEMBER
Getting settled
Painting that awful green room!


Exploring Humboldt Trails and Treasures
Fern Canyon


Patrick's Point SP


Kelvin's birthday lobster (Moonstone Grill)




OCTOBER
Danny & Chamreun drove 12 hours each way for some darn good oysters!


NOVEMBER
Serena, Brad, and Shabu see the Redwoods


The start of my thirties!


"Home" to OC for Thanksgiving!


And, finally, December:

Christmas in Ashland...


... and a new family member, Pepper...


It was a fabulous year, and we are excited to see what 2012 will bring!

Best of 2011 (the year in pictures- Part 1)

It is now 2012!
Here is a recap of our 2011 in pictures (part 1-- blogger restricted my #/size of photos to upload; boo!). It was a fabulous year!

JANUARY
We spent MLK weekend enjoying winter in Yosemite


FEBRUARY
Tomales Bay Oyster Shucking


MARCH
Costa Rica!


APRIL
Death Valley NP




MAY
Engagement shoot


Bay-to-Breakers Race



Memorial Day Weekend:
Kimie/Vin's wedding


Orange County!


Catalina Island


JUNE
We graduated residency!

FP graduation


OB graduation



JULY
We tied the knot!





We honeymooned in Bali (Indonesia), Malaysia, and Singapore






Stay tuned for Part 2- Life in Humboldt Co. :)

Our canine addition!

Introducing: Pepper!

We have a dog!!!!

In the past few months, I have been looking (some times more actively than others) for available dogs. Our visit from Serena, Brad and Shabu back in November reinforced that I love having a pooch around! Despite enjoying hiking and running quite a bit back when I was not on call all the time, I am not a large-dog person. I love little lap dogs who you can cuddle!

We had a miniature schnauzer ("Toccata") growing up after, when I was about 10, I went on a (successful) campaign lobbying for a family pet. Now, my parents have two little Cairn Terriers, the first of which (Duncan) replaced Toccata soon after she passed away. I love playing with them when I am able to go home. However, until this point in my "adult" life, haven't felt like I had the time to devote to a pet.

Kelvin and I were not super partial towards any particular breeds, or pure-breds for that matter; however Serena was instrumental in promoting the high points of shih tzus. They are incredibly loyal and great companion dogs. Our interest in doggies was re-kindled ("a sign!" I thought) when we saw some shih tzu/poodle puppies advertised in the North Coast Journal (paper); however, the timing didn't work out to view them, and I'm not sure we could handle the housetraining that comes with having a new puppy around!

We also looked at a few shelters-- the McKinleyville shelter, the one in Oakland (when we visited the Lees-- there was a pre-Christmas special on adoption fees), as well as one in Eureka. At the time I saw the dogs there, we weren't quite ready to "commit" (i.e. the Oakland one required you to be in the area to be able to pick up the dog right after neutering/spaying-- which would have been difficult given we live 5 hours away), and may have missed out (a little mutt I had my eye on at the McKinleyville shelter was adopted the same day as my visit-- we saw him walking around the pet store with his new owner as I was shopping for my dog supplies, wanting to be very prepared before we even brought home a pooch!). However, the timing wasn't quite right.

In doing a search for shih tzus in the northern California area, I came across a hobby breeder who was looking to downsize her program and had a 16-month old dog to adopt for a great price. We drove to Happy Camp (about 3 hours from here) to check her out on the 17th, and were sold! The dog (named "Winda" at that point) was a bit quieter than the other rambunctious dogs the owner had, and she felt she'd do better in a quieter home with more 1-on-1 attention. We planned to bring her home after Christmas, not wanting to leave her alone (or at a boarder) so soon after getting her due to our already-planned Christmas getaway.

So, on our way back from Ashland, we picked up little Winda (who we renamed "Pepper") at Happy Camp, and swerved to avoid all the pebbles in the road the whole way back (my car is STILL at the shop). Michelle gave us her dog bed so she'd have something of "home" to accompany her to her new surroundings, and I held her the whole drive back.

I won't lie. I was pretty nervous when we first left. She shivered in my arms for the first 20 minutes or so. When I tried to have her go potty outside the car, she kind of freaked out and tried to slip out of her collar (highway-side...which had my heart racing). She hadn't previously been used to a collar/leash, as the dogs were previously let out of the house to play in a fenced yard. When we got home to our neighborhood, she was really shy, did not really want to walk around, and would cower when she heard our footsteps next to her. I had to drag her up our steps and carry her across the street for her first few trips outside. When she was in our house, she just lay in her doggie bed and didn't really explore. She did not want to eat. She seemed depressed and scared. I wondered if she'd come out of it.





She has. She has really perked up in the last few days. She doesn't really enjoy walking in the rain (despite our dry December overall, we'd kind of made up for it in the last few days! Do doggie raincoats work?). She usually only goes to the bathroom when I walk her, which frustrates Kelvin (I think she's a bit more nervous around him and is not relaxed enough!). But she follows us around from room to room, and wags her little tail whenever she sees us or comes out of her crate. She has also demonstrated that she is quite a Houdini!

We were having her sleep in the crate, and stay in the crate for half-days at a time when we both returned back to work on Wednesday. Despite reading about how it actually is quite a good method of both house-training [we're not sure if she is 100% trained]) and of housing a new dog, it still seems kind of inhumane to me. And because had been so good (i.e. no accidents in the house) and kept overturning her crate food/water dish, I thought she might do okay penned up in our mudroom/entryway, with pet gates blocking it off from the kitchen. We tried this out when we went to bowling last night; however, when we returned home, our cute, calm, "obedient" doggie was hanging out in the living room, waiting to greet us when we entered the house from the garage. She had managed to dislodge our wooden pet gate and escape! Nothing was chewed or anything, but I think she just got bored in the front!

The gate of escape


The other side (untouched)


I left Pepper in the entryway again this morning when we went to work, this time after using a good-sized ottoman to block the gate. When I came home at lunch to take her out, there was no dog in sight. She is usually pretty good about coming right when one of us calls her and we usually can hear her collar jingling, and I was extremely puzzled. She was nowhere to be found downstairs but was clearly out of the gate. And, until today, we did not think that she was able to climb our stairs (she certainly hadn't before, getting "stuck" half-way and being too scared to continue!). But upstairs I went to search. She was not in our bedroom, nor in our office or guest bedroom. I was a bit concerned she'd gotten stolen (before we got the microchip in her!); however, when I checked the bathroom (with door closed!), I found her hanging out by a bunch of towels she'd pulled down from the shelf and amidst which she had likely been nestled (before shutting the door on herself and locking herself in!).

Re-creating her escape (live)
Nudging + Thinking


Thinking more


The escape (caught!)


I put her in the crate for the afternoon and, when Kelvin came home, he again found that she'd escaped from the metal-gated crate!!! I must have gotten lazy in latching it but GEEZ! This girl is probably going to keep us on our toes!

Caring for her surely adds extra time to our days (grooming included!) and more planning; however, we are so in love with her and it has been definitely worth it. I love coming home to see her. She is a sweet, quiet dog but who definitely has a mischievous side (I wish I could videotape her antics when we're gone). She is a bit skittish and shy with strangers, but is already showing more personality, and is a wonderful companion.

Hanging out with Daddy


Momma's Girl


We hope she will be with us for a very long time. Welcome home, Pepper!

Oregon Christmas Getaway

We did not have enough time off this year to make a Christmas trip to visit either of our families. Last year, we were really lucky to be able to spend a week out in Virginia, but this year, it just wasn't in the cards with the times and prices of the airfare. Rather than stay in Arcata and mope that we live in the middle of nowhere, we decided to take a weekend trip-- to Southern Oregon, which is really accessible from where we are.

We had made a trip to Crater Lake back in the spring of last year (where there was still about 10 feet of snow in May!), but did not stop or spend any real time in the Rogue River Valley towns of Medford or Ashland, which are only about a 4-hour-drive (some of which is on big I-5-- we are getting a bit weary of small, winding county roads!) from Arcata.



Southern Oregon is really beautiful, and Ashland is a very cute town! From February until November of each year, it is home to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival with an impressive schedule of performances. Unfortunately, visiting in the off-season, we could not catch any shows, but we hope to be back in the summer months.



We spent some time on Christmas Eve wandering around Lithia Park near downtown. It is a gorgeous park of 93 acres, named after "lithium oxide," which is found in the stream water pumped to the park, and includes an outdoor theater, tennis courts, an ice-rink, and a nice (now-frozen) pond, which we were wary but excited to try walking on (after a few people had gone before us and NOT fallen in... remember that I am a huge fan of It's a Wonderful Life and suspicious of seemingly-frozen ice).













Pretty fountain


Resting ducks


We got our first real taste of winter with snow on the roadside!


This outdoor skating rink was open for open skating, but we did not feel like sharing it with hockey players, and so just watched for a bit.



We walked around Main Street and checked out the Ashland Springs Hotel, a historic hotel open since 1925.




In the evening, we enjoyed a 6-course "Dickens Feast" at our Bed and Breakfast, the Winchester Inn.

Our meal consisted of a Relish Plate, Hot Brandied Cider, Champagne, Mushroom Wellington, Blue Cheese & Onion & Soup, Maison Salad, Prime Rib with Yorkshire Pudding, and an Almond-Cherry Trifle, and between courses, we listened to the Winchester Singers, a wonderful and entertaining caroling quartet (in period dress), who performed classic and contemporary Christmas tunes, and even performed a "Ashland Christmas Carol" skit (a la Dickens) for us :). We were definitely satisfied by the end!







We made an excellent lodging choice in the family-owned and run Winchester Inn. While we are usually pretty thrify travelers (and we did get "off-season" prices), we splurged a bit this time on our "Christmas getaway," and were very happy. Our Eastlake room was extremely cozy, with a really comfortable bed, soft pillows, a nice sitting area and TV, a spa-like marble bathroom, and a mini-kitchenette.



As you can see, Kelvin got very cozy in the provided robe (as he watched his Saturday football)


Since they gave their employees Christmas off, the Inn provided us these breakfast gift baskets to keep us well-fed on Christmas morning.





Christmas was a really relaxing day! Most things in town (including the wineries, which we were hoping to try) were closed for Christmas, so we decided to head up to Mt. Ashland to check out the slopes!

While this winter has also been quite dry up here in Oregon (apparently this is the driest winter in 100 years in Humboldt Co!) and there wasn't a lot of snow cover, I still reeeally wanted to ski and braved the mountain's slopes. One of the lifts was closed, and there were some small trees poking through the snow that we had to dodge, but I still enjoyed a half-day of skiing on the Shakespeare-themed slopes (Juliet, Romeo, Tempest, Avon, etc.), without any lines.







On the road to Mt. Ashland




We spent the rest of Christmas Day relaxing in our cozy room, watching NBA basketball, Green Bay football, and (how could I not?!) It's a Wonderful Life, eating take-out from a Thai place in town that happened to be open on Christmas, and feeling very removed from the pressures of everyday life. It was a sweet trip, and we hope to be back to Ashland sometime soon!