Christy

My heart is broken for a beautiful friend who passed away this weekend. Christy Zamora was one of a kind. She was a tough girl on the outside with a heart of gold on the inside - all packed into a tiny package. She was fierce, talented, loyal, funny and she lit up a room with her radiant smile. She was one of my dearest friends in all the years I marched, and I cherish all of the memories that we shared together. She was my bus partner, the maker of the best chicken enchiladas and spanish rice, and we drove all the way from Wisconsin to California together. Oh, the laughs we had together.

I am sending my love to her family and all who loved her, but especially her "Little Man", Donovan.

Christy, I love you, and I miss you more than you will ever know. My heart is aching for the bright light that the world has lost.

First play date with Mike and Kayak

Wallace is making so many new friends!!

Mike brought his 12-week old puppy, Kayak, over. It was Kayak's first time in a fenced backyard, and he had a lot of fun exploring the grass, bark, plants and flowers.

Wallace was a little nervous at first. We think it's because MIke is tall, but Mike managed to win him over with lots of treats.

The pups took a little while to warm up to playing (Wallace was unusually non-energetic at first) but they were playing great together in the end.

We're going to try to have another play date later this week to keep the momentum going. Looking forward to it!!

Happy First Birthday, Wallace!!!

Happy First Birthday, Wallace!! We are so happy that you came into our lives two weeks ago, and that we get to celebrate your first of many Birthdays with you!!

To celebrate, Wallace had a two hour play date with his best friend, Saki!! We also put out his new area rug, which he seems to like.

Wallace Loves Saki

Play date #2 for Wallace and Saki. They love playing with each other. Two full hours of running around!

Goodbye, Vegas!!!

Time to go home to my husband, my kitty and my dog. :)

It was a great visit. Thanks to Jason, JD and Ray for a wonderful few days.

Bonus: another unexpected upgrade on the flight home! Nice way to bookend the trip!

Las Vegas Adventures with Jason

Jason surprised me with all kinds of Vegas adventures today!! We started at 11:30 at the Flagship Louis Vuitton Store in City Center. Neither of us are into Fashion, so why were we there? Jason had made reservations to see this amazing art install piece that is on permanent display at this store!! No photos were allowed of the installation, so here's a pic of us in the store.

Here is an article I found about the installation. 

  http://robbreport.com/art-collectibles/louis-vuitton-opens-permanent-james-turrell-exhibit-las-vegas

The photos don't do it justice. This may be one of my most favorite Vegas experiences ever. I have never felt more immersed or more affected by an installation before. If you are in Vegas, I recommend planning to see this. They recommend calling in advance at least 2-3 weeks, and it is free!!

Next, we checked out "The Park", Vegas' new green space on the strip. Jason had arranged a lunch for us (comped for his story!) at a BeerHouse (forgot the name) in The Park. We had hot dogs and pretzels.

After lunch, we went to New York New York and rode the roller coaster!! No photos allowed, but fun to try once for the neat views and experience!

Pool Time!!

Fun in the Sun with Jason!!

Pool Time in Vegas!!!

"Big Daddy" Jason scored us a private cabana at the newest pool in Vegas. We're at the Downtown Grand.

Dinner with Jason in Vegas

Travel-Trina Tip:
When in Vegas, hook up with your dear friend from Chicago who is a travel writer. Go to his favorite gourmet burger joint and be treated to a burger and a sampling of ELEVEN bam-boozled shakes!! Oh, my!! Total decadence. That was amazing!!!

H2O

This is hilarious.

One of the things I've noticed about being in Vegas is that none of the casinos have water fountains.

You can get tiny bottles of water if you're gambling, or ask for a small cup of water from the bar, but I can't fill my water bottle anywhere, and I refuse to pay $5 or more for bottled water.

I spent the day with my friends, JD and Raymond, who have a house in Vegas. When we were leaving their place, they presented me with a bag of five 23.7 oz bottles of water!! They say they always give their guests bottles of water when they come visit because they are so expensive to buy on the strip.

I couldn't be happier!

Off to Vegas!!

We're off to Vegas for a few days!!
Bonus: Unexpected upgrade!! Nice way to start the trip.

We feel really bad for leaving Wallace this early on, but we're so grateful that his Uncle Richard offered to stay at our house to take care of him and Noe. Thank you Richard!!

I am also grateful for the Wallace-Cam! :)

Wallace's Second Bath

Wallace had his second bath today, and this time seemed perfectly comfortable with the whole procedure. No shivering at all this time! We're amazed at how well he's been adjusting to each of these experiences!

Wallace's First Walk!!

Wallace went on his first walk through Noe Valley today!! We tried taking him out a couple of times last week, but he was pretty timid and didn't want to cross the street and intersections. We didn't want to rush things on his first week, so we had only gotten as far as two blocks, going around a corner, and never crossing streets.

This morning, we went to the pet store again, which he loved. He enjoyed it so much that we thought we'd try a walk around the neighborhood once we got home. He did GREAT!! For whatever reason, he's no longer nervous at intersections, and crossed the streets just fine. We walked about six blocks to a nearby park where we hung out for a bit. He had a chance to be around a lot of people, children, and other dogs, and did just fine. After, we walked a couple blocks of 24th Street, where there are many stores, restaurants, people, strollers, dogs, etc. We walked around that area, then back home with no problems. Yay, Wallace!

This makes us very happy! After we realized how timid he had been about walking outside a few days ago, we figured it may take a few weeks of short outings before he'd be comfortable with a full walk like this. Now, we're excited to explore more areas with him!

"Speakeasy" Painting!!

Yay! I had a painting session with Dean today for the first time since early February.

Today, I worked first on the bartender. The bartender in the original photo was mostly blocked from view and not adding any interest to the painting. The next bartender I had painted was from a photo that I had taken at another speakeasy. He was standing straight up and looked very stiff in my painting. Dean found a photo of another painting he had done with a server that we decided to model my new bartender off of. I really like that he is in more of an action pose, and that he is wearing more traditional bistro/bartender clothing.

Next, I worked on the light reflection in to bottom right corner of the painting, brightening it up from what it had been before.

I also added all of the liquor bottles on the shelf under the large windows. I tried to make them loose without too much detail.

Finally, and probably what I'm most proud of, I added three faces! The bartender, and the two patrons towards the back of the painting. I think I finally managed to get just the right amount of detail without distracting from the rest of the painting. Yay

I'm not sure yet, but I think I may have completed the painting today. I'm going to look at it with fresh eyes at my next session and decide. There may be tiny additions to make, or I may decide that it is done.

Wallace meets the Family!!

Wallace met the Chow Family today!!

My parents, my sister and her husband all came over for lunch and a visit this afternoon! Wallace was a little overwhelmed at first (that's a lot of Chow!) but he soon relaxed. He quickly came to realize that they were all very nice, and that they all held out treats for him! :)

He was a little shy when we all went out to play, but he enjoyed their company and loved meeting them.

I was especially happy that my sister showed no allergic reaction to him at all (Poodles are hypoallergenic). He is the first pet I have ever had (including many rats and cats) that she was able to pet and play with without sneezing, or breaking out. How wonderful! She spent a lot of time petting and rubbing Wallace, and he clearly adored her.

Oddly, I didn't take any photos (what?!). Luckily, my Mom and Graham both took some nice shots. Wallace had some paparazzi (Puparazzi?)

Here are some photos that Graham and my Mom shared with me. I'm so glad my family was able to come to meet Wallace today. He was so happy to meet you all!!

Today's Walk

I went on a really nice 8-ish mile walk this morning with some of my friends from the Immediate Impact Walk. It was a cooler morning, with overcast skies and even a few sprinkles, but it cleared up by the time we hit our halfway point at the Ferry Building.

It always fills my soul to spend time with these lovely souls.

Gift Basket for Wallace

Oh, my goodness.

Our friends spoil us!

Lizelle and Saki brought Wallace an adorable (and personalized!) basket full of all kinds of doggie goodies! We are overwhelmed by their thoughtfulness and generosity. Lizelle said they wanted to make sure that we had all the necessities.

Dick and I couldn't believe how many wonderful things were in the basket. Everything from treats, to toys, scarves, a baby blanket, a portable bowl, and even a photo frame to put Wallace's picture in!

Thank you SO much, Saki and Lizelle! We love the gift basket, and look forward to using everything in it!!