I LOVE the Annual Breaking of the Spring!

Oh herro from the land of morning naps and Sunday night cocktails.

Just some tidbits:

Before this past Christmas break, a bunch of students were Facebooking like crazy about how much they wanted or were excited about getting these single-cup coffee brewers and I was all, "Ugh, what's the big deal? Seems silly to me." And then I went home for Christmas and tried out the Keurig my parents had and I was like, "I NEED ONE NOW NOW NOW." And then my dad saw a really good deal online several weeks ago for one and, because they are the most awesome coffee enablers parents in the universe, they gifted it to me and Schmoobles. Cut to this past weekend and Schmoobles woke up before me on Saturday. Before I could even open up my eyeballs to completion, he comes sauntering in the bedroom, bringing me a cup of coffee in bed. COFFEE IN BED! Isn't that how polar bears decide to choose their mates for life in the wild, or something? Anyway. Schmoobliedots, albeit being delightful in many other ways, had never brought me coffee in bed before in the seven (i.e. one million) years we've been together, so I squealed with delight and exclaimed, "Wow! Coffee! Why?" and he responded, "Well...because I was up. And making it is SO EASY!"

So thank you, parentals, for giving me Schmooblies 2.0 (new and improved!). 

In other news, I'm totally doing this hippie dippie Apple Cider Vinegar drink cleanse thing. Spurred on by reading this post from this blog that I enjoy tremendously. After reading the post two weeks ago, I hightailed it to our local Kroger and was able to find the super organic ACV "With Mother" (that's only a little creepy sounding) hiding in the very back of the very bottom shelf of the hippie foods aisle and have been drinking a bottle of water with about 2 tablespoons of ACV mixed in every single day. 

Honestly, I don't mind it so much since - probably because of my superior Filipino bloodline - I have an affinity for vinegary tastes anyway. But I made the mistake of opening up the cap to my vinegar-water bottle while Schmoobliez and I were carpooling to work the other day and he almost gagged from the smell. 

Oh, and there was this, when we were walking back to the car after work:

Me: "You know, I was thinking. I think that if one were to actually drink pee, this vinegar water is probably what it would taste like. ...Wanna try some?"

Schmoobs: "NO!!"

Whatever. Wuss. Anyway, I may be manifesting just what I want to see, but I could swear that I started seeing some difference after about a week. I started feeling less cloudy-headed in the morning and a slight improvement in my skin. Two weeks in now, I do think my skin is seeing continued improvement (maybe clearer, softer textured and less splotchy? I tend to have redder, more ruddy cheeks than any of my siblings for some reason. Genetic X-men mutation?) and, doggone, if I don't think my hair is a little softer, too. And yesterday, I came back from washing my hands in the restroom and:

Me: "I think I look less puffy."

Schmoobs: "Huh?"

Me: "Whenever I go to a bathroom and look in the mirror I always feel like I look kind of puffy, but I don't think I look as bloated and puffy."

Schmoobs: "Um...I never think you look puffy. But okay."

Me: "Well, I do. I think that Apple Cider Vinegar is working."

Schmoobs: "Okay."

Me: "Wanna try some?"

Schmoobs: "NO."

So I am excited to see what differences I see and feel in myself after doing this ACV regimen for a couple more months. I should say, however, that if you want to join me on this exciting vinegar pee water adventure, you MUST take heed of the universal advice to mix the vinegar in with water and not to drink it straight. For one, it will help protect your tooth enamel. But also, if you decide that you are going to be brilliant and efficient and just do a single shot of pure organic apple cider vinegar in the mornings (usually followed by a cup or two of coffee...) like I did on week one, it will only take about two days for you to lose your ability to sleep at night because your stomach will literally feel like it's on fire.

Yeah. I did that little experiment to save you the pain of learning on your own - aren't I awesome?! After three straight nights of painful stomach fires, I made the connection to my amazing idiotic vinegar-shot idea and went back to sipping the diluted vinegar-water mixture throughout the day. The stomach fires went away almost immediately. Durr. 

Pictures!

Remember when I said that I am the Draw Something master? I mean. Look at this. I'm practically Picasso.

I thought this one was pretty good too. You don't grow up in Sonoma County without innately knowing how to draw "Vineyard" on a drawing game.

Hee hee hee. I think I like this one most of all.

Oh, by the way: We bought BB a big bag of brand new doggie treats at PETCO the other day. She immediately decided she wanted nothing to do with them (bitch!). But she love love loves fresh bean sprouts!  

BEANSPROUT CHOMP.

Our favorite breakfast place in town is the Fatted Calf located in downtown Rockballz. We love them because they specialize in using natural, organic and local ingredients. But also because this is their sugar packet holder.

And this is their cream holder. Wait for it....

Hee!

We've been visiting the Plano Animal Shelter quite a bit lately. What usually happens is that Schmoobles will be trolling various dog websites on his computer (or his "Puppy Picture Device") and find a one or a few or a billion that he decides he wants and we go to whatever shelter the doggies are and visit them. We know, of course, that we have neither the space nor capability to take on any additional animals (don't even get me started on how BB and Bela react to a new animal in the house), but we can't seem to not drop by for a visit and playtime. The almost-super-sad part was when we learned that the Plano - unlike the Rockballz - Animal Shelter is not advertised as a no-kill shelter, which, of course, means that there is the distinct possibility that we will buy ALL THE DOGGIES and save them from the dreaded Youth in Asia. But we talked to the ladies at the front desk and they explained that the only animals that they put down are ones that need to for health/age reasons or those that have shown overly aggressive and dangerous behavior. For example, they have kitty cats there that they have been housing since spring of last year. So I felt better after that. And, this past Sunday afternoon, there were like 3 or 4 adoptions that happened in just the hour that we were there. Also, I donated the perfectly good brand new bag of treats that BB decided she didn't want.

Some favorites:

Coco! A miniature poodle that snatched up our heart ventricles immediately! When he came into the shelter, apparently his previous dumb dumb owners had been so negligent that his fur was extremely matted. His whole body had to be shaved down, leaving him with a perfectly round giant ball of curly gray fur for his noggin.

It's quite a charming look, don't you think?

He has eyeballs under there, I swear. And, considering I can't imagine that he actually sees much beyond the wall of fur, he is surprisingly graceful and accurate when jumping on and off laps. He's also a big fan of treats and doggie biscuits.

This little guy is one of my personal favorites. For obvious reasons, Schmoobs and I nicknamed him "Chewie." I have a soft spot for him because he is a little older and has terrible teeth (I actually don't think he has back teeth anymore...poor doggie!) so is probably not that attractive to prospective adopters. But he is a sweetheart and just needs a really good bath and shave. I played with him for a bit on Sunday and - though quite stinky - he was so cute. I think next time we go back, I'll bring him some soft treats so he can enjoy some delicacies without having to hurt his chompers.

And success story of the week! Schmoobs and I saw this little lady in the very last corner kennel at the end of a long hall looking very scared and lonely, so we asked to take her out to play. At the shelter, they have a few private windowed rooms where you can take a dog for some private play time. Once we took her in a room, this dog, Pinta, started bouncing around with energy and became very affectionate and playful. Before long, a family with two young children started lingering around the windows and making googly eyes at Pinta. Later that day, as we were leaving, one of the front desk ladies told us that that family asked to play with Pinta right after we gave her back and they adopted her right there! Hooray! So now Schmoobs and I consider ourselves "Puppy Closers."