Barks & Rec.

October 27, 2012 Nina Penalosa6 Comments

My fluffy baby Rory is going to be graduating from his beginners class at Petsmart next week! But he has to pass the evaluation test first — meaning he needs to perform all the commands we’ve been teaching him for the past 5 weeks perfectly. No pressure whatsoever. For the most part, Rory’s a good dog, but sometimes he doesn’t like to listen and gets overly excited around other pups. In class he’s known as “the mean one” or “fiesty one” which makes me really sad because he’s so fuggin’ sweet… just not around other dogs. Rory’s also the only boy in the class and the eldest at 15 months (I think the youngest pup in the class is 5 months old). I really should’ve enrolled him early on, but TARDISes (what is the plural for TARDIS?) and time turners don’t exist, so oh well.

Before his class last Thursday, my friends and I took him out to the park for a walk. Or rather, he took Jen for a walk (he doesn’t have that loose-leash walking down quite yet). Fresh air seemed to be all he needed since he did super awesome in class that night!

And since I wore a cute outfit to work that day, we did some OOTD (outfit of the day) shots around the park. But it was soooo windy and the lighting was off pretty much everywhere, I ended doing a few shots at home (full outfit shot is down below).

While trying to get rid of clothes I don’t wear often, I came across this hot air balloon dress by American Rag in my closet that I haven’t worn since my trip to Disneyland in May. I forced myself to make an outfit around it because I didn’t like the thought of not having it in my closet. Both my earrings and necklace are second-hand purchases. I got my teal crystal earrings at the Lodi Street Faire just in time for prom! I was into teal a lot back then. And when I say “back then” I mean 8 years ago. Yikes! I found my necklace at the local flea market last year. It’s a fragrance locket, or perfume necklace. I’m not sure what to call it, but the inside of it contains some nasty scented wax. The gold cigar band ring was given to me by my super stylish grandma (super stylish grandma can be seen here). And my navy and purple cuff is from the Coach outlet store. Yay outlets!

outfit details:

dress: American Rag
cardigan: Old Navy
necklace: flea market find
earrings: street market find
ring: my grandma gave it to me!
bracelet: Coach
boots: Madden Girl
tights: Hue

I’m assuming there will be Halloween parties this weekend, so I hope you all have fun and be safe (of course)! I dressed up as Minnie Mouse for my co-worker’s costume/going-away party last night, so I shall post pictures of my costume in the upcoming days. And if you’re not doing anything festive this weekend, I hope you have fun as well!

Cheers,
Nina ❤

pup life

Rory’s 1-Year Homecoming Anniversary

September 24, 2012 Nina Penalosa7 Comments

rory puppy havamalt havanese maltese — 24 September 2011: My heart melted when Rory climbed up on my shoulder and knocked out.

According to Timehop, today marks the day I picked up Rory to live with me for all of evers! It’s crazy to think that it’s been a year since I’ve brought him home — I still have moments where I look at him and say, “Oh sh!t. I have dog!” I’ve been wanting a puppy ever since I was wee lass, but our household couldn’t accommodate a dog at the time, and I had this thing where I didn’t want to pick up dog poop. The site of fresh canine fecal matter alone set me on a gagging spree, so how was I supposed to clean up after a dog EVERYDAY? But my tune’s since changed, although I get enraged when I see random poop when I’m out and about because other people can’t seem to pick up after their own dogs… I mean, seriously. Is it that hard to put a plastic bag in your pocket or purse? But I digress.

It’s been an amazing year with my little companion. All the poop and pee spots I’ve had to pick up and wipe have been more than worth it because I LOVE this little dude like no other.

Sometimes you end up looking like your dog.

February 2012: Rory does not like the Cone of Shame.

April 2012: Rory wants Tim to play with him!

April 2012: Probably my favorite picture of Rory.

rory petsmart marvel comics the incredible hulk — May 2012: Rory at 8 months old.

rory havamalt puppy — Look at that sweet smile!

September 2012: Rory relaxing on his chaise lounge. Yes… he has one of those.

Rory and I during his little lion man haircut phase.

And thus concludes the pic spam of my little man.

Here’s to many more years of love and fluffiness! 🙂

bloop

I’m not dead yet…

August 8, 2012 Nina Penalosa2 Comments

Oh my, it’s been quite awhile since my last update hasn’t it? Ew. I just started a blog post with a question. Ever since my junior year of high school I’ve tried to avoid starting anything off with a question — my English teacher said it’s a cheap way to engage a reader. Sorry, Mr. G! And sorry to anyone who does happens to start off articles/posts/essays/etc. with questions… awkardly looks to the side and scrunches mouth.

But anyhow, I shall be writing about random and nerdtastic things here in a bit, including my attempt at an easy-peezy Nutella cookie recipe I found on Pinterest! However I’m working on a couple of posts that will be featured on other blogs. Bear with me please. 🙂

For now here’s a picture of Rory with a commission piece I had done by Jenny Parks, the creative master mind behind Doctor Mew! It’s Rory dressed as his namesake!!!

jenny parks commission doctor mew rory the last centurion roman — LOOK AT HOW AWESOME THIS PIECE OF ART IS. LOOK AT IT. LOOK!

And here’s Rory’s namesake (in case you’re not familiar with Doctor Who, and in case you’re not you should really acquaint yourself with it):

rory the last centurion roman doctor who arthur darvill — via Tumblr

TTFN!

pup life

Adventures in Petsitting

May 29, 2012 Nina PenalosaLeave a comment

winnie the pooh mug chihuahua — Hangin’ out with Jezi.

About two and a half weeks ago Tim’s mom and sister went to Ohio for a whole week and asked me if I would be able and willing to housesit/petsit for them. I said yes without hesitation! A whole week alone with dogs (and one cat)? HELL YES. Plus it feels nice that they trust me enough to stay in their home and look after their animals.

Taking care of Rory is a challenge in and of itself (he can be such a stubborn a$$hole!), and I had agreed to watch over their three beloved digs (not a typo, that’s what they call them), Brady, Schatzi, and Jezi, and cat, Molly. It felt a bit overwhelming, but I was up for the challenge. They’re good dogs anyway, so I wasn’t completely worried.

border collie german shepard — Brady and Schatzi napping on the futon barrier that was supposed to keep Rory from wandering around the house — he knows how to jump over it now, so… AH!

havamalt havanese maltese chihuahua — Rory and Jezi all nice bundled up.

I stopped by a few days before they left to see how they go about feeding them, and then I got a tour of all the little doohickies around the house (watering flowers, security alarms, etc). I also did a test run to see how they’d respond to me coming in and feeding them the day after. Luckily for me, they freakin’ love me — so it went well. 😀

german shepard australian cattle dog — Schatzi usually does her own thing when Rory and I are over, but she cuddled by me quite a few times and kept my feet warm. ❤

border collie — Every time Brady saw me pet Schatzi or call her, he’d come over and butt in to get all the pets and cuddles.

I was prepared for Brady’s thick drool to hit the hardwood floor come breakfast and dinner time (hence why a paper towel is placed on the floor by the food), I was prepared to hold him in case he had a random seizure, I was prepared for Jezi’s sneaky kisses and knew when to avert them (she’s sweet, but she eats poop), hell, I was even prepared to cleanup the litter box every other day. What I wasn’t prepared for was something else I didn’t even think would happen.

Poor Brady. That guy’s stomach is super sensitive. He ate Rory’s food when I was preparing their dinner. Later that night I was on the phone with Tim and that’s when I smelled the funk. “I think one of the dogs tooted… oh God, it’s so potent!” Several minutes later, it didn’t go away. I got off the couch to adjust myself and then I saw little brown spots around the table. I thought they could be mud prints from when I let them in. But they weren’t shaped like paws. And then I saw a big goopy brown sludge pile and that’s when my heart sank.

“Tim, I think one of the dogs had diarrhea.”

I was panicking. I got off the phone with Tim after freaking out (“Oh my God, Tim. Oh my God. Oh, it’s so gross. OH GOD, WHY? TIM, WHAT DO I DO?”), rolled up my sleeves, and got down to business… Mike Rowe style.

I’m glad no hidden cameras were placed around the house for reality show purposes because I was HORRIBLE. I made whiny noises, I constantly cried out, “OH MY GOD THIS IS SO GROSS!” And gagged numerous times. If I were being filmed for a reality show, Joel McHale would’ve probably featured me on The Soup and made fun of me to no avail. 😦

Brady had diarrhea the next day too. And to boot, Rory ate all kinds of plants when I let him outside to play with the other dogs, sooo he threw up quite a few times (he even puked on my Hello Kitty blanket and the blanket the digs sleep on in the family room). At one point, he had a root in his mouth that looked a lot like poop. He wouldn’t drop it, so I had to reach in and get it. AHH! Can you imagine taking out mysterious items out of your dog’s mouth?

border collie german shepard australian cattle dog — Brady and Schatzi.

chihuahua — fun fact: Jezi’s nickname is Wormtail.

havamalt havanese maltese puppy — Rory made himself at home right away (that’s also the blanket he puked on).

Long story short, I knew taking care of animals was going to be hard, I just didn’t realize it was going to be that hard. But despite the loose poop and puke, I enjoyed their company very much (animals > people, it’s a fact) and even offered to petsit again if they ever needed me to. 😀

the biblio files

B i b l i o p h i l e

April 9, 2012 Nina Penalosa7 Comments

When I was in school I was soooo frustrated with the amount of reading I had to do for all of my classes. I studied Creative Writing, so of course I knew what I was getting into. And like all my professors say, you can’t write unless you read. ‘Tis very true. And I liked a lot of the short stories and a handful of books that were assigned to me — I was just frustrated by the fact that I never had time to read the books that I wanted to read. Actually, that’s a lie. All the time I spent on Tumblr, Facebook, and Netflix (and sometimes I did all three at once), I could’ve been reading a book that I wanted to read for funsies. But… um… I didn’t.

Now that I’ve graduated and have more free time than I’d actually like to have, I DON’T READ OFTEN. What the hell is up with that? Starting from this month on, I’m challenging myself to read at least one book each week and write more. I finished reading The Pleasure of My Company by Steve Martin last week, and am starting The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger again. I started it a couple years ago and didn’t finish it, so I’m attempting it once more. I liked it, but for whatever reason I got distracted and never got around to finishing it. A lot of people have read this in high school; none of the English classes I took in high school had this book on the lesson plan, so I feel extremely deprived.

Other books I was deprived of in high school:

Brave New World by Aldous Huxly
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
1984 by George Orwell

Those are the only ones I can think of at the moment, but I know there’s more.

I’ve been told that The Catcher In The Rye is a book you either love or hate because the protagonist, Holden Caulfield, is a bit of a prick. One time on Facebook I took a quiz to see what literary character I am and my result was Holden. My sister said it fit because we’re both angsty. I’m glad she didn’t say because we’re both pricks. 🙂

Here are some other books I plan on starting/re-starting/re-reading this month:

an abundance of katherines john green — I got 'An Abundance of Katherines' over the weekend with my 15% off coupon! Tim just picked a random book off the shelf to take a picture with.

Looking For Alaska by John Green
An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
How To Be Good by Nick Hornby (started this earlier this year and got distracted)
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Stardust by Neil Gaiman (was in the middle of this years ago and had to put it away because of school)
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
Peep Show by Joshua Braff
Slaughter House Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Breakfast At Tiffany’s by Truman Capote (my favorite book of all evers)

Enough blogging about reading books. It’s SSR time!

pup life

Cone of Shame

February 18, 2012 Nina PenalosaLeave a comment

My poor little Rory is currently in a world of pain — he got his junk snipped off yesterday. In order to keep him from trying to lick his phantom sack, he has to wear the Cone of Shame! I feel really bad for my baby, he’s going to be rockin’ this thing for 2 weeks. Ahh! I was told that I could put him in a baby onsie since it’ll keep him from licking it. Anywho, after the surgery, my aunt and I went to Petsmart to buy him new food. She stayed inside the car with Rory, but when I got out he was yelping so loudly that people walking nearby looked to see where the commotion was coming from. Oh, and he totally peed on her too. He’s never peed on anyone before! I’m hoping it was just because he was startled and in pain.

Needless to say, with the condition he’s in, I’m in full-blown mommy mode. *serious face*

bloop

Sick Puppy

November 7, 2011 Nina Penalosa4 Comments

MY BABY IS SICK! D:

Yes, this means another non-fashiony-related post. Bear with me.

Yesterday Rory started throwing up after I gave him a treat for pooping on his potty pad (’cause that’s what you’re supposed to do when they do their business in the right spot, y’know?). We thought he would be okay, but he would NOT STOP PUKING.

I tried calling our regular vet since their business card says they’re open on Sundays (with an appointment only), but when I called and asked if I could come in, they were like, “Sorry, we’re closed today.” If you’re closed, then what the hell are you doing there answering the phone???

So my mom and I went to the emergency vet where he had a parvo test (twas negative, thank –insert deity-), an x-ray, and was injected with fluids. The doctor was saying how there were some odd bits in his x-ray.

I guess he has a lot of gassy stuff going on, which isn’t normal, and they think there might be some foreign body thing in there. To be honest, I’m a bit confused as to what’s going on because the whole time I was at the emergency vet, I was silently freaking out and could only process words like “he might need surgery.” And my mom and I were there for HOURS since we had to wait to hear from the radiologist about the x-ray. We never heard from him. Or her. I’ll just assume it’s a him because boys are full of disappointment. >_<

But he’s doing fine now, he hasn’t puked since we brought him to the vet. He’s eating again and is back to his mischievous old self. *wipes sweat off forehead*

His whole treatment basically cost the same amount as an Annual Pass to Disneyland. D:

This gif pretty much sums up how I feel about the whole situation:

I’m taking him to his regular vet for a check-up. I’m quite sure my little companion is going to be okay. 🙂

pup life

Welcome Home, Rory!

September 26, 2011 Nina Penalosa4 Comments

Saturday was quite a momentous day as I finally got to bring my little fluffaluffagus, Rory, home! I spent a good 2 days trying to get my room organized, and the purple paint job my dad and I did last week turned out really well… more on that some other day though. I picked Rory up around 5ish. He was the first of the litter to go home, all the puppies were causing a commotion and his mama kept jumping on me like, “Bitch, what the hell are you doing with my baby?!”

Once I put him in his booster seat he cried the whole way home and it frakin’ broke my heart! And since the harness I got didn’t fit him, he wasn’t completely secure in his seat, so I had one hand on the wheel and one on him (except for when doing turns, ’cause that shiz is dangerous!).

Rory had a lot of visitors when he came too! My aunts from the bay area were there to greet him, and they gave me a pack of peepee pads (now I have an endless supply of peepee pads!). After they left, Tim came along and brought Winnie the Pooh sugar cookies to celebrate, and then Jen came in tow with the bow ties she made for him. And she made them all in one day! 🙂

I noticed that Rory likes hiding in dark places — when we brought him to the kitchen he immediately hid under the microwave stand, and in my room he first went underneath my vanity, and then he made the bottom of my bed his bat cave. I even stuck his bed under there. 🙂

This morning my internal alarm went off at 3 am and Rory was up and about, and I fed him since he didn’t eat a lot yesterday. Somehow I managed to get him to take a poop on the peepee pad, but completely FAILED at making him pee on it. He was SO close to the pad too! *sigh* My mom came in my room around 6 and took him downstairs so I could sleep. Isn’t she nice?

I’m not gonna lie — these past few days have been slightly stressful as I try to teach him the ins and outs and figure out this potty training business, but I think this is whole experience is going to be good for me. It’s nice to have this puppy to take care of and love unconditionally. He is the only man whose shit I wanna deal with (literally and figuratively). 🙂

Oi, I’m so groggy. I’m gonna go see some tea about this.

pup life

Doctor Woof

September 2, 2011 Nina PenalosaLeave a comment

Last Saturday was mine and Tim’s SUPER EPIC SCOTT PILGRIM-DOCTOR WHO-STAR WARS-COOKIE BAKING DAY, but it was mostly filled with puppies, Doctor Who, and cookies. But really, you can’t go wrong with puppies, Doctor Who, or cookies. There’s all kinds of win in that combination!

First, we went to go visit Rory, but the owners weren’t home yet, so grabbed some lunch and headed to Target to look at the Star Wars toys and proceeded to drool over the new Lightsabers that made vwoomp noises. They even come with DVD tutorials on how to look like a badass while using them. WANT.

Afterwards we went back to see Rory, and Edgar (my Auntie Nelly’s co-worker/awesome dude who’s giving me my puppy) was cleaning the garage — he said it was starting to stink in there from all the puppy pee. Edgar brought the puppies out on the front lawn, so as he cleaned, Tim and I played with them. This was their first time outside of the garage! Rory seemed to really like hanging out in the dirt and took a nap.

I also bestowed Tim the honor of being Rory’s godfather. 🙂

A few days before my visit, Auntie Nelly told me Rory had an accident, and she said it in such a nonchalant manner too. I was like, “OH MY GOD. WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM?!” Poor little dude just got his furry butt stuck in a sticky mouse trap. Edgar further explained the incident to me. It happened in the wee hours of the night and he heard one of the puppies crying, and alas, it was Rory! He said he had to cut off some of his fur to get the sticky stuff off, but when I inspected him, I couldn’t tell that anything had happened.

All the puppies are supposed to get vaccinated and whatnot really soon. I was told that I get to bring Rory home sometime in October when he’s 2 months old. Plus he’s not able to eat super solid food yet since he doesn’t have all his teeth yet. Betty is the only one that’s developing — she has soo many teeth! Rory only has one tooth so far. Rory is also ridiculously mellow. Compared to the other pups he’s really quiet. The other boy in the litter is a little attention wh*re, always squeking and seeking your attention.

Anyway, the day continued with Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, but then right before the first evil ex fight I was like WE NEED TO BAKE COOKIES! I brought this cookie mix thingy back in January, but we always put it off. They turned out really fugly, but were super delicious, and that’s what counts most!

And they were ready just in time for the Mid-Season Premiere of Doctor Who entitled “Let’s Kill Hitler” and Rory (the character, not my dog) punched Hitler, told him to shut up, and stuck him in the cupboard!!!

My puppy’s namesake is such a BAMF. 😀

So yeah… that was my super epic day. WOOO!

pup life

It’s a boy!

August 7, 2011 Nina Penalosa3 Comments

I’m gonna be a mama [to a little puppy]!!!

Last week my dad had me look up different dog breeds after he saw a picture of a Pomsky (Pomeranian/Husky mix), he even asked me if I wanted a dog, which I thought was weird since I always assumed that we just weren’t a pet family (even though I begged for one for YEARS when I was a kid). I think my only issue with having a dog is having to constantly clean its crap. Whenever I’m out and about, I’m always on doodie patrol — meaning, I always watch where I step in case there’s dog poop. Would you believe me if I said I’ve only stepped in dog poop once? Well, it’s true.

Anyway, that same night my dad had me do doggie research, my aunt told me her co-worker’s dog just had puppies and offered one to her. I said I’d think about it since they’re Havamalts (Havanese/Maltese mix) — not exactly my dream dog (I like Mini Schnauzers, Corgis, & French Bulldogs), but then again I didn’t expect my first boyfriend to be a ginger (me gusta dark haired lads).

I did some research, deemed it a good fit and felt that I was ready to take on the responsibility, but figured I needed to meet the puppy before I seriously considered getting it.

So I met the litter today and this little dude was handed to me…

He was such a sweetheart! And he’s pretty tame compared to the other pups. I fell in love immediately. 😀

I’ll probably be able to take him home in two months since he’s still getting fed by his mama, which gives me ample time to figure out this problem: What am I going to name him?

I’ve been toying with naming him after some of my favorite TV characters, such as Rory Williams Pond from Doctor Who or Dr. Simon Tam from Firefly. I really want to name him Rory, but…

I’m not sure if he looks like a Rory. Havamalts are really cutesy, and Rory is a badass.
My dad and grandpa would have a really hard time saying his name.
I might have a hard time saying his name. x___x

My mom keeps saying she likes the name Chuck, as in the nerd turned super-spy that Zachary Levi plays on the show of the same name. She asked me to put the name into consideration, so I have.

I’m leaning towards Simon since he’s a pretty boy, and the dog will end up looking pretty too. It makes sense! But I’ll be visiting him every now and then to better bond with him, so I’ll see what name I think suits him best as I get to know him.

Here are the possible namesakes of my puppy: