Life as a dog mom!

Testing blogger mobile!

2012-02-01T23:20:00.001-08:00

I love the idea of writing from anywhere at anytime from my iPhone! Blogger launched an app and so far we like it :)
I still have to find out how to reduce the pictures, they appear too large !

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-23T09:28:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and happy New Year Everyone !!!!

See you all in 2012 :)

Welcome Fall!

2011-11-27T11:08:00.001-08:00

It is getting colder in the Bay Area, but Cinnamon does not seem to mind. Having a thick coat, fall and winter are refreshing for Cinny.

The walks around the neigboorhood are more pleasant too. Trees changing colors, leaves falling on the ground, and a clear sky make us forget about Summer days.

Are you enjoying this season as much as we do?

I hope so!

Shih Tzu world!

2011-11-26T19:44:00.001-08:00

Shih Tzu Lovers

If you live in the Bay Area and are a Shih Tzu parent then you must join this group. This group of Shih Tzu lovers meets the last Saturday of every month in San Francisco at Alta Vista Park. These little guys are very friendly and as cute as Cinnamon. Cinnamon wagged her tail as soon as she saw all the ewok faces and looked comfortable being around her own kind :)

Cinnamon and two new friends!

One year old Shih Tzu!

You can see most of SF streets from Alta Vista Park.

Yappy Howloowing!

2011-10-31T13:14:00.000-07:00

Hellowww friends!! It is Halloween and my momma is going to take me trick or treating, but I can't decide which outfit makes me look hot!!! Help!!--Cinnamon

I am a Vietnamese dog, Xin Chao!

I am a Lady!.....bug!

Have a safe and fun Halloween and take all the treats if no one is watching you :)
Loves, Cinny!

Mendocino according to Cinnamon

2011-09-03T22:40:00.000-07:00

"Mendocino rocks"

"woof.....If you are a dog parent and live in the Bay Area, CA you must visit Mendocino and bring your dog child along. This beautiful small town offers many dog friendly activities."

"Sand in Mendocino beach is tasty"

"woof....we were there last week and let me tell you that it was an awesome experience. I went to the beach (off leash), saw some nasty clams, went biking with my parents, canoeing, visited a botanical garden and more beach. My mom put together a photo slide about our adventure:

"Here are some recommendations if you are planing on going there."
Accommodation:
- Mendocino Seaside Cottage. I give this place five paws up because it had everything a dog can dream of from a temporal home; hot tub with a fire place, full kitchen, private deck, ocean views, and a big back yard for me to run around. Ask for the Tropical room :) Oh and the owner was just amazing, he made sure our stay was enjoyable.
To Dos:
- Mendocino beach. Not sure if this was an off leash beach, but people there are so friendly that did not mind me running around off leash.
- Catch a Canoe. My favorite part was canoeing. This place allows dogs on the canoes and they even have life jackets if your parents forget to get you one.
- Biking around the Big River trail with amazing views.
- Botanical Gardens in Fort Brag. Just 10 minutes away from Mendocino is the Botanical Gardens and yes, dogs on leash are allowed as well! If you bring your lunch you can have a nice picnic on the garden.
- Noyo Beach, Fort Brag. I didn't like these beach very much. There were a lot of wood sticks everywhere and boat sirens go off every 30 seconds, very annoying!!!!!

Cute pic of the day!

2011-08-19T00:11:00.000-07:00

If dogs can pray they would look like Cinny, She is ready for Sunday Church and is rehearsing her praying: "Oh doG almighty please send me more cookies, amen"

Church lady Cinny-Praise the lord!!!

And here is Cinnamon's long time boyfriend Burger asking her for a date. Burger to Cinny: "My lady please let me take you out, I'll show you the best spots to pee and I promise not to look"

Cinny: "Romeo Romeo where are you Romeo"

Have a yappy day :)

Cycling trough the bay

2011-07-13T23:57:00.000-07:00

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, as always during summer, it was cold brrrr!

Summer adventures continue and the past weekend the hubby, I and Cinny headed to San Francisco to bike 20 miles to Tiburon, CA. It was an exhausting trip, but oh so worth it!! The views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the city were spectacular and Cinny was introduced to new dog friendly parks along our way.

Foggy day at SF.

Crissy Fields, Cinny was in heaven at this beach.

Another beach in Tiburon, CA

Last pose before heading back home

This last picture of Cinnamon expresses how I felt after cycling 20 miles!!! I was so exhausted that I did not feel like taking pictures of Tiburon, which I regret now because this town has the most beautiful houses I have ever seen, most of them with majestic views of the ocean (or bay). I was like a kid in a candy store, "I want this house, and that one, oh maybe that other one too" .....(long sigh here)...Now, I am adding "a beach house" to my list of dreamy houses :)

Dogs don't care about looks!

2011-07-05T23:13:00.000-07:00

Cinnamon after rubbing herself against the dirt, she looks happy!

No matter how careful I am to make sure Cinnamon's fur remains clean and pretty after a hike, she takes every opportunity that I am not watching to rub herself against dirt or mud. And oh my she gets filthy very filthy!

This is Cinny taking a dirt bath!

Why dogs rub in the dirt or smelly things, who knows but I heard that it goes back to long ago when wild dogs used to hunt and would roll on the ground to hide their odor from prey. Smelly things were the best way to disguise their natural odor.

Unfortunately, my babe inherited this instinct and rubs herself in the dirt, other dogs pee or duck poop...yucky.

My little monster had too much fun that day!

She may not care the way she looks, or smells but mommy does. So she got a long and refreshing shower that day followed by a puppy cologne :)

Bicycle Trailer

2011-07-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

HoundAbout™ Bicycle Trailer

After doing our research online, we found this dog trailer on Amazon and decided to try it after seeing many good reviews.

- They come in 2 sizes. We got the medium size (available in red only) and it fits perfectly for our bike and for Cinnamon. It can carry up to 50 pounds.

- It is very spacious, we carry water bottles and some treats inside!!

- It is sturdy, we tried it on dirt and rocky areas and it still remained in one piece.

- Easy to assemble.

- It has great view from inside, lots of windows so dogs don't' get bored.

- The price was decent, google it online and you may find more affordable ones, and used ones too!

- Cinnamon LOVES it!

Gear up for Summer!

2011-06-30T18:42:00.000-07:00

Shih Tzu Aboard

Summer is here finally! What can I say, we LOVE outdoor activities. There is nothing like breathing fresh air and feeling the wind caressing your face. We decided to spend as much time as we can this Summer doing outdoor stuff like running, hiking and biking. All of these WITH Cinnamon!

After four years of not touching a bike, I am on the road biking again, and the word that comes to my head is freedom. I cant believe I waited so long to get a new bike. We also got a basket for Cinnamon so she can join us. However, this was not a good idea. The basket was not safe and Cinny fell down once, but did not get hurt, thank God!!!!

My brand new bike!

So we ended up ordering a dog bike cart online, and so far it did not disappoint. It is secure, roomy, easy to handle and Cinnamon loves it!! I will post a review of this cart with more specific info and where to get it in a later post. Yay for Summer!

No it's not a human baby!

More Shih Tzu Art!

2011-06-01T01:30:00.000-07:00

I am not a profesional artist, but I enjoy painting and drawing. All my projects are related to Cinnamon because I am obsessed with her :)

Here are some examples:

Cinnamon in oil.

Cinnamon in Digital pencil.

Shih Tzu: Cinnamon drawing made on Ipad.

Shih Tzu Silhouette

Last snow days!

2011-04-28T16:00:00.000-07:00

Cinnamon enjoying her last day on the mountains!

It is sad to say good bye to winter. No more ski trips, snow-ball wars, cuddling next to the fire place and hot chocolate :(

We took our last trip to Tahoe and took Cinny with us. She had a lot of fun digging through the cold snow looking for her ball.

Cinny wearing her warm and cozy snow jacket, very fashionable!

We are going to miss you winter, but it is time to move on and say welcome back Spring which means even more trips, camping adventures, hiking and visits to the park :) amen!!!

Cinny getting some fresh air after a long hike! Hurray for warm days :)

Shih Tzu amigurumi!!!

2011-03-15T22:44:00.000-07:00

Baby shih tzu doll!

Crocheting is one of my many ways of distracting my mind from negative thoughts, and is very therapeutic as well as fun! I love making dolls, you can see some of them here. This time I was inspired by my lovely pup Cinnamon and decided to make her a "mini me" doll.

Cinnamon and her mini twin!

She looks adorable, don't you think?

Humm.... I am not sure if Cinnamon liked her mini me doll!!! why the sad face???

Feels like Summer in the Bay!!

2011-02-09T18:19:00.000-08:00

Fort Funston, CA

The weather in the Bay Area has been crazy lately. Mornings and evenings are freezing, but in the afternoon it feels like Summer again!
Last weekend we reached 80 degrees and it was a good excuse to take the doggies to the beach and they had a blast :)

Burger and I didn't feel like looking at the camera!

My hubby and the kids :)

Love birds!

I can't imagine how the actual Summer is going to be, but I foresee many more trips to this beautiful place!

Sunday Puppy Bowl!

2011-02-06T20:08:00.000-08:00

While everyone was watching the Super Bowl, these little fellas were enjoying watching puppies playing football on Animal Planet.

Derby and Burger (Westie and Maltese) did not want to miss the action.

Cinnamon (shih Tzu): "Mom please no more pictures, I'm missing the action"

Hope you all had a relaxing weekend, watching the super bowl or doing something better :)

Vintage Cinny!

2011-02-02T17:50:00.000-08:00

This is one of the cutest vintage video maker ever! You can get it for your iPhone on the app store for a very reasonable price! Cinny looks adorable :)

The hard life of dog owners!

2011-01-28T13:20:00.000-08:00

Melissa, her pups, Cinny and I enjoying our walk!

Last year we had a photo shoot adventure with the dogs. One of my friend's friend, who is a photographer, asked us if we could help him perfection his photography skills. Of course we gave him paws up!! These are some of the photos:

Me, Mel and KJ

Mommy and pooch!

Cinnamon being a super model!

We had fun posing for the cameras and it was nice to have the dogs being part of the experience. I think Cinny wants to be a prawwfessional model ;)

Home grooming!

2011-01-11T13:22:00.000-08:00

Cinny after her home grooming :)

Shih Tzus are one of the most expensive dogs when it comes to grooming. Cinnamon needs a trim every two-three weeks and taking her to a doggie spa is something I cannot afford any longer :(

So I went to the store and purchased a dog clipper to trim my baby myself and save me some bucks.

I do not have experience trimming a dog, but after watching how-to-do videos online I trained myself to do it, and this is the end result:

I kept Cinny's hair longer, it looks like she has pants on!

And trimmed her face so I can see her beautiful eyes!

If you need a basic and easy to use dog clipper check the Andis Easy Clip grooming kit! I got mine at Petsmart and I really like it, comes in pink too!

Dog mommy of the month!

2011-01-05T17:57:00.000-08:00

Melissa, a happy dog mommy of two lovely pups!

I present you Melissa. Melissa is mom of Burger (Westie) and Derby (Maltese). Burger is Cinnamon's boyfriend.

I always wanted to have dogs, and when I meet Melissa and her pups I could not stop thinking about adopting one, and months later I got Cinnamon!

These pictures are from a photo shoot we had last year.

Melissa is a very sweet person with a huge heart. We both love our pups; we would be a real family if Burger asks Cinnamon's paw (wink, wink).

Every time Mel and I get together, we talk about living in a big city like New York or San Francisco, being neighbors and going shopping everyday! How fun would that be?

Since we both enjoy cooking and baking, we started our own little business called SUGAR THERAPY.

Burger and Derby

If you are interested in knowing more about Melissa you can visit her blog here.

New bed for Cinny!

2010-11-10T22:53:00.000-08:00

After two years Cinnamon finally got a brand new bed!!! When we went to Petsmart Cinny was interested in all Martha Stwart pet collection, specially this bed!! I loved the color and the design, so we could NOT leave the store with a new bed for her.

It took a while for Cinnamon to get used to the bed, but after sniffing around and putting her scent on it, she was sleeping like a babe dreaming about her love Burger!

Using her bed for the first time!

Martha Stewart has interesting stuff for dogs check them out here.

Halloween!!

2010-11-08T23:08:00.000-08:00

I'm a lady bug!

I only like halloween because I get to dress up Cinnamon and go trick or treating with her. This year we went to Happy go Lucky dog boutique for a Halloween event. Cinny had a lovely lady bug costume and she was the best (at least in my mommy eyes). They had dog contests and free treats for humans as well. Here are some of the cutest dogs and funny costumes:

This tinny guy was the cutest walking around in his spider-dog costume!

A prisoner :(

My cutie pie!

Yorkie spider!

This dog looks like Bella a lot!

A shih tzu bee!

There were too many bug costumes, I guess they are popular!! Next year I'm going to be more creative and try a different costume for my babe!!! I hope all the dogs out there had a fun Halloween and lots of treats :)

Kjersti and Garbanzo!

2010-10-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

Presenting mom Kjersti and Garbanzo!

I present you lovely Kjersti and Garbanzo!

Kjersti was my first friend at SCU, we took the same classes together for the first trimester and I enjoyed her company a lot!

KJ is a very beautiful person inside and out! She is not scared of showing her emotions which is something I admire. I also admire her dedication to exercising and being healthy. She has her own inspiring website where she provides tips and useful information for runners check it out here.

This is Garbanzo, he was in love with Cinnamon when he first met her, but Cinnamon was not interested in him :( . He is a rescued dog and that alone tells you a lot about KJ and her compassion for dogs.

These two don't get along, but Garb doesn't give up!

KJ and me at our graduation day!

After three long years of grad school Kjersti and I were proudly posing for the cameras last June :) It was just funny how we started school together and ended up sitting next to each other at the graduation ceremony!!

Keep inspiring people dear KJ!

Spider-dog!

2010-10-06T18:22:00.000-07:00

The biggest spider I've seen!!

Walking around the park with Cinny we encountered with this big monster yesterday!! It was the biggest spider I've seen in the wild!....Cinny was staring at it and I wonder what she was thinking! I was thinking about the movie spiderman...but in this case if Cinny were bitten she would be Spider-Dog!!!!! :)

I wish I had my Canon with me, but the pics from my iPhone are not bad at all!

Next day we came back to the crime scene with camera in hand, but sadly found nothing! I don't like bugs, but I was sad thinking that someone destroyed her spider web, it was huge, and the poor spider is now without a house :(

Bye bye yucky spider, just don't come around our place!!!

Autie Martha and Bella!

2010-10-04T14:22:00.000-07:00

Bella the pug (like all sisters, she and Cinny fight sometimes, but they love each other)

This is Martha, she loves Bella and admits being obsessed with her!

Another beautiful dog mommy is my dearest friend Martha! We met three years ago when neither of us was a mom yet. I really liked her from the beginning, her personality reminded me of my own mother. Martha is not afraid of saying what is on her mind and most people are not comfortable with that, but I consider it one of her best personality features! I am always amazed of how hard she works. She is always on the go with tons of activities here and there, but somehow she finds time for friends and her baby pug.

I love spending time with her, laughing at random and silly comments we/people make. The day she told me she was going to adopt Bella I was very excited because I knew that having a dog will bring us close together even more, and it did!

One of our many adventures together!

Yay for dog moms!

Next blogs: KJ, Missy!