The Sweet Life with our Dogs

Charotte at 8 weeks old, Hazel 31/2 > Charlotte at 7 months, Hazel 4 years



Ian and I have two amazing dogs in our lives: Hazel, a Staffordshire Terrier (pit and Terrier mix,) and Charlotte, a Papillon. They are the cutest things ever, and sometimes we look at each one and think, "Gosh, could we ever find a better dog than you."
Hazel, we found at Ian's old apartment complex in Costa Mesa. Ian always wanted a pit bull, but we weren't sure where to find one, where to look. Pit bulls can be tricky dogs to own. They have a bad stereotype, and it really does make a difference where you buy them from. One day, Ian was walking through the parking lot of his apartment complex and came across a couple walking this beautiful bronze colored dog. He stopped them to ask where they got her, and they said from a shelter. But, they were looking for a new home for her, as they were about to have a baby and did not feel they could have a young pit around a new born baby. Ian immediately offered to take her. They let us 'test drive' her for a weekend, and boy that was interesting!
We were not sure what to do with her at first. Was she hungry? Should we take her for a walk? Should we play tug of war, or run her around? Will she like us? We ended up taking her to the beach, and played with her in the water. Hazel does this Baywatch head swing thing, where she acts as if she is flipping her hair and running into the ocean. Its more of a goofy head swing then anything. But, she is such a character when she runs.
Being at the beach, it was fun to see her so playful. It made us really excited to have her eventually as our dog! At one point, she ran into the breaking waves and acted like she was searching for something. The next thing we knew, she caught a fish in her mouth, out of the ocean! Ian fell in love with her at that point, and Hazel was dubbed the coolest dog ever! We gave her back to her previous owners for about a week, and settled on only paying for her dog bed, toys and food. As for Hazel herself, she was free!!
The first few months with her was freak'n crazy! We were a millimeter close to getting rid of her. One night after being out, Hazel was left in Ian's old apartment by herself. She seemed to have been really bored while we were gone, because she managed to pull all of Ian's roommate's sheets off his bed and bring them into Ian's room. Then, Ian's sheets and comforter were in the living room, there were about 3 pee spots on the carpet, and the bag of tortilla chips that purposely was pushed all the way back against the back splash in the kitchen was all over the floor in minuscule pieces. Ian had a small balcony at that time so he felt bad leaving her out there. After this, that was her only option. This sort of behavior happened for a good 4 months. Another incident was at Ian's second apartment before we moved in together. His roommate offered to take care of Hazel for the weekend while we went to visit some family. We received a call from his roommate that Hazel had bolted out the front door when he was going to get the mail, and seemingly ran to Timbuktu. No one could find her! We decided to drive home to try to find her. On the way home, Ian received a call from Hazel's first owner that the animal society had found her and contacted him because his name was still connected to her microchip. We were so embarrassed to have not changed her chip information yet, but was so thankful that she was okay. The next day when the shelter opened, Ian went to go pick her up. It turned out that being registered in Costa Mesa did not carry over to being registered in San Climente, where Ian lived then. They gave him a 'ticket' of some sort that said if he didn't re-register her in 10 days, he would be called to go to court. All this for running away.
Hazel really did not mature much until we had her for about a year. She was a tough cookie, and almost lost us for good! But now, she is the most sweetest, cuddly, and loving dog imaginable. We honestly can not imagine living without her. She is irreplaceable. She has to be the best dog, and pit bull ever to be owned by anyone. We love her so much.



Then, little miss Charlotte came into the picture. I have never raised a puppy before. We bought her when she was only 8 weeks old. She will turn one on April 22nd this year.
I have been wanting to buy a new puppy for a long time. I was just waiting for the right time and place to get another dog. I started seriously looking for one right around the time Ian was graduating from the police academy. My mom was visiting for the weekend for Ian's graduation. We ended up finding a litter of Papillon puppies north of us on the 5 freeway. Ian called the number listed, and it turned out they only had one left. They sent us a picture, and I fell in love. So, we hopped in the car and drove to a Carl's Junior parking lot on the Grape Vine. We parked next to a beat up blue car, who was the owner of Charlotte's parent. It was a bit if a shady switcharoo (it was a typed up paragraph for a contract that we both signed) and they accepted cash only which was understandable. When he pulled her out of the cage in his beat up back seat, she was the cutest little thing I could have ever imagined. She was sleeping, and was so little, so fragile, so young. We drove back home with her sleeping on my lap. I was so excited to have my own puppy to take care of! The next event to plan out was introducing her to the big sis, Hazel!
We weren't sure how they both were going to react. I was hoping Charlotte had the tough gene to withstand a muscular pitbull as a partner in crime. To our surprise, Hazel took on a motherly role immediately, and they both started to sniff and lick eachother. We only let them play together while we were present because Charlotte was still very little and fragile. I didn't want Hazel to get too excited and bulldoze her. Charlotte ended up having tape worm for most of her puppy-hood. We didn't know what kind of worm it was until all other medicines failed, and she finally had a tape worm shot that got rid of them completely. Thank the heavens!!



Now, Hazel and Char are best of friends. It is so amazing to see such a strong big dog, and such a girly little dog play and live together like they were of the same litter. I think Charlotte thinks she is a big dog, and Hazel thinks she is a lap dog. They sleep together, play together, chase eachother, eat eachother's food, watch out for eachother, and love eachother. We are so lucky for that!

Chronicles and a little Twilight

I never was good at keeping a journal. But, I never wanted to forget anything I have been through either. My sister has collected maybe 10 journals through the years, she has written in one after another . She used to write in them all the time. It would inspire me to write in my own journal, but I would never keep it up. Since technology allows us now to blog on the web, I have decided this is my way of keeping track of my life, and things I think about. I think it would be interesting to read back what I wrote, and what I was thinking at that time and age to reminisce. So maybe, you might see me posting blogs reminiscing of my trips to Europe with Sophie and Casey. Or maybe the memories I had of my dad and grandfather. Or even my high school times with my best friends, being a cheerleader, and being on the dance team. Also, meeting my good friends from College, and how I decided to do what I ended up doing. Those were too good of times to forget!

I think this is my time to try things I thought I would never like. Take reading for example! I was forced in High School to pick from a list of 5 books, and to choose 3 for my summer reading ever year. How would every single person in my class be interested in all 3 books they had to choose? The only one I remember liking was the book Hiroshima and maybe the Shakespeare novels. Other than that, I was not interested. I think I didn’t like being forced to do things, and so I learned to see it as a punishment rather than a hobby or favorite past time. Until…… Twilight came to Earth! My mom laughed over the phone when I told her what I had accomplished in reading the series. I read all four books in 6 weeks! For some people like my sister, that’s nothing. To me, that’s everything!! I read the 2nd book in three days. That is unheard of in my brain! I loved the story, and I wanted to read more and more! Ian didn’t like it so much when I came home from work and darted straight for my book, reading it until 11 or 12 at night; he sort of felt like the neglected child. Well, at least it passed quickly! Besides The Notebook, Twilight was the only other book I read before seeing the movie. THIS began my newfound love for reading. Granted, I have not picked up another book yet, but I plan to get to the bookstore soon or take a suggestion from my sister.

Blogging, reading, writing, getting glasses, I have become a nerd.

Valentine's Weekend 2009 in Bass Lake

Ian and I decided to take a trip to Bass Lake for Valentines weekend, by Yosemite National Park. It reminded me a lot of Lake Tahoe, my childhood vacation spot. Ian grew up taking trips to Bass Lake with his family. So he was familiar with the area, roads, and scenery. We decided to stay at the Pines Lodge, which was so fun and gorgeous! It was snowing pretty much all week before we went. On the drive there on Friday night the 13th, we definitely were hydroplaning all over the place from the icy roads! It snowed all day friday too, even when we arrived. Luckily, we had Ian's big truck with 4 wheel drive. It was scary though, but pretty!
We got in Friday night about 10:30 pm. We both were tired. Ian was tired from driving so tentatively for the few hours up the icy mountain, and I was tired from a long week of work. All we wanted to do was go to sleep! Ian had the 2 weeks prior off work, a standard mandatory vacation period given to officers every year. Paid and all!
Saturday we went out on the town, mostly exploring. We found this little restaurant/bar called the Buckhorn Saloon. It was Ian's heaven! They had really good food, and was decorated like something straight out of a small town in the south. They had shotgun shells as hanging lights, deer and boar heads on the walls, and a big bear with a t-shirt on in the corner. They had pool tables, funny white trash signs, country music playing, and it was full of locals. I felt a little city girl-ish with my Ugg boots and Chanel sunglasses. But it was fun!
Then we went shopping in town. We found a cute salt and pepper shaker set with John Wayne on the salt shaker, which is a mini coffee canister, and the pepper shaker is a mini coffee mug.
We love John Wayne in our house, he is the decor in some small places!
That night, we dressed up a bit, as much as we could for the maybe 30 degree weather, and went to the lodge restaurant for dinner. They had a fixed menu for Valentines day, $75.00 per person!! The front desk gave us a $50.00 coupon when we checked in, so that definitely helped! Otherwise, I am not sure if we would have gone. Thank the lord the food was amazing!! It could have been one of the best meals I have ever had. We both had Fillet Mignon, and Shrimp Scampi. And, they had a violinist playing the whole time. It was a 4 course meal: soup, salad, entree and desert. At the end, they gave me a pretty red flower with the check.
After that, we finished the night off at the bar, which was so much fun! They had a live band playing music my mom would have loved. Mustang Sally etc. They even played Nickleback, and Sublime! It was fun. I had a Vodka Tonics with extra lime, Ian had his usual Jack and Coke!

Here are some pictures of the Pines Lodge, and where we stayed and ate.



This is the front of the lodge in the snow. We even had more snow than this!! The lake is behind the building.


These are the Chalets we stayed in. Ours was up the street to the left. Our balcony was facing the forest, which was beautiful because it was full of snowy branches and sunlight.


This is the restaurant where we ate. Our table is actually about where the person stood to take this picture. The big windows look out to the lake. They had pink and purple balloons scattered around. It was so perfect and cozy!

Family Look -a- likes!!

Family member look-a-likes!  More to come as I think of them....

Caity and Gwyneth Paltrow

Jenny and Jewel

Wendy and Carrie Underwood

Caitlin and Ashley Judd

Sophie and Audrey Hepburn

Ian and Leaf Erickson

Me and Jessica Biel... just cause everyone tells me so!!

My first blog... call it crazy... but I have chosen to give beauty tips!!

I am one to go into a department or drug store and walk up and down the beauty isles for what it seems like hours. For anyone else who comes with me, it may seem like days!  I love reading labels, instructions, or ingredients, and then take them home and try them out. I have always collected make-up and skin care products. I like to be the 'go to' girl for my friends and family. What made me think to start a blog was this topic. You may think thats crazy... but this is my blog and this is what interests me! Besides, I realized that there needs to be a purpose of collecting all this information, other than my own benefit.

So here are some tips I have discovered:

* The best eye concealer in the world:

When I worked for Clinique about 3-4 years ago, they came out with an all in one eye concealer called, "All About Eyes Concealer". It is an eye moisturizer, puffy eye reducer, and cover up all in one. Thier "All About Eyes" is this really awesome eye cream I use to use, until they came out with the concealer that had the cream in it. I thought that was the best idea! Save money using one product instead of 2! This sells for about $16.00.

Then when I became a poor college student, I discovered a drug store brand that does the same thing for less! Hence my wonderful discoveries I must share! I have used it since.

It is the "Neutrogena 3 in 1 Eye Concealer". But this eye concealer has a SPF 20 suncreen as well! It sells for about $9.79. But, it lasts for a long time and it doesn't loose its tenacity or fresh feeling. I also use it on the top of my lids because concealer can help your eye shadow or liner last longer. 100% recommended!

Quick Tip: I recommend using a different eye concealer and imperfection concealer. I use Revlon's ColorStay Blemish Concealer for my imperfections as it has 0.5% salicylic acid in it, and it won't make your problems worse. Anything with salicylic acid in it treats and helps reduce breakouts. But it can also be too harsh for the sensitive skin around your eyes. So stick to where they are meant to be used.

* Mineral vs Liquid foundation:

In my own experience with foundation, I have gone back and forth between liquid and mineral. I think there are different reasons why you would choose one or the other, and it is particular for each individual. I have found the Mineral foundation is the best to give medium to full coverage, and lasts longer over moisturizer and concealer. Liquid foundation is better for dry skin types. Also a tinted liquid moisturizer or liquid foundation with SPF 20 is the best for the beach, because you don't want to wear anything to heavy while your pores are larger due to heat and possibly sweating. And its instant SPF and coverage in one. I like the tinted SPF moisturizers with added shimmer or bronzer to accentuate the sunkissed look. And for the shinny areas like your T-zone... I use a little bit of loose powder. And there is my sun look!

My recommended Mineral foundation is either Bare Minerals (which goes for about $25) or the Physicians Formula Talc free Mineral Wear (which is about $11 at the drug store).

I have now been using the Physicians Formula for over a year, and it is the best I have found yet! It is great for extra sensitive and break-out prone skin, and it will give you all the coverage you need! 

I'd say one lasts for about 3 months. And, The best brush to use for the mineral makeup is a Kabuki brush. This make-up comes with a mini one, but I always use the full size.

Quick Tip: The brush needs to be cleaned every month or so with light soap and water or you can buy a make-up brush cleaner. This is because bacteria can build up on it from the oils on your face and whatever else it touches. This can contribute to breakouts.

* Lipstick, Lip Gloss or Chapstick? :

I think, again, there is a place and time to choose to use all of these. Really, you should always have something on your lips. You can be lip product addicted like me!

For every day use, I always have chapstick. Any of the "Chapstick" brands are the best. I have tried others and I always go back to the basic. Buy the 3 pack, so you can have one in your purse, one on your desk at work, and one by your bed. (I actually do this, and I never get chapped lips!) The cherry one has a little bit of a tint, but my favorite is the medicated light blue Chapstick. It has a bit of menthol and it is refreshing.

Lip gloss is fun, because it can be the only thing you wear on your face, and it will brighten you up! I tend to stick to the pink-nude colors. Nude is trendy right now, but not the 70's gogo look, but the barely there with a little bit of shimmer and shine look. If you are more of a red girl than pink, the cherry red colors are fresh and youthful, because when you put it on, lip gloss will never be as sharp of a color as it is in the tube. It will look like you just ate some really juicy strawberries! Right now, I am into the Victoria's Secret Lip Gloss tubes. They can be a bit sticky... and this could be why you choose not to wear lip gloss. But, if you are about to take a picture, its the easiest and most effective additive to your face!

Quick Tip: Guys don't like getting lip gloss on them, like my boyfriend. So when in doubt... use tinted chapstick!

Lipstick is the most classic and stand out type of lip product. Red lips are back in, it never really leaves the trend cycle, but how you wear it with your eye make-up is what cycles out. No matter what, I say choose one or the other. More eye make-up, or darker lip color. Red lips with nude eyes and extra mascara is classic. Make sure your eyebrows are groomed and fill in where needed. I use Benefit Brow Zings, which includes a wax to shape, a powder to fill in your brow, a hard angle brush and even little tweezers. I think this product is the most natural looking way to enhance your eyebrows.

Quick Tip: You can change the whole look of your face if your eyebrows are groomed and plucked. You can go from looking drab to fab. Promise! Even if it is the only thing you do to your face, its necessary!

I know I will have more discoveries as I go about my days.  More to come!