I realize I could never be a full time blogger. I get too busy and then forget to write a post. There's just been so many things going on.
***Just a heads up, this will be a long post!***
About a month ago we went out to Oregon and met with a breeder. We're excited to say we're getting a puppy! So, how did we magically decide we wanted to get a puppy? Well, we knew we were going to get a dog together sometime. Wayne grew up having a Boston Terrier while I grew up having a German Shorthaired Pointer. I would absolutely love to have another GSP but they're bigger dogs and need a backyard to play around in. I know some people keep big dogs in the city but I would feel bad not having a yard and safe area for the GSP to play in. Boston Terriers are nice dogs, but we were both drawn to corgis because they're cute as hell.
We also realized that there will never be a perfect time in life. We wanted to get a dog but then we moved to Seattle. Then both of our siblings were getting married in the same year. It was a lot and we both didn't want to bring a dog into our lives only to keep it kept in a cage while we had prior commitments. So, we decided after Wayne's sisters wedding to adopt a dog and finally bite the bullet.
I did some research on breeders and found most of the local Washington ones had a waitlist. We weren't willing to wait around so I looked outside of the state. I didn't want to have a dog shipped on a plane to us and luckily I found a breeder on the border of Oregon and Washington. I was happy when I talked to her because she was prompt in getting back to us and asked us if we'd want to see the puppies in person. I took this as a good sign because I wanted to talk to the breeder, see the momma dog's temperament and see where they grew up.
The trek out to meet the breeder took us 4 1/2 hours. Most people wouldn't do this for a dog, but we're not like most people. :)
There were actually a lot of wine farms.
It was kind of neat to see all the farms and trees. When we pulled up to the Breeder's ranch she greeted us and showed us the first litter.
They were so tiny and adorable! We were taken aback by how cute they were! The breeder said she has been raising corgi's for 12 years and that only a few female puppies were left. The momma corgi of the first litter was a bit cautious near us. She would let us touch her puppies but she kept a watchful eye on them. I also noticed the puppies that were available weren't really responsive. The ones that were responsive were the ones that were already taken.
This little gem, was called Lexi. She was all over me when I walked in. She was very friendly and wanted to be petted. We then asked the breeder if we could see the second litter (Lexi's litter.) I was drawn to her temperament as she was very calm but friendly towards us. This is her smiling.
There were only two females available. One was the runt of the litter and the other one was the puppy we went with. I wanted to take the runt just because she was so small, but the breeder said she wasn't sure how she would be health wise. Plus, I noticed the runt wasn't really responsive. We decided it might be best to take the other female. The puppy we chose is the one with the white diamond spot on her back.
My new job is going well. So far, I like the people and my boss is really nice. It's a bit stressful since things are as structured. The HR Business Partner's want me to help with a lot of things on their side while my boss wants me to help her with compensation/benefits stuff. We're kind of waiting till the Director of HR comes back from vacation to align us so hopefully it will be a bit smoother.
***Just a heads up, this will be a long post!***
About a month ago we went out to Oregon and met with a breeder. We're excited to say we're getting a puppy! So, how did we magically decide we wanted to get a puppy? Well, we knew we were going to get a dog together sometime. Wayne grew up having a Boston Terrier while I grew up having a German Shorthaired Pointer. I would absolutely love to have another GSP but they're bigger dogs and need a backyard to play around in. I know some people keep big dogs in the city but I would feel bad not having a yard and safe area for the GSP to play in. Boston Terriers are nice dogs, but we were both drawn to corgis because they're cute as hell.
We also realized that there will never be a perfect time in life. We wanted to get a dog but then we moved to Seattle. Then both of our siblings were getting married in the same year. It was a lot and we both didn't want to bring a dog into our lives only to keep it kept in a cage while we had prior commitments. So, we decided after Wayne's sisters wedding to adopt a dog and finally bite the bullet.
I did some research on breeders and found most of the local Washington ones had a waitlist. We weren't willing to wait around so I looked outside of the state. I didn't want to have a dog shipped on a plane to us and luckily I found a breeder on the border of Oregon and Washington. I was happy when I talked to her because she was prompt in getting back to us and asked us if we'd want to see the puppies in person. I took this as a good sign because I wanted to talk to the breeder, see the momma dog's temperament and see where they grew up.
The trek out to meet the breeder took us 4 1/2 hours. Most people wouldn't do this for a dog, but we're not like most people. :)
There were actually a lot of wine farms.
It was kind of neat to see all the farms and trees. When we pulled up to the Breeder's ranch she greeted us and showed us the first litter.
They were so tiny and adorable! We were taken aback by how cute they were! The breeder said she has been raising corgi's for 12 years and that only a few female puppies were left. The momma corgi of the first litter was a bit cautious near us. She would let us touch her puppies but she kept a watchful eye on them. I also noticed the puppies that were available weren't really responsive. The ones that were responsive were the ones that were already taken.
This little gem, was called Lexi. She was all over me when I walked in. She was very friendly and wanted to be petted. We then asked the breeder if we could see the second litter (Lexi's litter.) I was drawn to her temperament as she was very calm but friendly towards us. This is her smiling.
There were only two females available. One was the runt of the litter and the other one was the puppy we went with. I wanted to take the runt just because she was so small, but the breeder said she wasn't sure how she would be health wise. Plus, I noticed the runt wasn't really responsive. We decided it might be best to take the other female. The puppy we chose is the one with the white diamond spot on her back.
After we gave the deposit, we drove off and felt pretty good. It was nice knowing the breeder wanted to meet us and make sure the dogs were going to go to a home with nice people. She also mentioned one of the puppies was going to California and had to be shipped via air. She was a bit stressed about shipping such a small puppy. I would be too if I had to do that. The farm was nice too. She kept the dogs in the house with the air conditioning. She said she usually would keep them outside but it had been 90's and higher that past week and didn't want them to get too hot. It felt reassuring that she cared a lot about these puppies.
Now, a year ago, Wayne and I made a bet. I wanted a female puppy while Wayne wanted a male puppy. I am a Detroit Tigers fan while he's a Chicago White Sox fan. So we made a bet whomever did better than the opposite team would get to chose the sex and the name. Wayne wanted to name the dog, "John Wayne the corgi" whereas, I wanted to name the dog, "Clementine the corgi." At the time we decided to get a dog, the Tigers were doing better than the White Sox. So we went with a female puppy. It actually worked out perfectly that the breeder had female puppies available. Once we met the puppy though, I realized that Clementine didn't fit her. If she had been caramel colored it would have worked. But since she'll be a tricolor corgi, we had to choose a new name. Wayne wanted "Diamond" but it didn't really roll off the tongue quick enough. We finally came up with "Daisy."
In the past few weeks, we've gathered some puppy supplies. We found it hilarious to get her sheep stuff since corgis are herding dogs.
Here's her dog collar and dog id tag.
I found this stuffed corgi on amazon and had to get it! Omg, about died laughing when I got it in the mail. It's so huge! It'll be so much bigger than Daisy!
The next day after the rehearsal dinner, we then had to go to a family luncheon. Then Saturday was the wedding at 10am and lasted till about 5:30pm. Wayne has a huge family, so I mainly hung out with his cousins and Wayne's older brother. I was kind of nervous we would get put under the gun about when we were going to get married. But luckily only a few family members asked! I guess to them it's weird for a couple to be together for 4 years without being engaged.
One good thing is my parents got invited. I got to see them a little which was nice. I wish I could have hung out with them more, but they'll be coming to visit Seattle in September. The wedding ended around 5:30pm and then, after the wedding they had a big family bbq. It was nice to hang out with his cousins. They're really chill people and fun. So in short, the trip was long and exhausting but it was a nice time overall.
**Phew! Almost there I swear!**
Then yesterday, we went hiking on Bandera Mountain. We left pretty early the sun was slowly rising. This was a pretty rough hike. We both felt pretty out of shape and weren't mentally prepared for it. We ate a lot of food during the weekend of the wedding.
He looks like a gangster-wannabe that secretly enjoys hiking. LOLS!
All ready to go!
Pink mountain heather flowers - thanks to my mom for helping me figure out what these were.
I think this is a Scarlet Paintbrush Flower.
After our hike we relaxed a bit and made ribs for dinner. I grabbed the recipe from Sauver magazine. They are Hawaiian-style pork ribs and are like a sweeter version of kalbi.
Here are the ingredients:
1 1/4 cups light brown sugar
1 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp. sesame oil
1/4 tsp red chili flakes
4 cloves garlic
1 2" piece of ginger
3lbs pork baby back ribs
3 scallions
The baby back ribs were huge. So we had to cut them in half.
We then mixed all the ingredients together and marinated the meat for a while. After they soaked a bit we baked them in the oven at 450 degrees for 20 minutes. Then, I boiled the leftover marinate and basted the ribs. After, I basted the ribs we then baked them for another 15 minutes.
Photo of the ribs just out of the oven. They looked delicious and were yummy.
Ta-da! The finished product. I also added some rice, and steamed broccoli with blue cheese dressing. You can find the recipe here. Stay tuned for more adventures and the arrival of Miss Daisy!
Emma