World Breastfeeding Week

Before I was adopted by my Mama, I was breastfed by my four-legged real Mama but, because I think I came from a puppy mill , the puppy seller stopped me from getting breast milk earlier than I was supposed to, so they could sell me to my Mama. I was sold! Just like merchandise...
Anyway, in my new home, my Mama fed me kibbles that contained breast milk so I could still get all the nutrients I needed to grow up healthily.
I'm writing this post because Aunty Claudia from Magia na Cozinha told me that bloggers are spreading the word about the World Breastfeeding Week 1-7 August 2008

Breastfeeding...
*protects your baby from illness and infection
*provides the correct food for your growing baby
*aids the development of your baby's eyesight, speech and intelligence
*promotes a special loving bond between mother and baby

My message to all Mamas is: Breastfeed your babies!

For more info on the World Breastfeeding Week click on the picture below:

House hunting

We were pressed for time then! We only had 2 months to find a new home in Chicago. As you could see on my first Chicago post, it would be very hard to have neighbors like Oprah for longer than that. Streeterville happens to be one of the most expensive areas to live in Chicago so, we needed to start house hunting ASAP!! I told Mom & Dad that I would like to have a backyard and a deck like before and they told me that was not going to happen because, we were not going to live in the suburbs. Our only option would be a condo so, I demanded a balcony that I could go outside for a nap and maybe to do my "business" as well. After driving around the city to get a feel of it, looking at the EL(elevated train) stops and dog park locations ( supposedly a good park for me), debating on whether to have a nice view from the unit or not, garage parking or only a parking space, bla bla bla...
and also listening to some of Dad's co-workers' advice, we came up with a list of must-haves for our new home. MY must-have was a balcony, that's all! I didn't really care about the rest. Oh, very important ! It also had to be Sushi friendly. Some buildings wouldn't allow me if I weighed more than 15 pounds. Others would only take Meow speakers and Woof speakers were not welcome at all.
Initially Mom & Dad were trying to look on their own without hiring a realtor. Sometimes I'd go with them to some open houses and take a careful look at the balconies. One month went by and they found nothing! It was a race against the clock and there was only one month then left to find a home so, they finally made the decision to hire a realtor. They hired JP, who was expecting a baby but, always willing to show them new homes. But, even with JP's help, nothing seemed to please them. They needed to find a balance between the pros and cons of all the places they looked at( not too many, just about 150...) to be able to make an offer on our future home. To be continued...

Wordless Wednesday: Gold or Silver?

Kinkaku-ji Temple ( Golden Pavilion ) Kyoto, Japan OCT 2004


Ginkaku-ji Temple ( Silver Pavilion ) Kyoto, Japan OCT 2004

Hotel Corridor Racing

Something that became a tradition for me and Daddy since I first stayed at a hotel is " Our Hotel Corridor Racing". Unlike the Lake Shore Park adventure, which was so risky with so many cars and embarassing with police telling Daddy to put me on the leash(see, it't not only my fault when I run away), racing Dad in the hotel corridor is pure adrenaline plus the feeling of safety, not to mention the nice carpeted floors :) Great!
Hotels usually have very long corridors and our hotel corridor was a perfect place for racing.
We'd do that every time we came back from our evening walk. Mama would be like a cheerleader/referee so confused about whom she was rooting for, and to whom she should point as the winner. I know Mama was just having fun watching both of us puff as we rushed down the hallway and she had no intention of taking the race seriously and being fair. We'd run from one end to another about 6 times, sometimes more or less, depending on our level of energy. So I had a great time with this and now, every time we stay in a hotel we have our tradition. Nobody's ever complained about us being noisy so, we'll keep going. I'm looking forward to staying in a hotel again.

Take a look at one of our fun races in the video below, enjoy! (Mama was neither a cheerleader nor a referee during this race because she was the one filming it).



Mama watched the above video carefully and determined the winner of this race was me! Take a look at the moment I am being recognized as the winner and getting my prestigious award.

Wordless Wednesday : My Cousins

These 2 little brothers are my cousins H(left)and F(right). They are 6 and 4 years old and live in Brazil. They are wearing their school uniform. I can't wait to meet and play with them!

A new award for me YAY!

Today started out very well with a new award! Me and other fellow bloggers got the " A Strong Cup of Coffee " award for our passion in blogging, from Jean Chia aka Ms.Yummy~Licious of A Great Pleasure . Her blog, like her aka Ms.Yummy~Licious name suggests, is really yummy packed with delicious recipes from dinners to sorbets, nice music, and so many other cute things that makes you hang around and look for something great to eat and you'll sure find it there . Thanks so much for this Jean, and congrats to all other bloggers who received it too!

Smell it! HMMMM.... Is there anything better than this cup of coffee with my Mug Cake?



I'd like to give this Strong Cup of Coffee award to my Aunty Claudia who also authors a yummy blog in Portuguese, Magia na Cozinha ( Magic in the Kitchen). When you land there and see the pictures you'll wanna use a site translator service or you'll wanna learn Portuguese so you'll be able to make those recipes! Good news is: Aunty Claudia speaks English very well, and I speak Portuguese so, no language barriers when it comes to yummy food! Just ask us!

Cooking with Sushi: Quick and Easy Mug Cake

Attention all busy/lazy Mamas, Daddas, children and chocolate lovers: I've got a quick and easy recipe for you; a delicious fluffy chocolate mug cake! Well, this is all made from scratch and I'm sure there are even easier ones out there using cake mixes but, I haven't tried those yet.

Mama got this by e-mail from Aunty M in Portuguese but, I'll share it with you below in English, of course. When she showed me the recipe I told her: "I can do this Mommy, it's soooo easy!"
Today was the first day I've ever cooked in my life, but I felt pretty confident I was going to nail it and I did! This was literally a piece of cake :):) Mom & Dad loved it!

Ready for this fun recipe? Let's go!

You are going to need:

-Utensils:
* A 300 ml(about 1 1/4 cup)mug (you'll prepare everything in this mug and eat from there, ideally)
* A sieve(strainer),small would be good.
* A fork

-Ingredients:
* 1 small egg
* 4 tbsp milk
* 3 tbsp oil (I used vegetable)
* 2 level tbsp cocoa powder
* 4 level tbsp sugar
* 4 level tbsp flour
* 1/2 level tsp baking powder

First "sift" the egg through the sieve and into the mug.( I didn't like this part, not simple) Beat well with the fork.
Add oil, milk, sugar and cocoa powder and beat more until blended.
Add flour, baking powder and beat gently until fully incorporated.

You'll have a more liquid batter than a normal cake but, don't worry! Don't add any more flour otherwise you'll have a heavy cake. We don't want that! We want it fluffy just like me :)Woof!

Now, microwave on full power for 3 minutes and voila! You're about to enjoy a quick, easy and yet D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S individual sized cake. YummY! (believe Mom & Dad because unfortunately I can't have chocolate, so I didn't try my own cake... snif,snif :(

Very important hints:
-The mug should be a 300 ml one.
-Always level measure spoons.
-You can serve this cake with a variety of toppings, nuts and ice cream. And you can enjoy it warm!(actually you should enjoy it warm, because if you wait too long, it won't be as moist and fluffy)

Bon Appetit!

Thank you Aunty M for sharing this with me. Have you ever made this recipe?

Ok now I'll show you how the cake should look like according to Aunty M's recipe pictures :





Now, this is MY CAKE! I opened the microwave door and ta-da! Looks like it worked.



Uh-oh! The batter overflowed a little bit. Don't worry Mama, I'll clean it up.



I'm not impressed with this cake presentation at all! Let's blame it on my microwave full power!



Then, I decided to unmold it from the mug, mmmmmm it smells GOOOOOOD! But it fell apart...(because it was soooooo fluffy!)



I thought I'd cut in half and serve it with a fresh strawberry and a little bit of Doce de Leite( Portuguese) or Dulce de Leche(Spanish) instead of serving it in the mug. YUM!



I'd like to share this cake with my June top 10 Sushi Lovers, Mariuca, Daisy, Aunty M(of course, she's the one who gave me the recipe; she's not a blogger... yet but, she certainly has a lot of stories to blog about, like my cousins H & F),Zubli,Lady Java, Claudia, Marcia(Aunty M), Faizal, Miss Yummylicious and Mima(Mama).

All visitors please feel free to treat yourselves to the cake as well!

Lake Shore Park adventure

Wow, I was so happy in this area! I'd go to the bathroom at Chanel, Louis Vuitton and often at the Drake Hotel too. I'd walk along the lake starting at Oak Street Beach all the way to North Avenue Beach, where the volleyball players gather. Yes, there are beaches in Chicago
(lake beaches) and I loved the sand ( until I got some in my eyes :(
I'd meet so many other small Woof speakers and have chit-chats and sometimes great conversations. My favorite place was Lake Shore Park because there was a bigger concentration of 4 legged-people like me and I could socialize. I'd hear some live jazz coming from the Institute of Contemporary Art on Tuesdays or Wednesdays, watch people play baseball, skate or run around the park. I'd play with others by chasing them and vice-versa. One day however, there was this Beagle who started chasing me and I ran so fast out of the fenced area and into the streets, that my parents could no longer see me. First,it was already dark and second, I ran towards Lake Shore Drive, a very, very busy road. Dad went running after me and after a while he was able to find me and carry me back to the park. Needless to say, I was given a sharp scolding for running into the road by both Mama & Dad, who were puffing after running so much to rescue me. I was lucky I wasn't run over by a car but, when that Beagle started to chase me all I wanted was to escape. It took a few minutes for his Dad to find him too but, eventually everybody was safe and sound. After this episode I was never off the leash again. I promised Mom & Dad never to run crazily like that anymore. I'll try to stay away from Beagles, they run real fast!

Wordless Wednesday: Masai Mara

Mama got a snapshot of 2 huge kitties playing leapfrog on the Kenya safari trip she took with Daddy in October 04.



The kitties got tired of playing and decided to appreciate the landscape together.



Masai Mara, Kenya.

Chicago: here we are!

After a loooong 5 hour drive and a few stops for food, bathroom and gas we finally arrived in downtown Chicago at around 5:30 PM on 05/20/07. It was a sunny Sunday but it still felt a little chilly. The weather here is always a bit colder than in Saint Louis. I don't really care because I'm rarely cold anyway. We stayed in a grrrrreat area just by Lake Michigan and our neighbors were The Drake hotel, Louis Vuitton and Chanel stores on Michigan Ave ( The Magnificent Mile, which boasts other chic department stores like Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdales, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy's and so many boutiques like Tiffany's, Cartier, Disney etc etc). John Hancock building, Water Tower were only a few blocks away and Oprah Winfrey( she's not a store or a building but she's rich and famous) also happened to live near our only Sushi friendly hotel we could find that was convenient for the 3 of us and closer to downtown Chicago. Our hotel suite had a kitchen and an extra bedroom (we needed room to store all that stuff). It took about 4 trips for the poor bellboy to bring all that upstairs. Once we got more or less unpacked, Mom & Dad took me downstairs to a fenced area, what the concierge told us was going to be good for me, a dog area. I didn't think so... That was only a strip with gravel on the ground supposed to be my bathroom. Too small and boring. I wanted to go explore the new city! They took me for a walk around the block so I could go to the bathroom in style! Just lifted my leg and marked the corner of the Chanel store as my territory! I also made sure I got more stylish as I went by doing the same at the Louis Vuitton store too. They both just happened to be en route when I had my first posh city walk. After we returned home (to the hotel) I had my kibble dinner and Mom & Dad went out for sushi( not me! ). Here I am, Chicago!!!

Below are 2 area maps of our temporary home in Chicago. Click to see in detail 'cause the letters are too small. I loved this place!

Bye-bye Saint Louis!

It took a couple of days for the movers to pack up all our stuff and get our big furniture in the moving truck. After that, we had almost nothing left in the house except for the essential items like my special food and grooming products, Mom & Dad's toiletries and some clothes and stuff to be sold on Craigslist. They got rid of the washer and dryer, the hall tree, the patio furniture, the kitchen table, the double bed with all the nice bed linen. The house got pretty empty in just 2 days.
New city, new state, new life! On May 20th of last year we were able to fit everything we needed for 2 months in Mama's small SUV and we drove all the way (5 hours) to Chicago,IL, our new hometown. Bye-bye Saint Louis!!

The house is for sale

Mama's interpretation of the house is for sale was: Oh no, I have to keep it spic- and-span every single day!
Mine was : Oh no, back in the crate again !!
When we had the "For Sale" sign in front of our house, that meant people would be visiting it a lot and Mama had to work hard to keep everything in order and looking really good. She even bought flowers every week for the vase on the kitchen table and put fresh fruit in the basket. Mom and Dad had to remove all the clutter and personal items like pictures, from the home decor, to make it look attractive for prospective buyers, following the realtor's advice. One of these personal items, believe it or not, was me! So, they recommended that I stayed in my crate whenever the realtor brought a potential buyer to see the house.
In the first month of open houses and house showings(March) Grandma C was still around, so it was not as bad for me because the realtor would call her to let her know she was bringing someone over to look at the house, so I had an extra walk around the park. However, after she returned to Brazil, I had to stay in the crate ALL DAY LONG until my Mom came back home from work. That was about 10.5 hours in prison!
The house did not sell very fast, so I had to do some time in jail... Mama was already getting neurotic maintaining the cleanliness, refilling the air fresheners plug-ins in all rooms, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming etc. We both couldn't wait to move out and the nightmare to end!

The Genies Return!

OMG! Finally I got this done! I was racking my brains yesterday( hahahaha!, I'm not joking!)even with Marzie e-mailing me some instructions on how to make this work; so sweet of the Genie Princess to help me out getting this Magic Lamp of Luck and here it is! Thanks very much Genies!

Alakazam!

The mighty Genie King and the beautiful Genie Princess from the magical Land of Faraway are back! Upon escaping the clutches of their Evil Master after being held captive for 1000 years, the magical genies have been busy flying on their Magical Flying Carpet, granting wishes and spreading love throughout the blogosphere.And now, the genies are back with a special gift for everyone! Behold the sacred, Magic Lamp of Luck! With this magic lamp, your blog will enjoy much good luck and fortune, warding off all things evil lurking around in the blogosphere. We would like to share this magic lamp with you so please pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to those in need of some good luck. Remember, do not be greedy or unkind, evil or vengeful and good luck & fortune will always be with you! Join us on another exciting magical adventure as we spread goodwill and good luck to one and all!



* Start Copy Here*
1. Add your site(s) to the list once you have received the Magic Lamp of Luck.
2. Pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to as many people as you like. After all, everyone needs some good luck!
3. Leave a comment HERE once you’ve passed on the Magic Lamp of Luck. Once the Genie King and Genie Princess have visited your site to make sure your links are complete and proper, you will then be added to the Master List.
4. To ensure everyone receives equal link benefit, please UPDATE your list regularly!
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I'd like to pass the this Magic Lamp Of Luck to Daisy, Claudia,Adie and Jojo. Good Luck everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

Shamu : Believe (show at Sea World San Diego, JUL 2008)

Fixing up the house

My 3rd season is here again! Ok, let's carry on from where I left off, saying good-bye to Grandma C. After she left the house was so empty and I missed her a lot.
Daddy had to relocate from Saint Louis to Chicago in May 2007. That meant, selling our home and other things like furniture and appliances. Craigslist helped with that and Mama sold some good stuff for cheap just to get rid of it fast. Lucky buyers!
The house was built in 1929 so Mommy and Dad put a lot of work into it to make it look prettier since day one. Some neutral color tones was all the house needed to open up the space and make the rooms look bigger. When they first moved in, it had some crazy colors none of them liked. Mommy did most of the painting; all trims, doors, walls and Dad painted the ceilings and installed all the fixtures. I wasn't a resident then, and I'm glad I didn't have to deal with paint and polyurethane(on the hardwood floors) nasty and harmful vapors like they did. When I came to the house in November most of it was already looking good with the exception of the kitchen, basement, deck and front and back yards. During the months of March and April it was very chaotic in the house with all the ceramic tiles piled up, heavy bags of grout and drywall sheets. Grandma C and Mike, the handyman, helped us a lot. There was never a quiet or clean place for me to hang around. Mike finished doing the deck, which made me really happy! That was one the most dramatic change in the remodeling. Other good ones were the pantry and the attic. The kitchen required a total revamp which wouldn't give my parents the money back with the home sale. So they just painted all the cabinets and put cheap cabinet knobs but, it looked better than before. Daddy and Grandma C improved the curb appeal by planting a little evergreen spiral topiary in the middle of four little blue pine trees in the front yard. The back yard also received some TLC with 5 new white and red rose shrubs. We didn't get to see them in bloom because we moved out before that or maybe they died even before we moved out. I don't know why they put those dangerous bushes in my yard. They should sometimes remember I'm short and I can hurt myself with the thorns!
Below are some "before and after" picures of our home in Saint Louis.

House



Curb appeal( not really appealing, but better than before believe me)



Old front steps



New front steps ( New but wrong color, uh-oh)



Old living room



New living room



Old fireplace



New fireplace



Old dining room



New dining room



Old kitchen



New kitchen



Old pantry



New pantry



Old office



New office

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Old bedroom



New bedroom

border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220513101877631410" />

Old bathroom



New bathroom



Old attic





New attic





And my favorite room in( or outside?) the house: The deck!

Old deck









New deck : YAY!!!