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!
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
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!
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!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
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!!
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!!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
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!
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!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
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!
1-Mariuca 2-First Time Dad 3-Mariuca's Perfume Gallery 4-Emila's Illustrated Blog 5-The Other Side of Emila 6-My Sweet Escape 7-Bay Head Blog 8-Roxiticus Desperate Housewives 9-LadyJava's Lounge 10-Petty Ramblings of a Petty Queen 11-The Real Deal 12-Pinay Mommy Online 13-Perpustakaan 14-LadyJava Life's Pages 15-Make Money Online 16-Cat Tales 17-LadyJava's Food Paradise 18-Being Woman 19-Spicybug 20-Biz-N-Honey 21-Aeirin's Collections 22-Sasha Says 23-Project Heavy Traffic 24-Picture Clusters 25-My Wanderings 26-Maiylah's Snippets 27-Moments of Colours 28-Life Quest 29-BigMoneyList 30-The Best Parts 31-Morphed 32-Buhay Pinoy 33-Galatayo 34-Blogging Tips 35-Apples Of The Eyes 36-My Own Utopia 37-Sasha's Corner 38-Under One Roof 39-Say Cheese 40-A Great Pleasure 41-A Life in Bloom 42-Because Life is a Blessing 43-Digiscraptology 44-Xixi 45-Ode to Adrienne 46-CrankyDave 47-Simple Life 48-Dew Drops 49-The Journey 50-Mastering Your PC 51-Day Break 52-A Little Girl Talk 53-Mom Knows Everything 54-Day to Day 55-1 of a Kind Wis 56-It's a woman's world! 57-Breather 58-Photo Hook 59-Letterbox 60-Asian Mutt International 61-Dream Doe Philosophy 62-MommyAlehs Up-Close And Personal 63-Livin' the Life! 64-Restnrileks 65-English Corner 66-English Grammar 67-Bodybuilding & Fitness 68-Everything you need 69-One Stop Games 70-Blockbluster Movie Trailers 71-Bodybuilding & Human Growth Hormone 72-World of Tennis 73-Men's Health & Tips 74-Internet Marketing Strategy & Tips 75-Latest Technology 76-Tentang Binaraga 77-Berita Seputar Selebriti 78-Panduan Kesehatan 79-Insurance For You 80-Crissy's Zone 81-Crissy's Library 82-Crissy's Haven 83-sHeNzEe's wOrLd 84-Voice Of The Spirit 85-Best Cuisine Recipes 86-Stand My Ground 87-SeeNRead 88-This Is A Miracle 89-I AM KCAT 90-Traipsey Turvey 91-GBeX & DOm 92-Spun By A Seanachie 93-ISL Family 94-D' Cooking Mudra 95-'Story' the Great 96-UmmiRosma 97-Munirah Abd 98-Atie 99-Hit-or-Miss 100-Twisted Sister 101-Laketrees Artist 102-Blessed Sanctuary 103-Comedy Plus 104-Blogging By Sandee 105-Living Life to the Fullest 106-Speech-Less 107-My Pooch Life*End Copy Here*
I'd like to pass the this Magic Lamp Of Luck to Daisy, Claudia,Adie and Jojo. Good Luck everyone!
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!
1-Mariuca 2-First Time Dad 3-Mariuca's Perfume Gallery 4-Emila's Illustrated Blog 5-The Other Side of Emila 6-My Sweet Escape 7-Bay Head Blog 8-Roxiticus Desperate Housewives 9-LadyJava's Lounge 10-Petty Ramblings of a Petty Queen 11-The Real Deal 12-Pinay Mommy Online 13-Perpustakaan 14-LadyJava Life's Pages 15-Make Money Online 16-Cat Tales 17-LadyJava's Food Paradise 18-Being Woman 19-Spicybug 20-Biz-N-Honey 21-Aeirin's Collections 22-Sasha Says 23-Project Heavy Traffic 24-Picture Clusters 25-My Wanderings 26-Maiylah's Snippets 27-Moments of Colours 28-Life Quest 29-BigMoneyList 30-The Best Parts 31-Morphed 32-Buhay Pinoy 33-Galatayo 34-Blogging Tips 35-Apples Of The Eyes 36-My Own Utopia 37-Sasha's Corner 38-Under One Roof 39-Say Cheese 40-A Great Pleasure 41-A Life in Bloom 42-Because Life is a Blessing 43-Digiscraptology 44-Xixi 45-Ode to Adrienne 46-CrankyDave 47-Simple Life 48-Dew Drops 49-The Journey 50-Mastering Your PC 51-Day Break 52-A Little Girl Talk 53-Mom Knows Everything 54-Day to Day 55-1 of a Kind Wis 56-It's a woman's world! 57-Breather 58-Photo Hook 59-Letterbox 60-Asian Mutt International 61-Dream Doe Philosophy 62-MommyAlehs Up-Close And Personal 63-Livin' the Life! 64-Restnrileks 65-English Corner 66-English Grammar 67-Bodybuilding & Fitness 68-Everything you need 69-One Stop Games 70-Blockbluster Movie Trailers 71-Bodybuilding & Human Growth Hormone 72-World of Tennis 73-Men's Health & Tips 74-Internet Marketing Strategy & Tips 75-Latest Technology 76-Tentang Binaraga 77-Berita Seputar Selebriti 78-Panduan Kesehatan 79-Insurance For You 80-Crissy's Zone 81-Crissy's Library 82-Crissy's Haven 83-sHeNzEe's wOrLd 84-Voice Of The Spirit 85-Best Cuisine Recipes 86-Stand My Ground 87-SeeNRead 88-This Is A Miracle 89-I AM KCAT 90-Traipsey Turvey 91-GBeX & DOm 92-Spun By A Seanachie 93-ISL Family 94-D' Cooking Mudra 95-'Story' the Great 96-UmmiRosma 97-Munirah Abd 98-Atie 99-Hit-or-Miss 100-Twisted Sister 101-Laketrees Artist 102-Blessed Sanctuary 103-Comedy Plus 104-Blogging By Sandee 105-Living Life to the Fullest 106-Speech-Less 107-My Pooch Life*End Copy Here*
I'd like to pass the this Magic Lamp Of Luck to Daisy, Claudia,Adie and Jojo. Good Luck everyone!
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Monday, July 7, 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
border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220512422169454626" />
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!!!
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
border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220512422169454626" />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!!!
Sunday, July 6, 2008
The continuation of my 3rd season
When I started this blog I thought a blog was only a personal diary for me and my family to read later, something like "Memoirs of a Sushi", and that's it. What I didn't know was that through blogging, I could make some new nice friends from all over the world, learn about a totally new world which is the blogosphere, contribute to make this world a better place by raising awareness of important causes like global warming, breast cancer, hunger, animal cruelty and so many others. What a powerful tool is the internet! And how we bloggers are significantly changing the world, YAY! Everybody, let's give ourselves a big hand!( clap,clap,clap!!!!!!)
It's all really cool, I'm having a great experience but, I have so much more to learn and to improve especially how to manage my time better! I must say blogging is a bit addictive, but it's a positive addiction!
I've read from blog experts you should keep your content fresh, post some great pictures and build long-lasting relationships. But it doesn't end here. Boy, there are so many more cool things like linky love ( I'll do this in more detail in between story posts later next week ), awards, memes/tags, card dropping, battles of blogs, you can never get bored. Another great thing out there, is a blog called Wordless Wednesday, in which I am an active participant, however I couldn't do anything the last couple of Wednesdays because I didn't have my laptop with me. WW is awesome because bloggers come to one place to visit one another's blogs and it's also a midweek break from writing since a picture is worth a thousand words. However, I do enjoy writing and I always have a sentence or two accompanying my picture for more detailed info and/or just more pizzazz!!
Now I know blogging is not only a narration of events, but it's a lot of fun and socializing too.
So, I'll try to balance my posts with stories, tags, and other blogging stuff thus keeping my dear readers entertained and happy. It makes my day to know that I made at least one person smile by reading one of my stories, looking at a picture or watching a video here at My Pooch Life.
My 3rd season contains a few more stories from my big move from Saint Louis to Chicago, it all happened last summer and it was quite stressful but, at the same time exciting and wonderful for me so, I'd like to share with you the next episodes of My Pooch Life. Let's go!
It's all really cool, I'm having a great experience but, I have so much more to learn and to improve especially how to manage my time better! I must say blogging is a bit addictive, but it's a positive addiction!
I've read from blog experts you should keep your content fresh, post some great pictures and build long-lasting relationships. But it doesn't end here. Boy, there are so many more cool things like linky love ( I'll do this in more detail in between story posts later next week ), awards, memes/tags, card dropping, battles of blogs, you can never get bored. Another great thing out there, is a blog called Wordless Wednesday, in which I am an active participant, however I couldn't do anything the last couple of Wednesdays because I didn't have my laptop with me. WW is awesome because bloggers come to one place to visit one another's blogs and it's also a midweek break from writing since a picture is worth a thousand words. However, I do enjoy writing and I always have a sentence or two accompanying my picture for more detailed info and/or just more pizzazz!!
Now I know blogging is not only a narration of events, but it's a lot of fun and socializing too.
So, I'll try to balance my posts with stories, tags, and other blogging stuff thus keeping my dear readers entertained and happy. It makes my day to know that I made at least one person smile by reading one of my stories, looking at a picture or watching a video here at My Pooch Life.
My 3rd season contains a few more stories from my big move from Saint Louis to Chicago, it all happened last summer and it was quite stressful but, at the same time exciting and wonderful for me so, I'd like to share with you the next episodes of My Pooch Life. Let's go!
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Back to blogging
Finally! Mom & Dad returned from their trip to California yesterday and today we left Hermann,MO( I'll miss you Grandma & Grandpa and thanks for having me) and got home in Chicago after a 7-hour drive to an utterly messy house, everything scattered helter-skelter all over the place and my fallen hair is gradually whitening the dark wood floors in every corner. Yuck! I have to help Mom & Dad unpack and clean the house( yes, I'm a good boy) but, I couldn't resist switching on my laptop( YAY! I have it back now! ) and checking my e-mail, dropping some cards at my fave blogs from Entrecard( which is a site dedicated to our success as bloggers )and also writing this post here to tell my dear readers and fans that YES! I'm back blogging again after about 9 days. Ohhh, how much behind I've got with all my blogging "duties"!
I plan to catch up really, really quickly and wrap up my 3rd season.
I hope to help Mama finish her Summer cleaning( the Spring cleaning didn't happen...), including all windows( poor Mama! ) and mopping all the hardwood floors, which I can definetely help her out with, easily, by being the mop myself! I love it! I have fun when Mama rolls me in circles while I'm lying down like a mop and at the same time that I'm having fun, I get the floors shiny and new for her! The only problem is that when we finish this "game" of mopping, I'm all dirty so Mama has to give me a bath. Chores, chores, chores! Mama you can't win...
Anyway, I hope I can help Mama clean up the house and at the same time keep you guys posted. I think that with a little bit of time management(not my forte,I'm afraid...), I'll be able to do it. What do you guys think ?
I plan to catch up really, really quickly and wrap up my 3rd season.
I hope to help Mama finish her Summer cleaning( the Spring cleaning didn't happen...), including all windows( poor Mama! ) and mopping all the hardwood floors, which I can definetely help her out with, easily, by being the mop myself! I love it! I have fun when Mama rolls me in circles while I'm lying down like a mop and at the same time that I'm having fun, I get the floors shiny and new for her! The only problem is that when we finish this "game" of mopping, I'm all dirty so Mama has to give me a bath. Chores, chores, chores! Mama you can't win...
Anyway, I hope I can help Mama clean up the house and at the same time keep you guys posted. I think that with a little bit of time management(not my forte,I'm afraid...), I'll be able to do it. What do you guys think ?
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