What did you do tonight?

Tonight, I had much planned, but my plans changed... After talking to Jon about getting Molly one last haircut for the year, he told me they would charge extra because of her hair mats. We really do groom Molly at least once a week, but she hates it so much and gives us the "shark face". So, we don't always get everything perfectly fluffy and smooth. Being the money-savers that we are, we decided we may as well try to cut her hair ourselves, at least her hair mats if nothing else. This, is where our night changed.

As I sat on the bathroom floor while Jon prepared the buzzer and shears, I thought to myself, 'This cannot turn out well.' I remembered back to Korea when our friend Sarah "trimmed" Mike's hair and when we saw him next, he was completely shaven. oops. Quickly, Jon and I went at her like a Barber Shop Duet (sorry, I'm even embarrassed by my poor humor). I felt very unsure about using the buzzer, as her ears quickly flew back and her eyes widened as it buzzed. So instead, Jon decided to go at her tummy mats with the shears. Pocket Face did not like this. She made her shark face while I held her on her two back feet, hands in the air. (I really wish someone could have filmed this, it was really quite comical). It took quite awhile with turns on both our parts, but we got most of them out. After that, we decided to get out two mats on each side of her cheeks. Well, one turned out to be bigger than the other and when they were out, it looked like one side of Molly's face fur had been blown away and the other was as fluffy as ever. She looked pitiful. So, we couldn't stop there, we had to press on and even out her cheeks. This is the part I really got to see Jon's handy-work. I had no idea he was talented in the area of cheek grooming. But, then again, he is a pretty hairy guy and grooms his cheeks several times a week.
After a few more mats were cut out, we let her go free. She really did pretty well and who knew speaking in a high, positive tone would do so much (no matter what you're actually saying). Molly was rewarded many hugs and treats from us and she gave us licks and excited leaps back. I think she's happy to be done with this...at least for now.

So, this is what she looks like now...
Just kidding, we messed up her hair.


Here's what she really looks like!
We love her even if she is a little lopsided and needs hair repair!

We caught Molly with a Shark-face, she does this with no noise, just the face.
Then, we yell at her for Shark-facing.

But after the Shark-face, this is what she did...
Sad-face as Jon pet her. What a mug!

Bacon Cheddar Baby

A little while ago, Jon and I decided to give Molly a more quality food than what we have been giving her. So, we went to a pet supply store down the road, conveniently located next to Seoul Market! While we were there, we of course had to pick up some treats for her! Jon found her some Snackin' Slices, which was a good pick since she goes crazy over them. We've been using these to bribe her while we brush her- double team style. We also wanted to get a bone to chew on because whenever we go to my parent's house, she takes Chipper's bone and chews on it and guards it with her life. So, we found what we thought would be the perfect bone for her: a bacon cheese filled bone. These are two of Molly's favorite things in life, if there was a banana smeared on top, it would be perfect! When we gave the bone to her, she loved it and couldn't wait to eat the inside. But being the princess Pocket that she is, she wanted Jon told hold the bone for her, so she could put her energy into getting the inside out. All was good until suddenly, she became bored with it. I think what it really was, was that the outside was too hard for her and she was no longer interested. Well, we were a bit sad that she didn't want the bone, but decided we'd give it to her cousin, Chipper. I went up to Wisconsin a week later and dropped the bone off at Chipper's Doggy Camp before we went on vacation. Apparently she liked it because when she returned home after a week, there was no bone left over! While in Wisconsin, I made a stop at Fleet Farm and picked up two rib bones for Molly. She loves this bone and it's the right size and everything for her, so I know what I'll be getting her next time! Although I don't have a picture of her chewing on this bone, she looks cute in a fierce way while holding it between her paws and gnawing on a rib.

Fierce Baby.

Molly looking at her bone at the top of the bookshelf
and waiting for it to come down again.

The Riley's Visit!

Last weekend, our friends Mike and Sarah came for their second visit to our home. If you don't already know, we met Mike and Sarah at our church. They came to Korea a little after Christmas and came to G3 in January and soon after we became good friends. We even took our summer vacation together to Sokcho (see blog link). We really missed them when we left Korea and are really thankful that we have seen them twice since they got back in December. And even better, this weekend was a long one, so we had an extra day to spend with them. All four of us were pretty tired and we ended up hanging around home and relaxing. But, we did get out to play some Frisbee and go to Buffalo Grove Days, a local festival. Below, are some pictures of our fun weekend! We miss them already and hope to visit them in Ohio before too long.

Jon's pretty good at playing Frisbee; I am horrible at it. My throws never go straight or horizontal, but rather vertical and veer to the right at a 45 degree angle. oops. Being a good husband (and not acting embarrassed by me), he gave me some tips and I began to improve...slightly.
We brought the Pocket with us to the field and she had a fun time running around and chasing after the Frisbee, but then she got tired. I made her a makeshift bowl using a large leaf, what a good mother I am.

I love my baby Molly and she loves having the freedom to run around in the grassy field!

I love Sarah!

This was at Buffalo Grove Days, it was quite uninteresting (as Sarah's face shows), especially Randy's Magic Show. I'm still wondering, where are the greasy cheese curds? Do they not know that there is no festival unless there is some sort of grease covered cheese? Oh, Illinois.

I had made a double batch of Nona's zucchini muffins before Mike and Sarah came and they all got devoured (mostly by Mike). So, I decided I better teach Sarah how to make them for her hubby and we made another double batch, woo-hoo! That morning, I also made blackberry muffins for breakfast, they were very yummy as well.

Jon and I had a great weekend with the Riley's and miss
them a lot! But, we look forward to seeing them again soon!

Seven of Nine

Jon and I have had a fun and relaxing day of hanging out, talking, and a little shopping. We've been having some pretty interesting chats, but one of them was on Star Trek. I was telling Jon that a friend teased me today about being from Star Trek because of my name, Anika Borg. I had to explain that it really was a family name and my parents didn't spend all their time watching Star Trek. After telling Jon about this, he told me that he used to stay up late while he was in high school to watch old Star Trek. And....Anika Hansen of the Borgs was his favorite character. I thought that this was hilarious. I don't remember if he told me this before, but I thought it was pretty funny. Well, now he has his own Anika of the Borgs and doesn't need to watch Star Trek!
I am his very own, Seven of Nine.

Nona's Zucchini Muffins

I saw my parents almost two weeks ago and they brought many things, some of which being two blocks of aged cheddar and two zucchinis from their garden. I grew up loving tasty food because my family are wonderful Italian cooks and bakers. One of my favorite things to eat are zucchini muffins, but not just any zucchini muffins, Nona's zucchini muffins. I even tried to look up decent muffin recipes online and I could tell that they were not close at all, I mean, who wants to put carrots, walnuts, or raisins in their zucchini muffins? Really.

So, I finally grated the zucchinis last night and prepped to bake the next day after work. I started baking and remembering when I would stand by Nona or my mother's side while we made muffins. I was the one always sneaking a finger in the bowl to "test" it. Nona would always reply in a loud, Italian way, "You'll get salmonellae!" (Well, with all the recent egg recalls, she could surely say that now and be sure of it!) But, I never did get salmonellae and didn't risk it this time either. I also remember my mom teaching what the right consistency should be and once you have it, don't stir it too much (but I had to stir it just right so a big plop would fall on my finger while my mom looked away). I am so glad I have my mom to learn things from, but greatly miss my Nona especially at these times when I'm baking or have something I'd like to tell her. I've been missing her a lot lately and I'm glad I can at least use her recipes, remember her, and feel close to her in that way.



Jon loved the muffins and after eating two, he said, "I could eat two dozen of those, I need to be stopped!" So, I guess they were a success!
p.s. Mom, thanks for the extra muffin tins, I was very happy to
find another container in the cupboard!

Meatloaf Man

Jon was pretty proud of himself tonight and so we thought we'd put it on the blog to share.

Tonight, I came home from another busy day at work to find Jon having made dinner and it finishing in the cooking. To top it off, while he waited he washed dishes and cleaned the kitchen! What a good guy I have! He wanted to keep the dinner a surprise, so he made me go away and not help at all. I usually come home at 6:30 and cook dinner soon after that, so it was a nice change to not have to rush and cook over a hot stove on a hot and muggy day. Anyways, Jon made something that is his favorite without knowing I also really enjoy it: meatloaf and mashed potatoes! I don't think I've made meatloaf since we've been married, which is just silly. Jon used potatoes that his dad gave us last weekend, from his garden. He mashed them with a serving fork and he probably felt like we were back in Korea, there I mashed potatoes with a very unstable spatula. We decided that I might need a potato masher and that we no longer need to live like we are in a country that doesn't mash potatoes like 'real' Americans. After setting the table himself, we were able to enjoy a meal together which was very rare during his Greek class. Now that he's in his regular semester with 5 classes, I feel spoiled to get quality time with him almost whenever I want!

I'm thankful that my boy can cook, likes to try out new things, and is willing to give me a break. Thanks baby boy, I'm proud of your cooking and helping me out!