All Dogs Go To Heaven

A couple of days ago, one of our dogs Choco escaped from our house and later that night my dad found him lying on the side of a busy street next to where we live. He got hit by a car. Luckily he was still breathing and we were all hoping that it would just be broken bones or even something where he would be able function with one of those doggy wheelchairs.

Unfortunately that wasn't the case. As my dad and brother went to take Choco to the vet, my mom and I went to do some last minute Christmas errands. When we go home, we got the bad news. The vet said his injuries were so severe that he need to be put to sleep. The bottom part of him was paralyzed and something he would probably never recover from.

I know I don't talk about the dogs in our family too much, but you might have seen them when they would photo-bomb some of my outfit pics. They are Australian Shepherds and while they can be a handful, they are always waiting for you in excitement. There are still four dogs in our family, but it's always sad to see one go.

Babies, blondies, and Puppies...Oh my!

After a hectic week at work, I was glad to have the weekend off. I spent Saturday doing chores around the house and just hanging out.

But on Sunday I went to my friend Rachel's baby shower, which was really fun. Instead of the usual baby shower food fare of tiny sandwiches and salads, they had carne asada tacos which were really good. You can't tell in the picture, but she's 7 months along and due in December. I could feel her baby kicking when we took the picture.

Before I went to the baby shower, I decided to bake some Reece's Peanut Butter Cup blondies. I saw the recipe on Yumsugar a few days ago and knew I had to make it. Never making blondies before, I wasn't sure how it was going to come out or even taste.

Before It Went Into The Oven
Finished Product

But I have to say, they were really good. Especially with a cold glass of milk. :-) I put the whole batch in a plastic container before I left, and when I came home only three pieces were left. Definitely going to keep this recipe.

Also last week we got a new pup. Her name is Carrie and she's an Australian Shepherd. She's too cute and she likes to run around and play a lot.

How can you not resist that cute face!?

What I've Been Up To

I am such a horrible blogger. It's been two months since I last posted and a lot has happened since then.
A week after my sister left for NYC, my mom left for three weeks to visit her family in the Philippines. She came back with tons of pre-packaged food, one of her suitcases was filled exclusively with it, beauty products and clothes.
She brought back for me this cute cream patent leather bag decorated with some studs on the outside, black sandals with mirrored straps and this hair product that is makes your hair look shiny.
I also finally bought digital camera. It's a Sony DSC-S750 and I love it. It's nice to have one whenever you want to take a spontaneous pictures, which I need to do, plus I don't have to wait a week or two to get film developed.I always have it in my purse now.It's kind weird, but you never know when you will need it.
On a sad note, a day after my mom left for the Philippines, my beloved Australian Shepard, Casey, died. I got home from work and found my brother standing on the porch with our dog covered by a towel. He told me died three hours before. I should have know something was wrong when I left for work that morning. Usually when I would call him, he would run up to me. But that morning, he was sitting on the driveway. When my dad got home, we buried him in the backyard. It was a somber day because we had him since he was a pup 12 years ago.
It was then when I realized how long we had him. He was my favorite dog out of the 5 we have. He would always play catch with you, listen to you, and was the only one that out cats liked. We think it's probably because he was old, but part of me thinks he died of sadness. Since my sister left a week before and my mom left the day before. He probably thought we were going to all leave and not come back. He was a great dog and after two months, I still miss him.
Not wanting to end on a sad note. I do have some exciting news. In October, my youngest brother and I are going to visit my sister in NYC. I have always wanted to go visit there and now I have my chance. The best part is I'm going to be there in the fall. So I'll get to experience the changing colors of the trees and I might to actually wear my coats that stay dormant in my closet since So. Cal doesn't experience fall, until like December.
I'm going to be there for 5 days, so does anyone have some good NYC suggestions? Well besides the touristy stuff to do, what are some underground/out of the ways places that I should see?