Last night Porfirio pulled out the good old yellow Lego castle 6075 from 1978. I got admonished for having taped the box shut because it is supposedly a “collector’s item” so I went on eBay to prove him wrong, sure I was going to find 18 of them going for about 12 bucks each. I found one… listed for $297!!!!! I still have the original price sticker on the box – $32.99, pretty steep for 1978.

We spent the rest of the night putting the thing together and figuring out which parts were missing. Read more…

1 Comment / Aug 03.09 / News, Porfirio, Pumpkin / by Laetitia

Today, Pumpkin got to play with Toni and Michael’s VERY patient kitty… as you can see, Pumpkin fell in love…

2 Comments / Jul 25.09 / Pumpkin, Video / by Porfirio

Today was my second hypnotherapy session with Orange County hypnotherapist Vrisayda Boggess to work on my fear of flying issues. Despite the fact that I spent a significant portion of my childhood and teenage years flying, I have been developing an increasing fear of flying ever since a particularly rough flight back from nationals a few years ago, where the plane dropped about 200 feet. This flying phobia had escalated to the point that I even begin to feel dread just planning a trip, and would find myself in hysterics and tears when it came time to go to the airport. Not fun! Read more…

1 Comment / Jul 25.09 / Laetitia, News, Travel / by Laetitia

The BP had her first-ever teeth cleaning at the vet yesterday and now her smile is sparkling and her breath is minty-fresh. I don’t know how she accumulated so much crud on her teeth in two short years, but it seems like this is going to be on the regular maintenance schedule from now on.

Her level of tooth grime did not require general anesthesia, but they did have to sedate her, so when I picked her up she was all groggy and slow, and not her usual wiggly self. After nap time, she was back to normal and ready to show Mousie her clean toofies.

1 Comment / Jul 17.09 / Pumpkin / by Laetitia

Today is Pumpkin’s 2nd birthday, and she still manages to act like a sassy and excited puppy! Her day started out with me taking her outside to do her business, and then we took our [almost] daily ~3.5 km run. After that, I got to wash her paws and her bum, and then feed her birthday breakfast, which was just her normal dry food, but we’ll do something special for her later. Anyway, just wanted to share this special day, since she is a VERY special puppy that Laetitia and I are very lucky to have

… why does it smell like pee over here?

1 Comment / Jul 01.09 / Pumpkin / by Porfirio

Haven’t written for a while, but we had some fun last night so I thought it was worth writing about . Laetitia and I went to the No Doubt concert in San Diego last night. It was the first concert we’ve been to since George Michael came to San Diego last year. I had previously gone on the record saying that there were two concerts I’d be willing to go to: George Michael and Gwen Stefani / No Doubt, and it’s pretty cool that I got the chance within such a short time. By the way, I never thought I’d get to see George Michael, because he’s always “retiring”, so that was pretty cool.

Anyway, about last night… Read more…

1 Comment / May 23.09 / Laetitia, News, Porfirio / by Porfirio

So, it’s been one year together (as a married couple), and to begin/continue the tradition, we went to Hawaii for the Hawaii Star Ball ballroom dance championships.  We left Pumpkin with Frank and Francoise (along with Newton and Kepler), and set off for a week of dancing, snorkeling, surfing, and swimming.

It was lots of fun! We won the Rising Star division at the competition, which was a great way to start of the week. We had a room with a beautiful ocean and sunset view. We had great weather and were even content with laying out and wading in the water most of the time.

Anyway, I’ve posted pictures HERE… eventually, I try to post some of the pictures and video of the dancing.

Thanks to Francoise for taking such great care of Pumpkin!

1 Comment / Oct 26.08 / Photos, Travel / by Porfirio

Today Pumpkin turns 1!!!  She’s been such a good girl this last year… she still has the enthusiasm of a puppy, especially when it comes to meeting other dogs.  She still gets the rips and runs around the walls of our living room, even though she just got back from a 45-minute walk.  And she still manages to keep her energy high, even after a full day of swimming (see the photos).  We love her and wish her the happiest 1st birthday EVER!

1 Comment / Jul 01.08 / Photos, Pumpkin / by Porfirio

I’ve finally gotten around to processing and posting pictures of our trip to Europe. We hope you enjoy them, and we were grateful how accommodating Laetitia’s family was during our time in France!

• Venice, Italy
• Lyon, France
• Biarritz, France
• Pays Basque, France/Spain
• Paris, France

1 Comment / May 16.08 / Family, Photos, Travel / by Porfirio

Laetitia and I had a great time in Europe, but we were ready to get home. My shoulder had really been bothering me in Paris, we missed Pumpkin, and were tired of the same clothes over and over again!

Our last night, we bubble wrapped up some art Laetitia purchased, and got our bags all packed. The next day, everything seemed to be going very well. We got to the airport with plenty of time, had good seat assignments (Laetitia and I on aisles with an empty seat between us), and the excitement of going home! The mood changed about 4 hours into our flight over the Atlantic… Read more…

1 Comment / May 15.08 / News, Travel / by Porfirio