20120315-Gigi video

This is what Gigi does every time I came home.

Arrietty

Watched The Secret World of Arrietty (Japanese with English subbed... the only way I like it or Chinese subbed) this morning (www.imdb.com/title/tt1568921/), it's nice. I love Miyasaki's work. They are so magical and awesome.

Relief

My hands were in pain (dryness, eczema, plain craziness), so I sprayed some yarrow floral water on hands (think of the idea to put lotion on when your body is still kind of wet after shower) and I put my oil on hands and finally my hands are not as painful now. Though I had to put it on twice. Whatever works!'

I don't remember exactly what's in my oil. Herbs infused in EVOO and very possibly have coconut oil, jojoba oil, emu oil, borage oil etc (depends on my mood and what I have on hand).

I love herb and oil. :D

More on cozy sak

Gigi still likes her cozy sak. And I try to make sure she uses it.

"survey"

How do you use your salve? Do you just swipe the surface to get a film of salve and then spread? How often do you use it?

There is no right or wrong answer, I am just curious.
For me, I pretty much use it as my source of moisturizer. And when I use my salve, I REALLY dig in and scoop out a glob of salve and apply it everywhere. I could have easily used 1/4 of a tiny jar at one time. And I reapply a lot throughout the day.

Cozy Sak for Gigi

Here is another purchase we made on Etsy.

Medium cozy sak from KingMtnTreasures

Skin confession

I have been having skin issue all my life... mostly minor or if I go to the dermatologist it will eventually go away in a few days. The worst ones I have happened last year, it's unbearable and super uncomfortable. It's everywhere and just plain unpleasant. I have started making lip balm then and noticed I could incorporate healing ingredients into a balm and use it that way conveniently and that's when I start my research and begin making my salve. I have been using them everyday as a moisturizer and whenever I sense a little itching. They don't completely immediately heal the discomfort, but it does give relief... and sometimes that's all you need, to stop the itches. I don't know about you, but for me if I am not itchy, then I won't scratch... because once I start scratching, it's not easy to stop. I have also been using the oil on my scalp too. Salve and oil may not be a fast cure, but it helps in the process to minimize tempting scratching situation.

All natural tinted lip balm

We are bringing back our alkanet infused lip balm. It's all natural, the tint came from infusing alkanet in organic sunflower oil

The Owls are back!

So these are not from the same owl box that I have blogged long ago, but this camera is actually better quality. I love watching them and be awed and fascinated about nature and the circle of life.



Owlceanside

There is also a eagle cam!

Pay it forward

About a month I saw this on my friend's Facebook timeline:

Eczema and psoriasis relief

I have been looking up more about eczema and psoriasis on forum and I have seen some commonality among posts:

coconut oil and olive oil are great simple relief
Vitamin D and B12 seems to help a lot.
Keep skin moisturized.
Apple Cider Vinegar helps.

It is great to know that I am not alone in this discomfort... the are many many people out there who are suffering as well.

And YLBB has some of the salves for those of us who need the relief:
Olive Oil salve
Coconut Oil salve
We also have a herbal salve and calendula salve or just an infused oil for those who like to work with oil. :)

20120219

Good morning! Gigi is still having tummy trouble. :( My poor baby. He had to go potty in the middle of the night. Now she is back to strict kibbles-only diet.

New listings

Here are some new items I have added to Etsy:

herbal oil-this is just the oil with no wax. I use it on my scalp. It may look small, but it will last some time.
calendula all purpose salve-this is a simple salve with just the very versatile calendula infused in evoo.

I usually include a little something with each order. No promise, but I always try. :)

Fun dog training and what to do with those prepaid postage return envelope

I had a glorious Friday. ;) I took that as a vacation to celebrate my own birthday. I went shopping and got my brow done. ha.

oil and salve

Today I made another oil blend again. :)

Coupon code

February is my favorite month, because it's my birthday and that it's just awesome. So Gigi is offering a 25% off coupon: HAPPYFEB2012
Happy Shopping. http://ylbb.etsy.com

20120212

Weekend is so short. Sigh.

conversion

CONVERSION

New business cards and Gigi update

Today I got my order of my new business card. They are so cute. I can't be happier. I bought some rounded regular sized card and just more of my usual mini cards. I love them so much. :)

Healed ouchie

Gigi will have a recheck with the vet again this Sunday. She really is healing nicely. It may not too pretty, but it's healed and that's what's important. It's kind of dry and still a bit "rugged"... so I will be applying some balm on her spot to smooth it out and moisturized her skin as well. :)

New listing

Ok, I am guilty, I only sell my "left over" on Etsy. I made the salves for my skin, but I can't use that many jars, so I am sharing with you. I planned to use them on Gigi too, but the vet told me nothing and no bath on her until the stitches are back to "normal"... I know she will get a scar. Sigh. So anyway, I infused some oils with my favorite herbs. They came in 1 oz jar. That's like powered up oil (with herb).


Here.

Gigi update-20120205

Stitches are out. But the site is still pretty "rugged" and we need to go back again next week. So the shirt is still on. It said ROCK STAR. :-). She is my rock star.

And Gigi had scrambled eggs as celebratory treats. :D

Gigi update-20120131

Gigi's lump is nothing! Yay! It's just a fatty lump. And her stitches are continuing to heal nicely. :)

We went to rally and had lots of fun. And Gigi got laughed at and commented as a "hardy" dog. That she is. :) My tough Gigi. :D

Gigi update

Good morning all! I hope you all have a great week so far.

Gigi update

Gigi had her dental cleaning yesterday. Teeth are now cleaned. She lost 3 teeth though. Apparently she has some kind of doggie teeth disease. The fatty lump is removed and sent for test (will know result next week), got some stitches. She doesn't need to wear a cone as long as she leaves her stitches alone. She has some antibiotics and then 10 days later, we will go back to remove the stature.

夜空ノムコウ/ 夜空的彼岸

夜空ノムコウ
SMAP's Yozora no Mokou is another one of my favorite songs from SMAP. I just love it so much. It made my day when they translated it in Mandarin and performed it in the Thanks to Beijing Concert. I was in heaven. :)

Happy Chinese New Year 2012

龍年進步。Happy Chinese New Year from Gigi and me. :-)

St John's Wort salve

Today I made itty bitty jars of St. John's Wort salve.

20120119-another snow day!

Picture time.

Snow Day

I have put the shop on vacation mode, because it's snow day and I don't want the weather to delay me in mailing your packages, so I put it on vacation and will reopen when the weather is nicer.

Don't forget our chickweed salve... it is a great moisturizer and will give you relief if you have itchy skin. The reason I made them in the first place.

Infused oil and salve

Taking advantage of the snow day, I got busy.

Snow day 20120118

We have more snow!

Agility-20120114

We are back to agility class today after some time off.

Gigi is "famous"

If you have read our exciting outing here, here is another perspective of it. ;)

More Gigi "sighting":
Here
Here

There are probably a few more links out there, but I haven't find them yet.

Enjoy Gigi's "popularity". LOL.

Fun at Bark [20120108]

It's already Sunday! So sad. I didn't get as much rest I had hoped for. But there is next week.

2011 Favorites

Things that are great purchases for me in 2011.

Chickweed Salve

Made a batch of fresh chickweed salve.

Boxing Day Sale

Coupon code "BOXINGDAY2011" is effective now. Happy Shopping. :D

20111224-Happy Christmas Eve

We are taking a short Christmas break. :)
We will be opening again after Christmas. :D There will be a Boxing Day Special when we reopen. Use "BOXINGDAY2011" for 25% off your entire order.

The lovely Gigi

I think with Gigi's gorgeous red color (she is a shaded-red, different than your traditional red dachshund...though her legs are the traditional color) looks great with big bold color... like red and deep royal purple.

Merry Christmas

Gigi want to wish you a happy and joyful Christmas. :)

Christmas Lip balm

I think they look so cute.

Christmas Gigi

I took Gigi to have her nails trimmed and her bum bum squeezed. One of the groomers gave Gigi a cute dachshund bandana. :)

Handmade at its best

Handmade is awesome. You can see one's passion and creativity and you are supporting talented individuals.

YLBB has reopened for Christmas :)

We are open again for your lippie need. :) Our lip balms are great for your lips and make perfect gifts and stocking stuffer. To ensure timely delivery, please place your order by 12.14.11.

Here are the flavors we are offering:

cake, grape, Piña Colada, rainbow sherbet, peppermint, geranium, chocolate

Ingredients: Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil, Euphorbia Cerifera (Candelilla) Wax, Olea europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil and Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil and flavor

As of 12/3/11: peppermint and Piña Colada is out of stock, but we will have more next week. :) Yay!

New phone in the house

New phone! I finally wait until my contract finished and bought a new phone. Yay!

Give Thanks-20111118 to 23rd

Just want to share the "missing" thanks to God. :)

Happy Thanksgiving-20111124

This is the time of the year to put extra "effort" in capturing all the greatness in life.

Here are some of the many things I am thankful for in no particular order:
Gigi, family, Jesus, friends, my job, my awesome coworkers, music, movies, books, kindle, coffee, technology, fleece, "toys", my car, etsy, apple, rainbow, running water etc

Enjoy your day and remember greatness is everywhere around us.

Give Thanks-20111113-today

Here are some of the missing "thanks". I have been writing them, just not on this blog. I tried not to repeat myself. There are items that I will be thankful for everyday. :)

Give Thanks-20111112

+an understanding and kind trainer
+gentle and forgiving dachshund
+my car
+bags
+weekend
+nice neighbor

Hand stamped jewelry

I have always been a sucker for personalized items. And Etsy is the perfect place for finding such items. My latest obsessions are hand stamped jewelry.

Give Thanks-20111111

+Running clean water for morning showers and consumption
+All armed forces, marine, military, navy, air force etc and their families for their dedication and sacrifices
+Harry Potter
+Jewelry
+Cash in my wallet

New Sweater

Gigi's new sweater from Target. $2.5. Size small (fits her well, doesn't cover her little bum though... "long-body-hazard". :) ). The pink is much brighter, but my phone camera didn't capture that.

Give Thanks-20111110

+my car
+packages from talented "artists"
+my work
+my coworkers
+my family

Give Thanks-20111109

+Being able to read.
+Kindle
+Books
+Fab writers
+Cute Gigi
+Awesome indie companies

Dogs at Bark

Since my friend said it's ok... I am posting awesome pics that she took last Sunday.
[Pic Heavy]

Giving Thanks 20111108

This is the month of thanksgiving. BUT who says you can only give thanks or show appreciation on the fourth Thursday of November? We should be doing that everyday, if not every second. :)

So, I have decided from now until the end of this month, everyday I will post a "thankful" post. I may update it throughout the day or just do it at the end of the day. I may not explain why I posted it in a certain way, but just to jot down my gratitude. I think there are plenty to be thankful for... let's start now!

+sitting across an adorable yellow lab on the bus. Reminds me of my own sweet Gigi. :)
+peaceful wait at the bus stop
+being helped
+nice people
+beautiful changing color of the leaves

Pretty rainbow

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooh... yesterday I was waiting for the bus after work. I was standing behind cover, because it was cold and it was sprinkling. Then for some reason I stood outside/away from it and BAM, I saw a FULL rainbow. Totally visible and totally gorgeous. Thank you Jesus for showing me your beauty! Without the rain, there is no rainbow. Picture was taken with my cellphone, but you can still see it. :)

Some of my recent hauls

I haven't post much, as I was having more muscle (?) pain. Not fun.

I want to share something fun now. Some of my recent hauls. I love to shop online. A lot of times you can find things online, but not so readily in a real shop.

Uneventful Sunday

Yesterday the girl dog and I went to our dog-friendly cafe for a little break. We were the only one there when we arrived. Gigi was off leash and she could sniffed and begged for all she wanted. :) Then 2 ladies and their dog arrived. Young black dog, bigger than Gigi... your "normal" "regular" sized dog. The lady said Gigi could say hi. I told Gigi so, she went to say hi to the human, but not the dog. ha. Which was not surprising. Then the dog came and say hi to Gigi and attempt to "play" with her (which she didn't do too much, just tower over Gigi) and Gigi snapped back. :D Just verbally. She turned around towards the dog and gave her verbal warning. It amazes me again how she could protect herself sometimes. And that dog apparently was also very submissive, so all was well. I think as Gigi gets older, she is more verbal towards other dogs. I just have to keep an eye on her more often.

We spent the rest of the day sitting on the couch watching tv. :)

Little fun facts of Gigi.

This month being Gigi's birthday month and all, I thought I would share some little facts about my girl. :)

Miss Chilli

I can't believe it's Sunday already. :( The weekend is too short, there is so much of "nothing" I want to do.

Gigi's birthday month.

Hello all. It is now October, which is Gigi's birthday month. :) Enjoy 20% off with everything in the shop. Use coupon code: HAPPYBDAYGIGI2011 Put on your party hat and let's have some fun. :) We also have a tiny shop at Zibbet, if there is something you want from that shop too, we can help you with that too.

Sunday fun time.

Sunday. Where did my weekend go?

Beautiful Things

Music is powerful. An amazing creation from God.

Mini vacation

My old roommate is visiting Seattle after moving back to her country (Japan) since graduation.

Silly Gigi

Lesson: don't run and bark at the same time, because you might run into something.

Money Well Spent -- PangaeaDesigns

Money Well Spent is our mini series of posts featuring items that we love.


This post is another infrequent post of Money Well Spent "series". Well, it's just posts of stuff I have bought which I enjoy a lot. Nothing too dramatic. ;)

I am a dog trainer

Yay! I am becoming a very good dog trainer! :)

Rally 20110906

Today is rally Tuesday. I have to write it down right after class or else I will not remember.

Dachshund Mom sticker pack

New item: DACHSHUND MOM stickers.

New policy

Just a quick FYI. I will not be doing any custom design just because you want to see it. If you want something that is not in my shop, you have to request a custom listing.

What's in My Bag. September 2011 version.

What's in My Bag. September 2011 version.

I finally decided to take a serious look in my bag. ha! I put this small "purse" in my bigger "work bag", where I also put my book and key and other necessities.

Friday-20110902

Happy Friday.
Gigi's costume for 2011 is being revealed. :) Nothing big, just fun. ;)

20110830-rally

-foot work: right turn (walk around the perimeter of the room), halt (left, small right, tiny left)
-stand
-left pivot (verbal, then pivot)

20110827-agility

Today is agility day Saturday. I slept horrible last nite, only slept like 4 hours total. Lame. Anyway, here are some info of today's run.

New fun lip balms are here.

They will feature fun graphics/images/pictures and are quite limited. :)

fun balms

After thinking about the balms from my last post. I think it will be fun to make some random lip balms with fun labels... not just the logo graphics and then information... but with interesting/fun/cute graphics I can find. That will be so much fun for me. :D

fun lip balms

Potential new lippies.

20110820 agility

Well, happy Saturday.

Gigi is famous

I am enjoying my YLBB Tumblr. ;) And Gigi is "famous" too. :) I submitted her pics here and here. "Like" or "Reblog" if you have an account on Tumblr. :)

Loverly tinted lip balm

Another tinted lip balm!

Think before you speak...

Before you speak...

T – Truthful
H – Helpful
I – Inspiring
N – Necessary
K – Kind

Is it all of the above?

Tumblr

Do you have a Tumblr account? It's a very fun and easy to use social media tool. I personally think it's best to share photos. I don't use it for regular posts and such. But posting pics and videos are great. Here is YLBB's Tumblr.

Rally 20110816

Tonight is rally night. Fun!

Redvines Part 2

My smart dachshund finally noticed that Redvines are actually quite yummy. :) I love her. She actually didn't eat any... just a few licks.



What a big difference compared to yesterday, huh? ;)

Redvines

Good morning! I hope you all had a nice weekend.

Blessings

My new favorite song: Laura Story-Blessings

Gigi is back.

Finally a new product. Well, it's a come back. Gigi, the tinted lip balm. :)

This time we have added some mineral glitter to make it sparkle a bit more. Come get them when they are available. :)

Dog park 20110810

We went to the dog park again today. :)

New item suggestion?

What are some lip balm flavors you would like to see when we reopen?

What do you like to see in YLBB? Or you want to see a different type of balm? Tinted? Healing?

Leave your ideas in the comment section!

Thanks!

Rally 20110809

Rallllllllly. Gigi had fun. You would think Gigi and I would be veteran... considering we started training before she turned 1. ;) There are always so much we need to work on. She is doing great though. And our trainer know us since Gigi was a tiny crazy puppy.

Shop Announcement

YLBB is going on a little break. If you need anything, like a new lip balm or anything. Convo us HERE. Or just email us. :)

Expect some fun balms when we return.

Dog park

I am sick of reading bad and negative news. So I choose to do things that make me happy. We went to the dog park after work.

Street Fair

Every year during summer my neighborhood has an event called "Pioneer's Day", where there will be street fair and food etc.

Rally 20110802

It was fun tonight, Gigi's barking was not too bad... there are still barking, but was less than last week. She barks out of frustration. Sigh.

I like Gigi. :)

I can't explain, but whenever I feel blah, I love to have a quiet time (though I need to do it more and everyday)... and then I look at Gigi and am so glad she is here. I am amazed at what a little wonder she is. She is such an amazing girl and I am such a lucky human. :)

Zibbet Shop

I have reactivated my Zibbet shop. Well, I have never deactivated it. Anyhoo, I listed 3 items there. They are only available on Zibbet, but not Etsy (at least at this moment). But I am having trouble browsing Zibbet. I was trying to search for lip balm, but the page keep resetting and taking forever, which is unacceptable if I was a shopper. But I am only using this as a test and for odd/new/surplus items.

They understand

Here is a cute story about Gigi (of course). She does not like getting her skin drops (tips of her ears, neck and the side of her body) and she will roll on her back, move around or do anything to get away from it... and that resulted in lots of yelling from me. I know, I suck as a mom. So yesterday while she was laying down on the couch, I took her skin drop and a fortune cookie and put it on the little coffee table right in front of her and I pointed at it and asked "Do you want it? If you do, stay still." And then I repeated that message again. Guess what? She stayed still the entire time. No joke. That shows she understands. Oh yes, she does. And yes, she did get her cookies (not the whole thing). I will repeat this "experiment" again tonight. I already know that she understands when I ask her whether she is hungry or anything that has to do with food. ;) These little furry ones know/understand more than you would think. They just play dumb.

Funny videos

We could all use some laughter, so here are some funny videos. :) Enjoy.

20110726 rally

Confusing rally terms. I am all mixed up. Gigi decided to be sassy and gets who get "yelled at"? We practiced a little bit after class outside on the grass and she was very quiet. WTH? But it was fun. And I also noticed my left finger nail polishes are all chipped, which they weren't before the class. And we know who did it. A certain long shaded-red dog.

Agility day

Agility Day. 2 courses. It was fun. It was also hard.

Christmas in July

Christmas in July.

Dachshund skin issue

Gigi has always has thin fur. Her ears are always crusty on the edges. And 2 days I saw she was actually flaky on her sides close to her armpits. And her head is a bit of dry too.

So today we went to see a pet dermatologist. Her skin condition is genetic/hereditary and she was subscribed Douxo. I just need to apply it to her daily.

Happy Monday

Happy Monday. I have this great picture and affirmation to share with you. If you "don't do affirmations", look at it as a wise saying and a way to look at life. WHY would you want to be unhappy and sad when you can deliberately CHOOSE to be happy. The choice is in your hands, literally. :)

Sunday night videos

I always like to end my weekend in a happy note/mood. Here are some videos that I enjoyed. :)

Gigi weight chart

We had a very fun agility day today. It is always good to run with her. She is the shortest in class and possibly the oldest in class as well. Today's class has 20 obstacles and a few discrimination (tunnel/dog walk), she did very well. I "lost" her a few times, but she came back to me (LOL). And she was not sniffing, so that was good. Trainer said I won the fridge magnet award (or something like that. ha.) today.

Rally Tuesday 20110712

Today is rally day. I know Gigi loves it and I am kinda excited about it too. We practiced the following:
heeling
attached "verbal que" to heeling-have pup sit, say heel... once pup move fwd, treat
down-speed, duration, distraction

Sunday granola

Happy Sunday. This morning I went to Target to get "stuff" and some cheese (for Gigi), some shower spray (must have for showers) and I found this granola again! Yay. I tried it many months ago in a small single serving pkg, it was nom. Like dessert for breakfast. Reminded me of the yummy "Chocolate Delight" (I think that's the name) from Trader Joe. It's very delicious to me, the chocoholic. :)

What would Gigi pick?

I am the admin for a work project and at today's meeting, the project mangers and myself got a little nice surprise! Ruth, the nice lady got "tailored" and thoughtful gifts for each of us. As a dog lady herself (2 handsome shih tzus), she got Gigi a present. :)

New training video: right pivot

Here is our newest training video. ;) We practiced right pivot yesterday in class and for some extremely stupid reason(s)?! I forgot to lure Gigi with food... expecting she knew what to do. So I pivoted and she was still sitting behind me. LOL.

BBQ

I hope you all had a nice Independence Day.

Happy Independence Day

Happy July 4th

Vanilla

To be honest, I am kind of having no inspiration or mood to make new lip balms. Because I have found some acceptable lip balms on Etsy or other indie place that I enjoy using. True it would be more than if I make them myself... BUT I can't just make ONE tube. Anyhoo...

Happy Friday!

TGIF! I hope you all will have a grand 4th of July weekend. Me and Miss Gigi were invited to a BBQ, so I am excited. I am not sure what Gigi can eat though, because she threw up again last night. :( I didn't give her too much food... and I don't know what to do. But she has good appetite and is in good spirit. So who know. What I know is her tummy is sensitive. And I will be very happy the day I don't have carpet any more. :P

Fun question

How do you organize your emails?

Do share, I'd like to be more organize with my emails. Keep them? Toss them? File them?

Fun training tip

Here are the commands I think each dog should at least have: sit and/or down (preferably BOTH)and come. You can name it whatever you want as your verbal que. The key is to say the command and the dog would perform it IMMEDIATELY.

Cellphone usage

Nowadays cellphone are so common that a lot of times it replaces your regular land line, which is cool and all. But I do have a few "feelings" toward cellphone etiquette. They are mine and you don't have to agree with it.

20110628 Rally and my June Favorite

It's so nice to be back doing rally. :) We missed last week and Gigi is eager to work work work. Gigi got a "hug" from trainer when we got there. ;) She adores D.

Gigi at the vet. Tumblr.

Today is vaccination day for Gigi. Due to her history of allergic reactions, we can't just go in, get her shots and go home, she has to stay the entire day at the vet. She did great at the vet and is also fine at home. What a relief!

The right amount of food

So a lot of people say Gigi is thin. I KNOW she is thin. She has always been on the thinner side (though at one point she was 11 lbs!). And I am working on adding some meat on her. She could definitely use some fat in her. So last nite, I was annoyed at people telling me she is skinny and added 2 more scoops of canned food. It's too much, cuz she puked. Gah. The fine line of increasing food intake. Can not do it fast, need to do it one step at a time. I actually want to add small meals through out the day. We shall see.

More pics of Gigi getting in the water. :)

Here is a mini slide show with pictures of Gigi fetching stick in the water for me. :) I know I have more pics from another occasions, but I haven't found them yet.

Dog park

We are blessed to have quite a few dog parks here. But Gigi isn't big on going to dog park.

Taking picture with your pet.

There is a post on Curious Pug about pet photography, which is worth reading. I love taking pictures of Gigi. I have not take as many pics now as I was when she was little... when she gets bigger everyday.

Things you can never have enough

Do you have those?

When I thought of this post, I was having Gigi in my mind, so that's what I will be talking about. :)

Gigi update

It has been almost a month since Gigi's HGE scare. I am so happy to have my baby back healthy and vibrant.

Peppermint balm

Fresh batch in the house: peppermint super balm.

This is a fabulous multi-tasking balm/salve. Use it on your lips or use it anywhere your skin is a bit irritated.

Untinted, gluten free, all natural healing salves to be used externally only. May provide relief to various skin conditions while keep your skin moisturized. Results may vary for individual.

They will come in convenient oval twist up tubes

Ingredients: herb infused sweet almond & sunflower oil, coconut oil, beeswax, argan oil, emu oil, essential oil.

herb: comfrey root*, chickweed*, calendula (*organic)
essential oil: peppermint

They will be listed once labels are printed.

Farmer's Market

I like Farmer's Market. First, it's right across where I live, I literally have to just cross the street. Second, it's about small business, great customer service and fresh produce. Last year I bought a lot of sugar snap peas, because they are fresh and sweet and Gigi loves them. I love hearing the crunching sound from her. It's totally cute. I am debating whether she could have any. So sad. There is also a shop I like there, it's Half Pint Ice Cream. The owner is Cle and she was very nice and her ice cream is delicious and she has some nice flavor. Today I had chocolate chocolate chips (told you I love chocolate) and coconut lime sherbet. Both are yummy. Last week, I had chocolate chip and lemon vanilla swirl and I also gave Cle a tube of my Chocoholic lip balm. ;) Because I talked to her on twitter that day and I introduced myself when I was at her table. Teehee. So I made a friend. We talked a little bit about small business. It was nice to hear her view. Anyway, if you have a Farmer's Market close to your place, go there and get some fresh goodies!

Footprint in the sand

Footprint in the sand
This is one of my all time favorite poem)

以感恩為祭

Went to church this morning this morning. During singspiration, the worship team shared this song with us. They sang it once since it is a newer song. What striked me was when the congregation joined the second time. I haven't heard such a unified strong voice in a very long time and I was so very touched. I love it. And I found the song on YouTube (gotta love technology!). Enjoy!

zzz

In my ideal world, Gigi would be sleeping in her crate with the door open in my room and I would have the option to close it.
In real world, Gigi sleeps in her crate with the door locked in my room. Not bad, huh? :) Lately if I ignore her (like working on the computer or cleaning etc), she will actually go into the crate all by herself and burrowed under her blankie. :) Last nite we went to my room around bed time and I was in the bathroom brushing my teeth etc. When I was done, she was already in her crate... and I decided to test it out and see if she would stay in her crate with the door unlocked. So I went to my bed... read a little and then turned off my light. No noise or whatsoever. Few minutes later I heard someone got out of her crate and onto my bed. :) I knew if given the choice or freedom, she would sleep with me. Same as on the couch, she prefer to sit on someone's lap than sitting on the couch itself. haha. So I spoiled her last light and let her sleep with me. :)

Does your doxie sleep with you???

Dog!

Yesterday I decided to give Gigi her last med. She got this med when she had her HGE episode, but she was only need to take it after she ate well for 3 days. The med is not for HGE, but for her heart worm (I think). So I waited more than 3 days just to be sure.

So here is what happened...

Lazy Sunday

Last nite I took 2 Benadryl and I have been all drowsy today... not good. But I had a good time with Gigi today (need a life?). She is hungry all the time and I am slowly giving her more food. But anyway, I didn't get too much done today... being drowsy and lazy. ;)

Money Well Spent -- kalyxcraftopia

While I was browsing Etsy (again) last week or so I came across this little store with lots of cute cards with doxie's images. (If you want to get my money, sell items with dachshunds on them or name them Gigi. ;) ) And I bought a father's day card. I ordered it on 6.2.11 and received it on 6.4.11.

Gigi's diet

Gigi's diet

Shower

Today is warm and is the perfect time to give the dachshund a bath. I gave her her shower in the kitchen. I cleaned it well before and after. It is so much easier to do it in the sink... I don't have to bend over the bath tub and the shower (sink) head is removable. It took a bit to have her stand in the sink (she has 2 front paws on the edge).

5 things 20110603-YLBB version

5 things. This is a tag I have seen somewhere and I have participated once on my other blog due to boredom. ;) I am going to do it again today, but it is my own version. Join me if you can. :)

Five Respect

Just want to share a song of my bestest, favoritest group in the whole wide world. It's from their 2010 concert. It was so kakkoii, that it makes me speechless and wanted to be in the concert so badly. :)
2010 We are SMAP. Five Respect.

Sale ending this Friday!

Thank you for those of you who have purchased during last week. Every penny helps with Gigi's crazy vet bill. The price will go back to normal to Friday (6/3/11), so grab what you need before the price goes back up.

20110530

Gigi had her follow up doctor visit today. It went very well. :)

世界に一つだけの花

世界に一つだけの花
Just want to post it again, for my own record, even though I have posted it a bizillion times. But I don't care, because this song makes me happy.

20110526 Update

Bright and Early! Good morning!

Funny animal pics

While on Photobucket, I found some funny pics, and thought I would share. Who couldn't use a laugh?

20110525 Update

Good morning my faithful readers. ;) I think I will put all updates in this same post rather than adding a new post later today... just so that there will not be 114987551 posts in this blog.

20110524 update 2

More Gigi updates, this is for those who would like to follow up on my little girl and also a place for me to keep record, in case I need to refer to it. Don't read if not interested.

Gigi's medication and other HGE info [for my reference]

Some of Gigi's medication

20110524 update

Gigi is doing very well.
Click for more update...be warn for poop reference etc ;)

She is home! ♥

Gigi is home now. She is almost back to her normal self. :) Not quite, but very close. :) She is back to begging non stop and as sassy as ever. :) She got tons of med... but i am just happy to have her back. Nothing beats to have my favorite dachshund back at home. :)

Thank you!

I want to post a short update: talked to the vet today, Gigi is doing better than yesterday and getting much needed fluid/med at the office. And we are definitely headed in the right direction. She will be on a bland diet for awhile, which is fine with me.

Talked to agility and rally trainer, we will probably skip class this week. As much as I know Gigi LOOOOOOOOOOVES to perform, she need to rest. ;)

And I want to thank EVERYONE (I hope you read this blog! So you will know my appreciation!) who have made a purchase with me, commented on my FB page, prayed for us etc. I reaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaally appreciate you all. You give us strength and power and I am eternally grateful for that.

If you have ordered from me today, I will try to ship it tomorrow. I am hoping I can work from home tomorrow, so I can watch Gigi.
I will also try to relist whatever I have on hands. :)

Once again, thank you, from the bottom of my heart during this very difficult time.

20110523 Gigi update

It was one of the most stressful Sunday I ever had.

More updates

I have Gigi home with me now. Turns out she had HGE (explanation below)... according to what I see online is that it is a "freak" thing. But I did take her to the vet the moment I saw her pooped blood. They gave her IV and whatever else (I think antibiotic too). She also got a scraped nose. But of course that's nothing compared to this. Please continue to pray for my little girl.

Sale!

Lip Balm Sale -- all lippies (excluding healing balms) are 30% off. Prices are already reduced. No coupon needed. For every 3 tubes you purchased, we will include one tube of our new Super Balm as a thank you to you. :)

Shop here or please click on the banner on top of the page.

Gigi update

Dropped in the vet (no appointments today) and they discovered (proved that they do check, kudos to them) she was to have her comprehensive exam tomorrow, so they are combining the 2 exams today. I hope it's just a freaky incident and nothing serious. Because I honestly can't think of anything funky going on... except I changed her training treats to real meat than using cheese.

And when we weighed her, she is not even 7lbs. :( She was 8-ish... but her puking and loose poop must have contributed to that... I don't know. I put it in the hands of God.

Will update more later.

Update:

Gigi is sick

I was hoping to sleep in today and such. But no such luck.
[read at your own risk. doggie sickness.]

Money Well Spent -- Scentless

No, this is not from Etsy. But this is not your mass produced item as well (at least I think not). If you are a pet owner, you know how your pet can have accidents and this product comes in handy.

Tails From The Dach Side

Do you love dachshunds? Do you love handmade? Well, this blog is for you. ;)

Finished Cross Stitch

If you haven't been following The Curious Pug, you should. :) Anyway, her post today is about her cross stitch she had finished. So I figured I should post mine. ;) I think I have mentioned previously that I was working on a Cross Stitch pattern and here it is time to reveal it. LOL.

Wednesday tibit

I have been obsessed in researching/buying/making/using balm/salve. To me balm and salve is almost interchangeable. I think (just me) the difference is in the recipe. But if you read balm/salve in my post, please assume they are the same thing--wonderful goodness made with a mixture of oils and butters and waxes. :)

Another new healing balm

I suck as a seller. I make things I like... I like making balms... then I look at all my creations... how and when can I ever finish them?

Dog Training

I love to train dogs. It's fun. I am blessed with an easy dog, but there is still challenging moments.

We all scream for ice cream!

I love ice cream, Gigi loves ice cream. Most people love ice cream. If you do, check out We All Scream by Lili Chin. She is also the amazing person who designed YLBB's banner and the image you see on your balm label. :) All the flavors look so amazing, but since I am a chocoholic, I would really want to try Sinful Chocolate Ice Cream. Since I don't make ice cream, I will just have to day dream about it. ;)

Life

Happy Tuesday. I hope your week is going great. Mine is a bit crazy. But that's life, right?

New Healing Salve

I call it Super Balm Plus.

...

My intention is FAITH, HOPE, LOVE, JOY, FREEDOM AND GROWTH.

I choose happy over being right. I rest my case.

Slight change of direction

I have decided to slightly switch my direction to the goodies I will be carrying. I am going to concentrate on salve rather than lip balms. Salve meaning it is for the body (in my case, you can also use it on your lips). I currently have Super Balm in my shop and I will be making more of those and possibly tweaking the formula further for another balm. They are developed because of my own need and they are great for temporarily relief minor skin issue. I love them.


SUPER BALM

1 character down, 2 more to go...

So yesterday I finished 1 out of 3 characters.  Actually the pattern is not too complicated nor too big.

Debating whether I want to do the other 2, because if I started on the second one, I have to do all 3... You will understand when I show you the final picture.;)  But I think I will do it.

Super Balm again

Made another batch of my SUPER BALM. Because I am rotating my own healing balm, my doc's cream and 2 more things (creams) I have bought in my daily skin-healing. I definitely want to use natural stuff in between "pharmaceutical" cream. So I will use cream from doc first and last thing in the day and in between I will use mine and other "skin-healing-means" to take care of myself.

Cross Stitch

I think the last time I CS was like 10+ years ago! My friend introduced me to it. It was a fun activity: relatively cheap, really help kill time and you got a pretty thing after you are done. So we would spend an afternoon stitching fun stuff and chatting. Good times. I have quite a few pieces made. But I am not sure where are they now????

Chilli update

Our little fighter is "almost" back to normal.

Happy Easter

He is risen!!!

We here at YLBB (me and Gigi and Chilli) wish you a very peaceful Easter!

Chilli

You all know that Gigi is my mascot for YLBB, but I have added Chilli to be our honorable mascot.

Rally night 20110405

Hello, my name is J and I am a dog trainer.

Ok, I am also a lip balm maker, but this post is about my fun rally class.

Soapy night

I love soaps

Mom knows best

Molly and McGee have their 3rd clutch! According to Carlos, they have 6 owlets this time. :)

Happy Monday morning. I hope you all had a good weekend. I received the following message from my boss and it was so true and I hope you enjoy it.

Law of the Garbage Truck

10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace -Dr. Wayne Dyer

Found this on my FB while I was organizing it. A good reminder.

Tinted lip balm-discontinued

I just found out the manufacturer of some of pigments for our tinted lip balm have discontinued, so that will mean some of our tinted lip balms will not return once they are gone: Gigi, Hope, Groovy. I hope to either find suitable substitute for those discontinued colors or start making some new colors. We shall see.

Happy Friday! Owelets!

I am so happy it's Friday. ;)

Birthday weekend

We had a fun time.

New lip balm!

Wow. I can't believe it myself.

This is the all classic flavor--Vanilla. A simple and classic yet elegant flavor. Made with all natural, vagan and gluten free ingredients. Packaged in shrink-wrapped classic twist-up style container. Easy to use and easy to carry around.

Ingredients: sweet almond oil, candelilla wax, olive butter, vanilla flavor oil (Organic coconut oil, Organic olive oil, Natural and organic flavors) and vanilla bean

Each tube: $3.99

It will be up on Etsy soon.

Happy Birthday to MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

I can't believe tomorrow is my birthday. Thank you for all the experiences and all the new ones that I will be having.

Banners

I have added banners on the top and also at the very bottom on my blog, 2 different designs by 2 very talented designers.  Both are clickable and will direct you to my shop. 

Gigi is tall

I always know my girl is taller than most dachshund.  Today proved it.  We went to PetsMart after agility class today to get some pee pads.  While waiting in line to pay there was a black and tan behind us and s/he is at least an inch shorter (visibly) than Gigi.  I have been asked many times whether Gigi is pure (or just asked what breed she is) or not due to her height.  I heard that taller doxies are not as "desirable" as the ones who fit into the AKC (or whatever) standard when it comes to "pure breed".  But I love my girlie, her tallness makes it ever a better quality for agility IMO.  And on top of being taller than the norm, she is skinny too.  Sigh, I wish I could be tall and skinny like Gigi does.  Did mention she eats like a cow?  ;)

Power is out.

Happy Saturday to you all! Today started out a normal semi-cold dry day, but it has turned downhill to being rainy, super windy. :( The power even went off, but now it's partially back on... which I appreciate and am waiting for the rest to return so I can cook some food. I have been starving since I returned home from agility! [Edit: full power back on around 3:30ish or so. Thank you, Jesus.]

A little plug

I just noticed most of my posts are not shop-related! But who wants to read a blog that is all about pushing their products, right? And I do admit that this blog is slowly moving to a blend of personal & business blog. But right now there isn't much going on w/YLBB, hence the heavy on the personal posts. I had lots of fun writing them though. :)

Happy Saturday

Some of my recent videos find. They are my heros or topics that I find inspiring or interesting. :)

Mel and Syd

I am still enjoying watching the little owls.

Healing Balm/Salve

YLBB healing balm

Molly & McGee Photo book

My beautiful book arrived today.  Yay for a new mailbox that will fit the book.  And the book itself is gorgeous.  Can't wait to flip through it. :)

Comment testing

Will someone kindly post some comments and let me know how it works?  Thanks!!!

Money Well Spent -- Kindle

Good morning! Do you love to read? Do you have issues of having too many books at home? ;)

New comment system

We have just signed up with IntenseDebate, so now we can actually reply to comments. Thanks to those who visits our blog and take your time to comment. :)

Manicure

Lately I enjoy playing with nail polishes... the different colors and finishes and all the embellishments you can add to your nails! It's just like art!

Lip Balms

What do I look for in a lip balm?

Ouch

Just found out via Facebook that one of my heros love Carmax.

Retraining wiener dog

Most of the time I have no issue of Gigi sitting on my bed. But I do have an issue when she puke (or burp stuff out) on my bed.

Iron Chef America

Anyone watch Iron Chef America? I am not a super big fan (though I do like Food Network), but I do watch it from time to time. What bothered me was the chairman... his super exaggerated act and I don't think he really is the nephew of whoever. One of the other reason I said that is I have seen him in CSI (Vegas) before, he played a monk! I am 99.9% sure of that.  So I finally can't take it any more (LOL) and looked it up... yup, he is a actor. No cooking background whatsoever, just a character in a tv show. And I found this interview on the internet.  Isn't that a little insulting for the chefs to give all these respect to a character that isn't even real?  It's a real cooking show, not a cooking soap opera.  Just a thought.  ::shrug::

More "owl sightings"

Looks like recently this blog has became more of a personal blog rather than YLBB blog. ;) But that's ok.

Fun Tuesday

There isn't much too exciting going on in YLBB land. I made a bunch more Chocoholic lip balms (because I love chocolate), but I haven't create any new flavors or color or anything like that.

Money Well Spent -- Rocky Top Soap Shop

I love soaps.  And yup, I have ditched those commercial soaps from the super markets long time ago.

Owlceanside

Mel and Sydney from "Owlceanside" :)

"Rocket Science 101" Kitchen version

• Dishes won't clean itself.
• Washing just the "face" of the plate is not enough, you have to wash the bottom too. Same for utensils.
• If the sink is dirty, the dishes ain't 100% clean.
• Put away the DRIED dishes BEFORE putting in the wet ones.
• Just keep stuffing rubbishes in a already full garbage can is not helpful. Take the garbage out.
• If you use the rice cooker, the lid NEED to be washed too.
• The counter is just as greasy and dirty as the dishes after all the cooking. Wipe the counter!
• If the dish towel is not wring dry, everything touched by the towel will be wet.

Duh duh duh duh duh duh duh duh
These are just common sense. Use your brain.
Any more you can think of?  Comment below?

take responsibility

I was inspired by this thought, and I was sure I have written it somewhere else, but I couldn't find it, so I am writing this again... also as a reminder to myself to take responsibility.

How many times have you said "I didn't do that on purpose." when something went wrong. I am here to tell you, you DID do that on purpose, just that the RESULT is not what you have expected. Because otherwise, you would have chosen the OTHER way to do it. You DID chose the way that did not lead to your desired result. There are ALWAYS choices in ALL event. Should I eat white rice or brown rice. Should I take the bus or drive. Should I buy it now or should I buy it later. There are choices and we make choices in ALL events... whether the result is what we wanted, that can be another story. And of course the result depends on our behavior and thoughts and other external factors. So we really should be taking the responsibility rather than blaming it.

More owls

Even though Molly and McGee's cam is not in session, but thanks to them, many more people have put up owl box and there is this one who is broadcasting and it's so nice to see another little family in the making. :)  Go see the "Owlceanside".  Mama Syd has 5 eggs already and sometimes daddy Mel spends the day in the box as well.  I love it.  Nature is amazing. 

Last night's rally

We love rally. Really. :)

Music-less today

Sigh...

Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Just watched some cute Cinnamon Toast Crunch commercials on TV. They are so cute. These made me smile... (and they are yummy)

Money Well Spent -- persnicketypelican

Today I am going to feature persnicketypelican. :) I have bought from her a few times and have always received great service from them. They are a team of mother and daughter. They are always very timely in answering my convo and to my special requests. Their products are super adorable and shipping also always fast. Goodies are wrapped in tissue papers sealed with their cute seals. And cards are wrapped separately with cardboard to keep them nice and flat. I am very happy with everything I have purchased from them and I would recommend anyone who loves doxies to go pay their shop a visit.

Here is my most recent purchase: adorable coin purse and a valentine's day card.

YLBB Sweet Pie Collection

New products over at YLBB!  You can find them here.

Money Well Spent -- Young Urban Puppy

I had my eyes on Young Urban Puppy for a while, the outfits looks cute, but the price was a bit high, so I saved some of the dresses as my favorite. And by now you should know I love to dress up my girlie girl. So when I saw she was having a super sale and I jumped on it. LOL. I ordered on 1.4.11 and received it on 1.10.11. I am quite happy with it. The material was a bit thinner than I thought, but I should not expect it to be as thick as Gigi's thick winter fleece (but it would be nice to have thicker material and maybe a bit more fabric around the chest area too?, so it can be double as a little jacket, since she shivers so much). Overall, as a cute dress, it's nicely made, fit well and good quality. And, I still haven't figure out how to put the headband on correctly and Gigi hates anything on her head (so that makes it even harder to figure out), but I am sure she is ok that I never figure that out. ;)

Interesting Etsy Find.

See what I found while browsing and searching Etsy.

Stylish Gigi

Cute older Gigi pics. :)
I have found so many pics and they are all cute.

2011

May peace break into your home and may thieves come
to steal your debts.

May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet for
$100 bills.
...
May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may
laughter assault your lips!

May happiness slap you across the face and may your
tears be that of joy!

May the problems you had, forget your home address!

In simple words ..

May 2011 be the best year of your life !!!

[snatched from a friend's Facebook entry]

Happy 2011

Wow, we can't believe it... we are just a couple hours away from 2011.  Where has the time go?  We are blessed with lots of goodness in life this year and are so very thankful.  We will be looking forward to another year filled with joy and love!

Talk Indie -- Dayna's Minerals LLC

In this installment of Talk Indie, we will be interviewing the talented Dayna about her handcrafted Mineral Makeup and her shop "Dayna's Minerals LLC".  If you have never try mmu, you are missing out.  Click "Read more" to read the interview.

What's on YLBB TV lately?

We are not too much of TV addict... we love crime shows -- CSIs, Monk, Law and Order (CI, SVU), NCIS are a few of them.  And we like watching dvds.  This week it's been a Japanese group concert DVDs (love it, we are big fan) and How to Train Your Dragon (third time watching it.  Great animation.  Highly recommend).  Sleeping Beauty (oldie, but goodie), another Japanese anime are also on the list.  Good thing we have DVDs now, can you imagine how many VHS you will have with all these fun things to watch?

Interesting Etsy Find.

Etsy Favorite Find.  Just things I have come across on Etsy.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas morning for Gigi. :)

Talk Indie -- Pinot by Lyn

TALK INDIE -- This is a new feature in our blog.  Being a seller we know how important it is for others to know you and your creations better, so I decided to interview a few fellow sellers I have met to learn more about them, their products and any tips they have.  Our first indie is Pinot by Lyn.
Click "Read more" for the interview.

Bargin fashion and a gift

I had to go to Target today to pick up some prescription and as I passed by the "dollar bin" I stopped by and see what they have (usually I just ignore them) and found these cute outfit.  It feels water resistant (most likely waterproof), with cord trim and fleece lining and Velcro around neck and belly and only $2.5.  I picked up a small (Gigi's usual size from Target) and it fits quite well (a little loose on the tummy).  I think it looks so cute on her. :)

Merry Christmas

Ouch.

Gigi is a silly dog, she was sleeping under cover and then heard someone came home and she hurriedly jump off the couch and hit her head on the coffee table. -_- She is fine, but she just look ridiculous with the lump. LOL.

M&M

I love M&M. To eat them and their witty commercials. Here are some of my favorite commercials. :) {So many to choose! Love them all!}

Dachshund handmade finds

Just some cute handmade items I have found in Etsy. :)

Dachshund nail decals

I bought some dachshund decals the other day from Ebay.  I was looking for something else, but end up discovering those goodies (typical?).  I only bought 1 set, since I don't know what to expect about them.  And I got them today (ordered 12.5; received 12.18).  I was going to post the link of the store, but apparently she is no longer a registered user???!!!  But I found THIS, which is similar.  You get a strip of little dachshund and you cut it out and place it in water for like 30 seconds and you can remove it from the water and slowly slide off white back.  They remind me of when I was a kid, my dad liked to put together car models and there are designs that included with the package just like that that are supposed to be for the designs for the side of the car.  Not sure whether it make any sense for you.  But these are like those.  I did one on my ring finger.  Next time I need to cut out more blank space.  Anyway, I have attached a picture for you.  This shop *had* (before the shop disappeared!) a lot of different decal and I think it's fun to add a little fun to your nails.  And it's not expensive.  Worth checking it out.  Now I am going to search some more online.

Weekly Gigi agility post

Here is this week's agility class. There are more videos HERE if you are interested. This week's course was a mirror image of class 2 weeks ago. Lots of rear crosses and we practiced A-frame. Gigi is not a big fan of A-frame, too steep for a tiny dog. We had fun and it's great to see our classmates. :D

Special holiday pricing on GRACE

Seems like our blogs has became a Gigi blog. ;)  But she is an important part in our shop, so it's only fitting to post about her.

Since our giveaway is now closed, I am offering something else:  I will be lowering the prices of all GRACE tinted lip balms to $5.  You can find them HERE.

GRACE is an all natural, vegan (see ingredient list, some are made with beeswax) and gluten-free tinted lip balm. No mica or colorants are used. The gorgeous color is from the herb, alkanet. When GRACE is applied, the color is this gorgeous red, which is flattering to most skin tone. This balm gives the little extra color to complete your look. It makes a great alternative to your store bought lip stick and perfect for everyday wear.

ps:  all the giveaway packages have been dropped off at the PO today.  Enjoy!!!

Rally Day 3

Part of Gigi's "Gotcha Day" "present" was to go to rally class!  LOL.  She loves going to class and eager to get to work.  And she did great, we have lots to learn and practice, but it was an awesome class. :)

Time Flies

7 years ago, I drove all the way outside of the city (and was lost!) to pick up someone very special. I have met her once weeks ago and have fallen in love at first sight and have been longing to the day to pick her up. Since the day she made my home hers, she has brought me so much love and joy. Happy Gotcha Day, my sweet Gigi. :)

Our mascot

According to our contract with Gigi, our mascot, one of the agreement is that we can take any pictures of her whenever and wherever. We take our contract very seriously. ;)

[see all the cuteness after the jump]

Agility is fun

Have been bringing my video camera to Gigi's agility class to tape. It's helpful to see how we ran, so we can learn from it. Today's class was not as easy as it looked, but it was fun and Gigi was not as crazy as last week, still crazy, but less. LOL.



Will be making a small batch of tinted lip balms, I think. :)