Ginups....and rain rain go away....come back another day.

So...this is a two part post. First off...I grew up in Panama for those who don't already know this...and Panama of course is in Central America and is a rain forest and well has different fruit from up here. When I was little, one of my favorite seasons was Ginup season...now there was always street vendors in Panama...men/women/children selling flowers, mangos, or whatever else was in season. I always knew ginup season was around when the men/women/children were holding up big bags of green fruits called ginups....or as I discovered yesterday at Publix....Mamocillos is what they are called in the Dominican Republic and I was so excited to find out that they are being imported to Publix....

Yesterday as I was heading home from browsing around Jo-Ann Fabrics(after I updated my registration on my suv which was a bit late) and I was heading back home I decided to just go into the Publix that isn't my local one but maybe one of the closer ones to our new house. I got all the necessities and was getting veggies and fruits and I saw out of the corner of my eye a familiar looking fruit from long ago. I haven't been back to Panama since 99 so you can see it's been a while. I took a double take and there amonst the other unsuspecting fruit was the ginup or mamoncillo....oh how happy was I!!! I grabbed a bunch and as I was heading to the register tried calling my sisters to let them know the amazing thing I just discovered...of course non answered.. :)

So....after dinner last night I pulled out my packet of ginups and showed Special K was they were and how to eat them. At first he was at a loss for how much work they are for little reward but once he started eating them and got a good one he couldn't' stop and we almost finished the bunch. He said they made him feel weird...they kind of dry out your mouth but they are good and we enjoyed it tremendously. :)


So yesterday it rained most the day on and off...and so I was hoping that today would be different but unfortunately it hasn't been but it's been worse. It has rained non-stop since early this morning. I slept in because I thought that it was still dark and I was waiting for it to stop before taking the pups out. It didn't so I just took them out to the backyard since it's was pretty much flooding all around my apt and neighborhood. Jackjack hates to get rained on and was a baby while we were out there. He quickly went potty and just hung out right under the roof. Abigail the craziness that she is decided to find a tennis ball...soaking wet tennis ball and wanted to play. They both were soaking wet when we got back upstairs. Special K called and asked if I'd bring him lunch and as a good girlfriend that I am I picked him and his boss up some Chick-fil-A...MY favorite place and took them lunch in the pouring down rain but that's ok. It was nice to eat lunch with them and now that I know that I have to babysit tonight it's was good getting a chance to hang with him today. Kel and I are going to go to see Hairspray at 3:30 so that should be a fun thing to do in this kind of weather. :) Hope you are all safe and dry. Have a great day.

PS...pics are from my apt. My landlord's backyard and the view from my front steps.

Another Dog Post!!! GO JACKJACK

Ok...for starters...here's some more info on the pet food recall. This stuff really scary because I'm obsessed with my dogs. Itchmo I don't feed my dogs anything I can get at a grocery store yet I'm still worried that they aren't eating the right food.

Ok...what I really wanted to post about was my amazing moment with my dog Jackjack. Now...for background info Jackjack, my black lab likes to run off. He's even gotten hit by a car and his elbow shattered. He's got two pins in it. Ok...besides the point. So...I've been workign really hard on his recall, ability to come when called, and his general attention to me since he's been injured. My golden Abigail is much better at generally staying close to me. The last couple weeks I've trusted her enough to go to the grassy area by my house and play chuck-it with her and I tether jackjack to the picnic table and train him. Well, yesterday we were out there and a girl and her sister who I had just met a couple weeks ago was walking and stopped to talk to me....hence mom is distracted. I wasn't paying attention when Jackjack spotted a chihuahua and decided to get it. He ran and when he hit the end of the leash...it just snapped. I saw my escape artist running away. Abby and I quickly headed after him..me yelling his name. The poor unsuspecting owner quickly snatched up her pup. Jackjack of course as soon as he got there veared away. At this point abby was close enough to tackle him. I yelled again and they both looked at me...and this is the big part...which to others isnt' big but to me is HUGE. Jackjack looked at me and started running towards me. As soon as he got to me I threw a party for him and gave him tons of treats. :) It was awesome. Abby of course was right there with us. We stayed for a bit longer than the three of us headed home with smiles on our faces and to the pet store to replace his leash. :)

Looks like my time with two dogs who can be off leash and stick around are closely approaching. I'm excited to test him out at the dog beach...

Dogs...

There probably will be quite a few post about my dogs. For those of you who don't know. I have two dogs. A big black lab named Jackjack and a golden retriever Abigail Grace. They are the joys of my life and I try to spend as much time with them as I can. Lately...since I discovered that Abby really doesn't try to run off as long as I have a ball around...we've been going to this grassy area by my house and playing chuck-it. Jackjack gets tied to the picnic table and I train him. He will run off with any type of freedom he gets. Give him an inch and he'll run a mile as fast as he can.... :) Well...it's been nice. I used to take them to the dog park almost every day and let me tell you....some other owners are nutts and I'm not always in the mood for stupid dog talk. Yes...here I am having a stupid dog blog and yet I dont' want to hear someone elses dog talk. :)

My other favorite things to do with my pups is take them to the dog beach. This is probably my favorite because Abby is so darn cute when she's there. It's also nice to be at the beach. She wil swim and swim all she can. Jackjack is getting better at wanting to swim but he does not like big waves....what a shame.

"My goal in life is to be as good of a person my dogs already thinks I am." This is my favorite quote and trust me...my dogs think I'm pretty great.