Ein, our dear Snappagator, is growing up so fast! I honestly don't know  how many times I'm going to say that throughout the course of his life but probably until he's three or four, or until the next puppy. Hans is a big pup so while he'll always be my puppy, it does feel like he's grown up already.

Ein, on the other hand, is smol and is expected to remain smol. But what does his small paws love? Just like big brother Hans, he also loves the snow!
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Our boys are definitely loving it! Hans loves to play in snow but he gets enough of it after a few minutes. Granted his fur isn't that thick (and he's so big it's hard to find a good coat), Ein is fluffy and welp, looks like he's a snow dog at heart.
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It's a beautiful, freezing Saturday morning and I had to go pick up Mocha from Barkshire Pet Care Services in Neenah, WI. Bear was also not with me today, so it's things I had to face alone - such as driving through County Road A through pure ice. I've never done that, but here I am in one piece!

Finally, I laid my sweet prince Mocha to rest and he will stay with us forever.

Bittersweet Biscuit

Today, I also had to go back to the Oshkosh Humane Society to pickup a new special piig - Biscuit Piig. It's a bit bittersweet, having to bid farewell to Mocha and welcoming a new family member.

I am posting this with a very heart. I rarely post about sad things but it is part of life so it's quite inevitable at some point. 

My Rainbow Mocha

Everything was all good, everything was just fine until I went up Saturday night to find an unresponsive and cold Mocha Piig. I was alone at home, with a little puppy who needed so much care - I felt so helpless. There was nothing I can do anymore for Mocha. There was nothing I can do for myself but cry there and break down.

On our first Valentine's day together, after we got married, I wanted to go somewhere special. Back then, budget was tight and a regular restaurant was expensive for us. We still wanted to have something special and I was also still discovering Wisconsin as it's only been a few months since I arrived.

We found the only sushi buffet place nearby - Island Sushi in Appleton! Oh you can just imagine my happiness. Seafood is hard to come by here (at an affordable price), let alone a nice sushi place! It was definitely a great restaurant and we've spend all our Valentine's day there... until 2021.

Bear's new job requires him to be away for days at a time and we really can't decide right now when he will be home. A snow storm and lonely on a Valentine's day, I focused in blowing the snow and getting things done. While it sounds sad, it's also actually a good me-time moment.

If you're in the U.S., you've probably heard of the massive snow storm that hit us and affected mostly the South. We still got a good chunk of snow up here in the Midwest, and I was on duty keeping the driveway and sidewalk in tip-top shape. While I was clearing the driveway on Valentine's morning, I was caught by this sweet surprise!!

Not gonna lie, I was in a quick panic the moment I noticed him because he pulled in as soon as I was starting to put away the snow blower. Next thing I know, he handed me this very beautiful vase of flowers - my favorite roses and carnations at that!

I've been seeing it on Facebook and I finally took the plunge and bought my first set of Misen knives.

As you may already know, I love to cook. For a very long time, especially when I was back in the Philippines, I use whatever it is I have at home. I don't have terrible cooking equipment but I definitely don't have anything fancy. I think the fanciest pieces we ever owned was a ceramic pan and a ceramic knife.

Well, marketing works pretty darn well with me so I gave in and purchased the Misen Essentials Knife 5-pc Set. It retails at an already discounted price of $200 but you can use a 20% off code (TRYMISEN) to get extra shaved off! I ended up paying 8a total of $160.