Floyd Mayweather VS Manny Pacquiao

Whether you follow boxing or not, chances are you have heard about these famous boxers.  The anticipated fight is FINALLY happening.  After years of negotiating the fight is finally happening. To catch the fight you have to do one of the follow:

• Pay HBO $90 for standard viewing or $100 for HD
• Team up with some friends/family and split the bill
• Go to a restaurant/bar that is playing it and pay a cover charge $10-$35

Apparently they are trying everything they can to prevent people from illegally streaming the fight.  The businesses that do decide to pay to view the fight are apparently being charged around $5000.  It's crazy!  Whoever wins or loses will walk away regardless millions of dollars but what is at stake: pride/bragging rights.

Me, personally I want Pacquiao to win because he represents those of us that prefer to be humble and grateful for what we have.  There are too many cocky and "entitled" minded people out there in the real world.  Yes, it's all about the skills in the ring not so much outside of the ring but they are both GREAT fighters and I believe it's going to be an awesome fight.  Mayweather has crazy good defensive skills which will be to his advantage.  I hope Pacquiao doesn't act too hastily and use his speed and accuracy to his advantage to get Mayweather out of his comfort zone.

The fight will be held in Las Vegas and it will start at local time 8PM.  Will you be tuning in?

Here is a clip presented to you by HBO - I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did! ;)

Advertising Opportunity For All!

Today I went through my office supplies and tried to downsize (still working on it)!  I came across some random pens and markers and decided to see which ones I can throw away.  While I was doing this, an advertising idea came into mind.  

People still advertise with flyers right?  So that’s what I did – I made a flyer.  I was going for random and colorful.  I think I succeeded.  Although it does look like a 5 year old made it.  I liked it.  It has character I think! ;)  I just hope it works.  I posted it in a local coffee shop so we shall see.  

Do you have a website, blog, or forum?  You can reply to this entry and take it as an advertising opportunity and I won’t flag you for it!

Seeking a beautiful place in California.

Our second anniversary is coming up in a couple of months and my husband and I are trying to plan for it.  Our schedule is not that free where we can take a whole week off like we did for our honeymoon so we have to stay close to the northern part of California.  We've already been to San Francisco so we're wanting to do something different (although I think that is our back up plan if we don't figure out something else).

Here are some of our ideas but feel free to get in touch if you can think of anything else!

• Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
• Lake Tahoe
• Lassen Volcanic National Park
• Point Reyes National Seashore

Shawie's Feeling Blah....

I'm going to be turning in a little earlier tonight.  I am feeling sick.  Not so much like I want to throw up, it's not a headache... just that blah feeling.   Drank water, now some hot tea, and I'm going to go sleep early and see if that fixes me.  The hubby says that it might be the lentils we ate yesterday.  He says that he thinks he read somewhere that if lentils aren't cooked all the way it makes it really difficult for our digestive system to process.  I don't really feel like looking it up right now.  I am writing this entry because I am DEDICATED to this blog.  ...and I have a valid excuse to why this entry doesn't really contain anything useful or interesting. lol  Tomorrow I will research lentils and update this so it's not too useless. Goodnight!

Update:
So I feel much better today. I don't know maybe I was just really tired last night.  It may or may not have been due to lentils.  Lentils have a lot of beneficial nutrients e.g. fiber, protein, iron, etc... I read though that one can consume too much.  Lentil have phytic acids which isn't as dangerous as it sounds...it just means that lentils naturally keeps its nutrients in so your body tends to not absorb the nutrients in its entirety.  Just like nuts in moderations they have good fats but one should not eat a whole lot in one sitting as it is more beneficial when consumed in small amounts.

Sir Percy - The Majestic Cat

I remember I was at work when I got the text from my husband asking me if he could bring a cat home from visiting his dad.  Apparently his aunt had been leaving food for him but never let him in the house.  Also, at the time they believed he was a girl.  It wasn't until we took him to the vet where it was determined that he was actually male but had been neutered already.  At the time while we thought he was a girl, I wanted to call her Persephone after the queen of the underworld in Greek mythology.  Jared thought that name was too long anyway.  To my delight when I found out he was in fact a boy I insisted we call him Percy and the name stuck especially when called him Sir Percy when I first met him.  The name sounds like the name of a gallant knight or something!


I had a pretty strong feeling that we were going to adopt a cat anyway because my husband has always been more of a cat person.  Percy is the sweetest cat I have ever met even sweeter than my former cat from when I was a child named Oreo.  Most of the time Percy is really good, minds his own business, and keeps to himself most times however when he is hungry or his litter box isn't clean you will know about it.  There is no ignoring Percy.  He also has this tendency to go completely limp once you hold him. It never fails he looks totally at ease when you carry him. We absolutely love this cat no doubt about it.

Beautiful Monterey, California

Monterey is such a beautiful city.  There was a gray overcast all day today however I couldn't help but still admire the surroundings.  I've lived here for for almost two months now and I can't help but still feel like a tourist.  There is definitely a lot of history in this city I'm taking my time with learning them all. John Steinbeck - famous American writer known for his works such as Of Mice and Men, Cannery Row, and many other titles lived in this area including Pacific Grove, Salinas, and Monterey.

I still have yet to master the art of parallel parking.  It amazes me how fearless some people can when parallel parking.  There can be literally be three cars behind them but they have no issues with pressing on the breaks and reversing into the empty spot.   In downtown Monterey you'd be lucky if you can secure one of the 1 hour parking spaces sometimes even luckier if you can score a 90 minute one!  I still find myself aiming for one of the 2 hour parking spots because:
a) They usually don't require me to reverse into a parking spot.
b) If I do want to parallel park there usually aren't any traffic on those sides of the streets so I can do and take my time.
c) The extra walk allows me to see more of the city!

My husband and I parked our car near the Art Museum decorated with large sculptures in its vicinity.  We walked down to Fisherman's Wharf and ate breakfast at a small but busy establishment called Crêpes of Brittany. We shared a fabulous savory crêpe which featured brie, salmon, and mushrooms.  Unfortunately we devoured the dish alongside our coffee before I could even take a picture of the dish! It was delicious!  The way I see Monterey... it's like a mini San Francisco.  It's not as crowded yet the feel of it is very close to San Francisco particularly in the Fisherman's Wharf area. 

New Osio Cinemas - Small town movie theater-like experience

My husband and I went to a small movie theater called "New Osio Cinemas."  It was a great experience.  Older audience surrounded us, however, I think I like that better than sharing a theater with noisy teenagers or children!

The movie we saw was Danny Collins.  It was a very enjoyable film.  I recommend it if you're looking for a feel-good type movie.  It stars Al Pacino and I would definitely consider it more of a comedy/drama.  He plays a musician named Danny Collins who end up turning his life around from being a destructive rockstar and hoping for a more meaningful lifestyle after reading a letter he received from legendary John Lennon.

I really enjoyed our experience this evening.  The movie theatre seems to only have 5 screens.  It was small and intimate feeling.  I look forward to having more movie outings like this in the future.  For only $6.50 per ticket, I thought it was worth it.

Are Naps Good For You?

There is a misconception going on that napping is just for children and the elderly.   I think for us who enjoy to take naps shouldn't be marked with the stigma that we are lazy, unambitious, and lethargic!  It's been scientifically proven by experts that short naps during the day is actually quite productive particularly in instances where one didn't get a full night's rest.

According to sleepfoundation.org a short nap of 20-30 minutes long is recommended for short term alertness.

There are Pros and Cons to napping as will most things in life.

Positive Effects of Napping

• Restores alertness
• Enhances performance
• Reduces stress
• Reduces mistakes/accidents
• Improves mood

Negative Effects of Napping

• Grogginess
• Disorientation
• Interrupts nighttime sleep

The negative effects typically happens when one take a nap longer than 30 minutes.  If you find yourself taking regular naps and still fall hard asleep at night there might be a chance that you are experiencing sleep apnea which is a medical term for when one's sleep is interrupted in the middle of the night because they stop breathing.  If you think you might be experiencing this you should definitely consult your doctor about it as there is a machine that can you breathe more consistently while you sleep.

Of course naps are good for you but avoid taking such long ones because that will ruin your nighttime sleep.  You know who knows a lot about napping? My cat Percy.  Yes sir Percy loves to take naps he takes them constantly.  *sighs* we're starting to get used to him scratching his scratch post at 3 in the morning.

Do you like to take naps?  What is your take on the matter?  Comment below, I would love to hear from you.

Mocha Hot Chocolate - Yummy!

The weather here in Monterey has been on the colder and gloomy side lately - perfect weather for hot chocolate!   You see this mug?  If you go to Starbucks or Target you will see this mug for sale for the price of $9.95.  I found it at the local Goodwill Store for $0.99.  What a steal right?!  I personally do not like drinking coffee from it because it's so big that before I can even get halfway my coffee is cold and I find myself having to top it off more often than my smaller mug.  However, it is PERFECT for hot chocolate.  Whenever I have left over coffee I save it.  That's right you DO NOT have to throw away your left over coffee if you decide not to drink it all.

5 Things You Can Do With Leftover Coffee

1. Put it in ice cube trays.  They are perfect for a homemade frappe or ice coffee (that's right no more watered down icy drinks)!
2. Use it in your next chocolate cake or brownies baking session (coffee flavor makes huge difference)!
3. Use it to make Mocha Hot Chocolate
4. Make Thai Iced Coffee
5. Use it in your oatmeal instead of milk. 

Simple Escape

I wrote this Prose back in 2005 - gosh, that was 10 years ago.  My ultimate goal is to get back into creative writing.  In hopes of reviving that passion again I will begin to post my original works.  Your comments would be greatly appreciated as always.  Thank you for reading.  This one is called, "Simple Escape."

I love going to used book stores. There is a treasure to be found in here, but there is no map. There is no X to mark the spot. I am wrong. There is not one treasure to be found here, there is gold every where. Every book, every paragraph, every poem, in every page there is something new to discover. All you ever wanted to find are in these pages; you just have to know what you're looking for. History, biographies, romance, science fiction, non-fiction, choose a world to explore and there is a book in these crowded aisles that can get you there. Choose a genre that you want to escape to and there will be pages that will take you there.  

Imagine... authors spent hours perfecting each page to match their satisfaction. As a writer, one should know how much time is required to get what you want to say down on paper. There is an average of two-hundred pages in one book. At least 400 hours were dedicated to each masterpiece. A writer is an artist of words and each page that they are willing to share with us, is a page of their soul. A writer shares pieces of their soul with us. A writer is a master of their soul. Yes, a book is a masterpiece. 

I know you must agree. You are the reader and in this particular moment, it is your attention that I have earned. I have said things that interest you. Perhaps you could relate that is why you are still here. You may be thinking that my writing is simple. That is all right with me because using difficult vocabulary is not my intention. I am not writing for a stranger who is going to determine whether I deserve a score of three out of four.  

I am still an amateur writer. Even the term 'amateur' I feel I don't deserve. I have yet to gain the experience and the will to create a masterpiece such as a book, but I am sharing a piece of my soul. It is not possible for one to completely share every thing they keep inside for even words can be limiting. For now, I am simply a writer who reads and has great respect for old used book stores. Who are you? Are you a writer? Perhaps you have something to say. I have provided a moment of escape for you. Go ahead, and do someone else the favor.

Living Life VS Making a Living

I am in a unique situation, where I am able to focus on just doing what I love - as in hobbies and interests without being required to work or make a living as some would say.  I can't help but sit back and realize that all these years I've spent working I had allowed myself to get comfortable and let my work dictate how my everyday was going to be.  I no longer tried to do something different or interesting.

I started off being active in this blog thinking that in itself would be a motivation for me to the things I love as in reading, cooking, spending time with my dogs, etc.  However, it's not just that it's about me and living my life the way I choose to.  How many of us can say that we are truly living life the way we want to? Are we spending our time with those that we love the way we want to?  I don't want to lay somewhere one day and think "I should have spent more time with my friend and family" or "I wish I didn't work so much" or "I should been a better a friend".  It's so easy to get caught up with the everyday grind.

We hear it all the time to seize the day and live life to the fullest but seldom do we actually do it.  No more excuses.  I only have $3.93 in my wallet and I've got to say it's an amazing feeling to know that that doesn't matter.  My husband and I are not rich by any means but we are in a wonderful position.  After this venture in California we can literally go in any direction we want to.  That is an amazing feeling.

Delicious Mussels For Dinner!

I swear my blog is going to be more than about food and my pets.  Just bare with me please. lol  For now, I must talk about our amazing dinner tonight.  We went to Costco and bought 3 lbs of mussels for $12.71.  Gosh I remember when we used to go to Joe's Crab Shack and spent $9.99 on like 12 pieces of mussels!  It tasted so good!!! I will post my recipe below so you can try it if you like.  It is really simple to make seriously, the most time consuming part is cleaning it but it's not difficult at all.  You can serve this with bread on the side if you like.  We like to eat this with rice.  Brown rice is the healthier option of course but tonight our mussels were accompanied by white rice. 3lbs of mussels really is a lot for two people.  It should be shared with 3 people really in my opinion.  ...but Jared and I still killed it. lol

Ingredients:
3 lbs of Mussels
8 Cloves of Garlic (Pressed and Minced)
1 Cup - Italian Parsley (chopped)
2 tbsp of Butter
1 Medium Onion (Minced)
1 tsp of cumin
1 tsp of cayenne pepper
2 tsp of black pepper
2 cups - white wine
1/2 cup - all purpose flour

Instructions:

1. Put the mussels in a large pot, cover it with water, and mix in 1/2 cup of all purpose flour.  (I don't know the science behind this but it is supposed to help clean the mussels!)  
2. While it's soaking take this time to press your garlic and mince them (8 cloves is actually a lot you may consider putting less if you do not like your food too garlicky), chop your parsley, and mince the onion.  
3. So going back to the mussels: You can use a special brush  if you have it but I literally just used my fingernails to scrape off any dirt clinging on to the outer shell.  (You want to run cold water over each shell as you clean them.  Remove any beard like in the picture my pinching and pulling on it until it rips off.  Discard any broken mussels or any that are already opened (they should all be tightly shut at this point).
4. Rinse out your large pot and place it on your stove after turning your heat to medium-high melt your butter and saute your garlic and onion for about 1 minute then mix in your spices.
5. Pour your cups of wine and bring to a boil.
6. Mix in the mussels and cover with lid right away.
7. After about a minute, secure the lid and give the pot a good shake.
8. Cook for another three minutes.
9. After that open the lid and gently stir all shells should be open at this point. 
10. Serve this right away with rice or bread. Note: discard any mussels that are not open. Enjoy!

Homemade Mocha Frappe - Cost estimate: Less than $1

Every morning we make coffee and if I'm not really feeling like drinking the rest of the pot I like to put the remainder in ice cube trays.  This homemade mocha frappe may have cost me $1 but most likely even less than that.  If I were to go to a coffee shop and order this then it would cost me at least $3.75 I think, plus whatever surcharges they add for substituting in soy milk. If you haven't done this at home it's really not as much work as it may sound and it's delicious.  As for me, Jared no longer has to hear me gripe about how they made mine a little too sweet.  I will post my recipe at the bottom of this post but feel free to customize it for your liking. I do not add any sugar but you can add some if you like your frappes sweeter.  I haven't tried it but I'm sure one could also add in caramel or peppermint.  If you end up trying this let me know how it turned out and how you made yours, I would love to hear from you!

Sharon's Homemade Mocha Frappe Recipe

Ingredients:

8 Coffee Ice Cubes

1 Cup of Soy Milk

2 tablespoons of chocolate syrup

Whipped cream

Instructions:

In a blender mix the coffee ice cubes, soy milk, chocolate syrup.  Of course you can always change the measurements to your preference.  I like mine really pureed but that's up to  you if you like yours with larger chunks of ice. Pour into tall glass.  Add whipped cream and drizzle a little bit of chocolate syrup on top. Enjoy!

Balthazar - The Hyperactive One

I think that is the perfect word for this little guy.  I remember when I first got him he used to howl like a wolf.  I will have to try and hunt that video down somewhere.  It was sooooo cute!  So yes, he is constantly running around and getting into things.  I always need to have him within my sight because I'm too afraid he will do something he's not supposed to do.  I once had to take him to the vet because it looked like he couldn't close his mouth all the way shut.  He was still eating and running around like he does but his mouth just would not shut.  I had my friend Isabela hold him down while I examined his mouth but I could not figure it out.  The vet looked and with a tool that looked like pliers she was able to unlodge a piece of a ballpoint pen cap.  Somehow it had wedged in between his teeth and gum was black so it blended in with the inside of his mouth.

Balthazar is actually really friendly and will let anyone pet him.  It is when you don't acknowledge his presence that he goes crazy and barking. Poor Kimo, sometimes he will look at me with an expression practically screaming "get him away from me please" because Balthazar just wants to play all of the time.  It is not unusual to see Balthazar running circles around Kimo as he just lays on his blanket.  Kimo's a bit of a grumpy grandpa though and Balthazar knows just how far he can annoy him. I rarely ever catch Balthy sleeping and when he does it is not very long at least in the day time.  At night time though he snores. lol

Pizza My Heart Supports Local Library

Pizza My Heart is my favorite pizza place here in Monterey, California.  Granted, I've only officially eaten at two different pizza places so far but yes I exaggerate not that this is my favorite pizza place here. :) The first time we ate here a few weeks ago we each got a slice and ate at the restaurant.  (It's a lot like Sbarro, but taste even better!) We chose to have pizza tonight specifically because they had this deal going on where if you eat there tonight they will donate 30% of what we spent to the Monterey Public Library which is pretty awesome in my opinion.  It's a great marketing strategy but it's also a very generous offer for a great cause as well. 

We ordered the Big Sur pizza which features: cloves of roasted garlic, organic tomato pizza sauce (bonus points for no GMO!), pepperoni, sausages, portobello mushrooms, and green onions.  We also got a nice Greek salad on the side.  Something else that I've discovered here in California...I love marinated artichokes in my salad!  I convinced Jared to order us a whole pizza so we can also bring it home.  This will allow me to have pizza for breakfast!  Is that weird? 

Kimo: The Sensitive One

This is Kimo my long haired chihuahua mix.  I found him walking down the street back in 2006.  I told my mom that if no one claims him then we will keep him. I wanted to originally call him Kimahri after the video game character from Final Fantasy X.  My mom thought it was too hard to say so she named him Kimo instead.

He is at least 10 years old becauses how you see him now is pretty much what he looked like back then.  Out of my two dogs he is definitely more of the sensitive one.  When I find him doing something he's not supposed to do and compulsively yell at him he will go to a corner and not come near me for hours.  It doesn't take much to win his love back again though.  He does not like long walks on warmer days.  I blame it on his long fur. When we went to visit my brother and sister-in-law in Simi Valley we walked for maybe 15 minutes and Jared had to carry him on the way back because he just layed flat on the ground refusing to walk anymore.  Kimo is extremely laid back.  Sometimes I think he thinks that he's a cat.  Totally content with just sitting next to a window in the sun or underneath his blanket for hours.  Although he does get extremely excited when I suggest we go outside.

Kimo loves attention.  Unfortunately if he were to get outside and someone were to walk by and just say how beautiful he looks, he would have no problem going home with them.  I remember this happened one day and in the time it took for me to put my shoes on and run after him I saw a little Hispanic girl carrying him towards her house. I literally had to yell "Hey, little girl! That's my dog!"  She let him go and he ran towards me. I didn't talk to him for hours that day.

"We always vote for Democrats"

"We always vote for Democrats," My mom answered me when I asked her the question, are we Democrats or Republicans?  ...and as 3rd grader and a child, I knew better than to question my parents.  I was never told not to but I always KNEW that I should never ask why.  Now that I'm an adult though, I can't help but ask why.  ...and for the life of me, I don't know why children are discouraged from asking why whenever they didn't know the answer.

As a society WHY are children told to be quiet so often, to sit on their hands, and not to talk to their neighbors?  Why do we have to accept the way things are without explanation?  Why do we feel like we can't make a difference?  I spent about 2 hours today looking up articles and youtube videos of the presidential candidates of 2016 (and potential ones) and I think I am more confused now more than ever.

I've been registered to vote since I was 18 but I have never voted.  Gosh, would the women of the 1920's be so disappointed in me.  I've said excuses like "I never got around to it" or "I never had the time to go out and vote" but that's not really the truth is it?  I simply do not know what to vote for.

It's funny as a 3rd grader you don't know a whole lot let alone politics. I remember literally thinking I think I would vote for Bob Dole but I was afraid to say out loud because all of my classmates were saying Clinton (and back then I wanted to vote for Bob Dole because his name was easier to spell)!

Back in 2008 I was afraid to admit that Obama sounded like a good candidate for everyone around me were going for McCain.  Who wouldn't want change? Isn't it time for a change? Yes we can! What a great slogan.  *sighs* Two times now have I had the chance to vote but neglected to because I didn't want to be swayed by peer pressure and I was just downright scared to make a decision.

Well, 2016 needs to be different.  OK so I know a lot of people say that it's not going to make a difference who you vote for the system is rigged anyway but my thing is...if everybody thought this way, then why make believe that we are a democratic country?  We have the power to vote so why don't we?  I think it's because we've gotten so used to being told what to do, to sit on our hands, and to be quiet.

Oh but now I am more confused more than ever.  It seems like 75% of the information online is about why you should not vote for the candidates.  Who should we vote for?  There are no guarantees that what they say during the presidential race are exactly what they're going to do once they're in office.  As a matter of fact, which presidents actually went into office and did exactly what they promised?  I don't know the answers to these questions because I've remain stoic and indifferent when it comes to politics for I hated hearing the debates and arguments of people whenever politics became the subject of a conversation.  Well, I still got over a year left right? I still have time to educate myself the best I can in order to be prepared to exercise my right as an American and vote for the next President.

What about you - where do you stand with politics?

What is your story?

I am confident that reading will spark my creativity.  After reading Louis Jenkin's "Just Above Water" I felt that feeling again - the one where I feel that have the ability to write.  In his book I imagine a man just writing exactly what he was thinking and THAT was enough to get published.  His writing seemed so simple, obvious, literal yet at the same time covered with metaphors.  There was one story in there called "The Skiff" which had wonder if in fact that was based on a true story. It intrigued me so much that I reached out the author himself and emailed him about it.  This was his response to my inquiry:

Sharon, 

Thank you for your note. I used to work as a fisherman on Lake Superior so I heard a lot of stories of the "old days". The poem, however, is not based on any one story, it's fiction, but I hope that it succeeds as a "true story." 

All best,
Louis Jenkins

That is the kind of writer that I want to be.  To write something and have someone wonder "Why?" or just simply wonder how I came about to writing what I wrote.  Truth is, we all have a story composed of many stories.  I haven't written anything fiction, poetry, prose... but I'm headed in that direction. I can feel it.  Until then, at the very least I'll always have my blog.

Ambrosia India Bistro

This is one of my favorite places to eat at here in Monterey, California.   I love the food here and I am never disappointed. Perhaps it's because I always catch the lunch buffet and am able to try EVERYTHING.  $14 for a buffet is pretty pricey but I think it's TOTALLY worth it. The naan is always fresh and I can always depend on the fact that they have tandoori chicken. I know, my plate looks like a mess but it's one DELICIOUS mess.  Butter chicken, chicken curry, tofu tikka...there are so many dishes available.  We eat at Ambrosia twice a month...it's just awesome every time.  Do you have a favorite restaurant that you regularly like to eat at?  Tell me about your experience by commenting below. I would love to hear from you!

Pinterest...Got me pinned for hours!

This is what I look like while browsing through Pinterest.  I don't use Pinterest too often but when I do OMG!  Time sure does fly when you're having fun.  I know I know, it's just a bunch of pictures collected and you can click on them if you want to read about it but oh my goodness, I can never get tired of looking at baby puppies, tigers, then there are recipes, do-it-yourself projects and... ah the possibilities are endless!  I was supposed to read a book that a friend recommended to me last night but I never cracked it open after the first chapter because Pinterest just well, pinned me to my iPad!  Next thing I knew I couldn't keep my eyes open any more.   I now remember why I don't look at Pinterest too often, it's not that I don't like it - I just like TOO much! ;)  Are you a fan of Pinterest?  What do you typically look at on there? Please comment below!

My Dogs' Everyday Routine

Dogs LOVE routine.  I've got two puppies (well I call them that because they're small lol)  Kimo is the long haired chihuahua mix he is 10 years old and Balthazar is the short haired one who is 3 years old.  Today I wanted to post about my routine with them.

At 9:30AM – I take them out to walk  then let them eat breakfast. Then they hang out with me while I mess on the computer or watch a movie.

12:30PM -  I let them out again. 

Then they hang out with me as I clean the apartment and read a book.

If I plan on leaving the apartment I put them in their kennels.  I find they are much calmer when I leave them there.   When I get back I take them out to walk again which is usually around 4-5PM.

Then we hang out just around the apartment again then the last time we go out is around 7:30-8PM.

They seem to really like this schedule and every time I divert from it I suddenly find they form selective hearing and they just generally get anxious.  Dogs are funny like that!  I am only able to have this routine for them because I currently don't have  a day job. It will be interesting to see how my routine with them will change in the future.

Do you have dogs? What is your everyday routine like with them?