JASON & JULIE (HUANG) TORFIN

Litter box for dogs

2011-07-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

Switching from pee pee pads to litter box was a good choice for my
dogs who have really small bladders and no dog door.

I read online how small/toy dogs can be trained to use litter boxes.
Pet stores even sell commercial dog litter ($20 for 20 lb, search for "second nature dog litter"), but I
wanted to save some money so I copied someone's idea to use wood
burning stove fuel. ($5 for 40 lb). Stove fuel pellets are made from
saw dust that is extruded into the shape of small pellets. I also
considered modifying a rubbermaid container to be a litter box, but
the commercial litter box is only $17, and it's a pretty good product
because the edges are rounded off and one of the four sides is lower
than the others so the dog can get in and out easily.

Here are reasons why at day three of litter box training, I am very
happy with the litter box method.

1. Litter box is less expensive than pee pee pads. I would say total
yearly expenses for a litter box would be $40 and pee pee pads about
$120. The upfront cost of the litter box was about $25 for a
commercial litter box especially for dogs and a vinyl shower mat to
make the box less slippery. One of my dogs was spooked by the slippery
bottom of the plastic litter box, so I put the shower mat in there,
and it fixed the problem. Also, bidding on inexpensive pee pee pads on
eBay is less convenient than picking up a bag of pellets at the
hardware store, in my opinion.

2. The litter box is less smelly than pee pee pads. Pee pee pads need
to be changed daily because they are not very absorbent and they leak.
The litter will soak up all of the urine and the pellets turn into
sawdust. I don't bother scooping out the saw dust; I think I will
exchange all of the litter every three to four days. Just long enough
so the dogs think the litter is "fresh".

3. The litter box is more environmentally friendly. I was throwing
away a 2'x2' plastic pad every day (with two dogs using it). Now, I am
using a renewable resource that is basically just scrap from wood
processing plants.

4. I *think* the dogs prefer the litter box -- the reason I think they
prefer it is because they started pooping in the box too. With the pee
pee pad method, the dogs would poop anywhere (Bugs Jason really bad!!)
but now the dogs poop IN THE BOX! I think the dogs relate the pellets
to "outside".

Anyway! I hope this is interesting or useful.

Tips:

1. Buy the biggest dog litter box available so the dog has room to
circle around before doing his business. I bought the "standard" size.
They also come in miniature and toy. The box isn't too big to put in
the house. See picture, attached.
2. Buy a shower mat to make the box less slippery so your dog does not
get scared of jumping into the box (like one of my wuss dogs).
3. Crate training was very effective to get my dogs to use the litter box.
4. The pellets might be located in the gardening section of the hardware store in the covered area.
5. Be sure you can lift 40 lb!!!

Julie

One for the Gipper

2011-03-31T19:20:00.000-07:00

Hello to the two or three people who read this blog! We have big news!! Jason chose a law school. He is joining the Notre Dame Law class of 2014. Wooohooo!

This decision came after he toured law schools last week. In addition to the promise of an excellent education, he really loved the gorgeous architecture (the cafeteria looks like Hogwarts) and zeitgeist on campus. I didn't get to go because of tax busy season, so the closest I've been is when Jason insisted we watch Rudy on Netflix. And when I moved the GoogleMaps man around StreetView. Ha.

Soooo we are moving! To the midwest! Estimated move date is July 15, unless I can get a great job before then. I am looking for public accounting jobs or for financial reporting jobs at Notre Dame. Crossing my fingers.

One of the best parts of moving to Indiana is being close to my family. My brother and his family live in Indianapolis, three hours from South Bend. They have a little boy and a newborn boy.

Today I did a lot of research on using PODS or ABF Relocube moving containers. The quotes I got ranged from $1330-$1390. I read on movingscam.com that relocubes are higher rated, and that pods are overpriced and the service isn't as good. Anyone want to weigh in? I need your help!!

I look around our apartment and can't imagine packing in all of our stuff in a parking-spot-sized cube, eight feet tall.

Anyway, going to have to start posting everything we own on KSL classifieds! And soaking up as much of Utah as I possibly can. I love Utah. I do. I love it here.

Strategy Games

2011-02-07T07:48:00.000-08:00

Jason and I love playing Munchkin and Killer Bunnies -- and any strategy card game really. So if you like to play or want to learn, LET US KNOW.

more picts from D.C. trip

2011-02-06T11:50:00.000-08:00

we stayed at the mandarin oriental hotel for a few nights. this weird painting is in the lobby.

bureau of engraving and printing -- where money is made (it wasn't that cool... i wouldn't recommend the tour)

mis amigos

Stuff I learned while in D.C.

Influential Americans are sometimes given the honor to lie in state for their funeral, which means the tradition in which a coffin is placed on view in the Capitol to allow the public at large to pay their respects to the deceased.
Super-influential people are given the honor to lie on Lincoln's catafalque; a raised platform first used for Lincoln's funeral in 1865. BUT Congress has to approve the use of Lincoln's catafalque. Ronald Reagan, Rosa Parks, Gerald Ford each had this honor.
Best time to visit D.C. is in the winter. Even though it's cold, it's so much better to avoid the crowds, pay less for hotels (Grand Hyatt downtown was only $99 a night)
D.C. has GREAT food. YUM. We went to Matchbox Pizza. The spinach salad was so good, I tried to recreate the recipe this weekend at home. Also loved Rosa Mexicano (THE BEST GUACAMOLE EVER). Friends took us to a cajun restaurant. I'm sorry I can't remember the name, but that food was so good too. MMM.
If you contact your senator's office a month before your visit to D.C., you can request a tour of the White House. It takes a month to get your security clearance. I think something similar applies for tours of the Capitol.
FDR had a trusty Scottish terrier named Fala.

Washington D.C.

2011-02-05T20:56:00.000-08:00

Click on the images to expand.

national gallery of art - modern art collection

downtown, by the verizon center stadium
monuments
smithsonian museum of natural history
inside the u.s. capitol where tax legislation is analyzed
DC car show

more picts to come!!

Jason's Applying to Law School

2011-01-25T10:35:00.001-08:00

Jason applied to law school a few months ago. He's waiting to hear back from a ton of schools. It's very exciting. Here is Jason holding an acceptance letter from Pepperdine woo woo. I don't know if he'll choose Pepperdine -- this is just the only photo I've taken with him holding an acceptance letter. Soooooooo I think we'll know in April where or if we're moving for Jason to go to law school. It could be anywhere in the US!! Like Iowa, Indiana, California, Texas, Colorado, Virginia, ... even Salt Lake City. We're waiting to hear about financial aid and scholarships before we can decide if/where to move. p.s. he is done with classes at BYU.

Also, this is super random. But I think we've found Jason's celebrity doppelganger: Logan Marshall Green. Anyone who knows Torf -- does this not look like him?! I think Logan Marshall Green is in the OC. And a movie called Devil. Devil was pretty good -- It was written by M.Night Shymalan. I kept looking at Jason and then back at the TV because it was trippin' me out how much they look alike.

Julie turns 25

2011-01-25T06:43:00.000-08:00

pictures from my birthday.
carin got me that really cute necklace. the cupcakes are from mini's cupcakes in salt lake city. they were so good. two thumbs up! the sushi was really good too -- it was from simply sushi downtown.

my cubicle at work

2011-01-24T23:30:00.000-08:00

this is where i spend one third of my life.

accountant in action!!!

dream bedding at zgallerie

2011-01-24T23:18:00.000-08:00

i really like this bedding at zgallerie. i think the retail price is like $550 for everything excluding the bed (yoikes). look how soft it is. ahh!

i made these wreath trios

2011-01-24T23:13:00.000-08:00

check it out -- i did something neat and crafty over the holidays! i followed instructions from allthingsthrifty.com

i made two of these with christmas clearance ornaments.

one isn't really straight but thats ok i fixed it later. Each wreath trio cost about $13-$15. dude. it was really easy. you just hot glue everything until it looks good. do it!!!

i am a pet blogger

2010-07-14T10:01:00.000-07:00

i have to share this with the world.

as seen in salt lake

2010-06-27T21:19:00.000-07:00

Snapshot taken at the Carl's Jr. at 200 S. State. Yuppppp.

Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back

2010-06-23T12:31:00.001-07:00

Hi everyone! This past weekend I ran with my colleagues at work in the Ragnar Relay. Okay. This race is HARD. But it's a lot of fun to spend 30 hours racing from Logan to Park City. (188 miles divided up for 12 team members)

You run three legs of about 3-8 miles each. Some are uphill, some are hilly, some are a nice decline. Some are a brutal, dust-in-your-face gravel pit. Two climb what feels like Mt. Everest.

The weather was PERFECT. Crisp mountain air, highs in the 70s, and a nice breeze drying off all of your SWEAT!

This was my second year running the race. I'm not a "runner", but you don't have to be to participate in this. So don't be intimidated.

Some of the costs to participate for 12 team members go like this

$1000 1 team registration fee
$ 200 2 SUV rentals + gas for two days, 188 miles of route
$ 240 food (gatorade, pretzels, and more carbs)
$ 25 to pay for showers at middle schools along the way. or to use the bathroom.
$ 10 anti chafing lotion -- omg. a must. if you get blisters on your first leg. you die.

So it is not cheap!! But luckily this is a corporate event and lots of our clients were there, so PwC paid for us tax, auditing, consulting geeks to participate.

Some things I wish the organizers would change:

1. Offer discounts for hybrid vans/SUVs. 1,000 teams x 2 vans each + 3,000 volunteer vehicles = 5,000 (mostly SUVs) vehicles polluting Utah's beautiful air.

2. Get Recycling Bins out there. Every runner (12,000 runners) probably consumed at least 10 water/gatorade bottles (AT LEAST). There were NO plastics recycling bins. Nowhere. Race organizers KNOW the amount of litter created by these runners.

3. Dedicate one of the 36 legs to charity. Pick some local cancer fund. Or SOMETHING.

It's still fun, people. You should still do it if your friends ask you. I will. It's just a shame to see three opportunities (my bullet points) to waste.

Here are more pics of my team.

canine casino night june 12, 2010

2010-05-26T15:05:00.001-07:00

coming soon is Canine Casino Night! at the radisson downtown, 7 PM - 1 AM June 12, 2010. 200 W South Temple.

If you are a dog or cat lover and want to have a fun time raising money to end euthanasia in Utah, come to Canine Casino Night!!

Tickets are $38--- your pooch is invited and open bar drinks are included!

Gaming is "for fun" because we're in Utah. You won't be able to cash in your chips, but it's all to raise money to save animals!

A silent auction will be held. Over $30,000 of cool stuff will be auctioned off, so come snag oh, some vacations, clothes, La Caille meals, paintings, or smaller ticket stuff like dinner and a movie, whatever!

I will be there helping out with the silent auction!!

a "Canine Royale Lounge" features pawdicures and a pet psychic (hehe) and a veterinary consultant.

Go HERE to register! price goes up a little bit at the door ($45). cocktail attire, so come in heels and not much else!!

"Together we can save them all!"

hawaii 2010 (27 photos), by julie torfin

2010-05-26T14:45:00.001-07:00

these are our photos from hawaii!

we visited jess and rose bradfield.

we bobbed around in the ocean, saw sea turtles, tried spam, chocolate haupia pie, hiked into the mist, visited the pineapple plantation, shopped, and had so much fun!! woohoo!!