Catch Up! (No, not ketchup)

I'm just going to blame my blog absence on a crazy, fun, busy summer and spend a few paragraphs catching you all up on the highlights. I guess I have some major memory recalling to do since I haven't written a post since June! I don't think anything earth-shattering happened during June, so I'll just skip ahead to July. My parents came to visit us from New York for a week and a half! It was their first time on the West Coast. More specifically, it was their first time west of Illinois! It was about time, right?! We really enjoyed having them here. They were our first house guests! We all took a mini vacation and stayed at a beach house on Harstine Island on Puget Sound. It was really relaxing, and so much fun. I've never seen so many tiny crabs in my life! They were under every rock we overturned! Otto got to come with us, and he was so good! Apparently the key to good doggy behavior is car rides and vacationing. I told Hubby that we just need to go on perpetual vacations. It would probably end up being cheaper than replacing all of the items our bored, naughty pup destroys. We also took a day to explore Olympic National Park and to see the Pacific. Gorgeous.

On the way home, we made a pit stop at Pike Place Market in Seattle. 

 I flew back to New York with my parents for my wonderful friend's wedding! Gina was a stunning bride. :) It was a quick trip, but I was so thankful for the chance to reconnect with several wonderful friends. The hardest thing about living in Spokane is not being able to see family and old friends very often.

Photo by the lovely and talented Beka Watts.
http://www.bekawatts.com 

 I was also able to spend some much needed quality auntie time with my adorable niece, Nicole. A few of her favorite 17-month-old activities were playing with "wanyah," reading her "Melmo" book, and playing her Mickey Mouse Club House game on the iPad. Yeah, she's cute and smart. :)

Oh, and while I was playing in New York, my hott Hubby was moving all of our stuff to our new house! The best part about the new house: two of our awesome friends live downstairs. It's a pretty ideal scenario, I'd say! :)

This past week, Hubby and I both celebrated our 24th birthdays! We went to one of our favorite restaurants, and I got a wonderful facial for my birthday! I threw Russ a surprise BBQ and got him a fire pit for the backyard for his birthday! It was a good week.

I'm getting ready to do the student thing again as I start my first grad class online through the University of New England on Wednesday. I'm actually looking forward to it!

How was your summer? Are you ready for a new school year?

Pictures in the Park

Hubby is teaching in the woods this week and being more hard core than Bear Grills, so it's just the dog and me. Due to crappy rainy weather, Otto and I spent yesterday lounging on the couch watching Sweeney Todd and several episodes of Friday Night Lights. FNL was a college favorite, and watching it has brought back great memories of times with awesome friends. (You know who you are). :)
Today was a 180 degree turn from yesterday's laziness. Thanks to motivation from the sunshine and moderate temperature, I took Otto for a walk to a nearby park after church. I took hubby's Canon Rebel along to take some pictures. A word of advice: don't attempt to take decent pictures while holding a leash that is attached to a hyper Weimaraner. Otto likes to keep my life frustrating interesting. The photos turned out less than professional, but it was still fun. After our walk, I mowed the lawn, did a 100 Workout, and took Otto for a run. To make the day even better, I had phone calls from my parents and father-in-law. I even got to FaceTime with my brother, sister-in-law, and silly niece, Nicole. She was happy to show off for me on her new slide and tell me all of the animal sounds she knows. She's only 16 months old. She's a little smarty pants. :) I feel good about today. A phone call from Hubby would be icing on the cake. How about 1 little bar of service, Verizon?!

Here's that 100 Workout, if you're interested:

100 jumping jacks

90 sit ups

80 squats

70 leg lifts

60 jumping jacks 

50 sit ups 

40 squats

30 leg lifts

20 jumping jacks

Run for 10 minutes

Weekends with Friends

Our Portland trip was a blast! We had such a great time celebrating Cassady's graduation with her family and friends. And, our gracious hosts, Lizzy and Ray, spent the day with us on Saturday touring the city. I would love to share tons of pictures with you, but unfortunately I'm a total failure at capturing great moments. I like to think that is because I'm too busy enjoying them! Thank goodness for iPhones and Instagram, or I would never take a picture of anything! Here are a few Instagram faves of the trip taken by Hubby and me. 

No trip to Portland is complete without a Voodoo Doughnut stop.

The weather was beautiful, and the drive home on Sunday was picturesque (until we hit the Washington border). I swear that the scenery became instantly boring the second we passed from Oregon into Washington.

The following weekend was just as awesome as the Portland trip weekend. Hubby rented an Air Force cabin a couple hours north of us so we could spend the weekend with our group of Spokane friends. One of these friends is moving back to California in a couple of weeks, :( so this trip was kind of a farewell party. The weekend was full of relaxing, eating a lot of non-paleo camp food (including s'mores, of course), hiking, shooting guns, and fellowshipping with friends. By the way, Otto was in Weimaraner heaven up there. I think he's still recovering from all of the running.

"Hey guys, look what I found!"
Otto's new favorite chew toy.

Goodbye Wisdom Teeth, Hello Ben & Jerry's

This post will probably seem redundant to any of you who follow me on Facebook or Instagram, but in the interest of telling the stories behind the pictures, I thought I would re-share them anyway. Plus, I need to do something with my lazy self. It's 11:45 am, and I'm still in my pj's, people! TMI, I know.

Did anyone else enjoy getting their Wisdom Teeth removed? Ok, maybe the surgery itself wasn't that special, but I was knocked out, so whatever. I was expecting all sorts of horrible things to happen. I presumed my face would swell up like a chipmunk and turn all colors of the rainbow. However, thus far I've been pleasantly surprised at the aftereffects of having four molars cut and yanked out of my jaw. My fingers are crossed that my earlier fears aren't waiting to show up just in time for our trip to Portland this weekend! Not to toot my own horn or anything, but yesterday I did three loads of laundry, took Otto for two walks, cooked and pureed carrots, and made dinner for friends of ours who just had a baby. Maybe the pain meds and lovely weather gave me an extra boost of motivation! All of the sugar might have something to do with it, too! Froyo and Bolthouse Farms smoothies have a lot of sugar, but if you can't indulge in something smooth and delicious when you've had teeth yanked out, when can you?!

Today, however, pup and I are pretty content to snuggle on the couch while reading and surfing the good ol' internet. Could the rain and 50s have anything to do with that? I have a nice long to do list waiting for me in the kitchen. It's mostly cleaning, and who wants to do that? We'll see if motivation finds me again. Miracles happen everyday, right?

Lizzy and Cass

Back to that Portland trip this weekend! Cassady, one of my bff's is graduating from college on Saturday! Hubby and I are driving down tomorrow afternoon and coming home on Sunday. My lovely friend, Lizzy and her hubby are kind enough to let us crash with them! I'm so excited to see my beautiful college friends. They're awesome people. Ironic fact: Cassady, Lizzy and I all met at Roberts Wesleyan College in Rochester, NY where we were soccer teammates and instant friends. Now, we're all West Coasters living less than six hours from each other! God does cool things like that.

Spring Training

This week was absolutely beautiful! It only rained once, which is pretty incredible considering the cold/rainy weather we've been clouded with recently. Those sunny 60 degree days yielded large doses of motivation to get outside and exercise! My April Goals have also been highly motivational in the fitness and healthy eating categories. I'm happy to report that I crossfitted 3 times per week, and this week I met my 6 miles per week goal! I know that running 6 miles in a week doesn't sound like much. However, I work through all of the daylight hours on Monday and Tuesday, which exempts them from being possible running days.

Friday, on the other hand, is a glorious running day! I have Fridays off. Go ahead and be jealous of my 3-day weekends. ;) Yesterday morning
I tied my running shoes, clipped Otto's chewed up retractable leash to his collar, and ran a couple of miles around the South Hill. My running buddy did great, especially after running 3+ miles with Hubby on Thursday! This dog has an unlimited energy supply. In the afternoon, I had a really good Crossfit workout, too! Yesterday's WOD was "Lynne:" 5 rounds of max bench press reps followed by max pull ups. I did this workout several weeks ago with a 65 lb. bench press. This time, I did it with 75 lbs. for a total of 54 reps and 50 total pull ups! I'm so encouraged to see my strength improving. I could barely do 1 pull up when I started Crossfit. Holla!

This morning, Hubby and I took Otto for a run through Manito Park. My arms were ridiculously sore/tight from yesterday's WOD, but it was so much fun to run in the sunny

park as a little family. :) To top off our Spring Saturday, some of our wonderful friends stopped by this afternoon for our first BBQ! Isn't grilling out with friends and family one of the best parts of Spring and Summer? I'm a fan.

April Goals

I realize that this post should have happened on Sunday in order ensure a whole month of goal meeting, but I just made these goals this morning. And, inspired by my dear friend Beka at bekastays, I figured I should make them public for a little accountability. I can't break goals that all five of my readers know about! ;) I've written a few health related posts about Crossfit, Paleo, and Zone, which I truly believe are all wonderful tools to health and fitness. But I need to confess that I've been a big fat cheater. It's been a week since I've been to the Crossfit gym. (That streak ends today!) And, my bad snacking habits have taken me far beyond the boundaries of Paleo and Zone. I think part of my failure to really stick to these "diets" has stemmed from a lack of goal setting. That will no longer be an excuse because, oh man, do I ever have goals now! I created a list of workout goals and healthy eating goals along with a plan for following through.

Workout Goals:

• Xfit 2-3 times/week- Improve times and weights
• Run 6 miles/week (Bonus: Tire out the pup at the same time!)
• Ab exercises 6 days/week
• Tone legs and butt- At least 100 air squats and 50 mountain climbers on Xfit off days
• Lose 1 pant size- At least 1 inch from waist, hips, and thighs
• Fill in the gaps with Jillian- Level 3 of 30 Day Shred

Healthy Eating Goals:

• Stay in the Zone! 11 blocks/day
• Say "NO" to excess snacking
• 1 "cheat" meal/month (I'm thinking it will probably be Easter this month) ;)
• Try 1 new recipe/week
• No more than 1 cup of coffee per day-->Drink more tea!
• Drink at least 8 cups of water/day

Follow Through:

• Accountability! This post is part of my follow through plan, but sometimes I need a little extra accountability. Does anyone want to call or send me encouraging/motivational texts? Some days I could really use them! ;)
• Wear workout clothes and sneakers to work. Bang out some of those ab, leg and butt exercises while the kids are taking naps.
• Intrinsic Motivation/ Emotional connection to Goals- Remember that I'm doing this for my overall health and happiness.
• Don't let the weather get me down! I just have to accept that the weather in Spokane sucks 90% of the time. Rain ain't no thang!
• Be motivated. Be tough. Have fun!
• Don't quit.

Do you have any health or fitness goals? How about some advice? I'd love to hear them!

Kids Say the Darnedest Things

Do you remember the show Kids Say the Darnedest Things with Bill Cosby? It was a family favorite when I was young. My brother and I weren't allowed to call the show by its full title, though. We called it "Kids Say" because darnedest was a "shortcut swear word." ;) Anyway, I'm here to tell you that kids do say the darnedest things. I am a nanny for three preschoolers. I should know. They entertain me daily with their funny words and phrases. I have to share a few of my favorites with you. So far only Hubby has had the pleasure of hearing me quote my little munchkins. The twins, a boy and girl, are 5. Their brother, H, just turned 4. The girl is a little brown haired beauty. She loves singing, dancing, and being the center of attention. To say she has a flair for the dramatic would be an understatement. ;) Her twin is a little smarty-pants. His math skills and piano playing are impressive! Plus, he's super organized. I've never seen a kid's room as immaculate as his! Then there is H. Oh, H. He's all boy. Basically, he loves anything loud, dirty, and rough.

Twin Girl has picked up the phrase "dang it" recently. The other day we were coloring a picture together and she accidentally used the wrong color. She said, "Oh dane it!" I guess you had to be there, but it was pretty cute. I haven't corrected her because I don't think I should teach her the correct form of her "shortcut swear." Twin Boy has the most adorable speech impediment. I work with him on correct pronunciation, but part of me hopes he'll keep speaking the way he does. Honestly, it's cute. L's are tricky for him, so words like girls and pills become gews and pews. H is constantly asking "what's this" questions or telling me something that he knows. "Guess what Befany..." I hear those three loud, high-pitched words a lot!

"Befany, we can't watch that movie. It's chouched." Translation: Bethany, we can't watch that movie because it has fingerprints and has been scratched. Thank you for your wisdom, H. He is a big fan of "up sleeve" shirts and shorts. You may know them as short sleeve shirts or T shirts. I'm pretty sure he would go out in a blizzard in shorts and "up sleeves" if I let him.

What funny words and phrases do the little people in your life throw at you?

Triple Threat

Today, I'm going to attempt to blog about a few completely unrelated subjects in one post. Cool? First subject: Otto, the escape artist. On Friday evening, Hubby and I came home from the gym and were greeted at the door by our mischievous pup. This would be wonderful if we trusted Otto to have free reign of the house. We do not. He managed to escape from his crate by opening the zipper that he had previously weakened by chewing some of the teeth off. The damage was minimal. We actually expected much worse for his first home alone experience. He chewed the corners of a couple books, but they're still readable. Unfortunately, one was Catching Fire (you Hunger Games fans know how upsetting that is)! He also got ahold of my running gloves, one of hubby's shoes, and his leash. Luckily nothing was damaged beyond repair. When we left for church this morning, we barricaded his crate against the wall with the couch so he wouldn't be able to get out, even if he opened the damaged zipper. That didn't stop Houdini Dog. He somehow opened the undamaged side zipper. Otto made himself comfortable on the couch and chewed the crap out of his retractable leash. At least we know he's a smart dog, even if he's destructive. On a good note, Otto's eye seems to be healing well from his "puppy tacks." It's a good thing he's not trying to scratch it because, you guessed it, he destroyed the second cone we got him by running into the stone wall. Smooth, Otto.

Second subject: Zone Paleo. This section is probably only interesting to those who care about diets and nutrition. If that's not you, skip this paragraph. ;) As I've previously shared, hubby and I have been "following" a Paleo-ish diet for the past several weeks. I was hoping that my general avoidance of grains and dairy would help me shed some "I ate too much junk over the holidays" body fat. I was also hoping this high protein diet would boost my strength and overall health. What I've actually found is that I've gained a few pounds! Now I know the whole "muscle weighs more than fat" saying. But, my jeans aren't just tight from more muscle. I have been getting stronger, though! Friday, I dead lifted 160 lbs. and bench pressed 90 lbs. That may not seem like much, but I'm only 5'3", and they were both pr's!

Paleo has been great for helping me eat more protein and produce while greatly reducing the amount of grains and dairy in my diet. The piece that I've been missing is portion control. I think my biggest Paleo error was that I was eating lots of sweet fruit and nuts, which are at the top of the Paleo food pyramid. So, I decided to combine Paleo with the Zone diet. I'm not the first to think of this. Many Crossfitters eat a Zone Paleo diet because it's better portion control than just eating any foods that are considered Paleo. Zone is based on the idea that you should eat the macronutrients of protein, carbohydrates, and fat in a 40:30:30 ratio. What I love about Zone is that it lists foods and portion sizes that you should be eating and ranks them from best choices to worst. If you are looking to improve your eating habits and/or lose a few pounds, I highly recommend checking out this website. Also, Zone may be more appealing to you because it does not require you to completely eliminate dairy and grains. Something that blew my mind: 10 cups of raw spinach has the carbohydrate equivalent of 1/3 of a banana! Needless to say, I've been eating a lot more spinach and a lot fewer bananas.

Third subject: We got a motorcycle! It's a '92 Yamaha FZR 1000. It's a sport bike, so maybe it's not as cool as a Harley. But, we'll have fun with it, (safely, of course) and it will save us some gas money when Hubby takes it to work instead of the gas guzzling Bronco. Pictures and updates to follow as soon as we see some of that beautiful weather in Spokane that everyone else in the country has been enjoying! Share the love, Midwest!

Spring is in the Air!

Lord, thank you for this beautiful day!

I don't think I was even aware of how badly my mind, body, and spirit needed sunshine and mild temperatures! It's gorgeous out today, and I've been taking advantage of this awesome weather. Hubby and I started the day with our favorite paleo breakfast, paleo pancakes. I add a splash of vanilla and some cinnamon. They are as easy as the boxed variety, but grain and dairy free! Plus, we like them even better. Make them. Eat them. Love them. You won't be sorry!

I took Otto for a sunny walk/run around our neighborhood and to a small nearby park. While running through the park, we came across a pit bull mix without a human. Otto and said pit bull had a grand old time jumping on and sniffing each other. Otto was definitely doing the majority of the jumping. After about a minute or so of this puppy play, I was ready to resume our run. I tugged Otto away so we could continue. Guess who followed? I couldn't ditch the wandering dog! He kept jogging behind us despite my best efforts to get rid of him several times with a stern "go home!" He followed us right to our door, which is at least 1/2 mile from where he found us. Hopefully the friendly guy made it home safely!

By the way, Otto has had that cone on his head for less than a week because of his "puppy tacks" to fix an issue with his left eyelid. Yes, it is currently held together with an obscene amount of duct tape. He's destructive, to say the least.

Between jumbo loads of laundry (it really piles up around here) and dinner prep, we've also been out to do some yard work. Ok, I did yard work while Otto chewed sticks.

How else can I take advantage of this day? I'm hoping this afternoon's crossfit workout has a running component! I'd like to be inside as little as possible. Let's have some more days like this one!

How do you make the most of a beautiful day in early March?

Paleo Update: Top 3

First of all, let me apologize for my extended absence. I've been meaning to sit down and fill you in on this Paleo experience, I really have! Unfortunately, this combination of being busy, unable to pull my thoughts together, and guilty for cheating several times have kept me away. Shame, shame. There's my confession, so now let's get to the good stuff!

Sometimes Paleo sucks. There's really no other way to say it. Like I stated here, carbs are definitely one of my favorite things. Avoiding them (mostly) has been difficult. But thankfully, there are many talented cooks and bloggers eating grain and dairy free. I've relied heavily on their recipes to make this diet somewhat enjoyable. Three of our favorites so far have been this fish chowder (with a few alterations), this pumpkin chili, and this chocolate pudding! So, so good!

*Side note: this post is taking me FOREVER to write because I'm constantly having to stop to get this naughty pup off the couch!

You won't regret giving any of these recipes a try, regardless of your grain and dairy intake! They're all delicious! The chocolate pudding has more of a fudge-like consistency once refrigerated. It's amazing as a dip for strawberries! Happy Paleo eating! :)

Paleo

Fad diets are not my thing. Now get this: I am (reluctantly) ditching grains, legumes, sweets, and dairy for a Paleo diet of lean meat, nuts, eggs, fish, and tons of vegetables and fruit. This weekend, Hubby and I are starting a 30 day Paleo challenge at our CrossFit gym. We've been doing some research on this eating style, and we really like what we've been learning. Want to learn more? Others can definitely explain it better than I, so look here and here. In my opinion, Paleo isn't a fad diet because it's a lifestyle that can be kept for a lifetime. I'm all about a "diet" that lets me eat until I'm satisfied.

My reservations come from a strong love of all things sweet and packed with carbohydrates. No cereal or oatmeal? Seriously? Skipping cheese and yogurt is going to be difficult, too. I don't think I'll miss milk too much because I can still drink unsweetened vanilla almond milk, which is 10 times better than cow milk! I'm really excited to start this eating plan. This high-protein lifestyle is supposed to provide tons of energy, which meshes really well with CrossFit. Honestly, I'm still kind of skeptical that I'll be able to keep this up past the 30 days. But the nice thing is that occasional grains and dairy aren't going to kill me. The idea is to mix up the food pyramid. Paleo claims that meat, fish, and eggs belong at the base of the pyramid rather than carbohydrates like bread, grains, cereal and pasta.

What are your thoughts? Any wisdom from Paleo-eaters? Carb-lovers?

Just Call Me Betty Crocker

I was in a major baking mood this weekend. It started with a batch of these pumpkin muffins that I made on Wednesday. They were delicious. The leftovers went to work with hubby because I didn't need that temptation on my kitchen counter, even if they are relatively healthy for a baked good. The moist tasty muffins left me with a Glad container of pumpkin in my fridge, which of course led to more baking. I attempted these Pumpkin Cupcakes with Pumpkin Spiced Cream Cheese Frosting on Saturday. The cupcakes were fluffy and amazing. The frosting, however, was a total flop. While trying to be a rebel and use fat free cream cheese, I found that the recipe clearly declared "DO NOT USE FAT FREE" for a reason. I whipped the heck out of that stuff with my lovely Kitchen Aid stand mixer, but it was useless. I dumped the frosting wreck into a plastic bag and tossed it in the fridge to transform it into something useful at a later date. Instead, I drizzled a sweet pumpkin glaze over the cupcakes. The glaze was simply powdered sugar, pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, and milk. (They were not just for the two of us, fyi. We shared them with hubby's coworkers at a target shooting/dog-playing/Mexican food-eating shin dig at his boss' house.)

The muffin and cupcake recipes are both super easy to make, and they're wonderful for curing carb cravings. So, whip up a batch if you have a can of pumpkin lying around. You won't be disappointed. :)

Back to that frosting mess. I pulled it out of the fridge this afternoon determined that I would make something edible out of it. These are what I came up with!

I'm calling them Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cakies. They're like cookies, but with a fluffy, cake-like texture. And, surprisingly, they're good! Hubby snagged two right off the cookie sheet. ;)

Ingredients:

8 oz. package fat free cream cheese

1/2 c. canned pumpkin

5 T. brown sugar

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 c. Heart Healthy Bisquick baking mix

1/2 c. All purpose flour

(Measurements are approximate)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix cream cheese, pumpkin and sugars until smooth. Add baking mix and flour. Place by rounded spoonfuls on baking sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Thursday's Series of Unfortunate Events

I nanny on Thursdays from 7am-4pm. This past Thursday, I left the house at 6:30 with my coffee and my phone and drove through light snow to my employer's house. When I arrived, I realized that I had forgotten my purse. Shoot. I received a text from my employer while I was getting the kids ready for preschool. She asked me to take them out for lunch since the cleaners were coming; and let's face it, it's much easier to clean a house without three little hooligans running around and messing it up in a split second. I explained my forgotten wallet predicament to which she suggested that I take a check from her office and cash it at the bank. I loaded the munchkins in the vehicle and dropped them off at school. The needle on the gas gauge was holding steady on E.

I headed a mile or so down the road to my employer's bank to cash the check. No good. The teller explained to me that I could not cash the check without my ID. A verbal confirmation from my employer wouldn't cut it, either. She suggested that I try another bank (the one the check was from). I drove another mile to the second bank hoping I wouldn't run out of gas. I was denied yet again. Here I was in an empty gas-guzzler without a penny. Praying the whole way, I managed to drive back to my employer's house. The snow was falling more rapidly by the second. After telling my sob story to the cleaning lady who only speaks broken English, I decided that I would have to drive my car back to my house to get my wallet. It was the only way I would be able to put gas in the guzzler, pick the munchkins up from preschool, and be able to pay for their lunch. I had well over an hour to complete this task, so I figured I would be fine. I quickly brushed several inches of snow off my car. Then, I quickly brushed several inches of snow off my pants after a pretty epic wipeout. Since nobody else was there to laugh at my expense, I let out a few chuckles. Could the day really get worse? Don't ever ask that question. The answer is almost always, "yes."

I finally pulled into our driveway twenty minutes later than I had expected. The highway was getting pretty nasty, and I learned quickly that Spokane doesn't know the first thing about snow removal. They choose the "ignore it and hope the temperatures go up" option. I ran in the house, grabbed my purse, locked the door and jumped back in my car. "I still have fifty minutes," I thought, "I'm golden." haha. I slipped my shifter into reverse, pressed the gas, and didn't move an inch! The car was completely stuck in our slightly sloped driveway. Ten minutes and a twenty point turn later, I was inching my way back to my employer's house to switch vehicles, get gas, and pick up the kiddos. I had to call their preschool teacher because I was a good fifteen minutes late picking them up. Moral of the story: do not ever forget your wallet because you will not be able to cash a check, you will almost run out of gas, you will be forced to drive in terrible weather conditions, and you will take an epic fall in the snow.

I should also mention that it took an hour and a half for me to drive 15 miles home that afternoon. It was a good time. Fortunately, hubby came to the rescue and switched vehicles with me downtown so I wouldn't have to attempt the steep south hill in my little Malibu. Trust me, a car named after a warm sunny place is probably not going to be a beast in the snow. The Bronco, on the other hand, definitely is.

Puppy Love

Hubby called me from work on Tuesday and told me that he had found a puppy for us! We'd talked about what breeds we like and had done some research, but I had no idea how quickly we would go from talking about a puppy to bringing one home. We decided that we would really like a Weimaraner because they're known for being active, intelligent, and very devoted to their owners. Hubby contacted the breeder, and we drove an hour west of the city on Wednesday to pick out our own puppy! Otto Von Zipper is a big beautiful boy. After picking him up, we drove to the Idaho border to pick up his sof-krate2. Hubby found a great deal on this brand new collapsable crate on Craig's List. We also spent a small fortune at Petsmart on all of the puppy essentials. We literally had nothing for a puppy except a raccoon chew toy that we had received with a shower gift. Said squeaky toy just so happens to be his fave. He's already brought us lots of laughter, snuggles, and frustration. Those of you who have trained a puppy know what I'm talking about. Thank goodness for hard floors.

The first post-holiday post

It's taken me a little longer than I had initially thought it would to get back in the blogging saddle. (I know that sounds incredibly corny, but I couldn't resist). When I started this blog a few weeks ago I thought I'd be posting at least once a week. I'll try harder to make that happen from now on. But as my hubby gently stated a few minutes ago, maybe my life is too boring to blog about. He was kidding.

Our Christmas celebrations included flying East to be with our wonderful families. We saw my parents and brother, sister-in-law, and beautiful niece first. Then, my parents drove us to Bennington, VT where we met up with Russ' parents. We stayed with them in NH until New Year's Day. It was so good to be with our family and see old friends. I knew I missed them, but didn't realize how much until we were all together again. As always, it was over way too quickly. One thing I don't miss, however, is the holiday calorie intake! Oh my goodness, did we eat well (and by well I mean soooo badly). There were too many delicious meals and cookies to count.

After a painfully long day of flying, we opened the door to our humble little house, cranked the heat back up, and plopped down on the couch for the rest of the evening. It was good to be home. Just three short months ago, home was my parents' house in NY. Even when I lived in Michigan last year, I still considered their house my home. But now, that comforting word has a new meaning for me. I saw a quote on Pinterest last month that defines this word so well. It simply says, "Home is where your husband is." So for now, home is with my hubby in Spokane, WA.

We're back to our pre-holiday routine. It's back to work for my hubby and back to nannying for me (sure to be a source of many future blog posts). Plus, now I'm joining my hubby at the Crossfit gym. Oh Crossfit...workouts that have the power to destroy every single muscle in your body. I'm counting on it to destroy the holiday fat, too. ;)

How is the New Year treating you?