A Well Groomed Pup

Trooper went to the groomer yesterday! We tried End Results Grooming and she did a great job and also worked with my schedule. So handsome!

We have had a nice weekend. The weather has been amazing. On Friday night we were in bed by 9:30, which felt so nice! On Saturday I took my Little Sister to Splash, an indoor water park. It was so busy and exhausting, but I know she had fun. Then we went to dinner for a friend's birthday at the Bier Stein, a really nice bar in Eugene. Jim's working away (he has three papers due tomorrow) and Trooper and I are heading to puppy school at 5pm. Jim is taking Trooper to an allergist/ dermatologist tomorrow to try to find a solution to his itching.

Pet Portraits

I have finished a doggie painting for a friend in Illinois and have been "commissioned" to paint two more doggie paintings! Do you want me to paint a picture of your pet? Let me know and we'll arrive at a price ;)
Tonight was a nice volunteer appreciation at the Oregon Electric Station. I was so happy that one of my wonderful friends/ fellow mentors was there. It was a nice evening.
Trooper has a dog grooming appointment on Saturday as well as an appointment at the doggie dermatologist/ allergist on Monday morning. Hopefully the dr will find the source of his itching and help him get some relief. Poor pup!

Crafty Creations

I made this!! This is the Heather Bailey Saturday Market bag. I LOVE Heather Bailey's stuff. The only hard thing was the straps. You can't see here but they look like crap. I made this for my darling favorite little friend in the whole world, Vanessa. She's the best friend a gal could have and her birthday was last week.

Now I'm working on a change purse with fleece lining. I guess I should say that I just tore apart a change purse. I made it but messed up so used my seam ripper to salvage the zipper. Next time I think I will get it!

Sunshine

These are two of my favorite guys!


We took Trooper to Wayne Morris Ranch. This is when we were about to leave and Jim had to hose his muddy legs off.


Wow, we had sunshine all weekend and it looks like no rain next week either! On Saturday, I took Trooper and my Little Sister to the dog park. A crazy lady actually asked us to leave when Trooper barked at her dog. She said, "Aggressive dogs aren't allowed in here!" and wouldn't give it up, so we left. He wasn't growling or snarling and was just trying to play. We then just walked around the park to the other entrance. Eugene has an interesting dog park crowd. Then we walked around on the paths in the park for about two hours. It was okay, but I think the "unstructured" play time was a little boring for my Little Sister. Jim made us falafel for dinner and we had drinks with some friends. We actually went to a party on Friday night as well! This morning we woke up and took the dog for an outing. We stopped at Sweet Life Patisserie and each got a savory pastry breakfast and coffee. Then we went to a park with a huge dog run area. Trooper ran off leash and got so muddy. Then we walked him on the paths. He was able to get a lot of outside time two days in a row, which was great for everyone. We made it home for Jim to watch the Bears game (sorry Bears) and me to get some cooking and cleaning done and work out. On the menu tonight is a new Giada recipe: an eggplant timbale. I love, love, love eggplant in any shape or form. This is def something to make when you have time. It was a lot of multitasking. And I followed the directions but did not prep enough eggplant to cover the whole dish. Next time I would double the eggplant slices. It's baking now and smells lovely. I also made Ina's Macaroons. They require still egg whites, and you can't make those as easily on a rainy day, so today was perfect. This recipe is one of our faves. I also add a bag of semi sweet chocolate chips to this one. How can you go wrong with that :) ? I also intended to make a cream of mushroom soup for later in the week, but will just do that after work one night. Trooper and I had puppy classes tonight and he was so well behaved! Hardly any barking and he even got complimented by the teacher! We worked on "sit" (which he already kind of knows) and "leave it." He's had such a big weekend that he's just passed out right now. This week should be fairly quiet. I've started running with one of my girlfriends a few nights a week after work, so that's nice. I also have a Big Brothers Big Sisters appreciation cocktail hour after work on Thursday. Tomorrow night I plan to blog about some crafting/ sewing I've been doing!

Happiness

If you want to see what happiness looks like in a picture, check out Posie Gets Cozy....

Sewing and Leaves

One of our Christmas gifts was a lemon tree from my mother-in-law, Karen. It's been sprouting new baby leaves! It will be really awesome if it flowers and grows a fruit. We have to research how it's pollinated. It gets pretty hot in Eugene and there are a lot of bees outdoors, so hopefully we'll have a bountiful harvest.


Last night I whipped up a sewing machine cover! I've been meaning to make one for awhile. I just cut out a rectangular shape of fabric (this is a heavier canvas fabric with a sewing theme; you can't see it but the designs are little scissors, pin cushions, and irons) and sewed on four pieces of ribbon to tie together. It kind of looks like a woman wearing a bonnet.

Now I'm going to make one of Jim's new fave dishes: spaghetti carbonara. Click on the link to read about it! Make sure to read about the guancile while you're at it.

Bedlam Farm

I finally finished Waiting for Snow in Havana. It was a really good book but it took so long to get through it. Sometimes I only read my book at night and I get so sleepy reading that I fall asleep after two or three pages. Tonight I picked up the latest Jon Katz book at the library. He's a really neat writer. I think he started as a communications writer but I really enjoy his animal/ dog books. He bought a farm and owns a mini donkey (my dream!) He's also an awesome photographer. If you like animals, farms, etc, I'd check out his website. I'll let you know how Rose in a Storm is. It's a novel that is apparently written from a Border Collie's point of view.

Speaking of Border Collies, our dog is a nut tonight. Jim came home to find him stuck on the window ledge! He couldn't figure out how to get back down with all of the plants. As soon as I got home from my dinner, he came running at me and has barely stopped since. As I always say, what a nut!

Puppy Training

We are working with Trooper on a few new "foundation" training things. We are creating a yes and no marker and getting his attention with "watch me." He's doing okay, but it's hard for him outside. That's where he needs it the most. He'll get it.

This weekend was so rainy. A road in a neighboring town eroded away in the heavy rain. I made Trooper go on a half hour walk with me, and both my golashes and rain hat were leaking by the end. They reached their limit. Today, of course, was dry (while I was at work!)

Tomorrow: back to our busy lives. I have a Big Brothers Big Sisters dinner and Jim starts school.

The most exciting news: we ordered a couch today!! We were able to find a sectional in our budget with a chaise. I am so, so excited to lay on that and read a book and cuddle with the doggie (who always loves lounging on a good chaise.) It's chocolate brown and looks like corduroy. I'll be sure to post pictures when it arrives (it might be a few weeks.)

Puppy School

I took my Lil Sister to see a Ducks basketball game. We met my friend and her Lil Sis. My LS made it to half time before she wanted to leave. The arena just opened on Thursday.


I did a lot of cooking today. I made Ina's Chicken Stew with Biscuits for dinner tonight and prepped Giada's Winter Minestrone for tomorrow. Our house is back to Amanda back on domestic duties!

Tonight was Trooper's first night at doggie school. Trooper has Little Man syndrome. He loves to bark at other dogs, especially big dogs that haven't been fixed. When I went to pay for the classes, I could hear him barking across the whole store. From then on, the teacher kept saying that Trooper was there to "work on aggression issues." No!!! He barked and barked and finally settled down. Then when we were leaving, a little dog nipped at him and he went off again. So somebody has a bad reputation at school. But I think we will learn a lot together.

Weekend!

I realized on Friday that I haven't had a "regular" weekend at home in about a month. Christmas, New Years, then our trip were all in a row. They were really fun, but now we have a little time to just be at home. We ordered really yummy Thai food and watched a movie until I fell asleep last night. So relaxing! We were just out and about looking for a new couch. I got in a morning run before the rain started. Now it's chilly and rainy. I'm taking my Little Sister to a Ducks basketball game this afternoon. We'll see how long she's interested in it for! I told her that if it's boring we can leave. I think we are getting drinks with friends later. No plans tomorrow except Jim wants to watch the Bears game and I have puppy school with Trooper at 5pm!

What to do with an Allergic Pup?

Poor Trooper has been itching again for the last few days. His little armpits turned pink and he has a few hot spots. We even gave him an antihistamine last night for some relief. Jim took him to a natural pet store today and bought some natural hot spot spray. Then he took him on a long hike at Spencer Butte (I was so jealous at work!) and gave him a Good Buddy bath and then sprayed him again. He is either too pooped to itch or has had some relief today, because he has hardly itched at all this evening. Hopefully he'll feel better soon.
Otherwise I'm just trying to keep my figurative dance card full. I took my Little Sister rock climbing last night at a local middle school. She was a little scared but improved with each climb. I intended to climb, but was a bit uneasy with her as my belay. She tried to do it and luckily I only climbed about 3 feet up as she then let my line loose as I dropped to the ground. Whoops!
We are now about to watch Che, fitting in with my current Cuban theme. I'm reading Waiting for Snow in Havana, which is a memoir about a boy who leaves Cuba during the Revolution. What can I say, Fidel is an interesting guy!

Back to the Real World

We are back in Eugene after an awesome weekend in Illinois. We flew in and out of Seattle (Trooper stayed with our friends there) so our trip also had the nice parentheses of seeing Joe, Lyndsey, and other fun friends in Seattle, even if for a short minute. We were able to see a lot of friends and family in Illinois as well as get in some relaxation. It was cold but sunny and we were lucky to have smooth (and early arrival) flights both ways. And a lot of good food! I love Illinois for many reasons. Not only did I meet Jim there, but I like all the things to do around Chicago and the suburbs, I love the seasons, and I love the people. Trooper was SO happy to see us in Seattle! He ran around and shook his little butt! We missed him so much. We made it back to Eugene by 8pm last night (just in time to watch the Ducks sad final score). Today it was back to work for me. Jim bought his books (he starts next Tuesday) and is ready get back to school. I started filling up my schedule right away. Tomorrow I am taking my Little Sister rock climbing, and on Thursday a girlfriend and I are going to start running together after work. I'm also really excited because Trooper and I are starting doggie classes at Pet Smart on Sunday! We are starting with an 8 week basic class. We need it!

Bon Voyage

We are leaving tonight after work for Seattle and then heading to Illinois. We fly back to Seattle on Monday and have to drive back that night so I can get to work on Tuesday morning. Will blog when I return!

Hello, Thirties!

Sorry, blog readers, I'm back! We had a very busy and fun weekend. Megan flew in to Portland on Thursday night. We got home around 1am and I had to work the next morning. But Megan is of course worth it! On Friday Jim and Megan came to eat lunch with me. Around 3:30 my boss emailed me (I was the only one in the office) and let me leave early. Yay! A funny side story that happened after work on Friday: Megan and I were walking Trooper and a couple stopped us and asked if they could take a picture with him! He is a handsome dog. Scott and Milena arrived Friday and we went out to the bar with other friends. On Saturday Scott and Milena drove to Portland. In the morning we took the dogs to the dog park (Oliver was here too!) and then Megan and I went shopping while Jim made a chuck roast for dinner. It was actually a recipe that my friend Vanessa referred to me from The Pioneer Woman. And then Sunday was my birthday!!! Megan and I went for massages in the morning (so relaxing) and when we came home, there were pink streamers and balloons up! Jim made me me a wonderful pink cake. When it was done we took the dogs on a walk in the woods. Sunday evening we went to dinner and there were 14 people there for me! We went to a cheeseburger place that I really like, Dickie Jo's. It was pretty yummy. Then almost everyone from dinner came over and had cake and ice cream and cocktails, including sparkling white wine. I was very spoiled on my birthday. We also get to celebrate in February, as my gift from Jim was that we are going to see Legally Blond The Musical! It was a great weekend. I was bummed when it ended. Jim took Megan to Portland today (but they did stop to eat with me before they left.) I am exhausted but still took my Little Sister to the YMCA after work. Tomorrow night is my last night in Eugene before we leave to fly out of Seattle. I'm excited to see everyone in Illinois but already sad to leave Trooper for the weekend. I'm going to miss that little angel!