On Public Speaking and My Blathering Vlog

Public speaking is a HUGE fear of mine.  One I've had from elementary school days that has only slightly abated over the years.  My earliest memory of standing in front of a group was in grade school, doing a book report.  I began with "um" and tried to proceed from there.  But my teacher would say, "Don't say UM."  And I'd inevitably say it again and again, finally getting started after four or five 'ums.'  Thankfully, we always seemed to have a table or a podium on which to still my hands.  I realized this was a problem when I attended Space Camp a few years later.  Oh yes, I did. 

I was TWELVE!

You were assigned a team upon arrival that you did everything with (just like in the movie!), including the construction of a space station.  Upon completion, each team member had to present their portion of the station.  This was in front of HUNDREDS of other campers with a MICROPHONE and NO PODIUM.  When it was my turn to talk, my hands shook so bad that one of my teammates had to come up and make me move the paper away from the mic, because it kept hitting it and making an awful sound.  Yeah.

Fast forward a few dozen years and, as an HR professional, I became pretty used to talking in front of groups: new hire orientations, benefits presentations, interviews, etc.  I pretty much chalk that up to the fact that as the years go on, I care less and less about what people think of me.  BUT.  It has been a verrrrrry long time since I've had to speak in front of a group of people.  That's pretty much how I felt while recording this video for The Blathering.  A blog/twitter conference-type thing with zero meetings, breakout sessions and all the stuff you don't want in a conference!  Just hanging out, eating and drinking!  I'm so excited to meet all these gals; some of whom I've read online since my first kiddo was born.  So, yeah, I cared while I was making it and get a little goofy.  

But, I wanted to save it for posterity here since it's my first vlog - and probably my last, until another Blathering.  So, if you've ever wondered what my answers might be to these burning questions below, you're in luck!  (If you can't see the embedded Youtube vid below, here's the link.)  I'm going to go hide in a corner now...  

The Blathering 2015 Questionnaire

1. Name, Age, Where You’re From, Kids? Names? Ages?
2. Is this your first Blathering?
3. Who are your roommates?
4. Agree or Disagree: Keri Russell is a National Treasure.
5. You are driving from Lanse, MI to Duluth, MN in a Ford Taurus you borrowed from your sister. A cassette single is stuck on play in the tape deck. You can turn the volume down, but you can’t turn it off or eject it. What song would you choose to play?
6. Would you rather be attacked by a large bear or a swarm of bees?
7. M, S, K: Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Kristen Wiig
8. Why isn’t Freddie Prinze Jr. getting more work? America today is so screwed up you guys.
9. Would you rather: Tom Selleck now or David Hasselhoff 20 years ago? 
10. How old is Mariah Carey? Don’t look it up, it would ruin it. I saw a rerun of SNL from 1990 when Patrick Swayze was hosting and she looked like she was 30. So now I’m just confused.
11. With the obvious exceptions of Christmas movies and The Wind That Shakes the Barley, what movie could you watch over and over and over again?
12. You are forced at gunpoint to wear a pair of pants with a word written across the butt, but you can choose the word. What is that word?
13. Do you have any opinions regarding recent changes in the Washington State regulatory code?
14. Can you name all the Spice Girls? Which one is the best? Hint: The correct answer is Fancy Spice.
15. True or False: I have glued rhinestones to my face.
16. Please describe your idea of a perfect date.
17. Favorite Batman?
18. Do you feel that Sandra Bullock was more powerful in Miss Congeniality or Steel Magnolias? Discuss.
19. Is Alaska an island?
20. Team Fritz or Team Jake?
21. If Bjork owned a polar bear, what would she name it?
22. Do you think you’re different in real life than how you appear on the internet?
23. You are worth two hundred billion dollars. You are flying commercial from Sydney to Los Angeles. Leonardo DiCaprio is sitting behind you. He offers you a drink. Do you take it
24. Would you rather poop your pants or barf in public?
25. Woo hoo see you soon are you excited?

If You Could Go Anywhere in the World, Where Would You Go?

(I'm attempting NaBloPoMo this year, where I write a post every day in the month of November.  Miss Zoot has graciously provided some prompts, and today's was an awesome one related to travel.)

(ALSO, if you haven't entered my Athleta gift card giveaway already, you totally should - odds are good for winning!)

The prompt from Kimberly was a really great take on the title of this post.  Sure, the question is posed quite a bit, but I have a hard time answering because I want to go to different places for different reasons.  I love that she broke it down into three categories:

If you could spend ONE WEEK anywhere in the world, where would you go?

If you could spend ONE MONTH anywhere in the world, where would you go?

If you could spend ONE YEAR anywhere in the world, where would you go?

This makes answering the question so much easier!  I've been so lucky to have traveled to many far flung places.  All thanks to my mom who is crazy about travel.  We've been all over: London (twice), Paris, Lucerne, Venice, Florence, Pisa, ALL over Greece, and parts of Turkey.  I bet I'm even forgetting some places.  My mom also allowed me to go on a two week long trip to France one summer with my AP French class.  We traveled all over Northern France, including a trip to Omaha Beach and, of course, to Paris.  

The Blue Mosque 

no caption needed!

Santorini

Sometimes I get a bug to travel to a new place.  One day I'd love to see New Zeland and Australia, Ireland and Scotland, and maybe see what all the fuss is over Hawaii.  Mostly, I want to go back to the places I've been so fortunate to visit.  So!  If I had one week?  That's easy, I'd head to Mexico, back to Cabo with my husband.  Prior to having kids, my husband and I were on a kick of visiting a different city in Mexico every year.  We've been to Cancun (just after we got engaged), Ixtapa, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo for our honeymoon.   

Honeymoon trip

Last vacay together, in Cabo - that's the 7 year old in there, not too much guac.

This is my response to that question, if there weren't three different ways to answer. if I could go anywhere - I would go and sit next to my husband at a pool with a view of the ocean, a drink and a book (without the kids).  Cabo has my favorite restaurant in the world, and even though I could achieve the pool vacay in Hawaii and try something new, I would rather go with something I know.  Plus, I don't think they have fresh guacamole everywhere you go in Hawaii, right?

BUT!  Since we are answering more than one question: if I could go anywhere in the world for a month?  I'd go home to Chicago, of course!  This would be a trip with the whole family and we'd take the kids to see our family and all the amazing sights and activities we now realize we were so privileged to have growing up.  The Brookfield Zoo, The Field Museum, The Museum of Science and Industry, the Shedd, The Art Institute...  The list, it is long.  So is the list of things we would eat, but I think we could cover it in a month.

Yep, lots of this.

Lastly, I love this question of where would you go for a year.  One of my big regrets was never doing study abroad when I was in college.  I think living for a year abroad would be absolutely amazing.  And, next to Mexico, the other place that I'd just love, love, love to return to would be London.  If you read Janssen's blog, you must know that I am INSANELY jealous of her right now.  I think it would be such a wonderful experience for the kids and for us to live abroad for a year.  That way, it would be so easy to visit lots of NEW places (like Scotland and Ireland) from London.  Plus, Indian food.  

Thank goodness Starlight Express is at least still touring.  And, I do miss good public transportation - hard to come by here in Seattle.

Now I have some serious wanderlust contemplating all of this...  We might try to do a much shorter version of the trip home sometime soon, and that trip to Mexico WILL HAPPEN dammit.  

Thanksgiving Memories

(I'm attempting NaBloPoMo this year, where I write a post every day in the month of November.  Miss Zoot has graciously provided some prompts, and the other day was Family Memories and yesterday was Thanksgiving.  I'm combining the two.)

Given that it's November, and that Thanksgiving is nigh, the first family memories that come to mind revolve around turkey day and spending time with my cousins, aunts and uncles.  We were lucky to have the holiday at our house in the Chicago suburbs for many years, and our Wisconsin brethren even trekked out to Pittsburgh for the brief time we lived in the Steel City.

My favorite memories were hanging out with my two older girl cousins (the daughters of this amazing lady), and trying to be all cool and grown up around them.  We always seemed to end up painting our faces, and I'll never forget the year they made me their little doll and did my makeup and hair.

Over 30 years ago! I'm maaaaybe 8 or so here?

Some of my recollections weren't always great, as I also remember hiding from my uncle (their dad), because he'd always put us in what he called 'The Pillory' and tickle us.  Some years I *think* I was down for it, but most years I'd cower in terror from the tickle torture - even slamming my bedroom door and refusing to come down for dinner one year.  This is HILARIOUS to me now.  My cousins would always say, at least you only have to worry about The Pillory a couple times a year.

And of course, the best Thanksgiving memories are of food: my Aunt's crescent rolls from scratch (she recently mailed me a copy of her recipe!), and my cousin's shredded potato casserole (which we do a Cooking Light version of every year).  Mostly it comes down to mom's food.  My mom's stuffing had soooo much sausage, diced apples and just the right amount of moisture to crunch ratio.  Her Nuts and Bolts were met with much anticipation by our whole clan.  It's basically Chex Mix with Cheerios and other amazing goodies like French Fried Onions and one year she decided to add BUGLES!  Does anyone remember Bugles??  So good.  She'd make them in these huge batches, mixing the ingredients in large trash bags and baking them in two enormous roasting pans.  The house smelled AMAZING. 

And even more anticipated than any other food, (the main event, my cousins can probably confirm) were the Salami Stacks.  There is just something so unique, addictive, and everything that is wonderful in the world wrapped up in them.  No matter where I am for the holiday, I must have my stacks.  During my first pregnancy, I was really freaked out that I might not be able to eat them because of the blue cheese involved.  Thankfully my very understanding doctor assured me that any cheese that I buy in a grocery store has been pasteurized, and I breathed the biggest sigh of relief.  You know you wanna make them, too: here's the recipe.

This Weeks Eats 9.21.14

We're having a guest for dinner this week - yay!  I'm so freaking excited that one of these gals (who's laugh I adore) happens to have a work trip to my neck of the woods.  She asked for a shout out on This Weeks Eats, so she's getting one.  Like all my hometown best buds, Clare and I go back as far as junior high.  Sadly I can't seem to dig up any pics more than 20 years old (I'm sure she's disappointed).  Well, there were some from the 8th grade field trip to DC, but they were huge group photos.  Here we are in 2000, though:

And of course, our 20th high school reunion in 2012, lookin' EXACTLY the same - riiiiight?

And whaddya know, this reunion pic was taken almost exactly two years ago - on my 10th wedding anniversary, I was hitting the town with these gals.  This week, my husband and I will be doing some fine dining for our 12th, which also coincides with our 10th Seattle anniversary.  Yep, we ended the epic road trip from Chicago on our 2nd anniversary.  Will give a full report on what we ate next week, as we are *gasp* venturing out from Daniels Broiler.

• Monday - out with Clare!
• Tuesday - Pesto Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes and Roasted Asparagus (thinking she'll like this easy to feed a crowd recipe from Damn Delicious)
• Wednesday - Hoisin Chicken Rice Bowls (from Cookin' Canuck)
• Thursday - Chicken BLT Chopped Salad with Lemon Garlic Dressing
• Friday - Tortilla Pie with Ground Turkey (adapting this great recipe from Dinner A Love Story)
• Saturday - out for our anniversary! 
• Sunday - easy peasy hot dogs on the grill and roasted potatoes

As always, I'm linking up with Org Junkie, Mommy Run Fast and Jill Conyers - be sure to check out all the great weekly menus!

This Is Forty

As much as I've claimed to be 'ZOMG! Freaking out!' about turning 40, I'm really not that freaked out.  I've only had a day at this age, so maybe I'll have my midlife crisis in December or something.  I did have a moment when I got a card that included an 'over the hill' reference.  Really?  But I recovered.  I can't help but reflect on my last big decade birthday at 30 when I sort of DID freak out.  Mostly because, at that time, I worried more about external, superficial things.  (Well, and we were going through a huge life change - leaving Chicago for Seattle just weeks after that birthday.)  

The big road trip, ten years ago - we look like baaaaaabies.

I was caught up in the endless questions of "What are you doing for your big 3-0!?"  Being slightly less mature at the time, I figured it had to be EPIC!  At the time I didn't think a really nice dinner out with my husband was that epic.  It WAS, I just didn't appreciate it at the time.  He took me to Tiffany & Co. on Michigan Avenue to pick out a piece of jewelry.  We walked through Streeterville and had wine and tapas appetizers at an adorable restaurant in the neighborhood.  It was all capped off when we walked over to Navy Pier for a big steak dinner (a chateaubriand, complete with a bottle of Opus One - thanks mom!) at a restaurant with a perfect view of Venetian Night fireworks.  Not a bad little birthday, right?  I was all stressed about it and ended up having the BEST NIGHT.  My husband and I talk and laugh about that night to this day.  That's pretty epic.

Soooo, the questions are bubbling again, and now Facebook exists wherein I see pictures of many of my contemporaries going on EPIC trips for their big 4-0, some even Couples Retreat style!  And right now, yes, I would really love to spend some time alone with my husband in Mexico.  Not gonna lie.  But, we have a four month old puppy at home, 

OH HAI! I'm a pretty nice addition to my mommy's 40th year.

we just refinanced our house (which involved paying off one of our loans and, of course, closing costs), I'm already leaving the kids for five days in August to go to Bend, etc. etc.  Are these excuses?  On some level, I suppose.  But, I'm pretty confident we will get on that vacation sometime soon, and I'm just really happy with life right now.  I really love this old post from Zoot and the point that she makes about fulfillment being individual.  

My kids are pretty awesome right now (for the most part...), and my whole family is happy and healthy.  No kids ended up at Children's this year while I was at Ragnar, and my husband has taken up biking and is loving it.  My mom is cancer free, we had a little scare a few weeks ago - right when she was planning a trip here, which was cancelled of course!  Whomp.  But she's doing great now and I think that's a pretty darn good present.  I've been injury free and had some of the most amazing running experiences this year...

eeeeeee!

I heart you Ragnar.

 And it's only July!  A running retreat with my Oiselle teammates in Bend, Oregon awaits!

So, yeah, I can file this under Epic - right? Smith Rock in Bend from the Oregon State Parks website.

All I feel right now is gratitude.  Maybe my age has given me a little perspective.  I adore the song "Be Okay" by Oh Honey.  It drives home this point simply but effectively:

Fresh cut grass, one cold beer.

Thank the Lord I am here and now, here and now.

Summer dress, favorite park.

Bless your soul, we are here and now, here and now.

I'm wide awake, so what's the point of dreaming when your life is great?

Celebrate the feeling, celebrate the feeling.

Can't complain about much these days, I believe we'll be okay.

Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh.

Can't complain about much these days, I believe we'll be okay.

Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh.

We're screaming out, I believe we'll be okay.

Sun kissed skin on my lips.

Thank the Lord I am here and now, here and now.

Fireflies after dark.

Bless your soul, we are here and now, here and now.

I'm wide awake, so what's the point of dreaming when your life is great?

Celebrate the feeling, celebrate the feeling.

Can't complain about much these days, I believe we'll be okay.

Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh.

Can't complain about much these days, I believe we'll be okay.

Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh.

We're screaming out, I believe we'll be okay.

We'll be okay.

We'll be okay.

These beachy days definitely make me hum this song.

Nope, can't complain about much these days.  Well, I'm kind of DONE with the kids constant summertime bickering...  But, that's it.  I think? I do tend to worry, so if you give me something to worry about - I will.  But, little worries aside, I'm enjoying this time in my life, I feel like I'm just coasting, enjoying the ride.

This is forty.

This Weeks Eats 4.27.14 and an Ode to Indian Food

Nearly twenty years ago, I tried Indian food for the first time.  I will never forget it, because I've been so very lucky that my mom has shared her love of travel with me.  No, I've not been to India; but to get authentic tikka masala, you only need travel to England.  The origin of everyone's favorite Indian dish (isn't it, though?) is far from India.  My mom and I did a quick three day trip to London to take advantage of a Virgin America deal, since they had just starting flying out of O'Hare.  We hit all the usual tourist spots, caught musicals (Tommy and Starlight Express) and ate in a tiny little hipster Indian Cafe.  It was one of those meals that you never forget, heavenly.

Fast forward many years later and my husband and I had a few favorite haunts in the city and we found a few when we moved to Seattle.  Since having kids, however, we just don't go out for it as much as we used to.  It's not usually a first choice for date night.  We've introduced our kids to it (mostly naan), but it just doesn't hold that allure like the oh so gourmet Red Robin.  And as much as we've tried (and believe me, we've tried - making ghee, the whole shebang) cooking tikka masala at home never comes close to restaurant quality.  We had just a couple hours free on Friday and it was the perfect meal for a mini date night.  

Our other favorite curry is veggie korma, on the left.

So, yeah, you won't see Indian dishes often on our weekly menus.  I'm thinking that we'll probably make an effort to go out for it more though...

• Monday - Cajun Quiche in a Rice Crust (very old Cooking Light recipe)
• Tuesday - Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Tacos with Blue Cheese Slaw (from Mountain Mama Cooks)
• Wednesday - Enchilada Quinoa Bake with Ground Turkey (trying this recipe from Pink Parsley and changing up the meat)
• Thursday - Angel Hair Pasta with Pomodoro Sauce
• Friday - Pizza (switching things up and having pizza on Friday for baby girl's birthday dinner!)
• Saturday - Top Sirloin Steaks, Baked Potatoes and Grilled Asparagus
• Sunday - Chicken BLT Chopped Salad with Fresh Lemon Garlic Dressing

The spinach and quinoa casserole we tried last week was a little dry, I'm making up for it by trying the Pink Parsley recipe this week.  The meatballs we ate on Saturday were deeeelish.  Although, I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to meatballs and I'm always a fan of something I can freeze.

As always, I'm linking up with Org Junkie, Mommy Run Fast and Jill Conyers - be sure to check out all the great weekly menus!

Watching E.T. With My Seven Year Old

Watching a movie that I loved almost thirty years ago (!) with my son was quite an experience.  Interesting enough for me to want to talk about my observations in some detail...

For reference, my E.T. doll looked like this one:

this is going back in time as well...

Not this one:

I was not as smart/cool as Dawson to have more than one, let alone hold on to them for posterity, dammit.

First off, it's highly annoying that Spielberg and Lucas have gone and mucked up their classic films.  I thought I was getting the E.T. I saw for the first time.  Alas, they updated the special effects and the adorable creature I knew and loved has a CG face in most scenes.  GAH!  There's also an added bit where he and Elliot spend some time in the bathroom and E.T. falls in the tub.  It was a weird scene and I could see why it wasn't used in the first place.  Of course, I came to realize after the fact that the second disc had the original theatrical release and not just bonus material.  

If you have this version, don't just put in the first disc, like I did.

I think you can finally get DVDs of the original Star Wars releases, too, so I suppose I'll let these transgressions slide.

One observation from my point of view thirty years later, and as a mother: I'm thinking it's highly unlikely that I'd leave my own young child home sick, even once he's ten.  But, I get that she's on her own and has to work.  It just was one of those things that I bet my mom was thinking while watching the film and was completely a moot point to me when I was little.  Although, after the drunken frog breakout scene, when she has to go get Elliot from school - she just leaves Gertie at home! WHAT?  I've been on the receiving end of a call from school to come and get my boy (not drunk, he had a fever), and I can't even think of a reason why I wouldn't put my daughter in the car.  Hmph.  Also, the presence of Gertie was a fun way for my son to relate to Elliot, having a nagging little sister.

Another observation on age appropriateness: since when do third or fourth graders, at most, dissect frogs??  "What are they feeding the frogs mom?" my son inquired.  Well, that's not food...  I gave him the straight scoop and said that first off, I'm not sure if kids do that in school at all anymore.  Second, it's not until high school until you might be faced with that task.  And third, I'm preeeeetty sure you do not actually execute the frog - it comes to you already dead.  Thankfully he just thought it was gross and we glossed over this pretty quickly.

Last question: what the hell was going on in early 80s California on Halloween night?  Based on the film, one would think it was the apocalypse with jack-o-lanterns ablaze, kids openly hitting and egging cars, and fiery garbage cans rolling down the street.  What the what?  My son was rather concerned about the garbage that caught on fire.  "Oh, that's not good! Looks like that can caught on fire.  They'd better call the fire department."  

Here I was, fretting about how he would handle E.T's deterioration and possible death.  I guess that we've talked a lot about death lately, and that he doesn't have as many questions as he once did.  There was definite anxiety and sadness once E.T. and Elliot start to get sick.  But, even before you could see the glow coming from the white container that supposedly sealed his fate, my kid turned to me and said, "Mom, I have a strong feeling that E.T. is going to be OK."  A STRONG FEELING.  I just about died.  "Yeah, hon, I think you might be right."  And whenever the heartlight glowed, he was concerned that there was a hole in E.T's chest.  "No, no, it just glows so bright you can see it through his skin - there's no hole."  

One of the other funny reactions from my son came at the beginning of the movie as the kids are sitting around the kitchen playing cards: mom, where are they?  Are they at a restaurant?  He almost didn't believe me when I said they were at home.  Ah, 80s decor!  The faux Tiffany lamp hanging over the banquette table in the kitchen.  Also funny from that scene is how the kid on the phone is calling a radio station to request a song - who remembers doing that?!  Well, me, for one...

Overall, it was fun for both of us.  I love movies and they mean a lot to me.  So I'm glad we had this little experience together, where I let him stay up late after his sister went to bed (woot!) and he enjoyed my reminiscing about my own childhood.  And, lo, I didn't get around to watching Xanadu.  Womp, womp.  I thought it was streaming on Netflix.  I thought wrong.  But, never fear, I obtained it from the library this week!

Seeing this cover is making me speechless.  I CAN'T WAIT to watch this again!  Maybe I'll have some fun observations to share...

This Weeks Eats 4.06.14

I've got a pretty slim menu to share this week, as The Mister will be out of town for a couple of days.  This is when I usually make dishes he doesn't like, or ones that can easily be consumed on the couch in front of the TV while watching Pitch Perfect or, lately, Veronica Mars.  We watched Anchorman 2 this weekend and I'm inspired to watch Ice Castles, and maybe Xanadu if I have time.  

I may or may not have roller skated around our basement listening to the soundtrack as a child...  Speaking of my childhood, I also was obsessed with E.T. around the same time (when I was around seven or eight) and I'm thinking of introducing this classic to my oldest who is almost seven.  It's Spring Break for the kids this week and I might let him stay up late to watch it with me, which could be totally awesome (he'll love it), totally frustrating (he'll be boooored), or a total mistake (he'll be horrified/freak out).  I'm guessing it'll be one of the first two, hoping for the former: will report back.

In no particular order, this weeks dishes for when we're all together:

• Pizza!
• BBQ Pork Salad (Trying this new one from Everyday Reading)
• Rigatoni Arrabbiata

mmm, hopefully for Saturday night dinner

• Crockpot Jalapeno Popper Chicken Chili (also from Everyday Reading!)
• Meatloaf with Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onions and Baked Sweet Potatoes

The baked Caprese Pesto dish from last week was okay; it dried out a bit too much for my liking once baked.  I'd either half the amount of pasta, or just serve the pasta and sauce without baking.  We did enjoy our burrito bowls with the addition of the Chipotle Sauce; it was easy to whip up, as we usually have chipotles in our freezer and plain Greek yogurt in the fridge.

As always, I'm linking up with Org Junkie, Mommy Run Fast and Jill Conyers - be sure to check out all the great weekly menus!

Blog and Oiselle Team Anniversary (Plus a Code for 10% Off and Free Shipping at Oiselle!)

Wow.  Two years.  Yet another year has flown by on my little corner of the internet.  I think that my post from one year ago still pretty much sums up my feelings about blogging.  I still enjoy it immensely.  I've delved a bit more into my other interests like cooking, reading, and talking about motherhood.  But the connections I make (with runners, or home cooks, or bookworms, or moms) remain the same.  And the blogiversary always coincides with my Oiselle anniversary: it was just two years ago that I got the email from Kristin inviting me to join the team.  And I am grateful, so grateful, for another wonderful year.  I don't have many more words, so I'll just take a look back with a few pictures...

Getting to know Lauren Fleshman the week of her baby shower!

Ahhh, huge Euge!

RAGNAR was so amazing. Can't wait to do it again!

Blogging (and Hot Chocolate) pretty much made this Chicago trip and team meetup a reality.  Amazing.

As well as making it possible to cap off the year running in, and visiting my dearest friends in, the city of my heart.

OK, if you've made it this far, thank you for indulging me in this little walk down memory lane.  And now for the GOODS: this year, in honor of the blog and Oiselle team anniversary, I've got a special discount code to share with y'all for 10% off AND free shipping (no minimum order) at Oiselle.com!  Just enter ANNIVERSARY at checkout.  This code is good Friday, March 21st through midnight PST on Sunday, March 23rd. I myself am eyeballing the new vertical drop tank or the very popular cross top mesh tank; maybe I'll just buy myself a little anniversary present.  Really, the possibilities are endless...

Happy shopping!

Saying Goodbye to our Beloved Family Dog

Where do I even begin?

The beginning..

the first bath

the first time we tortured him with clothing (the pic never fails to make me laugh out loud)

the first time we brought one of those screeching things into the house

his big adventures

or the daily rituals (doin' dishes)

his favorite daily ritual, his specialty...

He could alway tell when someone needed a snuggle.  Photo of my mom, courtesy of my mom.

how he was very much a central part of our family

It's been a really hard few weeks around our house and we had to say goodbye to our beloved pug Peeps today.  Earlier this month, on World Cancer Awareness Day no less, we learned that he had cancer and mere months left to live.  He developed some sores on his skin and had been acting a little 'off' having a few accidents in the house and such.  After getting a biopsy we got the terrible news that he had a type of lymphoma, of all 'effing things.  Apparently it's the cancer that likes to kick me in the gut.  We kept him hopped up on prednizone for awhile, but knew we wanted to send him to the big snuggly couch in the sky before he really started suffering.  This is by far has been the hardest thing we've ever had to do, and it's pretty much the saddest we've ever been in our lives.  He was our first baby and part of this family less than a year after it started.  I grew up with dogs, and have memories of utter sadness when I learned the family pet had died.  But I was never on the deciding end of these things - not the one to bear the burden.  It is excruciating.  It is horrible.  I am bereft.  But, oh, these nearly 11 years of wonderful sweet fuzzy companionship have been worth the pain.  Thinking on this old bit from the great comedian George Carlin helps me to cope with the tragedy I knew I was in for when we took him home: the whole video is great, but starting at the 2:19 is what I'm talkin' about.  I know SO many young couples (just like we were) and families who have added a little furry love to their family recently and I wonder if I could bear it again.  I know we will.  Of course we will.  Now I know that I'll be that much more appreciative of every day I get with that new little furball.  But Peeps...  Peeps the pug will always be the one that came first in our hearts.