Adventures in the Life of Amanda and Jim

I am alive!  We have had a crazy few weeks and have a few more days of craziness.

First of all, we had a wonderful, wonderful time in Atlanta.  The wedding and rehearsal dinner we attended were both beautiful and so much fun.  We stayed at a lovely hotel that had a tv in the bathroom.  Oh la la.  Our hotel was connected to fitness club so I was even able to go to a hard core yoga class on Saturday morning.  (Women were doing hand stands while I stayed in child's pose.)  While Jim was busy doing wedding things, I brunched with a few ladies and went on a lovely walk.  Our only obstacle was that on the drive home we had to stop in Paducah, Kentucky when we heard the tornado sirens from the highway.  Just a half hour delay while we took shelter in a fire station.  It's a good thing we did, because the tornado did hit very close to where we were.  Luckily we did not have to take shelter in the drainage ditch as Jim had advised. 

And in other news: we are moving again!  In a few years, I'll be able to say to Jim, remember 2013 when we moved three times?!  The cigarette smell is too much for me to handle, so we're packing it all up and doing it again.  Our landlord has been very nice and found us another 2 bed/ 2 bath condo in town.  Hopefully we can rid our belongings of carcinogens once we move on Saturday.  After this, according to Jim, we are going to buy a one level wheel chair accessible home and die there. 

Bean Dip

Have you ever made Giada's White Bean Dip?  I made this dip in about five minutes after work on Friday as I was invited to sub in a game of Bunco.  This dip is one of the easiest and tastiest (and maybe healthiest?) dips I have ever made.  And when I searched for the recipe just now, I found she also makes the same dip but with curry powder.  That's on my list, as I generally love all things curried.  I actually whipped up another batch tonight to have in the fridge for a snack with pita chips. 

Did you know we are driving to Atlanta on Thursday/ Friday?  Yep, 12 hours of driving to what looks to be a super fun wedding.  Today I wondered how many hours of car time Jim and I have logged together since May.  We're driven from Oregon to Illinois, Illinois to Ohio, and now Illinois to Georgia.  Yikes.

Moved In

Well, friends, we officially moved out of the parents house!  Although I miss them dearly, we are settling in nicely to our new condo.  It is a nice, spacious two bedroom/ two bath unit with a one car garage.  It has been lovely to be reunited with our belongings after having them in storage for five months. 

Like all good things, there is, of course, a catch: the elderly woman below us chain smokes in her unit and the smell is seeping in to our lives.  (What's a little lung cancer?)

We are trying to work hard to get rid of the smell.  The suggestions have ranged from cups of vinegar everywhere to illegal activities.  (I guess I should say that I will not be breaking the law.  Don't worry, Jim.)  Jim spent all day wiping the walls down with vinegar water. 

And my mind has also created the scenario that involves the woman falling asleep with a ciggie in her hand and burning our entire building down.  Needless to say, Trooper does not stay home alone much. 

But I will end on a positive note: it is a nice condo and I love living in Sycamore.  And I am married to a resourceful man that I love dearly and we are parents to the best puppy in the world.  

The Tale of Raven

I have meant to post the tale of Raven all week.  This is a good lesson in making sure your doggies are all safe and sound.

During his morning commute last week, this lovely dog (with no collar or tags on) ran in front of Jim's car and Jim almost hit him.  Jim stopped the car and picked him up.  He looked like he'd been hit, but it turned out he was just old and arthritic.  Jim knocked on quite a few doors, but no one knew who this guy was.  Jim brought him home and left for work so Jim's step mom and I took over.  I called and left my name and his description with all of the local police and animal shelters.  We took him to the vet to see if he had a microchip.  Then we loaded him up in the car and headed out to the country road where Jim found him.  We just knocked on door after door and left our numbers in case anyone was looking for him.  The most depressing part was how many people told us that someone probably dropped him off in the country because he was so old.  I had pretty much decided we might have to keep him and named him Buddy. 

But, around 4pm his owner called animal control and got my number.  Apparently he'd run out when she took out the garbage that morning and they couldn't find him in the dark.  She was very worried and upset, and we were all glad he found his way home.  And his name was Raven.

Remember to make sure your dog always has tags on with your phone number and to get your pups microchipped.  You never know what might happen!

And Jim and I have now helped three loose doggies get home to their owners together!  We have some good dog karma coming our way.

Post Wedding

We are back safe and sound in the Midwest!  We had a wonderful but fast weekend in Oregon and Washington.  We landed in Portland at 11am on Friday and flew out of Seattle at 2pm on Sunday!  Whew! 

When we landed we did two things in Portland: Cafe Yumm (one of my faves) and Stumptown Coffee.  Oh my.  We then drove two hours south to Eugene and were able to see most of our dear friends there and went out to celebrate at the Bier Stein, another one of our favorite Oregon places.  I then made my running buddy wake up at 6am and run with me on a cold, dark Saturday morning just for old times sake.  (Luckily no PTSD flashbacks from marathon training.)  And before we left Eugene, we had coffee and potato doughnuts at the Hideaway Bakery.  (How did I not gain 10 pounds during this trip?)

We packed up and drove five hours north to Seattle (did I mention that we had a tiny metallic pink rental car?) and made it in plenty of time for the wedding.  The wedding was in a restored horse stable in Georetown, Seattle's oldest neighborhood.  It was so much fun!  They served delicious BBQ for dinner and doughnuts instead of cake.  We danced (gotta live up to our wedding reputation) and walked back to our hotel.  And the best part: we get to celebrate with the happy couple again in a few weeks at their Illinois reception! 

I am pretty pooped this week after our adventures, but it was worth it.  In the next few weeks we plan to start looking at places to live and start that ball moving!

Happy Birthday, Dear

Yesterday was my lovely husband's 33rd birthday.  He also found out some very exciting news, but I will let you call him to ask what that is.  We both had to work all day but celebrated by eating steaks as big as my torso.  In lieu of cake, I made him pumpkin bars.  I feel like you can't live in the Midwest in the fall without having pumpkin bars.  I found a really fun present for Jim on Etsy, a print of Autzen stadium by Albie Designs.  What a lovely artist! 

On Friday morning we continue the celebration by heading to Oregon and Washington for the weekend.  It's going to be a fun but fast trip.  We're very excited to see our dear friends and to consume Yumm sauce (well, maybe just me) and Ninkasi brews (both of us.) 

Pupper Zika

Tell the truth: you miss this mutt's mug shot.  He misses you too.  This is a good shot of him sitting in one of the lawn chairs in the backyard like a little person.  He's probably clocked in, guarding the fence and yard from the neighbor dogs.  He takes his job very seriously.  Trooper loves being in Illinois and his family here.  He is still not taking his allergy medicine and has not had any skin issues since we left Oregon.  In general, he continues to be an angel.

I have had a great first week and a half at my new job.  It's keeping me busy and I am learning a lot of new skills.  Everyone is really nice and right now my commute is only ten minutes! 

Today seems to be the last day of hot weather in the forecast and then it looks like we'll be converting to more autumnal temperatures.  I think that will put me in the mood to start my fall and Christmas crafting for the year and to make things like pot roast. 

All right, readers.  I have to go give Trooper a kiss on the nose.