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.

New Job!

Well, readers, yesterday I started a fun and exciting new position.  I won't be posting about where I work or what I do on my blog, but feel free to give me a ring or send me a text to ask about it.  I think it will be an exciting new chapter in my career!

Getaway!

Is it really almost Labor Day? 

I've been preparing for a little weekend getaway to Ohio with my lovely husband.  It will be about a 7 hour drive.  I feel like we should plan one more trip this summer to the East coast, just so we can say we crossed the country together.  (And if you were wondering, Trooper is staying with the grandparents.  He's pretty excited.)  We have a few people to visit and I am hoping to get a good taste of the Midwestern summer before it winds down.  We've had some hot and humid weather in Illinois but I know before we know it I'll be complaining that it's too cold.  

Otherwise, I Jim is loving his new job and keeping himself busy with the law.  We have started to research our big move to our own place and hope to have it all figured out by October.  I am looking forward to the fall and some new adventures. 

Until then, I whipped up this Coconut Curried Shrimp for dinner this evening.  It's a pretty easy one and could be made with tofu, chicken, or just veggies.  Don't do anything Laborious this weekend. 

Camarones

Run, Little Amanda!  Move those lil' pale legs!

We had a lovely weekend.  On Saturday, I was a lady who lunched al fresco, which was wonderful.  We also caught up with some friends and watched some kiddo anarchy.    On Sunday morning, I ran in the Graham's Sundae 5k.  It was a beautiful day and beautiful course.  I had the most awesome fan club cheering me on, which included my lovely in-laws, my husband and TWO doggies!  I pushed myself and finished in 26:05.  (My best 5k was 5 years ago at 26:02.)  This run was not microchipped, so I am thinking I actually ran it at just about 26 minutes.  I was the 45th runner to finish (out of 300 and some) and 16th female.  If the age groups had been in five year increments, I would have been second in my group, but since it was a small run, they were in 10 year increments, so I was fourth.  Still pretty good, if I do say so!  Then we headed to Graham's and enjoyed their wonderful coffee.  (I sadly did not get my free ice cream at the end; I felt like I was going to vomit.)  I tutored for a few hours and had a really great dinner cooked for me!  If you love shrimp and spicy and smokey foods, make this Shrimp Diabla!  http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130813/entlife/708139857/  It was so flavorful.  You could also use the same sauce and add chicken if you wanted.  Thanks, chefs!