Yummy Surprise

Yesterday Ben told me he was going to make us a tasty treat. He then asked if we had 2/3 cup of Baking Soda at home. ??? That much baking soda? That doesn't sound good at all. He assured me it was good. Ok. Guess we will see about that. He went to work on that while I got a chicken in the oven and went for a run. Side note - the run felt great! I haven't gone on one for too long. I got a PB! Back to the story - I finished getting some sides ready for dinner. Then Ben said he would need my help. He took some of the dough and started rolling into a snake. Any guesses? He then made a loop and a twist and folded it down. Have you figured it out yet? Then we put them in boiling water with baking soda (ah, we are not eating that much baking soda, just using it to boil). Then we brushed the tops with beaten egg yolk. Sprinkled them with some extra coarse salt. Put them in the oven. And.... homemade giant pretzels! They were so good. We almost had a dinner of pretzels instead of chicken.

Busy Weekend

This past weekend was pretty busy.

Friday night we went out to dinner with the Proehl's. We went to an Irish pub near by. I wasn't that impressed. But the company was great and I had a wonderful time.

Saturday I woke up "early" for the annual Step Out for Diabetes walk. Thank you to those that sponsored me!! It was a great morning for a walk. I dragged my friend Levrette with (he's in town from Mumbai, India). After that, Ben, Levrette and I made our way to El Loro to introduce Levrette to Mexican food. Nothing like Margaritas, tacos, burritos and fajitas to make you feel good. Then Ben left us to work while Levrette and I continued to the Mill City Museum. I thought it was pretty interesting to learn how a 50 foot drop in water could produce enough energy to power multiple flour and saw mills. Incredible! We walked a ways on the Stone Arch Bridge and watched a boat go through the locks. Then we decided it was ice cream time! We tried to go to a Cold Stone, but the one we went to was closed down. Bummer. So I figured I would take him to Edina Creamery too by Ridgedale. That was closed down. Super Bummer! I couldn't think of any other places close to the mall so we ended up at Wendy's (his request) and had a frosty. Not nearly as good as ice cream, but it had to do. I dropped him off and headed home. I was supposed to go to a pub crawl that evening to benefit the Minneapolis Crisis Nursery, but I was beat. So I stayed home and watched "The Mayor of Casterbridge." Poor Elizabeth Jane!

Sunday, Ben and I headed to the dome for the Vikings game. Neither of us have ever been and we were fortunate to get free tickets. In row 5. Of our 50 yard line. Talk about awesome! It was crazy around the dome. Tons of purple. Tons of tailgating. And the game, well, that was awesome too! Two minutes left and we were down. I asked Ben if we could stay for the whole game since it was our first (we usually leave events early to try and avoid some of the crowds). Luckily, we agreed fighting through crowds were worth it... Two seconds left on the clock and we get a touchdown! Unbelievable! You should have heard the crowd! I might still be deaf...

Copper

Last week Ben and I celebrated our 8th anniversary! How time flies, goodness! One of my traditions is to get him a present that corresponds with either the traditional or modern gift for the year we are celebrating. This has proved to be require some creativity on my part. My self-inflicted rules are that it has to be for him, not us or the house, and is reasonably priced.

This year (according to some lists) the gift is copper. Hmmm. Copper. What would Ben like out of copper? A penny? :) It took some thinking and some surfing before I found what I wanted to get him - a copper piece of art. I found a guy on eBay that takes a sheet of copper and treats it with different chemicals to get different reactions on the metal. I thought it was pretty cool, so I bought one.

As for me, there isn't as much of a pattern for gifts from Ben. Sometimes he adds a piece of jewelry to my sapphire collection (sapphire is September's stone). Other times I get showered with roses. This year it was roses. He bought me 40 long-stem roses of nearly every color out there. They are so pretty! I took some pictures, so I'll try to post so you can see them.

We celebrated by going to Bacio's. It was very tasty.

Being Productive

This weekend Ben has been at a conference by the MOA. Every day starts early and ends late so I have pretty much been on my own. Yesterday after our run, Zoey and I cleaned our bedroom and bathroom from top to bottom. It had gotten way out of control. I feel so good about the room now. Almost all the clothes are put away (the ones that aren't are from today's washing) and everything is put in order. I do have a pile of things that need to find new homes. Unfortunately, that new home is probably my office/craft room downstairs. That room has seen some progress, but not there yet. Maybe I'll hide the box of stuff until that room is under control too.

Anyway, today I did some grocery shopping. Went to the dog park (as it turns out, 80 and sunny makes for a hot day for a black dog). And did some cooking for the week. I bought a full chicken and roasted it. Once it cooled down I shredded some and left the rest in pieces. That will be lunch and dinner tomorrow. (Dinner will transform it into a chicken pot pie type dish). Kitchen is all cleaned up.

Sometimes I am so productive I scare myself.

The Fox and the Hound

Last night Zoey and I were home alone. I had fallen asleep downstairs watching TV (a favorite pastime when Ben is away - no joke, I just can't explain it). All of a sudden I was jerked from my sleep by Zoey barking. She was upstairs and she came running downstairs and kept barking while looking through the sliding door. I got up to investigate. Apparently Zoey does not appreciate it when there is a fox in our yard. I could see the silhouette of it on the hill by the pond. Then I watched it cross the street. Zoey would not settle down right away.

Today I was going to go for a run. Zoey watched while I was putting on my shoes and was getting so excited, that I brought her with. How could I say no to that excited little girl? So, instead of 4 miles we went 3 (her limit). Probably a good idea - didn't realize how humid it is out there. Yuck! Zoey was a very good dog. She didn't bark or pull when we passed people on the trail. Maybe she's finally figured out her manners.

Oh, and last week was Zoey's 6th birthday. I meant to go to McDonald's and get a cheeseburger for her, but I forgot to. So instead she got a rawhide.