Hungry, Hungry Puppy

I know it's probably my fault because I think I forgot to give Zoey breakfast on Sunday. I know it's probably my fault because I left a few oatmeal cream pies and a granola bar on the floor of our bedroom...

Star Gazing

The other night Ben woke me up so we could watch some shooting stars. We grabbed a blanket and a pillow and headed to our front yard to watch (our new neighbor friend, Cassie, might think we are weird since she witnessed us setting up). It was a pretty nice night out. No bugs and slightly cool. We were out there for about an hour looking at the sky and talking. We probably saw about a dozen shooting stars. Not nearly the number we were expecting, but that's ok - it was still way cool.

The other night Ben and I made Mango Chicken with Coconut Rice. So yummy! And just like that, I've made two recipes already this month. :) Anybody have other uses for fish sauce?

Last weekend, Heather and I did another triathlon. I learned a few things - 1. Training makes things easier (so I will train before I do another one) 2. Red Wing has some terrible hills. But I suppose overall it was fun. Next time in addition to actually training, I think we will pick one closer to home. On the road by 5:45 am is not that much fun.

Won't You Be My Neighbor

Last week was National Night Out. Our entire development had an ice cream social. It was nice to finally get to know some of the people that live near us. Since Zoey and I walk the circuit every morning, someone just had to give a characteristic of their house and I knew where they lived. It was kind of funny... in our development we have houses and townhouses. The house people tend to have kids. The townhouse people tend to have dogs. Some of the house people were interested in us until they found out that we didn't have any kids. But the townhouse people accepted us. :)

Saturday night we were driving home and within minutes it went from a gentle rain to a complete down pour with tornado sirens going off. Ben was concentrating on keeping us on the road, I was checking the weather on my phone and keeping an eye on the sky for funnel clouds. It was only a 10 minute drive, but it was pretty exciting. We pulled in the driveway with plans to grab Zoey and head for the basement. We noticed out townhouse neighbors outside coming towards us. Katie came running up behind us asking if they could hide out with us in the basement. They had their niece and nephew visiting and they didn't want to all cram into the tiny bathroom that is their severe weather location. We quickly got them down to the theater room. I had the niece pick out a movie and got that loaded in. We were soon joined by Katie's husband and their dog. And the other set of neighbors and their two dogs. With Rick there we had 7 adults, 2 kids and 4 dogs waiting out the storm.

The storm did turn into a non-event. It rained enough to flood our "lake" in the backyard, but other than that, nothing, thankfully. I'm so glad that our neighbors felt comfortable enough with us to come over for shelter. We're looking forward to spending more time with them.

Three Little Speckled Frogs

The other night when I let Zoey out before bed, there were three teeny, tiny frogs on the cement slab. They were so cute, I went and got Ben to see them. He wasn't nearly as impressed as I was. Oh, well. And now, every night since then, I have seen at least one little frog out there. So cute! Zoey has tried to sniff them, and that's about all.

100,000 Miles

Happy 100,000 Miles car! Here's hoping for another 100,000.

This past weekend we were up at the lake for the annual Waterama party with Ben's uncles and friends. On the way home, my car hit 100,000 miles. I noticed it when it was at 100,001. :)

This weekend was a lot of fun. The weather was great and the company was even better. Who could ask for more? Friday Ben golfed with the boys while I headed to town to see how the sale of Microwave Potato Bags was going. That didn't take nearly as long as the round of golf, so I tanned with the other girls. And tried to keep Zoey close by. Saturday was pretty darn windy. I was in jeans most of the day, but it was still nice to be outside. Sunday the weather went back to perfect. We ended up staying later than usual so we could go sailing with Ben's uncle and aunt. We haven't done that for a while and I am so glad we did. Such a nice day to be on the lake!

We didn't get home until late, so I still have to unpack, do laundry and catch up on some sleep. Not sure when that will happen...

Girl's Just Wanna

Last weekend was the 6th Annual Girl's Weekend at Lake Amelia. This year Cassie and I expanded our little adventure to include Andrea and Heather. It was so much fun!

Heather had to work late (darn 10K) so she drove herself up. She made great time - was there by 8! The rest of us left around 2. We stopped in Sauk Center to do some grocery shopping and relaxed a bit and made dinner - homemade pizza! For dessert we made a chocolate fondue. So yummy! I have no idea what happened to half a pan of brownies... Then we just talked, laughed, and giggled our way into the wee hours of the morning.

Saturday we made pancakes for breakfast then headed out to the lake. We read, talked and relaxed all while soaking up some rays (filtered by sunscreen). Heather, Andrea and I braved the water and went for a swim to the sand bar. Then we decided to call it a day and head in to clean up for dinner. We went to Lakeside and had a great meal on the patio. The weather was perfect and the scenery was awesome. We took a stroll to the beach then headed back to the house. Somehow Andrea acquired some splinters, so my father-in-law (yes, I know, he's not a girl, but since we were at his house, he was allowed) preformed minor surgery to remove them. Then we watched Confessions of a Shopaholic. It was ok. I wasn't nearly as disappointed as Andrea and Heather were since they had read the books.

Sunday Heather took off to get to a company picnic while the rest of us finished off the pancakes and started on lunch and packing. Cassie was able to figure out how to start the grill. All of us are so reliant on our men when it comes to grilling. :) Then we made some mighty tasty chicken kabobs.

We hit the road around 2:30. Guess what time I walked in the door of my house? (Usually it takes 1:40 to get home). You probably have figured out that it wasn't a typical drive. Nope. Some idiot decided to cut lanes to make an illegal U-turn causing a tanker with gasoline to roll. The freeway was shut down. Of course we didn't know this until we had no other legal option than to sit and wait to get off on the detour exit. It took us about 3 hours to go 10 miles. We all agreed that it was a good thing that it was girl's weekend and not couple's weekend because we are pretty sure that the guys would have lost it. But we kept our cool while singing old girl scout songs and Disney songs.

It was a super fun weekend and I can't wait until next year to do it again!

Whooah, we're half way there

Last Friday night we threw Andrea a surprise half birthday party. Her real birthday is close to Christmas and a few months back she commented to me that she doesn't like when her birthday is because people forget about it since they're so busy with the holidays. So, I thought it would be fun to throw a surprise half birthday party. The beauty was that she had no clue whatsoever. It was so much fun! We ate, played Catch Phrase (still not a fan of the scoring) and Rock Band and Guitar Hero. I was the party pooper and kicked everyone out. But it was 2 am, so I think that it was ok (especially considering I had been up since 5 am).

On Monday, I ran 4 miles. It's only note worthy because it put me over half way to my goal of running 100 miles this year. Only 48 to go!

And, I'm also half way through my recipe resolution. For June I made Spicy Halibut thanks to my wonderful husband who caught it in Alaska. The fish was fantastic! The spice combination was only ok. We used some of the leftovers to make fish quesadillas. That was pretty good. The second recipe was for the half birthday party. Andrea loves baked brie, so I decided to make it. It was super easy, and I thought pretty good. It was just a round of brie "frosted" with sour cream and then brown sugar, pecans and butter on top. Yum!