Just a Boy and his Dog(s)

Quite possibly some of the most rewarding experiences each and every day are the interactions between the Q-man and our dogs. When Quentin was first born I was a little nervous as to how our dogs (at that time practically our babes) would adjust to the new addition. I read all the literature out there, and contemplated enrolling the pups in a course designed to get them used to strollers and the sound of wailing infants. Fortunatley for us, none of it mattered. The dogs readily accepted this newest member and have actually enjoyed his growth (for the most part).

Now, they love the fact that he is a source of stray human food bits, extra love pats and that he has figured out how to get to the dog treats in the pantry and has no concept of "enough".

Béla, when she stops being overly possessive of her toys, even lets him throw her ball.

The other night Q woke up screaming.  Not certain if he was experiencing a nightmare I went to his room and got him after I was sure he wasn't going to cry himself back to dreamland.  Only thing was, he didn't want mommy, or daddy, or playtime even.  As soon as I brought him out to the living room and put him down, he raced back down the hallway, but not into his own room as I suspected, but into our room where the dogs were slumbering.  Q threw himeself down on the dog beds and was literally sound asleep within 60 seconds.  I asked Scott what I should do and we decided to leave him be for a while before safely transfering him back to his crib.  The dogs were a little wary of sharing their restful space with the little monster, but in no time at all they were all snoring harmoniously.

They are so much more than even "man's best friend".

Resolve

The little guy woke up just in time to help us ring in the new year together....as a family.

With the new year comes the time honored tradition of self reflection and identification of the areas in life which could use a little improvement.  I'm a little belated I know, but I've given myself some time to come up with my new year's resolutions.  Every year it seems I resolve to lose weight, get in shape and eat more healthy foods.  But with my oh so vague goals come some very loose interpretations of whether or not I've met them.  This year, I resolve to make strightforward, measurable goals that will improve my mind, body and soul.  I'm also hoping that by posting them, I will hold myself more accountable to attaining them.

BODY
1) Get back on the exercise band wagon!  Run/hike/yoga at least 3 times a week.

2) Drink more water!  Refill my 16 oz glass at least 3 times a day.  (I actually just went to refill it mid post).  I get too busy so many days that somehow I forget the simplest of things...like properly hydrating.  I need to take care of myself; I live in a desert for crying out loud.

3) Be a good diabetic!  Maintain a Hemoglobin A1c between 6.5 and 7.0. This is a diabetic managment goal for myself.

MIND
4) Read more!  A minimum of one additional book a month (besides my book club picks).  There is so much fantastic literature out there (old and new) and I want (NEED) to experience it.

5) Be less of a televidiot!  I read that term somewhere and loved it.  I don't love that I currently am one, but the term alone inspires me to stop watching and do something productive.  My goal is to get rid of 4 shows we currently DVR.

SOUL
6) Post more!  I'd like to try to post on the blog a minimum of once a week (starting today).  I'd love for it to become more of a writing and reflection outlet for myself.

7) Meditate!  This sort of goes hand in hand with the exercise goal, because for me exercise is often my time to meditate (especially during yoga).  But aside from my time working up a sweat I'd like to give myself 30 minutes once a week for meditation alone.

8) Be a better wife!  I don't know how to quantify this one, only that I know there is room for improvement.  I'd like to lessen the times when I'm being hard on myself and I take it out on Scott.  Times when I pick a fight over the most insignificant of things.  I want to focus on the fun we have together, the way he makes me laugh and the love we share and just let the bumps in the road fade into the distance (or at least help them become smaller bumps).

The reasons I want to improve myself...

 

...maybe I should include taking more than just bathtime photos in my list! :)

Tidings, Toys and Tots

Merry Christmas 2009!

We had a wonderful Christmas-Hanukkah season this year, celebrating in Central Oregon.  Tons of family, frost and snow led to a delightful reunion and plenty of lounging around the house watching the little cousins interact.  Q had such fun playing with his 4 1/2 year old cousin Penelope and playing "next to" his exactly the same age cousin Freya.  Christmas seems magical again now that there are little ones getting in on the fun!

We started off with a little hike to try out the new piggy back carrier we got for Quentin.  He seems to enjoy the view from up there!

From Beluga Tales

A visit home to Oregon wouldn't be complete without a nice private visit with Quentin's Great-Grandparents!

The cousins just goofing around.....

Some quality storytime with their Oma....

...and fun winter wonderland time with their Poppy!

Lots of music...

...lots of food....

...lots of family!

We wish everyone a wonderful 2010!

Birds, Belly's, Bad Dogs and Much To Be Grateful For...

I've been a little bad about posting recently, but with the holiday season and a family emergency; I've had good reason.

From Beluga Tales

We had a wonderful family Thanksgiving, with weather warm enough to eat the turkey outdoors. We were all thoroughly enjoying the delicious food when Scott and I suddenly realized neither dog was outside with us. This is most unusual as they are always in whichever part of the house we are, never missing an opportunity to be outside, especially one involving potential falling morsels of food. We looked at each other and instantly knew...

From Beluga Tales

...sure enough, I discovered Willie (the Weimeraner) hovering over a devoured turkey carcass, looking simultaneously guilty and satisfied. I'm sure the little dog had her fair share in the plundering, though she was no where to be found (clearly the smarter of the two). Fortunately no harm or illness has come to either dog, and we have learned an invaluable lesson: If you want turkey leftovers, install 6 foot high kitchen countertops!


Unfortunately we did have a bit of a scare this season, as the Sunday before Thanksgiving was filled with an emergency room visit, followed by an emergency appendectomy for a burst appendix. Scott had been complaining on an off for several weeks about a nagging pain in his lower right abdomen. My pleas for seeking medical help were met with claims of the pain being nothing, certain it would pass. It finally reached a point where it could no longer be ignored, thus the trip to the hospital...and not a moment too soon.


It turns out the appendix had burst over two weeks prior, and had luckily localized in the tissue surrounding the abdomen as opposed to getting into the bloodstream and causing him to become septic. Scott was in the hospital for three days, but came home in time for turkey dinner and is now almost fully recovered. It was scary for a bit there, but we are all doing well now.

From Beluga Tales

I guess our little trip to the ER helped me remember the things I should be grateful for, the things sometimes I tend to take for granted. It is so easy get used to having your husband around all the time, to saying the quick "I love you" at the end of each phone call, to roll your eyes when he still doesn't know where all the dishes go when unloading the dishwasher, to get annoyed when he changes a dirty diaper yet forgets to put the stinky one in the diaper bin. But searching the hospital halls frantically for a nurse to lead you back to pre-op so you can kiss your husband before he goes into emergency surgery helps bring it all back into perspective. He's not perfect, I'm not perfect, but we need each other; I love him and want him around no matter what.


Each day together (even the tough ones) should be celebrated. I want to make a better effort to look past the stinky diaper, to laugh and let go of the fact he still doesn't know where the measuring cups go, relish my partner in life making time to tickle our toddler until he squeals with delight; and to say I love you and pause and remember exactly what those words carry with them.


I am grateful for my family and for my life. Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving!

From Beluga Tales

Happy Halloween!

Last weekend we went to a pumpkin patch.  We thought it would be fun to have a little mini-fall experience with the pumpkins and a petting zoo...

We should have known he'd only be interested in the dogs he could make friends with!

He did take his first steps that weekend and has been getting progressivly more and more daring.  I fear he will be running soon!  Happy Halloween to all!

Celebrating Five!

Five short (and at times, long) years ago today we were married.  I can't believe how the time has gone by.  We both agreed that so much has changed since that day in October, and yet how we are also very much the same two people today that we were then.

We decided to celebrate with an adventurous dining experience.  After enlisting the aide of Grammy and Grumpy to babysit we headed out for Posh, an improvisational restaurant.

How It Works:
When you arrive they hand you a sheet of paper that allows you to choose how many courses you would like to eat (anywhere from 4 to 7 - you can also choose limitless).  You also have a list of proteins available for the night and you can cross off any you wish not to receive.  Some of the more adventurous that were on our list last night were frog legs, veal cheeks and veal sweetbreads.  Then you indicate at what temperature you perfer your meat to be cooked at or if you will eat anything raw and also if you have any allergies or dislikes.  You turn this in and the chef then prepares a menu just for you.

It was so much fun guessing what kind of food was coming out next for us, and we got to try such a variety of things because even though our lists we turned in were almost identical, Scott and I were both served entirely different courses almost every time.

Our dining experience looked like this:
            Alli                         Scott
1st Course: Pumpkin Soup                 Pumpkin Soup
2nd Course: Endive Salad w/ Pumpkin      Red Leaf Lettuce Salad
            seeds and a Gooseberry       w/ walnuts, smoked apple
                                         and dried mango
3rd Course: Oysters on the half shell    Tuna sashimi w/ coconut
            w/ ginger                    gelatin strips
4th Course: Sweet Foie Gras served w/    Sweet Foie Gras served
            cinnamon sauce, spun sugar   w/ cinnamon sauce, spun
            and fresh berries            sugar and fresh berries
5th Course: Frog legs and potatoes in a  Rabbit atop a parmesean
            garlic shallot sauce         crusted roasted tomato
6th Course: Veal cheeks w/broccoli       Veal sweetbreads served
                                         w/ baby carrots
7th Course: Honey sponge crepe wrapped   Flourless chocolate cake
            around marigold infused      topped with raspberry
            cream with spun sugar        sorbet

Scott enjoying his pumpkin soup

Me before tasting the decadent foie gras

Scott making sure no portion of frog legs goes to waste

Sweet sweets....

Everything was delicious and the whole experience was so unique and interesting!  Something we must do again!

The last five years have been quite an adventure.  Here's to five more, and then five more after that, and so on.  Love ya beluga!

Comrades, Colorado and Commitments

This past weekend I headed up to beautiful Ouray, Colorado to witness my dear friend Lauren's nuptials.  The bride and groom chose a stunning location for their ceremony (graciously provided by the groom's grandparents) and the gorgeous bride even graced us with her vocal talents by singing a special song for her groom.  It ended up being a mini-reunion for me with some of my college friends and my first experience of being away from my little babe for the night.

It was so wonderful to catch up with old friends and to be there as one friend begins her marriage.  Congratulations Lauren and Ian!  I wish you both all the love in the world.

From Beluga Tales

The couple did such a wonderful job of incorporating elements of the rugged and natural beauty of Colorado into thier wedding.  The groom actually made the flower centerpieces by hollowing out a felled aspen trunk.  Aspens branches and leaves were scattered throughout both ceremony and reception site and the simple wildflowers seemed to be a perfect accent.  Even the favors were homemade Colorado peach perserves by Tamra and Jaime!  Everything about the wedding radiated with who the couple is and what they enjoy.

From Beluga Tales From Beluga Tales

Catching up with old friends was wonderful as well.  I love seeing all the different directions our lives have taken us, and maybe even living vicariously through some of the more interesting adventures each fabulous lady has had.  It is nice that we all haven't grown too far apart on our own paths.

From Beluga Tales

Being a part of someone's milestone event causes me to reflect on the major events I've had in my own life.  I can't believe I will be celebrating my 5th anniversary in a few short weeks.  Somehow it seems like only yesterday and like a lifetime just the same.  Marriage is work; there is no doubt about it.  But I think it is extremely rewarding.  Getting married, tying the knot, making the big commitment; they make it sound like it is something that will weigh you down.  But I believe that knowing you have that someone to weather the storms with you (even when they are the storm themselves sometimes) can feel liberating.  That big crazy world, the scary unknown of the future seems more manageable, or maybe I feel braver for tackling it, knowing I have that partner by my side.

To Lauren and Ian as they begin this new journey; I wish you two smooth sailing, though I know it will be rough at times.  But take heart knowing you can chart a navigable path together and that special someone who is with you every step of the way.  And with a jumping off point in as beautiful a place as this.....I'd say you have no where to go but up!  Love you guys!

From Beluga Tales