All quiet

It's been radio-silent here for quite awhile, but for good reason! My life has been totally consumed with planning a wedding, preparing to move three dogs n two people to a new state, and for both humans to start new jobs, go back to school, and re-adjust to civilian and college life. Oh, and lots of shameless doggie glomping, ear nomming, and cooking crazy good food!

Right now the house is overrun with crafty-ness, and starting next week it's only going to get crazier. Friends & family will start arriving from all over the place, and our house will play host to dinner parties, extended guests, and even more dogs! My wedding dress will be fitted just a few days before the wedding (a little nervous about that, I won't lie), and I'm sure I'll lose the dining room to the amazing friend & seamstress making my dress. Several people have pulled out of attending/helping, so I'm scrambling to find back-ups for the back-ups that cancelled, and some last-minute changes to the plans (our venue currently has no sound system, at all!) have left me uneasy.

I'm definitely going through phases of "We got this," to "shit shit shit." I'm not panicking, but I am a wee bit more stressed than I would like to be at this phase. My original plan was to have everything wrapped up two weeks ahead of time, so I could focus on the little extra details. Hah! Having been involved in wedding planning before, I should have known better!

Thankfully, R has a truly incredible sister that has been busting butt to help us out. Seriously, she's been kicking ass on several key projects, and is even coming down a week ahead of time, to make sure we have extra hands, and stay as de-stressed as possible. My best gal is flying in a week early, AND her parents (my 'adopted' fam) are coming out to stay the week, just to help us wrap up whatever we have left. I'm a little overwhelmed with how much people want to help-which is probably the only thing keeping me somewhat calm at the moment!

I'm looking forward to sharing all the awesome projects, foods, and photos here when it's over n done with. For now, I'm off to bake my third batch of chocolate mint cookies!

Salmon & Strawberries

I stumbled across the Inspired Edibles blog recently, and lemme tell you...I'm in yum! It's so good, I get all cheesy and lame sounding (since grunting doesn't translate well over the webz, anyway).

 I recently gave one of the recipes a whirl, and it was so stinkin' easy and so incredibly delicious, it's going on my "I'm too lazy to cook, and too lazy to drive to food" list. This round was the "Roasted salmon in a strawberry balsamic reduction," and you can find the original Inspired Edibles recipe & blog post here.

I won't bother going in to detail, because Kelly did all the work for me. I will post some food porn, though:

               

I made some adjustments to the recipe, based on what was around, and my apparent inability to properly follow a recipe, ever.  Since decent produce is pretty difficult to find in this town, I used frozen strawberries instead of fresh. I keep warehouse-club sized bags of  fruit in the freezer at all times, to make life easy and slightly less depressing out here.  Let's pretend I behaved and used 1 cup (probably was more like triple that, but, I'm a big strawberry fan so, yay for leftovers). 

Drizzle in some balsamic vinegar (okay, really, I "glurged" it around a few times). I have some pomegranate  vinaigrette that I think would be amazing in this recipe, so I'll try that next time. I also threw in the honey at the same time, because I was too impatient to wait, and trying to check my email while making dinner. Multi-tasking, probably not a good idea when hot things are involved....

Since the salmon fillets (from pre-frozen package) were pretty small, I popped them in the oven right before putting the sauce together, and it all finished cooking about the same time. About 30 minutes before starting this fiasco, I threw some butternut squash (halved, seeded, plopped face down in a dish) in a 350 (f) before taking one of the beasts for a walk;  tossing the salmon in the oven when I got back. Eaaaasy. 

After the sauce reached a hardy boil, (actually pay attention to the sauce, so you don't have to clean up an overflowing mess like I *nearly* had), I reduced the heat and added some rosemary sprigs I had just snipped from the garden. I felt a perfumed flavor would lend nicely to the sweet-tangy smell of the dish. So glad I did, since it balanced it out nicely. The nose knows, you know?

At this point I took the squash out of the oven, sprinkled on some fresh herbs (lemon thyme, oregano, shopped scallions), some sliced parmesan, and popped back in the oven to get all melty and amazing like. 

Since the strawberries had been frozen, they broke down in the pan pretty quickly, making the puree/mashing part unnecessary. Laaazy bones, right here. I let the sauce cool a couple of minutes before spooning it out on plates (time enough to achieve squash & melty-cheese goodness). 

Served just as Kelly suggests, spooned onto plates, topped with salmon, topped with more sauce. Apparently my plate had more liquid than R's, which featured a better example of a "reduction" but, being me, I was too impatient to photgraph his too. I wanted to eat it ASAP, and let me tell you...

It.was.GLORIOUS. 

Since the fillets were tiny, as were the squash halves, we supplemented dinner with the last of a baby watermelon, some homemade salsa, and our favorite paleo-cheat snack, Stacy's Pita chips. Fantastic. Easy. Friggin' delicious. There's a healthy amount of leftover strawberry lovlieness that I'll be swirling into yogurt tomorrow morning...or maybe just eating by the spoonful. 

So, go thank Kelly over at Inspired Edibles for this fantastic recipe. I have a feeling I'll be posting more success stories from her site, soon! 

Surgery Pt 2

I recently had my one-year check-up following my clavicle surgery (which you can read a bit about, here) and was told that the bones have knit better than expected, and I can get the plate taken out any time. Usually the plate can be left in, but since I do love a good backpacking/hike, and routinely participate in activities that put pressure on the area, it would be more beneficial to have the plate removed. Hooray for increased comfort & function! 

Since this will be simple removal of hardware, it should be a fairly quick healing time. Other than having to take it easy for a couple of months following, while the holes in the clavicle (left from the screws) fill back in, I should be up and around the next day. I'm anxiously awaiting approval from the insurance company (fingers crossed!), and may very well be in for the surgery within a couple of weeks. Plenty of time to heal up before the summer fun begins! 

On Dogs & Progress!

I need to gush for a moment. This is my fluffer, Kira:

She's a giant ball of fuzz & worry. 

Cute, if not a bit pouty.

R & I adopted her about two years ago, and she has been making steady progress ever since. Kira's  biggest issue was reactivity with other dogs. Not all dogs, but, a lot of them. Especially the napoleonic chihuahua's  that shake constantly. Whether it was her prey drive kicking in, or just those tiny terrors and their smug sense self importance (can you tell I'm not a fan?),  our poor darling would freak the hell out and try to eat them. Even a previous neighbor's awesome, wiggly bulldog pup wasn't immune to her mood swings. At least when she let go when he squealed...

The problem was so severe, we couldn't even park near a dog park. Kira would throw herself, snarling and barking, at the window trying to go after the dogs. We attempted a couple of dog park runs, with very few dogs around, and well...it's fortunate that nobody but me got the pointy end of her teeth (at least it was an accidental grazing).  Walks were tense when another dog came into the picture, regardless of the distance between them & her. Kujo comes to mind in this instance.

At home, she was our gentle caramel ball of love, and got along especially well with the little man, barely 20lbs of snark and gas. I mean, they even sleep together for cryin' out loud! 

So, obviously, the problem wasn't "all little dogs" or all dogs in general, just, those that weren't her "family." Unfortunately, we don't live in an area where we can consistently expose her to other dogs, to help alleviate the behavior. Most folks have "purse" dogs around here, and those that don't are rarely seen walking their dogs. Let's be honest, Texas is not a place people often go outside, especially in this town, where sidewalks do not exist outside of neighborhoods. Seriously, the sidewalk literally ends and the last house in our area. Then it's your choice of tall grass which you know is harboring rattlesnakes & fire ants, or the road. Considering how Texans drive, I think the grass is safer. 

Anyway, getting her to calm down around dogs has been a sloooooow process. Consistent walks, hoping to catch a glance of another doggie. Lot's of attempts at refocusing her attention (which rarely work). Lots of comforting tones. Crazy mad praise when she doesn't totally spaz out. Other than passing dogs-behind-fences (which, next to chihuahua's, are her mortal enemy), she has been doing exceptionally well. Recently we started walking with our next door neighbor & her weenie dogs, which has been going wonderfully. We even run into escapee dogs (strays, or dumb ass people who "walk" their dogs off leash), and most of the time I'm used as a human shield. Ever see a 90lb dog cower in fear behind someone? It's kind of hilarious. Good to know not to trust her for help if I'm ever attacked by a yorkie. 

The point to this rambling, run-on of a post, is that I adore her, neurosis and all. I resigned myself to the fact that she just wasn't a "Dog Park" dog. Which is ok. I can respect her need for space. My little oreo of a dog is a fantastic dog park dog, and he plays beautifully with big dogs at that (he too is afraid of the little shakers). So, one out of three isn't bad. I just don't trust our other girl to ever come back, if let off leash. She can easily scale a several-foot-fence from a sitting position. 

This face is nothing but trouble.

Anyway, something awesome happened recently. A park opened up about 20 minutes away. Why is this exciting? Parks don't exist in this town. Seriously. Other than playgrounds at schools and a couple outdoor  "recreation" areas about 40 minutes away, we have not seen not heard of any outdoor play areas, in the two years we've been here. So, there being a park, in general, was VERY exciting. Then I find out it also has two dog park areas (one for small dogs 30lbs & under, one for dogs 30 lbs & over). 

With fluffy-butt's progress, R & I decided to at the least, walk her around this new park and get nearish the dog areas, to gauge her reaction. 

Let me tell you, she.was.AMAZING!

We started on meandering path around the park, running into the occasional walker, and she would just sniff the air as they passed by. A couple of tyrant chihuahua's rattled her a bit, but in all fairness, they were lungung at the ends of their leashes snarling at her. All my girl did was pull a bit and huff. Thatta girl!

Then came more pedestrians. A couple of bikers. She sat pretty and just watched as they went by. A couple of gorgeous huskies & their people came towards us, and my darling sat nicely as they passed. She continued to sit nicely as we chatted with the husky-people a moment, then after us asking permission for her to "say hello," she politely introduced herself by walking past the dogs, showing them her side, and going behind for a proper sniff. It was incredible!!!

I was so proud of my girl in that moment! All of her previous anxieties seemed to disappear, and she was suddenly this happy, friendly, well adjusted pooch just out for a stroll. I actually had to stop myself from crying, I was so happy! Shortly after that encounter, a walker came up from behind us (something that would have seriously spooked her in the past), and Kira politely moved to the side with a tug of her leash. More bikes whizzed by, and she tucked in close to us. Another pair of large dogs passed by, and again, she sat nicely while they walked on by. Then came the dog park areas. Lots of big & small goofballs running around, being silly. She noticed, but kept walking. A few even ran up to the fence to get a better look, and still, no reaction. She saw them, she looked back at us, she kept walking. 

Did you read that? A bunch of strange dogs, being rowdy, near her, and not.a.peep. 

WOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

I'm still thrilled (if you couldn't tell) about the whole experience. I thought about taking her into the dog park, but the number of dogs (over a dozen) might have been a bit too much for her, so we figured we'd end the day on a high note and head home. I'm so proud of her progress, and so excited to take another trip to see how she does in an off-leash setting, with just a couple of dogs around. This is me, doing a happy dance. Seeing how far Kira's come has definitely strengthened my resolve to work with dogs that have "behavior problems." There's really nothing like seeing how much progress a dog can make!

Kira, letting her buddy "win" the game.

Weddingy De Ja Vu

Since I am asked the same wedding-related questions over and over (and over) again, and I'm quite frankly sick n freakin' tired of answering them, here's the general run-down of how the wedding plans are coming, what we're doing, and what to expect. It'll be way easier for me to cut & paste a link to this post, than to address these questions directly, in depth, every time. I'll be less cranky-pants, too, which is good for everyone. My intent is not to be abrasive with this post, just efficient!

We can't do much in the way of planning until April, which is when our chosen venue (for both the ceremony & reception)  is available for reservation. No, that still hasn't changed. There is no "advanced registration," waiting list, or call-back list to be put on. We've already asked. Until April, our "planning" stage is on hold. We can't even get inside to take measurements, find out how many tables & chairs are available, or whether or not the kitchen will be fully functioning.  No idea on seating arrangements, no clue as to what kind of table cloths, chair covers, or wall decor I will be needing/wanting, if any.  Until April, we have no solid address for the ceremony or reception, and until reservations are confirmed, we have no schedule for the day. Nothing. Nada. Zip.

I am not wearing a white dress. It will not be long. I will not have a veil. I will be making my own jewelry. There will be no special "wedding shoes" to decorate the bottoms of. No, there will not be a flower girl, ring boy, or traditional wedding party, and no one will be giving me away. We won't have "his & her" sides of the aisle. I don't even know if we'll have an aisle. Yes,we will see each other before the wedding, and no, we don't care that it's "bad luck" to do so.

 There is no "theme" and we do not have "colors," though there is a general idea and organization behind it all. This will be a child-free wedding, and no, we will not make exceptions.  Doing so would be totally unfair to everyone else with children. If, for whatever reason your children will be flying out with you, we may be able to help you find a local nanny for the day. Maybe. We will not have specific mother/son or father/daughter dances. There will be NO "Chicken Dance," no money dance, no live band, and no DJ (other than our awesome selves).

 We are catering the wedding ourselves. If you would like to lend a hand with providing a dish, or helping with prep work, we would be most grateful.  There will not be an "open bar," though we will have some alcohol available. If you're feeling charitable and would like something specific available, guests are welcome to bring & share liquor. We may even be able to help get a potential discount on said liquor.

 We do not have a registry, because all we really want is to share our wedding with the people we love. Your presence is all we ask; and maybe a little help with the details along the way. We'll never turn down a gift, though. We like gifts.

Hotel rooms & transportation will not be paid for, though we may be able to help with reserving cabins and  arranging a carpool. Maybe. We're still working out those details.

This will not be a formal affair, but it is still a wedding, so dress to impress. Think 50's picnic, tea garden-party wear, not spring-break-in-Cancun wear. Yes, it's going to be warm outside. The reception venue has AC. Cut-off shorts & tenny tank tops are not appropriate. Conservative, religious older family will be in attendance, so please make an attempt to be vaguely respectful around them. They'll probably leave the party first. After that, by all means, let yer freak-flag-fly.

A good friend will be our photographer. Guests are encouraged to bring their own cameras & snap photos all night long, but please, let our photog do her thing and stay out of her way while she's working. We also kindly ask that cell-phones be left on silent, if not turned off completely. We'd love to see your face, not your head looking down at a cell phone all night. Likewise, we kindly ask that all cell phones & cameras be off for the ceremony. The ceremony will be short, promise.

We are not going into debt for the wedding, nor do we have much we can spend on it. Seriously. Read that sentence again. We will not have custom letter-pressed invitations, because they are pricey. There are no save-the-dates, RSVP cards, or meal cards to check. Instead, there is a website with ALL relevant wedding-related info, including an RSVP page. It's all very interactive. There's a list of local accommodations and attractions, guest book, food survey, several places to leave notes/suggestions, a photo gallery, and even crews you can sign up for, via the website, if you would like to help. If you have specific concerns, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

This will probably be different from other weddings you've attended, and that is exactly what we want. Instead of doing something "because it's tradition," we will be doing what makes sense for us.  We will do what feels right for us as fairly liberal leaning, modern-thinking people. Our goal is to hold a lovely event that reflects us, as a couple and as individuals. Personally, I will be trying to incorporate as many nerdy things as possible, while R tries to talk my crazy down to a more manageable level.

We wish the wedding-weekend to be a time to spend with our friends & family. A time for you to take a break from the chaos of life and relax, laugh, and enjoy each other. If you're invited, you're family. All we want, really, is to enjoy our family.

Shorty

I haven't been busy, really.  More like...easily distracted? Consistently preoccupied? Unusually productive? Okay, really, I'm spending a great deal of time watching Doctor Who, eating popcorn, and using R's chest as a pillow. He makes a splendid pillow. 

I have been doing loads of projects.  Mostly wedding-y in nature, or plodding out in the yard. Also known as the mostly bare dirt patch surrounded by mostly dead lawn and a growing army of unnervingly long-rooted dandelions. 

I hate renting. 

Anyway, our poor desolate backyard is slowly coming back to life,with great success! Once I locate the camera, I can actually share photos of the small garden successes, and loads of half-completed projects I have been spending too much time on. 

Mac'd

Lemme just say R is good to me. Like, spoil me rotten good sometimes (uh, but don't tell him that). My old ASUS laptop has been in the repair shop for nearly a month now, and I have been pretty much computer-less since then, save for a few sleeting moments on a borrowed laptop, or what few I sites I can access on my smartphone (thank goodness for that smart phone!).

Today, though, I have my computer-ly-ness restored, with a brand spankin' new Macbook courtesy of R. Seriously, he spoils the heck outta me, and I'm not gonna complain! Now, pardon me while I play.