Mother's Weekend

In case you missed it, last week's Throwback Thursday was all about my wonderful mother.

Today, we're going to talk about Mother's Day weekend and the wonderful time that Dan and I spent with the family.

First of all, I think something that captures my mom's loving personality is an update she posted to Facebook on mother's day:

She truly feels that her greatest accomplishment has been motherhood - which makes me all the more excited about how she will embrace being a grandmother.

NOT a hint - sorry friends, you're welcome Dan

Back to Mom's special day!

Sunday morning I set out for a nine mile run while Dan called his mom and thanked her for everything she's done as a mother. I got back home and he was mid-call with his dad, and I couldn't even recognize his voice. He was so far into sports-mode that I thought there was a Sportscenter announcer sitting in our media room. Boy's got another calling.

After cleaning up a little, we drove 20 minutes away with latte's for all of us in hand. We arrived to crazy puppy town and got the girls all hyped up before taking them on a boardwalk park walk while learning that Tiger Woods won yet again - Go Tiger!

These girls walked so well through the park and had nothing but smiles on their sweet little mugs. It's evident how much mom and dad both love these little girls - they are the luckiest puppies around!

We made it back from the walk and a gourmet meal was cooked up in no time! Our favorite mix of grilled chicken and sweet potato fries can make any meal whole - but even better and not pictured were the accompanying lettuce, salsa, greek yogurt and sisters snoozing at our feet.



The evening turned risky when we pulled out the crude card game (that I absolutely love): Cards Against Humanity

This past week the game with two expansion sets arrived on mom and dad's doorstep from brother Matt - and Dan and I were the lucky ones to test the waters with the parents.

I knew they'd warm up to the game after a while, but didn't realize that my dad would be responsible for some of the most hilarious, raunchy and blush-worthy combinations of cards I'd ever witnessed. After I saw some of the hands mom and dad were playing, Dan and I loosened up and actually played the same way we would have if we were surrounded by a group of peers. It was bliss.

Laughing until we cried, snorting, avoiding eye-contact; all indicators of a great time with the parents. Can't wait until Matt comes home and gets to join in on the fun!

What a wonderful day with mom, dad, the sisters and the comfort of home.

Beach Getaway

This weekend at the coast was unbelievable.

Not only was there a lot of quality family time, the weather was perfect and we truly felt like we were in Southern California and dare I say it - Mexico!

After a long week of working hard, this image about sums it up:

Getting rays down by the sand, taking naps on the porch, watching puppies run wild and eating tasty foods can make any weekend spectacular - I thankfully got to experience all of these!

Little lady Bella is still getting acclimated to the harsh ocean waves and it was fun to watch her curiosity as Bailey and Dad played in the surf.

She saw how much fun her sister was having out there in the waves so she stood on all fours and we could tell that she was processing what her next move would be.

It wasn't natural or instinctive, but when she decided she would jump in - she went at it full force!

A day at the coast isn't the same without puppy camaraderie and expert hole-diggin'!

In no time these two struck water and rested in the shallow pool they had created.

For such a gorgeous weekend we were lucky enough to find empty patches of sand where the puppies could run free.

If only every weekend on the Oregon Coast looked and felt as wonderful as this. Thanks Mom and Dad for letting us enjoy your home!

Easter Weekend

This past weekend was unbelievably gorgeous in Portland and I fear that this week of spring sunshine will come and go - not to return until July like many spring/summer transitions here in the Northwest.

To kick off the weekend Dan and I joined Brad and Brooke for the Hoppity Hops 5k that circled the Willamette River along the Eastbank esplanade and back around with views of the Saturday Market and lots of puppies...45 to be exact! Dan and I like counting puppies on our runs - hate us yet?

It was probably the fastest I've seen Dan hustle on our runs together and I can admit that I was picking up my usual pace too. Brad was goofing off with an 'easy' pace for him and Brooke was right in line. Dan and I are going to have to put in some hard work to get to where we need to be for our big Tough Mudder 2013 race in June.

After the race Dan had a tee time on the West side, so he kicked me to the curb somewhere between home and the freeway by my request and wasn't a minute late. My afternoon was a little different in that I ran the 3.4 miles home to round me out to 100.5 running miles in March. It also gave me the opportunity to count 30 more puppies and enjoy a relaxing afternoon home alone to catch up on reading blogs, watch my bracket remain in the #1 spot and begin some food prep for the week ahead.

Saturday evening we had plans to stay at mom and dad's house and met them home at the same time as they had returned from the coast. I've always enjoyed how casual Easter is in my family and this was the perfect example of that fact. Lazy evening with BBQ - falling asleep on the couch - being woken up by ice cream cones and puppies. I wish every evening looked like this.

Easter morning we woke up to the sound of puppies upstairs ... Okay, actually I woke up and nudged Dan for about 45 minutes telling him to listen for the puppies upstairs. They got more ZZzz's than we did.

As soon as they shot out of their kennels they raced down the stairs outside our door and before I knew it there was a puppy pile on the bed, rays of sunlight beaming through the window and a kind of memory that won't be going away for some time.

The rest of Easter Day we played, talked, ate and played some more. I'll stop here and let the photos speak for me:

We had a sleepy growing sister around!

Oh, did anyone get pranked yesterday?

March Summary

You guys have been on a wild ride with me this past month and I'm a little bummed to say goodbye to it.

If we look back to March's Eight Great Goals here's how I opened up my eyes to the month:

Ah, March – what do you plan to bring?

More responsibility, more puppy fun, more photos, more love, more smiles, more silliness, more laughter, more improvement, more sleep? I honestly hope all of the above!

And seriously - ALL of the above were fulfilled and exceeded.

• I realized what I am made of with the new responsibilities and weight on my shoulders at work


• Matt was home - that's never a bad thing. Proof here & here.


• The food around this joint was un-believable. Take a look for yourself!

Breakfast - Brownies - Steak - Soup - Cake - Spaghetti Squash

• I accepted a blogging award - thanks! And Dan received an Employee of the Quarter Award! 


• Dan treated me to a Blazers game and we splurged on a Shamrock Shake!!


• I met little miss Olive and more importantly was able to catch up with her beautiful mom, Tanna!


• I'm pretty sure that Dan and I didn't eat out more than 5 times - but I sort of definitely lost track! Twice we may have eaten popcorn at Cinetopia for a meal - I haven't decided if that counts? Not Accountable
  


• As of today, Friday morning - I'm still leading my NCAA bracket


• I'm constantly reminded of how wonderful my boyfriend is


• I got some time on this inspiring girl's website sharing my food prep with her followers - she's studying to become a registered dietitian

The last 29 days haven't been perfect, but I feel like things are looking up and they will only get better from here.

And once again as we leave the month, I'd like to repeat that I thank you for all of the well wishes, thoughts, notes and letters wishing us well after the loss of a wonderful woman. We miss you Granny!

New Favorite: Spaghetti Squash

I've seen all the craze about spaghetti squash on my instagram feed and the foodie/fitness blogs I follow so I decided that I'd give it a try myself. Not only would I see what it was like for myself, I wanted to put it through the ultimate taste test - Dan!

When I bought these two I was a little bit skeptical of being able to extract noodle-like strands that would rival spaghetti out of this dense yellow gourds. I watched a few YouTube videos and got after the following steps to see what it was like for myself.

And what do you know - the finished product is delicious! At less than 50 calories per cup, this is the perfect vegetable to satisfy a noodle/carb craving and can be guiltlessly topped with sauces, meat, other veggies and even cheeses says Dan!

Here's two ways that we've enjoyed it so far in the home:

Spaghetti squash with marinara sauce and grilled chicken.

Or how I enjoyed it at work yesterday - with lentils, grilled chicken and my ultimate favorite - sriracha!

Have you ever tried spaghetti squash? How do you/would you eat yours?

Food Share

{Thank you everyone for the sweet notes and condolences for our family - we appreciate you}

I've wanted to share this one with you for a few weeks now but haven't found the words. I don't know that there are words, maybe just a dangle of drool down the side of my face.

This was the breakfast we enjoyed on Sunday morning at the coast two weeks ago when my brother was in the states. It was a family affair where I made the pancakes, mom made the scramble and the boys helped us clean up to ensure that there were no leftovers remaining. They didn't disappoint and neither did our brunch!

The scramble is filled with eggs, turkey, ham and Trader Joe's Healthy 8 Veggie Mix - the pancakes are Trader Joe's multigrain and the whipped cream was delicious!

The following St. Patrick's Day inspired cake is the dessert I made for Dan on Saturday while he was away playing basketball. There's nothing clean about this one except for maybe the spinach I added to get the authentic green color. The mix looked promising - made with Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Flavor, and I had all of the other ingredients already on hand to make it happen in no time.

The trick for making it was that I baked it in my new muffin-top only pan to get thin, individual servings to aid in portion control. I had to adjust my cook time for these thin mini cakes since there was no way it would take 40 minutes like the box instructions called for. I quickly threw it all together, got my photos taken (in surprisingly good light) and waited to see what I would pull out of the oven.

I allowed the cakes to cool and had the mini-cakes frosted, sprinkled and finished by the time Dan walked in the door before our Blazer game plans.



Taste test approved and we still have some left over!

Beach Weekend | Part 2

If you didn't stop by yesterday I recommend reading yesterday's Part 1 post to catch up - Now where were we?

Oh yeah, that beautiful day at the coast!

Saturday night after warming up by the fire we had a meal to make! We all played our part in the preparation or clean-up of the taco night and had fun creating our own idea of a heartwarming dinner. Mom browned the meat and cooked the beans, Matt steamed the tortillas, Dan and I chopped vegetables + avocados and we all had our fill on a rainy Saturday evening.

After stuffing our faces with healthy eats, we joked about going out to karaoke, played with the puppies and found ourselves falling asleep in our chairs. I just can't party like I used to and honestly that's not a bad thing - weekends are all about relaxing and resting. Especially when adorable moments like these are just around the corner:

Sunday morning came too soon but it was exciting to be woken up by the sound of two puppies ripping around one floor above us. I put my contacts in, kissed Dan good morning and ran up the stairs to see what all the commotion was about!

A sight for sore eyes - Bella was protecting the wall of toys, Bailey was yearning for a walk on the beach and everyone was getting ready for another day together!

I know that I promised some yummy breakfast photos but those are going to have to wait for another day. While they're mouthwatering, there's just too many puppy beach photos to share and I'm afraid it would distract you from the most important detail - that it was a beautiful day at the Oregon Coast and a perfect way to round out the weekend. We even splurged with ice cream cones!! Bella's first steps on the moon beach were as exciting as you could imagine - she was careful, curious and witnessing every move made by her older sister so that she would know what to do when she was one day old enough to go crashing in the waves along with her.

^ Look at his eyes! ^

I only wish that it could have been a few degrees warmer and a little less windy for our long walk up and down the coast, but it was a perfect excuse for hot cocoa with marshmallows and cuddling with my sweetheart. Wonderful weekend!