10 Things (OK, so maybe 11)

I know what you are thinking...two blog posts in one day from the girl who hasn't posted in almost 2 months. Well, it's true! I figure being I haven't posted in a while it is time to catch you up on some things! So, once again I am going to steal and idea from Lacey and just fill you in on 10 things!

1. It is finally fall in Colorado!!! I love fall (although I would love it more if it didn't mean that winter was right around the corner-although winter here is nothing like the UP)! I miss the bright red colors of the upper peninsula, but I love the Aspen trees out here! BEAUTIFUL!!!

2. Scott is out of town...again! He has not been traveling nearly as much as he used to, but it is harder when he leaves because for so many months now I have been spoiled, getting to see him everyday. I feel so silly complaining....living in a military town, most of the gals that I work with have husbands that have deployed several times. At least I know that my man is safe in Oklahoma and will probably be home within a couple of weeks!

3. I got the GREATEST thing EVER the other day from Goodwill--$2.00!! Check it out:

What is it, you ask?!?!?! It is a bowl with a divider so that your cereal doesn't get soggy! For me, this is a BIG deal. I HATE soggy cereal! Before this little invention changed my life, I used to pour myself a bowl of milk and then sit by the box of cereal and add a bite of cereal at a time to the milk. The only downside is that it is a pain to store as it doesn't stack with my other bowls....but I use it every day, so it rarely even makes it to the point of being put away!

4. I went to MN about a month ago for the annual Labor Day Boogie and the Little Falls Craft Show. While I was there I canned 10 quart jars of applesauce with apples from my parents trees. I just finished the first jar and went to get a second one and to my DISMAY I cannot open any of them! The rings are stuck to the jars, and of course Scott is out of town! Now, I am craving homemade applesauce and have 9 jars to eat, I may have to buy a jar just to hold me over....or make friends with one of my big-strong-army-guy neighbors!

5. Gunnison and I have been doing agility together! He is a natural! Check out the video:

6. I am in the midst of making a quilt! I started it several weeks ago. I have taken a break for the last couple of weeks. It is hard to lay it all out with the two dogs running around. I am going to get back to it as soon as I am done with this blog post! Here is the top half of it laid out and ready to be sewed together, the bottom half is already put together!

7. I have been working quite a bit lately. The next couple of days I am going in to give flu shots to residents. Should be a nice change of pace from passing meds. The doggies love it when I work because then they get to go to daycare! 

8. The other day I almost hit a black bear (with my car). Then two days later Scott called me and said that he almost hit a brown bear. It must be the time of year when they come down from the mountains or something!

9. Scott and I successfully cut Gunnison's toenails the other day! This has been an ongoing struggle since we got him. Just a reminder of what I looked like last time we cut his nails-and this was with a professional...I still have scars:

We gave up on the Xanax because that only seemed to make the problem worse. Instead we worked intensely with a trainer...and last week Scott and I were able to cut them by OURSELVES!!!!

10. Speaking of Gunnison, I really hope he doesn't need hip/knee surgery, but he is still limping around. I am continuing to ice it and try to monitor its usage. Unfortunately I think that when Arielle finds her forever home, we will have to take him to the vet.

11. I honestly cannot wait for Lacey and Phil to visit us for Thanksgiving! I am already planning a bunch of activities to do! I love Lacey and I love Phil and we are going to have a GREAT time! Hopefully Phil, Arielle and Gunnison will all get along!

Well, I know that was 11 things, but it has been so long, there was so much to catch up on! I will try to be more regular about posting! Sending love your way from Colorado!

Foster Dog Fun!

So, as many of you have figured out from my facebook....Scott and I are providing a foster home for a dog until she can get adopted! We have had her for about 3 weeks now and boy is she a sweetheart!

Her name is Arielle and she is being fostered through Lucky Dog Rescue. At first having her was really difficult. She clearly came from an abuse situation and had a lot of issues with stranger anxiety. She would bark and growl at anybody who passes us. We have worked intensely with her and she is pretty much over that. She still gets nervous, but can now control herself.

Arielle and Gunnison are the best of friends. He is teaching her a lot about the world...like how to walk up steps and where the sunny spot on the porch is! I think that they can relate to eachother having come from similar situations. I know that Gunnison will be crushed when she finds her forever home.

I am working on training her, and boy, is she ever a fast learner! She already knows SIT and DOWN! We are working hard on WAIT (which is difficult for her because she is basically attached to my leg all the time)! 

We went up to the reservoir the other day and they both splashed around in the water. Hopefully one day they will both get up the confidence to swim...but for now they will only splash!

Although they sometimes bicker like siblings, at the end of the day they love to cuddle up together! She is a wonderful dog, and I pray that she can find the most perfect forever home! She will need somebody who is patient and understands that she has had a rough life....and when she finds them she will shower them with love!

In a Jam...BLUEBERRY JAM!!!

I had a bunch of blueberries and decided to make some jam!

First I had to sterilize the jars.

There was a lot of sugar in this recipe. Next time I will definitely try to find a recipe with less!

The blueberries ready to go!

Blueberries are surprisingly red when mashed up!

The final product...DELICIOUS!

10 Things

Here are 10 things that are new with us:

1. I have an interview next Tuesday! I am so excited. I have been working PRN at Namaste and applying for other jobs. This morning I got a call to schedule an interview. It is at a hospital on the Rehab floor. I hope that it works out!
2. Scott is in Idaho! He has been able to get together with our best man and it sounds like he is having a good time an enjoying it.
3. Scott is supposed to be going to South Padre Island sometime in September. I really, really hope that it works out for me to go with him. It would be even cooler if I could meet up with Lacey while I am there.
4. Gunnison and I walked a couple of miles at the dog park today...I love the dog park!
5. Last weekend we went on a trip with the Mile High Bug Club. We saw a Coach Whip, a toad, lots of tarantulas and 2 rattlesnakes fighting!
6. I am going to re-teach myself how to crochet.
7. I am currently reading the book "The Help". I have heard wonderful things about it, but I just cannot get into it. I think that I might put it down, start another book and wait for the movie.
8. I am making a commitment to myself to workout every day. Either I will go for a really good walk and then do sit-ups and stuff at the apartment, or go to the workout room. 
9. I am either getting sick or my allergies are acting up. I am so tired and I am sneezing so, so much! Today I sneezed 11 times in a row. I think it was a record for me!
10. When Stephanie stayed at my apartment she brought us 5 pounds of blueberries. I still have about 3 pounds of blueberries in my freezer. I put them in cereal and pancakes. I am open to other ideas of what to do with them!

Summer Vacation 2011

So sorry that I have been slacking in the updating-my-blog department. We have just been so crazy busy, and it is honestly hard to believe that it is mid-August already! 

We had a wonderful trip to Wisconsin and the UP! I really, really wish that it could have been a little bit longer so that we could do more things and see more people. I think that it teased us and made us a bit more homesick for our families and the water! Here are some pictures from our trip:

Gunnison enjoying the boat ride!

Scott and Shawn on the boat.

The cottage is famous for its beautiful sunsets!

Beating the heat!

Scott relaxing.

Gunnison and I relaxing on the inner tube.

Gunnison and Bella playing on the shores of Lake Superior.

Tara and I at Lattitudes.

We got to see Suzanne and Justine too!

Megan and I on the boat!

Family picture time!

With the McLains!

The dogs finally wore each other out!

Virtual Tour of our Apartment

Being most of you haven't seen our new apartment, I thought that I would give you a virtual tour!

This is our apartment from the hiking trails behind it. I walk back here with Gunnison several times per week.

This is the view from our deck. Gunnison sits out here a good portion of the day and watches over the schoolkids. We can see all the way to the edge of the Springs. Awesome for watching storms and seeing rainbows!

This is the living room. Also you can see part of the patio out the door. We also have a grill outside.

I love having our wedding things displayed!

This is the kitchen. We love all the cabinet space and the 18 foot ceilings.

This is the guest bathroom.

And my favorite part of the apartment is that both bathrooms have garden tubs. Can you say bubble bath?!?!

The master bedroom. We don't have the guest bedroom decorated yet, but I will put up pics when we do!

Master bathroom.

Here is an exclusive look at the laundry room. I have been doing laundry all day to prepare for the trip...can you tell?

Well there it is....our apartment! Now you will have to come visit and see it (and us) in person! Sending love from Colorado!

Awesome Goodwill Find!

Today Scott and I went to Goodwill. We were looking for a pressure canner (which we found, but it was misssing parts so we didn't get it-the search continues), pots for camping, a buffet for the dining room and random other goodies. What we found was...golf clubs! They had a set of golf clubs that was obviously high quality. It came with the bag (which is oober classy), the bag cover, all of the clubs needed for golf, golf balls, tees, an umbrella and a few more goodies. It was obviously loved. The previous owner had labeled each club (and the umbrella) with his name and address. He lives right on Broadmoor Ave between a couple of great golf clubs (get it, haha) one of them being the Broadmoor where the US Women's Open is happening as I type this. We got the whole set for $14.99. This driver is old (probably late 90's) but new it retails for about $115 dollars (so the whole set is worth quite a bit). 

I love the pink umbrella!

We got a great deal and Scott can't wait to show up the pros at the Broadmoor!

10 Things

I feel like I haven't posted in so long. Because I am short on time I am going to steal an idea from Lacey and just ramble off 10 random things that are on my mind lately.

1. I really, really hate working evening shifts (even more than night shift). 2:30-11:00pm really sucks. I don't get to see Scott whatsoever because by the time I come home he is in bed. Also, this week the Broadmoor is hosting the US Women's Open. It is about 2 blocks from our apartment and I have to drive through it to get to work....traffic sucks!
2. We got Gunnison Xanax in hopes that we could trim his nails. It did nothing besides make him more hyper. He is now afraid of the elves on the rice krispie cereal box.
3. Also, I think it is wierd that I can get Gunnison 40-.5 xanax just by calling his vet, talking for 5 minutes and paying only 11 bucks. And that I can just pick it up right at the vet and don't even have to go to the pharmacy. Definitely not as regulated as the narcs for people (even though it is exactly the same medicine).
4. I have really been enjoying our apartments pool lately. It is beautiful and refreshing.
5. A couple of weeks ago I finished the book "The Art of Racing in the Rain". I was going to post a formal book review but haven't had time. Bottom line: READ IT! It is narrated by a dog, and ever since I have been talking to Gunnison like he is a person.
6. I hope that it doesn't storm tonight. The Alzheimer's residents really act out to changes in the barometric pressure.
7. I CAN NOT WAIT FOR JULY 15TH WHEN WE WILL BE LEAVING TO GO HOME FOR VACATION!
8. I love that Scott has been home so much. He has been working just 45 minutes South for the last several months. He should be traveling much less now.
9. I am trying to figure out where I want to go in my nursing career. I think that I have decided on trying to get a job doing mama/baby nursing. I am going to apply next week so that when we get back from our vacation I can start calling places and getting serious about getting a new job!
10. I think that blog posts with no picture are incredibly boring....however it is time for me to go to work. I will put up pictures soon. I promise!

Homemade Lemon Sugar Scrub

 Today I stumbled upon this website with a recipe for homemade lemon sugar scrub. Conveniently, I stumbled this site right after I had finished a jar of maraschino cherries and was wondering what to do with the jar. So, I decided to give it a go!

The recipe seemed simple enough:
-2.5c Sugar
-1c Olive Oil
-4T lemon juice

I was really disappointed with how it turned out. I could not smell the lemon at all and the mixture was much more thin than other sugar scrubs that I have used. In the end, I used all of the sugar I had trying to make it thicker, and all of the lemon juice trying to make it more "lemony"! I actually really like the end product. It doesn't smell the greatest, but it does make my hands feel wonderful (and I am excited to put it on my feet too).

I also decorated the jar to match our bathroom. It looks really cute sitting on the sink!

Next time I have a jar I am going to try to make a vanilla/brown sugar scrub to match our other bathroom!

Goals for the 2nd Year of Marriage

I sure wish that Scott was awake to help me with this post, but unfortunately he has to work early in the morning. One thing that we talked about while camping is our goals for the second year of our marriage. The first year of our marriage was definitely a wonderful year. There are a lot of things that we would like to continue to do into our second year of marriage, some new things we would like to start and some things that we did while we were dating that we would like to bring back! Most of these things are ways to improve our relationship, but many are just goals that we have for ourselves to improve who we are and become more conscientious citizens. Here is the list:

1. TENT TALKS: When Scott and I first started dating we went camping and had some of the best chats that we have ever had. We decided that the reason for this was that sitting in the tent there were no distractions-no TV, no dirty dishes staring at you, no cell phones, etc... For a long time after this we recreated "tent talks" by just turning off the electronics and going into a non-distracting place, or most of the time under a blanket to give it a "tent-like" feel. These were some of the most meaningful conversations that we have ever had and I hope to bring it back into our daily lives!
2. ROAD TRIPS: Ever since we first started dating we have loved a good road trip. Some of the places that we have gone on road trips are: all over Minnesota, Michigan, San Francisco, Vegas, Utah (Bryce, Zion, Arches), all over CO (RMNP, Million dollar highway, random cool places)....the list goes on! The best part of the road trip is not the destination but getting there! I love to ride in the car with Scott and Gunnison. We can be so silly and love to sing along with dorky songs. A good road trip definitely brings out the silly side of both of us!
3. NO MORE BOTTLED WATER: So this does not have to do with our relationship, but rather with becoming more conscientious citizens. The water here in Colorado Springs is not the greatest (that is an understatement...it tastes like you are drinking a pool)! We were both so spoiled being in the UP and having delicious Lake Superior water. However, I am going to suck it up and start drinking the tap water. Here is why: tap water is free and does not waste the plastic like bottled water does. However, as a disclaimer: we will still drink bottled water while doing things like hiking and camping....just not while sitting in the apartment.
4. NEVER GOING TO BED WHEN THERE ARE DISHES IN THE SINK: This should not be hard. We have a dishwasher. We just both need to put our dishes into the dishwasher after we eat and empty the dishwasher in a timely manner. Enough said!
5. WASTE LESS FOOD: I Stumbled-upon a blog today in which a woman took a picture of all of the food she threw away every week. While I would be humiliated (at this point) to take a picture of everything that I throw away, maybe someday I will not be as ashamed. I have looked up some ideas for things to do when I have leftover produce so that I do not have to waste it. Also, today I had some very old bananas and made some banana bread instead of throwing them away...one step at a time. 
6. DO SOMETHING SIGNIFICANT: I do not want to just live ordinary lives. This year we had the opportunity to give a home to 2 rescue animals: Farah the cat and Gunnison the dog!  We gave Farah the best "end-of-life" care that a cat could hope for. And Gunnison has taken a 180 degree turn from when we got him. When we first rescued him he would whimper and duck down when you would go to pat his head (talk about embarrassing), now he is the friendliest, happy-go-lucky dog that I have ever met. We have taken him to training and he has turned out to be an awesome pet (and family member)! It may not seem so significant, but when we see the turnaround that Gunnison has made, we know that it was significant to him. Hopefully this year we can do something even bigger and more significant!
7. BE THANKFUL: We are so blessed to have jobs, food, a place to live, some of the "extras". We are living in Colorado which has been our dream since day 1 one of dating. I hope that even when things get busy and stressful we can remember how lucky we are. 

I know that there are a million more ways that we can improve ourselves and our relationship...however, these are the ones that I want to focus on. I think that if we can do these few things (and I think that they are realistic things) we can really improve our relationship, daily lives and environmental footprint. I will keep you posted on how we are doing in accomplishing these things!

Here is to a SPECTACULAR first year and many, many more to come!

An Anniversary to Remember

Scott and I wanted to do something memorable for our first anniversary. We discussed many ideas: Mexico, private cabin in the mountains...the list went on and on and on. We ended up deciding on a weekend camping trip in Gunnison, CO. Because we will be going home in July, Scott was not able to get time off from work. However, camping was the most perfect thing that we could have done. We had a fabulous, stress-free weekend.

See my facebook album for more pictures...but here is a sampling:

We camped in the Curecanti National Recreation Area

We met a guy who recommended that we drive the "Million Dollar Highway" through the San Juan Mountains. It was AWESOME!

Scott and Gunnison by where a rushing river poured out of a cave.

Gunnison and I by a beautiful mountain lake.

Beautiful Scenery

At one of the summits.

Waterfall right outside of Ouray, CO.

Playing in the water by our campsite at the Curecanti National Rec Area

Gunnison discovered the joy of sticks!

The next day we went to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

Family portrait!

Like father like son!

It was a bit windy!

Overall, we had a great trip! It was so nice and relaxing just to be in nature! We have made a pact to do something special like this each year to remember our anniversary!

It was also wonderful to reminisce about our wedding. We would like to thank each and every one of you who were at our wedding for helping to make it as special as it was! We looked back at pictures and video and agree that it was truly the best day of our lives!