I Suck at Being an Adult

Guess what we’re doing tonight? Don’t be jealous, but tonight we will be embarking on the ever-so-romantic past time of grocery shopping. Take THAT candlelit dinners! While the photo above isn’t the actual inside of our fridge, it’s a nearly spot on representation of the fact that WE HAVE NO FOOD. We’ve got condiments, last night’s leftover pasta and little else. In the freezer we have ice cream, cake and cookies (hey, gotta keep that stuff fresh until lent is over).

I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not very good at being an adult. (Just ask my Mom who was kind enough to take on 5 tons of laundry and three dirty bathrooms while we were in New York. Best. Mom.Ever.)  Like my gas tank, I let our food supply get below “E” before deciding I need to do something about it. I forget to get my oil changed every 3-5,000 miles. I’ve needed new tires since Thanksgiving. The knob on our dryer, like the knob on our shower, needs fixed. There are at least 5 lightbulbs that need changed in our house.  So much to do, so little time. And don’t get me started on the dog hair issue! Word to the wise, don’t wear black when visiting Casa de Moose & Riggo. 😉

Feel free to let me know your adult downfalls! It’ll make me feel better.

It’s Ash Wednesday – What are You Giving Up for Lent?

Did you say, what the heck is lent?

Lent is the period of fasting leading up to the feast of Easter, recalling Jesus’ 40-day fast in the wilderness. Catholic Lent begins on Ash Wednesday.

The purpose of Lent is to be a season of fasting, self-denial, Christian growth, penitence, conversion, and simplicity. Lent, which comes from the Teutonic (Germanic) word for springtime, can be viewed as a spiritual spring cleaning: a time for taking spiritual inventory and then cleaning out those things which hinder our corporate and personal relationships with Jesus Christ.

I love the idea of giving up something for 40 days, and this year I’ve decided to give up sweets. No candy, cookies, baked goods, ice cream or anything else comprised solely of butter/eggs/sugar.

Bye Bye Love

Good thing I already housed a box of Samoas two weeks ago and snuck in some gelato at Eataly over the weekend – like a bear preparing to hibernate! Anyone else giving up something for Lent?

Life Lessons: A Dog’s Eye View

I could write a post about how Moose chewed my beloved heart rate monitor, because, well, he did. But instead of being insanely angry in that moment (I let Joey be the angry one, he’s the one who left it within Marley’s Moose’s grasp) I found myself just shrugging it off. Why get angry over something that is over and done with? No use crying over spilt milk, or chewed up exercise gear. And as I’ve been trying to figure out what exactly brought on my newly found Zen, I’ve been thinking a lot about these two crazy dogs of ours. I’ve decided there’s a lot we can learn from dogs when it comes to our outlook on life.

Here’s my top 5 life lessons from a dog’s eye view:

1. Go Hard or Go Home. Whatever these guys do, they do it full force. When it comes to fetching a ball it’s an all out sprint like their life depends on it, no 50% effort here. Time to play in the snow? They’ll play the heck out of some snow. Chew a heart rate monitor? There’s no stopping at a few teeth marks, they’re gonna eat the whole damn strap. Work hard, play hard, love hard, sleep hard. We should all approach our lives that way.

2. Be Here Now. This is something I wrote about when this blog was still a newborn (I think we’ve reached toddler status now, don’t you think?). Dogs have totally mastered the “be here now” mentality. It sort of goes along with #1. Whatever they’re doing in any given moment is the only thing that matters. They’re not worried about a tomorrow they can’t predict, or a past they can’t change. There’s only the here and the now. And the people that are in the here and now are the only ones that matter.

3. Life’s too Short to Hold a Grudge. I guess it’s easy when you have really bad short-term memory, but dogs will never hold a grudge. Trust me, I’ve tried to be mad at Moose but even after you yell at him for eating your shoe/ carpet/christmas ornament/etc, he turns around and looks at you with those big brown eyes that say, “I still love you.” You can’t stay mad at that! If we’re honest with ourselves, most of the things we get mad at other people for are usually very insignificant. Life is too short to say anything other than, “I might be upset, but I still love you.”

4. Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously. Don’t worry about looking like a weirdo. Get dirty, let it all hang out, seize the moment, make yourself comfortable. Do YOU. Because honestly, who are you trying to impress anyways? There’s the quote, “Those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” Dogs never worry about being judged, or looking a certain way. They embrace all their dogginess and just get on with their bad selves.  Work it!

5. Life is Better Together. Dogs are pack animals, and crave companionship. They know that life is always better when we have people around us to share it with. Being alone has its perks (like stealing an entire plate of cinnamon buns off the counter and no one is there to stop you from eating every last crumb), but there’s nothing better than togetherness. That’s why you can be gone for 5 hours, or 5 minutes, but you better believe there will be tails wagging when you walk back through that door. Reunions are always so exciting!

Best. Road Trip. Ever

Daily Post Challenge: Describe the best road trip you’ve ever taken.

If you know me, then you know my heart skipped when I saw this question because I relish any opportunity to replay in my mind the three-week cross-country road trip Joey and I took when I graduated college. It was my graduation gift to myself, and 21 days we won’t ever forget. We went from Maryland to the Grand Canyon and back – stopping in major cities and exploring lots of national parks along the way.

We took HOURS worth of video and hundreds of photos, and while it took me a couple of months, ok, years, I whittled it all down into a fabulous 30 minute video that we have since shared with friends and family (basically anyone who will indulge me).

I won’t bore you with the 30 minute version, but here’s a fun, short version I put together. Enjoy!

Side note – our ‘music video’ portion of the video was done during an 8+ hour drive clear across the state of Kansas. Yeah, we went a little crazy and I have the video to prove it 😉

Food Porn Alert

Post Challenge: If you could have anything to eat right now, what would it be?

You may find this hard to believe after the Day of the 6lb Milkshake, but when I read this, the only thing I could think about was a hot-fudge brownie sundae. I’ve since upgraded to a peanut-butter hot-fudge brownie sundae.

What can I say? I freakin’ love me some ice cream. I’m going to make a hell of a pregnant lady one day.

This is How We Roll

No restaurant reservations or crowds for us! Instead we went to the grocery store, and for little more than $8 a pop we had filets topped with crab meat, homemade redskin mashed potatoes and green beans. We uncorked a bottle of wine we picked up at Chrysalis vineyard this summer and for dessert…we opened the obligatory heart shaped box of chocolates and proceeded to take bites out of every piece 🙂 You just can’t do things like that in public!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Take Me Away

Post Challenge: Describe your dream vacation.

Prepare yourself, because if I’m dreaming, I’m going to dream big – but also within reason so I can imagine that YES maybe ONE DAY this could actually come to fruition.

So in my dreams, I’m able to take a month off from work for this three-part dream vacation. The first leg of the trip would be the adventure portion – an African Safari. Having done little more than a Google search in preparation for this part of my dream vacation, I can’t tell you exactly which country I would go on Safari in, but it doesn’t matter as long as I could see Lions, Tigers and Bear Giraffes, Elephants and maybe a Rhino or two.

I would definitely want to stay in rustic-cabiney-tent type shelter, like this one. See me sitting on the outdoor chaise? I mean, who wouldn’t want to wake up to an elephant. Pass the bug net!

So after about a week in Africa, I’d hop on the plane for the Greek Isles! This portion of the vacation I call Re…lax…ation. I’d want to stay a few nights in Santorini with a view like this one – soak up the sun, eat delicious food and run up and down the windy cliff-side roads belting out Abba tunes pretending I’m in “Mama Mia!” (Christine, please tell me you did this while in Greece.)

After that I’d charter a yacht (because we’re still dreaming a bit) to cruise through some of the Greek islands. I’d snorkle in hidden coves and relax on deserted sandy beaches. Ahhh…are you falling in love yet? Because I am.

After about a week of heaven-on-earth, I’d be off to Italy for a food and wine tour – Ciao bella! This portion of the trip is all about the culture. And it’s a strategic move to do Italy last because I fully intend to gain at least 10 pounds and I can’t be running around Greece with that extra baggage. How amazing does all this food look? Pizza in Italy is other-worldly.

The cheeses, the meats, the sauce, the herbs, the LOVE. I’m drooling. Literally, pass me a napkin.

In addition to the food and wine, I’d explore the art, history and culture of Florence, Tuscany, Sicily, Naples, Rome and Milan.

You know what, I think I need to add some extra time to this dream vacation. Make it 5 weeks. I’ll need at least 12 days for my tour of Italy.

After 5 weeks I’d return home fat, happy, tanned, and enriched. Now I’m off to play the lottery! O, and who’s watching the dogs???

Your turn! What would your dream vacation be?

The Sunny Side of Life

Daily Post: Are you an optimist, a pessimist, or something else?

Well you already know the answer from the headline and photo. I’m definitely an optimist. I generally believe everything works out in the end, and I try to remind myself that there’s no real use in complaining about things you can’t change. Life’s a journey, with ups and downs, but you just have to enjoy the ups and ride out the downs.

My mom would tell you the phrase I use the most in life is, “We’ll figure it out.” Which usually means whatever the topic is,  I haven’t given too much thought to it yet, I’ll cross that bridge when it’s more directly in front of me and I’ll figure out the solution then. No use in worrying or overanalyzing!

Don’t get me wrong, I have my pessimistic moments. I’m not one of those freakishly cheery people either (well maybe sometimes I am), but I definitely think that going through life with a smile on your face makes everything a little better. And if you project happiness and think “happy thoughts” ala Peter Pan, good things will be in store for you. Life is too short to dwell on the negative – the glass is definitely half full!

(I think this qualifies as a D-Spot PSA too)

Naming the New Puppy

Mini-Moose finally has a name! After going through a laundry list of ideas…which I’ll share in case you’re in the market for a dog name:

• Rocco
• Roscoe
• Sunny
• Trooper
• Rookie
• Rudy
• Trooper
• Finn
• Huck
• Tiger
• King
• Bear
• Bay Boy (Ok, so Joey’s Dad came up with that)
• Hunter
• Hunt
• Bentley
• Brodie
• Beau
• Rascal

We finally settled on…..

………….drum roll please ………..

…………..

RIGGO!

aka Riggs aka Riggy aka Riggy Roo (that’s just me)

We were digging the “R” names and Riggo just fits his bouncy little personality. Eeeek, how cute is he in the above picture?! I’m in love. And Moose won’t admit it yet, but he is too!

There’s Something Happening Here

And I can’t tell you about it!!!! It’s killing me, but I’m sworn to secrecy for the time being. Here’s a hint – it has something to do with something I’m looking forward to in 2011.

There’s a possibility this thing I can’t tell you about but am dying to tell you about might not happen, which is why I don’t want to tell you about it yet. I should know more tomorrow.

Until then mi amigos…