Kudos to My Man

So, I'm feeling particularly sappy and in love with the husband-like figure in my life (he doesn't like being called "life partner", because he says people then start imagining us a lesbian couple; I'm kinda like, "hey, there is absolutely nothing wrong with people thinking I've hooked up with Angelina Jolie!"). Anyway, despite the fact that this will probably make him blush, I have to brag a bit about how great my man can be.

It's been a bit of tradition for several years now (since we've lived in our current house) that since I make dinner every night, Adam has to make me breakfast in bed on the weekends. This is a two-fold pleasure for me: a)I get to sleep in a bit longer, and b)I don't have to come up with any clever breakfast ideas. Adam's breakfast menu ranges anywhere from bowls of cereal with juice, to eggs and toast, to toasted bagels and cream cheese; nothing overly complicated but always exactly what I want. It's always nice because we'll sit in bed eating, listening to NPR's Saturday lineup (Weekend Edition, Car Talk, and Whaddaya Know? are amongst our morning faves) and feeding a begging Kika scraps.

Our friends have gotten us on to eating steel-cut oats, which we love. They take too long to cook to have them during the work week, but it's a real treat during the weekend. We've been jazzing it up with berries and a little bit of brown sugar, and it's like eating a very healthy oatmeal cookie. Adam made me a bowl this past weekend and it was fantastic.

I think I'll keep him around for awhile longer...

Video ist kaput!

Sorry for the bad link. I'm going to try to upload it again to see if it will actually work. It works during the preview session but not when it's actually on the blogsite. Hmmm, I'll see what I can do.

Poor Kiksa

So, as I reported a couple weeks ago, Kiksa had a run-in with a much bigger dog and was on the losing end of that scrabble. Once the vet put the stitches put in, we were told to put little socks on Kika's feet so she couldn't scratch at the stitches. Well, I didn't have dog-sized socks, so I had to improvise a bit. Hope you can play this, it's pretty funny, my poor girl. As you might hear at the end of the video, Adam was not amused.

Easter Sunday

We're not exactly the religious type, but we did chat with relatives and friends today to wish all a happy Easter. I decided to snap a few pics to add to the blog so folks can see what things are like in our household these days.
Enjoy!



This was my attempt to "wax artistic". We had a painting night at a friend's house and I decided to paint my favorite image--Adam walking in the park with Shabbi and Kika. Funny, because I think that Shabbi's hindend came out being the best part of the pic! Adam's hand looks a bit like something from a horror flick, but what can I say? I tried!



Here's Miss Kika, chillin' on the futon on Easter Sunday while Mum and Daddy play on the computer...



Adam says "Hullo" to all, while lamenting the continued wait for "Battlestar Galactica" to begin its last season!

Happy Birthday, Katie Hewlett!

I won the 20-year bet and you still owe me money *snicker*
Just kidding
Love ya, kid
Little Lauren-foo-foo

Party Poopers

Happy St. Paddy's day, everyone!
Ads and I had plans to make it to one of the local Irish pubs, sort through the crowds and toast over a nice pint of green. Those plans turned to dust, however, when we found ourselves asleep for over an hour on the couch this evening. We were so sleepy we could barely force ourselves awake to eat dinner. Adam had an excuse--he'd been out late last night helping a friend with a long drive; I had none, however. I went to bed by 10:30pm last night and had a nice long sleep. Maybe I'm lazy, or maybe it's my 30's kicking in.
Otherwise things are going swimmingly here. We both continue the job hunt, and are hoping for some good news soon (before the economy tanks and jobs are in even shorter supply than they are now).
That's all for now. Cheers, lads and lasses!

Spring Fitness

So I have finally started back into my workout regimen after goodness-knows how long. It feels good to have the sore muscles the following day and to really feel "the burn" when I'm running. I run around our neighborhood, about 2 miles a day. I figured I'd start off slowly, and build up to longer runs and faster paces. I usually run by myself, so I mix up my routine (different routes) everyday for safety as well as to make sure my body doesn't get too accustomed to a particular course.

Yesterday, Adam went to the local Wal-mart (I know, I know, evil empire, but we only get our oil changes there!) to get the oil changed on my car. He wanted me to come with him, but I really wanted to get a jog in while he was gone. He suggested that I run up to the Wal-Mart to meet him; he figured my car would be about done by the time I got there (25-30 minute run for me). It was nice; I ran into 3 different friends on my way there, and it was a good, slightly inclined course that my body wasn't quite used to. Plus, the red-winged blackbirds are out singing in the wetlands so it was nice to see they've made it back for spring (spring IS on the way!).

This evening I'll be working out with a coworker who's trained in a technique called "Nia". Tonight's the first time I will work out with her group, but from what I understand, the technique is sort of like yoga, dance and tai chi rolled into one. I'll let you know what comes of it.

Not much else going on here, just trying to get my motivation up to finish house projects and craft projects like my quilt. Did anyone see "Idol" last night? Okay, so I'm hooked once again this season. Unfortunately, Kristy (what the heck WAS that performance????? It felt like someone was playing a carnival record backwards--yech!), and the two Davids (Hernandez and Archuleta) suffered pretty badly last night. My favorite point was when the contestants were being asked to describe what they were doing before auditioning for "Idol"; everyone talked about the job they had right before auditioning, except for David Hernandez, who had been a gay night club stripper. Instead, he talked about a job he'd had back in his college days a few years ago. After his performance and the poor reviews from the judges, Ryan asked David if he'd overthought his song choice "Saw her standing there" after his difficult week (which was an allusion to the fact that the media found out he'd been a gay night club stripper). Considering he really tried to play to the female audience by getting down in the pits with them during his song and picked a "guy likes girl" type song, I think he was trying to prove a point. Problem was, for someone who's trying to prove he's not gay, he only appeared more gay during that flamboyant, over-the-top performance. Too bad he doesn't feel like he can do himself a favor and just come out, already. My fave picks from last night would have to be Chikezie (he really busted loose with that mix of bluegrass and rock), David Cook (definitely going to the top 5), and Cady (who I never really liked before, but thought she hammered it home last night). I also liked Michael, who I don't think gets enough credit because he's not overly showy--kind of the talented, dark horse lurking in the background, and Brooke, who seems to have captivated Simon for the last 3 weeks. I just wish she'd mix it up a bit more and do something riskier than the girl-with-guitar or girl-with-piano bit she keeps doing.

So that's just my few cents. Feel free to disagree!

The Lovely Bones

I just couldn't resist posting about this book my friend Emily lent to me. It is so disturbing that I've been wondering if I should stop reading it before bed. It was on Oprah's book club some time ago, and it was a best-seller for quite awhile. I'm still waiting to get to the part where things get better (not the book, I mean, the characters start to deal with their grief) because it is an emotional rollercoaster right now and I'm not sure I can deal.

I just want to say how very much I love my friends and family, especially my sister (not that I love her more than my other family members, but this book makes me think about her a lot). A story like this really puts a lot into perspective--especially considering all the happenings in the world these days--and I find myself concerned that something bad will happen and I'll lose her. *sigh* I think I should only read this book in daylight hours, which is convenient now that we've changed the clocks.

Mylen: 1 Kika: 0

It's all fun and games until one of you pokes an eye out...that was what my mother always used to say to us kids when we played too roughly or took unnecessary risks. Well, my little Kika would have done well to heed her Grandma Jayne's advice this past weekend. Kika decided to pilfer a bit of dinner from Mylen's bowl when she wasn't around; however, as soon as Mylen saw Kika eating her food, she attacked. Poor Kiksa (unbeknownst to us at the time) suffered a deep bite wound, which manifested into a large egg-sized fluid-filled abscess that hung from her neck by the next day. She had to undergo surgery to insert a rubber shunt that allowed the fluid to drain. She got the shunt taken out this morning and is, by all accounts, doing very well. The receptionist at the animal hospital looked at Kika after surgery and said, "Well, poor girl, I'm sure you won't go stealing other doggies' food again, will you?". Adam just shook his head and said, "Actually, I'm sure she will." Cheers to my little girl's indominable spirit...even if mum and dad have to pick up the bill.

Visitors

Thanks to all who filled out the poll, although I'm still trying to figure out who the Northeast folks are. Even more, I'm trying to figure out who the six people who read this blog are...



I think I forgot to mention that Ads and I are dog-sitting this week. A friend of mine from work headed out of town for a couple weeks and needed a rotation of people to look after his pups. Since our friends have always been so kind and helpful in taking care of our girls when we needed them, Adam and I decided to pass it along. So here are Toby (Bernese Mountain Dog) and Mylen (Newfoundland mix). They are huge and playful but super sweet and a lot of fun. If only I had thought to take a picture of them getting a bath yesterday after a muddy playdate at the dog park! They both came through like champs, although my back was aching from bending over two huge puppies for about an hour and a half. Even my friend said I was "brave" for attempting to bathe his dogs!

Adam and I went to a local Red Cross event tonight. It was a celebration of the refugee communities that exist in the Lansing area. It was a really nice event and there was a lot of free ethnic food--Middle Eastern, Ethiopian, Italian, yum! Adam and I are thinking that we might try our hands at mentoring some of the refugee children who live in the area; they need help learning English and assimilating to the culture, and I could brush up on some of my foreign language skills (not that it's about me or anything...).

Hope you like the pic. I know they have been few and far between!