Getting ready for the pitter patter...

...of little PAWS!!!

B and I broke down and started looking for a new addition to our family...a dog (awww). We both knew that we'd be taking this step in a matter of months of getting married, since I just can't go for too long without a furry friend. Well, I've been without a furry friend for 3 months now and I'm hankering for a little wet nose to be running around and that clickity-click of the paws across the tile floor.

So, we officially started looking for a dog this weekend. We accidentally found a purebred that we both thought was so sweet but we would much rather adopt from a rescue. We're just leary about the type of mix we might get with the rescue since when I was looking previously, most of the puppies were lab/pitbull mix (no Pit please!) Today I looked some more and found a few very sweet looking puppies for adoption and put in a request for an appointment to meet them in person. There is one in particular that we like the looks of but, personality speaks volumes so, we'll see.

We're looking to get a young, female lab mix. I prefer a more yellow or brown dog, but we'll get whichever ones is "the one". We're hoping that we'll have a new addition within the next month. We have a little work to do around the house to get ready for the little girl but I'm just tickled that we've taken the first steps!

"Flavorful"...

...That's how my hubby described a new recipe I tried out this week. He also said that he wasn't sure which part he like best, the chicken or the sauce. I was a very yummy recipe, so I thought I'd share. Oh, and it's easy too (bonus!).

Cumin Chicken Breasts w/ Latin Citrus Sauce

Rub for the chicken:
2 tsp packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 Tbsp olive oil

For the sauce:
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1/3 cup lime juice
1/3 cup orange juice
3 Tbsp honey
3 Tbsp fresh cilantro (finely chopped)
3 Tbsp fresh mint (finely chopped)
salt to taste

1. Combine the brown suger, cumin, salt, and cayenne in a small bowl. Rub all over the chicken. Cook in the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat for ~5 minutes per side until chicken is cooked through and golden brown. Put chicken on a plate and cover, set aside.
2. To make the sauce, add the garlic to the same skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly for about 15 seconds. Stir in the lime juice, orange juice, and honey. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and mint and season with salt and cook another minute.
3. Serve the chicken on a plate (goes wonderfully with black beans and rice). Spoon the sauce over the chicken and serve.

It's easy and will stimulate your tastebuds. Oh, and did I mention that it's pretty darn healthy too!

P.S. I have to thank my brother and future SIL, because this recipe comes from a cookbook they got me. It's a fantastic cookbook. I've tried 3 recipes from it and they are all healthy, delicious and easy! Thanks guys!!!

...A Mighty Good Man

When "B" and I got married, I moved from NJ to PA. What used to be a 1 hr commute (each way) into work is now a 1 hr 40 min commute (each way). So, I bargained with my boss and I now work a few days from home and commute just 2 days into the office. To make the commute even easier AND to spend time with family, I spend the night every Wednesday in NJ with family and am away from my new hubby.

With the long commute, I get home late from work on Thursday nights (usually around 8:oopm) and there is always a fresh green salad ready and waiting for me in the fridge when I get home, made by my hubby.

Well, tonight here's what I came home to:


It put quite a smile on my face after a long, rough day at work. Isn't he sweet?!?

Mmmmm, flowers

Although I can't take credit for 99% of the flowers in our yard (they were planted by the prior owners), I do get 100% of the pleasure in nurturing them, watching them grow, cutting a few for the house, and enjoying the wonderful aroma of some. I'm planning a few changes to our floral abundance:

1. Thin out the irises that are starting to take over the yard.
2. Move around some of the daffodils...some clumps are too much, others too sparse, and I'd like to make them juuussst right.
3. Thin out one of my climatis plants...it's downright unruly!
4. And next year I'll corral in our lovely peonies so they don't fall over.

But for now, I thought I'd share some pics of our floral bliss. Here are some Blue Flags and our unruly Climatis:

Here is my favorite of our 4 Climatis bushes (mind you, only 2 of them have flowered so far, but this is SO FAR my favorite). Just look at that color!

This is a strange Peony bush, it grows both pink and white blooms:

Another of our Peony bushy, this was such a perfect bloom, I couldn't resist!

And here is a picture of a bloom on my unruly Climatis bush, such a nice white, with a touch of purple:

Missin' my hook

Now that the wedding is done and I've begun to settle back into a more normal sort of life. Part of that normal life is one of my all-time favorite hobbies...crocheting!

I had to set down my crochet hook after the summer ended so that I could focus on the increasing deman for my time to be spent on organizing all the wedding details. I didn't realize how much I missed it until I picked up my crochet hook a little over a week ago to begin work on a stuffed animal (my first real stuffed animal, btw). What a wonderful feeling to crochet once again, to peruse the aisles of the craft store for that perfect yarn, to feel the softness of the yarn and the relaxation in my shoulders that occurs when I settle in...ahhhh, pure bliss!

I have many friends who are expecting (babies, if you didn't guess) between now and the end of the year, so now that I've picked up my hook I'm armed and ready to create fun animals and blankets!!! I don't think I'll get all the goodies done by the time each baby gets here because 3 of them are due within 4 months of each other (rain checks anyone?) but I've started and will be a crocheting fool for the next several months!

I'm so happy with how my first stuffed animal turned out that I just had to share some photos. Here he is...

Just peeking my head in...

I know I've been M.I.A. for a couple months now, but everything has just gotten a bit hectic. So, I thought I'd poke my head in to say "HI" and briefly let my few readers know what I've been up to. Of course, most of my readers probably know 'cause it's my friends and family:)

This past couple weeks has been a complete whirlwind...what with packing boxes (for my move to PA) and having the final meetings with wedding vendors and getting the last wedding details all sorted out, printed out, and worked out. On top of that, work has really picked up, which is great, but it's been a challenge to find that balance. I'm now realizing that I did absolutely the right thing in deciding to take a full week off work prior to the wedding. It won't all be relaxation, but at least I'll be able to focus on the move and the wedding and I'll have my entire family from Oregon here to help with stuff.

I think I'll do a couple posts on the honeymoon (yeah wifi!)...reflecting on my wedding planning experience. It is so much more than I ever thought it would be. I don't mean the stress (although that's a little bit of it). I'm more referring to the many things God has taught me through the process...which was completely unexpected. I just figured it would be like planning a big party, but God has shown me so much and has blessed me in countless ways. The whole process has not been without its trials, but even those have been learning experiences. Like I said, I will share more from the honeymoon when my brain is emptied of all the craziness and I can completely reflect on my experience.

For starters, though, I have found that God has provided me exactly what I have needed, exactly when I need it. Should I know that He does this? Yes. But my being human sometimes gets in the way of what I should know and tucks itself back into the deep recesses of my mind. And I don't mean that He just provides what we need financially (though that's a little piece of it), what is even more important is how He provides for me spiritually, emotionally, mentally. The times when I've felt that I didn't have an ounce of strength to carry one more box down from my 3rd floor apartment, "somehow" I make it...the time when I felt I didn't have enough energy to handle the noise and activity of the 25+ kids at AWANAS, "somehow" the night flies by and I'm energized...and just recently when one of my bridesmaids (and myself) experience a great loss and I don't know how to pick the pieces back up enough to enjoy the last few weeks before my wedding, "somehow" my work just happens to throw a surprise wedding party for me, reminding me that it's ok to be happy. I have no doubt in my mind that the "somehow" is God.

Putting Oregon on the map!

Now everyone has heard of popular states like New York, Texas, California and even Maine and could point them out on a map. But I come from one of the lesser talked about States...Oregon. I was appalled the first year I moved from Oregon to N.J. that one of my well-educated colleagues thought Oregon was in the midwest (I guess "well-educated" is a relative term).

So, imagine my surprise to open my Snapple All Natural Green Tea bottle today (yummy, btw!) and see the following under the cap "There is an underground mushroom in Oregon that measures 3.5 miles across." So I looked it up and found out more information here! Just a little something to put Oregon on the map:)

Here's a little public service announcement about my home state from yours truly: Oregon is a beautiful state with lots of outdoorsy type stuff to do. The far western side is quite rainy, but once you get past the Cascade Mountain Range, the weather is desert-like in the summer and quite snowy in the winter.

Fragile (fra-gee-lay)

And this is why you never, NEVER mark a box "Fragile"!!!!

This is the box that one of the favors for the wedding came in. These pictures show EXACTLY how it was when I got it. Yes, that includes the top being open! Thankfully, the inside packing was fantastic and nothing was broken. Whew, crisis averted:)

So, take this as a lesson to never mark a package "fragile" no matter how fragile it is. Just make sure to pack it really well.

Holy wedding bells, Batman!

I woke up this morning and realized that it is exactly 3 months before the big day! I feel a mix of satisfaction and trepidation as I realize that I have so many tasks complete, yet so many tasks yet to even get started on. I feel very good about what I've accomplished (with the help of friends and family) but I definitely need to kick it into high gear...I DO NOT want to have a ton of things to get done at the last minute!

I'm also feeling a tremendous mix of emotions. The excitement I have for beginning my life with "B" is just boundless but, at the same time, I have so many other emotions mixing with it:

• Fear - of all the changes that will be taking place in my life...new home, sharing a home with another person (pets don't count for preparing for this day), getting to know each other in the day-to-day humdrum of life. And the thing I'm always the most fearful of...the unknown and that whole not knowing what the future holds.
• Sadness - that I'll be further from friends and family than I've been in the past 12 years. They are SO important to me and I get sad thinking that I may not see them quite as much (sniff sniff). I must say, I'm truly bless that "B" totally understands how important my friends and family are to me and has been very sympathetic to know how difficult this change will be.

As I ramp up for the next few months, I'm daily becoming more aware and appreciative of all the wonderful people in my life. My deepest thanks and love to my friends and family for all that you are, all that you do, and for all your love and support...you know who you are!

Prayers and raffle

I covet your thoughts and prayers for a friend of a co-worker. Here's the story, from my co-worker's words:

A friend of mine was in a serious accident over the Thanksgiving holiday. He was critically injured when struck by a hit and run driver while crossing the street. Thankfully he is making major progress in his recovery and was just discharged to Magee Rehab but he has suffered major brain trauma and has a long way to go. As you can imagine, he and his wife will be faced with some serious bills in the coming months as Brian will most likely need constant home care after his month at Magee.

Brian's local hangout has organized a raffle to help his family mitigate some of the financial burden during this difficult time. I've offered to help my co-worker in selling some of the raffle tickets so, if you're in the area and are interested in purchasing one or more raffle tickets, let me know. Here's the details:

• Cost: $3 per ticket or 2 for $5
• Prizes: 1st prize = Basket of Cheer; 2nd prize = sports memorabilia (probably Eagles-related); 3rd, 4th, and 5th prizes = gift certificates
• When: Drawing will be on January 25th

Just shoot me a note or call me if you're interested in participating in the raffle. And please be thinking and praying for this couple and their family and friends as they learn to adjust and cope with the added stress of not only the financial burden, but also the changes this will have on their lives.

A home for the holidays!

For anyone interested, I thought I'd post an update to my earlier post about my most recent foster cats. I am so happy to say that they have found their forever home which just happens to be a woman a work with. I could hardly believe it when she told me she wanted to adopt them BOTH.

What a great success story and I know they are in a wonderful, loving home. So, no more living on the streets or abuse for these little wonders.

Oh, and I get visitation rights!!!

I get my next set of fosters on the 23rd and will have them over the holidays. It's a set of 3 young, tortoise-shell calicos. I'll post pics once I get them.

Straight No Chaser

These guys are pretty clever and I hear they now have a Christmas CD out. Check them out!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fe11OlMiz8

How could anyone do this?

A few weeks ago, a got a new foster kitty. Her name is Brenda, but I call her Mama Bear (because I'm also fostering her son). Here's an pic of the 2 of them (Mama Bear on the left, Bruno on the right):

When I got Mama Bear, one of the heads of our rescue, Res-Q-Pets, let me know that she had a limp and a swollen paw that had been injured prior to her being rescued a couple months earlier. She has been to the vet and had her wounds treated and the vet said it looked like something had been wrapped around her paw real tight (like string, wire, or a rubberband). So, we were waiting to see how it healed.

Fast forward about a week, I get home after being away overnight, I pick Mama Bear up and notice something on her nearly black little paw. I could hardly believe my eyes when I realized that she had a rubberband coming out of her paw!!! Well, I immediately was furious and emailed Lisa and asked her what we needed to do. Within a couple days, Mama Bear was taken to the vet, sedated, and the vet removed an ENTIRE RUBBERBAND from inside her paw. It had been wrapped around her paw several times, evidence that it was done by a person and not just something she had tripped into. Here's a pic of her paw after removal of the rubberband.

So, my question is, who in the world would possibly do this to a helpless creature?!? You have to understand, Mama Bear is one of the sweetest cats I've ever had the pleasure to care for. I just really don't understand what goes through a person's mind to think they even have the right to hurt another creature, especially those that are smaller. Do they not realize that God's put His creatures in our care?

Anyways, Mama Bear is only ~1-1/2 years old and spent who knows how long on the streets of Trenton in one of the worst neighborhoods, yet her demeanor is still so gentle and loving. I had a greater part in her rescue than I have with other of my fosters and I feel a great sense of joy to know that I've helped in even the smallest of ways. Now, 2 weeks past her little surgery, Mama Bear has virtually NO limp, her paw is normal size, and she now stands correctly on it. There is evidence of some permanent damage in that she doesn't put out her claws on that paw and it seems to be a little bit twisted, but none of that seems to ever bother her and she no longer seems to have any pain or discomfort. With that, I think this is a true success story!!!

Oh, and there is someone at my work who is thinking of adopting her so double bonus if that all works out!!!

Oooouuuuurrr house...

...is a very, very, very fine house. Okay, so there aren't 2 cats in the yard, but the house is a very nice house (and we do have a crazy squirrel). "B" and I closed on our dream home in mid November. "B" is living there now and I'll move in a few days before the wedding in March. So, it doesn't exactly feel completely real to me yet and probably won't for a few months, but he's settling in and I'll slowly start moving small stuff over the next few months.

So, long overdue, here are some pics of our new home:

Beautiful silestone countertops and appliances that are only a couple years old (yeah!)

Family room, which gets lots of light (picture taken from the loft).

Now, lets take a trip down the beautiful wood floors in the entryway.

And up the stairs to the loft and the bedrooms. When at the top of the stairs, the loft is to the left and looks down into the family room (you can see the opening in this pic).

Here's one of my favorite rooms...the loft. It also gets lots of light and it will be my room to relax in, read a book, whatever. The princesses are going to go eventually...once we figure out what we want to do in its place.

And last but most certainly not least, the back yard. Here's a picture of our biggest "lawn" ornament. It's great to have, but takes up such an enormous part of the yard that we're going to dismantle and relocate the equipment. Then our biggest project (for next spring) is to put in a lawn instead of bark dust.

I'm sure I'll have more pics later. Right now the house is pretty empty and probably will be for quite some time as we make it our own.

Freakin' hysterical!

A girl at work shared this link with me, being the fellow cat lover that I am and I was seriously in stitches. My favorite is the second clip, but they are all just freakin' hysterical. Oh, the joys of being a cat!

Enjoy!

Wordless Wednesday - Mmmm, pears!

What was my mom doing this fall (and the rest of the fam that she recruited to help)? Canning, canning, and more canning!!! Those are pears, btw.


This brings back memories of my teen years when we would spend the greater part of the summer and fall canning (beans, pears, peaches, tomatoes, pickles...) I don't know that I'll ever carry on this family tradition, but the pears were always one of my favorites. My job with canning pears was washing and inserting pears in the narrow mouth jars.

Mom - Send me a pic of your new venture (cheese) and I'll post that one too!

Join in the fun on this Wordless Wednesday!

Vote People, Vote!!!

I'm not a "political" person or someone that typically gets excited about or likes to discuss politics. But I do recognize my right and responsibility to vote. It has always been important to me to vote; however, with the significant challenges that our country (and the world) is facing these days, I think this could possibly one of the most critical elections in our nation's history.

If you are registered to vote, PLEASE get to the polls today. But, more importantly, take a few minutes to do your homework and make an educated vote.

'Nough said!

P.S. Thanks to Dirkey for advising of all the freebies today!

They did it!!!

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Phillies, our 2008 World Series Champions!!!

I work in Center City Philadelphia and I'm looking forward to going to work tomorrow because I'm sure that the atmosphere will be electric. And even more exciting is that the parade on Friday will be going right past my office, so I'm looking forward to attending that as well. What an exciting time for Philadelphia and what a cool experience to be in the thick of it all!!!

Wordless Wednesday - My boys

Since I can't seem to get in gear with posting to my blog, here's a Wordless Wednesday for you.

For those of you who know about "B", this is an interesting picture since he's ALLERGIC TO CATS!!! The two cats are my current ~6-month-old fosters, named Colby (all black) and Pepperjack (a little white on neck and belly).

If I could keep Colby and Pepperjack, I totally would, but they make "B" sneeze (sniff, sniff). If you know of anyone looking for a couple wonderful, loving, fun, and entertaining cats, please drop me a note.

Join in the fun on this Wordless Wednesday!

Good thing I'm not superstitious!

I've never been very superstitious and, after the crazy events of today, it's a good thing!

So, "B" and I ordered our wedding bands a couple months ago and they came arrived a few weeks ago. We've been very busy and so were finally planning on picking up the wedding bands today. Well, that's where the craziness begins!!!

To set the scene, the jeweler is on "Jeweler's Row" in Center City Philadelphia, which is about a 50 minute drive from my house (on a weekend, that is). We headed out in the late morning with the plan to hopefully be back in the afternoon and get the chance to relax. HA! We arrived at the jeweler and they couldn't get the lock on their drawer to work. As chance would have it, we were the first customers that arrived to pick up anything and the key just kept spinning in the lock. Well, after our 50 minute 1-way drive, we were a bit hesitant to just leave. Especially since we really can only make it into Philly once every other week (when "B" visits me). So, I explained this to one of the ladies and she suggested that they could mail us the rings. Although I appreciate that gesture of trying to make things easier...was she seriously thinking that we would go along with that?!? I said absolutely not, we were not about to pay the balances on the rings until we were sure they fit. So, we left our names and my cell # so they could call us when they got the drawer open.

Hoping beyond all hope it wouldn't take too long to accomplish, "B" and I headed outside the city to a mall about 1/2 hour drive away, had a late lunch, then ran a couple other errands, then called the jeweler to check the status (since we hadn't heard anything). They still didn't have the lock open so we decided to just head back to my house, still hoping that we might be able to pick up the rings today. Oh, I forgot to mention that, when "B" was paying for lunch, the lady ahead of him was paying with her credit card and her card wasn't working. Not typically a big deal but, with all the other crazy things of the day, it was just par for the course.

We headed home, relaxed for about 1/2 hour or so, then we got the call from the jeweler. Draw was open, but now we only had 1-1/2 hours before they close for the day and we had a 50 minute drive ahead of us. So, we hopped in the car and headed on our way. We got to parking garage and, you're not going to believe this...the ticket machine read "OUT OF ORDER". Well, we had just been there earlier in the day, so I pushed the "help" button and a lady came out to help get us a ticket so we could get into the garage. Now, remember, this whole time the clock is ticking and it gets closer and closer to closing time for the jeweler. UGH! About 10 minutes or so later, the lady gets the machine working and we park.

We could only imagine that the next problem would be for the rings to not fit but believe it or not, they fit perfectly (yeah!) We got the rings, went back to the parking garage and there were like 30 people there trying to leave at the same time!!! I'm NOT kidding! By that time, we were just wanting to get out of the city and home safely. Well, we did but not without a little scare on the roadways with some traffic that stopped suddenly, then a tractor trailer that was leaking rocks right onto my windshield. So, we get home, walk through the door and what do we smell, but NATURAL GAS!!! So, I shut off the gas to my stove, let some air through the house, then successfully re-lit the pilots and all is now safe.

What a WILD day! I'm so glad it's over and extremely thankful that we were at least able to get our rings. One more thing to check off the wedding "to do" list.