Meet Bella!

For about the last 6 months, JJ and I have been discussing the possibility of getting another dog. We got Barney as a puppy from a breeder and have had nothing but happiness ever since. As much fun (and work) as getting a puppy is, I have always had a soft spot in my heart for rescue dogs. All of our dogs growing up were rescue dogs. They deserved a second chance at a good life and they all turned out to be wonderful, loving pups.

I have been periodically checking rescue websites for yellow labs and golden retrievers because we thought they would be a good fit with Barney. With rescue dogs you can't be picky, you just have to be open to whichever one melts your heart. But if I could have picked out the perfect rescue dog, I would have asked for a female golden or yellow lab, around 2 years old with a sweet and submissive disposition. And we had already picked out the name Bella, if we could rename the dog.

Wouldn't you know, on the 2nd anniversary of getting Barney my mom called me to tell me about a pup in need of a new home. A sweet little 2 year old female golden retriever...named Bella...was being put up for adoption. It was a sign. This little girl was meant for us :)

She and Barney get along so well and they play non-stop. Both of them are so submissive, we haven't had any problems with aggression yet. Although, Barney is not thrilled about having to share his toys. There is one bone in particular that he refuses to share. Every time she picks it up he walks over and takes it right out of her mouth. I haven't seen it in a day or so...I'm wondering if he hid it like that dog in the Travelers Insurance commercial.

Barney is still getting used to sharing all the attention, but I think its going well so far. After wearing each other out playing all day, they are both curled up in their spots next to our bed. Hopefully this means another good night's sleep for everyone.

Family Game Night

I love a good game night. Board games, card games, Wii games and now...Xbox Kinect games!

Disclaimer: I am not a huge fan of video games. Well, just not the ones that require you to use a tiny little hand held controller and press different arrows and letters to somehow make your person/car maneuver through awful maze-like conditions. I guess I just don't have good thumb-eye coordination.

Kinect is a totally different story. If you can move, you can play.

Tonight JJ and I cooked dinner for our families and introduced them to our new toy. (Side note for anyone interested: We made tomato basil soup and a grilled romaine chicken ceasar salad with oven roasted tomatoes...mmm mmm good! We even made our own croutons! Let me know if you want the recipes!!).

Carolyn, JJ and I took turns showing off our dancing skills. Personally, I tend to excel at all of the Latin-influenced dance moves, go figure. JJ owned the Lady Gaga songs, and Carolyn pretty much jumped right in and could do everything. The best part of each song is it gives you about 20 seconds to "freestyle" and takes pictures of you dancing then plays it back for everyone to see. Some of the most unattractive pictures I have even taken.

Next, we got the whole family involved in the sports games. First there was boxing, where Carolyn TKO'd JJ in the 2nd round. Next, I lost to my mom in beach volleyball. I guess all those years of club and Xavier volleyball didn't pay off. I demand a refund! Well, technically my parents do...

Then we moved on to track...I challenged JJ in the pentathlon. I smoked him in the 100 meter sprint, the long jump and the hurdles. The other 2 events, discus and javelin, should have been so easy for me. Not to brag, but at one time (millions of years ago) I was nationally ranked in both. Piece of cake right? Wrong. Apparently the real life technique and skills do NOT translate to the Kinect version. But no need to fear! My dad was sitting on the sideline (the couch) coaching me. Just like he did for 9 years of my life in real track. And what was my response? The same as it was all those 9 years...eye rolling and complaining, "Daaaaaaad, leave me alone! I know what I'm doing!"

Ahhhh the memories.

We finished the night off with a little bowling. After we had all taken turns and everyone was getting a little tired, I decided to let Barney take my turn. I held him up on his back two legs, drew the ball back with his right paw, and...bowled a strike!!! Just so we are clear, not once on my own attempts was I able to bowl a strike but Barney got one on his first try. He is thinking about joining a league.

Next time you are in Phoenix, you are cordially invited to a dance off against JJ and I then Barney will take you down in bowling.

ROSE BOWL :)

After a fantastic series of events that led to the Chancellor of TCU getting me Rose Bowl tickets after they were sold out, I ended up in Pasadena to see my beloved Frogs take on the Badgers. I heart TCU!

I arrived in LA after an EARLY morning flight out of Atlanta the morning after the concert. Three hours of sleep was the price I had to pay to do it all, but it was well worth it! Carolyn met me in LA to go to the game. We grabbed an amazing lunch in Santa Monica at Huckleberry Cafe and then headed to the game. Because my flight had been delayed and lunch took a little longer than expected, we were some of the LAST people to make it into the stadium after the long walk through the golf course/parking lot. We did make it in time to see Paula Deen do the coin toss though! Needless to say, the game was AMAZING! I was so proud of TCU and the way they played and even more proud of Gary Patterson and Andy Dalton's interviews after the game. Class acts.

After finally maneuvering our way out of Pasadena after the game (not an easy task) Carolyn and I went to a seafood dinner at The Lobster at the Santa Monica Pier. We finished the night at our friends' apartment to play the Game of Things (we played the poor man's version...i cut up strips of paper and made up our own topics because we didn't actually have the game, haha). Hilarious as always.

The next day we had big plans to hike up to the Hollywood sign, but the rain put a damper on that. We did however head over to Fab Hot Dogs for lunch (a restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on the Food Network). I had the Fab Dog because I was not bold enough to try the Ripper. It just sounded like too much to handle, haha. Because the rain didn't let up, we drove around Beverly Hills and then window shopped on Rodeo Drive in our wet, would-be hiking clothes. Total tourist move, but oh well we had fun! For dinner we tried to go to Gjelina but they didn't have a table big enough to fit out large group so we ended up going to Ketchup in West Hollywood. Great food, the mac and cheese was awesome. After dinner we met Leigh for drinks at O'Brien's back in Santa Monica. Love seeing my long distance friends.

We didn't have much time the next day before leaving but we did frolic on the beach in Santa Monica and play on the swing set. We grabbed a fantastic lunch at the Santa Monica Seafood Company on the way out of town. The cioppino was out of this world. Seriously. Go try it.

It was a total whirlwind trip, but so much fun. I got to catch up friends from high school and college, watch an amazing football game, spend time with my sister and taste some of the great food LA has to offer. Wins all around (unless you are a Wisconsin fan, sorry).

NYE in ATL

Best New Year's plans ever. Thanks to Allison, I was lucky enough to welcome 2011 in style at the Zac Brown Band concert in downtown Atlanta. The concert was amazing, they are sooooo good live.

We had dinner at a funky tapas restaurant downtown called Lunacy Black Market. The food was really good and super cheap. The waitress said 2-3 small plates per person was typical so that's what we ordered. Pssshhh. After all the food came out, Allison and I looked at each other and laughed. Apparently we aren't typical diners and had to order a few more plates. It seems that this was so out of the ordinary that the eccentric chef/owner felt the need to come out and tell us how much he liked cooking for girls like us...girls with great appetites. Ummmm, thanks. I think. Then he offered us his own personal tickets to some super cool club party. Ummmm, pass.

We got to the concert just as ZBB was going on stage. Perfect timing. The music was fantastic, the atmosphere was even better. It was just such a fun way to celebrate. I didn't know all of the songs because he did a lot of stuff from his new album but I will def be listening to it all again.

As good as the music was, the people watching was much better. A few rows in front of us we watched two middle aged, overweight people find love. She came with two of her least attractive friends (presumably to make herself look better) he came with his drinking buddies. After the first few songs the two groups began to merge into a super awkward dance party in their row. After about a minute and a half of this everyone else in their group realized the awkwardness and logistical nightmare of an inter-row dance party and went back to their seats. Not these two. They continued bumping and grinding to the music (country music, where bumping and grinding is next to impossible). After both their hands started to wander, they ended up in an awkward embrace/make-out session. It was so awkward it was impossible to look away. A few minutes later they released their death grips on each other and went back to their respective groups. After whispering a brief message to their friends, she grabbed her purse and he gave out a few high-fives. Then they left. Never to be seen again. It's true, there IS someone out there for everyone.

Again, all the credit goes to Allison for this awesome night! And a special thanks for driving me to the airport the next morning at 5 AM. What a good friend.

Christmas Recap

We had Christmas in several stages this year, which is fine for me! I would personally like to see Christmas and gift giving extended for weeks. It is just too much hard work and preparation for it all to be over after one day.

My family was out the week before Christmas for the Cardinals game so we had stage 1 with them. Our traditions with my family include a Secret Santa gift exchange and White Elephant extravaganza. My family has quite a weird sense of humor so White Elephant is always quite entertaining. Some highlights from this year:

1. Carolyn opening up a "shake weight" courtesy of JJ (you will appreciate this much more if you have ever watched the shake weight commercial...in slow motion...with friends...after a beer or two)

2. Me opening up a headlamp a la the Chilean Miners 2010, courtesy of my dad (this is even funnier because the theme of last year's Bliss Christmas ended up being flashlights and everyone got one...thanks mom for making sure we are all covered in case of emergency)

3. My dad emptying out all the cash in his wallet and throwing it in with all of his gifts...you could end up with $20 dollars, like my sister and JJ, or $0.57 like me, thanks daddy

Christmas day was fabulous because JJ had 3 days off, which never happens. They always have to go in on Christmas. We slept in, JJ made pancakes, we baked cookies for friends and opened our gifts to each other. JJ did a fabulous job this year and got me a black, quilted leather Michael Kors bag. I love it. I got him a weekend at the Arizona Biltmore Resort with couples golf lessons and dinner at the Wrigley Mansion. Yes, it is just as much of a gift for myself as it is for JJ. :) We opened gifts with JJ's parents via Skype and had lots of fun. Everyone is invited to our house to play xbox Kinect and enjoy our new grill!

We went to mass on Christmas Eve and had dinner with friends and then had Christmas lunch at their house as well. Of course we had to bust out Apples to Apples after we ate. That night we went to another friend's house and had a great meal and lots of fun playing games with them and their kids. We learned how to play Monopoly Deal, so fun! It has all the fun parts of Monopoly without all the waiting around.

We were reminded again how blessed we are to have such wonderful family and friends. God is so good to us! Hope your Christmases were full of love and fun with people you care about.

Adopt-A-Family for Christmas

One of our favorite holiday traditions is the Adopt-A-Family program through the Salvation Army. JJ and I are incredibly blessed and we use this program as a way to bless others. The most touching things about these families is the simplicity of their requests. They are aren't asking for anything extravagant, just a few things to make their holidays a little brighter.

This year we found another Adopt-A-Family program through Operation Homefront. I can't think of families that are more deserving of some extra love around the holidays than our military families. Most of the families have a mom or dad who is currently deployed. This is such a small way to acknowledge the sacrifices these families make for us every day.

Please consider adopting a family or a child for Christmas through these great organizations! There are so many people out there that would be so grateful for your love and attention.

A Few of My Favorite Things

If Oprah gets to do it, so can I! Although, I regret to inform you, dear reader, I will not be handing these out like she does. I just thought I would share a few of my favorite things to help anyone who was struggling to come up with gift ideas or just to entertain anyone who was bored at work :)

philosophy- They have so many great products, I love them all. But to be more specific, my favorites are: Hope in a Jar face lotion (One of Oprah's favorites too), Purity face wash, and Bubbly, a champagne scented body wash.

Under Armor Cold Gear Fitted Pants- Perfect for yoga or running outside when its chilly! Aaaand they're also good for lounging around the house or running errands.

The Game of Things- Hilarious party game where you get to guess people's responses to questions like..."Things you do when no one is looking", "Things you shouldn't say to your in-laws", or "Things you would title a children's book". Regardless of whether everyone in the group knows each other really well or just met, you will have a blast hearing the answers that people come up with.

Mossimo Pocket T-Shirts from Target- Super comfy, casual and flattering. Lots of different colors and they are nice and long for those of us with longer upper bodies.

Daisy by Marc Jacobs- I'm not normally a perfume fan, but this is light enough so it doesn't suffocate everyone in the room with you.

Toms shoes- Yes, its a little bit hippie, but these shoes are so comfy to walk around in. Its my cooler weather alternative to Rainbows flip flops...they go with everything and your feet won't hurt when you wear them. And as a bonus, when you buy a pair they donate a pair to kids in need. How cool is that?

Landsend Tote Bags- Pick your color, customize it with you name or initials and use it all the time. They are cheap enough to justify having multiples...I have one for my yoga stuff, one with a zipper that I use as a carry-on bag, and one that I use for class.

Personalized Stationery at MJPaperie.com- I love hand written notes and I love being able to choose the colors and designs for my note cards. This is my favorite new online paper store, they have a great selection and the girls who own it are just about the sweetest people in the world!

Hunter Rain Boots with Cable Cuff Welly Socks- My first pair of rain boots! Never really needed them before living in NC. I love all the color options and the cute socks you can mix and match with the boots. And if you (like me) struggle to get your calves in normal boots, try the "Huntress" boots, they have a little extra room in the leg so you don't cut off your circulation.

Chanel Mascara and Foundation- Ever since I had my make up done for our wedding, I have been hooked. Yes its a bit expensive, but you don't have to buy all of their products just the good basic items. They are worth the investment!

Tory Burch "Reva" Ballet Flats- Cute, comfy and dressy all in one. I get complements every time I wear them. Expensive yes, but they last for years and really dress up a pair of jeans without having to wear heels, something I try to avoid at all costs.

Bath and Body Works Aromatherapy Pillow Spray- The Lavender Vanilla scent is wonderful to help you relax and fall asleep. I have been using it ever since college.

Long Sleeve Faux Wrap Tee from VS- Perfect with a cami underneath, unless you are trying to show off your goods...its up to you really. Flattering and comfy, lots of color choices and pretty cheap.

Books by Jen Lancaster- Laugh out loud funny accounts of her own life. She doesn't hold back.

Books by Celia Rivenbark- Hilariously entertaining accounts of living in and loving the South. Must read if you are a transplant, like myself.

Hamilton Beach Stay or Go Slow Cooker at Target- I never knew the awesomeness of the slow cooker until this year, but now we use it at least once a week. This one is great to take with you for potlucks or bringing meals to friends. The lid latches securely so it won't spill in the car!

Bliss Wines- Yes, they finally dedicated a winery to my family. Its about time! Reasonably priced, my favorites are the Cab and the Chardonnay.

Skidless Yoga Towel- Keeps you from sliding all over your mat during a massive sweat session also known as, hot yoga. Mine is purple!

Martha Stewart's Everyday Food: Great Food Fast Cookbook- The recipes are organized by season, so its easy to cook using ingredients that are in season and make meals that fit the weather. Some of the recipes are a little out there, but its good to try new things, right?

Asics Gel Cumulus Running Shoes- So comfy, love them for distance running or just in the gym. Really I love all of their Gel shoes, but these are the best in my humble opinion.

Twining's Tea- My favorites are Irish Breakfast, Lady Grey, and Pure White

Burt's Bees Pomegranate Lip Balm- Not a fan of their minty stuff, but I love the pomegranate!

OK that was ridiculously fun to do! If anyone else has a list of their favorites, please share! I might have to do this again some time...