Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Puppy Love

This past Sunday was the MDSPCA's Annual March for the Animals here in Baltimore.

BHE and I were part of the Ex-Boyfriend's pack (courtesy of M&M). So bright and not-so-early we made our way to Druid Hill park in the city and reveled in all of the dogs, guinea pigs, iguanas, and pot bellied pigs that were out supporting one of the best charities in the area.

We did it!

I made a new friend at the park that day.

And then - we saw him. Wearing his little "Donations Accepted" harness. BHE and I went up to pet him and he rolled onto his back for a belly rub.

And that pretty much did us in. (BHE even more so than me.) The next day we went to the MDSPCA to meet out little boy again and filled out all the necessary paperwork to bring him home.

Well, first we dropped close to $500 at Pet Smart and Target and set up a space for puppy at our house.
The only hazard label on the dog food container we bought.
Thank god for the warning - I TOTALLY planned on putting our kid in it someday.

24hrs and several hundred dollars later, we had a new family member!

Say hello to Donald!
(aka The Don)
(aka Buddy)

We're still getting accustomed to having a new critter in the house and the cats are...adjusting. Hopefully we'll be able to get the whole gang together peacefully in a few weeks.

BHE already has plans to build a table frame for Donald's kennel.
- Speaking of which, BHE has taken his passion for wood working to new heights. You can actually have him design and carve up a piece for you (made out of recycled materials, of course) at his new etsy site: RRR Furniture.

Discounts for friends, of course.

I've still got a roast chicken recipe to post and tonight we're taking a crack at Shaved Asparagus Pizza. I'll post results shortly.

Until then, Enjoy!


Friday, April 15, 2011

Title FAIL

An interesting if somewhat (very) poorly titled piece on marathon running posted by NPR today.

Just because more people complete them doesn't make them less special. That's like saying too many college grads deems the value of a university degree...

To recap:

Cramming an a super-sized fried fast food fest into your gob in one setting: COMMON

Managing to complete 26.2 miles in a single outing: DECIDEDLY UNCOMMON SUPER-ACHIEVEMENT

The text of the article is included below. What's your take on the matter?


Marathons, Once Special, Are Now Crowded

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Vegetarian Posers

This past weekend BHE and I may have overindulged a wee bit too much in the food and drink (and mani-pedi) category. Saturday was spent hanging out in DC with another couple, drinking a LOT Yuengling and snacking on fried potatoes, sweet potatoes, and pickles.

Well, I'm the only one who ate the pickles, but still - you get the idea.

A good and late lasting time was had by all.

BHE likes pandas.

On Sunday BHE and I dragged ourselves out of bed and - determined not to spend the day indoors - made a trip to walk around Ft. McHenry here in Baltimore (where we soon realized that neither of us completely knows the lyrics to the national anthem) and then went out for brunch. More fattening food ensued, including the tots at Regi's, which are apparently the best appetizer in the city according to the Baltimore Magazine.

Why, yes! They ARE covered in Brie and apple-smoked bacon!

We rolled home and promptly fell asleep on the couch. Lesson learned: A weekend of fried stuffs and cheese/beer leads to a slow, painful recovery on the sofa.

My impression of a scrambled egg.

So in an attempt to recover both calories, nutrients and what's left of our entertainment budget, BHE and I are going vegetarian this week. Sunday night consisted of a veggie stir-fry and Grilled Romaine Salad (courtesy of Serious Eats). I forgot to take a photo. Mostly because my brain was still hurting.

Yesterday I took a page (literally) from Susie Middleton's book, Fresh, Fast & Green, and threw together a Double Lemon Ginger Carrot Salad and then tweaked her Simple Avacado and Herb Salad recipe so it had a bit more protein in it.

Cannellini beans - is there anything they can't do?

Tonight Ms. Middleton will be showing me how to make a New Potato Salad with Fresh Peas, Lime, and Yogurt. I'd post the recipes, but I'm pretty sure that be some serious copyright infringement. (And seriously, you need to go out and get a copy of this book for your personal library.)

However, if you ask nicely, I'll be happy to share.

Maybe.

In the meantime, go get some sunshine while you can. And Enjoy!

Friday, April 1, 2011

An Additional 5-Seconds

(1) Is anyone else enjoying this season of Archer as much as I am? I about fell off the couch in hysterics when Pam revealed that Lord Byron poem tattoo on her back last night.



(2) I haven't been to the Preakness since '08, when some of the drunken hordes took to lobbing full cans of beer in the air. (One of them clipped BHE in the arm - he still has a scar.)

The city has tried to temper the frat-like scene on the field over the years, but drinking has yet to be banned altogether. In fact, this year's race mascot is the Kegasus. That's not a typo.


(3) BHE and I played hooky yesterday and spent the afternoon at the zoo.


There were a surprising number of animals out given the cold weather. The highlight of the trip had to be number of baby critters running around the place.

The pandas had a cub a while back...


The gorillas had a baby last fall...


The lions recently had a litter of cubs...


(I meant to post video of the frolicking cubs, but can't find my phone cable to upload the cuteness.) Even the cuttle fish had kids. It was an overload of adorable!

Here's hoping the weekend can keep up the pace!