Great Doggie Dash Again

Lavi and I joined Roxie and Susan for the DASH again this year. Don't know the final count but there were A LOT of dogs and their people again.

Here we are getting ready for our walk.



Roxie modeling this year's t-shirt.



And we are off...



Lavi midway through the walk taking a breather.



Laura and Marv joined us for the walk. We also walked with Tim (another co-worker at 211, actually my supervisor) and his girlfriend. They ran the 2-mi bridge to bridge option of the dash. We did the 1-mi stroll but I think I'd like to do the run with Lavi one of these years.




Thanks again for the generous donations on our behalf. We are happy to help out all those other critters still looking for homes.

Doggie Dash 2011

Lavi and I are planning on attending the Doggie Dash again this year. Here is a link to our participant page if you would like to make a charitable donation to the Oregon Humane Society in our honor.





Lavi says "You know you want to!"

NJ Trip

Better late than never, here are some pics from our trip to New Jersey in early March.

After landing in Newark, we went to the Prudential Center to watch the NJ Devils take on Tampa Bay.

Devil's Army truck






Matt's infamous shot from center ice


Matt's favorite pizza from The Trattoria



Mom's birthday









The NJ critter crew

Spree


Suri


Shawnee and Curry




Grammy visit





Julie and Rocco (future Good Fella)



Brandon busy at work

Valentine's Day Heart Brownies

I saw this blog post by Smitten Kitchen and I knew I had to make these. I followed the recipe pretty much to a tee. I used a cheap white chocolate bar from Trader Joe's and was a little skeptical but they came out great. They were a lot easier to cut out the hearts from than the dark chocolate. In the end, it is so cute. Plus you can make them for any holiday!

Birthday!

We celebrated the big day this year with Susan and Doug @ Rogue Brewery. Not only do they make great beer, but they have a great birthday offer of a free yard of beer and a free t-shirt, as well as 20% off your bill. We started the celebration off early @ 3pm when we got off work.

Since the birthday girl gets what the birthday girl wants...why not a delicious plate of bacon! This might sound weird, but it was listed as an appetizer on the menu, so why not??



Here is Dougie with his Stout tasting flight. I enjoyed the one made with espresso - yum!



Matt and I on our second round...



Susan and Doug after round ?.................




In bed by 8:30, what a great day!

Rose City Classic 2011

I attended the Rose City Classic again this year to watch Robin and Posha in their first rally novice event. This was their 3rd day of competition so they had it down by now. At this level, the dogs are on leash and need to follow the correct commands.





I was thrilled to see my friend Kennedy and her Pomeranian, Leo, in the same event.



Both Posha and Leo qualified! Since Posha qualified on all three legs over the weekend, she earned her novice rally title.



I also saw my friend Twylla with her Pumi puppy, Furgie. I had the opportunity to meet Furgie's mom and granddad at the Pumi Meet the Breed event. They are some rambunctions little critters and very tough I learned.

New Vegetable #1

The first new vegetable of the year is broccoli rabe. We have been enjoying regular broccoli for a while so I thought this would be an easy transition.



I have eaten broccoli rabe before but I have never purchased it to make at home. To mellow out the bitter taste, I blanched it first and then sauteed it with garlic and olive oil.



I give Matt a lot of credit, as I just handed him a plate of broccoli rabe - nothing else, and he ate it like a trooper. He has gotten really good at trying new things and then deciding not to eat it again.

Overall grade = B
I might make it again but there are so many vegetables out there, it may be a while. I appreciated the variation in taste and the nurtient value.