Are you excited?

I am! Eclipse comes out today (cue teenage girl screams). I can't wait to see it tomorrow night!

P.S. In case you are wondering, I am team Edward.

World Cup

Ugh, what a heartbreaking loss today. But, the good news is that soccer has found a new fan in me. It has been an exciting World Cup!

We got to the Mission Theater over one hour before game time, and the line to get in was already around the block. It was worth it to watch the game on the big screen!

Can you see Andrew's ghost in this picture? Creepy.

Lemon Blueberry Bread

We're bread people in this house. I love every kind of bread there is: french bread, banana bread, wheat bread, pita bread, chocolate chip pumpkin bread, focaccia, and the list goes on.

But I have to say that THIS bread might just be my new favorite. It's hard to compete with a good loaf of cranberry or chocolate chip banana bread, but the combination of lemon and blueberry is perfect for summer.

If you are anything like us, this bread won't last long in your house. Here is the recipe:

http://www.joyofbaking.com/breakfast/LemonBlueberryBread.html

Hot tub

After a long run this morning, I'm off to go soak in the hot tub. Apartment living isn't all that bad!

Day 1: Teaching Tucker how to run.

Day 1 was a failure. However, neither of us came home with a broken bone, so it turned out better than I expected. (On a side note: one of us did come home with a neck full of dog poop. I'll give you hint...it wasn't me).

The run was actually better than I hoped. The last time I ran with him I ended up unconscious. True story! Last year I took him to the tennis courts to tire him out. One minute I was running around with him and the next minute I was flying up into the air. I woke up to him licking my face. I'd like to think that was his way of apologizing for plowing me over.

You would think running with a dog wouldn't be so hard, but we looked like such fools this morning. I want to teach him how to actually run at MY pace. Unfortunately Tucker only has a walk mode and a sprint mode, with NOTHING in between. Back when we thought he was a whippet, I would blame it on genetics. So every time he would lunge into a sprint I would make him sit. Finally he figured out if he jogged nicely next to me, I'd fill him with treats. It's going to take some more work, but I saw a little glimpse of hope.

Now that Tucker is bathed (nasty dog), I am off for a real run. .25 miles is just not going to cut it.

Happy Father's Day to our dads, and all the other dads out there!

Because I have nothing to blog about today.

Hi Brina!

One month

It's hard to believe that we have been here for a month already. Oregon is growing on us! In fact, I just bought my first pair of Chacos, so I think I can officially call myself an Oregonian now. Andrew is enjoying his job and his coworkers. Maybe you'll see a guest post from him soon. Tucker and I have been enjoying our days. Although Tucker enjoys playing with toys, napping, and walking during the day, his favorite time of the day is 5:00. It's dinner time for him, but more importantly he knows that Andrew will be walking in the door soon. His internal clock always amazes me. He could be fast asleep on the couch, but as soon as 5 o'clock rolls around he's looking out the patio door for Andrew. It's very sweet.

During the day Tucker and I have been going on a lot of walks, taking naps (Tucker), going running (me), and getting in a lot of reading. Okay, I have been known to indulge in a nap every so often. Although Tucker loves the attention of having me home all day, I'm seriously cutting into his naptime routine. I have been searching for somewhere to volunteer a few hours of week, and I am pretty sure that will be good for both of us.

Before coming to Oregon I decided that I wanted to spend part of my time this summer training for a race. I am really lucky to have three months off, so this seems to be the perfect time to do it. For the past month I've been training for a duathlon in July. It's a sprint duathlon, so it's 5k run, 20k bike, 5krun. Training is going fine. I've been averaging 30 miles of running during the week, but haven't gotten in much biking yet. It has been surprisingly hard me for to transition from the treadmill to running outside. I've never liked treadmills. However, I like running in the rain even less, so I started using the treadmill when we got here. Strangely, I've sort of enjoyed it. I've read that the course is very hilly, so I need to start getting outside and doing some hills. The race is July 31, which also happens to be the week my parents are out visiting!

We have some fun trips coming up, so expect more picture posts soon. The best posts are loaded with pictures, right? I just booked our trip to the San Juan Islands for July 4. I can't wait!

Naptime photo shoot

Oops, woke them up.

Gooooooooooooooal!

I've never been very interested in soccer. Even when I lived in Italy I didn't get into it. And really, is there a better place to enjoy the sport? Everywhere you look people are playing. I would often watch my students play after school, but I never got into the Italian league, much to the dismay of my Inter-loving friends. It just seemed boring.

That was until I married a soccer player. Andrew has been excited about the World Cup, and today I got to join in on the fun. And it actually was kinda fun! Now that I know the rules (sorta) and some of the players it's much more enjoyable. We watched the game this afternoon at McMenamins, one of the many brewpubs in Portland. Inside the pub they have a theater, and during the World Cup they are broadcasting the games on the movie screen. So we headed to Portland for some soccer fun. Go team USA!

We ended the day with a bike ride, and some well deserved Jamba Juice. Then walked up to Whole Foods for dinner. I love walking there to get a treat for breakfast, or some soup or pizza for dinner. They have a great little outdoor bistro, so Tucker gets to join us too. Yum.

Sunny Day

It's been a sunny and beautiful week so far! Tucker and I are enjoying lunch outside on the patio.

The results are in!!

When Andrew and I adopted Tucker we assumed we had some sort of a lab mix, even though he doesn't really have the behavioral traits of a lab. He doesn't retrieve. He doesn't like water. And to be honest he's not all that loyal. But look at him!

We speculated that he could be part whippet, vizsla, or maybe some Italian greyhound. We always talked about getting his DNA tested (yes, we are THOSE people that treat the dog as a child). We took him to the vet right after we got to Oregon, and the results are finally here!

Tucker is....

Brittany, Boxer, and Samoyed mix???!? Can it really be true?

(Thanks Scott!)

After reading about each breed, it's beginning to make a little sense. Brittanys are happy, sweet natured, intelligent, and ENERGETIC dogs. That all sounds familiar. Boxers were bred to be hunting dogs (this explains a lot) and apparently they earned their name from the "boxing" pose they make when standing on their hind legs. That would help explain this:

(Yes, he has played Rock Band. No, he is not very good.)

I'm not really sure about the Samoyed. It appears the only characteristic he took from this breed is his desire to pull.

So there you have it!

Mt. Hood

Mt. Hood was packed with skiers and snowboarders taking advantage of the blue sky. It was the perfect day to be out on the mountain. If only we were skiers...

Ramona Falls

Crossing the river Andrew-style.

Nothing beats ice cream and beer after a day of hiking.

17 days and counting...

Yes, you read that right. 17 days straight of rain. Can you believe it? The word on the street is that I'm not the only one getting restless. Oregonians are getting antsy with the recent weather as well. Apparently this is typical weather of February, but not May or June. We're in the middle of some nasty Pacific storm, which is supposed to bring 5 inches of rain to the coastal towns! Since it's going to be raining all day, I plan on doing a lot of this today: