This needs to be documented.

I just counted 36 individual hives currently on my body.

This is my worst break out yet. And I doubt it's over yet.

Zoom Zoom!

We had a new addition to our family on Friday.... our Shiba Inu puppy! I picked him up from the airport on Friday afternoon then raced home to cook dinner for the missionaries. Nearly the entire weekend was devoted to getting to know our puppy, whom we named Zumi. (And putting off chores... who wants to fold laundry when there's an adorable puppy to play with??) The choices were between Samson, Kitsu, Kuma, and Zumi (from Mi Kazumi, his name from the breeder) on Friday night. We still couldn't decide through Saturday morning. We took turns with each of the names and he responded best to Zumi. That sealed the deal for us and I laid down my foot on our indecision: "His names is Zumi!" We also regularly call him Zoom, Zoomers, handsome boy (me), and buddy (Kurt).

He wouldn't come out of the cage all evening. We went to the store and got him a leash, collar, and soft blanket. When we got home, we took the top off the crate and made him come out!

Surprisingly, he loved the blanket from the get-go. Dude, buy fleece in the spring. This was only $3.99 a yard!


He kept trying to sit over by the tv, for some reason.

Kurt's turn to make Zumi like him!

By the end of the night, he was comfortable enough that he was panting. (Zumi, not Kurt... well, Kurt too, actually.)
He had one accident Friday night (he was terrified when I took him outside for potty--the train and an ambulance went by and he grew up in the sticks) and Saturday around noon (I lost track of time) but other than that, he's been great! Saturday night he howled loud enough to wake us up to take him out, which I prefer to him going in his crate (we're crate training him).

Err... I think the rest of these pics are from Sunday, but maybe a few from Saturday night. He's wet because it rained all weekend (and snowed this morning...). He actually doesn't mind water too much (he didn't enjoy his bath on Saturday morning, but didn't try to jump out of the tub, like Chou).


He sits really funny!

I throw this blanket over him and then he rolls over to get more tangled before getting out.

Shaking off the rain water.


Bad Kurt!


Happy boy!

He is so handsome! All of my neighbors (and the people at the airport) kept saying how much he looked like a fox. He does! You can see how red he is on his back, but then white on his tummy (which is how Shibas are supposed to be). As he gets older, he'll probably get a little more white on his face, just around his eyes and cheeks.


Cute little curled tail!


This is my favorite picture of him--it's so cute! Some traits he has that aren't typical Shiba: he fetches pretty well, he follows us around constantly (but if we stay in one place he'll start to wander around the apartment, though still checking on us occasionally), and he lets us pet him more often than most Shibas. However, sometimes he still walks up and then runs away when we try to pet him, he's aloof with strangers (though it only takes him a couple hours to warm up), he doesn't make a peep (unless he really needs to pee), he's spazzy and quirky with his toys, and he doesn't always listen the best (come, no, etc.)--these are all very typical Shiba traits. He's very curious and happy. On Saturday night our neighbors were having a party in the courtyard. When I had to take him out, he needed to be carried because he was afraid of all the noise. Then he would hide his head under my chin or on my shoulder or against my chest. It was adorable. Jen and Evan and my friend Marianne came over for dinner last night and by the end of the night he would let them pet him, so he isn't a total scaredy cat! We know he'll get more confidence with age.
Anyhow, that's our Zumi. We sure do love him! And I'm so grateful to Kurt for finally letting me get my puppy (and little Zoom is worth waiting for)!

House Update

Well, we had the inspection today and there were no major problems.
Woohoo!

Now, who wants to buy me some Anthropologie bedding?

Going Green: Charleston in Spring

Cypress Gardens

Middleton Place

Magnolia Gardens

Sweetgrass Baskets

Sea Oats on the Dunes

Rainbow Row (green house in the middle)

Magnolia Tress (and their citrus scented blossoms)

Palmetto Trees

Oak Trees with Spanish Moss

Marsh Grass

Penny Throat Lizards (aka green anoles)

Downtown -- parks, private propeties

I get the most homesick for Charleston in the spring time. My favorite color is green and Charleston, if any color, is green.

Stop! Puppy Time!

I told Kurt last Thursday night when we decided to put the offer in on the house, that as soon as we went under contract (if we did) I was putting a deposit on a puppy. Today I jumped the gun a bit--I paid the deposit as soon as our real estate agent emailed us saying she'd faxed the contract to the sellers' agent. This puppy is some of the best quality I've found around and he's at a discounted price because he's 6 months old, which is actually perfect for us because he'll be able to stay home better while I'm at work all day. He has the cutest, happiest little face and I cannot wait until he's here (which won't be for at least a month).




His current name is Mi Kazumi which means, basically, 'harmonious beauty' with 'beauty' in there twice with the two mi's. I'm not crazy about the name and was thinking of shortening it to Kazu, but apparently that's a feminine name. I don't want to pick a name until we get him and see his personality, but here's a list of names I like so far. Do you have any favorites? Maybe some other suggestions?
Names Possibilities:
Polo
Bravo
Bronx
Dojo
Hiro 'generous' (hee-row)
Samson
Loki --mischievous Nordic god (low-kee)
Dash
Tiko 'a supreme being' (tee-koe)
Kiba 'fang' (kee-ba)
Kuma 'bear' (koo-ma)
Nero
Enzo
Kitsune 'fox' but call him Kitsu (pronounced kee-tsu)
Kodiak and call him Kodi

Currently, my favorites are Kuma, Kitsu, and Kodi. But that could change by the time he gets here.

In Escrow!

On Friday, Kurt and I took the plunge and put an offer in on a house. After negotations, we got a call this morning that the sellers have accepted our offer (at a phenomenal price) and by the end of the day, we will be under contract!
The house is older--built in the 50s--but in great shape. It's about 1400 sq. feet with a lot of over 10,000 sq. feet! It has 3 beds and one bath (we plan on putting a 1/2 bath, at least, in eventually) and comes with all new appliances. We are set to close on May 22nd. Sooner would be nice, but not really feasible with busy seasons still going (it's almost over!!).
Here are pics of our, hopefully, soon to be house!

Happy Easter!

Please enjoy this incredibly beautiful and powerful message from Elder Holland.
You will cry, I gar-un-tee it.

Training, Week 1

Week one was ... hard. But, I managed to complete most of my mileage (I had to cut it short the first day due to time, the last two days due to asthma). Every time while running, I thought to myself, "Why am I making myself do this? I must be crazy!" However, after I'd left the gym and ravenously devoured whatever I could find in my kitchen, I felt the glow of accomplishment. Or that might've been the sweat evaporating from my body. At any rate, I'm pretty proud of myself.
However, as I sat at my desk today, mentally prepping myself for my 7 mile run ahead, I realized that attempting 7 miles my second week of running was probably not a good idea. So, I snooped around the internet for a bit and found a new training schedule, tweaked a bit.

Week	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
1	25-30 min EZ	1.5 m run	CT or Rest	1.5 m run	Rest	2 m run	Rest
2	25-30 min EZ	2 m run	CT or Rest	2 m run	Rest	2.5 m run	Rest
3	30-35 min EZ	2.5 mi run	CT or Rest	2 m run	Rest	3 m run	Rest
4	35 min EZ	2.5 m run	CT or Rest	2 m run	Rest	3.5 m run	Rest
5	35-40 min EZ	3 m run	CT or Rest	2.5 m run	Rest	4 m run	Rest
6	35-40 min EZ	3 m run	CT	2.5 m run	Rest	4.5 m run	Rest
7	40 min EZ	3.5 m run	CT	3 m run	Rest	5 m run	Rest
8	40 min EZ	3 m run	CT or Rest	2 m run	Rest	Rest	Rest
9	10K Race!

I will be picking up on week 2. After last week's schedule, this should be cake!
I'm also now going to need to change my weights schedule, but that's no big deal.

Endure to the End

Not a General Conference post, though it was amazing, uplifting, strengthening, and comforting.

No, I'm referring to Kurt's busy season. Last week he had to work until 2 one night. 2 am, that is. He had a boss who didn't even go home another night. He had to put in hours on Saturday (from home thankfully) but then was forced to go into the office on Sunday and miss the afternoon session of conference. Poor guy is exhausted and burnt out. He's ready to be done.

While my row is certainly not as difficult to hoe, I'm ready for him to be done too! It's not fun going to sleep by yourself, praying before you jump into bed that your husband won't have to work too late that night, that he'll get home safely, that he'll get a miraculous 8 hours' worth of rest from who-knows-how-little sleep. And I've spent a large amount of time by myself the last few months, which hasn't been entirely bad (I'm really learning to love my alone time) but Kurt's my best friend and I love being with him.

Don't get me wrong, we are more grateful than I can say that Kurt has a job, but we are ready for his hours per week to dip below 50 again. There's only a few weeks left of this crazy schedule. Earlier tonight, as I soaked in a hot bath and enjoyed a cold Hansen's Natural Cane Root Beer (best way to unwind), I decided that when we close on our house (whenever and whatever house that may be) we would have a Cafe Rio party using these recipes, but I think we may have to do that at the end of April. And maybe again when we close on our first home.

Elmo is one funny dude.

This pic is currently my desktop background.

Anyone want to help convince Kurt to let me get one of these puppies at the end of this month?

April Fools!

You got us good, Mother Nature.

April Goals

For April, I want to focus on eating healthy and exercising/training for my 10k. I was doing really well with eating healthy in January but my wisdom teeth removal plus getting sick right after that really upset both that and my exercise routine. I've been eating like crap the past few weeks and working out has been difficult with not feeling even close to 100%.
My daily diet will be:
2-3 servings of fruit
3 servings of veggies
2 servings of dairy
2 servings protein
3 servings of grains
And it will be no more than 2000 calories daily, if not less. (Don't worry, I won't go too low and I won't starve myself.)

My new work out schedule:
Monday: train for 10k
Tuesday: back, biceps, abs
Wednesday: shoulders and Step class
Thursday: chest, triceps, abs
Friday: train for 10k
Saturday: train for 10k

I'm going to have to give up my Turbo Kickboxing and Zumba classes for the next 8 weeks. But it'll be worth it to get into better cardio health.
Oh, and I will not have any Coke or caffeinated soda until after the 10k. You heard me. And I'm going to do it. Just watch me. (I wonder which will be the greater accomplishment... running a 10k or no Coke for 8 weeks.)

Snow Day

Last Wednesday, we found out that Denver was expecting a blizzard of large proportions (for the end of March) on Thursday. They predicted 12 to 15 inches of snow. We came in to work on Thursday morning and kept hearing the words "office closed" buzz around. Joe called me and told me to leave at 12, because that's when it was supposed to hit. It felt like a hurricane day!

Here's Sarah, my awesome coworker. She's pregnant. We laugh a lot... usually at me.

Hey, there's my desk!

Here's my boss's corner office! He has a sweet view (though you can't tell from the wall of clouds). He didn't come in to the office until later that day.

I decided to document the accrual of snow. This is around 8:30 am.

At 9:00, suddenly the wind picked up and the started falling. Or rather, flying.


I left work at 10 because it was starting to get really bad. So, keep in mind that there was no snow on the ground at 8, when I got to work. This is what it looked like 2 hours later.

This is around noon. Kurt and his dad ran out for some Little Caesar's and movies. At noon it started to really kick up.

I'm thinking this is like 5 pm... yeah, we had a ton of snow. And it was still falling, though it was so fine at this point you can't see it very well.

So, we spent the day all tucked up in our apartment. We all read for a little while, then Kurt worked some. I wrote (a lot).

We ate lots of pizza.

We took naps.

We watched lots of movies.
The snow lasted for about 24 hours, but I still made it in to work at 8 the next morning. I was the only person there until 10. When the snow stopped, it was a gorgeous day:

Look, you can kind of see Denver!

Look at this picture and tell me the snow isn't magical. So you can see more of my boss's view. Which I also get to see since I since across from him. Denver is a gorgeous city. The mountains are far away but they are beautiful. Especially when they're all in white.