Oh Christmas Tree

After resisting the urge to decorate for Christmas for as long as possible, I finally put the tree up the other day.

I bought this tree while I was in college on Black Friday for $10.  It is not the world's fanciest tree but I think it is sweet.  Someday I'm sure we will upgrade to a fancier tree.

Here it is, decked out in Christmas cheer, with Santa's favorite 4-legged helper.

Christmastime is someone else's favorite time of year.  I wonder how many ornaments will be missing this year?

18 days til Christmas!

Jillian vs. Jillian

I am a little embarassed to admit that I have fallen victim to the "newlywed nine."  Since our wedding, I have really been slacking in the "eating right" and "working out" department.  We used to live about 5 minutes from a gym I had a membership to, and now that membership has expired, and I would have to drive onto base to workout at the gym...Insert lame excuse here....Honestly, I am too lazy to go to the gym.  I'll admit it.  I also don't like running, or being outside in the cold. 

So, I decided I needed to take charge by finding something I could do at home.  After researching some at-home workouts, I found the Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.  It had stellar reviews, and is only 20 minutes long.  I can handle that!  I bought the DVD yesterday and did the workout for the first time this morning.  It is only 20 minutes, but it kicked my butt! I am already sore.  I am hoping that working out with these videos, combined with eating out less, and contolling portion sizes, will help me to get in shape - and not fall victim to the holidays...Wish me luck!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Happy Veteran's Day! Please take the time to remember all the servicemen and women that keep our country safe and free!  Without them, we wouldn't be able to celebrate the liberties that this beautiful country allows us!

I'd like to thank four very special veterans:

My favorite husband, US Army

The World's Best Dad, US Army

Gramps, US Army

Grandpa P, US Army

Thank you Veterans!

The "S Word"

This is what I woke up to this morning....



I don't know why this picture is so blue...

 Now for those of you that don't know, I hate snow.  It is COLD, and WET, and it tries to kill you on your way to work.  Ok - the invincible drivers of 4WD SUV's and trucks try to kill you on your way to work - but it's easier to blame the snow.  Today I saw 6 cars that had slid off the road and a garbage truck stuck in a right turn lane - Welcome Winter!

Mmmm, Pizza Muffins!

I have a new, overwhelming obsession with the website Pinterest.  I think I have cooked and baked more since my friend Megan introduced me, than I had in months previous.  One of my favorite recipes so far has been Pizza Muffins. 

These muffins were so delicious that Brian had me make them twice in a week.  They are super easy, and very delicious.  They would make a wonderful football party snack (or just a fun dinner).  The original recipe is found here.

Pizza Muffins

Ingredients:

3/4 cup flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

pinch of salt

3/4 cup milk (the original recipe calls for whole, but I used 1% with no problem)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 cup shredded mozzerella cheese (I used an Italian blend)

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1 cup cubed pepperoni (I couldn't find cubed at the store, so I bought slices and cut them into 1/2 inch squares)

1/2 cup store bought marinara or pizza sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Grease a 24-cup mini-muffin pan.

2.  Whisk together the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning and salt.  Whisk in the milk and egg.  Stir in the mozzarella, parmesan, and pepperoni.  Let stand for 10 minutes (I attempted to do this but gave up after about 2 minutes because I had a hungry husband).

3.  Stir the batter and divide into the mini-muffin cups.  Bake until puffed and golden, about 20-25 minutes (slightly longer at high altitude).

3.  Microwave the pizza sauce.  Serve muffins with pizza sauce for dipping and enjoy!

The Short, Sad Life of Mr. Kitty Cat

Meet Mr. Kitty Cat. We bought Kitty Cat from Petsmart to be a friend to our pup, Diesel.

Unfortunately, Diesel isn't very nice to his friends.



Notice Diesel's other friend, Chicken to the right

Diesel was pooped at the end of the day...

 

But poor Kitty Cat will never be the same...

 

We think he may have been pretending that this was his big sister, Little Kitten

Go Tigers!

For hubby's birthday, my mother-in-law got him season tickets to Colorado College Tigers' Hockey this season.  Brian is quite a big hockey fan, and the Tigers are currently ranked number 4 in the nation, and quite possibly the best NCAA team in Colorado (As much as I love Rams football, our 63-13 loss to Boise State this past weekend does not put us anywhere near that title). 

After several months of watching primarily baseball, it is quite an adjustment to get used to watching hockey.  Before I met Brian, I had only seen one hockey game, and had no concept of the rules.  My understanding of the rules is not much better now, but I do know what "off-sides" is at least. 

This past weekend, we went to two games against Bemidji State, which CC won both of! Next month we go to see Wisconsin - my mother-in-law also bought us matching Wisconsin sweatshirts to wear to this one, as Brian is a native Wisconsinite. 

New Car!

This weekend, Brian and I headed up to Fort Collins and got me a new (used) car!  It's a 2010 Volkswagen Jetta TDI.  My previous car, despite being a very nice car, had a plethora of issues...the most important being that it a) leaked from the roof and b) was terrible in the snow.  The new car has a diesel engine, and gets 30 mpg city and 40 mpg highway!  I am very excited about it!

Happy Birthday Sweetheart!

My favorite husband turns 26 today!  Happy birthday babe! I love you and am so happy to be married to you!

Some Spike It Hot

When I was in the 8th grade, I played on the Skyview Middle School girls' volleyball team.   That team went 0-10 for the season, and left me with an aversion to team sports that has lasted until now.  Naturally, when I was asked by a friend of my mom's to play on their rec league volleyball team, I was a little apprehensive.  However, I decided to join.  This team was called "Some Spike It Hot" and played on Tuesday nights at a local bar.  Our final tournament was last night, and I'm a little embarassed (or proud?) to report that I have maintained a perfect volleyball record - that's right, I am 0-19 for lifelong volleyball games.  It was still a fun time and I definitely plan on trying again next season!

Going to School

The World's Most Spoiled Puppy (aka Diesel) gets to go to "School" a few times a week.  We started taking him there when he was little to help socialize him with other dogs, burn off some puppy energy, and so he wouldn't have to be alone all day while we were at work.  School has become Diesel's favorite thing in the world (even more than Brian and I).  He knows the way I take to get there, and when he figures out that's where we're headed, he goes NUTS!  Here is a video I took last week of Diesel heading to school in the morning.

Rocky Mountain Showdown

This past Saturday was the Rocky Mountain Showdown, which is the annual football game between Colorado State University (Go Rams!) and the University of Colorado Buffaloes (Boo!).  Our friends Megan and Nate came down from Denver to visit us and watch the game.  Unfortunately, the Rams lost to the Buffs, but we'll get them next year.  Most importantly, we all got to show our Ram pride for the day....

Adventures in Hair

Mr. Moose normally gets haircuts once every week to two weeks.  He keeps his hair very short, and has to go frequently because his hair grows SO quickly! For a long time now, I have been saying that I should learn to cut his hair for him so that he doesn't have to go to the barber shop so often.  After all, I have tons of experience trimming horses' legs with clippers, and it really can't be that different, right?  So today, we went to Wal-Mart and picked up a cheap set of clippers so I could try to cut his hair. 

Having never witnessed a men's haircut, I was a little apprehensive.  However, Mr. Moose assured me we could just shave his head if I messed up. 

It took quite a while, but I don't think the finished product is half bad! (He is looking a little red because he got a bit of sun at the Air Force/TCU game today)

After I finished, I went into the kitchen to sweep up the hair that had been on the floor....only to find that there was no hair! We were confused as to where it may have gone, and can only conclude that a certain Dum-Dum ate it (seriously)....he was looking mighty guilty!

Time for a Swim!

As promised, here is a more thorough account of our trip to "The Beach" in Sheboygan.

My mother-in-law lives in Sheboygan and has the two sweetest Golden Retrievers, Abby and Stella.  Abby and Stella regularly go to the beach, and will swim their hearts out.  They love it! Being as we don't have many lakes in Colorado, we wanted to see if Diesel would swim, as he had never had the opportunity before.

 
The beach in Sheboygan is quite pretty!  It makes me wish we had a lake nearby to visit.

Our friend Carl, who was the best man at our wedding, came along with us

Abby and Stella LOVE chasing frisbees into the water.  When Brian visits the frisbees get thrown extra far....

One time, the frisbee went so far that Abby and Stella wouldn't go get it...

Luckily for Abby and Stella, Carl was there to save the day and swam out to get their frisbee!  I don't know how he managed to do this as the water was freezing!

Diesel needed a little prodding to get into the water

I don't think this little puppy enjoyed swimming very much.  Poor baby!

He did have lots of fun playing on the beach, and posing for photos looking mighty cute.












At the end of the day, someone was VERY tired and enjoyed comandeering Abby and Stella's bed for the night.

  All in all, our trip to Wisconsin was very fun, and I wish I could have stayed longer.  I will hopefully be able to post about the little party my mother-in-law threw for us, which turned out really nicely!

Going to "the Beach!"

Over labor day weekend, I went to Brian's hometown of Sheboygan, WI for a wedding reception for his family and friends who couldn't make it to Colorado.  I flew into Milwaukee, but Brian drove so he could bring Diesel along.  While we were there, we got to go to "the beach" (of Lake Michigan) with the dogs.  I will post with more pictures when I get my camera back on Wednesday, but in the meantime, here is a short video of Diesel's favorite beach activity (unfortunately, this is also his favorite activity in his Grammy's garden...).

Go Rockies!

On Saturday, Brian and I went to a Rockies game in Denver.  They played the Los Angeles Dodgers.  Normally I go to several Rockies game a season, but this is the first game we've been able to make it to this season.  It was a great game!  We got to see Todd Helton hit a home run on his first at bat (on his birthday too!), and the game ended up going to 13 innings.  We came very close to catching a foul ball...It ended up in the row behind us, though.  It was very exciting, and the Rox ended up pulling off a walk-off win! Final score was 7-6. 

After the game, we went to downtown Denver and had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory with some friends.  Mmmm!

Do these shoes make my toes look fat?

Yes, I will admit it.  I bought these dorky shoes.  They are Vibram FiveFinger shoes.  I know my Uncle has some, and my Husband has two pairs.  I make fun of him about his a lot, but I guess I can't anymore. They are supposed to be very good for your feet and body in general...I figure they will be good for evening walks and trips to the dog park.  They are incredibly difficult to put on (my toes don't want to go into their spaces) and I am told they take some time to get used to. Mostly I got them because they come in pink!

Why "Meet the Mooses"?

I received a request from my Mom's blog, News From The "Pole" Yard, to explain my choice of "Meet the Mooses" for a blog title.

  I am a newlywed Army wife.  One thing I've learned about the Army is that there is a strict code that prevents anyone from ever calling you by your first name.  There must be some sort of nickname, shortening of the last name, distortion of the last name, or at the very least you are known by your last name.  Somehow, my Husband ended up with the nickname "Moose."  I am not entirely sure why...It could be due to his height (6'4") or the Chewbacca-esque "Moose Call" noise he tends to make after consuming a few malted beverages.  Either way, the name "Moose" has stuck, and shortly after we were engaged, his friends began referring to me as "Mrs. Moose."  Hence, we became the "Mooses," and "Meet the Mooses" was born.

The World's Rottenest Kitten

Time to introduce the next member of my little family (which is composed primarily of four legged members)...

Meet Kitten (aka Rascal).  Kitten is 2 years old - I adopted her while I was a senior at Colorado State (Go Rams!).  Kitten was adopted out by some dumb college students and was separated from her mother at 4 weeks old (too early).  I have since learned that kittens who are separated from the mothers too early have a tendency to be rotten.  Kitten really tries to live up to this. 



As a tiny kitten, Kitten had an identity crisis when my parents' Lab, Keira, came to visit for a few weeks.

To this day, Kitten loves Keira only.  She is definitely not as fond of her little brother, Diesel.

Some of Kitten's hobbies include:  scratching, meowing, chasing Diesel, chasing Mom, cuddling when she thinks you're asleep, biting hands, stalking, and drinking straight from the faucet.

Despite the fact that she is the World's Rottenest Kitten, I still love her very much!

Look at those ears!

I have been thinking about this for a long time, and I've finally decided to join my family of bloggers and create a blog to share my adventures as I venture into married life. 

I figure I will start out by introducing the members of my new little family one at a time.  I'll start with the newest (and probably the cutest) member....

Diesel! (aka Dum-Dum)

Diesel is a German Shepherd/Australian Cattle Dog mix who we adopted in April.  He is quite the character!

When we first got him he was small, precious, spent most of his time sleeping, and could fit just about anywhere he wanted...

Now he is a big boy of 6 months, and enjoys playing poker....

Is so considerate that he helps us clean the house while we're away...

Still loves sleeping....

And is, quite possibly, the world's cutest, and most loved puppy (even with the goofy ears!)