Our First Anniversary

One year ago today, Kevin and I said "I do." It has been a wonderful year, and I am so surprised by how fast the time went. We have had so much fun together, and the best part is that this is only the beginning!


We celebrated our anniversary all day long. First, Kevin made breakfast burritos for breakfast (a surprise!). We had an outdoor church service because of graduation, and it was a beautiful day to spend some time outdoors. After eating barbecue for lunch at church, we came home and watched our wedding video. Oh, the memories! Kevin made homemade peanut butter ice cream for dessert since we were unable to freeze our wedding cake (gluten-free cake is not recommended for freezing over one month). We saw Iron Man 2, and then had a delicious dinner at Yia Yia's Euro Bistro. We had Spanish chorizo and cheese for an appetizer, and I had shrimp and corn risotto and Kevin had tomato and basil duck. We shared bites, and it was all delicious! We're planning an anniversary trip later in the summer/early fall, also.

I can't wait to see what our future holds, and it will all be wonderful with Kevin by my side.

In ten days...

In ten days, Kevin and I will have been married for one year! How on earth did that go so quickly?!?

Potty Training

When we adopted Benton in July, he was approximately 12-16 months. So, we really didn't have a puppy on our hands. The greatest thing about that? No accidents in the house! Since we've gotten the fence, though, we are working on another part of potty training. No, he's still not making messes inside the house. The problem? He's not really utilizing the outside in the fenced-in area, either.

He's always been particular about where go goes to the restroom (sorry if this is TMI). When we first moved to our house, we had the infamous bathroom strike for 36 hours. There was no more plush sod and landscaping everywhere like our apartment complex had. Clearly, he was able to get over that. He's even gotten better about not caring if he gets his paws wet after it has rained. Now, he just has to learn that he can go outside in our fenced-in area. He still gets one long walk in the mornings, and I've noticed that he seems to get pretty antsy around that time, probably because he's been waiting for it for a bathroom break.

A couple of thoughts I have as to why this may be an issue:

1. Maybe he sees the backyard as an extension of our house and feels like he shouldn't go there?
2. He's on strike because he wants to get a walk around the block every four hours like he used to get
3. I'm much too lenient, and it's hard for me to make him "wait it out" until he has to go, which is what Kevin thinks we should try. I usually end up giving in and walking him probably two additional times throughout the day when he refuses to go in our backyard.

Any suggestions? I'm sure most people have no trouble getting a dog to adjust to a fence. Benton's just special, I guess. :)

Tornado Warning

This evening, we were under a tornado warning. That normally wouldn't be too scary except the weatherman pointed out the exact location in Schulte where we live. I also have been under the weather, pun intended, so it wasn't too much fun to have to deal with this. However, I grabbed a chair, blanket, pillows, and Benton on a leash and headed down to our basement (it's still unfinished).

Benton did very well. I laid out a sleeping bag for him, and it seemed to work great. He did whine at the very noisy hail and strong winds. Thankfully, the tornado missed us, and we only lost some plants in the process. Kevin was stuck at work until everything went past us, but he was fine. It appears that his car didn't get damaged, also.

Strep throat and bronchitis, oh my!

Just a quick note to tell everyone I'm not feeling very well. Kevin is STILL sick, but he is somewhat functional and is able to work. He did have a run-in with an allergic reaction to some antibiotics he had been taking, but he seems to be recovering pretty well from that. I went to work on Saturday with barely a voice and made myself and others around me miserable. Sunday, I went to the immediate care clinic, and I tested positive for strep and my doc thinks I have bronchitis, also. Hopefully I didn't get anyone else sick at work. :( I am required to take today off since I'm still contagious, but I can go back to work on Tuesday. I will probably need to go Tuesday even if I feel lousy since I won't be contagious. I am still in the new-hire category (and will be until the end of July), so any time I miss at work I have to make the time up before the end of a pay period (which is this Friday).

Thankfully, my parents are coming down to Wichita to help me with Benton and to take care of me since Kevin's at work. I tell myself it's mainly so Benton doesn't drive me nuts while I'm home and can't walk him or stand outside with him, but there is a part of me that will definitely be glad to have family when I feel so yucky. I guess it just conjures up old memories of my mom making soup and giving me popsicles when I was younger.

It finally happened!

We now have a fence! We love it, and Benton is getting used to it pretty quickly, also. Other than visiting Kevin's Aunt Julie or Kevin's parents, Benton has never really had much experience with one. He still needs "permission" from us before he will roam around (usually me standing on the bottom of our deck steps is enough for him to feel like it is ok), but he loves the freedom! Kevin and I love only having to walk him once a day (I do it first thing in the morning, and we go between 2-5 miles depending on how much time I have)! We are staining it in a week or two when my parents come to visit. It will be the same color as the deck.

Birthday Work Treat

I made these today for my birthday, and I took them to work for everyone to enjoy. More people are there on Fridays than on Saturdays or Sundays, so I went in today even though it was my day off.

They are chocolate peanut butter cookies with blackberry jam. I used coconut flour for the first time, and I really liked baking with it. It tasted just like a gluten cookie would taste, and the mixture was less sticky than gluten-free mixtures usually are. I made enough for Kevin and I to have a limited number at home, and I certainly enjoyed my cookie!