Spring Is Coming!

It's hard to believe it's already March!  The time is flying by.  Our lives have been very busy these past few months.  Now that Zack is into his final push with school (estimated graduation date: spring 2014), his workload has increased a considerable amount.  But he's doing well, surviving and enjoying his classes for the most part.  He has spring break coming up and couldn't be happier about it!  It'll be nice for him to unwind and relax for a week.

Finally got a new computer! The MacBook he got in '06 is still working, but he really needed a better one...so we used his educational bonds to make it happen!

We have now had Penny for 3+ months and are finally settling into routines and the like.  She is getting bigger, healthier and smarter.  We are constantly amazed and amused by the things she does.  It's been really exciting and fun for us to teach her things.  She knows the words 'treat', 'chewie' (those rawhide sticks), 'potty', 'food', 'bed/gotobed'.  She's gotten good at sitting, then laying down for a treat.  When we play catch, I tell her to 'drop' the ball, then have her sit and then I throw the ball down the hall.  If we want her to catch something in her mouth, we say 'catch' before throwing it into the air.  She's pretty accurate when there is food involved!

playing in the yard

'look what I found!'

Zack sent some pictures to me at work to cheer me up

 

Yes, we are becoming those kind of people, who talk about their dog often.  And take lots of pictures.  We are aware of that.

I went on my first walk with Penny a few weekends ago.  Previously, Zack had taken her when he got home from school.  By the time I got home from work, it was too cold or dark to go on a walk.  I had a great time!  She was so happy to be walking with BOTH of us outside, I bet it was like a dream for her.  We've also been able to play out in the yard with her more.  She's getting good at catch, her favorite toy is green rubber circle thing Zack got for her.  It's great because it rolls really well, which makes her chase it around the yard frantically.  And then she'll walk back to us, trying to swing it up on her head.  It's seriously so cute.

napping in the sun

'LET'S GO, DAD!!'

look how curious the puppy is!

I've been having some success with my new food/exercising routine!  I've lost a few pounds in the past few weeks and that feels really good.  It's nice to have success, because it keeps me excited and motivated that I might be able to do this!  I've been having lots of fun cooking new recipes or experimenting with some of our favorites.  I thought eating healthier would be harder, but it's actually gone really well!  I've been creative with different smoothies, snacks and meals for us.  It's been so much fun for me, turns out I'm pretty good at cooking.  Something that I want to work on is making some of my favorite recipes a bit healthier.  I've had success with recipes from the internet, but I'm curious how adapting some of my family's recipes would go.  For the record, my version of healthy isn't exclusive, per say, I know I could be doing even more to be super healthy.  But for now it's a start and I fully believe that gradually change will be more beneficial to us in the long run.

Zack and I had a pretty low-key Valentine's Day.  Our lives have been so hectic and we've been working hard to budget better that we decided to put our money and energy into future trips (like going to see Zack's favorite band, Neutral Milk Hotel, in Boise next month).  I was just thrilled to have the night together, as neither of us had to work that night.  Zack got me some very pretty red roses and a sweet card, which is all I wanted.  I got him some chocolate and a leather wallet I meant to get for him for Christmas but it completely slipped my mind.  We got bagels and spent the night together, relaxing.

my gift to Zack

pretty roses

:)

I don't think we have ever been this consistently busy.  There were a few weeks where we only had a few hours together and poor Penny hardly got to be with both of us at the same time.  We've had to really work together to make sure everything gets taken care of.  Adding Penny into the mix has been slightly more difficult, as we can't leave her in her crate all day nor outside just yet.  But we've made it work.  And it sounds silly, but planning to spend time together on the weekends, making just 'us' time has really helped our lives stay balanced and happy.  But it might be good practice for the summer, as I've been preparing to have Zack gone all summer.  Since we still aren't sure what he'll be doing and where he'll be, I'm just preparing to be all by myself. 

Speaking of, Zack has had some interviews for the jobs he's been applying for.  There have been so many jobs and interviews and places running around in my head that I can't keep them straight.  He knows what he's doing and I know he'll find something.  He's smart and talented and interested in this stuff, so he'll be great, even if his experience isn't as high as other candidates.  I know he'll find something! Once we hear back and make the decision, we'll be sure to inform everyone.  I know it's been hard to not have any stable answer about summer plans, but it's just as difficult for us.  We really hope that both of us will be able to attend the weddings this summer. 

Zack's hair has gotten really long; it's the longest I've ever seen it in real life.  I'm surprised how much I like it.  He's been growing it out for awhile, since he'll have to eventually cut it for work.  It's really nice, thick and shiny.  One day he asked me to try to put it in a ponytail.  This happened:

GIANT HAIR

right before I gathered his hair up

almost all of it

twinsies

 
Overall, we are still enjoying life and making it happen!  Here are some more pictures!

Zack took some picture with Penny & sent them to me while I was at work...they're too funny together.

'Can I have that please?'

'I want that ball, Dad!!'

this one cracks me up, her cute little facing looking at him!

Every time we go anywhere, she automatically sits in the driver's seat like she will drive us around. It's hysterical.

pretty normal

Sometimes she looks at me with such disdain I can't help but laugh; you'd think I never gave her ANY attention or any bonus little treats! Heaven forbid I want 20 minutes to read!

we like trying to get her to walk on her hind legs. it's so goofy

now she's a fan of Zack's guitar playing (when we first got her, it freaked her out)

This is a common sight around the house. She will slip her paw under the door if I'm in the second bedroom exercising or we put her in the hallway while we eat.  It's so funny to see her little paw, and then when we touch it, she gets so excited ('OMG HUMAN INTERACTION!')

we went shooting one day, I like this picture because it makes me seem pretty cool

She adores me, she is always licking ... everywhere on me. She gives me hugs, which are my favorite.

She loves being picked up and cuddled

goofing around at Hasting's one day

Rugby attire + goofy attitude

Penny-back ride

Penny's friend, Bella (the neighbor's dog). They freak out when they're both outside at the same time, it's so silly. We love that she has 'dog friends'.

 

So we put this Spongebob blanket I got a decade ago in her crate (it's soft, thought she'd like it). Little did we know she'd been eating it. Zack found evidence while on 'doodie duty'. Goodbye, Spongebob blanket!

I had flour on my hands when she came into the kitchen, so I chased her around and got her 'floured'.

Rocking 2013 Already!

This year has already been really great for us.  Life has been going well & we are happy!  We had both independently thought up some good New Year's resolutions & shared them with each other on our drive home from Spokane on NYE.  It was interesting how we had so many similar ideas & reaffirming to me of how well Zak & I function together.  I'm pretty proud of our relationship. :)

 Our resolutions/goals came down to two basic catergories:

-eating: healthier, less, better, more natural/organic, meal planning
-spending & budgeting: determining needs vs. wants, savings, limiting credit card use

So far I am proud to report that we kicked January's butt with these goals!  A lot of these ideas were some pretty significant changes for us.  We have had to re-evaluate our lifestyle & priorities and we have done a pretty good job of it so far.

With our food goals, we decided to limit fast food to only once a month (and/or traveling) and not to use it as an excuse for a quick dinner.  With that comes with better meal planning and it's been a struggle for me in the past.  But sitting down with Zak and planning meals together has helped.  We have also decided to cut red meat out of our diet unless we are out on a fancy date & get steak...or we are making homemade burgers in the summer with the local, quality beef from the Co-Op (our goal is to one day shop mostly at the Co-Op).  Vegetables have played a more prominent role in our meals, snacking & we have tried to have a least one to two vegetarian meals each week.  We have a lot of chicken & tilapia in the freezer for good protein meals.  We've switched out white grains for brown, but I need to work on making the brown rice better...we've only made it a handful of times and haven't perfected it!  We've had a lot more healthy snacks in the house.  I'm a big snacker & chips are a huge problem for me.  Instead of chips, we have been buying things like veggie straws (now available in the tasty zesty ranch flavor!), pistachios (pre-shelled? amazing!!), baked crackers (Ritz sour cream & onion are great), and these amazing nut cluster things from the brand Sahale. Basically everything they make is delicious.  We have a lot more fruit & veggies in the house & make smoothies with lowfat yogurt or 100% fruit juice.

But my favorite, nerdy thing is portioning out all these tasty snacks, etc.  Zak got me a food scale a few years back for Christmas & ever since then, my life has changed.  It's SO useful for measuring out proper amounts of food & if you're trying to eat better, I seriously recommend getting one.  So I have all these snack ziplock bags of veggie straws, craisins, walnuts...in case you were unaware, I'm pretty into organizing.  This has been a big help for me.  Having the visualization of what I'm eating helps me make better choices about what I eat each day.  Also, I've tried a bunch of apps for counting calories (I was a big fan of Spark People for the past few years, but they have some problems with their app, in my opinion), and this one I found (by random happenstance) is awesome!  It's called Lose It! and I have it on my iPhone & it's great for many reasons: a) I keep it with me all the time so I can log things in real time (previously would have to either do it before or after, with my iPad) so it's a lot easier, b) I can simply scan the barcode of a product & it almost always has it in its database, making it so much easier to add a food (vs. imputing the calories, total grams of fat, etc.), c) I can add & edit recipes within the app.  For me, that's a huge deal.  Previously, even with the Spark People app, I'd have to go on a computer to create a recipe.  This app has easy ways to track exercises & share goals as well.  It's awesome!  I don't know if this link will work, but here's my profile: http://www.loseit.com/index.jsp#Community:Profile!id=4663368

We had a dinner party with our couple friends (Bryan & Chad, Kandace & Gabe) a few weeks back and were talking about 'adult things' like budgeting & grocery shopping.  It was kind of interesting to see how other people do things & I was asked for my opinion about everything, which was surprising to me.  I guess I give off an air of being 'with it', who knew?  I told everyone about how we've been budgeting--deciding what are our collective needs and wants and how to be better about impulse spending.  We don't have a ton of debt compared to people our age, but we would like to be better about paying it off as soon as possible.  In addition to our monthly payments, where we try to pay more than the minimum amount due, I got a jar where we put in $20 every other week that will go to paying off a big chunk of our credit card debt.  In another jar, we put in $20 the other week for our 'Cost Plus World Market' fund.  We love that store & would basically decorate our entire place with stuff from there...once we can afford it.  We've made up a list of things we'd like to purchase in the future (bedspread, dishes, rug, snacks & drink splurge) and plan on going up to Spokane every once in awhile once we've saved up enough for our item.

In addition to that, we have been having a good time relaxing at home with Penny and with our friends.  We took Penny down for her final visit to Lewiston and it she got the go-ahead for regular 'puppy activity'.  Her leg has healed well, the vet was pleased with her progress and as long as we don't let her get overweight, she should be fine.  We're thrilled, and so is she, obviously.  She loves to run around in the yard, has made puppy friends with our friends' dogs & the neighbor dog.  She loves playing tug of war, catch & general silly games that Zak plays with her.  She's gotten a lot bigger & healthy-looking.  We're now working on teaching her some new things.  She's so sweet & loves cuddling up with us on the bed, although she still sleeps in her kennel every night.  We're very happy with her.

the night after her cast came off, the leg was so sad & tiny

:)

this is usually how I wake up on the weekends: Zak will get up earlier than me, let her out & she RUNS to see me (usually Zak waits until she's sitting (im)patiently at our bedroom door around 9:30 or 10)

one night we took her over to Kandace's to play with Simon (her 3 year old Pomeranian), she did NOT want to leave so Zak had to carry her to the truck

ok, how can you say no to this face?!

she LOVES going on car rides, she does this every time and it's the cutest thing "I'm driving, Dad!"

 
We took her on a 'snow adventure' with Kandace one weekend.  It was so much fun, watching her run around and be a regular puppy!  She loved the snow and was happily leading Zak everywhere.  It was our first time walking on a frozen lake, so that was pretty cool.  Kandace was a bit nervous, but the water was very frozen and it was a fun adventure!  We had one very tired puppy that night.

trying out the frozen lake/reservoir...!

Zak's a cool dog dad

WE MADE IT SAFELY ACROSS THE FROZEN WATER!

she was RUNNING in the snow

derp

all tied up

how cute are they?

so happy!

our first 'family picture'

she had her head on Zak's lap the entire ride home, she was so pooped!

Zak's life has been pretty busy, but he is doing a good job balancing everything.  In addition to his classes that are almost all his major classes (he only has one general left, it's psychology 101), he is doing rugby this season AND working (even got a big raise!).  He generally likes his classes, as they are all pretty much focused on what he wants to do in the future.  He has applied to 15-20 different summer jobs, internships and other forestry-related things.  We don't have any idea of what our summer will look like, but hopefully will have a better idea in a month or so.  Hopefully he'll be able to get the weekends off for his sister's wedding & Bryan & Chad's.

Rugby has been an interesting addition to our life.  Zak hasn't played a team sport in about a decade and is not the most athletic, but it seems like rugby just might be his thing.  I still don't know a lot about it, but it's been fun learning about it!  Zak met some of the guys last semester, some were in his classes, and that's how he got in with the rugby team.  Everyone's really nice and it's like a big group of fun people.  The aftermath of Zak's first practice was pretty intense, he was sore for a few days!  Last Saturday was the school's first game in Pullman.  They have two teams, an A team and a B team.  The A team are all students, while the B team can be 'rugby enthusiasts'? and newbies, so that's where Zak is for the moment.  After watching a game of rugby, we both have a much better idea of what to expect.  It's a pretty manly, intense game without pads or helmets, just dudes making strange human pyramids and movements.  I know the ball can only be thrown backwards and that it's never really 'dead', as opposed to football.  There aren't a lot of timeouts, which makes the game go pretty quickly.  It's basically football + soccer + wrestling.  I like it!  The A team won (rare for a UI team!), and the B team came in close.  It was pretty fun for me to watch Zak play a sport.  I've never seen him do that.  He got tackled pretty rough and took some guys down as well.  He is now proudly sporting some intense bruises.  Overall, he is having a really fun time and enjoying himself.  The team likes him and it's been really good for him.  I'm a pretty proud wife. :)

I have been very busy with work.  It's been the busiest & most stressful month of my time here!  In addition to catching up after the holiday break, being sick, schools starting up again (read: LOTS more orders!), our company was purchased by National Instruments.  The official press release can be found here: National Instruments Acquires Digilent Inc.  We had been sworn to secrecy for the past two months and it's nice to finally be able to talk about it!  Basically, we are still Digilent, but are now basically a subdivision? of NI.  No one is getting let go or laid off, we are still going to operate as before, but now we have a bigger company to 'answer to'.  Our benefits will change a little (go up from free to ...actually paying!) in April, but overall, it's a pretty sweet deal.  The NI guys came the first week back to work after the new year and we had meetings for a few days, as well as a big dinner in Pullman (hey, good free food? yes I tried the lobster & mussels, they were great!).  It's going to be a bit of a stressful transition, but I'm not complaining too much because I'm very happy with my job.  It's been really good for me and Zak and I have such job security that it makes our life so less stressful.  So there was that and several days of 100+ orders (a typical day had been 30-45) and some other complications.  But overall, a good busy month.

I also recently got my nose re-pierced!  It had closed up last spring when I took it out for a job interview and I have been letting it heal the last few months.  But I've been wanting to get it re-pierced for awhile and I decided to just do it a few weeks ago.  I went back to the place I went a few years ago and had a great experience.  The piercing guy was super nice, helpful & gave me good advice about my piercing for my second time around.  I can tell it's healing a lot better than my first time.  I guess it had been pierced lower, which is better suited for a hoop.  As I plan on not wearing a hoop, it was re-pierced a little higher than my first time.  I've been very diligent about cleaning it and I can tell it's healing well.  I just have to find my nice diamond stud Zak got me to have the piercer put in in a few weeks!  Also, a little fun note--Jenna got her industrial pierced (the bar in the ear) the same day I got my nose done!  It was fun.  We were both excitedly texting back & forth, anxious for pictures of each other!  I've been giving her advice about cleaning it, etc.  Hers will take longer to heal, but she loves it!

she's so cute!!

I'm actually more excited about it than this picture shows

Whew, what a long update!  We have been busy but very happy.  Life has been going well for us and it's a nice change.  The weather has even been pretty nice.  We've had a few storms, but lately they've been melting away pretty quick afterward.  For instance, it's about 45 degrees today and there is no snow ... anywhere.  I love it!  Especially because I'm still not 100% about driving in winter, as I am still a newbie!  Overall, life is good and we are pumped to keep up the good work & progress we've made!  Now here are some bonus pictures of Zak for you to enjoy:

Zak got contacts & then reading glasses to correct his up-close vision...Penny ate these Dollar Tree glasses, but look how handsome he is!  He'll be a handsome older man ;)

being dorky at Wal-Mart :)