the goose loves the return of tuesday's ten

Just ignore the fact that today is Friday. Just like I'm ignoring the fact that I have yet to buy Billy his birthday presents. For his birthday tomorrow. And I'm ignoring the fact that I have more boxes unchecked, than checked, on my to-do list. Just join me in avoiding reality.

1. It's unfortunately hard to avoid reality when it made a bright-purple stain on your carpet. This one goes straight to dog-shaming.com, which is the perfect website for feeling better about your own misbehaving pets.

2. Billy brought home all of these. And we don't even really eat apples unless they are baked with cinnamon and sugar. So guess who's making birthday pies this weekend.

3. Jambalaya was on the menu last weekend, with grilled shrimp. And extra cajun seasoning.

4. I bought a half-flat of berries at the farmer's market last week, so it's berry-baking-time around here. These were raspberry cheesecake muffins. Yeah, I know. Cheesecake. In a muffin.

5. We took advantage of the long weekend (yay for labor day!) by packing a picnic and going to Champoeg Park about 45 min south of Portland. (That's pronounced "Shampoo-ey" for all you non-American Indian speakers.) Sandwiches, chips, and beer=best picnic ever.

And not a bad view, either.

6. Shady boys.

And tired beagle, aka angel beagle.

7. And no picnic is complete without a stop in historic Butteville (yeah, bring on the grade-school butt jokes) for some icecream. That's Birthday Cake on the right (for me) and marionberry pie on the left (for Billy).

Hot Stuff.

8. We finished up the weekend with some homemade bbq chicken pizza on the grill. That's Billy's first edition signature bbq sauce, homemade crust, and chicken/mozzarella/red onions/pineapple/green bell peppers.

Mmmm melty.

9. To keep other dogs (humans?) from discovering his little treasures, Bentley typically tries to hide his poops as they come out. See Exhibit A below. You bury that bum in that fern, Bents - nobody will ever find that poop. Especially since Dad's going to pick it up right after you're done anyway.

10. And lastly, as we move away from poop chat, since I probably won't be back here tomorrow, a very special happy birthday to my favorite husband Billy. Here's to the big 8-2. Or is it just 2-8? Time goes so quickly.

 Love you boo.

the goose loves the east side

hey! it's been a little while! what have you been up to?

yeah, i've been busy too. holding down the fort, while billy was gone.

and then playing on the east side. of the united states. see?

i've been hiking in the most fashionable shoes ever. (keen tan=sexy)

and taking plenty of naps.

we took some walks, and ate outside.

and folded laundry for two hours straight.

i made some mac n cheese - the fancy boxed kind, velveeta!
the kind i never splurged on in college.

and i let the dog sleep in the bed with me. or maybe he let me sleep in my bed with him. bed dog hog.

then i flew to boston.

and visited trinity church and stood under the tallest building there.

and crossed the finish line for the 116th Boston Marathon. without even running 26.2 miles.

and stood outside the arena where the bruins (NHL) and celtics (NBA) play.

and then i flew to new york to enjoy some tasty greek food.

 and to visit the NHL flagship fan store.

besides doing a little work, i noshed on surf n turf sliders and cocktails with prosecco.

and accidentally ordered an $8 bottle of water. at least it has my name on it.
(thank you, work, for picking up the tab)

and then i hopped on a boat to see lady liberty.

 from all angles.

and ellis island.

and the new york skyline from the hudson river.

(the one that's 2/3 glass and 1/3 black - and really tall - is the new world trade center)

and then i ate mac n cheese with mushrooms at the macbar in soho. 

and after burning all those cheese calories by walking through central park,
i treated myself to a beer on amsterdam avenue (upper west side).

and then everybody came back to portland, took a big sigh of relief (and exhaustion) and spent the next week laying low. and teaching the dog how to sit like a proper gentlemandog.

and i haven't forgotten about you all. i'll be back soon. i promise.

(full disclosure -  we would never waste our time teaching bentley something as ridiculous as crossing his legs.
he did that all by himself.)

the goose loves tuesday's ten (#17)

We spent one whole half of one whole day in the car this weekend, driving to Spokane for my cousin's wedding. It was a grand family affair, and reuniting with all the close and extended family members was awesome. Having a few drinks didn't hurt either. Here's my ten favorite moments/photos of the weekend.

1. We drove my parents and brother from Portland to Spokane (about 6 hours) on Friday, just in time to shower and change for the rehearsal dinner. Here's Billy and Liam, post-dinner, enjoying beers at the Blue Spark, one of the only bar open past 10pm. [Fun fact: from their website, I learned their motto is "no crap on tap."] Good beer, but weird dance/music/stage/white trash vibe.

2. We rented bikes from the hotel Saturday morning (yay for winning the one with the unadjustable-and-way-too-low bike seat!) and rode the mile to the wedding reception site to check it out. The groom requested a "water feature" for the ceremony so they were wed in front of a waterfall.

3. After a cloudy morning, the fog burned off San Francisco-style and the sun came out for the afternoon ceremony. Here's the wedding party (and officiant) all lined up!

Adorable flower girls.

4. And the bride! My cousin Alison, escorted by Uncle Jim. So gorgeous.

And the photographer, about to fall into the pond.

5. Here's the Spokane Dempseys. Uncle Jim is my dad's brother, so they have the same last name as us; when they moved to Spokane years ago, we were differentiated by our cities. Allison's three sisters and one brother were the majority of the wedding party, and they were adorable!

6. Allison married Timmy / Jian Liu, who she met in China when she studied and taught English there, so the reception was decorated with chinese lanterns and symbols. Love the red!

And the first dance...

7. The reception room had this great balcony overlooking some area of Spokane (generally just grass) but it was great for some sun and fresh air. We took the opportunity to update some family photos.

 I should probably lighten these up...

Family of 6!

8. The former bride and groom, happy to make way for the newest married couple in the family!

9. Lucy power! The cutest little flower girl, my cousins' cousin on the other side, was also named Lucy.

10.  We left my parents in Seattle with Monika, and drove back to Portland with Liam. We had rented a car to avoid car trouble in our somewhat-unreliable Expolorer, only to encounter an awful screeching noise from the back right tire, about an hour outside of Pasco.

Twenty minutes later, the Enterprise in Pasco switched us out for this hot ride. Catastrophe averted, and Liam got to the airport with plenty of time to spare.