the goose loves friendsmas

Christmas came early this year!

Not real Christmas. Friendsmas (Christmas+friends). This year (like last year, actually), my two best friends  here in Portland are going home for Christmas, while Billy and I stayed up here. We still wanted to get together and exchange some gifts, though, so we all gathered at our house on Monday (you like how timely this post is?! it's not weeks late, like my usual ones!). Our evening involved food (duh), some sugar, some holiday movies, and some gifts.

We started with a present for the Bentley, from his girlfriend Dakota. Bents is pretty good at opening his own gifts. He's better at opening them than I am at focusing my camera, actually. Except sometimes once he gets into the gift, he gives up on unwrapping and just starts chewing on the gift. Usually they're chewable, though.

 Look at those stockings, all hung by the fire! more on that later.

 It's a chewy stick! And I'm sad to report that Bentley has already chewed off like 14 little pieces of red "bark." But that also means he loves chewing on his new toy. Thank you, Kody!

 We baked a pizza and filled Christmas cups with soda. And I still haven't learned the art of focusing.

 Jackie brought adorable party napkins and plates.

 And our stockpile of gifts. Yay for pretty wrapping!

 The evening also included some sugar cookie making and decorating.

 And more drinking. Like my christmas display in the background? More on that eventually, too...

 Love the Christmas shapes!

 But this batch got a little crispy. Uh oh.

 We got some green, red, and white frosting going.

 Meanwhile, the dogs got a little Christmas "lollipop" - completely dog safe, of course.

 They loved it.

 Once I burned baked enough cookies, we got to decorating. Let the sprinkle fest begin!

 Even Billy got in on the action. I chose not to share his version of a decorated gingerbread boy, though...

 Pretty snowflake, pretty snowflake, falling down from the sky.

 And a J for Jackie!

 Lucia's the star. (And a rare appearance on my own blog, actually!)

 Carolyn decorated this pretty mitten, but when she picked it up for a photograph, a shower of sprinkles rained down. Hahaha.

 A few of our results.

 Then it was present time! Jackie gave Carolyn a rotary cutter for her fabric cutting pleasure.

 Bentley opened his second present, which I failed to photograph - it was a doggie backpack! Now he can carry his own water and poop bags when we run or hike... yesss.

 Jackie got us these ADORABLE beagle prints when she was in Florida! They're not speckled with white, though - they're reflecting our Christmas lights. And mom, can you spot the advent wreath? :)

 Carolyn got Jackie a series of pig-themed cooking utensils - Jackie loves pigs. And these are super cute.

 Billy and I got Jackie two squashes and a pencil. Yes. Anyone else watch the Jimmy Kimmel video where parents get their kids bad Christmas presents? You tube that stuff. Its hilarious.

 Okay just kidding - we got them a both a trip to the Columbia Gorge! It's a lodge about 30 min from Mt Hood, so we'll do some skiing/snowshoeing/snowboarding/relaxing/jacuzzi-ing/eating. The only drawback? They have to go with us. :)

 We spent the rest of the evening eating more cookies and watching the movie "The Holiday." Jude Law is hot.

It was an awesome Friendsmas celebration. And now we can all have equally-awesome Christmas celebrations with our families! T-minus 4 days...

the goose loves dog collars

Finally, I'm making my way through my list of to-dos! That list included making a few dog collars - two for Jackie's dog Dakota and two for my sister's BF's dog, Cru. The best revelation in dog collar making since I originally made some? Use ribbon.

 I order the webbing and pieces online, and the webbing comes in increments like 3/4", 1", 1.5", etc. Ribbon comes in measurements like 5/8", 7/8", etc. That leaves a perfect match between ribbon and webbing, with just a little on the sides. And totally economical too.

 For Dakota, who's a black lab/border collie mix, I chose black webbing, classic silver clasps, and two different pink/black ribbon. I used an applique stitch to attach the ribbon securely to the webbing.

 For Dakota and Cru, who are both about 50 lbs, I started with 24" of webbing (and 36" of ribbon, since I purchased yard increments). I chose 1" wide webbing, 1" metal parts, and 7/8" ribbon.

To keep the collars durable and professional looking, I looped the ribbon over the both ends of the webbing, rather than stopping the ribbon at the edge of the webbing on front. I don't have a good photo of this, but the ribbon basically goes from front to the back on each edge. I then sewed the ribbon down, going through the ribbon on front and back at once. Looks clean and finished.

 That bottom blue one is for Cru, and I have another for him with blue/green/yellow stripes.

 These are easy to make, and look so nice, too! I hope the puppies enjoy them a lot! Dakota got hers at our Friendsmas celebration on Monday (that post to come soon), and Cru will get his in his stocking this weekend!

Yay for Christmas being almost here, and hooray for crossing things off my list!

the goose loves 25 for 25 - november 1 update

Happy November, dutiful followers!

Today marks one official month since I embarked on my 25 for 25 journey. And it's been a fairly productive month! To keep me on track, record my successes, and glaringly publish my failures (for motivation purposes), I'm going to give you a quick recap of how I've done so far. One month down, 7.5 months to go! And to get you through these boring updates, I'm including never-before-seen photos of the cutest puppy in the world, Bentley. Or Bento-B as we fondly refer to him. Or devil dog, as we also fondly refer to him. For the sake of any small children reading my blog, I won't share the "terms of endearment" we actually use ...

Also, in case you're planning on tuning out immediately, let me lure you into the remainder of the post by promising some "super hot" photos of me from about a year ago, when I apparently did nothing interesting with my hair. Ever. Are you hooked now?

Let's start this process off with Bentley, Day 1 at home. That'd be September 10, 2010. Awww, sleepy!

Let's go category by category.


Be Healthy
1. Run 250 miles (not all at once)
I'm happy to report success on this one! In October, I ran 21.3 miles. Not all at once, of course. The furthest was 4.3 miles on October 25th. And I found that I really enjoy running! Bentley does too, and I love how it gets rid of most of his energy in the evenings. I'm especially proud of my progress here, since it's 21.3 miles more than I ran in September. Unless, of course, you count running to the MAX in the morning...
 
2. Exercise for 25 minutes a day, 25 days a month.
Unfortunately, despite my running success, I can't say I did as well with this one. My days often included some sort of exercise, but sometimes it was just a short walk at work (maybe to go shopping on my lunch break - haha). Other times it was chasing Bentley around the living room or dancing with the vaccuum across the living room. Not that the vaccuuming happened all that often, though... Here's one goal I'll work harder on in November. I'll need to get more creative, too - the evenings are getting darker and colder, but I can't let that stop me

Let's take a short puppy break, now. What mischievous eyes!

3. Hike 25 miles (not all at once)
Slight success here. Billy, Bentley, and I did a 3 mile hike in Washington Park a few weekends ago, and loved it. The day was cold, but clear and sunny, which I love. We'll have to battle some rain and mud coming up, but I'm excited to hike more.
 
4. Run an almost 25k (a half marathon, which is 21k)
Obviously not complete yet, but I'm making progress. I ran 20 miles more this month than last, and I'm signing up for a 15k race in March. And I think the final "21k" will be in April. Yay!
 
5. Try yoga & bikram yoga
Not yet, but there's time. Especially as the nights get rainy and cold - I'll want to exercise in warmth!

Notice the theme? I heart sleepy pups.

Be Crafty
6. Sew 25 things
So it looks like I haven't made progress here, but that's not true! I've sewed a few things, but they're gifts for others that I haven't gifted yet. In the off chance they read the blog, I don't want to give away the surprise! You'll see them soon enough.
 
7. Complete 25 house projects
     1. DIY Ottoman
     2. Half Bath Curtain
You've already heard about some of my progress in this department. And more projects coming soon - I just have to photograph or complete them still. You'll see soon!

See the sleep trend? It will continue...

8. Make 25 new recipes
     1. Monkey Bread & Egg Cups
     2. Carrot Cake Cupcakes
     3. Pumpkin Coffee Cake
     4. Pumpkin Spice Bread
This seems to be my most successful goal yet. But are we surprised? Shouldn't be, since I love to eat, almost as much as I love to cook & bake. I'll try to challenge myself with recipes in the next few months, and this category will also probably include some tasty holiday recipes coming up!
 
9. Catch up on scrapbooks and photobooks
Fail. Big Fail. Better next couple months, I hope!
 
10. Make 25 things from Pinterest
     1. Cinnamon Roll Pancakes
Again, looks like slow process, but I've got some projects in the works. Just wait!!

Here's where the progress trails off...


Be Smart
11. Learn 25 new songs on the piano
Big fail. Goal for November? Get out the keyboard and just play.
 
12. Make 25 new business contacts (internal or external)
Okay this one wasn't actually so bad. With a month down in my new job, I've actually doubled my contacts - both within PGE and externally. So consider this a success. I'll keep working on this, especially developing thorough relationships with key contacts.

13. Learn 25 things about photography0% progress. That's why I'm not showcasing any new photos here - haha.

14. Read 25 good booksI haven't even made it to the library. Goal for November? Get Billy to take me to the UP library to check out some books. (Why not the public library, you ask? I owe too much - I'm afraid.)

15. Learn to ski well
It's fairly difficult to ski when there is no snow. So I'm putting this goal off for now.

Oh look, he's awake!

Be Generous
16. Make 25 things for others 
Seems like no progress here, again, but it's really that I can't reveal them yet. I gotta get with the gifting, not just the making!
17. Take Bentley to the dogpark 25 times
Poor Bents. Only one dog park adventure this whole month. But in my defense, I did take him on 20+ miles of running, which he also loved...

18. Volunteer for at least 25 hours
Fail. I need to get on this one.
19. Write/send 25 letters, cards, or packages (besides birthday cards)
Fail. But don't worry - typing all these "fails" is motivating me to make more progress in November.
20. Donate $25 a month to a good cause
Slight progress. We donated to the Humane Society already and have some other donations in the works. But this is not the time or place to brag about our giving.

Be Adventurous
21. Go horseback ridingFail.
22. Go on a spontaneous adventureFail. Work takes up too much time.
23. Go to Crater Lake and/or Bend
Fail. See excuse for #22.

24. Save $2500 (on top of our normal savings)
Success! Well not the full amount, but we more than doubled our normal monthly savings in October, by being frugal with spending in lots of categories. Yeah, it wasn't easy, but so worth it.
25. Clean the house 25 times a month
Ehh, maybe? I am getting better at small batches of cleaning at a time, but it is still tricky after a long day of work. Certainly more room for improvement.

See? Awesome hair. Not.

So that's the extent of my progress so far. Not bad, for a month! But obviously plenty of places where I can pick it up.

I'm really enjoying having these goals out there - it's great for motivation, and I love lists, so it all works nicely. I can't wait to share more projects and recipes and adventures, too!

Baby Bentley with his girlfriend Dakota.

Let's finish off this super boring post with a few more shots of our pup. If only he was still this small.

My First Bathtime

And in honor of Halloween yesterday, here's Bentley almost exactly a year ago - squirrel puppy! And yes, my dear sister in the background. Why of course she's on her phone!

And to round things off, a pup and his mom. Again, with awesome hair. And on Halloween, 2010.

That completes our first month's update. I'm also pleased to announce that a year later, I actually do my hair... :)