Donut Head

Koda loves his new yellow toy we bought him last weekend.



Roxie's learning a lot from Koda, such as how to properly hold round things in your paws.



Sometimes Koda runs around the house with his new toy in his mouth like this. After several attempts to explain the danger of such endeavors, we've finally given up and have resorted to calling him donut-head. I'm surprised he hasn't run into a wall yet.

Attempt #1


Attempt #42

It's no small feat getting two energetic dogs to sit still and look at the camera for a photo.

I just posted an update over on my wedding-related blog. I worked this weekend on trying to come up with centerpiece ideas, and although they're not perfect, I think I've finally narrowed it down to a kind of vintage theme. Progress!

We've had our new puppy Roxie for 2 weeks now, and we're finally settling in to more of a routine. She is a lot of work, but it's also very rewarding having this furry little creature bouncing around our apartment. She's very clumsy and curious. She tests our boundaries. She's scared to walk by people on a sidewalk, but not afraid to bat Koda in the face with her paw while balancing on her hind legs. She crossed the big bridge last week, and for no good reason, decided she didn't want to walk across the bridge this week. She makes grown men use silly voices. Koda's taught her an amazing number of good things without even knowing it. For example, when she doesn't want to cross the bridge, he walks first and shows her it's okay.

Whereas he wouldn't even look her direction when we first brought her to our apartment, they're now great wrestling buddies! I imagine this will be even more fun once she's bigger and a better match for Koda. Right now, he's 73 pounds, meaning he's got about 60 pounds on Roxie.

What a week! We got the puppy on Saturday, Brandon injured his hand pretty seriously with a knife on Sunday, resulting in a trip to the emergency room and sitches, then he came down with an awful cold/flu-like thing that rendered him in bed for a few days. The first day the puppy was crated, she hopped out and ran wild in our apartment for 4 hours. When Brandon arrived home, it looked like a tornado had hit! Rugs from the living room had been pulled into the bedroom, toy box was overturned, our DVD player was knocked off our TV stand. Did I say she was calm and mild in my last blog? Just kidding! It turns out she must have just been scared and worn out. She's very much a wild little puppy who likes to eat shoes and bite your toes with her sharp little puppy teeth.

Koda wasn't so sure he liked this new little addition the first few days. As a matter of fact, he wouldn't look her way the first few days. Man, was he was mad at us!





After about 3-4 days together, we finally caught them playing together. We were so excited! They still both kind of do their own thing, but they've since found a mutal interest in chasing each other back and forth. He tries to keep her in line when she tries to steal his food, but he'll let her play with his toys now without that sad look he was giving us all the first day.


Dog wrestling!



On Wednesday night, I fell asleep around 8:30. I'm such a night owl, and this is a complete rarity for me. Apparently the pups were tired as well.

Brandon's recovering nicely, and was such an amazing support throughout those first few nights. In spite of him being sick, he came out every night in the middle of the night when the puppies needed to go out, just to make sure I was safe. When he was high on meds, he kept telling me how much he loved me- in spite of the crazy puppy messes, the fact that we said we were going to adopt an older dog, and in spite of the fact that he was going through so much this week.

After going through several name changes, we've finally decided on the name Roxie. I like to call her Roxie Hart.

We got a new puppy today! We didn't plan on getting a puppy, but it was kind of like the Universe was the one who told us she was meant for us. She's super mellow so far- I'm not sure if this is a result of the adventure she's been on the last 2 weeks, making her way from New Mexico to Denver to her foster mom's house, or if she really is this calm. It seems like she's happiest cuddling with people or blankets. We'll see how she is after a good night's sleep.

Koda's not so sure what he thinks about her. He's been nice, but has kept his distance. He now has to share his treats, his favorite spots, and our attention.

Her name was Domino, but we're thinking of calling her Lucy or Aspen.

She's already had 2 accidents today. Thank goodness for hardwood floors.

Sunday Morning Brunch

What's your favorite weekend ritual?

Ninja cat - comes closer to the camera without moving!

Vampire Cupcakes

How-Tuesdays: Bleeding Vampire Cupcakes @ Yahoo! Video

(click the link above to view a video on how to make vampire cupcakes)

I plan on bringing some Halloween-themed cupcakes to work on Friday, so came across this video tutorial on vampire cupcakes this week, so wanted to try them out in advance just to make sure they were tasty. It's a little time-consuming cutting out the cone from the vanilla cupcake, adding cherry pie filling, replacing cupcake lid, frosting over the seam, then adding the food coloring. I wasn't sure if the end result would provide a good return investment.


As you may or may not know, Brandon and I love cupcakes. We make cupcakes at home regularly, and enjoy trying out the different cupcake bakeries in town. Cupcakes are probably on my top 10 list of "Things I Love Most in the Universe." When my friends come to town from faraway places such as Alaska, I ask them to go on a "cupcake tasting for my wedding" and drag them to the nearest cupcake shop. Where I proceed to buy a half-dozen. Since my engagement, I've had 38 wedding dessert tastings. Okay- so that may be an exaggeration. Maybe.

Brandon tried the cupcakes first. He said it tastes like a delicious cupcake-doughnut hybrid. After his cupcake photo shoot, I tried one- and they're good! Very sweet- but isn't that the point? When I make them for work later this week, I'll probably be a bit more conservative with the filling. The only thing I'm wondering is if the vampire cupcake thing is obvious? Brandon said the food coloring looks like eyes.




















Do you think I need a sign or little flags waving on toothpicks saying "Vampire Cupcakes?"

See more funny videos and funny pictures at CollegeHumor.

Funny video of the day.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park
Originally uploaded by Moonwater Designs

We're back! Brandon, Koda and I had a great time in Estes Park this weekend. We ate well, relaxed, and took a wonderful drive through Rocky Mountain National Park.

Brandon got a video camera for his birthday last week, so he took lots and lots of video of the mountains. I finally got a tripod for my camera, so I'm thrilled that we were able to take a bunch of family portraits. You have no idea how many solo pictures we have of one another. Every once in awhile, we take the self-portrait by stretching our arm out as far as possible- but you certainly don't capture the essence of a place like we did in the photo above.

When we drove into the mountains yesterday, the weather was very cool (29 degrees at one point), the sky was mostly overcast, and the clouds were really low. I think it was a result of the storm that was brewing. As we drove further up into the park, we eventually ran into blue sky- and it was amazing to look down and realize ourselves above a blanket of clouds. You'll have to check out the photos to see what I'm talking about.

We woke up this morning in Estes Park to snow melting off the ground. Our first snow! Luckily the sun was shining, so it was melting pretty quickly. The sky was clear, providing a stunning view of the mountains, so we drove back up into the park before heading back to Denver. We captured some more video and pictures, and Koda ate some snow, and we headed back into town.

Even though it was great to get away, I am glad to be back home and will cherish sleeping in my own bed with my own blankets and pillows tonight.

Brandon and I are heading up into the mountains for the weekend for some much-needed relaxation and getting-away-from-it-all. We were lucky to find a pet-friendly hotel in Estes Park, so our best friend will be coming with us, too.

I've almost forgotten what I do with the absence of internet and/or homework. No checking Facebook 4 times a day? Hmm- how ever will I spend my time. Teasing. I'm sure doing nothing will be lovely.

This spring, we moved into a new apartment complex. It's next to the train tracks that run adjacent to downtown Denver. See the short multi-colored apartment complex to the right of the train track? That's us.



This is the red bridge Brandon crosses every day walking home from work. We live straight through the sage green doors.



Just a few hundred feet away from this red bridge, you can see the train cars, which are tan in color. The train track goes over 15th Street.



It's amazing how I barely hear the trains anymore. Sometimes when we have visitors, I remember that we live right next to the tracks, or sometimes when the train stops, the cars hit into one another. It's really loud, and actually makes our apartment tremble.

family portrait

Katie makes everything more fun

That's right. We are so official now. If only they pagination specialist had included something in parentheses with an exclamation point about where we'd met, it would be the perfect engagement announcement.

we all scream for ice cream

Learning this week that trying to plan a budget wedding is not fun. You spend as much energy trying to come up with low-key, creative alternatives as you would meeting with photographers and cake people and 9 potential venues. Hmmm.

Al Gore on the JumboTron. The main stage was so far away that we watched everything on the big screens in the stadium.



This is a photo shortly after Obama got on stage.


A nearby JumboTron during Obama's speech.


When there were flags waving in the top section, the floor was inevitably going wild!


We left home at 12:00, walked 30 minutes, waited in line for maybe an hour and a half, then finally got seated around 2:00. We were pretty early and had our choice of seats in section 526. Basically sat in the warm sun from 2:00 to 5:00, then entertainment and speeches started.


Post-event photo. Brandon's wearing his Tacos for Obama shirt, and I'm waving my flag.


Man- if only I could have captured the magic of tonight through pictures. Our seats were in the upper-level, and my new fancy camera doesn't have the zoom capabilities of my old camera, so it wasn't possible to capture the many wonderful sights. For example, the thousands of flags waving in unison with wild energy, and the delegates on the floor who were dancing so happily in the aisles to songs like Ain't No Mountain High Enough very early into the evening- probably three hours before Obama's speech. Seeing Obama's little girls, especially the youngest, get all exited when she realized they were on the JumboTron. Seeing people make public speaking seem effortless.

In spite of our birds-eye view, I still loved the music and dancing and speeches and thought Obama's acceptance speech was inspiring. Volunteers passed out tiny American flags to every single person in the stadium. They had a small number of gigantic flags they would pass out to a few people in a small number of sections during speeches, and take back during intermissions. They must have passed them out and taken them back no fewer than 7 times. These flags were bigger than our king-sized bed sheets! Amazing all the details that go into something like this.

And Stevie Wonder! Hearing him sing, Signed, Sealed, Delivered made me happy. Hearing Al Gore speak was great. One of my favorite parts of the evening is when they brought out a number of regular citizens out, and we heard their stories- they were all very compelling, and I was impressed with how engaging they were.

We were standing outside in the long line, and a sweet older woman who didn't have a ticket was taking in the scene. She stopped next to me and asked me excitedly, "Are you a delegate?" I told her I wasn't, but said proudly that I was a Colorado citizen. I'm grateful for Obama's decision to make something like this accessible to the masses. I felt lucky and am inspired.

Brandon and I are excited to be headed to Invesco Field tomorrow night to watch Obama's acceptance speech. The original rumors said that Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen were the big performers, which left Brandon and I to wonder, are we in 1988? I've read new reports today that say The Boss and Bon Jovi won't be playing, and instead we might hear from Stevie Wonder and Sheryl Crow.

We live around 2 miles from the stadium, so we're lucky in that we can walk and don't have to find parking in downtown Denver. Every time we attend something like this, I have a tendency to dress up and wear my dressy shoes, as opposed to comfy shoes- which when you're walking a few miles, usually means tennis shoes. Trying to decide whether I'll wear my great new Qdoba Obama shirt, something red, white, and blue, or something a little more formal for this unique occasion. I tell you what- I wish so much that I had one of those fancy white barbershop quartet hats with the red and blue stripes.

I'm usually pretty private when it comes to politics, so my speaking about entertainment and outfits isn't for lack of being amazed by and appreciative for what I'll be experiencing tomorrow. For the record, we've been watching the DNC speeches incessantly and I'm honestly thinking about way more than my footwear.

If the speech wasn't taking place at a big stadium, there's no way an average couple of Denverites would get the opportunity to attend something like this. I am grateful.

Thanks to Brandon (and Qdoba), I have a new favorite t-shirt.

I've never even been close to getting in trouble with the law, but for some reason have this innate fear of the police! Koda and I just went on a 2-mile run throughout our neighborhood, and ventured east toward downtown Denver. I saw 2 large SWAT teams all decked out in full uniform carrying their scary SWAT team helmets. One group was casually walking across the street, and the other was hanging out talking on a sidewalk- either just letting their presence be known, or perhaps going through some last-minute training exercises. Nonetheless, I found myself feeling sort of nervous. Maybe that's the point- too bad all the bad guys out there weren't born with my same fear of getting in trouble. I never even had my name on the board or detention all throughout school. I wasn't trying to be a goody two-shoes, but was seriously just scared of authority figures.

Oh, and Koda- our sweet dog who seriously never raises his voice- was barking viciously at the people in donkey and elephant costumes on segways giving away DNC garb. I really thought I would just grab a free shirt or hat to commemorate the DNC, but Koda apparently thought the donkey wanted to eat me or something. Not sure if it was the scary donkey head or the way the donkey appeared to be gliding that scared him, but in any case, it's reassuring to know he's got my back.

Exciting! Brandon and I received credentials to go to Invesco Field on Thursday to see Barack Obama accept the Democratic nomination for candidate of president of the US of A.

Luckily, we live in a great spot, so we'll be able to avoid traffic by walking a little less than 2 miles to Invesco Field that day. Our neighborhood is really close to downtown Denver, where most of the DNC events are taking place. Just two blocks from our place, MSNBC has this huge two-story stage they built practically overnight.

We just drove home from the mall, and after we got off the interstate we saw 4 groups of cops from the Interstate to our apartment, which is probably less than a mile stretch. It kind of felt eerie seeing so many police cars, but Brandon reminded me that we are kind of in the heart of everything, and that it's great that the city's being proactive with the security so early on.

Looking forward to Thursday, when we'll head to Invesco Field with over 75,000 other people to see the acceptance speech. I can't believe we'll be a part of such a great moment in history.

so sweet

Some of my favorite wedding inspiration boards I've come across. My favorites are the orange and blue, and the cyan and slate gray. Even though I'm not normally that into pink, something about the rustic, antique look with a pale pink is appealing to me these days.

Which one is your favorite?


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