Two Years and Growing

Kyle and I just celebrated our second anniversary on October 25th. We kept it low key, as I was traveling back from work in Minneapolis that day. We traded cards and went for a nice dinner at Fred's Hickory Inn ... a local supper club down the road. We had a great time and are more in love than ever. I always like to say "I get to have a slumber party with my best friend every night of my life" ... (minus all the travel that keeps us apart.)

Here we are leaving dinner at Fred's. Life is good.

Well, my friends. Life just got even better.

Kyle told me he had something planned for us on Thursday evening. I needed to cut out early and be home from work by 4pm. I absolutely love surprises, and for once, I tried not to guess what it was, for fear of spoiling it. In all honesty, I had NO idea what was coming.

After driving north for about 30 minutes, Kyle pulled a package from the back seat and said "Happy Anniversary, honey." I told him we weren't planning to do presents this year and that he shouldn't have, but really, who am I to argue, right?!? He had a card that said "hope you're ready to grow our family" ... along with a mini dog collar. WHAT?!?!? Then I opened a few Labrador books he had wrapped. ARE YOU SERIOUS?!?!?

Without me ever suspecting, (and I'm pretty nosey, so this is a HUGE accomplishment!) he had been researching breeders since June and had found a great one in Joplin, MO ... about 45 minutes north. He had communicated with her and arranged to surprise me with one of Elizabeth's litter of 5 pups, born on September 15th. We had been talking about getting a dog for years and could both agree on a Lab, so it was a perfect choice. Here's mom and, in the words of my friend, Greg, all 5 of her "dog babies."

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From the surprise and shock and excitement of it all, I felt like I was going to throw up ... but I kept it together and we met the breeder, Carolyn, and her family, played with the 5 pups for a while, met the mother, Elizabeth, and picked our favorite. They were designated by a small spot of paint on their rear-ends ... and I chose the little green one. An adorable little girl.

And here's the winner ... zonked out from all the excitement ... looks like me at about 10pm every night, so it's a perfect fit ...

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She will come home in 2 weeks ... get excited to welcome the new little Petersen. I know we are. :)

Pink is the New Black

This year, I've heard October (Breast Cancer Awareness Month) referred to as "Pink-tober." So, in honor of Pinktober, and the fact that one of my girlfriends has never seen the chick flick Legally Blonde (a tragedy!) ... I hosted a pink party at the house ... much to Kyle's dismay. I whipped up a batch of my mother's homemade mac & cheese, and everyone showed up wearing pink. We gossiped faster than any man could keep up with, sipped pink wine ... and welcomed Elle Woods into our family room for a showing of Legally Blonde on the big screen.

Needless to say, Kyle stayed upstairs in his office on his computer the whole time. He was a good sport and took some photos of our fabulous group. When you look this good, there's really not much more to say. :)

Piegergogies

No. The title of this blog is not a typo. My father has been known to make up words and this is his name for a pierogie, the Polish dumpling. For as different as Kyle and my father are (Kyle hunts and fishes, my dad goes to the symphony and plays the accordion) they both have an affinity for creating their own language. My dad eats piegergogies and Kyle doesn't go grocery shopping, he grocerizes. Go figure.

Living in Cleveland, and being 98.6% German, we grew up enjoying lots of ethnic fare. While I complained about most of it when I was little, pierogies fit nicely into my plain-Jane "buttered noodles" phase ... the blander the better. Amen that my taste buds eventually came around. Pierogies are much better smothered with sour cream and sauteed onions ... mmmm mmmm.

Thanks to my sister-in-law's mother, Loretta, for sharing her homemade pierogie recipe. And thanks to my husband for enjoying the process of cooking and being up for a challenge on this one. We made quite the mess in the kitchen but the result was delicious!