rain, rain go away.....

it's another dreary, wet and cold day in new england.
we've officially decided to can our annual 4th of july camping trip up to northern NH. our friends can't make it and the weather outlook is not so great. and no one likes camping in the rain, not even us. so for the first time since 2003 (right dave?) we'll be out of the great north woods of NH and in MA for the long holiday weekend.
i'm bummed foster won't be going on his first camping adventure but dave got our little boat up and running so hopefully we'll take fos out on saturday for some fishing and sunbathing, that is of course if the sun still exists. i'm not sure since i haven't seen it in so long.
in other news.....i have a VERY fun announcement to make!!!
my brother is getting married!!! my sister beat me to the punch on giving him some blog love but i figure a little more can't hurt.
CONGRATS MIKE & ANGELITA!!!!!
we are so happy for you two and can't wait to celebrate together soon!!

happy fourth of july everyone!! god bless the US of A!!

a nice cool spot

while mommy & daddy are working out in the yard foster likes to....well usually follow us around, bark at the lawnmower, etc. but once he gets all tuckered out from all the activity he likes to find a nice cool spot to lay down and pant. this past weekend we found him in the front by the mailbox right in the middle of a patch of violets. looks like a pretty comfy spot to me! and foster seems happy with it! ahh the life of a puppy!

skinned knee

puppy took a tumble last week playing with finn at work. he got his first skinned knee. :( don't worry though, he's still running around and being a puppy all the same!

TGIF!

updates: foster is now lifting his leg to pee about 50% of the time! more often each day! he's becoming a grown up puppy. :((
the cap for dave's truck is in and will be installed tomorrow. so puppy will be back to his usual routine of going to work again with daddy but now he'll be sitting in the less destructible bed of the truck. need to get him another, less luxurious, doggie bed for that space this weekend.
in other news......summer race season is upon us! i ran the jp morgan corporate challenge in the lovely back bay of boston last night with about 25 of my co-workers. the race was WAY too crowded (read:12,000 people on comm ave) but we had a good time anyways. it was a 3.5 mile loop from the commons down to kenmore square and back on comm ave.
next month the weston 5 miler and in august the 7 mile falmouth road race! hopefully the weather stays nice so i can keep training!
have a good weekend everyone!!

bad dog

with less than 1 week to go before the cap for dave's truck comes in and foster moves to the very spacious bed of the tacoma, this happened on tuesday....not sure why foster is being so destructive lately. dave played fetch with him yesterday morning & took him for a walk at lunch with his doggie work friends. he has chew toys in the truck with him.
could it be b/c he's not fixed yet? are dogs that aren't neutered more destructive?
or is it just that he's an adolescent dog and these things happen?
what do you think fellow dog owners? please weigh-in in the comments section for me!
hopefully dave can forgive this puppy sometime soon....

strawberry peanut butter bars

i bought some fresh native massachusetts strawberries on my way home yesterday and decided to try making a dessert with them. i recently got some good recipes from a few of my mags so i tried one out last night.

courtesy of better homes & gardens (laugh it up, i don't care! i like my suburban homemaker mag):

fresh strawberry bars (i renamed it strawberry pb bars)

Ingredients
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup strawberry jam
4 cups small whole strawberries, halved or quartered

Directions
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 13x9x2-inch baking pan with foil, extending foil beyond the edges. Set aside.
2. In large mixing bowl beat butter and peanut butter on medium to high for 30 seconds. Beat in sugars, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with mixer. Stir in remaining flour.
3. Spread dough in prepared pan. Bake 25 minutes or until top is lightly browned and toothpick inserted near center comes out clean.
4. Cool completely on rack. Remove from pan by lifting foil. Spread jam and top with berries. Cut into bars. Serve at once or refrigerate up to 6 hours. Makes 24 bars
Make Ahead: Wrap the peanut butter base in foil; store at room temperature up to 24 hours. Before serving, top with jam and berries. Or freeze the peanut butter base in a freezer container up to 3 months.

i ate one bar last night to be sure it was edible (verdict: yummy!!) before bringing the rest in to work today. i sent an email out and put it out by my desk. 15 minutes later the whole thing was gone! i didn't even get another bite! apparently it was good! the AZ guinea pigs give it rave reviews! i'll be putting this one in my repertoire for summer bbqs!
enjoy!!

rainy friday

puppy & i are headed up to maine today to visit with family! daddy will be following tonight. i'm sure we'll have lots of adventures with my sis and nephews to share next week!
here's a few random pics from the last few weeks.....have a great weekend everybody!