Happy snowy weekend!

Just a little update on us kids in Philly. 

And Jdogs, of course. 

What's a hotdog blog without a Jdog mention? 

Anywho...

even though it's been cold and windy out,

there has been tons to be happy about this week.

1. Soup Suppers

Anthony has been a bit under the weather this week

and we decided soup was definitely in order. 

(plus it hasn't been over 20 degrees!)

He "randomly" threw this together.

I think I ate 3 bowls. 

Oh man, he's a great cook. 

2. Library books. 

It always seems to take me a while in a new city 

to figure out (and remember) that libraries exist. 

Mainly I attribute this to laziness...

and that Barnes & Noble has Rice Krispie treats and trashy mags.  

But! 

This week, while in line with a $30 bookat B&N, 

I (almost literally) slapped my forehead...

The library is a block from my house! 

What the heck was I doing?!

Hurray for speedy holds and new books. 

 3. Catching the train. 

Yesterday, the snow finally came. 

Because of this, I made the executive decision 

to take the train home and leave the car for the weekend. 

Turns out, everyone else in PA had the same idea, 

so the usually deserted parking lot was packed. 

As the train rolled up, I was still parking 

and was across a bridge from the station. 

I immediately got grumpy knowing 

the next train didn't arrive for 30 min. 

I about gave up as I was crossing the bridge 

and then realized the train hadn't left yet.

(normally they stay a max of 45 seconds) 

I yelled, 

"Can you wait...please?!" to the conductor outside.  

He replied with a yell down the line...

"Hold the train!"

For reals. 

I sprinted across a parking lot and jumped on. 

I smiled for 10 minutes straight.

I'm such a lucky duck sometimes. 

4. Random awkward encounters. 

My friend Claire very excitedly 

came back from the restroom during happy hour last night 

with this eucalyptus bouquet she had found outside the door. 

I mean, usually one only finds 

wounded soldiers outside restrooms...so this was a treasure. 

I quickly made her a crown to celebrate her awesomeness. 

And good thing I did because....

10 minutes into holding said bouquet, a girl approaches. 

"Ummm hi.... I like your crown."

"By the way, my friend left that bouquet 

outside the bathroom and wants it back"

At least she had her crown. 

 5. And Jax, of course. 

Being a city dog has it's ups and downs. 

Upside? 

Watching squirrels and passerbys 

from a 3rd floor balcony. 

Downside? 

No where to really run. 

Sometimes we get lucky and find secret spots 

to let him sprint til he can't sprint any more. 

 

Happy dog? 

I think so. 

Have a great weekend, ya'll! 

Sometimes....

Sometimes the best way to prep for a long run

is to fry plantains in bacon grease. 

Not a bad way to start the long weekend

if you ask me. 

Yesterday I came back from a great run 

to find a note from the hubs: 

*For the record, the only thing I ever really want 

from the grocery is cheese, meat, whiskey, and wing sauce. 

A little backstory. 

Anth and I had spent the morning watching PBS cooking shows

(a great start to Saturday, if you ask me)...

and the Asian grocery store may be 

one of his favorite places on Earth. 

For reals. 

So I waited patiently for him to come back, 

not knowing what would catch his fancy. 

Little did I know....

Les Poissons!

Yep, that's right, fish! 

Whole ones! 

And squiddies! 

Which, by the way, are much better at home. 

Sorry fish, 

you're too delicious to let swim away. 

And of course, 

I had to reenact my favorite part 

of the Little Mermaid song. 

"First I cut off their heads, 

and I pull out their bones!" 

 Thank God my hubs loves to cook...

and indulges me when I want to take pictures like this one.   

Why pitbulls are great...especially mine.

Some crazy things have been happening 

in our apt building lately.

(Mom, we're okay! Promise!)

Having the pup has made it so much better. 

Why? 

He's either dreaming of biting bad guys...

hahahaha...I mean really? 

OR...

He's snuggling when I'm sick on the couch. 

OR...

he's begging to go on a run. 

What a blessing it is to have him around. 

Christmas Cheer

What a great holiday season it's been. 

I've always loved spending time 

with family during the holidays,

but now that we're far away, 

both Anthony and I (and JDog), 

really cherish any family time we get. 

We're pretty stoked having Jamey, Kate and the kids

so close now (they're in DC)...

and we hit the dusty trail last weekend 

to spend the holiday with them. 

Here are some pics from our weekend! 

JDog quickly making himself at home...

and Weber isn't so sure what he thinks about this. 

HUGE thanks to Jamey and Kate for letting him 

snuggle in for the weekend with us :-) 

Lindsey and Lucy

Hoosiers and Hot Chocolate

A very attentive audience. 

There was also lots of great snuggling going on....

Jax just couldn't help himself. 

Christmas Eve....

Lindsey and Nick are two of the coolest kids ever. 

I'm not partial, I swear :-) 

Shoe twins.

And photodogbombs. 

Nick was super excited that his new 

globe had South Sudan. 

When in doubt, 

two ducks is always better than 1 duck. 

Nothing says dedication like grilling in the rain! 

Christmas dinner. 

 What a great trip...

I can't wait to go back! 

Merry Christmas everyone! 

(a little late)