Friday, September 30, 2011

Jagger listening to birds...

Oh yeah, did I mention Jagger liked birds?? I played “bird songs” on YouTube and this is what happened…

A Beautiful Morning.

What a beautiful morning it is here. I love nothing more than a breezy, sunny morning to start my day off right. Every morning I get up with my hubs to make him breakfast. I love making eggs. That probably sounds strange but it is something I have always liked to do (and I have often said I would love to own a cute little breakfast cafĂ©…but that’s another story). After he eats, I take Jagger out to do his morning business and play fetch in the yard for a while. Then, it’s my turn…I make myself coffee and something to eat. I go through phases of what I want for breakfast. A month ago all I wanted to eat was cereal with blueberries, now all I want is peanut butter toast. But anyway…


I bring my breakfast onto our back patio. I love looking out into the sound and watching the water. Little waves roll in and crash on the beach while crab trap buoys bob up and down in the water. Boats are usually out, and today a big, white yacht is powering through the water. I love watching the boats go by. I usually say my prayers out here, because it is quiet and I can focus. I thank God everyday for many things…I thank him for sending his only son to die for our sins, I thank him for my family and friends, and I thank him for the beauty that surrounds me every morning.  <3 J

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Jagger keeps me seriously entertained ALL DAY. He is the most high strung, animated, and vocal dog I have ever been around (I would argue that he is by far one of the most loving dogs I have ever been around, too). He is OBSESSED with playing fetch, and is usually sitting on top of me or beside me waiting for me to play with him. He is quite the talker...most often I think he is saying, “hey mom, lets play! Please, come on! Throw me my ball…lets play fetch! Come on mom, pleaseeee!”


       I love when he does his head turns! They crack me up!








                                               

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Wine and Running

Today, Sue (Mickey’s mom) and I went for a run. Mickey’s parents came down to visit us. They traveled in their motorhome and are staying right down the street from us. I am happy to have my running/wine buddy back. Sue and I always have fun on our runs, and she is teaching me about different kinds of wine. She makes wine as a hobby, and she actually made wine for our wedding! The wine bottles were our guests’ placecards and added such a personal touch to our wedding day. I will post more pictures of our wedding once we get the CD from our photographer!
(This picture shows more than the wine bottles I discussed above, however, it is the only picture I have of them! Top left picture is of our toasting flutes that were painted by my friend's mom, Terry. Bottom left is our dinner menu. Middle is our signature drink. Right is my friend, Joanna, holding our signature drink at the cocktail hour!)

Okay..back to where I started this whole post...RUNNING.


Sue also got me into running my freshman year of college. She helped me train for my first half marathon, which was the Nittany Valley Half (http://www.nvrun.com/index.php/racing/club-sponsored/nittany-valley-half-marathon) I was so proud of myself when I finished the race that I decided to run more. To date I have run three half marathons, and am planning on running a full marathon as soon as I can! Sue and I also ran the Miami Muddy Buddy last year. It was such a fun race! If you have never heard of the Muddy Buddy, check it out here: http://muddy-buddy.competitor.com/. Everyone should run this race at least once…it was the most fun exercise I have ever had!

                     (Me and Sue—post race, Muddy Buddy 2010)

Annnnnd, on that note, I’m heading to bed. Goodnight everybody. Don’t forget to give thanks to God for the day. Sleep tight!

Pensacola Seafood Festival

What a fabulous day we had on Sunday! After going to a wonderful church service, we decided to head to downtown Pensacola for the “34th Annual Seafood Festival.”  Because we just arrived to Pensacola two weeks ago, everything here is new and exciting!
The festival was located in the historic district of downtown Pensacola in Seville Square, and it was AMAZING! I was expecting the festival to consist of mostly seafood vendors as the name suggested; however, the Festival is one of the largest Arts and Craft Shows in Northwest Florida and had over 130 vendors! (website: http://www.fiestaoffiveflags.org/seafoodfestival/)

                                       (Beautiful historic church in Seville Square)
The atmosphere here in Pensacola is amazing and unlike anything I have ever experienced. While at the fair I almost felt as though I was in the movie, "Sweet Home Alabama." Surrounding me were deep southern accents and people using the phrase, "yes sir," and "thank you, mam." (Very different from what I am used to in Pennsylvania!) 


The food offered at the fair was very different, too! Every food vendor had plenty of FRIED ALLIGATOR for sale along with seafood gumbo, Carribean crabcakes, coconut shrimp, oysters, grouper, and more.
The old trees in Seville Square provided lots of shade for us as we walked around and looked at the different displays. We spoke to vendors from Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. I ended up buying some homemade soaps and a microwave potato bag (who knew you could make baked potatoes in a bag!?)
After a few hours at the fair we were full of fried alligator, coconut shrimp, and crab cakes! We drove home and spent the rest of the afternoon on the couch watching football. It was the perfect Sunday  :) 

Monday, September 26, 2011

"The New Rolling Stones"

Well, here it goes…my first blog experience! To be honest, this is not a hobby I ever really saw myself getting into. I was introduced to blogging a few years ago when my mother-in-law decided to write a blog. She was working on her Master’s Degree in writing; therefore, when she decided to write a blog it made sense to me…she is a writer, so she can write a blog. I was a science major, so I would never write a blog, right? Well, no.  Here I am, writing a blog. I decided to write not because I am a great (or even good) writer, but because I wanted to document the journey that I am on.

I got the name for my blog, “The New Rolling Stones,” obviously because my husband’s name is Mick (or Mickey as I call him) and because we decided to call our new puppy, Jagger. However, the name Jagger happened by accident.
After we were engaged (which was in July of 2010), Mickey and I decided that we wanted a puppy. His parents have a six year old German Shorthaired Pointer (a bird hunting dog) named Ruger. Mickey and his dad love to hunt, so a hunting dog was perfect for their family. Mickey and I also loved Ruger’s disposition. He is so super sweet, eager to please, and very athletic. 

             (Ruger wearing his bowtie for my sister-in-law's wedding)

Together, Mickey and I decided that we too would love to own a German Shorthaired- Pointer of our own. His parents were friends with the breeder, so we got in contact with them. As luck would have it, they had a litter due to be born on September 10th! We put down a deposit and starting thinking of names for our new little baby.

        (Our sweet little guy at 4 weeks old...picture we received from the breeder)

We thought long and hard, and being creative (or so we thought) we decided to name the puppy Jaeger (like the alcohol) because it literally means “hunter” in German.


Once the litter was born and ready to come home, the breeder (located in Indiana) informed us that a family from our home town in Pennsylvania would be driving to Indiana to pick up their puppy from the litter and could bring home baby Jaeger for us. This worked our perfectly for us, so I flew home and went to pick up our puppy on October 31st, 2011.  When I arrived to the house the family was outside holding our puppy. I jumped out of the car and the woman holding him said “JAGGER has been such a good boy!” I was shocked when she called him Jagger, because we had told the breeder his name was JAEGER! I felt bad correcting her, so I played along and told her that we actually had not decided between “Jaeger” and “Jagger,” (when in reality Jagger was NEVER even THOUGHT of). When I told her we were undecided on his name, she gave me a lecture similar to this:
        
“PLEASE do not name your puppy Jaeger! It is such a common name for German Shorthairs, as it means “hunter” in German. I love the name Jagger, and it makes sense! Your husband is Mick, so you would have “Mick Jagger.”
         
When it was time to say goodbye, I took “baby J” and got into the car with him. I had a basket for him in the front seat, but he decided he would rather sit on my lap. 


I called Mickey right away (who was at our home in Florida), and exclaimed, “Mickey, they have been calling our puppy Jagger for three days! He will probably be so confused if I start calling him Jaeger! Plus they told me Jaeger was such a common name and that Jagger went perfectly because of Mick Jagger!”

There was a pause on the other line, and after thirty seconds Mickey said, “Okay, name him Jagger, I actually like that name better.”
After our conversation I hung up the phone and said, “Alright buddy, I guess your name is Jagger.”

AND that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we named our puppy…and how I came to name my blog, “The New Rolling Stones.”