We Should Have Named Her Jaws...

Well, it's been far too long since my last blog post, but thanks to school and work, blogging has dropped significantly on my priority list. Today, however, warranted a special post about my dear, sweet Evie. While she has brought so much joy and love to our little family, she also fills our hearts with equal amounts of frustration sometimes.

One of the best parts of my day is coming home to a cute little puppy after work. Evie is always so sweet and excited to see me when I get home from work, and it's such a fun privilege to let her out of her "place" and soak up all the love the little pup can give. Today, however, I turned the corner into our living room where her crate is, and was met with a very different sight. You see, Tim and I have been searching for weeks for a dog bed for Evie. We wanted a bed that was not too expensive but extra fluffy since we've been walking/running Evie so much lately. Yesterday, I stumbled across a Milkbone dog bed at Walgreens for a very reasonable price. It's fluffy, cheap, and is machine-washable. PERFECT! Evie was unsure what to think of it at first, but she looked mighty comfy when I got her up this morning before work.

When I got home from work, however, I discovered her true feelings about the bed. Check out the pics below to see what she really thought of the oh-so-sweet-and-thoughtful-present her mommy got her yesterday. The pictures do not do the massacre justice as you cannot tell how brutally she destroyed each individual part of the bed. Not only is the stuffing everywhere, she actually destroyed the zipper, zipper pull, and inside lining. Despite the fact that Evie basically just chewed up and spit out $10, we still love her and the whole thing actually made me laugh more than anything. The destruction was pretty impressive for such a small pup, but I guess we just keep underestimating her abilities!

 

Pupdate!

Bigger than Daddy's shoe now!

It's hard to believe that we've had Evie for 3 months, but even harder to believe that she's a whole 5 months old! I had her weighed today and she is 20lbs!! When we got her she was a mere 4.5lbs and soooo tiny! Here's a few fun pics of our ever-growing puppy! Enjoy!

She used to be the size of Tim's shoe...



Sweet little Evesters!





Sick little pup!





Bubbles!!!!

More Evie Fun!

Today I FINALLY got Evie a dog tag with our info on it (just in case!), and I was not ready for the entertainment it would add to my day! Check out the video of Evie getting accustomed to her new "bling." Too cute!

Color Me Pink! (And purple, and orange, and brown!)

First, a little back-story is needed to understand this post. When I was little (probably 7ish) my youngest brother, Ben (a toddler at the time), did the unthinkable and drew a mural of a tree in red lipstick on the white carpet in my bedroom. It's been a funny family story ever since (though I'm not sure at what point it became humorous to my mom), so to commemorate that act, Ben and I decided to have some fun today.

My mom is getting ready to put her house on the market in a couple of weeks and she is having the family room carpet replaced. While I was doing my weekly cleaning at her house today, I was inspired to have a little fun before the carpet was removed. I mentioned my idea to Ben and he was all for it. So, after a quick trip to the Dollar Store for some brightly colored lipstick, Ben (aka "Dale") and I began to recreate our modern-day version of his original mural - right in the middle of the family room carpet.

It's possible that as you're reading this, Ben and I have fled the country on the minute chance that my mom decided to keep the carpet and now is not able to - she would have our heads for sure. But hopefully all is well and we are not hiding out in a third-world country waiting for my mom to simmer down. (It could happen!) So, below are the pictures of the fun that Ben and I had "artistically improving" my mom's carpet! We started with lipstick and when those ran out we had to resort to markers. Enjoy the pictures and if those of you who talk to me regularly don't hear from me soon, call the police.

                    

  

Which one are you?

I am currently reading through a book called "The Me I Want to Be" by John Ortberg - a very good book so far! The book is all about becoming the best version of "me" that I can be by allowing God to transform my life. Today as I was reading it I was struck by a very simple idea, but one that is not so easy to actually employ.

Ortberg was discussing how it is important to "think great thoughts" instead of the negative ones that often plague our minds. I'm extremely guilty of this and have struggled for a long time with being transformed by the renewing of my mind. He talks about the usefulness of being able to set our minds on whatever we choose - instead of thinking negative thoughts, why not focus on positive things? While this is much easier said than done, I wanted to share this passage of the book with you - both for his insightful wisdom and also his humor in making his point.

"At any moment - including this one - we can turn our thoughts in one direction or another. It is within our capacity to set our minds; that explains why two people can be in the same set of circumstances and yet have completely different experiences. A friend sent me passages from a dog's diary and a cat's diary as a means to show me the difference a mindset can make..."

Excerpts from a Dog's Diary:

8:00am - Dog food! My favorite thing!

9:30am - A car ride! My favorite thing!

9:40am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!

10:30am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!

12:00pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!

1:00pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!

3:00pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!

5:00pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!

7:00pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!

8:00pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!

11:00pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

Excerpts from a Cat's Diary:

Day 983 of my captivity.

My captors continue to taunt me

with bizarre, little dangling objects.

The only thing that keeps me going

is my dream of escape.

-Which one are you? I would prefer to think like the dog, but sadly I think I more often resemble the cat (which is so sad b/c I don't like cats - except Cheddar, my sister's cat!) I have been very blessed to have a husband that excels in this area - I have never met someone who is so positive all of the time! He constantly encourages me to take control of my attitude and make life more enjoyable - thanks sweetie! Hopefully one of these days I'll be the "dog" that you are. :) "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things." (Colossians 3:2)

Meet My Niece!

Absolutely precious!



Welcome to the world, Aliza Jane Moss! My beautiful baby niece was born Friday, February 18 at 4:44pm. She weighed 6 lbs, 7 oz and was 19.5 inches long. What a beautiful little blessing! I was unfortunately sick the day she was born, so I didn't get to see her until the next day (notice the lovely surgical mask I had to wear since I'd been sick!), but she is absolutely perfect! Congratulations to proud new parents Mike and Kristin Moss - you guys made a cute one! Welcome to the world little love!  

                   

Proud New Papa!



Oh so sad!!



                 

 

                                                                                         



  

#1 Favorite Toy!

There has been some debate in our house as to whether or not this is actually a toy, but my argument is that if all of Evie's toys were sitting out, she would absolutely choose our #1 contestant - the wobble kong! Certain of my family members think it's mean to feed her from this, but she eats her food so fast that it has come in very handy! While she only gets to "play" with it at meal-times, I'm sure it's her favorite toy!

Orzo à la Me!

I have been trying to get better at using up ingredients in our pantry before buying all new things at the grocery store. The problem is that I love to cook, and I love to try new recipes - which often require new ingredients. Yesterday as I was preparing my grocery list and wondering what to make for dinner, I stumbled onto a box of orzo in the pantry. I have never made orzo and was unsure what to do with it! (I probably bought it initially because it was on sale, figuring I would use it eventually!) Well, I Googled orzo recipes and found a few different recipes which sounded yummy, so I set off for the grocery to, of course, get more ingredients. Thankfully, the only ingredient I was missing was fresh lemon juice! I could probably have gotten away with using the bottled lemon juice I already had, but it worked out for the best because Kroger charged me too much for the lemon, so per Kroger policy, it ended up being free!

So, after experimenting with different seasonings and techniques, my tasty Lemon-Basil Orzo emerged - and was a hit! Tim and I both loved it, and I served it with crunchy, sauteed chicken (see below). I am very proud of myself for inventing a new recipe, so to celebrate, I wanted to share it with you! It's very simple and has a wonderful lemony taste to it. During the summer I will probably make it with fresh basil instead of dried, which I'm sure will be wonderful! The recipe is super easy and is a good base to change around the ingredients to try new ideas - I've already got several I want to try out! Enjoy!

Lemon-Basil Orzo

1. Melt ~1 TBSP butter in pan over MED heat. Add 1 cup uncooked orzo. Stir to coat orzo with butter and cook until orzo is lightly browned.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth and zest of 1/2 a lemon. Bring to a boil. Simmer 2-3 minutes, stirring often.
3. As liquid begins to be absorbed, add another 1 1/2 cups of low-sodium chicken broth, ~1/2 TBSP (more or less to taste) dried basil (fresh basil would taste better, but I didn't have any!), juice of 1/2 a lemon, 1/2 tsp onion powder, and 1/2-1 tsp garlic powder (or to taste). Stir.
4. Cook until orzo is creamy (roughly 8-10 minutes). Before serving, add 1/2-3/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese and stir.
5. Orzo will be creamy and cheesy and so yummy!

~This dish would also be delicious by adding fresh veggies, or by sauteeing minced garlic and onions with the butter and orzo. (Since Tim doesn't like any of those things, I eliminate the veggies and use onion/garlic powder for most things.) I served this with sauteed chicken breasts which is not very healthy, but very tasty and simple!

Crunchy Chicken

- Pound out chicken breasts until thin (1/2-1 inch). Salt and pepper both sides of chicken breast. Dredge in flour.
- Crack one large egg in a bowl - beat lightly. Dip chicken into egg and coat.
- Coat chicken in bread crumbs. Let sit for up to 2 hours. (Letting the chicken sit for awhile gives it more crunch later!)
- Heat skillet over MED heat and pour EVOO in bottom of pan (~2-3 TBSP - you may need more/less depending on the amount of chicken you are cooking). Once pan is heated, sautee chicken in oil ~6 minutes per side or until juices run clear. Serve over warm orzo. (I sprinkled the chicken with lemon juice to give it a nice, last-minute touch. It was delicious!)
- ENJOY!

#4, #3, and #2!

Originally this countdown was not going to be so spread out, but since I've been so busy and well, lazy, I've decided to condense numbers 4, 3, and 2 into one post!! After a long day of playing with her favorite toys, Evie settled in for a long nap with her bestest buds. Let's see how they ranked on her list!

#4 - Her leash! While we typically don't let her play with her leash, she would chew it to shreds if we gave her the chance!
#3 - Sing a Ma Jigs! Tim and I each got one from Santa this Christmas, and Evie adopted them as soon as she came home to us. Quite often the quietness of our house will be shattered by creepy doll-like singing...aaahhh...
#2 - Her "Justin" stuffed dog! She loves her stuffed dog and sleeps with him every night. He's called Justin because that's what I named him when he was mine - a LONG time ago!

-So there you have it! Her number one favorite toy will be featured shortly! Stay tuned!

Toy #5

Let the countdown begin! When faced with the task of choosing a toy to play with, Evie chooses none other than our #5 contender, the Dryer Ball! Check out the video below to see how it all plays out!

Evie's Toy Countdown!

Welcome to Evie's Toy Countdown! In the next few posts, Evie will help me as we countdown the list of her favorite toys. Since adopting Evie, she has quickly become the resident puppy expert in the Heyne house, and she would like to share some of that knowledge with you. Stay tuned to find out how easy it is to entertain a puppy, while at the same time providing laughter and fun for all! To kick-start the countdown, check out these pictures that feature some of Evie's toys. Which one will be her favorite? Make your predictions and stay tuned to find out!

You can have your cake and eat it too!

At least a few times a year someone in my family makes this cake. We first had it when I was little (probably 3-4 years old) and our neighbor made it. (Shout out to Patti Sehloff - thanks for such a great recipe!) Now, at least 2-3 times a year our family celebrates birthdays with this delicious cake! Most recently I made it for Tim's birthday and took it to our Bible study. Everyone loved it! (At least that's what they told me - hopefully they weren't lying!) I decided it was time pass on this amazing cake and let you enjoy it too!

Chocolate Cherry Cake

Ingredients:

-3 eggs
-1 package of chocolate cake mix (Devil's Food, with pudding)
-1 can (21 oz) cherry pie filling
-1/3 c. vegetable oil

*(Icing ingredients and directions below)*

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour 13x9'' rectangular pan. (Tip - when I do this step I sprinkle some of the dry cake mix into the pan instead of flour. It keeps the cake from having a flour coating at the end.)

2. Beat eggs. Stir eggs, oil, cake mix, and pie filling together. *(see below for variation)* Pour into prepared pan.
3. Bake 35-40 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before icing.

Icing:
1 cup sugar
5 TBSP butter
1/3 cup milk
6-7 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for one minute then remove from heat.
2. Add chocolate chips and stir until melted. (The recipe calls for 6 oz. of chocolate chips in the icing, but I've found that an extra ounce makes the icing even more fudgy!)
3. Allow icing to cool slightly (I usually let it cool ~10 minutes), then pour over cake. Refrigerate cake.

**Variation - since the icing recipe calls for 6-7 oz of chocolate chips, I usually buy a 12 oz bag and put the other 5-6 oz in the cake batter. This gives the cake a nice texture when it's done and uses up all my ingredients. (Not that there's anything wrong with having leftover chocolate chips though!) I typically buy the mini-chips because they melt faster in the icing and spread more evenly through the batter. I also occasionally add some maraschino cherries/juice to the batter to make the cherry flavor even more pronounced.

I love my Daddy!

These pictures were just too cute not to post. Tim has been upset because he thinks that Evie loves me more than him...I think these pictures prove otherwise! Take a look at some of Evie's favorite napping places!           


 





Naptime!



                     

      Snuggle Buddies!!                                                             Not my first choice, but ok!



 



Pupdate #2

Well, it looks like I spoke too quickly on my last post. Evie is healthy and doing great, EXCEPT, today we found out she has coccidia. Coccidia are tiny organisms that infect the intestine and can be potentially life-threatening for young/small pets. (To read more about coccidia, click here.) After a frustrating morning of going back and forth to the vet, I got some medicine for her and was told she would be fine. She has to be on medicine for two weeks and hopefully that will clear it up.

The most frustrating part of all of this is that we have to keep her out of our backyard for a minimum of 2-3 weeks because she could potentially get reinfected. Our backyard is fenced in and is the only area in the yard where Evie is allowed to go. Having to take her out a on a leash every time she needs to go outside is a huge inconvenience to us and to Evie - she loves to play outside! I guess this is just the stuff you deal with as a "parent"...but I know both of us are hoping things calm down really soon. Hopefully one day soon our little pup will be 100% healthy and not on meds!

Puppy Update! (aka, Pupdate!)

Yesterday Miss Evie went to the vet and she's doing great! Considering the sick mess she was when we got her, we're elated that she's doing so well! When we got her she was 4.5 lbs, and now she's a rolly-polly 7 lbs 15 oz. Ok, so she's not exactly rolly-polly, but to us she looks so big! So far she's been a pretty good pup, minus the biting issues of course, but the vet gave us some good tips on how to get her to stop. Our goal? To have the world's best dog - literally!

  

One issue that we've had to find creative solutions for is how fast Evie eats her food. Not only does she eat it quickly (20 seconds or less),  but she doesn't chew her food at all (see video). The vet suggested we hand feed her, which we've done some (it's a great way to teach her tricks like "sit", "stay", and "roll over" because we have her undivided attention); BUT, hand feeding her is disgusting and it makes her your hands stink like dog food. YUCK! So, we took the vet's other suggestion and bought a "Wobble Kong", which has to be one of the greatest dog inventions ever. Basically it is a large Kong with a weighted bottom and a small hole on one side. We simply put her food in the Kong and let her figure out the rest! She actually caught on pretty quick - I was hoping to post a video of one of her first attempts, but she got too good, too fast - oh well! It's extremely entertaining to watch and has solved the problem of her eating too fast!

She found the toilet paper and carried it
from the bathroom, down the hallway, and
into the eating area! Silly puppy!

I would like to give a huge shout-out to the people at Kong - you guys rock! For anyone with pets, I would highly recommend the Wobble Kong as a toy for your pup, or entertainment for you! 

That's a quarter - look at that tiny paw print!

Happy Birthday to my hubs!

It's entirely possible that I may get in trouble for this post, but in the spirit of love and birthdays - here we go!

What a cutie!!!! 

Monday was Tim's birthday! I was tempted to post this then, but seeing as he doesn't like all of the attention on his birthday, I thought I'd spread it out a little bit.  I'll spare you the details of how old he is, mainly because I KNOW he would have my head for that, but join me in a walk down memory lane as I reminisce about my cute husband!



Tim and his Mom.





Tim and his best buddy, Joe.




    

          He still thinks it's funny to make his hair look like this!

"Birthdays are nature’s way of telling us to eat more cake."

                          



                

   Still so cute!!!                                                                               Proud of my Eagle Scout!



 





Happy birthday (2 days late!) to my wonderful hubby! I love you more than you'll ever know, and I thank God for you every day! I love you!

Still just a big kid at heart!



 



Interview With Evie

Question: What is your favorite past-time?

Evie: Hmm...this is a tough one. I consider myself a rather sophisticated puppy. I do not enjoy the antics that most other puppies do. Instead of playing fetch or chasing my tail, I prefer to eat mulch and bite people. It's been rather difficult for me to make friends given my advanced maturity in these areas. I also love to eat rabit poo.

Question: Who would you say is your biggest role model?

Evie: Me. Again, I'm really just much better than all the other dogs. I know that probably sounds braggy, but I can't help it. I do like Silas, however, he's a cool dog. Although I must say he's just rather large and slobbery.

Question: Of the toys you've accumulated in the previous weeks, would you say you have a favorite?

Evie: Typically I like toys that my parents won't let me have. We've got some great shoes in the house, towels, blankets, tables/chairs...you know the stuff I'm talking about. For some reason though, they always hide these from me or scold me when I chew on them. And, all of the "toys" they keep shoving in my face are not as enjoyable - can I help that? NO! Why chew something if you're allowed to? I'm kind of a rebel...

Question: In talking with your parents we learned some interesting facts about you including that you eat most of your meals out of something called a "Wobble Kong." Would you care to comment on this?

Evie: FIRST OF ALL, whoever invented this so-called "toy", should be punished severely. What a joke! I work so hard all day at being a good puppy, and then when mealtime comes I have to work for my food?! What is that about? All I want is to sit down, have a nice quiet dinner, reflect on the day's events, and enjoy my food. BUT NO! My "parents" (if you can call them that) find it amusing to torture me with this devil-toy which dispenses food at an unbelievably slow rate, usually leaving me more hungry than when I started! What a joke.

Question: Do you have a favorite movie?

Evie: Again, this is where I'm more sophisticated than other puppies. I try to not waste my time on silly movies or TV shows if I can help it; I personally prefer the business section of the Wall Street Journal. Honestly most of it goes over my head, but it tastes exceptional.

Question: As we wrap up our time today, is there anything you would like to comment on that we didn't discuss?

Evie: I would just like to say that, despite my constant biting, snarling, and bad behavior, I really do love my parents. I only act out because I often don't know how to contain my excitement - we didn't learn that in the kennel. I would also like to implore my parents to stop stepping on me all of the time. I'm twice the size I was when you adopted me and it seems that you step on me more every day. STOP IT! Also, I love peanut butter.

Let Me Bring You Up to Speed....

Life in the Heyne house is fairly predictable and, much like Hobbits, we like it that way (that's right, I love Lord of the Rings). Here's a quick recap of what goes on in the life of a hiney, I mean Heyne...

Tim - He is still working as loan officer at First Commonwealth Mortgage. If you ever need help with an existing mortgage or when buying a house he'd love to help you out! He's rapidly closing out his 6th year at the company and hopes (as far as I know) to continue there well into the future - unless a better offer arises. Tim got the running bug last July and still hasn't fully recovered (I'm pretty sure his sister Alicia gave it to him). While running is certainly not my sport (it's a sport, right?), I have done my best to join alongside my hubby and run with him. In fact, Tim decided to train for the Derby Mini-Marathon this spring and, being the supportive wife that I am, I chose to join him in the training. The group we meet with is through our church (Southeast Christian Church) and we currently meet with them every Saturday morning and subject ourselves to, what I can only refer to as, cruel and unusual punishment. I know what you're thinking and no, I am not overreacting! Last weekend's run consisted of single digit temperatures, almost sub-zero wind chills, and lots of snow. Despite the running, however, it has been an enjoyable experience for me and it's been fun to have an activity to do with Tim that he enjoys!

Rachel (that's me) - I am currently finishing up my last semester in undergrad at Campbellsville University Louisville. Can you believe it? The girl who vowed never to go back to school is about to graduate! The only thing I can say is, God is GOOD! This journey has been all about His work in my life and it's only by His grace that I've come this far. After graduation I will receive the wonderful gift of two whole months off from school, at the end of which I will dive head-first into grad school. The purpose behind all of this schooling? I hope to one day become an LMFT (Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist). That's right, one day I hope to be one of those cool people with letters behind their name - I can't wait! In the meantime I am simply trucking along hoping to finish out the semester with decent grades, but let's be honest, I've got MAJOR senioritis (hence the blogging).

Tim and I will be celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary this August - we can't believe it's been that long!! While God has taught us much about Himself, marriage, and each other over the last few years, I truly believe we become sillier and more immature with each passing day. (How many 25 year old gals do you know who put on sock puppet shows for their husband??) Nevertheless, God has kept our relationship fun, exciting, and filled with laughter as we become better friends every day.

While that's not exactly an exhaustive look into our lives, hopefully it gives you a better idea of who we are and what we do. We love the Lord, we love each other, we love our families and friends, and we're so excited about the journey laid before us. Peace out!

A year of firsts for the Heynes!

Well everyone...it finally happened. For those of you who know us there are at least three things that we have chosen to do without - internet, texting, and pets. That being said our 2011 has been taken over by "firsts." Just before Christmas we got texting - T-mobile has been a nightmare, but the texting ability is fantastic! The first weekend in January we broke down and got wireless at home (actually, we're paying our neighbor who has wireless, but it still counts!) And finally, and probably most surprisingly, we adopted our little puppy, Evie. (There are still days that we look at her and wonder what we were thinking!)

On top of those 3 new introductions into our family, I have started a blog - which you already know if you're reading this. While I'm not a big fan of blogging, my dear, sweet husband has insisted on me having one for quite some time...so here we are. I enjoy reading other people's ramblings, recipes, and stories, however, I lack confidence in myself that I have anything interesting to say. Hopefully, if nothing else, this blog will invite you into our lives a little bit more and be an outlet for us to keep you updated on the many adventures God brings our way.