Fat???? I thought he was supposed to look like that?!?!

Last week, Mack had a vet appointment. It wasn't too big of a deal. When you move to a new military base and live on base, you have to get your dog registered with the base. They check to make sure their immunizations are up to date and in the last couple years have mandated having your dog micro-chipped. For Mack's vet appointment he was getting a quick dog physical, the rabies vaccine he had just come due for, and a new prescription of Heart Guard and Frontline. The reason he wasn't micro-chipped already was the last base we lived on was a little lax with dog registration and didn't require us to micro-chip him. Since Mack is anything but a runner, we didn't bother.

The visit ended up being anything but normal. Hubs was at water survival training, so I was on my own. I a had asked the vet to check out a weird bump on Mack's right front paw. The vet acted very concerned and told me that if it didn't go down with spray on antibiotics that we would need to get the bump biopsied. He didn't say directly that it was cancer, but mentioned that cancer is the leading killer of golden retrievers and that we should test the bump if it didn't heal in a day or two. Thankfully, a full week later, the bump has scabbed over, shrunk, and almost completely healed. So, Mack is in the clear.

The vet also told us that Mack has become a chub!!! It was decided that Mack needs to loose at least 5 lbs. He's gotten so chubby that we had to bump his dosage of Heart Guard. The vet tech felt bad for us and gave us some puppy sample doses to go with his normal doses until he loses weight. You might wonder how I didn't notice his weight gain. I wonder this too. I think it's all his hair. You just don't notice how chubby a dog is when he has hair as long as mine! 

Since our vet visit, Mack and I have upped our running and Mack has had his daily food amount reduced. This is Mack's response to dieting.

Nothing like a toy to tear up when you're hungry...

No one like diets

Mack and I have been picking up our running so I'll be ready to do my first Run for the Bling of It run on Saturday! I'm so excited! Woo!!!

Meal Budgeting and Planning - The Unexpected and Wonderful Success

Since I last blogged, I have embarked upon several new endeavors and done my best to keep up with current projects. One project I've been working on is my Couch to 5k running program. I've been running with a friend and made it to Week 3 (out of 9) before getting out of the routine. So, today I pulled on the running shoes and in between rain storms, I headed out to the track to measure out Week 4. It was pretty intense. Since my running buddy wasn't around, I took my built in buddy, Mack on the run. He did really great till the last 3/4 mile. Currently, Mack is passed out on the couch wishing our run had been significantly shorter. If you are looking for a relatively easy way to get in shape, this running plan works for everyone.

Mack is exhausted. He would like to pass out.

I actually found out via facebook that my friend Claire over at Spare Thyme is also working on the Couch to 5K running program. I'm pretty excited. It means I'll have someone to compare experiences with.

Another "project" I've had going on is the latest Student Spouse Social. I had scheduled a sushi night with a SIM instructor from base.  There were 47 people signed up. It was one of the best RSVP turn out we've had. Despite all the crazy prep and stress, it went really well. Everyone had a great time and made a california roll and a tuna or salmon roll.

The ladies getting ready to make sushi

Look at all that delicious sushi being made!

Mr. Smart checking out the students' work

My newest project is meal budgeting added to my meal planning. Since my wisdom tooth surgery, we are pinching the pennies a little more around here. So, we have imposed a budged on our grocery shopping. The goal is to only spend $100 a week on all food and household supplies. The past two weeks have been the first part of my experiment. I actually came in $40 under my budget! To help me in this endeavor I am using this awesome spreadsheet. I found in on a random food website somewhere on the internet. It's already set up with columns and sections. I love it. What makes it great for budgeting is that you put in the price of the item you want to purchase and it adds it up for you. That way you can know how much you're spending before you go to the grocery store. Since I don't know how much everything costs,  I wrote down prices on my last visit and have started another spreadsheet organized alphabetically with food items and their prices. So, if you like my spreadsheet, feel free to open it and save it as your own document. I love it!

Well, I feel like I've been talking forever, so I'll say goodbye till next time. I'm off to make cheddar turkey breasts!

I Love Fall, I Love Decorating, Wait, I LOVE LOVE Fall Decorations!

So, in my last blog I discussed my love fall. One of my favorite fall foods and decorative motifs are pumpkins. I also love the sweet and spicy scents associated with fall. It's time to get out the cinnamon and pumpkin candles!

I thought I would include a few pics of some of my favorite decorations and a picture of the one and only Mack. Mack is still the laziest dog in the world.

My wall boxes. I love changing what decorations I put in them.  The many pumpkins are delightful!

Close up of my favorite pumpkin! It's all sparkly and strawish!

I use these glass containers all year. They're great because to change the look, you just change the contents.

This one is sitting on my pretty fall table cloth on the coffee table. This year, I did wine corks mixed in with the pumpkins to liven things up.

This is our wonderful and lazy dog with his half eaten football. He's so funny!

Tomato Soup and No More Home Grown Pumpkins...

I've noticed I seem to start every post with some sentence about how long it's been since I've last posted. That's probably indicative of a bad habit. From now on, I'm going to try hard to post on a regular basis. My dear friend Allie over at her blog is a great example of how great  a blog is when someone actually blogs more than once a month. With Allie as my shining example, I am going to try to do better. Also, if you need great ideas about running or healthy eating, Allie's blog is the place to go. She is awesome!

Since we last met, I have done many things. The first very important thing was watching my awesome hubby solo. WM did such a fantastic job. It was amazing to get to be part of something so amazing!

WM in the T-6 Texan II for his solo!

Since the solo, pilot training has only gotten more exciting. WM has been doing lots of fun acrobatics in the T-6. The smile he comes home with after all of his exciting air stunts is worth all the not seeing each other and long hours. Then, after doing lots of fun flying, WM had his mid phase check ride. This was the first big check ride and a little never racking for our household. Thankfully, WM did fantastic! Post check ride was his area solo which put a smile on WM's face that lasted all weekend.

During all these exciting happenings, I took a 10 day vaca to visit an Aunt in Cali. It was a fun trip, but after so many days away from WM and Mack I was ready to return home. WM seemed to do okay while I was gone, but Mack was another story. Mack dug up our entire pumpkin patch in a fit of rage. He was in big trouble for a few days. I thought about posting a picture, but the dead pumpkins make me too sad. Since I returned, Mack's naughtiness has disappeared and life is back to normal.

To finish off this post, I am going to post an all time favorite recipe from an all time favorite cooking site
It is for Stewed Tomato Soup with Butter Croutons. I change this recipe up a little bit and use canned diced tomatoes. It is pretty much impossible to get red, not pink tomatoes at our local grocery store. I use 3 cans of the diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic and two cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes and follow the cooking instructions. It is delicious every time and we love it!

Also, from here out, I am going to begin photographing my food. It starts tonight with my recipe for Cheddar Chicken that is going to become Cheddar Turkey Filets with Mashed cauliflower/potatoes. Yum!