The pup ...

Because sometimes all you want to do is just lay around ...

And I mean really just lay around ...

And that totally means you work up an appetite right?!

Oh silly puppy! 

Chili Lime Shrimp Quinoa ...

So being on the fix means that I've been changing our diet.  It has been fun {and at times oh so interesting} to try new recipes and experiment with new foods.  Some of them have been BIG winners - others, well - lets just say the hubs will eat ANYTHING which is good for me.  There's been a time or two where I end up frying up some eggs while he eats what I had originally made ;)

Tonight I tried a new recipe given to me by a friend and it was delicious {even if I just realized I left out the onion, oops!}  The hubs agreed it would be one to try again.

Without further ado, here are the goods! 

Chili Lime Shrimp Quinoa

For Quinoa

Ingredients

¾ cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed

1 ¼ cups of water

lime juice from 1 lime

2 cloves of garlic chopped

1 tsp chili powder

Directions

Bring water to boil in a saucepan

Add quinoa and reduce heat to low.  Let cook about 15-20 minutes until all water is absorbed.

Let sit for about 5 minutes then add the lime juice, garlic, and chili powder and stir well.

For Shrimp and Veggies

1 tsp chili powder

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp pink Himalayan sea salt

½ tsp garlic powder

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

1 lb of thawed shrimp

3 cups of chopped mixed bell peppers {I used red, orange, and yellow} and zucchini

1 cup red onion, chopped

Directions

Combine chili powder, salt, cumin, garlic powder, and olive oil in a large resealable container or plastic bag

Add shrimp, bell pepper, zucchini, and onion

Shake bag or container until coated

Spray large non-stick pan with spray and empty the contents of bag/container onto it over medium-high heat

Cook for 6-8 minutes stirring frequently

Combine with quinoa and serve.

If you are doing the 21 day fix this has 4 servings and 1 serving is worth: 1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow

Otis might have been a little curious about the ingredients too ;)

{and no, he normally isn't allowed up on the counters. And yes, we really confused him by getting after him after laughing and taking pictures -oops!}

Snow Pup ...

Because the pup is ALL about the snow! 

Life lately ...

We had our pictures taken for our Christmas cards ...

and the pup even rocked it - as my mom says, "He's even smiling!"

We celebrated Thanksgiving up north ...

and had lots of cuddles ...

I spent some time with this little dude - didn't have a shark attack, but did have the flu attack - ekk!

the sock thief has been in action lately ...

the joys of a new bone ...

we survived the LONGEST week ever with anticipating Christmas break ...

I got up early to fit in my workouts BEFORE work - that alarm went off SO early!

we had a sick puppy - cuddles were just what he needed!

It SNOWED!!

And someone was in heaven {too bad it's pretty much all melted now!}

And we have been lazy, very very lazy ...

Because we are officially on Christmas break ... and couldn't be any happier! :)

Sunday snooze ...

My boys :)

Iceman ...

This was the hubs fourth time participating in the Iceman Cometh bike race.  Every year the weather has been gross - from frigid cold temperatures to rain to rain, hail, sleet, and snow all wrapped up together! 

So this year, when the sun was shinning at the beginning of the race - I thought it might just be too good to be true!  But none the less, we posed for our "before" picture and off the husband was for a couple hours of grueling bike riding ...   

All smiles at the start! 

About 12 miles in we caught up for onre more peek at him ...

After seeing the hubs on a little single track, I {along with my wonderful parents who were there to cheer on the hubs} head to the finish line.  And it started to rain {in true iceman fashion of course!} but thankfully by the time we were outside at the finish the rain had stopped.

 I usually have a general idea of when the hubs will finish ... so when he wasn't finishing I turned to my mom and said something was wrong.  

I saw a couple familiar faces pass by who were in his start wave ... and then friends finish who started after him a wave or two - so I knew something wasn't right ...

And low and behold, FINALLY he appeared! 

And gave it one last little push to get up one last little hill before the finish ...

Come to find out, the hubs got a flat tire about 5 miles before the finish.  That ate up some time, a lot of time! He didn't have his tool to pop off his tire, and after about 20 minutes a friend passed by, asked if he needed anything, and so graciously threw him his tool bag to fix his flat.

So he finished, in one piece -and that was really the most important thing after all :)

Happy Halloween ...

The week before Halloween seemed to DRAG on like none other!  The hubs and I were trying to decide if it was because we were eagerly awaiting our visitors for the weekend or because a full moon on Hallween week {along with inside recess multiple days in Kindergarten land} is not the best combination.  We asked around and everyone thought that Tuesday definitely should have been Friday so we were feeling better that we weren't the only ones :) 

But finally Friday arrived and our "Utah" friends arrived - who are no longer living in Utah but who I still introduce as our Utah friends :)  We are so lucky to have them now living an hour and half away - but with busy work schedules it's hard to carve out time to see eachother, so when we figured out we could spend an ENTIRE weekend together - I think we were all a little beyond excited! 

Of course - the guys had to start burning things shortly after they arrived, apparently that's just what men do :)

Otis was very excited to have his buddy Rufio around for the weekend too!  We are so very thankful that these two met when Otis was just a pup because they get along so well! {yes, Otis is a bit dominate and can be a jerk at times - but those moments are few and far between with Rufio!}

Saturday after a morning of the girls watching HGTV and the boys running to the bike shop {without purchasing any additional bikes!} we started to carve away ...

Apparently I picked an easy one since I was the first one done!  And, all the bike lights that the hubs has came in handy as they were PERFECT for lighting our pumpkins! 

Annie's "dot" pumpkin got lots of compliments from the trick-or-treaters.  Many asked if it was real ... I think Annie can vouch by the pain in her hands that it is definitely real. :) 

Otis loved cuddles with his Aunt Annie ;)

The boys tuned into some football and the girls began crafting.  I'm so excited to have some Annie original artwork to be part of our Christmas/Snow decorations!  I absolutely LOVE them, and I even created some of my own to add to the collection :)

The pups dressed up when it was time for handing out candy - a Michigan football player and a manly blue tutu ;)

Annie was in charge of the counter so on the window seat she sat with the pups.  Towards the end of the night, the pups were pretty tired out!  It was too cute seeing them both cuddled up and falling asleep!  

Apparently watching 202 trick-or-treaters coming to the door tired our pup out.  He didn't really move for the rest of the evening once we turned off our porch light.

A very low key, yet most enjoyable weekend with great friends.  Just what the hubs and I needed before gearing up for another week of work!