expending puppy energy

We have had to become a little creative in how to exercise our puppy, as she is not yet fully vaccinated and thus the vet strongly recommended that we wait to take her on walks.  Bummer.  So, what do  you do with a 15 week old Australian Shepherd puppy that has more energy than the Energizer Bunny?  Use the treadmill and teach her how to fetch, of course.

Exhibit A:  The Treadmill
Around the time we adopted Maeby, we simultaneously fell in love with Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer.  One of the tricks he uses to exercise dogs is by using a treadmill.  So, we have been doing this with little Maeby.  She goes about 1/2 mile at 3.5-4.0 mph and does fantastic, except when Sonora walks by, which almost always necessitates a flying leap off of the treadmill by Maeby, who never passes up an opportunity to try Sonora's patience.

Exhibit B:  Fetching
The comment I always receive after indicating that we adopted an Australian Shepherd is, "Oh.  They have a lot of energy."  Yes.  I know.  That is kinda why we picked the breed.  With this in mind, we decided to reinforce her fetching using some yummy treats, so that we can help her burn off some energy, even when we are too tuckered out from a full day of work to move out of the patio lounge chair.  Please pardon the dusty backyard.  We hate it too.

Now while this all is super fun, if everyone could join with us and cross your fingers in hopes of the vet clearing Maeby to go on walks this week, that would just be stellar.  Muchas gracias.

ribs and a short ode to franz.

This past weekend Tyler, our good friend, came for a visit.  His visit was kind of two-fold.  Of course he came to see us, but he also came to visit because he adopted our dog, Franz.  On one hand, it was a wonderful visit with a wonderful friend.  But on the other hand, it was a hard goodbye to a wonderful(-ish) dog.  And, hence, this blog post is somewhat two-fold...

Sunday happened to be Tyler's Birthday and we had fun celebrating with a day of relaxation and, if I may say so myself, awesome food.  For breakfast, I made my mom's Amazing Belgian waffles, which I may need to share the recipe for eventually... or maybe I'll keep it as a semi-secret family recipe?!  And then, for dinner I made barbecue ribs.  Since this may just be the best ribs recipe ever and it isn't a family secret, I thought I would share it.  So, without further ado, copied & pasted directly from AllRecipes.com ::

Texas Pork Ribs

Ingredients

• 6 pounds pork spareribs
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 1/4 cup salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons garlic powder
• 5 tablespoons pan drippings
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 4 cups ketchup
• 3 cups hot water
• 4 tablespoons brown sugar
• cayenne pepper to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup wood chips, soaked

Directions

1. Clean the ribs, and trim away any excess fat. In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar, 1/4 cup salt, ground black pepper, paprika, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and garlic powder. Coat ribs liberally with spice mix. Place the ribs in two 10x15 inch roasting pans, piling two racks of ribs per pan. Cover, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.  (Or, if you are lazy like me, coat the ribs the morning of cooking... they will still taste good.  I promise.)
2. Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C). Bake uncovered for 3 to 4 hours, or until the ribs are tender and nearly fall apart. (Or throw them in the crock pot for the day.  On high for a couple of hours and low for a couple of hours.  Pretty much, I make it up as I go.)
3. Remove 5 tablespoons of drippings from the bottom of the roasting pans, and place in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onion in pan drippings until lightly browned and tender. Stir in ketchup, and heat for 3 to 4 more minutes, stirring constantly. Next, mix in water and brown sugar, and season to taste with cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, adding water as necessary to achieve desired thickness.  (This makes a TON of sauce.  Last time I made the ribs, I was smart enough to freeze the leftover.  So, lucky me, I got to skip this step this time.)
4. Preheat grill for medium-low heat.
5. When ready to grill, add soaked wood chips to the coals or to the smoker box of a gas grill. Lightly oil grill grate. Place ribs on the grill two racks at a time so they are not crowded. Cook for 20 minutes, turning occasionally. Baste ribs with sauce during the last 10 minutes of grilling, so the sauce does not burn.
6. ENJOY!

So, the ribs were awesome, but....saying bye to Franz was definitely harder than I thought it would be.  But we are comforted in knowing that Franz will be very happy back in CO where the grass is, quite literally, greener (our back yard is dirt and a couple of rocks).  In honor of my time spent knowing, who I somewhat affectionately refer to as Franzie, I thought I would write a short poem. (Pardon the poor rhyming and rhythm poemie whatever stuff...it has been a long time since my last English class.)

Ode to Franzie

Franz, I did love you in my own weird little way

even though you didn't know how to consistently sit, come or stay.

And I know that we didn't always see eye to eye

and this wasn't just because you stood only 10 inches high.

But you are a good dog and a good boy with the best puppy face

and we will always love you, no matter the distance or space.

So have fun in Colorado with your new owner and best friend.

But stay away from Starburst Jelly Beans and Godiva chocolate, or that may be the end.

j. t. hansford, college graduate

It was so great to be able to travel to Colorado last weekend for my baby brother's graduation from CU.  Apparently he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering... for the week leading up to the graduation, I had been telling everyone that it was electrical engineering.  Obviously I know nothing about the field or how those two types of engineering even differ.  Luckily, those who I were mainly telling were my little old patients, who probably wouldn't have remembered anyway...so I think the unintentional lie will go unnoticed.

ANYWAY, congrats bro on graduating with MECHANICAL engineering from CU.  We are all so incredibly proud of you and love you so so much!

Here are some pictures of the department ceremony:

I love my brothers.  And Brian and I love our "Little" brother.

Grandma and I were super excited that Jared was graduating.

Now, the department graduation happened to fall on Cinco de Mayo.  This made it hard for some people (ahem...Jared), to show up for the real graduation ceremony the next morning.  Come on, CU, think that one through next time.  Yes, Jared made a little bit of a late entry into the graduation, but not before receiving numerous somewhat threatening texts and phone calls from his loved ones who had already arrived to demonstrate our love and support.  We were just glad he showed up.  We love you, JT.  And, yes, we know that you will always been one who loves making an entrance.  ;)

Proof that he did in fact show up.

The amazingly awesome graduation card that I got him.

"The Picture."  Have I mentioned that I love my brothers.  Immensely.

And then there was the party.  There's nothing quite like parents playing Flip Cup.

I heart this family.  And my sister.

We also got to celebrate Mother's day!!!  It was so fun for mom to have all three of her kiddos for mother's day.  We love you to the moon and back.  :)

Mother's Day Breakfast.

And here is a picture of me and Charlie Sheen...  Wait, I mean my Dad.  :)

It was a wonderful visit and, of course, flew by way too quickly.  Hopefully I'll get to see my familia again SOON.