How to Meet the Neighbors 101

If I was to write a book entitled How to Meet the Neighbors 101, it would include one sentence Get a Puppy.

JP and I have lived in this house for almost two years. During these two years we have gone on probably 3-4 walks a week. Other than saying hello in passing, we had not gotten to know any of the neighbors- other than the ones that live right next to us.

That all changed when we got Zoe.

The neighbor who lives directly behind us who we never saw before will come into our yard to play with Zoe. Now when we go on a walk with her, people walk down to the street from their yards to meet her. When we see other walkers they stop to greet her. Children call her into their yard and chase her around. As we approach people I frequently hear people say, "Oh here comes Zoe!"

She is definitely more popular than either of us!

As a result, we have gotten to know these people which has been fun. Growing up, I was so used to knowing people in the neighborhood, so it was hard for me not to know people. Granted we don't know them well, but it is better than just a smile or hello! We are meeting so many people that JP and I have a little notebook where we write peoples names because we are likely to forget. 

So, if you are wondering how to get to know people in the neighborhood... get a puppy!

Note: This is before her haircut last week. Her hair is much shorter now! She is still a cutie though.

Let Them Eat Cake!

One of my 2013 Kitchen Goals is to make a legit cake which means making a cake and icing from scratch and then icing it in a legit manner. When my friend Kate discovered this was my goal, she wanted in on the baking as well. You see, she was planning on making her own wedding cake because her mom had made her own wedding cake. She needed all the practice she could get.

Kate has a friend who has a cake business so she taught Kate a lot of things. Kate then turned around and taught me.  To prepare, we placed an Amazon order for what we like to call "the spinny thing" as well as off set spatulas for icing.

Our first test run was this Tiramisu cake which although it was far from being made from scratch, we got to test our icing skills.

After this test run, it was time to move on to the legit cake. I have a recently found love for strawberry cake so I knew that is what I wanted to do. Conveniently Sweetapolita (our cake baking crush) had a strawberry cake recipe. Note: I was hesitant to use this recipe because it uses strawberry gelatin powder and I thought this might take away from the "from scratch" properties. I did have a recipe that did not call for this (which is hard to find) but I decided go ahead and use Sweetapolita's recipe.

We decided to make a party out of it and had two of our friends join us.




I did receive some help from these girls, but I did most of the major parts since it was my goal.

While the layers cooled...

 

 ... we went to Mooyah Burger for dinner. Since I wasn't going to get enough sugar that night from licking both the batter and icing bowls, I made sure to get a milkshake (which is cheap if you get a kids meal).

Once we got back from dinner, it was time to start the icing process. I still have a lot of improving to do but I think it turned out great for a first attempt! It was tasty too!

Note: Since then, I have made one more legit cake- a red velvet cake. It did not turn out as well mainly due to the fact that I did not let the cake cool enough before taking it out of the pan. As a result it was a held together by icing, lopsided cake. However, it did taste good!

PS. You may be wondering- did we consume all of these cakes. We actually shared the first cake with work friends and the second I took to my home group.

Indy Race

Last spring JP and I went to Talladega. This spring we decided to check out another type of racing, Indy Racing at Barber Motor Speedway.

Before finding our place to sit, we checked out some of the tents set up near the entrance. JP enjoyed talking to people about cars and learning all about the cost of tires and many other things I don't really remember.

 JP took the chance to explain to me how an engine works. I think I might need a reinforcement education on that one.

One of the major differences between Talladega and Barber is the seating arrangements. At Talladega you have an assigened stadium seat. At Barber, however, you bring your own chair, and it is first come first serve seating. We chose to sit in the trees which was an excellent choice considering it was pretty sunny.

Another big difference between Talladega and Barber is the intensity of sound. I really felt that Barber was not nearly as loud as Talladega (although maybe the fact we were on the 3rd row at Talladega made it louder).

There was a car show at the race. Of course, we had to check out the Corvettes! My Dad made me a Corvette girl!

Overall, I really preferred Barber to Talladega. The environment was much different. I loved the seating arrangements and the options of things to do other than the race such as the car show. It seemed a little more relaxed and a little more classy. With that being said, I am glad I experienced both of these racing experiences, but I think I might be a one and done on both of these races.

Maker's Mark

Kentucky is known for it's bourbon, and there are actually 8 distilleries that are part of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail.  While I was in Kentucky for Kate's wedding, we had Saturday morning free so decided to check out the Maker's Mark distillery, which was the closest distillery to us.

Although I'd never had bourbon, and was pretty sure I would not like it, I was excited to check out the distillery. It was really interesting to learn about the distillery process. It fascinates me that someone even figured out how to do it in the first place!

 After the tour, there was a taste test of the three Maker's Mark products. The clear product is one that they don't sale anywhere but at the distillery which was pretty cool.



I tried all three of them, but not to my surprise, I did not like any of them. The clear one actually was so strong that even many people who typically like bourbon did not care for it. My glasses pretty much looked the same after the tasting as it did before. One small sip gone does not leave for much noticeable change.

Although I did not care for the bourbon itself, I did get a kick out of some of their former marketing materials that they had displayed.

One thing that makes Maker's Mark unique is everyone of their bottles is hand dipped into red wax. Because we were there on a Saturday, we did not get to see this process actually happen. We did see where it occurs and were informed of how quickly each of the bottles must be dipped to keep up with the continuous conveyor belt. They are dipped at such a fast rate that the people dipping them work in 30 minute shifts to prevent any hand injuries. It was pretty impressive.

The tour conveniently ended up at the gift shop- as any good tour does, of course. At the gift shop you could purchase a bottle of Maker's to dip yourself. Here I am with my bottle ready to dip.

I know you ask, "If you did not like it, why did you buy it?" The answer, JP. I was informed by him that since he could not go on the trip, I needed to bring him the biggest bottle of Maker's they sold. I did just that.

They required us to put on an apron, sleeve protectors, and glasses to dip- which I thought was pretty funny. Here I am dipping my bottle!

Even though I'm not a fan of bourbon, I really enjoyed the tour.

Kate's Wedding Celebrations

Sitting next to someone at work who is planning their wedding can be quite fun, especially when they bring to the office cake to taste test! It is also even more fun when they are more than just a co-worker, but a friend as well.

My friend and co-worker Kate got engaged last summer and set her wedding date- April 27. It was quite an exciting time as she planned her wedding. However, it was bittersweet as her marriage would require her to move about an hour and a half away.

From formal planned events like shower and bachelorette to going to out to eat at lunch so Kate could get all her favorite lunch places in "one more time" before she moved, the months of March and April were spent celebrating Kate.

My co-workers and I through Kate a wedding shower after work at the Fish Market. I did not take any pictures but we had fun playing a few wedding games, watching Kate open gifts, and eating these. Also anytime someone leaves our office, we have a long standing tradition of having a cake party which is where the below pictures were taken (and yes they are a little blurry).

Kate was so sweet to include some of her work friends in her lingerie and bachelorette parties. The theme was sparkles so we all had fun shopping for our sparkly outfits. Other than a pair of sequined shoes I got on clearance years ago, I owned nothing sparkly. You would be surprised how much of this stuff is out there when you are looking for it- especially in the juniors department, and conveniently a lot of it is on sale.  I ended up with a pair of gold metallic pants from Macy's and a black sequined shirt from The Limited. Both were less than ten dollars a piece, which is great since I don't see myself wearing either again (however, you never know).

 

All the activities culminated at Kate's wedding which was held in Kentucky at her grandparent's farm. It is always fun to see a wedding when you have heard so much of the planning.

Kate made her own wedding cake! We actually practiced making cakes together. She did such a great job!

In addition to the wedding cake, Kate had several different flavored cakes from the UAB Gourmet Goodies. She met her husband Brett when she was an intern at UAB, and he was in dental school. They actually met in the cafeteria where she loves to get cake from Gourmet Goodies. So, naturally these cakes had to be a part of her wedding. For a few weeks, Kate would come in with different flavors for us to help her decide which flavors to choose.

 

I had a great time celebrating in all of Kate's wedding festivities!

Meet Zoe!

I've never considered myself a dog person. In fact, I usually do what I can to avoid dogs. If I'm at a friend's house and they have a dog, I do not go out of my way to have contact with the dog. If I'm on a walk and pass a dog, I have no desire to pet the dog. Large dogs intimidate me. Dogs drool, jump, and bark. Really, though, I've never had a dog so they make me uncomfortable. I just don't know what to do with them. Now, as I right this there is a dog at my feet.

In January of 2012, JP started a job that we knew would require him to at times travel and work long hours when in town. At that point we began discussing getting a dog. Despite me not being a dog person, we had always known that we would get a dog, but it now became less of a "someday" and more of a "let's do this."

In typical JP & Megan fashion, we did quite a lot of research on getting a dog.  My number one request was to have a dog that does not shed. JP's number one request was a big dog. After some discussion, we finally agreed upon a Standard Poodle towards the end of the summer

After some research on where to obtain our future Standard Poodle puppy, we finally decided in November to make a deposit on one of the upcoming litters at the Pampered Poodle Palace which was located about an hour from our house. On February 9 the litter was born and 7 weeks later we brought Zoe home. Note: While we are on the topic of breeder, I was very pleased with this breeder and would recommend.

During the 7 weeks the breeder had Zoe, she kept us updated with weekly pictures.

Zoe at one week:

Zoe at six weeks:

When the day came to get Zoe, I insisted on driving so JP could ride in the back with Zoe on the hour drive back to our house. I had no idea what to do with this dog, and I was kinda freaking out about the fact that we had a dog in the car. I had no idea what to expected and was prepared for the dog to use the bathroom and vomit all over the car- none of that happened.

The first night at home was the night before Easter, and we were hosting an Easter brunch the next day. JP decided this would be a great evening to start a project at 7pm that involved climbing in the attic and drilling holes in our wall. He completed the project at 2am. As a result Zoe and I spent a lot of time getting to know each other, and she did surprisingly well with the loud noise of holes being drilled into the walls.

While we were preparing to get Zoe, I asked many dog owners a ton of questions. Here are some the questions I asked and now I have my own response! These responses will show that Zoe is a very good dog, much better than I had imagined. Looking back I was pretty much imagining the worst possible dog ever!

What do you do with the dog during the day?
Our initial plan is to keep her in her crate during the day. Our ultimate goal is to be able to leave her in the house or in the yard during the day. JP will likely install a dog door so she could actually do both. She does great in her crate during the day, and we actually left her outside one day when JP had to work a short day.

Where does your dog sleep?
 Our breeder recommended we let Zoe sleep with us the first night. Before we even knew what kind of dog we were getting, I made it very clear that our dog would not be sleeping in the bed. JP agreed. So, we decided to not take the breeder's advice because I felt if it happened once, she would expect it to continue. Our plan was to have Zoe sleep in her crate in the kitchen. The first night we decided to give it a shot, and if it was a disaster we could move the crate into our room for a few nights. Zoe did so well the first night- we attribute it to the fact we went to bed past midnight + a overwhelming day. The next few nights Zoe continued to sleep in her crate in the kitchen. She did cry for about 10 minutes each night but not nearly as bad as I had imagined. She now does not cry at all when we put her in her crate at night.

Recently we have decided to see how she does not sleeping in her crate. She does really well sleeping in our room on a blanket at the foot of our bed. She has decided, though, that she actually prefers to sleep in our shower, which is a walk-in shower.

Does your dog keep you up at night?
Zoe really never kept us up at night. As mentioned above her barking only lasted about 10 minutes when it occurred. Initially she woke us up about twice a night to use the bathroom and then it got down to once a night. Now, she can sleep through the night completely at about 3 months old.

What about housetraining?
This has probably been the thing Zoe has been the slowest at conquering. However, she now seems to have gotten it. For the first 2-3 weeks she would go on the one rug in our house but she has not done that in several weeks.

 Zoe loves to be outside. One of her favorite things to do is run in, out and around the bushes.

What about exercise?
JP and I are pretty active already so adding a dog to the equation is not too difficult. Typically Zoe gets two walks a day. However, if we are at home and play a lot with her in the yard, she might get only one walk. The biggest change is that I have been getting up at 6am to walk her in the morning. With the beautiful weather, I have not minded, and it is actually nice to get up and walk in the morning.  Currently we are only walking her at a cul-de-sac and/or a circle near our house. Once she has all her shots at the beginning of June, we can not wait to take her to some walking trails, dog parks, and other places in our neighborhood.  Note: We also can't wait to be able to take her to the groomer. She is getting quite furry!

Most recent photo. Look at all that fur!

Does she do well on a leash?
The day we got Zoe, before we even let her in our house we put her on a lease and walked her around the yard. Zoe has done very well on the leash. She does pull on the leash when we are close to returning to the house, but other than that she does well. JP has actually trained her to walk off the leash. She does so well with this that he never walks her with a leash. I do still use the leash even though I probably would be fine not using it.

This was taken the day we got her. Look how tiny she is!

Does she follow commands?
Zoe quickly learned many commands. This is what enables her to walk off the leash. I give JP all the credit on teaching her most of the commands such as sit and shake. To ensure that she will follow commands when there is distractions- which is important when walking off the leash- JP takes her to a house that has three big dogs that bark a lot when she walk in front of the yard. They have an underground fence so they cannot leave the yard. JP will have Zoe follow commands in front of this house with the dogs barking. She has gotten really good at ignoring them.



Does she destroy a bunch of stuff?
Knock on wood, but so far the only thing Zoe has destroyed is one of her stuffed toys. She did cause damage to the rug that she frequently used the bathroom on, but other than that no damage. If she goes for something she is not supposed to chew on or play with, we immediately tell her no, and she seems to understand. She knows shoes are off limits. Although she frequently lies next to them or places her head on them, no chewing so far. She loves her chew toys, sticks, and a yard work glove that JP let her have.

"The Rug"

How does she do with other people and dogs?
When Zoe first meets a new person, it takes a little bit for her to warm up to them, and she is shy. However, after a little bit, she gets comfortable with them. She has been around big groups of people multiple times and has met my family and some of JP's family members. Although Zoe has not met many other dogs due to not having had all her shots, the few dogs she has had contact with she immediately wants to play with them. Our neighbor has a Brittany Spaniel that she loves to play with. Our other neighbors have a small dog that barks a lot. Zoe never barks back at the dog.

The first full day we had Zoe, we had an Easter brunch at our house. There were eleven people in the house, and she handled it very well.

Zoe and JP's brother Michael. They had a ton of fun playing together.

Zoe and my sister Sarah. Zoe loves to go on walks with her.

Overall I have been really impressed with Zoe. She is sweet, well behaved, and I love having her around. I still would not consider myself a dog person (although I have found that I am now more playful with other dogs), but I would definitely consider myself a Zoe person!

From Solo to Three.

Looks like my last blogpost was on March 28. That was two days before two big changes at the Tall and Short headquarters.

Number One: JP came back from Montgomery on Thursday March 28 and did not have to go back the following Monday. This was the first time in 3 months we weren't getting his luggage packed on Sunday night. He spend busy season working on a client in Montgomery. He would get to come home on Thursday nights and then leave Monday morning. This actually made the travel much better than if he arrived home Friday night and left Sunday night.

Of course, I am quite excited to have him back around during the week (and the weekend because he was pretty much working at home then). However, it is an adjustment. I'd say the biggest adjustment is in the food category. I had forgotten what it was like to buy food for JP for the whole week! I was quickly reminded of his food requirements when I was asked what snacks he could take for work, and I had nothing. I also have to get back into the swing of preparing dinner. I had been eating out more frequently when he was gone and usually cooked 1-2 meals/week and ate off them all week.

Number Two: We welcomed Miss Zoe, a standard poodle, into our home. We got her on March 30 when she was 7 weeks old. I'll do a full post on her but although she has been a delight to have around, she definitely has consumed a lot of our time!

Other than the two things above, there have been several blog worthy events that are waiting for the post they deserve. I'm hoping after a month of getting adjusted to having both JP and Zoe around I'll be able to get this blog up to date.