Colle+McVoy

Today is my first day of work at Colle+McVoy.

I may not have told you all yet, but I received an offer from this wonderful Ad Agency and accepted! My position is titled: New Business Manager, and I am ready to tackle anything and everything that this agency has to offer.

I am so excited about this new position, and I thank God each day for blessing me with new opportunities to learn and grow. Here's to a great first day!

Happy Easter

We're wishing you and yours a very Happy Easter.

Matthew 28:2-7 ESV
(2) And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. (3) His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. (4) And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. (5) But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. (6) He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. (7) Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”

Presenting: The 3rd Annual Austad Family Easter Egg Hunt

Here it is...what you've been waiting for for the past 364 days- Pictures from the 3rd Annual Austad Family Easter Egg Hunt!

If you are new to the blog, you probably haven't heard of this before. Let me give you a little background. When Ryan and I were first married, I was really gung-ho about starting new traditions as a family. There were many things swirling around in my mind-Austad Family pancakes on Saturday mornings, Austad Family Christmas Cookie Baking Night, Austad Family Art Night, and so on and so on. While some of those have materialized into true traditions, the Austad Family Easter Egg Hunt was a total fluke!

It was April 2009 when I got home from work at looked around our 1 bedroom apartment and thought I'd do something fun for my husband. I threw a few jelly beans in some eggs, hid them, and then left a basket by our front door. Thankfully Ryan was ready to play along and I took pictures as he went- laughing the whole time since it was so funny that I was making him do the hunt since we didn't have kids.

I reprised the Easter Egg Hunt last year and called it the 2nd Annual Austad Family Easter Egg Hunt or 2nd Annual AFEEH for short. Again, it was kind of a joke, but kind of cute all at the same time. So I decided to carry on the tradition again this year....after all our family has grown by 1! So Lola got to take part in this year's 3rd Annual AFEEH. And we had a BLAST! I think this funny tradition has stuck.

Lola's ready for the Hunt! Greeting Ryan at the door.

Quick photo-op before the hunt begins!

Here we go!

Good find Ryan!

Do you see the one hiding under the lamp?

YAY! A Full Easter Basket.

Teaching Lola to not eat the Easter Egg but the treat that came out of it- see floor.

Romanticizing

We really do partake in other things outside of our new puppy, but that seems to be all I can write about lately. I guess when a new little member of the family enters, they take center stage. For all those moms out there- I give you 2 HUGE thumbs up. You Rock, You're the Best, and someday I hope to be half as good a Mom to my kids.

Having Lola here has really put things into perspective for me. I'll come right out and say it- I romanticize things often. Whew- that felt good to get out. When I think about babies, I think about them cooing and smiling, little adorable flowered onesies and laughter at bath time. I think about how I'd tote my little one around in the stroller on a warm summer day and in my daydream I am perfectly groomed, no stray hair or spit up stain in site.

Now...my husband on the other hand is the realistic one. As many of you know, Lola has definitely served her purpose as OBD. (Operation Baby Deferral) He's a smart one, that Ryan, and he knows me well. I'm not saying that having a puppy is anything like a baby. I can draw similarities, however I'm very thankful that I haven't had to change Lola's diaper and she can do her thing outside.

I've realized that it takes A LOT of work to raise something/one you care so much about. Of course we had dogs in our family when we were kids, and so did Ryan. But Lola is the very first pet we've had together that our parents haven't been the sole caretakers for. Its awesome in every sense of the word.

Don't get me wrong, Lola has been a super easy puppy. She's housebroken now (at only 3 months old) and she pretty much sleeps through the night in her own kennel. She only whines or barks when she has to go out at 5 AM. She does her duty and then goes right back to her kennel and sleeps until we're ready to get up with her. She's a breeze to train, and has already mastered many tricks.

I'm so glad I had this opportunity to be a caretaker before we have real human babies of our own. Even though that's probably down the road a few years, I have taken away something from this experience that I never thought I would- the growth of giving of yourself. Giving your time, your patience, giving your heart to something that will change your life forever.

Lazy Pup

Miss Lola can sleep anywhere, anytime, with any noise or distraction possible. Most of the time she wants to be near us when she sleeps- so she takes it all in, every keystroke of the computer, guitar playing moment, and Austad family sing-a-long. We've been known to occasionally break out in song from time to time. Your family doesn't do that? Oh, well, shoot- maybe we're just weird like that then. Thankfully, Lola puts up with it all and has truly become a member of our little family.

Napping on Dad's Foot...

...Napping on her Bed...

...Napping on the Deck...

...And the Kitchen Today, Instead.

Napping in her kennel...

and under the Bar stools...

...Napping in the office,

a dog's life, sure does rule.

Guacamole Chicken Sandwiches

That's what we made last week when the Minnesota air had just a slight chill and the sunshine was rockin' at 65 degrees. We were feelin' it...summertime, and had just a taste of it for a few hours. So we decided to bust out our favorite summertime meal- Guacamole Chicken Sandwiches.

This isn't an exact recipe, I think Ryan made it up last summer when we were craving avocado and BBQ. Basically, its homemade guacamole, Swiss cheese, BBQ chicken on a toasted bun. The toasting of the bun is essential for that warm, hot off the grill summer feel. Paired with a few Bud Light Limes and we were in business.

Since its snowy today I felt this post would feel appropriate for my longing of a summer day. Oh, soon enough.

mmmm....guacamole

Patio Project

I took advantage of a fluke 70 degree day here in Minnesota and decided to put together a little project to beautify our patio area. The old owners of our house left a few odds and ends around the house. Not sure if they were just that sweet and wanted to leave us a few things, they were too busy with their newborn daughter, or these things were buried under 12 inches of snow at the time they moved and they completely forgot about them. Either way...they have now become ours.

As I was cleaning up our backyard, I noticed a few sad looking clay pots underneath our deck.

They had definitely seen better days. Thankfully, I had already decided to spruce them up. How exactly...I wasn't sure. But then I started unpacking (yes there are a few more boxes I have left unpacked) a box in the garage. And Eureka! It hit me! I found my cute 3-piece planter set that I had purchased last spring at our Omaha apartment.

After a trip to Menard's and my key lime spray paint in hand,

it was time for a clay pot makeover. Thankfully, Miss Lola was "on deck" (pun totally intended) ready to lend a helping paw in case I would need it. I scrubbed the pots of all the yucky winter dirt first so the spray paint would stick.

Then, I found a good corner of the yard, laid down a moving box and got my spray paint groove on.

After a few coats, here is what they look like!

I'm pretty excited about them, and already planted a few wildflower seeds in them. Hopefully, the freak wet snowstorm we had this past weekend won't ruin them!

Over all, a $3 can of spray paint made such a difference, I decided to paint an old brown plastic pot we had too. My theme for the deck this summer will be key lime green and blue- so be watching for the full transformation come June/July!