Our "Baby"

We got a dog!!

She's a six-month old 

German Shepherd/Black Lab mix

This is something I have been eagerly anticipating for so long! I had a family dog when I was at home with my parents, and I always felt like something was missing at our house now. Don't get me wrong! I was perfectly satisfied with just Seth and our little family, but I was growing tired of lonely days and nights at home when Seth had work stuff to do, and I really wanted a companion. Seth definitely understood this, but he just didn't see a dog in our budget. So, I was patient (or tried to be :) ) And we finally got one!!

The story goes like this: Seth and I hadn't brought up the topic of a dog in a while, so I wasn't expecting anything. Then, on Thursday a few weeks ago, Seth called me from work and told me he had received a call from some friends of ours. They recently got a puppy, but decided they couldn't handle training or taking care of it since they also had a baby! So, they wanted to know if we could take it :) I was so excited!! We talked about this for a few days, and when Seth finally told me he thought it could work, I cried :) So, we got her that Friday, named her Riley and bought her a cute dog bed and dog bowls (Seth didn't understand why everything had to be cute :) )

This has been a roller coaster of a few weeks. The first week, it was like we had a newborn! She woke up every couple of hours, barked at us because she didn't understand why we were sleeping and not playing, jumped up on the bed to lay down with us and crawled under the bed only to get stuck. She barks at us during meals (loudly), chews up Seth's flip flops (she must wonder why he's wearing them in the middle of winter!) and jumps up on the kitchen counter to see what we're doing (and where the yummy smells are coming from). 

But, she is such a sweet girl!! My days at home have never been sweeter :) She already has her little quirks that show her personality:

     -Whenever I sit on the floor with her, she sits in my lap like a little kid.

     -She loves to jump up and look out the windows. Her favorite activity is to sit in her chair and watch the buses go by before and after school!

     -She's terrified of the vacuum, but since she's "tough" she follows me around, alternating between barking and pouncing on the monster or running away.

     -She loves people!  So far, everyone she's met has been her best friend.

     -Any amount of snow is a giant playground for her! On walks, we have to stop by every drift so she can run through it and throw it in the air.

     -Thankfully, she loves the car! I like to take her on quick errands, and she just sits, looks around, sticks her head out the window or gives me kisses :)

I am so thankful to Seth for making this sacrifice. I know he frets over how we'll afford her, but I love him for taking on that burden!! 

Home-made Pizza

                                     

Making pizza is one of Seth's and my favorite things to do for dinner. It's a good date night activity, it's somewhat cheap and it's oh so good! However, everyone makes their pizza differently, so this recipe is going to have a lot of interchangeable ingredients :)

Crust

Ingredients:

1 pkg active dry yeast

1 C lukewarm water

1 1/4 C ice-cold water

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil

5 1/2 C flour

(The recipe makes three pizzas, which is enough for two nights dinner for us!)

In a bowl, combine the yeast and warm water. Stir with a fork and then give it five minutes to dissolve.

In another bowl, mix the cold water, sugar, salt and olive oil. Stir until it's dissolved.

Add the flour to the bowl of a standing mixer. Pour in both water mixes. Mix on low speed until it forms a coarse ball, about 4 min. Turn it off for 2 min, and then mix on low speed until smooth, about six minutes. It'll look like the picture below.

       

Change the paddle to the dough hook, and knead the dough for a minute or two. It'll look like this picture:

Split the dough into three parts and put into individual bowls. Beware! The dough will be sticky! However, it should only stick to your finger for a few seconds before pulling away. You should not have dough stuck all over your hands! If you do, you need more flour :) 

Refrigerate the dough for 10 hrs or two days. It should have mostly doubled in size by the time it comes out.

Taking each individual dough piece, place it on a well-floured counter. Don't roll out the dough, rather pull and push it into a circle shape until it won't get any bigger. I like to roll the edges to give my finished pizza more of puffed crust, but Seth leaves his flat.

Sauce

Ingredients:

2 6oz can tomato (Seth and I don't like large chunks of tomato in our sauce, so we just use the tomato sauce. However, you can used puree or chunks or whatever)

3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

5-6 cloves minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

Add all these things to a saucepan, and heat up on the stove. Once it starts bubbling, turn it on low and keep warm while making your pizzas.

To make our pizzas, we brush the spread-out dough with a little olive oil mixed with garlic, either pieces or powder. Pour on desired amount of sauce. This is where Seth's and my pizzas differ. I put sauce, a layer of caramelized onions, a layer of cheese, one of pepperoni, and a smaller layer of cheese. Seth just has cheese and pepperoni. Two layers :) However, we both sprinkle basil on top! It's very yummy :)