Ben got Ollie manlier looking looking poop bags than our usual ones.

The two best pictures to ever come out of doggie daycare:

"Husky girlfriend, how did you get under there?!?!"

"She's so sweet!"

Big dog. Little space.

Ben has been trying to get me to buy rain pants for years. Today, mine came in the mail!!! Marmot Precips with full side zips and in a petite length. Score!

Ben figured out how we could get New Hampshire Public Television on our TV again, so we hosted a State of the Union Address gathering.

Ollie still working on the rope toy his grandma gave him for Hannukah....

Looking kind of pretty at my internship and wearing earrings given to me for my birthday by R when I was living with her a couple summers ago :)

These are the notes I took during what was perhaps the best debrief of an activity that I've ever facilitated.

Every year, in late January, we decide it's time for Ben's car to start again. This is us trying to jump it with my car. It didn't work.

Later in the day, I experimented to see whether kumquats would be a good substitute for oranges in my Blue Moon. Verdict: Lovely.

Simultaneously cuddling the puppy and doing school work... It's an acquired skill.

Today, I tried to bring a banana to my first day of internship. Unfortunately, I was holding so many things (and taking the dog out to the car with me too so that I could drop him of at daycare) that I dropped and stepped on the banana. :(

Doggie and toys.

We had the other GA's over for dinner. The buffalo chicken pizza was a big hit. Here's a picture of the men keeping the pups from crazifying all over each other.

Me, Ollie, cross country skis, snowshoes, and Ben. It's snowing!

We had an impromptu gathering at our house tonight. I've been feeling lonely and around 4, I demanded that we have friends over, so I invited over a couple people, and then another, and then another couple, and another... We cleaned and cooked fast.... And then we had a mini-games night with venison stew, baguettes, cheese, olives, and mini buffalo chicken and tomato mozzarella basil paninis... Plus some cookies and ice cream. Such a great night.

This picture features everyone trying to solve little metal bar puzzles, which we did while playing a huge game of Flux. Now it's time to watch Harry Potter and go to sleep...

plus

plus

equals:

YUM!!!

Ollie went to doggie daycare and we cleaned the house and then went to Freeport. While in Freeport, we met this very angry glove:

Ben made a prototype hat:

The fleece on the inside was my idea!

Ben set up and began to use our new sewing machine.

I used red cabbage and red onions to make this purple-y mushu concoction

My hair's getting long.

Last night, I made yummy baguettes.

Today, the boys relaxed...

and Ben scared Ollie with his new foam axes.

Very cold lots of layers day.

This morning, Ben and I both had to go in to work, so we tried to get Ollie into his wire crate in the bedroom upstairs. He refused to even come up the stairs because he didn't want us to leave him, so I went to the car and got his travel crate out. Before I was even done setting it up in the living room, he happily climbed in. This is what Ben came home to 4 hours later (Well, this and a puppy with duct tape stuck to himself in various places) :

That white thing used to be a tightly fitting fuzzy cover for the wooden bottom (which Ollie had already cracked a couple times, necessitating the duct tape). All Ben could do was laugh...

While on vacation, we found that Ollie likes to sleep under the table while we eat. When at home, we used to eat at the coffee table, which has no underneath, and Ollie would bark incessantly at us and make the process unpleasant. So... when we got home, we cleared the table and the space underneath the table so we can experiment with the idea of eating in peace.

Ollie tries on his new backpack!

ummm.... I'm looking for a picture now?

Ollie cuddles my face as we head home.

hmmm....

I got Ben mad and he went into hiding. I forget why.

Update because I remember why: We were leaving the Indian restaurant we went to with my dad and his girlfriend and I ate the stuff that you eat when you're leaving... You know, the stuff with the fennel and licorice-y tasting sugary stuff... Ben hates that and apparently I reeked of it.

happy new year! picture to come.