Bullseye

Well we had a busy weekend, but it was full of fun...and full of what Chance and I like to call "special dates". First off, we didn't really have a "Labor Day" post, but we went to Ellinwood on that Monday, which is always great fun and I love catching up with Chance's parents and grandparents. They light up my day every time we visit:) We spent a lot of time showing Harley off to his family and friends, and took a few romantic walks down the gravel road in the country with our little pup. It was so nice to spend time with Chance where there are no interruptions, no cell phones, and no city noise. I seriously keep thinking I want to live there. Chance and I sat on the fence in the middle of the field with the cows and talked about how we could totally get used to it there. *Sigh* Anyway...a great day in the country as usual. We talked with mom and dad, and his mom made ....yes MADE...me a gorgeous necklace. It is amazing and goes with a lot of my wardrobe! She is so artsy and creative it makes me so jealous! But I love seeing what her current project is when we visit. Here is a picture of me wearing it this last week. I got lots of compliments Mrs. Haddon!


Here are a few pictures of us on the way up to Ellinwood....we keep Harley pretty fashionable ;)





Oh, and I am NOT that girl who posts a million pictures of her dog and expects everyone to think she is as adorable as I do...but come on, how cute is she with my bear?!?! (Chance got me that bear--Bernie bear as I have dubbed him--because I have always wanted one of those humongous stuffed animals you win at fairs and he's the sweetest boyfriend ever)





Ok, so that was our Labor day weekend, but this LAST weekend, Chance took me shooting! I have been begging to go because, well, I love guns and Chance has like a dozen guns in his possession:) I like to shoot, but I don't have any concept of being accurate or anything, so Chance has been dying to help a girl out. We got a couples membership to "Bullet stop" and now we can go anytime together! (Ladies shoot free on Wednesdays...holla!) So here are the pictures from our first time shooting inside together! He let me shoot his 22 and he shot his 9mm.










"First gun lesson kiss"



This is what I have been talking to Chance about forever and we have never been able to find it until now! A hot pink and black gun! How awesome is that! I could totally shoot some intruder in the foot and be all "You just got owned by a pink gun." Ok, that's not SO realistic...but I want it. Chance thinks it's pretty awesome too! So here is a picture of it.



Chance and I have also met the best couple ever. Their names are Ben and Anna. BenAnna as they are so named:)....get it? Banana? Benanna?....
Anyway, they are STRAIGHT from Jesus. We both wanted better friends in life...and friends that love Jesus. Which are hard to come by these days! We love them so much. Ben does techy stuff and Anna is in psychology like me! She has her masters though, so she's a lot fancier than me:) We met them through our church and they are also in our small group. We have spent a lot of time with them and have pretty much fallen head over heels ...does that analogy still work for friends? It should...cuz we both click so well. I thank Jesus umm....every day for them. Girl friends are so hard to find. You know, the ones that talk nice to you and don't talk bad behind your back. The ones that hang out and laugh and talk about boys over wine! That's Anna. I sometimes get scared that she won't like me one day because of how much I enjoy her! Haha. So pray that Jesus really strengthens that relationship. It has been great for Chance to have a techy guy friend to talk with. We went to a movie with them, and then to Sumo for half priced sushi. Yup, they love sushi too! I know...perfect right? We went to church on Sunday and then Chance took me out to a special lunch at Playa Azul...super good mexican. Here are a couple shots from lunch.




So that's us lately. Family, guns, puppy, Jesus, awesome friends. That's a bullseye to me.

...and then there were three.

Chance has been wanting a bulldog for oh...his whole life. The problem is, bulldogs are around two thousand dollars. You can see his dilemma. He has been going back and forth between dropping the big bucks to fulfill his dream and then we both come back to reality and realize that might not be the wisest decision right now. So he decided no dog.
.......That was about a month or two ago.

Yesterday we thought it would be a fun adventure to go look at the Humane Society. We had those famous last words of "You know, it might just be fun to look at the puppies...I'm sure we won't grow attached to any of them in their sad puppy cages with their sad puppy eyes hearing the sarah mclaughlin song playing from the commercial in the background." Ya right. We saw a boxer, super cute, but I'm actually allergic to most boxers and he was too big for Chance's apartment. Then we asked about puppies. They said they had a cocker spaniel puppy available in the back. OMG SOOOO cute! We fell in love right away, obviously. Just when Chance was about to say the big YES to this little curly haired creature, the lady decides to tell us he is having some um...diarrhea issues. Not cool lady. So we sat there looking at each other like....is it wrong to walk away just because he has some tummy problems? She said he was on medication and it would probably be fine. I wasn't so sure. So we decided...ok...lets think about it and come back tomorrow. Ya know, think about if Chance REALLY wants a puppy and pray to Jesus to see if we can't get some validation from the Big Guy on this decision.
.....getting antsy for the end of my story yet? Too bad, there's more.
We got to church, looked at each other in the middle of the service, and gave each other the head nod. The "Ya, you're gettin him" look. We talked on the way and decided, ok God, if he is there, we will get him and deal with the issues. If he's not, we will walk away and know that you have another puppy in mind for Chance. Maybe at a different time, maybe at a different place.
We got there. No puppy. SOLD. (insert almost tears from both of us)
We sat. We talked. We decided we were walking away. Then Chance mentioned the Newton country store that our church friend mentioned had puppies. We called. The guy said he had about 6 puppies in his store. I asked if there were any cocker spaniel puppies and he said he had a cock-a-poo(cocker spaniel and poodle mix). We went to look and said if we didn't love it, we were done looking for awhile. Well you guessed it...we fell in love. A couple was looking at her when we saw her, but we didn't like any of the other puppies so we waited for her. Catching a pattern in this way-too-long story? Waiting!!!
The couple walked away saying they were going to go think about her. Well Chance waited for the couple to leave, swooped her up, sat her on the counter and we pretty much decided she was the one. That little white puppy looked at Chance and gave him a quick little kiss on the face and that did him in:)
I will let you get to the good part now...the pictures!!! Just brought her to his apartment TODAY! She has done GREAT! Gone potty outside...no accidents. She also has just about the sweetest temperament you could ask for in a puppy. She sat on the couch with us and snuggled up all afternoon. No barking, no chewing on furniture, no biting, just snuggling and drinking up our lovins:) She is also hyperallergenic and does not shed because of the poodle in her. Ummmm how perfect is she?! Jesus sure knows when there is something better to wait for:)
Okay. So her name is Harley...and she's the new addition to Chance's life (well, and mine kind of!)I know you all must be thinking we named her Harley because of our connection with bikers, but actually we were just talking names in the car and I kinda threw it out there as just a name to like. Chance loved it and it fits her perfect. Maybe this blog is too long for the story on our sweet little puppy, but we have been all smiles all day and Chance said she better be blog worthy! :)
So here is Harley...she makes three of us!
We had bath time, dress up (notice her attire...shes hardcore!), and snugglin time today, here's a few preview pics!

This ain't your mama's kitchen

So, Chance and I have a lot in common. One of those things is food. Which is fine for him, because, well, he has a metabolism! Mine equals negative numbers I'm pretty sure. I like to blame it on genetics, but my family is actually pretty blessed in that area, so I can't really get away with that. So I suppose it may have something to do with a curse on my body.....or that I hate the gym...My data is inconclusive right now.
ANYWAY. We like to eat and we like to cook and we like to go out. We often spoil ourselves with going out, but during the week we have a "no eating out" rule. That rule often has some exceptions, such as ice cream somewhere...or I had a really stressful day at work so the rule is lifted for 10 minutes or so for a taco shop taco....but don't worry, the rule is reinstated quickly after the drive thru. So during the week, we really try to cook something healthy... or Edie's kitchen is usually open for a delectable and nutritious meal:)
This week Chance has really been wanting to cook for me. I know, I know, you thought he couldn't get any better, right?... So I sacrificed and let him cook;)I did my part too mind you! We had a very stressful day, and as past posts have mentioned, we are addicted to sushi from Hana Cafe (oldtown...go there). So I brought home dinner one night. BSCR. That stands for Baked Scallop California Rolls. OH EM GEE. I can't describe the goodness that is bscr, but someday, someday...you will know the goodness and you won't look back. Here is a picture of the angelic meal.


Chance was VERY pleased and we usually eat it way too fast and wish we had ordered 10 rolls. We also get calamari as an appetizer, but it's not as good to go as it is in the restaurant. So that was one of our spoilings.
The next meal was the main event that Chance continues to dream about and tell me so every day. Chance had this wondrous idea of putting bacon and cheese into the middle of a hamburger. Granted, this is no "new invention"....but it's not something you think about preparing on a normal day. It was SO GOOD. Here are a few pics to illustrate the process. WARNING : this meal does in fact result in a minor heart attack and ouchy tummy pains....but I promise it is worth it, maybe.






Dinner tonight was salmon. Chance and I also both have the love of seafood in common. Chance has a million cookbooks (of no influence from Daddy Haddon I'm sure...) that he likes to break into every now and then when he's feeling inspired and creative. He made salmon with this really amazing sauce that he marinated it in. I think he said it had onion, garlic, lemon juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, and sesame oil as its ingredients. Complete with diet dr pepper and noodles to compliment!



Thanks you chef of a boyfriend....for making my night easy, pleasant, and yummy!
Maybe I should take a walk tonight.