4.28.2011

refreshed

Tonight, I went on a walk with my mom, her dog Oskar, and my (now oldest) dog Oliver.  When we left, it was barely drizzling, but a couple of minutes into our route, the heavens opened up. We started running through the rain, and we all got soaked by the time we returned to the house!  And all I can say is:

Thank you, God, for refreshing my life and my spirit tonight!


4.27.2011

miscellany...wednesday?

Things have been absolutely insane with the new puppy, and I have, therefore, been way too busy to blog!  But right now, the puppy is sleeping, my scheduled tutoring session is rescheduled for tomorrow morning at 7 (ugh), and the episode of Glee I've been watching on Netflix is paused....and so I am belatedly sharing my life's recent miscellany!

¡one!

Mikey's softball team won their last game!! I can't remember the exact score (something along the lines of 13 to 3), but whatever it was, they did a great job!  Mikey walked once, got good base hits twice, and made an awesome play in the outfield (the only time the ball was hit to right field, where he plays).  I was so proud! My husband is awesome...and so is the rest of the Northwood Team, of course :)


¡two!

Berkeley and Oliver are getting along too famously!  Oliver has gotten over his initial, minimal anxiety about the new pup, and now they play all the time.  They both seem happy, but every so often I hear a yelp from one or the other of them...and my mother instincts send me rushing over to break up the ruckus.  I am just so glad they enjoy being around each other...Berkeley even looks out the window and cries when I let Ollie out in the backyard without her :) Too cute.


¡three!

Glee is awesome. I never really got into it the first season, and frankly, there are some sketchy lessons in some of the episodes...but overall, I love the show-tunes and the awesome renditions of more modern songs...I love the dancing...I love the encouragement to be happy with who you are...and I love that it gives me something to do while I'm home all afternoon trying to wear out my rambunctious 7 week old Doberman!


¡four!

My honey and I are going on a date tonight! It has been a while, and as we have barely conversed with each other since we got Berkeley, unless we are talking about church or how to train a crazy but adorable puppy, I can't wait for some sweet one on one time over dinner :)  And the best part is, he suggested it!  sigh.  No wonder I'm in love with him :)


4.21.2011

meet berkeley

This is Berkeley :)

My parents and I drove two and a half hours to Aiken to pick out this lovable, perfect pup!  She was one of three females available...and I knew she was "the one" when she ran up to greet me.  Not only that, but she was the largest female, which makes my husband happy!  Her mom was 85 lbs, and her dad was 95 lbs...so she will probably be a big girl!  Just look at her paws!!

She and Oliver are getting along great!  She wants to frolic and play with him already :) He is still figuring out how to handle her...normally he is the high-energy small dog!  But I think they will work things out over the next couple of days.  Here is a little video of them getting to know each other tonight:

I hope to update you guys on her progress as she grows...

Here goes nothin!

4.20.2011

the waiting game

For those of you who know me well, you know that I am a doer, a get-'er-doner...I am all for proper planning, but in the end, I am all about decisive action.  Which might explain why it has taken us less than a week to find our perfect doberman puppy.  Berkeley should be here tomorrow.  Mikey and I have done tons of research on dobies... temperament, training, puppies v. rescues, males v. females...and we think Berkeley, a female 6 wk old dobie puppy will be the perfect addition to our family!

A friend is hoping to be able to pick her up in Augusta, GA and bring her to us tomorrow, since she is heading to Charleston already.  However, if that doesn't work out (because the breeder only has a small time frame in which we can pick up the pup), my dad and I may be heading there tomorrow night.  Either way, she will be here tomorrow!  This waiting has been killing me, and my constant talking about her arrival and wishing she was already here is driving all of my friends crazy, I'm sure!!  So let's hope she's here tomorrow morning, so I can obsess over her to her :) haha

I promise to post pictures ASAP!! :)

4.17.2011

my newest, greatest desire...

...is to have one of these:
(the larger one)

4.14.2011

donut burgers

A friend of mine and Mikey's, Kendrick, told us about this amazingly delicious (and remarkably artery-clogging) food about a month ago, but we sadly missed out on his first foray into donut burgers.  But last night after Mikey and Kendrick got done leading worship at the youth service at our church, we had some friends over, and Kendrick made the burgers!!  All you do is make normal burgers (or you can use chicken!), and then you add donuts for the bun, cooking it on a frying pan for a couple minutes on each side...that makes the sugary donut coating kind of caramelized.  Let it cool for a minute before you eat, or it will caramelize on your fingers (delicious, but possibly painful)!  Kendrick had told us it tastes like a gourmet McGriddle, and I cannot deny the accuracy of his observations :)


The men hard at work in the kitchen :)


Donut-ing the burger


The final product! :)


Our happy chef :)

4.12.2011

wordy wednesday


Some good quotes to ponder on Hump Day...

"Every great dream begins with a dreamer.  Always remember, you have the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world" -Harriet Tubman

"The essential thing is not knowledge, but character" -Joseph Le Conte

"Try not to become a man of success, but a man of virtue" -Albert Einstein

"Nurture your mind with great thoughts.  To believe in the heroic makes heroes" -Benjamin Disraeli

"Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out" -Robert Collier

softballin

As promised, here are some picture-worthy moments from Mikey's first softball game of the season!


We met some friends at Firehouse Subs before heading to the field,
and I was so happy to discover that they have Coke Zero, my new favorite beverage!


My man on third base and about to make it all the way home!


The team praying after their victory!! The final score was 19-3 :)


With my sister-in-law Melissa and our friend Chelsie...
all of our husbands are on the team!

It was so nice to be outside, and to be cheering on our awesome husbands...I am so glad the season has gotten started, and I look forward to all of the games to come! I'll keep you posted on their progress :)

4.11.2011

miscellany monday

It has been a while since I have shared some of the Baur life miscellany, but I thought this week was the perfect one to join in on the fun!  If you're interested, head over to Carissa's blog and link up!

-one-

This Saturday night, I got to go with my mom to one of Charleston's most fun and "fancy" events...the Family Circle Cup!  We watched one match of the quarterfinals for singles.  We wanted to stay for the doubles match, but the singles one was neck-and-neck, and therefore, super long!  I learned a lot about tennis, though, and it was just a great excuse to be outside :)


~two~

Dance Central, on Xbox Kinect, is awesome!  The student ministry at our church bought one, and I have been taking full advantage of its proximity :)  I love to dance, and this game is the best one I've tried yet...it is a lot easier to groove and still get points than on the Wii dance games.  And the songs are super fun too!  It is actually tempting me to buy our own gaming console (*gasp*), but only time will tell...right now there are more pressing things to spend our money on!

-three-

I have been terrible at bringing my camera around lately...hence the lack of personal pictures for the first two miscellany entries.  Does anybody else have trouble remembering your camera?  It just seems too clunky to put in my smaller spring/summer purse!  But I commit to getting better about this.  Mikey's first softball game of the season is tonight (if it doesn't rain), and I promise to take some fun pics! They will be posted shortly :)

~four~

Lately, I have been obsessed with black dresses and skirts...They are just so easy to throw on, while still being cute.  And I love that they show fewer lines and such.  A black dress and a bright necklace, purse, or pair of shoes has been my new favorite thing. 


Thanks for sharing in my miscellany!!! :) Have a great day!

4.06.2011

so fresh and so clean, clean

This afternoon, I went to the park and had some good girl talk with one of the most lovely people I know, my friend Sarah.  We were talking about a baby shower we are hoping to throw for our pregnant friend Chelsie, and we both agreed that although we enjoy cutesy, colorful showers, we both adore clean, elegant showers.  For some reason, fresh colors and clean lines just make me smile like a little girl!  And with that in mind, I came home and "freshened up" my blog.  I just love tweeking it giving it a complete overhaul sometimes.  And spring is the season for a good cleaning, right? :)  Hope you guys like my new look!

If you have anything you've been freshening up to celebrate the arrival of Spring, I'd love to hear it!

4.03.2011

a healthier me

For the past couple of months I have been really working on being healthier...eating correctly, taking care of myself, and exercising.  Since I stopped dancing ballet about four years ago, I have been very on and off.  I never ate that healthy, but without dance class schedules, I couldn't work up the motivation to workout regularly anymore.  However, a couple of months ago, my doctor suggested that exercise would help me in an unexpected way...with stress.  I've always heard exercise was good for working off stress, but there is real metabolic science behind this idea! And it has been working for me!  I am really enjoying my new healthier lifestyle, and I thought it might be fun to share some of the knowledge and tricks I have gained that help to keep me on track...(not that any of these are ground breaking, but they have made the world of difference to me!)

[one]

A good cardio workout is this:
at least 3 days of 20 minutes of exercise at an elevated heart rate.
That doesn't mean 20 minutes on the bike or running...
it means 20 minutes once your heart rate picks up enough.
This will help to keep your heart healthy and your cardiovascular system happier.

[two]

A good metabolic workout is this:
at least 5 days of 40 minutes of exercise.
Heart rate is not a factor in this regimen.
The issue is working out for a long enough time for your body to burn through extra calories and, more importantly for me, stress hormones.
I combine one and two by exercising, on average, for forty minutes 5-6 days a week, at least 3 of those days being cardio.

[three]

Food is deceptive.
When I first started trying to eat better, I used a calorie counter app on my phone.
I was shocked at how bad some things are...things I always thought of as healthier.
Also, some things are significantly worse for you than another dish that seems very similar (especially pastas and creamy sauces/soups!)
Realizing these truths made me make smarter, more informed decisions about what I eat.
I was also shocked to realize how often I could indulge my sweet tooth, as long as I was eating healthier and exercising throughout the rest of the day! What a relief!
After a month and half or so of counting calories, I decided to lay off.
I still use my app to look up foods I'm unsure of, but I have a basic idea of how much I can eat and when.
This calorie counting has been so helpful to me!
I feel less guilty about a few treats, and I make better, healthier decisions overall!
(Weight Watchers probably has a similar effect!)

[four]

Exercise can be fun!
I have learned that there are some forms of exercise I love, and some I really don't love.
For example, I am NOT a runner...it hurts my knees, and makes me feel like my guts want to be on the outside of my body...so I avoid running, including the elliptical at the gym.
But I do love walking, biking, yoga, and dancing...these I do regularly!
I also try to go walking at the park, and not just around the neighborhood because it is so much prettier!
By finding exercise types that I really enjoy, I look forward to them...
My trips to the park or to the gym become a treat, not a burden.

[five]

You don't have to do the same thing all the time.
I used to always workout in the same way every time, and the result? I would get bored!
Duh, Anna!
Now, I do at least three different things throughout the week.
This keeps my body healthier, because I engage different muscles in different workout styles (plus!),
and it keeps my mind engaged during the activities (double plus!).



I hope some of these were helpful or encouraging to anyone out there who may be trying to move towards a healthier lifestyle.  They've really made a huge difference to me :)