Celebration of Miss Abby

Celebration of Miss Abby...Her Birthday was November 3, 2010

Noah and I decided for Abby's Birthday, she would be 2 today, that we would remember her by blogging about the things we loved about her and the ways in which she brought Joy to our lives! She was a wonderful companion for both of us!

Noah's Thoughts- In Celebration of Abby:

All can agree that a dog, or a family pet, holds a special place in the heart of most people at some point throughout their life. A testament to this are the countless books, articles, greeting cards, toys, publications, etc. all trying to cash in on the emotions that one feels or has felt about a non human friend. Therefore, the words that follow just confirm our cultures devoted attachment to a being that does an effective job communicating without saying a word. Abby, our chocolate lab, is no different and the memories that I have about her and the emotions I felt when she passed away will hopefully shed some light on the phenomenon above.

I received Abby as a gift two years ago for Christmas. Jill tried her best to keep this present a secret but I had a strong suspicion about what she was up to. The night before we were to exchange presents I had this overwhelming nervous feeling. If I were to receive a dog how was I going to take care of it? The next day came and sure enough I received a beautiful chocolate lab with a red bow around its neck. Amazingly all my nerves went away and my dog Abby was the source of overwhelming pride. Several weeks went by as we battled potty training, fleas, fear of stairs, and the vet. Throughout all these experiences I began to learn how to communicate with her and to my surprise she began to listen.

The next year and a half brought many unexpected and crazy situations and through it all Jill and I enjoyed the consistent company of an 85lbs chocolate lab. During this time she was the center of our conversation and would often respond to questions in the form of Jill’s “Abby voice" (we were convinced that if Abby could speak she would sound exactly how Jill was portraying her). In the end, our dog died doing what she loved (retrieving) and we both agree that a lack of communication (that I thought I was so good at; even dog whisperer level) was to blame. After two years we both felt semi responsible that we were unable to understand how awful Abby was feeling prior to her overheating.

Although I look back on the situation and feel extreme sadness it also identifies why, I feel, we love our pets (in our case Abby). While I was writing this it dawned on me that we (humans) will never be able to communicate with our dogs (pets) effectively. On the contrary the extreme sadness that we feel is not because we knew Abby well, but she knew us. Abby spent two years of her life earning a PHD in "Vennesology". She constantly watched us for reactions, she was watching us while we slept, she saw us to the door in the morning, and welcomed us back at night, she watched us get ready, and watched us undress. I believe that God puts dogs in our lives to fill a void that we have which is “to be known”.

Most of our pets know us better than our closest friends and on top of that they can’t spill the beans or gossip about what they know to anyone else. This is why we can let down our guard around our pets and truly be ourselves without fear of repercussion or embarrassment. It is also why it is so hard when we lose them. When was the last time someone asked you at a funeral (outside of your family) “How well did the deceased know you?” and if that question was asked could you honestly say “inside and out”. When you lose something that truly knows you, the void once filled by that object suddenly and abruptly returns.

I am thankful for the friendship, understanding, and void that Abby filled for us over the past two years. As Jill and I process what we have experienced I began to realize what Abby (dogs in general) has taught me: Slowing down, observation, and holding judgments are keys to outstanding relationships. We will miss Abby, but are confident that we will find the next PHD in Vennesology soon, and I am pretty confident that this one won’t spill the beans either.

TOP TEN THINGS WE LOVED ABOUT MISS ABBY:

10. "her Loved her sticks!"- Abby wouldn't go on a walk without one, and if she did start without one, she would pick up every stick in her path to find the perfect one-even if it was a piece of mulch!

9. She loved to cuddle on the couch with us but SHE had to be in the middle or right on top of us! :)

8. She had a bow-legged prance when retrieving sticks/balls/frisbees...it made us smile everytime!

7. Her Early Morning "wake-up Stare down sessions" to Noah....he woke up every morning to her big eyes!

6. Miss Abby loved make-up as much as Jill...she watched me put it on every morning, and always sat next to me and looked up when I got my blush out..."her wanted some too!" She also always humored my love for putting scarves on her...I have a whole collection of outfits from Miss Abby!

Even her Friends wore them when they came over:

5. Abby had an AWESOME Downward Dog Yoga Pose- we think she could've shot the cover of most yoga magazines!



4. Abby Was very afraid of the dark-early morning potty sessions always made us laugh because she would hear one little noise and run to us with her tail between her legs



3. Abby LOVED to lay on her back to sleep, play, etc- she was a very relaxed dog and we loved that about her. When She was completely exhausted I could hold her to snuggle...she was so cuddly!

2. Miss Abby LOVED WATER! If she saw it, she was in it, and she had an awesome launch off the rocks at the Dog Park at Emma Long-she had 3 favorite water holes that she would wait for us to throw a stick at!

1. The Number One thing we felt was very unique with Miss Abby was that she LITERALLY Smiled! We will forever remember walking in the door only to be greeted by a smiling dog! :)

Her was so cute!

Thank you so much to all of our friends and family who sent cards, flowers, and continue to reach out to us as we process the loss of our friend Miss Absigail! :) We love you all and hope that this blog helps all of us celebrate what a wonderful dog she was!

Love,

Noah and Jill

Happy Birthday to US!!!

This is our Birthday Song....

it doesn't last too long...

...HEY!:)

Noah and I are both another year older as I write this post! Our Birthday's are only a week apart, so it is always a crazy week of getting way to spoiled eating out for our birthday dinners and eating way too much birthday cake! By the time my birthday cake is gone, we are baking one for Noah, and then of course we must eat on that one for a week longer! :)

This year I was spoiled by Noah as he bought me a HUGE & YUMMY birthday cake...Raspberry Chocolate Ganache from Russel's Bakery!!! It was a delectable cake full of chocolate and raspberry yumminess!!! :) The cake was so rich even I could only eat a small piece...yes a small piece I know...sounds crazy for me, but it was that rich! Normally we just get a dessert at the restaraunt we dine at, but this year as I turned 28 I got my OWN cake! YAY! :) We also ate at a fun restaraunt called Zoot . The restaraunt is known for it's 3 and 5 course meals that are paired wtih wine. We decided to go all out for my birthday and get the 5 course meal, which started with mussels. I'm not a huge fan of seafood, but when they arrived, the broth smelled so good, I decided to try one....and I LOVED THEM! I guess turning 28 causes a more mature pallate! The rest of the meal was very tastey, and we went home for Birthday cake and 28 candles which although getting to be alot, I was still able to leave just one! It was a very nice day, and I enjoyed celebrating with my husband and Miss Abby!

On September 3, Noah turned the big 29 AND HOLDING! We were in MN for his friend Steve's wedding, so we celebrated upon our return home Labor Day. One of his gifts was a Cooking Class at Whole Foods called "101 Fish Cookery" which we LOVED!!

We learned how to cook (& yes I was the nerd with the camera in the class):

Lemon & Herb Poached Salmon

Mussels in White Wine Reduction
Trout Almondine (my Favorite!)

Scallops in a brown butter sauce
Let us just say, all recipes were DELICIOUS!!! We learned how to cook all 4 types of fish! The instructers would teach us one dish, we would then make the dish and eat it while they moved on to the next dish. We had a blast and would recommend this type of "date night" for anyone! You get to learn how to make a new dish AND eat it....WIN! WIN!

Things we learned from our class:

1. Fish Skin does taste like Bacon-TRY IT!


2. Adding White Wine to Butter makes a delicious sauce


3. If you add acid to a pan with meat, the meat will immediately stop cooking


4. Boiling Meat makes it TOUGH


5. Trout with skin on does not stick to a pan with Olive Oil


6. Scallops are Sticky so let them cook for about 4 min before touching


7. Having all your ingredients ready makes things run VERY Smoothly


8. Cooking Classes are FUN, FUN, FUN!!!

And of course I will not leave out the cake I made Noah for his birthday! It was a Coconut Cake that although looked fantastic, and took a lot of new cooking techniques for me to make...did not taste as good as I had hoped! The cake was a little dry which is what made it not the best, but it sure did look good! :) Noah liked it, so that was the main thing! It was filled with a custard filling and topped with buttercream frosting...very coconutty for the coconut KING!!

Unexpected Birthday Guests

Lastly, I wanted to share a little furry creature that decided to show up for Noah's Birthday in our garage!!!!! We Were on our way out to breakfast on Labor Day and I was talking as usual, but as I turned the corner in the garage, I just happened to look down only to see a HUGE Tarantula Walking Towards ME!! I screamed and I will admit, started crying because I was so grossed out and just shocked! Noah was able to get the Lovely Guest on a piece of cardboard and let it loose in the nature preserve behind our apartment. Needless to say he was nice to his birthday guest, but I'm now afraid to walk in the garage with the lights off to get to my car AND I'm always alert when I walk around that corner! I honestly never expected I would see one of those HUGE spiders in our garage, but lucky us! :)

Here is a photo of our beautiful guest:

Besides aging, and dealing with BIG SCARY SPIDERS, we are both doing well! We miss you all!

Invite Yourselves over for Fish, we'd love to try our new skills out for you! :)

Love,
Noah, Jill, Miss Abby

Summer Fun...

Tonight Noah and I had a wonderful dinner that we feel is worth sharing with our friends and family who follow our blog! As you all know, we love to cook AND we love to eat Pizza! We have decided that we may have made the BEST pizza we have ever had! :)

Technique: Grilling the Crust...

Tools Needed: A Wonderful Husband & Grill Master :)

Step 1: Placing the dough on the pizza stone & waiting...

Step 2: A beautifully grilled crust...time for the toppings Jill...

Step 3: A YUMMY & DELICIOUS PIZZA!!!So, we grilled an Apricot & Prosciutto Pizza...it was AMAZING!!We have tried this pizza before, but tonight we decided to take it to a whole new level by grilling my homemade pizza crust...if you have never grilled pizza crust on a charcoal grill we are going to give you one piece of advice: ALWAYS GRILL PIZZA CRUST...it tastes so much better. The sweetness of the apricots, mixed with the saltiness of the goat cheese and the smokey flavor of the grill was enough to make us wish we would've made 2 pizzas! Our Pepperoni pizza was good too, but after eating the Apricot & Prosciutto pizza, the pepperoni seemed boring. Noah was excited that he had tried something new on the grill and it worked out very well...he is truly a grill master! :)

After dinner we decided to take Miss Abby on a walk to play fetch. It was a really nice evening, and a walk together was so relaxing! We have some funny photos of her playing fetch that we thought we would post for you to view. She is such a good companion for Noah and I. We love her to pieces and just can't get enough of her furry and sweet chocolate love! :)

She was making us laugh quite a bit wtih her goofy ways of doing things. We took a video to share with you...

As far as our crazy lives, Noah and I have been busy with work in the past month. Noah has had to do quite a bit of traveling to the various locations he manages in Texas. While he was gone, I decided to try Bikram yoga at a studio in Austin called: Yoga Groove. The first night I tried it with my girlfriend Allison, and I loved it! Bikram yoga is basically an hour and 30 minutes of yoga in a 105 degree room. The heat of the room allows you to really stretch your muscles much better than if you were at home. Noah decided to try it with me the following night, and he really enjoyed it as well! We both did it for the rest of the week, and felt very refreshed and limber from it! We're hoping it helps Noah's back problems, and I'm just excited to get back to my flexible gymnastics days! I'm also glad to have found another great form of exercise that I enjoy besides P90X and Running all the time.

So far our summer is going by quickly, but we are enjoying every minute of it! We will post again soon...perhaps we will have another fun recipe for you to try! :)

Love and Hugs! Noah, Jill & Miss Abby

We're an Auntie and Uncle...Welcome Stanley Dale Harcey

On Friday, July 2nd, 2010 at about 10:30am, I recieved a phone call from my brother-in-law Bryce letting me know that Gina may be induced that day! I couldn't believe it! He asked me not to call my parents yet because he was going to wait until he knew for sure that she was going to be induced. I agreed to that, although secrets are so HARD for me especially when my little sister was possibly going into LABOR!! I was so excited that my hands started shaking! I didn't know what to do with myself...and I wasn't even having the baby! :)

At 12:00 Bryce called back and told me that Gina was going to for sure be induced! I was so excited, and of course called Noah to let him know that I wanted to leave Austin as soon as possible and head up to MN! Noah, like any good husband, asked when the last time my car had an oil change...when I looked up at the sticker my heart sank a tad...it was already 1,000 miles overdue! So, I quickly called Covert Ford, they said the wait was 1.5 hours, I told them that I would be there shortly! I had just finished my last appointment for the day, and I had a few expense reports to do to keep me busy while I waited for my oil change! At about 3:00 Noah called, he asked the plan...I said, "well I just got an oil change" he replied with, "what time are WE leaving!" I was so excited!!! We were headed on a road trip up to MN!!

We left at about 4PM, and started our 18 hour drive up to MN. Miss Abby was pretty excited too because she was going with us! We had a few minor traffic delays on the way up. We hit a jack-knifed 18 wheeler in Dallas and it was pretty heavy rain for most of the drive through Oklahoma. At about 11:30Pm, Noah turned the wheel over to me! I continued to drive through the night until 5am with updates from my dad.

Around 11:00Pm they broke Gina's water...I thought the baby would be out by 1:30AM...I was a little off. After getting updates of, "dialated to a 4", dialated to a 6", "she's pushing now", it ended with "she has to have a c-section"! I was so scared for my little sister, it was hard to get any sleep at all, which explains why I did only get 1 hour on the way there....very rare for me to live on that little of sleep! Noah took over around 5am with the driving, but I remained excited and awake all the way up!

We arrived at 11:00 AM to Minneapolis hospital. Greeted by my family, we went up to see Gina, Stanley, and Brycetta! To my surprise, Gina had just gotten out of her surgery, so I got to see her wheeled into her room. She looked great, but very tired! We decided to go up and see Stanley next. Stanley was up one floor from Gina, so he could be closely monitored with his blood sugars. Happy Birthday Stanley, July 3, 2010!!

When Jennie and I got upstairs to see Bryce and Stanley, my eyes shed a few tears. What a precious gift that God had blessed Bryce and Gina with! He was absolutley perfect! He had a ton of hair, cute chubby cheeks, and the sweetest little face...I loved him so much! I can't explain the feelings that came over me while I looked at Gina's little boy! It was amazing that he was just inside her belly, and now he was out in the world and breathing on his own just fine! It's such an overwhelming feeling to see your sister's baby... I think because you've been thinking about that part of your life since you were a little girl playing with dolls, and now you are holding your sister's child...what an incredible feeling...especially since he is so darn cute! :)
It was fun celebrating the fourth of July in MN! We had a slumber party at Jennie and Ryans! We ate my mom's pulled pork that was intended for the lake, but Stanley allowed his aunt and uncle from Texas to get in on the FUN of a MN fourth of July...for that he may be my favorite nephew! :) We will forever remind little Stanley that his birth was the year, and probably one of the only years, that Grandma and Grandpa Dale watched the Minneapolis Fireworks! :) For years to come, Stanley will get to have lots of FUN birthdays filled with Fireworks, 4th of July cake, sparklers, etc! What a smart little guy! :)

Gina had a speedy recovery as well as little Stanley, and both of them were able to go home today...I'm sure Bryce was so excited to have his family all at home!

Congratulations to a Beautiful couple and now a beautiful Family! This will be the first of many posts about my nephew Stanley! :)

Until we meet again....

Happy New Year...

So, I'm sad to say this blogging thing was not as successful in 2009 as I anticipated...I only posted once! Sincere apologies to those that looked forward to our blogs...2010 will be better I promise...although how can I get worse then the previous year!

Is it possible that 2009 is behind us? Noah and I can not believe how fast that year went. It was an absolutely wonderful year for us, so we thought we'd share some of the highlights with y'all!

Highlights of 2009 for the Vennes family in order:

1). Marriage on October 3, 2009! What a beautiful day that we continue to reflect back upon! From that day forward Jill realized that rain on your wedding day is a beautiful thing! Although I always thought it would be horrible to have rain on your wedding day, I can honestly say on our day I never even noticed it...I was so happy to be with all of our friends, and family and celebrating our love that it was never really on my mind, SO to all those brides out there, honestly, don't waste your time worrying about rain! :) Plus, now I have 5 really fun umbrellas!

2). Honeymoon in Hawaii: October 5-October 16!! Maui for 1 week, Kauai for 1 week! BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL!! We hiked, sunbathed, ate, slept, hiked, ate, swam, etc...not a bad way to live at all! Seriously, what a wonderful place to vacay...we hiked the mountains, swam in waterfalls, saw black sand beaches, etc!! I even ate fish while I was there...it tasted so good!

3). Hosting Our First Thanksgiving dinner with the Grandt Family! They all drove down to Texas with a bunch of our stuff, and we had a blast! It proved that you can cook a Thanksgiving dinner and have a relaxing time in a 2 bedroom apartment! We were so thankful to be able to host a holiday in Texas!

4). We find out we are going to be an Aunt and Uncle on Jill's side too!! My sister Gina is pregnant and due in JULY!!! HOORAY!!! We can't wait to put a picture of the bundle of joy in our "I love my Aunt and Uncle frames"!

5). My best friend Lindsay is pregnant with TWINS!!! So excited to be an Auntie for her too! She is due in June, but will probably have them in May!! I can't wait to find out what she is having either!

6). I'm officially Jill Vennes: I was able to change my name officially to Vennes before 2010! I'm still working on changing a few more items, however, I'm officially representing the Vennes family now...no more worries mom and dad! haha

7). Jill finds an awesome place to wash Abby, so NO MORE CLOGGED DRAINS at our house!!! YAY! Bark n' Bubbles is the way to go! http://www.barknbubblestx.com/index.php

It is a self serve dog washing facility. They provide you with the towels, tub, soap, brush, hair dryer, toothbrush, etc...it's PERFECT! And, Miss Abby-- her likes it too! :)

For those of you that haven't heard my dog voice(consider yourselves lukcy), I tend to say "her" in place of "she"-My English is really not that poor!

We are looking forward to 2010. It's already starting off well, with Miss Abby graduating to NO cage!! She has been doing well, and is enjoying her freedom to lounge on the couch throughout the day!

In 2010 we hope to blog once a month... perhaps Noah will post in February...
Until then: be safe, enjoy food, and work hard! :) MY motto in 2010! hee, hee

Jill realizes she is an ADULT...

Hello Everyone! I thought I would blog for my first time EVER! I'm a little nervous...what to write, who will read it, and the funny thing is that Noah is sleeping on the couch, so this post from "US" is all up to ME! Scary yes, but it will be good, I promise! :)

So, I celebrated my 27th Birthday on Tuesday, August 25th! It was a crazy HOT day in Texas. I had to drive to San Antonio that day, and came to the realization that I am, sadly, GETTING OLDER! How did I realize this? Well, I was in San Antonio for work, and nobody knew it was my birthday, which made the whole day seem very anti-climactic! Every time I went in a new office, the staff were either, complaining, asking questions, giving me their thoughts, but absolutely NO, "Happy Birthday Jill!" as I've experienced in the past! I had a lot of reflecting on my drive back to Austin...was it selfish of me to feel unhappy because nobody recognized this very special day to me! I finally felt it was my year to realize that I'm an ADULT...

No more taking the day off because it is, "my birthday"!

Funny story to add to this bold thought regarding my Birthday drama: I was a waitress in high school at a Perkins restaurant. I remember going to work one day, and it was one of the other servers Birthdays, and I couldn't believe she was WORKING on HER BIRTHDAY! What?! She said to me, "oh honey, when you get older, a birthday is just another day!" I was like, "UH, that will NEVER be me!" My mom and dad always made birthdays so special, so it was crazy to think that I would one day feel like this co-worker. That summer, I took my birthday off from work at Perkins, they all made fun of me...but I couldn't imagine working on MY BIRTHDAY!

...Well, on my drive back to Austin I thought about that day back in high school when that server worked on her birthday...my mouth dropped as I realized, I'm that ADULT now! I still do not believe that a birthday is just another day, however, I didn't take off on Tuesday because it was my birthday! So, yes, I'm getting older! :(

The positive note to this blog is that when I came home, I felt it was "my day!" Noah greeted me with a BEAUTIFUL bouquet of flowers, and then took me to dinner at the Melting Pot! Dinner at the Melting Pot by the way, is absolutely fabulous! It is a very fun fondue experience that takes about 2 hours to complete! We indulged in the cheese fondue, salad, broth fondue, and finished with a peanut-chocolate fondue and a champagne toast! It was PERFECT and it was NOT JUST ANOTHER DAY even though I WORKED ON MY BIRTHDAY!