Alanna Wendt to Tennessee

6/05/2008

Sydney's a Graduate!

For the past 6 weeks Sydney has been enrolled in a beginner's obedience class. Sydney's teacher, Judy Pinkevich, is the Training Director for the Greater Kingsport Kennel Club and she is awesome! She can train a dog to do anything! Over the past 6 weeks Sydney has learned sit, down, stay, come, heal (in a circle and figure 8), wait, finish, pass, shake, high five, and a few pieces of agility equipment. We also cured his little jumping "problem" in a matter of 2 minutes! Anyway, tonight was the last of the beginner's classes. For all of his hard work Judy gave Sydney a new chew toy and a lovely diploma. We're so proud of our little guy... he's growing up so fast!

We're both VERY excited to begin the advanced obedience and perhaps agility classes in the coming months!

6/02/2008

Recipe Swap

Okay... in Response to Holly's recipe challenge I thought that I would post one of my favorites--drunk chicken (a.k.a. beer butt chicken)! This is also super easy and a lot of fun to do during the summer months. Here's what you've gotta do:

1 whole chicken
salt
pepper
other favorite spices
olive oil
1 can of beer (any kind will do)
1 beer can chicken holder (optional... this can be found in the grilling section at any Walmart)

Rinse the chicken inside and out, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt, pepper, and any other favorite seasonings. Rinse the beer can, open it, and drink half!!! Place the can with the remainder of the beer inside the chicken (that's right... up the butt). Stand the chicken upright on the grill and cook until the internal temperature is at least 180 degrees. Remove the beer can using tongs and oven mits. The yeast in the beer will help to make the skin crispy while keeping the meat moist. Enjoy!

5/30/2008

Bears... Oh My!

So, this past Sunday morning I discovered that BOTH of the birdfeeders in the back yard had been completely destroyed. That's right... DESTROYED! One of them had been pulled off of the rope that it hung on and the square metal frame was bent. Craig, even with the help of his massive muscles, couldn't bend it back into shape. The other feeder which consisted of a hard plastic cylinder and a tray to catch the seeds at the bottom, had been smashed. Two of the perches had been broken off and the tray which was screwed into the bottom of the cylinder had been torn off. Needless to say I was very confused... what kind of bird or squirrel would have done this kind of damage.

Craig immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was some wild teenager with nothing better to do now that school's out for summer... I swear he's slowly truning into a grumpy old man. I insisted that it probably wasn't a kid and that it was likely a racoon or some other type of animal. A couple of days later I was talking to a neighbor about what had happened and she told me that there have been at least FOUR black bear sightings in the neighborhood over the last couple of weeks! My neighbor said that one of her friends who lives on the other side of the neighborhood had had three birdfeeders destroyed and that the bear had even been seen coming onto someone's back porch looking for food. Within the past two days I have heard MULTIPLE radio and TV reports about the increase in bear sightings in the area. These reports also advised that people refrain from leaving food or garbage outdoors and to also hang birdfeeders high out of the bears' reach. There was even an article about the bear sightings in our neighborhood in today's paper. So, I guess this is for real... I knew I was moving to the mountains when I came to Tennessee, but I don't remember agreeing to the whole bears in the backyard thing! Who would have thought?!?

5/26/2008

Memorial Day Fun!

There's nothing quite like a long weekend this time of year... especially if you spend it on the water! Craig and I took Sydney for his first kayak adventure this weekend. We decided to paddle around on the Holston River next to our neighborhood... just in case Sydney didn't adapt well and we had to take him home. Fortunately, Sydney seemed to take to it like a duck to water!

Sydney started out in Craig's kayak, but before they got 20 ft. from the shore he jumped out and swam to my kayak. So, he rode the rest of the way with me. He was a little nervous about the ride at first, but he eventually settled down. He clumsily fell out 3 times after he lost his balance trying to lean over the side. Of course as soon as he climbed back into my kayak he shook off... hence my clothes are soaked in all of the pictures.

We stopped at an island in the middle of the river to rest and let Sydney explore. He seemed to really enjoy himself. We had a great time and I think that Sydney will eventually become a pro at the whole kayak thing!

A Night at the Movies!

Craig and I decided to go see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull last night. I was a HUGE Indy fan when I was a kid... which is part of what sparked my brief interest in becoming an anthropologist/archaeologist during college. I'm sure we all went through stages like this. Anyway, we both gave the movie two thumbs up! It was the same Indy humor and adventure that we loved from the first three films... just with better special effects. We highly recommend this movie to any other Indiana Jones fans or to anyone who is just looking for a fun night at the movies.

5/11/2008

Happy Birthday Erin!

Saturday Craig and I went out with my sister Erin and a group of her friends to celebrate her 27th birthday. We went to Buckhead Saloon, my sister's favorite bar in downtown Charlotte. Happy birthday Sissy!

5/04/2008

A Night at the Orange Peel!

Craig and I spent Friday night in Asheville. We drove in for a show at the Orange Peel... a really cool music venue in downtown. Josh Ritter, one of our favorite singer/songwriters, was performing. Ingrid Michaelson was the opening act... you may recognize her song from the Old Navy sweater commercial. The music and performances for both groups were awesome! The Orange Peel was a really cool place, which added to the total experience. We had such a great time! Here are a few pictures and clips from the show.