What's going on

• I read Two Kisses for Maddy by Matt Logelin in less than 24 hours.  Obviously that means you should go buy it and do the same (you can take more than 24 hours if you have a life unlike me).  I'm also in the middle of two other books but about to start reading Black Heels to Tractor Wheels by Ree Drummond.  I already knew a lot of Matt's story, as I'm a long time blog reader and supporter of the Liz Logelin Foundation, but the book had me laughing, crying, laughing and crying again.  Maybe because I understand the pain of loss but know enough to know that I have no idea what it's like to lose the love of your life, but my heart literally hurts when I think about him losing Liz just a short day and three hours after they welcomed their precious daughter into this world.  But, the story is so poignant and well written, if you don't mind some well placed f-bombs and other choice words.  Much to my chagrin, I have more of a potty mouth than I'd like to admit (I try not to, but they just come out), so needless to say, I am not offended.  Especially when he says, "This f*&%ing sucks," in reference to giving his wife's eulogy.  To that I say, "Amen."
• I have been sick since Sunday and ran a fever for three days.  I don't know the last time I ran a fever for that long, and for that, I am thankful.  I hate being sick.  And, I think I make it worse because I can't just rest if I'm not totally wiped out.  Yesterday, I vacuumed and cooked.  And today, I washed the dogs and cooked.  But, at least I also went to the doctor today and got some antibiotics.
• I'm sitting here watching the weather because there are some major storms coming through.  Doesn't look like my immediate area is going to see the wrath of it, but north and south of us are getting hammered.
• I've got some big decisions to make on the job front by the end of the week, and I'm feeling a bit of anxiety about what to do.  I'd prefer not to put anything out there in the blogosphere right now, but if you wouldn't mind saying a little prayer that I'll get the sign I'm asking for or make the right decision, I would appreciate it.  I will share more once decisions have been made.  But, I'm ready to be back in the workforce!
• We had a lovely Easter weekend.  Good Friday dinner with family in the 'burbs, Madelyn's 2nd birthday party on Saturday (she was so cute... I'd share pics but her mommy hasn't yet so I'll save that for her), and a good Easter service followed by brunch with friends on Sunday.  Then Matt and I came home and I laid down for awhile (this is when I started to get sick) while he smoked a beer can chicken (but our own au jus instead of beer) and wings.  We had that with sweet potato fries and tomato, basil and mozzarella.  I love having a husband who can cook.
• And with that, I'm off to tend to my thunder-phobic golden.  She's such a wimp but I love that she feels the need to cuddle with me when there are storms, especially when I'm still awake as opposed to being woken by her face in mine, panting furiously.

Good Friday

When you say "TGIF" today, it has extra special meaning.  Maybe it should be "TGIGF".  And, for real, right?  Thank God that He sent his Son to die for our sins so that we can have everlasting life.  I don't even have kids yet, but I cannot imagine sending my child to die for humans, who are so flawed when He is perfect.  But, He did it willingly and out of His incomparable love for us.

   ¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
   ¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”
John 10:11-18 

Old is the New New

So, maybe it's not the new new... maybe old is the old new.  But, I like old.  And, I like new.  So, I took some old and new and voila, a masterpiece new dresser!  (Please pardon the iPhone pictures... I will take some good ones once I have it "staged" so you can see it in the room.)

Exhibit A: an authentic mid-century (we think late 40's/early 50's) Broyhill dresser

The dresser has dovetailed drawers that are also lined in cedar, is solid wood with a thick wood veneer (not like you see today) and all the drawers worked great.  It had some minor damage, including stains and chips and cracks in the veneer, but no matter since I was painting it anyway.  Oh, and I got it off Craig's list.

 

The first thing I did was remove the drawer hardware (which I'm going to sell on eBay... holler if you're interested in some authentic mid-century drawer pulls... I have 12) and sand all of the surfaces with a hand-sander and 150-grit sandpaper (I believe... may have been a little lower grit than that).  I just wanted to rough it up a bit and remove any stickiness or debris from the dresser.  Then I cleaned it very well to remove all of the dust from sanding and many, many years of use (the amount of regular dust and wood dust from sliding the drawers inside of that thing was impressive).  

Once it was clean, I used Elmer's wood filler to fill in the extra holes left by the old drawer hardware (they used two screws and the ring pulls I got only needed one), the "cracks" down the middle of each dresser since I wanted a flat front, and any imperfections in the veneer.  Let it dry, sand, apply more wood filler as needed, rinse and repeat.  Once I felt like everything was smooth (and fully dry), I began priming using Zinsser oil based primer, since I knew it would stick to the veneer.  I added Penetrol to the primer to help it go on smoothly and used a combination of a good Purdy brush and foam roller.  I still had issues with it going on smoothly, but I sanded with 220-grit sand paper in between coats.

Once the primer was dry, I began painting.  I used Benjamin Moore slate teal in semi gloss latex, as it was a close match to the blue I wanted to pull from the zig-zag fabric on my grandma's old cane back chairs and it also compliments the light blue-grays in the room.  I actually had them mix it at 125% saturation, because I wanted it to be a little richer than the swatch.  There was a more navy blue color above it on the swatch (I think it was called twilight), and I wanted to do 50/50 of those colors, but that wasn't possible without buying a quart of each, which was just too much paint.  I should have gotten Floetrol to add to to paint, as I had a lot of issues getting the paint to go on smoothly.  Latex paint just dries too quickly, so it was tough.  Unfortunately, I had to give up here, because I had a friend coming in town and couldn't spend any more time on it.

Exhibit B: the new old dresser with burnished bronze ring pulls from Lee Valley

 

At some point, I will sand everything back down with fine sand paper, add Floetrol to my paint and try to get a smooth coat, but it's actually not noticeable in the room (outside, the brush strokes were glaring).  After that, I will add a low/no-VOC clear coat, such as Acrylacq to give it some sheen and wipe-able protection (and so I can bring it back in the room and not suffer through the fumes, even though I secretly like the way they smell).  Although the above picture is not a very accurate depiction of the color, you get the idea.  More pictures when it's really done!

Life with dogs...

... is great. And fun. And a little bit of work. And sometimes expensive. And involves a LOT of cleaning floors. But, I wouldn't trade them for the world.

I am that person. I love my dogs. I show pictures of them on my phone to friends.  Probably strangers too.  And to the interwebs via facebook and the blogosphere.  I mean, that's what it's all about anyway, right?

So, it has been approximately four and a half months since we adopted Max and Maddie, and I think they're pretty well settled in to life with us. They have such different personalities but have captured our hearts in their own ways.

Max (or Maxy-boo, punk or Max the Million) is a big, goofy lover. He is so excited to see someone new, whether us coming home or guests, and lets you know. If we had renamed them, I think we would have named him Chewbacca, because he makes this "moaning" noise when he's super excited that is reminiscent of the big, furry guy from Star Wars. He just wants your love and affection and will push his sister (or anyone, for that matter) out of his way to get it. He's a big time licker, and we're trying to work on that, but it's tough to break a life long habit when he doesn't understand what we're telling him not to do. He also has some ear issues and we can't decide if it's a nervous reaction or they legitimately bother him (he hasn't had an ear infection since we've had him, but they get so swollen from him scratching them... we don't know why he goes after them like he does... I think it's just a vicious cycle, but we have tons of ear stuff to try to soothe them). I think I get him more than Matt, so he and I have a special bond.

Maddie (or Maddie girl, Maddie Belle (I decided that Belle is her middle name), princess, or pumpkin) is our sweet, smart, manipulative, beautiful girl. Everything a girl should be, truly. She really is so smart and conniving and knows how to get what she wants, especially from her daddy. (Yes, we call ourselves mommy and daddy when speaking of the dogs.) She would pick Matt over me any day of the week, unless I had a treat. In fact, I was outside brushing them the other day (for like the third time in 24 hours because our house looked like a dog salon, with all the hair everywhere) and even though these dogs LOVE to be brushed, she was standing at the back door looking inside for Matt and wouldn't come when I called her. To say that he loves that would be an understatement. ;) Maddie is really everything that Max isn't. She doesn't get nearly excited or worked up over things and is much smarter, gentler and the troublemaker of the two. It's like a movie where you have an impressionable goofy kid who hangs out with the troublemaker and follows what he/she does... that's Max and Maddie. And, when I say trouble, it's not much... getting into the trash once, sitting on the couch when we're not home (think we broke that habit), tearing up her bed or blanket (thankfully, nothing that isn't for them, but I'm a bit upset at the condition of their LL Bean beds!). One of the best things about Maddie is that she's a champion cuddler... we don't let them sleep with us, but if we did, she would be a good one to sleep with. Plus, she's so soft.  We've also found over the last few weeks as we've gotten some thunderstorms that Maddie has thunderphobia, which is common for goldens.  She's not totally crazy like some are, but she shakes like a leaf and pants like a fool.  Last night, I was watching the last parts of Mildred Pierce on the couch when the storms came through, and I was trying to comfort her by giving her lots of pets and affection... she jumped right into my lap on the couch.  It was hilarious and I let her stay there in my arms like a child, because the poor thing was shaking so badly!  They no longer sleep in crates (I love the way my room looks with those things gone), so I'll wait for the day that another night t-storm rolls through and she ends up in bed with us.  Money says Matt won't kick her out.  ;)

I can't imagine why their previous owners would have given them up, but I'm glad they made their way to us. Life is crazier, dirtier, more planned, more expensive and better than it was before dogs.

Spooning

After the Shamrock 'n Roll 5K

What happens when Max's tail hits the wall...

Love for Yoforia runs in the family

Typical.

Auburn fans (duck and elephant)?  I think not.  Guess we should get them a bulldog toy to tear up.  ;)

Like Whoa

I have a lot to say and not much at the same time.  So, bullet points it is.

• Unemployment budget is in full force.  My car was FILTHY, so instead of taking it to the ol' they-do-it-for-me-and-I-like-to-watch-it-go-through-the-car-wash place, I went to one of those DIY places.  Took me forever, but I'll be darned if that ain't one clean car, practically detailed for about $6.00.  I could have done it at home, but I really needed a heavy duty vacuum to get the copious amounts of dog hair out of the way-way.
• Speaking of copious amounts of dog hair, my dogs are definitely shedding their winter coats.  We bathed them on Monday then gave them a good brushing.  I vacuumed the house.  Yesterday, there was hair all over.  I cleaned most of it up.  Matt brushed them again.  Today was way worse!  Unreal.  But, I do love them so.  Little lickers.
• Back to the car wash... I somehow left my driver side floor mat and it was still there today.  Yay.
• It is the week of the job.  All of a sudden, I have a couple of things in real estate that are promising.  And, maybe something in med device, but I won't get my hopes up on that one.
• I had to turn down an opportunity to go help do Bod Pod testing for the Clemson football team next week, because one of my best friends, Kelly, will be in town from California.  She's worth it, but barely.  You have to be darn near naked for the test, and I wouldn't mind seeing a bunch of football players, even the big dudes, get tested all day.  No siree.
• We went to Raleigh for one of Matt's best friend's wedding this weekend.  Let's just say there was not a lot of paleo activities going on, and Matt and I are not what we used to be.  Thankfully, I got to sleep in the day after we got back but he suffered through the day.

He's so handsome.

The boys.  Three of these guys were Matt's groomsman and the other is a really good friend.

Well, that's about it. I don't even know why I bothered writing any of this profound information, but I did. So, yeah.

Paleo Cake?

Yes, you can make a "paleo" version of cake.  Since my birthday is tomorrow and we had dinner guests last night, I decided to try a cake for dessert, knowing I'd have leftovers to eat on my birthday (and for breakfast and a snack until it is gone).  I went to one of my favorite paleo/primal websites, The Food Lovers Primal Palate, and found this lovely recipe for a dark chocolate coconut cake with dark chocolate ganache.  I do not miss grains or sugar eating this cake.  It was so good, even my guests had seconds and they are not paleo freaks like me!  You honestly would not know that this cake doesn't have grains or sugar (well, technically there is sugar in the chocolate chips, but not compared to conventional).

Some comments on the recipe:
-I used almond butter instead of hazelnuts in the middle.  I thought the directions were a bit weird in that it had you refrigerate the frosting, but I did it anyway.  I'm guessing you're only supposed to refrigerate it long enough to thicken it a bit, but I ended up having to melt it again over a double broiler.  Next time, I'd just go ahead and let it cool a bit on the counter then frost my layers.  It's still "slick", so you could hold the layers together with toothpicks and refrigerate the cake for a little bit to harden the frosting.
-This cake would be great if you added fruit to the middle... like strawberries.  Yum.
-The ganache didn't harden very quickly for me, so I refrigerated the cake for a little bit to harden it.
-I added halved strawberries to the top of the cake.  Very good.  And pretty.  But, I don't have a picture.  I will take one when I have a slice after dinner and post.  :)

Do yourselves a favor and check out their blog.  Lots of delicious recipes!

ETA: the pic... not a great one (or a perfect piece of cake) but delicious... that's organic whipped heavy cream on there, you know, because it needed a little something extra.  ;)

Dilemma

I have a problem that's not really a problem.  My clothes don't fit.  They are almost all too big.  Since up until a week or so ago, I was pretty much wearing the two pair of jeans I live in, which both still fit pretty well (especially after coming out of the dryer... I never used to dry my jeans and rarely even washed them).  Now that it's getting warmer, and I have had a few reasons to wear "work" pants, holy-incredible-shrinking-woman-Batman!  I cannot wear several of my work pants, because they are ginormous.  My shorts that used to fit or be too small, mind you I rarely wore shorts before because I didn't like the way my legs looked in them, are too big.  Mostly still wearable, but too big.  Skirts that fit or were a little snug are now too big or fit nicely.

I am not trying to brag.  It's amazing what a Paleo diet will do for your body.  It takes self control, and sure I do bust my butt a few times per week doing CrossFit, but this hasn't been hard (once I got through the first two weeks).  There's nothing to really brag about.  I tell you all this, because herein lies the problem... I am unemployed.  And the impending end of my severance and start of unemployment means that the budget does not provide for clothes shopping.  And, isn't one of the best things about losing weight getting to revamp your wardrobe!?  I think so.  It's not like we're broke by any means, but we don't want to eat into our savings unless we come across an emergency expenditure, so we're going to just make it work until I find something new.  Plus, shopping motivation is good motivation.  Job=money=new clothes.  See how that works?

P.S.  If you know of any medical device sales jobs in Atlanta, let me know.  I need to get myself in front of the folks that hire, because I don't think a commercial real estate resume is going to help me find something via medreps.com.  Somehow, I don't think complex debt structures, asset management and financial analysis are the searchable words they're looking for to sell an implantable device.  But, I'll be damned if I can't sell myself to them in person!  ;)

Just Stuff

I'm in a bullet point mood again...

• It was SO good to see Lindsay and (finally) meet Brandon, and of course to get my hands on little Tristan.  He is an angel baby.  Seriously.  Not even a month old, and he was SO.SO.SO.GOOD.
• A little back story, because I love these stories... Brandon has faced three battles with cancer.  He was diagnosed with testicular cancer when he was 22 or 23.  Went into remission.  Yay.  Meets Lindsay.  They get engaged.  Cancer comes back.  Boo hiss.  Lots of crazy treatment like stem cell transplants and high dose chemo.  Lots of prayer.  Cancer seems to be gone.  They get married.  Doctors tell him that he has less than a five percent chance of being able to procreate due to the chemo.  Lindsay and Brandon choose to trust God and His plan for their family.  Lindsay gets pregnant.  Holy crap!  What a miracle.  Cancer comes back.  Cancer sucks.  Doctors tell Brandon that this is going to kill him.  Brandon says, "Nothing in my heart leads me to believe that I'm going to do anything but get better."  Lots and lots of prayer again.  Some treatments and surgeries.  The Hallelujah diet.  Lindsay finds out baby B is a boy (we ALL swore she was having a girl... seriously, everyone thought it was a girl).  Today, Brandon is cancer free and has a beautiful, strong, loving wife and a sweet, precious baby boy.  God listens.  I wish I could go into even more detail, but suffice it to say that it has been one heck of a ride.  God was always with them, just as He is always with all of us through the good and the bad.  And, even when His Plan is so hard to understand, His Plan is always right, and I fully believe that it all makes sense at some point in our lives.  Praise the Lord for His Grace!
• I also got to spend time with Jenn, Madelyn and Baby M on Saturday, since they came up to see the B fam.  Jenn got the thumbs up last week and again yesterday to fully share the news that Baby #2 is on its way and due in September!  I seriously could not be more thrilled, and although I will love him/her no matter what, I really hope it's a boy.  :)  I've been on a baby boy kick lately.  Madelyn is going to be such a good big sister.  She is such a doll face.  I love watching Matt with her, because he thinks she's the bee's knees.  Ladies, is seeing your husband be sweet with a child not the most heart warming thing ever?  He'll be such a good daddy... one day.  ;)
• My nephew, James, is a stud.  So is Brody.  But, see below for example A of James' studliness.  Mind you, he is 5 and this is actually t-ball.  Proceed to 0:25 and make sure your volume is down, and then please ignore my mom's yelling... she lost her crap.
•  
• Still on the bandwagon with paleo eating.  I've added in some dairy (heavy cream in my morning coffee, cheese when it adds to a dish but not just because) and I'm drinking again, but I don't drink a ton anyway.  I'm trying to keep it to the weekend or social situations.  I rarely have a drink during the week, just because.  I can definitely tell a difference when I do cheat (like after having a calzone and beer on Friday night), but I certainly don't think I've gained any fat.  So, it's definitely possible to do a modified version of paleo, so long as you keep it in check.  Aim for full compliance with the realization that you likely will not achieve it 100% of the time.  I probably only ate two or three cheat meals last week.  Generally, if I can stick to paleo (+ booze), I do.  I really had no good choices on Friday night, but the calzone was darn good.
• The 5K was a lot of fun!  It doesn't have an individual chip start, so I have no idea what my time was.  Maddie and I finished at 34:32, but I don't know how much time had elapsed when we started, since we were in the back of the pack with the strollers and dogs.  I also had to stop for her to poop, pick up her poop (thankfully I had a bag), toss it, walk so I could take off my jacket and then I walked for a little bit somewhere around 2 miles because I got super dizzy for some reason.  When we were running, it was definitely at a good pace (for me).  I think if I'd never stopped, I would have been around 26-27 minutes, but with the short stops, I think we were probably around 30 minutes.  Now, I'm itching to run one by myself so I can maneuver through the crowds better and keep pace.  Besides the bout of dizziness after mile 2 was completed, I felt really good and strong.  I ran it in 27 something last time I ran this race, and I know I was running stronger and faster this time.  Oh, and we lost Matt and Max early on, because they were too slow for us.  ;)

• And, scene.  Back to "work."

This Thursday's Thoughts

How's that for alliteration?

• CrossFit ain't for sissies.  Yesterday, we did the Nasty Girls WOD (for those of you non-CFers, which is most of you... 3 rounds for time: 50 air squats, 7 muscle ups (modified, since I don't have a muscle up - 7 fake MUs and 7 pullups, 10 hang power cleans (@85lbs).  A) I am so sore today.  B) I have bruises dotting (literally) the front of my thighs from the hang power cleans. I really use my hips, which causes my legs to hit the bar (that weighs 85lbs) as I power it from the hang position to my shoulders.  Also, when you lower the weight for a new rep, it often smacks your legs.  And, I used my legs as a "resting place" to fix my grip.  All that to say, my legs look like h-e-doublehockeysticks.
• I want to go skiing again.  Those bruises are pretty too.  Let's just say sliding down a pile of rocks leaves a mark.  But, I still want to go skiing again.
• I am doing some contract work right now, and it's really cramping my (f)unemployment style.  Very happy for the income, though.  And, it's from home and at my own pace.  So, yeah.  No complaints.
• One of my best friends from college is coming in town for a night this weekend with her husband and month old baby boy, Tristan.  So excited.  Sadly, we have not seen each other in well over three years.  I refuse to figure out how long it's been, because it's been too long.  They are driving back home from her inlaw's in south Georgia, so I'm so glad they are stopping here to break up the drive.
• Matt and I are running a 5K this weekend with the dogs.  I can't tell you the last time I ran 3.1 miles.  But, I can run a mile, then do 100 pullups-200 pushups-300 squats, then run another mile.  So, I'm hoping I can run the whole thing.  I'm taking Maddie, because she's faster.  And, although Matt is typically a better runner than I, he hasn't run in forever, so I'm leaving him in the dust with the slow dog.  ;)
• I will no longer put a timeline on the Paleo blog.  Let's just say I have a backlog of posts and recipes, but I haven't found enough time to sit down and get it going.  I do have someone to do a semi-custom blog design (I need to find a wordpress template to use first), so maybe sooner than later.
• I started my LLC, so I can cross something else off my (f)unemployment to do list.
• I am pretty sure I want to go into medical device sales, preferably surgical/implantable devices.  I had an interview with a real estate company and for a job that theoretically would be what I want.  And, I was less than excited.  A sign?  We'll see.
• I won the Lockdown for the ladies.  I edited my last paleo related post to add that, but most of you probably didn't see it.  They were going to award 1st - 3rd place, but since no women would have placed (I hate guys and their fat burning/muscle gaining abilities), they decided to do 1st and 2nd for men and women.  I got $250.  Yeah!
• Alright, back to the grind.  I know, I know.

Carving up the Powder

I've been MIA... out in Utah skiing with my handsome husband!  And, I got to see my Utah family, which was definitely the highlight of my trip, although not enough time (there never is!).  They were wonderful hosts (must run in the family, as my Gram is "the hostess with the mostest") and even had special paleo food for me!  Looooved it.  (As a side note, it's amazing how people will go out of their way to support your dietary choices and lifestyle).  I didn't take any photos with the family, but photos were taken, so I'll have to get those (hint hint to those of you reading).  :)  We did, however, take lots of photos on the slopes.

We arrived in SLC on Saturday and stayed that night with the family.  On Sunday, we spent our first of three days skiing Deer Valley.  Wow.  The service there is impeccable.  It was great skiing, but not our favorite (Breckenridge wins of the places we've visited), but everyone is just so nice, including the clientele.  We even shared a bench with Weird Al Yankovic in the locker area (besides the hair, not so weird and quite nice).  Random!  They have maps and tissues as you get on each lift, mountain hosts everywhere, and even the lift operators were super friendly.  The grooming was awesome, especially in the morning.  We found some great runs, and I did several blacks.  Matt is much more adventurous than I, and he even conquered a bowl.  I think we did pretty much every blue run they had, many of the double blues, and a few blacks (no moguls for me).  I tried moguls once and I wasn't feeling it (I've done them before), so that was the end of that.  I prefer flat surfaces or a few bumps where you can catch a little air, but I'm just not good enough in my turns for tight moguls, not to mention my ski set up wasn't great for them either.  In hindsight, we should've skied two days at Deer Valley and a day at Park City, because we'd done everything we wanted to in two days at Deer Valley, but still enjoyed our last day there (must have because we skied from open to close!).  My favorite runs were Tycoon (I did the whole thing without stopping once and it's a long double blue, so my legs were feeling it at the bottom!), Jordanelle, Magnet and Big Stick.  I like long runs, and those were all pretty long and challenging.

We haven't been skiing in three years, and last time we skied we decided that we wouldn't do it again without a helmet.  It's just not worth it, especially when you like to get into the trees like we do (and when you witness a friend take a bad fall... thankfully, he was okay but he smacked his head pretty hard on the snow).  Well, three years ago, I'd say less than half of the skiers had helmets.  This trip, I'd say at least 90% were wearing helmets!  I thought that was awesome.  Even if you're a safe or accomplished skier, you just never know what could happen or if someone else could take you out.  I also found the helmet to be very comfortable and warm (we bought our own).  Matt even got one with the audio set up, so he jammed out very comfortably.  I also listened to my iPod, but it's not as comfortable with earbuds.

We kept it pretty low key as far as food.  Our condo (free thanks to an attorney I used to do a lot of work with) was in Kimball Junction, so we grabbed quick Mexican one night and Whole Foods another.  We had sushi at Oishi, which was pretty good, and met my aunt and uncle at Davanza's for some decidedly non-paleo grub our last night.  I had pizza and it was good.  :)  I was able to eat mostly paleo (plus dairy) while there (minus drinking), but I didn't focus too much on it.  It's amazing how I naturally gravitate toward paleo dishes though.  When I didn't eat paleo, I tried to stay away from gluten (except the pizza and bread pudding we had for dessert one night).  On the mountain, we had chili and cappuccino lunches at Cushing's Cabin.  We spent one day walking around PC and visiting the Olympic Training Center/Museum and had lunch that day at Bar Boheme, under Easy Street Brasserie.  I had a salmon BLT+A (avocado) with no bread and sauteed spinach, and it was delicious. Matt had French onion soup and a salad, and we both had delicious Bloody Marys.  I would definitely recommend lunch or dinner there.  I also bought the dogs some ridiculously overpriced venison and turkey jerky from a pet boutique, but I missed them and figured I'd have to buy their love after leaving them for that long.  Needless to say, they were VERY excited to see us and go home.

We had a great time, and on our way home, Matt asked where we were going on our next vacation.  Ha!  I need to generate some income before we start thinking about that.  Talk about working to live, right?  We're definitely not folks that live to work.