Aaaachoo!

That’s the noise that can be heard when I get around a fluffy kitty or a long-haired dog.

Achoo!

Allergies = no fun!

Do you have allergies?

Being the huge animal lover that I am, I find allergies especially annoying. I hate that I have to walk past kitties that are up for adoption because of my drippy nose and itchy eyes. (Yes, I do know that there are allergy shots out there, but I have a seriously intense fear of needles.)

When Ryan and I decided we wanted a dog a couple of years ago, we began scowering the internet for hypoallergenic breeds.

I loved the cockapoo (cocker spaniel + poodle) and the labradoodle (labrador retriever + poodle), but Ryan wasn’t sold on “fluffy” (and, therefore, “girly”) dogs.

Cockapoo Puppy

(How stinkin’ cute is that cockapoo puppy!?)

We randomly stumbled across Sadie’s breed, the vizsla, and read that they do not have an undercoat, which makes them great for many people with allergies (HOORAY!), though they are not technically hypoallergenic. After doing additional research (and lots of it) we decided a vizsla was the dog for us!

"I don't got no undercoat! Woop! Woop!"

With Our Sniffle-Free Girl

Do you own a hypoallergenic pet?

If you’re in the market for a new furry (or not-so-furry) friend, click here to read about 15 different hypoallergenic dogs and cats (Yes, cats!) on Health.com.

If you decide on a certain breed, definitely look into rescuing a pup! After getting Sadie, our eyes were opened to all the different vizsla-specific rescue organizations out there. It seems like there’s a rescue group out there for nearly every breed.

Aaaand on to DINNER! 😀

Dinner

I was a bad dinner planner and forgot to put the ground turkey in the crock pot for turkey tacos tonight.

Oops!

This ended up being a blessing in disguise, because the lean ground beef we had in the fridge was about to expire, so I used that in place of the turkey in tonight’s tacos.

Lean Ground Beef

I haven’t made tacos with lean ground beef in forever! They reminded me of taco day in junior high school, but in a good and healthier way.

I ate two hard shell tacos (and one of Ryan’s soft tortillas), as well as a huge plate of taco salad.

Taco Time

Dos Tacos

I’m off to call my friend Michaela who took her optometry boards last week. She’s gonna be a real docta! 😉 I can’t believe my friends from elementary school are teachers and nearly doctors already! Phew!

Striiiike

Phew!

I feel like I’ve been on the move all day! It feels good to finally be at home. 🙂

Lunch

After a nice, long shower following this morning’s 10k race, my tummy started rumblin’ again.

I boiled some water to make pasta while roasting asparagus in the oven and steaming broccoli in the microwave. I had all the appliances in use!

I knew I needed a lunch with staying power since we were going to be bowling from 1 to 4 p.m. Pasta with veggies seemed like a great option.

Lunch

Noodles + Broccoli + Sauce + Cheese

Yum

Afternoon Bowling

After inhaling lunch, Ryan and I headed to Boardwalk Bowl for an afternoon of bowling to raise money for Junior Achievement with his coworkers.

Couple o' Bowlers

Our team was a fun one! Ryan and his buddy Rob were quite the bowlers and were neck-in-neck throughout the first game.

Ryan got three strikes in a row (a turkey!) and just barely nudged him out for the win. It was a lot of fun to watch!

Ryan, Me, Katie & Rob

 

Top Notch Bowlers

Bowl Baby Bowl

Ryan and His Winning Score

Our friend Katie was also a big winner… She won the top pirze for the worst score in the first round (a 43 in case you were wondering). As a former winner of this prize, I was especially proud of her.

Katie the Big Winner & Me

A little after 4 p.m., greasy bowling alley food was brought out for us to snack on.

Bowling Alley Food

I was pretty hungry but knew Ryan and I had plans to head out for a date night right after bowling, so I limited my snacking to a couple of pigs in a blanket and a chicken finger.

Date Night

We left about 30 minutes later and headed right to Paco’s, a small Mexican restaurant we’ve heard great things about.

Da Suuun!

Whenever we’ve driven by Paco’s, the parking lot is packed and now we know why!

Paco's

What to get... What to get...

Within five minutes of our waiter bringing chips and homemade salsa to our table, they were gooone!

Chips and Salsa

Our food was delivered to our table very quickly, which was wonderful because I was hungry!

Enchiladas

Chicken Tacos

I downed the chicken tacos like it was my job and had several bites of Ryan’s enchiladas. Tasty!

Dessert

After dinner, we headed home to our energetic puppy.

Since it wasn’t quite dark outside yet, we took her on a 40 minute walk around the lake by our apartment to let our dinner digest a bit before heading out for dessert.

Dessert = McDonald’s shamrock shakes!!!

Shamrock Shake

I love milkhakes and McDonald’s makes a mean shake!

My McDonald’s shake flavor rankings are as follows:

1. Strawberry shake
2. Shamrock shake
3. Chocolate
4. Pumpkin shake
5. Eggnog shake

I drank a big diet coke while we were bowling today and I think it triggered my sweet tooth so the shamrock shake hit the spot! 

I’ve read a lot of articles about diet soda and I don’t drink it often. I definitely think it makes me want sugary foods… Something about the sweetness of the soda sets me off!

Do you drink diet soda?

Manly Man

Ryan and his friends have an ongoing list of things a guy can’t do and still manage to look like a manly man. Today I witnessed a good one to add to his list: A guy cannot walk a yorkie or a maltese and look like a manly man.

Puppies!

While on my walk with Sadie, I saw a guy walking not only a fluffly little maltese, but he had one of those leash dividers and was also walking a yorkie. So long masculinity! 🙂

Just in case you’re curious, here’s Ryan’s ongoing list of things guys cannot do without looking like a girly-man:

1. Put on chapstick
2. Wear a fanny pack
3. Take a step aerobics class
4. Drink out of a straw
5. Ride on the back of a motorcycle or a scooter (especially when driven by another man)
6. Drive a Smart Car
7. Drive a bug
8. Drink a drink with an umbrella in it 

Can you think of any more?

Sadie and I worked up quite an appetite on our evening walk and I was ready to warm up with a delicious dinner of crock pot chicken tacos by the time we got back to our apartment.

Fortunately Ryan walked in about 10 minutes after us (he had to work late) and we each fixed ourselves a plate of tacos… one hard shell and one soft shell.

Taco, Taco

Ole!

One More Time...

Delish!

Now I’m off to split an ice cream Snickers bar with my love-ah! 🙂 They’re so stinkin’ delicious.

Ole!

There was a two month period when Ryan and I would eat tacos at least one time a week. We became a little obsessed with the ease of crock pot chicken tacos and made the yummy meal over and over again.

What meal do you make over and over again?

After a brief hiatus, the tacos made a return last Friday, and we were reminded of how tasty those lil’ tortilla and hard shell delights really are.

Tonight tacos made another appearance and were just as delicious as ever!

I opted for a ginormous taco salad tonight consisting of taco-seasoned chicken, shredded ice berg lettuce, a sliced plum tomato, salsa and two crumbled hard shell tacos.

Taco Salad

Fiesta for my Mouth

Stirred Up

Olé!

After dinner, I had a couple small handfulls of glazed pecans for dessert. Pecans are my favorite nut and when they’re glazed, they taste that much better. Get in mah belly!

Glazed Pecans

Ryan will enjoy his dinner and dessert after his soccer game tonight. Cross your fingers for a win!

I’m off to catch up with some of my girlfriends via the ol’ cell phone before settling down to read Wicked and hanging out with Ryan when he gets back.

F-R-I-D-A-Y tomorrow! Woop, woop!

Dinner Guests

Tonight we had guests for dinner… my parents!  

Me and my Parents (and Sadie)

Ryan, Me & the Pup

They stopped by our apartment en route to St. Pete from Jacksonville and we enjoyed a tasty dinner of slow cooker chicken tacos.

Taco Toppers

My Taco Plate

I inhaled these tacos and went back for another plate full of taco salad.

Do you prefer hard shell or soft shell tacos?

I’m a hard shell girl… but I feel like I’m in the minority on that one. 😉 I stand by my hard shells!

After hanging out and catching up, my parents left and Ryan and I took Sadie on a short one mile walk around the neighborhood.

After our walk I enjoyed a tasty dessert of banana soft serve with chocolate chips.

Chocolate Chip Banana Soft Serve

Ryan and I are enjoying the rest of the night being homebodies. I honestly love Friday nights at home with Ryan and Sadie. They’re my favorite.

See ya in the morning!