Have a H.A.R.T.

We spent the day volunteering for HART (Homeless Animals Rescue Team). As soon as we got to the adoption event we were each handed a leash and sent on our way to try to get our pups adopted. Tanner was given a pitbull/lab mix named Minka. She had quite a powerful bark, that Minka, I got it directly into my ear at one point and I feel like my ear is still ringing. My border collie Jenner, which we decided to call Bruce, was a such a lover. He wanted to greet every dog and every person that he could. It was so adorable.Good news is someone applied to adopt Jenner. It was so exciting to meet the potential adopters and spend the afternoon with them while they got to know Jenner better at the back of Petco. Every once in a while Tanner would walk Minka back to where we were and each time I saw her I felt like she was maturing a little bit. She just needed someone to put their foot down with her but also show her some love. By the end of the day she was hardly barking at all. The three hours spent with these pups was freaking exhauting but so rewarding. Read more...

Be My Valentine

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Good Morning :)

This morning I woke up early and went to Lifetime, which just so happens to be the best gym on the earth sans the outrageous amount of Mariah Carey throwbacks they share with us. I swear I saw Mariah in a bikini in 2 different music videos and also heard her screeching 2 or 3 other times during the course of my morning.

Anyway, I was having this amazing morning. I was so into my workout that I didn't want to stop. Those squats and box jumps were somehow enjoyable today. But when the clock struck 7:15 a.m. I had to go downstairs to shower. And if you know me you know that I for some reason really hate to shower. I do it because its the socially acceptable thing to do but I despise it - I hate being wet and cold, I hate shaving, I hate blow-drying my thick, ridiculous hair - I just flat out hate it. But today was different.

There I was basking in the rain of the shower thinking "Wow, this really is an amazing shower experience. My day is just so wonderf..." and then there goes my razor. Drop. Smack. The head of the razor goes shooting off into the unknown. Shit I really wanted/needed that razor. So, I grab a towel and leave my wonderful shower - with the water streaming full blast - on a hunt. I walk down the aisle of showers in the direction I imagined the razor head would have landed. It is nowhere in sight. I was just about to crouch to get a good look at the floor but then decide against it since I am in the community shower and crouching near the stalls might be awkward and frowned upon. So I stood there helpless, dripping wet and ready to give up. I trudged back to my shower and then I saw it. My razor was gleaming in the fluorescent lights in a shower stall in the opposite direction of where I was searching. Yes!!! I don't know why this was so important to me, but it was, and now I was back to my good morning.

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Bones & Chuckles

Two nights ago Tanner was falling asleep on the couch, I asked him to take the dogs out so we could go to bed. But he was adamant about staying exactly where he was so he could 'watch' whatever was blaring on the TV screen. I was like whatever as he was slowly falling into a deep slumber.

Then he spoke up, "What was your answer for the dogs?"
Me: "What? Uh should we take them out or just go straight to bed?"
Tanner: "No, How many points did you score for your blog?"
Me: "What? Let's go to bed, you are asleep."

Not sure why but at this point I still found myself trying to reason with him to try to determine if the dogs had gone out recently enough that we could just go straight to bed. So I ask, "What's your answer for the dogs?"
Tanner: "Bones & Chuckles." Read more...

Dear Utah, you are even better than we remember.

Going back to Logan this year for Thanksgiving was surreal. It has been almost an entire year since we've made the trek back to our hometown. Even though its been such a long time, the moment we turned the corner out of Sardine where it opens up to the beautiful valley it only felt like we were coming home from a long trip.

In all actuality we were about to begin a 'trip' to Logan that would last exactly 7 days minus travel time. So, I wouldn't call our Thanksgiving vacation relaxing so much as I would consider it a whirlwind of good times with family and friends. Here are a few photos and stories from our memorable trip.

Day One: I miss my sis!
I tried to get in as much sister time as humanly possible. Here she is sporting her very attractive hat-scarf that I also saw on The Christmas Story mom.

And for your viewing pleasure here are more photos of Courte from our adventures.
The memories of many Aggie football games came flooding back to us as we froze our butts off at the Aggie v. Boise State football game. There were a few key note differences this time around...1) We had a sanctuary (the box) to head up to when we couldn't feel our appendages, 2) They were competitive against Boise, and 3) There were more Utah State fans > Boise State fans to cheer on our team.Day Two: Guns & Violence
Guys Night in Utah = Call of Duty Marathon. Tanner and his friends are addicted to this war game. Please remind my why I agreed it was a good idea for Tanner to get the game when we got home.

Day Three: Skins v. Iggy's v. G-ma
...and the winner is G-ma :)
Skins lost to the Cowboys, Iggy's service sucked, Grandma was all-around amazing.Day Four: Our Old Stomping Ground
I forgot how cold Utah is in the winter. It was pretty much unbearable for me. I had to drink lots of hot chocolate to compensate. But look how pretty it is.There is about 3 things to do in Logan - not like that's a bad thing - Going out to eat, Going to the movies, and Going bowling. We managed to fit in 2 out of the 3. I think the amount of food we ended up inhaling made up for the fact that we didn't go bowling. One of the things that we miss about Logan the most is the great selection of restaurants.

We managed to eat a lot of food at some of our old favorites, pretty sure we ate out every meal. Italian Place (I think Tanner went here three times), Le Nonne (with our Pictionary opponents), Angie's, Logan's Heroes, Pita Pit, Firehouse (with some of my favorite girls - who pointed out that whenever I am asked when I am having kids I say 5 years, and that's been going on for at least 3 years). We also went to a new restaurant, Texas Roadhouse, because Anna works there and it was amazing. There are many more delectable dine-in experiences to be had in CV but those are the ones we managed to hit....next time I must go to W.O.W. and La Beau's, oh ya and the bowling alley to get the full experience. We also went to the movie about 3 or 4 times....haha. Life is so simple, yet amazing, in Utah :)
Day Five: Golden Birthday
This celebration was not a surprise so Tanner got to choose the itinerary. He wanted nothing more than to take in an Aggie basketball game and dinner with a few close friends. We ended up in the backroom at Ruby's after the game, which was a drag, that is until we got there. The room ended up being filled with tons of laughter once memories came racing back to these friends.
Day Six: Working OutI was very proud of us for managing to squeeze in some workout routines. It was great to go to Bootcamp to see my old friend slash trainer Natalie. She kicked my a$$, I was sure to quickly blame my loss of breath and lack of endurance on the altitude. Elevation: Ashburn = 298 ft, Logan = 4,534 ft so I feel pretty good about that excuse. I also went to Crossfit with Kira and Wendi and found that to be equally as punishing.

Day 7: Thanksgiving
I am thankful for Thanksgiving because it's focus is entirely based on the 3 F's which also happen to be 3 of my favorite things, Family, Friends & Food! Thanksgiving didn't let us down on any of those this year. It even added an additional F "Freezing." Although the below freezing temperature was quickly forgotten at Lundstrom Park during the First Annual Turkey Bowl followed by a yummy Thanksgiving dinner at my Grandma's. It's true that time flies when you're having fun, because the week was over in a flash. We didn't get to see all the friends and family that we wanted to, but we'll back and believe me it won't be a year from now.

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Washington Post Magazine: How Tanner Cooley became a DC sports insider

Tanner in the news: A writer from the Washington Post followed Tanner around for a few weeks in order to get an insiders perspective of his world. The article is pretty good here is the link to the story and here is the link to the chat with Tanner, which gives some more insight into the story.

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Cooley Brothers

My cute hubby turned reporter for the day.

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Our Homeland

We had so much fun in Utah for Thanksgiving. I haven't had time to sit down and write about it but I hopefully I will soon. Until then you can just look at this photo in anticipation. Read more...

Party in the USA

Elite Party Planners: Kirsten & Paul + mucho Facebook correspondence
= one surprised* guy *other adjectives to describe Tanner = amazed, astounded, blown away, bewildered, dazed, dazzled, dumbfounded, electrified, flabbergasted, floored, jarred, jolted, overwhelmed, shocked, stunned, stupefied, taken aback.

We had a surprise b-day party at Kitchen in DC for Tanner. He was seriously surprised since he thought he was going to my work party (lame-o) and it was held 6 days before his actual birthday (what?!). He had no idea, which I was very proud of since it's hard for me to keep a secret. Lots of lying, deception, and sneaking around occurred which was definitely difficult for Miss Honest Abigail. I guess it made it a little easier since we started planning literally 2 days in advance. Here are a few photos from the monumental night:

Hope all your dreams come true!

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Fall, Friends & Football

Our wonderful friends the Galbraiths came to visit us back in October. I am a terrible blogger lately but I wanted to link to Nikki's blog. Click here and here for her blog posts from the trip. Thanks Nikki :)

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