Most people blog about their kids, but since we don't have any yet, we blog about our dog! Here's Cash's new poof coat for the cold and rainy winter. Pretty cute, huh?

Look, he likes it so much he's sticking his tongue out at you!

Actually he really does like it because it means he's going on a w-a-l-k and that is what he lives for. Plus, being such a skinny little guy he shivers when we go outside, so it makes me feel better knowing he's bundled up. He may be a spaz, but he sure is cute :)

Oregon Coast Beach Trip

I can't believe what a beautiful Fall we've had this year. We had so much sun and gorgeous weather...I was starting to get spoiled...and then the rain and snow hit last week!

Two weeks ago Andrew and I went to the coast and enjoyed an amazing weekend away. Our hotel room balcony opened up to the ocean and we could see it from our bed. It was amazing to fall asleep and wake up such breathtaking views and to the sound of the waves crashing.

This picture does not do it justice, but you get the idea. It was amazing. (This is the view from Highway 101, not from our balcony window :))

We took Cash with us and he was so happy and we had so much fun with him. There was no one else on the beach or on our hikes, so we got to let him off leash and watch him sprint, sniff and enjoy his freedom to his little doggy-heart's content. We don't get to let him off leash very often because he tries to bite everything that moves, but out here we were totally alone and he was in doggy heaven. It was really fun.

Thanksgiving 2008

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year and we were so happy and blessed to have family and friends share our feast with us. Edy and Gordon (Andrew's parents), Joe (Andrew's brother) and his girlfriend Becky, and Bryson and Sean (two guys Andrew works with) all came over. I was in charge of cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year - my first! I didn't burn anything and no one got sick, so I think it was a success. Luckily I had lots of help and wisdom in the kitchen with me at all times too, so that helped.

I think my favorite dish was the fruited, whole wheat stuffing we made. It had walnuts and dried fruit in it and it was delicious and 'sneakily' healthy (i.e. it tasted good to everyone not just the crazy 'almost' nutritionist). Here's the recipe in case anyone wants it.

Fruited Whole-Wheat Bread Stuffing

1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup raisins, dark or golden
1/2 cup pitted sliced prunes (plums)
1/2 cup dried sliced apricots
3 cups boiling water
1 Tbs olive oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 tsp. dried ground sage
1 lb day-old whole-wheat bread, crusts removed and cubed
3 cups boiling low-fat, reduced sodium chicken broth
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 375.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cherries, raisins, prunes, and apricots. Add the boiling water and set aside for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and saute for 8-9 minutes until onions are translucent and celery is soft. Add in the sage and saute for 1 minute. Add the onions and celery to a large bowl.
4. Add the bread to the bowl and mix. Pour over the broth, and add the eggs and mix well. Add in the walnuts and season with salt and pepper.
5. Pour the stuffing into a large 9-by-13 inch casserole dish and bake, covered, for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15 minutes more until top is browned.

Crabbing!

Last weekend I got to go crabbing with my in-laws and it was so much fun! Sad for all of us Andrew was out of town recruiting for the weekend so he did not get to come. We will just have to go again when he gets a day off...do those actually exist in the Pac-10?

We took a little boat off the Oregon coast and it was one of those beautiful, sunny days when I think, "Why would anyone live anywhere else in the whole world?" And then it starts raining :)
Me driving our little boat. I was pretty proud of myself for only almost throwing everyone out of the boat once when I accelerated instead of stopped!

I had never been crabbing before, but Edy and Gordon are pros so I was in good hands.

The first thing we did was bait the cages with a big chunk of raw chicken - yuck. Ok, ok, so if you want to get super technical, when I say "we," I actually mean Edy and Gordon - they were kind enough to do all the gross baiting for me since it was my first time!

Luckily the crabs were hungry for raw chicken and we were ready with our tricky cages that would let the greedy crabs in but not out.


Then we'd throw the cages overboard and come back in 20-30 minutes to get them and they'd be filled with crabs!
Then we'd measure them and make sure they were big enough to keep
After we caught as many as our buckets could handle, we came back to shore and they cooked them for us right there on the beach. We caught 29 crabs!


Then we had to clean their guts out!
Oh, did I say we again? Well, I actually mean Edy and Gordon cleaned their guts out while I rinsed them with a hose at the end! Then we came home and made a delicious crab salad with the freshest crabs possible

Yum!

And then, after it was all over, I remembered this was the perfect time to tell my favorite joke!

Q: Why is the ocean so grumpy?
A: You would be too if you had crabs all over your bottom!

Ha, ha, ha. Don't pretend you're not laughing right now!


A few things I learned from crabs and crabbing:

1. There is no such thing as a free lunch.
2. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is!
3. Crabbing is not the most efficient way of getting food (otherwise you'd just eat the chicken...), but it's a ton of fun!
4. I love my in-laws!

I am so grateful to live close to Andrew's parents. I am so thankful for their selfless, genuine, love and for all that they do for us. They are amazing and I love having in-laws!

Checketts in the News

This week was kind of fun because Andrew and I both made the newspaper.

Andrew was recognized on the front page of the Eugene Register-Guard Sports Section because his recruiting class was ranked second-best in the nation. He has worked so hard and done such a great job and it was fun to see the article in the paper. Go Ducks!

The next day, I was in the Register-Guard as well when an article I wrote for the hospital was published in the "Your Health" section. In short, I said to eat MORE...fruits and vegetables that is. One tip that I learned from writing this article was to make fruits and vegetables half of what you eat every time you eat - that's a good challenge!

Mom and Dad Visit Eugene

(a.k.a. The Best Weekend of Their Life)

Who's coming to visit next?

Mom and Dad came to visit us over Labor Day weekend and we had a wonderful time. I miss my family so much and wish we all lived closer together. Maybe someday, but in the meantime

COME VISIT!

Food

One of the fun things we did over the weekend was to eat at some of the delicious, interesting and unique culinary delights we have here in Eugene. We went to the Farmer’s Market and enjoyed a fresh, local and delicious feast of berries, goat cheese, bread, green chilies and corn . We went out to eat at some of our favorite restaurants like the Laughing Planet Cafe (Cuban Bowl: black beans, brown rice, sweet potatoes, and plantains), The Pizza Research Institute (potato and pear pizza and the daring "Chef's special") and of course Prince Pucklers...on more than one occasion (the best ice cream in the world).

This is Andrew eating a piece of the "Chef's Special" at The Pizza Research Institute. It had slices of corn on the cob, broccoli, curry cauliflower, mushrooms, zucchini strips and so much more. It is always different (pretty much whatever they have on hand in the restaurant) and it was delicious. The potato, pear, pesto pizza was also a hit. I know it sounds weird, but come visit and you'll love it. I promise.

Flying

I think every one's favorite part of the weekend was when Dad flew us to the coast in his fancy, schmancy new plane, Kilo Hotel (I liked his old plane, Golf Alfalfa too, but Kilo Hotel has cruise control and flies fast as the wind). We flew over the ocean and enjoyed the amazing views from our first class flight. We toured a beautiful lighthouse on the beach and then went to an ice cream parlor in town and got ice cream for the first time that day. Apparently deliciously gooey, double scoop ice cream sundaes are standard fare after every meal when my husband and my dad get together (much to the dismay and distress of their almost Registered Dietitian wife/daughter, I might add).

Andrew and Michelle at the Heceta Head Lighthouse beach

Football

It was so fun to have Mom and Dad here on a recruiting weekend when they could be a part of all of the festivities, energy, excitement and craziness of our life on these intense recruiting weekends. On Saturday night we took the recruits to the UofO football game and we had a great time.

If you got in a fight with one of them, I'll bet he'd win.

Dad smiling as 60,000 fans cheer for him. He's a pretty big deal.

Even though this was all fun and games for the rest of us, Andrew was working hard the whole time. Andrew is such a hard worker and is so good at everything he does. He did such a good job this weekend that all of the recruits committed for next year.

Go Ducks!

Hiking

Last, but certainly not least, we got to spend lots of time hiking in the beautiful Oregon outdoors. We hiked to the top of Mt. Pisgah and looked over the country side and we hiked around Silver Falls and saw some magnificent waterfalls.

It was a fantastic and perfect vacation. I felt so happy and loved having my parents here. Come again soon!

Andrew had some recruiting in Washington this weekend, and luckily I got to come with him. After watching lots of baseball...we got a chance to break away and have a perfect afternoon together. We walked around the impressive Point Defiance Park peninsula (700 acres of gardens, forests, walking paths and picnic areas jutting out into Pudget Sound) and sat on a wobbly pier that bounced and rolled with the waves. It was sunny, exciting and peaceful.


To end the perfect afternoon, they had warm chocolate chip cookies waiting for us when we got back to the hotel. Does it get any better?

Well, I don't know if The Checketts are quite ready to enter the blogging world just yet, but I felt the urge today to at least attempt updating this blog I started two years ago...so here goes.

Andrew and I moved to Eugene, Oregon last month where we are trying to settle in and get some routine into our crazy, unpredictable, wonderful life!