Rants, Recipes, and Running

So in a previous post talking about my 2015 goals, I said I wanted to try some new recipes out of my comfort zone. While this week's recipe was nothing out of my comfort zone, it was something different! Whenever we buy a roast, I tend to make the same exact stew every time. Beef roasts were on mad sale last weekend at my market, so I "indulged". (We don't eat a lot of red meat, so getting a roast is a rare thing!) I used my bread oven to make some home-made bread and spent my morning preparing all the good, delicious ingredients for this stew! Let me tell you, it is amazing. Hearty, healthy, soul-warming, good stuff! And it makes your house smell like heaven. Or at least what I think heaven might smell like?! Fresh baked bread and beef stew? ;) Here it is: -4 lb beef roast, cubed -1 cup barley -3 potatoes, cubed -about 10 baby carrots, halved -1/2 onion, sliced -5 cloves garlic -1/2 cup tomato paste -red wine (about 1/2 cup? I just pour until ...

Had you asked me a year ago "Would you ever consider getting a dog?", I would have responded with hysterical laughter. I did not grow up with dogs, so was never a "dog person". In fact, I was always kind of scared of them. Except for when I was about 6-7 years old, and I was a "pen pal" to a cocker spaniel who lived next door my parent's lake home. His name was Sam, and we would write letters back and forth. I was a strange child . On the flip side, my husband loves dogs. He grew up with a dear Golden Retriever named Charlie. Every time we see a Golden while we are out running or hiking, I'd watch Ryan melt a little. And then one Sunday evening in November, he asked for a dog. My initial response was a vile one. "A dog?!?!?! Have you lost your mind?! I would NEVER get a dog". Then I promised Ryan and I would do my researching and pondering...... And here we are....Meet "Miles"     And here is how we are cop...