We are kinda beat around these parts! You would think it was from all that wonderful travel, but no. It would be because the pup here was so excited that we were home (or angry?) that she kept us up almost all night long. Each time I would stir, she would pounce on me, biting at my nose and hands, wanting to play. At like, 4 am. Good thing she's cute.So yes, SHE slept all day to recover while we worked to keep her in a warm home with food. Someone is winning this game, that is for sure.Today was full of a gazillion dog appointments (or that's what it felt like), and one of them was a visit to a new dog sitter's house to make sure all the dogs play nice. Wait, didn't we just get back? Why yes, yes we did. We have one (maybe two) short trips on the horizon, and our normal, fabulous, dog sitters are busy. This made me look for alternatives, and I am finally getting around to trying out dogvacay.com. Have you checked that site out? Cuz it is awesome. Today we had a meet'n'greet with the owner of the house where the dogs will stay for our next trip, and the host was AWESOME. I am hoping this is a great fit for the pups.So if you have animals and like to travel, that might be the perfect site for you.Now! Let's dig into the internet shares of the -- wait! I keep forgetting to update you guys on stuff! Please pardon your normal blog post while I brag about post some work that came out while I was away. First, if you like cats, you'll enjoy these images and story over on the Purina site about a local cat celebrity named Pudge. If you enjoy food and the food scene in the Twin Cities, you can check out a bunch of my photos in vita.mn's restaurant guide that came out this week, including my new favorite spot, Umami. (By the way, I have looked in two separate places and can't find a print copy because they've all been taken -- if you see one, grab a copy for me?) And if you like hitting up live music, you might like to see my Skyway Lounge photos from Friday's Star Tribune. On that last link the photos are teeny tiny on the right column. If you have the actual print paper, they are big and colorful and beautiful (thank you print designers!).OK! Enough of the self promotion! Back to the internet shares of the day! As promised, I'm giving you two. The first is the most amazing art made out of food that a mom makes for her kids for lunch! COOLEST MOM EVER. Seriously creative. And next is a hilarious marketing prank that the people behind the new 'Carrie' movie pulled in NYC. They rigged a coffee shop to make it look like an angry customer used her telekinetic powers in a fit of rage over spilt coffee, and it is hilarious to see the reactions. I totally believe in this stuff, btw, and I would have run screaming. Ha!

I woke up early this morning, a bit sad to be leaving. Can you blame me? Anyway, it was still dark out, and I sat by the fire and waited for the coffee to brew, then threw on my sneakers and decided it was light enough to walk along the beach and see what had washed up with the tide (I left Jamie sound asleep).I found tons of crabs, lots of sand dollars and even a poor, dead starfish (which are so cool to examine up close). There were only a handful of other dog walkers or joggers along the water, and it was a perfect goodbye to this lovely spot before we packed up the cottage, hopped in the car and drove back to Seattle. I'm waiting in the gate right now to board our plane, then we'll get home late and I'll crash before stumbling into class tomorrow.This has been such a phenomenal trip. If any of you are thinking of such a getaway, please reach out. I would love to share all the wonderful places we found along the way.No internet share as I don't have time to search before we board the plane. Perhaps you'll get two tomorrow -- along with a picture of sweet Magda who I miss so much!!

Man, it is so gorgeous here. Today we got up early and hit the road to head into wine country. I was stunned by the beauty of the forests and the fog and the elk along the way. Then we hit the valley and began the tastings. We are coming home with some delicious Pinot Noir, I tell you.We cracked one of the bottles open tonight when we got back to the coast and walked down to the beach to watch the sunset before heading back to the cottage for blogging, a tiny bit of working and packing. Tomorrow we leave the coast at 9 am, drive four hours to Seattle, turn in our rental car, get through security, board our plane and land in Minneapolis around 9 p.m. And I teach at 8 a.m. the next morning. So yeah, it's a quick turnaround, but I want to eek out every last minute of this trip.To see the rest of my photos from the vacation, you can look over here. Enjoy!

Why yes, I make four-legged friends everywhere I go. How cute is this guy?Who knew I was married to Indiana Jones, eh?Surfers! This is the rock from The Goonies! Yes, we are geeks.Also, my Indiana Jones husband tweets like Captain Morgan. What a view! Do you see the Elk? Wine country...The kitchen at our cottage!

I am smitten with Oregon. They love coffee, they love wine, they have an ocean and forests and it's always kinda cloudy which makes the best light for photos. If they had a music scene like Minneapolis, I might have to move. For real.For now? I'll just have to vacation here more often. I don't know if I mentioned where we're staying in yesterday's post, but you guys, it's a slice of heaven. As I type this, I'm sitting on the couch in front of my big fireplace in my cottage with a glass of wine at my side that I have more of in my full kitchen. And it's all decorated like a freaking Pottery Barn catalog. And I am three blocks from the Pacific Ocean. I am one happy camper, I tell you.Today we drove south to Cannon Beach, where we met up with a dear friend of mine from high school. She was even a college roommate! Anyway, we had a delicious breakfast and caught up, and she gave us all the goods on where to go as we headed south, including the spot where this photo was taken. Also? She told us the hike to take to get down to the cove where we could watch the surfers. How fun was THAT?! It was super fun.And after that, we continued our drive down to Tillamook to tour the cheese factory (and hey, they make ice cream!!). It was pretty disappointing. But! We drove a little bit further to the Blue Heron cheese factory for wine tasting and free Brie samples (yes, please) and then we fed the animals at their petting zoo! So that was fun :)I can't believe we only have one full day left of vacation... never enough time, I tell you. Tomorrow, we're hoping to hit wine country. You'll have to check back to see if we make it, or if we just grab a bottle of wine and a book and sit by the ocean all day. Either option sounds damn fantastic to this girl.

Hello from the beautiful state of Oregon! We slept in this morning, then did a bit of shopping before renting a car and heading south. We stopped in Aberdeen to see the Kurt Cobain memorial (man, do I understand that guy's depression more now), and then we stopped again in Astoria to see the Goonies' house! How fun was THAT!?!But the best stop was right outside Olympia when we stopped for some BBQ that we read about online. It was fantastic! Jamie celebrated his birthday today by eating brisket, ribs, chicken AND pulled pork along with biscuits and garlic fries. I had brisket and fries. And I think it's safe to say, that we have been full ever since that meal.For your internet share of the day, I'm going to cheat and send you to see the rest of my photos so far from the trip. My favorites are from the aquarium (octopus! jellyfish! sea otters!) but that's because we all know how much I adore animals. Enjoy!

Today included:• Walking down to Pike Place market for fresh food and amazing produce (even Honeycrisp apples!)• Shopping at Nordstrom's• Coffee! As in, a nutella mocha coffee (which was just as amazing as it sounds)• A trip to the aquarium where we saw salmon, octopi, star fish, amazing plants that eat fish, sturgeon, ottters, sea lions and seals (above are salmon)• A ferry ride!• Amazing dinner with good friends that included three bottles of wine between the four of us... which may or may not be the reason this post is done in bullet points...No internet share today kids -- too beat! I'll try to throw in a bonus tomorrow. Have a great Friday!