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I'm back!! I've missed you!! The holidays flew by... Work has been busy too, so I have not posted mich at all. There is so much to catch up on! More to come...

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!!!

I Love Christmas!!

I love my Christmas tree, I must upload a photo of it, but this cute little tree to the left will have to do!! Don't you love Christmas?? I love the decorations, the hustle and bustle, the food, and the cards. I love the nostalgic feeling I get with a familiar Christmas smell or memory. I enjoy turning off all the lights in the house, except for the white trees lights and just looking at the tree.

What is your favorite Christmas memory?

My favorite memory is going to get our Christmas tree in PA with Man and our dogs. At that time we only had Cody and Zack (our Boarder Collie last passed away last December) and we would take them along with us. We went to a house near our local ski area (tiny ski area we called Slushy Mountain) that sold trees from the woods he owned. You just parked your car and he gave you a saw and you trekked out into the woods and cut it down yourself. It was so beautiful in the woods, especially if there was snow. Cody and Zack loved to go and run around the woods. Zack loved the snow!! He would push snow at your feet hoping you would throw a snowball for him to chase. We would search and search for the most perfect tree and then drag it back to the house. The old man there would look at it and say something like "looks good-how bout $25?". We would load it in the back of the truck and head home with exhausted dogs to decorate.

Worst Christmas memory??

I have 3 bad memories....

My aunt committed suicide a couple days before Christmas when I was 13 years old. It was a very difficult Christmas, lots of tears. No need to say anything else about it.

There was a Christmas when I was like 10 years old and all my Mom got me and my sister was $10 in a Christmas card. It wasn't the fact that all we got was $10, it was the motive behind it. I have always felt she did it just to see what kind of reaction she would get from us. We just said thank you, she got no reaction out of us. She never said anything like money is tight this year, so this is all I could do. I always knew money was tight, so my expectations were always low. I want to believe she did that because of lack of money, but there is something in the back of my head that keeps coming back to the notion of vindictiveness. My Mom had it rough at times and I wouldn't put it past her to do something like that to us. Let's just say growing up with Mom wasn't the happy go lucky childhood that most kids have.

My third bad Christmas memory was when I was around 11 or 12. Our Dad didn't have enough money for Christmas presents for us. He was able to get us a few small things, but then promised to take us shopping when he got paid. My parents divorced when I was 8 years old. Dad paid child support to my Mom and she tried to get him for every penny she could. She would take us to the doctor over a sore throat and make my Dad pay the bill. What kid doesn't get dozens of sore throats growing up?? You don't go to the doctors for each one!!! Anyways, I felt really bad for my Dad because he was so sorry that he could do more. I remember him explaining and dropping his head down and saying he was sorry. He felt so bad, but my sister and I were fine with it. Again-we always had low expectations! I think of this as a bad memory because I know how bad my Dad must have felt that Christmas. I feel bad that he was hurting.

Even with all those bad memories, I still love Christmas!! Man and I have made our own memories and traditions. This year I am still trying to decide if I should bake Christmas cookies or not. I usually give most of them away. Man and I certainly don't need them in the house and he doesn't want me to take any to his work! I am leaning towards no. If I do it, it would be this weekend. This weekend may be my birthday weekend, since our water problem ruined it the first time. Thinking if a movie on Saturday afternoon and then dinner. Any movie ideas?? I am leaning towards The Blind Side. We will see what happens...

The $1200 Shower

Well my birthday dinner and movie never happened this weekend. Our water softer had to be replaced along with a pump and some piping. Our water pressure had been low for a few weeks, so we called our plumber. Since we have well water, our water softer was clogged up with yucky stuff, preventing normal water flow. The pipes had narrowed from the build up of 11 years of well water yuckiness. The pump was working so hard to pump the water that when we replaced everything it couldn't keep up with the now normal water flow. Man had to go buy a new pump. So, $1200 dollars later we have a heck of a good shower now!! This all happened Friday night to Saturday morning. We had no water during that time, which is not fun. We cancelled dinner Friday night because I had a money melt down. No movie on Saturday because Man spent most of the day replacing the pump in the pouring rain. Overall I am very happy with our water pressure now, but bummed out because my birthday celebration didn't happen. I never knew our shower could be so great and for $1200 it better last for years!!!

The Biggest Loser

I am a big loser!! I was whining about no one remembering my birthday and I was wrong.
Man sent me beautiful flowers, my co-workers brought me a big chocolate dessert and sang, both of my Grandmas called, my Uncle called, and my Dad and Sister left a message on my phone. My best friend from high school & college sent me an email. I got cards in the mail from my in-laws and my Dad. The dogs and Man got me cards and a cake too. We are going to dinner tonight and a movie tomorrow. No more whining for me, it was a good day!!

Happy Birthday To Me!!

Yes, it's my birthday!! I am 38 years old today!! Help me! No plans really, unless man surprises me. I doubt he will because he never has before. I am feeling a bit down because no one has acknowledged my b-day. Man called from work this morning, but that's it. No emails from family and only 2 b-day cards so far. Am I getting too old to feel like this? Am I being a baby?? I don't like attention, but I make an exception to my b-day. A little attention would be nice. I did tell Man not to get me anything. I said I just wanted dinner and a movie this weekend, which is planned already. Maybe I am testing Man, but that's not fair to him because I told him no gifts. No one at work remembered it's my b-day either. Should I tell people? If I do that then I feel like I am asking for something. What's wrong with me? Is it me or everyone else?? A cake would be nice. I make them for everyone else. What about me?? I'll quit whining now.

Anyways, Happy Depressing Birthday to me!!

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!!!

We had a busy weekend! Thanksgiving was okay. I went to a special spin class in the morning. It was a 1 1/2 hour endurance spin and it was great! I was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up, but it was good. The first 40 minutes were the worst, then I got into a groove and sailed through the last 50 minutes. I felt so good afterwards! when I got home I made SOS for lunch. SOS is creamed chipped beef on toast. I was delicious!! I like to make a special breaksfast or lunch on holidays. Man and I spent the rest of the day cleaning out the garage and talking on the phone to family. We are pretty disappointed in our families because no one called us!! Man didn't call his family because he was pissed that no one called him. His sister did text him though. My Dad, my Mom, and my sister were all not home. I did get to talk to my Grandma and my Aunt, who filled me in on all the gossip. In fact, I had no idea were everyone was for Thanksgiving. It is a bit disheartening that your own family is not interested in wishing you a Happy Thanksgiving. Oh well, I tried...

In between mostly unsuccessful phone calls I tried to make a carmel sauce for my apple pie. I got one shot at it because I had just enough sugar for one batch. It was a complete flop! Who knew carmel sauce was so difficult to make?? You had to stir it until the water and sugar turned light brown. Light brown never happened... It went from clear to crystallized sugar. I added more water to try to dissolve the sugar again and it still wouldn't turn light brown. I just dumped it out!

We had Thanksgiving Dinner at the in-laws, it was okay. They didn't eat until almost 6:30 pm and there were no mashed potatoes! That should be a sin, mashed potatoes are a Thanksgiving staple!! Overall, the food was okay. I definitely didn't over eat! Yea! My pies were delicious too. There were only 5 of us for dinner. The 5th person was a friend of the in-laws. When she drinks too much wine she starts to make no sense! I miss the big family gathering with card games and football.

On Black Friday I went to the gym in the am and Man and I hit the stores in the afternoon. We had lunch at The Cheesecake factory and it was great. They have a salad that I love. It has mixed greens, roasted asparagus, beets, pecans, and goat cheese. I eat it without dressing and it rocks. I think it is called the French Country Salad. We also shared chips and fresh guacamole and of course there was cheesecake... Man had key lime cheesecake and I had the holiday special cheesecake-peppermint and white chocolate- it was amazing!! Parking at the restaurant was a hassle! It took Man 20 minutes to get a spot, needless to say he was in a rotten mood when he came into the restaurant. I managed to cheer him up though! After lunch we did some shopping. It really wasn't too bad at all, maybe because we waited until after lunch to start. We spent the rest of Friday evening at home.

Saturday I when to the gym and then finished shopping that I couldn't do while Man was with me. I did some work outside with the dogs. We went and got our Christmas tree!!! We get a real tree every year from the Bonita Springs Rotary Club. Prices were down this year, only $55 for a 6 foot Douglas fur. Then we went to Bella Maria for dinner and it was very good. It is a family owned and operated Chilean restaurant. The food is amazing, but service can be slow. They also have a lot if misspellings in their menu, it's funny.

Sunday I skipped the gym!!! I rarely do that! Don't tell anyone! Man and I walked the dogs and read the paper. I cleaned out our closet and rearranged our computer room. We had sold our treadmill that was in that room, so I wanted to change it around a bit. We have a lot more room in there now. We cleaned the boat, which we are selling too, we never use it! I did some laundry, reading, and made pasta with vodka sauce for dinner. Overall, it was a nice weekend with Man.

Last night we booked a cruise for May! We are going on the Oasis of the Sea, the new Royal Caribbean ship. We are going with friends from the east coast. It will be a lot of fun! Man and I may renew our vows since our 10th anniversary is in March. Who knows what will do....

Annoying Neighbors Are Gone

The annoying neighbors with kids are gone!! We had heard through the grape vine that someone had bought the house and were trying to evict them. They must have succeeded! They left a ton of crap in the house because it was all pulled to the curb! Yea, peace and quiet until the new neighbors move in! Please be nice people!!!

Sammy the Bunny Stalker

An Open Letter to All Cute Fluffy Bunnies:

Please stay out of our yard! Sammy will get you! If he comes near you, please don't make that high pitched squeaking , it will only make him think you are a squeaky toy! Have you seen what he does to squeaky toys? It's not pretty... I know our green grass and red warm mulch is very appealing, but for your own safety please stay away! Remember what happened to that bunny 2 months ago? How he lay lifeless in the garage? It traumatized me as much as it did you! Sammy doesn't understand how fragile you are, so please, for your own safety-stay away!

Love,

Woman

Garage Organization Again!

Man is organizing the garage again! This will be only the fourth time in three years! I helped him a little bit last night, but mainly watched. He is always searching for more room for his motorcycle. Honey- the garage is only so big...

Getting ready for Thanksgiving

We are spending the Holiday at the in-laws on the beach. Don't get too excited, we probably won't even step on the beach! Remember Man and I are mountain people! It will still be beautiful to look at from their patio! I am in charge of dessert-big surprise! I will be making pumpkin pie and apple pie. Man loves my pumpkin pie and my Father-in-law loves apple pie. This year for the apple pie I am doing a crumb topping drizzled with homemade carmel sauce. I hope it turns out great! I am having a large slice of the apple pie-just to warn everyone... I love the holidays, but I am not a big fan of hosting the festivities. You know my cleaning issues? So if someone else volunteers to host, I am all up for that! Of course I will help out as much as possible! I will also step up to the plate is no one else will host. This week Man and I took Friday off, so we have a four day weekend. We are excited to sleep in 4 days in a row!!! The gym is open on Thanksgiving-I know- roll your eyes-and I am going to do a special 1 1/2 hour spin class in the morning and then yoga. All this before 11am, so the whole day is not at the gym! I want to burn the calories before I eat them! I will also participate in the traditional Black Friday shopping fun! I have a list and a game plan all ready. I love the vibe on Black Friday and the crowds don't bother me in the least. I won't head out until close to lunch time, I'm not an early bird shopper. Besides, I will go to the gym Friday morning for Power Pump and the dreaded stair climber. We will also check out the Bonita Springs Rotary Club Christmas Tree tent to see if they have trees in yet! Maybe I will have a picture on my Christmas tree posted by Monday! It should be a fun weekend! Have a great Thanksgiving and happy shopping!

Yummy Lunch

I just meet Man after the gym for lunch at PF Changs and it was good! I had tofu lettuce wraps and Ahi tuna. Great job PF Changs for having delicious and healthy food! Now it's time to walk it off with the dogs outside. It's a gorgeous day! Happy Sunday!

Christmas Card

These are the photos for our Christmas card! The photo with all of us is the largest, then the rest are smaller. It's not the best, but it is nearly impossibly to get 3 dogs to look in the same direction at once! I really like the picture of Sammy swimming as a pup and Cooper walking with him. It shows what a good big brother Cooper is! The picture of just Man & I is from Beaver Creek Colorado, looking cool in our shades! I hope everyone likes it because I put a good 3 hours into it!

Catching Up

It's been awhile! Life has been a little overwhelming lately. Here's what's been happening:

-Relative is leaving us! We knew it was coming, we just got a feeling about it. He was calling home a lot more, deleting the history on the computer after he was done, and just generally being more quite. I am disappointed in how it has come about, it seems sneaky. Man is pretty mad, he feels that Relative used us for a year long vacation. Maybe he did, lesson learned on our part. If he wants to go home then he can go home, just be honest! I do not think he gave 100% into getting a full time job. There was no calling or visiting potential jobs. He did everything over the computer-very impersonal when you want to get a job in this economy. He only worked 3 days a week and on his days off he slept till noon, played video games, and watched TV. Last week we had a feeling he was going to leave, so we asked him. He said he was thinking about it. I made it perfectly clear that he needed to go on his own terms, not by his parents. I wanted him to understand that he needs to work towards a career and going back home will limit that. We are from a College town, so job opportunities are limited. He was planning on going home for Christmas and I told him when he got back that he had to work 40 hours a week. This meant speaking to he employer to get more hours or getting a part-time job. Five days later he tells us he's leaving! Imagine that... I don't want to be mad at him since he is family, but I am a little bit. I have said my peace and gave my opinion,wanted or not, I need to let it go. Relative will make his own decisions, good or bad, and I hope this was a learning experience for him. Good Luck Relative! We will miss you! Now I get my home back! (kidding!)

-Cooper is down to 101 lbs.!! He has lost 6 pounds since June! Good job Cooper and us-for portion control and more walks. The walks don't hurt Man and I either!

-We got our boat repaired and ready to sell, finally. We haven't used it in 2 years. It needed several things repaired totalling $1200.00-ouch! One of the repairs was $600 and we decided not to fix it, just to cut the price down. Man told the repair person not to fix that item because we didn't have the extra money right now! Well, the guy fixed it!! He and Man kind of yelled at each other a little bit. We didn't have the money to pay for it and the guy wouldn't give us our boat without payment. No boat-no selling it!! I was pissed to say the least! The guy ended up taking a couple hundred off and we paid and got our boat back. I think it was very sneaky of the repairman and it put a big dent in our savings.

-Money has been tight! It has been tight since August. We are trying to pay down some debit, so we limit our "play money" each month. Once we are on a limited budget, things start coming up that need taken care of! It never ends! Our automatic drive way gate broke, the boat repair, Man needed work pants, vet appointments, the printer broke, the wireless mouse broke, and TV broke. When will it end!!! Someone please buy our boat!!

-My Mom is not going to visit for Christmas. She is afraid to fly by herself. A pretty lame reason to turn down a chance to see your daughter (who was buying the plane ticket!). Whatever! My family is very selfish. Do I sound bitter??

-I haven't been doing too much cooking lately. I mean I am cooking dinner, but nothing blog worthy. The holidays will inspire me, I hope!

-I am on the quest for the perfect Christmas Card. I think I have found it at www.snapfish.com. It is a 4x8, 4 picture green snowflake design. I wanted one that I could use more than one picture. You see, as much as my family disappoints me, I still feel the need to keep the lines of communication open. I want them to see how we are doing. When family is concerned, it is ALWAYS better to be the bigger person. I was thinking of doing a holiday letter too, but I don't want to come across as bragging. Does anyone else do Holiday letters??

-I am very late starting my Christmas shopping this year due to the money situation. Hopefully I can start next weekend. It is going to be very scaled back this year. Man and I do gifts for each other because it's fun and we love Christmas. I have a very short Christmas list this year. There is just nothing I really want or need. Of course, Man had a long expensive list!

-We are going to the in-laws for Thanksgiving. Yeah-no major cooking for me! I will bring desserts, Pumpkin Pie and Apple Pie, yummy! I also got a four day weekend for Thanksgiving! Extra sleep here I come!

-I have been challenged at the gym lately. The weights seem heavier and the cardio longer!! I think I am not getting enough sleep. Tonight is the stair climber and power pump (weight lifting class). Wish me luck!

Black Magic Cake

This is the recipe from my disaster cake last week. I am happy to report that I made it again on Sunday, but in a 9x13 cake pan for Man's secretary. No layers-no chance of disaster. Enjoy this rich and moist chocolate cake.

Black Magic Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2 cups Flour
2 cups Sugar
3/4 cup Cocoa
2 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Baking Powder
1/2 tsp. Salt
2 Eggs
1 cup brewed Black Coffee
1 cup Milk
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
2 tsp. Vanilla

Mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add wet ingredients and mix well. The batter will be runny, so don't worry!! Pour into a greased 9x13 cake pan or 2 8-9inch rounds. Bake for 35 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

The best chocolate icing:

1 stick of softened Butter
3 cups Powdered Sugar
2/3 cup Cocoa
1 tsp. Vanilla
pinch of Salt
1/3 cup Milk

Mix all ingredients except the milk. Add milk a little at a time until you get the consistency you like. Mix until smooth. I usually don't use all the milk because I like a slightly stiffer icing. It is easier to work with and won't slide off your cake. This recipe is plenty for a layer cake.

Man's Issue that Weights Heavy on our Minds

Man needs to lose weight, about 80 pounds. This would be great for me too. I want to lose about 20 lbs., I want to be at my high school weight. The advantage for me is that when Man decides to do something, he jumps in and does it. It would be a big motivator for me if he finally decides to lose the weight. Having a partner to work with is a great motivator. Someone to keep me from chocolate and cereal carb overload. I just need him to commit, just to decide to do it. I need Man's will power to pull me along. Come on Man, you can do it!!! Do it for US... We can lose a combined 100 lbs. Maybe reward ourselves with a ski getaway to Colorado... Am I tempting you???

Cake Disaster

Man's secretary has been requesting a cake. I made her one for her Birthday last year and she has been asking for another once since then. Last night after the gym I was feeling energetic, so I baked her one. It was my Mom's recipe for Black Magic Cake. It's a chocolate cake with brewed coffee in it. I'm guessing the coffee is the black magic because this cake is very moist and delicious. I also made chocolate frosting! I started to assemble the cake and as I flipped the top layer on to the bottom layer IT SPLIT IN HALF!! It was so moist it just split!! No problem, I'll just push it together and the frosting will hold it in place. WRONG! I started frosting it and the top layer began to slide off! Homemade icing is not as forming as store icing, so the whole "holding it together" idea was shot to heck! I managed to get it all frosted and looking okay. As I began to clean up one half of the top began to slide off and the frosting on top was sinking into the crevasse that has now formed on top. I tried to just slice the whole cake in half and give her a half of a great cake, but it just looked to sad. I pride myself on my baked goods. As I held the sliding cake with 2 knives I called for Relative to get a spatula. I ended up slicing a quarter of the cake off on to a plate. The rest is holding together okay for now. It tastes great, but looks sad. I will try again on Sunday! Not one of my finer kitchen moments...

Recipe to come later....

Cody in Crisis

Cody got stuck under our bed last night. It wasn't pretty... I was getting ready to climb in bed and heard a scraping noise. I looked under the bed and Cody had wedged himself under and couldn't figure out how to get out. If I touched him he yelped bloody murder. We have the sleep number bed that is adjustable, so we raised the end of the bed hoping he would walk out. No such luck!! We pushed a box under the bed at him hoping to guide him out, he just screeched like he was dying. It was horrible! He wasn't hurt, just scared because he can't see well. Man got impatient because he was already asleep. Man lift up the bed frame with one arm and pulls out Cody with the other. It took about 3 seconds and he was out. I have never heard a dog cry like that, it was heartbreaking. Poor Cody bear! He has recovered and it doing just fine.

My Boys are Famous!!!!

Big news!! I submitted Cody and Zack's 2008 Halloween picture (see below) to the newspaper website for Halloween pet photos and it was chosen to be in the newspaper! My boys made the front page of the community section on Wednesday!!

Halloween Florida Style

This is my $10 Jack-o-lantern from Walmart. You plug it in and it lights up. Real carved pumpkins last 2 days in our humidity and attract lots of bugs!! A big disappointment for me! I loved carving pumpkins and roasting the seeds. It's like the kick off to the holiday season! Back in PA we would go to Harner Farms and buy pumpkins. The Saturday before Halloween they would do a carry all the pumpkins you can for $10. I would load up Man as much as possible. It was a lot of fun! I miss PA this time of year.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween!!!

Zack and Cody from 2008!!

Puppy Puke Yuck!

Cooper is on the raw food diet to help lose weight. He was 103 lbs. at his last weight in at the vet, we want him around 80 lbs.. His food is raw 2 lb. tubes of hamburger, turkey, chicken, and tripe (stomach-I know- gross). He gets one tube a day and he absolutely loves it. He does a little dance at dinner time, his nails clicking on the tile floor. Last night something went terribly wrong. You probably know where this is going... After eating he threw up on the living room rug!!!! Picture 2 lbs. of raw meat mixed with stomach juices all over your rug. Are you crying yet?? The good news is that I wasn't home at the time, but the bad news was that I wasn't home at the time! Man had to clean it up! He promised me that he acted quickly and it was only on the rug for about 30 seconds. He did try to get Cooper off the rug before it came up, but Coop wouldn't move. I was told all this before entering the house last night, like a warning. I was so pleasantly surprised that there was no odor, no stain, and basically no evidence that anything even happened!! Man did an awesome job!! Cooper is feeling fine, he had some banana this morning.

Spicy Pretzels & Vanilla Creme Brulee

Yummy eats over the weekend and Penn State won!! GO Phillies in the world series!! It was a good week in PA sports.



Spicy Pretzels
24 oz. bag Pretzels-we prefer the small pretzels
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
3/4 cup Olive Oil
1 1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1 tsp. Cayenne Pepper or more (depends on what you can handle!)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees

Pour pretzels into an oven proof pan. I use either a roasting pan or a 9x13 cake pan.

Mix Ranch, olive oil, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper together and pour over pretzels and stir.
Place in the oven and bake for 1 hour, stirring very 15 minutes.

These are a nice change from plain pretzels!

Man has been wanting me to make Creme Brulee for awhile, so I did it this weekend. It is really delicious and easy! Great vanilla flavor.

Creme Brulee

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

1 Qt. Heavy Cream
2 Vanilla Beans, split and scraped
1/2 cup Sugar
6 Large Egg Yolks (save the whites for yummy egg white omelets)
1 Tsp. Vanilla
Hot Water

Pour the cream and vanilla beans and scraped pulp into a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cover for 15 minutes. Remove the beans.

In a medium bowl, whisk sugar, vanilla, and egg yolks until well blended and light in color. Add the cooled cream in small portions and whisk. Make sure you add it slowly as to not cook the egg yolks!! Once all combined pour the mixture into 6 ramekins (7-8 oz.). Place a paper towel in the bottom of your pan and place the ramekins on top of the paper towel. Pour HOT water carefully into the pan until it is halfway up the sides of the ramekins. The paper towel will keep the ramekins from sliding around. Bake until set, about 45 minutes. Cool out of the water bath for about 20 minutes and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before enjoying. They will keep for about 3 days in the refrigerator. When you are ready to eat, sprinkle generously with sugar and "torch" the sugar with a small butane cooks torch until golden brown and crispy. Don't skip this part because this is what makes creme brulee so yummy with different textures! Man loved these, but I tried to control his consumption of them since they are not very good for you!!

Weekend Plans

Carmel apples are on the menu for this weekend! Yum! I'm going to roll them in mini chocolate chips and crumbled heath bars. No nuts!! Man has tree nut allergies! Man requested creme brulee as well, so that will be in the works too. Tonight is grill chicken, roasted garlic red potatoes, and sauteed green beans. Enchiladas for Saturday night and I might roast a chicken Monday night. Sunday will probably be eat whatever you want. I'll let you know how everything turns out and post the good recipes. I'm very excited for carmel apples, it like the beginning of the holiday season!! I love fall, even in Florida, because the humidity starts to drop!! A month until Thanksgiving and then another month until Christmas!! I am already planning my Christmas baking! I am debating between doing lots of cookies or just doing different breads or a mix of each! Any thoughts??

Yes, I'm a sucker!

I bought $38 worth of POPCORN from a neighbor kid for his boy scout troop! I guess I'll be stringing popcorn for the Christmas tree this year! What was I thinking??

Good Dinner Vs. Bad Dinner

Why is it that when I make a "bad" dinner, it gets gobbled down with no leftovers, but if a make a "good" dinner I have lots of leftovers?

By "bad" I mean not especially healthy. Last night was a quick meal of ham steak, mac n' cheese, and broccoli. I don't consider ham a healthy meat and the mac n' cheese was the box kind. The broccoli however was fresh and steamed in the microwave. The broccoli saved the meal I guess. Man and Relative ate everything last night-all the ham and every noodle of the m n' c was gone! I had m n' c, a tiny piece of ham, and a lot of broccoli. I only had the ham because I dip it in horseradish and I love horseradish. I also have to admit that I love Kraft m n' c!!! When I was a fat child, I could eat a WHOLE BOX! My family let me do that-damn them!! I love fresh steamed broccoli, it tastes so much better than frozen. So over all I rated this a "bad" meal due to the ham and m n' c.

Now a "good" meal-lots of veggies and a lean protein-always has leftovers. I get excited that I am giving Man and Relative a good healthy meal. I try to use spices to get lots of flavor, but they never gobble it up. I always have left overs! Should I cook smaller portions or reheat the leftovers night after night until their gone? They would rather pig out on m n' c! Where have all the health conscious people gone?? Please come to my home and I will feed you vegetables!

Not you could argue that I should only cook healthy every night, but really it takes to long to cook healthy every night. All the chopping of the veggies and the dishes!! Plus sometimes, don't we all just want some Kraft Macaroni and Cheese??

Weekend Recipes Not Worth Posting

I made a couple things this weekend that I was really disappointed in. The first was Banana Bread with Rum. Man requested this item, he's been on a rum kick lately. You couldn't taste the rum and I thought the banana flavor was weak. Man liked it though , so I guess that's good enough. I also made Lemon Coconut bread, it was disappointing too. The lemon and the coconut flavor were weak. It was very moist though, like pound cake. I ate a piece for breakfast covered with yogurt and raspberries. Then I made Ginger Pear Muffins with whole wheat flour. These were more cake like than muffin textured. Man and Relative did not like them, I thought they were okay. I couldn't really taste much ginger, which I thought would be the star in the muffin. I was wondering if my ginger was still fresh. I keep fresh ginger in the freezer and grate off what I need. Maybe freezing the ginger effects the flavor?? Any ideas out there?? I'm not posting these recipes because of their lack of flavor. I only want to share the "good stuff".

We did some shopping this weekend for shoes. I am not a big shopper. I don't like trying on clothes or digging through the racks of cut too low shirts or pants for something classic to wear to work. I would like to bend over at work and not have my underwear or butt crack showing. I also can't still the bright geometerical designs of shirts that seem to be in all the stores. I am a basic girl-plain stuff please! Black/brown/tan dress slacks with a colored shirt/blouse/sweater-no glitter or sparkles please! Back to shoes.... I like to wear closed toe, 2-3 inch heels (not spike), and basic colors like black and brown. I work in an office and need to dress appropriately. I think open toe shoes with dress slacks look silly. Plus, I wear knee high panty hose under my pants purely for shoe comfort. Have you ever worn closed toe heels in Florida without hose- not good on the toes or heels at all! For months now I have been looking for the perfect shoes to meet all my requirements with no luck, until.... A co-worker recommended DWS shoe store-hello lover! They have so many shoes that were perfect for me!! I never went there because I thought it would be too expensive!! Talk about bad judgment on my part! Shoes were $30-$60 a pair. I think that is a good price for daily work shoes. I got a new black pair and a new brown pair-closed toe, 2.5 inch heel, and comfortable!! I also got a cute brown suede purse for $25. The purse brand was Poppie, Man called it Poopie, they had a bunch of bags and wallets that were really cute. Just trendy enough, but still plain, just the way I like things! Man even found a pair of shoes! I highly recommend DWS shoes!

Attack of the Killer Sammy

Sammy stars in his first movie!

Sammy's Stare of Death

Man emailed me this photo he took with his iphone. I died laughing. It was captioned:

"This is what I see everyday at lunch time"

Sammy sits on the chair beside Man's desk and stares at him while he eats lunch.

Cooper is in the corner of the photo on the floor being his usual good boy.

The Good Boy

So I got home from work last night and Man proudly said what a good boy Sammy was all day. Wow!! Sammy was good all day! Could it continue into the evening??? Yeah, right!! It was like he understood Man's praise and decided he was done being good. Sammy proceeded to fight with Copper, chase squirrels and birds, and beg at dinner. While I was in the bathroom, he place his front paws up on the vanity to say hello to me. That wasn't too bad, more cute, we hugged and looked at each other in the mirror. I know he tries hard to be good, the little stinker!! At dinner he would place a paw on my lap begging for food. When we went for our evening walk he freaked out in excitement and jumped on me and poor Cooper. I still love him so much, even when he is bad. Later that night, he settled down and curled up on the couch like a little angel! He was so sweet looking I could help but cover his nose in kisses. Annoyed, he jumped down and stretched out on the floor and farted. Nothing says I love you too like a doggie toot!!

The Secret Blog

I don't think I have mentioned this, but my blog is a secret! No one knows I write it, not even Man. Is that bad?? Untrusting?? No one is reading it anyways accept me. It makes me smile that I created it on my own. I can log on and look at my pictures any time for a quick pick me up. Posting at home is difficult because we have one computer in our small house. I can only post my photos from home, which I try to do secretly. I wait until Man goes to bed to do my photo posting and then I clear out the history on the computer. I just want to be able to write freely without be judged or perhaps hurting someones feelings. A couple times this weekend I wanted to burst out, "Hey, I'm going to blog about that!", but quickly decided it would totally blow my cover. Man can be very sensitive, so this blog could totally back fire on me. I wouldn't want him to be embarrassed about something I post. I want to get into some personal issues soon that may be uncomfortable for Man. They are uncomfortable for me as well, but I am hoping that writing it out will help. More secrets to come...

Can't Wait for the Next Cruise

This handsome guy was left on our bed the last night.

This handsome guy is with me!!

Sunset Views & Good Times

Enjoying the Cruise Pictures

Cruise Pictures As Promised

Entertainment before leaving the port...

Nice View!

This is our ship...

She's a beauty!

Survivor, Project Runway, and the Amazing Race

Do you watch Survivor?? I do, it's not my favorite, but I still enjoy it. Russell is such a rat!! I can't believe the others haven't caught on to him yet. It seems like every season the contestants walk on the island and become completely stupid. They fall for the same crap season after season. You would think they have never watched the show before. You need to talk to each other folks! Find out who is talking to who, who has an alliance with who. If you both have an alliance with the same person without knowing it a little red flag should come up in your head and maybe you shouldn't trust that person!!! Russell has alliance with like 5 people and none of them have talked to each other!!!!! None of the women, except Besty and she was voted out already, have emerged as strong competitors. I think Mick is a dark horse. I think he will emerge as a power player soon. We'll find out...

Project Runway has been a bit of a bore this season. They have made some amazing clothes in the challenges, but there is no big character this season. Everyone seems very blah, no drama queens in this bunch yet.

I love the Amazing Race! It is my favorite show. I really like Matt & Gary, the father and son team. I hope they go all the way. The producers have really thrown them into the "crazy" countries right off the bat-China & Vietnam. By "crazy" I mean crazy traffic, densely populated cities and major language barriers. I always picture Man and I in the race and wonder how we would do with each road block. Of course, in my head we kick butt and win. Our weakness would my Man's stamina in a foot race and my weakness would be puzzle solving. I have always wanted to do the race...

No big plans this weekend except house work and reading. I don't know if PSU plays Saturday or not. I will get cruise pictures posted this weekend. I promise!

Housework After Vacation

When I go on vacation I like to leave with the house clean, so I can return to a clean house. Unfortunately, that never happens when you have a dog sitter. To go anywhere over night the boys need to go to someones house or someone needs to stay at our home. We have Relative living with us, so he is always our dog sitter.
I always leave with the house clean. It gives me peace of mind, it calms me. Traveling back from vacation I begin to get a dreaded feeling washing over me. I know to always have low expectations when I walk in the door. I try to schedule an extra day of vacation for recovery time, house cleaning, unpacking, and grocery shopping.
The return from our cruise was no different. As soon as I opened the door, I could smell a problem. Greeting me on the floor was dried up dog diarrhea-not alot, but enough to smell. Relative is a night owl and our boys are not. That always worries me when we go away. The boys go to sleep and Relative stays up until 3am and sleeps until noon. I know my boys don't like to get up from a sound sleep to go potty in the middle of the night. They are 9pm to 6am sleepers, it's called a schedule. This is something Relative hasn't understood yet. I have dogmares during vacation of my boys standing at the door, legs crossed, waiting to go outside while Relative snoozes. This is what happened-I'm sure of it!
I also have a strict request that door to rooms with carpeting stay closed. I can home to our bedroom opened and a sheet over the bedspread with evidence of dog hair. Relative let them sleep in our room after I specifically asked him not to. Did we get home to early for Relative to clean up the evidence?? My reasoning for doors closed to carpeted rooms is that Cody is very old and may have an accident and Dogs throw up occasionally! Luckily, doggy diarrhea was not tracked though the house or the carpeting. My boys were smart enough to walk around it.
So now I have poop to clean up and a bed linens to wash in addition to cleaning the house again because there is dog hair everywhere. If I don't vacuum every other day, dog hair takes over. I ended up having to give Cody a bath because I knew he was responsible for the poop after a dog butt inspection. I had 7 loads of laundry-rugs, dog towels, bed sheets, bed spread, dog bed coverings, and 2 loads of clothes. The dryer was on for 10 hours straight!! Can't wait for the electric bill... Cleaning the house took 4 hours in between laundry checks.
Once Relative woke up (1245pm!) we had a little discussion. He said he took the dogs out at 2am (we got home at 930am) and let them in our room because they were staring at the door (too bad, they would have gotten over it). It just sucks having a great vacation and coming home to lots of clean up. It just puts you in a fowl mood and not wanting a dog sitter again. We tried a kennel once, but I felt to guilty. This is a very mild case of messy house after vacation. We had a friend dog sit for us and he left a huge mess, sleept in every bedroom(??), used both bathrooms(??), and had food crumbs all over the counters and table. What do you do though? Never go anywhere or deal with the mess when we return? I know I am a Type A clean freak, but that's how I was raised. Believe me, I am laid back compared to my Mother. She's a whole other post!!

Majesty of the Sea

Sorry for the absence, we went on a three day cruise and it was awesome!!! We wanted to get away before our busy season starts at our jobs. Man and I needed some alone time anyways. Relative was left in charge of the boys and the house (more on that later). We got a great deal on a cruise out of Miami, 3 days with stops in Coco Bay and the Bahamas.

Day 1 Friday

We were on the ship by 1:30 pm and explored for a few hours. Of course we had drinks on the deck because someone is constantly asking you if you need a drink. I had more drinks with umbrellas in them this weekend than in my entire life! We were on the ship for 4 hours and Man suddenly breaks out in hives-really bad ones!! I thought we would be the first to see Medical, but there was someone else there. The doctor saw us right away since it was an allergic reaction. After 2 shots in the butt (HA!) and some Benadryll, Man was feeling better. Man was wearing a sea sickness patch and the Doc took it off and advised against it. Doc said a lot of people get reactions from them! Nice! After the Doc, Man laid down in our room and passed out for a couple hours. There I was, our first evening on the ship and I was alone!! I borwsed the shops, enjoyed the sunset, and had a drink, Man woke up when I went back to our room and he was feeling a lot better. He felt really bad about screwing up our first day, but I told him it was fine-he couldn't help it!!! We had dinner at the buffet (very good) and hit the casino and went to bed kind of early.

Day 2

We were at Coco Cay on day 2, Royal Caribbean's private island. After breakfast we got on the ferry to the island. It was beautiful-crystal clear water. We didn't know what to expect, so we wore shorts and shirts. We aren't beach people, so we didn't wear our swimming suits. What a mistake!! There was a breeze, beautiful water, hammocks, and lounge chairs. There was plenty of clean bathrooms, food/drink stands, and shopping stands. It was perfect. We sat in the shade facing the ocean and just laid there for a couple hours. We are rookie cruisers so this was a learning experience for us. Next time we'll know-bath suits & towels & sunscreen!! We stayed on the island until about lunch time and headed back to the boat. We had lunch, hit the casino for a while, and watched most of the Penn State game in a bar and on the top deck. PSU won!!! We then relaxed pool side for a while and met some other PSU fans-all nearly twice our age. We had a late dinner, shopped, gambled, and enjoyed the night air outside. It was a great day!

Day 3

We slept later than normal this day-730am!! We were docked in the Bahamas at 7am. After breakfast (I loved the b-fast buffet) we headed off ship to the Bahamas. It was hot!! I was not really impressed with the Bahamas. Most of the shops were closed and the ones that were opened were full of pushy sales people. We walked the main streets where most of shops were. It was very run down and old looking. The streets were a bit crazy-cars honking and speeding. Overall it was a little scary. I bought a t-shirt for Relative and I bought a purse at the straw market. It is a cute little Coach purse. Man thinks it's a fake, but if it is it's a good one!! They wanted $25 for it, but I bargained down to $15. I would have paid the $25, but I wanted to try my hand at bargaining. I did very well! After shopping, we went back on the ship for our forgotten credit card and headed back out. We wanted to check out Atlantis on Paradise Island. I was told that Atlantis was a must see. We were told a taxi was the fasted and cheapest way to get there. Once on the port again, we were bombarded with taxi driver fighting over us. We were herded to a taxi with some other couples. I kept telling Man to find out how much it was before he drove off. I had seen on the Amazing Race where racers were screwed over with taxi fare in other countries. I didn't want to get over there and find out it is $20 per person. We asked and it was only $4 per person!! The taxi ride was an experience in it's self. I felt like we were on the Amazing Race!! There were no seat belts and the speed limit was not obeyed. There was a lot of honking and swerving. I white knuckled it the whole way. The Atlantis resort was absolutely gorgeous and expensive!! It is a lost city of Atlantis theme-very Greek god looking. We walked around and gambled in their casino, which was huge and beautiful. We window shopped in the resort because the shops were Gucci and other ones like that. We tried to walk out to the beach, but were stopped since we weren't staying at the resort. We tried to go to the aquarium, but were stopped since we weren't staying there. We could have paid to get in but we figured it was too expensive. We heard it cost $125 to use the swimming pools. Now they are huge and beautiful, but come on people $125!!! We just walked around for an hour or so and caught a taxi back to the boat. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool on the boat. We showered for dinner and went to the casino for a drink and watched some football. We went to play Name that Tune and came in second! It was really fun. The rest of the evening was spent walking around and at the casino-of course. Man likes his blackjack.

Day 4

Off the boat by 7:30am and home at 9:30am! The boys really missed us.


We will definitely go on a cruise again, it was fun. There is a list of activities everyday for every hour! Just people watching at the pool is fun or hanging out on the deck watching the ocean. Man really enjoyed himself too. We didn't do the late night partying, but we heard it was wild. Next time we will do more activities and go with friends. On a side note I was really surprised with all the obese people on the cruise. Now I certainly am not judging these people because I could use to lose 15 lbs. I was blown away by their confidence. They wore bikinis!!! Sometimes it was just too much to see!! Then we would see them at dinner or breakfast with their plates piled high! I ate a lot this weekend, but I had egg white omelets, wheat toast, fruit, spinach salads, fish, veggie stir fry, and a few desserts! I guess I just can't understand how someone can be so large and not care what they eat?? And also put on a bikini in front of hundreds of people!! I won't even wear a bikini. EVER!!!

Yes, we took pictures and I will post some this week. Bye!

Recent Recipes

As promised I am posting some recipes I made recently...



A long lost family recipe.... Buttermilk Sugar Cookies



My Grandma made these when I was growing up and I always wanted the recipe. I don't why I just didn't ask for it!! The recipe is actually from my Great Grandma, but I only remember my Grandma making them. I actually found it in my Mom's recipe box this summer. She was moving out of her house and sent me her over flowing recipe box. It was awesome to rummage through it and organize it. It brought back a lot of memories. When I came across the cookies recipe I almost cried!!! The strangest thing though was that it was written in my handwriting when I was younger! Had I stole the recipe as a child for my Mom?? Who knows? Divorced parents tend to want their kids to do interesting things... When I made the newly discovered recipe, a wave of nostalgia came over me and my eyes filled with tears as the freshly baked cookies filled the air. Memories of Grandma house came rushing back, like sneaking cookies before dinner, watching Grandma in the kitchen wiping her hand on her apron, and secretly touching rising bread dough because it was so smooth. Please enjoy these cookies as much as I do. They are so moist that you'll want a large glass of ice cold milk.



Buttermilk Sugar Cookies



Preheat oven to 350 degrees



Mix together: 1 cup White Sugar
1 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup softened Butter or Shortening*


*I prefer butter because I can taste the shortening favor too much



Add: 2 Eggs
1 cup Buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
2 teaspoons Nutmeg-this is the star of this recipe so do not omit!!



Add: 2 teaspoon Baking Soda
2 cups Flour


Use more flour to make a soft dough, about another cup and a half. This is a very wet dough and can get annoying, but do not over flour!! Roll out dough on a heavily floured surface to 1/4 inch thick and cut with a basic floured biscuit cutter. You will probably need a floured metal spatula to get them off the counter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and sprinkle tops with sugar. Bake 15-20 minutes makes about 3-4 dozen



I new favorite at my house is Chewy Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies. These are not your average boring oatmeal cookies, these rock! I got the recipe from the newspaper when they print holiday cookie recipes. You can jazz them up with chunks of white chocolate too!!



Chewy Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

Preheat Oven 350 degrees

Mix together in a separate bowl: 1 1/2 cups Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
3 cups Oatmeal

Mix together in another large bowl: 2 sticks unsalted softened Butter
1 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup White Sugar

Blend until fluffy and add one at a time: 2 large Eggs

Add: 2 Tablespoons Honey
2 teaspoons Vanilla

Beat until well blended and add flour mixture in two batches. Blend well

Stir in: 1 1/2 cup Crasins
1 cup Walnuts (optional-I never add these, Man has tree nut allergy)

Drop by heaping tablespoon on to greased or parchment lined cookie sheets and bake 12-14 minutes

Makes about 4 dozen

Last weekend I made Lemon Cheesecake Bars, mainly for Relative. He likes lemon and cheesecake, so this seemed like a good choice. The kid is not a big icing fan, so few cakes are baked. The bars were okay. I was not crazy about the crust, too chewy. The cheesecake section wasn't very thick and it should have been the star of the bar!

Lemon Cheesecake Bars

Preheat oven to 350 or 325 if using dark or nonstick pan

In a large bowl mix: 1 box Lemon Cake Mix
1/3 cup softened Butter
1 Egg
Mix until crumbly and press into the bottom of a 9x13 ungreased pan

In a medium bowl Beat 8oz. softened Cream Cheese until smooth.
Add: 1 cup Powdered Sugar

Beat then stir in: 2 teaspoon Lemon Peel
3 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

Reserve 1/2 cup of the cream cheese mixture and refrigerate.

To the remaining cream cheese mixture add: 2 Eggs

Blend until creamy and spread over the cake mixture. Bake 23-28 minutes or until set. Cool completely, about 1 hour. Spread reserved cream cheese mixture over the top and refrigerate 3 hours or until firm. Store covered in the refrigerator.

I made a few really good recipes for dinner the past week. They were quick, easy, and yummy! Chile Verde was really delicious. I served it with sour cream and shredded cheese as toppings. I also baked some leftover tortillas brushed with olive oil for dipping. You can adjust the heat to your liking. Plus, I love one pot meals!

Chile Verde

In a large sauce/soup pan over medium heat cook: 1 lb. Ground Turkey (beef is fine too)
1 Red Pepper chopped
1 Red Onion chopped

Cook 8-10 mins. crumbling the meat with a wooden spoon until browned.

Add: 6 Cloves chopped Garlic
1 Tablespoon Chili Powder
2 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 teaspoon Cayenne (or to taste)

Cook until fragrant about 20 seconds.

Stir in: 2 jars Green Salsa (original recipe called for 1 jar, but it needs 2)
1/4 cup Water

Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover and cook until vegetables are done. Stir occasionally 10-15 minutes. Stir in one can of beans (pinto, black, or kidney) and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Next time I am going to add 2 cans of black beans because I like them.

My favorite dinner last week was Pasta with Vodka Sauce and Mushrooms. IT WAS SOOOO GOOD!!!

Vodka Sauce

In a large saute pan heat 2 Tbl. Olive Oil and add: 1 Red Onion finely chopped
4 Cloves Garlic finely chopped
1 8oz. package of slice Baby Portabello
Mushrooms
Gently cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes

Add: 1 pinch of Red Pepper Flakes

Cook 1 minute and Add: 2 28 oz. cans Crushed Tomatoes

Bring to a boil and add: 1 cup Vodka

Simmer uncovered for about 8 minutes.

Add: 3/4 cup Heavy Cream

Heat for another minute or so and then season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve over your favorite pasta and garnish with chopped parsley and grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese. SO GOOD!!! The leftover sauce freezes well, if fact we are having it tonight!

On Monday night I made these incredible mashed potatoes from a favorite magazine. They were so good they should be against the law! We had them with slow cooked short ribs and mixed vegetables. I was off Monday from work so slow cooked shorts ribs were an option.

Garlic Onion Mashed

Roast 1 whole garlic bulb (remove papery outer skin and chop off top) brushed with olive oil and wrapped in foil at 425 degrees for 3o mins. If you burn the garlic like I did, just use unroasted chopped garlic.

Meanwhile in a large skillet over low heat, heat 1 TB. olive oil and cook: 1 Red Onion Chopped

Cook 10-15 minutes until golden, set aside

In a large sauce pan boil 6 medium potatoes peeled and quartered until done.

Drain and place in a large bowl.
Add: Roasted Garlic
1/4 cup softened Butter
1/4 cup Sour Cream (I used low fat, if that matters much with this recipe!)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Cooked Onion

Mash until well blended and season with S&P to taste. Delicious!!

I hope you try these recipes and let me know what you like!! I have no new recipes planned for this weekend. Man and I are going on a weekend getaway!!! Details to come later...

Weekend Rain

We had a few inches of rain this weekend and it brought out all kinda of creatures. The newest activity is worms on my lanai. With a big rain fall the worms are coming through the tiny holes in the screens. I cleaned up about 100 worms yesterday. They dry up in the sun and stick to the floor. It is so gross!! I sprayed down the lanai and scraped them all off. It will be clean until the next rain, which will be any minute. sigh...

While getting the hose set up I had a little visitor at my feet. A baby black snake. It was only 5 inches long and harmless. I picked him up with a stick and tossed him in the yard. They are cute when they are tiny.

While walking the dogs this weekend we encounter dead frogs on the road who met a horrible death by car. The rain brings out the frogs and drivers can't see them at night, so in the morning there is always a fresh batch of squishy grossness on the roads.

A Picture I Wanted To Share

Sammy and Man being lazy on a Sunday afternoon.

In The Kitchen

Besides baking bread, I have been cooking and baking all kinds of good stuff (and one not so good recipe). I recently baked Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies yummy!!!! They are very popular at my house and at Man's work. Buttermilk sugar cookies were baked last weekend. This is a very old family recipe that I may or may not post :) . Chili Verde was for dinner on Monday and it was delicious!! Tuesday I tried a recipe for Thai Chicken and Coconut Soup with Noodle and Man loved it and I hated it. It was so bland that I ended up having cereal. Relative said it was okay, but then proceeded to have a bowl of cereal an hour after dinner. This weekend I have Cheesecake Lemon Bars, Pasta with Vodka Sauce, and Spicy Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup on the to do list. I'll serve the soup with hot homemade bread! I'll post my recipes soon and I'll let you know how this weekends kitchen project turn out. I love food....

Flu, Swine Flu, and Monkey Pox

Man has the flu. The plain old fashion kind that did not get named after an animal. The Doc said so and so did the swine flu test she conducted. I asked Man how the test went and he said if you don't mind having a q-tip touch your brain it was fine. Ouch!

Man gets very grumpy when he is sick, almost like a baby. Well, I think he acts like a baby when he is sick. When I am sick, life must go on as normal. I'll ask him if he needs anything or is feeling better. I have to ask for everything! Men??? A couple of years ago I ended up in the emergency room. I won't go into details, but lets just say "it was coming uncontrollably out of both ends". Once I was home, I was lying in bed with stomach cramps hoping to just die. I had to ask Man to go get me jello, ginger ale, and all the usual stomach aids. His reply was I'll go get it after Law & Order is over!!!! Hello! I'm dying here!! I just expelled half my body weight in the last 8 hours!

He hasn't lived that one down yet... What is wrong with men?? I think I'll just chalk it up to a sever case of Man Monkey Pox.

Spider

Click to enlarge this picture and you will see the big black and yellow beast that Cooper came nose to nose to in the back yard. Cooper was NOT bit, thank goodness.

Workout

Why is it that I faithfully go to the gym, but then come home and pig out?? I went to a toning class and then a spin class. I worked hard!! I came home starving and proceeded to eat raisin bran with a cut up banana, 2 pieces of wheat toast, and 2 sugar cookies. Now I feel like I'm going to barf...

More PIctures

Will I be as big as you someday?





Oh Yeah!!!

The devil in disguise!
Me, Cooper, and Sammy
Relative & Man tailgating before Bucs/Cowboys game.

More Pictures

Sammy at 3 months old, what a cutie!!!
Cooper and Sammy, two handsome bears!
Aren't we handsome?
Hey, I think there is a squirrel up there???!!!!!
Looking for squirrels & eggs (golf balls) in the back yard.

Cast of Characters

Thought you may want to meet the cast of characters:

Me & Man

He has shaved of the facial hair recently. This is us in Vail Colorado last March. It was an awesome trip.

Cody

Sammy

&

Cooper

Annoying Neighbors

I am sure everyone has neighbors they wish would move! We have them all around us!! We live in a rural area by choice. We wanted peace and quiet please!!
On one side of us we have the a**hole, on the other side we have the "kids", and across the street we have the "dog lady". A**hole is the most unfriendly person you will ever meet. He likes no noise what so ever. If you bother him, he lets everyone know it. The people who live on the other side of him own lots of birds. Those birds can squawk a lot. It doesn't bother me at all, I chalk it up to nature noises. Those birds drive a**hole nuts. He has parked his truck on his property line facing their house and blown his horn for hours (until I called the police). He has shot fireworks towards their property. He has stood outside the yelled and cursed for hours. If I play outside with my dogs and they bark a lot he will come outside and stare at us. Of course I ignore him and urge my boys to play more! If he really creeps me out, then I will get Man to come outside and stare back-Man usually wins-he's bigger. The police have been to his house more than I can remember because of his outbursts. He did have his house on the market, but no luck! Please move away!!

The "kids" are a family with 2 kids who rent the house on one side of us. They are the type of family that will yell at each other outside using the F word. Very classy... They allow the kids to ride a 4 wheeler in their front yard and on the street. They let their dog run loose. I hate them. Please move away...

The "dog lady" across the street runs an animal rescue out of her house. She allows the dogs to run free-in her yard and on the street. To me is it no different then well fed strays on our street. They have a fence and a gate, but the gaps in it are large enough for animals to just jump right through. They also have horses that have roamed the street because they forgot to latch their stable gate and close the gate to their driveway. Our property is completely fenced with a motorized gate thank goodness! I respect her for wanting to help animals, but it is not safe. We have dealt with this for the last 3 years. Recently, there was a pack of her rescue dogs that would run over to our fence anytime our dogs were outside. It was a bark fest even at 530 in the morning. It was crazy!! We tried talking to her, but she didn't care. Then we got angry with her and she stopped even trying to get the dogs back on her property. The final straw was when I was trying to walk my dogs and I couldn't even open our gate because of all the dogs. I yelled and yelled for her to get her damn dogs and what did she do?? She sent her young daughter over to get them. After our walk, I called the police. I was over it!!! The cop spoke to me and then went to her house. He told her that she had to restrain the dogs because it is the law. She told him that since she was a rescue and she took dogs to help Domestic Animal Services, that she could do what she wanted. The cop told her that he advised us to issue a complain to DAS. She could have cared less!! She thinks she should get special treatment since she helps DAS. The cop warned her to secure the animals and be a respectful neighbor. I called DAS the next morning and issued a complaint. I told them I hoped there was not "special exceptions" for people that help them place animals. They assured me there wasn't and they would send someone over to speak to her. Since that phone call I have not seen one loose dog!! It has been great! I am worried about the dogs she keeps. I don't think they get exercised. I feel like since I complained the dogs are locked up, but dogs running the streets is not safe! If they would just fix their fence, then the dogs can roam their yard all they want!! Did I do a bad thing by complaining????

Other than our neighbors, I love where we live. We have 2.5 fenced acres, plenty of doggy room! For the most part it is quiet and peaceful. A**hole has calmed down recently and I only hear the "kids" on the 4 wheeler when I am outside. I hate to have bad vibes with everyone around us, but they just need to learn manners and respect for others, right??