Our Sweet Fur Babies

Maxine and Mommy finally accomplish a ponytail!

Rare moment-Chipper and Maxine together,holding still AND looking at the camera!

Our sweet baby girl Maxine :)

Bath time!

So fluffy and pretty after her bath!

Whao Mom! Too close!

Smells Like....

 I woke up late in the morning after a loonnng nights sleep.

I took the dogs out and I was happy to see that for the first time in weeks the step was dry.

So I sat and enjoyed a cigarette while the dogs played in the sun and went about their morning rituals.

I was surprised how warm it was and took a moment to be thankful for such a beautiful day in January!

And then I smelt it..

It was a just a slight sweet clean smell in the air..

Spring?! Is that what that is?

Nooo it's just too early,best not to jump the gun on spring fever.

I know what it is!

Life!

The sweetness of sunshine hitting green grass and making it warm.

The woodsy goodness of beauty bark finally drying after months of rain.

That tiny bit of green left on last year's flowers,reminding us all wasn't lost over winter.

I took a moment to savor it before herding the kids inside.

For me it's also the smell of faith.

Having the faith that spring will eventually come.

Spring hasn't failed to show up yet!? ha ha

A sample of things to come as the rain soaks us for many more months.

Faith to know I will survive it.



Life. Translated.

I have a client at work that I have known for about a year. She speaks very little to no English and I speak little to no Spanish. It is hard on me to not be able to talk and get to know my client! Sooo,one night I found an online translator and wrote her a letter. I told her about myself and how much I appreciated her loyalty despite the language barrier. Today she came in for an appointment and I was able to give her the letter. She appreciated it very much! I was relieved to know that my efforts were not wasted. In return, she wanted my email address so she could return the favor. How cool is that!?  Thank you technology! Sometimes you can be a real pain in the a$$ and other times you are resourceful beyond my wildest dreams :)

Pork Chops

I woke up a little late.

Arrived to work on time,barely.

8 hours of a packed schedule and all the hair magic I could muster.

Cut and style!

Talk and smile!

All.

Day.

Long.

I drove home in the dark rain,exhausted.

As I hurried up the back step I saw the BBQ on...

Could it be true?

I kicked off my shoes and followed the aroma of delicious food that smelled way better than the leftovers I had planned!

Mmmmm...

Vern had made the pork chops with apple butter I had been blogging about but hadn't had time to make yet.

Except he smoked them in the BBQ.

Heavenly!

I am so grateful to share my life with someone who appreciates and supports my ambitions big or small.

Who knows that after a long cold day,a warm savory meal will make me feel better.

Thank you Vern

I love you

<3

Friday's Reality

My intentions are always ambitious but also easily sidetracked :) What REALLY happen today in my world? Maxine got a bath,1 dog down,1 to go.

 Chocolate chip cookies were traded for a new recipe for chocolate ganash pie,well worth it.

1 cup of whipping cream

8 oz Bakers semi sweet chocolate

melt in microwave for 2 minutes and whisk until smooth.

Pour into Oreo premade crust.

Refrigerate for 4 hours.

Top with ice cream,whip cream or berries.

Super rich and chocolaty,YUM!

I will revisit the cookie making ambitions tomorrow...?

Dinner was also a new recipe.

Layered Enchilada Bake from Kraft.

Easy and delish!

http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/layered-enchilada-bake-107317.aspx

The rest of the day was spent grocery shopping and now recipe planning.

I made a first time purchase of apple butter today.

I am anxious to use it as soon as possible!

I am thinking it'll go on pork chops tomorrow...?

So let's see here,

it looks like tomorrow is filling up already!

Dog bath,cookies,pork chops...

Oh and did I mention I also want to make Split Pea Soup?

Hmmm....

we'll see.

:)

Friday's Intentions

Tomorrow is Friday,the first day of my weekend.

 I don't have much on the schedule....

So far I have plans to make chocolate chip cookies.

It happens to be an especially delicious recipe shared with me by my friend Melody.

They are so good that I can't seem to bring myself to buy the premade ones at the store anymore.

I also have ambitious plans to give both dogs a bath.

Not at the same time though!

Vern was awesome and bought some new dog shampoo and face wash for them.

It smells great and I am hoping so will our dogs.

I have to admit that I have been using Hartz on Chipper all this time until I recently realized that it was probably the equivalent to super cheap shampoo for humans.

No wonder his hair felt dry and tangly!

DUH?!

Maltese dog hair is high maintenance and requires quality hair products!

Now they have hypoallergenic shampoo and blueberry and vanilla scented face wash ( for the discoloring that naturally happens under the eyes).

They will be such pretty puppies!

Please pray that the bathroom and I survive this undertaking.

I suppose I will also do some cooking.

If I get ambitious, I will prepare a few "make ahead meals" to make life easier on Vern and I this coming week.

Perhaps I should wonder off to Kraft.com in an attempt to kick start my cooking mojo.

I've been in a food rut,time to crawl out.

I will let you know how it goes.

I can't promise pictures of the dog baths but I will try! ha ha

If you're lucky I might even post some food porn!

Stay tuned.

:o)

And I Quote...

You see things; and you say 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say 'Why not?'


George Bernard Shaw

A bird doesn't sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.


Maya Angelou

Tid Bits

Today I made mini yellow cupcakes filled with peach and cream cheese centers and topped with butter cream frosting. They were pretty good but the time of year was all wrong. These little delights are meant to be enjoyed in the spring or summer,not the gray days of January. Yes somehow the time of year mattered with this recipe...

I also experimented with dinner-I love making one dish meals but I admit it feels a bit like cheating. I poured one can of chicken broth in a 9X13 glass baking dish. I added 2 cups of orzo pasta,2 cups of frozen broccoli and 3 chicken breasts on top. I seasoned it all with dry Italian dressing mix,covered it with foil and baked it in a 350 oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. It was soo good! I think we like orzo pasta!

2 for 2,not bad.

It was brought to my attention that I had an ad covering my blog. After much trial and error I have removed all the background gibberish and have settled for a simple layout via blogger. It seems I have fixed the problem but if I have not,let me know!

I know all my faithful readers have tolerated a lot of puppy talk and photos......

.....
.....
I would say it'll get better but...
It probably won't. haha

She is so adorable it's hard not to take a million photos a day! These days Maxine is a wild and crazy girl! She is such a typical puppy-she eats,she potties,she plays,she sleeps and then she does it all over again. I cannot let her out of my sight as she is curious and gets into everything she can reach or potties on the rug. I have had a lot of time off this week and I see how easily time flies when you are chasing and playing with a puppy all day! I am soaking up every moment of the precious time as I know she will grow up before I know it! I need to start planning a puppy shower but I have no idea where to start. It's really all food and some cute invitations right? ANY help would be muchly appreciated :)

So I will leave you with some new photos of Maxi

 

Also a pic of the adorable cake Vern got me for my birthday,THANKS BABY!!

33

Today I am 33.
For my birthday I took the day off.
Besides chasing Maxi,cleaning puppy potty (still working on the potty training) and washing dishes..
 I drank coffee in bed and watched TV until sometime around 1pm.
Then I took a long hot shower and allowed myself to use a lot of hot water.
I deep conditioned my hair,pampered my feet and shaved and scrubbed 32 away.
Ahh,a new woman!
I put on a comfortable outfit and a bit of make up.
Vern cooked an amazing steak dinner and bought me a very cute cake!
Trevor and my friend Tara joined us,it was a mellow fun time.
Just as I wanted :)
We talked,laughed and ate until we were too full for words.
Our entertainment was watching Chipper and Maxine learn to play together.
Chipper is such a patient big brother,I am so proud of him!
I spent the rest of the evening with the man I love more than words.
Then,I gave Maxine her first bath here at home in the kitchen sink.
She didn't really like it much but she smells better ha ha
 We all snuggled in bed and watched TV.
Perfect ending to a perfect day :)
If this is how 33 will be,
I'll take it.

Welcome Home Maxine!

We are proud to announce the arrival of Maxine to our home!

We brought her home Friday and spent a long weekend snuggling with her and introducing her to her new family.

She is fluffy little bit of Heaven.

We love her so much!

Everything about her is perfect from her tiny black heart shaped nose to her little curly tail.

At 11 weeks old she is already potty pad trained,such a smart girl!

Last night she cried at bedtime,so I took her out of her crate and let her sleep with us.

I swore I wouldn't..I caved after 30 seconds.

It went great,she slept on my head and in the crook of my neck...

 until I woke up at 4:30 am to feel her trying to play with my hair.

OK more like eat my hair.

Then Vern woke up at 5:50 am to take her potty.

THEN,guess who thought it was playtime?! ha ha

Thankfully she humored us until 7:30am.

Mommy left for work and Daddy stayed home with the kids.

Our sweet little snuggle baby had turned into a playful toddler overnight!

I think she's starting to feel at home :)

Tomorrow is the real test.

She will be left alone for the first time (besides a little practice).

In her crate and no humans for an hour.

THEN her first day getting "babysat" by "Uncle Del".

Yes,I am leaving my new baby with a legally blind man.

No really..she'll be fine

.......

right?

Lol

Welcome Maxine,Maxi,Max.

Thank you for coming and completing our family

:)

Nesting

Today I cleaned out 2 closets.

I took out 3 bags of my old clothes,1 bag of men's clothes and 3 bags of garbage.

I stored everything else neatly in the closets.

"Hello closet floors!

I have missed you!"

I have finally arranged the house to accommodate Maxine.

Her pink crate is filled with a soft cushy bed and pillow (all Care bear theme of course).

I found a pink shoulder bag I got in Hawaii a few years ago. It's pink and is the perfect size for toting her around with me. Baby slings are $30-60! I am so glad I avoided that purchase!

The office has been rearranged to make her a "potty spot" until she learns to go outside like her big brother.

(Right now she is potty pad trained and hasn't been outside much.)

Now to vacuum up any last minute bits of choke hazard that I might have missed..

and we're ready.....?

Not quite.

We still needed a few supplies.

Off to Walmart we went,

my oh so patient and supportive boyfriend and I.

Potty pads-check

Food bowls-check

Dog brush-check

Dog stairs (she will be too small to get on and off the bed and furniture without them)-check

Pink fuzzy baby blanket-check

Puppy hair bows and accessories (found in the baby hair stuff for super cheap)-check

Mini pink hot glue gun and glue sticks for future accessory making-check.

OK now we're ready.

:)

It's A Girl!

We have finally found our puppy! We will bring little Maxine home this Friday! She is an 11 week old Maltese female.

My prayers were answered when I found the nicest woman with a litter of puppies for adoption in a near by town!
Vern and I went  to meet the owner and puppy a few days after Christmas and we fell immediately in love. This puppy is the sweetest little snuggle baby I have ever seen. It didn't take us long to decide. ha ha
We all felt it was best that we leave Maxine with her doggy Mom for a few more weeks. She still had a little growing up to do and we had a house to puppy proof! The Christmas tree has now been put away,our bedroom has been rearranged to accommodate her pink crate,Vern painted the kitchen and hung the new light/fan fixture and we have removed/vacuumed and dusted every inch of the house for any possible choke hazards or disasters. Today I visited the local doggy boutique and bought her a pink striped hand knit sweater and a light pink coat made of the snuggly-est fabric you have ever felt. It feels ssoooo gooood to finally have a little girl to spoil with pink and girlyness! I am anxiously counting down the days until Friday...3 1/2 to be exact. Here are some of the pictures from our first meeting with Maxine and her owner.

Many more pictures to come! Plus, I will be sure to catch up about the holidays and show off my new kitchen :)