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!!