6x6

So my blogger friends have missed me! Good to know, cause here I put all my thoughts out there on the web for all to read, and if noone is there, well, that just makes me the crazy person walking around talking to themselves. You know, like those homeless people we all try not to stare at while we clutch our purse a little tighter to our chest.

In an effort to bring me back to the world of blogging (that people do read- all together now, in the style of Sally Fields, "They like me, they really like me!"), my friend from down under, Annette, has tagged me. Its a 6x6 tag, which means I'm supposed to show you the sixth picture in my sixth folder, which just happens to be titled "Lady and Tramp," after my dog and cat. Here is Lady, when she was just a wee pup:

Cute, right? I love my dog.

So now I have to tag six others, so I'm going to tag those bloggers I follow and see if they read me too!

Aurora's Garden

3 Magpies

Kentucky Lake Views

Miya!

Aunt Deane's Place

Bad Kitty! Art Studio

We got a new dog!

Anyone who knows me knows I can be very impulsive and spontaneous. So to those people, it may come as no surprise that this weekend, when we went to PetSmart to buy a few fish to replace Roger and Larry, our two fish who met their maker shortly before Christmas, we instead came out with a dog. But in all fairness, PetSmart doesn't usually have dogs, unless you count the ones people bring in. So when we were looking for fish and I happened to notice cages all along the back of the store full of dogs, I HAD to go say hi. I mean, looking at all the animals at PetSmart is the closest thing we have to a zoo here. When this little Rat Terrier looked at me through the bars of his little jail, he seemed to say, "please, don't let me stay in the shelter," and later, after learning about his past, "don't let another crazy family take me and be mean to me." Besides, he looks like Lady (except he is alot smaller), and he is the same age too. Oh, and his name is Cubby. It's like it was meant to be!

See? He is little enough to fit in the toy bin! Which he jumped in to bury his bone almost right away. Which, oddly enough, turned out to be a pretty good hiding place for it since it stayed there for two days with two dogs in the house.

I hope everyone else's new year brings them happy surprises too!

Tramp

Our new kitten, Tramp (remember, the dog is Lady) is settled in her new home and proving to be too frisky to photograph. She is the most friendly, loving, and social kitten I have ever met, but bring out a camera, and she either bolts towards it or runs away. Here's the best I could do:

AHH...Summer!

Summer! A time for fun in the sun and refreshing drinks! As I write this, the new kitten that adopted us lingers outside, playing with Sierra, and the dog looks at the door like this:

We named the new kitten Tramp, since we already have Lady, and the little burr-covered stray kitten looks a bit, well, trampy. Friggin' adorable, but a little trampy.

After spending all morning separating the two, I'm already ready for my TGIF drink! My recipe this week is one I got in Ft. Lauderdale last year, and fabulous in hot weather. Behold, ye master of rum drinks, Planter's Punch!

Planter's Punch
In a tall glass full of ice, pour:

1 1/4 oz light rum

1 1/4 oz gold/ dark rum
1 1/4 oz Myer's Dark Rum (cannot substitute!!)
2 oz orange juice
2 oz pineapple juice
2 oz Rose's Lime Juice
splash of grenadine

Enjoy!! You might want to make these by the pitcher, because they go fast and the more you have the harder measuring is! xoxo

How to Feel Warm and Fuzzy

This week's TGIF drink recipe will cool you off, and leave you (and your friends, if you decide to share) warm and fuzzy! What is it? Why, the cheapest to make, best margaritas in the world!! I got this recipe as a poor college student looking for a cheaper way to make margaritas from scratch, since I despise mixers. Even when I have the money to buy the usual (expensive) ingredients, I still end up making these, because they are the best!

Margaritas by the pitcher:

1 can frozen lemonade
half of 1 small can frozen limeade (make sure you use only half per batch!)
Pour both of these into your blender.
Add lemonade can full of Tequila (you said you wanted to drink, didn't you??)
Add 1 whole beer, any kind. I have used anything from a Miller Lite to a Corona, it really makes no difference, I assure you. Just don't use some crazy fruity beer or that Tequiza.
Add whatever amount of ice you can still fit in your blender and blend away! Pour into glasses and chill, baby!

Tip for salting the rims of your glasses: throw away that silly round thing full of lime juice and fancy margarita salt from the liquor/ specialty store. Buy a box of $1.50 kosher salt (the chunky kind) from the grocery, pour some in a plate, and rub the rim of your glass with a lime slice. Then dip in salt. Easy peasy!

While you enjoy your margaritas, consider something else that makes you warm and fuzzy: custom made goodies made just for you! Something about the thought that I'm the only one who has it, that is was made just for me, makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. That's just why I made this pendant, to show how something as simple as a beloved photo can become a work of art you can wear everyday! Just look how I went from this picture (taken on my cell phone of Lady when she was a puppy):





To this:

Get yours today!! Only $20 includes digital alteration of your photo, pendant, 18" ball chain necklace and drawstring canvas bag to keep it all in! Click here to see more!

Have a lovely super hot weekend! xoxo

It's Squirrel-riffic!

I am sort of retarded for squirrels. I don't know why, but I adore them. My dad calls them yard rats, especially when shooting at them with a paintball gun (which, I admit, can be funny, when you see a squirrel or rabbit run by with a neon pink splat on the side, because that usually means dear old dad is nearby). Yard rats or not, they are too cute for words and fun to watch. My dog agrees. Lady spends the better part of her day watching them through the window. Of course her mouth is watering, too, although I'm sure she wouldn't eat my little friends. Not my dog.

I have also always wanted a stuffed squirrel, as in from the taxidermist, to put somewhere in my house. Again, I don't know why, since I'm sort of scared by other mounted heads and the like. I have wanted one since even before I saw it on Funny Farm, with Chevy Chase, although his wife understood the coolness factor of a stuffed squirrel. I have looked extensively for years for just the right one, like I am shopping for a puppy. I know, its weird. However, not until good ol' ebay rolled along did I start finding what I was searching for. Now its partly a matter of price, since even I cannot rationalize spending a hundred dollars for a stuffed and mounted squirrel. I have found some instructions to do it myself:


Although I am just not sure I am quite country enough to do it. You can take the girl out of the city, but you can't take the city out of the girl. Living in Kentucky has made me braver, to be sure, "what, that little ol' bug? Stop crying, and kill it, for pity's sake" but stuff my own squirrel? I don't know. Besides, I kind of want to pretend it wasn't just running around, having a great day before Pow! it gets gunned down in the name of art. I'd like to think that my squirrel died of natural causes. How can I think that if I have to get the squirrel myself? I keep waiting for one to drop dead of old age on my front porch, but so far, no luck.

Besides, I kind of want one that looks like he might shoot back:

Happy Accidents and Cupcake Thieves

It was about midnight when I went sleepily to the medicine cabinet to take a couple Benadryl before turning in for the night. Drowsily, I looked down at the counter where the cupcakes for a Hannah Montana cupcake guitar I was doing sat. "Funny," I thought, "it looked like more before." I counted them-21. I needed 24. I baked 24. I was tired, but sure I made 24. I counted the tins to make sure. Yep, two pans of twelve means 24 cupcakes. I counted the cupcakes again. Somehow three had gone missing, and I needed these frosted and ready to pick up first thing in the morning. Never mind that Lady was looking at me like this the whole time I baked them:

She couldn't have eaten them. Not my puppy! Besides, there was not one shred of evidence, no wrapper, or even so much as a stray crumb around.

I woke up Josh. Why would he eat them? How could he do this to me? Its midnight, I'm out of eggs, and I need three cupcakes.

Me: "Did you eat any cupcakes?"

Josh (still asleep): "Cupcakes? Who has cupcakes? What's a cupcake?"

Me: "They're gone! Vanished! What am I supposed to do now?"

Josh (waking up, sighs heavily): "C'mon, let's go to Paducah"

Because the nearest place to buy eggs in the middle of the night is apparently half an hour away, and I have the husband of the year, who is actually willing to make that drive.

Well, as it turned out, Josh didn't eat my cupcakes. I should've known that- he hates cake. What can I say? I was half asleep and not thinking straight either. I also wouldn't hear of driving a hour round trip for eggs, so I improvised. Serendipity stepped in, and my solution was good ol' fashioned Rice Crispy Treats. Here's what I ended up with, a half Rice Crispy Treat and half cupcake Hannah Montana guitar:

I was never so glad to see an order leave my house.

Why I love my dog (even if noone else does!)

My poor dog suffers the worst discrimination. It's not her fault she's a Jack Russell-Rat Terrier mix. "Jumping and barking are in your nature," I tell her, "be who you are." She can't help that when she is really excited to see you, her butt just naturally squats and a little pee leaks out. "Hey, we've all leaked pee before. It happens," I tell her, "don't feel bad."

But she does feel bad, because she doesn't get invited to puppy playdates like all the other dogs. "Doesn't play well with others" and "too excited" they all say. She just loves everyone, and wants to be held, so she jumps. She's a tomboy, and likes to play rough, but when the other dogs do it, they don't get in trouble. She can't help that she is strong for her small stature.

Well, Lady, I still love you. The rest of the world doesn't know what it's missing. You let me dress you up:

And you lay in my lap wherever I am:

I think everyone should have a dog. Big or small, I love them all! So my dog has moxie, so what?! Eventually somebody's dog is bound to let my dog come over to play.