Peanut Butter Pennies

I feel a little like...bakerella! I searched online for a recipe to make some dog treats for Bruno. My goal is to make them tiny (he's not getting any smaller) and peanut butter flavored. I found this recipe for peanut butter dog biscuits and thought I'd try it. It only has four ingredients and I want to avoid sugar, because they make him very sick!

All you have to do is mix the four ingredients together, roll out the dough and then cut it into shapes. Since I want them tiny, I am using an apple corer as my cookie cutter.

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/3 cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth
• 1 1/4 cups hot water

Bake them at 350° F for 40 minutes. I only baked mine for 20 minutes due to their small size.

Bruno loves his peanut butter pennies!

Merry Christmas

Mrs. Claus, Mary, Bruno and Santa

Bruno Goes to Washington - el fin

One last picture with Sarah before leaving the mountains and heading back home...


Bruno the shepherd standing up after laying under his blanket while in his den...the long road trip is almost over.


Are we there yet?

Bruno Goes to Washington - the National Mall

Day Three in Maryland and not even the drizzle can keep Bruno from the White House!

Bruno was a celebrity in his own right...there were no other dogs around and lots of people were stopping to look at him and photograph him. One person even filmed some video! Hasn't anyone seen a Dalmatian before?

Mom and Bruno - Washington Monument

Outside the WWII Memorial...Lincoln Memorial...really, really, REALLY wanting to chase a squirrel!


The White House....can't get closer due to the preparations for the upcoming State Dinner.










Looking for Bo...

Bruno Goes to Washington...day 2

On his second day in the Capitol, Bruno headed to the Navy base to see Cousins Steve and Helen, and their baby Wilson. Bruno also saw M-1, which is the he

licopter President Obama flies in when he goes from DC to Camp David. Lucky Dog!

Sarah and Bruno at the Fire Station:

Inside the ladder truck...

After all of that excitement, it is time for a nap with Mom!

After nap time, Molly will be done teaching school, so it is back to her house this evening!

Bruno Goes to Washington

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Bruno headed out to Washington, DC to see his master, my sister Molly. He was lucky enough to ride in Sarah's new RAV 4. Mom headed along as well so they could surprise Molly with a visit. He has been to the groomer, smells nice and is even wearing his bow so he looks nice for Molly.

Driving from our home in Illinois to Silver Spring, Maryland took about 13 hours. (They had to take some more frequent breaks for the Bruno...and his eating and...um, potty business.)

Bruno did not get car sick at any time during the trip!

He stayed in a pet-friendly hotel, received a new mat, food bowls and more than one "goodie bag" from the hotel.

Here he is pictured as he rides up the elevator to the hotel room.

Sarah reports that he only barked twice, but that was because he heard another dog barking and some man was making a great deal of noise himself.

He did not sleep on the hotel bed...he slept in his "den."

He went to visit Molly on his first night.

Fail

Another funny link encompassing a variety of failures...

http://www.failblog.org

Successful Baking...?

I was staying over at Will's house one night while Steve and Jen went to dinner. Will carefully selected a special pizza for us to have for our dinner and yummy peanut butter cookies with chunks of peanut butter cups in them.  Jen has a new oven and a pizza stone, and unfortunately I was unfamiliar with both.  

Will and I were so involved with our dinosaurs and trucks that the pizza was burnt well done.  The cheese had to be scrapped off, but luckily I found some shredded cheese in the refrigerator.  (It was for tacos, but it just added a little south-of-the-border flair!) Once the new cheese melted on the pizza, we put the cookies in.  Not wanting to repeat the same disaster with the cookies, I took them out early.  They were raw slightly under-done.

I decided to attempt baking the same cookies again at my own house.  I hadn’t used the over before, but how hard could it be, right?

It seems I have gone from one extreme to the other...

Well, apparently I had turned the temperature of the oven up (with my belly) when reaching to set the timer.  *sigh*

Piping

I've been seeing so many fancy cupcakes with nice piped icing on the tops of them lately.  Well, I decided that if the bakers of walmart could do it, then so could I.  My cousin Jen's birthday was last month and I decided to give it a whirl.

Yeah, well....it is harder than it looks.  The consistency of my icing was off.  I think I had left it in the mixer too long.  Plus, it was hot in the kitchen, so I put it in the refrigerator, which also made it difficult to squeeze out of the bag.

My dream was chocolate cupcakes with light, fluffy pink icing piped on top and mini-chocolate chips sprinkled over them.

Here is was my reality.....

Footie Footie Football

Bruno - Ready for Football

Hair Raising

Frenchman Herve Diebolt, a participant of the international World Beard and Moustache Championships smiles in Gruendau near Frankfurt September 19, 2009. Over 160 participants compete in 17 categories of beard and moustache styles.

I wonder if they have any eyebrow or ear hair competitions....

Classy

It is funny how I will walk into Walmart with complete disregard for my appearance, yet I try to look a little better when going to Target.  I guess I rate Target as being higher up on the sophistication scale.

Tonight, after working out at the gym for 45 minutes, and without changing my clothes or showering or even combing my hair....I went in to Walmart for a few grocery items I needed.

Perhaps this is the reason why I feel I can walk out "in public" (or as public as Walmart can be) after a vigorous workout at the gym...

http://peopleofwalmart.com/

Handmade with Love

Here are some of the recent cards I've made...

This is a favorite....the "b" is a felt sticker and the rest of the words were stamped on the paper using rubber stamps.  On top of the ribbon, I used a green snap to fasten down a clear star.

the Butt Station

Yes...this is a picture of the Butt Station.  It is the perfect desk accessory: it holds scissors, paper, pens or pencils, a roll of tape AND paper clips in the...um, "bowl."

The "man" is available in blue, orange and green.....you can get them at the Paper Source. 

I found mine in Champaign at Awards, Ltd.

DKS Pride

I am the proud owner of a Dwight K Schrute bobblehead doll.  It sits on my desk at work, where we can all enjoy it.

"Dammit, he put my stapler in Jell-O again!"

"In the wild, there is no health care. In the wild, health care is, 'Ow, I hurt my leg. I can't run. A lion eats me. I'm dead.' Well, I'm not dead. I'm the lion. You're dead."

"There are several ways to tell if a perp is lying...the liar will avoid direct eye contact. The liar will cover part of his or her face with his hand, especially the mouth. The liar will perspire. Unfortunately I spoke to Oscar on the phone so none of this is useful."

"I.D. badges are long overdue. Security in this office park is a joke. Last year I came to work with my spud-gun in a duffle bag. I sat at my desk all day with a rifle that shoots potatoes at 60 pounds per square inch. Can you imagine if I was deranged?"

"When I was in the 6th grade I was a finalist in our school spelling bee. It was me against Raj Patel. I misspelled, in front of the entire school, the word 'failure'. "

the Blowout...

After working at FS taking care of infants for 6-ish years, the only definition of a "blowout" was the one that meant the baby had pooped and the diaper had failed.  Typically,  poop had gone out the sides of the diaper, up the front of the diaper, up the back of the diaper, or in a combination of directions.  Often following a blowout, strong latex gloves were donned and the baby was stripped down and given a bath immediately.  Any clothing went into a bio-hazard bag that was scented like baby powder for the poor parents to deal with at home.

I digress.

Last night, I learned a second definition of "blowout." This time, it was with my rear, passenger side tire.  

It was Tuesday, June 30th and I was in the mood to shop.  Knowing that my friend Kendra loves to shop at Von Maur, I devised a plan to drive into Bloomington after work so we could go to a scrapbook store I love, eat at Logans and shop at Lame Giant and Von Maur.  We left Champaign at 5:30pm for what we thought would be an exciting, yet uneventful trip.

Approximately 30 minutes into our trip as we were cruising I-74 and chatting up a storm, I heard a "POP."  Then loud, horrible noises coming from the back, right side of the car.  

Kendra:  "Did you run over something?"

Me:  "I think its my tire."

Noises become louder as I pull over to the shoulder....

Me:  "Its definitely the tire!"

Ugh....we exit the car and survey the damage. 

 

Status: tire is completely F-L-A-T!

Me:  "Hmmm....okay....gonna have to change the tire."

Kendra:  "Seriously?  I don't know how to change a tire.  For real.  I don't know how."

Me:  "I can change it.  I know how."

I pop the trunk and get out the jack, the spare and the wrench.  I try to get the lug nuts off, but they were too tight.  How annoying.  I call my dad and give him my location and he begins what will be at least a 20 minute drive from Bellflower to I-74 Westbound...mile marker 165-ish.

I cannot just stand there and wait for my dad to come without giving the lug nuts a good try, so despite wearing a skirt, I attempt to get the lug nuts off.  

Within 15 minutes, I had removed 3 and Kendra had removed 1.  (Not too shabby for never changing a tire before...)

The last lug nut wouldn't budge.  At least when my dad would have arrived, there was only one last lug nut to take off.  We stand around (on the shoulder) and talk some more.  

After 20 minutes of EVERY vehicle flying past us, one pulled over and began to back up along the shoulder to help us!

BIG D 151      (his license plate)      Hooray!  A "good Samaritan!"

Kendra:  "We have someone coming to help us."

Me:  "Good.  I cannot believe we've been here for this long and this is the first person to come and help us."

Kendra:  "Have you ever seen that movie where the girl gets a flat tire and a guy comes along to help her, but then he rapes and kills her instead?"

Me:  "Uh.....no, I haven't seen that movie, but thank you for bringing it up now..."

Big D walks up to us and offers to help.  He gets the last lug nut off in just a few seconds.  Whoo hoo!  Then I jacked up the car and he hit the tire until it came off.  As we were putting the spare on, my dad pulled up.

Big D and my dad discuss the spare and if it is on correctly.  Then Big D puts the flat tire in the trunk.  My dad tightens up the lug nuts and Big D wishes us a safe journey and heads home.

As for Kendra and I, we checked the book and it said you can drive on the spare up to 3,000 miles.  Thank you Toyota.  My dad followed us to the next town and thought the tire looked okay.  

Did we turn around and return safely to Champaign?

Hell no!  We went into Bloomington as planned, had a great dinner and a very successful shopping trip.  

As for the car, she got two new front tires and will get two new rear tires in the near future.

Here is a photo of the blowout....I could stick my thumb through one of the holes...crazy!

Thanks BIG D and Dad!  =)

more funny

Drunk People = Yoga Positions

funny

This is too funny...

http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/

Wedding Couple

Here is a picture of my cousin Jared,

and his new wife, Stephanie.

Wedding

At the end of May, my cousin got married in Strasburg.  My mom, Elizabeth and Sarah went with me.  We met up in Champaign and Sarah's friend Zach snapped a picture of us before we headed to the ceremony.

After the wedding, we went to the Daisy Lane Scrapbooking and Craft Mall, which was conveniently located less than one mile from where the reception was being held!

Because we were able to go shopping, we only had to wait 30 minutes for the bridal party to arrive before dinner was served.

I highly recommend doing something during this 2-3 hour time frame while the wedding party is galavanting all over creation for photographs.

Our entertainment for the evening was Shannon and Lance's little girl Addison.  Here she is making "motorboat" noises with her mouth as Elizabeth is holding her...

She is so stinkin' cute!

Birthday Ends with a BANG!

My 31st birthday was yesterday.  Billy the Beagle's humans (my Aunt Mary and Uncle John) took me to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then Billy gave me his gift, a large assortment of goodies from Bath & Body Works.  (This beagle has stellar taste!)

I found some cupcakes to hand out to my canine friends, so on my way to give Bruno his treat, I stopped by Grandpa's house so that I could visit with him.

Around 10pm, it was time for me to head home.  As I walked though the kitchen, I saw a bug on the counter.  I began moving things off of the counter.  I saw the disgusting bug...Grandpa thought it was a roach.  Nasty.  

Please hold...shivers are going up and down my spine.  Ewwwwe.

Ok....so Grandpa handed me some bug spray and told me to spray the bug as it ran out from its hiding place.  He moved the mixer but there was no roach.  

Hmmm....

Well, we started looking behind the knives and then I saw it!  It was crawling on this dark green coaster.  As I reach over and try to spray it, the creepy thing jumps off of the counter and onto the floor towards me.  

As soon as I saw it, I began to spray and spray and SPRAY!  I planned on drowning this thing!  Grandpa suggested I just step on it and kill it.  Seems like a good idea.  So I lift me foot up so that it is even with my knee.  I stomp down as hard as I can and BOOM!  My foot slipped in all of that bug spray that I just put on the floor.  

I was facing North, standing and spraying the roach.  Within three seconds, I am facing South, the can of bug spray drops and the lid flies across the room and smacks against the wall, as I am now on the floor, freaking out that the roach is now out of my sight!

I instantly check the bottom of my shoe and I am relieved to see a flat, dead roach.  I scoop myself up off of the floor as Grandpa chuckles, gets a paper towel to wipe up all of that bug spray that is on the floor as he says, "well you didn't have to stomp that hard!"

I definitely didn't think I'd end my birthday on the floor, sitting in bug spray, trying not to let on that my foot hurt from the fall....

Mahomet McDonalds with SHOW K9

On my way into town this morning, I decided to stop at McDonalds and grab some breakfast.  I am beginning to notice a pattern when going to the McDonalds in Mahomet.  No one there seems to know how to use the drive through appropriately now that they have upgraded to the 2-Lane drive through.  All over Champaign and other towns I have been to that have the 2-Lane drive through, consumers seem to know how to make it work for them.  This is not the case in Mahomet.

Despite bright yellow lines and large arrows painted on the pavement to guide you through the drive through, cars just drive all over the place.  I am not sure if it is a deep need to receive their food as quickly as possible or just confusion.  Rather than forming one line and then deciding which lane to enter as you approach the ordering station, those using this particular McDonalds form two lines immediately.  The directions are painted on the pavement!  They are not waiting until they approach the fork in the road before choosing which path to take...they are creating two roads 300 feet before the "fork!"

How unsettling.  This happens EVERY time I go to this McDonalds.  Every time!

So here I am again this morning.  I am following directions and staying in the single lane.  Just as I am trying to decide which lane I would like to choose, a rusty FORD pick up truck drives around me and forms a new line behind the outer lane.  I wanted that spot!  Everyone knows the outside lane goes faster!

Ugh.

So now, I am stuck in the inside (slower) drive through lane.  I am behind the ugliest tan, Astro mini-van that I have ever seen.  Not only does the car appear to be from the late 1980's but so does the driver's hairstyle, glasses and outfit.  This lady is SLOW.  Her license plate says SHOW K9....what is that supposed to mean?  Then I begin to wonder if she likes to show dogs in competitions.  She seems like she'd be the type to show a dog that looked just like her.  If that were the case, then she would have an afghan hound.  Add glasses and tint the hair red, and you have Ms SHOW K9 herself!

Ten minutes have now passed and about four cars in the other lane have now successfully ordered their breakfast and have driven around to collect their food.  It is then that I hear the driver ahead of me (Ms K9) ask the boy speaking to her what ingredients are in a skillet burrito.  Then she begins asking if he likes it or if he thinks it is too spicy.  Is this lady blind?  There is a huge picture of a McSkillet Burrito right in front of her and it is so large that you can see in great detail exactly what is inside.  Her daughter is now trying to shrink down in the front seat, as she is most likely mortified and embarrassed by her mother's questions.  And these are not questions for the drive through...these are "inside" questions.  Finally, she makes her selection, with special instructions, and we can all move along with our orders.  Too bad it is nearly time for lunch!

New Ball

I recently went to B. Lime where I found a few treasures, including a new ball for the Brunster.  The ball is Huck and it has become a fast favorite.  Next time you are in Chambana, I highly recommend you stop by this great new store!

* PS - So far, Huck has lived up to his "toughness!"

A Woman's Week at the Gym

If you read this without laughing out loud, there is something wrong with you. This is dedicated to everyone who ever attempted to get into a regular workout routine...

Dear Diary, 

For my birthday this year, my daughter (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me.

Although I am still in great shape since being a high school football cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.

I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Belinda, who identified herself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear.

My daughter seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

MONDAY:

Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Belinda waiting for me. She is something of a Greek goddess - with blond hair, dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!

Belinda gave me a tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which she conducted her aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring!

Belinda was encouraging as I did my sit- ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time she was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week!

TUESDAY:

I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Belinda made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then she put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. Belinda's rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT! It's a whole new life for me.

WEDNESDAY:

The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.

Belinda was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. Her voice is a little too perky for that early in the morning and when she scolds, she gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.

My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Belinda put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Belinda told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. She said some other shit too.

THURSDAY:

Belinda was waiting for me with her vampire-like teeth exposed as her thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late - it took me that long to tie my shoes.

Belinda took me to work out with dumbbells. When she was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. She sent another skinny bitch to find me.

Then, as punishment, she put me on the rowing machine -- which I sank.

FRIDAY:

I hate that bitch Belinda more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, skinny, anemic, anorexic little cheerleader. If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat her with it.

Belinda wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the damn barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.

The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

SATURDAY:

Belinda left a message on my answering machine in her grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing her voice made me want to smash the machine with my planner; however, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel.

SUNDAY:

I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my daughter (the little shit) will choose a gift for me that is fun -- like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds!!!

Hot

We are not allowed to run our a/c  until the man that installed it this past winter (with the furnace) comes to test it to make sure it is safe to run.  So, with the recent humidity and heat, I ran into Target and bought a fan.  I thought I'd pull it out of the box, plug it in and be able to enjoy it instantly.  

Not so. 

Assembly required.  

This was not clearly labeled on the box.  

Ridiculous.

Here is a picture of the parts as I took them out of the box...

I briefly considered following the directions until I discovered it was listing of parts that had been labeled up through "F" and I had four parts labeled "A" and one part labeled "B."

It doesn't look too bad, so I decided to ignore the directions.  After all, how hard could it be?  

Only 15 minutes later, I had put it all together (sans directions, of course).  I plugged it in.  It worked.  Just one minor detail....I put the base on backwards!  

I don't care....it still works and maybe on a cooler day I will adjust the base...maybe.

the Boys

Meet Duke:

Meet Satchel:

They live just down the street from Billy the Beagle.  I watch them when their humans go out of town.  We have become quite good friends.  =)