Doug's 29th Birthday!

So I have to start this off with a couple of apologies.
I am sorry, Doug, I forgot to take pictures on your birthday when we ate with your parents.
I am sorry, Wes, Sara, & Trenton, that Pizza Joint sucks!

I got Doug a half dozen of his favorite cupcakes from Publix to take to work with him on his birthday Sunday. That night we went out to eat with his parents at T'Bonz. I got a picture of Doug with his cupcakes but for some unknown reason I forgot to take pictures when we were at T'Bonz. I remembered when we got home that evening so I took a picture of us together and then one of him with his birthday present from his parents.







Friday night we went to Pizza Joint with a few of our friends. We got there at 7 and did not get seated until almost 8 even though we were originally told a 15-25 min wait. After that time expired I asked how much longer it would be and that is when they told me they only had one table to accommodate our party of 10 and that it would be another 15 mins! She came over to where we were about 5 mins later and asked if we would be ok sitting at two separate tables! Umm... NO! We are a party of ten. If we wanted to sit separately we would not be there all together. After 45 mins (oh, BTW, everybody that came in after us was already seated. There was no one waiting for a table!)I went back over to the hostess and I must have had a look on my face b/c she said, "I've got my manager working on a table for you." Oops! My bad! The manager just happened to be standing right beside me so I explained what was going on and I asked if they could push two other tables together so we could eat. He responded by saying, "They told me you did not want to do that." Excuse me!?! How dumb are these people! No one ever asked me that and why in the hell would they not have already done it?
Needless to say it still took another hour for us to get our pizza. Wes and Sara had to get there's to go b/c Trenton was done with Pizza Joint. I felt so bad but I hope they had an ok time. I think we had enough drinks and laughs to help outweigh the wait time. Maybe?
Other than Pizza Joint, Doug had a wonderful birthday. He got the headphones he wanted, some shorts from Gap (from me), cash, Best Buy gift cards, and an I-tunes gift card. Thanks to all our great friends for the Birthday wishes and for coming out and celebrating with us. Next year we will do it up big for his 30th! I can't wait!

Auburn Update

Auburn has been doing so good. She is going to the door and sitting when she has to go outside. The bad thing is she does it when she wants to go out and play (a.k.a. eat grass and leaves). Before, we could let her out and close the door without staying out there with her. Now we can no longer do that. She has found the small crack under the fence door that she can squeeze her tiny little body through. Doug let her out today and did not watch her. When he went to get her she was no where to be found. He went out the side door and found her munching on some mulch on the other side of our fence. Oops! We are going to get a few extra bags of rocks this weekend to fill in the gap.
The back ledge is no longer a problem for our growing girl. She jumps down or back up over it like she has been doing it for years. Although, sometimes it is hard to get her to come back inside the house. The grass and leaves are just so appealing! She is also no longer scared of the door mat. She actually likes it now that she has found it's special power to trap leaves around it.
Her imaginary walls have come down and she is not scared to go anywhere now. She hears the word "NO" a lot! She is a bit of a nipper but we are working on that. She really likes ears, noses, and toes, but she will nip at anything you give her a chance to. I have marks on my neck, check, and legs. Lets just say she does not like rolled up newspaper! Ha!
One thing that she loves and that will keep her content for at least 15 minutes is ice. She loves water and I am sure the cold ice feels good on her teething gums. She also loves to play fetch. She knows to go get the ball and bring it back to you but she can get distracted sometimes. She is still learning the word "toy" and what is and isn't a toy. We will tell her to go get her toy and sometimes she will go get one but most of the time she tries to gnaw on your arm. She loves to give you kisses. She gets excited sometimes and starts nipping but she will give you a kiss right after to tell you she is sorry. Ha! Her favorite place to lick is down your ear. I have no clue why but I swear that long tongue of hers can go all the way down your ear canal! She had not tried to eat or gnaw on any furniture yet but I am sure that day is coming.
Her sleeping habits are much better now. She is staying awake from the time I get home until it is time to go to bed. When we put her in the crate she barely whines and she usually goes to sleep right away. We no longer need an alarm clock because she will start wailing if we do not come and get her by 6:15. Poor thing can only hold it so long and by 6:15 that time is up!
She knows the words "outside", "NO", and good girl". " We are trying to teach her "down", "up", "treat", "toy", and "food". After that we are going big and doing "sit", "stay", and "lay". Wish us luck! I started working on "sit" this weekend and she seemed to pick it up pretty quickly. However, if she got distracted or wound up "sit" went out the window. Ha!

From Heather's Kitchen

This week I have one recipe and 2 new must try items.

My first item is the new Philly Cream Cheese Cooking Creme.


I bought the Santa Fe Blend and made the Tex-Mex Beef & Rice casserole. The creme could easily be a dip on its on. I liked the casserole but it did not have enough spice for my Mexican self. The next time I make it I will substitute Rotel for the diced tomatoes and I will add black beans. The recipe calls for the rice to be cooked but since the tomatoes and corn are not drained you can easily add the rice uncooked to help soak up the liquid.

The creme comes in four flavors and I intend on trying them all. I currently have the original and I am going to make a Cheesy Penne Tomato & Chicken casserole with it. I will let you know how it comes out. You can find tons of recipes for each flavor of creme on Philly's web-site, http://www.kraftbrands.com/philly/products/Pages/all-philadelphia-products.aspx#cooking-creme.

My second new item is Taco Bell Home Original's Sauce. I can not find any information on the internet about the sauces but they come in three flavors. We bought the Chipotle Ranch. The other was something Jalapeno and I can not remember the third one. I found them on a random shelf in the aisle between the clothing and grocery section at Wal-Mart. They come in a squeeze bottle about the size that the small salad dressings are and they are $1.50. I refused to look at the nutritional information because the sauce tasted so good I knew it could not be good for me. Ha!

Ok. Now to the recipe...

Breakfast Casserole
1 roll sausage (cooked & drained)
1 package bacon (cooked & torn into pieces)
1 package frozen potatoes O'Brien (thawed)
2 cups shredded cheese
1 cup Bisquick
2 cups Milk
4 eggs

1. Grease casserole dish and preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Mix Bisquick, milk, and eggs until well blended
3. Pour sausage, bacon, potatoes, and 1 cup of cheese into casserole dish and mix together.
4. Pour the Bisquick mixture over everything.
5. Bake 40 - 45 minutes. Insert knife into middle of casserole. When knife comes out clean, the dish is done.
6. Top with remaining cheese and bake until cheese is melted.

1st vet visit

Auburn's first vet visit went well. The vet was really nice and everyone at the office seemed to really like her. I was sad I did not get to go but I sent my list of things for Doug to ask the vet. I think he did a great job of making sure he got an answer to all my crazy questions. She got her 9 week shots and she did very good until the last one. They warned Doug that it was going to burn her and let Doug hold her until it stopped. All in all she is in great shape. I have to take them a "sample" on Monday because she would not go before her appt. They gave us her medicines and she has taken them all like a champ. Tonight is round 2 of 5 of the heart worm medicine. They gave us this chalky liquid that is in a syringe. We have to pour it down her throat and do our best to get her to swallow it. I am sure the first time is easier than the second because this time she will know what is coming. Poor thing. Wish us luck!


Sitting in Daddy's lap in the waiting room.


The vet was so nice to let Doug take a picture for me!

Bath Time!

We gave Auburn her first bath on Sunday. She did really good. She only tried to jump out of the tub once. She thought it was a huge water bowl and tried to drink all the water. The hardest part was scrubbing her and trying to keep her from drinking the soapy water at the same time. She shivered but never whined. When we were done she was ready to play but I needed to brush her. Well, she hates the brush. So I spent the next hour chasing her around the living room trying to brush her.

Now she is so soft and fluffy! Her smell did improve but I noticed the texture of her coat more than I did the smell. Here are some pictures from her big event...

Things we have learned about Auburn...
1. She loves to have her tummy scratched.
2. Don't mess with her schedule. When we were home all day Saturday, that just flipped her whole world upside down. When I came home late Tuesday, she didn't know when to eat, potty, or play.
3. She gets pissy when her schedule is messed up!
4. She is a scaredy cat but very brave at the same time. She is scared to go in certain parts of the house (the area in front of the TV) but she will jump off the couch and play with dogs twice her size.
5. She loves to sit in Mommy's lap.
6. She loves to give you kisses.
7. She likes to tell you (bark) what she wants rather that show you. She will bark at the door instead of walk to it when she needs to potty. She will bark at you instead of picking up a toy and walk over to you when she wants to play.
8. She loves her Daddy. She goes everywhere he goes and she stands by the door and barks when he goes outside. I wonder if she would do that if I left?
9. However, when it is nap or bed time, she wants her Momma.
10. She drinks more water than her bladder should be able to hold. I try to limit her water in the day when we are not there by pouring a small amount in her bowl. However, she drinks it all at one time. By the time I get home she is thirsting to death and she never stops drinking after that. We have to put her bowl up on the counter to keep her from drinking so much.


We are attempting her first bath this weekend. I have no idea how she is going to take it. I sat her in the sink last night to see if we had enough room in there but she is now scared to death of it. Doug thought it was an appropriate time to turn on the garbage disposal! right after I sat her down. So I guess we will try it in the tub.

This week we are getting ready for the yard sale that we are having on Saturday. We are going in with Doug's parents so hopefully we will have a good turn out. I have to work this weekend so I will leave Doug to handle the sale. And you know my control freak of a self is FREAKING out about it. He has a bad habit of under pricing stuff and then coming down off that price when the customer starts bargaining with him. So tonight and tomorrow night I am pricing everything. Then when he comes down for the customer to feel like they are getting a good deal we won't be out more money that we could have made. I have already warned him to keep a good eye on Auburn or keep her locked in her cage. If someone takes that dog he will be in a whole lotta pain!

So wish us luck in our yard sale. If you are in town, you should stop by. All proceeds are going to "keep us out of jail for not paying our taxes that are due April 15th"! Yay!

1 year anniversary

Wow! I can not believe it has been 1 year since Sara went on-line and wrote my first blog. Ha! I remember her telling me she was going to do it but I did not actually believe she was going to do it. I remember telling her, "No one will read it." Well I hope you have proved me wrong. I try to blog as much as I can and I know there have been some months where I didn't blog at all; however, I hope I have kept you entertained and up-to-date with what's going on in my life.

In the next year I hope to continue to tell you about Auburn, mine & Doug's life together, my new recipes, and all the crazy stuff that always happens to me. I hope to keep more smiles on your face than tears in your eyes; I hope to NOT fulfill everyone's wish for another member in our household; I hope to keep those who are far away close to me through my words; I hope to have enough experiences in my life that are worthy of their own blogs.

So thank you to all that do read my blog. Love you, appreciate you, and (for those who are not close by) miss you!