Animal House

Kelly, over at Kelly's Korner, is asking us to write about our beloved pets today.

If you are visiting me from Kelly's Korner, welcome! Feel free to stay awhile, and take a look around my blog :)

We love animals at this house. L-O-V-E. LOVE!

Up first, is our adorable little Yorkie dog named Benji.

I call him my little shadow. Where I go, he goes. If I get up, he gets up. He wants to be wherever I am!

He likes nothing better than to sit or lay on your lap. He can often be found like this.



Here he is, cuddled up with Hubs while he drinks his coffee.

Hubs got me Benji for my birthday almost 6 years ago.




He is the gift that keeps on giving. He loves sitting right next to me. In fact, as I am typing this post, he is glued to my leg. He is my little snuggle buddy, and he is ALWAYS happy to see me.

When we go to Florida, the other pets stay with family or friends. But, not my Benji boy. He comes with me! I could never leave him for that length of time. I think the feeling is mutual.


Here is what he looks like after a bath. All of his fluffiness goes away, and he looks like a skinny, scrawny chicken!

He sleeps in bed with Hubs and I. Thankfully, he doesn't shed.

I know, your pets should not sleep in bed with you.

But, how can you resist this cute little face?

Next, is our 11 year old cat named Bitty.


Her real name is Flower. Well, that is what my oldest daughter named her anyway. It never seemed to fit her, and since she was just a little thing when we got her, I started calling her "Bitty".

Bitty was a stray cat, who meowed her way into our hearts, and our home. I am not really a cat person, but I do love my Bitty.

Don't let this picture fool you. Bitty and Benji are NOT friends. Benji likes to torment Bitty whenever he can. But sometimes, they can be found together, like this. Kind of like a temporary truce.

Our newest pet is Howie the cockatiel.




When we were in Florida this winter, we visited a pet store, and I fell in love with the cockatiels they had there. I told Hubs I wanted one, so for my anniversary this year, I received Howie as a present. I guess you could say that I like presents that leave "presents". Ha!

He loves riding around on our shoulders. This is when we first got him, and he didn't have any tail feathers.

Howie doesn't talk, but he does whistle and sing. He knows "Shave and a Haircut", and we are working on "The Andy Griffith Song". He also has some rockin' tunes of his own that are pretty cool too.

It is very flattering to have him wolf-whistle at you when you walk by. It's like having a very polite construction worker in the house.

It has been so much fun having a bird!




I have always wanted a bird, but I never thought I would ever actually own one. People told me that birds are too messy, but we have a cage with a seed catcher on it, and it really does it's job. He can get a bit "dusty", but we give him regular baths, and I vacuum almost every day anyway, so it's not really a big deal.


He is quite the entertainment when we have people over. He thinks the bird in the mirror is his girlfriend, and he will whistle, sing, and flirt with "her".




We have a goldfish named Derby, that is a year old, and is the biggest year old goldfish I have ever seen! Everyone who comes over remarks over how big he is. My youngest got him at the fair last year, and I warned her that "fair" fish usually weren't very hardy, and he may not even make it through the night. Derby, however, is alive and thriving! We may have to get him a bigger tank (again) if he keeps on growing.

Sorry, no pictures of Derby. Goldfish in tanks are not easy to take pictures of!

Finally, on a sad note, just this Wednesday, my middle daughter's rabbit, Princess, passed away. She was a family favorite, and will be greatly missed.

She was 7 years old. We think she may have had a stroke, as she showed signs of one, but we aren't sure.




She died at home in my arms.

My daughter and I decorated a shoe box to put her in.



Here is the finished product.



We buried her out in the back yard, next to the fire pit where we have bonfires.

We like to imagine that she is happily hopping around Heaven, feasting on tender, sweet hay, and munching on all the carrots her little heart desires.


“You know, sometimes the world seems like a pretty mean place. That's why animals are so soft and huggy.”
― Bill Watterson

I couldn't have said it better myself...

Wanted

This week, a well-known man named Steve Jobs passed away.




Did you know he was adopted? I did not. You can read all about it in this article. Imagine if his mother had not chosen to give him life?

The man who wrote this article was also adopted. Here is his story.



Today, is a very special little girl's first birthday. This little girl's mother, who is my friend's daughter, became pregnant as a teenager. Instead of taking the easy road by choosing abortion, she chose to give her sweet baby life, and she was adopted by a loving family. Her birth mother gave her life, which was the most unselfish and loving thing she could have possibly done.

I have friends who have adopted children because they were unable to have children of their own, and I have friends who have adopted children, who already had children, and felt like they had more love to give.

"There are no unwanted children, just unfound families".
~ The National Adoption Center




Happy 1st Birthday, precious little one. I hope you know how much you are loved....

Road Trip

This weekend, we traveled to Ohio to visit my family, and to attend my cousin's baby shower.

We went to see my Grandpa. It was great to be able to spend time with him.

It is still strange to be in my grandparents house, and my Gram is not there. Not sure I'll ever get used to that.

We ate out quite a bit, and as my youngest told me, she was "full of fries".

We hardly ever eat out, so she is not used to having that many fries in one day. And I am NOT referring to "lamb fries". They were just good ole' American french fries.

I was reminded anew why we don't eat out very often. It is expensive! For us to eat out, it was $54, including tip. This was with all of just drinking water. It pays to eat at home. I could make a dinner-to-die-for with that same amount of money. It would even include dessert!

Granted, I am the one cooking it, and no one is serving it to me.

The restaurant we ate at, had TV's all around broadcasting the "big game", which totally made Hubs' day.

As Hubs was cheering for "his" team, I had to remind him that it probably wasn't a good idea to cheer for THAT team in THIS state. Since his team was considered the enemy. Just sayin'.

On Sunday, we attended my cousin's baby shower.

She is having a boy, and they did his room is dinosaurs. This was just one of the decorations on the tables.

This Hershey bar was at each place setting. Too cute!




It was great to see most of my Ohio family at the shower.

We played baby shower games, and won prizes. We were supposed to use play dough to make what we thought the baby would look like when he is born. Mine is the "baby" in green on the left. My youngest daughter made the pink one, and it was the winner at our table.




I told my cousin that, according to how my baby turned out, her baby boy would come out as a toddler.

He kind of looks like a green, anatomically correct, Elmo.

Yes, he is anatomically correct. I took this game literally. Babies are not born with a diaper or clothes on.

Well....at least mine weren't.

Here is my adorable niece standing in front of the present table.

On the way home, we found this, thanks to Gas Buddy.



Have you heard of Gas Buddy? It is an app that you can get for FREE, and it tells you the best places to buy cheap gas. Hubs does a whole lot of traveling for his job, so this can literally save us hundreds of dollars a year! If you don't have it, you need to get it. Period. Why pay more for gas than you need to?

Hubs put me in charge of the ticket, and one of my fears came true. I LOST THE TICKET. I thought I handed it to him along with the money, but as we approached the ticket booth, it was nowhere to be found.

I wish the tolls only cost this much. It's highway robbery how much they charge now!




Now, when we travel, the car is....ummm....a bit.....cluttered. Yeah, that is a nice way to put it.

Cluttered.

So, there are things everywhere, and I am frantically trying to find the ticket. Soon, it is our turn, and still no ticket to be seen.

The lady was super nice and suggested that we step out, and see if perhaps the ticket had fallen between the seats? Or, were we sitting on it? Was it in the door? Perhaps it had fallen under the seat?

We both got out, and looked high and low, to no avail. It was like the car had eaten the ticket I had just possessed a few minutes ago.

In the meantime, cars were piling up behind us. I'm sure that not-so-nice words were being said about us as we searched.

I always wondered what would happen if you couldn't find your ticket when you got to the toll booth. Now I know.

Apparently, when one loses the ticket, one has to pay the highest fee that was ON the ticket. But, and here is the good news, if one should FIND the ticket, then one can get reimbursed through the mail.

In my spare time, I need to clean out the car, and hopefully, find that blasted ticket in the process.

After all, I did find the missing library book a year after I had paid for it. It was "hiding" in the closet. Right where I put it. For safe keeping.

Now, where did I put that ticket....

National Coffee Day

Today is National Coffee Day. Are you a coffee drinker? What do you like in your coffee?

I still prefer tea over coffee, but I can now say that I AM a coffee drinker.

I prefer Folgers Custom Roast as my drug of choice. I am not willing to pay a ton of money for coffee, but I have tried some of the higher priced brands, and I just seem to keep coming back to this one.

I cannot drink my coffee black. That is just nasty! I HAVE to have sugar, and lots of flavored creamer. I prefer to have a mixture of International Delights Southern Butter Pecan and French Vanilla. Hubs prefers Coffee-Mate Coconut Cream.

My friends at Folgers have an awesome site I have discovered. I was looking around there today, and found some delicious coffee recipes that only take 5 mins. to make (I am all about quick and easy!) so I thought I would share some of them with you.

Here are some coffee recipes I found that are going to be making an appearance at our house in the very near future.

Caramel Cream Coffee

Creamy Vanilla Coffee

Creamy Sweet Coffee

Triple Berry Cafe Mocha

Hot Mocha Sipper

Marshmallow Cream Coffee

The good folks at Folgers did not pay me to post this, nor did they provide me with any free coffee. However, should they want to send some my way, I certainly would be willing to accept it :)

Happy Coffee Day!

Nuts About Hodgepodge

1. It is officially fall here in North America...I realize not everyone who participates in the Hodgepodge lives in North America but if you do, what's your favorite memory of Summer 2011? If you're not in North America, what's your favorite memory of the season just ending on your side of the world?

My favorite memory would have to be when my niece was here visiting us. She lives with her mother, so we only get to see her twice a year. She and my youngest daughter are the same age, and are very good friends. It's sad that they don't get to see each other more often.



Most of the cousins eating cake on the porch. Notice my youngest daughter's wonderful "acting" skills with her piece. Yet, she doesn't want to be in plays. Go figure.





2. Your favorite nut? You know I mean the edible kind, right?

My favorite nut is an almond. They are good eaten plain, but are super delicious when you add them to desserts!


3. What activity puts your sense of balance to the test?

Going on a carousel. It just makes me feel absolutely sick anymore.


4. How would you describe your sense of humor?

Sarcastic and witty ;)


5. September 28th is National Ask a Stupid Question Day...what's your stupid question?

I found this site and took one of the questions I found from it.

Q: Is it raining outside?
A: Does it ever rain inside?


6. Roller skates~hula hoop~jump rope...which activity would you most enjoy? Yes, you have to choose.

I still love roller skating. I'm not as good as I used to be, but I can still hold my own at roller skating parties. I really prefer roller blading though.


7. What's your most sentimental possession?

I have so many! That's really the main reason I have for keeping something around. If I have a hard time getting rid of something, it is usually because it has sentimental value.

One, is my daughters' hospital bracelets from the day they were born. I like to take them out and look at them once in a while. It's hard to believe they were ever that tiny!

Second, would be the letters from Hubs from when we had a long distance relationship. They are so sweet, and when I look at them, it brings me right back to that time in my life.


8. Insert your own random thought here.

We just celebrated my oldest daughter's 15th birthday with an "80's" themed party. You can read all about it here.

80's Party

My oldest daughter just had a birthday. She is now 15.




To celebrate, we had an "80's" themed party. With 19 girls.




Like, fer shur we did!

We asked everyone to come dressed up in "80's" wear. It was neat to see what everyone wore.







We even gave a prize for the best dressed. The lucky prize winner received a can of hairspray, so she could make her hair "big", and a pack of scrunchies.

The girl on the left is the big winner. I'm sure she is putting those scrunchies to good use.



We had a dance contest on the Wii. We were rockin' those "80's" tunes! Here is the family room that I mentioned got a makeover.




We had a bonfire and jumped on the trampoline. (It's now fixed!)

We played with glow sticks




And ate rainbow cake.




Pretty on the outside



But, also pretty on the inside. Just like my daughter :)




We played "Never have I ever" which is always entertaining. Especially with so many people.

Howie was the hit of the night. He absolutely LOVED all the attention! He is such a flirt. He kept wolf whistling at all the pretty girls.



Not to be outdone, Benji had to give everyone kisses.

Right up the nose!



The oldest opened up her presents. She had to wait until the family party to get the present from Hubs and I. Like we would give it to her during her friend party? As if!




We watched a movie, and ate popcorn, and talked, and talked, and talked some more.

Well....the girls did.

Anyways, the party was a blast! I hope we didn't annoy the neighbors too much with all the loud music.

Seriously.....

Cliche Hodgepodge

1. Do you like chili? Red or white? Beans or no beans? Spice or no spice? Toppings?

Whenever I think of chili, I always think of beans. I HATE beans!

Tonight, I ate chili at a friend's house, and it is the first time that I can say that, I may like chili after all. She made the most delicious chili I have ever tasted! It wasn't very spicy, and she didn't mind that I picked the beans out. Once again, NOT a fan of the bean. It was a red chili, so I guess I like red? We ate it with sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese, and Fritos.


2. Red~Orange~Gold...your favorite fall color?

I love red the most, but they are all pretty! I have always wanted a red tree in my yard. We only have trees that have yellow and brown leaves. Someday....


3. Who did you idolize when you were growing up?

I am seriously drawing a blank here.....

4. When was the last time you did something 'arts and craftsy'? Share please.

I like to make my own greeting cards. I have a ton of Stampin' Up stuff, and the girls and I like to make cards for family and friends.


5. What's a place that makes you really nervous?

The lab at the hospital. After all, there are needles involved. Needles make me VERY nervous!

6. Horseback riding...yay or nay (neigh?)

Yay! I have fond memories of horseback riding. I don't really have very many opportunities to go though.

7. What is your favorite cliche?

I like "madder than a wet hen". Not that I have ever been madder than a wet hen. I am always the picture of patience and self-control. Ahem.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

I love watching the show, "Chopped".



I am watching the "Champions' Tournament: Part 4". For the appetizer round, they had to use something called "lamb fries". I had no idea what those even were, but they looked rather......squishy.

Apparently, lamb fries are lamb testicles.

I'm still feeling a little sad about the fate of Amiee, but now, I am wondering if the people who bought her "partner" Doug, actually ate his.....fries.

Things that make you go hmmm......