Brady-inator

So, I have been wanting something for about 6 months now. It was kind of pricey so I have been hesitant. Then today, I just couldn't resist anymore. I bought this.

Now some of you are thinking- what is it? This is called a furminator- and in short it is a doggy miracle. It is a tool used to remove the loose undercoat of the dogs fur, thus helping with shedding. I came home and went to work on the unsuspecting Brady.

About 15 minutes later--- this is the scene from the porch....

Crazy HUH?? I know- It is a lot of hair! I continued on for a few more minutes and by the end I was able to 1/2 way fill a plastic grocery bag with hair. I then treated Brady to a doggy shower. We used a new shampoo and now Brady is not only clean- but smells clean as well. It turns out we really did have a 30 lb dog, and the extra 57 unexpected pounds were hair just waiting to be furminated. Just kidding!!

I just love love love my happy, clean, lovable, playful, silly, fun little (ok- big) puppy (ok-dog)!

tales from my weekend

I could give you 51 and a half reason not to go to the State Fair. I don't know why I thought it would be spectacular-- but it wasn't. We went with Kelly and Meghan. It was $5 to park. We each had to pay $8 to get in. This didn't include rides which would have been $20 each, but we passed on that. We looked at the animals, most of which were drastically underweight and miserable looking. We walked around. Meghan and Kelly each ate a hand-dipped corn dog at $3 each. Mr. D. had a funnel cake at $5. I had french fries at $3. Then for some reason Meghan and I each gave a quarter to a monkey. It was a pretty creepy experience. Pretty much we all spent the rest of the afternoon in shock at what a waste of our time and money it was. Thank goodness we had the Wii Fit to play to console us.

This morning I totally did something for myself. I made my favorite cookies. This is a rare event because I usually try to only make things that both Mr. D. and I eat. I have been wanting these cookies lately- so I just made some. Mr. D. tried them and reports "they are O.K.". They are super super yummy to me. Here is a picture and the recipe. The recipe made 35 cookies. I love how my kitchen bar looks like a little assembly line in this picture.

Boiled Cookies

Lay out waxed paper for the cookies before you begin.

In a saucepan combine 2 cups of sugar, 1/4 cup of cocoa, 1 stick of butter, 1/2 cup of milk.

Stir constantly over high heat and boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup peanut butter, and 2 tsp of vanilla.

Once peanut butter is melted, stir in 3 cups of quick oats. Stir and drop cookies on the waxed paper.

I like mine warm. Some people like pecans added- I don't. We plugged it into the weight watchers and it is 2 points per cookie. They are so yummy!!!

This afternoon, I went to a special little lady's birthday party.

Eden turned 7 with a "Luck of the Irish" party that looked like something straight out of Southern Living Magazine. I swear her mom should go into party planning. She thinks of a thousand little details that I would never even think of. The drink of choice was 7 up for the 7th birthday, there were Irish Dancers, Irish games and splashes of shamrocks everywhere. Oh- and for the Alice fans.....

She was spotted doing her favorite thing-- eating icing!!

I came home and Mr. D. cooked us dinner. We had pork tenderloin, mac and cheese and corn. I of course had cookies for dessert.

Mr. D. also washed, dried and folded all of the dirty laundry in the house today. He is such a great help around the house and I am so lucky to have him.

Now, if the Patriots could just get their act together....

it's game day

Wii (are getting more) Fit

This morning my Wii age was 42 and Mr. D. was 43. Looks like we are getting more fit after only one day. The age is basically based on balance and coordination-- which I will admit are not my strong suit!

Wii (aren't so) Fit

Today, I got my Wii Fit. All other obligations had to be put on the back burner. I love it. I played for 25 minutes. Mr. D. is on there now. I like the games. I am not sure if I will get "fit" by doing it. But it will be fun trying to. Per Wii Fit, I am 58 and Mr. D. is 51.

the great cake debacle

I really don't know where to start.

Tonight, Mr. D. needed me to make a few cakes for something at his work tomorrow. I thought it would be a great time to use the bread starter I have been cultivating. I found a recipe for double chocolate cake. Sounds good enough. I went to the market and picked up a few ingredients that I was out of. I decided to double the recipe and make a little something for my coworkers as well. Meanwhile, I am cooking spaghetti for Meghan and Kelly. I decided that while I had the starter out I would make some bread sticks to go with our dinner. I whip that up and put the dough in to rise. I start making the cakes. I knew I needed to double the recipe. Things are going along smoothly until I realized I glanced at the bread stick recipe and put twice the amount of starter that I needed. So instead of doubling the recipe, I had to go back and quadruple the recipe. I was so sad and frustrated and wanted to scream all at the same time. I don't even had a bowl that big and there was just lots and lots of batter everywhere. I decided to mix it except the flour, divide it in half and work in the flour. 1st double batch I cook 4 loaves for Mr. D. to take to his work thing and a 10 inch round pan full for us to eat. I kept making a joke " the next person who calls my cell phone wins a cake." Anyway, the cakes baked, we ate dinner. The bread sticks-- which I made into rolls in my debacle turned out fabulous. I took the cakes out and decided to make a 9 by 13 cake with the remaining batter. Well, it turns out that I had never added the flour to this one. I realized it about 20 minutes after I put it in the oven. Who know what that will taste like. So here is it folks, adventures from the great cake debacle. There is a lot to be said for just picking up something at the Bakery instead.

my evening

Tonight, I got to see two of my favorite girls!

Meghan and I went to dance with Alice and Eden. Alice went in first and we hung out in the lobby with Eden. Then Eden went in and we hung out in the lobby with Alice. It was so fun spending time with the sweeties again. After dance, we met their parents and Mr. D. for dinner. It was great catching up with old friends.