Woof!

Miss Daisy is settling in slowly, slowly. I am still having issues with her eating though. She must have had a hard time eating when in her litter as she is grabbing food from the bowl and running with it. She never finishes what I put down for her, and sometimes I have to hand feed her. I don't want her to be one of those dogs who pick at their food all day long. I'd prefer to know how much she is actually getting. I know I went through this with my other Staffie pup, but it seems like it is going on longer this time around. Maybe I am just forgetful of how it was back then!

The cats aren't too impressed: especially when Miss Daisy chases them around the house. There has been some hissing, spitting and fuzzed up tails so far, but no teeth or claws.....YET!

I feel very sleepy due to the fact that Miss Daisy had me up at 4.20am crying to come out of her crate. I managed to get her and myself back to sleep again, but it's left me feeling like crap. I should have just gotten up instead of going back to sleep for another 90mins. I think it's made me feel worse, not better!

Ok, I have had my drugs and breakfast, now I need to grab a shower. Bye for now.

A dollop of Daisy?

San Antonio was a nice getaway. It was only a couple of days, but the change of scenary and chilling out was good. The drive down was a bit frustrating trying to get through Austin, but other than that, it was pretty much cruise control 65-70 most of the way!

Saturday morning we got up early and had a good breakfast at the hotel. We then headed off to downtown San Antonio. We got parked up in the multi-storey there and thank God we left when we did, cause it was filling up fast, even at that time!

We walked around to the Alamo and did the tourist thing there. Quite an eerie feel to the place when you think about all the men, women and children that died there and the fact that we were there on Memorial Day Weekend too. I figured this was as good a place as any to start learning some of America's history.


The Alamo

We walked along the River Walk and found a British Pub Eric had discovered on the internet and settled on lunch there. I had the most fantastic Bangers n Mash covered with onion gravy with Heinz Baked Beans. Only an ex pat could understand what I went through devouring that meal!! LMAO


Some of the decor at Mad Dog's (and yes, that is an ORIGINAL mini, not one of the larger, trendy ones seen driving around today!)


My lunch, complete with Union Jack!

Well, after we were done with the River Walk and River Center, we went to see the breeder and I fell in love with the older puppy. She had the prettiest green eyes I had ever seen! She was pretty scared coming away from her siblings and mom, but she soon got used to us and after the intial shock had worn off, she slept all the way home! We made a brief stop so she could go potty and have a snack and some water, but she wouldn't "go". She held it in all the way home and another hour and a half after we got in! But since then, she has been potty OUTSIDE a lot. In fact, she has done it all outside and no accidents. Maybe there are some advantages of getting a slightly older pup. We initially thought she was ten weeks but then after being told the dates it worked out to be 13 weeks. Then I emailed the breeder and asked if she wss sure about her birthdate and it turned out she had got it mixed up with another batch and it should have been March 05 which makes her TWELVE weeks old today.

She slept in her crate all last night and didn't cry or bark once to come out. She has been a bit picky with her eating today, but I am sure she will settle in a few days.

Here are a few pics of my "dollop of" Daisy, the blue & white Staffordshire Bull Terrier (NOT to be confused with an American Staffordshire or a Pitbull please).


At the picnic rest area


On the patio: "He's my daddy!"


Ok, so I am a couch PUP-ato!


Do you like my bling, bling collar?

A Sad Day

I feel sick to my stomach. My puppy Lily is dead. The breeder called me about an hour ago to say the mom must have sat on her as she went in to check on them and feed them and her neck was broken. We are still going to go to San Antonio as planned and look at two other puppies that may or may not be suitable. I'm not saying for definite one way or another whether we will get either of them, but I do favor one more over the other. I don't want to get one for the sake of getting one either. If neither are right for us, we will wait for another litter. I feel so low right now.

The Recipe

WHITE CHOCOLATE AND RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE

Crust
18 vanilla wafer cookies
1 cup almonds, toasted
4 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Filling
4 ounces imported white chocolate (such as Lindt), chopped
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 large eggs


3/4 cup fresh raspberries or frozen unsweetened, thawed, drained


Topping
1 8-ounce container sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


2 1/2-pint baskets raspberries or one 1-pint basket strawberries
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam




For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Place large piece of foil on heavy large baking sheet. Set 8x2-inch bottomless heart-shaped cake pan atop foil. (If unavailable, use 8-inch springform pan; omit foil.) Wrap foil around outside and 1 inch up sides of pan. Butter foil and pan. Finely grind cookies and almonds in processor. Add butter and blend until mixture forms very moist crumbs. Using plastic wrap as aid, press crumbs firmly onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of pan. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Cool. Maintain oven temperature.
For Filling:
Melt white chocolate in top of double boiler over simmering water until smooth, stirring often. Remove from over water. Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and peel in large bowl until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined. Beat in white chocolate.

Spoon half of batter into crust. Top with 3/4 cup berries. Spoon remaining batter over. Bake until edges of cake are set but center 3 inches still moves when cake is shaken, about 45 minutes. Cool 20 minutes. Maintain oven temperature. Using fingertips, press down gently on edges of cheesecake to flatten slightly.

For topping:
Whisk sour cream, sugar and vanilla in bowl. Spoon over cake, spreading to edge of pan. Bake 5 minutes. Transfer cake in pan to rack. Run small knife around sides of cake. Cool completely. Chill cake overnight.

Fold down foil along sides of pan. Lift cake pan off cheesecake. Transfer cheesecake to platter, discarding foil. Cover cake with berries. Bring jam to simmer in small saucepan, stirring often. Gently brush jam over berries. (Can be prepared 3 hours ahead; chill.)

Serves 8.
Bon Appétit
February 1994


Recipe from www.epicurious.com

I do LOVE a bit of cake!

Been a bit crazy here since my birthday. What with the outlaws coming over for the white glove inspection and all, I have been dusting, vacuuming and tidying like mad! If I vacuumed the house everyday this past week, I must have done it twice on some days! It became like an OCD thing. If I saw a fleck of dirt, or a crumb, out came a damp cloth and the Dyson and she's off! Whoosh! The poor cats didn't know what had hit them! LOL

I made my cheesecake and it turned out to be a real labor of love. I never knew how much effort went into making one before! Wow. But it felt really good to be baking it from scratch and not out of a baking kit box by Mr Hines or Mrs Crocker! We worked out how much it cost to buy everything, and brace yourselves, cause it wasn't cheap! $19.72. That is if you count the fact that I had the butter, sugar and vanilla extract already! Oh yeah, and don't add on the cheap $15 electric mixer I bought at Walmart either! LOL. Anyway, I digress...after about 3 hrs on and off of baking and mixing and more baking and more mixing and baking, it went into the fridge to chill overnight. Then I had to put the topping on about 3 hrs before it was due to be eaten. Well that was a little tricky, and it probably would have been less, how shall I say, "juicy" if it could have been left a little later. Oh well. It was well worth the effort and I would definitely make one again. It was really tasty and better than anything we have had when eating out! So there! *rasp*


My White Chocolate & Raspberry Cheesecake in its entirety.


A "healthy" slice of cake sir/ma'am? Well I did use 1/3 less fat cheese dammit!

My outlaws loved the house and not one snide comment about dust or clutter to be had. Is this really the person who once quoted us as living like trailer park trash (despite having been brought up in a trailer and her starting off married life in a trailer?) Surely not? Anyway, they both loved the house and even bought me a Stargazer Lily (my fav flower) as a housewarming together with a nice check to spend on new stuff for the house! No, I am not telling you how much it was for, but it will most likely buy us a patio set, or at least part of one *wink*

My FIL took us out to eat at Olive Garden. I had the Chicken Caprese they have on their special menu right now. I had this the last time I went there with E and C a few weeks' back and I have the left-overs in the fridge for tomorrow's lunch!


The kids at Olive Garden

Today the kids all drove me nutso. It's very hard to "train" the kids to use manners when they are here: TSS doesn't give a flying cr*p about that kind of thing and they never say please and thank you when they want or get something. Well I have made a new rule from now on (and so far it's working). If they do not ask nicely and say please, they do not get the said item. They DO however either get ignored, or prompted for a "what do you say?" kind of deal. It nearly ended in tears y'day lunchtime though when J just would NOT say please when asking for the mustard. After that, he seemed to grasp the concept and it hasn't been too bad from thereon in. It's going to be tough when we are TRYING to do the right thing 4 days out of the month and she does f*** all for the other 24-27! I'm hoping one day they will finally get it that they will get farther in life by showing some manners than by being rude, and that one day, Miss Thang will wake up and wonder "Where the f*** my kids "grew manners" cause it sure as hell wasn't from me". Ok, I am off the soap box now!

So, all is once again calm in our household. No more boundaries are being pushed, no more yelling kids, banging noses against walls, crying, arguing about whether they have really taken showers or not, or just having bad manners and attitudes. *sigh*

Happy Birfdee To Me!

Well today is my birthday. I pampered myself by getting my hair highlighted and lowlighted and got a new set of nails done by my friend. Yes, I KNOW I am a qualified nail tech, but I HATE doing nails and if I don't have to do them, trust me, I won't. SOOO much nicer having someone do them for you!

I got a gift card off the outlaws and some money and gifties off my parents. Earrings from E and I have to wait a bit for my present from C


So don't die, but this is me with my new, blonder hair.

Whilst at the salon, I bought some earrings and a toe ring with my birthday cash off my parents.



Pretty green stone, silver earrings.


Silver toe ring set with purple stone.


Bra and thong set off my parents. Woo hoo!


Close up of the pattern.


Khaki tank.


Close up of the pattern - stitching, studs, rhinestones and sequins. Shiny, shiny, buy it now!


Blue tank


Pink sapphire and diamond earrings from E.

We went to Red Lobster for dinner just got back and I am stuffed and sleepy from Corona LOL, so I will sign off for now.

Boooooo

I've been to FOUR different stores trying to find the damn cake mix!Well there would be a reason why we can't find that one anymore: they stopped making it. I have just been on their website. *pout* SO....we are going to make a white chocolate and raspberry cheesecake instead, so there *rasp* And it will be bigger and better than your stinky cake mix!

Mothers' Day and more

Mothers' Day was nice. E made me one of my favorite breakfasts: poached eggs on toast! C had made me a card at school with coupons inside that can be "cashed in" for chores and housework etc. How cute. She also made me a flower and got me a store bought card too! And a cute gift basket from Bath & Body Works.


This was the beautiful gift bag my present came in! I feel a scrapbook page theme coming LOL


And my lovely basket with Peony scented goodies in it!
For lunch, E took us to Chili's. I had the Grilled Shrimp Alfredo with Texas Toast *slurp*. All washed down with Strawberry Lemonade. Mmm...mmm...mmm...mmm...mmmmmmm.

After that huge lunch, we crashed on the sofa. I (like the sad old git that I am) knitted and watched my soaps. E, fell asleep. No change there then!

I finally got a blog for Lily! I had no clue until I joined a dog forum that Dogster even existed. It's like a MySpace for dogs! I just had to get one for her! LOL You can check her's out HERE.

I finally got the dog door figured out and it works a treat! Lets the dog in and out and keeps the cats IN! Hurrah! I don't know how she will take to the big tag hanging off her collar though...speaking of collars, this is the one I bought her the other day at Walmart. It was too cute not to!


Is that cute or what?!

Ok, I have to go eat lunch and try to find a particular cake mix for my birthday cake tomorrow. We've not been able to find it so far. *sigh* Bye for now

Happy Mommy's Day!

To all of you celebrating Mothers' Day today: I hope you have a wonderful, rested day!

I beg your pardon....

.....I never promised you a "brick garden". Ok, ok, so it's supposed to be rose garden, but for this story, we will replace it with bricks! Today we were SUPPOSED to be going to the exciting Air Show and see the Blue Angels display at NAS Carswell about 20mins from here. E had different ideas and figured doing yard work would be more fun. Hmmm. Not my idea of fun, but I gave in. So, if you want to see our "brick garden", you can click on the house link and check out the photos under "Front Yard"

Field Day was fun yesterday and C's Tug O War team (the girls' side) whooped every other girls' team in Third Grade. Way to go C!

I caught a bit of sun and had a red semi circle on my chest area which looked most attractive (can you pick up on the sarcasm in my voice?) So to boost my non-tanned flesh to a better color, I decided to water the BACK yard (come on, I'm not THAT bad) in my bikini. Not a real skimpy number either. It has a halter neck top and cute boy shorts with....wait for it....a faux DENIM print on it. It's really cute and comfortable and I wasn't at risk of anything bursting out of it and scaring the neighbors! Speaking of which, C says very embarrassed, "MOM?! What are you doing in your bikini?! What if someone sees you?" I responded that I was in my own backyard and who was going to see me. "But what about the cracks in the fence? SOMEONE might see you?" Jeeze, anyone would think I looked grossly hideous in my bikini. Answers on a postcard please....on second thoughts, don't bother. Just send donations for the lipo instead LMAO

E washed my car today, wasn't that cute of him? Or was it as a sorry for missing the air show? I dunno, but it is nice and shiny now.

Two weeks to go until I get my squidgey girl home and I can hardly wait!! I managed to find her a cute, tiny collar today at Walmart. It's black leather and has tiny silver bones on it. I will take a photo when I can be arsed and post it here for you all to coo over!

C went to an ice skating party today for R's birthday. She had a great time and we had some alone time, so a good deal all round. Tomorrow is of course Mommy's Day, so hopefully, it will be nice and relaxing and do nothing-ish all day. Bliss.

Ok, I am going to sign off for now. Happy Mother's Day for USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia (sorry UK, you HAD yours already in March, don't be greedy!). Bye all!

A-B-O-U-T......FACE!

Well it would seem that a couple of "guilt trip emails" hit a few raw nerves and did the trick. Both E and I are still in shock, but, she has CANCELLED the party plans and is actually getting off her arse to come down to sunny Ft Worth to see ME instead! *Picks self up off the floor* Her and my FIL are taking E, me, C and J & K out to dinner. (Glad I ain't picking up the bill for that one!). So, that is the scoop on THAT fiasco!

The doggy door has been installed and if I may say so, looks great! Steve (the builder) did a really good job with it. I am most impressed. The poor little thing will be too tiny to push through it to start with, so will need some help. She will also need some bricks outside to help her get in and out. Bless. It's an infrared door which will be activated by a tag on her collar. That means the cats stay IN and all other unwanted critters stay OUT! Good job! LOL


This is just beside our back door, behind the corner of the couch. Because of the style of our back door, we had to do it this way, or buy a new back door and that wasn't happening!


This is the view from outside. The builder had to move the external outlet up to make way for the door.


The door comes with an added security cover. This is so you don't have issues with a human squeezing through the door when you go away with the dog.
Got C's field day (sports day) this morning and my friend T is coming to get me soon, so will sign off for now. Have a great weekend all!

Where we rank

It would appear we don't rank too highly. You may be wondering WTF I am talking about....well...it's like this:

E was always an inconvenience to his parents whilst growing up. It was like they were BURDENED with a child, certainly not believable that he was actually PLANNED for! I always wonder if really after they had him, they just resented him for his existence and were jealous of his every move (still are as a matter of fact). It's sad as he is their only child, yet they treat him and everyone around him like absolute sh*t.

His birthday: it falls just on or shortly after Thanksgiving and I have YET to see them want to go out with him to celebrate it! The first year we were together, of course was not possible because he was overseas. The next year, he didn't even get a card and she went out to the Bass Hall with her beloved friends. Last year, they did the same thing. They basically flipped their own son's birthday off to be with their friends.

C's birthday: the first year, again, we were overseas. So, it was promised, that when we finally made it over there, they would hold a big party for her and give her a present then. The MIL was also going to lease a horse for her to go riding. Well I am sure you can guess that nothing more was ever mentioned about ANY of it! All talk!

The next year, she did get a present and a card, but not dinner out or anything like that. You're not seriously thinking we rank up there with her precious church circle of friends are you?! DON'T be stupid! THEY get to have THEIR birthdays celebrated EVERY year with a meal out, a cake and presents!

Last year, she got a card and gift certificate (she couldn't be arsed to put some thought into it) in the mail, but again, no meal.

My birthday: year one was a check and card in the mail as we were overseas. The next year NOTHING as she was still on a pouting session over the Mothers' Day fiasco. And THIS year: we wrote and suggested that as they were away in Tulsa for the weekend prior to my b'day, we should meet up the weekend afterwards for dinner. The kids would be over and we could all go out together and make it something special. Then they could come back and see the new house and all our new furniture and stuff. (Bare in mind that they haven't been over yet as we wanted to wait until we had got the new couch, grill and dining room set first). Knowing how pushy they are, we thought they would have jumped at the chance to come for a visit. But ohhhhh noooooo: "Mr Florida" (as I will nickname him here), is having his 50th birthday and they are going to his surprise party instead and had JUST RSVP'd when E's email arrived. Who is Mr Florida? A FRIEND. He's not FAMILY (that she stresses we know NOTHING about), he is just a FRIEND. And not even a close friend that they would go out to dinner or church with either. He is a work colleague and neighbor (if you count living three streets away a neighbor).

So, we rank w-a-y down there *points to floor* when it comes to birthdays and any other kind of celebrations to be had. I guess I know EXACTLY where I stand from here on in. Any bridges we were building after the fall out of last Mothers' Day are having gasoline poured all over them right now, and she is waving a lighted match in front of them as we speak!

But you know what p*sses me off the most about this? She wrote to E and said "I do not want to let T's birthday to pass without recognizing it with you and her." WHY say that sh*t if you have no f*cking intention of EVER doing anything about it?! Let's face it, she really couldn't give two craps about my birthday, she just said what she said to make herself look good to E and to feel better as the wonderful "Christian" that she thinks she is!!

Ok, I am out of here. Grrrrrrr.

Getting caught up

Well, quite a bit has happened since I last blogged. Some of it good, some of it not so good. I have been fighting with E over stupid stuff and it has been getting us both down. He has been really pushing for me to get a job and after another let down with a job interview, I am starting to feel like a total failure. We have come to an agreement over money and stuff and are hoping we can both stick to it. I can't stand the fighting anymore.

It looks like we will be on our own for Mothers' Day again this year as my wonderful MIL has decided she would rather it just went away, and so she IS going away - to OK. *shakes head*. They bitch and moan when we don't make an effort, and when we do, they just bugger off up to OK. Oh well. She will just get a card in the mail then. *sigh*

My doggy door and crate arrived last week, and the builder is coming tomorrow to cut a hole in the wall and box it all in. Poor Lily will need some brute strength to get up there and open it at first. I was thinking about putting some bricks down like steps for her, and I may have to open the door for her until she gets a bit bigger. Oh the joy! :-))>br>
The breeder has sent me some more photos, so I thought I would share them with you now:


She is 16days old here and has just opened her eyes.


Here she is trying to wander off.


Look at her back left paw! She's going to have a couple of white toes! Bless!.

Well, the hotel room is booked for May 26 and we get her on the afternoon of May 27 and bring her home with us! I can hardly wait and am counting down the days!

Our new couch and chair arrived today for the den and you can see how those look by clicking the link on the right for the house progress.

I made a really nice new friend who scrapbooks! It's one of C's friend's moms. The downside is that they are moving on May 22 to Baltimore, and we may never see them again! *sniff* It's a real shame because R & C have become really good friends, and T and I had such a good day out at the craft and scrapbook stores on Saturday: we laughed and laughed. We are so much alike it's scary! Hopefully, we can stay in touch by email and phone, but it's not the same as having them living right around the corner. *sigh*

The air show is on this Saturday at Carswell which looks a lot of fun. C will be going to R's birthday ice skating party over in Arlington, so won't be able to make it, but E and I intend on going.

Mothers' Day should be pretty much non-eventful hopefully, and a quiet lunch out with hubby and C will work well. Then next week....dun-dun-d-u-n....I turn another year ancient (I mean older). So if you want to send choccies, flowers, or any other type of present, then please do! LMAO. Nah, I'm only kidding, Just a comment would work right now! ;-) Yep, next Weds, May 17 I turn 37 *sniffle* (PLEASE say I don't look it, even if ya don't mean it! LOL).

Anyhoo, I am going to go and sit my fat butt on the new couch and test it out. Bye for now.