A Scary Journey Inside My Life

 Here we are, TWELVE YEARS LATER, still on this scary journey inside my life.  

It's been a wild ride.

Living it up with RT

You can thank him for pushing me to start this blog.  He's usually a good subject for posts.  And, no, he still isn't allowed to read it.

Life with My Weird Dog

Can he get any weirder?  

Pscyho in the backyard.  

Doesn't like other dogs.  

Afraid of thunderstorms and fireworks.  

He's cute though and always happy to see me.   

My retail adventures

I didn't realize how weird people are when they try to interact with others in public.  

Still living in Illinois 

Hoping this changes sometime soon...

  

Who knew my family (and dog) would provide so much entertainment many stories?

If you have been here since the beginning, you are a saint  I'm sorry  I should pay for your therapy  thank you for putting up with me and my craziness all of these years. 

Cheers to twelve more!

Dental Floss

Dental floss is a hot topic here on the blog.  Yea, just search for it on the side for some fun dental floss stories.

I thought I would let you know that, this is it.  I have completely run out of my inheritance dental floss.  I wrote about this problem a couple years of ago, but luckily found a couple of boxes.  This time though, it's for real.

I will be setting up a GoFundMe page.  

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.

My Weird Dog - Green Beans

 I plant a (vegetable) garden every year.  I grow tomatoes, cucumbers, an assortment of peppers and green beans.  Every year I like to mix it up a little and try growing something different.  This year it was sugar snap peas.  Sometimes I purchase the plants and sometimes I grow them by seed.  This year, I had a half packet of green beans and thought I would just plant them all.  Normally, some of the seeds don't take and I'm left with five or six plants.  This year, all of the seeds made it and we have had an abundance of green beans.

I do what any normal person does with a large crop.  Panic.  Just kidding.  I clean them, cut and blanch them, then freeze them.  I have a several gallon sized bags of frozen green beans in our freezer.  Normally, I like to have enough so we can have home grown green beans at Thanksgiving and or Christmas.  This year, we could probably have green beans every night for dinner and still have some left over for the holidays.

Yes, I have given some away.  I haven't tried the "Sneak some onto a neighbor's porch" yet (although I am certainly tempted..).  And yes, I have made dishes with green beans.  Some that actually called for green beans and some that I decided needed fresh green beans. 

I made a rather large batch of my Greek Style Green Beans.  RT and I must have had them a few days in a row.  While at work, I texted him and said that I couldn't eat green beans a third night in a row.  I could sense the relief when I got RT's text.  Later that evening, RT wondered if dogs could eat green beans.  (I think the abundance of green beans is putting him over the edge).  RT put some of the green beans in Pippen's dog food and they disappeared rather quickly.  Pippen had the rest of that green bean dish (spread out over a few days).

Yes. Pippen likes green beans.  He won't touch carrots or apples, but loves his cooked green beans.

Today is National Hug Your Hound Day.  A day to pamper your pet.  Something that happens every day in our house.  I have a feeling RT will celebrate the day by making Pippen a batch of green beans.

Pop-Up Ads

 What is it with those annoying pop-up ads?  You are trying to read an article and all of a sudden you are being asked to subscribe to a newsletter.  Or a video starts playing and it's playing in front of what you are trying to read.  

I came to read the article, not watch an instructional video on how to build a barn.  And, no, I don't want to subscribe to your newsletter.  Just let me read the article!

National Lazy Moms Day

I like this holiday.  We all deserve to take a guilt free break from our everyday lives. 

#NationalLazyMomsDay is a day to encourage moms to take a break and not feel guilty.  A day for you to do whatever you want without worrying about your chore list.  Delegate those chores to other family members or just forget about them for today.  Being lazy can have some health benefits like reducing stress levels and improving creativity!

How to participate:

Pamper yourself.  

Read a book  

Get a mani/pedi

Take the kids and go for a hike or play in the park

Have a picnic

Go to the movies

Take the dog for a long walk

I know I'm definitely going to participate today!

National Months - September

 Time to look ahead and see what fun holidays we will be celebrating next month.

Here we go!

National Sourdough September

This is a great time for you to make some sourdough bread and share it with your favorite sister.  I will expect a fresh, homemade loaf of bread every week.  Thank you.

It's also

National Square Dance Month

This is a great month to put to use all of that time spent square dancing in PE class back in junior high.  It's a good thing this was part of our curriculum.  Where would we be without those awkward square dance lessons?

National Mushroom Month

This one is for RT, a fun guy interested in fungi.  I believe a trip to the mushroom festival in Kennett Square, PA, the mushroom capital of the world, is in the future.   Mushrooms are an excellent source of copper, fiber, potassium, protein, selenium, vitamin B and zinc.  How to observe?  Drop some in your soup, add them to your pizza, sauté them in some wine as a side dish.  

National Sewing Month

Apparently sewing has always been around in some shape or form.  In the early days, bone and ivory were used as needles.  The process became a lot easier, thanks to the invention of the sewing machine in 1750.  I'm feeling the need to pull out the sewing machine and try to make something.  Do you like to sew?  Do you prefer to sew by hand or use a sewing machine?

National Rice Month

A little strange, since there is a rice shortage due to floods, drought and severe weather and the price is skyrocketing.  

National Courtesy Month

To some, courtesy means kindness.  To others it can mean being polite or having good manners.  It can be spoken or actions toward someone.  Courtesy is about manners and respect.  It takes little effort to be kind.  The entire month of September gives you plenty of time to practice kindness.  Henry James once wrote, "Three things in human life are important.  The first is to be kind.  The second is to be kind.  And the third is to be kind."

National Self Improvement Month    

An entire month set aside for us to make a conscious effort to improve ourselves.  What would you like to improve in your life?  Healthier eating habits, add some exercise to your daily routine, learn a new skill or read more.  Set a goal and get started today!

National Classical Music Month

This holiday recognizes the beauty of classical music.  How to celebrate:  Listen to classical music (either alone or with friends).  Attend a local concert (most towns have local bands that perform).  Learn to play a musical instrument.  

Lots of fun happening this month!

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

I am a fan of cherry chocolate combinations.  I had a taste for maraschino cherries (I don't why) and bought a jar.  Unfortunately, they only had one size jar and it was HUGE.  After eating one, I realized I had to figure out what I can do with them, other than put them in my tropical drinks.  I did a little research and found this cookie recipe.  The cookies are amazing and disappeared within 24 hours.

Here's the recipe:

Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

ingredients:

 1/4 cup butter*

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 large egg**

1 tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp almond extract

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup maraschino cherries, drained, finely chopped***

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips

directions:

Oven 350F.

In large bowl, add butter and sugar and mix well.  

Add in egg and extracts and mix.

In separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda and salt.

Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.  (best to mix by hand at this point)

Add in cherries and chocolate chips and mix by hand until combined.  The dough will be thick.

Drop dough balls onto lined baking sheet. 

Bake for 16-18 minutes.

Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet (about 15 minutes) before transferring them to cooling rack.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A few notes:

*I used vegan butter for this recipe.  I also reduced the amount of sugar in half.  They were still sweet and tasty.

** I used a flax egg.  1 flax egg = 1 TBSP flax seed + 3 TBSP cold water.  Let sit for 10 minutes before adding to the mixture.   You can probably use aquafaba.  That's 3 TBSP of aquafaba = 1 egg.  Aquafaba is the water mixture inside the can of chickpeas.

*** If you like cherries, you can save some of the chopped cherries (or chop a few extra) to add to the tops of your cookies.

****If you want to add a fun look to these cookies, add a little pink gel food coloring to the batter.  Just keep an eye on the cookies while in the oven.  You don't want to burn them.  

If you make these Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies, let me know what you think in the comments.

Enjoy!