Bread Sticks and Brrrrrrrrrr...

It's an inside kind of day, and for me that means baking...

I tried a new bread stick recipe...

It is supposed to taste like Olive Garden garlic bread sticks...
Kels said, "Well, kinda.."

I said, "Good enough for me!"
I've eaten several...
Recipe was found here...

And, changing subjects...I wonder is Marley is missing her frozen green dinosaur?

The Window...

This is one of Marley's favorite spots in the house. She loves to look out the window and watch for something to fuss at. She might see another dog across the street, birds flying from tree to tree, deer strolling through the yard, or squirrels scurrying around looking for food. She also watches for a familiar car when she knows one of us should be returning home for the day. I don't know why she thinks she is in charge of the front yard. It's like she thinks she has been promoted to "yard police." This room also happens to be where all of my crafting/scrapbooking goes on. So, if I'm doing something at my desk she stays in the room with me. She's like my shadow, following at my heels at all times. Seriously, if I walk into the kitchen to get something to drink-she has to go with me.

I have to admit, this is one of my favorite rooms, too. And I like the big window, probably for the same reason Marley does. It lets a lot of natural light into the room and I enjoy looking out into the front yard. In fact, if I can't see out I get very claustrophobic...Side note-that's one reason why I can't join the other teachers in the teacher's lounge for lunch---there are NO windows!

The window also sits close to the floor, it's easy for her to park herself on the sill and hang out. 

She can police the front yard and the inside of the house, all at the same time!

Funny story- look closely at her back. She looks really dirty, doesn't she? I don't usually let her look that bad before taking her to the Spa to get cleaned up, but..........one night not too long after she came home from being all fancied up I was trying to open a bottle of flavored balsamic vinegar. It had a cork in it and I couldn't get it loosened up, so I gave it to hubby to open for me. Remember, I told you Marley likes to follow me like she's my shadow. So, of course she was parked right at my feet. When the cork finally let loose, hubby wasn't quite prepared for it to open and he accidentally slung the bottle around and the dark, sticky, syrupy vinegar went everywhere! The rug was easy to clean, just throw it in the washer, no problem. But Marley, not so easy. It stuck on her like glue. Poor thing, guess I should be calling to make her an appointment soon:-)

Another post will be coming soon highlighting a new project I have been working on, can't wait to show you--it was so much fun.....and easy, too!

...lately

a few things I have been enjoying this week...

finishing a birthday layout of M's...I made the Happy Birthday title
with my new Cameo Silhouette-it is so much FUN!

making smoothies for the freezer...why do bananas go bad so quickly?

I finished my last chair...I'll post a pic of
everything I did in the dining room soon...

my azalea plant that never ceases to amaze me with so many blooms,
this is the plant that died several years ago and I finally got a small stem to take root, now it will not stop growing-I've started so many new plants off of it, I've lost count...this summer I gave one to mom and one to Jamie-I hope their plants flourish for them like mine has for me...

I started another table top quilt...

and last, but not least-this is a current pic of Marley and her wild hair-
guess who gets to go to the Spa today? I hope everyone has a joyful week...

Marley...

Marley was right in the middle of our Christmas morning celebration. She loves to be in the center of whatever is going on in the house. And, of course she had to see what Santa left in her stocking.

Here she's playing with her pink pig from G & M, they like to get her surprises.

I think M is waiting to see if Marley is going to let him play, too.

She's spoiled and well loved.... 

And, she knows it!

Sometimes...

sometimes when you go to nienie's you
get to play on the computer...

and sometimes there are two computers so you
don't have to share...

and sometimes the room is messy, because
nienie was busy playing too...

and sometimes you get tired of the computer
and have to move on to nienie's iphone:-)...

and sometimes marley thinks maybe you will take a
break soon and play with her in the backyard...

...and sometimes you just give up and take a nap!

a little spoiled....

She spent the day at the doggie spa....she loves the doggie spa....she has friends to play with....she's petted and pampered....she was treated to a blueberry facial.... and a special red bow for Valentine's Day. She follows her groomer around all day, even when she is working on other pups, Marley likes to be in the middle of all the action. They adore her, too.

She is always so shiny and bright.... and thinks she is "somebody"!....she is always excited to get back home after being away all day....after she prances around the house to make sure all of her toys are still where she left them, she settles in for the evening....getting pampered can be hard work for such a sweet girl:)

Marley...and Pinterest

I think Marley appreciates all of the time I spend on Pinterest:) Among tons of other ideas I've come across and "just know" I'll have time to try some day, I found a yummy (Marley thinks so anyway) Pumpkin Doggie Treat to bake for her. The above image is the one I pinned from Pinterest, the rest of the pics are mine.

You might think it's a little silly to take time out to bake treats for a dog when you could be baking "real people" food---like awesome tasting cinnamon rolls or chocolate chip cookies. But, if you have ever bought treats for your dog, and that particular dog REALLY likes treats, they can become pretty expensive. Since I was making Pumpkin Bread for "real people" anyway, I thought it would be the perfect time to try out the doggie treat recipe.

I found the recipe on this blog. It was very simple to make. After I filled up the jar with baked treats, I put the extras in the freezer. I'm glad I did because after about a week and a half the few left in the jar began to mold. So, next time I bake them I'll keep a weeks worth in the jar and freeze the rest.

Can you tell she appreciates me?

She definately liked them...

Yummy, yummy!

...a thrifty project and faces of G

Here's the before picture of some old shelves I retrieved from the attic. You know the kind---cheap, plastic, flimsy shelves from Wal-Mart. The kind you buy when you're in a hurry and need shelf space and you don't want to put much effort into it. Well, since Caleb has his own apartment now, I have been s-l-o-w-l-y updating his old room. I  painted, added new carpet and put new twin beds in it to use as a guest room when all the kids and grand kids come home to visit. I decided not too long ago to turn this room into my sewing room, too. It isn't used very often as a guest room and I felt like it was wasted space most of the time. I quickly found out I needed some shelves, but didn't want to spend any extra money. For several days I moved existing furniture around (in my mind) from room to room trying to figure out how to squeeze some extra shelving from another room. I just couldn't part with any of my existing shelf space----so----I decided to make a trip up to the attic----and found the above, ugly, brown plastic shelves. But not to worry----I also had some teal paint left over from painting my classroom last summer. And, I am so, so happy with the results. What do ya think? Marley is pleased:)

And, even more exciting----I found an old ornate picture frame that was stored in the attic, too. It was originally painted in golds and browns, ugh! Here comes the paint again:) I discarded the glass and picture that was framed and made a padded, covered bulletin board. All for free!!!

And I love the way it looks!

See my new apron pattern? I'm waiting until I find the perfect fabric...haven't found it yet.

Red and blue might just be my new
favorite color combo!

And, just because he is one of my faves, here are a few pics of G having a great time playing with Nienie.

Take a look at those eye lashes! I'm jealous...

He's trying to act like I'm not in his face taking pictures! Love this guy...

...signs of fall

Fall looks official in my yard today....and Marley is lovin' the nice weathershe doesn't usually stay out in the yard for very long, unless one of us joins her in the grass......so she was very happy that I stepped out to snap a couple of pics!

...a movie & marley

The boys love to have their breakfast in the mornings while watching a movie in the living room. We've finally been able to add a few new titles to the viewing mix--notice "Aristocats" on the big screen, via Old School VCR! We have such a collection of Disney movies on VCR, I'm happy to get a bit more enjoyment out of them, even if the quality isn't great. They both look so focused on the TV, but actually they are splitting their time 50/50 between the movie and keeping an eye on Marley. Like I mentioned a few days ago, they both finally warmed up enough to Marley that they were comfortable with her roaming around the house and not being in her crate during the boy's playtime, which is spent mostly on the floor.
Marley was so good, she wanted to be as close as possible to the boys, I think she just wanted to be noticed. But, I also think she knew there was a GOOD chance of being put in her crate if she became annoying or interfered with their playtime.

This picture cracks me up! Marley looks so dejected, but honestly I think she is hoping Morgan will accidentally drop a bit of breakfast on the floor for her.

Here's Morgan trying out his new dog training commands, telling Marley "down".

Oh wow! I think Marley really thought she might get a bite of cereal.

Oh boy! Licking the hand is a good treat, too! Maybe that's just as good as getting a bite of cereal.

And, this next picture is one of my faves. I'm glad we were so patient with waiting for the boys to be comfortable around Marley....now, I think they'll have a very long friendship. Grayson even told me to make sure I brought Marley with me on my next visit to his house!