Happy Birthday to My Baby Sister

Being the die-hard fan of Paul McCartney that she is,

I am going the music video route today.

Let's rock out to a little

"Maybe I'm Amazed"

Happy Birthday, Sweetie ... Love You Bunches!

Everyone Should Have a Red Sweater

The shagamuffins went to the groomer recently and got nekkid. I know they look pretty, but let me tell you how much they don't like being brushed. They went from this ...

To this ...

And even though those fancy blue bandanas rock, it's on the chilly side now so we got out the old red sweaters that I bought at Petsmart years ago ...

The Granddaughter thinks they need earmuffs too ...

They seem to enjoy their sweaters -- Miles headed right outside. The sun may be shining, but the air is brisk. Geez, those sweaters are looking ratty. Guess I better knit up something new for them.

Then he soaked up a little sunshine on the doormat ...

Louie cruised the yard making sure everything was cool. This rock looks fine -- check!

I don't know what this is, but it probably needs to go into the trash can ...

Here he's thinking, "I'd love to shoot a few hoops, but the ball is just too darn big" ...

The citrus trees are looking good -- I see some fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice in the future ...

Uh oh, looks like we have a dead oleander to pull. Louie, go back in the house and quit showing the work that needs to be done ...

As it turns out, he was so exhausted from patrolling the perimeter, he dragged a blanket onto the floor, collapsed and took a little nap ...

But their favorite thing to do is pal around together like best buds do ...

The End!

Men, Watch This Before You Go Shopping

In honor of Black Friday and all the wackadoodleness going on out there today ...

Credit:

 mrmachadochannel

Happy Thanksgiving -- from Plymouth Rock

Okay, so we're not really at Plymouth Rock today. We were there on vacation in September. But what better time to share with you the landing place of the pilgrims ...

Located in Pilgrim Memorial State Park, Plymouth Rock is housed beneath a granite canopy on the shore of Plymouth Harbor, set in the sand near the high water mark. The actual rock is a small glacial boulder.

It is a symbol of the courage and faith of the men, women and children who founded the first colony in New England. We were fortunate to be visiting there on a gorgeous, breezy day when the temperatures were around 70 degrees. Standing near Plymouth Rock and looking around the park, I could see the Mayflower II, the harbor, and Burial Hill. I thought about these people and their amazing voyage -- the brutal conditions they endured during their 66-day journey!

Such dedication, such courage, such hope! There were 102 passengers aboard the ship plus 25 to 30 crew members when they disembarked in Plymouth in the harsh winter of 1620. Seriously, think about it ... gives you yet another reason to be grateful today!

Wishing you all a safe, warm and Happy Thanksgiving!

Wordless Wednesday - The Mayflower II

Wordless Wednesday

A Girl Who Loves Horses

The Granddaughter has always had a thing for horses. When she was a baby, we lived in a wonderful neighborhood in Denver that had a terrific greenbelt, a pond with ducks and a beaver, and a stable with horses. Through every season, I took her for daily walks in her stroller and we'd spend time visiting with the horses.

She has a large old metal popcorn tin filled to the brim with My Pretty Ponies and Barbie horses and such. In fact, I popped into her room last week and found a herd of teeny, tiny horses out that she had been playing with. *sigh* She's a teenager, but I love that she still does things like this.

For her 14th birthday a few weeks ago, she was given the gift of a few horseback riding lessons by her Auntie and the Auntie's boyfriend. Happy doesn't even begin to describe it ...

A girl who loves horses, riding off into the sunset. =D

What's Cookin' - Chicken and White Bean Chili

Don't you just hate it when there's a line for the bathroom?

I posted my so-called recipe for Cheater Chicken Soup recently. Now I'm going to share with you the link for the best from scratch Chicken and White Bean Chili from Epicurious.com. No kidding, this recipe is so worth the little bit of trouble it takes to put it all together. And you can still have dinner on the table in about an hour.

The one thing I have found after making this a number of times is that you really don't need to reserve the juice from the beans and add a little at a time as instructed in the recipe. I just dump in both cans of beans and juice all at once. Believe me, it still thickens up nicely and tastes perfect. And the boneless, skinless chicken thighs are so juicy! Although I'm thinkin' that a few cups of cubed leftover turkey would be extremely delicious as a substitute, especially since I have a 21-pounder ready to roast.

We like to serve it with Tostito's Baked Scoops. Oh. Em. Gee. It is sooooooo good! It makes a pretty good sized pot of chili and the leftovers just get better and better.

Dog Baths and Cheeseburger Pie

Because Miles and Louie are small, we're able to give them baths in the kitchen sink. They never like it while it's happening, but they are so happy when it's over. They feel great, they know they're cute because we all oooh and aaah over them, and they get a treat after they're brushed. And, of course, it doesn't matter how fast I am with the towel, somebody always shakes and sprays the window.

Well, now that we're all nice and clean, I have two words for you ... Cheeseburger Pie. This is the good old Betty Crocker recipe made with Bisquick that has been around forever and a day and it is one of our family favorites. Hubby has a love/hate relationship with this dish because he always has to have just one more piece. And then just one more piece. You see where this is going.

Here's the link for the recipe -- Impossibly Easy Cheeseburger Pie -- and a few pictures of the process ...

So have a nice bath and brushing, then a piece of cheeseburger pie ... you'll like it!