Kenny Chesney - You And Tequila ft. Grace Potter

This is my absolute favorite song right now, so I thought I'd share it with my lovely viewers today! I absolutely love Kenney Chesney's music, and I think Grace Potter's voice is gorgeous! 


(Before you click the play button, be sure to pause the music in the right side bar!)

Macy takes a bite out of breed stereotypes!

(Not sure why the person who designed this put a Weimaraner on the card instead of a Pit, but it's cute nonetheless!)

This morning I woke up early and decided to take Macy to the park for a nice walk before the rain sets in today. Since I have three dogs, I like to divide my free time up when I have the chance so that I can take each dog out individually to the park or to run errands with me for some one on one time and training. This morning was Macy's turn! While Macy and I were walking, a passing woman paused and made the comment "Oh my God that dog looks so ferocious!" (Mind you that Macy was walking in perfect Heel position at my side, had relaxed body language, a happy tail and a "smile" on her face.) The woman simply deemed Macy as "ferocious" because Macy is a large, black, Pit Bull mix. OH Breed Stereotypes...how accustom I have become to thee! 


I wanted to use the opportunity to change the lady's mind about her uncalled for stereotyping.  As an owner/handler, it is my responsibility to be a good advocate for the breed(s) I own and care for. If you are reading my blog post and you're a dog owner as well, I hope you will use this lesson as an opportunity to become the best advocate for the animal you own, regardless of their breed. My hope is to make a positive impact on my community and to educate people on the responsibilities that go along with being a good pet owner as well as member of the public (you'd be surprised how many ADULTS do not know how to approach a dog properly and safely). Having owned, rescued, and fostered numerous breeds over the years, I am a firm believer that EVERY dog has the potential to be a great dog! One of the biggest determining factors of a dogs behavior is responsible pet ownership and training. 


Since the lady had taken the time to pause and make a comment (vs running far away from my dog), her reaction and body language told me that she might be receptive to what I had to say, so I took the opportunity to talk to her. I proceeded to tell her about how Pit Bulls and mixes can be wonderful dogs, just like any other breed. I told her how Macy had passed numerous training classes and even earned the highest points in the last Advanced Obedience class she was in. I let her know how Macy has two other "siblings" at home that Macy helps me work with (One is a registered therapy dog and the other is in training to become one). I went on to tell her how Macy greets everyone she meets with a happy tail and a kiss (which the lady could clearly see was the case). When the lady asked me how Macy had come to live with me, I told her about Macy's adoption story. (Macy spent over 2.5 yrs living at the Humane Society before I adopted her. Nobody wanted a Pit mix, and nobody wanted a dog that was in heart failure.). The lady then asked if she could pet Macy, to which I replied by putting Macy in a sit stay and then showing the lady the proper way to pet a dog (yes, there is a proper way!). Macy happily greeted the lady with kisses and a very happy tail which put a smile on the once fearful woman's face. The lady then thanked Macy and I for taking the time to talk with her today and to change her mind about Pit Bulls (and mixes). Macy is a happy, well-adjusted, socialized, and properly trained dog; today we were able to use that to our advantage in a positive light!


Once again, my Macy girl has taken yet another bite out of outlandish breed stereotypes and converted another person to see the true beauty that can lie in every breed! Way to go, Macy!  

(Macy is on the right; ferocious? I think not!)

Wordless Saturday

Julep Maven

By now, I'm sure that most of you have heard about the monthly beauty subscription services. If you haven't, it's a rather simple concept. You register with the beauty company of your choice, pay a small fee, and once a month you receive a small box of deluxe beauty/lifestyle samples to try out. This way you can see if you like a product enough to purchase the full size samples and you have something to look forward to every month. Most companies give you a little quiz to take to help you find the best products suitable to your skin type and taste. From BirchBox to GoGoGlam, Beauty Test Tube, to My Glam Bag, there are tons of boxes to choose from! 


One company that I discovered recently was Julep. Their monthly subscription service is called, Julep Maven and starts at $19 a month (they're on the pricey end of the spectrum). Recently they had a promotional deal however where they offered your first month for only $5 (you can cancel at any time without incurring a fee)! What a steal! For $5 you would receive two full sized polishes, a lotion, and other samples (That's about $40 worth of things for only $5, shipping and tax already included). My initial response is that I would never pay the $20 for a box like that when I could buy 3-4 OPI/Essie polishes for that price, but for only $5, I thought I would at least give it a try!

Instead of receiving makeup or lifestyle products, their focus is on nail polish and hand care. Being the polish junkie that I  am, I couldn't resist giving it a try with such a terrific promotional sale they had! One thing that sets Julep Maven apart from other delivery services is that if you dislike the choices your quiz results give you for your monthly box, you have the option to go and choose your own. That's what I did! I chose one with a pretty emerald green and pink. In my box came two full sized Julep nail polishes, several samples of hand creams/washes, as well as a full sized Julep hand lotion (which smells divine!) I paid $5 for my box and it arrived within 4 days of my initial order. Julep normally retails their nail polishes for $14 each (all are environmentally safe). 


So here's my opinion: For the introductory box at a rate of only $5, it was a steal! The quality of the polishes was nice, and since I will get lots of uses out of the polishes and the moisturizers, it was $5 well spent. HOWEVER, based on their original pricing of nearly $20 a month, there's no way I'd spend $14 on a nail polish when I can buy the same quality in my favorite OPI and Essie polishes for almost half of that price. If their monthly subscription service were $5-12...it would be worth it. It's definitely not worth the $19 a month though, sorry! (The color pigmentation in the polishes is good, but I still prefer Essie and OPI for the price and quality...also, you get more product out of an OPI bottle than you do ounce for ounce from a Julep bottle) If you'd like to try out Julep Maven, now is the time to do it! If you google the promotional codes and use them during check-out, you too can get your first box for $5! This is the link to try out their service at the discounted price of $5...give it a shot if you love nail polish! http://www.julep.com/great-gifts/bloomspot-50-off-first-month-of-maven


Next month I will be doing a review on EcoEmi when I receive my box from them! They have environmentally friendly lifestyle boxes that include everything from samples of gourmet teas to make up products...I've seen rave reviews all over YouTube for their box, so I can't wait to try it out and let you guys know what I think! www.ecoemi.com

These boots were made for walkin'

Boots...come on girls, we all love them! It dawned on me recently though that I was LONG (as in several years) overdue for some new ones (my friends had noticed too). The only pair I had was a size- too- big hand-me-down that my mom gave me several years ago. While I was grateful to have a pair at all, the blisters it gave me (they were too big) were no fun! 


Thus, I went on a quest for the perfect pair! A bit of background: it's been years since I swam/danced, but nonetheless I still have muscular calves, so I needed a pair that would be friendly in that department and flattering in all other aspects. I didn't want much of a heel to them since I wanted them to be appropriate for everyday wear (including a lot of walking). The biggest dilemma I faced however was finding a pair in my size! I have small feet, so sometimes it becomes a pain in the neck trying to find a pair that is small enough to fit my feet well, yet wide enough to accommodate my calves. After trying on pairs at three different stores, I found a pair that I just couldn't live without at Dillard's. They looked amazing! They were stylish, and they were awesome...BUT there was a problem: they were two sizes too big on my feet, and that was the smallest size they had in stock! Sadness! They were also $149.99 which I thought was a bit pricey. Since I didn't have any luck with other stores though, I decided to order them online. Well low and behold, they ran out of my size and the color I wanted, so they cancelled my order! I was upset, but still determined to find a good pair. So, off to other stores I went in the quest to find the perfect pair! I forgot how many stores I went to, but out of all of those trips, I only wound up with two pairs on clearance. (I think I tried TJ Maxx, Target, Payless, DSW, and several department stores). Of the two pairs I got in stores, I found an adorable brown leather pair that was perfect for everyday, and a zip up black fabric-y pair to wear with dresses/etc; since both were on sale, they were insanely cheap. Yay! Gotta love the after Christmas sales! 


I was still left with a dilemma though; I needed the perfect pair of comfortable black boots since the majority of what I wear clothing wise has black in it. So, my mind kept going back to the pair I loved at Dillard's. On a whim, I decided to check their website again a few weeks later....guess what was on sale for $79.00 and in stock in the color/size I wanted...that's right! I wound up getting the pair I had originally fallen in love with and I couldn't be happier with them; they fit like a glove! I was also pleased with how quickly they arrived (It literally took two days from the time I placed my order, and I only signed up for regular delivery.) Needless to say, I was a happy camper. Oh, and a little tip ladies....if you shop online, there is never an excuse to pay full price: ALWAYS use promo/coupon codes before you place your final order! I wound up getting the pair that I loved for around $59 because of some amazing sales and promo codes (That's nearly 1/3 of the original price!). So lesson learned, be patient when you're shopping for the perfect pair of boots! 

Now I feel like a Country Cinderella with new boots! 

My New Years Resolution

I'm a bit behind on posting my New Year's resolution, but nonetheless I wanted to share it with all of you! I find when I make more meaningful resolutions vs frivolous ones, I tend to stick to them and really try. In previous years I've had the same one because I felt it was what I needed to strive for at the time, "Survive and Thrive". I really felt like I strove to do that regardless of the curve balls that life enjoys throwing out at me (the past few years I've been through a lot. I'm happy that for the most part, I try not to let things get me down and I usually keep a good attitude and trudge onward though.) This year I felt that this new resolution really spoke to me in so many positive ways! This year I resolve to "Laugh when I can, Apologize when I should, and Let go of what I can't change." 

What's your resolution?

Mykelti, the puppy, goes pine cone hunting

Today I thought I'd share a cute little video of Mykelti when she was a little puppy! She still has a thing for pine cones! :)


(Be sure to pause the music in the side bar before playing the video!)

Lydia's spin on Garlic Cheddar Drop Biscuits!

(Don't they look yummy! You get a bonus point if you can find the "Zombie Face" in one of the biscuits!)

I saw a link to this recipe on Pinterest recently, and had to attempt it! I am oh so glad I did! 
Since I never follow recipes exactly, I decided to put my own spin on it and change it up a bit. 


To start with, I made mine in a cast iron skillet (drop biscuit style). If you've never made biscuits in a cast iron skillet before, well you're missing out! Give it a try!


Instructions:
*Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 
*Lightly mist medium-large sized cast iron skillet with Canola Oil Spray/Pam


Ingredients: 
1 1/2 cups Bisquik (I use the "Healthy Heart" one, but you could use anything really)
2 cups milk
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/3 stick of butter (melted)
1/2 tsp Black Peppercorn
1/2 TBSP Garlic Salt
1/2 tsp Basil
1/2tsp Tony Chechere's Origional Cajun Seasoning


Directions:
*Mix together Bisquik, milk, and cheese. Use a large tablespoon or ice cream scoop to scoop the dough with and place in cast iron skillet. Try to keep them in a bit of a round shape (It's ok if they touch).


*Bake at 400 degrees for 7 minutes 


*While biscuits are baking, mix together melted butter and seasonings.


*Change oven temperature to 350 degrees


*Carefully pull out biscuits and baste with butter mixture. Place them back in the oven (don't forget to lower the temperature to 350 degrees). 


*Bake biscuits for another 5-8 minutes depending on the thickness of them (you'll need to keep an eye on them).


*Once biscuits look done, place the oven on Broil and allow the biscuits to broil for about 1 minute under supervision. Once they look golden brown, pull the skillet out and allow them to cool for about 5 minutes. 
(Use your leftover butter mixture to baste the top of the biscuits while they cool.)


Enjoy, my lovelies! 


Ingredient side note: I think these biscuits would taste delicious with corn, sausage, ham, or even chopped up bacon in them!

(Another view)

Feng Shui Dogs

There is never a dull moment with these two little monsters of mine! They decided to try out "Feng Shui" and re-arrange the pillows on my couch to their liking while I was out of the room...


(Be sure to pause the music in the side bar before playing the video)

Florence + The Machine

If you've never heard of Florence + The Machine before, then it's about time I introduced you to this amazing woman's striking vocal work! She reminds me of a cross between Mazzy Star and Adele...ahh I love her voice! Hope you enjoy today's video, my lovelies! 


(Be sure to pause the music in the side bar before clicking the play button)

Lydia's Oven Baked Ranch Chicken

For all of you chicken lovers, this recipe is for you! It's my spin on oven-baked ranch chicken. Enjoy, my lovelies!

Ingredients:
(Since I usually "eyeball" my ingredients and don't measure, I've included a rough estimate for everything I used!)


4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts (thawed or frozen; mine was frozen, just cook it longer!)
1tsp Crushed red pepper flakes
1tsp Tony Chachere's Origional Creole Seasoning (green container)
1Tbsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Black Peppercorn
1 tsp Sea Salt (Optional; most Ranch seasoning packets have a bit of sodium in them already)
1 tsp Fresh Dill
1 tsp Fresh Basil
1tsp minced Garlic
2 large eggs
3Tbsp melted butter
Japanese style Panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup Parmesan
1/4 cup Shredded Mozzarella
1 packet of Ranch dressing mix 

*Preheat oven to 450*


Directions
-Lightly mist a glass baking dish with Pam or EVOO spray-


In a bowl, mix together eggs, butter, Dill, Basil, garlic, and all other herbs and spices


In another bowl, mix together Panko bread crumbs, Mozzarella, Parmesan, and Ranch seasoning,


- Dip chicken into first bowl of mixed liquids and dredge. Let chicken sit for about two minutes and then repeat by flipping to coat the other side. Once you've dredged your chicken, dip into breadcrumb mixture and allow to sit for a minute before you flip sides and repeat. When you've achieved a nice breadcrumb coating, place chicken into baking dish.


-Place chicken in 450 degree oven for 30 minutes (thawed chicken) or 50-65 minutes for (frozen). Once chicken is cooked all the way through, set to a low broil for 1-2 minutes to make coating golden brown.


Enjoy! 


*Lydia's tip: If you have thawed chicken and want to make sure that it coats more easily, place chicken on a cutting board and beat the daylights out of it with a meat mallet! Not only will your chicken hold a coating more evenly, it's also a great way to deal with a stressful day! ;)

December Catch-up

My beloved bloggers, it seems I've fallen a bit behind! So, let's play a little game we'll call "December Catch-up" complete with lots of pictures! Enjoy, my lovelies!

We started off December with a little bit of snow!

My girlfriends and I got into the Christmas spirit with a little shopping and decorating

(Abby, Me, Susanna)

My niece celebrated her 17th birthday!

(Taylor about to blow out the candles on her birthday cupcakes!)

The puppies got into the Christmas spirit too!

(Ranger, Myketli, Macy)

(well, at least one of them smiled lol)

(My sweet pups on Christmas day waiting for permission to have their presents!)

On Christmas, Mykelti especially loved one of her presents to death...quite literally lol!

A few of my Christmas Decorations:

We had a fun-filled cookie bake at my Aunt's house!

(all the kiddos decorating)

(my great niece, Alex did a good job on her cookies!)

On the 23rd of December:

Ranger and I took goodies from our therapy group to pass out at one of our favorite facilities; he was all smiles that day!

On Christmas Day, everyone came over to my house to celebrate!

Christmas night, I made these nifty little ornaments! 

 (left to right: Ranger, Mykelti, Macy)

On the 27th of December, Ranger turned 23 months and Mykelti 

turned 11 months

(they have the same birthday exactly 1yr apart...next month I'll have to do something special for them...doggy cake?!)

On New Years Eve, Ranger had a "play date" and agility practice with his "girlfriend", Liebchen! 

(more pictures to come!)

On The First Day of Christmas...

From 1558 until 1829, Roman Catholics in England were not permitted to practice their faith openly. Someone during that era wrote this carol as a catechism song for young Catholics. It has two levels of meaning: the surface meaning plus a hidden meaning known only to members of their church. Each element in the carol has a code word for a religious reality which the children could remember.

-The partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.

-Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.

-Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.-

-The four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke &John.

-The five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.

-The six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.

-Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit--Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Contribution, Leadership, and Mercy.

-The eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.

-Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit--Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self Control.

-The ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.

-The eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.

-The twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed. 




So there is your history for today!


(saw this on a friend's post and had to share!)

Hilarious: Sheldon's Theory on Santa (from "The Big Bang Theory")

Sheldon's Theory on Santa from The Big Bang Theory:

1) No known species of reindeer can fly. But there are 300,000 species of living organisms yet to be classified, and while most of these are insects and germs, this does not completely rule out flying reindeer, which only Santa has ever seen.

2) There are 2 billion children in the world (persons under 18). But since Santa doesn't (appear to) handle Muslim, Hindu, Jewish, or Buddhist children, that reduces the workload by 85% of the total--leaving 378 million according to the Population Reference Bureau. At an average (census) rate of 3.5 children per household, that's 91.8 million homes. One presumes there is at least one good child per house.

3) Santa has 31 hours of Christmas to work with, thanks to the different time zones and the rotation of the earth, assuming he travels east to west (which seems logical). This works out to 822.6 visits per second. This is to say that for each Christian household with good children, Santa has 1/1000th of a second to park, hop out of the sleigh, jump down the chimney, fill the stocking, distribute the remaining presents under the tree, eat whatever snacks have been left, get back up the chimney, get back into the sleigh and move on to the next house. Assuming that each of these 91.8 million stops are evenly distributed around the earth (which, of course, we know to be false but for the purposes of our calculations we will accept), we are now talking about 0.78 miles per household, a total trip of 75.5 million miles, not counting stops to do what most of us do at least once every 31 hours, plus feeding, etc. That means that Santa's sleigh is moving at 650 miles per second, 3000 times the speed of sound. For purposes of comparison, the fastest man-made vehicle on earth, the Ulysses space probe, moves at a poky 27.4 miles per second - a conventional reindeer can run, at tops 25-30 miles per hour.

4) The payload on the sleigh adds another interesting element. Assuming each child gets nothing more then a medium sized LEGO set (2 lbs), the sleigh is carrying 321,300 tons, not counting Santa, who is invariably described as overweight. On land, conventional reindeer can pull no more than 300 pounds. Even granting the "flying reindeer" can pull TEN TIMES that normal amount, we cannot do the job with eight, or even nine--we need 214,200 reindeer. This increased the payload--not even counting the weight of the sleigh--to 353,430 tons. Again for comparison, this is four times the weight of the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

5) 353,000 tons travelling at 650 miles per second creates enormous air resistance. This will heat the reindeer up in the same fashion as spacecrafts re-entering the earth's atmosphere. The lead pair will absorb 14.3 QUINTILLION joules of energy per second, each. In short, they will burst into flames almost instantaneously, exposing the reindeer behind them, and creating a deafening sonic boom in their wake. The entire reindeer team will be vaporized within 4.26 thousandths of a second. Santa meanwhile, will be subject to centrifugal forces of 17,500.06 times greater than gravity. A 250 lb. Santa (which seems ludicrously slim) would be pinned to the back of the sleigh by a 4,315,015 pound force. In conclusion, if Santa ever DID deliver presents on Christmas eve, he's now dead.

Katy Perry - The one that got away live at American Music Awards 2011 di...