Dackel Princess

Okay, Sometimes Life Is Weird

I don’t claim to be perfect. In fact if I ever used my name and the word ‘perfect’ in the same sentence my friends and family would all burst out laughing! But today I topped even some of my finest moments. Here’s how it went.

I woke up and grabbed my robe, silly medical boot and my rain boot and put them on. I hobbled from our bedroom into the family room. I had expected to see rain coming down, as the forecast from the night before said “RAIN”! This is what I saw:

In the end we had 9 inches of fresh, heavy snow!

I bundled myself up and walked the pups and came in and after the coffee was done, made breakfast for Hubby and myself. I mentioned that I’d take the Jeep today because I had a hairdressers appointment, but when Hubby looked outside and saw that it was starting to ice, he said he wanted to take me.

My appointment was for 10 o’clock, so about 9:15 we got the three dachshunds into their sweaters and got into the Jeep to go to the next town where my hair dresser has her salon.

It was such a pretty ride, and we got there just before the appointment. So we sat waiting for the salon to open. But no one came. Finally Hubby asked if I was sure my appointment was at 10. I opened my purse and took out my pocket calendar and looked. The appointment was for the next day at 10AM!

Silently, Hubby started the car and we began to drive home. I could tell by his silence that he was annoyed. I smiled weakly and said, “Well, look at the nice ride we had with the dachshunds, and we got to see the beauty of this snowy day!” I’m not sure he was thinking along those lines.

We stopped down town and picked up the mail. Today we did not have to work at finding a parking place as there were no other crazy people like me on the street. We also stopped at the dry cleaners and picked up Hubby’s suit, and the hardware store to show off the pups, before coming home.

Then Hubby got busy with his ancient, but mostly reliable snowblower, and worked over our 500 foot driveway.

I did redeem myself this evening though, while cooking dinner I was able to find the problem on Hubby’s computer and get it fixed for him.

I’m not usually such a space cadet, honestly.

Maybe it was the snow!

This & That

You’ve all heard by now, I’m sure. Yes, the New England Patriots lost the Super Bowl. It was the worst game I have seen them play in a very long time. I feel shocked and disappointed, but then I remind myself…it is, after all, a game.

So I did constructive things this morning instead of watching the news, or Regis & Kelly. (I did not want to hear anyone gloating about the loss!) I made my Curried Butternut Squash Soup, rearranged some furniture, did my usual in and out with the dogs and actually took Anneliese with me to the Post Office.

The soup came out really well, reminding me how much I love this recipe. So I decided to share it with you all. You can find it below this entry.

The diet continues to go well. I had measured my waist when I started Weight Watchers and I measured it again and I have lost an inch off of it. A whole inch!!!

In other news, Greta is still not in heat. I talk to her every day in fruitless attempts to encourage her to hurry up and do this. You see, she is so late now going into her heat that soon Anneliese will be due for her next heat.

Oh yeah, that would be a ton of fun. Two females in heat at one time.

I’ve decided that I should order some extra pants for the girls!

Does it get any better than that? HA!

Maribeth’s Curried Squash Soup

This is the perfect recipe to warm you on a cold winter day! It is easy, nourishing and delicious!

4 cups peeled and cubed Butternut Squash
2 cups fat free reduced sodium chicken broth
1 Onion, chopped
1/2-1 tsp Sweet Curry Powder
14-1/2 tsp ground Ginger
1/4 tsp salt or salt substitute
1/2-1 tsp crushed Thyme

Fat Free sour cream

In a large sauce pot combine all ingredients except the sour cream, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Ladle small amounts into blender and puree.

Serve with a tsp of fat free sour cream swirled in the middle of the bowl.

For WW meal plan, I figure only about 1 point per cup of soup.

Welcome To Our New Pages!!!

After a long time with my old web site skin, I decided that it was time for something new! Heather at Goofy Girl Designs was kind enough to take my disjointed ideas and create this beautiful new space for me. I hope that by having the tabs at the top the page, things will load faster and you will find Dackel Princess a bit easier to navigate!

I cannot begin to thank Heather for all her work. She is truly a design genius and a great friend!

Thank you so much, Heather!!!

Dackels Rule!

Yesterday our phone rang. It was a call from the UPS man, who had stopped his truck at the top of our driveway. He had a package for us, but was reluctant to drive the 500 feet down hill on what could turn out to be an icy road. (Truly, in the winter, the driveway can be very tricky!)

So Hubby went up the hill in our Jeep and got the box. It was addressed to me. And as I opened it I saw that it was a “Pajama-Gram”!

There was a neat round container made of sheer material and inside were the cutest pair of pajama’s and a lavender scented sachet and a “Chillin'” sign for my door, as well as a card from my cousin Janet. What a sweet cousin!

The shirt was embroidered with “Dackels Rule” which makes me love them even more!

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In other news, I wanted to thank you all for your encouragement and good wishes for my healthy eating plan. You are all the best! I feel so much better and so much stronger about this whole weight loss program and I KNOW I can do it!

Now, I am counting down the hours until Super Bowl XLII when my beloved Patriots will take on The New York Giants!

Go Patriots!!!

Saturday Scavenger Photo

Grab the Scavenger Hunt code.
Photo Theme. Join the blogroll. Visit participants.

NARROW

These are the Gatun locks going through the Panama Canal. You can see how narrow the locks are and how close the ships get to the sides.

Not What I Had Planned

I knew I wasn’t going to be able to keep up the incredible weight loss numbers I have been chalking up. I knew eventually it would come to an end.

This week I was probably not as conscientious as I have been, and it showed. I did not lose any weight. In fact I gained 1 pound. I was upset at first, but then I started to think about it and I decided that I am human.

It wasn’t that I cheated, I just made some poor choices in my snacking. Instead of fruit I had Weight Watcher snacks, which are okay, but not in the amount I was eating them.

So I am recommitting myself to the plan, and going forth tomorrow with a tremendous sense of renewed energy!

I can do this!

(It’s just going to take me an extra week!)

Thursday Thirteen #64

13 TV Shows That I Am Watching

1. House. Gotta love a guy who just plain doesn’t care what anyone thinks.
2. NCIS. It just gets better every year. Gibbs and Abby. All I can say is wonderful!
3. Two And A Half Men. I love that show. It ALWAYS makes me laugh!
4. How I Met Your Mother. This one cracks me up too. It’s got a wonderful cast.
5. The Big Bang Theory. This is new this year. It’s about 4 total Geek type guys who are so intelligent that they are handicapped by it. Their world gets turned upside down when a drop dead gorgeous woman moves in next door. Hilarious!
6. Law And Order SVU. There is just great acting on that show, along with good writing.
7. CSI, Las Vegas. I’ve watched from the beginning. Still love Grissom.
8. How Clean Is Your House? This is a British import with two cleaning women who are out to reform the slobs in England. They work miracles when they clean up these places, but sadly they sometimes have real slobs who just can’t change. Anyway, I love this show.
9. Desperate Housewives. I really should have this higher on my list because I do love it, but with the advent of the writers strike, they were the first ones shut down for lack of scripts.
10. The New Adventures Of Old Christine. This one took me a while to warm up to. After a while I really grew to enjoy this ensemble cast.
11. All My Children. Okay, this is my dirty little secret. I watch a soap. I’ve been watching All My Children since I was in High School. Gotta love Susan Lucci!
12. Regis & Kelly. I usually tune in long enough to hear their host chat and occasionally will watch (or listen) long enough to hear a good guest. How could I start my day with out Regis?
13. Reruns of All Creatures Great And Small. This is another British import from years ago. It was shot on location in the Yorkshire countryside, and the acting is superb!

Hubby’s Coming Home!!!

Hubby is due home soon. I am so glad. We have all missed him. Why just this morning while I was talking to him on the phone the dogs surrounded me. They could hear his voice on the cell phone. So, he had to say hi to each of them. We started with Fritz, as he has missed him the most, then Arnie and Anneliese. Lastly Greta got her turn. I held the phone to her ear and he spoke to her, and she did the cutest thing…she talked back!!!

She made these little grumbling noises at him and I know she did it because she knew it was her Daddy! So very sweet.

The rest of my day was spent doing the vacuuming, a little writing, and a little cooking. I also made a wonderful fire in the hearth and I have enjoyed the warmth it has provided.

It’s so funny when your other half is gone and his place next to you is empty. I say it’s funny because for all those years while he was working and flying, I was quite used to this life. It actually took me time to get used to his retirement and his being home all the time. Now, I can’t imagine that life at all. I really love having him here.

I guess I am a romantic, or perhaps I think it’s a good thing to appreciate the people we have in our lives each and every day. Whatever, I do love sharing my life with Hubby and I hope we have many more years to enjoy each other.

Waiting…

It was just me and the fur kids today. Hubby is off to the funeral and I am here with the pups keeping the home fires burning. By burning I mean that I shoveled the patio off so I can once again walk the pups without slipping and sliding around. Fritz and Greta assisted me with this chore. Sadly, the puppies had to remain inside because they are not the best “helpers” when one is shoveling snow.

Once I was done, I brought Fritz and Greta in and did take the two young ones out for a run in the yard.

All this was done while I had my cell phone clipped to my belt waiting to hear from Hubby. He called from each airport he visited on his way to the funeral.

In some ways, waiting for his calls reminded me of when we were dating and first married and he was still flying all over the world. His calls were always the best parts of my days and like a teenager, made me feel special and sometimes silly. This was before cell phones were a normal part of a persons life and I had to wait by the phone at home.

Today while I waited to hear from him I:

Shoveled the patio
I walked the dogs
Went to the Post Office
Did laundry
Walked the dogs again
Watched a movie (The Queen, good movie!)
Fed the dogs
Cooked myself some French Onion Soup
Walked the dogs again

All while I waited with the cell phone clipped to my belt. The calls came and each one made me smile and filled me with that special feeling you get when you talk to the one you love, reminding me once again how lucky we are to have found each other all those years ago.