The Dackel Princess

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. The NFL playoffs were held this past weekend and this year’s Superbowl lineup will feature The New York Giants versus The New England Patriots. How do you define ‘patriot’?

The dictionary defines this as: A person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country and its interests with devotion. I would have to say, that I feel that both Hubby and I fit the definition. Especially since he served his country for five years.

2. What’s something in your life right now that feels like a ‘giant’?

Well, my office! It is a giant mess and I really have to get in there and get it straightened out! Hubby would say the driveway, as it is all ice! That is a giant mess too!

3. What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think back to being 18?

Giving birth to Mandy. She was born a little more than a month after my 18th birthday.

I remember thinking that I had been waiting all my life for this beautiful baby! And there she was! Chubby, healthy and the most beautiful baby in the world!

4. Coconut, mashed potatoes, vanilla ice cream, mayonnaise…which white food would be the hardest to give up?

Probably mashed potatoes. I love them. I do have to measure them, but I do still eat them. I never eat coconut, vanilla ice cream and hardly use mayonnaise.

5. Describe an incident or a day you remember as the coldest you’ve ever experienced?

A few years back we had a January where the temperatures didn’t rise above -10 degrees for a week or more. Most days we were about -15 with a wind and we just didn’t go out at all. Thankfully, that was before the current fuel oil price rise, and we managed to make it through without going broke.

6. You’re hosting a brunch…what’s your favorite dish to prepare and serve?

Oh I love to serve bacon, scrambled eggs, perhaps a loaf of fresh, hot sweet bread, fresh orange juice, hot coffee, and also some melon. Remember, a menu or food preparation is easy for me, which is why I’m a Lifetime Member of Weight Watchers!

7. How do you combat negative thinking?

I sit myself down and have a long talk with myself! I have been through the worst that life can throw at you and I simply refuse to allow myself to have a pity party for too long.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

It’s slushy, rainy, and nearly 40 degrees (F) here today. What a mess! Even the dogs didn’t want to be outside. I cannot say I blame them! I do need to go out tonight (Tuesday) for a meeting, and it is my hope that Wednesday will be clear.

Back In The Saddle Again

I got some new clothes today in the mail. Two pair of pants and a top and sweater. that I’d gotten them at an extremely low price as they were clearance items. Everything fit just fine, but the pants would look, oh so much better, if I lost 5 pounds. Just 5 pounds, I know. I said this to Hubby and he sort of snickered at me!

Now Hubby is really good about things. All the while I’ve been going to Weight Watchers, he’s been encouraging me and praising me, but I have to admit, I’ve been going no where fast since Christmas!

So, I started journaling my food again. Writing everything down, and weighing and measuring everything. And I know that I have to do this at every meal I prepare.

Oh why couldn’t I have been born with an incredibly fast metabolism?

What I Did Last Weekend

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend! After all, you never know when you will need an alibi!

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The weekend seemed to speed by. On Friday I just hung out with the dogs, and tried to stay warm. I was feeling lazy and so aside from making meals and reading, I didn’t do anything much. Hubby had gone skiing, and he had some nice fresh powder to ski in!

Saturday, my sweet husband drove me down and we had lunch with Mandy and Matt to celebrate my Grand-daughter! They learned the baby’s sex on Tuesday and so we were celebrating a girl. Of course, we would have celebrated a boy too! We just want a happy and healthy baby!

Saturday proved to be a big day all around, but I will refer you to yesterdays post, so I don’t have to rewrite it. Between the snow and a few unexpected incidents, it was a very full day!

Sunday we woke to bitterly cold temperatures. It was -5 degrees (F)! I let dogs out, one at a time, and when Anneliese went out, she got stuck in the snow. She cried and tried to lift her paws and I ended up running outside in my robe and slippers to rescue her! Then I brought her in, wrapped her in a blanket and then held her until she warmed up. Brutal! I’m not a big fan of below zero temperatures!

I decided that the least I could do was get all the laundry together today and get it done. When I was folding the whites I was amazed to see so much of Hubby’s tidy, whiteys. My goodness, the man had no underwear left! Well, now he does!

We watched the New England Patriots play against the Baltimore Ravens, and it was a really stressful game, right up until the end! The Patriots won! 23-20! Now they will get to go to Super Bowl! Yay!!!!

The temperatures are dropping again, as I sit here writing. We’re watching the next football game, to see who the Patriots will play in the Super Bowl.

Happy Monday Everyone!!!

A Snowy Saturday

We woke on Saturday morning to pretty heavy snow falling outside. My trusty, 4-wheel drive Jeep was dead in the water, with a useless, flat battery. Darn! Hubby was finally feeling better and he offered to drive me in his station wagon. One great thing about Hubby, he really knows how to drive in snow! Whew! I really wanted to go and see my daughter!

So about ten o’clock in the morning we headed out. I was a little bit of a nervous wreck, due to the snow, but on we went! Hubby needed to get gasoline, so we stopped at BJ’s Warehouse, and conveniently across the street is an Outlet Mall. And in that Outlet Mall is a Carter’s Outlet store! So in I went, where I proceeded to buy two very pretty pink outfits and a pink blanket, for my little granddaughter! In fact when I entered the store I stood for a moment and announced to the nice sales girls that, “IT’S A GIRL”!!! They were so nice, helping me find the things I bought for the baby.

We were back on the road heading south, and with each mile we went, the snow seemed to get heavier and heavier. Not good. We saw two accidents on the way down. One car skidded off the road, and probably scared the driver to death, and the other was an actual flip of the car, and I understand the driver was air lifted to Boston.

We finally arrived at the restaurant about 5 minutes early. I was seated and I was speaking to the manager telling him that we were celebrating my daughter’s pregnancy, and learning that it was a girl!

Mandy and Matt arrived and lunch started. We all had delicious food and talked about the baby, the future and life. It was so wonderful!

She is getting a cute baby-bump and allowed me to take a picture, but I do not think my blog is a place to share it. I will share the picture above, as I think you can see how happy we are!

There is no name yet, just Baby-Girl! Time. Time will tell, what name will fit their little girl.

We had yummy desserts and when the check came, the manager told us that Mandy’s dessert was on the house! I thought that was so sweet!!!

We said good-bye and headed off. The roads in Nashua were still bad, and we saw another accident, but as we drove north, home, they seemed to improve.

We needed to stop at LL Bean to get the zipper on my jacket fixed, but when I went in, the saleswoman suggested a find another coat instead. She told me it often takes 2 months to get something fixed. By then, winter will be over! So I looked around and found this coat:

They looked up and saw when I bought my jacket (2005) and I payed $59.00. Here we are in 2012 and they gave me a full credit of $59.00. This coat’s price was $79.00 and after using a $10.00 coupon I payed $10.00! It is nicely insulated and as you can see stadium length! I shall miss my old light blue jacket, pictured in the side bar. It was such a nice comfortable coat!

Then we went off to Sam’s Club where I witnessed a woman yelling at a disabled employee. This young man is a wonderful, hard worker, and she made him cry with her cruelty. The manager was handling things with the young man very well, talking with him, listening to him, but I felt real anger well up inside of me toward the abusive woman! I made sure that the management knew that I appreciated this man and that I felt he is a good hard worker.

Then Hubby and I headed home, where we were greeted by the doggies! Talk about pure happiness and joy! I’m not sure if they missed us, wanted to eat or wanted to go outside and run around in the snow. It’s okay, after 30 minutes, they had done all three!!!

Now it’s time to sit back and put up my feet. What a great time we had with Mandy and Matt and it was actually kind of nice driving in the snow, with the trees looking so pretty.

The Weekend

Friday found me hanging out inside, with Fritz and the dackels, in an attempt to stay warm and dry. We had 4-5 inches of snow Thursday night, and since Hubby didn’t shovel a path for the little ones, they cannot go far from the door. The snow is up over the legs. Greta tried to hop over the snow and failed miserably. She kind of did a flip and ended up on her side. Thankfully, the snow is soft!

Fritz loves the snow! He plays in it like a little kid. I stood at the back door today, watching him leap through the snow, smiling as he went along. Ah, yes. Joy!

Hubby decided that, despite his cough, he would go out to get a half a day of skiing in. He said the skiing was good and he had a good time. He must be getting into good shape because since he got home, he has not fallen asleep, like he usually does.

I am praying that this morning (Saturday), there will not be any snow. I am driving down to see Mandy and Matt and I really don’t like to drive in it. Last I heard we were only getting a dusting, so I will take the Jeep and get there!

Tonight (Friday), I have already made a fire in the hearth, and will make roasted butternut squash from my garden! You know, between the butternut squash and the green beans I froze, we have really enjoyed the ‘fruits of our labors’!!!

Snow, Ice & Bratkartoffeln

It is snowing…again. Just light, fluffy snow, which they claim will be easy to move around. That’s probably true, but I know that the snow is hiding ICE! So even though the snow is pretty, walking around can be hazardous to one’s health!

The dackels cam in today from their morning constitutional, and Anneliese’s paws were a little red and raw looking between the toe pads. I looked at Fritz and his is even worse. It’s the darn ice.

I made a simple meal today of Bratkartoffeln with steak and beets. You can go Here for the recipe for Bratkartoffeln. It is easy and very delicious!

I have big plans for the weekend, so I am hoping for decent weather. I’m meeting up with Mandy and Matt for lunch on Saturday! So we can celebrate the baby girl news!!! Maybe we can toss around names?

I am getting addicted to Pinterest! Anyone else? I love all the ideas they have there. Especially the ones for newborn infant posing and photographing.

Now clap you hand, because we made reservation to go to a concert in February. It is a Bluegrass Music concert. Now what is so special about that? Well, I hate crowds, so going to this with the crowds in me try to overcome my fears.

So, TGIF Everyone!!!

Thursday Thirteen

Here is what I am thinking right now.

I am thrilled that Mandy and her baby girl are in good health.
Oh, I can hardly wait to see Mandy get big and full with this baby girl!
And then, I can hardly wait to meet her and hold her for the first time.
I would love to rush out to the store and buy little dresses, bows and mary-jane shoes!
Soft silky pink blankets!
I’m studying some photography so I can learn about posing newborns.
Plenty of pictures of this baby, I can tell you!
Less than five months to go!
Mandy and I are just about counting the days.
Matt too. I can tell he is going be a great Daddy to this little girl!
So much love surrounding this baby!!!
Isn’t that wonderful?
A child, simply, can never have too much love!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. A new Miss America was crowned on Saturday night-did you watch? If you were a contestant what would your talent be?

I didn’t watch. I was watching the Patriot’s game. Now what would my talent be? Well back when I was a young girl, I sang beautifully. So I think that would be it. After all, no one has ever cooked for their talent, and really, that would be mine!

2. Do you have houseplants? Real or fake?

I have two plants. A Christmas Cactus, and a Poinsettia. The Cactus is alive and well, but the Poinsettia is nearly dead. I have a green thumb in my garden and a black thumb in the house!

3. When you were in school did you speak up or were you more of the hide your face, avoid eye contact, and pray the teacher didn’t call on you type of student?

Definitely the latter. I wasn’t a great student and I just hoped and prayed they didn’t notice me.

4. Next Monday marks the Chinese New Year…what do you order when someone suggests Chinese food?

We go to a Buffet near our home and I always have Egg Foo Yong, Pea Pods and Stir Fry Shrimp and Vegetables.

5. How would you define a miracle? What would it take for you to consider something a miracle?

God causes miracles every day. They are all around us. Right now the biggest miracle in my family’s lives are the little baby, growing in Mandy’s tummy. We will find out later on today what the baby is. Boy or Girl!

6. What’s your favorite Disney song?

Feed The Birds, from Mary Poppins. I love that movie and still watch it.

7. I should have done the grocery shopping yesterday.

8. Insert your own random thought here.

And on Tuesday we learned that Mandy is going to have a baby girl! My heart is full and Hubby and I and the rest of Mandy’s family are walking on air!

So for your viewing pleasure, my granddaughter!!!

Safe Cruising

As you all know, I love to cruise. The events of the last few days made me want to write and tell you about my experiences with Princess Cruise Line. (I have not been compensated in any way for this report.)

Hubby and I began cruising together six years ago. I was a nervous cruiser at first, until I began to routinely go through Princesses safety drills. Hubby and I also spent time looking over the ship each time we would board one, to look for easy access to the life boats, and escape.

I’d always wondered about using a life boat, and then we used them to go ashore at several stops where it was too shallow for our large ship to pull in to the harbor.

The crews were well trained, and they all spoke English. They knew their jobs, and conducted business with a smile. As you can see it was not just the Life Boat drivers at the door, but Officers of the ship. (Dressed in white.)

I was also impressed by how professional these people were and how safe and cared for I felt.

As you can see, the life boats are all well maintained and in top shape. Princess, goes out of their way to make sure that you are happy and that you are safe. I can, quite honestly tell you that from the moment we step on board the ship, we are treated like royalty and with great concern for our welfare and safety.

In this picture you can look down the pier and see staff members on the right under the umbrella passing out cool wash clothes, as we passengers return to the ship in the heat. I am half way down the pier with my trusty back pack, on the left.

I have met the Captain of each ship we have been on, either at a little meet and greet or one time in an elevator, as he headed up to the bridge. The Captains are all gracious, and well spoken.

The other Officers that I have come in contact with have been a credit to the Cruise Line. They take pride in their ship and the job they have on it.

We’ll be getting a mini suite again this voyage, so we will have a little more room to stretch out. Even the Stewards who take care of our rooms have been wonderful.

And I will use my anti seasickness patch so I enjoy every single moment of the trip.

So if you are afraid to cruise, just remember to be sensible. Be aware of your surroundings, read all the safety brochures and go to the Muster that they have to teach you what, you just might need to know. Safety first…always. It is the biggest reason that I cruise with a cruise line I feel confident.

Princess Cruises!

(Is there any other Cruise Line

The Dackel Princess would use?)

What I Did This Past Weekend

Our host is Gattina. Come join us and tell us what YOU did this past weekend! After all, you never know when you will need an alibi!

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The weekend started with icy, sleety, rainy, snow. Hubby was busy keeping the drive clear, and also slipping away to ski. Since I do not like the conditions mentioned above, I stayed home. I just do not do cold and wet when I am trying to ski, and ice? Forget about it!

On Saturday our temperatures started off cold and then began dropping. By noon to become colder. By the time we were ready for bed, it was already below 0 (F).

However the temperature made no difference to us, because I’d made a terrific turkey dinner for Hubby and me, AND the New England Patriots won their playoff game!!! I mean, how good is that? You just have to love Tom Brady. Not only is he drop dead gorgeous, but he is one heck of a Quarterback!

Sunday found us just trying to stay warm. It is all of 6 degrees right now and falling once again. We’re watching more football, to see who will play the Patriots next week, (Baltimore) and it has actually been fun, even though I don’t know much about Baltimore and Houston.

My daughter has her next ultra sound on Tuesday. I am so excited, because we will find out then what they are having!!! Matt’s Mom and I are so happy to become first time Grammies! Not to mention how excited and thrilled Mandy and Matt are!!!

Happy Monday, Everyone!!!