The Dackel Princess

Unstuffing

On Friday I had worked for a little while stitching up some dog toys that Arnie has torn apart. I worked on the repairs, and then gave the toys back to the dogs. With lightening speed, Arnie gutted them once again!

I stood there for a moment and thought. What do I do? Do I sew them back up, throw them away, or…

Then a commercial came onto the TV. It was for Crazy Critters. This gave me an idea! I had all these wonderful torn half full toys, that simply could not remain stitched up, so….I started pulling! I pulled the fiber fill out of each and every toy until I had 6 little dog toys, completely un-stuffed!

Arnie looked at me with quizzical eyes as I pulled the fill out and trashed it. Anneliese waited expectantly, and Greta took each new toy as I tossed it and claimed it as her own!

By lunchtime, Arnie has collected each of the toys and taken them into his man cave, where he was either lying on them or holing them, but definitely enjoying them!

By dinner Anneliese had most of them, at least the best ones!

Now, as bedtime draws near for my little babies, they are all happy, each one of them, with their un-stuffed toys!

Who says you don’t get good ideas from commercials?

Friday Fill-Ins

Friday Fill-Ins are sponsored by my cousin Janet. Come on and join the fun!

1. Family FUN.

2. I have known many of life’s ups and downs.

3. Trust is something that is earned.

4. I guess I am an optimist because I always hope for the best.

5. Parents are difficult for me to talk about.

6. My wedding vows to Hubby are something so meaningful and special, I will always remember what was said.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to staying warm by my hearth, tomorrow my plans include walking around the Ice Fishing Derby and Sunday, I want to have a really great time with Janet and Dave and eat lots of Lobster and Steamers!

Dreams

I had truly strange dreams last night. I know it is because I didn’t do very well at Weight Watchers this week. Here is the dream:

I was speaking with a woman I have only met twice. A Weight Watchers Recruiter. In any case, she was sitting across the desk from me, and she was asking me about the things that I eat for each meal. No problem, I started telling her and she stopped me, and then told me to tell her each meal, and the points involved.

I stuttered and stammered and tried to recall how many points in each thing that I put on my plate had! I could feel my nerves climb and then there was no sound coming from my mouth.

Last week I did not journal, so I cannot tell you how many points I ate. That is not a good thing. I know I do my very best when I write absolutely everything down.

Perhaps this is a kick in the pants from my subconscious? I’m not exactly sure, but I know that I do plan to measure, weigh it and write it this week!

Thursday Thirteen

After a very dry November and December, we have gone the opposite way in January and the first week of February and had some of the snowiest weather in a long time!
I’m actually starting to get a little tired of it, but…
It does look beautiful and I love to watch snow fall.
It’s great for skiing in.
And the dogs really love to play in it.
Don’t the trees look awesome?
The lake is also frozen now and snow covered, so we see the snowmobiles out there. Bet that is fun!
This weekend is the Ice Fishing Derby!
I will go out with my camera and get a lot of pictures!
It’s also the Sled Dog Races! How Fun!
Do you think the dachshunds could handle a rig and pull me! lol!
The UPS Man called me today because he was afraid to come down my driveway. 500 feet downhill is scary for almost anyone. It is for me!
Spring is just around the corner!

Wednesday Hodgepodge

1. What is more important-doing what you love or loving what you do?

I guess I sort of see that as being the same thing, isn’t it? I love being a Mom, Wife, Homemaker and Doggy Mama, and I love doing all the things that make those things part of my world. Am I simply blessed being able to do what I love in this world? Perhaps this is so.

2. Do you like bleu cheese?

Love, love, love, blue cheese. In fact I just made a lettuce wedge salad for lunch yesterday and that has chunks of blue cheese and drizzles of dressing. The recipe is HERE

3. What is the most difficult emotion for you to handle?

Sadness. I have known such great sadness in my life, and I find that the sadness of others touches me so deeply that I cannot handle it too well. A good example of this is, that I recently went to a memorial service for a person whom I didn’t know (I knew his wife), and I could barely contain my tears. I felt choked with emotion and after trying to blend in with the wall for a reasonable amount of time, I left.

4. Fresh flowers or a box of chocolate?

I love chocolate, but since chocolate goes right to my hips, I will say flowers. A beautiful bouquet of flowers always brighten my day!

5. What’s a song you love that has the word ‘love’ in its title? It doesn’t have to be a ‘love song’.

The Power of Love-Huey Lewis and the News, I Love You-The Climaxx Blues Band. All You Need Is Love-The Beatles here you are, three of my favorites. Can you tell, I am a golden oldie?

6. Are you the person you wanted to be when you grew up?

I think it’s very difficult to know who you want to be ultimately when you are growing up. I certainly wanted to be a mother, wife, home maker, but personally I don’t think I planned on being spiritually, who I am. All of life’s lessons have molded me into the woman I have become.

7. Any special Valentines Day plans?

My cousin and her boyfriend are coming up on Sunday to celebrate with Lobsters and Steamers! It’s always a great time when they come! Then on Monday, the actual Valentine’s Day, I will do something just for Hubby. Perhaps, Steaks with Baked Stuffed Potatoes and Asparagus!

8. Insert your own random thought here.

Our blogging friend Joanne continues do do splendidly at rehab. So many people around the world sending their prayers have worked miracles for Joanne and her family. Please take a moment and stop over at Joanne’s Blog Her Blog, The Simple Wife for the latest on her condition. Keep those prayers coming! Also if you want to send a Get Well card, you can send them to Joanne Heim, c/o Kristen Haufschild, 11004 Grayledge Circle, Highlands Ranch, CO 80130 They have been reading each card to Joanne and decorating her room with them.

The Start To My Week

Monday found me being extremely productive. Not only did I get a ton of laundry done (6 loads washed, dried and folded and put away!), but I also scrubbed the baths (we have three of them, what was I thinking?), and mopped the floor in our family room.

By late afternoon, when it was time for me to start our dinner (a spoon roast beef) with roasted potatoes and broccoli, I was starting to get tired. I mean, this was one of those days where I was really active.

Many days I chastise myself because I get caught up in my computer and that just isn’t a good thing. I love the computer, and I know it’s not good to spend so much time on it.

Hubby went skiing, God love him, and enjoyed himself immensely. He called on his way home and I made up our lunch to share when he returned. After lunch he went out into our driveway to work on chopping up the melting ice. He got a lot of it removed, which is great, as we are now ready for the next snow storm tomorrow.

Since there is no general consensus as to how much snow we will get (anything from 1-6 inches?) it was good to get a lot of it cleared away.

I will officially state here and now. “Read my lips, Mother Nature, No More Snow!”

What I Did This 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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My weekend was very full. Perhaps more than I’d counted on.We shopped early on Saturday and yet, still got caught in a snow storm. The roads were bad and I was nervous, but Hubby is an ace driving in the snow and we made it home just fine!

It was quite a storm though, which brought more snow, and ice and, of all things thunder and lightening snow to our area! It doesn’t happen very often, in fact I cannot recall the last time it happened here, but the noise was loud enough to wake me from my slumbers and cause me to rush out of bed to get Hubby to turn off our new TV!

All was fine, but it was a fright, so when I went back to bed, I had trouble getting back to sleep.

On Sunday we discovered that Hubby’s 5 year old laptop had gone to computer Heaven. Nothing dramatic, I was able to recover all of his files and email, and here is the great thing.

Some of you might recall that a year or so ago, my Dell computer was diagnosed as being dead. However, after I’d gotten my new Toshiba, I was talking to a computer repair technician who took the one year old Dell laptop in and discovered that the machine just needed one new chip! So, we’ve had an extra laptop laying around for the last 8 months!

May 21 003

I spent most of the day on Sunday programming Hubby’s “new” computer. I’m grateful because we simply do not have the money for a new machine.

Meanwhile the Super Bowl was played and the Green Bay Packers won!!! Yahoo!!!

Oh Yeah, More Snow!

Saturday found Hubby and I out to shop and fill our cupboards before the next snow storm would hit us. We left late in the morning, as the snow wasn’t forecast to start late in the afternoon. We figured that we would shop and be home long before the snow began.

Wrong!!!

We stopped for our favorite Chinese food, and then got the dogs food, and then went to get our food. The parking lot was jammed. People drove around and around to find a spot! I told Hubby to just park in the first spot he saw, as I did not care how far we had to walk!

We shopped and when we finished up and got to the check out registers we could see outside. What a mess! The snow had been falling for a while, long enough to completely cover the parking lot, making the roadways very slippery!

After loading the car up, we headed off!

The snow was coming down very heavily and the roads were not great, although personally, I think Hubby enjoyed the challenge!

Then we got home, put everything away, and Hubby went out to use the snow blower once again.

The man is an artist with a snow blower!

The evening found us catching up on an episode of NCIS we hadn’t seen and planning our celebration of the Super Bowl tomorrow!

The Seasons…Winter

I woke on Friday morning to temperatures well below zero and ice was on every surface outside. The sun wasn’t quite up, as I opened doors and snapped a few shots. The first pictures out of our back door, with Anneliese posing against the frozen snow mounds.

The sun rose and started to peek through the trees, causing the ice on the trees to glisten.

Anneliese ran about just long enough to get her business done and then she ran quickly back into the house and into her spot on my chair, under her blanket!

I proceeded around the house to catch just the right shots of my beautiful frosty neighborhood.

This one bush was quite close to our front door. Simply lovely!

Lastly, this is the lake near our home, and the view of all the frosted trees.

Definitely a multiple layer of clothing kind of day!

Friday Fill-Ins

Friday Fill-Ins are sponsored by my cousin Janet. Come on and join the fun!

And…here we go!

1. We are on this earth to learn the lessons of this place before we pass to the next.

2. It’s truly an experience learning everything we must in this life.

3. One of the hardest things for me to learn to accept the love around me.

4. I dislike it when I am not connected.

5. I remember spinning around in my yard until I fell down into the fragrant grass, and stared up into the bright sunny skies, without a care in the world! Oh, to be 8 years old again!.

6. Having my children and their early years is one of the best parts of my life.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I’m looking forward to fire in the hearth (It’s only -5 degrees F right now!), tomorrow my plans include probably shoveling snow and playing with the dachshunds in the falling snow. 5-8 inches are predicted and Sunday, I want to watch SUPER BOWL!