Hello Blogland

Well, it has been a looooong while since Pawsha and Koonsley showed their faces here in blogland. Sorry, I've been working 2 jobs and barely have enough time to squeeze in a trip to the dog park every few days.

It snowed...AGAIN!

Twice this winter which is kind of a rarity for North Carolina, so I've heard. The pups are enjoying it though. Koonsley got his balls chopped off 2 days ago. You would never know that he has a little incision that is suppose to heal before he runs around rambunctiously.
Currently it is 10 degrees outside with the wind chill, but the doggies were enjoying it until Pawsha tried to jump the fence and then had to get her shocky collar put on. She still tried to jump it even after I put the collar on her. One little beep though made her realize that jumping the fence is a bad thing. Now she doesn't even want to go outside. That's OK though because both of the pups are shivering from the cold.
We'll just enjoy a lazy Saturday by the (fake) fire, craft some flowers, and maybe send some pictures to get developed to send to my Dad.
Hope you are enjoying your day.

It's Another New Year

Twenty-Ten, or Two Thousand Ten, it's all the same.
What is different is that.....
We live in North Carolina instead of Reno.
We have 2 dogs instead of just 1.
Instead of snowboarding, I'm choosing to stay inside and watch a movie. 
I am not in school, instead I'm working.
I don't have a mom anymore.
I call my dad more often.
I miss my sister more.
I am thankful that my life is what it is.
I try to enjoy everyday just a little more than I use to.

The Keeper of the Toys

Pawsha and Koonsley have a habit of dragging their toys outside through the dog door so they can play with them. Unfortunately, it rained last night and I was unaware that the majority of their toys were on the patio. I went outside this morning and tossed all their toys inside on the rug to dry. Minutes later, I found this little one "keeping them safe". He probably was making sure that I didn't put them in the dryer again.

We hope you had a Merry Christmas

We definitely had a Merry Christmas. Santa brought us a dresser, which matches our canopy bed nicely.

Dad and Edie found us an antique secretary, which is beautiful. The history behind this piece of furniture is very intriguing.  Brad, I'm sure, will include this in his book (that he is planning to write one day).

The puppies had a great time opening tearing into their toys.

I hope Santa brought you what you wanted. If not, I'm sure it is being saved for your Birthday.

So, since it has been quite chilly here and Brad comes home cold almost every night, I have decided to make soup once or twice a week. I'm not much of a recipe follower, but Brad gave me a book of 500 soup recipes. So, I took the hint and started making soups.

I made regular old butternut squash soup, which turns out different every time, but Brad swears it is his favorite, next to Manhattan Clam Chowder (the red kind).  I also tried out one of the recipes in the new book. It started quite simple, but seemed a little boring. But, after I added about 6 other ingredients it was fantastic.
Here's my recipe:

Cream of Chicken & Saffron Soup

2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 large yellow (sweet) onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
28 oz. boneless chicken, cooked, diced into bite size pieces
4 cups chicken broth/stock
1 cup white wine
a good pinch of saffron threads
1 cup of cream or half & half
2 cups cooked whole grain brown rice
carton of bella mushrooms, sliced
cayenne pepper
salt & pepper
Tony's Creole Seasoning
chopped chives

Saute onion, mushrooms, and garlic in olive oil. Add chicken, stock, cooked rice, and wine, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the saffron and cook for 1 minute.
Season with salt, pepper, cayenne, and Tony's to your liking.

Remove from heat, stir in cream.
Sprinkle with chives

Enjoy!

Share and Share Alike

These two puppies are always getting jealous of each other over something or another. If one gets attention, the other thinks they need attention too. However, today when I gave Pawsha my leftover yogurt container (which she patiently waited for me to finish), she ran out the dog door with it. After just a few minutes, she came back in and laid on her dog bed with it while she licked the remainder. Koonsley came over to inspect what she had and decided he wanted just a little taste. That is exactly what Pawsha gave him...a few licks and then it was hers again. I was able to capture this cute pic of them sharing the yogurt container.

Sunday Afternoons

I'm looking forward to the weekend. It has been a long while since Brad and I got to spend more than 1 weekend a month together. This weekend will make 2 in a row! I just wanted to share this from last weekend.

When I think of Sunday afternoons, I think of
               scrapbooking, relaxing, a trip to the dog park,
                                sewing, watching a movie, sleeping in,
                                                     cleaning my house, doing laundry,

                                                                       enjoying my day.

These 3 barely even knew that it was Sunday afternoon

 

Just taking a breath of fresh air

Koonsley doesn't realize that as humans, we are cold in the winter. He obviously thinks that it is too warm inside with the heater going, so he sticks his head out the doggy door while he naps. He does this all the time! I walk around the house, turn up the heat, and then realize that he is the culprit as to why my heating bill is so expensive.