Mini-Cooper

About a year ago- I had a mini- quarter life crisis.
It had nothing to do with age.....but all to do with living life.
I wanted life to breeze through my hair.

Literally.

I wanted a convertible.

I wanted to drive either a Mini-Cooper convertible or a VW Bug convertible.
Our local car dealership in the BS just so happened to have a VW Bug convertible as I was going through this "stage."

I took it as a sign from God.

I nagged H about it until the dealership sold it.

H said THAT was a sign from God.

Well folks- I finally have my Mini-Cooper!

While my Mini-Coop doesn't have the new car smell, he does come equipped with the most disgusting puppy breath EVER!

However, the only gear that he knows is FULL-THROTTLE!

Weekend Review

So- this weekend, I had a little time on my hands....
and I made.....

DOG TREATS!

Yes- true story. Dog Treats.

Now, you must know, I ate my words as I made dog treats.
My Sis-in-Law makes doggie food her gurl Carrie. She has tried several times to give me her recipie for doggie food. Each time, I say, "Lard! I don't have time to make our meals, much less Oscar's meals!"

So, I never make Oscar's food (plus, dog food is sorta cheap).

Long story longer.....she sent over this recipe......
and I pretended that my house was clean, and the laundry was caught up, and the bed was made, and the bills were paid, and I had nothing else to do.....


I made the treats.





Ingredients

•1 cup rolled oats

•1/3 cup margarine or butter

•1 cup boiling beef broth

•3/4 cup cornmeal

•2 teaspoons white sugar

•2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules

•1/2 cup milk

•1/2 cup peanut butter

•1 egg, beaten (or 2 eggs to make treats softer for older dogs)

•3 cups whole wheat flour

Directions
Combine rolled oats, margarine/butter, and boiling beef broth in a large bowl. Let stand and soften for 10 minutes. Thoroughly stir in cornmeal, sugar, bouillon, milk, peanut butter, and egg. Mix in flour, 1 cup at a time, until dough comes together. Knead dough together so that it looks like this:





Roll out dough to 1/2″ thickness:









Place on cookie sheet. They don’t spread apart so you can fit a lot on a sheet:







Bake 35 to 45 minutes at 325 degrees, until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool.



And they are a HUGE hit at my house.
My little men LOVE them!
They fight over them.
They will poop for them!

Thoughts for Thursday.

I have never been happier to see Thursday roll into town.

I woke up on Wednesday thinking it was Thursday, which means that today would be Friday. Still with me here?

Here are a few thoughts of mine:

1. Just when I think Cooper is *sorta* potty-trained and in our routine of him going outside to potty......he reminds me that we are on his schedule and we are living in his world. And he drops a doodle on the rug.

2. Owning a new puppy is like having a child. Granted, I don't have a child to compare this to, but, there are MANY similarities. Example: we (as in I), get up twice in the night for a crying pup. Our routine is midnight and then 3:16 am. Sometimes, Coop will shake things up a bit and let me sleep 6 more minutes before he wakes me up at 3:22am.

3. I start back school today.

4. H went duck hunting last weekend. Apparently, homeboy had a large time and killed a duck. I on the other hand,  loaded up the little boys in the back of the Volvo (needed room for 2 little kennels)......and drove to mom and dad's house. Funny story: Cooper, all of 8 weeks old tomorrow, has found a friend in my brother's pit bull. Oscar, on the other hand, still will not play with Cooper?? Strange. Cooper and Cash (pit bull) roamed the woods together and rode the golf cart together. Oscar......well, he stayed at home in the comfort and safety of mom's house.

5. I braved the pet store with the little boys......

Just look at this sweetness!! And the pink nose! It is his pink nose that keeps him from getting spanking when he doodles on the carpet.

This is my favorite pic of the boys!! Poor Cooper....(in my best baby voice)...Him can't see over the buggy!

6. The only time I question our purchase of the Mini-Cooper.....at at 3:16am or 3:22am. Other than the early morning moments.....we are loving the little pitter-patter of his feet! And his sneezes.....

Pretty Pics!

So, a few month's ago, I had the pleasure of snapping a few pics for the Robertson fam (including baby Addie).

Funny story: I know these folks. I went to Jones Jr. College with them. Holly and I lived literally one door down from each other in college. And.....she was dating her hubby back then!

Here are a few of my favorite pics I took of their sweet family.

(P.S. when you upload pics onto blogger.....it TOTALLY changes the size, some of the coloring, and the closeness of the subjects in your image. Because you asked, I liked the old blogger better.)

Meet Cooper Jones!

Here are some pics of our new little buddy!
He is a mini-doxie like Oscar.

In case you are wondering: NO! Oscar doesn't like him.
Oscar has nothing to do with him.

Cooper went through 4 names in 1 day! (Franky, Oliver, Dex and finally Cooper) He is still confused.

And, he is the best when he sleeps!

He is full of energy and will not sit still to take a pic unless he is sleeping!

This is a typical moment at our house.....Oscar MUST keep an eye on Cooper!
They have a love/hate relationship.

Not so funny story: Cooper was FINALLY taking a nap, and I walked in the living room to find Oscar standing over Cooper barking at him.

Again, love/hate.

Cooper wants to play with Oscar......Oscar wants Cooper to leave.
If Oscar runs down the hall....Cooper must follow. It makes Oscar mad every.time.

In the mornings, Cooper wants to wake up Oscar.
Oscar is a grouch.

We already love Cooper and wish he was potty-trained and out of the chewing stage.
He is our welcomed distraction to our family. And boy does he keep us on our toes!

Welcome to the CRAZY House Cooper! I'm not sure if you are better with us or without us!

New Year's Resolutions. Only 9 Days Late.

Resolutions are both liberating and yet so depressing at the same time.
Each year, we set ourselves us to fail on goals that really don't matter.
I sorta' made some really good personal goals to be a better person, etc., but no one wants to read about those.....instead, I'm sharing my not-so-personal goals.

 So, here goes mine:
1. Talk like I am a college graduate (must remove the following words: totally, like, and you-know).
2. I would like to use my crock pot once a week (so far so good!).
3. Clean up less dog poop. (which means that we must potty train our new puppy Cooper FAST!)
4. I would like to write more handwritten notes to my friends. They certainly deserve a little sunshine in their day!
5. I need to watch less tv. I would be much more productive in my little life if it was not for something called......TiVO. However, shows like Revenge and Grey's will make this resolution so difficult for me!
6. I would like to cook something new each week. Poor H- he will either love or hate this one!
7. Be more thrifty. I need to coupon. I'm just to lazy to REALLY do it.
8. I'm leaving this one blank. Isn't it neat to realize in April or May that you need to improve something in your life?? I'll leave this one blank until then.....

Tasty Tuesday

Lambchops.

I made my man lamb chops. And the entire time I was cooking them, I sang the theme song from the kids' show 'Lamb chops.'

It's lamb chops, come play along.....

The chops were D-Lish!! And, they were soo simple to make.Thus, I'll share.....
 
Savory Lamb chops (in the crock pot)

- 3 large chops (mine were frozen solid when I dropped them in the crock pot)
-1/2 of a white onion cut into rings
- 1 tsp of paprika
- 1 tsp of all purpose seasoning ( I used Paula Deen)
- 1/2 cup of beef broth
- 1/2 cup of cooking sherry (you could use red wine, or really....any wine!)
- small amount of EVOO
- 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning

Drizzle the chops with EVOO......then sprinkle with the paprika and other seasonings. Place the chops on top of the onion rings that are placed as the first layer in the crock pot. Pour in the sherry and broth.....and VIOLA! Dinner is on it's way!!

Cook on low for 6 hours.

I must warn you.....the chops will fall off the bone. No knife necessary.