Raising Addie: February 2009

Feb 28, 2009

40 Things About Me...

Simona, Paco and Milo's mom, has tagged me to play this game. Here are the rules: I have to write 40 things about me and include a recent photo, then tag three others to play.

1. I was born at Magee Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I lived in West Mifflin and have loved the Steelers since I was little.

2. I got my first dog when I was about 9 years old. Her name was Candy and she was a Poodle/Pomeranian mix.

3. I was a Grandma's girl. My Grandma lived with us from when I was born. She was an amazing cook and made everything from scratch. And yes, I can still work that bottom lip effectively. (I had hurt myself in the picture below and Grandma was making it better.)

4. When I was very young I loved to go to Story Book Forest.

5. I have my B.A. in Management with a Marketing emphasis.

6. Last year I obtained my certification as a Project Management Professional. It is a rather intense 4 hour test. K-8 was diagnosed with Immune-Mediated Hemolytic Anemia and Immune-Mediated Thrombocytopenia while I was in training. She died a few weeks before my test. Needless to say, I did not pass the first time. But I did nail it the second time around!

7. As far as TV goes I love Last Restaurant Standing, The X-Files and Arrested Development to name a few. I did love Top Chef until Hosea won this season. Stephan and Carla were better chefs. Shame on Casey... I wish Carla would have never listened to her.

8. I spent 6 months during my junior year of college in the semester abroad program at Regent's College in London.

9. I hitchhiked across Ireland and kissed the Blarney Stone.

10. I looked for Nessie in Scotland, but did not find her. LOL

11. While in London, I taught pre-schoolers science at a private school. I also had a minor in elementary education. I also spent the majority of my time drawing in the National Gallery.

12. I have seen The Cure, Love and Rockets, The Rolling Stones, Depeche Mode, Tears for Fears, to name a few, live in concert in the states.

13. I have seen U2 live in concert in the states and in Germany.

14. I spent 3 years in Frankfurt, Germany with my husband who was an MP in the Army.

15. While traveling overseas, I love to visit castles and historic places.

16. I love to drive on the autobahn in Germany!

17. In the states I have lived in Pennsylvania, Alabama, Georgia, and Texas.

18. Since I have started working after college, I have always worked at Credit Unions.

19. I am an only child.

20. We brought Zoe back from Germany with us.

21. I loved attending the festivals in Germany.

22. I loved shopping the markets in London.

23. We adopted K-8 in Georgia.

24. I love to volunteer in the community. K-8 was a therapy dog and we visited a local retirement facility every other week up until she died.

25. I love pizza, a good steak, and chocolate.

26. I really don't like Mexican food all that much. heh... yeah it's not the best thing not to like when living in Texas.

27. I am addicted to Sweet Tea from Chicken Express thanks to my BFF Donna!!

28. I love to take pictures of my dogs.

29. I love to spoil my friends.

30. I don't like coffee. That's a grown up drink and I refuse to grow up!

31. I am a Harry Potter addict. Books and movies.

32. Even though it was only for a short time, I loved having 3 dogs.

33. I hate temps over 105 degrees, tornados and hurricanes... yeah Texas is the state for me!

34. During one summer while I was in college, I worked at Kennywood in Kiddieland which was the rides for little kids. It is an amusement park near where I lived in West Mifflin.

35. I'm a level 72 Death Knight, 70 Priest and 70 Mage in World of Warcraft. FOR THE HORDE!

http://mike-a.deviantart.com/art/For-the-Horde-28838620

created by mike-a.deviantart.com

36. I use to play the acoustic and electric guitar. Now I play Guitar Hero and Rock Band on Xbox360.

37. I love to design and build sets for holiday pictures.

38. I have dressed up as Dollar Dog our kids club mascot at the credit union that I work at for grand openings and events.

39. I love Las Vegas! We renewed our vows with Elvis on our 10 year anniversary.

40. I'm training Addie with the hopes that she will become a therapy dog.

Addie, Lucie and Staci

Addie, Lucie and Ron

Suzuki also tagged me for a photo with the pups. There are many photos of all of us on our blogs, but how many of us have a pic with our Parents displayed? In honour of our Parents who do so much for us post a pic of your furry self with your favourite hooman, then TAG 4 others to do the same.

Since I am so far behind, I'm sure everyone has already done these so I will only pass it on to Tasha. But, if you have not done these yet, consider yourself tagged!

Feb 25, 2009

True Colours Thursday - The Brown Eyed Girl Lost Her First Tooth

The host of this meme is Blue.

Stop over to Blue's wonderful web site and join in on the fun!

Brown eyes...

I lost my first tooth!!

Brown Cuckoo Clock from the Black Forest in Germany

We purchased this when my husband was stationed in Frankfurt while in the Army. The military families over their had a saying... either you go back to the states with a baby or with a cuckoo clock.

Thank you very much Dina for the idea of posting a picture of it!!!

The Best Reddish Brown Ever in Brown Cowboy Hat and Vest

Cowgirl Zoe

Feb 24, 2009

True Love Contest Winners

I would like to first thank all of you for sharing your precious pictures. I wish I could give a prize to all of the entries because they all convey true love. A total of 5 dog lovers judged the pictures based on the theme "True Love". Each judge took great care in choosing the winners. So, without further ado, our winners are:

John and Eliott

Roxy and Lilly

Paul and Jimmy Rabbit

Congratulations!

Each of these winners will receive a personalized, engraved picture frame.

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Our runner ups are:

Eduardo the Snuggle Puggle and Mom

Nessa and Mom

Velcro and Blossom

Prince and Sum

Each of our runner ups will receive a special picture frame to display their True Love photo in.

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Thank you again for your participation in our True Love contest! We hope that everyone enjoyed viewing these pictures and sharing their True Love.

Feb 23, 2009

Mardi Gras and Mango Minster Fun

We took a break from judging the True Love contest photos for some Mardi Gras fun! There are so many wonderful pictures to choose from. We will need a little more time to narrow it down. Until then, please enjoy these quick pix that we took today!

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Addie and Lucie were so excited to hear that they took 2nd place in the Herding Group at the Mango Minster!! Thank you sooo very much Mango for organizing this fun event. And thank you to the esteemed judge Kylie!

Feb 22, 2009

Kards for Klaus

As most of you know, Bogart's dad is sick and Opy has come up with a wonderful way for us to express our love for him and his family. They are collecting photos to send to his dad. If you have not submitted yours yet, it is due by Wednesday February 25. We all have our paws crossed for a miracle for them. Visit Opy's blog at http://originalgruffpuppy.blogspot.com/ for more information.

Thank you Huskee and Hershey

Addie was thrilled to receive a package in the mail from her dear friends Huskee and Hershey!

She even shared with her little sister. That is, after she opened the gift.

Thank you soooo very much for the thoughtful and generous gift! You have made Addie's 1st birthday soooo very special!

Barkday Cake Suggestions

Thank you very much to all of our friends that gave recommendations for birthday cakes for Addie! I simply ran out of time last week and was not able to make the one that I really wanted to. I wanted to share with all of you the ideas that I received.

The Bubblegum Dogs got me thinking first with their comment:

Oh this one is easy... get your mom to make a meatloaf (beef, oatmeal, eggs) and cook it in cake tins.

Frosting is cream cheese, and the decoration can be with bits of dried apricot (if sweets are your thing) or yellow cheese from a tube (we know... gross... but it works) or ketchup... use your imagination!

My mind was racing with different ideas of food items to use to write with on the cake.

Then Fenway had great suggestion for a cake with their comment:

Start with softened peanut butter flavor tofutti ice cream (tofu ice cream). You can add in a bit of cream cheese, but not too much cause that might cause a tummy ache. Then, add some chunks of dried liver, chicken or beef (basically pet store treats). Put into bowl and freeze. When somewhat hard, unmold it—it's an upside down sphere shape. For the topping, grind kibble with a morter and pestle so it's kind of powdery and sprinkle it all over the "cake". Then, with kibble, spell out either Happy Birthday, a heart or a name.

Then Stella found a website with even more wonderful cake ideas:

We looked on Google for you (which you already have done probly) and we found a website that looks good.

http://www.dog-treat-recipe-exchange.com/dog_birthday_cake_recipes.html

Then the Army of Four made me laugh out loud with their comment:

Our mom is mean and doesn't make cakes for us. But if she did, it would be muttloaf topped with mashed potatoes.

Mean mom.

Love,

Ammy

Samantha then had an idea for cookies:

Bad mama! She doesn't make cakes for me, but has made cookies with yoghurt frosting (melted yoghurt chips bought online) - dip the doggie cookies into the melt and yum! Or... mama's made doggie cookies with carob frosting too. Maybe that could work for a cake, but not too much frosting - I mean, I could eat a lot of anything if it were available heehe! I never had cream cheese or tube cheese - sounds delish! I'm hungry!

xo Licks,

Sammie

Then our friend B13 had a cool idea for frosting:

Not sure, but what about whipped egg whites (like on a lemon meringue) used as a "frosting"?

Several friends agreed about using mashed potatoes as frosting.

Then Suzuki shared a cake with us:

You will need:
500gr (1lb) chicken, lamb or beef liver
300ml (1/2 pint) semi skimmed milk
500gr (1lb) wheat & gluten free flour
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons driend parsley

For the filling and frosting
500gr (1lb) low fat cream cheese or quark
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
3 unsmoked bacon rashes - grilled and chopped

To decorate:
Dog bone biscuits
Birthday candles

1. Liquidize the liver and milk in a blender or food processor until smooth. Mix the flour, oil eggs and parsley together in a mixing bowl. Fold the liver puree into the mixture and stir until it forms a smooth paste.

2. Grease 2 deep 20cm (8 inch) sandwich tins. Divide the liver mixture equally between the tins and bake on the middle shelf of a preheated oven, 180 degrees C (350 degrees F), gas mark 4, for 30-35 minutes. Test to see if it is cooked by inserting a knife into the centre of the cake. If the knife comes out clean, the cake is cooked. Leave to cool.

3. To make the frosting, beat the cream cheese or quark, oil and honey together until fluffy. Place one of the cake halves upside down on a serving plate. Spread a scant half of the frosting on top and sprinkle with the chopped bacon. Place the second cake half on top of the filling, then spread the remaining frosting over the cake with a spatula.

4. Decorate with dog bone biscuits and candles.

Store left over cake in the refridgerator for up to 24 hours or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

WOW... if only I could cook Addie would have the best birthday cake ever!

Then Amber's mom shared her cake with us as well:

500 grams/1 pound of minced meat(any meat will do), 1 large egg, half a cup of raw oats, two tablespoons of low fat milk, 1 grated large carrot, one large diced potato, two cloves of finely chopped garlic, two pieces of toasted bread cut up into small cubes & crushed/blended Flaxseed(optional).

1) Mix the meat with the egg, milk, grated carrot, oats & Flaxseed together till perfectly mixed. Put it in the fridge.

2) Add one tablespoon of Canola oil or olive oil into a frying pan & fry the garlic till aromatic. After that, add in the diced potatoes & fry till fully cooked.

3) Take the bowl of meat out from the fridge & now add in the fried potatoes. Mix them up well. Lastly add the toasted bread crumbs & mix it up again till even.

4) Grease an oven-safe porcelain bowl or medium cake pan & then pour the whole meat into it. Push the meat down with knuckles & fingers till all holes are filled.

5) Put it in the oven & bake at 180 degrees celsius for 40 minutes to an hour or when it's fully cooked.

6) After cooked, place it on the kitchen counter & let it sit there & cool down for at least ten minutes so that the Meatloaf becomes firmer & juicier. The top layer of the Meatloaf will be slightly dry & very firm but the inside will be very juicy but still firm.

Can be served warm or cold.

If you want to add some topping, non-sweetened yogurt is the best. The topping I used on Faith's cake was actually yogurt mixed with butter. Of course I added coloring too but you don't have to if you don't want to. If there's a need for you to thicken the topping, add rice flour. Dogs digest rice flour better than any other flours.

Then Maggie and Mitch had a great idea for frosting too:

Mom has used cream cheese peanut butter for the frosting before! yummmmmmmmm

Ice cream always works too!

Love ya lots,

Maggie and Mitch

Mona's mom had a great idea as well:

I made Mona's birthday cake from turkey hamburger and oatmeal last year and used instant mashed taters for the icing and then sprinkled little peanut butter dog biscuits on top.

Then Nessa's mom shared her recipe with us:

last year on my 1st birthday mommy made me meatloaf birthday cake with her own recipe:

on 3 spoons of olive oil damped half-kilogram of beef. Cook extra 30dkg tiny macaroni.Mix together and shape in the form of bones. As a glaze you can use a thin layer of fat-free cream cheese and a candle cut out from solid cheese. You can do the inscription from dark chocolate:-)

My mommy didn't use the glase, but I can asure you it was delicious!!

And she even sent us a picture.

At this point I was beginning to sweat. I was running out of time and didn't want to ruin Addie's birthday by destroying one of these wonderful recipes. Did I tell you that I can't cook. And then my headache started at work. As a last resort I remembered that I had purchased a little mini Canine Cake to try. I found the package and started reading. "Just add water and microwave!!" Certainly I can't mess that up!

It looked a little rough and there was not enough frosting to cover the entire cake, but Addie and Lucie loved it! It actually smelled amazing and was very moist. I was planning on having a little birthday party at the dog park for Addie, but the weather around her birthday was not very good. So, we are going to wait until Lucie is 6 months old and have a celebration where we will test out one or two of these cakes with all of their pup friends. We will keep you posted and thank you again for all of your wonderful suggestions. Don't worry... my husband is the cook in the house and I will convince him to make these cakes. I know these dogs will appreciate that!