My little trouble-maker

My Zoey monster is causing trouble in the neighborhood these days with her hot little booty. She walks out front, and all the neighborhood boys start barking, she walks out back and all the boys come runnin' so fast that they cause bicycle accidents! Yup, that's right, my little girl caused a bike accident right behind our house! You see... our back yard backs up to a street in a neighborhood behind us. People frequently walk/ride bikes/rollerblade/etc down this road and lots of people bring their dogs on these journeys. Well, being that the weather has been so nice, I've had my sliding glass door open and I let Miss Zoey come and go as she pleases. I almost witnessed a catastrophy the other night when someone was bicycling with a dog and the dog almost trotted in front of the bike because it was staring so hard at Miss Zoey. That was an almost... but yesterday... yesterday WASN'T an almost. It WAS a catastrophy. This lady and an older lady were biking down the road, and apparently a neighborhood dog had decided to join them. It wasn't theirs, and it wasn't on a leash.... So when they went past our house, Zoey ran out to see what was up and strut her stuff and the dog darted in front of the older lady and she fell over!!!! I felt SO bad. They didn't speak good english, but I asked if she was okay, and if there was anything I could do... I told them I would walk a bike back for them... or let them leave them in back and come back and get them or something... but eventually she pulled herself together and decided to give it a shot and they rode away. In a way, I felt bad, but at the same time, it's my yard, and I can let my dog run free in my fenced yard if I want. She wasn't doing anything.. she can't help that the boys can't keep their eyes off her cute little booty!

Is my puppy really growing?

My IRL and bloggy friend Jess stopped by yesterday to show me her new truck... and we got to talkin' about my puppy dog and how much better behaved she is getting. Jess also commented that she looks bigger. Now, I see my dog every day, so she doesn't really seem like she's gotten bigger to me, but looking back on pictures sometimes I notice that she has grown a tad. I told Jess that when I was comparing our Family Christmas Picture from last year, to this years, I thought Zoey's head looked bigger. We got her a few weeks before Christmas last year, and she was just a few months old and only about 24 pounds. Now she is over a year old, and 40 pounds. So, here is your requested photo Jess.... What do ya'll think?

Christmas 2008

Christmas 2009

Now I know this years is a closer shot, but don't you think her head is a little bigger?

(yes, we have to practically choke her to get her to look at the camera and sit still....lol)

Ta-Da!

After many attempts...

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I picked a picture for our ornament :)

Christmas...

Our Christmas was simply WONDERFUL this year! My Christmas day was spent with my Mom, Step-dad and Step-brother. We opened just a few presents, played some Wii, had a big breakfast, and went to see Sherlock Holmes. Which was pretty good I might add, but a little too long for my taste. After the movie I headed up to the Fire Station to have Christmas dinner with the boy and our department family :) Yum yum! We had our actual Christmas on the 26th because by then Ed was off shift, and my little brother had joined us :) We opened lots of presents

(being on a budget I got Ed a few things including a hand made by me apron!)

(Not being on as much of a budget, the boy got me a Wii!)

We had a HUGE breakfast, and spent the whole day at my parents house hanging out and not doing much of anything except relaxing! We played a lot of Wii with the family, while being entertained by my brother playing with his new guitar

and then had a great big dinner

and lots of yummy dessert. Including my yummy cheesecake, and mom's Twinkie cake (it's just what it's called... a big cake that tastes just like a Twinkie!) and Pecan pie.

For the first time since we've been together, we only had to go to 1 house! We went and visited my dad's side of the family on Christmas Eve, and Ed's family was in Georgia for the holidays. While we missed them, we sure didn't miss having to hop around and eat a million times. Our Christmas day was everything that Christmas should be. A nice and relaxing day with loved ones. And of course some pictures in front of the tree! With my mom and step-dad modeling all their new Dolphin stuff of course!

(isn't the snowman Dol-fan the cutest?!?!?! I got it for them, hehehe!)

I hope yours was just as nice :)

Christmas Yummies!!!

I just realized... I've never posted our family Cheesecake recipe! It's so yummy, and I made 2 of them for Christmas... I even thought ahead and took pictures while baking so I could blog and share the recipe with you! Too bad it took me over a week to post it. Whoops....

Ingredients:

• 2 large packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese (use the Philly, it's worth it)
• 3/4 cup of sugar
• 3 eggs, beaten whole
• 1 Tbsp of lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups Sour Cream
• 1 Large (w/2 extra servings) Graham Cracker crust

Directions:

• Bring cream cheese to room temperature
• Cream in 3/4 cup of sugar
• Add 3 eggs beaten whole

(Action shot!!! I love my mixer!!!!!)

• Stir in 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• Fold in 1 1/2 cups of Sour cream
• Add a dash of Nutmeg if desired...

• Pour into Crust and bake at 350 degrees for approximately 40 mins.... sometimes up to an hour. Make sure you check it periodically. It's done when you wiggle it and the middle is mostly firm.

• Remove from oven and let sit until room temperature

• Refrigerate until completely chilled and ENJOY!!!

Snowman's!

Aren't these Snowman ornament's the cutest? I picked up a pack of 6 today at Pier 1, and I love them!

The frugal side of me says I might have paid a few dollars more than I should have... but the frivolous side of me says who the heck cares, they are so friggin' adorable!

In case you haven't noticed... snowmen are kindda my "thing"!

Ornament Swap Part 2!

I got my Ornament today from the second swap I signed up for! (I love mail! And bloggers. And Christmas. And Swaps! I was so excited!!!)

This swap was especially exciting, it was a DIY Ornament Swap and Lauren from The Lo Down made me the cutest Snowman ornament!!!

Here is my package from Lauren. She also included a note and a State of Florida cookie cutter!!!

And here is my new little snowman hanging on my tree :)

Thanks Lauren! I love it! You are so talented!!!!!!

Mutt Monday!

The results are in!!!

Well, actually, they've been in... but I've been a slacker lately, remember?

You won't believe it anyway. We didn't. We don't. Ed wants a re-do.

Apparently... My Zoey Monster is a Rottweiler/Chow chow/Borzoi. See? told ya you wouldn't believe it. In fact, they tell me that she is MOSTLY Rottweiler. Does this look like a Rottweiler to you!?!?!?!

I mean, I've heard from the vet and from sites online that you could be completely shocked with results, and that your dog might not resemble what they are mixed with at all... but these results are nuts! I do have to admit that some of the descriptions of SOME of the breeds do somewhat resemble her behavior. But that's about it...

The test rates each breed on a level 1-5.

Level 1 - over 75% of the DNA is from that breed

Level 2 - 37-74%

Level 3 - 20-36%

Level 4 - 10-19%

Level 5 - less than 10%

Zoey came back as being..

Level 2 - Rottweiler

(Calm and reliable, devoted to their family, extremely protective. Must be firmly trained or may become aggressive. Natural guard dogs. Highly intelligent and hard working. Can be aggressive toward other dogs) fyi... Zoey has NEVER shown aggression towards anything.

Level 3 - Chow chow

(Innate sense of dignity, may seem aloof and detached. May be restrained with their affections and are very independent. Usually well mannered but can be protective and suspicious of strangers. Can learn, but do not have a desire to please their owners, and must see the point of commands given. May be self-willed to the point of obstinate.) She sure can be a GOOF, and obstinate, but she is totally attached.

Level 4 - Borzoi

(Sweet and intelligent, extremely loyal. Affectionate to people that they know well, but free thinking and less willing to please their owners than other breeds. Quiet, rarely bark. Very quick, have no territorial instinct, should not be trusted off leash. Will chase small animals.) She's the fastest dog I've ever seen, she hardly ever barks, she has ADHD and will chase anything that moves, doesn't seem to care what I think, and is sweet as sugar. Maybe our results came in backwards?????

Ornaments!

So we all know I've been a little behind on my blogging lately... but I certainly did not forget that I need to share with you the LOVELY ornaments that my swap partner Leanne sent me! I even have lovely pictures of them hanging on my tree now :)

This is my very first Hallmark ornament of my own, for my very own tree :)

And this pretty ornament was hand made by Leanne herself!!!

Thanks again Leanne! It was so great getting to know you, and I LOVE my ornaments!

While Leanne and I were exchanging emails trying to get to know each other a little bit, we got on the subject of traditions and such. I think it's great to have something that you do with your loved ones every year. When I was growing up we used to collect series of Hallmark ornaments, and my parents bought a dated Christmas ball every year that they were married and they hung them on garland in the living room instead of putting them on the tree. All this talk got me thinking that I should share with you a tradition that Ed and I have started. For our first Christmas in our house, I picked up a picture frame ornament on a whim while I was at CVS just because I thought it was cute. Later on, I got to thinking that I really liked the idea of documenting our years together with a dated photo ornament every year! And so, "our" tradition began :)

Last years ornament...

This years... waiting on a picture!

Do you have any traditions?

Ready for Christmas!

I can't believe it, all the "work" of Christmas is DONE! I'm ready to sit back, relax, and enjoy the holidays with friends and family.

The tree is up and decorated...

The house decorations are up...

(aren't my snowman's cute?!?!?! they are my new addition this year!)

The shopping is done...The presents are wrapped....

(yup, that's camo paper... we're cool like that.)

Ornament swaps are done (well one is wrapped and ready to go, but the other went out a few weeks ago)... and I just finished writing out all of our Christmas cards!

Whew! I'm DONE! I can hardly believe it!

Anti-Christmas?

We have a year-round Christmas store down here that my Aunt used to take me to when I was younger. She is a bit of a nut about Christmas and decorations, so whenever we/she was having a bad day, we would go Christmas shopping and she would give me a price limit and let me pick out whatever ornament I wanted. Sadly, I haven't been there in YEARS, and that Aunt moved away to Tennessee. :( Fast forward to present day.... A few weeks ago I was on the hunt for a perfect ornament for my swap partner and I hit the Christmas Place. They have ALWAYS had an upside down Christmas tree in the store somewhere decorated gorgeously, it's just what they do. So I was standing near this tree, and this lady walks into the room and says to her friend "Why on earth do they have an upside-down Christmas tree!?!?!?!? That's like anti-Christmas or something! It's like.... the equivalent of hanging a flag upside down!!!!" This lady's friend replied that it was just probably artistic and quickly moved on to the next room...

So... my question to you: Is an upside down Christmas tree the equivalent of hanging a flag upside down!?!?!? And possibly a symbol of Anti-Christmas!?!??! I don't think so... but I just thought it was an interesting opinion that this lady had, and I'm curious as to what your opinions are.

Farewell Sweet November...

I can't believe November has come and gone so fast! I must have been really busy, I only blogged twice in the WHOLE month!!!!!

We started the month off with a bang celebrating my "not-so-little" brother's 14th Birthday.The boy and I took him to his very first concert without parents! We were rockin' out to Chicken Fried and Toes while laying on a blanket under the stars at a Zac Brown Band Concert!!!!

The rest of my days were filled with some of my favorite things, and I'm sad that I didn't take the time to share them with you throughout the month. Things such as Pumpkin Spice candles, fall leaf decorations (since we don't get real fall leaves in S. Florida), Turkey-lurkey dinner, Wii time with the family, and PIE!!!! Mommy makes some AWESOME pie. And I think I've eaten about 2 loaves of Pumpkin bread this month for breakfast too...

(btw. this is an actual picture of the pies my mom made for Thanksgiving)

Right after Thanksgiving dinner we loaded up the truck and headed to the Keys for the weekend where we froze our booty's off fishing offshore when it was 50 degrees out!!! It's hardly ever cold down here, but it was just our luck! :(We were troopers though. We bundled up and stuck it out!

We still had a good time, and brought home a big ol' Kingfish that we smoked and I'm about ready to whip it up into some Smoked Fish Dip. Yum yum!

So.... even though it flew by in the blink of an eye, November was filled with good things, and I'm thankful for each and every one of them. Especially all the wonderful days spent with family.

If you'll excuse me now, I need to go make my dip and bust out some Christmas decorations!!! See ya later Pumpkin Spice! It's time for some Christmas cheer!

Another Ornament Swap!

Yup, another one. Told ya I love Christmas!!!!

This one is hosted by

Deals, Steals and Heels and Mrs. Southern Belle.

They have 2 categories that you can sign up for, a Shopaholic category, and a Crafty category! Since this is my second swap, and I am already purchasing an ornament for a great bloggy partner, I signed up for the Crafty swap. I'm gonna be paired with another crafter and we get to make each other ornaments.

How fun is that!?!?!? I'm so excited.

Head on over to either of their pages and sign up.

You have until November 15th.

A smooch a day keeps the doctor away!

So I was watching the news this afternoon and they were discussing all the ways we can ward off the flu. Things such as eating fruits and veggies, oysters, taking vitamins, etc etc etc.... You know, all those things that don't taste good. And then... my ears perked up. They said that people who kiss the same partner for 6 consecutive months have a less likely chance of acquiring the flu. (Probably because they aren't swapping spit with strangers who have who knows what! But that's beside the point..) So, my lesson for you all today? Grab that cute boy of yours and tell him to pucker up! Nobody wants to get the Swine Flu do they!?!?!?!?

Giveaway!

How cute is this necklace!??!?!

Most of you know, I'm a flip flop-holic and so this is just PERFECT for me!

Lauren Nicole Gifts is hosting this giveaway, check it out!

Mutt Monday!

Who's your daddy!?!?!?!?

We all know who Zoey's Mommy is.... I mean, don't you see the resemblance of the overwhelming cuteness!?!?!?

But we've been wondering for some time who that baby daddy is. So, we broke down and got us a DNA kit. Any guesses????? What do you all think Miss Zoey monster is a mix of?

The shelter said they thought she was a Australian Shepherd/Collie... but my first guess was a German Shepherd/Border Collie, and lately I've been adding some sort of hound to that mix. But truly, we have no idea. Is it important? Well, no, not REALLY. It's more of a curiosity thing, but at the same time, it is important. It'll give us a little bit of insight as to what potential health problems we need to be on the lookout for, and maybe knowing a little bit more about her characteristic behavior traits might help us find some specific training techniques for her breed. So there are a few reasons other than just curiosity. But mostly, we'd like to solve the mystery :) We sent out the sample (just a swab of the inside of her cheek) on Saturday. It says the results take about 2 weeks... In the mean time, tell me what your guesses are!!!!