Garden Variety Thievery

Over the last several weeks we've been dealing with some thieves!  Just your average, garden variety thieves. 

The girls have been stealing snap peas straight off the trellis and aren't the least bit remorseful! 

Don't let those sweet faces fool you!  They're dirty, rotten, four pawed thieves.

"What?  My tongue didn't actually touch it!"

You might be wondering how on Earth did they decide they like snow peas?  

I'd point you in Matt's direction.  Years ago he was out in the garden and decide to throw a snow pea pod in Bella's direction... She's been salivating at them ever since! 

Obviously, Matt had to clue Haddie in on the wonder of the snow pea and now they're both hooked.  It's like crack to them!  They don't even wait for us to pick the pods off for them, it's a doggie buffet!

In addition to the snow peas, they also eat strawberries.  To be clear, they have to be ripe strawberries!  If they're not at their peak, they won't eat them.  Rotten.

Please confirm that our dogs aren't the most spoiled ones on the planet?

15 Minutes of Fame

Since we adopted Haddie she has wiggled her nub into our hearts and onto our furniture.  Not that I had any doubts that she would be good fit!  Having grown up with 'herding dogs' I was quite familiar with many of their antics and while her "Frog Dog" pose isn't something new, I still crack up when she lays on the floor all stretched out.

One morning I was working on my computer and looked over to see her all sprawled out on the dining room floor and couldn't resist the photo opp.  Obviosuly, it ended up on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  Duh.  Everything cute ends up on the internet!

Shortly after tweeting her picture, Milk Bone and I were conversing about how much both Bella and Haddie loved snacking on Milk Bone biscuits.

And after several private messages, these two lucky girls were getting official Milk Bone swag sent just for them!

Haddie is a big fan of the new Brushing Chews and Bella is all about the Original Biscuits...

Thanks again Milk Bone for sending the girls coupons for free biscuits and Haddie loves her new toy!

Five on Friday

It's been more than a hot minute since I've had the opportunity to participate in a Friday link up!  I've missed everyone!  So I'm carving out some time during my lunch hour, before I head into my next meeting...  Bring on the weekend!

ONE

All you sweet Southerners are cracking me up with winter woes!  This is our current temp, but it feels like -10.  Several local schools even cancelled this week due to the bitter cold.  I think the thermostat bottomed out somewhere close to zero, but with wind chills close to -30!!

TWO

Haddie, aka The Frog Dog, is earning her keep around the house thanks to this adorable face!  More to come next week, until then just look into those eyes...

THREE

I have literally ate this muffin every morning this week!  What she lacks in the looks department she makes up for in taste and satisfaction!

FOUR

These puppies showed up this week (a little late for this latest cold snap) and I'm in LOVE!  Me thinks they're going to get a LOT of use this season.  

FIVE

Excited for a bit of a low-key weekend!  Other than meeting up with friends for supper tonight and lunch with my family Sunday, there's nothing on my calendar... And I'm stoked.

Happy Friday!!

 

Linking up with Karli, Amanda and Christina.

Christmas Card Outtakes

With every good Christmas card, there's is always some pretty entertaining outtakes!  And the probability of the 'bad' outweighing the 'good' increase tenfold when you add critters to the mix... 

I hope these give you a giggle on your Christmas Eve!

Sun in the eyes, sun in the eyes!  Haddie has spotted something way more entertaining than whatever we're doing here...  And Bella, obviously she just woke up from a nap!

Again with the sun!  Haddie seems to less than impressed with "Picture Time".  Bella, you're looking cute!

More frown lines and squinty eyes.  And something beyond the camera has B's attention... Squirrel.

 Hey Matt, STOP SQUINTING!!  Everyone else has pulled it together, why do you have to keep dragging us down?!

Merry Christmas Eve!  

You'll know tomorrow if you were on the Naughty or Nice List!

Turkey Time with Family

Last Wednesday, we loaded up the goof troop and headed for Tennessee to spend Thanksgiving with Matt's family.  Despite snow, rain and narrowly killing my husband, we made it safely! 

After unloading the car and feeding the hungry pups, this girl poured herself a LARGE glass of red wine!  It was divine. 

Bless my sister in law and brother in law's hearts for putting up with 13 family members and 2 extra dogs!  Everyone converged on their house Wednesday night and Jennifer managed to get everyone settled, fed and hydrated.  Not only did she make food for Wednesday's supper, but also breakfast on Thanksgiving morning, the turkey and several fixins for dinner and breakfast Friday before everyone headed back out!  Super woman. 

Thursday morning was pretty low key.  Lots of catching up over coffee and breakfast casseroles.  Midday we started getting motivated to get our turkey dinner prepared!  The boys handled frying the turkey, while most of the gals made appetizers, sides and desserts. 

 

 

 

Matt's family also likes to indulge in craft beer, good wine and mixed drinks!  I fell head over heels for this recipe for an Apple Cider Moscow Mule...

Several of us headed out to battle the calories and snapped some great photos of the beautiful TN scenery!

After our walk, I put the hurt on some online shopping and knocked out several people on my Christmas shopping list.  Kohl's strikes again!  I also took advantage of Courtney's 50% off sale at Cowgirl Crush... Excited to see everything come in the mail this week!

Most of Matt's family took off back to their respective states (IL, NC, FL) after breakfast Friday morning, but we decided to hang out for another day!  And after being relatively contained by four walls, the four of us were ready to escape to town.  The four of us had lunch out, did some shopping and then headed back to the house to check in on the pups. 

Speaking of the pups... My girl Haddie was a rock star!!  She was a little timid (obviously), but warmed up to everyone pretty quickly!  She also found a buddy in Matt's cousin's daughter, Eve.  I was a touch apprehensive with the baby crawling all over, but Haddie handled it like a champ!  Everyone was smitten.

After an impromptu session for Christmas card pictures, we all headed into NashVegas!  The last time the four of us were downtown it was rainy and freaking cold, so the mild temps were so awesome!  We had supper at Demos' Restaurant and then went for drinks/live music on the patio at Rippy's.  Let me tell you "Rocky Top" sounds so much better when you're actually in Tennessee!

Sadly, our trip had to come to an end and it was time to go home Saturday.  On the way home we stopped for lunch at an old college fave, 17th Street, which is famous for pork barbeque!  We rolled into the lane at home around 5pm and EVERYONE, human and canine, was excited to be out of the car.  The rest of the night we seriously lounged on the couch and did nothing!

To round out the weekend, Matt and Bella got up and went duck hunting Sunday morning at the God awful hour of 4am.  Like the smart kids we are, Haddie and I slept in!  I was going to take Haddie for a run, but the 25 mph winds kept me in my pjs watching Christmas movies and decorating our big Christmas tree.  I'm pretty proud of the way it turned out this year!  Be on the look out for pics!

Linking up with Biana.

Happy Haddie

I was totally holding out on y'all last Friday when I didn't say anything about going to possibly adopt a new dog on Saturday!  For a few months now, Matt and I have been looking for the right dog to adopt.  I suppose we were being fairly picky, but with our lifestyle we knew what kind of dog was going to work and what wasn't. 

On the 'must' list was:

Female.  Bella hasn't been spayed, so a male (even a neutered male) was a no go.

Not a puppy.  We're over all the puppy-ness, which includes chewing, potty training, etc.
Housebroken.  When Bella was a pup I wasn't working and when I didn't keep her at home, Matt took her with him to work.  Potty training was easy.  With us both working FT and Matt not being able to take two dogs to work, the new addition will stay in the house during the day.
Comparable to Bella's size or smaller.  While I wanted at Bernese Mountain Dog, Matt was NOT on-board with a BIGGER dog than our 70 lb. Labrador.

That being said, we had decided that adopting an dog from a rescue site would probably be the best option for us.  As sad as it is, there are several fantastic rescues in Illinois that I was keeping a close eye on looking for a dog that would work in our family dynamic.  Over the course of the summer we put in a few applications, but the dogs were adopted (YEA!) before we had the chance to get up and visit them. 

But last week, I saw a sweet little lady that I had to meet!  Here are her specs: 1-2 years old.  30 lbs. Australian Shepard/Catahoula mix.  Housebroken.

So Saturday morning Matt, Bella and I loaded up and drove two hours North to visit the rescue.  I was trying to stay noncommittal until the point that we actually met Haddie, but knowing full well we'd be bringing her home as long as she and Bella go along!  And low and behold... they got along and she came home with us!

Haddie is still a bit timid, but she's warming up to us (and Bella) very quickly!  I'll definitely be reporting back about the progress we're making!