Ahh... Summer!

Summer is here. Not only is it outside, it's inside too. Yesterday our air quit! Now it hasn't been as hot as it could be so I'm thankful for that. However, it being 85 degrees inside is no picnic! :~O One of our members air cut out a few weeks ago and they were told that it would be fixed on one Friday. They got a call that day saying that they wouldn't be able to fix it for another week! :~O The guys are here now fixing the air... Ahh, cold air! :~) I don't know how some people can go without it! Maybe I'm spoiled... Yeah, but at least I'm cool! :~)

I got this from my Mommy. I don't know where she got it but I'm grateful she did get it... Frozen grapes. They are good for you unless you eat too many, then you might be in the bathroom for longer than you wanted to be! ;~) I froze some grapes last year and let Jamey try them. He had never heard of them... Maybe it's a northern thing. Anyway, he loved them and now he wants them around days like this. :~) There's nothing better on a hot summer day!

I guess it wasn't the best time to start up cooking regularly again... I hadn't been cooking lately, just kinda had the blahs. So I made up for it by making meat loaf tonight and pork chops last night. Both made the kitchen hot! :~}

Shorty is back on his crate schedule... He had an accident and he was on a trial run, so he is back for just a few days. I'll try having him out again after that. In kitty news... Munchkin went to the vet the other day and got some medicine that made her a little groggy... Much more sedate which Jamey really liked. I found him playing and petting her. It's a love, hate relationship... Cause once she gets completely back to her playful self I don't know if Jamey will want to play with her.

In other news... We were at Goodwill today to get out of our hot house and I noticed a sign on the register. It said that because of the rising costs of running a business the prices were going to go up June 30th. It kinda made me look twice and start thinking... By the way, that's never a good thing! :~) Something might explode! I know that the increase of the minimum wage and the current spike in gas prices are making the cost of everything go up... I just wonder how much longer we'll be able to do it. I stay home, I know that is a little unusual, but how much longer till I have to go to work just to help support Jamey and me... What about families with children? Anyway, that's my serious thought for the day! :~)

As easy as giving a cat a bath...

I did give a cat a bath today, along with a dog. It's Saturday so it's their usual bath day. They both don't like it, but (at least with Shorty) they need it. I even bought this dog spray so he smells like a spring breeze when he gets done... Ok, a spring breeze that had to go through dog to get to your nose... But still, it's better than just dog. [=-er'[;p4e3 Munchkin says "hi"... I'm on a laptop so she occasionally will walk across... I try to keep her off it, but sometimes she sneaks through! :~) I got her a new toy at the dollar store that is a pole with a sting and fish that dangle from it. So far she likes it and Jamey likes to watch her play with it!

Thursday we went to camp to hear one of our members speak. He did a really good job. Shorty was a little more impatient this time, but he did fine. They had costume night and I wish I would have known... I have this Civil war era dress and hoop skirt I would have worn... Well, it's still in Ohio and I would have had to cut out a kidney to fit in it again but I would have so worn it! :~) It made me miss being at camp and envying my brother who just got back from camp. Maybe next year I'll be able to do it again.

Something else we did today was go visit with some of our church members. We ate with them and spent the afternoon talking. That was fun. Tomorrow is pot luck at church, so we bought a lasagna to take there... I'll cook it later tonight and just heat it up tomorrow.

Monday will be the first day for Shorty to be out all day... I'm trying the crate method to help him understand that outside is the only place to "go". He has been doing well, so I'll see about it on Monday. Hopefully if this works I can start on other things like sit, stay and no. Anyway, I think that's all that has happened here lately... If I think of something else I'll just have to post again! ;~)

New Blog Changes...

I know you noticed that I have a new background to the blog... I just got tired of the old look and decided I needed a change! I like it and I hope you do too! :~)

Since last time I wrote, there isn't a lot of things to write about... I did find one of the things I sewed for an eight inch doll and put it on my kitten. She wasn't thrilled, but doesn't she look cute? Jamey is coming around to the cat. He pets her every now and then and likes to watch her attack things! :~) She loves to attack Shorty, it's a classic case of "can dish it out but can't take it". She attacks then whines when he gets her back!

We took Shorty to the Palmetto Bible camp yesterday and he did an excellent job. He didn't bark or anything, was really good with the kids and didn't mind his leash all that much. It was really fun to be at a camp again... I miss it. I was only a counselor for that one week, but I had sooo much fun there. It's a really nice camp... Better than the one I was at. It took us an hour to get there but we went from being in the city to being out in the middle of nowhere in the mountains! We stayed there for a few hours then came home... We plan on going back tomorrow to hear one of our members speak. He and his wife used to live there. Hopefully Shorty will be good like he was yesterday. :~)

Munchkin is getting fidgety, so I'd better go play with her! :~)

Yummy Chicken recipe!

I decided to make a chicken dinner tonight... I'm not the biggest chicken fan in the world (unless it's fast food and in sandwich form), in fact if I can avoid making it and eating it I will. However, this recipe will change that.

Oven Barbecued Chicken Wings

4 Tbsp. Ketchup
2 Tbsp. Vinegar
2 Tbsp. Water
1 Tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tsp. Sugar
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/4 Tsp. Dry Mustard
1/4 Tsp. Chili powder
1/8 Tsp. Pepper or dash Tabasco sauce
8 Chicken wings (or 4 chicken thighs)

Measure all ingredients, except chicken wings, into medium size bowl; whisk until well blended. To do ahead, add chicken wings; toss well; cover and refrigerate up to 24 hours.

For last-minute preparation, dip chicken wings in sauce to coat; place skin-side down on pan. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Brush with sauce; turn; brush other side; bake until brown and tender, about 30 minutes longer.

I used thighs for this and it's only supposed to feed 2, but it's definitely worth the long cook time and the turning. :~) I served it with mashed potatoes and green beans... It was a delicious dinner if I do say so myself! :~)

I don't know if I'll be able to post before next week... I have to clean the house cause Jamey's cousin Seth is probably going to be coming this weekend!

The Beach!!! Part ll

I took too many pics to put on this blog, so I put them all on Photobucket.

Friday we woke up about 8 am so we would be able to get all we wanted to get done, done. We had breakfast at the hotel then went to the Savannah welcome center. We got a map and info about the buildings and the squares. Before we went and walked, we went to see the museum. It had more civil war stuff than I'm used to seeing in a museum... That was neat! After the museum we walked along Bull St. and saw all the lovely squares and the trees that framed the squares. We got to go into a shop that used to be an old house. That was fun! I like to go to these cities and see all the history... I don't know if it's just me, but it's like I can go back in time and can see people dressed in Victorian garb walking around and there are no longer cars, only horse drawn carriages. It was amazing! All the beautiful houses were breathtaking. The river front was something else! :~)

After our feet were about to fall off from walking in Savannah, we went to Ft. Jackson. :~) It's 200 years old! Built in 1808, it saw a lot of wars... However, it never saw any action. It was fun to go and see where soldiers of days gone by used to stay during a war. Walking around there took about an hour.

When we were done with that fort we went to Ft. Pulaski. This fort was built in 1820 and was thought to be invincible. The cannon balls that were used then couldn't penetrate the thick walls. However, during the civil war there was a new cannon ball invented that had a spin to it and could fly further. The lighthouse seen from up on top of the fort is where the Union soldiers were when they attacked the fort to get to Savannah. This fort saw some action... You can see the cannon damage on the outside of the fort. There was also a guy that did a musket demonstration. It was interesting to see how the muskets worked... And to hear some of the history of it. I don't remember it all well enough to retell it, but it was interesting! :~)

Once we were done with that... The beach!!! :~) We had our swimsuits on under our clothes, so we were all ready. We got our blankets on the beach and headed for the water. It was warm and choppy. Jamey and I waded out up to our necks and went up and down with the water. After a while we were just having fun when all of a sudden we saw dolphins cresting not that far from where we were!!! :~O It almost didn't feel real. We stayed in the ocean for about 2 hours. I did a little swimming, but not much... It was too hard to swim with the water moving. After we were done with that we went back to the hotel, took a shower and ate dinner at a restaurant on the river front. To top of the day we went out to see a movie. We didn't get back until midnight! :~)

Saturday we came home. Our trip home was uneventful. :~) We got home about 2:30pm. I was preoccupied and didn't see Munchkin trying to get through the door I was going through and I got her tail caught in the door. I was afraid that her tail was broken so Jamey took her to the vet. Her tail wasn't broken, but she got this cute collar that she has to wear until Thursday. Yes, she hates it! :~)

The Beach!!! Part l

Ok, we're technically still at the hotel and after breakfast will be going to see a few of the many sites that Savannah has to offer... However, later today I will be swimming in the Atlantic ocean! Last night we went to the beach and I got to dip my feet in the ocean. Don't worry, I'll get the pics as soon as we get back to SC. We were debating whether to go to Savannah or Charleston but Jamey thought the beach here would be the better. After all he has been here before. Anyway, this is just a little blurb until I get back on Saturday... Don't be looking for any updates then cause I probably won't get on the computer till Monday to write. Later! ;~)