COFFEEMATES

I look forward to Sunday mornings because I'm usually the first one up. The dogs are a close second. I usually can't make it out of the bathroom before they're begging to be let outside.

While they're outside doing their duties (or would that be doodies?), I make coffee and clean up the kitchen.

I enjoy my Sunday mornings with 2 of my favorite fellows. We lounge in the recliner watching CBS Sunday morning and drink coffee.


Dexter's usually a little too rambunctious and won't lay on my lap for long. He has to roam the house and make sure all the zones are protected and eat anything, and I mean anything, he can find on the carpet. He's a little garbage disposal.

Evidently this morning, they were being a quite ornery and felt the need to stick they're tongues out at me. Ranger was a bit more timid about it than Dexter.

Can you believe how long that tongue is? I think he looks like a cow.

One of the main reasons I love my Sunday mornings with these two is the love that is shared with me. This dog loves me. A lot. Even though I took him to have his little Rangers removed, he still loves me. (by the way, his stitches were removed yesterday and she said he healed beautifully!)

And I just love those eyes.

I MISS JESUS

At least I miss the reminder of him on my way to work.

Occasionally I get to take I435 to get to work. Right around the 44 mile marker, there used to be a series of signs that someone had tacked to the trees that read "JESUS" "LOVES" "YOU" as you rounded the corner.

Yesterday I noticed the signs were gone.

Years ago when I first noticed the signs, I was irritated by them. At that stage in my life I was in the "no one should push their Jesus views on me" mode. Each time I would drive by, I cringed to see them. Don't get me wrong. I was not a Jesus hater. My thought process was that I would be the one to choose when, where, and how I would relate to Him.

I've aged since then. My mind is going and I no longer remember the things that are important when I'm supposed to remember them.

So when I passed that spot yesterday and it jogged my memory, I was looking forward to the reminder. If only for a few minutes, He would be there with me in my thoughts.

But, alas, the signs are no longer there. And it saddens me.

At least I have the memory of that curve and what used to be there.

At least for as long as my mind will remember it.

Which won't be very long.

LOVE TO HATE OR HATE TO LOVE

Taking a cue from The Housewife @ The Housewife Diaries, I'm posting about a song. It's not one of my favorites but it's one that I find myself singing every time it comes on the radio.

I get halfway through the song when it hits me that even though I know every word to it, I hate it.





What if God was one of us?
Just a slob like one of us
Just a stranger on the bus <---do you think God would take the bus?
Trying to make his way home
Just trying to make his way home
Back up to Heaven all alone <---do you think God is alone in heaven?
Nobody callin' on the phone <---maybe not on the phone but I'll bet God hears from people ALL of the time
cept for the Pope maybe in Rome <---is this like the red phone at the White House or maybe the White Phone at the bowling alley?

I get to these lines in the song, just singing along when it hits me how silly this whole song is. Then I get irritated at myself for not realizing it sooner as if I've wasted time out of my life. And even worse, I'll then spend the rest of the afternoon with the song stuck in my head, singing lines from it as I load the dish washer or wash my son's hair.

I can remember things like this but I can't remember that I made a dentist appointment for tomorrow or what I ate for lunch yesterday.

Funny how life works.

HAPPY DAY BEFORE VALENTINE'S DAY

DATE NIGHT

My husband took me out for dinner last night. I begged and pleaded all afternoon until he relented. It helped that as he was watching tv, the commercial for Red Lobster's 2 for $29.99 kept playing.

We were greeted in the lobby by these fellas. Some of the lobsters had blue bands, some had red, and others had white. A fellow customer explained to me that when you order lobster from the menu for the menu price, you get the white banded lobsters. These are the smaller lobsters. If you want a larger lobster, ie red or blue banded, you pay by the pound. It was $28.50 per pound, I believe.

Our intention was to order from the 2-fer menu but neither of us could find what we wanted so we opted to forgo the cheap menu and order off the regular menu.

Tim order the popcorn shrimp. I found this to be a boring choice since we have popcorn shrimp in the freezer at home. I chose the Woodfire grilled lobster and shrimp (shrimp scampi, skewered grilled shrimp, and 2 lobster tails).

Their Cheddar Bay Biscuits are yummy!

The Caesar Salad was delicious!

We spent our time observing the other tables. We're both people watchers and our table was at a wonderful spot to be able to observe the whole room. Since we didn't know people's stories, we made up our own. My darling had me laughing quite a bit.

(I was so excited about my meal that I didn't take a picture of it! I found this online so you can see what I saw. Doesn't that look fantastic?)

I fed one of my lobster tails to Tim. I knew when I ordered it, I wouldn't be able to eat all of that food but I also knew that Tim loves lobster and we could share.

Even with ordering off the regular menu, our meal only came to $41 and change. Not bad for a night out for seafood.

We concluded our evening with a stop at our favorite wine store, Bubbles. I'll save the details of that stop for another time because I have so much to share. It's amazing how many different kinds of wines there are and how many different labels.

So I'm now going to go sulk because I didn't have any leftovers from Red Lobster to have today.

:)

GADGETS

Yes, I love gadgets.

I'm a definite 21st century gal who loves the computer, couldn't live without my washing machine and dryer, am spoiled to have a dishwasher, and don't get me started on my fireplace that lights with a flip of the switch.

I'm always excited to get new gadgets. One of the most amazing of them that I own is this one.

No, it's not something you would stuff your bra with. It was given to me by my father-in-law and I love it's purpose. The ones pictured are Nylon Pan Scrapers.

It works wonderfully well scraping egg residue from my non-stick skillets.

They're also great for removing cookie bits from your cookie sheets. I love this item. I personally own the plain white nylon scraper but will definitely look for a more colorful one next time I replace mine.

They also come in more high tech versions. This one is the iSi Museum of Modern Art Pan Scraper in red. A little more than what I would need for my purposes but who knows what you might be scraping from your pans.

All of the above can be found on Amazon by searching "pan scraper" and range in price from $2.99 for a package of 2 and up. I'm sure they can also be found at Walmart or Target or maybe even your local dollar store.

Go buy one and experience pure happiness as I have.

SNIP SNIP

Ranger is going on the chopping block.


He's become a little aggressive ever since The Teenager hit that puberty thing.

So, he's off to be neutered; to become a Eunuch; have his Doghood taken away.

I know, we should have done this years ago but deep down I thought I'd someday want a little Ranger running around.

We settled for Dexter instead.

He was due for his annual shots so I figured it as good a time as any.

So I dropped him off this morning. He was so excited to see the leash. Then he was so excited to get into the car.

"Are we going to the park?" his little tail wagged.

He began to whine when we pulled into the parking lot. He knows the place. It's next door to the groomer that he hates so much.

When we didn't go into the groomer, he got a little more curious.

When she took him from me, he gave me the saddest look.

"Where am I going, Mom?" his eyes spoke to me.



I feel so mean. I left my baby boy with a stranger to do strange things to him.

Have you ever searched dog neutering online? Long Beach Animal Hospital has step-by-step instructions on how it's done. (it's not for the squeamish!)

Yes, I admit I'm a little morbid and like to know just how these things are done. (I did the same thing when the dear old husband was neutered, ahem, I mean vascectomized.)

He'll be better off in the long run (I have to keep telling myself this).

I can't wait to go pick him up.

Did I mention I have an aunt who has her dog's testicles in a jar in her living room? And you thought I was morbid!

GET SMARTS

A wonderfully intelligent woman that I know, not personally but online, has started a new magazine.

It's called SMARTS Magazine: For Aspiring Know-It-Alls.

Since I'm more than just an aspiring know-it-all (I am one!), this is right up my alley.

It's made up of people like you and me sharing their stories, tips, thoughts and much more!

Check it out.

Become a contributor.

Learn something that you didn't already know.

BIRTHDAY WISHES

Wishes are a very important part of a 5 year old's birthday.

I know The Kid put a lot of thought into his wish.

I know because he told me so.

Many days before.


He was still thinking about it right up until the moment it was time to make his wish.


It's now the crucial moment in time. He's making his wish.




Some people believe that if you don't blow out all of your candles with one blow, your wish will not come true.



Luckily, The Kid has enough hot air that he was able to blow his out with one Whooosh!

I hope his wish comes true.