Thank You

It is the VETERAN,

not the preacher,

who has given us freedom of religion.

It is the VETERAN,

not the reporter,

who has given us freedom of the press.

It is the VETERAN,

not the poet,

who has given us freedom of speech.

It is the VETERAN,

not the campus organizer,

who has given us freedom to assemble.

It is the VETERAN,

not the lawyer,

who has given us the right to a fair trial.

It is the VETERAN,

not the politician,

Who has given us the right to vote.

It is the VETERAN

who salutes the Flag

It is theVETERAN

who serves under the Flag.

And we should all give thanks,

every day, not just today.

Insert Title Here

Everyone knows by now that I get a kick out of a good Cake Wreck, but you know what else is fun? 
A Shirt Wreck!

This shirt comes from the Lake Run Club and it's Ride the Wave program.  Can you spot the disasters?

Front of the shirt...

And the back...

That's really no joke.  The folks who ordered the shirts were not amused. But my sister was and she wears it proudly.

Aren't you inspired?  I know I am!

Rockin with the Rhythm

After a not so great weekend watching this makes me smile...

Here's to Super Dewey

I'm sad.  

Our family of 5 has dwindled down to a measly three within one month.

I've mentioned before how our super awesome pup, Dewey, has a ferocious protective side to him, and this time was no different.  Let me back up....

The day of Monkey's birthday party we noticed that Jinx (the cat) had disappeared.  She's not real friendly when there are a lot of people around so we thought she might just be hiding outside somewhere.  She likes to go outside at night, but always comes back in the house in the morning.  After not seeing her for a few days we accepted that she probably wasn't coming back. 

After one night last week, we had a good idea of what probably happened to her.  I woke up around 2 in the morning to Dewey barking like mad.  I got out of bed, walked to the back door to let him in the house and there I saw it.  He was not 10 feet from the back door, fighting with a coyote!  I went to the bedroom, grabbed a gun and woke up JC.  By the time I made it back to the door the coyote had been scared away.  Dewey held his ground in that fight and was just doing his best to protect his family, probably getting in a little ass kicking for taking his pal Jinx away from him as well. 

This isn't the first time Dewey has taken on a coyote.  A few years ago JC caught him fighting with one in the yard and he went out to break it up.  He's been lucky enough to stand his ground and if not come out on top, at least walk away without too many battle wounds.  Unfortunately, this weekend wasn't that way.

Saturday morning I found the poor fella in the yard.  He'd lost a fight with a coyote.  I'm sure the little guy put up a helluva fight, but he was overpowered.  I wish I would've heard him and woken up so I could've helped, but I slept through the entire thing.  The worst part of it all is Monkey just learned to say Dooo-E and kept saying it over and over again that day.  It's incredibly cute and heartbreakingly sad at the same time. 

I think we will deal with our sadness in a productive way.  Who's up for some hunting?

Crime Doesn't Pay. Stupidity Doesn't Either

This Pine Bluff, Arkansas woman thought fast on her feet and was able to stop a robbery in progress.  I love the fact that she put the jerk in a head lock!

Police say a man who tried to rob a Pine Bluff fast-food restaurant was shot by his own gun.

A police report says officers responded to a robbery in progress call at a Burger King about 11 p.m. Monday. Officers said they arrested 22-year-old Jason Robinson, who had a gunshot wound in one thigh.

According to investigators, an employee said that after the robber accosted her and demanded money, he put his gun down so he could place the money in a bag. The employee says she grabbed the gun and it fired as she and the robber struggled for it.

She told officers she put the robber in a head-lock and called police.

Robinson was treated at a local hospital and was being held at the Jefferson County jail.

Wordless Wednesday

What to do on a rainy day?  How about chillin in a bean bag chair with Elmo!

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

Dark & Twisty?

These shoes.  Oh how I'm in love with them.  I saw them in the store and instantly knew they HAD to be on the feet of Monkey.  They'd be on my feet if they would only fit!
 

Seriously, how flipping cute are they?!  Okay, so maybe you are turned off by the whole skull and crossbones thing.  Maybe when you look at these all you can think about is danger, death or poison.  Well not me. 

I think about this nice old lady from Thailand who once said that the skull and crossbones is the symbol for eternal love. Eternal love! That's not dark and twisty at all! So I will let my child wear them proudly. And they look pretty badass too, so that helps.

Animal Rights in Left Field

Sometimes I'm at a loss for words.  It's usually when I see something so incredibly stupid that I can't even string together my thoughts to make a coherant sentence.  After seeing this movie poster today, I'm having one of those moments.

If you are interested in reading more about this ridiculous animal rights movie, you can click here. 

On a side note, I am saddened to see Woody Harrelson and Joaquin Phoenix are a part of this as well.  I know those two are both a little out in left field, but I've always liked them as actors.  A little piece of my heart has died.... along with the cows that I'm killing by consuming milk I guess.

Wreck or Masterpiece?

I mentioned yesterday that my husband threw a surprise birthday party for me over the weekend.  And what a party it was!  To top it off, my lovely baby sister ordered this cake for me:

Pretty cute, no?  But wait, take a closer look.... do you notice anything odd about it?

That's right!  She had the bakery make a special Cake Wreck just for me!  Those mistakes were on purpose, but it still got a hardy laugh out of me.  Apparently the baker was super excited about making it as well, she said it was the funnest cake she's ever gotten to make. 

Happy Birthday to Me!

I mentioned the other day that Hubby does a great job with gifts.  Some years we agree not to do gifts at all, other times we'll buy something big (like a tv or a computer) and call that our gifts to each other, since our birthdays are only two days apart.  But the times when he buys me something special, he always outdoes himself.  I really think he's made a mistake by setting such a precedence of great gifts.  What is he going to give me 20 years from now? 

Some of the gifts he's given me include jewelry.  You can never go wrong with jewelry, I say.  Unless it has hearts on it.  I hate jewelry with hearts.  He's never given me jewelry with hearts on it.  This man knows me.  He has given me a watch... necklaces...one being this shiny thing:

He's also given me less flashy gifts such as a fishing pole and a mailbox.  Things that I wanted.  My favorite one that he's doled out to me so far though, is this beauty:

An H&K 9mm pistol!  It's just not any ordinary pistol, it's also ambidextrious.  Because I'm special and do things with both of my hands.  This gun is awesome, fits my hands perfectly and shoots like a dream.  My grouping is spot on with it.  Of course, I could say that's just me and my awesomness, but really I think it has more to do with her.

I didn't think it was possible for him to outdo this gift, but he may have done it this year!  He started off by throwing a surprise birthday party for me Saturday night!  So many of my wonderful friends and family came together to celebrate me turning the big 3-0.  I had a great time and loved every second of it.

He then gave me this present:

A Kahr .380! Such a gorgeous slim little gal!  I've been wanting a smaller pistol to carry just for self defense and this baby is the ticket.  What a fabulous husband I have.  I love you baby and thanks for the greatest birthday thus far!

Rice Krispie Cupcakes

I made these little treats for the Hubby's birthday.  If you like regular rice krispie treats and peanut butter then you'll love these! 

What You'll Need:

• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 cups mini marshmallows
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 5 cups rice krispies
• chocolate icing

What You Do:

In large saucepan melt butter over low heat.

Add marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat.

Stir in peanut butter until melted.

Add rice krispies cereal. Stir until well coated.

Press mixture evenly into a cupcake pan coated with cooking spray. Cool. 

Cover with chocolate icing. 

Wordless.... Friday?

Yes, I'm aware it's not Wednesday.  I'm a busy gal right now and instead of not posting anything today and letting you down, I thought I would share a few photos of Monkey playing outside.  I can't handle disappointing people, especially my loyal readers.  So, here you go!

Inspecting the grass...

Joyriding...

Watching Daddy mow the yard....

And maybe my favorite, telling Daddy to Ssshhhhh! The mower is a little bit loud...

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things I plan to do this weekend:

1. Hopefully get a chance to finally watch Avatar. I don’t really see how it can be as good as everyone says, but I’m going to give it a chance.

2. Partake in the Fat Ass 5K.

3. Eat lots of unhealthy food and drink beer at said 5K.

4. Hang out with some great friends.

5. Spend time with my momma for Mother’s Day.

6. Maybe take my momma and Monkey to the zoo.

7. Work in the garden.

8. Laundry.

9. Celebrate the hubby’s birthday. It falls on Mother’s Day this year. He was not born on Mother’s Day though. I was. Yep, I really don’t have to get my mom a gift every year because I am the gift!

10. Venture into the unknown. Hubby has something planned for my birthday Saturday night and won’t tell me what it is. I’m sure whatever it is he has up his sleeve will be great. He always does great with gifts. (More to come on that in a later post.)

11. Grill out. I’m craving steak and potatoes right now. Bacon-wrapped jalapenos would be good too.

12. Make birthday cupcakes.

13. Did I mention drink beer and eat unhealthy food??

What are your plans for the weekend?

Wordless Wednesday

Putting Monkey to work early.  She's got to learn how to run the skid loader at some point!  Fortunately she's got Dewey to show her the ropes.

For more Wordless Wednesday, click here.

Spicy Sausage Cheese Soup

It's been a while since I've posted a recipe on here.  It's not because I haven't been cooking, I have.  I've just been really bad about writing down my recipes and taking pictures of the finished product.  Here is a recipe (sans photo) that I really liked.  Hubster even gave it an A+!

What You'll Need:

• 1 pound pork sausage
• 1 whole large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 whole medium jalapeno, diced
• 2 small chipotle peppers, packed in adobo (rince the sauce off if you want to cut down on the heat!)
• 1 can of beer
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 can cheese soup
• 1 cup corn
• 1 cup peas
• 2 potatoes, diced
• salt and pepper to taste

What You Do:

Heat a large pot and add sausage. Cook until brown, remove and reserve the grease.

Add onions, garlic, jalapeno and chipotles to pot and cook in the sausage grease until soft. Add potatoes.

Add sausage back into pot and pour in one bottle of beer. Simmer 5-7 minutes, letting the alcohol cook out.

Stir and add chicken broth. Simmer for 10 minutes, letting liquid reduce a little more.

Reduce heat, add remaining veggies and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add cheese soup and heavy cream, simmer until potatoes are tender and serve.