Party Donations

Rufus' 5th birthday is just around the corner. I still can't believe it.
Anyone that knows Rufus, knows he has everything he could ever need or want and we would like to take the opportunity for this year's party to give to those in need.

There are many local rescue shelters which we donate to often, however, for Rufus' birthday we would like to spotlight one that is close to our family, even though it's over 400 miles from our home.

Carolina Poodle Rescue http://www.carolinapoodlerescue.org/
Although poodle is in their name, up at their Dreamweaver Farms rescue they have all sorts of different dogs and even horses. We first came to know of this wonderful place through my mother in law who is an active volunteer with them (yes 400+ miles away!).
2006 was - the start of Dreamweaver Farms and Rufus was born. They both turn 5 this year!

I don't think it's a coincidence that their initials CPR are also the acronym for a life saving action. CPR rescues animals that have been abused, abandoned or neglected. Some from breeders that don't see the value in their breeding poodle any longer. Some that have spent their entire life in a crate just to be let out to breed. Some that have just been found wandering the street. They all find a home at Dreamweaver Farms. Then comes the adoption process.

When we decided to get a poodle from Rufus' breeder, we thought it was us doing the prospecting. Even more, his breeder Tes interviewed us and made sure that our potential puppy would be going to a safe, caring home. CPR also has a thorough homing process. They check the people, homes and in most cases, the people are encouraged to come to the farm to meet the poodle face to face. Sometimes after picking a dog online, you meet them in person and it's not the right fit, but there's another dog there that you meet while you're there and it's just a fit.

To check out some great stories of adoptions, check out their site http://www.carolinapoodlerescue.org/happyTails.shtml

As with most rescue organizations, monetary donations go the furthest. Some items that are currently in need are:

Paper, pens, and dual pocket folders
Bleach, paper towels and toilet paper
Snap together adjustable collars for very tiny size (need mostly tiny) up to large
Sturdy dog tennis balls (No stuffed or squeaky toys)

If you would like to give a general donations and specify what the donation is for, you can do that. If you don't specify, the farm will get whatever the greatest need is at the time.
You can donate easily at http://carolinapoodlerescue.org/giving.shtml

Let's all get together and help these dogs. We think we're rescuing these dogs, but really, they're rescuing our hearts.

We are blessed to be able to get together, celebrate Rufus' birthday and bless CPR all at the same time. Thank you for your help and hope to see you at Rufus' party 07/30/11!

Guest bathroom recap

Yes, I've been a total blog slacker. For a couple months our weekends were full of bathroom renos, then who knows what, Flu, Thanksgiving, then a few weekends in Orlando for mini-vacations and then Christmas and New Years and here we are.

Our guest bath was finished just before Thanksgiving which was at our house again this year. There are still a few open items like window covering (which I'm waiting to find exactly what I want since the glass is frosted and opens to the patio so privacy isn't an issue), tissue holder, trash can and a couple extra towel knobs. We were successful in our first tiling project. We called in the professionals when we started on the shower walls, but that was just our neighbor for a consult. He drew some lines and we were good to go. Cutting the holes for the water lines was a pain in the butt. So worth the $20 diamond crusted drill bit. Grouting - easy. Sealing - easy. Drywall and backer board - easy. Knockdown spray texture was terrible for me. It didn't affect DH's eyes at all, but mine were watering so much I couldn't see straight. I ended up putting on a mask and my snorkel goggles and that helped. DH did the electrical and our plumber friend did the moving of the pipes, install of the tub and final hookups. We are VERY happy with how it turned out.

Here are the reno highlights. I'll do a final reveal on the next blog. Along with a before and after.

Installed by DH - new from Lowe's Harbor Breeze Brushed Nickel fan with light (and bonus night light feature!)

Tub in. We went with the Kohler Archer tub with brushed nickel hardware. Drywall and Hardibacker board up.

Rufus the site supervisor. This was during the terrible texture spraying. We did a light coat on 1 wall and let it set. Rufus wasn't allowed in until the smell/eye watering chemical went away. Yes, he's always that jolly.

And the hole that finally cut nicely. We went through about 5 tiles before I went back to Home Depot to get the diamond drill bit.

Doggy treat recipes from Rufus' 3rd birthday

On July 26th Rufus turned 3. I still can't believe it! Of course we had a birthday party :) We technically can celebrate his birthday on both the 25th and 26th because of the time he was born (if you missed that story, check it out here).

This year's theme was Hawaiian island. We had all sorts of leis and luau food for the people including DH's special smoked pulled pork, a tropical chicken salad and pineapple upside down cupcakes for the people. Everyone loved it all. We ended up with 20 people and about 15 dogs. Of course I didn't get any photos of the treats, I barely got to taste any of the food! Will work on that for the next party. Photos from the party will be up soon!

With the price of store bought treats and the questioning of ingredients, I love to bake treats for Rufus at home. We used to have a great doggy bakery in town, where we got his 1st bday cake, but they've since moved. For Ruf's birthday this year, we had a nice array of easy treats. I love easy treat recipes, ones with all natural ingredients that can be found in most pantries. And I wouldn't give my dog anything to eat that I wouldn't eat (or at least try) myself.
I've had a lot of requests for this 1st recipe. It's from a dog cookbook titled 'Cooking the Three Dog Bakery Way' by Mark Beckloff and Dan Dye which was actually a gift from my aunt for Ruf's 2nd birthday.
Here's a photo my MIL took while we were singing Happy Birthday to Ruf with the candle on his pupcake

It says it makes (2) 8 inch cakes, but I made cupcakes (or pupcakes) and it made about 12 total. (I made 2 batches, recipe below is for 12 pupcakes or 2 8 inch cakes)

PAWSHAKE CAKE
(2) cups whole wheat flour
(2) teaspoons baking powder
(1/2) cup honey
(1/3) cup unsalted peanut butter (I used chunky)
(1) large egg
(1) cup skim milk
(1/4) cup chopped unsalted peanuts

Preheat oven to 350 deg F.
Spray baking pans with nonstick vegetable spray and dust with flour (or insert cupcake liners).
Stir together flour and baking powder and set aside.
In large bowl, cream together the honey and peanut butter with an electric mixer or wooden spoon.
Beat in the egg and milk.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until smooth.
Pour the batter in the cake or cup cake pans (about 1/3 way full if making cup cakes).
Sprinkle the top with peanuts.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the top comes out clean.Cook to room temperature.
Store in airtight container for up to 3 days, or wrap well and freeze for up to 2 months (thaw before serving).

Can be frosted with this frosting (we skipped it for the party, may be too messy for 20 or so dogs at once!)
(1) 8 oz. package low-fat cream cheese, softened
(3) tablespoons carob powder (usually found at health food stores)
(1) tablespoon pure vanilla extract
Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth.

Another great and easy treat we had was dehydrated sweet potatoes. You can make them in a dehydrator, but I've found it easier to make in the oven. Preheat oven to 250 deg F. Wash and peel sweet potatoes, microwave for a minute or two to soften, slice approx. 1/4-1/3 inch thick slices, arrange single layer on cookie sheet, bake for about 2-3 hours, or a little longer for crunchier treats, checking often to make sure they're not burning.

We also had these two types of treats which came from this website. I loved that I could just throw everything together in my Kitchenaid mixer!

Chunky Peanut Butter Molasses Cookies
4 cups whole wheat flour2 cups oatmeal
½ - ¾ cup chunky peanut butter
2½ cups hot water2 Tbs molasses
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C).
Mix all ingredients together, adding more hot water if dough is too sticky. Knead well. Roll out to ¼" and cut into shapes with cookie cutter (I used a dog bone shaped cutter, may want to roll out a little thicker than 1/4 inch so they bake up a little thicker, some of our thin ones burnt). Bake on greased cookie sheet for 40 minutes (or until lightly browned). Turn off heat and let cool in oven overnight (we skipped this too, baked them the day of the party, they cooled for 6 or so hours on racks).

Savory Peanut Butter Biscuits with Cheese
1 cup flour
½ cup milk
2 Tbs peanut butter
2 Tbs grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp baking powder (I forgot to add this and they came out like discs, but everyone still loved them!)
1 egg white
1 Tbs chicken broth
Directions: Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C). Mix flour and milk until lumpy. Add Peanut butter and chicken broth. Mix parmesan cheese with first four ingredients. Add egg white. Mix well or until it has the consistency of pancake batter. Add baking powder. Pour onto cookie sheet sprayed with nonstick spray, in 3-inch diameter blobs. Cook until golden brown. Serve cool.

More treat recipes to come in future posts. For now, happy baking!

Take your dog to work Day!

Today was 'Take your dog to work day' here in the US (or maybe international?). Rufus loves his daily nap time at home while I'm at work, so he went in with me after work until 5. He naps a little while at work, but always has to be supervising and knowing everything that's going on. Here are a couple examples

First, napping. This is the view I saw if I looked under my desk (I had to crouch under to take this pic)

Next - the supervisor

Zak and the SPCR spoo group

For those of you that don't know, I'm an active member of an online poodle flickr photo group. No, I'm in no way a professional photographer, but there are professionals in the group - all 578 members just share an interest in standard poodles. In the nearly 3 years I've been a part of the group, I've seen selfless acts by members, reaching out to help people they've never met in person, some in other countries even. When someone's poodle, or spoo as they're often called, is in trouble - sick, missing, or lost, the group comes together helping any way they can, sometimes with encouraging words or even monetary gifts. When a spoo has a great achievement, like winning in a show or simply a good day of potty training, the group comes together to share in the joy. I've been honored to be involved during many of these ups and downs.
We've even had poodle meetups and met people through the group. DH and I drove about 2 hours one way while we were in CA to meet Jeff and Tracy of the group and their many spoos. They had also visited my MIL here in FL last year. Next month, we'll have our annual poodle-palloza as DH likes to call it, where spoos (and their people) will come to visit for a full day of fun with poodles! Last year, they came from everywhere: FL's panhandle, FL's west coast, and even Canada and Illinois! This photo above is from last year's meetup. It was taken late in the day after some people had already left - 11 spoos just in that pic!

The most recent show of support from our poodle group involved a spoo named Zak (that's a photo of him up there). He's a 4 year old champion show dog that was away for a ski weekend near Alpental Ski Area in Washington State with his human. She came back after a day of skiing on Saturday to discover the cabin door open and all 3 dogs missing. 2 of the dogs were found later that day, but Zak was still missing. Our group suggested to get the local news to do a human interest story on Zak for exposure. After 24 hours of searching, Zak had only been spotted 1 time in the backcountry. Everyone was worried about him because there had been 3 feet of snow since Saturday and his current show cut (bare butt!). We posted all across the web, in many spoo groups and also groups around the area he was last seen. They had helicopters out looking for him. Rescue/Avalanche dogs were available but the weather was so bad it was not safe for them to go out.

Finally, Tuesday afternoon, 2 backcountry skiers who had heard about the missing dog on KING 5 News, heard a barking in the distance. Gabe Newton and friend Matt Glaser searched for 1.5 hours and finally came across Zak in a makeshift den in a deep ravine, miles away from where he went missing. He was cold, but followed the guys to a pass where he was reunited with his person. MSNBC and CNN even got in to report on the good news. (photos from the news story)

He's doing well, slight irritation near his wrists where he was probably tried to gnaw away forming snowballs on his fur. He's eating and drinking fine. After a vet check, no frostbite, no wounds, he is hydrated, lost some weight but he is basically OK. Ever since he's been back, he's been a constant shadow to his people. So glad it turned out to be a happy ending! Look for the news story on Inside Edition, a TV News/Entertainment Magazine maybe early next week!

Weekend recap

Quick post today - I love that it's lighter later now - DH and I just got back in from gardening. Pics and details on that later, let's get you caught up on some of this past weekend.

Friday night was pretty quiet. I think we watched some race on TV, which means I went to bed early :)
Saturday early morning DH and I went and picked up my MIL and one of her pups Clancy and went down to the ribbon cutting ceremony for the New Smyrna Beach boardwalk. The event was sponsored by Southeast Volusia County Humane Society, Friends of Smyrna Dunes Park, the Obedience Club, Chris' Critter Sitters , and others. This officially opened the boardwalk back up to dogs (leashed dogs that is). Aside from the ribbon cutting, there were demonstrations of obedience and pet first aid. DH and I are interested in the 6-8 hour Pet Tech First Aid class - it covers a lot of good information.

I'll fill you in on the rest of the weekend tomorrow. For now, enjoy some pics from Saturday morning - as you can see, the weather was perfect. And make sure to check out flickr for more pics (and a couple videos) from the day.

Boardwalk ribbon cutting ceremony

The pretty (and long!) boardwalk

My 2 boys - DH + Rufus (in the background is Disappearing Island where DH proposed to me!)
And everyone enjoyed the water, here's Beans and Clancy
Yes, I said everyone - even Rufus!

Weekend Recap 1 - Rufus' haircut

My little Rufus was due for a haircut soon so we decided to have it done before we went on vacation. We've been to Petco before, their price is reasonable but one time they kept him for 9 hours, so that's always in the back of my mind. There's a small place right down the street from our house called Pauline's that is about 30% more in price, but they usually only take 4 hours and it's local, but it usually takes at least 2 week notice to get an appt there. We've been there a few times but decided to try the other option in town which is in between on the price scale, Petsmart. They're on the other side of town, but we got an early appt. for last Saturday so I figured I could do some shopping and also get some stuff done around the house while Ruf was out. So this is what he looked like before.I brought him in at 8am and the lady Ruth was very nice. She went over what I thought was every detail on how I wanted his hair cut. They even had a little chart with fake fur so we could choose the correct length clippers. We ended up going with a #4 on his body and face, a little longer on the back of his hind legs because the hair is thinner back there, clean poodle feet, and the shaved base of the tail. Plus all the standards like brush out, bath, dry, ears, nails, teeth. I then kissed and hugged my little bear and left him in Ruth's hands. About 4 hours later, Ruth called and Rufus was almost ready. I drove up there to get my big boy! This above pic was taken Wednesday at work. You may notice something different. Everything was great except that SHE SHAVED HIS TOP KNOT! For anyone that knows poodles, you know you scissor their top knot (hair on top of their head) just to clean up and stray hairs. But no, she saved it. I know it'll grow back, but he looks like he's got a shrunken head now. :( She did great on the other parts though, so we may give her another shot in 4 months. Good note, in the planned Pavillion at Port Orange here in town, they've got a Petsmart on the drawings so that will be great coming this fall.

After Rufus' haircut, I knew he would need some good play time, so after a nap, we went to my MIL's to play with her pups. More photos from that playdate here
This is a good shot she got of Rufus in the sunlight, shaved top knot and all!

Catchup

Rufus came to work with me again today. This is a photo from a few weeks ago when he was 'on the clock'

Friday I went and toured 4 Ever Fitness and last night I had my first work out there. I went arond 6:15 and it was not packed at all. Very nice. Dan, the manager, took me through the circuit strength training and I also put in some time on the stationary bike and treadmill - making sure to keep my heart rate at aerobic level of around 150. I was not tired at all afterward. I'm going tonight to check out the YMCA. The Y will be a little more each month, but they offer the cardio classes that I love such as the pilates class I'm going to tonight. I'll weigh both options and make my decision this weekend.

Saturday and Sunday DH and I worked on house projects including door trim for some of the interior doors and finishing up the base boards. All of the rooms are now finished with the base, and we've just got 4 closets left to do. It's looking great. These are 2 different doors, but same before (first) and after (second). Please excuse the photo quality, I'll get better ones later.

Monday I was in Stuart for business again. That's actually not a bad drive at all. I prefer I-95 to I-4, but more of the business is along the I-4 corridor. Looks like I'll be going south down I-95 again Friday with my MIL to bring Blaze to Miami area so he can fly out to CA on Saturday. Speaking of California, DH and I got our tickets to go out there! We almost got a great deal out of Orlando airport, but I just had to check Daytona airport one more time (even though those flights had doubled since I last checked), and wha-la, flights from Daytona were reasonable! We figured in the $100 for parking if we flew from Orlando, plus the gas, plus the hassle of the busy MCO airport and we decided it was best to go out of Daytona. So, we fly out early early Jan. 30 for a short trip to San Diego. I'm really looking forward to it!

Today's the day

Today's the day of the official start of my blogging. I guess the whole idea of blogging isn't anything new, I'm just late to jump on the bandwagon. Journal writing was never really my thing and as I'm getting older, I think it would be nice to have accounts of the events of my life to look back on one day.

I'm planning on using this blog as a place to jot down a few lines of the day's events, possibly my opinions on current events, DIY home projects in process or in thought, and of course updates on life with my wonderful husband and our pup Rufus. I'll probably use the reflection blogging format, the daily post will be notes of the previous day's happenings and current opinions. Maybe this blog will help motivate me to get into photography more, with the idea that I need pics of the day to post here. I'd like that, but we'll see how it actually turns out a few months down the road.

Here are a couple pics to start out the blog.
First is DH and I on our wedding day 08/20/05, and second is our standard poodle pup Rufus.

So ok, let's just start with Nov. 1 Saturday.

Another beautiful weekend in FL. We made our way to Home Depot to purchase more items for our fun moulding project. We did find a good deal on 'pro-packs' of base moulding for about $55 each which includes about 120 linear feet of nice decorative wood, primed and ready for semi-gloss paint. We went through the first 2 packs a few weekends back, finishing most of the house - started in the den, did the kitchen, entry, living room and a little of our bedroom. Gosh, it looked soo much better. This last pack should cover the rest of our bedroom, all the closets and the office and guest bedroom. I am so glad we threw out the base moulding from the previous owner. There would have been no amount of Kiltz paint that could have really sealed away that nasty nicotine stain and smell. (the state of the house when we bought it would have been a good no-smoking campaign if I ever saw one! So gross what it did to the house, can't imagine what it does to the body. If you're going to smoke, please think of the people that may live in your house one day and smoke outside!)

We also decided to redo the door casings. They had kits which included precut casings and the square blocks, but at $15 each for the interior doors, we decided to get pro-packs of the casings for $35 and purchase the decorative square corner blocks separately since we're redoing both sides of all of the doors in the house. We're also going to replace the interior doors with nice 6 panel style doors. The look we're going for is actually in this week's Home Depot ad. Just overlook the paneling on the walls and this is how our place should look soon :)
We painted those and the new pack of base moulding and will probably work on that this weekend. We did get a nice casing for the interior of the main entry door. My husband (DH) nailed that in and I puttied and painted it and it makes the entry look 100x nicer! Now I've just got to decide on a paint color for that wall, change out the entry light and get some different shelving for the brick wall and it will be all done!


Saturday was DH's dad's birthday, so we went out to Stonewood for a nice dinner. It was ok. The service has been better other times we've gone there, but maybe it lacked because this was a Saturday night. The food was good, and everyone enjoyed it so that worked out.

Sunday was the day we actually did the entry door casing, many many loads of laundry and relaxed a bit.

Monday I had another chiropractor appt. Back in June of this year, Rufus and I were at Petsupermarket to get his food. A bulldog, or some breed similar was being pushed in a shopping cart when he/she jumped out of the cart (wasn't wearing a leash, which is store policy) and came running at us. Rufus pulled quickly to protect me and I guess I threw my right foot forward to brace myself and totally twisted my lower back. The next day I was in really bad pain (not used to these types of pain yet at just 26!!). So went to the phone book and found a chiropractor who was close to my work. I went that day and OH MY! It helped that very day! I went back several times the following weeks and now I'm down to monthly visits. She's also been helping with my popping jaw which my dentist and orthodontist said couldn't be fixed without surgery, so that's a bonus! (The right side of my jaw started popping about 2 years ago just out of the blue, it was slightly painful but more annoying and now the chiropractor's helped minimize the popping and discomfort).

I stopped at KFC to get DH dinner since I had my mom's monthly church dinner to go to. Got home, went out to Ormond for the dinner, and got back home around 7:15. The first Monday of the month is Dog Night at Ritter's our local ice cream shop, so Rufus and I went over there for his ice cream and some socializing. There weren't many dogs there at all, so we only stayed about 30 minutes and came home. Then it was relax time finally! Or so I thought. Prison Break was back on last night at 9pm and I get so nervous watching that show. It's been that way since the beginning of that series, but I love watching it anyway.

So that gets us caught up for the month of November. I still can't believe it's November already!

Today's election day. We'll go vote at our library after work. And tomorrow our country will be aimed in a new direction and that's all I'm going to say about that.