Dog Days

Look at this face! She is such a sweetheart! Her name is Faye, and she's a Pit Bull who is between one and a half and two years old...still has a lot of that puppy energy. (When you see the dog houses below, you'll see where she has chewed them.) She came to our house February 2009 as a puppy with a second dog, a West Highland Terrier. We assume that someone couldn't take care of them and set them out. Cruel, huh? I guess they knew there are still suckers out here who'll take care of them. We found another home for the Westie, and my husband talked me into keeping the Pit Bull. I wasn't sure about it at first, but she has turned out to be such a submissive, sweetheart of a dog!

This is my sweet OLD girl, Sally. She's a 12 year old Lab Mix. She has arthritis and lies around a lot...not nearly as active as she used to be. Just let her out though and watch her go. She amazes me. We've had her since she was a puppy too. We found her as a stray on the side of the rode. She had tons of fleas and was licking a chocolate bar wrapper. We took her home, fed and cleaned her, and she has been the most loyal, lovable dog we've ever had.

We love both of our dogs, but because of their size and the fact that they both shed, we have to keep them outside. They have a nice fenced kennel with a concrete floor. Every week, we give both girls time to run around in the back yard.

This week our weather has been unseasonably HOT. Though the official start of summer is nearly a week away, by today's end, we'll have seen three days in a row of 100+ temperatures (yesterday was a record-breaking 103 in Augusta). So you might feel sorry for my dogs. But really, they are well taken care of...some might say spoiled. They get plenty of water twice a day, sometimes with ice, and then Ed added this to their kennel.

Yes, that is an old ceiling fan, and it works! At first, Sally was scared of it, but both have come to appreciate it in these temperatures!

They aren't too keen on our swimming pool though. They just don't know what they're missing! :)

No word

Just had to show you this framed layout I made for Ed. (Left to right are Ed, his sister-Gail, then his late brother-Mark Ketusky) Click on photo for closer view. The photo was taken in September of 2004. If you remember, Mark was killed late February by a gunshot wound. Click here for details. Though the investigation is on-going, we still don't know much more about what happened. Please continue to keep his family in your prayers.

Happy 5

Five things that make me happy:

1. A sunny, but not too hot, day!

2. These glasses I bought at the Dollar Tree. (Just looking at them makes me happy!) Loving those colors!

2. My boys being sweet to each other!

3. Finding easy recipes that are tasty too!

4. During a busy stretch of week, finding a few hours to stay at home to just BE!

5. Hearing from a friend or family member that you haven't spoken with in a long time.

So what makes you happy?

Wrapping up a Season

This weekend, Matthew's baseball team came to our house to celebrate the end of their season. The Red Sox swam, played baseball, grilled hot dogs, and ate this beautiful cake. At the end, their coach and one of the parents presented them with their trophies. Matthew was funny today. He said, "I must be good. Every time I play on a team, we all get trophies!" LOL!
This was his first time doing pitching machine baseball. He was really doing well. In fact, his coach said that if he had a "most improved" award to give to anyone, it would be Matthew. His T-ball coach saw him play and couldn't believe how much he had matured and gotten better.


The season wasn't the best. They actually forfeited their last several games due to the fact that a lot of players weren't showing up. But I'm just glad Matthew had fun. Hey...he hit his first homerun just a couple of weeks ago! GOOOOOO Red Sox!

Strawberries

One of the first things I think of when I hear the word "spring" is STRAWBERRIES. I love them! Last weekend, we spent the morning at Gurosik's Berry Plantation. We picked two gallons of strawberries. Fun thing to do as a family! It was hot, we were sweaty, but we enjoyed it! We even ran into a good friend and her boys. How fortunate that someone we know was there to take our pictures!


Well, we ate the first gallon of strawberries on waffles and in smoothies within 3 days. The next gallon took a bit longer to go through. We had them in yogurt parfeits for breakfast. (This one has vanilla yogurt, vanilla almond granola, and berries in it.)

And we had them with cream puffs for dessert kabobs (you really must try this)! And we had a beautiful fruit pizza this afternoon out on the back porch.



So how do you like to use fresh strawberries?

Many Hats & Cash Back

Lately, I've worn many hats. I've mostly been a cook, a tutor, and a taxi driver. Baseball season is in full swing, and though we love it, by this time of the season, we're a little tired. My 8 year old has had more games to go to than my 13 year old.
I hope to post later about what's been going on specifically in our lives. Matthew just turned 8 last Tuesday, and I just have to get his pictures posted.
I've also been doing some shopping lately. I have found some great coupons and free offers on-line. One site I'd love for you to try is here. For everyone who signs up for the first time (for free) through this link, YOU get $5 and I get $5. It's simple. Just shop through their site (places you'd normally shop on-line) and earn cash back. When your account reaches $20, they send you a check. Sounds great, huh? I'll post more great stuff later, but for now, I have to go wash baseball uniforms!

For Today

Today...

Outside my window...are carpentar bees drilling holes in our porch railing. (Any solutions to this little problem?)

I am thinking...about all I need to do today.

I am thankful for...my husband and two wonderful sons.

From the kitchen...the dishes are calling me to wash them, but only after I make a chicken casserole to take to a sick friend.

I am wearing...denim shorts and a gray CKU t-shirt.

I am creating...a blog entry (too busy for much else).

I am going...to baseball practice tonight...yet again!

I am reading...the latest issue of ALL YOU and Scrapbook, Etc... magazines. I'm a magazine junkie!

I am hoping...that Jonathan does exceptionally well at baseball practice tonight and is safe. With all the players on the team this year, he needs to do really well to get any play time.

I am hearing... the clock ticking and the refrigerator humming.

Around the house...are gorgeous yellow, white, and lavendar irises, pink azaleas, and beautiful green foliage. Spring is a beautiful time of year here in South Carolina!

One of my favorite things...is going out for ice cream with the family. We need to do that this weekend.

A few plans for the rest of the week: We have baseball practice tonight, a game and pictures tomorrow, then church on Sunday. When will I have a free day at home???

Here is picture for thought I am sharing...


Hard to believe this was just TWO months ago! (Hey...it's hard to believe this was in SC!)

Format taken from the Simple Woman's Daybook.