Bella Cucina Rocket Blender

This is one of my wonderful Christmas presents I got this year!  It's similiar to the Magic Bullet Express except not near as expensive.

Mine is called the Bella Cucina Rocket Blender & it's $29.99 at Target.  The Magic Bullet is more along the lines of $60.00 + in stores, so for half the cost you can have the exact same thing just a different brand.  They are both 17 piece sets too.  Ever since I saw the bullet thing on a commercial on tv, I've wanted one.  I'm all about anything that makes cooking easier & the first thing I thought was choppin onions in it because that happens to be one of my least favorite things to do on a cutting board.  I'm all about saving money too.

I haven't had a chance to use it yet, but soon... real soon I will & I can't wait!  It's just amazing what they're coming out with these days isn't it?  I have The Chopper from Pamered Chef which I've had for like 10 years & I love it too & it's made choppin onions & whatever else very easy.  But now... I'm sorry Chopper, but you might have to retire & put up your white flag to my new Rocket Blender!

stomach bug? food poisoning?

Today did not start out good at all.  My stomach decided to start doing flips at around 3am'ish this morning & it's still feeling a little queezy at times.  I thought taking a shower would make me feel better... but nope.

I managed to put on sweats, turn on the tv & park my butt on the couch.  Other than that, my productivity today has been zilch.

We ate at Denny's last night... maybe the food wasn't good, I have no idea what happened.  Talking with friends today, apparently there's some stomach bug going around that lasts about 24 hours that I wasn't aware of.  A great way to start off the week, geez.  Hopefully this doesn't last long though, I can get really grumpy when I feel like crap & I can't stand being tied down at the house... although even getting up from the couch right now makes my stomach feel a little off center.  I want my mommy!  Yeah... I'm a weenie sometimes, I'll admit it.  No matter how old you get it's always nice to have someone take care of you when your sick.  Unfortunately I haven't had that luxury today though.  My honey did go to the gas station this morning & get me some pepto... which I'm not convinced actually did a whole lotta good, but it was sweet of him to go get it for me.  Then he left & headed to western Oklahoma... so it's just been me & Abigail to fin for ourselves today, which sucked.

My precious Abigail is feeling my pain today.  She literally hasn't left my side the entire day.  I just had to take a picture of her... she's currently laying at my feet on the couch... with her head burried in the blanket.  Most of the day she's been cuddled up in my arms napping right along with me.

It would've been a nice thought if Fred would've maybe gotten me some soup before he headed out of town... considering I was feeling queezy & just wanted to lay on the couch & die.  But nope!  I even said... "honey I was hoping you would bring me some soup or something on your way home from your parents house"... his response... "I'm sorry".  What?  What?  I'm sorry?  Not the response I was looking for, not even close.  I was hoping more along the lines of... I'll run & get you some soup or something from the store because I know your feeling queezy & probably shouldn't drive anywhere.  The gas station is within walking distance from our house... literally.  Oh well.

I managed to get out of the house & drive myself to the grocery store to get some soup & I survived.  I took back roads & drove slow just in case I needed to pull over.  I wouldn't recommend driving while you feel queezy... I was ok for about the first few miles then I started to regret ever leaving the house.

All in all, I'm feeling a little better this evening.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I will wake up tomorrow & feel 100% again!

Samba

About a month ago, Fred's oldest brother Carl lost his dog Brandy, she passed away & everyone was very very sad.  Brandy was Carl's side kick & he had her since she was just a little baby.  Her passing came quicker than what was expected & happening right before the holidays was the worst part.

Brandy was such a sweetheart too.  She had been having some health problems the past year & recently seemed to be going down hill a little.  Seriously just look at that precious look on her face... how could you not just fall in love with her.  I honestly don't know how I will react if I lost my Abigail, so I can only imagine the pain that Carl felt losing Brandy.  My heart went out to him.

For Carl's Christmas present, his parents decided to get him a new baby to take care of.  It's hard losing an animal that you've raised, loved & been so close to & we all know he's been missing a piece of him since Brandy's been gone.

So today the new baby arrived, her name is Samba.  She's a 5 month old English Bull Terrier.  Oh and she's a cutie too!  For her size, it's hard to believe she's only 5 months old, but well she is.  I guess she's not supposed to get much bigger than what she is now... which is good because wow she weighs around 46 lbs I think.  She's definitely not fat by any means, just pure muscle.

There's no question that Brandy will forever be missed & always loved.

I just hope that Samba & Carl develop a close bond like him & Brandy had so he'll have a new side kick & not have that void anymore.

Samba welcome to the family!

Percy, The Puny Poinsettia

There's a reason other than the fact that I'm highly allergic to plants & flowers that I don't have any.  I can't keep any plant alive for nothing.  I don't know what I do wrong... but it never fails, I end up killing it in a short period of time.  In this case, everyone received a poinsettia at work... well it's lived about 2 weeks now, but it's going down hill fast.  I'm not even real sure it's been 2 weeks.  There's still some pedals left on one flower thingy though.  The rest of the pedals have given up though.

The poor thing looks so pathetic.  Which reminds me of a song... go figure.  Anyone ever heard of "Percy, The Puny Poinsettia" by Elmo & Patsy?  Well maybe I'm the only crazed Christmas music person out there that's heard of the song & owns the cd, but that was the first thing I thought of when I received the poinsettia.  So I named it Percy... and well the lyrics of the song ring true.  Now if someone could only rescue Percy from my possession it just might have a better chance at survival.

In honor of poor Percy... here are the lyrics to the song:

Percy, The Puny Poinsettia
Percy the puny poinsettia
Is hanging his bloom in dismay
If they had just kept him wetta
He'd be a houseplant today
Folks liked the other plants betta
Now he's alone on the shelf
Even a plant with no uncle or aunt
Shouldn't spend Christmas Day by himself
Holiday shoppers would stop by the counter
And pick up a plant to take home
Until one by one all his friends were adopted
And Percy was left all alone
Percy the puny poinsettia
Is hanging his bloom in dismay
If they had just kept him wetta
He'd be a houseplant today
Folks liked the other plants betta
Now he's alone on the shelf
Even a plant with no uncle or aunt
Shouldn't spend Christmas Day by himself
Then into the store on the night before Christmas
Came a poor little girl who was cryin'
But when she saw Percy her eyes opened wide
And she said "Can I please make him mine?"
Now Percy the puny poinsettia
Is standing beside Mr. Tree
His leaves have never been redda,
He's as proud as a flower can be
Somebody made him feel betta,
Rescued him off of the shelf
Even a plant with no uncle or aunt
Shouldn't spend Christmas Day by himself

In case your wondering... I'm really ok... no need to call & have me committed to a padded room (yet).  I'm always this goofy, it's just me.  LOL!

just a wee one

This is a picture of my sweetheart when he was just a wee one.  How cute is that pic!  I had to scan it & put it on my computer the first time I saw it.

I'm sure when he see's my blog & me posting his childhood pictures... he might flip a little.  I just can't help it though, he's just so daggum cute!

Anytime your in a relationship, you always wonder what they looked like as a baby & growing up.  In this case, Fred & I have known each other for a long time, we actually went to middle school together but met & started hanging out together in high school.

In all the years that Fred & I have known each other, I don't have one bad thing to say about him... not one. In high school, we definitely had some good times together & I'm sure he could tell several drunk stories about me to.  He's always been such an all around good guy to be around.  Anyone that knows him will say the exact same thing too.

In high school he was always so quiet & shy.  I remember some girls saying he was an asshole, because he was so quiet, which never made any sense to me... why would you call someone an asshole for being shy & quiet?  Idiots, thats my personal opinion.  He's never been shy or quiet with me that I can remember.  We've always talked & been comfortable with each other.  After high school we kind of kept in contact off & on, or ran into each other here & there.

I remember one instance several several years ago that me & my friend Tanja had gone to the Wolf Trap for a few drinks while she was in town, then Eric & Fred showed up & I remember thinking "DAMN he's hott". I hadn't seen Fred in a few years at that point, but oh my... he looked really good that night.

Well we lost touch for awhile, then back in April 2008, I was talking to Kelly (Fred's best friend & my friend too) on the phone & I decided to ask for Fred's phone number again so I could see what he's been up to the past few years.  I gave him a call & we talked for a few minutes & I told him to give me a call next time he's in town & maybe we can meet for drinks sometime.  As it turned out, a few weeks later after I called him, he text me & after a few text messages back & forth, we decided to meet for drinks at the Wolf Trap the next weekend & well... here we are still today.

I won't say that the story ends there... because well the story is still going for us.  I think that its a little ironic that neither of us after all this time have gotten married or had children.

We both have the same family values & to me thats very important for a foundation of a relationship.  And seriously, just look at these pictures of him as a child, just think for a minute... my future children could potentially look just like these pictures.  If thats the case, then I'm in serious trouble because those eyes kill me. I know I would be a sucker & give into anything with some of these looks, geez.  And... not only does he have pretty eyes, but he has long eye lashes to go along with the pretty eyes.  What a combination, just makes you melt.  I've always had a thing for long eye lashes.
 
We don't have some crazy love story where he rode in on a horse or me wearing a long flowing gown or anything wild like that, but in my heart I feel like someone higher up had a hand in putting our lives together & we are a perfect fit for each other.

I only chose a few photos to share, but trust me, there are so many cute ones to choose from it was a hard decision which ones I was actually going to post.

Check out this facial expression he's got going on in this last picture on the right!  Just for the record... he still makes this facial expression still today... I know because I've seen it!  LOL!  Just adorable, isn't it?

I love you honey, please don't tackle me for posting these pics.

abigail's xmas pics

I can't help it... every chance I get I have to take pics of Abigail especially at Christmas time.  She's just the cutest in her Christmas outfits.  I know she dreads every minute of it, but seriously just look how adorable she is.  Her wonderful behavior only lasts for so long before I have to break out the cookies to encourage her to hang in there a little longer so we can switch a few outfits & capture several poses.

I know if she could talk, she would probably be cussin' me for putting her thru this torture.  Abigail should be used to it by now though, she knows how I am about taking pictures.  I probably have over a million pictures of her that started when I brought her home at 6 weeks old.  Some people might think I'm crazy... but to me... she's my baby!  I treat her as if she was my child.  My dad's exact words are "Abigail doesn't even know she's a dog because you treat her more like a human".  Well I can't argue with him, he's 100% right.

She can be pretty onry at times, but unfortunately I'm at fault for most of her bad behavior.  I've learned allot of lessons raising her & I won't make those mistakes again raising another four legged baby that's for sure.

I love animals in general... cats not so much... #1 because I'm highly allergic to them.  If I was rich & could afford to rescue dogs, I probably would.

It kills me to see so many dogs in kennels or adoption places with no loving homes to live in.  Abigail is spoiled absolutely rotten without a doubt.  She's very much loved & is treated like a princess to put it lightly.

I have many more pics to post of her with stories to go along.  This will come at a later date when I have time to sit down & write more.  But I just had to share her Christmas pics for this year, for now.

Merry Christmas to everyone from Abigail Elizabeth

kimberly doll

When I was growing up, my brother gave me a Kimberly doll for obvious reasons.  I loved her & she was well played with & my mom still has her at their house & most of her original outfit is still in tact.  My Kimberly doll took many baths, played outside in the dirt, the whole nine yards.  So needless to say she's seen her days & she went through allot.

For many years now I've always dreamed of collecting the Kimberly dolls, but of course they don't make them anymore.  Although I have found some out there for sale... if only I could afford to buy them that would be a dream come true.  I have no idea how much they cost back n the day, but nowdays they're going for around $50.00 depending on the condition.

The Kimberly doll I had was the cheerleader one.  I found some pics online so I stole copied them to post them on here in case someone doesn't remember this awesome doll from back n the day!

There are several different ones out there, but they are hard to find.

I don't really collect anything & haven't ever really, but I would like to someday be able to have these few Kimberly dolls if possible.

My picture is... to have a room with all my scrapbook, sewing, crafts stuff & have one shelf along the top of the wall with these dolls displayed.  Sounds crazy maybe, but that's just my small wish & dream.

With Christmas just a few days away, things like this pop into my mind.