Chickens & Dog Spaghetti

Er, that would be dogs, and chicken spaghetti. I'm joining up with the dog lovin' people at Dogs on Thursday this week, which basically means I get to go on and on about my dogs and you can't think any less of me. Well, you can, but I hope you won't.

So, what do you think of Pepper's new 'do'? I tried to get him to stand up on the floor so I could show you the weenie dog in him, but he wouldn't get out of this chair. Pepper pretty much does as Pepper pleases. His body is long and skinny looking, just like a weenie dog, but he has a poodle head. He'd gone so long between groomings that I had them cut him as short as possible, otherwise he'd look even more poodle'ish.

We definitely need to buy him a new collar. What's up with a hot pink collar on a boy? No wonder he's always looking sheepish.

He is a handsome boy, is he not?

Okay, enough about dogs, it's time for The Recipe Swap Box. Once a month, on the first Thursday, Randi, at "i have to say... " hosts a recipe swap on her blog. All who wish to participate post a recipe on their blog, and sign the Mr.Linky at Randi's. We can then visit each others blogs gathering new recipes, and maybe even new friends!

This month's Recipe Box Swap theme is Pasta! Since I procrastinated and didn't get around to typing up one of my recipes, it may appear to some that I'm cheating by linking to a recipe at the Pioneer Woman Cooks blog. Is there such a thing as plaguerizing a recipe? If there is, then P-dub did the plaguerizing, 'cause I've been cooking the same Chicken Spaghetti dish she shares on her site since she was in diapers.

The only thing I do differently than PW when making the Chicken Spaghetti is that I omit the chicken washing step. You read that right. I do not wash my chicken prior to cooking. I read a couple of years or so ago that it's not a necessary step, as the cooking process will destroy any surface bacteria; besides, you run more risk of spreading the salmonella around your kitchen by washing it. Anytime I'm cooking chicken, I wash my hands frequently with hot water and soap, and sanitize all areas where I've had the chicken, in case anything dripped or splashed from it on the counter.

And for the record, no one's ever gotten ill from eating my chicken spaghetti. I was kidding with the plaguerizing remark. I wouldn't want to offend PW, considering I hope to some day win one of her awesome contests. ;-)

I said that was enough about dogs, but I couldn't do a dog post without including Leyna, who is once again, dazed and temporarily blinded by mommy's flash. That's my son's hairy arm in the picture, lest you thought I needed to start shaving.

If you'd like to join in on The Recipe Box Swap, go here; or if you'd just like to read all the recipes that have been posted.

If you'd like to join in the fun with Dogs on Thursday, go here. Or just go around seeing everyone else's blogs... dogs...blogs with dogs!

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A righteous man regards the life of his animal...
~Proverbs 12:10a NKJV

Monday's...er...Tuesday's Daybook

For today...

Outside my Window... After an overcast morning, the skies just opened up and the rain is pouring.

I am thinking... I need to work on ways of becoming more organized. It's a weak area for me, and it even invades my knitting. I had all my yarns and books/patterns neatly organized at one point, but my stash grew, and now things are out of hand. It's frustrating to have to go on a wild goose chase everytime I decide to knit something new. I need to keep better notes on what I want to knit next, too. I find that the older I get, the more notes help me!

I am thankful for.... the rain, I'm sure we need it. I am also thankful for the relationship I have with God. It is so comforting when I'm needing direction to know that I can present my need to Him, in faith, and expect an answer. Mr. Studley and I have some difficult decisions facing us, a couple of areas where we really need God to direct our path. Sometimes it takes longer than I wish to get answers, but oddly enough (or not), I seem to learn much (grow) in the wait.

From the kitchen... I just took a cast iron skillet of cornbread out of the oven. It smells nice. I'll probably have a piece of it crumbled in a glass of buttermilk later.

I am wearing... capris, a short-sleeved tee, my Obakashi sandles, and socks. Don't look for me on the cover of a fashion mag anytime soon.

I am creating... I'm halfway through a pair of Toasts for my daughter, Nikki. I do realize winter's practically over, but I got an itch to knit them. I think her winter lasts longer than ours, anyway. It's an easy, mindless pattern, and I needed something mindless. I'm knitting them in Classic Silk, from Classic Elite. It's a DK weight, so I'm using a smaller needle size and different cast on than called for in the pattern.

I am going... Mr. Studley and I are going for a visit to my mom's for my birthday later this week. My birthday is the day after Valentine's, but the timing for us all is better that we go this week. I plan to stop in at JoAnn's Fabrics while there, as there is a fairly new one near my mom. Yea! Plus, we are stopping at the Woolie Ewe in Plano on our way back home. A bigger YEA!!! I rarely get to go to a real live yarn shop, so this is a big deal for me.

I am reading... Eh...I started reading the Shack the other day. I forced myself through the first three chapters. When the book first came out, I was very intrigued and wanted to read it. Someone gave us a copy the other day, and strangely enough, I no longer had that desire. I realize now the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me to leave it alone. NOT that it's a bad book, but rather that it's not for me. I simply don't handle reading about tragedies well, even if they are fiction. It's too horrific for my mind to bear, the thought of a child suffering and it's parents not being able to protect it.

After reading those chapters the other day, I found myself lying in bed that night, unable to fall asleep due to the disturbing images the story created in my mind. I realized it had robbed my peace, and so for me, the book is not a good read. I would like to stress that I'm not criticizing the book, and I'm certainly not criticizing anyone for reading it. It's just not the kind of story I can handle, no matter how redeeming it may prove to be in the end.

I am hoping... for some nice weather next week to work in the soil. I need to move the soil from my compost bin that's been sitting all winter into my herb garden area. I'm then going to start a new compost pile. Lately, I've been saving my produce scraps in plastic bags in the freezer so I'll have a good base when I get started, but I'm running out of freezer space.

I am hearing... the hum of the fridge in the next room, and the occasional bark of a dog across the alley. Other than that, blissful quiet.

Around the house... I'm slowly but surely conquering some of the clutter. It's an ongoing battle for me.

One of my favorite things... is when my daughter calls me from England. Her schedule with work and college classes at night has been so hectic that her calls have been less frequent lately. When we last spoke, she had strep throat, and was feeling pretty miserable. This is about the 4th time she's had to be on antibiotics since moving to England last fall. I don't think the damp climate is setting well with her.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... I pretty much covered that in my "where I'm going" post.

A quote I am sharing with you...I added this in the sidebar of my blog after hearing it on tv yesterday. It really spoke to me.



Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.
~Robert Louis Stevenson

Please feel free to join in on this meme through the Simple Woman's Daybook each Monday (I know, I'm a day late, and a dollar short). If you do, don't forget to go to Peggy's Simple Woman blog and sign the Mr.Linky, so other participants can visit you and read your Daybook entry.





Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
~Romans 8:39 Amplified Bible

Ten Things I Do Everyday

Ten Things I Do Everyday

1) I pray. I usually try and pray before I get out of bed in the mornings. I heard Joyce Meyer suggest you should do this before your feet hit the floor in the morning, and it will have a big bearing on how your day goes. She's right of course. The Lord says to seek Him early. Even if I don't end up praying before I rise, I do pray throughout the day, little conversations with God.

2) I take Leyna (our Min Pin) out to do her bid'ness (southern speak for business). I actually do this a number of times each day. She is a little escape artist who cannot be let out in the (fenced in) backyard, so I always have to take her outside on a leash. Nothing says love like watching your dog take her daily constitution first thing in the morning, before you've even had your coffee.

3) I get on the computer. Usually it comes after my trip to the toilet (and Leyna's), and before my first cup of coffee. I just have to see what new thing has transpired since the day before. This is especially fun for me if I wrote a blog post the evening before, as it usually means I have mail (blog post e-mail notifications) and I LOVE getting mail. It makes me feel special, like I am somebody.

4) I drink a cup of coffee. Most mornings, I drink only one, but occasionally, I get a little wild and pour a second. I rarely drink more than half of that second cup, though. I'm just not that wild.

5) I read blogs.

6) I take a handful of pills; all over-the-counter vitamins, and herbal supplements. Some are huge. Horse pills, I call them. I used to take them all at one time-not all in one swallow, but one right after another in the space of a couple of minutes. It was hard getting them all down, and sometimes they'd come back up. Now I put them all out in a cup each morning, and each time I walk in the kitchen and think of it, I take one. By bedtime, the deed is done, except for the tiny little melatonin pill, which I take 30 minutes before bed each night. I love my little melatonin pill.

7) I knit. In all honesty, I do not knit every single day, but I do almost every day, so I'm counting it, nyeah!

8) I feed the cat about a kajillion times a day. We have to keep her gravity feeder (filled with dry food, she won't touch the wet stuff) up on the counter, or else Leyna would get in it and eat until the container was empty, or she exploded, whichever came first. The cat wants to eat all day long.

9) I walk the dog. Mr. Studley and I take turns walking a neighbor's dog, too, but he's mostly been doing it during cold weather. He's such a sweetheart.

10) I tell Mr. Studley I love him. Can I hear a collective "ahhhh"?

I found this meme at Karen's blog, Over the Backyard Fence. She invited her readers to do it, too. I hesitated, not sure I wanted to reveal just how mundane my life really is, but figured I've made known far more about myself, and some of you are still here.

Won't you play along? I know we all do more than ten things regularly per day, but play by the rules, and only list ten!

You who love the LORD, hate evil! He preserves the souls of His saints; He delivers them out of the hand of the wicked.

~Psalm 97:10

Tag, I'm It!

I've only been blogging since the first of the year. In the beginning, my 100th post seemed eons away, and now I'm nearly there. I've been working on a 100 things post to bore you about me list. It hasn't been easy trying to make my life sound interesting.

This week, Laurie, at For Heaven's Sake, tagged me with a mini-meme. Seems I have to come up with six things about myself that you might not know. I guess it's a good warm-up for my 100 things post, so I will good naturedly oblige.

• 1) I have been painfully shy all my life. I'm less so now. Social situations are still very awkward for me, though. I never know what to say. I am getting better, though. It seems the deeper my relationship with God grows, and the more like Him I become, the more confidence I gain.
  
• 2) I nearly drowned when I was 5 years old. My brother, not even 8 years old, saw my hair floating at the pond's surface, and swam over and saved me. My life would have ended that day if not for my brother.
  
• 3) I grew up terrified of the dark. I slept with my head under the covers until I married at 19. I still don't like being home alone at night, but the terror is no longer there. God's angels are encamped around about me. They were then, too, I just didn't know it then.

• 4)My vision is very, very bad. If I had to wear glasses, even with the modern advancements made with the featherlight lenses, mine would be thick as Coke bottle bottoms. I guess that may not mean much to some of you youngin's who've grown up drinking your soft drinks from a can, and not a glass bottle. Thank God for contact lenses!

• 5) I survived a tornado when I was about 3 years old. It didn't hit our house, but it demolished everything around us. I remember my mom putting me under the mattress of our daybed. I'm sure I remember her putting a straw in my mouth that protruded out of the edge of the mattress so I could breathe. Mom insists that didn't happen (the straw). Maybe as I was struggling to breath under that mattress, I was thinking what a good idea a really long straw would be.

• 6) I once had both legs run over by a car. It was my dad. He even stopped the car and got out when he heard me screaming, while the car was parked on my legs. There seems to be a negative theme going here. I don't think I sound very interesting, but I do sound like someone blessed to be alive.

• I was also broadsided by a large gravel truck loaded with gravel (I know I already hit # 6, but I'm on a roll now, so bear with me!). I was 16 and the ink was barely dry on my new drivers license. My parents Ford LTD (also new) was not quite totalled, much to my parents dismay. I was unhurt.

• Once when my kids were small, I was driving us back to Dallas where we lived at the time, in my little Ford Escort. It was a dark stretch of highway with frequent little side roads. Out of the blue, a pick-up came barreling onto the highway from one of those roads. I had no time to stop. I hollered for the Lord to help us and I hit my brakes. I knew we were going to plow into the side of him. At 55 mph, we wouldn't have stood much chance. Miraculously, we only clipped his back bumper (he kept going!). Our car spun completely around and landed in a sandy side ditch. No damage, except to my nerves! Nikki in her carseat, never even woke. I think her older brother may have peed his pants, though.

• Last one, I promise. I know I'm stretching the rules. Hubby and Nikki (dd) and I were traveling back from Colorado one fall, driving on a two lane highway. I think we were in New Mexico at the time. About the same time, Hubby (who was driving) and I saw that a pickup pulling a trailer was coming toward us in our lane. That driver had failed to navigate how much time he had to pass the pickup pulling a trailer in the other lane.
• My instinct, had I been driving (and thank God I wasn't), would have been to pull off to our right side of the road. Hubby grit his teeth and held his ground. Praise God, he did, for the man in our lane pulled to his left to avoid hitting us. We drove right down the middle of the two trucks and trailers. We then pulled off the road to get clean underwear out of our luggage.

If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged!