Hello....is anyone out there???

I don't know if anyone is still even watching my blog, but I'll talk anyway, LOL.......It has been almost 5 months since I have posted. I am on vacation for a few days, so I finally have time to write!

Since starting my new job in February, I just simply haven't had time to post. Between working 40 hours a week, taking care of all the dogs, cats, horses, mules, plus the yardwork and housework, there just isn't enough time in the day, and I am  sure most of you know what I am talking about!

All the critters are doing fine, not much new in that area of our lives. Our new grandbaby Brayden James was born on July 7! He is a doll baby, and HUGE.....he weighed in at 9 pounds 5 oz. at birth. His mama had a really hard time having him, but both of them are doing fine now, thank goodness......here is a sneak peak at the sweetie pie......

My son (Brady's dad) holding him in the hospital..........

We are so thankful he is here, and him and his mother are both fine, just so glad that he is happy and healthy!

And, we have more exciting news.....my daughter is expecting a baby in January, so I'm gonna be a Nanna again! We are hoping for a girl, but as long as the baby is heathy, that's all that matters!

I am gonna try to post more often, at least maybe once a week or so, my work should start slowing down here in a month or so, so I should have a  little more time, LOL......

Hope everyone is having a great summer, and staying cool, I'll try to post some updated pictures of the horses and mules soon, bye everyone!

Update....

Well, my new job is going pretty good, I am worn out, but slowly getting used to being on my feet all day again. I work from 7:30 till about 4:30 or 5:00, and have a 30 minute lunch, and about 20 minutes or so that I actually get to sit down besides that. This grooming shop is busy, busy, grooming about 35 to 40 dogs a day. And, with spring approaching, I am told it gets much, much busier!  I have finally learned the computer, but am still struggling with the scheduling and what kind of haircuts go in which time slot, all the lingo concerning certain cuts, clipper blade sizes, etc. My boss has been great, she is patient with me, and assures me in a couple months, I will be doing great (I sure hope so.) One thing is for sure....the day flies by, and that is the good part. I am so worn out that I usually go to bed around 8:30 or 9:00, but I am hoping as I get more used to it, my body will adjust and I won't be so tired, LOL.

All the horses, mules, and dogs are doing great, we got all the horses up Friday and pulled shoes and trimmed feet. Soon, everyone will be shedding their winter coats, and slickin' up, can't wait.

My son and his girlfriend go to the doctor tomorrow to find out the gender of the baby, and I am looking forward to finding out so I will know what to buy at all the yard sales I plan on going to soon!

I have gotten to relax today, just puttering around, doing some laundry, and even made a lasagna and homemade Lemon Cream ice cream (which was REALLY good.) Tomorrow starts my workweek again, but I only have to work about 4 to 5 hours on Mondays which isn't bad. Hope everyone has a great week!

Well, it's time......

Well, my life of leisure is officially over.....I started a new job this past Monday. I am training as a receptionist at a dog grooming shop. I will probably be posting less than I did before, so if it is a long time between postings, that is why......I just won't have time between working AND coming home and taking care of all the horses, mules, dogs, and cats.....sigh...... 

This job is perfect for me....it is about 1.4 miles from my house, only 2 minutes away, so I can come home on my lunch break,check on all the horses and let the dogs out so they don't have to go all day without a potty break. The hours are pretty good too...I only work about 3 to 4 hours on Monday to catch up on paperwork, and then from 7:30 till about 5 or so in the evening Tuesday through Friday, and I'm off on Saturday and Sunday which is great!

I am thankful that this job landed in my lap, as hard as jobs are to come by, and it couldn't be more perfect for me, so I am looking forward to it. I am learning the system and trying to take everything in, so it is a little stressfull right now, and will be until I am comfortable with what I am doing, but it is always like that when starting a new job..... 

So until next time, hope everyone is doing good!

Deanna

Goodwill Goodies........

I admit it.....I'm cheap! I love to get a good deal, whether it's using coupons to get cheap or free items, finding great deals at yard sales, the Thrift Store, or my favorite......hidden treasures at the Goodwill!

This last week I have found several really good deals. First off, I found this awesome little Villaware brand grill, which was brand new, it showed absolutely no signs of use at all!

It features the non-stick grill which removes for easy cleaning, and a pull out tray that catches all the fat and liquids, nice! I had a hunch this was an expensive little grill, so as usual, I went online when I got home to look it up. Sure enough.....the cheapest I could find it was on Amazon for around $60!!! I paid $3.99 at the Goodwill!!!! Not too shabby, and I have used it several times, and love it! I have grilled chicken, steaks, pork chops, and even used it as a Panini Press.

A couple days ago, I was browsing through the housewares section at the Goodwill, and came upon this little gem......

It is a Deni brand Ice Cream and Sorbet maker! It has been used, but is in excellent condition, with all the parts included, and even had the instruction book with it.....WOW!  So, I got it home, cleaned it up, and am just waiting for warmer weather so I can make some delicious homemade ice cream.

So, I looked it up online ( I just love seeing how good of a deal I got), and this one retails for around $40.....and I paid $4.99 at the Goodwill!! So I paid around $10 for both these items that would have been at least $100 if bought new......and they both are in perfect working condition!

So, what good deals have you gotten at either a yard sale, Goodwill, or a Thrifty Store? I love to hear about everyone's great finds!

Totally unrelated, but I have been cleaning house and doing laundry all day today......... so I stripped my bed, took the sheets and blankets to the laundry room, and came back into the bedroom to this..........

Are you comfortable Greta?...... sure looks like it! That dog wears me out, but I love her!!

Have a great day everyone!!

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

For some reason, I have been in the mood to cook and bake a lot lately. I guess it's the cold weather.....there isn't really anything else to do but hibernate and eat! I got up this morning in the mood for something sweet to eat with my coffee, so I got out several of my cookbooks and found this recipe.

Speaking of Cookbooks, I think I sort of maybe have an addiction to them....I pick them up at yard sales, the flea market, the Goodwill....anywhere I can find them! I could spend hours looking at the pictures and reading the recipes. I was at a yard sale this past summer, and bought 5 really nice hardcover Cookbooks, one of which was Taste of Home 2006 America's Family Recipes. I paid $1 apiece for these cookbooks, and I have really gotten my money's worth. The recipes are all simple, and use ingredients that you are likely to already have on hand.

So I was browsing through the cookbook, and this coffee cake recipe sort of jumped out at me. It looked really decadent, but pretty simple to assemble, and it baked in 30 minutes.....perfect!

Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream

FILLING:

8 ounces (1 block) cream cheese softened

3 Tablespoons Powdered sugar

2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

CINNAMON-NUT TOPPING:

1/4 Cup Finely Chopped Pecans

2 Tablespoons Sugar

1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream. Set batter aside.

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, confectioner's sugar and lemon juice until smooth. Spoon half of the first batter into a greased and floured 10 inch tube or bundt pan. Top with the filling and then the remaining batter. Combine all the topping ingredients; sprinkle over batter.

Bake at 350* for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack.

This coffee cake turned out great! It was light and very moist and not overly sweet. I've had some coffee cakes that just had way too much sugar. This one is not like that, the cream cheese filling was actually a little tart which I really liked. If you wanted a sweeter filling, you could always add more sugar.

Oh......and I know I shouldn't, but I let Greta lick the bowl.....c'mon, I'm not the only one am I?

She agreed that it was pretty tasty, LOL........

Is her tongue really that long!?!?!......talk about snapping the picture at just the right second!!

Have a great Saturday!

Cows & Roasted Chickens!

Good afternoon everyone, I am pleased to say that Snowflake continues to improve and get stronger every day.....aside from any unexpected complications, I feel like she will make a full recovery! I hope to get some new pictures tomorrow to post, but in the meantime, I am posting a roasted chicken recipe.

I sort of winged it on the spice rub recipe (pun intended, LOL).....I just made it up and tasted it as I went. This chicken turned out moist and full of flavor!

Oven Roasted BBQ Spiced Chicken

1-  4 to 5 pound roasting chicken

1/2 Stick Butter at room temperature

1/4 cup of paprika (sweet or smoked)

1 TBSP Brown Sugar

1 TBSP White Sugar

1 TBSP Kosher Salt

1 1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper

1 tsp Cayenne Pepper (or more or less to taste)

1 tsp Dry Mustard Powder

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Onion Powder

Grated Zest of 1 Whole Lemon

1 Onion, Peeled and Quartered, (Optional)

Olive Oil or Vegetable Oil

Preheat oven to 375*F

First, I discard any pieces in the cavity such as the giblets or neck, and then I wash and pat dry my chicken with paper towels, and place it on a lightly greased roasting pan...........

Mix all spices and Lemon Zest together until thoroughly mixed in small bowl, then mix about 1/3 of that mixture together with the butter in another small bowl........

Next, take your chicken with breast side up, and gently run your fingers under the skin to form a pocket between the flesh and skin, all the way to the legs and both sides of the breasts..................



Then, take the spiced butter and stuff in the pockets that you made and gently squeeze and distribute the seasoned butter all between the skin and the meat, and pull the skin back to it's original position...........

  Then you take the remaining spice mixture and rub it all over the chicken, front and back......

I then take my quartered onion and stuff into the cavity of the chicken and drizzle the chicken all over with the olive oil............. 

Ready for the oven......see you after while gorgeous...... :-D

I roast my chicken on 375* for about 30 minutes, then lower the oven temp to about 300* and cook for approximately 2 to 2 and a half more hours. This time of course depends on the size of your chicken, and your oven, so you may need to adjust your cooking time accordingly.\

So....you end up with this.....so exciting.....

Ummmm.....Errrrr........I meant to just pick a little piece off the leg while I waited for the rest of supper to get done, but as you can see, I got a little carried away............

Have you ever seen such a beautiful hunk of meat in your life?!?!?

If you love chicken...you have to try this recipe......delicious!!!

Snowflake Update........

Snowflake may have finally turned the corner....she nursed vigorously this morning! As of last night, we were thinking she wouldn't last another couple days.......although we had been tube feeding her, you can't do that forever. If you don't let them actually get hungry, they will never have the desire to nurse, so we decided just to let her be last night and see what would happen this morning. Also, we put molasses on the nipple, which may have just done the trick. She seemed actually interested about 6:30 this morning, and was actually bawling and latched on and took nearly a whole bottle by 9:30!

She is still weak and anything could happen, but it is very encouraging that she is actually wanting to nurse! Now, we are trying to decide whether or not to try her back on her mom, or just let her be a bottle baby......it would be best for her to go back on the cow, but she may not take her back since it has been 3 days. We may bring mom and put her and baby in a stall and see what happens. We would just have to watch closely and make sure the cow doesn't try to injure or kill the calf.....but it is a possibility.

I will update later, and hopefully have some new pictures......have a great day everyone!