First Pet Named, Now Gone

Today was a very sad day for Michael and I because we have lost another pet. No it is not Lilly she is actually doing a lot better which we are both very thankful to see. Today we lost one of our goldfish, Fat Louie. He was a very special fish for us and he did out live his life time that goldfish normally have but it was still hard to see him go. I just wanted to share a little history about him and why he is so special to us.
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We got Fat Louie a month after we had just gotten married with 20 other goldfish. You know the really tiny ones that are only like 7 cents. Since these were our first pets together as a married couple we had to get the entire set up of tank and things. We got it all set up and then later that night had gone to bed. In the morning Michael comes running into the bedroom to tell me that all of the fish are gone. At first I thought that maybe he was still asleep or something but I followed him into the kitchen (where the fish were being kept). I saw right away that there was no fish and then we realized that there was no water in the tank either. Then Michael saw where the fish were, they were still in the tank but they all lay so still on the bottom of it and we wouldn't have noticed them at all except for one fish that jumped a little to try and breath. We panicked and started to fill the tank with water. Yes, we knew the tank had a leak but we were trying to save our pets so that is why we did it. As soon as we put the water in all of the fish started slowly one by one to start to swim around again. As soon as we got a head count of who had actually made it we moved them all into a plastic container and quickly took that tank back to the store and got a better one. We did a night check on that tank just to make sure that it would not lose water like the last one. After the fish were back in the new tank we kept losing fish after fish in the next week. It was really hard to see them go and we just felt so bad for that happening. We lost all of the fish except one, Fat Louie (but he didn't have a name at the time), and we didn't want him to be alone so we went out and got another 20 more fish. Those fish for some reason had a hard time and we lost several of them. In the end we were left with only seven fish. When Michael and I moved to a different place we lost 2 of our fish in the move, I think that they just could not handle the shock. Finally since there were so few fish and I told Michael we were not going to be getting anymore because I could not handle losing so man;y we finally named the fish. They were all big enough to tell apart and since there was one fish that was bigger then the rest he got named Fat Louie (I named him). He was pretty much the king of the tank so the name did fit him great. Then one day during the summer it was very hot and the tank water was so hot that you could see them temperature on the thermometer at all. So we did what we could and tried putting a little bit colder water into it but that wasn't helping and so we put in a couple ice cubes. I know we were not the smartest pet owners but we were just trying to help our fish. We ended up losing 3 fish that day and night. So then the only fish left in the tank was Fat Louie, Tiny and Angel (who is already passed away). Since then they have all done really well and have traveled great. They have all lived in 3 different states and several different homes but have always done amazingly well for what they have had to put up with.
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Fat Louie ended up getting the same thing that Angel died of several months ago and we tried all sorts of treatments to help her and nothing worked and since they shared a tank we knew nothing would work on him. We are very sad to see him go because he meant so much to us and was so important to us. The tank is just not going to be the same without him but we are grateful that we were able to have him for the time that we did.

Best Husband Ever!

I am so grateful for the husband that I have because he really is the best sort of man in the entire world for me. I'm sure that other women have terrific husbands too but Michael is really the wonderful. He does so many things for me that I am sure no other man would do and helps me with projects that I am working on. The reason that I want to say that he is the best husband ever is today he actually watched the movie Pride and Prejudice with me! I have been asking him for a long time to watch it with me and last night he actually said that he would and not just on part of it but the entire movie in one sitting. It was such a fun date because we got all of our water bottles filled up and made tons of popcorn and just watched it together. Michael has seen parts of it before but it makes so much more sense if you just watch the movie all the way through. He normally would walk in when I was watching the film and ask who was that and what is going on. I would always tell him and try to explain it but never could because there is just so much to it. We made it all the way through the first part of the film with no problem but then when we got to the second film part he was really tired and was starting to fall asleep. I don't blame him and I was proud of how far he did make it. So I just said we could go to bed and watch it another time. Well we actually finished the movie today and he had fun watching it with me. I think that he enjoyed the ending more then most of the film because it does seem to move a bit faster then the rest. I know that doing this is not something that we are going to be doing very often (with this movie) but still it was a ton of fun to be able to see it together. We did end up watching a movie that he wanted to see after we had finished with Pride and Prejudice and that was fine with me. So we had a ton of fun together and I just wanted to say how happy I was that he was so kind as to watch the movie that I just love to see. Michael sure is a terrific husband.

Get Well Soon Lilly

I don't know why we have such bad luck lately and why things are so hard for us but today was a very difficult day for Michael and I. Our little turtle Lilly has been coughing really bad for almost a week now and today she actually coughed up blood. So we found a vet that actually looks at turtles and was able to do a walk in appointment. I am so grateful that they let us come in because we really didn't know what was going on with her. They were very nice and completely checked her out in listening to her lungs, heart, and looking at her shell. They even weighted her too which is nice to know that she is at a good weight for her kind of breed. We told them the kind of tank environment that she lives in and what she eats and ask questions and just say anything that concerned us. After the vet was done looking at her she told us that she thinks that Lilly had gotten some piece of food stuck in her throat and just has been trying to get it out with coughing, kind of like what we would do. As for the blood, she must have been forming a blood clot in her throat while trying to get whatever it was out and so she kind of self healed herself today when she threw it up. She told us that we could take her home and just to watch her really closely for about a week. We are to make sure that she is still hungry and a good amount of energy for what she normally is when she is at home. I still am just so grateful that she is ok and that the vet was willing to help us out. It is really hard for me to find a vet that I like for my pets because I do know a lot about animals and I don't like being talked down to when it comes to something that I know. Given yes, I do not know everything about turtles but we did a lot of research on Lilly before we even thought about getting her. I just hope that this week goes well for her and that we will not have to take her back again.
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(A funny side note is that Hope even went with us to the vet and she didn't freak out at all when we were there. I wonder if it was because she knew that it was not her turn to get checked out by the doctor. She also got to see a couple of cats that were actually really NICE!!! I love it when people socialize their animals right because it really does make all of the difference.)

Hansel & Gretel...Hope Style

I hope you all know the story of Hansel and Gretet and if you do not know the story then you need to go to your library and look it up or ask a friend or something. To let you know it is not one of my favorite fairy tales and Hope has not even heard the story at all from me but she must have heard it somewhere and at one point in time because last night as I was doing something else, I looked over my shoulder to check on Hope real quick to see if she was doing fine and this is what I saw.I promise that I did not set this picture up at all she did this all on her own. I really don't know where she comes up with these things but the trail that she had left behind was of her little left over pieces of a raw hide bone that led to her favorite place to sleep. I wonder what other funny things she would do if I actually read her a fairy tale, any suggests?

NOT YET!!!

As I was cleaning the room I noticed that one of Hopes birthday presents was opened up a little bit. Now, I don't know if she did it or if her sister Lilly did it when she was walking around the room one day (Lilly is actually really good about opening up gifts) but it was ripped open all the same. It is my gift to Hope and I did such a nice job on wrapping it up that I am a little sad that it is destroyed already but what can you do but tape it up.I think that next year I will make sure to put her presents someplace more safe and high off of the ground so that neither little girl can get at them. Also to let you know there are only 23 days left including today until her birthday and I am so excited for it to come too!

Virtual Room Tour

Since Michael and I have somewhat rearranged the room I decided that it would be fun to give a virtual tour of it with Hope. One because it looks so clean (but it does normally anyways) and two I like all of the open space that we were finally able to get and I am kind of proud of that. So have fun listening to it and just sit back and enjoy the tour.

Oh I also took a really cute picture of Hope (but I don't think that I can take a bad one of her either) and I wanted you to see. She just loves to dress up and today was just one of those kinds of days for her too.

Mike Vrs. Linda

I know that this title sounds a little funny but it will make sense very soon. Last night Michael and I were playing a game that we have and like (or else why would we have it right?). Well in this game you battle with other people and the name Linda happen to be the name of the next person that we were going to have to battle with. I just had to take a picture of it because it just made me laugh so hard since Linda is such a dear friend of mine (maybe the pizza incident earlier also helped add to the funniness of the night but I couldn't stop laughing). Here is what it looked like last night when it first pulled up.I still think that it is funny to see and I know that only a few people will understand. One thing that also makes this more funny is in the first battle I pointed out to Michael that Linda's name was on it and said to him wouldn't it be funny if we actually had to battle with her. Then it happened, sorry I didn't tell you that earlier because then maybe you would have thought it was funnier too.Now you can see Linda's name better too. It was kind of hard to get a good picture of it but I lucked out with this one. I bet you are wondering what Linda looked like on the game too. Well I actually got a somewhat good picture of that too and that was harder to do then a picture of just the name because the screen moved so fast.Well that is what they made her look like and I think that you need to be the one to decide if it at all looks like the real thing.Here is what she really looks like and very cute I might add. Now I bet you are also wondering who won well here is the results of the game.It sure was a lot of fun to play with Michael and I just wish that Linda, the real one, could have been with us to play along. Thanks Linda for being a sport and sending the nice picture of you too. Your the best!!!

Why I Don't Cook Much

Anytime that I cook something can and normally does go wrong. Well last night I was encharge of cooking dinner. Michael was actually going to cook dinner but he had to go and run to do something more important so I said I could do it. I never should have opened up my mouth! I got the dough going and for a reason that I am not allowed to say had to through it all away and start over again so dinner was much later then what it was suppose to be. Then when I was trying to get the second dough to raise I put it in a bowl and that bowl inside of a sink of hot water which helped raised it more but the water kept leaking down the drain so I would have to put more in. While I was filling the sink a third time with the water Hope got lose off of the door that she was tied up too and so I had to leave the water going and didn't think of turning it off and so when I finally had her attached to the door again (and much tighter then before) I went back to the sink and saw a bunch of water in the BOWL!!! So the dough was a little wet but still fine so I kind of gave up and just put it on the pan and put the sauce and cheese on it and stuck it in the oven. The entire time my dad and me were joking about the whole thing which probably would have made me cry but I was just in such a funny mood from it all that I was actually laughing. So when the pizza was done being cooked I served it and the amazing part is everyone still ate it even when the knew all of the things that had gone wrong. It actually didn't even taste that bad too. I just thought that it was such a funny story that you would appreciate it all. Does that ever happen to you? It would be nice to know that I am not the only one with bad cooking skills.

Where Did Happy Go?

For a couple of days our little algae eater fish, Happy, has been missing. We have been watching for him in the tank but can never find him. He does like to go under the rocks and hide but we normally can get a glimpse of him twice a day. So, we have been worried about him and Michael was kind enough to clean the fish tank out so that we could find him (and it needed it too). Once we got it all cleaned he was not in it. I'm not kidding we went through all of the rocks and the filter and then we checked around the outside of the tank area. He is totally gone! I don't know where he could have disappeared too but it sure was strange. We are really sad that he is gone because he was such a good little fish but hopefully he is much happier too.

Finally Got It

For months I have been trying to get a picture of something very funny that Hope does with her back feet but it is hard to get a picture of it because I either don't have the camera close to me or she just doesn't stay like that long. Today I was finally successful because Michael was with me and gave me the camera really quick and I actually had a treat in my hand to so I was able to get Hope to hold still long enough. So what is the funny thing you are asking, well here it is.It is when she puts her back feet out on the sides while laying on her tummy! It think that it is very funny when she does this. She use to do it a lot more when she was younger and she does it a lot in the summer on the colder floors. I just thing that it is funny and really cute.Here is a closer shot for you to see. I think she has the cutest little feet ever! I'm glad that I was finally able to get a picture of this because it just makes me smile. I really don't know to many dogs that do this and that like to stay like this for a long amount of time either. I know that I have said this before but she is such a funny girl how could you not smile.

Wildlife Comes Inside

Anytime you go camping you have to expect the local wildlife will be around and this was no exception for this camping trip (even though we were inside the house).Hope found this cute little fox hanging outside of our tent and had to go and great him with a nice friendly chew.After she was done welcoming him outside she brought him inside of the tent to let him play with her while we did our own thing.I think this is one of my favorite pictures and I don't know how she was able to get that cute little fox to sit up all by itself. I just think that it was way cute how both of them are looking outside the tent door and really not looking at anything. I do wonder what Hope is thinking just siting there.I guess the fox friend got a little tired because he feel over. She didn't really mind and actually soon went to sleep herself. I'm just glad that Hope got along with all of the wildlife very well while we were in there area. It is always good to make new friends.

Camping In

Yesterday I wanted to do a fun date night with Michael because we don't get to do a fun date night that very often. I had a lot of fun things planned for us to do and really could not wait for him to get home from work to do them all. First, Hope got all pretty and cute (another fun girl time for us) and then when Michael got home I made him get the tent that we have in our car out and both of us set it up in our room. We did have to move a couple things around the room to get it to fit in the room but it was a lot of fun still. Hope didn't know what to think of the tent at first and just gave us this look of, "you two are strange," it was just too cute! Once we got the tent all up and all of our sleeping things inside we watched a movie and played a card game too. It was a lot of fun and Hope loved being in the tent which I was really happy about. I guess this was good practice for her for the next time that we go camping for real.Here Hope is getting all comfortable in the tent. I'm really glad that the sound of her walking on the floor of the tent didn't scare her and she did have a fun of ton going in and out of it.She is just so spoiled that she even got to bring her pillows that she sleeps with and have her own area in the tent.But since she just loves to snuggle up with you she didn't stay with her pillow at all. She did take a great nap in the tent and then was wide awake and wanting to play when it was time to go to sleep. She is so funny; I did let her play for a little bit but did get her to settle back down to go to sleep (several hours later). I really can not wait to see what she will do on a really camping trip. I'm also really glad that Michael had a lot of fun and we could just do something different together as a family.

Get Carried Away

I think that it is really funny that when you plan to only do one little thing it somehow ends up being more. Like I just wanted to add one song to my music playlist that I have been thinking about adding to it for over a week. Once I got the song on I found a couple others that I liked and put those ones on also and then I had to change the color of my player for some reason and then just decided to change the look of the background and it just kept on going. I just found it funny that I ended up changing so much just because of one little song but I did have fun so that is good. I also learned how to do something new that I have been wanting to do for months so it was well worth it.
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(Lets see if any of you can figure out what song started it all, just a fun challenge for you.)

To Much To Say

Ok, I have been sick for a while so this post may seem funny so you don't have to worry about reading it if you really don't want to brave it.

I feel really bad that I have not posted anything in awhile but then again I don't. I have been feeling very sick for a long time and I am just starting to feel a little bit better. The sad thing though is when I was sick I just didn't feel like getting out of bed and telling you all what was going on here and a great many things have happened. That is also a problem that so many things have happened I am not sure when they did (like what day) and so I'm just not going to worry about telling you them all. Actually I think that I will really only tell you one and that is Michael and I have finally got all of Hopes birthday shopping done. I am so excited for her birthday to come and it is one day less then a month away! It is going to be her very first and I am just so excited. I do really wish that I could give her a birthday party and make little invitations for her doggy friends but I know that wouldn't go over how I want it to so I'm not going to do it (and Michael said maybe another time). The only thing that I need to figure out is how to make her a birthday doggy cake. I also need to figure out what I am going to do for my decorations too. I already have a ton of fun things planned for her birthday and I know that she is going to love it and have a ton of fun. That is really all that I wanted to say and talk about but since I am feeling a little better I will try to be better at posting for you all.

Until Next Christmas

Ok I know that Christmas is over and done with but I need to vent and share something important to me so please just deal with it. When I was little my family had (and still has) this little Rudolph stuff animal. I have always called it, "baby Rudolph," and I have always loved that stuff animal. I loved it so much that I could not wait for Christmas to come because that would mean that I would get to have it again and I would sleep with that thing every night. Well as time went by my little brother saw how important it was to me and so he had to have his turn with it. Now, my mother tells me that it is his and only his and that is one of the many things that he is going to get when my parents pass away. Yes, I am still crushed about it because that little stuff animal holds so many happy memories for me. So this year after my brother left for college again I got to have the stuff animal in my room for only one night and the next day he was packed away (I still want to cry about it) but before he was packed away I got a couple pictures of him because that is all that I am ever going to get.Don't you think he looks really cute? He use to have a blue ribbon on him that I put on him but somehow it got, "lost," (still don't believe that).I also wanted Hope to meet the little baby Rudolph and at first she really didn't know what to make of him.Finally she got a little bit more comfortable with him and he actually wanted to hold him as you see. She only does that with her toys but she knew that this was not her toy. I think that they look so cute together!Since Hope loves my little brother and he has had the stuff animal for a long time now I'm sure that it smells a little bit like him and that is why she could not help but lick it. I made her stop that right away. I'm just glad that she got to meet one of my most cherished memory holder. I wish I could find another one of him but I know that wont happen but I can always dream about it right?

Some New Firsts

Today was one of those days that I wish I had my camera with me and that I also wished that it worked well in any kind of lighting. Hope has had several first time things today and I have really enjoyed watching her reaction to them all.

1. Late last night after midnight (so it counts as today), there were three deers in our yard that moved into the neighbors yard. Since we don't have a fence between us it is very easy to walk over there for the deer. Since it was so late at night we needed to let Hope out to use the bathroom one last time before we all went to sleep. My dad told us the deer were out there and that he was trying to scare them out because they were starting to eat some of the plants in the yard. Michael and I have been dying to see what she would do and this was a perfect chance so we let her out. At first she didn't notice the deer because she was to busy smelling their tracks that they had left in the yard but when she did finally notice them she just quietly looked at them. I'm was really surprised that she didn't bark at all because normally when she is on a walk with us and happens to see a deer she will bark. It was probably a good thing that she didn't bark to because it was late and we didn't want to wake up the neighbors either. Well she just stood there and looked at them and a couple of the deer actually started to walk towards her (I guess meaning that they were not scared of her kind of thing), so then Michael and I told her to go and get them which she did and chased them out of the neighbors yard onto the golf course for at least 3 yards. I didn't know if we would get her to come back because she was having so much fun but she did come back just fine. I know that all she wanted to do was say, "Hi," to them and give them a good sniff is all. It still was funny to watch her and I had no idea that she could run that fast either. I so wished that it had been light enough for my camera to see it all because it was just so funny. The deer around here are a little to comfortable with people and pets so we are trying to help them be more cautious by letting Hope chase them out of the yard, I guess you could put it like that.

2. This morning we went to the pet store that Michael works at to get his pay and of course since it is a pet store Hope always comes along. Well she got a bath yesterday and she was still so clean and pretty that I didn't want her to walk on the wet oil covered parking lot. Hope has walked through that gross oil before and it always gets all over the back seats when she has to walk in it. I really didn't want to have to clean the car again because I had just cleaned it out yesterday. So Michael put Hope in a shopping cart for me and she just loved riding in it. I thought that she would be a little scared but she loved being higher up. It was like she was discovering a entire new world of toys, chews, food and smells. I'm just glad that she didn't ever once try to jump out of the cart but it sure was fun to push her around and give her a ride.

3. On the car ride home from the pet store Hope normally just likes to watch the cars go by and then she falls asleep. Today, however, she was very interested in the back window with how the snow off of the roof of the car would slide across the window. It had tempted her so much that she finally started to jump at the back window to try and get the ice/snow that was falling. It was so funny to watch her try because she just couldn't figure out what she was doing wrong. What makes this more funny is that the back window is at a slant so that makes it even harder for her to get her head positioned just right to try to get at the snow falling. She would sniff the glass and lick it in a attempt to make it listen to her plea in having some of the snow but then she would get even more frustrated and impatient and try to bite at it again. It was just so funny to watch her. She also couldn't understand what happened to her new game when the snow stopped falling down either. At least that game got her ready for her nap time.

(To let you all know Becky NoName, the frog, passed away today too. It was a very sudden thing and I don't know what happened. Sadly, Teddy is all alone and missing her but I'm sure he will be alright eventually.)

Matty Goes Wii

I just love playing with my nephew and nieces when I can and this time I got to play with Matty because he came over for a visit. He has started to really enjoy playing on Michael and mines Wii system. Any time he plays on it we try to pick some really easy games that he can do and that we have somewhat (total) control of also. Today for some reason he was really into the Wii and this is the kind of response that I got out of him when I tried to get his attention.Normally he is never sucked into a game this much but I guess today the game I picked out for him was just that interesting to him. Just to let you know the game that he is the playing is Pokemon Ranch. On that game all you do really is just look at the pokemon and take pictures of them but Matty has found a secret in the game all by himself. You can make the pokemon jump by causing a somewhat earthquake in the game. It is very funny to watch him to it too.

I don't know why Matty kept on saying that he was killing them and I didn't like that at all so I taught him to say that he was booming them. I think that he mostly likes to just shake the remote and that is how he found that secret out.

Here he is finally booming them and saying it right. It is just so much fun to watch him play. It is really funny that he says at one point it is not working right and that was when the game started to go into this one mode where it controls itself so that you can take pictures of the pokemon. It was fun to watch him try and figure out how to get it to go back to the other.I also loved watching him shoot back on the bed as he boomed the pokemon. He was laughing so hard when he did that too. I'm just glad that he has a lot of fun playing with me.

Snow, Run, Slide

Well another trip to the dog park for some more winter fun. It had snowed really good the night before so we thought that the park would be covered really nicely and it was. Hope has a lot of fun chasing the snowballs that Michael would make and when she got a little tired of running so far after them Michael started to slide them on the ground and a new fun game was invented. We still don't have a name for this game but that is ok because it still was a lot of fun to watch Hope and try to get her to do what we wanted her to do.

Here is what we were able to get out of her the first time. She didn't quite get it that we wanted her to slide in the snow and not just lay there. She did have a ton of fun running after the snowballs but sometimes other things going around her distracted her but she still did great at coming back to us at the park this time and we didn't have any treats with us either! (I hope you all noticed how I waved hello to you, well at least my shadow did for me.)

This time she was a little better at being able to understand that we wanted her to slide in the snow but she did it a little to much I guess you could say. At least she didn't hurt herself and she came back for more fun.

Well she finally is now able to do what we wanted her to do. Isn't that way cute? She is such a fast learner too. It sure was a fun family day at the park. I bet we could even play this game a lot better in the backyard with our downward hill that we have too, hmmm... the possibilities.

Lilly Vrs. The Chair

I think all of us have moments where we just do something that is just silly. Well today was Lilly's turn to just happen to do something funny. Michael and I let her walk around the room to get some special exercise because it is really good for her. It works her legs differently then just swimming and climbing her rocks to go sun. As she was walking around the room she happen to walk under my little Winnie the Pooh rocking chair.I think that she looks really cute here; just so innocent and all. I know that this doesn't seem so silly but it became very silly and funny in just a few seconds and you just have to see how.

The funny part is that if I had kept taping you would have seen her just pop right out of the other side with no problem at all. I don't know why she got stuck on just the one side but she was stuck good enough to be actually moving that little rocking chair. I also love how Hope has to be the center of attention and walks right in front of the camera but then again isn't that what little sisters do? I have such silly girls and I don't think anyone else could have sillier ones then mine.

Beauty of the Earth

I love pictures of nature because I believe that you can never really take a bad one of it. One night I was looking out of my window and I saw this amazing veiw and had to quickly grap my camera and take a picture of it.I just love the beautiful colors that you see on the mountians during the winter and am greatful that I was able to enjoy the view. I also find it really funny the little puff ball cloud that is all allone but I guess that just makes this shot a little bit more fun.

Hope's Tired Already?

Sometime I have a hard time sleeping at night and so I try to find things for me to do that are somewhat quite and productive. Normally I just end up cleaning my little area and that is fine because I enjoy doing so. Michael, I am amazed can now sleep threw anything that I do. But Hope is quite different in that she likes to help me (more like help herself and her little thirst for knowledge of what things are) when I clean. We both stayed up kind of late together and when that happens we have a very nice time the next day snuggling together and taking a little nap too.Hope is half asleep here. We are watching one of her new favorite movies together, Pride and Prejudice! I am really shocked but she does actually watch it! I think she watches it for the horses on it and I don't know why but she really likes them for some reason. She tried so hard to stay awake during the movie, that sweet thing.Yeah I told you she would be out soon and she was. I know that you can not tell but she is actually sleeping on my leg so it was really hard to take this picture but she just has such a cute face that I couldn't help but try.Now you can see a little better of her even holding onto me. I love it when she is just so tired that she doesn't care what I do. I just feel bad that she was getting a little blinded by the flash.One thing that Hope really loves is to be wrapped up in a blanket when she is very tired. I think that it gives her a sense of security or something close to it. I love wrapping her up like this and holding her like a little baby and I know that she loves it because she will always wake up in such a happy mood too. But the fun part is once she is done with her nap she will be ready to bonce off of the walls again and then it all starts over again. I sure do love my little puppy!

A Sweet New Year

My family has this tradition of making this special kind of candy on New Years Night. It has always been a favorite thing for me to do and I was so glad that Michael got to do it with me also. It is a very special recipe to me so sorry but I am not going to be putting it on here but I can tell you a little about what we do with it though. My mother and father prepare the candy in a pot and when it is ready all of us that are going to do the candy making have to put butter on our hands so that the candy will not stick to us to bad.Then you have to work it in your hands and keep on doing that for a very long time. I got started a little late with mine. I almost forgot but we also have to put butter all over the counter so that when it starts to try and fall out of our hands we are able to pick it up and put it back in to work it some more. That is actually one of my favorite parts because it is just so funny when it happens.Once the candy is past the point of wanting to fall out of your hands you can make it into a pretty little ball. That is the point that Michael is at in this picture. I'm at the point where it was trying to get away from me.Once you are done with making it into a ball you then put the flavor and matching food coloring into the mix. I did strawberry this year and Michael did root bear. The other flavors that we did were banana, mint, orange and butter. Then when you have to shape it back into another ball and we put it in the fridge over night. Then we make smaller balls and dip them in hard chocolate stuff and let them sit and then you can eat them. They are the best tasting candy ever!!!I bet you almost forgot too that this was Hopes very first New Years too. She couldn't help make the candy but she had no problem watching us make it. She also tried to help clean up the floor but I stopped her from doing that. The fun part was when it hit New Years Eve, like when the ball dropped, Hope got to eat a treat. So she had a pretty fun night and I am so proud that she was able to stay awake all night but who couldn't with all the fun that was happening.So when hope was eating her treat, the rest of us drank a Martinelli's when the new year came. This is also another tradition that my family does on New Years Eve. So that is how my family welcomed in the new year. I hope that it is a way better one then last year and has many happy experiences for Michael and I and Hope too.