Madeline and Dorian's Christmas Wish List

If anyone out there reading this post, should happen to be very handy with wood and woodworking tools.....well then this post is for you!

We borrowed this book from our class teachers and these games were in the book! Maddy and Dory quickly got out there pens and circled what they wanted just like back in the day when Angie and I would circle our wish list in the Sears catalogue.
There is a third one that I can't get to download with little blocks that have to be removed to find the treat.

This is also my first attempt at trying out our new to us scanner! It works pretty good! We're on the technology bullet train now! Hot diggity!

Tonight is Halloween, and we had one brave little group of children venture up our long long dark driveway! Brave! I get a little nervous myself when I have to walk up it in the dark, and I know what is at the other end! So one candy for the kids, and bag of candy minus 1 for us!

Here is a Sweet and Sour Pork recipe I make that I have been requested to share....it was original given to me from Tom's mom.

Sweet and Sour Pork

-cut pork into bite size pieces ( I like to buy a pork tenderloin, it's a good amount for 2-3)
-dip pork in a beaten egg.
-then dip pork in a mixture of 1 cup flour, 1tsp garlic salt. (The original recipe called for another tsp of salt, but we have found that wayyyy to salty)

Fry pork in oil until crispy.

In another pan saute one green pepper and one can of pineapple pieces ( save the juice for later).

Mix in a small bowl :
-1/4 cup ketchup
-1 tsp sugar
-2tbsp vinegar
-1 tsp worsteshire
-1 tbsp onion flakes

Add sauce to green pepper and pineapple, add reserved pineapple juice, as much as desired depending on how thick or runny you like. If too runny add some cornstarch to the pineapple juice.
Mix with pork.

Serve over rice!

It's better then takeout!

Wish me luck at the auction tomorrow!

And light a candle for Julien tomorrow, three months since he left a hole in my heart. Love you baby.

Cat in a box

As many of you know, earlier this fall, Tommy and I made Purla a fantastic Estate home. We made it Rancher style, so she wouldn't have to go up and down stairs in her arthritic years. The number of times she has enjoyed her new house, we could count on one hand. This week, however, she has decided that she prefers our home! She hovers outside the door, and the second we open it, MEOW, she walks on in! And MEOW, where's my dinner! So, being the good servant that I am, I promptly set to making her a bed. Out of the finest materials. Cardboard. And a pillow. She has moved on in.


Madeline, could give a rats pooper that there is a cat in the house. Dorian.....is in love.


With Purla and her cardboard box.





I can't seem to get this picture right side up, but you get the idea!


It takes 24 hours of surveilance to keep Dorian away from Purla and her bed. It makes us a little nervous, because I think she weighs about six pounds and Dorian is already 17 pounds! He pounces at her, and smells her and bats her and pushes her.....and she loves every second of it! Sometimes I wonder if this is the first entertainment she has had in her whole life!

So everynight night this week, she comes in as soon as we get home from work, and stays in all night curled up in front of the fire until the next morning when we shoo her out for the day.... god forbid, next stop, litter box. Yuck.

Tonight I also discovered that this Sunday at the auction house is all crafts and yarn!!!! Yippee! And then I realize plummeting back to earth......it's the same time as Dorian's class. Poopee. I'm working on a plan. Best case scenario, class will be cancelled due to Halloween the previous night....I am anxiously checking my email for updates. My fathers days projects are coming along swiftly now that my summer hiatus is over!

I will keep you posted about my possible first auction purchases ever!

The baby!

This was Dorian on Thanksgiving day! I think he was trying to get as close to the turkey as possible! He looks so tiny and that was only a week and a half ago! That day the turkey was bigger then him, but today I think he weighs more!

Mommy, Lingy and Dorian, having a snooze....well some of us having a snooze!

This is Dorian today! I took about 10 shots and this was the best we could do! I don't know how anyone photographs puppies! Impossible!

We may be in trouble.....

You know those dogs.....you smile at them from you car, they might be in a vehicle, with their head out an open window, or they might be in the back of a truck, hanging over the edge as far as they can, but where ever they are they are barking. All down the road Bark Bark Bark Bark, at nothing in particular. We used to laugh at these funny dogs, wondering what was going through their heads, what are they trying to say? And we would smile at Julien and Madeline and think about how smart our babies are! And quiet! Good car riders!

Life as we knew it, is over. I have a barker. I've tried him in his crate...bark bark bark, I tried him in the back seat, bark bark bark. I've tried him in the front seat, bark bark bark. At nothing, nothing at all! The only time he's not barking is when he is eating the seat belt, my purse, the shifter, or doing a headstand. Yeah, a headstand, not even joking a little bit. He's definitly not car sick, and he's not stressed out at all. He's just really really loud and verbal. And Madeline and I get out at the end of each trip, rolling our eyes at eachother, and Mommy takes an Advil and Lingy takes a quiet nap!

Now, everyone is laughing at us, I think! We are getting nervous already about the 7 hr drive to Calgary this Christmas! It's going to be a long long trip.

We had our second training class this weekend. The crazy lady who talks really loudly to her dogs immediatly had to "come and see Madeline", and then proceeded to talk to her. I find this incredibly awkward. Am I supposed to respond on her behalf? Make her talk? Talk to this womens dog? I chose none of the above, I just stared at her. And at the end of the class she did it again, saying goodbye to Madeline, but not us, so we just walked away. Strange.
But Maddy is a superstar, in class. What a show off! She will probably be advanced to level two soon, but home is a different story. We are working very hard on sitting on a mat, I think she's starting to get it.
Dorians doing great too, no sign of advancement though! We'll be in level one for a while. I think he's starting to understand what the click means though. That will help, for the first while he definitly wasn't putting it all together. He goes on the mat right away now, so I think he understands!

It's too late to post any pictures tonight, I will try another night. I need to take some new ones anyways!

And one last huge news!!!!! My sister is getting married! Yay! We are so excited! Congratulations Angie and Luc!

T3's, Advil and Penicillan, OH MY!

Gurg. I don't know how anyone can be addicted to prescription medicine. What a nightmare. After a full week of painkillers and prescriptions, today I am drug free. What a relief! So naturally I am celebrating with a glass of wine. By belated birthday present to me, as on my birthday I spent the evening on the couch with dozing in and out of sleep. PARTY!

I should really have read my last post because now I don't remember where I left off!

I will start again, bear with me if you have heard this before! I will make it short, I know, I said that last time and it was my longest post ever!

Monday was root canal day, it went good. Minimal tears, lots of pain. Glad it was over. That night I felt great. Flash forward to Tuesday at noon, all the sudden I had major shooting pains in my head from the tooth next to the one that had the root canal. So back we go, my dentist figured we had disturbed that tooth, which we already knew had some decay, so she quickly fit me in and gave me a quick temporary filling. And and nice extra big shot of Lanicain?? at the end so I could stay frozen for another good five hours. After the freezing wore off, there was still a good strong amount of pain, so back the next day, and she went ahead and did a root canal on that tooth as well. Madelines' birthday came and went in a T3 haze on the 30th. My promises of a special birthday this year sadly went down the toilet. I'm not sure she remembered her own birthday though, she doesn't seem too upset. A few bottles of advil, T3's and penicillan, a few naps during work and lots of soup later, I can proudly say that I am drug free! Minor soreness remains, mostly in the spot where all the needles went in. Next stop at the Dentist office, November 2nd! Yay, a month off!

Yesterday, for those who don't already know, was Julien's birthday. He would have been five years old. In his memory Tommy made pancakes and bacon, it was what Julien requested every year for his birthday supper. I think we will continue this yearly tradition. I can't believe he has been gone for two months. And I can't believe that life has gone on without him. I still feel guilty when I remember that his sweet face is gone and I shouldn't be happy without him. I hope someone let him in the kitchen to make some bacon in heaven. Maybe grandma whipped him up something special.

It was also an exciting day for Dorian and Madeline yesterday! First day of class! We are taking two seperate classes at 11 and 4, so we can give each baby our full attention. Dorian went first, naturally everyone oohed and ahhed over him. He did......okay.....for his first time! Very distracted, its good just to get him out though. Madeline was a star in her class. We had previously told the teacher that we have some issues we would like to work on, and she made a total lier out of us. She performed perfectly, was so polite, didn't react to anything. I kept saying, no really, she's not like this...really!!! She's a bad girl!!!! Ug.....humilating. In the best possible way of course.

We were good students and did our homework today. It's so funny to watch them, well mostly Madeline, when the light bulb comes on!

The classes we are doing uses clicker training. In class we did a click and treat for eye contact....no talking allowed. The first few times Madeline flicked a glance my way I kept missing it because the lighting was poor. Tommy kept saying, there there! You missed it! So when she realized what she was being clicked for, she started looking at me REALLY obviously! She would look away and then give me a huge obvious stare!!! So funny, she is a better student then I am trainer! Now the first thing she tries is eye contact....really long and really obvious!

And of course in both classes, there is the token super duper annoying person. Our first class has the woman who has to comment on every single thing the trainer says. And our second class has two annoying women, the first one, brought two dogs to the class by herself, and then had to keep asking how she could do the exercises with two dogs....hello...no, there's nobody home.

Then she proceded to praises her dogs loudly and FOREVER, when they did the right thing, yeah, we get it, your labs are brilliant. That's why your here.

Another lady in the class insists on continuing her training while the teacher is talking, normally not a big deal, but remember, this is clicker training....CLICKER TRAINING!

So annoying. She also didn't bring any of the required items to bring, ie, crate, mat, treats, and then wondered how she should perform the exercises. Should people be required to pass IQ tests before they may own a dog? YES! Most definitly. I know I'm not perfect. But man....

This picture was Madelines napping site this morning.....I like to call it....Angel/Devil Dog, or maybe Dog who thinks she's Cat. In case you can't tell, in this picture she is on the back of the couch, half in the window sill.

And for those of you who couldn't find the puppy in the pumpkin patch last post....here he is!!!!