Halloween Party :)

Here comes Halloween, Here comes Halloween...Its that spooky time of year again! Most years we don't do much for Halloween. The last few years we haven't even been able to go to the haunted house :(. This year we decided to do something and had a Halloween get to together. We dressed up Candy and Molly in doggie costumes, stayed up late into the night watching horror movies, and ate ghoulishly yummy foods. It was so much fun.

 If you are thinking of having a Halloween party here are some creepy buffet ideas to get you started:

DEM BONES

Ingredients: Pretzel Sticks, Mini Marshmallows, White Chocolate Chips

take pretzel sticks and push a mini marshmallow onto each end of the stick. Melt white chocolate chips using double boiler (or a glass bowl on top of a simmering pot of water if you don't have a double boiler)

Then simply dip each pretzel stick in chocolate and set on wax paper to dry. If a few bones break while pulling them off of the drying rack or wax paper, serve them up too they add character!

SEVERED FINGERS

Ingredients: String Cheese, Almond Slivers, Marinara Sauce

Take string cheese and rip in half with your hands (don't cut because you want them to look like torn ligaments etc). Using a paring knife shape the un-torn end of the cheese. Add almond sliver for nail. using a butter knife add knuckle indention's, then place on platter and cover the severed ends with marinara sauce. Here is a link to a helpful video: http://youtu.be/gb3JRoQGOQM

SPIDER EGGS

Ingredients: Eggs (made as deviled eggs) and Whole Black Olives

boil your eggs and make them into deviled eggs (however you like your deviled eggs) If you don't know how to make deviled eggs here is a link to a recipe; http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/paula-deen/traditional-southern-deviled-eggs-recipe/index.html. Cut olives in half, place olive half in center of deviled eggs, then cut remaining olives into slices, cut slices in half and use as spider legs.

MUMMIES

Ingredients: Hotdogs and Canned Croissant Rolls

Cut croissant rolls into strips and wrap strips around hot dog. Bake according to canned croissant roll directions. (you can add mustard eyes but the mustard will dry out really fast which is why we didn't do it)

SPIDER DIP

Ingredients: Refried Beans, Salsa, Sour cream, Cheddar Cheese, Olives, Tomatoes

on a large circular platter layer, beans, salsa and sour cream, then top with cheese, olives and tomatoes. Add remaining sour cream to piping bag (if you don't have a piping bag a Ziploc will work just fine, push the sour cream into the corner then carefully cut off the tip off of that corner of the bag), then simply pipe on the web start by drawing the star then add the circles, if you can remember add a washed plastic spider (i had one but forgot to put it on)

SCREAMING SLIDERS

no real recipe here, just make homemade sliders however you like. Then get a Halloween cookie cutter and cut the sliced cheese into neat shapes. We find that Kings Hawaiian Sweet Rolls work great as the buns for sliders. 

And that's pretty much all the food, we also made some ghastly sandwiches with Halloween ghost shaped cookie cutters but i didn't get any close ups of them. I hope you all have a safe and happy Halloween! If anyone makes these or any other Halloween dishes feel free to share pics I would love to see how they turn out!

Halftime for Gamers ;)

So I am a total LSU fan but I came across this Halftime show on YouTube by The Ohio State University Marching Band and it is truly epic.  

I recognized tributes to galaga, pokemon, tetris, mario, halo, zelda, and pacman (pretty sure I missed a few since there were a few i didn't recognize ) but my favorite moment is the running horse at 6:00. 

enjoy :)

Do we need more banking regulation?

So I came across an article on ABC news that comes from the credit.com blog talking about how banks were still raking in massive profits using overdraft fees despite the new regulations. The article is calling for increased regulation on banks stating that, "these fees have fallen disproportionately on the people least able to pay them: seniors, the young, minorities, the disabled, and military families". and that "High overdraft fees are pushing millions of Americans out of the banking system entirely and into things like payday loans, which have significantly higher cost and significantly lower protection for consumers".   The articles author continues on saying that "The Fed's 2010 opt-in rule was a good first step. But banks have figured out ways around it to keep their pipeline of easy money flowing, with no regard for how much it hurts consumers --- or which consumers get hurt". The regulation that he would like to see enacted are: a ban on all overdraft fees for debit and ATM transactions, lower fees, overdrafts by paper check cannot be declined, post transactions in the order they are made in, and to treat overdraft fees as short term loans and inform consumers of the APR they are getting.

I can understand the need for the original legislation because we should have the option to choose whether we want overdraft protection. However, although some of the ideas above are not bad, i dont believe that we need additional legislation.

Its time for people to start taking responsibility for their actions and stop looking to blame someone else for their problems!  Every single person that has a checking account at the moment has CHOSEN whether or not they wanted overdraft protection. If you chose overdraft protection and you overdraft then you are being extended the COURTESY by the bank of covering your mistake. It is YOUR responsibility (not the banks) to keep your receipts and to record on a daily basis how much you have spent versus how much you have available in the bank. Every single person needs to be on top of their finances, it should not matter what order purchases post in if you are keeping track of how much you are spending.

If you are over 18 then its time to grow up and act like a responsible adult, handle your bills, handle your business, and handle your responsibilities.  Race, age, disability, etc should not matter. The bottom line is, that if you are capable enough to be legally responsible for your actions then you have no one to blame but yourself if you mismanage your money.

At age 17 I was living on my own and yes I made mistakes and I have paid quite a few overdraft fees in the 13 years since then, but I am not whining about it. I know I messed up.  Heck most of those times (although it was a struggle to pay the fees) I was glad that I had the leeway to make those mistakes.

As for payday loans, I truly doubt that overdraft fees alone are pushing people to obtain payday loans. I do agree that they are a terrible option and that they leave many people struggling to pull out of an ever growing sinkhole of debt. However, these options exist for the people who cannot obtain a traditional loan. Things inevitably come up in life and I am sure that in the moment the fees for the payday loan seem reasonable.  I do think that the interest rates for payday loans  need to be adjusted because 390% is just ridiculous. Then yet again it comes down to being a responsible adult. If you go in and sign for a payday loan you are given the terms and you agree to them. You need to have a grasp of your own finances so that you can figure out how you will repay that loan.

The consumer groups pushing for more legislation should be instead be pushing for education. Teach basic finance starting in middle and high school (more than just one chapter in a text book) or offer free courses at adult education centers on how to handle finances and the dangers of payday loans. Pour all that money and effort that is being spent to push legislation into efforts to truly help those who do not understand how to balance their finances.

ThunderShirt = Epic Win

This piece of awesomeness right here is a Thundershirt:

In case you have no clue what I'm talking about, The Thundershirt is a shirt for dogs who suffer from anxiety brought on by basically anything (fireworks, storms, the vacuum, car rides, etc). The shirt works by applying gentle calming pressure to the dog.

The other main way to treat anxiety in dogs is through medication. My mothers dog Roxy was prescribed by the vet, what basically equates to Xanax for her anxiety during storms. The medication does work, but you have to catch it just right, (up to an hour at least before the bad weather starts). If its not timed perfectly, she will  run around panting and terrified.

I had been eyeing the Thundershirts at Petsmart and had visited the website a few times because of Molly. Molly freaks out so bad during Thunderstorms that she will whine and yipe as loud as she can until the storm passes. Needless to say, we have had plenty of sleepless nights and miserable days waiting for storms to pass while trying to comfort her. I didn't want to go the medication route, so finally as part of our storm prep for Hurricane Issac I picked up a Thundershirt for her.

I was weary of paying $40 for a dog shirt but it was THE BEST $40 I HAVE EVER SPENT! Molly loves her Thundershirt, in fact she actually gets mad at me when I go to take if off of her lol. As soon as I put the shirt on, she calms down and usually she ends up in her bed asleep. We weathered Issac without a single whine or yipe, as well as several thunderstorms since then. Also I discovered that it also works great for car ride anxiety, Molly was a terrible rider, until I put her Thundershirt on and now she is an angel. I am planning to get another shirt for Copper (he is terrified every year by fireworks at new years and the 4th of July) and for my moms dog Roxy.

If you have a dog who is suffering from any type of anxiety, the Thundershirt is worth a try! I know it seems kinda unbelievable that something so simple could work but somehow it does. I am a believer, and if it works for your dog(s) the way it has worked for mine then it will be the best $40 you will have ever spent as well! :)

Molly in her Thundershirt:

Our Candy!

November 11, 2011 My husband and I had gone to Petsmart to pick up a few treats for our other dogs. As fate would have it the big adoption event was going on. We decided to go have a look. We walked around with the intention of LOOKING only, we moved past several dogs and puppies and as we were leaving we caught a glimpse of Candy in the very back of the tent. Somehow that one look from her melted both our hearts, and we had to adopt her! We spent our last $100 to pay the adoption fees and to get her a bowl and a harness and the rest is history. 11/11/11 Will always be a special day  because its the day that our beautiful Candy captured our hearts.

Candy had been with us for almost 11 months now and she fits very well in our pack of pups. With Candy we now have 4 dogs and a bird! Wowza that's a lot of pets! Haha I never thought I would have so many at one time but I wouldn't have it any other way now.

Candy Cane is the sweetest dog that you will ever know but she is also a little terror! She is actually the most destructive dog that we have ever had. She loves to chew and to pull the paper out of Kahunas cage bottom, shred it, and eat the seeds. She has de-squeekered and un-stuffed every toy that has ever come into the house. Its kinda sad when she brings me a toy, what was once a cool looking toy is nothing but a pathetic little rag full of holes. I try and buy one toy every two weeks and it lasts about 10 min max before its a rag. The super durable toys last a little longer (up to a week or two) but eventually they become a rag toy and I don't buy those often because they cost so much more. We have had to get items for Candy that we never had to have for our other dogs like a crate ($80) and extra tall dog gate ($50). Also Candy has cost us thousands of dollars in destruction of things around the house.

To date the things lost to Candys jaws of steel are:

1. Karl's headphones ($100) 
2. My favorite pair of leather sandles ($120)
3. The wires that connect the mouse and keyboard to my computer ($50 for a new wireless set)
4. Karl's flip flops ($10)
5. Countless pairs of socks and undies ($60?)
6. My brand new bra ($30)
7. The pillows to our couch ($?)
8. The back of our couch and oversized chair ($1200)
9. 2 Crate pillows ($40 each)
10. 1 pair of King Sized Egyptian cotton sheets ($100)
11. The bottom of the stair rail ($ ? I guess we will find out how much if we move one day?)
12. Karl's TMJ brace ($600)

Even with all of her destruction we still love her, that face is so cute and sweet that we cant stay mad at her for very long!

Here are some pics of our Candy baby:

Candy and Molly love to play with the sheets that I use to cover Kahuna with. 

Its a nightly ritual to play with the sheet:

 

Candy is busy destroying a new toy:

 

About this Blog

So, I know its been forever since I wrote anything on this blog. I just haven't felt much like writing. I'm going to try and start getting back into it. In fact I am REALLY in the mood to write today. I'm on a roll. I finished my last post (which had been sitting as a draft for over a year) and I have three topics written down on a sticky note just begging me to blog about them! I know few if any people read my blog but that's not why I am writing it. I enjoy writing and sharing my thoughts and if I can provide a little entertainment to even one other person then I will be happy. Besides this is something I need for me, something I can always turned to and Its way past time for me to back to it ;)

Its the end of the world as we know it ....or not lol

***note*** I started writing this on May 21, 2011 (only wrote the first paragraph)

I came across it today and decided that it was worth finishing, enjoy :)

So the time of the supposed May 21 2011 Rapture has come and gone... Yes that's right... in case you haven't heard yet, at 6pm today 200 million people were supposed to float magically up into the air on their voyage towards heaven whilst the rest of the world would be subjected to 5 months of hell on earth before the world is completely destroyed...............

Haha where do these people come up with this stuff?  Sure, sure, the bible and all, but I mean to really actually believe it, and put all your money and your life on hold waiting for some tragic end to humanity requires a special breed of gullibility.  Perhaps they watched one to many disaster movies, or happened across the Zombie Apocalypse guide from the CDC (pure awesomeness right there), or maybe they just secretly want the world to end because the thought of living in heaven is much prettier than the messiness of everyday life. What ever the reason it seems that we as a global culture are obsessed with the demise of our own species. Every couple of years there is a new scare that threatens to bring the end of the world as we know it.

Remember Y2K?  The Millennium bug,was supposed to shut off any system running on a computer, so that means utilities, banking, etc were all just going to stop at midnight on Jan 1, 2000 sending the world into a literal dark age again. Y2K is not nearly as unbelievable as the Rapture and perhaps it would have happened if governments around the world hadn't spent billions upgrading their computer systems. Or perhaps it was just another end of the world scare, either way, lots of people were terrified that this was truly going to end the modern world.

The next disaster that should be ending the world will be of course on December 21 2012 (12/21/12) at the supposed end of the Mayan calendar. Seriously, the Mayans were awesome and all, but I really don't understand how people can believe that the world is going to come to some crazy tragic end. I mean the Mayans lived thousands of years ago, yes they were great at astromomy and math (so are we today) but In order for them to acurately predict the end of the world they would have to be more like psychics and prophets than astronomers and mathematicians.

I think the bottom line it that it is fun to sometimes fantasize about the end of the world (hehe yes, even I have made a zombie contingency plan) plus there is no denying the fact that our doomsday fascination has made for countless hours of quality entertainment in movies and books. However, if you cross the line from using Armageddon as entertainment to believing that this will soon be the new reality then its time to go and get your head checked! :)