My bodygaurd

We are dog-sitting for my parent's golden retriever Autumn while they spend a few days in Paducah going through Grandpa's things and handling the details that come with the passing of a loved one. 

Butch is always super excited about visits from Autumn--they are bffs and both get excited by the mere mention of the other's name.  

enjoying the finer things in life...aka licking the baking bowls

partner's in crime

However...

Kitty & Autumn hate each other.  Since we have had Kitty, visits from Autumn have meant that he hides in a room or leaves the house and refuses to come home b/c she is so big and scary to him.

 this is the typical reaction

 kitty is NOT a fan.

Until today that is.

Lately Kitty has been especially lovey and attached to me, which can be annoying when he wants to follow me into the bathroom, but is mostly just sweet.  So today when Autumn showed up and was jumping around with joy and greeting me I expected Kitty to bolt.  Instead, he went into full-on attack, hissing and brandishing those scary claws.  I scooped him up and took him into the bedroom w/me for a nap since I had woken up at 3:30.  He had cuddled up next to me but we could hear Autumn whining to get into the room which I had blocked off with a laundry basket.  Next thing I know, I hear all these animal feet scrambling around on the floor and Autumn screaming in pain.  I separated the pets and thought nothing of it.  

I put Kitty on top of the kitchen table, then sat down on an ottoman to pet Butch & Autumn & check for scratches.  Autumn started to get excited and try to put her paws on my shoulders, and the next thing I know, Kitty has bolted across the room and attacked Autumn again!  Then Butch jumps up next to me and he goes after her too!

I spent about 30 minutes trying to sit calmly petting Autumn and Butch and telling Kitty that they are "good dogs" and "friends" and showing him that I was fine.  I have to speak very calmly and quietly or he thinks they are a threat to me and goes into attack mode.  I feel really bad for Autumn, she is slinking behind me or hiding out of Kitty's view, and he has taken to sitting on any nearby table so that he has the upper hand, giving Autumn the stink eye if she starts to get too hyper.  It's quite the change of attitude between the pets, but I gotta say that I'm feeling pretty loved by my little Kitty friend.  Just gotta make sure to protect the pups.

friday favorites

First I'll give you a hint of what is NOT my favorite...

I love my yummy brunch and all, but do you see the eggs?  Do you remember what they mean?  Yep.  Sick again.  (or should it be still??)  I finished my antibiotics for a sinus infection on Monday.  I had Dr. John look at me again on Thursday b/c on Wednesday I had started to feel worse.  He said I managed to pick up a virus while my immune system was down from the week before.  bah.  I am kinda afraid that it is the flu b/c last night I started to run a fever, and of course I am exposed to every nasty thing in my office.  But I haven't had the energy to get up and go to the doctor again.  I am considering firing my body.  It's performance has been seriously sub-par, especially since the start of the new year.  Does anyone have any good recommendations on where I can get a well-functioning new one? Any ideas at all?  Even a temp to get me through this season...let me know.

So what is my favorite this week?

My bed. But I cannot pretend that it looks this lovely right now...this picture was taken when I had first got the new bedding over the summer...now...well, just imagine bottles of medicine, tissues and magazines strewn about, and very rumpled sheets and pillows.

We got together to hang out at 6:00 last night, and had quite a wonderful time if I do say so myself.  I finally started on Julia Child's My Life in France and made it through the first hundred or so pages, finished a few magazines when my head was too fuzzy to focus on a book, had lovely cuddles w/the pets, and was surrounded by the things I need:  blue medicine, tissues, my ipod, my laptop, magazines, books, water, and my cuddly ones.  Hubs didn't get home from filming until I was extremely out of it at 10:00, and then I got even more cuddles from my favorite!  Bed and I had a lovely morning as well, hanging out until 11:30--I love the bed so much that I even had a dream about sleeping in it and never wanting to get up!  This dream was mirrored by reality.  I have been up for about an hour to make my eggs and post, but I think I will return to it in a short time...

TWD: rick katz's brownies for Julie

Okay...these are definitely my new favorite brownie recipe, and maybe my favorite Dorie recipe! (they are definitely hubs' favorite!)

I made them over the weekend for my bible study reunion, and I seriously thought I had ruined them! I was confused (what else is new?) with the changing of bowls and ended up pouring the chocolate mixture into my kitchenaid bowl, then poured it back out into its own bowl and put the egg/sugar mixture into the kitchenaid bowl...which had a light coating of melted chocolate and butter. I tried to whip the egg mixture in the kitchenaid bowl but it didn't ever seem to "double in size" (are you as confused as I was yet?) Oh well. I baked them anyway and hoped for the best!

And they were the best! The only thing I wasn't sure about is the baking time...they were really soupy after the suggested time frame. I put them back in and forgot to set the timer (oops!) but when I did remember them they looked okay. When I cut them, the finished brownies were extremely gooey (maybe bordering on under cooked--at least the center pieces) but still tasted oh-s0-yum!

This is possibly the first recipe EVER that hubs has deemed "really good" instead of just "fine" which is his go-to answer, even if he likes something a lot. Woohoo! I finally found a scratch brownie recipe that he likes as much as boxed!! Head over to Tanya's blog fore the recipe!


In other news, kitty is sick. He has 103' F fever, is drooling, sneezing, watery eyes, and altogether miserable. He got in a fight over the weekend (nothing new) but this time he was gone almost all day and came home with another cat's claw tangled in his fur! eep!! Poor little. I took him to the vet tonight and he was so angry with me. He yowled the whole way to the vet's office (i meowed back to him) and then tried to climb up my arm/back when we were there. Now he doesn't want to take his meds (he normally does well w/the greenies pill pockets). Boo. And...on top of all that, this crazy snow storm that no one was prepared for made the roads so slick that I got rear-ended on my way home from the vet! Thankfully it was just a tiny bump and the nice thing about my '89 camry is that it has the kind of bumpers that do their job and don't just crack! Crazy day.

we almost lost our "daughter"

so last night hubs & i decided to go out for a little bit while i was letting my cakes cool. as we were leaving and talking about where to go, little butchy was desperately wiggling and begging to go with us, so we decided to take her to petco if it was open, and if not to go walk in the park. we drove by petco which was closed, and decided to go walking outside, eventually choosing to go to western's campus and look around to see some of the construction that has been completed since we graduated 3 years ago. it was lovely evening, not too hot, and we parked at the top of the hill and walked around & down to DUC. by the time that we got down to the bottom of the hill butchy was panting pretty hard so we were trying to decide if we should try to make it back up w/her or one of us go get the car. we carried her for part of the way, and then patrick left me in the valley and went to get the car.

by that time her tongue had turned purple and she was gasping for breath. a lot of bulldogs have this thing where they cough up white foam when over excited or over-heated. well, butch starting having this a lot and it was blocking her airways and started coming out of her nose! patrick finally showed up with the car and we sped home with the air blasting and holding her head out of the window to try to get her to cool down and breathe. when we got home i ran inside and turned on a cold bath while patrick carried her in. she gagged and spit up and i had to clear her throat a few times b/c the foam was choking her. finally after sticking my finger down her throat a few times she coughed the last of it up and started to breathe a little more. patrick brought a fan into the bathroom and we held it on her and kept pouring cool water over her neck. after hanging over the side of the tub for several minutes with the fan blowing on her, she finally decided that she was fine and jumped out of the tub and went into the office to show her daddy that she was okay. (he had left me in the bathroom with her--he later said "he couldn't stay in there and watch his dog die"--we see who will be the one to act in a crisis...).

we kept her calm and cool for the rest of the night, and she is doing better now, just subdued and breathing through her nose as much as possible. (i think her little throat is sore). well, we've learned some things about our girl. #1--no more walks more than the length of our block during the summer. #2. when she starts panting, we stop walking! #3--we love her so very much!!! she has been quite pampered since we got home and we are making sure that she gets plenty of rest!

our little sleepy survivor

in the meantime, i have made 2 cakes for my niece & nephew's birthday this evening. i had some issues w/kara's cake, but i think they came out alright--especially considering the drama in our house last night! one thing is for sure--they taste GREAT!

rose carnage # 2: attack of the pups

due to the wonderful weather and amount of rain that we have received this summer, my rose bushes have grown a lot, and since this horrible event, butch has stayed away from them to my knowledge.

well, today it all went horribly miserably wrong! we have been dogsitting for a friend and this morning (which i think was the time of the incident) we put the pups out alone for several hours. i didn't go out and look around until about 7:30, when i looked over and saw rose petals all over the flower bed. i walked over and was dismayed to find that one of my bushes had been ripped to shreds only leaving little stumps!

in the background you can see how high the other bush has gotten

i am not sure which of these pups was repsonsible, or if it was a joint effort, but i sadly must imagine that butch had a least a hand in it...i don't think elmo has that much destructive power in his little body!

they both look guilty to me...



now they are sleeping soundly as if nothing ever happened. little stinkers!

happy 4th!

happy fourth everybody! i made a few goodies for our cookout w/hubs' family tonight...

homemade key lime pie

and red white and blue meringues! I got the swiss meringue recipe f/m martha stewart's cookie cookbook and used used her technique for the peppermint swirl meringues...you brush stripes of red (and blue in my case) gel food coloring on opposite sides of your piping bag to make the stripes. my bag and tip were a bit too small so i just made swirls for most of them. well, when i took them over to my sister-in-law's house this kids saw them and asked "is that toothpaste?" it cracked me up! they kept telling each other that they had eaten toothpaste and it was really good! they even used it in a little skit that they put on for us. needless to say, the meringues were gone by the time we had to go!

the plan was to swim and get butch in the pool again, this time for a video. she was all ready...


the kids swam for a little bit while we were there but it was pretty cold and we decided not to get in. i don't really think she was disappointed. after we ate dinner it started pouring rain. we tried to wait it out for a while before deciding that it was not going to let up enough for us to go light our fireworks, so we should just go ahead and try it in the rain. we sat under the carport while hubs and his sister and brother-in-law took turns running out in the rain with umbrellas and lighting them off. we did about ten before it really started pouring and the lighter stopped working. butch freaked out at first and slipped her leash and we had to chase her around the yard but she finally calmed down and cuddled up w/her "cousins" a few of whom took turns putting pebbles on her back saying that "she needed rocks because she loves them." it was quite adorable.


now she's exhausted and resting her little head.

hope everyone else had a great holiday!

worst night ever

last night was the worst night that we have had in a LONG time. before bed we were checking butchy for ticks (i had found one on her neck the day before) and patrick was holding her on her back so i could check her stomach. butch HATES being on her back and while he was holding her legs she flailed and after we let her go she was kinda hobbling around but we assumed she was just stiff and would sleep it off. well, at 12:30 we woke up to the most horrible sound i have ever heard! butchy was screaming in pain--seriously it was like a human scream--not a yelp or a howl. i didn't know what it was, i thought there was a child or demon or something crazy! when i turned on the light i saw that it was her--she was spinning around in circles and screaming and shaking so hard. we took a few minutes to calm her down and i was bawling my eyes out--i seriously thought she was going to die b/c i had never heard her make noises like that before (and she makes some weird noises!) we poked and prodded her but could not find any points that seemed to be tender to the touch. i went to get a phone book to call the vet and when patrick followed me so did butch...then we noticed that she was dragging her right leg and limping. patrick tried to pick her up to carry her back to the bed--well she flailed her legs and she freaked out and started screaming again and peed all over him and herself. the on call vet told us that it was probably a sprain or strain and to see how she did in the morning. we got back in bed (patrick slept in the other room so he could sleep and she could have more room in the bed) and she had two or three more fits in the night where she woke up and started screaming and shaking.. i felt like a mom staying up late w/her child--i was only half sleeping and kept my hand on her back to soothe her anytime she was upset--i felt so incapable to help her. when morning finally came (i had mixed feelings--exhaustion but eagerness to get her to the vet and hopefully fixed a bit). her vet was booked and going out of town so we had to take her to a new place which also was booked but said they could keep her and work her in whenever one of the docs was free. we didn't hear from them until after 2 and at that point still did not get much news--they couldn't find anything conclusive but think it's a sprain. we got some pain pills/anti-infalmmatorys so now she can be doped up like her mommy! ;) now we're just trying to keep her still as much as possible but we have still had a few screaming fits when she moves too quickly. my poor little girl!! hoping for a quiet night.

first order and swimming adventures!

as i mentioned previously, i got my first baked goods order from my mother in law, so tonight i did a run-through of the recipes to make sure that i have them down and yummy! she ordered an old-fashioned chocolate fudge pie (as seen in this post) and a lemon meringue pie (which i had not made before...hence, the run-through) i had to fiddle some with stove and mixer settings to get it right, but i think the pie turned out well! (we'll see for sure tomorrow when we try it at work) this was also the first time that i had to blind-bake a pie crust, and i'm going to need to work on that a little more b/c it shrunk a bit more than i would like it to. here are some pictures of the pie--in progress and completed

:

filled pie shell--i was surprised and the yellow-ness of it as there is no food coloring or jello or anything like that--purely from the lemon juice/zest and egg yolks!


with meringue--pre-baking


the finished product! lovely if i do say so myself!

i also made some red velvet cupcakes this week...oh so yum! the icing is heaven to me: 3 sticks of butter, cream cheese, & powdered sugar...oh my! it will kill you but it's delicious!

we had a fun time this weekend--we went to a pool party/cookout for our niece Hannah's birthday, and our sister in law has a pool so we decided to embark on a grand adventure and take butch swimming! now, in case you don't know much about bulldogs...the way that their little bodies are built is not condusive to swimming. their short little legs just can't keep their thick bodies and heads above the water, so owners are strongly advised to use a life jacket or risk seeing their "child" sink to the bottom of the pool (or lake, or whatever).

she was not amused.

we put her in the pool, and she was not happy at all! she immediately stuck her little tongue out of the side of her mouth...don't ask me why...but it seemed like she was concentrating very hard on not drowning!
(blurry f/m splashes)


every time that patrick let her go, she would speed like a little shark over to the edge of the pool and try to climb out--of course she couldn't b/c it is an above-ground pool. it was hilarious!

she greatly preferred the float and would actually relax a little bit in there.


we're going back on july 4th and i will be sure to get a video this time! when i took her out of the pool i swear she was cussing us out! she just sat on the deck and grumbled for about 10 minutes. she may not have liked it, but the water did her some good on such a hot day! and it definitely provided some great entertainment for the family!

my first batch of amish friendship bread (muffins) since i was in college! a dear co-worker gave me the starter and hubs loves this bread--esp. in muffin form! let me know if you want some starter and i will hook you up!

i still need to work on the fullness of the cups--these came out a little square (and i couldn't help nibbling off a few crispy edges...) i want them to poof up some, but they spread a lot so i will have to practice...such a hard task right! ;)

butchy tried to sneak some of patrick's dinner

i feel that God is trying to teach me a lesson about my tendency towards materialism. everywhere that i've looked (or read or watched...) i have seen topics on putting too much value in our things and continuing to acquire things that are not needed. i want to write more in detail about this later...stay tuned!

we had our 3 year wedding anniversary yesterday! sadly, i was sick (and am still not feeling great) so we didn't get to go on our dinner date, but we are postponing till the weekend. not planning anything big b/c our florida trip was the official "celebration" for us (and was wonderful!). we also need to save some money!

let's see...what else can be briefly mentioned...

OH! hubs has spent the majority of the night chasing kitty around the house w/a rolled up window screen--i swear it sent kitty into a panic attack! i had to comfort him and give him treats. silly boys.

i guess that's it for tonight. loves!

new do!

i cut my hair today! i have been wanting to for a while and decided that it was necessary before vacation. they cut off 8 inches--sadly two inches too short for locks of love. :( if i went those extra 2 inches shorter i think patrick would have killed me! as it was, he was not super thrilled, but he does think it looks pretty. he just hates change and loves long hair. ;) i love it though and feel more confidant and like i will actually do something with it instead of throwing it up in a bun!

i also got some new clothes for vacation--yay! but i'm kinda bummed b/c it sounds like the weather in florida will be AWFUL. oh well. a rainy day at the beach is better than a rainy day in bowling green!

we let kitty out this afternoon, and i heard all these birds outside. we went on the deck and there were huge black birds flying around and squawking--it was like something out of a hitchcock film! then i heard a rustling in the bushes--and kitty was trying to eat a bird!!!!! i was horrified. i know that is what cats do, but i do not like it! i pulled him out of the bushes by his tail and put him in time out in the bathroom to think about what he did. ;) he had bloody paws. :( I don't know if the little birdie will survive or not. i hope it will. i fear that there may be more birdie fatalities while we are gone next week, but i'm trying not to think about it. patrick suggested locking him in the bathroom while we are gone but i think that is mean. (he's not a fan of kitty anyway).

patrick has been working like crazy trying to get as much done before our trip as possible. i'm trying to have a better attitude about the possibility of him working some on vacation, and will therefore be taking lots of magazines and books to read! that will be a good way to spend the rainy afternoons anyway.

well, i need to work on packing, and tonight i'm going to have a dinner date w/one of my original bible study girls. yay!

lazy day brunch

hubs is on a man-date w/the object of his "bromance" so i am taking the opportunity to enjoy a lazy morning brunch at the dining table w/lovely dishes.

wrapping things up

tonight i had a tea party in honor or my lovely bible study girls who are graduating (most of them) and moving on with their lives= leaving me :(. i am very excited and proud of/for all of them but it is definitely bittersweet. that is the hard thing about college ministry--they start here, and then they leave! it's like parenthood but much shorter and less stressful ;).

the spread: sadly mostly purchased food as i had to choose between cleaning or cooking. i did make the chicken salad and tomato sandwiches f/m scratch.

joanna provided lovely music and brittany brought "margarete" her final project for sculpture class

lovely ladies all dressed up!

including Butchy!

prim and proper...in appearance--you should have heard the conversations, though!

we had a lovely evening full of laughter and talking about the future and just enjoying each other's company. it never fails though--i do one of these big things at the end of my time with a group, and then say "why haven't we been doing this from the beginning?!?"

this is the second group of girls that i have led and i learn so much from each group. with the first group, i was in school and much more intellectual and focused on being the perfect leader and discipler. we had very intense theological discussions and learned so much about the Bible. it took me a while to learn how to be vulnerable with them, but it was amazing when i finally did! this second group started a few weeks before i got sick and had my world turned upside-down. half of the group that started with me ended up dropping out, and we had a few girls add over time. i have been more real with them--honest about where i am and not trying to be the "perfect bible study leader". i have not been the most godly woman for them and sometimes i wonder if i'm doing things right, but it's very real. they know that i will not judge them no matter what they are going through or dealing with, and i feel comfort that they will not judge me either. i've learned a lot for sure. with the first group, i honestly took a lot of credit (in my head) for their spiritual growth and walks with the Lord. i held myself responsible for leading them and counseling them, and took any issues that they dealt with very personally. now i have learned--for real, not just saying it this time--that NONE of it is up to or because of me. i am a very flawed vessel that God has graciously chosen to use to water these lovely ladies. I have to let go--these are grown women. they make mistakes, i make mistakes, and ultimately it is in God's hands. all i can do is speak the truth when led, pray for them constantly, love them unconditionally, and give them over to the Lord.

i don't think i will take on any new college groups after this. i think it is time for me to start trying to cultivate relationships with women who are at the same lifestage as me--and who won't be leaving in the near future! it's hard for me to let this go b/c i have learned that teaching the bible and having these types of relationships is vital for me to grow and see the Lord working in my life. i see Him so much more clearly through those around me, and there is no question in my mind that when we are all gathered together to study that He is showing things we wouldn't understand otherwise. there is something so passionate about college students, but sometimes i find that spending time with them makes me discontent with where i am now, and that is definitely not how it should be. i miss the constant mental stimulation, & meeting new people from different walks of life. grown up life is so mundane in comparison! i sit at my desk and enter the same payments for the same patients and see the same faces every day. i am not the type of person who has to have constant excitement and drama--i am extremely stable and commitment minded, but i just loved using that intellectual part of myself. my brain is turning into mush now! but i know that this is just a season. i need to remind myself to just be thankful for stability right now, b/c a lot of people would give anything for it.

i have also been very discouraged about marriages right now. i feel like i am just surrounded by relationships that are really deeply struggling. thankfully, patrick and i are doing well as we approach our 3 year anniversary, but i can't help but be a little rattled. i know so many women who are dealing with husbands who are being unfaithful. it just hurts. i want to shake their husbands and tell them to wake up and appreciate their wives who are so amazing! i'm sad about the whole jon & kate plus 8 thing...i know it's kind of silly, but it just makes me sad to see such a public disentigration of something that was once so uplifting. it makes me want to work so much harder on our relationship to do anything we can to protect it. i'm so happy that we're taking our trip to florida next week!! it will be a much needed time to get away from the daily drudgery that we get so bogged down in.

the end for tonight

i made chocolate eclairs last night (& again tonight) totally from scratch!

piped shells before baking


baked, split, and iced, but not filled

creamy eclair goodness!

you should be impressed, and jealous! ;)

Honestly, i've never liked eclairs, but a co-worker had a birthday today and that was her favorite dessert...so of course i had to make it from scratch! ironically, she was not working today (gah!) but everyone else enjoyed them, and hopefully she will be in tomorrow b/c i made more for my bible study girls and there are some left. well, i may not have liked them before, but i sure do love them now! i think i had 8! AAHHH!!! bad plan two weeks before going to the beach!

Other deliciousness:
GIANT cinnamon roll/cream cheese danish YUM!

I also made some of my bread which came out especially beautiful this time, but I haven't taken a picture yet.

some friends, coworkers, and family members have been saying that i really need to be "in the baking business" haha, but after so long of saying that it's my dream and i would love to BUT..., i have finally decided to start towards that. just a little, but at least being proactive. i am working on putting together a menu and pricing list and over the next few months will be working towards that. just doing desserts and baked goods for people as needed to see if there is any real business in this, and maybe eventually growing. small small steps for now, but let me know if you need anything! i will try to make anything that people request. we'll see how it goes, but maybe this could be a nice little side thing for when we have kids and i'm not doing the office thing anymore.

my remaining roses have survived thus far, and are gorgeous! here is the one that remained on the decapitated bush:


i realized that butch has always loved roses (as evidanced bythis earlier post: http://sarahe5484.blogspot.com/2009/02/sweetness.html)
and she really loved my birthday roses f/m patrick


she also loves mud


i have tons more i want to write, but i'm so tired!! will update again soon.