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"To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe" ----"Anatole France"
"Joyously grasp the ties that bind you, for they lead straight to the heart"---"Wm."
Kimberly...
days when I am sooooo bored. Send address & phone & I just might come visit your
door one of these days. You are only about 5 hours from here. Just like driving to
San Diego just different direction.
Love ya
Rufus is a really funny dog. I've always just talked to him throughout the day and he seems to understand more than I would expect. For example, I can say "Get off the rug" and he seems to know exactly what that means because he gets off the rug and stands on the wood floor or the tile. I learned that years ago when I was trying to do sit ups and he kept trying to sit on my lap (mind you, he's a retriever and not a lap dog). In frustration, I told him to get off and he backed up, but planted himself rightnexttome. I finally said to get off the rug and he did.
If I tell him "No begger dog" he'll leave the kitchen. Today I came home from work and noticed that he had something white on his back leg. I asked, "What's that on your leg?" Rufus looked at both front paws then twisted around and looked at his back leg. When he spotted the leg with a piece of paper on it, he held up his leg.
Last night, I put on a CD to stretch and see if I could tone up my achey body. I've never done Yoga at home. I got to the Downward Dog pose where the head and arms are down and the butt is in the air. I look up and Rufus is in front of me in the exact sme position, tail wagging. I thought it was a fluke and went on. When I lowered myself to the floor, he laid on his belly. When I went back up to the downward dog position, he did too. Finally, when I stretched to the plank position, he crawled under my tummy and wagged his tail in my face. I fell over laughing and he sat on me.
Rufus sits on everything and anything, including the cats. Then again, he also head butts the cats and other dogs. When that dog dies, one of you is going to need to come out here and talk me off a bridge.
Good for you getting back to the gym. If I don't get layed off in July, I'm going to get back to the gym.
http://www.goodmans.net/get_item_bl-72500_ball-72500-butter- pickle-mix.htm
It was easy, I just sliced up a bunch of English cucumbers, followed the instructions and used Splenda instead of sugar, added a couple of dried Japanese peppers for a very slight kick, a little thinly sliced onion and a couple of cloves of fresh garlic to each jar and had two good quarts of delicious Bread and Butter pickles.
Right now I'm finishing up sugar-free apple butter. I peeled, cored and chopped enough Granny Smith and Fuji apples to fill my crock pot. I mixed about a cup and a half of Splenda, cinnamon and cloves. I think I added a dash of Jamaican Allspice. I started it on high for an hour and then let it simmer for 12 more hours on low. The longer you cook it, the better. After that, I took the lid off and let it cook for another 5 or 6 hours until it simmered down and the juices evaporated out. Once it was nice and thick, I ran it through the blender. I'm getting ready to can it now, but you can just put it in a sterile jar and keep it in the fridge.
Tonight, I'm also making sugar-free cherry preserves.
I'm someone who actually eats in her sleep. Woke up this morning with an empty bag of Strawberry Kellog's Fruity Snacks in the bed. Don't even know where they came from. I don't take sleep aids anymore and I still end up with food wrappers in bed at least once a week. I was a sleep walker/talker when I was a kid. My father would often find me in the back yard or on the back porch in the middle of the night. It was scarey for them because the back porch was 2 floors from the ground. I don't think my parents got a lot of sleep.
When I moved away from home and moved in with friends when I was a teenager, my roommates would call the house in the middle of the night for fun because I would answer the phone in my sleep and talk nonsense. The other morning I woke up and found the TV on (not unusual), but also found myself wearing not only a different shirt than I went to sleep in, but two others as well. Not sure why I needed to sleep in three PJ tops.
Personally, I don't think that calories between midnight and 5:00 am should count,but I wonder if they are the reason for my endless struggle.
If you find me on your doorstep some morning, turn me aound and point me back to Arizona.
I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com a while back and love it. Not sure if it's what you're looking for, but it's pretty good.
- 1 1/2 cups prepared yellow mustard
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar (Dark brown gives it a deeper flavor, but light is fine also)
- 3/4 cup cider vinegar
- 3/4 cup beer
- 1 tablespoon chili powder (if it’s mild, I add more)
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper (Don’t worry about it if you don’t have the white pepper. Not sure why I still add it, habit I guess)
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (If you don’t like hot foods, start with ¼ tsp and add more if you want)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons liquid smoke flavoring (If I’m doing pulled pork, I usually use hickory flavored)
- 1 teaspoon Louisiana-style hot sauce, or to taste (I love Red Devil brand. Not as hot as others, but vinegary. Don’t use Tabasco unless it’s the green version)
- In a heavy non-reactive saucepan, stir together the mustard, brown sugar, vinegar, and beer. Season with chili powder and black, white, and cayenne peppers. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, and cook for about 20 minutes. DO NOT BOIL, or you will scorch the sugar and peppers.
- Mix in the Worcestershire sauce, butter, and liquid smoke. Simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes. Taste, and season with hot sauce to your liking. Pour into an airtight jar, and refrigerate for overnight to allow flavors to blend. The vinegar taste may be a little strong until the sauce completely cools.
Yvette
