Tie One On Tuesday!

Yahoo! It's ONE day before my 40th birthday! To get this party started I thought I would share with you my favorite all time drinks. Now, I know what you are thinking-aren't all the cocktails on Tie One On Tuesday your favorites. Well, most of them are. I have tried lots and lots of drinky drinks-some fab and some...ummmm...are not. So, get out your pen and paper and make sure you have this list ready when you see me next time and you can buy me a drink.


If I am out at a bar and just want a simple drink, I will have a gin and tonic with extra lime. I love the taste of Juniper mixed with the fizz of the tonic. Here's where you need to take notes. The Gin I like is Martin Miller. Their tag line is, "Born of Love, Obsession and Madness." Just like me! Check out the website-you will see a man in a ruffled shirt with Chuck Taylors and a poodle. Now you see why I like this gin. Oh yeah, the taste is smooth to the point of being brilliant.

Let's say that I am at the beach or lounging by the pool-cause that can really happen here in the Pacific Northwest-who cares if I am wearing a parka and rain gear at the time, I can still lounge. When I don't want something heavy or too sweet, the drink I look for is a Singapore Sling. If you are ever inclined to make me one-here's what you need:
Singapore Sling
1 1/2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce cherry liqueur
1/4 ounce Cointreau liqueur
1/4 ounce benedictine
4 ounces pineapple juice
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
1/3 ounce grenadine
1 dash bitters
Throw all these wonderful flavors into a shaker with ice. Fill a Collins glass with ice and strain. Garnish with pineapple and a cherry.

Well, here we are, winding down the night and you want to mix me up a nightcap. Get your shaker out and mix up this yummy treat.
The Nightcap
1 oz Kahlua
1 Dash Nutmeg
6 oz Milk
1 tsp Powdered Sugar
Heat milk and add the sugar and the Kahlua. Sprinkle Nutmeg on top. Tuck me into bed and say goodnight.

Yummm...my head is buzzing and I haven't even had a drink yet! I'm off to lala land to rest up for my big birthday celebration tomorrow. Turning 40 requires lots of cocktails ,cupcakes and kisses!

Scrappy Dog Sunday!

We have all sorts of visitors this time of year. Some come by for a quick snack. 

The girls are master hunters and one quick yell of SQUIRREL and they are out the door. This time though, they were a little taken back.

Other times, Lola is ready to attack any mouse, ball or bush that gets in her way.

Peter.....not so much.

And where is Jujube during all this? Dreaming of doggy treats, of course!

Feel Good Friday!

What is that big bright orb in the sky? Could it be that sunshine has finally made it's way to Portland? Here are a few things you can enjoy while I spend a few minutes working on my tan.

I can only wish that I looked this cute riding a bike. I love her little basket. Comfortstitching not only has mad embroidery skills but the quilts are just as adorable.

I am in LOVE with Hello Adorable! If it's adorable-it's here! From crafty, critters, to edible-this blog has it. The cool part, besides the Hello Kitty Chip Maker (which would make a great birthday present!), is that you can log in and suggest items for the world to see.

For the past few months I have been on a baking craze. Fancy Flours is THE place for beautiful baking accessories. I am totally fascinated by printed wafer paper. They have them for different holidays and make wafers for chocolate. So beautiful!

Ahhhh....I can feel the sun warming my buns as we speak! Enjoy your weekend-go out a get a little Vitamin D, get your hands dirty in your garden or just lay in the pool and enjoy a beverage. It's the weekend, kick back and relax.

Little Men

Searching through patterns I grabbed these out of an old envelope. I opened them up and realized 1-they had never been used and 2-they were all boys. I have never seen these little men before and think they are just too cute. I like to think that the chicken is his pet and not his dinner. ;). Happy Stitching!

What's Love Got To Do With It?

Before I get into a rant about love. I would like to let Marzidoats that she needs to email me so I can mail out her prize. Also, stay tuned next week - there will be a birthday surprise. Okay, on to my ramblings.....

It's Wednesday and time for another leap of faith. Actually, today is just me ranting so you have my permission to leave, grab a beverage and a snack, peruse Facebook-do whatever you want. I'm just warning you that you will miss my views on leaps of faith regarding love. If you can live with yourself, then I forgive you. If you are curious, sit back and listen.

A few years ago, I was down. Not just your normal down but just about as low as you can get, heading towards the gutter down. I was in a toxic relationship with just about every person in my life. I hated myself and everyone around me. I KNEW that there was no one for me out there and then I met my future husband, OMP. You see, if I didn't take a leap of faith and give him a chance, I would have never met the man of my life and pretty much have the most perfect life in the world. Here's the deal. There is NO REASON that you deserve to be in any toxic relationship-this includes friendships. If you are not feeling 100% awesome when you are with a person than it's not good for you.

See, here's the thing that gets to me. I get so frustrated when hearing that relationships are complicated. That they are hard work. The people that preach this are full of it. If you have a healthy loving relationship, it's a breeze. It is definitely not work. Compromises are a part of every day life but they should in no way curb who you really are, unless of course you are an ass, in which-you need to quit reading this and get some therapy. Not one day that I have been married have I ever thought my relationship was work.

Also, give people a chance. If I had not taken a chance on OMP, I would have missed out on the best person ever. Sure he has quirks-so do I. I would never think of changing him. So what if that person isn't your exact idea of perfection, I'm betting if you gave them a chance-they might prove you wrong and if they aren't the person of your dreams, move on to the next. Don't drag it out please-that's just ugly and boring and not fair to anyone involved.

Now if you are still reading, here's what I want you to take with you concerning love and leaps of faith. 1-You always deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. 2-Take a chance on someone. Who knows, they might be your very own OMP.  Love is always a leap of faith-never give up.

Animation, It's Not Just for Kids Anymore.

I'll admit it, I am a big kid at heart. 9 times out of 10 if you ask me what I'm thinking about, my answer will be candy. Another "childish" thing that I love is animation. I truly believe that at any given time SpongeBob Square Pants will be on and I have probably seen the episode. Now some animation is not quite for kids but is beautifully done and will definitely raise a chuckle.

Les triplettes de Belleville (Triplets of Belleville) has to be one of my favorite animated movies. Although it doesn't have a lot of dialogue, it  really doesn't needs it. The soundtrack is as quirky as the three sisters in the movie. The story takes place in France and involves a kidnapping, a grandma, the fattest dog ever and frogs, lots and lots of frogs. This film will make you giggle, dance and cheer for more.

Remember when I told you I loved SpongeBob(of course you do, it was only two paragraphs ago, duh), well a few years ago, he made a movie and it was good! Not just okay, but seriously funny good. SpongeBob and Patrick must prove that they are men and not kids by going to Shell City to recover Neptune's crown before all of Bikini Bottom is doomed. Did I mention that it has a cameo of The Hoff (David Hasselhoff to the laymen)? Sometimes if I really want to annoy OMP I will walk around the house yelling, "I'M  A GOOFY GOOBER!"

Now the last film on our little animated jaunt has a little bit more of an edge to it. Rock & Rule came out when I was teenager and I was so excited, not really because of the plot but because most of the music was done by Debbie Harry and Cheap Trick. Rock & Rule was the kid brother of Heavy Metal in a kind of round about way. It did have more of a plot and  a bad guy that looks like Mick Jagger's older brother strung out on caffeine. The bad "Karl: Jagger decides to rule the world by stealing a punk rock angel's voice (that just sounds so wrong together). Her friends think otherwise and a rock n' roll jag ensues.

There are so many great animated movies out there that are just waiting to be discovered. Some are for all ages while others are a bit more "blue". Whatever your preference is, there is something out there for you. If you want, I can come over and watch it with you, I'll even bring the candy.

Scrappy Dog Sunday!

The rain just keeps coming. It's okay,we have lots of fun inside, romping around the house.

And chasing our toys

And causing all tkinds of mayhem.

Yeah, we are a bunch of rebel rousers in the house.