I've Been Boo'd!

How many times has that title shown up in your blog reader today? And I get to join in the fun! Two of my favorite bloggers gave me this blog candy today. LeAnn from Tollesons4Him and Brig from The Heckathorn Family are awesome! Thank you, ladies! Go check out their blogs. Right now!

Wait, you also need to go check out Angie's pretty purse. She made Sunny Anderson's Party Popcorn (from the Food Network) and Sunny left a comment. I'm super jealous! It makes me wonder what would happen if I actually said something nice about Nicholas Sparks...

A Ghostly Poem

Remember the last time I wrote a poem for Poetry Friday? It was called To My Husband and it mirrored the poetic stylings of William Carlos Williams. Well, today, in honor of Halloween I am trying my hand once again at writing poetry. It's a cinquain poem which was invented by Adelaide Crapsey in the early 1900's. It's made up of only 5 lines, with each line containing a certain amount of words (1, 2, 3, 4, 2) and syllables (2, 4, 6, 8, 2). Don't worry, you won't be tested on this. Enjoy!

Ghosts by Ali the Lazy Dog

Ghosts
Happy spirits
Running, laughing, spinning
Feigning surprise, giving candy
Children

Homemade Tomato Sauce

Someone needs to tell the tomatoes that it's almost November. My dad's 4 tomato plants are still producing even though they are far from pretty. But they're still edible. And if you just can't imagine dining on bruschetta or fresh tomato and mozzarella salad in October then go ahead and freeze up a batch of homemade tomato sauce before you pull up those tomato plants for good.

10 large tomatoes

olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp sugar

1 tsp dried Italian seasoning

Score with an X and drop into boiling water. When the skins start to peel back, place tomatoes into an ice bath.


Remove tomatoes from ice bath and peel off the skins.

Squeeze out the juice and seeds.

Put into a blender and add sauteed garlic. Blend till smooth. Pour into a large pot and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer. After 1 hour, add salt, sugar and Italian seasoning. Simmer for another hour uncovered. Makes about 3 cups of sauce.

Wordless Wednesday: Arkansas Tumbleweed

Happy Birthday To You...Woof, Woof

So back on August 9, someone from Georgia found my blog searching for "lazy dog in a birthday hat pics." I'm sure they left feeling lost, helpless, and dejected because alas, I had no pictures of lazy dogs in birthday hats. Thanks a lot, Google, way to get someone's hopes up like that. Anyway, just so no one leaves my blog again feeling lost, helpless, and dejected, here are some pictures from Lexie the Husky's 9th birthday party taken a couple of weeks ago.

Here we are playing musical chairs. Poor huskies, they lost everytime.

And here we are playing red light green light. Since it was Lexie's birthday, she got to be "it." She didn't really understand the rules of the game, though, so Big pup had to help. We all had a great time:)

Atlanta

We had a nice weekend here at the Home of the Lazy Dog. We went to the Fall Carnival at Big pup's school Saturday night and had a great time. The boys played games, won prizes, and ate candy. Remember the horrible April Fools Joke I played on him earlier this year? Well, he finally got his revenge. He put me in jail at the carnival and my bail was set at 4 dollars. After 5 minutes, I was released. I think the school probably paid for their new cafeteria from that game alone.



It's Nascar Monday! Yesterday's race was in Atlanta. At the spring race at AMS, Elliott Sadler finished dead last. He did a little better this time around finishing 25th. At the end of the race Elliott asked his crew chief if they had adjusted the track bar like he asked them to. His crew chief's response? No. ::sigh:: Why wouldn't they listen to their own driver? Elliott had a potty mouth during this race. He wasn't happy. I wasn't happy. Maybe they can get things worked out during the off-season and we all can enjoy 2009.

With only 3 more races to go, Jimmie Johnson continues to lead in the points standings.

Carl Edwards gets the win, Scott Riggs gets the red lantern, and we're in Texas (literally!) next Sunday.

No Blisstini For Me

Hey, guys! I'm guest posting today over at Sassy Irish Lassie. And after you read about my life of crime, if you want to delete me from your blog roll, I'll understand. Really. I will.

Thanks Kat for letting me get that off my chest!

Survival & Progress, Luck & Faith

Today is the anniversary of the 1st barrel ride down Niagara Falls. Unless you count the test run done by a cat named Iagara. And, unfortunately for Iagara, nobody's counting that. On October 24, 1901, Annie Edson Taylor hopped in an oak barrel and dropped 173 feet down Niagara Falls. And with her lucky heart-shaped pillow to accompany her, she survived. Just as Iagara did before her.

Anchored to the Infinite by Edwin Markham

B-11

I took this picture last Friday because, at the time, 2.59 for a gallon of gas was cheap. Now, just 5 days later, it has dropped all the way to 2.35. I find myself only putting about 10 gallons in at a time, hoping that the next time I need gas it will have gone down even more. It's been fluctuating a lot lately and when it goes up a penny I start to sweat and my heart beats a little faster. Do I go ahead and fill up the whole tank? Do I only fill it up halfway? Do I take my changes and wait another day to see if the price goes back down?

Aside from tagging along with my grandma to the VFW for bingo, this is as close to gambling as I've ever been.

Wordless Wednesday: 83% Full

A Viral Infection

Hi! This is Angie from my pretty purse. Ali called me and asked if I would do a guest post for her today. It seems her computer caught a nasty virus (presumably) from Project Playlist and is at the computer hospital.

I thought I would tell a cute story about her oldest son, Big pup. You see, Big pup has always loved my belly. Ever since he was a toddler, he'd lift my shirt up a little bit and lay his head on my belly. Weird? Yes, but cute nonetheless. Here's a conversation that took place during my last visit:

Big pup: Angie, I love your belly.

Me: Awww, thank you!

Ali: What about mine, do you love my belly?

Big pup: No, just Angie's. Yours looks like a bean bag.

Isn't that adorable?!

Make That Thirty-Five

Have you ever noticed how my blog posts tend to be a little on the short side? That's because I'm really not that much of a talker. My boys, on the other hand, oh my word do they like the sound of their own voices! And I don't know if it's because of hormones or the full moon or bad parenting but those voices sure are grating on my nerves this week. I'm looking forward to today, when both boys will be spending the day and night with their grandparents. And I can enjoy some much needed solitude.

At Twenty-Eight by Amy Fleury

Someone's Got To Do It

It seems like lately whenever I look over at Big pup he has his finger in his nose. I don't want to embarrass him by yelling, "Stop picking your nose!" so I'll usually say something like, "Do you need a Kleenex?" But he always says no and continues picking his nose. Apparently, 6 year olds don't take hints very well.

So when I caught him doing it the other day I said, "What are you doing?" And he said, "Pickin' boogers. It's my job."

He may not understand the meaning of subtlety, but he has a good work ethic.

Wordless Wednesday: OKC Vacation

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

The American Beautyberry

This is an American Beautyberry. It's a shrub that grows wild in the south and southeastern United States and is a good source of food for birds, deer, raccoons, possums and other wildlife. Our property is surrounded by it. And everytime I see one of these shrubs I want to break off a branch and eat it. I don't know why. Maybe because it reminds me so much of Nerds on a rope.

Charlotte

I was reading a bedtime story to the boys last night when I heard barking in the backyard. It takes a lot for huskies to actually bark so I looked out the window and saw them focused on 2 copperheads. WD killed the snakes but not before Howard got bit. I called the vet and she said he'd be fine so I did some googling and found out that copperhead bites to dogs weren't fatal. I relayed all this info to Howard but he wasn't buying it. Like any husky, he was VERY vocal about how much pain he was in. I felt so bad for him. If he would've asked me for a pony I would have bought one.




It's Nascar Monday!

The race was in Charlotte Saturday night. The bad thing about night races is that they usually end past my bedtime. And sure enough, I fell asleep on the couch with about 50 laps to go. How old am I that I can't stay up past 10 o'clock these days? Next thing you know I'll start buying metamucil and reusing aluminum foil.

Elliott Sadler's car was a little on the loose side. Actually, I think he said it was "out of control." He finished 20th. Jimmie Johnson is still leading in points but not by a landslide. It's looking to be an exciting finish to the championship with just 5 races to go.

Jeff Burton gets the win, A.J. Allmendinger gets the red lantern, and we're in Martinsville next Sunday.

We're A Little Literary

When Big pup came home from school yesterday he had a sticker of a giraffe on his shirt. He said he got it in Library for being good. That reminded me of yesterday's big literary announcement, so I asked him, "Did y'all discuss the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature?" "I don't think so," he said. No, I guess they didn't. I mean, how could anyone forget a name like Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clezio?


The head honcho of the Nobel prize pickers, Horace Engdahl, caused an uproar recently when he said the the United States is too "insular and ignorant" in comparison to Europe's literary world.


Engdahl's comments in an interview with the Associated Press drew strong reactions in the U.S., where the head of the U.S. National Book Foundation offered to send Engdahl a reading list of American literature. (from the AP)


Please, in the name of Toni Morrison, Saul Bellow, and John Steinbeck, please don't put Nicholas Sparks on that list.


Engdahl later apologized (kinda, sorta), but I'm still waiting on an apology for A Walk to Remember.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Pie

There's a drawer in the refrigerator that's full of nothing but Newcastles. That's WD's drawer. Then there's another drawer in the refrigerator that holds my treats: cheese sticks, cheese slices, parmesan, cheddar, mozzarella, feta and cream cheese. I like cheese. Cheese just makes everything...better.

So instead of the usual pumpkin pie this holiday season, try this recipe for Pumpkin Cream Cheese pie from Betty Crocker.

Pecan Shortbread Cookie Crust
1 1/2 cups lightly packed crushed shortbread cookies with pecans (16 cookies)
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

Filling
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened (I used a total of 12 oz)
1 package (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves (didn't have 'em, didn't use 'em)
3 eggs
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1 tablespoon milk

1. Heat oven to 375°F. In medium bowl, mix all crust ingredients until crumbly. Press firmly on bottom and side of ungreased 9-inch glass pie plate. Bake about 12 minutes or until light golden brown.

2. In large bowl, beat sugar, 3 tablespoons flour and both packages of cream cheese with electric mixer on low speed until smooth; reserve 1/2 cup. Add all remaining filling ingredients except milk to cream cheese mixture. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl constantly, until smooth. Pour into crust.

3. In small bowl, mix reserved 1/2 cup cream cheese mixture and the milk. Spoon over pumpkin mixture. Cut through cream cheese and pumpkin mixtures with knife in S-shaped curves in one continuous motion. Turn pie plate one-fourth turn and repeat. Cover edge of crust with 2- to 3-inch strip of foil to prevent excessive browning.

4. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean, removing foil for last 15 minutes of baking. Cool 30 minutes. Cover loosely and refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Store in refrigerator.

VERDICT: Mmmmmm! This is how I'm going to make pumpkin pies from now on! I would recommend storing it for at least 24 hours though--not just 4. The extra time hanging out in the fridge took away the overpowering pumpkin taste and made it taste more like a pumpkin cheesecake, which was the taste I was hoping for.

Wordless Wednesday: What Squirrel?

Creepy Crawlies Part 2

California, Florida, Australia, Zxhrbsyllkjwn. I keep forgetting y'all aren't my neighbors. I got a couple of comments the other day about spiders not being an issue for them at this time of the year. And seeing as how I'm surrounded by them, I decided to show the good people of Zxhrbsyllkjwn just what they're missing in Arkansas in October.

And that's just what is outside. Here's what I get to deal with INSIDE MY HOUSE:

To read part 1 of the Creepy Crawlies, which includes my first encounter with a scorpion, please read Go Away, I'm Eating.

Talladega

I'm being featured today over at La Dolce Vita! Head on over there and leave a comment please--LOTS of comments. If I get a whole bunch I might win a necklace which would be great because Kristen makes such beautiful jewelry.

Welcome to the Home of the Lazy Dog! On Mondays, I provide a short Sadler-centric recap of the previous days NASCAR race. No, I'm not kidding. But it's very short. I promise.

Yesterday's race was at Talladega. A track known for 'the big one' (wrecks). Yesterday, it was also known for exploding tires (bringing out 10 yellow flags and 2 red flags), 64 lead changes among 28 drivers (a record), and an exciting finish.

On the last lap, Regan Smith passed Tony Stewart on the inside and crossed the finish line for the win. But officials wouldn't allow it because he had dropped below the yellow line to make the pass and that's a no-no. They ended up scoring Smith in the 18th position.

Elliott Sadler had a good day. He managed to squeeze by all the wrecks and had a good shot of winning the race. On the last lap he made his move but nobody would bumpdraft him so he fell to 10th place. Not bad after starting 40th.

Jimmie Johnson continues to lead the Chase for the Cup in points.

Tony Stewart gets the win, Ryan Newman gets the red lantern and we're under the lights at Lowe's Motor Speedway Saturday night.

Ban This!

Freedom of religion? Check. Freedom to bear arms? Check. Freedom to eat a whole box of Girl Scout Samoa cookies IF I WANT TO? Check. Freedom to read? Che...really? Yep. This week is Banned Books Week. According to the American Library Association (ALA) "BBW celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular." (I'd like to think that extends to blogging, as well.)

Apparently, I love banned books. Although I've never read The Color Purple, I never pass up a chance to watch it when it's on tv. Same with Gone With the Wind. I've read all of the Harry Potter books and enjoyed them all. I own everything by Toni Morrison. I named my husky Howard Silas after Silas Marner. And who doesn't love The Outsiders?

Two questions: 1) Are any of your favorites on the banned book list? and 2) If The Very Hungry Caterpillar can be banned for promoting obesity can someone please ban Nicholas Sparks for being simplistic, predictable and corny? Thanks.

Funny Ha-Ha And Funny Peculiar

Last week when I was on the treadmill (yes, I finally cleaned it off) Little pup came into the room. I turned off my iPod, glanced at the clock and said, "I've got 3 more minutes." And he said, "3 more minutes and I can have a fudgepop?" I laughed, told him he was silly, and he looked at me very seriously and said, "I am not joking."

I got my hopes up the other day that Big pup was going to tell a joke that finally made sense, but alas, it was not meant to be:

Big pup: Knock, knock.
Me: Who's there?
Big pup: Banana.
Me: Banana who?
Big pup: Poo poo butt!

Wordless Wednesday: No Swimming