Depressed...

We got her at the pound. There were four adoptions ahead of us. Everyone wanted her because she was an adorable bundle of red fur. They told us she was a Sheba Inu but not show quality. Someone else told us she might have been part chow. The pound said Sheba Inus were dogs meant to hunt bears in packs. But she was an adorable little puppy.

And, 18 years is a long time for any relationship to last. But when they come to an end it's soooooo sad.

Kit had come home with us when all the other adoptions fell through. It was just meant to be. The kids wanted her so badly that I can't imagine what would have happened if one of those other people had been lucky enough to get her.

Kara used to put her in her doll stroller and take her around the neighborhood - just like a little baby.

We took her on hikes up to the mountains and she was always so excited when winter rolled around and we headed off to go cut down our Christmas Trees.

She loved to be outside with the kids.

If there was a noise outside, she would jump up to go see what it was.

And she would sit and guard the house from the front porch

And Kit loved Kats - she was kind of a Kit Kat herself

She slept at the foot of the bed until she couldn't jump up there any more then she laid down on the floor right at the edge of the bed.

We used to go for runs until she couldn't any more then we went for long walks to Starbucks. We'd sit and have a cup of coffee while she recuperated and then we'd head back.

When she was twelve the vet warned us that she probably wouldn't live much longer - maybe two more years, if we were lucky. So when she hit fourteen we started thinking about getting another dog. We got Sasha. She was a rambunctious Siberian Husky who drove Kit crazy - some of the time. So, we had to have a little sanctuary where Kit could escape from that crazy puppy who was jumping all over her. We never let Sasha go in our bedroom. That was Kit's place to go when she needed a break.

But she loved Sasha too.

Finally, she started having real problems. She couldn't see any more, and she couldn't hear but she could still smell. And, when her arthritis got too bad I took her to the vet to get a steroid shot. She was better for a while. But then she started falling down. And, one day she went out on the deck and almost fell off it.

I started worrying about her falling off and getting hurt. She could lay there in pain. I didn't want her life to end that way. So, finally I called a vet to come to the house.

We were all home with her when she went to sleep. She was calm and peaceful. But it was so horribly sad to have to say goodbye to her. She was such a good dog.

Fashion Fail or Fashion Forward

I bought some new ankle warmers this weekend. I know very 80's but a little less so than leg warmers. I just didn't want to cover up my Shrek colored toes. It's such a pretty OPI polish that I didn't want to hide it.


My husband didn't think it was so pretty. First, he said the color made me look a bit like a troll. I can live with that.

But, when he said they were the stupidest thing he'd ever seen, I thought that was going a little far. Rude-Dude!

So, we got into a bit of a spat over that. I don't care - I'm still going to wear them - take that!

Earth-Friendly Friday

What percentage of U.S. rivers originate in national forests?

Eighty percent. The rivers provide clean drinking water to 60 million people in thirty-eight states. They also are the home to thousands of species of fish.

We need to protect our rivers and our forests.

Dark Places

I've started reading a new book. I liked the title. I know, you can't judge a book by it's...cover...and the title is even less than the cover. But it was also on the New York Times Best Seller List so I thought, "what the heck" and "why not?"

I picked it up and I'm about half way through the 345 pages. But this isn't my usual type of book. It's slower than I usually like and there is to much "real" drama in the story. I usually prefer horror - 'cuz it's not as horrible as some of the stuff that happens in homes across America. But this keeps me reading. I don't know. Maybe I'll make it to end of the book. I don't know.

But right now, I'm going to get back to it.

Gillian Flynn must have done something write 'cuz I'm still reading and, like I said, this isn't my usual choice for a book to curl up in bed with and twiddle away the hours.

Zombie Squish - FREE VIDEO GAME

So my sons and a couple of their friends have been working on a video game app for the Windows 7 phone and, yes, it's a zombie game.

So, if you have a Windows 7 phone, you can download it for FREE and start squishing those zombies before they take over the world. And, with Halloween just around the corner, there's no better time to start getting your game-on with Zombies.

Try it! I think you'll like it - I did. In fact, it's almost addicting.

ARGHHH mateys, what could be more fun than squishing some pirate zombies?



Only listening to the sounds of the green slime oozing over the screen...


And, if that's not enough to get you to click on over to grab some free gaming fun, just look at the zombies getting slimed...



Now, that's what I call some good green fun ;)

If you want to read up on it before you start playing, check it out here.

There are three ways to download the game for free to your phone. Check them out here.

Pints to Pasta

I did it!!! I finished the 10k which is 6.2 miles. I've done it before but it was HOT, actually one of the hottest mornings we've had here in Portland. So, I was struggling.

I wanted to run 10 minute miles. I didn't quite do as well as I wanted but I was happy my pace was under 11 minutes per mile. I just have to keep practicing and working to get faster.

How 'bout you - do you have any fitness goals you're working on? running it

TrueBlood End of Season

It was the end for TrueBlood - at least for the season. And I had to do something. I mean it's going to be months before I see my HBO friends again and after getting to know them so well from reading their stories - thanks to Charlaine Harris, it's hard to be away from them for so long.

So, I invited a few girlfriends over to share the finale. And we had to eat and drink a little. So I made a Fanpire Cake, some magical cupcakes and we said a toast with a little "Bat Juice". Oh, and we had a little finger food ;)

Here's how I did it.

The finger food was just breadsticks that I stuck almond slivers on and brushed with butter before I baked them.

I made a couple of cakes and frosted them with a whipped cream frosting then I covered it with red fondant.

I sprayed some Wilton Color Mist - Food Color Spray on top of the cake using a vampire stencil. Then I added some frosting to cover the connections.


And, added some fondant bats to finish it off.


I bought a couple of labels and taped them over my favorite wines to give them some added TrueBlood charm


It was a fun party but I was disappointed with what the writers did to Tara. It had me crying in my green witch hat cupcakes.