Cat, pugs and plant oh my!

I am home today with another snow day. I promised my sisters I would blog at least once a week but there really has not been a whole lot to blog about except for snow and random pug pictures.  Tonight's blog was supposed to be about going to the casino and eating at the yummy buffet with Joe, Chris and Sean.  Because of the weather it's postponed to next week so stay tuned.   

Here is my boy Milo who is an inside cat. Last summer he escaped and was missing for two weeks. He was lucky to find himself a nice neighbor who took care of him and fed him. They were ready to adopt him but decided to put signs up first since they knew he must belong to someone and wasn't some stray because of his calm, loving nature and he was also declawed. Milo is about 18 and he is a sweet boy..

Ping and Zoe love to sleep with my hubby and I every night. This is how the two of them were sleeping when I woke up the other morning.  She is the princess and thinks she pretty much runs the show.

PING

ZOE

Here is a plant my hubby brought me home one day. It's a hardy little rubbery plant that blooms a few times a year. I love it and it sits on my kitchen table along with my Jade plant.  I love it's beautiful flowers.  They are so unusual.  What's the name of this plant Del, Dawn or anyone?  I can't think of it.

Organizing old photo albums and Pugs of course.. :)

I have had the past week off from work and go back in tomorrow for one day.  We have had exams at our high school, which means half days, so there is no need for lunches or lunch ladies. :)  I have been wanting to organize my albums for a long time but never got motivated enough to do it.  Since the weather has been so cold I figured the time is now.  I pretty much stayed in my robe the past few days and loved it.  I have been on a mission and my mission is complete except for a little labeling.  My next project will be  working on getting my favorite pictures from these scanned and put on my webshots and on discs for hubby, me and my children.  I want to do one of our wedding and one for each of the boys from when they were born till now..  

I didn't get pictures of the mess I had from the past few days but here is one from this morning before I finished my last album..

Here is the old sticky albums I got rid of.  I think I had to pull pages off of about six albums.  What a job that was.. I found using a blow dryer after pulling up a pice of one end help to loosen some stubborn glue. 

I put them into some lovely albums that the pictures slid right into the sleeves.

My robe was pretty much my attire for the past few days..  Notice you don't see my face.. It wouldn't be purdy.. 

Here are my finished albums.. I just have to label the sides of them with a brief description what's in there and the dates..

And of course we can't forget about my girls.  They have enjoyed mom being home these past few days even though I have been busy.  They still get to share some of my healthy snacks and lick a few bowls and of course that's what makes a pug happy. :)

PING

ZOE

Deer back riding and a walk in the snowy woods.

Yesterday Joe and I took a walk in the woods.  We  had just gotten over another snow storm and the weather was pretty nice and no wind.  We decided to take the pups for a walk in the back of our house in the clearing.  They were not the happiest about it so we brought them back inside before our woods adventure.. 

Since the pups wouldn't go potty in the snow we had to bring them to the special spot where Joe and I put leaves for them right under the over hang.  I took a few pictures but won't show you the ones where the girls are going potty.  I promised them I wouldn't. LOL

After the girls did their business we brought them back inside the house and decided to venture out into the woods.  We came across this wild wooded deer and I decided to hop on and see If I could do some deer back riding.    It didn't work out to well because when I kicked the side of him with my foot he tipped over.. LOL  So Joe and i decided to go on foot..

The woods were so pretty and peaceful.  You could hear the birds rustling in the trees and bushes.  We came across  cool icicles dripping from some of the huge rocks in the woods.  It was a cool site to see.

When we were through with our hike in the woods we headed back to our house.  You can see the house from our clearing down below our house.  This spring we will be planing fruit trees, veggie gardens,  red raspberries and blueberries. :)

Our birdies were  having a snick snackity when we came back.  We actually took a four mile walk around the neighborhood when we were done because the weather was so nice.

Sleeping puggies

I just love these sleeping faces. The girls were sleeping so soundly on the edge of the couch the other day.. I couldn't resist taking their pictures. Ping tends to sleep with her eyes open quite often.

Ping

Zoe

Another snowy day in Connecticut

I didn't have to go into work today being that it snowed  and I work for the school system.  It does have it's ups and downs.  We have to make up the days we miss, so the more snow days we get, the later we get out of school in the summer.  I would rather be home when it's warm outside and I can go for a walk or hang out in my garden instead of being stuck inside because it's so cold out and it's dangerous to drive in the snow.  But the puppies and I made the best of it.  I snuggled with them on the couch a bit and tried to get motivated with my exercising which is difficult.  I would rather be out walking..   

 Here are a few more snow pictures from today..

PING AND ZOE OBLIVIOUS TO THE SNOW OUTSIDE.

Ping and Zoe don't like having to go out in the snow. Especially the snowy potty breaks.  Joe and I save leaves and put them under the over hang for them to use so they don't have to walk in the snow.   Joe even puts boards down to protect the leaves in a big storm and lifts them up when it's over.  It works like a charm and my babies are happy.. I know.. They are spoiled.. ha ha  

Here they are not too happy about the snow and unsure about getting off the steps..

PING

ZOE

MY GIRLS

Tinky's Little Pinky computer

For Christmas my sister Adele got herself a cute little note book lap top computer.  I fell in love with it and thought one like hers would be perfect for me to use when I'm watching TV with Joe downstairs, outside in my garden and even taking it on the road with me.   So I went out and bought myself an early birthday present.. :)    It's an Acer that  I purchased at Walmart for around 350 and it ended up being about 400 with the repair plan.   I got it in a cute little pink color.... Girly.. Just the way I like it.    The only thing it's missing is glitter.. LOL   I have been having computer issues with my big computer and need to drop it off to get looked at again.   It will be nice having Tinky's Little Pinky to use while it's gone.  

TINKY'S LITTLE PINKY COMPUTER

Check out my cute mouse I bought..

I found this cute little pink backback at Walmart for around 7 dollars.  It's perfect and small just like Pinky..

This is how we do it!!  I have my lap desk that fits my computer and mouse.  Notice the coffee on the table?  Look at those cute pugalicous babies.   That's how they snuggle with  me every night..

Cheese!  What could be better..  Tinky with pugs, coffee and her Pinky..

Pugs, snow and ice

Joe and I had just come back from  grocery shopping and Zoe ended up getting herself tangled up in the  bags while Ping was waiting to see if we brought her home any goodies..  

It's Sunday and last night and into this morning we had another snowy, icy, messy storm.  This morning the freezing rain was coming down. The snow and ice are melting a little now.  Joe took these pictures this morning of the ice on the plants.  I think you will have to click on the picture to see it better.  Anyway, I am sick of the snow and cold and ready for my hikes, gardens and  springtime.

August Rush

If you haven't seen the movie August Rush go out and rent it. It's awesome. The music and the story line was wonderful. It was more then I expected. I have a crush on the lead male actor.. Jonathan Rhys Meyers, shall I say.. (Hottie) Joe and I loved the movie and I'm downloading music from the sound track on Itunes. It's awesome!!!!!

Here is a link to the movie's website.

Autumn Rush

My Girls.. Ping and Zoe... The ruffs of my life.. :)

I am married and have three grown sons that I love dearly but I have two girls that I never gave birth to that I love to pieces.  They are my pug girls Ping and Zoe.  Ping is the oldest.  We bought her from a family that breed their pet pug named Daisy.  We had just lost our dog Angel less then a year before that and were thinking of getting a Jack Russell.  I ran a daycare in my home at the time so I was still trying to find a dog that was small, low maintenance and was excellent with small children.  One day my neighbor brought this pug puppy to my house  that was a friend of hers and I fell instantly in love.  That was the breed for me.   Sooo.... We looked at adds in the paper and found this family that breed their own dog once every year or so.   That was about ten years ago and that's how we got our Pingster.  We loved her so much and I was getting out of daycare and starting a job out of the house that I wanted her to have a companion when I was at work.   We found out that Daisy was having one last litter almost a year later that Ping was born and that's how we got Zoe or the Zoester Toaster as I call her at times.    I love these little girls.  They keep me laughing.   You don't need a blanket when you sit on the couch because they hop in your lap and they have the fur and their own heating unit to keep you warm.  They snuggle up so warm and cuddly in your lap that most of the time I hate to get up and disturb their little snoring faces.  I could go on and on about my babies but all of you fur baby lovers know what I'm talking about.  We had a health scare with Ping a year ago and still don't know exactly what was the cause of her health issues but she is hanging in there.

They were snuggling up so cute on the bed the other day I had a little mini photo shoot.  This is only three of about eight pictures I took.  Zoe is on the left and Ping on the right.

I also have many videos of the little rascals on my youtube link..

Hungry Girls Oh So Yummy For Your Tummy Pumpkin Pie

Well here it is sistas.  It's my healthy pumpkin pie I got off of one of my favorite websites.  Hungrygirl.com   I have a sweet tooth and discovered this when I was sent the recipe in their weekly news letter I signed up for.  Now I must tell you it is not like your typical pumpkin pie so get that out of your head..  Anyway, it's a healthy version that you can even eat for breakfast... Yes, I said for breakfast..  It's light and has a bran cereal crust.  Each yummy slice has only 133 calories.  Just add 20 calories more when you add a light dollop of whip cream..    I make it in a deep dish pan because the first time I made it, it overflowed and all the filling wouldn't fit  so make sure you use a deep dish pie pan or a cake pan.   I also cook it longer then it says.  Make sure you check the center with a fork or toothpick.  This time I should have cooked it a wee bit more but it still came out fantastico... Mwha!!!!

The boring pan I cook it in because of the overflow..

Just the way I like it...

Mmm..mmm... good......

The Recipe

Ingredients:  For Crust  2 cups Fiber One bran cereal (original)  1/4 cup light whipped butter or light buttery spread (like Brummel & Brown)  3 tbsp. Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)  1 tsp. cinnamon  For Filling  One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling!) One 12-oz. can evaporated fat-free milk  1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (likeEgg Beaters Original)  3/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)  1/4 cup sugar-free pancake syrup  1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice  1/2 tsp. cinnamon  1/8 tsp. salt  Optional Topping: Fat Free Reddi-wip or Cool Whip Free  Directions:  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine butter with 2 tbsp. water. Microwave until just melted, and set aside. In a blender or food processor, grind Fiber One to a breadcrumb-like consistency.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine butter mixture and crumbs with remaining ingredients for crust. Stir until mixed well.  Spray an oven-safe 9-inch pie dish lightly with nonstick spray. Evenly distribute crust mixture, using your hands or a flat utensil to firmly press and form the crust. Press it into the edges and up along the sides of the dish. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients for the filling. Mix well. Pour mixture into pie crust. The filling may be taller than the crust -- trust us, this is okay! Bake pie in the oven for 45 minutes. Allow pie to cool slightly. Refrigerate for several hours (overnight is best). Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.  Cut into 8 slices and, if you like, top with Reddi-wip or Cool Whip before serving!  MAKES 8 SERVINGS Serving Size: 1 slice  Calories: 133  Fat: 3g  Sodium: 236mg  Carbs: 28g  Fiber: 9g  Sugars: 8g Protein: 6g POINTS® value 2*