Archive for November, 2011
My Baby.
Lucie my big, red dog loves to eat. What dog does not? She will wait patiently for the last bite of sandwhich, soup broth, or joy of refrigerator clean out day.
When I cook something in a disposable pan I always let Lucie lick the pan. (Don’t worry Grandma M, she never licks the dishes.)
She licks until there is not a morsel left in the pan. Sometimes she trys to eat the pan.
I know that when she starts to get antsy she is either hungry or in need of a walk. Once fed and exercised I get this.
A fat, tired dog in front of the fireplace. A little like getting your baby down for a nap. Just saying.
Thanksgiving 2011.
I had a nice Thanksgiving holiday and I hope you did too. My family prepared dinner and we loaded it into the cars and took it to Grandma M and Grandpa Dingdon’s house. My sister, Crafty and her husband were there along with my daughter, Cinderella, her husband and kids.
Everyone knows how sleepy Thanksgiving dinner can make most people. Well my youngest grandson, D. D. is no exception. This was he first Thanksgiving and here he is enjoying his first family meal.
He loved the turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes. I guess the turkey effect was not lost on him. This is a short time later.
It will be interesting to see if this will be a pattern over the years.
Me? Can’t wait!
Let the Madness Begin.
I had an interesting week. After dodging a bout with the flu, I picked myself up and made my way to the grocery store where I preceded to purchase my Thanksgiving dinner items. I should know from twelve years working in the grocery industry that the Friday before the holiday is a bad time to shop. Trust me.
Still, I ventured out in search of the perfect turkey and yes, so did probably three quarters of the town where I live. I picked up everything on my list. Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, dog food.
Hey, they have to eat too!
After navigating the store aisles with my list in tow and winding around countless other shoppers, I managed to find a checkout line with only several cart-filled people waiting to escape the madness.
I really thought I was out of the woods. Then I was almost hit by three people backing their cars out of parking spaces. All backing up without one glance around to see if someone might possibly be walking behind them.
Whew, finally made it to my car, loaded the groceries, and proceeded to escape the mayhem when,
Wait for it! Another car almost backed into my car!
I will not venture out again until after Christmas. What I have to Christmas shop? Nooooo!
OMG. I forgot the dog food.
Tags: Thanksgiving
Let's Hear It For Family.
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of American Family Insurance for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
I recently heard about a new family-friendly comedy routine called Stand Up For Family. It is sponsored by American Family Insurance and features comics that provide a clean show that both parents and kids will enjoy. Let’s face it; Eddie Murphy is a funny guy but you not going to take your kids to one of his shows.
The AmFam comics talk about their own family experiences while growing up. I think we all have funny stories and fond recollections from our childhoods. The videos by AmFam are both funny and insightful.
I especially like the video featuring Bill Bellamy called Still Free. He talks about how he spent time playing outside instead of in front of a video game. I did not grow up with video games either. He recounts stories about freeze tag. I remember the game well. If you were tagged, you had to freeze.
He also talks about hide and seek. My friends and I played a variation of the game called kick the can. Basically if you were found you had to run and kick a can before the seeker to be free. It was great fun especially when my Dad, Grandpa Dingdon joined us. We also played hide and seek with our German shepherd, Schultz. He never failed to find us. Yes, good times.
It is nice to see shows that the whole family can watch and enjoy. Spending time with family is important and I am glad to see that American Family Insurance is helping families create special memories, great times, and togetherness.
Calling All Garden Geeks!
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done. for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
It is no secret. I LOVE to garden and grow things in general. I was told I should have been born a farmer. That would have been great but since I was born and raised in L.A. there was not much chance of that happening.
I did however raise houseplants as a young teen and continued into adulthood. I still have a few and most every year I plant a garden of vegetables and I always plant some sort of flowers.
I have never planted bulbs so when I heard about Curbside Chaos and visited the site I found how easy it was to use the Garden Guru Tool to find the right bulbs for my region of the United States.
All you do is:
1. Select your country
2. Find your region.
3. Choose the bulb you want in your yard.
4. Use the planting guide and you will be on your way to beautiful blossoms.
Check out my crocus planting guide. How easy is that?

That is not all. You can submit a photo of your yard and be entered to win a $5,000 yard makeover! I cannot tell you how much my yard could use this. The contest is designed to educate women on the simplistic beauty of flower bulbs and how easy they are to grow.
The lucky winner will also receive a visit from Taniya Nayak and she will personally share tips on making your yard the envy of your neighborhood. You can also follow her on Twitter (@TaniyaNayak) for more great tips.
Every time you share on Twitter, Bulbs. Dig, Drop, Done will donate $1.00 to Rebuilding Together one of the leading non-profit companies working to restore the country's neighborhoods and providing affordable housing.
When you visit www.digdropdone.com to learn more you can read about three special women. Evelyn, Juliana, and Marcy. Although they are different, I think you can find one that you will relate to. In addition, they each have some great ideas to share. I have many things in common with Evelyn. Three kids all grown, same age, and of course she loves to garden.

Ok, so I do not do the big curlers. Trust me, the last thing my hair needs is more curls.
Flower bulbs are not just for the yard. They can be grown indoors, used as unique gifts, or make a great family project. So if you are a garden growing nut like me check out this easy way to make your yard and home a prettier place to enjoy every day.
Music That Moves Me – Smile
Sometimes you just need to smile.
Even if you do not feel like it.
Thanks Josh Groban for the reminder.
Tags: Josh Groban, Smile
OMG!
This is my grandson D.D.
I think he throughly enjoyed this meal.
Although I am not sure how much actually made it in his stomach.
Tags: babies
Whose Cuter? Puppies or Babies?
This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Puppies vs. Babies for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Everyone knows that babies are cute. Those fat little cheeks and chubby thighs just cry out for a little pinch. This is my grandson D.D. dressed up for Halloween.
Ok, that just screams cute right?
On the other hand, puppies have a cuteness level all their own. I do not know too many people that can resist a cuddly little puppy.
The question is who is cuter? Puppies or babies? Well now, we can find out. The Puppies vs. Babies online contest will answer this question. You can help determine who is cuter, Puppies vs. Babies by casting your vote. From now until November 23rd, you can vote for your favorite. The winning puppy or baby will receive $5,000! That will buy a lot of puppy chow or diapers! Even though submissions for the contest is over you can still have fun checking out the cute puppies and babies and voting for your favorite.
My big, red dog Lucie was seven months old when I adopted her so I do not have and photos of her as a puppy. I am quite sure she was very cute but I still think that little person in the lion costume would win hands down. I could be biased but hey, that is my right as a grandma.
Yes, Lucie you are a cutie-pie too but I am still going with D.D. What do you think? Puppies or babies? Feel free to leave a comment and tell me who you think is cuter and check out the contest and vote for your favorite.














