Oh yeah, that happened

It's been busy what with the holidays and all, so we've been in the swing of things with people to see and place to go.  Here's what's happened in the last week or so.

• Dave had a birthday party. It was fun and everyone showed up (except Ben because he forgot).  I made awesome cupcakes because I finally "applied myself" so Cindy can shut it. :)
• Dave's party was great until Mia made everyone leave because she kept farting and her butt smells like rotten eggs rolled in moldy bologna when she really gets going.
• I told you about Mia's meet and greet.  So we still have her.  Santa may or may not have gotten her extra gifts because of it.
• Dave had a birthday. He's old.
• Dave's cousin Mike and his wife Donna came to visit us on Friday.  We hung out for a bit, they spoiled Mia by letting her lick and give them kisses.  Then we went to Madaline and Ernie's house for dinner and had a simple Christmas evening with them.
• We took Mike and Donna to Nashoba Valley Winery at 10 am where we made them do the tasting before they picked which wines they wanted to buy.  In our defense, Donna was the one that suggested going there in the first place.  Note: Dave and I did not do the tasting, in part because we could still taste our toothpaste.
• Mike and Donna headed out to her sister's for a party, so we went to my aunt and uncle's house for their holiday party.  We were thoroughly entertained by a former Pan-Am pilot who had some pretty amazing stories.
• For Bud and Sandy's party, I made this appetizer because it was simple, cute, and I had all the ingredients.  One of the guests actually paraded it around the room before anyone was allowed to eat it so everyone could see how cute it was.  Then she let people eat and by the time it made its way back to the buffet, only one-third was left.  Hilarious.  Who knew?
• The Baltimore Ravens lost.  

I think that sums it up.  This week will most likely be the LONGEST.WEEK.EVER. and not just because Christmas is nearly upon us, but because WE'RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!  On Christmas Day, Dave and I are flying to Charlotte where we'll meet my parents and my sister and her family.  We'll drive part way to Orlando on Sunday and then the rest of the way on Monday.  We'll meet my brother and his family in Orlando and spend a week with the Mouse (and friends).  It'll be awesome. I'm anticipating lots of blog fodder, if not from my family then from random people at the parks.  

Mia Meet & Greet

On Sunday afternoon, Nancy, her son and her mother came to visit Mia.  Despite being exhausted from staying up too late the night before to play during Dave's birthday party, Mia was eager--maybe a little too eager--to meet these new friends.

The family asked a lot of good questions, has experience with dogs and overall seemed like a good fit for Mia.  Nancy and her son were positively smitten with Mia, allowing her to lean in for snuggles and pets.  Mia was a little jumpy, just her normal excitement from meeting someone new, but eventually settled down. Nancy's mother was concerned about the jumping, and it sounded like a deal breaker.  We gently explained that Mia is learning how to behave and is entirely trainable.  We also pointed out how she was allowing Mia to jump, rather than being more of a leader and not let her jump, as Nancy was able to prevent Mia from doing so.  We had a nice conversation and answered lots of questions, even offering to use part of Mia's adoption fee to pay for a session with a reputable trainer familiar with Mia and our group.  The family left and we crossed our paws for good news.

Later in the day, Nancy texted Dave, apologizing for her mother's criticisms and explaining that she absolutely wanted Mia.  On Tuesday Dave and Nancy spoke more and Dave answered many more questions about Mia and her history, as well as ways to help Nancy's mother see how good Mia is (she doesn't bite, get aggressive or territorial, and loves people and other dogs her size).  Jumping is easy to fix, with proper training, and a very minor problem in the range of dog issues.  Nancy intended to speak with her mother on Tuesday night and outline the positives to get her on board with Mia.

Unfortunately, Dave heard from Nancy today that her mother wouldn't budge and therefore they would have to pass on Mia.  It's a shame because it would otherwise be a perfect living situation for Mia and they seem like a great family.  But it's also good that they are choosing to pass rather than try to make it work and risk either a bad situation or Mia not bonding with everyone.

We'd still love to get Mia a home for Christmas, but even if we don't, her forever home is out there and will find her soon.

Oh, I Set That on Fire Too

It occurred to me after I posted about my most recent oven-fire activity, that I also forgot to tell you about the other thing I set on fire last month.  Well, technically I didn't set it on fire.  But it did burn.  And it was again cookie-related.  What's really interesting is that I don't burn food--just stuff that shouldn't be burned in the first place.  Guess I'm just special that way.

So, again, I'm in the kitchen making cookies.  These particular cookies were covered with a chocolate ganache that I made in a small pot on the cook top.  Since I've got the electric stove and the flat cook top, I occasionally forget to turn off the burners (or I turn on the wrong burner. Like when I turned on the burner under the slow cooker and melted some of the bottom off. It's not my fault--when there's no flame it's hard to tell what's going on!).  Anyway, I took the ganache off the stove, prepped my cookies and went about my business.  At one point I used a potholder and when I was done I placed it on top of the stove.

Apparently I placed it on the burner that was still on (low) because a few minutes later I smelled something funny and turned around to see my potholder smoking.

Crap.

Before Dave could notice (luckily he was in the basement), I turned off the burner, turned the vent on high and took the potholder outside on the deck.

I texted out this photo with the message "didn't actually set the kitchen on fire."  When Dave came upstairs, I told him I needed a new potholder.  He asked why and I told him to look on the deck.

The good news is at least I didn't have the potholder on the burner with the plastic grippy side down.  The bad news is that I think these were a wedding gift (Sorry, Kate!  It was well used while it lasted!).

I've asked Santa for a new potholder.  Or a new stove.  Whichever fits in my stocking.

Oops, I Did It Again

I'm so late posting this, but last week was in.sane.  Just terrible.

So remember when I told you the story of setting the oven on fire?  And how I told you if it happened again I'd tell you.

Well, consider this me telling you I set the oven on fire again.

Not good enough, huh?  Fine, I'll give you the full story.

Despite the fact that Dave thinks I do this to convince him to get me an industrial oven, I didn't do it on purpose.  I waited until the day after Thanksgiving this year to spend the day rolling out all my cookie dough for shapes and cookie cutters.  I was nearly done with my Old Fashioned Sugar Cut-Outs and was rolling out Linzer Tarts when I glanced from my rolling station to the oven. 

Where I saw a spark.

Dave was in the kitchen, so I opened the door and sure enough, there was a flame sparking from the electric heating coil.  

Again.

Me: Fire!

Dave (upon hearing the proper word for the situation) popped into action.  I told me to turn off the oven and ran for the fire extinguisher.  After completing my task, I immediately thought of how to save the cookies cooling on the racks and the dough rolled out on the kitchen table.  Luckily, with no electricity, the sparked subsided then stopped without using the fire extinguisher (and more importantly, without loosing any cookies or having to clean up the mess from the extinguisher). 

And that's the story of how I came to finish baking cookies on Black Friday in my toaster oven, one painful sheet at a time.  Because I'm resourceful.  And because the appliance store was closed that day and Dave couldn't get a replacement coil until Saturday.

So Saturday morning, Dave calls the appliance store as soon as they open to make sure they have the part in stock.  Then he made me go pick it up and pay for it (at least I supported Small Business Saturday).  The guy at the appliance store was very nice, recognizing that he must have just talked to my husband on the phone.  I explained that since I was the one that broke it (again), I had to come and get it. 

Back at home with the new part in hand, Dave put my oven back together and the baking commenced.  Here's hoping I can go longer than 6 years on this one.


PS: Yes I was tempted to video the whole thing, but I didn't want Dave to yell at me.  Later he asked me why I didn't video it.  D'oh!

A Happy Lizzy Update

At Thanksgiving, Dave and I were commenting to his parents how the home we found for Lizzy was absolutely perfect and we couldn't have asked for a better family for her.  And then I got this message and photos.

Dear Colleen and Dave:

We are thinking of you both today because we are so happy to be sharing our first Thanksgiving with Lizzy.  She is such a wonderful presence in our home and we are so lucky to have her with us.  Lizzy has formed a special relationship with each of us in her very democratic style.  She is a real pal to Renee and waits for the school bus every morning and afternoon.  She loves playing with all of the kids in the neighborhood and has even made friends the dogs and cats on our road. She goes for runs every morning with Lee and patiently hangs out with me at home while I work - a real family dog! She goes everywhere with us and we just love her.  Lately she has even started to "find her bark" and is turning out to be a surprisingly good watch dog, for being such a sweet and gentle soul.  Thank you both for taking care of her and helping her to find her way to us. It was such a labor of love and we will always be grateful to  you.  Best wishes to both of you with hopes that you will enjoy a wonderful holiday season. 

In Gratitude,

Stella, Leland, and Renee

This is my favorite because it looks like Lizzy is laughing.