Weekend Horse Craze and a Halloween Pudding Cup Theft

I opened my e-mail yesterday morning to find a major alert sent by my 15 yo daughter.  I had to laugh because it described her completely!  If you had to sit and watch the Breeder's Cup all weekend, I did too.  At first it was like torture.  I had retreated to the couch to read my English assignment, but was mystified by my daughter.

There she sat, watching the television intently.  It wasn't just that either.  She was prepared with a clipboard, that held the schedule of events she had printed off of her computer.  With a pen in hand and a snack, she watched and cheered and asked us to bet on a horse.  Her's of course was Zenyatta. 

On Friday I picked the horse who had a name that started with Rose.  She would have won had the other rider not knocked the whip from the jockey's hand (at least that's what I think happened).  That got me started.  I was hooked until Saturday.  Then, I tried to get to work on my homework and writing.

I then retreated to my room to work there on Saturday, but could hear screaming coming from the living room.  And of course the only filly running against the boys won.  The one and only horse she was cheering for - Zenyatta.

Even after the race was over, I caught her re-watching the race on YouTube.  I had to laugh.  Here is a copy of what she sent me in the e-mail:

Mom, I am sending you this message because I think I need to get checked by a doctor. This is a very serious illness and can be highly contagious. Several people have picked up the virus already and I believe that, by some means, I was born with this disease and I am afraid to inform you that there is NO cure. Sadly, there is nothing you can do but support me and help me through the long-term affects that this will have on my body and mind. I hope that you will still love me no matter what.

Love,

********

This is a public service announcement.
Urgent Notice: Potential Danger of Horse Hair

In a press release today, the National Institute of Health has announced the discovery of a potentially dangerous substance in the hair of horses. This substance, called "amobacter equuii" has been linked with the following symptoms in females:
* Reluctance to cook, clean or do housework.
* Reluctance to wear make-up, good clothes or heels.
* Reluctance to spend money on home or car repairs until after "baby has new shoes,pad, blanket, tack, grain, hay & supplements".
"Amobacter equuii" usually results in long hours away from home and exhaustion which may lead to a loss of physical contact with other humans (especially husbands).
"Amobacter equuii" is thought to be addictive, driving the need for additional sources - this may lead to a "herd mentality" or like the potato chip commercial, "you can't have just one". (Especially potent if infected from miniature equines)

Beware! If you come in contact with a female human infected by this substance, be prepared to talk about horses for hours.

Surgeon General's Warning: Horses are expensive, addictive, and may impair the ability to use common sense.

Pretty funny I'd say!

As for the hijacking on my Halloween treat container, well here's the photo with the thief!

If you want to see the cup before the attack visit my article I wrote on how to make them on eHow.  The little booger took it off of my night stand, emptied the contents and was caught running through the house with it hanging from his mouth.  It is now his personal toy.

Last night I was sound asleep when I heard a bang, bang, bang from where the dresser sits.  I jumped from the bed to catch this terrorizing thief with a 10 inch styrofoam Christmas tree in his mouth.  Our youngest had painted it years ago and decorated with pom poms and sequins.  And here this thief was trying to take off with it.  I'm going to have to sleep with one eye open now (ha ha ha!).  

Funny and Weird Dogs

My 15 year-old daughter caught me talking to her dog yesterday.  There she (the dog) was, sitting proudly behind another rock she had brought in.  And there I was saying (with my index finger going up and down), "Seriously, are we going to have to take you to a doggy counselor?" 

We have the strangest dogs, but love them dearly for their uniqueness.  One has an obsession with rocks.  Instead of playing fetch like our smallest dog, she'd rather be digging up rocks and carrying them around in her mouth.  On any other day she'll be obsessed with chasing her shadows.  If anyone reaches for a flash light, she is ready to chase - for hours.

Then there is the laundry issue.  It's not really an issue, just a cute story.  I hang laundry on the line just about every day here.  I've always taken the dogs out while I hang the laundry on the line, and bring them back in when I come in.  Considering it takes a few loads to get them all on the line, we go out often.  They play, run around and fetch rocks and sticks. 

Now, if I so much as pick up a laundry basket, they all stand at attention ready for me to make my move.  Just to see if they really were smart enough to know that I was going outside, I walked to the utility room, did not turn on the light, and slowly and gently opened the washer.  Immediately, the dogs were staring at me through the doorway with tails wagging.  I can't even say the word "laundry" without them barreling me over to race to the door. 

They are all funny for sure.  They may make it into one of my books yet.

Could Facebook Face Social Networking Competition?

I just found out that there is another social networking site called Orkut.  Have you heard about this networking?  It sounds very similar to Facebook.  I'm wondering how long it will be before there are more on the Internet.  It's interesting to know that so many people rely on the Internet to keep in touch with each other, and how much time is used on the Internet.  People today have, as I believe it, more free time than every before.

I'm wondering what writers prefer to use, and does having a social network help with finding freelance writing.

The Joy of the Holidays

My 7 year old showed me a different side of her yesterday morning. She came bouncing down the stairs to get ready for school singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer! Just as happy as could be and smiling at 7:30am.

I'm pretty sure she gets that holiday spirit from me (tee hee).

Apple Pie, 10 Stitches, and Good Food

Here is the photo of the homemade apple pie I baked. I have always made Dutch Apple Pie, but this was delicious! The recipe came from AllRecipes on-line. Here is the link: Apple Pie by Grandma Ople. I added cinnamon to the apples before I put them in the crust, just as another person had recommended. Of course we topped it with vanilla ice cream. My son said, "oh we have to take a picture of that!"

I haven't posted since we baked the pie. I had a little accident with my head and flying firewood. It was plain stupidity on my part and I got myself too close to the wood pile, while unloading a truck load of wood. Ladies, if you are unloading wood, be sure to be more careful tan I was. Luckily, it did not knock me out too long (just a second or two). After my brother kept insisting I get it looked at, I went to the hospital.

The doctor on duty convinced me that staples worked better than stitches, so I caved. "Fine, give me the staples, but can you please not shave too much of my hair?" I begged. I have to say the shot to numb it first didn't hurt anywhere near as bad as the thunk to the head. After a few staples, the doctor starts telling me, "uh, there's another cut and I think we are going to have to do stitches anyway." So out the staples went, and in went the stitches - 10 to be exact.

As I was laying on the gurney getting worked on and having friendly conversation I realized I was wearing my neon green socks. The photo doesn't do justice. If I had better lighting you'd see how awful they looked under those bright hospital lights (ugh!). To top it off, I was wearing a yellow shirt. I put the socks on because I was not going anywhere for the day (nothing matches with them). Or so I thought.

I guess the joke was on me! I had to figure that if the doctor saw them sticking out from my jeans, he was thinking "this woman is a case for sure."

My head hurts, but my arm hurts worse from the Tetanus shot I had to get. The kids keep asking me questions to make sure my brain is functioning correctly. This morning, I took the time to cut and chop and mix, to put beef stew into the crock pot. Just a few minutes ago I looked at it and wondered why it wasn't cooking. Once again, I failed to plug it in. Luckily it's early so it has time to cook, and luckily this is nothing abnormal. It's just another crazy day in the home.

The chickens are getting carrot peelings for a treat today. I read that they like peelings but not whole carrots. It's a great way to keep them fed organically and make good use of the scraps.

I have to say, that even though I was supposed to be resting, I made dinner the night of the accident. It came from The Cardiac Recovery Cookbook (how appropriate) and was Summer Vegetable Spaghetti. Now if you froze your garden tomatoes at the end of the season, this is the perfect recipe to add them too (and yellow squash. zucchini and green beans).

Summer Vegetable Spaghetti

I used a 15 oz. can of no-salt added tomato paste, double the vegetables, and did not add the extra salt. I also let the mixture simmer longer until the vegetables were softened. It was delicious. I also added parsley that I had dried from my herb garden and doubled the garlic. I made it as natural and low in sodium as possible. The Parmesan cheese adds enough salt to the dish.

Which brings me to my next synthesis paper for my English class. I'm working on a claim that is somehow related to the fact low cost foods, which many people are buying, are very high in sodium, and the dangers sodium has on the body. I'll have to figure it out and narrow it down.

One last note. Last night, my dear husband came home from work and handed me a pair of safety glasses and said, "Your hard helmet is on order." I had to laugh, but there was a serious tone to his voice about staying clear of accidents while I was healing (and to use safety measures more often). He got bonus points from me because the safety glasses were pink ribbon glasses. I'm sure I'll be wearing both on the next wood splitting day.

Fall Trees

I think I may write outdoors today. The trees are turning nice colors, and the weather is actually pretty nice. The tree in the photo above, is actually red today. I took this photo a few days ago. Maybe I'll take my camera and do a little walking too. School seems to be going along well and I only have a book review to write today.

I'm planning on getting work finished early so I can watch an hour of FoodNetwork. I haven't watched it in a long time.

Christmas Gift Ideas - Bead Projects

I found this wonderful link to many free bead projects. All of the instructions include a skill level and there are many ideas for Christmas gifts you can make yourself.