DIY Christmas dog treats

Guest post written by Joanne Haskins

We always like to do something a little special for the dogs on Christmas, not anything too crazy, mainly just giving them Christmas presents. The first year that we had them, I didn't really think about getting them anything and then I realized that I should have let them open something when we were all opening Christmas presents because they kept trying to help us open ours, which was really annoying. So I learned my lesson and know now that we have to give them something to play with when we open presents.

One night a few weeks ago I was on our clear wireless internet doing some Christmas shopping and I thought then that I could try and find some little dog toys for them then. I found some, but I got to thinking that they were so simple and I'm pretty crafty that maybe I could just try and make some on my own.

I found some directions to make some DIY dog treats that I'm going to try and do this week to give to them instead. They seem to go through toys pretty quickly.

Why do I love him?

Why do I love him? In no particular order:

1. He makes me laugh
2. He accepts my faults
3. He accepts my family and doesn’t judge me by them
4. He makes me feel good
5. He tells me when I’m being unreasonable
6. He comes home at night
7. He cleans the house
8. He does laundry
9. He is a good dad
10. He knows some of my secrets and doesn’t judge me
11. He doesn’t always blame me when things go wrong
12. He is right sometimes
13. He quit drinking because he knew what would happen if he didn’t
14. He quit smoking because he didn’t want to die and leave us alone
15. He wears a seat belt because I told him I didn’t want him to die in a car crash
16. He tells me I’m not fat
17. He looks me in the eye when he says it
18. He looks me in the eye anyway
19. He doesn’t do drugs
20. He doesn’t beat me or the kids
21. He doesn’t abuse us mentally
22. He makes me feel good even when he isn’t with me
23. He is sincere
24. He loves his family and we matter to him
25. He listens to me no matter what I’m saying and isn’t shocked when I say things
26. He lets me be myself
27. He didn’t give up on me
28. He can laugh at himself
29. He cleans up the dog poop
30. He gets over it
31. He has beautiful blue eyes and they are piercing at times
32. He is not afraid to work hard
33. He tries
34. He loves me even if he can’t figure out how to show it sometimes
35. The sex is great!
36. I believe in him
37. I love the way it feels when he holds me tight
38. He isn’t always selfish

Decorating at Home for the Holidays

This guest post from Doris Dillon

Our family takes a decidedly old fashioned approach to home decorating at Christmas. Unlike many of our neighbors, we do without all the blinking lights, tinsel and blow up yard statues.

Our tree is decorated with traditional ornaments, many of them handmade, and all of them have a special meaning to our family. Red bows, popcorn strands, hand painted ceramics and holiday candles round out the rest of the room.

Decorating is a family affair, with everyone gathering on the weekend after Thanksgiving to get the job done. My daughter is always in charge of making the popcorn strands and serving hot cocoa to everyone. I tend to enjoy hanging the ornaments, putting together handmade wreaths and wrapping the gifts. My nieces are always good for setting up the manger, and of course my brother helps hang all the outdoor decorations, including a painted reindeer we made years ago.

When we are done digging through boxes and reminiscing about past Christmases, it's time to relax. We enjoy curling up with some yummy eggnog and watching a movie on our satellite tv hd dvr. There is nothing like having the family around during the holidays!

Merry Christmas!

Trade Shows Are Fun - if you can get in

I went to a trade show once with my husband. The show itself was all about cars and accessories. I had a three day pass that allowed me access in and out of the show whenever I wanted. This was handy for a couple reasons. First, I could leave whenever I wanted to and go get real food. I could also leave and take a break from the many sights and sounds of hawkers, sellers, announcers and revving engines. The downside of course was that on day two, I lost my golden ticket that allowed my entrance/exit at whim. My husband kept telling me that I needed to get one of those tradeshow badge holder things that you wear around your neck so you don’t lose your pass. I will probably never admit to him that I lost my pass and had to sweet talk my way past the security (thankfully he remembered me!) and got a replacement pass. Because what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him. Or make me admit that he was right. Ever.

Desires Wants and Needs

So my 13 year old daughter is getting a cell phone from the jolly red fat guy. She currently shares one with her younger sister. They take turns every other day. Since she starts high school next year, we decided to get her a phone for Christmas. It’s hard to get gifts for those teenagers. Everything they want is electronic. There are only so many tech gifts out there really. Absent buying each gaming system and laptop, notebook, note pad thing that comes along, tech choices are limited. So, we went with the phone. We are looking at a couple different ones, but a front runner is the htc desire because a) it looks cool; b) it does cool stuff; and c) what more does a teenager really want in a phone?

Detox Centers

I come from a family of addicts. My mother was a drug addict. My brother is an alcoholic. My sister was a drug addict. My other brother is a drug addict. My husband comes from an alcoholic father and step-father. He and his two brothers are all alcoholics. My husband is the only one of his family to leave the alcohol behind. In September he was 14 years sober. This is an amazing feat and he did it cold turkey, on his own. I was never more proud. Of course, I know there are some people who need help quitting alcohol or drugs. There are actually centers that help solely with the detox aspect. Since detox can be dangerous, I understand why there are places specifically for oxycontin detox which apparently is in high demand these days.

More Health Insurance Options

Now that health insurance has come front and center for a lot of people, I notice in my life that many people do not understand their options or where and what they need for coverage. I was reading an article the other day and it mentioned what is and is not covered via the new healthcare bill passed by the government and now that the appellate court has ruled the government cannot make people get insurance, I feel the confusion is going to continue for a while. Interesting to me is that people can actually buy short term health insurance Blue Cross and be covered for a short term. I think this may be ideal, if I understand it right, for people in between jobs perhaps. I need to learn more about it.

I'm in L O V E

I've said before on my personal blog that I love all things Reese's. Reese's miniatures are my all time favorite. I refer to them as my crack.

I would eat them every single day. Except my butt would look like I ate Reese's Every. Single. Day.

So, I pace myself.

Plus, unwrapping them is a messy ordeal. Especially if I am typing or reading a book. My fingers get a little chocolate on them. The wrappers pile up and it looks like I've eaten a whole bag, when really I've only eaten a few, six or seven.

Well, imagine my surprise when I saw some Reese's Mini's in the store! And imagine the tremendous amount of will power it took for me to WALK PAST them without buying any!

Sad but true.

I have put in a request with Santa for a bag of my very own. Let's see if he can pull through for me. That's all I want. Oh, and world peace.

(image from the Candy Blog)

Electronic Cigarettes

My mom has breast cancer. She was diagnosed in April of this year. Her tests came back as the cancer being a carcinogen based, not a genetic based cancer. This was great news to us kids, but not so much for my mom. She had to quit smoking and she had to quit immediately. My sister looked around and checked into some American electronic cigarette manufacturer product that allows my mom to pretend to smoke. I don’t quite understand the concept, but apparently, it helps the people to eventually quit even though they mimic smoking. Maybe it’s really for the people who don’t really want to quit, but pretend they do.

Blurring that line between reality and fantasy

I watch a certain television program that is 100% fictitious, and on that program recently there was an investigation into missing women. The funny thing to me is that the women were found dead in a bunch of steel drum things. They’d apparently been there for a while, yet the drums looked so pretty. My uncle used to haul gasoline and he had a couple 50 gallon steel drums in his side yard full of gas (yes, I lived in the sticks). Those things were filthy, gross and disgusting, not to mention completely rusty and stuff. I cannot imagine, even on a fictitious television program that the writers would use such new looking drums. Come to think of it, I’m not sure I have ever seen a new one.

Dead on again!

Libra: Something you fear will never change WILL change when you least expect it. You are blocking the path to change by worrying, stressing, and thinking negative thoughts about the issue. If you can let go of the fear you are clinging to, you will not only feel better, you will open the path to a resolution. With a money matter, just be sure you are completely informed on all the factors involved. If this is a debt, make sure you know your rights and that there aren't any inaccurately assessed fees or charges.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

What a time saver

As Christmas is right around the corner, I sat down today to write some Christmas cards. I have been sending cards for years and years and years. Only in the past five years however have I had a small shortcut that has streamlined the process of addressing the cards and has allowed me to involve the kids as well. Years ago, after sitting for an hour writing out the return address on a stack of cards I had an epiphany. I went online after I was done and after a short search, I found and ordered an address stamp and what a time saver that has been! Now, I use it for everything, cards, bills, mailing packages, etc. I wish I’d have thought of it all those years ago when we were sending out our wedding invitations. Oy.

Lowering my Monthly Bills

I want to pay off ALL of my credit cards in 2011. Now, I could pay MY credit cards off within a year and not really bat an eye. My husband however, he keeps getting new cards and racking up debt and has only tentatively agreed to my plan. I told him one way we could cut our bills would be to get a quote for cheap car insurance and see if we can’t shave some cash off there. I’ve already cut back on groceries but a family of four can only eat beans and wieners or spaghetti so many times a month before it gets really old. What are some ways you cut money off your bills in this economy?

Lowering my Monthly Bills

I want to pay off ALL of my credit cards in 2011. Now, I could pay MY credit cards off within a year and not really bat an eye. My husband however, he keeps getting new cards and racking up debt and has only tentatively agreed to my plan. I told him one way we could cut our bills would be to get a quote for cheap car insurance and see if we can’t shave some cash off there. I’ve already cut back on groceries but a family of four can only eat beans and wieners or spaghetti so many times a month before it gets really old. What are some ways you cut money off your bills in this economy?

TGIF!

It's the weekend.

YAY!

Except. That means I need to do the laundry, cook some meals for next week, clean the house, finish the christmas shopping, wrap the presents, fill up my car with gas, go grocery shopping and sweep the porch.

It's the weekend. yay.

Office Decor

I have been in my office for six years now. I have yet to hang a single thing on the wall. The problem I have is threefold: a) I’m lazy; b) my contrast wall is painted a beautiful olive green and it is difficult to find art to match it while standing out at the same time; and c) did I mention I’m lazy? Who wants to drive around looking at art all day? Not me. I have better things to do like work and raise my kids. However, there is a place that is just right for folks like me, a place that specializes in office decor and has a whole bunch to choose from. I’ve fallen in love with Romance in Red II (found under Abstracts). Beautiful. I’m thinking of it for my other wall, the one that’s just plain old cream colored.

Hit the nail right on the head!

Someone else's hardship may put things in better perspective for you, Libra. You have been complaining or lamenting something that isn't going right in your life. But a recent experience with a special person - and that person's graceful handling of the situation - has left you with a more benevolent outlook on your own life. Things aren't nearly as bad as you might have thought they were. In fact, you have much to be grateful for. Don't allow temporary challenges or annoying problems to deter you from reaching for something you want.
--
Copyright (c) DailyHoroscope.
Download it now -- http://bit.ly/DHmobile
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry