Dog Treats...But No Dog?

A while back I asked readers to let me know if they had any questions or topics for me to write about.  I only got two questions from one reader, so here goes.

Question:
Since you are making dog treats, do you want to get a dog?

Answer:
Yes!  I love dogs and I do want one, but it's not going to happen for a few reasons.

1. My husband doesn't want a dog. 

2. We have a small yard with no fence (fences are not allowed in our neighborhood) so this means the dog could only go outside when we walked it and the idea of walking a dog early in the morning and late at night is not something I would want to do every day.  There are no street lights around here so it is pitch black in the morning and at night.  Not to mention that most of the year the weather really sucks with heat/humidity and thunderstorms in the summer and snow and cold in the winter. 

3. We are gone from the house for an average of 11 to 12 hours a day during the week.

4. A dog would give Manny (one of my cats) a kitty heart attack.

Numbers 2 and 3 mean that the dog would spend a lot of time by itself stuck inside the house which I do not think would be a nice thing to do to an animal.  I've been working on my products for the dog treat business lately, but I will continue to have to use friends/coworkers dogs as the taste testers.

Sunday Stealing: The Oh My! Meme, Part One

This is from the Sunday Stealing meme a week or two ago.  I shortened it because the original was way too long.

1. The phone rings; who don't you want it to be?
Anyone with bad news about any of my family members.  I'm still worried about someone.

2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart?
The county I live in doesn't actually let you bring carts into the lot, you have to bring your car up...so I usually shop in the next county over or carry everything to the car.  But given the chance...yes, I return the cart.

3. What was the last compliment that someone gave you?
The immigration lady at the airport told me my passport picture was good.

4. Do you play the lottery?
Only when it gets up over $200M.

5. If abandoned alone in the wilderness, who would you want with you?
MacGyver

6. When was the last time that you lied?
I can't remember (or just now...)

7. Name a song that could make you cry?
Amazing Grace.  It was the song played at my mom's funeral.

8. Are you pleased with your education?
Yep.  I'm glad I went to college before it got so competitive and expensive.  California has excellent public universities.

9. If your house was on fire, what thing would be the first thing you grabbed?
Husband, cats, photo albums

10. Do you think more about the past, present or future?
Future for sure.  I have big plans.  Not likely I will execute on any of them though.

11. What was the last adult magazine that you have read?
Adult magazine?  Does Caribbean Travel & Life count?

12. Where is your dream house located?
On the beach in Monarch Bay, Dana Point, CA or my more realistic goal is Laguna Niguel, CA

13. Have you tried bourbon? If yes, what type?
Yes, my parents used to give me sips when I was a kid if I couldn't sleep or had a cough (mom made cough syrup out of honey and bourbon).  These were the good old days.

14. Have you ever seen a male or female stripper?
Both in one place actually for a friend's bachelorette party in Vegas.

15. When was the last time you were at TGI Fridays?
Only once years ago...everything in the place was sticky and I haven't been back.

16. What was your favorite job?
Selling beer on top of the hill during concerts at the Santa Barbara Bowl while I was in college.

High School Reunions

Seems like quite a few people I know right now are attending their 15 or 20 year high school reunions...something I have no desire to do.  Other than on Facebook, I think there is only 1 person (who is a loyal blog reader!) that I keep in touch with from high school.  And I don't think Facebook really counts.  Either way, I don't think I would remember very many people if I were to go to a reunion.  I wonder why so many people I know do want to go to their reunions, but I don't?  Maybe this is because high school wasn't the happiest time for me?  I don't have many fond memories of high school and was happy when it was over.  That first day of summer after I graduated I left most of high school completely behind me right away, except for a few friends.  I do like knowing what people are doing or what they look like now.  Facebook is good for that, but no reunion for me.  

Did you or are you planning on going to a reunion?  What made you decide either way. 

Rules to Live By

I just read an article in Entrepreneur magazine that gave some rules for having business meetings in bars.  Some I agreed with, some I didn't, but it got me thinking about the rules I live by.

1. Never have your picture taken with a drink in your hand...unless it's champagne.

2. Don't eat or drink anything blue.  It's not natural and gives me a stomach ache. 

3. When it comes to clothing, a size too big is better than a size too small.

4. A polite "no thank you" to an invitation you do not want to accept is better than telling a lie to get out of it.

5. When uncertain, over dress rather then under dress for an occasion.

6. Quality wins over quantity when it comes to friends. 

7. Life is too busy to spend time with people who are disrespectful.

8. Be extra kind to pedestrians and animals.

9. Food and drinks should be plentiful when having a dinner party...better to have too much than too little.

10. Don't get drunk in front of co-workers...not even at the company party.

11. Don't pack luggage any heavier than you can carry. 

12. Never ask someone to taste something to see if it is bad.

13. Questioning whether food has gone bad or not? When in doubt, throw it out.

What are some of the rules you live by?

Donkey Towel Fight

Things I Miss About Being a Kid in the Summer

1. Not wearing shoes.  I'd walk everywhere without shoes on.  The first couple times each summer meant blisters on my bottom of my feet, but after that I was good.

2. Spending my allowance buying candy from the liquor store.

3. Being able to watch all the Dodger games on TV, even the day games.

4. Spending $0.25 to take the bus 4 miles the beach.

5. Getting really tan without even trying.

6. All the neighbors on the street setting off fireworks at the same time on the 4th of July and my dad handing out sparklers to all the kids.

7. Staying at my best friend's house for 3 or 4 days at a time.

8. Running thru the sprinklers in the back yard with my dog.

9. Planting flowers and strawberries in the front yard with my dad.

10. Pool parties with our family friends.  My mom would always make potato salad, baked beans and deviled eggs.  The other mom would make teriyaki chicken wings and a funny jello mold thing.

What are your favorite childhood summer memories?

Oh Miley

I haven't been reading the gossip blogs as much lately since I really just don't care anymore, but I stayed home from work sick today and was bored after I got all caught up on my TV shows.  Two different sites had stories about Miley Cyrus.

First, I see on People.com that Miley has a "dramatic new do".  Well, anyone can tell she just had her extensions taken out, but ok...call it dramatic if you want.  The story then goes on to say how she wants a more "mature" look.  I think she looks way older than 17 in this picture, but she sounds 35 as well, so the two go together.

















Then I go to TMZ and see this picture.  I initially thought it was some random club go-er in Vegas or something, but then saw the headline saying Miley's outfit "Rated NC-17".















I can't quite figure out what look she's going for here?  I wouldn't call it "more mature".  What do you think?

Now This...Is A Balcony

Here is a shot from the balcony we had on our trip to Mexico. It had a jacuzzi tub, a couch and a table, all overlooking the beach and ocean. It was perfect!

The Palapa Shot

Here's the requisite palapa shot from our trip to Mexico.  I prefer the beach to the pool so I spent my days sitting under a palapa, drinking "smoothies", and swimming in the ocean.

So...Do You Like It???

What do you think of the new layout???  I've been looking for something new for a while and liked this because it was nice and simple.  Note that it doesn't show up correctly in IE6 (which is what I have to use at work). If you see anything blue on the sides, please let me know...that means something is missing.  I'm still tweaking a little, but we'll go with this for now.

Thursday Night Music Club: Sheryl & Colbie

My husband (C) and I went to the Sheryl Crow concert last night. I like her, but am not a super huge fan, but C wanted to go and it was pretty fun. I recognized only her radio hits, but didn't realize how many she had! She also looks amazing, for any age, but especially 48 years old. She looks like she weighs only about 90 pounds and I'm not sure how she got around so well in the high heels she was wearing.

Colbie Caillat was the opener. I can't stand that "Bubbly" song, but she was ok otherwise. She has a long way to go with her voice and stage presence before she can be a star though. She had lots of people on stage too....way too many guitars for a some soft rock and her back up singer sang most of the time with her. I didn't know much about her before seeing her, but thought she was kind of an indie/hippy type girl from Canada for some reason. After seeing her, and reading about her on Wikipedia, I think that is just what she wants people to think (except for the Canada part), but isn't who she is. Turns out she's from Malibu and her dad produced a couple Fleetwood Mac records back in the 70's. Most people want to become singers to get to Malibu, but she started there.

So the show was all good, but our fellow fans were really annoying! C referred to them as militant.

For example during the opening act...

The lady in front of me and two seats over actually "shooshed" me because I was talking to C. She claimed she could, "hear every word I was saying." Seriously? Do you have dog ears? C's response when I told him was, "Well, then she should be laughing because we're hilarious!"

Then later on during Sheryl Crow...

The crowd was pretty tame and I was happy people were sitting during most of it. Sheryl did finally get the crowd standing up for a while, but C and I chose to stay sitting most of the time. I am sick, had cortisone injected into the joints of my neck a few days ago and have a pinched nerve in my back. Please leave me alone people...but no...they insisted on telling us to stand up. At one point we did stand up and the woman next to me wanted me to dance and said, "You are never too old to dance." Seriously??? We were a good 10 years younger than most people there and you're referring to me a old? It's been a long time since I felt young at a concert like this, but I don't need menopausal women telling me to dance. I don't mean that as an insult, but they kept talking about their hot flashes.

Next up on our summert concert series...Willie Nelson!

Cold vs. Flu

I woke up yesterday feeling like crud. My throat felt like there was golf ball in it and I just felt awful. This wasn't a huge surprise since my lymph nodes have been sore off and and since before my last trip. It was just a little surprising how quickly it came on. I still don't know the difference between a cold and the flu. Either way you put it...I'm sick. I miss the days when being sick meant lying around on the couch in my pajamas eating popsicles, missing school and getting a new toy. Instead, today I spent an hour in the morning trying to peel myself out of bed to shower and get to work.

Intimidation - Minky Look Alike

SYTYCD

So You Think You Can Dance, one of my favorite shows, is back for the summer season! I love how when the dancers get put through to the next round and get all excited...and do a little dance. You can tell they are true dancers if they dance when they get excited. There are changes being made to how the contest works this season...I'm happy to see Mia Michaels as a full time judge, but don't like the idea of each contestant dancing with an "all star". I feel like the all start can help carry the routine and the people may vote based on the all star dancing rather than the contestant. Either way, I love the show though. I'm still a little behind on watching so I don't know who the 10 ten are yet...so don't spoil it for me!

Where Does the Time Go?

Time seems to just fly by lately. I can't believe it's been two weeks since I've posted here. One week of that I was on vacation with very little internet access. We had a great time in Mexico. The resort was really nice and I liked having the drinks be all inclusive, but the food wasn't very good. They tried too hard to make it "gourmet". I can't even remember what else I did the week before leaving, but I know I was busy! Beaches & Bananas has had no progress. My dog treat business has had no progress. What have I been doing??? Well, besides work, house cleaning, laundry, errands and 4 medical appointment per week? I did have a very painful treatment done on my neck today. I really hope it helps given how badly it hurt. Not to be a downer, but I also appear to have some kind of pinched nerve in my back. I've been having weird symptoms for a couple months and it's finally showed up in my back (and butt, and legs, and feet). I talked to the spine specialist today and am booked to be examined on July 1 so it's going to be a while before they know anything since she said I'll need and MRI.

They Grow Up So Fast!

My beautiful nieces!

Happy June 1st

I hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend. I was pretty productive over the weekend, but not doing what I had planned. Friday, both C and I got off early and we went to the nursery and planted plants/flowers in pots for the deck. Saturday was rainy so I returned a bunch of stuff to the mall and shopped for new clothes. Sunday I spent all day on my newest obsession/project...making a photo book from the pictures from our trip. I spent hours and hours on this and I actually got it done! Here it is. I want to get it printed and bring it to CA this weekend to show our parents. I thought it would be more fun to show them that way rather than looking at a computer screen. It's odd for me to start and finish a project in such a short time (if you count from Thursday night to Monday night short). Monday was more photo book and painting the trim on the front door because it got destroyed when we took the storm door off. In between all that there were some drinks on the deck and lots of chores around the house. We also watched Avatar...what a waste of 3 hours. Overall, a productive weekend, but I didn't work on Beaches & Bananas at all!!! It's doesn't have enough content yet to launch so that is still TBD. What did you do this holiday weekend???