Half Full Friday and Blog of the Week

It's Half Full Friday already!  If you want to join in the fun (and please do!), head over to Eyegirl's and introduce yourself to Mr. Linky.

I'm happy it rained one day this week!  Unfortunately, it was in the middle of the night so it didn't help to cool things down any.

I'm happy I got my crafty decal in the mail from Katie's giveaway!  Now I just have to figure out what to put it on.

I'm happy I finally got around to doing the laundry so that I could wear the new dresses (well, new to me) that I bought last week!

I'm happy my hip didn't hurt after taking a one mile walk this week!  My hip is finicky - sometimes it bothers me a LOT and other times, not at all.

I'm happy I never heard back from the company I interviewed with last week! 

I'm happy I got a new book to read!

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This has been a sad week in Blog World with Baby, Skeletor, Phantom, Tommy, Shelby and Molly all needing our prayers.  Baby has heartworm, Skeletor has anemia and heartworm, Phantom has a lump which he'll be having removed, Tommy passed over the rainbow bridge, Shelby's recovering from wounds she likely received during a fight and  Molly had a seizure and other health problems.  Please keep them all in your thoughts and prayers, they need all the good vibes you can send them!

♥♥♥♥♥

Blogger is driving me crazy!  I've read other several other people's blogs where they've said that not all of their comments were showing up even though they've approved them.  That just happened to me recently too!  Does anyone know how to fix that? 

Also, I like to write my posts in advance sometimes and set them to publish at a certain date and time.  I check the calendar for the date to make sure I have it correct and I always check to make sure it's set to publish in the AM rather than the PM.  Well, twice now, it hasn't published when it's supposed to!  I've had to edit the post and manually tell it to publish.  Is anyone else having this problem?

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If you've read my blog for any length of time, then you already know my love of all things celebrity gossip.  This week's Blog of the Week is a little different than any I've seen.  I found it when another celebrity gossip site linked to a specific post on it and have been reading it ever since. 

The Real EStalker

This blog has been in existence since December 2006.  What's it about?  Celebrity real estate!  Most of the properties shown are for sale but not all.  Each post has pictures of the property for sale along with information you'd find in an average listing for a home.  Sometimes they'll even include floor plans.  It's kind of fun to see how the rich and famous live! 

They don't provide the actual address of the property and if you do happen to find it, they don't encourage you to knock on the door to say hello to whoever lives there.  I like that they do that but I don't doubt that a few people probably do search for the address online.  I've actually seen someone type the address in the comments.  Not often, but I've seen it once or twice.

Sometimes the author adds a bit of gossip to go along with the listing.  Once in awhile she'll even post a "blind item" where she gives some information about someone and you have to guess the star.  Of course, the blinds are all real estate related.  Those are my favorite posts!

Wordless Wednesday

Mundane Monday

My chi's attended Luna's Slumber Pawty this past weekend and had a blast! 

Chico came home with pink polish which he immediately requested that I remove but Shiver's still rocking his blue toenails.  I was really surprised they'd both sit still long enough to let anyone polish their nails, usually they run off when I do my own.  They don't like the smell. 

They'd never seen a donkey before so they barked all about it.  They seemed to think that was kinda cool that a donkey got to go too!  They really enjoyed getting to spend some time with her.

Sorry to anyone that Shiver might've stolen toys from.  He seems to think any and all toys belong HIM and only HIM!  I can't figure out why he still hasn't learned how to share yet.  He came home with a few extras and I'm not sure if they were given to him or if he just took them.  Of course he said they were given to him but with him, you just never know!

Little Princess Luna made this cute little button for Miss Molly who wasn't able to attend the pawty because she's been so ill. 

I don't really know Molly but I hope she gets well soon. It hurts my heart to think about any animals being sick or hurt. 

Half Full Friday and Blog of the Week

Eyegirl hasn't hosted in Half Full Friday for the past few weeks.  I prepared this post in advance so I'm not sure if she's still participating in it or not but I'm still doing it anyways. 

I'm happy that my dad gave me a gift certificate that he won for a free meal at an excellent drive-in!

I'm happy I had another interview this week!

I'm happy my friend got me a really pretty good luck charm bracelet as a souvenier from her trip!  I've been wearing it every day since!

I'm happy that my friend treated me to a McDonalds Fruit Smoothie for picking her up at the airport!

I'm happy I found a coupon for a free McD's Fruit Smoothie!  Thanks for the heads up, Sasha!

I'm happy I bought 2 summer dresses for under $6.00 total, tax included!

Yep, I had another interview.  And I must say, I pray I don't get this job!  The interview itself went really well.  I like to mull over my interviews afterwards and consider what I should or shouldn't have said.  This one is probably the only interview that I didn't walk away thinking about all the things I did wrong.  Nope, can't think of a thing.  If nothing else, all these interviews have given me some good practice. 

The posted hours for this particular company are M-F 8-6 and S 10-3.  In actuality, I'd be working until 8 or 8:30 every weeknight and until 4 or 4:30 on Saturday.  Six days a week.  Considering it would take me about a 45 minute commute one way, I don't know how I'd ever have time for a personal life outside of work.  And it truly wouldn't be fair to my boys.  That's potentially 13 hours a day that I wouldn't get to see them and they wouldn't be able to go out.  That's just not acceptable to me!

I may have one saving grace though - the interviewer asked what the least amount per hour I'd be willing to accept would be.  I told her and she said that the previous girl who worked there made "considerably less."  Yes, she emphasized "considerably less!"  I don't know for a fact and didn't ask but I'm guessing she probably only made minimum wage.  With all that overtime, I could possibly still make a decent living off minimum wage but I just don't think it would be worth it. 

I'm on unemployment and if I'm offered the job, I'll be forced to take it or my benefits will be cut off if I don't accept.  I found the posting through the Department of Labor so they'll know if I don't take it.  I'm not making enough to pay my bills as it is, it would be even worse if I didn't have any kind of income coming in. All I can do is to hope and pray I don't get the job.

On the plus side, the building is located in a shopping mall strip so I walked around a little bit and found a thrift store.  I truly had no plans to buy anything and really only went in to look at the books.  Their book selection was horrid but it was right next to a rack of clothes.  Since there wasn't anything interesting in the way of books, I checked out the clothes and found 2 pretty summer dresses for just under $6.00 including tax so the day wasn't a total waste. 

I'm lazy this week and didn't do a full Blog of the Week review.  Sorry!  But I still have a blog I'd like everyone to take a few minutes to check out if you haven't done so already!

I'm Team Shelby, are you?

Mona & The Mommy

This pretty girl is Shelby.  I first became aware of her story earlier this week (I think?!). I thought I read about her on Frankie's blog first but I can't seem to find the post.  Shelby's a female pit bull that was found in a parking lot and as you can tell, she was very badly hurt.  She appeared to have been in a fight and dumped there.  She had hardly any hair but she did have lots of puncture wounds and bites.  Sadly, she lost an eye.  I've been going to this blog every couple of days for updates on her condition.  She's got a long road ahead of her and will need all the help she can get.

If you click on the link, you'll find a button to donate via paypal or you can email Mona for her address to send a check to help with the hefty medical bills.  I'm not in a position to donate at this time so I wanted to do the next best thing I can think of, which is just to bring awareness to Shelby and her situation.  If you do nothing else, please at least stop by and leave a message of support!

Wordless Wednesday

Funday Monday

Has anyone tried these yet?

Source:  Slashfood

McCafe Real Fruit Smoothies

I kept reading various articles and seeing advertisements for them and became obsessed!  I couldn't wait for the free sample giveaway and even devised that I'd go to one of the McDonalds and order a small fry.  That would get me a sample of one kind!  Then I'd drive across town to the other McDonalds and order a cheeseburger.  I'd have a whole meal and I'd get to try a sample of both fruit smoothies!  I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I was by the prospect!  Aaaaaaand then McDonalds back out of the giveaway...  Boo! 

I couldn't stand the thought of not getting to try one so I broke down and bought the Strawberry Banana flavor.  It was tasty but the banana overpowered any real strawberry flavor and I walked away feeling a slight disappointment.  Don't get me wrong -- I like bananas, I just wish I could've tasted at least a little of the strawberry in there too! 

And then I tried the Wild Berry.  Oh my, can I just say it's like Heaven in your mouth?  I want another one now as we speak!!!  Sooooooooo good!  If I were working, I swear that I would find a way to have one every single day!

Disclosure:  I am not being paid for this review, I purchased these with my own hard-earned unemployment benefits which are about to expire. 

Katie has oh so generously given me another award!  Yay!!!  I'm of the firm belief that one cannot have too many awards!  I really like this one, I haven't seen one like it before.

The rules are to say where you'll be 10 years from now and to pass it along to 10 other bloggers.

Well, first off - I just hope I'm even alive in 10 years, a lot can happen between now and then!  I'd like to be in the same house or one that I purchased because I wanted to upgrade to a newer one because it was my choice and not because I lost the one I currently have.  I'd like to be in a job that I actually enjoy where I make a decent living and have a little money in the bank.  And I'd like to be healthy.  (Yes, I'm boring!)

I'm passing this along to KS, P, Zuzana, Meg, Meeko, Eyegirl, Melly, Martine, AndreaLeigh and Kimberly.

For everyone else, where would you like to be in 10 years?

Half Full Friday and Blog of the Week

How is it possible that time can pass so quickly?  Seriously, I have no idea where it seems to go!

It's the end of the week and you know what that means, it's Half Full Friday!  As always, if you want to join in the fun (and you know you do!), head over to Eyegirl's and do your thing with Mr. Linky!

I'm happy I had an excellent dinner at my parent's house this past weekend!

I'm happy the weather cooled down a little bit for a few days this week!

I'm happy I got a new blog background! 

I'm happy thrilled I got a package in the mail from the extremely generous KS!

I'm happy I was able to buy a small treat for my boys this week!

I'm happy my mom surprised me with a gift of pretty purple flip flops!

I'm happy I got another award from Katie!  She must really like me, she's given me 2 awards within a weeks time!

I'm happy psyched that I won Katie's giveaway!

I'm happy that I got several new followers this week!  Welcome!

Thanks to those who offered me advice on where to go for free blog backgrounds.  I like this one but I'm not sure if I'll keep it. 

A few weeks ago, KS held a bloggy birthday party.  She celebrated her blog's one year anniversary by choosing a few commenters names at random and sending them goodie bags.  When she told me I was one of the lucky winners, I was so excited!  It's always fun to get something in the mail besides bills!

Cute wrapping paper! 

Cupcake journal and Post-it note pad

Shiver helping himself to some chocolatey goodness

Candle, playing cards and magnet

My favorite item out of the collection of goodies has to absolutely be the magnet!  The message is so inspiring and just what I needed to hear:

For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin - real life.  But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid.  At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.  This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness.  Happiness is the way.  So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one.  Happiness is a journey, not a destination...   ~Souza

Since I've been out of work, I've felt like my life has pretty much stopped and been at a standstill.  I have no money and can't afford to go anywhere or do anything so I pretty much stay home all day every day except to job search and visit my parents and friends.  Reading this magnet made me shed a few tears and realize that my life doesn't have to stop.  I just need to get out there and live life, and stop letting it just pass me by while I sit on the sidelines.  And with that, I took my boys for a walk!  It may not be much but it got me out into the world and enjoying life again!  Thank you, KS!

Which brings me to my Blog of the Week!  I was reading some random person's blog (I don't even remember who) and they had posted about someone leaving nasty comments on KS's blog.  Being nosy, I had to go check out the drama for myself.  What I found was a true treasure trove, one of my very favorite blogs!

While We're Waiting...

She started blogging in June of 2009, her very first post was about saving power.  I'm glad I didn't read her blog back then because I'm terrible about saving power, recycling, etc. and don't like to be reminded of that fact.  If I'd started with her first post, I may not have checked back because I would probably think that's all she would blog about.  And I would be very wrong! 

KS updates almost daily and she's hilarious!  She's a fellow cupcake lover and adores the color purple. She blogs about her daily life but she also discusses topics such as the US Constitution, the Titanic (she even had a Titanic Week where she shared her love of the movie and little known facts about the actual Titanic) and Spirit Jump. 

When she blogged about this particular company, I immediately became one of her biggest fans.  My father has survived 2 different kinds of cancer.  While he's lucky that he didn't face the horrors a lot of other people with cancer have, that doesn't mean he suffered any less.  KS has their button on her blog but until I went back through her archives, I really had no idea who this company was or what they do.

She recently graduated from law school and moved back home with her parents and two kitties for the summer while she works at her dream job.   Her profile says she tries to do something every day to make someone else happy.  Well, whenever I see a new post from her, I'm happy!

Wordy Wednesday

They say practice makes perfect so I've been practicing a lot with my el cheapo camera.  The majority of my pictures still don't come out but at least I'm getting a little bit better!  Most of my subjects (my boys) seem to always be in the corner of the picture, no matter how hard I try to center it.  I hate not having a viewfinder!  Actually, I do have one but what I see through it isn't what the picture will be of so I don't even bother using it anymore really.

These are the most recent pictures of my babies, taken a few days ago:

Chico

Shiver

Not the greatest quality obviously, but you get what you pay for, I guess...

I'd Like To Thank The Academy...

Before I start dispersing the awards, I wanted to ask about blog designs. 

Over the weekend, I went to Scrappin' Blogs to look for a new background.  The floating PhotoBucket image annoys me and I'm ready for a change anyways.  I really liked a lot of the designs they had previously so I thought I'd use them again.  They have a message on their homepage now saying that they were getting too many hits and that PhotoBucket wanted them to convert their current account into a business account where they'd have to pay a rather hefty monthly service fee. Fortunately, they were able to find another server to use.  They'll still have to pay (but probably not nearly as much, I'm guessing) and instead of charging for designs, you can leave a donation via PayPal should you choose to do so.  They're busy re-uploading and coding each design one by one.  In the mean time, I have a white blog background.  While that might appeal to some, I don't particularly care for it.   I've found from experience that not all of the Blogger templates work like they're supposed to.  I wouldn't mind paying for someone to design one for me  but I'm not in a position to do that right now.  So ~ what other sites offer free backgrounds?  I suppose I could google it but I wanted to see what your suggestions would be first!

And now, onto the awards!

Katie @ Life with the Dietrich's was kind enough to give me an award last week.  I already have this one but I'm going to post it again because I like the pretty flower!  And actually, the award wasn't given to me last time, it was given to my dog, Chico.  This one is all mine, baby!

The rules are simple.  The first one is to thank the person who gave it to you.  Thanks, Katie!

The second is to pass it on to 12 other bloggers. 

I have mixed feelings about giving awards.  I love to give and receive them but I've noticed that when I let someone know that I've given them one, some people either ignore it completely or they'll thank me for it but I never see it posted.  I know some people like to save them up and post them together when they've gotten several more and that's wonderful.  I'm always afraid that I'll forget by then so I tend to post them when I get them. I even once saw a comment on someone else's blog that they were going to forgo the particular award they'd just been given because they'd just gotten a different one a day or two earlier and had posted it on their blog.  Why does that make a difference, exactly?  I'm always honored that someone would want to give me an award and am sad that others apparently don't feel the same way.  But alas, I'm going to follow the rules so here goes...

Fiesty Three     Booker Man     Meg     Avery Jack     P     Coreen
Honey     Life With Dogs     Hero     Wilf     Riley     Draco

Sorry if you've already received this award, I was too lazy to check and see.

Way back in February, I was looking for a new avatar.  Because I go by "sprinkles", I thought it would be fun to use a cupcake with sprinkles on top.  I didn't find quite what I was looking for, but I did find something else:     

I don't exactly have mad computer skillz (what, you couldn't tell?)  so I wouldn't have the knowledge or probably even the program(s) necessary to create an award on my own so when I stumbled across this on bing, I knew it would be perfect!  I don't know if it's original intent was to be an award or not but decided to use it as one.  I've gained a lot more followers since February so I wanted to post this again and say if you're a follower and don't already have it, please grab it! 

I'm pretty sure this is an all-inclusive list of who wouldn't have had it from the first posting.  If I've missed you but you want it, by all means, take it if your're a follower!  Or maybe you forgot to pick it up from last time...  I do have a couple of followers that I couldn't find blogs for that have never commented.  So if you're reading and don't see you're name, that's why. 

Amber     Avery Jack     Booker Man     Chewy & Lilibell     Coreen   Draco     Katie     Hero    

little princess Luna     Lucy's Human     Mango     Meg   Meeko Fabulous     Mr. Pip     Mommy Lisa     Olive     Pibble     Piappies World   Scout 'n Freyja     Summer   

Just a little thanks from me to you because you truly are like the sprinkles on my cupcake!

Half Full Friday and Blog of the Week

It's Friday which means it's time for Half Full Friday!  Eyegirl hosts this and as of this posting, she hasn't posted hers yet today but I'm still doing it, just because I can.

I'm happy I got my gas cap back after I left it at the gas station! 

I'm happy I avoided hitting the dog in the middle of the road after coming home from my parent's house late Wednesday night!

I'm happy I had a job interview this week!

I'm happy I got a blog award from Miss Katie!  I'll be posting it on Monday.

I'm happy that I was Miss Katie's very first Featured Blogger!

I'm happy I got the new Eminem cd!

I did a short telephone interview on Tuesday with the company that left me a voice mail on Friday.  Bascially the woman asked why I wanted to work for the company and a couple of other questions.  She told me she would be reviewing my pre-employment tests and if I passed, she may be calling me back later in the week.  I've not heard a peep all week so I'm guessing I didn't pass the math part.  I wanted to ask her why they had fractions and algebra equasions on there.  I mean, would it be likely that I'd be using them in the job?  I highly doubt it.  The position was something I already have experience in and I'd NEVER come across that in any of my work.  So what would be the point of having it on the test?  But I didn't want to jeopardize my chances so I didn't say anything.  I don't think I realized it when I applied but the position is only part-time, 20 hours a week. 

On Monday, I applied for a different job with another company.  Got a call on Tuesday and did an interview on Wednesday.  The interview was really short.  I don't know, I didn't get a good feeling from it.  I felt so stupid - they asked what my strength was and I usually I say my customer service skills.  This time though, I think I said something like, "Making sure everything is done correctly."  WTF?!  But -- a little later on, I was asked how I would handle an angry customer.  I was able to say that a company I used to work for was big on customer service training so I felt that it was one of my strengths.  So hopefully that worked in my favor.  Who knows?!  Once they were done asking questions, the interview was over.  They didn't really give me any chance to ask anything which seemed kind of weird.  Every other interview I've ever been to, the company WANTS you to ask questions and even asks you if you have any.  But nope, at the end of this one, they just said, "Ok, well thank you for coming in.  It was nice to get to meet you.  We'll get back to you next week." 

This week's Blog of the Week is my good bloggy buddy Katie!  She was kind enough to use my blog as very first Featured Blogger which was a huge shock and honor so I wanted to surprise her this week!  :)

Life with the Dietrich's 

I first became aware of her blog through my annual Doggone Dog Swap.  I'm wondering if she joined in last year too, I'll have to check my emails to be sure but her name sounded familiar when she joined in this year.  Anyways, we became bloggy friends this year and I've really enjoyed stopping  by regularly and seeing what new things are going on in her world.  She updates almost daily and sometimes several times a day.  This girl is one dedicated blogger!

As the name suggests, her blog is all about daily life with husband, Scott, and chihuahua/yorkie mix, Oscar.  She enters a LOT of giveaways and posts regularly about them.  She has excellent luck though, so if she's entered, you know she's going to win!  She's currently hosting her own giveaway which you can read about here. 

She has two other blogs, one is of various yummy sounding recipes, the other is her photography. 

Edit:  I have a question for everyone.  The last couple of days when I've come to my blog, I've gotten a floating message saying, "This image or video has been moved or deleted."  At the bottom of that message is the Photobucket logo.  I thought it was odd but I didn't know what it was referring to.  Today, I noticed it again and realized that no matter how often I refreshed the screen, the background wouldn't load.  I'm thinking that the design I had as my background must have been deleted from Scrapping Blogs Photo Bucket account.  Is my background design coming up for anyone else?  If not, I'll change it.

Wordless Wednesday

I Could Use A Nap

Friday, I left the house to run a few errands in the late afternoon.  I got home and there was a message on my answering machine.  I thought it was probably from one of my friends but it was actually from someone calling about a resume I'd submitted earlier in the week!  It was too late by that time to call back but she did say in the message that she was going to be sending me a link to a pre-employment test via email and asked if I could complete it and call her back so that we could "visit." 

I completed the test that evening.  There were two sections - the first part was basically just asking questions about if it was ok to sell illegal drugs or to steal from my employer or to get into a physical fight with a coworker if we were to have a disagreement.  That was easy enough!  The second part basically asked the same questions, only in a different way.  But then it also had some math problems too.  And I suck at math!  The instructions were to complete them as quickly as possible with no outside help, including the use of a calculator.  The first few problems were fairly easy but became more difficult as the test progressed.  Some of the problems included division of fractions and algrebra equasions.  Fortunately, they were mulitple choice so I just picked an answer at random for those and will just hope for the best!  My mom told me I should've used a calculator anyways.  Well, that wouldn't have helped - I have no idea how to convert the majority of fractions into whole numbers.  And don't even get me started on how to solve an algebra equasion!

My parents came home from their camping trip this past Saturday.  My mom asked if I could bring Sunshine and her beta fish (who I've dubbed Henry while they were away) when I came over on Sunday.  She said if I didn't want to, to let her know and she'd come get them that evening if I wanted to be rid of them sooner.  I didn't mind having them another day so I told her I'd bring them when I came for dinner on Sunday.

That same day, I got to looking at the plants I'd gotten from the Garden Tour last weekend.  The one I'd won had tiny little flies all around it.  The cone flower had a little bug wandering around in the dirt.  This just wouldn't do so I took them from the counter and put them outside.  I decided then and there to give them to my mom.  She'd know what to do with them.

Sunday evening I got the plants, fish and bird all loaded up and headed to my mom's house.  My parents don't live all that far from me, maybe 5 miles.  There aren't a lot of twists and turns and there isn't a speedway between here and there.  For some reason, I cannot ever seem to keep the water in Henry's tank!  No matter what I put his little tank in, it swishes everywhere and gets everything all wet.  I covered my seat with a plastic garbage bag thinking this might help keep it dry but it didn't. 

I got the bird and fish settled in the house and came back out to the car for the plants.  I knocked one of the plants down off the seat and made a huge mess on the floor.  I cleaned it up the best I could but all I could think of is that all those flies would be flying around in my car all night!  Because of where my car was parked, I couldn't bring a vacuum out to clean it up. 

When I got home, I immediately brought out the vacuum.  Forgot about the seat being wet and sat down in it for a moment.  I got the dirt cleaned up and vacuumed the rest of the car up too while I was at it.  There's big stain on the floor mat which I'm not happy about.

Our firework display got cancelled at the last minute.  The fireman had been preparing them the night before when a bunch of them suddenly went off all at once, injuring three fireman.  I watched the Macy's fireworks on TV since I couldn't see them in person.  It was nice but just not the same as seeing them in person. 

Other than those minor things, my day wasn't too bad overall, I guess.  Hope everyone else had a great holiday weekend!

Yesterday I had asked my dad if he could come over and start my lawnmower for me today.  I can't start it by myself for some reason so I always have to ask him for help.  He showed up this morning with my mom and her mower.  She and I both mowed together while he ran some errands.  I was really surprised that my mom showed up to help and was really grateful as I hate yardwork.  My dad wasn't back yet by the time we'd finished so we went inside and visited.  She gave me her usual motherly advice which I pervceived as criticism but once she was done with that, we had a nice visit.

Meanwhile, my chi's are having a blast over at Fiesty Three's luau. 

They're having such a good time that they've threatened not to come back home.  I may just have to fly over to Hawaii and drag them back, kicking and barking all the way!  I got a couple of pictures of them from when they'd just arrived, they're looking around for their friends here: 

Shiver

Chico

They've informed me they are MUCH too busy partying to stop and take better pictures!  I tried to tell them that half the fun of a good party is to take pictures with your friends and to share them with everyone afterwards!  They said I didn't know what I was talking about.  Silly boys!  I'm glad they're having such a wonderful time but I really miss them!

Happy Independence Day!

What's more American than apple pie?  I haven't made this recipe but it sounds good so I thought I'd share it 'cause I'm cool like that.  You're welcome!  Source:  allrecipes.com

Easy Apple Pie

Ingredients:

6 cups thinly sliced apples

3/4 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon butter

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 9"  single crust pie

Directions:

Prepare your pastry for a two crust pie.  Wipe, quarter, core, peel, and slice apples; measure to 6 cups.

Combine sugar and cinnamon.  The amount of sugar used depends on how tart your apples are.

Arrange apples in layers in pastry lined pie plate.  Sprinkle each layer with sugar and cinnamon.  Dot top layer with small pieces of butter or margarine.  Cover with top crust.

Place on lowest rack in oven preheated to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).  Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes longer.  Serve warm or cold.

Half Full Friday and Blog of the Week

It's been one very hot week here!  I shower and 10 minutes later, I feel like I need another one!  I'm not complaining though, I'm just thrilled that summer has finally decided to stay for more than a few days at a time.

It's time for another installment of Half Full Friday!  As always, if you want to join the fun, head over to Eyegirl's and kick it with Mr. Linky.

I'm happy I got to go on the Garden Tour this year!

I'm happy I won a plant at the Garden Tour social!

I'm happy I got to spend the week with Sunshine!  She's really been a lot of fun and I'm sad that she'll be going home tomorrow.  I'm going to miss her.

I'm happy my boys got a bath this week!  They really needed it, especially Shiver!

I'm happy excited that I won a goodie bag from KS's bloggy birthday party!

I'm happy it's almost Reveal Day on CDAN!

Earlier this week, Shiver rolled onto his back for a good tummy scratching.  I was busy patting away and not paying much attention while I watched tv but then I looked down and discovered just how dirty he was.  He's a big chihuahua so you'd think that Chico would be the dirty one.  Chico is much smaller and hence, much closer to the ground.  Chico is considerably cleaner though, for some reason.

Chico was first.  He shivered the whole time.  Shiver knew what he was in for because he watched Chico getting his.  Shiver clung to me for dear life the whole time he was in the tub.  I thought it would be easier to get to his belly since he was standing up (I sat on the side of the tub and had my feet in the bathtub with him).  I added a ton of shampoo to him and scrubbed away but I didn't see a very big difference afterwards.  He did smell better though! 

After their baths, the two dogs ran zoomies all over the house to dry off.  Normally, Chico only tolerates Shiver when they're inside but will play with him outside.  That day though, they were both very playful and Chico even whined after Shiver sat down to rest for a moment.

I found this week's Blog of the Week on another blog's sidebar.  It's one that pretty much anyone who has ever had a job can relate to.

Annoying Coworker

I really, really, really hated my last job.  Like R-E-A-L-L-Y hated it.  I had very little work to do while everyone else seemed to have more than their fair share.  I'd ask if I could help and usually got stuck with the menial jobs like making photocopies and sending faxes.  At least it gave me something to do though so I never stopped asking.  And then there were my co-workers!  I had a boss who was rarely interested in anything I had to say, an asst. manager who was incredibly rude to anyone and everyone she possibly could be and one of the girl's there was likely a bully in school as she went out of her way to be nasty to only me.  And then there were the people I sat next to.  One was a religious freak who liked to share her views on everything.  When I first met her, she was also nasty to me but over time, she chilled out considerably.  We will never be best friends but she became much more tolerable.  The other girl I shared a cubicle area with sniffed all day long and refused to blow her nose.  She spent a good portion of her day on the phone and whenever she was on the phone, she liked to eat.  She ate during business and personal calls.  Often times, people would have to ask her to repeat herself because her mouth was too full and they couldn't understand her.  Yeah, that's professional!  There were really only two people that I liked working with there.  One was the receptionist and the other was a girl who worked on the insurance side of things.  Because she and I had two completely different jobs, we didn't always see much of each other. Once in awhile I'd hang out with some of the girls outside of work and I actually liked them for the most part during those times.  Well, except for the asst. manager whom I have absolutely NO respect for.

Why am I telling you all this?  Because this website allows you to send an anonymous email to a coworker telling them just how annoying you think they are!  I actually considered sending my ex boss an email to tell her she wasn't a very good boss and that I don't understand why she would ever in a million years think that the person she hired as asst. manager would do a good job.  That person should never be in a management position.  EVER!  Ultimately, I didn't send it as even though it's supposed to be anonymous, I knew my boss would figure it out and know immediately that it was from me.  

If you just absolutely love and adore all of your coworkers, past and present, then I'm thrilled for you.  I really am!  But you might still enjoy perusing this website.  If you don't want to send an anonymous email, you can also read stories others have posted about their annoying coworkers.  You can also read messages sent from the site.  Personally, I prefer the posts rather than the emails.  Some of the comments to the posts are just as funny as the post itself! 

Just wanted to share a fun one this week since the holiday weekend is almost here!