The Bug Continues...

On Sunday afternoon, Dustin was at work and I was VERY bored, so I decided to make some Rice Crispy Treats and surprise Dustin with them :)

They turned out pretty good, however, they didn't turn out the way my Mom's do when she's made them!! Guess I'll try them out again!

Rice Crispy Treats...

On Tuesday, I decided to make a Chicken dish that a friend of mine made herself, she gave me the recipe so I tried my hand at it, it was pretty darn delicious if I may say so myself, lol... It is FULL of peppers, garlic, onions and tomatoes... Yum yum YUM!!

Chicken Dish by Tania...

This morning I decided to try make some Cinnamon Rolls, I've always loved them and have actually been craving them for a while. I've never made any myself before, and I don't have a mixer yet, so I had to mix the dough by hand... But making them from scratch and eating them still warm made it all worth the sore arm in the end, haha!

The Dough Smothered In The Brown Sugar, Cinnamon and Butter Spread with Raisins...

Rolled Up Dough...

Cut Up Pieces, Ready To Be Left To Rise, Before Going Into The Oven...

Risen...

Out The Oven And Ready To Eat Once Cooled... :)

YUM!!!!

Max...

For about 2 months now I've been really wanting to get a puppy, not being able to work yet and not having a car to get places without Dustin, I have been extremely bored sitting at home, so a friend for myself would be perfect to keep me busy...


Last Thursday, Dustin took me to a Pet Store in Utica... It was quite a drive, but man it was so worth it :) It is such a lovely Pet Store and you can see that they really look after the pups they get in to sell from breeders. I wasn't too sure what I wanted for certain and they just had a board of what breeds they have, but I didn't know what each one looked like, so he allowed us in the back where they keep the puppies for me to have a look... Unfortunately Dustin and the owner got into a political conversation.... So we stood in one place for like 20 min before we moved on... I guess I should say fortunately they got into this particular subject conversation, because while they spoke their lives away I was able to have a look at the pups in front of us! This little fluffy pup caught my eye in the one crate, he was playing with his friend and was just so cute!! They are in such tiny crates though, and with two in each I sorta felt bad for them :( Anyways this little guy caught my eye and when they were done he showed us the other pups (but were still taking about politics), but I still had the little cream coloured pup in my head, so I told him I'd like to hold that one and so I got to hold him for like an hour (coz Dustin and the Owner continued their boring conversation while we sat on chairs), both of us had turns holding him and I instantly fell in love with him!


After being in the shop for two hours, we went home, with me being so sad to leave him behind! The rest of the night he was all I could think of....


Friday I went to work with Dustin, because he said that I could get the puppy and that we would go get him, so to save him from coming back to pick me up and going all the way to Utica I decided to tell him I'd go with him... BUT we didn't go anywhere near the Pet Store :( (nice husband hey?)


Saturday we left at 11:00am to get there at 12:00pm (when they open) - these were my strict instructions, lol... But he had some things to do so we got there like 1:30pm, but the wait was worth it when the lady gave me my new pup :) We thought of names on Friday evening, and in the end we liked either Max or Cooper, but Max sorta stuck with us, and when we kept looking at him he looked more and more like a Max... but I wasn't totally sold on it so I put a pic on FB and got some VERY interesting names, lol

Name : Max

Breed : Shih Poo

Sex : Male

Born : 6/23/2011

Age today : 13 weeks

Colour : Apricot

Weight when brought him home : 3.65 lbs

It's like having a baby in the house! But obviously it's TOTALLY different! I have been pretty tired though, from trying to get him adjusted to sleeping on his own at night (coz he was in a crate with a friend for 13 weeks of his life), but it's been worth it... Although the potty training in the beginning was a bit of a shlep! Living on the top floor (3rd floor), having to go out every 1/2 hour was getting too much, and especially when he doesn't do anything on the grass because it was too long! So I've been trying to encourage the puppy pads, he does pretty good when I pay ALOT of attention to him, over the last two days he has however, done pretty good when I have remembered to take him outside :) the grass has been cut, so I'm thinking that's why... There have been a few accidents inside but that's all in the learning process... But it has become quite fun potty training him outside and being able to give him praise and a treat :) Love the exited little worm he turns into!!

Here is a video - that I know will make my Mom cringe, but I just had to let him carry on for a bit to video this for his bark because it is too cute!! So this isn't encouraged and won't let him do this again :)

Here is a video I took of him playing with the paper that came in his package that arrived yesterday with his new collar and leash... :)

He is so much fun!! <3

Cooking and Baking to keep me busy...

So lately I've had this urge to cook and bake, so I've been making a few things here and there to keep myself busy... Yes the baking has NOT been right from scratch like I've always known, they are ready made items just ready to put into the oven, wait a few minutes and take them out, so they don't take up THAT much time, but it's still fun! LOL


So my first "big" meal I made, I decided to make a Sunday lunch pot roast in my Crock Pot - I was pretty nervous as to how it was going to turn out, but it turned out pretty good :)


Meat and Vegetables In Ready To Cook...

The finished product...

The Next Dinner I Tried Out Was An Egg Plant Dish - I was totally shocked to learn that Dustin loves Egg Plant (he says it tastes like Lasagne to him, okay?? Lol)... I was pretty worried about this dish because I've never worked with Egg Plant before and wasn't too sure how to cook it correctly etc etc.

It did turn out pretty good, although I do still have to try the Aubergine dish that my friend Elaine gave me... This dish was basically just Egg Plant and a sauce and cheese - a nice quick dinner :)

Sweating The Egg Plant Slices...

The First Layer Of Egg Plant and The Sauce I Put With It...

The Finished Dish, I left It In The Oven For A Bit Too Long, But It Wasn't Overcooked...

I then tried my hand at making biscuits (scones for us SA people, lol), they were so easy, they come in a tube! All you have to do it tear the paper off the tube, the tube pops open and you take the (already "cut out") pieces out and put them on a baking tray, put them in the oven and vwoala! 15 min later you take them out and eat them!! LOL, have a look...

One...

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Six...

The latest baking goody I made was a batch of brownies... They are so delicious and soooo chewy!! Mmmm

Ready To Put In The Oven... (Not sure why the pictures are coming out portrait instead of landscape like I want!)

Out Of The Oven And Ready To Eat... (I forgot to take a pic before I started cutting)