And the Winner is...

First of all, thank you for all who left comments for my giveaway! It was fun to see people I didn't know even read my little blog!  We had a total of nine comments so I put that into random.org and it spit out the following:

Which was this comment:

Congratulations Cori! I'll get your gift card to you asap!

This giveaway was so much fun.  I'm going to do some more of these in the future.  For now, I'll just leave you with a happy springtime picture.

Remember your blessings!

Amber

A Stroll Down Memory Lane and a Giveaway!

Just because it's Friday and because the weather is icky outside I'm going to do something I've never done on my blog before.  A giveaway!  I'm giving away a $10 Starbucks gift card to one lucky person. I know it's not a huge prize, but it's enough for two lattes, mochas, or you can get my favorite; a caramel white mocha frappuccino with caramel drizzle. Yum!

All you need to do is leave a comment. Say anything you want.  On Wednesday, March 31st, I will announce the winner.  Please be sure and leave your name and/or your email so I can notify you if you win.

In the meantime, I'd like to share some pictures I found on an old thumbdrive of mine. I'm talking pictures from when my oldest was only a year old. He was SUCH a cute baby/toddler. Just look at those big chubby cheeks!

These were from at my cousin's wedding. I think it was in 2003.

Me with short blonde hair. More my natural color. I like me better with dark hair. Look at that cute, round, cake-covered face. This was before he started back-talking! I really miss those days.

Somebody help me! I'm getting all teary-eyed and nostalgic. Plus it's a baby taking a bath pictures. They've always been my favorites, and since this one is mine... my heart swells even more!

My boy getting into something he wasn't supposed to while my parents' puppy, Zoe, sat there and let him. Some babysitter she was!  Sadly, Zoe is not with us any longer.

This picture made my eyes water up when I saw it. This is my Grandma Ora and Grandpa Jack during my cousin's wedding reception. Grandpa passed away in July of 2008. These two were married 65 years and after nine kids and all that time they still loved eachother sooooo much. You can just see the adoration in his face as he gazes at my grandma. Everyone misses him, especially Grandma. I'm so glad I discovered this picture.

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend! Remember your blessings!
Amber

Our Weekend At A Cottage

Some friends of ours rented a cottage on Chatcolet Lake this week and they invited us to stay with them so we took them up on their offer and stayed Sunday and Monday. We had a wonderful time! Here are some pictures from our time there.

This is Chatcolet Lake.  It was very pretty, but the water level was very low. We didn't get much snow this winter so there wasn't all the runoff.  Therefore, the fishing was nonexistent. We had some disappointed boys on our hands.

We built a fire on the beach Sunday night hoping to catch some catfish. The only things that were caught were some snags and tree bark.

 

Monday we went on a walk to the bridge. The biking/walking trail ran right by the place we stayed. How convenient!

On the way to the bridge CJ found a nest of gardner snakes and caught a few. My friend had never touched a snake before so I forced convinced her to touch it.  She'll probably never invite me to any type of outdoor function with her again.

Here's the oldest with his walking buddy. He carried it across the bridge and back then let it and a buddy go when we got to the park.

Let's take a closer look, shall we? 

Here's the bridge we walked across. Well, actually the others walked across while I got side-tracked taking pictures of it.

See! Here they are coming back for me. I'm sure they missed me more than they can express.

We stopped at "Pirate Park," as my son called it, on the way back. He did some swinging. I love swinging pictures! They make me smile almost as big as he is.

After we got back to the cottage my husband grilled up some hotdogs for the kids and some cheddar bratts for the adults. I know you know what grilling hotdogs looks like, but because I take pictures of everything you have to suffer through pictures like this. That's just how I roll. I can't help myself. Someone get the ketchup, or is it catsup, and what's the difference anyway?

Isn't this gal such a cutie! And a sense of style to boot!

After lunch we took the kids out back to practice their archery skills. I'm afraid my youngest has a long way to go. Notice that the bow is backwards and upside down, and that arrow isn't going anywhere. Eventually, he would just get frustrated and grab the arrow and throw it at the target and exclaim "I got it!"

Ssshhh! I'm hunting for bears in the bushes (a.k.a., the ditch by the driveway).

I'd like to finish off this post with some furry pictures. The first is Quincy. He is our friends' dog. He's a chow mix. Notice the cute spots on his tongue. He was a sweetie and just the right size for playing with Winchester.

Our friends also brought their tiny black and white Shitzu, but I somehow didn't get one shot of her. She was cute too!

Of course, you already know these two.

Winchester

Moose

Remember your blessings!
Amber

Winchester the Water Dog

Late September was the last time Winchester had been around water that he could play in, and at that time he was less than impressed.  Something changed over the winter months because when we took him down to the beach along Chatcolet Lake this weekend we couldn't keep him out of the water.

He was one HAPPY puppy! He bounced through the water like a clumsy gazelle.

  

Winchester loved hauling sticks out of the water too.

And since Moose didn't really care to join Winchester in the water, Winchester would bring the sticks up on the beach and taunt Moose with them since Moose still needs to be on a leash. Eventually though, Winchester would get close enough for Moose to grab ahold and they'd play tug.

 

At one point the tugging got a bit too heated and a fight broke out between my two little furry brats angels. I gave two fishermen a show trying to break the two knuckleheads apart. Boy was I a mess after that; wet and muddy.

I'll share more pictures from the trip later this week. Everyone had a great time!

Remember your blessings!

Amber

Bubble-Up Pizza

I've never posted recipes on my blog before.  Mainly because cooking is not my forte. I don't have any original recipes. I just use ones other people have created.  It's not different in this case.  I'm sure there are very few people who have not heard of Bubble-up Pizza.  I just thought I'd post it here because it's easy, quick, and everyone loves it.  It's a hit with my kids, and those of you who are grandparents, if you want to score some points make this for the grandkids! It's a very versatile recipe. Any topping you like on your pizza can go into this one.  Eezy-peezy!

So, here goes. My poor attempt at sharing a recipe through bad photos.  What can I say? It's a learning experience.

This is what I put in my bubble-up pizza this time (cheese not shown). I just used whatever I had in my fridge. The only must-haves are the biscuits, sauce (spaghetti or pizza), and cheese. Everything else can be changed up. Although, I think a BBQ chicken one might be tasty, in which case I wouldn't use spaghetti sauce, but BBQ instead.  Hmmm...

Unwrap your biscuits and cut each into quarters. Like so.

Then throw them into a bowl.

Add about 1/3 jar of your sauce and about 1/2 cup of shredded cheese right on top of the biscuits and stir. Mozzarella would be the preferred cheese, but I didn't have any so I used monteray jack instead.

Now add the "toppings" – as little or as much as you want. I used olives, bacon, and fresh chopped up parsley. Next time I'll be using pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, and probably a little onion. Or whatever I have on hand. Stir it all up.

Pour everything out into a baking dish. I know it doesn't look very appetizing this way, does it?

Pour the remainder of your spaghetti or pizza sauce over the concoction.

Cover in cheese! Cheese makes everying better.  This was about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of cheese I think. Just like with pizza and enchiladas, you can never have too much cheese.

Throw into your 400°F oven and bake for about 25 minutes. Take it out and let it cool for about 5 minutes, then serve.

I need practice with my food photography.  This photo does not do it justice... at all.

You can look up this recipe anywhere online, but to make it easy for you, here's the base recipe that I deviated from quite a bit.

Bubble-Up Pizza

1 lb. ground beef, browned and drained

1/4 lb. pepperoni
1 small can olives
15 oz. spaghetti or pizza sauce
2 - 12 oz. cans Pillsbury biscuits
2 C shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease a 9x13" pan.
Cut biscuits into quarters and put in a large bowl. Add about 1/3 of the spaghetti/pizza sauce and about 1/2 C of cheese.
Brown and drain the ground beef. Add to bowl.
Add pepperoni, olives, and any other ingredients you want to the bowl.
Stir and dump out into your pan.
Pour remaining sauce on top of the mixture, then spread the remaining cheese over top of sauce.
Bake for about 25 minutes.
When you take the dish out, it will be bubbling, so allow it to sit for 10 minutes.

Remember your blessings!
Amber

Kitty Cat Facial

No, this is not the newest fashion trend in pooch head gear.

What you are witnessing here, my friends, is the playful banter between Winchester and Tristan.

To me it looks painful, but Winchester can't get enough of it.  Tristan bites, scratches, and claws relentlessly.

It goes on...

and on...

and on.

I swear Winchester thinks it's some kind of special facial he's getting. He's probably wondering where the cucumbers and steam are.

Eventually, Tristan gets a little tired of the game and hops off the chair, leaving Winchester lonely and confused. You know how aloof cats can be.

Tristan sits across the room to groom herself and totally ignores Winchester.

Then she gets that look in her eye and her tail starts to twitch.

Winchester turns on his puppy dog eyes and just waits and watches Tristan. Hoping she'll return. Begging her to return.

And she does. And once again, they begin their game.

Remember your blessings!

Amber