Annie at 9 months

Here's is a photo of Annie when she was just a little puppy.  The second photo is Annie who is now 9 months old in the same spot under my desk.  Annie is still a very gentle dog but now that she looks like an adult, people freak out when they see her on the trail.  
Annie never went through the "nervous German Shepherd" eating disorder which makes young GS look super skinny.  She has filled out very well and has great muscle tone.  We have nicknamed her "the babysitter" when Squeak gets out.  I send Annie out to find her and hold in place until I can get there to bring her in.  Annie is a great dog!

My Fur Babies Annie and Squeak

Love my fur babies. I found out last night that Squeak likes rap music.  She was sound asleep on my nap when I clicked on "Glee" (to find out what that show was all about) and well you can see she watched the whole thing with great interest. 
When I was brushing Annie's teeth in the morning, I found a wart looking thing on her lip.  I took her into the vet that afternoon and found out it's nothing serious, just a wart and it will go away on it's own.  The vet did say Annie has excellent muscle tone for a dog so young.  German shepherds are picky eaters (Annie is not one of those) so are on the super skinny side when young. They don't fill out until they are much older. Guess all those hours of running and hiking are paying off.  Annie is a very gentle dog and it's interesting to watch her when she plays with young children.  There are several toddlers at the park that like to play with Annie.  She's great at dropping her tennis ball at their feet then laying down until they throw it.  She doesn't jump up or bark, like she does with me, just  quietly waits for them to throw it.  It's funny that the moms are scared to death of big dogs but let their kids play with Annie.  None of the moms will come near Annie even after watching how gentle she is with their toddlers.

Miss Squeak

Doesn't this look like a kitten with a major attitude? 

Bakerella Cake Pops

I will be hosting a bridal shower this weekend and I'm planning on making these robot cake pops (from Bakerella's new cookbook) for the party favors. The groom is a robot nut and when I saw these, I just had to make them.  I did a trail run today to see if they would turn out like the ones in the book.  It's a long process because things have to be baked and chilled for several hours but they are very tasty.  Didn't get a picture of my samples before hubby ate them.

Peanut Butter Cookies

My hubby always complains that my peanut butter cookies aren't chewy or peanutty enough.  I found a recipe on Bakerella's blog for peanut cookies that have only 3 (yes that is 3) ingredients.  Peanut butter, sugar and eggs.  You can add melt chocolate chips as a frosting after baking the cookies.  Bakerella also takes some great photos of her tasty creations.   Following her advice, I decided to see what background color would work best with my cookies. Let me know what color is your favorite.

And to answer your question if hubby liked them our not, his first reaction was to say they were not peanutty enough but when I told him it was almost all peanut butter - he refused to comment.

Rubber Stamp Flea Market Haul

Here's a photo of the super great deals I got at the rubber stamp flea market at Cranberry Hill this past weekend.  Most of the stamps cost under $1.00 (a few were only .10) and the Stampin Up sets for $3.00.  The Cuttlebug folders and Spellbinders Nesties (new and in the box) were 50% off. One of the best score was finding the butterfly punch and matching stamp all for $6.00!
The sale runs until the end of the month, so there is still time to hunt down some great bargains.

Cranberry Hill - Used Rubber Stamp Flea Market

Cranberry Hill's used rubber stamp flea market will offically start today at 5:00 pm. You will need to purchase a $5.00 ticket (ticket sales will be donated to a girls camp charity) to attend the sale today.  It's free starting on Saturday.
We've started set up the tables last night and moving the boxes of stamps on to the tables. If you want to get the best deals, I would recommend buying a ticket and coming in tonight. Only 50 tickets will be sold so you beat the crowd on Saturday too. I saw new, still current Stampin Up sets for only a $1.00, many single stamps for .25 and tons of the other misc. crafting stuff. Looks to be another great rubber stamp sale!

Printer's Cabinet RX

I saved an old printer's cabinet from the auction house last week.  It was left outside in the weather for over a year. The top part had the most damaged but over all the cabinet was still in good shape.  It went to the wood doctor (retired contractor) who is straighting out all the warped wood. Good thing it's sold oak.  It's almost ready to sand down and stain.  I'm looking for a home  for the cabinet since I already have a printer's cabinet of my own in my studio. I just can't fit another on in my house.  If your interested let me know. 

Butterflies and flowers

I found this set at a used rubber stamp flea market for only a dollar.  The ladies down at the Yu Ai Kai senior center will be making this card along with 3 others.  The pail is popped up to add a little interest.
It took four stamps from the set to make this card.  Glad I only paid a dollar for the all of them!

Once a month card class - YAK

This is one of the cards the ladies will be making down at the Yu Ai Kai senior center for my once a month card class.  We will be using Copics (something new for them) and this Stampin Up set at I got at a used rubber stamp flea market for $1.00.  You can really pick up some great deals! 

Sad Day at the Auction House

Today was a sad day at the auction house.  I'm always on the look out for printer's cabinets.  When I first saw the cabinet (over a year ago) it was in mint condition.  Someone bid on it but never picked it up. They didn't pay for it either so I guess they didn't feel the need to come get it.   The auction house moved it outside and forgot about it.  It's been sitting outside getting rained on and sun damage.  I spotted it under some torn tarps during the preview and asked why it was outside. I made an offer on it so I could bring it home to see how bad it really is.  I hope to be able to save most of it but if I can't I will sell off the drawers.  People have asked why they can't find whole cabinets like the ones I have in my studio.  Well this is why.

Alameda Point Antiques Faire

Spent all day on Saturday walking and shopping at the Alameda Point Antique Faire (flea market).  It was a beautiful sunny day near the bay. It does pay to get there early so you don't have to wait to get into the parking lot or to buy your tickets. We decided to start in the back (low rent district) of the flea market and work our way up to the front where the regular high end dealers are. Everything at this flea market has to be at least 20 year old so the variety  of stuff is amazing.  Prices can be high so you really need to know what you are willing to pay  and have some sort of budget.

Cool cherry cake holder

Credit card or business card holder

Heart shaped magazine rack

Match holder, at least I think it is.

Small cast iron plate with the word "queen" on it.  Hey it was only $1.00.

Abalone in the wild

Hubby went abalone diving yesterday.  His dive buddy's son took these photos.  You have to free dive (no tanks) for the abs and most of the time the guys are diving 30 -40 feet.   It's a shame that a few poachers (guys who take abs illegally and with tanks) can wipe out an area.  All the sport fishermen we know follow the rules since we would like our grandchildren to enjoy ab diving in the years to come.

Domestic Diva Week

I've been busy being a domestic diva this week.  Trying to keep the house clean with all the fur babies running around is almost impossible. Today while hubby is gone off fishing, I'm turning his home office into "his" junk" room.  Now that he is using a laptop full time, he doesn't have the need to use his office.  I've gotten tired of any one spending the night at our house having to step over his tools, bee equipment and whatever else we don't know what to do with.  Got the big desks out and now just need to find help getting them out the front door.
I'm also working on training Annie to be comfortable around gun fire. I have found out it's impossible to find a toy cap gun in my area. Guess it's not PC around here anymore.  I was told to start out with a cap gun and then sitting in the parking lot at the gun ranges.  After that use a starting pistol before getting near the real shot guns.  So I'm looking for a toy cap gun that uses the rolls and looks like a toy.  Don't want to freak out the people living near the park if they look out their windows when they hear the pop.  I don't think there are too many red or  lime green hand guns - at least I hope there isn't.