Surviving the Pupocalypse

How to Survive Dog Depression

And the Pupocalypse

I love my pets. Its a well known fact that if you call me and tell me there is a hurt dog on your street I will go see if I can help, post flyers, and even try to find a happy new home for it. Which means when my 120 pound Rottweiler lapdog starts acting out and feels depressed I will do a lot to make her happy. We weren't even planning on getting a dog when she showed up in our lives but she is such a sweet spoiled dog.

Puppy Picture! Wasn't Roxie cute?

When she came home we had another dog named Ally who was a lot older. After about a year Ally passed away and Roxie was the picture of a depressed dog! So we had to figure out what to do.

1. More Exercise- This would be a great idea! But we already play with her almost every day and she gets walks at least 3 times a week!

2. Doggy Day Care- For some people this is another wonderful plan but for us not so much. We couldn't really cut the time out of our day to drop her off before work or school. The closest day care near us was a 20 minute drive in the opposite direction! And they don't always have the best operating times.

3. A Playmate- This was the last option. Not everyone can afford dog but we are lucky enough to have the space, love, time, and money for bones needed for another dog.

Roxie is about 2 years old and very much a wild dog so getting an older dog as a companion wasn't an option. We have cats so any new animal we bring into the house has to get along with them. The problem with some recues is that sometimes they don't tell you the whole truth about their animals. So an adult dog made us a little leery. So we were left with puppies or young dogs. Young dogs can be very wild and sometimes aren't always aware of how big they are. After talking about it for a while we decided we would like a puppy. The puppy would be raised around the cats and we could start training it as soon as possible. And that is how we ended up with this little one!

River has been a joy for the most part. And I say the most part because she is a puppy. This means chewing things she shouldn't, messing on the floors, chasing the cats, and crying in her crate at night. These are things that can be easily changed if you put some effort into it.

Chewing- If your new pet is chewing on things it shouldn't then go buy some things it can chew on! Any dog can be easily distracted from the 'bad chew' with something it can chew on. If River grabs a shoe I grab a squeaker toy and give it a few squeezes. The noise stops her from chewing the shoe and she wants that new toy! Remember it is not your puppy's fault for chewing on shoes! You yelling at your pet will not help either of you. Remain calm and give a firm "No. Not yours." If you have a dog toy on hand you can even add a "That is not yours. This is yours." and give your dog the other toy. You might like to blame it on the dog but by simply putting your shoes away will keep them free from gnawing jaws! Toys that my two mutts love are hard bones (such as rib, knuckles, femurs, or antlers), Kongs, Nylabones, and anything that squeaks honks or moos. If you have a problem with your dog chewing on tables or chairs (or in our case bookcases) invest in some Bitter Apple spray. Just spray the area your dog is chewing on and let it dry.

Chasing- If I had an answer for this I would give you one. In our house the cats rule. The puppy is learning, albet a bit slowly, that chasing the cats is a no-no and they will swat at her. In fact Dawn enjoys being chased and Kaillie likes to do the chasing so it works out okay with the puppy in the middle of them.

Crying at Night- I know it is one of the most painful thing to deal with! Crying at night is normal. When you put a young child in a room by itself and they cry and want toys, water, or the world on a silver platter you deal with it by ignoring it until they fall asleep. Your new dog is your new child! You might lack some shut eye but if you baby them that first night they will expect it the next time. Putting your dog is a crate at night isn't a bad thing. Roxie loves her crate and when the house is in an uproar because of company coming she hides out in there to stay out of the way. In the beginning keeping your dog in there is safer for everyone. And later in life when your dog is done with the chewing and peeing you don't have to keep them in the crate. But please keep in mind a crate is NOT punishment! If you use it for punishment they will not want to go in there anymore. Make sure the crate you use is big enough for when your puppy is full grown or you will have to buy a new crate.

Accidents- They happen. It's a fact of life. Yelling at your new dog may make them afraid to pee ever again! When you take your new family member outside to 'do the doo' it might take time. When the magical moment happens say something like "Good potty! Good River. Good potty." Praise for going to the bathroom outside is a good thing! Buy some deep cleaner for those messes that happen in the house. A dog's nose can smell a lot more than you can so even if you can't smell it Fido can!

These are some of the most common things you will run across when bringing a new puppy into the house. All of them can be fixed pretty easily and make you, your dog, and your home happier. For those who want to start crate training here are some tips and tricks.

Make the crate homey. Add a bed or towel that can be washed easily. Puppies won't want to make a mess where they sleep but it does happen once in a while. Adding a toy or chew will give your dog something to do while they are waiting for you to get home.
Don't push them in there. I know this sounds silly but it helps. Grab a yummy treat or bully stick and show it to your dog before tossing it in the crate while saying whatever command you want to give them for getting in their crate. We use "in your crate" but another I have heard is just plain "kennel". After a while when you say the command you choose your dog will run to the crate because Fido knows that he will get a treat for going in there.
The crying will stop. It might not seem like it but I can promise you it will. Keeping your dog in there while you are sleeping or at work is best for everyone including your wallet if you are replacing everything your new friend chews. Even now River will cry every now and then but mostly its to go outside or if there is a stray cat in the yard.

And now since it is such a beautiful day outside I'm going to go play with my River Rox team and wear them out! Enjoy your new puppy and long term friend!

Post Valentine's Day Day

Oh Valentine's Day.

We shall always be friends.

As long I can call you 'I'm So Glad I'm Single' Day.

I know I'm so romantic.

But lets be honest here. Every year you get wine, chocolate, a teddy bear, a card, so on and so forth. The wine and chocolate get eaten quickly when you are feeling a little sad. The bear if there for you to cry on and/or punch when angry or in my case given to one of my dogs. The card gets lost or is thrown out. But that doesn't change the fact that we all still go out and buy gifts. Even I went out and got some gifts.

I even made some quick and easy cupcakes! Just mix up your favorite vanilla or white cake batter and scoop 1/3-1/2 cup of the into a small bowl and mix in some food color. Fill your cupcake liner with the plain batter. Then put a SMALL drop of the colored batter on top of the boring batter and use a toothpick to drag through the drop of colored batter.

Start out OUTSIDE of the dot and drag through the middle of the droplet and stop when you feel like it. I used three dots around the batter and dragged my toothpick in a circle.

Keep in mind that the image will change as it bakes so even if it doesn't look perfect you might still like it after it bakes!

This is a different cupcake that wasn't my favorite but it was still really pretty. With these cupcakes you could add frosting but only a small amount in the center otherwise you hide your little hearts. 

And for my last picture I give you Sophie. She has claimed this are her perch. My poor ruined kitchen needs to be fixed so the cats can't get into the roof.

This is above my counters. Bad things happen when pipes burst people! We had a few weeks of amazing, newly remodeled kitchen! And then water was pouring down our cabinets and walls one morning. So drywall, tile, cabinets, microwave, and the carpet in the room on the other side of the kitchen had to be ripped out. So we have half of a kitchen pretty much. Anyways the sad story is over.

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Don't eat all that chocolate in one day!

A Day in the Life of Me

I hate Mondays.

I really really hate them.

I'm lucky enough to not have to wake up extremely early. I am such a night owl. I can't help but to stay up and read a good book before bed. So this is how my Monday goes:

7:00    Wake up
7:03    Let the Rottie and the new puppy outside
7:05    Drink coffee
7:10    Homework
11:30  Get ready and head to college which is a miracle because I'm a girl!!
12:30  Math - ugh!
1:50    Study
3:30    The history of the stars and stripes
4:55    Study/cram food in my mouth
5:30    Biology II
8:45    Head home!
9:30    Eat dinner and relax

And then at some point I go to bed. Or read. It depends. Have you ever seen Treasure Planet? The silly kids movie from forever ago? It starts with this little boy 'reading' a book under his covers. That was me. Yup.

One good thing about Mondays. That was the day I got my new puppy. River the Australian Cattle Dog/ Beagle mix. Yes I named her after the Doctor Who character River Song. Because they are so alike it drives me nuts. Both are always getting into trouble. Both are very cute. Both are very smart. And as I type this River is running around chasing the cats with a very large toy snake in her mouth.

So the month of January was my "If I even think of another craft I might stab myself with sewing scissors" month. I was asked at hour 48 if I could make cookie tins for 14 coworkers of my mother. And I know I could have done just one or two types of cookies but I go over board. I made:

Samoa Bark
Peppermint Thin Mints
Stained Glass Cookies
Swirl Cookies
Double Chocolate Bread
and last but not least....
Cinnamon Hot Chocolate Mix

It was a very merry Pinterest Christmas! I changed a few of the recipes that I found.

The Peppermint Thin Mints were so good! I used a dark chocolate for a more rich flavor. 

The pinwheels were cute. I didn't use a regular sugar cookie for this. I used a butter cookie recipe I had shoved in one of my recipe boxes. I used the same butter cookie dough for the Stained Glass cookies too. It make it so they weren't really sweet so the box was not a sugar overload. 

I got the tins from Michael's on sale! Instead of paying $8 per tin it was only $2 or so. And with some tissue paper and cupcake liners to hold the yummies it was pretty easy to wrap up. All in all I was pretty happy with this for the little time I had. I did have to stay up all night to finish and helped bag these babies into the car at 6 am. Oh well. I'll sleep when I'm dead I guess!

To wrap this up I'm going to include a cute picture of my pets. Cause you know I'm weird like that.

I'm sorry but how cute is that? No one wrapped her in that blanket. She burrowed under it and plopped down and started watching Doctor Who with us. She loves the Tardis noise. If you know where I can buy a cat toy that makes the Tardis sound let me know!

Happy Monday!!

I need a Doctor... but ice cream will work too!

Shopping is hard.

When you first start out its like this-

Hmm... I need to go get a few things for cookie boxes for workmates. It won't that long. I'll be in there for 30 minutes top!

And then...

Six. Hours. Later.

And most of that was Jo-Ann Fabrics. And then Publix. Crafts and food. Mostly food. I love food. Want to know what else I love?

Doctor Who.

Christmas day is going to be me making everyone shut up so I can watch the Doctor. This new episode is going to be my gift. I have been counting down the days until the new episode. Every morning all I can think is only a few more days!

In case you couldn't tell I love River Song. You call me your River and you own me. The episode when we first met her, I knew she would be back. Too many spoilers. I can't wait until the next episode with her in it. And just typing this makes me want to go re-watch Doctor Who. I am so in love with this show that I even wrote a paper on the Doctor for my English class. Easiest A I have ever made in any thing.

Things I learned during the last month of college:

1. Always write about something you love or hate. It makes the writing so much easier.
2. Don't wait until the last minute to write a paper. It causes so much stress that you can live without. Instead write a few lines a day and then a few days before its due read it over and fix things.
3. Finals week sucks. It is a few days that you will not get much sleep. You will be crash coursing those books and flopping around in your bed like a landed fish.
4. Extra credit is your friend. Always ask if your professor has any extra credit. I can promise you it will save your grade.
5. Don't be okay with a C. If you get one then you at least passed. But A's look much better. All it requires is a few more hours of studying and you could be getting a higher grade.
6. When your last final is over walk calmly out of the room and then do a happy dance. It will make all the stressing you did melt a little. And then go home and have some cake because you earned it. I stopped at Biscottis on my way home. Freshly made cakes yum.
7. When you walk out of that exam, you should believe that you did the best you could. If you get an A on that final you know you were doing something right.
8. At the end of the day you still have your family and friends.
9. A good long Doctor Who marathon fixes everything. And Häagen Dazs mint chocolate chip ice cream. Or chocolate peanut butter.

Time to go put on my nerd wear and watch the Doctor save the Earth again! Om nom nom Häagen Dazs!

Paint Smear Ornaments

So I have found that these things just don't dry in a day.

Blah.

But they are still very pretty and I can't see them changing much by the time they do dry. These were so simple to do. I can't believe that I have gone this long in my life without doing these ornaments before. Here is what the inspiration came from:

I love how the colors streak and blend. I'm not the first to try and replicate these ornaments either! You can see others attempts here and here.

Here is how my ornaments turned out!

The things you will need for these are really cheap. Some acrylic paint and a box of clear glass ornaments. Thats it. I used some plastic cups to drip extra paint into while these puppies dried which was a very good idea. I was a little shocked about how much dripped out. Of course I put a little more than one or two drops of paint in there so that could be why.

Add a drop or two of paint (or squeeze about a 1/8 teaspoon of paint if you are only using two different colors or really really impatient like me!) and then tap to spread the paint. I used these paint colors and brands.

The tapping does take a while though so get ready to tap!

The plus side is that the ornament doesn't look the same on any other side. The down side is that if you really like the ornament and want to make a set... Yeah not going to happen.

On a side note though my cats love Christmas trees.

Kaillie looking at the flashing lights

And then she has to be oh so cute

Dawn looking for a way to climb into the tree

Also another craft! 3D paper stars!

How cute right? Don't ask me how to make them though! I just hot glued where my mother told me to. And then hung them up when she was happy with them. Maybe I can get her to write a post on them? They didn't take much time either which is great. Quick and easy! And for my last picture for the post!

I like it. Plus this is my blog so I could post cat pictures all day every day and no one could tell me no.

Well you could. But I don't have to listen.

I have cookies to bake this week so I might be posting those.

Until next time! Happy holidays!

College, Ornaments, and Frosty.

So college is a big deal.

I have never been so busy in my life. But I enjoy learning. Which is really good for me because I'm pre-med.

Lately though I keep thinking more and more about how I should start blogging again. And not for all of you people who might read this but for me to remember all of the things I have done and how I could change it next time. And since it's the holiday season I have more time to craft and bake.

As of right now I have two projects going on at the same time. I guess college has taught me that I like being busy as well. Also I have become a Pinterest addict. Its quick and easy from my laptop or iPhone in between classes or even sometimes the boring class period when my professor just keeping talking and talking and talking. And it has nothing to do with the class. What. Why?

Project One: Paint Smear Ornaments. I saw these on Pinterest and I think they are super cute. But as with most things we see on the internet nothing will turn out like the picture. I mean really you can get really close but changes are it won't happen. But we shall see!
Here is where to see the original poster of these beauties!

I love the colors and its the perfect thing to make for the holidays. Plus you could even do these with the kiddos and write a name and date on them.

Project Two: Frosty the Lighted Snowman. This is one of those random things that just pops into your head and you think 'that would be a really cool project'. And I'm thinking I might be right. Its amazing that it happens. So Frosty started from these light ball ornament things you can hang in your trees outside. I saw them while driving my mother around to look at lights just the other day. They just had the store bought ones and guess what? I had an idea! And I made some of those as well. But Frosty is the big deal because I said so. To find out how to make the outdoor tree ornaments you can wait until I show you how I made them without knowing how besides I needed chicken wire and lights OR you can go here and see how this lady made hers. I basically did the same thing. I only just found this which would have made today a little easier but I had fun. Here is how her tree ornaments turned out:

Its like little globe of light floating in air! Frosty is going to be sitting on the swing in the front yard and is going to be wrapped in lights.

Here are a few things I have learned today:

1. I really need to wear gloves when messing with chicken wire. I have all these little cuts on my hands and arms that were really annoying when I was squeezing lemons for my chicken dinner. Winner winner chicken dinner.
2. I need to have a wet rag near me when messing around with paint. I was spray painting and doing those smear ornaments and I have paint on my hands. Which I don't mind because one of the paints had sparkles in it. Who doesn't like sparkles? Don't answer that.
3. People buy vacuums for their ears. I'm not kidding. As I type this I'm watching a commercial for a WaxVac. I wish I could un-see this. Its just a little weird.
4. Late night TV is something I should leave to other people.
5. Christmas trees and four cats is really funny to watch but not so funny to clean up after.

And thats all for today. Tomorrow will be the finished ornaments and maybe even Frosty.
Happy Holidays!

The Starting of the End... I Think...

So after telling friends of all woes of baking and life in general to which most I got was laughter that I should share with everyone! So I will! And for my first post I'll share my cupcakes that I finished a few hours ago. Since I wasn't informed of the family coming to visit for the weekend I had to think fast for something sweet everyone would like! And since I knew that my mother was craving a mojito I was thinking something with rum. And thanks to the darling posters at cakeswebake.com I found a cake made with cream cheese AND rum! Best of both worlds right? Well since I'm a little crazy and take the road less traveled by (see I did pay attention in class!) I decided to try it out and see what I got.

The Creamy Rum Cake batter! I think that's a good name for it. This batter is really fluffy and I might have swiped a bit to taste and it was yum! I did make the chocolate version which just means I replaced 1/3 cup of flour with cocoa powder. But I also added 1 tablespoon of instant coffee which was really good. Before I baked the cupcakes the batter was really strong in both coffee and rum. The smell was to die for though!

As fluffy as the batter is I was worried about the cupcakes rising too much or not at all.

A little over baked. Even with the second set of pans I put in that wasn't over cooked when they came out the cupcakes had very flat tops which was a bit of a downer. Note to readers: make sure the puppy is outside before starting to cook or else you might have to clean up the chewed up pillows and burn things!

Kahlua Buttercream! I found this from a fellow blogger and you can find this recipe and many more here. But for the ease of everyone I will put the recipes up for your viewing pleasure. The frosting was a little dry when I made it so I just mixed in some more milk. Maybe a tablespoon or more. Not too much but I did notice when I was using the buttercream that I should have added a bit more as it was getting harder to spread as time when on a bit.

I'm really glad I decided to make two different frostings since one visiting family member isn't a fan of chocolate and the other loves it. But also when I was icing my cupcakes I was going to be a bit short on frosting to be able to finish. But the second frosting I used is for sure a chocolate lovers dream.

Chocolate Buttercream! This frosting is really rich and when I was looking at the cupcakes this morning this chocolate buttercream was still really shiny and soft which I love in a frosting. Nothing makes me not want to eat cupcakes with hard frosting on it. When you think frosting it's creamy and soft not a little crunch! The chocolate buttercream could be thinned a little more then what the recipe calls for to make a chocolate drizzle.

This chocolate frosting requires the use of a stove top and a little more cleaning then what some may want to do although it is only an extra pot and a spoon! The chocolate paste is added into a mixer and and mixed with powdered sugar and milk a little at a time.

Would I use the Chocolate Buttercream for anything but icing? Probably not. The issue with the not hardening in buttercream it that you cant make fancy designs like roses as easily as you could with say the Kahlua Buttercream.

Overall I really enjoyed the recipes I used. The Chocolate Buttercream is something I plan on using more often! The Creamy Rum Cake is something to use for cake decorating in my opinion as it comes out a little flat in my case at least. The Kahlua Buttercream it good for little garnish but has a strong taste so I won't being using a lot.

Creamy Rum Cake

1 1/2 cups softened butter

1 bar cream cheese

3 cups white sugar

6 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp rum

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease pans. Cream butter and sugar until smooth before adding sugar till fluffy. This should take about 5 minutes give or take. Add eggs one at a time until combined. Add vanilla. Sift flour and salt and add slowly to wet mixture mixing till just combined. Pour into prepared pans and bake until golden or toothpick comes out clean. Medium cupcakes take about 20 minutes and round 8" cake pans take about 45 minutes.

If you want to make this recipe with cocoa powder replace 1/3 cup of flour with 1/3 cup of cocoa powder. To make this with a more 'exotic' taste add 1 tbsp of instant coffee.

Kahlua Buttercream

1 stick softened butter

2-3 cups powdered sugar

2 tbsp Kahlua liqueur

Cream butter in mixer. Add sugar until you get the consistency for spreading and piping. Add liqueur and mix till incorporated.

For a different flavor add an extract in place of the liqueur.

Chocolate Buttercream

4 ounces butter

1 1/2 cup cocoa sifted

1/2 cup milk

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

Melt butter in sauce pan. Remove from heat. Mix in cocoa powder until a chocolate paste. Add a third of the sugar and a third of the milk and mix. Keep adding a little at a time while mixing. Mix for 3-5 minutes.

For both buttercreams as always add more powdered sugar if too liquid for use or add more milk if its too thick.

But all in all I will be using these recipes again. The cake was beyond yummy and so far I have gotten high praise for the cupcakes. Until the next time!