Monday, December 16, 2024

Weekly Round Up: A Cookie and a Bunch of Dog Stories

A weekly roundup: eats, workouts, watches, and reads.  In this week's edition I made cookies, and I have a bunch of dog stories to share.

An Update From Last Week

RIP Yardball. Date of birth unknown, date of death December 9th.  You were the Best Tennis Ball ever, but you started to break into pieces so you had to be sent into the next world before you got eaten.  Scoutball and other assorted tennis balls and squeak balls are filling in for you.

Thank You SANta!

This was my first year participating in the Secret SANta Swap, and some lovely Christmas Cheer showed up in the mail via Julie.


You're looking at a FLW coffee mug (lol does she know me or does she know me?), and some See's cocoa and See's California brittle.

The cocoa has been shared with the fam, the milk brittle is on its way to becoming history, and the mug has gotten its first of many uses.  Thanks Julie!

Eats

Every once in a while I see a recipe and a voice whispers "drop everything and make this now".  That's how I came to make Sally's Baking Addiction's chocolate frosted cookies.  They were a hit with 4/4 members of the house.

Workouts

The usual, nothing exciting to report

Watching

Hubs and I are continuing our Seinfeld-from-the-beginning journey.  We just started season 3.


On the movie front, in recent years I have seen and surprisingly enjoyed just about every 80's Vietnam movie except Full Metal Jacket.  Somehow it came up in conversation with the Hubs and the next thing you know we were clearing our busy schedules to watch it.  I feel that this was a case of saving the best for last.


Reading

I'm about halfway through the audiobook of Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds by David Goggins, still liking it though I've taken a pause to catch up on podcasts.

For non-audio books, when Nicole started talking about The Girls from Corona Del Mar by Rufi Thorpe, my spidey senses told me to pick it up ASAP.  I adored Margo's Got Money Troubles, so it was a "when and not if" I was going to read more by the same author.  When you're the bad girl and your best friend is the good girl, but then you grow up and change roles...there is lots of food for thought with this one.

Best Random Dog Story of the Week

One morning this week Doggo was taking a nap in our unmade bed.  She was on Hubs's side, and I came into the room and naturally took a moment to indulge in the best part of WFH and snuggled with her.

I noticed that there was something between the dog and the bed that was neither dog nor bed.  It was a small piece of a potato chip.

I immediately walked into Hubs's office with the potato chip and the dog followed.  I said "you'll never believe what I found in bed with the dog", and showed him the chip.  I moved the chip within Doggo's range and she promptly did what any dog would do and snarfed up the potato chip.

So the questions are:

  • How did a potato chip get into our bed?  We're not "eat potato chips in bed" people.
  • How did the dog end up lying on top of the potato chip instead of eating it on the spot?

There are no answers, it's just a Mystery of the Universe.

Speaking of Doggo

Let's close it out with some seasonal doggy cheer.  I haven't mentioned this before, but someone in our house was the star of a viral Youtube video*  If you've ever wondered what Doggo was up to last Christmas, here is the answer.

*Youtube star = she is in the video for two seconds starting at 1:40

*Viral video = the video has 93 views and approximately 86 of those are from Hubs and me.


Doggo came from Moco Mutts Rescue Center in Tennessee, which is a state that has more dogs than people who can love them.  Moco works with various animal transports to get their dogs to places where there is a bit less of a supply, so that's how she came to be in a shelter up here in the north last January.  A few months after we got her, we took a look at her adoption paperwork, and Hubs did some internet sleuthing and found out about her Youtube career.

 

Peace Out! See You Next Week!



27 comments:

  1. Sorry I’ve been MIA in (too long) awhile over here. I blame my forgetful brain and limited sleep (all due to the new job). Anyways, YAY for Seinfeld!!!! That is easily one of my top 3 favorite shows of all time. I caught the son watching it (a few years ago while on college break (recovering from his tonsillectomy), and he was laughing even more than me. Yeah, that was a very proud parent moment ;-)

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    1. No worries Kim! The limited sleep/long work hours thing is legit.

      I can't imagine how much it must have hurt for your son to laugh after the tonsillectomy, but I know it was worth it.

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  2. That Secret Santa swap looks fun! And Sally's recipes are always winners for me. She knows and tests her stuff!

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    1. The swap is fun! 10/10 highly recommend. I hope that you have plans to make some yummy Sally goods to help recover from THE MARATHON!!!! For everyone who doesn't know what we're talking about, Sarah ran her first marathon last weekend!!!

      http://simplesacredsweet.blogspot.com/2024/12/abc-marathon-gratitude.html

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    2. Thank you for the shout out! I had other baking challenge results in the fridge for eating this week and have Sally's Baking Challenge on the list for baking over the weekend. Her challenges are so fun (and yummy to boot)!

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  3. Yay Doggo, you YouTube star! That was a VERY cute video. Mulder knew which gift bag was his and would wait until we were opening gifts before sticking his nose in there. Smart boy.

    I was going to say that my favorite Vietnam 80s movie was The Thin Red Line, but then I realized that it is a WWII film made in the late 90s. Still, the best war movie I've ever seen.

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    1. Ooh! Taking a note of Thin Red Line. When it comes down to it, I'm not picky about which war or which movie - I just like a good movie.

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  4. A FLW mug!! That's a very thoughtful gift by Julie!
    Maybe hubs is snuggling the dog while secretly eating crisps? 🤔 But that wouldn't explain why doggo wouldn't eat immediately eat the runaway crisp...I guess we will never find out!
    That's a lovely video! 😍

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    1. Listen, if Hubs and Doggo have a secret chip eating snuggling pact, I am all for it. The only mystery is how the one chip went uneaten.

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  5. Your Secret Santa stash is perfect, way to go Julie!
    Seinfeld season 3 is GOLD I tell you, gold. I love that show so much. I think season 3 has some of my favourites. What a fun rewatch. Is that the season where Elaine leaves a sexy message on Jerry's tape recorder and George is going through a baldness treatment? I think it might be. That's one of my favourite episodes!
    Doggo! She's a star!
    The only Vietnam war movies I can think of right now are Born on the 4th of July, which may have come out in 1989, not sure, and Forrest Gump, which I know was in the 90s. I for sure have never seen Full Metal Jacket!
    Okay, HOW. How did a potato chip get there? Did it travel on her fur?

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    1. I will report back on the highlights of season 3! Last night we saw the episode where they can't find their car in the mall parking garage.

      Wait, I haven't seen Born on the 4th of July...I've got more watching to do.

      I wondered if the potato chip got stuck in her fur from somewhere else in the house. Hubs's theory is that the chip got stuck on his clothes and transferred to the bed that way. In any case, there was a malfunction in Doggo's Potato Chip Detector. It's only 99.99999999999999999% effective.

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  6. That Secret SANta gift is perfect. I mean...I'm glad I didn't sign up because I couldn't have mailed anything, but my goodness people are knocking it out of the park. It's funny/ironic that our blogging friends really know wayyyy more about our likes/dislikes/habits than our "in-person" friends.
    I feel like we need to have a memorial service of some sort of Yardball. I think all your blog readers are almost as attached as Doggo :)

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  7. That mug is gorgeous! Julie did such a great job!

    Wow, that potato chip situation is a real head-scratching mystery! What in the world! Is hubs secretly eating potato chips in bed? Hmmm...

    I have been slowly working my way through Thorpe's backlist. I read The Girls from Corona del Mar the year it came out and it made my best books of the year list! I'm glad the success of Margo is giving her the attention she deserves!

    That cookie looks delicious! My mom used to make something similar and then she would put a walnut in the frosting (which I was not in favor of as I don't care for walnuts). Hearing about everyone making cookies makes me feel a little bit melancholy because it's just not something I do since no one really wants GF baked goods (trust me... even the best recipe is just not as great as something with gluten). But I will make sugar cookies this weekend for a little decorating party with our neighbors!

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    1. Aw man, GF is a downer when it comes to baking. Boo!

      I want to slowly make my way through Thorpe's backlist as well...slowly because I don't ever want to not have a book of hers to go read.

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  8. I just want to give you some gold stars. Workouts "as usual, nothing exciting to report" in DECEMBER deserves props. We talk about this in my fitness class all the time - people who come to class in January and February are doing a good things, but people who come to class in November and December are diehards. You're doing life right is what I'm saying.

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    1. Listen, between you and me November and December are downer months - the onset of winter and extreme darkness. I can't imagine how it would feel to add not working out on top of that.

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  9. OMG I am so sad about yardball. NO!

    That mug is so perfect for you!

    This potato chip mystery must be solved! It almost sounds like a prank!

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    1. Sigh, Yardball lived a good life. I still can't comprehend how Doggo was near the potato chip for any longer than one second without eating it.

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  10. Awww, RIP Yardball! And Superstar Hanna in her viral video is so cute! All of those dogs are cuties. What a brilliant gift Julie chose for you!

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  11. A FLW mug??? How perfect is that! And- I saw that cookie recipe- it's one of her new ones this year, right? They look delicious.
    Doggo is famous! I know she misses Yardball, but I'm sure she'll carry on.
    I think the answer to the potato chip mystery is that your husband has been secretly eating potato chips in bed (busted!) Oh, I'm sure he'll deny it though.

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    1. Listen, if the Hubs wants to eat potato chips in bed he is more than welcome - there's nothing wrong with that. However he has good food habits and only eats a small portion of chips with lunch, so either he's really secretive or there is a Big Mystery out there that is unsolved.

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  12. RIP Yardball. I love seeing all the great secret Santa swap gifts. Such a fun, festive treat you received. Trying out new cookie recipes sounds like a great idea, but I tend to stick with my tried and true cookies. My people take after me, so they are all ready and willing to eat anything sweet. I'm sure they wouldn't complain is what I'm saying. Maybe I'll do a cookie bake thing in the relaxing days off after Christmas. Seinfeld - always funny. Does Doggo typically watch you, watching your show, or did it just workout that way for this photo? ;) I've never watched Full Metal Jacket. I thought that was the name of a Phil Collins album. Maybe?

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    1. Doggo has a whole slew of stuff that she does while we watch TV. Sometimes she plays, sometimes she snuggles on the couch behind us, and sometimes she hangs out on our big beanbag chair with us. Or does a combination of things - aka plays with a toy while cuddling on the beanbag. Seinfeld is funny even with her big ears blocking the view.

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  13. That is SUCH a perfect mug! And it's so pretty. I love it!

    RIP Yardball. That's so sad. It lived a good life as Doggo's ball and now must go to the Big Pet Store in the Sky.

    I love Doggo's look to camera in the Seinfeld picture. She's so photogenic!

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    1. It's hard to say what we enjoy more - watching Seinfeld or watching Doggo's ears. Or doing both at the same time.

      I used the mug again this morning and it definitely brightened my day!

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