Florida Bound

No, not Mike and I this time. Been there, done that.

My sister and her hubby moved there last week. Thirteen years

in the making and they finally made it there. I can't

wait to visit in February.

So, what do you get someone heading to the sun and sand as a going away present?

A margarita pedicure that's what.

We got to sip on a Margarita while they used the same ingredients for our pedicure.

A great way to spend some time with my favorite sister. Oh right, she is my

only sister, but the best I could ask for.

Dog Fix

What do you do when you love dogs, but you can't have one of your own?

You dog-sit for family and friends.

I had double the doggy love this past weekend.

Here we have Misty on the left. Misty is my step-dad's dog. She is a real sweetie.

On the right we have Duney. He is my cousin's dog. I know he looks like a stuffed animal and barks like a squeaky toy, but I swear he is a real dog. He is also very sweet.

They already knew each other before they came over to stay. Otherwise I wouldn't normally take on two dogs from different families on the same weekend.

The big question is: What did Jez think?
I couldn't get a pic with Misty. Jez is a little too leery of her. I think she recognises the breed. The last springer she knew thought she looked more like lunch then a cat.
Duney, as you can see from this pic poses no threat. He, however, looks to be the one that is threatened. I had a hard time getting him to get that close. He kept looking at me like..."are you serious, that crazy cat will kill me if I take one step closer."
Jez just kept looking at him like..."you got that right fur ball. One more step, I dare you."

All and all, everyone seemed to get along pretty well. My house has a few more layers of fur but my heart has a few more layers of unconditional love so I figure I came out ahead.

Mixing it up

Ta Dah!! I thought I would mix it up a bit on the ole blog. It was time for an update. I am doing this with out input from Mike. I am sure it will meet with sufficient criticism from him. The real question is, how long will it take for him to notice? Not only does he not have time to blog himself, he doesn't even think to check it out when I do.
Speaking of changes. Don't you hate it when you are trying to make some personal changes and WHAMO!, you snap. I mean snap big time leaving hurt feelings, anger and resentment in your wake. Well, that is exactly what I did recently.
Funny how the more I love someone the less I can keep my mouth shut. I try to bite my tongue, but a few break through snotty remarks always seem to escape. Then when I have whittled away my tongue to a mere nub, it all comes flying out. Often at the least opportune time. It would be justified if it actually produced the desired result, but when does that ever happen?
Mike has given me many opportunities to work on my tongue biting skills over the years. You would think I would have mastered it by now. Why he still puts up with me is a wonder...probably because I still put up with him. Marriage...the art of putting up with one another.
Unfortunately, I do not reserve my verbal on slots to only Mike. The rest of my family is fair game as well. Remember, if I chew you out, it is because I love you. Um, what is wrong with that sentence?
Yes, we are all a work in progress. Some of us just need a little more work then others. I need an "Under Construction" sign taped to my forehead as a warning.

Cheesefest 2010

It can not come as a surprise that WI has a cheesefest. It just so happens to be held in the small town of Little Chute, minutes from where I grew up. I have attended this festival many years ago. Now that I am back in the great state of WI, I thought I would go again in order to bring those of you who are deprived of such a festival a glimpse into what is The Great Wisconsin Cheese Festival.

Yes, Mike bought a tee shirt.












First stop was the cheese carving contest. This guy was talented.

A pic of the finished product is at the end.

Those are some big blocks of cheese, eh?

Ahh! The best thing to come out of WI. Deep fried cheese curds.

Not just deep fried cheese. Anyone can do that. Cheese curds are a delicacy known in these parts and deep frying them makes them all the more delectable.

For you cheese novices, cheese curds are very young chunks of cheese. Mild in flavor and when fresh, squeak when you bite into them.

Maybe we should have gotten our own instead of trying to share.

Of course there is a cheese tasting at cheesefest. As you can see by the line we love our cheese. Plus, it was free.

Plate-o-cheese! Yummy!

Um...that was a lot of cheese to eat in one sitting. Maybe not so much in quantity, but in variety of cheese. Too many flavors and not enough crackers to break it up.

Mike seems to be doing just fine. I guess slow and steady wins the race.

We were not really racing, but if any of you have seen me eat, I tend to do it at a pretty rapid pace. As you can see by the previous picture, it doesn't always work out well for me.

You can't have a cheesefest with out a cheese curd eating contest.

1/2lb of cheese curds to be consumed in the fastest time. Doesn't seem like much, but getting them chewed up enough to swallow takes some time.

This guy in the red did it in 2 min and 11 sec.

Here is the finished product of that cheese carving. The others were ok, but this one was by far the best.

There you have it folks. Cheesefest. Are you not glad that I provided you insight into this great cultural event?