So this past weekend I was working on our Christmas newsletter. Last year I took it to kinko's and printed it. But doing it this way cost me an arm and a leg! So this year I decided just to print them at home. Well of course, midway through printing I ran out of ink.

Donnie being the wonderful husband that he is when and got ink for me at Best Buy. Best Buy was having a promotion that if you spent so much money you got a free $5 gift card. And know what gift card he picked out for me? The happy Kwanzaa one. Too Funny

"Its beginning to look a lot like Kwanzaa, every where you go"

KooKeys

Does anyone know about kookeys? My husband does. I wish you can see me rolling my eyes. hehehe

Happy Tofu Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!!! Currently I'm in Ohio blogging on my dear Aunt Deb's laptop. I'm loving this laptop! I might be asking Santa for one in a couple years. (thus giving Santa time to save)

Frankie is still in the Detroit area at the Petsmart hotel. I hope he is doing well. Remember Courtney....your still on the emergency contact list!!! :-)

What is everyone thankful for this year? I'm thankful that no matter what happens in life God has given me a family that is always there for me. :-) Also I'm thankful that I have the most wonderful pug in the whole entire world named Frankie.

Happy 1/2 Birthday Donnie!

Today was a big day around here. Donnie and I celebrated his 1/2 birthday! He even got presents!!! He is quoted as saying "I should have 1/2 birthday's more often!"

For his presents, I gave him a book that he had been wanting from Borders, and some Webkinz cards. Seeing that Donnie and I are WAY to into our Webkinz the cards were great fun for both of us!

Frankie, however was very convinced that the cards were for him, and proceeded to try to chew them open. This was VERY humorous.

Dads are Great!

So our house has been having some electrical issues. Seeing that my Dad knows all things electrical, he volunteered to come over tonight and check things out for us. While my dad was checking out the fuse box the sump pump started making some really odd noises.
So as it turns out, our electricity was fine, but the sump pump needed to be replaced. How crazy is that?
So my dad gave Donnie a crash course on how to replace a sump pump. During this whole process Frankie was faithfully supervising. He's such a great pug :-)

Friday Fun

My parents have been taking ballroom dance lesson on Friday nights for a very long time now. After the dance class my parents and their friends go over to someones house for food. Well, it was my mom's turn tonight and I volunteered to help with the food. I found some Tastefully Simple (of course) recipes for my mom and I to made for the night. Here are some of the highlights.
Creamy Swiss Spinach Dip

Submitted by Pamela Bishop (FL)

Ingredients
Bountiful Beer Bread Mix^®
12 oz. beer
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup sour cream
8 oz. shredded Swiss cheese
4 Tbsp. Spinach & Herb Dip Mix
1 Tbsp. Garlic Garlic™

Directions
Prepare Bountiful Beer Bread Mix^® as directed on package with beer; spread dough into greased 9-inch round cake pan. Bake at 375° for 40-50 minutes; cool. Hollow bread, reserve top and insides. Combine remaining ingredients; spoon into bread. Wrap bread in foil and bake at 325° for 1 hour. Cube reserved bread and use for dipping. Makes 8-10 servings.

A Cool Almond's Night
Submitted by Erica Edwards (CT)

Ingredients
Absolutely Almond Pound Cake Mix™
1 cup water
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) melted butter
Rhubarb Strawberry Fruit Spread
8 oz. Cool Whip®
Hulled, sliced fresh strawberries

Directions
Prepare Absolutely Almond Pound Cake Mix™ as directed on package with water and butter. Cool completely; slice in half horizontally. Spread bottom layer with Rhubarb Strawberry Fruit Spread; top with layer of Cool Whip. Place top half of cake on top of bottom half. Spread Cool Whip on top; cover with sliced strawberries. Makes 12-15 servings.

While the grown ups were eating in the grown up room, Donnie and I were at the kids table enjoying all the yummy goodness. Grown ups scare us!! hehehe

Fall has Fallen

When I looked outside today all I saw was a sea of yellow leaves. It was so cool I had to take pictures. Enjoy!

Two Less Dogs!

Puppy found a home, Snickers is back with his family, and that makes Frankie a very happy pug!

One Less Dog

Today Puppy found his forever home!!!!! Courtney from Paws for Life came and picked him up today and took him to a family in Ann Arbor. We are so happy that he has a good family to go to.
Seeing that Puppy is now gone, and we only have two dogs, we had a bit of a celebration. I made this (of course I got it from the Tastefully Simple website) :
Crunchy Mixed Vegetable Bake

Submitted by Joy Rodas (MN) HQ Team Member

Ingredients
1 - 2 Tbsp. Spinach & Herb Dip Mix*
1-2 Tbsp. Garlic Garlic™
10.75 oz. can cream of mushroom soup
1 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp. pepper
8 oz. shredded Swiss or cheddar cheese
3 (16 oz.) pkgs. frozen vegetables
2.8 oz. can French fried onion rings

Directions
Combine first 5 ingredients in medium bowl; blend well. Stir in cheese. Place frozen vegetables in greased 9 x 13 baking pan; spoon soup mixture over vegetables. Mix to coat evenly. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until hot. Remove from oven. Sprinkle fried onions over vegetable mixture. Return to oven and bake an additional 5 minutes or until onions are golden. Serve immediately. Makes 12 servings.
I also made the Key Lime Cheese Ball. Yummmy. However I did not make it into a ball, I just made it in a Tupperware tub that I could easily throw back in the fridge.

After all the great food we played Yahtzee. If this is not a top notch celebration, I don't know what is!!!

Frugal Friday

I have not done frugal Friday in awhile, but I came across something today that I knew I had to share.
Tonight for date night Donnie and I had dinner, and then headed to Borders. And to my HUGE delight there were two tables of things 75% off! Super cute things too! Note cards, journals, hand lotion, and gift sets. I picked up many things for myself, and got some gifts. They are great gifts to have on hand come Christmas time! Go check it out!

Yeah!

Yesterday I met with my dear friend Katie, and she had a late birthday present for me. Know what it was? A "Pugs not Drugs" t shirt. How cool is that! I'm going to wear it ALL the time!

Three words...Best.....Present....EVER!! hehehehe

Pets and More Pets

Seeing that we have 3 dogs, 2 gerbils, and a hammy we are naming our house "The Kelley Animal Sanctuary" Here are a few of the residents.

Frankie

Everyone knows and loves the Frankie Pug. He is quoted as saying "No one asked me about our home becoming an animal shelter."

Snickers

Snickers is visiting with us while his family is in Florida. He is quoted as saying "Throw the ball!!!!!"

Puppy

The newest resident, and up for adoption. He even has his own web page. He is quoted as saying "I can't wait to find my forever family!"

Oy

Our sweet hammy is quoted as saying "Do you have any seeds?"

Wilber and Timpleton were unavailable for comment.

Happy Birthday to Me!

I knew Donnie had some sort of surprise planned for me yesterday. As it turned out he had planned a surprise dinner with my parents, and some friends. We had SO much fun. Here are some pictures of the event. (thanks to Courtney)

What a Day!

Happy Birthday to me!!!! Yeah!!! I love my birthday!!!! Feel free to leave comments of birthday wishes.

Today started off as a normal day. I met my dear friend Katie for Starbucks, and had a great time. On the way home I notice this tiny puppy in the road! Poor thing!!! So when I got home I made Donnie go with me to see if the puppy was okay. Well...by the time we got to the puppy another couple had stopped to check on it also. The four of us went and knocked on doors asking if it was their puppy.
Then the other couple left, and we were left with a puppy. So, we brought the puppy home, and put him in our kitchen. We then made up some found dog posters, and put them up around the neighborhood. And now we are waiting for its mommy and daddy to call.

If no one calls are we keeping the puppy? Nope. We are going to hang on to him for a week, and then if no one calls we are going to find a good home for him.

Anyone want a puppy?

We have a Winner!!!

Thanks for everyone for the great participation in my giveaway. And we have a winner.....drum roll please........the winner is.....

Grace from Rose Cottage Lane! Congrats!

Something to think about

Here is a really interesting article done by Newsweek. I personally think its ridiculous. What do you all think?