Our Redneck Tree

My normal routine is to put up my tree the afternoon of Thanksgiving (if not before), but with M being sick I was nice and didn't put him through the torture of the lights and music and all that stuff that I do when I am decorating. So I finally got to put it up today!!!

Here it is!!!!

Yes it is a redneck christmas tree. I have red/white bobbers, red and green shot gun shells and deer antlers on the tree. My next thing to buy will be little bass fish lights for the tree. My tree topper is a deer named "John Deer". The tag has a "poem" that goes like this...

John Deer

Hunting his relatives started this fight,

finding a Winchester may set it right.

So don't mess with John Deer,

'cause this buck stops here!

Now it's man season so stay out of sight!

So here is my tree topper!!!

Our stockings are camo and the girls have stockings that are camo too. What can I say, we are a bunch of rednecks!!! But the most important thing is the girls in front of the tree. Roxy has a friend over named Yogi and they had been playing so I couldn't get Roxy to sit but they love the tree - a little too much!!! The tree skirt I bought off ebay last year from a shelter that had a store and the proceeds helped their shelter. I love christmas and I really love my redneck christmas tree!!!

Only 25 more days 'til christmas!!!!

Schnauzer love

This is my baby Sasha who I have fell in absolute love with.

This is her half-sister, Lola. She comes over and visits and stays with me every couple of weeks. I love her sooooo much and would love to have another white furbaby. Matt says that two is enough but I am thinking that another little one would even the odds out with Roxy!!!

Boomer Sooner!!!!

I would just like to give a yell out to that wonderful Oklahoma Sooner team that beat Oklahoma State last night. I know that my friends Matt and Sarah were watching it. I had people over and we had chili and chocolate cake and the yummy stuff. I have a feeling that Matt was yelling just as much as we were.

Boomer Sooner Boomer Sooner Boomer Sooner

So now the waiting comes on the BCS polls and seeing what happens in the standings. I think that since OU was able to beat their opponets soundly at home and away they should be ranked high but all the OU fans out their knows that the inevitable could happen -- OU getting knocked out of their rightful place again.... We will wait and see....

First Snow????

Is is hunting season and I am having a hard time finding time to hunt and it is driving me crazy. Between my full time job, my part time job during the day, school and just keeping up with everything I don't have time. My weekends are spend with homework, working Saturday morning and just trying to keep a decently clean house. So I made the hard decision to not go this morning, even though Ralph shot a huge buck yesterday. I was sleeping and got a text from Matt, who is up in his tree stand - "it is snowing". I get all excited, jump out of bed (scaring the girls), and run outside to see. This is what I see.

A light dusting over the car. A little on the ground but not enough to talk of. By this time last year we had a couple of inches of the ground. But I don't want to have the after effects of the ice storm, no electricity for 9 days, freezing in my house with my baby girl. But this is the first "SNOW" of the winter so enjoy!!!!

Texas Delight

8oz. cool whip
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup powder sugar
1 box instant pudding
graham cracker crust

In a bowl mix powder sugar and cream cheese. When smooth, add in cool whip. Mix till smooth. pour 1/2 of mixture on crust and spread evenly. Mix pudding, pour on top of mixture on crust. Chill for about ten minutes. Then add rest of cream cheese mixture to top of pudding. Chill and serve.

Cajun Shrimp and Rice

Ingredients 1 28-ounce can tomatoes, undrained and cut up
1 14-ounce can chicken broth
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green sweet pepper
1 6- to 6-1/4-ounce package long grain and wild rice mix
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic (2 cloves)
1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
1 pound cooked, peeled, and deveined shrimp
Bottled hot pepper sauce (optional)

Directions
1. In a 3-1/2- or 4-quart slow cooker combine undrained tomatoes,chicken broth, onion, sweet pepper, rice mix with seasoning packet,the water, garlic, and Cajun seasoning.
2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 5 to 6 hours or on high-heatsetting for 3 to 3-1/2 hours.
3. If using low-heat setting, turn slow cooker to high-heat setting.
Stir shrimp into rice mixture. Cover and cook for 15 minutes more. If desired, pass hot pepper sauce.

Recipe Makes 6 servings.

Falling and digging....

On Sunday night we were in bed and it was about 3 in the morning. We built the king size bed so that all four of us could sleep in it. Roxy always sleeps at the end of the bed. Right on my feet. Where she can keep me warm. Especially my feet. It is wonderful. We were in bed and I had kinda woke up when the satellite reset itself. All of a sudden there is no weight on my feet....and then something hits the floor. After a little bit I hear Roxy shake her head, her ears flopping. She had fallen off of the bed when she was rolling over!!!!! I giggled like crazy once I realized she was okay and Matt was too. All day I was giggling when I would think about it.

Lately the girls have been coming inside and smelling like dead something. I have been wondering what they have been finding. Tuesday was Veterans day and I wasn't working. I let the girls out for a while since it was such a nice day. I walk out to call them in and Sasha comes running towards me with something in her mouth. The nice girl that she is she dropped it out in the grass and ran on up to the house...You guessed it -- smelling like dead something. I put both of the girls inside and walked out to see what she had dropped. I was looking at it and wandered if they had ripped something apart. Then I see the little tail on the back. I grabbed the tail and picked it up. It was a mole. We have been having issues since we moved in with them digging up the yard. It am absolutely okay with the girls taking care of our problem, as long as they quit coming in smelling horrible!!!! Apparently they like to dig the stuff up, and I am okay with them catching the quick little boogers, I just wish they would quit playing with them for days after!!!

Things to practice before getting a new puppy

Having two wonderful furbabies I found this absolutely hilarious! It is the truth but I wouldn't give them up for anything!!!

If you're going to get a new puppy, there are some things you could do to practice before the little one arrives:

Pour cold apple juice on the carpet in several places and walk around barefoot in the dark.

Wear a sock to work that has had the toes shredded by a blender.

Immediately upon waking, stand outside in the rain and dark saying, “Be a good puppy, go potty now -hurry up - come on, lets go!”

Cover all your best suits with dog hair. Dark suits must use whitehair, and light suits must use dark hair.

Also float some hair in your first cup of coffee in the morning.

Play catch with a wet slimy tennis ball.

Run out in the snow in your bare feet in the middle of the night to close the gate.

Tip over a basket of clean laundry, scatter clothing all over the floor.

Leave your underwear on the living room floor, because that’s where the dog will drag it anyway. (Especially when you have company.)

Jump out of your chair shortly before the end of your favorite TV program and run to the door shouting, “No no! Do that OUTSIDE!” Miss the end of the program.

Put chocolate pudding on the carpet in the morning, and don’t try to clean it up until you return from work that evening.

Gouge the leg of the dinning room table several times with a screwdriver -it’s going to get chewed on anyway.

And last but far from least….Take a warm and cuddly blanket out of the dryer and immediately wrap it around yourself.This is the feeling you will get when your puppy falls asleep on your lap.

Salsa!!!!

Jalapenos - 1/2 a sink full!!!
Habaneros!!!
A full sink of habaneros!!!!

I have a friend who loves to grow things and experiments with fertilizing them. He brought me 3 or so bags of tomatoes that I froze to have tomatoes for salsa. I have habaneros frozen and was planning on using them. I was discussing this with him and the next day I get what you see above, a 1/2 sink full of jalapenos and and full sink of habaneros!!!! I am going to dehydrate some of the peppers and am wanting to try and find a pickling recipe for some of them. So I am so excited that I think that I am going to try and make some salsa today. I know that it isn't the normal time to make salsa but it is fairly cool today and will be nice to leave the door open and can some salsa!!! If I get it done I will try and post a picture of it!!!!

Janice's Salsa

10 cups of tomatoes chopped and peeled

2 cups chopped bell peppers (approx. 3)

1 red bell pepper

2 cups jalapenos chopped

2 cups onions chopped

1 tsp. garlic salt

2 cans 15 oz. tomato paste

3/4 white vinegar

2-3 hot peppers

1-2 pkgs Ball's hot salsa mix.

Stir together good. Bring to a boil slowly in non-aluminum pan. Simmer for about 40 minutes to 1 hour. Stir frequently. Put in hot jars and then water bath for 15 minutes to seal.

7 pints

Hint: I use a food processor to chop everything up and I am really bad about not measuring good. So if you are like me, have extra jars ready to keep pouring into!!!! Also if I don't have the salsa mix I add all sorts of seasonings from the pantry. Garlic salt, salt, pepper, season salt and anything else that sounds good!!!

The girls when I come in or when I am on the computer

As I am doing homework, blogging, or any other computer stuff this is what I see.....

Sasha HAS to lay beside me and listens to the whir of the computer and the tapping of the keys on the key board. You would be suprised at what you will do to accomadate your babies. I may be absolutely uncomfortable but as long as she is it is okay!!!!

Roxy is to my left and is watching TV. Both of my girls love to watch TV with us. Football (OU of course!!!), "House", Will Smith movies, and anything with action.

This is what happens when I am having to stay on the computer and write papers. Actually this is what I see after about 10 minutes of sitting. She is the most laid back lab I have ever seen.

This is what I see at night when I come in the door sometimes. She knows that she isn't supposed to be on the back but it is the "most comfortable spot"....

These are my babies!!! These are the pictures that I love the most, when they sit still and look at me with those gorgeous expressions.

We now have a king size bed. Roxy hasn't ever slept with us since there wasn't any room on the bed. Now I have Sasha cuddled up between me and Matt. Then Roxy figured out that it bigger and wanted to join the party. So I now have Roxy laying at my feet. This will be nice when it gets colder, since I will have a built in foot warmer, but it makes it hard right now to stretch. I wouldn't change it for the world though!!!

The tournament pics

Here is the picture of the new lower unit. Doesn't look like it shoulda cost that much huh????

This was their second day weight!!!

My gorgeous husband getting their slip from the weigh in.

The guy in the yellow is Phil, Matt's fishing partner.