Congrats Bailey & Poor Wrigley

Congratulations to my sweet hard-working husband! He's worked very hard the last two years taking classes and getting many, many hours of experience in order to take two big tests. He took the first test earlier this summer, took the other this week, and I'm proud to say he is now a licensed appraiser. Now he'll start on the next round of classes and experience hours in order to reach the next "level" (which I believe is a general appraiser but I may have the terminology wrong.)

Wrigley has taken over what used to be Bailey's chair.

You may recall the post I did earlier this summer about Wrigley and her bite. Since then she's had a small knot where they cut it open. I was told she'd probably have some scar tissue there so it wasn't really anything...until two days ago when Bailey noticed it and thought it was a bit bigger. I looked at it and agreed. It also looked different--it was begining to look like a bubble, the skin was thinner there, and looked like there might have been some blood underneath the surface. So I took her to the vet yesterday morning. He decided to keep her there for the day so he could remove whatever it was. I went to pick her up and he said it was a mass of some sort and some of the area was infected so he removed all that mess and we have more meds to take for the next week. I'll take her back late next week to have the stitches removed.

All of this happened after we went to the vet last Friday. We'd noticed Wrigley has had some trouble controlling her bladder so I took her in just to be safe. Apparently, many females, after being spayed develop incontinence. However, it usually happens much later down the road, not to 9 month old puppies. So, Wrigley will be taking DES (dog estrogen) for a little while. 

I had a recipe or two to post but I'll save those for my next one since I've been talking about all this gross dog stuff.

Summer....

It appears I took another extended break from blogging--always unintentional, but I'm back, at least for the time being. So what's been going on with the Hunt's...let's see if I can recall.....

Bailey's been working and studying alot. He's had two different tests to take to get his appraiser's license. We've made day trips to Jackson for each one. He's also been working in the yard alot getting it nice and green and filling in the spots where there was previously no grass. (I'll try to get some pictures sometime...)

I have mostly just been lazy, enjoying my summer and pretty much staying indoors where it's cool. The only work I've done is on our entryway. As I've probably mentioned before, we bought a home that had been forclosed on and the people that previously owned it were apparently morons. I could go on and on about that alone, but I'll get back to the entryway. Well, it had one good layer of wallpaper on that we took down right when we moved in. Apparently the people that put that wallpaper up didn't remove the glue from the previous wallpaper or prep it the right way inorder to re-wallpaper (if that makes sense). Needless to say, the walls were covered in wallpaper glue and small pieces of wallpaper along with areas where it was down to the drywall. So....I got to work (well, a little here, a little there). I found some fabulous blue spray gel stuff that removed the glue. That was quite a task. Then I put on a couple coats of KILZ, puttied where needed and re-KILZed those spots. Then this week I finally painted it to match the living room and today I painted the trim. I'll touch up a few spots tomorrow but I'm proud to say it is pretty much done. I'm afraid I don't have any before pictures and have yet to take any after's.

We had a good 4th weekend. We spent that Saturday in Oxford with his parents visiting/shopping with his sister who is over there for the remainder of the summer. After lunch and a little shopping we went to YaYa's, a frozen yogurt place. It was soooo good. You go in, get your bowl, pick your flavor of frozen yogurt (I chose strawberry and birthday cake), get as much or as little as you like and then go over to the toppings bar. It had everything--fresh fruit cut up, nuts, cereal, candy, and of course, several different syrups. I topped mine with pecans and strawberries. Then you "check out." You place it on a scale and you pay based on how many ounces it weighs. When we left Oxford, we went to a friend's for a cookout that evening and watched fireworks. Sunday we cooked out with his parents and then went to my brother's to watch my niece and nephew shoot some fireworks. And on Monday we cooked out again with some friends at their place.

This past Saturday we went to a Redbirds game with Bailey's parents. They got some tickets from the rehab place that works with the school. We had all you can eat BBQ (sandwiches or nachoes), along with watermelon, and ice cream. Then we got to watch fireworks again, but this time with 3-D glasses. It was pretty cool, I must say. I have a couple pictures on my phone but need to upload them on here--maybe next time.

I have a few recipes to post that I've tried out but I'll get to those another time since I've rambled on and on.

What's in a Bag

I was tagged by Jill to share with you what's in my bag. I tend to refer to it as my suitcase. So take a look....

The bag/suitcase

The contents of the side pockets: hand sanitizer, keys, gum, two tubes of chapstick, one of my sister's student ID's (I used it to get into football and baseball games and still haven't taken it out), and a few various gift cards.

Pens, pencils, rubber bands, jump drive, nail file

Wallet, checkbook, and some change that was floating around in the bottom

Bag with lipstick, gloss, more chapstick, eyedrops, rubber bands (for hair), bobby pins

Umbrella and two note pads

\

Various receipts, ticket stubs, a few business cards, mostly trash

I'm missing the picture of the two lotion bottles, a couple bottles of tylenol/aspirin, some bandaids, a few (more) bottles of eyedrops, and my phone.

Thank you Jill for encouraging me to clean it out, although I really only picked out the trash.

Over the Weekend

Quick update on Wrigley: she is doing much better. I ended up taking her back to the vet on Friday because the opening of where they lanced closed over night. He said it looked ok and her temperature was back to normal so just watch it and finish off the antibiotics.

Friday night I went to dinner with some friends to celebrate a few birthdays. We ate at Pei Wei and it was very good. Bailey went to his parent's to listen to the baseball game while I was out with the girls.

Saturday was a very lazy day. We didn't do a single thing but relax until that evening when Bailey went to play softball.

I've had this recipe for Chili's Salsa for quite a while but hadn't got around to making it. I made it this weekend and it is so good. I'm not sure that it tastes just like Chili's does but it is yummy!

Chili's Salsa

14 1/2 oz can Rotel

14 1/2 oz can whole canned tomatoes (with juice--I used diced)

4 teaspoons jalapenos (canned, diced, not pickled)

1/4 cup yellow onion, diced

1/2-3/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon sugar

Combine all in food processor. Run for a few moments until tomatoes have been nearly pureed, yet still chunky. Be careful not to over-process. (I had to do a little at a time because my food processor isn't very big).

Pour mix into bowl. Cover and store overnight for flavors to properly develop.

Serve with your favorite chips.

Lately

Things have been pretty calm around here lately (except for a small incident yesterday, but I'll get to that in a minute.) I got out for the summer about a week ago and I can't say I've done a whole lot. I've made a list of things I've liked to get done while I'm out but I've just barely started on it.

This past Friday night we went to a Redbirds game with our Sunday School class. The weather couldn't have been more perfect and we got to enjoy a fireworks show afterward. Bailey's cousin, Jonathan, and his wife, Tiffany, were in town over the weekend. We cooked out at Bailey's parents Saturday night and then Sunday night there was a special service at church to ordain Jonathan. Bailey worked part of Memorial day but came home early. Then Tuesday he worked a half day and we went to Southaven to eat at Chick-fil-A. CFA is about to start selling a spicy chicken sandwich and they're doing a promo where you had to go online and reserve your free spicy chicken sandwich. It was pretty good. It has a good bit of heat. I'll have to say I prefer the original, but this one was good too.

Now on to our small incident/emergency. We don't have children but our dogs are pretty much like our children. Yesterday I had been out running errands, came home, let Lula out and I went out to see Wrigley and to make sure the water bowl was full. I was petting Wrigley and notice a HUGE hard knot/lump/something on her neck. Needless to say, I freaked out a bit. I called Bailey immediately and told him I was on my way to the vet. I wasn't sure if she'd swallowed something or a growth of some sort had suddenly appeared. (On a side note: not sure if I've mentioned it before but our backyard was basically a dumpster for whoever was here before. You name it, we've probably found it out there--tools, lighters, coins, suntan lotion bottles, permanent markers, just to name a few. So, I thought there was a chance she found something else, even though we'd just cleaned up, again, back there). I called my mom for her to ride with me and she called the vet on the way.

We got there and he said it looked like she'd been bit by something. He shaved two spots on her neck and you could see where she'd been bitten--not by a snake but by something. He gave her two shots and we came on home. I tried to take some pictures but between Wrigley not sitting still and the camera on my phone, they aren't great.

We went back this morning for them to lance it (or in other words, cut it open and get the junk out). We were also given some antibiotics to take twice a day. And lucky me, I'm going to get to squeeze it a few times a day so it doesn't close up too quickly and get big again. If that happens, we'll have to go back and have it lanced again. Thankfully, through all of this Wrigley was just fine. It wasn't bothering her at all. Hopefully it will heal like it should and, also, that whatever it was, won't bite her again.

Grilling

I had a "first" yesterday. I, yes me, grilled for the first time yesterday. As in outside on the real grill, not inside on the indoor one. I have watched and helped many times before but this was the first time I actually did it myself. I will gladly say that Bailey started the fire, but once the fire was ready, it was all mine! I grilled the following two recipes from this fabulous book. And I must say that both were pretty delicious!

This is the first time I've used any of this book's recipes but plan to use many, many more in the coming months.

Jalepeno Chicken Wraps

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breats

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 talbespoon onion powder

1 tablespoon pepper

2 teaspoons seasoned salt

1 teaspoon paprika

1 small onion, cut into strips (I didn't use these)

15 jalapeno pepers, halved and seeded

1 pound sliced bacon, halved widthwise

Blue cheese salad dressing (didn't use this either)

Cut chicken into 2-in x 1-1/2 in strips. In a large resealable plastic bag, combine the garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, seasoned salt, and paprika; add chicken and shake to coat. Place a chicken and onion  strip in each jalapeno half. Wrap each with a piece of bacon and secure with toothpicks.

Grill, uncovered, over indirect mediom heat for 18-20 minutes or until chicken juices run clear and bacon is crisp, turning once. (Mine took a little bit longer to get the bacon crisp). Serve with blue cheese dressing.

**This editor's note was included with the recipe: when cutting or seeding hot peppers, use rubber or plastic gloves to protect your hands. Avoid touching your face. (I used gloves because I'm prone to rubbing/scratching my eyes/face).

Grilled Potato Skins

2 large baking potatoes

2 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese

3 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled

2 green onions, chopped (I skipped these)

sour cream

Cut each potato lengthwise into four wedges. (I cut them into six because my potatoes were pretty large). Cut away the white portion, leaving 1/4 in. on the potato skins. Place skins on a microwave-safe plate. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 8-10 minutes or until tender. Combine the butter, rosemary, salt and pepper; brush over both sides of potato skins.

Grill potatoes, skin side up, uncovered, over direct medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn potatoes and postition over indirect heat; grill 2 minutes longer. Top with cheese. Cover and grill 2-3 mintues longer. Top with cheese. Cover and grill 2-3 mintues longer or until cheese is melted. Sprinkle with bacon and onions. Serve with sour cream.

I'm planning on trying a grilled pork chop and asparagus recipe soon so I'll be sure to post how that goes.

Back...Again.

Well, I'm noticing a bit of a pattern. Blog a time or two. Wait for 4-6 weeks to pass. Blog again. Repeat. I've had a few people tell me I need to get back in action so maybe this time I'll do a bit better. Summer is near so I sure hope so.

Bailey and I haven't had too much going on. Work, work, work. He's had a class or two to attend and getting ready to go to another one. I was lucky enough to finish therapy for the school year last week. Now I'm just finishing IEPs and holding meetings. I'm also helping to get everything ready for our state testing next week.

A few weekends ago we got ambitious and landscaped a bit in the front yard. We've only planted some flowering shrubs--no true flowerbeds yet. We have to wait until we get gutters before we do that.

We love Ole Miss baseball so that has consumed a good bit of our time too--going to games and then watching/listening to them. This weekend we'll be headed to Oxford to watch them play Arkansas.

Here's a recipe for Coca Cola BBQ. I got this from one of the cookbooks from NWCC. I've made it several times and really enjoy it. My sister has some of it not long ago and liked it so I'd thought I'd share it.

COCA COLA BBQ
1 chicken, cut up (I use several chicken breasts instead, cut into smaller pieces)
1 to 1 1/2 large onions (I don't use these)
10-12 oz. Coca Cola
10-12 oz. ketchup

Lay chicken in baking dish. Slice onion onto chicken. Mix Coke and ketchup and pour over chicken. Bake at 350 for about an hour.