Of course my blog ate my last post. Why wouldn't it? Well, just in case there is anyone out there actually reading this, I'll try again.

Peace out, February. I am not sad at all that it is March tomorrow. February is pretty much the lamest month in the history of months. Although, I must admit, it's pretty cool that it gets a random extra day every four years. No other month has that.

But even with all the fun holidays and Leap Year Day, I still haven't been able to shake my lingering hatred of February. This stems from living in Michigan my whole life. You know what Michigan looks like in February? Poop. Yep, a big grey turd.

Colorado, on the other hand, is beautiful. . . usually. This year it is trying to be like Michigan. And I am NOT down with this. Anywho, on with the holidays!
February 19: National Chocolate Mint Day
I've never been much of a chocolate-mint fan, but in honor of today, I have two words for you: Thin. Mints. I mean, seriously, Girl Scouts. . . How cruel can you be? There is nothing THIN about Thin Mints except for the fact that they are tiny enough that you tend to justify eating 73 in one sitting. To re-celebrate National Chocolate Mint Day, check out Ashton at Something Swanky's plethora of Thin Mint recipes! Thin Mint Cookie Dough Truffles, Thin Mint Diet Coke Cake, Thin Mint Pudding Mousse and Thin Mint Magic Cookie Bars.
February 20: Cherry Pie Day, Love Your Pet Day, Northern Hemisphere Hoodie Hoo Day
Mitchell and Ferguson
(aka, Figaro & Fig among other names!)
Chev, the cat (his purr sounded like a Chevi engine!)

Below is a tribute to the pets I most adored in my childhood
Kirby, my first dog.
And, of course, Odie-mutt!!
Check out some of these fun pie ideas for Cherry Pie Day!

Brown Eyed Baker's Cherry Crisp
looks delicious!







Simply Recipes helps us out with a
Sweet Cherry Pie recipe!

(Complete with a recipe for
the Perfect Pie Crust,
not just saying "frozen pie crust")







I love these damn Pie Pops
(or Pies-on-a-Stick. . .)
Let's come up with a name for these! from Style Me Pretty!
February 21: Card Reading Day, Paczki Day, Fat Tuesday

What are you giving up for Lent? I know it is a very Jeso-Centric time, but most people end up giving up some kind of food to help them lose weight. I was going to give up swearing, but that hasn't happened yet. Every time I drop the F-Bomb, I think "Didn't you say you wanted to stop doing that?" I'm trying, people!

Anyway, instead of focusing on THAT, let's focus on the best day of the whole year: Paczki Day!! It breaks my heart that Coloradoans haven't yet experienced the joys of Paczki Day, but I intend to help them see the light. Thanks to Royal Bakery in Arvada, CO (The ONLY bakery in ALL of Colorado that has Paczki) I shared the love. Yum! Yum! Yum!
February 22: George Washington's Birthday, Be Humble Day, Ash Wednesday, Walk the Dog Day, National Margarita Day

I'm pretty pissed that I missed Margarita Day. Looks like I'll have to celebrate it every day for an entire week instead to make up for it!!

Odie went on his first official walk post-back-problems. We went up to Eastlake Reservoir #3 for a 1.4mile walk and he did great! There's a bronzed fox statue that freaked him out towards the end, but otherwise awesome! I'm so glad he's getting back to his normal self. Just wondering what this summer is going to look like. Since we took him hiking so many trails with us last summer, I'm wondering if the old man'll be able to handle it this year. Keeping my fingers crossed!

     Then again, this is pretty much what he felt about hiking last year! Ahahahaha!
I'm running out of steam, people. Here's a few days that didn't get me going too much.

February 23: International Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day, Tennis Day, Curling is Cool Day, National Chili Day
February 24: National Tortilla Chip Day
February 25: International Sword Swallowers Day, Open that Bottle Night
February 26: Carnival Day, National Pistachio Day, Tell a Fairy Tale Day, For Pete's Sake Day
February 27: Polar Bear Day

Kind of boring, right? I made dog treats for my friends for Dog Biscuit Appreciation Day. Did you know that wheat isn't really good for dogs? Me neither, but next recipe I make will be gluten-free, guaranteed!

National Tortilla Chip Day is pretty much every day in our house. We LOVE chips and guacamole! Delish!
February 28: Floral Design Day, National Tooth Fairy Day

Then of course - National Tooth Fairy Day! I dressed up as a tooth fairy about 100 years ago for Halloween, while I was still in Dental Hygiene School. God, that feels like forever ago!

We put crowns and fillings on fake teeth that I then made into earrings, a necklace and bling for my top!

February 29: Leap Day, Bachelors' Day
HAPPY LEAP YEAR!!
Oh, PS: For Floral Design Day, go to this site for the meanings of flowers. It is inspiring me to think about a tattoo idea. . .
Phew, I made it!

Happy relaxing!
XO
 
National Batter Day, Battery Day, Pluto Day
Is anyone else out there kind of sad that Pluto isn't a planet anymore (I know this is old news)? The acronym I used to memorize the order of the planets has been irrelevant for years now :( This reminds me of Neil deGrasse Tyson. Justin and I went to CU Coulder to see speak and it was a blast!! He is one hilarious astrophysicist! He paints a pretty grim picture of the US, but I'm assuming it's all true. We're not as awesome as we think, people.
Anyway, enough about that! For National Batter & Battery Day I celebrated Thanksgiving in February! Turkey, stuffing and the whole nine yards = AWESOME! Here are a few recipes that I made!!

I started off the morning trying to make Bakerella's Baked Banana French Toast. Upon reading the directions (aka, halfway through the directions) I realized it would take something like 30 minutes and I was just TOO hungry. I still threw one in the oven while I made/enjoyed regular french toast. Shock of the century, mine turned out horrendously ugly, pretty cool idea anyway!
I was officially in charge of the mashed potatoes, but since I love holiday so much, and especially cooking holidays, I went a little overboard.

Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes thanks to How Sweet it is. Only I made them with redskin potatoes and added a little garlic powder to the end. And used skim instead of whole milk.
I made my very own Guacamole as well as Beer Chicken Cheese Dip. I use How Sweet it is' Crockpot Cheddar Beer Chicken recipe and add whatever cheese I have in the fridge. This time it was mozzarella, pepper jack, plus cream cheese. Served with tortilla chips!!

Next, I made some of Denise Gerth's Corn Casserole, big hit!
Ingredients:
1 can creamed corn
1 cup regular corn, partially drained
1 Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 stick butter/margarine, melted

Directions:
Combine all ingredients and bake in 8x8 casserole dish at 350 for 30-35 minutes or until browned and firm in center.

Last, but not least, Justin contributed with box-mix brownies! Very gooey and perfect!

Happy Thanksgiving!
XO
 
Another week has come and gone without a single post from me. Hopefully, you enjoy the collection of fabulous crafts, recipes, pictures and quotes and it will help you forget your sadness. Happy Friday!

February 12: Abraham Lincoln's Birthday, Man Day, Oglethorpe Day, Safety Pup Day
"Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm." Abraham Lincoln
February 13: Plum Pudding Day, Get a Different Name Day, Clean out Your Computer Day, Madly in Love with Me Day

My team at Little Britches got their valentines early! I got this idea from Tatertots & Jello and everyone loved them! Super easy, super fun, super sweet, super awesome!
For Madly in Love with Me Day, I actually did it! Remember last week's post with a link to Katy at Sweet Verbana?? I did it! The one on the left is Katy's and the one on the right is mine!! Couldn't find a comfy white t-shirt, so I went with a lime green from Michaels. I used teal dye and while it didn't turn out perfectly, I really think there is potential here. And now I see the world in "what can I put on a shirt?"
February 14: National Organ Donor Day, Valentine's Day, Ferris Wheel Day, Singles Awareness Day

Here's an excellent way to honor National Organ Donor Day. Go to this site and register as an organ donor in your state. You're helping people (in the unfortunate event that you end up not needing your own organs) AND you get a nice heart on your driver's license!

I made chocolate covered strawberries for my dear boyfriend this Valentine's Day. RealSimple had an incredibly easy recipe and it took me almost no time at all. But don't tell Justin. They turned out perfectly and he thinks they were very hard to make. The ease of this recipe is indirectly proportionate to my love of Justin. AKA VERY easy because I love him TONS! Did I explain that alright?

February 15: National Gum Drop Day
February 16: Do a Grouch a Favor Day, Innovation Day
February 17: Random Acts of Kindness Day, My Way Day

Odie is now officially healthier than he ever was! He's a toothbrusher! Yippee! As a dental hygienist, I was a bit mortified when the vet said he had gingivitis. No more! He super-adorably munches on dental treats, lets me scale tartar off his teeth and LOVES his new puppy toothpaste!! Ahh!!

Oh my gosh, have you heard of Wunderlist yet?! It's an awesome organizing ap for us OCD folks. Slap it on your phone or computer and you've got to-do lists, grocery lists, or whatever kind of lists you can think of at your fingertips. It's awesome!
Happy celebrating!
XO
 
Let me begin by apologizing (profusely) for the lack of anything the last week or so. I have been SO overwhelmed trying to fix this (godforsaken) blog that I haven't been able to have much fun with it. I had yet another catastrophe on my side of the blogging universe and it all goes back to the fact that I've never done this before and just DO NOT UNDERSTAND these things. Anyway, I'm trying my best to fire up again but in order to do this, I have to bunch a few days together. Otherwise, my tiny blog will die and that would be so sad.
Please forgive me!

Here's the breakdown since we talked last:

February 1: Freedom Day, G.I. Joe Day, Hula in the Coola Day
February 2: Crepe Day, Groundhog Day, Marmot Day, Sled Dog Day
February 3: The Day the Music Died, Give Kids a Smile Day, Wear Red Day
February 4: World Cancer Day, Ice Cream for Breakfast Day, Thank a Mailman Day
February 5: World Nutella Day
February 6: National Weatherman's Day
February 7: Lame Duck Day, Ballet Day, Wave All Your Fingers at Your Neighbors Day
February 8: Send a Card to a Friend Day, Opera Day
February 9: Kite Flying Day, National Stop Bullying Day, Read in the Bathtub Day
February 10: Toothache Day
February 11: Umbrella Day, Be Electrific Day, White T-Shirt Day
The University of Detroit Mercy (my alma mater) hosts a Give Kids a Smile day (February 3) every year in which hundreds of children are given dental treatment at no cost. (Although, I don't think they do it anymore, Boo.) Here my classmates and I are posing with Detroit's interim Mayor (at the time), Ken Cockrel, Jr. in 2009 where over 200 children had their teeth cleaned or fixed. What an amazing day, I miss these volunteer events and as my 2012 new year's resolution, I aim to participate in at least one by 2013. There are so many opportunities out there and I cannot wait to use my skills to help again!



Since I have a slight red-tinge to my hair, I don't ever have to worry about forgetting to wear red on February 3. Here is a gorgeously wearable red for those who are gingerly-challenged. I want this exact skirt that Aarean from Color issue sported in her Christmas cards!

Also, here's a HOW-TO for Maxi skirts!! Yes!!
For World Cancer Day, February 4, I would like to honor my mom's best friend, Irene Rel, who passed away three years ago this year. Above: My mom is on the left, Irene on the right. She was the sassy best friend everyone wants, but never really gets. She was an open book and would never think to hide her feelings. She was full of love and life and passion for her family until the very end. She is missed every day, but I am so proud to have had her in my life. She left me with a new appreciation for family and friends and she also taught me how to make breakfast burritos. :)  Thank you, Irene! Love and miss you always!
February 9th was Read in the Bathtub Day.
These book text posters from Spineless Classics would make reading
in the bathtub a little easier, and a lot less soggy.
Finally, for White T-Shirt Day (today!) let's make this watermark t-shirt. All you need is some dye, Elmer's Gel Glue a cute quote or design and a white shirt.

Thanks to Katy from Sweet Verbena for this excellent DIY
that I might actually get a chance to DIM (Do-It-Myself)!
Happy electrifying!
XO