Dirty Paws

My dog trampled through all of the dirt and mud outside and decided to tromp it in the house all over our carpet. She really made a huge mess.  Paw prints are everywhere.  I don’t know if I’ll be able to clean all of this up by myself.  I decided to Google Carpet Cleaning Westlake to see if I could find a company that could do the job for me.

After some searching I stumbled upon http://www.thesteamteam.com/austin-carpet-cleaning/ They offer a variety of services that can help me get rid of this nasty mess.  I love the fact that they do a spot pre-testing before they clean the whole carpet… I’d hate for my carpet to be ruined.  I’m excited about the odor neutralization service they offer too.  Wet dog dog not smell good at all!

I can’t wait to get my house back to normal. I think I’ll get every room cleaned since I’m at it.  I might as well have the whole house done, there is no sense in cleaning only one room and leaving the rest a mess. Now I have to try and figure out a way to teach my dog to wipe her feet on the mat before she comes inside.

Fever…yuck!

This morning I got a horrible headache.  After awhile my whole body started to feel really achy.  I started to get the chills. I felt like I wanted to throw up.  I took my temperature and it was 100.1.  I took some Tylenol to help my fever go down.  It feels like I have the flu but it’s not flu season.  I suppose people can get the flu any time of year but the middle of summer seems a bit odd to me.  I wonder if I caught it from all of the kids at the party yesterday.

I just feel awful! It’s been a few hours and I still have a fever. Even after taking Tylenol my fever has gone up!   I hope I feel better soon.

Summer Birthday Parties

Today we went to a birthday party for one of my daughters’ best friends.  The party theme was fairy princesses.  All of the girls arrived in the most adorable costumes.  There was pixie dust every where,  not to mention all of the extra glitter that one of the moms brought. The Picnic Tables were decorated with cute little pink table cloths that had little fairies all over them.  Presents were strewn about the tables along with yummy treats and arts and crafts for the girls to do.

While the girls played on the playground equipment the moms set up a few activities to do.  We laid out materials to make little birthday crowns and fairy wings.  There were fuzzy pipe cleaners, pom pom balls, glue, markers, scissors, construction paper, and of course tons of glitter.  One of the moms made an example of each craft and set it on display for the girls to gather inspiration.  Each girl had her own little station to create her own fairy princess wings and crown.  The girls had a ball cutting and gluing and adding dashes of glitter.

The dads of the bunch just sat back in their Adirondack chairs and watched from a distance.  A few of them gathered around the grill.  It was their duty to cook the burgers and hot dogs while the girls had fun.  It seemed like they were more than happy to not be elbow deep in glitter.

Once the girls finished their crafts we ate lunch and had cake and ice cream.  Then the birthday girl opened all of her presents.  She got quite a few neat items including a few movies,  computer games, and an mp3 player.  She was thrilled to say the least.

At the end of the afternoon all of the Park Benches were covered in glitter and pom poms that had fallen off of the girls crowns and wings as they ran around.  Overall, it was a lovely afternoon and my daughter really enjoyed herself.  Her birthday is coming up soon.  We need to start planning her party.  I got quite a few neat ideas after going to the party today.

Shorts vs Long Skirt

Most of the time I like to wear shorts and sandals when I am working around the house or just running errands around town. Shorts are cool and don’t need ironing if you take them right out of the dryer before the wrinkles can set in.

This afternoon I wanted to meet up with a girlfriend who also has a daughter so they could have a play date. So we agreed to meet at a little family friendly restaurant that has a play area for kids. I decided to wear a long cotton skirt instead of shorts. Mommies like to dress up for play dates, too!

Flower Boxes

I would really love to plant a garden. I’m not really sure if I’d be up for a large garden so I’m contemplating maybe getting a few window boxes around the house.  I could put one at the kitchen window and then maybe some by the bedrooms.  I know my daughter would love to help with a garden.  She is always drawing flowers.

If I gave my daughter her own flower boxes to take care of, it could teach her new responsibilities. We could plant the flowers together and watch them grow.  I bet she would love picking out the flower seeds at the store and filling the boxes with dirt.  I will have her be responsible for watering the flowers every day.  Maybe to help remind her I’ll make her a chart and she can color it in each day she waters the flowers.

Just to add a special touch to her windowbox I’ll hand paint her name on the one by her bedroom window.  I’ll let her pick out the paint colors and stencils.  Her favorite colors are pink and purple.  I’ll bet she picks those colors and also asks me to decorate it with sparkly stars.  I’ll have to take pictures of the boxes when they are all done and the flowers have grown.  I’m excited to see the finished product.

Summer Movies

There are so many movies out this summer that are made for kids. If I had little boys, I could take them to a different movie at the theater every week and they would have a great time!

But, I have a little girl and she is not old enough to appreciate most of the movies yet. We’ll have to wait a few more years. In the meantime, I know the good ones will come out on DVD and I can add them to her library of movies on special occasions.

Cake Shop To Be?

My sister has been baking a lot of cakes as of late. It seems like every week she’s putting together another three tiered something or other. A lot of people have even suggested she open her own business. She has an amazing talent and she seems to really enjoy baking and crafting delicious and beautiful desserts.  I told her that she should really start taking people’s suggestions and begin looking into a location to open up shop.

One of the first things she’ll have to get are Bakery display cases.  Once she sets out a few cakes on those displays orders will be rolling in.  She already has a pretty big word of mouth clientele but having a few cakes on display would definitely boost her business.

I told her to check out Tiger Chef.  They have a huge variety of restaurant supplies and everything she would need for the bakery and store.  All of the prices are really reasonable as well.  She won’t have to fork over tons of money to continue gathering equipment for the business using this company.

I know her focus is  decorating and baking cakes but, I wonder if I can convince her to add in cookies and cupcakes too.  Cupcakes don’t seem like that far of a stretch.  I mean after all, they are nothing more than miniature cakes.  Cookies on the other hand, are a little different.  But I ask, who doesn’t love a good cookie every now and then?   Then again, maybe she should start with what she knows and expand from there.

Harry Potter

So I still haven’t gone to see the new Harry Potter movie.  I read all of the books and have seen all of the other films.  I was a little disappointed with the last one actually.  I hated that they cute the last book in half and made two movies out of it.  I’ve heard great reviews about this new movie and am excited to see it.  I’m thinking we might go next week once the crazy buzz dies down a bit.  I don’t feel like dealing with hundreds of Potter fans all dressed up and shouting at the screen while I try to enjoy the show in peace.  I guess I’m just not in the mood right now.

Where Is My Bag?

This afternoon I had a bit of a scare.  I lost my messenger bag.  It had my wallet, the book I am reading, my IPAD, and some paper work inside.  I can’t believe I left it behind somewhere.  I’ve never forgotten it before.  I began to retrace my steps from the day to try to think of where I might have misplaced it.

I asked everyone if they had seen it.  I began to panic because of the valuables I had stored in my bag.  Karen said she saw two messenger bags in the main workroom earlier in the afternoon.  I remembered stopping by there so I went to look for it there next.  I dropped by there this morning to fax something. As soon as I walked in the room I saw the two bags on the desk by the wall.  Unfortunately, neither of the bags were mine.

I began to get discouraged about finding my bag.  I decided to check the lunch room to see if maybe it was in there.  I checked the table where I normally sit but it was no where to be seen.  I sat down feeling overwhelmed when I saw it across the room.  It was next to the vending machine.  I remember I had to set it down to get a bottle of water with my lunch.  I was soo relieved to find it.  I think I’ll have to strap my bag to myself or wear it differently so I don’t lose it again.  I’m just thrilled that I found it.

YUMMY Cookies!

I just had the BEST chocolate peanut butter cookies ever!!!  A gal from work brought them in today.  She said she was on a baking binge and made 6 different kinds of cookies over the past week.  Anyway, these cookies were rich and fudgey and had peanut butter chips dotted through out.  She promised to bring in the recipe to share with everyone.  I wish there were extra to bring home and have for dessert.