Friendsgiving

Mud snoozing under the tree 

Happy Friendsgiving!

So far, my Saturday started off great up until a dog peed on me at the dog park. I honestly don't know why he peed on me but maybe he thought I was a tree or something. Basically, it made me have to go buy laundry detergent. Evil scruffy doggo.

Other than that I am making green bean casserole in about 4 hours for Friendsgiving Numero Uno. I've already made a ton of cookies for today so I am halfway prepped for it!

This is my first time ever making a casserole, so I am excited to see how it will turn out. I might try it to see if I'll like it or not... We'll see.

Saturday's friendsgiving was fun. We had a yummy pot roast and tons of side dishes. We then played some fun card games and tumbling towers and then some of us went downtown and danced the night away.

Sunday was super fun. My friend pet sits/house sits for this family that lets her have friends over as long as she cleans up. So we had a huge friendsgiving there. There was a ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, casseroles, and the whole sha-bang. We then all went in the hot tub. It was so nice. I'd have to say that this Thanksgiving made 2017 better than it was before. Having friends around you is just so comforting and fills you up to the brim with happiness.

I can't wait till I host Friend's Christmas/White Elephant. It is going to be awesome.

Black Friday Baking

I hope everyone had a great Black Friday scoring deals on Christmas presents and such! I got up super early this morning to go to the mall with Jayme to go shop the deals that were out. It was pretty successful. We went to Apricot Lane, Victoria's Secret, Ulta, and then onto Michael's. I went alone to Marshall's to pick up some holiday things, I bought a dog bed for MudLynn and a set of hand towels for the bathroom (Christmas themed of course).

After that Mud and I went for a lovely walk and I started to bake more cookies for Friendsgiving this weekend. I made a batch of Pumpkin Spice Chip Cookies and a batch of Butterscotch Chip Cookies in addition to the previously made Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I can't wait to see my friends enjoy tomorrow. I'm excited! I'm going to take a lot of pictures tomorrow with my nice camera and some with my Fuji film camera. Memories mean many things.

Friendsgiving #1, here I come!

Thanksgiving Relaxation

So I had a relaxing Thanksgiving, but my feasts are not until this weekend. I am going to spend tomorrow afternoon making food for the two Thanksgivings I am going to; I'm making cookies, green bean casserole, bringing bread rolls, and something else (I haven't decided).

Today, I spent the day decorating the apartment some more. I hung up stockings, my wreath, and wall hangings as well as put all the fall decor away. MudLynn and I made a trip to the dog park since everyone was gone, it was pretty deserted; almost like a ghost town. She got very dirty and pretty drooly, which is normal for her.

Tomorrow is Black Friday and I am going shopping with Jayme to a few places and then like I said, I will spend the rest of the day baking and cooking.

Avocado Pit Update!

If you didn't know already, but I have been trying to grow my green thumb. I have two succulents and an aloe vera plant. One night, my roommate was making quesadillas and I told her I wanted to try to grow the avocado pit! So I did, I placed four two picks in it and put it in a glass of water. It's been cracking for about a week and today it started to crack even more!

I can't wait till the roots start to poke out and then once they do, I'm going to move it to a pot with soil. I need to look up some green thumb tips.

I can't wait till the root pokes through the crack and a stem with leaves starts to grow. New life in the cold winter, eh?

The Week Ahead

Outside my window... It's so rainy. It's going to rain for the next two weeks.

I am thinking... That school is going great, the end of the quarter is looming close.

I am thankful for... Everything and everyone around me.

From the kitchen... I had some water and now I am waiting for my souffle to cook.

I am hearing... My computer keys clicking as I type and Netflix playing.

I am watching... A Bollywood film.

Always one of my favorite things... To spend time with friends.

I am reading... Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban and my textbooks.

I am making... Nothing.

I am writing... This blog post and an English assignment.

All the plans I have for this week... I will be working at the YMCA Monday and Wednesday. I work at Roosevelt on Tuesday. St. Paul's is on break already pretty much. Thursday is Thanksgiving, I'm probably going to get instant mashed potatoes and gravy to eat at home. Black Friday, Jayme and I are going to go shop at Apricot and do some other Christmas shopping maybe. I know I want to go to PetSmart and Michael's.

MudLynn Update... MudLynn is doing wonderful! She is on Dasaquin and Proin and now on some Omega chews every day to help her stay fit and healthy. Even though it is rainy, we still go on our daily walks in the morning and evening.

College Update... I am all registered for Winter quarter aka my last quarter! Also, I am going to eventually get a Master in Teaching English lit for 5-12 grade.

Sundays...

Sundays... What is a Sunday? Is it just another day or the beginning of the week? Neither. Sunday is a day to prep for the coming week but also a day to say goodbye to the past week.

So far, I've only completed one item of homework, cleaned my kitchen, made my bed, fed the dog and put clothes away.

I decided to take my camera out today to take some shots of Mud and other things and I was happy with how they came out. I'm going to carry my camera with me more often.

I made a lot of food this weekend. I made cookies and chocolate mousse yesterday along with my dinner of salmon and sweet potatoes. I now made cinnamon rolls and I will be making nachos for dinner.

I guess it's true that I love to take care of people. I think that is a good quality for when I invest in a new relationship. I like cooking yummy foods for my significant other. I like having a tidy home for when friends come over to hang out or for a dinner party I host.

I guess I just like to have someone to take care of all the time. I want to have someone to come home to, to cook for and with, to laugh with over silly puns, to play video games with, to go on late night runs to McDonald's, to explore Washington with and to have more dogs with. Oh well, I will just suffice with my dog and close girlfriends.

My Minimalism Tips

There comes a time where we ask ourselves, "Do I have too much stuff?" And we usually know the answer to that question. Yes, I do.

Here are some tips that I have been doing to minimize my life and thought I'd share with you.

Tip #1: Turn all of your hangers backwards. 
This is a an awesome tip I found on Pinterest and I have applied it to my closet. It's fascinating to see what clothes I wear and what clothes I don't wear.  Either way, I did go through my closet and tossed out what clothes I didn't wear over the summer and what clothes I haven't worn for fall at all.

Tip #2: Go Room by Room.
Don't try to clean out every single space in your house, that is just too much for the brain to even handle.

Tip #3: If you're in college, always keep your backpack packed.
This helps you not forget things at home. I keep my books and notebooks in there. I always pack it the night before.

Tip #4: Save money by packing your own snacks for work and school.
I take fruits and almonds to my evening class which saves me about $6 every class day from going to Miller Market for food when I get hungry during our breaks.

Tip #5: Toss out any expired products.
I tossed out a couple oinments and such because A. I didn't use them and B. They were expired. No point in keeping something if it has both those attirubutes. Also, stop taking all the free hotel minis they provide, when are you actually going to use them?

Tip #6: Buy food you know you're going to eat.
I'm not gonna lie, I've bought food before and I never ate it. It sat on my shelf in my kitchen forever.

Tip #7: Avoid taking in plastic and paper grocery bags, use fabric ones!
Plastic takes a long long time to break down and is harmful to the environment and to our wildlife. By using reusable bags, we decreases the chances of a sea turtle eating a plastic bag thinking it is a jelly fish.

Tip #8: Learn to let go of things you've been holding onto.
Like seriously, will you ever wear that dress Aunt Hilda got you? Or use that bag that one of your ex-friends got you for your birthday? No. So donate it or sell it.

Tip #9: Buy something new, donate something you don't use or wear.
This helps keeps your closet neat and tidy and it also clears it of things you don't even wear anymore. The things I don't wear are either donated to Goodwill or sold to Buffalo Exchange and Label's.

Tip #10: Organization and labeling is key.
Everything in my house is organized so that I can find it. But there is also a lot of labeling in my house. I have tupperware labeled so that I know what is in what tupperware. It makes it so much easier to know that I haven't put 3 cups of baking soda in my baking instead of the flour.

The Week Ahead

Outside my window... It's so rainy. It's going to rain for the next two weeks.

I am thinking... That school is going great, the end of the quarter is looming close.

I am thankful for... Everything and everyone around me.

From the kitchen... I had some water and now I am waiting for my souffle to cook.

I am hearing... My computer keys clicking as I type and Netflix playing.

I am watching... A Bollywood film.

Always one of my favorite things... To spend time with friends.

I am reading... Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban and my textbooks.

I am making... Nothing.

I am writing... This blog post and an English assignment.

All the plans I have for this week... I will be working at the YMCA every MWF and I am working at St. Paul's doing lunch duty every MWF. I did pick up some more PTA's for the month of November so that will mean some extra hours.

MudLynn Update... MudLynn is doing wonderful! She is on Dasaquin and Proin and now on some Omega chews every day to help her stay fit and healthy. Even though it is rainy, we still go on our daily walks in the morning and evening.

College Update... Winter Quarter Registration is this week, I register for technically my last quarter on Wednesday.

Yes, I Put My Christmas Tree Up

I know, I know. It's only November 11th and Thanksgiving has passed, but I seriously couldn't resist putting up my Christmas tree and ornaments.

I pretty much did it cause I wanted to put it up since it had snowed that one day this month and also since I am hosting Friend's Christmas this year, so I really just want all the decorating done before the second weekend of December so that all I have to worry about is making food and such.

I took this on Saturday when I finished decorating my tree. MudLynn decided the tree skirt was her new bed. It was adorable so I had to snap a few shots. The one the left is my favorite cause she almost looks as though she is rolling her saying "Why is this up now? Wait, why am I complaining? It's my new bed." 

I have it all planned out. I'm going to get the rest of the decor on Black Friday and finish the decorating. Then I'm going to buy the easy groceries for the party and then a few days before the actual party, I'll get the groceries that don't keep well for more than a week.

I am so excited, you have no idea. I've also already started Christmas shopping for my friends, next up are my parents. Although, Mom already knows what I'm getting them cause she told me what to get them.

Friend's Christmas, I am ready for you!

MudLynn Went To School!

Do any of you have a dog that is stuck to you like velcro? The kind of dog tha gives you that look that says take me with you when you have to leave them at home so you can go to work or to school? MudLynn does all the time. She used to go to team meetings with me all the time, but since I am not on the team this year, she hasn't been able to come to campus very much. However, that all changed today. My ELL professor said I could bring MudLynn to class and I did! My classmates all loved her because she is a sweet dog to be around. She did fall asleep in class, silly pup.

I've actually figured out another career I could do and will most likely do. I'm looking into becoming a school counselor. WWU has a Masters of Education that specializes in school counseling. I'm going to talk it over with Mom and see what she thinks of this plan. I would also like to get MudLynn registered as a Pet Partners Therapy Dog. I could take her to campus during Dead Week for the animals in the library... She is a very loving dog and loves people. I've been trying to get her used to people and dogs by taking her to campus and to the dog park more often.

See you guys tomorrow!

The Week Ahead

Outside my window... It's sunny and a bit chilly, chilly enough for gloves.

I am thinking... That school is going great, the end of the quarter is looming close.

I am thankful for... Everything and everyone around me.

From the kitchen... I had some water and now I just ate a souffle.

I am hearing... My computer keys clicking as I type and Netflix playing.

I am watching... Big Bang Theory Christmas.

Always one of my favorite things... To spend time with friends.

I am reading... Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban.

I am making... Nothing.

I am writing... This blog post and an English assignment.

All the plans I have for this week... I will be working at the YMCA every MWF and I am working at St. Paul's doing lunch duty every MWF. No work Friday cause of Veterans Day! Maybe I'll go drive somewhere with Mud and some friends. Have a little adventure. Maybe...

MudLynn Update... MudLynn is doing wonderful! She is on Dasaquin and Proin and now on some Omega chews every day to help her stay fit and healthy. We're starting to go to the dog park more when I have time to take her. Weekends are definitely a double dog park time.

College Update... Fall Quarter is almost coming to a close. Just this month and the first two weeks of December.

Snowvember in Bellingham

We got snow in November! It is beautiful. It started last nght and I think it is still snowing right now. Or it's the wind blowing snow off the trees, who knows.

You have no idea how excited I was when I found out it was snowing last night. I literally screamed like a child.

MudLynn was super excited about the snow this morning when I came back from my morning shift for Purple Friday. She was running around like a madman.

I know it is only November, but I so want to decorate for Christmas, but it's not socially acceptable to decorate for Christmas yet. It's acceptable to play Christmas music though, which is what I did in the car on the way to and from work. I was living the Christmas music. But like, all the stores have their Christmas things in so who cares.

Do you love the snow? Comment down below why you love the snow!

Reasons Why I Want A Second Dog

I've been wanting to adopt/get a second dog for a while now. I want another wiggly butt to be greeted with and another doggo to cuddle with at night. I just want to lay in my bed while watching Netflix and have a dog on each side of me.







I can't remember who I was talking to, but it was someone who had an older dog and they said that by getting a second dog, it put more years on their older dog. When I pet sat on the Navy base, I would try to take MudLynn along with me, and she always got along with the other dogs.


However, one of my friends who wants to live with me and Haley in a house wants to get a dog, so that would be my alternative to a second dog until I could afford investing in a second dog. I already know what kind of dog. I either want to adopt a German Shorthaired Pointer or Doberman and get a puppy. I know a puppy is a lot of work, but I'm think of all the life that puppy would bring to MudLynn since she is getting older.

I take her to the dog park on the weekends and spend an hour there so that she can socialize with other dogs. She loves it cause she drools a lot, meaning she's enjoying her time at the time.  

I just love dogs and want to adopt as many as I can because dogs make life so much better and worth living with their wagging tails and smiles.

So we shall see how everything goes and I will keep