We Are...

Since baseball season is finally over, my sports focus can go back to football a bit. I haven't been ignoring it, but baseball was a higher priority. I have a good game on Saturday to start with, but it will be stressful.

Speaking of Saturday's game, is there any better uniform in college football than Penn State?



No. Not even close.

And don't even get me started about our mascot.

Phillies vs. Gas House Gorillas

After the Phillies win and Cliff Lee's amazing performance in game 1, I tweeted something about him being like Bugs Bunny. When I said the same thing in my office, all of the 20-somethings had no idea what I was talking about. After my explanation they still didn't know what I meant.

This morning, just like every Saturday morning when I was a kid, I watched a little Bugs.



I find myself thinking more about baseball than football this morning, which is kind of unusual for the end of October. Here's hoping that Cole Hamels can channel a little Bugs too for tonight's game.

Supersized Trick or Treat

This is what will face the trick or treaters that come to our house on Friday. A big bowl of assorted FULL SIZE candy bars.

I love the looks on the kids' faces when they see them and try to decide which one to pick. And there have only been a few times that I've had to pull the bowl back from someone grabbing multiple bars.

We've always done full-sized bars for Halloween. The good thing about it is I think it provides some extra insurance against our pumpkins being smashed or our house being egged. The down side is that you are stuck with BIG candy leftovers.

RIP Harley

The cancer finally won, and my Mom and brother finally had to put my Dad's dog, Harley, to sleep yesterday. Harley was a beautiful black lab, with one of the sweetest dispositions of any dog I've ever known. She was an old soul from the beginning; I remember watching her sleep--seemingly constantly--when she was just a couple of years old and thinking that if you didn't know better you'd think she was a senior citizen. With her lazy, easygoing personality, she always, always had a wag of her tail to greet you, and would quickly roll over to beg for a belly rub.

Harley loved everyone, but she definitely was my Dad's dog and had a special bond with him. Wherever they are, I hope they are together.

Lee Now

I doubt anyone has a shot of someone with a sign for "Lee Now" from this game back on July 25th.

Homemade Dog Food

For the last few weeks my dogs have been enjoying my version of homemade dog food. My inspiration to start making it for them was my friend Shari and her gorgeous dog Ben:



Ben is HUGE, yet buff. His fur is shiny and soft, his eyes are bright. He is sexy. So after watching him devour the homemade food that Shari makes for him, I decided to give it a try for my freak dogs. (Speaking of freak dogs, interesting to see the comments on my post about my Gypsy's crazy fear of hiccups.)

I considered taking pictures of each step of the process, but it's actually kind of gross. And the smell is pretty nasty too. I suppose that's why the dogs like it so much.

So based off of Shari's recipe and some that I found online, my basic recipe is:

• 5 lbs of ground beef (80/20, browned and drained.)
• 3 lbs of chicken livers (Cooked in a pot with just enough water to cover them, then mashed well with a potato masher. Definitely the most disgusting part.)
• 4 or 5 eggs (Shells included, blended in a blender then cooked in with half of the ground beef when it's nearly done.)
• Big bag of frozen mixed veggies (Cooked with a little water, then mashed well.)
• Brown rice

Once it's all cooked and mixed together well it looks pretty much like any other wet dog food:


To serve it we mix in a bit of bone meal, some water to moisten it, and then a few squirts of salmon oil over the top. I do intend to check with my vet soon to make sure she approves, but I think she will. They get 2 meals a day, breakfast and dinner. As fast as they devour it, it's amazing that they haven't choked yet. As soon as one of them empties their bowl, they immediately go to the other's to make sure nothing was left behind.

One of the goals of this is to get a few pounds off of 13 year old Gypsy. She's developed a fairly significant limp on her left front leg and besides possibly her arthritis, the vet has no idea why. Other than that, she's pretty healthy for an old lady. But she definitely could stand to drop some weight. I haven't weighed her since we started, but I think she might have lost a pound or two. This despite the fact that she is so fat and happy after she eats that the next few hours are spent passed out cold.


I should also mention that this has been made MUCH easier thanks to my Mom, who does the actual feeding of the girls every day. And the multiple walks she takes them on each day also are contributing to the bounce they both seem to have in their step lately.

Food, Inc

Wow.