Ms. MO’s Mad Mad World

Of all the cute things to talk about I have completely over looked my fur baby. I have a five year old Sheltie named “O.G.”. That stands for Opera Ghost, though nobody calls him that. What a mouthful. Generally we call him “O.G.” when he’s naughty (which is very rare), “O.G.” Man, O’Man, Oge (with a long O and hard J sound), O-O’s and our friend calls him O-jizzle. Then there is baby dog, and the girls favorite thing to call him is yucky when he’s in between groomings and we’ve all shortened it to Yucker, which he seems just as happy to answer to.

Here is my O-O’s after we brought him home:
We got him in Fairbanks, Alaska from Skyview Shelties. We absolutely loved our experience adopting him. There was no doubt the professionalism and the love Skyview has of their dogs. If ever we wanted to add to our family I would contact them again . He is such a wonderful addition to our family.

“O.G.” is now five years old. He has a fun personality once he has warmed up to you. With new comers he is leery but always sweet. He loves to play with his tug rope, though you have to do most of the work, he will make all the tough guy noises and do some pulling but don’t expect much more. He loves to bark at the garbage truck, the home alarm’s chimes when we open a door or window, the girls arguing, any of us going up and down the stairs too loudly and of course a noise he thinks is coming in the future or only he heard that may or may not exist .

Since I started out talking about cute let me tell how cuddly he is. He loves to lay down half in our laps while we sit on the couch. If we lay on our side he likes to lay next to us and share our pillow. If we lay on our backs, yes he will crawl up on your body to sleep too. My favorite sleeping pose he has is when he’s on his back, legs up in the air (I really need to take a picture of him like that). Baby dog is so weird.

“O.G.” knows many tricks. He can sit, stay, laydown, roll-over, play dead, “freeze” aka sit up on back legs (not stand), balance treat on his nose and wait until the OK is given to flip it up and catch it, low crawl (though he is very impatient and wont do it long), speak on command, give his mean face (show his teeth and growl – the only other time he’s tough ), chase a ball, doesn’t bark at our horses and of course he’s ever a gentleman on the leash. What is there not to love about the “O’ Man”.

Go hug your doggy, rodent, horse, cow, pig, or stuffed animal if that is all your are allowed to have. Yes I did leave out cats .

Why is fake food so cute, especially when it’s tiny. They could be made from plastic, silicone, crocheted or sewn by a machine or the real thing however they come, tiny food is adorable. I have seen little necklaces with smiling cupcakes, stickers with a happy piece of toast, and let’s not forget the mini pepperoni I buy at the supermarket. Why is it so irresistible? These days burgers are giant, our drinks are large and portions in restaurants are getting out of control. In this time or going BIG it is exciting to see the mini burgers, or “sliders”, all though I don’t eat them, I still think it’s cute when my girls order them.

When I see tiny food I think of tea parties with little floral plates and tiny gold spoons. I think of ladies with pretty lace hats eating finger sandwiches and asking “One lump or two” as they pour their tea and talk over the gossip of the day. I also think of little girls decked out in feather boas, pretty white gloves and giant stuffed bunnies sitting around a little round table. Tiny food makes me smile .

Enjoy these links to a yummy tiny world:

Miniature Food on Flickr - -
While you’re there, look up Kawaii food, smile today

C.D.H.M – www.cdhm.org

Very sorry to get you back and then leave you with nothing, again. Maverick has been on leave after a year long deployment in that warm, sandy country of Iraq . We went on vacation to Great Wolf Lodge up in North Texas and then spent some time with out the girls at The Driskill Hotel in Austin, TX. Both were a wonderful time and kept me pleasantly away from computers and cell phones to spend time with those who are most important to me.

Today we have snow. Lots of fluffy white snow to cover all the dreary dead grass we’ve been looking at since November. I am very excited to go and take pictures of the horses at the barn today. I think today would be a great time to add their colored hair extensions to their manes to get a nice contrast with the snow. That is one thing I learned about being around horses is that it’s not all southwest boring print any more.

There is sparkly hoof polish, bright colored tack, blingy tack, wild prints, pony safe paint if you feel like having your very own life sized My Little Pony. My daughters and I have found that those fun colored hair extensions that can be bought at Claires or Hot Topic look very cute in the horses manes and can easily be taken in and out. Just one of many ways you can cute up your pony .

We call horses ponies. We, my daughters & friends, know there is a difference, but it’s more fun to say Ponies, however we know we own horses . I hope you found a way to add some cute into your life today.

Homerun Ball Cookie. This time in Banana. We’ve had the cheese flavored ones and they are buttery, sort of that weird powdery buttery cheese that’s in those bright orange sandwich crackers. The banana ones have a nice light banana frosting in them. The pastry around the “cream” is very light and airy but crumbly. Easy to eat, just pop one in your mouth.

The second snack came in a fun pink “cup” like package. Mainly I bought it for the packaging, as I tend to do when I visit our local Asian supermarket. They are nothing special, basically chocolate Hello Panda. Sorry I couldn’t find a product page for it.

Another product that I can’t seem to find a site for is “Foil” candy. It generally comes in a strip with different types of candy, generally chocolate type stuff. This time they had the flavor “Hot Cake”, holy moly! It tasted just like an eggo smeared with butter and actually had maple syrup in it. I have to say that if I find an entire bag of these on my next trip I will definitely buy them and pass them out to everybody I know.

From the bakery section we got Hodo Kwaja, a walnut shaped cake filled with sweet red beans and a bit of walnut in it. Very good, smooth texture, can’t wait to have with tea, yum! – next day update, seems like Maverick thought they were really good too. I may need to take a trip and buy another package.

On a whim, and small cuteness factor, I was compelled to purchase Eishindo Mini Mixed Fruit Jelly Cups. So far I am not a fan. My youngest, G3, said the red one had a mediciney after taste. I didn’t notice it, but we decided you definitely needed a cracker to eat it with.

Another whim, when isn’t this fun food bought on a whim? G3 was thirsty and wanted a cream soda, I talked her into trying something new instead. She ended up choosing Strawberry Yogu Time. She was hesitant because it looked cloudy and too thin to really have a yogurt flavor. We were both surprised. It wasn’t too sweet, it wasn’t too yogurty but just enough to taste it, yet it was “thin” enough to go down nicely. I would buy it again next time trying Lychee.

I was happily surprised to see The Pioneer Woman has a fun post on her favorite Asian snacks. I do admit her post is a lot more fun than mine . After two years of reading her, I will say her entire site is a lot more fun than many that I visit. I do hope you had fun here today. I know I did.

It is February 1st and it’s the best month for all things girly. Hearts, Chocolates, Pink Glittery Goodness and Red Sparkles. Not to mention bows, ribbons, flowers, champagne and dessert. Oh if you are attached it’s also lots of kisses too. I am very excited about Valentines Day, as you can see because of all of these things. Maverick and I have been apart for the past few years so I have been having a lot of fun celebrating with our girls. For this reason I think Valentines Day is really for everybody and I do not understand the anti-Valentines attitude.

Why have just one special Valentine? Why can’t it be your children, mother, best friend, grandmother or yourself? I think it’s ok to wear your cute red dress, meet with friends for dinner and exchange gifts, or children’s Valentine Cards with heart suckers taped to them. That’s when Valentines Day was more fun, when we were kids. In Kindergarten everybody got a Valentine, with a hand scribbled To: and From: . Everybody got a pink iced cupcake and plenty of conversation hearts and nobody thought “Oh woe is me, I’m so alone”. I say take back Valentines Day and let the kid in you eat Pink Frosted Cake!

Whether she said it or not dear Marie Antionette would proud . Get inspired by Marie at the blog; The Paris Apartment.

I have been looking up Kawaii for the past few days. I heard the term on a different site and had to look up what it means. Now I know I’m slightly behind a lot of people with this term, so for those who are still with me and are now wondering too, I will let you know what Kawaii is. Loosely, and not so loosely, it’s Japanese for all things cute, sweet, adorable, etc. I’m a girly girl and this appeals to me a whole lot. Yes I enjoy mucking stalls and sparkling at the same time.

On my Kawaii search I found Decotti, Kawaii Pastries that wont make you fat squee ~ It’s fake tarts, macaroons, cookies, and other pastries that you decorate with a plastic “cream”. While it’s wet you add little fake fruits, gems, flowers and anything . . . Kawaii! Even though I know from my experience of buying things you make once and then you’re done and that’s the end of the fun I think these would be a lot of fun to do. I can see adding these on a large variety of items.

I somehow stumbled across PincStuff.com today while looking at Decotti tutorials on YouTube. It looks like she made some little things with the left over “cream” from the Decotti kits. Clever! She has a lot of other very cute foody items and a variety of not so foody creations.

Also take a look at Dusting in Pearls. She also likes to get “down and dirty” in pink

I am looking at the Sanrio site and am in love with the new Orizuru line. It’s Hello Kitty in a geisha wig and kimono. I want the lunch box (cute bento!) and the pen. I also want the pirate socks. Weeeee!

I need to take some pictures of the outfits I put together and the silly things I carry in my purse. I love to have cute things, some might think they are childish but I like having these subtle things ’cause they are fun. When I open my purse I see my coin purse that has skulls wearing bows all over it. My phone cover is Jack Skellington, my phone itself has a peek-a-pooh in a pineapple, my purse has them hanging on it alone with a Skelanimals key chain. I keep my gum in a Skelanimals coffin shaped candy holder, the candy that was in it was horrible . I have Skelanimals shirt and barrettes I wear too.

I’m not bragging at things I have, I’m sharing the cute that I like to, hide. The little things that make me smile. Speaking of things making me smile. . . Vending Machine Toys!

Go find something cute in your house, borrow it from your children if you have to, and smile!

Thanksgiving is this week, as most of you know. I have spent one Thanksgiving with Maverick since we moved here Spring 2005. This year we are going to the old O’ Club once again for Thanksgiving. We have only made dinner at our house, once, last year and really I prefer to go on post. Less hassle, less mess and it costs about the same anyway. The girls and I have already started our baking and we will have a few little nibble trays for the evening to snack on while we put up the tree. We’ll start watching our Christmas DVD’s and in the morning, Black Friday!

I am not a crazed Black Friday shopper. I don’t get up at the crack of dawn, I get up and go when ever. You might wonder why do I go then, well, I like to be out in the crowds. The hustle and the bustle is so much fun to me. Waiting in traffic, crazed mothers trying to get the last pink iPod, dad’s after the big screen t.v.’s etc. I guess I am not so odd since there are so many people who love this crazed tradition. I’m even wacky enough to take the girls with me .

Christmas will be lonely with out Maverick. I always force myself to smile more, decorate more and spread the cheer even more than usual when he is not home. I miss him. This time I’m not crying daily, or feeling as angry, it does seem time is dragging on even slower than the 15 month deployment we went through last time. I thought staying busy would make it fly by, it really didn’t. Those multiple deployment survivors are right, each deployment is so very different. Each one of us has different issues that make each experience unique. This is why we cannot judge how our fellow spouses handle separations. You may not have a baby, teenager, horses, ailing parent, death of a beloved pet, crazy friends, leaky roof, a car that decided to die, a full time job, broken arm, a mean landlord, health issues etc that your fellow spouse might have. Be kind this holiday season, open doors for the mother with her hands full, smile even when others frown, just say thank you . Spread a little more happiness no matter how grumpy you feel.

From Doe Deere

Worst things to wait for:
The start of a deployment
For the doctor/dentist to call you
A really slow waitress/waiter
That time of month (eww I know)
Slow internet
Traffic to clear

Best things to wait for:
Homecoming!!!
Movies in the theater or video
Packages
Friday
A fresh pot of coffee
Finding just the right horse

Worth waiting for forever:
Love

I need a new layout, I need a new hairstyle and make up. It’s time to update myself again. I’m getting stale

I got my first ping back from A Touch of ‘Tude. Now there is all this pressure to update more often, uh oh… LOL

The girls have been having meltdowns left and right since school started on Monday. I was excited for the time alone again but not for the stress that school brings. When did school get so damned stressful for the girls and the parents. I don’t recall being that upset and stressed on the first week of school. That was usually around testing and midterms. This is a load of barnacles. I think we need to step back and remember that while we want our children to be prepared for the world, we don’t need them with headaches and stomach ulcers before the 9th grade. Holy Moly!

On the subject of the big D we are over half way done. I am not on the downhill woo hoo ride yet but I am in the line. On a hot miserable humid sunny day, but I am in the line at least. I will let ya’ll know when I’m actually next in line . For now enjoy the 4th bento of this school year:

Fourth day Bento:

Left:
Pink Apples, Rice Crispie Treat, Mustard & Ketchup in container

Right: Baby Gold fish w/ sunflower seed kernels, Tater Tots, Cheesy Hot Dogs & Cheddar Cheese Kabobs

Look what I found at Hobby Lobby yesterday:

Pirate Cupcake Papers!!!!