Picture Post

It's a little late, but a couple of weeks ago (the same day my dog got attacked actually) we spent the day at one of the Gunpowder Falls State Parks.  The weather was perfect, not too hot, not too cold. 

And we finished the day by eating a crab pretzel.  One of the good things about Maryland...the blue crabs!  Yum!  This pretzel was amazing, at least I thought so (the BF thought it was ok, but he doesn't normally eat crab).  Mmmm, a soft pretzel filled with Maryland blue crab and cheese.  Nom, nom.

Stay classy,

Heidi 

Loving These Right Now

I'm pretty sure my dog would hate me, but it would be worth it.

blackbirdtees

It's a "Head Hunter" shirt.  I love the feel of Amercian Apparel tshirts.

Crown Fountain in Chicago's Millenium Park

One of the coolest things I've seen.  I've been to Chicago, but not to this place.  Next time...

Sandali

I don't think I need to say much about these.  Drool.

Rey Swimwear

I want every single one of their swimsuits...

HappyGoLicky

I have such a fascination with bracelets.

Stay classy,

Heidi

Low Fat Pineapple Cupcakes!

I was so upset from Easter, I forgot to post about the amazing low fat pineapple cupcakes I made.  The recipe is from Skinnytaste (a great source for healthier and delicious foods).  These cupcakes were by far the easiest I've ever made.  1 bowl, 4 ingredients.  Did I also mention they were low-fat!?  No added sugar, no oil, no eggs.

Pineapple Bliss Cupcakes from Skinnytaste.

-Betty Crocker box of yellow cake mix

-20 oz can crushed pineapple in juice (DON"T DRAIN!)

Mix together in a bowl.  Pour into cupcake liners, about 2/3 full.  Bake in accordance to the cake mix directions.  Set aside to cool.

Pineapple Fluff Cream Cheese Frosting

-8 oz 1/3 less fat cream cheese

-20 oz can crushed pineapple in juice (DRAIN THIS ONE REALLY WELL!)

-3/4 c marshmallow fluff (I think I used more.  I just eyeballed it.)

Combine all the ingredients and mix well.  Spread on the cooled cupcakes right before serving.

For Easter, I topped them with candy coated chocolate eggs.



And Gypsy is doing alot better by the way.  She's healing up well.  Poor thing is probably gonna have a bald spot there though...

Stay classy,

Heidi

Leash Laws

I would like to have said our Easter was uneventful...

It was such a nice day, we decided to go to a nearby state park and start a tradition of an Easter day hike.  We were loving the outside and the dog was all smiles.  A big leashless dog, not sure of the breed came charging towards her and attacked her.  The whole thing happened within seconds.  I remember the dog charging and then I hear Gypsy screaming and then the owners grabbing their dog.  I, still not sure what just happened, checked my dog and she was freaked, but at the time, I didn't see any visible cuts or anything.  One of the owners offered her some dog treats, which Gypsy denied (I love that dog).  The BF said he had to kick the dog in the ribs to get him to let go of Gypsy.  It wasn't until then, the owners grabbed their dog.  He also mentioned the owner said, "Now we have to leave again because of you."  That pretty much tells me, this dog has attacked other dogs before.  Now, Maryland has a leash law for reasons just like this.  If your dog has attacked before, why not have him leashed at all times!? 

But anyway, we continued our walk because, like I said, I checked her and didn't notice any blood or anything, and she was acting like her normal self again all smiley.  She climbed over rocks and logs and rocks with us.  It wasn't until she got out of the river, I noticed some blood.  She had a huge hole in her back!  And she just spent the last couple of hours running around and swimming in a river full of dirt and sand.  We hurried back home so I could clean her up.  Since it was Sunday and a holiday, we decided not to take her to an emergency vet.  The BF took her the next morning.

Looking back, we should've gotten information from the owners.  I've never been in a situation like that so I didn't know what to do.  Besides, the owners didn't look the friendliest.  But if we had their information, you betcha I would've taken Gypsy to the ER vet and had them pay for it. 

Now my dog is on a 45 day quarantine because of a rabies protocol.  No walks.  No parks.  No interaction with other animals or dogs.  She's on all sorts of medications, even opiates to keep an edge off the pain.  And after the vet, I saw more bites throughout her body.  They were already scabbed over so I wasn't as worried about them.

This whole thing could've been avoided if the state leash law was being followed!  DON'T LET YOUR DOG OFF THE LEASH!  You might think they're the sweetest dog in the world.  But noone is 100% positive their dog isn't going to attack.  Before this whole thing, I was considering letting Gypsy off the leash, but this was a lesson learned.  I would never let her off leash now.

 This is a picture of the wound the next day, after the vet and after it was beginning to heal.  As you can see, the bite's pretty big for a dog her size.  There's another big bite that was already healing over at the bottom of her hind legs.  So that's a pretty big dog that attacked her.  The dog had almost her whole body in his mouth.

And this is Gypsy on drugs...

But to end on a good note, Gypsy's doing so much better.  The wound still looks bad, but it's pretty much scabbed completely over.  If you didn't see her back and just saw her face and tail nub wag, you wouldn't think anything was wrong. 

Stay classy (and keep those dogs leashed!),
Heidi

Hippie Maybe?

Sometimes I wonder if I was a hippie in a past life.  In high school, my big research paper was about the culture of hippies, which I totally aced by the way (and was one of the few with the English teacher we had).  And I'm loving that floral vintage is coming back.  I gave in and bought a wallet from Target when I have a perfectly fine wallet right now.  But that wallet was black and boring.  The one I bought today was distressed leather with flowers all over it.  I fell in love. 

Today, I'm gonna attempt to make these cupcakes for Easter.  Fingers crossed!

And last night, I made these flatbreads that were delish (recipe follows)!! 

Since I'm an android gal (I actually love android by the way!) Instagram was made available and you bet I got my hands on that app.  How much cooler does the flatbread look!?

I've also been eating a pretty nutritious for the past couple of days.  Health nuts would praise me.  Vanilla yogurt, granola, fresh berries.  Nom, nom, nom.

Because I wanted a cool picture, I actually made too much, so this lasted 2 mornings.  I got a store brand granola mix with almonds and honey and it added this great sweetness to it.  Even with the soggy granola the next day, it was still awesome.

Thai-Style Chicken Flatbread/or Naan (this recipe makes for 2 flatbreads, so double it for 4)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Cut about 1/2 lb of chicken, cut into bite size pieces.  Marinate the chicken with 2 tsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp honey, and 1/2 tsp cornstarch at room temperature for 10 minutes (The honey is important!  It helps to carmelize the chicken).  Heat a pan over high heat and add the chicken and cook for a couple minutes.  Brush olive oil on the edges of the flatbreads.  Spread peanut sauce on each flatbread.  Top with shredded mozzarella and the cooked chicken.  Bake for a couple of minutes until the cheese melts and the edges are golden.  Top the breads with bean sprouts (the sprouts actually add this great crunch to every bite) and cilantro. 

Stay classy,
Heidi

A Lazy Sunday...

I wish. 

Fact or Faked is on an April Fool's SyFy marathon all day and as much as I would love to just veg out and geek out, I can't.  I just got back from the grocery store, which is usually an hour ordeal and then not even counting the prep work before the trip (I clip coupons and organize my grocery list).  Then, I promised myself I would run for about an hour (gotta train for that race in October!)  Then, I have to clean our bathroom that's gotten pretty sad lately, at least the toilet and shower.  Then I wanted to go through some of my old tshirts and cut up the gross undershirts and re-purpose them for cleaning rags.  Then, I need to fix dinner for when the BF gets home (Lemon and Dill Baked Salmon w/ Roasted Broccoli!)

Looking back at what I just said, I guess I don't have THAT much to do.  I'll be able to veg out when the BF gets home, but still, I just want to be lazy...

Today is April Fool's Day as well.  A small part of me wanted to send mine and the BF's parents a card saying "Congrats, you're gonna be grandparents!"  :)  But then, karma might bite me in the butt

:(   It would've been funny though...

Yesterday, I made another manly breakfast, well, semi-manly.  Bits of sausage, bacon, ham, green peppers, onions all mixed with scrambled eggs, and topped with...wait for it...warmed sauerkraut.  Since the BF already ate at this point, I had this all to myself.  Served with toast and some french roast coffee, it was a good start to any Saturday (well, it was already afternoon by this point, but I don't fully wake up til about noon anyway).  There were leftovers, so the BF got to experience this breakfast this morning. 

Oh yea, I also made this awesome Chinese Broccoli Beef Noodle Stir Fry from Steamy Kitchen.  I couldn't find Chinese Broccoli, so I ended up using regular broccoli florets, but it still tasted good!

I took a picture, but I didn't realize the shot was blurry until I saw it on the computer.  With that said, I'm using one from the Steamy Kitchen site. 

 Mine DID NOT look like this at all, so maybe it was best that my shot came out blurry...

Chinese Broccoli Beef Noodle Stir Fry
from Steamy Kitchen

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons Shaoxing wine, sake (rice wine) or dry white wine (I used sweetened Mirin)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon tapioca starch or cornstarch
1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
1 pound beef sirloin, thinly sliced
1 pound fresh or 10 ounces dried noodles
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 large garlic cloves, crushed and finely chopped
1 1/4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 pound Chinese broccoli or regular common broccoli, cut into bite-size chunks or florets
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
-In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 tablespoon each soy sauce, oyster sauce and rice wine. Add the sugar and continue to whisk until completely dissolved. Stir in the cornstarch and continue stirring until smooth. Add the sesame oil and beef, and mix well. Marinate for 20 minutes. Drain and discard the excess marinade.

-Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the noodles until 1 minute shy of done and drain. (We'll finish cooking the noodles at the end)

-Heat 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a skillet or wok over high heat and stir-fry the garlic until fragrant, about 1o seconds. Add the beef and stir-fry until tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

-Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and when hot, add the Chinese broccoli, stir frying so that the oil coats the Chinese broccoli. Pour in the 1/4 cup of the stock, turn the heat to medium-low and cover with a tight fitting lid. Cook the Chinese broccoli until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the Chinese broccoli to the same plate.

-Add the remaining cup of stock and the remaining 2 tablespoons each of soy sauce, oyster sauce, and rice wine to the same skillet and bring to a boil over
high heat.

-Add the noodles and cook until the liquid has almost completely evaporated, leaving the noodles lightly moistened,2 to 3 minutes. Return the beef and broccoli to the skillet and toss to mix the ingredients thoroughly. Season with pepper to taste and serve.

Stay classy,

Heidi