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Monday, July 18, 2011

Anniversary Week

Today, July 18, marks the 1 year anniversary of the opening of my Etsy shop.
It has been a wonderful first year filled with many blessings.
To help in the celebration of this milestone, two lucky people will be the recipients of 1 Dozen Cookies of their choosing!!

Here are the 'cookies of choice' of the lastest winner of one of my giveaways.......


The winner of these decided to give her winnings to her husband for his birthday.  She told me that he was a big fan of Marvel Comics.  I never dreamed Marvel Comics characters were so numerous.  I chose these because they looked more 'cookie friendly'.  By that meaning.....easier to do!  Besides, these are the more familiar of Marvel Comics characters.

Little did I know that I was making cookies for an illustrator and graphic artist!  Talk about pressure!




.....but I guess I passed the test........
His response, " As a professional illustrator and the lucky person to receive these as a birthday present from my lovely wife, I can tell you they are works of art to behold and delicious. Amazing work, well done, thank you."

Said his wife......"Thanks again Kay for making his birthday terrific!!! Its been a tough year but you just made it totally perfect!!"

That makes it all worthwhile for me :)

So now you have 2 chances to win some cookies to make someone else's day too.....or maybe make your day!

For all of the details for your chance to win, go visit Mrs. Robinson's blog by midnight this Thursday, July 21 to enter for chance 1 .....and for ANOTHER chance.......Noelle and Kerry over at Sweet Crafts and Cakes are sponsoring a 'sweet giveaway' of my cookies.  Their giveaway ends at midnight on Friday, July 22.  Go check them out for all the details.

And finally, starting today until Friday at midnight, purchase any listing in my Etsy shop and receive an 18% discount!  Simply use coupon code ANNIVERSARY1 at checkout.

Thank You for a fabulous first year!!







Sunday, July 10, 2011

A Farewell, A New Beginning, and HOPE

I've wanted to blog about this for some time, but it's been difficult.  As I sit here typing this, it's still hard to do without getting teary eyed. 
 You see, on the Saturday night before Easter of this year, we had to say goodbye to our beloved little yorkie, who shared our home, our life, and our hearts for the past 8 years.
 He fought tenaciously, as always the ferocious and brave little fighter that he was, all 6 pounds of him, but lost this last battle against lymphoma.


Shnookems.......in  his earlier days.



Yeah, he was like another one of my babies.
This is him about 3 years ago.  His dark coloring was getting lighter in his older age.
Will always love you, buddy!

It's not easy to fill that void that is left by the passing of your faithful and loyal..(no matter how many times he was fussed for pooping in the house after just being let outside)....companion, friend, and for all intensive purposes, 4th child.  The kids had been asking to get another dog, but it just didn't feel right.  They finally wore me down with the asking and decided it was time "to look".....afterall, summer would be a good time for them to bond with a new canine friend.  

I decided we weren't doing the puppy thing again.  Life here is crazy enough without adding the antics that come along with a puppy!  Being the animal loving family that we are...did I ever mention we own 14 cats, all spayed and neutered by the way, 2 guinea pigs, 2 nigerian dwarf goats, 11 chickens, 1 duck (who thinks she's a chicken), and 10 rabbits.....I figured adoption was the logical thing to do.  

"Looking", at the shelters, was difficult to do.  Not only because it got me to missing Shnookie, but seeing the look of desperation in those dogs' eyes, and knowing their fate, is gutrenching.

My daughter asked, "please, can we get this one"..only about 6,7,8+ times, but none of them seemed to 'feel' like the one.

Until this little guy caught my eye,


 because he reminded me of.....Shnookems. 

 It was the hair covering his eyes......just like Shnook.  Shnook always had those bangs in his eyes, just like this little fellow.  

He had been picked up by animal control.  He did have a collar on, but no i.d., and no one came looking for him.  During the summer months, the shelter will only hold strays for 5 days, and if not claimed, or saved by an animal rescue group......well.....you know what happens.  

We saw him only minutes before the shelter was closing on a Friday afternoon.  Something about him made a connection with me.....could have been the gentle lick he gave me when I put my hand into his cage.  But I needed to know how he got along with cats, as we do have quite the mess of those!  The shelter worker didn't know, but said she could see how he would do over the weekend.  This sounded good, because I needed to think it over, too.  I didn't know if I was ready, yet. 

Remember I said strays had 5 days in the shelter?  This little guy's number was up on the Monday morning.   His fate was in my hands. 

I thought about it, prayed about it, and ...still didn't know what to do.  When late Sunday evening, I was reading a book from the library to my 4 year old......


The story begins.....'In the back of a dogcatcher's truck sat a little white dog nobody wanted.'
I hear you God!  LOUD and CLEAR!!

So, Monday morning I called the shelter to tell them to spare the scroungey little mop dog, we were coming to get him.  The shelter gave us a 5 day trial period to see if he would get along with the cats.  If it didn't work out....we could return him to the shelter.  I got the first hint he'd be staying with us when he wasn't the least bit interested in the cute kitties in cages in the shelter lobby.

I have to say after a clip (he was so matted, he needed to be clipped before bathing), a good bath, and another clip....he is quite the handsome chap......don't you think?



He is the most gentle of dogs, gets along brilliantly with the cats, and loves to have his belly scratched.  He's the quick learner too...as he has already learned to sit and stay after only 2 weeks with us.  My daughter is teaching him more, a lot, more.

Of course, our new family member needed a name....can you guess what the kids named him?





I would like to introduce,..... you guessed it,....... McDuff.

Who ever would have thought underneath all of that matted, dirty fur was this little cutey?
There are many more like McDuff waiting for a home and a loving family.  So many innocent little lives are just disposed of because of irresponsible human owners. 
Thankfully, there are no-kill animal rescue groups that give some (wish it were all) a second chance.

Which leads me to the cookie part of this post.....had to have SOMETHING to do with cookies!

A local animal rescue group, HOPE for Animals, does just that........it gives these furry little members of God's creation a second chance.  The organization has worked to develop awareness and interest in both animal cruelty issues and overpopulation problems, and they provide for foster homes for dogs and cats until adoption becomes an option.  

Last night, HOPE for Animals had it's annual fundraising gala, which provides much needed funds to help foster animals, provide veterinary care, and low cost spay/neuter programs.

I felt compelled to help out in a small way after our recent adoption of McDuff.  
So, I made.....what else.......a cookie donation towards their fundraising efforts.

Here are the cookies in the 2 dozen+ collection.



Both the feline and canine interests were represented.




And of course, I had to make a McDuff version......



So, please remember that your local animal shelter is a great place to go to give a wonderful furry little friend a second chance.  And if adopting a pet is not in the game plan in your life right now, remember that animal shelters and rescue organizations, like HOPE for Animals, are always in need of monetary assistance and support. 

I know this post was reeeeaaaalllllyyyy long-winded, and I appreciate it if you stuck through to the end.
If 'ya did.......here's a little treat for 'ya..........



Thursday, July 7, 2011

I am Back....to Blogging!!

Yes, it's me.....back to blogging.   Can't believe it's been 3+ months since I last posted!
Instead of trying to play catch up with all the new things that I've done over the past months, I'll just start new here, and post the catch-up stuff as we go forward.

Thanks for being patient  as I try and get this blog in gear, again.  I've developed a new-found respect for bloggers who keep it going regularly.  Blogging is a lot of work and dedication, and I admire those who find a way to keep their blogs current!!  More power to 'ya!

Well, let's get started with the latest.......

Princess cookies fit for a little princess.


Every little princess has to have her favorite princess with her to celebrate her 3rd birthday.  And when there are twin little princesses turning 3, well.....they both have their own favorites.  One loves Belle, of Beauty and the Beast, while the other fancies Sleeping Beauty........


I'd love to be able to see the look on the twin princesses' faces when these arrive.  I'll just have to be content with the words of their mother......  " the sweet smiles that will light the world when my girls see them ! "

This little comment justifies why I do what I do.  It justifies spending a lot of time reasearching to find clip art and graphics to give me inspiration.  It justifies hand cutting shapes to make the perfect design I want, because there isn't a cutter that's the right shape.  It justifies mixing up 7 different shades of icing to get the right colors to match a princess' ensemble.  It justifies spending way too much time working on one cookie to get it just right.  And certainly justifies staying up waaaaay past anybody with sanity's beditime.

One little comment like that makes it all worthwhile.  That's why I do what I do.

 
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