Scrambles and Scribbles ~ An Ear by Any Other Name is Still an Ear?

It took me a bit but I just figured out that I subconsciously really wanted a Beagle apparently.

Some of the cutest videos I've seen are featuring Beagles.  This one. is the one I found a few months ago that involved the smart dog climbing up on the counter and liberating chicken nuggets from the toaster oven. Yup. She's a Beagle.

And the cutie who loaded up the baby with toys after stealing her favorite? A Beagle. Here's more of Charlie.

My dream dog was a Corgi. I love the off the chart cuteness, the short stubby legs and the color blocking. Their size is perfect. 13ish inches tall and 25 pounds. You can pick em up and have them on your lap but they are sturdy enough to act like a bigger dog. Turns out a Beagle is almost the same stats height and weight and the difference in my book is going to be flopped ears instead of bat ears. Hmmm. I'm pretty sure my babies are my dream dogs.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ What We Do While We Go Out for Potty Biznes...

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Link Fun

Baby and dog pictures. 

Melancholy Cats

Scraps and Snippets ~ Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread. Yes. Seriously. OVER THE TOP

Uh. This is pretty easy. And stinking decadent. I mean. It rocks in the worst way, as in it is a sugar slap upside the head and the little cinnamon crunch balls slide down oh so easy. 

Good Morning Sunshine Super Cinnamon Roll Monkey Bread (realistically serves 6-10) (If it’s all you are making plan on 6.)

2 Cans of vegan friendly (TJ's) cinnamon rolls (12+ ounces). (You could try homemade rolls with similar results I'm guessing.)

½ Cup melted earth balance or coconut oil

1 Cup sugar

3 teaspoons cinnamon

Mix sugar and cinnamon together in one bowl. In another melt the Earth Balance or coconut oil.

Prepare a bundt pan with a good greasing. Preheat the oven to 350. Remove the cinnamon rolls. Set the frosting packets aside. Place the cinnamon roll sections on a cutting board. Slice each roll into four segments. Basically cut in half and then in half the other way. Don’t worry. They will start to fall apart a bit. Take each fourth and dip in melted "butter" then sugar and cinnamon mixture and drop into bundt pan. If the sections fall apart that’s okay. When it bakes they will all come together. Keep going until the rolls are all coated and stuck in the pan. If there is butter sub or sugar/cinnamon left just pour over the rolls. Place in oven and bake for 30-33 minutes. If you want, pull out a small piece from the middle after 28 or so minutes. You don’t want overdone but doughy is nasty. You should see bubbling caramelly deliciousness and smell cinnamon sugar. When baked remove from oven and allow to sit 10 minutes. Place plate over pan and flip so the bundt cake slides out onto the plate.

Cool another 5 min then drizzle (cut the tip off or puncture and squeeze) one frosting packet over the top of the monkey bread. Cut the tip off or puncture the second frosting packet and set aside for those who want more frosting.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Creative Dads I'd Like to Meet,,,

There is something both innocently sweet and horrifyingly scary when children spend time alone with Daddy. As demonstrated in these adorable videos...(warning to the sensitive...the 2nd one contains a bit of written indelicate language). I found them on a website I follow and had to embed and share them, too.

Mothers can sometimes suck the fun and the joy out of events because we can focus on the teensiest of important details. A man who hasn't lost his wonder and awe about life makes a great buffer. 

My life would not be complete had I not experienced a dad who was unafrsid of the unknown and knew important and dangerous science and stuff! 

My own kids getting filthy dirty and being used as tools/helpers have become richer human beings as well!

You dads who include your kids in your adventures...carry on. Your kids will be full of memories and possibly fodder for therapy sessions.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Wednesday Weirdos

The pups are totally mobile. Up and down the steps...easy peasy.

Can you see a problem with this scenario? Sometimes the up and down happen at times we want them to stay close.

There are a whole lot of things that can happen when a quiet puppy is out of eyesight.

So. We spend as much time as possible out of doors.

Oddly, I discovered, as Rob paced with Gertrude so she would focus on pottying, that one puppy makes for moments when one can see a pensive puppy pondering the grass. With two it's full on drama. Until they crash. Of course.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Peanut Butter Brownies

Peanut Butter Brownies

5 TBSP coconut oil or Earth Balance butter substitute

5 TBSP peanut butter

1 1/3 Cup sugar
2 TBSP egg replacer (I usedEner-G DIY homemade)
6 TBSP water or non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 Cup cocoa
1 2/3 Cup flour
1/3 chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 x 13. Mix butter substitute or coconut oil, peanut butter and sugar until blended. Add cocoa, egg replacer and water/milk, vanilla and mix well, add salt, baking powder and vanilla and stir. Pour in flour and mix. It will be thick and more like cookie dough. Press into pan.

CARAMEL TOPPING LAYER

4 TBSP Earth Balance or coconut oil

4 heaping TBSP peanut butter
1 1/3 Cup sugar
2 TBSP egg replacer (I used Ener-G DIY recipe)
6 TBSP non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 /3 Cup flour
2/3 Cup chocolate chips

1 Cup Oatmeal
1 Cup chopped salted peanuts


Cream the sugar, coconut oil, peanut butter, milk and egg replacer. Add baking powder and salt and mix well. Add vanilla and stir. Stir in flour until blended and finally add the chocolate chips, peanuts and oatmeal.

Plop caramel/chocolate chip layer on top of brownies.

Bake 35-38 minutes.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Checks, Please.

I feel kinda cheap. Like if I paste adorable puppies on here I'll be forgiven for lame posts. 

But I gotta give one more lame post. Honestly. My crazy jet setter life style is just totally on the back burner at the moment. Highlights of my weekend? Breathing and not feeling like I was in a feverish daze. Yep. The farmer's market where the pups were a hit and did a really good job at not barking. Yay! Puppies! I hate small dogs that cujo at the end of their leash. Hate. 

I used self-tanner for the first time in a whole long time. It's still true that the applicator is the key. And by applicator I mean the person who puts the self-tanner onto themselves and forgets the whole "WATCH for ELBOW syndrome." Did you know it applies to heels and ankles, too? My calves look golden brown...my ankle looks not so much like that. 

So many little snippets of activity....wedding planning? Check! Violin practice? Check! Allowing volunteering of my violin skills at the wedding? Check! In 2 months? Check! YIKES! Oh, 7 year old photographers make for very interesting photo stream viewing. Not sure I ever want to see most of those photos again. Angles and focus points are probably not a strong area for her. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Random Fever Rambles

I have a fever. My dad suggested writing while under its influence because all the Poe's and Hemingway's were certainly enhanced by the cloud of chemical stupor.

Pretty sure I'm no Hemingway or Poe. However I spent a season being terrorized by Poe. In either 7th or 8th grade we had a section where we had to read Poe. 

Yeah. I was NOT ready for what he was dishing. I don't remember if we had to read all that I did or if I fell under the magic spell of horror and death and just felt compelled...anyhoo. I read most of his works. 

You know an author is amazing at what he or she does when you remember details even years later. Poe was gifted in his ability to etch his thoughts onto my previously empty neural highway. 

I certainly am not surprised by the outcome of his life. Whew. Basements have forever been changed for me. Storage? Ha that's for lightweights! The proper use of a good basement is a grave. 

I was in track star shape that year though. Our basement stairs were open slats and our basement had plenty of places to hide the dead, the undead, or merely those intent on being involved in those possibilities. I could run up those 20 something steps in seconds. Of course the heart beating in my ears didn't help the anxiety level. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Hump Day Ha Has

In case you haven't figured it out...I may not adhere to his stringent opinions. I own the dubious honor of frustrating a somewhat militant critique partner so much that she left the critique group. Yes. It is true. My comma's, lack thereof, wrong usage, and etc. pushed her over the edge. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Gardening or Not....

We didn't plant a garden this year. This makes me sad, a little, and somewhat relieved. We had a harvest of raspberries, yay perennials. And we will just have to make blinky eyes at all those gardeners who have too much produce on hand.

In the meantime one of the gardens has not gone fallow. It has turned into a puppy dream playground. From the tiny squeeze hole between the fence and gate, to the landscape fabric and tomato cages, this piece of landscape is puppy heaven.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Made It..

This isn't going to be a whining blog post. More like a whoa, did I actually survive that 24 hour period? So. In retrospect there probably will be whining. 

A Oreo which was sat upon. Oops!

But not like complaining whining, k? 

& was in a wedding on Saturday. And she now has three kids. The bachelorette party babysitting was covered by an older teen girl who is great with the kids. We had the 24 hour overnight shift that covered the rehearsal and wedding (with a tiny break while we went to a wedding reception and my lovely parents watched the nuggets. Thanks, Mom and Dad.) 

Just FYI...it's been awhile since I had a three year old in my care, or a five year old...for 24+ hours. 

Amazingly, we did survive. All of us. 

But, my admiration for single parents has grown 10K fold. And three kids, two big dogs and two puppies over a 24 hour period certainly means loads and loads of opportunity for energy exertion and energy drain. Both of which we experienced. The plus side was that the pups are instant interactive toys, and kids give pups lots of exercise. 

One large urinating upon Rob's shoes was the worst leak and wasn't canine in nature, and was a bit of an accident because who wants to stop playing in time to make it to the potty?

One activity was repotting one HUGE aloe vera plant into 28 pots. Showers and laundry followed, but it was fun and kept everyone busy for two hours. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Pup Videos

Ignore the Creepy GOLLUM baby talk... I was caught up in the cuteness. That voice is forever banished from all future videos. I promise. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Snickerdoodle Blondies

Snickerdoodle Blondie

1/2 Cup plus 1 TBSP room temperature coconut oil
2/3 Cup sugar
2/3 Cup brown sugar
2 TBSP egg replacer (I used an Ener-G DIY recipe)
6 TBSP non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 2/3 Cup flour

Additionally, 1 TBSP brown sugar, 1 TBSP sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. 

Cream coconut oil and sugar. Add baking powder, salt, egg replacer, cinnamon and mix well. Add milk and vanilla and stir completely. Pour in flour and stir well. 

Grease a 9 x 13 and press dough/batter into pan. 

Mix the cinnamon and sugar together. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the dough. 
Bake for 30 minutes. 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Hump Day Recharging...

Have I mentioned that most pup pictures are blurred action aka lunge shots? Or sleeping pups? Yeah. Well, here are some lounging pics. While posting, I had help of the lunging variety. Gladys didn't like the close up of her sister so she deleted it and replaced it with a question mark. Ha Ha. Clearly she doesn't know about Command Z. In case you are curious they are 10 and 1/2 weeks, very interested in vocalizing and trying out all the great sounds they can make, and have kept their nighttime kennel dry and clean for the past 5 nights. LIKE!!!! 

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ Tuesday Wuesday....What the What the???

I TOTALLY have the dog days of summer stupor thing going on. 

It's hot, and when it's hot I just want to feel not hot. 

Gladys NOT pottying...not when there's a hole to broaden in the 90+ full sun!!!

So I spent some time doing absolutely nothing yesterday, being a lazy bones...(okay, in my defense this was after three 20 minute potty breaks in a two hour period wherein very little potty-ing was going on in the 90+ degree full sun heat). 

And I found some awesome statues/sculptures on Bored Panda.
http://www.boredpanda.com/worlds-most-creative-statues-sculptures/

I love at least half of them. They beat the socks off the ones we have in my hometown. I should probably take pictures and share someday. 

We have an Edward Scissorhands welcome to the city sculpture. http://timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/535325/Council-Bluffs-sculptures-drawing-mixed-reviews.html 

We have huge rabbit heads. http://www.iowawestfoundation.org/community-transformation/iowa-west-public-art/art/deborah-masuoka/

And we have huge metal grappling guys full of holes. http://www.cbwrestlingclassic.com/#!venue/citr

Yep. I hope we get stallions running through water or a fish crashing through a building next! 

Scribbles and Scrambles~Pupdate

We had a busy holiday weekend. 

The pups can now hoof it about 2/3s of a mile. Mostly on task, mostly going the direction we'd like to head. And they gallop or trot and there is very little of the sit-in temper tantrum throwing and carry-me whining.  

The weekend was packed with kids and other dogs and booms.  Fireworks didn't freak the babies out...my folks' neighborhood had quite the show with neighbors who spared no expense and apparently feel the need to scratch the itch of competition. 

Lily and Lola spent the night as did & and the kids.  Rob and I did some babysitting Saturday morning while & did her shift at the coffee shop. Rob and I might still be recovering. 

Scribbles and Scrambles - More Fun with Look Alikes

Since we've established that Gladys resembles a meerkat...we need to find Gertrude's double.  Found it! 


And if you remember a certain toy from the 80's I think you'll agree that they may have been based on a beagle puppy. 

Serials and Scenarios ~ Gardein's Chick'n Scallopini

I've mentioned that my Target sells Gardein and I'm darn happy about it. So my goal has been to work myself through Target's magic freezer full of Gardein deliciousness. 

Last night was one of those nights...a haircut at 4:30, puppies who needed taken out and fed, and no ideas for a meal. 

I opened my freezer in hopes of inspiration and a lovely sound track played as a light bulb popped up over my head. Chick'n Scallopini is what's for dinner. 

Delicious. Honestly. The texture is flaky and chewy, extremely meat-like. Rob liked it as well. The seasoning was just right. I didn't put anything else on the cutlets though they'd be amazing with a vegan alfredo or marinara sauce or tossed with vegan pesto. 

The package contains 4 cutlets. And the price is right. Yay Gardein. Yay Target. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Red, White and Blue Vegan Sundae...

 We didn't get a garden in this year. Part of me is super bummed because I LOVE fresh, organic produce. But we were lazy, we were tardy, we got puppies. 

HOWEVER!!! Got to love gathering the fruit of previous labor. We have harvested a couple gallons (blessedly slow) black and red raspberries. After dinner last night we wanted something sweet. 

Trader Joe's soy vanilla (delicious BTW)

Fresh picked raspberries

1/4 Cup dark chocolate chips 

1-2 teaspoons coconut oil

Rinse and dry the berries.

Melt coconut oil and chocolate chips. 

Scoop ice cream into bowls. Pour the chocolate over the ice cream (turns into magic shell) and toss on the berries. 

Yum.