Win a Custom 2010 Calendar!

That's right, it's time to start thinking about the new year, which is just around the corner! One of my calendars with my very own original photography will help you start the new year off right - you know, ORGANIZED.

Well, ok, so a calendar won't solve all your disorganized-ness...

But hey, they're nice to look at, and if you win this giveaway, you get a brand spankin' new and FREE 2010 calendar! I've designed 4 different calendars to date - Ringo the Ranch Dog, Kansas Country, Flowers and Such, and Sunflowers. Click on one of the photos in my left sidebar to take a closer look at each calendar.

The winner gets to pick which calendar they would like, in whatever size they would like - small, standard or huge. Just comment on this post, telling me which calendar you'd like to win (you can change your mind if you do win!) and I'll draw a winner on Friday, November 20.

If you aren't the winner of my giveaway, there's a great calendar promo going on right now through next Monday the 23rd at midnight. Zazzle is offering a 44.4% discount on all calendars if you use the code CALENDARS998 at checkout. This is a huge savings - the standard size normally runs just over $20.00. I'll be ordering a few for myself and family. And if you don't particularly fancy one of my calendar designs, just do a search on the Zazzle website for a calendar that DOES tickle your fancy - there are some very talented artists on Zazzle!

A special thanks to everyone who visits my blog. I truly enjoy all your comments, and value every friendship I have made through blogging. The last few weeks have been crazy busy for me with my job, my organic dog biscuits and the usual animal lovin' that must be kept up to par. The sample dog treats I took to work on Monday were a big hit - I have orders to fill, and a possible partnership with one of the dog groomers in town!

I hope to find time to visit all of you very soon!

Smokin' Country Kitchen

That title would describe my kitchen this weekend.

Yesterday, I made potato and ham soup, along with two batches of organic dog biscuits. The potato soup is a big hit with the hubby, and I'm going to point you to the recipe, because aside from peeling and cutting up the potatoes, this has got to be the EASIEST potato soup recipe I've ever found, and it is astoundingly delicious, considering how few ingredients there are. Read the reviews for this recipe too, and you'll see many people raving over it, and also admitting that they didn't change the recipe much. Sorry I don't have a photo of my soup, but go here and give this recipe a try. You will not regret it!

Below is a partial result of my organic dog biscuit baking marathon this weekend - I've made small sample bags to take to work on Monday. I now have four varieties of organic biscuits - Trixie Lou's Cheesers, Tori's Pumkin Luv, Ringo's P'nut Butter Spots, and Barnyard Pals. I hope to add the new flavors (full-size bags) to my Paypal button on my right sidebar sometime later this week. The Cheesers and the P'nut Butter Spots will be packaged in 8 oz bags, while the smaller sized Pumkin Luv and Barnyard Pals will be packaged in 6 oz bags. Since these treats are preservative-free, you'll need to freeze them if you want to use them beyond 10 days.


Want your own sample pack? For only $3.50 plus the cost of first class postage ($3.26), I can send you a small bag of each variety. Here is the ingredient listing for each flavor:

Trixie Lou's Cheesers: Brown rice flour, oat flour, shredded cheddar and parmesan cheeses, chicken broth and egg. Large bone shaped cutouts.

Tori's Pumkin Luv: Brown rice flour, oat flour or barley flour, pumpkin, egg, molasses and cinnamon. Small heart shaped cutouts.

Ringo's P'Nut Butter Spots: Brown rice flour, rolled oats, peanut butter, egg, honey, apple cider vinegar and water. Large flat cookie type biscuits.

Barnyard Pals: Brown rice flour, rye flour, oat bran, chicken broth, shredded parmesan cheese, egg and garlic powder. Very small barnyard animal cutouts (cow, pig, turkey).

Hope your weekend was as fruitful as mine,
and here's to another great week!

Gracious Thanks

To Cindy Beck of Write Up My Alley, thank you so much for my lovely "In Good Taste" cookbook by Nancy J Miles, which is also available on Amazon for those readers who may be interested in having their own copy.

I was the winner of her October 17th contest and received my delightful cookbook earlier this week. I've already used it to make chili -- since I had to use what I had in the pantry, I hodgepodge'd two recipes together. It actually turned out pretty danged good, which reminds me that I need to write down my "new" recipe before I forget!!

Cindy's blog is delightfully humorous, well, most of the time; sometimes she strikes a serious pose. Take a hike over to her blog - trust me, you'll enjoy this writer's musings. She is wonderfully blessed at putting her feelings into words. On a side note, she's been having a giveaway every week lately so you'll want to comment to enter!

Another big thanks to Misha at From My Front Porch in the Mountains for my sweet lil Honest Scrap award. I'm so very remiss in thanking Misha for this award... she tossed it my way this past summer.

"This award is bestowed upon a fellow blogger whose blog content or design is, in the giver’s opinion, brilliant. This award is about bloggers who post from their heart, who oftentimes put their heart on display as they write from the depths of their soul."

I'm glad I waited to thank her, because NOW is the perfect time for you to visit her blog and see the new foal that has blessed their lives. They've waited forever to meet this new addition to their family, and now that she's here, they are just gaga over her. Go on, and head over to her blog and see her last few posts -- what a beautiful and precious lil gal!!! You're going to love Misha's blog - she makes you feel like sittin' a spell on her front porch for a good gab and a cup of joe.

Hope y'all are having a great week, and we're almost at the weekend, yippee! May your weekend weather forecast be bright and cheery. If your weather looks ominous, well then, you'd better get your fireplace stoked and bake up some goodies with hot chocolate while you work a puzzle or play a game! :)

Heavenly Beauty for SkyWatch Friday

Will I ever get used to these big, beautiful Kansas skies?

I mean, will I wake up one day and not notice them,
perhaps be totally bored *yawn* by them and
take them for granted?

I sure hope not.

Monday's Kansas skies at 5:30 p.m. central time.
Top photo, the sun sets in the west.
Bottom photo, the sun's rays cast a pink glow on eastern clouds.


Visit the SkyWatch Friday website to see
more beautiful skies around the world!

Cattle Drive!

We left the house at 6 a.m. Saturday morning, horses and saddles loaded, to help a friend drive his cattle off pasture. It was a fun day, for the humans and horses alike!

Beautiful country - I only wish I had gotten more photos!!

Yes, me on horseback behind the cattle, hence the blurry photo.

This is what many of my photos looked like...
camera + horse = lousy pictures!

Hubby returning from search for renegade cow and calf...
they made a clean escape!

My ride on the right, hubby's on the left.
Yep, they worked hard - enlarge to see their sweatiness.

Our host.

His house.

The front porch.

The front door - isn't it beautiful?

My photos don't do their house justice. I've always loved stone houses, and this one was stunningly gorgeous. To the right of this front door was a side porch with a grill and refrigerator built into the stonework... further to the right was a stone fireplace with a flagstone patio, wicker furniture and an arbor over it, and to the right of that, a built-in pool. Can you just imagine evenings around that fireplace with a glass of wine in hand. I wish I would have gotten a photo of it.

Oh yeah, I could definitely live in this house!!

Flagstone and lush plants. Gorgeous!

Part of the stone garage.

The well-decorated roof.

The barn - I love the old stonework.

Getting ready to sort some cattle.

Our host, doing more sorting...

...for vaccinations, and preg checks.

Pastureland in front of house by driveway.

A few photogenic kids...

... and of course, the necessary ranch dog.
This is Ruben, a 6 month old Aussie.

The only thing I regret about our day - no pictures of me on Murphy!!! Hubby agreed we need to be sure to get pics of me in the future.

This was my first ride away from home on Murphy - I mistakenly thought since he's an older horse (25) that it would be an easy ride. Wrong! Murphy, being the old cow horse he is, was hard to hold back. His ears were cocked and he was excited to be back at his old job. He wanted to herd those cattle and nip at them! Plus the terrain was very rugged and hilly. Lots of rock ledges and very rocky fields to navigate - quite a jolting ride for this novice. But all in all, I think Murphy and I did pretty good - I enjoyed the challenge. I definitely need more practice on him. I need to learn how to remind him that I'M the boss, not him! He fought me every step of the way yesterday.

By the time we got home at 4:00, I was a little bit sore. But not near as bad as I thought I'd be. I was more tired than anything, and I think I crashed out by 6:00.

Midlife can be hell sometimes.

And the Winner is....

Paint Girl!

Thank you to everyone who commented and I truly wish I could send a bag to every single one of you for your sweet pups!!!!

Trixie did not cooperate (as usual) so I had to enlist Tori to pull the winner's name out of my lil mexican bowl. Anyone who has seen my photos from past giveaways knows that Tori is a pro at picking a winner! Alas, no photos this time.... that's what happens when you're back to working 40 hours plus a week.

Paint Girl, do please send me your address via my email - suzgarten(at)yahoo(dot)com. I will be making a fresh batch this weekend so I will get your bag out to you on Monday.

Thanks again to everyone who commented...
you are all the best and your pups are too!!!

"Homemade with Love" Dog Treats Giveaway

UPDATE: Deadline to enter is extended to Midnight EST, tonight!

Enlarge to see detail.

Trixie Lou's Cheesers... we (me, Trixie, Tori and Ringo) have finally perfected this dog treat recipe so that they are yummy, crunchy and good-for-your-pooch! Made with organic oat flour and brown rice flour, they are free of the ingredients that typically cause problems for our pups - wheat, corn, soy and yeast. I've added co-jack and parmesan cheese to the dough, and sprinkled some co-jack on top for a crunchy finish that our dogs love. There are no preservatives, so you'll want to use them up within a week or keep them in the refrigerator.

So what are you waiting for? Leave a comment now for your chance to win a bag of these yummies for your pooch(es). The giveaway will close tomorrow night, Monday, at 6:00 p.m. EST and a winner will be selected by none other than Trixie. Maybe. If I can bribe her to pick a name! Winners are limited to U.S. ~sorry! I can't afford the overseas shipping costs.

I have also decided to sell my "homemade with love" dog treats for the next few months. Price is $6.50 + shipping, payable via Paypal (see button to right, in sidebar), or you can mail a check. Email me at suzgarten(at)yahoo(dot)com if you'd like more information.

I hope to add a beefy and chicken flavor biscuit soon, but for the moment just the Cheesers are available. There are approximately 2 dozen medium size bone-shaped treats in the bag, which weighs between 6 and 7 ozs.

I am trying to keep the cost of shipping reasonable, but the United States postal service makes this task difficult. As long as the total weight of the package is under 13 ozs, it goes first class, approximately $3.26. If you want 2 packages, the box weight tips the scales past 13 ozs, so we'll use Priority mail, the small box rate, which is $4.95. If you want more than two bags of treats, I'll work with you to keep the shipping costs down.

Treats will be baked on weekends and shipped on Mondays and Tuesdays only so that they don't get stuck at the post office over the weekend.

There is nothing better than to end a bad day covered in dog slobber!

Simple Jelly/Jam Jar Design

Some scrapbook paper and a creatively hand-printed label. Really, how much simpler could it get?

I was thinking all week, how could I very simply decorate my jars? I was stuck on the typical fabric lids that one usually sees everywhere.

But I wanted something VERY simple. Easy. Quick.

I saw an idea to cut a circle from felt and embroider a small design such as a cherry, strawberry or apple. Very cute, but still too time consuming for me.

Then hubby suggested "construction paper, draw something on it"... and that's when it hit me, just use some of my scrapbook paper! And voila, there I had my finished jam jars!

Side Note:
The jam has officially been declared a success... hubby wondered
why I left one half of his english muffin un-jammed...
I told him it was for mopping up his egg...
he wanted jam on it!

Puerto Rico!

Congrats to Terri B who correctly guessed my fav vacation spot!

Puerto Rico is definitely one of my favorite spots* to vacation - but it's got to be at this resort and this resort only! They know how to pamper their guests, and how to help them relax and enjoy everything their exclusive location has to offer.

We stayed at a villa in Las Casitas Village, which is part of the El Conquistador resort. Actually, it is a bit more wallet-friendly to stay at the hotel as opposed to the villas (and the hotel has undergone a huge renovation since we were there). But I was lucky to get a price break at the villas in 2006 when I booked one for my mother and I... maybe it was a temporary price reduction, or perhaps just a boo-boo with their online prices. In any event, we got a villa for $169/night, AND they didn't charge us for a 3rd person when we added my sister at the last minute. That $169 split 3 ways was mucho reasonable!


Click through the links I provided, and check them both out - it's gorgeous there! The hotel is offering rates as low as $149/night and a special fall package with a 4th night free.

Thank you to everyone who commented and guessed. My brain is conjuring up future giveaways, so stay tuned for more opportunities to win goodies that'll put a cheery spin on dreary winter days!

*Puerto Rico is not my ONLY favorite vacation spot
I have others, such as Hawaii and Mexico.
Actually, the more I think about it, my favorite list could be pretty long...

Where is My Favorite Vacation Place?

Do you know where my favorite vacation spot is located?
Ok, this is only ONE of my fav vacation spots... I have many favs.

The infinity pool - this is one luxury item my toes could get used to everyday!

How cool is this - in the infinity pool while a storm brews over the ocean.
(This is my sis here, not me.)

Our accommodations, top floor. A villa.

A private island retreat. Bliss.

Lunch guests, and my sis's arm.

Yep, my sis again.
(a clue... architecture)

A small jar of home-made strawberry jam will go out to whoever guesses this vacation place first... since family knows where this vacation spot is, I'm afraid family* is disallowed from this lil giveaway!

Once someone has guessed this place, I will follow-up with more detailed information. You know, just in case one of my readers really wants to GO there.

*Family will get a small jar of strawberry jam whether they want it or not.