Happy 71st To My Mom!!

What A day it was! March 25, 2009 was my Mom's birthday. She turned 71. I was lucky enough to host her party at my house. Jeff and I had Mom, Malana , Larry, Lil Joe and my brother in law Curt over for the festivities. For me, it was the highlight of my day to see Mom in such high spirits. She was really happy and on a good buzz from her win at the Red Hawk Casino. My sister took her during the day to celebrate her birthday. As any of you who know Mom might know, it is her favorite excursion to go and feed the one armed bandits. I was thrilled that she won. I think she had a great day.

I cooked for three straight days making four trays of slow cooked enchiladas. (Mom's request!) She loves my beef enchiladas. I really love chicken in verde sauce. If I do say so myself, the chicken were the best I have ever made. I made a homemade sauce from Parilla peppers and California green chiles. It was by and far the best sauce ever. I am not a fan of tomato based sauces, so I found a recipe and made my sauce from scratch. Mmmmm Good!!! For anyone who may be interested, I found the recipe for this sauce on the web site www.allrecipes.com. I also made beans and rice along with a big bowl of homemade guacamole, chips and salsa. I must say we really feasted. No birthday is complete without a cake, so I made Mom my Peach upside down cake from scratch. It is really yummy topped with whipped cream. I think it was truly enjoyed by all.

It was a really nice celebration of my Mom and shared by most of the people that I hold most dear. Joe was our source of entertainment. He hadn't napped that day and he was busily into everything he could get his hands on. He even tried to un-plant my potted plants. That boy is won whirlwind of energy. To be honest, I don't know how Malana can keep up with him on a daily basis. I don't know if I could do it. I would be worn out. But then, she is a couple of years younger than me. So if I am 29, she must be 27!! LOL!!! I think we both wish that were true!!

I wish I had some photo's to post, but I can't find my camera cord, soooo I am afraid there are none. Take my word for it, I believe a good time was had by all!!

What a day!

Being a dog groomer is hard work on any given day, but Saturday is the motherlode of all days. I had an absolute terrier day. I so love the terrier breeds. They are cute, adorable and feisty!! I so love their little endearing attitudes. Not to mention the fact that when completed, there is not a cuter breed on the planet than the the terrier group. I had eight terriers, one Basset Hound/Husky mix, one Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy (3 1/2 months old) and one 20 year old cat to shave. I started work at 8:00 a.m. and finished at about 6:15 p.m. By day's end, I was completely exhausted. It is a wonderful feeling to put in that kind of a day's work though. It is completely gratifying to see the clients faces when they pick up their beloved pets and just are thrilled with the outcome of the grooming process.

I feel blessed to do the work that I do. I truly believe that it was what I was put on this Earth to do. I joined this line of work on a fluke. It turns out that I am really good at it. It is a very rewarding job. I get to exercise my artistic side and my intellectual side all at the same time. My only desire would be that it wasn't so hard on my tired old body. All the love and puppy kisses received on a daily basis is just one of the perks of the job. Can you imagine anything more rewarding than the love of puppies all day? In my opinion and for me, I certainly can't!!

Well, we are celebrating my granddaughter, Gracie's 4th birthday today. I am so excited. I will have to write again when we return to let you all know how it went. My nephew Joe is going to be there too. I am doubly blessed with my two favorite munchkins in the world on the same day!!

An absurd week at best!!!

What an absolutely strange week last week was. As is the title of my blogger page, Going to the Dogs, has never seemed more appropriate. Due to recession, I have still been working, but not all that heavily booked as of late. However, last week I was swamped. It was such a long and treacherous week. I came home every night barely able to speak, let alone move. Thank God for my hubby Jeff, he always seems to take such good care of me when times are tough on me.

Anyway, needless to say, by the end of the week, I was exhausted. I had agreed early in the week to take care of my little nephew Joe for my sister Malana and her husband Larry. I was excited about it until the nasty week had taken it's toll on me. Come Sunday morning, I could barely open my eyes when the alarm went off. I made coffee and prepared myself for the sweetest little boy on the planet.

We had a prior commitment of a birthday party for my niece Kyra. Chuck E. Cheese at 11:00 am. We loaded up the family and headed out to Fairfield for the party. I have to tell you that it was one of the best days I have had in such a long time. I love my Lil' Joe sooooo much. He is surely a gift from God above. His smile just makes me happy to be around. It was such a pleasure for me to see his excitement and share in the joy that was his to behold. I feel truly blessed to have had that very special day with him. I ran more that day than I have in a long time. People say it is expensive to take children there. I found that not to be the case with Joe. He just ran and shared rides with any child on a ride that had captured his interest. I had to laugh at his indestructible desire to take rides for free on somebody elses token. No one seemed to mind though, as he is truly an adorable looking little child. He did however have a favorite ride, it was a tractor. We dropped a lot of tokens in that machine. He just loved it. He also loved the carousel. He thought it was like a ride that produced a really funny game of peek-a-boo!! Everytime he would go around and then spot me he would just burst out in giggles while I made a funny face at him. Too much fun, I'll tell ya!

When it was time to go, Jeff found us and gathered us up and took us out to the car. I think it would be completely truthful to say that I was more disappointed to leave than Joe was. I have to say that I will forever treasure the memory of this day and of the love and healing that my sweet little nephew Joe bestowed upon me!!