Who Stole Whose Bed?

Winston's Addiction

Hello, my name is Winston and I have an addiction... 

I compulsively seek out paper towels to eat. I have no control over this disorder. I think I may need counseling. 

Merry Christmas

We brought Zoe over to the parents house for the Christmas festivities. While we were opening presents she found the perfect spot under the tree. 

It was a wonderful Christmas for all this year. Family was together for a big day of eating too much food then laying around to recover for another round of too much food. One of the gifts I got this Christmas was an Altec Lansing dock/speaker to play music from my iPhone. I love it.

I hope everyone had a fabulous Christmas! 

PediPaws

After seeing the commercials on t.v. I wondered, "does this thing really work?" Two out of our four dogs do not like getting their nails trimmed. They've gotten better over the years with all the treats they get during the n dremel ail trims, but still it can be a struggle.  So while at Target I found PediPaws, a dremel made for nail filing. It comes with a cap to catch the nail filings, although I find it easier to use without the cap. It also has a safety feature that will slow down or stop the dremel if you're pressing to hard on the nail.

Zoe gives the PediPaws two paws up!

New Shoes

I have been in need for new walking shoes and also new nursing shoes. They are Nike Air Zoom Vomero +3. I found these shoes in the Fit2Run store at our local mall. They have you run on a tread mill while video taping it, then play the video back to watch how you run or walk. This gives you information on what kind of shoe you ned for your running/walking style. 

(Photo from Fit2Run website.)

Hopefully these shoes will help on my long 12+ hour days as a new nurse. 

Pinning Day

A tradition in the school of nursing is the "Pinning" ceremony. At this special ceremony given for the graduating nursing students, family and friends, the students get to dedicate their nursing pin.  Near the end of the ceremony they take a pledge which reaches back to Florence Nightengale who distinguished herself during the Crimean War nursing sick and wounded British soldiers. Because of her selfless duty during the Crimean War, Florence Nightingale became known as the "lady with the lamp." As a tribute to Florence's dedication, the lamp icon became symbolic of nursing. The lamp will always shine brightly as a symbol of the care and devotion the nurse administers to the sick and injured in the practice of Nursing. The Florence Nightingale Pledge:

"I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly to faithfully practice my profession of nursing. I will do all in my power to make and maintain the highest standards and practices of my profession.

I will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping in the practice of my calling. I will assist the physician in his work and will devote myself to the welfare of my patients, my family, and my community.

I will endeavor to fulfill my rights and privileges as a good citizen and take my share of responsibility in promoting the health and welfare of the community.

I will constantly endeavor to increase my knowledge and skills in nursing and to use them wisely. I will zealously seek to nurse those who are ill wherever they may be and whenever they are in need.

I will be active in assisting others in safeguarding and promoting the health and happiness of mankind."

The nursing graduates honor the dedication of Nurse Nightingale and symbolically plan to carry the ideals for which she stood in the Candle lighting portion of the pinning ceremony. The tradition of Candle lighting and Pledge recognizes her ideals.

Starfish Christmas Wreath

I have one more week of clinicals in the ER until I graduate! My nursing preceptor has been awesome and to thank her I have made this starfish Christmas wreath for her. I got the idea from another blog, Puttin' on the G.R.I.T.S. and from the Coastal Living website. I like the wreath so much that I think I need to make myself one. 

Thanksgiving at the firehouse

Michael still - Last post for the night.  April may hurt me for hijacking her blog.  If no one hears from me again, and I turn up missing, please name her as the number one suspect.  Anyway, so, I had to work at the fire department on thanksgiving, and there must have been about 2 dozen cooking related calls that the fire departments in my area responded to.  This is just proof that people who microwave their meals all year long should not try and cook Thanksgiving dinner.

Michael

Oliver

Still Michael here... I know that this is the "Preppy Pugs" blog, but, our boy Oliver deserves a special note.  Tonight, Oliver sunk to a new low.  He always puts his toy up on the couch so that we will throw it, and he can bring it back (kind of like fetch, I guess.) Well tonight I guess I wasn't playing with him enough, he actually fell asleep with his head on the couch, very sad. Just felt I should share.

Michael

Why you should be careful who you give stuff too

So, this is actually Michael - April's Husband.  I'm at home tonight while April is working hard doing her clinical hours for school.  One of our firefighters in my department gave a fire department sweatshirt to a local person that is "residentially challenged."  The firefighter thought he was doing something nice and keeping this guy warm.  WELL . . . as you can tell, you our friend ended up getting into some trouble with the local law.  Unfortunately he was wearing our department sweatshirt... so, he is off to the clink.  Wearing our sweatshirt.  So, the moral of the story, if you don't want your shirt to end up on a criminal in jail, be careful what you give away.

This blogging this is kind of fun.  I might have to do this more often.  

MICHAEL

Oreo Truffles

Just when you think you'll be going on a diet, this recipe shows up!

Oreo Truffles

bakerella.blogspot.com

1 package oreo cookies (divided… use cookie including the cream center)
1 8oz. package cream cheese (softened)
white chocolate bark

1. Finely crush 7 cookies in a food processor or place them in a ziploc bag and crush into a fine consistency. Reserve for later.
2. Crush remaining cookies and stir in softened cream cheese. Use the back of a large spoon to help mash the two together.
3. Roll the mixture into 1" balls and place on wax paper covered cookie sheet.
4. Melt chocolate as directed on the package and then dip balls into chocolate, tap off extra and set aside on wax paper covered cookie sheet to dry. You can sprinkle the tops with the 7 crushed cookies for decoration. (I usually eat mine before they make it to this stage.)
5. Once dry, refrigerate and enjoy!

Makes about 36 truffles.

Notes: I used a small cookie cutter to push the mixture through for the heart shaped truffles. Also, it helps to freeze the uncoated balls for a few minutes to keep the mixture from starting to fall apart in the melted chocolate. If this becomes a problem, dip them in the chocolate, let dry and then dip again. They are also good dipped in regular milk chocolate bark. And for an extra twist, use the mint oreo sandwich cookies.

Three Pepper Beef Stir Fry

I usually do chicken stir fry at home, but tonight I wanted to try beef. So off to Publix I went & purchased some top round steak, a red pepper, and a green pepper. I used this recipe below & it turned out fabulous! I would caution however to cut back on the ground black pepper. It was a little to peppery for my tastes. I also left out the ginger and onions, I'm not a big ginger or onion fan.

Three Pepper Beef
Cookinglight.com
Yield
4 servings (serving size: about 1 3/4 cups)

Ingredients
2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
1 teaspoon sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound flank steak, trimmed and thinly sliced across the grain
1/4 cup low-salt beef broth (I added another 1/4 cup, my sauce was too thick)
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed
1 1/4 cups cubed red bell pepper
1 1/4 cups cubed yellow bell pepper
1 1/4 cups cubed green bell pepper
Preparation
Combine 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, salt, and flank steak in a medium bowl; toss to coat. Set aside.

Combine 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, broth, soy sauce, and black pepper, stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves; set aside.

Heat oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the green onions, ginger, and garlic; stir-fry 10 seconds. Add beef mixture; stir-fry 3 minutes or until done. Remove the beef mixture from pan; cover and keep warm. Add peas and bell peppers to pan; stir-fry 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add beef and broth mixture to pan; cook 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly.

Firefighters Support Breast Cancer

There is a 3-day walk to support breast cancer that went through Wonderful Husbands city yesterday. One of the firemen made a huge pink ribbon made out of balloons that attracted many people to stop by and take pictures. 

Then later on in the evening they all went out to hand out candy to the local kids.

Bat o' Lanterns

These little bat pumpkins are so cute... you can find this craft idea at the website Familyfun.com. 

Pug Pumpkin

A few years ago I carved a craft pumpkin with this Pug template. It turned out so cute and was a sure hit with all the neighborhood kids. I'm trying to figure out how to post this template so it is downloadable. I posted it through photo bucket. Let me know if you're having trouble.

Pug Treats

How cute is this shirt! I found it at zazzle.com.

They have all kinds of cute Halloween pug stuff.

Not Enough Room

Help my books are consuming me and everything around them.

Still Alive

We're all still alive here... not much has happened this past week. Thank goodness. All the dogs are doing wonderful, no gum eating incidents this week. I have a big paper due for nursing school this coming up week. So I've been spending a lot of time doing that.   

Has anyone tried the pumpkin bagel with pumpkin cream cheese at Einstein's Bagel?! Mmm so good. Except for the fact that the cream cheese cost $1.50! And the bagel only $0.99! What's up with that. I can buy a tub of cream cheese for that price. So I found a great recipe for pumpkin cream cheese on the bog Pinch My Salt. I have not tried it yet, but by looking at the recipe it sounds pretty darn good. Here's the recipe:

Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese Spread

4 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1. In a small bowl, beat softened cream cheese, sugar, and syrup til creamy.
2. Add pumpkin, spices and vanilla and beat til smooth.
3. Refrigerate for at least an hour.
4. Enjoy!

Winston & Nina Update

Both Winston & Nina are home tonight. Neither of them had any serious side effects from the gum, thank the Lord! The both did have elevated liver enzymes, meaning that enough of the gum did get into their system to affect the liver. I was surprised about this because we made Winston vomit 15-20 minutes after he ate the gum, and we did the same to Nina in about 40 minutes. Xylitol is some dangerous stuff with dogs. We are very happy to have them home this evening. Thank you everyone for your good thoughts & prayers. 

Not So Good For Dogs

Our home is quiet today, with only two dogs. This morning our Pugs Winston & Nina got into some Orbit gum, which is very toxic to dogs. I gave Winston hydrogen peroxide to make him vomit, which he did several times. Winston is usually the culprit when it comes to getting into things he shouldn't. I wasn't sure if Nina got into any of it, but she was walking around the house with a piece of the box in her mouth. So this morning we made a trip to the doggie ER to make sure they would be okay. You can visit the ASPCA website for an article on the toxicity of Xylitol, an artificial sweetener found in gum & candy along with other foods.  

Cardiac Rhythms

This week I'm studying cardiac rhythms, cardiac surgical procedures along with all those cardiac drugs. Oh my aching head! Our big test is next Monday... so I have a lot of studying to do till then. No baking or surfing the web (too much that is) for me this week. 

Waiting

Sad little faces... wondering why I have a book in my lap instead of them.

Water Rescue

Being a fireman on the beach means there's a good chance you'll need to save someone in the water. Earlier in the week Wonderful Husband and his crew spent the afternoon training for water rescue.