Waging Wednesday

I have seen and heard tons of horror stories about people abusing, neglecting and not respecting their animals. Being in the dog rescue world I have seen it all.  Their are way more wonderful stories then horrible ones, so I try and focus on that. But when you see first hand what a human being can do to another living creature it makes you ill. I usually go through the typical emotions, which I now know will happen with every neglected dog I meet. You get angry, sad, frustrated, then sad again, feel ill(like you're going to vomit) and then happy when they find a better home with somebody that loves and respects them.  When you have helped make a neglected dogs life better you can tell in their eyes that they are forever grateful and that look will melt your heart and stay with you forever.  If you have witnessed this, isn't it amazing? You can't save them all, this is what I have found out. Some dogs will always have issues and some human beings will always have issues abusing animals.


I spent the day at Oregon Dog Rescue  on Monday sorting through donated items getting ready for a huge fundraising rummage sale. As I was sorting and playing with a homeless dog through the window, the same thought kept coming to mind. How lucky and thankful I am to have been raised in a home where you treat animals like part of the family. Animals can be such blessings to us, as well as us to them.  Everyday I am so grateful to have my crazy zoo with me and give them the love that every living creature deserves.

Tasty Tuesdays

I just made one of my favorite mixtures of food tonight! Thanks to my cousin Caiti for giving me a rice cooker, I now don't have to eat crunchy rice! Yes, that's right...I'm really not that picky and I would eat crunchy rice. Who knows if anyone else will like this recipe, it's so simple you can modify it to fit your tastes. I have no clue what the carbs, protein and fat content in this is. If anyone wants to do the math let me know.

 

You can stuff your red pepper with as much or as little of the following.....

 

-Cut red bell pepper in half or core it

(I left mine raw but you can cook yours if you want)

-precooked brown rice

-precooked lentils(which were cooked in water and vegetable broth)

-Salsa(I used Organic Salsa de Casa)

 

Yup....that's it. I absolutely loved this! It was super easy to make! Try it and/or modify it if its too boring!

Pits and Peaks

Pits:

-My tomato's are orange not red....I'm patiently waiting for them to ripen.

-People getting older. Why can't you age gracefully and not have more health risks and illnesses? It just doesn't seem fair.

-Rib pain is off the charts this week. Hiding it gets so tiring.

-Looking at my calender and realizing its August 10th. Where did the summer go?

Peaks:

-Excited to be a dog show judge at the Crawfish festival tomorrow. This will be an interesting experience. Stay tuned...

-Realizing more and more what I want out of life, how I will make it better and what I need to do to change certain aspects of it. Focusing and surrounding myself with uplifting, positive and healthy situations is key. Defiantly something I want to continue to do even when I'm old.

-Having free entertainment watching Rogue and Remi wrestle. It cracks me up.

-I finally got a french press coffee maker. LOVE IT. You must try one!

Introducing Waging Wednesdays

Yup, that's right another blog themed day. I am introducing Waging Wednesdays to showcase the furry waging animals in my life. And yes that does include Remi, she wags her tail too. My life revolves around two things most of the time...work and my pets. So why not dedicate a day to showcase the shenanigans that go on in my household aka the Jarvis Zoo. If you have never experienced the Jarvis Zoo it goes something like this....lick, jump, wag, grab something out of your purse to show you, lick, bark for attention, "oh your sitting?" that means I can lay on you, squeeky ball contest 3 times a day, the sofas for a launching pad right? Yup that pretty much sums it up. It's a little cra cra over here, but I wouldn't want it any other way. If people have an issue with it then they just don't have to come over. My pets are sweet and the love that they have for eachother melts my heart.

Puppies/kitty to a adults wannabe adults

Coco

 Rogue

            

            

 Remi

           

           

Introducing Tasty Tuesdays

I like the idea of having themed blog days. For example Fridays are Pits and Peaks of the week. I will be adding Tasty Tuesdays to the list. I will be displaying my cooking skills(wait what? I don't cook, I mix things together and pray its edible) and yummy restaurants in the area!

So the first ever Tasty Tuesdays post....

If you have not eaten at Verde Cocina in Hillsdale you must check it out! You might recognize the name, since they started at local farmers market and are currently at the PSU and Pioneer Place Farmers Market. They are a "Northwest farm to fork ingredients with a Mexican flair" restaurant. They use local produce and make in house corn tortillas that are amazing. If you are a fan of Mole sauce or new to it you must try it! I always get the Veggie Gringas with Mole sauce! Let me know what you try there!

http://verdecocinamarket.com/

6446 SW Capitol HWY.,

Portland, OR



pictures found here

Pits and Peaks

I will be making Pits and Peaks a priority!

Pits:

-Not having enough time in the day

-People never, ever, ever saying anything positive about their life. Always negative. That must be a drag. Aren't you happy that you're alive?

-Always smudging nail polish. It was not my gift to do nails.

-Dog breath

-Insomnia(what's new) I need to come up with something productive to do at night.

Peaks:

-A friend got engaged! I am beyond thrilled for them and all their accomplishments as a couple. It's great to have positive/healthy relationships like this be an example for people.

-Warm weather + dog pool=tired dogs=happy owner

-Going into my backyard to pick blueberries(Rogue enjoys this as well)

-One of my top 5 favorite things to do in the summer....walking the dogs at dusk. It's so peaceful.

-I went to Albina/Mississippi neighborhood and fell in love with Ruby Jewel's Ice Cream Shop as well as all the fun shops and restaurants that neighborhood has to offer! Check it out!

-I found my new favorite flower: A Passion flower. It made an appearance in my backyard out of nowhere. Amazing.

What are your pits and peaks of the week?

I'm Turning Green!

Yes....I am one of those people that are insanely obsessed with veggies. I prefer veggies over meat any day. One of the easiest ways for me to get my veggies in is by juicing. I borrowed my Mom's juicer about 3+ years ago and have been juicing ever since. You can juice any veggie or fruit and modify recipes to your taste. Don't bother buying juice from the store....it has no nutritional value! It's a joke! After about 30 minutes of making fresh juice, it starts to break down and loose its nutritional value. Over 8 hours it hardly has any beneficial properties to it. Imagine how long that packaged juice has been sitting on the store shelves? Not to mention how long it took to make the juice, package the juice, transport the juice to the store, etc. So try and consume your home brewed juice immediately! If you want to save it for a snack or lunch during the day, put it in an air tight glass jar(mason jar) and consume within 8 hours.

I use Jack La Lanne's Power Juice and one day would love to get a Breville Juicer. Below is one of my favorite juicing recipes...

-6 leaves of Dino Kale(aka Lacinato kale)

-1 Cucumber

-3 Stalks Celery

-3 Big Collard Green Leaves

-3 carrots OR Apple OR Pear (Depending on how sweet you want it)

-Lemon to taste

-1 inch section of Ginger

Place each item in juicer! If you do not want any froth or the smallest bit of pulp, strain it with a mesh strain tool. Drink! Beware of the green mustache that will appear if you don't drink it with a straw. Preferable a metal straw(plastic boo!)

Happy Juicing!