Forever in our hearts.

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself."

    -Billings

It was a long and difficult road getting to this point, but if we had to do it again, we'd do it just the same. 

He came into our lives with all the trust in the world.

He was consistently happy and easy and also my shadow. 

The only thing he did wrong was having bad breath. :-0

Mom, why does the cat get to enjoy my food, but I can't have his??

RIP our sweet Ozzie Boy!

XOXO

Willy Nilly~I'm rich. Well, semi-rich.

Joining Tanya and friends to share 5 willy nilly whatevers from this week. 

1)

Happy VD everyone!

2)

I've been on a tear the last few months to clean out the clutter in our home and one of the things that bugged me was money clutter. 

As in a surplus of change.  

The Coach had a big vase full of coins on the dresser in our closet and it was filled to the tippety top.

I transferred the coins to a box and took them to our bank and used the free coin counter. 

 Rolling in the dough. 

Can you believe that the coin counter didn't like some of our collection? 

What? My discarded buttons and Costa Rican coins aren't good enough for you? 
I completely understand that there is not a big commodity in sunflower seeds....unless you're a bird. 

3)

Surprise flowers from a sweet friend is such a sweet surprise. 

4)
A sunset view from our hotel room in Vegas a few weeks ago. Sin City contains some beauty. 

FYI: I gambled approximately 15 minutes and doubled my money. Winner winner eggplant dinner.

5)
When departing Lost Wages I had a birds eye view of the Hoover Dam.
Damn, that's pretty!

Wishing you all a sweet weekend with someone sweet!

Pretty purple deliciousness

A few weeks ago I shared my purple surprises in the garden. 

When we got back from Vegas those babies had grown SO much that I had to prop up the plant before it busted from the weight.

I have been afflicted with overweight eggplants; but apparently their large BMI means only good stuff. 

What's a girl to do with all of these? Well, of course my favorite is eggplant parm, but it isn't the Coach's favorite and I'm all about thinking about others these days.

Ok, I'm mostly sometimes thinking about others these days. 

 Looking for inspiration took me right to Claudia's blog. 

I typed eggplant into her search and found this genius idea. 

Italian sausage stuffed eggplant.

It should be called delicious on plate for heaven's sake!

I followed her recipe pretty much to the T, aside from using ground turkey sausage instead of pork or beef.

The Coach gave it 2 thumbs up, and I gave it 2 thumbs AND the peace sign....because I'm just that talented. 

Since we are practically empty nesters these days, I only added a green salad and the three eggplants I used this night made for dinner for both of us one night, 2 lunches and another dinner for me. 

Booyah. 

I can't imagine what I'll do with all that moola!

A few weeks ago both girls were home for an evening. The four of us were having a very deep and  lengthy conversation regarding school, degrees and career choices.

Both girls are shifting their goals; Linds, while her goal is towards dual majors, is thinking of focusing on one degree rather than the other, Lolo is thinking of making a major career choice-change that has nothing with both of her {almost} degrees. 

Make sense? 
It happens.

Well, once everyone was able to communicate their thoughts I had to come clean as I've been wavering myself. 

Suz: 
I've got to let you all know that after much thought and consideration, I'm going to follow my dreams of becoming an exotic dancer.

Thank goodness I've got such a supportive family.

My next big contemplation will be choosing my stage name;Cookie perhaps?

If you need me, I'll be stretching. 

I'm all about that Dog, that Dog.

I've been MIA from the blogosphere....if anyone even noticed. 

An update of sorts. 

We're up to our eyeballs in dog care. Ozzie is still hanging in there....but he's become extremely needy. As in, we are up at all hours of the night with the eating and the bathrooming. He's on several medications that both make him hungry and thirsty...which means more bathrooming. 

I can't remember if I wrote that he has both an enlarged heart and two large tumors/masses in his brain; his time is limited. 

 The Coach and I leave notes on who has done what at what time. 

We've added green beans and broccoli to his food and snacks; very filling without too many calories. Turns out both dogs love their greens...as do the cats! Who knew?

We are both very thankful that I'm not committed outside the house most days...that would not work for Ozzie's situation. Right now, I'm not able to leave the house for more than 2 hours at a time.

Needless to say, getting up at all hours of the night does not make for pleasant Suz. 

 I'm certainly not looking for sympathy here, nor do I want to make anyone sad....this is what you do when you've made a commitment to an animal. 

I am So thankful that we have the resources to take good care of him and I'm also thankful it's not my child who is sick; that would be much worse. Also, if I made my child pee and poop in the yard, well then my neighbors would most likely complain. 

 The Coach and I spent a (much needed) long weekend in Vegas and the girls had to be on dog duty. 

Trying to make sure someone was here at all times was hard with both of their work/school schedules. 

The Coach made a spreadsheet to cover all bases; one day I had my house/pet sitter come by for four hours when the girls were not available.

It takes a village!

I hope all of you are doing well and are getting lots of uninterrupted sleep!!!