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Smith & Gormly

2013-05-18T22:50:00.000-04:00

Which one is Smith and which one is Gormly.

Meow Box for Stewie

2013-05-17T22:49:00.000-04:00

Poor Stewie has been watching Oscar and Hugo get a Bark Box every month and enjoy treats and toys right in front of him.

Stewie's biggest fan in Canada, Deb, felt bad for him and made him up a very special Meow Box! What a lucky kitty!

Rappelling - 21 Stories for Scouts

2013-05-16T23:16:00.000-04:00

21 Stories for Scouts is a very cool fundraising event where people raise $1000 to be able to rappel down the First Federal Plaza Building.

The organization Over the Edge handles the logistics... gear, training and operation of rappelling down 21 stories.

Kodak volunteers to take photos of the rappellers and print them out for each of them. I volunteered to man a Kodak Picture Kiosk where friends and family could print photos they take of their rappellers. I loved watching the friends and family of the folks come down the building print out the photos they took! Everyone was so excited for and proud of their rappellers. They got some fantastic shots!

Since we were helping out I got to go down the building! I was pretty excited! I got all geared up and did the training by walking backward down a stairwell.

The first step is the hardest when you hang over the edge of the top before heading down.

I didn't hesitate. I just got up there and went right down.

I had a video camera on my helmet... I need to upload the video.

I tried to look around and go slow to get good video footage.

I was pretty tired by the time I got to the bottom... my hand was cramping up. It was a blast, but I can't imagine doing more than 21 stories!

Stuffed avaocado

2013-05-15T23:15:00.000-04:00

Mixing things up in our lunch bags... chicken salad stuffed into avocados!

Balloons

2013-05-14T23:16:00.000-04:00

I have always wanted balloons like I see online... the big perfectly round ones. Of course Aaron had some for my birthday party. After the party we still had the helium tank and a couple bags of regular balloons.

What do you do with leftover balloons?

Launch party!

(if you are reading this blog post via a reader you might not be able to see the vine video above)

Greenhouse!

2013-05-13T23:14:00.000-04:00

I was pretty excited to open my birthday gift from Aaron.

The critters were pretty excited too.

It's a greenhouse!

I can't wait to put it up and start growing veggies & flowers! I love it!

Greeting cards

2013-05-12T23:13:00.000-04:00

You know what cracks me up? When the pugs get me Birthday and Mother's Day cards. They go to so much trouble to find the perfect card.

And then Stewie always tries to one-up them!

The big birthday

2013-05-11T23:12:00.000-04:00

After a week of watching Aaron sneak around he surprised me today with a birthday party! Well, not a complete surprise. We have had one of those and one is enough to last a lifetime . As I told Aaron, no more pop-out-of-a-closet surprise parties for this gal.

It was so good to see everyone! There were all my favorite people, food (charcuterie) and a JAR theme!

Jars of lemonade.

Mason jar goodie bags to fill with candy.

Mason jar table arrangements! There were 120 carnations!

I had a helper crew helping open my gifties!

And cake! I love birthday cake!

It was a delicious and pretty cake from Baker Street Bakery.

Thank you Aaron for a wonderful birthday!

Birthday Week

2013-05-10T22:41:00.000-04:00

I got some pretty sweet Birthday Week gifts from Aaron this week!

A foodie graphic novel!

An apron for morning juicing.

Very excited for this! I love learning new things! Aaron got one too so we can take it together! I am a lucky gal!

Spring flowers

2013-05-09T22:41:00.000-04:00

I am really enjoying this Spring's flowers... my tulips...

.... Red Bud tree....

... the Dogwood the pugs got me for Mother's Day...

... wonderful smelling lilacs...

and dainty white bleeding hearts.

Pet of the Week

2013-05-08T22:39:00.000-04:00

Orville is a bright eyed 2 year old male cat waiting for a good home at Rochester Animal Services. He comes with lots of extras. This includes up to 25.00 instant merchandise vouchers, spay/neuter, free vet exam certificate, $5.00 coupon towards a bag of food, microchip and is fully vetted with all his shots and deworming. IMPORTANT REMINDER: Seniors adopt cats over 8 for free, any senior cat over 8 only 40.00, any senior person only pays 55.00 and spayed/neutered cats are always only 40.00. Cats are always "2 fur 1" as well! Come by and meet him at 184 Verona Street in downtown Rochester.

Scrabbles #14911302

Scrabbles is a 3 year old male domestic shorthair. He's a secret admirer. When it comes to relationships, he doesn't leap in paws first, if you know what I mean. But, give him a little time and he'll shower you with purrs, head butts, and plenty of lap time. In the meantime, you may not see a lot of him but he'll be thinking about you!

The Peep Strikes Back

2013-05-07T22:39:00.000-04:00

The voting for our office peeps contest has ended so I can reveal that The Peep Strikes Back was my diorama. How many of you guess that?!

I was determined to recreate the Han Solo carbonite scene. Chewbacca has faux fur and a little Wookie bandolier. Note Boba Fetts antenae. The storm troopers are dipped white chocolate. C3PO is painted with gold paint. Lando Calrissi is accompanied by his assitant Lobot. There are a couple inaccuracies. Princess Leia was not wearing her well known white gown and cinnamon bun hairdo... she had on her snow suit and looped braids. Also, C3PO should be in pieces on Chewie's back.

I did resist adding R2D2 to the scene even though I really wanted too, since he was in the Degoba System with Luke.

Grumpy Cat

2013-05-06T22:38:00.000-04:00

Grumpy Cat does not approve of Monday mornings.

Spring Mantle

2013-05-05T22:37:00.000-04:00

Yard sale finds = new mantle arrangement.

ICE CREAM Truck!!!

2013-05-04T22:37:00.000-04:00

It's ice cream truck season!

Lumberjack cookies

2013-05-03T22:36:00.000-04:00

My parents came up for the weekend and when you put my dad together with Aaron that means cookies. My special Lumberjack cookies.

They are basically oatmeal cookies with everything but the kitchen sink thrown in... chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, coconut, pretzels or whatever else I have in the cupboard. They make moustaches curl and children cry.

Juicing - sneaking in veggies

2013-05-02T22:35:00.000-04:00

I've been trying to sneak other veggies in to our morning juice. I had read that frozen green beans work well in fruit smoothies. I snuck some green beans in with apples and carrots. I didn't even notice a green bean flavor.

Then I tried a yam with carrot, apple and pineapple. That had sort of a gritty texture. Someone suggested I try sweet potato next time because it isn't as starchy.

Adventures in juicing.

Spiderman in Rochester

2013-05-01T22:00:00.000-04:00

Aaron is a big Spiderman fan. It's been his favorite since he was a kid. (Incredible Hulk is my fav) So we were pretty thrilled when we heard that Rochester was chosen for filming a car chase scene in Spiderman 5! Main Street has been dedicated to the filming for ten days. Downtown is bustling with activity.

I met Aaron for lunch and we walked down to take a look. Right away we spotted the Oscorp and Daily Bugle trucks parked on State Street.

It was cool that we could get so close to the movie props.

Main street is filled with New York City police cars and taxi cabs. The videos of the chase scene look pretty exciting.

There has been some talk about the business the filming has brought to town with a large film crew versus the closed streets and businesses that are blocked for filming. Overall, people are so excited, they are willing to get past that. Will Rochester get rich from this filming? No. But I think the buzz is positive for the city. We are willing to work with a Hollywood production. Our downtown can pass for NYC. It's a feel-good, upbeat event that has us joining the ranks of Pittsburgh/Batman, Cleveland/Spiderman 3, Wilmington/Ironman 3. In fact after Spiderman 3, the Avengers was shot in Cleveland. But I'm not going to go nuts arguing one way or the other. It's exciting and I can't wait to see it in the theatre! PS- It's being shot on Kodak film!

Faux V8

2013-04-30T22:00:00.000-04:00

We were at the Public Market and picked up some tomatoes and carrots. When I got them home I thought... I should juice these. Why not make homemade V8 juice? Aaron loves V8 juice (especially on airplanes) I added celery, yellow pepper and a dash of tabasco sauce to the carrots and tomatoes. I was making a pretty loose version because V8 also has beets, paresley, lettuce, watercress and spinach. And no pepper.

It turned out pretty good. Not as thick as V8 but it was zingy! I couldn't drink it all at once. I had to spread it out over the entire day. I'm hoping for a good tomato crop so I can try this again this summer.

Spring Pugs

2013-04-29T22:00:00.000-04:00

The pugs are happy warmer weather is here. They can sun themselves on the patio.

And we are back at the dog park. Making friends at the water fountain.

Espresso + jar + cuppow

2013-04-28T23:00:00.000-04:00

I ran out of milk for our morning lattes this week so I made Aaron just a plain espresso with the Nespresso Pixi.

Turns out a 4oz jelly jar with a cuppow lid is perfect for an espresso shot to take to work!

Pet of the Week

2013-04-27T22:00:00.000-04:00

Meet Lolo, 6 months old Male/Neutered Terrier Pit Bull Mix.

Lolo is a happy, young pup who loves to play and learn. He's a very smart boy; already sits for treats and takes them with a gentle mouth. We are working on teaching him how to correctly walk on a leash but he does appear housetrained. Lolo was dropped at the shelter at 6 months old, almost full grown with absolutely no training. He has a sweet personality and is very smart. We are working with him to try to get him to focus more and to react with his nose instead of his eyes. This will help him become a less excitable puppy when he sees movement. Lolo will do best with an experienced owner who will make him part of their daily fun. Obedience training is recommended to teach this young pup how to be the best dog he can be. It will also channel his energy and his intelligence while building a strong bond with his new family. With consistent training and love in this pup’s life, he will grow into a better dog than he already is and loving companion. Take the time to visit with this pup; he is much better looking in person at 184 Verona Street. If you would like to foster him, please contact Ginny at 585-355-7203.

Shanti #1960642

Shanti is a 10 month old female pit bull mix puppy who weighs 38 pounds. She's full of energy and eager to learn. She has been doing well learning to share and training will need to continue once she's adopted to help her adjust and continue to develop good manners. She's lived with other dogs and we think she'll do well in a home where any children are age 14 or over. Bring the whole family, dogs included, to meet Shanti at Lollypop Farm.

Bark Box

2013-04-26T23:00:00.000-04:00

Oscar and Hugo have been getting a Bark Box for a few months now. Bark Box is a subscription program where you get a box of canine goodies once a month.

It can include anything from treats to toys or other pet products like cleaning wipes or bath soap.

When the boxes come Oscar and Hugo enjoy rooting through them and picking out what they like.

It's to the point that when we bring in ANY box from the mail, they think it's a Bark Box for them.

Not only is it fun to watch them try the goodies but we have learned about some brands we might normally have discovered. There are other things to love too... like the little illustrations on the boxes themselves and the fact that 10% of Bark Box proceeds go toward animal rescue.

Now Stewie is waiting for a Meow Box business to start up.

Wheatgrass

2013-04-25T18:00:00.000-04:00

Wegmans was selling containers of wheatgrass and I got some to add to the juicing routine. Aaron loves wheatgrass juice, so I got some seeds to grow at home.

Now we need a juicer, so I've been looking around. There are stainless steel ones.

And cast iron ones.

And electric ones. I am sure this one is really fast and efficient but as Aaron loves to point out sometimes I love "low technology". The hand crank juicers just seem so much more appealing.

Pet of the week

2013-04-24T21:53:00.002-04:00

Nicholas, a one year old kitty, is waiting for a good home at the Rochester Animal Services Center. He is an adorable black cat with a white "bib", white "bootie socks" on this front feet and white "long gym socks" on his back feet. He comes with lots of extras. This includes up to 25.00 instant merchandise vouchers, spay/neuter, free vet exam certificate, $5.00 coupon towards a bag of food, microchip and is fully vetted with all his shots and deworming. IMPORTANT REMINDER: Seniors adopt cats over 8 for free, any senior cat over 8 only 40.00, any senior person only pays 55.00 and spayed/neutered cats are always only 40.00. Cats are always "2 fur 1" as well!

Come by and meet him at Rochester Animal Services Center at 184 Verona Street in downtown Rochester.

Comet #9156943

Comet is a 10 year old domestic shorthair who's in search of a new retirement home. She's available free of charge to approved adopters, age 60 and over, through our Seniors-for-Seniors program. Come meet her at Lollypop Farm!