Thank you to everyone who responded. There were some nice ideas for me to try.
Carly, you mentioned Splenda. As a diabetic of about four years, I have learned to substitute Splenda for sugar when it comes to my coffee or on my oatmeal, but I haven't done much baking with it. I have tried two recipes for cookies using Slenda, and they've helped me when I have sugar urges (LOL).
I have not made any recipes that didn't specifically call for Splenda. I'd like to learn to adapt some of my current recipes to Splenda rather than sugar, and it seems that you might have some experience in that area. If so, I'd be appreciative of any pointers that you (or anyone else on this site) would send my way :)
Mrs. Story, I tried the soup, and you're right - it's mmm- good, and I especially liked the advice about squeezing lime into it.
Marcie, I'm trying the soda bread later today. I roast butternut squash in a similar way to what you do. You're right - it's very good. I puree the leftovers to make a soup the next day and add some curry powder. That's good, too. Thanks! ... View related article.
Fabric stores sell fabric that is made to be put on the bottom of sleeper feet or socks. It already has the nonskid nubbies. It isn't expensive, and it lasts longer than nubbies you might put on there yourself, such as with fabric paint or fabric glue. ... View related article.
This is a very easy recipe, and it's family's favorite:
Mustard-Baked Pork Chops
4 thick pork chops (1" thick is good; shorter is OK) Mustard (I use dijon, but other flavors are good too) Italian bread crumbs (or season some plain ones)
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray baking pan with Pam. Coat one side of each pork chop with mustard and put the chop in the pan with the mustard side down. Coat the other side of the pork chop with mustard and then put a generous amount of bread crumbs on top of the mustard, patting it down into the mustard so that it stays on top. You can pour some melted butter over the bread crumbs if you'd like, but I don't find the improvement to be worth the extra fat). Bake about 30 minutes and enjoy. ... View related article.
Laniegirl: Cash and Carry sells cream in half gallon sizes. Cash and Carry is a restaurant supply store, but you don't have to own a restaurant to make purchases there. Most larger cities have some sort of a restaurant supply store. ... View related article.
Allowing them to chew on a rope toy is good for them because it flosses their teeth while they chew. That might help reduce the tartar build-up that could be causing the bad breath. Our dog will chew those toys to the point where he starts to ingest the strings of the rope toy, so we watch it closely and only allow him to chew them while we're supervising him, and we take the toy away when he starts to "eat" rather than "chew". ... View related article.
We shop at Cash and Carry about once every two weeks (it's about 20 miles from our home). I love it! We save on so many things that I don't even know which items I should talk about. I think the item that saves us the most money is sirloin. It's about $3/pound. The drawback is that it comes in a large chunk that we have to cut up. We don't mind doing that, though. When we get it home, we cut several large steaks and then gather up the non-steak pieces to cut into chunks for certain dishes like beef stroganoff or beef soup and into strips for stir-fry dishes. And then we freeze everything in meal-sized portions. There is some waste, but it is very little.
Another item that we have recently started using from there is the halibut and the tilapia which are individually frozen pieces of fish that are packed into a box which fits very nicely in the freezer.
The veggies are good, but most of the prices are similar to Costco. We have not had much luck with their onions. Twice we have purchased a large bag of onions which were VERY strong (made me cry and they were overly flavorful in the dishes), so we stopped buying them there.
My family uses a lot of skinless/boneless chicken breasts, and I do prefer the ones we get from Costco over the ones we have gotten at Cash and Carry. I can't remember the price per pound comparison, but they are most convenient for us the way Costco packages them, and Costco seems to have cleaned them up better.
I agree that the cheesecakes mentioned by Poor But Proud were great, and we also buy the coffee and soda syrups there and have been very happy with those.
Our Cash and Carry is open to the public, but they will not take a personal check. They take business checks, cash from anyone, and credit cards from anyone. Most folks there are buying for their restaurants, but you definitely do not feel out of place if you're just buying for your family. I recommend Cash and Carry to friends in our area, but few folks go because they think they will feel weird going there because they are not buying for a restaurant. It's their loss ;) ... View related article.
I'm going to offer some ideas that I would try if this were my dog. I have taken in a dog or two in the past that was abused, but not to the extent that your puppy has obviously been abused --- so I'm no expert (just someone offering some ideas).
First, I believe that (to her) the leash represents an inability to escape from danger. If that's what is going through her head, desensitizing her to leashes would be a good thing. So that she can come into contact with leashes that DO NOT cause her to be unable to escape from danger, you could have a bunch of leashes just laying around the house. Seeing that the leashes aren't moving or doing anything to her or keeping her from fleeing from danger, she MAY realize that the leashes are not bad.
The other thing is that her former "owners" probably used some sort of collar around her neck attached to the leash. If she pulled on it, it likely strained around her neck, choked her neck, pinched her neck, or poked her neck. I prefer collars to harnesses when walking dogs because I think dogs typically train better because there's a negative reinforcement if they pull on the leash. But, in the case of your dog, I think a harness is a better route to go because any negative reinforcement on her neck is just gonna bring back bad memories for her. If she's on a harness, you can keep the harness on for a day or two before ever even attaching a leash, and it might not bring back any bad memories, then when you attach a leash it might be different enough from a collar/lesh setup that she might not be so upset.
These may or may not work, but it's what I would try. I'd also consider not actually holding the end of the leash when you give that a try. Whenever I have leash trained young dogs, I have attached the leash and allowed them to go about their business for a while before I ever pick up the other end of the leash. It seems to be a smoother transition.
I think it's wonderful that you are taking this dog in and giving it a warm, loving environment. Keep in mind that some of the awful stuff from her past is likely to always be a part of who she is. If anything will solve her issues, though, it is patience, kindness, and loving discipline. My hat is off to you for welcoming her into your family. ... View related article.
We have a soda club machine. It takes regular water and turns it into sparkling water. Then you can throw in a lime or lemon slice to serve as mineral water or you can use a syrup (which the company sells) to make soda. We also buy bottles of syrup for around $3 at our local restaurant supply store. It was pricey to purchase the machine (around $100 I think), but it was soooo worth every penney. We use it constantly and never pay for soda or mineral water anymore. Here's the site so that you can check it out for yourself. http://www.sodaclub.com/sodaclubsystem... View related article.
If you are referring to Ted Kennedy's first wife, the answer is that she is still alive. Her maiden name was Virginia Joan Bennett, but she went by the name of Joan, so most know her as Joan Kennedy. ... View related article.
Wash them, shake them free of excess water, roll them in sugar, and freeze them on a jelly roll pan in the freezer. When they're frozen, transfer them to a zip-top bag that you can keep in the freezer. Members of my family reach into the freezer for something cold, grab three or four of those frozen grapes, and pop them in their mouths. They sure are good on hot days like we've been having here lately! ... View related article.
