Zoey's 35th brithday! Plus Doggie Cupcake Recipe!

Well....5th birthday, but she's 35 in people years ;)

I can't believe this little piggie is all grown up.

What a 5 years it has been.

Full of laughs, playing, snuggling...and yelling...lots of yelling.

Zoey has been anything but an easy dog.

Have you seen the movie "Marley & Me"? Well the sequel should be called "Zoey & I"

Everything that dog did in that movie I have experienced with this Puggle.

Including the jumping out the car window WHILE the car was moving.

Aside from her not so found memories, I thought I would capture my favorite qualities of my little sausage link.

Her famous under bite,

Her love for car rides,

enjoys relaxing on hot summer afternoons,

appreciates the toys I buy her (not)

relaxing by the pool,

respects the no dogs on the bed rule by impersonating a person, you have to give her props for that.

Steelers fan! (Bens Rothlis-dog-bone everyone)

enjoys being pushed in the swing

whip cream connoisseur

Shot-gun rider (even if there is already a shot-gun rider)

Fetch advocate

lover of lake days

Ed from the "Lion King" look-a-like

        

Master of the puppy face.

Miss Piggy, Puggles, Puggles-worth, sir piggies-ton, sausage, Piggie Robinson, Bean...Zoey has been a handful, but such a blessing.

It has been joked about that Zoey will do your taxes for food, and there is a lot of truth behind that.

So in honor of her favorite thing in the world (eating) I decided to bake her Doggie Cupcakes for her birthday!

Apple Vanilla Doggie Cakes

Ingredients

½ cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

⅓ cup vegetable oil

1 Motts Applesauce

1 egg

2 tablespoons honey

3 tablespoons plain yogurt

1½ tablespoons peanut butter

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a mixing bowl, stir the flour, baking powder, vegetable oil, applesauce, egg, vanilla extract, and honey until well combined.

Insert cupcake liners into a muffin or cupcake pan. Spoon mixture into cupcake liners, filling each about halfway.

Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Allow cupcakes to cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, in a bowl, stir yogurt and peanut butter until mixture is smooth and creamy. Use a small spatula or butter knife to smooth a thin layer of the peanut butter frosting over each cupcake.

Happy Birthday Princess Piggie!

xo

My 25 Lessons of Life

So for THREE weeks we have been doing non stop projects!

What may you ask?

Well...

1. Painted pantry and pantry shelves.

2. New walls in the kitchen AND new electrical work! (will post pictures) as this is still in progress.

3. Ripped off the baseboards in the kitchen and planning on getting taller ones.

and.....

1800 sq feet of sod!

We have grass!

This is the before. What a difference.

.     .     .     .

Through the hectic-ness, I turned 25!

Yup I am officially a quarter of a century old.

I feel like I have accomplished ALOT in my 25 years, and learned ALOT!

So I thought I would share

.     .     .     .

Dana's 25 lessons of life

1. Never, ever under any circumstances go grocery shopping when you're hungry. Your shopping list of toothpaste and trash bags will turn into $150 worth of food, fast!

2. Bad decisions lead to good stories.

3. It’s always better to try and carry 10 plastic shopping bags, filling each arm up completely, then having to make two trips.

4. Unless you want your trash constantly knocked over, blinds eaten, sunglasses destroyed, never own a puggle.

5. Be careful what rut you choose. You may be in it the rest of your life.

6. Never be judgmental of anyone. I was told this weekend that I was the least judgmental friend anyone has ever had. Best compliment I have ever received.

7. Mom and Dad are always right. Always.

8. Take chances, even if you are scared to death. And if you fail, have NO regrets.

9. A baby sitter is a teenager acting like an adult while the adults are out acting like teenagers.

10. Follow your heart no matter what others say. If it feels right to you then it is right.

11. If you can't pay off your credit card at the end of the month then you shouldn't be using it. Credit card debt devours souls.

12. It is 100 times harder to burn calories than it is to refrain from consuming them.

13. Learn to keep your thoughts and words kind. These are the two things that will define you and how others will see you.

14. Never stop educating yourself.

15. Do nice things for others with no self benefit. That is a true friend.

16. Live simple.

17. Nothing...ever...goes how you pictured it. To let this affect you will break you.

18. Love.

19. Learn to admit when things are your fault and when you were wrong.

20. If you can't be honest to yourself about who you are, how do you expect to be honest to others?

21. "Ah yes, the past can hurt, but the way I see it is you can either run from it or learn from it" ~Lion King

22. Everything seems to go better if you don't schedule anything, learn to go with the flow.

23. You know you are going to do what you want anyways, it’s just your conscience that keeps you from enjoying it!

24. Don't be upset when others don't take your advice, chances are you didn't listen to anyone's advice either.

And last, but certainly not least.

25. People WILL hurt you, let you down, lie to you, break your heart; you must try to learn to FORGIVE. Learn to understand that everyone makes mistakes and learning to let go of anger, sadness and grudges will give you a truly peaceful life.

.     .     .     .

Well there you have it!

My life lessons...

I hope you enjoyed them!

xo