Weekend Recap

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Monday...nooo!  Did this weekend really even happen? It kind of doesn't feel like it did because I know I'm not even close to being ready for it to be Monday again.  Sigh.  Here are some highlights of the weekend :: 

• Unexpectedly, I had the night to myself on Friday.  Mr. Badger flew to Milwaukee for business and was due to return home that same day, but a three hour delay meant missing his connecting flight which meant finding a hotel and coming home on Saturday morning.  Not exactly a highlight but you better believe I watched some guilty pleasure shows while snuggling with the pooch.
• Saturday morning was lovely.  Thunder clapped all morning long, waking me up and realizing my favorite sleep-in conditions were underway - thunder, rain and a quiet dog.  I woke up before her!  We brewed coffee, ate yogurt and snuggled under a blanket and read Catching Fire.  
• Husband got home and immediately took a nap to rest up for doggie school and the big move.  Stevie's really not so good at being left alone while people move stuff, but other than her incessant barking and whining and escaping once, everything went really well!  Ann's house is gorgeous, the move wasn't as grueling as it could have been and the ominous storm that threatened to ruin our plans stayed at bay.  
• I made both these doggie treats for class and these popsicles for the impending hot weather.  Thanks for being awesome, Rachel! 
• Our father's day gift to husband's dad was an engraved bottle of his favorite bourbon.  Our neighborhood liquor store was hosting a Saturday night event to have these bottles etched but we couldn't be there because of the move.  So we bought a bottle and left our request for the engraving.  They called later to tell us what we wanted was too many characters so we had to shorten it.  Everything we tried for didn't work so he decided to go with his dad's name.  Then they got the name wrong!  We didn't know until we picked it up, long after the event was done.  I haven't been able to stop chuckling about it since!
• Pool time - Stevie was so curious and scared altogether. However, a raft and her cousin, Canuba, lured her in for her first surfing experience.  She looked paralyzed with fear but had lots of fun.  
• Talking to my stepdad back in Kansas.  He caught me up on the latest and greatest about our always growing family (one new baby on my birthday and one due any minute!).

How were your weekends?  Wonderful, I hope!  I've got my fingers crossed that this week will be good.  We are beginning the process of replacing our busted septic system (eek) and the mister has to go to Chicago for work.  But....here's to a great week ahead!

Thursday Loves

Martha has a pretty great roundup for father's day gifts.  Although I'm pretty sure anything with bacon or hot sauce will probably suffice ;)  Via

After a week in Jamaica, I'm kind of fruited out for awhile.  But this fruit salad made of all my favorite fruits looks not only gorgeous but rather delicious.  I'd snarf some down!  Via

Even the simplest of items can be incredibly awesome.  I'd love to have some personalized ones of these.  I imagine hanging dresses up on Mr. Whisker's face and laughing endlessly.  Via

Another new-to-me Etsy shop to fall in love with - Classic By Nature.  Behind the operation are two sisters from Montreal with an eye for design.  While they mainly sell decorative pillows like the awesome one above, they also have some vintage pieces and handmade iPad sleeves.  Me likey.

Have any of you checked out The Snackpot?  I know you're so curious about how some snacks this world has to offer taste.  Before you waste your money trying something you're not going to like, check out the reviews, news and features on this very informative and helpful website.  

How have your week's been?  It's been so nice for us to be back home with our Stevie love, snuggling on the couch.  Last night she not only helped tuck me in to bed, but she stayed sleeping by my side while husbadge hung out downstairs.  She's never done that before...I guess our 2 mile walk and darting back and forth around the house after her bath really wore her out!

Happy Thursday!

Aw rats!

Meaning, awwwwww! rats!  So you may be wondering where I'm headed with this.  Well I will tell you.  This is my gift to my stepdad for Father's Day.  A rat, you say? Well I think my mom might fly to Chicago to personally tell me just how she feels about the giant rat I brought into their home...so luckily that's not the case.  Instead, I've sponsored one of these giant rats for a whole year, in the name of my stepdad.  These guys will get to eat bananas for a year to grow strong and smart and capable of doing some incredible things! 

These African giant pouched rats are apparently educated with the rodent equivalent of a Ph.D and have been trained to detect landmines in Africa.  Since they're too light to set off the mines, through their sniffin' skillz, they can clear as much land in 20 minutes as a human can in two days!  Another cool fact, these rats have been trained to help out with increasing Tuberculosis problems in the area.  They sniff out samples provided by TB sufferers and in turn, can screen 40 samples in 7 minutes where as a human can do so in a full day.  Pretty impressive! 

Since my stepdad went on and on about how he's a scientist and damn proud of it (which so am I, he's one hell of an intelligent man and his stories are always fascinating, no matter how many times I've heard them) I figured what better way to celebrate him being a father than to sponsor science in his name?! 

The idea stemmed from this op-ed from the New York Times.  And you can go here to donate or to learn more about the project.  The thing that I love about this gift is that giving meets hilarity, and that in a nutshell sums up my super awesome Stepdad.  So Happy Father's Day, Rod!