Puppies Galore!

Yesterday I posted a bit about my Sister and her Husband and My Mom and Dad BOTH adopting rescue dogs!  Well, since there has been so much Puppy Activity in our families lately I decided to dedicate an entire post to them.

This first photo is from the Rescue's Facebook Page.  My sister Megan with Atlas and My Dad with Lexi.  Atlas is a Beagle/Pointer Mix and Lexi is a Retriever/Collie Mix.  I think Lexi - if not both dogs - might have a bit of Jack Russell as well.  They are both adorable.  They were in the same foster home so they are buddies!  I'm so happy they were able to go to my parents and my sister so they can still see each other every once and a while.  We think Atlas is a few weeks older than Lexi.  So far...Atlas weighs 15 pounds and Lexi weighs 7 pounds.

Sunday night I was able to spend a little time with them.  My sister said they had been taking Atlas all over the place with them in the car over the weekend.  I guess he LOVES car rides!  He also gets along with other dogs - not just Lexi - which is good! 

My mom told me that Lexi is a good walker...which is great because my dad has been wanting a 'walking buddy'. 

I also found out that Atlas has an extra 'thumb' or a 'dewclaw' on each back foot.  The one is completely detached and the other does have partial bone.  They are going to remove them when they get him fixed because they will cause problems down the road, I guess.  My sister didn't want to do it but both the shelter and 2 vets told her to.

Lexi LOVES Bernie's Cat Bed.  So far...Bernie is tolerant.  Of course, Lexi has her own pillow bed and crate area which she enjoys, as well.

In other Doggy News...my Brother-In-Law is still doing good with his puppy Blue.  He's getting pretty big!  His coloring is amazing, too!  It's getting pretty defined.  I'm told he LOVES to be in the enclosed backyard and likes to run around.  He also likes being inside, tho, too!

His eyes look so sad in the photos but Mike says he's a VERY happy dog!  He says he loves to hold things in his mouth, tho.  He doesn't really eat them just likes to have them hang out of his mouth...as you can see in this one photo.  It's a Bark Chip.

 As far as our Dogs go - things have been going pretty good, I guess!  Paco has calmed down a little bit in the evenings which is nice...he was a little nuts for a while and sometimes I would have to play ball with him for HOURS which I enjoy but I also have things I have to get done around the house, too, so I'm glad he's been a bit lazier or at least had his 'fill' of playtime within an hour instead of HOURS lately.  I had to laugh over the weekend, I bought a new shirt and my husband said I looked like a 'prisoner'...it having stripes and all.  Then I put Paco's shirt on without noticing that it was much like mine.  My husband told us to pose for a pic and here you have it!  Apparently we are bop-see-twins!

Catching Up For REAL This Time!

Ummm, yeah...so...I mentioned last week that I was going to do multiple posts most days last week to CATCH UP and that sooooo didn't happen.  So...now I have twice as much to talk about, I suppose!  Oops, sorry, my bad!  Another LONG POST AHEAD!

I'll start back to the weekend before last, I guess.  We spent the weekend in Salamanca, NY, at their Falling Leaves Festival.  The weather was rainy towards the end of the day on Saturday and it was kind of nice on Sunday.  There IS a reason they call it Falling Leaves.  The leaves were CERTAINLY falling EVERY WHERE!  It was neat, tho!  Sales could have been better but overall it was an 'ok' event.

There was a Bird Rehab Center there as well as a Petting "zoo" with rehabbed animals.  One of the animals was this large rabbit that was so cute and soft!  Then I was able to spend time with some of the goats that I met last month at another event.  This one came up and gave me 'kisses' and nudges, even!  LOVE them!

Elvis was there!  Well...it was an Elvis Impersonator, actually, but he was pretty good!  He drove in on a Motorcycle!  He seemed like QUITE the crowd pleaser, too!

On Sunday there were Puppies/Dogs/Kittens from a local no-kill animal shelter.  They were adorable!  I swiped these photos off the website, actually!  The Reddish/Brown and White one is Atlas and the Black and White one is Lexi.  Atlas came to them from a Kentucky "kill" farm of sorts.  Apparently they arrived at the facility and they had to 'sell' them and if they weren't 'sold' in 5 days or less they were destroyed.  How awful!

My father fell in LOVE with Lexi right away!  He said she reminded him of his dog when he was 9.  A few days later he woke up and told my mom that he had a dream about Lexi the night before.  Last Friday My Mom & Dad officially adopted Lexi and my sister and her husband officially adopted Atlas!   I will have more current photos this week or maybe even later today!  They are amazing dogs!  Atlas is a Beagle/Pointer Mix and Lexi is a Retriever/Collie Mix.

In other news...Amherst, NY, my old stompin'-grounds finally has a Trader Joe's!  It opened this past weekend and I wasn't able to go YET but I will soon...FOR SURE!  Here's a photo I found on Facebook of the store!  It looks awesome, doesn't it!?

I've been snacking on Flax and Chia Crackers a lot lately!  I think this latest spur of interest is because of some of the dips and spreads I have been creating!  I have so many products I need to review - it's CRAZY!  Here's one of them!  Chipotle Chia Crackers from New Earth!  These are VERY VERY crunchy.  Crunch with Caution, I like to say!  These are powerful RAW treats!  Check out the ingredients:

organic sprouted buckwheat, organic red bell pepper, organic chia seeds, nutritional yeast flakes, pure water, wild-crafted Himalayan pink salt, organic chipotle powder.  Other ingredients: Joy, celebration and fun!

At first bite I was not a huge fan of the texture but after gnawing on them I quickly changed my mind because they were tasty and somewhat addicting!  They are VERY power-packed with 22 grams of protein per bag!  YAY!

Another thing I wanted to share with you was my new favorite food attempt!  Almond Cheese!!!!  I have been LOVING the Whole Foods Co-Op in Erie's Cashew Cheese and this is darned close!  I will certainly be making this A LOT it's so good!

I used:
1 C Almonds
1 C Water
3 T Lemon Juice
2 Cloves Garlic
Pinch Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

As you can see it's awesome for dipping!  And spreading on things!  It thickens in the refrigerator over night.  YUMMO!

Another Raw Vegan Food Idea and Snacking Idea! 

The English Muffins are Sprouted from Ezekiel Bread.  The Flax Crackers are from Foods Alive.