Grand-Wee-One Loves Squirrels!

My Grand-Wee-One is a little over 3 years old now and since she was 2...she has had a facination with Squirrels! yes, you read that right, Squirrels! I am not sure what it is about them that is she so facinated about, but she loves them! We have a slew of squirrels around...way too many if you ask me so there are always a bunch of them in my yard.

They raid my bird feeders and chase off the birds on a daily basis which irritates me since my feeders were supposed to be squirrel proof. Well, they aren't! This one particular squirrel in the photo above she has actually named "Charlie" and trust me, she knows him from the other squirrels as he has a nice brownish patch of hair down his back and kind of walks with a limp.

Anyway, he shows up twice a day and she is always super excited to see him. Yes folks, the grand-wee-one considers "Charlie" her pet and her friend! LOL Geesh, I really wish Charlie would find a new yard to stalk or a new home somewhere else so that my birds can feed in peace!

Kids are so funny when they latch onto wildlife animals like this and consider them their friends. Like I said, it's cute until Charlie makes a mess in my yard and tears up my bird feeders and bird baths! ugh!

The Cape May Zoo - WW

My "almost" Wordless Wednesday post for this week is a photo I took earlier this month at the Cape May County Zoo in southern New Jersey. We love visiting this zoo and visit at least three times a year.

One of my husband's favorite animals to watch are the zebra. While I do find them pretty to look at it...they are pretty boring. Every time we sit to watch them they are always standing there feeding! (hubby finds that fun though) hahaha!

When I visit the Cape May Zoo I like to watch the primates and check out the big cats, especially Rocky the Tiger...one of my favs!

Pineapple Crush Cocktail Recipe by Voga Italia

With temperatures warming up across the country, spring is finally officially here! After months of cradling hot toddies, Irish coffees and mulled ciders, it’s time to start thinking of cool and refreshing spring/summer cocktails.

VOGA has earned numerous awards and accolades for their sleek and sexy glass cylindrical bottle with unique resalable cap, presentation and most importantly taste. The collection retails from $10.99 to $15.99 and includes Pinot Grigio, Merlot, Moscato, Quattro, and Sparkling.

Pineapple Crush Cocktail Recipe

3 oz. VOGA Pinot Grigio
1 oz. vodka
1 oz lime juice
1.5 oz. pineapple juice

Combine VOGA Pinot Grigio, vodka, lime juice and pineapple juice in a shaker over ice. Pour in a martini glass and garnish with your favorite fruit. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: We were given some cocktail recipes to share with our blog readers from the PR firm that represents Sparkling ICE to share with our readers. You must be 21 years of age or older to consume alcoholic beverages.

Slim and Sparkling™ Margarita Cocktail Recipe

The key to preventing cocktails from becoming calorie bombs is to take care when selecting the base for the drink. Juices (even unsweetened ones), sodas, anything with a syrup in it, and most liqueurs all pack tons of sugar. Sparkling ICE has ZERO calories, sugar, carbs, and sodium.

Slim and Sparkling™ Margarita Cocktail Recipe

· 3 oz. Lemon Lime Sparkling ICE
· 1 oz/ Tequila
· Splash of Triple Sec
· Fresh Squeezed Lime

Preparation: Shake and pour into a chilled rocks glass rimmed in salt (optional).

Disclaimer: You must be 21 years of age or older to consume alcoholic beverages. Please drink legally and responsibly.

The Beauty of the Backyard :: My Hydrangea Bush

I have always loved the beauty of Hydrangea Bushes and this year...my Hydrangea bushes are huge! Seriously, huge! They are in full bloom right now and I have been enjoying filling up my flower vases every couple of days with fresh cut Hydrangeas and I couldn't be happier about it.

Once they are done blooming for the season my husband is going to trim them back because they are really large this year. I guess all of the rain we have had the past few months in PA. has really fed and watered them well.

This year was the best year so far for all of my Hydrangea bushes. Do any of you love Hydrangeas and if so, do you have any bushes in your yard? Do you ever have to prune them back?

Easy to Make - Creamy Vegetable Dip Recipe

During the summer months I like to make a new homemade veggie dip every week so that my family will munch on freshly sliced vegetables from our garden, instead of unhealthy chips and pretzels. One way I get them to eat the healthy veggies is to always keep a great veggie dip on hand & in the refrigerator.

Today I am sharing my Creamy Vegetable Dip Recipe with all of you. It is really easy to make and only takes about 3-4 minutes of prep time and 1-2 hours of chilling time. If you are looking for other quick and easy appetizer recipes, you can find them over on my other blog called Shakin & Bakin Foodie Blog.

Creamy Vegetable Dip Recipe

12 oz. cottage cheese
1/2 cup low-fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons milk
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon parsley or dill seed
2 tablespoons minced green onion

In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine together all of the above ingredients until the dip is well blended and creamy. Cover the bowl and place into the refrigerator for 1-2 hours to chill, which helps all of the spice flavors to infuse. Serve the dip with freshly sliced carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.

Voga Italia's Whiskey Pop Cocktail Recipe

We do a lot of entertaining here in our home and I am always looking for new cocktail recipes to make and serve to our guests. Today I am sharing with you a great recipe from our friends over at Voga Italia. I think it looks delish and I am going to make it next week for our backyard pool party.

Voga Italia's Whiskey Pop Cocktail Recipe

1 Sugar Cube
4 drops of angostura aromatic bitters
1/2 shot of bourbon whisky
Top it off with VOGA Sparkling

Polish the sugar cube with bitters and drop it into the glass. Pour bourbon whisky into a chilled glass and top it off with VOGA Sparkling.

Disclaimer: You must be age 21 years of age or older to consume alcoholic beverages.

Passionate About Scrapbooking!

I am a die-hard scrapbooker and it has been several weeks since I have had time to do any scrapbooking and finally last week I got back into my scrapbook room and did a few layouts. I am usually not this far behind on my scrapbook projects but thanks to my home business really flying well, I just haven't had much time for crafting.

I usually don't blog about my craft projects too much on this blog but if you love to craft or enjoy scrapbooking, you should visit my other blog called Passionate About Crafting. I try to post new scrapbook layouts or craft projects over there once a week and would love for you to visit me there too.

The scrapbook layout I made above (click on photo to enlarge it) features photos of my grand-wee-one from her 1st birthday party almost 3 years ago. Yeah, I told ya, I am a little behind on my scrapbooking projects, LOL! Isn't she just darling? I adore that grand-wee-one!

Anyway, I have made a new commitment to myself and that is....I am going to some how find 2 hours a week to work on various craft projects or scrapbooking projects. I need to find my "crafty self" again and work will just have to wait those 2 hours every week!

Do any of you enjoy crafting? scrapbooking? What kind of crafts do you enjoy doing?

Grandma's Strawberry Cake Recipe

Here is a great recipe that I got from my grandmother about 15 or 20 years ago. It has always been a favorite dessert recipe at our family gatherings in the summertime, so I thought I would share it with all of you today.

Strawberry Dessert Cake Recipe

Cake:

1 box white cake mix
2 (10 ounce) bags frozen strawberry slices, thawed

Topping:

1 box vanilla instant pudding mix
1 cup cold milk
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
1 pint of fresh strawberries, sliced

Prepare and bake the white cake according to the box directions. Let cool completely before preparing the topping recipe.

Take a wooden spoon and poke holes all over the top of your cooled cake. Place the thawed strawberries into a blender container and puree for one minute. Pour the pureed strawberries over the top of your cake so that they fill in some of the holes that you poked.

In a large mixing bowl combine together the instant pudding mix and cold milk, beating for 2 minutes. Fold in the whipping cream. Spread the topping on top of your cake. Slice the fresh strawberries in half and use them to garnish the top of your cake. Store cake in an airtight container.