Happy Birthday to an Old Dog!

Aunt Julie is on vacation, which means she's missing a Major Milestone back home. Trouble Elizabeth (remember, Julie has no girls, so had to grant the family surname to someone, even if he is a male dog) turns 16 today. Little Red, Julie's soon-to-be DIL, is dog-sitting while The Pop'r Queen is at the beach.

Julie picks up the Trouble Elizabeth tale: "We found him from an ad in the newspaper. There were lots of Springer Spaniel ads that week, and most were $350 or so. The ad for Trouble said $50. I called, to see if it was a typo. No. Why so cheap? Turns out the owner had 12 puppies to find homes for."

Trouble Eliz turned out to be a rabbit-chasing machine. "Almost every morning we’d let him out and he’d take off and not come back 'til he could hardly move, and the neighborhood was free of bunnies for another day," she remembers. "My kids were late many mornings for school because we were scouring the streets in our SUV, calling 'Trouble! Trouble!' and eventually 'Trouble Elizabeth! You get over here right this minute!' "

Julie and Uncle Lynn, The Pop'r King, came up with a great way to wake up their boys in the winter. "We had a habit of taking him outside to play and then letting him jump on the boys' beds to wake them up. Cold toes, cold nose…"

Trouble Elizabeth's alarm clock duties, however, were numbered. "One Sunday morning he jumped off the bed, but his leg got caught between the mattress and footboard, and snapped," Julie says. "Since we lived in a rural area, the local vet was a large animal vet, and his suggestion was to shoot him and get another dog! Good thing we lived near Madison and the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine! One day and $1,000 later, he was good as new!"

There are too many Trouble Elizabeth stories to tell here, "but needless to say, it was the best $50 we ever spent!" Aunt Julie declares. "He's an old doggy, but all we want is another 16 years. What a great dog!"

Like a lot of 112-year-old men, Trouble Elizabeth has become mostly an indoor doggy, and leads a pretty pampered life. His various ailments come and go; he has a "dribbling" problem, among others, and wears a Doggy Diaper. The Pop'rs Family calls him "Captain Underpants"!

Auntie J. says Trouble's aches and pains are pretty minor, though. "As long as he still barks at the mailman and wags his tail when we come home, we can cope!"

JAWS, Part 2

When we left you last, Dear Readers, we were telling you a Big Shark Story. Let's catch back up with Aunt Julie, and see how the story ended.

"When Shark Boy’s big shark was pulled in, he was lying on the deck of the pontoon. Joey instructed him to keep his foot on this beast, which was fighting like all get out to get back into the ocean, 'Don’t let him wiggle back into the water!' Joey shouted. He then reached up into an overhead compartment while we were all focused on the shark."

Those of you who love real-life drama should read on. Those who are of sensitive dispositions should close your eyes for this next part. "All of a sudden, we heard a 'pop!' and looked up to see Joey holding a handgun," Aunt Julie says, picking up the narrative. "He’d shot the shark! Well, the girls were all screaming, and there was crazy pandemonium; way too much drama for a pontoon boat! Joey apologized, after a fashion, saying had to do it to kill the shark, because we wanted to keep him. Yikes!"

That night, Shark Boy and his girlfriend took some of the meat to a local restaurant, and the chef prepared it for them for dinner. "The Shark Adventure was easily the best single day of the trip," Julie enthuses. "We took the rest of the shark home frozen, and put in our basement freezer. The power went our briefly, and the fridge stopped. Days later, we were met with the pungent odor of melting shark. I am still trying to get the stink out of the fridge!"

Before The Pop'r Family left for the beach on Friday, Auntie J. scattered containers of charcoal throughout the fridge, in yet another attempt to freshen it up. Forty pounds of charcoal might do the trick!

Just a friendly reminder, Sports Fans. Today's the last day of the Great Pop'rs Giveaway! Make sure you get your entries in by 8 pm. EST today. Extra entries for comments on the past week's posts--be there or be square!

This Pizza's Actually GOOD for You!

I've been trying so hard to get into good "beach shape" for our trip this weekend with The Pop'r Family down to North Carolina's Outer Banks. We've been going to the OBX in the summertime since College Girl was a toddler. Aunt Julie, Uncle Lynn and The Boys started sharing a beach house with our gang about 15 years ago.

Remember that even though we're going on VAY-kay, we'll never be far away from our Bloggy Friends! And don't forget to enter our newest Great Pop'rs Giveaway! The contest runs through Monday, August 11th, at 8 p.m. EST--be there, or be square!

While checking my e-mail the last couple of days, I found out that I'm a winner, too! Amanda, over at mommymandy.com, notified me that I won her Baskin-Robbins Coupon Giveaway, which is pretty darn cool! And IHChicky, over at Everything Up Close, just let me know I won The Ultimate Walking Workout DVD, in her First Ever Giveaway, which makes me feel pretty special! Don'tcha think those two prizes were meant for me? You know, they really go hand-in-hand!

Aunt Julie's sad that her Favorite All-Time Quarterback, Brett Favre, has been traded to the New York Jets. What's Lambeau Field gonna be like without Brett? But she collected herself long enough to send me this fresh and delish twist on an old standby. It all sort of works out with my workout routine, too. Thanks so much, Aunt Julie, and see ya soon at our Beach Rendezvous!

Aunt Julie's Fruit Pizza
1 roll Pillsbury sugar cookie dough
1 8 0z. package of cream cheese
12 oz container of Cool Whip (thawed)
Any fruit you like--pineapple, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, kiwi, bananas, etc.

Line a large pizza pan with the dough, pressed to form crust.
Bake the crust @350 degrees for 10-15 min. Cool. Mix Cool Whip and cream cheese, and spread on the crust. Arrange the fruit on top.

Glaze:
½ cup orange juice
¼ cup water
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 Tbsp lemon juice
½ cup sugar
Mix the glaze ingredients together, and heat this mixture on top of the stove until it thickens. Cool and pour over fruit. Keep in fridge.

Brett's a Winner, and You. Can. Be. Too!

Looks like the Green Bay Packers, the best team in football, BTW, have come to their senses and welcomed NFL MVP Brett Favre back to the fold. To say that Aunt Julie and Uncle Lynn are ecstatic would be putting it mildly. These die-hard Packer Fans have been on the waiting list for season tickets since they got married. In all those years, they've moved up 22,000 spots, give or take a seat or two. And they still have about 2,500 places to go!

As The Pop'r Family grew, Auntie J. and Uncle Lynn added their boys to the season ticket waiting list. But those guys have a pretty long way to go. The youngest, Soccer Boy, is now 30,866th on the waiting list. At this rate, Soccer Boy will be pretty darn old and Brett will be retired for real before the lad gets a seat at Lambeau Field!

But let's not let the real news get lost in all of this NFL chatter! Uncle Lynn has authorized me to run another Great Pop'rs Giveaway. And it couldn't be easier to win!

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post. You probably already know that my family will be joining The Pop'r Family for a little VAY-cay at the beach later this week. Well, we like to read. A lot. Please leave me a comment recommending a good beach read. That's all ya gotta do, and You. Too. Can. Be. A. Winner!

The Great Pop'rs Giveaway runs from today through Monday, August 11, at 8 p.m. EST. We will pick Two Grand Prize Winners by random drawing at that time. What do you win? Why, and entire box of Pop'rs--all eight flavors!--that delightful seasoning that's not only fun, but good for you, too!

Of course, we're adding a few extra incentives for you, too! For each comment you leave on one of my posts this week, I'll give you an extra entry in the contest. How sweet is that?

Now, before I get away today, I'd like to Share the Comment Love with five of my Bloggy Friends out there. These ladies are doing some really great stuff on their blogs, and you should take a look!

• Megan, who presides at Reed's Home for Our Savior, recently blogged about urgent needs for our troops in the Middle East. Please drop by Megan's blog to see how you can help!
• Does Anybody Hear Me? over at Don't Get Married...You Won't Like It! picked up the Saturday Six *Meme*. Check out her answers--they're a hoot-and-a-half!
• Melissa B., who scribbles away at The Scholastic Scribe, is running her first contest ever! She just returned from Asbury Park, NJ, and is giving away AP souvenirs from the home of Springsteen, Bon Jovi, and The Jersey Sound. Melissa B.'s got three prizes, so visit her today!
• Shannon, the boss at Eight Crazy, is doing a Countdown to The Olympics, with a giveaway on Friday!
• And last but not least, Angela, who resides at Memoirs of a Chaotic Mommy, has figured out a way for all of you Lovely Bloggers out there to Yearbook Yourself, with five different and very "attractive" hairstyles. It's so funny--you should try it!

Well, that's all, folks! Hope to hear from you soon, and don't forget to enter The Great Pop'rs Giveaway!

Dear Oprah...

So many of you have been Sharing the Comment Love about Uncle Lynn, The Pop'r Family, Pop'rs, and Big Bear and Little Red's Wedding that we're overwhelmed with gratitude.

Today, we'd like to Take. It. Up. A. Notch.

Yesterday, we blogged about Rachael Ray, and her enthusiasm for Pop'rs, that delightful, fun and good-for-you seasoning that convinces kids to Eat Their Veggies! Several of our Faithful Readers said we needed to plead our case to The Food Network. Others, including Marla, suggested that Oprah is the way to go.

So, here's the deal. Uncle Lynn sent an e-mail to Oprah this morning, telling her about Pop'rs and his family business, and inviting the Queen of Daytime TV to try Pop'rs for herself! Here's a little bit of his invitation:

"We'd love to provide you and your staff with enough boxes of Pop’rs—each containing all eight flavors—to try out for a while. After you’ve given this amazing product a 'test run,' why not invite some real kids—of all ages—on your show, and let them try the Pop’rs on all kinds of foods? You could pair this 'demonstration' with a segment featuring the Great Dr. Oz, talking about a serious subject like children’s health. You could even do an audience giveaway of Pop’rs that day. I promise you—the Fun Factor will definitely come alive with when Pop’rs are unveiled on Oprah!"

Here's where you come in, faithful readers--we'd love for you to Share the Comment Love with Oprah! Please send Oprah and her producers a short message, encouraging them to take Uncle Lynn up on his offer. All you have to do is click here; then look on the right side of Oprah's Home Page. See the orange button that says BE FEATURED ON? Click on that! A list, all in orange, will appear. Click on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Then, look for Be on the Show, and click on Do You Want to Be a Part of the Action? Click on that, fill out the info, leave your comment, and we'll be on our way!

You can tell Oprah anything you want! How you'd love to see kids--including yours, perhaps?--experiment with Pop'rs on television; how you'd find it interesting to tune in to a conversation between Uncle Lynn and Dr. Oz about healthy eating; how your sweet children turn into finicky eaters at dinner time, and how Pop'rs could help; how you'd like to join Uncle Lynn and Oprah and try Pop'rs for yourself!

And what do you get for your trouble, other than the satisfaction of helping a family-owned company get its 15 Minutes of Fame? Well, right now all we can send you is our gratitude, and of course group hugs, but who knows? Someday soon, Oprah might just take Uncle Lynn up on his offer! Then we'll all be able to Share the Pop'rs Love! And what, I ask you, could be better than that?

Get Ready for a Sweet Celebration!

For those of you wondering about the lovey-dovey ticker at the top of this page, exciting stuff happening in the Land of Pop’rs! Big Bear, Aunt Julie and Uncle Lynn’s Number One Son, is getting married in October! He and Little Red, his fiancé, are taking that stroll down the aisle October 11, in the first-ever Pop'rs Wedding!

Bear and Red met five years ago, when he was working for a dealership and sold her a new car (He is not exactly a fast mover—nor a smooth talker—like his Dad Lynn, The Pop'r King, who married Aunt Julie just five months and five days after meeting her on Valentine’s Day!). About 250 people are invited to Bear and Red’s wedding, with 50 to 60 invited over to The Pop’r Family’s house for the rehearsal dinner. What does Aunt Julie have to say about that? Only one word: “Yikes!” All three of Bear’s brothers will be in the wedding.

Fortunately, Aunt Julie, being The Pop'r Queen and all, sure does love to cook!…the dessert menu has been solid for months—homemade carrot cake cupcakes, cheesecake with strawberries that Julie Eliz picked in June, and a chocolate fountain! Dinner is still negotiable. “Sixty people is starting to sound like an awful lot,” Aunt Julie says. Let’s see: wedding party and out-of-town family and friends. Auntie J. is taking suggestions for the dinner!

The sweetest part of all is that Bear gave Red Grandma Vera’s engagement ring. “I thought they would just remove the diamond and put it in a new setting,” Aunt Julie explains, “but the bride loves it just like it is and prefers not to change a thing. So it has been separated (it was once welded to Grandma V.’s wedding band because of wear), gold added and a new head built, and cleaned—the goldsmith said it will look just like it did when Grandpa Ernie gave it to my Mom in 1947!”

Auntie J., naturally, is a sentimental gal. “When I returned from the jeweler’s, I cried. To think it had been in a drawer since Grandma Vera died. I’m thrilled that it has been taken out, restored and is once again on the finger of the girl who is about to become Vera's first grandson’s wife!”

Here’s where you come in, Faithful Readers! Watch this space tomorrow, when I’ll explain how you, too, can get involved and help The Pop’r Family prepare for The Big Day!

Because I'm the Mom; Or, Overture in K(ids) Flat!

Comedian Anita Renfroe condenses everything We Moms might say to our kiddos in a 24-hour period, and sings it to the urgent strains of "The William Tell Overture." This video has been hanging around Mommy Blogs on the Internet for at least a year, but we thought we'd give you a mid-summer's laugh, anyway! We're pretty sure The Lone Ranger and composer Gioachino Rossini might even get a chuckle out of this--The Pop'r Family sure did! BTW, The Pink Potpourri is offering a fanTAbulous giveaway this weekend! Check out the rules for winning homemade stationery. It's really quite lovely!

Have Quilt, Will Travel!

Aunt Julie and Uncle Lynn, The Pop'r Queen and King, respectively, have in-laws in DC. As in the Nation's Capital, home to the White House--which, BTW, is not near as big in person as you'd expect it to be!

But I digress. As you know, Auntie J. is a quilting fiend! She recently completed a quilt for Son Number 3 to use in college. She's working on another for my youngest--in fact, we hear she's in the final stages of production! The Traveling Quilt Odyssey, however, began three years ago, when Julie began the quilt above, for her niece Down DC Way.

The Quilt in Question is from the book 40 Fabulous Quick Cut Quilts by Evelyn Sloppy, published in 2005. The pattern's name is actually Those Fabulous Blues, "But I call it Off to College and The Quilt From Hell," Aunt Julie explains.

Please continue, Dear Readers, and you'll see what Auntie J. means. "The method I used to make the two-inch, half-square triangle blocks (692 of them) was with purchased triangle paper. This is a great method, unless you use the wrong size paper! I couldn’t make the blocks fit together, and ripped and re-sewed for days. Finally, I ended up individually recutting each two-inch square, all 692 of them, and it went together beautifully. There were other issues in the assembly, but I’ve blocked them from my conscious mind. Would I ever make another one? What do you think?" Well, we already know that answer, don't we? She's done two quilts since then!

"I love this quilt, and hope my niece cherishes it forever," Aunt Julie continues. "Maybe I can use it someday when I visit her, when she has a house of her own!"

So, why is the quilt so elegantly draped on the fence across the street from Dubya's Domicile? It's quite simple, really. The DC Kinfolks wanted to commemorate all of The Pop'r Family's visits down DC way over the years, including, but not limited to, Soccer Boy's expulsion from Mt. Vernon (George Washington's home), the solemn Changing of the Guard at Arlington Cemetery, the floor of the US House of Representatives, and Ford's Theatre, all in one day. Or was it two? Well, he was a lot younger then (about 4), and he knows better now. We can only hope! But that particulary Odyssey is a post for another day.

So, here's to lovingly hand-sewn quilts, patience, tourists and the bonds that tie families together over the generations. And three cheers for Auntie J.!