The Little Things

 It's turning to fall in the northern hemisphere and the respite from the heat is welcome.  I loved wearing a jacket and pants the other day, the cool breeze on my face.  Aaaaaaaah, fall.

A few other little things I've enjoyed lately:

- a caramel apple

- getting 'fall' dinner plates and bowls that match our halloween salad plates and cups

- mornings in the backyard in the cool breeze

- driving with the windows down again

- pumpkin yummies

What are some of your little enjoyments now that the seasons are changing? 

Home Buying Needs Changes

 I’m not sure about you, but I’m so over the housing market variation in quality.  One of our favorite pastime ones is to go house hunting (because you never know!) but lately it’s just been more frustrating than not.  Our friend is a realtor and after speaking with her, we realized we’re not alone.  Here are some changes I wish the real estate market would make:

(1) require the seller to do a fully inspection before the house goes on the market

- this would help buyers and sellers alike be eyes-wide open with what the state of their house is

- sellers can determine which items they will fix (and list which have been fixed) and which won’t

-  now someone doesn’t fall in love with something only to find out there are tons of problems and then figuring out what will be fixed or not becomes a whole event

(2) create and implement a scale by which the upkeep of the house is defined and incorporate that into the sale price.

- sorry, but just basing it on square footage alone is no longer ok.  I could have a 3000 sq ft house in shambles and another impeccably upkept and they go on the market for the same price?  All that does is frustrate the seller and the buyer because it sets unrealistic expectations.

- instead, create a scale (1-5 or 1-10, don’t care) where 1 is completely in shambles and 5 (or 10) is brand new.  Then, on a scale of 1-5 you have 4 being “like new / well kept”, 3 being “average” and 2 being “needs work”.  Now you factor that into the starting list price and value and, again, eyes wide open.  No one is surprised and MAYBE it would incentivise people to actually maintain their properties.

Share other ideas you have in the comments!  Happy house hunting.

Goodbye, Ein

After almost eleven years together, we sadly had to say goodbye to Ein, our oldest (and first) corgi.  He finally succumbed to his bone cancer and we miss him everyday.  While his book, What Ein Prefers, comes out later this year, (similar to his sister's book, What Faye Loves)...in the process of healing, I wrote the below poem.  If you've lost a pet, hopefully it brings you peace and solace, too.  They always mean so much to us.

GOODBYE, EIN

by Stephanie Houser

5.1.24

I remember when we first got you, and how you smiled at me with a great big grin

You were so excited to start a life and know what it meant to be a family, from within

And we watched you grow and play and love all the moments big and small

In fact sometimes it seemed like you really just were in love with it all

You forced us to be better, too, and feel love in a new kind of way

To learn patience and trust and kindness and togetherness each day

And while some days were harder than others, trying even (one could say)

You were always worth it, even if in the moment we may have felt another way

We knew it was getting close to saying goodbye yet we didn’t quite know how 

Because all the days and years that have passed are so special to us now

When you love someone like we loved you, it’s hard to think of letting go

But we knew it was what was best for you because letting you suffer was a big no-no

So when the doctor did what doctors do for dogs when it’s their time

We said goodbye to our best friend and family member, no longer in his prime

And while we’ll miss you forever, my sweet little man, we’ll love you even more

Because it was time to say goodbye and let you walk on through that door

But our memories of you will be carried with us, every one making us smile with all our heart

And we’ll thank you for how wonderful you were, even though now we are apart

Because, my bestest of best friends, you’ll always be my little bear…forever…no matter what

Pumpkin Cake Cookies!

 Ok, so it’s finally fall and I could not wait anymore until I started making some fall goodies.  However I didn’t have any pumpkin cookie recipes so I went on the hunt.  Happily, I found a recipe but given I had more brown sugar than white sugar and recently found out I’m allergic to cinnamon, I had to make some edits.  Those edits turned out to be amazing!!!!!  Recipe below.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

- 1 stick (1/2c) butter, softened

- 1/2c sugar

- 1c brown sugar

- 1tsp vanilla

- 1 c pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie purée)

- 1 egg

- 1tsp baking powder

- 1tsp baking soda

- 2.5c flour (I use gluten free)

(You can add cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves as desired, but I didn’t and I loved them.  Very fresh tasting).

Preheat the oven to 350.  Blend the sugar and butter.  Add in vanilla, pumpkin, and egg.  Mix until well blended (you might have what looks like a separated dough but it’s just the pumpkin).  Add in dry ingredients until smooth and well mixed.  

Bake for 15 (to 18) min, but I found 15 to be perfect.

Seriously.  So good.

My New Obsession: Walnut Butter

 It's official, I'm obsessed with walnut butter.  It's so good.  And two spoonfuls mixed with a handful of chocolate chips?!  Delightful; the perfect afternoon snack.

As we know, I have a lot of things that my body is sensitive too.  I recently found out my blood type, and if you follow those "Eat for your blood type" diets, it makes a lot of sense why I don't handle certain goods well.

Well, as it turns out, of all the nuts, walnuts maybe are the best for me (or, said differently, my body best tolerates them), which is great, because I've always loved them!

However, as I get older, sometimes eating nuts and the subsequent little pieces that trickle through my digestive tract (like many other foods) can cause more irritation that I want (and sometimes migraines as a result).  So, I decided to try walnut butter instead, because it's already ground down to a paste, so I figured maybe I'd have better luck.

Now, if you want something other than PB or Almond butter, it's not necessarily right on your grocery store shelf.  I had to hunt for some walnut butter.  I should also note it's expensive and comes in the tiniest of jars.  However ... TOTALLY WORTH IT!

That said, I won't be able to eat it all the time because of the cost, but if that means enjoying a spoonful of nut butter becomes more of a special treat, then so be it!  I can't say enough awesome things about it.

Hopefully you find your favorite nut butter, too!

Unlikely Allergies

 So, apparently, being allergic to pork is a thing.

Ok, so I know some of you are reading that thinking, "of course it's a thing," so let me clarify.  Being sneakily allergic to pork is a think.

That doesn't make any sense, right?  Agree.  Which is why it took me four (almost five) years to figure out that I am sensitive to - in a sense allergic - to pork.

I've always enjoyed bacon, but I never really had an affinity for pulled pork or ham or pork chops, etc.  In fact, growing up, when my mom said it was "pork chop night" I always groaned.  But as I got older, and especially after I moved southward, I realized just how integrated pork is to many dishes.  

Asian food? Lots of pork options;  Spanish? Same thing;  Live in the south? Pork in everything.

So I got a little more accustomed to eating pork and even found myself enjoying it more on occasion.

And then it started.  The area around my fingernails would get really inflamed and painful, and one time it even sent me to urgent care it was so bad. After numerous doctor visits, the best they could think was I had paronychia, which is essentially inflammation of the nail and bed and often because of the regular use of one's hands. 

And that never really sat well as a diagnosis.  Then years later I started musing on what caused this sudden symptom when I've never had it prior to moving.  Then I realized that after moving, I started eating more gluten and pork.  Suddenly I had a mini "ah-hah" moment and wondered if either of those were the culprit.  I'm sensitive to lots of foods, so who knew?  I had the allergy doctor test me for allergies to pork and it was barely raised / negligible.  

But within 2 weeks of no longer eating pork, the symptoms disappeared.  Completely.  And just to test, I ate pork again (just once) and bam! back.  

So, who knows why things happen, but sometimes our bodies tell us something is wrong and we have to work to figure it out.  So for anyone else dealing with these kind of sneaky allergies, best of luck to you.  I know they are so frustrating.

Chewy Peanut Butter Cookies

Ok, while I love peanut butter, and I can be a fan of cookies, I haven't always loved PB cookies.  That said, this weekend I developed a hankering for something sweet and I had the ingredients for PB cookies.  To my delight, they were wonderful!!  Below is the recipe, which is a bit of a mash up of two I found online, so it's 'one of a kind' if you will.  

Ingredients

• 1/2 c (1 stick) butter, softened - this can be vegan butter if preferred
• 1/2 c PB, also softened (e.g. if you put your PB in the fridge, either let it sit out or see instructions below for how to war it up)
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/4 c sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 4 Tbsp milk (I use unsweetened oat milk)
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/3 c flour (I use a gluten free flour blend that can go cup-for-cup with regular flour)

For topping, you may decide to sprinkle sugar and/or coarse sea salt. Totally up to your preference.

Instructions

• Mix butter and PB together (if not softened, heat in microwave for 30 sec so soft but not melted)
• add in sugars
• mix in vanilla and milk until well blended
• add remaining dry ingredients
• Move dough to wax paper and roll tightly.  I recommend rolling into a log now as opposed to trying to form cookies later.
• Place dough in wax paper in fridge for 4-24 hours (depending on the time you have).  This helps make the cookies chewier
• When ready, remove dough from freezer and cut into the size cookies you desire (I recommend 1/2 inch thick cookies)
• Place cookies on wax paper'd cookie sheet.  If you like to put the fork marks, add now
• If you wish to top your cookies with salt or sugar, add now
• Preheat oven to 350F
• Bake for 8-10 min
• Remove and let cool.  Store in container once fully cooled

Enjoy!!

PSA - Spay and Neuter

 This is a PSA - Please spay and neuter your pets.  The shelters I support with the What Faye Loves book profits have been hammered with euthanizing pets these last months because there are just too many and not enough adopters.  And the volume of pregnant and new puppies is staggering.

The dogs that exist already deserve to be loved before more puppies are created.  

Please spay and neuter your pets.

That is all.

How to get a Picky Dog to Eat

You may not be able to teach an old dog new tricks, but there is certainly a way to get your picky dog to eat!  And it doesn't involve dog food. It involves human food.

Meet Faye, our wonderful baby girl and the star of her own book, What Faye Loves.  Well, it turns out, one of the things Faye loves...is being incredibly food picky.  So for the first 3 years of her life we tried over 15 different kinds of dog food across all spectrums: dry, wet, raw, frozen, freeze dried, and even the order online kind (e.g. Farmer's Dog).  No matter what we did, she either turned up her nose at the new food right away or within days or weeks.  On the rare occasion, the food gave her diarrhea and we actively chose to try a new food, because that's not good for her.  She's now four years old and eating smoothly, morning and night.  She's been eating smoothly for upwards of six months now, but it took me months of having to hand feed her wet and frozen dog food at every feeding all while crying because she refused to eat and would vomit instead because she was hungry.  I felt like I had failed as a dog parent.

But I remembered when we would travel she would love and survive on bits of human food - steak, turkey, cheese, carrots - and so an idea popped into my brain. I thought, what if that's just what she wants to eat?!  And so I set out to try.

Now, if you find yourself in a similar situation, listen to your dog and your dog's system.  My perfect combo may not be your dog's perfect combo, but after a little trial and error I am certain you'll find the right mix!  We tried: cooked (but not seasoned) stead, eggs, turkey, and ham.  I already knew both of my dogs can't do chicken.  We also tried: buttered or olive oil roasted carrots, sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash.  And we already knew she loved cheese and cooked (but again unseasoned) oatmeal.

So after much trial and error, Faye's new meals are:

THE STAPLES

- turkey (unseasoned, but you can buy the turkey breast fully cooked at places like Costco and Sam's.  Try to stay away from deli meat because of the added salt and deli-counter meat often has seasoning on the outside.  But if you like, you can also cook a raw full turkey in the oven.  again, unseasoned)

- buttered carrots, roasted in the oven at 350 for 30 min.  (Faye, being the wonderfully picky delight that she is, prefers the carrots peeled over the already sliced rectangular ones, so I get a giant Costco sized bundle of carrots and peel and cut and cook 6-7 carrots at a time.  I add about 2 tbsp of butter to that, and it usually lasts me 1-2 weeks.  She gets about 7-8 pieces per meal)

THE ADD INS

- sometimes I add in (1) cheese (2) cooked (but unsweetened / seasoned) oatmeal or (3) roasted sweet potatoes or zucchini, cut into chunks, and tossed in olive oil only, then baked at 350 for 20-50 min, depending on how much is in there and how long it takes to soften everything.

Best of luck to you and your picky eater!

VOTE!

 It's voting season!  It overlaps so beautifully with the fall season, for those who love both.  Most places have opened early voting by now, so be sure to take the time to find your polling location and get your voice heard!

Remember the Little Moments are Great

Was sitting outside yesterday evening with my family, watching the giant forest trees sway in the wind, appreciating how magical the sound of swirling trees could be and how much they, like the sounds of the ocean, remind me that there are bigger things than me in the world.  It was that moment that I also found myself appreciating my life more than I had at any other point all day.  I told my husband, "I love our life" and when he asked if there was anything specific, I replied with all the seemingly obvious or mundane things: having a yard (coming from a condo), backing up to the forest, seeing the forest animals, having our own home, living somewhere where we have such great evenings, our dogs, our time together, etc.  Nothing from the list stood out as striking or "incredible", but that's exactly the point.  We need to remember to love and appreciate and be grateful for the seemingly normal and mundane, because those incredible moments are the ones that make up our life.

Some other things I find I love and look forward to because we have made them special:

- Special Coffee Fridays: we used to make this our Starbucks day, but since we work remotely now we make this our start of our Nespresso Weekend tradition.  I find I wake up Friday mornings excited because I get the 'special' coffee.

- Friday Lunch Takeout:  we spend most of the week eating and making food we have in the house.  But Friday lunch we treat ourselves to take out, usually of a sizable enough portion that it becomes lunch and dinner.  These tend to rotate between tacos, sushi, and pizza, but every now and again we'll try something new.

- Saturday Morning Movies: Sometimes we find we are busy doing individual things and errands not he weekends, so Saturday morning is when we come together to drink coffee, have food (take out or homemade) and watch shows.  Usually around 10/11 am we start a movie.  If not, we just marathon a few episodes of a show we are watching together.

- Afternoon Treat Playtime: Our two dogs get "treat balls" (or these treat ball / puzzle things that they have to roll and bite etc to figure out how to release all the treats inside).  Every afternoon they get them.  I love taking the few minutes out of my day to watch them fill with excitement and think and work hard to get every last treat out of their toy.  It's so rewarding to watch someone else fill with joy.

So, I implore you to keep finding ways to appreciate and acknowledge all the little moments in life that are so paramount to your everyday but also foundational to your happiness.  Share your little joys with us!

Stop "If I Could Just"-ing Your Life

As the new year came around, I started doing all my "new year" routings: thinking about all the things we could do in 2022, planning our 2022 budget, looking at needs -vs- wants, etc.  And as I started through my list, the first few weeks of the year past.  Suddenly it was middle-end of January, and the questions started.  

"Are we going to (blank)?"

"When can we (blank)?"

"What about (blank)?"

"Can we get (blank)?"

And in response to them all, I found myself saying "As soon as...." and "If we can just get to...." THEN we can do XYZ.

After a few days of that I found myself a tad dumbstruck.  It's not for poor planning or uninformed intentions, and I'm a full proponent of taking control of your life so you can live the life you want (which sometimes means putting off the immediate gratification for the long-term dream), but EVERYTHING I was responding to included those phrases.

So I took a moment and stepped back and really looked at what I was saying and how I was thinking about 2022.  Not everything can wait.  Not everything should wait.  Sometimes, some things are just "do now and enjoy" things.   And that's what I wanted to relay.  Stop "If I could just"-ing your life and live it.  Now.  If you "If I could just get that raise" or "If I can just make it to next week with what I have" or "If I could just get a nice day out so we could be outside to do those thing", you'll find you spend more time waiting and less time enjoying.  It won't always be perfect, and it won't always be the way you imagine.  So maybe you get the burger without the large fry and drink, but you get to enjoy your favorite burger.  Maybe you finally buy the lawnmower because yours has been on the fritz for two years and in the long run it will make everything better.  Maybe you just call that person back and appreciate the gaps in the familial relationship and stop waiting for him or her to make the move.  Maybe you start saving for retirement - not as much as you had wanted, but at least it's something!

There's always "something else".  Gratitude means appreciating what you have (now, not later).  So to really enjoy 2022, I hope for you that you can stop "if I could just"-ing your life, and find the joy in living it now.

What Faye Loves Gives Back 2021

 YAY! So excited to announce that What Faye Loves reached $200 in total proceed donations for books bought in 2021.  That's all THANKS TO YOU!

*YOU'RE AMAZING!!!*

So if you purchased a What Faye Loves book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble (online) or at the local Charlotte Fullwood Market or Park Road Books, please know how much we appreciate you!  Please also leave a review so others will know how wonderful the story is and help be a part of this wonderful community who gives back to local rescues.

This year, the local rescues included:

• Angela's Ark
• Billies Buddies
• Brother Wolf Animal Rescue
• C2CND rescue
• Carolina Animal Network
• Halfway There Pet Rescue
• Humane Society of Charlotte
• Lancaster SPCA
• Southeast Corgi Rescue
• Two Girls Lots of Dogs

We also did a local book signing at Pet in the City that gave back to Charlotte Black Dog.

THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!  Can't wait to see how much we can give back to local animal rescues in 2022.

If Books Gave Back

After publishing What Faye Loves, a children's story that follows Faye, a young corgi, through her day to discover what she does and does not love about her life, I realized something:

• Not enough goods give back

Yes, more and more companies are starting to do this: Bombas (socks), Toms (shoes), some local eateries (depending on where you live), etc.  But as a whole, this is not a common practice.  Even Jamie Lynn Spears tried to give a portion of her proceeds to a mental health charity (regardless of your feelings towards her and the Spears situation, this is still not a common practice).

What Faye Loves and any future books including Ein and Faye will do just that - give back.  A portion of the proceeds will go to local animal rescues!  I'm so thrilled to be able to do this, but I think it's time more authors and companies started to make this a practice.

• Goods and services should (at a minimum) give to a portion of all proceeds to a charity that does something represented by the book/good/service.  

I think if you're making a profit, you could do so much good for the world around you - and thank your customer base at the same time - by giving back regularly to something mirroring what it is your good/service provides.

What Faye Loves - October Kickstarter Campaign

 Hi everyone!

I am so excited to announce that my first children's book, What Faye Loves, will be available online soon!  While a portion of online sale proceeds will go to support local animal shelters, in October, we are actually running a Kickstarter campaign to jumpstart Book #2! 

What is Kickstarter?  It's crowdfunding with a twist!  Our project only gets the donations individuals pledge if we meet our goal...plus...those that pledge money can actually earn rewards!

For What Faye Loves, our rewards include:

• Signed copies of the book (paperback or hardcover)
• Thank you cards
• Digital prints

So if you or someone you know has little ones in their lives or is a dog (or corgi!) lover, please come to our Kickstarter page and support Ein and Faye in Faye's first children's book!

Help us reach our goal!  We appreciate your support!