Goose Meadors

It's taken me almost a two months to be able to write this, even though as I begin tears already fill my eyes.

Goose Meadors, 4 and a half year old black Labrador Retriever was born on June 29, 2008 to Jill Meadors and Rowdy Binkley.  He left this world and his loving family on January 30, 2013. 

I never really understood the hurt and pain someone goes through when they lose a pet.  I have always said that I can't imagine and I can sympathize with them but I never knew how bad it would hurt.  Having a dog live in your house, sleep with you most nights, depend on your to survive, welcome you home everyday and love you unconditionally is a type of love some people never fully understand.  Well, we do and losing that dog has been the most devastating thing for Cory and I to endure.  Goose is the one that brought me my engagement ring... he was so special to us.

Cory and I got Goose when we were together the first time.  I was his Mom for his puppy life and after our breakup he was raised by four boys.  Lord only knows how he survived.  It was always really good to know that Cory always had someone during our alone times - he had Goose and I had Hank.  He didn't fix the whole in our hearts during our time apart but it sure did help.

We are still adjusting to life without Goose.  It's been an adjustment for sure.  We miss him a lot, everyday.  I wanted our son to grown up with Goose.  He will know about him, that's for sure!

We sure miss you buddy!

Life in the Sub

Moving from the country to a subdivision was a hard decision for Cory and I to make.  We are country folk - we really love the country but ultimately the decision was made when we found a house we loved in the school district we wanted to be in.  So now, we live in a subdivision.  Surprisingly enough, things don't seem that weird.  I really don't see our neighbors very often - they haven't even come over to say hello.  From watching many episodes of Desperate Housewives I expected someone to bring me muffins in a cute little basket to introduce themselves to me.  Oh well, they probably are nervous around the young couple who are expecting a baby with two dogs that constantly get screamed at.

A few changes since moving to the sub:

No more walking outside with just a t-shirt on.  Totally against the rules in the city.

Cory wanted to go to the backyard and burn cardboard boxes the other night - I'm not sure if that is legal.  I still need to call about that.

Taking out the trash - all of our trash is supposed to fit into one can that is picked up on Thursday mornings.  It's almost impossible for us to get everything to fit into that one can.  Apparently we throw a lot of stuff away.  I'm use to throwing stuff out in the burn pile and Cory burning it whenever it was full.  We now have a garbage man.

People walk by.  Banjo hates all of those people.  Hank can't see out the windows or door because he is too short but he quickly chimes in when Banjo begins his fit.  We have a lot of walkers, runners, and bicycles that ride by our house - it kind of creeps me out too.  If someone was walking in front of my house before I was locking the door and peeping out the window to be sure they weren't going to stop.  Now it happens all the time!  Hellooooo neighbor.  BEWARE OF DOG.

Sirens.  Who would have thought that would be a change but it is.  We have a fire station down the road and hear sirens often.  If I heard a siren go by my house I would go follow them to see what was going on!  It had to be someone I knew that was in trouble!


Overall, we love living in Jonesboro.  We are so happy with our decision to move.  Yes, we miss living in the country but being so close to work, the grocery store, and town itself has been wonderful!   Especially with how many trips we have made to Lowes and Home Depot lately! 

Hopefully the neighbors will bring me muffins soon.

Living the city life folks.  Life in the Sub.

What's Going On?

I guess I haven't given a good update lately on what has been going on in the lives of Cory, Alyson and Cupcake (John Rambo).... so here it goes!

Well, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!  We had been looking and planning to move to the Jonesboro area and we were finally able to find the perfect house for us.  No, it isn't the middle of a rice field like we would prefer but it is in the area we wanted, big enough for us to continue to grow as a family, and a fenced in back yard for a furbabies.  I will save the stories of buying, signing papers, inspections, etc. for another post.... because that is some stressful stuff!! 
Cupcake or John Rambo (depends on who you ask) still does not have a name.  I am hoping sometime in the near future we will have a name picked out.  I am pretty sure the baby thinks his name is Banjo, I have to scream say his name very often.  He is a sweet puppy but he sure doesn't like coming inside when I tell him to.

I had mixed emotions about our move.  The house in Walnut Ridge is so special to me.  I worked so very hard on it - put in a lot of money, hours, blood, and tears.  Our new home is wonderful and we can't wait to get it organized, decorated, and have our little bundle of joy in his bedroom.

Cory is back to being busy, helping farmers get ready to start planting.  I miss him when he works so much.

My ankles hate me more than any body part has ever hated me.  Why must they be so large and hurt so badly?


Happy Thirsty Thursday - Here's to drinking more water!!

Apple Goodness

I love sweets.  I loved sweets before I was pregnant and I love them even more now.  Bad thing about now is, when I eat a whole box of cookies, I still have to eat lunch.  Before being pregnant I would eat a box of cookies for lunch and probably not eat anything the rest of the day, super healthy, I know. 

Anyway, I've been looking for recipes that are healthy or healthier than the package of brownies Cory and I were eating a night.  So, I found one I liked - twisted and tweaked it... and I think it turned out pretty perfect!

Yummy Baked Apples

4 apples - I used two Granny Smith and two Fuji Apples
1 cup oats (I used old fashioned)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey
Few pinches of cinnamon (I use lots because I LOVE cinnamon)
Chopped pecans (use as little or as much as you like)

In a small bowl, combine oats, oil, honey, cinnamon, and pecans.  Stir up really well making sure that the pecans and oats are coated well.  Core the the apples and then slice in half.  Fill with oat filling (a few spoon fulls for each apple) and bake at 400F for 20 minutes or until apples are softened and the skin begins to pull away from the fruit.

Garnish with whip cream and extra honey.

**The picture below is not garnished with whip cream but with a mixture of sweetened condensed milk and skim milk.  I forgot whip cream at the store so we kind of made our own thanks to the Magic Bullet.  It was still delicious.

Next time I make this recipe I will add some flax seed to it.  The more DHA I have, the better Cupcakes sweet little brain will be! 


Also, I reheated the apples two days in a row for breakfast and they reheated wonderfully! 


IT'S ALMOST FRIDAY!!!  Happy Thursday Beautiful People!