Good news! So far all of the fosters we have…uh…fostered have been adopted. Niki (who I never got a chance to foster) went to a great home with kids and dogs to keep her company. Blue went to laid back couple with a brand new baby to love on and Ollie… well he’s staying here

Back to our new foster. Penny is a three year old merlequin (kinda a mottled grey & black harle). She is super sweet and incredibly loving. Penny positively loves kids and wants to be wherever they are, including the pool. She hasn’t quite gotten up the nerve to get all the way in the pool but she does venture to the first step. So if you have kids and you’re looking for a Great Dane you should seriously consider adopting Penny from the Central Florida Great Dane Rescue.  She’s waiting for her forever home so get going!

I’m helping out a local Great Dane Rescue. Great Danes are very near and dear to my heart (I met one of best friends thru mutual Dane love). When I was 18 (a long long time ago) I convinced my parents, that I was still living with, that I NEEDED a Great Dane.  So I scoured the paper and found a Great Dane puppy for sale.  He was completely wonderful.  A playful puppy at 10 weeks old with huge feet and a beautiful blue Merle color pattern.  It was true bliss and I was in love.

My god that dog ate everything in the house.

He devoured at least 10 pairs of shoes, a couple pairs of underwear, a full pot-roast and lord knows how many loaves of bread. He peed on every inch of the carpeting in my room and decimated my mom’s wicker basket collection.  I’m surprised they didn’t kick me out the house within 48 hours of bringing him home.

Anyhoo, he truly was my best friend baby and nemesis to the future Mr. Bacon. I believe he prepared me for kids (I’ll tell y’all the story of how he vomited into his head collar after being neutered- later) and eventually loss. I swear there’s a point in here somewhere. He lived a fruitful life on the couch, lounging in the pool and hanging on my dad’s boat.  When he turned 5 he got bone cancer. It’s very common in large breed dogs and totally unfair. For goodness sake Great Danes only live 8-10 years.  He battled it for 2 years- he even got to meet the Pet Psychic Sonia Fitzpatrick- I cannot thank the doctors at the University of Florida enough, Go GATORS!

During that time I had moved out and my parents longed for a Great Dane of their own.  They contacted the Central Florida Great Dane Rescue. They adopted Dixie a harlequin who had had a rough life. She too lived a ripe old life. A couple years after my Dane (Surge) had passed I longed for another Dane. We adopted Bogart thru the same rescue CFGDR. That dog was clueless and happy all the time.  A month after living with us he moved in with my parents.  I’m not even kidding I got dumped by a dog.  Bogart passed a couple months ago. My parents can’t live without a Dane (or two) in the house so they decided to foster. They’re on their 3rd foster. His name is Ollie.  They’ve fallen in love with every Dane they’ve fostered so far. They’re hoping to adopt this one. And then foster another one (or two).  I’m helping out CFGDR by taking portraits of the Danes in Rescue.  There are a lot of Danes that are in need of homes.  If you’re smart you’ll skip the demonic destructive puppy stage and go for one in the 2/3 year old range. Trust me the moulding on your walls will thank you.

And here’s a couple pics I snapped of Ollie, the current foster at my parents house.

So do me and them a favor and check out their site, see if there’s a way you can help too. Maybe you’re not in the market for a Great Dane right now but you never know.

So I didn’t have the exact directions for the Apple shaped cupcakes so I had to wing it. Basically it’s a cupcake with a doughnut on top (use icing to cement doughnut to the top of the cupcake). I used mini doughnuts bc I was making mini cupcakes. I also made the mistake of using powered doughnuts. Don’t used powered the icing will slide right off your cupcakes. It’s very frustrating. I then microwaved a can of frosting, tinted it red and dipped the whole cupcake doughnut setup in the icing. You get a smooth covering of icing this way. I then dipped it into red sugar.

The stem of the apple is a pretzel stick and the leaves are green fruit roll-ups. Hint- refrigerate the fruit roll-up for easier cutting, it also makes it easier to peel off the plastic backing. Then stick the leaf to the pretzel and shove it into the cupcake.

Voila!

The only problems I had with the Babycake Cupcake Maker was the horrible burning plastic smell during first use (the instructions do warn of this). Also the consistency of the cupcakes are a bit weird. Kinda spongy instead of cakey. But they tasted fine so I guess it doesn’t matter.  Also the size isn’t truly mini. They’re in between mini and large.  I’m guessing it’s because you can use the Cupcake maker as a tart maker. I’m assuming tarts are bigger. Anyhoo all the teachers loved them. They said they almost didn’t want to eat them because they were so cute

On a side note it’s Courtney’s 11th birthday today!! So please leave some birthday love in the comments I know she’d be elated to see wishes from the interwebz.