Remembering Gizzy

This morning Charles and I said goodbye to our sweet, eldest dog, Gizzy. She died peacefully in her sleep after battling kidney failure over the last few months. She was a handful and the epitome of an alpha dog in our family. We are happy knowing she is no longer suffering.

Charles adopted Gizzy from an abusive home. She was the runt of a litter and the children of the family were happy to tease her in unkind ways. In 2006, Charles and Gizzy moved from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to join me and my two cats, Belay and Zambezi. In 2007 General our Shih Tzu joined us and in 2010 we added what is now the last dog our our clan, Colonel. Before adding Colonel to our brood, Gizzy and General were best buds. Although, in this video you might beg to differ. Once Colonel came along, Gizzy had a new puppy to boss around. Actually, all of our animals did whatever Gizzy told them to do. She was our alpha dog and made certain that everyone knew it. We will miss her snotty, snorting, joyous, bossy self! Thanks to Banfield Pet Hospital at Louis Henna and I35 in Round Rock and The Heart of Texas Veterinary Specialty Center.

Yummy Quick Dinner - Tomato Basil Squares

I was probably introduced to Pampered Chef's Tomato Basil Squares in 2002. They quickly became one of my all time favorite go-to recipes and I don't have many of those. They're super easy to make with minimal ingredients and it gives me a reason to grow basil! I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Ingredients

• 1 (10 ounce) can pizza crust (you can find them by the biscuits)
  
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided in half
  
• 1/4 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh basil or 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 2/3 cup mayonnaise
  
• 1 garlic clove, pressed (sometimes I add a second, just because I LOVE garlic!)
  
• 4 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
  

Directions: 

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. Roll out pizza crust onto a rectangle baking stone (or cookie sheet if you don't have a stone). 
3. Sprinkle crust with one cup Mozzarella cheese. 
4. In a bowl, combine remaining Mozzarella cheese, basil, garlic and mayonnaise. 
5. Mix well. 
6. Place sliced tomatoes on top of pizza crust. 
7. Spread mayonnaise mixture on top of tomatoes (I actually use a small melon baller and drop heaping balls on top and smash it down a bit). 
8. Top with grated Parmesan cheese. 
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until top is golden brown and bubbly

My sister, my friend

Lori and me in one of our first day of school photos (Circa 1978)

She's only three years, 352 days younger than me. So there were a few years before she was born that I was the only child. I'm pretty sure I didn't take as much advantage as I could of that situation, but I can't really blame my former four year old self.

By the time she was born I had lived in both Texas and Michigan, but when my sister, Lori, came into the picture, Michigan was a distant spot in my families rear view mirror. Neither of my parents had ever lived that far north and I think the stark cold winter made my mom long for the Texas sun and sky.

How is That Nine to Five Family Working for You?

Hours on end. I mean day-in, day-out conversing, speaking via phone, video conference, email and in person. Yet, we rarely fight. There's no screaming matches.

Oh there are misunderstandings and we disappoint each other. But honestly I'm super lucky because we shower each other with lots of verbal appreciation. You know, virtual high fives and such.

For the most part I didn't pick these people. In fact, none of these people picked me, yet here I am in this work family and I've come to love these 9-5 relatives.

Most of us who work outside the home spend more time with our work relatives than with our true families, so it's super important to like those that you work with everyday.

In the last few years with mass layoffs and record unemployment numbers, many people desperately dove head first into getting any job, sometimes sacrificing their past experiences and work related knowledge for dumbed down tasks simply to bring home a paycheck. But were tradeoffs worth it?

Have you traded in the comforts of enjoying your work relatives to simply make ends meet?

How do you deal with the fact that you go to work and aren't excited to develop relationships with people whom you spend the most time with everyday?