12 Days of BOGO: Day 12

On the twelfth day of BOGO,
Barked Goods offered me
A Mixed Bag of Assorted Treats
Cheesy Pizza Bites
Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cones

Healthy Veggie Patties
Mini Apple Bones
Mouthwatering Max Meatballs
Crunchy Carob Chip Cookies
Sweet Potato Remy Ribbons
Tangy BBQ Bites
Pumpkin Lacy Loops
Savory Bacon Cheddar Wafers
And Honor Rolls that are peanut buttery


Today only Mixed Bags are BOGO!
http://www.barkedgoodsjax.com/allnaturaltreats/specialtybagged.html

 

 

12 Days of BOGO: Day 11

On the eleventh day of BOGO,
Barked Goods offered me
Cheesy Pizza Bites,
Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cones,
Healthy Veggie Patties,
Mini Apple Bones,
...

Mouthwatering Max Meatballs,
Crunchy Carob Chip Cookies,
Sweet Potato Remy Ribbons,
Tangy BBQ Bites,
Pumpkin Lacy Loops,

Today only Pizza Bites are BOGO!
http://www.barkedgoodsjax.com/allnaturaltreats/specialtybagged.html

 

 

12 Days of BOGO: Day 10

On the tenth day of BOGO,
Barked Goods offered me
Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cones,
Healthy Veggie Patties,
Mini Apple Bones,
Mouthwatering Max Meatballs,
...

Crunchy Carob Chip Cookies,
Sweet Potato Remy Ribbons,
Tangy BBQ Bites,
Pumpkin Lacy Loops,
Savory Bacon Cheddar Wafers,
And Honor Rolls that are peanut buttery

Today only Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cones are BOGO!!
http://www.barkedgoodsjax.com/allnaturaltreats/specialtybagged.html

 

12 Days of BOGO: Day 9

On the ninth day of BOGO,
Barked Goods offered me
Healthy Veggie Patties,
Mini Apple Bones,
Mouthwatering Max Meatballs,
Crunchy Carob Chip Cookies,
Sweet Potato Remy Ribbons,
Tangy BBQ Bites,
Pumpkin Lacy Loops,
Savory Bacon Cheddar Wafers,
And Honor Rolls that are peanut buttery

Today only Veggie Patties are BOGO! This is a brand new treat and not on the website yet. Send an email to michelle @ barkedgoods .com to redeem this offer!
http://barkedgoods.com/The_Treats.html

12 Days of BOGO: Day 8

On the eighth day of BOGO,
Barked Goods offered me
Mini Apple Bones,
Mouthwatering Max Meatballs,
Crunchy Carob Chip Cookies,
Sweet Potato Remy Ribbons,
Tangy BBQ Bites,
Pumpkin Lacy Loops,
Savory Bacon Cheddar Wafers,
And Honor Rolls that are peanut buttery

Today only mini Apple Bones are BOGO!
http://www.barkedgoodsjax.com/allnaturaltreats/classicbagged.html

12 Days of BOGO: Day 7

On the seventh day of BOGO,
Barked Goods offered me
Mouthwatering Max Meatballs,
Crunchy Carob Chip Cookies,
Sweet Potato Remy Ribbons,
Tangy BBQ Bites,
...

Pumpkin Lacy Loops,
Savory Bacon Cheddar Wafers,
And Honor Rolls that are peanut buttery

Today only Max Meatballs are BOGO!
http://www.barkedgoods.com/The_Treats.html

 

12 Days of Bogo: Day 6

On the sixth day of BOGO,
Barked Goods offered me
Crunchy Carob Chip Cookies,
Sweet Potato Remy Ribbons,
Tangy BBQ Bites,
Pumpkin Lacy Loops,
...

Savory Bacon Cheddar Wafers,
And Honor Rolls that are peanut buttery

Today only Carob Chip Cookies are BOGO! http://www.barkedgoodsjax.com/allnaturaltreats/classicbagged.html

12 Days of BOGO: Day 5

On the fifth day of BOGO,
Barked Goods offered me
Sweet Potato Remy Ribbons,
Tangy BBQ Bites,
Pumpkin Lacy Loops,
Savory Bacon Cheddar Wafers,
...

And Honor Rolls that are peanut buttery

Today only Remy Ribbons (Sweet Potato) are BOGO!
http://www.barkedgoods.com/The_Treats.html

12 Days of BOGO: Day 4

On the fourth day of BOGO,
Barked Goods offered me
Tangy BBQ Bites,
Pumpkin Lacy Loops,
Savory Bacon Cheddar Wafers,
And Honor Rolls that are peanut buttery
...

TODAY’S Barked Goods BOGO deal is TANGY BBQ BITES!
http://www.barkedgoodsjax.com/allnaturaltreats/classicbagged.html

 

 

12 Days of BOGO: Day 3

BOGO Day 3: Lacy Loops. These yummy pumpkin snacks are named after the cute maltese in our avatar photo! Today only buy one bag of Lacy Loops and get one free!! http://www.barkedgoods.com/The_Treats.html

12 Days of BOGO: Day 2

12 days of BOGO: Day 2! Bacon & Cheddar Wafers! Today only buy a bag of yummy Bacon and Cheddar Wafers and get a bag of equal size free! Click here to order. 

12 Days of BOGO

Aunt Sasha's Barked Goods is my all-natural dog treat company. For the next 12 days we will feature a treat of the day available for BOGO. The purr-fect howl-iday gift for your furry friend!

‎"On the first day of BOGO Barked Goods offered me.... some yummy doggie treats!" 

Today's treat of the day is Honor Rolls (Peanut Butter). Today only order one bag of Honor Rolls and we will send you a second bag free!!!
http://www.barkedgoods.com/The_Treats.html

Coast & Toast a LIVESTRONG Fundraiser

If you are in the Alexandria VA area please join me this Thursday August 9th for a LIVESTRONG Fundraiser! We will have a silent auction that includes a Jersey signed by Lance Armstrong!

You can visit the Facebook Invitation and check out the Re-Tweet I got from Lance himself!!

Bark the Vote

I need a small favor. Please take 2 seconds and vote for my dog treat company to win a small business grant. The grant would allow my sister and I to open our first store. We need 250 votes to even be considered. Your vote does count!

1. Go to http://www.missionsmallbusiness.com/ click 'Log In & Support' and log in using Facebook.

2. Search for my business by name (Barked Goods Jax)

3. Click on the blue Vote button next to our business name to show your support for our business.

I am totally ok with you forwarding this on to people :p

Baby Signing Time

Baby Signing Time is fun way to interact with your baby and toddler. The video series teaches ASL sign language and makes communicating with your wee-one easy!

The songs on Baby Signing Time are very catchy and you will find your self singing them throughout the day (my husband and I joke that we are brainwashed because we can't get the songs out of our head). Check out one of my favorites "The Pets I Love"!

My 14 month old son loves watching the videos and has been picking up signs more quickly than when I tried to teach him on my own.

I have been asked "Why teach your child to sign" and my experience this morning was the perfect example:

When we let our dogs out this morning my son signed to me "eat". We went upstairs sat down for breakfast and he ate. This may sound really simple, however had he not know the sign for eat he probably would have gotten fussy and started screaming since he can't yet say that he is hungry. This simple sign allowed us to communicate without a meltdown and most mommies know that is priceless!!!

Swim Across America

Everyone knows someone with Cancer. It is a disease that has touched all of our lives. At Baylor Cancer Center in Dallas they are swimming laps around Cancer.  On June 9th, 2012 hundreds of swimmers including Olympians will across Lake Ray Hubbard to raise money for the  Innovative Clinical Trials Center at the Baylor Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center.

The star attraction of the event is Quinn! Quinn is a four year old Leonberger with a big big heart. This 160 pound cuddle bug is also a therapy dog at the Baylor Cancer Center!

Help support Quinn and the fight against Cancer!

Throw me something mister!

I have a fond place in my heart for New Orleans (I lived there during high school and years later got married there) and I haven't been to Mardi Gras in a many many years, so when my friend Melissa posted a King Cake recipe on facebook that she took years to perfect, I thought I would try to recreate it Gluten Free!

My first attempt below was a big ole #FAIL. The dough was way to sticky and I could barely work with it (The cake tasted great, it just wasn't pretty.)

When my friend Lauren asked me to write a guest post on her blog Whisking Through Life  I knew it had to be something good. So I tried again to make the Gluten Free King Cake....and guess what? It came out great! The photo above was my final result. Check out the recipe and more photos here!

Margarita Jello Shots

It seems like all of my blog posts about cocktail creations start when I visit with my sister.... This weekend my sister was in town and we wanted to create a fun cocktail creation that would be a wow factor at an upcoming taco night I am hosting. We decided to try Margarita Jello Shots! In order to give them that wow factor we decided to serve them in lime wedges.

1. Gather your ingredients: lime jello, tequila, orange flavored liquor, limes and water
2. Mix your ingredients
I decided to make half batch virgin and half batch 21 and over. So I mixed 1 cup warm water with the jello mix. Once the mix dissolved I poured a half cup of the mix into one bowl and a half cup into another.

For the virgin jello I added a half cup of cold water, mixed and then placed it into the fridge to harden (I decided not to put the virgin jello in the lime shells to be sure I didn't mix it up with the grown-up jello).

For the adult jello I added 2 tequila mini's and half a bottle of the orange liquor mini (the total amount of liquor was half a cup) I mixed it together and set the bowl aside.

 3. Juice your limes (you can reserve the juice for guacamole)

4. Use a spoon to get any remaining pulp out of the lime shell

 5. Pour your jello into the lime shells. Be sure to put them in a pan to keep them from falling over (like the handy bone shaped pan I use to make Barkday Cakes)
6. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight (because of the alcohol these take longer to set than normal)

 7. Cut the lime into wedges (you can add salt just be sure to add the salt as you are serving them because it dissolves quickly on top of the jello)

Be sure to check out my other cocktail creations like Drunk Gummies, White Russian Chocolate Pudding and Watermelon Punch!

*Please note this recipe includes alcohol and is intended only for adults over the age of 21. Please don't eat these and drive, operate heavy machinery or text.

America's Favorite Pasttime

Take me out to the ball game...or take my husband's attention away from me for 162 games...

Of course I kid. Who doesn't love baseball season? Now that some stadiums carry gluten free beer, this girl might even want to see a game or two this season!

My hubby is a very talented and funny writer and he will be keeping you in the Fantasy Baseball know this season writing for Thefakebaseball.com under his twitter handle MatzahFazool. You should check out his first article "Don't Pay Good Money for Overpriced Players"

You can also find him writing about what grinds his gears over at the Grilling with Rich website. Hopefully with all of this writing he's doing I'll still be able to find him.

Get Buns like the Kardashians

I am talking about the buns in their hair! Have you ever wondered how they get such big buns? While they do have a ton of hair, I suspect they are using a foam donut.

1. Put your hair in a ponytail

2. Pull the ends of your hair through the middle of the donut

3. Tuck the ends of your hair around the donut

4. Start to roll the donut towards your head and continue tucking under any loose ends.

5. You are done!

If you do this while your hair is damp you will get awesome curls after you take it out!!

Easy Peasy Dinner

I have about 30 minutes on weeknights to prepare a nutritious dinner for myself, my hubby and our 9 month old son. With leftover Fake-Out Alfredo sauce on hand I decided to make Skinny Chicken Parm and no bake Lasagna Roll ups.

Skinny Chicken Parm is a piece of cake to make. Rinse off a chicken breast with water and then roll it in Quinoa Flakes. Seer the chicken breast in a frying pan and then transfer to a baking dish with tomato sauce on the bottom. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

I can't wait to watch the Superbowl...Commercials

As an Athletic Training major at The University of Alabama, I use to live and breathe athletics. As I have gotten older and my career path has taken me out of the athletic world I find myself watching sports less and less (unless of course it's an Alabama team playing...Roll Tide!)

While millions of people gear up to watch the Superbowl this Sunday, I'll be gearing up for the commercials, like the entertaining Honda ad below.




If you plan to watch the game or if you just want a laugh, you may enjoy my hubby's entertaining predictions and previews. He has been keeping the readers of GrillingwithRich.com entertained all season long.

Here is a sample from his Superbowl column:

Let’s get to the analysis of Super Bowl XLVI. The match up pits the New England Patriots vs the New York Giants. Or as everyone outside of the main targets of ESPN amorous devotion calls it, “If I could pick two teams not to make the Super Bowl, it would be them” Bowl. Read more here.

Fake-Out Alfredo

If you grew up around yummy southern cooking, like whole milk, or use butter in everything, then this may not be the recipe for you. If you are like me and grew up drinking skim milk and eating 99% fat free ground turkey you may want to try this one out. 

Fake-Out Alfredo has 3 ingredients: 1/2 cup Cottage Cheese, 1 tsp Lemon Juice and Garlic Powder to taste.

Blend all three ingredients together (add in a tbs of milk if you are having trouble getting it to blend)

Then serve over pasta. For this recipe I used brown rice pasta. For another recipe with Fake-Out Alfredo check out no bake lasagna roll ups.

White Russian Chocolate Pudding

With the overwhelming popularity of Drunk Gummies, I thought I might create another adult dessert! I attempted to make Red Wine Rock Candy, the science geek in me thought it would be a ton of fun and nostalgic, but it turned out to be a big fail.

So I give you White Russian Chocolate Pudding:

 Ingredients:
1/2 cup raw sugar
3 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups milk
1/4 cup Vodka
1/4 cup coffee liquor
1 tsp vanilla extract

 Place all ingredients in a sauce pan and whisk over medium heat until well blended.

 Once the ingredients are well blended turn up the heat to high. Constantly stir the mixture until it begins to thicken and stick to your whisk. Remove from heat.

 Select your favorite martini glass :)

Serve chilled.

You may also want to check out Margarita Jello Shots served in a lime wedge and Watermelon Punch served in a Watermelon!!

*Please note this recipe includes alcohol and is intended only for adults over the age of 21. Please don't eat these and drive, operate heavy machinery or text.

Shoe Redo

I have this super comfy pair of aerosoles that I haven't worn in a long time because the heels look like my dogs used them as a chew toy.

 I saw a great idea on pinterest where someone covered their scuffed up heel in glue and then rolled it in glitter to cover the scuffs. While I was walking through Michael's Craft Store I saw Tulip Fabric Paint in a color close to my shoes! I used painters tape to keep my lines clean.

I painted on three coats allowing an hour drying time between each coat. The photo above shows one coat of paint (notice the scuff marks and tears have already disappeared!) 

The final result! They are not perfect when you look up close, but they look pretty fab on my feet!

My 8 month old Peed in the Potty

You read that correctly. My 8 month old peed in the potty! I was recently introduced to the book "The Diaper Free Baby" by Christine Gross-Loh. The book explores Elimination Communication.

My husband who is skeptical of the whole process said "I think you just happened to be in the right place at the right time" and I told him that is the whole point.

The author breaks the book down into a few categories Full Time, Part Time and Occasional EC. Which means you can utilize this method in the time you have available. As a full time working mom I fall under the occasional category. A friend of mine who introduced me to the book (and also has an 8 month old) and is doing this full time has not had to change a poopy diaper in over a week.

What I have learned from the book is:

Get to know your baby and recognize when they need to go to the bathroom. (The book recommends leaving your baby's diaper off or putting them in a cloth diaper so you and your baby know when they are wet) This method doesn't really work for me so I just keep an eye on his diaper to determine what patterns he has. I have realized my son tends to pee after he drinks a bottle. So at that time I give him a pottytunity (as the book calls it)

If you know your baby is going to the bathroom (be it in a diaper, the toilet or on your floor) give them verbal cues. I give my son a psssss sound to associate with peeing. The hope is that eventually if I put him on the toilet and make the sound it will cue him to pee.

A rule I have set for myself is that if he seems frustrated or doesn't want to be on the potty, pick him up and try again at another time. Luckily so far he seems to enjoy sitting on the potty.

Click on the book below for more information:

Lashes by Latisse

Want eye lashes like Kim Kardashian? You can put on fake lashes...or try Latisse!

I have spent years and lots of money trying to find the perfect mascara, but whenever I wanted my lashes to really stand out I always added on fake lashes. When the advertisements for Latisse started a few years ago I was skeptical, but heard from a few people that it worked. So I finally took the plunge and purchased two boxes (about an 8 week supply) and guess what... it works!!! The photo below are my lashes before and then my lashes after 6 weeks using Latisse. I am now just using it a few times a week for maintenance.