Pie Pops!

Tiny pies on lollipop sticks!? Crazy or genius? Inspired by Luxirare - Head over to Bakerella for step-by-step instructions. Cherry, apple, pumpkin or blueberry... Decisions ~ Decisions!

Martha Stewarts adorable halloween costumes


Frog and Princess


Flapper


Pillowcase Pumpkin



3 Peas in a Pod

DIY Kid

Awesome play kitchen for under $10 over at childhood 101

DIY Kid part one
DIY Kids Kitchen for under $10 - Part 2 part 2

Walk to Fight Against Lyme Disease

EVENT DETAILS:

Saturday, November 7th, 2009

Shoreline Park, Mountain View, California

Distance - 2k/4k

Registration begins at 10am, walk begins at 11am

Family Fun Event - kids and strollers welcome! (sorry, no pets allowed at Shoreline)

See www.mylymemission.com for more information

Hope to see you there!!


 

Dear Family and Friends,

On Saturday, November 7 my family, friends and I will be joining Turn the Corner Foundation to Create Footprints™ in the fight Against Lyme Disease at Shoreline Park in Mountain View, CA.   This walkathon will raise much-needed funds for the support of research, education, awareness and innovative treatments for Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases.

As you may know, I have a very personal connection with this cause.   I have been ill with lyme disease for over twenty years, but was not correctly diagnosed until two years ago.  The years that were wasted while I desperately searched for the cause of my health problems, going undiagnosed and misdiagnosed for so long, turned what should have been a relatively straightforward disease to treat into a late-stage, chronic illness, which is proving to be incredibly difficult to get under control, and has affected my life and the life of my family immeasurably.  It has been a very difficult road for me, but finally having answers for my health problems, and a path to treatment has been both a huge relief, and the start of a new journey for me, still very difficult, but one that gives me hope of eventually regaining my health.  I want to do whatever I can to make sure that no-one else has to suffer for years without diagnosis and treatment, and to help get the word out about this misunderstood disease. 

Lyme disease is a debilitating illness, and can affect so many different body systems, causing neurologic issues, cardiac problems, joint pain and muscle weakness, cognitive difficulty, vision problems, and many other symptoms.  Because it affects people so differently, it can be very hard to diagnose, which is compounded by the fact that the current tests available miss nearly half of all lyme cases.   Lyme is commonly misdiagnosed as other illnesses, including MS, fibromyalgia, CFS, ALS, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis and a host of others, and is a growing problem across the US and here in California.  Funds for innovative research to develop accurate testing, and more effective treatments, as well as physician training, and raising public awareness are desperately needed.

We have organized this walkathon in order to help fund much needed research programs in the fight against Lyme disease through Turn The Corner Foundation – please check out their website at http://www.turnthecorner.org to learn more about the grants and initiatives that they are funding.  It is our hope that participating in this walkathon will help put an end to the pain and suffering that this disease inflicts upon millions of people.

To accomplish my goal of raising as much money as possible for this very worthy cause, I am asking each of you to join our team, start a team of your own, or donate to the cause.

You can help!

1.  Make a generous contribution in support of Turn The Corner Foundation – you can easily donate online at http://www.firstgiving.com/kcs or alternately you can send a check made out to Turn The Corner Foundation to me at P.O. Box 421, Los Gatos, CA 95031-0421. Any amount is welcome and very much appreciated.  Turn The Corner Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit public charity, so your donation is tax deductible.  Many employers have matching programs where you can double your donation, so it is worth checking to see if your employer offers that.

 
 

2.  Come walk and be an active participant of our team – Team Squishy!   You can register online at  http://www.firstgiving.com/createfootprintsttc and you will be given the option to set up a fundraising page to collect money from folks you know, and then join us for a fun day at the walkathon.  Or start your own team and recruit your family, friends and coworkers to walk with you. 

3.  You can join our cheering section by attending the walkathon, but not actually walking.

4.  Lastly, please forward this e-mail on to your friends, family, and co-workers, and encourage them to participate as well.

I greatly appreciate your consideration and support of this worthy cause, I am looking forward to having as many people as possible join us for this fun family event.  Even if you can't join us at the walkathon, we appreciate any and all donations made to our team as part of our overall fundraising.  If you have any questions about the walkathon, please feel free to e-mail me at k@squishymatter.com, and there are more specifics about the walkathon available at http://www.mylymemission.com.    Thank you so much for your generous support of Team Squishy and Turn The Corner Foundation.

Very truly yours,

Karen Carlo Salinger

 
 

Fire Flowers

Take some chiffon... add a little fire.... and what do you have???
The prettiest little delicate flowers! Head over to MarmaladeKiss for all the details. You may just be seeing these little beauties in my Etsy store very soon!

Mmm...

If you have never been to Bakerella's blog - be warned! All of her goodies are works of art and delicious. Once you try her cupcake pops - you will be hooked!

Lemonade Goodies Printables

Dandy Bread & Candy has these free lemony goodness printables for gift tags, large tags for invitations, decorative spots, cupcake picks and anything else your sour puss can come up with. For personal use only. Click on the two links below to download the templates.

Snazzy Little Girls Apron Tutorial

Skip To My Lou has a great tutorial for a child's apron. Get it here

If you have a dog ... PLEASE read this and send it on. If you don't have a dog, please pass along to friends who do.

Written by:
Laurinda Morris, DVM
Danville Veterinary Clinic
Danville , OH

This week I had the first case in history of raisin toxicity ever seen at MedVet. My patient was a 56-pound, 5 yr old male neutered lab mix that ate half a canister of raisins sometime
between 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM on Tuesday. He started with vomiting, diarrhea and shaking about 1 AM on Wednesday but the owner didn't call my emergency service until 7 AM.
I had heard somewhere about raisins AND grapes causing acute Renal failure but hadn't seen any formal paper on the subject. We

had her bring the dog in immediately. In the meantime, I called the ER service at MedVet, and the doctor there was like me - had heard something about it, but... Anyway, we contacted the ASPCA National Animal Poison Control Center and they said to give IV fluids at 1 & 1/2 times maintenance and watch the kidney values for the next 48-72 hours.

The dog's BUN (blood urea nitrogen level) was already at 32 (normal less than 27) and creatinine over 5 (1.9 is the high end of normal). Both are monitors of kidney function in the bloodstream. We placed an IV catheter and started the fluids. Rechecked the renal values at 5 PM and the BUN was over 40 and creatinine over 7 with no urine production after a liter of
fluids. At that point I felt the dog was in acute renal failure and sent him on to MedVet for a urinary catheter to monitor urine output overnight as well as overnight care.
He started vomiting again overnight at MedVet and his renal values continued to increase daily. He produced urine when given lasix as a diuretic. He was on 3 different anti-vomiting
medications and they still couldn't control his vomiting. Today is urine output decreased again, his BUN was over 120, his creatinine was
at 10, his phosphorus was very elevated and his blood pressure, which had been staying around 150, skyrocketed to 220 ... He continued to vomit and the owners elected to Euthanize.

This is a very sad case - great dog, great owners who had no idea raisins could be a toxin. Please alert everyone you know who has a dog of this very serious risk.
Poison control said as few as 7 raisins or grapes could
be toxic. Many people I know give their dogs grapes or raisins as treats including our ex-handler's. Any exposure should give rise to immediate concern.

Onions, chocolate, cocoa, avocados and macadamia nuts can be fatal, too

Even if you don't have a dog, you might have friends who do. This is worth passing on to them. Confirmation from Snopes about the above ....


http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/raisins.asp

Shepherdess bride

Shepherdess bride marries in stunning dress made of wool from her own flock!



I so love how she incorporated her 2nd love of her prized sheep into her wedding! The dress, which cost £1,500, took a spinner and dressmaker 67 hours to make. But it was worth it, as her husband said he was 'blown away' when she walked down the aisle.

Love & Ice Cream

Free Love and Ice-cream Gift Tag Set

Get these scrumptious ice cream inspired gift tags from Eat Drink Chic


An Apple A Day...

Get this uber cute set of apple printable note flats free over at Creature Comforts. Print up a set and add some coordinating envelopes for a thoughtful back-to-school gift for your favorite teacher.

Grocery Shopping Is A Pain In The...


I really, really dislike (ok despise!) going grocery shopping. Making a reservation is so much easier. Somehow these hilarious yet savvy little lists actually encourage me to create a food list (I didn't say I actually go shopping). Print up a dozen or two and pair them up with a grocery store gift card for a fun gift. Available at Vale Design