9 Reasons Your Dog Should Be On A Leash

I have had dogs almost my entire life. From the time I was born til now. I currently have two dogs. I enjoy walking with my dogs as much as any dog owner. Even I am aware they have limits when walking off a leash.

Sure it is nice to watch them walk beside me with no leash. I make sure when that does happens. I am in a pet friendly area to make it happen. Like my fenced in back yard, or the dog run located by the town reservoir. As I believe it is my responsibility to keep them safe.

You Should Keep Your Dog On A Leash For 9 Reasons

1. Your dog can run off after hearing a loud noise. Such as a car backfiring. Thus scaring your dog enough for them to run and get lost.

2. To prevent your dog from jumping up and knocking down the disabled, elderly or small child. You never know how bad someone can get hurt when they get knocked down by a dog of any size.

3.  A big dog running up to someone they don’t know can scare someone because of their size. Some people have  a fear of big and large size dogs. No reasons why both of you can’t enjoy the same sidewalk together.

4. Your dog could do something natural – Chase wildlife. Your dog needs to be taught when he or she is out with a walk with you. They need to focus on the walk. Not chasing wildlife.

5. Some dogs hates cats so much. They will chase and kill them. When the cat gets away. Or runs up a tree. The dog is disoriented and has no clue where the dog is at. Causing him to get lost.

6. Running off leash can cause your dog to run out into the road and get hit by a car. With a leash, you stop your dog before darting out in to the road.

7. A dog running up to other dogs on a leash and get in to their faces, can and has caused fights in aggressive dogs. Never allow your dog to run up to another without knowing they are aggressive or not. Having them on a leash you can test their reaction, and body movement out before allowing them to meet. If an aggressive sign pops up. You can easily steer your dog away with the leash. Avoiding a bad situation.

8. Depending where you live. Your dog can be shot for being off leash by police officers. It recently happened in Colorado. Check your local laws to see if a dog is required to be on leash. Otherwise you can get a ticket. Or worse your dog can be killed.

9. Off leash your dog can get in to some dangerous stuff, eat it and can get very sick. Getting you a vet bill. Or worse. You burying your pet.

Can you think of others reasons a dog should be on a leash?

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Photos from Pixabay, a free use photo sharing website

Saving Money Buying Clothes

I love saving money when buying clothes. How about you? Yesterday, My teenage daughter and I went shopping for some clothes. We are both needing shorts.

 My daughter for being a  growing teenager. Myself, for some reason a bunch of my shorts have come up missing. I am not sure if it is past room mates. Or accidentally placing them in the donating pile of clothes.

I started my look for discounted clothing at the local thrift stores. I was able to find a couple pair of shorts for my daughter and myself at Good Will.

During my search for discounted clothing, I was able to find two shirts for myself and four for my daughter. 

My daughter found a purse she liked for $5.00. I bought it. It looks brand new. No rips or tares. 

While daughter found a purse for herself. She also found a leather one she knew I would love. She was right. I bought it for $5.00. It is an extra large size. Which will be good to store extra things in for a trip.

Update : Sad to say the inside liner by a pocket ripped out during vacation. I am glad I did not spend no more than $5.00 for this purse. I will still use this purse. Only as an extra carry on bag for a few pieces of clothes,

My daughter wants to give this cup to her grandfather for his upcoming birthday. I bought it for her.

I ended up spending around $40.00 for :

6 shirts

5 pairs of shorts

2 purses

1 grandfather's mug

I would not be able to find that price in any store.

Places I go to save money while buying clothes :

1. Thrifts stores

2. Garage and yard sales
3. Sales
4. Coupons
5. Bargin sales
6. Clothes being sold in Facebook groups
7. Clothes being sold on Craigslist.
8. Given away for free after a garage sale
9. Free clothes from family
10. Trading in a clothes swap
11. Clothes posted in the freebie section of the newspaper

12. Buy clothes out of season - They are marked down at great discount

13. Bogo sales

How do you save money by buying clothes? What was the last thing you saved money on?

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All photos were taken by and © belong to Sandy KS aka rusty2rusty.

Turkey Dinner With A Plan

Created using BeFunky.com
Photo editor and College maker.

One thing I like to do when I make dinner for my family is have a plan. I like to plan everything from from creating or finding a recipe, preparing it, all the way down to the small details of serving it. Many of my foods I make with be used for more than one meal. 

Frozen turkey already precooked

Such as last night's dinner. I received a frozen turkey breast and a box of potatoes from one of my local food banks. The turkey has 8 to 10 servings. Which will be 2 to 3 meals in my family. It is precooked.

Case of microwaveable potatoes

I also received a case of individually wrapped 

microwaveable potatoes. Each one takes 5 to 7 minutes to cook in the microwave. I can cook more than one at a time in the microwave with an increase of cooking time. These will save me a bunch of time cooking this summer. This box will last me a couple of months if I store them in a cool dry place.

Precooked turkey in crock pot. 

Last night I placed the turkey in the crock pot. It has already been precooked. Within a few hours it was ready to serve. The turkey came already glazed. I did not have to add anything to do. It reminds me of those precooked spiral hams you find around the holidays.

The turkey was already thinly cut in to portions. I arranged them on a paper plate to show the cut size. The edges are dark in color from the glaze placed on the turkey. 

I heated one potato per family member in the microwave. It was three people. As my teen son stayed with his older brother. I placed on a plate with a couple slices of turkey. I also placed a portion of canned carrots on the plate. With a portion of boxed turkey stuffing.

The turkey and potato were free. I paid 63 cents for the can of carrots. I paid $1.00 for the box of turkey stuffing.

I had left over turkey and potatoes. This meal for three people cost equals out to be around 55 cents per person. Not bad for a family living on budget that makes meal with a plan.

The left over turkey will be used to make sandwiches to take on vacation tomorrow. Part of turkey will be diced up and used in a salad for dinner tonight. 

I love it when a plan comes together that saves me money. 

Do you like to save when creating meals? Do you have any tips to save when creating meals?

Cat Food Recalled By Radagast

This product has been sold in Canada and the United States. It is important for consumers to stop feeding and throw away the following cat food to their cats :

Frozen Rad cat raw diet products in  1, 8, 16, and 24 ounces. Lots codes with the following numbers : 

62384, 62416, 62372, and 62361. Lot codes can be found under the sell by date. The grass fed flavored chicken, beef, and chicken are affected. 

The company is doing a voluntary recall due to possible contamination of Listeria monocytogenes and salmonella.

For refund claims. Go to www.RadFood.com or call Radagast Pet Food Inc at (503) 736 - 4649 for further assistance.

Please share this recall with as many pet consumers and animal lovers you know.

Let's Talk Google+

Occasionally, I am writing about different social media websites. I use to promote my blog posts. Plus, the posts of fellow writers / bloggers. If you are a writer of any sort of site, social media is the best way to get your websites noticed. Sign up and start promoting / sharing your writing and website links.

Google+ History

Google+ was founded in 2011. It is owned and operated by the Google Inc. It is another social media website. Where people connect, share and comment. You must be registered to share or comment.

Google+ uses "circles", where you can organize your friends. By adding them to different lists. That way when you share something, you can direct it to a certain group of people on a list. Are you a member of Google+?

It reminds me of the way Facebook allows you to place people in different list.

Follow me, I follow you

As with other media websites. I tend to follow all those who follow me. Except for those who share things of : Abuse, nudity or spam. As I like reading on a bunch of different niches and writing styles.

Share Your Photos on Google+

Sunflower taken from last years garden.
Sandy KS aka ©rusty2rusty

I tend to share my blog posts. I help to promote my friends writings and blog posts. I share photography and much more. The above photo, I use on my profile on Google+, as a cover photo. What do you think of it? I am always looking for photography tips and pointers. I took the photograph out in my back yard last past summer. I share photography on a variety of subjects. From  Animals in the area I live, my dogs & cat, freebies I send out for, sunflowers, clouds, and rain storms and photographs related to my niche subjects..

Google+ is a great way to promote your writings and blog posts with other like minded people. It doesn't matter what writing site or blog you write for. I would love to connect with others who use Google+ too.

I would love for you to connect with me on Google+. If you are not a member already. You need to register. You can connect by clicking my profile link :  

https://plus.google.com/+SandySegurrusty2rusty/posts

I would love to see your blog posts over on Google+. As I find many blog posts I don't find on other social media websites. I leave comments on this way and share them.

If you are looking to gain more connections in Google+, please leave your Google+ profile link in the comments below. This is not a follow for follow blog post. People can leave their link if they are looking for new connections. Those looking for new connections can check out link to see if they wish to connect or not.

Are you a member of Google+? If so, what do you like about Google+ the most? What do you like about it the least?

Hostess Brownies MilkyWay Review

The other day I was shopping at Dollar General. When my teen age daughter talked me in to picking up a box of Hostess Brownies MilkWay's. While we was in the check out line. 

It was impulse buy that I don't normally do. I have got away from buying snacks at the stores. Instead I started making my own. Since the heating element has went out in my stove. The only way to make a brownie or cake is in my baby cakes maker. I didn't ant to that. So, I picked up a box for my family to try out.

As you can tell from the picture, the actual product does not look like it appears to be on the box. It never does. It always looks better on the box.

Taking a bite out of the Hostess Brownies MilkWay, I tasted chocolate. It tasted like a chocolate brownie. It did have small chunks of MilkyWay on top. I was able to taste. Maybe if their was more toppings added It would of tasted like a MilkyWay and a Brownie mixed together.

If you want a sweet treat to satisfy your sweet tooth. This product will do the job. I took two bites and passed it on to my teenage son to finish. He loved them and wants to me to the Hostess M&M Brownies to try next.

I don't know if I am going to do that or not. I have to think about it.

If I hate to rate this from 1 to 5. 5 begin the highest rated. I would rate this a 4. I think hostess did a great job in coming up with a sweet treat to satisfy our taste buds for something sweet. However, I think they slightly missed the mark when you could not taste a MilkyWay and a brownie in every bite.  

Teriyaki Chicken Over Fried Rice

Last weekend my boyfriend two my two teenagers to a lake. It is a lake we go to each year with some friends to celebrate father's day. The lake has zip lines, several different kinds of slides and other things to do. I decided not to go for several reasons. 

1. Temperatures were in the 90's - I can't handle hot temperatures. As my body will swell and I have a hard time breathing.

2. Mother nature decided to give me some really bad cramps. Sometimes being a woman really sucks.
3. My GERD was really being a beast. As I was up all night long and morning puking my guts out. I was not in any condition to visit with friends and go swimming.

I was lucky though. My oldest boy, his baby momma and my grandson stopped over to see how I was doing. He made me a homemade teriyaki chicken over rice. 

You can see he made this from scratch. He used frozen peas, corn and carrots, brown rice, chicken pieces and created a yummy stir fry with a teriyaki with pineapple marinade.

I love that my son has a knack for cooking as much as I do. Cooking is something I have taught each of my children to have a skill in.

When the last time someone made you dinner?

Cool Off With Smoothies

I finally broke down and bought another blender. This time I went to Wal-mart and picked up the cheapest one I could find made of plastic. Since my daughter broke three in the past year. 

Yes, I Said Three 

The first one was a Elite Cuisine 17-Piece personal Drink Blender with four traveling cups from Wal-mart. The second was similar from Aldi's. The third was a very old heavy glass blender I recived from my mother. 

Hands Off

This newest blender, I told my daughter hands off. She is not allowed to touch it. As she breaks them. If she wants something made. I will make it for her. She may be turning sixteen in August. However, she has a lot to learn about respecting other people's property. I have repeatily taught my teens to return any item borrowed in the same or better condition.

As I am tired of replacing my appliances because my children seem to break them by trying to push them past their limits. Or for some unknown reason placing them on top of the stove. Which my daughter climbs on top of to get in the cupboards above. While forgetting she placed the blender there. Accidentally knocks it to the floor where glass flies everywhere.

Does It Measure Up?

After using several blenders, I compared my newest one to the others. Does it measure up? yes and no.

It blends beautifully. It turns the frozen fruit in to smoothies. As for ice, not so much. I always find huge chunks of ice when making smoothies with fresh fruit. I notice this blender does better with frozen fruit. Where no ice is needed.

What Kind Of Food Does It Blend?

I have blended an assortment of fruit of with no issues. One day my oldest son was over with his baby's momma and my grandson. It was hot. We didn't feel like eating. So, I suggested smoothies for everyone. As I recently picked up a selection of frozen fruit from 

Wal-mart. I picked frozen mango, strawberry, mixed berry, strawberry / banana, and several other combinations.

I told my oldest son (the one into eating healthy and weight lifting) that I liked making smoothies when I don't feel like eating much during the day but, need something due to my sugars levels being up or down. As fruit and how you prepare it can be very healthy for you. I have been trying to find more healthier drinks and meals due to having type 2 diabetis. 

I recived a book on making different types of smoothies. Called "Green Smoothies" I wrote a review about it. You read about it here : 

http://rusty2rustyschatter.blogspot.com/2016/01/green-smoothies-book-review.html 

I have been trying the different recipes out.

Do you like smoothies? 

What is your favorite smoothie?

Smoothie Recipe
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Making smoothies is easy. You need a blender, frozen fruit, and milk. Honey or sugar is optional.

You place 1 cup of milk in blender. Add 2 cups of your frozen fruit. Blend. Taste. If it is to tart or sour, add 1 teaspoon of honey. Or a half cup of sugar. Blend. Taste.

Either drink or add more honey or sugar for more sweetness.

If the mixture is to thick, add more milk.

I tend to use Stevia. If I run out of honey.  I also like to add Chia seeds for the health benefits. Sprinkled on top, they make any smoothie look delicious.

Promote Your Blogs On Twitter

Twitter is an excellent way to promote your blogs. Many of my friends promote their blog links on Twitter. As well as share other people's blog links.

Twitter History 

Twitter was founded in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, Noah Glass, and Evan Williams. Twitter employs over 3,000 people. Twitter is a social media website where you can share a short message called tweets, up to 140 characters.

Grow A Twitter Following
I have 1208 followers on Twitter and growing by the day.  When I first signed up for Twitter. I was intimated on sharing links. I was afraid I would share to many and be considered spam. I was wrong in thinking that way. To grow Twitter followers you need to be active on your account. I wasn't active. I notice a few of my friends who were active. So, I asked them a few questions on how I can gain followers on Twitter. Plus the in's and out's.

Follow Me On Twitter

If you are not already following me on Twitter. I invite you to do so : https://twitter.com/rusty2rusty
Once you get to Twitter. Sign in or register for an account, if you do not already have one. To follow someone, go to their profile. You should see a button in the upper right hand corner that says 'follow'. Click on 'follow'. It is as simple as that.

Follow Those Who Follow You
I like to follow all those who follow me. Unless they share things I am against or not interested. Such as : Abuse, nudity, sex, or spam. I normally follow back with in a week's time.

You can find other members of Twitter who follow the same blog niches as you. There are several ways to do this :

1. On the left side of your profile. It will say who to follow. It will list some names. If interested click follow.

2. Below that it says find friends. You can do that by looking through your contacts in Gmail and Outlook. 

3. In the search bar, add your friends name or what you enjoy learning and reading about. 

Follow The Ones You Want

You do not have to follow all the niches or names that come up. Only follow the ones you think you will interested in or want to learn more about. 

My Favorite Niches To Follow

My favorites niches to follow and promote are : food related, animals & pets, home & garden, family, blog posts, and much much more.

Twitter Link Up

I encourage you to follow me on Twitter : https://twitter.com/rusty2rusty

If you want more Twitter followers, I suggest you leaving your Twitter link in the comments below. Follow all those interest you. If other bloggers are interested in gaining more followers. They will follow you back.

Do you have a Twitter account? Do you want more Twitter followers?

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Photos from Pixabay.com a  free use photo website.

Working In The Garden

A year ago I was having a dilemma of  what to do with the area under the tree. I wanted to take the area underneath my tree. Right here and move it. As nothing can grow very well. Except weeds. As the tree shades the area to much. I wanted to remove the wood border and move it to the other side of the yard by the fence. I know the extra dirt over time will slide down to the back of the yard. As the backyard towards the back of the fence fills with water every time it rains. Til we can get the time to move the dirt down. By shovel to that area. 

The area has been tilled up. As most of it is clay. Few things will grow in a shade under a tree. Sunflowers do great!!

 I have started to use pallets to build a garden. I still need to place some cardboard under the bottom pallets. Well, I ordered two book cases from Wal-mart. They came in. As soon as they can be put together. I will use the cardboard under the bottom pallets. I will fill them in will mulch and dead leaves this fall. Next spring I will fill the top pallets with dirt in order to have a garden. I had plans this year but things happened that placed it on the back burner.

This will free up more of the yard for the dogs to run around, the grandson to play, and my teens as they like to throw footballs back and fourth. 

The cost will be buying dirt to fill the pallets. I think it would worth it in the end. 

The tomatoes I planted in the front flower beds in the small pallets are growing well. I can't wait til they start producing. This tells me when I finally get the one set up in the backyard. I will be able to produce a lot of different vegetables. Maybe strawberries or grape to.

I have been checking out different article and blogs for designs and ideas when it comes to planting in pallets.

There are so many ideas for the use of pallets. From making gardens to making chairs and tables. Pinterest has a ton of ideas. have you ever recycled pallets for another use? If so, what did you do?

Add An Email Subscribe To Your Blog

I like to read blogs. In order for me to keep up with my favorite blogs. I follow those I can by email. I may not comment on every one I receive. However, I do read and view each and every one. As I only subscribe to the ones I am interested in. Over time, some bloggers stop adding to their blogs. Or start another one and do not post on a daily basis. This helps my email not get blown up with thousands of emails.

Adding a way for visitors to follow your blog by emails is a great way to increase your blog followers. Those that enjoy what they see will help promote your blog by sharing it through various social media sites.

I have added a way for readers to follow through email subscription on Blogger. You can sign through the Hello bar for email subscription. Or use the widget on the side bar. You can set up a hello bar for email subscribers by going to the Hello Bar website. You get notified through a news letter of new content.

If you want to add one using Blogger. You can do so by adding a widget to your side bar. You do that by going to layout. Click on add gadget. A box will pop up with different gadgets. Look through them til you find that says 'follow by email'. Click on the blue + sign.  Another box will pop up. All you need to do is click save. Than select save arrangement in orange near the top. Than click view blog. You should see where a 'follow by email' gadget has been added. Anyone can subscribe to your blog and receive a new email each time you create a new blog post.

Have you added a way for readers to subscribe to your blog yet?

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 Photos from Pixabay a free use photo website.

Lucky Dog Grain Free Roast Duck Treats

I was lucky enough to be selected to review a treat for my dogs that is grain free roast duck recipe with carrots and oranges. Made by Lucky Dog. It came in 12 ounces.


On the back of the box it claims the recipes only contain quality ingredients. Such as flax seed to promote healthy skin etc. With the six other flavors listed below. Which is great except this particular recipe does not have flax seed in the ingredients. It would led the consumer to believe this products has it in it. Unless they actually check the ingredients. I suggest always double checking to see what the ingredients is in any of your pets treats or dog food for this reason.

Ingredients include: Potato, pea, and tapioca flour, canola oil, duck, carrots, peas and oranges. Calories per treat is sixteen.

The shape of the treat is like a four leaf clover or flour. It is a hard biscuit. It is small in size. As I placed one next to my 5.6 lb Chihuahua wired haired mix to show it's approximate size. He sat very sit as I took the picture. As he has been trained to do a few commands to receive a treat.


While Rascal was waiting for his treat. Kit Kat the feline came racing up and grabbed his snack. Ran for cover. I do not endorse giving these treats for cats. As they were made for dogs. However, Kit Kat sure liked them. She came begging for a second. Which I did not give.

However, I did give Rascal another. After I placed Kit Kat in her room. I also gave one to my Chug named Moose. Both dogs and Kit Kat loved the treats. They have had duck many times before. It is one of their favorite treats. I think I have found another one of their favorites with this particular flavor.

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I received this product for free, a deep discount or I paid shipping and handling. In exchange for an honest review. based on my families and my personal experiences.
Photos © belong to me Sandy KS aka rusty2rusty.