READ ABOUT MY FIRST TIME...

Making dinner for anyone. And not just anyone--Laughs-a-lot and Bubbles.
Seriously, I am 36 years old and have never made a complete, homemade dinner for anyone.
But, I was dog sitting for my aunt and uncle and had a great opportunity. Uncle is a butcher, so there was a freezer full of meat and a killer grill on my hands.

The meal went very well. I grilled some chicken breasts, and they were quite tasty. I also threw some corn on the grill, and nuked some bake potatoes (a little soggy, but the only miss of the meal--and not a glaring miss), broccoli-because that is Bubbles' favorite food, believe it or not, and a beautiful salad. My mom had sent me over brownies, and my aunt had left me cheesecake and strawberries in the fridge, so dessert was a snap.

One of the reasons I invited Laughs-a-lot and Bubbles over is to meet the dogs. I was watching a Rottweiler named Kobe, and a Bulldog named Bear. Both a strong, un-neutered males. Charming, I can assure you.

It used to be that when I watched the dogs, they were very, ummmm, affectionate with my legs, arms, whatever they could come in contact with. With the use of some dominance exercises and shock collars set to Beep, they were broken of that.

I assumed that it would be as easy to keep them off of my guests. You know what happens when you assume. Your guests get mounted by big dogs.

Bubbles is blissfully naive. She kept saying of Bear, "He sure likes me! He keeps hugging my leg!" Laughs-a-lot and I had a hard time not laughing. She has told everyone about this affectionate dog.

Why Laughs-a-lot is laughing, I don't know. Except that he laughs about everything, which is how he earned his name. Kobe had a fondness of him. He was easier to keep away, but it was even funnier.

While grilling the food on the deck, I kept the sliding doors open to make it easier to get in and out of the house while cooking. Once everything was prepared and we were ready to go inside to eat (it was unseasonably cold, so we could use the gorgeous patio) I closed the door. I want to keep out the cold air, pollen and bugs.
Bubbles, who had been following me back and forth as I cooked, decided while Laughs-a-lot and I were cleaning up dishes, to go out and see the dogs. We heard a loud thud, and Bubbles groan, "Owwww! That hurt!" I ran into the den to see her dancing around holding her forehead. Once I knew she wasn't seriously hurt, it took all I had not to let out a big ole belly laugh right in front of her. She went out and Laughs-a-lot and I cracked up.

Bear kept us entertained just by being a Bulldog with that cute, funny face and the antics of trying to run off with Bubbles' sweatshirt, constantly tripping over it as he took off. Watching that stout body trying to jump on the sofas and on top of us was like watching a cartoon come to life.

We concluded the evening with a couple of Bubbles' favorite tween movies--The Princess Diaries II and Are We There Yet? Bubbles wanted to spend the night, but the next day was Mother's Day, so it just wasn't feasible. But she hung out with me most of the night, and is always cooking some reason for me to hang out with her dad and herself. What a relief--and great feeling. Great kid, too, even if she is a little naive and klutzy.