I don’t know about you, but daylight saving time hit me hard this year. Can someone remind me why we can’t just pick a time and stick with it all year ’round? I’m trying to wrap my head around it but since I gave up caffeine for Lent I’ve really been struggling these past few days and thinking about anything has been a struggle. Tiredness aside, it’s been a while since we’ve chatted and I wanted to stop in with another Crumbs post.
Besides, I have big news I’ve been wanting to share…
Meet Breha (pronounced “BRAY-uh”, and yes, that’s a sprinkle bandana she’s wearing).
After losing Leia last summer, our home was sorely missing a German Shepherd. I will always miss my Leia girl, but Zach and I decided that we were ready to welcome a new shepherd into the family and last weekend we brought home this fluffy, cuddly, flop-eared (for now!) ball of fur. She is now 9 weeks old, super smart (hardly any accidents in the house, already learning tricks, sleeping through the night) and sweet and she is the perfect fit for our family. She follows me around like a shadow and Zach and I are smitten.
I thought I’d summarize how each of the household members are doing with the new addition in a series of pictures…
Penny is doing great. She has been very good and very patient with her.
I think you can tell from Luke’s expression that he approves! A bite-y (she’s learning!), jumpy puppy is a bit much for a toddler, but we supervise closely and Luke likes giving her treats and petting her. When he can do so and avoid her teeth, that is.
I asked him yesterday if he liked the puppy and if he wanted to keep her and got an enthusiastic head nod, so I think that’s a good sign!
Saucy is intrigued, but extremely unimpressed. This “feral” cat always surprises me with her patience, Breha is much too excited about her right now, but as she grows older I think they’ll get along just fine.
There’s no picture of Breha with Colt because he is not very happy that we brought home a puppy. After having successfully fostered over 15 dogs/puppies with him previously (and having two of my sisters’ dogs stay with us last year), I’ve been surprised by how unhappy he’s been to have her here, he just does not like her being close to him at all. With careful supervision and slow introduction, we’re working on it and things are moving in the right direction.
Our household is a little extra crazy right now, but it’s worth it.
New E-book!
In other news, I just put out a new e-book! This one all about spring and Easter recipes.
As with my Christmas ebook, these are (almost) all recipes that are already on the blog, it’s just a collection of my springtime favorites that have been formatted to be easily printable, all in one place, and ad-free.
You can get your copy here.
You will also get an advanced look at the recipe below that I won’t be publishing until later this month…
Food bloggers like myself have been getting a LOT of backlash recently for sharing their “life stories” and for having ads in their blog posts. While I try to “stick to the recipe” and always write my posts trying to be as helpful as possible (my number one goal, I have it written on a sticky on my computer!), this is my personal blog and so bits of my life do spill over sometimes, though I try to hold them for posts like these.
As for ads, well the fact is that without ads I would not be able to even run this website and provide the free recipes that I do. I’m hoping that providing ad-free, life story-free ebooks for a small cost, maybe that will provide a happy medium for people who get upset about having to scroll or hit the “jump to recipe” button at the top of these free recipes (which is obviously not you here reading this, or you wouldn’t be here, reading this 😉. I appreciate you!💜).
I also know some people just enjoy having the ebooks, which I totally get and am happy to provide them for you, too and appreciate everyone who buys one!
So that’s what’s been new around here recently! Let me know in the comments if you enjoy these posts because that makes all the difference on whether I will continue to share them or not.
Thanks for stopping in and chatting with me, and 10 brownie points to anyone who can guess how I picked Breha’s name 😉
If you want more puppy pics, make sure you’re following me on Instagram and check out my stories, there will be plenty (too many? Is that possible?) coming!
-Sam
Debbie N.
Oh My…I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOUR SAUCY KITTY GIRL
..WHAT AN AMAZING FACE!
Judy
You keep doing what you are doing! I love hearing about the real life of bloggers. It’s amazing that you even have time to do recipes and blogging. And free recipes that really work are a bonus.
Grammy Lea
I read every word about your new addition to the family and loved the pics! It’s your blog and I hereby encourage you to write it any way you want! Love your recipes and you too!
JosieR
Hi, Sam–I love the personal touch, with the story and the pictures of your family. I always check your site first for recipes, along with Joy of Baking–I think I like both sites so much because the family pets are featured! I love a dog in the kitchen! I really enjoyed when you tossed the two extra lasagna noodles to your puppies. My dog, Greystone, sits patiently whenever he knows I’m cooking/baking, just so that he can get a taste. Luke is a beautiful little boy and is growing up quickly! Keep the recipes coming. Take very good care of yourself and your family and your fur babies. Your time and talent that you share with all of us is greatly appreciated!
Angela Williams
Hi Sam!
I absolutely adored your story of bringing the new family addition, Breha! She is sweet in those pics as well as your son and Saucy! Thank you for the all your recipes and blogs!!
L. Coover
I have loved all your recipes I’ve tried so far and loved every single one! Yes, the ads can be annoying but I completely understand why they are there and would much rather deal with that than purchase recipes. Don’t listen to the negative comments, that seems to be all this world is turning into 🙁
Pat Johnston -. Lincoln, RI
Sam, pics are great. Love pets, have 6 of my own. A Lasha, 2 westies (brothers) and now a new Shitzu (named Mickey). I’m such a mush, when Mickey came to us, the breeder was retiring his mom after 9 years. You guessed it, Morgan is now part of our family as well. Also just love your emails. New to this so this Instagram thing is still a mystery.
Elizabeth
Hi Sam,
I just wanted to let you know I love all your recipes. I don’t trust any other site for recipes anymore. Only yours turn out amazing every time!
I also wanted to say that I enjoy the personalization you have on this blog. You’re super sweet and that is part of why I enjoy your blog so much. It’s great to get a peek into your life.
So, don’t listen to people complaining about you putting your story into recipes or posts. There are lots of us who enjoy it!
And, your puppy and Luke are super cute.
Maxine
I love reading Crumbs and hearing about you and the family, which makes your recipes feel so much more personal. I have yet to make one of your recipes that was not a success, so I appreciate all you do. Thank you!! PS Luke is adorable!!!!
Cristina
Loved your story on your mew German Shepard. It humanizes your post and enjoy reading happy news. Please continue to post them.
Thank you
Cristina
Judith Jones
I love the picture of your son with the puppy – “waiting at the table for a cookie” one can assume! I love your stories and the ads on your blog are not too much. I hate sites with too many ads but do understand the need for a few. Keep up the good work!
Michelle
Congrats!! So cute! Don’t worry, Saucy will knock Breha upside the head once or twice to teach who is boss and they will be buddies! That’s how every cat I’ve had handled the new puppy on the block! Have fun!!
Kayla
She’s precious!!! I have two shepherds and love them so much! They’re amazing dogs. The banana pudding (I think?) looks amazing, and I hopefully can get a copy of the book for the recipe! Is Breha named after Breha Organa from Star Wars? We all know how much you love that franchise. Also, about the backlash, I love the personal stories! They keep things real and I want you to keep doing them! And I don’t even mind the ads. Keep safe and keep giving us your amazing recipes!!
Andres
During this pandemic, your website got me through it. I’m 15 years old and I have made more than 100 of your recipes in the last 10 months. I’ve had such a hard time this past year, But what lifts me up every single Monday and Thursday/Friday is waking up, going to your website, and seeing the new recipe. I make probably 3 or 4 of your recipe every week! I’ve decided to go to baking and pastry school when I graduate and it’s because of this site. Breha=adoptive mother of Leia Organa I think.
Mary Macksey
Your personality shines through your recipe videos. Part of that is how you react to your viewers and other aspects of your life. It improves the blog to let us know you so clearly.