New website + giveaway

This afternoon I was working on my computer.

"Hey Ajdin," Uncle Tibbs said.  "What are you working on?"

"It's a surprise," I said.

"Can I see?" he asked.

"It's not quite ready," I replied.

"Please?  Just a little peek?" he asked again.

"No," I said.  "I am still working on it."

"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?" asked Ooogie.

"PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE??" they both said.

They were beary persistent so I finally gave in.

I have been working on a new website!  It is called Life is Beary Good.  It will have the same blog posts as this current blog but also a few other things.  I will still update this blog as usual.

And to help kick off the new website, I am giving away a Life is Beary Good magnet that I made with my own paws (you can find similar magnets in my new Etsy shop).  To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment naming something you are thankful for.  The winner will be chosen randomly on February 7, 2015.

Have a beary good day!

MISSION: IMPAWSSIBLE

Thanks to Little Fox for sponsoring the 1st Stuffie Film Festival!  Below is the video that Uncle Tibbs, Ooogie and I filmed.  Everyone had great films!

Have a beary good day!

Lights, Camera, Action!

Oh hello there.  I was just about to retire to my dressing room.  See, it's been a long day on the set and we just wrapped up filming for Little Fox's Stuffie Film Festival entry.  I think I'll find the craft services table and have a little salmon, a cup of tea with honey, and then maybe take a nice nap.

Have a beary good day!

Treasure Chest

Thus began the virgin voyage of the HONEY RAIDER...

After a long and exciting journey, we arrived on Treasure Island.  My pirate crew and I finally found the buried treasure chest!

We dug it out of the sand and then opened it carefully...

Inside was... *gasp*...

...HONEY!  (What did you expect?)

ARRR!!

Pirate adventure

Where was I going to find a good pirate crew?

I decided to ask Uncle Tibbs and Ooogie if they would be willing to be part of my pirate crew.

"It could be dangerous," I warned.

They made up their minds without a moment's hesitation.

"ARRR!!" Uncle Tibbs said.

"Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr," Ooogie said.

And with that, my pirate crew was assembled.  I went back to Captain Claude to ask about next steps.  I am a newbie at this, after all.

"I have a ship and I have a crew," I said proudly.  "Now what do I do?"

"Arrr!  Now you need a treasure map matey," Captain Claude said.  "And I happen to have one right here!"

We gathered around to study the map.

It looked like it would be a dangerous journey.  (I am not sure why we were not going to navigate through the Salmon Bay waters instead of around it.  Perhaps after I have more experience as a pirate I can set my own navigation routes.)

Thus began the virgin voyage of the HONEY RAIDER...

Pirate Ship

Hello everyone.  I hope everyone is having a great weekend.  Today I am going to --

I was interrupted by a scuttling noise.

"ARRR MATEY!"

It was the lobster I caught over the summer.  I was about to grab him but then I remembered what happened last time.

"You again?" I said.

"Arrr, 'tis me alright," he replied.  "I don't believe we were properly introduced last time matey.  The name is Claudius Cavendish III , but you can call me Captain Claude for short."

"Ajdin Adilovic," I said, shaking his claw.  "And don't worry, I've lost my appetite for lobster since last time.  What can I do for you?"

"I am requesting assistance for my ship.  She seemed to have a rough encounter with the rocks by the shore and I need some help putting her back together.  Would ya help me, kind lad?"

"I've never built a ship before," I said.  "I'm not sure if I can do it."

"Arrr!" he snapped.  "Pirates don't give up!  C'mon, don't you want to go on a treasure hunt?"

I carefully picked up a piece of the ship, then I started fitting the pieces together.

I built a sail.  I was really getting into it now.

"Arrr, that's it matey!" Captain Claude said excitedly.

"You're a natural at this lad!" he said.  "How about testing your sea legs with me after this?"

Soon after, the ship was done.

"Not yet," Captain Claude said.  "She needs a new lick of paint."

"And finally, give her a new name," he said.

I thought for a moment.  "How about...the HONEY RAIDER!"

"What a beauty," Captain Claude said.  "Now every pirate needs a good ship, but also a good crew."

Where was I going to find a good pirate crew?

Ninjabread Cookies

Hello everyone.  It seems that I have been in a bit of a baking mood lately.  Today I am going to try this special cookie mix that I received from Christmas.  It is a mix for Ninjabread Cookies.  I have never tried Ninjabread before so I am beary curious.  Let's see what's inside this box.

There is a packet of cookie mix, frosting mix, a piping bag, candy decorations and ninja cookie cutters.  So let's get started, why don't we?

I am pleased to tell you that this recipe calls for some honey.  It will be a beary delicious cookie - I know this for a fact.

I added the honey to the cookie mix in a large bowl.

Then I formed a large ball with the dough.  It was fun to get my paws in there.  I put the dough in the refrigerator to cool for 30 minutes.

I rolled out the dough into a thin sheet then used the ninja cookie cutters to cut out shapes.  They went into the oven for about 9 minutes.  When they came out, they were a nice golden brown color.  I mixed the frosting and put it into a frosting piping bag.

These were fun to decorate with the candy!  I had a little extra cookie dough leftover so I made a special cookie.  Can you see what it is?

Here are some closeups of the ninjabread cookies!  HIIII-YA!!!

Banana Nut Bread

This morning I made something from this cookbook.  It is one of my beary favorite recipes.

The recipe is for banana bread - here it is so you can follow along if you'd like:

If you want to make banana bread, of course you will need bananas.  And there is no one better to help me out with that than my friend Kong.

"BANANAS!" Kong said, pounding the counter with his fists.

I combined the butter, sugar and eggs in a large bowl.

Then Kong began peeling the bananas.  We are using three bananas for this recipe.

A one, a two, a three...

...WHOA!!!

Suddenly I felt my legs go out from under me as I slipped on a banana peel.

"Kong," I said.  "Kitchen safety is beary important, so let's throw out these banana peels before anyone else gets hurt."

After we cleared the counter, we mashed the bananas and added them to the mixture, along with the dry ingredients.

We added chopped walnuts to the batter but that is completely up to you.

A beary important question is, who gets to lick the bowl?

After one hour at 350 degrees F, the bread came out of the oven - it smelled beary good!  ( I like to eat this with a little honey!)

A new year, a new shirt

Happy New Year everyone!  I hope everyone is having a great start to 2015 so far.  My mom forgot to let me open the gift that Sandy sent me for Christmas, so I'll open it now.

It's a nicely wrapped package and it feels soft.  Aha!  It's a...

...a new shirt!

I can't wait to try it on.  But I have to take off my blue shirt first.  URGHH, UNGHH.... I'm having some difficulty.  My head is too big as usual...

Okay I finally got it over my head.

...almost there...

... and voila!

Hmm, now this is beary interesting.  I am a bear originally from Bosnia, who is now living in the United States, who received this shirt from my Canadian friend, which has the British flag on it.  I guess we are a truly international bunch!

Thanks Sandy!  I love the shirt - it fits perfectly!