Saturday, June 28, 2008

PG Breakfast!

Today the PG group came over for potluck breakfast!
We had a great time laughing and catching up!
And... it was Gwenda's turn to receive the "Friendship Box!"

Suzanne, Sara and Gwenda brought flowers from their gardens.
Together they made a beautiful arrangement!



Our potluck was lovely! On the menu was bacon, fresh berries,
scones with cream and jam/curd and broccoli quiche!
And for an added treat, lace cookies!



It was Erin's turn to present the "Friendship Box" to Gwenda this month!













Ladies, I miss all of you VERY MUCH already!





Thursday, June 26, 2008

Smokin' in California

Here are some pictures taken from my backyard tonight.
As you can see, the smoke from the wildfires surround the central part of the state.
It is thick and hazy. The moon looks bright orange although
this picture doesn't capture how orange it really is.


And what you can't see here is a HUGE mountain!

Saturday, June 21, 2008

103 degrees outside...


And I want to be here... I don't know where it is though as there wasn't a description given when I was searching the net, but I want to be here....

Friday, June 13, 2008

She sings... Fabulous!

Our girl made it on Disney tonight with her video for the My High School Musical feature!

Way to go girl!

Here is the full length version!

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Heard from the Family Room

I was in the dining room clearing dishes from breakfast when I heard this conversation from my kids (ages 5 & 8) watching National Velvet in the family room nearby...
Daughter: How old do you think he is? (referring to Mickey Rooney)

Son: I think he's about 25.

Daughter: Well I think he's about 20 years old.

Son: Look at her eyes, they look the color purple! (referring to Elizabeth Taylor)

Daughter: Your right! MOM! LOOK! Her eyes are purple!

Me: Yep! You're right, they do look purple. Now that you mention it, I remember reading that when she was young her eyes were referred to as Violet.


Again a few minutes later....

Mickey Rooney's character says that he doesn't have anything left in him...

Son: Why doesn't he have anything left in him?

Daughter: Because he doesn't.

Son: You mean he doesn't have any more blood in him?

Daughter: Nah, it just means he doesn't believe in himself anymore.

Son: Why did he stop believing?

Daughter: He just gave up I guess.

Son: Must have been the beer he drank. (In an previous scene he gets drunk)

Daughter: Yep. That was dumb, they shouldn't even have beer in the movie.


Children don't miss a thing!!! Classic example that children are wiser than they are given credit for. As for myself, it was proud moment to hear the dumb beer coment!


Friday, June 6, 2008

A Hawaiian Luau Tea Party

A Hawaiian Luau Tea Party!
My family and friends rotate monthly Tea Party's and
this month was my Mothers turn to host. She has a fake
flower arrangement (that looks VERY REAL until you get close up)
that inspired her for this party theme.



Her beautiful table greeted us as we walked into the dining room!
Her plates and glasses were Hawaiia Luau themed too!
I asked my Mom where she got all the darling dishes and
she said she found them at the dollar store! Get yourself
down to your nearest Dollar Tree to pick up a set for some summer fun!



Here's my sister Melody looking very festive with the
assorted fruit skewers! Yummy!

Delicious fruit, berry scones with cream and lemon curd, chicken salad on crossiants!

Here's my Mom enjoying the fruits of her labor!

For dessert we enjoyed Pineapple and Coconut Ice Cream with Cheesecake and berries. Not a likely combination, but it actually tasted good together. The fruity ice cream off set the rich cheesecake.

Me and Ann.

Me and my Dad - self portrait of course!

Jackie and Melody!


Jackie and I - self portrait again!

Time for Hostess presents! (You secretly love this part when your hosting!)
This was a beautiful porcelain type flower!


A gorgeous plant from Jan! My Mother LOVES plants and has an emerald thumb so this gift was right up her alley!

Jennifer, Melody and I gave my Mom a Orchid flower lei (which we gave to her when we arrived so she could wear it immediately). She was blown away! Jennifer had it flown in from Hawaii just for the occasion and it smelled so amazing!


Three hours later it was time to go. Our mouths were sore from laughing 2 of the 3 hours we were there. It's so great to have these times together with family and friends. It doesn't have to be elaborate or even a themed gathering. Just invite your BFF over to help you fold laundry and while their there, enjoy some coffee/tea and treats to thank them!


Sunday, June 1, 2008

A Special Fishing Day

Hmmm, what should we do this Saturday that
doesn't cost alot of money? GO FISHING!!

And so we did! The kids jumped out of bed before the sun came up,
while I rolled out of bed and headed downstairs
to immediately make a pot of coffee!

Now isn't that a beauty! We got to the water early to pick our
spot on the bank and I turned around to look at the water and saw the beautiful reflection of the sunrise on the water.

Reminds of some pages I just read in Anne of Green Gables...
"So I took the brooch. I thought I could put it back before you came home. I went all the way around by the road to lengthen out the time. When I was going over the bridge across the Lake of Shining Waters I took the brooch off to have another look at it. Oh, how it did shine in the sunlight! And then, when I was leaning over the bridge, it just slipped through my fingers--so--and went down--down--down, all purply-sparkling, and sank forevermore beneath the Lake of Shining Waters. And that's the best I can do at confessing, Marilla."
(see previous post to learn more about that)

Another beautiful look at the water!



My boy settles in to make his own version of a fishing pole. (Adorable!)


Well I am NOT pioneer woman so when I go along these fishing trips I am the Official Bathroom Chauffeur! I drive them to the NICE bathrooms so they don't have to use the outhouses - EEWW - ICKO - GROSS! So I usually bring along something to do and today it was my bible study. As you can see my pages are filled with colored ink. Aren't bible studies more fun when you use colored pens?! Currently I'm studying the book of 2nd Samuel... GOOD !
I was a couple hours deep into my reading when I looked up at the water to think about something I was studying when my eyes shifted to the ground underneath my lady like crossed legs. Silently and slooooooowly a snake was passing through.
A SNAKE... I yelled while my lap of papers, bible and notebook went flying in many directions! My Man came to my rescue and assured me it was... just a Gopher snake honey. JUST A GOPHER SNAKE! Ladies, I don't know about you but I don't like snakes. I don't like them disguised as rides in theme parks either! Nor the Serpent in the Garden or the one in my business. And absolutely not the one trying to interrupt my bible study!
All the old men on the nearby fishing dock got a good laugh when they realized it was not a rattlesnake and I was out of danger. They'll regret they laughed someday! This city girl knows how to make a mean HUMBLE PIE who will gladly bring some along to share with them the next time we go fishing and see those early risers at the dock!
Here it is... it was easily over 2 feet long.
Time to break out the picnic basket! Peanut Butter and Jelly just takes better when you lean against an old tree doesn't it?



My boy patiently waits for a fish to bite. (Adorable isn't he?)


My girl is tracking butterflies. She's quick too! Catches them in her hands with lighting speed!
 

A nice, fat Blue Gil! They taste alright but they have too many bones to make it worth it in my opinion! But we brought it home anyway for the kids to have for dinner.



Well now it's time to celebrate! Popsicles!

All this excitement has wore us out and the sun is going down. Time for Parents to get their stinky, fish smelling children into the bathtub filled to the ceiling with bubbles! As we were leaving, this little family of ducks was doing the same. Great picture huh?!
While uploading the pictures this lovely photo appeared. Hmmm! My man is in BIG trouble for putting that stinky, smelling, slimy fish on my WOOD ABSORBING cutting board! AGAIN! This isn't his first offense mind you. I've told him before but he fiend ignorance that he didn't "remember" when I brought it to his attention. Yeah... right! Well now I gotta go disinfect a lovely Williams Sonoma Birthday gift from my best girlfriends!








Sunday, May 25, 2008

A Grand Sunday!


What a glorious Sunday it is turning out to be already! Our kids had a sleep-over with Grandma and I had a date with my man last night... we saved up our gift cards from the holidays and had a lovely dinner of WAY TOO MUCH FOOD at Black Angus. Ya know those Sunday coupons that have the Dinner for Two coupon? Well we used it and I can assure you that y'all better wear elastic clothing because it truly is too much food. I had a corner of the house bread they bring you, then we had the spinach/shrimp/cheese hot appetizer with toasted buttered chips (oooo delicious). Next up was soup or salad. I chose the salad because the soup was Baked Potato and I already knew I wanted the real tater with my meal. For my entree I chose the Ribeye steak and baked potato and sauteed veggies. My man had the Prime Rib. Then if that wasn't enough food already.... you get to choose a dessert. Because I love ice cream, you guessed it, we chose their famous Mud Pie! Oh-me-oh-my! I made a dent in just about everything but a family of four could probably finish this meal. Seriously!


Today we will officially become members of our new church that we've been attending the last 9 months. I can't believe how quickly time has passed already. I remember saying our goodbye's to our old church of nearly 12 years on Labor Day last year. For those of you who were there, the outdoor movie ~ Jungle Book ~ was the best I think, don't you?


So what makes today so Grand? Well the weekends are when I get caught up on all my blog reading and it was soooo nice to enjoy it this morning in quiet abandon! Since my bible study ended a few weeks ago, I've been searching for another structured study to do over the summer but it's been difficult to find something that engages me since I'll have to do this on my own until the next group bible study starts in the Fall. Well I found a blog today that hooked me! It's called the One Year Bible Blog! It includes fun, interactive links that take you around the Internet within the reading for further study and insight. And my favorite, fun pictures to help illustrate the reading.


Today's reading was on Obedience. I encourage you to take a look and enjoy God's word today!

Friday, May 23, 2008

Newlywed Game for Blondes



Makes me laugh even more!

This is a favorite of mine!



She nails it! Oh how I miss getting my nails done. I had acrylic nails faithfully for over 20 years! Someday when the budget allows it, I'll return to my favorite shop.

I'm so ready for a long weekend!

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Smooth... Bold... colors!


Smooth... Bold... Colors! What could that possibly be? It is my new pen obsession for Papermates' newest pen! It's a BOLD TIP of 1.4 and I love the retractable feature (they also make it non-retractable). I've always preferred the thicker pen tips. Don't even get me started on those icko fine tip pens... nasty! Well yesterday my boss surprised me with a colorful pack of these beauties from THE DOLLAR STORE!!!!! That's right, 4 pens for a buck! Fun colors too... orange, fuscia pink, green and turquoise! Love it! Love it! Love it! Of course I have the purple, red, blue and black colored set above as well. Well..... I made such a fuss about how much I appreciated the pens, that my pod neighbors rolled over to see what was going on. Usually I only get that excited about an appliance. They noticeably rolled their eyes when they saw it was just a pen. Oh no, my friends, these are not just any pens! These are BOLD TIP PENS!!!! If you don't like fine tip pens either, go out and get yourself one of these beauties and you'll be hooked. Yes, thank me now. (sound of applause) Of course, I had to defend my new pens and displayed all their features better than Vanna on Wheel of Fortune!


Now this is funny! All this fun sparked debate on who makes the BEST pen. Zebra, Papermate, Pilot, Parker, Cross, TomBow (what the heck is that!), Orbit, Gel Rollerball, Pentel, Dr. Grip rollerball, Sensa, Mont Blanc and that's all my mind could wrap around to remember! Now don't tell me people don't know their pens! Their likes and dislikes! They are just as obsessive as me about whether they like BOLD, medium or icky Fine tip.


Tonight while looking for a picture to post here, I searched pens and found A TON of posts about people who LOVE pens. Pen collectors, OCD pen buyers, pen contests, etc. and they are willing to shell out the big bucks for them too! Some pens cost hundreds of dollars.. each!


So to wrap this up, I'll share with you my second favorite type of pen. It's a Fountain pen. Yep, that's right... the old fashion fountain, calligraphy style pen. Personally, I enjoy Sheaffer because they make the ink tube attachments for easy traveling in my purse and they are affordable. I also like the felt tip calligraphy pens but the tips tend to wear out quickly because I press hard. But I'll leave that for another post!

Monday, May 12, 2008

National Apron Day!

The day after Mother's Day is National Wear Your Apron Day! My jean apron is from Suzanne Somers and it's all sparkle and bling! It's a long apron and I love it, because I am a messy baker / cook and need to cover up to save my clothes from getting stains on them. I wear it to do dishes in to because that's usually a mess to. I really adore skirt aprons but I just can't wear them because the mess usually ends up on my blouse, thus the reason I need a fully loaded, top to bottom apron!




Aprons create memories dont they? Most of us have memories of a Mother or Grandmother wearing their aprons for cooking and cleaning to protect their clothing. Most of my generation probably doesn't even own one. We have gotten away from wearing aprons with clothing being so inexpensive... JC Penney has a huge sale going on right now, wish I could go... and a better way of cleaning our clothes with our fancy machines and dryers.

A blog that I read daily (I'm bummed I didn't win her amazing handmade apron give away!), reminded me to wear mine today and who would have thought I would be because instead of being at work, I'm home with two sick children. So what have I done in it today? Emptied the dishwasher then loaded it again, put a whole cut up chicken in the crock-pot with some flavor that will be deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelicious for dinner and next I need to go think up something to make for lunch. Perhaps soup?

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Happy Mother's Day