The good and the bad

Ode to a stressful few days.




*I have an annoying monster of a headache, but I am happy to have a head that can hurt.
*My daughter is talking my ear off, seriouly, but I am happy to have a daughter who wants to talk to me!
*A certain crochet project has me cursing, but I am happy to have the ability to crochet, and to create.
*I am dreading a trip this weekend, but am happy to have family to visit.

So there ya have it. I haven't gotten anymore done on my list of stuff to do. I am just sitting here with an ice pack on my head. Hubby will be home soon, and I am incredibly grateful for that!

Two SUPER Flicks!!

I have been blessed by the Movie Gods! This weekend I have watched two super movies that each possessed valuable life lessons! I can't wait to re-watch them! (this drives my hubby nuts!!)


First wasFailure to Launch, starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew
(need I say more?) These two worked wonders together in this movie. It is a very comical tale of a hired girlfriend, SJP, by the parents, Kathy Bates and Terry Bradshaw (they were super fab together also!) to get this over grown child out of the house. Through a series of twists and turns it ends up as a happy ending, of course! Great Flick, worth a top 5 in the queue at Netflix.




Next is an "I can't believe that I never saw this movie" show.

I stumbled upon this movie when nothing was on the tube, big thanks to HBO. I caught it about 45 minutes into it, so I missed a lot of building the story line. This made me miss my sister a TON, and inspired me to write a letter (Shh, it's a secret) There is nothing like the bond of sisters, and even as I sit here today and know that we were never close in distance or personalities, I am truly blessed to have her. And now I'm getting teary.......I'm such a weenie. We have just gotten over a lot, and now looking back, they were just bumps in the road.

Someone hand me a tissue.

Check it out. You must if you have a Sister. MUST, MUST, MUST!!

Oh the Details.....Go here to check them out.......

Whew. So there ya have it. Anyone up for a movie night?

A Book Tag

Yeah! I got tagged again! This time by the Lovely Lucy over at Folk-n-Fancy! You should go check her and her cute little pups out!!

It's a Book Tag, and since I just started a new book it's perfect!


1. Grab the nearest book. Don't think, just the nearest book...
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog (Please include the book and author) along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.
6. Tag three people.


Riding Lessons by Sara Gruen

"But Look at it! You said yourself that you would have a better chance of winning a lottery."
"You would if the markings matched exactly."

I'm not this far in the book yet so I have no idea what it means. Now I am interested, and what got off to a very, very slow start just might be picking up!!

Tagging huh? How bout Mom, Aunt Jenny, and Lulu.

A Day at the Fair

Hi Ya'll! I assume all is well with ya! Especially since nobody is commenting. Sniff Sniff pout pout.....

Haha! Just kidding! Well, you are okay right? Are you still reading me? Am I at least a little bit interesting? Can you feel the guilt trip yet?

Alright, on with the post........

Today the hubby and I loaded the kiddos up in the Mini and took a day trip to the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe. Unfortunately I didn't take any pics (shame, shame) but I did learn a few things. And we had quite a bit of fun!

The first on the list was a pony ride for the gal. I shouldn't expect anything different, but it surprises me that she still gets a kick out of horses that just walk in a small circle and are barely moving. Especially since she has the ability to do much more than that on her own horse. Ah well, she has fun, that's what counts! After that we watched a bit of Dressage in the Arena. Is there a purpose for that stuff? I enjoy Rodeos much more than that, and it's not just a horse with a braid making circles in the middle of the Arena. Seems like a waste to me.

I drug the clan into the craft center where they had all the quilted objects and crochet, knit etc..... My jaw dropped at all the amazing Art in there. I was just speechless. The Hubby was even impressed, which should say it all! Most amazing to me was a quilt made with different farm scenes in each block. It won best in show and I voted for it for viewers choice!

We went on some rides too, the gal says she loves roller coasters but when she and I got on one, she freaked out on the first fast part. It was NOT one of the huge rides, just not the kiddie ride. I felt horrible. We had watched it prior to getting on, and she said she wanted to ride it. The poor thing was just petrified. Thankfully it was a short ride and we learned our lesson!

I would like to know why I got nauseous on the carousel though! That has never happened to me before! I held it together, but did laugh at myself! What a weenie!

We tied up the afternoon with an over priced lunch and a stroll through the animal barns. I actually stopped to look at the facts the kids had posted on each cage and I learned quite a bit. The high light was Kielyn petting a 12 day old pig. The gentlemen and I talked and I was able to ask some intelligent "piggly" questions. For some odd reason I think pigs are cute, and would love to raise them one day. Hubby has already put the Kbosh on that though. He says they stink too much and he doesn't like pork. Bummer!

Home again and nap time, it was a scorching hot day out there and we forgot to turn on the AC before we left........

Happy weekend to ya'll!!!

Kitchen Comedy

Oy, What a day!

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but I LOVE to bake. I love to bake alone when the house is quiet, and I love to bake with the kiddos helping. The only thing I don't love about baking is the want to eat it afterwards. I wish I could bake and walk away from it. Maybe this time I can have some, and send the rest to work with the hubby tomorrow.

I woke up this morning with the baking bug. A serious baking bug! Its a fairly cold day here, and having the oven on all day wasn't going to be an issue. I got out the cook book and started looking for something new.....

I decided to start a stew for dinner, that's not baking, but it was nice to get that taken care of. I moved from that to preparing to make a peach cobbler. Mom had sent me home with about a dozen great fresh peaches that needed to be used, so this seemed perfect.

The Peach Cobbler went off without a hitch, so much so that I decided to use the bananas I had getting brown to make Banana Bread too. I put the cobbler in the oven and went to work on the bread. I had enough to double the recipe but stumbled when I got to the butter milk part. Crud- I have no buttermilk! No fear, I used the cookbook to find an alternative..........

That is when the Comedy show began.......

OOps, I used to much and when I discovered it, it was too late. I called Mom for help, and she suggested that I add another batch to even it out, and include some peaches since I was out of bananas. At first I thought that wouldn't taste good, but at that point I had no choice. I sliced up more peaches and threw them in there while I was laughing at myself. While I was stirring those in, I realized that I was a complete nut! I had it right the first time. Ahhhh crap, All I could think of was Chef Ramsey in Hells Kitchen saying "Now get the Hell outta my kitchen" It was a disaster! I considered throwing it out, but everyone has a break through moment in life. Maybe this will be good I told myself....I'll give it a shot.

We'll see it's in the oven now. Cross your fingers......

Wow, it's actually pretty darn good if I do say so myself.......I'm surprised!!!

Needless to say after that fiasco I cleaned up the kitchen and got outta there. Good thing that I started dinner before hand, who knows what woulda happened with that!!!!

Weekly To do List

Thought I'd share what I'm up to this week ahead of time. I'll line them out when I have completed them. You'll help me stay modivated, won't you???

1. Deep clean Kitchen
2. Oil Change in Van
3. Van repair estimate
4. Sort through Kids clothes, donate.
5. Organize Scrapbooking area!
6. Work on Woven Ribbon 'Ghan.
7. Scrub bathrooms.
   
8. Make list of Christmas gift ideas.
9. Create and organize a new filing system. (Any ideas?)
10. Target for bday presents, and photo cartridge.
11. Clean and repair printer.
    
12. Find a clean working used keyboard for sis to use while she is here.
13. Shampoo Carpets

Okay- you get the idea. I'm a busy Mommy this week, well especially this week. My little gal is in Horse land for day camp this week, so I need to use my time wisely. I also need to cean out her room and prepare myself for the start of the school year. 1st grade all ready! What a big little kid I have.....wow.!!

Stuff.....

Just random stuff today, I am trying to pack to go to Omas this weekend, but needed a break so I thought I'd blab to ya'll for a few minutes.

I found that Mozilla is great for posting pics on here. I was having a darned ol time with IE, so I think that I am switching to Mozilla from now on. Maybe that will help some of the others that are wanting to kick Blogger too.

The Meme I was tagged for is below the dreaming picture. I had started it before and just finished it this morning, it showed up down there because that's the date I started it.

We are headed over to Omas today like I said. Tomorrow we are going to the Grant County Fair in Moses Lake to see my cousin who has goats there every year. I am excited to see her and what she does with the goats. I also enjoy looking at all the crafts, and the daughter and Dad are big "roller coaster" fans. (When I think roller coaster, I think of an amusement park, not a fair!) I'll share pics when I return on Sunday.

I guess thats all folks!

Dreams

So, So True!

Tagged

I got tagged by Lucy AND Sue so here it goes...

6 weird things bout yours truly.

Ahem.


1. I do not like my husband or kids touching my feet, but I can have a pedicure no problem.
2. Sometimes I get high off shopping, seriously, like it's a drug or something!
3. Unless I plan on wearing shorts the next day, I do not shave my legs. (There is a reason behind that)
4. Sometimes I open my mouth to talk and it comes out all jumbled up. It's so embarrassing!!
5. Up until June of this year I was PETRIFIED of dental power tools. I had major anxiety about even getting in the chair! I finally went in June and they gave me nitrous, it was great after that, I didn't wanna leave!
6. Talking about snakes makes my skin crawl. I saw, well heard, a preview for the new snake movie with Samuel L. Jackson and thought I might vomit. Nasty, Nasty creatures.

Say What?

Several months ago I rented the movie Dreamer for my daughter. I knew she would enjoy it just by looking at the cover, A girl and her horse. Perfect.



She took it to her room and started it (gasp, I know, talk to her Dad) A little bit later she came out wanting to tell us about this horse. It went something like this...


Girl: "That horse, sa.....la....lu"
Me: "What? Who?"
Girl:"You know, La...san..."
Me:"Lasagna??"
Girl:" Yeah, Lasagna....."

So for several months now, we have been talking about this horse that I thought was named Lasagna. Lasagna this and Lasagna that........

Flash forward to yesterday. Dreamer arrived from Netflix. My girl got all excited as we started the show. She's 6 so she doesn't really understand the theory behind not giving away the movie. I knew that she wins in the end, and I also knew every other detail before it happened.

The horses name in the beginning of the movie is Sona, and toward the middle of the movie they say that her full name is Sonador which means dreamer in spanish. I kept waiting all movie long for when they nic named her Lasagna. Surely this horse gets called Lasagna at some point....

Nope.......

I didn't have the heart to tell my girl. To us, that horse will be Lasagna, and I will chuckle a bit inside everytime we talk about her.


The movie by the way is an A for me. Great show, and a great family flick. And the name Sonador is the name of my next horse.....I love that name!!

The BIG News!!!

It's official. We're headed to Florida in 2007.






Jacksonville Florida, to be exact. While I am excited, there is a lot of research to be done. The right schools must be found, the good neighborhoods must be located. Our current house must be completely decluttered, etc, etc. Lots and Lots to do.

One of the most important things to me is maximizing the time left with our family here. We have never been this close since I moved out and joined the AF, and we have really not taken total advantage of that. I see a lot of trips over the mountains in our future!

So there ya have it, the news of the day. Have a seat Mom, it's not the end of the world. We can make it work, and the kiddos will always adore you. Shall we practice letter writing in advance?

Stephanie- I am so excited to see you and the shrimp. The fact that you cried on the phone made me feel so loved. You rock sista friend!!

Picture help

I am at my wits end with trying to post pictures here. I have been having a horribe time lately and it makes me so frusterated.

Someone suggested trying to upload the pics first and then to type, which is what I tried today. Still nothing. It goes through it's uploading process and then gives me the done button. I click it and it takes me back to a post with no pics. So, I try again, and again. I have no idea what is happening.

Any help out there? Thanks!

Whew, a busy week!

You missed me? How thoughtful of you! I missed you too. I promise I'll post more often if you promise to comment. I will.....wink wink.

So it has been busy as a Southern kitchen at dinner time here in our house. I have SO much to fill you in on, but unfortunatly do not have a pic for everything. I will share them when I get them though! I can't remember exactly where I left you hanging......so if I miss a few events I will catch up later. Grab some coffee and snacks, come back and enjoy the read.

Ya Back?

First, I believe, was a trip to the dentist for the girl. I am lucky, she has no fear of them. And good thing cause she left with 2 less teeth then she went in with. Her 2 bottom middle teeth were just hanging on by a thread and when they went to clean them they fell right out. I am glad they came out then when they could manage the little blood that was left behind. Even a smudge of pink sends her into panic. It was all handled very well and she was so excited to wait for the tooth fairy. She is getting so big, my girl. I can't believe she is almost 6.

Hum, next is the stress of the van fiasco. Way to much happened with that, and it was incredibaly stressful. I am so happy and relieved that the situation was remidied, and that I have angels in my life. The whole experience was definately a learning experience, and that's an understatement!

It's also Transition season for the Navy again. That whole process is hard to explain, but basically it is like going back to boot camp for all the enlisted people that made it to a certain rank. It's called Chief, and it's the largest rank jump in the Navy. It also involves the family, which is where I come in. Transition, formerly known as initation, is aprox 6 weeks of hell for the people going through it. It challenges every aspect of their abilities or "disabilities" and it tends to carry home and into the family. It's my job to be there for advice, provide support and guidance and an ear for cussing and screaming. It's stressful, and I am glad Rob made it through last year. I am also glad that I am in a position that I can help some one else make it through.

Lastly, ( I think) was a last minute, drop everything, idea to go 1 1/2 hours away to the family reunion that we had previously thought we couldn't make. I am SOOOO glad that we went. I just don't have words to explain it. I haven't seen these family members in eons, and I was truly welcomed there. Everyone was friendly, and WOW. I do wish that we could have stayed longer, but I am truly grateful that I was there for as long as we were!! It was a great time!

OOps....okay, that wasn't the last thing. The other day I got the sewing machine back out and made some gingerbread place mats to match my kitchen. They are great, if you don't mind me saying so, especially since we have been eating dinner at the table now instead of in front of the TV. Here's some pics.....

Alright, now I'm seriously thinking about Typepad or Wordpress. Can this seriously happen everytime I want to post a picture??? Stand by.....I'll try again later.

A bad day fruit cake

Many thanks to Theresa in my crochet group for a serious laugh this morning, I had to share it with all of you! Copy this and save it in a special place for your next bad day.

Fruit Cake Recipe:

You will need the following:
a cup of water, a cup of sugar, four large brown eggs, two cups of dried fruit, a teaspoon of salt, a cup of brown sugar, lemon juice, nuts, and a bottle of whiskey.
Sample the whiskey to check for quality.Take a large bowl. Check the whiskey again to be sure it's the highest quality. Pour one level cup and drink. Repeat.
Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl. Add one teaspoon of sugar and beat again.Make sure the whiskey is still ok. Cry another tup. Turn off the mixer.
Beat two leggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit. Mix on the turner. If the fired fruit gets stuck in the beaterers, pry it loose with a screwdriver.Sample the whiskey to check for tonsisticity. Next sift two cups of salt. Or something. Who cares? Check the whiskey again. Now sift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one tablespoon of sugar or something. Whatever you can find.Grease the oven. Turn the cake tin to 350 dregrees. Don't forget to beat off the turner. Throw the bowl out the window. Check the whiskey again and go to bed.

The BIG, LONG list

The bold ones are things I've done.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with wild dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain (small one in Arkansas)
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone (naughty naughty me)
08. Said 'I love you' and meant it (everyday!)
09. Hugged a tree (I"m sure I have at some point)
10. Bungee jumped (Twice, against moms orders!!)
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise (I'm a night owl)
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (Seattle Mariners)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables (yummm, only tomatoes this year though)
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars (one of my favorite things to do)
20. Changed a baby's diaper (Everyday)
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity (I donate instead of yard sales)
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment (bad timing)
27. Had a food fight (I'm sure I have)
28. Bet on a winning horse
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight (I love snow)
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster (Hubby pulled me on one, and I loved it!)
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking (I dance like a fool even if I care)
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment (lots of moments)
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 10 provinces
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk (story of my life 15-19)
42. Had amazing friends (Thank God for them)
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched wild whales (Mexican cruise with Mom)
45. Stolen a sign ( bows head, yes)
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip (Driven across country 3 times)
48. Gone rock climbing (same mt in Arkansas)
49. Midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer then you were actually in love
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger's table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your cds
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke (Yep, I was 19ish)
59. Lounged around in bed all day (I love sleep)
60. Posed nude in front of strangers (I hear you laughing Stephanie!!)
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain (I love rain)
63. Played in the mud (Mud should be my middle name)
64. Played in the rain (see above)
65. Gone to a drive-in theater
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business (Navy Daycare, a big headache)
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken (I'm married)
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married ( duh)
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days
77. Made cookies from scratch (it's the only way to make em!)
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo (Yep, can't wait to get the next one!)
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on television news programs as an "expert" (Well sort of)
83. Got flowers for no reason ( not recently)
84. Performed on stage (various kid stuff)
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Had a one-night stand
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one of your parents (Mother in law, Feb 2006
93. Been on a cruise ship (Mexican Cruise for graduation gift!!)
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror.
96. Raised children. (In progress)
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Created and named your own constellation of stars
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over (every 3 years thanks Navy)
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn't stop when you knew someone was looking (Why care who looks?)
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an illness that you shouldn't have survived
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Petted a stingray
110. Broken someone's heart (I was mean at one point)
111. Helped an animal give birth
112. Won money on a T.V. game show
113. Broken a bone
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a body part of yours below the neck pierced
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun, or pistol (Lots)
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse (I would live on a horse if it was possible)
119. Had major surgery ( C-section)
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for more than 30 hours over the course of 48 hours (a few months ago when I was sick)
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. states
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper (I got married)
129. Changed someone's mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school (I need to go back again)
131. Parasailed
132. Petted a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad - and the Odyssey
135. Selected one "important" author who you missed in school, and read (In progress)
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
137. Skipped all your school reunions (Getting ready to skip #1)
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you're living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care (see above)
143. Built your own PC from parts
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn't know you
145. Had a booth at a street fair
146: Dyed your hair ( Died it brown in 11th grade)
147: Been a DJ
148: Shaved your head
149: Caused a car accident
150: Saved someone's life

There ya have it. Are you still awake?

Numbers

** This blog was brought to you today by the number 8**

Mom pointed out something interesting via email today. It seems like the number 8 just might be my ticket outta the po' house.

One can only hope........

My bday: 8/28/78

I will turn 28 on the 28th. Interesting huh!