Cookies, cookies, and oh, some more cookies

Every year for the last few ones, we bake a lot of cookies for the holidays.

There are  usually several parties to attend that require us to bring something, so I sign up for desserts.

I know I've said this before, but I love baking. Like love it with all my heart.

Bread, muffins, cupcakes, cookies, pies ... I want to make them all, all of the time!

This year, however, we took our cookie game to the next level.

I finally figured out royal icing.

We made our first meringue cookie.

Both girls were even bigger helps in the kitchen.

And oh my goodness, did we make some pretty phenomenal cookies.

Nothing was overly complicated or complex. Decorating the sugar cookies did take time, but it wasn't hard.

In addition to that, I whipped up some darn cute cupcakes. That turned out a bit sillier than I intended, but after they were done, I loved them for their silliness!

I made my first swiss roll cake. It wasn't perfect - but I managed to roll it without cracking it. It's a feat I'm pretty proud of. Though, I definitely left myself some room for improvement. I mean, Rome wasn't built in a day and my swiss roll cake wasn't perfected in one bake!

And if I'm being honest, I'm proud of myself for trying something new. And shocked it mostly worked the first time.

I've always loved baking. I've always been drawn to it. But lately, it feels like I'm ready to step it up to the next level. Not with crazy complex treats, but learning to make new things, new methods, and really refining skills.

It's fun to feel an old passion get rekindled. It's fun to be in the kitchen and feel confident in doing things I've done before. And it's fun to stand there trying something new while simultaneously praying it turns out okay!

And then, after all of that, you get to sit down and munch on something that tastes good! It's so much fun.

I'm already thinking about what to do over the coming year. New things I'd like to try to make are tarts, cream puffs, and coffee cake. I definitely want to make more bread - loaves, rolls, crusts, etc. It will be so fun to see what else I can pull off in the kitchen in the upcoming year. Thankfully I have a lot of friends and family who will be willing to try what I make!

This Amazing Planet

 *As a reminder, I am part of the Netflix Streamteam. I am being compensated for sharing with you, but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

A few weeks ago my husband came to me and said that he had heard Netflix had the show Planet Earth and would I like to watch it with him.

So I did.

And then our son started to watch it with us.

And then one of our daughters.

We were all fascinated by this show. Our planet really is amazing - the animals that exist on land, water, and air. The paths that rivers take. The underground caves to the tallest mountains. Even the things that scare me (huge spiders, deep underwater caves, the tallest points) are beautiful. Just gorgeous.

I won't ever travel the world or see many of these things in person, so sitting on my couch, in the comfort of my house is the closest I will get to it. While I'm sure these things are even more grand in person (I remember going to the Grand Canyon and just being knocked out by how gorgeous it is!), they are still amazing across the television. Baby bears coming out of their den for the first time? Eagles diving down to get food? A hungry lioness looking for food to feed her cubs? Underground caves so large, I think our entire city could fit in it? Deserts, tundras, ice, forests, swamps, all these things that exist on the same planet I exist on. It is. Ah. Maz. Ing. Truly.

Candling one of the eggs

And I love watching every moment of it.



In our house this spring, we got to the witness some of the wonders of our planet. In mid-April, we headed out and picked up a dozen chicken eggs. Not ordinary eggs mind you, these were not eggs to scramble or fry or beat. We brought them home and placed them into our incubator. For 22ish days we monitored the temperature, the humidity, we turned them, we candled them, and we were constantly amazed by them.

There is something about holding an egg in your hand, shining a light on it, and seeing a chicken embryo moving around.

In May we were treated to 4 of these eggs hatching. Three of their births, we were able to witness ourselves, with our own eyes.

Newborn chicken being greeted by another

It was purely coincidence that we watched Planet Earth while getting to watch our own little miracle here at home. But it makes you realize how all at the same time, the world is a massive place and yet so tiny all at once.

I'm so thrilled my children got to watch these chickens as they developed and were born and as they continue to grow for now. I'm also glad that we can flip on Netflix and get to watch so many amazing things about this world that I just can't take them to see. What an education both provide

The chickens are growing!

We LOVE Mario Brothers

*As a reminder, I am part of the Netflix Streamteam. I am being compensated for sharing with you, but as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

No, seriously, my family and I LOVE all things Mario and Luigi.

We have quite a few of their Wii games, and their DS games, I've bought the Original Mario (and the second one and the third) on the Wii store so we could play those too.

I have my own DS with my own Mario games. Because I think out of everyone in this house, I love Mario the most of all.

my game boy!

I still have the original Nintendo Game Boy with the Mario game. It still works and every once in a while, I pull it out to play!



When I was growing up, I played it at my cousin's house. Him and I would play as long as we were allowed to! When we got stuck, we would call my uncle over to help. Because of course, this was back in the day when you couldn't restart at the check-point, or get 5 more lives when you ran out. When you got to the end and ran out of lives, game over!

I even used to watch the Super Mario Bros Super Show on TV.

Yep, all things Mario for me.

Mario gets two thumbs up!

A few years ago, we saw that the Super Mario Bros Show was on Netflix and we watched it. Over and over. The kids loved it, but especially my son! He was younger then and doesn't remember! So, I flipped it on again and guess what? He still loves it!

It's fun watching Mario and Luigi help Princess Toadstool and Toad! Okay, the show can be a bit cheesy at times, but you know what, it beats watching shows with themes that are above my son's head. And it's never a bad thing to watch friends work together to solve problems - even in cartoon form!

Of course this fits in nicely, because lately (thanks to early winter!) a few times a week, I have 3-5 kids in my basement, playing Mario Brothers on the Wii together. I hear them playing and having a good time. "Bubble over to me!" "I need a block" "Who can get that star?"

They too, are a group of friends who are working together to beat King Koopa! It's awesome and they have fun. 

While I don't mind them playing Mario or watching Mario on Netflix, I also don't want that to be all they do. So we sat down and did some Mario art work.

our first Lego picture!

Over the summer, a friend posted on-line about using cross-stitch patterns to make pictures with Legos - each brick could be one square of the pattern, and I thought that was something my kids might like, but of course, it had to be the right "picture."

So I found some Mario cross-stitch patterns and we built this mushroom. It was so much fun. We dug through all the Legos and found the colors we needed and went to town. It turned out so nice, and it wasn't too hard to pull off. The kids think that it was great - despite being unsure at first if this was going to be a good thing.

We have some more patterns and I know they want to try to make some other pictures!

It's nice when you can have a favorite game, fun tv show, and a great craft project come together. Especially when it comes to Mario. 

Brandie of Green Gables

Have I mentioned before on this blog just how much I am completely, head over heels, totally in love with Anne of Green Gables?

The books, the movies, all of it. I love them.

When I was younger, the local PBS station would play Anne of Green Gables once a year during it's fundraising (or maybe twice a year? I can't quite remember).

When it came on, I was right there, ready to watch Anne as she came to Green Gables, made her way into Matthew's heart, befriended Diana, and grew to see Marilla loved her so much. I watched as she died her hair green, fell off a roof, and almost drowned. I heard her use lovely phrases, beautiful language. I saw her enthusiasm for school, for her bosom buddies, and her adopted family.

I was hooked. Or obsessed. Or both. I wanted Anne to come and be my best friend.

Some point, after my girls were born, but before my son came, I decided I wanted to own copies of the movies. And my mother, god bless her, found them. She couldn't find them in the US, and somehow ordered them from Canada. According to her they took forever to get her, but when she gave them to me, I was over the moon! And surprised - there were THREE of them! I had grown up Watching Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel. But I had never seen the third on, Anne of Green Gables: The continuing story. When they were new, I pulled them all out and watched them over a couple of days.

Now, I'm not going to lie. The third movie didn't do it for me (and maybe that's why I didn't know of it's existence) but Anne was Anne and I loved her.

my lovely dolls

When my girls were 4 and 1, we went to Disney World. While we were working our way through the countries of Epcot, I noticed in the Canada store they had Anne of Green Gables dolls! I wanted ALL of them. Of course, that was out of the budget (and unrealistic to get them home) so I picked two - Anne and Diana. The plan was to get 2 more each time we returned. Sadly, the next time we went to Epcot that particular building was no longer a store and none of the Canada stores had the dolls.

Every few years, I search amazon/ebay and have never been able to find these dolls. Maybe I was the only person to ever purchase them? I don't know! But I'm sad I can't get anymore characters.

When I fell in love with Anne, I didn't know there were books as well. But eventually figured it out. And then I didn't read them.

I worried that if I read the books, it would make me love the movies less. And I had so many great memories of watching Anne that I just didn't want to take that away!

It took me a long time to decide to read the books and about 8 years ago - I finally did. I read them once. I enjoyed them. I should definitely read them again.

But, I still love the movies. And I love the books. I remember when I read the books that I thought the movie took some liberties and mixed somethings up, but they did a great job of capturing the essence of Anne and Matthew and Marilla, of all the characters.

This am grannie had to go for an EEG. Which meant that last night we had to stay up until 3am (she was allowed 4 hours of sleep before the test). Just last week, I had gotten Anne of Green Gables for grannie to read on her audio books.

Grannie at her birthday last month

She uses the Talking Books program through our state, which is through the Library of Congress. She has a special player and can get any book they have recorded the audio for free to listen to. Grannie is mostly blind and has been for a while. She has read A LOT of books. I get her new books as I can, but since I can't keep up with her reading pace, I often guess and just get books.

Last week I said in passing, I'm sure you've already read Anne of Green Gables, and granny told me she hadn't! So I got her the first book. Thankfully she enjoyed it! 

So when we had to stay up so late, I suggested we watch the movie. It's long, it's good, and she had just read the book, so I figured it was a good fit to fill a lot of late night hours.

And it was. We made it through the first one and watched part of the second one. I sat and knit, and it was really a great night for me. And granny managed to stay up a lot past her bedtime!

It almost felt like being a little girl again, sitting in the living room with my grandma (who has since passed away), getting to stay up late so I could watch the entire Anne of Green Gables movie.

Happy Thursday!

It's Thursday.


Around these parts, Thursday means Project Runway.

I love Project Runway.

Sometimes I hate it. The judges and I don't always see eye to eye. The drama can be over the top sometime, but mostly I feel like it's not that bad.

But I love watching people create and sew and seeing what they've done come down a runway.

I wish I was talented enough to attempt even a novice version of the show!

Which reminds me, right now, on Thursday, Lifetime is also playing the show Threads. This show is kids, doing Project Runway type challenges. These 11 - 16 year olds have more talent already than I'll ever have and I LOVE it.

These young adults have a lot of great ideas and talent - I'm so impressed!

My 12 year old is enjoying watching it with me too!

I think because today was Project Runway day, I splurged and bought two sewing patterns on-line. Tomorrow (thanks to a great coupon), I'm heading over to the fabric store to buy fabric.

There may or may not be pictures. It depends on how, um, wearable these pieces turn out (and yes, they should be wearable LOL!)

Which reminds, I took some pictures of recently knitted items that I can't wait to share. But I don't like to put pictures up here until they have arrived at their forever home. So, soon! Because I have been doing quite a bit of knitting (minus last week when my shoulder didn't work).

And I've got a list a mile long of things I want to work on - they range from embroidery, to cross-stitch, to quilting, to sewing. It would be great if I could just, I don't know, not have to ever sleep so I could get more things done!

All Aboard!

In front of our train car

Two weeks ago, I was able to get away and take a mini-vacation.

My (now) 12yo wanted to spend her birthday in New Hampshire. So three weeks ago, we put her on a plane and sent her out to New Hampshire.

Don't worry, my in-laws live there and picked her up when she deplaned. She got to spend a week with graham and pop all by herself. Three years ago, at a similar age, our oldest daughter went out and did a similar thing for two weeks. So, technically, we were just keeping up the tradition!

right side of the room

She had a great week with them all to herself. I suppose, she got to pretend to be an only child while in the care of grandparents who thoroughly spoiled her (as it should be!) which was fabulous for her.

I wasn't opposed to her being out there for two weeks alone, except the second week was when her birthday hit. And I didn't want to be away from her for her birthday. I'm not ready to cut the cord that much yet!

So late Friday night, the 8yo and I headed into the city and boarded an Amtrak train headed for Boston. {The husband had to work and the 14yo had school so they had to stay behind.}

We do this because a) I dislike flying. A lot. No, scratch that, I hate flying with every fiber of my being and b) we enjoy taking the train. This is not our first train trip and I hope it won't be out last!

Leaving from a big station like Chicago, means we get to check any luggage we want, but we also brought one small suitcase on the train. Not all stations are big enough to have the staff/space to do checked luggage.

We splurged this trip and got a roomette. We've ridden in coach before. It's not bad, but it's not as good as getting a room. Plus, when we get a room, our meals are included in the price (they are not in coach seating - you pay when you eat like a restaurant). The roomette is the smaller of the rooms available on the train we were on. But with just the two of us, the smaller room was the perfect size!

bunk bed down!

Our train left right on time at 9:30. Mister Man and I hung out for a little bit. We came well equipped with a book each, tablets, a ds, a few toys for him, and some knitting for me. When we were ready for bed, we had the attendant pull down the bunk bed so we could get some sleep.

It's kind of peaceful sleeping on the train. I suppose it must be similar to why babies like to be rocked to sleep? Some parts of the track are bumpy, but it wasn't bad at all! We both slept for quite a while (though I stayed up knitting and watching some videos and just enjoyed the peace and rhythmic rocking).

In the morning we went off to the dining car to get some breakfast. The dining cars are community seating - each table has 4 seats. They will fill the 4 seats up - so if you are traveling as a pair, you can get another pair (or single rider) at your table. Most people who ride the train are pretty friendly and will chat with you, and it's kind of fun to get to meet someone new! We arrived right before breakfast ended, so we sat alone. But we also learned at breakfast the train was running late due to a slow-moving freight in front of us. {As a side note: the train also has a cafe car on it, which has soda, snacks, simple foods like hamburgers, hot dogs, so you can get food on the train without needing to sit down for a full meal!}

We went back to the room and played some games, watched some Dino Dan (a show my son is in LOVE with), and spent time just looking out the window. It's really pretty to watch America go by the train window! We also kept pulling up google maps on my phone so we could see exactly where we were. Mister Man had fun seeing where we were and how far from home we had made it!

our lunch!

This is how most of our day was spent - hanging out, lunch, hanging out. Just before dinner time, we got into the Albany, NY station. This stop is kind of a special stop for the Chicago/Boston run. Because the Chicago/Boston run is also the Chicago/New York City run. From Chicago to Albany, it's one train. At the Albany station, they actually split the train into two trains. One to New York City, one to Boston. We didn't get to watch the trains split, but we did watch our train get the new engine hooked up to it. It was kind of fun!

Then it was back for dinner (which was a bit late). We got back to the room, did one episode of Dinosaur Dan and the 8 year old was tired. I told him to go to sleep. We were supposed to arrive in Boston at about 9:10, but I knew we were running late. I figured better to let him sleep and wake him up than to keep him awake and make him overtired tomorrow. I sat and got a bunch of knitting and reading done! I managed to finish my first vacation read (which isn't too impressive because I brought light, easy, quick reads!).

view outside Amtrak window

Finally, at about 1:15am, our train pulled into Boston (and yes, for those keeping track that 27 hours on a train factoring in the time change). I won't lie, I was pretty exhausted by this time and not happy about getting in so late. I wasn't quite mad either - there can always be delays when traveling: planes take off late, get rerouted, traffic jams on highways, etc - it was just so late at night and I was tired!

That said, overall, I loved our train trip. It's relaxing (okay, maybe not 100% when it's late). On the way home, it's kind of like a mini-vacation - you can't cook or clean or do laundry yet. You just get to hang out and read, play games, knit, watch videos, chat with the kids.

On the way home, it was Mister Man, Miss M and me. We had a lot of fun asking questions from a set of Brain Quest questions, in addition to all the other stuff we brought with! It was some good bonding time.

I highly recommend a train trip or two. I know, I know it takes longer than flying. And sometimes it can even take a bit longer, but it's so worth it!

View outside Amtrak window

PS - this post was not sponsored by Amtrak or anyone. That said, if they ever want to send me somewhere, I'll gladly go. I hope to someday take the train out of Chicago and go to New York City when it splits! ;-)    

Pokemon!

*Just a reminder that I am part of the Netflix Stream Team and I am getting compensated for sharing this with you, but as always, all opinions and thoughts are my own! 

My 8 year old is kind of obsessed with Pokemon.

And by kind of, I mean, absolutely and completely obsessed.

So, we've been watching a lot of Pokemon on Netflix these days. And getting Pokemon cards. And reading a lot of Pokemon books.

We're lucky that Netflix has a lot of Pokemon. July has been a little chillier than we expected, so there's been less time at the pool and more time hanging out at home.

Pokemon has helped fill the time for Mister Man.

The thing I love about Pokemon is that it doesn't just exist in the television. We don't have a lot of rules with our kids about watching tv, but we also don't want them on it all the time. Pokemon works well - he can be obsessed with it, but that doesn't mean he spends the whole day watching tv.

We can watch a few episodes on netflix, but then after that, we can pull out our Pokemon cards (our collection has been growing this summer). Mister Man has been playing with some of his friends. We've also been checking out a lot of Pokemon books from the library. There are chapter books and some graphic novels. The chapter books are just at his level, but he also likes the graphic novels a lot too.

We've had the Pokemon cards around the house - my middle daughter was into it a lot when she was about the same age. We even have some Pokemon stuffed animals around the house. But it was only recently that my son discovered the television show. And he's in love! Which means I'm in love.

It's kind of perfect when your kids can find a new love that can be a show to watch, a book to read, a game to play, and a toy to snuggle!

World War Z

**Just a reminder, I am part of the Netflix stream team and am being compensated for blogging about Netflix. But as always, all opinions and thoughts are my own! 

Two weeks ago my husband came home from work. We had no softball that night, no where to be, and nothing to do (a rare event around these parts this time of year).

He told us "I heard Netflix has World War Z in now! Let's watch it tonight!" I was interested in watching the movie so I thought shy not. The kids wanted to watch it too, so even more reasons to watch it. (Though it shouldn't have been!)

After dinner, we all went to the basement and sure enough, the movie was available so we started playing it.

This was a good idea for 4/5ths of the family. It was a terrible idea for 1/5th of the family. It wasn't supposed to be that bad, so we let the 8yo watch it.

We are idiots.

I was up that night with him a lot. I had to remind him a lot that the movie was fake. And zombies weren't coming to attack us. We didn't need to protect ourselves against it. Or prepare for doomsday. Sigh. In the future we will stick to letting him watch Johnny Test (which he's been watching on netflix lately and enjoying. And is much, much, much more age appropriate!)

The letting the too-young-child-watch-a-movie-that-was-scarier-than-we-thought-it-would-be issue aside, the rest of us loved watching the moving together.

Between the move, softball, unpacking, doctor's appointments, etc, we haven't had a lot of time to just sit together. So it was lovely to just hang out together and watch World War Z! It was an interesting movie with a slightly different spin on how the zombies act than what other zombie movie/shows have done!

And as a bonus, the next day I walked over to the library and checked the book out of the library (which is quite different from the movie!)

All in all, a good night. Well, if I count the three wake-ups from Mister Man, who definitely was NOT ready to watch this movie at all LOL!

Tired Is The New Black

*Just a reminder that I am part of the Netflix Stream Team and I am getting compensated for sharing this with you, but as always, all opinions and thoughts are my own!

Y'all, I'm so tired these days, sometimes I don't know if I'm coming or going!

We've been quite busy around here. Lots of driving to and fro. Between all of us, from last week and this week, there will be 9 doctor's appointments. Spread out over 4 people, but still. 9 times I have to drive myself or someone else to the doctor. And we're still in the throws of our school year. Because some children took advantage of us moving and didn't always get schoolwork done when told to (and no, they aren't terrible children. They're just children. And prone to get distracted much too easily).

And cleaning. And cooking. And softball. And dance. And camps. And physicals.

And well, I'm sure you understand. I feel confident if we were sitting in a circle, we'd all be nodding along, saying "me too!"

But still. I'm so tired. I haven't had much time to nap. Which sounds like a silly thing to complain about, but remember I have doctor's orders (well, okay, orders is a bit strong, maybe suggestion), to nap.

And there's a lot of knitting I'm NOT getting done.

The days fly by. It's summer. But I'm still waiting for the days of lounging by the pool while the kids run around with friends and play.

I know, I know. Have some cheese with my whine, right?

No cheese, but I have been staying up late every night to indulge in some Orange Is The New Black. I started this show back when season 1 came out on Netflix. I watched the first few episodes and wasn't sure. It's not exactly my normal kind of show. But some friends encouraged me to stick with it. And I'm so glad I did.

I love this show. Okay, I could do without some of the more, um, graphic scenes. And as I start to play an episode each night I silently pray that the kids or granny won't wake up and walk in at an awkward scene.

That aside, the characters are great. I love that we are learning about more than just Piper. Red, Tastee, Big Cindy, Nicky, Mr. Healy.

That is my gift to myself. At the end of the night. A chance to sit, get a bit of knitting done, and enjoy a show that brings a smile to my face.

I think things will taper down a bit soon. We're a lot more unpacked. We got some yearly doctor's appointments done and over with in the last few weeks. And then I'll want to be outside, reading in the hammock, playing with the kids, hanging at the pool. But for now, I'll get through the day and then sit down at the end of the day and enjoy an episode (or two) of Orange is the New Black. And I'll wake up tired the next morning, lather, rinse, and repeat.

Upside Down

*Note: Netflix is sponsoring this post as part of my participation in the stream team and sharing that experience with you. However, as always, all opinions are my own! 

We've been a bit upside down in these parts. Preparing a house to sell is crazy!

Last week, we had a lot of new carpet installed - most of our first floor and the basement. It looks great!

But. We spend most of our time on the first floor or the basement. Both were emptied that day and, you know, carpet installers were working. So we were limited to the second floor. Which is just bedrooms. My room is the largest, so the kids naturally congregated in there, well 2/3rds of them!

They plugged in computers, played minecraft, but we also watched a LOT of netflix! Because did I mention I also had my car in the shop, so I was also without transportation. So we couldn't really do much else. Many things have been packed or where being blocked by furniture pushed to the side to allow carpet to come in.

But, phew! Netflix saved the day.

We started by watching the new show Team Hot Wheels. Now, my 8 year old LOVES hot wheels! Just loves them so I knew that this should would be right up his alley! I think it was!

Then, I decided that we should watch something educational because most of our school books were blocked (homeschoolers don't get snow days but we do get house-fixer-upper days!). Netflix is host to so many wonderful programs - documentaries on so many things (for a few years we had watched every dinosaur documentary there was for my son), Mythbusters, How It's Made, etc. That's in addition to educational cartoons we can watch like Arthur and Wild Kratts.

We don't always stick to "educational" things, we watch a lot of things for fun too, but given no books would be cracked that day, I decided less Ninjago and more learning!

So I picked Man vs. Wild.

Alright, alright, not your typical educational show. Basically Bear Grylls gets dropped into places (like forests, mountains, deserts) and has to survive. Along the way he explains what he is doing and why and what things you shouldn't do to survive.I thought it would be a fun way to learn about different areas while picking up some useful skills along the way.

Let me tell you. The show is fascinating. I learned a few things. I also learned that my anxiety can't take the thought of trying to survive on an African plain or in a South American forest, or an American desert! But I did learn to never approach a wild elephant. So that was good.

So we moved on and finished the day with The Magic School Bus. I love that show. It's such a great show with a lot of great science topics covered! The kids were kept happy, I was happy (and anxious free lol!). And we got to see what a baseball game without friction looked like among other things.

Phew. Netflix saved the day! No seriously, I could get to my first floor or basement. All the books were packed or inaccessible. The board games couldn't be reached. There wasn't a place to paint. I had no car so I couldn't leave. It was cold outside so we couldn't run around out there.

My goodness. How did people do this before netflix? Would we have been relegated to watching soap operas and daytime talk tv. Okay, I wouldn't have minded it, but I'm pretty sure the children would have launched a rebellion!

Now the house is back in order. And I'm so thankful for that. But I'm also thankful that at the end of a long day, I can watch House of Cards after everyone else is bed!

How about you? Do you have netflix? Are there any must see's for adults or kids? Share!

Date Night Adventures

Hubby and I

 So. Forever ago I made a bucket list. That list included going to a taping of Wait Wait Don't Tell Me. I love this show. Just love it. If I can't catch it on the radio, I listen to the podcast.

This year for Christmas, husband got me tickets to a taping. These tickets sell out pretty darn quickly. Apparently, my husband tried more than once to get them, but they go so fast! When I opened the gift I squealed a bit. And had to start counting down the days.

But then we realized that the taping was the day after my nipple procedure. But, I was hoping that I'd be okay enough to go, because tickets are hard to get, I really wanted to go, and the tickets were already bought. Also, I wasn't going to delay surgery because that slot was hard to get, I really wanted to get it out of the way, and it was already scheduled.

Now. I look like yesterday I went in and had a large breast enhancement. I didn't, but I have quite a bit of gauze covering me. It looks like a lot of boob under my shirt. Not just boob, but like uneven, weird shaped boob (I apologize right now if this is too much information, but alas, this is how it works).

More husband and I

I changed outfits like 4 times before leaving in an effort to not make anything obvious. I settled on jean skirt, cute sweater and a fashion scarf. Think Kirstie Alley in Look Who's Talking Now. Time was running out before I had to leave. A kind neighbor was driving me to the train station - the plan was I'd train it downtown, husband would grab me from the station and we'd eat quick subs, and head to the show.

Minutes before she came to get me, a filling in one of my teeth popped out. While I was brushing my teeth. Which, for real, is completely unfair. Shouldn't stuff like this not happen when brushing your teeth? Thankfully, the nerve must not be exposed because it doesn't hurt ::knock on wood:: but I was slightly frazzled because, um, a piece of my tooth (even though it was filling) fell out and I was sporting fankenboobs. My kids assured me I looked fine. The filling fell out of the back of a tooth so no one could tell, and they assured me I looked "normal" in my sweater and scarf.

Phew. Friend came. Got on train. Did I mention it was snowing? And kind of nasty? And while I was on the train I noticed that some pretty major accidents/incidents were happening that was causing traffic to not move very much?

Yep. I got to the train station, but husband didn't. He was sitting in traffic. And slowly inching along. We talked - should I go straight to the theater via taxi, wait for him, grab food, not grab food?

The stage! Squee!

I won't lie. I felt so frazzled! This is NOT the date night I wanted. Alas, I sat at the train station for about 30 minutes, he made it, and we rushed to the theater.

We got in, got in line, ate our subs while standing in line. Because, people, this is what 14 years of marriage looks like - date night might mean eating subs while standing in line for a show because that's just how it goes LOL!

But we got in and everything calmed down for me. The show started (about 30ish minutes after the ticket time but it was fine). And it was perfect!

The show rocks even more in person than when you hear it on the radio. I loved every moment of it. The panel, Peter Sagal, Carl Kasell, everyone was awesome. We laughed, we clapped, we let out the occasional oh-no-you-didn't-just-say-that gasp. It. Was. Great.

Peter, who rocks.

Did I mention that it was great? ;-)

Then the show ends, they say a few things they needed to repeat for editing (which is kind of funny to sit through). After that they answer a few questions and then? Then? Then you get to go on the stage and say hi, take pictures, get autographs of the panel, Peter, and/or Carl. Seriously? Awesome. The only thing that could top it? Is if Carl recorded the message on my answering machine.

Carl Kasell and me!

I was as giddy as a school girl meeting my tween crush. It was awesome. And everyone was lovely. Though, honestly I didn't get to talk to Peter and Carl much ... we were almost last in line and the theater needed to close up soon. Let's be honest, even had I been first, it's not like I would have had a conversation with them. Because I was too busy geeking out over getting to, you know, just say hi.

I also said hi to the panelists: Amy Dickinson, Luke Burbank, and P.J. O'Rourke.

My new bff Luke and I

Luke thought I looked like a grown-up version of his niece, who is obviously a very adorable girl! Then he pegged me to be in my mid-20's. Oh yes, I will bring that up 1,949,285 times the rest of this week .. "and oh, he thought I was in my mid-20's! Can you believe it? Crazy!" Amy wondered if in fact I might be her niece as well. Seriously, can I just lie and say I am both of their nieces? Aunt Amy and Uncle Luke ... that could work right? And it doesn't make me seem like a stalker, right?

Then it was time to grab a souvenir (or two) and head home.

Naturally, I'm wondering when I get to go back and do it again. Though, when we go back, I'd like to do it without frankenboobs or a piece of a tooth missing and without bad weather. I don't think that's too much too ask?

You know it's true!

Not long ago, the season ender for Downton Abbey aired.
I did not appreciate how the season ended one single bit. It left me angry and upset and with no desire to watch the next season. Which of course, I will watch when it airs because, lets be honest, I couldn't not watch it!

Recently I've been watching The Walking Dead. I'm almost caught up, but have a few more episodes to go.

I know, Downton Abbey and The Walking Dead. What do they possibly have in common? Well, I'll show you with a very badly created Venn diagram which I created during a few moments of down time.

Come on, you know it's true!

Reality TV

yes, a picture of my tv screen LOL!

So, I watch reality tv. I watch probably too much of it, but I tell myself it's totally okay because I don't watch nearly as much as a few people I know.

My favorite of favs is Project Runway. I actually try not to miss it and the family knows that Thursday is Project Runway night. I've watched it since season 1. Well, I missed a few seasons when it was on Bravo and we did not have a cable package with that channel, but I've been into since the beginning. I love watching the challenges and the things they come up with. That said, I don't always see eye-to-eye with the judges. And I get VERY pissy when the designers are all "OMG! I have to make a dress for someone who is bigger than a size 0. I've never made clothes for a real woman before." Um, a) most of the world isn't size 0 and b) a size 0 woman is still real.

That aside, I love the show. I prefer the regular show to the all star show. And even when I'm mad at the judges and say I'm never watching the show again, I do. Every single time LOL!

I am also fond of America's Next Top Model. But I'm never on the current season. A few channels often rerun old seasons and I catch them when I can. It's not that I don't want to watch the current season, I just can't ever seem to catch it when it's on. I suppose now with the internet I could fix that pretty quickly, but watching the old seasons is enough for me. Related: the kids and I will often jokingly tell each other to be fierce from the tips of of our fingers to the tips of toes when taking pictures as a reference to Tyra talking about being fierce!

The Real Housewives - I watch them all. I don't have a favorite. I do not watch them all - again, I just can't manage to catch them all. Okay, now, here's where I sound mean. I have said, more than once, I watch the Housewives in order to see that others have it worse than me. {See, it's mean}. It's also a reminder that money doesn't mean happiness, and a good reminder that 15 minutes of fame usually comes back to bite you in the butt. That said, I do feel bad for them, when things go wrong and when they are all fighting and when life gets tough.

Amazing Rave - I love this show. And don't watch it nearly enough. The kids like this one too. It's so fun to see all the places they travel too.

So, there you go. My dirty (that's not so dirty) little secret about watching reality tv.

P.S. Man, it's hard to post each day. I feel like I'm already out of ideas and reaching for the bottom of the barrel, but I am determined to finish NaBloMoPo!

My newest obssession

So, I have new obsession in my life. It's a television called called Downton Abbey

I first heard people talking about it on twitter and didn't get the fuss. But now? I'm hooked! It's a period drama (set in the early 20th century) set in Northern England {also, someone correct me if I'm wrong}. The show revolves around the Earl and Lady Grantham family, their mother, their three daughters and of course the staff - which there are plenty of. Valets, butler, maid, housemaid, footmen, etc.

And I? Am in love? I'd like to go live there. At Downton Abbey. {Um, no, it is not fictional. Downton exists. And I'm sure the Granthams do too! Okay just kidding. I know it's fiction, but seriously, I'm still going to pretend it's not lol!}

The history woven in it? The titanic sinks! Women fighting for the right to vote! World War I! I'm absolutely hooked. {I also enjoy historical fiction when I read so this shouldn't be a surprise}.  My 12 year old is as big of a fan as I am and so she's been watching with me (which I love!). The other two will watch it if they are in the room. And they know some of the characters. Their favorite though is Dowager Countess Grantham but mostly because she is played by Maggie Smith who played Professor McGonagall in the Harry Potter films!

I'm not quite sure who my favorite character is yet. I was really drawn to Mr. Bates. And also to Anna. But I'll leave it at that.

Season 1 is available on netflix and someone said for Amazon Prime members (I'm not positive though because I am not!) and season 2 just started last week. I think the first two episodes can be seen at video.pbs.org if you are curious to see what it's all about! Also, it is worth noting, I was not asked to write this. No one asked me to watch the show. I just love it that much. That I want to tell you about it! =)

Anyway, what are your guilty pleasures right now? Share with me! =)

Barely here ...

I'm here. I'm just sick and crabby and whiny (although, I am generally feeling that way most of the time sadly) and don't have much to say.

I'm pretty much sitting on the couch, sleeping, using kleenex like they will go out of style next week, and watching as the kids trash the house and leave huge messes everywhere.

My 9 year old commented that the floor looked extra messy and that her brother and sister must be making extra messes (love how she blames them LOL!) I informed her that the reason it looks so crazy around here is that I usually clean up the toys that are left out after they go to bed. The look on her face then was priceless. And then she said you really do help a lot. I think she finally gets it now. She is the biggest fan of telling me I never help them when it's time to clean up their toys. I hope to not hear that criticism for a good week. I will say this, after that conversation she picked up 95% of the living room for me. Bless her sweet heart - which I will remember when I want to scream the next time she tells me I don't help out enough LOL!

I've been doing some knitting, but again, can't show you pictures. I have other things I want to show, but I can't show you. It stinks when I am only crafting gifts that I can't show here lest the person receiving them pop on and see their present ahead of time.

I've also finished all the Weeds episodes I can find. I think my love affair with the show might be ending. If I can find season 6 (or has it even aired yet?) I'll try to watch it and see, but it seems like the craziness is too much even for me. Which, I might point out I do with lots of shows ... it seems I can only take about 4 seasons of a show before my love for it begins to slowly fade? But I have taken much of my sick time to catch up on Lost. I have now finished season 2. At the rate I'm going, I'll be caught up in 2 years! =) Assuming I don't fall out of love with it around season 4 ;-)

Anyway, if you have time go check out www.themotherhood.com There's been a bit of a redesign and it's pretty awesome now. Even more awesome than it was before. As hard as that is to believe. But it's fun. And you should visit.

Tweet, tweet

Okay, I took the plunge.
I joined twitter.
You can follow me here.
I don't promise to keep up, but I had to join! All the cool kids were doing it and I want to be cool too LOL!!!! ;-)

Olympic Junkie!

I am an Olympic junkie. I LOVE to watch them - all of them. I wish I had more channels so that I could switch between all the NBC channels to watch more sports. I have caught a few things here and there on the internet when I can.

The thing is, for this Olympics, I have been out of the house a LOT. So I've been staying up too late to watch the reruns of them after the local news. I am hardly out of the house this much, so it seems funny to me that I'm out during a time when I especially want to be in the house, sitting and watching!

As with must people, I am especially loving the gymnastics competition. Although - seriously, what was up with the scoring tonight? It just seemed so fishy! And all the talk about people's ages ... crazy. But I am also "digging the volleyball competitions - both indoors and beach. And the kayaking was fun to watch too - although I think it brought back memories of the trip we just took =)

My kids have been watching it with me too. It is so sweet and cute to hear them talk about it. They are pretty much in awe of all of them and constantly ask "who is our team and did we win?" My 2 year old is fascinated by gymnastics and diving. He keeps saying "Wow mom! S/he made a circle!" [as a side note, he is also fascinated by circles!] He keeps asking if he can make circles too. It's pretty cute.

My 8 year old has declared - quite firmly I might add - that she will go to the Olympics one day. She will be on the softball team and help the US get a gold medal. And if I was a betting person, I would say she will indeed be there. Except rumors are that this will be the last Olympics with softball in it. I suggested maybe she try to go with volleyball and that beach volleyball looks quite fun. To which she replied "Yeah, but they do not wear enough clothes for me." Which made me crack up!

My 5 year old seems to be much like me though. She is loving watching them. Just hooked on watching them. But if you ask her will she be in them one day she has decided that she won't be going. It just looks too hard and maybe she could just do some drawings instead! Which, truthfully, is pretty much what I thought as a kid too! Sports did not, well scratch that, they still don't come to me easily or naturally. I think I was born with the opposite of eye-hand coordination. I told her that maybe she could be a famous photographer and take pictures at the Olympics so that she could still go and get to be there and she said she would think about it!

It's so strange how I just get her so well. I know exactly what she means most of the time. And my oldest and youngest, well, they are so much alike - and so much alike their father. And it even shows when we watch the Olympics together! I guess though the good news is that each of our children has one parent who really gets what is going on in their heads.

Addicted ...

Well now I am addicted to Face Book! I joined today and have been checking it nonstop all day long!
I have found family on there, current friends on there, and old friends on there too (seriously, the people I haven't seen in quite some time is really what has been exciting me the most! To see people - some are married, some have kids, some look exactly the same, some have changed a lot - it's so neat!)
Anyway, at some point I will need to drag myself away from it, but for now, it is just too cool LOL!

Some more ramblings ...

Weekend was pretty good.

Saturday I had a meeting to help plan a wedding - so fun. I think I could plan weddings as a career choice, but I'm not that good and although I am helping plan, the bride and groom had a lot done already and that was nice! =)

Saturday evening the girls and I had a girls night out. I'll give you a hint as to what we did (and anyone with tweens will probably get this) ...

What team? Wildcats!
What team? Wildcats!
Wildcats! Getcha head in the game!

We saw Disney's High School Musical the Ice Tour.
As a fluke, when we were leaving, we saw the guy who played Troy and got a picture.

Sunday left me watching some more LOST (2 more episodes and I'm done with season 1), I finished the back of my cardigan, and started the front.

Now I have a job. The bride in the above mentioned wedding wants to make all the invitations/place cards/thank you's herself (and by herself I mean she wants us to do it for her - well, she would help, but wants ideas). So I need to make some sample cards for her. I am actually excited about this. The good news is the wedding is in February 2009, so we have lots of time to really work on these and do something just gorgeous, ya know? So we meet again at the end of March and I want to work up a few ideas for her. I have quite a few rumbling around in my head. I just need to make them and see if they work as well in real life as they work in my head. Dh and I talked about it, and if she likes what I bring her (because 3 other people will be coming up with ideas as well) then we have decided we will just make them all for her and that can be our wedding present for her. I'm guessing 100-150 will go out as we're looking at an invite list of about 250 people (but I think 60 are kids). So we'll see where that goes and I need to go shopping for supplies to make something really nice for her. She wants the professional look for the homemade price, which I can completely understand! =)