just another layout

Does that urge to create ever just get the better of you? That's what happened last night...I just wanted to scrapbook! So, I did. Despite the fact that I should have been working on homeschool stuff. Despite the fact that my old scrapbook room was in total disarray and my new one just wasn't ready yet. Despite the fact that I was in the midst of baking cookies for Annie's soccer party tonight. Despite all that, I just grabbed some pictures and set to work, running up and down the stairs between batches of cookies. And let me tell you...it felt good!



I admit the resulting layout is nothing spectacular, but that's okay. It was fun working with these pictures...they're from such a long time ago! Though I'm still not the best photographer around, it is nice to see that I've definitely improved since then. These pictures are from a trip Rich and I took in Sept. 1989, before we were married. Back in those days when we took our favorite kind of trip...the kind where we have a vague destination in mind, but we just sort of wander around on our way there and back. For this trip, we knew we wanted to end up in the Outer Banks, but we definitely took the long way there. Leaving from the Philadelphia area of PA, we went and camped in western MD, drove down Skyline Drive, and headed to Appomattox Courthouse before ever reaching our destination. And then Hurricane Hugo ended up chasing us out of the Outer Banks, so we headed up to the Baltimore Aquarium and then to visit some friends in NJ before heading home. Ahhhh...those carefree days.

Anyway, now that I got that out of my system, maybe I can get back to some of the things I "should" be doing.

note to self...

Never...I mean, NEVER...never plug in the blender before you're ready to turn it on.

O.K., O.K., I realize this is simple common sense. But common sense isn't really one of my strong points. Let's hope that learning from one's mistakes is. Errr...I mean learning from the mistakes of others...

See, this poor mother's children were all excited...it was orange freezie day! Yes, they had quickly latched on to this as a weekly breakfast treat. But today, I'm sorry to say, these children had to wait a bit longer than normal for their frozen delights.

See, their not-so-with-it mom dug out the blender, plugged it in, added milk and vanilla, and began struggling with the orange juice concentrate. Somehow, as she managed to get that first big glob of concentrate to plop into the blender, she also somehow managed to hit one of the buttons with her elbow. Of course, the underside of the kitchen cabinets, as well, as the roll of paper towels, are now being showered...but this is not enough for their klutzy mom. No, in her frantic effort to hit the "off" button, she manages to first drop her very favorite spatula into the blender, thus nearly ruining it, and then to knock the whole thing off the base. Now the microwave, coffee maker, radio, counter, etc. can share in the orange-y goodness as well.

Hey, but this mom doesn't cry. Okay, she didn't laugh, either. And she was slightly tempted to add gin to next batch (though I assure you, she didn't...it was only 8:00am and she was going to feed it to her kids as well). She did manage to clean up the mess, start fresh, and feed her children their delicious breakfast of bagels and orange freezies...so in the end, all was well.

*******************************************

I posted this story in hopes that this poor woman, whose identity shall remain confidential, can help others like me to avoid her fate.

boggles the mind...

Stacy, whom most of you already know and love, tagged me with “Blogging Community Involvement Award - the Power of Schmooze”. Now, as I told Stacy, this just cracks me right up! It's not that I'm not honored, because I most assuredly am. It's just that I never thought that my name and schmooze would ever appear in the same sentence! I'm just so painfully introverted. But I guess that's the beauty of the blogging world. It allows you to be yourself without all the social anxiety of in-person interactions.

Anyway, here is what Stacy had to say about schmoozing (and yes, I'm stealing word for word here)...

Schmoozing as defined by Dictionary.com is the ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” When it comes to blogging, schmoozing is your ticket to making new friends, getting yourself noticed and building a reputation.

So, if I'm understanding correctly, this award is about having a welcoming blog. About commenting. About answering comments. About making friends. About being a friend.

And using that as my guide, I'm going to now tag a few "schmooze-y" gals. (I hope you all know I could choose so many of you...because I'm lucky enough to visit so many welcoming, friendly people on a regular basis. But I'm going to try to limit this to just a few.)

Carrie. She's a shoo-in for this one! Though I suspect she will laugh as hard as I did at being thought of as a "schmoozer". But if you haven't already, you really must visit her blog. She is just the sweetest! I mean it, The Sweetest! Her blog is not only welcoming and friendly and down-to-earth, it is a HAPPY place! And she's a very loyal friend, and always leaves the sweetest comments. She has a way of making my day, every day! And by the way, if you didn't pick up on it before...she's really very sweet!

Gail. Yep, Stacy's sister. You can tell they're "cut from the same cloth". They are both beautiful ladies! Their blogs are both such friendly places to visit. And they always visit and leave sweet comments. And they're so thoughtful that they respond to comments you leave them. I tell you, these ladies are special people!

Melissa. She's definitely "schmooze-y"! Friendly. A variety of posts, but always with a welcoming feel. And she's very liberal with her links, always talking about the wonderful people she meets out here in the bloggy world. And she too, leaves very sweet comments.

**I must apologize, that once again I could not get the button for this award to post. I have no idea why sometimes I can manage to do this and sometimes I can't. I'm sorry for my lack of computer skills. So you wonderful ladies who I tagged feel free to bop on over to Stacy's to pick up the button.**

Thank you again, Stacy! I truly don't know what I did to deserve you for a friend, but I am ever so grateful!

in the world of food...

Time again for Menu Plan Monday, courtesy of our lovely hostess Laura. Thanks Laura!

But before we get to this week's menu, an update on last week. I actually managed to stick pretty much to plan, with just a few exceptions. One, I didn't get to try the Savory Shell Salad. I'd made such a whopping batch of potato salad the night before, and figured we should just eat that instead. Secondly, I switched out trying the Oatmeal Date Muffins for Oatmeal Banana Muffins because I had a couple bananas that needed to be used. They were pretty good, but the other muffin recipe I tried, Blueberry Sour Cream Muffins, was a tremendous hit! The kids were crazy about these babies, which they've taken to calling Blueberry Hat Muffins, and have already asked to have them again. I like them not only because they're moist and delicious, but because I get to use my pastry blender to make them. Don't ask me why...but I just love using a pastry blender! Anyway, back to last week's menu...I did try the Pepperoni Pasta recipe last week...it was okay, but nothing fantastic. However, last night, I tried another new pasta recipe that definitely was a winner, Italian Skillet Dinner. Supper quick and easy, and very tasty!

O.K., time to move on to this week:

Monday:
*breakfast-cold cereal/bananas
*lunch-BLTs/blueberries/cheese sticks
*supper-grilled mozza chicken sandwiches which I found over at Jennifer's place/tropical fruit salad

Tuesday:
*breakfast-bagels/orange freezies
*lunch-PB&J/yogurt/nectarines
*supper-Annie's soccer pizza party...I'm taking crack cookies

Wednesday:
*breakfast-dino eggs oatmeal/plums
*lunch-grilled cheese/fries (Maxidoodle requested this meal)
*supper-kielbasa and potato bake, which I found over at my sweet friend Carrie's place/cauliflower/sweet potato bread/berry freeze

Thursday:
*breakfast-Pop Tarts/cantaloupe
*lunch-homemade mac & cheese/applesauce
*supper-picnic at park with friends...I'm bringing Snickers pie

Friday:
*breakfast-scrambled egg sandwiches
*lunch-sandwiches/chips
*supper-leftovers

and that's what we've been doing...

No earth-shattering news from our home this week. Was pretty much same old, same old here...


The kids spent lots of time trading Pokemon cards...they just never seem to tire of this. But it's really nice that they have something that they all can enjoy together.






They also spent a lot of time in their little pool. Annie logged the most water time, as the boys tend to get cold much quicker.

















































Annie had her final two soccer games of the season. Her team finally got their first (and only) win! And Annie scored her first goal during that game!



Gray had his year-end soccer party. They received their trophies that night, but Gray was much more excited about the water balloon toss.

It probably goes without saying that Gray spent a good deal of time drawing. But he also spent a lot of time reading this week. It's so great to see him finally choosing to read without any prompting from us.




Annie, of course, read up a storm. I think she would perish if she had to go more than a few hours at a time without reading!

And Rich has joined in on the Harry Potter craze! He's still working on his summer science reading list, but he's also decided to tackle all the Harry Potter books this summer. He generally saves his fiction reading for the evening, but he's caught the fever now and read the third book and started the fourth in the past 2.5 days.

And yes, I'm still plugging along on all my reading challenges. But mostly my time is spent working on homeschool prep for the coming school year. And I've also spent a good deal of time moving my considerable supply of scrapbook materials from one room to another. Giving up my scraproom to Annie is harder than I thought it would be. Not that I begrudge her the room...I'm just having a tough time fitting everything into my new space. But I'll figure it all out eventually, I'm sure.

And that wraps up a quick recap of our uneventful lives for this past week. (Hey, this post would make a good sleep-aid, huh?)

just some good stuff to start the weekend...

*the sweetest little baby bunny munching clover out under the clothesline

*having the belt tightened on the car so we no longer have that horrendous squealing when we start the car

*a full weekend ahead (a.k.a. having Rich home)

*fat free French Vanilla Coffeemate in my coffee (a guilty pleasure, for sure)

*watching Gray finally acquire the "reading bug" (Though he's now been reading for over 2 years, it's only been in the past month when he's grown to love it...he's read 24 chapter books since school let out on June 21. Hooray Gray!)

Oh my...life is good!

and we've got a winner...

Congrats to Laura, from a guy, a girl, and a Sofie, for winning my tiny slice of the Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway pie, hosted by Rocks in my Dryer.

A big thank to Shannon for hosting this sensation! What a lot of work it must have been for her!

happy anniversary to us...

Not our real anniversary. But 20 years ago today, Rich and I had our first date! Someday I'll have to tell the goofy story to go along with it. We'd been best of friends for quite a while before we went out. But for today, I'll just say Happy Anniversary to us! Love you more than ever, my sweetie!

on the book front...

I haven't played Booking Through Thursday for a while. Though I still loved reading the answers of others, I just didn't have much of interest to contribute. Still don't, but I missed playing, so here I am back at it.

This week's question:

"Who’s the worst fictional villain you can think of? As in, the one you hate the most, find the most evil, are happiest to see defeated? Not the cardboard, two-dimensional variety, but the most deliciously-written, most entertaining, best villain? Not necessarily the most “evil,” so much as the best-conceived on the part of the author…oh, you know what I mean!"

This is such a fabulous question, isn't it? But a tough one! There's lots of evil dudes out there between the pages of books. I'm going to go with Randall Flagg from The Stand (Stephen King). He pops to mind, probably because this is one of my all-time favorite books. But evil he most certainly is. And just to be difficult, I'm going to throw in another...Capricorn from Inkheart (Cornelia Funke), because I found him so creepily original.




And now on to other book ramblings...

I finished my second book for the Medical Mystery Madness Reading Challenge. This book, Terminal Condition, by David Shobin, was much more what I was hoping for! (I was rather disappointed in my first choice.) Shobin is a new author to me, but I will probably eventually search out more of his books...if I can ever find time between all these challenges, that is. Terminal Condition was a fast-paced, suspenseful ride. Very reminiscent of Robin Cook or Michael Palmer. In fact, at one point it was almost a little too reminiscent of a scene from Cook's Coma. But the scene worked none-the-less, even if it was eerily familiar.

The basic storyline involves the discovery of new wonder-drug, which can dramatically help people with severe dementia. But as can be predicted before this discovery is even made public, greed muscles its way into the story, and all kinds of evil monkey-business ensue.

I do have one small complaint...it's not really that big of a deal, but it was a tad annoying at times. David Shobin is a physician, as many of these medical thriller books, are. But while most of these authors seem to grasp that their audience will be far broader than the medical community, Shobin sometimes seemed to forget this. Take for example, this sentence, "The copper-jacketed slug transected the right carotid and chipped off the transverse process of C-3 before exiting the upper trapezius muscle." Sure, I understood what he was saying, but come on...

And there was one other thing I just have to mention, because it made me laugh. I even had to interrupt Rich's reading to tell him about it. The mafia plays a role in this book, and in the page where we are first introduced to these characters, we meet Vinnie, Vito, Salvatore, Anthony, Joey, and Dominic. Just made me giggle...I mean couldn't there just once be a mob guy named Tim or Dave or Bob. Okay, forgive my silliness...I just found it amusing for some weird reason.

And with that I am off to go fix the monkeys some breakfast. Then I can't wait to read what other "villians" made the cut.

words on Wednesday...

Three new words for me this week. #1 is a word I feel like I should have known. Like I've looked it up before, and then quickly forgot it. #2 is a word I feel I should have known because the Maxidoodle would qualify to have his picture beside it in the dictionary. And #3, though a fine enough word, is completely and totally new to me.

*nascent-coming into existence; emergent (from And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts)

*obstreperous-noisily and stubbornly defiant (from To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee)

*philippic-a passionate speech intended to arouse opposition (again, from To Kill A Mockingbird)

Okay, I just realized what I said above needs amended...I have definitely run into the last two words before, because I've read this book before. Forgive me...I'm just not with it today. Anyway, which ones did you know?

sleepless nights

***WARNING: Do not, I repeat, DO NOT, read this if you are easily grossed out!***

Carrie absolutely cracked me up this morning with the photo she posted of her sweet, yet seriously sleep-deprived self. (No, this is not the "gross" part of the post!) Anyway, I wanted to let Carrie know that she really is not alone. I'm beginning to think sleep-deprivation is just a normal part of motherhood, that will only go away when children leave for college or wherever else it is they choose to leave for.

Actually, I should not complain...because Gray (my non-sleeper) is finally getting better. This child has never slept! Just doesn't seem to need much. But he is now down to getting me up just a couple times a night, most nights. Some nights, only once.

The dog (I'm a little ticked off at him this morning, therefore I won't even call him by name) has become another part of the problem. See, he wakes me up during the night to let him outside. Despite the fact that he'll have little to do with me during the day, because he is completely and totally a "daddy's dog". Anyway, several weeks back I decided that I'd had enough of his late night antics, that he was only going out to play for 20 minutes during the wee hours, without having any real "business" that needed to be done. So I decided I was going to ignore him when he came to get me up during the night. And this worked for about 2 weeks, until one morning I woke up to a not-so-lovely pile of you-know-what on the living room carpet. (No, this is still not the gross part.) And I couldn't even get mad at him, because he had tried to get me up. Yep, the darn dog had won...I was now at his beck and call during the night.

Anyway, on to last night's antics...

First, I must admit Gray was on his best behavior...only got me up once. To go to the bathroom because he's too scared to go by himself in the middle of the night. But when I went back to bed after this, I simply could not get back to sleep. There was this horrid smell coming in our window. It was like a combination of freshly-killed skunk and gasoline. (Still not to the gross part.) It was making me nauseous. Closing the window didn't help. I tossed and turned and tossed and turned. Finally decided to go to the living room and sleep on the couch. Well, of course, I didn't turn the lights on. Why would I, right? But as soon as I put my head to the pillow, I felt something wet and slimy and disgusting on my neck. I, of course, jumped right up and turned on the light. (Yep, this is the gross part!) The darn cat, who also is in the doghouse and will not be called by name, had thrown up on the couch! Now, the darn cat throws up a lot. But never before on the furniture. So why did she feel the need to start last night?!! Rarely have I been so disgusted in all my life! Needless to say, I then had to wash cat barf out of my hair and off my neck, I had to change pajamas, and get a new pillowcase for my pillow. Finally, I try to get back to sleep...now on the living room floor. Finally, my blood pressure lowers and I drift off...only to have the canine member of the sleep-wrecking crew take his whack at me. Yes, I got up and let him out. And then let him back in. Only to have to get up yet again to let him out. And let him back in. Twice in one night! I guess he didn't want the cat getting the better of him in his quest to keep me perpetually bleary-eyed.

Anyway, Carrie, if you ever feel like chatting at 2:00am, I'm generally up.

where has the summer gone?!!

I simply can't believe we're nearing the end of July already! How can this possibly be?!!

Rich was saying just last night that we really need to stop planning so many big projects for the summer and start relaxing and enjoying it instead. Sounds good, but how to put that idea into practice is the trick.

Take, for example, homeschooling prep. Since we can't really afford any pre-made curriculum, and haven't found any that we really love and would suit our purposes anyway, I tend to do most of it myself. The problem with that is that is takes time...lots and lots of time. Summer is the time to get as much prepared ahead as I possibly can.

And, of course, summer is the time for outdoor projects. There's just no fighting the weather, right?

And this summer, we're working on switching what seems to be half the house around. Moving my scraproom in with our "classroom". Moving Annie to the soon-to-be old scraproom. Moving Max into the room Annie now has. Annie's "new" room will need to be painted and whatnot. And we promised Gray that we will also paint his room once we get Max moved out of there. The bathroom also desperately needs painted. Again, painting is best done in the summer when you can keep the window open.

Add in the kids' summer projects...soccer 4 nights a week, flute lessons, writing "camp", taking care of the school garden for a week...

Now, here comes the question people...how do you find the time to relax and do the things you enjoy during the summer? I know darn well we're not the only ones who are incredibly busy. Heck, some of you are probably a lot busier than we are. So how do you do it? How do sneak in time for the things you love and the things that keep you sane? I really need some tips from some of you out there who actually have their act together.

Now over about the last two weeks, I did manage to steal 2 minutes here and 5 minutes there, etc. to complete a single layout. One. And I don't even like it. (Though I do really, really love the picture of Rich and Maxidoodle!)



You know, I suppose one obvious answer would be to stop blogging, but please don't ask me to do that!

the fun starts today...

Yep, today's the day for the start of the Dog Days of Summer Bloggy Giveaway! Be sure to head over to Rocks in my Dryer, the genius behind it all, for links to all the fantastic giveaways.

So, what am I giving away, you ask. Well, nothing all that exciting, I'm afraid. Wish I could afford to bestow upon every one of you some wonderfully decadent indulgence, but that is simply not to be. Instead, I took the suggestion that you give away something that is somehow related to your blog. Well, anyone who visits here knows that my blog is a major hodgepodge of ramblings. But I tried to narrow it down to a few of my "favorite" things. So, if you leave a comment to this post, here is what you will be in the running to win...



A book. The Third Victim by Lisa Gardner, to be specific. Though all the book challenges are doing the job of expanding my reading horizons, this type of book (suspense/thriller) is probably still my favorite type of read. (I have not actually read this book, but have read others by her and enjoyed them immensely.)

A pewter frame. Love, love, love photos.

A packet of alphabet rub-ons by K&Company. Because I love scrapbooking. And I'm addicted to letters of all shapes and sizes.

And a Symphony chocolate bar. Well, does that really need an explanation?!!

I tried to come up with something related to homeschooling as well, but just drew a blank. Didn't figure anyone wanted to win my lesson plans for "Native Americans" or a copy of a "Probability and Statistics" test. So, we'll let it go at the items in the photo.

Now, if you would like a chance to win, all you have to do is leave a comment to this post. The winner will be randomly chosen and announced on Friday.

Enjoy the Dog Days of Summer everyone!

Menu Plan Monday

Nothing terribly exciting on the menu this week, but at least I got back on track and planned this week. If you'd like to view some much better sounding menus, head over to our lovely hostess Laura's. As always, a big thank you Laura!

Monday:
breakfast-cold cereal/bananas
lunch-BLTs
supper-pizza party for Gray's soccer team

Tuesday:
breakfast-blueberry sour cream muffins (new recipe)/cantaloupe
lunch-grilled cheese/tomato soup/goldfish
supper-pepperoni pasta (new recipe)/Italian bread/salad

Wednesday:
breakfast-waffles/blueberries
lunch-barbecue sandwiches/beans
supper-chicken and rice/broccoli/homemade rolls

Thursday:
breakfast-bagels/orange freezies
lunch-egg salad sandwiches/yogurt
supper-meatloaf/potato salad/oatmeal date muffins (new recipe)

Friday:
breakfast-scrambled eggs/bacon/English muffins
lunch-bagel sandwiches
supper-burgers/corn on the cob/savory shell salad (new recipe)

And I blew off planning for the weekend, as I'm not sure what we'll be doing. I'm really itching to get away...but we'll see. If we stay home, I'm going to try to remember to try Carrie's recipe for Chicken and Pepper Jack Taquitos...they sound so yummy!

two for the price of one

I finished reading The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan this morning. Wonderful, wonderful book. I joke around a lot that I seem to have an addiction problem with these book challenges. But I must say this book epitomizes one of the reasons why I keep joining. If I hadn't joined the The Non-Fiction Five Challenge or The Book Awards Challenge, it is very likely that I would never have gotten around to reading this book. And that would have been my loss.

I've long been stuck in a rut in my reading habits, reading almost nothing but psychological/mystery/political thrillers. These challenges have forced me to expand my horizons. Don't get me wrong...I still love my thrillers, but I've found that I can very much enjoy books from other genres as well. Another case in point...if not for Maggie and her Southern Reading Challenge, it's highly unlikely that I would have read The Secret Life of Bees. And that book now holds a place in my favorite books of all time list.

Anyway, back to The Worst Hard Time. Again, I feel like I really need to come up with a some sort of disclaimer to post with each of my book reviews. Because frankly, I'm just not good at writing them. Simply not a talent I am blessed with. Maybe I'll improve with practice...who knows. But now that I'm off-track again, let me just throw something else in here. If you want to read some phenomenal book reviews, I suggest you visit Nymeth at Things Mean A Lot. Her books reviews are so incredibly beautiful and well-written...she's an incredibly gifted writer!

O.K., O.K., again, back to the book...

The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan tells the story, or maybe I should say "stories", of the Dust Bowl. This is one of those pieces of history that I had merely a passing acquaintance with. Egan, with his wonderful writing, brought this history to life. One of my favorite things about this book was the way he managed to not only convey the "big historical picture", but also told the tale from the perspective of real people. Yes, I learned the history of this area of the Midwest, and learned about all the events that led to this horrendous man-made environmental disaster, and learned about the destruction wrought by the dust storms to this area. But I also got to see this period of time through some very real, very courageous, very hard-working people. That these people survived at all is miraculous...many people didn't. And I have a feeling that these people will stay with me for quite some time. Another thing I really enjoyed about this book was the way he left me wanting to learn more. Not necessarily about the Dust Bowl, as he told what seems to be a very complete, well-rounded version. But about subjects that in one way or another had a connection with this piece of history...everything from the Comanche, to Catherine the Great, to FDR. Anyway, keeping in mind that this is just my opinion...I highly recommend this book. (Annie read this book a few months ago and thoroughly enjoyed it, too.)

(And, of course, we're not the only people to enjoy this book...it did win The National Book Award for Non-Fiction in 2006.)

a bit repetitive

Yes, this is starting to get old here, isn't it? But I seem to have a problem. Yes, I really do. Why is it that I can't seem to say "no" to a book challenge. Oh well, I suppose there are far worse addictions.

So, what's the latest? The Book to Movie Reading Challenge hosted by Callista at S.M.S. Book Reviews. It runs from September 1 through December 1. And you just have to read 3 books that have been made into movies. And Callista has a link to an amazingly long list of ideas.

I actually already have several books on my upcoming reading list (other challenges and homeschooling) that would work. And she did say it was o.k. to overlap with other challenges, but I think I'll try to keep the overlap to just one of the three books.

So, anyway, here's what I've come up with:

*MacBeth by William Shakespeare (also using this for homeschooling and maybe for the RIP Challenge coming up this fall)

*Zodiac by William Graysmith

*Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling (I actually read this back in 2000, but I want to refresh my memory before moving on the the others, which I have not read)

--For whatever reason, I have not been able to snag the adorable little button Callista has for this challenge. I will continue to try, and hopefully add it later.--

the speculation on milk

A few of you have wanted to know why our milk is so cheap here. My answer is "I don't know." My guess, however, is that it's because we live in such a huge dairy state. (Yes, I know many people don't think "New York" and "agriculture" belong in the same sentence, but I assure you they really, truly do.)

Anyway, like I said, that's just my guess.

And by the way, a trip to the grocery store yesterday had us paying $2.39 a gallon. Higher than it has been, but still cheap compared to most of you, I assuming. (If it makes you feel any better, our gas prices are always well above the national average though.)

at it again...

Susan and Janice from 5 Minutes for Mom are at it again. Yep, another unbelievable contest! They are having a drawing for approximately $300 worth of gift certificates from Horizon Organic dairy products.

Oh my, this one has me tingly all over! I really, really, really want to win this! We are big believers in organic. And buy it when we can. But "can" is the key word there. Milk is just one of those things we simply can't afford to buy organic. Four gallons of milk at week at $1.79 each is so much easier on the wallet than the $5.99 per gallon of the organic. I keep on hoping that the price will come down a bit, but so far it's just not happening.

Anyway, if you'd like a chance to win this delicious prize, head on over. (And Horizon Organic does have other dairy products as well, for those of you who aren't big milk drinkers.)

giveaway fun

I'm sure many of you have already heard about this smashingly fun idea. If not, go check out this post at Rocks in my Dryer...the woman is a genius, I tell you. Yes, what an amazingly simple, yet positively brilliant idea! Anyway, I suggest you click on that cute little rascal up there to find out all about it!

And check back Monday (July 23) to find out what my little contribution to the giveaway fun will be. (Of course, first I have to figure that out myself.)

just getting this over with...

It was bound to happen sooner or later. I've been trying not to join this challenge for the past few weeks. But frankly, I knew in my heart, that it was inevitable. So I'm just gonna do it and then I can stop torturing myself about it.

Joy is hosting the 2nds Challenge. It runs from October through December (starting right after her Non-Fiction Five Challenge). All you have to do is pick 3 books by authors that you've only read one of their other books. Geez...that didn't come out too clearly, did it? I suggest you go to Joy's to have things spelled out more lucidly.

Anyway, as for my list...

*American Gods by Neil Gaiman (I've read Coraline. Adored it. Also excited about reading this one because of all the wonderful talk about Gaiman over at Carl's during the Once Upon a Time Challenge. I actually bought this book several weeks ago, but haven't read it yet. Guess I'll be waiting until October.)

*The Wright 3 by Blue Balliett (I've been so anxious to read this book ever since Annie and I read Chasing Vermeer last year for school. I think I enjoyed it more than she, and I've been dying to see what Calder and Petra are up to now.)

*The View From Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg (From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler was one of my all-time favorite books as a kid. And yet I never read anything else by her. Time to remedy that.)

O.K., now I'd like to promise that this will be the last challenge that I'm going to join for the year. But I already know it won't be. Carl will be hosting his RIP Challenge this fall...and there's no way I'm passing that one up!

I just can't help myself!

Yep, you've probably already guessed it...I came across another new book challenge that I simply can't resist. I think I'd better just face the fact that until I find myself a good 12-step program, this is just going to keep happening.

Anyway, this is The Unread Authors Challenge, sponsored by Ariel at Sycorax Pine. Simple premise...just read 6 books in 6 months (Sept. through Feb.). New to you authors. Can be 6 new authors or 6 books by one new author. Real flexibility here. Be sure to check out the link above for specific details.

I found this challenge irresistible for a few reasons. For one thing, it's very doable (well, it should be anyway...though I have no business getting cocky now, do I?!!). Secondly, it gives me the excuse to read a couple of books I've been wanting to read anyway. And finally, a couple of my choices I should be able to piggyback with other challenges and/or homeschooling. On the down side, I now have to make the embarrassing admission that I've never read anything by these authors. Oh well...better late than never, right?

The list I've come up with so far...

*Ray Bradbury
Something Wicked This Ways Comes

*Bill Bryson
A Short History of Nearly Everything OR
A Walk in the Woods

*Trenton Lee Stewart
The Mysterious Benedict Society

*Chuck Palahniuk
Haunted

*George Orwell
Animal Farm

*Scott Westerfeld
Uglies

Alternates:
*Brandon Mull
Fablehaven

*Alice Sebold
The Lovely Bones

*Terry Prachett
The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents

*Gabrielle Zevin
elsewhere

*Shannon Hale
The Goose Girl

Oh my...I could make a list a mile long here...

words on Wednesday

If not for Melody, I think I would have forgotten all about this week's words. Though maybe that would have been for the best...I had so many new entries this week that I was left feeling a bit stupid.

*cytokine-any of various protein molecules secreted by cells of the immune system (I did know that cyto was cell, but beyond that I was clueless.)

*chiaroscuro-the technique of using light and shade in pictorial representation (Hmmm...probably should have know this as I did begin my college career majoring in art.)

*ataxic-lacking motor coordination

*coruscate-to sparkle and glitter

*cioppino-a stew of fish, shellfish, tomatoes, and white wine (Ewww.)

(All words this week came from Terminal Condition by David Shobin.)

As I said, not a terribly good showing this week. How many of them do you know?

ugh.

I'm feeling soooo behind at the moment. So what the heck am I doing blogging, right?!! We did accomplish a lot this weekend, but it has left me so far behind on so many of the "normal" things...my house desperately needs cleaned again, blogs need to be read, and a menu plan needs to be created. And I must do this all today, because my parents will be arriving tomorrow morning.

So, what did I do with myself all weekend? Well, I finally got around to organizing more than 1,100 photos. We're really good about sending them off to Snapfish to have them printed, though for the past year I haven't been so good about organizing the prints once we receive them. These went back to the first day of school last year.

We also FINALLY got the clothesline up. About time! I really missed hanging clothes outside to dry...it's just one of those chores that I find incredibly relaxing. Not to mention that it saves on the electric bill and is better for the environment.

But the biggest job of the weekend was this...



I cannot believe that I forgot to take a "before" shot. You really need one to tell how far this view came over the weekend. Saturday morning, this walkway was made of cement bricks. Many intact. Many crumbling. Some crumbling so badly that there were big holes...it was really a broken ankle waiting to happen! We got a call from the nursery Friday that our stone was in and would be delivered the next day. So Saturday morning, while I fought with the photos, Rich dug out all the cement bricks lining the sides, smashed up the remaining "floor" bricks with a sledge hammer, and bought some landscape timbers and put them in at the sides. By this time it was late Saturday afternoon, and our stone still hadn't been delivered. I called the nursery and was told that they just got too busy to do it today. Jerks weren't even going to call and tell us. So we headed over in both vehicles, got our delivery fee back, and loaded up all the stone ourselves. Got home and unloaded all the stone. Then called it a day.

Sunday, we hauled and dumped fourteen 50 pound bags of sand and spread it out over the walkway. Then I started hauling and laying out stone. After I'd get 6 or so feet worth laid out to my liking, Rich came behind and started filling in with topsoil.

So, now I am aching in muscles that I didn't even know I had. Which means it's probably going to take me twice as long to get anything done today. But I must say, we are both very happy with the results!

perks

It practically goes without saying that motherhood is one tough job. It's exhausting. It's exasperating. Plain and simple...it's hard. In monetary terms, the pay sucks. But as most moms know, it's got some wonderful benefits.

One of the unexpected benefits is the chance to be a hero. Each and every day. Sure, moms are taken for granted. A lot. Yet still, so many times during the course of a normal day, kids express their gratitude over the simplest of things. Just this morning, I got to be "a cool mom" simply by making the monkeys orange juice smoothies to go with their bagels for breakfast. I got to "save the day" by catching the spider in the boys' room and taking it outside. And then I was "cool" again, simply for letting them play in their jammies.

Yep, the perks are worth it.

always good for a laugh

As I was folding laundry this evening, Max walked into the bedroom and announced, "I don't need a real bath tonight. I'm just gonna take a kitty bath." He immediately started licking his arms.

Now this behavior didn't surprise me in the least. He is our third child, after all, and this sort of thing seems to be some kind of rite of passage or something. Or maybe my kids are just weird.

Anyway, I said to him, "Well, that's a kitty bath alright, but isn't it kinda gross?"

He paused in his licking a moment, looked up at me, and said very seriously, "Yeah, and it's kinda spicy, too."

just some good stuff...

*A cold front is supposedly coming through this evening. We've managed to keep the house down to 84 degrees the past two days by keeping the blinds closed and whatnot, but still some cooler air will be greatly appreciated!

*Rich has a short day today and will get to be home for a late lunch!

*I spent one entire glorious hour curled up reading in peace this morning!

*It's cheap blueberry season!

*It's just one of those mornings where I feel on top of the world for no particular reason at all!

words on Wednesday

I've got two weeks worth of words this week, since I somehow forgot last week. Guess it was the 4th of July and all. At least that sounds like a plausible excuse, huh? Better than admitting my brain just doesn't work like it used to.

*entrada-permission or the right to enter (from The Worst Hard Time by Timothy Egan)

*salubrious-conducive or favorable to health or well-being (also from The Worst Hard Time)

*ecchymosis-a contusion or bruise (from Terminal Condition by David Shobin)

And there you have it. How many of them did you know?

first one down

Finished up my first book for the Medical Mystery Madness reading challenge last week. I've loved medical thriller books for many a year...probably starting 20+ years ago when I first started reading books by Robin Cook. But it's been a while since I've read one, so Debi's challenge sounded especially fun.

I'm sorry to say that my first book was a bit of a disappointment. I read Angel of Mercy by Andrew Neiderman. It's really not that it was a horrible book...it just wasn't a great book. Part of the problem may have been that it just wasn't what I expected. It wasn't really a medical thriller as much as it was a mystery with a medical component.

Angel of Mercy centers on a nurse and her sister. Loving, caring, and warped. This book definitely has it's fair share of quirky characters. But not quirky in the charming sense. As the book nears its end, a major twist is thrown in. But I'm afraid it was a twist you could see coming from a mile away.

On the positive side, I really liked the character of Frank, the aging cop who is being thrust into retirement because of medical issues. His feelings about this sudden turn of events and his relationships and interactions with his family have a very realistic feel (while much of the book simply doesn't).

Anyway, while I did enjoy this book in some respects, I would have to say that there are much better books out there for this challenge. Hopefully my other choices will be among them.

oh so blue

You Are A Blue Girl

Relationships and feelings are the most important things to you. You are empathetic and accepting - and good at avoiding conflict. If someone close to you is in pain, it makes you hurt as well. You try to heal the ones you love with your kind and open heart.

What Color Girl Are You?

Saw this one over at Stacy's. Just had to post it, because it really felt like me. Especially the "avoiding conflict" part!

Menu Plan Monday

This past weekend was our family reunion. We had a great time and ate way too much. Of course, now, despite only having been away for three days, I feel terribly behind on everything. Piles of laundry to do, e-mails to return, blogs to catch up on, errands to run. Along with unpacking last night, I did also manage to throw together a quick menu plan. Thank you Laura for this measure of sanity it will bring to my week as I try to get us back on track. (Of course, I still have to hit the grocery store this morning to be able to pull off this plan.)

Anyway, it worked really well when I planned all three meals, so I thought I would go that route again. But I did only plan Monday-Friday. Just wasn't sure what we'd be doing next weekend yet, so I'll plan that after we figure it out.

Monday:
*breakfast--waffles
*lunch--mini bagels with cream cheese/blueberries
*supper--ladle-it-on

Tuesday:
*breakfast--dino eggs oatmeal (which, by the way, Dawn, are just a kind of instant oatmeal that have "dinosaur eggs" in them which "hatch" when you add the hot water...easy way to get kids to eat oatmeal)
*lunch--PB&J/cheese sticks/nectarines
*supper--bean enchiladas/wankerflots (doctored up refried beans)

Wednesday:
*breakfast--cold cereal/bananas
*lunch--BLTs
*supper--chicken macaroni casserole (new recipe)/broccoli/cherry muffins (new recipe)

Thursday:
*breakfast--orange slushie (new recipe)/toast
*lunch--homemade mac & cheese/baby carrots
*supper--cornbread chicken tenders (new recipe)/pizza salad/homemade rolls

Friday:
*breakfast--scrambled eggs/bacon/English muffins
*lunch--beef soup in a hurry (new recipe)/sandwiches
*supper--stir fry

Now, I guess I best go make a grocery list and plan our other errands. Keeping my fingers crossed for three cooperative kiddos this morning. The one good thing about running errands today will be that we'll get to be in the car for a bit...and the car is air-conditioned. It's days like today, when it's supposed to be 95 degrees, that I almost miss Memphis. Sure, it will probably be a few degrees hotter there yet and probably a bit more humid. But at least in Memphis, there was air-conditioning!

milestones

Our darling little Maxidoodle is a challenge like we've never faced. It would be hard to count how many times a day I must force myself to take a deep breath before dealing with his latest antic. We are constantly saying that he is incredibly blessed to be so cute and so funny.

But for all his trouble-making prowess, his newfound belligerence, and his lack of self-control, he is still one of the sweetest little creatures on the face of the earth. He's affectionate, and happy, and just plain adorable. And it is a wonderful gift to see the world through his 4-year-old eyes from time to time.

He put the biggest smiles on our faces the other day. Rich was talking with him about starting kindergarten in the fall. He was telling Max that he would still be 4-years-old when he started, but he would turn 5 pretty soon after that. You could see something dawned on him as his eyes grew large. "That's a whole hand!" he said in something that resembled awe.

What's going on around here?!!

This is just downright freaky, but it is after 8:00am and not a single kiddo is up and about! Normally I'm lucky if we make it till 6:30. And for that I'm generally thankful as it wasn't that long ago when one of them was usually up by 5:30. Anyway, the girls may stay zonked till noon...I have no idea what time they finally went to sleep, as they outlasted both Rich and I. Gray is actually awake and was up to go to the bathroom, but went back to his bed to read. Max, usually the first to be up and about is still sleeping soundly. Freaky, I tell you. But I'm not complaining!

I've decided to blow off Menu Plan Monday this week. I'm such a rebel, huh? LOL. Anyway, Rich has the week off between summer sessions, and when he's off we tend to run around a lot, taking lots of day trips to state parks and the like. And we're leaving Friday morning for my family reunion anyway, so I just figured a menu plan would be hard to stick to this week. Hmmm...I'm getting quite adept at rationalizing, aren't I?

On the book front...we did get to Barnes & Noble yesterday. Not a one of us left empty-handed, I'm afraid. We're simply spineless when it comes to books. I told Carl that Neil Gaiman should start giving him a cut of his royalties...and I hold fast to that opinion. I simply could not stop myself from buying M is for Magic yesterday. I told myself that I could pick out a few of the stories to use for school next year. Again with the rationalizing, huh? I'm also excited about a book I bought for Annie called Fablehaven. It sounds wonderful, and I hope I can work it into my summer reading somewhere. In other book news, in the past week, 4 of Annie's books have been requested through Paperback Swap. She'll be giddy when the books arrive at their destinations and she's able to choose 4 books for herself!

I really must get some things ready to take to the post office in the next few days. So, if you happen to read this Jean, Carl, and Carrie, hopefully you will be receiving a little something later this week.

Well, this has been another hodgepodge of unconnected ramblings, hasn't it?

a big old hodgepodge of nothing exciting...

*On slate for the day:
--Finish cleaning this house. (A "must-do" as Annie is having a friend sleep over tonight, and I'd really hate to have her go home and tell her mom what a pig sty we live in.)
--Pick up some odds and ends at the grocery store. (A "must-do" because we'd really like to be able to brush our teeth for the rest of the week.)
--Go to nursery to order flagstone. (A "should-do" before someone breaks an ankle on our crumbling walkway.)
--Make menu for coming week. (A "should-do" as it really does make life easier in the long run.)
--Work some on next year's school prep. (A "should-do" because I'd really like to have as much possible done before school starts, so I'm not constantly trying to stay one step ahead and actually falling two steps behind.)
--Go to Barnes & Noble. (A "just for fun" that needs no explanation.)


*I actually had enough gumption left at the end of the day to go scrapbook for a bit. Threw together a quick zoo layout. Nothing fancy. But then I never get too fancy.



*Carl, a man of apparently limitless generosity, decided to get Annie the extended edition DVDs of the Lord of the Ring trilogy. Yeah, WOW, huh? Actually, he found the first one and sent it to Annie as part of "her prize"...which, of course, he didn't have to do--he just made up the category for her prize after the fact. Anyway, he told me after he'd mailed it that he'd wished he'd got all of the movies for her. And wouldn't you know...yep, he went and did it. Annie and I watched The Fellowship of the Rings. It goes without saying that Annie loved it. What surprised the crap out of me was how much I loved it! I'd never seen the movies or read the books. I honestly just never thought I'd be interested. Wrong! Now I get what all the fuss was about...better late than never, I suppose. And of course, now I can't wait to read the books.