Just Funny.

This is what we do for giggles around here. Putty gets an almost empty jar of peanut butter and we proceed to laugh and laugh and laugh as he chases the container around the house. He finally settles in his bed - guarding the much loved jar. He growled at E for getting a little too close to the jar. E though it was hilarious and snapped the picture anyway. Putty can do no wrong in his eyes- the eyes of a six year old - *sigh*

The dog is happy and so are we.

Some Random Thoughts

My kids are playing in the backyard. They're still wearing their school clothes (yes, I kid myself that there's a difference between their 'play' clothes and their 'school' clothes). It looks like an Indiana Jones/Gap commercial - kids swinging across the equipment, kicking each other while wearing polo shirts and plaid shorts.

We made it to Canada this summer! Wahoo! Montreal was awesome. I had delusions of grandeur while I was there - I took many a photo but alas, they have not yet made it to the blog. I'm hoping the next few weeks will allow me to catch up... *sigh*

We finally painted the living room and bought new furniture - like, from a store and everything! It's looking pretty nice but it's not yet finished. I'll post pictures once I deem it blog-worthy (so, like tomorrow then?).

We finally (yeah, we've put off a lot) invested in a KING SIZE BED! Oh, yes, yes we did! And I love it. It all plush and cozy. It's definitely a step up from our old one. I think the kicker was when Mr. A and I woke up with spring marks in our sides - no joke...

I've been awful with the food shopping. You'd be appalled at the crud I've been buying. But now that schools back in I'm back to making 'from scratch' items. I've already made 5 dozen cookies by freezing the dough. I just take them out, cut them and cook 'em.

My youngest - E. - is off at kindergarten this year. Only a half day but it seems awful lonely without him. He's a constant jabberer, singer, screamer, questioner. I'm sure I'll get used to the 2 1/2 hours of quiet at some point.

That's it for now. I'll try my best to keep up with it all. Mr. E. just got squashed by a boulder and is lying on the ground crying so I'd better run. Have a good one.

Two Birthdays?! (June 20th)

Happy Birthday Mr. S! I am thankful for you everyday. (insert mom sob style information here...)

And my Colorado partner in crime, Robin - Happy Birthday Lady! Hope you had a good one!

(Note: The above video taping was done by an amateur. She was too busy laughing to put any real effort into the taping.)

Wednesday

A very special blessing goes out to our Papa today. He's in surgery right now. If you've got a minute could you stop to say a prayer. Thank you. Oh, and if it's not too much to ask can you say one for a friend of mine - she too is in surgery today. It's cloudy and rainy - seems appropriate.

Lego.

This is me - Film Maker Extraordinaire. The Lego version.

It's just that kind of Day.

Not sure why sometimes I can post from youtube and sometimes I can't. Anyway, I was watching Graham Norton (SURPRISE!) and wouldn't you know his guests were The Pet Shop Boys. Everyone needs a little of them in their life. Lucky I liked there old stuff 'cause it's back! That's right; new album, new song, same sort of thing.

Yes, I know it's not "NEW" new (the album came out Spring 2009) but it is new to me - is it to you?

And this is what we're snacking on. A little out of season but when the morning chills come this is a sure fire hit! Thank you Ms. Lawson!

The Story of Stuff

The Story of Stuff

Posted using ShareThis

It's International Women's Day. I'm a SAHM and though I don't contribute to the 'external' workforce I think I can help make a change. I'm hoping I'm doing that (just a little bit) with our Lent thingy. It feels good not buying "STUFF".

If you live in our neighbourhood be sure to check out the PreCycle Day! It's Wednesday, April 21, 2010. So start your spring cleaning and pass along all the great, used stuff you have just sitting around. I'll be out there searching for treasures!

What I've been reading.

Most people read books, magazines and bathroom stalls. Me, I'm too busy surfing the net these days looking for useful information. I don't always find it but I've been lucky enough to stumble across some of these great blogs. So, if you got the time, which I know you don't but I know you've got a procrastination streak like me, grab a mug of Earl Grey and surf away.

1. Sue Brown: "I'm a busy mum of 3, have 1 very understanding husband and have far too many creative addictions to mention." You can also visit her here.
2. Nina's Kitchen. I suspect the Bobotie recipe from March 1st will be on my dinner list next week. It looks fabulous!
3. The Witches Kitchen: "The Witches Kitchen is a collection of bits and bobs that I have found over time. Not all sources are known, but when known then credit will be given.. Blessings and welcome ..." Okay, I was sold on the name. I was also sold on all the '.......' she uses in her writing. Tons of great recipes and bits and bobs.
4. Rhonda Hetzel: "I write about my ordinary day to day life of working in the home, vegetable and fruit gardening, slowing down and being mindful, cooking simple food, keeping chickens and worms, composting, green cleaning, stockpiling and preserving."
5. King Arthur Flour: Not only do they have some really great looking recipes but this particular recipe for Cheese Buns looks fantastic! Someone needs to make these and share with me. Mmmm... don't they look delicious?
6. My French Kitchen: "Life in a kitchen is an everyday audition and here I telltale of my surrender to the failures, the successes, the hitches and pleasures and always joyous gatherings that life in a kitchen forks out."
7. The Perfect Pantry: This blog is the perfect introduction to tomorrows' blog where I show you my own pantry dilemmas....

I'm dreaming of a White Christmas.

Oh, right, it's February so Christmas has come and gone. Well, it's snowing yet again and though it looks all cheery and bright, I'm done (ever see "The f word"?). I needed something to get me in the spirit (or to go along with my spirits - which I'm out of *gasp*)... this will do. Long live the Queen I say - and all things British.

Instead of blogging.

I've been watching this. I'm addicted to BBC. It's really becoming a problem - well, not a problem so much as a sneaky little obsession. There's a difference right?

I'm also developing a crush on Hammond and Jeremy... middle aged men who are also obsessed with fast cars - not that I'm obsessed with fast cars, just television programs about fast cars, movies about fast cars, and pretending to drive a fast car (even though I really, really, I can not stress this enough, really, don't). *sigh*. Hammond rather likes muscle cars that go fast and Jeremy (much, much older than me) likes sophisticated cars, like Mercedes, that also go fast. So you see? What's a girl to do?! How can I possibly be watching crap like American Idol or Survivor when I could be watching humourous, adorable men in beautiful fast cars/planes/trains/boats/motorcycles/helicopters?

Hi Hoooo....

A little reference to those working dwarfs... you know, just in case you missed it...

I was thinking (never a good thing quite frankly) and I think that I'm always giving something up for Lent but never seeming to actually do anything. And yet, the piles of stuff that aren't done just keep piling up. The above picture is one pile of "stuff" that isn't done - oh, wait, the jeans are done (wahoo!) but the rest isn't. And the kitchen? Not done... And the quick quilt for E.? Not done. That darn tub? Still not finished. I always have great intentions. I'm a great starter of projects - finishing? That's the hard part. I tend to get distracted. The fact that this blog is still going is a freakin' miracle!


Stops babbling...

Which leads me to my next goal: To Actually Get Stuff Done! I'm going to try to finish at least 1 thing a week. I mean, come on, that shouldn't be hard! I've got tons of time - E.'s busy watching Magic School Bus - that's an easy hour and yes, my dishes are piling up and yes, the laundry is begging to be washed and there's something crawling on the floor that probably shouldn't be crawling on my floor but hey, I've got tons of time. Right? TONS... I feel like we've had this conversation before.


Where's that bottle of wine....

SNOW DAY!

The trees look beautiful.
Oh, so beautiful. I think I'm done with the snow...

Luckily we had enough to make Sugar-on-Snow! Phew. This one is made with Molasses not maple syrup. Same principle though.

I even felt like whipping up a batch of cookies. My own recipe - Chewy Date and Coconut Almonds. I'll list the recipe later. As for now, I'm running around screaming, I mean, talking quietly, to the kids. It was after all a snow day so both of them are home. I'm whipping up a big ol' glass of wine later...

I'm in love with:

This skirt from The Loft. In fact, I'm probably in love with everything in this store.

These boots though I wouldn't actually wear them. I just like to have them in my closet for those days when you feel like you want to kick someone in the a*$. Or when you just want to feel like Wonder Woman. I guess I need a gold lasso now too... hmmm....

Buddy. My sons each have one of these monsters and they love them too. How cute?!

Lip happiness. I have a Mentha lip shine in every purse. And they taste great too. If you're lucky like me you have a C.O. Bigelow store nearby. If not, you can order it on-line or go to a Bath & Body Works store. The men's products are great too - you know, for the man in your life (Valentines day is coming up).

These dishes and the matching glasses. I've got a set of 10 (they were on sale) and it's just waiting for the sun to come out, the snow to melt and the grass to grow! Meet me out by the patio in April. It would be great if it happened sooner but I've a feeling those dishes are going to be living in my basement for a few more months. *sigh* Cute though right? Thanks Ms. S. for your 'help' in buying them ('help' here means she stood behind me saying I'd regret it if they weren't mine. In hindsight, she was right. She also grabbed me a few missing pieces - gotta love that -smooch- ).

This running shirt. I just know I'd run like the wind if I was wearing this. Superfast! Okay, actually these days I'm more bound to start walking/crawling after a mile so it would mainly be me thinking I was as fast as The Green Lantern and singing a little bit of Chariots of Fire in my head. You get the picture I'm sure. It's sad but if I had the shirt at least I'd look good.

Seems to be a theme here. I think I've been hanging with the boys too much today. Happy Superhero dreams to all of you out there. May Batman visit you while you sleep (now which one will you choose? George Clooney? Val Kilmer?)

Feelings of Pride.

You've heard me talk about Canada - a lot. I miss it. I miss everyone saying, "eh?". I miss grey buildings, siding and everything looking just a little bit old (like 1970's not 1870's). I miss Hockey Night in Canada. I miss my friends there. And as much as I dislike facebook (though you wouldn't know it 'cause I'm on there all the time) I love the fact that I can see what all my old friends are doing up North. So, imagine how delighted I was (okay, I cried a little when I watched it - shaking my head at myself) when I came upon this little treasure.

It's a rap video by a kid in Thunder Bay. And as the name suggests, it's my home town. Believe it or not, this is where I'm from. I've walked those exact streets. I've eaten pancakes at the Hoito (and if you ever get there I highly recommend you do too). I was a bartender at the Moose Lodge (oh, yes, yes, I was). I've seen the spot where Terry Fox ended his run. This evening I'm pouring myself a Canadian Club and watching this with my hubby. He's from there too!

Happy Friday everyone. Hope you get to know a little bit about me after this - and please, don't hold it against me!

It's cloudy and grey.

Special shout out to Ms. M. She headed back to the North today. Thanks for the good times lady. See you on your next visit!

And so I stayed inside and made cookies with Mr. E. It was great! We made two kinds: Mom's Chocolate Chip Meringues (thank you, thank you Smitten Kitchen) and The Best-Ever Chocolate Chip Cookies (soo bad for you but oh so good). What a great way to start the day. And we tested them (a few times) and low and behold, they weren't poison. Phew.

By the way, one of my favourite things lately is Trader Joe's Harvest Grains Blend. Big, big fan. I'm sorry if you're not lucky enough to have a Trader Joe's in your neck of the woods (in CO. you've got Sunflower Market and so you shouldn't complain). They have so many wonderful items - for example Charles Shaw wine - great sauces, good dried food section and they carry Pirate Booty (mmm... I love pirate booty).

And that's it for today I'm afraid. I'm busy making the lamb burgers (more like meatballs), the grains (instead of the rice I said I was going to make), and the wraps. Mmm... supper is going to be so delicious (can you tell I'm hungry). Have a good evening everyone!

Old and New.

It's that time of year were you shed the unwanted pounds, make some sort of ridiculous declaration to become a better person and/or drink more. I of course, chose the last one - seems like an obvious decision to me. Anyway, the beginning of the year always marks some sort of change, many I'm not altogether happy about but I feel I must share them with you just the same.

First, good-bye goes out to Robin of Obnoxious Green Door. A close friend and her blog and one I enjoyed quite a bit. Darn circumstances beyond our control. She's still alive (phew) but her blog has bit the bullet.

Second, I'm slinging a big, Ol' good-bye to Ms.K. She's heading out to Philadelphia tomorrow to be with her hubby (they've been apart for quite awhile). The ladies of Worthington are already planning a rode trip to see that cracked bell and hog down on some hoggies! Better rest up Ms.K!

On a happier note, I'd like to extend a warm welcome to little Mr.S. We've been waiting for him for 9 months and a few weeks ago he graced us with his presence. He's a true little angel. He's also a great reminder as to why I decided to have children in the first place... so lovely.

And now, the piece de resistance! My new favourite television show - what you thought this was going to be something else?! - The Graham Norton Show on BBC! Oh, how I love the BBC... If you love The Brits, and something tells me you do, then you will absolutely pee your pants when you watch this show. So funny.

As an aside: I'm also a big fan of David Tennant as Doctor Who (please don't ask - just IMDB it) and as luck would have it he's going to be in movie with,... wait for it... SIMON PEGG! Oh please! So watch for 'Burke and Hare'. With any luck it'll be as funny as 'Run Fat Boy, Run'. We can only hope...

Rehabilitation.

I've gotten a bit behind in blogging. Here's another update... I know, enough already with the updates. It's even making me crazy. I have things to say I'm just lazy (you know this to be true). So, here's what we've been doing.... Going to Disney! Hurray...

Making new friends - actually, more like becoming reacquainted with old friends and possibly turning them into life long friends (when you're 4 that's a big deal). How cute is this picture? No prompting either! They just clicked.

Getting warm in the sun. Geepers, what a bunch of whimpertons I'm raising. I think it was 82F!

Celebrating Christmas! Oh, so very excited 'cause he got everything he asked for - he asked for a DS so it was pretty darn easy to fulfill that. Santa's the best!

Hanging with family! Perhaps a new tradition? Between Christmas and New Year's we drove up to my in-laws and hung out at their new house. Best thing about the house (it truly is lovely) - my brother-in-law installed a wine fridge in the cupboards right behind those kids! Fabulous idea no?!

And on New Year's we went skating with STINGER! Oh, yes we did! And we had a blast. There was cookies and hot chocolate and cheerleaders and everything - a little something for all the members in our family...

... for me there was a goalie stretching. *sigh* Hey, I'm a girl from Canada! Did you know goalies can do splits? I just love warm-ups before the big game! Go BlueJackets.

Grandma came to the game too. She just left on Monday and was here for almost a month. Good times had by all!

And now, this family is resting a bit and just trying to regain some sort of normalcy. I'm not sure what that means...

What do you do when everyone else is asleep?

This picture was taken somewhere near Fargo, North Dakota. I'd be more specific but if you ever take the road from Fargo to Winnipeg, Manitoba you'd understand how I just can't be.

It is 2:33am. For some reason I can't sleep. I woke up quite unexpectedly. No noises woke me. No alarm was set only to go off when it shouldn't have. No child wandered out of bed and stood staring at me in the dark. The dog didn't even start itching yet. And yet, I'm awake when I should be sleeping.

This is a constant battle with me. It never used to be. I used to be one of those people that could sleep for 12 hours straight and not even have to get up at some point to go pee (yes, I know 12 hours to a twenty-something isn't a long period of time but trust me it was long for me - I maybe a little hyper - go figure). Now, I'm lucky if I can get 4 or 5 hours straight without waking up for 2-3 hours in between. Sometimes when I wake up it's because I get all 'crazy' about something - finances, the house, whether or not I made the phone call I was supposed to make or remembering there's a load of laundry in the washer that needs to be put in the drier NOW. Tonight wasn't like that. I was sleeping quite heavily. I went to bed at 9:30. I was exhausted - I'm still exhausted. Tonight I just woke up. I have no reason. Nothing pressing on my mind. How I wish I had something pressing on my mind that I could do and just get back to sleep.

Now that I'm up I'd like to have ice cream and watch a bad movie (I'm sure that's all that's on TV at this time anyway). Unfortunately I have no ice cream and I'm pretty sure Graeters and Dairy Queen are closed and I'm sooo not going through McDonald's (are they even open) at this hour. I've read everyones' blogs (so nice to be able to catch up). You should all update them so I have something to read at 2 o'clock in the morning! Just saying. I'll probably have to have a nap tomorrow. Then the viscous cycle will continue. Ah, Darn it.

Movies Anyone?

I was wondering around on the internet (oh, surprise) and happened upon the Apple site. Well, doncha know they have a listings of movies that are out in September, October and November. Some of them I haven't even heard of (oh, bigger surprise). I made a list, 'cause I'm good like that. I love lists - this too you might know - and I've got them for everything (this is a whole other blog). I digress....

Here's what I came up with. Keep in mind I really like funny movies. I really dislike scary/thriller movies - I find life already too scary (have you picked up a newspaper lately??). Also, there are some big name movies out there that might be worth checking out (like Fame) and I haven't listed those since you've probably been bombarded with them already. You'll notice a few on mine (The Invention of Lying) but honestly, I only listed them because I hadn't yet heard of them. I might live under a rock.

1. No Impact Man - there's a blog too. It's a little heavy. It's hard being green!

2. All about Steve

3. Paris

4. Coco before Chanel

5. Bright Star

6. The Damned United

7. Couples Retreat

8. An Education

9. The Invention of Lying

10. Youth in Revolt

11. The Men Who Stare at Goats

Catching up - again....

Where is this summer going? I've been such a slacker at getting these blogs written and it's not that I don't have something to say - oh, I've got lots to say - it's just that I've been out and about and can't get to the computer. So, here's the last two weeks in a nutshell:

1. The Pierogi Off was a great success - it was a 3 way tie. A little bit of a bummer because I was hoping to get out of making pierogies but alas, it was not too be. Fun was had by all. There was even a moment of Proud Motherhood when my son and a friend were playing Bocce ball and declared the game a tie; even though it really wasn't. *sigh*

2. The bathroom is not fixed. The plumber came out and took a look at where it was leaking and unfortunately for me it had nothing to do with the plumbing. Jeremiah was great however and gave me loads of useful advice in case I wanted to renovate (which I do, just not yet). If you're looking for a great plumber here in Columbus I would recommend Drain Openers (614-238-9250). They were considerate and efficient. Not sure what else you'd look for in a plumber but one perk was there wasn't a lot of plumber butt.

3. I've been drinking Blue Moon beer these days. I know it's not wine but thems the breaks ladies and gents. Put a slice of orange in it and voila, instant happiness (I'm easy to please). I did attend the last wine tasting at House Wine and I have to say I wasn't won over. It was a Sweet & Sticky list that was more on the Icky than Sticky. My Riesling was listed and I'm sorry I didn't copy the name down but Donnie does blog about everything so perhaps you should take a little hobble over to his blog and see what you can see (I'm feeling lazy...- www.winejoy.net). I was there and I didn't see anything new listed but I didn't scour the site that hard so good luck.

4. I've adopted a new favourite television show - aside from my Monday Night Line-up of course - Warehouse 13 on the SyFy network. It's on Tuesday nights at 9pm and I'm totally hooked. I didn't watch last nights but it's taped so don't ruin it for me. I'm quite excited that it's on Tuesdays. I hardly ever watch tv on tuesday nights - just me?

5. We broke down and bought an umbrella for the patio set. After watching my friend Ser (Just Another Mama Blog) move her seat around the patio to get out of the sun I thought it might be time to bite the bullet and make the afternoons on the Oasis bearable. It's been cloudy every day since. Darn Karma.

6. The garden is doing fabulous! I've pulled out jalapenos, lettuce, cucumbers, peas, potatoes and I can see blueberries, tomatoes and pumpkins. It's really taken off and provided me with constant irritation and fascination. I know the summer isn't over yet but I'm already planning next years garden! I'm pretty sure I'm going to break up the vegetable garden and move some flowers in instead then plant the tomatoes over in one of my other areas and the pumpkins and cukes to the back gardens - maybe I'll even put some in the front of the house (oh, I'm such a rebel).

And that's all I can think of for this evening. It was a bit of a rambling on wasn't it? Hope you're caught up just the same. It seems like I should have so much more to report on though doesn't it? Just how have I been spending my time and why does it seem like I've just been hanging around doing nothing? Ah, such is life I suppose.

Edit: Thought I should add that our neighbourhood loved seeing Jim Masters and friends on the green on Sunday. It was fabulous!!!! His 16 year old nephew wowed the audience with his fiddle playing and his daughter turned out to be quite the sultry singer. You can google Jim and a ton of stuff comes up - enjoy!