Non Flushing versus Scotch Tape

I wish I could come up with some witty, fun to read information for the 10s of people that happen to pass across this blog on a biweekly basis (notice my expectations are not all that high with regards to my stellar writing abilities) (I have also noticed that I am enjoying the usage of the word: stellar...I believe my brain has fallen back into the early 90's and lodged there for the time being)

The thing is, my brain HAS been a little lax lately, but I think it's due to the fact that it doesn't want to face the reality that my older 2 children will be heading off to school ALL day EVERYDAY in a little over a week...8 days to be exact. 

The librarian told me today that I'm the only person she knows that is NOT looking forward to school being in session...

Now, granted...will it be nice not to have to mediate every argument over who gets to use the telephone to call the friend next door?  will it be peaceful in my house without the white noise of strawberry shortcake and the continual hum of the Electric Company buzzing in the background?  will it be pleasant to NOT have to constantly check toilets and flush them due to impatient girlies that don't have TIME to push the handle...got to get back to play???

Well...YES!  Of course...

Of course there are some ups to the all day school thing...

But on the flip side (where I am currently choosing to pout and station myself) is that I WON'T have my girlies with me...we can't just jump in the car and head to the zoo, we can't run outside fora quick zoom through the splinker, we won't be making forts out of the couches and blankets and selling lemonade to unsuspecting 3 year old sisters, I won't hear their laughter, giggling, playacting with Calico Critters for hours upstairs, my house will be free of scotch tape on every wall boasting pictures and drawings from whatever book or movie they may be acting out at any particular moment...

and because of that, I am sad...and would gladly take the cons along with all those fun things any time, any day!

So pardon my less than...

less than....

ummm....

less than...stellar? (ahhh the word DOES come in handy)
post this evening...please excuse me as I go down a pint of java chip ice cream and drown my sorrow in a can of Pepsi...because if you will remember...I gave up on the diet I started last Monday...I'm waiting until at least school starts...and who knows if my brain will cooperate even then...

beware if you see me walking around in leg-warmers and hot pink headbands and greeting people with, "Isn't it a STELLAR afternoon??"

to diet or not to diet

I've discovered a new love...

I cannot tell you the degree to which this dessert pleases me...

I received a gift card to the Cheesecake Factory for taking photos at a wedding recently.  I used the card for the first time on our anniversary date back in July.  I always mull over these choices when I'm faced with such fabulous options...I mean, do you go for Godiva, PBcup with chocolate, fresh strawberries??? 

And then I spied this...

I had to put the picture up again, because...YUMMY!

Actually Italian Stallion spied it and was actually going to get it until I beat him to it...and seeing as we always get something different so that we can share, he was left with...whatever else he got because once my eyes feasted on this...

I literally ran to the nearest bench and scarfed it down...IS "might" or might not have gotten his little "share"...I don't know b/c I can't tell you whether I stopped long enough to offer him a sample or not...

probably not...

Anyway, we still have a little bit left on the card and so my honey thought it appropriate to go for another round the other night...

Once again, I don't think he got a chance to taste it...

I can't help it...it's THAT good...

I'm thankful that we at least have one more round to go, but at this rate, my idea of the whole "summer diet"...it's not treating me well...

between Starbucks, MDs frappes, these Cheesecake delights...my pooch is LOVING me and does not show signs of packing up and leaving home...

what's you favorite summer YUM???

Recent Funny Occurances and Lessons Learned Recently

#1
Me:  Honey, can you pick up the BIG 2lb bag of chocolate chips at Costco, we're out again.
Italian Stallion: Sure, I'll bring it home after soccer practice
keep in mind: heat index at 100sweltering + chocolate chips left in a car for 1.5 hours

Me (a few hours after his arrival): Did you happen to remember the chips?  (notice the PLURAL here)
Italian Stallion (directing my attention to the freezer): Ummm, I brought home a CHIP

Folks, I have a 2 lb mound of chocolate in my freezer that USED to be chocolate chips...

#2
Many children on school trips at a science museum in the middle of a lightning and thunderstorm will find much amuzement by pulling the fire alarm and forcing everyone out into said storm. Museum workers (teenage/college students especially) will find it very frustrating when mothers, who KNOW that it was a prank and understand that there is a no real fire, will NOT take their children into the dumping rain and risk having their children struck by lightning...

This will happen at least twice during a visit on a rainy day...

#3
When your washing machine quits spinning and you've changed the motor coupling and the lid switch and paid the repair man to come and tell you that it's the tranmission and then you fork over $70 for him to tell you that...you CAN still get your washing machine to work AND let out some major frustrations at the same time!!!  BONUS!  You can also speed up the process of purchasing  a new washer by twisting husbands work shirts by hand to wring out water in the backyard and then calling to complain about said job at least a 3 times throughout the day:)

#4
Trying to lose 10 lbs in the summer when there's yummy ice cream and frappaccinos to eat, not to mention a HUGE chocolate chunk in your freezer, is pretty much a ridiculous endeavor...just wait until winter...

Happy week everyone!

A bedtime story (as told by Little Munchkin)

Let us begin...

And then I scoop her up in my arms and kiss her sweet little head and think, "Oh my goodness, if only I could keep them this little forever..."

good night

Pickles

I don't like them...

I will pick them off every single burger and/or chick fil a sandwich that you ever give me...

I don't know why I don't like them...maybe it's the texture, or the vinegar taste...the point is...

I don't like them.

BUT...always a but...

What's a person to do when you plant a garden and your husband says, "Hey, let's just plant some more cucumber plants" and low and behold, you've got cucumbers coming out of your ears???

You make pickles...and then you sell them at your upcoming farm market!!!  THAT'S what you do...

And so...

We sliced ourselves some cucumbers...

a BUNCH of them...

I'd like to tell you that there is specific width at which you cut pickles, but since I don't eat them...I just guessed...

get yourself these ingredients...along with some sugar...

 and one of these

and don't make me show another picture of me in the goggles, cuz it was embarrassing enough the first time around...

The girls and I mixed all this stuff together...and we boiled the "non-vegetable ingreditents" to just get that sugar to die down a bit...when it cooled, we poured it over top the veggies and stuck them in the fridge...

To be sure, I had my neighbor test them out, being the pickle conisseur that he is...we got an A...

So, they'll be at the market this Saturday at 11am...get 'em while they're hot...

or cold...

being as they are FRIDGE pickles...

Here's the recipe:

6 lbs cucumbers

4 onions

4 cupes

sugar

1/2 cup salt

1 tsp celery salt

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1 1/2 tsp tumeric

4 cups white vinegar

STELLAR!

Last night there was a thunderstorm.

How do I know?

Why didn't I just sleep through it like a normal person?

Well, since you asked...

Three little girls came barefootin' it down the hall cuz "they wuz scared"...

What does a Mommy do in these cases?  When she's overtired as it is, but knows that the ONLY way to get back to sleep is to calm their little hearts?  AND, she happens to own an iTouch...

We watched the radar for a half hour on the floor of our bedroom...once the noise died down, the older two climbed into the guest room bed and decided to wait out the storm together...

Little Munchkin thought it would be the BEST choice for her to sleep with Mommy..

And so, I got a STELLAR night's rest...yep, my amount of sleep equals the amount of onions you eat with ice cream...the amount of toe jam you stick on a PBJ sandwich...zip...zilch...

But, my girlies are rested and happy and secure...

so,  I guess that's all the matters...

However, I wouldn't choose TODAY as a day to visit as I may kidnap you to watch them while I catch a few zzzz's this afternoon...Lord, keep me awake today!!!

have a great day!

The Aroma

There is something comforting about making sauce...

I was first introduced to "sauce making" by my mother in law...before then, it was Prego from a jar that we doctored up with browned meat and whatever herbs we happened to find in the old canister rings in the pantry...

I must admit that at first it was quite daunting...

However, moving out to the boondocks here...what else have we got goin' on...and so I can tie up my apron strings (if I ever remembered to wear one) and start my sauce making adventures.

I know that I've blogged about sauce making before, so I won't bore you with all those details once again...this year, though, we have all our ingredients from our own garden...

I'm not trying to boast or be all, "Hey, I'm so great cuz I have a garden and I grow things and they taste good and I'm so cool, blah blah blah..."  I'm just sayin' that it's really neat to have your own stuff that you yank up from your own backyard...

Truly...that's all I'm sayin'

Well...that and "HoooWeee...I'm so cool, cuz I got a garden"

Anyway...today was the day that I thought I'd try our first batch of the summer seeing as our tomatoes are finally starting to turn...and being that we have TWENTY TWO tomato plants...I figured I'd better get a jump on things whilst I can! 

PLUS...I just HAD to try out this new fangled contraption:

I'll just say now that it makes my heart smile and makes my arms very happy...because straining all those tomatoes through an orange juice strainer like last year...yeah, well that's sooooo last year!

I will explain this all in a moment, but we must begin with the saute' of our onion and garlic...

here's the close up shot of me so delicately dicing the onions...

If we zoom out...we see...

Yes, I know that the first thing that you may notice is that I'm not wearing an apron right? 

No?  you're actually wondering what the heck do I have on my face?

ohhhh that...yes well...apparantly my eyes have a slight aversion to wafting smell of onions...

Out here, we just remedy that with our daughter's pair of swim goggles...

worked like a charm I tell you!!!

Plus, I was in a dress...nothing says elegant like a dress, no matter what you got goin' on elsewhere right?

Let's continue shall we?

 This is where I just smiled, laughed, giggled a little...

sighed a sigh of relief and relished in the fact that I CAN cook in a dress with this little dream machine...

cuz it just does all the work for me...and no mess!

crank that sucker right up and out comes the guts on one side and the juice on the other...

LOVELY...

CHARMING...

EASY...

A little bit "gross" as Peanut pointed out...but all in all...it's an A+

And the point is...it gets us to this:

My Sauce!

And ooooweeee it's gooooood!

Havin' me some lasagna tonight...

minus the goggles.