My Brush With Celebrity

Mom brought up the subject of meeting famous people on her blog, and asked to share our celebrity encounter stories.

1. Aunt Carol took me to see Maria from Sesame Street when I was little. I have no recollection of the details, and I only know this happened because of pictoral proof. Details, Aunt Carol?

2. Donald Sutherland walked by me in front of the Hard Rock Cafe in NYC.

3. I've also met astronaut Jim Irwin. He might not be terribly famous, but he was the eighth man to walk on the moon, which is more than Jennifer Lopez will ever do.

4. When I was in high school, I worked in a luggage store, and I sold a suit case to this man.



To the first person who names him, I will send them something very special as a prize. YAY!

That familiar neon orange, it beckons to me

We have a little grocery store up the road called Mike's Country Store. It's very convinient for those times when I've run out of milk or baking powder. Plus they have a ginormous BBQ smoker out front, where they smoke various meats and then sell them in the store, and we can smell it down at our house if the wind is blowing the right way.

They also sell the best off brand Macaroni and Cheese I've ever tasted.



It's a terrific bargain at 3 boxes for $1.39. I may never buy Kraft again. I also feel compelled to call it by its Spanish name. Makes it sound kind of exotic, doesn't it? I bought it for the first time about a month ago. I was babysitting some kids form church so their mother could go to Girls Camp. I picked up a few boxes to feed the troops for lunch, and it was a hit! Even the girls thought it tasted good.

Of course, it could of been the fact that I made it with Half and Half, because I was out of milk.

*Insert Witty Title Here*

1. School starts in three weeks. Boo! BOO!!!!!!1!11111!!!1!

2. It's SO DANG HOT here today. I feel sticky and gross every time I go outside, so I try not to go outside.

3. One year ago was the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Nothing has been the same since then. *sigh*

4. Pot meet Kettle. I can never, ever say anything about Rich and his crazy cat lady tendencies again.

Meet Violet:





In a fit of what-the-heck-was-I-thinking, Violet became the newest member of the family last week. She was scared out of her mind the first two days we had her, and then decided to make herself comfortable. She's decided the place she is *most* comfortable sleeping is snuggled up in the small of my back as I sleep. Or in the crook of my neck. Or directly on my chest.

Poppy and Tigerlily still don't know quite what to make of this new interloper, so they basically ignore her. She, however, likes to follow them around and do whatever they are doing, which they find annoying.

We went with Violet for her name for two reasons- 1) we wanted to keep with the flower theme we have going on (we've also had a Daffodil, but she met an early demise) and 2) she reminded us of Violet from The Incredibles, with her shy manner and dark hair. I also like to think that if she could speak, she'd be somewhat snarky and sarcastic, just like her namesake.

And yes, we are sure she is a girl- no mix ups this time! She already has nipples. :P

Madeline's Turn

For a Faith in God project I am writeing a letter to my nana about how much I appreciate her. This how I feel and respect about you I love you, I care for you are very kind too me. I love you because you take care of me when I got some scratches by rose bushes or when scraped myself on the ladder in the pool. You took very good care of me at those times. I love you very much!!! xoxoxo

Lush and Verdant ( AKA Channeling Nigella Lawson)

A new pearl of wisdom:

When Life Give You Loads and Loads of Basil...


...Make Pesto!




(Anybody want any basil?)

What's the story, Morning Glory?

I wish I could say I haven't updated ye olde blog because I've been on a dream vacation because we are seriously, so blessed! (Follow the link for a laugh. Just don't be drinking anything while you read. ;D) But the honest truth is that I haven't updated because I've been busy. And lazy. I'm a dichotomy, I know. (Or is it a conundrum?) But Mom sent me an email saying I needed to update, and who am I to deny her the pleasure of looking in on the minutiae of my life???

Beckie tagged me for this awhile back, so I thought I'd go ahead and brighten her day by "keepin' it real". :P I had to take a picture of ten things AS THEY ARE. I'll confess- we picked up the house this morning, then went to the library, so everything is still in pretty good shape.

1. The Kitchen Sink

I am so grateful for my children, because they empty the dishwasher and put the clean dishes away, thereby allowing me to maintain a fairly cleaned out sink. Most of the time. You know how if your bed is made, then the rest of the bedroom looks (fairly) clean? That's how I feel about the sink. If it's clean, then most of the time you don't notice the floor hasn't been mopped in two months.


2. My Favorite Room

When it comes down to it, my favorite room is the kitchen. It's got food, the computer, iTunes, my scrapbooking/craft supplies and a great view of our getting more-lovely-by-the-month backyard. It's also the room where I spend the majority of my time.




3. What are the kids doing?

Sharp eyed readers will notice I have an extra kid right now! My niece Estella is staying with us. So far we've gone swimming (twice), gone out to breakfast, seen a movie (WALL-E, which is excellent, and everyone should see it), played in the rain, watched a ton of TV, played LPS and AG (Littlest Pet Shop and American Girl for those not in the know), gone to the library, and later today we are going to roller skating lessons. So if she tells her mom or dad she didn't have fun, SHE'S LYING!!! :P Anyway, right now they are all watching a movie in the playroom and eating Honey Buns which they talked me into buying for them yesterday.


4. My Laundry Pile

All of the clean laundry, waiting to be folded, on my bed.


5. My Fridge

I haven't bee grocery shopping in awhile, so it's usually more full than this. There are a lot of soft drinks in the fridge because it's summer, and our favrotie summer dessert are floats- Orange, Root Beet, Dr. Pepper - it's all good. I've decided it's not hard to be a happy person if you always have Root Beer in the fridge and vanilla ice cream in the freezer.


6. One Closet

This is mine and James' closet. It also doubles as his dresser and our linen closet. It's fairly organized, but I wish it was a little bigger. A few years ago James' OCD got the better of him and he organized my side of the closet by color. He's so sweet.

This is my side.


James' side.


7. A Toilet

It's no secret I don't like my bathroom. It's dark and dingy, and we call it The Pit of Dispair. It's the next thing on THE LIST to get a makeover.


8. My Favorite Shoes

I don't really have any favorite shoes right now, which makes me sad. But these are the shoes I wear most often. From L-R, My Reef Flip Flops (which make me feel like I could still join the pro surfing tour one day) my Rocket Dogs (which I get compliments on everytime I wear them to preschool- very big with the four to five yr old set), and my strappy black sandals, which are actually James' favorite. Make of that what you will.


9. Self Portrait

Self explanitory, right? Although I did get my hair cut recently. I like it most of the time, like today. But sometimes it gets a bit mullet-like. I think I'm going to have my stylist (hee!) take off a little more in the back before school starts.


10. My Dream Vacation

It was very hard to pick just one destination. But if I could ONLY travel to ONE other place outside the continental US ever, it would be the British Isles. England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. It's got everything- rural areas, big cities, breathtaking scenery, history, beaches, mountains, shopping, good food, etc.


I'm now supposed to tag people. I'll tag Mom, Rich, Lora, Melissa and Aunt Carol. Don't you feel lucky?? :D