Horning In On Birthdays Since 1981

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HELLION!!!



This is my lovely sister Helen who is celebrating her 27th birthday today!!! She is my most favorite sister ever, even though she had to steal some of the attention for herself by being born the day before my 4th birthday. She's been something of a trouble maker ever since. Luckily she has made up for it by giving birth to my adorable nephew and niece. And since I love her SO MUCH, I have a copy of this picture for her, in an 8x10 size! Yes, I do!! It my most favorite picture of her EVER. It's not enough that she's wearing a neck brace- it's also that her eyes have rolled back into her head, making her look like a possessed demon. Awesome.

(And I also have to send out birthday wishes to the lovely Katheryn, who is married to one of my most favorite people in Middleburg. Psst, Katheryn! I have some great pictures of Nathan circa 1995 if you are interested in seeing those. ;D)

Uh-Oh

I think it finally hit me yesterday what my life was going to be like for the next ten months. Yesterday I:

- got up at 6:45, started a load of laundry, had breakfast, helped the girls get ready for school, got myself ready, vaccumed the living room, tidied the girls' bathroom, changed the load of laundry to the dryer
- took the girls to school
- went to the preschool to continue getting my room ready, lesson plans in order, etc. Stayed from 8:30 till 2:15 when I left to
- pick the girls up from school for 3:00 dental appointment
- went to the chiropractor at 4:00
- went to the grocery store
- came home, made dinner, helped the girls with their homework
- cleaned the kitchen
- took a shower
- folded clothers that I had washed and dried earlier in the day while I watched the Olympics
- fell asleep at 9:30, still with the headache I had had since around 1:00.

And you know, that's not even a lot. I know there are hundreds of thousands of people who do ten times all that every single day. But for someone who's used to surfing the net all day and crafting witty blog posts it's going to be an adjustment! ;)

I think it will make me appreciate my free time even more than I already do. But working will also let us have a few little luxuries in life. Like, oh, say- a trip to Disney World? We've already made our reservations at Chateau de Volle for three days in October! My preschool follows a slightly different school calendar than the girls' school, and then we also have to take into account James' schedule. There is a three day weekend over Columbus Day that we are all on holiday, so we are taking advantage of it to go pay homage to the Mouse. YAY!

And finally, this was the scene at our house two weeks ago. One of our missionaries, Elder Parker, came over to do the traditional "Burning of the Suit" before he went home. Suffice it to say, unnatural fibers create a *LOT* of smoke! ;)

*Sigh*

Am I really old enough to be the parent of 4th and 3rd graders?

I guess I am.

I love the early-morning-we-just-woke-up shots. And here is visual proof that I am no Mommy Sue- no homemade breakfast on the first day! AND I let them eat Trix, which I think might be a criminal act in some parts of the country. ;)


It's good to know the reflective patches on the backpacks work! :P









We went and met the teachers yesterday, and I think they are in for a good year. I got a good vibe from all of them which bodes well. (Last year I did *not* have a good vibe from Isabella's main teacher, which turned out to be well-founded. Self-fulfilling prophecy perhaps?) Anyway, they are both excited, and they both have at least one person they already know in their classes. Plus, they both have really good lunches (leftovers from our dinner out at out favorite restaurant), so how can you go wrong?

In other news- YAY! It's time for the Olympics! And how excited am I that we have the DVR to aid in our Olympic game watching?? No more staying up until midnight and being tired the next day! No more missing favorite events because they come on at crazy times! Fast forwading through the commercials! I'm telling you, *this* is the real People's Revolution. ;)

*Hem Hem*

I'm almost embarrassed to mention this, but I'm also really proud, and my lack of humility has overrun my sense of shame. A few weeks ago I wrote a little essay for a Mormon blog I keep up with. I submitted it, fretted for a few hours, then promptly forgot about it. Today I got an email saying it had been accepted and the post was up at the blog. You can find it here if you'd like to take a look.

Huh.

I've finished reading Breaking Dawn if anyone wants to discuss it...

It's Breaking Dawn Day!

For those of you not in the know, the last book in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series is being released tonight at midnight. I don't know why I enjoy this series so much, but I do. It's like Crack. Matthew and Jed are hooked on it, too! (Matthew actually read it before I did.) Jed is over visiting so we can both go pick up our copies at midnight. I think Matt is going to, especially since I reminded him that there would be hundreds of teenage girls there. ;)

Sooooooo....Prediction time!

1. Charlie finds out the truth about Edward and Jacob. He's not happy to find that both a vampire and a werewolf love his daughter.

2. There will be a showdown with the Voltari. (Obviously.) One of the Cullens will bite the dust. I'm going to say Rosalie.

3. Ultimately, Bella WILL NOT become a vampire. She'll realize that she wants more out of life than an eternity of being cold. :P Edward is perfect, but Jacob is her friend and soulmate. She will sacrifice perfection for a chance to live.

All right- now you share your predictions!

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

No Summer Fun For You!

The girlies are with Nana and Papa for week. I had BIG PLANS. Yes I did. Fate intervened instead.

1. On Wednesday, I (stupidly) got sunburned (the cooler temp and low humidity seduced my into thinking I didn't need sunblock when I went swimming). Then later that day, I broke my little toe. So I spent all day yesterday laying in bed watching TV/movies and/or reading and occasionally moaning in pain.

2. On the flipside, I did get to watch the Dixie Chick's documentary Shut Up and Sing. It was wonderful. I would encourage everyone to see it. Whether or not you agree with what Natalie Maines said back in 2003, she didn't deserve death threats. Also, I am now obsessed with their song Easy Silence. Guh. Perfect example of what my friend Katie calls non-romantic love songs.

3. I also managed to get a deal out of our cable company that locks in the price of our phone/internet/cable service at $89 for the next 18 months. Sweet! Before my injuries, I also weeded the flower bed and garden, mowed the front yard and did tons of laundry. So I guess the week hasn't been a total loss.

4. James and I are supposed to go to a sit down dinner for adults at church tonight, but that would mean putting on a bra and real shoes. I don't think my shoulders/back and little toe are up for those stresses. :P

5. I'm now off to watch my Season Two DVDs of Friday Night Lights with the commentary on. I'm telling y'all, you should really watch this show. Best show on TV, hands down.

Trashy Romance Novel Review

I had so many requests for a review of this book, I just had to give the people what they want! ;)



I'm amazed that someone got paid to write this book. I'm even more surprised that someone would pay *looks at the cover* $3.99 to purchase it!

The most ridiculous scene is near the beginning. Jared, the hero, invites Christabel, the heroine, and her daughter over for dinner at his house. Let me share with you the scene, from the purity of the text:

"She looked up to see Jared emerging from the veranda...His white shirt was unbuttoned, flapping open as he walked, revealing black curls nestled on his deeply tanned chest and a fine line of hair arrowing down, disappearing below the belt line of his white shorts. Snug, sexy shorts, leaving most of his muscular legs bare. His flagrant maleness caught the breath in Christabel's throat."

That's hawt. I only wish all of my dates had shown up wearing an open shirt and tight short shorts. But I gotta give the author some credit. Thanks to her descriptions, I think I can really picture in my mind just what Jared looks like.



*snort*

This is on page 34, and by page 57 they're on their way to a glorious night full of HAWT!Sex, even though it can only be one night, due to a secret lurking in Christabel's past (DUN DUN DUN). The secret comes out on page 111, (Christabel had an arranged marriage to a cold and distant man from a powerful family. He died in speedboating accident under mysterious circumstances when she was 5 months pregnant. Christabel's daughter is the sole heir of the family and will inherit $600 million on her 18th birthday, and Christabel is scared someone will try and kidnap her for ransom) and the book is over and done with by page 186, with Jared and Christabel happily marrying.

*pauses*

With $600 million to work with, you'd think Christabel would hire some bodyguards are something if she was so afraid her child would be kidnapped. But Christabel doesn't want her daughter growing up a "designer-clad little miss", so she instead hides out in a caravan on an Australian beach. There's some good logic for ya!

*unpauses*

All throughout the book, even before they do the deed, Christabel refers to Jared as "The Pleasure King". She even refers to herself as the Pleasure King's Bride", and no one finds this strange. I don't know about the men in y'alls lives, but if I started referring to the DH as "the Pleasure King" in a non-ironic manner, he'd wonder what the hell was wrong with me.

If all this weren't enough, there's a bit of cultural insensitivity/boderline racism thrown in for good measure! The King family has an 80 year old Chinese housekeeper named Vikki Chan (and she is always referred to by both names in the book, which annoys me for some reason) who has been with the family for three generations. She's a fabulous cook, even making the family eat all their meals with chopsticks, so they can fully appreciate her mad skillz. Vikki Chan is the fount of all knowledge and wisdom, popping in at the most random of times to give much needed sage advice.

She's also a pimp.

She knows everything that goes on with the family, and happily arranges things so she can take care of Christabel's daughter, thereby allowing Jared and Christbel to get it on without having to worry about being interrupted.

On Goodreads, I gave the book one star. The books was just dumb and boring. The character and plot development were pretty non-existent. There wasn't even any turgid nipples or throbbing loins to laugh at! ;D This is supposed to be part of a series featuring the King Brothers. ("The Cattle King's Mistress" and "The Playboy King's Wife" being the other two. Isn't the author extremely clever with that play-on-words of their last name??!?!?) Sadly, I felt the need to seek out these other books, and I have put in a hold request at the library. They should be arriving any day now. ;)

I Was Tagged!

The lovely Laura tagged me for this survey. (She is my sister-in-law, but we've never even met! How sad is that?? We need to rectify that situation, Laura! ;D)

How to play this game. Post these rules on your blog; List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names....

3 Joys
1. My family
2. A good book
3. Sitting at the beach with the sand between my toes and the wind in my hair, watching the waves

3 Fears
1. Conjoined Twins
2. Not being a good wife and mother
3. Clowns

3 Goals
1. Finish college
2. Travel to Europe and the British Isles
3. Hike at least part of the Applachian trail in all of the states it goes through

3 Current obsessions/collections
1. Working my way through Nigella Lawson and Ina Garten's cookbooks
2. British Entertainment: BBC Costume Dramas, Top Gear, The Vicar of Dibley, The Graham Norton Show, Absolutely Fabulous, North & South (No, not the one with Patrick Swayze. This one, featuring the extremely dreamy Richard Armitage. *swoons*), Robin Hood (also featuring Richard Armitage), etc.
3. Reading all of the books an my night stand and in my library pile.

3 Random surprising facts about myself
1. I sleep with a sleep mask. I think my eyes are permanently damaged from trying to sleep all those years with Dad's Christmas light display shining directly into our bedroom window. Thanks Dad!
2. I've worn glasses since I was ten. I've tried three different times to wear contacts, trying out the different options, and they never worked. I think I got this from my mom. Thanks, Mom!
3. I love going to the movies and discovering we're the only ones in the theatre. It makes me feel very special- likes it's our own private screening!

I am now tagging Stacey, Shauna, Helen, Vickie and Jed!

As If There Was Any Question

I've had a pretty good week, ego wise.

First, there was the great response to my post on the trashy romance novels I got from the library, both here and at my LJ. (I have several reviews that will go up in the next few days. You're giddy with anticpation, aren't you?)

Then on Monday, a sister from church stopped by to drop off something and told me my hydrangea bush was the most beautiful she had ever seen. I have to admit, it's pretty gorgeous. I was afraid we had cut it back too far last fall, but it practically doubled in size over the winter.



Yesterday was Missionary Zone Conference, and I'm the meal coordinator. (Which means I provide lunch for 45 missionaries, plus the Mission President and his wife once every six weeks.) This week the menu was BBQ sandwiches, potato salad, my world famous (okay, family famous) baked beans and The Pioneer Woman's Apple Dumplings with vanilla ice cream (which are TO DIE FOR). By the way the crowd responded, you'd have thought I served . Everything was a hit, especially the Apple Dumplings. Needless to say, getting told OVER and OVER again how great your food is can boost your ego quite a bit.

Today, as if I wasn't already convinced of how great I am, this package came in the mail today.



It's only Thursday. I am sure more proof of my awesomeness will be forthcoming the rest of the week.

How awesome is J.K. Rowling??

I don't know if any of y'all have listened to the commencement speech JKR gave at Harvard yesterday. (You can read the transcript right here). That woman is simply amazing. Whether or not you like her books, it's evident to me, just by this speech alone, that she is a wonderful human being.

Maybe it's because I haven't had the opportunity to listen to a college commencement speech of my own (yet! hope springs eternal :P), but JKR's words are really resonating with me.

Here are just a few snippets that you might one day see over in a sidebar.

"So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life..."

"Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you to survive its vicissitudes."

"If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better."

In addition to all this, she also made jokes about gay wizards and valuable photographic evidence should any of her university friends decide to run for Prime Minister. Hee!

But seriously, God bless her for speaking about the benefits of failure! Ten years ago, I couldn't even begin to imagine the failure I was going to be facing. (Thank God I didn't know!) I have been at that rock bottom place. But like JKR, I realized I had a solid foundation, and I built my life back from there, and to be perfectly honest, I'm still building.

My biggest regret is that I have let fear control my life. JKR is such a great example of not giving fear that power. Excuse my if I sound too fangirl-y, but JKR is one of my modern day heroes, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Especially after a speech like the one she gave at Harvard yesterday.

BOOKS!

I know I have a bad habit of buying books (mostly on the recommendation of friends) then waiting forever and a day before I get around to reading them. I just realized how bad this habit acutally is.

If I *just* read all the books piled on my nightstand



plus the books I've had to move to the main bookshelves because there was no more room on said nightstand, I'd have enough books to read one book a day for THREE MONTHS!

That doesn't even take into account the books from the library that are awaiting my attention.



I am hereby putting myself on a Book Buying Fast for the month of June. It's the only way to control the insanity. In other news- it's that time of year again! Yes, my local library has put out the grab bags full of books for only twenty-five cents! You'll remember last year's grab bag was kind of a bust (hee!) because of false advertising. (If a trashy romance novel is titled My Seduction, then there should actually be a seduction in said book, right?) Let's see what looks promising in this year's bag, shall we?



Now, these bags are 95% full of trashy romance novels. I buy them mostly for the LOLZ. This year's batch did not disappoint on that front.



Her Baby, His Secret? Classic. (Although I wonder how someone like Maeve Binchy, who actually has a pretty respectable mainstream career, made it in with this group??)



Oh yes! JACKPOT!! How can you not stop what your doing and pick up Let's Make a Baby! (please to be noting the exclamation point!) Or what about Tall, Dark & Western? Nice. Although I think my favorite might just be Marriage Incorporated. I can't wait to find out if this book is about a mail-order bride company.

There seems to be a theme to a few of these books.



Babies everywhere! Although, I think we can guess that the couple in Let's Make a Baby! are successful in actually making a baby, seeing as how there is a pregnant woman on the cover. SPOLIER ALERT!!! :P Wait, though. What's up with Her Baby, His Secret??



Hello, chest hair! I like a little bit of the welcome mat as much as the next gal, but come one! And I find it strangely suspicious that a guy with that much chest hair has absolutely hairless arms. Even the baby is weirded out by it! Maybe that's part of the mystery alluded to on the cover???

I was also lucky enough to get TWO books from Silhouette's Man of the Month series. Man #1 is Tall, Dark & Western. The blurb on the back says his name is "...Marty Stryker, cowboy extraordinaire and sexy husband-to-be". Hmmm. Most of the cowboys I've met all have names like Cash, Ty and Cody.



Man of the Month #2 doesn't get a snappy title, just Gabriel's Gift.


Let's see if the blurb on the back is more interesting.



Holy cultural insensitivity, Batman! Did Cassie Edwards write this book? "A man's instincts are still to hunt and bring the woman to his lair." - Gabriel Deerhorn, Native American mountain man.

Yikes. Sounds like good, clean fun! :P


I haven't read any of them yet, but I'll let you know all the exciting details when I do.

Movies

The girlies and I *finally* saw Prince Caspian today. I liked the movie a lot, though not as much as TLtWatW. The viewing experience was somewhat hampered by the other people in the theatre with us.

There was a woman and a preteen-ish boy together, and then a family of two adults and four kids. The members of the larger family kept moving around, leaving the theatre, dropping stuff which made loud crashes, etc. The mom's cell phone went off right as the movie was starting. To her credit, she turned it off right away, but she had to root around in her purse a good twenty seconds or so before she found it. And I swear various family members must have left the theatre at least ten times. I don't think they were intentionally being rude, just oblivious.

Then, after the movie was over, we made a pit stop in the restroom. I opened the door to see the preteen boy standing there! After double checking that we were actually in the Ladies Room (which we were :P), we walked in. The boy's mom then came out of one of the stalls. I'm all for child safety, and it must be difficult if you're out with your child(ren) who happen to be the opposite sex of yourself. But once they hit about ten or so they don't need to be in the restroom *with* you!

Anyway,

As I said we liked it a lot. However, it seems as if the filmmakers watched LotR one too many times and said, "Yeah, that how *our* battles need to look!". And then when the Ents trees showed up, I couldn't help but laugh. But it was good, and there aren't a lot of "kids" films that don't pander to the kids.

And is there something wrong with me in that I still find Mr. Tumnus more attractive than Prince Caspian?

Gardening

Three plants fell victim to Isabella's overzealous weeding tonight- a bell pepper plant, cilantro, and a marigold.

Oops.

In her defense, these plants were quite small and weed-like looking. Luckily we have three other bell pepper bushes that are about ready to start bearing fruit and another small thing of cilantro (I just put it in a week ago).

We harvested Madeline's ginormous cabbage last week, and reckon it came in close to 20 lbs. As it got bigger, we kept breaking off the bottom leaves because they kept crowding the tomatoes and peppers. The root stem was at least three inches in diameter. Madeline actually had a hard time holding the cabbage, it was so heavy! I plan on cooking it some time this week for dinner. Hopefully it will be very tasty!





I'm really proud of our little garden. We've already picked a few jalapenos and cherry tomatoes. All of the herbs are doing great. All of the tomato plants are loaded, and I can't wait to eat them!