Memorial Day fun!!

Thanks to my friend Katie (she told me this morning about this festival), we decided to take a road trip to this Ice Cream Festival.  HELLO - a festival alone is way fun... but an ice cream festival??  YEEHAW! :)  It's a beautiful (and hot) day... so perfect for some good family fun!

The kids were SO excited to have balloon animals/hats made.  Of course, they only lasted about 10 minutes before popping... but at least I thought to take pics right away!  I usually forget then get upset when I have no picture record of our day :)...

The food wasn't quite as good as the grub at the Ohio State Fair - but this was some darn good pizza.  Either that or we were just REALLY hungry!  

R and I got to take their first "pony" ride... which turned out to be full size horses.  They LOVED it!  Well worth the $5/each it cost.  R has developed quite the love of horses, so this was extra cool for her.  

Last but not least... the ICE CREAM!!  The portions were HUGE... which we were pretty happy about.  It tasted SO yummy!  I think J ended up wearing more of his than eating... but oh well.  Saving it for later maybe??  

We also saw a magic show... but it was pretty lame.  The magician accidently clobbered one of his kid helpers in the nose and made her cry.  It was the highlight of the show (evil, aren't I??)...

So - if you're near Utica, OH next year over Memorial Day Weekend - it's a festival worth checking out.  Fun times!!

Enjoy your holiday everyone - and remember to keep our service men and women in your prayers!!

WE HAVE RADISHES!!

As you know, we decided to try our hand at "square foot gardening" this year.  Well... our first official "crop" is ready to be eaten!

Yes, I realize you have to crank your head side-ways to get a "good" look... but for some reason my computer won't flip the picture.  Anyway - don't they look yummy!?!?!  

Do you see the little green tomato nestled in the plant??  YEAH!!!  Our first official tomato of the season.  Of course it has a ways to go yet... but still... I'm so excited!  I also have flowers on 2 of my 3 pepper plants.  My peas are growing like weeds (at least I hope they're the peas and not REALLY weeds...) and my eggplant are kind of hanging on.  Our bibb lettuce should be ready by the end of this week.  I LOVE fresh produce!!!!

Total Randomness (is that even a word??)....

So lately I've noticed some things that really confuse me.  Seriously - to the point that they keep me awake at night... sad, isn't it?  The first being....  

Fake Flowers.  Usually these dust collectors don't bother me much.  BUT - when someone uses them in place of REAL flowers OUTSIDE their home... GAG.  On top of that huge landscaping OOPS... the home is worth well over $600k.  Tacky.  I would love to use a picture of the actual home, but I'm afraid of what the gnomes and other plastic garden creatures may do to me under the cover of darkness.  Strange... really strange.

The next thing....
Perfume.  Not that wearing perfume is wrong... but why would a person LOAD it on BEFORE they work out?  There is a lady at our Y who must shower in perfume before coming.  Today I about passed out from fumes.  I'd rather smell yucky sweat than yucky sweat mixed with a gallon of perfume.  It's whacky!  Makes NO sense to me whatsoever.  

The next thing... no picture for this one.  People who wear SEE-THRU swimsuits!!  It's ridiculous!  Again... at our Y... there is a lady who swims daily.  She gets out of the pool and you can see EVERYTHING!  EWWWWW!  I've tried to come with a way to tactfully say that she's sharing her goods with the world... but really... is there any good way to share that info?  Does she REALLY not realize it?  Flesh colored speedo's are another no-no.  A friend was telling me yesterday that one of the trainers has one... he's creepy enough as it is.  Strange.

Sometimes I just want the madness to end!! :)

Friend Makin Monday!!!

SUCH a fun way to "meet" new friends... so please, if you haven't already, JOIN US!!  (thanks Kasey!!)

Today's task: Copy and paste these questions to your blog and give them your own answers.

You wouldn't be caught dead where? a rave (although I'm not sure if they still have them...)

Do you have any hidden talents?: I can bend my arm the opposite way it's supposed to go

Name two things you consider yourself to be very good at:  baking, planning parties

Name two things you consider yourself to be very bad at:  dancing, math 

Have you ever won a trophy?: yes - AWANA grand prix for the best designed car

Name one thing not many people know about you: I spent 6 months in Africa when I was 8 years old

Name your earliest memory: puking in preschool so I wasn't able to go on the zoo field trip

What was your favorite musical group in jr. high?:  LOVED Tiffany (not a group per se...)

What was something the worst roommate you ever had did?:   I always had decently normal roommates

When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up?: A ballerina

What was your worst dating experience?: For some reason my friends always wanted to set me up on blind dates.  I went on a few MISERABLE dates!  The one that really stands out is with Shane.  He lived a couple of hours away so he wanted me to drive.  We went out for a very awkward dinner then to a movie.  It was FREEZING outside - I was nervous and playing with my car keys.  Well... the key broke in half.  I had to call my parents at 1am to come and bring me the spare.  HORRIBLE.  Needless to say, thankfully I never saw him again.  

If you were about to die what would your last meal be?:  Cheeseburgers, onion rings, brownies with a HUGE Coke

Who is the most important person in you life?: Husband

If your house was on fire what 3 things would you grab on your way out?: assuming husband and kids were out... my quilt (my grandmother started making it for our wedding gift even before we were engaged - she just "knew".  She died in a car accident before it was finished, so my sister and Andy's grandmother finished it for us.  Could NEVER be replaced), picture books, purse

Okay! There are your questions...now go forth and answer them! Don't forget to sign in with Mr. Linky! And thanks for joining in with the fun!

Monday, May 18 -- 2009

Outside my window...  beautiful sunshine!  A bit chilly... but it's supposed to warm up

I am thinking... about how I'm going to accomplish all my projects this week...

I am thankful for... answered prayers...

From the kitchen... steak tonight, burgers tomorrow, chicken on Wednesday.  I need to pick up some lettuce today - our garden lettuce isn't quite ready yet.  We're trying to eat less starchy stuff... so we'll have lots of salad and fruit this week...

I am wearing...  my stinky workout clothes... I got a GOOD workout in today!!

I am reading... "Servolution" - an INCREDIBLE book about how to get yourself and your church fired up for serving God... (Thanks Chris Fann!!)

I am hoping... to get some more painting done this week - R's room and the "trash" chairs I'm working on...

I am creating... the chairs I was just mentioning... I have one painted and one ready to be painted.  The boys and I are going out to find fabric later today.  I've never tried this before so I'm excited to see how they turn out!

I am praying... that God will lead our friends Marc and Keri to the RIGHT job for Marc.  He's been out of work since before Christmas....

Around the house... trying to re-organize the kids rooms... NOT FUN!

One of my favorite things... playing cards on the deck with Andy once the kids are in bed... 

A few plans for the rest of the week... getting things accomplished around the house (finish the kids rooms, clean out the basement), library, try to make homemade bread (by HAND... NOT with my breadmaker...)...

A picture to share...
I'm thinking of having a garage sale this Saturday - we have a few large items (desk, wagon, toyboxes, mattress set, dining table and chairs...) that I'm ready to be RID of.  Hopefully the weather will be PERFECT - just for three hours on Saturday morning... it can rain all afternoon.. :)

I would love to hear about your 'simple day"....

Calgon... TAKE ME AWAY!!

Do you ever have those weeks where you wish it would just end?  Like you could just lock yourself in your bathroom... run a warm bubbly bath and stay there until the next century??  We're having one of "those" weeks around here.  

For some reason, my brain is disfunctioning.  I've forgotten important papers, snacks, laundry (smells after a few days...) - all of this VERY unusual for me.  Typically I am ON my game... but for some reason this week I'm really disconnected.

It's almost as though I'm in a mini-bubble.  Strange.  I can't seem to pop out of it either....

So - I had planned to re-do some chairs we found in the "trash" (curbside at a neighbors) this week.  I'll be excited to share them with you all NEXT week - so far I've only found the time to spray paint an UGLY basket I found at Gwill yesterday.  Oh - I did get our earthboxes all set to go too.  :)  Hopefully I'll be back in the game SOON... 

Inspiration needed....

Let me start with a couple of pics.... please ignore the mess.... R was supposed to clean her room today (she's home "sick" from school) and it's 5pm and STILL not done....

It's time for a RE-DO!!  As you can see her room isn't quite up to par right now.  It's cluttered and FULL of stuff.  I need some inspiration for what to do with it.  I need to keep the color (or something similar... thinking a shade lighter...) because I really don't want to buy new curtains.   She loves art and animals.  R and I play ALL the time in her room - not sure why we have a toy room.  So decent toy storage is important.  I'm going to move a few things out (maybe the million and one stuffed animals stashed under her easel...).... maybe the desk.  

Where do you get your inspiration from?  

Our little garden....

I guess now we can officially call it a "garden".  :)  We have sprouts of all kinds!  This year we're trying a square foot garden - they seem to be all the rage.  SO easy to start... and so perfect for our yard with no real garden space.  

Right now we have radishes, bibb lettuce, peas, and 2 types of peppers.  Once the radishes are done... I might do tomatoes or eggplant.  I'm so excited to have a garden - I would love nothing more than to have a HUGE property and "live off the land".  I might try canning too.... we'll see...

So do you see the shadowy figure in the window?

yeah... that's the "chud" trying to escape.  It's his new thing - while I was taking pics of my little garden he wanted to "help".  He now climbs into the windows to unlock them - giving me heart failure EVERYTIME.  He's ridiculous... such a climber.  I feel like we can NEVER leave him alone!!

These are my project for this weekend - our Earthboxes.  Talk about a GENIUS way to grow plants if you only have a patio/deck area for your garden growing.  We used them last year for the first time for tomatoes, green beans, and eggplant.  WOW - our tomato plants were amazing!!  We had green beans for the WHOLE summer... just from these boxes.  No weeds and they "self water" (you add water until it drains from the overflow every few days).  SIMPLE!  My green beans are in their starter pots now... just starting to sprout through the dirt.  We're going to pick up some tomatoes this afternoon.... YEAH!!!

Friend Makin Monday!!!

I thought this was a cute idea... so thought I'd give it a whirl this week!  My friend Kelli does this and it's been fun getting to know her better!  Please join us!! :)  We would LOVE to have you follow along with "everyone".... just go here...

What 5 of your favorite toys from your childhood were?

1. My strawberry shortcake dolls - MANY hours of enjoyment from these.  Mom still has them and now R plays with them... it's so cute!!

2. Barbie - having a sister who also loved Barbie made these even more fun. We had some really cool blow-up furniture...  good times.

3. My Bike - many scrapes and scars later - I learned how to ride my banana seat bike.  

4. our Sandbox - I know technically it's not a toy, but we had a HUGE sandbox with a rusty metal swingset.  With our Tonka trucks - we could create quite the towns!

5. Mandie doll - I'm sure they had a "real" name... she was made by Fisher Price.  I LOVED this doll!  Still have it and have to restrain myself from playing with it :)....

Feel free to play along!!!!

Monday, May 4, 2009....

Outside my window...  we FINALLY have sunshine!  It's wonderful... I hope and pray that it sticks around for more than 2 nanoseconds!

I am thinking...  as usual about many random things... what to clean next, when my radishes will be ready, when to send my mom's mother's day gift out... random stuff....

I am thankful for...  teachers!  It's teacher appreciation week for the kids... and we've been really blessed with great teachers again this year!  :)

From the kitchen...  we made a blueberry buckle last night for R's teachers today... tonight I think we'll grill, then we might try a couple new recipes later in the week.  

 

I am wearing... jeans, and a plaid linen shirt.  Not sure why I decided to buy a LINEN shirt... I can't stand ironing! :)  No shoes for now - just cleaned the carpet.... 

I am creating...  no laughing... but I'm STILL working on the prayer shawl...

I am going...  insane! :)  Just kidding - later to the airport to pick up my hunky husband.  He's been in Baltimore since Friday morning and we miss him SO much!!

I am reading...  I've been re-reading Proverbs 31... trying to really take it to heart...

I am hoping...  for a good week with the kids.  It's been rough not having daddy home - hopefully having him back will help!  

I am hearing...  The River (104.9 bloop bloop) playing a random worship song and Elmo.  

Around the house...  Goodwill made out well today - 2 HUGE bags full of clothes.  Felt good to get our Master closet cleaned out.  Still need to do the kids and other closets, and the basement - but at least I got SOMETHING accomplished this weekend! 

One of my favorite things...  listening to waves on a beach... it's very soothing to me.  I wish I had a beach around here that I could sit at for hours... just listening....

A few plans for the rest of the week:  swim lessons, making plans for Mother's day with A's family, planting some flowers outside (got started... but had too many little "helpers"...) - nothing too exciting...

Tell me YOUR thoughts!!