SITS Giveaway

I'm back...I know I said I was going to go get my chores done but I had to check my blog subscriptions and the gals over at The Secret is in the Sauce announced a great giveaway today. This is it:

But don't bother going over to enter that contest because I'm so going to win it! I'm nothing if a great friend who's all about keeping you from being disappointed. So, really, don't go over there -- it will be a waste of your time!!

Garden Update

Good morning! Well...it's Saturday so that means another exciting installment of Garden Update! I know, I know, I really need to get something a little more exciting going on in my life but I really do like to watch plants grow. I know it's not as exciting as watching paint dry but I'll leave that to my more adventurous friends! The tomatoes (or is it tomatos?) are growing up and out of their cage! We've got a few little blossoms so we should have some excitement to show soon!!
The zukes are really getting big! I don't see any blossoms yet but they shouldn't be too much longer! Funny storry break here...the other day DH and I were sitting on the back porch lamenting all the chores we should have been doing rather than sitting on the back porch when I looked up and saw Peanut rubbing his face all over the zuke leaves that are starting to poke out the garden fence. I'm guessing zuke leaves must have a nasty smell because that's his favorite perfume (or would that be cologne since he's a boy?)! I sure hope he doesn't decide to start nibbling those leaves off!

The corn is right at the top of the fence now and doing great! I wasn't up as early today so I didn't get a dew on the leaves picture today. I was weally weally tired this morning...sorry.
The cukes aren't growing as fast as I thought they would but they look healthy. Anyone else growing cukes that seem to be taking a long time?
Here's the green peppers. They are looking a little bit better than last week and it looks like they are starting to put out some blossoms.
The peas are starting to vine up the trellis but I thought they would look a little more dense by now. I'll have to google them and see what they are supposed to look like.
More spinach is ready to be harvested. I'm thinking about taking some of the spinach out and adding something new to the garden since we are getting way more spinach than we will ever eat. Any suggestions on something that can be planted now that we'll end up with a harvestable veggie before the first frost?

Well...I'm off to take care of some of those chores I was procrastinating while I was sitting on the porch watching Peanut getting friendly with the garden.

Friday's Feast

Appetizer
What is the weather like today where you live?

It was really hot today but now has cooled off. It’s really windy now and I think a storm is coming in.

Soup
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how career-minded are you?

I guess it would have to be a 5 right now – it changes day to day but I’m a little swamped at work right now so I’m not enjoying myself too much. That will change – it always does!

Salad
What type of window coverings do you have in your home? Blinds, curtains, shutters, etc.?

Blinds, curtains, roman shades, and vertical patio door blindy-type things.

Main Course
Name something that instantly cheers you up.

DH cracking jokes, DS cracking jokes, America’s Funniest Home Videos, and just about any Disney movie.

Dessert
How many times do you hit the snooze button on a typical morning?

I hate to admit this but I set my alarm early so I can hit the snooze numerous times (3, 4, even up to 6 times). I hate, hate, hate mornings and need to slide slowly into it.

If you’d like to play along, visit Friday’s Feast.

Tiny Theater Thursday

This is one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen!!

Peanut

This pic of Peanut sleeping is too funny! DS snapped it with his phone as he was walking out the door. Peanut didn't even look up! Oh, to be so relaxed!!

Thankfulness

We are having Vacation Bible School at our church this week. I love VBS and find that I learn some of the best lessons from these kids. Each day this week the kids learn a bible point and yesterday’s point was Jesus gives us the power to be thankful. The kids are also given a daily challenge that is related to the bible point they learned that day. One of the ideas for the challenge was to thank others. That reminded me of a story I came across years ago. Here is the story as I found it – not sure who wrote it so if you know, let me know so I can give credit where credit is due. However, you can find more information about Charles Plumb at his website: www.charlesplumb.com

Charles Plumb, a US Naval Academy graduate, was a jet pilot in Vietnam. After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy lands. He was captured and spent 6 years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience.

One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!"

"How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb.

"I packed your parachute," the man replied.

Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!"

Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If your chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he might have looked like in a Navy uniform: A white hat, a bib in the back, and bell bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said good morning, how are you or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot, and he was just a sailor."

Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent on a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know.

Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?"

Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. Plumb also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory—he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety.

This day’s lesson has pointed out to me that sometimes I go through the day/weeks/months/years forgetting to thank those people who packed my parachute. I get so busy that I forget those things that are the most important. I so admire people who are good at showing their appreciation. So here’s a short list of those people who came immediately to mind who I need to thank for what they’ve done for me:

Barbie – thanks for being my best friend all through elementary school and getting in trouble right along with me for talking in class. You showed me how to be kind.

Mrs. Hook – thanks for convincing me that singing in front of people might be sorta fun – you were right!

Ernie – thanks for being willing to write backyard plays with me – I think that is where my love of writing all started.

Mrs. Strozier – thanks for showing me that girls can learn math and lots of other really important stuff.

Neet – thanks for being my best friend for the last 28 years (although how can that happen when we are only 21?!?!) – you’ve helped me through some hard times and showed me how to not take myself so seriously.

Clarisse – thanks for showing me that an intimate relationship with Jesus is possible – you’ve changed my life more than I think you’ll ever know!

My girls night out friends – thanks for being willing to go see cultural events with me! Although I think my hubby thanks you even more because it got him off the hook of going to see Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat! You girls have widened my horizons and provided more hours of enjoyment than my Wii!!

I challenge you to come up with your own list of those who packed your parachute. Leave a comment with a link to your blog so we can all thank those folks together. I really believe that if this world was more thankful rather than ungrateful, we would all enjoy our time on this earth a whole lot more.

Tell me you'll still like me...k?

I hope you all don’t see me as a sell out but I just signed up with a service that provides ways to make a little extra money with your blog. With the cost of gas lately a little extra money would be great!! Who knows I might even make enough to start some giveaways!! I was surfing around the net one day trying to figure out how I can turn my love of writing into some extra income for our family. I was originally looking for opportunities to review products on commercial sites but found PayPerPost.com ( payperpost ) on the way. I like their system because you can choose what you blog about and you don’t have any quotas. Sort of reminded me of that scene in Pretty Woman where Julia says “I say who, I say what, I say how much!” Well…I don’t really get to say how much because that’s pretty much set but I’m totally in control of the other stuff. I do not plan on blogging about anything that I personally don’t believe in or have tried. I figure I already have a bunch of opinions about things and I blog about them all the time. Let’s see if I can match up those ramblings with someone who wants me to ramble about them! Besides maybe DS and his girlfriend won’t think I’m such a dork if I end up being able to take them out to dinner with my blogging bucks. I’m all about entertaining these kids – you’ve heard it before and I’m sure you’ll hear it again.

I do have some promises I’ll make to you all – I won’t sneak in sponsored blogs without telling you about it and I will try not to make my postings too annoying. Again…I’m all about the entertainment value!!

When you see this banner - that's all about me being transparent with you all! Hmmm...I wonder if being transparent makes you weightless too!

Dorkdom and Nashville Star

I’m trying to keep this blog very real and very representative of me. DS’s girlfriend told me I am dorky tonight. She’s absolutely right! I’m a big dork who loves Nashville Star so that’s what I’m blogging about today. And….drumroll please…I’m blogging live! So here I sit with my computer in my lap and I’m ready to go. BTW…the reason she called me a dork was because I’m currently reading Memoirs of a Geisha and I said I really want to see the movie now. She said I really like weird stuff – I’m gonna make her watch the movie with me so she can enter my dorkdom world and see how wonderful it is here!!

Ok..it’s starting – gosh I am so sick of Billy Ray’s soul patch. Can someone give the guy a disposable razor please?!?!

To start the show they just told one of the contestants that he was in the bottom 2. Is it just me or was that a little cruel? He had to spend the whole show knowing he was in the bottom 2 but still looked like he was nervous about them calling his name. Seemed a little strange to me.

Group Song
They sang Like a Prayer. Ick, Ick, Ick!!! It started out ok with Melissa Lawson singing a really pretty part but tanked after that!

Gabe Garcia
He sang Livin’ La Vida Loca. He did a great job but the dancers were really distracting. They gave each performer the option of having dancers. I understand why he opted for it because the judges keep telling him he needs to get some personality. He is a little dull on stage but that’s worked great for George Strait all these years!

Pearl Heart
They sang Love Shack. You know when you hear something and you’re not quite sure if you like it or not? That would definitely describe this bluegrass meets the B-52’s they turned this song into. Their harmonies were really tight but it just felt sorta weird to me. The judges keep pushing the little sister to become a “front woman” for the group but I would really like them to just perform as a trio. I think it would be more authentic for them.

Alyson Gilbert
She sang I Think We’re Alone Now. It was quite a bit off key and pitchy. She has a pretty voice but I just don’t think she’s star material. This performance may have been the kiss of death for her.

Ashlee Hewitt
She sang You Drive Me Crazy. The music was not very well balanced with her voice so it was hard to get a feel for the song’s theme. Her vocals were really good though so she pulled it together despite some bad mixing. She reminds me a Leeanne Rimes.

Coffey
He sang Umbrella. Maybe I’m just old but I’ve never heard of this song in my life and even when I heard it I still didn’t know the song. He said he was singing it to his daughter. It sure didn’t feel like a song you would sing to your little girl. He kept yelling out some of the words like a worship singer does when their overheads fail. Then he had this weird beat boxing thing in the middle and his vibrato is really getting on my nerves. He is definitely not my cup of..uh..dare I say it..coffey! I know, I know, go ahead and take a reading break to groan over that word play – I deserve it!

Laura & Sophie
They sang PYT-Pretty Young Thing. They looked uncomfortable but sounded good. Sort of like a Joe Cocker thing – you love to hear him but just can’t watch. The song had a great arrangement. It did feel a little weird hearing them sing a song that really sounds like a guy should sing it. The judges loved them so maybe I’m just a little too critical – but would you love me any other way? ;-) They are really adorable but I just can’t see them being a headline act.

Guest Group
I hate, hate, hate the guest group they had on tonight. I’ve never heard of them and not even sure if I’m getting the name right – Vanity K or Danity K or something like that. It was 5 women who looked like Playboy Playmates out there strutting their stuff. Seemed a little gratuitous to me. I wish the judges could have given their honest opinion of those girls!!

Shawn Mayer
She sang Bye, Bye, Bye. She’s my least favorite so we’ll have to see if I can keep those feelings out of this review. She was ok until she got to the chorus. It turned a little off key and her dancing was kinda’ creepy. To hear the audience going crazy you’d think she gave the performance of a lifetime. I just don’t see it.

Melissa Lawson
She sang True Colors. She has a beautiful voice and really showed that tonight. If she wins this thing, she really should record this song for her album – do they still call them that? I told you I was old so forgive me for the dated terminology I tend to use. I could see her singing this to her 5 little kids at home. This is definitely the best performance of the night!! The judges called her a true artist!!

Justin Gaston
He sang Girls Just Want to Have Fun. I really think he’s on this show because he’s some major eye candy. This show is not about eye candy so he better kick up the vocal stuff. Why is he singing a girls song? He and the girls should have switched songs. His dancers are in PJ’s – geez can we get any more kooky? His vocals were karaoke night ok but not good enough for this show. I’m predicting that it’s going to be him and Alyson in the bottom 2 next week if he doesn’t get voted off tonight. I can’t believe the judges actually liked this – what are they on?

Tommy Stanley
He sang Maniac. I always feel like he’s over doing everything he sings. I feel so unpatriotic saying that since he’s a service member and I’m mega-supportive of our troops. He did pretty good tonight but I’m thinking the judges will probably tell him that he didn’t sing this country enough. One of them said it didn’t get his “country bone” going – huh?!? Anyway…they all said he wasn’t country enough tonight – I knew it! I really feel like this was one of his best performances, not necessarily vocally but I didn’t feel like he was screaming at me or overdoing the song.

Random Thoughts

Billy Ray is really getting on my last nerve. His stupid comments have got to stop. After one of the girls sang a Britney Spears song he said it was so good it made him want to go shave his head – huh?!? Yes, she shaved her head when she was really having a mental meltdown but exactly how do you turn that into something that shows how good something else is? I’m not necessarily a Britney fan but I do feel sorry for her. I’ve been around mental illness and it’s sad that her struggles have been so public. It’s a horrible disease and until you get it under control with counseling and medication you can certainly make some very questionable decisions. Just most of us don’t have to do it in full view of the public. Well…back to Billy Ray because I’m certainly not done with him yet! It sure seems like he’s just riding his daughter’s fame – sure hope he doesn’t mess up her career by being stupid with his own! Although I am glad he got rid of the whole mullet thing he had going on!

Ok…it’s time to find out who’s going home….SPOILER ALERT – stop here if you don’t want to know who was voted off the show:
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can’t say I’m not giving you a chance to look away
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Justin is gone. Billy Ray told him that he’s going to be a big movie star. I guess we’ll see where he goes next.

I just told the girlfriend that I’m live blogging and that I’m going to pull her into my dorkdom world before too long. I think she rolled her eyes at me – I’m so glad I can be so entertaining to these kids!

Passing of a champion

My DH is a drag racer and this weekend the sport lost a great competitor.



Funny Car driver Scott Kalitta, 46, died June 21 from multiple injuries suffered after his car went out of control and crashed in a high-speed racing accident at Old Bridge Township Raceway Park during the fourth and final round of qualifying at the Lucas Oil NHRA SuperNationals. Kalitta was extracted from his car by NHRA emergency services officials and transported to Old Bridge Township Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Kalitta, a two-time NHRA POWERade Drag Racing Series Top Fuel champion and one of only 14 drivers in NHRA history to earn victories in both premier nitro categories, earned 18 victories during his career, his last coming in Chicago in 2005 in Top Fuel.

Kalitta earned most of his racing success in Top Fuel, where he claimed back-to-back world championship titles in 1994 and 1995. He retired from racing in 1997, sitting out most of two seasons before returning for a 10-race campaign in 1999. He sat out three more seasons following that brief stint and then returned again in 2003, joining cousin Doug as a second driver for the family's two Top Fuel dragsters.

Kalitta started his pro career in Top Fuel in 1982, running limited events for four seasons before moving to Funny Car in 1986 for his first full season of competition. He returned to that category full time in 2006. He posted a runner-up finish two weeks ago in Chicago, his 36th career NHRA final-round appearance.

Kalitta is survived by his father, legendary NHRA racer and team owner Connie Kalitta; wife, Kathy; and sons, Corey, 14, and Colin, 8.

Our prayers go out to his friends and family.

Another Garden Watch!!

The corn is getting really big -- those little white dots are really dew (yes, I did get up early enough on a Saturday morning to see the dew!)

The whole bed is looking really good!

The jalapeno isn't doing so well so I've moved it now to another area where it will get more sun. Stay tuned to see if this does the trick.

The peas are getting taller but so far they are not vining up the trellis. I'm looking forward to that.

The spinach is ready to be harvested. I think we'll be having a spinach salad with dinner tonight.

I'm really suprised this tomato is going to make it. It was beat up during the hail that accompanied that huge tornado that hit up here a few weeks back.

The zukes are getting bigger. I can almost smell the bread cooking!

The cukes are growing as fast as the zukes but they're doing pretty good all the same.

I'm not sure how this green pepper plant will do. It looked great in the pot but once I planted it a couple weeks ago it just has looked sad.

While I was out of town DS suprised me by pulling weeds and mulching my flower bed. I'm changing over to all perennials in this bed so it's a little sparse right now but the mulch really dresses it up.

Here's another view. (I should probably change out that little garden flag - DS graduated a couple weeks ago!)

My pots are doing great!

The roses are blooming!! (Who forgot to roll up the hose?!?)

and blooming!

and blooming some more!!

I just love this time of year!!

Friday Feast

Time for the Friday Feast everyone!!

Appetizer

If you could live on another continent for 1 year, which one would you choose?

Wow...this is a hard question! I think I would pick Australia because they speak English for the most part but there's lots of different topography to be had. I don't think it would get boring exploring this continent!

Soup

Which browser do you use to surf the Internet?

Internet Explorer but I'm open to something better.

Salad

On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how much do you know about the history of your country?

Unfortunately I'd have to give myself a 5. A big part of our history is wrapped up in war and whenever we would get to the war sections of history I would tend to glaze over. I just can't stay engaged. I'm much more interested in the sociology of the people - how they lived, what their surroundings looked like, what they dreamed about for their children, stuff like that, ya know?

Main Course

Finish this sentence: Love is…

...something you can't live without but something that makes you wish you were dead at times.

Dessert

Have you ever been in or near a tornado?

Oh, yes, growing up on the eastern plains of Colorado will do that to a girl!

Tiny Theater Thursday

I can really relate to this guy – I feel like sometimes this is the way my days go…

Father's Day

Today was a really good day. It started with church and I had the opportunity to fill in on one of the worship teams so I got to sing quite a bit today. After church DS and I went to a local restaurant that specializes in German fare and it was wundervoll -- see I'm even speaking German now, it was that good! DH had to work today so we got a brat and some German potato salad to go for him. We dropped it off at his work and while I kept him busy DS decorated his truck windows with Father's day messages. DH was supposed to have to work late but got off earlier than I expected so we ended up having leftover pizza for dinner - I'm usually a better planner than that but it was all his fault that he got off early -- that's the American way...blame someone else when things aren't perfect! Boy...I am so culturally diverse today!!

Went to Wally-World and picked up a new pair of black sandals and Peanut better not sharpen his choppers on this pair! I've also been shopping for a new purse. Anyone done that lately? Geez Louise it's hard to find the right one. I wish I could just sit down on the floor of the store and dump out my current less-than-satisfactory satchel and see what fits best but I think I might get picked up by security for some form of shoplifting. Although...how would they charge that anyway -- shoplifting usually involves putting something from the store into something you own whereas what I'm proposing involves putting what I own into something from the store. Really, Mr. Security Man, it's really not shoplifting at all. I was just trying it out before I bought it -- sorta like test driving that Chevy. Think they'd buy it? Me neither!

Tonight we watched The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe on our awesome, amazing, way-too-big-for-this-room plasma TV that we bought with our economic stimulus check. Gosh, again we show how American we are - stimulating the economy and all that! I just love this movie! I can't wait to see Prince Caspian. Anyone seen it? Reviews welcome!

Tomorrow I'm off on a business trip which means lots of free time in the hotel at night to think up all kinds of random topics to blog about! Aren't you all just too excited to breathe?!?! I thought so! Til then hasta luego! (wow...the cultural diversity never ceases!!)

Friday Feast

I was turned on to this neat little blog that is all about Friday! You gotta love that! They post questions each Friday with a meal theme -- and you gotta love that too! Here is today's questions with my answers - if anyone wants to join in the fun, post your answers on your blog with a link in my comments field and I'll check it out and show you some comment lovin' in return:

Appetizer

Do you consider yourself to be an optimist or a pessimist?

I'm an optimist as long as serious SNAFU's don't occur! ;-)

Soup

What is your favorite color of ink to write with?

I prefer pink or purple but it doesn't really look too professional so I tend to stick with blue.

Salad

How often do you get a manicure or pedicure? Do you do them yourself or go to a salon and pay for them?

I would get a pedicure everyday if I had the time and money! I LOVE them! I probably splurge on a salon pedicure every 8 weeks or so - in between I use the PedEgg (you gotta try it - Walmart carries them) and paint them with Not Just a Waitress red from OPI. I can't grow my own fingernails so every 3 weeks or so I have to get my fakes cleaned up.

Main Course

Have you ever won anything online? If so, what was it?

Never won a darn thing other than stupid computer wallpaper from Pogo.

Dessert

In which room in your house do you keep your home computer?

Family room.

Tiny Theater Thursday

I gotta learn how to sing this for the next church talent show!!

Garden Watch 2008 - update 2

Stuff is really starting to grow!!

Spinach

Zukes

Peas

Corn (close up)

Corn (full bed) - gosh, I wonder if I'll have enough corn to feed the entire neighborhood!! ;-)

Cukes

Jalapeno

Squirrelzilla vs. GI Joe

I received this picture from an old high school friend (well…really…he was the guy in school that I always turned down for dates but I was a total twit and didn’t realize what a great guy he was until after he was already taken – that is definitely a blog-topic for another blog-day). The caption on this picture was why men should not have action figures:



Doesn’t it just crack you up?!? I could see my DH and DS setting up this kind of scene and after I get off the ‘puter I am going to go make sure they weren’t the source for this PETA baiting photo-op. Anyway…this picture reminded me of the recent crisis in our home when Peanut got his first taste of squirrel. Perdy has been a squirrel aficionado since practically birth. She has perfected the art of knocking them off the fence and then shaking the stuffing out of them. We are very proud doggie-parents! We knew it was only a matter of time before she initiated her new little dog-brother in the fine hobby of squirrel hunting.

So…anyways…I was up in bed enjoying a particularly leisurely Saturday morning watching TV when I hear DH nearly blowing a gasket and yelling for Peanut and Perdy to get in the house. I ran downstairs to see what in the world could make my nearly 6’ tall husband screech like a little sub 4’ schoolgirl. Out in the backyard is a squirrel laying in the yard twitching. Seems that Perdy knocked it off the fence and Peanut proceeded to try and wrestle the thing. Now for those of you who don’t know Peanut – he is 14 pounds of playful, loveable, mischievous fur. He probably thought this squirrel was a stuffed animal that was nearly his size and all he wanted to do was love it to death.

We locked the pups inside and we were going to wait for the twitching to stop before we disposed of the little creature (the squirrel – not Peanut). When I looked back outside about 10 minutes later the crime scene was vacant. I figured either this was a cat/squirrel and it still had some lives left so it went off to live them in a backyard free of crazy canines or some other animal took it away for me – either way I was glad it was gone. Now it would seem that in a normal world this would be the end of my story…but…you are talking about my house here remember?

Later that day I leave the house to do some fabulous things in the community – well…really, I was probably just going to Big Lots, Hobby Lobby, or some other store that carries all kinds of things I don’t need but must have. I get back home a little while later and DS is nearly green. Turns out that Peanut found the squirrel and brought it in the house and deposited it at his feet. Chris immediately freaked out and went to get a shovel to get it out of the house. When he got back to remove the carcass he realized it did not have a head! OMG!!! Now…I’m pretty good with gross stuff but even this would have caused me some issues.

Again…you would think this would be the end of the story…but…no! A few days later I am gardening and I open the yard waste bin to throw in some nasty little weeds that found their way into my garden (how dare they!) and what do I get a perfect view of just a mere foot or so away from my face?!? You guessed it….the headless creature him/herself! That and the twisting head scene from The Exorcist (the original of course) are 2 hideous visuals that will never leave my memory – eeek!!

You are probably wondering where in the world did the head go…well…to this day we still have not found the head and I’m sure hoping that some wild animal decapitated the creature, took the head with them, and left the rest of the body in our yard. I can’t stand the idea that my little, loveable, furry Peanut ate squirrel brains. No…No…No….I refuse to accept the possibility!!

BTW…thanks Rich for the great walk down memory lane!! I owe you one!

Achieving Zen with my Wii Fit

Well..I am just LOVING my Wii Fit!! Today I unlocked a new balance game - the Zen! You sit on the board with your legs crossed and stare at a candle flame. After all the near head trauma from trying to hold those crazy yoga poses I was really ready for something that involved sitting! So I sit down on the board and cross my legs (really it sounds much easier than it is). I hit the A button to start the new game and it must have also emitted a magical dog-whispering-like command because not 3 seconds later my little Peanut showed up. He was totally enthralled with mom sitting on the floor. He figured it meant that she wanted to play. I tried to ignore him but he was hitting me with his tug-o-war rope and dropping nylabones on me.

The goal of this game is to sit as still as you can for 180 seconds while the flame lulls you into a hypnotic state that makes you forget the 6 ft of dirty laundry on the floor, the dishes that are fermenting in the sink, and the 2 inches of dust covering all the visible surfaces in your home. A very worthwhile goal in my mind! But none of that matters to a little 15 pound pile of fur who wants nothing more than for you to give him your undivided attention! When he finally crawls up in your lap the Wii figures you have not been still and abruptly ends your game and tells you that you are "unbalanced". Oh, the nerve! I then decide that maybe if I get the other dog involved they will keep each other busy so I can at least get out of the "unbalanced" category and not look like a complete loser at doing absolutely nothing except sitting still. "Perdy, oh, Perdy" I call and in comes my other pile of fur - all 50 pounds of her! She proceeds to think it's pretty cool that mom is on the floor too. She however just lays down on the floor and leans against me - again causing my game to call me "unbalanced"! So much for my bright ideas - I'm just going to have to lock these pests outside while I try to save my dignity.

They sure don't look like trouble-makers do they?

Tiny Theater Thursday

Well...I'm a huge fan of YouTube and sometimes you can find the funniest stuff there. So I thought it might be fun to start a weekly feature. Since I'm so darn creative I figured I would call it Tiny Theater Thursday - hence the title above - how clever is that?!? ;-) Anyway, here is a hilarious video I found on YouTube recently. Just to set it up there is a show on UK television called The X-Factor which is like our American Idol. This contestant on the show is a chicken factory worker who sings one of my favorite water aerobics songs - Barbie Girl. Rather than trying to be a singer I think he needs to get into cartoon voice over work - he would be great!

Garden Watch 2008 - update 1

Corn


Cucumbers


Zuchinni

Impossible Pie Recipe

Well..the impossible pie wasn't half bad so here's the recipe I promised:

4 cups of cooked, chopped leftovers (I used 6 chopped up hamburgers left over from DS's graduation party, about a 1 cup of shredded colby/monterey jack cheese, 1 bunch of green onions sliced, some garlic (probably about a tablespoon) and a couple handfuls of frozen broccoli. Not sure if it was 4 cups but it filled up the pie plate so I figured it looked right.)
3 eggs
2 tablespoons of canola oil
3/4 cup Bisquick
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1/2 teaspoon of both salt and pepper (well really it was a little mound in my palm but it looked like 1/2 teaspoon - can you tell I don't really use measuring cups a lot?)

You put all the leftovers in an 8" pie plate (spray it with Pam first) and then combine the eggs, oil, bisquick, milk, and salt & pepper in another bowl. Make sure you mix it until it's nice and smooth and then you pour it over the leftovers. I baked it at 400 for about 40 minutes but the original recipe said to bake it for 25-30 minutes. You'll know it's done when you put a knife in the middle and it comes out clean. I'm guessing my altitude accounts for the longer cook time.

My boys liked this and I found myself dreaming up other possible combinations for this recipe. I thought that ham and cheese with broccoli might be nice. I bet a Mexican version would be good too with chicken and chilies. This is a nice way to use up your leftovers.

Great B-Day!

While I am waiting for the Impossible Pie to cook I thought I would drop a post on you. Last week was my birthday and I begged for the new WiiFit that came out the day before my birthday. After I heard how impossible they were to get (way more impossible than the impossible pie in my oven) I figured I would get an IOU from the boys. Not so!! DS went to several stores and found one for me. He's the greatest kid ever!! Anyway...this contraption is AWESOME!! It is really fun and challenging. You start out by doing a body test where the Wii tests your balance and weighs you and gives you your BMI (don't worry - you can password protect your info so no one can find out how far off you real weight is from your driver's license weight). The bummer of the thing is that once it knows how you look it fattens up your little Mii -- kind of depressing but she still looks cuter than I do in real life. You have to find the silver lining somehow!! ;-) It will keep track of your weight and BMI changes as well as your improvement in strength and balance. We've had out of town guests since I received this wonderful gift so today was the first day I could really play with it. I spent over an hour sweating and enjoying it -- go figure! I'm sure I'll be sore as all get out tomorrow but today I feel great.

Well...the Impossible Pie should be done soon so I better go see how things are progressing in the oven. It sure smells great! If this turns out half as good as it smells, I'll be back with a recipe posting for you.