I'm It!

Recently, I was tagged by a few of my fellow mommy bloggers to do a meme listing 6 of my random, boring, unspectacular quirks. At first I was a little offended because, well, I have no quirks. I'm perfect. Just ask WD. He always tells me, "Oh, I forgot, you're perfect." So what if it's always during an argument. It still counts, right?

Wrong! Oh, I've got me some quirks, alright. And here's 6 of them. Thanks to Dawn (Dawn's Daily Life), Jennifer (Happily-Ever-After-Land), and Merrie (Sleepless Mornings) for the tag!

1. I don't really like to touch food with my fingers while eating. It makes me feel, I don't know, greasy or messy or something. Ugh. Even when I eat pizza I use a knife and fork.


2. After I read a book, it takes me awhile to start a new one. Particularly if it was a good book. I have to take time to mourn the loss of the characters.


3. I've really tried to like coffee--black, no sugar, no cream. It smells so good and seems like the grown up thing to do. But I just don't like it. Now add equal parts milk and a couple of ounces of flavored syrup and serve it over ice, that's another story.


4. I've jumped into the 21st century by paying bills online but I still opt to have my bills sent to me by mail. I'm not ready to go completely paperless.


5. This may be un-American of me but I don't like going to the movies. Unless it's a matinee and the theater is fairly empty. I don't like sitting next to strangers, sharing an armrest, the collective laughter and sniffles, the spontaneous applause, and the crinkling of wrappers during quiet moments. Yep. I'll stick to matinees.


6. Onions make me cry. Big time. I can't cut an onion without stopping halfway, blindly throwing my knife down, and running around the kitchen fanning my eyes to make them stop stinging and tearing up. It's like I just got finished watching Titanic. I don't know how Rachel Ray does it.

Tag! You're it!

Wordless Wednesday: Family

R.O.C.K. In The U.S.A.

Look what I got! The awesome Jenn over at The Peacock's Nesting Place gave this to me. Jenn has just moved back to the United States after spending a year in England with her family. And as soon as she gets finished unpacking, she'll start blogging about her adventures here. But no more pictures of castles, unfortunately. Thanks again, Jenn!

Remember back in early July, everyone in the blogosphere put up pictures and videos of their Independence Day activities? Yeah, well, I just got around to putting together a slideshow of our Fourth of July celebration so lets just pretend that it's actually July 5, that August does not begin this week, and that I am not a procrastinator. Okay?

Here's some pictures of the family, food, and fireworks accompanied by the music of Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, John Cougar Mellencamp, John Mellencamp. Also known as my boyfriend in 1988.

Indianapolis

Angie's talking about music over at my pretty purse today. Check it out!



So, yesterday, Nascar was like "Hey, drivers, Goodyear hasn't tested their tires on this track yet so there might be a few problems" and the drivers were like "Oh, yeah, there's gonna be MORE than a few problems" and Elliott Sadler was like "What tire problems?"

Elliott's tires held up better than a lot of the other cars. His team made some good moves throughout the race (great pit stops) and after 160 laps and 11 yellow flags (7 of them were competition cautions because of tire concerns) he had his best finish of the year. FOURTH! This moves him up 2 spots to 21 in the standings. Top 12 makes the Chase.

Jimmie Johnson gets the win, Michael Waltrip gets the red lantern, and we're at Pocono Raceway next Sunday.

Go Fish

It's Poetry Friday! Sometimes while searching for a particular poem I'll come across another one, totally different in style and subject, and jot it down for a future PF post. While searching for poems about fish (I took the boys to an aquarium Tuesday), I somehow came across this poem by Jo McDougall. It has absolutely nothing to do with fish. But it really speaks to me. It says that I'm easily distracted. And it also brings to mind people, leaders, followers, expectations, disappointments, fantasy, reality, magic, logic, and truth.

What We Need by Jo McDougall

A Contrast Of Siblings

I know I've mentioned my sister, Angie, numerous times on this blog but did you know I have a brother too? Yep. I do. His name is Steven and he lives in Florida so I only see him once, maybe twice, a year. He's also 6 years older than I am--and a boy-- so we weren't really close growing up. Okay, so he did design clothes for my Barbie dolls, but other than that, we just didn't have much in common.

For the past 2 weeks, Steven has been traveling around France and Germany. For the past 2 weeks, I've been to Walmart 4 times.

While in Germany, he visited the Cologne Cathedral which contains the remains of the 3 Wise Men. At church last Sunday, the boys were a holy terror, so while in the cry room, I put them each in a corner. During Mass. In front of Father William. And I'll do it again if I have to.

In Paris, Steven was served croissants, (real) French onion soup, and fine wine. I serve my family fruit loops, pb&j sandwiches, and juice boxes. Daily.

He spent hours walking with his boyfriend along the Brittany coast in France. I spent hours last Monday trying to get the pee smell out of my living room carpet from where the boys tipped over their potty.

I think this is where I'm supposed to say how I wouldn't trade my life for his and motherhood is full of joy and wonder and blah, blah, blah, but dangit, I want some croissants too! And I don't mean from Walmart!

Howard

Just 4 months ago, our yard was covered with snow. Now it's covered in HOT. Yesterday, the temperature hit 100 degrees, with a heat index of 434. Forget about moving to Hawaii, my Sibes want to move to Alaska!

Summertime Perks

There are so many great things about summer. Blooming flowers, fresh vegetables, kids splashing in the pool, and.....no socks to wash! I'm pretty sure that the minute my boys started wearing sandals a couple of months ago, my laundry has decreased by half. It's been so great to not have to keep up with these little things that I'm considering having them wear sandals year around. And when the temperature dips down into the teens this winter, well, we may just move to Hawaii then.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go sort, fold, and put away 20 pairs of socks.

Nascar-less

Angie's talking about sunglasses today over at my pretty purse. Check it out!

Nascar took the day off yesterday so I'm taking the day off today. Which is a good thing because we had a family get together yesterday where nobody touched my sangria so I was forced to drink all of it last night. So...having today off...very good.

Get ready for Sunday's race at The Brickyard in Indianapolis.

Book Review

Well, what do you know, I said I'd put up my review of Sense and Sensibility over the weekend and I actually did! You can read it here. Or you can click on the pretty, little stack of books on my left sidebar. And, for the record, I'm ecstatic that I don't have to type the word sensiblity sensibilty sensibility again. It's hard.

Everyday Kindness Award

Lookit! Kristen over at LaDolceVita gave this to me a few weeks ago and yes, I'm just now putting it up. Not because I don't love it but because I'm a lazy dog. Hence the name of my blog.

Besides having an adorable little boy, Kristen makes the most fabulous hand-stamped jewelry, AND she also saw a real live spaceship traveling on the highway the other day!

Thanks Kristen!

Finished!

I finally finished reading Sense and Sensibility late last night. I'll try and get a review up sometime this weekend. I will say that I did enjoy it and I wish I had paid more attention to PBS's Jane Austen series a while back.

Today is actually the anniversary of Jane Austen's death. She died on July 18, 1817 when she was 41 years old. Rudyard Kipling has a poem called Jane's Marriage from his work The Janeites. For you true "Janeites" out there who can name all her heroines in alphabetical order, you might need a box of Kleenex for this one. On this day in particular, it's a a very touching poem.

Jane went to Paradise:
That was only fair.
Good Sir Walter followed her,
And armed her up the stair.
Henry and Tobias,
And Miguel of Spain,
Stood with Shakespeare at the top
To welcome Jane –

Then the Three Archangels
Offered out of hand
Anything in Heaven’s gift
That she might command.
Azrael’s eyes upon her,
Raphael’s wings above,
Michael’s sword against her heart,
Jane said: “Love.”

Instantly the under-
standing Seraphim
Laid their fingers on their lips
And went to look for him.
Stole across the Zodiac,
Harnessed Charles’s Wain,
And whispered round the Nebulae
“Who loved Jane?”

In a private limbo
Where none had thought to look,
Sat a Hampshire gentleman
Reading of a book.
It was called Persuasion,
And it told the plain
Story of the love between
Him and Jane.

He heard the question
Circle Heaven through –
Closed the book and answered:
“I did – and do!”

Quietly but speedily
(As Captain Wentworth moved)
Entered into Paradise
The man Jane loved!

One Of Those Days

A few weeks ago, Big pup was sitting on the couch and I brought him some chocolate milk. A 6 year old, a couch, and a full cup of chocolate milk. Does that raise any red flags for you moms out there? Yeah, I don't know what I was thinking. Within 5 seconds he was covered in chocolate milk. I told him to take off all his clothes and go jump in the pool.

So while I cleaned the couch, WD supervised the pool activity and noticed that Big pup had gotten in the pool with his watch still on. When WD pointed out this fact, Big pup sighed and said, "Looks like I'm having a bad day, huh?"

Dear Big pup,
My sweet, smart, stubborn first-born son. May all your bad days be only as bad as spilled milk and broken watches.
Love,
Mommy

A Tale Of 6 Haircuts

Yikes! I hope I didn't scare anyone with that first picture! Imagine WD waking up to that every morning. Poor WD. But enough about him. Let's talk about me. Or more specifically, my various hairstyles. Settle in folks, we're heading back to 1993 for this one. 1. 15 years ago. I had just seen Halle Berry in The Last Boy Scout and loved her hair. She only had a small part in the movie but I knew she was going places. I like to think I discovered her and was shocked that I she didn't mention me during her Oscar speech in 2002. Super short hair grows way to fast. The upkeep was a pain.

2. 11 years ago. Still a short cut. My mom had always kept mine and my sister's hair short growing up because we didn't like our hair fussed with. I still don't.

3. 9 years ago. I think this is the longest my hair has ever been. And when it's long, this is the only way I can wear it. I hate having my hair fall in my face.

4. 6 years ago. I actually liked this short bob but I tend to be an 'ear-tucker' and this style doesn't look so good when the sides are tucked behind my ears.

5. 1 year ago. I branched out with this one. It was totally cut to style and I had to wear it straight. Natural curls did not look good with this style.

6. Today. Love it! A simple, medium length cut with layers. Very versatile. I can wear it curly or straight and still pull it back in a ponytail.

This concludes A Tale of Six Haircuts, aka the most boring blog post ever. If you've made it this far, congratulations, I'm sorry, and thank you.

Some Things Meme

A couple of weeks ago tollesons4him tagged me for a meme and I promise I didn't forget about it! I printed out the questions and it quickly got lost on the desk amid 100 usb cords, junk mail, and a very large toy truck that I'm thisclose to making disappear if Little pup doesn't stop whining about the mud flaps getting caught in the trailer. Ugh. This truck. It frustrates him so much yet he continues to play with it. But I digress. Onto the meme!


What was I doing 10 years ago:

• We were living at Little Air Force Base, enjoying our new Siberian puppy (Howard), and about to celebrate our 1st anniversary

Five things on my to do list today:

• Daily morning chores (clean the kitchen, pick clothes up off the floor, make the beds, wipe down the bathrooms)
• Laundry (I was supposed to do this yesterday)
• Take the boys to the state park so they can watch the fish being fed (assuming Big pup feels up to it--he ran a fever all day yesterday)
• Fix dinner (Swiss and mushroom burgers and pasta salad)
• Read 10 pages of Sense and Sensibility so I can finish by Friday

Snacks I enjoy:

• I am so not a snack snob, I like anything, especially chocolate

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

• Tithe
• Pay off house and credit card
• Buy my sister a house
• Buy my mom a new car
• Invest, invest, invest

Places I have lived:

• Little Rock, AR
• Jacksonville, AR
• Benton, AR
• My hometown, AR

This was fun! Thanks tollesons4him!

Chicago

Angie's talking about her favorite summertime shoes over at my pretty purse today. Check it out!

A few good things happened this past Saturday: I got a much needed haircut, my sister came to visit for the day, and there was a night race in Chicago. I just love it when they finish under the lights. Maybe that's why I like going to the November race in Texas so much. It ends at night, too. There's just something about the sun setting on a race track.

Have you ever watched the National Anthem being performed on tv and had to change the channels because it was so embarrassingly bad? That's what I did for this race. Sorry Gavin DeGraw (can I get a collective "who?")

I don't know, I just didn't find this race very exciting. Yeah, Busch and Johnson fought for the win on the last lap, but, whatevs. Elliott Sadler did a good job though. He started 26th and finished 12th. That moves him up 2 spots to number 23 in the standings. I'm happy with that. Know what else I'm happy with? My new haircut! Look for pics on Wednesday.

Kyle Busch gets the win, Michael McDowell gets the red lantern, and Nascar is taking this coming weekend off. Gearing up for Indy.

Who?

Quick! What's the name of the current poet laureate?

Anyone?

Yeah, me neither. But I can tell you the names of Angelina Jolie's children. And the name of Jamie Lynn Spears' new baby. Oh, and Nicole Kidman's too. But not the name of the poet laureate of the United States. Nope. His name just doesn't seem to come up on my People.com gadget. Go figure.


So, for Poetry Friday, please enjoy Clouds Gathering by the current poet laureate...Charles Simic.

Crockpot Chili

My last 4 food posts have been desserts so how 'bout a little protein, okay? How 'bout a big bowl of chili? I know, I know, chili recipes are like blogs--everybody's got one. But this one's my favorite. It's chunky with just the right amount of spices. And there's no standing around a hot stove since it's fixed in a slow-cooker. A definite plus this summer. Enjoy!


Crockpot Chili


1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 TBS chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed & drained
1 can (15 oz) kidney beans, rinsed & drained
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can water


Brown ground beef. While beef is browning add rest of ingredients to crock pot. Add cooked beef and stir. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Wordless Wednesday: Turtle

Clipping Coupons

One of my least favorite chores to do is grocery shopping. The 20 minute drive by interstate, the traffic lights, the traffic, the searching for a parking space, the shopping carts with the one wheel that doesn't work, the arguments between the boys over who's sitting where in the cart, and the other shoppers taking their own sweet time deciding whether they want a can of chili with beans or without. It's too much. I try and get everything I need for at least a week so I don't have to make too many trips.

The other day I decided to stock up on all the non food items we need to get us through a couple of months (or more). So I sent my tireless, hardworking, productive husband off to work some overtime at a Mexican nightclub to get a little extra cash breaking up fights and keeping the peace. And I stayed home, watched a Jon and Kate Plus 8 marathon, and clipped coupons.

But not just any coupons. I only cut out the ones for products that I normally use. I gathered them all up, took them to Walmart a few days later, and look at all the stuff I got (above picture). Before coupons: $111.56 After coupons: $90.44 That's a savings of $21.12!

And don't feel too sorry for WD:

That's the Latin singer Carmen Jara. And that's an awfully big smile on WD's face. Don't you think?

Daytona

Angie's talking Starbucks today! Check it out!


What a weekend! We celebrated Independence Day with great food and fireworks. The boys had so much fun with the sparklers, party poppers and snakes. Now I just need to sort through the 957 pictures I took!


Elliott Sadler was running great in Daytona Saturday night. He started 38th and at the half way point he was running in the top 10. I went out to feed the huskies and when I came back in, Sadler was in the garage with extensive damage to his car. It seems he blew a tire (hello Infineon) and hit the wall pretty hard. He eventually made it back out onto the track and finished 39th. He continues to hold steady in the points at 25.


This was such an exciting race and was so much fun to watch. I wish I could adequately describe how awesome it was but I inhaled way to much smoke from the smoke balls Friday that's left me incapable of putting together words. Or is it...putting words together? Anyhoo, Daytona! Exciting! Fun!


Kyle Busch gets the win, Greg Biffle gets the red lantern, and we're in Chicago for another Saturday race this weekend.

Happy St. Elizabeth Of Portugal Feast Day

Wow! Wow! Wubbzy!--the most uninteresting kids show in the universe, well, second to Yo Gabba Gabba--has taken over my television so I'm not able to watch the news anymore. During the school year, NPR kept me caught up with what was going on in the world. But since school let out, I really don't have a clue what's going on in the news. So you may be surprised as I am to learn that today is a holiday. Yep. It seems that today is Independence Day. 232 years ago, the Declaration of Independence was signed, thereby banning afternoon tea, soccer, and Cadbury Crunchie bars. Fortunately, we Americans are a resourceful bunch and have made do with Dr. Pepper, the WWE, and Big Macs.

Happy Birthday America!

And now, the BEST rendition of the national anthem ever:

Good Riddance!

These are the baby birds that lived on my back porch for 6 months. Give or take 5 months. If there was an award for best avian mother of the year, it would've went to the mom of these baby birds. Every day and night she stayed in her nest keeping her eggs warm. When they hatched she tirelessly brought them yummy bugs during the day and snuggled with them at night. They got bigger and bigger and bigger until she couldn't even fit in the nest with them. So she sat on the fence nearby, keeping watch, still bringing them the best bugs she could find.

Whenever I saw her flitting about her well-made nest, with no room to land, dropping bug after bug after bug into open mouths, I can't help but think about my own mom when, 2 years ago, I moved back home. With a husband. And 2 kids under 5. And 2 dogs.

We were having our house built and needed somewhere to live while it was under construction and my parents graciously opened up their home to us for 9 months. And I'm sure that when we moved out, we left their home in a similar state that those baby birds left when they finally flew out of their momma's nest.

Ugh.

Wordless Wednesday: Video Games

Blackberry Brulee

What's better than creme brulee? Creme brulee with fruit!



Our house is surrounded by blackberry bushes. As the berries began to ripen, I wondered what I could do with them this year. Blackberry cobbler? Naw, yummy but too...predictable. Pan Roasted Venison With Crushed Blackberry-Ancho Chile Sauce & Sweet Potato-Toasted Pine Nut Polenta? Um....no. I'll leave that to Bobby Flay. I need something that's easy and inexpensive. Something like Blackberry Brulee!

Although picking blackberries can be a little bothersome, the chiggers and thorns are totally worth it when you taste this sweet fruit combined with rich, creamy, warm, vanilla custard.

Blackberry Brulee (recipe from Betty Crocker)
1 cup blackberries
1/3 cup sugar
2 TBS cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups half-and-half
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 tsp packed brown sugar

Place blackberries evenly in bottom of four 10-ounce ramekins.
Mix sugar, cornstarch and salt in 2-quart saucepan. Stir in half-and-half. Heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring frequently, until thick. Stir in vanilla. Spoon over blackberries. Sprinkly 1 tsp brown sugar over mixture in each ramekin. Broil a few minutes or just until brown sugar is melted.