The strong and Not so Silent type

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Personal Responsibility

I ran across this quote
and I paused, and pointed
my finger and said " This, this
right here is one thing that in this
world of entitled, excuse making kids,
is what I want my kids to learn."

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Yeah buddy!
WTF Wednesday is back.
Like Montezuma's revenge.

A few weeks ago, the neighbors down the street were having work done in their yard.
whateva.
I had been in and out all day, playing with kids in the front yard, errands whatever.
I'm standing in my yard, enjoying my birds of paradise or weeds of last years whatever,
when I hear shouting.
I look over and see an older man, around 55-60, shouting, dropping the F word like it is hot.....with an australian accent. He is shouting at an Eastern Indian man, who claims "F~ You, F~ This, I am effing doing ten times the work of you, you F~!" also in an australian accent.

I, of course, am just slightly WTF....

I just realized that the air has just been massacred by F bombs, Crocidile Dundee style, and while I have been known to let a little F~ word slip out here and there,- more often like here, but who's counting- this poetic fury of F~ words was insane. Like an F5 tornado. Tons of yelling and cussing. I of course, crouch like a ninja with a maxi dress on, and like all ninja's do, peer over the patio fence between the palm tree, so I can watch this thunder train wreck from down under take place. All of a scary ass sudden, I see bodies scuffling and shoving and I hear a huge BANG of metal clanging. And then a young black male who might be like 16, comes running out into the street, yelling....you guessed it- in an AUSTRALIAN accent.

Now I am super WTF......

The old man with a huge Santa Claus beard with a hair style made famous by Shaggy on Scooby Doo, is now running, into the street, chasing the dumpster that he had punched. I have my hand on phone, not to call 911, but to enter myself into the witness protection program, because I have seen one too many Law and Orders and I know what happens to nosy housewives that witness dumpster diving. Just as I am changing my name to Gertie Grazniowkc, and changing my address to Iceland- just so I can make sure I get my trashy mags forwarded- I see a little boy standing on the street corner, staring.

The boy looks at the old man Shaggy who is trying to hold the dumpster from rolling, the Indian man who is still cussing and holding a shovel trying to put it under the wheels, and the young man who is now sitting in the bed of the truck watching. They are yelling and then I hear a little voice say "Hi."

Silence falls, Shags moves his sweaty nasty hair out of his foul mouthed face and says...."Uh hi fella."

Looking like true jackholes, not one of them utters a single word, and they spend the next hour trying to move the dumpster back into the driveway.

I have no idea where you hire such an oddball labor company, and I don't know if they do good work, but if I ever wanted to say an effective "F~ you" with an Australian accent, I'm sure I could.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Eatin

We have been eating a little more "clean". I really agree and like the thought of eating less junk/processed/convenient food, and more simple handmade food. Nothing tastes better than homemade spaghetti sauce or homemade tortillas. Because we have access to all kinds of fruit/veggies at amazingly cheap prices, I find myself more and more drawn to food in it's natural state, and prepared at home. I have been teaching my girls to cook more. (and no not because they are girls, since my boy will be taught to cook as soon as he isn't running around trying to throw everything in the trash and climb on tables.)

Today we bought stuff for homemade granola, and making pickles. My pickle lovers are excited about making them, even though Baloney, who has been about a thousand times what pickles are made out of, she tells me in the store, "we will put it together, and create a pickle and take the seeds and then it will grow into a pickle tree!" Sure thing boss, we'll get right on that pickle tree business.
There is something incredibly domestic and satisfying in standing in my kitchen, playing some Ella Fitzgerald, wearing my blue and red flirty apron, while my kids help or play outside, making homemade bread or beef stew or steak salad with homemade balsamic vinaigrette. It takes me to the 1940's or wherever. Simple, simple simple.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Fourth of July recap

This year for the Fourth of July, we ate. And ate well. The weather didn't cooperate, it was a gray, chilly day, which was completely not like barbeque weather, but whatcha gonna do. We had burgers n dogs, watermelon stars, fruit salad, deviled eggs, potato salad, baked beans, cupcakes, cowboy caviar, and cherry limemade.

Cowboy Caviar is super yummy, we eat it with tortilla chips. I loosely followed this recipe from My Recipes.com. I didn't add the hot sauce but added chopped jalapenos instead. Rebellious, but good.

Cherry Limeade is my kiddos favorite special occasion drink. I followed The Pioneer Woman's recipe out of her cookbook- my secret obsession is cookbooks. As in I have tons, and I like to read them.... the more down home, fruit from the farm lovin, the better. It appeals to my inner Laura Ingalls.
I mixed the Cherry Limeade up in my cool Mason jar drink dispenser, and ok to be honest, I doubled the recipe, we like it thattttttt much. I always serve it over a glass of crushed ice, more refreshing that way.

Cherry Limeade

Ingredients

2-liter bottle lemon-lime soda
1 cup fresh squeezed lime juice
1 cup sugar
One 10-ounce jar maraschino cherries, with juice
Thin lime slices

Chill all ingredients before mixing.

When cold, combine the lemon-lime soda, lime juice, sugar, cherries with their juice and lime slices in a large pitcher and stir. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Serve with a ladle, getting cherries and limes in each serving.

Oh, and the middle picture above was this year's 4th of July cards. Super easy but those little twigs cost me two stamps to mail....and of course the little guy was my patriotic boy, complete with bow tie, cuz he is totally dapper like that.

Saturday, July 14, 2012

Modern Meadow pink quilt

When I first saw this Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow line, I KNEW someone had to have this combo. Anyone. I probably would have made it and gave it to the mail man.....except for the mailman is a grumpy old man that wears a Hawaiian landscaper hat....every.single.day. But then my bestie got preggers and found out it was a girl and I knew it was meant to be, so I whipped up a lil something with this pile of berry fabulousness. I have big plans for the Sunny Day version of this line as well.

I ordered 8 fat quarters from etsy, used one pink and white gingham fat quarter from Joanns. The back is lined with pink with white polka dot soft flannel. And the binding was a matching tan from Joanns. I broke it up with little white lines, and made it in the size of a square.

Up close of the colors and fabric.

And just for that little personal touch, I took a tan piece of fabric and cursive embroidered her name on the bottom corner. It's a super girly quilt, but since pink and green is my signature color, it works.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Thursday

Today I made the girls toad-in-a-hole. The breakfast that is bread with a hole out of the center, you fry an egg in it. Yet the Middle didn't eat the egg, she doesn't like it. Um, that's called toast.....

We went to Joann's, the dollar store and the grocery store. Came home and crafted the afternoon away with banners and ruffle streamers, which might be the most fabulous party decoration and easy peasy pumpkin cheesy. I'm excited to show the results of the Middles TENTH birthday. Double digits? Who said my sweet curly haired baby girl with big blue eyes could grow up?

My boy is running around with a ball yelling, "Ready, Ready?"
The husband is taking the trash to the curb.
And while I just blogged about nothing, I blogged..... 4 days in a row. I think I got this.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Elf on a shelf...or in timeout.

Every December, our houses gets broken into by this naughty little guy. My kids named him. Teeny Conner Humperdink. He is one of those Elf on a Shelf fellas. Some people just have him sitting up high, telling kids he is watching and will tell Santa that they are bad. Not our elf. He is straight from the Juvenile Hall in the North Pole. Besides, my kids aren't into the whole Santa is watching biz. They know Mom has the eagle eye on them, sniper style, and I am far worse to deal with than lumps of coal on christmas morning. Just keeping it real, ho ho ho and falalalalala style.

Teeny gets into all kinds of trouble. Late at night, when they are all asleep, this brat gets nuts. Nothing is better than my kids racing around, wide eyed and disbelief of what happened while they slept. They know not to touch him, and that I always take a pic. For his criminal record file- of course. Now....there have been a few times that Teeny was lazy and there was a mad scramble to make sure we caught him being bad before they did... *wink wink*.
Here is what he did 2 years ago......