Thursday, November 27, 2008

The Bird is the Word


Blogger is being goofy. I tried uploading other pictures but it called it a "bad request" - not once, but twice!

So a picture of the bird is what you get, for now.

One word, YUM!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Vacuum Shmacuum

I should be getting my house ready for Thanksgiving guests. I should be making lists and planning plans. How could I resist such a sweet face though? I just want to kiss all the peanut butter off those cheeks. I have to take pictures - before I forget, before he grows out of this.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Sunday Special


Garrett is hard to get a good picture of. Aside from having to get him to just sit still long enough - you have to get him to focus (ha ha - get it? focus??!!) long enough to get a decent expression. So, when we do get one - we are very excited. The color on this originally was rather harsh because I took it in the fading sunlight - very yellow and bright, making the shadows quite stark. The sepia tone came out rather nice I thought, and toned down the contrast between light and shadow a bit. I know professionals might balk at shadows - but I kind of like the "real" effect of having a bit of shadow in a picture.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Happy Birthday Revisited

Sooooooo,

I had to go to three different stores to find an important ingredient for the Chicken Scallopine with Artichokes & Spinach I wanted to make.

I came home to a birthday "surprise" waiting for me on the table:

Two cards and a frozen 21 lb turkey from my spouse. Apparently turning 40 is an occasion that calls for large bits of frozen poultry.

Dinner was divine - if I do say so myself, ask me for the recipe sometime.

The cake - carrot of course with cream cheese frosting, and lots of it. Instead of adding eggs and oil to the boxed mix, I used a can of pureed pumpkin instead, tossed in the requisite raisins and walnuts and one cup of water. Yum - very moist and less guilty feelings for the mile high cream cheese with low-fat cake.

Garrett said "wow, you are really old now mom." To which I smartly replied "One day, you will be as old as me." (as per suggestion) His reply? "Yes, but you'll probably be dead."

For post dinner festivities, my youngest threw up on me.

OH - and best of all, I get to go home to Colorado for a few days after Thanksgiving - Yippee!!

Happy Birthday!

My kids informed me that I am officially old and that "half my life" is now over.

Hmmmm, I don't think I will share my cake with them. :0)


Me when I was a lot cuter with not as much hair.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Sunday Special

I want to start putting up a picture every Sunday taken during the week. Nothing fancy - just something like this picture I took of Sadie today. I thought it was a sweet photo. So every Sunday, a new photo. Maybe I'll write a little too - don't know for sure yet, but there will be a new photo.

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Better Late Than Never - Halloween 2008

I freely admit I am a wee bit tardy with the photos from Halloween. I could lay out some sob story tale of woe of sick kids with runny noses, car troubles and my own current state of disease - but, cute pictures of cute kids are always way more fun!

A pleasant respite from the costumes of last year - these Halloween offerings did not take near as much time nor trouble. Smartest thing I ever did was let go of the ideal that we needed a "theme". Wizard of Oz was fun last year, and the kids were darn cute - but trying to get all those costumes sewn left me feeling like I was being attacked by flying monkeys.

From youngest to oldest:

Nathan

Originally going to be a frog. (Adam really likes "fwoggies") Perusal of listings on e.Bay for ideas uncovered incredible deal with free shipping on Zebra costume. Mom shouted "Sold!" and the postal service conveniently took care of the details. Cute and warm - the costume was both functional as well as fun. Nate took to candy quite handily. See picture below.




Adam


Pirate of the High Seas. His costume took the most effort. Shirt, vest, belt and pants were thrift store finds gleaned from the girls' section. Store bought hat and sword. His "buckle" shoes are actually dress shoes bought on clearance from Wal.mart. Also wearing Sadie's knee socks. Mom had to "cuff" pants (size 6 girls - let down the "cuff" afterward and Sadie has a pair of capris now - oh how I love 2 for 1's!). Shirt and vest had to be "cut down" to size. Basically I just cut the sleeves off, shortened the shirt; trimmed side seams and recut the arms. Sewed it back together and "voila!" one ruffly pirate shirt! The hat was also a bit goofy - so I just took it from a tricorne hat to a four corner style. (It fit and looked better)

Sadie

A princess, of course! Recycled princess dress from Halloween's past. Made this dress for Jessica when she was about Sadie's age. Fabric recycled from awful pink bridesmaid dress and matched with clearance light weight decor fabric. Sparkly silver sandals and plastic "jewelry" and tiara complete the look.





Garrett

Originally wanted to be a flying ninja monkey. Ummm, okay - mom's brain short circuiting with mental gyrations trying to figure that one out. Settled for Ninja Warrior. All I had to do was sew a tunic and come up with a sash. A black turtleneck and pants serve as good base; add a plastic sword and we're in business! By the time the trick or treating was done, the sword was snapped in two. I can't say I wasn't expecting that.



Jessica

50's girl, Bobbie Soxer. This one was also easy. Thrift store sweater paired with poodle skirt made by mom's mom for high school play. (How much does this depress me that I use to be able to fit into that skirt? 27 inch waist people - 27 inches! sob I only had to adjust about an inch for Jess' 25.5 inch waist) Add a pair of white sneakers and of course, requisite bobbie socks and pearls; tie a scarf around pony tail. (Nathan was unhappy that Jess put him down and refused to stay out of the picture - so that is why there is a screaming zebra in the photo.)


Trent

Okay, Trent. Well, Trent didn't have a costume - so he was himself - or rather, a member of the pep band because he had to be at a football game Halloween night. I discovered some "self-portraits" when I downloaded the photos off the digital camera. Ummm - well, I will let you decide for yourself - I'm not sure what he is doing here.



Some Group Shots







Finis