hula hoops and hampster wheels

So My mom and I are working on a project -- we are making recipe books -- of our all time favorites. But in the meantime we are willing to test new recipes.

I found these cute books at hallmark -- and so we are starting to put them together -- one recipe a night -- a lame hobby, but if you don't know - I love food. chomp chomp. and it's a good bonding project for me and my mom.

Anyways if you have a tasty recipe I have to try send it to me! Appetizers, cookies, soups whatever.

So I'm solo for the 4th ... I might go to the casino on Saturday with Kenz and Si and Deann and Doug -- I'm not a big gambler -- I buy a couple powerballs a month -- like 3 maybe, but it has been quite some time since I've gone to a casino so it should be fun -- good old fashioned 5th wheel fun.

I might see if my friend Mike wants to play cribbage but that only eats up a couple hours of time -- and I lost the last time we played. So I will probably be uber competitive or an extra big poor sport.

Everyone else is getting out of dodge and I'm jealous- but with no where to go -- I know I"ll buy new tires -- that's a good satruday morning project.

Hmmm whatelse can I do with myself this weekend... maybe I'll blog something super inspiriational --- or maybe not, maybe I'll just blog. Maybe I'll go to the gym... nah that's not fun and I can't find my cute lime green gym shorts... Where are they? I've looked everywhere.

If it was colder out i'd crochet. But yarn in the summer is not fun.

I see my lameness quotient is growing with each sentence .. . yay me.

Dave is going to be in Iowa for some manly car show and I want to go see fireworks... pouty lip.

I'll probbaly sit at home -- in my pjs all weekend. Maybe I'll go buy new pjs to commermerate the event. Then again, highly unlikely -- most likely I'll float around -- be bored -- read, try to write -- play on stupid facebook and organize my lil green patch for the millionth time.

So Dave and I were invited to a bbq this weekend -- and we went. My friend Heather just had twins this fall and I haven't been out to see them. And my other friend Josie and her husband have 3 children. So it was a bring your meat and something to share type poot luck bbq extravaganza. We were fashionably late -- which was fine. We chatted and visited out on the deck -- at dinner. I held babies -- it was fun. After a couple hours though - of holding babies and playing with toddlers and a 7 year old ... it was time - time to go. Dave and I had a movie to catch.

On the way to the movie we discussed babies -- and we are both a o k with not being parents at the present time. Then we discussed the possibility of a pet. I suggested a cat -- cause I love kitties! But that was quickly veto'd as Dave has allergies and a dislike of cats. So ok a dog -- but a cute one. I like jack russel terriers and Enzo dogs -- not sure exactly what an Enzo dog is... but it's a dog like the one we dog sit. He's like a lab -- and some "duck fetching" brand -- but technically he's a mut -- but I love him -- and I'm not a huge dog person. I also like german shepperds and springer spaniels -- they were my childhood dogs -- and he is alergic -- so we are talking about dogs with less shedding -- and he likes bulldogs... thinks they are adorable. I think they drool to much -- but maybe he likes that? Maybe I should drool on his pillow more... oh wait I already do that.

I found this on my friend Sadie's blog -- I thought it was cute and adorable so voila--

By an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher.


I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second-grade classroom a few years back. When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.
Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.
She holds up a snapshot of an infant "This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday. First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord."
She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement. "Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, oh, oh, oh!' " Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. "She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!'" Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.
"My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man.
They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this." Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall. "And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!" This kid has her legs spread and with her little hands are miming water flowing away. It was too much!
"Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all! of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff, they all said it was from Mom's play-center!, so there must be a lot of stuff inside there."
Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, if it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another Erica comes along.