Manic Monday and a fun new car

What is the longest love relationship (partner) you have had, and if it has ended, why? Being married to Husband. We have been married twelve years this fall. It certainly doesn't feel like it. I guess it is true, time flies when you are having fun!

What is on your bedside table? a Tiffany style lamp that my sister gave me, a Bose Ipod docking station (that I got for Husband when he got home from Iraq....I wonder how it ended up on my bedside table???) and usually whatever book I am reading.

How many pillows do you have on your bed? 7: two in pillowcases, two in some mustard yellow shams, two in one that coordinates with the duvet cover, and one foo foo pillow (that has somehow ended up on Livi's bed)

Do you make your bed every day? Are you kidding me? Of course I do!

Husband came home with this fun little sporty coupe. (This pic is straight from the Volvo website.) After his head on collision, it made it all too clear that despite you being a safe driver, you never know what the other guy is going to do. The car is so fun and is Safety's friend. Will called it a "go speed racer".

Friday fill in: weekend update style

Graphic courtesy of Tonya! And...here we go!

6. At Dinosaur World the sun was shining. It was so hot, I felt like I was melting!

1. She had a great sense of style. Despite the fact that I laid out her outfit with matching shoes, Livi choose to wear these pink MaryJanes. But she did mention that they were NOT the proper shade of pink. This was a battle I chose not to fight.

3. I know this: Will has the bluest eyes.....even today, someone commented on them when he was getting his hair cut.

2. Husband is by my side, always. Thankfully, even after this weekend started out with him getting in a head-on collision, he will continue to be by my side. He is fine, though a bit bruised and sore. He is sad to have to say goodbye to his convertible!

4. I still hope Husband finds a car that he loves as much as this one.

5. These words apply to me: organized.


7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to pizza with the family, tomorrow my plans include dinner with Will's future in-laws and E and Sunday, I want to take the boys to get haircuts and start looking at cars for Husband!

PS, so sorry my Fill In is all wonky! I couldn't move the pics around, I could only move the text. Oh well! Happy Friday fill in on Sunday!!

Friday fill in questions courtesy of the talented Janet

Happy father's day, Husband

Happy Father's day, Husband. Keeping things simple with a little interview with the kids.

I really love it when my dad:
Will: tickles me.
Olivia: tickles me and snuggles me.....Oh, and makes good food.

My dad likes to:
W: fly planes.
O: love on me.

My dad always tells me to:
W: strip my bed on Sundays.
O: Go to bed because I don't like to go to bed. He is a good daddy, the most good Dad.

The best thing he does is:
W: let me scare him when he gets home from work.
O: make is famous cheesy pasta.

It makes him happy when I:
W: try to make him laugh.
O: help him clean the kitchen.

My dad loves to:
W: hug me and Stister, and you. **tommie note: Will still calls Livi his Stister even though he can say sister!**
O: read. And I like to read too.

I like it when:
W: he cuddles me.
O: he tickles and snuggles me.

The best thing he cooks is:
W: his famous cheesy pasta.,.....Oh and pizza!.....pizza pizza, I love pizza.
O: cheesy pasta.

When my dad shops he likes to buy:
W: Daddy chips (sour cream and cheddar ruffles potato chips)
O: strawberries and blueberries so they can be mixed in ice cream.

My dad's favorite household chore is:
W: Can we just take this one out?
O: to clean the tables.

My dad's favorite TV show is:
W: Mythbusters
O: dangerous shows, NOT our kid shows. But sometimes we watch kid shows together. I do not come in here when Daddy is watching mean shows.

At the hotel he likes to:
W: swim.
O: snuggle me.

If he could go on a trip he would go to:
W: Disneyworld
O: Disneyworld.

Manic Monday

Just another Manic Monday…

Describe to me your favorite lounging clothes. Believe it or not, the t-shirt pajama pants from Old Navy are super soft. They are too long for me, of course. So I usually just cut them off. They just roll up a bit and do not fray. Now, the flannel ones I do have to hem...

PS, you know it has been a good weekend, when most of the laundry on Monday morning is pajamas and outside play clothes! Let's just say, it was a good Monday today!

If you promised to never lie again in your lifetime, in what area would it be hardest to uphold the promise? I am a people pleaser, so this is a hard one. Probably along the lines of making an excuse to do something that I really don't have to do.

Give a one word answer to the question “why is life worth living”. Absolutely easy peasy one....one of the happiest days of my life: Husband coming home from his deployment

Manic Monday and cookie Monday

Fleur-de-Lisa hosts the original Manic Monday here.

Do you have any idiosyncrasies or unusual quirks when it comes to food and/or eating? I have food allergies, so I guess you could say quirks. I can't eat nuts, pork, or soy products.

Have you ever written love letters? I wrote husband while he was deployed. If so, do you still have any of them? He does have every single one of them. I have all of the ones he wrote while he was deployed as well. It was one of my very first blog posts!

How easy or difficult is it for you to say you're sorry? Getting better with age, I can definitely say. I know I don't know everything...but it sure seems that way sometimes!

I guess we should call it cookie Monday since we haven't baked muffins in so long! But I still have a pile of recipes for cookies and candies the kids want to try!

glazed lemon cookies

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large egg yolks

1/2 t. pure vanilla extract

1/4 t. kosher salt

2 c. all purpose flour

2 T. fresh lemon juice (about the juice of one lemon)

1 t. grated lemon zest

* With an electric mixer, beat the butter and the granulated sugar until fluffy. Add the egg yolks, vanilla, and salt, and beat to combine. Gradually add the flour, mixing until just incorporated.

*Divide the dough in half and shape into 1 1/4" diameter logs. Wrap in wax paper and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

*Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the logs into 3/8" thick pieces and space them 1 1/2" apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. ( I just used my pizza stone, and they were fine!) Bake until lightly golden, 16-20 minutes. Let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to cooling racks to cool completely.

*In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, and zest until it forms a thick but pourable glaze (add more lemon juice if necessary). Dip the top of each cookie into the glaze and let set, about 15 minutes.

*Plate and share with friends.

Thursday 13, the letter Y

1. Yellow: I never did find a yellow bag ....okay, I lied. I never did find a bag for less than $1000.

2. y'all: I crack up every time one of the kids says y'all. Between my southern twang and the KY accent here, they have the drawl down pat!



3. year: I can't believe it has been nearly a year (on the 19th) since Husband's homecoming ...why does it seem like this past year flew by...but those fifteen months dragged by??

4. Yesterday I went to Starbucks to get a peppermint latte. They were out of peppermint. This was just as they opened, too. I rarely drop the f-bomb but I was like, "WTF"....okay, I really didn't say it, but I did think it.

5. Yippee....I am finally going to get the pink Tag .

6. Yoga: I enjoy the feeling I have after a yoga class. I wish I could bottle it up and carry it around with me!
7. Young: I was very much like Livi as a young child. This remains one of my favorite pics of her....she was floating acorns down the river of rainwater that ran along the street.


8. Yuck: I love the smell of liver and onions cooking, but I don't like the taste....yuck!


9. Yugo: I had a roomie in college who drove one of these. This was in 1990. I don't even know how old it was then, but I swear that thing was made of plastic!


10. Yolk: I like my egg yolks cooked all the way...that runny stuff grosses me out. Makes me think I am going to get sick or something!


11. Yeah: Husband gets home tomorrow!


12. Yes, I am done with my Christmas shopping.


13. YMCA: I was a YMCA camp counselor in college.

Happy Thursday, y'all

Weekend Update

We had a great weekend. Friday Husband came home with his fun new set of wheels. It is almost sad that the weather is getting cooler. But we did get to take it out. Let me just say, it might have been a wee bit too cold to really put the top down!

Saturday I went to a scrapbook thingy. My neighbor is like a scrap guru. I was sitting amongst some very creative girlies! I had so much fun. I laughed until I snorted more than once. Despite being Husband's birthday day, I was glad he encouraged me to go. We have been here since late summer and these are the first group of females where I could honestly see being friends with....friends you can go grab a cup of coffee with, go shopping with, and just hanging out!

We celebrated Husband's birthday on Sunday. Of course we made the chocolate chocolate chip cake ever. We made it into the bundt cake.....(I still think of My Big Fat Greek Wedding..every single solitary time I say Bundt...!)

I had custom ordered the most adorable tassel for Livi's room from The Tassel House. I showed her pics of Livi's room. She made the most adorable little fat tassel for the door on her armoire. As a little bonus, she tucked in a little tassel. I didn't get a chance to take a pic, but I will later this week

.

Anyhow, great busy weekend. Also, I think winter is almost here. It was 29 degrees this morning! Happy Monday, y'all.

Weekend update

It was indeed a working weekend. Forget about Labor Day being a day of rest, there is work to do in casa Tuesday Update. First Husband applied Gila window tint to the windows in the front of the house. You can see on the left how it is already cutting down the glare. It cools the interior by at least 5-10 degrees. We first discovered this tint when we lived in OK. Will's room faced the west. It was so hot in there in the afternoon and evenings. We (as in Husband) applied this in TX as well. I can't likey a hot house. I am certainly not going to have b00b sweat in my own home!

I did the get the panels pinned and sewn together. I figured out I did the panels with lining, the sheers, the hardware cost less than half of ONE of my inspiration panels! I originally wanted use the little rings and just clip the panel to the rod. But once the rings were on there, the panels were lower than the sheers. I didn't like that at all. So I took them down, sewed a little pocket at the top, and threaded them onto the rod. Overall, I am very pleased with them.

I couldn't quit get the entire window but you get the idea.

The Kilz Casual color, Cornelian Red is only on this one wall. The other three walls are our neutral color. My goal over the next two days or so is to get the floor in here cleaned up. Since we ordered the rug and furniture for this room, it is basically empty. So it has become a holding area for all kind of things. Things are I am freecycling, a huge box of packing paper, tools needed for various projects.....etc.

Overall, a great weekend!

Isn't it Beautiful

homecoming 147, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

Photohunters is hosted by TN Chick. Next week's theme: string(s)

It was simply beautiful to see my husband being reunited with our kids after being gone for 15 months during a deployment. All those little things that make a woman crazy-the toilet seat not being in the correct place, clothes not being put where they belong, teabags all over the place. Those things just fall by the wayside when it all comes down to it.......the most important thing is seeing a daddy with his kids! That to me is beautiful!

I Had A Dirty Little Secret

Dirty Little Secret, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

This evening Husband and I had a date at The Short Story Brasserie ....from their own website:

This brasserie brings a world of flavor and culinary adventure to you in the same spirit that Hemingway brought the sight, sounds and flavors of the world to his readers.

This restrauant is definitly in our top five meals EVER eaten. It is housed above their wine store called The Wine Cache....those who know me 'for reals' will know why I thought this was a very good sign to a great evening! The restrauant is very small with maybe nine tables with great decor...(ps, they used the same colors as in my home, so I was smitten with the decor!) There were some poppy prints that I loved! Now for the good stuff.....

Like any good story, it started with a Prelude......Aperitifs Classique: Both Husband and I had a Lillet Blanc, a little drink made with wine with a fruit liquor served with an orange twist. I am not a big mixed drink gal, but this was to die for! I was seriously loving it. Yeah, off to a great start for the evening.

Next the Introduction: American Artisan Crafted Cheese Plate. Aged cheddar, a creamy goat, a crumbly blue, and one other one that was seared before serving. Wine and cheese...I think I had that for dinner several times while Husband was deployed!

Part II - Hot Small Plates: I had Warm Chèvre & Tomato Tart, Basil Oil...so very flaky!!

Husband had Fricassee of Maine Lobster with Wild Mushroom &Herb Gnocchi.

Part III - The Large Plates : I had salmon with a seared foie gras. It was my first time to have foie gras. It had a very interesting texture, but it was amazing with the salmon and the pinot noir I was drinking.

The Dénouement…I had a Dirty Little Secret. A plate of fresh berries and chocolate filled truffles, as well as a hand dipped strawberry. I normally only have dessert if restaurants have creme brule (which Husband had) ....but who can resist a dirty little secret.

So, if you are anywhere in central OH, it is about thirty minutes east of Columbus. It has only opened this week, but we will definitely eat here again when we are in town to see the in-laws. It was great fun getting dressed up and going on a date!

PS, I felt like a food critic doing an article for a restaurant review snapping pics of my plates!

Happy Father's Day

Husband- Happy Father's day.....you are so much more than a father, you are a daddy. Even after a long day at work, you are so involved with the kids. When they hear your car (and the loud music) they rush to the door waiting to see you. I think the kids are finally getting used to you after the deployment. Seeing them cuddled up with you listening to your goofy "Fred the Shark" stories just makes me laugh. I am so glad they are growing up with a daddy like you.

From your card: "For all the times I felt it but somehow forgot to show it, for all the times I dreamed it but forgot to let you know it, for all the times I thought it but it stayed inside my head, for all the times I meant it but I didn't get it said, I love you!" t.-

as told to me from Olivia on Thursday June 12, 2008....(age three and two-quarters)

Livi- Daddy, I love you daddy. My favorite things about daddy is that he tickles us. I like his name. and, and, and, he likes loud music. I like to go on trips with him, like going to a restaurant. Can we do that again? Just me and daddy..

My favorite thing daddy makes is pancakes and sausage. Oh yeah, and maple syrup. Did you write the maple syrup?

as told to me by Will....age 5

Will- Daddy, I love you so much that I love you ....I want you to give me a tickle. I like tickling. I like to play with you all the time. Like playing trains. We play with each other all the time. I love to listen to your made up stories. I love your popcorn the best. I eat it and eat it until it is all gone. I love to play everything with you better than anyone in the whole wide world. Me and daddy are silly!

Happy Memorial Day '08

Memorial Day has always marked the beginning of summer for me. Back in the days when I was in college, my roomies and I threw a huge party every Memorial Day. We had a cool house on a corner lot very near campus. There was a huge ball field that we set up a volleyball net. Someone would grill/burn some burgers and hotdogs. Fun memories....

The first time I attended a Memorial Day celebration was when we lived in Alaska. We had driven down to Anchorage for the long weekend. Jets flew overhead during the ceremony. I remember feeling proud to be married to a soldier. So many have paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Like President Bush said in his speech today: "I am humbled by those who have made the ultimate sacrifice that allow a free civilization to endure and flourish," Bush said. "It only remains for us, the heirs of their legacy, to have the courage and the character to follow their lead and to preserve America as the greatest nation on Earth and the last, best hope for mankind."

A few shots of how we started our Memorial Day:

Waking up at 6:20 AM has its benefits...the sunlight is gorgeous at that time.

I really tried to get some of Will just being Will, but he mostly just wanted to do crazy shots!

So glad that Husband could join us this time for our visit to the beach.

a boy and his daddy....doesn't get much better than that.

The view from our porch...

Just to compare, here are some pics of our visit last August .

Photohunt: Truly my favorite thing these days, a SOLD sign in our frontyard

this week: share ANY photo
next week: candy

My creation, originally uploaded by tommiea1.

so so happy to have this sign in our front yard......Kentucky here we come!

But if I were to pick favorite shots of the kids...this one of Livi captures her happy-go-lucky self!

This shot of Will and husband was mere minutes after he got home from a 15 month deployment . It is still one of my all time favorite shots!

weekend recap

Livi and I did go get a mani. Note to self: a three year old does not have the ability to sit still for the time it takes an adult to get a mani. So we should stick to the mommy-done mani's, done at home! So there are no cute shots of her hands. The lady put a clear top coat on them, which just made them smudge better!

The boys washed cars. Look at him raisin' that boy up right!

Husband absolutely loves his Mr.clean car wash thingy. It has a place to put soap, as well as a spot-free rinse filter. Just hook it up to your hose and it does the work!

Plenty of sunshine makes for lots of time outside, riding Powerwheels, tricycles, and scooters.

Finally, two of the butterflies came out of their chrysalis's.....we didn't see them come out. But we did see it very soon after. The wings weren't even completely uncurled yet. We have put some flowers with the sugar water on them in the bottom of the net container. The paper that came with them also said they liked fresh oranges and watermelon. So we put some of that in their too. It is so amazing to see these little creatures right before our eyes!

weekly winners, April 27- May 3, 2008

Thanks to Lotus at sarcastic mom for hosting this fun way to see all those extra pics that I didn't blog about this week.

These are all from the Change of command we went to this week....apparently I didn't get my camera out much more than this! The caterpillars are still just hanging in the chrysalis stage, so no need to take their pics!

Will, just as the horses were charging across the parade field. The guys were shooting guns and hootin' and hollarin'....he loved it!

This shot just cracks me up, but it is totally all Livi. She was trying to imitate the band members as they walked in front of us. In no way, shape or form were they shrugging their shoulders....but in her little Liv-a-licious mind, they were.

I have come to love "the blur" so much, I have a set in my Flickr labeled just that.

I think these are donkeys.....but are the ones that pulled the schooner across the field.

We sat under this tree on a picnic blanket. It was a bit away from the crowded grand stands where the kids might be expected to be quiet for the entire ceremony!

A wheel from the schooner....

My favorite shot of the day, (well besides the one with the kids and Husband)....I swear this horse stuck her tongue at me just as I was taking her picture!