Friday Phone Dump....ahhh on Wednesday

I decided to take a look through my iPhone pics and see if I had anything of interest.  Here's what I came up with.

 Ellen went to her first high school dance.....and with a boy!  I can remember my mother telling me to stand up straight when I was a kid.  It was really really REALLY annoying!  She used to tell me I stood like a jelly bean.  It took all of my self control not to tell Ellen to stand up straight.  But I did not.  (Well at least not when I took this picture.  It did happen later though.  Heck I can't not mention it forever...I don't have that much self control.)  Dear Ellen,  I am so sorry that you inherited the Jelly Bean stand :0(,  Love, Mom

Hailey also went to the Homecoming dance.  She was annoyed that Katelyn, Gavin and had big plans to make donuts (see below), watch Hocus Pocus (a Halloween classic), carve pumpkins and make pumpkin seeds while she and Ellen were gone.  I wasn't aware of the rule of us not being able to do fun stuff in their absence.  We did it anyway.  Not only are real party animals but we are also rebels...lol!

While Hailey and Ellen where at the dance Katelyn and Gavin and I made homemade apple cider donuts.  And they were easy and amazing!

My Grandma who is 95 years old asked K if she wanted her own Raggedy Ann doll that she had made.  Of course K said yes.  Who wouldn't want a handmade doll from their Great Grandma?  But it got me thinking that she had made the girls one when they were little and that she had also made me a set.  So I sent G on a mission to find them.  When I came home a few hours later this is what I found.  They are adorable....yet mildy creepy!  (The tiny ones on the right are over 35 years old and the tiny"ginger" one...he is the scariest!)

My cousin does amazing Bento box lunches for her son.  And I have looked for Bento lunch ideas on line and have found some great ones.  I have like a whole board on Pinterest for lunch box ideas.  Yet when I do them....this is about how creative I can get.  Some day I will get the little sandwich presses and make their sandwiches look like popular cartoon characters, I will wrap their meat and cheese to look like cute little sushi and I will put tiny silicone cups full or assorted goodies in each section.   Ahhhhh....who am I kidding!  That is never gonna happen....with our schedule it is quite amazing if I even make them lunch.  usually it's grab a hot pocket from the freezer on your way out the door.  I have some amazing talents... Bento lunches do not appear to be one of them.

We have started "Booing" in our neighborhood.  This is where you leave a sack full of Halloween goodies on someone's doorstep...ring the doorbell and run.  Then the recipient is supposed to pay it forward by continuing the fun.  Much to the kids dismay we have not been "Boo-ed" back as of yet.  This is a great lesson in giving and not expecting anything in return!  We are looking forward to the Christmas version of "Elfing" our neighbors!

I do a ton of tie dye projects at work... and its soooo messy.  So I tried this new way to tie dye with acrylic paint, water and fabric medium.  And I love it.  It is sooooo easy and not messy.  No pre-saoking, no rinsing and the colors are so vivid!

I always feel like a fat kid when I post pictures of food or our dinners on Facebook.  What is it with everyone wanting to show the world what they had for dinner? But here is my dinner from the American Legion last week.  After taking this picture, which did appear on fB, I found gravy on my keyboard at work..... I am definitely having a fat kid kinda week!

 Yes its October and raining.  If you were wondering...it is not warm outside...it is quite balmy.  But apparently a perfect day for a bounce on the trampoline.  (I am not a horrible parent...it was not lightening or thundering!  That would have been a deal breaker.  Hmmm! Maybe this is where that sore throat came from! But wait you can't catch a virus from being cold or wet.  Or so I have heard.  But that could be one of those urban legends too...who knows?)

Ahhh yup that is box a poop...leftover from "Laugh it Up at the Library".  I will just let you wonder why I have a picture of it on my phone!

Gavin fell asleep on the couch and I just had to snap a picture.....cuz it looks like he has no arms.  He really does have arms but you wouldn't know it from this.

Well that's what has been hanging around in my phone pictures from the last few weeks.  What have you been up to?

Our Trip to France

In late July I headed off to France with my 4 children.  It was quite the adventure.  Since there is so much to say and share I thought I would do it "photo dump" style.

At the airport...ready for the big trip.  We flew into Paris and then took a smaller flight to Nice in the south of France.  We knew it was warm there.  We were not expecting palm trees at the airport and to see yucca plant and cacti in the south of France. Much warmer than expected!

Our first stop was Cotignac. The buildings are so close together and the streets are so tiny.  Cotignac is a beautiful quaint rural town...we loved it!

I loved the windows....shutters and windows that open all the way...with no screens.  And we had no bug problems.

France is filled with small little street cafes.  We ate at several.  Because we are pretty much functionally illiterate in French...pizza become a favorite because I could comfortably order "Pizza au jambon et fromage seulement ...pas des olives"  (a ham and cheese pizza without olives).  Interesting thing about France... it is quite impossible to get a pizza without olives...no matter what you say... it always comes with olives.  There must be a national quota of olives they have to use.

A few interesting differences we noticed about dining...

• Tipping is optional.  However, waiters know that Americans tip and seem to be annoyed if you do not tip them.  Yet they don't expect a tip from locals.
• Order everything you want at once because wait staff is much less attentive than in the USA
• Ordering water is quite confusing.  There is sparkling water and bottled mineral water.  If you want just a glass of tap water... we learned it is called table water.  Learn this quickly...because bottled water can be pricey.  Also you have to ask for ice... and its not readily available.  And we like very cold drinks. The French... not so much...much closer to room temperature.
• Special orders and requests...like hold the tomato etc...pretty much forget it...not happening.
• We were a bit afraid to eat red meat after finding horse, donkey and lamb on menus.  We are not real red meat people... I actually fed the kids lamb once by mistake.  They really shouldn't put it so close to the pork. They survived but were not happy.  They would have never known....except for that darn Google Translate ;0)

Although we are overly cautious as to what types of animal proteins we will knowingly consume, we still really enjoyed French cuisine.  Among our favorites were their amazing ice cream, delicious desserts / patisseries, and fresh bread ...every day!  And of course the rotisserie chickens from market day!

France is full of wonderful old architecture and fountains.  There is practically a fountain at every corner or town square.  It is beautiful!

 

 

Just outside the center of Cotignac down a wooded trail path is a stream that leads to a waterfall.  It was a wonderful place to spend the very hot afternoon.  By American standards we are quite the prudes.  We were very surprised to find adults as well as pre-teens stripping down to their skibbies (and less), and swimming...some even topless. We choose to wear swimsuits and blush and hide our eyes at those who chose otherwise.

 

About a 15 minute ride outside of Cotignac we stumbled on to the most gorgeous fields of lavender.  The wind was blowing just enough to spread the glorious scent.  We stopped and took several pictures.   Hailey, my daughter, took some of her senior portrait shots here... later when they are edited I will share them.  We so enjoyed the scent in the wind that I will be planting a bed of lavender at home in hopes of recreating the wonderful aroma in my own backyard.

 Behind the small village of Cotignac is a large rock formation that has small caves in it.  We were told that in ancient times some of the early residents of Cotignac used these caves for protection and storage.  For just a couple of Euros you can climb a few staircases including this very small winding one to go to the top and get a splendid aerial view of the village.

After 9 days in Cotignac it was time to turn in our keys and head to our next destination. (Aren't these the coolest room keys ever?)

We headed to Arles to see some of the ancient ruins.  On our ride through the countryside we found this beautiful field of sunflowers.  The soil is so different from ours, that we were continually amazed at how well things grew.  Where soil in the Midwest, U.S.A is deep dark brown or black it is much different in France. The soil is more of a reddish clay color and when tilled up it almost looks like rocks.  It seems to be a much harsher growing climate. Yet grapes, lavender and sunflowers flourish!

 

 

 The square in the center of the Arles of course has a great fountain and this obelisk.  Nearby is a church from the 17th century (I think) with actual relics of a saints. The kids were amazed and a little grossed out seeing skulls and bones of Saints from hundreds of years ago.  Under ground are the Cryptiques which are ancient rooms that were even used to protect local treasures during the one of the World Wars.  Hint:  this is a great place to visit when its 95 degrees outside.  It was a great cool break from outside, even if it wasn't the most visually inspiring tour.

We also walked to the far side of the square and a few blocks more to see an art museum, because we had read that they owned a Picasso exhibit.  We were very unhappy to find out that it was only on display once a year.  We did see an exhibit that was much more contemporary.  On of the pieces of art was a peanut pinned to a canvas and another was an actual piece of lint. I nearly lost it laughing so hard at the piece of lint.  Have you ever tried not to laugh because you know it is totally inappropriate?  Yup...it is nearly impossible not to!  I am sure all the French museum goers were just thinking that we were rude uncultured American tourists.  But I had just paid the better part of $30 for my family to see a piece of lint and a peanut. Somehow that was very humorous.

 Although we didn't eat there because it was more than our budget would allow, one of our favorite spots was the café with the yellow awning that Van Gogh featured in one of his paintings.  It is very said that Van Gogh spent so much of his time in Arles and not one of his paintings can be found in the city.

We absolutely loved the shopping in Arles, even more so than in Paris. The shops were less crowded, had a better selection and were more affordable.  We found many great sales. Many many of the young boys and college age boys wore scarves.  We made Gavin try one on...he was a good sport...but he would die before he wore one in public in the USA.

After a quick couple of days in Arles we returned to the airport in Nice to fly to Paris.  We had a very early flight and had to leave Arles at 3am.  The hotel owners were not happy that we were to be up and moving about so early.  They made sure to tell us to be packed and showered in the evening so our movement and the use of the old plumbing would not wake the other guests. Once we quietly got on the road, it took about 2 hours and about 30 euros or more in road tolls to get to the airport. After boarding the plane and taking off it took around an hour to land in Paris.

 After we landed in Paris, took a cab to our apartment rental office, climbed up two flights of stairs with luggage and wandered the city for about 3 hours waiting for our apartment to be ready.  Then an amazing thing happened.... we stumbled upon a Starbucks!  OMG it was like an Oasis in the desert. We had Internet access and we knew what everything on the menu was...even though we couldn't read it.  We stopped, refueled and rested!  (We also had some amazing bottled Blueberry Arizona Ice Tea...that we just can't seem to find anywhere now that we are at home.)

We had to see Notre Dame Cathedral.  The kids saw the Disney Hunchback movie years ago and knew a bit of its "history".  Although Gavin did seem to have a bit of a problem with the concept of historical fiction.  Yes the place is real!  No Quasi Moto does not live here and has not ever really lived here.  Victor Hugo is real....Quasi Moto is not.

 

The church is amazing.  Actually awe striking.  It is such a great feeling to see the hundreds of people waiting in line to go inside a church.  When we got inside we looked around and even lit a candle for Dad / Papa who had recently had a heart attack and was recovering.  So I take partial credit for his amazing recovery.  For goodness sakes I light at a candle at Notre Dame for him.  How cool is that?  Ok we will give the Big Guy some credit too for his recovery!

 

 

We of course went to the Louvre, where we got to see the Mona Lisa.  It is so tiny! And we were almost squished to death trying to get this close for Katelyn's picture by it.  What you can't see behind us is literally a couple hundred people squeezed into a roped off waiting area, all pushing forward at every available opportunity...like if you inhale too deeply.... that spot is gone and now you can't exhale!

 

This is the Seine River.  We walked all the way from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower.  Note to self:  it is much much farther than it looks.  It only looks close because its big! On the way we stopped at a little food stand and had something to eat.  We had a wrap style sandwich and a what they called a "Chicago Style" hot dog.  It was delicious.  But you would never find a hot dog like that in Chicago or anywhere in the use.  It was a huge fresh made sausage on a fresh made poppy seed bakery bun, with grilled peppers, unions and mustard.  You could hardly fit it in your mouth.  My experience with hot dogs in the USA...is quite different.  They are little scraggly things that are quite delicious but you suck them down in about 3-4 bites.  This was not that kind of hot dog at all.



 

After walking in the heat for a long time.  We made it to the Eiffel tour.  We did not have advance reservations to ride the elevator to the top.  So we bought tickets to walk up.  There are a ton of stairs.  We only went to the second level.  That was more than enough stairs and climbing for us.  I am very glad we had brought several bottles of water!  The view was wonderful and well worth the climb.  After the we left the Eiffel Tower we crossed back over the Seine and enjoyed some more of that delicious French ice cream.  Then we headed to the metro station to ride back to our room.  We were exhausted when we finally made it back.  I quick check of the Fitbit told us we had walked more than 10 miles that day.

 

We spent the next day shopping and just walking around downtown Paris.  We went to an amazing chocolate shop called La Mere de Famille.  I wish we would have bought more of their chocolates and amazing little hard candy suckers.  While in France also bought several bags of Gummies.  I don't even want to wager a guess on how many bags of gummy Smurfs. Cola bottles, etc that we ate while there.

 

The next day we boarded a bus and headed to the Paris airport.  All in all, our airport travels went ok.  I would describe French travelers as much more patient than American ones.  The lines in the airports in France were very very long and tolerated by the travelers much better than they would have been in the US.

 

This trip was truly a vacation of a lifetime.  I am very thankful that I got to share it with my family.  Our trip was originally to take place in June but was postponed when my Dad had a massive heart attack.  So we travelled in late July instead.  Since we have returned home many things have changed for us.  Some due to our trip and some because we are more aware of all the blessings around us.  Here's an update of the latest news since we have returned home: 

• We bring our own bags when shopping... often.  Not always...but we never did before. (Everyone in France brings their own bags and bags their own groceries.  That was a new concept to us until we stood staring at the first grocery store cashier wondering why she wasn't doing anything and all of our stuff was just laying there.)
• I went on a low carb diet.  Thank you France for the delicious carbs and extra 10 pounds.
• Katelyn started college and wrote the most beautiful paper about our visit to the lavender field.  It's amazing how the simple things leave the biggest impression on you.
• My Dad is continuing to recover.  So much so that he is almost completely back to normal...  just a few lingering effects of being in bed for so long.  He is back to shuttling the grand kids around and watching their sporting events.
•  Gavin has become a little bit more fashion conscious from all his shopping in French boutiques.  He actually likes to get dressed up! (However, he still doesn't really like shopping with 4 women.)
• Hailey, Ellen, Gavin and myself are super busy with fall sports.
• I am on a quest to figure out how to get KinderEggs in the USA
• We are much more aware of the people and gifts all around us.

 

 

Thanks for letting me share our adventure with you.

 





July Phone Dump

Well here are the pictures that have been hanging out in my phone that I needed to do something with...I mean share!

 

I am always up for a dumb , quirky photo op. But after you take the picture be sure to get the pizza off the car roof before you head home or you will feel foolish when you have to head back in and order another Pizza Pizza after you just bought one (or is it two since its Pizza Pizza?)....just saying!  Thank you nice Little Caesar Manager for not charging us for our stupidity. Incidentally, I thought the manager was hot...but my kids assured me he was just old!  Sometimes I hate them!

 

 

This little guy joined us for our barbecue after our tubing trip down the river.  He did not like being woken up, showed his little teeth and hissed at me a bit while I took his picture.  And this Mr. Bat is why bats get a bad rep.

 

 

This guy and a bunch of his friends are hanging out in my garden.  I sent my friend a message asking her if she new what the heck he was.  I said he looked like a tiny little tortoise.  Then I Googled him and obviously others thought the same thing.  He is called a Tortoise beetle.

 

I made these with the local 6th grade class.  They are tie dyes using Sharpie markers.  Just color on the shirts, then spray with rubbing alcohol and watch the colors spread out.  The kids loved them...a definite crowd pleaser.  I got a whole pack of off brand permanent markers at Family Dollar for like $1.90.  Cheap and easy project!

This is just one of the many things I love about my kids... they are never in a hurry to grow up and always ready for fun!

And this is the easy cheesy watercolor spurt monsters we are making at the library next week.  Just put a puddle of liquid watercolor paint on some smooth paper and quickly puff air through a straw at it.  Then add faces, arms and legs.  We were going to make marbled paper....then we read the directions and tried it.....ahhhhh I think not.... way too hard!  No one needs to work that hard during the summer...lol!

 

I am always snapping pictures of books I see at work that I wanna read.  This one, Detroit: An American Autopsy, sounds right up my alley.  I love non-fiction.  However, the dust jacket says it is a story of the decline of Detroit that has a humorous side.   Well, that sounds intriguing!

Well, this is the first time I linked up for the phone photo dump with Ramblings of a Suburban Mom and it was fun.  Maybe you will see more phone photo dumps in the future.







So What Wednesday...

So my cousin's blog, Ramblings of a Suburban Mom, links up to this cool blog, Life After I Dew, and tells everyone all the dumb stuff she does.  It's Called "So What Wednesdays"  or something like that.  Hey I  do plenty of dumb stuff.  So I thought I better link up.

So here it goes.  SO WHAT IF....

• ...I only write in my blog like once a month...ok .... maybe even less then that.
• ...if I told my youngest daughter  I was really excited to go to her band performance and then when she asked me last night for details on when we were leaving etc.  I had no idea what she was talking about.
• ...I make fun of all the stupid shows my teenagers watch and then catch myself deeply engrossed them...like "Pretty Little Liars", "Glee", "The Following"etc.  I will not go on...too embarrassing.
• ...if every night this week I set my alarm to get up early to go running and then slept in.
• ...if I made nachos using pork rinds because they have zero carbs
• ...if I never listen listen to voicemail messages and I just call back and say "Hey what did you want?"
• ...if I stop at the grocery store every night on the way home from work because I can never make a commitment to a dinner in the morning because it is sooo far ahead of time.
• ...I didn't eat any Easter candy during the actual holiday because I was dieting and now that it is 75% off I am just packing it away!

What the Weekend Brought

So this was a GREAT weekend, even though it involved no basketball. I mean none....zero.  We didn't even go to the gym, which is extremely unusual.  So what did we do?  Well, the "big kids", which I have been calling my two oldest daughters since the birth of my youngest, went to Winter Homecoming.  It was very exciting to see them get ready, see their excitement and hear the stories of their evening when they returned home.

 

 

The little kids and I went sledding.  I hadn't gone sledding yet this year.  It was the absolute perfect weekend for sledding.  It was wintry out, with a light snow and sort of mild out...almost actually warm.  We went to our friends' house and tested out their new front yard which has an awesome hill in it.  (You just have to be a little careful not to hit the trees on the way down, which wasn't too difficult.)  Then just before we went in we finished it off with a snow fight.  Snow fights are pretty much dumb.  The object is to get snow all over someone and totally freeze or drench them.  How do you know when the snow fight is done?  Well, when someone gets ticked off and screams, cries or gives up.  Well the kids teamed up on me and I got ticked off relatively quickly since my face and hat was packed with snow.  So in the house I headed for hot chocolate.  And what is the best kind of hot chocolate you ask?  Ahhhh, the kind someone else makes for you.  The hot chocolate and having it made for me where great treats.  And you may be thinking where is the picture of sledding?  Well, their is none.  No chance...I look awful in sledding attire.  Snowpants are just not flattering.  And lets just say I am not a hat person.  Maybe next time I will get a picture of the kids.  But you will definitely not see one of me.  You have a better chance seeing a picture of me in my swim suit.  (Ok, that may be a bit of an exaggeration....cuz there is no chance of that happening...ever!)

 

We also watched movies this weekend...ParaNorman and Battleship.  They were both pretty good.  I would, however, add Battleship on to my list of favorites...although I would put it down at the bottom.  The movie wasn't Oscar worthy but was a good time.  So currently my list of favorite movies would include:

Star Wars

ET

Goonies

Ghost

Toy Story

Super 8

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Slayer (probably the dumbest premise for a movie ever ...yet it was still pretty darn good.  I don't think I need to mention my fascination with Lincoln again, do I?)

Stand by Me

Sandlot

Battleship

*And just as a disclaimer, although some of the movies appear on my favorites list, I have recently watched them again and thought, what the heck that was not so amazing.  I think a movie can make a mark on your life because it was amazing the first time you saw it or because you had such good company or memories when you saw it.  I recently re-watched ET and it was not as amazing as when I originally saw it in the theatre.  I can remember being mesmerized by that movie.  Unfortunately, like 30 years later I did not get that same feeling.  Bummer!

Ellen and I also went to the Fitness Center.  I am making an attempt to get buff.  I know it is a pipe dream, but at least I am trying.  And lastly, we broke out the Othello game.  Do you remember that game?  With the black and white disks that you flip over.  I taught everyone how to play and then they all whipped me.  I didn't win one darn game.  It appears I am a gifted instructor...lol!!!

So what did you and your family do this weekend?  What movies would appear on your favorites list?

 

 

 



Just thinking...

• So I was over at Ramblings of a Suburban Mom, reading my cousin's blog.  When I found that she has added some adult content.  Well.... really just some trashy subscription box reviews and some interesting discussion about the Bachelor, who is now claiming he is a sort of "born again" virgin.  Of course I had to immediately comment on her blog about this.  Then I realized there is a lot to say on this topic.  First, of all, the absolute obvious...ah that is one thing you definitely can't undo.  Once you have done IT....ahhhhh...you have done IT.  Isn't that the whole point?  You are a virgin until you are not one....then you are not anymore.  It's not like you are 6 years old and you whiffed the ball in baseball and shot out "do over".  Ah nope this is one thing then once you have done IT...it's done.  This topic recently came up on Grey's Anatomy.  One of the characters got all frisky, did it and then wished she hadn't.  And decided she want a "do-over".  So she told everyone she was re-virginating.  Ahhhh....I do believe this term / concept is one that slutty people have made up to make themselves feel good about themselves again. 
• Don't you hate it when you text someone and it takes forever for them to respond?  And you are like what the heck... just reply already.  Then you realize you didn't hit the send button. 
• Today I had a mind boggling experience while toilet paper shopping.  Yes, today was the kind of day where toilet paper could blow my mind.  Sad but true.  Whatever happened to a normal size roll of toilet paper?  You know the size when you were a kid?  Like you went to the store and bought toilet paper.  The roll was just normal size and your only choice was how many to get.  Now the regular size roll seems wimpy and tiny.  (Did they just look bigger years ago because I was a little kid?  I don't think so. Something happened to the standard size roll....it has shrunk.)  Now there are regular rolls, Mega rolls, double rolls and triple rolls.  And each is a different multiple of the standard roll or the double roll.  And of course each brand calls their large size something different and also sells different pack size, making it virtually impossible to compare prices.  Ugh!  I have no idea what is the cheapest or the best bargain.  I think the USDA or the FDA needs to step in and regulate this!
• I am a bit of a history / biography buff.  I watched "Killing Lincoln" on the National Geographic Channel the other day.  Everyone was telling me how the "Killing Lincoln" book had so much new information they hadn't heard before.  So I was guessing that the TV show with the same name would be all new and interesting.  That would be a big fat NOT!  Turns out same guy still killed him, he was part of same conspiracy, he was shot dead 12 days later and they still hung everyone else involved. Yep, same old news! (OMG!  I forgot to put in a spolier alert.  Sorry, if you had that dvr-ed!) I am not sure what I was expecting.  It was still interesting.  Even though it was nothing new.  And yup if it comes on again and there isn't anything else riveting on...I will probably watch it again.  Why?  I only wish I new.  I guess maybe I need to read the book. 
• I am planning a trip to France this summer.  The whole international cell phone issue annoys me.  I have an iPhone 4. I was falsely lead to believe that an iPhone is amazing and can do anything.  However, this is just not so because it will not work in France apparently.  Neither will any of the kids Blackberries.  What the FLIP?  I have the option of renting an international ready phone and paying ridiculous rates per minute and for each text, and then adding in an additional fee for data.  Ahhhh, seriously?!  I am a pretty connected person.  How can our wonderful technology suck so bad as soon as I leave the country?  Let's just say that service is far from being global.
• I have this giant chick Easter decoration.  I mean the chick is giant...he's like 2 feet tall. He has big chick feet and I think a cracked in half egg shell for pants and he is yellow and furry.  He is definitely scary!  (He's way too creepy for the front room. And beside the dog barks at him.)  So this year I decided I would put him outside by the front door.   So I did.  Then it snowed some more!  Now it is a creepy snow covered chick.  I apologize to anyone, with small children, who may visit my home.  Creepy chick is standing guard at the front door....BEWARE!  Nothing says welcome spring or celebates the resurrection of Christ as a giant snow covered chick! 

Recent Ponderings

.....I was reading my cousin's blog, Ramblings of a Suburban Mom, and for some reason clicked on her link to my own blog.  Apparently I do not even know how old my own children are.  Child #4 is not 11.  Well not until April anyway.  At what point did I forget the ages of my own children?  I can remember people asking how old the baby is and would spot off..."6 months and 3 days".  What happened?  Now I can barely remember the correct number of years.

.....How come I always just want a little bit of time to relax?  Then when I actually get some of this elusive free time....I have no idea what to do with myself or I just fritter it away. I am afraid I suck at free time. 

.....Summer is coming again.  As the Florida Spring Break trip nears, my thoughts turn to swimsuits, once again.  UGH!  My least favorite thing to do on this earth is to shop for a swimsuit.  I did it last year with the kids help.  It was horrid.  They kept screaming at me to just come out of the dressing room and show them.  "It couldn't be that bad."  Ahhh... yeh... it was.  If I can't squeeze everything into the suit...let's just face it...there is no way I am opening the door.  And this may be silly but I have a size threshold.  There is a size in my head.  And I just won't buy anything bigger than that size.  It doesn't really matter that I may actually wear a bigger size, then the mental size threshold that I will not cross.  I bought a swim suit last year.  It works.  But seriously, I don't look great in it.  If anyone knows a place to buy a swimsuit that fits a tall person with a generous cup size please fill me in.  Oh, and here are a few other criteria I have - I am cheap (I won't spend a ton of money) and it can't look like some middle aged person or granny should be wearing it.  The size threshold and my shopping criteria have pretty much made swimsuit purchasing a personal hell.

.....People keep asking me if I am ever going to sell any of my honey from my bee hives.  Well, probably not because if I charged what I would have to...to make a profit...it would cost about a zillion dollars.  Beekeeping for me is apparently a hobby, not a business.  Maybe someday I will be better at it.  Maybe not.  Until then the few limited jars of honey are gifts for family and friends.

.....Is it possible to house train a Yorkie who weighs less than 5lbs?  I am beginning to think not.  I would appreciate some cooperation here MAGGIE!

.....I recently did a liquid cleanse diet thingy.  It was very difficult not to eat solid food for 3 days.  And why do people think that you will spend 3 days in the bathroom with intestinal issues?  Folks its a liquid diet!  Your intestines are pretty much on vacation! (And p.s. if you liquefy a beet and add it to anything...it pretty much makes it completely unpalatable.  Just an FYI.)

.....I have started to punch a speed bag in hopes of firming up my "bat wing" arms.  I have finally got the coordination thing down and can hit the bag repeatedly pretty quickly.  OK buff arms....I am waiting.  Where are you?  Anytime now!

Well, that's what I have been pondering.  How about you?