Prayers!

Please pray for Stephanie today!

An Official Announcement

On Saturday, my older sister completed her first triathlon. I am so stinkin' proud of her! She is not an "athlete," plus she has 6 children, and is.... well.... not a spring chicken (2 of those children are adults). She started working out with Dixie last summer and was my inspiration for starting as well.

Well, she has inspired me again. I'm terrified about this, but here is my official announcement: I'm going to do it too!

Yikes! Thank goodness I have a year to get ready.... I'm going to need it!

But first, I'm going to do a couple of other races:

- Turkey Trot (10K) in November
- Ragnar Relay (202 mi.) in February 2011 (this is pretty terrifying too)
- SheROX Triathlon (May 2011)

I must be crazy!

Help me Dixie!!!!!


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The Perfect Ending to a Nice Mother's Day

Mother's Day was very nice. Jay made me a delicious breakfast, the kids sang a beautiful Mother's Day song at church, Jay cleaned my messy kitchen and gave me tulips and Godiva chocolates (heaven!), and my parents came to our house for dinner and we had a lovely time visiting.

[And then the Suns eliminated the Spurs in a 4 game sweep! Sweet! What more could I ask for? :) ]

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

I love being a mother. Best job EVER! I also happen to have the best kids, and the best husband ever, so... yeah... I'm pretty lucky. :)

Collin's Birthday

Collin turned 11 years old yesterday. He is such a great kid, and we are so proud of him.

Happy Birthday Collin!

I Don't Make Crafts

It's not that I don't have the ability, but I lack the creativity, and more importantly, the will.

However, I admire what other people create. There are a TON of talented and creative people out there, especially in the blogsphere. I can copy other people's ideas, and most bloggers generously share tutorials. I see lots of stuff I would love to make, but again, most of the time I lack the will.

But occasionally I come across an idea so impressive, so easy, so cool, and so cheap (!!), that I actually make something! There is a great satisfaction that comes from creating something.

This week I stumbled across this. I was impressed enough that it stuck in my mind. And when I happened to be at a dollar store yesterday, and saw what I needed, I bought it, and made it in the same day! (I admit I have purchased supplies to make stuff plenty of times, and then never got around to doing it.)

Of course, I am much less ambitious than the person who came up with the idea, hence my lack of modge-podge. But that's not the look I wanted anyway. I am really pleased with how it turned out. Just $6 for 3 trays, 2 candlesticks, and 1 little glass bowl from Dollar Tree, and some Gorilla Glue from my husband's junk. It was a piece of cake!

Too bad I didn't have a piece of cake to display on it.

New Hair

Mary got her hair cut yesterday. She gets it cut about once a year. I know, pretty sad. Jackie cut off about 4 inches and gave her some layers. Mary was very pleased.

And that darling headband she is wearing? Jackie made it! I bought several in different colors.

I even got brave enough to wear one myself, and got tons of compliments. I love that they are super comfortable and adjustable.

Multiple Choice Quiz

Scenario:
You found a new recipe online that sounded good. You made it for dinner tonight and it's, well, practically inedible and your family thinks it's disgusting.

Question:
What do you do?

A. Make your kids eat it anyway. (You can try to make your husband eat it, but I wouldn't recommend it.)
B. Gag is down yourself, pretending to like it, and let your kids go to bed hungry.
C. Admit that it's gross, toss it, and bring out the cold cereal.

I picked B. I really wish I had picked C.

What would you do?

Mustard??!!??

Jay loves mustard... he puts in on sandwiches really thick, so that it practically gushes out the sides. I mean, he really loves mustard.

I like mustard.... a good amount on a hamburger or hot dog, just a little on a ham sandwich.
Our kids are OK with mustard, most of the time. They like it on hamburgers, hate it on hot dogs.

I have always loved "Alice in Wonderland" (the original Disney version). I don't think I need to tell you why. (I haven't seen the new one... kind of don't want to).

And we all love this (watch it from 1:30 on). And every time anyone in our family says the word "mustard," we can't help responding with "MUSTARD?!!? Don't let's be silly"... and then we all bust up laughing.

Classic.Oh, and we like butter, jam, and sugar too.

Crazy Day

Yeah, yeah. I know. I've been terrible at keeping up with what is going on lately. But this is definitely a "journal" kind of day.

I worked out with Dixie (personal trainer) this morning at 5:45. (Killer workout, had a break down.... again!.... and bawled like a baby.) I got home at 7:15, rushed to make breakfast, pack lunches, gobble down some breakfast, fix Mary's hair, nag the boys to brush their teeth, and get everyone out the door and in the car to go to school.

So at 8:00 on the dot I was pulling out of my driveway to make it to school in plenty of time. I looked in my rear view mirror and saw a SWAT team in full get-up running toward the house directly across the street from mine. I was obviously a little concerned, but then immediately an SUV pulled up in front of my driveway, blocking my way out. Then 2 large armored trucks pulled up, along with a number of other vehicles (I counted at least 20) from several law enforcement agencies (DPS, state police, ICE, DEA, local police and fire, etc.)

I immediately pulled back into my garage and opened the car door and looked out. Two guys in armor with sniper rifles jumped out of the SUV in front of my house and waved me back, saying, "Get inside!" My kids were panicked, of course, but we all went back in and shut the garage door. We could hear over the loudspeaker they were calling things like, "This is the state police. You are surrounded. Come out with your hands up or we will shoot," etc.

Mary was on the verge of tears, and Collin was kneeling in the corner praying. :) We spent the next hour holed up in our house, since the street and the neighborhood was blocked off and we couldn't leave. (Nor would we have wanted to, as that would have put us in the line of fire.) We couldn't see much out our window (mostly just the snipers in front of our house) because of the (very large) armored trucks blocking the house, but we eventually saw several men brought out in handcuffs. The snipers in our driveway finally stood up with their guns pointing upward, so we breathed a sigh of relief.

After awhile, I got brave and went outside. A DPS officer came over and spoke to me. He said everyone was out of the house and they were going to investigate further, but that the trucks would be leaving shortly, allowing us to get out. I asked if it was a drop house for illegals, and he said, "Well, it's a lot more complicated than that." I didn't ask anymore questions, because I'm assuming he wouldn't have been able to tell me anyway.

The investigation has been going on all day, with mostly ICE and DEA officers still hanging around. There are still plenty of official people and vehicles coming and going though. Two women were being questioned in the front yard, and 2 very small children are with them. Sad.

I saw on the news that there are several other "busts" like this going on around the valley. Thankfully there were no shots fired, and everyone is safe. And the kids made it to school in time for recess. :)

I was bombarded with phone calls from my neighbors all morning.... of course they wanted to know what was going on.

What a crazy day.

Here is an illustration Jack made of the "incident."

Recent Discoveries

1) Listening to Owl City motivates me when I'm working out, especially this song, and this one.

2) Listening to Owl City motivates my 6-year-old to get his homework done fast, without complaining!

So much for the Mozart Affect.

Send a Message

I usually avoid getting involved in controversial issues (I admit I stick my head in the sand a lot), but this one seems worth taking a moment to stand for what is right.

If you don't want to read further, I won't be offended (I won't even know). I don't know if anyone even reads my blog anymore, besides family and a few friends.

Here goes:

A friend of mine, who is closely involved with family issues at the UN, recently discovered that copies of a vulgar, sexually explicit and highly controversial International Planned Parenthood booklet entitled, “Healthy, Happy and Hot” was available to girls at a meeting sponsored by the Girl Scouts USA. (You can see the booklet here, but be warned that it is quite explicit.)

Adults were not allowed in the meeting (meaning parents could not hear what was being preached to their own daughters) so my friend was forced to leave, but she managed to get a copy of the booklet from the table by the door.

I find this very disturbing in itself, but I am equally disturbed by the fact that the Girl Scouts of the USA continues to deny that they are associated with IPP and it's programs (read more about it here).

If you would like to stand up and send a message to the Girl Scouts CEO and officers, click here. You simply put your name and email in the boxes and click "send." It literally takes just a minute.

Thanks.

Celebrating Jay's Birthday

Yesterday was Jay's birthday. I made his favorite breakfast, Eggs Benedict. Personally, I don't like it, because I don't like Hollandaise sauce, but I make it for Jay on special occasions.

[By the way, here is the easy way I make "fake" Hollandaise sauce: Combine 1/4 c. sour cream, 1/4 c. mayo, 1 tsp. lemon juice, and 1 tsp. mustard in a small sauce pan and heat. This is enough to cover 2 eggs. Jay says it's great.]

Jay spent most of the day helping Collin make his car for the upcoming Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. That was how he wanted to spend the day, so he was happy.... especially since he likes how it's turning out.

I spent most of the day (after my 10 mile bike ride....aaahhhh) making a birthday cake for Jay. He usually wants "Hula Hula Dream Cake," but this year he wanted something like it, but strawberry. So I had to get creative.

I found a fantastic recipe* for strawberry cake on allrecipes.com (How do I know it is fantastic since I'm not eating sugar? Well, I accidentally licked my fingers when I was making it.... ooooooops. And besides, Jay said it was. I put a piece in the freezer for me.). I modified the recipe a little bit.

To make it like "Hula Hula Dream Cake," I mixed a large box of instant banana pudding with 2 cups milk and 8 oz. cream cheese and spread that on top of each layer, then covered the whole thing with 8 oz. Cool Whip.

Then Jay and I went to District for dinner. It has become one of our favorite restaurants; we have been at least a half a dozen times and have never been disappointed in the least. The food is delicious, the service is excellent, the atmosphere is nice, and the prices are very reasonable (dinner entrees are $15-$23). (Plus it's in a great location if you are headed to an event downtown afterward.) The menu is changed a bit every season, but there are a few items that always seem to be there, and they are definitely worth trying; the Baked Tomato Soup, the salmon with shrimp risotto, and the short ribs. (The breakfast buffet is delicious too.)

Last night we tried the Shrimp Po' Boy Sliders as a starter. We were kind of sad to not have the tomato soup (we have had it every other time we've been because we love it, but we decided to try something different) but the sliders were excellent! Then Jay had the filet mignon, which absolutely melted in your mouth; it came with potatoes and mushrooms which were also very good. I had the halibut, which was slightly spicy and very delicious, and came with jalapeno cheddar hush-puppies and a crab fondue that was HEAVENLY! I couldn't stop gushing about it every time I took a bite.

Then we walked a block to symphony hall and enjoyed the Phoenix Symphony concert featuring Mozart's "Requiem." It was excellent, as usual. It was a very nice evening, and a great way to celebrate the birth of the man of my dreams. :) (He is going to hate that I put that in.....)



* STRAWBERRY CAKE
(from allrecipes.com with a few modifications)

1 c. butter, softened
2 c. sugar
1 (3 oz.) pkg. strawberry jello
4 room temp. eggs, separated (the recipe didn't separate them, I did)
2 3/4 c. pre-sifted cake flour (I used all-purpose, but I did pre-sift before measuring)
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 c. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. strawberry puree (I just threw some frozen strawberries in the food processor and chopped them up fine, then measured out 1/2 cup. I put the left overs on top of the filling.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9" round cake pans. Cream together butter, sugar and gelatin until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks one at a time; mix well after each. Combine flour and baking powder and stir into batter, alternating with the milk. Blend in vanilla and strawberry puree. Beat eggs whites until soft peaks form; fold into batter. Divide the batter between pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Allow to cool on rack at least 10 minutes before carefully removing from pans.

NOTE: The batter was really thick, making a very dense and moist cake, but that's not necessarily bad. If you want it lighter/fluffier, I would probably add a little more milk and a little less flour.

Spring Break - Day 5 - Around Town

Today we took advantage of the fabulous spring weather and spent it all outdoors. First we went to the Mesa Community Farmer's Market in downtown Mesa. We sampled lots of yummy things, and bought pasta, a piece of carrot cake (for Jay), cheese curds, and kettle corn. Then we walked down Main Street window-shopping and saw this fun traveling art exhibit.
After lunch we decided to go miniature golfing. I hadn't been in about 15 years, and the kids had never been.
It was really fun. The kids had no idea what they were doing, and didn't seem to care if they got bad scores.
Mr. Competitive (Jay) won, of course. Here he is doing his best professional golfer* impression for the camera after a hole-in-one shot.
It was a gorgeous day, and we had a great time.
Then it was off to Lombardo's for some more fabulous gelato. (I still couldn't have any.) Have you tried it yet?




*Not so long ago I would have said "Tiger Woods" but it turns out he is an idiot, and Jay is not.

Spring Break - Day 4

Today we had Claire, Jane, Oliver, and Nicholas at our house all day. The kids loved having their cousins over. They especially enjoyed painting together.

Tonight Jay and I went to "The Brass Armadillo" in Phoenix (holy cow, that place is huge.... so much stuff!), and then to "Last Chance" (can't ever pass up a chance to go there). We are such exciting people.

Spring Break - Day 3 - Food & Masterpieces

For our adventure today, we took the kids to try Indian food at Guru Palace for the lunch buffet.
They acted excited to try something new.... at first. They were a little concerned at how some of it looked, and though they tried everything (I made them) I think they need to be exposed to it a few more times before they like it. They mostly filled up on fruit and naan bread.
Jay spent the afternoon installing new lights on the sides of our garage door (woohoo!) and the kids played with their cousins at grandmary's house.

I bought a few large canvases at Big Lots a while back because they were a really good deal. So, this afternoon I brought them out for the kids to create something.

Here are their finished "masterpieces." (Jack had some help with the tree, and Mary had some help with the eyes.)(That's a flower on her shirt.)

Instead of creating a "masterpiece," Collin made dinner.
He was very pleased with his "masterpiece."