Monday, August 24, 2009

Do you Kindle?


I keep hearing about the Kindle lately - you know when something seems to be on your radar? So I've been doing a little research and while I think it's pretty damn cool, I just don't think it's for me. I like holding a real book and I often read in the bathtub. Plus, I'm cheap. I typically get my books from the library or bookmooch. But then again, maybe it's like when the mp3 player first came out and I thought I'd never get used to not having actual cds.

So, if you have one, let me know what you think. Maybe I'll ask Santa for one.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Gettin' Crafty Wit It

We have three birthday parties this weekend, so guess who's been crafty this week?

It's been quite a while since I did any little critters, they are so fun! Except for the hand cramping doing the tiny parts, that sucks.

For birthday boy #1:


This cute little turtle! Of course now my kids want one too. He is pretty adorable, if I do say so myself.



For birthday girl #2:

Pirouette! She is into ballet, so this should make her smile. My favorite part is the tail, so cute!





For birthday boy #3:


This hat, modeled by Hannah. I really love this pattern, it's a keeper. Probably the most "professional" looking hat I've ever made, and it's super thick and warm. Plus, the texture is awesome.


Phew! I think I'm ready for some birthday cake.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Sick Of Potato Salad?

Give this salad a try instead! It's super tasty and great with grilled food. Makes a giant batch, nice for a potluck.


Curried Rice Salad with Artichokes
  • 4 cups chicken stock
  • 2 cups uncooked white rice
  • 3 (6.5 ounce) jars marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
  • 2 cups mayonnaise
  • 1 teaspoon curry powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 5 green onions, chopped
  • 1 green red pepper, chopped
  • 3 stalks celery, chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
Combine chicken stock and rice in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low. Cook until tender, about 20 minutes. In a small bowl, mix together artichoke marinade, mayonnaise, and curry powder. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine artichoke hearts, green onions, bell pepper, parsley, and celery. Mix in cooked rice, then mix in reserved marinade mixture. Cover and chill overnight. Serve cold.


From allrecipes.com.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

New 'Do

I absolutely love Hannah's new haircut - it suits her perfectly!






Now she's all ready for back to school in a couple weeks. Well, almost ready - there is shopping for clothes, shoes, and supplies to be done. Yikes!

Speaking of supplies, I guess I'd forgotten how much college textbooks cost. Jordan's books for this semester would have been over $700 (even for used books at the school bookstore) if I hadn't spent hours finding them on ebay and various other sites for a fraction of the cost. Seriously? I know what I'll be selling on ebay in a few months...

Monday, August 17, 2009

Paddlin'

Check it out, I'm in a boat! Nothing too wild, we just paddled out in the marina to watch the Women's National Wakeboard Competition up close and personal. Those chicks get some mad air!





The beginning of this video is super shaky so hold on to your guts!

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Spidey Blanket

Evan's blanket it done at last! Actually, it only took a couple weeks, and it was fun to make. I got the pattern here. I chose orange and red to match his room, and I think it looks pretty cool!





The photos are kinda crappy but you get the idea. Next up: those lunchbags and a Hello Kitty ballerina for our neighbor girl. (really)
Oh, and an earflap hat for Jordan's friend. I am not a machine, people!

Friday, August 14, 2009

Supastar!

Thursday morning Shane got up before dawn for a special live news broadcast from the new Rock kayak park here in Sparks. Apparently, it's all about "the love of the sport". I had to record it off the TV so I apologize if it's funky.



I think he looks pretty cute - and that change at the end from "fer sure" to "definitely" really classes it up. Nice job, Babe!

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Busted

Most mornings before we leave for work, I write a chore list for the kids. Stuff like: water the garden, do the dishes, pick up the family room...

Well, the other night we couldn't find the remote. You know the routine - instead of walking to the cable box and turning the channel manually, we began an intense search and rescue operation. I got down to look under the couch and discovered that apparently someone's idea of picking up the family room is shoving everything under the sofa.




(The cat wasn't actually under there, she just came over to see what we found.)

When we called the kids in to clean up this mess, Shane said, "tell me you didn't just shove all that stuff under there on purpose." Hannah answered, "I didn't just shove all that stuff under there on purpose. What? You told me to say that!"

Oh, those silly kids.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Love These!


I'm all over this pattern for eco-friendly lunch bags. I'm not really into paying $15 for another new lunchbox, and we always seem to run out of brown bags. Plus, I really do want to limit the school lunches...they are pretty nasty. Nachos, nuggets, pizza - hmmm, is it really a mystery that so many Americans grow up addicted to junk food? I think not. Anyway, I like the idea of this little bag, it's cute and can be thrown in the washer - perfect.

To simplify, I will probably not do stripes. Now I just need to finish Evan's blanket so I can get on this - only 3 weeks 'til school starts!

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Tag!

A speedy blog post, perfect for a lazy Sunday:

Saw this on Michelle's blog - a quick, fun tag:

1. Pick up the book that you have most handy
2. Turn to page 161
3. Find the 5th complete sentence
4. Cite the sentence on your blog
5. Pass it on to 5 other unsuspecting blogger friends.

From The Secret History by Donna Tartt, which I am currently reading:

"He lit another cigarette."

If you're reading this and you blog, consider yourself tagged!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

House Guests

Woke up the other morning to find this downstairs:

Four giant boys crashed downstairs in the family room. Funny I didn't even hear them come in...bet they polished off an entire box of cereal once they came to.

We were in the middle of painting Jordan's room, which is why they weren't up there.

He chose this color...


and quickly realized that painting is hard work. It's all done now and looking good!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Shane's B-Day

Show me how old you are...yep, that's 40!



We celebrated by acting half our age: drinking Patron and going out to see Snoop Dogg. Snoop was fun (although he was an hour and a half late GRRR) but the highlight of the show was definitely Stephen Marley. So stoked we finally got to see him!



This pic just cracks me up.

Happy B-Day, babe. Gettin' better all the time.

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Heaven On A Plate

Coconut Poke Cake

1 white cake mix
1 can (15oz) cream of coconut (not coconut milk)
1 can (14oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 container (16oz) Cool Whip
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Mix and bake cake as directed on package - I use a 13X9 pan because it's the easiest. Leave the oven on for toasting the coconut: place coconut in an even layer on a baking sheet and toast until golden brown (6-8 min. at 350). Set aside.

While still hot, poke the cake all over with a large fork. Mix cream of coconut and sweetened condensed milk together and pour over hot cake. It might seem like too much coconut mixture at first, but it will soak in. Cool completely in fridge.

Top cake with Cool Whip and sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Enjoy!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

ATCs

From Danica's Retro Fabulous Swap II - a multiple choice type swap where you choose a vintage image, a color combo, etc. and make it your own. I think it's a cool way to do an ATC swap.

I keep saying, "no more swaps" but then I sign up for more. I think it's just so I can complain about them.

Guess which one is mine?

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Facebook Fatigue

My love affair with Facebook may be waning a bit. Sure, it's nice to connect with people you haven't seen or heard from in ages, and the flair always gives me a chuckle. But really, it's just a giant time sucker. The games, the "gifts", and the energy spent keeping in touch with people that you, ummmm, aren't really that in to - over it. 'Course, that's not to say that I don't get sucked into the vortex from time to time, but I'm working on it. Baby steps. Hey, is there a 12 step program? I bet there is.

Plus, I've been neglecting my blog - which is a shame since it's just for me.

Anyway, I was thinking about all this while having lunch and reading Reno News And Review and look at the article I found in there (love it!):




CrackBerry rehab

Try as we might, we’re now too invested in Facebook and the like to just shut down our computers or, worse, delete our accounts. Were it not for social-networking websites, how else would we keep up with who from high school had babies or got fat or married, what events are happening around town, who broke up with whom, and who’s going on vacation?

We need our online crutches, even as they slowly suck the life out of us.

ILLUSTRATION BY DON BUTTON

So how do we begin to take back our backyards and enjoy the precious few weeks of sunshine that are left of this wretchedly waterlogged summer?

The process of reclaiming social ownership seems more complicated than just chucking laptops and phones out the window and breathing a sigh of relief. It’s about asking ourselves, “Why is it more important that my online microcosm of connections knows that I’m eating this cheeseburger than it is to actually taste this cheeseburger?” It’s gooey and plump, and there’s juices from it running down my arm, and that’s what this simple pleasure should be about—not wiping my fingers on the side of my jeans in my haste to tell the world what I’m doing this instant.

(Easier said than done—over the course of writing this article, I’ve tweeted twice and checked my Facebook page about 40 times. Research. That’s what I’m calling it. Not pathetic, just research.)

Ultimately, there’s a decision to be made: Would you rather read a poorly spelled, hastily written one-liner about how your “friend” went to a movie, or would you rather go to the movies yourself? Click on a link to a blog about waterskiing, or jump in a lake? It’s a screamingly Pollyanna-ish notion, but the key to giving up online addiction seems to be to substitute it with real-time action, to remind yourself that, ultimately, your best moments will be actual, not virtual, and that it’s OK if your entire realm of contacts isn’t updated on how you’re feeling about the ice-cream cone you purchased nine seconds before pushing “send” on a text message to Twitter.

A few of my friends recently pared down their Facebook connections, “un-friending” anyone with whom they aren’t personally acquainted. Some have sworn off Facebook altogether. I may follow suit—at least until I can thwart my own “Look at me! Look at me!” compulsions to share my business with the world.

It’s the first step I’m making toward actually enjoying my summer. So, unless you hear about it directly from my mouth (not my fingers), you won’t hear a peep—or a tweet—about it. I’ll be outside, unplugged, hearing only the birds and the tourists, not my CrackBerry, chirping.

Will the forthcoming college co-eds follow suit? After all, the requisite “What I Did on My Summer Vacation” essay surely requires more effort than simply aggregating and printing your barbecue-related tweets. What are you going to write about, kiddies, if all you have to write about is writing about things? Meta? Yes. But, sadly, increasingly on point. Now, excuse me. I have to go create a TinyURL for this article and blast it to my friends on Facebook.

This story originally ran in the Boston Phoenix.

Summer Lovin'

Last night's free Smash Mouth concert was so fun! They played for over two hours, and there was a huge fireworks show at the end. Kids had a blast, danced their little booties off. My favorite part: the five song encore with lots of old school Van Halen...pretty rockin'. I'd say we definitely got our money's worth.

It has come to my attention that I complain a lot. No apologies, that's just the way I roll. However...today I'm going to shake things up a bit and take note of all the things I LIKE about summer.

  • fresh tomatoes from the garden
  • no early morning get-ready-for-school rush
  • grilling
  • sun tea
  • camping
  • trips to the lake
  • thunder storms
  • long days
  • Big Brother
  • cold beer never tastes so good
Off to the skate park, where I will likely get sunstroke. Evan and Hannah are all in the mood to skate/bike the halfpipe after watching the XGames on ESPN this morning.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

August 1? For Real?

I can't believe how fast summer is going. After a weird rainy/cold start, it finally got hot and now it's blazing! Good for swimming and BBQs, not that great for working outside. Needless to say, I'm stoked it's the weekend.

Shane is playing in a pool tourney today (good luck babe!) and I'm hoping to get some housework done (big fun!) before hitting the scrapshack. Haven't been scrapping much lately, but I'm starting to feel the bug again.

Also working on this blanket for Evan's room. Using red and orange to match his colors. It's turning out cute, but I must be insane for working on it in this heat.

Tonight we are going to a free concert at the new open air mall - Smash Mouth! Hopefully it won't be thunder storming, because the kids are super stoked to go and hear the Shrek song:


 

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