29 May 2008

Learning About Blogging

Shannon is discussing pet peeves of the bloggy kind today over at Rocks in My Dryer.

She's going to be in San Francisco this summer for the She Speaks Conferences to co-teach a few blogging classes. Today she's asking for those in Bloglandia to tell her what our pet peeves are and what form of blogiquette people feel most strongly about.

I'm new to this whole thing, so while I don't have strong feelings about the latter, I do have quite a few of the former and so I shared those with her.

But it was interesting to go through her comment section today and see what I'm doing wrong when I visit blogs, what I'm doing right here at my own blog, and what I might want to think about incorporating eventually.

I'm going to be keeping an eye on this post for the next while. Between it, Blogging Basics 101 and a few other things I've stumbled upon, I might actually have a blog worth reading some day.

Until later...

28 May 2008

Food!

So, yesterday I mentioned that I'd update you all when I figured out what and if I was going to be cooking this weekend. I'm cooking. The what? Well, its going to be a simple, but delicious meal.

How hard is it to pull out the crockpot, toss in a roast and cook it during Friday's game? Not very. Then, before the game on Saturday, I can pull it out of the fridge, shred it and turn the crockpot back on, so we have French Dip Roast Beef Sandwiches.

I'm also going to throw a quick pasta salad together. I love balsamic, so I went on a recipe hunt for pasta salads with a balsamic dressing. I found Summer Pasta with Corn, Tomatoes and Basil. So I'll have that for a side to the roast beast. I'm not sure I'll use the basil, and if I do, I'll use just a smidge, not the whole amount the recipe calls for. Basil and I? Well, we don't get along.

My whole family loves lemons. I wanted some new recipe with lemon, but I couldn't find exactly what I wanted. So, I took a little bit of this one, a little bit of that one, and some more of the one over here and came up with a complete recipe. If it turns out as tastey as it sounds, I'll share the information.

So that's what's on my food agenda this weekend. If you can find the Scandahoovian Hinterlands, you're welcome to join us!

26 May 2008

It's Monday!



Nearly everyone wants as least one outstanding meal a day.

~ Duncan Hines


How true is that quote? Many of us have our stand-bys when it comes to meals, because we know that they are good meals. Some of us stick to our favorites because of that quote, while others go in search of the new and different to find the outstanding meal.

This week, we're having a little bit of both the new and old, but let's recap last week's menu. The Cheese Manicotti was a hit with the boys. I thought it was okay, but I think I'd want to jazz up the cheese filling just a little more next time. The Fantastic Taco Casserole was a repeat for us and the boys scarfed it down as usual. The Divine Chicken Divan is a family favorite, and hits our menu every month or two. I tried a new recipe for my grandmother's party also. It was Cheesecake Pops. It wasn't a hard recipe, just tedious and the results were fantastic...I'll try to get the recipe up within a week or so.

This week's menu is as follows:

Monday ~ Memorial Day

The boys are with their dad, so I'll be eating whatever is in the fridge.

Tuesday ~ Baseball & Soccer Night

Tex-Mex Gooey Casserole

Wednesday ~ Chore Night

It's a breakfast for dinner night. We'll be having Simple, Perfect French Toast, Hashbrown Casserole and sausage.

Thursday ~ Baseball Night

Alfredo Bake

Friday, Saturday & Sunday ~ Baseball Tourney

Mr. A has a baseball tourney here in town, so the boys are going to be home for dinner Friday night. We'll have spaghetti that night. Saturday, Mr. A has a minimum of two games, but my parents and my grandma will be here for the tourney, so I'm not sure what we'll do for food yet. I'll talk to my mom this week and see what's what and I may have to amend my menu for something that night. Sunday is more of the tourney if Mr. A's team does well, but I'm guessing that it'll just be me that day, so I'll forage for whatever is in the fridge.

Don't forget to head over to Organizing Junkie to see the rest of today's meal plans!

Until later...

25 May 2008

The Matriarch

When grace is joined with wrinkles, it is adorable. There is an unspeakable dawn in happy old age.

~ Victor Hugo


Today my grandmother turns 80. It's hard for me to believe that fact. When my mom's parents hit that age, they were OLD. In fact, my mom's parents were always old to me.

Not so much for my dad's mom. She has always been young to me, and she has as much stamina now as I do.

Grandma was only 19 when my dad was born. She was only 42 when I was born and at the time, her youngest child was 8. She's just been young, if that makes sense.

Last night the family got together as a surprise for her birthday. My uncle brought her over to the American Legion where the rest of us were waiting, but she wasn't surprised. She said she knew something was up when she didn't get any cards in the mail. Smart lady, my grandmother.

The kids all gave her money for a trip - or whatever she wants to do with it. My grandma enjoys traveling, but hasn't been doing a lot of it lately. I hope she takes a trip that she'll really enjoy with this money.

In another post, I talked about the book I was putting it together for her. It turned out wonderfully, and while I got a few facts wrong (my cousins graduated from a different school than I'd listed), my grandmother truly loved it. She was crying into the first few pages, because I'd found pictures that she didn't remember ever having, and she kept saying how precious it was to her. I'm truly happy that she enjoyed it.

I made the cake for the celebration, and while it was a good cake, I wasn't entirely pleased with it. Grandma, however, loved it, and that's what matters isn't it?

We managed to take a family photo of us all also. We were missing two, and that seems to be standard any more. I don't remember the last time all of us were together. Hopefully we'll get the full family picture before much more time passes.

My grandmother has lived the kind of life I wish for myself. She loves her children, her grands and her greats. Better, she is loved by us all. She freely admits though life was hard when she and my grandfather started out, she'd do it all over again, and really, there's nothing more fulfilling that a person can say about their life, is there?

So to my grandma...Happy Birthday. You mean the world to us all.

Until later...

24 May 2008

Speaking In Tongues...

Here's another meme...

1) What languages can you speak other than your native language?

Well, since my minor in college was languages, the answer would be four. French, Spanish, German and Russian.

2) Which languages would you like to learn?

An Asian language, proably Japanese.

3) What is your favorite thing to say in another language?

That would be "Thank You". I rarely use the English words.

4) Could you be an interpreter at the United Nations?

Ummmmm...No.

5) When you get nervous, do you babble?

Sometimes...other times, I shut up.

Until later...

21 May 2008

Make A Joyful Noise

This is the first year of "actual" music concerts in the Hinterlands. Mr. A started playing the trombone last August and also joined the choir in middle school. It's been interesting getting him to practice and to listen to that practice. He's gotten better, but it's still noise.

Last night was the last concert of the year for the 6th grade students at Mr. A's middle school. It was a combined choral/band concert. The first 45 minutes the choir students sang and then we sat for 15 minutes while they rearranged the stage for the band. Once that was complete, the band performed five songs and then the choir came back out and they performed together.

It was a nice way to end the music year, and I'm very glad that Mr. A decided to participate in both. Apparently, this year was the biggest year for the middle school when it comes to participation of 6th grade students. There were nearly 200 students at the concert last night, many of them playing both in the band and performing in the choir. It certainly sounded as though most of the students would be continuing on next year...Mr. A is continuing with band, but dropping choir.

It was also interesting to see some of these kids who Mr. A has grown up with. The girls are so tall, and most tower over the boys. Mr. A is head and shoulders taller than a good third of the other boys himself. It helped me realize that yes, my baby IS getting older, no matter how I want to deny that.

There was a time that I preferred to not listen to some of the noise Mr. A made and told him to play quieter...I wish I could go back and redo that. Because noise, whether it is a child having fun playing, or created as part of an end of the year concert is joyful. Sometimes you just have to remember that and not get caught up in the "noise" part of the deal.

Until later...

19 May 2008

Take It or Leave It



As a child my family's menu consisted of two choices: take it or leave it.

~ Buddy Hackett


My family's menu consisted of pretty much the same thing. I've not done that to the monsters, and this menu shows it...We're having manicotti...again. Can I tell you how tired I am of manicotti? LOL!

Last weeks' menu was a 50/50 success rate. The Crispy Ginger Beef was given two thumbs up and then one of the monsters changed his mind and gave it a thumbs down. It gets two thumbs up for me. The Salisbury Steak gets three thumbs in the meh zone. I won't be making it again unless it's all I have in the cupboard. The Chicken Manicotti got two thumbs up from the boys. I didn't end up having any of this, but given the way they scarfed it up, it had to be good.

This week's menu is as follows:

Monday ~ Scout Graduation!

Bugaboo is bridging up to the next Scout level, so we'll be at the picnic while Mr. A goes with X and grabs something on the way to his game.

Tuesday ~ Soccer & Band/Choir Concert Night

Cheese Manicotti

Wednesday ~ Baseball Practice

Fantastic Taco Casserole

Thursday ~ Soccer & Baseball Night

Divine Chicken Divan

Friday, Saturday & Sunday ~

It's my grandmother's 80th birthday, so the boys are with me Friday and Saturday. Friday will be leftovers as I make a Brown Butter Cake with Buttercream Icing to take to her party on Saturday. We'll be eating out that day.

Don't forget to head over to Organizing Junkie to see the rest of today's meal plans!

Until later...

17 May 2008

Yeah, It's Another One...

Lasts....

1. Last beverage → Brisk bottled tea
2. Last phone call → my mom
3. Last instant message → my coworker
4. Last song you listened to → Tears are Falling ~ KISS
5. Last time you cried → today
6. Last text message → Libby


Have you ever...

1. Dated someone twice → yes
2. Been cheated on → yes
3. Kissed someone & regretted it → yes
4. Lost someone special → yes
5. Been depressed → yes


Three favorite colors...

1. Green
2. Brown
3. Black



Have you ____ this month...

1. Made a new friend → no
2. Fallen out of love → no
3. Laughed until you cried → no
4. Met someone who changed your life → no
5. Found out who your true friends were → yes
6. Found out someone was talking about you → yes
7. Have you kissed anyone on your friend’s list → no
8. How many people on your friends list do you know in real life → all
9. How many kids do you have → 2
10. Do you have any pets → yes
11. Do you want to change your name → no
12. What did you get for your last birthday → a chair
13. What time did you wake up today → 4:30am
14. What were you doing at midnight last night → sleeping
15. Name something you CANNOT wait for → summer
16. Last time you saw your father → Sunday
17. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life → be a better mother.
18. What are you listening to right now → conference call
19. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom → yes
23. Who’s getting on your nerves right now → too many to mention
24. Most visited webpage → depends on mood

16 May 2008

It's Tourney Time....

Don't tell me about the world. Not today. It's springtime and they're knocking baseballs around fields where the grass is damp and green in the morning and the kids are trying to hit the curve ball.

~ Pete Hamill


Until later...

15 May 2008

Braces Off, Braces On

So Mr. A got his braces off two weeks ago. He has beautiful teeth now. Bugaboo is the same age Mr. A was when he got his braces...

Which of course meant that when we went to the dentist yesterday, I asked them to give me an opinion on if he should have his first ortho consult or not.

The decision was that he should. Which isn't a bad thing, but it means I need to race to get those family pictures taken before we have metal in the familial mouth again.

Bugaboo seems a little apprehensive about the whole braces idea. I hope he'll warm up to it before the time comes for him to have them put on.

Oh, and it was a "Look Ma! No Cavities!" type of appointment too.

Until later...

14 May 2008

A Mom Always Knows & Aren't I Civil?

We got home from school last night, and I realized that I didn't have any milk in the house. Now, that's not such a big deal, as none of us really like milk, but we were scheduled to have mashed potatoes for dinner. Since I'm such a gourmet, the instant mashed tators I'd bought needed milk instead of water to make. That meant I was off to the grocery store after giving the boys instructions to "Get Your Homework DONE!".

I wasn't gone ten minutes. I got back and Mr. A is on the phone with his dad, who had apparently called 3 times while I was gone. Three times!

Mr. A wanted to know if he could go out to dinner with his dad. Part of me wanted to tell him absolutely not, but that's the mean and petty part, so I told him I didn't care. I'm nothing if not gracious. Ha! Mr. A proceeded to tell his dad that was okay and hung up. I asked when his dad would be there, and Mr. A says that he just pulled in the drive. Hello?!?!?! It's a quarter after four in the afternoon.

Apparently, X wasn't sure how long it would take him to cross the bridge that separates his town from the rest of civilization now that it is closed except for one small lane that has to serve 50,000 commuters a day. The hour he gave himself as extra time was just that...extra time, which is why he was on my doorstep way before he was expected.

Mr. A hadn't even started getting ready for his ball game, so I went out to the car and invited X and his daughter into the house to wait. Mr. A is a teenager, so him getting ready could take 3 minutes to 30. They stood in the foyer like bumps and I kept having to brush past on my way to find whatever it was that Mr. A had lost, so I finally told them that they were more than welcome to go sit upstairs on the couch and wait. I'm not exactly sure which one of us was more surprised by my civility, but the invitation had been offered. X sat and watched me race around to help Mr. A, cook dinner and correct spelling all at the same time. I wanted to smack him and ask him to at least correct the spelling, but I didn't...see, civility!

So, they finally left for Mr. A's game and Bugaboo and I scarfed up our yummy instant potatoes before heading off to soccer. We had to cross the same bridge and had a little more trouble than X did, but we were still on time.

Bugaboo and his team won their game, and they were all happy. I raced him off the field as fast as I could to see if I couldn't catch the tail end of Mr. A's game.

Estimations were it would take 30 minutes to cross the bridge back to civilization, so I called X to tell him I didn't think we'd make it. It was already 7:10, and the ball field was at least 30 minutes from the OTHER side of the bridge. I was told that it was only the top of the second inning (in an hour and ten minutes????) and they were losing, so I said I'd see how quick we got across the bridge.

Well, we got across and I got us to the game by the top of the fourth. We walked up just as Mr. A made a spectacular catch in center field. The boys were all pumped because they'd managed to get ahead since I'd talked to X.

It came time for Mr. A to get up to bat and I walked up to where X and another of the dads were standing. I asked X if he'd been hit by a pitch yet. The answer was no and I informed them both that he'd get hit this time. The other dad just looked at me. I laughed and said that it was starting to appear that Mr. A didn't think it was a game if he hadn't gotten hit by a pitch at least once.

Mr. A took the first two balls, swung at the next, ducked down to miss getting hit for pitch four and was nailed in the head by pitch five. I just laughed. X looked at me and just shook his head. The other dad gave a shocked little laugh and said, "You weren't kidding, were you?" Um...No.

A mom always knows.

Until later...

13 May 2008

Are We Sure The Day of Rest is Sunday?

It was a lovely evening last night. LOVELY.

Why, you ask? Because I did NOTHING all evening.

Okay, that's not really true. I cooked dinner for the boys...but Mr. A helped, so it doesn't count as a true full meal. Once the boys had eaten, I cleaned up the kitchen and then my book and I retired to the bathroom.

In my clean tub, I ran some really hot water and just relaxed. Just me, my book and a glass of tea (can you really call it iced if it is just the tea without the ice?). I lazed in that tub with its scented steam from the apple cider bath salts I'd used and just let myself be. The boys were playing Risk downstairs and getting along quite well, so I wasn't needed to referee.

I think we all needed the down time. We've been on the go since the middle of April, and it takes a toll out of you. The boys needed the time to remember they're kids and not crazed, over-scheduled athletes. I needed the time to remember that while I might be a mom who has 50 kajillion things going on any given day, I'm also a woman who needs to remember to pamper herself.

So here in the Hinterlands, Monday was the night of rest...not Sunday.

Until later...

12 May 2008

Monday...What's for Dinner?



It's Monday and that means MPM!

Last week's menu went over pretty well. The Crispy Onion Chicken got one thumb up and one thumb down from the monsters. I gave it a thumb up, so we'll be having it again. The Penne With Chicken and Roasted Asparagus was absolutely wonderful, and the cold leftovers were just as good. The Brown Sugar Apple Cheesecake was wonderful too, and if you don't like apples, the cheesecake without the apples would be just fine! In fact, I'm likely to make it without the apples next time.

It's not as busy this week as last week, which is a good thing. We have two school nights empty and while the weekend is full with a tourney, it's the weekend, so I'm okay with that.

This week's menu is shaping up as follows:

Monday ~ Relaxing!

Crispy Ginger Beef

Tuesday ~ Soccer & Baseball Night

Salisbury Steak The monsters have always liked the frozen kind, so we're going to test out the from scratch kind.

Wednesday ~ Chore Night

Chicken Manicotti

Thursday ~ Soccer & Baseball Night

Spaghetti

Friday, Saturday & Sunday ~

Mr. A has a tourney, so I'm guess I'll be eating out. I'm headed to my parents for the weekend, as the tourney is closer to their house than mine, and every little bit of saved gas helps!

Don't forget to head over to Organizing Junkie to see the rest of today's meal plans!

Until later...

11 May 2008

M O M

A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts.

~ Washington Irving




Thanks Mom. I love you.

10 May 2008

I'm Following In Mrs. Cleaver's Footsteps

Eons ago, there were specific days for the housewife to get chores done...and to a point, that's still true...but I don't only do laundry on Monday and I iron as needed, rather than all day Tuesday. However, today is Saturday, which means it is Baking Day! And I'm going to be baking that cheesecake mentioned in MPM earlier this week.

I also have to clean (and that was supposed to be yesterday, but oh, well...) the house before my parents show up tomorrow. Luckily, it isn't dirt, just a little cluttered.

It's a cold and dreary day here in the Hinterlands. As I suspected, Bugaboo is angry with me, so he wants nothing to do with me. That means that I'll likely curl up with a book, unless he decides he actually does want my company. I've learned that you can't push him out of his moods, rather that you have to wait him out...we'll see what happens.

So, I'm off to do some cleaning and then later this afternoon I'll make that cheesecake...June would be proud of me.

Until later...

09 May 2008

One on One Time

This weekend Mr. A is going away with his Boy Scout Troop to do some Community Service. Each may the troop goes out to the Wisconsin Dells and takes care of things at the Easter Seals Camp. It's a good experience for him and for the troop.

With Mr. A being gone, that give Bugaboo and I some one on one time. We don't often get that time together, and I enjoy it when we do.

Bugaboo wants to go to the drive in to see Iron Man and 10000 BC. I wouldn't mind going, but once again, the CS check is late and it just isn't possible for us to go without it.

I'm hoping he'll be willing to sit at home watching movies and playing games. It'll give us time to just talk. Likely, he'll not be happy when I put the kabosh on his drive in desires...we'll have to see.

Until later...

08 May 2008

You Never Really Forget Old Friends, Do You?

Yesterday was the 38th birthday of a man who was at one time very dear to me. So dear, that I named my first born son after him. I lost custody of this friendship when my ex and I split up, and that hurt almost as much as the dissolution of my marriage.

This man was a childhood friend of my ex. In high school they were like one animal with two heads. You rarely saw one without the other and they considered each other brothers. In fact, their birthdays are just four days apart. He accepted me into his life when my ex and I started dating. Accepted me so much that he treated me like a little sister.

He was there on our first date, on my graduation day, at our engagement party, he was the best man at my wedding. He was one of the first we told when I became pregnant, and one of the first to visit us in the hospital when Mr. A was born. He is Mr. A's godfather and to this day is part of my ex's life.

Our friendship couldn't withstand the twists and turns of my divorce from his oldest friend. And really, at the time, knowing that he was being pulled between us, I told him that I knew the time was coming when he'd need to make a choice, and I understood that I wasn't going to be winning that battle.

Most of the time, I don't think about him, but each May 7th, his face pops into my head and I remember the years of friendship we enjoyed together. I hope this year is good to him.

Until later...

07 May 2008

Cuz I'm Worn Out

With all of the Spring Sports Sanity Snatching...well, I've got nothing, so I thought I'd treat you to the following, cuz you know you want to know more about me...

1. First song you remember hearing on the radio as a child-- This is easy...it would be Afternoon Delight by the Starland Vocal Band.

2. First album you remember listening to as a child-- I don't know the exact album, but it was always Roger Whittaker on the 8-track player in the car when we went on trips.

3. Album that takes you back to junior high-- Billy Idol's self-titled album...I can see myself and my friends thinking we were cool walking through town with the "boom box" blasting that tape to all and sundry.

4. Most played album in high school-- By this time we were more into mix tapes than actual albums. However, we listened to a lot of what is now called "Classic Rock" ~ AC/DC, KISS, Motley Crue, Poison...all of the 80's hair bands.

5. Favorite album in college-- College was the Country years for me...Randy Travis, Garth Brooks, Alabama, Kentucky Headhunters...

6. Song that reminds you of what it was like to feel cool-- Guns 'n' Roses' Welcome to the Jungle...I can still see the 8 of us crammed into Chris's Cutlas...ah, the memories!

7. Favorite albums to road trip with-- That would be Kansas, Queen, AC/DC, KISS, Europe, The Doors, Boston, etc...

8. Best relationship angst album or any other albums worthy of mention-- Chicago, Bryan Adams...most of the AOR Bands had good slow songs.

9. Your personal soundtrack today includes-- Everything listed above plus some Celtic music, some folk music a great variety, I'd like to think...not to mention the Best of School House Rock!

10. So if this is your personal soundtrack, what's the plot of the movie in 50 words or less-- Girl grows up and learns to be happy with herself.

Until later...

06 May 2008

Take Me Out To The Ball Game...

Last night was the first regular season game for Mr. A and his team. It was over the river, but not through the woods and Grandmother's house was no where to be seen, but we got there.

The boys were raring to play. They'd practiced, they'd improved and they wanted to show what they were made of. And they did. They looked so wonderful out there...the first three innings, Mr. A was on first base. The pitcher faced a total of 10 batters in those first innings (quite a change from the Early Bird Tourney) and Mr. A was part of all nine of the outs, two of which were very close.

The bats were swinging...and connecting too. Mr. A managed to once again get hit by a pitch. I'm starting to believe that he thinks a game isn't complete without getting to base at least once in that manner.

Starting in the fourth inning, Mr. A was catching. He's a good catcher, with good blocking abilities for those dirt pitches, but he needs to coil that spring a little tighter and jump out of the crouch faster. The new pitcher was wonderful that first inning and with a 3-0 lead, everyone was feeling good.

Unfortunately, the pitcher lost his momentum and control starting in the fifth, and a few early season miscues gave the other team a 4-3 edge. The boys were feeling a little down, but the coaches rallied them, and they came back out with swinging bats at the top of the sixth. We pulled ahead 6-4 and were racing to get the game in before the ump called it off because of the approaching dark.

Whatever edge the boys pulled back out during the top of the sixth they lost again, and the game ended up 7-6. All in all, they did a wonderful job, and I hope they all know that they can be pleased with their performance.

Sadly, the umping wasn't the best. The strike zone was impossible to figure out, and I was sitting directly behind home plate, so I had a very good view of what was being thrown. Then some of the parents got into it with the ump during the sixth, and that was all she wrote. I really believe that some of the calls the ump made that inning were a direct result of the parental shouting. I'd bet you can't figure out exactly which of the parents almost got booted from the fields, can you? Not me! The coaches were told however, to control the other 'rent that the boys can lay claim too, and I kept muttering under my breath for him to SHUT. THE. HELL. UP.

The boys and I discussed such behavior on the way home. I let them know that the irritation and disgust that a parent has is okay, but it is never okay for a parent to directly challenge the officiating. If anyone should be challenging that, it should be the coaches, and while the coach was upset, and did talk to the ump, he didn't make a major stink. I made sure both the boys knew that should either of them display such behavior in front of me, there would be consequences.

It's early in the season though, so hopefully this was just opening jitters...but I'm not holding my breath on that...

Until later...

05 May 2008

Where Did The Weekend Go?



It's Monday (and that means MPM, too, so stay tuned!) and I have no idea where the weekend went. I can cheefully say I did nothing, so why is it over?

It's a busy week again, and I'm not sure how we're going to attempt getting the monsters to their various activities, but we'll manage some how.

Mr. A has his first game of the regular season today. I'm interested to see how things end up, especially after watching them practice last week.

This week's menu is shaping up as follows:

Monday ~ Baseball Night

We're eating out tonight. Bugaboo has a doctor's appt at 4, Mr. A needs to be at the field at 5:30 and the game is 45 minutes away...no time for a home-cooked meal.

Tuesday ~ Soccer & Baseball Night

Meatball Hoagies and Chips

Wednesday ~ Chore Night

Crispy Onion Chicken

Thursday ~ Soccer & Baseball Night

Monsters' Mexican Meatloaf

Friday & Saturday ~
I'm not quite sure what's happening this weekend. Mr. A has a Scout Outing, so I know he'll be gone until Sunday. Bugaboo may, or may not, go to his dad's Friday night. Either way, we'll be eating leftovers Friday night and possibly Saturday as well.

Sunday ~ Mother's Day

It's looking like my parents will be coming over to celebrate Mother's Day. Mr. A should be back from his outing by 3, and doesn't have practice until 6, so that gives us 3 hours to spend together. I'm going to make Penne With Chicken and Roasted Asparagus and for dessert, Brown Sugar Apple Cheesecake.

Don't forget to head over to Organizing Junkie to see the rest of today's meal plans!

Until later...

04 May 2008

Here Comes The Sun!

Whoo Hoo! The sun is out! It's a pretty sight after all the rain we've been having!

I need to get myself motivated today. I really should do something...anything. About the only thing I have on my agenda is to run downtown and pick up a windshirt to wear for Mr. A's games I might stop and pick up some more coffee creamer too.

I know, I know, don't wear myself out! LOL!

I also need to stop and grab the mail...I forgot to grab it Friday, and since I didn't leave the house yesterday, it's still sitting there. When I talked to my dad yesterday, he said that my cousins had sent out invitations to my aunt & uncle's 25th wedding anniversary party and he wanted to know if I was invited. Apparently, the RSVP date is this weekend, so I'd best figure out if I got an invitation or not, so that I can RSVP if necessary.

Other than that, I think a few loads of laundry are asking to be done. If I can motivate myself for that, we'll be in good shape for the coming week.

Until later...

03 May 2008

Blogiquette

I was running through my check of the blogs I read daily and found one of the bloggers had entered into a realm of rudeness that I can't imagine.

This blog is a recipe blog, and I read it not for the other blog items, but rather for the recipes that are the general fare. There was a recipe posted this week, that while it wasn't something that I like, nor would I make, I know that many people would.

Apparently, an anonymous commenter slammed the blogger for the un-healthiness (is that a word?) of the recipe and took her to task for the fact that most of the recipes aren't healthy and that the blogger (who is admittedly over-weight) really needed to stop creating and posting such recipes, because by doing so only added to her problems, but would teach her child the same things.

Don't get me wrong, I don't agree with the commenter at all. I believe in using my mouse to vote my opinion. If you're doing something that I don't like, I quit visiting your blog. I've quit visiting a number of blogs for this reason, because while at first blush, they seemed like something I could enjoy, I later found that they weren't. I'm sure many of you were taught the same that I was...If you can't say anything nice... The commenter obviously wasn't.

However, the blogger compounded this issue, but making an entire post about this commenter. COMPLETE with the commenter's ISP information and all other information that you can get from an ISP look-up service. The blogger came across as defensive and just as rude as the commenter. And to be honest, if the blogger hadn't made an "in your face" deal out of the comment, I never would have noticed, because I generally don't read the comments on a post, unless I want to comment about it myself.

This display has made me wonder if I should continue reading the blog. It is something I have to think about...I'm leaning towards not, as I don't appreciate and personally wouldn't take part in, behavior like this.

So what do you think? If a commenter was that rude, would you make a big issue out of it? Or would you, as I believe I would, moderate that comment and move on as if nothing happened?

Until later...

02 May 2008

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It's been raining for a week...okay, there've been intermingled spots of sunshine through the gloom, but it's seriously been raining longer than necessary.

Bugaboo snuck his soccer game in under the wire last night (they lost) before the rain started again and Mr. Attitude got his baseball practice in also. I missed Bugaboo's game, as it was my turn to cart Mr. Attitude to ball and sit and watch twelve 12-year-olds come together as a team.

Mr. Attitude had a tourney in the middle of April that Did. Not. Go. Well. Oh, my, but did the sight of that tourney make me wonder if we'd done the right thing putting Mr. Attitude into traveling ball this year. There was no pitching, precious little wood meeting cowhide and more errors than I want to think about. They received a arse-whooping the likes of which I haven't seen since Les Steckel was the Vikings coach.

Granted, the boys had one whole outside practice before the tourney. ONE. The Hinterlands have conspired against us mortals with the weather gods this year, and it has been one of the coldest and wettest springs I can remember in a while.

But last night watching these boys practice? They're now a team. There is chattering going on in the outfield...you know the whole "Play's at first!" and "Two outs!" kind of thing. There was chatter from the bench...the "Nice cut!" or "Now you've seen it!" thing.

I watched the boys split up into two teams and run a relay race against each other. It appears they have two sets of wheels. The coach split them up so each team had one set of wheels, and the wheels ran the anchor laps in this race. It both filled me with pride and set me to wondering, that Mr. Attitude is one of the wheels on this team. Man, watching him run is special, but can someone please tell me where in the heck he got the speed? As far as I can remember, his dad never had that kind of speed, and well...what I know about running comes from sitting on the couch and watching the Olympics. LOL!

As Mr. Attitude and I went home, the rain started again. And the radio weather came on to inform us that the rain would stop on Saturday...but we'd get snow first. Sigh.

Until later...

01 May 2008

Smiles

Most smiles are started by another smile. ~ Author Unknown

I can't tell you how true that is. Yesterday was a day full of smiles here in the Hinterlands.

Almost two years ago, Mr. Attitude had braces put on. It has been an interesting ride to say the least. I can't tell you how much we've discussed the wearing of the headgear, the rubberbands, the even more importance of brushing, etc. Mr. Attitude has seriously missed corn on the cob (he says it doesn't taste the same cut off the cob) and chewing gum.

In March, we went in for his usual check up and to our surprise, they informed us that he'd be getting his braces off the next visit...almost three months early. Mr. Attitude was beyond excited.

Yesterday, I dropped my metal-mouthed son off at the ortho's office and ran to Target to pick him up some gum as a celebratory gift. Target had gum on sale this week. Five minutes later, Mr. Attitude had 30 packs of different flavored, sugar-free gum to choose from. I stuffed it all in a cheap gift bag and went back to the ortho's office. In the time I was gone (approx 30 minutes), they'd taken off the brackets, sanded away the cement, taken x-rays and casted the molds for his retainers. Mr. Attitude was ready to go.

He kept his mouth shut, refusing to open it and smile at me...though he did have a huge smirk on his face. Once we got in the car, he smiled and it was so nice to see those straight teeth without the hinderance of the brackets and wires.

It makes him look even more grown up if that is possible. Hard to believe that he's only twelve some days...

But his smile? It makes me smile too.

Until later...