November 19, 2007

Thank you! and I'm still here...

Thank you Suz from over at "Waiting for Caroline"! I got the book and it's darling...

This was a gift from a bloggy pal who thought I could use a little Halloween Cheer after my "no kids came to my house" post o' misery.

Thank you so much!
Meanwhile, I'm ashamed I have not been keeping up on here. It's not like me. I just want to say in my defense, it's been a rough month. But, today my parents arrive for a week and I am very much looking forward to that. That will significantly cheer me up. And, Thanksgiving is Thursday which makes me HAPPY!

I do have some posts coming to share my Birthday and other tidbits of the latest, but I will have to work those in as I can. Everyone have a great Turkey Week!!!

HUGS



November 14, 2007

Tooting my own horn...


11-14-?? Who cares...it's all about the cake anyway...

And a SHOUT OUT to Robyn who posted the cutest pic ever and gave me some Birthday Love Blogger Style!

November 11, 2007

Blah. PIE. Blah.


Right, so let me just be honest. I have nothing to say. That's right, folks...step right up and take a good look at her...this might very well be the only time she has stopped talking in months, but nonetheless, she is...

Silent.

I haven't been keeping up with reading your blogs, I haven't been commenting on your blogs, I haven't been updating my own blog at any sort of predictable pace. And usually, I'm on the lookout for funny or interesting things in my week to blog about - nada. I got nuthin'.

It's not that I have absolutely nothing to say or that we've been hermits and have had no adventures. Quite the opposite. But when I go to sit and tell you about it, it seems so boring to say "we went here" or "we did this or that". Snorefest 2007. In the interest though, of keeping some sort of loyalty among us, I will give some bullet points. Brace yourself - this is a rare post in which my attitude kind of stinks and I'm not full of cotton candy and rainbows.

  • AB just finished eight weeks of "Cyrano" rehearsals to culminate in an AMAZING show with his Middle Schoolers this weekend. I was blown away by the talent, and just the level of entertainment. It was phenom!
  • Ethiopia is at a stand still, I am sad to report. We were so prepared and so ready and had all our ducks in a row, and now we sit and wait for paperwork from Michigan to show up. Until it does, there is absolutely nothing we can do to move forward. Time is ticking...and we're getting more and more impatient.
  • Speaking of adoption...kind of a sore subject around here. One empty nursery, a second nursery on hold, and some really wounded spirits. We are just beat down. Literally. What more can I say?
  • Work is great - who can complain about working from home? But let me say this...it is not always easy to work alone. Sometimes, it just stinks. Especially when your only other house mate/ amore' is at rehearsal until 11pm at night every day and you basically live alone for 8 weeks. Still coming out of that slump. I'm seriously still so sick of the inside of my house, I could puke.
  • Speaking of puke - sorry, but it was a nice segue - I'm on a new medication that, shall we say, keeps my girly cycle in line and reduces my, shall we call it "wife gone crazy" time of month symptoms. Now we've all heard of this "medicine" as it is widely used to prevent the pitter patter of little feet. In my case, since that's inconsequential to my body, I take it to control an otherwise MISERABLE time of month. MEANWHILE, the point of my bringing this up at all, is that the stupid thing has made me so nauseated 24/7 that I'm looking for a high point to jump from. Seriously. There is almost nothing worse than being sick to your stomach. And so, I looked it up online and lo and behold - there it was in black and white as the main reaction to this med "nausea and vomiting". What the frick?!?! That is sooooo not fair! So I called the doc and she said "let's not change it mid-cycle, go ahead and finish this pack out and we'll switch at the end". I said "ummmm, no. Not unless you give me something for the nausea...I can't keep this up!" So she obliged and for the first time in two weeks, I was able to eat an actual meal yesterday. I was so happy, I nearly cried. Why does everything have to be so complicated?
  • Pie. Let's talk about Pie. I LOVE PIE. And lately, I've been feeling like my AB is dang good in the kitchen, and I love dessert so much, that I want to be able to do something really well in there too, alongside him. So, since he doesn't enjoy baking or making dessert, we decided that this weekend would be my initiation into homemade desserts. Today, Mixed Berry PIE with homemade crust! Tomorrow...who knows?!? Maybe three layer Chocolate Ganache? Maybe Coconut Cream? AB has decided my new nickname will be the "Pastry Princess". Since I know nothing about baking other than pre-made cake mixes and tubed or break-apart cookies - this should be really interesting! We're going to head to the store in a bit and pick up a few supplies for me and then it's time to CREATE! Pics to come!
Had a lot to say for someone with nothing to say...

OH! And one more thing!
  • My Mom and Dad are coming to visit and will be here the 19th, and stay for a week. I'm bouncing off the walls excited. I can't wait to see them! We'll be sharing my Mom's birthday and Thanksgiving together - I am thrilled! AB is planning a great menu and we can't wait to have them here and play, play, play!
Happy Sunday - I'll be back with pics of the PIE!!!


November 8, 2007

OUCH! I'm lame!

My Secret Pal sent a final reveal gift to me quite a while ago - not only did I not post about it, I didn't even post a thank you to her on the group. LAME. I completely forgot! I at least had the presence of mind to take pics at that time - fully intending to post about it. OMG! LAME.





Thank you soooo much, Delia and family! I loved everything and each little cutie patootie item has a place in Keira's room! I'm so sorry that I didn't say thank you sooner - many apologies!!!

November 1, 2007

Happy Halloween (it was Halloween, right?)

We were ready. We had the candy, the decor, the candles, the pumpkins, the appropriate "Kitty and Frankie" head-dressings on - pizza in the oven and salad, ready to be consumed.

But where were the kids?

What the heck happened to Halloween? Did anybody get a memo that they were canceling this year? Aren't we past razor blades in apples? For that matter, does anyone still give out apples?

I'm just saying - we live in a 4-year-old neighborhood of nice homes, nice people, and lots of kids. I know this, because every time I drive in to my street, I have to slow way down to give the kiddies plenty of time to clear the way from playing ball or riding bikes, etc. So either A) they all went to a church or school or mall function that was indoors and "safer", or B) they boycotted us without telling, or C) Trick or Treating is just not what it used to be.

When I was a kid, my Dad or Mom (or both) would dress us up in the best get-ups (Casper the Friendly Ghost was a personal favorite for me - Underdog for my brother) and out we would roam for a couple hours at least - door to door in the grand old American tradition of begging for candy. Heck, there are times as an adult I'd be willing to put on a little sumpin sumpin and go door-to-door if I thought people would give me chocolate. Hey, at least once a month. But I digress.

Anyway, when I was a kid, this was the THING of the year to do. You waited for it, you longed for it, you had a free ride to get all the candy your little hands could possibly cram down into a pillow case (hey, we didn't have the fancy plastic pumpkin heads back then). We grabbed a flashlight and house to house we ran, as our parents stood back on the sidewalk, making sure we were safe and polite, the occasional "what do you say?!?" ringing out in the night. Now, if you were lucky, you could wind up co-mingling with kids as you made your way through the neighborhood, and by the time your parents called it quits on you - you were one of three Caspers in a group of 15 kids all ecstatic and hopped up on candy they managed to cram down in between houses.

When the parents could not take another step without groaning, we raced home and made a b-line for the living room, where the bounty of the night was non-ceremoniously spilled on the floor in a pile and sorted. Not before Mom got down there and sifted through, making sure someone hadn't slipped any questionable items in with the mix. Once she gave the green light, we were hysterical to tear into our favorites. After about ten pieces, Mom would notice the drugged and drowsy look in our eyes, and tug our booty away to go on top of the fridge and to be doled out in smaller increments over the coming days. Off we would go, to de-costume, take a bath, and start counting until next year.

Which brings me back to our street. What the heck? We had about 7 door bell rings, resulting in about 15 kids - not enough to make a small dent in our MAN size bowl of sugary goodness.

What's up with that?

We did get a visit from our favorite 2 year old - Keira Grace - who was adorable as a USC Cheerleader - sooooo cute! So enjoy and someone please tell me:

Where did all the Trick-or-Treaters go?