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Oct 192011
And yes, I’m sure that cowinkadink is a word, I just don’t know it that is how it is spelled.
So the other day I was at Target. Target is a big deal to mom and I as we don’t have one close and have to drive a good hour to shop there. Mom and I went to Target and I was looking for a birthday card for Meg.
Instead I found this card:
The card is hilarious of course, but what makes this a cowinkadink is that we were at this town was because I had a consult appointment for breast reduction surgery that day. I had to buy it even if I had no one to give it to. It was worth the money just to blog about it.
I’ll talk more on my possible surgery if it comes to fruition. Let’s just say the card was uplifting for me at that moment!
Taken By My New Phone Of Course!
Computers have taken over. We all knew it was coming, but it was supposed to be scary right? It’s not scary it is FUN. I cannot put down my iPhone 4S I tell it to do things, just to watch it work. I’m sure this will end and I will start to use it as a phone/computer/camera and not a toy…someday…maybe. I have a problem though with telling it what to do.
Here is my problem. I am too polite with it. I am also polite with the Vocera (a hand-free device we use to track down doctors, other nurses and the patients can also call us) at work. I say things like “Text Hubby please and let him know I am texting him because I can.” The please messes things up. Or at work the Vocera will say “Can you take a call from Nurse Jackie?” I will answer it “Yes, thank you.” It has to think and work out the thank you.
Is it weird that I feel mean for not saying please and thank you to a machine? It makes me feel bossy and rude. There has to be a balance between man and machine, a show of respect maybe that isn’t quite human, but not rude either. We can come to an understanding maybe and say PTY (Please Thank You) to remain techy, yet nice.
Do you think it will catch on? Should I create an app for how to have machine manners? Would it sell? Does anyone care? Am I the only one who thinks this way?
It’s time for bed. Obviously I need downtime —sleep I mean.
Oct 032011
More boob talk from the boobologist here. Yes, remember I am a certified boobologist (aka lactation consultant) and I care about breast health overall. Last year I posted about Army of Woman and the good things they are doing. Dr. Susan Love and Avon have teamed up for some really cool Breast Cancer Research and they need YOU to help!
We all want to help out with the breast cancer cause and a lot of us are getting tired of just buying and wearing pink. We want to do something more. Joining the Army of Women is a direct way that you can possibly help out in breast cancer research. I have been a member for about a year now and every once in a while a email is sent to me with a new study they need help with. These studies can range from sending in a breast milk sample to filling out a form. Easy stuff to more time consuming, but you are not required to do anything you don’t want to do or cannot do. I have not qualified for any of the studies thus far, but I am optimistic because if I can help out in some way Army of Women is going to let me know about it.
So how about it? Join up and possibly save lives, feel productive and do a good turn!
A Sign We Hate To Read!
Last Saturday we drove to North Carolina to a beach house we rented with family. Our car was full on luggage but short on children at Meg and Mita were staying behind to finish their play commitments and coming down Monday with my parents. It was just Hubby and I with Enu and Elle. The drive went fine. We had no traffic, decent weather and the car ran fine.
The last forty-five minutes the kids kept watching the GPS system. It has a little checkered flag at our destination address. As they watched us get closer they started reading the signs at the side of the road. I’m sure every one does this on long road trips. There is nothing else new to do so we read signs. Road signs, restaurant signs, bumper stickers and just about everything within site. We then start passing large billboards that say things like:
I Got My Crabs At Dirty Dicks
and
Try My Nuts
Okay, so they are advertisements for a seafood place and a nut store, but please oh please don’t let my kids start reading these signs and repeating them. Elle already has a good idea of other definitions for nuts and dicks and I just hope the other crab definition doesn’t pop up to soon!
It makes me want put in a new DVD and have the kids mesmerized by the screen just to keep them from reading!
What signs have you winced at said a prayer that the kids won’t pay attention?
Sep 182011
My kids are very happy with this blogging thing right now! I was sent an advance copy of Monte Carlo by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment to review. This is the movie that I never got around to taking the kids to the theater to see early last summer and they have not let me forget it since!
Starring Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place, Beezus and Ramona), Emma (Katie Cassidy, “Melrose Place”), and stepsister Meg (Leighton Meester, “Gossip Girl”). Monte Carlo is perfect for the tween scene. Selena Gomez is also a popular singer. I took the girls last November to watch her perform in Columbus and they adore her. She is also pretty age-appropriate for younger fans (so far anyway).
The main story line is a familiar one, but it is one that works. Selena’s character, Grace, is mistaken for a famous English heiress, and she along with her two friends live the life of wealth for a few days. Along the way there is fun, love, arguments, grief and ultimately learning to be yourself.
If you have a daughter the between the ages of 9 and 12 chances are this movie is for them. There is a bit of lovey-dovey-kissy scene or two but they are nothing new and tame. My older three girls (ages 12, 11 and 9) loved it. The seven year old wandered in and out of the movie a few times, but did say she liked how it ended. I liked how it shows a little bit of the world and overall the moral of the story was honestly and loving who you are.
MONTE CARLO arrives on Blu-ray and DVD on October 18th and is produced by Academy Award®-winner Nicole Kidman.
(Disclosure: I received a free copy of this movie from @FoxHomeEnt in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was received.)
Sep 132011
Meg and Mita are in a play this week. Children’s Letters to God will be put on by our local children’s theatre. This is Mita’s first play and Meg’s third. Meg loves it. Mita says she will not do another one, drags her feet for practices and moans a lot…but at practice she seems to adore it. Hmmn. It will be interesting to see how she does for the performances and if she will think all the hard work is worth it.
It is amazing how differently siblings handle things. Meg is in stealth mode. She eats, sleeps, goes to school and golf and then it’s all about the play. She loves it. Period.
Enu and Elle are not loving it so much. They hate running sissies back and forth to practice. All they do is mumble about how boring it is. Yet I think they are going to love the actual show. I know they will love it.
Tech week is basically very long, late practices every night before the show. Last night the girls got home at 10pm. We will see how they get up this morning. Tech week is fast food week, spend a ton in gas week and no time for anything week. It is hard on the family no doubt. Hubby says we are taking a break after this from the theatre. I agree with him, but do so love to watch them stretch themselves, learn and have fun.
As a family with four kids we really try not to over-schedule our lives. We want the kids to have free time to play, read and just be kids. Now that Meg is in middle school, we are seeing an increase in activities that she wants to explore. I encourage her to explore but not all at once! Being in a performance such as the kids are in right now is a real stretch for us. One that we decided to go with this time around, but know that we cannot maintain this pace if our house is going to remain standing, with clean laundry, clean hamster cages and sane parents!
I will be ready for it to all be over, but I will treasure watching them on stage.
What activities does your family participate in that push the limits on family schedules, money and sanity? Is it worth it or are you toning it down a bit?
(email me at fouragainsttwo @ gmail . com if you want info on tickets)
Sep 122011
I have found my sport. I may be 36 years old and non-athletic, but archery is for me I tell you. I like it. It is fun. It does have some competitiveness if you like that sort of thing (which I don’t -why can’t we all just win?!) but it’s not all about the competition. I must add that I have only done it twice, but I’m telling you that I love it. I became an instruction simply so my Girl Scouts would have a local opportunity to do some archery, but it turns out I really like it.
I may go professional.
Okay, maybe not but the fact that I like participating in a sport is pretty mind-blowing in itself and requires some ahhhs from the people!
Does anyone know of local archery resources for me and my girls?
If you don’t get the Katniss reference you need to go read The Hunger Games series, quickly. It rocks just like archery.
My San Diego trip to BlogHer11 already feels very far away, but I am still reminded daily of some of the cool products I learned about and the fun samples I got. I’ve already given away some TheraBreath products and Hallmark goodies and may have more giveaways to come in the future so stay tuned!
I was fortunate enough to win a great pair of new shoes. Oh! Shoes held a giveaway, I simply put my card in a bag and the next thing I know I heard I had won. I was happy. Who isn’t happy with new shoes. I had no idea what kind of shoes, but my feet aren’t picky (thankfully). I also liked that the company was working with Soles4Souls. A charity I had read about a few months ago and thought was great. My head exploded when I saw the shoes I got to choose from! Amazing shoes at prices I don’t normally indulge in for myself but wouldn’t blink if hubby got them for his job. These shoes are described as sexy healthy shoes and are built to not hurt your feet. Quality and comfort is important I realize, but as my feet respond well to cheap shoes, I’ve never paid a lot for my shoes. My new shoes arrive:
And WOW! They feel amazing and I am willing to bet that they will last a very long time. If you invest in your feet check out the website the shoes feel great and look awesome!
A new DVD Ruby’s Studio: The Feelings Show was given to my by The Mother Company. The Mother Company is working on products that are gentle teaching without violence or a lot of distracting noise. That in itself makes me happy. While my kids are no longer little, Enu responds well to younger shows, Especially shows/programs that enforce how to show feelings and act responsible. I had Enu watch the show. I wasn’t sure if she would make it through the entire program, but she did. She was completely enthralled. Afterwards she said that it was great for “little kids” and talked about feelings which is good. I think this DVD would be great for pre-schoolers and kids with special needs, attachment issues or anger/feelings issue. Check out the website! I’ll probably let Enu watch it a few more times “to review it for me” and then pass it on down to my niece who will be 2 soon (when did that happen?!).
The Pressman Booth is a favorite from last year as well. This year they had the Smurfs out to meet and great us as well as some great games. I have given away Pressman Games before and love working with them. Check out the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid game. This could be a biggie for Christmas!
My favorite new eat treat is from Dole. The Apple Cinnamin Fruit Crisp is heaven when warmed up. Like a Thanksgiving desert anytime you want it!
The Dove Bars Miniature Ice Creams were amazing as well. Dove works with the sustainable farming of cocao and they are also giving away a trip to Hawaii! Check out the site for contest details.
These are just a few of the great companies I wanted to mention that helped make my time at BlogHer11 a fun one. Free stuff is fun!
(Disclaimer: I received a free product/PR item or a coupon for the above products on the BlogHer Expo floor, except the shoes! I won those fair and square and am in love with them! All thoughts are my own, I cannot be bought;)
Aug 232011
The Hallmark Room at BlogHer11
It is no secret that I adore Hallmark cards. My mom and I used to go into Hallmark when Meg was in her stroller, and just read cards. We would pick one out and laugh and then insist that the other one read it…right now! We would laugh until our sides hurt. I hope that someday that will become a regular occurrence again. Maybe once the kids are old enough not to trash Hallmark by pulling out all of the cards then putting them back in a totally different category. I’m talking about school-age kids here, but I digress.
At BlogHer11 Hallmark had a lovely little room with fluffy comfy couches to rest upon. They had a selection of awesome cards that we could select and mail out or give to another attendee. Purple is my favorite color and they were handing out purple shirts that said, “_______is a special occasion.” We filled in the blanks. I wrote in that “Good Morning Hugs are a special occasion.” I do love me some cuddling in the morning, stinky breath and all.
@OutnumberedMom
What I adore about this campaign is that it is so simple. We need to celebrate all of life’s little moments as well as the big ones. I am not an advocate for throwing an expensive party over a first lost tooth or having a pinata tournament for a first bicycle wreck, but a thought, a hug, an extra space of time to recognize how special life is: I am all for.
To win your own purple shirt and a selection of Hallmark cards:
- Leave a comment on this post saying what your special everyday occasion is!
- Like Hallmark on Facebook and tell me about you did it.
- Follow Hallmark on Twitter and tell me about it and leave you Twitter handle so I can follow you to!
That is three chances to win! Yippee :) Giveaway runs from August 23rd to August 29th noon. Winner will be picked by Random.org.
Don’t forget to enter my TheraBreath Giveaway! Ends 8/25
(Disclosure: I received no compensation for this review of Hallmark or hosting a giveaway. I met the Hallmark people at BlogHer11 and got a purple t shirt and two free cards at that time. My feelings for Hallmark are mine and not sponsored!)
Aug 212011
Keep Wearing the Flip-Flops! It's Still Summer!
I’m not sure why, but I am not ready for school to start yet. The girls are at each-other a lot lately, a sure sign that they are ready for the distraction of school. Elle just beams when you mention the first grade. Meg is so ready for middle school. Mita is happy to have her entire school to herself for a while and Enu is ready for a semester of home schooling.
I will miss the girls as usual, but that is not the reservation I am feeling. I cannot place this feeling, but my chest feels heavy. Maybe it is the prospect of having three different schools to juggle or the two different time schedules? I’m not sure.
Are you ready for school to start? Will you be doing the hula dance and drinking margaritas or crying your eyes out?
The other day a box of Fijits arrived at my door. I luckily had several children at home (mine and a friend) and we had a Fijit party!
A Fijit is a fun new toy from Mattel. It dances to the beat of the music, talks to you and even tells jokes! The girls had a great time playing with the Fijits and I have a feeling they will be popular come Christmas time. Check out my video of the girls playing:
I appreciated the packaging of the Fijit as it was not impossible to get them out of the box. It only took a few minutes and a pair of scissors. I watched the girls (ages 6-11) figure out how they worked and it didn’t take them long at all. They were dancing within minutes of getting the Figit. The girls liked that the Fijit can dance to thier own music or the music the kids were playing. They also got a kick out of the jokes and that the Fijit would fall asleep when they stopped playing with it. My second oldest was a bit cool about the whole thing as she doesn’t play with toys (so she says), but I must say that she currently has a Fijit in her room, so she warmed up to having a toy!
My overall review: The Fijit is a fun toy for kids who like to dance around and have fun. It is not to loud and can keep the kids busy for quite a while. The jokes, conversations offer a distraction when they tire of dancing. It is also soft and squishy to touch, not to heavy and has a sweet voice. If your kiddo just has to have one I say go for it! Here is a code for free shipping: FIJITBL at Mattel. This code is good until August 31, 2011.
Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Mattel Fijit Friends and received coupons and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.
Jul 242011
I recently finished my fourth classic of the year. My goal is to read five classics this year. As I have mentioned before I do this every so often and by the time I am one hundred years old I hope to have somewhat of a good handle on classic books (lofty goals maybe but oh well!).
Around The World in 80 Days by Jules Verne annoyed me. I’m hopeless, I know. It was such a great idea for a book and if I would have read it out loud to my kids, I probably would have enjoyed it more. I just couldn’t get into it on my own. I’m not sure why I felt this way. The main characters have so much potential to be loved, it just didn’t happen with me.
The theme of this book is simple. A boring, but very smart and honorable man is challenged to travel around the world in 80 days. He hires a valet (my favorite character) to accompany him and he rescues a lady along the way who stays with him for the journey. Their travels are aided by his wealth of a money bag he brought on the trip and they go from elephants in India to trains in the wild west. A lot of adventure that should have been fun, but I think after reading about Harry and Voltemort I’m spoiled for normal adventure.
I will encourage my kiddos to read this book. Maybe I’ll see the movie and like it better! I have one more classic to read to meet my 2011 goal. Any ideas? I need some!
(Disclosure: I was not asked to review this book, nor is the link worth anything to me!)
Jul 182011
With help (okay, total assistance) from Jenna at StopDropAndBlog, my blog has a new look! Just in time for my upcoming BlogHer11 trip (San Diego baby!) and my incredible awesome 36th year.
Do you like?
Jun 272011
Flip Flops Rule
I have little to say, little to show, but I am still here and having a great summer with my family. Maybe I’ll come up with a really cool post this week, maybe I won’t. I smile though, because I know you all will still love me :)
I started work today. Just a few hours a week to make me feel like a grown up again. The kids are vegging out, reading tons, swimming like fish, attending Girl Scout camps and doing all the other things that make summer so special.
How is your summer going?
Jun 162011
Even the dog made a lot of noise today!
My kids talked all day today. Non-stop. If they were not talking they were singing. Something was coming out of at least one of four mouths constantly today. They just couldn’t stop, non matter what I said, did, threatened or requested.
My ears felt like they were bleeding. The actually ached. They are all in bed now and I found this quote in my pile of things I like:
Solitude is not a luxury. It is a right and a necessity –
Anne Wilson Shaef
I don’t know who Anne is, but she must of had four girls. I’m tired and need to go to bed, but I need to be in quiet solitude for a moment longer. I need to refresh my ears with no noise to start over again tomorrow!
Jun 132011
I love this picture of her. Her face is just like when she was a baby. Serious.
Once upon a time. A long time ago. I was an idealistic mother who couldn’t wait for her daughter to grow up and read all the books her mother loved so we could sit around and talk about them together. I made a list of books I wanted her to read, categorized by age appropriateness and reading level.
Fast forward ten years later and some of the list has been read by Meg. I have discovered a few things along the way. One is that Meg is Meg, not me. Two is kids like to talk, a lot, but not about things you want to talk about. Three is that Meg has given me my own list of books to read.
While Little Woman and Little House on the Prairie will always hold dear to my heart I have fallen in love Harry Potter. I recently read a fun book entitled Schooled. I read The Hunger Games trilogy and am discussing it with Meg as she completes it herself. The 39 Clues series is on my reading list as she really enjoyed them.
She likes adventure, mystery, strange languages and hard to pronounce names. I like history, clean and fun romance and moral courage throughout the pages.
Watching her read a book reminds me of me at her age as I would read all day long, switching positions (Chair. Floor. Hanging upside down off couch.) just as she does now. She will read for hours until a book is done, just like I can. She gets twitchy if she doesn’t have a book, like me.
Having a child is such a mystery. She is so Hubby. She is so me.
I’ll read what she recommends any day!
(A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness)
The end of the school year always brings a wave of colorful artwork, exciting essays and lots and lots of amazing things that I cannot bear to throw away. I used to keep all the special things, now I take pictures or scan what I like best and keep very little. Storing things for four kids really puts a dent in our basement storage! Last year I had a free photo book offer and made a fun book of the kids artwork from the school year. Each girl was given about 5 pages to show off their works. I remember thinking that I was going to do this again, only make one book for each girl.
Now that this school year has come to an end I have been thinking about sitting down again and starting to work on the books. Then it just hit me today when I was doing the dishes. I don’t want to separate their work. I don’t want them to leave my home after college with boxes filled with only their projects and pictures. I want them to remember their sister’s pieces to. To be able to track how Elle went from drawing squiggly lines to recognizable pictures. We are a family and always will be a family, even when they have lives of their own. Seperate but together.
I can picture Meg showing her possible future children artwork from 2011 and everyone oooing and aweing at Aunt Mita’s Kente cloth pattern or Aunt Enu’s self portrait. They may live far apart or close together but either way the next generation will have one more tie to the girls Hubby and I are raising today.
Maybe I am more sensitive to this because we are a family who has been through the trials and blessings of older child adoption, who has concentrated on attachment and building bonds. I cannot help but think our society is so individualized in so many ways that we are leaving the importance of family behind. When disaster strikes, illness or death comes round, a financial crisis hits; we all go back to family.
My hope and prayer is that my girls are the best of friends when they are old and gray and I am gone. Do I think family albums are the only factor that will determine this outcome? No, but it sure cannot hurt.
May 172011
As promised, part two of my first blog post from when I didn’t know what a blog was.
Driving
This is something I had never thought of until coming here. In order to drive in Peru, you must know when and how to honk the horn. This is very necessary because I think that if you don’t honk every 15 seconds you car stalls. Truly! This is why people are constantly pushing there cars out of the roads, they just haven’t honked enough.
Instead of stopping at a stop sign all you have to do is honk your horn to let others know you are there and are not stopping. If you are behind 15 cars and the light finally turns green you must start honking your horn or it’ll turn red again. Again, I believe this is what Peruvian drivers are taught in order to get there licences. If you are in the left lane and decide to turn right, that’s fine, just make sure you go before the light turns green and those passing cars will move for you. If the car in front of you is going to slow you can go left of center and pass him, only if you honk first!
By the way people really do wave there arms and get that funny look on there face when they are about to get hit, I always thought they were bad actors on those TV shows.
City Noise
Noise, noise, noise, and its constant, constant, constant! Everyone here has a different horn or bell or whistle. The ice cream men are the most annoying. They don’t have the calming fun music playing like the ones is the states, these ones have a whistle that sound like a dying duck and there are so many ice cream men you here this lovely duck sound every few minutes. The bread man comes by around 6am and has his very own sound as well, I’ve decided he is the
“rooster” of the community. There are junk guys who will take away large trash items, the guy who will sharpen you knives for you, the guy who sells brooms and mops and they all have there own sound. While I know this is a smart way to let the neighborhood know who is here and that it
really works, but as a newcomer I want to scream at them sometimes!
Odds and Ends
You know you should be concerned when…you get on the bus and everyone is doing the Father, Son and Holy spirit sign….the bus you are on isn’t going the way you want it to…your Spanish is so bad, people try speaking English with you…you so need to read English, you crave for a tabloid…you stop trying to understand people and just nod your head and say si…you feel like you physically want to attack and hurt the ice-cream man…you are out and about and realize you’ve forgotten your tp!
You want to die laughing when… you see two nuns driving a 4×4 through the streets of Lima and they are honking as loud and as much as everyone else…when a security guy at a bank ran up to Hubby (he was just a little guy) and ask to be his bodyguard…
Way back in 1998, when Hubby and I lived and worked in Peru, I wrote a humorous email to family, letting off some steam and frustration while sharing the way of life as an expat. I recently found this email and got a good laugh reading it again. It is perfect for a blog post, albeit a bit long-winded. I had no idea what a blog was or if they were around back then. I know we had shaky dial-up and I had never bought anything online yet! You know, the dark ages.
I thought I would publish it to share with you all in two posts due to it’s length. This was written when I was about 22. We had been married two years and had no kids. My blog would have been named something like Just The Two of Us instead of Four Against Two! As you can read, I have always been a bit sarcastic. It was not caused from the trauma of motherhood.
BYOTP…That is the overriding theme in Lima and anywhere else in Peru for that matter. Yes toilet paper is like the American Express card here (never leave home without it), although unlike the card it can be used everywhere. For some reason this personal toiletry is considered just that. Personal. Therefore you bring our own. I have visited restrooms here that have provided this necessity, but you have to stand in line first for the toilet paper and then for the actual restroom.
My first time in a public bathroom here was quite traumatic. I get into the stall and there is no paper despenser, so I leave and find one by the sinks, then go back into the stall. Finding a stall is hard though. Orderly, straight lines are non-existant here. It is more like a game of bumper cars where you weave in and out of eachother pushing on the doors until one opens.
After getting toilet paper, finding a stall and actually doing the deed you must put the paper into the waste basket not the toilet! It is like this everywhere, the sewer systems can’t handle the paper. The first few times it is hard to remember this and you are faced with the decision to flush anyway and hope the toilet doesn’t overflow or dig it out. I think you all know what my choice was, and thankfully the toilet could handle it. So the lesson is bring a good wad of TP with you everywhere, because you never know when you will need it. Plus make sure you have strong thigh muscles because there are usually no seats and would you really use one anyway if you were missing the wax paper protector?
I must confess there is a restroom that has a toilet paper in the stalls and has toilet seats and is clean. Where? At the Cinemark Theater of course, and you thought we only wanted to see a lot of movies.
Why have I spent so much time on the act of using the restroom? Because that is what everyone wants to know about, they just never ask.
After your potty break don’t even try and go shopping. Buying something here is a very long and tiring process. For example, the other day I went into a bookstore (liberia) and after looking around picke out a magazine and two children’s books (for the kids I will be working with, so you don’t get any ideas). I took these to the front desk. Someone wrote out a reciept for me and put the books in a bag. I had to take the receipt over to the cashier, who is usually behind bars or surrounded by glass and pay for the books. Then they give me my change, and stamp the first receipt with one stamp, the other receipt with another stamp and show another person what they have done. Then I get the receipts and take them over to where my bag is, give the receipts the the person there (usually the manager) he then takes out the books and flips through each one of them..twice! By this time I feel like I am a criminal and pray that no one before me had stuck something in the books. He then stamps the receipts, keeps one and staples the other to the bag, while also stapling the entire bag shut, in case I may choose to stick anything in this bag in the 10 feet I have to walk to leave the store. Mind you I am being watched by an armed guard the entire time.
As tempted as I was, I refrained from stealing and left the store. This is very typical of any store here in Lima and is a very good indication that trust is a foreign concept.
Stay tuned for part two, and please remember that I loved my experiences in Peru and the people were great. Living in another culture isn’t easy and laughing about things, makes it easier. I did not, and do not, want this to offend anyone.
May 122011
Hey all! I just got 5 of these cards for FREE at Shutterfly :) Just thought I would share. They are having 5 free cards right now if you go the the site the code is on there. I also got a photo book onsale with free shipping and 20%. To top it off I earned 20% back through Shopathome.com . I feel like I scored big time today and wanted to share!
(Disclosure: If you sign up through the shopathome.com link I get $5 after your first purchase. Shutterfly may or may not give me a $10 gift code for sharing. I love deals, love free money, so I share things and do not expect you all do sign up!)
May 092011
Over eleven years ago (gasp) Hubby and I lived and worked in Peru. We would occasionally go to a really nice restaurant called Costa Verde. It was built on the beach out over the water and was quite the splurge for the two of us. This restaurant had the best hot chocolate we had ever had in our lives and we have never found anything close to the taste of that marvelous cup of hot chocolate. It was like a melted Hershey’s bar.
At my recent visit to Las Vegas with my BFF Lisa, we had frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity. I mentioned our Costa Verde Hot Chocolate to her. She is a self-proclaimed foodie and told me that if she had experienced hot chocolate like that she would have spent the last eleven years trying to copy the recipe.
Hmmm. I am not a foodie. I don’t get much joy from cooking. I do, however, like this idea. So my goal is to find some a recipe equal to our Costa Verde days. I would like to find it by our 16th wedding anniversary in July.
So if you all know of any killer hot chocolate recipes, pass them on.
And yes, I do know we are heading into summer and that hot chocolate isn’t in season. Oh well. Who cares ;)
I’ll let you know of my progress and share some recipes with you.
Apr 282011
My Dad rocks. Literally. He is a rock and roll dad. He took me to my first concert when I was 13. It was Ozzy Osbourne (post-chicken-head-eating-days), White Lion and some other band I don’t remember. He took me and my BFF Lisa. He convinced Lisa that he had OZZY written over his chest and was going to take off his shirt! We immediately ditched him once we arrived and ended up back stage to meet the guys of White Lion and Zake Wilde from Ozzy’s band. For those of you who don’t remember White Lion here is a picture of Mike Tramp, the love of my life that day.
- He still makes me giggle!
The pictures I had of us together were destroyed in a flood (no, really) and I only have my memories to prove it. I was so nervous I could only smile and act like a dork. No worries about back stage shenanigans with me, the quiet scary-grin-like-a-stalker-girl-with-frizzy-hair!
Once the concert started we found my dad, told him we went back stage (I can now only imagine the heart dive he must have felt upon hearing that news!) and then we ditched him again. We made our way closer to see the band. In the days before 9-11 concerts were so much easier. Our car broke down on the LA free way that night. A very long night for my dad indeed!
Fast forward to my 27th birthday. He took me, Hubby and my mom to see Aerosmith. 8th row. That concert changed my concert way of life forever. I can now no longer sit on the lawn or in the 50th row. I have to see the old guys up close. So I can giggle. I really do giggle at concerts as well as sing and dance.
For my 30th birthday he took me to see my favorite band. Def Leppard. 11th row. I rocked it. The lady behind me complimented me after the concert on how I was able to dance the entire set without a break! I kept creeping down to the stage and getting bounced back up to my seat. During Pour Some Sugar on Me I couldn’t contain myself. I went down to the stage, close and my dad followed me with his phone. He held it like a camera phone and pretended to take pictures of me and kept telling the bouncer (a really nice lady just doing her job) that it was my birthday. She let me stay for the rest of the song. After the concert I shock her hand and appologised for making her job harder. She laughed and said I was fine. I didn’t feel as bad after that. I’m a goodie-too-shoes rocker like that. I don’t get drunk either…weird I know.
Well, once again Dad has done it. We are going to see Def Leppard in August for my birthday. He got VIP tickets so we are guaranteed to be in the first 20 rows. I’m praying for rows 5-15, but we will see! I just love my old rock and roll guys. The bands and my Dad!
Thanks Daddy!
I had this full poster in my room. The color on the lips of all the guys was worn off! Shhh. Don't tell my girls!
I am not a crust-cutter, a mom who cuts off the crusts for her kids who are picky and wasteful. I don’t judge crust-cutter mothers and fathers, I just am not one myself. Or I should say I wasn’t one.
To say that Mita and Enu have dealt with a lot of changes would be an understatement. They have gotten used to a new family, country, culture and food in the last three years. They are still a bit picky with the food and while I understand that , I don’t (or didn’t) cut off the crusts. I have always felt it was wasteful and if they wanted to take them off they could do it themselves.
Well a few weeks ago I went to Mita’s school to eat lunch with her. I noticed that the first thing she did was pull of the crust of her peanut butter and honey sandwich. She pulled so much off that she didn’t even have a full sandwich anymore. I then decided that maybe it was less wasteful to cut of the crust for her.
So I did. The next time I packed her lunch, I trimmed the crust off neatly so that she would have a full sandwich. As I did this I was happy that I was making a concession to my normal stickler ways. I felt that this could even bring us closer together. A bit of bonding over a sandwich (adopting older kids makes you think of everything in bonding terms!)
Mita storms in the kitchen after school and hands me her lunch box with an apology. She says I threw away all my trash but the crusts, I just forgot. I look at her and say What crusts? I cut them off for you. Her response was between an Oh really and a huh on her way out of the room.
So much for my big change in ways!
Apr 222011
My baby brother made shrimp scampi at our family Easter dinner tonight. Yes, we had a seafood Easter Dinner on Good Friday (plus a ham). We are not very traditional I know. Anyway, besides a bit of grilling I don’t think I have ever seen Josh cook before.
When I teased him about his ableness with a spatula he actually told me, “It’s like the spatula is one with my fingers.” What a load of Josh ;)
It was very good and he can make it again for me at any time.
Apr 222011
I gave up Facebook and Twitter for Lent. All F-O-R-T-Y D-A-Y-S! I have never practiced the tradition of giving up something for Lent before and I am quite glad that I did. I am also quit glad that I can Tweet again come Saturday night! I’m not addicted to Social Media, but I sure do like to keep in touch.
I have tried to talk about my experience at least once a week so there isn’t much else to say except that I have lived, learned and grown from my “sacrifice”. I know it wasn’t a sacrifice anywhere need my Lord’s, but it was a step in the right direction.
Have you ever given up something for a period of time? For Lent or a New Years resolution? Tell me about it and we can pat eachother on the back!
Apr 192011
I don’t feel old. I’m not old. My body, however, is slowly telling me that I am in fact aging as the aches and pains appear faster and stay longer. Though I’ve never complained about age, I do know that it is obviously happening.
What this post is about though is feeling young. Really young. Like being a ten year old. I felt this yesterday for a few fleeting moments and they were wonderful. We went to an indoor water park and I hit the big water slides with Meg and Enu. I only rode them three times and they lasted a total of probably three minutes, but WOW.
There is nothing like being totally out of control speeding down a tunnel, in the dark. It is good stuff I tell you. The prickles of fear you start to feel at the beginning of the fall pulling you down into oblivion are out of this world. The same goes with roller coasters (another age disclaimer: As I have gotten older my equilibrium has gone to pot and I can no longer ride the latest and greatest mind-blowing roller coasters without being nauseous for hours). I just love the feeling.
My kids hate this about me and love it. They love that I will ride with them, they hate that I scream and laugh the entire time. I start laughing before I even sit down on the slide or buckle into a roller coaster. Laughing annoyingly. Screaming loud. It’s just me, I will not apologize and I will not stop laughing. My youthful feeling only lasts a few seconds and I will scream as long as it lasts.
What do you do to feel like a kid again?
