There just might be hope for me yet

I've never been much of a jewelry wearer. I have a pair of diamond stud earrings that occasionally make an appearance on my neglected lobes and my diamond anniversary band that I wear every day even though it desperately needs to find it's way to a jeweler for resizing before I end up losing it. I only recently acquired a necklace that I'm fond of wearing. Thank you honey. There are a few other things I've gotten here and there over the years but those 3 things are the only ones you'll probably ever have a chance of seeing.
Problem is... I'm picky when it comes to accessories. I don't like flashy, gaudy, or things that everyone else has. I want simple but different. That's really the reason I don't wear much jewelry.... I can't find ANYTHING I like. I really should design my own...now there's an idea. In the meantime, I found a site that I love. Giving Tree Jewelry has unique pieces from many different designers. I found a few that I would definitely not mind having. Someone has a birthday coming up Mr. M hint hint.

Spring Break 09

It's been almost a week since I blogged last. No, I have not been spending the last week watching Twilight over and over. I'm not that far gone. Actually, it's Spring Break which has kept me off here. You know... those concentration issues I have when my children are home for long periods of time. It's quiet for a moment so I'll try making sense for a minute or two.

We finally got the truck into the shop on Monday... still don't have it back. Unfortunately, I'm stuck driving a rental Ford Focus until the truck returns to me. The song "Baby Come Back" is drifting through my mind right now.

Due to being stuck with a rental...and the big hunk of cash we will have to relinguish to Mr. Mechanic shortly... we weren't able to go anywhere for Spring Break. Even a day trip seemed out of the question with the crappy weather and most places not open for the season yet anyway. All we had left was miniature golf. Yeah, I know... woohoo. The boys actually thought it was pretty cool. It was glow in the dark golf after all. May not have been much but atleast we did something.

Last night was the highlight of the week. The boys got to go to their first Lock in...at their church. The thought of sleeping in a church all night sounds slightly terrifying to me but they enjoyed it. Being without both kids for an entire night is something that has not occurred in this household for a couple years now. Doesn't seem real, does it? I assure you...everything stated here is completely factual. I can not tell a lie. There was the night we had a babysitter and went to a concert and had to be back in time for Mr. M to get to work... but all night... both of them gone... Two years! What do you do with an entire night to yourselves?
Yeah, I drew a blank too. My niece was having a purse party so Angel and I checked out the goods...bought the goods... then wished we were able to buy more goods. Felt just awful leaving all those beauties laying there waiting to be bought. Guess I'll have to have a party of my own so I can do my part giving homes to purses in need.

Dinner and a movie was the big night out for Mr. M and me. Honestly the only thing we could think to do. We really need to get out more.

That's it...our exciting Spring Break. Told you I wasn't watching Twilight all week :)

Twilight movie review...

I bought, I watched, I loved! They did a pretty good job with fitting most details from the book into the movie. Only problem was... to fit that much in made it seem like it was jumping from one scene to the next. There were parts that would have been so much better if they allowed the scene to linger a little longer. Just the same, I liked it and I love Robert Pattinson now. Hopefully his acting abilities are able to go beyond Edward and we see him in other things in the future. I don't know though... maybe it's only being Edward that makes him so damn appealing.


So cute... and only 10 years and 10 days younger than me... God I feel old.

Twilight

Tonight at midnight is the release of "Twilight" on DVD. Can't tell you how much I have anticipated this moment. While reading all the books I developed the hugest school girl crush on Edward. I realize how ridiculous it sounds to fall in love with a work of fiction... a Vampire at that. What can I say.... it is what it is.
I can't wait to see how well Robert Pattinson portrays my beloved Edward. I won't be in that line at midnight, though. I'm pretty sure I have the strength to hold out until tomorrow. Pretty sure....

Places eggs should never go

In a town, not so far from here, there is a diner. A diner where I guarantee you will find things on the menu that you have never seen on any menu before. One of these strange delicacies is a sandwich that goes by the name of BELT. Yep, I spelled that right. Pretty much a BLT... but what does the E stand for, you ask? Egg. Egg on a BLT! There was also a burger with egg on it. Have to admit I've heard of that one before but only in the 80's movie "Once Bitten" and certainly never in a place of business. I quit reading the menu after that. I didn't want to know where else an egg could be added. I am quite curious how many people eat these concoctions, though. After all, they are permanent fixtures on the menu... and the place seemed to be quite popular. All I can say is... eck!

Choral Showcase 09

Last night was the Choral Showcase for the choirs in all of our Unit Junior Highs and High Schools. Since there were over 600 kids performing they held it in the auditorium at Eastview. Wow... that place was huge! In Pickle's Chorus alone there are about 120 kids..and that's just the 7th and 8th grade. It's amazing out of 120 kids you can hear Pickle clear as day. That boy can really sing.
Unfortunately, because of the size of it and how unbelievably far they seemed to be, I wasn't able to get many pictures. Here are the couple I did manage...

This is when they all gathered on the stage for the final song...


...and here's Pickle hidden in the sea of faces.

A little Sloppy Humor...

Here's a video from Sister K in honor of my Sloppy Joes. Hehe... thanks K.

Ultimate Sloppy Joes

Another recipe from the very talented, and quite hunky, Tyler Florence... Ultimate Sloppy Joes.I have to admit I've never been a fan of Sloppy Joes. Actually, I pretty much hate them. I much prefer bbq meat to the tomato taste of the Sloppy. As far as Sloppy Joes go though, this one was pretty good. It's made with ground turkey but believe me when I tell you that there is so much flavoring in it that no one will notice. My family certainly didn't. This recipe has a bit of a kick to it. Of course, I think ketchup is spicy so you might not want to take my word for it. The only alteration I made to the recipe was a tad more brown sugar and topped the sandwiches off with shredded cheddar. Not bad at all. So, celebrate Sloppy Joe haters.. this might just be the one for you.

The softer side of Jasmine

Jasmine took time out of her busy schedule of napping and dog torturing...

for a little play time...

and then some more napping...

Chicken Tortellini Noodle Soup ~ Mmm good

When you have kids you find yourself getting into a rut of sorts when it comes to dining. You find yourself making decisions in the grocery store based on what everyone's going to eat. After all, there's not much point in wasting money on something that no one will touch but you. Then, it gets very routine. Eating the same stuff week after week. Embarrassingly, most coming from the freezer section. Honestly, I could have put a kid through college with the money I've spent on Tyson products. The price for these "convenient" meals has sky rocketed making the food not only routine but very uneconomical. Thus, my search for easy to make, cheap to make, good food.
Last night I made a Tyler Florence recipe...Chicken Tortellini Noodle Soup.
I was ridiculously excited to be making something with "actual" ingredients. Give me a break... this cooking thing is new to me. I left out a few ingredients that I didn't have...peppercorns, bay leaf... it still turned out fabulous. It was so very good and everyone loved it! I hope the other recipes I gathered are as big of a hit.

If I knew I'd be blogging about this I would have spruced the picture up a bit..little parsley on the side or something. I'm just a dork who felt the need to take a picture of my big accomplishment. hehe Oh well, you get the point... just try it... it's good!

A look into the life of Pickle

In his last band concert, Pickle played the bells for one of the tunes.


Once home though, it's back to the PSP.

Shit sandwich and return of the hellish winds

Could anything else possibly go wrong? I cringe as I ask that question 'cause the way this weekend is going... it probably will. While starting the van yesterday, it became apparent that something was seriously wrong. It has developed a new, loud, space shuttle type sound. Something that has been determined is in the motor. To quote my husband on what the problem is..."It's fucked". I don't mean to offend anyone but hey...he's the expert and that was his final analysis. So after a long day of driving from one car lot to another in this crazy ass weather we're having, we come home to find that the wind has thrown our grill across the lawn and knocked over the basketball hoop. No sooner were the pieces of our grill collected than the wind took another hit at us. My patio furniture... this one made me cry... the table..it just took flight... smashing into so many pieces. We had just bought it and the grill last summer.
Here's another quote for you...
"Don't worry mom. Atleast we're all ok. That's something to be thankful for and that's all that matters." Wise words from my way to mature for his age Pickle.

Another ball in the gutter

Nugget loves bowling....gutter balls and all.

My week as a Vegan

No, I didn't wake up one day and decide that "Hey, being Vegan would be cool". It all started one uneventful day when I decided I needed a book to read. Went to the book store and found "Skinny Bitch". A book I'd been hearing quite a bit about that promises to give you in your face advice about how to be healthier, thus losing weight. I loved how they talked... just like us. It was hilarious at times. Then it happened. I hit the part where they began to talk about animals. Their reasons for not eating meat was well... enough that for about a week I was gagging every time I saw any kind of meat.
Going to a website they suggested Goveg.com, made it so much worse. Reading the stuff they said, the pictures, and videos like this one...

I was severely traumatized.
Being vegan wasn't something I was necessarily choosing to do. It was something I had no choice but to do when the site and smell of meat made me physically ill because of the things I read and saw. Totally messed with my mind.

Slowly the nausea came less frequently and I have had meat a few times. After watching all of it again to do this blog though... I feel sick.