Yummy!

Check out this yummy deliciousness! It's called "Mexican Stuffed Shells" and it's quite tasty! Want the recipe??

Americana

Sending "tid-bits of a little bit of love" on Memorial Day! Have a great day!

Star studded hair do...

Squeezer Weeners

The winners are:

#4 Val - What color? Green or red?
#7 Katherine
(Thank you random.org!)

Contact me at tbgiveaways@yahoo.com with your address and I'll get them in the mail.

Thanks!

Disconnected...

Did you know that Monday is Memorial Day? Well so did I. But there has been some sort of disconnection between my brain and my knowledge. I haven't even started Americana outfits. I can totally hear the crowd yelling, "DUH!!!! Big Red Truck!!!"
So guess what I'm doing. Go ahead, guess... Besides blogging, silly! I'm sewing Americana dresses for my girls. Yep, wish me luck. Guess no extra frills this year!!!

What is it??

This is what my driveway and front yard looked like earlier this week.

I have no idea what this yellow stuff is called, but it's from our tree and because it's wet - from the torrential downpour we've had this week - it sticks to our shoes and is tracked all over my house!



Because we have had 5 days of torrential downpour, it's wet and heavy so I have to shovel it away - only for it to come back a couple of days later!



And where do you put it when you reach the end of the sidewalk? In the road of course. Then I felt guilty because of the HUGE quantity so I ended up shoveling it into our trash can.

Squeezer Giveaway

Have you ever heard of the "Tube Squeezer"? I bought one of these ingenious things a couple months ago and I'm not gonna lie, I'm in love!

The "Tube Squeezer" is the red thing in the pictures. I will neither confirm or deny this is my toothpaste :)

After you've used about 1/4 of the tube of toothpaste, put the end of the tube in the "Tube Squeezer."

As you use toothpaste, roll the handle and the tube rolls inside the "Squeezer" squeezing the toothpaste to the opening of the tube. Thus minimizing the amount of "wasted" toothpaste. Not to mention, the tube is neatly rolled up and out of the way.

When you're finished with the tube of toothpaste, just unroll, throw away the empty tube. Save the "squeezer" for the next tube.





I like these little secrets so much, I'm giving 2 away. The first name drawn gets to pick the color. You get 1 entry for every comment you post on this post. Here's how you enter:

>>>Tell me what is the deciding factor when you buy toothpaste. Price? Brand? Flavor? Bulk? Habbit?

>>>Mention this giveaway and post a link to it on your blog.

>>>Mention this giveaway and post a link to it on your FB.
You have until 10:00 AM Mountain Time on Friday, May 27, 2011. The winner will be announced before noon on Saturday, 5/28/11.

**This is not a paid advertisement. This is just from me!

MONEY, Money, money!

*****UPDATE: Since this happened, Mister did a little research on *Paul. This is what he found out. These "charges" are PRIOR to the following incident. We'll have to wait and see what happens DUE to the following incident...
- The Justice Department has filed a lawsuit against *Paul.
- He is faced with 47 counts of fraud.

I was talking with a friend of mine recently. Turns out a person that we both know (and are familiar with) *Paul contacted her husband *Luke to help him with some business in another country. Luke is very familiar with this country and agreed to help Paul. Luke contacts this country and gets everything all ready to go so that when they get there all Luke needs to do it take Paul to sign some papers and translate for him. Everything seemed on the up and up. When they get to airport security, Paul is pulled out and questioned about some money. Seems he didn't claim all the money he had on him. Without giving too much info, Paul had more than $20,000 on him. So Paul proceeds to tell Security the reasons for visiting this country. Security asks if he's traveling with anyone and he points out Luke. So they pull Luke aside and question him. After 3 1/2 hours, they are able to leave. During this 3 1/2 hours, Luke hears all kinds of stories Paul is telling - none of which Luke has ever heard. Paul can't tell which/if any are true. The reasons Luke thought they were traveling to this other country were not the reason Paul was telling Security. Well LONG story short, both Paul and Luke's names are flagged with international security. Who knows how long Luke's name will be flagged. (There are many more details to this story but for the sake of Luke and his family, I'll skip them.)
My point in all of this? I have no idea. I am appalled that people - especially one that is somewhere between acquaintance and friend - can be so dishonest. How can they look at themselves in the mirror everyday? Maybe they look but don't see. I feel the same way about "Survivor." The lack of integrity is astounding! And then they hide behind "It's part of the game. When I get home, I leave this game behind and I become me again." Sooooo you'll do anything for a buck? Even lie, cheat, steal? That's what I think about Paul. It's all business and all is fair. But where do you draw the line? Is it possible to be one person for "business" or "a game" and at the end of the day/season you can go back to being "you" again? I'm thinking no. There are so many things more important than money!
*Names are changed to protect the innocent one and the stupid, dishonest one...

Blame It On The Rain...

Since we've had so much rain this spring I thought I'd post a list of pro's and con's. Feel free to add yours:

PRO'S
I don't have to water my garden or lawn
CON'S
I can weed my garden or mow my lawn or work in my yard and I have some really good ideas
PRO'S
The rain has kept the unbearable heat at bay which is nice when I'm working hard in my yard
CON'S
It isn't warming up and I can't work in my yard and I have some really good ideas!
PRO'S
I love to hear the rain on my roof
CON'S
I don't normally hear the rain on my roof
PRO'S
I like dark, cloudy days - not just overcast, dark!
CON'S
I wonder how long this would go on before I would need sun.
PRO'S
We have reached our "not going to have to worry about drought" level
CON'S
It's flooding in our state and in parts of the US
PRO'S
My kids get a ride home from school
CON'S
I have to go get my kids from school

All in all, I don't really mind the rain. But I know that it's bad for some. But bottom line, we cannot control it. Just deal with it.
Have a great Wednesday - in the rain!

Can It Survive??

Do you have something that you have had for years? Something that might be a tad embarrassing? Something that maybe is a little hard to explain? Yep, this would be me. Yes I have something. I can't believe I'm going to say this, but it's better to get things like this out in the open, right?? It's better for me to make a fool of myself for your enjoyment. Here goes.

This blanket used to be on my brother's bed. When he left, I retrieved it for myself. I believe I was in the 5th grade. Maybe 6th, but I think 5th. But it could have been 6th. But I'm pretty sure it was 5th. So that would be about about 1986 ish. But I really have NO idea when the blanket was made or by whom.

I took this blanket with me to Girls Camp, to sleepovers, vacations, when I got my wisdom teeth out, just random places like that. I did NOT take it on dates, school, church, etc. I did however bring it into our marriage, but I have to point out right here, that it's not like it was attached to me - like little kids' are. Kids drag their blankets around everywhere and that's not what I EVER did. I only used to cover up with while watching TV and things like that.

Sadly, the time has officially come that I think it is wearing out. (Sigh and tear)

I do have another blanket that I really love but it's not quite as thin as Old Red. Old Red was just thick enough to take off the chill but not too thick that it won't snuggle me or make me hot. I wonder how many time I'll have to wash Daisy before she becomes thin and perfect like Old Red.


I don't remember Old Red EVER being too thick.

I just barely came up with the names for the blankets. I don't normally name blankets. But I'm not exactly normal, either. But really, my blankets don't have names. Just my cars. And my kids. And my dog.

What do you think?

I grew up in a small community. Our entire county did not have a stop light. 5 towns consolidated to make a middle school and high school. So suffice it to say, the extra curricular classes were limited. But I've never been a huge "go to school" person. Because I kept my grades up, my mom gave me 1 "free day" every 9 weeks, meaning she would excuse me from school and I could do whatever I wanted. I usually saved these for the last month of school. We never, ever, NEVER, EVER, went to school after Memorial Day. Never. Ever. Really. Back when I was in school, we had Labor Day off if we started before Labor Day, Thanksgiving Break, Christmas Break and Spring Break. We may have had MLK and President's Day off, but I'm not 100% sure. But never did we go to school after Memorial Day - I've already stated that. Well fast foreword a few years. My kids are in school in a different state. They always start before Labor Day, have some break in October, Thanksgiving and Christmas Break, MLK, President's Day, something in March, Spring Break and then sometimes Memorial Day - meaning they are supposed to go back to school after Memorial Day. WHAT?!?!? Are you kidding me?? For some reason this year it's bugging me more than ever. I just cannot wrap my head around sending my kids back to school after Memorial Day. It's so wrong to me! I'm not a fan of the last week of school anyway - I know no matter when the last day of school is, there will always be a "last week of school" but really. It's such a waste of time! All it is is busy work and I really hate busy work. (It seems that's all Noodle has had the past couple months - busy work and I have a real problem with that. Her teacher isn't challenging her and she's getting bored. Not a good thing!) Here's the schedule for the last week of school: Monday - Off, Memorial Day, Tuesday - Thursday regular hours. Friday 8:00 to 9:15 or some ridiculous thing. So here's my question. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being really really bad) how bad would it be if I kept my kids home on possibly Wednesday, but for sure Thursday and Friday of the last week of school because we are going camping? Give me your honest answer. Thank you for your time!

What Are Best Friends For??

Bestie came over this afternoon to help me prune my rose bushes. Instead of helping me, she did it for me while trying to teach me the correct way. She also gave me some great ideas to rearrange my backyard stuff. Then she did it for me while I sipped DCMP that she brought for me. She spent about 2 1/2 hours in my back yard. Maybe I helped just a little, but I couldn't/ wouldn't have done it without her! Thanks Bestie, you really are the best!

This is Bestie in her backyard for her b-day last year.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

For the past several years, Bestie and I have gotten pedicures on Mother's Day weekend. This year we decided to try for Friday night. So I made the appointments for 8 PM and everything was set. I was feeling a little bit reluctant because Mister was home on this Friday night and that doesn't happen very often. He insisted I go and enjoy myself.

Before I left, I peeked in to tell Mister and the kids good-bye and this is what I saw. Suddenly, I felt OK about going. Mister was spending quality time with the kids and the kids were enjoying it.
Bestie and I had a GREAT time. I lost 4 pounds just in calluses on my feet!! The little Oriental guy held up my foot, pointed to a callus and said, "Wot ees dees?" (Translation: What is this?) To which I responded, "That is the reason I'm here." He then said, "Ees goot you ar." (It's good you are.)

They did a great job. About 1/2 way through the guy doing mine said, "You gias ar fonny." (You guys are funny.) Indeed we were. We laughed and joked the entire time.
QUIZ: Which toes are mine? Purple or Orange???

Quote...

Name this movie:

"A child could fall down and hurt himself even if I’m walking right there beside him. But that doesn’t mean I allowed it to happen. But he knows, with a father’s unconditional love, I’ll pick him up and carry him. I’ll try to heal him. I’ll cry when he cries, I’ll rejoice when he is well. In all the moments of my life, God has been right there beside me. The truth of God’s love is not that he allows bad things to happen it’s his promise that he’ll be there with us when they do. "

Family Traits

Aren't families interesting? From the surface many look picture perfect. But move a little deeper and all families I have gotten to know have things that aren't quite so perfect and things that could easily be eliminated if possible. My family is no different.

For the most part I get along with and am cordial to all of them. I don't have any major hangup with any of them. I can converse with them. I wouldn't trade any of them for someone else. With the exception of 2 and oddly enough they are both men. Both men who are over the age of 60. Both of whom's actions make me shudder. (Is whom's a word??) Both of whom I've actually broken bread with (shudder!) But they are a story for another day!

However on the other hand, I have some really exceptional family members. I really do. I recently attended a viewing for my Grandma's late husband. It was really great to see so many members of the family that I rarely get to see. But I got to see and actually talk with for quite a while was my *Aunt "G"

Ignoring the spider in near her head, it's she such a cutie!

She is my father's youngest sister and I dearly love her (not that I don't dearly love my other aunt's I do. I really do! Really) As the day wore on, my mind went back to not only the conversations I had with her that day, but to other conversations I've had with her. My earliest was when I was 16. (Do you remember that? I came out for a visit and there was a family picnic and you and I went to a nearby gas station to get a drink. That was back when you had your sweet dog Arther.) She is so easy to talk to and she is such a joy. Of all of the handful of things I inherited from my father and/or his side of the family, why couldn't I have inherited body figure and/or metabolism. (Why oh why can't I naturally be thin..er?) My grandma and all of her kids are slender and so is my brother. Why didn't I inherit that? It's disgusting, if you ask me. But you didn't ask, I just said it!

Here she is again. This really is her. She really is this cute.

*Not real name. The names have been changed because I wanted to!

Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to Mom's Everywhere!!!

What is your favorite thing about your mom?

Buddy: She's nice to me.

Noodle: She makes me clothes.

Lewlew: She cooks cookies.

Sandi: Her testimony

Mister: She's very empathetic.

Bestie: How organized she was

Mac: She doesn't miss the details

What are some other things you like about your mom?

Buddy: She's nice to me. She takes care of me. She fixes food for me. It's creepy how she can type and look at me at the same time. She helps me find things. She likes what I like sometimes. She lets me do stuff. She likes to decorate. She helps me with my homework.

Noodle: She loves me. She makes me good food. She sews me lots of clothes. She's pretty. She's nice. She has great hair. She dresses pretty.

Lewlew: She plants flowers. She takes me to school. She stayed with me at the hospital. She fixes me lunch.

Sandi: She's practical. She's a great cook. She's loyal.

Mister: She's one of the most loving, caring individuals who stands by me no matter what.

Bestie: She was honest. Hard worker. I loved how she loved her kids. She was dedicated to her family.

Mac: Her drink mix, spunky attitude, she's very organized and clean,

What is the your favorite things she cooks?
Buddy: Pizza (This one cracks me up because I pull it out of the box and put it in the oven!)
Noodle: Pot stickers
Lewlew: She cooks me taquitos.
Sandi: Fried Chicken
Mister: BBQ Turkey
Bestie: Stew
Mac: Taco soup

What don't you like about your mom?
Buddy: She's talks on the phone too much and she makes me pull weeds.
Noodle: She makes me do chores.
Lewlew: She grounds me.
Sandi: Her lack of patience.
Mister: She's the most empathetic person I know.
Bestie: She wasn't communicative. She left and didn't say good-bye.
Mac: Nothing - she's the best!

Anything else about your mom?
Buddy: She's the best mom in the world and no mom could ever replace her.
Noodle: I love her so so so so so so so much.
Lewlew: She loves me and I feel her in my heart.
Sandi: She's very giving and considerate!
Mister: She loves football. She knows how to throw a party.
Bestie: I miss her.
Mac: I love her so much and am so proud of her.

Officer Z Chronicles

I'm friends with a man who is a police officer of a local police department. To protect those who probably don't want their stories told on my public blog, I'll call him Officer Z and EVERY name I use during these chronicles will be an alias and complete coincidence if the story and/or names sound familiar to you.
So here we go.

Dispatch called *Officer Z about a run away sighting - to which he responded. He picked up *Tracey and began asking her questions. He finally got her correct address and escorted her home. When they got to the front door of the home, Officer Z knocked. The mom came to the door but didn't open it. "This is Officer Z from the police department. I have your daughter with me and I'd like to speak to you. Will you please answer the door." At that point the mom opened the door, sitting in a motorized "Jazzie", buck naked weighing approximately 350 pounds. "Mam, would you please put something on, I need to talk to you." Tracey of course was wishing you could just disappear!

Seriously, no wonder the girl ran away. She probably ran screaming, "My eyes! My eyes! My eyes!" (Name that TV show!) At this point in the story, Officer Z says, "Anytime I have to see a naked woman, she's always extremely obese. What is it with my luck?"

*Not real name. Name changed to protect the...people involved.

Games People Play

So a few weeks ago Mac brought over "Ticket To Ride." Have you ever played it? I have to say, Mac has redeemed himself from this incident. We. Love. This. Game. We've played it at our house several times, we've played it at Bestie's several times, we've played it with partners, we've played double trains, we've played it upside down and inside out. Well maybe not the last two, but if we could, we would.

And it's so fun with our usual group - although I like it a lot when "the others" come too! I always love getting together with friends but it's been really fun lately because of "Ticket to Ride."

My favorite version is the US/North America map,

but I also like the Nordic map.

Marklin - not so much

European is ok.

•Cross-country train adventure board game
•Players collect cards of various types of train cars
•Claim railway routes connecting cities throughout map/game board
•Easy to learn

I don't know what the age suggestions are, but definitely for older kids - like maybe 12 and up. I don't know - you know how all kids are different. Some younger kids might do well this this game - especially the US version.

If you haven't played any version of this game, I recommend it. But try and play with people who have played before and I suggest you play it before you buy it. But don't ask Mac to barrow any of his - he's very protective. Very, protective. Like he won't let anyone else fold up the board. Like he seat belts them into his car when he's transporting them. Very, protective!

I tell you what!

My mom works for a local credit union. She answer phones so needless to say, she gets a myriad of phone calls a day. Let me just say there are some really strange people out there. So last week so got a call that made her laugh out loud. Literally. It went something like this:
Paula: May I help you?
Caller: Yes, ma'am. A few weeks ago I lost my wallet so I had a block put on my credit card. Well I found my wallet and I'd like the block taken off.
I have to pause right there. If that were me, I would have canceled that card/debit and just ordered another one so who cares if I ever found it agian. Not sure why this wasn't an option to this young man. Anyway, on with the story.
Paula: Ok. I can help you with that. Let me get some info from you.
While she's imputing the info she asks:
Paula: Where did you find your wallet?
Caller: In a tree, ma'am.
Paula: A tree?
Caller: Yes, ma'am.
Paula: It might be safer if we cancel this card and issue you a new card.
Caller: No, ma'am. I don't think that is necessary.
Paula: But if someone found your wallet and your card number, then threw it in a tree, as soon as we unlock your card, they can use your number to make purchases.
Caller: O-no ma'am. It's like this. A few weeks ago me and some buddies were messing around and I got rip roarin' drunk and climbed a tree and lost my wallet. Well last weekend my buddies and I were parting and I got drunk again and climbed a tree and found my wallet.
Paula put him on hold so she could laugh out loud. Then she gets back on the phone.
Paula: (in a joking voice) Well you should either quit drinking or stay out of trees. (They both chuckle) Ok that block has been removed. Is there anything else I can help you with (like hook you up with A.A.?)
Caller: No, ma'am. Not today.
Paula: Ok, you have a good day.
The call ends. To finish off this story, he was from Spanish Fork. Does that clear things up at all?

PS There is absolutley nothing wrong with Spanish Fork or the people who live there. I used to live near there and I loved almost everyone I met. S.F. is a Great community. I'm just sayin'....

Adventures in Sewing...

Last week Bestie was mending some pants for her son "Mac." She had ironed on the patches and now was darning them - or sewing around the edges to make them more secure. She had about 6 inches left of the last one when she ran out of bobbin thread. Honestly, that seems to be the only time to run out of bobbin thread. Either then or when you're running a gathering stitch. Which, when that happens, you have to remove all of the gathering seam and start again. Anyway back to the adventure.
So she un-threaded her needle, wound the bobbin, put the bobbin back in place and was trying to thread the needle. For some reason the thread wouldn't go threw the eye. She snipped the edge and tried again. No luck. She licked the end of the thread and tried again. No luck. She rubbed her eyes, cleaned her glasses, inhaled deeply a couple of times, said a few words that will remain unwritten and tried again. Again, no luck. She snipped the edge again and tried again. No luck. She licked the end of the thread again and tried again. No luck. This went on for approximately 22 minutes when she was convinced something was wrong with the needle. She removed the needle to have a closer look. The eye of the needle was clogged up with the adhesive from the patches. Well at least it wasn't her threading skills, right! At this point most people, me, would have trashed the needle, me, grabbed another needle, me, and finished the job. Not Bestie. She cleaned it out with a pin. Lots of people, me, this would have been good enough. Not Bestie. She grabbed a little scrub brush to finish the job. Then she put the needle back in the sewing machine, threaded it and finished the patch job on Mac's pants that he hasn't worn in 6 months or more! Looking back, it took her longer to clean the eye of the needle than it did to sew around all 6 patches. I hope from Mac she gets as a thank you and a BIG reward like a truck load of DCMP and a gift card for pedicures that she can share with her besite. (Mac did you hear that? Hello? Mac? Are you there? Mac?)

Spring Showers..

This was Saturday morning about 2 AM.

Saturday morning about 8 AM

Poor little tulips. The snow is weighing them down.


This is what it looked like Saturday about 1 PM

A neighbor once said we - here where we live - shouldn't complain about any moisture. So I'll stop with this one complain - It's COLD!

I'm sure you've all heard by now. It's been almost 10 years since that dreadful day in September and finally Osama bin Laden is dead. The CIA had and idea where he was last August and last week it was confirmed. A small group of men went in today - 1 May 2011 - and during a fire fight, bin Laden was killed (no American casualties during this fire fight) and his body was taken by Americans back to Afghanistan. This is a monumental day in US history.

I pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Oh, say can you see by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming? Whose broad stripes and bright stars thru the perilous fight, O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming? And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?

God Bless the USA

God Bless our Troops.