Thursday, June 24, 2010

exciting times


Ever since Tyler and Tony left the bank
to head to the Post Office
to apply for passports for their trip to Belize
we have been under attack.
Not that life was peaceful and easy before that...
~
It's common for us to overload our kitchen power strip;
all we have to do
is attempt to use 2 appliances at the same time
and
silence.
We turn off whatever needs turning off and flip the switch
and we're back in business.
And if we're really good
we remember to turn back on
whatever it was we turned off...
This time was different though
I couldn't just flip the switch on the strip;
I had to get into the fuse box.
And it was a little fiddly
and there weren't exactly sparks
but I did see light.
But the power came back on
so I wasn't too worried.
My friend, Lynnet, was over
and we got back to work pin-basting her quilt.
And then
it happened again
only
we weren't using any thing 'extra'.
This time, though
the power didn't come back on.
and there were sparks.
and smoke.
coming from the breaker box.
I called Tyler.
He said to leave it alone.....

We called one of our electricians
and he told us what we (Tyler) needed to do.
Tyler waited till about 10 to head up to the attic to ruin new wire
so it'd be a cool 100 or so degrees.
~
Tyler was laying across the 2x4's in the attic
while the boys were taking turns
trying to 'feed' him the wire when he wanted it.
We noticed some - um - cracking and creaking
coming from the ceiling.
I hollered up, "Be careful!" a couple of times.
As if that'd help....
At one point
Lexi wandered over by the door
and I had Brandon move her to where I was
(sitting on the couch babying my sore foot...)
about a minute or so after that
the ceiling came crashing down
2+ trash bags worth of insulation
and about 40 years of dust and mud-dauber nests
ugh!!!

made for easier attic access, though....
So
not only did Tyler have to re-wire a portion of the house
he also had to fix the ceiling.
About 26 hours after the 'smoke bomb' went off
we were back to normal.
As normal as it gets.

I think I could do with a little less excitement around here.

this
is more my speed....

Monday, June 21, 2010

these shoes were made for walking


...or maybe not...


I found these shoes last week
and wore them around the shoe department for quite some time.
Considering the shoe - they were pretty comfy
(which we all know is a deciding factor
for anything I'm going to wear)
I talked myself out of them.
I don't really need a really cute pair of heels
that I'll only wear a few times a year.
Even if they are only $8.50.


Blast it all
I thought about those shoes all week long!

Tyler and I ran to WM Sunday afternoon
to pick up some cool whip for his Baked Alaska Pie
and something made me think of them again and I said,
"I wish I would've bought those shoes!"
So he said, "Let's go buy them right now."
The man spoils me, I know.
I really didn't think they'd be there;
neither did he
but he figured he'd be a hero anyways, for trying.
But there they were
still calling me
lonely
on a shelf full of other marked down shoes.



A few months ago
I wore some shoes I'd bought on clearance at winter's end.
Heeled mules
but, with the right pants, they looked like boots.
Ya'll know
everyone was wearing boots last winter.
A friend of mine saw them and asked, "Are you wearing boots?!"
As if I were the last person on earth who would....
She wasn't being mean at all;
she just knows me as the completely unfashionable mom I've been
ever since she's known me.


When we got back in the car yesterday
with my new impracticable shoes,
I reminded Tyler that I've always been a shoe girl.
But that part of me has been buried
by the 'mom' part of me for so long
we almost forgot she existed.
I'm pretty sure though
that the shoe-girl and the momma can co-exist peacefully.
Just as soon as I build another shoe shelf in my corner of the closet...

Friday, June 18, 2010

hank the cow dog

or
rather
Lola the Farm Dog


After dropping off all the passengers
Tyler was parking the trailer
when he saw a flash of brown
out of the corner of his eye;
Lola had hopped back in the trailer.
She never wants to miss out on a ride!


See how happy she is?

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

a short story

Once upon a time
there was a momma
who took a bunch of her kids shopping
even though she was sick of shopping
because there was supposed to be an incredible sale
at the convention center.
The sale was lousy
so they ended up going to NBC, too
The momma's children were all very well behaved
(much better, in fact, than any other children
they came in contact with during the trip)
so she treated them to Taco Bell for lunch
and Sonic
(where they had buy 1 get 1 free shakes)
for dessert.
the end.

true story.

(Lily asked me to tell her a short story while she went potty at TB
this is a tradition of the kids - telling stories in the bathroom.
anyways.
I completely missed out on any form of story-telling gene
so this is the story I told her.
She liked the happy ending :-)

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

I am extraordinarily tickled

what?
You don't see anything?
Of course you don't!
That there is an invisible zipper.
~
check here in the next day or so
and I'll tell you all about it

my new furniture


just in case
some shy person is out there
just dying
to see
what
would possess me to pull a trailer


See?
makes perfect sense, now!
It needs a little love
but it's got great lines.
I can't wait to have it in my dining room!
~
Completely unrelated
but
located right next to the buffet
is the wash-tub bass
that Tyler and Lana built
5 or so years ago

just in case anybody was dyin' to see that, too

the girl has style


.... most days....

click on the picture & look closely
you'll see the dress is backwards
and the belt & socks (her brother's) are upside down



Sunday, June 13, 2010

shopped out

We needed some new pool stuff
floaties, goggles
that sort of thing
so we decided to make
shopping for them
our Family Fun Night activity on Friday.
We just went to the Dollar Tree and Wal-mart
but still
it took a couple of hours.
~
Saturday morning
we headed to Penny's;
they were having - get this - a sale.
Most everyone needed an outfit or two
so the whole family went.

We started in the little boys section
and found something for Josiah
(who dearly loves getting new clothes!)
then looked briefly in the girl's section
till I came to my senses & remembered
neither girl needs anything.
Lily dearly loves new clothes, too
but she was a trooper.
The shoes, though, she had a hard time
passing up all the cute shoes!

Then it was on to Jeremiah's department.
Can you believe - all these kids
and none of their clothes are in the same dept.

After the boys 4 - 7 section
things started getting a little crazy
what with several people trying on clothes
and different ones going off in multiple directions
trying to speed up this whole shopping process.
By the time it was time for me to look in the ladies department
everyone had pretty much had it.
Especially me!
Which is what happens
every
stinkin'
time
we all go clothes shopping
!!
Tyler and I were talking on the way home:
none of the kids were bad
(even Lexi was pretty good, actually)
but there's just so darn many of us.....
and we take up so much space
and it just takes soooo long.
It's exhausting.
~
Since we didn't get a chance to look for anything for me yesterday
Tyler wanted to take me shopping this afternoon.
We spent almost 4 hours at Kohl's
and I am completely
shopped out.
We bought
7 pairs of capris / crop pants
some 'dressy', some casual, and some really casual
and 5 tops.
I don't think
I have ever bought so much clothing
for myself at one time before.
It really is extravagant
to have more than enough clothes to last an entire week
without washing or re-wearing.

Now
I just need to figure out where to put everything....

Friday, June 11, 2010

big week

41 1/2 years.
And then
I had to go and spoil my record.

Men pull trailers
it's just one of the things they do.
and
since I'm no feminist
I'm happy keeping it that way.

Except
I found this beautiful
hutch / buffet set
at Abilities
on Wednesday, aka 25% off day.
I called Tyler
hoping he could run over on his lunch break
to check it out.
He was having lunch with 'the guys'.
But
he said, "If you love it, buy it."
Now,
keep in mind
we live in a 975 sq ft house that is
wall-to-wall furniture.
He said we could stick it in the Study Shack
(which hasn't been a 'study' shack in almost 3 years)

I don't normally buy furniture by myself
and I sure don't buy furniture
on impulse.
We have rules about impulse shopping
for goodness sake.
but.
I don't normally find furniture
that is so perfect for us.
and I knew it wasn't going to last long at Abilities!
So
I happily wrote out my $176.25 check
and watched them put SOLD stickers on my goodies.
Then
I wondered,
"How the heck am I going to get these lovelies home??"
I decided Tony could go get them,
being almost a man and all.

But
Tony had to work.
I considered asking Tyler to take
1/2 a personal day
so he could go get them
but I quickly realized that was lame.
So
I did the only thing I could do.
I had the boys hook up the trailer
and I drove it.
All the way to downtown FSM
where I stood back and watched
the nice guys carefully load my precious furniture on it
and then
I drove it
white-knuckled
all the way back home.
35 mph over the Midland bridge.

..and that is how I broke
my 41 1/2 year
no trailer-pulling streak.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

what's for dinner?




some of my favorites
~
grilled zucchini
(brushed with garlic infused olive oil before grilling)

sautéed yellow squash
soon we'll have tomatoes and bell peppers to add, too

cucumbers and sour cream
~
yum!!

Monday, June 7, 2010

apothecary



We made these!!

As usual
Brandon was my right-hand guy
~
I got the capsule machine last year;
I don't know why it took me so long to actually use it!
We started with just some simple cinnamon capsules
but I have plans for making my own herbal combinations.

Speaking of herbal combinations
my recipe for 'Green Stuff' has been requested.
I'll post it here
and perhaps more people can benefit from it....

Making your own 'medicine'
is pretty intimidating - until you do it
and then
you realize,
"Gee, that wasn't hard at all!"
~
correction:
I was going to type up my recipe
but the folks from the bulk herb store
have already done it for me.
(much better than I could have)
The only thing I would add to their directions is this:
their recipe calls for several herbs
and while your Green Stuff would be great made with them all
I have found that using only plantain
or a mix made of mostly plantain
with a little bit comfrey and echinacea added in
makes a very fine salve
good for pretty much any skin irritation.
~
Ordering dry herbs online is much less expensive
than buying them from the health food store
but
for your first time
I'd suggest just heading to your local store
and getting only the amount you need.
Then
when you see how fabulous this medicine you made is
you'll be happy to purchase herbs in bulk
to make more.
~
and now
I'm off to make some 'medicines' of my own
apothecary that I am...
;-)

Thursday, June 3, 2010

thrifty thursday


It's been almost a month since my last trip.
I had a bunch of errands
so I didn't plan to shop long.
I ended up spending almost an hour and a half
at the Salvation Army!

I am just tickled with today's finds!
~
I thought this pillowcase would be perfect for a slip for Lily!

I love the extra detail on the hem.
~
I could not believe my good fortune;
these gorgeous vintage sheets
here
in NW Arkansas!!
I had decided all the really good ones lived elsewhere...

When I was checking out
the gal told me the linens were half-off.
I had her charge me for one more and ran back to get this gaudy thing

I don't know why I like it
but I do.
Those red flowers are about 10 or 11 inches across!
~
My favorite purchase
though
was this case
for
$1

or maybe it was these....

$1.50 for both of them!
I was so glad TJ wasn't with me;
we'd have had a fight on our hands for sure.
~
They had two totally awesome ugly vintage chairs
that I had to leave there;
no room in the inn.
maybe Lana can go snatch them up....
~
All together
I got
1 skirt to use as fabric
another skirt (perhaps wool?)
that looks like it should fit a dear friend of mine quite nicely
a pair of jammies for Lex'
almost 4 yards of floral knit fabric
3 sheets
1 pillowcase
8 glasses for the freezer, for milk - yum!
5 board things - not sure what they are
but I plan to use them as lap desks for the kids
a fabulous sturdy basket - with liner
a large square jar for ribbons for my sewing nook
sandals
the suitcase that makes me giddy just looking at it
and
those incredible card catalog steel boxes
for
- get this -
eleven dollars and fifty cents!!!

I don't know if I should believe this or not
but
my mother swears
that I was once mortified
because someone complimented an outfit
and she told them we'd got it at the thrift shop for $2.
~
sorry, Mom!