a most wonderful mother’s day

Me and my hooligans – Mother’s Day 2012

So how was everyone’s Mother’s Day? Mine was lovely…gifts, brunch, a long bike ride, Ava getting a flat tire 1/2 way around Presque Isle so she and I sat on the beach to watch kites while the guys rode back to the truck…you know, the usual.

Did I mention that Ava decided a couple of weeks ago she didn’t need training wheels? Off they came, and off she went.

So in the morning, Vic presented me with the gift that Ava chose: a Sodastream.

It’s pretty cool, actually. Vic likes soda water and said he thought I might like to carbonate my beloved Sobe Lifewaters (it works GREAT for that!).

Then he told me it was between this and a new cordless floor vacuum for the kitchen (don’t laugh – he knows me well and he’s even more anal than I am, if that’s possible).

At the mention of the cordless vacuum, I think I might have drooled. With all the kids here, plus the dog…I have to pull the vacuum out daily. The Swiffer sweep n’ vac was great for awhile, but I find myself grabbing the big Dyson most days.

So after brunch, he drove to the store and walked out with this beauty: the Dyson Digital Slim.

OH MY. This vacuum. Ahhh….You pull a trigger to make it work, no cords, brush head…does the floors & the carpets. It’s pricey, but SOOOO worth it. Snaps onto the wall, pops right off, has great attachments. I’ve never had a cordless vacuum work as well as this one. Hurray for clean floors!

Yes, I’m a nerd.

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michele - that’s fine. be a nerd. i’m right there with you. have wanted one of those for MONTHS. our entire main level and stairs to the second floor are wood … the swiffer vac makes it about halfway through the square footage then poops out. i WANT one of these babies. never apologize for being nerdy. ;o)

   

the perfect bird nest

Just last weekend, a friend asked about the nest photograph I had in my shop. I was never 100% happy with it, as I’d shot it from the side, in-place – it was filled with wee eggs, you see!

Imagine my surprise two days later when Vic presented me with said nest, which had fallen out during a wind storm. I felt badly until he reminded me that birds don’t nest in the same place twice. This nest is *so* heavy, so perfect, so symmetrical (they built it in the right guy’s yard, eh?). It even survived a fall from our deck with nary a dent.

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Thursday Randoms.

1. I have every intention of updating regularly, but then I added iPhone Cases to my etsy shop and…ummm…I’ve been a leeeetllleee busy. In a good way.

2. Lulu woke up with hives this morning. Maybe I jinxed the poor thing with my recent post on bulldogs. She’s on her 2nd dose of Benadryl and things *seem* to be getting better. Maybe. I hope. If not, it’s off to the vet tomorrow for a shot.

3. Is it wrong that I love when Vic goes out of town (for short trips, of course). It means I skip cooking & take the kids out to dinner and just enjoy talking to them.

4. This crockpot pulled pork is really so divine. Very simple and absolutely delicious. I made it on Tuesday and the kids have requested BBQ sandwiches for lunch 2 days in a row. And – truly – is there anything better than having a busy, stressful day and coming home to the smell of yummy dinner already underway? No.

5. I’ve become addicted to Stumbleupon, Pocket (formerly read-it-later), and Zine. They require their own post, so just know IT’S COMING.

6. We recently added an Apple TV, Roku & new receiver (as our old one was just…old) to our television viewing environment. Again, they need their own post. But the Roku? LOVE.

7. Instead of eating out tonight, I’m kinda wishing I’d picked up the fixins’ for this instead.

8. I was going to write something about Aidan’s school here, but decided no good would come of it so I decided not to afterall.

9. One month left until Summer and my biggest concern is how to have Ava at swimteam daily at 10:30, Aidan at football camp & basketball camp & the local amusement park…and still fit in my daily workouts. EEK. And don’t suggest working out at night – when the clock strikes 4, it’s all downhill until bedtime for me.

10. At Aidan’s dentist appt today they were playing a radio station advertising itself as ‘mellow grooves.’ I survived. Barely.

12. If you don’t follow Animals Talking in All Caps, you’re missing out on a daily dose of the funniest stuff on the interwebs.

13. It was short-lived, but the same goes for Texts from Hillary. If you have 20 minutes to spare, do start from the beginning. It’ll brighten your day, I promise.

14. I threw out my hip in BodyPump last week, which of course set me on a course of lower back pain. Found a good chiropractor here in Erie (recommended by my instructor). 2 adjustments later and I’m pain-free and all in alignment. Say what you will – nothing will get you fixed up faster than a good adjustment.

15. I started reading the damned 50 Shades book on vacation. As my brain cells ran screaming from my head one-by-one, I swore not to continue. Yet I did. It HAD to get better, right?!?!? All three books couldn’t possibly be this terrible, right??

16. Yes, they could. And I am now short approximately 1,293 brain cells. I need to read something smart to put them back.

17. Eyes do not darken.

18. People do not ‘gasp’ 25 times a day.

19. I’ve known a lot of women in my 45 years, and not a one has ever referred to her ‘inner goddess.’

20. I think I’ll read ‘Game of Thrones’ next.

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Jana Van Sistine - 15…YES
16…YES
17…YES
18…YES
19…YES

I do not understand why women rave over these books. They are AWFUL. I’m sitting 60 pages in on the 3rd book and can’t bring myself to finish. If women want smut, there is much, much better stuff out there.

And I really enjoyed Discovery of Witches with the second book in the trilogy coming this summer.

Laurel - I agree with Jana. A Discovery of Witches was a smart, intelligent vampire/witch story. Think Salem witches, not Twilight junk. (Not that there’s anything wrong with Twilight, I read them all and was a fanatic for a while – but ADOW is much better. A grown-up’s book, if you will.)

I also like your idea of reading the Game of Thrones series. I’m more than 2/3 of the way through the 3rd book – waaayy good series. Lots of plot twists and intrigues. Lots of characters to keep track of – if it had a downfall, that might be the only one.

   

only the journey is written…

Those of you who’ve been with me for years know typography is only second to photography in my list of passions. I’ve long wanted to combine the two, so I decided to start with this one.

 

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berta - Love this! Which if your thousands of fonts is it? :)

   

this week’s meal plan

I admit it, I’ve let my meal plan slide a bit over the past few weeks. To make myself feel better, I’ve decided I’ve just been VERY EUROPEAN, heading to the grocery store every day. Yeah.

Time to get back to it – simply because it makes life so.much.easier. Truly.

MondayShake and Coconut Bake Pork Chops. This is a new recipe. And it sounds so good I can’t resist trying it. I’ll serve them with brown butter green beans.

Tuesday – Grilled Salmon. I have a frozen salmon filet – I’m just going to grill it with a mustard maple glaze. Serving with crispy parmesan asparagus.

WednesdayPecan Crusted Chicken Wraps. Another new one, but we’re on a pecan crust kick. Aidan has a baseball game at 6, so this is something that’s relatively light.

ThursdayPuerto Rican Pulled Pork (Pernil). I’ve made this before, and it’s delicious. I haven’t used my slow cooker in awhile, so here we go! I’ll serve with roasted brussels sprouts.

Friday – Another game at 6, so we’ll probably eat out after.

Feels good to be back in the habit!

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