Moving.....

My poor Mom is moving after being in the same house for about 40 years!! Can you imagine the stress?

So I sent her to our house for a nice quiet nappie-poo and you know what happened? The house alarm was on. She didn't know how to turn it off, so the alarm company called her and she couldn't answer any of their questions! Oh, she was soooooo shaken up. Turns out, Zuddy's boss popped over to our house to get something and when he left, he very responsibly set the alarm. Well, when my mom left for her nap, she asked me about the alarm. I told her not to worry, that it wasn't on. Poor Mom!!

The movers came yesterday and all of her stuff is in her new apartment. She had the apartment painted and it's looking pretty darn homey in there, I must say! So I spent most of the day there helping her and I will be going there again today as soon as I get the Noodle off to school. The best part of her moving is, she's actually closer to our house now! We'll be able to ride our bikes to her house for a swim in the apartment pool :)

Did everyone have a nice memorial weekend? We did. I worked in the garden, weeding, for two days. I'm still not done. It's pretty weedy, friends.

We had Noodle's sweet little friend, L., over for a slumber party. She's such a great kid. We walked to the Farmer's Market on Saturday. It's about 2 miles away from our house and these two didn't complain at all. We stopped for a doughnut halfway there and sat on a bench and rested while we munched.

Then we stopped again at the bridge over the river:

After we were done, Zuddy came and picked us up so we didn't have to walk back.

Let's see.....what else happened??? Oh! I was threatened at a birthday party!! Yeah! By the parent of the birthday girl, even! They live in our block club area and so I send them (via e-mail) any neighborhood info I get in my mass block club emailing. Well this guy asked me if it was me sending them all of the neighborhood "gossip"? And his son doesn't like "gossip". Uhhhh, SO! I guess my suspicions about his son being in a gang are confirmed, then, huh? And this little girl is in the Noodle's class and has come over for a few playdates! I let the Noodle go over there once for a playdate, but once I saw that brother of hers, I never let it happen again.

Sadly, my pal, Gretchen, sold her house, so they will be moving. I'm totally bummed. She is a great friend and neighbor. But with people like the ones in the paragraph above, why would anyone want to live here?

I hope you're all doing well! I need to hop in the shower and get ready for the day!

Volunteer Day

I'm volunteering with my friend Gretchen's school at a food shelf warehouse today. All of the students at the Environmental Sciences High School that she works at need to volunteer several times during the year and she needed another chaperon (is this spelled right? I originally had an "e" at the end of the word, but spell check told me to take it off! Looks funny to me).

Okay, friends. I got more counter top estimates. The first estimate, from Home Depot, was $1600. I went to 2 more places and got a range of $900-$1200. Wow. Much better. The place that's the cheapest was also the one that is more "chi-chi", or so I thought. My friend, Dawn, had told me that this place was cheaper than HD. Pays to listen to your pals!

Now I need to call the flooring person and ask her what it would cost to have their people demo our tile floor in the kitchen.

Other than that, not much is going on here.

Except the Noodle has her first soccer game tonight. She is so excited to play. Zuddy and I have always thought that sports wouldn't be her thing, so we were excited that she was so excited a couple of weeks ago when they had a soccer clinic.

Turns out, she's just in it for the outfit.

Oh - and her friend, Sparkplug. They held hands while they did drills.

So that's a little closer to what we expected out of her.

Nail Brightener

Has anyone else discovered this stuff? It's made by Boots and it's "nail brightener". It's perfect if you just like that clean look for your nails. I keep mine very short, but I want to look well-groomed and this stuff is perfect. Also, it doesn't flake off (well, on me, anyway). It just tends to gently wear off, so you can hardly even tell - it doesn't scream, "I NEED A MANICURE!" LOVE it! Check it out! I think CVS sells it and so does Target.

I need to go and get another quote on the counter tops today. I'll let you know how this turns out.

I'm so bummed. I have a tiny piece of glass in the bottom of my foot. I wanted to go for a walk this morning, but it hurts. I tried soaking it last night - and because I'm a big baby, I avoided anything more invasive than a soaking. I'm going to have to progress to poking now.

Well, maybe I will go for a bike ride later and think of Penny as I pedal! Go Penny!

So guess what I'm going to do now? Put on make-up and real clothes. Yep! Good times :)

Somebody's Got A Case Of The Mondays......

Not me.......but I'm sure somebody out there does!

I had such a nice weekend! I told you about the whole Saturday thing. Yesterday was my Mother's Day. I did whatever I wanted - which was going to be a day in the garden, but it was c-c-c-c-cold out yesterday. Like 42 degrees, cold! So I went to the Farmer's Market and bought some salad greens, french bread, onions and asparagus and then went to the grocery store and got some cheese and made a yummy dinner of French onion soup and green salad with a champagne-mustard vinaigrette.

Oooo! I also found a farmer to buy my meat from. As a matter of fact, I ran into my neighbor Ann, who was buying her meat from the farmer's market, too! I think I might organize a little neighborhood walk to the market (it's only 2 miles away) and then have Zuddy come pick us up and drive us home. Wouldn't that be fun?

The noodle is sick again today!! If I were a working Mom, I would've lost my job by now. Between the noodle and me, we've been sick wayyyy too much.

Ooo! Did everyone watch The Office on thursday? Ooooo! It was so good! What's up with Jan, though? Was she always that nutty? Dwight cracks me up!

Are you slumped over asleep reading this yet? I'll quit now. I really don't have much to write about today. Hope you have a great day :)

The Unit

Oh, come ON! Get your mind out of the gutter! I'm talking about the television show, people!!! Does anybody out there watch this show? The season 2 finale was a week or two ago, so Zuddy and I got season 1 from Netflix (we just started watching it this year). We stayed up until 1am watching the first disc (I'm a go to bed at 9pm girl, normally.). It's SUCH a great show! It's the one show (besides Antiques Roadshow) we will sit together and watch.

Plus, it has Scott Foley in it.

'Nuff Said. Check it out!

Okay, so the other morning I got up and something weird caught my eye as I passed the Noodle's bedroom (she slept with me that night because Zuddy was on his little trip):

I know, I know. Two dollies asleep. Nothing weird, but something just kind of creeped me out for some reason (I didn't have my glasses on yet):

Aaaarrrrrrrghhhhhh! Doesn't that look kind of creepy? Now that it's 4 days later, it's not as jarring, but believe me, it was disturbing then.

We had the greatest night last night - Zuddy's cousin needed us to watch her 2 boys (ages 4 and 3) while they attended their older daughter's dance recital. They were so darn adorable!!! They rode Noodle's bike and scooter up and down the block all night and everybody stopped by to meet them!

Ina , a senior in HS, was all dressed up and going to prom, so we got to see how beautiful she looked.

Ann, who is a student counselor at the UofM, was walking her shelty, Marty. Helen and John (she's a Mennonite Minister and Hospital Chaplin, he's a Paramedic) stopped by after a 12 mile bike ride.

Then a group of 4 people on bikes, scooters and Rollerblades popped by. I had never met any of them before, but they were so friendly and one of the guys was riding on a really cool recumbent bike, so I asked him about it. Well, Zuddy saw who I was talking to and shook his hand and called him and his wife by name! Turns out, it's this guy who owns a new store in the neighborhood. Zuddy actually told me about the store (it's a consignment store) and how nice the owners were. He brings Noodle there all the time because they always have a fun trinket on sale for the little ones. Boy, are they ever nice. The other two people they were with were a guy and his son from the neighborhood. They just happened to to stop at the store and they all decided to go for a ride together!!! How cool is that??

I think the Noodle and I are going to go to their store today. I was driving by yesterday and saw a really nice Specialized bike just her size!

Anyway, I digress.....the little boys played so hard last night that they needed a bath. Oh my gosh - you should've seen the dirt left in the tub after they got out! It was so cute - we're not used to that with a prissy little girl in our house! Those boys are so much fun!

Isn't that a great evening? Oh! And I went out for Indian food at lunchtime with my friends from work. I love Indian food. Deeeeelish.

I hope you all have a great Saturday! Whatchya doin' today?

I'm Green

GREEN

You are a very calm and contemplative person. Others are drawn to your peaceful, nurturing nature.

Find out your color at QuizMeme.com!

I've gotta tell ya: I've seen this on everyone's blog and I've tried it many times because at different times, I have different answers for the questions! Well, it's always come up "Green". Every time. Crazy.

By the way.....I don't consider myself calm and contemplative. I wonder what people (who know me well)would think of this description of me?

Oops! I forgot!

.....to tag a few people for the "10 things" about themselves! I want the Garage Gourmet, Casa Amada and Heather J (Penny already tagged her, but I don't think she knows it:) to tell us 10 things about themselves!

So, I never got to another store to get another counter top estimate yesterday. And today I'm going to lunch with a couple of girls from work, so it'll have to wait until next week, probably.

Our block club meeting on Wednesday was wonderful. Officer McHott was there....looking totally hot, I must say. Too bad none of the single neighbor women were there. Even Zuddy thought he was hot. Ha haaaa! That's not true, but Zuddy and Jeffie (next door) are jealous of him.

I bought an apple chipotle bread from that new BC2, our new bakery/cafe. It was really good! I also got the tres leches cake, which was good, but not as good as the one I usually get from another place (Cafe Latte). The one we usually get is amazing. It's a double layer round cake soaked with creme anglaise and then frosted with whipped cream. The BC2 version had a really great cake, but not enough creme anglaise. Then he frosted it with an Italian Meringue, which was kind of neat. I liked that. Plus, it had a faint coconut flavor, which was nice. I think I will get the carrot cake roulade for the next meeting. I should really make my own desserts, but I have enough going on, trying to clean this place so it looks like we don't live here :)

Oh! Speaking of which. I had to take my cook books off the kitchen bookshelf so I can remove it before stripping the wallpaper. I thought all of my blogger friends would like to see my dining room hutch (where I put the books):

It used to be my great aunt Bebe's. She passed away and I bought it from Uncle Fred for $100. It used to match our woodwork and the finish was very old and crackled. I didn't want it quite that dark, so Zuddy used a product (can't remember it's name right now) that just took off some of the finish and left some behind! So he didn't even need to stain it again! Just a little poly and this is the result. I love it.

Have a great day!

10 Quick Things............

1. My sniffer is world-class. Especially lately (is it hormones?). When I'm out and about, I can tell who didn't wash their hair that day. Isn't that gross?

2. I used to be OCD clean. I don't know what happened, but I'm really messy now. I'm Clean, (as, you-can-eat-off-my-floors clean), but not tidy. I'm kind of turning into my Mother.

3. I love Junie B. Jones books. Love them. I push for the Noodle to get them when we're at the library.

4. I'm absolutely WILD about miniature things. Like dollhouse stuff? I don't have a dollhouse, but if I did, I'd be a total freak about the decorating of it.

5. There used to be a store at the Mall of America called Think Big. Not only do I love miniature items, but I also love giant items. Zuddy and I used to go to that store when we were dating so I could visit the big toothbrushes and paperclips.

6. I love naps. If I'm not working, I will probably take a nap. Please don't call me between one and three. I've got to stop this little indulgence.

7. I have no special talents.

8. Since I've had the Noodle, I could care less about my career. This is really scary to me.

9. I love the smell of my kiddo. The top of her head (sans lice, thankyouverymuch) smells like heaven. Even when it doesn't.

10. I go crazy when I see a kid under 12 years old sitting in the front seat of a car that I KNOW has airbags. Crazy. Makes me nuts.

Lice Lice Baby

On my Noodle's head. Totally skeeves me out. We actually found this on Friday. It's our second go-round with this, so not quite as traumatic as the first time (first time was in daycare). But eeeewwwww!! Plus, do you know how much work this entails?? Oh my gosh - EVERYTHING needs to be vacuumed and washed and put in the dryer. I have to admit: I just put all of the pillows in the dryer on a hot setting. I mean, c'MON! I have pillow cases and pillow protectors on them! But still - an hour in the dryer. Takes for-evah.

So, I got tagged from Penny to reveal 10 things about myself. Penny - I swear I wrote the whole thing, but you know how blogging can be unpredictable? Yeah. Lost the post. I will do this again tomorrow.

I need to go to a new little Bakery/Cafe today and buy a cake for my block club meeting tonight. This place just opened and is GREAT. I went last week and had a salami sandwich with pesto and provolone. It was really good. Everything is of the highest quality and totally homemade. I only ate half of it and brought the other half to Zuddy, who was at work. But I also brought him and his co-workers a four cheese chorizo bread - which is the talk of the neighborhood. Zuddy said it was gone in 1.3 seconds. I'm going there to get a carrot cake, I think. Or whatever he has. I've been meaning to drop by and order something, but I get busy around the house and forget!

Yesterday I went to Home Depot to get a countertop estimate. Dudes. I'm in such sticker shock!!! I totally got nickel and dimed. Let me refresh your memory: I "want" laminate (I really want soapstone, but that's not going to happen :). So I chose the Wilsonart High Definition laminate in Deepstar Agate. Here's a picture:


Now - here are some of the "special" things I want and how much they add on to the total bill:

• I don't want a backsplash. I want the counter to butt-up to the wall and I want rounded edges. I can't compromise on this. -- adds $400.
• Tear out of old countertops: adds -- $256
• Installation of new sink, faucet and garbage disposal adds --$325

Clearly, we (and when I say "we" I use that veerrrry loosely.) will be doing the tear-out and the install of the sink, et al ourselves. That's just freakin' crazy.

For my tiny kitchen, the countertop bill was $2020.00 not including tax.
I'm going to another place for another estimate tomorrow.

I started taking off the wallpaper in the kitchen. I bought a paper tiger and a scraper and went to town. I alreay had some fabric softener in a spray bottle from my last attempt, so I used that, but I think I'm going to try the vinegar that my pal Amy suggested. If I don't see good results with that it's on to the steamer suggestion from Kim.

And, here's some news: I don't think I'm going to wallpaper again. It's just too big of a pain. My neighbor and Mom will need to help me, and I took a wall-hanging off the wall to strip and the wallpaper there was so faded! Maybe I will do a repeating stencil and then age the paint and stencil with glaze. I don't know. I really liked the wallpaper I chose, so this will take some thinking through.

Hope you all have a great day!

Mother's Day

Hope all of you Mommies out there had a great day! What did you do? And what's your favorite way to celebrate Mother's day? C'mon! I want to hear it!

Zuddy ended up going mushroom hunting/dirt biking/camping with a friend yesterday and will be gone for a couple of days. He will give me a proper mother's day next Sunday. I don't know if he's realized how I've been milking mother's day every year. Seriously. It's now up to a 3 day long extravaganza. He just takes the Noodle and spends time with her so I can do whatever I want. On friday night he had her cleaning the air filters to his dirt bikes. She loves doing that!! Isn't that hilarious?

I've had a busy week here. I'm still working out the kinks to one of my recipes (even as I type this), so I haven't been blogging much at all. I've been a very good girl, trying to get my work done!

This is so sad - one day last week (Thursday) I went for a walk with neighbor Gretchen and her pup, Rocket, who wasn't feeling great. We walked to a neighborhood coffee shop to have lunch. Well, later on that day Rocked died. How horrible. He was a great dog. A golden retriever and the sweetest guy ever. I truly loved him. Luckily, Gretchen was holding him and comforting him when it happened. She was just about to take him to the Vet, too. So that's extra sad. I really didn't think he was that sick - he just didn't seem all that excited to see anyone and really wasn't loving our walk like he normally did. I hope he's in doggie Heaven getting his tummy scratched. Well, I know he is.

SIGH.


Now that I'm between jobs (I start a month-long stint in June) I have a big check-list of things to do: I need to finish painting my living and dining room ceilings. I painted them in February, but ran out of paint when I was almost done. I'm going to finish tomorrow. I need to run out and get the paint. As you can see, I painted it blue. I just love it. I've been seeing this color on ceilings a lot lately - especially in Cottage Living Magazine (my absolute fave). It looks great with the gold walls in the living and dining room.

Also on my list:
1. Get the garden in.
2. Take the wall paper in the kitchen off and put new stuff on.
3. Have the new countertops, sink and faucet put in.
4. Buy all the remaining trim for the kitchen (floor, upper cabs) and paint it so it's ready to install
5. Paint the beaded board on the ends of the cabinets.
6. Schedule the flooring to be put in. I think I'm going to have them remove the old flooring, too. From what everybody tells me, it's a giant pain in the butt. I will schedule this for July, when I'm done working.

So, I've got 3 weeks to get all of this done. Plenty of time!


Oh! I forgot!! I will be getting this ugly beast of a hutch from my Mom, who is moving! I'll need to paint it. I'm going to try and antique it, too. It will be good practice for me, as I'd kind of like to do some antiquing of my upper cabinets. I'm really afraid to do it without trying it on something else first. So anyway, what color should I paint it?? My first instinct is black with some red underneath. But then there wouldn't be any antiquing involved. And the bottom is made of gorgeous 1970's laminate and plastic, I do believe. It will be going in my office/playroom and will hold American Girl Doll accessories on the bottom and my office stuff in the top.
So I'd love some color advice from all of you fabby decorators out there!!

Have a great day everyone!

More Neighbors

Not too much going on here...we've had some beautiful days here, though! I'm getting ready to do some Mother's Day gardening on Sunday, friends! That's my activity of choice on my day. I want Zuddy and the Noodle close-by so I can gaze at them and feel grateful, but no demands on me, thank you very much!! Luckily, Zuddy is the very best husband and Daddy and he's really good at intercepting any would-be parenting requests from the Noodle.

Speaking of the Noodle....Promgoer Rachel was kind enough to interrupt her big day and think about the Noodle. She passed on a bunch of furniture perfect for an American Girl doll(s)! The Noodle loves these "bump beds" the best. Grandma made new mattresses and bed spreads. Thanks, Rachel! We will take good care of your gifts!

So, I have to tell you about more great neighbors of ours. Patti and Ricardo. I just met them this year. They have four children - 3 of them go to the Noodles school, so I see Patti or Ricardo (mainly Ricardo) at the bus stop every morning. They only live 2 blocks from us and they have a thriving home daycare. I wish I would've known about them when the Noodle was daycare-aged. They speak spanish in their home, so all the kids are bilingual by the time they leave Patti and Ricardo's daycare!

You know how you just look at someone and you can tell they are good? That's Patti and Ricardo. They both came from Mexico where Patti was a Kindergarten teacher. I'm not sure what Ricardo did in Mexico, but I know he has a degree in Physics! So smart!! He's helping Patti with her daycare right now, but our neighbor Gretchen is helping him find a program to get his teaching license. He's a whiz at Math and a natural teacher, so this will be perfect for him. Not only that, but both he and Patti are so soft-spoken yet strict. When they are at the bus stop the kids are happily lined up single file with the oldest child at the back of the line to make sure the little ones get on the bus without getting hurt. They are always dispensing hugs and "I love yous" to their kids and daycare charges. Their 6th grade boy has no qualms about standing at the bus with his arm around his dad and an "I love you" before getting on the bus. I just get that warm fuzzy feeling when I see their family. They're are such good eggs!

Just wanted to introduce you to them. I'm so proud they're my neighbors!

Speaking of neighbors, it was a gorgeous evening last night! The noodle had a friend over after school and when her Mom came to pick her up, she brought their new puppy, Max, a Goldendoodle. He's 12 weeks old and HUGE, people! But anyway, my neighbor, Theresa, her son and grandkids were outside, so all of the kids got together and ran Max up and down the block while the adults visited. It was such a great night with friendly neighbors and a lot of laughing.

So I'm feeling grateful and lucky today. Hope you feel the same. Enjoy your friends and neighbors! They make life so much fun!

Animal Vegetable Miracle

Saturday night was so much fun!!! But of course I forgot my camera - argh! When will I learn?

MJ's daughter looked so cool and sophisticated! She didn't wear the traditional "pagent" style dress - she had an adorable ruched black and white polkadot cocktail dress that was short. Her hair is in a longer pixie style and she looks so hip and happenin'!

The dinner was great and MJ even fed me!!! Her other friend (and Mom of one of the prom kids) came over, too and we had so much fun getting know each other and chatting. It was just great. I feel renewed, like one does when they have a great time.


MJ also gave me a new book called Animal Vegetable Miracle. I had just read about it in a magazine and wanted to buy it! It's by Barbara Kingsolver (who is a great writer) and it chronicles her family's self-imposed challenge to eat only locally grown food (they live in Virginia, I think.) They grew a lot of produce on their little farm, as well as chickens and turkeys. Anything they didn't grow, they bought at a farmers market or from local farmers.

Of course, I spent the whole day reading. I made a few recipes in between, but I largely ignored my work. Naughty. I was scrambling today, boy, trying to get everything done.

But I finished the book and I'm inspired to try harder! Especially with the meat I eat. My friend and neighbor, Gretchen, and I have discussed this: she only eats free-range meats. She really wants to make sure the animals she consumes had a nice life while they were alive. Ever since she told me this, I've thought about it and I always feel guilty buying from the supermarket.

After reading this book, I just don't think I can do it anymore. I got on the computer and ordered a chicken and eggs from my CSA farm. I know they have a nice life there. In fact - I'm going to visit just to make sure. They have a totally open door policy and invite anyone to come and visit ...or work!

Apparently, it's not enough to see "free range" on the label....I can't recall exactly, but I think that statement just means the animals have access to the outdoors - it doesn't mean they actually get out there. Oh - blah, blah, blah. I'll quit blither-blathering now. The book gets very preachy at times - but if it's topic is something you're already interested in, you probably won't mind. I just skipped over the preachy parts.

Anyway, I also got some great recipe ideas for some of the greens we'll be getting from our CSA in June and they mentioned a cookbook geared for eating with the seasons, so I want to pick that up, too. Ooo! I also ordered some cinnamon swirl bread and raspberry jam from the CSA! I pick all of this stuff up on Wednesday.

So - that's it over on Elizabeth Hill today. I'm all tuckered out. Oh! I forgot! Zuddy put all of the knobs on the cabinet doors yesterday! They look so great! Now I just need to get the drawer pulls and I'll be good to go! Later this week I'm hoping to tackle the wallpaper. It's driving me nuts and I want it OFF.

Hit By A Farm

A long time ago, I wrote about this book.....I sang its praises, I talked about how the author is hilarious and smart and how much I loved it. But when I hit that "PUBLISH" button, I lost the post. Exasperated, I gave up. But I recently found out the author has a blog (thanks, MJ!), so now I'm all into it again.

I don't read a lot since college. There are two reasons for this:
The main reason is that when I read, I ignore everything until I'm done with the book. Obviously, one can't expect to keep up with college courses if this is the case, so I had to stop reading for pleasure during my college years (and there were many of them. I didn't graduate in 4 years, people.). Now that I'm a Mom, I'll just ignore the Noodle and Zuddy until I'm done with the book. Luckily, Zuddy doesn't mind and will take over when I find a good book :)
Another thing: I'm a feeler. If the book isn't upbeat, I get in a funk. My mood is totally dependent on what I surround myself with (and if I've popped a Zoloft!). I get into character, so to speak. Does anyone else out there do this? If I had read Bridget Jones' Diary, I'd feel like I was Bridget Jones for days afterwards. Sheesh, I'd probably pull a Madonna and let a British accent slip in and out as I spoke (note: I haven't read that book. No accent. Maybe I will read it right before a family get-together just to irritate my brothers with a phony accent.).

Point is: I won't ever talk about a book that isn't worth reading. But, I guess that's in the eye of the beholder, huh?

This book is great, people. The author (Catherine) and her partner (Melissa) purchase a farm - it's a dream of Melissa's to farm. They are city slickers, so this book chronicles their journey into farming and how Catherine ends up losing herself to support Melissa's dream....and how she finds the balance to get on with her own dreams while still supporting Melissa.

It's a great lesson in how to treat our partners and their dreams and not lose ourselves in the process. I apply Catherine's experiences to motherhood (or parenthood). It's so easy to forget who you are when taking care of your family.

Anyway. There's my plug. I really loved this book A LOT. And you know what's funny? After I read it, I passed it on to my neighbor, Gretchen (who also loved it). Well, now Gretchen runs into the author all around town! Well, okay. She's run into her twice, signing books. Once at a children's bookstore (Catherine is a children's book author as well.) and once at a local global market! Crazy, huh?

So - today is Saturday and I'm really excited. At 2pm, I'm going over to my friend MJ's house to help her cook dinner for her Daughter's prom dinner!! Wanna see the menu? Remember me talking about MJ? I work for her on Tuesdays. She's an incredible recipe developer.

Prom Dinner 2007

Cocktails and Nibblies
Cambezola and Aged Gouda with Assorted Flatbreads and Fruit
Sparkling Apple Cider and Homemade Ginger Ale

Salad
Composed Salad of Mixed Baby Greens and Spring Flowers
with
Strawberries and Spiced Pecans
Dressed with a Strawberry Basil Vinaigrette

Assorted Artisan Breads
Iced White Tea

Dinner
Grilled Beef Filet Topped with Spring Herb Compound Butter
Szechwan Style Flash Fried Baby Green Beans
Parslied Fingerling Potatoes
Iced Lemon and Mint Water

Dessert
Molten Chocolate Cakes
with Whipped Coffee Cream
Brewed Coffee

Fun, huh? I'll try and take pictures of the prom-goers!

While I do this, Zuddy and the Noodle are going over to his sister Ann's for a party/bonfire.

On the kitchen front: I bought knobs - ouch. They were almost $200. I didn't buy the pulls because when I got there, I didn't recognize the ones I picked out! The finishes looked so different in the fluorescent lighting of the store. Hopefully Zuddy will be able to install them on Sunday.

Then again, maybe not. I have to work. I've had a stressful week, friends:
When I was sick, I was supposed to be working on a project. Well, I was too sick to even work a little bit. Then, as you know, I had that Chicago trip planned with the Noodle. So - I called the person I was working for and asked for a week's extension on my recipe project. She generously gave the extra time, but then called me a week later and told me that my recipes are being photographed one day after the original due-date (Monday, the 7th.) So I've had to kick it into gear and get them done by the original date - Monday!

Luckily, they are getting themselves done and I feel fine about it, but I need to work on Sunday now. And I've a got a nice, juicy cold sore on my chin. I'm sure from the stress of being sick and the stress of, well.....being stressed!

Well, I hope you all have a great weekend. I hope you pick up a book or do something to support your dreams and your partner's dreams :)

Hummus and Shoes

So - I made hummus for lunch yesterday. I think I've concocted a good recipe - it's nothing crazy or complicated, but it's a good standard to have in your recipe box. Do ya wanna make it?




Hummus
1 (15-oz.) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained **
1/3 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
1/2 cup water
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/2 to 1 teaspoon kosher salt (I always use a whole teaspoon. I'm a saltaholic.)
Generous pinch of cayenne pepper
Freshly ground pepper

Place all ingredients in blender and process until smooth.

**You know what makes it even better?? Using dried garbanzos, soaked and cooked according to pkg. directions. It really tastes great, but I rarely do this.

I eat this with a whole wheat pita bread - I spray a pan with nonstick cooking spray and toast the pita on both sides over medium heat. Then I have all sorts of raw veggies, too. Yum.

So....before we left for Chicago I bought the Noodle some shoes. Oh, I love buying that child clothes and shoes. It's funny because I don't have a thing for shoes myself - just as long as they're comfy I don't really care. I also don't like to dress up much, so clothes aren't that exciting - plus, I'm at an all-time high in regards to weight, so that's no fun. But the Noodle! She is fun to buy for. Look at these new tennies I bought for her (I bought them in pink, though.)



Can you see the sparkly sequins? Another Mom at American Girl Place asked me where I got them and asked if the sequins will stay on. (Nordstrom and no....they are totally impractical. They should look like Hell in a month.) I don't care, though. As long as they're cute now.

And you know what's funny? Zuddy loves the stuff I buy for her. He always notices a new outfit or shoes, and he never gets bent out of shape. We just feast our eyes on her and enjoy....we dress like we're homeless and she looks like a million bucks :) For the record - I'm a good bargain hunter, too, but they are always mixed with a few splurges, too!

Oh - and speaking of the Noodle: she has a school project she's been working on. She was studying Polar Bears and their habitats and we (as a family) needed to construct a diorama depicting this. Well...as luck would have it, when we were in Chicago, we ordered room service on Saturday night and were watching the Nat. Geographic channel and lo and behold! 3 shows about bears! All in a row! And one was about Polars! She loved the shows, but was a little grossed out at the Polar Bear eating bloody whale blubber and seals.

But it all sunk in, friends.

We made the diorama last night and while I made the polar bear of sculpty clay? She made........

a bloody seal for him to "eat on".

Zuddy came home from work and cracked up at that! She always keeps us laughing! Kids are the best!

Have a great day!

It's A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood.....

I've gotta tell ya - when you feel rotten for more than a week (and I know....it was really not a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but I still felt really awful) you really appreciate your good health when you have it again. I feel like a million bucks today. The Lilacs are about to bloom and the grass needs cutting :) I can't wait to fire up the lawn mower!

So - yesterday was so nice....my neighbor and pal, Gretchen, dropped off her 2 boys early in the morning (I'd make up a name for them, but I'm fresh out of silly names). This is always a great time at our house. When "W". (Gretchen's older son) was in Kindergarten (last year...he's the same age as Noodle. Her other son, "M" is a year younger and in Kinder now.), we watched him for the first time. This was really scary for him. Gretchen got some doughnuts for breakfast and we tried to make it a special treat. So now I get doughnuts for breakfast and we watch a DVD before heading to the bus stop. W and M are such good boys and the Noodle loves playing with them..... And when I need to work, Gretchen reciprocates for me. I never thought I'd have a great neighbor-friend like that, but now there are so many people like this that I've met since being a block club leader! Well, I just feel lucky. Anyway....Gretchen is a math teacher at a really cool school in town - It's at the Minnesota Zoo! It's a high school of Environmental Studies. Isn't that cool? She works 2 or 3 days a week. And her husband, Bob, is a Producer of films, videos and commercials (he was producing a commercial yesterday, which is why I got to have the boys over here). He's done videos for the Barenaked Ladies, Liz Phair and Hilary Duff! He also owns local store that sells all sorts of trains - from Brio to high-end model trains for "big boys". Anyway....every once in a while I'll talk about a neighbor and it's just fun to introduce them.

Later on in the day, My neighbor, Teresa's 3 grand kids came over to play with the Noodle. They all go to Noodle's school, and she just LOVES them. THEN.....Peg and Beauty sent the Noodle and me some flowers! Ohhhh.....the Noodle loves flowers, people! What an exciting day!


Here she is with her beloved floral arrangement! Thanks, Auntie Peg!














And here's a preliminary before and after. It's so much brighter in here, now!





yeah, I know there's a big hole in the wall, but as soon as the new countertops go in, we'll patch it and cover it with tile :)







Well, I'm going to go and make some Hummus right now and have a little lunch!

Toodles!

I'm Baaaaack!

Wow. It's been a busy couple of weeks.....the Noodle and I were sooooooo sick. Seriously. In bed for a week. I don't remember the last time I was that sick. And now I haven't had a voice for over a week, but I feel sooooo much better.

We headed to Chicago last Thursday. We've had this planned for months, and I almost had to cancel. Luckily, I started to improve on Tuesday night. So we just went for it.

We spent the night on Thursday with my dear friend, Peg, in her beautiful home in the 'burbs. Then Peg, her 2 1/2 year old daughter, Beauty, the Noodle and I took the train to the city and had lunch at American Girl Place for the Noodle's 7th birthday! It was a great time. The Noodle got to pick out a new dolly and it was pretty much a dream birthday. Probably not the brightest thing to do for a 7th birthday. I don't want her to expect this every year, but she's at a great age for traveling. Plus, I hadn't even met Peg's other 1 1/2 year old daughter yet! That's a crime, people! We try and plan a yearly get together, and it had been too long.

So - about Peg. We met about...hmm.....17 years ago?? Wow! That's a long time. I don't think I've fully accepted that I'm 37 yet. Anyway...I had a roommate, Tracy. Tracy had a friend from college, Peg. Peg and I barely knew each other, but we both ended up working at a department store together. Peg was going to college at a big school in the Twin Cities and I think I was just taking a class here and there at a community college and working at the department store.

Anyway, one day Peg happened to have her parent's car and offered to give me a ride back to my apartment after work. How nice was that? We hardly knew each other. Well, we didn't have much to talk about but my roommate, Tracy. So I just told Peg that Tracy had just been accepted to "the college of Advertising" at the U of M. And Peg said she didn't know that (they both went to the U.)! But it was called "the college of Journalism", not Advertising. Nooooo....I distinctly remember her saying Advertising. Peg did know that Tracy aced her Spanish final. Hmmm.....noooo......Tracy had actually dropped Spanish because it conflicted with another class, I told her. Hmmm.......Peg just spoke to Tracy about this, so she knows she didn't drop the class.

Are you getting the idea here? Tracy lied about everything and we each a different story of every event in Tracy's life. It turned out that Tracy dropped out of school all together and pretended to go to class every day. After a while, we started plotting. We'd totally egg her on and encourage the lying and then compare notes. Isn't that mean?? Ha! I'm sorry.....someone who lies like that is asking for it, sister. So! 17 years later, Peg and I are still pals and we have no idea where Tracy is.




Here's Peg and her older daughter, Beauty. Doesn't Beauty look just like her Momma? Her other daughter, Pretty, is just as gorgeous. I wish I had gotten a picture of her. They are both the sweetest little pumpkins. Beauty is so smart, too! You should hear this child talk! And so well-behaved! We've decided to make this girl's thing an annual event. It's so nice when you can travel with another Mom and kid. And I truly treasure being in Beauty and Pretty's lives. I want to get to know them much better and be a special Auntie to them. I'm in love and I miss them already!



Here is the Noodle with her birthday cake at American Girl Place! That cake was incredible, friends. Best cake ever. We all inhaled it - and being a foodie, I'm picky about my cake. So is the Noodle. She usually doesn't eat cake. They do a great job over there at American Girl Place. It was a very special day.





So - on the Kitchen front: Zuddy got the under-cabinet lighting hooked up, the beaded board ends on the cabinets all put on and the holes in the soffits patched!!! Wow! What a trouper! All he has left is the trim on the bottom of the cabinets. Then I can paint all of the beaded board and trim. Then I will be all done painting! Oh - and I need to pick up the cabinet hardware. Maybe I'll do that today.

And Dudes.

You know what my favorite part of this face-lift is so far?? The under cabinet lighting. It's amazing how much it adds to the ambiance of the room. I'm really glad I went with the Xenon lighting, too. It gets plenty hot - I can't imagine having it get any hotter, like I've heard Halogen gets. It's important to me because of the amount of time I spend in my kitchen doing actual paid work. It's my office, people. And I hate being hot.


Now I need to schedule the new counter tops, sink, faucet and garbage disposal to be installed. And I need to remove the wallpaper. I need to wait on that for 2 reasons: I spent too much on the Noodles birthday :) and I'm working on a project where I need to be in the kitchen. So I will wait a week before I schedule any of that.

I know Kim over at Vintage Pretties has been removing wallpaper at her house. Does anybody have any advice for me? Should I rent a steamer? I've gotten a little of it off, but it wasn't as easy as I thought it'd be. I used fabric softener mixed with hot water. I think steaming would work better.