Happy Halloween!

Hope you had a good one!

We went 'round and 'round about a costume this year. Noodle always wants some store-bought costume like this one:

As it got closer to Halloween, I finally told her we could think of something a little more zany and original.


I always want her to dress up as a food item.
Because it's all about me.

I especially liked this one from the Food Network website:


She was horrified. She hates the food idea.

Well, how about this one? (I pull this photo out every year. It's from Ladies Home Journal)

I mean come ON!! What's not to love about a fortune cookie on your noggin, huh??

HUH???




So we went here and explored and she finally found one she liked:



It's hard to take a photo of something so shiny, but she was an iPod. With a glowing screen courtesy of many blue glow sticks taped inside her costume. Zuddy was so into it that he did the whole thing. All we had to do was show him a photo.


Later on, our neighbor Jenny came over before going to her Halloween party, dressed up as guess who?

Oh boy.....

Sigh.

It's been a weird few days. I was up at 2 am today and can't back to sleep.

First of all, I'm thinking about Cutz and her baby adventure.

Second? My elderly neighbor, Mrs. C. came over yesterday.
And not for a friendly little visit, either. Oh, no.

She's becoming a little off-kilter and thinks people in the neighborhood are spying on her.

There's about an hour and half (yes. and hour and a half.) of this nonsensical conversation that I'm leaving out, but please know that it was bad enough that I had to overeat and take a nap after she left.

And then I woke up and sucked my thumb and rocked back and forth under my divorce desk.

Because it's just disturbing to hear an 85 year old woman use the "F" word. Over and over. In my house when I'm still in my jammies with bed-head and morning breath.

Third: On Saturday one of the great loves of my life died unexpectedly:

Our neighbor dog, Gracie Mae, the Shepherd-Collie mix.

We loved her like crazy. She was a remarkable girl....smart, protective. Her nickname was "The Sheriff" because Girlfriend was in charge and not to be messed with.
We were lucky to know her, but she wasn't here long enough. She brought so much joy to our family...we loved taking care of her when our neighbors, Pam and Jeff, went out of town. She was a world-class snuggler and when I'd stay over night, she'd spoon with me all night long. I can't even say that much about Zuddy.

I don't know what else to say. And I cry every time I think about her. Her sister, Nikita, is very sad. She's been howling with sadness. It breaks my heart.

Ladies' Night

Insert your version of the Kool and The Gang song **here**.

Or don't.

It was Zuddy's night out last night so Noodle and I baked up some CRAP chocolate chip cookies that I had bought from some kid in the neighborhood. You know - they were for a school fundraiser. Of course, just because they're sub-standard doesn't mean they're not going to be eaten, right?

I mean, there is chocolate in them. Or a chocolate-like substance.

And sometimes that's just good enough.

I felt crabby yesterday. Staying in the house for this long is more than I can bear. I had already called my Mom and asked her to please come over so I could go do some errands and then go for a quick walk. While she was on her way over, I was talking to my dear friend Michelle on the phone and everything that came (or flew) out of my mouth was so negative. I realized it 3/4 of the way through our conversation. So I told her I was going to hang up with her and end her misery and I was going for a walk. She mentioned a big hill in my neighborhood and suggested, a big jokingly/a bit seriously that I should conquer it.

That maybe it would make me feel better. I kind of laughed it off.

But after I did my errands, it sounded like a good idea.

So, on my way home, I passed Zuddy's work (he saw me and waved at me) and parked my car and walked down the hill.

For those of you who know me in real life? You know that where I live is very hilly. In fact, Michelle and I used to have a nice little route where we'd go down this hill and then walk to a huge bank of stairs going up a cliff kind of like this one:

I don't know how many steps where there. Maybe a BAZILLION? But they were recently torn down and need to be rebuilt, so I can't show you a photo of them.

Anyway, we live up in the cliffs. And people come from all over to "get their workout on" in our neighborhood. Especially on their bicycles.

Which is why I kind of avoid the bicycle over here. Because it's hard. I realized this when I was visiting with my neighbor John once and wondered out loud why I avoid biking. Then he pointed out how many serious bicyclists we have riding around our neighborhood and DUH! Martha! That's why you avoid it, sister! Because it SUCKS!

Thanks John.

Anyway.

I'm walking down the hill. Feels good. Nice view:

Though it's a little industrial in the spot right below the hill:

Now, the ascend. It's a very curvy road. I love that house you see in the background:

Here are those steps I was talking about...the ones Michelle and I walk down to get to the big stairs. They're a little creepy. It always feels unsafe to me. Like some one's going to jump out at me.

Nice little curvy-wurvy road.

Here's that house. At one time it was really run-down.

Then it was a law office. Now I think it's just a house again.

They have a couple of garages on the property. I love this stone one. It's kind of incognito, built into the cliff:

Here's the other one, along with a shot of the back of the house:

That walk made me feel much better. It was just what I needed. Only I needed more of it. But it was time to go home. On the way home? I drove by a few great houses in my neighborhood.

This one has always been a sweet little house. Recently, the owners built this awesome addition:

That whole right side is the addition. I think it's a do-it-yourself job because it's not finished and it's been a couple of years. I know how that goes :)

Here's another house just down the block from the white one:

This one was in REALLY bad shape until someone moved in and loved it up. They're still working on it, but I know the person who owns it and the amount of work they've done is insane.

It was kind of a dark, dreary day yesterday, so it's hard to get the gist of the paint job on this one, but it's very striking. Trust me:

Brownie the Bunny

Sunday Morning our neighbor Pam found a little somethin'-somethin'.........






Apparently, Pam wasn't the first one to find him.

Somebody else got to him first: The face of evil

He was a little shaken up, but we loved him up and fed him some formula:

Sadly, he didn't make it.

Rest In Peace, Brownie.

Pam and Martha: Special Agents

Heh. What kind of special.......I don't know.

Dudes.

After this ride-along? I totally want to be a cop. But I don't think I have the multi-tasking skillz.

I'm not kidding. Cops are master multi-taskers.

But let's start at the beginning of this story:

Zuddy and I met at our 5 year high school reunion (See? Waaayyyy back at the beginning).

We got married 12 years ago while I was still in college. Instead of having a wedding? We bought our house. It's not the best neighborhood in St. Paul, but it's not the worst either. It was billed as one of the "up-and-coming" neighborhoods. Plus- it was all we could afford with me still in college.

About 7 years ago, Officer Mc Hott's Mom moved next door to us. We love her. He lived with her at the time. Now he has his own house in a neighboring suburb, but his beat is right here in our neighborhood - which is where he grew up. He works the 10:30 pm to 7:30 am shift.

Pam and Jeff moved next door to us 2 years ago. They are empty nesters who moved here from a very nice suburb. They wanted to live in the city. We love them. Every weekend we sit in lawn chairs in their driveway and talk their ears off. We will probably wake up one day to find they've moved out of their house in the middle of the night to get away from us.

I'm a block club leader and we've had a lot of problem properties in the last couple of years, so officer Mc Hott comes to our block club meetings to get the scoop. With his help, we've been able to force-out a major problem family. Please don't think we're meanies: I'm talking drug-dealing gang members with drive-by shootings. Serious stuff, people.

Anyway, officer McHott will stop by for a chat when he's at his Mom's house and tell us cop stories. We eat it up. Zuddy and I love a good cop story. He's been telling me for a year that he can take me on a ride-along so neighbor Pam and I finally took him up on it.

Here's how the night went:

I was worried I wouldn't be able to stay awake until 11pm when he was picking us up, so I took a big nap.

Then I met Pam in her garage at 10 pm:

I had my purse.

And I was dressed in actual clothes.

And I had make-up on.

And lip gloss.

Jeff.....who is Pam's hubby? Here he is....right here:

Jeff informed me that this ride-along was in fact NOT a date with officer McHott.

WHA???? Huh???

Really? It's not? It really IS just a ride-along??? Humph.

Pam assured me that, no. This evening was, in fact, NOT a date with officer McHott.

Whatever.

I ditched the purse but kept the gloss.

Officer McHott came by at about 11pm (right after roll-call) to pick us up. He and Zuddy talked shop for a little bit:

I know......I had the camera on some weird setting and it's blurry. Or?....... is Zuddy just trying to touch every button reallyquick before we leave? You be the judge.

Here is the fine officer showing Zuddy the stuff in the squad car.

Here's Pam and me. I'm laughing because I have 4 chins and don't realize it yet. When I downloaded these photos? The laughter abruptly stopped, oh yes it did:

I rode most of the time in the back seat, where the criminals ride. Coincidence? I think not.

We learned many important lessons on our ride-along:

1. No good happens after Midnight. Hell....no good happens after 9pm. All of the good people are in bed. Go to bed.

2. If you are out in the middle of the night on a Saturday night you are probably:

• Driving with a suspended license.
• Driving without a license.
• Drunk.
• Drunk and driving without a license.
• A hooker.
• A drunk hooker trying to pick up officer Mc Hott.

3. No matter which car you stumble upon or which license plate you punch into your computer, it WILL come up with something fishy about the car owner. This was a total surprise to me. The officer could've spent the whole night pulling people over because of some sort of previous violation. (See #1 and get to bed early on Saturday nights.)

4. If he pulled everyone over who deserved it, he wouldn't be available to take the really serious and dangerous calls. It's the sad, sad truth. He has to let a lot of "important" stuff go, because in the end? It's usually not that important.

5. My "normal" life? It's not the norm. It's boring, wholesome, honest, loving and sane. Who knew?

My New Personal Trainer, Kim.

Yep. I have a new Personal Trainer.

Her name is Kim.

Okay, fine.

I've never actually met her. But I feel like I have. Because I see her every day.

My sister Dawn just gave me her new DVD called Small Changes=Big Benefits. Dawn actually DOES know her - they've been friends for years. And Dawn's been using the DVD and has totally toned up.

Here's Kim's schtick: the fitness industry is a money-making business. Kim says it takes much less time and effort to get fit than everyone in the fitness industry is telling us. We can do it at home with a balance ball and one of those tube-thingies - no expensive gym membership required. (Unless you're talking Jazzercise - then by all means......There's this nice little studio in Washington State I've heard about....awesome owner. You should join that place. Even if you're out of state ;)

So Kim made this DVD with four 10-minute workout segments. You pick one of them a day PLUS the stretching segment and you're done. The workouts are uncomplicated, but challenging. I've been doing the Ball Strength workout and it's making me feel great. I actually look forward to it, even though I can't do a couple of the exercises very well....the tricep push-up is killer.

Here's Kim's other schtick: Quit feeling guilty. It's paralyzing and detrimental to your well-being. It makes you feel out of control, so stop it. And further more? Quit beating yourself up. No good comes of that. If you've messed up? Just. Move. On.

So.

There it is.

You know I'm trying to make changes in my life. I don't like the way I look. And it's all because of my lack of exercise. I feel guilty. I beat myself up because before I met Zuddy I was quite the exerciser. Every day. Without fail. And now? Not so much. And oddly enough? I don't even realize I beat myself up about it most of the time! I have so far to go to get back to where I want to be that it's just too much.

But guess what? I can do ten minutes of strength exercises from Kim's video and I feel GREAT. I can do it while Noodle is with me.....she loves to watch, give me a drink of water and cheer me on. Best of all, it just makes me feel good. I almost don't care about losing weight. I really just want to keep getting stronger.

So! I'm giving away 2 of her DVDs. Because I love it so freakin' much! It just makes me feel happy. I really think you will love it to - even if you're already fit. It makes you feel great.

Now.

What do you need to do for this contest? I'm not sure yet.

I'm trying to think of something entertaining.......something that will make us all feel good.

How about this:

Go into the comment section and share your most embarrassing moment. Or the funniest thing that's happened to you or a loved one lately. Maybe it's something your child said? You know - just something funny and entertaining.

The funniest TWO stories EACH win a DVD featuring your new trainer, Kim.

I'm hoping to have an entertaining moment or two myself tonight: Neighbor Pam and I are going on a ride-along with Officer McHott tonight. That means we will be riding along with him in his squad car while he's on patrol tonight. Do you ever remember me talking about Officer McHott? Total freakin' eye candy for Pam and me. I'll take pictures of the fine officer.

Have a great day, friends :)

The Girls......

Hey there everyone! Meet Gracie May and Nikita, the next door neighbor dogs........Gracie May is the German Shepard/Collie mix and Nikita is....the other one. I can't remember what she is? Husky? Neighbor Pam is on the ladder painting the trim.



These two babies have changed our lives. Zuddy used to hate dogs due to an unfortunate encounter as a child. I don't want to say he was frightened of dogs, but - well? He was. Totally.

So was the Noodle. But now we're all madly in love with these girls. They are so sweet, but they're very protective. They're also smart - especially Gracie May. She is unbelieveable. Since she is part Collie, she tends to "corral" anyone (i.e. their cat, Homer) to where she thinks they should be. It's hilarious to see her "work". Zuddy went over there the other night to shut off all the lights that I left on, and Gracie tried to corral him to one of the upstairs bedrooms for a slumber party. She has this stuffed shark that she grabbed and then she motioned for him to come on up and "get his sleep on"!


Anyway, I'll get Pam's permission to photo the inside of their house sometime. She's painted the the living, dining and sunrooms really pretty colors. The rest of the house is still a work in progress - the previous owner did some bad, bad things. Mostly to the kitchen and the walls and wood work upstairs.

Other than that? I've got nothing. Nothing interesting to say at all....I'm looking for a new house tour for y'all, though. Actually, there's a great house in my 'hood that I've always admired.....I'll get all the photos to that one and post it tomorrow!

How is everyone doing out there? Somebody must have something interesting to say :)

My Little Stinker

By the title of this post, I think you can guess what the Noodle is going to be for Halloween, right?

Yeah, ummmmm.....we've had skunk issues here on Elizabeth Hill. It all started last year. The summer of '06:
We got some brand new neighbors, Pam and Jeff, their daughter Mel and dogs Nikita and Gracie Mae.
We've become fast friends. Mainly because of Jeff and Zuddy's mutual admiration for beer.
And grilling.
So we're always over at their patio/driveway area hangin' out most summer evenings.

I, being the morning person that I am, go inside when it's time to tuck the Noodle into bed and then I go to bed, too.
That's when all the interesting things happen. And I always miss them.

Picture this scene, if you will:

One warm summer night Pam, Jeff, Mel and Zuddy are sitting at patio table, having a brewski. Crickets are chirping, the stars are shining. They are probably discussing the latest Flava-flav show. Er, I mean, figuring out how to help their fellow man. Yeah! That's it!

Suddenly, Gracie Mae and Nikita are very interested in something under a nearby pine tree! Gracie quickly trots over to the tree to examine the situation and then sharply turns the other way and leaves (she's the brains of the bunch). Nikita starts barking like crazy, charges at the tree, and finds a skunk! She chomps down on the skunk and shakes the life out of it - all the while, the skunk is spraying!
As this is happening, the humans are scattering: Zuddy (being the gentleman he is) shoves Pam and Melanie out of his way so he can climb up the retaining wall and escape into our yard. He remembers using Melanie's hunched over body as a step-stool to climb the wall. Then, coming to his senses, he rembers that he is, in fact, a gentleman, and he goes back and lends a hand to Pam and Mel so they can climb the wall and escape into our yard.
Jeff jumps into action with his stellar hockey skills of days gone by and beats the skunk senseless with the stick.
Meanwhile, they all smell.
BAD.
Really bad.
Really, really bad.

Okay, so this was last year. THIS year, Nikita's been sprayed once, Gracie Mae has been sprayed once and so has Zuddy. It was about a month ago. He voluntarily slept in the garage that night.

Noodle decided she needed to be a skunk for Halloween. I mean, what other choice did she have, really?

My Mom and I made the costume from Family Fun Magazine:
The directions were really good and it was pretty easy.

For my Mom, that is.

Because I volunteered to clean her house while she sewed.

I'll take pictures of our little "Skunky McSkunkerton" on Wednesday, but go check out the costumes on the Family Fun website if you haven't already. Especially the contest entries they had. They're awesome!!

Sink Hugger.......

I believe it's the opposite of tree hugger.
Metal.
Made by a big polluting factory somewhere.
Bought at an evil big box store.

Oh Sinky......I love your shiny newness.....your hefty strainers (sold separtately, I found out.) ....your new gooseneck-faucety-goodness!

Sigh.......who knew it would be love?

I know it's wrong. To love an inanimate object.

But you don't get to pick who you love, people. Love just happens, right? I mean, who knew??? I never really hated my old sink, but it was old and small.

My dear friend, Hilary has the same sink as the new one I bought. I copied her. She got it when she remodeled her kitchen a few years ago and I liked it and decided it was the one I'd get when I re-do my kitchen.

It's waaaayyyyy bigger and deeper than my old sink - I wasn't even sure it would fit in my petite little kitchen.

And the faucet? I think it dispenses better water than the old one.

I'm sure of it.




Sigh.........I'm in love.

Oh - and school started this week. Here's the Noodle and her pals at the bus stop:

Yeah, they're cute.....but did you see my sink?
Ha ha.

Oh - and the counter top issues: Somebody came by on Monday and said they'd replace the top again! And I got a letter of thanks for our "graciousness" and patience from the kitchen designer with a bunch of restaurant gift cards enclosed.

You know, they have been really nice. I'm still pleased with the service I've received and how they've handled everything. I'd still recommend them to people. I've never had to actually complain to get my way.......they've fixed everything right away. I'm not sure when the new tops are coming in, but I don't really care because the kitchen is functional, so it's all good. Oh! And did I mention my sink?

One other thing: I went looking at tiling ideas for the back splash. Do you think that white subway tiles are going to be too stark for the backsplash? I was going to do those with a gray grout color. I'd love some feedback on this issue.

I found some awesome marble subway tiles at the tile shop, but MAN! They were expensive. And I think that going with marble would be a little goofy with a laminate counter top, don't you think? But, boy - were they beautiful! They had some fun veining and color variations that made them really warm-looking. Someday, when we (if we) do the dream kitchen, I'd love those tiles with a soapstone countertop. That's my dream.

Anyhow.....

What a Day!

Such a great day!!!!

We started our day at the pool for the commercial shoot. Gretchen invited us and a bunch of other kids to be extras in a commercial shoot. I picked up our neighbor's children (Patti and Ricardo - I talked about them here.) and a couple of their friends and we went to the pool:

If you click on this picture, you can see the two boys, W and M. They're Gretchen and Bob's boys.

They must have cranked up the heater because the water was sooooo warm - I didn't bring my suit, so I just dipped my feet in - but it was nice! I wish I would've had my suit. The kids had a BALL. They could do whatever they wanted and even though it was cold outside, the sun was shining and they were playing like crazy, which is exactly what Producer Bob wanted. Here's a picture of Producer Bob and my beloved pal, Gretchen:

Isn't Gretchen pretty? She just got a sassy new haircut.

I got to invite my friend Carrie and her little ones to the shoot. I met Carrie at the pool last year. She's sooooo nice and her husband (Corey) is the one who will be doing our kitchen floor! Carrie and Corey have 3 beautiful wonderful children. Here they all are:
Carrie. Isn't she beautiful?

This is A. She's going to be a star someday. I just know it.

Sweet little A and boy J. Baby A is two. Sooooooo cute!
This little family is so nice. Carrie is such a great Mom. I'm constantly impressed with her kids. If they are eating a snack, they immediately ask the Noodle if she'd like to share with them. Amazing. And that's with no prompting from Carrie.

Here are our fabulous neighbor kids:

This is D. So pretty and smart and polite! What a great kid. She's Patti and Ricardo's youngest. She and the Noodle had a playdate after the shoot.

This is E, Patti and Ricardo's boy. He's a little older than D. Great kid.

This is R and R. The R on the left is Patti and Ricardo's older boy. Such a great kid. The other "R". is his buddy from school. So polite and friendly. I can't say enough about these kids. I love them and I'm totally impressed by them.

This is J and I. Such good boys - I have a feeling J (The older one.) will be visible in the commercial. The Director just loved him and he loved being there! He's such a good boy. I'm sad because he and R. will be going to Jr. High this year, so I won't see them at the bus stop every day anymore. They were always making sure the younger kids were taken care of.

One time, when the Noodle and Gretchen's boy, W., were in kindergarten, Gretchen and I were waiting for the school bus and it came to a different corner 4 blocks away (There was a lot of construction in the neighborhood at the time.). J. walked the Noodle home and made sure she was safely in the house while R. took care of W. and walked him home. J. and R. were in the 5th grade at the time. How many 5th graders would think to do that? These are two well brought-up boys.

In other news, J's dad, Jose, and Ricardo are good friends and they just opened a Mexican Restaurant in our neighborhood!!!! I took the Noodle, D., and the Noodle's pal, Ana, there for lunch yesterday.
Ohmygosh.
It was soooooo good! Their tacos were very authentic - unfried fresh corn tortilla with seasoned steak and onions, Cojito cheese, cilantro, lettuce, onion, tomato. Yummy. I ordered some "to go" for Zuddy and brought them to his work. He LOVED them. We've both decided it's our new favorite place to eat. I can't wait to go back. It might be a weekly thing for us.

Then we had the wedding......my cousin, Angie was the bride. SO beautiful. Really. Probably the most gorgeous bride I've ever seen. I had my camera, but forgot to take any pictures. Maybe someone else in the family took some. I've got to share her beauty with you all.

Also, the Noodle, Lulu, Schmackie and Sweet Angel were tooooooooooo cute!
Lulu caught a ride with us to the reception and we were cracking up at the conversation between her and the Noodle. Those two are best pals. First of all, they were making a date to get online at the same time and play with their Webkinz together. All of this talk about setting alarm clocks and what their alarm clocks look like, etc. Soooo funny.
Then the Noodle said something that didn't make much sense and Lulu says, "Uhhhhhhh, O-kay?" Just like a teenager. My Mom was in the front of the car with me and Zuddy was in the middle row of seats and we were all just laughing. Kids are just pure entertainment, aren't they??

The reception was at the Science Museum of Minnesota and so the kids were even MORE excited (even though we didn't go see the exhibits). They were running up and down the musical steps and twirling and dancing around.

At dinner Noodle and Lulu were very impressed with the chicken nuggets. VERY impressed. Apparently the most delectable nuggets EVAH! They were comparing them to other nuggets they've eaten in the past.....like two little wine connoisseurs comparing their favorite vintages. What a hoot!

And the CAKE!!! I'm so picky about cake and this one was really good. I need to find out who made it. Really nice french buttercream. Mmmmmmm.

That's my day. I included the Noodle and Lulu chicken nugget talk as a shout-out to my sis-in-law, Myrna. I know she reads this blog and I didn't get to talk to her about the cute things the girls were talking about.

I'm very thankful for my family, friends and neighbors today.

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!

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?

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!

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!