It's The Simple Things...

Sometimes...life is just cool...funny..wonderful...amazing...and other times..well...it's not.

Today there was some awesomeness. 

I didn't have to cook dinner really as Mom was very nice to think of us and made us a yummy chicken pot pie...which all I had to do was bake!

COOL-Beans!

(Thanks Mom!)

I also tried something sooo cool tonight...and I know, it's probably not that exciting or anything, but it is to me...maybe that proves that I have a pretty mundane life...oh well.

It made me smile and laugh with glee...and it worked so that's all that matters!

I remembered a year ago or more hearing you could cook corn on the cob in the microwave....so we had some corn on the cob fresh from our local Seven Oaks Farm.

(Thanks again to Mom and Dad for getting us some!)

It's so worth it...cause man-o-man is that some delicious fresh corn!

Okay so here is the most awesome part of it all (other than the yummy eating part)..I found the article and a video about cooking the corn in the microwave!

Check this out!!

HOW TO MAKE MESS FREE FRESH CORN ON THE COB!

The fellow in the video is charming and cute.

BEST of all.....IT WORKED!!!!

Hot diggity wang dang doodle!

I giggled with glee when it worked! I had my doubts..yes even though I had just watched his video and saw how easy he made it...I really doubted it...but it worked like a charm!

It was perfectly cooked...and no fuss, no muss!

WOW!

Thank You Ken!! You ROCK! 

(Ken is the fellow in the video)

I don't think I will ever EVER cook corn on the cob any other way...EVER again!

I haven't posted anything in awhile..so let me catch you up -- this is what I've (we've) been up too:

1. Cross-Stitching my heart out.

2. Letting Natalie build a blanket fort in the living room (and around and over me while I am cross stitching).

3. Taking care of and keeping a watchful eye on my 2 girls and the 5 fur-babies.

4. Laundry...which made me just jump up and realize I needed to wash Ed's work clothes!

5. Went to the Book Exchange again.

Had fun there...I love going there.

We donated a bunch of books...but we found some to bring home too.

Thankfully not as much as we donated. LOL!

I love vintage books and I found some really neat ones. 

Here are some of the titles I picked up:

"Tales To Tremble By"

"The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"

"The Greek Gods"

"Enid Blyton's Happy Story Book"

"Best In Children's Books"

"A Child's Garden of Verses"

"The Fannie Farmer Junior Cook Book"

and

"Magic and Laughter"

I am still reading Grimm's Fairy Tales.

Wow...I never really realized how graphic (and a bit horrific) those stories are.

Lots of death, dismemberment, curses, spells, betrayal, jealousy, greed, heartbreak...well you get the idea.

I read one story called 

The Bird, The Mouse and The Sausage

If you click on the title of the story it will take you to it where you can read it for yourself.

I guess...it's a morality lesson...about not taking others for granted and not being greedy/selfish and maybe just being satisfied with the way things are..being thankful for what you have.

(Which is something most everyone needs to be reminded of at least once or more in our life)

Lessons are meted out harshly in the Grimm's Fairy Tales..let me tell you!

Wow..you usually have to pay with your life or a lot of suffering if you don't do as you are told.

Like in the story

The Wolf and The Seven Little Kids

I wonder if that was the original story they came up with BEFORE Little Red Riding Hood??

Anyway..I've enjoyed reading it despite some of the gruesomeness.

Last night I started to read Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol."

I know...wrong time of year...but she started talking about how she is looking forward to school and then started talking about Christmas plays and things and the next thing I know she is telling me about a version of "A Christmas Carol" that they did last year...and she was a little confused about it so I started to correct her and told her we have the story.

So..I started to read it to her.

We aren't even threw the first chapter...the ghost of Marley hasn't even showed up yet.

So that's about it...been about the sum of it.

Well...I think that's it...for now anyway...

TTFN

From Rags To Ringlets...

Hiya!

So my last posting I mentioned that I had put Natalie's hair up in rag curls, and I showed pictures. So today I took out the rags and wanted to show the results of them..here ya go:

After I took them out I then put it up in a pong tail for her so the curls would be grouped together in a Fantastic Curly Cascade!

Looks great huh?

Far better results than we have had with hot rollers or curling irons.

Natalie wanted to try sponge curlers...BUT we tried the rag curls first and they are the way to go!!

Okay...catch you later.

TTFN

A Heat Wave, Free Fabulous Finds and Rag Curls!

A heat wave blew into town last week
She came from the island of Martinique
The can can she dances will make you fry
The can can is really the reason why

We're having a heat wave
A tropical heat wave
The temperature's rising
It isn't surprising
She certainly can, can can!

I don't think it's a dance making it hot...but we are certainly having some nasty ol' hot weather here.

I think it got up to 100F or more

Tomorrow's gonna be even hotter.

I got one word for it...G-R-O-S-S!

Let's see..despite the heat we managed to go out in it...not very enthusiastically mind you.

Natalie and I went to the Rogue Book Exchange

I love going there!

Ya never know what kinds of books you will find!

It's a free book store for the community. They NEED volunteers and donations of books and money to keep them open...if you are ever in Medford, check out their store!

The volunteers are really nice and helpful...and they have a lot of books in all genres.

Today I scored! I got craft books! WOOT! I got one on Macrame, Terrariums, Cross Stitch Patterns, Embroidery..all kinds of stuff. I even found some funny ones, like the "How to Guide to Watching Football." I thought that would make Edward laugh...and it did.

I also found a lot of really awesome books some going back to the 50's! 

I snagged a lot of stuff from the 60's & 70's though.

I love that groovy stuff!

Natalie got some Heathcliff books and a series of double books that are classics.

This is the one I started tonight:

Check It Out Here

&

Here's The Whole Set

We weren't able to get them all...but we did get the ones they (The Book Exchange) had.

I already started the Grimms' Fairy Tales tonight.

I love old books.

I am very <VERY> anti-e-books...kindle...whatever...I think they are evil.

I know, click your tongues and say 'oh please' all you want..but I will freak out completely the day the last paper book disappears...that will be a sad day my friends...a sad day.

Okay so....came home, cooled off and Ed tells me about freebie yard sale leftovers.

So we go back out into the heat and check it out...I managed to snag:

a golf club (for protection), a pink night shirt (for Natalie), a nice bake dish, a polka dot cappuccino mug, a cute little angel ornament..and I think that's about it.

All for free! You can't beat FREE.

They had some fishing poles and I was tempted to take them...cause I haven't been fishing in so long and it sure sounds like fun, and I would like to teach the girls how to fish...but we didn't grab them.

We did a surprise drop in at Grandma & Grandpa's house and I got a surprise gift from Mom.

She made Natalie and I these really beautiful bookmarks..take a look:

Mine's the coffee one...aren't these pretty? That's fabric folks! It's art...my Mom is so crafty!

I'm lucky to have a Mom that can make awesome things.

THANKS MOM!

We Love You!!

Lastly we came home, and really needed cooling off by then, and I put Natalie's hair up in rag curls tonight.

Here's a picture of what they look like in the back:

Cute Huh?

Tomorrow I will take a picture of her when they are out so you can see how curly they are.

Here's a cute collage of her in them:

Caitlin of course won't let me do anything with her hair, plus it's too short for rag curls.

I've been working on my cross stitching, I can't show any of it...cause some of it is for Christmas presents.

NO PEEKING!

Okay, it's really late and I need to get.

TTFN

New Recipes and an Old Recipe Revised...Perfected?

Tried a new recipe the other night and it was soooo good I just had to share it with you.

Every now and then I get this overwhelming urge to try some new recipes and test them out on the family.

Most of the time I do pretty good, sometimes I make a dud.

This one was definitely a WINNER!

If you click the name of the recipe below it will take you to it.

THAI BEEF WITH COCONUT RICE

This recipe is so delicious!

Okay so I made a couple of omissions...I didn't want to slice and add in hot peppers...I know, I know...

I just didn't want to overload on heat and make it so we couldn't eat it.

So I added in red chili flakes and a few shakes of ground Cayenne pepper.

Of course I forgot the lime at the end...which stinks cause I had the lime...I just forgot it.

Next time I make it I am going to make it a little hotter and double the recipe..there was just enough for us to eat..it was that good!

Last night we had

EASY CHICKEN CORDON BLEU

It turned out really well and was also a big hit.

Yesterday I also made a favorite dessert of our whole family..Ice Box Pie.

I was trying to find the recipe and I couldn't find it anywhere, so what did I do?

I tried to find it online...but I couldn't find the recipe that my Mom makes anywhere...so what did I do then?

I called Mom of course!

She told me the ingredients/amounts etc..over the phone and I proceeded to make it.

I've made it before, but it's been awhile.

So I tried a few "new" things to it and I think I finally mastered the secret of excellent Ice Box Pie!!!

Here's what it looked like before it got devoured:

<<<<<<<<<<<<  Here's the recipe and what I did  >>>>>>>>>>

Ingredients

1 stick of butter (softened)

1 C flour

1/2 or more of chopped pecans, walnuts..etc (optional)

2 boxes of cream cheese (softened)

1 1/2 C powdered sugar

1 large tub cool-whip

1 large box of instant chocolate pudding (or whatever flavor you want)

2 1/2 C cold milk

Chocolate Chips and Caramel Sauce for the top (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350F

2. Spray a 9 X 10 size glass casserole dish with non-stick spray.

3. Put flour and butter in a a mixing bowl and using your hands work the flour and butter together until you get a fine grain texture, if adding nuts do so now....pour flour/butter crust into casserole dish and press evenly into pan.

4. Place casserole dish in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, just until it starts to golden brown, don't let it get dark.

Take out and let cool completely.

5. In an electric mixer put the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Beat on medium until a creamy and slightly fluffy consistency, no lumps!

Pour the cream cheese layer onto the cooled crust. Be careful in spreading it over the crust, as it can come apart on you...it just takes patience.

6. In the same mixer bowl put the dry instant pudding mix and the cold milk, whisk until thickens.

Carefully fold in 1/2 of the tub of cool whip.

Pour pudding mixture over the cream cheese layer and spread evenly.

7. Cover casserole with foil and place in freezer for 30 minutes up to an hour.

When you are ready to serve the ice box pie, remove the foil and "frost" with the remaining cool whip.

You can now top the cool whip with chocolate chips and caramel or whatever you want to add to the top.

It turned out wonderful!

Before when I've made it the layers would slide off each other when you cut it, so this time I decided to put it in the freezer to see if that would help...and sure thang baby!!

GROOVYNESS!

Letting it sit in the freezer really firmed everything up and made it even more of a "Ice Box" dessert.

It was so nice and cool and wonderful to enjoy when we have been having so much heat here!

It cut beautifully and really stayed together this time.

I didn't add nuts this time 'cause I didn't have any in the house (other than us! LOL!) and I really wanted to make it, so I just went with it.

Either way it's really good. 

You can use whatever pudding flavor you want, next time I am going to try banana cream or something like that.

Lemon would be good too!

Anyway, that's it...been working on my cross stitching too as I have time.

TTFN!

Old Time Movies

I watched a couple more "old" movies.

In the past few days I've watched a few more old time movies.

The first one was a Laurel and Hardy movie called "The Flying Deuces."

Here you can read about it:

Laurel and Hardy

I thought it was pretty funny. Especially the jail house chase scene! LOL!

Then I watched another classic film called "It's a Pleasure."

Here you can read about it:

It's a Pleasure

This was a great movie and moving love story.

Sonja Henie was one of the founding ladies of figure skating.

Here is some information I found about her:

Three times the Olympic figure-skating champion, Miss Henie won most of the major world skating titles from 1927 to 1936, when she turned professional.

A petite, glamorous woman with a taste for luxury and a shrewd business sense, she was immensely successful next with a series of her own ice revues, and prospered as a motion picture star.

Born in Oslo on April 8, 1912, Miss Henie received her first skates from her father, a Norwegian fur wholesaler, on the Christmas after her sixth birthday.

While improving her skating, in the next few years, she also studied ballet with a former teacher of Anna Pavlova, and eventually she combined the two forms on ice.

She won the children's figure skating championship of Oslo when she was 8, and two years later, in 1923, she won the figure skating championship of Norway.

She entered her first Olympic Winter Games the next year, primarily for experience, and took third place in the free skating competition.

(She accomplished all of this before the age of 12)

She won the first of 10 consecutive world skating titles at Oslo in 1927, captivating the crowd with her ballet style, a white silk and ermine costume and short skirt and a dimpled smile.

Over the next decade Miss Henie won Olympic titles at St. Moritz, Switzerland (1928), at Lake Placid (1932), and at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria (1936).

She signed with Darrly F. Zanuck and 20th Century-Fox, and her first skating film, "One in a Million," was released at the end of 1936.

It was a box-office smash, as were others she made in the following dozen years. 

The pictures were reported to have grossed $25-million.

She was once quoted as saying

"I want to do with skates (in the movies) what Fred Astaire is doing with dancing."

She also began staging and appearing in ice shows, in association with Arthur Wirtz, her business manager, and these, too, were very successful -- with lavish costumes and spectacular routines.

These shows, the "Hollywood Ice Revues" were major attractions at Madison Square Garden for many years, up to 1952.

Sadly she died October 12, 1969.

Here are some little known facts about her:

She was the first skater to parlay her athletic success into a lucrative career.

10 time World Champion Women's Figure Skating.

She was the youngest Olympic skating champion - 15 years and 10 months of age when she won the 1928 gold medal. This record was beaten only in 1998 by a two-month younger American 'Tara Lipinski'.

She began a modern art museum with her third husband, Henie-Onstad Art Centre in the city of Tampere, about 200 km from Oslo. The couple is buried on the hilltop overlooking the museum.

Inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1976 & the International Women's Sport Hall of Fame 1982.

The signature of her ice skate blades adorns the cement at Grauman's Chinese Theatre.

Here is a list of the American movies she was in:

Holiday On Ice   1956

The Countess of Monte Cristo  1948

It's a Pleasure  1945

Wintertime  1943

Iceland  1942

Sun Valley Serenade  1941

Everything Happens at Night  1939

Second Fiddle  1939

My Lucky Star  1938

Happy Landing  1938

Ali Baba Goes to Town  1937

Thin Ice  1937

One in a Million  1936

What an amazing Ice Skater!

I just thought I would highlight this very talented lady.

Well in the words of Porky Pig..."Th-th-th-th-that's all folks!" 

Chinese "Take-Out" & Some Crafting News

Hidy Ho!

Had a nice day yesterday (Sunday, July 14, 2013) as we went over to Mom and Dad's and I made Chinese food for dinner for everyone.

Unfortunately, Edward had to work again...so he didn't get to join us.

I made General Tao's Chicken and fried up some Pot Stickers.

Mom stir fried some fresh veggies and made some Jasmine Rice with Saffron.

Yum was that a good dinner!

If you want to know the secret to making Chinese food at home that tastes like what you get in the restaurant here's the tip:

individually coat chicken pieces with flour and then fry getting them nice and crispy & golden, then you add your sauce/veggies to it at the end...and make sure to let the sauce thicken over low.

Turns out great every time!

It's a lot of work but it's worth it in the end if you are making, Sweet & Sour Chicken/Pork, General Tao's, Szechuan Chicken/Pork..anything like that.

After tasting how Mom made the Jasmine Rice in her Rice Cooker...NOW I want one!

Anyway...had a nice time. Played a round of Star Wars Trouble with Natalie, Mom and I.

Then had desert..Mom made a delicious carrot cake:

Carrot Coconut Cake

I really suggest the "Kraft Food and Family" website.

The recipes are easy and most are quick, family friendly, economical recipes.

The recipes are centered around Kraft products, but you can substitute..I do.

I've made this Carrot Cake...and it was really tasty too:

Short-Cut Carrot Cake

Of course, I still need to perfect making layer cakes..mine kind of fell apart because I didn't wait and let the cake cool long enough before attempting to frost it.

You could make it into a sheet cake and just frost it like that.

Both recipes are really good.

Mom is busy working on sewing projects and I am busy working on cross stitch projects as I have time.

I love to cross stitch...and Mom loves to Quilt.

I need to take more pictures of the other quilts she has made and share them.

Mom is a very talented Quilter...which she inherited from her Mom (Norma aka GG) who is also a very crafty and skilled lady.

In my case...I think all that talent...kind of skipped a generation!

I don't think I could sew a straight line if my life depended on it!

I can cross stitch..although I had to admit I am still in the Beginner level as I haven't completed to many projects.

If you need anything hot glued...well then I am your gal!

I'm a whiz with a glue gun!

LOL!

I've tried to make other crafts...all with pretty much disastrous results.

You should have seen the rag rug I tried to make!

Holy Shizzz that was a mess!

I would love to know how to crochet and knit...which that would be handy as I could make things for my family and friends.

Maybe someday I will try and learn again...maybe I just need more patience.

After all I did teach myself how to French Braid Natalie's hair.

Most of you will laugh to learn this..but as Natalie's hair got longer and longer I wanted to learn how to do different kinds of braids...so I ordered a book, that shows you how to do many different kinds of braids.

Here take a look:

The Braided Image

Awesome book! I really recommend it to people who want to learn how to do all kinds of braids.

I've only mastered the French Braid...I have to get more confidence, time and a patient Natalie, before I can attempt to learn how to do more braids.

ALTHOUGH --- I did teach myself how to do rag curls...which are sooo cute and make Natalie's hair SO curly!

Here's where I went:

Vixen Vintage Blog

It was pretty easy to learn and it turns out great!

I would like to learn how to do pin curls on my hair, as it's usually way to short to do much of anything with it.

I will have to take a picture of Natalie in her rag curls and then after when it's all spiral curled.

She really wants curly hair (got figure!) she's got gorgeous straight, silky soft hair!

She keeps bugging me to get a perm, so I tried to compromise and get curling irons..well that didn't work cause her hair is so long, so then we tried hot rollers...nope those didn't work cause she complained that they were "too hot & uncomfortable." Then I thought to try sponge rollers, but then Mom and I told her how uncomfortable they would be to sleep on...so that got a frown and an "uh..okay no."

So to avoid a perm (cause I am anti-perms since I had my hair ruined by one) I tried rag curls.

They turn out better then any perm could ever give you.

TTFN 

What's Old Is New Again....

Awhile back, in another one of my postings, I had mentioned that I wanted to start watching "old" movies to expand my movie repertoire.

So..today (after all that baking I did earlier) I watched 

"Hit Parade of 1943"

What an awesome movie!

Here you can read about it

HIT PARADE OF 1943

I liked the movie and the characters...there was a lot of comedy to it as well as some great songs & choreography. If you click below you can watch the Harlem Sandman song & dance that was in the movie.

Watch Harlem Sandman

Natalie and I loved the costumes...the dresses were beautiful...I wish we could still dress like that.

Natalie loved the jewelry and hair-do's.

So that's one down....and countless more to go.

It'd be nice if I could watch a new movie (new to me) once a day...but I don't think I will have enough time for that right now.

I am working on cross stitch projects and have a ton of other things I am trying to do...don't we all?

Anyway, just thought I would share movie I watched today.

TTFN

It's Baking Time!

What do you do for fun when you are stuck at home all day and into the evening with a 14 year old, a 10 year old...and a house of cats?

Well... ya bake of course!

That's what the girls and I did today...we baked some yummy stuff.

Thought I would share the recipes and photos of what we made.

First we made Blonde Brownies

Here's the recipe I used

BLONDE BROWNIE RECIPE

They really turned out delicious!

Soooo easy too!

Once I started baking I couldn't stop..I got bit..by the baking bug!!

So I decided to make these yummy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, I'd made them before...and they're a keeper and everyone loves them.

YUMMY COOKIE BAR RECIPE

Then I decided to try and make something new, something I've never made before.

A few days ago I came across this recipe for Rugelach, it's a traditional Jewish holiday cookie/pastry.

(at least that's what I've read)

The recipe was really easy to follow and they turned out very delicious. 

I used a golden raisin mixture, finely chopped pecans and apricot preserves in the batch I made.

EASY RUGELACH RECIPE

Next time I am going to bake them on a lower temp and watch them closer.

I had never made them before and my oven is old and frankly...it just doesn't work right.

But they are still delicious.

The Girls and I had a lot of fun baking together today.

We weren't alone in the kitchen either...Sookie and Squeaky supervised our every move.

Especially Sookie...she had to be right up in the action...Squeaky...he danced around the floor hoping for something yummy to drop.

After all that baking we were all pretty pooped out.

See?

I took a break from the kitchen for awhile and then later made  Grilled Mojito Marinaded Chicken with Grilled Red Onion, Flafel, cucumber/onion salad, cucumber greek yogurt dressing with cilantro and flat bread.

Can anyone say YUMM?

It was all pretty tasty.

So...that was most of my day...I'm pretty tired now.

Maybe I will get a nice night of sleep. 

TTFN

Hair Dye, Late Night Food & A MAD DASH

I guess this is a side note...to give a little update.

It's been a busy busy week...I think we kept Mom and Dad (Grandma and Grandpa) hopping with us this week.

I think we wore them out...I think I'm worn out.

Ed's had to work so he's missed out on all the fun...but not the heat as he works out in it.

It's been pretty hot, staying in the 90's and getting up to a hundred some days.

I got one word for that: G-R-O-S-S!

In the words of my 1980's Valley Girl self..."Like..Gag me with a spoon!"

Let's see so there was the weather station trip on Monday, that Grandma and Grandpa took the girls too, then there was the Glenn Miller Orchestra on Wednesday, followed by Caitlin's 14th Birthday Party on Thursday.

There is a funny story that goes along with the our the free concert in the park we saw on Wednesday.

If you haven't read my post yet about it...go ahead, I have pictures on there too...anyway, the funny side note is that after we got to the park and just before the band was getting ready to start, Mom noticed that there was this HUGE crowd of seniors sitting behind us a little ways in wheel chairs, walkers and scooters. 

Mom turned to me and said that they probably had come from some of the retirement homes and I said that was nice that they do that for them and get them out.

Everything was hunky-dory until one of the ladies that was a chaperon for the seniors kept asking all the older folks if they wanted bug spray...it was actually quite funny...but then Mom, Dad and I started to smell it and taste it..and we were like "What in the heck is that?!" Dad said it smelled and tasted like alcohol...LOL!

It was the bug spray being carried by the strong breeze over to us.

Let's just say...I can understand why it kills bugs!

**Gag..cough--cough! Gag**

Mom was so funny, towards the end of the concert she leans over to me and says: "We better make a break for it and hurry before those bus things come and get the seniors or we will be stuck in the parking lot forever.

OMG! 

I never saw my Mom move soooo fast!

Dad had to get up and started a good 5 minutes before the rest of us..for fear that he might get left behind!

It's okay to laugh...I was laughing while all of this was going on!

I was packing a lot of stuff back at one time and Natalie and Caitlin were helping me, I felt like we were late for a train!

When the girls and I got to the car, Dad was already in and Mom was out trying to help me get the rest the stuff in the back of the car...when she stops and made this exasperated gasp followed by "OH My GOD...here they come! Hurry, Hurry!!" 

I thought it was Armageddon!

Nope..it was the buses arriving to pick up all the seniors from the old folks homes.

As if we are fleeing for our lives I tell Mom and the Girls to just "get in the car...don't worry about me!" and made a frantic effort to get the cooler, chairs and blanket in the back of the car. I hurriedly slammed the trunk and jumped in...telling Natalie to just scooch over, I was worried my Mom was gonna take off with me still hanging out the car!

Luckily...by the grace of God...we all survived and managed to beat the buses of doom!

Maybe that could be made into a movie?

Okay...so let's see I dyed my hair today...black. Haven't dyed it in so long I almost don't recognize myself.

Scary!

But...LOOK MA...No more white hairs!

I slow cooked some boneless pork roasts in my crock pot today and when Ed came home from work I had to run to the store to get the rolls for the BBQ Pulled Pork Sammies. 

So that explains the hair dye, the late night food...now about the mad dash.

Caitlin got a gift card from her Aunt/Uncle and Cousins in Colorado for her birthday.

All I heard about today was "can we go to Toys R Us when Dad comes home? PLLLEEASSSEE???"

So I drove the girls there, where Caitlin picked out more Skylander toys to go with the Skylanders Giants game.

I'm not doing that again...I don't like going into stores right before they close...I always feel like I am in a anxiety driven race against the clock.

Kind of like a timed shopping spree...accept I don't have unlimited funds and I can't get anything I want in 60 seconds or less....I WISH!

So that's the end of this day...actually I think I've posted a couple days worth of stuff. Trying to be a good about my promise to myself to keep up with my blog.

TTFN

Happy 14th Birthday Caitlin!!!

We celebrated Caitlin's 14th Birthday yesterday, Thursday, July 11, 2013.

She had been looking forward to this day for quite some time.

Her actual birthday is on July 1st, but we decided to postpone it this year since we had plans for the 4th and didn't want to overload her (or us)...

We started off with lunch at Caitlin's favorite pizza place, Angelo's Pizza.

Caitlin's calls it a "pizza palace."

Personally, I agree with her...I think their pizza is the best in the valley.

If you are ever in Medford, Oregon...go there and eat!

http://www.angelospizza.com/

After we ate lunch and the girls played on some arcade games...which was hilarious watching them do a NASCAR game...with a steering wheel...was about fall down funny!

Natalie did pretty good finishing in 7th place her first try!

Caitlin came in 28th I think. 

It was a good laugh to see them swerve and hit the wall and other cars!

Although Caitlin did do really good on a game called Galaga, it's an old arcade game. 

http://www.galagagame.net/

We went over to Grandma and Grandpa's house for presents and cake.

Mom made Caitlin a beautiful (and oh so delicious) Red Velvet Cake.

YUMM-O!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sara-moulton/southern-red-velvet-cake-recipe/index.html

Here -- take a look:

Aren't the candles cute?

Thank You Grandma & Grandpa for the yummy cake and presents!

Caitlin had a lot of fun unwrapping her presents and I can tell you that it was so nice for Edward and I to see her face when she opened the gifts we got her.

It's been a long time since we have been able to buy the girls really any presents for their birthdays (or holidays for that matter).

Here are more pictures from the birthday party

Tak and The Power of JuJu

I got awesome presents!!

Treasure Buddies! I LOVE Dogs!!

Happy Birthday To ME!!

Yeah! I got Skylanders from GG and $ for the movies!

Caitie also got a gift card to ColdStone Creamery from her Little Sister, Natalie

&

a gift card to Toys R Us from Aunt Sharon, Uncle Dan & 

The Cousins.

Hi Family in Colorado!!!!

I (we) LOVE you!

Caitlin loved all of her presents!

This Birthday Party was made possible by a Grandma, Grandpa, Great-Grandma Norma (GG), Great-Aunt Sharon, Great-Uncle Dan, 2nd Cousins Oliver, Spencer, Harry, Mom, Dad & Little Sister Natalie.

*Caitlin always makes us laugh and before we left to go to the pizza parlor aka "pizza palace" she strutted out into the living room in her red Hawaii shirt, blue shorts, a red heart necklace, her red braclet and her large red sunglasses -- cocked a hip, looked at me and asked "Am I stylish or what?"

I about choked on my coffee!

LOL!

A BIG THANK YOU

to our family

for all of the presents and for Caitlin's birthday party.

It was a very special day for her.

Natalie's Quilt

Since I already posted Caitlin's quilt, I thought I would now share Natalie's.

Mom really did an awesome job with these quilts and I know the girls are going to love them.

Natalie loves pink and purple and all things girly.

So her quilt that Grandma made her really fits her.

Mom followed a quilt class called "Block of the Month" on Craftsy.

Here's the link to their class lists:

http://www.craftsy.com/classes

Those Crafty Craftsy folks have some awesome stuff on their website!

Check it out!

So I wanted to share the pictures of Natalie's quilt. It really looks beautiful.

Mom is finishing it with the polka dot binding....that's super cute!

Here's a look:

Now isn't that neat or what?!

Just like Caitlin's accept the colors/fabrics are different. The quilt block designs are the same.

Each quilt block has it's own name and pattern...some were harder to make than others, according to my Mom...and I trust her cause she's been sewing for a long time..most of her life I do believe.

Here's a look at the back:

Again, click on the picture and it will get bigger for you to see the detail.

The back on Natalie's quilt is a pale purple/lavender color...but in the picture it kind of looks white.

Anyway...I think that's it on my posing for now.

We've got another big day planned for tomorrow with Caitlin's 14th Birthday Party!

It's just family...but Caitlin is beyond excited! She is so happy we are going to her favorite pizza place, Angelo's Pizza. She calls it a "Pizza Palace."  Too funny!

That girl LOVES pizza.

On top of it...she is getting presents to unwrap and a delicious red velvet cake that Grandma is making for her. Very nice.

So...I am off....TTFN.

Strike Up The Band!!

Strike Up The Band...The Gangs All Here!!

This evening Grandpa, Grandma, Caitlin, Natalie and I went to a free concert in Bear Creek Park.

We were treated to hear The Glenn Miller Orchestra.

What an awesome time!

The music was great and the singing was wonderful.

You can check them out here:

http://glennmillerorchestra.com/

Of course I took pictures...we all look a little flushed because it was so hot..and I mean HOT!

When we were on our way to the park around 5 PM...a sign said it was 104 -- YIKES!

It was really hot and it seemed to get hotter as we sat waiting for band to begin and the sun to quit.

Mom made us a nice picnic of hoagies and brownies.

Thanks Mom!

Thankfully we brought lots of water and a really nice surprise was the State Farm Insurance agents that set up a tent and were handing out free ice cream and water. 

That was nice!

Thank You!

Okay onto the pictures

Here's Natalie enjoying her hoagie. 

Nattie had the brightest neon pink mini skirt on.

That girl loves pink and neon!

Caitlin got a little antsy and overheated, but once the music started she was good.

Grandma and Grandpa got really hot and flushed, but had fun squirting each other with ice water (which made us all laugh) and they humored me by smiling at the camera when I took candid shots of them with hoagie in their mouths.

Here's some random concert goers that Natalie snapped a picture of listening to the band.

Lastly, here's Caitlin, Rex and Natalie posing for me.

Rex the Tiger is the Parks and Rec mascot for the City of Medford.

(Thanks Rex for posing for a picture with my girls)

If you click on the pictures they will be bigger for you.

I am not in any pictures...probably a good thing as I think I was pretty scary looking in my Tie-Dye Mumu or is it Moo-Moo? LOL! Probably the later...hahaha!

I had a matching do rag on my head...which I soaked in cold water..it was really really hot!

I think we are all going to end up a little red tomorrow.

Edward wasn't able to go as he had to work.

I hope he can go with us the next concert we go to.

I put the camera away too soon..because the girls LOVE dogs and they saw the cutest little Rottweiler puppy, I mean really cute...and of course they had to go pet it..I should have taken a picture it was darling how they interacted with the puppy.

They really need a dog of their own.

We were all pretty tired by the time the concert ended at 8:30...Natalie was very excited because she swooned over the leader of the band...and got his autograph in her journal.

Cute or what?

We had fun!

Until next time...TTFN.