Where's the Camera?!!!

Well, I went for a walk with the kids today and took some pictures but now I can't find it for the life of me! What happened to it?

Anyway, my in-laws' place looks over a golf course on a hillside so there's a trail that separates them from the green. In our walk, we saw overspilling into the fence... (all these pictures are borrowed online. Why? I can't find the camera that have the similar pictures in them! That's why...) :-)

some ripening pears on a tree...
Overspilling tiny ripe raspberries. We picked some, but they were too tiny to be juicy. Still good though.
Before that, we saw some green grapes spilled over the fence, several bunches, just waiting to be ripe enough to eat! Wow! We did turn right back since it was too hot and my new black flip-flops were burning my feet. *ouch, ouch!*
And in the afternoon, my ears were tantalized by the sounds of the playing magpies zooming in and out of the trees, flying in the air and resting on the fence! What a great day!

Psst... we have so much pictures to share, it'll take a while to get them into any comprehensible story format so I hope you'll still be there when I finally get a chance to plug them in.

Happy Saturday to all!

A Slow Thursday

Today, my tablescaping blog, "What Now?" was the Featured Blogger on SITS (The Secret's in the Sauce), a blog encouraging others to visit and comment. (click on button on the sidebar)

I wasn't expecting many to like my blog much less leave such gracious comments but they did so I was really glad we had nowhere to go today.

Also, we started reading together (me and the smallish kiddos), PB Kerr's "The Children of the Lamp" series. It's about the journey of twin djinns (genies) who need to rescue their mother from becoming the Blue Djinn and forget them for she has to be totally neutral to all emotions to keep the balance of good and evil in the world, while simultaneously saving the world from other problems. I totally recommend it for those that want a fantastical tale that connects a realistic possibility explaining how luck works.

I wasn't expecting the kids to love it as it is not a picture book, but they are eating it up and we have my bed to read in so it's extra special for them.

J-Pony didn't want me to stop reading and asked if she can read the book herself, but I explained that it's our special time together so she relented.

I-Dude asked me, "Mommy, how can they be powerful djinns when they have ordinary lives?" to which I replied, "Because they didn't know they were and they are about to find out." His next question was, "How is the prologue connected to the story?" I answered that prologues get connected later in the story. "Prologues are there to tease you about what's in the book."

I'm glad I didn't think he wasn't paying attention! LOL

He also made this while we were having some downtime... A pyramid of his Hot Wheels cars! Cool!


Did you have a slow but fun Thursday?

I Baked, I baked!

To the veteran, if not professional bakers, this is ho-hum post, but to this "newer than new" baker, it is a post of victory! To the pros, you can choose to leave or stay to see how I did. Yes, I don't want to count the cookies or brownies, anyone can make those, I'm talking baking AN HONEST TO GOODNESS, REAL LIFE, LOAF OF BREAD! (I see you laughing back there, but I'm just so happy, I'm considering that a laughter of pride for me!) ;-)

If you recall, I declared myself as the "stock up" queen and that I recently sectioned off a baking center in my tiny kitchen. Well... stocking up and tiny doesn't always mesh so that means too much baking goodies and not much space!

Such is the story of my stock of AP flour and while I was refilling my barely emptied flour container, I noticed the recipe on the back of the paper bag. It reads yummy, doesn't it? I don't know if you can read it, but it asked for mozzarella. I don't have that but I did have some grated cheddar so...
After following the directions of cooking the oatmeal,

And mixing it in the flour mix with 1 egg,

I mixed it well then added enough extra flour to stiffen the dough, kneaded it and waited for it to double in size. I had fun punching down the dough and adding in the cheddar cheese. I rolled it and cut a slit on the top and brushed on some herb butter. After 15 minutes of baking @ 375 deg, I brushed on more herb butter on the top and baked it for another 15.

My oven was a bit too hot, so the top was too done for my taste, but the rest of the bread was unbelievable! This is how it came out! "I baked, I baked..." ("Brain is gloating in a sing-song fashion, lol)

Cooled it down for 10 mins and took pictures for Mr. Man who had to call both for us to pray and to audibly tell me that the pictures looked good. And of course, to save him some! (As if I wouldn't!)

Since I baked it rather late, the kiddos got to taste it fresh and warm... Look at how beautiful each slice is! See the marbling, that's the ol' cheddar! The crust is so good! The creamy taste of the oatmeal really came through.

Want proof of how good it is? Just look at the satisfied customers!

Total Cost: FREE!

As for the earlier part of the day... well, the kiddos had a rough start with their chores but they got done, including I-Dude learning to do his own laundry! (Did I mention I was vying for Mother of the Year? LOL) We finished the rest of the cinnamon rolls with a side of ice cold milk and cut strawberries. Then I made a Filipino meat dish called "sinigang" for dinner (which was eaten on time, btw) that the kiddos love to eat while L-Infinity steamed the rice.

Most of the day, the kiddos read, watched, read and cleaned and drew pictures. It was a slow day and so glad about that... It must have been a slow day since I ba-ked, I baked! Hee, hee!

Also, we spent a great deal looking into our "dead" computer. Yep, you read right, DEAD, as in not capable of turning on. I personally cleaned the power strip and dusted both sides of the computer case on the inside and traced the power button to its connection to the motherboard and nope, nada, nothing, zilch, power connection.

Mr. Man was so proud of me when I reported all that I did. LOL I guess that's another project to put on his list...

A Wet Start

Well, L is still not home and now, Mr. Man is in Chicago, back at his new hangar station for several days. I miss him already...

To send him off, I made a great breakfast for us and we served him first... Before that, we again checked on our bishop's dog. She's so friendly. Along the way, we found at least one more fallen tree branch from the storm.

Having had the storm leave us with much rain today (and occasional thunder and "light show"), we were mostly indoors... (It rained from 10 am to 2 pm, at least!) Our Summer is proving to have quite a wet start... My poor soaked patio... ;-(

So again, we played two rounds of Rummikub; I-Dude (hand below) finished first, then me, then J-Pony.



The rest of the day was spent reading for their Reading programs and playtime outside when it all cleared up.

(green is for Public Library & white is for 1,000 minutes School challenge)

We even opened the windows to take in the breeze and freshen up our place. (Trust me, being cooped up inside for over 12 hours due to weather PMS is not fun!)

So, today, another FREE day- Library books, Rummikub and playtime with some friends!

Saturday StaY-iN

TODAY was spent doing laundry, talking to a couple of friends, talking to Mr. Man about life and giving the kiddos some free time on the computer and TV. We wanted to clean out the patio, but the rains, yes multiple light showers "dampened" that idea. I guess we'll have to wait until Monday to clean up, clear out, set up, bbq and plan out how we want our patio to look like where we can live with it during the summer time...

I have two brothers that served in the Navy and the Army. My father in law was in the Army, we have a family friend who is policeman and I once dated a Marine. Whoever they are or were or will be, let this day be a reminder to all of us that FREEDOM is a team effort...

Have a wonderful Memorial's Day everyone! May your thoughts be focused on all the men and women, past, present and future, who laid their lives and set aside their own freedoms to guard ours...

Nothing To Post...

Too busy packing for Arizona! I'll post for Friday's meme, but other than that, see you when we get back!

A Tummy Ache... And Back to Work...

L-Infinity woke up with a tummy ache, but no real other symptoms. Two doses of Pepto seemed to have done the trick. She learned that her school friend who ate the same cafeteria cookie yesterday also stayed home from a funny tummy. J-Pony and I-Dude enjoyed school while Mr. Man spent time looking for some much needed car brake pads that are screaming for replacement. As for me, I spent time trying to look for some coupons that mysteriously disappeared from my purse! Also, now that we know we are staying put for a while, we've decided to put up drapes. And guess what, because we've moved so many times, I didn't realize that my drapes do not match or that the hardware of our drapery rods are missing! So this time, we invested in matching rods and drapes. Will show those later after my gorgeous Mr. Man puts them up of course!

All in all, just another day. Mr. Man's off to work again and L-Infinity's going back to school. Remind you of your own schedule? Scary huh?

(Photo from Scraps In Bloom.com)

Slow day, really?

Nothing much to report today except I'll be doing dishes, boxing up all the holiday stuff, vacuuming and work out some more!

How will your day be? However it turns out, have fun doing it!