Wednesday, December 7, 2011

A Present From Bingo.

Yesterday, as I puttered around the kitchen preparing to cook dinner, I noticed Bingo happily trotting around the yard with the biggest mouse I had ever seen hanging from his mouth.  (They are getting bigger and bigger!)  I applauded silently from the window, and returned to my dinner prep.  A few minutes later I went out into the garage/pantry for some needed ingredients, and nearly stepped on the aforementioned mammoth of a mouse!  Bingo came rushing over from where he had been eating (go figure) his dry cat food.  I praised and petted him, then informed him he had exactly 30 seconds to take that thing away before I did.  He purred, sniffed the mouse, and walked away.  So, armed with a plastic bag I picked up the dead (yet still warm and squishy) critter, wrapped it up, and tossed it in the garbage; then I cooked dinner.  Ahhhh, the joys of country living. 

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Quiet . . . too quiet . . .

Quiet . . . way too quiet . . . .  In the wee hours this morning, mom and dad flew down to L.A. for Craic’s annual tree trimming party.  For those of you who do not know, dad works as a private consultant alongside Craic and flies down every Tuesday morning and then back again Tuesday night.  But this morning they have both gone; so instead of following my usual routine of stumbling half asleep out to the chicken coop to let those morning critters out at 7:30am only to stumble back into bed for a couple more hours of sleep, I decided to be a responsible “grown-up” and stay up.
So far I have stoked the fire (very important), fixed the embarrassing typo in my last post’s title (bithday?  Seriously how did I not catch that?  Thanks mom!  Always good to have an editor on staff!), and gone through IMdb’s list of movies to be released next year (oh yeah, real important task . . . right?), and changed my facebook profile picture (now I know I am really bored!).
Seriously, even early bird Lydia is still asleep, and it is 9:35!!!  I should probably go eat breakfast to appease my growling stomach.  Generally speaking I am not hungry in the mornings and don’t eat till around 11am, but lately I have been forgoing my evening snack in an attempt to offset all the Kermit cupcakes I consumed so I am waking up hungry!  
*Sigh* I should probably go eat then start on those three baskets of laundry that need folding, that would be the productive thing.  Or I could sit here (carefully editing this post so I don’t end up with any embarrassing typos!) and hope someone gets up so I don’t have to eat alone!  I do not think I could live alone, waaaaaay too used to hustle and bustle of a big family to live alone (is the refrigerator always that noisy?!?!), wait . . . I think I hear someone?  And the sun just broke through the clouds!  Good Morning!  

Monday, December 5, 2011

A Madrigal Birthday!


As far as birthdays go, I would have to say this was probably one of the best ones I have ever had!  Maybe one of the reasons is I celebrated for two whole days!!!  I will begin with Friday.   

I started the day by sleeping in (big surprise!) followed by a semi-busy morning of tidying and prep for the coming day.  For lunch, we four girls went out to my favorite local Mexican restaurant, Las Katarinas; Chef Delia’s fish tacos sure are something special!  Afterwards we took a trip to Cal Organics for some groceries before heading home.  That afternoon I baked cupcakes, and then ran around like a crazy person trying to get ready for the highlight of the day, a madrigal dinner! 

A friend invited me to attend the production put on by a local High School, and since I love anything medieval or renaissance, I jumped at the opportunity!  It was absolutely spectacular!  Sadly, I never stopped to take any pictures (in my defense we were transported back to the 16th century, long before the first camera was invented) but I did find a video on YouTube that gives a glimpse of the incredible singing we heard that night.
 

Fast forward to Saturday and my “Muppet Birthday Bash!”  Dad, Lydia, Rachel and I met up with the always-fun Canevari family and saw “The Muppets!”  As a huge muppet fan, I was super excited they were finally coming out with another film, and I was not disappointed.  Afterwards, we headed home for taco salad, Kermit inspired cupcakes, and one of my favorite Muppet show episodes hosted by the hilarious John Cleese.  All in all, turning 22 wasn’t so bad after all!

Kermit cupcakes!
Off to see "The Muppets!"

22 candles on 12 cupcakes.
"Hurry!  Sing before the cupcakes start to melt!"

I am proud to report I blew out all 22 candles in one single breath!
            

Friday, December 2, 2011

Yikes!!!


Yikes!!!  I am 22!!!  For so many years you look forward to those pivotal milestones, 10: double digits, 13: “teen” in your age, 16: driving, 18: voting, 20: “teen” out of your age, 21: champagne!  22: . . . ?  What next?  I guess I will just have to wait and see what comes along! 

Little me, beautiful mom. (1-ish)
(3-ish)
Feeding a newborn Rachel (age 9)
With my little sisters sporting the cast look (age 10)
Braces!!! (age 12)
My faithful kitty Benvolio (age 14)
Senior pic! (age 17)
Hello 21!!!

Thursday, December 1, 2011

December Has Arrived!


The calendar page has changed from November to December, (well, mine has not since I keep forgetting!) and following my own personal tradition the Christmas decorations are up and beautiful.  Each year we choose a different theme to center the holiday around, usually a country or a word of inspiration, but this year we have gone in a whole different direction.  A Very Merry Mickey Mouse Christmas is the title I have given this years’ celebration; several months ago mom asked “If we could take Jesus anywhere for his birthday, where would we go?  “Disneyland!” was the unanimous decision.  So in addition to all our traditional décor, I have added a special scene with many of our Disney (and Pixar) friends celebrating in the most special event of all time, the birth of our Savior.  

An eclectic Disney Nativity.  (Can you name everyone here?)
Baby Jesus.
We have had that Mickey Mouse for as long as I can remember.  Also, see that cute Finn McMissile I recently got!
Cute critters.
Here come the Holidays!

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Hilarious!!!


WHY MEN ARE NEVER DEPRESSED:

Men Are Just Happier People --
What do you expect from such simple creatures?
Your last name stays put.
The garage is all yours.
Wedding plans take care of themselves.
Chocolate is just another snack...
You can be President.
You can never be pregnant.
You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park.
You can wear NO shirt to a water park.
Car mechanics tell you the truth.
The world is your urinal.
You never have to drive to another gas station restroom
because this one is just too icky.
You don't have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
Same work, more pay.
Wrinkles add character.
Wedding dress $5000. Tux rental-$100.
People never stare at your chest when you're talking to them.
New shoes don't cut, blister, or mangle your feet.
One mood all the time.
Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
You know stuff about tanks.
A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase.
You can open all your own
jars.
You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
If someone forgets to invite you,
He or she can still be your friend.
Your underwear is $8.95 for a three-pack.
Three pairs of shoes are more than enough..
You almost never have strap problems in public.
You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes..
Everything on your face stays its original color.
The same hairstyle lasts for years, even decades.
You only have to shave your face and neck.
You can play with toys all your life.
One wallet and one pair of shoes -- one color for all seasons.
You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look.
You can 'do' your nails with a pocket knife.
You have freedom of choice concerning growing a mustache.
You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives
On December 24 in 25 minutes.

Men Are Just Happier People

NICKNAMES
If Laura, Kate and Sarah go out for lunch, they will call each other Laura, Kate and Sarah.
If Mike, Dave and John go out, they will affectionately refer to each other as Fat Boy, Bubba and Wildman.

EATING OUT
When the bill arrives, Mike, Dave and John will each throw in $20, even though it's only for $32.50.
None of them will have anything smaller and none will actually admit they want change back.
When the girls get their bill, out come the pocket calculators.

MONEY
A man will pay $2 for a $1 item he needs.
A woman will pay $1 for a $2 item that she doesn't need but it's on sale.

BATHROOMS
A man has six items in his bathroom: toothbrush and toothpaste, shaving cream, razor, a bar of soap, and a towel.
The average number of items in the typical woman's bathroom is 337.
A man would not be able to identify more than 20 of these items.

ARGUMENTS
A woman has the last word in any argument.
Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

FUTURE
A woman worries about the future until she gets a husband.
A man never worries about the future until he gets a wife.

MARRIAGE
A woman marries a man expecting he will change, but he doesn't.
A man marries a woman expecting that she won't change, but she does.

DRESSING UP
A woman will dress up to go shopping, water the plants, empty the trash, answer the phone, read a book, and get the mail.
A man will dress up for weddings and funerals.
NATURAL
Men wake up as good-looking as they went to bed.
Women somehow deteriorate during the night.

OFFSPRING
Ah, children. A woman knows all about her children.
She knows about dentist appointments and romances, best friends, favorite foods, secret fears and hopes and dreams.
A man is vaguely aware of some short people living in the house.

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
A married man should forget his mistakes.
There's no use in two people remembering the same thing!

SO,
send this to the women who have a sense of humor and who can handle it .... and to the men who will enjoy reading it.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Cake Anyone?

I think we started a post-Thanksgiving tradition today; Sheila and Ashley came over and we had our first lesson in cake decorating!  The main focus was on roses, with a few shells, lettering, and other techniques also.  Sheila was our master teacher; mom and I made a rose, scraped it off, made a rose, scraped it off repeatedly, and the girls focused not only on making roses but on decorating little cakes too. 

Preparing the work space.
(Don't those chocolate cakes Sheila baked look amazing?!?)
Anxiously waiting!
Practicing creating roses.
Such pretty colors to choose from.
Lydia's bouquet.
Ashley's lace and floral creation
Rachel's Tron-inspired identity disk cake.
Such beautiful cakes!
Once we had completed our practicing, we sat down to afternoon tea and, of course, cake!