A few photos.....

I have a few photos for you tonight. The first,is for L.B. It is Savannah's first acrylic painting. She did it in about 2 hours from a photograph that was given to her in class. She is really looking forward to the next class. She really loves anything to do with art and she also finds it totally cool hanging out with her Aunt Thom. (For the record, if I had been given the same photo at the beginning of a class I would have collapsed on the desk and cried.) This next shot is from a photo that she took in England. Now, when she took it, it looked nothing like that.

We had come upon a sheep carcass and Jack had to examine it thoroughly. He asked Savannah to take a picture of it. She took the original photo and turned it into this:

How cool!


These next photos are from dinner tonight. (No, you get no segway. Just sheep skull-to-dinner.)

I fixed a huge pile of steamed mussels. SO EASY. I sauteed onions and lots of garlic. Then added about 1/4 cup of chardonnay and as soon as it was boiling, I added the mussels. After about 4 minutes....dinner is served. We had toasted Italian bread w/ bruschetta to round it out. YUM!




Now, I haven't been feeling so hot today, so I am taking proactive measures against any sickness that may be trying to manifest itself. We went to church and as soon as we got home, I fed everyone lunch and then went to lay down!(Totally wierd for me.) I have a sneaking suspicion that it has more to do w/ my lack of sleep than anything else. Sometimes I just worry, in spite of myself ,about Race. So, I am going to try to catch up on some zzzzz's tonight.

Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers!
Melissa

Spring flowers

Isn't this pretty?

Every time I have been to England, I am struck by the varieties of flowers that they pair together.It is so different than what you typically see in the U.S. I tried to copy some of that here using plants that do well in my area. The planters are the dark grey "stone look" kind. They are planted with purple violas, yellow tulips and ivy. I really like the way that they turned out. I have 2 of these so I set them on either side of the steps leading up the front porch. I set these out a week ago, and they've done just fine in the cold nights.

I can't get the blogger picture upload to cooperate tonight, so this is the only picture that I could get to post.

Today I picked up two different shades of a variegated evergreen for a backdrop against our deck. I plan to fill the entire area in front of the evergreens with loads of perennials. I also picked up a pretty good sized Carolina Jasmine vine for another spot in front of the deck. The flowers smell wonderful and I am hoping to have it climb along the deck. ANd again, I will plant loads of perennials in front of it.
Anniesue, I have no imagination at all myself, so I look at gardens that I like, and I try to copy them. I don't always achieve what I want the first time out, but I am finding that I am learning a lot along the way! Anything that I can't figure out, I always call Janelle or my mom and they have an answer.
What sort of spring planting or planning have you been doing?

Cheers!
Melissa

Just a recap......

My Lil' Sis has some very exciting news, so be sure to go over and check that all out. The whole family is so excited!!!

I didn't do too badly on my new schedule today. I hit the treadmill early before everyone was up. Then it was breakfast and schooling till lunch.I got my lifting in while the kids ate lunch. I ran Savannah out to meet Thom for an acrylics art class. I ate lunch when I got back home and everyone worked on finishing up school work till 2. Austin had a baseball game 1 hr away. We didn't get back home till 8:45 pm. A special thanks to Thom for letting Savannah hang out with her today while we were at the game. You wouldn't BELIEVE the painting and photographs that Savannah came home with. Her natural artistic talent never ceases to absolutely STUN me. Thanks Thom!

To round out the day, we also got an email from Race to let us know that everything was O.K with him.

So all in all it was a great day. The kids are all in the bed, and I'm about to check out what's on TIVO and then hit the sack myself.

G'night!
Melissa

Outdoors!

I can't believe that it is Wednesday already! It's been a busy week. Austin has started baseball and Jack will have his first practice sometime this week. Race is gone, but it should be a kind of short trip, so we are thankful for that and we're already counting the days till he returns.

With baseball season upon us, and the oldest not quite through "behind the wheel" in drivers ed, my days to work outside are limited.But today was so gorgeous outside that we just had to get out in it for awhile. We had picked up some new rakes at Lowes awhile back, so the kids EACH had a rake, and we got the yard and drive cleaned in no time at all. Jackson had taken as much "junk" as he could find from behind our shed and had piled it up "just so",covered it with a giant tarp, and made it a new fort. This made our side yard look like "Sanford &Son". I lived with it as long as I could, but today Lamont had work to do and we got it all back in order. Honestly!

Then it was on to the vegetable garden. I got half of it tilled and I feel pretty good about the way that it's looking. The dirt looks richer every year and it will be ready for planting after I add in some more compost.

Now don't even get me started on the flower beds. After that trip to England my mind is positively REELING with ideas. Ivy, people! NEED. MORE. IVY!!!!! But anyway, all my perenials are coming up and I think that what I DO have should look pretty this year.

Tonight my goal is to sit down and figure out a new schedule for myself. My work-outs have been sporadic at best, and that just ain't gonna cut it. So tonight I sit down with the calendar and try to figure it all out. Weeeeeeee!

Thanks for checking in,
Cheers!
Melissa

Oh,My....

Can I blog about dinner?Can I? Cause we had an amazing dinner tonight. You see, we are a family of seafood lovers. We LOVE it. Fixed every way imaginable. WE LOVE SEAFOOD.

Tonight, I fried oysters. A LOT of oysters. I only have one of those little Fry Daddy's so it took forever. BUT....it was SO worth it. I ended up setting the table with 2 large platters of golden fried oysters, a spinach salad, a loaf of warm artisan bread and a bottle of organic reisling.

They're gone people. ALL GONE.

Well,actually there's a little salad and wine left.

When I fry oysters I always use the "select" size and I bread them using House Autry's seafood breader.(Because that's what mom and dad use.) I bread them carefully, using the "one hand wet, one hand dry" method that my dad taught me back when I was growing up in the resturaunt business and I had to bread hundreds of onion rings. It works. No mess.

The dinner was scarfed down in no time with compliments for mom all the way around. And for the record, the organic reisling was absolutely DE-LISH and perfect with the mild taste of the oysters. (deep, satisfied sigh)

Race and I are going to settle in for a bit of 'Beowulf' on DVD. (I already saw it in the theatre in 3-D, so this will no doubt be a let down!)

I was going to blog about celebrating my mom's birthday, but Thom already did. ANd she's got better pictures. SO please go and read about our awesome family celebration. We Love that kinda stuff!!

G'night,
Melissa

The last of the England photos....

O.K. I thought that the slideshow might be easier to wrap up the whole trip. Looking at the photos makes me want to go back. Right NOW. Immediately.

So enjoy the photos. The trip was absolutely amazing and we are so thankful to have been able to go.

Hiking the Fells in England

The full screen version!

Keswick ..........

When we awoke the next morning, the wind was blowing rain in wild torrid sheets across the fells. The wind was in seemingly never ending huge gusts and it brought the rain against you like a wall. If you intend to travel in England, you have to be prepared for the weather. ANd we were.

We had a quick breakfast and coffee and headed into the small town of Keswick just 2 miles down the road. We went through many shops and loads of outdoor stores. There were dogs out with their owners everywhere and of course Jack would ask each person if it was ok if he pet their dog. These folks love their dogs and it shows in the animals. (I do believe one of the favorites was a British bulldog named "Clive". Jack just couldn't get enough of him!)The dogs are all well-behaved, on leashes and travel in and out of the stores and the tea rooms and pubs with their owners. We ate lunch at the "Strawberry tearoom". It is a lovely little shop that over looks the town center of Keswick.

On Saturdays there is a wonderful open-air market, so we went around to the white tents and stocked up on all fresh local groceries. Cheeses, fish,meats, poultry, eggs, a wide selection of fesh fruits, jams, and loads of baked goods. We made sure to include a dozen scones, fresh jam and a tub of clotted cream. Everything was out in the open and there wasn't a bit of shrinkwrap anywhere in the town! By the time we were finished in town we had also acquired a bottle of wine, fresh baked bread, Yorkshire tea. By this time the rain had stopped and the wind was dying down a bit, so we headed home to try and get in some hiking before dark.

We went out the back door and hiked Brackenrigg Fells. It was a lovely hike and it really excited us for the next days adventure. The sheep roam all over these fells. You can see them way up on stony craggs as well as dotting the landscape in all directions. Jack found a sheep carcass, so of course it had to examined thoroughly. It was mostly bones at this point, but interesting to a 10 yr old boy nonetheless.

When we got back down off the fells, it was dark. I whipped up some dinner for us with fresh beef,sauteed onions, English peas and corn,and freshly baked bread. It was quick and still tasty!

The end of the night found us all in a high stakes poker game. High stakes if you count using matches as chips!! I was out in like.......3 hands. And after way too many hands to count Austin ended up winning. ANd still LATER a Jiu Jitsu match ensued between Race and Austin.......and Austin won that too.

It was a great day and a great evening. We all went to be to the muffled sounds of the wind and rain howling once again. Those stone walls are amazing for a good night's sleep!



Below is Race's NEW favorite outdoor store. (And I actually love it too, because there's a tea room upstairs. Brilliant!)

Day 3 The Lake District

After leaving York, we drove several hours as the sun began to set. We arrived at our final destination in the Lake District, long after dark. We turned off the small road that was lined on both sides with field stone walls and onto the ravel driveway. The drive was dark and lined with high fieldstone walls on both sides. The picture below shows the big stone barn that has been turned into the self catering rental. You can see some of the fells in the background.We pulled up to our self catering apartment. This is what it looks like in the daytime and up close.

This was our view from the large front window the next morning.

And here is a snap shot of part of the inside. The large door/window was one of the original barn door openings. The large map on the wall is a topo map of the surronding fells which we referred to quite often, because in England none of the trails and paths are marked, which we found quite refreshing, as it never spoiled the suroundings!

After dropping off our bags ...and the kids...in the barn, Race and I hurried 2 miles down the road to the town of Keswick to try to rustle some cow for our hungry travelers. Fortunately we found a fish and chips place open till late, so we bought up what they had left and headed back home. The lady behind the counter wrapped everything in plain paper and then closed up after we left! Below is the town of Keswick.We took everything back to the barn and ate. After the kids went to bed Race and I had a bottle of wine while watching the moon rise and listening to the wind sweep across the fells. We all slept so soundly that night within those stone walls and could hardly wait to hike the fells first thing in the morning!

Cheers!

Melissa

I must mention that by this time in our trip.....Jackson had managed to scavange 4 pounds 50 pence. For the record thats $9. He looks for dropped change everywhere. He was the only person in our family who actually MADE money on the trip.

Day 2 York

Bloggers picture upload feature isn't working for me right now, so I'll just post the pictures tomorrow, while I tell a little bit about our day/night in York. We arrived at the little B&B right on time and were met at the door by our hostess. She quickly handed us a parking pass so that we could leave our car parked on the street. Parking is a BIG,BIG issue in these small towns. In fact, I'm not sure where, in England it is NOT an issue.Our rooms were large, comfortable and ready for our arrival. The kids room was like a little suite, so Savannah essentially had her own room. After throwing our bags down and getting settled in we scoured the maps and information on York that was in our room. We had to narrow down what we most wanted to do and set a plan for the morning. After that, we bundled up and headed out. The wind was wicked whipping through the streets of York as we headed for a good pub for dinner. The pub was actually located inside the old Roman walls of York and was aptly named "Hole in the Wall". You could actually see parts of the wall on the INSIDE of the pub. Pretty cool. Race went up to the bar and ordered for us. Another awesome meal was waiting for us. We ate big......AGAIN. We walked around the town of York for awhile, but it was SOOoooo COLD and WINDY! We arrived at York Minster just in time for Evensong. So we sat for the service. If you ever have the opportunity to sit for an evensong in this or Westminster Abbey, I highly suggest it. It is really an incredible experience. We ducked into a cafe before long and got hot chocolates and coffees all the way around. We went by Betty's tea room, and I was reminded of my LAST time in York, England with Janelle
Thomasina and we a little "incident" in the upscale tearoom at Betty's. But that's another story. (ahem..) York is charming town with beautiful old buildings and streets , so it is hard to believe some of it's brutal, bloody history. History .....bloodshed that took place in these same streets.....in these same buildings. After we were frozen to the core we began the walk back to the B&B. We crashed for the night and slept like logs.
The next morning we were up bright and early. We headed downstairs for breakfast. there were 3 tables. We took 2 of them, and another couple was at the third. Another big full english breakfast and we were off. We had decided to visit "Viking York". They have actually excavated the Viking town of York found beneath the current city streets. We had to find our way around and find a public parking place. And then you have to pay....a lot if you convert back to $$. But the excavation was INCREDIBLE! We loved it. They have actually excavated a very well-preserved Viking city. They really showed the very brutal lifestyle that WAS the Viking town. We LOVED this exhibit. Then we took the kids to the "DIG". This is where they actually teach the kids (and adults) a lot more about archaeology and let them take part in digging some artifacts. We spent most of the day doing these things, stopping only long enough for a tea & scone break. When we were finished up at the excavation we stopped in a pub for a lunch/dinner. We ducked into a good looking pub, settled into the back, took off all our coats, etc. Race went up to the bar to place our order, and we found out that they had stopped serving food till dinner time. GAH! So we bundled back up and hit the streets. We went into another place, ate, drank, and discussed the day. When we got up to leave, I discovered that I had left my bag in the last pub!!!! O.k, I HATE that feeling. Thankfully, we booked it back to the first pub, and it was right there. WHEW! This why Race carries all the important stuff!!! LOL! After walking around the top of the walls a bit, we loaded up in the car and made the drive to our final destination in the Lake District.

Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to post our York pictures, but you got the story!
Cheers!
Melissa

Scratch that--The pictures are below this post.

York Pictures

Blogger is giving me fits tonight! But here are the pictures.....somewhat randomly.

Jack in one of the turrets in the old wall around York. The towers of York Minster as seen from the wall.

Yep. That's what it says. Keeps you "healthy,bright-eyed and slim". BWAHAHAHA! This is in old ad and I think that York is almost as famous for this ad as it is for the Minster!! LOL!
Jack at the Viking DIG i n York. They were uncovering previously excavated objects.
Savannah and Jack digging for Viking booty.
Race and Jack on the cold and windy streets of York.

Day 1- Windsor

I wanted to try and journal about our time in England. This was such a special trip for us as a family. It was a breath of fresh air. We needed this time away together more than any of us realized. It was really a time for us to reconnect to one another.
I don't ever want to forget it.
I find it hard to journal like this in an interesting way. I think I sort of lose alot of the little things that make a trip fun to hear about, but I really hope that it will be somewhat interesting to read!!

We all sailed through the airports on both sides of the pond. No hitches. Lines moving fast. Luggage in tact and accounted for. In fact, we got through so quickly at Heathrowe that we were ready to pick up our rental car 2 hours before we thought that we would! Below, you see two sleepy-eyed kids waiting outside Heathrowe airport for the car rental shuttle to take us to pick up our car.

Thankfully, they had the car ready to go and we were on the road to Windsor. We rented a Vauxhall like the one below only it was black. A far cry from the suburban, but we all fit, and so did our luggage. When we arrived in Windsor, we went to straight to our hotel. It was really a cross between a bed and breakfast and a hotel. But they were so nice, and let us check right in. We were so thankful, because we all crashing from jet lag right about then. We crawled to our rooms and slept for about 4 hours. We stopped off at a tea room for a quick lunch of toastys (toasted sandwiches) and creamed tea. (woo-hoo!)Then it was off for some sight seeing. There is far more to do in Windsor than just visit the castle, but we were basicly using this as an overnight stop on the way to the North. Here you see Queen Victoria's stern face looking down on you from the street in front of the castle.

Savannah, myself, and Queen Victoria.

I took alot of random photos in and around Windsor, but most of them have Race in them.(And you know the rules!) Below is The Long Walk, just outside the castle. We ate dinner that night at the Horse and Groom. An awesome pub right outside the castle. The kids all had fish and chips and Race and I had steak and mushroom pies along with all the Strongbow we could handle from the tap.

Inside the Horse and Groom. (Jackson actually took this picture!) It was here that we found out that our youngest is really like a kid on crack while struggling with jet lag. He was making all sorts of random senseless comments, and just generally being extremely excitable and loud. But what REALLY made the night was that after finishing off his HUGE plate of fish and chips that he let out a giant, rip roaring belch that shook the foundations of the old Horse and Groom. OH.MY.GOSH. We were in the land of good manners, people. We tried to reprimand, but we all just ended up losing it and laughing our heads off.

After more walking and fresh air all around the town, we headed back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

This is the lovely little dining room where we ate breakfast the next morning. (We sat on the far right next to the window, looking out onto a really charming patio outside. Breakfast was delicious with cereal, fresh fruit, and then a hot plate of sunny side up eggs, baked beans, sausage and toast. I ate every bite, and washed it down with hot coffee and juice.This is a picture of part of the little patio outside. Really pretty.

After breakfast we loaded up in our car and headed north for our next stop on the way to our final destination: The Lake District.

I'll tell you all about our time in York, next.

Cheers!

Melissa

We're Home!

My poor camera battery is charging, and I am trying to soak in all that happened on our trip, to be able to put words to the pictures.

IT WAS AMAZING!!! It was actually frightening to think that we might have lived the rest of our lives without experiencing that breathtaking scenery that only God could create. The Lake District in England is a place that we could easily call home. Although we are glad to be back in our own beds again, we weren't ready to leave at all.

It was also a trip that enabled us to breathe deeply as a family and really reconnect and become close to one another again. We enjoyed one anothers company so much and began to remember what a blessing family is. You know that we all love the outdoors and the Lake District is just a mecca for the outdoor enthusiast.

I'll be back later with pictures and some journalling of the trip. We have arrived home feeling very blessed.

Cheers!
Melissa

The Queen is at home!

We just got back from a lovely dinner at the pub "The Horse and Groom". It is directly in front of the Queens castle in Windsor. And she's at home! We had an awesome dinner and Race and I have begun loading up on the Strongbow hard cider. We are all a bit jet lagged, but we are having an absolutely WONDERFUL time. We are looking forward to what the rest of our trip will bring.

Fashion report: Tons of tall boots and lots of BEAUTIFUL short, wool swing coats with awesome pleats, buttons, etc. I LOVE it!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Cheers!!!!

Traveling with Race.......and Tom

Fixed "Baltimore" link....I think. GAH!

Traveling with Race is always great. One of the perks of his employment is that travel becomes second nature. He is completely undaunted by the things that would typically strike terror into my heart if left on my own. He is at ease, no matter where he goes. There isn’t anywhere on the planet that he could not adapt to. It doesn’t matter if he speaks the language or not, it doesn’t matter if he’s walking, driving, bicycling…..it just doesn’t matter. He is completely calm and at ease. He can always figure out where he is and where he’s going. He reads maps and GPS coordinates like he was reading the morning paper. I cannot tell you how wonderful this for me.
As most of you may remember, I am geographically retarded. Remember my trip to.Baltimore with the kids?? I’m serious people. I have a lot of strengths, but navigating while driving is NOT one of them. I get lost a LOT. This confounds Race completely. He cannot understand how I can’t get my bearings and figure out my general direction. I think it secretly terrifies him.

So, he got me a Tom Tom.




I LOVE my Tom Tom. He is wonderful. Tom Tom has saved me so many times. I do..I love him. His smooth face and rugged good looks are so confident. He always knows where we’re going, and he tells me when to turn and how far to go. And he does it all in his most relaxing British accent. He’s never terse or tense in his direction, just friendly and calm. And I love it when he says "take the motorway"....you know.....instead of highway?? I just love that. He’s changed my life. It’s almost as great as having Race driving me around everywhere. In some ways its better, because Tom Tom doesn’t sing loudly and he doesn’t give the peace sign as we drive by people we don’t know. Tom Tom can always find just the right place to eat nearby and he tells me where the next gas station is as soon as the fuel light comes on. It's really a beautiful relationship.

SO. While we will be tooling around the English countryside with Race behind the wheel, I will feel secure in the knowledge that I too could drive in the UK……….as long as I’ve got my Tom Tom by my side.

Oh Peace and Security………….thy name is Tom Tom.

Bloody Brilliant!!!!

O.K. Enough with the LOVE stuff. NO MORE. Nada. Stop talking about it people. It's OVER. I'm not going to post about it anymore. Stop asking me. We're moving on.....

Y'all remember that a few years ago, we all went to London right? Well......we're headed back across the pond. But not to the big city this time. THIS TIME we are headed to the English countryside!

WOOP! WOOP!

We are packing a bit heavier than we did the last time around because we will be spending the majority of our time hiking in the English fells. We have to pack all of our waterproof gear, our down, our hikers.....everything. (This reminds me that I TOTALLY intend to shoot some video showing our whole cold weather system. It is the bomb! If it can keep ME warm and dry, then it's good for ANYBODY!

We will be driving, so we intend to pop into Scotland as well. Wait a minute.......WE?.. Race seems to think that I will be driving as well. Not bloody likely. But Austin will of course HAVE to drive. Even if it's just for a short distance. Because how cool would it be to be able to say that you had driven overseas at 16 years old?? Seriously....HOW COOL???

So, there is so much that we have to look forward to. I am looking forward to tea and scones. To Windsor Castle and seeing if the Queen is "at home". To driving through the Dales.(And PLEASE let there be cream teas...PLEASE) To late nights at some out-of-the-way- pub with Race. To hiking in some of the most beautiful countryside that exists in the world. I look forward to trying to use the phrase "arse over elbow"while I'm there. And I can go ahead and look forward to my youngest singing Queen's "We are the Champions" at the top of some Fell in the expansive English countryside...........................because he will. It's his thing right now.

Oh- and someone PLEASE remind me not to use the word "fanny" while I'm there. This is VERY important for the American traveler. It means a lady's ......ya know.........her front bits.

Yeah. I know.

I suppose that's why the whole "fanny pack" never really caught on over there.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

But seriously. Remind me.

We have a bit before we're off, so I'll be back.

Cheerio mates!

Happy V Day!

Added later today:
When I got this this morning, I thought that it was really good, and appropriate for Valentines Day. But later when I came back to read it again, I realized that some people might have taken this as a real downer. I think it actually could be read that way. Ya know, dry and unfeeling. Did you think it was deflating??? Or maybe too dry?? What were your thoughts? Did you roll your eyes? It's funny because my second reading just didn't hit me like the first one did.No one commented, so I am really curious. Did I post a stinker??? Let me know!
The Real Test of Love

By Elisabeth Elliot

It is not difficult to imagine, in certain moods and settings, that we love people. We may feel expansive and good-natured for a variety of reasons--our own good health or digestion, for example, or beautiful weather, comfortable circumstances, nice folks doing nice things for us. The Bible is a sword that cuts through mere sentiment. It tells us that the accurate test of our love for God's children is obedience to God. "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey His commandments" (1 Jn 5:2 RSV). It is an objective test, not a subjective one. Love as the Bible defines it is perceptible through action rather than through mere feeling. It is not, as Eric Alexander of Scotland put it, a "glandular condition."
Much of the talk nowadays about loving one another is soupy and silly. It will not stand the biblical test. Love for people goes hand-in-hand with love for God--if you don't love the brother you see, how can you love the God you don't see? Loving God requires submission to his discipline--He rebukes, chastens, refines with fire, purifies by trial. Do we love Him enough to say yes to all that? Do we love others enough to encourage endurance in them?

Jesus, Thou art all compassion,Pure, unbounded Love Thou art;
Visit us with Thy salvation,
Enter every trembling heart.(Charles Wesley)

SLAM DUNK LANEY!!

You were "Hungry Like A Wolf" girl!

And you are the winner!!!!

I am SO impressed!

Email me w/ your address so I can send the Bliss to your door.

I gotta tell ya, I thought that this would be a hard one.Y'all are better than I thought. But this was really so much fun for me.....I think that we MUST have more contests!!!! My brain is working feverishly on a plan.

In the meantime, I MUST get Janelle to guest blog about her night w/ Simon LeBon. Come to think of it, we MUST getThom to blog about it as well. She was the photographer/driver for this amazing night. And hey, just goes to show you. Don't give up on your dreams, man. I mean after all these years of faithful devotion........Wow. She's GOT to tell you the story.

Congrats Laney! Enjoy your silky smooth hands!

Cheers!
Melissa

*We are back home w/ our power back on(lap of luxury), but our phones are out.*(weak smile)

The Bliss Contest!

Complete Delight. Happiness. Absolute Pleasure. Ultimate, child-like Joy. That is the emotion represented in this picture.

But.....WHY??

The girl in this picture is a dear friend of mine, and I think it's probably the best photo that I've ever seen of her. But..........

WHO IS THIS GUY???

I mean this girl is about to come undone, here! Who could be so special?? Study her face. Her expression.She's wearing the perfect black coat.......hair EXTRA-glossy...... and she is positively BEAMING. Nothing ordinary here, folks.




WHO IS THIS GUY??
That's what you have to figure out.

The first person to comment with the correct name of the dashing man in this photo will win THIS:


I LOVE the "Bliss" line, and I love this cream.It's an awesome hand cream that can smooth even the roughest hands and make them soft, smooth, and youthful. Nice enough to shake hands with someone famous!

So C'mon all you 80's gals.....You can get this!

If you have already heard this story and know the answer, then of course don't answer, but you can still comment....... Just don't give it away!!

I can't wait to see if someone gets this right away or if it's gonna be tough.
I'm so excited!!!

Put on those 80's thinking caps and give it a whirl!

POWER OUTAGE!!!!

Blogging from I-TOUCH in hotel!!! Not easy. Power still out.

*Soon!*

Catchin' up!

Well, my sister has started blogging again. As you may have guessed, her attentions have been elsewhere. As in....she has ....a guy. So, hopefully she's back. She's a much better writer than I am. Hey maybe her boyfriend can do a guest blog!!! Hey "G" if you're readin' this, you can always be a guest blogger here, man!

To myother sister Em: Hell yes, I'm up to the challenge!!! I will find you THE BEST haircut/color combo EVER. WOO-HOO!! Now, you just relax, and wipe away all those years of curling iron burns and winged hair that I gave you when we were growing up. I TOTALLY know what I'm doing. It's alllllll....Gooooodddd.

To Melora and Dy:
About the Chicken mummy. Yes, Yes, do the cornish hen. That's what we did the first time around, thanks to TWTM boards. It was MUCH easier and I think a bit faster. If you follow the directions in the book, it will work out beautifully and your kidlits will be happily wrapping their preserved,mummified chicken for elaborate burial in no time. It's beautiful. (O.K., not really. It's not beautiful at all, but the kids LOVE this and it really DOES cement ancient Egypt deeply into thier minds forever).
I really will post pictures.

O.K., CONTEST on Monday people. Get out your thinking caps cause I've got a mystery photo for you. You're gonna love this. I think it'll be hard, but I maybe wrong y'all might get it right off. I'm so curious! (excited squeal!!!) I can't wait!!!!Monday!

G'night!
Melissa

Night Out and the Chicken Mummy and bad hair

Race and Savannah just left for dinner out tonight. Her dad takes her out every year to celebrate her birthday. It has become something that they both really look forward to. I am really glad that he is the kind of guy who really "gets it" that his little girl is growing up. He really enjoys spending that time just with her and realizes how important it all is. I know that doesn't come naturally to many men and I just love that about him.(gush)

Jackson decided that he simply could not feel complete as a human being if he did not get to follow in the footsteps of his older siblings and create the dreaded..................CHICKEN MUMMY. For those who homeschool classically using The Story of The World for history, you know that the chicken mummy involves actually taking a real chicken carcass and preserving it for all eternity using the Egyptian methods of embalming. For those of you who DON'T homeschool......well.....this could be one more reason why you don't.
The last Chicken Mummy that we did, when the other 2 were about 10 and 8 was wildly successful, and I must admit that seeing the old, dry, shriveled up carcass left us all in awe of the Egyptians once again. I mean...........it REALLY works, man. It was simultaneously cool and gross all at the same time. And I swore I'd never do it again. It takes 4+weeks. BUT......here we are......2 weeks in, with a raw chicken being embalmed in laundry area. That should score us alot of freak points, huh? Oh, c'mon you KNOW you're curious................I'll get pics up soon.

I've got lots more to share. We have some exciting plans coming up that I can't wait to tell you about, and there's that contest thing I'm working on. I don't really know how to do this, but it'll be fun and the prize will be something girly from http://www.sephora.com/ , one of my all time favorite places to shop!!

Cheers!
Melissa
P.S. It was a good thing that I took that pic of my hair LAST night, after Jennifer The Hair Wizard had styled it, because after MY styling job today, I look more like a 10 yr old boy from a Charles Dickenson era novel. Only with boobs. Not attractive, my friends. Not attractive. I've gotta work w/ this one a little.

We....Just...Couldn't ...Do..It.......

We just couldn't get in the car and go running around to all the usual activities. The errands, the various MMA classes......we....just...couldn't. It was too nice outside. It was GORGEOUS out today! It made me want to run around and examine all the bulbs beginning to poke out of the ground and look for little patches of green everywhere.

We DID have a really good day today.


The kids trudged through school today and managed to finish up the last page of Chemistry by 2:00 pm. Then it was ALL OUTSIDE ALL THE TIME. It was nature walking and photographing, it was baseball playing and basketball playing. It was fort building (the never-ending fort) and fetch-playing, it was creek wading and crawdad catching.It was tree climbing and nerf gun fighting. All snacks and drinks were served up outside. And looking back at this list, my kids sure can pack a lot into one afternoon!! But it was just a wonderful day.

Today was also Hair Day for me. As long as I have blonde hair, I am an "every-four-week-girl" at the salon. I crept in today with a wide headband covering my dark roots. I smuggled in my printed off copy of K#tie H0lmes.
Now, this next picture reveals several things. First of all it is an impossible task for one to take a serious picture os ones self in the ten minute window that the author of this blog is given whilst fixing up dinner for the carnivorous horde that I like to call my family. Secondly, it shows...um.....I dunno....what's the right word?......"confidence"? No that's not right.....But well it shows somethin' for ANYONE to post their own photo alongside of K#tie H0lmes' for comparison. Doesn't she look stunning? But it also shows a pretty darn good hair cut. Probably not my favorite, but definitely what I asked for.

So all in all..............it was a GREAT DAY!!

Stay tuned this week, because I've got an idea for a contest.........With a PRIZE! It'll be fun! Be there or be square, man.

Cheers!

Melissa

Gratuitous Kid Pictures!

My family is growing up so fast!

All photos are, of course, done by my sister Thomasina.

Just Joy. Just blissful joy.Big smiles,.. lots of em'.(Huge, deep sigh)

I think that we might be getting better at this.;-)

Having Race at home has been so incredibly relaxing. For BOTH of us. I think that as a family, we are definitely learning how to live this life better. And that's pretty big stuff, because for the record, I don't know ANY other family who is living this way.I am sure that they are out there somewhere, but I doubt that we'll ever meet. So we are pretty much wingin' it here. And I'm feeling pretty darn great about it!

This is for Dy:
When we brought Race home,the first thing that happened was the kids ran around in breathless circles trying to grab dad's arm and pull him to their room first. They were so excited to show him their gifts, rewards, and acheivements. It was great. And even though Race was fighting unbelievable jet lag, he was patient and enthusiastic with each of the kids. Right after that we had our second Christmas. The tree was still up, we put on a little Harry Connick Jr (my choice, of course) and all gathered around and handed Race the gifts that each of us had chosen for him. It was really sweet to watch the pure joy on the face of each kid as dad opened their gift. He was moved by the generosity and thoughtfulness of his kids.

After he had been home about a week, he and I took off for our little getaway. This was PERFECT timing. Jet lag was still very much an issue, so to get away and relax, eat, and hike in the outdoors was the perfect remedy.


We could walk to dinner each night, which probably increased the general wine consumption. ANd the meals were 5 star-incredible! Each meal was beautifully presented with so many flavors in each entree that it just made your mouth happy. And all this in a resturant that had 12 tables....................and you could wear jeans. Heaven.

When we went to hike, we had a bit of trouble finding the trail head.(O.K.-scratch that- *I* had trouble. ONE of us could actually READ a topo-map) When we got to the trail head..........it was a solid sheet of ICE. The whole mountain was covered in about 3 inches of snow that had been iced over. The temp at the trail head was 34 degrees. She wasn't going to get warmer as we went up!

*As an aside, I must say that once again, RACE KNOWS GEAR. My stuff held up so well that I couldn't believe it. I wasn't ever cold. Not even once. Even my feet were warm and dry. Remind me to tell you the whole set up that I have. It REALLY makes the difference in being able to ENJOY the great outdoors.*

We decided to give it a try and just go as far as we could. Without cramp-ons and actual picks there was NO WAY that we would be able to do the scrambling, but we figured we'd go as far as we could.


We started off:

I didn't fall until I had gone at least 3 feet. Yeah. That ice? That's hard to walk on. We decided to walk to the side of the trail. Each and every step had to be planned out because you couldn't tell what was hard,crumbly snow, and what was hard as glass ICE. Up we went.

The further we went, the smaller the icy trail became, and the overlooks were becoming treacherous. We never saw another soul, and the woods were snow covered and beautiful.....and totallyserene and quiet. After going up over 2000 feet we decided to head back down. It was taking us so long to climb, that we had to start back down. We didn't want to be stuck on that icy mountain in the dark .
I was a little dissapointed that we couldn't go to the top, but I was also relieved when Race thought we'd better head back down. We had both slipped several times, and the overhangs were starting to look pretty scary.

We got back down using switch-backs, which were much softer and less treacherous. When we got to the bottom, we pulled out the sandwiches that we had gotten at the local bakery. We sat and ate and enjoyed the surroundings. We also shared our lunch with the local "trail dog" who hangs out there looking for hikers just like us. It was really just such a wonderful time. I didn't get many pictures............mostly because I was concentrating on not splatting myself face-down on the ice. But the few that I did get help to show the icy trail.

Thanks for checking back in on us. Race has Austin at Scouts tonight, so I am enjoying a little computer time!

Cheers!

Melissa

Happy 14th Birthday Savannah!!

Happy Birthday Savannah. We had a great day yesterday celebrating Savannah's birthday. We made homemade pizzas and Aunt Thomasina came over for dinner and the present opening. She got alot of art stuff. A table top easle, paints, new brushes, new canvases, etc. But her big gift was a Canon EUS D-60. This was ULTRA SPECIAL because it not only gives her the ability to take artistic photos and then enhance them further on Photo Shop, but this camera was also Aunt Thomasina's first professional digital camera. She was THRILLED. After pizza, cake and present opening, we were treated to a concert featuring the kids bringing out the kareoke machine and keeping us entertained with all the latest Blake Lewis songs. It was a great day! And I can't believe that my little girl is 14. I have a feeling that Herriott (Savanna's cat) will be the most photographed cat in the world for awhile.