To Dye For

Well, as usual it was a busy weekend. As you may remember, Friday was my birthday. Hubby took me out to eat Friday night. Will it estrange you forever to know we went to Runza, and I had the Sweet Berry Chicken salad?

Of course, the original plan was Applebee's, but the waiting line, being as it was Friday night, was very long, and we didn't feel like joining it.

Saturday was a beautiful day, and LovelyDaughter offered to do the grocery shopping, so she took me along and dropped me off at a park, where I walked, all by myself, for a couple of hours. Nice.

Sunday-- GuitarGeek and I were substituting on the worship team, so we were up early (extra early, since it was Spring Forward weekend.) I get really hungry on those Sundays, because we eat breakfast extra early, and then don't eat again till two o'clock.

I don't remember Monday. We always have jet lag or something when the time changes. Plus, it's a little known fact that changing the clocks--whether forward or backward-- adversely affects memory.

But anyway. I want to tell you that yesterday I dyed my pink pants. I have had a pair of bright pink corduroy jeans. I loved them, not exactly for the color, but for the fit and comfort. But after two years, I realized I still have very little to wear with them. I get tired of black and white. And anything else pink is either the wrong shade, or makes me feel ALL pink.

Fortunately, the cut and style are still in style, and they still fit the best of any of my jeans. Unfortunately, they were PINK.

So. I took the plunge, and I dyed them dark brown. A bee-yoo-tiful shade of chocolate which will be useful with many of my shirts and sweaters. And the cool thing is, the pink stitching did not change, so now I have chocolate brown pants with hot pink stitching. It looks VERY cool. And the white decorative stitching on the pockets turned tan, which also looks very cool.

That was so much fun, that I also dyed a Shade shirt I have. It was a strange salmon pink that did not look good on me, or match anything I have. (I think it was called "fuschia", but it was not fuschia.) Anyway, I dyed it too; and it turned a very pretty dark plum color with hot pink binding around the neck and arms. It looks cute with my "new" brown pants, so now I have new outfit to wear to the conference we are going to this weekend.

AND. Then I decided to throw some white socks in the pot. (There was still perfectly good dye in there...) THAT was fun. Now I have half a dozen pair of two-tone brown socks-- the feet are heathered pinky brown, and the ankles are hot chocolate.

Then LovelyDaughter decided to dye a few things, but the dye pot was getting tired, and her results were not so great.

But I have new brown corduroys!

For You: A Blessing

From Celtic Daily Prayers, morning prayer:

Blessing

May the peace of the Lord Christ go with you,
wherever He may send you.
May He guide you through the wilderness,
protect you through the storm.
May He bring you home rejoicing
at the wonders He has shown you.
May He bring you home rejoicing
once again into our doors.

Happy Birthday to Me

Hi y'all. Welcome to my virtual birthday party!

See my balloons?


See my flowers?


Have a party favor:


And a piece of cake:


Sit down and enjoy the concert:





Thanks for coming. Y'all come back now!

TT#25: Thirteen Birthday Cakes I Have Made

Since tomorrow is my birthday, I thought it would be fun to make a list of thirteen birthday cakes I have made for my kids over the years. Up until they hit thirteen years old, I made them a "fancy" cake, and when they were old enough to choose, I let them pick out of two different books I had.

Of course, these are not MY cakes. To show you the actual cakes I made would have required digging out the scrapbooks, finding the birthday pictures, and trying to figure out how to scan pictures in a scrapbook on to the computer. Just way too much work a bit too technological for me. Instead, I have found pictures of similar cakes to give you an idea. (These are in not in chronological order.)

1. A Turtle cake. This is the exact cake, out of the exact book I have! I made this probably once for each of my four kids.

2. Ladybug cake. This was for LovelyDaughter.



3. "Bob the Tomato". This was for MB3, when he was younger, of course. Mine was nicer than this, I think, but I never thought of adding the Peas!


4. Castle Cake, for LovelyDaughter. This looks very much like the picture out of the book I used.


5. Spider Web cake, for DrummerDude. And I think I did use chocolate frosting.



6. Computer cake. For MB3. This is almost exactly like the one I made.

7. Hobby Horse. Again, this is the exact book I used. I made this cake for MB3's first birthday.

8. Princess Doll, for LovelyDaughter. We used miniature marshmallows to decorate the skirt.


9. Cat cake. Or, as my kids called it, a Kitty Cake. I don't know how many times I made a cake like this. Probably twice for each of the kids. It was their favorite when they were little.


10. Smiley Face. For LovelyDaughter.



11. Pick up truck. This looks pretty close to the one I made for DrummerDude, except for the side boards. His was even blue. The frosting I made was sort of a marshmallow frosting, and it was sort of a flop. It ran and oozed, but when it set up, it actually looked really cool, like a smooth, shiny paint job. We filled the bed of the truck with crushed oreos, and it looked just like a load of dirt.

12. Train cake. I made this cake more than once. One time, I made it in conjunction with another cake that I decorated to look (sort of) like a train station. This was because DrummerDude and GuitarGeek have birthdays one day apart, and that year we wanted to have one party, but yet let them each have their own cake. I also made this for MB3.

13. Pumpkin/Jack 0'lantern cake. This was another double-duty cake. It's actually two bundt cakes, one right side up on top of one upside down. So I let DrummerDude and GuitarGeek pick their own flavor of cake, and then made two bundt cakes, and made a pumpkin out of it. If I remember right, one was chocolate, and one was yellow. Unlike this picture, I used a flat bottom ice cream cone for the stem. I thought the whole thing turned out really impressive.

Thirty Questions Meme, aka The Cop- Out Post

I borrowed this from some un-remembered somebody somewhere, and as I have a weakness for answering stupid questions on meaningless questionnaires, it looked like fun.


If your doctor told you TODAY that you were pregnant, what would you say?
Cool!

Do you trust all of your friends?
Yes.

Would you move to another state or country to be with the one you love?
Absolutely. And he would never go without me.

Do you believe that everything happens for a reason?
Yes.

Can you make a dollar in change right now?
Oh yes. We have a dish of change where all the miscellaneous coins go, and it's full.

Which one of your friends do you think would make the best doctor?
Hm. I don't think any of my friends are doctor material.

What naughty word do you use too often?
Doggone it. Rats.

Is there someone who pops into your mind at random times?
No one in particular. But if someone I never think of DOES pop into my mind, I figure it's because I'm supposed to pray for them, or call them.

What's your most favorite scar?
Favorite SCAR? If I had a C-section scar, that would probably be it. You know, sentimental value, and all that. But since I don't have one of those, I don't have a favorite scar.

When was the last time you flew in a plane?
Last May. We flew to Las Vegas to pick up a car we bought on Ebay.

What features do you find most attractive in the preferred sex?
Smiles.

Fill in the blank.I love __________.
My family: my husband, my kids. I love them as individuals, and I also love them as the organism we call US.

What is a goal you would like to accomplish in the near future?
Re-decorate the bedroom.

If you were to wake up from being in a coma for an extended time who would you call?
My husband, if he wasn't there already.

Where was your favorite picture taken?
I love the picture I have of my four kids standing on a huge rock in South Dakota.

Honestly, what's on your mind right now?
How tired and ache-y I am, and if the chocolate chip cookies I just baked are cool enough to eat yet. 'Cause if they are, then I can eat one (or three) and then go to bed....

If you could go back in time and change something, what would it be?
I'd make my mother a better housekeeper.

Who was or will be the maid of honor/best man in your wedding?
Twenty-six years ago my maid of honor was a woman named Linda. She was my next door neighbor, and a few years older than I was; in fact, I was her babysitter for her brand new baby, clear until the baby was four, who then became the flower girl in my wedding. Not too many years after the wedding, Linda died unexpectedly.

What are you wearing right now?
Jeans, dark green zip sweater, brown long sleeve Shade shirt, black socks, brown suede shoes.

Ever had a bar fight?
A what?

Who knows you the best?
God.

Did you buy something today?
No, but I wanted to. I wanted to order a book from Amazon, but I couldn't make up my mind on which other book to get to make the order eligible for free shipping.

Did you get in a fight with someone today?
No.

When was the last time you had a massage?
This morning Hubby rubbed my back for me. Oh, do you mean a professional massage? Let's see. That would be, oh, two years ago. Hubby and I both went once to a massage therapist, just to see what it was like. (I decided I like Hubby's massages better.)

Last person to see you cry?
Hubby.

Who made you cry?
No one. I just felt weepy.

What was the last TV show you watched?
The Beverly Hillbillies, on DVD.

Who was the last person you hung out with?
LovelyDaughter and Meggan, last weekend.

Have you ever taken a peek at someone else's diary?
No. Not without permission.

What is your favorite thing to do on a rainy day?
Bake a bunch of bread and cookies, and then sit by the fire and read.

Quirky? Interesting? Boring? Weird? None of the Above?

I was tagged a couple of weeks ago by Cricket for this meme, and I'm finally getting around to it.

If you've been around a little while, you know I have a terrible time thinking up random, quirky, interesting things about myself. That's one reason it's taken me so long. But at long last, here it is.

First, the rules:

THE RULES:
1. Once you are tagged, link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post THE RULES on your blog.
3. Post 7 weird or random facts about yourself on your blog.
4. Tag 7 people and link to them.
5. Comment on their blog to let them know they have been tagged.

Then, the list:

1. I have to brush my teeth before I leave the house. I just don't feel dressed if I haven't brushed my teeth within ten minutes of leaving. If I get delayed, I have to do it again.

2. I get hungry for things my body needs. If I haven't eaten enough vegetables lately, I start drooling over thoughts of broccoli, or lambsquarter, or spinach, or eggplant. If I haven't had a lot of milk products, I start craving cottage cheese, or toast with LOTS of butter, or chocolate milk.

3. I don't wear my wedding rings around the house, and if I forget to put them on when I go out, I will drive back and get them.

4. I love to pet my husband's beard and run my fingers through his hair.

5. I love having big windows-- if I can't see outside I feel trapped.

6. I like music, but I can't leave it playing all day. My nerves get frazzled when there's nonstop sound.

7. My daughter and I decided we are low-maintenance women. We're pretty easy going. We don't spend tons of money on clothes and jewelry (operative word being tons.) We can pack light, dress fast, and keep our bathroom stays short --and Hubby and sons rise up and call us blessed!

And now I'm going to break the rules, and not tag anyone else. But if you're reading this, I would love for you to write a list of seven random things about yourself and leave it in the comments.

Weekend Update

Wow, I can't believe I haven't posted since last Wednesday, and here it is Monday. I've been busy.

You see, all my guys went to a church Men's Retreat for the weekend. They were asked to be musicians on the worship team, and even MB3 went, to run the sound. They all left Thursday afternoon, so my Wednesday and Thursday were hectic: making sure the guys all had clean laundry, helping them pack, and getting them fed and out the door.

After they were gone, on Friday, LovelyDaughter and I and a friend took off for our own girls' getaway. We drove to BigCity and spent the day shopping at thrift stores, which was fun. (I got myself a nice, name brand, leather coat for ten bucks!)

The most fun was eating out. We went to a tiny hole-in-the-wall vegetarian cafe where you can get a big bowl of soup and your choice of a homemade scone or a hunk of french bread for under five dollars. That's all they sell: three or four kinds of "soup of the day", scones, french bread, three kinds of cookies, and brownies. That's it. All homemade. All organic, fresh, etc, etc, with the ingredient lists posted. And the decor and furnishings are an odd, eclectic, unmatched, mishmash of chinese, buddhist, new age, vintage, hippie, and garage sale. It was a great experience.

I had the Sweet Potato Corn Chowder (good). LovelyDaughter had the Tibetan Noodle (spicy). Our friend had Moroccan Tomato (strange: think "tomato soup", "hot pepper", and "peanut butter.") We all had scones, and then our friend got an oatmeal raisin cookie, which was the size of a dessert plate, and she insisted it was the best oatmeal cookie she'd ever had. I thought myself that it tasted just like homemade.

In the evening we drove to a state park that has a lodge open year round, and we rented a nice room with a view of the river. In the morning we ate an enormous buffet breakfast at the lodge restaurant, and then we hiked it all off on the trails.

Later we went back to BigCity and did a little fact-finding mission. LovelyDaughter is planning a trip to Ireland and Scotland this summer and she is shopping for a backpack in which to carry all her luggage, so we looked at packs and other trip necessities.

Then we found another hole-in-the-wall eatery. It was called something like "Holyland Cuisine" and had a fenced area on the sidewalk in front with tables and chairs. It was such a beautiful day that of course we elected to eat outside, even though we were only a few feet from the non-stop traffic of the busy road. Not what these country girls would want on a regular basis, but incredibly fun for an Adventure.

The menu there was all homemade, organic, Arab food; most of which I can't pronounce. I had eggplant soup (very fresh; tasted like I could have made it myself from the garden) that came with warm flat bread (yum) and Iraqi tea (strong.) LovelyDaughter had something made of bread dough with meat and onion inside it (good). Our friend had a huge plateful of something made of rice and wild rice and peas and carrots and who knows what else, and it was seasoned with, among other things, cinnamon. She let us both taste it, and it was surprisingly good.

Eventually it was time to say the adventure was over. We got home about an hour after the guys got home from their trip and we compared notes over a quick pancake supper.

I won't bore you with an account of the guys weekend, except for two little things. One: The speaker for the weekend was a preacher from downtown LA, and his preaching and interacting styles were very foreign to us midwesterners. He insisted that everyone clap, and shout "Amen", and be very vocal at every turn in the message. At one point he said, "What? Are you all Germans out here?" And every one of our guys had been tempted to jump up or raise their hand and say "YUP!" (Because, of course, Hubby's family is German Mennonite...)

The guy had a tendency to call out people in the audience and scold them, as in, "Brother, look up here!" or "Pay attention!" or "Don't be reading ahead in your bible; you should be all read up before you get here!" --(which to me is one of the most ridiculous things I've heard). Well, MB3 was not happy with that, and he was the sound guy, so he started muting the mic whenever the preacher started to single someone out to berate them. Hubby wasn't sure whether to commend MB3 or rebuke him-- but it was funny.

The other thing is this: I've been using the Book of Common Prayer for about a week, and Friday night, in the middle of the night, I had trouble sleeping, so I got out the prayer book. The prayer I read that night was this:

Almighty God, who seest that we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves; Keep us both outwardly in our bodies, and inwardly in our souls; that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

I prayed that prayer specifically for each of the guys on their retreat, and God answered. He protected them from the things that could have hurt their souls and their spirits through that insensitive preacher, and they are all none the worse for the wear. Woohoo!