Flower Power

Sowing the seeds for our flower garden.

Grounded for a year...

Mom checked the blog yesterday and informed me that I am grounded for a year. I quickly rushed over some spelt bread (pumpkin streusel and zucchini) because after all:

Spelt has a positive effect on ones mind, heart and soul and in fact to your entire nature; This is due to the higher levels of L-Tryptophan which in turn promote and aid in the production of serotonin. Spelt is also rich in B and E vitamins. See http://www.berlinnaturalbakery.com/wonder_history.html

And it tastes AWESOME! This comes from a woman who used to pick out the broccoli specks from the Lipton's Cheddar and Broccoli Noodles.

After the "positive effect" took hold, I told her the part of the story that I omitted from my post. She laughed so hard that I decided to share it....

After I popped the brewer's yeast pill, I was instructed to suck on it and blow at the gnats with my brewer's yeast breath to repel them. Yes, I followed my instructions and I'm sure I appeared to be howling at some phantom moon in the middle of the day.

Later, at home, I sprayed my baseball cap with Off! and it was much more effective.

I don't think I'm grounded anymore. ha!

Just say 'No'!

If I caught my kids doing this I would freak out and ground them for a year.

It started innocently enough, a casual bike ride around the block. We decided to goof off in the cul de sac a few blocks away and soon teamed up with some other kids doing the same thing. I was "on foot" because my youngest has not mastered the art of getting up the big hill or consistently braking on the way down. As I stood there supervising my kids and all the other kids who suddenly appeared as we entered the cul de sac, the gnats descending on me without mercy. Apparently my constant shooing attracted attention from a local. He came out and offered me his home remedy for gnat repulsion...a medium sized, round, grayish pill.

In my defense:
1) the bottle was clearly marked (although open).
2) I had met the man once before at a home owner's association meeting so he wasn't a complete stranger.
3) the gnats did seem to vacate the area when he approached me
4) the other kids knew him by name and seemed to enjoy his company (without supplements)
5) Brewer's yeast sounded harmless

So I popped the dietary supplement (brewer's yeast) and no harm came of it.
Unfortunately, the gnats were undeterred.

OK, Ok, it's been a boring week and I have nothing more interesting to share.

P.S. 85% closer to my silver award (38419 out of 45000 points). See The President's Challenge
AND...

Fun Week

Lauren and Bill went to their first Father-Daughter Dance. Here they are exchanging flowers for the event. I think they both had a wonderful time and I can't wait to see the picture from the dance.



Since big sis was having a special night with Dad, Kristen and I hosted the Apple Dumplin' Dance for a few of the other younger sibs and moms in the neighborhood. The kids dressed up and had pizza, cupcakes, and ice cream. There were also a number of wardrobe changes with Tinkerbell and many princesses making cameo appearances.

Earlier in the week I hosted book club. My pick was "Three Cups of Tea". I think the book is outstanding and highly recommend it. Go buy it this minute! Check out this site, http://www.threecupsoftea.com/Intro.php, and consider buying through their amazon link) The book was not universally loved by all of the book club members but I think everyone thought it was a good story and worthy of the time spent reading it. For dinner, I bought some of my favorite wines so I had a REALLY good time (which made the next day a little rough). ha!

In keeping with the "April is for Astro" theme this month...
After the Apple Dumplin' Dance, I consolidated the leftover pizzas and closed up the boxes and set them on my countertop. I got Kristen ready for bed and returned to the kitchen to find an empty pizza box on the floor. Doh!

And again...

Astro "opened" the unlocked gate with his snout this time. After racing around the block, he noticed an opened garage and door into my neighbor's home. Without a second thought, he ran right into that house. My heart was in my throat because I knew my neighbor had at least one cat. Fortunately, she is also a huge dog lover and didn't seem to mind the intrusion. Little did I know that she was also a "dog whisperer". She called Astro and he came right to her. GOTCHA!

FYI: No cats were injured in this escape.