Moss back in Minnesota!

ESPN is reporting that a trade has been completed sending star receiver Randy Moss back to the Minnesota Vikings from the New England Patriots. I'm sure all you you already know this :) but I'm just so excited. Favre throwing to Moss - weird.

The Twins are in the playoffs and play tonight! The down side is, they play the Yankees. And as Bigs used to tell us (when she was a wee one), when asked what was wrong with the Twins, "They can't beat the Ankees". Let's hope she's wrong.

More breaking news.....we are without a high chair for the first time in almost 8 years. Against my better judgment, we are moving Little Bit to a booster chair and Bigs into a normal chair. Everybody is happy (except for me the next time we eat spaghetti or anything remotely messy).

What a killer day!

Until later...

You might have noticed I have not been around much lately. As you all know, wrapping up the school year makes for an extremely hectic time of the year.

I am also headed to Ukraine for a mission trip for two weeks. We will be working in an orphan camp a few hours outside of Kiev. The organization we will be working with is Hope for Orphans. My church has been working with this partner for five years and HFO has been in existence for more than 10 years. It was founded by Jenya Ivashko when he promised the Lord he would dedicate his life to helping orphans in his country. Jenya started with his friends, all in their early 20’s, to start a camp ministry at local orphanages. HFO now has reached thousands of children ages 6-16 across Ukraine sharing the love of Jesus. We'll be working with 150 of them!

We initially were going to be working in Skadovsk, which is right on the Black Sea. In high school I was part of an exchange program where we lived in Odessa, Ukraine which is also right on the Black Sea. Last week we learned that the director of the orphanage changed his mind so instead we are going to a different location (I don't even know the name of the village, although I know it starts with a V and it's not on any body of water).

Once I return I have two days to do laundry and clean the house (from the damage of having Dad and three kids at home for two weeks without mom) then we are on our way to spend a month with my parent's in Minnesota. We'll stop in Indianapolis and Milwaukee to see my siblings (and lots of nieces and nephews) on the way up. I just love this part of the summer.

I'll be posting occasionally but not much.

Remember to spread joy to all those around you. Enjoy your summer!

Award :)

Jenn over at Bento For Kidlet and Angela at Confessions of a Non-Domestic Housewife
both gave me this award....and what a cute award it is! Come on, cupcakes make anyone's day better!

Jenn makes the most amazing bento lunches you have ever seen. It makes me feel a little guilty when I throw together a lunch for dear daughter (because I hate packing lunches). Angela has a series she does called "Princess Traning", which teachers her daughter to become a proper princess (awesome idea) and has taken over Kid Friendly Friday for me (thank you!!). Go check them out.

Here's what I'm supposed to do:
1. Copy the award image into a post.
2. List 10 things that make you happy.
3. Tag 10 bloggers who brighten your day.
4. Put in a link to their blogs.
5. Notify the award receivers. (hold tight folks, this may take awhile :)
6. Recipients should link back to the sender's blog. (I say this can be optional. If I have given you an award you are in no way obligated to link back to me, just enjoy your award!)




10 Things That Make Me Happy


1. Carbohydrates

2. Bright Colors

3. My parents visiting from Minnesota.

4. Growing my own tomatoes (uggghhh - the FL cold spell killed them this week)

5. Being alone in the car so I can sing at the top of my lungs to whatever I want to listen to

6. Coffee in the morning

7. Family gatherings

8. Snuggling with a child that is not fully awake and demanding breakfast

9. Pizza (I could eat this daily but even more so when it's not me making it)

10. When my husband calls during the day just to say hi!

10 Bloggers That Brighten My Day:

1. A Little Fun With Me and Lu

2. Finding Joy in My Kitchen

3. The Misadventures of Mub

4.


5. Lucy's Kitchen

6. Mother Is Not Concerned

7.


8. The First Year Wife

9.

10. Adventures in Mommydom

The One Where I Do Not Get Eaten By An Alligator

Nope. I didn't. I didn't even see an alligator (insert sad sigh here) but a dream that I had a few nights ago made me think that I may have been in danger while exploring Sanibel Island (heavily gator populated, I guess). You see, this weekend my husband and I went away. Alone. The only catch is that he was playing a tournament and I got to spend most of the weekend alone. This isn't a problem for me. I like the solitude. I like not having to speak. How else can I think about what to blog collect my thoughts?

The typical mode of transportation in Sanible is a bicycle. I figured I would spend the day biking about the island. My idea of relaxation is moving. Yes, I cannot sit still for long. The island is about 12 miles long and I was determined to bike every mile of it.

I rented my bike for 4 hours and set out to find a place for breakfast. The bike rental guy said that The Island Cow had "a killer breakfast." The Island Cow brought out a plate full full of what looked like FunFetti muffins. This is when I started to miss my family. There were three, one for each girl, but instead they were all for me! Too bad they weren't anything special. My breakfast quesadillas WERE something special. There's something about getting to smother your breakfast in habenero sauce. I forgot to rent a lock so I was pretty anxious by the end of the meal hoping that my bike was still there when I returned. I scarfed down my meal and was on my way.


What a beautiful day. This is one bike friendly town. The paths are wide, they go everywhere and there are fines for cars not stopping for them. Nice. I forgot to look at the map, but hey, how many ways could there be to get from one end of the island to the other? I saw Cheeseburger Cheeseburger and made a mental note of a lunch stop there. After about a half an hour I saw Cheeseburger Cheeseburger again. Yes, Mrs. I Don't Need a Map just rode in a very big circle. So I pulled over, got it out, and figured how I was going to make it to the end of the island. One wrong turn. Simple enough.



The ride was amazing. I pulled over about each half hour to re-lube up with sunscreen. Last time I was at the beach I fried. Not happening this time. I found out that once you hit the end of Sanibel and it goes into Captiva there are no longer bike paths so I decided it was time to hit up the beach, conveniently located where the bike path ends. I left my bike (still holding my breath that nobody would steal my sweet ride) and, still moving, wandered the beach. Turner beach is perfect, deserted, calming. I found some cool shells that I am going to have the girls make into necklaces (always a project on my mind).




On my way back down the island I wanted to see how fast I could go. I made pretty good time (despite being cut off by someone in a big truck that looked surprisingly like John Gruden, complete with scowl) and by the time I made it back to the rental place I had an extra half hour to cover the lighthouse end of the island. I came across a Dairy Queen and amended my note from earlier to make THIS my lunch stop (you've got to break the rules a little when the kids are not around). A little later I came across Pinnocchio's Ice Cream and remembered that I had to stop at this island hot spot. DQ would have to wait. Lighthouse beach was too crowded for my taste so I hauled butt back to the rental shop so I wouldn't have to pay for any extra time (I am cheap). Wouldn't you know it I got behind a slow biker about the last mile (which I hate to pass) and made it back with one minute to spare.



I couldn't choose between Sanibel Crunch and Dirty Sand dollar for lunch, so got a bit of both. Loved the toasted coconut in the Sanibel crunch. I did head up to Captiva for another walk on the beach but again, too crowded and there looked like a storm was brewing on the horizon, so I didn't stay long. The town itself is really cute. Everyone has their house labeled with a colorful sign with names like, Pair-O-Dice, Mellow Yellow, and Angel's Wings.



I went back to the hotel to enjoy a fully loaded veggie pizza (because I could) and watch fluff TV. I biked about 25 miles, wasn't at all sun burnt and didn't get eaten by a gator. It was a good day.

Friend Makin' Mondays...

Friend Makin' Mondays...
All That Is Good hosts Friend Makin' Mondays... ! I saw it on a few blogs I follow so decided to join in today! You can go HERE for the rules and facts about this fun little bloggin' game.

Today's task: Copy and paste these questions to your blog and give them your own answers.

You wouldn't be caught dead where?: at a NASCAR event

Do you have any hidden talents?: I can still do pretty high kicks from my danceline days :)

Name two things you consider yourself to be very good at: cooking and gardening

Name two things you consider yourself to be very bad at: passing up baked goods and spelling

Have you ever won a trophy? yes, for running

Name one thing not many people know about you: I am a fan of America's Next Top Model - sshhhhhh!

Name your earliest memory: getting burned on the 4th of July with a sparkler. We lived in CA at the time so it was before I started kindergarten. I am still hesitant about those things.

What was your favorite musical group in jr. high? I have such a bad memory that I had to google "1987 music" but should have known....Bon Jovi. That was my first concert as well. They played with White Snake and someone threw up on the back of my seat. Fun stuff!

What was something the worst roommate you ever had did? My freshman year college roommate was very possessive of me. She did not like me going out with other people and even would tell people I wasn't there when I was and didn't give me phone messages. It was really weird.

When you were a kid what did you want to be when you grew up?: I have no idea. I still don't :)

What was your worst dating experience?: Again, freshman in college set up (can't for the life of me remember by who) with a scrawny, (I like my men bigger than me) drug induced hippie type. He took me to see Needful Things and then back to his place...complete with a black light, velvet posters, and lava lamp. I had my share of hippie things but grew out of that phase shortly after graduating high school. I fled the scene as quick as I could!

If you were about to die what would your last meal be?: Ruth's Crist Filet, their chop salad and loaded baked potato - apple crisp ala mode for dessert :) If I ended up not dying I would have to work out hard the next day!

Who is the most important person in you life?: My husband

If your house was on fire what 3 things would you grab on your way out?: If I have to count all three girls individually, then that is that.....otherwise I would also grab my scrapbooks and my hard drive (I am not good at backing up things)

I was tagged....times two.

Kelli over at Outside My Kitchen Window tagged me for some Keeping it Real fun.
Here are the rules:
Take a picture of yourself right now.
No primping or preparing.
Just snap a picture.
Load the picture onto your blog.
Tag some people to play.
NO CHEATING!

I did play the right way (this picture IS from yesterday morning around 7am) I'm just a little tardy posting it...

So let's see you Keep It Real....but first one more tag (I'm going to tag you for BOTH games).

Hadley from Life of a Dairy Queen has tagged me in 8 Is Enough.

8 Things I am Looking Forward to:

1. This weekend with NOTHING scheduled on Saturday!

2. School ending for husband and kids

3. Summer road trip to MN and WI.

4. Scarlett's first birthday

5. Making lasagna - sometime in the next few days - and getting to have the leftovers for lunch

6. My peppers to grow

7. My nasturtiums (which are already blooming) going to seed - collecting the seeds are my favorite part of this flower - odd, I know, I should enjoy the beautiful flower more!

8. Husband and daughter coming home from school today :)


8 Things I did Yesterday:

1. grocery shopped

2. Made a QU wedding cake for the kindergarten class

3. Raked - doing this a little everyday to get it done

4. Cleaned toilets - WooHoo - still better than dusting

5. Had a friend of my daughter's over after school

6. Tried to go to the Y - baby isn't wanting to stay in child care so any longer

7. Made Buffalo Wing Sandwiches for dinner

8. Watched some of Mary Poppins with the girls


8 Things I Wish I Could Do:

1. Cover an entire cake in fondant

2. Do a back flip

3. Upper body exercise - I am injured from a freak accident involving my daughter calling from the potty and a rouge chair. Everything hurts.

4. Knit

5. Pass the kitchen without snacking.

6. Run a 23 minute 5K - I'm at 25

7. French braid - with 3 girls this would be a great skill to have.

8. Write an entire post without interruption.


8 Shows I Watch:
8 shows?!? I barely manage my one!

1. 90210 - the only one I watch every week

2. America's Next Top Model

3. 24

4. Biggest Loser



Now I'm supposed to tag 8 people to do this (and the keep it real one as well). . .so here goes:

Anne at Teaching Two
Shannon at Shannon's Creations
Vivienne at The V-Spot
Shelby at Schweri Stories
Annissa at Learning Together Hand in Hand
Tonya at Small Town Louisiana Girl

25 Things

I was tagged by Domestically Disabled Girl over at Domestically Challenged to write 25 random things about myself. So here I go!

1. I was born in Iowa, moved to CA, then to MN when I was in kindergarten, college in MI, and to FL in 1997.
2. I don't like clowns, stuffed animals, or clutter.
3. I have had dozens of jobs - I think I could fill up all 25 things this way, but I won't.
4. I worked for corporate Dairy Queen - and that's how I got to FL, a job transfer.
5. I "fake race" while on the treadmill with the person next to me.
6. I crave sweet then salty, sweet, salty, sweet....it's a vicious cycle.
7. I took 4 years of Russian in high school.
8. I never liked writing - until I started blogging.
9. I cry at church almost every week.
10. I don't like to be comforted when I cry.
11. I never thought I would have kids.
12. I would love to have another child but without the pregnancy or baby stage.
13. I once went an entire year with buying anything retail (except absolute needs). It was freeing.
14. I could spend all day reading.
15. I'm always hungry. Even when I am sick.
16. I can't go long without exercise or I get irritable.
17. It scares me to think that my parents would ever move from the house I grew up in.
18. I would love to live next door to my parents in the summer and fall and my in-laws in the winter and spring.
19. I was in the band in elementary and Jr. high but quit the trumpet because it was too heavy to carry to school.
20. I can't decide if I'm in favor of the death penalty or not.
21. I have elf ears (a little pointy).
22. I don't feel the need to answer the phone.
23. I can hang around my husband all the time and not get sick of him.
24. I swore I would never join a sorority, then did and loved it.
25. If I didn't spell check this post you would have laughed at my spelling abilities.


So what about your 25 things?? I'm tagging TeachingTwo - THE DOWNS GANG - Eighty MPH Mom - TuTu's Bliss and The Dunham Diaries

99 Things

THE 99 THINGS



I saw this over at Comfort Joy Designs then at a few other blogs. I'm always a sucker for these types if things :)


Things I’ve already done: bold

Things I want to do: italicize

Things I haven’t done and don’t want to - plain font


1. Started your own blog.

2. Slept under the stars – I’ve camped a lot.

3. Played in a band.

4. Visited Hawaii.

5. Watched a meteor shower.

6. Given more than you can afford to charity.

7. Been to Disneyland/world - both.

8. Climbed a mountain.

9. Held a praying mantis.

10. Sang a solo – every time I get into the car :) .

11. Bungee jumped – went on a bungee swing a few weekends back with my daughter – it was scary.

12. Visited Paris.

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch – cake decorating - I think it's an art!

15. Adopted a child.

16. Had food poisoning.

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.

18. Grown your own vegetables – have a huge tomato crop right now, carrots, radishes, and peas ready soon.

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.

20. Slept on an overnight train – we went to visit my grandparents in MT (from MN) a few times for Christmas – it was beautiful and snowy.

21. Had a pillow fight.

22. Hitch hiked - no way!

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.

24. Built a snow fort – walking home from school with my friend Andrea used to take hours in 1st and 2nd grade because we would stop to make snow forts along the way (in other peoples yards).

25. Held a lamb.

26. Gone skinny dipping.

27. Run a marathon – very hard but well worth it.

28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.

29. Seen a total eclipse – lunar eclipse while I was running one morning – very cool.

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset - both.

31. Hit a home run.

32. Been on a cruise.

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.

35. Seen an Amish community.

36. Taught yourself a new language - I could use Spanish, would love to relearn Russian.

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.

39. Gone rock climbing.

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David in person.

41. Sung Karaoke.

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.

43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.

44. Visited Africa.

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.

46. Been transported in an ambulance.

47. Had your portrait painted (only if it was by one of my children – otherwise wouldn’t care to have it done).

48. Gone deep sea fishing – in the British Virgin Islands.

49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling - in the keys and BVI.

52. Kissed in the rain.

53. Played in the mud – mud wrestling and mud volleyball in college.

54. Gone to a drive-in theater – saw ET sitting on the top of our vibrant green suburban.

55. Been in a movie.

56. Visited the Great Wall of China.

57. Started a business.

58. Taken a martial arts class – Krav Maga – loved to grapple, who would have thought?

59. Visited Russia – when the USSR was breaking up in 1991/1992.

60. Served at a soup kitchen.

61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.

62. Gone whale watching.

63. Gotten flowers for no reason.

64. Donated blood - also a lot of plasma while in college.

65. Gone sky diving.

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.

67. Bounced a check.

68. Flown in a helicopter.

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.

71. Eaten Caviar – yuck, too salty.

72. Pieced a quilt – started, never finished.

73. Stood in Times Square.

74. Toured the Everglades.

75. Been fired from a job.

76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.

77. Broken a bone.

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.

80. Published a book - I guess Snapfish doesn't count :).

81. Visited the Vatican.

82. Bought a brand new car.

83. Walked in Jerusalem.

84. Had your picture in the newspaper – once in grade school playing softball, the other while watching an Elvis impersonator….long, funny story.

85. Read the entire Bible – almost all, few in OT I haven't gotten through.

86. Visited the White House.

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating – I did bow hunt for one season – didn’t shoot anything - never saw a deer - so I'm not sure if I would even had tried.

88. Had chickenpox.

89. Saved someone’s life.

90. Sat on a jury.

91. Met someone famous.

92. Joined a book club.

93. Lost a loved one.

94. Had a baby - three.

95. Seen the Alamo in person.

96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.

97. Been involved in a law suit.

98. Owned a cell phone – I sometimes wish they were not invented.

99. Been stung by a bee – ouch!



So what about you??

About me

I have too many interests. Really. There is not enough time in the day. I was the kid in 4-H who took 15 different projects just because I couldn't decide on a specialty (plus I wanted to make as much money as I could come fair time :). My mom and dad both had so much they could help me with, so why not try it all? I love to garden, sew, woodwork, cook, bake, craft, etc. I am wife to Mark (an amazing teacher and coach), mother to three wonderful daughters, and in love with Jesus. I have dozens of different projects (and books) started and much too little free time to finsh them all! Let's see what I can share!