A Good Fortune.

Fortune from my fortune cookie I had after dinner tonight:

I like that.  Think I'll save this one.

I Have Returned.

In case you noticed, I've been missing for a week now.  And in case you're thinking I was on some wonderful tropic vacation,  you could not be more wrong.  I was home alright.  Home with two boys sick with the dreaded H1N1, swine flu.  And let me tell you, last week sucked.  

Last week sucked big time.

The boys are fine now, but last week was a whole different story.  Headache, fever, body ache, sore throat, coughing, tired.  They were miserable and it's always terrible to see the boys sick.  But they had exactly enough energy to argue over who had more couch space, who got to choose the next television show, who was the sickest.  Be happy I spared you of a week's worth of "boy B has a fever of 103.5 today" and "boy C has a fever of 102 and won't stop asking me for McDonald's" and "when in the hell is this swine flu going to leave my house".  We watched movies, "Full House" marathons, we played video games, we watched game shows (who knew you could find an episode of "Family Feud" on at any given moment).  I was subjected to a 1st grade spelling test (which, according to my son, I failed miserably).  My friends on Facebook became my lifeline.  They humored us by playing along with our game show questions, they offered to leave Starbucks on my porch.  It was a very long week for all of us.

But I'm back now, the boys are back at school, H1N1 has left our home,  every surface in the house has been saturated with Lysol.

It is so good to be back.

3:33 p.m.

Ridiculously busy day today.  So just for fun, I asked my son to pick a time, anytime.   I then set the alarm on my phone to go off at that time.  The plan was to stop what I was doing when the alarm went off and take a photo wherever I was at that point in the day. 

He chose three o'clock in the afternoon.  

As it turned out, in my fascinating life,  I was at Walmart flying through the aisles with my oldest son at 3:00 p.m.  And I did not hear the alarm over him repeatedly telling me we needed to hurry home (his sleepover guests were scheduled to arrive at 4:00).  The photo above was taken in the parking lot at 3:33.  The exact moment I checked my phone and realized not only had I missed the alarm, I had missed 3 phone calls as well.

Yes, it's a very fascinating life I lead.

Corn Maze 101

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, on Tuesday I was a chaperone on my son's pumpkin patch field trip.  I also mentioned the corn maze.  

I need to elaborate on the corn maze.

Ariel view of the awesome maze.  I tracked down a farmer and asked how it was created.  

Here's the rundown.

1. Corn is planted in a criss cross X pattern.
2. Drawing of the maze is created on paper.
3. The farm actually has a surveyor working on the property who is able to translate the drawing into the field of corn.
4. GPS devices are used to map out the maze.
5. The appropriate corn stalks are then removed from the desired paths.  If done early enough in the season, this is an easy task.  If they wait too long, an ax needs to be used to cut down the stalks.  I got the impression the ax was used more often than not.

Maps were provided should you need them.  You need them.  It's very disorienting in that sea of 7-8 feet tall corn stalks.  We had a guide, a map and there were marked signs with John Deere Trivia to let you know you were on the right path.

I still got lost.

Little Things.

Today was a good day filled with lots of little good things.

• Yoga. The day started off with the best yoga class ever.  I mean ever.  Made me remember why I need to continue to go.  And why I need to go more often. 
  
• Sunshine.  The rain stopped, the sun came out, the air warmed up.  It was wonderful.
• Candy corn.  Officially cracked open bag number 4 today.  I so love candy corn.
• Clean house.  The house is clean.  Until the boys came home from school, anyways.
• Chicken nuggets.  All 3 boys are buying lunch tomorrow.  Such a rare occasion to not pack a single lunch.
• Survivor and Grey's.  Both new episodes.
• Short list.  Totally tackled the to do list.  Not completely, but crossed more off than I have in months.
• Soak.  I love a good soak in a perfectly hot, bubble bath.
• Fresh.  Freshly laundered sheets.

I need more days like today.

I loved this day.

"Oh please don't go...."

we'll eat you up-we love you so!

Took my little guy to see "Where the Wild Things Are" today.  

Wow.  Please go.  You need to see this movie.

What a wonderful film.  Beautiful scenery, a touching story and creatures with such personality they made me (and my 6 year old) forget they weren't really real.   I have been waiting months for the release of this movie.  And I couldn't help but wonder how Spike Jonze would be able to turn a 338 word children's book into a 98 minute flick.  Somehow he pulled it off.  Perfectly. 

I enjoyed this movie on so many levels.  As an audience member, I was thoroughly entertained.  I laughed, I cried, I totally lost track of time.  As a mom, I could relate to having a rambunctious son (or two or three) who doesn't like frozen corn.  I could relate as a sister to a younger brother, and as a worried child who feared the sun would fail to rise in the morning.

And as an artist I couldn't help but wonder what it must feel like to watch a book you've illustrated be transformed onto the big screen.  Forty six years ago, Maurice Sendak couldn't possibly have known he was creating a story that would live on for generations.  Awe inspiring to think about.  I also found it interesting that the book's original title was to be "Where the Wild Horses Are".   After realizing Sendak had no ability to draw horses, he changed the title and subject matter.  The large noses and fat bellies of the wild things are modeled after his own relatives, and I'd love to know if the names in the movie are in honor of his aunts and uncles as well.

I was surprised (and a little nervous) that my son was one of only a handful of children in the theater.  There were dark, somewhat scary scenes, but he was not afraid.  There were also funny scenes and he laughed right along with me.  At times he was a little sad.  But he was mesmerized by the film just like I was.

Please go.

You really will love it so.

Tales From a Fifth Grade Diary.

Oh my, the goodies I found while cleaning out my basement last week.  Who would have known an unmarked container could hold such treasures from my past.  A month's worth of blog posts could be written based entirely on the contents inside that plastic green box.  

The first thing I picked out to examine was this:

Behold, my 5th grade diary. 

Looking through, I can't for the life of me figure out why my younger sister would have spent so much time prying open the lock to read my entries.  The one about the time John Z. tried to set the school on fire and "almost got away with his stupid idea", was admittedly interesting.  You would think I would have a better recollection of that day.  Lots of entries on boys, pets, dancing and my best friend Carol.  No clue who Carol is, but the big fight with her led to my favorite entry in the diary.

Wednesday the 12th, 1980

"Today I made up with Carol just because she cried and her nose ran."

We're talking Pulitzer Prize material inside that little red book.

"Get These Mutts Away from Me...

 you know I don't find this stuff amusing anymore."

Can't get these lyrics out of my head today.  It's only fair that they should be stuck in yours as well.   "You Can Call Me Al" by Paul Simon-- such an entertaining, classic song.   I have no idea what the lyrics mean, but I would love to have been a fly on the wall when they were written.  The entire Graceland album is beautifully written, come to think of it.  Definitely one of my favorites.

 

You know you're looking for a diversion, go ahead, watch the video.  Chevy Chase's subtle dance moves and silly facial expressions will have you smiling the rest of the day.

"He looks around, around
He sees angels in the architecture 
Spinning in infinity 
He says Amen! and Hallelujah!"

Rash, Rain, Rant. Repeat.

And that pretty much sums up the way last week went for me.

Here's a brief rundown of the annoying week (notice I didn't say bad.  Just annoying.)

1. Husband brings home new bottle of wine to try out.  New wine causes the entire left side of my face to break out into a very red, very unattractive itchy rash.  Thinking maybe it wasn't as bad as it looked to me, asked my husband if he could notice it.  I believe his reaction was something like "Whoa--what happened to your face!"  
   
2. Bad reaction to wine leads to scrapping this week's "Cheap Wine with Pretty Labels" post.
3. Itchy, inflamed face and rain much of the week lead me to remain housebound.
4. Remaining housebound was boring.
5. Boring led to a massive cleaning out of the laundry room and basement, many trips to recycle, trips to Goodwill and a lot of questions about why we own half of this stuff.
6. Rain most of the week also led to the cancellation of both my weekly leaf photos and the hike I had hoped to take.

This week started off better.  Tried enchiladas for the first time (okay, where have they been all my life?),  baked a delicious, homemade apple crisp, went to 2 football games without getting rained on, and I am still 4-0 in the family football pool.  The rash has finally cleared up, and I enjoyed a nice glass of Red Stripe in lieu of wine.  

Oh, and my basement?  Much, much cleaner.

Whatever Happened to Supertramp?

"It's raining again..."

All week long, rain, rain, rain.  Cold and rainy and dreary.  I searched today for Peter, Paul and Mary's "Rain, Rain Go Away" on YouTube and came up blank (wouldn't you have liked to hear that song today?).  I did, however, stumble across another awesome song I had completely forgotten about.

I used to love Supertramp as a kid.  "Breakfast in America" was one of my most played cassettes.  I remember blaring "Goodbye Stranger" while my sister and I played Barbies.  We'd pretend Ken was singing the song as he was ditching Barbie.  For some reason Ken was always riding away on horseback during the chorus and one of us always got to pretend Barbie was crying. Looking back, I don't know if we were reenacting a western movie or just wanted to get some use of that horse.  But we would play that song and reenact this scene over and over.

As a mom now, I'm thinking my sister and I were some pretty freaky kids.  Not 100% sure I would have let my kids play with us.

Sorry, I really went off on an old person tangent today.  It's raining.  And I want to know where Supertramp went.  Ignore the crazy Barbie stuff.

What a Cold and Rainy Day...

...where on earth is the sun hid away?  

That's the song I hear in my head every time it rains like it rained here today.  I spent my early afternoon standing in a torrential downpour watching my sons football games (note to self: research indoor sports).

10,000 Maniacs - New Music - More Music Videos

In any event, I thought it would be nice to post the song on my blog today.  Well, now there's a great way to feel ancient.  Turns out the song I've been playing in my head is 22 years old.  That's right, twenty two.   And there's a lot of questions in my head as I watched the video--the roosters?  Someone please explain that to me, I am definitely missing something.  

 Twenty two years old.  Seriously.  I need to find a new rain song. 

Anyways, did I mention it rained today?

The Igloo in Picture 10.

Here's a fun trip down memory lane. I got tagged yesterday by a fabulous new cyber friend, Victoria at The Moss Garden. I like this tag--it's clever, unique and had me curious about my own results.

The rules? Open your first photo folder, scroll to the 10th photo, post the photo and tell the story behind it. Tag people to do the same.

My 1oth photo went way back to the winter of 2003.

It's a gigantic igloo snow fort I spent the day making with my two older sons. Funny this picture turned up, the boys still talk about building this creation. My youngest son was in the house napping (I noticed the patio door is cracked open so I would be able to hear him when he woke up).

We took a huge toy bucket and filled it with snow as if we were making an oversized sandcastle at the beach. When it was complete, there was no snow left in the backyard and the fort was taller than either of the boys. Speaking of my sons, they were 6, 3 and 7 months old at the time. Just looking at this photo exhausts me.

The remnants of the fort remained well into March before it finally melted away. A nice memory, I was happy to think about the day again.

And I am tagging the following: a niece, a cousin, two bloggers with fantastic photography and a blogger that never ceases to surprise me. I'll let you try to figure out which one is which.

• An Apple A Day
  
• Flickers of Memories
  
• Piles of Rock
  
• Waterstone
• Where Eagles Dare

It Went "ZIP" When It Moved and "POP" When It Stopped...

...."WHIRR" when it stood still.  I never knew just what it was and I guess I never will.

If you happen to know that those are song lyrics from "The Marvelous Toy" by Peter, Paul and Mary, can I just say I am so impressed with you right now.  

"The Marvelous Toy" is from the Peter, Paul and Mommy album.  It's about a mysterious toy that a father shares with his son and eventually the child passes on to his own son.  Just like the toy in the song, this timeless album has been handed down in my family from generation to generation.  My father shared it as a record with me when I was a child, I've listened to it on a cassette with my oldest son and now my youngest enjoys the music on his MP3 player (I wonder what format it will be on when I share it with my grandchildren).  No trip to the zoo has ever been complete without "Going to the Zoo" playing through my head at least once.  

And who doesn't know the lyrics to "Puff the Magic Dragon"?

I was truly sad when I heard the news that Mary Travers passed away on Wednesday.  Really, truly, sad in a way I don't usually feel about people I've never met.  I'm also disappointed that I never was able to see them perform live.  I never went to a Peter, Paul and Mary concert.  

And, sadly, I guess I never will.

B-I-N-G-O

Went to bingo last night.  Yeah, you heard me right.  Bingo.  And I learned that I can cross the professional bingo circuit off my list of back up career options.  Googled it today and there does appear to be a Bingo World Championship.  I may be missing something, but I don't know how one can practice bingo or develop a bingo strategy.

But I am thinking the picture taking, incessant talking, drinking, paper throwing and not paying attention to the bingo caller attributed to my downfall last night.  That's what I'm thinking.

Spinach Dip and Social Media.

I heart social media.

For at least 5 years now I have been on a quest to find a nice, hot, gooey, cheesy spinach dip recipe.  As it turns out it is surprisingly difficult to find a dip that is cheesy enough without being too spinachy.   After my last attempt turned out terribly wrong, I blogged and twittered about the failure.  I asked for anyone to please pass along their delicious recipe to me.

My pleas were answered.

I wish I had taken a pretty photo of the dip before we inhaled it.  As it was, I gave myself a blistering burn on the roof of my mouth I was in such a hurry to try it fresh out of the oven.  Totally worth it, by the way.  So delicious.

Props to Megan, twitter pal extraordinaire, for passing along the recipe.

Garlicky Spinach Dip With Hearts of Palm (Cooking Light)

• • 1 1/4 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
  • 1/2 cup grated asiago cheese, divided
  • 1/2 cup nonfat sour cream
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic
  • 14 ounces can hearts of palm, drained and chopped
  • 10 ounces package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
  • 8 ounces block fat free cream cheese, softened
  • 6 1/2 ounces tub light garlic-and-herbs spreadable cheese (such as Alouette Light)
  • 
    

1. Preheat oven to 350°.
   
2. To prepare dip, combine mozzarella, 1/4 cup Asiago, sour cream, and remaining ingredients, stirring until well blended. Spoon spinach mixture into a 1 1/2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Asiago. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned. Serve warm with chips.
   

This awesome recipe can also be found on RecipeZaar.  And I'm still open to trying more, so feel free to pass along your yummy recipes to me.

We Are Ready For Some Football.

It's that time of year again.  The return of football and also the return of our family's "perfectly legal fun football pool".

We can thank (or blame) my dad for creating and maintaining the pool.  We can also thank (and again blame) him for making us change our names for the season.  From September until Superbowl Sunday I am known as ShaNayNay around here.  And no, I did not choose that name.  I have to note that one person's identity has not been changed.  Not sure how they got away with that.

In theory, it is a fun family pool that keeps us all together throughout the season.  In reality, there will be lots of trash talk, disqualifications and several heated conversations about ties and playoffs.  Heaven forbid you call in your pick at 12:01 on Sunday afternoon (the rules clearly state you need to have your pick in by noon).

What's the prize?  The prize is a yard sale find trophy complete with the winners name and year engraved on the base.  The winner has possession of the trophy all year and the bragging rights as well.  And believe me, there is definitely bragging.  I'll have a chance to take a photo of the trophy at the end of the season as I have every intention of winning it back this year.

For now, this is ShaNaynay, signing out.

A Different View.

The view outside my window is beginning to change, another sign that fall has arrived.  Each day the trees are more and more colorful.

Rather than take a photo of the changing backyard, I thought it would be cool to scan an individual leaf from a few of my favorite trees.  Garden experts will note there are a couple of shrub leaves in the mix as well.

I'll try to remember to do this with a leaf from the same trees every Wednesday.  It will be interesting to see the progress from week to week.  Wonder which ones will change the fastest, have the most red, or won't change at all.

Antiperspirant on My Ankles.

I have been drinking in every last second of summer, truly dreading the end of my second favorite season.  I love the ice cream, hot weather, lemonade, the long relaxing days.  I didn't think there was a single thing about summer I didn't like.

I was wrong.

Last night, in an effort to cram as much outside air into my weekend as possible, I went to an early evening concert with my husband and youngest son.  And I got eaten alive by mosquitoes.  They completely feasted on me as if they had never eaten before.  In between the itching, I counted the bites today.  Sixteen on one leg alone.  Sixteen, unbearably itchy bites.  I scratch, I itch, I curse, I complain.  I smack them, I obsess over them, I scratch them some more.  I can't think about anything else but the unbearable itching on my legs that won't go away.  I applied two different creams, took a hot bath, tried to pretend I didn't have the bites at all.  But the itching won't stop.

This evening, I complain to my mother.  Now here's the kicker.  My mother tells me to roll antiperspirant "not deodorant, that won't work" on my bites.  Sounds wacky to me, but at this point I am willing to try just about anything.

It worked.

The itching stopped immediately and I am amazed.  She also tells me to carry a Bounce dryer sheet in my pocket when I am outside and I won't get bit in the first place.  I don't know where she gets this stuff, but I can assure you, as foolish as this sounds, I will have a dryer sheet stuffed in every pocket from June through October from this day on.

And I'll also have antiperspirant on my ankles.

Running Out of Summer.

Beautiful day here today.  And I'm spending as much time as I can outside enjoying it.  Football games in the morning, pool in the afternoon, dinner outside this evening.

I tried to capture the warmth of the sun on my face at the pool today, but the iPhone view just doesn't give it justice.

Here's my feeble attempt:

I did have a wonderful "Sunshine On My Shoulders" YouTube video link here, but boy, was it slowing my blog down.  Unfortunately, I had to delete it.  It's a pity as it captured the sun far better than my photo did.

Hope you are able to squeeze in a bit of sunshine into your weekend.

What I'll Serve My Worst Enemy.

Well, the good news is if I ever invite my worst enemy over for dinner, I know exactly what I am going to cook for them.

Oh, you know there's gonna be a picture of the dish.

Give up?  It's a spinach dip.  And I know what you're thinking--how can you screw up a spinach dip.  Oh, you can all right.  Tonight I mastered that skill.

All day long I've been craving a nice, hot, gooey, cheesy spinach dip.  I don't have a good recipe, certainly try and try to find one, but nothing compares to the dips I have eating out.  So I google and find this awesome knockoff claiming to be the same as the one they serve at California Pizza Kitchen.  I have had that dip.  That dip is delicious.  Now, I don't know who came up with the recipe I tried tonight, but it was no California Pizza Kitchen.  It was just plain nasty.  I can't get the smell out of my house, the taste out of my mouth, the memory out of my brain. 

So if you happen to have a dip you are willing to share, I am willing to try it.  It needs to be hot and cheesy and I don't want any monkeying around with fresh spinach.  That's just silly.  If I like it, I'll let you (and everyone else) know.  If I don't, I won't rat you out.  

Let's see what you've got.  It has to be better than the one I made tonight.