Catch Another Butterfly.

Spent the day chasing after butterflies in my backyard.  And I've got the pictures to prove it.  I've also attached the lyrics to one of my favorite butterfly songs by John Denver.  I remember the song from Sesame Street of all places.

Hope you take some time to read the lyrics, and I hope they inspire you to take some time to catch a butterfly or two.

Do you remember days not so very long ago

When the world was run by people twice your size?

And the days were full of laughter

And the nights were full of stars

And when you grew tired you could close your eyes

 

Yes the stars were there for wishing

And the wind was there for kites

And the morning sun was there for rise and shine

And even if the sniffles kept you

Home from school in bed

You couldn't hardly stay there after nine

 

And I wonder if the smell of morning's faded

What happened to the robin's song

That sparkled in the sky?

Where's all the water gone

That tumbled down a stream?

Will I ever catch another butterfly?

 

Do you remember campouts right in your own backyard?

Wondering how airplanes could fly

And the hours spent just playin'

With a funny rock you found

With crystal specks as blue as all the sky

 

And I wonder if the smell of morning's faded

What happened to the robin's song

That sparkled in the sky?

Where's all the water gone

That tumbled down a stream?

Will I ever catch another butterfly?

 

Now I watch my son, he's playin' with his toys

He's happy, I give him all I can

But I can't help feelin'

Just a little tingly inside

When I hear him say he wants to be a man

 

And I wonder if the smell of morning's faded

What happened to the robin's song

That sparkled in the sky?

Where's all the water gone

That tumbled down a stream?

Will I ever catch another butterfly?

Will I ever catch another butterfly?

No Vacancy.

I am always fascinated by the creative games my boys come up with completely on their own.

On Tuesday my little guy spent the day turning our entire home into a hotel.

Bedrooms were all numbered.

Check in this way. His makeshift lobby was downstairs.  He set up a desk with a cash register and signed us all in when we arrived.  Sadly, this was taken down before I had a chance to take a picture.

He wore a bellhop hat all day, showed us to our rooms, and waited on us when we ate in the hotel restaurant (a.k.a. the kitchen table).

We all enjoyed watching him play and were a little sad when the hotel closed.  Can't wait to see what he comes up with next.  In the meantime, I don't have the heart to take down the numbers.  So until further notice, you'll find me residing in room 98.

Six Things You Never Needed to Know About Me.

Yep. Got tagged by Joy White.  Not usually one to do these sort of things (so don't go bombarding me with these. Please.)  But this one got me, because:

1.  I love her blog. 
   
2. Growing up she ate peanuts out of a bathtub in the town I live in. That totally won me over. (I should mention it was at a restaurant that, sadly, no longer exists).
   

Here is how it works . . . 

• Post link to the person that tags you
  
• Post the rules
  
• Write six random and/or revealing things about yourself
  
• Tag six people at the end of the post and link to their blogs
  
• Let each person know they've been tagged & leave a comment on their blog
  
• Let the tagger know when your post has been published.

And here you go.  Six things you never needed to know about me:

1. Chuck Berry tripped and fell on me.  And yes, Chuck Berry, the famous musician.
   
2. I spent a summer packaging hot dogs in a freezer at a meat processing company.  For the record, WORST. JOB. EVER.  Oh, I still eat hot dogs.  I should add that.
   
3. I memorized the entire Lee Press On Nails TV commercial about 25 years ago.  To this day, I can still recite it perfectly and with annunciation. "Introducing new Lee Press On Nails, they press on in seconds..."  Okay, I'll stop.
   
4. I collect watches and I quickly drain the batteries in every watch I wear.  I never leave the house without one on.
   
5. I have absolutely no sense of direction whatsoever.  None.  I get lost with a navigation system.  "Make a legal u turn ahead"--you'll hear that a lot driving with me.
   
6. If I had been born a boy, my mother was going to name me Ashley.  So happy to be a girl.

And the six awesome bloggers I have tagged:

Lori Plyler  Love her current studio makeover series.

Leslie Her Tiny Garden inspires me to go out and work on my own.

Shannon  I love reading about the fun things she's doing in California.

Kate  I am never disappointed with Kate's posts.  You have to read Trashy Treasure.

Stephanie An artsy, Cleveland blog.  Love it.  Check out the Flight Patterns post.  Too cool.

Liz  Liz is one of my favorite Twitter pals.  Love her art.  Just started following her blog.

My New Favorite Wine and My Favorite Old Movie.

"Tango", "Cha Cha" and "Rhumba".  You'd think I was writing a post about a dance lesson, wouldn't you?

Truth is, I'm actually writing about a nifty trio of wines I've just discovered.  It was hard to choose between the three, but I decided on  "Tango" by Dancing Coyote Wines as this week's selection in my "Cheap Wine with a Pretty Label" series.  This label was so awesome, it stopped me in my tracks walking by the wine section at the grocery store.  Wasn't even shopping for wine, but couldn't resist grabbing a bottle it was so darn cool.

Just look at that fun coyote cutting a rug (and note he's on the cork as well).   I found "Tango" on sale for $9.99 and couldn't resist trying it out.  And I'll tell you what, I really liked it.  The label says it is "50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Tempranillo, 25% Cabernet Franc".  It was a very nice mix.  Smooth, not too dry.  A bit fruity.  Awesome.  I loved this Bordeaux as much as I loved the label.  And I will definitely be adding "Cha Cha" and "Rhumba" on my list to try in the future.

The wine went wonderfully with "Sixteen Candles" (enjoying a John Hughes marathon this week).  Remember the school dance scene?  Just seemed to fit with the Dancing Coyote.  It also seemed fitting to enjoy a slice of this with the wine:

"Make a wish, Samantha."  "It already came true."

Ahhh, that's the reason I love that movie--she got the guy AND she got cake.  

Oh, and please don't send birthday wishes for me.  This was just an excuse to eat cake.  And yes, my son and I actually lit 16 candles.  Go ahead, count them.

OOooooohhh, Pretty Buttons.

I confess, I am addicted to junking up my blog with widgets, buttons and html code.

And I admit, this post serves absolutely no purpose other than to allow me to show off my shiny new social media buttons.  Check them out at the bottom of this post.  I just love how you can slide back and forth across them and they get bigger.  Try it, it's so cool.

I can't stop playing with them.  I just can't stop.

Seven Boys, a Lifeguard and One Very Dead Bird.

When I look back on today, I will remember it as a wonderful evening catching up with two of my closest friends.  Our nine children all played together in the pool, out of the pool, around the pool and ate entirely too much junk food.

I will remember the day as one of the last times our families will all be together for awhile as part of our close knit triangle will sadly be moving away this weekend.  No goodbyes tonight,  I recall "see you later" being decided as our parting words.

I will remember tonight as the night I was introduced to Coldstone Creamery cupcakes.  Oh, yeah.  And you had better believe they are heavenly.  Unbelievably rich and delicious.

Tonight will go down as the night my middle son and one of his closest friends since preschool had their first official sleep over (praying there is actually some sleep involved in the sleep over).

But our sons?  The boys, I am sure, will remember this night as the night of the dead bird.  Helpless little guy stuck in the hood of my friend's car.  And there's no doubt they'll remember the poor lifeguard, his belly still full from the cupcake we had just fed him, trying not to vomit as he removed the poor creature for us.

A nice night.  Could have done without the bird.  But a very nice night.

Cheap Wine with a Pretty Label

Here's what I know about wine:  

1. I like wine.  
   
2. Wine is good.  
   

And that's pretty much it.   

Wine aficionado's are going to hate me for this, but I judge wine based solely on two criteria.  

1. It's gotta be cheap (around $10 or under) 
2. It's gotta have an eye catching label.

And I have nothing against a bottle with a screw top.

So what do I plan to do with my extensive wine knowledge?  Create a weekly blog post feature of course.  More for my own records than anything else (I can never remember the ones I like).  And if you have a recommendation that fits within my criteria I'll happily try it out. 

So here we go, the first wine in my highly acclaimed series.  I purchased "Red Bicyclette" , a French Rose´ at my local wine distributor (a.k.a. Walmart Supercenter) for around $9.00.  I don't know if I had the Tour De France on my brain at the time, but that adorable red bicycle really caught my eye.  It's a simple, classic design, but it works.  I just want to put this pretty bottle of wine into the basket of my fictional bike and have a cheese picnic in the countryside.  Or enjoy it while watching an old cycling movie like "Breaking Away" or "Quiksilver".  In reality, I drank a glass while sitting on the couch watching "Stepbrothers" with my husband.  The wine paired nicely with an ice cream sandwich, a pretzel rod and a handful of trail mix.   I'll give it extra points for versatility.

As far as taste, it's a Rose´.  I loved the deep pink color, but as my husband pointed out "You know this is a Rose´.  You don't like Rose´".  And as it turns out, I don't.  I drank and enjoyed it, don't get me wrong.  But I would have preferred a glass of Chardonnay or Merlot.  I will definitely try out one of those Red Bicyclette wines in the future.

I know you're on the edge of your seat in anticipation of my next review, so here's my plan.  Shop for wine on Friday, try it out Saturday and write my post on Sunday.  I've already had a few suggestions I can't wait to sample, I hope you'll comment with your own recommendations.  I'd love to hear them!

(On a sidenote, I wasn't sure if wine varieties ought to be capitalized.  I googled looking for an answer and was surprised to learn there is a real division on this subject and no apparent answer.  I went with capitals.  Don't hate me for it.)