The Fabulous Adventures

Incredible & Edible

2011-04-10T13:42:00.010-05:00

My favorite food is an egg. Boiled, scrambled, poached, baked or fried it doesn't matter - I love eggs. LOVE eggs. (My second favorite food is an avocado, but that's another post.)
I am always looking for new ideas and recipes that use eggs. I especially love eggs and toast, but in my opinion, if you're gonna eat toast with eggs, the yolk HAS to be runny. It just has to. So, yesterday afternoon I was watching all of the "Mad Hungry" episodes I had recorded this past week. I never get the chance to watch them during the week, so as soon as I can wrestle the remote from my 6 year-old's sticky little hands and turn off Spongebob... I finally get some quality time with my DVR.
Now, I record a ton of cooking and food shows, but I have to say my new favorite is "Mad Hungry" with Lucinda Scala Quinn. It comes on right after Martha Stewart on the Hallmark Channel, and I think what I love most about LSQ (that's what I call her) is that she makes "real" food - stuff I would actually cook myself. And she uses 3, maybe 4 utensils in the kitchen - one of which is a cast iron skillet (which I had to run out and buy once I started watching her show). She also uses this simple little wooden-spatula hybrid thingy and a Le Creuset pot. I am fairly certain that with these 3 things, you could cook anything. Seriously.
One of the Mad Hungry shows last week had to do with foods/recipes for those feeling under the weather or for when you or your family just need a little comforting. She made this ahhh-mazing chicken broth recipe you can turn into Tortilla Soup, but that, too, is another post. One of the dishes she made was nothing more than buttered, toasted bread with a 4-minute egg over it. That's it. So this morning when I walked into the kitchen I saw we had maybe 5 slices of bread left and I knew we had eggs, so I thought, eh - why not try it. It was wonderful. It was simple and filling and perfect. The plus side... we didn't spend money on sub-par fast food. I love that such a simple, average egg-on-toast breakfast can make you feel good about taking the time to make something for your family. I highly recommend checking out the "Mad Hungry" show on Hallmark and taking a look at the awesome blog here: http://blog.madhungry.com/

4-Minute Eggs over Buttered Toast
(Oh yeah, and Sriracha sauce.. 'cause it's awesome.)

A little side note on my photos.... the camera on my Blackberry is crappy. But I'm lazy and use my phone instead of dragging out the Canon and downloading photos. Plus I was hungry and couldn't wait.

"Best Thing in the Whole World" Pumpkin Pancakes

2011-04-09T13:20:00.006-05:00

HELLO EVERYONE IN BLOGLAND! Or Blogville. Or, whatever you call this place....
It's been a looooong time since I've posted anything, but I have been having some fabulous kitchen adventures lately and I really wanted to brag about my mad culinary skills. So, naturally I decided to revisit my little blog here. Plus, I noticed that I still get an insane amount of traffic to my blog, even though I haven't posted anything in oh, I guess about 10 months. HOLY COW! It's been 10 months since I posted anything? Wow...
Anyhoo, here I am. There's nothing really new to report, well except that Ben is almost done with Kindergarten (Oh. My. Gawd.), I went full-time at my job in December, and, um, I guess that's about it.
After sleeping late this morning and spending the early afternoon mindlessly browsing the internet, I finally thought of what to do with that can of Libby's Pumpkin Puree that's been staring me in the face every time I open the pantry door. I decided to make Pumpkin Pancakes. While I was making them, I knew all I had in the pantry was regular pancake syrup of the Aunt Jemima variety, so I thought I would just make some homemade whipped cream, to keep with the "pumpkin pie" theme I had going. They turned out DIVINE, and the hubbs moaned the whole time he ate them. Ben declared them the best thing he has ever eaten. Which would sound like a big deal, but he actually declares everything I make "the best thing in the whole world" - don't get me wrong, I love that he loves my cooking, but he actually once announced that the Nutella I spread on Ritz crackers was "the best thing in the whole world." So, you see my point, right?
So, if you are faced with a can of pumpkin puree in your pantry and would love to make some of these "Best Thing in the Whole World Pumpkin Pancakes", here is my recipe. Since I don't really write recipes, it might not be exact, but cooking is an adventure - taste as you go, make adjustments when you need to and be confident in your final product. Trust me.

BEST THING IN THE WHOLE WORLD PUMPKIN PANCAKES
1 1/4 cups flour
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (this is where you should taste - I like a lot of this, you may not)
1 cup milk
6 tbsp pumpkin puree
2 tbsp melted butter
1 egg

Combine all your dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together. Taste the flour mixture to make sure the pumpkin pie flavoring is how you like it. Next, combine all of your wet ingredients. Make sure your melted butter has cooled enough that it won't "cook" your egg when you combine them. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until combined. You want the mixture lumpy.
Lightly grease a skillet over medium-high heat and pour just under 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake. Flip when small bubbles form on the top of the batter. Once you take them off the skillet, put a very small pat of butter on each pancake.
Now for the whipped cream... I used about 1 cup of heavy whipping cream, 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tspn very good vanilla extract and pumpkin pie spice to taste (start with a little, taste as you go). I used my electric mixer until the cream was fairly thick, but not butter. But almost butter - you see, I was putting this on pancakes and I knew it would melt a little, so I wanted it thicker than regular whipped cream. It was a good idea to make it thicker - since we ended up spooning the whipped cream onto each pancake and rolling it up to eat it. Hee hee....

Flip Side...

2010-07-17T15:54:00.000-05:00

I'm going to take a little break from the whole blogging thing for a while. I have some other fires in my oven and to be honest, blogging hasn't really been anything I've wanted to do lately. I'll be back.... probably sooner than I think.
Take care peeps... and I'll see ya on the flip side. ;)

The Incredible Shrinking Ben....

2010-06-02T13:09:00.000-05:00

My son is shrinking.

Facebook, Twitter and Blog.... Something's Got To Give!

2010-06-01T18:50:00.000-05:00

I spend an enormous amount of time online. Actually, it's more like an absurd amount of time. Okay, I spend an enormously absurd amount of time online. And I've got dreams, you know? Ambitions. Goals.
So, here's what I'm thinking... maybe all of you who come to this blog might consider becoming my buddy on Facebook? Or maybe following me on Twitter? Or, wow, I don't want to sound crazy, but maybe even both?!?!
You see, I update my Facebook and Twitter accounts several times a day, but this blog is a lot more work and takes a ton more energy for me to keep current.
I wish there was some app or program that would update all three of my "time sucks" (those being Facebook, Twitter and Blogger) all at the same time. Does that exist? If so, let me know. It would change my life!
I am going to try to post some of my mobile uploads on my blog. Let's face it, I come across some funny shiz out there on my fabulous adventures, and I want to keep y'all up to date.
So, let's see how this works...

Here's a link to my Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/melmel

And, here's a ink to my Twitter page:
http://twitter.com/marshmelanie

Busy.... Definitely NOT Lazy!

2010-05-06T19:21:00.000-05:00

Seriously. I have been crazy busy, that's why I have neglected my blog. No really, it's not at all because I'm lazy...

So, here's the excuse - April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and since I spend 'part-time' hours away from home working for a Child Advocacy Center, well, it means I was pretty much preoccupied the entire month. But rest assured my schedule has calmed down and I am feeling a bit more bloggy these days. Let's see..... what have we done....

Well, there was Easter. We spent it with my parents. It was nice, but the weather sucked. We did start a new tradition though.... we hide Easter Eggs in the dark and let Ben find them with a flashlight. Sounds fun, right? And no, it had nothing to do with us waiting so late on Easter to hide the eggs (or actually almost forgetting about the eggs altogether). Here is a photo of Ben's Easter basket:

Easter Basket

We went to Galveston again last weekend to take my hubby-the-artist's works to a new gallery. Blossom Street Gallery on the Strand. So, check it out if you make it to Galveston in the next month.

We got our mailbox fixed after a good-for-nothing-drunk mowed it over playing chase with other cars at 5:00 in the morning a month ago. The new mailbox actually looks better than the old one. That's awesome. We take our car in on Monday to get it repaired. I am curious what type of rental car we will get. For some reason I love getting rental cars.... it's like a mobile motel room. Kind of exciting. It's like a little adventure. And yes, I realize how pathetic that sounds.

Fabulous new mailbox

After they repaired our mailbox, we decided to do a little landscaping around Casa Loca. Yes, we recently named our house. Hey, if rich people can do it (one of Martha's houses is named "Skylands" for craps sake), then poor folk should have the same fun, yo. And we thought 'Casa Loca' was apropos. It's amazing what a few nice plants can do for your home. It turned out even better than I thought it would. I opted not to buy anything with flowers. I kill anything that blooms. It's a sad fact of life for me.

I always wanted some of these spiraly shrub thingys

This helps hide the fugly water meter thingy

Ahhh... greenery.

So, that is what's been going on around here. How have you guys been? Oh, and I thought I would leave you with a photo of the absolutely cutest boy ever....

See? Pretty cute, right?

Fabulously Busy!

2010-04-11T12:29:00.000-05:00

It's been quite a long and busy week here in my fabulous world. Today is actually the first day that I haven't had something I just absolutely *must* get done. Well, except for house work. But if you could see my house, you would realize it's obviously not a priority with me right now. Oh well.... whatevah.

My work has been insane these past few weeks, but I think it should start to settle down now. At least I hope so anyway - I need to get some projects done around this house.

Oh, here's a little interesting turn of events... around 5:15 on Friday morning, some drunk loser plowed through our stone mailbox, our neighbors' stone mailbox and another neighbor's parked car while going around 70 miles per hour. It totaled the parked car, and sent 20 and 30 pound stones flying into our SUV and our neighbor's SUV. So, there's a whole lot of damage and a whole lot of drama to deal with now... yippee.

I hope all of you are doing well and enjoying your springtime... I'll be back soon.

Take care!

Our poor mailbox... R.I.P.

Want a Cool Blog Layout? I've Got Connections...

2010-03-18T19:07:00.001-05:00

Have I mentioned how much I love the ladies over at Smitten Blog Designs? Well, I do. And not just because they designed this fabulous blog for me. Not only are Kate and Heather uber-friendly, they are also incredibly talented. And when I was working on establishing a blog for my work, they designed the cutest header for our agency, and made me look GREAT to my Director and Board. Thanks, ladies!
So, check 'em out.... and tell them Mel sent ya.

http://smittenblogdesigns.blogspot.com

Getcha-Getcha Grill On

2010-03-15T20:45:00.000-05:00

We have had some ah-mazing weather here the past several days, and my hubby-the-artist decided to dust off the grill and cook up some steaks. He was "inspired" by a steak grilling competition that was on Food Network last week. So, we went to our local butcher shop and picked up some Porterhouse steaks and ground meat.
Instead of our usual loaded baked potato we normally pair with steaks, I decided to try and make my Mom's potato salad. You see, my Mom makes the best potato salad on the planet. I'm serious. It is the potato salad to which I compare all others. The pinnacle of potato salads. A potato salad so absolute, that I have never even attempted to recreate it. Until Saturday. I looked all over the internet for a recipe, and I could not find one that even came close to my Mom's. So, I winged it. I cooked my potatoes, boiled my eggs, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. And you know what? I did it. I actually made my Mom's potato salad. It was incredible. It was fabulous. And I did not get even ONE photo of it! Oh well.
Sunday we had hamburgers off the grill. Oh y'all, my husband's hamburgers are tha shiz! Better than any take-out or fast food. I LOVE his burgers!
They were so good, we decided to have them again tonight. But with a twist. We added crispy bacon and a fried egg. OMG!!! I also made sweet potato fries. Words cannot describe this meal. The awesomeness of this burger defies the limits of the English language. Yeah y'all, it was really, really good.

mmmmmmmmmm.... egg and bacon on a burger!

Cheap + Easy + Pasta = Yummy Dinner

2010-03-11T18:43:00.000-06:00

mmmmmm.... pasta!

Oh y'all..... I made the best tasty-cheap meal tonight. Aside from being really inexpensive, it's also super easy. I get these regular emails from Everyday Food from my favorite lady, Martha Stewart. I usually skim over the recipe, check out the photo, and if it doesn't 'wow' me I just delete it. But I got this recipe in my inbox yesterday and I looked at the photo and thought it would be something Mr. Ben would like, and since it was pasta I knew my hubby-the-artist would like it, too. So, I figured what the hell... let's try it.
I did make two little changes to the actual recipe. The shallots at the grocery store were $1.99 and well, I'm not paying that much money for a snobby onion. So, I just picked up a small yellow onion instead. Also, I used boxed angel hair pasta, not fresh. Other than that, I followed the recipe exactly. It turned out SO GOOD Y'ALL!!! I picked up a loaf of French bread from the store, which was only $1, and I can get two meals out of it. So we only ate 50 cents worth of bread with the meal. Awesome, right?
Oh, and for those of you that know me, you know I hate peas. But my son and hubby-the-artist love peas, so I added them. And I actually did eat a few. But to be honest, there were several peas left in the bottom of my bowl. Whatever...
Check out the photo of my pasta (above) compared to the photo from Martha.... not bad, huh?
Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 slices bacon, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
2 shallots, halved and thinly sliced
1 box (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed
1 cup half-and-half
18 ounces fresh angel-hair pasta

Directions

Set a large pot of salted water to boil. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium until crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. With a slotted spoon, transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain (leave fat in skillet).
Add shallots to skillet; season with salt and pepper. Cook over medium, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften, 1 to 2 minutes. Add peas and half-and-half; season with salt and pepper. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
Cook pasta in boiling water until al dente, according to package instructions. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta, and return to pot. Pour sauce over pasta; toss to combine, adding some reserved pasta water a little at a time to coat. Sprinkle with bacon, and serve immediately.

Photo and Recipe From EveryDay Food, March 2008
Check out this recipe online at MarthaStewart.com.

Life's a Beach

2010-03-08T16:16:00.000-06:00

Big Shrimp outside Gaido's Restaurant

This past Saturday, my hubby-the-artist had a showing at PeckArts Gallery in Galveston. We decided to make it a family affair and stay Saturday night at a hotel on the seawall. Ben had not experienced a beach yet, and since he loves sand and water, I was pretty sure he would enjoy it. And boy, did he ever! We actually had to drag him from the beach kicking and screaming. After the beach, we had a fantastic seafood lunch at Gaido's. It was great. We plan to go back and spend more time in Galveston.
Here's the thing with Galveston... back on September 13th, 2008, Hurricane Ike hit the island with a vengeance and pretty much devastated the area. Ike was the third costliest hurricane to ever make landfall in the United States. Historic landmarks like the Balinese Room, a night club where famous crooners such as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. once played, was swept out to sea along with other popular spots such as Murdoch's and the 61st Street Pier. When you drive around the island, you can still see quite a bit of damage from the storm. There are homes and businesses that look like they have been literally bombed, and the creepy, skeletal remains of the famous Flagship Hotel (which sits on a pier over the water) are haunting. But Galveston is making a comeback. And I have to say that the people are super friendly and the atmosphere has a quirky, laid back feel that reminds you a bit of New Orleans and Austin combined. Did you know that Galveston had the first post office, the first naval base, the first cotton compress, the first insurance company, the first gas lights, the first opera house, the first orphanage, the first telephone and the first electric lights in the state of Texas? Seriously. (I lifted that info from Wikipedia... just wanna give props where they're due.) So, if you get the chance you really should check out Galveston. Oh, and stop by the gallery and take a peek at my hubby's paintings.

Here's a video I made from our day on the beach. I apologize for the poor quality, I tried to upload the original version to Blogger, but it was three times the size limit, so I had to adjust the quality. I also apologize for what some might consider cheese ball video music. I just thought it needed some tunes, and well, I was feeling nostalgic. Deal with it. *wink*

It Helped ME Make a Great Meal!

2010-03-06T17:41:00.000-06:00

My family and I are addicted to fast food and take out. Seriously addicted. Up until two weeks ago, it was not uncommon for us to eat fast food every day for lunch and grab take out for dinner every night. It was absurd. Stupid. Asinine. It was destroying our health and not to mention our bank account. But it was just so easy, and I didn't have to clean up or do dishes, and the food was good and.... I had a million excuses/reasons as to why I thought it was okay to feed my family expensive junk every day. But two weeks ago, that all changed.
My problem is that I watch a ton of Food Network and read way too many cooking magazines. Somehow, along the way, I got the idea in my head that mealtime at home meant I had to bust my ass in the kitchen for a couple of hours and create fabulous feats of homemade cuisine that wowed my family and friends. Truth is, I don't have that kind of energy most days. I also noticed that I was spending about as much at the grocery store buying all the ingredients I needed for one meal as I was on take-out, which was defeating the purpose of cooking at home. That's when I finally realized.... not every meal has to be photo and blog-worthy. Not every meal has to be something I spend hours preparing. The point is to cook at home and eat at the table as a family and be more responsible with money. That's when I met my friend, Mr. Hamburger Helper. One pound of meat and couple cups of hot water and you've got yourself a meal, people! It's SO EASY and guess what? It's actually really good. It's not haute cuisine, but it's dinner. And it's cheap. And I'm okay with that. We have almost instantly noticed a difference in our bank account, too. So, dinner at home.... it's one of those baby steps I was talking about in my previous post. But it's working....
Oh, and hey, you see that package of Bisquick Complete Cheese-Garlic Biscuits in the photo at the top? That package of mix was 24 cents! 24 CENTS PEOPLE!!! And all you do is add some water! OY!!

I'll post other recipes I find that are quick and cheap, too. I've also got some great money saving tips for house cleaning coming your way. It's all about sharing the money-saving love, y'all....

Tweet Tweet!

2010-02-28T17:25:00.000-06:00

Are you on Twitter? If you are, do you follow me? You really should consider following me... some of my best material comes to me in 140 characters or less.

http://twitter.com/marshmelanie

Let's Shake This Up a Bit, Y'all...

2010-02-28T16:27:00.000-06:00

You know, I've been mulling it over for a while, and I think I might just change the direction of this here blog of mine. I still want to post family updates and photos and all that groovy stuff, but I am wanting to change the focus a bit. You see, I'm really working on making some changes in my life and I just feel that maybe my blog should reflect these improvements I'm working so hard to accomplish. They are baby steps, but each one I take gets me that much further along in my journey. So, I guess this post begins my quasi road trip to a better me.... and yes, I realize how absurd that sounds. But hey, it could be fun. Or a complete train wreck... stick around and find out which one.
Oh, and one more thing... for those of you that know me personally, and I mean *really* know me, you know that I sport a bit of a potty mouth. I have really tried to keep my obscenities out of my blog in respect for those readers (and family) who would have been offended by such vulgarity, but let's face it, the "shit's" and "damn's" and "bitches" are staples of my vocabulary. They are part of my feminine charm. So, I'm warning you now, they will find their way into some of my upcoming posts. And yes, working on my "colorful" language is going to be one of those "baby steps" I take in the future, but for now, hang in there and forgive me.
So, the first post of my new blog "season" is on its way. And here's a teaser for ya.... it has to do with my really shitty money management issues and my being too damn lazy to cook at home more than once a week. That's right folks... I am tackling my family's take-out and fast food addiction. Riveting blog matter, right? Oh yeah.... this is gonna be a blast.

:: Well, Hello Everyone! ::

2010-01-17T23:16:00.000-06:00

Hey there! Did ya miss me?
I apologize for my absence, but rest assured I am back on a regular blogging schedule.
I am working on a slide show of all of our photos from the holidays, not to mention all the goodies from Halloween, our trip to the State Fair and Benjamin's 5th birthday party. Wow, I really have been gone for a while, huh?
For now, I will leave you with a few photos of Benjamin from this past fall.
Talk to you all soon!

Ben eating a corn dog at the State Fair of Texas. October 2009.

Ben on the motorcycle ride at the State Fair of Texas. October 2009.

Checking out his spider ring at Covington's Fall Festival in Rowlett, Texas. October 2009.

:: New Year, New Blog Resolution ::

2009-12-29T22:13:00.000-06:00

Oh, my poor abandoned blog... I promise I haven't forgotten about you. Things have just been insanely crazazy around here these past few months, and to be honest, my blog was the last thing on my mind. I am gearing up for a fun-filled New Year's holiday with my family, but I will return to my blog the first week of January. Promise. No, really, I promise. I am making a resolution to post at least three times a month. I know it doesn't sound like that much of a commitment, but trust me, with my schedule, it definitely is. Plus, if I end up posting more than three times a month, I will feel like I have really accomplished something.
So, to all my blog buddies out there in cyberland, I hope you have a wonderful, fun, safe and memorable New Year's holiday. See ya in 2010!

:: Oh, I Forgot I Had a Blog... ::

2009-11-16T10:27:00.000-06:00

Well, not really. I have been meaning to update this thing for weeks now, but I just keep getting sidetracked. I have some great excuses though. Here they are...
1. We were out of town the weeks before Halloween
2. We had family in town for Halloween weekend
3. Ben had a birthday and a birthday party
4. Oh yeah, I have a job now....

So, I am working on blog posts for all the crazy fun stuff that's been going on around here. So, check back soon, okay?

:: Halloween Countdown Begins ::

2009-10-05T21:41:00.000-05:00

Did you know there are only 26 days left until Halloween? I know... I can't believe it either!

Ben had originally wanted to be a Whoopie Cushion for Halloween. I found a costume online, but it was really pretty cheesy, and not worth the money. So, this morning I talked to Ben about being a Vampire instead. He was wanting to wear Vampire teeth with his Whoopie Cushion costume anyway, so I thought maybe he would be open to the idea of just being a Vampire, sans Whoopie Cushion. And to my surprise, he was excited about being a Vampire. I mentioned fake blood and a cape, and I am pretty sure that helped make up his mind. Jason and I normally have costumes that match Ben's, so this year we are going to sport some Vampire bites.... sounds fun!

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Halloween?

:: Oops... I Just Stepped in Some Art! ::

2009-10-03T14:36:00.000-05:00

Last night was 'Art Step' in Downtown Bryan. I don't actually know why it's called 'Art Step', since most other cities call the same type of event an 'Art Walk'. Art Walk sounds better to me than Art Step. But hey, what's in a name, right?
My husband has some of his original works hanging in a cafe/gallery for the month of October. Since last night was also his opening, the three of us went to check out the night life and have some fun.
I love walking around downtown. My parents grew up in Bryan and I love seeing all the places they would visit when they were young. There has been a huge downtown revitalization movement, and there are new businesses and attractions that make the area a lot of fun. There's the Carnegie Library my mother and aunt went to when they were kids, the Queen Theater where my parents would go to see movies, and old bank buildings and pharmacies my mom remembers visiting when she was young. I think that's why I like living here. I grew up in San Angelo, where my parents relocated when my dad was working for GTE. Before that we lived in Dallas, so it means a lot to me to be in the community where my parents lived when they were kids, went to school, met and married. Not to mention I still have a ton of family in the area. Here are some photos from last night:

My hubby took this photo. It's one of the buildings that has been remodeled
and now is home to a restaurant and some cool apartment flats.

Busy street corner in downtown.

Some ladies spinning thread. On the other side of them was a
woman working on a weaving loom. It was fascinating to watch.

My hubby's works. Lots of happy fish...

More colorful fishies...

Ben hanging out in front of some of my hubby's abstracts.

The downtown area is beautiful at night.

The Palace Theater. My parents saw 'Rosemary's Baby' here when it was first released. Several years ago, the exterior walls collapsed, so they added a huge outdoor awning and kept it as a theater. My hubby had an art show on the stage during 'Art Step' last year.

My hubby took this. Another remodeled building and an incredible moon.

Just a nice inspirational song playing on the radio on our way home.
We had a great evening.

If you want to check out more of my hubby's works, then take a peek at his website: www.ipaintfish.com.

I hope all of you are enjoying your weekend!

:: Photography ::

2009-10-02T10:14:00.000-05:00

About a year ago, we bought this awesome camera and I just knew I was going to hone my photo-taking skills and turn into this incredible photographer and hang my works in galleries. Okay, so I'm kidding about the gallery part, but I really did think it would be easy to pick up photography. Yeah, I was wrong. VERY wrong.
Here's the thing... I love taking photos of my family. I love capturing natural, real images of the people I love. I have never liked those "studio pictures" where the family sits all nice and still and posed for the camera and then it gets all airbrushed and they add those weird blurry edges. Bleh. Just not my thing. It's not real. It just doesn't seem honest. Plus, it's expensive. So, you will never see family portraits on the walls of my home. Instead, we have framed pictures of candid moments throughout our lives. Real places. Real moments. Tons of memories.
I am also not a big fan of editing my photos. I don't crop or sharpen... I like the photos the way they are. The moment was special enough for me to want to document it, so I don't want to change it.
Thanks to advancements in camera technology, the playing field has really been leveled when it comes to photography. Tricks and techniques that were once available to only professional photographers and studios are now at the hands of every day people. People like me. But here's the deal... taking photos is one thing, but having the eye and skill to see a real opportunity and capture it in the perfect moment takes true talent. I have two friends, one a professional photographer and the other a new stay-at-home-mom, and they both take the most beautiful, inspiring photographs. I can't describe it really, but if you could see their photos, you would know what I mean. They have talent. Amazing, real talent.
I subscribe to a few newsletters from online photography groups that send weekly tips and ideas to my inbox, and I love them. I have learned a lot. So, this weekend, maybe Saturday, I am going to drag my incredible family around our neighborhood and cities and practice taking photos. I have been wanting to do this for a while, but the weather and our busy schedules kept getting in the way. But this weekend should be perfect.

I took this photo last year at the State Fair. October 2008.

I took this photo at the famous Forest Lawn Cemetery in Buffalo, NY.
It was actually included in an online travel guide for Buffalo, NY. August 2008.

This was also taken at Forest Lawn. We spent hours there.
It is huge and beautiful and I can't wait to visit again. August 2008.

Forest Lawn Cemetery. August 2008.

I took this at the Dallas Arboretum this past spring. March 2009.

:: I Heart Breakfast ::

2009-09-27T22:18:00.000-05:00

Hands down, my favorite meal is breakfast. I could eat breakfast food any time of day. Eggs, potatoes, bacon and all types of bread... the possibilities are endless. My hubby and son love breakfast food, too. So, on Friday's we have breakfast for dinner. Sometimes we even put on our jammies to eat. It's a lot of fun.
One Friday, I was going through the fridge and pantry trying to decide what to make, and I kept looking at these sweet potatoes we had bought about a week earlier. I really needed to use them, but I couldn't think of how.... then it came to me... Sweet Potato Hash with Fried Eggs. From that Friday on, I have made that same meal about three or four times. We love it. I don't have a recipe, since I made it up as I cooked, but here are some of the basics:

Sweet Potato Hash

Sweet Potato Hash
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large or 2 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 an onion
1/2 medium green pepper
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 small apple
1/2 can of chicken broth
salt and pepper

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Dice the potatoes into even cubes and add them to the pan and cook for several minutes. Once I add them to the pan, I try not to move them around, so they will get that awesome brown color. Then I add the diced onion and green pepper (I try to chop the pepper about the same size as the potatoes), and cook for a few more minutes, until they start to brown. Then I add the apples (chopped about the same size as the potatoes and peppers), grate the garlic into the pan, and then add the chicken broth. I simmer everything in the pan until the broth reduces and the sweet potatoes and apples are tender. Salt and pepper to taste. *Okay, I don't write recipes, so this is really just a guesstimate. You may need to tweak a few things.

I put the hash into a bowl and add a fried egg to the top of it. There's nothing better than cutting into the yolk and all that eggy goodness oozing onto the hash. Yeah, that's yummy for ya!! I guess you could use regular potatoes, too. I've never tried it, but I am sure it would taste great.
If you have any questions, let me know. And if you haven't tried it before, you should really give 'breakfast for dinner' a shot... you may love it!

Happy Cooking!

:: Something Spooky is Brewing... ::

2009-09-23T22:00:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally finished reading/studying/drooling over the new Martha Stewart Halloween magazine. And of course, I love it. That's no big surprise. I have every Halloween book and magazine that Martha has ever published. I love the ideas. And reading this particular mag has definitely got me in the holiday "spirit". (Sorry, puns are fun.)
First of all, I absolutely looooove the cover of the magazine. The creepy Equestrian costume is awesome. If I only had a horse. It goes without saying that this magazine is just "oozing" with inspiration. (See how fun puns can be?) Now, you should know that there are several recycled ideas in the magazine, like the long-nosed jack-o-lanterns and the starburst pumpkin sconces, just to name a few. I mean, if you haven't seen them before then it's no big deal, but most die-hard Martha fans will recognize them instantly.
The best ideas in the mag are actually from the Grandinroad advertisement section where Ms. Martha is selling some of her original decorations. Now, I don't know about you, but I personally don't have the means to drop $200 on one spooky yard display. Yikes. But what I DO have is an uber-talented hubby (who happens to be an amazing artist) who can recreate some of the ideas in this section. From the eerie black witch yard silhouettes to the amazing highly-detailed gravestones, I have plenty of projects to keep my man busy this season!
Just a side note here, as I was finding the links for all of my references, I noticed that the "highly-detailed gravestones" are no longer available. There's no explanation as to why they are no longer available, so if you were looking to grab a few of them, you're out of luck.
If I were to sum up Martha's Halloween decorating mantra this year, I would have to say it would be GLITTER!!!! Yes, glittered Halloween decorations. Glittered skulls, glittered bones, glittered bugs, glittered pumpkins, glittered silhouettes... GLITTER! And hey, I loves me some glitter, so I actually think this is a fantastic idea. But if glitter isn't your thing... I guess your Halloween will just be a little less sparkly.
Here are some of my absolute faves from the magazine (and just so you know, these images came straight from MarthaStewart.com):

Masked Pumpkins

Crazy Pumpkin Faces

Glittered Bones & Bugs

So, I have designated this Sunday as our "Official Halloween Decorating Day." It's official. Seriously. I am going to pull out all my decorations and take inventory of what I have, and decide what I want to add. This year is going to be a bit different, though. Instead of spending a ton of money on new decorations, I intend to make everything this year. So, the only store bought items will be faux cobwebs, plastic bugs and spiders, and glitter. Other than that.... it will ALL be homemade. Once I get my house "haunted" I will be sure to post photos.
If you haven't picked up a copy of Martha's Halloween magazine yet, and you are lucky enough to find one on the racks, grab it! It's inspiring and fun and creepy and silly... just what Halloween should be.

HAPPY HAUNTING!!!

:: Hey, Look at Me! I'm a Cartoon! ::

2009-09-14T12:43:00.000-05:00

Well, here it is... my new blog design! Yay!!
I have been working with the absolutely fabulous ladies over at Smitten Blog Designs, and I must say my blog turned out even better than I expected! Heather and Kate are wonderful to work with, and I HIGHLY recommend them if you are in the market for a new blog layout. They even sent me background artwork to use on my Twitter account. I know, they're fantastic, aren't they?!?
I am still tweaking the links on the right, but I should have them exactly where I want them by this evening. And more posts are coming soon... yippee!
I hope that all of you are having a super day this Monday! :)

:: Behold the Awesomeness... ::

2009-09-02T00:44:00.000-05:00

... the awesomeness that is the new Martha Stewart Halloween special edition magazine.

I will give you a moment to process the sheer greatness of this legendary publication.

I just got it... I found it hiding on the racks at Kroger. There were only three copies left. They only get one shipment, according to the night manager. Whew, that was close. Too close.
So, I am sitting down now to read it, with a Dr. Pepper and a York Peppermint Pattie. I will report on all its fabulously eerie and incredibly spooky goodness tomorrow...

:: So Long, Summer ::

2009-09-01T02:20:00.000-05:00

Goodbye August! I don't want to see you or your stinkin' 100-degree days for at least another year.
I must say, I am happy to see this summer coming to an end. We set weather records here almost every day, and having over 50 days with temps reaching well into the 100's is no fun. It was the hottest summer on record for our area... we beat the previous record from way back in 1916. Boo.
As you all know, my favorite season is fall. I cannot wait for fall to get here. Can. Not. Wait. I'm so ready. I seriously love fall. Seriously.
I was going through some photos on my computer, and I came across pics from our trip to the Dallas World Aquarium. We all had a super fun time. Well, we all had a super fun time, except for Benjamin. He was in a bad mood the entire day. He was only happy once we got to the gift shop, where he scored a neat little faux aquarium with plastic fish.

Granny Weez, Ben and a Big Scary Shark

Ben Before the Gift Shop

Ben After the Gift Shop

We didn't do too much traveling this summer, but we did spend a couple of weeks with my parents, which was nice. I enjoyed having a lazy summer. Compared to last year, this summer season was much more quiet and restful. But I am ready for some change. Nicer weather and busier schedules... sounds good to me.
One of the biggest changes for me this fall is that I will begin a new job! An actual job. I know... Me. Working. Crazy right? It's a part-time job in social service, and I am super excited about it. It will be fun, and the work is right up my alley. After five years at home raising my little man, I am looking forward to being around other adults for a few hours a day.
I hope all of you had a wonderful summer, too. And thanks for following all of my adventures...

:: These are a Few of My Favorite Things... ::

2009-08-22T21:01:00.000-05:00

There is something so special about Saturday night with my boys. Homemade pizza, beer (Cherry Coke for my little man) and priceless memories. I love my family.

(Just FYI... that's a bacon, sun-dried tomato and goat cheese pizza on whole wheat dough. Yeah, it's yummy.)

:: I'm Baaaaaack! ::

2009-08-17T14:55:00.000-05:00

Hey Blog Peeps!

Whew... it's been a CRAZAZY summer. I am finally getting back into the swing of things, but I must admit, I feel like I am moving in s-l-o-w m-o-t-i-o-n.

I hope all of you had a great summer. If you are like me though, you are ready for the summer weather to cool down. Fall cannot get here soon enough.

We had a lot of fun these past couple of months, and I have plenty of photos and posts to share. I will get those up on the blog soon.

Until then, I hope all of you have a great day. See ya soon.

Oh, and a quick shout-out to my hubby, J. Vincent, who turns the big 3-8 today. Happy Birthday!!!

:: 'We're Havin' a Heat Wave... a Tropical Heat Wave...' ::

2009-06-26T11:55:00.000-05:00

For some reason, I keep seeing Carmine from 'Laverne and Shirley' dressed in a devil costume singing this song every time I check the weather...

If you're looking for a relief from the heat, you're not going to find it today! Look for the very dangerous heat to be with us once again. Look for highs between 104 and 106 and heat index values as high as 110 degrees!

There are several posts I intended to work on these past few days, but this heat has become my main focus... it is WAY HOT here in Texas! We have the pleasure of living near the Gulf, which means not only do we get the heat, we get the added benefit of high humidity levels to make everything outside completely sticky and absolutely unbearable. We spent the last week with my parents in Dallas, and while it was pretty hot there, it was tolerable and no where near as oppressive as it is here in College Station. I normally open every blind in the house and pull back all the curtains to let the sunshine in... but since our air conditioner has not turned off since we got back in to town, I am keeping the blinds closed and the curtains pulled. We are eating sandwiches and cereal, because there is no way I am turning on the oven in this heat.

Last night on the 6 o'clock news broadcast, the local weatherman literally tried to fry an egg on the sidewalk. Seriously. It didn't work. But then again, he cracked the egg on a section of sidewalk that was under shade at the time. Maybe I'll try to fry an egg on our patio today. Hey, yeah, I will... check back for the video!!

Bleh... I feel like I'm melting...

:: Okay, What's Going On Around Here?! ::

2009-06-15T20:01:00.000-05:00

Weird things have been going on around here today.

Cue creepy Twilight Zone music...

It started off with all three of us getting up at a relatively decent hour this morning. I had cleaned the house and had a shower before 10:15 a.m. Odd.

Then I walked into the living room and found this...

Chloe and George. Sworn enemies for over eight years. There they were. Together. Peacefully sharing the best seat in the house. Creepy. Seriously creepy.

Ben and I decided to run to JoAnn's to get some fun crafty supplies. (Side note... I have really been getting my crafty vibe on lately. But more about that later this week.) I went to check out with my 40%-off coupon in hand, and the super sweet JoAnn's employee ringing up my goodies told me to hold on to my coupon, that she had a 50%-off coupon she would let me use. Awesome! I spent less than $18 at JoAnn's. That's like... well, unheard of really. I was so happy!

The absolute oddest thing that happened today took place about 6:45 this evening. Now, for those of you who don't know, my family is addicted to take-out and fast food. And I'm not exaggerating at all when I say we eat out at least once a day. We do. It's sad. I'm not proud. But tonight I decided to MAKE DINNER. A homemade meal. I actually cooked a homemade meal for my family. And it was damn good. I give you Exhibit A:

Fusilli with Sausage, Artichokes and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

I saw Giada make this the other day, and I thought it looked pretty tasty. I bookmarked the recipe in hopes that one day I would actually cook again. So, I printed out the recipe and got to work. I threw some nice crusty bread in the oven and voila! Dinner! Here is the recipe, in case you are interested.

What a strange day. Good strange... but still strange. I hope tomorrow is just as odd. Odd is kinda fun.

:: Inspiration ::

2009-06-13T03:51:00.000-05:00

Well... here it is! My newly remodeled blog. What do you think?

I probably spent about three or four hours looking at blog templates. I had two picked out that I liked, but I wasn't super excited about either one of them. So, I kept looking...

That's when I decided to forgo the free layouts I was searching, and I found a site that offered pre-made designs for a very fair price. When I came across this layout, I knew it was the one for me... because the colorful dots along the top of the page reminded me of Sprinkles Cupcakes. I am a huge fan of Sprinkles... their cupcakes are fabulous!

I guess you never know where inspiration will come from. :)

:: Time to Spruce Things Up Around Here ::

2009-06-11T15:30:00.000-05:00

You know what I just realized? May 8th marked the first anniversary of my little blog. With so much going on around this crazy household, it completely slipped my mind. You know what else I realized? That I have not changed a thing on this blog in over a year.

I guess while I was out enjoying all my "fabulous adventures" as the "perfect wife and mother," I didn't pay much attention to the layout of my ramblings, er... I mean, blog. So, I think it's time to redecorate this place a bit. Maybe even create a new banner. I still plan to adhere to my 1950's Housewife Motif, but I definitely think I could make this place a bit more fancy and maybe even a bit more modern.

So, be sure to check back in the next few days...

:: One Year Later ::

2009-06-07T11:54:00.000-05:00

My husband, Jason, posted this note on his Facebook page today, and I thought it would be a wonderful tribute on this, the one-year anniversary of his parents' passing. I hope that all of you are enjoying this beautiful day and spending it with the people you love. Happy Sunday everyone. :)

One year ago, today (6-7-08), my parents both passed away.

We've had a year to process our loss, and the good news is (as my dad often used to say) "... life goes on." I miss my parents, and I am grateful for what they gave me: life (with, and from, God), reasonable intelligence and a dry sense of humor (from dad), and art (from mom). Both of my parents taught me to be grateful for what we have. Life has brought us many things, but I am most grateful for the love of my family and friends.

My mom (above), with my son Benjamin. Ben's 'Nana' loved him very much, I am sure. She was in the middle of what would become 10 full courses of chemo-therapy when Ben was born. My mom was a fighter, and fought the good fight until the very end. She gave me a love for art, and the creation of art. My very first knowledge of art, joy of creating art, and technical skill came from her. I am an artist, today, because of her, my mom. You know, my mom never smiled more in life than when she was sick with cancer - this was a good thing. THIS is the way that I prefer to remember her, smiling ... and with a heartfelt, familar, yankee-accented, "Oh, Geeeeze?!" as she used to say, smiling.

My Dad (above), shown here holding his grandson Benjamin at their very first meeting. Ben's 'Grandpa' loved him so much. My dad would hold Ben, and laugh with him, until they both were tired out. My Dad gave me a love for laughing, the ability to see things in other, more humorous, ways ... and all, while sharing his incredible gift of intelligence and quick wit. It took brain cancer (and the resulting brain surgery) AND three heart attacks (the last when he found my mom, passed, we believe), to take this 'iron man' from our world. My dad, simply put, is the finest man I shall ever know. To me, he was: a best friend, a loving father, and mentor like no other. It sounds cliché, but if I can be 1/2 of the dad, husband, and man that he was, I will be an astounding success. My Dad would often say to me "I love you" and "I'm proud of you, kid." Today, as I raise my own son (with a lot of help from my incredible wife, Melanie), I am working hard to keep my dad's words and truths (my last and best memories of him, his voice), alive. I miss my Dad with everything I have, and I always will.

:: Random Internet Goodies ::

2009-05-26T21:38:00.000-05:00

That's right folks! It's the second installment of my Random Internet Goodies. I actually made a list of several online gems I have come across in the past few months that I wanted to share with you all... but I can't find the list. Figures, right? This particular goody was one my husband introduced me to just this afternoon. It's a hoot. Seriously. You *must* check it out.

The site is called Oddee. Here is the description:

Oddee.com is an entertainment blog on oddities, attracting over a million visitors each month. Focused on the odd, bizarre and strange things of our world, its daily articles and sections explore subjects from Science to Advertising and Technology; over 8.2 million pages are read at Oddee every month.

I haven't had the chance to look through all of the site, but so far my favorite collections are the "15 Sexist Vintage Ads" and the "12 Most Unfortunate Product Names." Gaytime Ice Cream, anyone? Now, be warned, there are some possibly offensive entries on the site, but for the most part, they are just funny. REALLY funny.

So, if you are in the mood for a good chuckle... head on over to Oddee.com. It's fun. And who couldn't use more fun, right?

:: Swimming Hats and Hungry Monsters ::

2009-05-17T20:29:00.000-05:00

As far as weekends go, this one has been pretty good. We didn't go anywhere exciting and we didn't have any thrilling experiences... but it was a good weekend. We slept in, watched TV and just hung around the house. Not bad. Just what a weekend should be, I guess. Relaxing. Fun.

On Saturday, while Ben was taking a bath and I was getting his clothes ready, I heard him call for me... "Mama, come look at me. Come look at my swimming hat!" I looked through the bathroom door to see Ben wearing one of my mixing bowls on his head. It was his hat. His "swimming hat." It made me laugh.

Quite a number of my kitchen utensils have found a new home in Ben's bathtub. He has tons of bath time toys to play with... we have bought him rubber duckies, plastic boats, dinosaur water squirters... but nothing seems to be as much fun as my whisks, mixing bowls and spatulas. During the summer, I usually lose about two strainers and at least one tea pitcher to the pool in the backyard. I'm not even going to bother with buying beach balls and floaties this year.

On Saturday afternoon, Ben climbed up on our bed with a book in his hands and began to read us his favorite book "One Hungry Monster." At first, we just thought he was going to pretend to read it... he knows certain words and can spell, but he has never actually read a series of complete sentences, and certainly not a whole book. Well, guess what? He read the book. The entire book. He really concentrated and sounded out the bigger words... we were so happy! I went and grabbed several other books from his closet and asked him to read each one, and he did. He can read so well. He's only four years old, and he is reading like a superstar! So, I told him this week we would go get him a library card, and he can pick out books all by himself. He was so excited. I am so proud of him.

Today we went to a birthday party for Ben's friend, Gabrielle. She turned six years old today. Ben stayed in the pool the entire time we were there. Well, he did get out of the water for cake and ice cream, but he jumped right back in after he was done. So, he was pretty hungry and very tired when we got home. It made bed time so much easier.

So, that was our weekend... not bad, huh?

:: Easter 2009 ::

2009-05-14T09:52:00.000-05:00

This year, we spent Easter with my parents in Dallas. My Mom's birthday was April 13th, and to celebrate, we took her to the Dallas Arboretum. The Arboretum is one of my absolute favorite places... I could spend an entire day there. So could my Mom. For her birthday, we got her a year's membership to the Arboretum, so she can go as many times as she wants. We plan to visit every time we go to Dallas... yeah, the place is *that* amazing.

We had a pretty low-key Easter... we decorated some eggs and hid them around the house for Ben, since it rained the night before and we couldn't have an egg hunt outside. He had a blast.

I put together a little slideshow... enjoy. :)

Make a Smilebox slideshow

:: Adventures in Baking with the Easy Bake Oven ::

2009-05-06T13:56:00.000-05:00

My son wants to be a Chef.

Actually, he tells everyone he is already a Chef. He can make scrambled eggs - and very well, I might add. Jason and I really try to encourage Ben to cook. We think it's great he's so interested in it. Plus, he really enjoys eating the food he makes himself, which is fantastic, since he can be a bit of a picky eater at times.

Ben got an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas. Unfortunately, we hadn't been able to try it out since we could not find a 100-watt lightbulb anywhere. Remember 100-watt lightbulbs? You could buy a four pack of them at Wal-Mart for about 88 cents? Well, guess what? They don't carry them anymore. Crazy, right? They have all switched to energy efficient bulbs and the closest you can find is a 90-watt bulb. So, I went ahead and bought the lightbulb and figured we would just have to leave the goodies we were baking in the oven a little longer to compensate for the lack of wattage. Turns out I was right... we had to cook the cookies we made about two minutes longer than the directions listed. It really wasn't a big deal at all.

I really wish the Easy Bake Oven designer people would have left well enough alone and kept the little "oven" look for the new Easy Bake Ovens. They look like microwaves now. It's "Easy Bake Oven," right? Oh well. The good news is that it works exactly the same as it did when I was a kid. I guess lightbulb-cooking technology really hasn't changed much in the last 30 years.

The oven comes with packages of cookie and cake mixes that only require about a teaspoon of water to mix. It's super easy, and it was a ton of fun. Of course Ben's attention span didn't last the 10 minutes it took to make the cookies, but he did help take the cookies out and he washed the little pans. I'm proud of my little Chef.

Ben waiting for the Easy Bake Oven to warm up...

Cookies before baking.

Waiting for the cookies to finish baking.

Cookies after baking. Yeah, I know... they're tiny.

Ben LOVED the cookies, and that's what counts.

:: Move Your Boogie Body ::

2009-04-19T11:45:00.000-05:00

I logged on to Facebook this morning and noticed a link my friend Rachel had posted to a jazzercise video from 1982. I decided to check it out, and well, it was hysterical. So, I thought I would share.

This reminds me of a record my Mom had back when I was a little girl. It was a workout routine to "Do the Hustle" and I LOVED it.

Enjoy...

:: Pugs! ::

2009-04-09T13:45:00.000-05:00

I just installed the updated software for my flip camera, so to try it out, I recorded our dogs. For those of you that don't know, my Mom and I both have Pug puppies. I have a female black Pug, named Phoebe, and my Mom has her brother, a fawn Pug named Otis. Somehow, Otis is about twice the size of Phoebe. They are both incredibly funny. They are also both completely crazy. Pug puppies are non-stop insanity. But they are so worth it... they have amazing personalities and are very lovable, you just have to put up with moments of unbelievable madness.

So, here they are fighting over a chew bone. Now, keep in mind that they were each given a chew bone of their very own. They just wanted the SAME chew bone. (insert eye roll here...)

:: Random Photos ::

2009-03-29T15:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I have a few posts I am working on right now, but obviously I haven't finished them. I have spent the last few days helping Jason take photos for his website, cleaning house and attempting to get caught up with laundry. Laundry... bleh....

While I was helping Jason with photos, I came across some recent pictures I had taken. So, I thought I would share...

Ben helping me with laundry.

Phoebe.

Sam + Phoebe = Trouble

Ben.

I hope all of you are having a great weekend. I'll have more posts up soon...

:: I've Got the Fever... Spring Cleaning Fever! ::

2009-03-17T12:33:00.000-05:00

As you probably already know, my favorite time of year is fall. But a very close second is spring time. Crisp, cool mornings and warm (but not hot) afternoons. Sunshine and showers. A sense of renewal and awakening. Yep, I've definitely got Spring Fever.

And for me, one of the symptoms of Spring Fever is a desperate need to clean the house and "air things out," so to speak. But there was one thing, one big thing, getting in my way this spring...

We have too much clutter. Too. Much. Clutter. And clutter is a clever creature. It has a way of sneaking up on you and before you know it, you can't open a closet door without risking an avalanche of crap burying you alive. Not to mention dresser drawers and kitchen cabinets. Clutter. It's everywhere. And quite frankly, it's time clutter took a hike.

So, we decided to have a yard sale this weekend. I figured that was the best way to conquer the clutter... get it out of our house and turn it into money at the same time. So, we have started our quest for yard sale inventory. Our first stop... Benjamin's bedroom and closet. Our child has an absurd amount of toys and clothes. Most of which he never plays with anymore and has outgrown. Last night we finished clearing out his room. We have three huge boxes of toys and clothes to sell this weekend. And his room looks amazing. I am definitely motivated to keep going. Today... it's the guest room and hall closet.

We have a strategy to conquer our clutter. We have two boxes, one small box marked "Keep" and one large box marked "Sell." (I suggest U-Haul boxes... they are affordable and sturdy and come in any size you can imagine.) We also have a large black trash bag. We pick up each item, and we have about five seconds to declare the item "Sell," "Keep" or "Trash." That's it. If it takes too long to decide, then it goes into the "Sell" box. No exceptions. And we have a rule... once the item goes in the "Sell" box and gets put in the garage, it does NOT come back into the house. If anything is left over after the yard sale, it gets boxed up and finds a new home at Goodwill.

So, once we get the house scoured for all our yard sale goodies, we will price everything and have ourselves a big 'ole sale and hopefully raise some good money.

Then, and this is the best part.... next week, the cleaning begins. That's right. A ceiling to floor cleaning that our house desperately needs. I can't wait. I'll keep you posted on our progress...

:: Hair's To A Great Cause ::

2009-02-17T12:01:00.000-06:00

my apologies for the silly pun...

So, I was going to tell you all about this back in November of last year. But then I thought about it and I was afraid it might come across a little braggadocios. Like "hey, look at me and the awesome thing I did! Aren't I great?!"

But I was cleaning off my dresser the other day and came across the thank-you card I got, and I decided that I would share this with you. It's a great cause and I don't know how many people actually know about it.

As you know, my Mother-in-Law lost her brave battle with cancer last June. I remember when she first started chemo and began losing her hair. She had a really incredible attitude about it. She said she looked forward to wearing wigs again like she did in the 60's. I tried to imagine how I would cope with losing all of my hair. I have an unnatural attachment to my hair. The thought of losing my hair made me panic.

When my son was born in November 2004, I went and got my hair cut into a bob just above my shoulders. Then I let it grow. Aside from a few trims throughout the years, I never cut it. It grew. And grew. And grew. Until I had a head of hair all one length that reached my lower back. It was very Marsha Brady.

So, in November 2008 I decided that I was going to donate my hair in memory of my Mother-in-Law. I was able to donate about 14 inches of hair. And I have to say, I was really proud of myself, not just for donating my hair, but for being able to do it. Like I said, I have an unnatural attachment to my hair. So, having it cut off was a big deal for me. But after I did it, all I could think was why didn't I do this sooner?! I love my new haircut. No more Brady Bunch hair for me, thank you.

Locks of Love turns donations of human hair into wigs for children. Most children who receive wigs from Locks of Love suffer from an autoimmune disease called alopecia areata, which has no known cause and unfortunately no known cure. Other recipients are cancer survivors, victims of trauma such as burns and rare dermatological conditions that result in permanent hair loss.

I am so glad I was able to help. And I am thankful to my Mother-in-Law for the inspiration to do so.

For more information about Locks of Love, visit their website at www.locksoflove.org.

:: And The Dog Came Back... The Very Next Day ::

2009-02-07T16:49:00.000-06:00

A Cautionary Tale

We love animals. We have two dogs, two cats, four fish and about three dozen sea monkeys. We would actually have more pets, but we are realistic and for the most part practical people, so we realize we have enough critters for now.

Since we love animals, and since my husband is a big softy for anything cute and furry, we have, on occasion, helped a few stray animals find their way back home. So, last weekend, when Benjamin ran into the house and yelled "Mama, come see the cute gray puppy Dada found," I wasn't surprised. That was, until I opened the garage door and saw the biggest wolf-shepherd-dog-hybrid creature looking me right in the eyes. This dog was ginormous. But he was actually very sweet, so I had no problem with Jason putting him the backyard while we waited to see if someone came looking for the lost dog. After playing with the dog in the backyard, Jason discovered that he can sit, stay, heel and shake. So, someone must be missing this incredible dog, right?

No one came looking for the dog. So, we drove around the neighborhood to look for lost dog signs and to see if any of the kids playing outside had met someone looking for a lost dog. Nothing. So, we left the big dog in the backyard for the night.

The next morning, which was Sunday, we decided to put up some signs announcing that we had found a "German Shepherd Mix?" and listed our cell number. We got one call... it was a girl calling to see if we had found a Boxer. Sunday night came, and still no news about the big gray dog's owners.

Then, around 10:00 p.m., we get a knock on our front door - it's our pajama-clad neighbors telling us that the stray we were harboring had just chewed a hole in our fence and was running around the front of their house. I. was. not. happy. The dog had chewed a huge hole in our gate. Not cool.

Jason puts the dog back in the yard, and we put up the plastic kiddie gate and our concrete bird bath in front of the hole, thinking this would somehow deter the dog from chewing himself free again. We came inside and decided it was time to call animal control.

Guess what? Animal control doesn't work on the weekends. Fine. We'll call first thing Monday morning. We go to check on the dog, and we find that he has started ANOTHER HOLE in our back fence - the fence we share with our neighbors.

That was enough for me. I opened the gate and the big gray dog ran out. After all, he was not OUR responsibility. Right? He ran off into the dark of night. I just knew that he would safely find his way back home. Well, that's what I told myself, to feel better about kicking him out of the yard.

Then at 2:00 a.m. we wake up to a weird noise outside our bedroom window. We go see what's up.... IT'S THE BIG GRAY DOG AGAIN! This time, he chewed his way BACK into our yard. This is NOT our dog! I was way beyond livid, to say the least.

We call back the police non-emergency number to let our friendly, but otherwise useless, dispatcher know that the dog we called about earlier is now destroying our property - and we needed someone to come out and pick him up. NOW. He says that unless the dog is vicious, there's nothing he can do. Um, hello?!? He is chewing up our property!!! That's when we let him know that we have a four year old and his safety is our priority and if this otherwise friendly dog will tear down a fence to get somewhere, how can we be sure he wouldn't turn aggressive towards our son or other pets? He says fine, he'll send someone out.

So, as we are waiting for the animal control truck to show up, you can imagine our surprise when a police car pulls up to our house. The friendly useless dispatcher sent out law enforcement to shut us up. The officer (who is equipped with pepper spray, a Taser, a billy club and a GUN) quickly pushes his way into our house once Jason opens the door. Look, if he's worried about a big dog and he's got that much ammo at his disposal, there's no doubt we should be a little worried, too. Seriously.

Jason walks him through the house to the backyard. He sees the dog and walks around our property looking at the damage. He tells Jason that there is nothing he can do until 8:00 Monday morning. Jason proceeds to tell him that he has a wife waiting inside (that would be me) and if he has to go back in the house and tell me the dog has to stay until morning, there will be all sorts of hell to pay - for every one involved.

That's when the policeman starts to play with the big gray dog. And the dog shows him how he can sit, and stay and shake... apparently dog-loving men just can't resist a good dog that can shake paw. The officer tells Jason that he, his wife and their six kids have been looking for a good dog. And he can't feel a chip in the dog's neck, so it might be that he doesn't have one, and to save the dog a trip to the animal shelter, he will take him. So, he loads the dog into the back of the police car and takes off to put the dog in his yard where he can stay until he gets off of his shift. Whew. That was awesome. What a relief!

So, Monday morning I wake up and get our dogs fed and open the back door to let them out and that's when I see HIM. In our backyard, sleeping under our son's play fort. His paws are covered with dirt. He came back. Like really bad heartburn or a recurring nightmare. The damn dog came back!!!

So, Jason calls and leaves a message for the officer at the station, and I do a little detective work and find the policeman's home number. We call him and that's when we found out that the big gray dog had chewed a hole through his brand new fence and got out before he even got off of his shift. He didn't want the dog. But, okay, so in the dog's defense, the policeman saw where he had chewed through our fence, so it's not like it should have been any big surprise. The policeman said he would call animal control as soon as he hung up with us.

About two hours later, animal control shows up. And being his usual charming self, the big gray dog walks right up to the animal control officers and they put a leash around him and he jumps right up into the back of the truck. "Oh wow, he's a great dog" the one officer said. Yeah, right, lady.

They run a scan on his back and he did indeed have a chip. They knew his owner's address and contact information and after a few minutes, they pulled away from our house. So, I hope that the big gray dog made it back home and his owners were happy to see him again.

But, I still have this fear that one day, I am going to open up the back door, and he'll be there... waiting for me...

:: Introducing My Random Internet Goodies ::

2009-01-29T14:24:00.000-06:00

I love the internet. I mean, I really love the internet. I confess that I spend far too much time online everyday - it really is an addiction for me. But who wouldn't be hooked? All the information, all the resources... all the photography and ideas - c'mon, right?

So, to make myself feel better about my internet habit, I decided that I would share all the fabulous things I have found online - those little nuggets of internet goodness that fuel my addiction and keep me glued to my mac all day long. So here it is, the first installment of Mel's Random Internet Goodies...

Random Internet Goody #1

I adore blogs... all kinds of blogs. From crafting and parenting to photography and cooking - I have no less than one hundred blogs I check out on a regular basis. I think blogs are fantastic - these amazing online diaries of real people involved in real life who take the time and energy to document their experiences. I kept noticing the same button on many of the blogs I was following, so I decided to click on it to find out what it was all about. That's when I discovered Delightful Blogs. The premise of the site is simple.... "Cutting through the blog smog... Explore our edited directory of 3200 blogs that are personal, passionate and stylish."

The site breaks down blogs into several categories ranging from "Activism" to "Work + Career." Once I found this site - I was addicted. Totally. I am so impressed with the amount of creativity and personality that people pour into their blogs. It is inspiring, to say the least.

To become a member of the site, you fill out a brief questionnaire about your blog and answer some basic questions about yourself. Your blog must be more than 3 months old and have regular posts and updates. There is a one-time fee of $13 to be included in the site (if you want a "featured" ad for your blog, then the fee is $35). Your blog is then reviewed and if it meets the requirements, a link to your page is added on the site. Easy, right?

So, if you haven't checked out Delightful Blogs yet, you should. I bet you'll love it. :)

:: Benjamin Sings the Classics ::

2009-01-22T14:15:00.000-06:00

I have been trying to convince Ben to let me record him singing, but every time I would grab the camera to capture him belting out some tunes, he would stop singing and run away. But last night, as he was sitting on our bed serenading us, I pulled out the camera and to my surprise, he actually let me record him. I was so happy!

So now, for your listening pleasure, may I present Master Benjamin, singing two of his all time favorite compositions....

:: Goals Vs. Resolutions and Some Crazy Good Bread ::

2009-01-18T11:06:00.000-06:00

We here at the Scarpace house have decided to get healthy. I guess you could say it's our New Year's Resolution, but since I don't really buy into the whole "resolutions" hoopla, I think I will just refer to it as our goal for 2009. I am trying not to focus too much on losing weight - I am pretty sure that will be a wonderful side effect of our new healthy eating habits. Hope springs eternal, right?

Since all of the day time television shows are focusing on losing weight and getting in shape, I have heard a ton of information lately about healthy foods... or at least what we think are healthy foods. I was under the impression that the bread in the grocery store labeled "100% Whole Wheat" was actually really healthy and super good for you. But I found out, thanks to Rachael Ray, that most of those supposedly "whole wheat" breads contain high-fructose corn syrup, which can actually reek havoc on your blood sugar levels - not to mention totally destroy your entire attempt at eating healthy. Plus, there's a whole list of ingredients in "healthy" bread that you can't even pronounce.

So, I took to the internet and did some research on baking whole wheat bread and found a recipe. I put my laptop on the kitchen island and proceeded to embark on an 18-hour journey that resulted in two flat, but very tasty, loaves of bread. See, I am not a baker. But I can follow directions, so I thought baking bread would be "no big deal, right?" Wrong. It's a process... a process that requires accurate measuring and patience as things take time to "rise." I think I counted about ten times both Jason and Ben asked "is the bread ready yet?"

"NO!" I barked... "It has to DOUBLE in size before I move it to the bread pans where it has to RISE and top the pan by an inch!" Like I said, baking bread requires patience, and those of you who know me, know I have very little patience to work with.

Even though it took me the better part of an entire day, I did manage to get the bread baked. And it was good. Actually, it was very good. I think we were all surprised. Needless to say we had a lot of poached eggs on toast for breakfast and panini's for lunch, but they were good. I was really proud of myself.

So this morning I woke up, started my bread again, and I must say that everything went much smoother. I made a fraction of the mess I did last week, and everything is rising just perfectly. And I am enjoying some time on the computer and a glass of Diet Dr. Pepper while I wait for the bread to do its thing and grow. Look at me! Look at me with my new found patience! Yep, 2009 is gearing up to be one great year!

Here is the recipe. I found the original recipe on allrecipes.com (it was posted by Nita Crabb and called "Simple Whole Wheat Bread.") She used about 5 cups of white bread flour in her recipe. I followed her recipe exactly the first time I made it, but decided that I would use all whole wheat flour instead and incorporate the flax seeds, sunflower seeds and oats.

Mel's Super Healthy, Patience-Promoting 100% Whole Wheat Bread
Ingredients
3 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 (.25 ounce) packages active dry yeast
2/3 cup honey
8 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted
3 tablespoons sunflower seeds
3 tablespoons oats
3 tablespoons flax seed

Directions

In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, and 1/3 cup honey. Add 5 cups whole wheat flour, and stir to combine. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly.
Mix in 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup honey, and salt. Stir in 2 cups whole wheat flour. Stir in sunflower seeds, oats and flax seeds. Once combined, move the dough to your stand mixer, or flour a workspace on your counter to knead the dough. Work in more of the whole wheat flour and knead the dough until it is not real sticky - just pulling away from the sides of the mixing bowl or counter. It should still feel sticky to touch. This may take an additional 2 to 4 cups of flour (I generally use about 3 cups during this process). Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled.
Punch down, and divide into 3 loaves. Place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pans, and allow to rise until dough has topped the pans by one inch. Or, you can form the dough into a loaf shape on a baking sheet.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not overbake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 2 tablespoons melted butter when done to prevent crust from getting hard. I actually use much less butter - after all, the goal is "healthy" bread. Cool completely and then wrap in plastic wrap then foil. The bread gets better as it sets. Plus, it also gets easier to slice.

Just a side note on this recipe. I wanted to make my bread just a little more healthy, so I incorporated some soy flour into the mixture. As a general rule, you should work in soy flour so that it only comprises about 15% of your flour mixture. So, you could actually place two tablespoons into the bottom of your measuring cup before you measure the whole wheat flour.

As for the sunflower seeds, flax seeds and oats... if you are lucky enough to live near an HEB, you can get them in small quantities (and much cheaper) in the bulk foods area. I am not sure about other grocery stores, but I bet if they have a bulk foods section, you will be able to find them.

Happy Healthy Baking!!

:: Happy New Year ::

2009-01-08T12:32:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year Everyone!

I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season.

We had an incredible time during the holidays. We spent time with family and close friends - it was such an amazing way to end the year.

We started our December by visiting some friends in San Angelo. Okay, I NEVER thought I would be saying this... but I really do miss San Angelo. I spent the better part of my teen years devising a plan to escape that place, but now as an adult, wife and mother - I have seriously considered what it would be like to move back there someday. We have such good friends there and we feel such a connection to the community. Who knows, maybe someday we'll go back. Anything is possible.

In San Angelo, Jason had the chance to visit the Old Chicken Farm Art Center, where he lived and worked as an Artist and Art Instructor. It was nice being able to visit with old friends. The Chicken Farm is an amazing place, and if you ever have the chance to visit it, you should. Creative people are always entertaining to me, and a bunch of them living and working together is a unique experience.

While we were in San Angelo, we also went to Christmas at Old Fort Concho. Jason and I went every year when we lived there, and hadn't been back in over five years. The next day we had lunch with some good friends we hadn't seen in years. You know you have picked great friends when you can go so long without seeing them, and instantly pick up where you left off when you meet up again. I really miss our friends in San Angelo. And we are definitely going to visit there more often. Definitely. We finished our last night in San Angelo by visiting the house on Hill Street, where Jason asked me to marry him on December 6, 1999. It's a tiny house with a vacant lot next to it, and every year they put up this amazing Christmas display that you can walk around and explore. It was one of the first places I took Jason when he moved to San Angelo, and it will always hold a special place in our hearts.

We are at the stage now where we spend Christmas day here at home. Since Ben is all about Santa now, it's important for us be here on such a special day for our son. Ben and Santa have developed quite a relationship - but that's another blog. We got a call on Christmas Eve morning and found out that my parents were coming for Christmas day. So we had a house full of people (with us, my parents, and my aunt) and I made Christmas dinner. I know, right? But seriously, I did. And it wasn't bad. I was proud of myself.

The day after Christmas, our good friend, Jeff, came to stay with us for the weekend. Jeff has been Jason's best friend for, wow, I guess almost 29 years now. He was also the Best Man in our wedding. We had a great weekend with him.

The Tuesday before New Year's, we packed up the car and went to see my parents in Dallas. We had Sushi and champagne for our New Year's Eve dinner and we all stayed up to watch the ball drop. On New Year's Day, we were invited over to the Haby's home for dinner. (Which, by the way, is Jeff's family, for those of you who didn't know that already). The Haby's have always been a second family for Jason. We think the world of them. They are such special people and they are so important to us. We had such a great time visiting with them.

The Saturday after New Year's, I decided to kidnap my best friend, Meredith, and take her to lunch and shopping. She just had a baby, and I thought she could use a nice treat and get away for the day and do girly stuff. Oh, and as far as babies go, her little boy is ADORABLE! We had a lot of fun that day - except that the line to Sprinkles Cupcakes spilled out the door and was too long for us to wait. That was kind of sad. Oh well. ;)

We had planned on coming home the Monday after New Year's, but Mother Nature decided to drop some ice on the Dallas area, so we had to wait it out another day. The power even went out at my parents' home. It was actually kind of exciting. For about an hour. Then it got annoying. Thank goodness it was only out for about two and a half hours.

So, we are back at home and getting back into our usual grooves. It's a new year and we are excited about all the new experiences and opportunities we will meet these coming 12 months. We're ready for a fantastic year. Hi 2009!!!

I put together a slideshow of our holidays.....

Make a Smilebox slideshow

:: Happy Holidays ::

2008-12-24T21:43:00.000-06:00

I wish all of you a safe, wonderful and very merry Christmas.

I'll have plenty to blog about next week, so be sure to check back. :)

Grown Men and Snowballs...

2008-12-11T00:00:00.000-06:00

It's been snowing here... it's practically a blizzard! Well, okay, it's a "blizzard" by our standards anyway. Like I said in my previous post - it rarely snows here, so when it does we get really excited.

So I was cooking dinner and I kept hearing the faint sound of snowballs hitting the side of our house. I thought "oh, how cute... the kids are having a snowball fight." I knew that Jason and Benjamin were out making a snowman - or at least that's what I thought.

I went outside to check on them and that's when I learned that the men on our street - yes, the grown, adult men - were in the the middle of a huge snowball fight. And according to the witnesses I spoke with - my husband started it. The poor kids didn't stand a chance. And the men spared no one... every one, small children included, were fair game.

One woman was innocently getting out of her car after returning home from work and was pegged in the back with a snowball. Luckily she was a good sport about it. Jason and our neighbor Tony conspired to attack our neighbors across the street. Tony rang their doorbell and then hid around the side of the house, and when they opened the door and Jason yelled "Hi neighbor!" from across the street, Tony ambushed them. They were good sports, too. In fact, they were really good sports - they started grabbing at snow and retaliated. Good for them.

I am not sure what it is about an undisturbed yard full of freshly fallen snow that makes grown men act like nine-year-old bullies on a playground, but I witnessed the phenomenon first hand. Grown men, fathers, flying through the air pelting each other with tightly packed balls of snow. Adult men squealing and laughing and hiding on the sides of houses and behind cars, waiting for a victim to attack. It was hysterical. And at the same time, oddly sweet and charming.

SNOW!!!

2008-12-10T15:36:00.001-06:00

We had the most amazing surprise waiting for us when we woke up this morning.. SNOW! That's right - it actually snowed in College Station! Since we live so close to the coast, it very rarely snows here and we have not seen snow since we moved here almost six years ago. What's even more incredible - it just started snowing again and Benjamin is running around in the backyard yelling "I am eatin' snow, Mama!" "There is snow on my tongue!" How great is that?

We saved two big snowballs in our freezer... we thought it would be fun to have a snowball fight in summer next year. Well, I am off to make a snowman... HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Holiday Card Photo Shoot

2008-12-09T18:45:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year again! Time for holiday photos! ugh.....

There is always drama in our home when it comes time for holiday photos. Yep, holiday photo shoots would not be the same without all the fussing, screaming and crying. I still don't understand what's so difficult about "just sit down, look at the camera and smile..." I always manage to get at least one good picture - but it comes with a price, trust me.

I was determined to get my holiday cards out on time this year. But in keeping with my usual poor time management skills, I waited until the last minute. I was actually putting off taking the photos out of sheer dread. So, I procrastinated. Which meant I had to pay extra for prompt processing and faster delivery.

Now, I realize that I could take Ben to a professional photographer and pay for a sitting and order prints, but I am more of a naturalist when it comes to family photos. I don't really like the "studio" look of photos taken by professionals. It just doesn't seem natural to me. I prefer more candid shots. They just seem more real.

So, the day came, I took a deep breath, said a quick prayer and sat Ben down in front of our Christmas Tree. I put a Santa hat on his head and started taking pictures. And you know what? Aside from some minor distractions and goofy faces... it went really well. I guess my little boy, who is now a big 4 year old, is starting to get the hang of having his picture taken. I was so proud of him. And the best news of all? The cards I ordered arrived today, ahead of delivery schedule. Which means I will actually get my holiday cards out on time this year.

It's a Christmas miracle!!!

Holiday Photo Shoot

My Baby is 4... I Can't Believe It!

2008-12-09T14:47:00.000-06:00

I seriously cannot believe my little boy is four years old.

Time really is precious... it goes by so quickly.

Benjamin loves Mexican food, and since I am a sucker for theme parties, I thought it would be fun to throw him a Birthday Fiesta. So we did. Complete with sombreros, maracas and tacos. It was a blast.

I decided to rent a huge jumping castle (yes, the "Jupiter Jump" for all of you inflatable jumping castle fans) and I also rented a bubble machine. That was actually more for me... I just thought it sounded fun.

So, the day of Ben's party turned out cold. Very cold. And windy. And not just a little windy... more like hurricane force winds windy. It was insane. I kept waiting for the Jupiter Jump to rip free from its stakes and float away with the kids still inside. We had rented tables and chairs so that we could all sit outside. Those were rendered completely useless once the wind gusts started, so we basically just sat in the dining room and looked out the window at the kiddos jumping in the castle. The near-frozen kiddos jumping in the castle trying to stay warm. The wind also made the bubble machine fairly useless, too. Once you turned it on, the wind just whipped the bubbles around the backyard and they would hit the kids in the face and head and pop instantly. And apparently bubbles sting when they pop in your eye. Just ask one of the poor kids who was attacked by a wayward bubble. Poor kids.

But you know, despite the crazy weather, I think everyone had a good time. We had family and close friends here to celebrate Ben's special day, and that was nice. Plus, not one kid blew away, froze or was permanently blinded by bubble solution. So, I guess Ben's birthday was a huge success.

Oh, and the day after Ben's party... perfectly sunny, warm day - and absolutely no wind at all.

For more pics from Ben's party, just follow this link...

http://s442.photobucket.com/albums/qq144/TipsOnBeingPerfect/Bens%204th%20Birthday%20Fiesta/

The Posts are Coming! The Posts are Coming!

2008-12-03T14:55:00.001-06:00

Okay, I admit it. I haven't been posting on my blog as much as I intended to. I even had to remove an earlier post (the one about State Fair food) since the slide show I had in the post was causing all sorts of problems with the layout of my entire blog. Technology is frustrating sometimes. But I'll repost it soon.

The truth is that I actually have several posts started... I just need to finish and publish them. You see, I tend to get side tracked and I lose focus and well, before I realize it, another week has gone by and I still haven't posted anything. So, here it is.... my "Early New Year's Resolution," or I guess it should be my "Near the End of the Old Year Resolution." Something like that anyway. Whatever it's called, here's what it means - I resolve to post at least twice a week. That's it. Not too much, but enough to keep my legions of fans interested. That was a joke. I think I actually have about two fans. And they have both emailed me asking why I haven't posted anything. I told them I had just been super busy... but actually, I am just super bad at time management. I also just got a subscription to NetFlix. NetFlix is AH-MAZING! But I have spent a ton of time watching movies the past few weeks. They were fabulous movies. I just didn't get much else accomplished.

Then there's the issue with trying to type with a four year old constantly talking to you and a husband who works from home and always needs to know where something is or needs my help with office work. I have just had to explain to both of them that when I sit down to work on my blog, I am deaf and mute - so don't bother me because I can't hear you and I won't respond. So there.

Well, I am off to eat some lunch and then run errands... but stay tuned... the posts are coming!!!

A Fairy, a Princess, a Pumpkin & a Rhino...

2008-11-02T15:30:00.001-06:00

I cannot believe Halloween is already over. This year has just flown by and in nine days my baby turns four years old. wow...

Halloween at the Scarpace house was a BLAST! We had our good friends over and I made some "spooky treats" and then we all went and terrorized the neighborhood. The folks in our subdivision are friendly people and they really go all out for the kiddos that live here. There was one house this year that absolutely ROCKED! The woman that lived there said she has always loved Halloween and she decided to have some fun this year and get a giant inflatable haunted house. The kids had to walk through it to get to the door for candy. She even had her black lab dressed as a pumpkin. It was way cute. I instantly bonded with her.

Ben was a rhino this year. I know - random. Believe it or not, he was the ONLY rhino in the neighborhood. wink. wink. He took forever to decide on what he wanted to be - he was originally going to be a red-eyed tree frog. But he decided he didn't like the feet in the costume. He's picky and a bit neurotic, have I mentioned that before? I made Jason and myself a t-shirt that had "College Station Zoo, Rhino Keeper" on the front, and I found Ben a silver "feed" pail for his treat bag. Yeah, we were all in on the fun.

Halloween is my favorite holiday, hands down. It always has been. And now that we have Ben, it is even more fun - as if that were even possible. I watch him get excited about dressing up and trick-or-treating, and I remember how that felt when I was little. My Mom was the Queen of Halloween. I'm serious. The woman could haunt a house like no one else and my costumes were always 'da bomb. Of course she made all my awesome costumes - I have to buy Ben's. I just wasn't blessed with my Mom's sewing genes.

Ben has already decided that next year he wants to be a cat.

"Oh, a scary black cat?" I asked him.

"No, Mama! A house cat. Like George. I want to be George for Halloween next year!"

I'm hoping he changes his mind before then...

The Dallas Arboretum

2008-10-23T18:46:00.000-05:00

A few weekends ago, my husband, son, Mom and I decided to check out the Dallas Arboretum near White Rock Lake. Okay, if you have never been there, you should really go check it out. It's amazingly beautiful and so peaceful. It started raining, so we didn't get to see all of it. We definitely plan to go back.

To celebrate the fall season, they had lined the walkways with pumpkins and mums and gourds. They had a huge pumpkin patch and even a pumpkin house. And a hay maze, of course. (wink.)

It is such an incredible place and I can't believe I had never taken the time to check it out before.

So, if you have never been there, or haven't been in a while, then by all means get thy self over to the Arboretum! You won't regret it.

I apologize for the shaky videos. My Mom always comments on how nauseous she gets watching some of my home movies. I use a Flip Camera - which I absolutely LOVE - but it's not perfect. It doesn't shoot long distances very well and if you move around while you hold the camera the video can get fairly wobbly. I shot about 15 to 20 minutes of video at the Arboretum, and when I made my first movie and tried to upload it, it was rejected because of the size. So, I had to edit it and split it into two videos to upload. :)

Enjoy.

Cemetery Photos ~ Spooky!!

2008-10-22T10:06:00.000-05:00

As you know, this summer my family made a trip to Buffalo, New York. It was an amazing trip. I got to see the house where Jason lived when he was a baby and the homes where his parents grew up. We even visited the church where they married. I have some great photos - but those will take some time to post, since I want to make a slide show with information on each photo. Yippee - slides from family vacations...

One of the most amazing things about Buffalo is the amount of cemeteries it has. I am serious - the town is mostly cemeteries. And not the ordinary cemeteries we see here in Texas. These places are ginormous! They stretch as far as you can see and they have the most gothic, beautiful graves. I was totally fascinated and weirdly obsessed. These places were like museums... there was so much history and there are so many famous people buried in Buffalo. We saw the grave of a former United States President, a man who died on the Titanic and yes, we even saw the grave of Super Freak himself - Rick James.

The most amazing cemetery was Forest Lawn. You needed a map to get around this place. They even gave tours. Crazy. Jason's Aunt and Uncle were really good sports and took us around to all the cemeteries while we were there. I think I took about 400 photos - I am not kidding. So, in honor of Halloween, I thought I would post a nice "photo video" of some of the cemetery pics. I noticed after I published the video that the tops and bottoms of my photos had been cropped out. Like I said in my previous post, I am still figuring out this video posting thing... I was going to add some music to the video, but I couldn't find any that was appropriate. So, just hum to yourself...

I am having technical difficulties - Please stand by...

2008-10-13T21:55:00.000-05:00

Okay, I am having some issues with my posts. Well, actually I am having issues with my videos. You see, when I create my videos on my Mac, they are perfect - the sound is great and the video is crystal clear. However, once I publish them, they get rough and grainy. So, I am working on a better way to post the videos. I tried using the Blogger video upload, but after an hour of it supposedly "uploading," I gave up. So, if anyone has any advice, let me know.

Oh, and I apologize for the links to additional videos at the end. It's a YouTube thing. I normally turn that feature off because, well, it's stupid. But for some reason the YouTube site is hassling me this evening and it keeps showing up at the end of the video. I WILL get this figured out... just bear with me...

Pumpkin Patches and Hay Mazes

2008-10-13T16:29:00.000-05:00

So, it's that time of year again - pumpkin patches and hay mazes. It's no secret to those of you who know me that I love fall - more specifically, I love Halloween. But since the world has shifted from when I was a kid, and people are so concerned about political correctness, there are few, if any, school Halloween carnivals anymore. They have been replaced with cheerful, and in no way spooky, pumpkin patches and the occasional hay maze. Sure, every now and then you will find a "fall festival" some where that reminds you of those good 'ole carnivals, but they just aren't the same.

I never missed a school Halloween carnival. I'm serious. The costume contests, the game booths, the haunted houses... THE FOOD! I could have cared less about trick-or-treating. It was the carnival I got excited about. I don't know why they quit having them. I was under the impression that they were actually pretty good fundraisers for the schools. But, for what ever reason, they are gone. My son will never know how much fun those were. sniff sniff....

So, Ben gets to experience pumpkin patches and hay mazes. We never pass one by without stopping. It's a thing with me. There is something about that sea of orange that lures me in. I love pumpkins. Did I mention that already?

While we were in Dallas this past weekend, we noticed a Pumpkin Patch on the way to Granny Weez and PawPaw's. So, we took Granny Weez with us and visited the pumpkins. It was great. Ben got through the hay maze and we actually got a decent photo of Ben with the pumpkins. (On a side note - trying to get photos of Benjamin is like herding cats. It's frustrating. It's impossible. But somehow we manage every year to get a great photo. So, I guess it's worth it.)

Ben decided he wanted to throw a tantrum and refused to do anything we asked him. I was pretty much fed up with trying to control him, Jason was picking out the perfect gourd and Granny Weez was trying to buy Peppered Pickles. (Yeah, I know - weird. But trust me - those pickles were fabulous!) I lost track of Ben for maybe 2 minutes and when I went to look for him, I found him chatting it up with this pretty girl and getting his face painted. He always manages to find the pretty girls and flirt with them. He's gonna be trouble.

I did manage to get a few minutes of video from our visit.

And you know, that face painting of his lasted a full day on his little cheek. Maybe there's hope for him yet. Maybe...

Prankin' the Neighbors

2008-10-02T15:28:00.000-05:00

We have way too much free time here at the Scarpace house.

Our awesome neighbors and great friends, Tony and Ligia, have the unfortunate luck of living across the street from us. Today when we came home from running errands, we noticed that the recycling truck had left one of Tony's bags with a notice on it saying they were not able to recycle the material he had put in the bag. We both started laughing about how he was "denied" by the recycling crew. Since we know Tony and Ligia are good sports, we decided to have a little fun at their expense. We printed out a huge "D-NIDE" tag (we thought it was funny to spell it phonetically) and then stuck 30 "D-NIDE" stickers (address labels) all over the bag. Our other neighbor, Mario, watched the whole thing. I know he thinks we are insane, or weird, or both.

After we get the bag decorated, we run back to our house and wait, flip camera in-hand, for Tony to drive up and see our little surprise. Okay, so it's probably not "Punked" material, but we had a good laugh. And we totally expect Tony to retaliate.

Gettin' My Blog On...

2008-10-01T21:36:00.000-05:00

I have several bad habits. One of which is that I record about a million television shows and movies on our DVR, and I never get around to watching all of them. The worst part is, if my poor husband tries to record something, and he doesn't watch it immediately, I will erase it to make room for my shows - which, I don't watch. He'll ask "hey, didn't I record blah blah blah?" And I'll say "oh, I think there was a recording error." (Just so you know, I actually do feel bad for being straight out dishonest with my husband. It doesn't stop me from doing it - but I do feel bad about it...)

So, one of the shows I record on a daily basis is The Martha Stewart Show. I love Martha. I have always loved Martha. And don't get me started about her time in prison... but what I will say about that whole ridiculous fiasco is that Martha came out of it a changed woman. She seemed softer and a little more "human." Not to mention, she suddenly seemed to develop this incredible sense of humor. Seriously. She actually made me laugh out loud a few times. So, I love Martha. There, I said it.

So, while Jason was out working on his mural downtown today and Ben was taking a nap, I sat down and watched a couple of episodes I had recorded. They were more than two weeks old, but I was happy I actually watched something I had recorded. One of the episodes I watched was about blogging. I thought it was a great show. She had different types of bloggers on, including food bloggers, political bloggers, gardening bloggers, and yes, even Perez Hilton was on her show. (Just a side note here.... earlier this year, I overcame an incredible addiction to celebrity gossip sites, namely Perez Hilton's.) I love blogs - there are about a million I come across every day that I would love to read - if I had time. I do keep up with a few on a daily basis, which when I get more time I totally intend to put on here.

The show's guests gave some great advice on starting a blog, what to blog about and all that kind of groovy, helpful stuff. One of the main points they made was to be sure to blog about something specific. I don't intend to follow that advice - but I still thought it was a great tip. There is just too much I experience and too many things I am interested in to just pick one to blog about. Well, okay then, I guess you could say my specific blog subject is ME. That works. I guess.

A few months back, before our crazy summer started, I sat down and made a list of things I wanted to blog about. (What's funny is that I can't seem to find that list now. I do remember one of the topics I had on my list was, oddly enough, "lists." I guess I'll need to make a new list now. So, I have just added "make new blog list" on my "list of things to do" for this week.) I appreciate the outlet blogging gives me. It's fun. If you haven't started your own blog, I highly recommend it. And send me a link - I would love to read what you have to say. :)

Schedules...

2008-09-26T22:58:00.000-05:00

Lucky me - I think have caught a stomach bug. Ugh. The good news is that I have the most awesome husband E-V-E-R and he let me rest all day while he watched our three-year-old. He even made me soup and brought it to me in bed. Awww. :)

So, as I have laid in bed all day I have come to realize something. We need a family schedule. It was easier when my husband, Jason, was working as a school teacher. We got up early, got him to work and my son and I had our little routine during the day until Jason came home. Then it was dinner, a little TV, and then bed. But now that Jason works from home in the studio, it's a little more tricky. We don't have to be up at a specific time, so we end up going to bed whenever we feel like it. Which is usually ridiculously late. We are lucky if we happen to sneak in a nap time for our son - which means his schedule is off, too. So, I think this weekend we need to have a family meeting regarding our schedules... well, actually our lack of any schedule at all really. We also need to work on getting this house organized, but trust me, that is a WHOLE other topic. A long, cluttered topic. Honestly.

"Change"

2008-09-24T05:10:00.000-05:00

"Change" has become quite the buzzword lately...

Monday was officially the first day of fall. I love fall. I am not a warm weather person, and living in Texas near the Gulf is just about torture for me during the summer months. I am always so excited when fall comes around. Even though the weather doesn't really start to get cool until mid-November here, at least I know it's coming. It will be here soon. EXCITING! Change is definitely in the air.

Despite the tragic start to our summer, our family has had some incredible experiences and adventures these past three months. Benjamin flew on a plane for the first time (which, to be honest, I was completely dreading... but he proved my worries to be totally unfounded - he was fantastic from take-off to landing). We traveled into Canada and visited Niagara Falls. It was magical. Nature is awesome. Just recently, my husband - a long-time Yankees fan - got to see one last game in Yankee Stadium (he also worked in a Mets game while he was there.) We survived a hurricane and our city was host to some 3,500 evacuees. Aside from gas and grocery shortages, we were so lucky.

Changes are taking place in our home as well. My husband went from being a full-time elementary teacher to a full-time artist. A few days ago, we traded in our car for an SUV - we needed the room and our car was starting to have issues. I am still getting used to the size - curbs are particularly tricky for me.

I have decided to spend more time with my blog, explore new hobbies and find things that interest me. I always loved my photography classes and I think with a little practice, I could actually be good. Not like "open my own photography business" good, but more like "wow, you take fantastic family photos" good. My husband bought me a MacBook Air with some sweet movie and photo editing software - so I plan to learn how to use all of it and get my creative, photo-taking vibe on.

We had a great summer. We are excited about fall and all the changes it will bring.

Change... I'm ready.

...and life goes on...

2008-07-08T18:23:00.000-05:00

About a month ago, we learned that both of my in-laws had passed away, in their home, together. There are no words to describe that kind of shock. We were all stunned. They both had serious health concerns, and they were both suffering with debilitating diseases. I guess in some way, we had all prepared for the inevitable - the day we would learn that one of them had died. But none of us were prepared to hear that they were both dead. We are all sad - we miss them both very much.

My in-laws, Carolyn and Gerald, were two of the most unique people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I will always remember Gerry's incredible sense of humor and quick wit, and I will never forget Carolyn's love for nature and animals. There is something quite spectacular about a woman who preferred a beautiful rock or unusual leaf to any fancy jewelry or expensive pair of shoes. And I will forever keep in my mind the time Gerry used the phrase "ghetto fabulous" - correctly - and meant it. Those memories are priceless. Carolyn and Gerry are irreplaceable.

Now Ben and I look up to the sky and he asks me which cloud Nana and Grandpa are sitting on. "That one, right there...."

And life goes on...

Being Sick Makes Me Lazy...

2008-05-20T13:04:00.000-05:00

So, when I started this blog, it was totally my intention to submit at least one thing every day. But then, I got sick. Really sick. Like, "I Think I'm Going to Die" sick. And that left me feeling fairly unproductive and completely uninspired. So that's my excuse for not contributing to this blog for a while. I guess it's not really a big deal, given the fact that I have yet to advertise to my friends and family that I even have a blog. I plan on doing that, as soon as I have some content and therefore some reason for them to come here. The good news is that I feel much better now, and the great news (at least for my blog anyway) is that I am once again excited about posting. I have a million ideas and topics running through my head. Woohoo!!

Fun with PlayDoh, Part I

2008-05-08T14:20:00.000-05:00

Throughout history, few toys have stood the test of time like good ‘ole PlayDoh. There’s the Slinky, Barbie, the Rubik’s Cube, sidewalk chalk, Silly Putty and Lincoln Logs. And as I found out last night, just like Slinky, PlayDoh really is fun for both a girl and a boy.

My son, Ben, had been begging for PlayDoh ever since he saw a commercial for it on Nickelodeon. I really had my reservations, given the hazards it posed to my carpets and kitchen table. Then one day we were in Toys R Us, and I noticed they had a PlayDoh Kitchen, and since I am a sucker for play food and Ben loves to pretend to make me dinner, I caved and bought it for him.

Okay, if you haven’t experienced PlayDoh in a while, well, do yourself a favor and pick up a tub or two. It is a blast! I don’t know if it was the fact that it was food or what, but I could have played with the stuff for hours. I have always had a weird fascination with fake food… when I was a kid, I loved to go to Sears and look at all the plastic food in the refrigerators and ovens. Ben has a toy kitchen with a community food pantry’s worth of fake food to go with it, and I love to pretend to cook with him. So, the PlayDoh Kitchen was right up our alley.

On the menu last night were……

Grilled Steak with Green Beans and Tomato Slices

Ham Steak with Broccoli and a Crescent Dinner Roll

Fried Chicken and Mashed Potatoes with a Pat of Butter

I am officially a fan of PlayDoh. And my carpets and kitchen table are perfectly fine.

FINALLY!

2008-05-08T11:12:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally did it... I started my own blog. To be honest, I have wanted my own site for a while now, I even went so far as to register two different domain names in the past two years. The problem was that I never really had the time or the desire to sit down and create a whole website - and I really didn't know what kind of a website I would have anyway. I enjoy crafts, just not enough to devote an entire website to them.... I enjoy cooking, but I have like five or six recipes, which obviously wouldn't fill up much space on the Internet. I have a wonderful family, but let's face it, they don't really want me plastering their photos all over a website for the whole world to see. I suppose I could have put all of my favorite things on a website with different links and updates and all the hoopla that goes along with having your own site...but that brings me back to the fact that I just don't have the time to do all of that. (It's taken me about an hour to just create a logo for this blog, and I am still not happy with it.) So after much thought and research, I concluded that all I really need is a nice, easy and free weblog. Yes, a "blog." Welcome to the Internet, Melanie. :)