Kitchen Bling

I got my canisters a few days ago, but had not gotten around to displaying them. Why? Mostly because I was out of sugar and flour, and was NOT going to put them on the counter for display purposes only! So, after a run to the grocery store, I unpacked, washed and dried, and place dry goods inside my beloved canisters.

And yes, I do cluster them like this. Makes more sense to me than to line them up against the wall like they are about to be executed. In the back you have Coffee (with measuring spoon), Flour, and Sugar. In the front you have….. ok, I have no clue what to put in the short canister yet, but the mini one is for my French Sea Salt. That little pot goes by my stove, but I added it to the tableau for effect.

I’m an artiste that way 😉

Calm Before the Storm

As if! We were expecting this monster of a rainstorm around here, thanks to Tropical Storm Don, and of course, it never came to pass. Which means I will have to scrub the fence outside from last weekend’s debacle birthday bash. And did I mention there is still paint on the bath walls that needs to be scraped off? Yeah, my day is shaping up to be a storm of cleaning fumes.

But before that storm hits, I am going to enjoy the calm, and sip my coffee, and maybe do a little shopping from the comfort of my chair. I do have a talent for that, you know. And sometimes I do find the neatest stuff!

Can you imagine the PTA’s face when I show up wearing this?? Totally worth it!!!

Ok, time to get moving here. Hope y’all enjoy your Saturday!!

No Caption Necessary

A picture is worth a thousand words….

Proof that God loves Texas!!

Now, if only those clouds would bring rain… 😉

Photo courtesy of Mike Slay.

Canada Luv!

This morning I received a message from a friend, telling me of a young man from Canada who is coming to visit his family while he launches his American country music career. His name is Ryan Laird, which is just awesome in and of itself, he’s very talented, and hope y’all enjoy this song!

And his single, which is to die for:

Not bad, eh?

And back off, Taylor. I saw him first 😉

A Yearly Grind

A few months ago I received a rather nice postcard from the *ahem* Breast Clinic Women’s Imaging Center here, letting me know it was time for my mammogram. Being a member of the military, I had to book my appointment well in advance. Eleven weeks, to be exact.

Sigh….

Anyway, on the reminder card for the visit there were several precautions you must observe when going in for your squishathon.

No perfumes.

No body lotions.

No powder.

So far this is fine with me. Even though I *heart* perfume, I generally do not wear it. And with two dogs that enjoy licking every surface around here, I usually pass on the lotion until bedtime. Then came the most reprehensible command known to woman:

NO DEODORANT OR ANTI-PERSPIRANT OF ANY KIND.

The thermostat that day read 102*. It read 107* in the van. It could be 5000* for all I cared. I was going to be driving 30 minutes to the hospital, parking in the lot closest to Egypt, and walking for eons in infernal temperatures. Great…. I was going into the hospital where people know me and greet me all funkified. Thankfully, the clinic was relatively close to the front of the Outpatient area. I was able to go in without offending anyone.

I check in at the front desk, and go to put on the specially made gown. You know the one….it has three armholes: one arm, then the other, and the final hole goes on the original arm. I’m not explaining it very well, but women know what I’m talking about. In any case, my derriere was covered, and I went to sit to await my turn in a rather empty area. Which made me wonder why I had to book this appointment so far in advance. Soon enough, my name was called, and I followed a very nice tech into the exam room. She turns to get the dreaded BB tape.

I cringe.

Owie...

Well, this was new. The last time I was assaulted with medical tape, the kind designed to hold I.V. needles in your veins. That was painful to remove, and left residue that was difficult to wash off. She proceeds to place the BBs where they need to go, and is now ready to take the images.

The first views were not so bad. The plate comes straight down and squishes you vertically, first the left, then the right. But then comes the side squishers. And in order to get the best view, the tech has to maneuver your girlfriend into position, by pushing and squeezing her into the area for the overhead plate to press like a olive. Meanwhile, she is telling you to lean back away from the plates, without moving your girlfriend. Soon enough, the imaging is over, and I am free to go. She kindly shows me out, and I proceed to go to the changing room to get my deodorant out of my purse and bathe in apply it. I look at the BB band-aids in apprehension. The tech had said these were easier to remove than the tape they had used previously. I had my reservations. But like everyone says, rip it off like a band-aid.

YEOW!!!!!!!!

The tech lied.

I shut my eyes against the tears, and after getting dressed, I stop at the front desk to inquire about the results. They tell me I should have them in three to seven days, which I thought was a remarkable turn around. That was June 23rd.

I got them yesterday, July 26th.

The tech lied.

I really need to quit being such a Pollyanna 😉

Fight for Your Right to Party

Ok, it wasn’t a “fight”, nor is it a “right”, but since it was her Sweet Sixteen, Eldest got to host a party. It was small, thank goodness, but still a lot of fun for them. Why? Because the theme of the party was PAINT.

This was the cake:

Those are NOT flowers. Eldest wouldn’t be caught dead with a cake that had flowers. Unless they were black roses, and I had to nix that. Those are paint “splotches” made from delicious buttercream frosting. We are not fond of fondant here at Casa de Aggie. The “16” is a cookie made in the form of a paint brush. The table was decorated with a canvas dropcloth, and we had set up paints, brushes and a water pail outside next to the large canvas dropcloth that was designated for their artistic talents. But as usual, the best laid plans…

Title of artwork: Aftermath

I told them specifically that they could also paint on their clothing only, provided they didn’t smear paint on hair. Well, that went unheeded. Not only were they fully covered in paint, they went out to the street and paraded for the cars driving by. An activity that facilitated drying of the paint. In their hair.

Did I mention the girls ALL had long hair? And some of the boys, as well?

And did I mention this was a dual sleepover? As in Son had two friends staying, and Eldest had two friends staying?

(Disclosure- I had chaperones)

Anyway, it took a couple of hours for the paint to be peeled, PEELED from hair, over which time the kids were taking turns washing it off. But all in all, the kids had a great time, and are wanting to plan another party, this time without the paint. Frankly, after the wanton sacrilege of my bathtub, I’m leery of having paint anywhere near the house:

THE HUMANITY!!!!

And that was only half of the paint that was peeled from Eldest’s hair. Yes, I cried.

All in all, the party was a huge success, and I was very impressed with her friends, all of whom behaved with respect and good manners, and were funny and sweet.

Next time, I think I will do permanent markers, instead 😉

When Nature Laughs

Sorry for the lack of any posts on Sunday. I was still recuperating from Eldest’s party, which was a smashing success! One of the many things I did on Saturday was drive to a mall to pick up one of her friends, who lives waaaaaaaaaay out of town. And since it was early in the day, and it was still on the cool side, we decided to sit outside in the patio of the food court hall (it’s a hoity-toity mall). Anyway, Eldest and I are talking, and going through the rest of the itinerary, when suddenly she asks, “Mom, what kind of spider is that?”

And I turn around to see this:

Object in photo is larger than it appears.

I was pretty sure it was just a garden spider of some sort, and not deadly. But decided to seek some professional advice, and text Hubby:

Me: OMG!!! What kind of destroyer of worlds is this spider?? It’s four inches long!!

Hubby: It looks like a variant of either a garden spider or a banana spider. The body shape favors the garden spider. It’s a female.

Me: So I was right in calling it a “destroyer of worlds”.

Hubby: Yes…yes, you were.

Eldest had noticed that she was consuming something rather large, and wondered what it could be. I had thought it might be a bee, since the flowers are in bloom and bees are plentiful.

Then again, so are the hummingbirds… 😉

Saturday Sithy

Today is the party, and I don’t have the will effort inspiration ….. I got nuthin’. I have too much to do for the party today.

So, when one has nothing, one goes in search of something to creatively borrow.

Creatively borrowed from SanyoSoup.

Enjoy your Saturday!!!

It’s Hot

It’s quite hot. Very hot. Africa hot.

The humidity doesn’t help either. Here in my corner of Hades, it’s a cool 86* degrees overcast, with 84% relative humidity. It’s also 8:30 AM.By noon, it will be about 97*, and the heat index will make it feel like 105*. And then in the afternoon, it will get hot…

I have a feeling I will be jumping the sprinklers today as I get the patio ready for Eldest’s party tomorrow.

Why couldn’t she have been born in springtime??

400th Comment!!!

And the honor goes to…..

NICOLE!!!

And not only is Nicole a wonderful writer, she is also an excellent cook. Or chef. I’m never sure what term to use. But her culinary stylings can also be found at Carpe Epulae. Go get some Nom education 🙂