Omigawd…

I completely forgot to post an entry today.

I had a very early doctor’s appointment again, and then had to stop to gas up the vehicle on base, and then went to check out if the Le Creuset™ pot was on sale, which it was, and I got, and then came home to a whiny dog who had not been let out, which I rescued, and then to fold the rest of the laundry and then to start a Tres Leches cake which takes FOREVER, and then swing by the grocery store for last minute stuff for dinner, which I am about to go start.

Also, Teresa sent me this link. I ♥ this!!

It is on my List of Things for Aggie’s Birthday®. That’s a list I am now going to leave conspicuously pasted all over the house, starting in September. It’s never too late to start 😉

Ooooh, Pretty AND Smashing

Today is one of those days. I have yet to finish any one single chore, and still have to take Little One to her Prep Day at her school. So what did I do with my lunchtime? I scoured the internet for some wicked mixology.

Hey, the washer and dryer only go so fast, ok??

Behold the Witches Brew!!!

Pretty, isn’t it? And perfect for Halloween. But we all know we do NOT need an excuse for pretty cocktails.

• 1 oz. Bacardi Dragonberry Rum
• 1 oz.  Blue Curaçao
• 1 oz. Crème de Banana
• Juice of one Lime
• Black Sugar

Pour ingredients except sugar in shaker with ice, shaking well. Pour into a martini glass rimmed with the black sugar. I don’t care for flavored rum, but may try it with just Crystal or Añejo. I’ve partaken of dragonberry before. Let’s just say, I was not impressed.

Anyway, time to go fold clothes and finish telling Little One she looks better than fine for her school pictures. If any of you are brave enough to try this, let me know. I can’t imagine what the combination of blue and black will do for the tongue! 😀

Endtimes, or as It Is More Commonly Called, Back-to-School Shopping

Today finds me fortifying myself with plenty of caffeine. Why? Because aside the fact that it is too early (so I have been informed) to open a bottle of wine, I have to take the kids shopping for back-to-school stuff. Little One in particular is beside herself with the fact that this year she gets to have a locker and wants to decorate it.

Did you know you can buy wallpaper for your locker?? Neither did I.

Yes, my friends, you can actually purchase a chandelier for your locker. And carpeting!!! You know, when I went to school, our decorating was limited to school rules, as in, “NOTHING ALLOWED”. Sure, sometimes we skirted around that by using a few magnets to hold pictures or taping stuff we liked, but we had to operate on stealth mode, so it had to be small and very inconspicuous. I remember Mr. Profitt walking by one friend’s locker and bursting a blood vessel when he saw the wall-to-wall coverage of her love life. Good times, good times…

Anyway, the sooner I get this over with, the better off my eardrums will be, since I will no longer hear, “CAN WE GO SHOPPING FOR LOCKER STUFF, PLEASE, OH PLEASE, OH PLEASE!!!???”

Trust me, this will take a while. She’s not easy to please. I think she takes after my grandmother 😉

How I Spent My Summer Vacation

It was a great week, and wonderful to get away from the dry heat here to the humid heat there!

The first day we just unwound, enjoying the views and the sound of the water below. As y’all know, the second day we went bowling, and it was a blast, especially witnessing my failings at it. That evening we decided to try fishing from the balcony.

Seriously, how can one pass that up, right??? But unfortunately most of the fish were scared off due to the high traffic on the lake, so nothing bit. But Hubby is never discouraged. We got out to the store and get chicken livers for bait. Apparently, catfish really like that stuff.

It’s Almost Over

I DON’T WANNA LEAVE!!!!!!!!!

Ok, whining over. Had to be done.

This past week has been great downtime. Kids have enjoyed being by the lake, and as for Hubby, he has been fishing every day. From the balcony. And he has been successful!! First few days he got catfish, then yesterday and today it was carp….HUGE carp. The carp was for catch and release, since I don’t eat that stuff, but last night we had fresh catfish and it was sooooo goooood!!!

Yes, that’s the tub. Anyway, Hubby is still fishing, hoping for General Sherman to take the bait so that we can enjoy catfish for the next two months or so. Tomorrow we return home and enjoy a day or two off from our vacation.

One always needs a vacation from vacation 😉

Doing Nothing

Yep, that’s all I’m doing today.

Don’t worry. I shall regale you with my visit to the local tourist trap later.

But for now, the wine is calling 😉

Finding Treasures

I must be the geekiest mom ever.

As I was setting up the mini laptop on the vanity, I noticed that there were some books available to read. Some not so well-known, like Houses of Stone, by Barbara Michaels. As light as it sounds, I will have to pass, in favor of the book right next to it:

Volume IX of the Encyclopedia Brittanica Great Books, Aristotle II.

Courtesy of Matthew Was Prey.

During my senior year in high school, our *ahem* petite virago known as our English V teacher was a devout follower of Mortimer J. Adler, who collected the works of influential writers into volumes called The Great Books. A philosopher and educator, he was most famous for his writings geared in layman’s terms. He claimed to write for people, not for academics, since they always wrote to each other. He also came up with the concept of The Great Ideas, words defined by the individual, such as “Beauty”, “Truth”, and ironically, “Idea”. Our English teacher was very adamant that we learn the concepts. Several exams can attest to that!

I never got around to reading the second volume of Aristotle’s works. I always meant to, but Life got in the way. And Fate, being the finicky weaver she is, has decided that I must finish what I started. It is no coincidence that this volume contains Politica and Rhetorica.

Who says I don’t love a little light reading?? 😉

Gutterballs

Our first day at the lake, I was greeted with a beautiful sunrise, waves lapping gently against the rocks, and herons flying overhead. The morning was tranquil, and made perfect by my cup of coffee.

But good things don’t last forever, and so we woke the kids and asked them what they would like to do on such a beautiful day.

BOWLING!!

Uh, ok. We drove 250 miles and rented a condo ON the lake so that we could do…. what we can do at home. But the point of vacation is to have fun, and so we headed out to the bowling alley. And I must admit, it sure was fun. I had a record-breaking 42 gutterballs in three games. But I also scored some pins, and apparently I was very creative about it.

Son: (after I scored ONE pin) Hey, Mom! Now if you score another pin, and then score two, and then score three, and then score five, you’ll be on your way to doing the Fibonacci Sequence!

Me: So, my plan to establish a pattern is working.

Son: Yep.

Me: Uh huh.

Hey, it was a great excuse to explain my lack of prowess 😉

5,000th COMMENT!!

And the dubious honor goes to….

XBRADTC!!!

And he wins with possibly the best comment ever:

Some days, I pure hate you.

And some days, I feel the love!!! 😉

Yes, I know that’s not his actual avatar, but it’s bigger and prettier and way cooler.

I’m just sorry I don’t have any more brownies for a prize 😉

Craving Denied

My day started off at the social-site-with-faces, where a friend posted a status about loving all her friends. She is a sweet woman, and a wonderful cook, and I miss her SO MUCH because she had a catering business here, but she went and moved to Virginia leaving me prostrate with grief and no, I don’t mean like the male gland, ok?? Anyway, she posted that and I felt obliged to respond:

Friend: I LOVE YOU ALL!!! ♥

Me: I ♥ you so much that when I see a tres leches cake, I yell at it and call it an impostor.

Friend: HAHAHAAA! Lord, how I miss you!!!!! ♥

Me: I think I am banned from several bakeries, too.

So now I want a slice or five of tres leches cake, and she made the best, and I am grieving because FINALLY I have an appetite and I can’t have the bestest cake evah.

Deliciousness courtesy of Narima’s Cuisine

Look at it. Just look at it!!! I think I gained two pounds and a cavity just looking. Oh, how I miss you, my friend.

And you too, Narima 😉