HAPPY EASTER!

Happy Easter, dear friends.

Celebrate. Our faith hinges on this singular day in history. He lives.

They have mastered the fusion technology!

Yes, they have fused broccoli and cauliflower. The package says it tastes more like Broccoli. It looks like radioactive cauliflower. I didn't buy it, but I am tempted to...just to see what it's like. I like both broccoli and cauliflower. Maybe I'd really enjoy this?

new book of the month

My new years resolution was to read at least one book per month that I had never read before, that was written for adults.

January I read Wee Free Men by Terry Pratchett. It was okay, but not as good as people said it was. I would (and most likely will) read something else by Pratchett, but would probably not reread this one.

February I read The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. I had heard his books were great, and I did enjoy The Eyre Affair. I think it moves slowly, though, and that may turn some people off. It is written for well read people and I appreciated that. I liked the literary references and I loved the universe he created where literary characters and real people can interact off the pages.

This month I read The Big Over Easy, also by Jasper Fforde. He wrote two series, one centered around a LiteraTec named Thursday Next (the Eyre Affair is in that series) and one centered around "Nursery Crimes" (crimes taking place against/because of nursery rhyme characters). This book is in the Nursery Crime series. I really liked this book. I liked it more than the Thursday Next book, and when I grab another Fforde book, it will be the next book in this series. It was funny, moved faster and felt lighter.

April's book is undecided as of yet. I've thought about another Pratchett book, or the next Nursery Crime book. But, I wonder if I should find other authors to enjoy. Although that was not the point of the resolution. The natural course of reading tends to be that you find an author or series you like and you read them. So why would I feel guilty if I read Fforde books each month? It is still a book I've never read. Does it defeat the point? I'm not sure.

productive Saturday

Donald's car has been giving us lots of fits, and since it is a 1987, we weren't really thrilled about pouring money into it. But the cavalier won't be paid off until later this year, so we cannot buy him a new(er) car right now. We can share a car and he can take the bus, with the exception of between school and work (he'd have to leave class so early to get across town on the bus that he'd have to drop the class). Having wonderful friends who were willing to drive him for 4 days helped us out a lot, but it is not a permanent solution. So we were stuck.

Enter Jim, a co-worker of mine, who is retiring in a year to move to Costa Rica and is currently selling off EVERYTHING he owns, house, cars, furniture, etc. (As he puts it, the only thing NOT for sale is his 17 year old daughter.) Jim has a red and silver scooter he bought last May to drive in the summer to save gas. He put 398 miles on it. He was listing it for sale this spring, asking $850.00.

I asked him last week at school if he'd sell it to us, and he said he would sell it to me for $700.00. He said we could even do three payments of 200, 200, and 300 (or something reasonably similar). So, I took Donald over there today to look at it, drive it and see if we were interested. Donald drove it around his neighborhood and enjoyed it enough to buy it. So, we put money in Jim's hand and brought it home.

Donald is very happy with his new scooter and it will at least solve our car trouble problems until later this year, when it may be feasible to get Donald a car in the fall.

In addition to the scooter purchase, we also hit Entertainmart's 2.99-3.99 movie sale and picked up some DVD's from our wish list for really cheap.

Good day.

found a fault

I dislike that I do not have the option to make a private post here. Sometimes I need to write something that just isn't everyone's to read.

Ah, well. Back to my leather bound paper journal for this one.

Shelfari

I got a bookshelf for my blog! You can see some of my favorite books on it. You should get one for your blog!

(There, that's my attempt at sounding like a corporate sponsored sell-out. Really, though, I just like books.)

SPRING BREAK

HA! It's monday morning and I was in bed until 9:30! That's what I love about Spring Break...no alarm clocks. Some day, when I'm not working, I will live an alarm free existence. I would love that so very much.

Tonight is Monday Night Dinner. Pork chops, colcannon and macaroni.

Sometime this week, I have plans to walk at the nature center (this will require a day without lightening, unlike today), dye Easter Eggs, go with Hillery to get her children shoes and photographs taken, and spend Easter Sunday at Hannabelle's house.

Spring Break will be fun and filled with friends and activities I don't always have time for.

soup

By the way, you can't pick up soup with your hands.

this week

Tomorrow I take my class to Dixie Stampede. Should be...an adventure.

Today, we hunted Easter Eggs, ate doughnuts and made monkey bread.

Yesterday, we dyed Easter Eggs.

Monday we made string egg baskets, which turned out totally adorable. (In fact, Hillery, I like them so much, Gabbie and Davy will be receiving one for Easter.)

Friday we have an Easter Assembly.

Basically...crazy, insane, tiring week...but worth it.

definition of temptation

Making one of your favorite childhood meals, knowing you cannot have even a single bite because it is being made to give away.

Come on down???

Donald left a "Biohazard Kit" on our table. I'm curious as to what "biohazard event" this kit is meant to help with.

The contents are:
a golf pencil (2 inches, no eraser...to stab someone with?)
roll on deodorant (cause fighting biohazards makes you sweat?)
a rubber band (in case McGuyver is around and can make a spaceship out of it?)
Tetley Green Tea Bags (magic potion?)
Nature Mint Fluoride toothpaste (but no toothbrush...)
a black plastic comb
AND...
"Bob Barker" brand soap (who knew Bob Barker had a soap brand?)

*Update*
This was Donald's parting gift from Lakeland...what happened to a nice fruit basket?

Juno

Last night, I was bored. So after Hillery got her kids to bed, we went to see Juno. (I thought I should see if I liked Ellen Page as an actress.) I did not have the highest of hopes, as I usually do not really like oscar contenders. I won't talk about the plot here, so I do not spoil it for anyone else.

I really liked the movie. It was funny, but serious in places and felt real.

Ellen Page was charming and sarcastic in the best way possible.

I want to see this again, it could possibly break into my top movie picks, especially of recent years.

my new girl crush

For the last 2 years or so, my "girl crush" has been Sienna Miller. She has reprehensible morals, I know, but I still find her completely adorable. It's the freckles.

However...in the past few days, my eye has wandered (sorry, Sienna!). I have a new girl crush.

Ellen Page. Now, I have not seen Juno, her Oscar nominated movie. I've never seen anything she's been in. But in interviews, pictures and on the Oscars, she was so cute!

I still think Sienna is wonderfully attractive, but she's been replaced.

(Girl crush, for the curious, is when you think a chick is so dang cute you have to look at her every time she is on screen/in pictures. It is NOT sexual in any way.)

I never pick the "beautiful, hot, sexy" girls as my girl crush, it is always the "girl next door/cute" type. I wonder what that says about me?

GRRRRR.

Why do we keep EVERYTHING??????

You never realize just how much crap you have until you have to wade through it on the spur of the moment looking for a document your husband needs by tomorrow and does not know when he last saw.

I've now looked for 2.5 hours and still, no luck.

If I cannot find it, I am not sure what that means for his new job, as they are the ones who want it by tomorrow.

So...if anyone happens to get a divine vision of where I can look next, call me, ok?

Update:
I have now spent 6.5 hours looking for it. I never found it. I think it is gone.
It is now 10:00. I am going to bed.
Mission failed.

surprised?

Tonight, Donald informed me that after 6 years together, I still surprise him. (He said this in reference to a song I said I liked.)

I am glad I am not a completely predictable person to him yet.

mint musketeers

Okay, so three muskateers came out with a mint and dark chocolate bar a month or two ago. The commercials looked really, really good. I kept saying "I want to try that!" But, everytime I was at a store I looked and no one had it. Last night, at a gas station, Donald found one and bought it for me.

Well...the month I spent desiring it was wasted.

They suck.

YAY!!!

Donald got a new job! He's finally getting out of Lakeland, 4 years after he decided he wanted out. Long road, but it's over now (well, after 2 weeks, because he gave his notice today).

He gets to work as a computer help tech. He's happy to work in the field he is studying in.

He starts training march 3rd.

I am baking him brownies and writing "Congratulations! I am so proud of you." on them in frosting right now. I was not sure what you do to congratulate men, since they aren't all that into flowers.

A date with Gabbie

Gabbie was sad that my birthday did not involve roller skating or eating out this year. She was also sad that she did not get to come to my party. Hillery consoled her by telling her I would do something with her alone this week. So, last night, I had a date with Gabbie.

I called to ask her to go out with me and she was excited to say yes. I asked what we should eat and she said Umi. I said that was not in the budget! She said Incredible Pizza, so I suggested Cici's (cheaper and does not make me want to have a seizure!) She said yes, so away we went!

As we ate, Gabbie said, "Aunt Amber, we are just alike! We both don't eat the crust!"

We finished our pizza and went to look at the deserts. Gabbie was shocked at the idea of a buffet not having an ice cream machine (and secretly, I totally agree with her).

So, we hoofed across the parking lot to Hanna Banana's, where she got a huge ice cream cone and ate the whole thing!

She got chocolate, of course, because she's a girl! Despite the dripping and ice cream running down her hands and chin, she was determined to not waste a drop. We went through a ton of napkins, because every few bites, she exclaimed "This is freezing my face!" and I would have to wipe her off.

She was quite amused with her chocolate beard and moustache. She kept standing up to admire it in the mirror.

A date with Gabbie, part 2

However much she liked the mirror, she did get tired of sitting still and decided to play hopscotch on the checkered floor in between bites. Some college girls were in the store, laughing at her, which only served to make her ham it up more. She is totally aware of the power her cuteness has to captivate audiences!





While we were eating our pizza, she told me about preschool and her friends. She talked about a little girl with "beautiful fingernails" that her mommy paints pictures on with a fingernail kit. I heard her desire to have those "beautiful fingernails" and asked if she'd like to get her nails painted at a nail salon. "Oh, YES!" she exclaimed, so after our ice cream we headed to the mall. She made me close my eyes when we walked in so she could "show me a surprise." Talk about a lesson in trust, walking through a mall of people with my eyes closed, led by a 5 year old saying, "turn here," go up the ramp" and "hold on to the rail." But, I did. She finally said "Okay! Open your eyes." I did and we were in front of Claire's! She said "This is the store that sells beautiful earrings and bags! What's it called?" Such a girl.

We went into ProNail and asked them to polish her nails. The man told her to pick a color off the wall, and she picked the brightest neon pink she could find...wanting to tone that down a bit, I found a coral pink with shimmer and said, "Look, this one has little sparkles!" and (thankfully) she said she liked it better and wanted it. We handed it to the man and he manicured her nails. She grinned the whole time.

I was so upset at myself as we left and I realized that I did not take any pictures of her getting her first manicure! So, when we got to her house, I told her I wanted a picture of her nails. She told me "Wait! I want a movie star picture with my Dora scarf and old sunglasses!"



This is "Movie Star Gabbie." For me, this is what childhood should be! She felt beautiful and glamourous and loved this picture when I showed it to her.












She then let me get a shot of her nails.










When she got her manicure, the man polishing her nails asked, "How old are you?" She told him she was five. He said "Wow, you have been so good and sat so still, I will paint you a free flower." He painted a little white flower on each thumbnail and she was over the moon! She had pictures on her nails!

She said "I am going to show this to EVERYONE at preschool tomorrow!"

He sat her with her nails under the drying fans and told her she had to stay still for 5 minutes. She did great, and sat totally still. We paid our five dollars and headed home.

You can't really see the gold shimmer dust in the polish in these pictures, but it really is sparkly.

I had a great Gabbie date. I went on a Gabbie date for my birthday last year, and had not done it since. I need to do it more often. It always makes me feel happy. She's so funny and sweet. Someday, when Davy can handle being away from Mommy for over 3 minutes I will need to plan some boy-centric Davy dates, too.

I look forward to that. I love these babies. I'm blessed beyond words to be their "Aunt Amber/Meemer."

birthday party

I had a good birthday. I had good food and great friends. That's a sure fire bet to a good night for me.

My cupcakes from Hillery were really good! And, despite not having bacon grease, my fried potatoes were pretty good, too. I enjoyed my cabbage rolls, though not my favorite cabbage rolls ever. I want to experiment a bit to find a recipe I really love.

I got sweet, thoughtful gifts that show my friends know me.

I'm another year older. For a whole 'nother year. If you're the praying type, pray 28 is the year I get a baby.