Kids Play the Darndest Things

It's always funny seeing what "games" the boys will come up with to play. Of course there are the regular things like Hot Wheels, Legos, K'Nex, and board games, but then there are the things their imaginations bring to life.

They got their first Webkinz at Christmas and have collected a total of nine since. They aren't toys; they are their "friends", complete with names, birthdays, preferences - and voices, which can get really annoying. They played all sorts of things with their "friends". Then they started watching episodes of Unbeatable Banzuke, a Japanese game show where contestants had to race through various obstacle courses. Now their "friends" are the contestants as they watch the show, which leads to arguments over whose Webkin gets to play, whose Webkin should have won, whose Webkin gets to win all the time, etc.

I thought nine Webkinz were enough "friends", but then Jacob found a box full of Beanie Babies from who-knows-how-long-ago. Their "friend" count has climbed dramatically! I have no idea how many Beanie Babies were in that box, but now they pull them out daily and line them up for miles on the floor. I'll hear "One potato, two potato, three potato, four;..." as they determine who is "out" and who will "play" whatever obstacle course or other game they've come up with for the time being.

Not long ago, they discovered the weekly sale papers. I don't know what the fascination is with them, but they collect a week's worth and study them. They even take them to bed for reading material. Then when we go grocery shopping, they'll suddenly say, "That's on sale at (insert correct store here)!" Yeah, it was a month ago! Jacob doesn't want to throw any of them away, and I have issued an edict that they can't have new ones until the old ones are gone. I ended up getting rid of the old ratty ones last week, and they happily took the new ones that I wasn't in need of. They did beg for the Albertson's paper when I finished it, even though it had big green circles marking what I had put on my list.

Last week, Caleb got out the big box of scrap paper they use for drawing on and began drawing sections of the interstate, complete with cars, trucks, and semis, construction zones, numbered exits, and fast food restaurants and gas stations. Oh, and state lines, too. After he draws each section, he'll line them up end to end, determining where curves need to be to keep from running into a wall or under the table. Once Jacob started helping with drawing more roads, the "interstate" quickly doubled. They've amassed quite a stack of paper, and when they lay them end to end, there's up no room to walk in the playroom. That's fine with them, though. They get down in between pages and drive their Hot Wheels - their Webkinz' cars - across the pages, taking road trips only kids can imagine.

Now the Olympics are on. Can you guess what they're doing?

Beach volleyball is perfect since there are two players and two of them. Of course they're always the US team. They'll stand in front of the TV, jumping and throwing their hands in the air, making every move the athletes do. I think Jacob's favorite part is taking a dive on the sand (carpet). When they watch water polo, they act like they're splashing around and hitting the ball. Sometimes they let their Webkinz play.

But when gymnastics or swimming comes on, they sit spellbound, unable to imitate what they're seeing because they're so amazed by it. And they're impressed with all the muscles. (Caleb thinks he has a six-pack. *chuckle*)

All this reminds me of when Melissa and Lindsay were little. They would always act out favorite movies they'd watched a million times, and Melissa would always take first pick of characters: "I'll be Nadia and you be..." or "I'll be baby Jessica (who fell down the well in Midland, TX) and you be..." or "I'll be Annie and you be Miss Hannigan." (Notice she always took the starring role... Lindsay never thought it was fair, but Melissa never cared about that.)

I wonder what those boys will think of next.

Homebodies

Since I've been on Facebook, it's been fun seeing what everyone is up to at any time of the day. I've noticed, however, that on weekends, several of my friends and their families are busy running around town, going here and there, seeing sights, etc. We, on the other hand, stay home.

I look forward to Saturdays because I don't have to go anywhere or do anything. I can stay home and do nothing - or everything, depending on what doesn't get done during the week. Billy looks forward to having a relaxing day at home, and the boys enjoy spending the day playing on the computer, building with Legos, reading books, watching movies, etc. It's kind of the same as a "stay-home-day" during the summer, just with Dad home.

We aren't fuddy-duddies. We just prefer to stay in the quiet comfort of our own home and not fight crowds - or heat! Now I just need to get off my duff and invite some of our "jet-setting' friends over for an afternoon of fun...

Real Moms

I just finished reading Real Moms: Exploding the Myths of Motherhood, by Elisa Morgan and Carol Kuykendall. At times, I felt the authors were speaking directly to me! Here are a few "real mom" statements sprinkled throughout the book that I connected with.

"A real mom . . ."

" . . . picks her kids' noses." Yes, I do that on occasion.

" . . . puts dirty socks on her kids when the clean ones run out." Sometimes you just can't keep up with all the laundry.

" . . . really likes to sleep, but when that sick or scared-from-a-nightmare child only wants Mommy, deep down she really likes that too." Thankfully those nights aren't very often, and I like them even better when I can go right back to sleep.

" . . . sometimes gets tired, frustrated, and mad at her kids."

" . . . fusses at her kids a good part of the day, then lingers over them as they sleep."

" . . . sometimes has bad days (or weeks)."

" . . . always loves her kids . . . she just doesn't always like them."

" . . . thinks that occasionally the television makes a wonderful babysitter."

" . . . shoves all the dirty dishes in the oven when an unexpected friend arrives." The dishwasher works great for hiding those things I haven't gotten to yet.

" . . . smiles at her little angels as she passes someone else's screaming brats in the grocery store - and knows she shouldn't." Yeah, this usually happens the other way around for us.

" . . . uses real plates when entertaining guests. But lots of times the family gets paper plates." They're in the pantry, second shelf, to the left.

" . . . hardly ever gets all the laundry folded and put away. She just grabs wrinkled shirts from the pile."

" . . . knows that childhood passes so quickly - but not quick enough some days." Grocery days!

Here are a few I came up with on my own:
*A real mom sometimes falls asleep while reading to her children and makes up nonsense words in the process.
*A real mom makes her children take swimming lessons, whether they want to or not. And she makes them go underwater to get used to it.
*A real mom wraps up an uneaten lunch and serves it again instead of an afternoon snack.
*A real mom makes sandwiches for lunch a little more fun by cutting them differently to make two houses. Sometimes she makes a window in each one to make sure they taste good. :o)

I'm sure I can come up with more, given a little more time. :o)

Got some "real mom" thoughts to share? I'm sure I can relate!

Bribery or Threats?

Jacob had his first swimming lesson today. He got his feet wet. That's all. He spent the whole 35 minutes of his lesson sitting at the edge of the pool watching everyone else. He was the only one who didn't get in.

His instructor tried to talk him into getting in the water, but he made several excuses why he couldn't. Later the pool supervisor sat by him and talked with him, trying her best to get him to go in. No deal. She said they'll try again tomorrow.

I wasn't so concerned with it today because the instructors were focused on gauging what each child is able to do. (They now know Jacob is reluctant, and that's putting it mildly.) Tomorrow they'll be put into equal ability groups so the instructors and children can have an easier time with the lessons.

Caleb, on the other hand, did super! He was excited to get in the pool and eagerly showed his instructor his bobs. He did the front float and glide. He's still nervous about floating on his back, though. He just won't relax enough to stay up. He keeps lifting his head up, so maybe he doesn't like having his ears under the water. Tomorrow I'll tell him to keep his ears under and find out what things he can hear under there.

But what can I do to get Jacob in the pool? I'm not above bribing him. He wanted to play on the playground after today's lessons. I told him no, but if he'll get in the pool tomorrow - and stay in the whole time - he can play on the playground AND we'll get a treat from Sonic on the way home. I've also told him that if he does well with swimming lessons, we'll get him a special toy. I'm ready to promise a black cat Webkin just like Caleb's!

I'm also not above threatening him. I paid $41 for his lessons and I don't want it to be wasted on his sitting on the edge for two weeks. If he doesn't get in the water by Wednesday or Thursday, I'm going to be really tempted to go through the gate and put him in the water myself! (There's a chain link fence around the pool, and only the lifeguard instructors and students are allowed inside during lesson times.)

Jacob is very strong-willed, so I'm not sure what's going to work. Any suggestions?

San Antonio: Sea World

Good news: We made it to Sea World!

Bad news: We got there over an hour after the park opened. Closing time: 6:00 p.m.

Good news: Daddy had pre-purchased tickets online, so we didn't have to wait in line to get ours. We were able to go right through the turnstile.

Bad news: Instead of planning our day around the shows we wanted to see, we just went here and there willy-nilly and ended up missing out on a few shows and exhibits.

Good news: In spite of all that, we had a blast! I'm ready to go back!

In a nutshell:
1. The Budweiser Clydesdales are beautiful! And HUGE!

2. We fed the dolphins some fish and tried our best to pet them, but they were just always out of reach. I think maybe Melissa got to touch one. I couldn't lean across the wall very far because my purse would've gone splashing into the tank, and I didn't want to set it down and risk losing it or getting it wet. Otherwise I think I would've been able to reach one. Maybe next time...

3. Shamu's show Believe was good, but not as great as the show I remember seeing as a child. I really wanted to see the trainers swim with the orcas. Still it was good seeing how the whales and their trainers interacted.

4. Rio Loco is great! We all got soaked at the waterfall. Luckily we had enough foresight to rent a locker to stash our stuff so it would be nice and dry. It was the boys' first theme park ride and they loved it. Jacob was scared to get on at first and was fighting me when it was time to get in our raft, but my dad picked him up and he settled right down. In the end, though, he wanted to ride again.

5. Daddy made friends with a macaw, who bobbed up and down every time he shook out his wet handkerchief.

6. We all liked Viva! better than Believe. Dolphins and belugas jumped and did flips while divers dove from scary heights and acrobats performed on wires and rings above the water. A diving clown also provided some comic relief.

7. There were a lot of places to choose our lunch, but we didn't want to venture halfway across the park to find something. We found something near where we were and really enjoyed our food. The boys got kids' meals in plastic Shamu lunch boxes, but they didn't eat much because of all the excitement. Daddy got a tasty-looking Caesar salad with grilled chicken. The rest of us got "healthy" bacon cheeseburgers and fries. Mmmmmm-mmmm good! We had some watermelon slices for a fresh, cool dessert.

8. The boys had a lot of fun playing at Shamu's Happy Harbor. There was a huge rope net for climbing, all sorts of tunnels and bridges and slides, a ship, some sandboxes, and several scaled-down versions of adult rides. The boys rode their first roller coaster - Shamu Express - and Caleb was hooked. He also liked riding the Paint Mixer with my dad. He loves anything that spins really fast! Jacob's favorite ride was one that went up and down really fast. They spent a long time playing at the harbor with my parents in tow.

9. While the boys played at the harbor, my sisters and I went to ride The Great White: "Texas' first inverted steel roller coaster! You'll dangle your legs from ski-lift-style seats and go heels-over-head five times during more than 2,500 feet of breathtaking loops, corkscrews and other thrilling maneuvers at speeds of almost 50 mph!" I was nervous at first because I can't remember the last time I rode a coaster. But it was so much fun, we ended up riding three times in a row. After our last time, we thought we knew what "shaken baby syndrome" feels like.

10. Melissa went back to Shamu's Happy Harbor while Lindsay and I went through the penguin exhibit. It was really cool and colorful inside, but the smell wasn't that great.

11. We were running out of time, so after the boys finished riding a few more rides and climbing the nets, we headed back toward the entrance/exit to visit the shark aquarium and the coral reef. It was really relaxing being inside the coolness again, and we got to see all sorts of fish. One of the medium-sized fish had a large chunk bitten out of its back. We saw another one with a similar-looking scar. Guess they don't feed their sharks enough... :o)

12. Almost as an afterthought, we realized we needed to find a souvenir shop. The boys had seen stuffed Shamus and each wanted one. I wanted to find some T-shirts for us. Then I remembered I wanted to get some playing cards. We had to go to three different shops before we found those! (My mom and sisters and I collect playing cards. Comes in really handy for playing Nerts, where everyone needs a different-looking deck. It also makes it easy to sort out the cards after a game of Nines.)

We left just as the park was closing at 6:00 p.m. The next day, it was going to start staying open until 8:00 p.m. We could've really used those extra two hours, but we were exhausted. Our clothes had dried out and the boys were getting a little grumpy. And we were getting really hot.

After we got back to the hotel, we went for a dip in the pool, then went out to Chick-Fil-A for supper. (We found it this time.) After we got back from there, we all got together for a short game of Nines before heading to bed.

Enjoy these pictures of our Sea World adventure.

San Antonio: Downtown

Wednesday morning we had breakfast at McDonald's, then headed downtown for the day. We found a good spot in a parking garage near the River Center Mall and hoofed it around downtown most of the day.

Our first stop was a boat tour of the San Antonio River - right in the middle of town. (See the slide show below for more pics from the day.) It was really beautiful, the ride was relaxing, and our tour guide was pretty humorous. Lindsay had been on this tour a few months earlier and she told us a few of the jokes the guide was likely to make. She was right. At one point on the tour, our guide asked if anyone had had a birthday recently - either the week before, the current week, or the next week. We all pointed to Daddy and the guide asked him his name. "Daddy!" he replied. The guide and all the other tourists on the boat got a kick out of that. Then the guide said, "No, what's your name really? We can't all sing "Happy Birthday, Daddy". That would be weird." So Daddy told him his name and we all sang happy birthday to him. He was quite embarrassed. Then the guide started asking about recent or upcoming anniversaries. Mama's & Daddy's had been the week before, so he congratulated them on their 40 years together.

After the boat ride, we walked through the mall headed for the Alamo. As we came off an escalator onto an upper floor, we had to pass by several kiosks. One guy on the end was watching everyone come off the escalator. He eyed us one by one, then he did a double-take and his eyes lit up when he saw me. He started asking me a question, but I couldn't hear him and shook my head no. Melissa turned around and told me that he wanted to straighten my hair. When I looked back, I saw he had a kiosk full of flat irons. I then caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror. The wind blew through my hair a lot on the boat ride and it had really fluffed out. My hair looked Texas big. And of course it's really curly. I laughed at the thought of that guy spending two hours straightening my hair, because there's no way I'd let him do just one little lock of it. (Mama and Lindsay once took turns straightening my hair. It took at least two hours - and you can believe I left it like that for a day or two.) There's no way that guy would've been able to sell me a flat iron. Yes, sometimes I'd really like to have straight hair, but I also really like what I have. And anyway, I've got better things to do than spend a couple of hours trying to straighten out what God has chosen to curl.

We finally made it to the Alamo. It's weird, this old historical site right smack-dab in the middle of downtown. The buildings around the Alamo are really picturesque. And the landscaping around them is very beautiful. Relaxing. Our Alamo tour was short; the boys weren't interested in it. I tried to tell Caleb some about the battle there, but I realized I didn't know that much about it. I'm not up on my Texas history...

By now, it was after noon and the boys were hungry. We made our way back through town and along the river to Casa Rio, where we sat under a bridge along the river and had lunch. There were several ducks in the water and the boys were having fun feeding them chips. Shortly after we were seated, a tour boat cruised by. It wasn't our tour guide, but we started watching for him. Daddy had the idea to yell out, "Hey, it's Daddy!" whenever he saw him. Before too much longer, his boat came by. He saw Daddy first and yelled and waved. Daddy waved back and said, "It's Daddy!" The tour guide laughed and turned to explain the joke to his passengers. Before we finished eating, he came back by again and did the same thing.

While we were eating, we noticed some people at the table next to us who looked like they belonged to Warren Jeffs' polygamist cult from Eldorado, TX. The women and girls had the elaborate braids and rolls and sweeps of hair, and their dresses were long with long sleeves that buttoned along the wrist and big, square collars. Some of the other ladies were dressed in a more contemporary style, and one was even wearing something casual like jeans or capris. Maybe some were from the sect and the others were more mainstream LDS they had been placed with... The children were standing near the railing next to Daddy's chair. I guess they were too close to Caleb and Jacob because one of the ladies sternly told the girls to move away. Later Lindsay was taking pictures of Mama and Daddy across the table. The same lady who had scolded the little girls rudely asked Lindsay who she was taking pictures of. When she said she was taking pictures of Mama and Daddy, the lady looked at her as if to say, "Yeah, right." Lindsay offered to let her see the pictures, but she just shook her head. A few minutes later, she was standing at the railing by the little girls, ordering some people across the river to stop taking pictures. I think she even stuck her hands in front of the girls' faces to keep them from being photographed. They left the restaurant the same time we did, but they hung back to talk in small groups. Once we got on the other side of the river, Melissa took Lindsay's camera and deliberately photographed them.

We strolled along the river back to the mall and the parking garage, then drove a few blocks away to the San Antonio Children's Museum. We probably would have been better off leaving our car in the first parking garage because we ended up walking several blocks from our second parking garage to the museum. At first it didn't look like much. But as you went from one level to the next and wound your way along the paths, there were several fun things that all of us enjoyed. One highlight was the pin wall. We took turns pressing our hands and faces through and watching everyone's profiles appear. Another fun thing was playing the blue screen drums. You would stand in front of a blue screen while your image was captured on camera. Then a variety of drums would appear on the monitor. To play the drums, you'd have to reach and stretch and contort all sorts of ways. Daddy took a really great video of Melissa and Lindsay doing this. I have a copy of it, but I promised not to post it online. If you're ever in the vicinity of my computer, I'd love to show it to you, though! :o)

We were exhausted when we got back to the hotel, and the pool looked really inviting. When we went out, there were only 2 people there. After about 15 or 20 minutes, about 10 or so more people (mostly kids) came out. Thankfully they didn't do too much splashing and we were able to enjoy ourselves. Later we changed clothes and headed out for supper.

Melissa and Lindsay decided to stay at the hotel. Melissa had leftovers from lunch the day before (Mmmmm... Schlotzsky's), but Lindsay wanted us to bring something back for her. We sat in the hotel parking lot and decided where we wanted to eat. I called Lindsay on her cell phone to get her order while Daddy programmed Chick-Fil-A into his GPS, then off we went. Unfortunately there was construction and we missed the road. In order to go back, we would have to cross over the interstate, drive way back the other way, cross over again, and come back - hopefully not missing the road again. We decided to find a Burger King instead. I called Lindsay back on her cell phone while Daddy programmed Burger King into his GPS, then off we went. "Lori", as his GPS is affectionately known, had us going in circles. "Turn right." "Turn right." "Turn right." "Turn right." Again and again. I thought of the GPS jokes I've heard on a few sitcoms and couldn't help but start laughing. Finally we got out of the loop and found a Wendy's. I called Lindsay on her cell phone to get order, laughing because of our predicament. I assured her we were getting food from Wendy's because we had actually found one and were sitting in the parking lot.

The trip back to the hotel was a whole lot shorter than the trip out! We didn't realize how close we were. I got the boys in our room and ready for bed. I set a time limit and if they were all ready for bed before time ran out, I promised to play a game of Nines with them. They love that game! We all crashed shortly after.

Here are some pictures from our downtown adventures.

San Antonio: Visiting Family

We were in a bit of a rush after leaving Natural Bridge Caverns. We still had to get to San Antonio and check into our hotel before visiting some of Mama's cousins at their home. They had invited us for a Mexican dinner and swimming at 5:30, but we were running a bit late.

Around 6:00, we pulled up to their Spanish-style house. It's very unique; I wish I had thought to take a picture. I think the front door was like a huge piece of textured, amber-colored glass, with a wood frame around the edges. Off to the right was an enclosed courtyard with a lot of Spanish tile accents. The inside of the house was really pretty. It was very spacious and had ceramic tile floors. The backyard had a pool with a diving board and a cabana.


C. E. (Mama's first cousin) and his wife Mary have lived there for over 30 years. (When I first saw C. E., I was struck by how much he looked like my grandfather, his uncle.) Their daughter Katherine and two of her children, Jack (now 7) and Willie (4 months), were there to meet us. (Their son Keith - one of my Facebook friends - is a missionary dentist in Liberia. He and his wife have two daughters and an adopted son from Liberia.) C. E.'s sister Margie and her husband Marshall were there, too.

After greetings and introductions, we snacked on some chips and salsa, then the boys headed out to the pool with Jack, who swims like a fish! Caleb was really impressed with Jack's swimming skills - cannonballs, dives, etc. He braved the water in his floaties and eventually got comfortable enough to venture into the deep end of the pool. Jacob jumped into the shallow water with his floaties on, went under and came back up, then proceeded to get out of the pool for the rest of the evening. He spent all his time sitting on the side, splashing anyone within reach. He wasn't thrilled about getting splashed back.

Supper was great! There were two kinds of salad, Spanish rice, beans, and an enchilada casserole. For dessert, there were some of the best brownies I've ever eaten. Margie told us she used a box mix and added Ghirardelli chocolate chips. Yum! Oh, and there was some homemade orange sherbet, which was also really good. We ate entirely too much!

We sat around the table and visited until Katherine and her boys left. Then Lindsay and I went into the pool with Caleb. We took turns splashing Jacob (who was firmly perched on the side of the pool) and getting splashed back. We had "noodle wars" with the pool noodles, blowing water at each other (and at Jacob) through them. The boys were impressed that Lindsay and I could dive off the diving board and swim underwater. We stayed in the pool until nearly 9:00, then changed into dry clothes for the drive back to the hotel.

C. E. had hurt his back earlier on a deep-sea fishing expedition and was going into the hospital the next morning to have some sort of procedure done. There were some problems and he ended up not having the surgery until that afternoon. A few days later, he was still in a lot of pain. Mama called me Thursday evening to let me know that he had been taken back to the hospital because his organs were shutting down. They did a bone marrow test and confirmed that his cancer had returned after five years of remission. It was all through his body. He was put on morphine to ease the pain while his family gathered. Keith and his family got in Saturday night. C. E. died early this afternoon. They said he didn't know Keith was there, but I have a feeling he did.

San Antonio: Natural Bridge Caverns

On our way into San Antonio, we stopped off to tour Natural Bridge Caverns. This was an educational experience for Caleb; he had learned about caves earlier this year in earth science. He really enjoyed getting to see firsthand some of the things we had only read about.

We didn't have to wait long for the next tour after getting our tickets. Seven minutes later, we were headed down a steep ramp to the mouth of the cave. Once there, our guide told us about the history of the cave and gave instructions about walking through it. We thought we were going to enjoy a cool 70-degree walk in the dark, but the cave has a 99% humidity level and we were sweating in no time.

There were several large rooms inside the cave, as well as many steep, narrow passages. The formations were beautiful. The pictures we took don't do them justice. There were a few water pools and streams running through the cave, but there wasn't much water in them since there hasn't been much rain lately. Last August, there had been so much rain that one of the tour rooms was two-thirds full of water. Tours during that time had to be diverted onto a higher path.

We didn't see any bats while we were there, but there was evidence that they had lived there at one time. Aside from the bat guano in at least two of the cave rooms, there were dark patches on the cave ceiling where the dirt and oils from their bodies had discolored the rock. No formations will grow there now.

There was also one lone fern growing in the cave. Apparently a spore had been taken in somehow, and 40 years ago, when the cave was being made ready for tourists, a light happened to be place near it. It provided just enough light for it to begin growing. It's not very big - or very pretty - but it's there.

Enjoy some of my favorite photos from Natural Bridge Caverns.

Memorable Monday!

Today I got to pet my most favorite animal in the world! And she ate from my hand, too!

My mom and sisters went with the boys and me to Fossil Rim in Glen Rose, TX, today to attend a homeschool event.

At 10:00, we loaded into the Fossil Rim tour bus with two other families and went down to a fossil pit to dig for two hours. It had been cloudy on our drive down, but once we got there, the skies were clear and the temps were climbing.

Thankfully we managed to find a small shady spot. I really wasn't sure what to look for at first, but once I found a few fossils, it was easy. A few I found just by standing there and looking at the ground! Each person was allowed to keep 4 fossils from all they found.

After searching for fossils for 2 hours, we rode the bus back to the overlook for a picnic and a little time to cool down in the shade. We enjoyed PB&J sandwiches (Mama had turkey or ham), string cheese, pretzel sticks, carrot sticks, orange slices, and chocolate chip cookies. Yum! While we rested, the boys played a little in a sand box, then Caleb and Melissa played tag in a rock garden.

At 1:00, we boarded the bus again for a guided tour of the wildlife center. This was by far our favorite part! We started out in the pasture with zebras, giraffes, and different types of deer and antelope. Another pasture was home to about 33 cheetahs. A third pasture held ostriches, white rhinos, and more deer and antelope. (Oh give me a home...) A fourth pasture held emus and more deer and antelope. We ended our guided tour with one last drive among the zebras and giraffes - and finally got to feed a giraffe from our hands! That was the perfect ending! (Jacob missed it. He was so tired from everything that he fell asleep on one of the bus seats.)

Foodies

My family is such a foodie family. I'm not talking about extended family, either - even though they are, too. I mean my own household.

Last Saturday, our small group from church came over. We always eat together and like to try to plan different things. This time we all brought a different salad. We ended up with an Italian pasta salad; a spinach salad with chicken, oranges, and slivered almonds; a fruit salad with strawberries, bananas, peaches, and pears; and Billy's BBQ Ranch chicken salad - and some garlic bread. Everything was delicious!

Caleb finally decided he'd try the chicken salad. He loved it! We had quite a bit left over, so he had a chicken salad sandwich for lunch Sunday. After Billy and I ate our fill of chicken salad sandwiches, there was still some left over. When I was seeing what the boys wanted to eat for supper last night (corn dogs, hot dogs, or sandwiches), Caleb quickly claimed the leftover chicken salad. Darn! There was too much for one sandwich, but not enough for two. He got the sandwich and I ate the last few bites. Halfway through his supper, he said, "We need to get Dad to make this more often!"

What other 8-year-old kid would rather have a chicken salad sandwich than the standard PB&J?!?

I'm so glad (and fortunate!) that the boys like to eat a wide variety of food. So many kids I know won't eat more than about 2 or 3 different things. Caleb and Jacob love standards like chicken strips or nuggets, pizza, spaghetti, and mac & cheese, but they also like salads, soups (even the broth kind we had at a Japanese restaurant), and a whole range of other foods. They love Mandarin chicken over either fried rice or lo mein. They love to go to Genghis Grill and choose their meats, veggies, and sauces to be cooked together and put over fried rice. They like to get soup to go with their sandwiches from Jason's Deli or Panera Bread. Jacob likes to get refried beans to go with his cheeseburger and fries at Posado's. And he eats them! They like both soft tacos and crunchy. And so on...

You gotta love it!

13 Places I've Visited

This is the first official "themed" Thursday Thirteen, which I like because so many times I can't come up with a topic. Other times I can come up with a topic, but not 13 things about it.

So to welcome the travel season - or at least the planning phase of it - here are 13 places I've visited (in no particular order).

1. Gatlinburg, TN
This is my absolute favorite place. I love the coolness of the Smoky Mountains, the strenuous mountain hikes, the roar of the waterfall at the end of the trail. I learned to ice skate at Ober Gatlinburg, and now I wish I had attempted the luge. I was too chicken last time I was there - over 10 years ago! It was Thanksgiving then, and things were beautiful! Snow had just fallen in the mountains as we were getting into them. The town was twinkling with Christmas lights. We ate Thanksgiving dinner at Ruby Tuesday because Ogle's Family Buffet was closed.

I first went there with my grandparents when I was a "tween" and another time or two as a teenager. I went with my parents and sisters when I was a freshman in college. Billy and I made a few trips out there after we were married. I'd love to go again, though I'm sure it has changed quite a bit.

2. Chattanooga, TN
Chattanooga is another place I love! When my grandparents took me the first time, I remember going to the Chattanooga Choo-Choo. Billy and I explored the trains and shops once when we were there.

Probably my two favorite things to do there are touring Ruby Falls and seeing Rock City, as many old barn roofs in the state encourage you to do.

3. Santa Fe, NM
This was our last big vacation together, 10 years ago this summer. It was also my first time out west. The drive through west TX was extremely boring, but Santa Fe was really pretty. I loved all the adobe construction. One of my favorite things was seeing and learning about the Miraculous Staircase at the Loretto Chapel.

We toured the Puye Cliff Dwellings and the Bandelier National Monument and went out to the San Ildefonso Pueblo to look at Maria Martinez' pottery. One afternoon we headed out to Los Alamos and visited the Bradbury Science Museum.

4. Carlsbad, NM
After leaving Santa Fe, we headed south to Carlsbad. Along the way, we came to a place where we could travel through Roswell or Alamogordo. Since neither Billy nor I are huge alien conspiracy fans, we opted to travel on to the White Sands National Monument. That was a really interesting stop, and the sand was beautiful, though blinding.

The drive into Carlsbad was long, but scenic. Not at all like I envisioned southeastern NM. Carlsbad Caverns were wonderful! I've always loved caves, and this one didn't disappoint. My favorite part, though, was watching the bat flight at sunset. I was amazed at how many bats live in the cave and fly out every night. I didn't think the last ones would ever get out! After a while, it looked like a column of smoke spiraling into the darkening sky.

5. Houston, TX
Billy and I took a long weekend trip here once. I remember the traffic was horrific! The two highlights were touring the USS Texas battleship and NASA's Johnson Space Center. They had various Apollo 13 movie memorabilia on display when we were there.

6. Destin, FL
It's been ages since I was here last! I guess maybe it was with my high school youth group? I went a few times as a teen with my parents and sisters, and maybe once with my grandparents. It's a typical beach town, from what I can remember. Condos and hotels, along with private residences and a few seafood restaurants, line the beaches. Across the highway, there are endless other restaurants, hotels, and tourist shops.

I remember one year when we drove into town, there was a shark-fishing tournament going on. There was a hammerhead shark hanging from a crane, but I don't know if it was real or just a tourist gimmick. I mainly remember being really intrigued by it; I've found sharks extremely interesting ever since I was a little girl.

I remember another time when I went there with my parents... We were driving into Fort Walton Beach, just minutes away from our "destin"ation, when Daddy got pulled over by the police. My sisters and I were immediately alert, watching and wondering what in the world was going on. The officer said he was speeding, but Daddy insisted he was driving with the flow of traffic. He was so mad about getting that ticket! He swore up and down (and probably still does) that it was only because he had an out-of-state license plate. According to the ticket, he was supposed to appear in court on whatever date, after we would've been back home. He said they'd be glad to get his money however it got there, so he mailed it instead. I don't think he's been back since... (Have you, Daddy?)

I'm not much of a beach person anymore. I used to love getting a tan. (Now I prefer to be pale all year long - not interested in skin cancer, thank you.) I also used to like to body surf. (After my last beach experience in Destin, I got stung across the back by a jellyfish. Two consecutive years when I went to the beach at South Padre Island in TX on mission trips, there was too much drama with rip tides and a life-saving human chain, a stingray, and a shark. I stayed out of the water on those trips and haven't been to the beach since.)

7. Orlando, FL
This is another place I've been to several times. On one trip there with my grandparents, my cousin Eric and I grumbled about it raining every day in the "Sunshine State". Still, we had fun at Walt Disney World, Sea World (where we ran into some friends!), and NASA's Kennedy Space Center. We also toured an alligator farm.

Several years later, Epcot opened and I got to go there with my parents and sisters. I don't remember going to the space center that year...

8. Washington, D.C.
I think this may have been one of the first trips my grandparents took me on. I must have been about 7 years old. I remember going up in the Washington Monument, walking along the reflection pool, walking around the Lincoln Memorial, seeing the Capitol and The White House, and touring the Smithsonian Institute.

9. Hot Springs, AR
I can't count the number of times I've been here. My grandparents took me several times, and Billy and I went there on our honeymoon. (We stayed at DeGray Lake.) You can read about our most recent Hot Springs trip here.

10. Eureka Springs, AR/Branson, MO
I went here with grandparents, with my church youth group, and with Billy (though we skipped out on Branson). I always loved looking for The Christ of the Ozarks from wherever I happened to be. The Passion Play was really good; I went twice, I think. I always loved walking around the curvy, hilly streets of Eureka Springs and seeing all the Victorian-style homes. I always imagined what it would be like to live in one. Silver Dollar City in Branson was always a highlight.

When Billy and I were in Eureka Springs, we found a great little Italian restaurant (whose name escapes me) where we ate fresh roasted garlic on hot, buttered bread. It was scrumptious! I got the waiter to tell me how to cook the garlic. Since then, I've only made it once. I need to do that again!

11. Mobile, AL
I mostly stopped here with my grandparents as we were passing through on our way to FL. I always loved going on the tours of the U.S.S. Alabama (battleship) and the U.S.S. Drum (submarine). I remember it was always fun riding through a tunnel near Mobile Bay on our way there.

12. Galveston, TX
This was probably the first real vacation I actually remember. I was 5 or 6 years old. My parents had an old white VW van, complete with kitchenette and fold-down table. I recall sitting at the "kitchen table", coloring away in my coloring book, while Daddy drove us to the beach. I can't remember if my cousin Marsha went with us or not, but I seem to recall her being with us. We camped on the beach, our tent pitched next to the van, I think. I definitely remember two things from that trip: getting the worst sunburn of my life, and seeing a dead baby shark washed up on the beach. That was my first encounter with a shark. I wanted to touch it to see what it felt like, but the little area around it was taped off. And so began my childhood infatuation with sharks.

13. Atlanta, GA
Yet another place I've visited many times. Stone Mountain was always my favorite place to go. I loved touring the antebellum homes and going up the mountain. I remember being so afraid the first time I went up in the cable car. I was afraid of heights. (I used to be afraid of mountains, afraid that I would somehow drop right off. I was always relieved beyond words when we would get back on "the ground" again. Now the mountains are my favorite place to be.)

One year we all went there with Daddy for a week-long class he had to take for work. We spent the day at the hotel, shooting pool in the game room or swimming. When he'd get back in the afternoon, we'd strike out somewhere. One of my favorite restaurants there was Lettuce Souprise You - a monster buffet of salad, soup, and bakery items. That's where I had my first chocolate chip muffin. Yum!

There are so many other places I've been, but I've taken up enough space for now... :o)

Which of these places have you been to? Where else have you been?

Family is a wonderful thing!

Two weekends ago, while Billy went to New Orleans to watch Dan Wallace debate Bart Erman on the validity of the New Testament, the boys and I headed back home to visit family.

Thursday night was family night, always a fun time. We made homemade pizzas and ordered a few extras from Johnny's Pizza (YUM!) for those who weren't fond of veggie pizza. (Melissa and Lindsay made a barbecue chicken pizza that was wonderful! I'd like to make one for us soon!) Later we had some delicious chocolate cake that Daddy made for Caleb's belated birthday party. I think Caleb was so into opening his presents and playing with them that he never got around to eating any cake...

It stormed most of Friday, so Mama and the boys and I spent most of the day in the house. We played Caleb's new Game of Life, which he had gotten the night before. The weather cleared during the late afternoon, and we took Memaw out to eat at Cracker Barrel that night. After we got home and got the boys ready for bed, we stayed up a while and played Mexican Train dominoes. After the boys went to bed, we watched the previous night's episode of Survivor.

After a lazy Saturday morning, we headed to Aunt Sue and Uncle Don's for an afternoon crawfish boil. Welcome to "The Misadventures of Clawed the Crawfish".

Clawed and two of his buddies, Clawdius and Clawdine, managed to escape from prison. They were really enjoying their freedom - picking clover, hugging shoes, waving at everyone who got in their way. They made friends with just about everyone there. Well, except for the boys, who loved tormenting them with sticks.

Caleb had more fun playing with Clawed's less active relatives, who were relaxing in a cooler after a long steaming bath. I tend to prefer them, too. Jacob didn't want any part of Clawed or his cousins. I don't know if Clawed and his buddies ever made it down to the freedom of the bayou or if they were recaptured and ended up taking a dip in Uncle Don's homemade cocktail sauce instead.

After Eric and Uncle Don finished boiling all the crawfish and corn and potatoes, Uncle Don grilled hot dogs for Memaw and the boys. Then we feasted. At first I wasn't too keen on pulling the heads off my crawfish. (I had no problem with the boiled shrimp - they don't stare at you.) So my kind Daddy sat at a small table with me and pulled the heads off for me. Halfway through, I decided to give it a try. It wasn't so bad!

The boys liked their hot dogs and the corn that hadn't been cooked with all the seasoning. Caleb ate one or two ears, doing his best with some missing front teeth. Jacob ate 4 ears of corn!

When everyone had finally gotten their fill, the boys headed down to the bayou's edge and played in the mud. Eric and Darlene left so Eric could go to work. The rest of us sat around and talked, played on cell phones, and eventually got around to playing a few rounds of Nines. It was nearly 6:00 when we finally headed back home with a load of leftover crawfish in tow.

Melissa, Lindsay, and Josh came over and we ate Garlic Butter Pasta with Crawfish, garlic bread, and salad. Yvonne and her family weren't able to make it because one of their miniature horses foaled and they needed to wait for their vet to come, so Josh took some supper to them later. The boys were really disappointed that they weren't going to get to play with Grayson and Philip anymore.

By the time things wound down and we got the boys to bed and the kitchen cleaned, it was late and we were exhausted. It was great!

Time with family is always great!

Ahhh, Fall

Well, I can't say that about the temperatures, but the color of the sky and the way the light and shadows play, I can tell it's definitely here. That and the fact that it's nearly dark by 7:30 now.

I took the boys to a nearby park this afternoon. We were supposed to meet some friends, but they didn't show up. I guess maybe they forgot because we planned this last week sometime. I started to call this morning to double-check, but I got busy. Anyway, when we got there, several school-age kids were running around. Most of them had tags of some sort pinned to their shirts. The 3 teachers sat on a bench in the shade and pretty much ignored everything but each other. Only when a kid came up crying to them did they respond.

The boys were having fun playing in the rocks (pea gravel, the ground cover for that half of the playground) with some of the other kids while I sat in a small shady spot and watched for our friends. Every so often, Caleb and/or Jacob would go running by to climb up the wooden "ship" structure and run through the mazes. Then I saw one of the older kids throw a rock at a boy playing directly in front of me. He hid and watched, then aimed to throw another one. Thankfully the "victim" moved out of the line of fire. About that time Jacob came up to get a drink of water. I told him it was time to go, so we rounded up Caleb and left. I explained to them why I didn't want to stay and suggested we visit a nearby playground that was around the corner. They were excited to check it out since it opened this spring and we hadn't been there yet.

I found a shady spot in the parking lot and we walked over to the deserted playground. (Yes!) Jacob immediately noticed the spongy "floor" of the playground and started bouncing around and chanting, "Squishy, squishy, squishy!" I felt like I was walking on springs! The play equipment is painted in bright primary colors and has all sorts of things on it: a small climbing wall, two slides, all sorts of bridges, and steps and ladders to climb. One of the bridges is slanted and really hard to walk across, so you have to hold on to the chain "rope" above it to get across. Caleb went right on by, but my feet slipped a lot. (I think that had to do with my flip-flops.) Jacob needed help his first time across, but he went easily all the other times.

My favorite part of the play equipment was four vertical poles with circular steps about 2 feet high. The were anchored at the top and bottom, but they swayed one way or the other while you tried to cross. Caleb surprised me by going right across the first time. I went and was a little surprised at how uneasy it made me feel. I went across and back, but no more. Jacob wanted help getting across once. I'm not sure if he went across by himself of not. Something about that part made me think of Survivor.

While the boys continued playing, I sat on a bench in a tiny spot of shadow and watched the dragonflies overhead. The wind was blowing nicely and a few leaves were falling here and there. Everytime the breeze would pick up, I could hear the rustling. So nice, so relaxing... So quiet!

I definitely want to go back to that spot again. It's not a weekend place for us. The few times I've driven by on a Saturday, it's been wrapped up with kids. But it'll be perfect for lazy afternoons after we've finished school for the day. We might even pack up a picnic lunch and take with us. I'll definitely have to invite a few of our friends to meet us there. The boys would love playing "obstacle course" there with friends.

Go Greek!

Our family went to the 51st Annual Greek Food Festival this weekend. The boys had been looking forward to it for a week, so after Saturday morning's soccer, we came home, changed clothes, and headed out for our much-anticipated lunch.

The boys and I each got Chicken Souvlaki - chunks of marinated chicken grilled on skewers, placed in a fresh pita with tzatziki (cucumber yogurt) sauce, diced tomatoes, and chopped red onion (mine only). Billy had a Greek Sausage in a pita with tzatziki and onions, and for "dessert", a Tiropita (baked phyllo dough filled with feta cheese, eggs, and seasonings). I enjoyed a few bites of his tiropita, but the boys didn't want any. They didn't like it last year.

I really enjoyed listening to the live music while I ate. I told the boys it made me want to get up and dance, but they begged me not to - not that I would have! I just chair-danced instead. I'd like to find a CD with some catchy Greek music on it, but not any singing. (Oh, Billy said the instruments they were playing were called "bouzoukis". I never knew that's what my mom meant when she would tell me, "Get your bouzouki in here!")

On our way to tour the church again, we stopped to watch the dancers on stage. The boys had just finished and we missed seeing them, but one of them kept standing on the stage near the steps and dancing while the instructor was trying to shoo him down. No, this wasn't a preschooler or kindergartner, either. He looked to be about 10! A few minutes later, the girls took to the stage and danced.

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church is beautiful. The sanctuary is in the shape of a cross and has biblical murals and mosaics on the upper walls, ceiling, and domes. Unfortunately my camera batteries were dead, so I'll have to wait until next year to take any pictures of it. We talked briefly with one of the priests there. He said their Saturday evening services are done in English and the Sunday liturgy services are in Greek. We may go to one so we can experience the different culture and worship style. Billy went to a few Orthodox services while on Patmos.

We bought some homemade baklava to bring home and will probably have some of it for dessert tonight after eating our Mediterranean Hummus Pizza. Billy bought a new bouriki (Greek coffeepot) and some imported Greek coffee. I'm glad I got my "Opa!" apron last year because they didn't have any this year. They either said "Yia Yia's Cooking" (Grandma's cooking") or "51st Annual Greek Food Festival". I did see some nice wall plaques for the kitchen that said different things in Greek, but they were too expensive.

What's Cooking?

I found a new meme that's just perfect for me on Mondays: Menu Plan Monday. Now I can share my weekly menus with other people who post theirs on their blogs. I'm hoping to find some interesting new recipes to try - and to continue sharing some of my favorites.

Here's the plan for this week:
Monday: Mediterranean Hummus Pizza (I've had to put this off twice, but I will make it tonight! Sorry for those who recommended I make my own hummus, but I've had a heck of a time trying to find chickpeas and tahini paste. Wal-Mart doesn't carry it - and my Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market seems to have quit carrying hummus as well! Hopefully Billy can pick some up from Fadi's today; if not, I'll call a few local grocery stores to see who has it.)

Tuesday: leftovers or sandwiches (I have a meeting, Billy has class, and the boys will have a sitter.)

Wednesday: Vegetable Soup (Yes, the temperature probably be in the 90s that day, but I'm so ready for soup. And if I don't start soup nights this week, cold weather will be over before I get to make all the ones I want!)

Thursday: leftover soup (I need a minimum of cooking and cleaning on Thursday nights. That's when I park in front of the TV for the night: Survivor, CSI, and ER.)

Friday: ??? (Billy's parents are coming this weekend and we'll probably get take-out or have sandwiches.)

Saturday: OUT! (We'll pick a fun restaurant to go to. There's a new Japanese restaurant called "Iron Chefs" nearby, but I don't know if it has officially opened yet. We've got tons of places to choose from, though.)

Sunday: sandwiches (When we get home from AWANA around 7:00, it's too late and I'm too tired to cook!)

Not a very inspiring menu this week. Next week will be better.

Friday Fourteen

Wow! It's been a while!

There's not a Friday Fourteen that I know of, but I missed yesterday's Thursday Thirteen and I have had so much going on lately that I can fill you in on 14 things.

1. I went ten days ago to have some dental work done. Thankfully I didn't have to have a root canal! Ten more days until I get my permanent crown.

2. The boys' schooling is going nicely. We've all gotten into a good routine and are usually finished with everything by 12:30 p.m. Jacob is doing well with his reading, too. I made him some flash cards for practice, and I add to them each time he learns a new sound. He's proud of his progress.

3. My friend Kim and I have decided to start meeting each Wednesday morning to work out. This Wednesday was our first day. We walked about 3/4 mile or so on the outdoor track, then went inside to use some of the weight equipment. We finished up with some crunches, then sat and relaxed for a few minutes in the sitting area of the dressing room. I'm very sore today, especially my right arm. At times I can hardly bend it. I think I'll take some pain reliever before going to bed tonight so I can sleep. Last night I had a hard time finding a good position for my arm and woke up several times.

4. Billy and I watched One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest last weekend. It wasn't great, but it held my attention enough to watch to the end. It was great seeing Christopher Lloyd and Danny DeVito when they were young. DeVito reminded me so much of someone else, but I haven't been able to put my finger on it. I want to read the book now because I didn't understand part of what happened in the movie. One more book to add to my ever-growing list.

5. This weekend I'm hoping to watch The Lake House. Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves are in some of my favorite movies. Anyone seen it?

6. Caleb is learning about ancient Greece right now, so we've been reading some Greek myths. He loved the story of Echo and Narcissus. Today we read about King Minos, Theseus, and the Minotaur. He really liked that one, too. He thought the story of Daedalus and Icarus was okay. Next week we'll read about Arachne, Hercules, and Odysseus. I'm really enjoying this part. I remember reading and falling in love with Greek myths when I was in 8th grade.

7. I've been working hard with my SWIM Secretary duties the last few weeks. With the new semester starting up, I've been busy inputting all the new wives' names into our database. Then we decided to clean up our email account. I didn't realize there was a limit on the number of sent emails each day and ended up blocking the account. We decided to get another account elsewhere, so then I was busy researching free email services and determining which one would serve us best. Then I had to get it set up and export our address book - nearly 1,000 email addresses. Now I have to count up the hours I spent doing all that so I can include it in my September monthly report.

8. In other SWIM news, we had our Fall Opening last Saturday. There were about 95 wives present, with about half of them new to the seminary. The program was good and several wives signed up for various programs.

9. Caleb decided he doesn't want to be in the science fair after all. I think he got aggravated because I went from Home Depot to Lowe's to a nursery without finding what I was looking for. I had decided to go back to Lowe's to get what we needed, but he said he didn't want to do it. He just wanted to get the few groceries we needed from Wal-Mart and go home. There's always next year...

10. Tonight is the last night of new Monk and Psych episodes until January. Too bad! But at least Survivor starts back up next week. The week after that is CSI, CSI: New York, and ER.

11. The 51st Annual Greek Food Festival is in two weeks! I can't wait to go back so I can eat some more souvlaki. I might even try some spanikopita (spinach and feta cheese fried in phyllo). They'll also have baklava sundaes there. That sounds good. Really sweet, but good. Oh, and Constantine Maroulis will be there, too. He's supposed to demonstrate a recipe Friday night and play two short concerts on Saturday night and Sunday afternoon. They need to book Yanni.

12. I've got a full month of bookings for October - 4 cooking shows. I'd like to get one more show. I've got another lady who's very interested in the stoneware that's on special next month, but I haven't been able to get in touch with her. Maybe I'll be able to reach her tomorrow...

13. Pampered Chef has some really good-looking recipes out this fall/winter. I can't wait to start trying some. One I'm wanting to make next week is the Mediterranean Hummus Pizza. I'll get Billy to pick up some of the good hummus from Fadi's. I'm also wanting to make some Warm Nutty Caramel Brownies. (I think that's what they're called.) I tried some Truffle Brownie Cups the other night at our PC Cluster meeting. They were sooo good, and they look really easy to make.

14. Sundays are now chock-full of activities. After church and lunch, we'll all be home for a couple hours before heading back for the afternoon. I'm attending a Bible study series called "The Truth Project" (by Focus on the Family) for the next 11 weeks. The boys have started AWANA, too. It begins right after the Bible study session is over. I'll be helping some in Cubbies this year. (They've added a new group for 2- and young 3-year-olds called Puggles.) Billy will be using the 4 hours we're gone each Sunday afternoon to work on his online class and other school work.

Now that things are slowing down again (or so it seems), I hope to get back to blogging regularly.

Monday Memories: Packing

This time last year, I was too busy to blog much. We had found a house to rent and were getting ready to move into it the first weekend of September. I only blogged once last August. In it I answered a meme, wrote about first grade preparations, and shared the latest in my Pampered Chef business. You can read that post here.

What's Cooking?

Tonight: Tuscan Chicken over Angel Hair Pasta, Garlic Bread
Tuesday: Mushrooms in Garlic Butter Sauce over Angel Hair Pasta, Garlic Bread, Salad
Wednesday: Hot Ham & Cheese Sandwiches, Sweet Potato Fries
Thursday: Garden Veggie Pizza (on that delicious homemade pizza crust I tried last week!)
Friday: fast food
Saturday: leftover pizza
Sunday: Family Fiesta at church - catered by El Fenix, dramatic presentation by Reg Grant (DTS professor), dessert auction

Speaking of Mexican food...

I really miss Trejo's back home. We like El Fenix really well. We've tried two other Mexican restaurants lately, too. Martinez' Mexican Restaurant is good but not great. Enchilada's was good the first time we ate there; we were less than impressed the second time and probably won't go back. I've heard Chuy's is really good, but I haven't been there yet.

But no place is like Trejo's. I really want to go back there again sometime.

Checking my List

I had a few days last week to do some things on my own while the boys stayed with my parents. I actually made a list because last time they were gone, I forgot half of what I wanted to do and ended up missing out. Let's see how I did...

1. I did browse the shops at Tanger Outlet Mall on my way back home, but I didn't find anything. I did get my "Blueberry Chocolates", and they're really good. I think the manufacturer needs to change the description on the back of the package, though. It reads "a huge, tart blueberry..." It's actually a tiny dried blueberry dipped in creamy milk chocolate, then covered with a smooth blueberry-flavored confection. Billy doesn't like blueberries much and, after I read the description on the package, said he wouldn't try it just because of the language. It sounds like something from the J. Peterman catalog (of Seinfeld fame).

2. I waited until Saturday to go to the Rock Barrell. I've been trying to get Mama there for quite some time, and this weekend I finally did. Her eyes lit up when she walked through the door - all the rocks and minerals and fossils. That's just her thing. Melissa and Lindsay went, too. I'm not sure what they were expecting, but they were pleasantly surprised. The three of us bought beads for making necklaces. I helped them make theirs Saturday night, then spent a good part of Sunday afternoon making a necklace, a watchband, and a bracelet for myself in black, turquoise, and silver. Once I finish up with them, I'll post a picture. (I also found a turquoise and brown donut to use when I remake a necklace Aunt Sue gave me. That's my next project.)

3. No golf. No time. Too hot.

4. I loved the gellato from Paciugo at NorthPark Center. After tasting Rose, which was light but a little too sweet, I chose Butter Pecan, Turtle Cheesecake, and Chocolate Chocolate Chip. Great combination! I think I liked the Chocolate Chocolate Chip best. The lady I had given the Pampered Chef catalog to wasn't there, but there were about a million other people milling around. I kept wondering why in the world there were so many people in the mall, then I saw a sign declaring the tax-free weekend. I don't like crowds and didn't want to feel like a salmon swimming upstream, so I left.

5. There aren't nearly as many antique stores in Forney as I thought there would be. There used to be a long row of them right off Hwy. 80, but as I drove past on my way home from dropping off the boys, I only saw 2 or 3. I didn't feel like stopping then, and I never made it to the one I visited about a year ago.

6. I didn't get around to working in my closet. Maybe tomorrow...

7. I didn't scrapbook, either. I figured that would be something to do after I worked in my closet and found all my stuff.

8. On Friday, Billy took me to lunch at Fadi's. It was just as good as ever! We both got a salad with marinated mushrooms, spinach, and dried cranberries and a serving of their delicious roasted cauliflower. I ate most of my whole wheat pita with some of Billy's hummus. I drank a glass of strawberry juice with my meal. It was really good! I tasted Billy's Magic Drink (with 12 fruits and vegetables in it), and it was really good, too. It had a distinctive flavor that I'm still having trouble identifying.

9. I browsed a few stores, but I didn't buy anything. I was looking for a pair of sandals or cute brown flip flops since the sandals I've been wearing for years are finally tearing up. I saw the same cute pair at a couple of different stores, but I didn't buy them. Maybe I'll go back after payday and see if they've been marked down any.

10. I spent my Barnes & Noble gift card, but I got Red River at Half-Price Books (for half price) and was able to get a different book with my gift card. Our local Barnes & Noble is small and goes by the name of Bookstop. Its parking lot is closed off because of road construction, so you have to go around the long way to get there. As I pulled up to one of many front-row parking spaces, I saw signs in the windows announcing their "Final Closing Sale". Everything was 20% off, with some items marked at 30% off. I found two books for the boys in addition to Build it Big for myself (business-related reading).

11. I didn't wander leisurely through the library. Instead I drove up and stuck my almost-due movies in through the book drop on the side of the building. I never even got around to watching my two movies.

12. Friday morning I was all set to stroll through the Arboretum. I was dressed comfortably, had my camera ready, and was going to be there shortly after it opened for the day. As I backed out of my driveway, raindrops started falling on my windshield. As I drove around the block, the rain started falling harder, so I went back home. I checked the radar and it didn't show anything in the area of the Arboretum, but you never can tell when something's going to pop up, and I didn't want to pay my admission and get rained out. I'll try again another day.

13. I didn't open any school books. I'll get to that this week since we'll be starting school Monday. Yes, I put it off another week. This week is full of various appointments and meetings.

Three fun things I did that weren't on my list:
1. Lunch at Panera Bread on Thursday. I took my book (What's so Amazing About Grace? by Philip Yancey) and read while I waited for my Portobello & Mozzarella Panini and my Cheddar Broccoli Soup and French Bread to be brought to my table. I enjoyed every last bit! I love Panera!

2. Supper at Romano's Macaroni Grill on Thursday. Billy and I went up to Plano for that since the one a few miles from here closed down. I ate Chicken Toscana Soup and Chicken Canneloni. Both were excellent. Billy's Creamy Tomato Basil Soup with Tortellini was really good, too. (That coming from someone who doesn't like tomato soup!)

3. After supper, we walked through Whole Foods Market, a mostly-organic grocery store. It was fun seeing all the cheeses, olives, granolas, dried fruits and lentils and beans, etc. I was hoping to glimpse Lisa Whelchel (Blaire, The Facts of Life) while I was there, but I didn't. (I've heard she shops there. I met her at a local Lifeway book-signing event she did a year or so ago. Shortly after that I learned she lives in Plano.)

All this has made me tired, and it's late, so I think I'll head off to bed...

Good night!

50/50

I went to the dentist today for cleaning and x-rays. The good news is that my broken tooth is the only problem I have. Everything else looks great. The hygienist even commented on how clean my teeth are, especially for someone who hasn't been to the dentist in 4 years.

The bad n