wordless wednesday

Feast your eyes on THIS!

Just look at this beautiful green loveliness!  I vowed the first time I made this (maybe a week or so ago), never to buy a packet of guacamole mix again, ever, ever, ever.  I don't think I could ever go back.  We went to Chili's yesterday and of course I had some guac, and I thought, ew.  Mine is so much better than this flavorless mush!  I can't really even take credit for anything; I just found the recipe online.  I didn't change a thing - well, I left out the onion.  That's it.  

Do yourself a favor and make this.  Here's the recipe:

Just mush up (but not too much!) the avocados, lime juice, & salt.  I use my pastry blender because it feels lonely & useless sometimes when I'm not on one of my pie kicks.  But you could also use a fork just fine.  Then chop up & add everything else, and stir in in.  The fresher the ingredients, the better.  I really shouldn't be telling anyone how easy this is.  

Do yourself another favor and get at least one of these:

Tupperware FridgeSmart containers are the bomb.  I don't even sell it, I just love these containers!  That cilantro & parsley in there?  It's like 2 weeks old.  Not a hint of anything...no wilting, spotting, or anything gross - just fresh & green, like the day I bought it. 

Thanks to my friend Heidi who taught me this little trick: to keep your guac from turning brown, do this:

Put plastic wrap over it, and push it down onto the dip so that no air can get in.  This really works.  I've tried other things in the past, but it always turns brown.  This really works.  I believe I said that already.  This particular recipe I think stays nice and green for a long time because of all the lime juice in it.  But the plastic wrap thing doesn't hurt either. 

And just so you know, Greg thinks I'm insane for taking pics of my guacamole.  He walked into the kitchen as I was doing it.  I can't say that I didn't feel just a little stupid.  No, not stupid....well yeah, kinda stupid.  Oh well.  He should expect these kinds of things after almost 9 years. 

Gonna party like it's my berfday

Announcement: yesterday's pity party is now over.

On to more pressing matters.  Like me, having a birthday!  The big 3-5.  I have no problems with that.  Greg took the day off, and I plan to do a few things:

paint my toenails....check.  did it last night.  Do you like my flip-flop tan? 

finish this.  My first one was shot all to heck.  And we have company coming this weekend!  So while it's really not my first choice of things to do, I really need to get it done.  

On my crafty blog, I put up a cute little orange/zebra print bag.  This is going to be bag #2...for Abby!  

fill this up with soil and veggies!  (after putting down some weed fabric)  This is the 4x4 "square foot garden" frame that I built by myself.  I am so proud of it!  I can't wait to get my veggie garden going...hopefully the rain holds off today!

Woooooo-hooo!  It's the restaurant I picked for tonight.

waaaaahhhhh!

Vent alert: you've been warned

I'm so stinkin' ovewhelmed!!!!  Too much going on right now.  Too much that I haven't done that I meant to do and now I feel really bad about not doing.  Too much @#$%& month at the end of the money.  Too much to plan for, not enough of what I need to do it right.  Too much to do just today alone!  Too much on my shoulders that really shouldn't be there in the first place, but somehow it is.

Do I need a vacation?  Yes.  Am I going to get one?  No. 

Pity party anyone?  Sorry. : /

Adventures in yard sale-ing

BOY did I have fun this weekend!  We went in with some friends on a yard sale, for one thing.  Made a tidy little sum on stuff we wanted out of our house anyway.  The only thing that made me sad to see go was the push-me popper that both of my kids loved when they were little....r.

First and foremost, I have to say, probably my fav part of this whole thing was seeing the kids do their first lemonade stand.  Abby has had it on the calendar for literally the better part of a year.  Really.  She put it on the calendar back sometime in ought nine.   My involvement was on an as-needed basis.  I supplied the lemonade & cups...the kids really did the rest.

Here's a closeup of the sign Abby made.  I didn't help her at all.  It's in the "keeper" pile already!

When a customer came to their table, Nolan's job was to get a cup and give it to Abby, who would then fill the cup to a certain level, depending on whether they were a kid or a "gron-up."  I gave them about $2 in quarters in case they needed to make change.  I guess I should have explained this concept of "change" in a little more detail.  I was standing there when a kid came up and gave Abby a quarter.  She poured his lemonade, then asked him if he wanted a quarter back in change.  I then swooped in and did a little money lesson...it's actually hard to explain when you have to explain it! 

We also tried to sell some of those blasted Sheetz MTO coupons, with very little success.  Then some annoying little punk spilled lemonade all over them, with his punk grandfather standing right there, who did nothing about it.  As I was mopping them off, laying them out in the sun to try to dry, I looked Old Punk in the eye and asked him if he would like to buy a few (more as a statement, not so much as a question, if you know what I mean), and he actually said to me, "no, that's OK, I already have some of those at home."   I feel my blood pressure rising again.  Moving on....

This was also the weekend for the annual "Belmont Community Yard Sale" - which just happened to be on the other side of the road from our sale.  On Saturday, Greg stayed at our sale with the kids and I was able to sneak away for a while.  Let me put it this way: I hit about 15-20 sales, in the SAME neighborhood, in about 1.5 hours.  By myself!  No kids to drag around and falsely promise, "just one more, just one more."  Sweeeeet!  Just a few of my finds...

That's a Ralph Lauren bag...$1.  Workout video, $2 (a little steep, I know).  Sweet little plate, .15.  Pair of birdie chalkware plaques - free!  I rescued them from Greg's "to sell" pile.  But I would have paid the $1, had I found them.  :)  I feel like I'm missing something....I can't remember.  I also got several books, but that's not very exciting.  Well, it was exciting to me, but...oh whatever.   

Edited to add: Oh yeah!  I remember what else I got.  Some new-ish Tupperware pieces for $1 each.  So new you can buy them out of a current catalog, new.  They're in my dishwasher at the moment.  Because I really need more Tupperware.  Really.  Half of the catalog is just not enough.  Greg is thrilled, by the way.

I took some pics with my phone while out & about....maybe you'll get a kick out of them like I did...

heaven, I'm in heaven...

Uhhh, ok...

Here is a book I picked up to look at....

and here was the inscription on the back cover.

Also overheard (and only in Johnstown would you hear this conversation):

- "I think it's time for a gob."

- "oh, is it lunchtime already?"

- "no, but it can still be breakfast!"

From 6 to 16 in about a minute

We took Abby to the mall tonight to (gulp) get her ears pierced.  Let's just say she did much better than I did when I got mine done.  Ask my family.  They'll gladly tell you, and they'll be sure to embellish the good parts, too. 

Since the tee-ball game got canceled for tonight, Abby asked if we could take her to the mall..."to get my ears pierced, and then to play on the playground, and then to look at things we could buy."  Hmmm.  Well, we can at least do #1... So we go to the legendary Claire's Boutique.  Thank goodness they're still in our sad little Galleria, because I have no idea where else to take one wanting to get one's ears pierced.  The girl working was sooooo super nice, thank goodness!  I think she really helped Abby feel at ease, because she was pretty nervous on the way there. 

Abs chose a pair of Hello Kitty earrings.  SO cute!  Back in my day, we had the ol' 12 birthstones to choose from.  And while I'm on the subject, back in MY day, it cost $6.00 to get your ears done.  $6.00.  Before leaving the house tonight, I fished $20 out of my other purse (you know, my other purse), thinking that it would cover the earrings, and there'd be enough left for Auntie Anne's afterward.  HA, uh, yeah right.  I just about had a heart attack in the store when we turned the thing over and saw that the earrings were $29.50.  I kid you not!  And that was one of the less expensive options!   So.  Times have changed, and apparently I need to get out of the early 80's.  Maybe if I get brave, I can even venture out of the whole 1900's. 

Abby, looking a little nervous

holding back a tear or two.  She was such a big girl!

cool bag!  Maybe that explains the $29.50.

be still my heart.  She looks so GROWN UP!  

And let me tell you, she is psyched to go to school tomorrow and show all her friends! 

Maybe I can start getting out of the 80's by not using words like "psyched" anymore.

Random stuff

Catching title!  I know that just makes you want to READ ON! 

Tee ball has started, school is winding down (hooray), the weather is lovely (except for today; we have a river flowing down our street).  Ian will graduate in a MONTH - like, from high school!  Unbelievable.  I started dating his dad when he was 7 YEARS OLD.  Now he's enrolled in college.  More on that later. 

Well now that it's MAY, maybe you'd like to see a pic from Easter.  Remember Easter?  

That's the kids' new favorite thing to do at church - go to this little spot and play until Daddy brings the car around.

Here are a few more random pics of late...

1. Nolan, tired. 
2. Abby, pensive.  This is so "her." (not posed at all - she just does this)
3. The kids posing for me
4. Sorry, had to sneak this one in.  It's just so thrilling to 1.see myself in a picture and 2. have it be somewhat flattering.  I'm wearing makeup here - that's pretty awesome.  This is on our wine & cheese train ride a few weeks ago.  Fun!  Except that I was way overdressed, and I hate being overdressed.  The lady at the ticket place looked me up & down and said, "well you're all spiffed up." - but not in, like, a complimentary way.   I do not like being spiffy if no one else is being spiffy.  But I do love the word "spiffy."  And let me tell you something else about this train ride, after several glasses of wine and very little food...well I think the movie we saw afterward was extra hilarious to me, if you know what I mean.  Now I've said too much.