Mom's turn: Seeing Red

My HH and I went to the farmer’s market this morning and purchased a million strawberries; I’m not sure what we were thinking except that the smell of the ripe berries must have over taken our senses! Once home I realized I had nothing I needed to do anything with them except freeze them - so my HH ran back to the store to pick up a list of supplies needed for my culinary venture. I started washing & cutting the berries that I wanted to freeze to clear up some space in the kitchen and prepare my area and jars for the jam I wanted to make.I even pulled out my HH prized cutting thing to try and use it…hmmm, not as easy as it looked!After he returned, I got overwhelmed with the processes all culminating at once, so my DD helped.Doesn’t she look excited to be pulled away from her computer to cook on a Saturday afternoon?!?!?!?!

I sent him for ingredients to jam (which didn’t gel…so now I have several jars of some sort of strawberry syrup), strawberry pie (which he picked up a cherry flavored something…so we ended up with strerry or cherberry pie),and strawberry pizza (which I have not attempted yet).

The recipe for the jam said to use vodka and fire…uh, that sounded scary and didn’t work! Next time I will simply stick with the standard heat method to seal the jars. The recipe for the pie said not to cut the berries…so I didn’t. They, however, did not realize we grow FIST SIZED berries (and NO, I am not exaggerating) in Louisiana

MEDIUM sized berry

…so the pie was impossible to cut, hard to eat, and the flavor was not consistent when you bit into the berries! I suppose if I had been a better domestic engineer I would have realized the need to cut the berries anyway.

With all of that said and done – sugar is sugar, so the strawberry syrup and monster-berry pie are edible and I have a freezer full of berries to try something else with when I feel brave enough.

fairy dusted fingers

Pretty much every girl loves getting her nails done! Well I have always loved to try new designs and stuff on my nails. And I would really like to try and buy some stuff to work on more detailed and professional designs like these

my version of her "simple nail" design...I like how they sparkle in the sunshine!

There are so many things you can do like:

You can buy supper thin tape to do designs.

You can put a hole threw your nail and let something dangle from it. (not my favorite)

You can paint on them with acrylic.

There are 3D stickers.

And my favorite product…crystal appliqués!!

Mom's turn: Heffalump Obsession

Anyone who knows me well knows about my gianormous elephant collection; a love that I inherited from my mother when she passed away in 1982. Therefore, most of the gifts I receive originate from some sort of twist concerning “the most unusual elephant” to add to my collection. Recently, my friend Sara purchased something for me combining elephants along with my other love – supporting a cancer cause. It was an ID holder from Vera Bradley with pink elephants all over it.

Pink Elephants are on a mission! These pretty pachyderms pack a powerful reminder – they’re our newest mascots in the fight against breast cancer. With trunks held high for good luck and hope, Pink Elephants products help raise research funds for theVera Bradley Foundation.

It came just in time for my vacation to Colorado so that I could carry something small on the slopes and have something to purchase those wonderful Irish coffees with!!

The pink elephant pattern brought back vivid childhood memories of a scene from my favorite Disney movie, Pink elephants on parade in Dumbo. I fell SO in love with it that I instantly hit eBay and started surfing for more items adding a book cover, pen, purse, and mint tin (full of little pink mints). Unfortunately, purchasing them this way did not help support their research, but I knew I just finished a race for the cause so I don’t feel too guilty!

Music!

I have found a bunch of really good songs in the past month from Pandora (a really good sight) and a friend.
Some of these songs are:

Miss murder – AFI
Love like winter - AFI
Last lullaby - Cage9
Im so sick - Flyleaf
Fully Alive -Flyleaf
Cassie - Flyleaf

My friend also just informed me that Flyleaf is a Christian band; and infact the song Cassie is about the girl who was put to gunpoint at Columbine massacre and was asked if she belived in God. She said yes, and was shot.

Anybody who likes pop/rock should check theses songs out.

Pandora is a REALLY cool website. It basically makes a radio station of songs you like.
Really cool here is the website! Enjoy!
http://www.pandora.com/

Mom's turn: Easter Sunday

A morning full of family love,

Mommy's princess

Daddy's girl

a basket stuffed with treasures,

Thank you Easter bunny!!!!

super cool new shoes with a dragon on them to break in spingtime!

fantastic weather, a wonderful church service, and an awesome lunch at La Madeleine’s…there is no better way to celebrate Easter Sunday!!!

Mom's turn: Saying goodbye

me at the top of the Painter Boy lift - our favorite resting spot...next to the coffee house with Irish coffee and brats with sourkraut!!!!

Time to say goodbye to Colorado – we made some fantastic memories during our vacation and even got to see some bears…well, not exactly the ones we were hoping for!

...it was Bubby and Betty Bear, the Crested Butte mascotts who were having fun with the girls, Christina & Karson.

We tried to spend as much time up on the mountain as possible today knowing that this might be the last time for a while that we get to come back.

uh...who taught her how to ski? This was AFTER the wrist was splinted - thank you very much :-/

And we found some crazy snowmen that made us smile…we didn't make any because we were too busy skiing!

We even spent half of our last night playing in the snow under the beatiful, almost full, moon.

me & Travis...still playing like we're young again

While we were out there we spotted a fox - unfortunately he got away before we got our camera!!

my midnight beauty queen

So we took more family pictures instead.

Kyle, Karson, Kole, & Kristian...all sporting their "ski tans" for their Christmas card picture :-D

And after another beautiful sunrise and one final goodbye to the mountain...we were off! First stop - breakfast!

Mom's turn: A Date with Disaster!

Today started with smiles,

me getting off of the Red Lady Express lift at the top of Houston

Christina ready for another day on the slopes

gorgeous weather,

me and Travis...still the faceless HH

Karson & Kay

and lots of time on the slopes…

more giggling girl shots

we heard from the locals that they had record setting snow fall up here this year. How exciting to be a part of that!! We even got to see and take pictures with Bubby & Better Bear, uh…on the other camera. Unfortunately we ended up in the medical clinic after our last run of the day!! Christina fell yesterday during one of the snow storms and hurt her wrist – by this afternoon, and one more tumble later, it was unbearable. SOOO – off to the doctor for x-rays…and the diagnoses of a fractured wrist at the growth plate.

OH MOM...don't put THAT on the blog!!!!!

The good news is that a fracture at the growth plate does not require casting in children, only splinting, and after a good night’s rest she can be back on the slopes tomorrow. We will be avoiding the free ski terrain area though!

Mom's turn: 7 things

This challenge is from Ginger. It was suggested for fun I should share 7 Things You May Not Know About Me:

1) I went to 10 different schools (that I can remember) from k-12 while growing up, and no I was not a military brat.

2) I played the flute in high school. I actually played very well, but I didn’t pursue it in college.

3) I went to UNO, Delgado, & LSU for a combined effort in my two degrees…which I no longer use as I am a SAHM (stay-at-home-mom) thanks to my fabulous husband’s hard work!

4) I was raised as an only child and discovered when I was 18 that I had a half brother, Roland, who had just recently been born.

5) I grew up with just “me and my mom” and inherited a rather large family when I met and married my husband…I claim his grandmother as my own.

6) I never had an athletic bone in my body until I started bicycling at 23…again, thanks to my husband. (That’s why I originally joined band in high school – to get out of gym class!). Now I seem to be out of control with both running and cycling at any chance I get!

7) I never had wisdom teeth. LUCKY ME!!!!!

So, there you go. If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged. Post a comment so I can check out YOUR seven things

Mom's turn: I'm back with more from Colorado

Okay…pictures from yesterday were a bust – Teeny failed to bring her camera-to-computer adapter as I requested and all pictures were taken with her camera before I realized this! So for a quick recap – the day was fabulous!!! My nephews and my daughter got their “ski legs” much faster than the rest of us and were hitting the free-ski terrain and the jib park bright and early. As the day wore on, my HH got brave and he decided he needed to do it as well! He still thinks he’s 20…but today proved differently, he could hardly move after yesterday’s stunts! Today I brought the video camera out to catch more jumps, but after gimping through some warm up runs, my hubby and DD came back to the condo for lunch and stayed put while my SIL, Kay, and I took her youngest son back out on the slopes.

just the girls...

When they got rested they came back out to join us, but by then I was exhausted and ready for warmth. We were expected to receive 20 inches of snow here – I think that’s more than I’ve seen in a decade!

this is a house burried to it's roof in snow as seen from our 3rd story condo!

However, the weather couldn’t seem to make up its mind today so it made it very hard to dress appropriately…the sun would come out and you would heat up and start to sweat and peel extra layers off, then the clouds and snow would come and freeze the sweat to your body and you would get chilled while trying to replace the previously peeled layers!!!! AHHHH…back to the condo for a hot shower, Advil, and wine!

in pj's and ready to rest...Samson is happy to see us.

Something to look forward to each evening, however, was the fact that I didn’t have to cook!! I have the BEST brother-in-law in the world…he happens to be a chef and owns a restaurant in Jackson, MS called Foodie’s. As luck would have it, he sent tons of healthy, precooked food for us to simply heat and enjoy.

delicious pork tenderloin

black rice with red bell-peppers & sweet potatos served cold

fresh green beans

I can’t think of a better way to unwind and prepare for what tomorrow has to hold…uh, hopefully a camera will be included in the fun :-D

Mom's turn: Colorado SHOPPING DAY!

This was our extra day…we spent it shopping in the quaint little town of Crested Butte, which is actually at the bottom of the mountain. All the girls gathered with giggling anticipation! And the boys followed along in search of food.

Kay, Christina, Elen & Karson

Christina, Travis & Elen

The weather couldn’t have been better…although it was cold, it was postcard perfect. The snow was measured in feet, which in incomprehensible to a Southerner!

the snow was almost as tall as I am in places

My purchase was a new pair of boots – and an absolutely perfect purchase it was, too!! My toes were frozen, but after I got my new boots I was able to walk all over the mountain without a care in the world. Wonderful while we wandered around in search of the perfect new fetish for Christina. She found just the right ones to add to her collection – a cougar made from Colorado lapis lazuli and a small beaver.

no bigger than my fingernail...amazing that the artist can carve such details

We ended the day by picking up our boots and skis in anticipation of an early start on the slopes tomorrow…then the boys, Kyle, Kristian, and Kole, spent the evening tubing while Kay and I enjoyed a drink as we watched. Now that’s the perfect ending to a fabulous day! Off to bed for another early start!

Chocolate raspberry martini...helps to keep you warm in the snow