What's Wrong with This Picture?

It's below freezing outside. The sky is grey.

A toasty fire is lit in the wood stove.

The cinnamon rolls are baked and frosted.

All that is missing is the SNOW!

I've Never Before Seen This Guy in my Entire Life

When Miss Emilyn was staying at our place last week Max drove her to school and picked her up. Em did tell me Max wasn't teasing her as much and we agreed that he was finally growing up.

Friday morning Max gets her to school, Friday afternoon he remembers to pick her up. He parks in the lot across the street and goes to the school to walk her safely out to the car. Here is where it gets sketchy.

Apparently Miss Em was walking him off the sidewalk into the lane of traffic. The crossing guard asked Emilyn if they are going to use the cross walk? I think this was a friendly reminder that Max shouldn't be in the traffic lane. They go to the cross walk and the nice lady asks Emilyn, " who is your friend picking you up today?" This is where Max is wronged...

Em responds, "I don't know." At this point Max feels a bit betrayed, like he is some creep.

Max may have backed off the teasing but I have it on good authority, GaMe ON Miss Emilyn!

Just Like One of my Own

Last night Blake came over for dinner. He grew up when we weren't looking. Blake came from his job, wearing a tie, and when he left he went to his own place. Where apparently, there is only Top Ramen in the cupboard. He was pretty happy with roast beef, potatoes and gravy, corn, salad, cresent rolls and brownie sundaes. He'll be back, I'm pretty sure.

Sam and Blake are BFF's, only guys don't say BBF.

Blake spent so much time at our house while he was in high school that he had his own pile of clean laundry in the laundry room, he took whatever he needed from our fridge, and the futon was referred to as Blake's bed.

Just to reassure Danny and Sam I'd like to note that it was good, it was very good for Max to be the little brother last night. Quite possibly between Emilyn and Blake, Max can be humbled and controlled until BiG brothers return.

Girl Power

We had a good visit with Emilyn. We saw my niece, Katie in Hot Rod on Thursday evening. Max drove her to school and picked her up on Friday afternoon. Friday evening we found the American Girl crafts at Micheals and then had dinner at Red Robin.

After dinner we went to Target. Hubby and I have never shopped the girls' department. Uncharted territory. Emilyn wanted skinny jeans. They were out of her size in the really skinny but we found a nice compromise. Then she changed her mind and wanted a new swim suit. At this point Hubby stepped in and said, "no deal, Miss Em needs to buys a swim suit with her mom." I love the voice of reason aka Hubby. So, we got the jeans.

On Saturday Emilyn had a play date. Hubby and I walked and then grilled burgers with Max and my brother Ken.

After church on Sunday Kassie came over to hot tub with Emilyn ... and Max. Emilyn's American Girl doll has a Lyncs cheerleader outfit just like Kassie's cheer outfit.

The girls worked on the AM doll cootie catchers.

When Hubby got home we went for a walk to the city park. Emilyn had her scooter. We walked the trail to Bender and then back home. It's been great having sunshine in the Pacific Northwest this weekend and we had a fun weekend with Miss Em!

Oh, and Emilyn thinks Max is finally growing up because he didn't tease her constantly,

just a lot! I think Max gets cranky not being the baby and having a little girl vie for his mama's and his Kassie's attention. Just say'in.

Consequences

Last night Miss Emilyn insisted that she did not have any homework. Big brother Max was on it. He called her teacher Miss K. Yep. there was homework. Emilyn didn't want to get her back pack, Max picked her up, took her upstairs and got her started. He was relentless.

Miss K. texted her Bible verse so we could work on it since it's due today. Strangely, we didn't have a Bible in the house that was the same as the school uses. Really? wow

Yesterday Miss K. shared a quote she'd heard on the radio,

'I don't scream at my children, I let their consequences do that for me.'

Love it.

That said I still don't want to think about Miss Em not having her Bible verse memorized today and having to stay in at recess or some other consequence.

I'm a softy. Miss K and Max, not so much.

Max gave it his best shot. Em can only blame herself or our versions of the Bible.

Happy Thursday, Even tho I Have to Go to the Dentist

On Valentines Day I pretended to work for FTD. The customer was a tad demanding. The flowers had to be different than last year, really pretty, delivered after school started but before 10:11 a.m. Did you know lavender flowers means, love at first sight?

*I've been busy at the museum this week. New merchandise coming in everyday. It's like Christmas except it all has to be unpacked, priced and displayed. I have something really, really groovy coming in... I'll let you know when IT arrives. High cool factor.

*On Tuesday I went to the dentist at 7:00 a.m. It's made for a great pity party all week. Still feeling very sorry for myself. I'm going back today. Later than seven in the morning though.

* I slept really hard last night. I woke up kinda wonky. Hubby asked me if I had a stroke in the night. "Uhm, no, why?"

"Because you're supposed to be making lunches and you keep doing other things..."

That is NoT a stroke, that's 50.

*I'm going to the theatre tonight. Culture baby! My niece is in the musical at LHS. We have seats in the second row. I'm so proud of Katie.

*We are getting a house guest tonight, for the weekend. I think I'll make spaghetti and meatballs for dinner.

*My house guest and I are both very,very excited.

Micheals has a new line, American Girl Crafts.

I have our coupons ready. Oh, the fun!

*Our guest invited Kassie to come and hot tub this weekend.

"I'm staying at Max's this weekend and I want to invite you to hot tub with me."

I don't think Max is invited. I'm pretty sure.

*Sonic is on the weekend agenda. Our guest's parents never take her there. Oh, the injustice.

One large Diet Cherry Limeade please.

*Yep, Miss Emilyn is coming to stay. Oh the fun! The best part...

Max won't be the youngest. It won't be ALL about Max.

Sibling rivalry is good for him.

And I get some serious GiRl PoWeR backup...

Happy Thursday!

Valentine Dinner 2011

We had a nice Valentine evening. I set the table with a love birds theme. The Be Mine take out boxes were perfect for favors and place cards. I just slid in a picture of each guest in the window and then filled with chocolates. The menu doesn't change too much. There's a heart shaped meatloaf, of course and then I just fill in.

Ad noticed right away that I had changed the dessert. It's usually a heart shaped cherry chip cake, but this year I made cheesecake. I'll get there but the crust needs work. No cracks! That made me happy.

Kassie came again this year. She's a good sport putting up with Max.

Ad likes to have her picture taken with a good lookin' guy. Since Danny and Sam are gone, Max filled in for the guy. ;)

This year I invited my friend, Emily. She had some issues with Valentines Day, LoVe WeeK and all that wonderfulness. I felt we might be able to help her. She had a bad junior high experience.

She had therapy in her classroom from an anonymous friend.

Then she came to our house for dinner.

We had a good time, lots of laughs, good food with dear friends, and purple carnations as the centerpiece. Sometimes the past just has to be faced, dealt with and forgotten.

I think she's healed.

*more love week coming...

LoVe Week 2011

Happy Valentines Day friends!

I love ya!

Busy day for me. I have my table planned, guests invited and last night I stayed up until the wee hours making dessert. Well, after ten p.m. on a boot camp eve is really late for moi! I am unlocking the secret to J's cheesecake, even if it kills me. The only problem with today is that I don't have enough time for all the love I want to share. So many ideas, so little time.

Saturday evening Hubby and I celebrated our 23rd anniversary. Love that guy!

Yesterday we had Sunday dinner at the folks, my Mom had Valentine treats and dessert.

Max and I did some Valentine prep.

Today, I have some deliveries to make, a meatloaf to whip up, a table to set and more.

It's LoVe WeeK BaBy! And we are having fun!

Spills, Tumbles and Trips

I returned to boot camp this morning. Since my knee sprain/bruised bone incident I had not been to boot camp. It was so good to go back. I had been using my free weights and eventually walking and running on my own. Today I feel good. Even after running hills ;)

While the injury did happen at boot camp, I still love my boot camp. I'll let you in on a little secret... I'm pretty clumsy. I fall off curbs, down stairs and over myself frequently. My Dad called me "Grace" when I was growing up. True story. So, boot camp and an injury weren't really related for me.

I got asked if I'd return, if boot camp was dangerous, while I was hobbling around on crutches. N0. The reality is I can fall anywhere, anytime. Having gone to boot camp for years made my recovery easier. I can stand up out of a chair on one foot. Try it. Don't use your arms. Not so easy, is it?

My upper body strength enabled me to use crutches. How many elderly people do you see using crutches? Not many. It takes muscles. Free weights! Start with threes... and pretty soon you'll be using tens. Really.

If you're thinking about getting started, now is the time. You may get hurt and need those muscles. It's not a boring boot camp because we do different things every day. One fearless leader and some amazing women on M, W, F at 6:15 a.m. I love my boot camp peeps.

The injury hurt a lot. But there was good too, my doctor told me, "your leg muscles are incredible." And that's the nicest compliment I've gotten in a very long time.

Love Week Begins

This morning I whipped up a batch of scones to bring to the museum. Docents and volunteers need Love Week treats too. I use Fisher scone mix because Fisher does scones best.

I used two sizes of heart cookie cutters. I bake them on my stone.

I found the raspberry curd and raspberry sugar at the Seattle Gift Show. While I've always been a fan of lemon curd I hadn't had raspberry curd until now.

The curd was buttery, yummy, smooth and full of flavor. It's definitely not a local product, coming from England and all...

The sugar is local and full of flavor.

I brushed them with butter and and then

I sprinkled the raspberry sugar on the scones before baking.

Ready to share for morning coffee time. Max had a sneaky taste test and the scones reminded him of pop tarts. He loves pop tarts, so that was a positive review.

Fairmont Olympic Hotel is a Gem

Hubby and I went to the city for the Seattle Gift Show. I found many treasures to buy for the Lynden Pioneer Museum gift shop.

Every year Hubby goes with me and carries the catalogs that I pick up from vendors. Our first stop was the 6100 building where I picked up 20 pounds of paper. He only asks that he be rewarded with happy hour at our favorite Seattle happy hour, Dragonfish, in downtown Seattle.

Each year I shop for the best hotel deal closest to the convention center. This year it was the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. We loved it. Since it was built about the same time (1924) as our house(1927) we felt right at home. The beds are new and nice! There is something about robin egg blue in the halls and chintz drapes on the windows that make a hotel a home. I didn't get photos but the flowers were everywhere and changed during our overnight visit.

We felt right at home except we don't have a ballroom in our house. Their Spanish Ballroom was gorgeous, the windows, the drapes, the lighting and all of the wood trim were over the top. I could totally imagine the parties and gowns from long ago when we went for a tour.

We loved the hotel, I found tons of ideas for the shop and we had a good time together.

A Greyhound + Scrabble= True Luv

It's grapefruit season. I'm not sure what part of the world they are coming from, but at my house they arrived from Costco. The grapefruit are delicious right now and we are taking advantage of the goodness.

How about a greyhound? Fresh squeezed grapefruit juice and vodka anyone? This drink takes me back to Florida spring breaks. My sis Kathi, two friends and myself stayed in a house with a grapefruit tree one spring break. We squeezed grapefruit juice in the morning, added vodka and put it in the freezer for sipping by the pool in the afternoon. Bliss.

Now Hubby makes the greyhound for me.

While Hubby was making me a drink I prepped the salads. I peeled, removed all pith from the grapefruit. Layered fresh mixed greens on the plates, added the grapefruit and sliced avocado.

For the dressing I mixed olive oil, balsamic vinegar, fresh ground black pepper, a shake of tarragon and honey. Drizzle over the salad and enjoy!

While I was making salads Hubby was grilling steaks.

Saturday night was date night for Hubby and I. When our guys were little we started having date nights at home. We put the guys to bed early, told them they could read or play quietly in their rooms and while Hubby was tucking them in I made us a dinner for two. Looking back I think our boys really respected these evenings and it was nice for Hubby and I. Much easier than getting a sitter.

Sometimes we watch a movie after dinner or play games. This time Hubby agreed to Scrabble! I love Scrabble, he hates Scrabble. Scrabble= True Love.

We both picked the music.

Rossington Collins Band, Don't Misunderstand Me always gets played.

It's a fun duet...

Pre-Spring Cleaning

Last week we had to replace our microwave. This weekend we had to dispose of the old microwave. So, while we were at it we recycled the microwave, three old televisions, a van load of cardboard, and a van load of household items.

I call it pre-Spring cleaning, or clearing the forest for the trees, or better known as clearing a path so the garage can be cleaned.

The remodel last Fall resulted in a new master suite AND a very messy garage and a trashed yard. When we were frantically building we ignored our gardening and if we didn't know what to do with something we threw it in the garage. Now we are paying dearly for the mess.

I am hoping for a nice February so we can get outside and get everything ship shape. February is one of my favorite months. The weather is quite often nice and it's Love Week. And now that it's February I can say I'm going somewhere tropical next month. Happy February!