My sides are hurting......

I was looking for an image for a post for my other blog, and I came across this and spewed my beverage through my nose. Ive seen this before, but I totally forgot about it:

Babbling brook

Its been a while too long actually. Its not that there hasnt been stuff to write about, its just that Ive been lazy. I have been reading others' blogs but just havent come here to write much. Life is nutso lately, not sure where Im going or what exactly Im doing. Want to be involved, but want to left alone...if that makes sense. Probably not. Disregard.

We had a fabulous time with UP, and he went home on Saturday. We tried out the new vehicle on its first long trip to the mountains. It did well...up until the time it got christened by not ONE, but TWO vomiting children. A and S got sick from the winding road to the canyon look out, and not thinking about the road ahead, I had given them nectarines and a bottle of water...yeah.

I was amazed at my reflexes though...Im lightening quick, if I do say so myself, and so it could have been MUCH worse. On the way home A cracked me up

A: (looking out the window, pointing at motorcycles) when I grow up Im going to ride those with my sons.

Me: Oh really? That would be fun. Your sons? What about your daughters?
A: Im not having any daughters.
Me: Hmm...what if you do though?
A: I will give them to the mom.

Nice, huh? Glad he doesnt live in China. Yikes.
I will post some pics of the trip (without vomit, of course.

One the way home from taking UP to the airport, we stopped at some outlet malls and I did shopping for N and a little for A. Now they are all ready for school. I will take S, just me and her and grandma, for hers next week...make a special thing out of it for her.

Anyway, finished boy clothes shopping at the Gap outlet store. Lots of cool stuff. We ate lunch at a German restaraunt. I love doing that, it reminds me of living there..(in Germany, not the restaraunt). The waiter came over and got our order and after he left, A asked how come he was speaking english. So cute.

I didnt go to church on Sunday. I stayed home did a thousand and five piles of laundry, and stared at all the yard work I had to do. Oh, and I did some homework. I watched a couple of recorded episodes of "Hoarders" and visions of my garage and my closets popped up in my head. Must clean out closets. I made some really killer chicken quesadillas too. Light on the cheese, and no sour cream for hubs and me. They rocked though.

Please Forgive Me

In my last post I said I would declare the awesomeness of the people who could name tell me which movie the line "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" was from...and I kind of forgot all about it. So, now Im here to declare the awesomeness of two bloggy friends:

Yogagrrland
Foxy

Yogagrrl, YOU ARE AWESOME
Foxy, YOU ARE AWESOME.

Declaration complete. We now return to our regular scheduled program.

Hear Ye Hear Ye...

...God is good, y'all. Hes answered my petty little prayers in awesome ways this last week. First, I passed that inspection, which I already blogged about. It was really amazing what He did this morning though, and I DO believe it was Him and not co-incky-dink.

My husband a particualarly grueling exercise at work that was going to be observed by a bunch of big wigs, etc. So, even though he is awesome and has never screwed any of these things up, I know they can be stressful and a lot of wierd crap can happen during them. So, I prayed that it would all go smoothly, extra smooth. And you know what? It could not have gone smoother. Heres what God did to make sure of that...the power went out in the whole area where this was going to be at. So, his Graveyard shift didnt have to do it all....it was saved for the dayshift! Yes!!! So he is home and is in a fantastic mood.

Then EARLY this morning at O dark thirty (3 am, to be exact), I had to be at the bus station two towns over to pick up hub's brother, Uncle P. I prayed that I would make it there without getting lost (I have no sense of direction)...and I did, he was on time and it was a real pleasant event instead of one that was a giant pain in the behind.

The next awesome thing just happened. We are going to go to the mountains this weekend with Uncle P and there is no internet access there. Which means I wont be able to do any homework for a few days...which isnt good, because stuff is due on Monday...so I was going to spend today doing all my work. Well...guess what? Its a light week in class, and it took me about an hour and half to get done with everthing, when it could have turned out to take me all day and all night, like it does sometimes. I prayed that I would be able to focus and get it all done...taken of care of. Another prayer answered.

So, because of aforementioned possibilty of mega-homework, my hub took Uncle P and the kids (who are meeting him for the first time) out to do some sight seeing, so I could do my homework. This is neat because now I dont have any homework, and its quiet....no kids yelling or whining, no sounds of wii being played, no dogs barking at yelling, whining, wii playing kids...just the sound of my keyboard, tappity, tap, tap. "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" (If you can name that book/movie, I will declare your awesomeness). Now I have several choices...swim ALL BY MYSELF, mow the lawn (um...no.), sleep, watch tv, watch a movie, read, or take a bath and read....leisurly, without little fingers underneath the door, or muffled voices saying "moooooommmmm, are you done yet? Arent you CLEAN yet?". Nope, non of that...just me and my bubbles and my book. Maybe they will be gone for a while, and I can do the bath, book and THEN the nap. Ive decided Im too lazy to swim, and they may make me do that later anyway.

So...off I go, to enjoy my much needed (and appreciated) solitude. Don't hate me.

Its Over

I can let out a huge sigh of relief now...ready? Phewwwwwwwwwww. There. For months now Ive been preparing for a huge inspection at work, and with that comes many "pre inspections". Just a great big pain in the rump, is all. And now..its over, and I have passed with flying colors.

Maybe now I can come home WITHOUT a headache.. Maybe now I will quit grinding my teeth at night. Maybe now I will quite the stress eating. Well....maybe not the eating thing...

Too True Tuesday....

Drat that Essie anyway, for starting this thing that I feel compelled to participate in. I cant believe that I'm actually disclosing this, because I really was horrified with myself....so, here goes. And please, for the love of puppies, if you have done this yourself, please tell me, so I don't feel so bad. Thank you.

Here it is:

While camping a few weeks ago, I had walked to the bathrooms (yes, the camp ground had bathrooms) with A. I had to go and so did he. We had been gathered at the camp ground with the other 4 families we were camping with and getting ready to feast big time. We went into the restroom, and when I was done I washed my hands and left. Now, when I finish using a public restroom, I do not like to HANG out in there, so I will typically wait outside for whoever I am with. Only I did not wait...I forgot that anyone had come with me, that anyone being my little boy.

So, I'm sitting at camp chatting away when A comes up to me, with his bottom lip sticking out. wanting to know why I had left him. I wanted to drown myself in the lake because I had completely forgotten ALL about him. Apparently the poor little guy came out and couldn't find me, so he waited there for a few minutes thinking I would turn up, and when I didn't he headed back to camp.

I'm not proud of it, in fact its probably my worse parenting mistake, one that I thought I would never make because I'm extremely worried about the bad people out there who steal little children. I'm ALWAYS thinking about that stuff, not this time though evidently, I guess all the hot sun had baked my brain. So, there it is, my Too True Tuesday moment for this week.

The first step.

Hello, my name is Obladi and Im a candy-holic.

I swear if I could mainline skittles or peanut M&Ms, I totally would. I could snort them I guess...I think sweet tarts would crush up nice and fine. Oh wait...FUN DIP! That comes already crushed up. Nice. Or better yet, Pixie Stix, because then I could dump the powder out and use the little paper tube it comes in as a snorting vehicle. Yeah.

Ok, Im kidding (sort of), drug abuse is NOT funny, but candy abuse is!!! As I type this, Im eating the third peice of candy I have raided from the kids personal stash. Oh, no...Im as low as they come Im...STEALING CANDY FROM BABIES!!!!!

Im eating one of those little Dum-Dum pops. Lets talk about them for a second, shall we. What cruel beast of a person came up with those? I mean they are tiny....all they do is tease you and leave you wanting more, they are ridiculously small. They are so small that I lost one inside one of my taste buds.

I really am having a candy crisis...I cannot have a bowl of candy like Jolly Ranchers on my desk at work because I will eat the whole bowl by myself. Before lunch time.

So, now you know. If you should happen to meet me on the street do not offer me a mint, or a tic-tac, all you are doing is enabling me. Thank you.

One Hamburger Royale and some Pommes with some of that sauce please...to go.

Meryl Streep can do anything, cant she?

This past weekend my mom and I went to see Julie and Julia, and I was floored by Meryl Streep in this role. I dont know why, exactly, I mean her being a great actress is not NEWS, but I was impressed anyway. The range of acting from the "the dingo ate my baby" movie to this is astonishing, to say the least.




The movie had blogging in it! Which was very cool...my mom (who isnt computer savy, let alone internet saavy) was impressed. "Hey, you do that!".

The movie did have a tiny bit of cringe factor to it though. I had a "I want to shrivel up and die" moment when Julia made an off color remark about a food item's temperature and part of the male anatomy, in the presence of my MOTHER, for Pete's sake. I wont elaborate because A) I dont want to spoil it for anyone and B) this is a family blog (kind of...an ADAMS Family one maybe, hee hee). That is my only complaint about the movie.

Oh, I take that back...the people behind us, had with them a small baby (oh..they are all small arent they?) who alternated between a cootsy wootsy little coo and an ear splitting cry. Now, I LIKE babies just as much as the next person (and in some cases more)but I do not think they belong in a movie theatre. If a person feels absolutely compelled to bring thier infant, the very least they could do is remove same child when it starts being disruptive. Sorry. Rant over. For now.

Anyway, back to the movie itself. It was a charming story line and very funny in parts and made me very very hungry for something that contained REAL butter and not the "chemical yellow sludge" (to quote Enid from "Ghost World" another cool movie)that was oozed onto my popcorn. It made me want to cook too.

The parts that took place in Paris however, made me regret that both times I was in Paris, both in my early twenties, I stayed away from really French cuisine. Yep, Im almost embarrassed to admit it now, but its true. My motto was "while in France, eat all the crap you can get anywhere else!" . I ate at McDonalds (I know! I know!), and I ate pizza and I ate little sandwhiches that you could get at little stands and cafes. In my youthful state, spending all my drinking and souvenier money on expensive French cuisine, did not seem like much fun at all. Besides, how in the world would I be able to afford the cab ride to the Pere Lachaise Cemetary to vistit the Lizard Kind's grave (Jim Morrison, for those of you who could care less)? It didnt matter that I had already BEEN to his gravesite once...I needed to go BOTH times in Paris. Hey, I never said I was particularly bright in my youth (were any of us?).




That being said, maybe, just maybe I will try a little French cooking myself...MAYBE.



In nutshell...the movie was well worth the outrageous cinema prices. My mom said she enjoyed that movie more than any other movie she has seen in a long time. So, there you have it. Go see it. Now.

I hate Mondays....

...and today is a perfect example of why. I was in a good mood this morning, really I was. I was happy and upbeat, and the kids were being awesome. And then I got here to work and realized that I had left the keys to my office at home. Nice. So, my wonderful husband went and got them for me. I guess as long as I have him, even Monday's are survivable (is that even a word?). Im hoping everyone else out there has a good Monday.

Oh, and I wanted to plug a dear freinds blog. She is witty, and innovative and will provide some entertaining stuff to liven up your day. She just started the blog, so there are a few things on there. Check it out:

http://yogagrrrl-itiswhatitis.blogspot.com/

Too True Tuesday....

....Lord knows I have many stoopit mommy moments, but Im participating in Too True Tuesday today, which I saw over at Essie's site.

So heres mine (takes deep breath).

While dancing once, a long long time ago, in my very early twenties, at a local establishment that featured live bands and whatnot, a friend of mine, who happened to be a bartender ran up to me and pulled from the waistband of my jeans....a very long trail of toilet paper, that had come from my last trip to the ladies room...Yep, I had been dancing with a long toilet paper tail flowing out behind me. Now, THAT is embarrasing, but yet, true.

Just for fun.....

I got this over at Troll Report

Takes about a minute to do this. Some interesting questions. Wanna plsy?

Been arrested? No
Kissed someone you didn’t like? Yes
Slept in until 5 PM? Yes
Ran a red light? Yes
Been suspended from school? Yes-"in school" suspension.
Experienced love at first sight? NO
Totaled your car in an accident? No
Been fired from a job? No
Fired somebody? No
Sang karaoke? Yes
Pointed a gun at someone? Yes (job related)
Done something you told yourself you wouldn’t? Yes
Caught a snowflake on your tongue? Yes
Kissed in the rain? Yes
Had a close brush with death (your own)? Yes
Seen someone die? No, but seen lots of dead people
Played spin-the-bottle? Yes
Smoked a cigar? Yes
Sat on a rooftop? Yes
Smuggled something into another country? No
Been pushed into a pool with all your clothes on? No
Broken a bone? No
Skipped school? Yes
Eaten a bug? No
Sleepwalked? No
Walked a moonlit beach? Yes
Rode a motorcycle? No-just rode on the back, Ive never driven one.
Dumped someone? Yes
Lied to avoid a ticket? No.
Ridden in a helicopter? Yes.
Shaved your head? No
Made your boyfriend/girlfriend cry? Yes
Eaten snake? No
Marched/Protested? No
Had Mexican jumping beans for pets? No
Puked on amusement ride? No
Seriously & intentionally boycotted something? Yes
Been in a band? No
Been on TV? Yes
Shot a gun? Yes
Skinny-dipped? Yes
Ridden a surfboard? No.
Drank straight from a liquor bottle? Yes
Had surgery? No.
Streaked? No.
Taken by ambulance to hospital? No.
Passed out when not drinking? No
Peed on a bush? Yes
Donated Blood? Yes
Grabbed electric fence? No
Eaten alligator meat? No
Killed an animal when not hunting? No
Peed your pants in public? No
Snuck into a movie without paying? No
Written graffiti? Yes-I was a kid.
Still love someone you shouldn’t? No-I am supposed to love everbody:)
Been in handcuffs? Yes-for training purposes only, though.
Believe in love? Yes, a couple of times.
Sleep on a certain side of the bed? Yes.

Oh yeah....

Some things I meant to write about, but kind of forgot to post. Mostly camping stuff. N amazes me more and more every day. This is a kid who was hesitant to try new things, as he lacked confidence. Now, there really is no stopping him, Im afraid. In fact he said THIS to me after I told him I didnt want him climbing up this STEEP dirt embankment:

"I laugh at danger".

He was kidding, but it just shows his new found confidence. This years camping trip had him Kneeboarding behind the boat. This kid could barely SWIM last year. Now he is a fish and will do anything water related. And you know what? He was good at it too. He got up and stayed up and tried a few tricks too. I am proud.

Also, while on the Seadoo with a family friend, they went to the "cliff diver" area. N decided to jump off the cliff into the water! It wasnt very high up, but still! It was higher than our diving board. Its a good thing he has other adults to do this type of thing with him, because I probably would not have let him do it, especially after the backdive incident on our diving board. My husband says its normal for boys of his age to try stuff like this...so, I am not going to worry at this point. Like I said, I am proud.

And THEN he made me proud in a whole 'nother way. We were at the deli (our first night in camp, and did NOT feel like cooking)getting sandwhiches, and T and the kids had gone and sat down while waiting for our "to go" order. I stood up near the counter to wait, because the seating area isnt really visible from the counter and I didnt want our order walking away or to be forgotten about (Im paranoid when dealing with the "customer service" of some places). So I stood. and stood. Then I walked around the corner to see how the family was doing. All the chairs were taken so I stood for a second, and was going to go back up to the counter. Well, N got up and OFFERED me his seat!!! AND as soon as he did this, little A offered me HIS.

What cute little gentleman! I have to say, that one came out of nowhere. I was very very proud! (Have I already said that?)

(Cooking) Fool

That's what I felt like today. I did a lot of cooking today..I AM a domestic Goddess....

We picked three ridiculously HUGE zucchini from our garden and I made zucchini bread..zucchini pineapple bread to be exact. It is good stuff too. I made like four loaves. T took one to work to share, we have two for the house and I gave one to my parents.


For dinner I made an old favorite of mine. My mom used to make it when I was a kid and its what I always wanted for my birthday dinner. Cheese Enchiladas. Mary Murphy's Enchiladas, to be exact. MM was a woman that was married to one of my dad's coworkers, and she made these...and gave my mom the recipe, so we always call them "Mary Murphy's Enchiladas and they are delicious.

And because I kind of like all of you, I'm sharing the recipe. Here what you need:

Sour Cream
Cottage (or Ricotta) Cheese
Red Enchilada Sauce
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Green Chilies
Black Olives
Flour Tortillas

Did I mention that this is REALLY easy? Oh, "its really easy". There.

You mix 1 lb of sour Cream
with 1 lb of Cottage Cheese
add one small can of Green Chilies (chopped up or already diced)
and throw in a buttload of Shredded Cheese...use as much as you like.
Mix all this up really good.



In a hot pan lightly fry (very lightly) about 10 flour tortillas


In each warm tortilla place some of the cheese filling, roll up tortilla and place in baking dish


Once the dish is full of deliciously stuffed tortillas, pour the enchilada sauce all over all the enchiladas.


Then spoon left over cheese mixture over the enchiladas and top with another buttload of cheddar. Top with black olives (I did not do this).



My kids like this recipe too. The boys threatening to eat all the fruit if dinner wasn't done SOON.


Bake at 400 for about 40 minutes, until hot through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

Yummy.


Oh, and this stuff ROCKS the next day heated up in the microwave.

....and more pics

Thanks to Robin, here are some more pics. She was a lot more on the ball as far as picture taking than I was. Her pics are better:

Camping Pics

nice stuff

Thats what Im writing about right now. Since I do not have time to post camping pictures of this past weeks camping festivities. I will though, I swear.

Some nice stuff has happened post camping trip. And because I think you all are swell, Im going to share.

There is a thunderstorm heading this way and the air smells like rain. To me, this is a very nice thing considering I spent the last several days in what felt like a blow drier.

Upon returning home, my mom (who was dog sitting, and rotten cat sitting, as well) had picked a couple of juicy tomatos, jalepenos, sweet peppers and cucumbers from our garden. So, for dinner I made a homemade salsa, and a cucumber sweet pepper salad. Our first real "food" from our very first gardern. Heavenly.

I have three nice zucchinins from the garden and I will make zucchinin bread at N's request.

We also have watermelon and cantalope which will be ready soon. yummy.

Random acts of kindness are nice (duh) and I will do them more often. Yesterday in our travel home from camping, we noticed as we were sitting in a service station parking lot, a young girl stranded in the middle of the busy road; her car would not go. Hub and I jumped out and pushed her to safety. Then we dug in our cooler and gave her a bottle of water. It was beastly hot out. Not trying to get pats on the back or anything, but just want to share that I will be looking for other opportunities like that to help someone. It felt great.

Anyway, those are some nice post camping things happening with me. Hopefully I will post more later...nice things rule.