Happy Birthday to my friend Kim!

It's Kim's birthday! I love what Stephanie says-- "That's so Maven!" (she is the Maven of Mischief, after all...) And Oh, the Mischief. I honestly don't know what I'd do without the magic of my Kim in my life. Unfortunately because of schedules and overall life, I don't get to see her nearly enough--but a good dose of Kim is definitely what's needed more often than not. For her birthday I thought I'd give you a nice photo album tour of my silly friend...

This may be my all-time favorite shot. It brings back an evening where I laughed so hard I thought I would pass out! The story is a bit long to re-live here but let's just say it involved a tuft of hair that Stephanie pulled surprisingly from her head after a bout with a power tool. (again, long story!) We had just finished a Feminine Hijinx episode and were already giggly...this just put us over the edge. This wad of hair ended up everywhere...and I mean EVERYWHERE. Good times my friends, good times.

Speaking of the podcast, starting that thing up eventually led to Kim and I's stint on FM107's Undiscovered Divas contest. Alas, we didn't win...but we did make it to the finals and had a one hour live show. It was both scary and exciting. Alas again, there could be only 2 of us on the show so one of the Hijinx Minxes had to stay home...both Kim and Stephanie were arguing over who WOULDN'T have to do it with me! Kim ended up being the more willing one, so there she was. She did an awesome job and I dare say we had a blast. It's fun to say we did it, anyway!

Ahh, the Which Witch party. Kim had remembered me mentioning how much I used to love this game as a kid and how excited I was when I finally remembered what it was called! She surprised me with the game that she had found on ebay for my 40th birthday. She and Stephanie had quite the ruse going, making me believe we were heading out for a night on the town and instead ended up at Kim's for a game night. Woo hoo! Yummy comfort/game food prepared by Steph, decorations, and two not-so-willing but very generous friends playing not one but two games with me. Now THAT'S friendship.

And this is what happens after a night of games and drink and Kim. Come to think of it, this was another bit of hair that ended up EVERYWHERE. huh.

After an afternoon or evening tipping back a few beers or glasses of wine, you can expect Kim to start up on her dirty dancing. No one puts this Baby in the corner!!

I will leave you with this image of Kim and I walking the streets of New York City (the most fabulous and memorable trip with she and Stephanie!) with our hands on each other's tushies. Just some more of the Maven's mischief--there is never a dull moment when she's around!

So Happy, Happy Birthday to Kim! May the Mischief be with you!!!

Farewell, Summer...

I'm here! I know it's been forever since I've blogged--so sorry to the two people that check up on me here every so often. ;-) All is well, it's just been a busy summer. And the times that weren't busy...well, who wants to write about that?! As writing a letter or journal entry can be DAUNTING when you haven't kept up with things--so much to catch up on!--I will make this more of a scrapbook entry, if you will. On to the Highlights of My Summer:

As nice as it is to have the summer to DO things, often there is nothing better than to just lounge on your deck in your cushy Papasan chair. Luckily we HAVE a Papasan chair, and a darn nice view of the woods from our deck. Nothing quite like relaxing out there, especially with a nice summery Tanqueray and Tonic. Now that's gettin' your zen on!

Normally I hate having to be involved in one of my kid's school projects...it's like, didn't I go through this already when I was in school??? But Vivian's summer project for her upcoming advanced Social Studies class was to do a report on some historical place of her choice in Minnesota. She chose the Split Rock Lighthouse, which is up in Two Harbors. What a great way to start off the summer--taking in gorgeous views of the north shore and just feeling one with nature. Plus I got to hang with my brother and his kids, it's always great to see the cousins having a good time together. This was one project that was just as interesting to me as (hopefully!) it was to Vivian, and one thing I did learn for sure...those lighthouses are a bit claustrophobic...

Ahhh, the 4th of July. At Stephanie and John's, once again. How lucky are we to get pampered and spoiled by the best cook (s), the most gracious hosts, the lovely scenery, titillating conversation (I love that word) and fireworks on the golf course?? Honestly I never cared that much about the 4th--well, not since I was a child and we spent it at Iowa City City Park every year...great memories there--but the 4th with Steph and Company definitely now makes it a highlight of my year!

Summer is great for family togetherness, but it's also superb for donning your favorite sundress and going out for a lovely dinner with your peeps. Somehow Stephanie Kim and I have stumbled into a dare-I-say regular routine of trying a new restaurant together once a month or so...well, new to Kim and I--we let Stephanie guide us to the right places! Oh do I love hanging out with my girls. Never underestimate the power of getting a bit gussied and having a night out with your buddies! It is a wonderful thing. Of course the sad thing is this has sort of replaced our podcast get-togethers for now....but only for the time being. I'm not ready to give up on Feminine Hijinx yet!

Summer in Minneapolis would not be complete without visiting one of the 10 thousand lakes! Not much makes a Mommy happier than to see her child enjoying themselves so completely and so purely in the sand and sun. Sullivan spent hours this day working on a very cool sandcastle complete with moat. When we dragged Coreman back out there that evening, it was amazingly still there.

Ahhh, Brookside. Our family will probably never have any other summer vacation but heading up there--but you know, that is not such a bad thing. Kids are safely free to roam and play, parents can relax (or be active...I myself mostly choose the former...!) with good company and just be a family. And since Brookside is also a childhood memory for me, that makes it all the more special!!

And we say goodbye to yet another summer by hitting the Great Minnesota Get-Together..the State Fair, of course! Both kids had their artwork displayed and ribboned...Sullivan getting a blue for his first time in! Yes, the fair is crowded and dirty (oh, the germs!) sometimes unbearably hot...but I for one can't resist it anyway. Where else can I eat a gyro, some mini donuts, fries and an elephant ear all in one day, absolutely guilt-free??!

So there it is, my friends, my summer in a nutshell. Nothing too spectacular in some eyes, I'm sure, but perfect by me. The only downfall is that it went by wayyy too fast...and it goes faster every year. I am excited tho, for the new beginnings that a new school year will bring for the kids. Here we go again...!

All in All...

Doesn't this look good? It is my friends, it is. Stephanie and John's pool is pretty much a little paradise, especially because whenever I am there they are such wonderful and gracious hosts that I feel like a queen. Lucky me has been able to enjoy the pool and the hosts (or at least one host) a lot lately and that's just fine by me. Sprinkle a little Kim in there, and it's all good.

July 4th was a blast, as I knew it would be. It's been our tradition to spend it with Steph and John for a few years now, and this year it turned out to be a bonafide party with Stu (yes, the Wine Genius) and his wife Debbie, Debbie's sister Michelle, Harry, Stacey, Coop-a-Doop, and Digby, Margo and Levi. Yes, doggies were invited too and darn it all, I did not get a photo of those guys. It was quite hilarious, all of them running around and sometimes in the pool. Poor Margo was just trying to get away from these crazy boys. She took refuge in anyone's arms, and that made for one happy Sullivan. Everyone contributed to the meal, and the food was delish. After some swim and some vittles, we all went out onto the golf course for the show. We all agreed that this year seemed to be the best one yet, amazing! Pretty darn satisfying, even if the fireworks are over very quickly--as Sullivan would say, "Just like a good sneeze." :-)

Stephanie, Kim and I took advantage of a last-minute free evening and went out for dinner to a restaurant called Luci Ancora in Saint Paul, of course on Steph's suggestion. YUM with a capital Y, it was positively delicious. And you just can't go wrong with a cozy dinner out with your peeps anyways. It was lovely!!

Then again with my fine friends, and again by the pool. It was a Mom/Kid affair, bringing the Trio together again. (sorry, but for certain annoying reasons only 2 of our children are shown in this photo...!) Btw, the kids are the only people you will see on this blog in their bathing suits, in case you are wondering...!!!

All in all, I'd say summer is going pretty darn well. Other than the fact that every time we have a storm lately it's a violent one, and in our woody lot it's causing many branches to be broken. Not fun because each time it happens they are left hanging over power lines or something and we have to pay to have someone come out and saw them down. This is getting expensive! I guess to be expected when you live in Cakeville...!

Always Fresh Once Again!

It's about darn time! It felt good to get another Feminine Hijinx podcast done once again--we goils had been on one long haitus, considering it had been 6 whole months since our last one! A lot has happened since then, of course...first it was summer traveling and general busy-ness, then my whole move thing, school starting, the holidays...and now here we are, the new year and I'm gettin' some hijinx in with my peeps once again.

We started out the evening by celebrating Stephanie's 41st birthday at Sweeney's in Saint Paul. Nothing like a brewski and bar food to get a night rolling--and we ladies can be as loud as we want/need to in a rowdy bar! (although according to Stephanie she could STILL hear my laugh from the bathroom stall...yeah!) From there we came back here to our set-up in the living room. At the old house we podcasted from the 'naughty pine' downstairs...but what to call our new living room space? Kim ran with the vaulted ceiling thing giving it the moniker of the Vaginal Vault. Stephanie came up with the Virginal Vault, although after popping the podcast cherry last night I guess it can't be called that. Maybe it will just be shortened to The Vault, although the sunny open room that looks out over the street hardly seems vault-like. hmmm, I guess it's one of those things that will just have to come to us one of these days. (I see where you are going with that! Naughty!)

Regardless, it felt good to be back at it again...although I have to say I did feel a bit rusty. The girls and I thought that maybe we talked it to death too much at the bar before we got back here, that could very well be. In listening to it though, I feel pretty good about the turn-out. We've still got it... IT being the gab, the naughty talk and of course the never-ending laughs. Works for me! Who cares if I'm the only one who listens?!

T'was a Happy Birthday, Kim!!

It was, it was. Even though yesterday wasn't OFFICIALLY Kim's 40th, we celebrated at Stephanie's anyway. As usual Stephanie made us a fabulous meal and we laughed and cackled into the wee hours. (okay, maybe not THAT wee, but to me midnight is wee.) Here's Kim showing how she REALLY feels about the age of 40, flashing her F*%?K Forty bling ring. Nice! I have to say 40's not all bad so far though (now that I'm the ripe old age of 41, you know)..and if I get to celebrate it this way 3 times, hey, not bad at all. Kim brought over a perfect 40 gift she was given, "God's Gift", as a matter of fact. A nice photo celebration of some 70's/80's cheesecake men. Some were quite scary, I might add.

Today, it's Serious Packing Time. My dishes, silverware, pots, pans...all that stuff, bye bye. (for a few days, anyway.) We are now officially onto paper and plastic products and soley take-out food. It's getting down to the wire, my friends! Vivian wasn't feeling well this morning, she's home today. I have to say it's nice to have her around, luckily she isn't REALLY sick. Personally I think she is emotionally sad about the house, and tired from the stress of it all and the new school business. She's allowed a day of hookey, and probably part of her wants a last full day in her house. sigh. Kids don't have the experience like us old folk do, knowing that even though you can be sad about leaving a place, the new place has great things in store. I pray in time she does come to love our new abode as much as this one.

And what the heck is it with these creepy Jeweled Araneus spiders I'm seeing everywhere lately?! Good grief, it's an invasion. At first glace one might think it's quite cool, they are pretty sizeable and weave beautiful perfect round webs. One might be cool, but when I start seeing them in numbers it's just darn creepy. I've passed under them at friend's houses, had to avoid opening the door the other night because of one in our vines overhead. In fact last night I couldn't even come into my own front door, one was actually on it and I was NOT going to chance that sucker landing on me as I was working at the lock. UG! Then this afternoon I was throwing a bag of garbage out and as I came up the back stairs my socked foot brushed a web with ONE IN IT, between a couple of the stairs. !!!! Enough is enough. Thank G-d Terminix is going to be at our new house the afternoon we close, ready to poison anything thing that crawls. And since it's so wooded and no one has been in the house since March, I have a terrible feeling the house itself could crawl right now. UG!

Happy Birthday, Kim!

Ahhh yes, the Maven will finally be joining us biddies at the Big 4-0. Okay well, technically it's not quite her birthday yet, but we peeps are celebrating tonight! With my upcoming move in less than a week, I knew things would be getting hectic and not leave much time for partying, so there it is. We shall we dining once again at Chez Stephanie, and I can honestly say I'd rather eat there than any ol' restaurant. How lucky am I to have a friend who loves to cook for me??? And remember, Stephanie is the one who can make popcorn be gourmet. So I am looking forward to an amazingly fun night of amazing food and fabulous company. Huzzah! I have a feeling 40 will be a good year for My Friend Kim. She's got a new job, doing something she loves, and she's Just Saying No. Go Kim!

Meanwhile, boxes and more boxes. And did I say Boxes?? It's amazing how much stuff you realize you have when you move. I have to say it feels a bit ridic to be packing all of this stuff away so carefully and in so many boxes to move it all of about 3 miles. I know it's what you have to do to make it more efficient and keep your stuff in one piece, but still. Plus it's disgustingly hot out there, especially for September. What's up with that? I am officially over the heat, ready for the cool temps of fall. Hey, a girl's gotta wear her new Uggs, after all.

Back to School Shopping

(not the most attractive photo of me, but at over-40, I just don't give a shinola anymore! yeah!)

Ah yes, the school year has begun indeed, which means weekly coffee dates once again with Stephanie--and now Kim!!--and Metal Mommy gets to go shopping. I had a couple of gift cards burning a hole in Ms. Coach and of course now that I'm free to take all the time I need (well, at least of a 6 hour day) to contemplate Gap Classic boot cut jeans or Curvy fashion ones, I'm going to take advantage. And here's some good news, at least to Metal Mommy who has had 2 kids me...the rise of jeans is rising once again. Oh, you can still get the low-rise, but now you have a choice of low, mid or high. I'm not a high-rise jeans type person, but middle is JUST right. No more Muffin Top! Wooo! Unless you are a total Skinny Minnie, low rise jeans definitely give you the dreaded Muffin Top, Bacon Belt, whatever you want to call it. Whatever it is you call it, it's not attractive, so this is a very good thing. I guess fashion had to make up for Wide Leg pants that are now in style--had to throw us shorties who wouldn't be caught dead in such things a bone. I mean, isn't that Wide Leg pant thing what rebel kids wear in Junior High and High School, along with pants that hang down past their butts?? Well, I guess one way to get them to stop rebeling with them is to make them fashionable. We practically had the butt thing going with those low-rise jeans.

But enough about fashion! (for now.) After a bit of a rough start, school is now going fabulously for both kids. They are getting into their grooves, thank goodness. Here's a nice photo of Sullivan looking pretty relaxed at his new desk. No worries there!

Into a busy weekend ahead with a goumet dinner and a Silpada Jewelry party. Yay!

Another School Year

Lordy Lordy, I just sent my daughter off to the wolves...to her first day of Junior High at a brand new school. I think Coreman and I are more nervous than she is, neither of us slept a wink last night. She on the other hand, said she slept like a baby and she seemed cool as a cuke this morning. Soon I'll be sending Sullivan off to his new school as a 1st grader, as well. sigh.

Of course any parent is lying that says they don't look forward to that first day of school--well, at least any home-parent. My days to myself again! It feels good after a month of craziness. This past week of getting the kids registered and all of the rigamarole that goes along with that was quite overwhelming, on top of all of the moving stuff. I'll celebrate my new-found all day freedom by having coffee with my peeps this morning, yahoo! Now that Kim has her new job, she can join Stephanie and I for our weekly coffee ritual. Stephanie's Nathan is also starting a new school today, and with a new job to talk about as well, I'm sure the coffee shop will be buzzing this morning!!

Somehow this week we also managed to slip in a day at the State Fair. Nothing says 'end of the summer' like the State Fair. Once again our fine daughter managed to get her artwork accepted--and this time she won a blue ribbon!!!!! It was all I could do not to stand around the display telling everyone that peeked in that MY DAUGHTER drew that cool blue-ribbon-winning haunted castle. (yes, a haunted castle. very metal indeed.) We ate the usual fair fare and had a wonderful time. A family tradition!

And, a happy happy birthday to our sweet Sir Digby, who turned one yesterday. What a gift he has been to our family! Here he is with his new birthday toy!

Let Them Eat Cake!

And eat cake I shall, apparently, now that I am going to be living in a new 'uppity 'burb. I didn't grow up here in Minneapolis so it's all Greek to me, but I guess anyone who lives in my new zip code is given the lovely term 'Cake Eater'. It's beyond me as there are definitely enough well-to-do people where I am currently, but there it is. I guess it started way back in the high school sport world, where fans from Edina would shout to the others, "your dad works for my dad", and things like that. I suppose I can see why people that grew up hearing that hold a grudge, but ah well. I'm sure those things aren't said anymore, not in this PC world we live in now. (at least not out loud. eeek.) All I know is we found a bigger house with more space around us for LESS money in both house and taxes than we are paying here. So why wouldn't I eat cake?!

Life has been crazy crazy around here lately--first trying to find a home, then finding one and getting all of the details sorted out. Then there is the fact that the kids will be in a new school district, and all of the rigamarole that goes with that. And that needs to be sorted out in all of a week! Both Vivian and I need to get our heads around the fact that at 6th grade in this new district she will be starting Junior High. eeeek! Neither of us are prepared for that! She'll be jumping right in. She's a bit nervous (of course!) and sad about missing her friends (of course again!) but she's also excited for her new adventure.

Meanwhile I'm a busy party girl with my new Silpada Jewelry business. I have to say, it is a blast--and where else could I make over $500 for a few hours' work?? Gotta love that. I get to sport lovely jewels, hang out with women at parties and make good money. Nice!

In all of this craziness the Coreman and I managed to squeeze in a date--the other night we attended this cool benefit called 21 For Kids, a dinner and auction put on by Wild hockey player Mark Parrish to benefit local charities that help out kids in need. It was a blast, and I was all ready to plunk down some serious ching for an autographed poster from the latest Harry Potter movie, "The Order of the Phoenix". Oh man, when I saw that I was freaking out, knowing how much both Vivian and I love the books and movies. I was totally caught up in the hype of it all and before I knew it I was writing down $550 on the line. Yikes! Probably lucky for us, we didn't win it...it went for $900. Whoa! Coreman kept joking that I'd be giving up my new washer and dryer in the new home for the poster. I suppose he was right! We've got to sort out our priorities, after all. (in the wise words of Ronald Weasley.) The event itself was a blast--amazing food, hob-nobbing with the stars (at least star hockey players, not that I knew who anyone was) and listening to a fun band called The Zoo. All in all it was fun to get gussied up and go out with my man. These days those evenings are few and far between!

And tonight, gussied and out with my peeps Stephanie and Kim! Those lovely ladies are taking me out for a pre-birthday dinner, I am so excited! I haven't given one thought to my birthday coming up, honestly. But I am so happy for any excuse to spend time with my lovely friends. So much has been going on in our lives and we've been too busy to dish about it! Maybe I'll order a nice slice of CAKE for dessert....;-)

A Troubled Bridge Over Water

I'm sure most of you have heard about the 35W bridge that collapsed here in Minneapolis. What a tragedy! Imagine going along at rush hour, sitting on that bridge, all of a sudden you are dropping 35 feet. I guess the whole thing went down in about 4 seconds. The only saving grace with that is that no one had time to think or panic, it just went down. Of course they are still checking the river below, I'm sure many cars are in there. Very scary. Vivian's first comment when I told her was, "Voldemort is back!", referring of course to Harry Potter's nemesis, who's return brought chaos to the Muggle (non-wizarding folk) world by destroying things all around, including major bridges. Whereas this event here certainly isn't anything to joke about, the fact and reason that it happened is just as un-explainable and bizarre. Luckily, so far no one I know has been effected by it. My heart goes out to anyone that has been.

And speaking of Harry Potter, I'm about halfway through the last book, "The Deathly Hallows"! Not bad, considering my daughter had it with her at camp for a week, and in between reading I've been frantically trying to get our house ready to put on the market in ONE WEEK, packing and gearing up for our vacation, and preparing for my first jewelry show up there as a new http://www.silpada.com/public/ Representative. whew. Life is busy right now, to say the least. But it's all good! I am certainly not complaining!

In all of my running around to prepare for everything I've mentioned, I had to sneak in a little personal shopping and ran into Steve and Barry's, a clothing store which just so happened to be conveniently in a location I needed to go. I myself have never heard of this store, but I knew that it carried Sarah Jessica Parker's new clothing line, "Bitten". My Friend Kim had checked it out and came back with a couple pair jeans--jeans that fit wonderfully, no less, and cost next to nothing. huh. I have to say I wasn't impressed. I tried on some jeans, and they sure didn't fit me well. Granted I wasn't spending a lot of time and only tried on a couple of styles, and of course jeans fit everyone differently. But the overall look of the clothes is just 'eh'. If you need t shirts, polo shirts, that kind of thing, than I'd say it's definitely worth a look. But I guess I expected the funky and fun style that goes along with SJP--at least as Carrie Bradshaw. And c'mon, can SJP be anyone else?!

Off to vaca tomorrow! Boy, do we need it. I can't believe when we get back we'll be school shopping. Whoa! Time does fly.

Summer Fun

As KISS would say, Hot Hot, Hotter than Hell. (I know I am dating myself, but anyone who ever keeps up with this blog already knows I'm FORTY.) Did I get that song stuck in your head now?? (that is, if you are KISS fans.) That was my good deed for the day. You're welcome.

Yes, I'm still here, yes, I'm still alive, yes, everything is okay. It's sweet that people worry about me if I don't blog. Always nice to know someone out there would probably send the search party if I didn't post for a month or so. Makes me think when I'm old and alone that I'll keep this blog going, if nothing else for that very reason!!! Lucky you. Then I'll be going on and on about my poop, my bunions, and all of that fun stuff. yahoo!

No, I've just been a busy Metal Mommy taking in the summer. Other than this Hot as Haities weather, it's been lovely. Just waking up late in the morning with--on most days--nothing to rush off to. And if we do have something to rush off to, it's usually something fun. Here is Sullivan hanging at my friend Dawn's pool. Dawn kept telling me to invite myself over, and damn if I didn't put the Nice Girl aside and do it. Inviting myself over to someone's house is something I've never been able to do--even when Coreman wants to just stop by for an un-announced visit with someone at a perfectly reasonable hour I feel uncomfortable. But Dawn has been insisting that I do it, she and Mark want people to come use their pool--and who am I to say no to that?! :-) I suppose it's pretty metal to just announce your impending presence.

Hanging with friends, my old boyfriend Hayden's 40th birthday party, hitting the Rec Center pool with the kids...all good summer fun. The only bad thing is I've hardly seen my dear Golden Girls Kim and Stephanie at all so far! Whassup with that?! Ladies, I miss you. Isn't it bizarre, you'd think summer time would be the time you see your peeps the most. Not when you have a family....you are busy busy busy taking kids here and there and keeping them entertained. Ah well, such is life. Makes the good times when we are together that much sweeter.

So all of you stay cool, safe and enjoy the summer! We will be lamenting it's demise before we know it....

Good Times

Good times to be had by all at Bar Billadeau last night. Kim was worried at one point that Pat might cancel because of an impending storm....I guess as a kid at any dark cloud he would sequester himself down in the basement with the essentials...a radio, flashlight, blanket (for falling glass) and a bag of Doritos. I decided to make him feel more at ease I'd let him borrow Sullivan's handy emergency generator-powered wind up radio complete with flashlight and siren, and of course the chips. (forgot the blankie. But I figured Kim would have that.) Here's a photo of Pat looking afraid, but really there was nothing to fear. Just some wind, not even a drop of rain. Poor Pat, I think he really wanted to take home that full bag of Doritos, but alas, big sister Kim ripped into 'em and he was forced to share. I didn't get home until midnight with a sore throat from all my laughing. I was a tired Metal Mommy this morning!

Busy day today. I have a lot of errand running to do during my last few days of freedom before the kids are home from school for the summer. One of my errands was to run to the Mall (gee darn) to get some make up. Stephanie got me hooked on an eye pencil from Bobbi Brown--it was one of her rejects that I stole from Vivian's stash--and as it is getting down to the nubbins I had to go get a replacement. I ended up getting two--one of that color, and one a lighter color that seems more suitable for summer days to me. Then I decided to head over to Lancome and splurge on a mascara. I hate spending money on mascara, it seems so boring and dumb to me. But, I will say, there is a difference between the spendy ones and the drugstore ones. I try to go cheap and I always end up with clumps. There is nothing more frustrating than clumpy mascara. Lancome was having a 'free gift' thing--man, I love those things--but wouldn't you know I was $6 under the minimum purchase to get it?? Good grief. Even though I really wanted it I refused to buy something else that I didn't really need or want purely on the principal of the thing. If a girl spends $23 on a flipping mascara then she should surely get a free gift. As if reading my mind, the sales lady then plopped a clear plastic tote on the counter chock-full of lipsticks and eyeshadow quads, telling me that they made some sort of 'announcement' over the loudspeaker and that I got to pick 2 things out of that bag. Nice! So I did get a free gift after all...maybe not the tote and the flip flops, but who needs flip flops when you've got pearly pink Crocs?? I had to kind of laugh at the announcement thing--don't get me wrong, I'm happy they do it, but what is Macy's now...Kmart? The whole Blue Light Special thing?? Too funny.

This afternoon Sully and I will head over to Vivian's school to hear her and her classmates read reports that they've done. It's a very cute thing that her class seems to do twice a year, they make a party out of it. According to Vivian's disappointment I guess I am not the cool Mom since I am bringing something healthy as a snack--I realize it's not very metal to bring grapes instead of cupcakes to a school function but hey, I'm just bringing was was asked of me. Don't you remember that, tho? How the snack you brought to school totally reflected your coolness-factor? Hey, it could have been the roasted cauliflower I am eating right now as my lunch. (thank you, Stephanie!) For some reason I am the only one who appreciates that in this family....

And tonight a retirement party for one of Vivian's old teachers. I'm very sad to see her go, I was hoping that eventually Sullivan could have her as well. Sigh, the passing of time brings change. Some good, some bad, some bittersweet. I think I'll go back to lunch with my cauliflower and my sweet son who just got home from school and revel in the moment.

On My Patio

Yes, 'tis spring/summer, and I'm having everyone on my patio once again. Why is the 70's Donna Summer hit "On the Radio" in my head right now? You know, instead of singing "On the radio, whoa, on the radio" my version is "On the patio, whoa, on the patio"...see? Now you'll be stuck on that all day. heh heh.


Softball party! We had the first one of the season, it's always good to just get it out there and be done right away. A wipe of the hands, we did our duty. And it was fun. Coreman plays on the Wooddale Bulldogs team and quite frankly I don't know how good they are because I never get to see a game. My little guy is still at the age where sitting in the stands and watching grown men hit balls with bats and run around on a diamond is just not as alluring as the nearby playground equipment. And because he's still little, I can't just let him go play. But the burgers and dogs on the patio was great fun, and the weather was perfect. Lucky, since it's been storming/raining a lot lately.

Last night our friends Pam and Gary joined us a for a nice patio evening as well. We chatted and ate salty chips and sweet yummy cupcakes from Trader Joe's, (thanks and no-thanks P and G!!!) by the lovely lights with our new bug zapper that Coreman got for his birthday letting out the occasional 'zap!' What a satisfying sound that is, I have to say. One less bloodsucker in the world. Or on MY patio.

Tonight, I will be on Kim's patio, with her and her hilarious wish-he-were-my-brother Pat. We are indeed supposed to get storms, but hey, the beer and/or wine will be pouring and we'll be laughing...so who the heck cares?!

Happy Birthday Coreman!

Well, it's actually tomorrow, but since we're having a celebration of 3, count 'em 3 birthdays tomorrow, I figured I probably wouldn't get a chance to post. May is like Christmas around here--no less than 4 major brithdays and 3 Mother's Days to celebrate. Since the Coreman shares his birthday week with his sister and Mom, we often kill of those birdies with one stone and do a family get-together. We'll be hosting it on our patio and the weather looks perfect. Yeah! Gotta love those spring birthdays.

So Happy Birthday sister-in-law Kim, mother-in-law Connie, and especially my dear hubbie Cory. Where would I be if it weren't for your loving support?? A day to celebrate indeed.

Susie Homemaker and the Poisonous Cake

Ahhh, nothing better than a perfect spring day in Minnesota. Especially when the weekend is kicked off hanging out on the patio with your peeps after recording another podcast and enjoying some homemade coconut lemon cake that you've slaved away for and your friends actually like. Success! Don't ask me why, but the weather was completely amazing yesterday afternoon so I felt compelled to stay in the house and bake a cake. huh?! However, being the paranoid that I am, I was fretting about leaving it out, as the lemon filling in the center was made with egg. Stephanie kept insisting that it was fine...even so, I still put the cake in the fridge over night.

This morning I found 2 emails from my ever-lovin' peeps, both saying they were sick last night!!!!! Of course my first thought was The Cake--even though Coreman and I had both had some and were absolutely fine. Just when I was wondering if I should throw the rest of it away, I get another email from Stephanie saying, "GOTCHA!" Maven of Mischief cooked up a little plan to freak me out into thinking I poisoned my friends. nice. They got me, all right! Too hilarious. You just can't let your guard down around that friend of mine. Too bad I'm so damn gullible, and am never able to retaliate. You guys will have to help me think of something for revenge....

It must have been the 'drilles. That's my new name for my espadrilles, thanks to Kim. It sounds much more metal, don't you think? With them on I am about 4 inches taller than Kim, which she wasn't too happy about. :-)