Day #30

If you could call any living person for advice today, who would you call?
What, you mean like a celebrity? Because honestly, I would call my parents just to chat.  And I probably could except that it is like 2 in the afternoon for them and they are busy, if you know what I mean.  But I would like to just be sitting in their house today (or maybe the sauna in their basement-they are in Sweden you know, where people do that I guess.) I want to sit and watch a movie while eating popcorn with my Mom and pretend to be grossed out when my Dad walks in with applesauce on his ice cream.  I miss them.  Plus, I really want to gallivant around Sweden eating cinnamon rolls and Orangina (do they have Orangina? It just seems like what you are supposed to drink in other countries.)  So that is who I would like to talk to.


And I suppose that it should not go unnoticed that I failed, FAILED people, to write every day in November. I justify it by saying that I started a couple of days late so it wasn't totally complete anyway but really, one day? I couldn't do it just one more day yesterday? In my defense it's because my husband made me stomp out of the room in a huff and go to bed early...and really, I needed to go to bed early so I guess it wasn't all that bad.
National Blogging Month, you have not been as fun as I had hoped and I most likely will not agree to your inane demands next year.  Sorry.  This relationship just didn't work out for me.  Because what I found out is that generally speaking, my posts are uninteresting, and so when I am being forced to blog against my will, they are super uninteresting....and blogging prompts are dumb most of the time.
So now I am going to make a list and go grocery shopping...and buy a new tree skirt (hopefully not at the grocery store.) 
And you thought that suddenly the posts would get interesting again?  How cute.
Peace out November.

Day #28

What's in my purse

We had such a fun weekend with our friends in southern Virginia for Thanksgiving...and I will get to that, right after I recover from being gone for four days and then decending upon our house Sunday afternoon again.  So I was pleased that today's prompt was something that I actually almost did a couple of weeks ago-and it's more interesting than my token post one-liners to account for the day.  Lucky you.

(What is not labeled however would be the following: Boba Fett tattoo, gum wrappers, business cards from random face painters in Annapolis, stuffed animal sunglasses, a chess award ribbon, my first aid kit complete with Neosporin, bandaids and about 7 various medications, a camera, two notebooks, six pens and two pencils...need I go on? I probably could.)

So here you go, the mess that is my purse (it was promptly cleaned out and re-organized following this picture of course.)

Day #27

Happy Day 27.  We'll be home tomorrow and maybe I'll have some pictures to show for it.

Day #26

Partying this weekend with the Millers...and wearin' the kids out.
Peace out.

Day #25

Happy Thanksgiving.

Day #24

Cue the Hallelujah Chorus.

Hazel has resumed her afternoon nap.

I mean, I really love following her around during "cranky time" and doing things like cleaning toothpaste out of hairbrushes and returning approximately 4,384 little hair elastics back to their rightful place in the hair bin.  All I'm sayin is, "hooray" for naps and happy toddlers come 4-7pm.

Day #23 Also

Day #23-A You Tube video
Fainting Goats - a classic.
Let it be stated for the record here and now that I hate You Tube...yes it has a million interesting and funny things to watch, tutorials, music videos, etc.  But it also has so much trash and is such a waste of time that I dislike it, greatly.
So there.  In my best hypocritical admonishing, go watch a funny video or two.

OK, in case you haven't noticed, there may not be a video up above...just google the video yourself because I am much too busy today to worry about it.  Just don't get sucked into YouTube land for very long.

Day #23

A You Tube Video
Foux De Fa Fa by Flight of the Conchords

Day #21

A recipe:

Here is the recipe for Wassail, as in "Here we go a-Wassailing"? No, I don't really know what that means, but it's the drink that I love this time of year and that I just like to have around to drink hot or cold, morning or night.  Yummy, fall, deliciousness.  It's a recipe from my mother in law that we would shrivel up and die without.

(Believe it or not, this is the recipe with the sugar cut in half and it's still pretty sweet.)
Enjoy!

Mix:
6 cups water
1 and 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar.  Boil for 5 minutes.

Add:
5 cinnamon sticks
15 cloves
10 allspice
2 ginger

Turn off burner and cover.  Let stand for one hour.  Add one gallon apple cider and 1 bottle of cranberry juice.
(It would be lovely to put all those spices in a tied up cheesecloth or something so it's nice and easy to get out...or you can either spoon it out or I have even just left them in there in the bottles and avoid actually drinking them.)

Enjoy!

Day #20

Name a hobby of yours.
Hmm, this is difficult to answer because with my current line of work, "hobbies" can be sporadic at best.  It also means that I haven't explored many new areas of interest for some time.  But I love to craft, decorate with things that I have made (or copied) myself and I love to read.  (I haven't contributed to this website for a while but I would love to put more of my projects on there.  I am working on one right now that is almost finished so stay tuned...Lucky Penny is sisters and sisters in law, and this one is a blog a set up a while ago but haven't added anything to for a long time, maybe I'll add recent projects before I publish this post.)
But always, reading is truly a treat for me.  When I finish a book I kind of feel lost for a couple of days...why should I get my work all done quickly and efficiently if I don't have a book to sit down with and enjoy? I don't watch TV during the day so I simply must have a book on hand.  My favorite is historical fiction but I can enjoy just about anything.  If you haven't checked out Goodreads, do.  It is a great resource for book ideas.  You can see not only what people have read, but their reviews so you don't waste good money or time on a dud. And you can add your own friends so that it's people you know and trust!
I am currently reading Alice: Alice Roosevelt Longworth, from White House Princess to Washington Power Broker.

 It is my car book (I always have one on hand in there for those times that I am just waiting waiting for something.) This is a recommendation from Mrs. Dillon, a beloved high school teacher that gives great reading recommendations.  Hello Mrs. Dillon!

I also most recently finished The Giver (always a favorite that I read from time to time because it is so short and quick) and one called The Clockwork Three (suspenseful and interesting, not sure how I feel about the ending yet.)

On my queue are the Harry Potter series (I haven't read any of them, gasp! because I wanted to wait until the series was completely written so I can read it and not have to wait....so it's time to be on that bandwagon finally.) also Galileo's Daughter and Sarah's Key which have come highly recommended.

  

Now go get your 'read' onnnn, people.

Day #19

I always wanted to be a  Mom. 
I never wanted to be a maid.

After an [especially] early morning, followed by many nights of interrupted sleep, and being yelled at mercilessly by one very emotional, very ornery daughter I find myself at my desk.  Despite the lack of good sleep this week I have been so good-I have kept the house cleaned up, we have had good dinners and I have started each morning with a healthy breakfast and my scriptures after sending the girls off to school.  And yet, this morning has left me sitting at my computer, blogging at 8am and eating a delicious cinnamon caramel popcorn concoction (thanks to my new friend Elizabeth...please tell me that its not a secret recipe or I will have to stalk you for the rest of my life...is that white chocolate I am tasting in there?!)
I am feeling frustrated and I want to run away to maybe Paris...does anyone want to go to Paris with me? It was a mistake to ever have gone at all because now I know it's awesome and "I want to go to there". It's more awesome than cleaning up the same mess again today that I cleaned up yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that.
Some days, finding the joy in motherhood is hard.  No, I take that back.  I can almost always find the joy in motherhood.  It's finding the joy in "homemaker" that is seemingly more difficult.  It's repetitive, and tedious and the results are so fleeting.  It also doesn't help that I really am the only one that truly appreciates a well organized and picked up house.  I don't think anybody else would even notice it was chaotic...until they ran out of underwear or something.  And let's face it, there are more than a couple of family members that probably wouldn't notice that for some time.  So I guess it's a good thing I am here.  Someone has got to remind them to change their underwear and pick up their clothes so that they have clothes to wear tomorrow.  Which brings me back to an original thought that I have been having repeatedly since last night's episode of 30 Rock.  Why do I want to be Liz Lemon? What is it that I find so appealing about her, especially since her character is supposed to be mostly pathetic? But I do.  And realizing that I want to be Liz Lemon also means that I have to be the "RA".  RA's basically get to tell everyone what to do while living somewhere for free, right?  But the people don't actually listen to what the RA tells them to do, they just sneak behind her back and do it anyway. Blech, who wants that?
This post really just suddenly got so off topic but pretty consistent with how my brain functions.  If I don't find the humor in it then I will just go sit on the couch with Hazel and watch cartoons instead of taking a shower and going to playgroup and then cleaning up the house and getting ready to see it get messy all weekend.  And really that doesn't benefit anyone.  So I suppose I will just put on my big girl panties and get it done. I can pretend that it doesn't bother me today...but I did that yesterday so I might have to come up with a different strategy today.  How about, if I work fast this morning then I will allow myself to sit on the couch this afternoon and finish the book that is taking me far too long to finish.  I think I can cope with that...at least until the older girls get home from school and I have to follow through with yesterday/this morning's punishment of afore mentioned ornery daughter...it ain't gonna be pretty but what's a better way to start our weekend?

Happy Friday everyone.  Do you feel like I just spit in your oatmeal?

I always wanted to be a Mother.
I never wanted to be the maid.

Day#18

I started writing about today's prompt and I just couldn't go through with it.  Too involved, too long.  So instead I am just going to acknowledge that it is day 18 and I'll see you back here, same time, tomorrow.
Thank you.

Day #17

Today:

 Hazel exercised and didn't knock out a tooth like I was positive she was going to do.

 Mia has discovered the Wonder Woman costume that my Mo made me when I was three and she won't take it off.  She is now "all things wonder [fill in the blank]" She has been making requests for Wonder Woman the series and Superman repeatedly and hiding the costume in her closet during school so no one else will get it.  She also pairs it with different "underthings" each time I see her.  I rather like the stripey leggings today.

 Abby was, well, Abby.

 Haley practiced her new instrument at home for the first time.  She has taken to it amazingly fast.  Today was her real first day in the class (the teacher was nice enough to let her start late since we moved in after school started.) When she came down from her room, instead of just plucking the string sequences that she learned today, she had the primary songbook and was doing church songs.  This girl has musical talent...we are just  not sure where she gets it from.

And today the girls brought home school pictures..."awkward family photos" much? (please tell me you have purused that website...if not, prepare to be amazed, amused, confused, disturbed and you guessed it, awkward...if nothing else you may get an idea or two for this year's Christmas card.)

Anyway, back to this year's train wreck.  I always order the smallest package of school pictures.  I don't hang them anywhere, I just need to have one "school picture" to go in their file.  It makes it official in my mind that they really went to school, all that nostalgic good stuff.  This is the first year that they really totally stunk.  The quality is bad and what is up with Mia's hair?! I mean really, was no one paying attention to the actual child in the chair and her head?  Here, you want a close up?

If I had taken the time to edit this picture I would have put an enormous neon arrow to that craziness and written "WHAT THE HECK SCHOOL PHOTOGRAPHER?!" in big letters.

So not only does the picture quality already look dated 20 years, but her expression and posture are completely  bizarre, and her hair looks nuts! (basically how it usually looks, but that is supposed to be masked every year in the school picture.) The funny thing is, Mia told me that day and again today that someone combed her hair beforehand.

When Haley was in Kindergarten I volunteered on picture day to make sure kids were good to go.  Good thing too, because some genius decided that post-lunch was a good time for the Kindergarteners to be immortalized for their parents and extended families everywhere.  I went through almost a whole box of wipies.  I was smoothing hair, cleaned food crust and boogars like you wouldn't believe.  I even made a run back to the classroom to get Haley's headband that she had left behind. 

This will have to just be one of those years that I appreciate life as it is.  Sometimes a crappy school picture is just what you get...and somehow I am OK with that.

Day #16

A song that makes you cry
I'm afraid that there are a lot of songs that have that kind of potential.  My heart has turned all mushy in my ripened age.  The one that gets me every single time though is "Who are these children coming down?" from Saturday's Warrior.  Am I a little embarrassed to admit that? Sure.  But if you are a parent, tell me that you can listen to that song and not melt into a disgusting little puddle on the floor.  It's true.  Sappy, but true.


Your favorite shoes (I am going back and answering this one because I actually have some.)
I currently have 2- pairs that is.  One is new and the other old, really old. 

The old ones are sloppy seconds from my little sister several (I'm talkin' like 10 at least) years ago.  I love them.  They go with everything from jeans to dresses and they are Comfy (with a capital C, just like you see there.) They look less obviously worn and ratty when they are on my feet.  I could get these in every color and never have to worry what to wear again.
The new: I decided this month that it was time for new "all purpose cold weather" shoes....so I can retire (brace yourselves) my very worn fabric-y clogs from 1997.  I know, two of my sisters are passed out on the floor this very moment after reading that.  I was trying to find something cute, hip, comfortable.  And I came to this conclusion: I am just a tennis shoe kinda gal.  And since I have love my daughters shoes the last couple of years, I jumped on that bandwagon.

I love them.  They go with my perfect kind of outfit: jeans, a cute embellished t and a cardigan.  And that about sums up this season's wardrobe.
The End.

Day #15 Entitled: Deja Vu-esque

I wanted to put down some thoughts about our move here.  These thoughts will either be very poignant in 20 years, or a fleeting thought in 2.  Nevertheless, I have had a very interesting experience in our most recent move to the greater DC area. Don't worry, I will throw in random pictures here and there to keep it interesting. 
Let me start by saying that I have never lived anywhere longer than four years my whole life.  A fact that I don't begrudge.  Not to say that some moves haven't been difficult but I have been alright and things always turn out great in the end (except for maybe my school experience in Massachusetts, but I blame that entirely on puberty and a bad perm.) 
The last ten years however has made me tired.  The places we have lived, the experiences we have had in the Navy and the people we have known have been irreplaceable and I wouldn't have had it any other way.  The fact is, as a married woman/mother, I know no other way.  I actually begin to feel a little antsy after a couple of years.  Even with the places that I have really loved, I start to itch for a little change (that may be why we have four kids...what? we're not moving this year? Let's have a baby!...Actually, I have always been pregnant for a move or gotten pregnant within a couple of months of a move...I call that divine inspiration, not really "good planning", as it were.  But it's all worked out, right? I mean, I love all my girls so that's that...and no, I am not pregnant right now.  This move may be the exception to the "norm".)
Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, deja vu.  So my point is, I have always had a little bit of panic in the back of my mind about settling somewhere.  It seems so permanent (which it is, obviously.)  And yet in the past couple of years I have had a greater desire to settle, put down roots, and raise our girls somewhere solid and lasting.  They are amazingly adaptable and friendly and flexible.  But I want to give them the gift of long time friends, permanence and a bit more consistency in their surroundings.  However, given the fact that we have truly appreciated everywhere we have called home, how do we decide on where we want to hang up our spurs? The logical answer naturally, would be "wherever we find a job".  But what if we actually got to choose? How in the world does one go about making that decision?  I'll tell you.  You stay in tune with the spirit and Heavenly Father leads you there if you are listening.  For the first time in my adult life I feel like I am living somewhere that I could picture myself for a very long time.  A very long time.  It is a bizarre feeling of home and contentment.  I am optimistic that we could raise the kind of family that we want, right here where we are.  I mean, we might get kicked out of this house when the owners decide the same thing, but I mean the area.  I love it here, not just superficially.
The strangest part about all of this and the move here has been how "familiar" everything and everyone is.  Every single person I have met, whether through church or the girls' school, has had a familiar quality to them...almost like deja vu.  For the first couple of weeks it felt a little like the Truman Show....like at any moment I would find out that I died months ago and this is my afterlife full of people that I already knew.  OK, that is not really like Truman Show but I mean a place where everything in place is intentional and right.  It's like we arrived and with every move we make we are settling into a previously designed niche, prepared just for us.  The house, the neighborhood, the ward, the school, everything.  I can't tell you how many times I am standing and talking to someone and want to stop in the middle just to ask "Are you sure I don't know you from somewhere?"
So for what its worth, I like it here.  It feels oddly comfortable and nice and right. 

(Try to ignore Clark's amazing farmer's tan in this picture because I like it...the picture, that is.)

Day #14

Blah blah blah, day 14, too tired, need sleepy.

#13

A self appointed "pick your own topic day".  I'm sure that between now and November 30th there will be many more "pick your own".  Afterall, I occassionally have my own idea for a post.

 Clark continues to rake the leaves (and they continue to fall) and adds them to our gi-normous pile out in the woods behind our house.  We are providing a cozy little home for some vermin this winter...or a homeless person...whoever finds it first.  This is Hazel looking longingly at the pile that I wouldn't let her play in because 1)we still have ticks here in Virginia and 2)we found a snake (named "Frankie" by the girls) in a pile earlier this week.

 And then Hazel hugged a tree.

 Good news!! Much to Abby's fear pleasure, BB has been re-born.  I found her in my fabric bin the other day and Mia took a liking to her.  She has been dressing her up daily and carrying her around.  The girl needs to get out more.

 Haley has a blossoming love of all things fashion...some days I just have to bite my tongue, smile, and appreciate her sense of style.  I love her.

 We have a little wood hutch next to the fireplace...

 The girls call it "The Hut" and get sent there regularly when they are playing school and Haley is the teacher (what in the world is happening at that school of theirs, is what I want to know.)  But "The Hut" is typically full of pillows and blankets...not a bad place to curl up and read a book, I say.

 Clark, who had Veterans Day off, and I met the girls at school for their Thanksgiving feast.  I was impressed with their school's fresh assortment (despite the brown stuff on the tray) and actually ate it.  This is me looking like 'an emotion I can't quite place', but I was trying to "go back to elementary school" with it.  Clark lost his lunch ticket while waiting in line.  I thought that was funny.  He swears that no one beat him up for it, but I doubted him.  He was disappointed at the lack of chocolate milk.

 Haley and Abby have overlapping lunches so we got to eat with both of them (though only consumed lunch once.) Abby however, decided that she wanted to sit with her friends anyway so she sat at the table next to us and visited so enthusiastically, it's a wonder she ever eats lunch at all.

And that my friends, is all.

Day #12

 

OK, since I don't really feel like answering today's prompt I am going to share something that Spencer and Sho just shared with us and is just about the funniest thing, ever. 

So please watch the whole thing.

It is hilarious.

Have a good night.

Day #11

"A photo of you recently"

Glamorous, ain't it?

Day #10

What do you like most about cold weather? What do you like the least?
Making fires, being cozy inside, fuzzy socks and woolly sweaters, hot wassail and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, wearing socks to bed under my fluffy down comforter.
And um, being cold, obviously.  I hate being cold.


A photo taken over 10 years ago of you.

This was taken just over 10 years ago.  I think it's funny...back when pretending to be mad at him was still funny.

Day 9

"A picture you took"
What is that supposed to mean, like an impressive picture?  Geez...that will require me to search through photo files, reminisce, get sidetracked, have to make a snack, get sidetracked some more and then be unsatisfied that it is suddenly three hours later.  OK, I am giving myself exactly 5 minutes to search my picture files and make a decision....on my mark....GO.

 

OK, I decided I don' t like today's prompt.  Because really? I have a ton of pictures that I took and most of them are interesting to approximately, um, let's see, me. And even on the off chance that I have taken an impressive or especially interesting picture, what are the odds that I would know where it is or when I took it?  Do you see my dilemma?  So instead I settled on this one that I took just a couple of days ago.  I thought it was funny because 

1. Hazel fell asleep on my lap (which never happens) and 

2. because she was mid-sucker (which also never happens.) 

She is lucky that another sister didn't come and steal it right out of her tired little hands.

Day #8

"A photo that makes you angry/sad"

Too dramatic?  I dislike doing laundry, so sue me.

(OK, what makes me really angry/sad, is that after all these years of computerin' and blogging, I can't for the life of me rotate that picture and get it to stay.)

But I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies last night and I am wearing my velour jogging suit so I know it's going to be a good Monday.

"A photo that makes you happy"

Easy peasy.

Also this

this

and why not, this.

So in short, ones like this:

20 of my Favorite Things:

I am with my sister on this, I hate choosing "favorites"....because who really can be that absolute?  Plus, I will undoubtedly think of a million other things when I lay down to go to sleep tonight.  But here it goes:

1. Caramel
2. Foot Rubs
3. Reading
4. A clean house
5. Happy Kids
6. the color BLUE
7. watching movies
8. 30 Rock
9. Nachos and pizza
10. creating
11. piano music
12. avocados
13. bike riding
14. rainy days (with thunder)
15. traveling
16. playing games
17. soft grass
18. down comforters
19. ceiling fans
20. my parents and siblings

I know, I know...there are a million other things, most of which would be more interesting than "avocados" but do I want to post every day this month or do I want to sit and think about each post for a week before I actually write it? So there ya go.

November 5, 2010

I love our Friday nights.

And that's all I have to say today.

November 4, 2010

Thursday, November 4, 2010
Would you rather be wealthy and ugly, wise and sickly, or beautiful and stupid?

This sounds like a favorite car game of my family...the would-you-rather bit...but usually we give two bad choices.  Actually, most of the time it wigs me out a little to know that much about my husband and children's psyches. 
Let's see, I suppose my answer depends on what kind of day I am having. (Ha.  You thought that these writing prompts would be susinct little answers...you haven't been reading this blog for long, have you?)
You see, if I was wealthy and ugly things would be fine because sometimes I like to be alone (which I assume if I was really, I mean really ugly, I would prefer to not be with other people, I am a little bit shallow like that-plus it gives me a good excuse to be a loner)....like on an extravagant cruise through the Med, or walking through an art gallery or eating at a really fancy restaurant that is so expensive you wouldn't ever want anyone to know that you wasted your money on that kind of thing.  So wealthy and ugly doesn't sound all that bad.
Wise and sickly? I don't like being sickly...even if it would mean people came to me for my all-knowing goodness...Besides, I already think that I am wise, even if my own children don't take my word for it.
Beautiful and stupid...tempting but I have actually met people like this and depending on what kind of "stupid" they are, it's pretty difficult to look beautiful at the same time.
So really? Did I just choose wealthy and ugly? Huh.  Must be one of those days where money and solitude win over pontificating on the mysteries of the universe while lying comfortably on my death bed.
Ok fine, I'll go with wise and sickly.  Happy?

November National Blogging Month

I love made up celebrations...plus, it gives me something to actually write about since I seem to be in a bit of a dry spell, topic wise.
I have to say, that starting on Day 3 is really irritating to me.  I am an "all or nothing" kind of girl with things like this so I won't let it happen again.  Let's just pretend it's two days ago, shall we?

Fade out...fade in to November 1, 2010.

Yeah! Wahoo! Look at this, it's November 1st, the 1st day of National Blogging Day!! I might make some pumpkin chocolate chip cookies later to celebrate because who doesn't like those?  And I will have to make another batch of Wassail because it is Wassail season (and I like to always have some on hand.)  Mmm, hot Wassail and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies....can't focus....

And back to me.
Without further adieu, Welcome to NaBloPoMo.

Monday, November 1, 2010
How would your life change if you didn't have rent or a mortgage to pay, i.e., if your housing was free?
Really? I mean, this is kind of hard question.  And it makes me think of the Three Amigos lying in bed and sharing what they would do if they made the big bucks. You know, one says "a big shiny, silver, car...." and another says he would travel and then Martin Short says he would build a hospital for orphans (or something like that....it is a crime how long its been since I have sat down and watched that one.) And then of course the others chime in that they were going to do that and then the other stuff.
So that was a really long sidetracked explanation about why I would be helpful and generous first and then probably travel or maybe make my home just the way I want it because my home is where I love to be....and I love when it is beautiful and comfortable and organized.  And by that I mean I would open up accounts with Pottery Barn, Land of Nod and Restoration Hardware.  But then again maybe we would just spend it doing more.  We like to get out and see stuff, go places and experience things.  There is a lot more stuff that I would love for my kids to experience that we don't do right now because it just doesn't fit into the budget the way we would like.

Can I cheat and just do the next two right here to catch up? I can?...you are so generous.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Tell us the story of a piece of jewelry you own. Where did it come from, and what does it mean to you?
Can I bend the rules on this one and share what I love about this trove of treasures?

 When my husband reported to his submarine two and a half years ago, he was meeting them on a deployment already underway.  We had talked about what kind of souvenirs I would like him to pick up for me, knowing that he would be in some neat places along the way.  Not being a very "knick-knacky" person I really couldn't decide until I remembered my little collection of rings.  I love rings.  I have a special ring from my parents that they gave me when I was 16.  I still have the CTR (Choose The Right) ring that I wore all through middle and high school and I have a ring from Clark for each child that we have had (with the birthstone from their month.) I love my rings.  They all mean something special and unique to me.  Soooo, since I didn't really want a bunch of random little things that were going to sit on my shelves for years to come, I asked him to find me a ring in each port that he visited.  It had to be under a certain price point and it had to be something unique to it's country of origin (if possible...I mean, the man only has so much free time in port.)  I love looking at these rings and knowing that he was thinking of me while so far away.  I wear them all (not at the same time naturally, and not the one from Africa...it is rather tiny.) I lost the one from Brest, France when I took it off to give birth to Hazel.  The hospital never found it and it makes me sad.  But I love these little gifts from my husband that I can have and wear and think about and someday divvy up among the girls.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Describe the plot of the next book you want to read, even if the book doesn't exist yet.
Hmm, this is a toughy...I love to read historical fiction and I have been looking for a good one about ancient Greece/Pompeii era.  I haven't read much about that time period and would be interested in a good story like that, I think.

Ha.  You thought I forgot all about Halloween, didn't you?  Well, OK, only because this post isn't long enough already.
This is the only picture I took of all of them together in their costumes.  Oops, just kidding, I didn't even get one of them all together.  But here they are.  Haley was Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon, Hazel was the recycled Bee,

Abby a Navy someone or other,

And Mia was Silvermist, the water fairy.

And yes, this was us, the miserly house that put out a "Take your own dang candy" sign.  I tried to make it seem more friendly by wishing them a Happy Halloween anyway but there is no way around it.  We are dumb.  It wasn't even in a cute bowl (and I must confess that I went through and kept for myself a pretty hefty stash before offering the remains to the integrity of the neighborhood kids.)

Let it not go unnoticed that we had a visitor this weekend as well.  Our friend Adam came to stay so he could run in the Marine Corps Marathon.  He did amazingly well at his first marathon running in 3:41 (I believe) and he didn't even barf.  Really, I am just adding this in to tell him Thank You for painting little finger nails and next time, bring the rest of your family....and also as a friendly reminder to his lovely wife that I want an update on the blog of all those handsome boys!