Spin cycle--Love, Love, Love It!

So, after last week's hate fest, Gretchen decided that we needed to lighten things up and tell what we love.  Any thing you love, any way you love it.  since I did a list last week, I'm sticking with what works.
I love:

• Reading a good book, be it romance, adventure, mystery, fantasy or historic fiction, as long as it's good I love reading.
• Cooking.  Finding a new recipe, making an old favorite, I enjoy the act of taking raw ingredients and making something edible.
• Turbo.  My oldest son.  He is spunky, irritating, interesting, annoying, fun, frustrating, and I love him any way he is.
• Bruiser.  My youngest son.  He is entertaining, frustrating, adorable, irritating, cuddly, three (and all being three entails), and I love every bit of him.
• Nick.  The love of my life.  My friend, partner, lover, husband.  I am so lucky to have him.  He supports me in anything I want to do and is my biggest cheerleader.
• Blogging.  I love being able to express how I'm feeling, meet fun ladies, have people who  understand how I'm feeling.  It's my outlet and line to the bigger world.
• My house.  Yes it needs some work, some finishing, but it's a very nice house.
• Our back yard.  It's mostly deck, but it's a great place to gather and hang out on a summer evening.
• Having time to enjoy all the things I love.  I may not have as much as I'd like, but I do get to enjoy being with and doing things I love to do.
• My cat, Piper.  She is independent, loving, sweet and a source of comfort to me.  She always wants to cuddle close just when I need a pick me up.

So there are some things I love.  What do you love?
Go see Gretchen for more love spins.

WWTK--On Vacation, So...Bucket List

Mamarazzi and Crazymama are taking a bit of a break.  That leaves me with a post to do and no topic.  I can work with this.  Hmmm...
How about I go ahead and create a sort of Bucket List.  I turn 40 in just over a year.  I think my list will have to be things to do before I turn 50.  (God, that's a scary number.)  I don't look in the mirror and see someone who's almost 40.
Anyway, on to the bucket list:

1. Visit one national park a year. (Preferably ones I haven't been to yet.)
2. Learn how to use makeup correctly.
3. Swim in one of the great lakes.
4. Ride a gondola.
5. Ride a scenic railroad.
6. Go to a Broadway show.
7. Go scuba diving.
8. Learn to cook exotic food.
9. Learn to surf or body surf.
10. Learn to swing dance--with Nick.
11. Ride a hot air balloon.
12. Go zip lining.
13. Visit the Smithsonian.
14. Go to Mardi Gras.
15. Go back to the Grand Canyon.
16. Visit the Virgin Islands.
17. Learn astronomy.
18. Build a village around a model train layout.
19. Learn about wine.
20. Learn crochet--make a useful project.
21. Get a make over.
22. Swim with dolphins.
23. Eat lobster in Maine.
24. See the Northern Lights.
25. Visit a lighthouse.

Well there are 25 things I'd like to do before I turn (oh god) 50.  A girl's got to have goals right?  What would be on your bucket list?

Not That Random Weekend Stuff

OK, so we attempted to go camping this last weekend.  We will never learn.  Camping for Memorial Day is not necessarily a good idea. But fun can still be had.

Letting the wind blow the bubbles.

That is a nice boulder.

• Wyoming is definitely not set up for camping this early.  We had wind (lot and lots of wind--30 mile an hour sustained winds with 45+mph gusts), fog, snow and sun.  In three days we hit all the seasons.  Go Wyoming weather!  The only up side is that we did not end up with rain and snow that stuck to the ground.
• We did have access to a private lake through one of the friends who came camping and the guys took the boys fishing.  They came back with one fish and about five crawdads.  The boys were told if they brought the crawdads back they had to eat them.  We cooked them and they ate the tails.  I had a bit and they didn't taste too bad.
• Our camper held up well on the trip, especially in the wind.  I had a moment or two where I was not sure that we would stay upright, but we made it and were quite happy to head home early Monday morning.  We packed up in about an hour and were home by 10:00 am.
• Turbo had a wonderful time and a pretty good birthday.  Bruiser got him a slingshot and Turbo loves it.  Turbo also lost a tooth this weekend and you know what?  The Tooth Fairy found us even though we were camping.  Turbo also got some bbs for his bb gun and some bobbers to go fishing with.  All in all, he had a pretty good time.
• It was the first camping trip where I got to take a smart phone and we had reception.  It was sort of fun being able to update Facebook while we were camping.
• While I don't get the Geico commercials about the taste test, I do like the backyard amusement park commercial.
• Our first morning camping, we were having breakfast.  Looking out the window by the table, we could see boulders and since we were having pancakes, the Shrek scene were Donkey sees Shrek's house first came up.  Bruiser looked out the window and said, but I don't see Shrek and Donkey.  Both Nick and I laughed over that one.
• Frosting on cupcakes is far more appealing to little boys than the cake part.
• You ever feel like you need a weekend to recover from your weekend?
• Summer vacation starts today for Turbo.  I miss summer vacation.  Oh, we will take a vacation this summer, but I miss looking out at a care free summer stretched ahead of me.

OK, so there you have it.  My random and our weekend.  What did you do with the extra day off?

Go see Stacy for more Random Tuesday link ups.

Also link up with Shawn and Impulsive for Talk To Us Tuesday.

I'm Confessing...

...that I'm really happy it's Friday and a holiday weekend to boot.  We took today off so get ready for our trip and are headed up tonight.  So let's get to the confession part.
I confess:

• I really get a kick out of Big Bang Theory.
• I feel a bit bad about not giving Turbo a real party.
• He's happy with what he's gotten so far, so there's that.
• I'm looking forward to getting some reading done this weekend.
• I poked my self in the eye with a pillow.
• Now my eye feels all weird.
• Turbo is done with school for this year today.
• And he turns nine.  
• His last year in the single digits.
• That's it.  No more blinking.
• Both boys are getting so big so fast.
• I'm running away from the household chores this weekend.
• By Monday night the shower is going to feel so good.
• I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend.

Go see the other confessors at Mamarazzi's place.

Spin Cycle--Haterating

Hate is the topic this week.  As in what we hate, what we don't hate, hate in the media, just plain anything on hate.
I'm going to list some of the things that tick me off:

• I hate not getting a good night's sleep because insomnia wants my company at 2:30am.
• I hate slow drivers.  You are not safer for going 10 miles under the speed limit.  You are a hazard to those of us who obey the speed limits.   Also, a major annoyance.
• I hate snotty kids--the ones who think they are oh so cool and have attitude. 
• I hate parents who don't care enough to make sure their kids are well dressed and well groomed.
• I hate cleaning bathrooms.
• I hate doing dishes.
• I hate the never ending household tasks, vacuuming I'm looking at you!
• I hate the "natural male enhancement" commercials that litter night time television.
• I hate the two bathtubs in the middle of nowhere.  If the stuff works shouldn't they be in the same tub?  In a private room?
• I hate when the sheets don't fit the mattress.
• I hate that we have two choices for clothing shopping in our town--cheap like Walmart and Kmart and expensive little boutiques.  Nothing in between--unless you count Maurices and I'm too old to shop there.
• I hate bugs and spiders, especially the ones who inhabit my bathtub.  Why is it always there that I find them?
• I hate liver.
• I hate migraines.
• I hate when my kids get their feelings hurt.
• I hate waking up from a good dream and not being able to find that dream again.
• I hate that time is rushing by so fast.

What do you hate?  Spin it up and go tell Gretchen you did, she'll link you up with the other spinners this week.

WWTK--Getting All Random

We Want to know Time again.  Mamarazzi is getting a bit random with her questions so here we go:

{1} Tell us about your job/daily routine. My daily routine is getting up, getting myself ready for work, getting the rest of the guys up and getting the boys breakfast, then making sure everyone goes where they need to go.  Off to work (which I'm not going to really go into here--it's separate from this but involves geology and data management). Then home and getting Turbo to do his homework, managing Bruiser's mercurial wants and demands, making dinner, getting everyone to bath and bed as necessary.  Sounds busy, no? I do get time to sit and relax in there.  I get up earlier than I really need to so I get some me time.  I get time when I get home to sit and relax before diving into dinner and such.  I get time after the boys go to bed.  And I have Nick to lean on and sometimes he does dinner and the put boys to bed thing too.
{2} What is your favorite place in your home to relax? (bonus points for a pic)  I love our backyard for hanging out, but to relax I like our living room.  We are hoping to make a patio in front of our house and I'm looking forward to relaxing there on an Adirondack Chair later this summer.

The backyard deck

My relaxing spot in the living room.  Both chairs recline.

{3} Summer cool treat...Popsicle or ice cream?  I will take a bowl of ice cream any day.  I can't bite the cold of a Popsicle and they tend to melt on me before I get them eaten.
{4} Be sweet to yourself, list 3 things you LIKE about YOU!  Things I like about me:

• I like my sense of humor.
• I like my ability to power through anything.
• I like my shape.  It could be a bit smaller, but I like being curvy.

{5} If someone saw my __________ I would likely die of embarrassment! Oh geez. There is this drawer in the bed room--no I won't go there. Just know if someone got snoopy they would be as red as I would be.


Well go join up with Mamarazzi and Crazymama for more WWTK fun.

Book Lovers Swap

I love to read.  I'll read the phone book out of desperation.  I'll read things over and over again if they're good.  Romance, historic fiction, action adventure, mystery, humor, fantasy, I'm not picky as long as the story is good.
Now Beth from Living a Goddess Life and Angie from My So Called Chaos are hosting a book swap.
You send three books--one you love, one you haven't read yet and one your partner wants--and you get three books--one your partner loves, one they haven't read yet and one you want.  What could be bad about that?
More specific rules can be found at My So Called Chaos.

I'm looking forward to seeing what I'll get.  I'm always up for a good book.  And meeting another book lover is always a good way to make a friend. Go check it out and join up--free books!

Random Tuesday--Thinking on the Random Side of Things

Time to get all random--cause that's what Tuesday is all about.  And it clears my brain.  Now there's a scary thought.

• Turbo is done with school for this year on Friday.  He also has his birthday that day.  We are going camping.  We will be doing his birthday early with the family--all the grandparents will be over for dinner on Wednesday.  He does sort of get gipped out of a birthday party with all his friends, but with school getting out, it being a holiday weekend, and us heading up camping, a birthday party just isn't feasible.
• The cottonwood trees have been producing a bumper crop of cotton this year.  My sinuses hate me.  Turbo is experiencing the wonderful world of allergies this year too.  Claritin is our friend.
• Anyone know any good free aps for a droid based smart phone?  I'm always up for a good free ap.
• For the first time since Christmas, we don't have beer brewing in the house.   Nick needs to get more ingredients.  I'm looking forward to what he makes next.  The Strawberry Chocolate beer is pretty good.  I want to make it again.
• We are going through lots of water at home--washing little boy feet so they are clean for bedtime.  It's good they are playing enough to get dirty.  But looking at those yucky feet--ew.
• We still have a lot to do before the kick off to summer that is this weekend.  Shopping for stuff for the camper--not too much needed but a few things, getting food, packing clothes, making sure sheets and blankets are clean and sleeping bags are packed, and then making sure we all get there with a minimum of meltdowns.
• How do you go camping with a sort of potty trained three year old?  I'm not sure what pottying will happen this weekend.
• I need to teach Turbo how to make a sandwich this summer.  Also the art of making frozen pizza.  You gotta start somewhere.  He makes a mean fried egg sandwich.  The kid has potential.
• I hate nights where you feel as though you ran a marathon in your sleep.  Last night I tossed and turned and don't really feel as if I slept much at all.  Nights like that happen way to often.

And there you have it.  A peak at some of the things that float around in my head at the oddest of times.  GO see Stacy for more random.
 
AND go check out Shawn and Impulsive for Talk To Us Tuesday--no rules just link up fun.

And a Fort is Born

So the weekend was just packed.  We did a lot of mundane stuff--groceries, laundry--and some fun stuff.
To start with we went to our cousins son's birthday party.  The kids got to run around and play and have fun.  Then we went home and set up the camper so we could get it ready to head to the mountains next weekend.  We even put up the add-a-room it came with that had never been used.  It turned out pretty cool.  we did redneck it a bit, but it works and will be nice when we are going somewhere we plan to be for a while.  It's not so good for a quick weekend trip though.  It's a bit of a pain to put up.

Sunday was nicer than Saturday--no rain.  We took the kids to the lumber store so we could get stuff to build a fort for the boys to play in.  Then we came home and made Turbo help to level the ground, set the cinder blocks for the base and help to build more of the fort--all while not telling him what it really was until it had walls.  Once we told him what it was he was so very excited.  It needs some more work, but we got it to the point of being mostly dried in.

I had a good weekend myself.  I got the Laundry shut up.  It's all done.  Except the towels.  The towels can hang in the dryer.  I'll fold them later.
I also got to sleep in until 8:30 on Sunday.  Something I usually can't do.  Hooray for a comfortable bed.  Oh, and the strawberry chocolate beer?  It tastes pretty good.  Kind of like strawberry wine with beer.  I like it and it is very potent.
So how was your weekend?

Spin Cycle--Pictures of a Field Trip

So this week was all about pictures.  Since I just took a trip with Turbo to the museum, I thought I'd share.

Ready to head out.

Visiting the snakes and lizards.

Nick provided this Banded Iron Formation

Getting ready to watch Tornado Alley in 3D

My geek in the making.

I don't have any pictures of the trip home because we were all worn out by then.  Turbo fell asleep on my shoulder and I would have tried, but I was afraid if I did I'd never walk again.  Those bus seats are not made for adults to be comfortable in.
Go see Gretchen for other picture spins.

Confession Friday

Time to confess for the weekend.  And man, am I ready for the weekend.  Here we go:

• I survived the trip to the museum with the third graders.
• It was pretty cool.
• Although I will admit there are one or two of those third graders that I don't like.
• They already have attitude.
• Not so into a 9 year old gangster cool boy wanna be.
• The TAB was really good when I got home.
• Turbo had a great time though, so there's that.
• We are trying the chocolate dipped strawberry beer tomorrow.
• The tastes we had while bottling gave us great promise that it will be worth drinking.
• We are setting ourselves up to be kid central this summer.
• We are building Turbo a fort to hang out in for his birthday.
• He doesn't know about this and is quite disappointed about the fact that he can't have a tree house.
• Said fort will be a magnet for every boy in a five block radius.
• I might have to stock up on snacks and drinks--both for them and for Nick and I.
• And we still fight on on the potty front.

Have a great weekend--no matter what mother nature sends you.  And go link your confessions up with Mamarazzi.  It's a great way to start the weekend.

WWTK--Let's be Friends

We want to know time! This week is all about friends. This is something I ahve difficulties with. In my town, people rotate in and out--the pitfalls of a college town. I have few friends--in real life.  It's one of the reasons I turned to blogging.

1. I have found myself jealous/envious of this friend because... Of the ease she makes friends. My friend C makes friends so easily.  I have such serious issues making friends that seeing someone make friend easily always make me envious.
2. I admire this one for her _________ (insert admirable quality) and tell us about them.  C. again.  She has a very wry sense of humor and it meshes well with my own.
3. I really love this blog friend because...  I have so many blog friends but one that really stands out is Maya from Myya Says.  She is a mom to girls but I have had some great email conversations with her.
4. I was stuck on a desert island I would want to be with this friend... Stacy from SLMPetersen--We go way back.  We have a lot in common, but enough different that we mesh well.  Any conversation just picks up where it left off.  We would not lack for things to talk about on that desert island.  And cooking?  Well that would be a very fun adventure for the two of us.
5. I think the best qualities in a friend are...  Loyalty, honesty, and the ability to forgive the lapses that inevitably happen.

Now go link up with Mamarazzi and Crazymama, the lovely hosts of this here party.

Random Thoughts Tuesday

We are having lovely weather right now.  It's early for it to be so nice and it's really dry here.  But it does make it easy to toss the boys outside to play.
Now let's get all random:

• Nick is done traveling after the trip he is currently on.  At least traveling by himself.  After this trip, the whole fam damily is going with him if he goes.  
• I got a request for the recipe for Greek Coleslaw yesterday.  I made it the first time last summer and Turbo loves it.  It's not complicated.  It's one bag of coleslaw sliced cabbage, one small can of sliced olives and one container of crumbled feta cheese.  You also need Greek salad dressing.  Mix the first three ingredients in a large bowl, add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup dressing (or what ever amount the salad needs to be dressinged to your taste) and mix thoroughly.  Let stand for maybe an hour, mix again and serve.  Coleslaw without the creamy dressing.  I never have any trouble getting Turbo to eat it and we rarely have much left over.
• I'm headed off with Turbo on a field trip Thursday.  An entire day--lots of time on a bus with 60 some third graders.  I hope I can still form complete sentences on Friday.
• We have Swainson's Hawks nesting in one of our trees.  We have dubbed them Ozzie and Harriet.
• Rocky Road ice cream is tasting really good right now.
• Still trying to potty train.  The whole concept is just not clicking with Bruiser.  Some days he does OK, with lots of reminders, other days not so much.
• We got an air bed--the kind where you can pick your numbers--not the sleep number but similar--and now we need bigger sheets.  The ones we have are not deep enough.  We haven't gotten new sheets for years now so new sheets are a score.  But I am picky about the ones we get.  I hate rough sheets.  

Well that about covers my random for this week.  Go see Stacy for other random linkers.

Go see Impulsive and Shawn for Talk to Us Tuesday.  No rules just link up!

A Weekend and Mother's Day

Our weekend started Friday afternoon.  As soon as going home time hit, we felt so much better.  Nick's mom had her birthday and we all went out for dinner--awesome, I didn't have to cook.  We got them a pair of nice glasses so they can enjoy lemonade or iced tea in their wonderful back yard this summer.
Saturday started out with the obligatory trip to the grocery store--I go early to beat the crowds and get it over with.  Then we sort of hung out and bummed around--Nick took the boys shopping--a mother's day trip--and later we went to get something for the grandmas.  I made a fabulous version of Carrabas Grill Sausage and Lentil soup.  I was amazed at how good it came out.  Nick loved it.  The kids not so much--it was a bit spicy.  By the time they are teenagers, I bet I won't be able to get them to leave me any.
For Sunday, I got to sleep in.  When I got up, I had to hunt down my present.  Turbo did hot and cold so I could find it.  It was a lovely Black Hills gold locket with a picture of each boy in it.

Then we sort of skipped breakfast and went straight to lunch.  We had the grandparents over and gave the grandmas garden gnomes for Mother's day.  Grilled chicken sandwiches, greek coleslaw, and potato salad made for a wonderful lunch.  Everyone had a great time.
After lunch, we loaded the family into the truck and headed out to find a road we had not driven on before.  We succeeded, maybe a bit more than we had intended, since Nick didn't get gas before we left town and we weren't really sure where we were, exactly.  We came out farther south than we intended, but we were able to get gas and got home with no problem.
We had told Turbo that if we did run out of gas, he would have to push.  He watched the gas gauge really close after that.  Hey if you can't have fun with your kids what can you do?
I really loved my mother's day this year.  It was great.  How was yours?

confess it all

I confess:

• I'm really glad it's Friday
• We played with play dough this week.
• We had brown playdough.
• Poop was made.
• You can't not make poop out of brown play dough
• Even Bruiser called the brown lumps of play dough poop.
• Getting out for adult time makes such a difference.
• I finally vacuumed last night.
• The dust rhinos were charging the boys.
• the dust dinosaurs were eating the dust bunnies.
• It was carnage.
• I defeated them all with the sucker of death.
• Hey, vacuuming sucks (no pun intended).
• I gotta have fun with it somehow.
• Woo hoo, it's Friday
• Did I say that already?
• Yep, really happy it's Friday.
• Going home time can't come soon enough.
• School is out in 14 days here.
• Turbo turns nine on the last day of school.
• Next week is the field trip with Turbo's class.
• He's been planning his lunch for the last week.
• So I don't forget to pack him one.
• Like I'm going to pack me one and not him.  
• And it's a week away.
• I love the kids, but he's nuts sometimes.

Enjoy your Friday (best day of the week).  May going home time come quickly.  Go join up with Mamarazzi and get it all off your chest for the weekend.

Spin Cycle--Mom!

I remember being so mad at my mom when I was about 16.  She insisted I clean my room.  Privilege revoking was threatened.  Angry words were said.  Grudgingly, and sullenly I cleaned and picked up.  Never realizing the lesson I was being taught.
Why did my room have to be clean?  No one saw it but me and I knew mostly where everything was. (All over the floor, but who's looking?)  Why did she have to be so mean about it?  It doesn't matter if it's clean, it's just going to get cluttered again.  This is so unfair!  Why does she have to pick on me about this?  It doesn't matter if my clothes are put away!  Those are the ones I wear most often any way.  And on the rant went in muttered tones.
I realized what she was trying to teach me when I moved into my first apartment, well Nick's and my first apartment.  Those floors did not clean themselves.  Laundry was only done if I did it.  The magic elves did not come clean the bathroom.  Or do dishes.  It was then that I realized why my mom had harped on me to clean my room.  So I learned those skills it takes to live on my own.
Other things I learned form my mother:

• Cooking solid basic food can be tasty.
• How to sort laundry.
• How to fold fitted sheets.
• Clean is better than spotless and a lot more doable.
• A clean kitchen and bathroom are necessary.
• How to fold towels.
• How to iron.
• Be proud of your kids.
• Make sure they learn the little stuff.

I have boys.  Not quite the same relationship between a mother and son as it is between a mother and daughter.  But, I am hoping to teach my boys life skills too.  With any luck the things I teach them will stick with them and they will have their own epiphanies once they are on their own, like I did.
What did you learn from your mother?
This week's spin is all about mother.  Any spin you want to put on it as long as it's about mother, spin it up and go let Gretchen know you've got a spin to add to the wash.

WWTK: Bloggity, Blog, Blog, Blog

We Want To Know time again.  this week the questions come from Mamarazzi.  She's curious about our blogs.  So here we go:

{1} Please describe your blog. Does it fall into one category or many? How has it changed from post one?  My blog is my place to vent, talk about my family, document what goes on in my life.  it's also a place I can make friends, which I'm horrible at in real life.  I feel that my writing has gotten better since I started. But my blog still falls under a family life blog, mostly.

{2} What 3 things do you LOVE about blogging?  Meeting the people who blog.  I feel like I have made some great friends, I just need to get together with them face to face still.  I love having a place to rant about the crazy family I have, the nutty neighbors, a place to vent.  I love the conversations I have with other bloggers about things I have said on my blog or other blogs--the conversation makes it so much better.

{3} What 3 things do you DISLIKE about blogging?  Sometimes I feel that I rely on Memes too much, but I try to choose ones that let me be creative with them.  I dislike the bloggers who attack other bloggers.  I dislike some of the drama that comes out sometimes.  It seems so middle school, but some people never got over that I guess.

{4} What 3 things do you WISH OTHER BLOGGERS would do? Any tips for them?  Enabling email is a nice one.  Being able to respond to comments is nice.  For new bloggers--comment, comment, comment.  this is advice I got at the beginning and it makes a difference.  Stay true to yourself.  Blog what you know.

{5} I know we all have lots of blogs we read, but what are 3 blogs you never miss? Picking just three is tough.  I think I'll go with:  Second Blooming, SLMPetersen, and Amalah.

Now go check out the other answers.  And go see Crazymama, shew's hosting too!

Homemade Dog Food

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of homemadedogfood.com for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Growing up, my parents supplemented the dog food they fed our dogs with scraps from the wild meat they harvested each year.  The would boil down the bones and scraps and then grind the resulting mash. This was then frozen and later added to the dry food we fed the dogs.  I think the dogs we had when I was a kid did very well on this diet.  They didn't have health problems and were active until old age carried them off.

Today there are several places you can go on the internet to find dog food recipes, but Homemade dog food has both cooked and raw recipes that give your dog balanced food that they will like.  Most of the ingredients you can find in your local grocery store, the exception being the nutrient supplements, but there are links to those on the Homemade dog food website. 

Homemade dog food has videos and a great recipe to get you started.  Easy cooked dog food recipe uses hamburger, rice, eggs and nutrient supplements to create a dog food that has none of the preservatives of commercial dog food and none of the corn either.

If you want your dog to eat better and to know absolutely what your dog is eating, give making their food a try.

Random Thoughts Tuesday

It's Tuesday and we survived Monday, snow, rain and all.  Time to get all random in here.

• I hate it when books don't give a good description of what the story is about.  Danielle Steele books were like this for a long time.  As if just because everyone says it's good and this one particular author wrote it you should get it on faith.  I have very few authors that any thing they write is an automatic must get.  I go for story, not authors.  It's annoying when I can't get a description of the book.  I usually leave it on the shelf if there's no good summary of what the story is about.
• I did Zumba last night.  My thighs hate me again.  But I had fun, so there's that.
• I need to spend some time reorganizing my Kindle library collections.  I need to make it easier to find different books.  I have a lot of books I've collected (most for free) and need to make it easier to browse through them depending on what I feel like reading.  I just need to make sure I don't confuse the Kindle.  Which is startlingly easy to do.
• I am amazed.  Big Bang Theory can even make bathroom humor sound intelligent.
• We had lovely 70 degree weather last Friday and Saturday.   Now we are back to a chilly 50 degrees.  Mother nature is really off her rocker.  But she usually is in the spring in Wyoming.
• I'm looking forward to bottling the Chocolate Dipped Strawberry beer Nick made me.  I'm hoping it will taste good.  I like chocolate beers.  I like anything that has chocolate in it.
• Friday night Piper, our cat had an altercation through the window with a neighborhood cat.  It wouldn't have been so bad if it hadn't have been 2:00am.  The crazy cat was speaking in cat tongues. Oh and the window of the altercation?  It was right over our bed, so we had a front row seat so to speak.

Well that clears out my brain of the random things that have been floating around in it for the last week.  What random do you have?  Go link it up with Stacy, the new Queen of Random Tuesday (taking over from Keely).

And link up with Shawn and Impulsive for Talk to Us Tuesday.

Favorite Color Swap--Green!

I got my package on Saturday from Mary at My family, My World:

Everything wrapped so nicely.

Mary did awesome in finding the perfect green stuff for me to head into summer with.

• Lotion
• gum
• Lifesavers
• chapstick in apple flavor
• flip flops
• a car air freshener
• socks
• a manicure set
• cars for my boys
• a fun tumbler cup
• hand sanitizer

I love everything I got and have used some of it already.  Thank you so much Mary!

And thanks to Mamarazzi who set up this whole thing.

Getting out of Town

For a weekend, this last one wasn't too bad.  We got away, made beer, got laundry done, and had an all around relaxing time.
After a lovely trip out of town, sans kiddos, the rest of Saturday was pretty quiet.  We left the kids with Nick's folks and bailed out of town Saturday morning.  Since we had our new phones, we tried to use the navigation on them.  We found Lowe street in Ft Collins, a daycare that the map claimed was Lowes all in an effort to find Lowes Home Improvement store.  Finally we gave up on the navigation and found it the old fashioned way.  We looked out the windows until we saw the sign for Lowes.  Later we used the navigation more successfully. It found the brewing supply store we were looking for and led us there quite nicely.
After we got the shopping out of the way we had a marvelous lunch at Carrabas Italian Grill.  An adult lunch, no kids, good service (even if one of the servers was wearing bunny ears--a promotion he said--but still, blue bunny ears) you can't ask for much more.
After we got home, we didn't do much else.  Kids ran around, I did more laundry, we tried to figure out the age old question of what to make for dinner.  We ended up with breakfast for dinner in the form of Biscuits and Gravy.
Sunday was busyish.  Nick brewed up his first batch of all grain beer.  I did dishes.  A lot of dishes it seemed.  More laundry, grocery shopping, some reading.  All in all not an overly exciting day.  Nice, but not exciting.
After making a fantastic chicken on the grill for dinner, we dunked both boys through the bath, watched Harry Potter, and mentally got ready for another Monday.  Honestly, though, can one really get ready for a Monday?  Nope, I didn't think so.
And this is what we woke up to this morning.

Off my front porch this morning.

Yep, it's snowing here.

So how is your Monday shaping up?  It's gotta be better than here.

Confessions for Friday

Time to confess it all.  It is Friday.  the best day of the week--although going home time on Friday is the absolute best time of the week.  We are not there yet, but it's coming.

• I think I am going to have to go to the new Avengers Movie.
• While I am not really a superhero type, I have boys.
• It's required to be at least mildly conversant with the whole superhero universe.
• Turbo is old enough to really, really want to go.
• Matinee here we come.
• If we can find a babysitter for Bruiser.
• I hate liver.
• In any form.
• A beer is really nice after a long day at work.
• Especially if it's been hot out.
• We get to go to Ft. Collins after more brewing supplies tomorrow.
• Just Nick and I.
• Been a while since we did anything where it was just us.
• Looking forward to it.
• My swap package mails today.  
• I'm looking forward to my package.
• Hope Mary likes what I'm sending her.
• I always get nervous about this time during a swap.

Well, do you have anything that needs confessing?  Head on over and link it up with Mamarazzi.

 

Spin Cycle--Word Up

This week the spin cycle is about words.  This has been a topic before, my post on how words can be oh so powerful for both good and bad got a good response.  I'm thinking about going a different way this time.

I have always liked words, be they in the form of books, word games, or good conversation.  Words surround us daily--more so now than when I was a kid really.  Everyone has a phone and lots of those phones are smart phones.  With one of those you have instant access to words--email, google, blogs, Words with Friends, the list goes on and on.  It's interesting how no one ever asks why they need to learn to read like they do with why they need to learn math.  You use those reading skills all the time.

Words games are a favorite of mine--but not scrabble.  I like anagrams, word searches, crossword puzzles, really just about any pencil puzzle out there.  All word based.  I like to relax before bed with a word search or two (or three or four).  It helps to shut off my brain.  I really enjoy the word game that are on the Kindle.  One of my favorite games for the DS is CrossworDS.  I like word games.  Logic puzzles are another favorite.

Playing with words is fun, but my favorite use of words has to be reading.  I love to read.  Romance, history, thrillers, mystery, contemporary fiction, fantasy, humor, cook books, biography, true crime, adventure, the books on my shelves and on my kindle are many and varied.  Books have always been a comfort to me, an escape from the trials of school when I was younger, a short escape from the rigors of momhood today.  Books are solid and unchanging, dependable, enjoyable, fun and these days something I can share with my family when I become the book on tape by reading out loud to them on our road trips.

So words are important, useful and necessary for everyone.  They can be fun, imformative, frustrating (when I can't figure out that one word in a crossword or anagram), an escape, and really how would we live with out words.  And that is the word on that.
Go see Gretchen for more word spins.

WWTK--Mom, Mom!

Time to answer up the questions with MAmarazzi and Crazymama again.  This week Crazymama asked a couple of questions and the rest came from link participants.  One even came from little old me.  How exciting.

1. What would be your ideal way to spend Mothers day? Ideal way?  Oh, I'd love to have breakfast with my guys, go for a drive in the mountains, have a nice grill out with my mom and Nick's mom and then a lovely soak in the tub with a glass of wine a good book.  Or go camping like we did last year.  Just spend time with family.
2. Which would you rather receive actual gifts or gifts of service?  I like getting a small gift.  I don't need extravagant every year, but a token to recognize the day is nice.  This year I'm hoping for a replacement for the Mom pendant I lost last week.
She @ http://she-she-says.blogspot.com wants to know:
3. How do you juggle it all? How many different "hats" do you wear and how do you accomplish all you have to do?  I wear several hats.  Mom, wife, friend, coworker, geologist, clean up crew, cook, bottle washer, etc. the only way to keep it all straight is organization and lists--at least for grocery shopping and meals. As to the rest, I have a great helper in Nick.  He is willing to pitch in with cooking and cleaning around the house.  He does get most of the outside bulidy type things though.
Vandy @ http://tttandme.blogspot.com/ (this is me!) wants to know:
4. What was your "Oh no, I'm turning into my mom" moment?  For me, it was the moment I caught myself licking my thumb to wipe a smudge off Turbo when he was a toddler.  I hated when my mom did that to me as a kid and here I was doing it to Turbo.  After that, wet wipes were always handy.

Natalie @ http://wibblywobblyme.blogspot.com/ wants to know:
5. What should you be doing right now instead of participating in today's WWTK linky?  Putting a little boy to bed.  He's wheedled ten more minutes out of me, but he's headed there soon.

Now go answer the questions and link up.  Mamarazzi and Crazymama would love to see you.

Random Time Tuesday

So, it's Tuesday, let's hear it for surviving Monday!  Not that this Monday was really bad or anything, but it was, you know, Monday.
Let's get to the Random:

• Turbo has spacers in his mouth to, of course, hold space for his molars to grow in.  Last week one came loose and it started to hurt.  This had to happen a month and a half before his 6 month check up.  So this afternoon we are heading over to the dentist to get his spacer fixed.  Fun times.
• I lost my Mom pendant from it's necklace when we were swimming last Thursday.  This makes me sad.  It was the necklace that Nick and the boys got me just after Bruiser was born.  Now it's gone.  I still have the chain, but no more heart shaped Mom.  It was really pretty too.
• I'd really like it if the wind would just blow away.  We have had so much of it recently.  It dries everything out and for a place with low humidity anyway, we don't need extra help being dry.
• I am so tired.  It just doesn't feel like I sleep well enough or long enough or something.  I don't like being tired.
• Bruiser has taken to saying Booyah for just about anything he is excited about or agrees with or thinks is good.  He uses it correctly which is so cool.
• Turbo got a haircut.  He looks much better now, but he wanted a buzz cut.  I'm not ready for him to have no hair quite yet.
• We really need to get out camping.  It's time to break up the monotony and spend some fun time as a family together.  
• It's time to go through Bruiser's toys and cull out the ones that are too young for him.  Time to get rid of the ones he doesn't play with.  I think the spring cleaning bug is biting me.

And with that I will leave you to go see the other random linkers for today.  Go visit Stacy, she has all the random stuff.

And go see Shawn and Impulsive for Talk To Us Tuesday.  No rules, just link up.