Random Leprechaun Tuesday

So, Happy St. Patrick's Day! The day when everyone is just a little bit Irish.

Now on to the random:

• We are running off to Denver this week.  We plan on getting a little bit of sightseeing in (the zoo and possibly the aquarium) and some swimming and lounging and such.  Of course this will all be packed into two fun filled days. Yes, we are ambitious.
• But I am really close to this:

• So a quick jaunt out of town it is.
• We are kicking around the idea of visiting Yellowstone and Grand Teton this summer. The boys have never been and Nick and I would like to take a bit more time to explore both parks.
• I think I need more wine.
• I'm really hoping that the quick trip we are taking out of town helps with the lack of motivation I have had for the last couple weeks.  But I have started walking, sort of.  On Mondays, with a friend. It's nice to do when the weather cooperates.
• Any one need a leprechaun name:

• Greetings from Vibrant O'Whacky.  From other leprechaun namers today I am also Mickey O'Toodles and Stumpy McWhiskey. Not the best combinations, but I'll go with it.
• Housework is a never ending battle.  It just goes on and on and there are days when I wish this would work:

May you all have a fabulous St. Pat's Day!
Join up for the Randomness with Stacy.

Monday--Spring Breaking It

Yep, that's right it's all Spring Breakish around here--we even have good weather to go with it. This last weekend was a relatively quiet one--good weather and a fantastic archery shoot for Nick--they had over 140 participants.  Nick was pretty jazzed.

The crowd lined up to shoot the indoor targets.

Turbo aiming for a target.

I managed the laundry.  And we got to cook out on the grill--first time this year.  Food just tastes better when cooked outdoors.

Now for MMMM. Funny songs are up this week.
Big & Rich with Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy:

Mindy McCready with Guys Do It All The Time:

Jaron and the Long Road to Love with I Pray For You:

Have a smile this Monday!

Friday Confessions

Definitely time to confess a few things:

• I have to haul out the vacuum this weekend.  
• The dust dinosaurs are charging the kids.
• I also have to tackle Mount Laundry.
• Our Spring Break is next week.
• Nick and I have to figure out something for the kiddos to do until later in the week when we are taking a bit of vacation and heading to Demver.
• Bruiser gets to go to the zoo.
• Nick is probably going to get a new bow.
• The kids get to swim.
• We get out of town.
• It'll be fun.
• The time change has kicked my butt this year.
• Maybe after this weekend I'll feel back in the swing of things.

So got any good confessions?

Hodgepodging Wednesday--Spring

1. What's the first image that comes to mind when you hear the word 'spring'? Which phrase best describes the season of spring where you live right now (today)-sprung! almost there, or still waiting? The first image that comes to mind are flowers.  Tulips, daffodils, crocuses, early spring flowers.  Ours don't usually show until late April/early May, but they do eventually show.  So, yeah, we are still waiting on spring around here.

2. Bed, couch, stapler, garage door, computer mouse, recliner, flashlight, door knob...which household item containing springs most needs replacing in your home? Speaking of springs...did you ever own a Slinky? Our back strm door--which has the emergency spring catch on it, needs to be replaced.  We will be doing that this summer, along with weather stripping and weather proofing.  It needs updating around windows and doors.


I did have a Slinky--several in fact.  They are fun and cheap, so we've been through lots of them.

3. March is Women's History Month. Share a favorite quote by a woman.

4. What's a question that looms large in your mind right now? Why do we have daylight "savings" time?  I really haven't found a good reason, or a good explanation for this ridiculous changing of the time.

5. Are you a sugar freak? By that I mean how much do you love sugar? With all the bad press sugar gets these days, have you made any efforts to reduce the amount of sugar you consume? I'm not a huge sugar freak.  I like a bit of sweet every now and then, but I'm more the savory type--especially in my snacking.


The biggest thing I have done to cut back the sugar I consume was to eliminate soda from my diet.  I have some on occasion, but it's not my go to drink.

6. Would you rather have less work to do or more work you enjoy doing?  If the work were reading something interesting, that I could do all day.  Otherwise, I'd take the less work so I'd have more reading time.  A little bit one track, yes, but I love to read.

7. Ever been to Texas? Of the top ten Texas tourist attractions which would you most like to see-The Alamo, The San Antonio River Walk, The State Capital, Dallas World Aquarium, Padre Island National Seashore, Houston Space Center, Schlitterbahn Waterpark in New Braunfels, Six Flags Fiesta Texas,  Moody Gardens, or Galveston Island?  I have been to Texas.  San Antonio to be exact--twice.  I've seen the ALamo, Seaworld, Been down to Corpus Cristi to go deep sea fishing, and spent a couple of fantastic nights wandering the San Antonio River Walk. There will be other visit to Texas, I'm sure.

8.  Insert your own random thought here.  It's never a good thing when insomnia and the time change hit at the same time.  I'm definitely aiming for a nap this weekend.  Maybe next week will be better.

Hi Tuesday

OK, so still not quite with the time change.  The rest of the fam got up easier today, but I really wanted to go back to sleep. Why does the time have  to change at the beginning of March--it used to be the beginning of April. Definitely not a fan.
On to the random:

• We are going to try got the zoo next week.  It's our Spring Break and Bruiser has not been to the zoo. Here's hoping the weather will cooperate. March in our neck of the woods tends more toward winter than spring.
• I got a smile out of this:

• Of course if I got a maid, I'd have to clean before she came to clean my house. What would be even cooler is a house cleaning robot--one that would do dishes, laundry and clean the bathrooms. A girl can dream...
• Then there's those people:

•  If we had money to put in a treehouse, I use it to buy a beach house instead. Then we could visit the beach and still live close to the mountains.

Well, my random is short and sweet today.   Hope you have a great week!
Join up for the Randomness with Stacy.

Time Shift Monday

This Monday is even worse than a usual Monday in that the time shifted this weekend.  I absolutely loath daylight savings time.  There is no "savings" really. THe days are going to get longer no matter what--that;s what the sunlight does until June 21, get longer for our half of the world. Doesn't matter what the clock says. But right now, so many people are saying we now have a longer day cause the time change happened.  Yuck.
Yeah, Not a bright and happy camper this morning.  I got to drag protesting little boys out of bed, be looked at by confused dogs (what are you doing up now?) and try to be chipper through it all. We were doing so well last week.  We had a routine and it was working. Now it's all shot to heck.
OK, moving on.  We have had some nicer weather.  All the really cold seems to have moved off for the time being. Yesterday, Bruiser got some scooter time in, Nick cranked up the Four Wheeler and got to go for a little cruise around.  I got a nap.
Saturday we made a flashing trip to Cheyenne and got a new waffle maker and a new toilet.  Nick and I have been cursing the old toilet for about two years now.  The guts died and were next to impossible to replace effectively.  The toilet ran when  the handle would stick and it would stick two to three times a week. Really hit you in the old pocketbook on the water bill.  So shiny new toilet!  that works so wonderfully!
Sad when you get all excited about a toilet. In other news, Nick brewed another batch of beer and got to have a jam session with a buddy about guitars.  He learned a couple of useful tips and is still highly motivated to learn the guitar.

And now for MMMM.  It's a freebie week so lets see...
For some fun songs:
Miranda Lambert with Mama's Broken Heart

Kasey Musgraves with Follow Your Arrow:

Carrie Underwood with All American Girl

It All Came Together--Spin Cycle

Nick and I have had many moments when it all came together--having Turbo--we were a family.  Having Bruiser, we became complete.  Yeah, it's a bit sappy, but things truly do come together when you have kids.
On another note, I do love to experiment in the kitchen.  For the longest time, I had to have exactly what the recipe called for if I was making something new. I have gotten much better at substitutions.  I have also gotten more experimental in the kitchen.
There was a dish at Appelbees, years ago, the Nick loved.  It was a Cajun shrimp and sausage pasta dish. It was Nick's go to when we went there.  Then they changed the menu and this dish was gone.  Well, we have been making more Cajun type dishes, I have a jambalaya dish that is oh, so good, so I thought I would give the Cajun pasta a shot. 
My first forays into trying this were to look online to see if I could find a recipe that looked good.  There wasn't much out there that didn't look insanely complicated. I wanted to make a good dish, but not spend hours in the kitchen to accomplish it.
My next thoughts were about the ingredients and flavors that I wanted in the dish. A creamy tomato sauce, shrimp, smoked sausage and penne pasta. The most complicated was the creamy tomato sauce.  So I went looking for a simple creamy tomato sauce that I could add a Cajun twist to. I ended up cobbling together a sauce from a few different recipes, but it ends up tasting wonderful.  Add in the sausage, shrimp and pasta and hey presto, Cajun Shrimp and Pasta at home and ready on a weeknight.

Cajun Shrimp and Pasta:
8 oz. Penne Pasta (cooked according to package directions)
1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined
8 oz. Smoked sausage sliced into bite sized pieces.
1 14 oz. can petite diced tomatoes (low salt if possible)
 1/2 c Half and Half
1 tsp Cajun seasoning or Old Bay seasoning
1/2 c diced onion
2 cloves garlic diced
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

Add olive oil to saute pan and saute onions until translucent, and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.  Then add tomatoes and saute until bubbly. Add Cajun or Old Bay to sauce and simmer for 4-5 minutes.  Next add half and half and allow to simmer until reduced (you want this to thicken slightly) Add in the sausage and return to a simmer. Then add shrimp and cook for another 5-6 minutes.  Then after draining pasta, add the sauce to the pasta and mix well.  You are now ready to serve.

This usually makes enough for our family of four with a serving or so left over. The flavors come together pretty well, you just need to be careful of the salt level.  I got over enthusiastic with the salt the first time I made it and had to add potatoes to tone down the salt.  Now I'm much more careful about adding salt.  Taste the sauce before adding the sausage and see what you think, but be cautious, the sausage will add it's own salt to the sauce too.You can also pump up the spiciness by adding some cayenne pepper to the sauce.  With kiddos eating it I keep it pretty mild.
I was very pleased when this recipe came together. I've made a few times since and it is generally a hit.  Bruiser isn't a fan of the shrimp or the sausage, but he will eat the pasta. 
What have you had that has come together recently?

Hodgepodge It Up!

It is a very chilly, OK, down right cold, Wednesday around these parts.  Since it's way easier to answer some questions rather than be brilliant and witty all on my own here we go:

1. 'In like a lion, out like a lamb'...does the first part of this saying describing March weather ring true  where you live? Most definitely.  We have had snow practically daily since the end of last week.  We aren't accumulating much, but it has been cold and snowy. With any luck the end of the month will be better.

2. March 4th is National Grammar Day. What common grammatical error bothers you the most?  The whole your\you're and there\their\they're misuse. texting has had a detrimental effect on grammar use.  and it's spilling over into so many other areas.

This made me smile:

3. William Arthur Ward says- 'The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.' Which one are you? I aim for optimism, achieve realism, but I have my pessimistic moments. 

4. What's something you need to 'march forth and conquer' this month? House cleaning.  It's time to spring clean, or at least make a stab at it.  I don't think I'll get to windows until April--it won't be warm enough until then.

5. An ongoing debate around here...do you dust first, then vacuum or vacuum first, then dust? Of the two routine household chores, which do you dislike the least? How's that for wording?  I hate dusting.  Vacuuming is routine, but dusting is annoying.

6. According to thrilllist.com, the ten most photographed sites in the U.S.A. are- Cinderella's Castle in Orlando, Southernmost House in Key West Florida, The Space Needle in Seattle, The Site of the Boston Massacre in Boston, The Bellagio Lake/fountains in Las Vegas, The Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC, Coit Tower in San Fransisco, The Art Institute of Chicago, Niagara Falls, and snagging the number one spot-The Guggenheim Museum in New York City. 

How many on this list have you photographed? Which on the list would you most like to visit and photograph?  I have photoed Cinderella's castle in Orlando, Niagara Falls, and the Guggenheim. I would love to visit the Florida Keys, the Space Needle in Seattle, and Coit Tower in San Francisco.

7. Fifty years ago Monday (March 2, 1965) The Sound of Music premiered at the Rivoli Theatre in NYC. Have you seen the film? Do you own a copy? On a scale of 1-10 how much do you love it (or not)? Ten=best movie ever. If you're a fan, what's your favorite scene or song from the movie?  I loved watching The Sound Of Music as a kid on TV.  I was rather surprised when I finally watched the entire, not edited for running time and content, movie. It had a far more condeming view of the Nazis than I was aware of.  I had a fascination with WWII history and only fell more in love with the movie then.  I would have to put myself at about a 8-9 on the scale of fandom.  I have several favorite songs: How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria; Sixteen Going on Seventeen; So Long, Farewell; and Edelweiss.  I can sing along with almost every song in the movie, but it has been a few years since I watched it last.  I might have to decree a musical weekend soon...

8. Insert your own random thought here.  Like I said, it's cold here.  Things are supposed to warm up this weekend.  If you call 40 degree temps warm...

We will take what we can get.  Spring is always our shortest season and takes a long time to get here. Our summers, on the other hand are usually nice and temperate.  It's a trade off and one I can live with.

Random Tuesday Musings

And we arrive at yet another Tuesday.  Ours comes with snow.  And approaching cold temps. Like below zero tonight.  But things should warm up this weekend.  Now on to the Random:

• I have boys.  I was happy about this. I thought I had avoided the worst of the clothing battles.  Then Turbo hit junior high.  And wants to wear the same sweatshirt every single day. We have been going around and around on this.  I in no way want him to be that kid who wears the same thing every day. Argh. Tweens.
• Bruiser has a front tooth that is so very loose.  I don't expect it will last the week. He's looking forward to the Tooth Fairy visiting again.
• This:

• Yep.  I could definitely do with some beach time.  Cute cabana boys are a bonus.
• Insomnia came to visit last night.  Totally overstayed it's welcome. Would not take the hint ot just go already.
• I need this:

• And then there are times like this:

So have a great week and join up for the Randomness with Stacy.

Monday Too Soon

It became Monday far too soon for my liking.  I blinked and missed the entire weekend.  Or at least it seems that way.
I spent Saturday doing laundry and grocery shopping and such.  Bruiser had a play date and Turbo stayed in the attic playing video games and doing tween stuff.
Sunday I did manage to get out with some friends and go cross country skiing.  The snow was awesome and we skied for about 1.5 hours.  Then we went and got some food and a drink.  Over all it was a great time.
Nick took the boys to the archery range and had them shoot for about an hour, so they weren't in the attic the entire weekend, although they tried.
It snowed off and on all weekend.  Winter is still hanging around these parts and will for the next couple months most likely. It's normal.  Even if it does cause some jealousy when other areas have gardens going and flowers and green stuff and we are still getting snow.

In the theme of thinking about warmer places, MMMM is all about Caribbean music.  Lets see what we can find:
Harry Belefonte with the Banana Boat song:

The Beach Boys with Kokomo:

Kenny Chesney with No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems:

Have a good week!