She's Home At Last

Katie, Lucy and I spent the whole summer without our roomie, Peeps.  FINALLY, her summer at Camp Crotch is over and she's home!  Yay! 

Car Convo!

Mikey: HA HA Liam (really sounds more like "Wee-am"), you have my germs now! (everyone was taking a sip from the lone bottle of water I had in the car).

Liam: WE ARE BROTHERS. We have the same germs.  You'll learn that in kindergarten.

The priceless knowledge you acquire once you hit the public school system...

Project Runway Love

OMG Casanova!!!  You have to love a guy who puts on his genie shoes and turbans, throws a major hissy fit, then 'mans' up and wins the week's challenge.

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety Jig!

I am home at last!  I enjoyed my week + in Seattle, it was great to see my fave sisters, and spend time with Mom.  Hard, too, as Mom has slowed down considerably, and it's painful to remember our sharp, vibrant, sassy mother and know that time has passed...but she's still feisty.

Susan and I headed to Hayden Lake (practically right across the road from Pat & Glo's house!) for a weekend knitting retreat.  Fun! Knitting! Food! Deer eating corn in the back yard!  A BEAR visiting the back yard too! More knitting! Plus we watched "Footloose", and all I could think is that Kevin Bacon's kids must torture him with this movie.

Seattle Fun

I'm enjoying my stay in the homeland!  Catching up on sleep seems to be my top activity, for some reason I sleep HARD when I'm at mom's house...Lisa took Mimi & me out for pedi's and dinner last night, a real treat!

Mimi is doing well, more energy this week, which is a relief.  We are off to 'brain class' now.  Tomorrow, we tackle the zoo with B-Z and the little girls!!!

Shark Week Socks are Finished!

Finished my Swedish Fish Socks (a little late for Shark Week, but still in the same month).  I think they are cute!

Would You Spend These?

Somebody's holding a "Dollar ReDeSign Competition" and this is one of the entries.  Each denomination is a different color and the bills increase in size as the value gets higher.  The designs: $1: Obama, $5: Tepee, $10: Bill of Rights, $20: 20th Century America, $50 Eagle, $100: FDR with timeline of his first 100 days in office.  The bills are also designed vertically, which is the way most of us actually handle money.

I like these!  Of course, I'd put a knitter on here somewhere...

Some Time Off

I'm on vacation of sorts for the rest of August.  The boys are headed to Whidbey Island, so I'm at loose ends until school starts.  I plan to get a LOT of work done today, then take off for Seattle on Friday, to visit with family and spend time with Mom.  Not sure how long I'll be in town, but hopefully will get to see EVERYONE! Especially all the babies!

Now to figure out which knitting projects to take...always the most important part of packing.

The WW Report

I lost 1.6 lbs. last week, so broke the dreaded 200 lb barrier! 

The Deal

Mikey has been DYING for a Star Wars lunch box for school.  In fact, he threw a fit at Walmart when Mom refused to buy him one.

So he and I have a deal.  He has to go TEN DAYS without being 'sassy' and I'll get him the lunchbox of his dreams.  It's so funny, he starts to be naughty and all I have to say is "remember our deal" and he immediately stops.  Too bad the deal is only for 10 days.

Stuff to Do When You are Up at 3 AM

go to the Mad Men website and create your very own Mad Men icon!  This is me, and I gotta say, I look like a Rosaia here...

And The Winner...

on SYTYCD was NOT my little Kent, it was Lauren.  But I wasn't too disappointed, all three of the finalists were awesome.  And Lauren's Tahitian dance was my favorite of the season (that girl's booty is amazing!)  I'm really contemplating buying a ticket to see their show in Portland in November, anyone else interested?

Presh!

Here's Katie's friend's baby Avery modeling the hat I knit for him. What an adorable little guy!

Life With Sliver!

My baby bro is the best!  I came to work this morning and he was back in town (he'd been in Seattle for a week visiting his kids and other stuff).  Of course, the boys were happy to have him back (well, maybe not Alex for a minute or two, he told me "Jon moved in and ruined my life!" lol, too bad so sad Al).  Above are a couple of Jon activities: on the left is the go cart project he and RJ are building; on the right is RJ's "tattoo" that Jon drew on him with a Sharpie.  It's a little hard to see but it says "come and take it" and has a sword.  Liam had a black panther on his arm, plus an Egyptian eye (around the nip).  Oh Jon, we love you.  All the kids come over and ask "Can Jon play?"

Brave Lucy!

Katie, Lucy and I went for a walk in Riverfront Park right at dusk last night.  We were a little concerned (ok I was a little concerned) about walking in the park at night.  Katie assured me that Lucy would protect us if any scary strangers accosted us.  Right after she said this, Lucy Lou went totes crazy and was barking like MAD...at this sculpture in the park.  Of a nun. Apparently, Lucy Lou was not raised as a Catholic...

Happy Birthday, Cara Lee!

KATIE: Hey, Cara!
CARA: Hi, little sister.
KATIE: It's your birthday today!!
CARA: Yes, I know.
KATIE: Aren't you excited to be a year older!?
CARA: Um, sure. Don't I look excited?
KATIE: No, not really. LOOK AT ME! I'm bursting with joy over the fact that it's your birthday! Even my doll looks happy!
CARA: I'm smiling! I have a plate of food! What more do you want?
KATIE: I don't know! I guess I want you to come home! I miss my big sister!
CARA: I miss you too.  But I'm a big success here at my job in Virginia, AND moving back across the country is a lot of work.  I had planned to spend my birthday in my pajamas.  See, I'm wearing them now.
KATIE: Oh, all right.  I'll just continue to look up admiringly at my big sis from afar.

Happy birthday, Car-parts!  We miss you so much!

Happy Birthday, Lucy Lou!

We decided today will be Lucy's 'official' birthday (she's like Queen Elizabeth that way, with an official birth date and then the real day).  Happy birthday to my adorable grandpuppy!  I got her a new squeaky toy ("Sheepy"), and as a special treat, I let her lick the lotion off of my legs (her favorite thing to do, hope it doesn't poison her!)

I've never been an animal person (phobia #873), but Lucy has definitely brought a lot of fun and joy to my life.  She is the sweetest girl, always smiling and happy, enjoying life as it comes.  She and I spend a lot of time together (napping and just hanging out), and I've come to look forward to our Grammy and Grandpuppy times. 

Hope your special day is filled with squeaky toys, ball chasing, lotion licking and all the other things you love so much!

Birthday Celebration #3

Katie and Pia took me out for a delicious (and definitely NOT low-cal) dinner last night.  We went to Klinkerdagger's, which is a long time 'special occasion' restaurant here in Spokane.  I had Kobe Meatloaf, which was absolutely delish.  It was my last hurrah before heading back to Weight Watchers, which we did this morning.  I have gained 6 lbs since April, which was no surprise.  Back on the bandwagon to weight loss!

Birthday Celebration #2

Does anyone NOT worship Target?  It's only the world's greatest store for filling your basket with random stuff.

I headed off to Tar-jay to treat myself to a few modestly priced goodies: a bottle of "Say Yes to Carrot" body wash, a bottle of Nivea lotion for my perpetually dry legs (I know, Katie, you hate the smell of Nivea, but I love it, it smells like summer at the lake to me.  And it's great lotion), a cute 'cube' of wine for sipping, and a darling cotton dress by Converse, of all companies!  It's a perfect summer dress, very lightweight, blue plaid.

Birthday Celebration #1

Reading the new issue of People and eating ice cream straight out of the carton.  Two thumbs up on Chelsea's wedding dress, though I was initially not sure I loved it.

Fun Facts About August 6, 1954

Random group of weird kids on August 6, 1954.  I'm going to  pretend they are celebrating my birth

I am celebrating my 56th (YIKES) birthday with a roundup of fun facts about my birthdate:

It was a Friday.
Emilie Dionne, one of the Dionne Quintuplets, dies of asphyxiation following an epileptic seizure at Sainte Agathe, Quebec. She was the first of the five to perish, and three of them lived into the 21st Century.

And apparently NOTHING other than my arrival happened on this date in 1954.  So I'll give you some fun facts about August 6:

• Lucille Ball was born  (1911)  Other notable August 6 babies: Andy Warhol, M. Night Shyamalan, Ginger Spice
• The atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima (1945)
• The electric chair was used for the first time (1890)
• World War I began (1914)
• Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the English Channel (1924)
• The Beatles released the album "Help!" (1965)

All in all, a fairly eventful day, history-wise.  And I'm happy to share my birthday with Lucy (the redhead not the puppy)!

Perfect!

Heart Jane Lynch, of course!  And here she is with her Sue Sylvester wax museum double!  PS, freaking CAROL BURNETT is going to appear on Glee as Sue Sylvester's MOTHER.  Perfect x infinity!

In Honor of Shark Week

I've renamed the Swedish Fish Socks, they are now the Shark Week Socks.  Granted, these fat little fishies look nothing like sharks, but maybe they are remora.  Cute, fat, friendly remora.  Anyways, the socks are super cute (and I am going to try to knit the second sock before the end of shark week, because I have a FAB super-secret project to start for new baby Prentice, and I'm itching to get going...)

It's That Time Again!

SHARK WEEK!  It's back this week on the Discovery Channel, and what better programs to knit my Swedish Fish socks to than sharks eating various things (mostly people)!!!

One show is "Shark Attack Survival, probably the most useful hour of TV we've watched since Stacy and Clinton taught us about the perils of wide-legged pants on What Not to Wear."  Since we are vacationing in tropical climes this Christmas, it may behoove us to memorize these tips:

First off, don't panic. Well, that's easy. Secondly, find something with which to bind your wound. Check! And lastly, grab some sort of weapon to fight off the sharks with.

Or follow my plan, which is to float in an inflatable chair in the pool.

New Sockies

Who doesn't love Swedish Fish!?  When I saw these socks, I knew I had to have them, I think they are SO cute.  I wish I'd chosen a brighter color for the fishies though, the pink/blue pastel is not as 'zingy' as I'd like.

Chicken Man

I couldn't resist this picture of Mikey and his pet chicken "Little Honey".  He loves that chicken like nobody's business.  Much to Little Honey's dismay (she gets carried around a LOT).

Busted!

Katie and Lucy, that is!  The boys and I joined our fave couple on a fun outing to Riverside State Park last weekend.  Little did we know that the long arm of the law was lurking at the end of the trail! 

Katie let Lucy off the leash (yes, there are a zillion signs saying NOT to do this, but we chose to disregard them) and she ran right up to Ranger Rick, who was waiting at the top of the trail with ticket book in hand.  $80.00 later, we were on our way, with Lucy Lou safely re-leashed.

I think a warning would have sufficed, but I guess times are tough for the state parks system.  Katie, think of it as a (forced) donation to our parks.  And the boys enjoyed the experience, it prepared them for their teenage years lol.