Found My Fabric

I heart this cotton fabric for my "Perfect Bombshell Dress".  My inner Ethel Mertz is screaming to be unleashed!

Another One of My Crazy Ideas

It just occurred to me that I share a birthday with Lucille Ball.  Maybe that is the reason I get these harebrained ideas.  That tend to look like something Lucy & Ethel would wear...

Anyway, I just found this cool new site called Craftsy, which is similar to Ravelry but with sewing and other crafts.  And I fell in love with this "Retro Bombshell Dress", which is an on-line course for making this darling dress.  With boning, muslin fitting, and all kinds of seamstress-y stuff. 

But it looks like fun.  And I have NO dresses.  And I can just picture myself in something like this (especially after I've lost a few pounds around the midsection).  So I am signed up for the course.

Stay tuned for further adventures in couture craziness.

Birthday Boys

RJ and Mikey share a birthday (Mom was smart to plan Mikey's arrival on RJ's birthday)  We've been planning a lunch and shopping date for a while, and I took them to Target (our favorite store, though Cabela's might run a close second):

 It's SO hard to choose what to buy!  Mikey was determined to look at EVERYTHING in the toy aisles.

 RJ and Mike got briefly mesmerized by the Hot Wheels display.  We also checked out Pokemon, Star Wars, Legos, and everything that wasn't in a pink box.  Or in the baby aisle.  Because we are 6 now (and 12!  I cannot BELIEVE our little RJ is 12!!!!)

After much deliberation, Mike got a box of Pokemon cards and RJ got a Star Wars game for the Xbox.  Of course, they lobbied hard for a "Rated M" game, but I ix-nayed that.  I generally get in trubs for what I let the boys buy (i.e., weapons of some sort), but I was determined to make wise choices this year.  Much to their chagrin.

We then went to the Red Lobster for a birthday lunch.  RJ is a seafood fiend.  And a teenager (almost).  Here's what he ate:

• Bowl of clam chowder
• Cheese biscuit
• 8 crab legs (and this boy is all business when it comes to crab legs.  He did not leave ONE scrap of meat)
• Ice Cream Sundae, and 1/2 of Mikey's sundae
• and a giant Snickers Bar 

Either he is growing, or he is the host of the world's biggest tapeworm.  I was in awe.

It was a fun day, and the boys were so well mannered!  Even at a "nice" restaurant, they were very polite and well behaved.  And remembered to thank me for their gifts and a fun time.  The twins and I are planning our special day out for their birthday next month.

PS I forgot to get a picture of the 4 boys so you could see how big they are Car.  I'll try to get one asap!

Ouch

I've had a sore back for the last 2 days.  Not fun AT ALL.  Nurse Katie has been fetching stuff for me, thank you Katie!  I'm finally feeling better this morning, so hope to be able to do some stretching.

I blame that yoga teacher for not having the "yoga in the park" class where it was supposed to be.

I'm Nervous!

I'm about to head off to my first "Yoga in the Park" class.  It's a 3 week class at Manito, just a few blocks away.

People, I am SO out of shape, so even though I love yoga, I'm really nervous about doing it with a group of people.  Trust me, I will not be achieving any poses remotely like the one pictured.  Between my fat cells screaming at me, my stiff joints, and "bwoken awm", I will probably be spending most of the time on my mat, in child's pose, crying.

So think of me over the next hour.  And Katie, if you hear screams coming from down the street, please come pick me up.

ETA: I went to the park, and waited patiently.  2 other (young and fit!) gals showed but no instructor.  BOO.  At least I got a walk in.  So there's that.  I'm now home, drinking a beer.

Garlic Scapes!

These are my new favorite thing!  I'd never heard of garlic scapes before a bag of them arrived in my weekly organic produce box.  They are "the flower stalk of hardneck garlic".  Since I'm trying to use at least half the produce I receive rather than tossing it ALL on the compost pile, I went in search of a recipe.

And found this White Bean and Garlic Scapes Dip , for which I (weirdly enough, because I usually have nothing that a recipe calls for) had all the ingredients, and even found the food processor.

IT IS GOOD!  It's basically hummus I guess, but man it is so tasty.  I want to just take a spoon and eat it right from the bowl.  But equally good with pita chips.

Yay!  I made something new!  And Katie and I are having spareribs plus fresh green beans, both of which we purchased at the Farmer's Market yesterday.  So dinner will def. be tasty.

Pickled!

I love pickled green beans.  Absolutely love them.  But they are super expensive (like $7-9.00 for a jar).  I bought a jar at the Farmer's Market this morning, which was 7 bucks.  So now I'm on a quest to acquire canning supplies so I can make my own.  So far, I found a box of canning jars at a garage sale for $5.00.  Now I'm on the lookout for a canning kettle.  Actually, I own one, but I use it for yarn dyeing, so unless I want to take a chance on poisoning myself, I need a second kettle. 

Soon, I hope to be snacking on "Lavs' Extra-Tasty Pickled Green Beans".  I'm sure once I've gotten all the supplies and the fresh green beans, it will only cost me about $10.00 a jar :-)

PS, Zaide, remember berry picking @ Frontier Village?  And making jam?  Good times!