Nature!

I have always been mesmerized by nature. I am constantly saying things like: "LOOK! There is a cardinal in the tree. Do you see it? Can you hear it chirping?" "WOW! The sky is SO blue and filled with white puffy clouds today." "The trees are getting their leaves! I can't wait until everything is GREEN again!" "Can you SMELL the salt air from the ocean?"
I cannot imagine going through life, not paying attention to all of the beauty that surrounds us on a daily basis. It's not just the big, obvious things but the small things as well. Like all the flowers in my garden just starting to bloom! Yes, most flowers are beautiful when they are in FULL bloom. But what about when they are just starting to open their petals? Or when it's the first flower on the whole bush to burst forth with color? Take a look at the texture of the unopened blooms on the hostas. Little peaks of purple just starting to come through. And the fern leaf? I just LOVE it! The shape is PERFECT! So far, there is only one plant, with a ring of petals on it, in the echinacea patch.
How could I not enjoy taking pictures of all of these? Flowers ALWAYS smile for the camera!
What if flowers aren't your picture of choice? Then maybe it's the geese at the local park. I love the picture that is so close that it cuts off part of the beak as the goose is walking by me. And the little ripples in the water as the other goose starts making it's way into the water.
I think everyone should grab their cameras, go sit on a park bench, and just take some random shots. Pick a day! ANY day! Why wait for the "perfect moment" when everything is in full bloom to see the beauty that nature has to offer!

A Midwest Thing!

I don't ever remember having kettlecorn until moving to Illinois. My first reaction was ummmmmm I don't know if I like it or not. But after years of tasting it from different vendors set up outside of Sam's or Lowe's it has really grown on me. Today, Mr. Mister and I were walking through Dierberg's and they had this out to be sampled. This is the BEST kettlecorn I have ever tasted!! The perfect blend of sweet and salty. And the popcorn is SO crisp! They aren't lying when they say it's hard to eat just one bite! YOU CAN'T!! What's even better? You can order it and have it delivered right to your door from here: www.popcornindiana.com I feel another addiction coming on!

I CANNOT WAIT!!!!

I am so excited that Pirates Of The Caribbean - The World's End is coming out this week! I get to see all of that yummy eye candy and wipe the drool from my chin for approximately two hours. Everyone knows about the "crush" I have on Orlando Bloom (Will Turner). It's quite funny! A few years ago some of the girls at work did a circle journal project. Each person's circle journal had different themes and my circle journal was pirate/treasure chest themed. Each journal was passed around and everyone did layouts for them. Several of the girls did pages with reference to Will Turner. I was thrilled to receive a "necklace" from him that I keep in a special box on one of the pages. Another friend gave me valentine's with Will Turner on them. LOL Yes! Mr. Mister knows about my "infatuation" with" Orlando Bloom. He teases me and says he is going to buy me the toy figurines of him. I am still waiting!

Happy Mother's Day!!

At 5:30 this morning the kids came through the bedroom door singing the Boyz II Men "A Song For Mama" and delivering this very special treat. These two things have been a "tradition" that they have been doing for many years now. The first year Mr. Mister helped them start this by buying the fruit (strawberries, bananas, kiwi, grapes, pineapple, and apples with whipped cream mixed through out) and helped them make it. They put the fruit in one of my beautiful "Princess House" margarita glasses (which are only used when they do this...LOL). Doesn't it make such a beautiful presentation? A few years later they came up with the idea to add the song. They would come into the room carrying a "boom box" with the song playing. Unfortunately, we no longer have the cassette or CD so they have resorted to singing the chorus of the song to me. LOL It is all so very sweet. I look forward to this every year. I love those two kids SO MUCH! They are the best! Here are the words to the chorus of the song:

Mama, mama you know I love you
Oh you know I love you
Mama, mama you're the queen of my heart
Your love is like
Tears from the stars
Mama, I just want you to know
Lovin' you is like food to my soul

I know what you're thinking..........WHY in the world did they wake me up at 5:30? Well, technically I was already awake.....because of the early morning potty run. LOL But they both had to be at work. Ricardo had to be a work by 6:00 and Danielle had to leave at 6:15. I did lay back down for a few minutes but decided to get back up and dye my hair. So YEP! I am sitting here typing this with my hair all slicked back with hair dye. ROFL. NOT a pretty sight!!

We shall see how the rest of the day unfolds. I know Rick is planning on taking me out to lunch. I was also hoping to go to a winery, but I don't think we will be able to fit everything in today. We have to be back home before six because we have someone stopping by later this evening.

Cravings!

The other day Mr. Mister asked me what I wanted for dinner. All afternoon, I had been thinking about and craving bruschetta from the Macaroni Grill. It was already late in the afternoon so we decided to try and make it on our own instead of driving over to St. Louis. (I looked around on the internet to find a copy cat recipe but couldn't find one. I did find a personal blog where someone mentioned trying to make their own and copied down the recipe they came up with) We ran out to Dierberg's (LOVE this grocery store) and bought everything we needed. When we got home I started cutting and chopping everything. After mixing all the ingredients together we let it sit for a hour or so at room temperature to blend all of the flavors. We popped in a movie, opened a bottle of wine, and fixed ourselves a plate of some DELICIOUS bruschetta! I have to admit, it turned out really good. I would say it was as good as the Macaroni Grill! Well.........in my opinion anyway. HA HA I have decided to make it again tonight because Mr. Mister is out of town and won't get in until later this evening. It's nice and simple, with only a few ingredients. Who can beat that? I can tell this is going to be one of those things we make all summer long. It's not heavy, and you don't have to heat up the kitchen when it's too hot.

I had three teleseminar classes today. These classes are taught by other Traveling Vineyard consultants. It's nice to hear them talk about what works for them and how to go about doing things to help your business grow. Most of them have been doing wine tastings for several years so we get to learn from their experiences. I have signed up for another one for tomorrow night. I feel like a sponge, trying to soak up as much information as I can.

My first wine tasting event (besides the one I had here at the house) is this Thursday. I am SO NERVOUS! I have been viewing the tasting notes and all of the information on the wines we will be having. My hostess is really nice. She has planned lots of yummy food to pair with the wines. I hope that I remember everything I need to mention this time. I will be happy when this all comes more natural and easier for me. Wish me luck!

What Happens When.....

You purchase one of those yellow books for DUMMIES and it still looks like everything is written in Greek to you? Does that mean you are dumber than dumb or just really REALLY dumb? I guess I fall into one of those categories because that is what happened! I bought the "Wine For Dummies" today and half of it is still gibberish to me! Even the pronunciations of some of the wines are totally not what you would expect them to be. For example: Chianti is pronounced key AHN tee! Who would have thunk it? I think I are purdy dumb!

I am sure it would help the situation tremendously if I didn't always try to start reading a book (or magazine) from the back and move toward the beginning HUH? I was just going through and reading certain areas that I thought may look interesting. But what really caught my attention was the COMICS!! O MY now I know I can do this. It's a book with PICTURES!!

Today has been a lazy day. I was awake at 4:30 a.m. because "Brat Girl" was up and getting ready to go to work. She has gone from working nights on the weekends to working days. She says she feels like a "normal" person again. LOL

So I began my day thinking I might work on some scrapbooking projects since today was "National Scrapbooking Day". That lasted about 30 minutes when I went upstairs and saw the magnetic board that I am making as a baby gift laying there. I proceeded to move a few pieces of paper around on the board, cut out the baby's name, paint it green, put some glitter on top of the green, didn't like it, and promptly turned out the light and walked out of the room!

A little later, Mr. Mister and I did some work around the house and then we left to make a quick run to the Scrapbook Factory to buy a different color of glitter (well....OK....three different colors). After leaving there we headed over to Margarita's to enjoy a little bit of the Cinco de Mayo festivities. When we got there I heard someone saying "UMMMMM HELLO!!" and it was "L" from work! She was there with family and friends having a few margarita's and lots of fun. They sat us right next to their table so we all got to chat back and forth with each other. She is SO FULL OF ENERGY and such a HOOT. I tell her all the time she is a SPAZ!

I am HAPPY to say my bleeding hearts have come back in the flower beds. I was pretty bummed a few weeks ago when that cold snap sent all the plants into a tizzy. I thought for sure I wouldn't see those pretty little hearts back until next spring but NO NO. I have the pictures to prove it.

This is the before picture right after the cold had it's way with them! Pathetic and dying! Laying all over the ground! Isn't Mr. Blue Lizard a cutie?



And this is what they looked like today! Awwwwwwwwww!!! Aren't they beautiful? I just love those delicate little hearts!