We're back from Vacation...and here are the pictures

Our first leg of the trip....

Taquahmenon Falls....

Leaving for a while...

We are going on a road trip...Whoo-hoo! I am so excited about this. We are leavng today, and heading to Minnesota to see family. I have been looking forward to this trip for a very long time.

So...I'll be MIA for a while, but I'll have lots of pics and stories to upload when I get back.

TTYL!

Saying Thank You

Just watch this. It will mean more than you ever know...

http://www.gratitudecampaign.org/shortmovie.php

I have tears, and it's only 7:30AM.

-j

Ow.

This is a quick pictorial of my attempt at clearing my sinuses.
This is a sinuCleanse set.
This is a Neti Pot.
This is me, after using the neti pot. Notice the tears, red eyes, and general look of wanting to rip my sinuses out of my head. It stung.

But, after several hours, my nose wasn't as runny, and I felt less pressure. Hmmm...

Making Food with Tomatoes

I've had to get creative with tomatoes, as I have them coming out of my ears.


This is fresh tomato salad. I large-diced one of the heirloom tomatoes, then mixed a vinaigrette of:
2T EVOO
1 shallot, minced
1T dijon mustard
1T apple cider vinegar
1T worchestershire
S&P
1T chopped oregano
1/2T chopped mint
then poured it over the tomatoes. YUMM!

And this picture shoes my wonderful sous chef, preparing the parmesan crust for the below-mentioned baked tomatoes. He actually was quite a help, as you know how clean I am when I cook. I finally found someone that makes a bigger mess than I do!

and for dinner....baked tomatoes with a bread crumb/parmesan crust. Nothing special. i didn't even use garlic!

Where I spend my day

This is my desk. It isn't the neatest, there are piles of work, and piles to file, and piles of stuff that I'm not sure what to do with...but this is where I work. At least, one corner of it. Maybe I should ave turned around and taken a picture of the rubbermaid bins holding all of the River Day stuff that I haven't put over at the field office yet.
BTW - if you look closely - you'll see 2 hot wheels cars on the desk. I promised Joseph that his cars could c0ome to work with me...so I took this picture to show him that they were hard at work...

Cakes for a Cause 2008

Our office has a cake decorating competition every year. The winner gets to choose a charity, then all the cakes are auctioned off for charity. So, I entered this year.

The base of the cake. White cake, cherry frosting, strawberry filling, covered in fondant.


No - I don't get a kickback from Wilton's Cake-making supplies, but maybe I should, as much I used them.

The base of the cake. Fondant wasn't too hard...this part was easy.

My first attempt at decorating. It looked really bad, so I scraped everything off the cake, and started over from scratch with the base fondant.

and this is what the final product looked like...I called it "Dreaming of Pink Pillows". Was I happy with it? Uh...sure. Did it taste good? I'll have to ask the person who bought it at the auction.

How much $ did we raise? $117. For what charity? The Clinton River Watershed Council.

Whoo-hoo. Go me! (For the record, yes, I won, and I chose the charity.)

Working boys

This is the view out of my front door right now. The boys are working on a deer blind for Dad. Power tools, 2X4s, etc. So much testosterone.

AAAHHH!!!!

Another funky mood day. I'm still very overwhelmed at work - there are some major construction projects that are in various stages - starting fro design, logisitics, all the way to fully under construction. This is driving me batty - there is so much going on, then the other part of my job - the desk administration stuff, the permitting, the files, the inhouse stuff is also out of control. too much to do, and not enough time. My poor to-do list has really become too long. It's like a to-do storybook.

This is what I feel like:

Yes - I'm really liking this video stuff too - if you can't see the videos, please let me know. This is new to me.

On the homefront - I'm just trying to get ready for our trip next weekend to MN. We'll be driving, camping, visiting family, and NOT WORKING!! Well, sort of. I know we both will be chaecking email, and doing some work. Because that is who we are. Work-a-holics. Sigh.

How Joseph tries new foods...

WARNING - GRAPHIC VIDEO!!!!

As many of you know, Little Joe has issues with eating...he doesn't. One night last week, I asked him to try a grape...

At the end, he blows the camera a kiss....seriously.

The Trip to Toledo - and the 95th Division

So - my camera died on the first day we were in Toledo - and I couldn't recharge the battery. so - I have one picture for you:

the boy who insisted that he wasn't tired, and didn't need a nap. We were heading down I-75, and hadn't even gotten to the 275/75 split - and he was OUT!


The rest of the weekend was amazing - we spent time with family, heard stories from WWII vets, went to a Mud Hens game, went to the Toledo Museum of Art (which was VERY cool!), and just had a wonderful time with family and new friends.

BTW - for a quick day trip from the Detroit area - the Museum has free admission.

Our trip to Toledo was for the the Army 95th Division Reunion - these are the Iron Men of Metz - the group of brave American soldiers that liberated Metz, France in Novemebr of 1944. And my grandpa is one of those men. The veterans that were there were so proud and so willing to share their stories. I was in awe several times.

All for now - going to download more pics from the camera.

Gardeniferous Bounty

So, after being gone all weekend, we came home to a beautiful garden that was bursting with ripe yummy vegetables....

Notice the size of this zucchini...my cell phone is there for reference!

Cherry Tomatoes...Sweet 100's...my favorite. We seriously have 100's of these...

Just what I picked on Sunday night...(notice the tomato...Heirloom Brandywyne) You also see zucchinis, shallots, a green pepper, some funky cucumbers, and about a million cherry tomatoes. the apple is not from my garden...
These are some yummy tomatoes that decided they were too fat for the plant, and they fell onto the ground on their own...thus not ripening. Grrr. Stupid tomatoes.

stupid blogger.

So - I'm having difficulties uploading photos to Blogger. Not sure what the deal is...I'll have to figure it out though.

I don't have too many pics to upload anyways - this weekend was the 95th Division reunion in Toledo...and my camera battery died. Just my Luck. Grrr...

In the meantime...enjoy some tidbits that I'll post.....

love, me.

Scenes from a Lazy Summer Day

Sharing Memories With Friends...

Another trip to Greenfield Village....this time we went with a friend of mine and her son. (Amy and Blake). It was their first time visiting GFV...so they had a wonderful time.

(This is Joe pushing the turntable at the Train Roundhouse. He has been asking to do this for over 2 years....and he finally got to do it)

This is my niece...

This is my niece, Mya, demonstrating her raw talent of balancing a spoon on her nose. I cannot do this. A 2 1/2 year old showed me up with her talents....

Linzer Cookies - Don't EVER Ask Me to Make These Again

But - they went quick when I brought them to the office. :)

Complete Waste of Time - Yet So Interesting...

OK - I love these little questionaire things...It helps you learn little tidbits about your friends and family...so - here are my answers!!

What do you add to your coffee? REAL half and half. None of that powdery crap.
What are you reading now? Deep Economy - Bill McKibben
Do you own a gun? yup. Gold Huntress - 20 gauge shotgun.
Are you registered to vote? Yes
Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Nah - unless I know there will be needles involved.
What do you think of hot dogs? summertime.
Favorite Christmas song? Hmmm...there are so many...O come All Ye Faithful - with full choir, organ and trumpets.
What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Coffee.
Can you do push ups? Yup. - not the girly ones either.
Favorite hobby? Gardening. Running.
Do you work with people who idolize you? Holy cow - I hope they don't!
Do you have ADD? Nope.
What’s one trait that you hate about yourself? My ghetto-booty.
What’s your middle name? Elizabeth
Name three thoughts at this exact moment. I need to get the files together for the Ferry Drain Meeting. I need to call the County. I need to figure out latchkey for Joseph.
Name three things you bought yesterday. didn't go shopping yesterday.
Name three beverages you regularly drink. Water. Wine. Coffee. (not necessarily in order of importance...)
Current worry right now? Latchkey, Bills, Work.
What side do you dress to? huh? what the heck does that mean?
Favorite place to be? Traverse City
How did you bring in the New Year? At home.
Where would you like to go? Ireland
Name three people who will complete this. ????
Whose answers do you want to read the most? Everyone's!
What color shirt are you wearing? purplish-burgandyish.
Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Nope. Don’t like to slide when I sleep.
Can you whistle? yes.
Favorite color? Blue or Green
Could you be a pirate? Uh...i don't think so.
What songs do you sing in the shower? Seriously? whatever I just heard. (Often it's the Thomas the Tank Engine theme song!)
Favorite girls name? Elizabeth Rae or Miranda Elizabeth
Favorite boy’s name? Joseph John
What’s in your pocket right now? Nothing
Last thing that made you laugh? A comment from a co-worker about a project.
Best bed sheets as a child? white with these tiny little flowers and vines.
Worst injury you’ve ever had? Um...hip dysplasia?
Do you love where you live? I like my house, the community is OK - but it isn't where I want to raise my son.
How many TVs do you have in your house? Three.
Who is your loudest friend? Tracy
How many dogs do you have? One.
What are the most fun things you ever did? ??? I try to have fun all the time....this is a hard question!!
What are your favorite books? "Farenheit 451"; "Red Pony"; "Under the Tuscan Sun";
What is your favorite candy? Hmmm...if I was splurging...probably a Butterfinger
Favorite team? Detroit Tigers
What songs do you want played at your funeral? No funeral for me, thanks. Play happy music at the party!
What were you doing at 12 am? Sleeping.
What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Damn - that smells like a skunk outside the bedroom window...Oh Crap. It IS a skunk outside the bedroom window!

This is HILARIOUS!!

OK - I have fond memories of the Muppets...but I find this Hilarious!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=xpcUxwpOQ_A

Call me silly. I always liked Beaker.

Nothing Much New Here

Nothing exciting going on here. I'm in a funky sort of mood. I miss my mom, I'm overwhelmed at work, I can't believe Joseph is going to start kindergarten in about a month, I'm having some difficulty accepting change and growth.

I need a break. Nothing major. Just a facial. or an afternoon at the coffeehouse, reading my book. (Deep Economy, by Bill McKibben, which BTW, is an awesome look at how we are living our lives, and how ecology and the ecomnomy are intertwined).

More pictures later - probably more stupid zucchinis, some of my construction project at work (which is the main source of my stress, and probably the same source for my occasional glass of wine), maybe some pictures of the almost-kindergartener!!

all for now - toodles!