They're Here!

Today when I got home, there was a package on the table from the good people of Drake's Cakes. Inside, were the RingDings and Coffee Cakes we ordered, as well as a sample two-pack of what I think are called Yodels, and five decks of Lotto Cards, which are cards you can use to choose your lotto numbers. Please let me know if you would like a deck of these lotto cards, and I will send them to you. I don't think we need five. Anyway, now I just need to go get some DingDongs, and I'll be all set for the LRHS Labor Day Ring Ding Ding Dong Duel. I don't know about taste, but Drake's wins for logo...I love the baker's-hat wearing duck.

Kev was excited about the Coffee Cakes. We'll probably be eating one for breakfast tomorrow. A nice way to celebrate August being over.

It has been a little rough around here for the last few days. We are trying to get Daphne to drink milk from a cup, and she doesn't want to do it. I took away all her bottles, and she will sometimes drink milk from a cup if we let her use a straw. But mostly, she just wants juice. I don't see what the big deal is. Why do I have to take her bottle away? She loves her bottle. And it was about the only thing left that made me feel like she is at least sorta still a baby. I don't know if this is harder for me or for her. It makes me sad.

At least I still have babytalk. She calls strawberries "subby-subs" and it is the cutest dang thing I've ever heard. It will be a sad day when she learns to say strawberries the right way. Blogger has a new video uploading thing, so I am trying to upload a video of Daphne saying subby-sub. That way, I can watch it when I feel sad because I can't give her a bottle anymore. But this upload is taking forever. You can watch it too, if it ever finishes...

Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Me and Baby LarryFeathers, probably December 1972 or January 1973.

Wednesday is Poll Day

Please see the post below before taking this week's poll.

A Pre-Ring Ding Ding Dong Duel Poll
	I am strictly a Drake's Cake consumer
	Give me Hostess every time
	They are both pretty much the same
	I don't care for snack cakes
Free polls from Pollhost.com

The Great Snack Cake Debate

VS.



Every time I mention snack cakes, which is more often than you might think, Kev and I get into a debate about which kind of snack cake is better: Drake's or Hostess. I've never even heard of these Drake's Cakes. So after reading Kev's comment on today's Top Five Tuesday Bonus Top Three about snack cakes, I did some research and found out that they only sell Drake's in the Northeastern US, which is where Kev is from. AHA! We only had Hostess in Indiana when I was a kid. So anyway, I thought it was in the best interest of the readers of this blog that I do a blind comparison taste test to see if Ring Dings really are better than Ding Dongs. This presented a problem, since Texas is Hostess-only territory, however, as usual, the internet saved the day. With a quick click of the mouse, I have just ordered a box of Ring Dings, and expect them to arrive in a couple of days. In the meantime, I will go down to 7-11 and get a 2-pack of Ding Dongs in preperation for the great LRHS Labor Day Ring Ding Ding Dong Duel. Results will of course be posted here. Perhaps there will even be photos. Feel free to engage in a friendly wager with your friends.

(While we were at it, we ordered some Drake's Coffee Cakes, which Kev raves about. Can't wait to try those. Thank you, Internet).

A Monkey's Life

Julie was asking how Ralph is adjusting to having a baby around the house. As many of you know, Ralph used to get quite a lot of attention. Things were a little rough for him at first I think. There he is, in the picture above, sitting alone in the corner holding the laundry bag, while all attention was focused on the Peanut and her cousin Katie. Things are better now, though. Ralph got to go on vacation with us. Below, he is enjoying some quiet time in one of the back porch rockers. And Daphne loves him. She calls him "Wowf." It's not so bad to be a monkey.

Top Five Tuesday

Top Five Reasons I wish I was still on Vacation:

1. I didn't have to drive for a whole week.
2. I didn't have to plan meals or cook them for a whole week.
3. It is hot here. It was not hot on vacation.
4. My house is a mess.
5. Pollution here is Level Red or Orange every day.

And because that Top Five list is so filled with negativity, here is a more positive bonus Top Three list:

Top Three Snack Cakes:

1. Hohos
2. Ding Dongs
3. Hostess Cupcakes

I never really cared for the Twinkie.

Happy Monday

One of my favorite happy places is the Zesto. It is an ice cream stand in New Albany, Indiana that we frequented during my childhood. In 2005, I took Ralph to the Zesto, and this October, I will be taking Daphne for her first Zesto experience. She will love it. She's a big fan of ice cream.

Already Better than Jackson Pollock

Yesterday, I bought some Crayola Mess-Free markers. This is Daphne's very first completely solo piece of artwork. Well, I wrote her name, but she did the rest. I am so proud. It is on the fridge.

Mess-free markers seem pretty cool. The fingerpaints are lame though.

Flashback Friday

This is me at my daisy table...I spent a lot of time there. If I could find one just like this for the Peanut, I would buy it in a heartbeat. In this picture, I'm filling out my Valentines for a school party. But I can also remember sitting there coloring or having snacks (hoho's!).

Standing on the Cloud

We just watched a really disturbing movie, so I am blogging to take my mind off it before I go to sleep. Here is a little vacation story for you.

The last morning we crossed over the mountain pass from Idaho into Jackson Hole, there was a cloud hovering just above the town, so that from the top of the pass, we were above the cloud. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen. We stopped to take a few pictures, and then started the drive down.


Here we are just about to drive into the cloud. It's right in front of that truck.



And as soon as they got into it, the people in the truck rolled down their windows and stuck out their arms to touch the cloud. We did the same. Clouds are cold and wet. Touch one if you get a chance someday.

Wednesday is Poll Day

Tomorrow, I have to get up early and attend a long boring conference about medicare, so here is the Whaddayathink Wednesday poll in advance. I guess it's more of a hypothetical. I look forward to checking the results when I get home.

You have the opportunity to take your dream vacation for free, but you are handcuffed to Gilbert Gottfried (except in the restroom). Do you go?
	Yes
	No
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Now, when I say dream vacation, I mean DREAM vacation. For example, for me, this means an Antarctic Cruise and visiting the penguins. And as annoying as Gilbert Gottfried is, I couldn't pass up the penguins.

Post-Vacation Letdown

So, we've been home for a couple of days, and I am starting to feel normal again. Being on vacation is hard work. Especially with a toddler. But with all the extra hands around, I managed to get in some relaxing, and views like this made it all worth it. Not to mention the delightfully cool weather.

I took almost 500 pictures. Have you ever tried to sort through 500 pictures? This batch goes mostly like this: mountain, mountain, mountain, Peanut, mountain, mountain, Peanut, Peanut by a mountain, Peanut, mountain, etc. So, I am trying to pick some of my favorites, and post a few each day on flickr. If you're interested, you can check them out by clicking on the flickr badge at the left, and then going to my photostream and clicking on the Vacation 07 set. I think there are only 29 on there right now. Much better than 500.

Wyoming/Idaho/Montana is pretty amazing. Idaho is flat flat flat, and then mountain. It looks like Napolean Dynamite. You can see for miles. Every day you can see the sun rise and set, you can see millions of stars, you can see storms move across the sky. There are no mosquitos. It is rarely too hot to sit outside. And I haven't even mentioned the wildlife yet. More on that later.

Anyway, I usually have pretty severe post-vacation letdown after a trip like this, because I come back home and have nothing to look forward to. This time it's not so bad. I have lots of birthday gifts that I haven't got to play with yet and a new issue of Craft Magazine to peruse. I'm going to Indiana in October and New York in November, and then it will be Christmas. Whew! No time for letdown now. I'll have to wait until January.

OK, check in tomorrow for some kind of poll. Gotta go for now.

Top Five Tuesday

Old Faithful
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

During our vacation, we visited Yellowstone National Park and went to Old Faithful. It was pretty cool to watch the geyser erupt, but there were thousands of tourists there and Daphne wasn't on her best behavior. After spending the better part of the morning in a carseat in the back of a minivan, she just wanted to be free, so we had to let her run. And run. And run. It wore us out. But she had a great time. Anyway, here is this week's vacation-related Top Five:

Top Five Cool but Super-Touristy Things I'm Glad I've Done

1. Rode the London Eye
2. Took a tour of Alcatraz
3. Went on a whale-watching cruise in Maine
4. Went to the top of the Trade Center in NYC
5. Rode the cog train to the top of Pike's Peak

Please comment if you have a favorite tourist spot.

Happy Monday

Here I am on a fence with the Peanut in Wyoming. Just got back yesterday. Lots of tales to tell.

Birthday Extravaganza (or 39 Ain't So Bad)

So, it's my birthday today. I'm 39 now. OK. I'll just have to find a way to deal with it.

Turning 39 is kind of a drag, but celebrating turning 39 was great. Daphne went to stay with my mom and dad, and Kevin and I went to dinner and to see a really cool show at the Granada. The first band was Little Jack Melody. Didn't like them much. Little Jack was a little koo-koo. He had a stand-up bass player that made a lot of stink-face, which was entertaining. You know what I'm talking about, right? It's when a musician gets real into what he's playing, and makes a wrinkly nose furrowed brow sort of face, like something smells really bad. It is most common during rock guitar solos, so seeing this stand-up bass guy doing it was funny. I wonder why stink face seems so prevelent among musicians versus other professionals. You never see a heart surgeon make stink face as he approaches a particularly delicate artery. Anyway, the next band was Guy Forsythe and the Hot Nut Riveters, which I may have not spelled correctly. They were really cool, and if you can see them, you should. Someone at the show must have had a video camera, because lo and behold, I found some footage from the show on YouTube. Here are a couple of clips:





The sound is not that great, and these are not the best songs of the night, but there is a little taste for you anyway. I think my favorite part of the show was when they played Summertime, featuring Guy on the musical saw. It was cool.

The headline act was the strange but very talented White Ghost Shivers. YouTube had a clip of them from last night too. It is long, and does not show the hilarity of the tall skinny guy (there on the left) dancing, and the sound quality is terrible. I'm sure you can find better video clips of the WGS if you want.



Anyway, it was a fun night out.

This blog is going to be taking a little break, and will return in about a week. Then, I will show you some pictures of my two new adopted babies, so stay tuned for that. Until then, have a nice break from the LRHS.

Mockingbird and Vine

As most of you know, my friend Emily and I are in the process of starting a small business with some of the crafty items I've been making. Thought I'd show you some of the stuff we've been working on. Sorry the pictures are kind of dark, but you get the general idea. We're starting with hair accessories, but planning to expand into other areas too. I have lots of ideas in my head...just need to figure out how to execute them. It keeps me from getting enough sleep sometimes, but it's fun.

It's Flashback Friday Time

The Flashback Friday Flickr group came up with a theme this week (fancy dress) but I didn't know about it in time to steal a fancy dress picture from my parents' photo album, so this is what I've got. There was nothing on the back to tell my age or the location of this picture, but I'm guessing I was about five, and that it is most likely somewhere in Kentucky or Tennessee. Maybe my parents can help me out. Anyway, I hope to be doing something similar to this in Idaho/Wyoming next week. Have a good Friday!

Rude Awakening

Something crawled across Kevin's head at 5:oo this morning. His reaction was quite violent. I thought he was having a seizure. I'm sure I would have reacted similarly had something crawled across my head while I was sleeping, only I would have added some screaming. Anyway, the subsequent search for whatever it was failed to find anything. My guess is that it was the tiny little gecko I saw running around in the bathroom yesterday. Or perhaps it was Kev's imagination. He said he had just been dreaming about mice. Needless to say, there was no hope of going back to sleep after that, so I just got up. Now I am very tired. But at least nothing (that I know of) crawled on my head. I'll be sleeping with the lights on and holding a big shoe tonight.

Last Week's Poll: Current Results

Current Results

At the time of this writing. 16 people have voted in last week's poll, and the 80s seems to be the big winner. Understandable. But surprisingly, someone voted for the 2000s. Perhaps it was a joke vote? Or maybe a kid reads this blog? Who are you, oh Reader Who Loves the Oughts?

Thursday's Theme: Whaddayathink Wednesday

Well, I'll be danged. They still make paste. It looks a little different now than it did when I was in kindergarten. Anyway, here is yesterday's Whaddayathink Wednesday poll.

Did you ever eat the paste? Be honest.
	Yes
	No
	My generation didn't use paste.
Free polls from Pollhost.com

No Poll

Hi. I didn't post a poll today. There is too much going on. I will try to do it tomorrow since Thursday has no theme.

Top Five Tuesday

Top five foods I didn't know I liked until I was in my 30s (in no particular order):

1. Mushrooms
2. Lobster bisque
3. Split Pea soup
4. Jambalaya
5. Oatmeal

For years, I have wanted to like oatmeal. It smells so good. But every time I tried it, the texture made me gag. For some reason, I tried it again a few weeks ago, and HOORAY! No gagging! How I love delicious oatmeal. Especially with blueberries. Mmmmmm.

Whales!

Happy Place 2
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Well, here it is, Happy Monday again. This week's happy place is a whale-watching cruise we took off the coast of Maine in 2003. If you have never done this, I really recommend it. It is pretty amazing to see big giant whales swimming along beside you so gracefullly. It's very peaceful. (It's not easy to get a picture of them though, as you can see). We also saw dolphins and puffins and various other birds. I love Maine. I think it is my favorite state. It also has mountians and lakes and loons and lobster and the best blueberries ever.

Headed to the Pool

Headed to the Pool
Originally uploaded by Tara H.

Peanut Flashback

Daphne, a year ago. August 2006.

Flasback Friday

Well, this is me at the kitchen table doing some arts and crafts. It seems I got an early start. Since we don't have our scanner hooked up right now, I had to take a picture of the picture and post that, hence the warp and glare. The back of the polaroid says I am 4 and 1/2, so I am guessing that this was taken around Christmas time in 1972 (also right around the time LarryFeathers was born!). I spent a lot of time at that table. I remember fingerpainting there, helping make cookies there, eating grilled cheese and tomato soup there, and stubbornly sitting there for hours because I wouldn't eat my vegetables. Good times, bad times. Anyway, if we ever move to another house, I would like to have an eat-in kitchen.

A couple of notes about this picture. First, notice the groovy curtains. I'd give anything to have those. So 70s, so orange. Also, notice the jar of paste on the table. Remember paste? It was the adhesive of choice for children back then. It came with its own built-in application wand (you can see it sticking up there in the jar). It never seemed to work very well, though, and your projects were always kinda lumpy. I remember the smell very well. I do NOT, however, remember the taste, like many of my kindergarten classmates probably do. I never ate the paste. Anyway, I don't even think they make it anymore. I haven't seen it in years.

So, there's Flashback Friday for you. Have a good weekend!

Theme-Free Thursday

In other words, I got nothin'.

Last night we watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. This is a genius movie that everyone should see. It has some of the greatest characters in film history. If any of you have read the book, please tell me if it is worth doing. I need a good paperback to take on our trip.

It is August now, and so far we have had a pretty mild summer. It appears that is about to change. It is supposed to be really hot and sunny this weekend.

I am going to be 39 any day now. It just doesn't seem right.

So far, 9 people have taken yesterday's poll, and the 80s is winning. I haven't voted. I can't decide. Next week's poll may or may not be about aliens.

Ok. Well, that's all I've got. Tomorrow is Flashback Friday.

Whaddayathink Wednesday

Here is a poll. Please vote only once. It is anonymous, so anyone can vote...you don't have to be a commenter. That means people who claim to read this blog but never comment should go ahead and vote. Do it in the name of science! It'll be fun!

If you could listen to music from only one decade, it would be
	1920s
	1930s
	1940s
	1950s
	1960s
	1970s
	1980s
	1990s
	2000s
Free polls from Pollhost.com

Thanks for participating in Whaddayathink Wednesday. I don't know what the Thursday theme will be yet.