Long Term Goals

Right now, if you ask Daphne what she wants to be when she grows up, she'll say, "A mommy who is an artist who paints pictures of space things and plays in a rock band in the house." I'm on board with that.

Cold

It is cold. And rainy. Just really yucky outside. Here is last night's Split Pea soup with ham and potatoes. Not my best batch ever, but it was pretty OK. Nice and warm anyway. And Daphne ate it without a fuss, so that's always good. The croutons were the best part in my opinion.

Kitchen Tip: Any time you have some bread that is getting stale, make some croutons. It is easy, and so much better than the ones in the store. Just cut your bread into cubes, toss them in a bowl with some olive oil or melted butter and whatever else you want to flavor them with (basil, oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, whatever). Then put them on a cookie sheet in the oven (375) until they get nice and crunchy (15 minutes or so...just check on them). Good stuff.

Here is where I spent the last 45 minutes or so. Fire, chai, yarn, and quiet. What could be better on a day like this? Hmmmm...perhaps a pie...

Settling In

Here is the happy sign that greeted us when we arrived home from our trip on Monday evening. Nice, huh? I like the colors. I think maybe Kev is secretly glad he married someone who keeps lots of arts and crafts supplies around. What did he do - besides fashioning banners - while we were gone, you ask? Well, he had a whole list. It included items like:

• make a list, and
• check things off the list.

But in spite of that, he actually got quite a bit done while we were gone, and enjoyed having some quiet time. He went to the coffee shop, took walks, went on a bike ride, did some recording, read a book, etc., as well as worked on this stool (below) for Daphne:

And he got a really cool bench for our entry hall, which was a nice surprise for me:

So, I think he made the most of his time.

I am slowly getting settled back in to my At Home Routine. I have unpacked and gotten all the laundry done. I have been to the grocery store. Now, Daphne is taking a nap, and as soon as I finish this blog, I am going to knit for a little while. Soon, though, I have a new project to embark upon:

This gaint pile of purple Garanimals (SO cheap at WalMart) is destined to become Daphne's Halloween costume. She has commissioned me to make her a purple Octopus suit. I am not exactly sure how I'm going to pull it off. Chances are, it will turn out OK, but no matter what I do, I'm sure it will be met, at least at first, with some resistance. You see, Daphne gets these ideas in her head, and if the final result isn't exactly like she has imagined it, she balks. And pouts. And stomps away with her arms folded, saying, "That's not right!" So wish me luck.

Tonight is soup night. This time, split pea with ham and potatoes. It's nice and cold today, so this will be perfect. My peas (above), which are from Huber's, have been soaking since yesterday afternoon, and it's just about time to change the water (for a third time) and get them simmering. I'm afraid I cannot share this recipe. I learned it from Kev, and there are secret ingredients. I'm surprised, actually, that he told them to me.

In a few days, our little family will have been in Virginia for a year. Wow. There have been a lot of ups and downs. It has not by any means been easy. That being said, it gets easier every day, and although I will always feel like a Texan, Virginia is becoming more like "home" and less like a really really long weird vacation. If only I could just import my friends and some decent barbeque. Sigh.

OK, well, time to start the peas and do some knitting while I have the chance. Daphne actually went to sleep on the first try at naptime today, rather than getting up 3 or 4 times to potty or get a drink or blow her nose or have me re-adjust her blankies. I have perhaps discovered the secret to getting her to do whatever I want: threaten to take away the Hannah Montana guitar. Works like a charm...

Back to Reality

This picture was taken exactly a week ago at Daphne's Great Country Farms field trip. It seems like months ago. Immediately after the field trip, my mom, Daphne and I took off on our road trip to Indiana. We arrived in Beckley, West Virginia in time for dinner, stayed in a hotel overnight, and drove the rest of the way the next day. Thus began my quest to check off everything on my Indiana list, which, in spite of two solid days of miserable rain and my mom (and primary babysitter) having a bad cold, I somehow managed to do. I got my fried biscuits with apple butter (below) from Huber's, chicken and dumplings and an apple dumpling from the Harvest Homecoming booths, made multiple trips to the Zesto, got my Pizza King fix, and got a pedicure (thanks Kathy!).

Plus, there were the added bonuses of a night out with my cousin Jeremy and his wife Paula with a stop at this cool brewhouse:

And a Rock Band party with just about the WHOLE extended family, which was big fun:

As you may be able to see from the picture, Daphne was absolutely in awe of Rock Band. She studied my cousins very seriously, tried out the Wii guitar and drums, then went upstairs, found a Hannah Montana guitar and microphone, and proceeded to go into a closet to practice alone until she felt comfortable enough to re-join the game, this time on vocals. My cousin's wife happened to have an extra one of these Hannah Montana guitars still in the box (her daughter got THREE for Christmas), so she generously gave it to Daphne, who has been playing it non-stop and practicing her rock moves. The best part is that she REALLY wants to get Rock Band now and even begged her daddy for it on the phone. Keep it up, little Peanut!

AND I got to go see a movie with the wives. (Whip It is really very good! And it was filmed in Austin which makes it even cooler).

Overall, it was a good trip, but I think we were all ready when it was time to head back home. The drive on I-64 through West Virginia and western Virginia was beautiful, and at times even spectacular. We were in the mountains for about 75-80% of the trip, and the fall foliage was near peak. I recommend travelling this route if you can sometime. (Here is a tip, though: In spite of the extremely promising name, you just want to avoid Biscuit World. Trust me.)

Kevin welcomed us home last night with a big "Welcome Home" banner, a nice home-cooked dinner, and surprises for me and Daphne. I want to take pictures, but my camera's batteries are charging. Stay tuned.

The class field trip, which seems so very very long ago, was really fun. The kids got to take a hay ride out to the pumpkin patch to pick their own, they got to feed farm animals, and play on cool things like giant inflatable jumping pillows and tube slides and Tire Mountain. There are pictures of all this on flickr for those who want to see. Virginia is a good place to be in the fall. It is seriously time to plan my first pie.

So, thanks to everyone in Indiana for hosting us and putting up with us. It was great to see ALL of you, and I hope none of you get my mom's cold. (Special shout out to Aunt Mary because she is probably the biggest fan of this blog. See you Thanksgiving!) I will be back in April, so get ready. If Daphne and I are successful at getting our own Rock Band by then, we'll bring instruments and the Beatles one. In the meantime, someone PLEASE teach Jakob another song. If I never hear "Eye of the Tiger" again, it will be too soon.

Good Eats

Sunday was all about Good Eats. We started off with breakfast on the porch featuring pancakes from the Kerbey Lane pancake mix that my parents brought me from Texas. Kerbey Lane serves the best pancakes in the world, but it is in Austin. If you are not in Austin and can't go there, the mix is the next best thing. I was excited to find out that when I run out my current supply of mix, I can order it on line.

Dinner was a giant pot of Guinness Beef Stew. Here is the recipe. I made this last year during the Winter of Soup. Last time, I changed it up a little, but this time I stuck to the recipe exactly. It was delicious. If you want your family to like you even more than they already do, make them this stew. Daphne even liked it. There were enough leftovers for Kev to have two meals this week, plus there was some to freeze for a future pot pie.

Friday was Kev's company picnic (pictures on Flickr). It was a Big Production. There was a DJ, tons of food, carnival games, arts and crafts, a human gyroscope, and various bounce activities. We had a great time. Daphne's favorite part was watching the teenagers do cool line dances. I wanted to join them...it looked like so much fun. There must have been 2000 people or more at the picnic. I wonder how much it all cost.

Meanwhile, I finished knitting a little quick scarf for Daphne. She loved it, and was eager to pose for pictures. I don't know where she learned this one. Maybe she's been watching America's Next Top Model while I cook dinner. It is nice that Daphne appreciates the things I knit for her. Someday, she'll just think it's dorky.

Tomorrow morning her class is going on a field trip to Great Country Farms. I am going too. We will be taking a hay ride to the pumpkin patch, feeding farm animals, and going on tube slides, rope swings, and the gigantic jumping pillow. Immediately after, Daphne, my mom, and I are heading for Indiana for our annual Harvest Homecoming trip. I cannot wait. Chicken and Dumplings, Apple Dumplings, Zesto, Pizza King, a Fun Slide, and more are all waiting for me. Plus, there is talk of a Rock Band party at my cousin's house on Saturday night. It is going to be a great trip. I wish Kevin could go, but I am pretty sure he is looking forward to having a few days to himself. Plus, he gets all the leftover beef stew.

So, there will probably not be blogging until we return next week. You can look forward to pictures of food. See you soon.

Scenes from a Big Week

I am a sucker for good packaging. The pudding was good, but the boxes are better. Actually, I haven't tried the chocolate yet. Am thinking of layering it with crushed graham crackers and torched marshmallows.

Saturday was Lovettsville Oktoberfest. It would have been fun if I hadn't been rapidly coming down with Daphne's cold. This is Daphne's pumpkin. His name is Harry and he now lives on our porch.

On Sunday, Daphne and Kev took care of me. They went to the store. Daphne helped (above). And they made chicken soup. Daphne helped (below). It was good.

I am better now. Thanks, family.

Meanwhile, knitting. I finished the scarf above for my mom's birthday just in time for her arrival in VA. Not for a visit, but for good. Jeff, Albert and my dad arrived the day before, so now they are all here, living in an extended stay hotel, waiting for their house to be finished. It's been a long time coming. We celebrated with stromboli.

Now, I have to go pick up Daphne from school. We have an after-school mission: to buy a toy for Albert.

It was 46 degrees this morning! I love fall.

Well, That Didn't Take Long...

Shortly after this picture was taken on Wednesday morning, Daphne got sick. She has been in school a total of three days. I knew she was going to start getting sick more often once she started school, but I wasn't expecting it to happen quite THIS early. Oh well. After a couple of rough days, she seems to be past the worst of it and is getting better. Just a cold, I think. But nothing can throw off a groove more than a sick kid. I was kicking some butt on my To Do list, but any and all productivity has come to a screeching halt. I am hoping that she'll actually sleep for a little while this afternoon so I can try to get back on track. Or at least get a shower.

The picture, as I said, was taken on Wednesday morning at the Heritage Farm Museum in nearby Sterling. I decided that Wednesday would be Mommy and Daphne field trip day so we could hang out and have some quality time. Last week, she said, "Mom, you never play with me. All you do is cook dinner." And while that's not completely true, and I do play with her - a lot - I reckoned there must be some reason behind her thinking. And so, the field trip. The farm museum was fun. I was counting on there being at least one or two school groups there, but it turned out we had the entire place to ourselves. Daphne got to work in an old-timey shop, milk a fake cow, and ride pretend racehorses. Totally worth the three bucks for admission (I was free - I had a coupon!).

After the museum, we had a fun lunch at Friendly's. I spied a watermelon ice cream cake in their freezer and was tempted, but passed. Next time. Overall, a fun day, and I think Daphne enjoyed it.

A few hours after we got home, the sniffles kicked in and Daphne quickly went from perky to pitiful. I haven't had much sleep the last two nights. I'm glad tomorrow is Saturday.

OK, I'm off to see if Daphne has finished her lunch so we can get naptime going.

Have a good weekend, everyone. And if you are in Texas, please go to the Fair and enjoy it on my behalf. I can't tell you how sad I am that I'm missing it this year.

Ketchup

Well, it's been continued non-stop action here at the LRHS HQ. There is no way I can blog it all, so here is a quick catch-up list of the highlights:

• Two weekends ago, we took a short family road trip to Hershey, PA, and spent the day at a really great amusement park called Dutch Wonderland (thanks to my friend Anne for the tickets!). We all had a great time, and I highly recommend it to families with young kids. There are lots of great toddler rides, and the park is small enough to not be a beating to walk around. There are lots of pictures on Flickr, so head on over if you want to see what it's like. Best thing: I finally got to go on a Fun Slide.
• Daphne started school, and I have been making the most of my three hour blocks of me-time. Or trying to, anyway. Once I get myself organized, things will really be good. I might even get going on Christmas soon! Daphne loves school. Today, the teacher told me she is a really good listener. Hmmm. We'll see what happens when the novelty wears off. Best thing: school makes Daphne really tired, so naptime is a piece of cake.
• This past weekend, we went to Long Island for my nephew's birthday/baptism. We had a great time. Daphne had fun playing outside with her cousins, and I had fun eating the southern style food that was in abundance. Holy smoke, that brisket was good! (Get it? Smoke? Heehee). Best thing: we found out that we are going to soon have a new neice or nephew, so we are very excited about that. On the way home, we drove sorta through Brooklyn, but there was no time to mosey around, so I vowed that I'd be back. I want to walk across the Brooklyn Bridge.
• Meanwhile, the wheels are in motion for my parents' and Jeff's (and Albert's!) arrival in Northern Virginia. They'll be getting here early next week, which is very exciting, especially since it's all happening much sooner than we thought it would. Hooray for family! And free babysitters!
• I am continuing to knit when I can. I have so many projects queued up right now that I'll never get to them all, but I am going to try. I have a lot of stash yarn that I need to use. Fabric too. So, I'm planning a couple of sewing projects now that I have these blocks of time. I have decided it's time to conquer my fear of zippers. I'll let you know how it goes.

Phew. OK, I think that's all the major stuff. I will try not to be such a blog slacker in the future. Time to go check "blog a blog" off my to do list. See ya!

First Day

Today was Daphne's first day of preschool (pictures on Flickr). If you want to know whether or not she was excited this morning, press the "play" arrow. She is in the "Morning Three's" with Miss Heidi. I already love Miss Heidi. She is very softspoken and gentle like Mister Rogers. Today there was play doh time , story time, arts and crafts, free play, playground time, and a couple of songs. Daphne found her cubby and the potty. Kev and I got to stay in the classroom today, but Daphne will go by herself on Thursday. I don't think she will even notice that we aren't there. She is going to love school. And I am going to make the most of my three hours without my sidekick. But I will miss her.

More Stuff

I love Pyrex...especially this "Friendship" pattern. If anyone ever wants to get me a present, you can get me a piece of friendship pyrex. There is a ton on Ebay and Etsy. (And it's not expensive at all!) How could you possibly be sad if you were using these to cook with or eat from? I think I am going to make myself a t-shirt of this to wear on bad days.

Recent internet browsing led me to the Tamra Davis Cooking Show. It is an on-line show with little 5-10 minute episodes featuring Tamra Davis who is extra cool because she is the wife of Mike D from the Beastie Boys, but would be cool anyway. I recommend the ravioli episode if you have kids and are looking for something to do with them. I am going to try it. I will have to find a different filling though. I can't do ricotta. Anyway, check it out...it's really cool. And if you want to get me a little something to go with my pyrex gift, you can get the Tamra Davis cookbook featured on her web site.

When we go to Long Island, I am hoping to get a chance to spend some time in Brooklyn. There is a pizza place I want to go to, but I can't remember what it's called. I will find out. But mostly, I want to go to Moomah and SpaceCraft. Then I want to copy everything about them and open something like it here, in the empty space for lease in downtown Leesburg, so that when the time comes for me to go back to work, I can actually like my job. I will need someone to handle the "business" part of it for me. Anyone? I have never been to Brooklyn, but I am kind of obsessed with it. I wish Daphne was old enough to go up there with me on a NYC field trip. Someday, I am going to make that happen.

OK. Lunch time. Back to the real world. The one with frozen mini corndogs and TJ's applesauce.

Update: The pizza place in Brooklyn is Grimaldi's, and I'll be damned if I didn't just find out they have a location in Dallas, in the West Village, about 8 minutes from my old house.

09-09-09

This is Mickey. He was the latest guest at Daphne's Bug Jug Motel. He stayed overnight, and then we set him free. During his stay, he ate three giant basil leaves, a couple of sage leaves, and some oregano. I had no idea just how much caterpillars poop! I wasn't too sad to see him go. I hope he is enjoying the yard somewhere with Ocornio.

I haven't blogged in a long time! The last several days have been pretty busy. There was First Friday, playing outside, getting a sitter and going out with Kev, school shopping for Daphne, picnics in the back yard, grilling in the rain, and various other Labor Day weekend activities. Fall is off to an action-packed start, and won't be slowing down any time soon. School starts next week, and we have mini-trips to Hershey and Long Island in the near future, plus the big Indiana trip coming soon. Then there's Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, plus my parents and Jeff's big move to Virginia. Jeff will be here to start his new job in less than three weeks! Whew.

I just re-read that paragraph, and now I'm too exhausted to continue blogging. Coming soon: more stuff.

PS: I totally want Beatles Rock Band.

Ocornio, Mohair, a Hike, and Stromboli

The other day, this cricket was on the wall in the playroom. I was going to dustbuster him, but Daphne screamed "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" and saved his cricket life. She put him in her bug-jug to observe him eating a mushroom (the internet said crickets like fungi) before setting him free on the patio to find his mommy and daddy. She decided to name him Ocornio, which is amusingly similar to Cornholio. The kid must have a little Garland in her somewhere. I hope Ocornio enjoyed his mushroom and found his cricket family.

Sunday morning, Daphne and Kev went on a "nature walk." This got off to a "rocky" start, when she had a seven minute screaming and crying fit on the street because Kev told her she couldn't pick up every pebble between our house and the trail. After that, all was well and they had a great time. The weather is nice now, especially in the mornings and evenings, so it's fun to go outside.

Meanwhile, I have started a knitting project with super skinny mohair yarn. A new challenge, reading glasses required. I can only work on it when I am wide awake and can completely focus, because if I mess up, it's not going to be easy to fix. I think it will be pretty, but itchy, when it's all done. I am switching off between that project and a hat for Kev, which is using a much less fussy yarn and can be done while watching TV without having to pay too much attention.

Last night I made stromboli, which I learned at the beach from Kevin's sister. Thanks, Kim! It was delicious. I wish I would have made two. We ate it on the porch, which made it extra tasty.

It is really starting to feel like fall. This morning it was 55 degrees. That means it's almost time for pie, soup, homemade bread, and my trip to Indiana for the Harvest Homecoming. Yes.

Public Service Announcement

I cannot wait for this! (See post below)

The National Parks: America's Best Idea

Walk in my Shoes

This morning, Daphne and I went to the coffee shop. From now on, if I say "the coffee shop," I am talking about Shoes Cup and Cork, which I have mentioned before. It is probably never going to top Legal Grounds, because it doesn't have those delicious granola pancakes, but it is a really great coffee shop nonetheless, and you can bet I'll be frequenting it when Daphne starts school. I will sit there on Tuesdays and Thursdays and knit and drink coffee and fret about swine flu. Anyway, today we went there not only to enjoy some coffee and checkers, but also to contribute to their Walk in My Shoes box. Daphne proudly gave her bag of shoes to the guy behind the counter in her first of what I hope is many acts of charity. I think she thought it was pretty cool.

I love the coffee shop. It not only promotes good causes and has good coffee, but it also has great orange pillows that I would very much like to copy and put in my house somewhere. You can see part of one in the left of the picture.

Speaking of houses:


This is where my parents and Jeff will be living, presumably by November 18. That is going to be a good day, as it is located only about 40 minutes from my house. I have already told my mom that she is hosting Thanksgiving this year. I will bring pie.

K Day

So, on Sunday night at bedtime, Kev and Daphne decided that Monday would be "K" Day. I have no idea why. But Monday morning, we came downstairs to find that various K's had been hidden around the playroom in the spirit this festive event. I decided to take the idea and run with it, so the day was dedicated to all things K. We made kites and keys and hung them around the house. We made crowns to wear at dinner (Kev was the King of K Day), and we had kebabs for dinner and key lime pie for dessert. This is thanks to WikiAnswers's "Foods that Start with K" page. All I could think of without the help of the internet was kiwi, ketchup, and kale. Yuck.

Daphne put on her fancy K day outfit:

I think the gloves are a nice touch.

Next time we have a made-up holiday, I hope I get to be in on the planning. I have some ideas...Pancake Day, Nap Day, Pedicure Day, Mommy Doesn't Have to Cook or do any Dishes Day, Breakfast All Day Day, No Diego Day, Hey What the Heck Let's Pack up the Car and go to Maine Day...

Winter of What?

You may remember that last winter was the Winter of Soup. It wasn't much of a Winter of Soup, as it only consisted of five soups, but it was a Winter of Soup nonetheless. So, last night, Kev asked me what this winter is going to be the winter of. I immediately said pie, because pie has been on my mind lately. And there WILL be pie, but I think this may also be the Winter of Bread.

I got this book (above) for my birthday last year, but I didn't get to use it because I lacked some of the equipment and then we moved and then I still lacked some of the equipment, plus our pizza stone didn't make it here in the move. So, this year for my birthday, I got a new pizza stone and I have decided to take some of the birthday money I got to get the rest of the stuff I need to get started. How could I possibly have a bad winter if the house smells like freshly baked bread every day?

So, this will be the Winter of Bread. And pie. Oh, what the heck...let's throw in some more soup too. I love winter. Bring it on.

Black Birds and White Elephants

This is a pie bird. You put it in the center of your pie when it's baking to vent steam. I have big plans for this guy, especially since apple season is approaching quickly. Most pie birds are black because of the whole "Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie" thing (trivia courtesy Alton Brown). Thanks to Kim and Pat for noticing something that screamed me. (It must have been screaming loudly, too, because I'm pretty sure Pat couldn't see it.)

During our trip to the beach, the subject of downsizing Christmas on Kev's side of the family came up. After much discussion, some of it quite heated, we decided that the adults are going to do a white elephant gift exchange this year. I am pretty excited about this. As much as I enjoy giving and receiving gifts, none of us really need any more giant piles of stuff. So, this will be good. One gift, small spending limit. Perfect. Now, though, comes the hard part. The strategy. There are a few different paths I could take. I could get something really cool that everyone will want and fight over. I could get something really funny, but that nobody will actually want. Or I could be really devious and get something that only I would want, so that I end up with my own perfect gift for me. What to do? You would think that 4 months would be plenty of time to figure this out, but I started on Christmas last year at this time and didn't do a fraction of what I wanted to do. Granted I moved to a new house in a new state right before the holidays. This year I don't have that excuse. Time to get busy.

Meanwhile, my feet are in a tragic state of disrepair. I thought sand was supposed to be The Great Exfoliator. Well, it isn't. And something needs to be done. Perhaps someone will put a pedicure gift card in the White Elephant exchange! I can only think of one person I might have to battle for that. I won't name any names.

Calm Blue Ocean

So, we're back from our big trip to the beach, in Ocean City, Maryland. And I survived.

It's no secret that the beach is not my most ideal vacation destination. I don't like swimming, sun, heat, crowds, and especially sand. I prefer to be cool, dry, and clean (especially my feet). That being said, I do LOVE the ocean. I love the way it looks, smells, and sounds. And being by the ocean was a real treat.

Daphne, on the other hand, loves the beach, and just watching her have fun made all the sand I had to remove from, well, everything, totally worth it. She had a great time playing in the sand and the water, and playing with her cousins. It is getting to the point where they actually interact and have conversations, and it is really fun to see.

Here they are, "surfing."

These are wild ponies on Assateague Island. Very cool. Public Service Announcement: If you go there, cover yourself from head to toe with something containing deet. Spray your car with the stuff. Better yet, don't get out of your car or open your windows even a crack. The only other place I have seen so many mosquitoes was the "jungle" I visited in Cozumel. Poor ponies. They must be so itchy.

Other highlights from the trip include:

• biscuits and gravy for my birthday breakfast
• a night out with Kev for my birthday dinner
• several hours of Rock Band 2 (I like the drums!)
• knitting and reading
• daily ice cream
• riding the surrey with the fringe on top
• not having to cook
• Orange Julius!!!!!!!!
• Kim's stromboli
• Darlene's blueberry jam
• other

But I think my favorite part of the trip was the very last morning. Kev and I woke Daphne up at 5:30 and went down to the beach to see the sun rise and look for shells. We were practically the only ones there and it was so peaceful. AND we saw a school of dolphins. I didn't even really mind the sand.

We got back home Saturday afternoon, and I am still trying to catch up. I got the laundry done, and a little cleaning today. It is really really hot out...supposed to be 100 today. But I think after this week, it should cool off. Fall is so close now, and it's time to start thinking about soup and pie (I got a pie bird for my birthday!) and sweaters and scarves and school starting. It's good to be home, and back in my own (sand-free) bed, but I do miss being by the ocean. It was a good week.

No Bloggin' Time

Gearing up for another big weekend/week. Back to blogging soon.

Addicted to Hats

Daphne is ready for the beach. I found this pattern and made the hat above. Then I made the hat below to go with the pillowcase dress. I might make one for me.

My house is never going to be clean again.

Cake and Ice Cream

So, Saturday was the last day of the Loudoun County Fair, and we went. We decided to go early to beat the crowds and the heat. I think we got there at around ten. Little did we know, they don't open the rides until 1:00. Ugh. So, we figured we'd walk around and see stuff and eat lunch and by then maybe the rides would be open. Petting zoo, magic show, pony ride, tractors, potty. Well, that killed about an hour. By the time we ate lunch, it was almost noon. Arts and crafts table (macaroni necklace!). Twelve-thirty. Half an hour to go.

We decided to go into the one air conditioned building to get out of the heat and see the arts and crafts and kill some time before getting some ice cream and hitting the "midway." At this point, I must tell you that this was the smallest, saddest fair I have ever been to. The arts and crafts were in a room about half the size of an elementary school cafeteria. Unfortunately, also in that room were the candidates in the 4H cake decorating competition. All on display on a table that was eye-level for a certain Peanut who cannot resist tasty treats. We should have known better than to put her down, but we did, with a "Do NOT touch the cakes" warning. Seconds later, Daphne was face-first in one of the cakes, ruining it completely. We left immediately. Luckily, the cake judging was already over. I hope she stuck her face in a winner.

Daphne cried all the way home. I felt sorta bad for her, but I felt worse for me. I didn't do anything naughty, but I lost my chance at ice cream and the Fun Slide. Maybe there is a Fun Slide at Ocean City. I hope so.

I think Kev felt bad for Daphne too, because he went to the grocery store later that day and came home with a box of pink, green, and brown cones and a bottle of rainbow sprinkles. Finally, today, Daphne made it through the day without getting in trouble, and we all enjoyed a be-sprinkled after dinner ice cream cone. She has been extra challenging lately. Think Veruca Salt. And as much as it pains us to take away priviliges (I had to take away QUINCY this week!), we can't let her act like that. I have high hopes for a good week this week though. I think the cake incident taught her a lesson.

Meanwhile, I got some sewing done this weekend:


Here is the finished pillowcase dress. So easy to make (tutorial here). I also finished all the napkins and made a little beach hat for the Peanut. And at naptime today, I got to go to the mall. By myself. To shop. Thanks to Kev for babysitting, and to my mom and dad for the gift card. It was a good day.

Man. Look at that sweet little girl in that picture. Can you believe someone so sweet and innocent looking could get in so much trouble? What a little stinker.

Now everyone is asleep. I guess I should be sleeping too. Tomorrow is grocery store, laundry, and give-Daphne-a-bath day. And Tuesday, it's supposed to be 98 degrees! August is the worst. Hurry, September!

Back to School

Today, my neighbor came by to drop off her fish. It is a Beta named Blue, and it is staying with us for a week while they are out of town. So far, it seems to like it here. Anyway, during the fish drop-off, my neighbor happened to mention that Target has its school-supplies seasonal section up and ready for action. And as you may know, I cannot resist the Target school supplies seasonal section. So, I loaded up the Peanut, and off we went. (I needed a few groceries anyway).

Overall, the section was disappointing. I managed to escape with nothing but a box of crayons and a glue stick for Daphne. There were some nice recycled notepads that I considered, but really, how many notepads does one person need? I have plenty. So, Kev will be pleased that this particular trip to Target, groceries and all, only set us back $35.

Two things worth mentioning. One: Why on earth is a 24 count box of regular Caryola crayons $0.25, while a 24 count box of washable Crayola crayons is $2.49? Is the magical washable formula really that valuable? (Must be, because I bought 'em. Daphne cannot be trusted with the permanent stuff). But seriously, that is what? A 1000% mark-up or something. Crazy.

Two: As we were moseying past the wall of backpacks, Daphne exclaimed, "Mommy! I want to see that iCarly backpack!" WHAT???!!! How in the world does she know what iCarly is? I am with her pretty much 24 hours a day, and we have never ever ever watched iCarly. And surely Kev isn't watching it with her while I'm cleaning on Saturday mornings. I was a little scared. So, just to check, I pointed at the Jonas Brothers backpack and asked Daphne if she knew who it was. "No." Then I pointed at the Hannah Montana backpack and asked the same question. "No." Phew. "Good," I said. "Why don't you want me to know who those people are, Mommy?" she asked. At that point, I decided to distract her with the colorful display of pencil bags. The kind with pretty flowers and birds and peace signs, and no over-marketed teenager show personalities.

Ugh. I guess someday she will inevitably start liking some of the lame stuff that the rest of the kids today like. Oh well. I just hope that she will always, at least secretly, still like the Kinks and Hank Williams Sr. too.

This is Not a Baked Potato

It is actually delicious sausage-stuffed eggplant. Recipe here. Eggplants are in season, so I got a couple nice ones at the farmers market on Saturday. These turned out really good, and are a great way to use leftover spaghetti sauce.

This is the lavender sachet pillow I made out of Daphne's embroidery. It is very poorly constructed, but it is sort of cute and it smells good.

Today is "Blast Off," Daphne's little space class. It's in the smelly building at 10:00. I am bringing my knitting supplies and perhaps a nose plug.

Welcome to the Machine

This weekend, I got out my sewing machine. Aaaaaaah. It's been a long time. I made Daphne's embroidery into a lavendar sachet and started on the cloth napkins I've been making all the noise about. Pillowcase dresses are next, and perhaps beach hats for me and the Peanut. Found a cute pattern on the Craftzine blog today.

My eggplants are calling...

Here is a Good Recipe

I wanted to make a red pepper bisque like I recently had at Tuscarora Mill , so I got some red peppers at the farmers market on Saturday and used this recipe. First of all, roasting peppers on the stove is fun! Also, the soup was pretty good and even Daphne liked it.

I think it could have been thicker, and it didn't really need the shrimp. But I will definitely make this again. And I don't even like red peppers. I combined some goat cheese and cream in the food processor to make a "goat cheese mousse" to put in the soup. I think that was my favorite part. Thank you, goats.

I Want to Ride my Bicycle, I Want to Ride my Bike...

This is a picture of my bike. I love my bike. Yesterday, Kevin got home from work early. I needed a few things from the store for dinner, so I rode my bike to Safeway while he stayed home with the Peanut. It was fun. The only bad thing that happened was dropping a baguette out of my shopping bag in the driveway. Fortuantely, it landed upright, leaning against the car, so I just had to cut off both ends. It was still good in the middle where it didn't touch anything.

Two of my friends from home are planning to do a big 7-day bike ride across Iowa next summer. It is called RAGBRAI. Last night I got kind of excited about it and thought about maybe seeing if I could join them. Then, about 5 minutes into my research, I came across an article called "Iowa is not necessarily flat." Strike one. And it takes place during the hottest part of summer, for some crazy reason. Hmmm. Yeah, I don't think this is the adventure for me. Plus, I don't think mine is the kind of bike that is designed for long distance riding on not-necessarily-flat terrain in the heat of summer. The serious cyclists would probably frown upon my kick-stand, pedal brake, and swoopy handle bars, and be annoyed by my happy little bell that chimes "DING-DONG," sounding much more like "Avon calling!" than "Passing on your left." I wouldn't want to embarrass my friends. I will have to see if there is some sort of "bike across Rhode Island" event in April or September or something. I have never been to Rhode Island. I wonder if it's flat.

Anyway, I would like to spend more time riding my bike. I have become sort of obsessed with this website. They have awesome bike accessories, including the pannier in my previous post and helmets that look like regular hats and are actually cool. Why didn't I think of that?! What a great idea. All the good ones are taken. And most of the bad ones, too. Have you heard about Squeez-Bacon? Good grief.

Update: Rhode Island is described as "rough and hilly." Back to square one.