Samuel's Birthday

pictures

I can't ever get my pictures where i want them in my blog. Are there any tricks for alignment for someone who loves to post lots of pictures?

Picnic with mom

I have been meaning to post sooner, but our busy schedule did not permit. This last week i had the wonderful pleasure of helping my mom prepare her home for potential buyers. I took great before and after pictures of the landscaping and i will show them later. With lots and lots of paint, flowers, new kitchen appliances, and beautiful accessories the house is in perfect condition. I personally think it will sell in a heart beat. Mom always has great ideas for her home and I think it helps a little that she watches HGTV and designed to sell whenever its on (love you ma). Sam had baseball games all weekend and is feeling the effects terribly in his knees and hamstrings. Every time he calls a ball or strike he does a squat from the knees. It's definitely hard work. The weather was gorgeous this weekend and I couldn’t pass up the idea of going on a picnic with the boys. We went to Pleasant Ridge Park. We hiked, played by the river, and saw a beautiful waterfall. Bailey came along as our protector and the minute we entered the forest she could smell everything. Her nose was going in so many directions. There is no denying that her breed was meant to hunt. The beach area doesn't open till memorial day weekend so we can't wait to go back and enjoy the sandy swimming area. Samuel’s birthday is on Wednesday and I am having a hard time believing that he will be 6 years old. Sam was telling me the other day honey we have no more babies in this house and its so true. Ethan wants no help: brushing teeth, getting dressed, eating, and when he goes potty he tell me I need to turn around or close the door. I think with each passing year as they get older my boys will still remain my little babies.

Watching Backyardigans

We Painted!

Yes! We added more color to our home. I love color.
Sam and I hate carpet and little by little we are trying to rid ourselves of it's detestable site. The builders thought beige carpet would like nice in just about every room in the house. Lets face it with kids beige carpet just doesn't work. Sam and I decided to take garage sale money and start with the floor in the computer room. Not the dirtiest carpet area in the house, but the experimental one for our laminate wood floor. The end result turned out wonderful. I never thought there existed peel and stick planks of wood, but who knew. The color on the walls is a beautiful green which does not deserve the name spinach. Although Spinach itself is a delightful food. Sam eventually wants to build shelves and storage space for all those Miscellaneous items that desperately need a home. We also decided to paint the play room. A really fun blue color named allegra blue. Allegra comes from the Spanish word alegria which means happy or cheerful and there you go. Our big project will be removing the carpet from the living room and dining room. Sam and I checked and we have a cement base under our carpet. I once heard if you polish the cement it looks like the floors at Wal-Mart. I am about ready to do anything to be rid of the light tan monster.

A little "Taste" of history

I decided, on every Tuesday, I would write a little article about the history of food. We all love food; who doesn‘t love food. While walking on my beloved treadmill, I found a wonderful article I would like to share later. The truth is that food is not just food, without it, we would die. Wonderful family memories are recalled around the dinner table after a great meal. Family traditions are past on from generation to generation. Not everyone can cook. Many of us have had the "wonderful experience" of tasting a poorly cooked meal. Some of us can still taste that meal even when that horrible memory decides to seep out of our subconscious and attack us on a pleasant afternoon. I always feel the pain after paying good money for a poorly cooked meal. Watching a great chef at work is truly mesmerizing. The big word is ingredients. Each ingredient has its own bit of history. I find it very interesting. How much of our lives revolve around food? Think about how food is viewed in other countries. What are the origins of coffee? Who was the first person to make apple pie? I read a quote today I found delightful,

"Who dares deny the truth, There's poetry in pie?"

- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

I have too many great cookbooks that I have not even skimmed the surface of the wonderful recipes found inside my collection. I will admit, on a tired evening, it is so much easier to open a box of macaroni instead of laboring over the stove; but that's life. We can choose to view cooking as work, expense and waste of time. Or, we can see it as a delightful experience that at the end of the day brings us all together. I love it when Samuel requests meals. He usually wants something that involves mashed potatoes: his favorite. I am so pleased when my Samuel tells me his meal was delicious.

"You may make houses enchantingly beautiful, hang them with airy picture, have them clean and airy and convenient; but if the stomach is fed with sour bread and burnt meats, it will raise such rebellions the eyes will see no beauty anywhere."

-Catherine E. Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Since I feel I have been a bit long winded on my introduction, I will make my first "Taste" of history short.

Peach History
" The peach has made a very successful journey from China to the New World. Actually, it went from China to Persia to Rome and then Spread throughout Europe. The fruit bore the name Persian apple, which in the Middle English became peche. The Spanish brought the peach to the New World in the seventeenth century."
-Andrea Chesman (Mom's best Desserts)

I will leave you with a wonderful quote, by a wonderful writer, Mark Twain.
" Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you like and let the food fight it out inside."

What do you think Ethan ate for dinner?

Your age in chocolate

I recieved this in my email andI had to share. Some of you may already have done the age by chocolate math, but if you haven't enjoy!
YOUR AGE BY CHOCOLATE MATH


This is pretty neat.

DON'T CHEAT BY SCROLLING DOWN FIRST!
It takes less than a minute
Work this out as you read ...
Be sure you don't read the bottom until you've worked it out!
This is not one of those waste of time things, it's fun.

1. First of all, pick the number of times a week that you would like to have chocolate
(more than once but less than 10)


2. Multiply this number by 2 (just to be bold)




3. Add 5




4. Multiply it by 50 -- I'll wait while you get the calculator




5. If you have already had your birthday this year add 1756 ....
If you haven't, add 1755.




6. Now subtract the four digit year that you were born.




You should have a three digit number




The first digit of this was your original number
(i.e., how! many times you want to have chocolate each week).




The next two numbers are




YOUR AGE! (Oh YES, it is!!!!!)

THIS IS THE ONLY YEAR (2006) IT WILL EVER WORK, SO SPREAD IT AROUND WHILE IT LASTS.