Category: Random

Millions of Peaches

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Peaches for me. Millions of peaches, peaches for free.

Look out!

Anyone? Anyone? Presidents of the United States of America – or the theme song of eighth grade.

I have been craving peaches this entire pregnancy. Canned don’t cut it. Frozen either. And the little ones from the grocery are either too hard, too soft, no flavor or too far gone. But finally, finally! Costco had the big box of big peaches last weekend. There are a dozen softball sized fruit and after one day sitting in the fruit tower in the kitchen, they are perfect! I’ve eaten all but 2…back to Costco I go!

I’ve been eating them as is, but I have big plans for the next box. Peach and blueberry cake. Sugared peaches. Grilled peaches with amaretto cookies, peach pancakes…my mouth is watering just typing this!

Kodak Gallery is CLOSING

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Um, how did I miss this memo? Peter pointed out the fact that as of July, Kodak Gallery is closed and Shutterfly is taking over. Which is ok with me, I don’t think Kodak is really that easy to use and they are transferring all the pictures for free…but is anyone else as paranoid as I am? Has anyone else worked for a database company where shit just went wrong for no reason? Because I have and I do not trust that something won’t go wrong and all the precious pictures of Baylor’s first moments on this earth, Bear and Travis playing in the Maryland snow and the blackmail worthy Senior Night pictures won’t somehow be lost or destroyed.

So I set out to download a copy of each album…which I quickly found out isn’t possible. You would have to do it picture by picture. Boo. So as I surfed around, I found that they are offering a special deal on archive DVDs (see? I’m not the only paranoid one). So I chose the option, selected all and assumed that all 20ish of my albums would be added.

Except I have 86 albums. And over 3,600 pictures. I told you I was the family photographer. BUT, I was pleasantly surprised that the total cost to have all of them transferred to DVD was only $37. Yes, still forty dollars I have to spend. But for my peace of mind, which often comes at a much, much higher price? Totally worth it.

Now the bet is how many DVDs it will take to hold 3,600ish pictures. PW said one. I say at least ten.

Dependable Divas Giveaway!

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The lovely ladies from Dependable Divas (who I featured in my Friday post on Scottsdale Moms Blog) are sponsoring a giveaway for 6 hours of their services! Can you imagine what two ladies who organized for a living could do in your house in 6 hours?! The kids room, the garage, the laundry, the office, the kitchen…just think of all the places they could make neat and tidy! It makes me a little jealous that I can’t win…

Head on over to Scottsdale Moms Blog at 1pm today and enter to win – just tell us all about the messiest, craziest, most in need of the Divas place in your house. The winner will be chosen at random on Friday June 22nd. Details and fine print on the site.

Good luck!!!

Birthday Recap

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I planned to post about my birthday yesterday, however, I was severely sleep deprived due to Baylor’s favorite doll, New Baby, loosing her hat and pacifier in the middle of the night. More on that tomorrow. If the doll makes it to then.

Anyway, I had a lovely 30th birthday. It hasn’t quite sunk in just how old I am, but I’m sure as my back gets achier and the cost of my face cream continues to increase, I’ll get a good dose of reality.

I treated myself to a lovely pedicure, breakfast with the sister (including presents!), a nap, phone calls from family and friends, endless FaceBook well wishing and dinner with B and PW. It was a fast, but totally relaxing day. We dined at one of my favorite places, Cowboy Ciao and then came home for some cake and presents – it was a fantastic day spent with the ones I love…I am however, looking forward to the birthday remix where we have cake AND cocktails in a few months!

 

And yes, that dress and hairdo do look familiar. It’s the only damn thing I own that fits right now and doesn’t look too horrible. Not to mention my hair is atrocious due to the need for a cut and color and hormones. Did I mention that I love the end result but hate being pregnant??

Hand Over the Camera

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When we were kids, my dad snapped pictures of everything and anything we did. He had a great camera and always had it handy. So I guess it’s safe to say I come by my need to document life via photos, naturally.

I invested in a Cannon Rebel T3 last summer after exensive research. I needed something that was fast, easy to use, small and didn’t cost us Baylor’s college fund. I realized that in order not to break the bank, I’d have to ditch the small requirement. I settled on the T3 because it wasn’t enormous and it got great reviews for newbies like me.

I snap pictures all the time with it – which means I’m never in the pictures. PW will take over periodically, but then there’s never a picture of the three of us. So this past weekend for Baylor’s party, I grabbed a friend that I knew took great pictures and asked them to snap a few shots of the important moments so that I could actually be present and enjoy. And the result? Awesome. The pictures are beautiful because they’re done with someone else’s eye so the light is a little different, the zoom is a little closer, everything is just different enough that it’s fantastic. And the best part is that I get to help blow out the candles on the cake, eat it and have the picture to remember it for a lifetime.

So next time you are busy snapping away, hand over the camera and see what happens. At the very least, you’ll be able to prove you were actually there!

Case in point? I love the flowers in the front of this pic.

I love catching me mid song and B’s sweet smile!

Compartmentalizing

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Compartmentalizing is the name of the game today. It’s been a year since we lost Mame and I just can’t do it today. I can’t disolve into to tears. I can’t think about how much I miss her and all the other sad feelings that would overwhelm me if I let them. I had an ugly cry (a really ugly cry) on PW’s shoulder last night so that I could face today and the tasks at hand without puffy eyes (it’s not going to great so far). I just need to get through today in one, non tear streaked piece and can and will accept and feel whatever emotions come my way on another day. It’s just too much today.

I have a voice mail from last May on my phone from Mame and I can’t delete it. It’s so funny – it’s her telling me that she swears there is a bird in her yard and when he chirps, it sounds like he’s saying “Baylor! Baylor!”. She ends the call by noting that she has yet to take her pain meds so it is clearly real and not a hallucination. It makes me laugh and cry all at the same time.

So, no sad comments please. No long hugs or “how are you?” questions. Only jokes, snarky comments and funny stories today. I’m terrible at hiding my feelings so I need all the support I can get. We’ll deal with the sad stuff later, ok?

Archives Week

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It’s Archive Week at Scottsdale Mom’s Blog! I got to pick my favorite from Angela’s (a fellow contributor) posts. Which might be the most difficult and also the easiest job ever since she write such great stuff. Angela is the “what to do and where to go” lady and she has some really fantastic ideas. The post I chose has some great places to visit with the munchkins, even in the heat! Who doesn’t need ideas of what to do with energetic munchkins in the summer?? So read, enjoy, and get out!

www.scottsdalemomsblog.com

Four Legged Trouble Maker

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Ah the Bear. 35 pounds of furry cuteness with just a hint of trouble (these days). But that wasn’t always the case. Bear was the “smart” one of the Bear and Travis doggie duo. Bear would start the tearing open of the trash bags, but slink away just in time for me to find Travis with a mouth full of shrimp tails and an expression that said ” isn’t this awesome?!?” which made it heartbreaking to inform him that no, no that wasn’t awesome.

But since Travis went to the big dog bed in the sky last year, the Bearmeister has slowed down a little. His competition for food and attention is gone and now all he has to do is keep that kid from pulling on him and convince her to feed him snacks (which he does very well). However, his need to be bad runs deep, just not as deep as the arthritis so his naughtyness has gone a little soft. Now his version involves drinking out of Baylor’s water table. Which really isn’t a problem. As long as he’s hydrated and it doesn’t involve the toilet, I’m good. But he needs that air of mystery – it starts with him slowly making his way to the dog door, constantly looking over his shoulder. He will then proceed to make his way across the yard stopping to pee, examine a toy on the ground and then to the water table. Next he will look over his shoulder, walk to the back door to peek in and then round aboutly make his way back to the table where he proceeds to dunk his entire face, nose included, into the water and drink deeply. He leaves a trail of water dropplets as evidence as he makes his way back inside. And once there, he’s happy as a clam. All wags and smiles – happy he’s gotten away with it yet again.

“just miiiinnding my own business…..”

“Girl really. I’m glad you think I’m cute and all but I’m trying to sleep.”