CA Girl

There are certain dates that are etched in people's minds forever. December 25th brings thoughts of joy, celebration, peace, love and goodwill. February 14th, conjures images of romance, love, flowers and most importantly chocolate. Then there are other dates that we remember. One such date is today's. Sept. 11. I can't believe it has been 8 years since it happened. I, like most, can remember it vividly. It was a day like any other. Kristin was in preschool 5 days a week for 3 hours a day. It was great. Emily was just barely 1. Every morning we would sit at our little table and eat breakfast. We had a little TV on that table that I would watch in the morning to be up to date on current events. We sat eating our breakfast, and there was the first tower smoldering and ready to crumble. At first, I thought it was simply a demolition of a building. But then it hit me what it was. And I heard the reporter say, "Oh my God...." Reporter's don't t...

Emmy has challenged her reader's again. Where's the funniest place and or position you(or someone you love) has fallen asleep? Well when Emmy first posted this challenge the very first image to pop in my head was a cute little blond girl about 4 years old. She was tired you see. So she did what any four year old would do...she grabbed a blanket, a pillow and...A BOX. Notice how the box is the length of my arm. How did I fit in there? Who knows? How was it even comfortable enough to go to sleep??? Again I am baffled! Emily has a security blanket. It is part blanket, part stuffed animal. It's a pink bunny. The head and arms are plush and the rest of it is the blanket. She has had it since she was born. Somehow this child managed to break through the trim at the bottom and then she would stick her arms inside the the bunny. I have many pictures of Emily sleeping, but this one always makes me laugh. Kristin is more like me, in that she has to be really tired to b...

It was my party and I didn't cry! I had a blast in fact. My cousin and his family came. Which meant our sons would get to play together. My mom, sister and niece were also there. A special bonus was my friend from high school came to join the festivities. We had my favorite dinner growing up sloppy joes and macaroni salad. My cake was a sinfully delicious chocolate cake with chocolate pudding, chocolate chips, and sour cream. The (killer) chocolate frosting was homemade. My sister rocks the chocolate cake makin' world! I made out like a bandit. My husband bought me Rebecca Talley's new book, Altared Plans. My sis made me a scrapbook of the one and only beach trip we managed this year. My in laws gave me a gift card to Bath & Body works--which I already used! My mom gave me a gift card for Target and a box of my favorite candies! My high school gal pal gave me a gift card for DQ. Now I can be a piggy poo or I can share....hmmmm...must think this one throu...

Tonight we celebrated my birthday. Counting children, we had a total of 13 people in the house. Thankfully the adults out numbered the kids. It was a noisy but fun evening. My mom made one of my favorite dinners--per my request--Sloppy Joes. It's a variation of two recipes. One of my aunt's made the beef barbecue recipe with chuck roast. My Grandma used hamburger instead since it was cheaper. I am sure it good either way. Here it is with hamburger. 2 pounds ground beef 1 small onion, chopped 1 (8 ounce) can of tomato sauce 3 Tablespoons of brown sugar 1/2 cup of ketchup 3 Tablespoons of flour 1 teaspoon of dry mustard 2 tablespoons of vinegar 1 Tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce Brown ground beef with onion until crumbly. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Bake at 350* for one hour, uncovered, stirring every 15 minutes. Serve hot in or over hamburger buns. Pictures of the party will be posted later. I let my daughter take the pictures.