I'm Exhausted

after the past few days we have had, i'm not even ashamed to tell you that i stayed in bed past nine this morning. yesterday we finished up our three day surprise marathon and headed down to baltimore.

we started off at the maryland science center.their feature exhibit was body worlds 2. i thought that it looked interesting but the kids made us promise that they wouldn't have to see "that yucky stuff" so we stuck to the rest of the museum.

we made electronic harp music through the use of lasers...dressed up as various creatures...
drove imaginary boats (don't forget your life vest!)...caught stuffed fish...and found the giant blue crab...

then it was off to our final super top secret destination. medieval times!the kids thought it was kind of strange that the castle was part of a gigantic mall (ok, i thought that was a little odd too) but nonetheless they were very excited to be there.

our section was rooting for the black and white knight...although i am sorry to say he was the first to be wounded in battle and carried off out of the arena.

thankfully he was well enough by the end of the dinner to offer autographs on a grateful little boys shield (yes, he is my little boy. he wouldn't let the knights sign on the front of his shield. he instructed them that they were only to write on the back. so, in case you were wondering...being a very particular perfectionist definitely travels in your genes.)

and my little princess......got her picture taken with the princess of the castle.

my other little princess didn't make it that long...

Yesterday's Trip

not much time here...got to get ready for today's big surprise. wow, i'm glad today is the last one. this is getting kind of tiring, but the kids seem to be really enjoying themselves. here's a few shots of what we did yesterday (minus the pretzel twisting).

We Had A Super Fun Day...

at hersheypark! we were originally going to go here but since we were able to get tickets for the whole family for about one third of the gate price and hersheypark is only about twenty minutes away and knoebels is almost two hours...the sweetest place on earth won. and, we managed to keep it a surprise from the kids. they were so excited when we pulled up. we had a terrific time and i just have to say...i have the best family on the face of the earth. it was like a dream with the lack of complaining and whining that went on. my little man even walked the entire day. that is saying alot for him considering he usually complains that he is tired of walking after five minutes at the mall. we are rarely able to do something for them that rates so high on the cool-meter so i think they were just really grateful and excited to be there. by the way, didn't i mention that i have a great family?

we started off our day at the park here. not because we were hot, but because we figured that the kids were the least likely to get completely freezing at high noon. it was a bit brisk however and after awhile we were all soaked and freezing. they did last long enough for my oldest and i to go on this waterslide. it was crazy. we sat together on a round floatie with handles (and was i ever glad they were there), then the guy at the top spun us around a few times and gave us this gigantic push into the tunnel. we picked up some speed in the tunnel for a few seconds and then flew out of the tunnel into the big funnel. in the funnel you fly up and down the walls until you get to the opening of the funnel into the pool. upon exiting the funnel our raft almost flipped since i was on the side of the raft that was first to exit and i obviously weigh quite a bit more than my eight year old. but thankfully we did flip completely and i was able to hop off into the pool. and then my little girl got stuck in the opening of the floatie. she was wearing a life vest and couldn't go up or down. i, unfortunately, was laughing too hard to get her out so the lifeguard had to come over and pull her out. i'm sure he was thinking some interesting things about us by that time. but anyway, then we got changed and hit the rest of the park.

the kids really enjoyed themselves and we even ran into a few members of michele's family (hey guys, the kids want to say "thank you" for the fries, they really hit the spot). well, i should go and get ready for the day. we have another surprise planned for today...but that will need to wait. (what kind of mom would i be if i let the general populous in on it before my kids?!? :) ). see ya later!

I'm A Winner...Part Deux!

well, well, well. this has been quite the little cliff hanger huh? ok, i obviously give myself too much credit but really, for anyone who actually reads this here little blog...i meant to blog about this last night. but i went to bed. i was wiped out after sitting and doing not so much selling at the italian fest yesterday. but let's see. winning. ah yes. there were so many ways that i won this past weekend. friday, we took a lovely trip to the home of good friends and played in their creek.

saturday morning i got some great deals at staples. did you know with their teacher's rewards card you can get more than the regular maximum of their sale or free stuff. that means i got ten packs of pencils and ten rulers for free. today i'll be heading out for free folders, erasers and pencil cases.

saturday afternoon i had lunch at this lovely and oh so tasty restaurant with two of my favorite lovely ladies from our homeschool group. we were supposed to attend a lapbooking day but it was cancelled so, we opted for lunch instead. we had a great afternoon with alot of laughter. it was such a blessing.

and saturday evening i was a real winner with the homily i heard at mass. but more on that later.

i suppose the winning you were possibly looking for was this...i was so shocked on saturday when we went to pick up our projects that i had won first place. yippee! i think even cooler than the ribbon was how proud the kids were of me. they were genuinely happy for me and they haven't stopped telling people about it since.

Simply Monday - August 25th

for today...

outside my window - it is lightly raining, very overcast, with just a hint of the sun trying to peak through. the carpenters were out early working on the home they are building right behind us.

i am thinking - that it is the greatest thing this side of heaven to have my husband on vacation for an entire week. i so love to have him here and the kids have been counting down to it for the past two weeks.

from the learning rooms - we won't be starting officially until september 8th but we have been picking up a few things here and there. in the past few days we have gotten some science and pennsylvania history units out of the way...and picked up a few extra days for a buffer.

i am thankful for - our family all together this week before we kick it into gear for the school year and for the fact i made it through this past weekend. it was a whirlwind. i don't do whirlwinds well anymore i have found out.

from the kitchen - nothing but blessed noise of my husband loading the dishwasher. he is so good to me. :)

i am wearing - my jammies still. we won't go into specifics. i had a very long day yesterday. i sat outside at the local italian festival from roughly 9 am to 8 pm. oh, and did i mention, i sold four things? it was a really nice festival, nice day, good company...but not to productive, lucrative or encouraging.

i am reading - "for the children's sake" by susan schaeffer macaulay. this is for a monthly book discussion with our homeschool group. our first meeting last week was wonderful and such a blessing. the book is proving to give me so many things to think on too.

i am hoping - for a wonderful week together and a few possible day trips.

i am creating - a super top secret homeschooling project. not so because it is so cool, but simply because i am really self-conscious about anything i make. and i'm creating a blog post in my head about what i won. i just realized that i have left you hanging for longer than i had planned. i am also creating a short talk about why we homeschool for a homeschooling information night tonight. remember what i said about being self-conscious...

i am hearing - the ceiling fan and my daughter stomping and huffing up the stairs after my husband went downstairs and told her she was not allowed to play anymore ping pong with her siblings until her pig sty...um, wait...bedroom was clean.

around the house - hopefully much tidying and getting things straightened around.

one of my favorite things - is homeschooling. really, i'm not just saying this because i have to talk on it tonight. no matter how much it might drive me crazy and how many times i say or think "if i could just put them all in school," i really do love it.

a few plans for the rest of the week - homeschooling info night tonight, wedding music selection with a bride and groom tomorrow night, and we are hoping to go here and here as a family this week. i'll let you know how it works out.

here is a picture thought i am sharing with you -ok, actually three. these are various detail pictures of what i thought was the loveliest rosary that i have ever made that i took to the italian fest to sell yesterday. i made sure and took some pictures as i was setting up because i was sure it would be gone quickly...well, let's just say i could have taken pictures of it today as well. :) guess it will go up in my etsy shop while praying for a buyer. it's been empty for quite awhile (pardon the lackluster link, if i don't get anything in there before you look), but you have to liquidate somehow, right?

don't forget to truck it on over to peggy's to take a gander at all the other daybook entries for today.

I Won!

ok, it's after midnight, i've had a super duper long and tiring (but very fun) day and i have to be up early to have another super duper long and tiring (but hopefully profitable) day, so i don't have time for a full on post. but i will tell you this...i won! i'll just leave you hanging on the details. stay tuned. (oh, i can just cut the tension with a spork)

My Beautiful Baby...And Her Bugs

my dainty, pretty as a picture little 2 1/2 year old (i have to tell you that she is 2 1/2, because if i tell anyone she is 2, she is the first to correct me) is in love with bugs. and not just any bugs...huge bugs. and she's even happier if the bugs in question are dead...because she plays with them like action figures.they have names, she dances them around on our deck (because i'm not thinking that they are the proper indoor type of toy, although she does bring them in off the porch...into my kitchen...when it rains) and they have their own little stories that she acts out. right now she has three japanese beetles, two other large beetles and a cicada.i'm not the squeamish type. i entered a bug collection in the 4H fair when i was younger. so, i think it's rather cool that she's not afraid in the slightest of these rather large insects. i did however think of drawing this habit of hers to a close when she ripped off one of the beetles legs and told me to go get the glue.

Tastee!

in my efforts to keep anything in our family dinners from coming "straight out the bag" (or box as the case may be), i have been making alot of homemade fries...and they have been turning out surprisingly well. so, i thought i would share the recipe (if you can even call it that) with y'all. accompanied by some lovely kitchen, food preparatory pics, nonetheless.

first, wash your potatoes (my family prefers red) and then slice them kind of thin, in the steak fry type shape, like in this spectacular picture.and oh, i'm quite the kidder aren't i. because truth be told, it's not that great of a picture of the sliced potatoes really. it is however a great shot of the handle of my pampered chef knife that i got last year and it is the pride of my kitchen. it's the first knife i have had in our almost ten years of marriage that actually cuts for someone without hulking biceps. i don't believe the butcher knife i had prior to this one actually "cut" anything. the meat just ended up in separate pieces because i had to push down so hard that it just kind of "popped" apart. but anyway, back to the fries. then you spray a cookie sheet with butter baking spray, lay out the pieces of potato (they can be touching at the ends, but not overlapping...unless you don't care if they get crunchy) and spray them "lightly" (this is the part i have a problem with) with the butter cooking spray. after that, sprinkle them "lightly" (there's that word again) with lawry's season salt. i cannot stress the lawry's enough. it is obviously tasty, but this is the only brand to my knowledge that does not contain msg, and who really wants that in their food. so, when you are checking out the spices at the grocery store, spend the extra buck or so to get the name brand and not get the crazy chemicals. in the end, (prebaking that is) your fries should look like this.ok, actually, they should have about one half this amount of seasoning on them. i went a little crazy on this batch and they were a wee bit too salty. i had to sing at church that evening and in the span of a half hour i had emptied an entire liter water bottle and really wanted to just leave the place where i stood and get a refill...but i couldn't. so take it easy on the spice people. and for the final hurrah, they need to go into a 350 oven for about twenty to thirty minutes depending on your oven and how crunchy and brown you want them. i have found that if you leave them for the full thirty that some on the edge turn into potato chips. my kids think that is plain magic. hope you enjoy the recipe. i'm off to tidy and do some laundry. have a great day!

The Newest Seamstress

we won! ok, i actually entered, and technically won, but she's the one that gets all the goods. thanks to beth over at simply sewn, we are the proud winners of her big box giveaway. my daughter has already started making plans for some of the fabric. for some of the pieces, her plans are a little lofty however. take for example the approximate half yard piece that she declared "would be great for a dress" and "i'm sure there's enough there." guess i should teach her something about yardage first. :) we will be starting "sewing with st. anne" by alice cantrell in a few weeks. this is such a lovely book and a wonderful way to begin teaching your little seamstress. it has great pictures and guides step by step. so this is where the box comes into play. i won't have to try and ration out pieces of my fabric...that of course is all well intentioned for every project under the sun...and of course is all going to be completed lickety-split. and, i also won't have to buy fabric for her to practice on. this is the key. she will have her own little box that she won't have to ask me about using and she can sew to her heart's content. there are some really gorgeous fabrics in here, like this one...
and dd was really partial to the cowboy and alien prints. her plan is to make pjs for her five year old brother...with the small squares of them...there goes that yardage again.

Simply Monday - August 18th

for today...

outside my window - it is another beautiful sunny day. they days have been a bit cooler lately and i am loving that.

i am thinking - i put a load of laundry in but i don't hear the machine going. better go check...ok, everything is running just as it should. i guess in addition to my mind i'm also losing my hearing.

i am thankful for - our homeschool ice cream social yesterday attended by so many wonderful families.

from the kitchen - nothing at the present moment but later this week there will be much boiling and freezing of sweet corn and chopping and canning of tomato sauce going on.

i am wearing - aqua tshirt and black capris.

i am reading - nothing at the present time. that's just sad. i'll have to pick something up today. we've been so busy with other things around here that i haven't had a moment to stop.

i am hoping - that the schedule for this week stays uncluttered so i can stay focused. we don't have too much going on this week, especially in the evenings, so hopefully i can get all my rosaries and jewelry done for the festival that is coming up. i just pray that they sell. :)

i am hearing - now i'm finally hearing the washer on the spin cycle. maybe my hearing is only partially gone. i'm supposed to be hearing my oldest dd practicing irish step dance downstairs. i don't hear the familiar, thud, thud, thud, so either she went all the way to the basement or she isn't doing what she is supposed to. i'll let you pick.

around the house - the first load of laundry is half through it's cycle and there are one or two left to go. the living room needs a major tidy after garage sale finds were left on the couch and various other bags that people took places this weekend were left deposited in various chairs. i need to finish cleaning out the garage so that we can come in through the other door...where the coat closet is...and people stop using the living room for a junk repository.

one of my favorite things - is our schedule of lessons and outside classes falling into place for the school year.

a few plans for the rest of the week - get the kids projects for the fair in line and drop them off this evening, find three more people to take spanish and get the first few weeks of lesson planning done...oh, and all that crazy beading. how could i forget?

here is a picture thought i am sharing with you...

now hop on over to peggy's to be linked up with all the other day books.

Annual Ice Cream Social

every year the homeschool group marks the end of summertime and the beginning of the school year with our ice cream social. the line of extra large suvs and vans is a sight to behold. our tiny jeep is dwarfed behind all of them. today we were lucky enough to get a little science lesson...
...and some "serious" recreation...
...traveling down the hill on a little tikes wagon.
the adults even got in on the action. :)

our family looks forward to this event every year and it was wonderful yet again. now to tighten the reigns and get these lessons whipped into shape. it won't be long until it's time to hit the books.

Simply Monday - August 11th

outside my window - it is rather overcast and it doesn't seem like the sun is quite ready to wake up for the day. it leaves me wondering whether we are going to be getting more of the freak storms that we had yesterday. we had a bit of hail and the whole nine yards. let me check the weather...yep, mostly cloudy, scattered rain and a possible thunderstorm.

i am thinking - that i need to get my hind quarters in gear and do some beading. a good friend of mine has asked if i would like to join in on a table with her for a local festival. i will be attempting to sell my handmade rosaries and other jewelry. it's always a toss up how that will go. it usually just depends on how many catholics happen by. i actually had a lady one time that was going to purchase one as a necklace and then she stopped and said "these aren't those catholic rosaries are they?" i said "yes" with a beaming look of pride and she quickly responded "oh, i don't want any of those then" and walked away. but i digress.

i am thankful for - a long talk on the telephone with one of my best friends in the world who is also the godmother of our oldest daughter. she is pregnant (almost 2 months) and is suffering from hyperemesis, which from my understanding is very severe morning sickness. she has already been to the hospital once and is hoping to avoid any other stays. she has a doctor's appt this morning. please say a prayer for her.

from the kitchen - there needs to be some strawberry muffins coming out of there for a little play day shindig we are hoping to attend tomorrow but as of yet...nothin'.

i am wearing - aqua t-shirt and jeans. nothing too exciting or snappy but at least i didn't have to register that i was again wearing a brown shirt.

i am reading - i haven't picked up anything new per se. i have been reading through tons of school books frantically trying to get some sort of schedule in line for the year.

i am hoping - that the rain...which has now started pouring down...subsides quickly so that the tribe can go outside to play.

i am hearing - the tribe fighting downstairs (see the response directly above to "i am hoping")

around the house - those pesky bathrooms still need to be cleaned. no, they are not disgusting. i do a peripheral clean frequently but they just need some of that tlc that only a true deep cleaning can do.

one of my favorite things - is having a day where we have no commitments at all. it's rare though.

a few plans for the rest of the week - bead like the wind...and practice some music for the upcoming Feast of the Assumption.

here is a picture thought i am sharing with you -this is really putting me and my freakishness out there for all to see. the other night when we were having homemade chicken nuggets for dinner i made this happy little face on my plate completely by accident. i thought it was the coolest thing so i had to take a picture. doesn't he just make you smile?

i'm having trouble finding the entry for today's day book over at peggy's, but stop one over to check out her great stuff and the links from last week. :)

"Sans Nap"

if you remember when we last left our brave blogging companion she had spoke of a harrowing week that was now in the past and how she couldn't wait for the blessing of an afternoon nap that loomed ahead on the beautiful horizon of that very afternoon. well, she didn't get one...not even close. hence the title, sans nap, or "without" in french for the languagely challenged (says she that just makes up words right here on the spot). it started off a lovely enough day with a trip to the discount grocer where we found organic wheat crackers for ninety nine cents a box and then a quick jaunt off to a piano lesson where the younger kids played trains on the floor while the oldest daughter tinkled the ivories upstairs. after that, we headed for what was supposed to be a quick stop at the craft store (where i found some discount pottery jars. hey alice, what should i do with them? :) ) and then a slight jaunt into cvs for some allergy meds. and then we went right back to the car...where it didn't start. that's right...me...the three kids...and a car that doesn't even make a sound when you try to start it. well, it was 1:30, and my husband got off of work at 4:00. so i called him and told him that i was going to attempt to hold down the fort out here in the wilds of this parking lot for about three hours until he could get here so that he didn't have to leave work early. the kids were famished, so they claimed, and despite the fact that i didn't want to spend the money, we walked over to friendly's for some lunch. you see, the closest things within walking distance (and only causing us to cross a two lane road instead of a four lane one) were friendly's and eat n' park and never having that good of luck with the quality of eat n' park in my college days, i figured if i'm spending the money, we might as well go with friendly's. it also killed some more time because the tortoise could have beat the service at this place in a foot race and the kids got free (and gigantic) ice cream sundaes with their meals. they were covered in chocolate, but happy. on the return trip to the car i stopped into a car repair place called lebzelter's where a really nice guy from our parish is the president of the company. i told the manager at the desk where our car was and asked if i could get it over there, could he get it in on saturday. he replied that "yes, they could get it in" and inquired if i was ok (as he took a look around me at the three little kids). i said "yes" and as he handed me his card he told me that if i couldn't get it started to give him a call and that they would come over and help me out. sure enough, it didn't start. i called the guy and he came right over and tried to jump it to no avail. at that time i realized...the stinkin' car needs a starter...great. you see, this is not the first time i have been stranded somewhere with a car that needed a starter. nope, it's at least the fourth. all different cars though. anyway, so he was able to knock it a little bit to get it started so that we could get across the road while avoiding a towing bill. to make a long story short, not only did they go completely out of their way to help us, but they also fixed the car in one hour so we had it back yesterday too. that's what i call service. so on one hand, it wasn't that great of a day, but on the other hand, it really was. we got our errands done, we were all safe, it was a beautiful sunny (and cool day), we received superb service from the automotive place and none of the kids had a meltdown in the restaurant. God totally provided. i can actually say that i'm thankful for yesterday. it was exhausting but it was blessed. i actually remembered to offer it up (while it was going on nonetheless) for alot of people around me who have been suffering a great deal lately. a that's a miracle in and of itself. no losing of the cool, no attacking of the anxiety. God is good! and i may have not gotten my nap...but i did get to sleep in this morning. :)

Wowee Zowee!

as for the lack of posting lately...it has been a busy one here folks. (not as busy as it has been over here, but busy enough for us.) practices, meetings, performances and lots of etc. please don't get me wrong, i love the stuff i have been tending to...i'm just exhausted. the late nights and early mornings have been doing me in. i actually laid in bed this morning trying to reason with my husband about why i didn't have to get out of bed. through all of my inconceivable slurred logic, he some how managed to win and i eventually got up. tonight, (drumroll please) i don't have anything that pulls me away from the house. not one iota. so, i will finally be tending to one very special project that i have been planning out in my head for a few weeks now. maybe more on that project later.

anyway, so as to put myself in direct running with this lovely lady for the most gorgeous picture of a rainbow posted to a blog for the calendar year of 2008, i give you...our rainbow.ain't she a beauty? oh, but don't use up all your "ooohs" and "aaahs" just yet. take a look at this.we thought it was the coolest because you could actually see the entire thing, both ends and the middle. usually you see one end, and maybe the other too, but rarely have i seen the middle. we tried to get it all in one picture but as you can see, our lens just wasn't wide enough. this beauty of a rainbow was caused by some of the freakish weather we have been having at our place lately. for example, during the storm that produced this rainbow there were torrential rains in our front yard, we are talking like noah and the flood, but it wasn't raining in the back yard at all. i guess that's what they mean by "scattered showers."

have a relaxing and wonderful day everyone. we are off to piano lessons and then maybe a few errands before we come back to the house for...yippee...naps!

Hey Y'All...It's Tuesday

quite the catchy blog title, i know, you don't need to congratulate me. (ha, ha, chortle, guffaw) anywho, since i received two, yes count 'em, two requests for the recipe for the orzo...and since i always aim to please...yessiree nellie, i do. here she be. although, this has left me wondering why nobody ever requested the recipe for the alpo. :) please bear with me on the whole recipe thing. you see, when i cook i don't usually use exacts and i throw in a bit of this and a bit of that so if something doesn't look right or is totally confusing, please feel free to e-mail and say something like "what the heck are you trying to say here?" i promise i won't be offended and i definitely promise it won't be the first time someone has uttered that exact phrase to me.

orzo w/some beef thrown in for good measure:

ingredients -

*about 1 lb. of beef cut into small cubes (i prefer stew meat because it's already pretty much cut up, although i do sometimes make it smaller, but you can use whatever you have on hand as long as it's not ground beef)

*16 oz. orzo (uncooked)

*two of the little containers of grape tomatoes, cut in halves (not sure if that type of container qualifies as a pint or what, and i'm sure you could also use cherry tomatoes but i just love the sweetness of the grape variety)

*1/2 to 3/4 lb. fresh spinach (this amount depends on how much of the green goodness you want in the orzo, i like baby spinach the best but any kind works, if i'm using the larger variety i like to remove the big stems first)

*about 8oz. of crumbled feta cheese

*about 2 tbsp. of olive oil

*1 to 2 tbsp. of minced garlic depending upon your tastes

in a big 'ol pot bring quite a bit of water to a full boil. while you are waiting for this to come to a boil put the olive oil in a large skillet, swirl it around to coat the bottom of the pan, let it get just a little hot and then put in the beef. when the beef has just a few minutes left until it is completely cooked, put the minced garlic and grape tomato halves in with it and continue to cook until the beef is no longer pink in the center. once this is cooked you can set it aside and tend to your orzo. if the water is boiling, put the entire 16 oz. box of orzo in (yes people, we are cooking for an army here, or at least a good week of leftovers). let the orzo cook for 10-12 minutes. when the orzo has reached the last minute of cooking, put all of the fresh spinach right in the pan with it and let that all boil together for one minute. turn off the heat and immediately strain the water from the orzo/spinach mixture. put the orzo and spinach back in the big 'ol pot and dump the beef/tomato/garlic concoction in on top and mix well. then dump your crumbled feta in with it and mix well again. then eat up.

viola, there you have it. hope yours turns out yummy too. if you make it, let me know how it goes. have a great tuesday everybody. this evening i am off to a homeschool group meeting which translates into filling up my planner and ingesting entirely too much chocolate. ;)

Simply Monday - August 4th

outside my window - it is another beautiful day today. we have been so blessed with good weather lately. and the humidity has seemed to break, for a bit anyway.

i am thinking - that we had a very full week last week and an incredibly full weekend...and it doesn't look like it's stopping this week either.

i am thankful for - everybody being healthy.

from the kitchen - hopefully today will bring zucchini bread. my husband wants the huge one off of the living room floor. i'm not sure exactly why it's still there. i think it just came in the front door the other day and hasn't moved since.

i am wearing - brown v-neck and black knit capris. i'm sure they have some other name, you know, the ones that hang real loose and get wider as they go down. nobody ever called me a fashionista (if that's even remotely close to how you spell that) so we're just going to call them capris.

i am reading - "a haystack full of needles" by alice gunther. ok, i should say, today i will be finishing this book because the first time i picked it up on friday i read the first eighty pages and i think i only have about forty to go. oh my goodness. this book is amazing. i cannot say enough wonderful things about it. look for a whole post on this book hopefully in the next few days. in the meantime, if you would like a copy for your self you can purchase it from the lovely people at hillside education.

i am hoping - to do a little relaxing today and finish that book! :)

i am hearing - my son playing with my daughter's leap frog turbo extreme. somehow the child can fill in letters to finish the words on the screen and do addition. i swear i have formally taught him nothing. it's amazing what they pick up on their own.

around the house - i need to get some laundry in and scrub those showers.

one of my favorite things - is singing, and last night i got to do just that. the band i'm in (wow, that sounds so funny...hey man, i'm in the band), sound doctrine, played for our parish block party last night and we had a blast. it was rather intimidating at first to be standing out in front of the church on a busy street corner singing. mind you we were mic'ed, had speakers and the whole nine yards so i'm sure they could hear us for a few city blocks...yes, we had a noise ordinance. but after a while it was just so fun to see the people in the cars as they drove by. you either got the staring with the mouth open translated as "where is that racket coming from" or you got the people doing the head-bangers pose and rockin' out in their cars. it was so fun but after about two hours...i was beat. i unfortunately don't have any sound clips to share with you because we forgot the video camera at home. gee, i know you're so upset. :)

a few plans for the rest of the week - a homeschool group meeting, rehearsal for a wedding, band practice, etc and etc.

here is a picture thought i am sharing with you - oh so tasty beef and orzo i made last week for dinner. the fresh spinach and sauteed grape tomatoes make it yummy, yummy, yummy.

have a wonderful and relaxing day and don't forget to pop on over to peggy's to check out all the daybook entries.