{five}{twenty-four}{two thousand ten}

daybook {five}{twenty-four}{two thousand ten}

i am thankful... for a summer that brings vacations, cookouts, and the end of the carpool line for three months.

i am thinking... how soon the carpool line will be in full swing again.

i am reading... magazines. Do they really count? I will be reading South of Broad by Pat Conroy later this week.

i am hoping... folks aren't scared off from visiting the Gulf Coast this summer because of the oil spill. There are many unaffected areas with businesses who would welcome visitors.

in the kitchen... parmesan crisps and sharp cheddar crisps. Divine.

around the house... espresso or toffee crunch for the wall color?

outside my window... very healthy caladiums and lilies. If I could just get my gardenias to bloom.

worth sharing...

Middle Sister Wines

When it comes to wine, I know nothing about bouquet or oak flavors. My corkscrew is cheap and my wine bottles lay on their sides on the floor of my pantry. I don't swirl or sniff before I sip. I don't care about the year or varietal. I just drink the stuff. I am civilized enough to pour it into a wineglass first, but that is the extent of my wine high-and-mightiness.

I do know a great label when I see one, though. The cutest around have to be the ones on bottles of Middle Sister Wines, an affordable by design collection of wines from California. With names like Drama Queen and Surfer Chick, and a different middle sister character on each, the labels are as cute to look at as the wines are a delight to drink.

I was thrilled to see the newest addition to their line -- a Sauvignon Blanc. Meet her here and visit the website to find out more info on gals and where you can find them hangin' out in your neck of the woods.

Free Food - Sort Of

Head on over to XM Radio and download a free summer cookbook from Martha Stewart.

Giveaway Tuesday: With Love (& Chocolate) from Vermont Winner

Congratulations to #12 Margaret McGuire! She said:

"I love a good ole reese's cup. I like all types of chocolate; but I must be in a mood to eat chocolate."

Be on the lookout for your shipment of brownies, Margaret, and enjoy!

Thanks to all who participated. It's fun reading your comments. And remember, I use random.org to choose the winner of each giveaway, so it's just that -- totally random. You can read all about how it all works on their website.

Giveaway Tuesday: With Love (& Chocolate) from Vermont

You guys are so lucky that I watch a lot of Food Network programming. My hips, maybe not so much. But in the end, who cares what my hips think anyway? I'll just concentrate on lovin' the heck out of you guys, my faithful followers, and share the latest Food Network nugget of gold I came across recently.

Once upon a time these two gals were thinking about their new year's resolutions. Over pizza, they dreamt of having their own business. Neither was particular about what kind -- they just wanted to take a chance on something that could be fun and successful while helping the community. In their own words, "it was hard to come up with something more fun than brownies." Who am I to argue with that logic?

And so, the Vermont Brownie Company was born -- in a bagel shop. A friend owned the shop that closed early in the afternoon (I guess no one eats bagels in the afternoon in Vermont) and let the gals use the kitchen at night. They use local ingredients and have been so successful that Bobby Flay challenged them to a throwdown and they won.

So, because I have never met a brownie that I didn't like, and because the much anticipated family vacation is only four weeks away, and because I am all about following your dreams and helping the community, but mostly because the sheep on their logo is so darn cute, I am sending one lucky person a sampler box of brownies.

To enter, just leave a comment and tell your favorite type of chocolate. Do you like it dark? Or milky? Or even white? You can enter through midnight Thursday and the winner will be announced Friday.

Ready, set, go!

{five}{seventeen}{two thousand ten}

daybook {five}{seventeen}{two thousand ten}

i am thankful for... two really different children. Both bring different things to the family.

i am thinking... about all the field trips my daughter has been on this year. For the record, she has two more this week. Exactly when do they study?

i am going... to the last elementary school play of our parenting days. My, oh my, how time flies.

i am creating... digital photo albums. You cannot even begin to imagine how many pictures I have taken over the last 17 years. Really, you can't even. Really, I can't even.

one of my favorite things... big, fluffy bath towels.

around the house...it is okay to go through all the artwork your children have ever done in school and get rid of some of it? I'm just wondering...

in the kitchen... another CrockPot meal. I got a new cookbook for Mother's Day -- the gal cooked in her slow cooker every day for a year. I am not that ambitious, but our family thought it would be neat to do it for a week. So far, we've had a nice potato soup and some cheesy, bacony chicken. Both were hits. Tonight it's parmesan tilapia. Mmmmm!

outside my window... pesky squirrels stealing all the birdseed in my feeders.

worth sharing...

(Chase a few butterflies today. We found this one in Key West a few years ago.)

How Does Your Garden Know?

Sage or basil? Cilantro or parsely? However does your garden know what to grow? It's only dirt, you know. Maybe some manure if you can stand the smell and don't mind it under your nails and all. Compost? Only if you're super committed to saving the planet and world peace.

But really...make it easy on the garden plot (and yourelf if you tend to confuse the sage leaves and basil leaves) and hook it up with these vintage garden markers:

Alison over at Monkeys Always Look was walking her dog on the beach and came across an old spoon, tarnished by who knows how long in the sand and elements. She wondered, "Self -- what can I make with this tarnished, long forgotten spoon?"

"A garden marker, I say," answered Self. And that is how they came to be. Now your garden doesn't have to wonder what to grow. It can set about the task at hand and grow, grow, grow right on through the summer.

Aren't they just bee-u-tee-ful? You can custom order for whatever herbs you are growing on your porch. I wouldn't ask for 'wacky weed' or anything, but that's just me.

Daybook

I have become acquainted with this thing called The Simple Woman's Daybook -- a diary of sorts that encourages you to slow down, enjoy the moment and record your thoughts. The lady that started it all used to do it as a sidebar on her blog, and then moved it to a regular Monday post, giving readers a glimpse into what other women were doing/facing/enjoying. (We women enjoy knowing that there are others out there in the same boat, huh?)

So, because it will make me slow down and 'smell the roses', I will participate and let you look inside my diary on Mondays. The only thing is that I won't be linking my blog posts to the 'master' page on her site (who else outside my circle cares what I'm reading right now -- really?). Maybe later.

Shout out to me about your day, too. Let's enjoy life together.

daybook {five}{ten}{two thousand ten}
i am thankful for... the cup of coffee my youngest brought me this morning -- bedside service at its best!

i am thinking... about how soon my firstborn will begin a new chapter in his life.

i am creating... a Christmas stocking for my daughter.

i am going... to a school banquet tonight.

i am reading... Redefining the Strong Willed Woman by Cynthia Tobias.

i am hoping... there is enough chocolate syrup left in the bottle for a sundae.

around the house... why is it so hard to commit to a shade of brown paint?

from the kitchen... the cupboards are bare -- the kids protesteth much.

outside my window... a deep hole in my pot of rosemary -- the neighbor's cat thought it to be catnip.

worth sharing...

Play That Funky Music, White Boy

We've been culturally enlightened in our family as of late. Whether it was the U.S, premiere of Catcerto by the ACA Wind Ensemble (Cody on euphonium -- you rock, son) or the Montgomery Youth Symphony's annual Mother's Day Concert (Cody on trombone -- you still rock, son), we have heard some amazing music this past week.

Support the arts, people.

Petals from the Past

Most of the time when I read through a magazine, there will be several things that catch my eye - a recipe, a new place to vacation, decorating tips, or a neat place to shop. I have this beat-up, red folder that holds all those things I tear out and promise to do/visit/taste sometime soon.

Not long ago, I put a page in that red folder for a little nursery up the road from home - Petals from the Past. The magazine pages made it look like such an inviting place, but I was a bit skeptical. You see, there's really not much in Jemison. Well, except for this...

Look. I hate to be the one to tell you this, but tractors cross the road here. And you must stop. You really must. The sign says so right there, smack dab on the side of the road. I wonder how often tractors stop traffic here. Probably not often, really I say, because Jemison isn't overly populated.

But Jemison does have a super duper nursery. Look.

Doesn't the sign just invite you in with its creeping, crawling vines? Once you round the bend, there are vines bearing muscasines or scuppernongs (the makings of a good homemade wine if you ask me). But I was on a mission to find something to fill a hole in the planting bed next to the side entrance at my house and some herbs to grow in containers. I found both.

(The herbs are of the legal sort, thank you very much.)

These asparagus ferns reminded me of my late grandmother so I bought two. She'd be so proud. I'll probably kill them.

Mist them daily, she'd always say, and they'll make it.

Not. For me at least.

My little helper -- who was here because I told her we were going on a field trip to watch the bees pollinate the flowers...and she bought it, bless her heart -- tugged the fluggy (flower + buggy, don't you see) through the rows and to the cashier. We bought our stuff -- plants cost alot in case you were wondering -- and made our way back home via some really winding, rural roads, with not a tractor in sight.

10 Years Ago Today

Ten years ago to the day the US government announced they would shut off selective availability of GPS systems -- instantly upgrading thousands of civilian GPS units by ten times. On May 3, 2000, the first GPS stash (geocache) was placed and geocaching became an instant hit. Today there are 3-4 million geocachers worldwide with over 1 million active caches.

What's all this geo stuff, you ask?

We take our GPS unit with us when we go on vacation for some extra fun. As Forrest says -- we never know what we're gonna get.

Head outside for an adventure today!