The recipe that Raine requested.

I'm not sure why, but for years, Raine has insisted that I make the best Mac and Cheese ever. I keep telling her that I follow the directions on the box. I don't think she believes me. Mine tastes different. Ummm...maybe its because its made with love. Awwwww! No, in all seriousness, I have no idea what I do to it that is so different from what anyone else does. Oh, wait, maybe its because I don't really follow the package directions. Yeah, I just kind of wing it. I use the boxes directions as a suggestion, that's all.
I'd only do this for Raine... How to make Netter's Kraft Mac and Cheese.

Boil the Noodles

1. Fill a moderately large pot with hot water
2. Bring water to a boil
3. Once water is Boiling add the noodles
4. Cook until pasta is Al Dente, or soft

Stain noodles

1. When the noodles should be done
2. Strain the noodles but do not rinse them
3. To save dishes you can put the noodles back into the pan

Get the suggested ingredients ready
You are going to need 1/4 cup milk,
You are also going to need 4 Tablespoons of butter or margarine,
You are also going to need the cheese

1. Now everything should be ready to mix together
2. Add the milk, butter, and cheese...but I don't measure anything out...I wing it and chop off a hunk of butter, I just dump in some milk and I add the entire cheese package.
3. Mix up until blended nicely
4. You are ready to eat


That's it, no special secrets, just dump and eat. Oh, and make it with love.

How the heck did I do that?!

Earlier I was chatting on the phone with my Mother and getting stuff out to make dinner. I was winging it. I figured I'd make some kind of concoction involving pasta. Sam only eats Prego. Gag...not my favorite but it could always be worse. Anyway, I take the jar out of the upper cabinet and sit it on the counter top. No problem. I then dink around with a few other objects and I washing my hands. Then I decide to take a look to make sure I grabbed the right flavor of sauce so without picking the jar up, I tip it back at a 45 degree angle. My hands were slightly damp and the jar just slid from my grip and tipped over the rest of the way. The entire top and a section from the side of the jar shattered. This is the result. There were tiny, tiny bits of glass everywhere and even big old chunks of glass in the sauce. It was a pain in the but to clean up.

After that, I managed to cook a pretty taste dish...not with the broken sauce, of course, but a new jar that I managed to empty before I had a chance to break it too. Anyway, if you want to make a yummy sauce, try this: Saute half a sweet yellow onion in olive oil. Toss in a bunch of freshly chopped garlic...don't scrimp. Once that is done, stick in a little sauce. I only used a half a jar of traditional Prego. Then with the heat still on, take a small roll( I used one that was about 2 1/2- 3 inches long) of goat cheese and slice it into the sauce. Keep stirring it while it melts into the sauce. I then dumped a heaping mound of fresh spinach leaves in the sauce and kept stirring it around. Once the spinach was wilted into the sauce, I poured it over some freshly made pasta. Sam was in heaven. He took a bite and his eyes bugged out and he said, "NETT! What kind of sauce is this? It's SOOOO good!" Yep, sometimes the best meals are the ones you wing. By the way, the kid went back for heaping seconds so there will be no leftovers for lunch. It's a good thing, I guess, but it still makes me kind of sad. I like yummy leftovers.

Beware when reading Raine's postcards.

I repeat, BEWARE! I was flipping through the mail yesterday and I just happened to take a big sip of diet coke as I flipped this postcard over. I read the first line and started to laugh and the diet coke went up my nose. It hurt! What possibly could have Raine written on that postcard to make me burn my nasal passages like that? I'll tell you...she wrote, "This guy is wearing Christopher's swimsuit." For those of you not in the know...Christopher is her husband. I would never in a million years picture him as a "banana hammock" bikini bottom wearer, but of course, I don't picture most men in that type of swimsuit. I just wasn't expecting that comment on that postcard and it took me off guard. Anyway, they had a great cruise, enjoyed the islands and I didn't have to ship their cats to them because they decided to stay. Which reminds me, I wouldn't have been able to ship the cats anyway, because I wouldn't be able to get into the building now. They have not given me a new set of keys now that the main door lock has changed. I guess the cat sitter would have had to ship them.

Katie...HUNGRY....

 When Katie gets hungry, she must be fed or she gets cranky. It's not a pretty sight. Not to fear, she didn't really eat the moon. Nope, she ate half of my burrito instead.

Keep ALL dry erase markers away from Katie!

She's quick and she can't be trusted to behave herself. No, seriously, she thought I saw her write this. I totally didn't or I would have considered beating her with the board eraser....or at the very least, sat on her until I was able to draw a mustache and beard on her. I guess, I could call us even. Once when she was at sleep away camp, I sent her a letter in one of those joke envelopes that says, "Pregnancy test results enclosed, Private and confidential" She was like 12 or 13. LOL...Oh yeah, she was a little embarrassed by that. You know, I shouldn't be annoyed by Katie's message. It's a well known fact that if she doesn't like you, she doesn't waste her time calling you names or insulting you. lol, It's how she shows her love. Well, Dip shit, I love you too!

Poor, poor Pops...

Well, it looks like my Dad...aka Pops, isn't going to be able to spend this Father's Day doing what he usually does on his big day. That would be sleeping or fishing. Oh, who am I kidding? He'll manage to squeeze both of those things in there. Yep and I'm sure he'll try to see his lovely granddaughter Rue. If he wants to eat, he won't be able to let Mom do all the cooking for him while he naps though. Nope, he's the chef on duty these days, at least until Mom gets her broken chicken wing back in order. Yep, poor Pops, he's not going to be spoiled this Father's Day. So basically, he'll be spending the day like Mom has to for Mother's Day....cooking for the napping spouse. I knew that sooner or later, that one would bite him in the butt. Happy Father's Day Pop! I hope you got up early and made Mom a lovely breakfast in bed.

Friday's Feast

OK, I'm starting something new. Every Friday, you can follow the link above and find out what the menu for the day is. I'll give it a shot.

Appetizer

Do you consider yourself to be an optimist or a pessimist? Without a doubt, I'm an optimist but if you catch me on a bad day, when everything seems to be going wrong, I'll probably be joking around and sound like a pessimist, but I'm not at heart. My glass is half full.

Soup

What is your favorite color of ink to write with? I love green ink pens. Just plain old kelly green ink. More important than the ink color is the feel of the pen in my hand and how smooth it writes. You know, I have a lot of pens. I tend to be a pen thief and I walk off with pens all the time. I try not to, but it just happens, especially if I'm talking while I'm signing for something. I've gotten to the point that I try to slide the pen as far away from me as possible or I hand it back to the cashier and tell them to keep it away from me or I'll accidentally steal it. I have a history.

Salad

How often do you get a manicure or pedicure? Do you do them yourself or go to a salon and pay for them? Not as often as I used to. I love treating myself to a mani/pedi but now that I have discovered the Ped Egg, I can handle the job myself...lol, plus I've always been good at painting my nails myself.

Main Course

Have you ever won anything online? If so, what was it? Sure! I've won a few give-aways in my time. The latest was a whole box of homemade things from a sweetheart in Hawaii.

Dessert

In which room in your house do you keep your home computer? It's in the basement. We call the room the "computer room" even though there is some unused workout equipment in there and a ton of my crafty stuff.

While the neighbors are in Florida...

I've been letting their girls out for a bathroom break in the middle of the day. Lola and Marley normally go to work with the neighbors, so they have lots of attention and lots of people to take them for little walks during the day. Marley the labrapoodle (Did I spell that right? Ah, who cares.) is recovering form her third knee operation, so we are not going for walks, we are just trying to keep everything very calm. She's a high energy dog. Lola, well Miss Lola is very calm...her idea of a big exercise is rolling on her side so you can scratch her tummy. I stop over for an hour or so around noon and let them out for a bathroom break and then I fill up their water bowls with fresh, cool water. After that I sit on the floor and chat with them for a while. Today I spent a lot of time explaining to Marley why I didn't like it when she licked my ear. I told her it had nothing to do with her bad breath, but I don't think she believed me. She takes everything so personally. Lola really doesn't care what the topic of conversation is as long as you keep rubbing her tummy. Lola and Marley have people staying with them overnight so I only have to do afternoon duty. I love watching the dogs, but I'm not sure I'd want overnight duty...I have a feeling Lola snores and Marley probably chases stuff in her sleep.

He's going to LOVE me!

Last week, Sam lost his school ID and his learners permit. He thought he dropped his little wallet thingy at school one night when he was there for an event. He searched the school, checked the lost and founds, talked to all the janitors, nothing, nada,zippo. Seriously, he looked everywhere...so he said. He even searched the van, the car and his room. He REALLY didn't want to tell his Mom that he lost something else. Yeah, the kid has been pretty pathetic about keeping track of his stuff. He's lost his tenor sax, his tennis racket, a few books. The list could go on, but I'll be kind and stop at the ID cards. He managed to get a new School ID card, no problem but getting a replacement permit is tricky when you are still in school. He has his road test next Friday, so he really needs his lisc. Next week he has a few days off so we made plans to go to the DMV...my least favorite place on Earth. He asked me to keep it on the down-low so his Mom didn't rag on him. I secretly wanted to tell her so that we could torture him for a while. You know, have her ask him to drive because she has a headache or something and then watch him come up with excuses to explain why he couldn't. I know! I have never claimed to be anything but evil.

Anyway, I had to make a dish for a potluck function at the school tonight and Sam called and asked if I could drop it off along with his concert attire, the Hollywood letters and 4 liters of orange soda. He had decided not to take the bus home because by the time he got home, he'd have to turn around and go back. OK, Fine....whatever. I went upstairs and started getting his stuff together. I took his clothes out of his closet and put them on the bed so I could put everything on the same hanger. As I'm doing that, something strange catches my eye. It's Sam's little ID holder that he thought he lost. It's stuck on his bed, near the foot, just kind of hanging out. Now, seriously, I don't know how he could have missed this every night when he went to bed. The kid doesn't have a foot board.

When I dropped all of his stuff off, Sam came walking up to the van and I said, "You are going to love me FOREVER!" He looked at me and said, "Why?" So I said, "You have to ask why?! Well, I almost don't want to tell you now." Of course, at that point, I'm holding up his little wallet thingie and his eyes about popped out of his head. He started to ask me where I found it and then he decided he didn't want to know...because he'd be pissed at himself for not finding it himself. Oh, so true!

He told me to keep it and that he obviously coulnd't be trusted with it. I told him, he'd probably be a little more careful from now on. Then again...maybe not.

Just so you know...

Don't bother calling my Mom's house while an episodes of Little House on the Prairie is on that contains Almonzo Wilder. Oh sure, she'll talk to you but not with the usual enthusiasm that she usually displays after talking to you every day this week. It's just better to let her go and call her after the show is over. She really likes Almonzo. I think she might harbor a school girl crush on Manly...like Laura did. Remember that? Maybe she just likes the way Laura gets him all flustered and annoyed. That's what I enjoy.

Awww, good times.

I suddenly feel like putting braids in my hair. They might make it to the bottom of my ears. I just wish my hair was red, like it was when I was a kid.

Guess what I've been doing for the last two hours!

 

I love this thing!

Normally, I'm not into product endorsement. Holy crap, does this thing work really well. My feet were still in their normal, cracked winter state...it was scary. I even use lotion on my heels, its pathetic. I wanted to get a pedicure but I hate the idea anyone seeing my heels in the condition that they were in. I was in Walgreen's and they had the Ped Egg, just sitting there on the end of an isle. It was $9.99 and I was seriously debating if I should spend ten bucks on it or not. I figured, if it worked...goodie...if not, I'd send the company a hate letter or something and they could either ignore me or refund my money. I assumed they would ignore me...most people do. Anyway, I brought it home, read the instructions and went to town on my gross feet. I'm happy to tell you that my heels are so soft now. All that hard cracked stuff is gone. It didn't take long and it wasn't messy like some of those gadgets you use to scrape away the old skin. Nope, all I had to do was dump out the dead skin when I was done. It kind of reminded me of Parmesan cheese. Fear not, I didn't get confused and try it on my Cesear salad...nope it was destine for the garbage can. So, if you are prone to hoof like heels, like me....RUN, don't walk, and purchase your Ped Egg. A word to the wise. I have read online that some people who ordered their Ped Egg's online were scammed...so to avoid that, perhaps you should purchse one at the store. If you can't find one...let me know, I'll hook you up.

My Mother the klutz and my Aunt the Streaker...

Did I get your attention? Well, let's start with the story of my Mother and why my Pop says she looks like a rooster with two broken wings, standing on one leg on a fence post. You see, it all started in Kansas. I've always said, nothing good happens in Kansas and especially at a family reunion. After all, when you get a bunch of Kaster's together, its all fun and games until someone gets hurt. No, in all seriousness, my Mom tripped. They were at a town park and there were brand new sidewalks that still had the forms on them...they were that new. Anyway, Mom was walking along, heading to the playground to tell Dewey(my brother-in-law) and Rue that it was time to come eat lunch. She was stepping over the sidewalk forms and rammed her toe into a little piece of steel post that was sticking up, which caused her to slam down on the cement. She tried to catch herself with her hands and she said, it hurt so bad she wanted to cry but couldn't. Only one person saw this and they asked if she was OK. Mom totally lied and said yes. She was in denial. After sitting there for quite a while she managed to get up. She walked over and got Dewey and Rue and the managed to hang out at the reunion and even eat, but her arms were hurting. She thought she pulled a muscle or something. She was swollen and bruising. If I had been there, I would have dragged her a$$ to a hospital...but she was faking everyone out. My Sister called me to let me know that Mom had hurt herself because she knew I would harass Mom until she went to the doctor. I mean, when they left, she couldn't even open the car door herself. Dad took her home, iced her up and some of the swelling did go down but she didn't want to go to the emergency room on Sunday night so she waited until the next morning. She sent Dad to work and when I spoke to her I asked how she was getting to the doctor's office. She said she might walk....GRRR...I told her not to and to call Aunt Linda to take her because she's not back to work yet. Mom said she could always take the handy bus. In the back of my mind, I knew that woman wouldn't ask for help and she'd try to get there on her own. I was right. She drove herself with to the doctor.
After many x-ray's she found out that her left arm had a clean break about 1 1/2 inches under her elbow, so they put her in a temporary L brace-cast. They thought about putting a brace on her other wrist too, but knew it would be hard for her to do anything, so they wrapped it up. She has to go back on Thursday for more x-rays when the swelling goes down. Good news though, her black and blue toe, which she thought might have been broken as well, wasn't broken at all. She just jammed the toe nail. I told her that she needs to insist that they but full casts on both of her arms. Why would I suggest that? Well, you see, my Pop is acting as nurse mate. That means he has to cook for her, do the dishes, you know, things he hasn't done much of since they were married almost 39 years ago. Mom had to walk him through how to set up the coffee pot so he'd have fresh coffee in the morning. She had to tell him to wipe the grease off the stove with a wash cloth, not the dish towel he'd use to dry dishes with later. Yep, the old man is really getting a taste of what its like to work and come home and do all the cooking. Mom laughed and said, "Wait until he has to vacuum the house on Sunday." She wasn't sure she could get him to do it. I think she should go for it. Milk it for all she can get, then once she's better, keep him helping out. I know, I know...I'm dreaming now! I'll keep you posted on Mama Boom-Boom's healing progress. Right now, I can tell you that she is bored out of her mind. She can't even play video games...and she did manage to check her email, but that didn't last long because her arms started to hurt.

Now for a funny little story. I've heard it second hand, because the Kaster grapevine works just fine without my help. It seems as though it was windy in Kansas last week. Uncle Gary has been telling EVERYONE about this...sorry Aunt Carole, I've heard it from 4 people so I have to share it with EVERYONE. Anyway, it was really windy. Carole went outside and was chasing after the garbage can or the lid, as she jogged along, the wind grabbed a hold of her shorts...which were a little big...and blew her shorts down. Uncle Gary saw the whole thing and it was reported to me that he said, "She was wearing the prettiest pink panties." LOL, I bet the neighborhood has been buzzing all week. I was thinking about picking up a pair of suspenders to send Aunt Carole...but then I realized that Uncle Gary has to have a pair or two laying around that he could loan her.

In other news, Cousin Jeff and Marla have headed to New Orleans, leaving the "rent-a-baby" with Grandma Vickie and Grandpa John. Sounds like there is some spoiling going on in Lincoln, Nebraska...as well there should be. Vickie was going to ask Mom if she wanted to bring Rue up to go to the Zoo with them, but after finding out about her boo-boo's and the fact that Mom won't be watching Rue for a while...that idea was thrown out the window.

I'm back....and first things first...

My wrist still hurts most of the time, but I really need to post about my birthday present from Raine and Chris. She'd kill me if I posted other things before I showed you what she gave me. Believe me, she would. I've had several phone calls on the subject. She's only cut me a breat because of my wrist. Anyway, They always give the nicest presents...and Raine always remembers all the things I like, plus the things that she knows will make me laugh. This year she hit the ball out of the park. Really! She bought me the Iron Fairy book, volume one. You have to have it to get into the cave, but now I'm stuck until volume 2 comes out. She gave me dirty soap...and by dirty I mean, naughty..my favorite kind. The directions on the back read as follows: 1)Share with someone in warm shower. 2)Rinse. 3) Then shower with someone NEW in warm shower. 4)Rinse. It has a warning which says, "Nothing risque, nothing gained." I like how they think...lol. Plus I got a bag of kettle corn...yummy! I also received five Curly Whirly candy bars...yummy...and they gave me a magnet that says "I"m happy...Don't ruin it!" I think that might have to be my new moto.
OK, but the best part of the present...the really funny part is what she put it in. A neat little container that looked like a silver briefcase or computer case at first glance. But if you look closer....
THAT is what it said on the front! I about died when they handed me the container while we were seated at The Cheesecake Factory. Here is the crazy thing about the whole story. After I opened it, I placed it on the seat across from me so we could eat. I didn't think a thing about it. When we got up to leave, the lady across from me said, "Excuse me, could I as you a question." I turned to her and said yes, thinking she needed directions or wanted to know what we ate. Then she said, "Is that (meaning the case) really full of those things?" Then I started laughing and expained that it wasn't full of condoms. That my friends had just used it as a "gift bag" to give me my birthday presents be cause they thought it would be funny. We all started laughing and the ladies Mother, looked confused. As I walked away, I'm sure her daughter explained what we were talking about.
I have to say, even if Raine and Chris came out and never bothered to give me a present, I would have been just as happy to spend the day with them. It seems like It's been ages since we actually spent more than a couple short hours together before Raine had to run off. She's a busy gal, these days. I've missed her. Truth be told, I'd probably volenteer to help her clean her apartment all day if that meant I just got to hang out with her. Raine makes everything more fun. She's just so bright and witty, you'd have to be a moron not to enjoy her company. Oh and its always fun when she brings her hubbie along, because then we have someone to pick on....but he deserves it most of the time.

I've got an ouchie...

I did something... something bad ...but I will live, so I'll stop whining about it. Who am I kidding...I'll still whine. Anyway, its hard to type with this thing on and it makes my wrist hurt more. Shoot, driving makes my wrist hurt. I've been doing everything with my right hand, after all I am right handed, but let me tell you....I must do a LOT with my left hand. I have to rest it. Yeah right, rest it...ha, like that's going to happen.

Posts to come. Perhaps after the weekend. I know I have to post Raine's birthday presents to me yet. I will! I won't eat another Curly Whirly until I post it. I swear! I have 4 left. If that's not motivation, I don't know what is!

Oh and as a parting treat... a couple pictures from today's sky. At first Mother Nature couldn't make up her mind. Did she want blue skies or rain clouds?! In the end, she gave us a rainbow. I can live with that.

Another quiz

For the record, I don't think this is me. Sure I have been told that I'm not as funny as I think I am... more than once, but it was by the same person. That doesn't count.

You Are Fozzie Bear

"Wocka! Wocka!" You're the life of the party, and you love making people crack up. If only your routine didn't always bomb! You may find more groans than laughs, but always keep the jokes coming.

The Muppet Personality Test

What Your Taste in Chocolate Says About You

You are sweet, mellow, and easily satisfied. You don't like anything too intense and dramatic. Deep down, you're a kid at heart... and you're nostalgic for the past. You are emotionally expressive and sensitive. You're effected by everything around you. Your friends appreciate your open heart, but they are afraid of hurting your feelings. You love the feeling of accomplishment. You enjoy doing what's important. You feel lost when you have to do frivolous tasks or hang out with shallow people.

The Chocolate Oracle

You MUST watch the entire clip...it ends well.

Happy Mother's Day!

It might be Mother's Day but I know my Mom would be out of sorts if she didn't have to do some kind of work. She'd just be wandering around looking lost. Luckily, Dad keeps her pretty busy, because he doesn't do anything for himself...don't get me started....anyway, a little "connect the dots" card will keep her occupied. I think you should all print the "dot to dot" card out and if someone dares to try to get you to work a little on your ONE day...tell them you are really busy, they'll have to get buy without you.

Don't ask me why I'm up at 3 AM...its not because I drank coffee.

Created by OnePlusYou

Via Hawaii...and Kansas

 

I won a blog contest over at Lettie's Polka Dot Pineapple blog. I discovered her a while back and fell in love with her creations. Fun stuff, lots and lots of fun stuff, like things adorned with yo-yo's. Oh how I love yoyo's! Lettie was quickly added to my bloglines and I suggest you check her out. She's a sweetheart and I must say, she spoiled me with her contest prize. I felt like it was a never ending box of goodies. I just kept pulling beautiful stuff out. She satisfied my tummy with macadamia nuts...yes a bag of Maui Onion flavored nuts and then a box of chocolate covered, caramel macadamia nuts. YUMMY! We know how I love anything covered in caramel...well, almost anything. I tried the onion flavored nuts last night and had a hard time putting the bag down because they were so delish. Moving on...because I could get stuck talking about food for hours on end.
Click on the picture above to view all the items a little closer. It's like I won a jackpot. If you look closely, you will see a bright blue, Hawaiian print set of oven hot pads with a matching kitchen towel. Now if my Sister was anywhere near me, she'd be trying to get a hold of the set, but lucky for me, she's in Nebrasky. The battle would have been fierce. Oh but there is more... I almost don't know where to continue, there is so much stuff. Let's see, there is the cutest little yo-yo angel ornament. I'll hang it on my tree every Christmas and think of Lettie. I'm a huge ornament fan...everyone knows that. Then there is the yo yo notebook cover, adorable and functional, plus it has yo yo's and buttons...HEAVEN! The sun glass case adorn with a big yo-o...CUTE! Speaking of cute, we have the beaded strawberry pin...such a fun idea. Next we have the pocket tissue case. I needed one of those! I don't know how Lettie knew! On to the Jewelry tote...I have ALWAYS wanted one of these. I kid you not. Whenever I go home, I end up shoving my necklaces, bracelets, and earrings in anything that will seal up and I can squash into my carry-on. Ziploc bags don't work well with earrings, they just poke through. Problem solved with Lettie's jewel tote. Then we have the bag...OMG, the bag! I remember seeing it on her site and drooling over it. Hello, its pink! HELLO...its gorgous! I needed a new bag. I was eyeing some Vera Bradley bags but I've got something even better...one of Lettie's Polka Dot Pineapple bags, eat your hearts out! I feel absolutely spoiled. Sam asked me which item was my favorite. I said, I love them all. He then said, "OK, hypothetically, lets say you were told you could only keep one item and had to give everything else back...what would you keep." I must have shot him a funny look because he started laughing and hounding me to pick as I sat stroking my plentiful bounty. Finally I told him to keep his hypothetical stuff to himself, because the whole idea shot my blood pressure up. He thought that was a hoot. I told him I should be able to keep everything that I can fit into one bag...afterall it was my birthday and lucky me, everything fits nicely in the bag Lettie sent me. Ahhhh, that's better!Pick one?! What was he thinking?! Thank you so much Lettie! You made my day!

Now I bet you are wondering where the "Kansas" part of the title come into play here. A while ago, my Cousin's neighbor, Mandy had a contest on her myspace blog. Well, I won and she sent me a lovely assorted gift basket of peach nectar scented bath items. I took a picture of the basket...and I could have sworn I saved it on the computer...but I can't find the picture anywhere. It's driving me nuts. That is why I didn't post this yesterday, I had to find the picture. I have given up for the time being...but if I do come across it, I'll stick it on here and let everyone know. I use the products everyday. I'm not the only one that likes the smell...the local bees adore me when I'm outside. Yeah, it smells that good! Everything in the basket was wonderful but the lotion is amazing. I started putting it on my dry winter feet. Usually it takes a good week to get them soft and ready for sandal weather...but that lotion did the trick in one night. I was really impressed. Let me tell you, my heals were in pathetic shape. Not anymore, they are smooth like butter. Thanks Mandy!

***UPDATE*** AH HA! Once I stopped looking for the picture, I found it. Below is the gift basket that Mandy gave me! 

AHHHHHH!

Lilacs are by far my favorite scent. I stuck this plant in the ground last year and this year I am in heaven. The first thing I did today was to nestle my nose into those blooms and sniff until I thought my eyeballs were going to be sucked to the back of my skull. Oh, glorious lilacs, how I love thee! It makes me sad that they only bloom for a short period in the spring. Why couldn't they bloom all summer? I guess they wouldn't seem so wonderful to me if they did, but a girl can dream, can't she. Anyway, I just had to share them with you. Sorry I can't let you sniff them....blogs just don't come with scratch and sniff applications. Not yet anyway.

More birthday fun...

I was out running errands most of the day but when I pulled in the driveway, something caught my eye. The screen door was open part way and there were balloons floating in the breeze. After closer inspection I discovered a box at the base of the balloon ribbons. Inside the box was a flower cake. Yes, a cake made of flowers. It even comes with candles that you can stick in the top and light. I'm not going to do it though because I could just imagine the possible disasters that could occur. Anyway, I love getting flowers...so I opened the card and found out it was from Nancy, Cliff and Sam. Sam didn't know anything about it...oh and he did remember my birthday. I had picked him up from drivers ed and I asked him what he wanted to get his Mother for Mother's Day...That is when his eyes got really wide and he said, "Mother's Day, wait a minute, is today your birthday?!" Then I said yes, and that I knew he had forgotten in the morning. He then said, "Did I even see you this morning?" I started laughing and informed him that we had a conversation this morning...and he said, "oh yeah, I must have been so out of it. I let him off the hook and said, I knew he had a lot going on. Anyway, Nancy said she sent me the flower cake because she knew they wouldn't be able to get me a real cake. Cliff said I should make Sam bake me a cake. I told Cliff that Sam was way to busy but Cliff said, Sam was just lazy...which of course he was joking about, because Sam really is super busy with AP exams and finals coming up...plus he had a tennis match and drivers ed today. Crazy busy.
I have had so many phone calls and emails today that I can honestly say I'm in heaven. Thank you everyone for all your sweet thoughts and wishes! Believe it or not, but I have not opened my presents yet and I have not had any cake yet. Sam and I just knocked off a great supper and we have to digest...while he takes a practice test for AP. Fear not, I do not let a birthday go by without ice cream...gasp, the thought of an IC free birthday scares the bejeebers out of me.
Oh did I tell you that I got a scary birthday message on my cell phone. My Aunt Vickie sang a small part of the Happy Birthday song to me...lol, I know know that my pathetic singing comes from the Kaster/Lade side of the family. It's genetic! I'm not the only one that sounds a sick seagull...lol, just kidding Vickie, we don't sound that bad.

It's my Birthday!

Ah, the sky is blue, no rain clouds in sight...it could be a great day after all. I love birthdays, everyone knows that...I don't get all depressed about getting older, I look at it like this...HEY, I'm alive! I will admit that when I first woke up at 6:30AM, I was feeling a little blue. Sam left for school without even saying Happy Birthday to me. I'm sure he totally forgot...the turd, and I refuse to remind him. Needless to say, I was in a slight funk so I did what all grouchy people should do. I curled up on the sofa with a blanket and a soft pillow and I took an hour and a half nap. Let me tell you, that was what the doctor ordered. Then I got up, jumped in the shower and while I was washing the sleep out of my eyes, Chris Leach called me on my cell phone and left me the BEST message ever. Why the best? The guys sang a funny, perky Happy Birthday song to me and wished me a very happy day before he went off to review some of his law studies work. I just adore him, I really do, but everyone knows how much I love my Leaches...they are the best. Chris was my first birthday call and my friend Susanne in Switzerland sent me my first Birthday email of the day. Later I'm going to send her an email...we need to catch up. She's due to have a cesarean next week, on the 13th. I need to get a present for her and get it in the mail.

Anyway, I'll update about my Birthday as the day progresses. First I have to do some errands...go to the nursery and get 4 shrubs for the front yard, return the upholstery books and get a few new ones, pick up a small Carvel ice cream cake for myself...because Nancy is out of town this week and nobody else is going to get me one, oh and then I get to open my contest prize package that Lettie sent me. YEP...more to come.

May Day...let's celebrate

Once upon a time, children made May baskets filled with flowers and herbs, even pieces of candy or other treats. On the morning of May 1st, the children sneakily hung them on a neighbor's door. Given as a gift of love and life, May baskets came to symbolize innocence, purity and peace. It's one of my favorite traditions. I'm sad that everyone doesn't celebrate May Day. Then there is the May Pole Dance...a dance around the May Pole continues to be the most common May Day celebration throughout Europe. Unfortunately, in America, it has barely endured the grim face of Puritanism. Thankfully, opinions change, and slowly May Day is regaining recognition as spring's rite of passage. Considered the opposite of Halloween (the festival of death), May Day brings promises of life and rebirth.

So go out side and dance around, drop some flowers off on your neighbors doorstep...and enjoy the day.