Things Kids Say

The other day while we were swimming, David was showing me how he could jump off the diving board and do the "toothpick" or "pencil" keeping his body completely straight with pointed toes as he jumped into the pool. Aubri, not to be outdone, said "Look at me, I'm a stylus!". Too cute! How many 3 year olds even know what a stylus is?


And a few weeks ago as we were driving around town, little Aubri was not able to keep up with her brother and sister who were calling out punch buggies and their colors right and left. In an effort to insert herself into the game she happily chirped "Punch buggy: no!" without missing a beat. Very creative little girl!


Yesterday, at my friend's son's b-day party, David was hungry and mentioned this out loud to my friend's wife. She came back with a suggestion of grapes and asked David how that sounded and from the pool, he immediately came back with "Grapes suck!". I was mortified! I had never heard David say "sucks" before and I assured the parents there (who were laughing at his comment) that he'd never said that before and then I (embarrassed) turned to David and asked him what he said. He said "I said 'Great Scott!'" and it did sound a lot like "Grapes Suck" if you were expecting your kid to say something punky and rude. But I know David loves grapes and he is a polite little boy especially in these type of situations. I told everyone that he was either getting really good at lying/covering up or he was actually telling the truth. I do believe he was telling the truth because he loves to say "Great Scott!" quoting from his Flip the Horse book.

Hmmmm...

Taming the Jungle

Right Before

Right After

On Saturday, I filled up 3 lawn bags and bundled 2 large piles of voluntary treelings and vines in the process of cleaning up this neglected area of the yard. As per usual, I am not finished, but it's a good start.

Earlier in the morning, in an effort to use up the paint that I got to paint my yard sale table and refinish up that yard sale cafe set I got last year, I painted the stools.  This happened as a result of my looking in the sun room for something else when I happened upon the ziploc bag containing my paint brush from last month's painting...my Mother-in-Law taught me that trick in case I needed to stop painting and wanted to resume painting soon without cleaning out the brush. I can't believe the paint hadn't dried out from last month. Good tip! 

I think I will paint the base of the table, then go over the paint with a glaze or sealant of some sort. I would like to cover the table top with some sort of clear coat over mementos from our past adventures.

This table is my inspiration...

I had to call it a day on the projects after a few hours because it was getting too hot (so we cooled down with some watermelon and some of us jumped in the pool) and we had to get a birthday party for a friend's son.

Long Day

Thursday was a L-O-N-G start to the long weekend. I am not complaining because it was packed with fun. My office had a team building event complete with picnic and activities at the park, and family members were included. ;.)

My clan was there at the ready to eat BBQ, play on the playground, toss around the frisbee and play bocce ball.

And amaze my co-workers...





That was the first half of the day. There was no nap for the Little Ones and after almost 5 hours of running around outside (for all of us) and 2 hours of basketball practice (for Emi), we met up with my parents and sister and her family for her son's 21st b-day celebration. I can't believe I have a nephew that is now 21!  And that he has cousins who are only 3, 4 and almost 10!

We crashed the party at O'Connell's for about 5 minutes.



Then we went to Fuzzy's for drinks and snacketizers.



So this is my BABY sister who has the kid (Merit Scholar at OU, I might add)....and I, her older and wiser (ahem) sister who has the little Pre-Kers and 5th grader. Guess I am a late bloomer on this motherhood thing.

On the way over to Joe's Taverna (which turned out to be a bust on those of us under 21), Aubri modeled a rustic and stunning trough filled with beautiful flowers and foliage....in a color that speaks to me.

Hello, Turquoise! This trough of lovelies is on my list!

We actually ran into Joe himself and we reminisced about the Old Days when I was a young whipper snapper and used to frequent his establishment... That was a long time ago, folks. And I think there is still photographical evidence of it hanging up in there. (I know there is at Brothers.)

I can't believe these 2 people (whom I love very much) are old enought to have a 21 yr old kid (and an 18 year old too!).



Can you?

Garden Update

We don't have any fruits of our labor yet, but we still have plants living in the garden so we're still hopeful.

It went from this a month ago:

to this right now:

Watermelon, Kabocha, White Casper Pumpkins, Tomatoes and Strawberries

A Closer Look Underneath Those Giant Leaves

I can't recall if this is the Casper Pumpkin or Kabocha...guess we'll have to wait and see...

Checking these guys often because last time someone beat me to them (there were only 2)

Maybe we'll beat the squirrels this year...

Cool Dip

Today, when I got home from work, my family was waiting for me in the pool. I just wanted a few minutes to decompress but then I put on my suit and decided to chill out with them. It was a perfect opportunity for us all to enjoy that wonderful Lemon Rosemary Sorbet...

Showing a little restraint...

A litte tart there, Aubri?

Yes, a little tart but so refreshing....

It was a nice way to transition from the work day to family time.

Ahhhh...

Savoring the Weekend

Well, it was a marathon weekend for the Morgans! Actually, tournament weekend is more appropos.

Emi's basketball team had a tournament in Edmond starting Friday night (when they had their butts handed to them late Friday night by an awesome team that must have been out of their league....) and went on through today.

Friday night was brutal for Emi's team and for those of us on the sidelines with easily bored children distracting us from watching the game every 17 seconds. But we got through it.  It was great to see Emi playing with a team of this caliber. So proud of that girlie!

Saturday morning we were up early taking care of some yard work (trimming/weeding/watering) while Emi was getting a new hairdo. There were some surprises involved here (in the yard, not Emi's hair). I found that my asparagus is still producing so I don't have to wait until next year to harvest some. And I found that my oregano planted YEARS ago in my trying to be Moosewood Kitchen garden has survived all these years.



I think we are going to plow through much of this bed again (carefully avoiding the asparagus beds) and start anew. As you can see, it's a bit overgrown.

FYI, I have a Cardinal family nesting in that Rose of Sharon up against the house. Love it!

I also spent a good deal of time clipping branches from the neighbor's trees as they are growing into the power lines and my DSL line. I don't want a repeat of the 2007 Ice Storm damage. I obviously have more work to do, but Phase I is complete.

Look at that sweet Gracie girl hanging out with me in the yard...

Delighted Cooking

When I lived in Dallas (back in 1995-1997) all of the service industry folks would say "Delighted" in response to a "Thank You" given for fresh towels or room service or tech support even. I preferred it to "You're Welcome" and I felt really pampered and cared for when they'd say that, even when tech support didn't resolve the issue at hand. 

Try saying that today when someone thanks you for something you've given them or helped them with and see if it doesn't make you feel delighted. Of course I'm sure that feeling of helping someone probably doesn't add to that at all, right?

And when I worked at Frusen Gladje during high school we had an ice cream dish called a Swedish Delight. That brought some smiles and warm fuzzy feelings too as I recall. I think it was really just a single scoop sundae, but calling it a delight transformed it into something special.

And I always enjoy hearing from people who've spent time with my children that he/she was an absolute delight.

{So that doesn't happen every day, but it has been known to happen. My kids are a delight!...sometimes...}

As I was perusing some of my favorite blogs I felt delighted and while I was gathering recipes to try out over the next little while I was thinking that these recipes would be welcomed in Cooking Light and how delighted I felt and ....

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I can see you are not entertained with my train (or derailment) of thought.

So anyway, here are some recipes I want to try out this weekend and I thought I'd share in case you were looking for something yummy or light or umami.

Umami Turkey Rosemary Burgers with Avocado

African Black Eyed Pea Salad (Saladu Ñebbe)

Lemon Rosemary Sorbet

Note: I am not a huge fan of Rosemary but I'm going to see if I can do something about that.

Hope you have a delightful weekend, friends!

Like No Place Else

 

Slow My Roll

This last week has been kinda crazy for me. I was in Orlando for 6 days at IBM Innovate 2012 so my days were cram packed with learning and networking and firehose drinking sessions.  Along with all of the education, I found motivation and inspiration for projects (work and art and cooking) and I was able to find some cool wedges at the Ralph Lauren outlet and a chocolate brown polka dot bikini at JCrew (that was soooo not on my list but I love my new suit).  I had a blast but I was ready to get back home to my family.

Many things happened while I was away. My little girl made the competive soccer team and then turned around to make it onto a competitive basketball team. I am so proud of her determination and ambition. She chose to channel her energy into the basketball team and we are so proud.

Emi and Ashley Paris

My family attended the first Summer Breeze concert without me. ;.(

While I was still in Florida I found out from friends that a sweet doggie needed a home. When I arrived home late Thursday evening, that sweet girl was waiting for me.

We are all in love with this pup!

Friday and Saturday were a blur of appointments, errands, spring cleaning, pool parties, yada yada yada... but today was about slowing things down a bit. After church we came home and had lunch, then a nice long nap (Gracie took a nap with Aubri and me) and then we hung out in the pool until dinner time.

Hope you have had a relaxing weekend too, friends!

Handwriting Analysis

My littlest one is a blossoming writer. I mean, check it out:

Aubri wrote a letter at the basketball game in February 2012

Yesterday she wrote all of our names down in her notepad. She said that there are pictures there too.  

Aubri's Jottings

Writing AND doing her own graphics.... I am so proud.

Unexpecting

(No, I am not pregnant...that would be cruel at this time in my life, don'tcha think?)

We recently added a new member to our family...

Konnichiwa, Gracie!

Gracie is a Japanese Chin who reminds me of a special someone we lost a few months ago. She looks like a pug dressed up like a Cavi....a mini Cavi.

Getting used to the leash...

She has been busy giving kisses and cuddling and trying to understand why her big sister Abbey doesn't want to play...



I wasn't expecting to get another dog for some time now but I am loving that little furball. She's quite adept at jumping onto the couch so we've decided it's okay for this little mogwai to join us on the couch ...for now. 

Sea (My) World

Tonight was really cool. IBM rented out Sea World for us and we got to ride the rides and see the animals. I enjoyed the smell of gardenia everywhere and the view of the humongous craepe myrtles and the flora in general. Every time I come to Florida I leave inspired botanically. I hope this inspiration lasts because I have a lot of notes to transcribe and people to e-mail and stuff to test/plan/do when I get back....and that stuff does not involve flora, I'm afraid...



This animal creeped me out!



And this one looked like a giant slug!





And this guy was sooooo cute - posing for the camera. Poser!



Looking for Pirates (or the treasure map, I forget)

I also saw a pregnant dolphin in the dolphin nursery and Shamu splashing it up.

The last part of the night was taken up by these guys:

Foreigner


I was transported back to middle school when Juke Box Hero came out  and it was all the rage with the neighbor boys. And then back to 10th grade with I Want to Know What Love Is. It was a nice little concert with a nice downpour of rain right in the middle.

Night!

Augmented Reality

Earlier this week a "social concierge" coerced us into having a photo taken with Michio Kaku.

* grainy photo ganked from the IBM Innovate Facebook page.

For those of you who aren't familiar with Michio, he's the co-founder of string theory. Click below to see him speak (as we saw him this morning).

Watch live streaming video from ibmrational at livestream.com



Gorgeous painting of Koi in the gallery at the Swan and Dolphin



My office type area away from home...



Jaguar Land Rover guy speaking about latest infotainment advances in the new Jags 




My understated phone case - it doesn't scream Mickey...

A couple of weeks ago Scott's best friend Brian gave me an OtterBox commuter case for my BlackBerry. I was happy to have a tough case as my white leather case was rather beat up. That night after I figured out how to put together my new case, I tossed my worn case in the trash. Later I found out that the case was not quite built for my model so I was in search of a new case. Scott ordered me another OtterBox but I canceled that order when I thought maybe I could find that elusive giraffe print case (I didn't). During a break I was looking for souveneirs when I came across my new phone case. (I also got a neoprene case from IBM so I'm good on the cell phone cases for now...)

I've been enjoying the training/sessions/friends/vendors/events but I am ready to be back with my family again... I am missing them so much!

Predictable Trajectory

I saw this on the way to my workshop yesterday (yes, on a Sunday, but I'm not complaining).

Actually, when I got outside the pilot had written "LOV" and I watched him write the "E". 

Love is in the air (see?) 

David would have flipped his ever-loving lid over this as he is always watching the skies for birds and planes. Amazing!

Summertime Fun

Last night we loaded up the garden wagon with snacks, beverages, blankets and chairs and trekked over to Emi's friend's house for dinner and a movie in the back yard.

Most of the party guests were newly minted 5th graders...



but there were others...



The movie shown was Puss in Boots (and funnily enough the Little Ones requested we watch it yet again so they were pleased).

There were also birthday wishes wished...

It was a nice evening with nice people and it seriously felt like autumn last night.  Many of us hung out around the fire bowl catching up on life events while the kids played.  There was not a lot of movie-watching going on because there were too many distractions, like the swings, trampoline and this...



We have talked about putting a zip line up in our back yard and I think we are sold on the idea now.

Looking forward to the upcoming backyard movie nights and Summer Breeze.