Because I Am A CopyCat....

Do you remember when being called a copycat was about the worst thing ever?

You might as well have told a child they would never grow up to be a useful member of society.

Give up now, ye copycat! No good can come of your copycattery.

I believed that for a long time, but no more.

Copying is a form of flattery, and let's face it, there are no truly original ideas out there.

Consider copycatting an homage.

And in that spirit, I steal an idea shared by my good friend S, and announce Fab Fridays!

Fab Fridays will be the days when I share something good from the week. Perhaps a recipe, a quote, a book, a find, a photo. Whatever it may be, I say enjoy!

For the launch of Fab Fridays, I give you my find of the week:

The Dirt Devil Kurv hand vac. It's got 9.6 volts of sucking power, wrapped up in an sleek, elegant champagne-colored body. Designed by Karim Rashid, this little beauty is the perfect device for chasing down wayward glitter, thread, dust, or baby food embedded in the dreaded highchair. This example of design + function can be yours for less than $20 at Bed, Bath & Beyond. On sale now, get 'em while they last!!

Feb 25th

Some weeks it seems that there is little to report. Not that things are bad, or so awesome that I don't have the time to squeeze in a post. Things are just good this week. In a sort of ordinary, getting-stuff-done, really-enjoying-my-family-this-week sort of way.

On Monday, Big Sis let me give her bangs. I was hankering for a haircut of my own, but have a few more weeks to go. On a whim, I suggested we give her a little fringe, and she was excited about it! Not one to waste an opportunity, I went for it. It's taken a few days to get used to the new look, but I think she's adorable.

We've had fantastic sunshine and warmer temperatures this week. On Tuesday we opened all the windows, flung open the front door, and enjoyed some play time on the porch. Bubble blowing was the activity of the day.

I also went to dinner with girlfriends last night. I can't even remember the last time I had good food & good female conversation. The best adjective to describe the night was refreshing, because I came away feeling renewed.

Today I finished the last item on my must-do list (it was a short list), and am really excited that the week is more than half over. Friday is Date Night (barring another snow storm), and we are getting closer to Spring Break, Michigan, and some family away time. Can't wait.

Sunday Morning

I don't think it's an auspicious start to the day when.....

Big Daddy chooses to sleep through his alarm, then snaps "Quit waking me up every 20 seconds" as a response to "Can I do anything for you this morning?" (my gentle wifely attempt to get him out of bed).

Big Daddy then comes into the kitchen and snaps a picture of me in my PJ/ cold morning outfit of purple tank top under pink long sleeve night gown under black Oregon State sweatshirt over turquoise flamingo / trailer park-at-Christmas pants, with pink slippers, glasses & hair in messy topknot. {Stunning, I know} He said he wanted to record me for posterity, so that when this becomes a national trend we will know where it all began.

Perhaps this is a hint that I should re-examine my morning wardrobe. And maybe even consider getting dressed before noon each day. I think I'm in for a rude awakening when I have to start doing the morning drop-off next school year.

Good Stuff

Some days are just destined for awesomeness. Today was one of those.

On Friday, we received our tax refund.

Awesome.

Today, I paid off our credit card.

Awesome.

AND we sold the Jetta.

AWESOME.

AND I got Mexican food for dinner!

Well played, awesomeness. Well played.

Did I Mention That I Hate Moving?

Hate is a strong word, and should be reserved for moments utterly lacking in brevity or joy.

I find it to be the ideal word to describe my feeling about the process of moving.

I am excited to BE moving to Michigan, but I loathe/ dread/ hate the process OF moving.

I hate having to figure out where to live. And now that hate is doubled because I have to find a place to live that is also within what I deem to be an acceptable school district. Perhaps I should explore home schooling.....

I hate trying to find a dwelling that is reasonably priced for starving students, isn't 40 miles from where Big Daddy needs to be, has enough space for 4 people, a little storage (yes, we have a lot of crap), and washer dryer hook-ups. Who knew it would be such a complication to be renters who have their own W/D?

I hate getting used to the local grocery stores. A week or so after moving to Des Moines, I nearly had a breakdown in Hy-Vee because I couldn't find the breadcrumbs. Who puts breadcrumbs with the bread, for Pete's sake??

I hate that it usually takes 2 weeks to get our internet/ cable set up because the installer doesn't show up the first time, or the second time, then pops in at 3:59 when I just left to go to the post office - having waited around for 99.99% of the 9am-4pm window of availability.

I hate getting used to a new ward. All wards are not alike, and it takes 3-4 months for us (me) to feel comfortable with the people, the building, the activities, etc.

And finally.... I hate packing! While I am fully aware that this is mostly due to the amount of STUFF we have, this doesn't lessen my lack of joy at packing it all up. We've decluttered, we've trashed, we've condensed. And there's still a lot 'o stuff.

I'm going to keep looking for apartments online for a few more minutes, then go eat something comforting. This is a depressing task.

If I Could.....

I would totally go to Vegas for this: Vegas Uncork'd.

I would do this:

And swoon over Bobby Flay and Andrew Knowlton.

Temperate climes, top-notch food,

and a virgin daiquiri imbibed while enjoying a pedicure sans children?

A happy daydream for such a cold February afternoon......

Testing, Testing....

Our bread machine is on it's last leg.

I made lasagna for Saturday's dinner guests, and what goes better with lasagna than fresh bread? Being sans-Breadman, I made homemade/ handmade bread for the first time.

It was so well received that I invested in new (mini) bread pans today.

Mini because we are working on portion control.

These were the inaugural loaves.

Note to self: split dough between 3 pans next time, not 2.

Do you see?

See how they just slid right out of the pans, honey?

THAT'S why you pay the money for quality bakeware.

My house smells delicious right now.

Is there anything better than warm, homemade bread on a cold winter's night?

Someone please pass the butter.

Excuse me, I have to go put on my eatin' pants.