Fall Creamsicle

Check out these pretties from the  August issue of Town and Country.....Love the creamy tones,
 over the knee boots, layered bracelets, breezy hair....ahhhhh....love. XO, J~

The life of Pi(e)

First of all...on my...I've been such a delinquent...but...I'm back!

When blueberries are at their best...what do you do...make PIE! I have a huckleberry cream recipe that my mother would make that is a refreshing summer pie.  She would sometimes substitute blueberries for huckleberries.  Why not?!

As seen below, someone else in the family found a plate left on the counter in the middle of the night and the rest is history......Luckily, I did find the remainder of the plate, as I was quite worried that it had been a part of the  midnight raid as well. Phew! ...you know those labs...they seem to be part goat and will eat anything!!!  (Oh and btw when I heard the "crash" sound in the middle of the night the hubster said "It's just the house settling." (His standard answer.)  Ha! It was Daisy having a  late night snack in her bed. ;)

Huckleberry Cream Pie
     1 baked crust  (graham cracker crust would be good too!)

25 lg. marshmallows
1/4 c. milk
2 c. huckleberries, fresh berries are preferred but thawed & drained berries may be used
1/2 pt. whipping cream, whipped

Melt marshmallows in the milk. While this mixture is cooling, whip the cream. Blend cream and marshmallow mixture. Fold in huckleberries. Pour into crust and refrigerate until firm.

I should have made a pretty design with blueberries and put a sprig of mint on top...next time!

XO,

J~ 

Lions and spiders and noises, oh my!

The sad news of the TomKat divorce was overshadowed by the "going ons" in my own house. . . .

And...

It was a nice weekend. (Mostly!)

Bret and Jack headed over to Spokane for hoopfest. This left Alexa, Ryan and myself to fend for ourselves.

When I'm by myself I swear I hear EVERY noise at night. And it didn't help  that when I was brushing my teeth at 12:30 a.m. my little guard dog (Coco Chewnel), made the "scared cry noise" and ran out of the bedroom, she seemed to be running from something! I've only seen her do this on a few occasions.

                She's usually doing this:  (I swear she smiles at me.)

 Meanwhile the big dog (Daisy) was fast asleep in another room. (...probably snoring so loud she wouldn't have heard any "bad guys"...)

I did my best to check for anything suspicious, but couldn't find anything. So with that Coco and I went to bed. It was after 2:00 a.m. that I finally got some sleep.  I woke up during the night as I was on the very edge of the bed and Coco was snuggled right up next to me. (I mean really Coco...we've got the whole bed and yet I'm being a contortionist just so you can sleep so close to me.) So much for catching up on sleep. (!) Thank heavens for my morning latte. (I never tire of Starbucks dbl tall nf coffee...just wish I knew how to make a pretty design with the steamed milk.) ;)

Sunday was a nice day of organizing things. Thanks to Alexa who showed me how to create  file folders  on my computer.  A whole new world has opened up! :) (Who knew it could take sooooo long to organize all of the "favorites" on my little 'ol computer, but I did. (i.,e. home ideas, clothing, recipes, favorite blogs etc.) Honest to goodness, I spent several hours doing this~!

Before I knew it the boys arrived home. Alexa made us all a wonderful dinner of pasta with chicken and bacon, topped with freshly grated parmsean cheese.  Pure comfort food for a Sunday night! Later that night, Bret and I (and Coco/Daisy) sat down to watch the movie This Means War. (Although it wasn't a fashion palooza by any means, I loved all of the cute dresses Reese Witherspoon wore.)  As we are watching the movie I see this itsy bitsy spider literally HANGING between Bret and I!!!!!!!!!  (How can something so small have such a powerful, dizzying, scary effect?!!!)  I jumped up and okay, I screamed.  We never did find it. (I just hope it didn't land on my head and get caught in my hair!)  It made me think about all of those studies that say that we eat insects etc.   Well...I hope I scared it off and it told it's friends that our family room isn't a good place to "hang out". Arggggg! Okay... I'm off to wash my hair!

Happy July 2nd. Have a sparkly week.
xo ,
J~
ps I never bought into Charlotte's web~ not for a second


 

Somebody had a Birthday...!

June 25th is a big day at our house. A very big day!  Happy Birthday JB!!!

 

~Birthday Boy at the age of three~

I blinked my eyes and this...this is what happened........

~Birthday boy getting some love from sister Alexa~

Happy *15th* Birthday to my sweet Jack who used to get carted around to the older siblings activities and “borrowed” by his older cousins for the carpool lane. Times have changed, we're off to get a permit and Drivers Ed starts this week~!

Ahhh...I love (LOVE) this kid.  (Every mother should have one.)
xo,
J~ 

Rite of Passage

Last Thursday (June 21), was more than just an ordinary day. It was Jack's 8th grade graduation.

Graduation was held in the gym. It was a day of "lasts". Last day of school for the kids graduating and the last graduation being held there, as the school is being rebuilt. And my last child to go to middle school.

Chinook Middle School

I always feel a bit of sadness this time of year. It's because time flies way too fast.  But this year is different.  No more middle school for our family. The middle school years are over.(weep, weep.)

Jack and his favorite sister~Alexa

On a happier note, we now have an up and coming high school freshman! Woo Hoo!!!
xo,
J~

Oh Boy(z)!

 It's a lot  like being Mary Poppins,except the three boys call me Auntie Cake. And... my sister is more of a light wine drinker vs. Mrs. Banks. (I bet Mrs. Banks went straight for the hard stuff, don't you?)

I bring my spoonful of sugar....

(Also known as the key to good behavior in a box.)

Time spent with these boys is ALWAYS entertaining. Their names all start with the letter G.
 (For simplicity sake their nicknames are G1, G2 and G3.)
                                                                             G1

What's a little food coloring on the hands when making play dough?!

When you are six (and three quarters) you are boss. You make things happen...like what shows will be watched, what activities will take place (whose mattress will be taken out of the room into the hallway to jump on). You know. Things like that. You are also good at finding things (i.e. dad's wedding ring on the hallway carpet.) Because when you are six (and three quarters) you know the right places to look. You  get yourself dressed with things that actually match. You are THE spokesman for the brothers. You also may say something like this..."No, we didn't jump on our parents bed, I mean you really can't call it jumping.  But I will help you straighten their duvet."

                                                                               G2

Sometimes ya gotta entertain yourself. (If it is to be, it is up to me)

When you are four years old and you have an older brother and a younger brother, you need to have something to call your own.  Even if it's a ninja lego man that is about an inch long. (that is, if nothing is missing from him.)You carry him in your pocket. Always. (And that is no exaggeration.) Legos can be a big part of your life in the entertainment department because you're sandwiched in between those two other brothers and their activities. You have an appreciation for music and singing. Also, you really like the painting of the space "noodle" in the play room.

                                                                               G3

 I said I am not sleepy. (*whisper* not sleepy)

When you are almost two and you have older brothers, you must fend for yourself.  You are tough as nails. (Also known as- -you have new battle wounds on your body on a daily basis.) The word no is one of your first words learned. (You gotta set boundaries with the other kids living in the house.) You are very busy exploring things. Everything. You are usually much too busy to take time out to sit down for lunch. It can be survival of the fittest. It IS survival of the fittest.  You hang in the game of life for as long as you can, but sometimes once you sit in that chair...you find your eyes closed for a very long blink.


                                           Bottom of the food chain: Bear 

You take a nap whenever/wherever you can.

Ahhh....Auntie Cake loves her little nephews.
XO,
J~

Another Day, another cupcake (sample)

So it is. End of the year activities. A big lump in my throat this time of year. And even more so this year. My son Jack (third born...the baby), will be off to high school next year. With that means the 8th grade graduation/party.

 The theme is Hollywood Nights~red carpet. My friend Susie and I are both helping with the food. We have a lot in common. (For starters we both wore impractical high-heeled pumps on the hilly college campus while collegiates and secondly, we both have 8th graders named Jack.)

 Despite all of the wonderful designer cupcake shops around we needed to go through the grocery store, as we are dealing with a budget. (Budget is such a bad word.) We set off to to go to Safeway. I called ahead and was told  to meet "Bob the baker" at 4:00. I  told Susie that we should (brave the 55 degree weather and) wear our bikinis and stilettos in hopes of  "Bob the baker" being extra generous in cupcake design and cost. She said that because we are so classy we should add a strand of pearls. (Sometimes we like to think of ourselves like the beautiful Stepford wives, but way more fun and way more independent.)  And we would (if we wanted to) wear aprons like this:

 
(Okay, so I really do own this apron.)

Anyway, back to our cupcake mission.
Bob the baker was very friendly to us. We found a  gold sparkly star that could be used as cupcake toppers. (Even though Bob didn't come through with edible 14 karat gold sprinkles like I saw on Housewives of Beverly Hills, we decided it was a go.)

He overheard us oohing and ahhing over all of the baked goods and sweet Bob (the baker) brought us each an oohey~gooey cupcake sample that looked something like death by chocolate.  (I'm not a huge chocolate fan, but it looked really good!)  Well...this is where Susie and I have our differences.  Susie looked at the sample and said "What am I going to do with this?!"  I'm thinking to myself....eat it (of course ?!!)  She said she would give it to her son. I thought to myself and quickly remembered that just last week we met up for coffee instead of lunch because I was on a boot camp low carb diet. I agreed to do the same. (After all that's what good mothers do). My chocolate sample made it as far as the car in the parking lot and then it was all over. Dang it(!)...why can't I be like the Susie's  *(and Lauren's and Lisa's) of the world that are so disciplined?! Okay. That's it. Tomorrow.  Tomorrow I will be more disciplined.

Maybe.
xo,
J~
P.S. *Lauren/Lisa are some other of my vdfs (very disciplined friends)
P. S. S.  I watched a little of the show"Duets" last night. Loved Robin Thicke singing "Let's stay together" (Or do I just love that song?!!)

Have a fabby day~!

It's the little things that make one happy...i.e. good lipstick.
 

 I love, love, LOVE Fabby by MAC, it's my go to! (I keep it in my make up drawer, handbag and car). I religiously put it on through out the day. The soft~gentle pink color has a natural look. I also own several of it's other relatives including Creme de la Femme (brighter than Fabby), Pervette (a cool pinky hue w/ a  frosty sheen color that is great to layer with other lip colors), Bombshell,  a cheerful  pink color  that is...well...a happy color and looks great with a tan.  And sometimes one needs to wear a little bit of Snob lipstick by Mac.  Just because.

Granted, these pink lipsticks probably look better (quite possibly) on someone that is fair with blue undertones (i.e. me).  But. I pink you will like it.
Now have yourself a Fabby little day! 
xo,
J~ 
ps  for a good time please call  wear a little Belero velvet matte lip pencil, Angelica lip gloss and Rare Exotic lipstick (it's bright baby) all by Nars. (Shhhh, don't tell Mac I said that!)

Make your own sunshine (as Mrs. Hubbard our preschool teacher used to say...)

                          
                   It's very grey  (and green) out today :*(

           ....which means it's a good day to do this.........

I must make banana bread at least once a month....thanks to my mother's friend Zoe who gave us this easy~peasy  recipe.

Best Banana Bread
 *spray 2 loaf bread pans/lightly flour*
2 Cups Sugar
1 Cup Shortening 
(Cream sugar/shortening together)
(Add ingredeints below)
 2 tsp baking soda
6 ripe bananas
4 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 Cups Flour
* optional  1 1/2 Cups chopped nuts (i.e. walnuts)...put a bit of flour over nuts 
* And if you have a daughter like I do that loves sparkle....add some sprinkles on top just before baking! (pink of course!)

                                          

 Bake for one hour at 350 degrees~

Best when a little warm-out-of-the-oven.  Go on, put a little butter on it. :))
xo,
J~

Hello World~

I hope I keep this up. 

I have many projects that I've started.

 And not finished.

I've pretty much given up on doing memory books for my three kids. Sadly, I gave the never opened books to Goodwill that I purchased through Creative memories (are they still around?) when my third born was a baby.  He will be fifteen in a couple of weeks. (And when I bought the 3 books, along with the Christmas memory book and all of the supplies the lady that sold them to me said "Are you sure you're not taking on too much?")  But maybe (hopefully) I can type memories and post pictures (that aren't too incriminating) and have them chronicled through my blog.

I  have a lot of thoughts (about everything) swirling around in my head.  So I know how I got from "Point A to Point F" in conversation although whoever I'm talking to is still on "Point A" and they are  thinking that I'm being very random (but in fact, I'm not being random, I know how I got there). Are you following me?

I tend to see the humor in just about everything. I sometimes find things very funny that no-one else does. (which makes it even funnier to me.)  But honestly, there is humor in just about everything. (Almost everything).  I see the humor in day to day life.

I am eternally optimistic and sometimes to a fault. But it's just the way I am. (And yes I have down days.) But honestly, I'm cup half full. It's the only way I know how to operate.

 I LOVE people. A LOT. People are FASCINATING. When I meet someone I am so intrigued, I want to know every detail about them. (People magazine was made for me, except I'd rather have it be of my own community.....ahhhhh facebook.) ;)    After a social event, I  think about the fine details regarding the people there. While talking to someone, I probably ask too many personal questions.  And I have no problem talking to strangers. (..I know how to ask strangers the "hard" questions...i.e. "Who are those shoes by? Where did you get that top?")  But on a deeper level...I truly find people mesmerizing!  And I find myself caring about them a lot. My mother told me that in kindergarten I always was the last one to go into the classroom, making sure that everyone else was inside first. Sometimes I will anguish over something I said and...wait a minute...where was I?!  Oh yeah, I hope I keep this blog thing up.

Until next time,
xo,
J~