Happy Medicare New Year!

 HAPPY NEW YEAR! ....and HELLO there, little neglected blog...

A New Years Resolution: (and I must say, I don't make them often because, frankly, who NEEDS all that failure?!).
But I am rather missing my blog because all of the pictures throughout the year (not to mention recollections of events) get kind of lost on Facebook. Although I do have a complaint here in Blog Land, which is WHY is it so bloomin' hard to type on the blogosphere??? Seems I am forever skipping a letter here and there, but OK, that's what SPELLCHECK is for, right? Right!

So seeing how it is the 2nd day of the brand new year, (and the "OFFICIAL" holiday for working folks...), I am therefore checking in. All present and accounted for. And the biggie for all two days of the brand new year is - yep, the photo above tells it all. No more giant health care premiums although Medicare isn't exactly free. But I'm not complaining. It's one of those overlooked benefits about getting just a wee bit older. And that's the whole idea, right?

Promise of things to come: 2011 in pictures. My yearly calendar contained no less than 90 images, so we must have been busy last year. And it was a challenge holding it to 90. 2012 looks to be a great year - with Gracie, Emily and Charlie becoming more fun by the day - and with a brand new baby on the way. I'm getting all of these tender feelings toward the little one already. Being a grandparent is definitely the gift of a benevolent God!

Case in Point, Part II or The Lights were on but Nobody was Home...

I hope this will be the last time I have to 'fess up to the ugly results of living underground for numerous decades. Do others do this? Gosh, I hope I'm not the ONLY one who lays claim to having been sidelined by thinking I'm still in the Dress Rehearsal of Life.

Because I am "taking charge" of my life again, this condition has branched out into other areas that I neglected over the years. Really LOOKING at the "this" and the "that" accumulated over nearly 30 years of living in the same house. And feeling "too busy" and too "overwhelmed" to pay attention.

Thus it was that today as I was perusing my impressive collection of cookbooks (and I HAVE cleaned them out before, I swear, getting rid of ones I've never used and never will). And just see what I found. THREE cookbooks about garlic - which are absolutely identical! Yes, I know, one of them has a different cover; it is several years older and contains a few less recipes, but they are all the SAME. Even the names of the recipes are the same, such as "Aunt Fern's Famous Foot Long Garlic Dog" and yes, I just made that up.

And I mean, really! HOW many whole cookbooks does one need for GARLIC?! Can't you just pretty much throw in a clove or two whenever? I mean, the Garlic Festival chefs put garlic in ice cream,for the love of God. (And yeah, I tasted it, and in my opinion it tastes every bit as bad as it sounds But they keep bringing it back).

Yes, I know, here in Morgan Hill we're only 10 miles upstream (or "upwind" better describes it) from the "Garlic Capital of the World," but still. The folks at the Garlic Festival keep publishing this little gem, and there I'll be walking into the bookstore around August something-or-other, and there on the shelf right by the front door is that cookbook, all spiffy and new, and I'll think, "Wow, look at that! A garlic cookbook! I really should have one of those!" And the rest, as they say, is history.

So I've pulled out the two extras and will offer them to my girls and if they aren't biting, I'll save 'em for the upcoming city-wide garage sale that's coming up soon.

NOW! On a more positive note...BEANS!

The above photo was my lunch today, and it may not look to be all that snazzy, but let me tell you, it was DELISH!

It came about because on Dr. Weil's list of anti-inflammatory foods (my culinary "Bible" now that I've become the "Type II Queen"), are beans, beans, beans. You know, the "Musical Fruit," the "more you eat the more you..." ok, you get the idea.

I hadn't really followed up on the bean thing because, let's be frank (and beans) here. Beans are just so not romantic. Nothing lovely about them. But if they'll pull those glucose numbers down, look out. I may soon be rhapsodizing about the humble little bean.

Without anything concrete in mind, last night I soaked a bag of pintos. Those are "refried beans" before they're born. And this morning I drained them and simmered them for an hour on the stove, which was a tad bit too long because they were on the soft side - no 'al dente' here, I'm afraid.

So now I was facing a big pot of semi-mushy beans and it was getting on to lunchtime. "THINK!" I ordered myself. "What would they do on Master Chef???" (Probably hurt themselves as they fell down laughing - BEANS? SERIOUSLY??, but whatever!)

Thus it was as a Master Chef clicking in the back of my recently re-awakened brain that I came up with a salad with beans and "half-baked" salsa over the top.

On the bottom was a nice bed of arugula. AKA "Rocket Lettuce." On the side, I artistically arranged some sliced Persian cucumber. A drizzle of olive oil went over that. Then, the beans, and the half-baked (I was going to say "half-a** salsa," but I didn't want to be rude here) salsa.

I took half a cup or so of pintos, chopped up one of those loverly roadside stand tomatoes with TONS of flavor and minced up VERY FINELY about half a jalapeno for a little heat (also from the Farmer's Market) plus a dash of Kosher salt and fresh thyme from my herb pot... I heated the "half-whatever" salsa and beans in the microwave for about 30 seconds and dumped it atop the greens. (Yes, the "salsa" was missing some key ingredients, but it DID have the beans don't forget!)

And great news! It was YUMMY! And REALLY satisfying. I am gaining a whole new respect for the little pinto. I hope the pinto is one of those 'brain food' wonders. It could mean I'll have a lot less garlic cookbooks taking up space on my shelves :)

Case in Point...

I love it when I find "living proof" that my brain and I have been on a collision course veering toward disaster. 

Yesterday I confessed on this blog that I haven't exactly been mentally present lately. If "lately" can be defined as the past, um, 30 years, give or take. Is it getting older that makes us see things in a clearer light? Or was it having the bejabbers scared out of me last month that did it? More likely, a little bit of both.

So the odd photo above is symbolic of a brain that's been MIA for way too long. You know how you misplace your keys once-in-awhile? For me, I misplaced EVERYTHING - all the time! I wish I had back all the years I've spent looking for stuff.

But the scary bit comes when you DON'T EVEN REALIZE YOU'VE LOST SOMETHING! Like the bit of cash above. YIKES! What's up with that??

So today as I was clearing out a box of "stuff" - old receipts and the like, this is what I ran across. MONEY! OMG. Just stuffed in that box along with all these receipts from about three years ago that I was keeping for lord only knows what reason. Of course I never knew this money was missing ...or if I knew, I'd long since forgotten. This gets a little confusing, I know.

Now, it's not like I suddenly found a fortune or anything. It wasn't that I'd cashed my Sweepstakes check and socked the $$ away and forgot about it. Nope, 'fraid not. It was only $44 - although I did have a little burst of hope at first glance that it would be huge, like possibly two or twenty hundreds tucked away in there. So although $44 isn't going to significantly alter my lifestyle, it WAS enough that I should've known I was missing it way back when. Makes me wonder what else I'll unearth around here!

The little mason jar behind the stash of cash? That's from Ashley's baby shower (for Gracie, my first grandchild). Alyssa made them as shower favors for the guests to take home - it was muffin mix for the "muffin in the oven" - get it? I know, it was sooooo cute, and I kept the jar around because it makes me happy to look at it.

So the newly-found moolah is in the jar where I can see it every day as I sit at my computer. That money makes me happy too. Not because I can't wait to spend it but because it's a symbol that I'm finally getting my life back on track where it belongs.

And if I suddenly find that Sweepstakes fortune? Well, you'll find me out on an island somewhere, sipping a pina colada. Made with soy milk, of course. 

Green Tea and Soy: The "New Latte"

 

A month ago today my world, as I knew it, tilted on its axis. In the office of Dr. Jerry Callaway, my physician of 30-plus years, a trap door opened and I clung to the edge, trying to retain my grip.

There have been worse diagnoses. In terms of severity, it could have been MUCH worse. But for a girl who always claimed "perfect health" and enjoyed "good genes" and "healthy stock" as the legacy of my ancestors, I was suddenly smacked upside the head (as my dad used to say) with a calamity of my own doing.

Type II diabetes. Yes, it was my own fault, this thing I'd acquired. Too many years (decades) of putting things off, procrastinating about taking better care of myself. Nobody to blame here but me. While the diagnosis came out of the blue, it was really not so surprising. I'd been feeling "off" for years.

Already diagnosed with high blood pressure in June (another shocker, which wasn't really...not if I'm honest), I'd been given orders by Dr. C. to cut out salt and processed foods. No restaurants. No canned or frozen foods. Too much sodium lurking there. Eat only fresh. And I was. But the follow-up blood work he ordered would uncover something sinister and life threatening.

"The trouble with diabetes," Dr. C. (Jerry to me after all these years) explained, "is that it DOESN'T kill you." I already knew the devastation to the body inherent with this disease so when Jerry went into the ugly probabilities that unchecked diabetes - even Type II - the "less serious" kind (in my mind) would do, I knew what he was about to say. "Amputation." "Blindness." "Kidney failure." "Heart disease." Oh, yeah, he had me at Hello. 

Handing me a couple of sheets of paper containing a food pyramid and added info, he told me this was to be my "Bible" - it was the anti-inflammatory foods pyramid developed by Dr. Andrew Weil. Jerry said some people with diabetes had wonderful success by following this diet. It was time for me to get serious. Or get ready to die.

Thus, the title of this post and the accompanying image. 

A fan for years of "Grande Nonfat Lattes," my Starbucks favorite indulgence (well, yeah, and the blueberry scones), I knew this beverage was going to need a little tweaking. Years ago I purchased a latte machine for home, and it has many miles of lattes that once flowed from its little nozzles. 

The latte machine has a few cobwebs (well, figuratively speaking) gathering on it now because nowhere on the anti-inflammatory foods pyramid is coffee. Or skim milk. What I DID find was green tea. 2-3 cups a day. And soy milk. Ah. Thus the 'new latte' was born - and while the color isn't QUITE as luscious and creamy as a 'real' latte, it ain't half bad!

When my daughters suggested I use my blog to record this newest passage of my life, I thought about it a bit. I didn't want to make it depressing. Or bleak. Or "poor me" in nature. But they are right, because I realized a few days post-doctor's office visit that in its own weird way this may well be the best thing that ever happened to me. A second chance of sorts. To finally get it right. 

So I view July 21 - one day after my "half" birthday (and yes, I still think about those things), as the day of new beginnings. 

And I've made big changes in this month since diagnoses. Working out more. Eating fresh, unprocessed foods. More fish, less meat. Enjoying the bounty of California's good earth with lots of Farmer's Market fresh, organic veggies and fruit. Recording a weight loss of over 10 lbs. so far. And blood pressure and glucose readings trending back toward normal. 

Along with learning more about diabetes, I'm learning more about myself. That I've been "absent" for too many years. Going through the motions without awareness. Marginalizing my life. My brain had become numb to feelings because I insulated any emotions that might intrude by wrapping them up tight in a heavy blanket. But no more. 

I'm also learning I've still "got it." That spark of optimism, rekindling, growing brighter. The knowledge that I'm still capable of turning this crazy ship around. It won't always be easy; nothing worthwhile ever is. But I will do it. I have way too much to live for. 

This morning, Ashley and Alyssa, along with Emily and Charlie (Gracie was at preschool), met at Peet's Coffee & Tea here in the Mushroom City to celebrate Alyssa's first official day as a SAHM... y'know, where your plan envisions the loveliness of a casual coffee with a couple of your favorite gals and their wee ones and everyone sits decorously at the small cafe table and the itty-bitties are sooooooooo quiet and enjoying the company of their Mommy/TeeTee/Mimi, and we linger through the morning in the warm ambiance of....oh, who the heck am I kidding?

So I entered Peet's where my aforementioned favorite gals were wrangling their young'uns...where Charlie did not QUITE want to get into his little seat strapped to a chair and Miss Emily did not QUITE want to do whatever it was her mommy was attempting to get her to do, and where a snack bag full of Cheerios kinda saved the day (plain, no nut additions, thank you very much), and where Charlie downed a whole yogurt while simultaneously gnawing on Mimi's billfold and where Emily did her Indi 500 race around and around the table, culminating in GIANT hugs for Charlie, which finished with a small yet bloody little scratch on his face from the high-spirited hugging (although we don't know FOR SURE who the "scratcher" was, just the "scratchee" because it was quite a melee there for a bit and he may have even scratched himself in the excitement) but Charlie really COULDN'T have cared less about a little thing like a scratch, he was just relishing in the fun and attention from his 9-month-older-than-him-Cuz...and where the Peet's Coffee lady made several visits with broom in hand to sweep up all the loose Cheerios now rolling crazily about on the floor, and where I made several retrievals of my soppy, yogurt-slimed billfold from the floor where Charlie was flinging it, and whew! 45 minutes FLEW by, came and went, that's all she wrote, so long, good-bye, nice knowing you, let's all get the heck out of here before we start breaking actual furniture!!

And our coffee? Yeah, I think it got drank or drunk or whatever although the handwriting was on the wall when in the very beginning of our celebratory gathering, I managed to spill half of Ashley's latte while attempting to affix the lid on top (and ya see, the kiddos are not ALWAYS the problem here, folks) and the nice barista refilled the cup and wiped up my little mess, and it was all quite wonderful. What fun! Wouldn't have it any other way!! Let's do it again soon. What d'ya say, Ladies? :)

R

I have arrived!

After blogging on Friday, I was excited to see I'd received a comment that same night...Alyssa wrote she was glad "MCM" is back! Yep...it's official. I am an...


Acronym!

And the last day is done!

There appears to be a "small" lapse in my posting. If you noticed.... My poor blog has languised for over six months, I'm afraid. And isn't it odd that something I love suddenly fell so far down on the priority scale? I'm not going to make any attempts to analyze the "whys" and "what fors" but will simply report on a pretty extraordinary day!

It began early as many of these mornings with my Charlie have, but this day I felt a difference. It was bittersweet for me as I know it must have been for Alyssa. Because this was her last day of work. She's now officially a "SAHM" (Stay at home Mommy!). As is her sister, Ashley. And though no condition lasts forever, for now it feels pretty darned good because I know three little kiddos who are - and will be - very happy for this state of affairs.

So I decided to have a "celebratory" Starbucks this morning at 7:15 am as I was making my way to Charlie's house for my last official early morning "on duty." Ok, who am I kidding. I have started most of my early morning official duties with a Starbucks. My excuse is I don't have time to make a latte at home. Of course I DO have time to wait in line for a Starbucks...go figure!

And since I had a couple of minutes to spare, I paused in the parking lot for a few moments to let it sink in. My younger daughter's last day at a job that has treated her well, although she has given every bit as much as she's gotten back - a job in faraway Redwood City that has been her own personal commute hell for the past seven years. The "big city" job in a highrise with shiny glass windows that look like mirrors that she dreamed about as a little girl - as I learned on one of her blog postings a few days ago.  



And I pondered these things as my old friend, "Grande Nonfat Latte" accompanied me on this sunny morning in the parking lot by Starbucks. I recalled Alyssa at age 15 when she couldn't WAIT to be 16 and go to work. When, at 15-1/2, she was hired by Baskin Robbins - the only employer rumored to hire kids at 15-1/2. So I drove her to work those few more months until she turned 16 - and bought "Wilma" - her "dream car" back in the day...her little white Geo Storm that was good to her - even when she had a stunningly scary crash on the freeway heading home from San Luis Obispo one sunny fall day...to surprise us with a visit home after several weeks at community college. Wilma probably cost more to repair than she was worth (in terms of $$), but that was ok. Wilma brought Alyssa and her friend Kim, who was accompanying her home, safely through what was, I know, a terrifying situation.

So this morning when I arrived at the Wagner's of Morgan Hill (!), Charlie gave me a short greeting - his big smile and a light in his pretty blue eyes. But Charlie seemed a little off - a little tired perhaps. Instead of going into his "Hi Mimi Happy Dance" that I ordinarily witness, Charlie was content to watch a little Sesame Street and just...chill.

And chill a bit more...

And tuck his tiny, sweet feet neatly behind him...

And watch a little more of this...and a little more of that....

on the Street called Sesame..

If he was interested in why I brought my camera this morning, he didn't show it...

And then...Charlie became..well, Charlie. And I SERIOUSLY took about 8 shots just like the one below, each one cuter than the next. And trust me, I really wanted to show you all 8 shots, but I figured one would suffice. But take my word for it - they were ALL awesome!

And then it was time for Mr. C. to get busy...working on his future engineering endeavors...

...and...

looking to saddle "Old Green" and ride off into the sunset, which is when I noticed....

THIS!!!!

Check it out! The red glow behind Charlie? I think my new camera (Canon 60D, gift from "Poppy" at Chrismas, thank you soooo much!) may be capable of photographing auras! D'ya think?

!!!

Not just a one-time fluke, here it is - AGAIN! Woooooooo.....

Charlie, quite possibly not a fan of the unexplained, was quickly off an running.

Meanwhile, back at the (Sesame Street) ranch, we learned that today's theme was - WOW - CAMERAS! And, as usual, "Mr. Noodle" was stumped about the subject of picture taking and, well, life in general!

Pooooor Mr. Noodle!

Even Elmo was fascinated with the subject of photography. Particularly at how his friend Dorothy (the goldfish) had installed a camera (must be one of those fancy underwater outfits) in her bowl! And if Elmo doesn't look just a teeny bit scary with those big old eyes magnified through the fish bowl on a giant screen TV, well, then I don't know what does...

Soon thereafter, Charlie brought one of his new finds over for me to examine....

Yep - he has unlocked the key to "childproof" safety covers for the electrical outlets. Below he demonstrates how an outlet is just the right size for a childproof cover...and he is NOT happy when Mimi needs to retrieve ALL FOUR covers that he's confiscated.

So, what has changed in the 10-1/2 months that I've "on-again/off-again" watched Charlie grow?

Well, his toy colletion for one thing...it's grown just about as fast as Charlie has. But the main, most wonderful thing about watching Charlie grow is how fun, how happy, how smart (oh, yes, he is!) and how simply wonderful this newest boy member of the family has become.

So I prepared a "last breakfast" this morning as my last official duty and passed "the torch" over briefly to Chrissy - his last official nanny (we are all pretty official around here, folks!) who has been a sweet addition to the "Taking Care of Charlie" official roster of folks who really love this little boy!

And when the official torch was passed this afternoon upon Charlie's mommy's arrival home? Well, I didn't witness that personally, but if I know my daughter (and I think I do), I'm sure it all felt just as surreal to Alyssa as it has to me.

Welcome, Alyssa, to the awesomely amazing world of Stay at Home Mommies. You're in some awfully good company!

Altitudes, Lattitudes, Changes in Attitudes

I need to give some credit to Jimmy Buffet for the title of my blog via a semi-stealing of his line in one of my favorite songs...I have fallen so far behind in blogging. I promised myself that this trip to Grand Lake would provide ample opportunity to do some catching up. However, that "ample opportunity" never materialized. But here's a bit of an update...

Today I realized that our family is in FOUR different time zones. Pacific Daylight Time - Alyssa and Charlie in Morgan Hill. Mountain Daylight Time - Ralph and I in Colorado. Central Daylight Time - Ashley, Jim, Gracie and Emily visiting Jim's family in Chicago and St. Louis. Eastern Daylight Time - Rob in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on a business trip. Whew! Bet this won't happen again anytime soon. Feels like we are aligning the planets or something.

A few weeks ago I decided to join Alyssa in her homemade baby food efforts and I bought some organic apples, peeled them, cooked them up, and put them in my food processor and - Voila! Applesauce, baby food style. It was very enjoyable and made me a little sad I didn't do this when my girls were babies. Or when Gracie was a baby. Oh, well. I DID make my own yogurt once-upon-a-time. Does that count?

Little cubes of organic applesauce are ready for the freezer.

Charlie is one happy baby boy. One of my favorite things is watching him go to town on his "One Man Band" toy. Don't you just want to bite into that cute little thigh?!!! Oh, ok, I admit, I do, and it makes him laugh like crazy :)

Yummmmmmmm....I'm all ready for my organic applesauce, Mimi!

And then it was off to the pool at the Aquatic Center to watch Gracie and Emily take their swim lessons. The Strombergs found the Aquatic Center was a cool place to hang out in August! Here Emily and her mommy discuss the intricacies of the breast stroke. Or perhaps Emily is just chewing on a pool toy...

Ok, big breath, Emily Mae! "But Mommy - chlorine is SO bad for my pretty hair!"

Gracie climbs out of the pool with a little help from her teacher. That's a BIG step up to the pool deck!

Brrrrr....ok, everybody line up for a dive back into the pool. "Kinda hard to swim with my teeth chattering like this!!!!!"

And then we said so long for a couple of weeks to the Strombergs and the Wagners and on September 1, Ralph and I left for Grand Lake, CO to visit our little vacation home and for me to go to my 45th - yep, big gulp - 45th class reunion in Pueblo.

While we were shopping for groceries in Granby, we saw something very un-grocery like that was a MUST have for our cabin. We'll purchase one every visit until we have fishing poles for every one of our sweet grandbabies.

Barbie fishing poles...who'd have thought?!!! And here (below) is a perfect place to cast a line - into the stocked lake across the street from our home, Columbine Lake. There's even a picnic table for a little lunch when everybody's caught their limit.

When we arrived in Grand Lake the very first night we saw FIVE moose - four yearlings and their mamas. No big-racked bull moose so far. And where was my camera? Yep, back at the house. So, I made do with a little bit tamer side of wild life and took this picture when Ralph spied this little squirrel working on a pine cone at almost the tip-top of a tall evergreen outside.

And tomorrow I travel to Pueblo to begin the first day of our three-day class reunion! I'm sure I'll have lots of stories to tell from that experience....or not......

Summertime and the Return of Sunday Dinners

When I lived in Long Beach and was caring for Gracie during the week we started a little tradition that I enjoyed. On Sunday I invited Jim and Ashley and Gracie (who wouldn't eat my food because she preferred her own gourmet items such as breast milk and pureed peas) for dinner. We didn't have dinner together during the week, usually, because I felt it was better that the little Stromberg family have time to themselves without "Mimi" butting in. Not to mention Mimi collapsed in exhaustion on the sofa with barely enough energy to push the "on" button of the TV's remote control. So on those weeknights, even though I'd often cook for all of us, Ashley or Jim would jaunt on over to "Mimi's Cassita" to pick up what I'd made because let's face it - who really wants to cook for one person? Plus that gave Ashley and Jim a little more time to focus on Gracie without having to focus on what to fix for dinner.

Now that the Strombergs have relocated here in our neck of the woods, I thought it would be fun to resurrect the Sunday dinner theme. The deal is, I'm cooking, and whoever's not busy can come. So although the invite is open for the Wagner clan, as it turns out, Rob, Alyssa and Charlie have had a very busy social calendar and haven't yet been to Sunday Dinners Reincarnated. I know once the Strombergs are more established, they will probably have less Sunday Dinner time, too, so for right now I am enjoying this Big Time.

So here's what I love about Summertime and Sunday Dinners. All that FRESH PRODUCE that we see in abundance right now. Earlier, during Spring, I finally, finally, FINALLY planted an herb garden. I'd been planning for years to do this but all of a sudden I'd notice it was, like, Halloween and still no herb garden. (Eventually I would like to plant veggies, but hey! Let's break one bad habit at a time here!)

So here are a couple of pics of the bounty from the herb garden...I LOVE, simply LOVE the combination of tomatoes and basil. I cut the tomatoes into chunks, rustic style, and tore up about 30 leaves of basil to toss on top. Throw in a little fresh mozzerella, also rough cut, and - VOILA! It's a fresh-as-heaven Caprese salad. Shown above, this freshness on a fork is pre-dressed...just before serving I finished it with a nice drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of coarse salt and pepper. And if it looks like there is a lot of basil on this puppy, well, there is. It's from my own herb garden, don't you know...Besides, my motto of the day is "Go big or go home." 'Nuff said.

When Rob and I kicked off our "Eat Healthy and Get Cute" campaign last month (oh, ok, Rob is already cute), Rob introduced me to the "Big Ass Salad." This is tons of fresh spinach or interesting lettuce of some sort (no, not iceberg since the poor iceberg has practicaly zero, zip, nada nutrition) plus a virtual salad bar of goodies to add in such as beans, corn, artichoke hearts, onion, cucumber etc. I finish my "BAS" off with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, fresh ground pepper, and it is YUM! So at my last Sunday Dinner I re-created the "BAS" using my new favorite serving vessel: the platter. Yes, it's Salad-on-a-Platter and is ever so elegant, don't ya think? PLUS - with my now famous herb garden, I finished it off by scattering lots of fresh herbs (such as a lovely French Rosemary...at least I think it's French - at any rate it's from another country) over the salad. Again, no dressing on the salad yet - that came later in the form of, yep, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Also good is seasoned rice vinegar. And at the risk of repeating myself, may I just say again - YUM.

Now, please take note of the lovely basil that has gone wild on my deck...I have to trim it back since it's getting those little white flower thingies on the end, but I'm working on it. Plus it's trying to crowd out another little herb planted in the front, which may or may not be thyme...I kinda forget now...

And here is my lovely new herb planter pot...I can't believe how much all of these tender little plants have grown. Looks like they're happy in their pretty new home.

So even though my adventure in cooking from the wonderful "Julia" cookbook that I attempted earlier in my blog seems to have stalled out for awhile, I am simply happy about my re-creation of my simple little Summertime Sunday Dinners.

June: Could it have been any better?!!

When June rolled around I knew it would be a busy month. June was LOADED. With three birthdays, Father's Day, the much-anticipated move north by the Stromberg Family and Charlie's 6-month 'birthday' - how much more 'happy days' could we squeeze into one little old 30-day month?!











So the cousins had an opportunity to get re-acquainted at the end of May when Ashley, Gracie and Emily came north for a visit. Jim has been up here working and sponging, er...visiting and staying with his California fam since April 24. Charlie seems very enamoured with his older, more worldly cousins, but just wait. Mr. C. is going to be giving these girls a real run for their money in another year or three.




I think Charlie has that "deer in the headlights" look - what do you think? :)

Charlie is going to enjoy knowing "TiTi" Ashley (or is it "TeeTee?") and his Uncle "Jimmy." Here's a good group photo where Charlie is saying hi to Auntie while Emily (Em-i-wee) wonders what happened to her spot on Mommy's lap...Daddy is apparently chopped liver at the moment. That's ok. Mimi can relate...and fortunately that feeling is short-lived.

Other monthly milestones... Charlie has discovered that rice cereal is extra yummy when it's made with Mommy's milk. What d'ya know...he already knows where the business end of the spoon goes......

Yep - good to the last molecule, right Charlie??!!!

And you just never know...if you store a little bit of cereal on the edge of your highchair tray, you can always come back for seconds. Or leftovers. Whatever.




Other milestones we celebrated this month...Alyssa's BIG 30th birthday where I rocked my Little Kid Party theme...we ate mac and cheese, hot dogs, jello salad and birthday cake on "Dora the Explorer" paper plates, napkins and the like. We blew the roof off (well, not REALLY) with noise makers that didn't make noise, silly, curvy straws for our pink lemonade and fun sunglasses. Pictures would be here except unfortunately they are on the home computer...so you'll just have to use your imagination. We capped the 30th celebration with a rousing game of "Pin the tail on the donkey" where the "pins" are history and you "Stick the tail..." instead. Oh, those safety police people! Rob and Ralph went at things with a scientific approach and were most accurate while Alyssa's tail was pretty much hanging out of the donkey's mouth. No prizes for the birthday girl!

Plus we had Ralph's birthday celebration at Rob and Alyssa's where we made the s'mores we didn't get around to making for Alyssa's party, and where Ralph purchased the first NEW vehicle of his entire lifetime, an awesome Ford 150 pick up with a neat-o backseat for his golfer buddies and Mr. P.

We traveled to Long Beach for the last visit by Mimi and Poppy to the Stromberg abode for Gracie's big 3rd birthday bash! Gracie was the hostess with the mostess at her Fancy Nancy party - and where a real live "Fancy Nancy Fairy" arrived and did fun games including painting a pretty butterfly on Gracie's sweet face.

And THEN we traveled back to Morgan Hill in time to celebrate Father's Day - and Rob's FIRST Father's Day - with the Wagners, Kathy and Michael and little Carla (and where Kathy and Michael announced that, yes, MORE little bundles are on the way), Lorraine (Michael's mom) and Rob grilled his great big heart out with a yummy dinner of steak, chicken, grilled veggies and Alyssa's famous chocolate cake. Yumm-o!!!!

Finally, the end of June drew near - and so did the Strombergs. Jim, Ashley, Gracie and Emily pulled into our driveway about 10:15 Saturday night...June 26. Tired and ready to call it a day, we welcomed the Stromberg's to Morgan Hill and put them to bed - and the next day they began the move into their cute little rental home on Via Corfino. The girls stayed with Mimi while the movers arrived at the rental, moved in the boxes and set up the furniture. Yesterday we visited Ashley and the girls to see their new casa - it's adorable in my book - ESPECIALLY because it's about 10 minutes from our house to their's. With ALL of our kids in Morgan Hill - at least for now - I couldn't be more happy.

So what a month! Whew...I think I need a vacation. Which is what I would love to do NEXT June. Rob and I are dedicating a few months to the prospect of getting back into shape. Rob has lots less "getting back into" than I do, which is why I thought next June would be a lovely time to take a Family Cruise - or whatever - if I can manage to keep both oars in the water and make some SIGNIFICANT progress on my weight loss journey. Rob is a great coach (I have nicknamed him Jillian after the infamous personal trainer on Biggest Loser). He has been kicking rear end and taking names. That's ok - if he can get some junk out of this trunk I can sure take it!

So...it has been a looooong time between postings, but reading over this entry - I now know why. Adieu for now :)