Nearly Wordless Wednesday - A treat from abroad

A friend of ours brought a wonderful gift today...three kinds of olives from his home town in Jordan. They are amazingly flavorful compared to the olives I typically buy in stores here in the United States. I have a wonderful Fish Stew recipe that calls for the Kalamata variety of olives and with our cool fall temperatures I think it is time to put a pot of Fish Stew together.

Aren't they beautiful??


Look at more random photos of interest at Wordless Wednesday.

Oh, wait, the Star Ship Enterprise wasn't real...

I find myself constantly in the dilemma of WHAT TO FIX FOR DINNER. People GOTTA eat right? In these days of music lessons, practices, homework, church activities and play dates...SOMEBODY needs to make dinner!

The crew of the Star ship Enterprise have their dinners, snacks and drinks simply with a few words and button selections. In the mood for a steak? Fine. Feelin' like a little sushi? Fantastic. I need to buy a Replicator. Replicators are used to synthesize meals on demand. For example, to create a pork chop, the replicator would first form atoms of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, etc., then arrange them into amino acids, proteins, and cells, and put it all together into the form of a pork chop. Isn't that amazing? So I could program it to do lasagna, salad and Italian bread for SEVEN! Perfect!

Oh, wait, the Star Ship Enterprise wasn't real...


BUMMER.


What's for dinner??

Half Full Friday

Sometimes in order to "make it" in this world you have to GRAB and HOLD TIGHT to the little things that make life GOOD. It has been a great week because:

1.) I have a reliable vehicle as I oftentimes make 6-7 trips into our school in one day.

2.) My parents celebrated their 49th wedding anniversary this week. They are fantastic parents and grandparents.

3.) My littlest guy has declared that he LOVES Kindergarten.

4.) The broken window will cost less than what we originally thought.

5.) It has been Homecoming Week at our school with a different THEME each day so the kiddos have been more willing to GET OUTTA bed!

6.) I am grocery shopping BY MYSELF today! (Thanks to Gram and Gramps!)

To join in on Half Full Friday, go to Life As Eye See It and sign up on Mr. Linky.

Have a GREAT weekend!

The official beginning of ....

Autumn...what an AMAZING time of year with such beauty...oh, and what comes with fall?? AND, cooler temps??

SOCK SEASON!!

I have mixed emotions about the Sock Season part! UGH!

Cookie Monster is EXEMPT

Sam turned on Sesame Street today. I LOVE SESAME STREET. Cookie Monster is my all time favorite and I am SO GLAD he is the same Cookie Lovin' Fool as he was when I watched as a kid. He is honest and a bit primal in his love of cookies. Just plain HONEST. Isn't that the way it should be???

I am all for kiddos eating their veggies and fruit...but I would NEVER ask Cookie Monster to give up cookies. Would you?

A Picture a Day

SUNDAY - Home from dinner with Gram and Gramps to find a snake in the garage!! UGH! SOOOOO glad that Nate was along to get rid of him!

MONDAY - I have to admit that when the alarm goes off I cannot wait to get to a hot cup of joe! I am truly addicted.

TUESDAY - The hummingbirds are endless entertainment. We have up to four at a time fighting over our feeder. I will be sorry to see them go when it gets cold.

WEDNESDAY - Victory! A major stress for a NEW Junior High Student is the locker combination...Emma has conquered it! Three minutes between classes is strangled down to THREE SECONDS (so it seems to a sixth grader) when you are stressing about a locker combination!

THURSDAY - Beautiful weather is keeping everyone outside in the evenings. This is one of the MANY reasons I am glad we have good insurance.

FRIDAY - The cheerleaders at the Powder Puff Football game were, ummmmm, a bit scary this week. (Nate did some awesome flips!-we got it on video!)

Saturday - R.I.P. to our ELDERLY White Russian Hamster, Reepacheap. It is hard to watch the grief of a child.
"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened. " (Anatole France)

FLASHBACK FRIDAY -Good night!

Havin' a little fun and thought I would do something different this week and join FLASH BACK FRIDAY. This weeks prompt:
What was bedtime like when you were growing up? Were your parents strict in enforcing bedtimes? Were you a difficult one to get to bed? Did your parents share stories about getting you to sleep when you were a baby? When did your parents turn bedtime over to you? Were there any special rituals/routines a parent did - books, singing a special song, etc.? Nightlights, music, special doll/blanket or other things? Did you have your own bed or did you share with a sibling? Did you have nighttime fears and bad dreams? How did you handle them? Did you ever walk or talk in your sleep? Feel free to also share any routines you have done with your kids.


I have fond memories of bedtime as a kid. We read, prayed and chatted and got to bed in a TIMELY manner. I had a pink bedroom...it was wonderful with TRI-COLORED PINK SHAG carpet...a canopy bed with TRI-COLORED pink, ruffled bedspread (my mother ordered it from the THICK JC Penney catalog) and guess what!?! Pink striped wall paper with itty bitty, little blue flowers on it. I was SURE that IF you could TASTE my bedroom it would certainly be Raspberry Sherbet. Got the picture?? Problem was...I was a "fraidy cat." So, many nights, after the house got quiet, I would BEG my brother to sleep in his bottom bunk bed. (Afterall...there were scary things that lived UNDER my bed.) Robbie was a softie and let me sleep in his room as long as I would "BE QUIET."

I had a dear friend named "Peanuts" that always slept with me...my PINK room, Robbie's room, friend's slumber parties...Peanuts went to university with me and even NOW, in his VERY OLD age resides here at The Glen...although he has been retired to the Cedar Chest.


Alright join in and CONFESS...what "lovie" did YOU have to help you go to sleep when you were a child??

Wordless Wednesday ((( DEEP sigh)))

Parenting is NOT for sissies!

Project SEVEN?

I loveSara's Project 365 which involves taking a picture a day for a year. I am NOT THERE yet but managed to take a picture a day for a WEEK. Baby steps!

SUNDAY - A Pre-Labor Day party...girls just wanna have FUN!

MONDAY - Labor day is HUGE in our community...my favorite trumpet player in the parade.


TUESDAY - Back to school after a three day weekend...brothers goofin' off waiting for the bus. A thirteen year old's shoe -VS- the six year old's shoe. Kinda cute huh?

WEDNESDAY - Ragweed is in FULL BLOOM...one of our allergy sufferers needed some serious relief from allergy induced asthma. A quick trip to the doctor! We are looking forward to first frost!


FRIDAY - Kindergarten is awesome but EXHAUSTING. Found Sam "playing with his trains" like this...

SATURDAY - Lots of football for us this fall. Our favorite cheerleader gettin' ready to do her thing!


Thanks for the inspiration Sara!
Sara's blog:

“...orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names.


They are easier to ignore before you see their faces.
It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms...

.... but once you do, everything changes.

So when you and I hear staggering numbers & statistics about the poor & needy around us and around the world, we have a choice.
We can switch the channels on our mega T.V’s and continue our comfortable, untroubled, ordinary, church-going lives as if the global poor don’t exist.
We can let these numbers remain cold, distant, and almost imaginary....

Or we can open our eyes and our lives to the realities that surround us and begin considering the faces that are represented by these numbers.”

-David Platt

A MOST amazing commercial...for shampoo...

SO WORTH your four minutes...



I think I will buy some Pantene.

Simple pleasures

My husband grew up in the East and upon meeting him I began to discover some of the amazing tastes that one can acquire growing up in the East. One of my favorites is Birch Beer...I had never had anything like it growing up and although it is SIMILAR to root beer it has its own distinctive flavor...a real treat. Reading Draft produces its own sodas and they are unique and fun to drink.



We have dear friends that come to visit and are generous in bringing us a couple of cases of Reading Draft Sodas! Thanks Donna and Brian!

We have a WINNER!!!

The winner of your very own Zhu Zhu Pet is: Michele from a private blog! Michele, I will have your Zhu Zhu in the mail ASAP!!!!!!!

Your Zhu Zhu is coming to you by way of BSM Media and Zhu Zhu Pets.

Thanks for the fun!!

Nurturing my INNER FARMER

We were called upon to take care of our neighbors mini-farm this week. I have to admit there is something about going into a barn and feeding animals that appeals to me. When the sheep and goats see me coming they "bleat" and "bah" SO LOUD! They greet me warmly by trying to nibble my clothes and steal the keys from my pocket!

"Hey, there she is...do you think she knows where our feed is?"

We just love their goats...they are so much like dogs in the way they interact. I love to sit and scratch their necks...they even will climb in my lap.

Sheep are NOT the smartest creatures in the world...driven by greed and wanting to shove and push and eat all the time...sounds like people doesn't it? One of them tries to eat the dog food...the dog lets her most of the time.

Oh, and can I tell you how much I love my Breast Cancer Awareness boots?? I LOVE EM! (Thanks Bep!) I can muck out the stalls IN STYLE!

Do YOU Zhu Zhu???

We have been taken by storm at The Glen by THE ZHU-NIVERSE! We were skeptics until Mom Select and BSM Media sent us our very first Zhu Zhu...it was love at first sight.



Would YOU like a Zhu Zhu pet or know someone who would?? Leave a comment and BSM Media will send you one of your very own!!
I will close the comments on this at midnight on September 8th to keep it SHORT and SWEET! Oh, and if you have BOYS (which I do!) they have Zhu Zhu's for BOYS as well...visit Kung Zhu to check out some tough lookin' creatures. Sam LOVES them!

Pssssst! Those of you with Feline Friends will find them to be an awesome playmate for your kitty. Our six month old kitten, Flynn, gave his furry approval of his new Zhu Zhu friend.




Visit Zhu Zhu Pets to see all the cute new friends...they come out with new ones regularly!

Signs of AUTUMN

We have been graced with beautiful weather for Labor Day Weekend. Fall is JUST around the corner.


Emma found this perfectly heart-shaped leaf on her way to the school bus.


The pumpkin patch is starting to look FESTIVE! We love Halloween and all the fun that comes with it!

Daddy decided to burn some brush and that brings EVERYONE running...sitting around the fire is a FAVORITE pastime at The Glen.

Soccer season is upon us and we have a NEW player this year! Isn't he cute????

Friday night football games and AWESOME halftime shows are something we look forward to EVERY year.


HAPPY LABOR DAY TO EACH OF YOU!!!
ENJOY!

Apathy

The mother was at wit's end...the grocery store was packed...she had to put things back at the check out...never enough money...her four year old was screaming and whining about everything...she just would NOT be quiet! No one would look at her...no one spoke to her. As they walked out of the market the the young child dropped her complimentary cookie on the ground and the shrieking began again. The child was hungry. The mother jerked the child out of the store and began to drag the girl screaming obscenities at her and shaking her like a rag doll as they headed toward their vehicle. The little girl dragged along the pavement...half walking half stumbling, hair sticking to her tear streaked face as she screamed now in fear...cookie forgotten.


What do you do?

Nothing?

Most people do nothing.


APATHY = a lack of feeling, emotion, interest, concern. (INDIFFERENCE/IMPASSIVENESS)


"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." Anne Frank



~photograph compliments of GOOGLE Images