Monday Menu and mea culpa

Forgive me friends for I have failed. It's been five days since my last blog post despite my commitment to blog daily. What can I say? It was a crappy week. Hopefully the coming week will be better. Unfortunately our Thanksgiving guests have had to cancel so it will be quieter around here than I had hoped. Also unfortunately, we may have to spend the weekend helping Ian move... back into our dining room. But it's still Thanksgiving week and I've still got plenty to be thankful for and I'm going to focus on that.

So.. on to the menu!


Monday - Pink Beans, Fajita Beef, Tortillas, Cheese, Avocado, Lettuce and salsa

Tuesday - Veggie Lasagne and Garlic Bread

Wednesday - Leftovers or Sandwiches

Thursday - Thanksgiving Feast - I'll post the actual menu on Wednesday. It looks like it will be very interesting. Zane is coming up with some fantastic vegetarian dishes to cook.

Friday - Hockey Game! Dinner at the rink.

Saturday - Thanksgiving leftovers

Sunday - Dinner with friends

Miss, Miss, and Monday Menu

Well.. I missed posting Friday and Saturday because I was busy being busy. Friday I was setting up for the bazaar and Saturday I was there all day. Sales were a little slow but at I did earn what the booth cost me. However, it was a fund raiser for the high school band so the money is money I probably would have spent anyway. I definitely can't see myself becoming the type of person who spends every weekend at a different festival or show though. I'll keep making jewelry for friends and family but the show circuit will just have to go on without me.

After the bazaar we went straight to the football game which was logistically complicated because the band kids had to tear down and clean up the bazaar and get to the football stadium in less than two hours. Pep band is what really takes us to the games but this year the football has been great too. The team was undefeated until last night's state level playoff game. It was so hard for the kids to accept this loss. The first loss of the year ended their season. They were all bummed out... and the football team took it pretty hard too. It was a fun season though. The games were exciting but I had as much fun watching the kids in the stands. They really are a great group of teenagers. They give me hope for the future.

The last six weekends have been all about football games and making jewelry so it is fitting that both obsessions ended on the same day. Now we can focus on the holidays. Bob will be out of town most of this coming week so meals will be simple and mostly vegetarian. I plan to spend the week cleaning up the house and getting ready for Thanksgiving... and Christmas too because after our Thanksgiving house-guests leave we will only have two weeks until the kids are out of school for winter break!

Ok.. no hyperventilating.. let's just take it one week at a time... organization will get me through this... (I'll probably make this my mantra for the rest of the year.)

Monday - Pancakes and scrambled eggs

Tuesday - Baked Ziti with Tomatoes and Kale

Wednesday - Frijoles a la charra (Pinto Beans) and Quesedillas


Thursday - Teriyaki Tofu or Chicken, Rice, Gingered Carrots

Friday - Homemade Pizza

Saturday - Anniversary Dinner - I don't know what we are doing yet but I hope it's not staying home and eating fast food...

Sunday - Football munchies - Sub Sandwiches and Chips


Hopefully I will stay on track and get a lot accomplished next week and I will resume posting everyday!

Because Jason asked for it...

Jason at The Jason Show left this comment on yesterday's shoe post.

"Women have so much more license when it comes to fun shoes.

Guys shoes are all...just...boring...."

Now I love a challenge. I especially love a shoe challenge. So I had to go looking for guy shoes that aren't boring and I found some. But before we get to those shoes I have to mention that the shoes from yesterday's post are also available in Men's sizes. No, they aren't just big women's shoes, Jason. The shoes I featured yesterday are Sanita Clogs, which are then painted by The Swanx the majority of their standard designs are fairly feminine but they also offer a custom design service and can paint just about anything (they also specialize in pet portraits so Jason could wear Pumpkin and Patches to work if he really wanted to.)

Now, on to the other cool shoe options...

How about these? They are sturdy and fashionable with soles that "Resist alkali, water, acid, fatigue and Satan." Which might come in handy in the classroom...



Or these?

"For music and fashion lovers alike, John Fluevog and songwriter Brother Daniel of the Danielson Family have finally released their exciting new collaboration. Complete with crowning cut-outs of dark and baby blues, crimson double stitch, and the Danielson iconic heart on the heel"

They are also available in black and white but that's a little boring...




Both are made by Fluevog Shoes. They have many other cool styles for men and for women too.

On the cheaper side there are Sketchers. They are comfortable and fun although they do tend to cause foot funk if you don't wear socks...



These are available at Zappos.com

So, Jason.. what kind of cool shoes are you hoping for? This is just a small sample of what is out there. Boring isn't your only option!

Crazy shoes

I have a long history of choosing shoes that cause my friends and relatives to question my sanity. I can't explain why.. I'm just drawn to shoes that other people think are ugly.





Wanna help me pick my next pair?

I forgot to add... these wonderful shoes and more like them are hand painted and available at The Swanx.

A little choked Up

If you mix a bit of this...



with this...



You get an embarrasingly weepy mom.

I love this movie (and the vodka too.)

Busy, busy!

Oops.. I forgot to post yesterday and almost forgot again today because I've been parked at the table for days now. My dogs are traumatized, my computer is feeling neglected but I've just got so much to do. I have four days left to finish making jewelry for my first bazaar. Today I finished three necklaces and twenty pair of earrings and my fingers are starting to feel like arthritic claws. The bazaar is Saturday and it's pretty small but I'm worried that my booth is going to look bare so I'm doing my best to make a ton of stuff.. then I'll worry that no one will buy it and I'll be stuck with a couple hundred earrings!

Free Stuff!

My friend Leeann at Is is Morning Already? Is giving away two sets of these really cool Skoy cloths. Check out her blog for more information!

Ahhh... now it makes sense

Remember a couple of weeks ago when I was complaining about the movie "Where the Wild Things Are"? My biggest complaint about it was that it took a simple story about a normal boy and turned it into a complex story about a bunch of dysfunctional characters. The story I love, the picture book story, seemed to be a creative prompt for a much darker movie, almost as if the movie had been based on a completely different book inspired by the picture book.

Well, guess what... it was.

The Wild Things
Dave Eggers

The Wild Things, based loosely on the storybook by Maurice Sendak and the screenplay co-written with Spike Jonze, is about the confusions of a boy, Max, making his way in a world he can’t control. His father is gone, his mother is spending time with a younger boyfriend, his sister is becoming a teenager and no longer has interest in him. At the same time, he finds himself capable of startling acts of wildness — he wears a wolf suit, bites his mom, can’t always control his outbursts. During a fight at home, Max flees and runs away into the woods. He finds a boat there, jumps in, and ends up on the open sea, destination unknown. He lands on the island of the Wild Things, and soon he becomes their king. But things get complicated when Max realizes that the Wild Things want as much from him as he wants from them. Funny, dark, and alive, The Wild Things is a timeless and time-tested tale for all ages.

It's just hair

Is anyone else a bit annoyed that the girl who redefined eyebrows when we were teenagers....

Is now telling us that our eyelashes aren't good enough?

Just asking...

Progressive?

When I was eleven I realized why I was such a lousy kickball player. Not because I was lacking sufficient foot/eye coordination, or because I hated running. (So why in the world would I want to actually kick the ball?) No, the real reason I was always the last person picked for the kickball (other than the fact that my nickname was "wart woman") was because I couldn't see well. My vision wasn't so bad that I truly couldn't see but I was amazed to find out that my friends could identify who was standing in the outfield. Glasses solved my vision problem but I never really got attached to being able to see clearly... or to playing kickball. Year after year my glasses sat in a drawer getting more and more unfashionable. Eventually I just decided I never really needed them. That worked until recently... now my pleasantly fuzzy world is finally getting on my nerves. So, after 33 years, I gave in and went to see the eye doctor again. The good news is that I'm no more near sighted than I was in fifth grade. The bad news is that I now need reading glasses. Oh Goody.. I'm progressive.. or at least my glasses are.

Comic courtesey of www.marriedtothesea

Nablopomo

It's been months since I felt like writing anything at all. I don't know why. Maybe I need a challenge? So for the third year in a row I am going to participate in Nablopomo and post every day for a month and hope that I can jump start my creative engine.