St. Martha

Yesterday was the feast day of St. Martha, patron saint of homemakers, laundresses, and servants and, despite my lapsed Catholic upbringing, one of my favorite saints. I completely identify with Martha's dueling personality traits. She was the epitome of an overworked housewife. Being a good hostess was important to her... but not important enough to keep her from complaining to her guest that she was working too hard!

When Jesus came to visit she worked her tail off to make sure everything was perfect. Yeah, yeah, Jesus could feed 5000 but when he was in her house she was going to make sure he didn't have to lift a finger... and she was getting more and more annoyed that no one was helping her. So she did what most of us do when we are feeling put upon. She started bitching about her sister.

"Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?

Tell her to help me!"

But Jesus told her to stop freaking out about the darned house and pay attention to what's really important. Now Martha was a good girl and I'm sure she tried hard to do what Jesus wanted. Maybe she relaxed a bit, didn't worry so much about her brother's dirty tunics, or only swept the scorpions out of the house twice a day... I don't know, and the Bible doesn't really detail her life story, but the next time we see her she is grieving the death of her brother. When she heard that Jesus was coming she jumped up and left her guests to rush to Jesus... And immediately started bitching again.

"Lord," Martha said to Jesus, "if you had been here, my brother would not have died."

But I'll bet that deep down inside she was really beating herself up for letting Lazarus get sick. Because that's the kind of girl she was... a control freak... and I get that. It does my heart good to know that a woman who had the audacity to scold God would end up a saint instead of a pillar of salt or something.

It's rumored that later in life Martha went to France, I don't know if she had retired there or was just vacationing but true to her nature, probably between the Boeuf Bourguignon and the Profiteroles, she waded into the swamp and tamed a dragon that had been terrorizing the village. After charming the beasty with hymns and holy water she led him back to town, where the locals rushed up and killed it. And I'll bet Martha responded just like I would.

"Goddammit! I just finished cleaning this floor!"

Yesterday, in honor of St. Martha, I didn't do a darn thing because I know that what every overworked homemaker really wants is a day where no one messes up the kitchen.

Now somebody really needs to come help me fold this laundry. Or am I just here to do all the work? Oh, that's it, right? I'm just the maid around here. No, no, don't get up! I'll just vacuum around you...

A decade ago I lived north of Seattle in a town called Edmonds. It's a smallish town, sitting right on the Puget Sound, with a beautiful marina, a busy Ferry terminal, and an incredible view of the islands in the Sound, the ships headed for the sea, and the mountains of the Olympic Peninsula, which some mornings look as if they too are sailing away. The Edmonds waterfront was a balm to my troubled soul on days when the rain wouldn't stop, the toddler was grumpy, or the baby wouldn't nap. While Taylor slept in her carseat Zane would stand on the front seat, naming ships and talking about where they were going to. It didn't matter what the weather was like or how irritable we were, a half an hour there, sitting in the car, watching the ships go by, always made life seem better.

Edmonds is also where I became a "real writer" who was actually paid to put words on paper. It wasn't a lot but it was real money and it made me feel wonderful. When we moved I lost my momentum and didn't write for several years. The other day I was trolling around the internet and stumbled on a notice about Write on the Sound, a writer's conference in Edmonds. The conference is an annual event that I never had the time or money to attend when I lived there. Years later, when I had the time, I was living in California and couldn't justify a plane ticket and hotel for an event I had never made an effort to go to when I lived six blocks from it. Now I live sixty miles away; close enough to make a weekend conference seem a little less like an indulgence and more like a good investment in the career that has been languishing since I moved away. Honestly I'm a little frightened. The first weekend of October I am driving north and for a few days I'm going to be a writer again...

But during the breaks it's possible you might find me parked on the waterfront remembering my babies.

Blueberry Daze

Today we went to Linbo Blueberry Farm and sifted through acres of bushes to find ripe blueberries. It's been a very cool summer so far, and Mr. Linbo told us that the berries still need a bit more time, but I couldn't resist going out to take a look. Some of my favorite childhood memories are of picking raspberries at my Uncle Ozzie's farm in Michigan. I've been craving the peace that comes with wandering through rows of bushes focusing my whole attention on finding sweet tiny jewels hiding in the leaves. Linbo Farm is my new favorite berry picking patch because they play classical music out in the field to enhance the experience. It's a good thing I took the kids with me or I might still be there, meditating with the berries. We brought home almost three pounds of berries... but since Zane can eat a pound in one sitting, we will definitely need to go back and pick some more!

Menu Plan Monday

Week two of my new, more organized life, (hahahahahahahahahahahah!) and I'm happy to report that we did a pretty good job of staying with the plan last week. Although we had some major shuffling of menus the last minute trips to the grocery store or burger shack were almost non-existent. So I guess I can call week one a success.

Monday - Vegetarian Paella (this is one we didn't get to last week)
Tuesday - Grilled Chicken, Veggie Hot Dogs, Potato Salad

Wednesday - Fish Tacos, Mexican Coleslaw
Thursday - Cobb Salad
Friday - Make Your Own Pizza
Saturday - Leftovers

Sunday - Prime Rib, Mashed Potatoes, Salad (I'm not sure what the vegetarians will eat besides side dishes)

Thanks to Laura at Orgjunkie.com for hosting Menu Plan Monday.

A room of one's own...

I'm a sucker for a written argument but, until recently, this is a weakness that my children haven't exploited. I have often told them if they dispute a rule or decision in writing I will seriously consider what they have to say. I didn't say this because I didn't want to listen to them complain, although I don't want to listen to them complain, but to protect myself against being bullied. Wow, that sounds terrible.. but you see, Ian is a master debater and could argue me in circles when he was about three years old. I simply couldn't withstand the barrage so I put a stop to it. I made it my personal policy to always say "no" to a verbal argument. I've probably never even articulated this to the younger kids. They were just victims of "this is how it is". My standard answer to just about any request is "I'll have to think about it." and if I'm pushed the answer is always "No."

Taylor and Delaney share a bedroom. They have always shared a bedroom. I think it's really special for sisters to share rooms, and clothes, and make-up, and whispered conversations in the middle of the night. Can you tell that I didn't grow up with a sister? Taylor, however, doesn't seem to think it's all that special and has been trying to secure a room of her own for a while now... I think it started about the time that Delaney came home from the hospital... but we simply haven't had the space until recently.

When Ian moved out last summer we finally did have an extra bedroom and the lobbying for separate rooms began. However, room allocation was difficult since we have two normal sized rooms and the room the girls share, which is 18' x 14', so we made the extra bedroom a guest room instead. This also helped a bit with the issue of parental guilt that comes with having an 18yr old out on his own. Completely giving his bedroom away was not something I was ready to do just yet. For the last year the "guest room" has primarily been a laundry folding (hahahahahaha) room, a storage junkyard, and a constant topic of conversation.

Well... someone finally took me up on my offer to consider arguments presented in writing and yesterday I was given the following:


Reasons to let everyone have their own room

1. Delaney & Taylor have own space.
2. More storage for Delaney.
3. Less arguments.
4. Less decoration problems.
5. Delaney & Taylor help clean up guest room.
6. Delaney stops waking Taylor up earlier.
7. Delaney has more room for sleepovers.
8. Taylor can have sleepovers in her room.
9. During school Delaney can get up without bothering Taylor.
10. Taylor and Delaney can have quiet to do their homework.
11. Delaney can sing.
12. Taylor can play her music.
13. Taylor can be in her room when Delaney has a friend over.
14. Delaney faces her fear.
15. Both girls have more privacy.

All three children are in agreement with Delaney getting the big room, Taylor getting the guest room, and Zane staying in his room. Letting Taylor have the guest room will help bring peace to her and Delaney. There will not be arguments about things like "your music's too loud" or "stop looking at my side!"

All three of them worked on the list (which could probably be shortened to 8 points but I won't quibble). So we agreed. The only change we made is that Zane will take the big bedroom, since he is the oldest and his room is where they all congregate to play computer games anyway. Right now it looks like a bomb exploded upstairs but they are all happily working together to move stuff around. It's nice to see them excited to clean their rooms!

Now I'm going to have to go fold the laundry because it's been evicted from Taylor's new bedroom and is lounging on MY bed. Why is it that eventually everything comes back to laundry?

Menu Plan Monday

Ever wonder why the title of the blog is Ginaagain, and again, and again? Back in the old days of newsgroups and chat rooms I was occasionally hit on by guys who thought my screen name was an invitation of sorts. But it wasn't. And I'm mean to guys who hit on me. Ginaagain is actually a reference to my mobius strip sort of life. Round and round I go, thinking I'm actually getting somewhere, but, far too often, I end up back where I started. Gina... do it again and again. Until I get it right. So, knowing this about me it shouldn't be any surprise to see me doing Menu Plan Monday again. I know that menu planning is a good idea but I'm not very good at planning anything. Oh well. Now you know something new about me.

Here's the menu for the coming week.



Monday - Summer Rolls- shrimp and veggie, Chilled Thai Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Tuesday - Spaghetti with Red Sauce, Meatballs, Salad

Wednesday - Pork, Pineapple, and Pepper Skewers with Rice and Grilled Zucchini

Thursday - Vegetarian Paella, Grilled Chicken Legs and Corn on the Cob

Friday - Make Your Own Pizza

Saturday - Finnish Summer Soup- Kësakeitto, Sandwiches

Sunday - Fajita Salad

Thanks to Laura at Orgjunkie.com for hosting Menu Plan Monday. Go check out her site lots of great menus.

A few days with the mouse...

I know, I know... it's taking me longer to post about my vacation than it did to actually experience it.

The last stop for our crazy train was Disneyland. On the day we arrived we had spent eight hours travelling but still managed to close down the park at midnight. A feat which we repeated four days in a row.

Strange things happen at Disneyland in the wee hours of the morning. As we were crawling towards the gate at about 12:15am on our third night there we saw a group of people in bathrobes, lead by a Disney "cast member" strolling through the park. I can't shake the idea that they were on their way to a secret spa hidden on Pirate Island. Captain Jack's Ayurvedic massage and herbal wraps perhaps? Natural sea salt scrub anyone?


I believe the secret entrance to the night spa may be somewhere behind the black sails but I wasn't allowed to look for it. Notice how my husband made sure I didn't get too close to the Jack Sparrow look alike... soon after this picture was taken he dragged from the island and forced me to ride the psychedelic Winnie the Pooh ride in an attempt to distract me.


Of course, I forgave him and we went on to enjoy more wholesome, non-pirate attractions.


Until the accident in Toon Town....


And the unfortunate incarceration of my three precious children.

Since we had spent all of our money on food I thought I would be forced to sell my body lanyard to the pirates for bail money but I was rescued by...

The Mouse... King of All Pirates!

Tales from Oklahoma...

After four days of wedding festivities we were definitely ready for some downtime. Our next stop was Oklahoma and the Grand Lake O' the Cherokees where my inlaws have a home on the water. We spent the week resting, floating, and sometimes speeding in circles until we were dizzy.

Well, some of us sped in circles... What you don't see in these pictures is me standing on the dock and biting my nails while my family hurtles through the water at 50 mph, but that's where I was. I'm just no fun at all. But then again I will never forget the 4th of July I spent in the hospital waiting room while a surgeon reconnected three of the tendons in my husband's hand after a jetski accident. Funny, isn't it, that he still rides?

When they weren't on the water having fun the kids were riding around the complex on golf carts, learning first aid (it turns out that golf carts are more dangerous than jetskis when teenagers are driving), and hanging out with their cousins.

Cousins can be a great combination of friends and family but Zane and Taylor are extra fortunate to have cousins that are their age... Zach is two weeks younger than Zane and Emily is two weeks older than Taylor.

On the 4th of July we drove to Tulsa to see a matinee performance of The Phantom of the Opera and then returned for a night of fireworks on the lake.

And then there was the night we went to the yacht club.... Apparently I ordered the bottomless Cosmopolitan but I don't remember much after the fourth refill. At one point I was giggling uncontrollably over the fact that the yacht club keeps complimentary deodorant spray in the ladies room. Yes, I am a classy drunk. At least I didn't dance on the tables... I think.

One beautiful day...

...in San Diego.

Two fantastic people became husband and wife.

And they invited some crazy people to participate in the ceremony!

It was a very special day.

I'm leaving...

In three hours I have to be on the road and starting my whirlwind, Grand Tour of parts unknown.. Ok, in reality I will be flying to my Stepmother's for my Sister's wedding, then on to my In-laws, and then Disneyland. Nothing on that list is unknown but with the price of air travel and gasoline it more than qualifies for a grand tour at least in cost.



Fortunately, I will not be incommunicado for the entire two weeks. Thanks to the Amazing Bob, and his traveling computer roadshow, I will have internet access so that I don't lose either one of my regular readers in my extended absense.

Stay tuned for gorgeous wedding photos, embarrassing jetski stories, and tales of woe from airports all over the country.

Update on George

We were able to visit George for a few minutes yesterday and he is doing very well. He was so excited to see us that he practically wagged himself sideways. He looks good and the vet says that he is healing well. He will stay at the clinic during our vacation and should be in good shape to come home and resume chasing Gracie when we return. Thank you all for your concern. It wasn't an easy decision but I think it was the right one.

Born Under a Bad Sign

I strongly believe that when you bring an animal into your home you have an obligation to give it the best life possible. Usually this is an easy thing to do with dogs. You give them good food, lots of love, a bit of discipline and they are very happy. But, every one in awhile, there is a dog who needs much more. George must have been born under a bad sign because this poor guy has almost no luck at all. His first owner had trouble keeping him from running away and when he was only about six months old he was hit by a car. The accident dislocated his hip and did some minor damage to his spine. Two weeks ago, when he under anesthesia to be neutered, I asked the vet to check his hip because he seemed to limp on it sometimes. She said it looked fine.

Well, it wasn't fine. Friday night he dislocated it while scratching himself. The femur just popped right out of the hip socket. It was terrible. He panicked and started screaming. I ran out to help him and he attacked me. He bit me five times before we finally restrained him. I wrapped him in a towel and Zane muzzled him with a sock, then we rushed him to the vet. The poor little dog didn't stop crying even after three shots for pain. They had to knock him out in order to get an xray. They were able to manipulate his hip and pop the bone back in but he needs surgery in order to prevent a repeat of this. The question is: What kind of surgery?

We have four options. The first and fourth were immediately discarded because I'm not willing to put the dog to sleep and we just can't afford a $5000 artificial hip. Another option is a surgery that will remove the top of the femur bone so that it doesn't fit into the hip joint anymore. This procedure should relieve his pain but will take several months of physical therapy, which will require me to manipulate the hip three times a day. This is painful. George bites when he's in pain so it could be painful for both of us. The final option is to amputate the leg. At first thought this seems like a bad option but there are some good reasons for going with this. The first is that he will heal much quicker from an amputation... about 2 weeks rather than 8.. and it will completely relieve his pain.

The pain is what worries me the most because we have little kids in and out of the house and we can't have a dog that might bite if touched the wrong way. As much as I love the dog I will not take the risk of him chomping on one of the neighbor kids.

And we are leaving Thursday for a two week vacation. We have a big decision to make and have to make it quickly...

Summer morning rambling

This morning I was awake at 5am because the sun was shining through the blinds in my bedroom. Bright, golden, sunshine. In the Pacific Northwest we love to complain about our weather and just the other day one of my neighbors was telling me how difficult life has become for her since the rain stopped. Her children are a lot younger than mine and she has great difficulty getting them to sleep when it's light outside. With the sun rising at 4:15am and setting at 10:10 she isn't getting much sleep. I thought of her when I woke up. Then I stretched out in my puddle of sun and slept for another two hours. It was a perfect way to start the first official day of Summer Vacation.

My children are old enough to force themselves to sleep past sunrise but the dogs got up with me, and are laying on the patio, watching crows on the fence. There is a great deal of work to be done today so I can't enjoy this for very long. Bob is on his way home from Germany and I'd like him to come home to a relatively clean house (I'm a mediocre housekeeper but it's even worse when I'm the only adult here) but I also promised the girls that today would be a "spa day" to get ready for the wedding next week. We will do manicures and pedicures, facials and hair, plus have a delicious spa lunch with tiny crustless sandwiches and fruit smoothies. Silly? Maybe, but this is one of the things I love about having girls. They encourage me to be girly every once in awhile. I've never been much of a girly girl. I can dress up but I never feel comfortable. I know how to apply make-up but it annoys me and most days I don't bother. I prefer my hair to be simple, easy to style, and I'm no good at all when it comes to fixing it up for something special. I don't like shopping and hate beauty parlors. I was forty before I stopped feeling out of place in a large group of women. I think that some time between ten and seventeen, while I was sitting in a corner with my nose in a book, there was an essential class on modern womanhood that I missed.

Crying is another girly thing I never learned to do properly. I don't cry prettily when I'm feeling touched. My eyes never well with tears of pride, or joy. I don't like to cry and have stifled the urge for so many years that I have trouble crying even when I want to. I can't even be counted on to cry at a funeral. My kids have probably seen me cry three or four times in their lives and those were not pretty episodes. But having daughters is softening me.

Yesterday was the last day of school. It wasn't a BIG last day. No graduations or moving on ceremonies. Last year was a really big year, with one kid finishing high school, another finishing Jr. High, and the third finishing Elementary. It should have been a very emotional time but last year was also one of the worst years of my life. The high schooler didn't graduate, in fact he was in jail on graduation day, and the events of his senior year of high school had left me numb. The younger kids deserved a celebration and even a mother who embarrassed them with her tears of pride as they moved closer to adulthood but I was fighting to keep calm and any emotion threatened to unbalance me. This year was very different. With only the younger three living at home our lives were suddenly much calmer. We had a very pleasant, relatively drama free, school year. So I was surprised by my depth of emotion as they finished their last day. The moment of my undoing was watching the teachers at the Elementary school gather to wave goodbye to the children. As the buses pulled out of the parking lot the drivers honked and the kids yelled out the windows while their teachers yelled and waved back. I can't even explain why it touched me but I stood there with tears streaming and the stupidest smile on my face. Good grief! I'm tearing up just remembering it.

Life isn't perfect, and my oldest will probably always be a worry, but there is beauty all around. In the morning sunshine and golden dogs, the soft breeze, the sleeping children who will wake up soon and start their summer, the teachers who touch so many families and help to turn lives around, sometimes without even knowing they are doing anything other than their jobs. Today I'm happy. Happy to be a girl... and a Mom.

Summer Time Goals

I have been tagged for this meme by MS Teacher and I'm glad that she tagged me because I really need some motivation right now. Tomorrow is the last day of school so summer is finally here, even though it's still a bit too cool. So here are six goals for my summer.

1. Join the gym that is opening down the street from me and use it. It will open in early July, just about the same time I am returning from vacation and I won't have any excuse to put off getting in there. Short term goal is to exercise three times a week.
2. Make room in the garage for my car.
3. Repaint the porch columns.
4. Take my kids and dogs to the park and the beach often, and actually play with them.
5. Limit my internet usage and increase my writing time. Is that vague enough?? I'm having trouble committing to this one. I spend far too much time goofing off on the computer without producing anything. This needs to change.
6. Learn to knit so I can be worth of reading Franklin at The Panopticon.

Ok.. those are my goals and I'm going to tag
Nicole
Leeann
Taylor
and Anne

The results are in...

The winner of the 3'x5' La Fonda del Sol area rug by FLOR was determined by the fantastic Mr. Bob, who used a numbered print-out of the comments, and the Random.com Integer Generator, while I covered my eyes and plugged my ears so that I would have absolutely no effect on the results. He then circled the name of the winner in red and validated it with his uniquely illegible signature. Ok, I'm crazy but I'm really fair.

And the winner is... Moxy Jane in Austin, TX

I want to thank everyone for participating. I enjoyed "meeting" you all and I certainly have expanded my list of blogs to read. Hopefully I will get the chance to do more give-aways like this in the future.

Gina

Bits and Pieces...

Emily at Marx Foods has asked me to help her spread the word about their Salmon Recipe Contest.


If you have a great recipe they are hoping to hear from you. The deadline to enter is June 20th and the prize is 15lbs of wild salmon. I have two recipes for salmon. One I created for the (now defunct) Philadelphia paper "PhillyFeast". It features two quintessential Seattle products, Salmon and Beer. Yum! The other one is a very simple recipe for a whole salmon on the grill. This one is actually my favorite because it's so easy but I did not create the recipe.

I have an update for anyone who is interested in the outcome of the Naked Sun Dance. Yesterday was the deadline for the sun to shine and, lo and behold, it did! By the time the kids were home from school it was sunny and a fantastically warm 65 degrees. Heavenly!

My husband now believes I have magical powers and is urging me to use them for the good of humanity. My daughter is just relieved that I kept my clothes on. It's pretty cloudy this morning but the weather report says it will be sunny again this afternoon.

Earlier this week two of my children declared that they are now vegetarian. Neither of them are citing any specific reason for this recent dietary change other than pointing out that dogs are like small cows and it would be wrong to eat our dogs. Huh?

I'm ok with this though. Anything that reduces my cooking duties is fine by me. Bob (who is definitely not a vegetarian) is flying to Germany tomorrow morning and I'm planning meatless meals for next week. It should be interesting. If you have a good recipe I'm definitely open to suggestions.

Check back this afternoon for the winner of the rug contest!

Ten things that are annoying me right now!

1. Vacations. Months of stress planning it, a week of anxiety getting ready, a really crappy day travelling, five days of manic activity in order to do everything possible to create a week worth remembering, another really crappy day travelling, a week of whining and adjustment to normal life, months of stress paying it off. Wouldn't it just be easier to stay home?







2. Dogs. They make too much noise when they chasing each other around and having fun.








3. Medicine. Yeah, yeah, you can control my blood pressure, cholesterol and toenail fungus. You have procedures to make me thinner, tighter, prettier, and menstruation free. You can give me pills to make me happier or at least less likely to scream uncontrollably. But there is a price for everything. And there is no cure for 43.


4. Butts. Larger in real life than in my head. (butt head?) How many bruises do I have to get before I realize that I am now the size of a small planet?





5. Laundry. Can't get it done, can't forget about it, can't burn it, can't throw it away, can't give it away, can't talk someone else into doing it.




6. Weed Whackers. Hello, stupid neighbor. That device you are wielding is designed to chop down small patches of vegetation that are difficult to reach with a lawn mower. I know, I know. You've never heard of this strange device called a lawn mower. Which is why you are cutting your entire front yard with the freaking weed whacker!

7. The Media. I know I'm just an ignorant college dropout without your fancy journalism degree and all... but I seem to remember someone telling me that journalists report the news, not create it and there was some other stupid stuff like journalistic integrity and impartiality. Silly stuff really... elementary journalism I suppose. You probably learned how to make up stories and write inflammatory headlines in those advanced classes that I didn't bother to take.







8. The Sun. Oh unfaithful lover. You tempt me out of my sweater. You tease me with a gentle touch. Then you leave me for that puffy gray slut you've been hanging around with.

9. Ipods. You sucker in foolish teenagers with promises of unlimited portable music. With your electronic siren song you lure them onto the rocks hearing loss and poor school performance. Then, three months after your evil warranty expires, you break.






10. Coffee. Oh you evil bean. You seduce me with promises of smooth satisfaction but after a morning in your company all I'm left with is a bad taste in my mouth, a hypersensitivity to noise, and a nasty case of the twitches.





Bonus # 11. Blogger. Layout, Preview, Adjust, Preview. Perfect. Publish. Shit. Try again. Publish. Shit. Try again. Worry that google reader will show everyone how many times you messed up. Preview. Publish. Shit. Give up.

The Naked Sun Dance

It's springtime in the Pacific Northwest and while spring is a lovely season, everywhere else in the world, here spring is just a different way of spelling winter. It's cold, people, COLD! I know that those of you who are desperately trying to stay cool as the thermometer soars past the 100 mark will have no sympathy for me but I'm going to complain anyway. For criminey's sake! It's 50 degrees outside and it's raining. The dogs won't even go out. It was warmer in February! It's cold enough to freeze my bippens off and I don't even know what bippens are...



Now this weather isn't completely unusual for Washington, in fact, we always lag behind the rest of the country in temperatures, but every couple of years we miss spring entirely and don't get much of a summer. During one of those years I found myself desperate enough to bargain with the weather gods or demons or imps.. whatever. On the 4th of July, when the temperature did not rise above 50 and the rain didn't stop long enough to see even the smallest of fireworks I vowed that I would make the rain stop. I publicly declared that I would do a naked sun dance to entice the giant yellow orb back to our skies.

People scoffed but, when the sun did not appear on July 5th, I did indeed dance naked (in my shower.) On July 6th the sun still stayed away and I danced naked again (in my bedroom with the blinds closed) and on July 7th the sun peeked through the clouds and it finally started to warm up.

I didn't dance anymore that year but I did nurse my baby immodestly all summer long and the sunshine continued to trickle down. It wasn't perfect but it was good enough. Apparently the sun is a minor letch and is happy with an occasional bare nipple.

Fast forward to 2008... It's the second week of June and I'm feeling mighty desperate. I've thought long and hard about this and have decided it's time for another Naked Sun Dance.

Are you listening Mr Sun? If you don't get your big glowing rear out from behind those clouds I am going to dance again. I will dance naked in all my frightening 44yr old glory and my marshmallow white skin will outshine your silly UV rays. I fully intend to drop my housecoat and let it all hang out, cesarean scars, stretch marks, hairy moles, cellulite and all! I am not kidding Mister. You have three days to comply with my demands for light, warmth, and vitamin D or the dance will commence.

AND IT WON'T BE PRETTY!!

Menu Plan Monday

I'm finally back to planning after several months of just winging it and I'm happy to know I'm going into this week with a plan and a refrigerator full of food for the week. Now I just have to stick to my menu.

Tonight we had guests and we cooked a fantastic Copper River Salmon on the grill. It was delicious! Unfortunatly I'm allergic to seafood so I'm trying to type this quickly before the benedryl kicks in and I start snoring. I know I'm insane.. but it was sooooo good.

Monday - Roast Beef, Mashed Potatoes, Carrots

Tuesday - Beef and Salmon Fajitas made with Sun and Mon leftovers

Wednesday - Baked Chicken, Rice, Green Beans

Thursday - Cobb Salad

Friday - Fried Chicken, Potato Salad, Corn on the

Saturday - Make your own Panini Sandwiches

Sunday - Breakfast for Dinner

Thanks to Laura at I'm an Organizing Junkie for hosting Menu Plan Monday. Check out her site for hundreds of menus.

Don't forget to register for my FLOR area rug giveaway! The drawing should be later this week.