Yesterday started off rather meh, but then there were several surprises. The first surprise was getting the mail - no bills and 3 packages, a shirt.woot tshirt trade (a design by this guy, whose phoenix I also love), a book by Jane Porter, and a great new tote-bag from my recipes site sponsor, FoodBuzz. The tote bag has a Rachel’s Recipe Box pin on it, too.

Then we went to the beach for a bit, only to come home early when a thunderstorm started. And yes, we had walked to the beach. 10 minutes in a thunderstorm will get you plenty wet, fyi.

Then I got home, and had an amazing surprise - two designs I had created for the shirt.woot Derby had risen, 1 was in the top 20, the other still in the top 40. Now one has dropped, but they are both still in the top 40 as of this writing. yippeeee!

If you’ve ever bought something from any of the woot websites, you can log in and vote for great designs. Like mine.

But then there was the big downer of the day. During the t-storm, lightning hit close to us, and BG & MG were opening a door and got shocked, but they’re fine. Unfortunately, our FIOS service got a worse shock, no tv, phone, or internet at our house now. Our DVD/VCR seems to have perished, too. Maybe our TV, too. I’m waiting to see what else. It’s very exciting. B is lucky that it didn’t whack out his computer, my laptop wasn’t plugged in and wasn’t downstairs where the shocking happened. Thank goodness the microwave is ok.

I’ve been through this before at my mom’s house, and I’m glad it wasn’t as big a hit as what we dealt with then. Now let’s see how the rest of the weekend goes.

I’m spending Sunday through Tuesday at my grandmother’s house again, so internet will be spotty until I get home. Hope everyone has a lovely weekend.

I take a lot of pics of the girls, but they don’t always capture their inner selves. This one, though, shows LG’s personality so much more than the beautiful angelic ones.
LG with her fairy gear:

Proving that ANYTHING can be a weapon in the right hands. And that even the most angelic child can have a touch or more of mischeif!

A dad friend of mine sent me this link. We’ve spent how much time telling kids not to put their Legos in their mouths? And now they come out with Lego fruit snacks? Are they hoping for a law suit?

Mom Central and American Standard are running a contest for parents in the Boston area, where you can win an Accuclean heating and AC system - here’s my post with more info, and the contest link. Check out their Accuclean site where you can get info about indoor air quality.

My recipes and recipe blog will be up at Wellsphere.com when their Food Allergy network next month. Check ‘em out, they’ve already got a lot of info there, and more is coming.

I’m taking a couple days off again to visit my Nana and Grandpa Bob, she is doing much better a month after her stroke, and I’m looking forward to spending time with her and cooking with her around. Here’s hoping the 2 days don’t hit me the same way 4 days hit me last time!

Sometimes the girls take sweet pictures. I have such a crush on that puppy!

The weather is finally turning beachy - yippeeeee! Watch out for more beach pics.

My reading choices vary by mood - some days I might want a suspenseful novel, and others a romance. Sometimes a mystery will hit the spot, and others a chick lit novel is more to my taste. If you are in the market for a novel that will lift your spirits without being saccharine sweet, pick up Earthly Pleasures, a new novel by Karen Neches. Earthly Pleasures will enchant you with its storyline about the inhabitants of heaven, but you’ll keep turning the pages to see how the romantic storyline unfolds.
Read the rest of the review

So, does MG look like I did as a kiddo?

So, some of my readers are parents, but all of you must have parents, right?

I spent my life being told I look like my mom. To the point where I would be working at the local movie theater and people would come up and say, “you’re xx’s daughter!” As a bonus, my mom DID know what I did when I went out ‘cos her network of spies er, her friends, would see me and tell her.

So, of my 3 girls, only one has dark hair like I do. People have said she looks like me, but I think she looks like the others, who look like my husband.

Well, my mom took a picture of her with her new haircut, and oh my gosh, I totally see it now. It’s quite freaky. She looks exactly like I did around that age. Wow.

She’s cuter than me tho.