A few weeks ago, Matthew came home with a new scooter.  When asked why we have a new scooter he told me that his friend was going to throw it away because the wheels were messed up and he asked if he could have it.

Immediately, he sat down at his computer and started researching the cost of new wheels.  He finally found the ones that he was looking for and at a price that he could afford… ebay is his FAVORITE website.

We ordered them and we expected them to be here right away.

A week later he left for his Nana’s and the wheels still weren’t here.

I didn’t put much thought into it until yesterday and when I went to check the mail, there they were.

I laid them on his desk and sure enough, the first question that came out of his mouth when he walked in the door from his trip was “Did my wheels come?”

Immediately, he went to work on putting the wheels on.

I didn’t pay much attention to what he was doing until he asked for some help.  Mom was here so he enlisted her help as well…

After he was all done, I asked him WHY it needed new wheels….the answer is pretty obvious…

But now we’re stylin’

Until next time…

Heather

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When I was 13 we lived on the Naval Base in Philadelphia. If you are unfamiliar with Naval Bases, they are their own communities, complete with a McDonald’s, Commissary (Grocery Store), PX (Kmart type store) and in our case, a bowling alley.

An aside: We were an Army family living on the Navy Base. The nice thing about this was calling someone and telling them that I was Captain Moore’s daughter. A Navy Captain is MUCH MUCH higher in rank than an Army Captain, but they didn’t know that Captain Moore was an Army Captain so they moved when I spoke. Hee Hee.

Anywho, in an effort to get my brother and I out of the house on Saturday mornings, my mother signed us up for the bowling league, and I’m not going to lie. I loved it…every single minute… and not just because the base hottie, Chris, was on my team.

I like to bowl. And over time, I got pretty good scoring close to 200 or a little over on all my games. I learned that I bowl better when I don’t have my glasses on.. go figure.

One day, I got 3 strikes in a row. I was very excited and the people at the bowling alley explained to me that 3 strikes in a row is called a Turkey. So when I went home I explained to my Mom that I got a turkey, acting as if I knew all along what this meant.

My mother is WONDERFUL with being excited, genuinely, for you. Any accomplish that you have she is excited for you and I absolutely love that about my mother.

The conversation went something like this

Mom: So how did you bowl today?

Me: I got a turkey.

Mom: How did you get a turkey?

Me: I got 3 strikes in a row.

Mom: Honey, that’s wonderful! Way to go!

We continued walking and chit chatting about the morning… I’m sure she asked me about the Hottie because he’s all I ever talked about when it came to bowling.

Mom: So do they cook it or do I have to?

It was then that I explained that it’s just a name and I wasn’t bringing home a real turkey.

Yes, I’ve always loved to bowl but haven’t done much since high school when I was on the school bowling team. (Yes, that just removed any coolness that you might have thought that I had back in the day… provided that you assumed I had any at all, and if you did, bless you… you’re my new best friend.)

Short of the two hard core bowlers I’ve dated in my adult life, I really haven’t gone out and done much of it. A little over a year ago, I dated someone who was on a league and for Christmas he bought me a bowling ball. For my birthday, I got a pair of shoes and a bag. Unfortunately, or fortunately, however you want to look at it, I broke up with him before he took me to get the ball drilled. Yes, that was over a year ago, and the ball is still sitting in my cloest, holeless.

I get teased about it alot.

Saturday night, some friends called and said they were going bowling. After the jokes about my holes not being drilled, I said that I would join them, so I pulled out my bag and my shoes and headed to the bowling alley. I felt very cool walking in with my bag and when I donned my new bowling shoes.

And then we bowled.

The first game was horrible. I didn’t even break 100. Then I took my glasses off and they turned the lights off and She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy was piped through the loud speakers… that’s all it took. My groove appeared out of no where.

I rolled my first ball… strike…

The next two frames brought the same results and when I looked up on the screen, there was my turkey.

I finished the game with a 146, not my best, but the best I’d bowled in awhile and I had so much fun.

It was midnight and they all wanted to bowl one more game, but I wanted to quit while I was ahead (plus I had yet to finish packing the kids and I had an 8 hour drive the next day) so I loaded up my bag and came home…

And now I can’t wait to go and do it again… but I think I’ll work on getting those holed drilled first.

Oh and the best part about the night? I bowled 2 games with out breaking a nail. That’s true talent there!

Until next time..

Heather

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Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve thought it would be really cool to be a stewardess…or an airline attendant. And how excited was I when my mother handed me her Barbie Doll collection and there was a stewardess outfit contained within the obviously-from-the-60s-suitcase filled with clothes and accessories?

Oh I was excited.

I still wonder what it would be like, even now, as I jet set all over the country from Roanoke to Missouri or Mississippi.

So when we were on our trip to DC, within the Air and Space Museum there was a little stand about being a stewardess.

Knowing that I didn’t have to actually submit a full length photo, I took the quiz (but there WAS a full length mirror there…ugh)

Each of those blue squares talks of the requirements… let’s start off with height…

Well, strike one… I’m 5′8″… and truth be told, I wish I was 5′6″… then I could date men that were shorter than 5′11″

Ok, moving on to weight…

Nope… too fat… I’d hate to think I would throw the weight off on the plane…not looking good for me…

How about age?

Strike three… I’m too old…

How about marital status?

nope… I’m divorced… that sucks… strike 4…

Moving on to appearance…

Ok, well I am height and weight proportionate, but what does “Just below Hollywood standards” mean? I do have personality, but I’m not sure about poise…

Ok… ethnicity…

YAY!!! I finally meet a requirement!

And gender?

WOO HOO!!!! I’m a girl!!!

And education?

Well, an RN I am not, but I do have two years of college… but I’m thinking that they no longer require this because I’ve met alot of DUMB airline attendants!

So that settles it… I wouldn’t have made the cut in the 50s…

But just for grins and giggles, I was curious to see if I would make it today…

And apparently, there were many discrimination suits out there (imagine… we live in such a litigious world!) that I could make it today… they just ask that you are height and weight proportionate…

I’m so glad my dreams are not yet squelched…

How about you? What was the one thing you wanted to do when you were little?

Until next time…

Heather

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one of those people that takes their dog to see the Easter Bunny….

Rhoda wasn’t sure what to do with the Easter Bunny, but yes, I took her to the Great Egg Beg… an Easter Egg Hunt for dogs at Six Wags Dog Park, here in town…

There were so many people…

And dogs…

And she hunted… but we didn’t find any… not any that had treats in them anyway, but that’s okay… I gave her lots when we got home..

She was pooped by the time we got back in the car…

Until next time…

Heather

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This was the question asked of me many many times after seeing these last Sunday (or a picture of them…)

Yes, I really made those…

Until next time…

Heather

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unless your kid got picked for All County Choir…

Six 5th graders from each Elementary school were picked and they worked hard to perform Tuesday night…

Look at all those kids…

Matthew’s head is right above the lady in the suit’s head…

I was so proud of him.. I beamed. I cried. It was short, but amazing…

And it was great… his dad was there, his big brother and his wife, and his teacher came. He was so proud and so was I.

It was a great honor… and here’s Matthew singing “It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing”

Please try not to laugh at his head going a mile a minute… and enjoy the smile at the very end… it was the biggest smile the entire night… I think he was a little nervous!





Until next time…
Heather

PS. As I was previewing this Matthew came up to me and said, “Is that actually how I sounded?”

“Yes,” I replied.

“Pretty good, huh?” with a HUGE grin on his face…

What a nut!!!

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Trust me… I had to hold myself from saying that many times yesterday. Being cooped up on the bus for 5 hours was not my idea of fun… oh and that’s just one way. But I had a good time, both to and fro and while I was in DC… thanks to the other mothers who were suckered volunteered lovingly to go.

No, actually, there are two mothers that I adore and the sad part is that we only see each other at major school functions, which is a shame. We jive. I like them. And they made yesterday so much more fun, because between the unGodly hour we arose, the long hours on the bus, the walking, the whining from the kids, and the rain, they made it fun.

So here are a few pictures, because I know you’re dying to know what we did from the hours of 5am to midnight…

Here is a view of the Lincoln Memorial from the World War II Memorial

And the Washington Monument from the WWII Memorial… it’s funny, on the bus, I screamed “Hey!  There’s the big pencil!”  and all the kids were like, “I don’t see a big pencil…”

This is simply water from the fountain at the WWII Memorial.  I took it simply because I’ve been experimenting with water shots lately, and I wanted to see how it came out.  I like it.

Matthew is going through a stage in his life where he is very happy but you would never know it by his pictures.  Seriously, we were laughing 5 seconds before this…

My biggest reason that I am thrilled that Matthew likes to take pictures?  People actually have proof that I was there too…

I love how this picture turned out.  I took this one from the Lincoln Memorial…

Here’s Matthew and I at the Lincoln Memorial… I love being able to take pictures with him… especially when he’s smiling! (and when I look thinner)

I just love DC

Scary man, no?  I was playing with Depth perception… he is at the Korean War Memorial… did you know that I’ve never been to the WWII Memorial or the Korean War Memorial?

Another shot of the big pencil.  We didn’t go here, just took lots of pics of it.

And the Jefferson Memorial… again, we didn’t visit it, just snapped a picture

So, at lunch time, I camped out a spot and Matthew says, “Can we sit somewhere else?”  I asked where he wanted to sit and he looked back.  When I followed his gaze, there was a cute little blonde there… so I told him that he was more than welcome to go sit with her but that I was sitting where I was.  I should’ve never assumed that he would stay with me…

When they were done eating, they went for a ride on the carousel… and Matthew purchased her ticket…

“See guys? I got our tickets!”

And now he smiles…:)

Actually, it was the most he smiled all day…

I guess blondes have that affect on him…

As does rain, and the idea of wearing his new red poncho… I really didn’t think it would rain since we were prepared… but I’m glad we were… the 15 minute walk from the Air and Space Museum to the Natural History was not fun for some… but i had fun playing in the rain…

I took this picture while we were walking between the two museums… in the rain… you can’t go to DC and not take a pic of the capitol.  Now I learned that the flags are not up which means they aren’t in session…

Of course, while we werethe Museum of Natural History, I had to check on the diamond that I loaned to them.  It appears that they are taking very good care of it.

And can you believe that we had just 5 minutes with the dinosaurs?  By the time we finished looking at the Gems (the first place we went) there was little time to hit the gift shop and select the perfect rock to take home.  We got lost… of course, and we found our way back to the lobby through prehistoric times where I told Matthew that he needed to stop so I could at least get one picture with a dinosaur… it’s one of those things…

So that was our trip… 10 hours on a bus… i’m sorry, a coach… i was reminded by the bus driver that I was NOT on a bus, but a coach… and it was nice… we watched movies… Narnia, Pirates of the Carribbean, Night at the Museum, and the transformers…

All in all, it was a good trip… and bittersweet… this is the last field trip as an elementary schooler… i’m sure that any middle schooler will not want his mother to accompany him on any more field trips.  I’m sad about that in and of itself… but I’m also bummed that there will be no more all day trips with the cool moms…

Until next time…

Heather

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I learned quite a few things after spending three days with my church ladies…they were vital, so I thought I would pass them along…

I’ve learned that a frosted mug filled with Apple Cider kinda resembles a frosted mug filled with beer and is a great picture to show your pastor…

I’ve learned that I look pretty good with a dragon hat on, yet I scare members of my youth group…

I’ve learned that dreads are not flattering on me and that other members of my youth group make great pirates…

I’ve learned that to really KNOW what a scent smells like with candle tarts you must stuff your face down in them and breathe in…

I’ve learned that a coffee table in a hotel room makes a great dining room table for the late night runs to Mickey D’s. I’ve also learned that when they close the main area and only offer drive through after 10pm on a Saturday night, they should probably rethink their business model.

I’ve learned that ballet flats are in and that these are “so me”… what ever that means… and that it’s alot of fun to go shopping with teens who will tell you what is in and what isn’t…

Additionally, I learned that you should not wear shoes with holes in them when it’s raining or you will get cold, wet feet. YUK!

I learned that the Rapture could occur at any moment…

I learned that Julie Ann Barnhill is a great speaker… maybe it’s because I felt like *I* was up there speaking… we are just too much alike…

I learned that bras make a nice scarf to cover your ears…

I also learned much about God, so never fear, but all in all, a good time was had… obviously…

Until next time…

Heather

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With all the cooking I’ve done in the past few weeks, I’ve decided that I need a new stove.

Please don’t misunderstand.  It’s not that a new stove would be nice… I really need a new stove.

So this morning, I announced my decision to the BFF who promptly replied, “Now I know that you’re liking this cooking thing.”

Truth be told?

I am.

And to continue creating culinary delights in the evenings a new stove is very important.

It would be nice to be able to fit more than one cookie sheet in the oven (because I only have one rack).   It would also be nice to have more than one operable burner.  (I have two that work, one that works right and one that only goes on high… which may explain why I keep setting the timer smoke detector off.  One never worked from the time I moved in and the other one was lost in the great meltdown around this time last year.)

Because I know nothing about purchasing a stove and because I will have this stove for quite some time, I called my mother to ask for her advice.

She had none, really… I mean nothing that I didn’t know already.  She said she prefers self-cleaning but that it wasn’t important and that all the bells and whistles are nice, but you rarely use them and the more you have, the better chance you have at breaking.

I mentioned about possibly buying a used stove to which she replied that it was a great idea.

Then I expressed my concern about having to find someone who could help me deliver it and remove the old stove.

“Call the Smithsonian.. they’ll gladly take it,” she said as she roared with laughter, obviously tickled with her response.

There’s a reason… my stove?

Is from way back in the day…

Let me show you…

This?  Is my stove.  Note the avacado green color.  That alone tells you the era it’s from.

Now you might be wondering where my sole working burner lies…

well, they are tucked away… and it’s really the coolest thing about my stove…

Let me demonstrate…

There is a little button that says release… and you press on that…

And then you pull them out…like so…

And there are my burners… (excuse the mess, I hadn’t yet cleaned up from dinner)…

All these buttons?  Aside from the fact that they also allude to the era of the stove do not work.

So there is why I need a new stove…

So while I’m off looking up the number for the Smithsonian, why don’t you tell me what you like about your stove and what you can’t live without…

For the record?  I’m going to offer the Smithsonian the two typewriters located at my mother’s house…

Until next time…

Heather

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At least here it is…

And, this coming from someone who once thought people who are tofu were… well, weird.

Are you tired about hearing about my cooking? Get over it! I’m so completely in love with this cooking thing, primarily because I’m doing it… not only that, but somewhat well!

Anywho, I got a recipe from a gal at church and I made it with peppers and onions… and some spices, and garlic..

Matthew, who told me he didn’t like peppers and onions, came in the kitchen and said, “What smells so good?”

As he looked on into the skillet, he spied the peppers and onions and then watched me add the tofu. “I’m making myself some lunch. It’s tofu.”

He asked what it was and I replied, “something vegetarians eat, I thought I would try it.” I really wasn’t in the mood for yet another PB&J with 100% all natural PB & J on Ezekial bread. I still love it, but I wanted something different.

He asked if he could try it. He had already finished his lunch, but I said yes. And he did.

And he liked it.

And so did I.

So, tonight, I got adventurous… a friend told me I could marinate it in soy sauce, so I did… and then I added some green peppers and onions and the tofu and stir fried it all up and put it over brown rice…

See?

Yes, stir fry is best complimented by baked potatoes… didn’t you know that?

Ok, so my presentation needs a little work, but it was yummy!

Matthew loved it, every bit of it… and because he found out that tofu was so rich with protein, he asked me if I would make it the way I made it for lunch yesterday, for breakfast in the morning…because he’s got testing… and I happily said yes.

I even have to get up a little bit earlier since this will take just a tad longer than his normal PB and banana smoothie. And I’m excited.

Do you know the last time I made my kids breakfast in the morning? I can’t tell you when….

But tonight was day 10 of home cooked meals.

And last night? I made my own spaghetti sauce.. from scratch!

Can you believe it?

I know! Neither can I!

Until next time…

Heather

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