Sushi Day!

We love Blue. And when you sit upsairs it is loud enough that you don't have to care that you are eating with a 4 year old who doesn't sit still and sometimes doesn't understand the concept of an "inside" voice. That and everything looks a little red. Because in Blue's Sake Bomber Lounge, they have happy hour for all day on Sunday and the lights are all red. So you look red. Reference said picture. But even red, we had fun.

The Babe loves shrimp. Especially Tempura shrimp that are bigger than her head and come with a killer broth for dipping them in. She likes anything that can be dipped. And for the record, she ate all four.

This is the Babe with a new use for chopsticks. She of course is a walrus. And our new friend who is taking the pictures thought it was cute. And encouraged it. Much to my dismay and horror. OK. not so much on the horror part.

Did I mention that we had a lot of fun this afternoon?

Lots of Wine Later

This is 5 people who have incredibly enjoyed the wine festival.

This one of my best friends and the new significant other. First time I'd met her. I even like her. Which is saying a lot. Because there are not many people that I would say that about. Wait. That came out wrong. What I meant was, there aren't many people that I think are good enough to date said friend. In 20 years, I've gotten to be pretty protective. But that's a story for another time.

The Pusher and hubby. Check out the big wine glasses. They are Awesome. And this year I got to take mine home because the Pusher didn't steal it.

Random Blathering

Random blathering. That is what this qualifies as. As if anything else I ever blog about has a purpose. lol

• I no longer think that this ( lol ) looks like a guy drowning. But this one ( \o/ ) definitely does.
• I still can't spell definitely without the spell check.
• The Omaha Riverfront Wine Festival was a blast. we drank way too many 1 oz glasses of wine. The VIP ticket was really the way to go. I dumped about as many glasses as I drank. And most of what I drank was white wines. Which is pretty unusual for me. Found out after trying some of the wines that were REALLY good, the ones I thought I liked weren't as good as I thought they were. Still, James Arthur Vineyards wins as having our favorite wines. We once again spent the last of our time there. Didn't make it to ANY of the classes that we'd planned on. Just was stupid about parking, walked for miles to get there and then drank a lot of water and then too much wine. : ) It sure was fun though. And just for the RECORD, the Pusher's husband wins the award for the loudest and happiest drunk. it was hysterical.
• I have officially worked for 20 days straight. I'm tired. It will be 23 when I finally get/take a day off.
• I still don't have the big project done. Hopefully tomorrow.
• The dachshund dog that Son2 brought with him is driving me crazy. He insists on barking all of the time. Won't leave Roxanne alone. Licks your face. Jumps on and off of you repeatedly when you are trying to lay down on the couch. Runs off if you don't tie him up when he is outside.
• In 1919 my great-grandfather, Fred was discharged from the Army. He kept his WW1 uniform, cap, helmet, canteen, mess kit and ammo belt stored in a huge trunk. Friday, my mom and dad went through it and found all this plus live ammunition. My mom called me to ask what to do with live ammo that has been stored for nearly 100 years. The police department was nice enough to come pick it up. This is my great-grandpa.
  

• I need to go to bed. but I'm not really tired. Brain dead but not tired.

I'm going to go load some pics. Back in a few.

Fireflies By That Guy Who Does All of The Sounds With His Mouth

I'm kind of obsessed with this Mike Tompkins guy's music. But then I saw an interview of him. He is a slightly cocky guy. But then again, with his talent he's probably earned it. But he's cocky. I don't much like cocky.

I just said cocky three times. Can't even remember the last time I used it. And I just used it three times. huh.

10 Random Things for a Friday

It is still Friday in 3/4 of the US so I may have brought it down to the wire but it is on baby!

1. My home laptop is driving me absolutely bonkers. So if we can make it through this without me having to switch to the Husband's computer I'll be absolutely surprised.
2. The Babe has done 4 different 100 piece puzzles this week. A few pieces were added by Son2 or myself to help her get over a rough patch but she did 95% of them herself. Dollar Tree has some pretty rocking puzzles. For a dollar. I think we have bought one of each that they have there.
3. I need new tennis shoes. When I went walking yesterday this was very apparent. They just aren't cushy anymore. The problems that this brings though are that I did not budget new shoes into the budget this month. Nor next month. I need to find myself a good sale.
4. Someone left a stuffed animal that talks in the couch. I know this because I sat on the couch and the couch started talking. Which throws you off a little when you've had a couple of glasses of wine.
5. I just yelled at Husband for no reason. I'd say I'm on overload. What do you think?
6. My house is an absolute disaster. There are people coming here from out of town and I don't have the time to clean it because I have to work again in the morning. And the maid quit. Good thing it is a friend who doesn't care what my house looks like.
7. I've got nothing. How can I have nothing when this is random stuff? Overload.
8. It took Tolstoy six years to write "War and Peace." It has taken me 15 years to read it. And I'm not done. I have a copy. But I'm not sure where it even is.
9. I've still got nothing.
10. Tomorrow is Riverfront Wine Festival. Have I mentioned that? After this last couple of weeks, it will be nice to do something fun.

Wow. that was lame. We'll try this again tomorrow after the Wine Festival. I bet those 10 will be interesting!

Um... Yeah.

I know. I haven't posted a 10 things. Thanks for the reminder friend. It won't be until tonight.

Love you though. Thanks for trying to keep me on track. But right now I'm not even on the train.

How To Taste Wine

My name is Carolyn and I am a Groupon addict. And I like wine. And we're going to the Riverfront Wine Festival this weekend. It will be our 2nd year in a row. Which probably makes it a tradition. And this year we bought the VIP tickets so we get "unlimited" tastings. Which is really just a ticket to taste 1 oz glasses of wine until you find one that you REALLY like and then you go buy a bottle of it and fight for a place to sit down and drink said bottle while the sun tries to kill you and you remember that you forgot to put on sunscreen and you didn't wear a hat, why? Or so I've heard.

But anyway, back to the Groupon thing. Today's Groupon Deal for Omaha is a half price "grand tasting" ticket plus 10 additional tasting coupons for $20. Pretty darn good deal. If I hadn't already gotten my own ticket, I'd be all over it. So now I'm trying to recruit others to come and enjoy the afternoon with us. Wanna come?

Have you ever read Groupon deals? At the bottom they always have some little tidbit of knowledge (Groupon Says) that is usually related to the subject of the Groupon. Today's is How To Properly Taste Wine. I laughed out loud. But then again, I may be a little bit punchy with being tired from working so many days in a row and all. But I thought I'd share.

Again I found it HERE.

How to Properly Taste Wine

For total wine enjoyment, the wine drinker must engage in a multi-step process designed to enhance the flavor, body, and unique characteristics with each sip:

• Give the wine in your glass one of three names: "Gary," "Darryl," or "Garryl."
• Bring the wine glass to your right eye and stare deeply into it for at least 30 minutes, until you can no longer tell where the wine ends and you begin.
• Starting with your left pinky and moving right, fully submerge each of your fingers into the wine glass until all fingers are in the glass.
• Take a sip and slosh it around. When someone gives you some surprising news, spit it out.
• Put all of the wine from your glass into your mouth, but don't swallow. When all the wine is in there, open your mouth and say, "Keys. Once angry keeping flagrant." Enjoy the wine that is left in your mouth.

OK so after reading it a second time, it may not be as funny as I thought. Oh well. It was worth a giggle though. In a "who the hello took the time to write this and thought it was funny" kind of way.

By the way. Anybody want to go with us to the Wine Festival? Saturday. Be there or be square.

I Think My Brain Has Shut Off

I think my brain has shut off. Like ceasing to function off. I've worked so many hours this last two weeks that I think I just hit tilt. And Saturday is a long way off it seems. I need to regroup. I'm not stressed about it anymore. I've passed stressed. Not in a "I'm so stressed I'm at whatever comes after that" stage kind of way. But more of a "I've reached an odd sense of calm that comes after you crack" kind of way.

And today my brain shut off. It had to change gears too many times today. And it refuses to do much of anything now. I'm going to go pick up the Babe and try again tonight.

Wish me luck. This was my brain dump. I have to regroup now. I'm thinking it will involve Diet Coke and a chik'n sandwich. I'll let you know how it goes.

I Stole This

Suzy over at It Walked on My Pillow shared this today. I've seen this guy before. But every time I am amazed. Oh to have this kind of talent.

My Favorite Recipe Sites

This is for my sister. But y'all can visit them too if you want. Yummies!

Kalyn's Kitchen - Low Carb Friendly
Smitten Kitchen - NOT low carb friendly but way good recipes
Savory Sweet Life - Easy family friendly recipes
Tasty Kitchen - Pioneer Woman Driven
Healthy. Happy. Life. - Awesome recipes. usually easy. always Vegan
Simply Recipes - I've found lots of easy family recipes. they are kind of hit and miss though
FatFree Vegan Kitchen - I haven't made anything from here that wasn't good
Karma-Free Cooking - Good stuff. Some of her ingredients aren't always easy to find though
Last Night's Dinner - She relies a lot on other people's cookbooks but she's honest about how they turned out.

Ok. that should keep you busy for a while. but if nothing else, you can always just have a peanut butter sandwich. : ) adding Nutella would switch it up a little bit. lol

10 Random Things for a Friday

This week has been Carppy. But I think we've already covered that so I'm going to try and not carry it over to here. It's worth a shot, right?

1. The Babe started Pre-school this week! She loves it. I love that she loves it. But I still cry a little every morning when I drop her off. Yes. I am sappy. And emotional. but what of it?
2. My mom's twin sister lives in the Minneapolis metro area. We used to go to her house ALL of the time when I was growing up. It was the first place my parents let me drive to that wasn't within 30 miles of my house. It was a refuge when my teenage self thought I needed to get away from my parents. Being at my Aunt's probably saved my life more than once. This has gotten long enough that it should probably get it's own post. So we'll let this go for now.
3. A Dutch Pancake is called a pannekoeken. We used to eat them in Minneapolis at the Pannekoeken Huis. Which is apparently the Minneapolis Dutch version of IHOP. This all comes about because Cascadian Farms had a cool recipe for a peach pannekoeken this week. My favorite way to have them was with strawberries and powdered sugar. I think I'll take a shot at the peach one this weekend.
4. There is a parade tomorrow in our little version of downtown. It is a joint venture with the Air Force Base. And it kicks off a week of pretty cool events. The Babe LOVES parades.
   
5. The week includes an air show. We don't need to get tickets to the air show. They fly over our house. Which leads to much better views anyway. :)
6. Son2 has decided that he wants to live here again. Which is good. Because I miss him terribly when he isn't here. Now all I have to do is get Jr. and family to move here. Then my evil plan will be complete!
7. Even the best fall down sometimes. Personally, I'm pretty tired of falling.
8. I want to be a Yarn Bomber when I grow up. I got the idea from elena over at itwalkedonmypillow. She is going to be one too. This would however mean that I would have to learn how to knit. or crochet. Which I think we have talked about this before. you see, I can't do either. so when I need something knit, or crocheted or sewn for that matter, I just pay my friend Candice to do it. Do you think I would still be a yarn bomber if I used someone else's creation and i just paid for it and put it on random parking meters?
9. For quite a while yesterday I thought it was friday. but alas, it was not. This was a very depressing moment. But then again it was good. Because I have A LOT of things to do before the end of the month and that just gave me an extra day. kind of.
10. My favorite color this week is white. Because that is the color I found underneath all of the black and gray that my husband had left as the ring around the tub. Having a mechanic for a husband means you have to wash your tub every time he bathes. so luckily I only have to do it once every other week or so. ok. that was a lie. he does bathe at least once a week. ok. that was a lie too. he does bathe most every day. but don't tell him I told you because then he'll think I was talking about him being naked or something and then that gets hard to explain.

Happy birthday to you if your birthday is August 20th! Happy early birthday to you if your birthday is this week! Happy belated birthday to you if you just had it and I missed it. I don't know why I'm talking about birthdays. I must need cake with buttercream frosting or something. Anywhoooo. Happy Friday.

Be well my stalker friends.

Carppy Part II

If I check myself in to the looney bin will you all come visit? i would hate to be there and not at least get postcards. my mom used to send me postcards at camp. do you think she'll send them to me at the looney bin? do they even really have a looney bin anymore? the psych hospital that used to be in the "city" closed. i know because i worked near there at the time and i think they released them all into the park across the street. them and the crack dealers had quite the week. my shift key is stuck i think. because I keep pushing it and i think it is only working about 20% of the time and that % sign was a 5 the first 3 times I pushed it. and i had a carppy day. it was just about as bad as yesterday's carppy day. except that this time it involved 300 dollars worth of tires and towing for a car that isn't even mine, 3 whining dogs, and a bill collector. and did i mention that it is 11:29 pm and the Babe is still awake?

yep. it was about that good.

i'm going to bed and I'm going to try this life thing again tomorrow at 7:00 AM. pray for me. i hear there are no psych beds available in the metro area and I'm sure that they'd kick me out after 27 hours anyway. because i have pretty stellarly sucky health insurance and all i really need is a good long nap and maybe someone to help me get caught up at work.

happy happy. let's hope for brighter days tomorrow.

I Mean, Really?

OK. So here's the deal. (I say it that way because that is how I really talk you know). So here is how it goes.

I had an absolutely CARPPY day. (and yes. I know I just spelled that wrong. It's intentional) It was monumentally so. Every time I turned around something else fell on my head. Short of someone dying, it was THAT bad.

So then I come home. Where I decide to check my yahoo mail account. One of the dozen email addresses I can't seem to cut down on. But anyhow... I check my email address that starts with candles. And I realize that this one group that I used to get 12 emails a day from that I got ZERO emails from them today. ZERO. They are in the middle of a pretty heated "discussion". So I am SURE that there not were ZERO emails today.

But you see.. yesterday someone on the email list figured out who I was. And that I had a "connection" to the group that they are "fighting" against. But I am on the side of the group that I got ZERO emails from today. So apparently they realized who I was. They apparently now see me as an infiltrator. OMG people. I am on YOUR side. I agree with what you are saying and what you want. And I have a vested interest in seeing what you are fighting for happen. And you cut me off of your email list rather than ask me about why I asked to be part of your group? What side I stand on?

Can they not realize that having the relationship that I have with the people they are "arguing" with that I could not be a TOOL in their fight?

Now granted yesterday, I was complaining to Husband about how many emails they send a day. And kind of giggling about how they are handling some of this. And saying that I wondered about whether or not I should maybe not be associated with them. Even though I agree with their side. And seriously? Do you they have to be as anti- everything as they are being? I mean it is xxxxx for heaven sakes. But no. So that was yesterday.

Today on my monumentally carrpy day they decide to defenestrate me from their group? (yes I know that was a big word. Go look it up. I found it here. I just used it to look like I was smart or something.) But anyway.. the defenestrated me from their group today. And it kind of made me sad in a "what do you mean you don't like me anymore" kind of way. And it kind of made me angry in a "what do you mean you are kicking me out because now you know who I am and I can't put a sign in my yard" kind of way.

And of all of the things to bother me and cry about on my monumentally carrpy day, I care about this why?

I mean, Really?

10 Random Things for a Friday

1. I have been jamming all morning. We closed the office to clean the thing from top to bottom. It is all done but the paper explosion that is my desk. This is my break. Aren't you glad I am spending it with you?
2. In honor of the beginning of the school year.... I would like to share the BEST 25 HIGH SCHOOL MOVIES OF ALL TIME. I would like to point out that I don't think that that last sentence is grammatically correct.
3. The Babe starts preschool on Monday at 9:00. At 9:05 I will be an officially blubbering mess.
4. Pandora has had incredible music choices today. I have been listening to it mostly at full blast. Which makes it impossible to hear my cell phone. So if you have called me and I didn't answer, I'm sorry. It's not that I don't like you. It's just that I like Journey, Pink, The Calling, and The Goo Goo Dolls a little more right now.
5. My garden is officially a flop. We are going to move it next year. Raised beds maybe. Haven't decided yet. But you can not garden in clay. Welcome to Nebraska.
6. Hawkeye Football starts 3 weeks from tomorrow. They play Eastern Illinois. And 1 week later they play Iowa State. I miss living in Iowa City sometimes.
7. I am planning a watermelon seed spitting contest for Sunday afternoon. You are all invited.
8. Hey I just left the planet earth But a' where I go I hope there's rum . -- Cool prize to whomever can Name That Tune! It'll probably be some crap off of my porch.
   
9. Whatever happened to cool game shows? What will our kids watch reruns of? Wouldn't you rather watch game shows than stupid reality shows?
10. And while we are on old TV shows... why do the new shows not have cool catchy theme songs? I mean would Gilligan have been Gilligan without the "a tale of a fateful trip that started from this tropic port aboard this tiny ship?"
11. The Babe can sing the theme song from Mr. Ed. My mom warped me. I am only passing it on.
12. She can also sing "there's a little change in my pocket going ging a lang a lang." Yes, I did teach my daughter borderline appropriate songs. What of it?
    
13. I can't count to ten.
    
14. I need to go back to work.
15. Seriously. I need to get off of the internet and go back to work.

Love to all. Happy Friday. Happy weekend.

Do something fun. You've earned it. Unless of course you screwed off all week. Then you should probably have fun anyway and take then a minute to re-group. Lesson learned.

10 Random Things for a Friday

Well kids. Here we find ourselves at yet another Friday. Whose idea was it to have a 5 day work week anyway? I could have used Friday 2 days ago. How about you?

And without any further delay: -----

1. The Pusher and I have purchased our tickets for the 2nd annual Riverfront Wine Festival. We are going on Saturday August 28. Don't drink wine? We need a designated driver. Want to volunteer?
   
2. The Babe had her first "I remember the dream I had" moment this week. It was all about Tutu and slides and a Superman ride. And she told us all about it about a dozen times. It was cute the first 11 times.
   
3. There are 3 grocery store bags full of grocery store bags in the trunk of my car. I was at the grocery store 3 times this week. They are still in the trunk of the car.
   
4. You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes you just might find that you get what you need.
   
5. Our favorite yogurt is Greek God's yogurt. It is the bomb. The honey one is our favorite. Add in fresh berries or peaches and there is no better dessert. And then I realized that it is the highest fat yogurt on the market. Which explains why we like it so well. :(
   
6. The county fair is this weekend. Can't decide between the Tractor pull or the Rodeo or the Smash Em Up Derby. But I know I don't have the money for all of them.
   
7. We've had cajun seasoned sauteed zucchini 3 times this week. Hubby really wants it fried. I've just been getting further and further away from fried and closer to sauteed each time I make it. I'll be sad to see our zucchini season end.
8. I almost bought a cat last weekend at the "free adult cats" day at the Humane Society. But I did not. Instead I talked the Pusher into getting two kittens in the "Buy One Get One Free" kitten sale. So two cats were rescued. And I didn't even have to bring one home.
9. Tomorrow is "Half Price Dog" day at the Humane Society. I will not go ANYWHERE near the Humane Society tomorrow.
10. Remember when I told you about Krispy Kreme closing here in town? Well now there is an empty lot there. They are building a CVS. It will be caddy corner from the Walgreen's. Seriously? Across the street? Oh well. I hear they have good coupons.

Get yourself a hug sandwich this weekend. You KNOW you need one. If you don't know what a hug sandwich is, I'll explain it later. I'm off to go get one of my own.

Do You Know This One?

I love this song. Have you heard it? A friend sent me a link to it after a conversation. I love the message. I love the song. Hope you do too.

Aft Note: After a message someone sent me, I should probably clarify. It is the friend that the song really applies to at the moment. Hubby and I are fine. No, we haven't always been. It's always a work in progress. Don't we all have that? But we are in a good place right now.

I just really like the message of the song. And it's a message we all need from time to time.

The Song That is Stuck in My Head

Wine Club

Strawberry Hill

Regarded by most as the king of all flavors of Boone’s Farm, Strawberry Hill has a rich, vibrant strawberry flavor with a just a hint of hill. Oh, and it has a bite. It's alcohol content is slightly higher than most Boone's Farm flavors.

Alcohol Content: 7.5%

Rating: 99 points

Joined the Boone's Farm Fan Club. Once a Strawberry Hill fan, how can you not stay a fan?