Happy Easter, everybody!

We decided to "go away" this holiday weekend, and take the chitlins somewhere we had never been before.

So we went to Manahawkin, New Jersey.

Because we are adventurous folks.

Oh yeah.

And because of this...


It seemed that I had been obsessing merely mentioning the fact that I would enjoy going to a Sonic Drive-In and enjoying some of their fine, fried delicacies.

Well.

It seems that the lovely folks at the Sonic headquarters really want EVERYONE in the entire free world to visit their fine establishments. Frankly, I think that some of the world's problems could be solved over an order of Cheesy Tots and a refreshing Cherry Limeade.

But I digress.

So! I had been viewing these absolutely fabulous television commercials extolling the wondrous virtues of the Sonic Drive-In. Which, I might add, I have visited numerous times throughout my life. Seeing as how I was born, raised in, attended college in, began my illustrious career as an educator in, and love with all my heart, THE SOUTH. So! I am familiar with all of the joy that Sonic can offer to an individual.

But.

Once your body/car/vehicle passes over the Mason-Dixon line, and you are physically in "THE NORTH," there ain't no Sonic to be found.

Period.

Unless you go to Waretown, New Jersey.

Which is exactly what my wonderful husband schemed and connived his way to doing for me this past weekend.

We drove for approximately three and a half hours just so I could sit in my husband's truck, eat a hamburger, cheesy fries, drink a Cherry Limeade with extra Cherry, and finish all that off with a Peanut Butter Fudge sundae.

I don't know if that's love or just devotion to a fryer, ya'll.

Either way, it was good beyond belief, and this year's Easter will be one of the more memorable ones. I can guarantee you that!

Once again, another day off from school.

This week in school, since it was the President's Day holiday, we didn't attend school this past Monday (the 18th), or the previous Friday (the 15th). Today, since the weather brought in another snowstorm, we are at home. Again.

The kids are enjoying themselves, but I am hesitant to enjoy this snow day, since I no longer have any days left for my school district to lovingly bestow upon its employees since we are only granted five "free" snow days before they start snaggin' our Spring Break days.

The first one that they will want back is April 14th. Doesn't sound too bad, until I read the fine print on Molly Moo's preschool newsletter informing me that Molly Moo will be the STAR OF THE WEEK! in preschool on, yep, you got it, April 14th.

Here is a picture of the kids from a few minutes ago. They are sitting on top of the dog house in the back.
I took the picture from inside the house.

Through the sliding glass doors.

In my pajamas.

And leopard-print slippers.

I know, I know. Glamour has NO time card to punch, does it?

Has it really been over two months since I last posted? That is absolutely shameful. Honestly, you would think that SOMETHING would have happened at least remotely interesting/exciting/embarassing since then, but I can't come up with anything. I have finally stopped having "Morning Sickness." That's a really funny term, since the worst part of my endearing nausea would occur around 5:30 each evening, and last until I fell asleep each evening. It was a ball of fun for everyone in the house. Especially me.

Well, since I haven't posted anything since December of 2007, I can update everyone on the following information:

1. Yes, we are still scheduled to welcome our last little Greenlet in July of this year. According to the doctors and the sonogram folks, the 3rd is still the date of choice, whether or not the baby feels that way, I have no way of knowing.

2. I am still working as a School Library Media Specialist. Or, for those of you who prefer, school librarian.

3. We still reside in upstate New York, and are enjoying the frigid winter weather. Me, not really, but I have an image to uphold here.

4. We know the gender of the baby, and if you are a type who enjoys surprises, don't read the following sentence: IT'S ANOTHER BOY! We are kind of still up in the air on his name, but we know that his first name will definitely be Jacob. Any helpful suggestions with the middle name, please leave me a comment, and gimme what you got. A few ideas from us are David and Daniel.

5. I don't have any "belly shots," only because, well, I haven't taken any pictures, and frankly, ya'll, I don't really feel like showing my pudge that is possibly not related to the baby. (Meaning, do you really want to see my poochy tummy even though the baby is the size of a baked potato, a RAWTHER large one at that)?

I will, however, when it's closer to time, post a few shots for all of everyone to see. Just not now. Although, I do have the following picture to offer to all of you, and remarkably, it resembles me to a TEE right now! 


Check it out...



The ice cream cone, minus the cherry, is a really good rendition, and the round body, since I am pretty much round right now, and the pink, since I seem to be hot all the time, so the picture is EXACTLY what you would see if I were to post any actual photographs on here. Anyway!

I remembered that I never took the picture of the sign from the local business to post on here, but it went exactly like this:

"'TIS THE SEASON FOR PROJECTILE VOMITING"

That was featured on the local vets' billboard in front of the office. Around Christmastime, no less! I don't know if I found it more odd than funny, but it was just plain weird, if you ask me.

Hope everyone is doing well, and I will make it a point to post FAR more frequently than I have been as of recently!

Well, the "kitty-cot," as Miss Molls used to refer to cats, has hopped right on out of the proverbial bag, if you will.

Big Daddy and I decided to expand the family by one member, and, as you can tell from the ticker that appears on the top of this blog, we have just about until July.

Since this will be our third and final child, I have decided that there will be a few changes that will occur during this third, and final, pregnancy. Here goes...

1. This time around, I am going to eat WHATEVER I want, hang the calorical content.  Ladies, I feel like this is my final "hoorah," and if my big fanny wants to eat cereal with milk for a snack, who really CARES that dinner just ended ten minutes ago?  The BABY wants it.  'Nuff said.
2. I will make sure to IGNORE those oh-so-caring individuals who want to tell me their horror stories of labor and childbirth.  In case you hadn't noticed, lady, the two miniature people that you see next to me, they're mine.  I understand people want to have their stories heard, but, ya'll, this is NOT a story that others want, or NEED to hear.  Moving on.
3. I'm going to remember just how wonderful this entire process, from beginning to end, really is.  So what that my underwear would be able to cover the riding lawnmower for its long winter nap?  Is that important in the big scheme of things?  I think not.  The fact that the good Lord felt that my husband and I DESERVED another precious baby is reason enough for me to proudly wear my Spanks.  (The endearing term given to maternity underwear by my husband many moons ago.  Actually, it was when the "man child," also known as Trey, was on his way to us).

One final bit of "haha" information for all...  last week, when we told the chillen that we were going to have a baby, Miss Molls leaned over, put her hand on my tummy, and asked how come it was already BIG.  Well, I told her, remember, Mama has a baby in her tummy, right?  Yes, but, Mama, you said the baby was the size of rice right now.  So that's not that big.  Hmmm.  I think the child is insinuating that my bump is a little larger than normal.  It's gas, sweetheart.  It's just purely gas.

Or it could be the cheese danish that was forced upon me earlier.

It's really difficult to tell.

Here's how you can tell when you need to break out the warm fall/winter clothing:

your kids are begging you to "hurry up, Mama, and take the picture! We can't feel our hands anymore, Mama."

The amount of time and money that's going to have to go to a therapist for my children later on in their lives is going to be shameful.

But my photo albums will be full, and I will be able to look back at all the wonderful memories we created.

All at the expense of frostbitten fingers.

I totally forgot to keep everyone updated on the weedwhacker/weedeater/weedexterminator's condition. A few weeks ago, Big Daddy went to the small motor/engine shop, and was pleasantly surprised to find out that he owed NOTHING for its repair. Evidently, the warrantly was still so relatively new that the company provided the payment for its surgery and rehab.

It seems that SOMEONE burned out the clutch, and had to replace the entire housing for it.

I can't imagine, for the life of me, who would have done such a sorry thing to a man when he could hardly hobble around on his bum leg.

I think that the person who caused the damage should NEVER again be allowed to touch any of the yardwork tools, and, well, I think I'll even go as far to say that the person in question should be required to remain in the house, drinking a Coca-Cola, and reflecting upon the sadness and injury they inflicted upon the poor defenseless weedeater.

I'm just sayin'.

Happy Fall, Ya'll!

Nothing big or interesting has been going on around here (thank goodness for that, for a change). I happened to go by BooMama's blawg, as she calls it, and I discovered that she will be hosting a Christmas Tour of Homes. If you're interested in having your home included, you can go here for more information on it. The official "starting" date is December 17, 2007, so once your home is decorated for Santa Claus, take a few pics and post them for BooMama.

Here are a few pictures that I took off our back deck, of the changing leaves, because they are just so pretty right now.

Hope everyone's weekend is finishing up well today!

Happy Friday, everybody!

I just came from visiting Boomama's blawg, in which she had blogged last night's MSU and LSU game. It was a sad affair, to say the least. I tuned in to the game around 10:30 or so last night (which was 9:30 central time), and there was no pointage going down for the Bulldogs, so I figured poor Boomama was not having herself an enjoyable time. I'm sure everyone has sent their condolences already.

Well! We just came inside from mowing/weedeating/sweating/not having fun outside. It's extremely nice out today; we had a nice breeze blowing, no hot sun beating down on us, but I just do not enjoy the "gardening," or, for the TRUE term, "manual labor for which I do not get paid." Because I want it never to be said that I am harboring something other than the truth!

A sad occurrence occurred (?) while we were outside.

Daddy-O, since having had his knee surgery, is not really able to use the push mower, but can operate the riding mower. (I cannot answer any questions as to WHY we need both a push and a riding mower; I just chalk it up to the fact that my husband feels the need to have any and every power tool that was created, and is displayed all nice and shiny-like at Lowe's).

Anyhoo! Ya'll, I was doing the weedeating, and the thing started a-smokin'. And you know that, me, being a woman, figured, oh, it's probably supposed to be doing that. It probably doesn't matter that it's a little sketchy-soundin', either. Well. THAT was incorrect, for those of you who are like me, and who know near to nothing about what is correct soundage for your outdoor power tools.

So our Troy-Bilt weedwhacker/weedeater/weedexterminator is going to the hospital. And I think that I may be in the doghouse when Daddy-O gets back from the power tool hospital.

I'll keep you updated on its condition.

Happy Wednesday, ya'll!

Each one of us had an "out-of-house" adventure today. Molly Ann got to go shopping with Grandma, Trey accompanied Daddy-O to a teachers' inservice, during which time my child attempted to rappel (ya'll, I am only a librarian, and I don't know how to spell that word. All I know is that my seven year old baby was strapped into a harness today, and did something called "The Slingshot." Furthermore, I know he wasn't hurt, and that's a good thing for his Daddy).

I went and met my two friends at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York. We ate lunch at the Apple Pie Bakery and Cafe, and discussed all the goings-on with our library at school. We were scheduled to have a wall knocked down, and all brand-new furniture ordered and in place for the beginning of school in two weeks. We have since learned some disappointing news that I won't get into here, but, hopefully, my coordinator will have it taken care of before we get into December of this year!

Anywho, onto my lunch date. Since all of the chefs, wait staff (I didn't want to be "gender-biased" here, so there ya go)cashiers, people in chef coats, etcetera, are actual students of the CIA, and because they are graded upon their performance in the restaurant, you kind of have to "go with the flow" while you are dining there. Overall, though, I enjoyed myself. I had the Salad Sampler, which included three choices of their cold salads, and a freshly baked roll with butter. My friends had sandwiches; one had a turkey, and one had a reuben panini. Myself, not a fan of the sauerkraut, much less of corned beef, so I knew better than to go there.

Dessert, however, was another story! We each chose a different thing, and then shared them all around the table. My one friend had what the APBC termed "Mocha." That's it. Not cake, pie, cookie, donut, nothing. Just Mocha. I had a bite of it, and it was pretty good. My other friend had a Chocolate Pot de Creme. Now, ya'll, the only reason that it was chosen was one reason: the thing was presented in an actual eggshell. I think that cinched it for us. I mean, if somebody takes their sweet time preparing CHOCOLATE PUDDING, then putting it into an eggshell that they have meticulously cleaned, then written a calligraphic "A" on the side of, you want you some of that. Finally, me, I chose a tiramisu. I am a fan of tiramisu, but ya'll, this one was rather a disappointment for me. Not enough cake pieces in there, and WAY too much mousse. I guess I'm a snob.

I asked Trey where he went for lunch, and he told me that he and his daddy went to "the pizza joint." Seven years old, and my child is already referring to places as "joints." I don't know if anybody picked up on this or not, but this family is gourmet ALL THE WAY.

As a bring-home treat, because ya'll know if I hadn't brought goodies home for Daddy-O and the kidlets, then there would be some major trouble afoot, I got a (yawn) Oatmeal Raisin Cookie, a Monkey Danish (ya'll, I tasted this thing, and I detected NO monkey (thank the good Lord for that!) or any banana, and I didn't think to ask WHY they named it this, so don't comment me on that one, I don't know...), a pearl sugar brioche (see picture), a Mudslide cookie for the kids to split (think a chocolate chocolate chip cookie with walnuts), and for me and Daddy-O to share, a Pistachio Creme Brulee. I'm a sucker for ANY kind of creme brulee, so there ya go.

It was a really nice meal, but I enjoyed getting to see my girls more than anything. Here we are. In all of our glory in our library. This will probably be the only picture that gets posted of us, so ENJOY, my internetty peeps!

Okay! I neglected to come back and tell you about my lunch that was filmed for a television show. The picture that appears first in this post is Porterhouse Restaurant, which is located in The Shops at Columbus Circle, in New York City.

My good friend and I lunched here this past Thursday, after our visit to The View. We walked down from the ABC studios, past Juilliard, and ended up at The Shops at Columbus Circle. Once we were there, we looked around for a food court. Well, ya'll, there is no food court to be found at THIS mall. And I don't really think the folks who are in charge of The Shops... would appreciate me calling it a mall anyway.

Moving on! So we discover that there is a restaurant in the top floor of the building. We take the escalator up, and walk ourselves over to the entrance to the restaurant. Noticing a piece of paper taped to the restaurant's door, we are thereby notified that we are granting our permission to be filmed while having our meal. Alrighty then!

The gentleman that you see featured is the GENIUS Chef Michael LoMonaco, who is chef and partner of the Porterhouse Restaurant. You may have seen him on the television show Epicurious, which is shown on the Travel Channel. Check it out!

So we proceed to order our lunch from the Summer 2007 menu, which is a prix fixe at $24.07. Included in our lunch is a choice from each of the three following areas: Appetizer, Entree, and Dessert. The choices that we had were Chilled Gaspacho, Caesar Salad with Parmesan Crisped Croutons, and Endive Salad with Blue Cheese and Walnuts. I had the Endive salad. It was DEELISH!


For the second course, our choices were Porterhouse and Steak Frites, Grilled Salmon, or Chicken Paillard. Now ya'll, I took French for a few years, but the only thing that I could tell you about the chicken choice was that it was "flattened" chicken. Unh unh. I didn't go with flat chicken. I had the steak and fries. It was TOOOOOOO good, too!


Finally, dessert is comin'! Our choices were Key Lime Pie with Coconut Crust, Raspberry Sorbet, or Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate Ganache. I went straight for the Devil's Food Cake, and BOY, am I glad I did!


By New York City standards, this meal was a STEAL at twenty-four dollars and change, and, I gotta tell you, I think I enjoyed it more because of the fabulous company I had.

So, if you're ever in NYC, and happen to be by Columbus Circle around lunchtime (only reason I say lunch is because dinner is WAYYYYYYY more expensive, but hey, if you've got the dough, go for it! Just make reservations before you go, is all) GO TO PORTERHOUSE RESTAURANT!

Ya'll! Today, I went to New York City (sans kids, husband, and any responsibilities)! My very good friend, with whom I teach junior high, invited me to travel down to the city and sit in the studio audience for a live "taping" of The View!

We had a really good time, especially getting to visit with each other on the train ride down to the city, reading trashy stuff, like The Enquirer, and catching up on what's happening with our families, since we haven't seen each other for over a month!

Well! While we were on The View, we "met" such folks as Barbara Walters, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, and guest co-host Chelsea Handler. The guests on today's show were Julia Stiles, who is an actress, and is appearing in the most recent "Bourne Identity" movie with Matt Damon. Also on the show was Zac Efron, who is appearing in "Hairspray" with John Travolta, and who was in the Disney movie "High School Musical."

We stood outside of the ABC studios for about two and a half hours, waiting to get inside, and once inside, waited another hour. Once inside the actual studio, we were handed a bottle of Pomegranate Blueberry juice, a package of Keebler chocolate chip cookies, and a bag of mini Fudge Stripes cookies. Nice, right?

So! We are instructed on how to "behave" for the show, i.e., when to clap/hoot/holler/stand, blah, blah, blah. It was REALLY fun, and, YA'LL. Ya'll, they gave us gifts! Here's what we were given: a gift card from SEPHORA! If you don't know what Sephora is, go to it RIGHT NOW! It is the BEST place in the world, and better than the website is the actual store itself.

Well, you ask, how much of a gift card did you get, girl? $100 bucks, baby! It was great! Here's what I got with my FREE $100 gift card!

Check it out:

This is the absolute BEST facial cleanser in the entire world. This is purity made simple, by philosophy, and my lowercase letters are because of philosophy. THEY are the ones who use all lowercase letters, because, like children, it puts you into a mindset of looking for only good in the world. This product was $32.00, so my FREE Sephora card is now down to $68.00 balance. Moving on!


This product, called Celebutante Shimmer Spray, is by Tarte. This fab product is a lightly scented shimmer spray that is a dry oil. It reminds me of coconut suntan lotion, and I HAD to have it! This product was $28.00, so my FREE Sephora card is now down to $40.00. Next!


Lastly, is my new love from philosophy. I currently wear amazing grace or baby grace fragrance from philosophy, but received a sample of this fragrance a while back, and decided to try it for a LONG while today. This is a lightly lemon-y scent, with notes of vanilla and white flowers. NICE! So! This product was $45.00, and since I had $40.00 left, I ended up paying $5.00 (plus tax, of course) for all of my BEAUTIFUL new things!

I had a great day!

Tomorrow, I'll let you guys know about our lunch, which was also taped for television! I'm not even kiddin'!