Theme Thursday: Black and White (And/Or Brown Paper Packages Tied Up With String.)

It's that glorious day of the week again where we take pictures of whatever and post them according to some sort of theme. And this week? The entire bloggy universe should participate because Black and White is easy peasy.

That's right. The theme is black and white. Or white and black. Or whatever. Do you have a pet zebra? You're in! Or just a black and white filter on your phone? That works too. And is probably way more legal than a pet zebra. I just googled pet zebras... technically not completely illegal but a lot of work nevertheless.

So moving on to my black and white.

This is my grandma's cake stand. I just got it. I love it. It's classic but fun. I adore that if anyone comments on it when I use it I can say "Thanks it was my grandmother's." Things like this make me want a daughter to pass things down to. I can't believe this almost slid through the cracks of the house cleaning out/selling mess. It is a treasure and bonus... my treasure. 

This is my pineapple cookie jar. I bought a matching set at the church garage sale in 2008 on dollar bag day. My brother has the other one. It's quirky because it actually doesn't match a darn thing but somehow works. I love it.

A close up of some of my Trixie Belden books. I have them all. I began collecting them when I was 7 or 8. Definitely before age 9. Have you read them? They're really good. It took forever to track 'em all down. I love them.

This is basically a late five favorites post... oh I am two short. Blogging and Cari setting up a fundraiser for Dwija. Those are my other two!

Once upon a time in grad school I was having a debate with my friend about Chelsea Clinton's nose job which led me to Beth. And after I had read her entire blog I clicked over to Colleen who led me to Cari and Dwija and Hallie. Small little world this blog world. Help a Dwija out with her laundry room! And link up your 5 Favorites if you haven't already with Hallie and your black and white with Cari.

Poetry.

Ode to the Deep Blue... Carpet*

Oh my deep blue carpet how I detest thee

You show every drop, speck and crumb

They show up so easily. 

Oh my deep blue carpet I treat thee with TLC

A Dyson Ball to suck the dirt

And Hoover Wet Vac to deep clean

Oh my deep blue carpet please be kind to me

All I do is clean you up!! 

Please show some sweet mercy. 

Oh my deep blue carpet, whatever can I do?

I want you gone and out of here

But it seems I'm stuck with you. 

Oh my deep blue carpet we'll meet later on

For the crumbs and dirt keep piling up

And while I clean with a smile, know I want you gone.

*This bit of artistry brought to you by every speck of anything being noticeable and subsequently eaten by my toddler. To counteract such activities a diligence in cleanliness is required and... A'int Nobody Got Time for That! 

We're Home

Our whirlwind of travel is over for a while. We had been on an every two week traveling kick, which were all good reasons and things I would have been sad to miss so I do not regret it one bit. But boy oh boy is it good to be home.

I'm not going anywhere for days. Maybe for a walk. But since we have a monsoon today even a walk isn't going happen. Oh and I'd have to assign Husband to get milk at some point. But I'm not going anywhere. No I am not.

C is ready to be done traveling I think too. He really really is a good little traveler, but he had that one year appointment and 7 days later got a fever/rash from his shots. Which is all normal and I was warned about it. PLUS he's working on his two front teeth. PLUS I had a cold and I bet he got some of it, but he couldn't tell me he had a headache or a stuffy nose. But all that, plus a graduation party with all sorts of people made for one unhappy little boy. He's more cheerful now that the fever broke and we're home but things can still go from zero to crisis in seconds. I am trying to savor the snuggly moments because who knows how long those will last in the grand scheme of life. He is a good snuggler typically but SUPER DUPER SNUGGLY ALL THE TIME when sick. It's only annoying at 4:30 in the morning I swear.

I'm glad to be home though. There really is nothing like it.

Theme Thursday Water

I had big plans for Water Week.

I was going to go down to the river, which is a long walk from my house or a 2 minute drive and snap pictures like crazy. Then you know edit them so they looked good.

Instead I got one of those charming, not cold and flu season colds. And that was that. So I am phoning it in this week. My apologies.

I can't believe this was over a month ago! This was C's first time through the sprinkler. He liked it. And I feel like a terrible mother for letting him swim in his swim suit but you guys, those are 6-9 month swim trunks and rash guard. To say nothing of the 12-18 month ones I actually bought for this summer.

So link up your water links with Cari over at Clan Donaldson. Then stay a while and click through the water pics of others. Comment. Read some new (to you) blogs. Make some friends. Because yeah yeah looking at pictures of  theme is great but finding some new blogs to read is even better!! :)

STRAWBERRIES

At the grad party we wound up going to on Saturday, two of Husband's cousin's spouses and I were chatting. I hope that made sense and even if it didn't... it's not that important. The moral of the story is that they don't like strawberries. I don't know why not. Because they are missing out.

Strawberry picking was awesome. I mean C only put one strawberry in his basket and put most of them in his mouth. As well as walk up and down the strawberry rows. He loved it is what I am saying. It wasn't too hot, or sunny or buggy. It was perfect.

And we left the farm with 19 pounds of the sweetest, most delicious and beautifully red strawberries I've ever ever had.

We saved some just for eating. We froze 2 gallon ziplocs full of whole strawberries for smoothies and things. We got a bunch ready for jam, strawberry rhubarb bars and other recipes.

And... I made the most delicious strawberry ice cream sauce. I want to take a bath in this sauce. And because I am nice I am going to share my secret. If you like strawberries and/or strawberry topping for ice cream (though gosh I am sure it would be good on pancakes, cheesecake and other things too) make this sauce.

You Will Need: 

2 heaping cups of strawberries
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla 

What to Do: 

1. Clean and chop the strawberries. Chop them as chunky or as not chunky as you'd like your sauce to be. Pour 2/3 of the strawberries into a pot. 

2. Add sugar to the pot. 

3. Cook for 5-10 minutes over high-ish heat and stir occasionally. It's going to smell good. But it will be hot. It will bubble and get thick. When it's a nice syrupy consistency take it off the heat. 

4. Stir in vanilla and the rest of the strawberries. 

5. Let cool then store in fridge in air tight container. My guess is it would be good for a few weeks but it probably won't last long enough to find out. 

7 Quick Takes

1. You know how with any decision you make regarding your children people are going to have an opinion? Food. Clothes. Diapers. What have you. I wrote about my opinion here. Well that's all good and fine. But if you have children. Or grandchildren. Or could play a role in a child's life I right here challenge you to brush up on car seat safety. There's no reason not to. (Like checking your blood sugar often.) PLEASE READ THIS ARTICLE and know your car seat. 

2. In other news C has his 1 year appointment today and all the fun that comes with that. It was supposed to be last week but... it wasn't. Some insurance issues that thankfully we were able to work out. (Not our fault I might add.)

3. Um... see this is supposed to be quick takes and I am already running out of things to write so...

4.

Picture of my Baby as #4

5. It's Father's Day this weekend. And while I'd like to pretend that I have some major plans for Husband... I don't. I probably will need to figure that out but hey, I have a card for C to scribble in and I'm going to make a Prime Rib Roast so that should earn me some points. 

6. My Husband's hometown is SO funny. I wish I could link to their news site but that would be weird since you wouldn't really care. But this week the news has had gems like "Oversized Truck Blocked Traffic for 15 Minutes." Or an entire article about the rumor about the high school gym being replaced. SPOILER ALERT. It's not. It's just a rumor. 

7. Yep. Still got nothing. Have a great weekend and have a good one with the fathers in your life!

Dads! Theme Thursday

Today I am linking with with the Theme Thursday over at Clan Donaldson  because Cari rocks and has fisher cats. Well okay, mostly I'm linking up because I always link up and especially since I love the topic of Dad this week, but fisher cats are right up there. 

But on to the theme. I am so lucky. I have an amazing dad.

At my wedding. Obviously. Did I just caption that as if you couldn't tell? 

I didn't always appreciate him the way I should have. I once made him an award that said World's Meanest Dad. But then I got guilty and added "And Musical." He still has it. And he references it all the time.

I have so many good memories with my dad. I can't even begin to express how wonderful he is. One of my favorite memories include watching telenovelas on mute while he did the voices. Somehow they were always fighting and crying about lasagna. But oh I am giggling to myself just thinking about it. I just love him!

He is wonderfully supportive and always available. Even now when I call him at work, I say "Hi Dad are you busy." And he will say every single time "I'm always busy what's up?" But he takes the time to listen. My dad is the champion of war movies and television viewing hats. Nobody sings the "Lupe is a pickle girl" better. He taught me to love hockey and how to cook/bake. Even if I do stir "left handed." He gave me his sense of direction, inability to appreciate bright lights and intolerance for tardiness. "Five minutes early is ten minutes late." Was, is and always shall be the motto we live by.

He is so amazing I named my baby after him. Because there's no one in the world I would rather him be named after!! My dad is just that awesome. I mean I know everyone says they have the best dad, and I know that most everyone has the dad that is the best for them. (And I am sad for you if you didn't.) But really, my dad... he's... one of a kind.

This is my current favorite picture of my dad. Because he's smiling. So of course he hates it. He has perfected the closed mouth smile with raised eyebrows. In fact that is his go to look. But here is a picture of my baby, and his grandpa. My dad. Gosh I am lucky.

Happy Father's Day!

And I think you should link up your awesome dad! I would love to hear about him and why he's so great.