Friday Favorite Five - 3/27/2009

1) The Matador Restaurant and Tequilla Bar -- OMG! I am in love with the Braised Carnitas! "Slow-cooked pork shoulder with orange, allspice, cinnamon and bay leaves. Served with rice, black beans, tortillas and all the fixings." It's goooooood! I WISH I had a picture! It's so yummy!

2) The Countdown on my desktop -- So, my whole family has been vibrating this week! We have been counting down to our trip to Florida tomorrow. Every day, Sarah asks "How many more days?" The anticipation has been excruciating! I know we're going to have a fabulous time, but the excitment of the countdown has been so much fun.

(this was on Monday)

3) Pedicures -- I love pretty toes! I took Sarah on Thursday to get our beach toes ready! We match! She got a pretty flower on hers. Too cute!

4) My Girl Scout Troop -- Aren't they adorable? I love hanging out with these little girls. They are so unique and interesting. I love teaching them about Courage, Confidence and Character. I always wanted to be in Girl Scouts when I was a little girl. Now that I have a little girl of my own, I'm so pleased that I get to be a part of Girl Scouts with her!

5) Field Trips -- Last week our Girl Scout Troop went to the firestation to learn about home fire safety. We got to see the bay where the ambulance and fire engine are parked, and the girls even got to tour the fire engine. It was very cool! We've had some great field trips with Girl Scouts -- Sherriff's office, Safeway, Firestation.... next month we're going to REI and climb the rock wall. I can't wait!

(Silver Firs Firestation, Mill Creek Sherriff's Office, Silver Firs Safeway)

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I know I will! Sunshine, here I come!!!!

Friday Favorite Five - 3/20/2009

Happy Spring! Another week of hard to find FFF's. I'll give it my best shot:


1) Dancing -- I love to dance! I had the best time last Saturday night dancing at my friend Jessica's St. Patrick's Day/Birthday party. I had so much fun dancing, that I wrenched my back and could barely walk for 2 days. It's a pain getting old! It was so great dancing with my girl friends -- you've never seen anything like a bunch of 35-40 year old women "doing the butt" or dancing to Justin Timberlake! It was so much fun!


2) Singing -- Singing is, and always has been, a big part of my life. I grew up in a household of singers, I met my husband singing, my daughter sings all day/every day.... I just loving singing! So at the above mentioned party, we also had karoake! Woo hoo! It was so much fun! This was our 3rd neighborhood karoake party and they are always a blast. I have been known to sing a few songs myself......not any solo's at this party, but still lots of girly songs!


3) The McMommy Chronicles -- Have you seen this blog? OMG, she is hilarious! I love reading her posts. She's definitely a FFF!

4) Going to the bus stop in my jammies -- Why is this a FFF you ask? Because it means I don't have to be anywhere first thing in the morning! Woo Hoo! Today is one of those days -- no appointments until about 10:30am. That means I don't have to rush around in the morning trying to get myself and the kids all ready to go by 8:25am. Instead I can check email, have my cup of coffee, pack a lunch for Sarah, start updating my blog, etc. I love these days!

5) A clean, organized closet -- I cleaned out my closet this week. Well....MY SIDE anyway! :-) About twice a year I get fed up with my closet and purge items that I haven't worn in awhile. If I haven't worn it for a year, I'm not gonna wear it! Now my side of the closet is clean and even organized by color. I love it! Now if only it would stay that way........

That's it this week....kind of lame....but still reminds me to be thankful for the little things.

Friday Favorite Five - 03/13/2009

I have to admit, this week was hard. Not too many "favorites". I even joked with a FB friend that I should put my 5 things I hate, but I figured that would be too snarky. So this week, they are just so-so, but at least I found 5!!

Top five for this week:

1) Bertolli Skillet Dinners -- these are just enough for Bob and I, pared with a salad and some garlic bread. Perfect for a night when the kids want hot dogs and you just can't stand the thought of another hot dog! Or, for those nights when we are all eating in shifts and Bob and I are eating at like 7:30 or 8:00pm, after all the kids' activities. They are fast, easy and they taste really good! You can find them in your frozen food section of the grocery store! Yummy!

2) My Welcome sign -- I've had this thing for, like, years! Bob got it out of a catalogue for me one year for Christmas. I have a plaque for just about every holiday that I can change each month. It's just a little something that makes me smile. :-)

3) My New Christmas Plate -- yes, I said Christmas! I went to Hallmark today and got this adorable treat plate for $2.99! It was originally $14.99. Woo Hoo! I've wanted one of these neighbor-treat plates for the last few years, but just didn't want to spend the money on a real, glass plate that might not get back to me. But at $2.99, I figured "What the heck!". My neighbor's will enjoy their Christmas treats this year on a nice, new Christmas plate. :-)

4) My Bus Stop Buddies -- every afternoon we meet at the bus stop just a few minutes early to chit chat, get caught up, enjoy the sun, etc. Some days we congregate in each others cars because it's too cold or rainy to be outside. Some days, like today, we can sit on the benches and soak up the sun! With today being a 2 hour early release, not all of the bus stop buddies were there today, but here's a picture of Krissy, Lichin, Leyla and I....

5) The Sun! -- FINALLY the sun is out and it's (semi) warm. Yes! I've learned around here, that no matter the temperature, if it's sunny -- get out and enjoy it! Thank God for a sunny day today! We have needed it. Now, the forecast for the rest of the weekend is rain....but at least we have sun today! Yay!

(the view from up our street -- you can see the tip of my house in the right corner and you can see Mt. Baker in the distance if you zoom in.)

(Sarah and BFF Grace swinging at the Swing Park aka Bus Stop)

(Alex and Armeen playing on the kiddie toys at the park)

I hope you have a great weekend and have your own Friday Favorite Five!

Friday Favorite Five - 3/6/2009

Here are my FFF for this week:

1) Texting -- Bob's been in Germany this week and the best way we have been able to communicate is through texting! I love getting his text messages. They make me smile every time! I luv u baby!

2) Coupons and Club Cards -- I just saved 38% of my total grocery bill! My friend Raimi posts on her blog the awesome deals she finds by using coupons and sales at various stores. I always wish that I could be organized enough to use coupons. I cut them out every week, but I hardly ever remember using them. And when I see the ads and coupons for my local favorite grocery store, I always think "ooh, I better get to the store before these expire". But, alas, I usually fail. This week, I didn't fail! I used the coupons from the store flyer, coupons from the Sunday paper, and my club card and saved $30!! Woo Hoo!

3) Hand-me-downs -- So, I went spring clothes shopping for the kids this weekend. I knew the boys needed clothes, but wasn't so sure about Sarah. So I didn't buy her much. Once I got home, I went through my wonderful box of hand-me-downs that my neighbor gave me, and lo and behold, Sarah now has a whole new wardrobe! Yes!! Everything from tops, shorts, capri's, bathing suits and even some long-sleeved tops she can wear now. She is set! Thank you Danita!

4) Samoa Girl Scout Cookies -- Can't help it.....they are my favorite! I love them more than Thin Mints! I can eat a box all by myself! Thank goodness Sarah is a girl scout!!

5) The new book I'm reading -- "The Likeness" by Tana French. After reading a couple of so-so books lately, I'm so glad I found one that has really captured my attention. I don't usually like mysteries, especially murder mysteries. But I have to say this one got me hooked. We read "In the Woods" by this author last year in our book club and we all really liked it. My friend Jen loaned "The Likeness" to me, and I'm so thankful! Thanks Jen!

Have a great week and enjoy the sunshine today!!

Interview with my children

Bobby, 17; Alex, 9; Sarah 7

1. What is something mom always says to you?
B: Clean your room; A: Time to do your homework; S: She loves me

2. What makes mom happy?
B: When my room is clean; A: Loving her; S: When I don't get in trouble

3. What makes mom sad?
B: Oh man, there is so many to choose from: when my grades are bad; A: not loving her; S: When Daddy is gone and he is on a trip like right now. But he's going to be back on Friday.

4. How does your mom do to make you laugh?
B: she is scared of lady bugs; A: telling funny jokes; S: when she tickles me in my tickle spot.

5. What was your mom like as a child?
B: a lot like Alex; A: poor; S: she had long hair.

6. How old is your mom?
B: 39; A: 37-1/2; S: 37

7. How tall is your mom?
B: 5 foot 3; A: 5 feet 6 inches; S: I don't know!

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
B: watch Private Practice and Gray's Anatomy; A: hang out with us; S: go to Florida where there is hot weather.

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
B: chores and watches Private Practice and Gray's Anatomy; A: do chores; S: she cleans the house.

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
B: The number of time she's told her children to clean their rooms; A: a movie star; S: a fashion model.

11. What is your mom really good at?
B: cleaning the bathrooms so that they don't stink anymore; A: taking care of us; S: scrapbooking

12. What is your mom not very good at?
B: I can't think of anything; A: playing video games; S: glitter

13. What does your mom do for a job?
B, A, S: She works at the church.

14.What is your moms favorite food?
B: Mexican; A: spaghetti; S: steak

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
B: When she keeps more patience with the kids than I do; A: she loves us; S: because I love her.

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
B: Sandy Cheeks; A: Hilarious Mom; S: Minnie Mouse

17. What do you and your mom do together?
B: talk about Harry Potter and Books; A: bond; S: play dress up

18. How are you and your mom the same?
B: for starters we look alike and we both read alot; A: we're both not very good at chess; S: we have the same skin color

19. How are you and your mom different?
B: she doesn't like video games; A: I know how to play chess and she doesn't; S: we have different eyes

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
B: because she tells me every day; A: because she takes care of us; S: she takes care of me

21. What does your mom like most about your dad?
B: he can cook; A: he always comes home and kisses her; S: she loves him

22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
B: scrapbook store; A: England; S: Florida