Mellow Yellow Monday -

During our farm outing the kids had some really bad face painting done. They loved it.

Look at how happy he is to have a pretty pathetic painting of a candy corn.

Blue Monday - Heaven Hill

This weeks Blue Monday brings some Farm cutouts. I love taking pictures of the kids in these. My niece joined us on this trip, and if course, she was memorialized forever.

Shutterday - Close To You

When you have kids, close to you is easy to get. My kids are always crowding me and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Here is Goddess getting the shot.

Here is Handsome consoling a friend after a loss. Love it!

Shadow Shot Sunday - Painted Hands

I didn't plan on this shadow shot. Goddess was showing me her outstretched newly painted Piggy Paint nails. It was only now that as I was searching for a shadow shot that a perfect shadow was spotted.

Monochrome Maniacs - The Water Tower

I am honored to be on the Monochrome Maniacs Weekend in Black and White Wall this week. The wood carving has a lot of detail in black in white and great texture.

This week I almost went with a wagon wheel from my trip to the Farm with the kids from last week. Instead I went with the water tower for the mining section. I like the way the clouds look.

Self Portrait Sunday - October 31, 2010

Self Portrait Sunday is for you to post your photos of well....you. Come on, smile for the camera. You know you want to.

The Word Made Flesh: Literary Tattoos from Bookworms Worldwide Review

What I Can Tell You:
I love looking at tattoos, so when this book come up for review through Harper Collins, I was excited to get it. Right before I received it in the mail a girlfriend mentioned the book to me. She wanted to get it, she was putting it in her Christmas list. It seems that book lovers have taken to putting the written word on their bodies. Whether it is a word, a phrase, a paragraph or sometimes an entire page from a book, readers are memorializing their favorites permanently.

The book is full of color photos of some amazing work right down to the picture and font used. There is a great assortment and some very inspiring pieces. Literally Tattoos has totally made me rethink my personal tattoo thoughts. Since I was 18 I have wanted a tattoo and at 25 actually went to a tattoo artists with picture in hand. Fortunately the guys wife went into labor and the tat never happened. Loved it at the time, but now I feel it would have been a mistake.

I really enjoyed looking at the 100 full color photos and even thinking about the books which inspired some pieces. My to read list has just gotten larger. 

Piggy Paint Makes Goddess Smile

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Goddess has never had her nail painted until this week. At 5 I know that all of her friends have had this done and she has commented "my mom doesn't allow me to paint my nails" in the past. I just felt that there was plenty of time and that little girls grow up way to fast. She always notices someone's nails and while I think it is adorable when I see little girls nails painted, the toxins in polish and how long it takes for them to dry has been a deterrent in actually going for it.

The beginning of the week I received a package from Piggy Paint. I have heard of Piggy Paint and was very curious as to how it could be "kid-friendly". Would it dry in enough time before Goddess got bored? Would it not stain her perfect, pink nail beds?

The package was delivered as I was running out to pick up the kids from school. I was 20 minutes early and pulled out a book to read. Suddenly I remembered the polish in my bag.

I put it on my left hand first than the right praying it would dry before I had to get out of the car! It did. When we got home, I told Goddess, let's wash your hands and I have a surprise for you.

We sat down and I took out the polish. She looked at me with all the innocence of a child and squealed "you're painting my nails?" I said yes and started the first nail. She smiled and shock her legs the whole time. I wish I had someone video taping us. She was beyond excited. The pink polish was perfect. I did her fingernails and toenails. We headed to the bathroom and I got the hair dryer out. Before I could even get it plugged in, the polish was dry.

There was no strong, toxic smell and the polish dried beyond fast!

We plan on getting two more colors (blue and purple) for her stocking for Christmas this year and I know she will be very happy.

Piggy Paint is the perfect introduction for the first time nail polish and I see no reason to use another from here on out.

I Am Tired Of Holding My Coffee Cup

Seriously, how odd to have to sit on the couch without a place to put my cup. When we had our children, we decided to do away with out contemporary coffee tables. It just seemed like a place for our babies to hurt themselves against and it took up too much space in a room where the baby spent half their day.

 Now that the kids are older, a place to hold our remote controls, water cups, coffee cups and more sounds like a great addition to our living room.

My husband and I sit on the couch at night with our lap tops on our laps and ask the other to hold ours if we have to get up. If we had a contemporary coffee table, this would not be necessary.

It has storage and it lifts up! Plus, it is a top seller. Must be a pretty special contemporary coffee tables for everyone to be buying it.

Last Day - Doubt I have A Shot but What The Heck?!

It's the last day for votes to be counted for The Big Hit.

The votes are being counted and the winners will be contacted tomorrow morning. My recipe of Breakfast Pizza really didn't get that many votes but I am still hopeful. There are a bunch of bloggers in the contest and we all want to win.

Here are pictures of my Breakfast Pizza starring the Mr. Avocado!

If this is a recipe you feel should win, please by all means, vote for me. 

Thanks to anyone who has voted for me. It has been a stressful month and I have done a lot of wishful thinking.  Tomorrow we will know and no matter who it is, it was a lot of fun.

You Capture - Autumn

I have been taking tons of photos this month. This is my favorite time of year and I know the world for me is about to turn very black and white for the next four months so I have been trying to hold onto color.

The Love Goddess' Cooking School by Melissa Senate

What I Can Tell You:

I thoroughly enjoyed The Love Goddess' Cooking School. Holly was a great character and I loved how her Nana's (I called my grandma that too) diaries helped complete the story.  Each character takes on a personality at the hand of Melissa Senate and you find yourself cheering for each one as they shield their skeletons and move on with the help of food. Most of us know, or can recall a time, or even many times when food helped us cope, heal, share and deal with moments that may have caused us stress. I appreciated the simplicity of the story and how mature Holly became as the story progressed. In the beginning I wasn't sure if Holly was going to be a character I liked. After her initial breakup she seemed immature, unsure, lost, and alone, her transformation made the story and I rooted for her the whole way.

Somewhere Along The Way by Jodi Thomas + Guest Post by Jodi- Review and Giveaway

What I Can Tell You: The book can stand on its own but you really should read Welcome to Harmony first so you know the characters, as it is a character drive story.  I love Reagen who has grown to really love being part of her town. She is family now and people in Harmony really care about each other. There are quite a few characters here and you will grow to love all but one. This book had me waiting for the Gabe and Liz scenes. My desire to know more about Gabe and who he was, consumed me and kept me reading.  That, and beside the fact that the characters are amazing and the dialogue is beautifully written.

When Reagen's life is put in jeopardy, I was angry which I am sure a lot of readers will be. She has been through enough and she did nothing wrong. Poor Reagen! She has been to hell and back. My dream is for her to have a beautiful life, with her own business and a family.

Hopefully in book 3, we find out why Kate has been so elusive to Tyler. Poor dude is just waiting and writing by email yet she doesn't respond until page 349. If she stands him up I will be devastated. Please, Jodi...don't make Tyler suffer any more. He is a dedicated guy with a difficult, lonely job.

Put the Baby To Sleep and Enjoy Some Music Too With Cradle Rock Lullabies -

We have always used music at night for Handsome. He is still listening to the same CD he listened to before he was even born. I was that mom, you know the one; I wanted him to be calm and experience my world before he was even here. Every night, I would come home from work and lie down with the headphones on my belly. At the time it was Piano By Candlelight. Then after my baby shower, it was a Baby Einstein Classical CD. He still listens to it. Nightly he shuts off the TV and turns on his music. Most nights he is asleep before it ends but if not, he asks us to restart it. 7 years of hearing the same music and he still loves it. We on the other hand, want it as low as possible. We think it's sweet but after 7 years....well....you can imagine.

What I Can Tell You:

I listened to the music while doing some posts, email and dishes. It is the songs I know and love but done to relaxing and soothing lullabies Babies and their parents will love these CD's and look at those covers; who wouldn't love them!?

Don't have kids? Don't worry. Put a CD in your player and sleep like a baby to the sounds of your favorite artists.

There are more titles scheduled like The Black Eyed Peas, Carrie Underwood, U2, Pink Floyd and more. Personally, I would love to hear some Kid Rock, Metallica, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam and Pat Benetar.

Memory Rewind - Happy Halloween 2005

Here is your chance to use some of those older photos you have on your computer that you may have forgotten about. Post a photo and write a story about it.

Join me and bring back a memory.
This is My Life As A Precocious Toddler which I used to write back in the day in Handsome's voice. Just a way to cope as a mom home 24/7.

Tonight Mom woke me to go trick-o-treating. I was sleeping on the couch (nice late nap) and she started changing me into my costume. I opened my eyes and she was smiling down at me asking if I wanted to go outside. Hello no women! I am sleeping can't you see? She proceeded with the unwanted change of attire and the next thing I know I am in a Superman costume, sneakers are on and she is ushering me to the door. I start to loudly protest and Dad comes the rescue. He lifts me up, gets me some milk and we are out the door. They were in such a hurry that they let me leave with my pacifier. Note to self...protest = pacifier. Niiice!

Dad tries to put me down and I yell. He lifts me up again and we meet up with 20+ people at the end of our driveway. We filter into the group and start walking. Some nice women says, "Hi Jesse" but I yell and turn my head into Dad's shoulder. I didn't ask to be here lady. Dad tries to take me to someone's door, all the kids are going but I don't want to so he doesn't force it. Smart man.

Dad carries me around for a while and then mom hands me a piece of chocolate. Ok..I'll take that.

My sister starts crying and Dad carries her and holds my hand. All in all it was a good night. I was with my family and they seemed happy. I bet it has something to do with all that candy Mom is carrying around in the back of the carriage. I hope they let me have some.






















Here is the Post from Goddess in Training which was, well...Goddess' blog
Happy Halloween
Tonight I went trick-o-treating for the first time. It was fun for a while to look at all the kids running and laughing then it got really dark. Mom was pushing me in a carriage and when I started crying Dad carried me. He is such a sucker! My Brother was Superman but he should have dressed as a baby. He didn't want to walk and Dad had to carry him the whole time. He also wouldn't give up his pacifier or go to anyone's house. If I could walk I would show him how it is done.

My parents made me wear the same costume that my brother wore on his first halloween. They had a good laugh telling everyone that I was a true devil. Real funny Mom and Dad.

Can you tell which picture is me?

ABC Wednesday - O

O = Observe
This past weekend, my niece and I headed out with the kids to a farm. There is a Mining for gem section which we stood near waiting for the farm to open. My son sat there watching for 10 minutes. His only question: Do you think this is mud?


Goddess wondered over for a second and came back with 5 questions about the water and 2 about the soil. Too funny.

O = Old-Fashioned
I could have taken pictures of this old-fashioned wagon all day.



O = Operator
We took a round trip hayride and I grabbed a photo of the Tractor Operators. (Mine is in the mirror and the other one was coming down the track.

Ruby Tuesday - A Walk At The Farm

This weekend my niece came up for a trip to a local farm. There was tons of red found there.

Here is Handsome checking out some Indian Corn

These robotic guys made Goddess nervous

Close up on some corn

Adorable scarecrow. Doubt she would scare a flea.

Duck Derby. Look at the determination on Goddess' face.

This was so fun, the kids (my 20 year old niece included) didn't want to leave anytime soon.

Working together to beat their older cousin.

Blue Monday - Toy Shoot

This Blue Monday, I have a few pics of the toys. Goddess was my set designer and assisted the whole photoshoot. Time for a mother daughter show.

Mellow Yellow Monday - The Goddess and The Balloon

I know, another of Goddess...I could have gone with leaves, or a toy, or the beautiful fruit I had on my table the other day..but...what can I tell you? It is a great picture of Goddess having a great time at a birthday party.

Self Portrait Sunday - October 24, 2010

Self Portrait Sunday is for you to post your photos of well....you. Come on, smile for the camera. You know you want to.

Art in October - Ansel Adams In The National Parks - Review

ANSEL ADAMS IN THE NATIONAL PARKS

What I Can Tell You: 
I have always been interested in Ansel Adams. As someone who calls themselves an amateur photographer, his use of black and white has always amazed me. It was so fun to open this huge book chock full of Ansel Adams rarely seen photos. It was fascinating to hear the rational behind the photos. Ansel was a visionary who has documented some of the most beautiful nature photos. How can a man who worked in black and white have had such a career? I never know when to use black and white and found myself in awe of Ansel's vision and use of light.

"A photograph is made, not taken." I love that line from the book. This week I told two people who noticed my camera and said, they can't take good photos with their current camera and wish they had a camera like mine. Both were told as nicely as possible, that it is not necessary to spend a lot of money on a camera. It is the photographer who makes the picture, not the camera. My entire life, I have been told, your camera takes great pictures. More often than not I was insulted by the statement. After 8 camera's and many years of maturation, I just roll my eyes at that statement. 

Ansel Adams In The National Parks is a great gift for the photographer in your life, the Ansel fan, or just for someone who appreciates the beauty of the glorious world we live in.

Scandle Will Change Your Life - Seriously

It's the truth! A Candle never felt so good! But, they can also add, a Candle never smelt so good. Wait, smelt, is that a word? Oh whatever, you will understand when I tell you.

What I Can Tell You:

My, my, my....I had a get together at my house today and since there were a bunch of ladies over I asked them to try out Scandle which I had had lite before the arrived so it would be ready.

They all loved it and we all said the same thing including my husband who tried is last week for the first time, "I want to eat it." Seriously, it is the yummiest smell ever. The one I received was Warm, Vanilla Sugar. It smells like buttery, vanilla cookies. Delicious!

It feels incredibly soft and silky on your skin without leaving a trashy glittery look.

Here is the travel size candle after the flame is blown out so you can use the lotion.

It goes on smooth and doesn't leave a greasy or sticky feeling on your skin. The only problem I found was that I can't stop applying it. I love it!

Yoplait Save Lids to Save Lives MyGetTogether Event

In support of Breast Cancer, Yoplait and MyGetTogether sponsored a really fun get together for me and some of my girlfriends. I received the "My Get Together" box on Monday afternoon and Tuesday via Facebook sent an invitation to 14 local friends.

Today 6 girlfriends and I sat around a lovely table display of Yoplait Yogurt, a pink ribbon cake, fruit and more to discuss the topics that are important to us; Yoplait, Yogurt, Breasts, Breast Cancer, Early Detection, Halloween, Kids, Husbands and the additional random drama in our lives.

After playing with the yogurt for a while we finally ate some.

There are so many flavors and varieties.

After 2.5 hours our first guest was ready to go (her baby was due for a nap) so we gathered up our lids, cleaned them off and they are ready for the post office.

Here is how you can mail out your lids.

We had a great time and the winner of the Yoplait Save Lids to Save Lives Bookmark was Sandra the founder of The Baby Bindle Company which you will be hearing more about in the coming months.

Thanks to MyGetTogether and Yoplait for sponsoring my educational and inspiring Get Together.

You Capture - Orange

This is the perfect month to for orange. So far, October has shown me tons of Orange.

Like these colorful guys at one of the local farms.

Or this collection of pumpkins at another farm.

Or even the Orange on Goddess' new Candy Corn bear from Build A Bear Workshop.

But my favorite one, is an orange hued Goddess as she enjoys herself at Build A Bear.

A Christmas Carol Pop Up Book

We all know the story of Ebenezer Scrooge. The story has been done every different way and I love them all. A Christmas Carol has always been one of my very favorite books.

This beautiful re-imagining of Charles Dickens's timeless fable, A Christmas Carol: A Pop-Up .

What I Can Tell You:

When I opened the first page of the book Goddess gasped. She thought it was beautiful and so will you. Each page is exquisitely detailed and comes with a little pocket book telling the story of A Christmas Carol.

ABC Wednesday - N

ABC Wednesday this week is the letter N.

N = Nature

The lake this time of year is beautiful. I love living here the months of October and November.

N = Necklace

One of my Street Angel necklaces were featured on the Etsy Showcase last week. I was thrilled.
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Tuesday Takes - Spiritual Reflections

Spiritual Reflections!

I loved the lights in the store front of this window. The stars were amazing and I would love one for Goddess' room but it was the church that grabbed my attention in this shot. Love it!

Ruby Tuesday - For Me??

Awww....Mr. Soldier, you shouldn't have, but I am glad you did!

Haint Misbehavin by Maureen Hardegree

What I Can Tell You:  As hard as it is for me to review ebooks (I hate reading at the computer), I really loved this book. It took me longer than usual to finish it but enjoyed every bit.

Haint Misbehavin', Book One of the Ghost Handler series. Poor Heather, I felt so bad for her. She is like all of us at 14, feeling weird, crushing on older boys, hanging with her friends, putting on her favorite Lipsmacker; the only difference is....Heather has a ghost following her. Amy has a naughty streak and enjoys seeing Heather squirm.

This is a fun, witty book that girls between the age of 13 and up will love!

I can't wait to read the rest of the series.

There are 12 parts expected for the series. Love long term books for preteens and young adults, as it keeps them reading.

4 out of 5 stars.

Goddess and The Build A Bear Birthday Party

Goddess has been to Build A Bear but she was too young to remember. One day last month she said, "I really want to go to Build A Bear". The very next day, we got an invitation to attend a birthday for one of her friends.

It was a great party even though we sat in traffic not moving for an hour. A trip that should have taken 35-40 minutes ended up being an hour and 45 minutes.

The party was very girly and sweet.
Goddess loved it! Can you tell?

Sunday Stealing: Another 50 Questions Meme, Part Two Indeed!

26. Do you like someone? I liked 90.5 percent of the people in my world. Offer get out of jail free cards to everyone and can see past most of the bullshit.


27. The last song you listened to? Muse! Uprising. It was a request by my 5 year old today while playing. Second time this weekend she asked for it.

28. What time of day were you born? 7:38 p.m.

29. What’s your favorite number? 5 - There is a reason. There were originally 5 in my family before my mother died when I was twelve. Also, I see the color blue when I look at the number 5 and blue is my favorite color. Do other people see colors when they look at numbers?

30. Where did you live in 1987?  I was living in Newark NJ with a boyfriend.

31. Are you jealous of anyone? Nope. It is a wasted emotion.

32. Is anyone jealous of you? I wouldn't think so

33. Where were you when 9/11 happened? At a job in New Jersey. It was a horrific morning and I think about my co-workers every year on 9/11.

34. What do you do when vending machines steal your money? I never really use vending machines. But I guess in the past I would have complained and walked away.

35. Do you consider yourself kind? Yes.

36. If you had to get a tattoo, where would it be? On my shoulder or neck under my hair.

37. If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be? English

38. Would you move for the person you loved? Before kids, in a heartbeat. Now it would depend on where we are going.

39. Are you touchy feely? I used to be more touchy. Now my kids get all my touches which leaves little for everyone else. Although, I love hugs and would take any that come my way.


40. What’s your life motto? Live and let live.

41. Name three things that you have on you at all times? My keys, my engagement/wedding ring and my cell phone.

42. What’s your favourite town/city? Millbrook NY is pretty damn cool. I spent a lot of my younger childhood there and my mom is buried there

43. What was the last thing you paid for with cash? Beer and milk

44. When was the last time you wrote a letter to someone on paper and mailed it? It was to one of my blog readers.

45. Can you change the oil on a car? I can add oil but not remove it, that requires crawling underneath.

46. Your first love: what is the last thing you heard about him/her? He is married with two little girls. Not like we spoke, we friended each other on Facebook but have never spoken. We dated when I was 16 - 18 years old

47. How far back do you know about your ancestry? Not far at all. My parents parents maybe.

48. The last time you dressed fancy, what did you wear and why did you dress fancy? Hahaha...I haven't dressed fancy since my daughter's baptism 5 years ago but it was more casual fancy.

49. Does anything hurt on your body right now? Yes. It's too many things to talk about.

50. Have you been burned by love? Scorched but not burned. Whoooohaaaaa

Baby Food Made Freshier, Healthier and Easier

My readers know that my kids are long past baby food but I wanted to let you know about a sample I received from Sprout!

 When Handsome was born, I made all his baby food. I would cook all day Sunday, boiling, straining and mashing veggies and he loved it. My freezer was a work of art with container upon container of mini Tupperware containing the name and date of what was inside. It was a labor of love and one that didn't feel like a chore. He was nursing and eating home made baby food. When Goddess came along, I don't remember doing a whole lot of this. It could have been because Handsome was only a baby himself, it because she eat rice cereal, oatmeal, and whatever mashed up veggies I put in front of her. I was more willing to feed a baby the second time around without fear of her choking on every piece.

The baby food I tried (yup, I tried it) was Roasted Bananas and Mango. What is not to love about that? There is no heating involved and it taste great. Seriously, I am not kidding. I would totally eat this again.

I know so many parents who used to camp and backpack with their babies back in the day. This would have totally saved them a lot of time and effort. These packs are perfect to stick in a backpack!

Feed Me Books- A Not Scary Story About Big Scary Things by C.K. Williams

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What I Can Tell You:

As I was reading it to Goddess I changed my voice to do the parts as I would do with all kids books.  By page 5 I was unsure if this book would be too scary for her. (and people said that this monster liked nothing better in the world than to scare little children) it was after all our bedtime story.  I almost closed the book.  Even the graphics on this page were a little odd for a children's book. How would it end?  I trudged along figuring I would lighten up my voice and add humor when the brave boy spoke. It worked. We were both riveted. I wanted to know how it would end as much as she did. 

The ending when we finally find out what the monster is.....makes up for the nervousness I felt at the beginning. 

This is a really smart book. Very well done. Well written and unlike anything else I have read. 

This is in fact the first book Goddess has decided to review for our local library. She is 5 so the review is just one sentence but it sums it all up. 

To see what else CK Williams has written, head over to his site.