The Little Things

Let's get a closer look...
Closer still...
And there it is. A little discovery that puts a smile on my face during the monotony. Thanks, Asher.

Lucky... is that you?

I bought some Lucky Charms on sale the day after St. Patty's Day. (This was the closest I got to celebrating the "holiday" by the way.) There is something nostalgic about Lucky Charms for me. I used to eat all the cheerio-type bits and save all the marshmallows for the end, so the last bites would be pure sugary goodness. Gross, I know.
Asher asked for some Lucky Charms this morning, and I noticed his eating strategy differs from mine. He picks all the marshmallows out first and eats the other stuff if he feels like it. I wonder what that says about our personalities....

Anyway, when I saw the Lucky Charms box, something looked different to me, and it wasn't just the new thing they have done to the marshmallows. It was Lucky the Leprechaun. I mean, I know it is required by cereal law to have a picture of some sort of smiling and deranged wide-mouthed mascot eyeing a picture of whatever is in the box like he is going to eat it before you, but this was different.

First off, did they remove his eyebrows or is that them partying with the rest of his hair under the hat? If those are his eyebrows, they are huge.

Secondly, his hat has been replaced. By some alien that looks like it is impersonating a hat and is trying to eat his head.
Third, is that a green wing or part of his coat? Maybe it is a scarf with octopus tentacles as fringe? Perhaps it is part of the alien on his head.

Next, there is sparkling hookah smoke all around him, which he is ignoring just fine. He has his eyes on the prize.

Lastly, let's talk about those crazy eyes. I don't think he could blink if he tried. His pupils are swimming in a sea of white, and he looks slightly mad. As in crazy. A happy, euphoric crazy.

Ok, now lets talk about the back of the box. The top says "Discover the Power of Teleporting." Ok, kids. Let's do that. Already this sounds disturbingly mystical. But wait, there is a picture below showing us what teleportation looks like...

AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
Run for the hills!!! Lucky is going to throw swirly marshmallows at you and KILL you and then he will disappear! The only weapon that you can use against him is apparently a cell phone or video camera. Otherwise those teeth are going right for your jugular, and you better believe no one will hear you scream in that creepy graveyard where you guys are hanging out.

Oh Lucky, what have they done to you? All those years of paranoia about people being after your Lucky Charms have finally broken you. Apparently you bartered your soul for the ability to teleport and now you can fight back... but to what end, Lucky? To what end?

Sister Weekend

This past weekend I got to hang out with my mom and all three of my beautiful sisters. They made it easy on me... they all traveled here to my house in Arizona. We were all really tired at the end of the visit, (we stayed up too late and woke up too early) but we had a fun time together. The weekend went by quickly, and we didn't have time to do everything we wanted to do, but we did do a few fun things.

I took them to Pastis, my fav Euro eatery. We window shopped afterward at Anthropologie and Z Gallery. We spent almost a whole day with my Grandma in Cave Creek and we visited my Grandpa. We ate lunch at Mimis. (I love that place!!) We watched our boys play together and Asher had to re-learn some sharing skills. We sang together. (Tracy and I sang some duets. Fun!) We made yummy food and desserts and ate them. Like our Pi Pie for Pi Day.

All in all, it was a fun visit. It was wonderful just to be together. I'm glad they came, and I'm sad they are gone... but now Gwen is old enough where we could handle a trip, so maybe next time I will be the one travelling. Maybe when Lori has that baby in about 8 weeks!

The Worst

To Asher, getting a haircut is worse than death. Probably worse than shots. Haircuts are the worst.
And I am the lucky woman who gets to give Asher his haircuts.
I know I could take him to a place, but I don't want to shell out ten bucks (or more) to hand the torturous responsibility off to someone else. (Imagine all the IceDream Cones(R) I could buy from Chic-fil-a(R) with that money!) I just bite the bullet when Asher starts looking like David Bowie from Labyrinth and do it myself.

We had a rough afternoon, but now I have my happy boy back. We just had a tickle fight after I chased him around trying to take his picture. That boy can't sit still.

BEFORE:

You remind me of the babe...

AFTER:

My Inner Foodie

As a cook, my attitude is pretty unpredictable. Sometimes I don't want to put forth the tiny effort it takes to open up a can of something and plop it on the stove for 5 minutes. Other times my inner gourmet comes to the surface and I actually spend time cooking elaborate meals. These are some of our recent dinners-Yummy crock pot potato soup from this website...

My Martha Stewart infinity lasagna...

As well as some yummy pork tacos that my wonderful sister-in-law Sara gave us for our dinner yesterday. I'm sure you could find the recipe at her cooking blog saucyapron.

Tonight I repeated something I tried a week or so ago. I have had the recipe, but have never wanted to try it because I thought Dan would turn his nose up at it. Turns out, he likes it a lot and even thinks it is "fancy." I think it is easy.

-Huevos Rancheros-

4-6 Corn tortillas
1/2 tsp Cumin
1 16 ounce can of black beans (both times I've used pinto and it has been great)
1 chipotle chili in adabo sauce, diced OR 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup mild salsa
4-6 large fried eggs
2/3 cup Monterey Jack cheese (also good with cheddar)
1 ripe avocado (haven't used this yet, you serve it on the side.)

Heat oven to 425. Put tortillas on a baking sheet and place in oven to warm. Toast the cumin in a small dry saucepan over medium heat for a minute or so (until fragrant). Add the beans and chipotle or pepper. Remove tortillas from the oven. Top each tortilla with beans, salsa, one fried egg and cheese. Place in the oven until cheese melts.

If you like your egg yolks runny, don't leave your huevos rancheros in the oven for too long.
This may sound like a super weird recipe, but it is fast, easy, good and cheap.

New Love

I never click adds. Well, make that almost never. Yesterday I was on facebook and I clicked an add for this website. It was a good first. I'm in love with this site. I haven't been able to get myself away from it. Right now my favorite patterns are this trench and these pants. Don't ask me why I have a thing for high waisted pants right now. They would probably look atrocious on me.