To My Child

You are the trip I did not take;

You are the pearls I cannot buy;

You are my blue Italian lake;

You are my piece of foreign sky.

from The Treasure Chest

love, love, love this.

I am missing the snow. 

These hot summer days are no good.
.

And since we're on the subject of missing things,
I am also missing Tom's curly locks.

The Mad Hatter: 

Have I gone mad?

Alice:

I'm afraid so, you're entirely bonkers.

But I'll tell you a secret. 

All the best people are.

 Drinks are on me!

If you and I have ever had a conversation, you  know that I am a bit beset (infatuated, engrossed, bedeviled) with my Vita Mix. I am like the Mac owner. (my product is perfect and can do no wrong, having my Mac makes me the smartest, most astute and powerful  individual on my block...)  Just like them, I talk about it all the time.Only no one really knows why I talk about it, it's just a blender. (Call it "just a blender" in some circles and they are likely to skin you alive...perhaps because they now have no need to skin anything else) The fact that it can make  hot soup and ice cream is just the coolest thing ever. And of course there is no need to ever skin or de-core anything again.

Every morning I make two smoothies. One for the children and one for me. And after eight years,  I am proud to report  Tom is starting to warm up to the idea.

Here is the kids - Keep in mind there is no science to this, just add what you feel like adding and as much as you want to add. I mix it up everyday but this is generally how it goes.

2 -3 big handfuls of baby spinach. it blends into hardly anything and is tasteless, so the more the better
1 handful of kale. go easy on this at first because it has a strong taste
1 handful of collard greens/ spring greens/  saisai/ cabbage/ whatever you have. (the darker and leafier, the better)
1-2 sticks of celery. it gives off a weird taste, so start with less at first
carrot sticks. adds sweetness
1 frozen mango, skin and all.
sprouts. any kind.
yogurt
1 banana. it helps mask the taste of the not so yummy veggies
pour as many frozen berries as you have room for
add 100% pure juice or water
no need to add ice, the frozen berries makes it cold, thick and delish!

Bad example, this particular pic has more berries 

because I was running low on my greens

Mine may not look as yummy as the kids...ok, it doesn't taste as yummy either, but as you drink all the veggies your body starts to crave sweet things less and less. Until you really don't need any fruit in it at all.

Mine is the same as the kids except instead of the fruit,  I add more sprouts and leafies. I also add ice because I usually don't have any frozen berries in it. This day being the exception, because  as I  mentioned,  I was running low on veggies.

Look at that, 44 oz of pure goodness.

And that's just breakfast! Imagine what it can do for dinner...

Oh... I have a Mac, and it truly does make me the smartest, most astute and powerful individual on the block. 

 So Far...So Summer

Bonjour!  I have been wanting to post some pictures of the family since it's been a while since I have done so.  However, I can't figure out how to post them in any kind of harmony. My OCD kicks in and won't let me just put them up.Not that we have been doing anything super exciting, (the real fun will begin in mid July) but we have had some good times...

Entertainment

So far the highlight has been Seinfeld. We all went  for Mandy's birthday.  We have seen him before but our seats weren't real great, so this time we had the best seats in the house. Jerry puts on quite a show, so that was a super great time.
We took  the kids to Park City Resort. That was super fun. We did everything they had to offer. It was great just to chill out and spend some time with the kids.
We hang out in Midway  at Tom's Parent's house where we swim and play a lot of ping pong.
We have been taking the kids to see every movie that comes out, even Robin hood, which was a stretch... (and an awful one at that.) 
As you know, Tom has his summers off, so we get to spend a lot of time with him, he and the children go on hikes, camp, roast hot dogs and play at the park all the time. I am sad I am not able to always be there, but last time Nadia and Liam told me when they went on a bbq in the mountains with daddy, there were so many ants there I would have died... and died, I would have...and  I wouldn't have been able to eat...and  Tom would have been impatient with me for insisting we find another spot...and the kids would've been starving by the time we found somewhere suitable...and the drinks would've gotten warm...and the ice would've melted...and I would've been trying to convince everyone that ants are treacherous little creatures...and the kids would be crying because we would've left the chocolate for the s'mores at the last bbq spot...and  it probably would have caused and argument... so that's one scene I am glad to have avoided.

Food

I don't believe I have cooked one meal thanks to In N Out and Zupas and Texas and Outback and the Smoking Apple and that new Italian (Cafe Rio style) place in Orem and that wretched place in Provo that serves barbecue and Chinese in the same venue... if that wasn't enough to make you want to throw up... oh wait, Nadia did... throw up,  I don't recommend that place...oh, I can't forget Lone Star in SLC, it's a little Mexican restaurant, not to be confused with Lone Star Steakhouse which is also quite delicious... So I guess it wouldn't be that bad if you did get them mixed up... it would work out either way.

Sleep

Hardly. I swear we are not going to bed until two AM every night and yet, I still get up at seven AM every morning...  This girl needs her sleep. No wonder everyone is walking on eggshells around me... huh.

Summary

In summary,  before I get too carried away with a bunch of things that is really not that exciting (too late) I will end my post with a wow, I think we eat out too much. Dad,  you were right... While I was busying myself with  decorating  my fort, remodeling  my room or space planning the garage,  I probably should have been in the kitchen helping mom cook.


And just so we're clear

Ants are treacherous little creatures.

 Yes she did

This is the kind of thinking that got me where I am today.

So where am I today?
That's a bloody good question.

Again with the cheese? I know.
But you know I couldn't (and wouldn't) put these kinds of things in my house,
and who needs to when you have a blog?  

 Ew, Gross

 

I don't know what kind of bug that was, but yes, I would rather capture it and wait
for Tom to come home so he can kill it. Killing big bugs gives me the willies.