Minimize it

This picture has nothing to do with my post...it just makes me smile. This is Aunt Kathy and Cooper at her big 5-oh birthday party. I love his grin and how adorable he looks in those crazy glasses. I also love how much they love each other!

I want to remember his goofy little grin (and those adorable baby teeth)..I also want to remember the funny things that he says. They are coming less and less often these days but every once and a while he says something that is priceless.

Coop and I were driving home and he was telling me about something on the computer. He explained that he couldn't see the whole thing at one time on the screen....

He said, "Since I couldn't see the whole picture, I decided to minnie mize it."
It was like he was saying Minnie Mouse except minnie mize.

I couldn't resist...and I made him say it again. Except he's getting too smart and he said- "you know the word momma, I'm not sure exactly how to say it."

"Minimize buddy. Minimize."

I wish I could minnie mize him....and keep him in my pocket all the time.
So sweet that one.

fatal attraction

I love Easter.
I love the weather, the colors, the food, the festivities and the reason for the celebration.
It's such a happy time.

To prepare, I got out my decorations over the weekend. Since we've moved I had fun trying to decide where the best spot was in our new house for the beloved treasures.

Enter this adorable little straw rabbit (not truly this one...but one that looks pretty similar).



I got him years ago and he's one of my favorites. I found the perfect place in the living room and as I was admiring my handiwork Jon made a comment that maybe I should put him somewhere else.

I blew him off.
After all, what does he know about Easter decorations.

Fast forward to this afternoon when I got this message-

From: Jon
Sent: Tuesday, March 27, 2012 02:52 PM
To: Carolyn
Subject: fatal attraction

I knew there could be a problem when you set it out……when I came home to change from the doctor, the rabbit cage, the grass, and two rolls of paper towels had all been violated……

The rabbit is still missing.
I don’t know if she turned on a boiling pot of water or not.

***********************

OH. MY. WORD.
That crazy dog.

I might have been mad, but the message made me laugh so hard that I couldn't be too upset. I love that man- he is FUNNY.

I give you the evidence...



What would possess a dog to eat a roll of paper towels?
What would possess a dog to eat a straw rabbit in a tiny cage??

My poor decorations....destroyed.



Great news though- we found the rabbit (minus his nose)!




Sadly, I think my rabbit will not make it to see his pal the Easter Bunny.
Here's hoping your decorations come through the holiday unscathed.

old blogger vs. new blogger

I'm old school.
I don't love change.
I'm set in my ways.
I like the familiar and the comfortable.
Sometimes I push myself to try new things.
Sometimes they work and I'm elated!

Blogger has a new interface.
I thought I could handle it.
I thought I understood how to maneuver.
I was wrong.

There has been no elated me as of late.
This video brought me back to the light.

My old interface is now back!
Hello old friend!

Cauliflower Steaks- who knew???

I got this awesome recipe from Janet @ The Gardener's Cottage. Janet has no idea who I am but I read her blog regularly and find her life to be fascinating. She's a living simply in an adorable cottage, is a vegan and puts together great looking outfits for under $10. I'd classify her as pretty fabulous.


I'm not sure what pushed me to try this recipe- something about the title, cauliflower steaks must have appealed to my inner vegetable lover or maybe my outer meat lover. Truthfully I didn't think I had an inner vegetable lover but I'm willing to give it a go. Jon loves cauliflower (I had no idea this was the case....wonder what else he's got hidden up his sleeve) and since I had nothing to lose, I tried them.


Janet altered a recipe from here. I used the original and modified it a bit to suit my taste and what I had in the refrigerator. I love the presentation!

It was delish. I read the comments and took the advice of one person who added Parmesan cheese. You really can't go wrong with Parmesan (unless of course you're a vegan....and then clearly my statement is vastly incorrect). We grilled the steaks vs. pan cooking and had great results- the flavors were amazing.

Verdict from BOTH of us- A.
I highly recommend!

growing up

My sweet kid is growing up so fast. It makes me dizzy.
I took this picture to commemorate a pretty big milestone.
Cooper took his 1st Communion.


Although it's a big milestone it happened with minimal pomp and circumstance. That's exactly how Cooper wanted it and I actually can't argue with him on this one.

He was ready, solemn, excited, nervous, prayerful and pretty proud of himself.
We were proud too.


My sweet kid is growing up so fast.

Photography Class- Moms Mastering Manual

I got my new camera on Thursday...just in time for the photography class I signed up for on Saturday! Denise and I are sorority sisters and she's got a fantastic photography business just a few hours away. In a crazy twist, Dana (who lives in the UK) saw that Denise was holding a class and thought Diana and I would be interested. We were!! Don't we look like eager students?
The goal? To leave the class with an understanding of how to shoot in manual mode and nail the focus and exposure on my photos. This is one of my 1st "successes"! Denise had help from Kristol, another local photographer and crafter extraordinaire and together they taught us the fundamentals, patiently waked us through our cameras and answered all of our questions. Once we were armed with the process, we headed out to put our skills to the test. Kristol whipped up this super fun centerpiece for us....with M3 on each of those little cameras (which she made herself) Sigh- some people are so talented! Denise took us to some of her favorite places to take pictures and had models come for us to use as guinea pigs. I was nervous and determined to get it right. I took over 250 pictures....and love some of my results. one of my 1st shots... love that I was able to get the light reflecting in her eyes! his too! Aren't these little girls were adorable...they didn't seem to mind at all that 10 of us were snapping pictures inches away from their faces. Yes, that is a train speeding by....we were steps away from the train tracks and such the paparazzi. It did seem though after a while that the train would never end.... love her face (she was asking her mom when the train would stop!) This one is a little blown out in the background, but I still like the shot a lot. Such a great day, such a great group of ladies, such a super opportunity to learn AND spend time with great friends! Thanks Denise- we had a blast (and can't wait to practice even more)!

yay

I bought myself a little treat...I can hardly wait for it to arrive!

Before and After Dog

Before-





I could eat her up she is so fuzzy and great!
Seriously. She's got a fan club in our town...it's a riot.

But, all good things must come to an end.





Poor thing. She's so mad at us...she hasn't wagged her tail since she got home and she refuses to look us in the eye.

Regardless of how long her hair is....she's a funny pup.

I love that dog!