Pool Time with the Niece

Last weekend, I accompanied Sissy and Hadley to the swimming pool.  Sissy has been taking Hadley to the pool almost every day but this was the first time I joined them.  Hadley loves the water!  I started out with her in the main pool but the water was pretty chilly so we moved to the baby pool.

I had flashbacks to cleaning out the baby pools during summers guarding at Sea Colony but I pushed visions of dirty diapers fond memories aside and hopped right in.

Hadley, close your mouth!  Don't you know there may be creepy crawlies in the water?!

Pretty in her pink bathing suit

"Mommy, let me go!  I can do this by myself."

Relaxing...

Auntie Whitty: Don't worry little one, as soon as you're big enough for swimmies you'll never have to be in the baby pool again.

Hadley: That's good because there are some brown things behind us.

Not Really My Style, But I'm Hooked

I am literally obsessed with the HBO show, Game of Thrones. When my husband first mentioned watching it together, I really balked. It’s based on a fantasy book and is set in medieval times. Kind of like Harry Potter at the Maryland Renaissance Festival. To say I’m not a fan of fantasy books is an understatement. My husband reads them from time to time and whenever I see a crazy title on his Kindle, I make endless fun of him.

But Game of Thrones is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. It’s the Sopranos with swords and funny clothes and castles. In a nutshell, the show chronicles the violent dynastic struggles among the kingdom's seven noble families for control of the Iron Throne. The scenery is spectacular. The scenes are intense. And the acting is superb. My favorite character is of course, Ned, but I also love Jon Snow, Tyrion, and Petry “Little Finger” Baelish. You’ve probably seen the actor who plays Tyrion, Peter Dinklage, in Death at a Funeral or on Nip/Tuck. Little Finger is played by Aidan Gillen; better know as Mayor Carcetti from my favorite show of all time, The Wire.

My boss also watches,and we have endless discussions about the show every Monday morning. Sunday is the season finale but it’s on On Demand so you have time to catch up. Trust me- you won’t be disappointed.

Getting Caught Up with 30 Days of Photo Fun

Day 9 - Fresh Fruit
Hubby's favorite fruit but my least favorite.  I can't remember the last time I had a banana.

Day 10 - Animal
The Spencester

Day 11 - Silhouette
Not a true silhouette, but the best I could do.  Had a busy day picking up my new Cavalier foster, Clancy.

Day 12 - Sun Flare

Day 13 - Reminds You of Childhood
I am sure a big dollhouse like this was on every little girl's wish list.

Day 14 - Someone You Love
My niece, Hadley. She's very interested in waching the Belmont post parade.

Day 8 - Sunset

On a hazy, humid day, this was about as good as I could get. I couldn't even see the sun!

Day 7 - High Angle

Sitting in the park

Day 6 - Books

Maybe these will help me in the kitchen.

If I Were an LOL Cat

Whomever crafted this hysterical LOL cat must have had me in mind.  I can look at this site forever.  And some days I do.

Photo

"Who needz da abilitee 2 save hoominz wen u can organize?"

Days 4 and 5

Day 4 - Clouds

Wonder where they're going...

Day 5 - Breakfast

So many decisions...

Day 3 - Hands

Okay, so they're front paws, not hands, but they may as well be the way Devin uses them.  Since he was a kitten, Devin has used his mits to open cabinets and doors, tip over his food dish, and swat his brothers on the head.  He's much too advanced to use them for just playing with cat toys.

30 Days of Fun: Day 1 and Day 2

I was so excited when I opened Google Reader the other day and saw one of my favorite bloggers, Lisagh of Grosgrain Garage, was back.  She's so crafty, tells funny stories and takes great photos.  And since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, I am sure she won't mind that I am totally copying her by doing the 30 Day Photo Fun challenge.

I did a little research and found that this super fun, and challenging, challenge originated with Abby of A Feathered Nest.  If you haven't read A Feathered Nest, you must!  Abby takes amazing photographs, is a super duper DIYer and is just an all around nice and bubbly person.

I'm a day behind on the fun so here are Day 1 and Day 2.

Day 1 - Self Portrait

One of my favorite things- stitching in the gazebo after a long day at work.  I'm almost finished with this belt for my brother-in-law.


Day 2 - Favorite Shoes

I bought these at Target on my way to a wedding reception three years ago.  We had just left the ceremony when the heel on my fancy shoes from Bloomingdales broke.  Target was across the street from the church so I ran in, barefoot, looking for something to wear with the black and white dress I had on.  I saw these red beauties and it was love at first sight.  The bow.  The ribbon.  The peep toe.  The ruffles.  Oh la la!  They were less than $25 and I've only worn them twice (they are really uncomfortable), but I keep them because just looking at them in my closet makes me smile.

My Master Griller

JDD, my husband, fancies himself a grill master. He created his most recent masterpiece, lomo al trapo, in mid-April and it was so good that he’s made it twice more. After watching his grilling idol, Steve Raichlen, make it on his show Primal Grill, JDD just had to try it. Lomo al trapo, a Columbian dish, is a salt-crusted beef tenderloin that’s wrapped in a cloth and roasted directly on the embers of a grill.  Here’s how JDD made ours.

The first step, was to prepare the salt crust. Yes, he really used almost three canisters of salt.

The salt was seasoned with some spices and the tenderloin placed on top, along with more salt.

Then the wrapping and tying process commenced.

Meanwhile, the grill is heating up

The wrapped meat is placed directly on the embers to cook.

The most fun part for me was to watch the fabric catch fire.

After about 15 minutes, it was time to flip.

After 20 more minutes, it was time to bring the meat inside. Uh, doesn’t JDD realize it’s still on fire?!

The last step was to crack off the salt crust. I was afraid the heat would crack a ceramic plate so I had JDD put it on a metal pizza pan. Hey, I was panicking since there was a piece of meat on fire in my house. :-)

Voila! The meat was cooked beautifully. I know most of you will think this is too rare, but the redder the better for me and JDD.

While JDD held court over the tenderloin, I cooked asparagus and zucchini on the gas grill. Our dinner was delicious!

Steve Raichlen better watch out!

Who Said Weekends Are for Rest?

Our Memorial Day weekend certainly wasn't.  It was action packed, though lots of fun.

We started off at the shooting range so I could try my new Browning.

While we were gone, Spencer helped himself to two pounds of beef jerky by brother-in-law made.  JDD forgot to put it away and Spencer hopped on a chair and then must have stood on his tippy toes to reach it on the table.  A Saturday evening trip to the vet was next on the to-do list.

While at the vet, we saw this man decked out in pink.  You can't really tell in the picture, but this man's shirt was light pink and the center stripe on his surcingle belt was hot pink.

Sunday morning brought many Rolling Thunder riders by our neighborhood.  If JDD ever gets his wish of getting me in the driver's seat, my motorcycle will look just like this.

After Rolling Thunder cleared out, Mother, Sissy and Niece Hadley came to our house for a cookout.  Hadley loved being in the warm, sunny weather.

And Monday was spent planting our first vegetable garden.  JDD built the planter box and filled it with soil while I shopped for the plants.  We planted two tomatoes, two peppers and one each of zucchini, eggplant, squash, watermelon, and cantaloupe.

Neither of us has a green thumb so fingers crossed that at least one of the plants makes it.

I can't wait to take it easy at the pool this weekend. :-)