I'm back :)

I think that the one or two people who actually read this might have given up on me. Sorry! We were out of town for Easter. We had a nice visit with my family.
I'm back now, though. This will be short, b/c I have a mound of embroidery that I need to finish today and a patchwork twirl skirt to make, too. So, how about a quick DWTS recap? I just finished watching yesterday's elimination round, and America got it right. I feel bad for Monica Seles, but she needed to go. Penn knew he was leaving, lol. How about that Kristi Yamaguchi?!?! WOW! I'm loving watching her. Her rehearsal footage really had me thinking that she wouldn't be able to get out there and let loose, but she did! And Jason Taylor is just adorable! Mario is SO good. And Marlee Matlin just blows me away! Priscilla Presley was a big surprise, she looked SO nervous before her first performance, but she did a great job! And I just think Steve Gutenburg is precious. :) Shannon Elizabeth is really good, but she still looks like she'd be giggly, lol. She and Derek make a cuuuuuuute pair, don't they? :X Who am I missing? Adam Carolla? He's just having fun. He got better this week, but, bless his heart, he just has a touch too much of the white man syndrome. Marissa is getting better, but I imagine teaching her is like training a hyper chihuahua, lol. She's adorable, but it's probably hard to get her to focus, lol. Reminds me a bit of taking my dog Piper to obedience school. It was suggested to us that they could not do anything else and we had improved all we would, LMAO!

Dancey show!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah! Spring! The flowers are blooming, the birds are singing, and Dancing With the Stars is back on the air! We ADORE this show. HRH and the Hurricane ask me daily "Is the dancey show on today?". We DVR it and watch it countless times during the week, learning dance moves. And this MUST be watched in full-on pretty princess dress. Last night's ensemble? HRH chose a lovely size 2T Snow White top and skirt. Never mind that three inches of belly showed in between the bottom of her top and the top of her bottom, she looked mah-velous! Hurricane Lu opted to wear nothing but Dora the Explorer panties and a pink tulle skirt. This is not a look many can pull off, mind you, but she rocked it. Not that I'm biased or anything, but my girls can really cut a rug! So , for the next few weeks, I have a feeling that my Tuesday posts will end up being DWTS discussions. :) Bear with me, please.

Now tonight, only the men danced. We did get a chance to see all of the competitors, though. Let's discuss the women first.

*******************disclaimer*************
If you're reading this and not from the South, you may not know about our "bless his/her/your heart" saying. This phrase, preceding any statement, takes the meanness out of it. For example, you might hear "bless his heart, he's just dumber than a box of rocks". You're not trying to be mean, just stating a fact. I only bring this up because, well, you'll see.
******************************************
Shannon Elizabeth. She sure is pretty. And giggly. And proud :X And I can't decide if she was being funny or b*tchy towards Marissa Janet Winokur at the end there. Thoughts?

Marlee Matlin. I can't wait to see how she is going to actually do this. I'm really excited about her. I do wonder, why, when she speaks using her own voice for acting roles, would she use an interpreter here? Just strikes me as a little odd.

Priscilla Presley. Bless her heart (see!).... she looks like she's had so much work done that she'd melt in 80 degrees. :( She's such a naturally beautiful lady, why would she feel the need to get all Michael-Jackson/Joan-Rivers-y?

Monica Seles. I liked her! I wasn't expecting to, but she seems so cool and laid-back, like the kind of person I'd want to be friends with in real life.

Marissa Janet Winokur. I have been a HUGE fan of her for a while now. She's done Broadway, so it seems like she has an advantage, but I hear that dancing with a partner is way different. We'll see!

Kristi Yamaguchi. I have to admit, I don't know much about her, you really don't hear about her anymore. She's definitely athletic and graceful, I'll bet she's really good at the classic ballroom stuff. I suppose we'll see tomorrow.

Before we go on to the men, can we observe a moment of silence for Maksim's decision to sit this season out? :*( Me so sad. And no Alec Mazo, either?!?!?! What is the world coming to?!?!

OK, the dancing!

Penn Jillette. Poor Kym. She keeps getting paired up with people who just can't dance! What is UP with that? She's an awesome partner, comes up with the neatest and most original dances (remember Jerry Springer? LOL!). I just wish they'd give her someone she had a fighting chance with!

Jason Taylor. Oh my goodness! What a cutie pie! My heavens, he's a tall drink of water. Looks SO graceful out on the floor, too! I can't wait to see what he does in the Latin dances! ;) LOVED the pink tutu. So did HRH and the Hurricane, they got all excited, then got the giggles "because daddies don't wear pretty princesses!!!!!!" LOL!

Cristian de la Fuente. I had something cute and witty to say about how "fuente" means "hot" or something of the sort. Imagine my crushing disappointment when I googled, only to find out it means "fountain" LMAO! I was a little disappointed in his dancing, as well. He has room to improve, but he's still adorable to look at!

Adam Corolla. Poor, poor Adam. LOL! Not so good. And poor Julianne. But it's someone else's turn to win now. She can concentrate on her album! He wasn't as terrible as I thought he'd be, and I think Julianne's fans will carry them a few weeks, but he won't last, I'll bet.

Mario. He's so freaking adorable!!!!!! Am I the only one who thinks he looks like Chris Rock? BOY that fella can dance, too! I really like Karina, and I'm happy she got a good competitor this year. LOVED his cha cha!

Steve Guttenberg. He is this season's John ratzen-whatever. You know, Cliff from Cheers. Much better than anyone thought, a charmer, and having a BLAST! So much fun to watch :) I think he'll go farther than anyone expected, if only he has the fan base to pull him through.

OK, that's it. I think. Not sure I'll have time for a ladies' recap tomorrow, as the girls and I are hitting the road for an Easter visit to GaGa's house. Daddy will be meeting us there for the weekend. May my one or two readers have a Blessed Easter, safe travels if you are going anywhere, and a great week!

Too cool for school

Today was such a beautiful day here. Sunny, mid-70s, the kind of day that makes you want to roll the windows down and open the sunroof and blast your favorite music. Which is what HRH and I did, on our way to spend the day out at our property (a couple of acres upon which we plan to build our dream house in a year or so). The Hurricane chose to ride with Daddy and Piper (our nut of a dachshund) out there, so that left me and her Madgesty. We made the 10 minute drive with the wind blowing through our hair, cool shades on, and jamming to my self-burned CD of 90s hair bands (think GNR, Queensryche, Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, etc.). She informs me that her favorite song is now "the Jungle one". When I figure out that she means GNR's Welcome to the Jungle, I have to admit that my heart swelled . :) I know what you're thinking..... I'll go ahead and address it. Yep, I'm just THAT cool. And evidently HRH has inherited that gene from me :) She likes Meatloaf, too :)


And this update on Lu is just for you, Ang! She's not pretend pottying in public. Nope, she's nursing her baby dolls, stuffed animals, etc. And let's just say she's NOT a modest nurse-in-public-er. :X And she likes to draw attention to the fact of what she's doing by yelling "SShhhhhhh.... baby cry. Baby wanta nurse. YuYu nurse da baby". Sorry. No pics (yet).

My morning happy

I have learned to find joy in every little thing I can. In our house, we call them "happies". We have a super busy Saturday today, with a baby shower for a family friend, tons of embroidery calling my name, and a St. Patrick's Day dinner with our very Irish Uncle John. So, here is my morning happy : Hurricane Lu woke up early with me today, so we had a good hour or so to hang out and visit before the rest of the household joined us. She asked to watch "brr brr mah" (which is High School Musical, she calls it that because of the sounds that Sharpay and Ryan make when they are warming up to perform). And evidently, found the need to do some nakey dancing :)

That adorable teeny little tushy twirling around to "Bop to the Top" will make me smile all day :)

Sprung

Spring has! Sprung, that is. Don't you read the titles? LOL! It's 85 degrees here and sunny and all around one of the most beautiful days we've had so far!!!! I can't WAIT for the bluebonnets, but I'll bide my time with these lovelies:




and my long-forgotten parsley from last summer has gone haywire!

These are my favorite flowers to see. Some call them weeds, but I call them the sweetest bouquet ever :)
We've even bought swimsuits!!! I have a sickness, I tell you :X But how stinking CUTE is this?

And finally..... this is how long I have to wait to eat the yummiest bread! WHO bread, courtesy of SouleMama. SO yummy!!!! My house smells amazing, lol!

Is it just me?

Or does it seem that on the days when I desperately needed another hour (or four) of sleep, THOSE are the days that chance seems to put the most trying people in my path? Honest to goodness, I ask of the one or two people that might randomly stumble across this blog, what on EARTH would be going through someone's head to see a harried young mother (yes, I'm young..... 30's the new 20, right?) wrestling an uncooperative 23 month old into her carseat while juggling three bags of fabric and a ringing cell phone that would cause them to think "I'm going to pull up RIGHT behind her and wait for my kids/wife/husband/granny/mailman/whatEVER to come out of the restaurant right here. Never mind that the aforementioned nice lady won't be able to raise her tailgate to put in her purchases because I'm so fling-flanging close to her car. {and let me tell you, the lady obviously needed her purchases or she wouldn't have been at Hancock's (what should be a fun place to drift through and dream about what you want to make with all the pretty fabrics) with a child who has morphed into a breed of creature that in our house we call a Grumpalumpagus}. So, after standing by the end of my car with my hand on the handle of the tailgate for literally three or four minutes (which doesn't sound THAT long, but think about it, that's 180-240 seconds. Not awfully short when you're really irritated), I go back to the front seat, turn on the car so the Hurricane can watch her beloved High School Musical (yep, she's a preteen trapped in a teeny tiny body) and go BACK to stand behind my car. Finally, the doofus turns to look at me, feigns surprise (not very good at it, I might add) and rolls down the window to ask me if I need him/her to back up. Ummm...... yeah? Ladies and gentlemen, the award for the morning's most ridiculous question goes to.......... the envelope please....... oh, wow! It's meanie-tailgate-blocking person! UGH!
When I got home, it was brought to my attention that it MIGHT have been an innocent accident, but I'm not sure I buy it. And I'm not unreasonable or impatient. Nope, not me. You must have me confused with someone else.
Oh! one more, from yesterday, too. Imagine that! This one is quick, though, I promise.
I get a cell phone call yesterday afternoon. It was Texas Children's Opthalmology Specialists Scheduling calling to schedule Hurricane Lu's surgery. Huh? What? Are you sure you have the right number? They have the right name and the right child's name. Finally figured out that this was the lady who was supposed to call me in JANUARY (they promised a call that afternoon when I left the consultation) to schedule an appt for early February to clear out some scar tissue leftover from the great double stye that we dealt with back in October. @@@@@@@@@@@@ (those are my eyeballs rolling off of the screen). I kindly said "I'm sorry, but you were supposed to call in January to schedule this. We've decided against having the procedure done, but thanks for the timely follow-up call". What is WRONG with that office? The doc was amazing, LOVE him, if you ever need a pediatric opthalmologist, email me for a recommendation! But the schedulers, come ON! Get real!
However, to end my day on a lovely note, my wonderful mother-in-law brought over fried chicken for supper! Yippee skippy!

::::::::::yawn::::::::::::::

So it seems that the Hurricane decided that 3:50 was a good time to greet the morning today. All attempts to snuggle her back to sleep were rebuffed, and a little rudely, I might add. ;) She's like the Energizer Bunny, I swear I have no idea where she gets her get-up-and-go, especially at the unholy hour of 4 AM!!!! If I felt more well-rested and steady-handed, I'd head into the dining/sewing room and finish up the latest nap-mat cover I'm working on. SO stinking cute, it's all pinks and limes and white and black and flowers and full of girly deliciousness. But I'd probably serge my finger into the seam if I tried to do it right now. I have a stack of "to do" in my sewing/craft/embroidery space sky high right now. I finished one mat Sunday. How cute is this?

I donated a cover to HRH's school auction and after the auction had several people come up to me and ask if they could buy one! How cool is that?

I also monogrammed a couple of swimsuits for Madge's school's resident fashionista :) I'm blatantly stealing the idea and may even hit the Osh Kosh outlet for the exact swimsuit, as it was beyond adorable. Pink and white stripe with bright orange binding and straps. Mono in orange. To DIE for! HRH and Hurricane Lu must have. :X