this moment

Participating in Amanda’s this moment project:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual - capturing a moment from the week.

(Taken this morning. Photo credit to my wonderful husband.)

this moment

Participating in Amanda’s this moment project:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual - capturing a moment from the week.

the everyday

I don’t update my phone enough. It probably has something to do with the fact that it’s only sort of a phone and more like a little computer that can be “bricked” (this is bad) if I screw up. In any event, I always find that my phone photos are a true glimpse at the norm around here.

Behold, I get extra dorky when we’re almost there:

I was amused by the giant cow at Whole Foods:

I am fortunate enough to see this every day:

I stopped in the middle of the road to take this. It was perfectly safe because I didn’t encounter another human being for miles. I also didn’t have cell service. It was both liberating and unnerving. Mountain roads always make me think some suicidal deer is about to take both of us out.

The boy got cold weather camping gear:

The girl got college mail:

And somewhere in the middle of it all, there was a bounce house:

grocery giveaway #2

Mrs. White, Random.org says you won!

Mrs. White said...

I'd love to win this! Thank you!!
Blessings
Mrs. White

Another giveaway for you today – This gift pack was sent to me by Progresso and MyBlogSpark and they are offering an identical pack to one of my readers. I would love to tell you how much I enjoyed this soup, but my teenager took both varieties, Chicken Gumbo and Tomato Parmesan, for lunch at school. Sigh. In any event, we are big Progresso fans here, and I keep plenty of it stocked in my pantry. The girl loves it and it makes for a hearty school lunch, especially during the winter. These low sodium varieties are a welcome addition here, because one of my biggest concerns with non-homemade food is the often high sodium content. These were devoured with no complaints about the reduction in salt, so I take that as a ringing endorsement.

The gift pack includes two cans of low sodium soup, a super (souper?) cool soup mug and an exercise ball and pump.

If you would like to give these a try, please leave a comment below by noon on Nov. 23. Random.org will select a winner on or about that date.

 

Progresso and MyBlogSpark provided these items for review, but my opinions are my own.

grocery giveaway #1

Leslie, random.org says you’re the winner! Enjoy!

Post Grad said...

I would love to win. Mashed potatoes are definitely a quick, easy staple.
Thanks for doing the giveaway!
:)
-Leslie
carykhepburn{at}yahoo{dot}com

(Click on my banner above and then scroll down for grocery giveaway #2.)

Want to win some cool kitchen gadgets? Betty Crocker and MyBlogSpark sent me this set, including a silicon hot pad, a mixing spoon (dishwasher safe) and a lovely bamboo bowl – as well as two packages of instant mashed potatoes – and they would like to send the same gift set to one of my readers. OK, I only ever buy instant potatoes for making potato bread, so I am probably not the best person to ask about them from the perspective of making and eating them according to packages directions. I do like that each box contains two packs of potatoes, so if you are making bread and just using a cup or so at a time, this is the way to go. My teenager did make a beeline for the roasted garlic variety and we ended up making it right away. No, they don’t taste like homemade (think butter and whole fat, local milk – good, not good for you), but they were pretty tasty. I bet garlic potato bread would be good, too.

If you would like to give these a try, please leave a comment below by noon on Nov. 20. Random.org will select a winner on or about that date.

In the meantime, if you would like a coupon for this product, click here.

 

Betty Crocker and MyBlogSpark provided these items for review, but my opinions are my own.

plenty

Crazy good apple crop at the nearby orchard (Sky Top) this year.

I know wooly worms are supposed to be harbingers of a cold winter, but how exactly does one assess the relative wooliness of said worm? Next year, I need to bring a chart.

You are never too old to feed a goat, apparently.

I am going to attempt to freeze apple pie filling. Yikes.

disney’s polynesian resort

Our favorite hotel – no question about it. It is indeed over the top expensive, but there are ways around that. We had a PIN code for this trip. (Sign up for Disney’s emails, etc., and they occasionally email or snail mail discount codes. Forty percent off rack rate? Yeah baby.) How do I love thee, Polynesian? Let me count the ways.

It’s a tropical paradise, truly. I know it’s in Florida and by definition, a tropical paradise, but the Poly is beautifully themed. If you have never stayed at a Disney-owned hotel, trust me, it is worth the price. The magic never ends, as they say.* The lobby is breathtaking. Click to enlarge this photo to see my kids downstairs – we were upstairs. And that, folks, is the magic of having older kids with cell phones. This was the first vacation that didn’t leave me in constant fear of abduction.

The boy at the top of the volcano pool slide:

And at the bottom:

I picked up a hot guy at the pool. It’s Florida; it happens.

In addition to the hotel’s theme, I can highly recommend the Poly because of its location, the fact that it’s on the monorail loop and because the rooms are huge, relatively speaking. We spend the vast majority of our Disney time at the Magic Kingdom and Epcot. The monorail runs right up to the Great Ceremonial House (hotel’s main building) and provides unmatched ease of access to MK. (I know there is a walking path from the Contemporary to MK, but in my opinion, the Contemporary can’t compare to the Poly.) We stayed in the Tahiti building and I highly recommend it. We have stayed there before and couldn’t be happier with the location. It’s far enough away from the luau and the volcano pool to avoid the noise associated with both, but very convenient to everything. It is also quite close to the Ticket and Transportation Center, which has a direct monorail to Epcot. Awesome.

From the Poly’s beaches, you can watch the Electrical Water Pageant and (even better) the fireworks from the Magic Kingdom. White sand beaches, hammocks, palm trees AND fireworks? A little taste of heaven on earth.

*If I had to choose between staying off-site and staying home, obviously I would be happy to hold up at the Kissimmee Motel or some such place. But if you can, stay on Disney property.

this moment

Participating in Amanda’s this moment project:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual - capturing a moment from the week.

At Epcot:

this moment

Participating in Amanda’s this moment project:

{this moment} - A Friday ritual - capturing a moment from the week.

First day of school…

savoring (and saving) summer

My canner has been getting a workout lately – peach jam, blueberry jam, peach chutney, tomato sauce (20 pints!) and green tomato relish.

Green tomato relish just tastes like summer.

I don’t recommend canning on a hot plate, but I have a ceramic cooktop – no canners allowed. Contrary to what I have read online, this hot plate has no trouble heating the water to boiling and maintaining that temperature. I bought this one for $10 (?) or so several years ago and it works like a charm. This is a pint canner. My quart canner is simply too large for this, but I am holding on to it for when I get my snazzy gas cooktop (several house projects and years from now).

Are you canning this season?

i can be centerfield

Our city has what is arguably the most beautiful minor league ballpark in the country – from the entrance made from old mill brick to the “little” green monster in left field. While I love watching the Braves at Turner Field, nothing is quite like a minor league game. The players are working hard at something they love and just trying every day to catch a break. The fans generally aren’t rowdy (but I hear $1 beer night is a different atmosphere), parking and getting in and out are a piece of cake and it doesn’t break the bank to go and enjoy America’s game.

same bat time, same bat channel

 

I have bats in my attic. A bat man (as opposed to Batman) is evicting them today. This makes me deliriously happy.

That is all.

have you da wing?

What my children watched yesterday:

happy mother’s day

Here’s a recent look at my progeny. One of them was about to leave for the prom.

 

And it occurred to me that I never posted a photo from the big end-of-the-year gala put on by the poor unsocialized homeschoolers in our co-op. (Sorry for the weird crop. I only post my own kiddos here.)

To this day, I regret not buying the life-sized, three-dimensional models of Jake and Elwood Blues our neighbors sold at a yard sale. What were we thinking?

psa of the day (and possibly the decade)

what’s that spell…

Apologies for the harsh light in the photo – it was dark out, so this was the best I could do. And do I have one picture without a dog nose in it? Probably not.

If you are the mom of a Boy Scout, you probably know about the historical merit badges offered this year for the BSA centennial. Semaphore is one of the choices –and you will need flags for that. My husband (who taught my son’s troop how to do semaphore) cut dowels for the handles. Do not stress about the flags! Hobby Lobby sells solid color bandannas that are the perfect size and are already hemmed. Cut each on the diagonal and sew right sides together. Press the seam to the red side and trim to square. (I found that the different colors were not exactly the same, less than a quarter inch off.) Attach ties to the red side (see photo). I used white ribbon for two flags and natural-colored cording for the other two (because I ran out of ribbon). I triple-stitched the ties because the flags were designed to be used by boys and thus will endure great tribulation.

In the event of an emergency, we can signal the neighbors for help.

visitors from outer space

We waited in the cold for our visitors to arrive. Right on cue, at 6:51 p.m., the International Space Station was visible in the twilight sky. Safe travels, gentlemen. You are welcome here anytime.

about a mouse

Either you get the appeal of Walt Disney World or you don’t. I am convinced there is no middle ground. No other company on the planet does things “the Disney way,” by definition. In fact, the Disney Institute actually teaches companies from around the world how to provide meaningful service that keeps customers coming back.

And we keep coming back.

I was fortunate to be able to attend a press event at WDW last week and I will share the details in a few upcoming posts. The Cliff Notes version is that innovation continues, with unmatched attention to detail and a firm grasp of what appeals to children, their parents and grandparents.

The Magic Kingdom is undergoing its biggest expansion in history, with a variety of interactive attractions coming. Below is a rendering of Belle’s village (Belle!!), which will be part of the expansion. The village will include several restaurants as well, including a Gaston-themed spot, which presumably will use antlers in all of the decorating.

Guests will be able to participate in a surprise party for Princess Aurora (that’s Sleeping Beauty, of course) and will learn to be a Royal Knight or dance with Cinderella. (Pause to sing the Stephen Curtis Chapman song. You know you want to. When you are done crying, read on.)

For every parent who has ever said, “Please, can we skip Dumbo?” I have great news. The attraction will soon be doubled in size and have a covered queue and activities to pass the time in line. Prayers have been answered from across the land.

Have you traveled via the Disney Cruise Line? We haven’t, but I hear wonderful things. In addition to amazing expansions, the new Disney Dream is going to boast the AquaDuck (points for the name). I get the heebie jeebies just watching an animation of this thing, for I am not a dare devil. OK, on some things maybe, but not things that involve water or enclosed spaces. But I would pay money to see my son and husband on this. Check it out online.

I am, however, a geek. Pictures below are from last week’s event at the newly themed ESPN Wide World of Sports. It was my first visit to the complex and it is all kinds of great. The athletic facilities are impressive and the new ESPN theme is going to make athletes who are competing there feel like they are on Sportscenter. And they might be. It truly is becoming THE place for youth sports and many, many adults, including the Atlanta Braves (Go Braves!), are finding the facilities to be top-notch.

Chip and Dale – Chip has the chocolate chip nose (above). Never be confused again. It’s just another public service I provide. You are welcome.

Pluto! Minnie! Mickey didn’t come to my table. I made up for it by eating Cracker Jack.

More to come….