Pizza Pizza

Typically Friday night is pizza night at the L house and this week was no exception.

Iz made a special request for a Minnie Mouse pizza...complete with pepperoni eyes and smile :)

The best part? It tasted even better than it looked (according to Iz!).

I Scream, You Scream

We ALL scream for ICE CREAM!!!

Auntie D and I took Mimi and Iz out for ice cream a couple weeks ago 

(yes, I know...I'm right on top of things, huh?!)

Not sure, but we think it may have been Mimi's first ice cream cone :)

Iz, on the other hand, is a pro! :)

So exciting!

Trying a little out of a bowl instead...

 Then back to the cone...this time with a spoon!

The ice cream got taken away...NOT HAPPY AT ALL!!!

GIMME!!!

Ah, that's better :)

This happy girl just sat back and watched Mimi's antics while she enjoyed her frozen treat!

Almost gone...

VERY fun to take the girls out for a treat...MUST do it again soon :)



This week is school vacation and things are already shaping up to be busy busy busy so I should have plenty of pics to share over the next few days :)

The Cookies

As you may remember, I mentioned (HERE) that Iz and I made some cookies recently.

DAY ONE

Picking out the perfect shapes.

Cutting out little ones first.

DAY TWO

Time to decorate!

First time using a piping bag....she did great!

Gorgeous girl!

Done!

(my cookie is top row, 2nd from the left.....EIGHTEEN jelly beans!)

Are YOU Ready For Some FOOTBALL?!?

I wonder what's so great about this bird? What exactly makes it a superb owl? Tee hee hee

So, in case you live under a rock, there's a football game this weekend...kind of a big one in fact. We're headed to SnL's again to hang out, eat, do a Yankee Swap [though with a twist this year...just gift cards...not actual gifts :)] and, maybe, watch a little of the game :)

I would be a whole heck of a lot more interested if MY BOYS were playing this weekend, but nooooooo, they blew it and now I'm stuck between these guys:

and these guys:

It's a tough choice but, since I like to root for someone, I'm thinking....

GO PACKERS!!!!!!

Here's looking forward to a fun day with the fam....I'm actually more excited about the commercials, halftime show & hanging with Ellie than anything else :)

Another Cake?

So, I'm decorating ANOTHER cake this week...whew! Two in a month? That's definitely my quota for the year :)

Here's the inspiration:

Pictures coming soon....

C is for Cookie!

Well folks, here we are. It's December 1st. I'm not entirely sure where the time has gone. Wasn't it just Iz's 4th Birthday? Mother's Day? 4th of July? Halloween? It's amazing how some days can feel so looooooong but you blink and an entire year has gone by.

We're putting up our Christmas decorations tomorrow. Stringing up the lights (one goes out, they ALL go out!) and all that :) We'll have Christmas music playing in the background and hot cocoa ready to sip when we're done.

Iz will open her advent calendar today and start counting down with a little chocolate each night after dinner.

I still need to order Christmas cards and pick up a couple more odds and ends but, really, these next 24 days will be all about spending time together and having FUN!

One of the yummiest ways we'll be having fun is with our

*drum roll please*

12 Days of Christmas (Cookies)

Starting on December 13th, Iz and I will be making cookies or other holiday treats EVERY day through Christmas Eve! Gingerbread Rice Krispie Treats, Thumbprint Cookies, Sugar Cookies and MORE!!! What will we do with all the goodies, you ask? We'll be enjoying some ourselves, freezing some to bring to Auntie D's on Christmas Eve and, most importantly, GIVING some!!! We'll be bringing cookies to share at school, the library and the nursing home Papa stayed at last year.

Annual Cookout at the In-Laws

Another great year....fantastic people, yummy food and beautiful weather.

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We definitely missed a couple "Js" who had to work (boo!) but there were a couple "newbies" there who brightened up every body's day!

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H&I were there with their little guy S who LOVED Kiko! Why was Kiko there, you ask? Because Auntie D and her crew crashed the party, of course! Well...they WERE invited so it was okay :)

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We had to get the sprinkler out to cool off. Iz is holding hands with little R who was only 3 weeks old at last year's get-together.

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Little S...stinkin' cute!

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The Lobstah Cake that K's girlfriend made....AMAZING!!! Thinking it would make a great "Sunday Sweet" on Cake Wrecks :)

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More sprinkler fun!

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S was down with the live lobstah...

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....and he was ok with the cooked ones too :)

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Chillin' in Iz's Dora chair :)

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Auntie D's version of heaven!

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North-bound traffic on the way home - thank goodness we were headed SOUTH!

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Today's a busy one at home. The house is WRECKED from a busy weekend, the laundry has piled up and I? I have about 20 lobstah bodies and 4 WHOLE lobstahs to pick :) It's a rough life, but I manage!

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Happy Monday!

GORGEOUS!

What an AMAZING weekend!

Friday night Hubby and I went to dinner. We went out for Chinese...YUM! The service, however, was TERRIBLE (it's a side effect of going anywhere with Hubby - he attracts bad service like a light attracts moths!) but the food was good and we split a Scorpion Bowl which makes everything better!!! The night was topped off with a little ice cream, a little wine and a good, LONG soak in the hot tub.

Mel brought Iz back Saturday morning and we left Mel's boys AND Iz home with Hubby to get a little grocery shopping done. The best part? It was 50 degrees out and I wore my FLIP FLOPS for the first time this year! Ahhhhhh....so nice!

Both Saturday and Sunday were gorgeous. We took long walks both days and tried to enjoy as much of the nice weather as we could while keeping our distance from the mud :)

This week is shaping up to be another busy one. I REALLY need to dig out the camera...it's been too long!!!

Mmmmm...Pumpkin!

I'm a pumpkin fan. Pie, cookies, muffins, donuts, whoopie pies, soup ... if it's pumpkin-flavored, chances are, I'll love it.
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Friday we're going to L's graduation from cosmetology school and they're having everyone over for spaghetti dinner afterwards. I figure it's a perfect time for me to try and make this:
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Pumpkin Gingerbread Trifle!

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I have a trifle bowl from PChef that I've only used twice since trifle's not something you make for a family of 3 :) But I am digging it out this week and can't WAIT to try this!

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I'll take a picture of mine too - not sure it will be quite as pretty as Paula's but, we'll see :)

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What Happened?

I'm not sure exactly what happened to me last week. It's not as if I was so busy that I didn't have time to post. Or that there was nothing "port-worthy" happening around here. Or that I was offline or indisposed or just plain old unable to post.
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It just didn't happen.
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So, here's a quick rundown of last week:
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Hubby took Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as vacation days. He golfed Monday and Tuesday (gotta get as much in as possible before the snow flies!!!). Iz and I went to a football game Monday afternoon with Auntie D & Uncle S where we watched J's team win AGAIN!!! This afternoon is their last game and they have the chance to have an undefeated season :) Can't wait!. Tuesday night I went shopping with Mel and picked up a couple things for Christmas (I've already started, haven't you?) and got some time away from the house with a girl that makes me LOL! Wednesday was our usual - story time at the library. Thursday I went down to Nannie & Papa's to help clean...and filled SEVEN trash bags with yarn...yes, I said SEVEN...and yes, I said YARN. And, they were NOT piddly little trash bags - they're Glad Flex super-strength, pack up your whole house inside trash bags and I filled seven of them with yarn. So glad that I'm not my mother who now has to sort through all seven bags, unravel 1/2 done projects, untangle skeins, rewind everything and get it organized. (I'd like to make a promise to myself RIGHT NOW to never let MY yarn stash get that out of control!! Bwah! ha! ha! I'm halfway there already!) Friday Hubby was back at work but called to see if Iz and I wanted to meet him for dinner in the "city" at a place we've been wanting to try but haven't gotten a chance. Iz and I took the opportunity to wander around the mall for a while and lounge around in the bookstore before dinner at T.R.H. which was SO YUM-O!
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Saturday it poured rain ALL.DAY.LONG which just meant a wet trip to ballet and then we scooted to the library to borrow some new movies to watch since there was no way of going outside. Sunday,however was GORGEOUS! We went down to Nannie and Papa's for breakfast and then back home for some FOOTBALL watching and outside time and getting all kinds of stuff done around the house.
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WHEW! That's it. You're all caught up. I can't do that again...too much happens here in a week to drop the ball :) This week is shaping up to be just as busy - my camera batteries are charging as I write this. I'll be ready to capture it all on "film."
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Happy Monday!
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Dinner

I had lobster for dinner tonight.
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Yes, I'm a jerk...I'm rubbing it in a little, but c'mon! it's LOBSTER!
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Why did I have lobster? Because I have the BEST father-in-law EVER!
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Hubby had to head up to "The County" yesterday for work. He spent the night up there and headed back this afternoon. Now, for anyone unfamiliar with "The County" well, you're from "Away" and I'm not explaining it to you...you won't understand anyway :) Hubby picked up some potatoes while he was up there....and when I say some, what I mean is a whole heapin' mess of 'em! Like 200 pounds....of potatoes.
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Luckily, the 200 pounds did not all come back to this house because, although I like potatoes - baked, fried, mashed...whatever - 200 pounds...that is A LOT of potatoes.
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Instead, Hubby stopped at his parents house on the way home (even though it's really not on the way at all, but who cares - I got LOBSTER!) and my FIL sent Hubby home with 4 Lobstahs - alive and kicking!!!
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The BEST part? I am the only one in the house who likes lobster so...selfishly, they're MINE! ALL MINE!
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I cooked them up earlier - ate a bunch....the rest will be stuffed into a roll tomorrow for lunch :) (I'm a poet & I don't even know it!)
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Yum! Is it time for lunch yet?
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