Things I Love. . .

It took me several tries to write this post. Not because I couldn’t find the words to describe these heavenly morsels but because every time I started to think about them I would go into some kind of salivary daydream broken only by the drool dripping onto my hands still poised over my keyboard in mid-sentence. This trance is similar to what happens when I open a bag of these crispy devils. I become lost in their savory goodness and the next thing I know my hand is hitting the bottom of the empty bag, fingers digging furiously for those tiny, tiny crumbs way down in the corners. Thank god my head won’t fit in the bag. My only reprieve in this bender of carbs and grease is when I stop to gulp a refreshing beverage that is necessary to curb the onslaught of sodium attacking my tongue. In fact that is my word of advice to you upon trying this bewitching blend flavors: make sure that you do NOT have any potable liquid near you. Don’t even sit near the fish tank. It is your only salvation against following the same path of shame and gluttony that has befallen me. And if you don't believe me. . . take it from the bag itself. . . . .

WHEN MUSTARD MET HONEY
Dijon mustard is sophisticated and a bit snooty. Honey is sweet and wild. Sparks fly when they meet… it’s love at first sight. Honey mellows and softens mustard’s sharp edge. Yes, we know, we’re talking about potato chips here. But take a bite of these sweet, savory lovelies and you just might get obsessed. We are.

BUY THEM NOW AT MOST GROCERIES STORES!

Sunny Days Are Here Again. . . .

I love this picture. It depicts what summer should be. Barefeet and watermelon, skinned knees and sprinklers in your underwear. And it reminds me of what summer has felt like for our family this year as well. We've seen parades and been in parades, had picnics in parks and in our own backyard. We've eaten ice cream, elephant ears and fruit kabobs. We've run through sprinkers (all four of us, but only two in our underwear) and wrestled in the grass until we laughed ourselves silly. We've gathered friends for BBQ's and family for reunions and welcomed more babies than I ever thought possible. But even with this plethora of activities, this has somehow been one of our most relaxed summers in years. Maybe beause the kids are getting older? Maybe because we aren't scheduled to the hilt? Maybe it's just my outlook on life at the moment. But whatever it is, it has allowed even the busy days of summer to stay pleasant, enjoyable and most of all, fun. And the best part? It's only half over.

Circles In My Head

You know when you have so many things to do that you don't know where to start and you just kinda keep turning in circles looking for the end, or is it the beginning, of the ridiculously unending daisy-chain of a to-do list that lays before you? This has been both figuratively and literally true for the last two weeks. Some busy good, some busy bad, some just busy. And I have several things I want to write about, but I'm just not finding the time. So bear with me because I really want to tell you about our fabulous 4th of July. And Adam's 5-month quest for Kindergarten admittance. And all of Jamie's intriguing, hilarious and futilely frustrating new personality quirks. I really do. And I will. So if I can just get that load of laundry started before the kids go to bed then I can . . . . . . and then. . . . and then. . . . .

In the meantime, check out our new family photo in the upper right corner. No one's crying, everyone has a shirt on and you can't even see the schmutz on Jamie's face.

A Handsome Young Gent. . . .

Announcing the grand entrance of . . . . .

Blake Hamilton

July 11, 3:13pm

7lbs, 11oz.

The first son of our good friends Joel and Adele, this fine young lad came bounding into the world in just seven minutes on July 11th (7/11), weighing 7lbs, 11oz. Keep this kid away from the craps table!

Baby Blake is the sixth (sorry, not the seventh) and final delivery in our family/friends baby bonanza. And after months of waiting, he also makes Lily a very lucky (and proud) big sister! All our congrats on your beautiful boy.

Exceeding Expectations. . . .

Adam: Are you happy Momma?

Me: Oh yes, Adam. I'm so happy that I get to do fun things with you and Daddy and Jamie this weekend.

Adam: No, no, no. Are you so happy that Jamie got in trouble this time and it wasn't me??

A Million Times Better Than Listening to a Piccolo Pete. . .

I first heard this song a few years back on CMT. I immediately downloaded it and spent the next several weeks toe-tapping my way through the chorus. Months later, a crashed hard drive ate my copy of Shooter Jennings', 4th of July (from his Put the O Back in Country album) and it somehow faded from my memory as well. It wasn't until Rick Emerson mentioned it on his website a few months ago saying how it was one of those songs you just wish you had written yourself, that I remembered this infectious concoction of country and southern rock and immediately added it back to my collection. Not only is 4th of July a perfect song for today, but is an anthem for every crazy road trip with friends, every bittersweet teenage crush and every lazy, going-nowhere-fast afternoon that summer brings.

Unfortunately they wouldn't let me embed the song here so you'll have to click on the link below to watch the video. Just try not tapping your toes, it's impossible.

LISTEN HERE!

Life, Liberty and Happiness to all!

Happy 4th of July!

Do You Twitter?

Take a look to the left and you'll notice something new. My recent Twitter posts. What's Twitter? I'm so glad you asked. According to Wikipedia, Twitter is " a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows users to send "updates" (or "tweets"; text-based posts, up to 140 characters long) to the Twitter web site, via the Twitter web site, text messaging or instant messaging."

In short, it allows me to post small immediate updates to the blog via IM, text or email when I don't have time to log on and write a full entry or I just have to let you know what is going on right now. Like when Jamie screams, "Beeg Fuck! Beeg Back Fuck!" across the daycare parking lot in front of at least three parents. Yes Jamie, that's a big black truck. Humiliation like this just has to be shared. Immediately.

You can see the last three updates from this page or click on "What was I doing earlier?" to see a complete history. And if you don't happen to have your own life you can even subscribe to get my latest updates as text messages on your phone. How intrusively 21st century is that?