La Domestic Gawdess

I have been on a scone bender lately. I know. I am like the only person who is cool enough to do that!!

Here's some ginger scones that are freaking amaaaaazingly yummy! I took a pic cause I was like "wheeee my first real scones!" I also have now mastered ones that taste like the Safeway raisin ones that Mike is addicted to, and now we don't have to buy them anymore. (I have no life. I am a sad,lonely,gawdess)
Then my cupcakes that I made for Mikes work..so cute! I love my cupcake holder and finally got to use it!

The bees seem to adore my Asters, and I occasionally see them chasing butterflies away. This one below was right pissy at me, buzzing and turning around and acting all weird-like. If bees acted all weird-like, that is.
But yah, at any given time, I can find 4-5 bees sitting in the middle of them...weird.

Then this is the bee I thought was a hummingbird, I kid you not. We walked into the yard and saw something flying that cast a shadow on the fence, and then hear a loud humming sound. Its HUGE. The body must be a good inch and a half long and the wings an inch wide as well. You can find it in the yard at anytime and hear it from across the yard because its SO incredibly loud. We watched it forever, K was fascinated, as were Mike and I.
Awwwww.

I saw the movie Superbad with Amanda on Sunday night and it was so FREAKING hilarious in a bad, crude comedy way. Mike would love it lol!

Thanks again Melissa for lending me your camera... most of the pics were taken with it, and the flower ones turned out nicely! I guess its now time to start researching what we want to buy for a new one....sigh.

And now off to read Eclipse!

Yawn

Uuuugnnngh tired. So tired. Is is nature's defense mechanism that has the Mom staying healthy in order to look after the rest of the family? So that her heart doesn't just stop from lack o' sleep combined with a virus??? No virus= no heart stoppage. Excellent.

Meh, I digress and complain. Could be worse. I could be shipping the kids off to daycare with their colds and going to work. Hey....wait a second here.....wait just a goddamn minute.......

So here's my newest fave picture of myself. Why you ask? Cause you can't see the luggage under my eyes from Mike and the kids being sick the last week. Full on Louis Vuitton.


Our newest butterfly find... an Arctic Fritillary...and I googled what the adults like and it would be my Asters that draw them to the yard. Cool. I am sad tho because this one had a broken wing :( the only reason it crawled on Mike's hand in the first place.
And then Mr K had to take a picture, and I thought he did quite well!

And not much else. Watched Die Hard 4 tonight and it was pretty hilarious in only the way that the Die Hard movies can be. Unrealistic entertainment. We went in to Mike's work to see his new office, and I had to snort in retrospect. My germy kids running all around there sneezing and coughing and touching everything....now if his staff all gets sick, well.....we were NEVER THERE. The kids had sooo much fun tho. Amazing what entertains them Here, have an elastic and a paperclip, try not to take an eye out!

Tomorrow I think we will rest,rest, and more rest. Some yardwork...ugh maybe some housework...fun fun!

Bloodsuckers and Love

A trio of good, mindless, fun teenage vampire love-angst books. I highly recommend!

Twilight has been optioned for a movie, and I will be standing in line with the limpid-doe-eyed- tweens .

As Shakespeare knew, love burns high when thwarted by obstacles. In Twilight, an exquisite fantasy by Stephenie Meyer, readers discover a pair of lovers who are supremely star-crossed. Bella adores beautiful Edward, and he returns her love. But Edward is having a hard time controlling the blood lust she arouses in him, because--he's a vampire. At any moment, the intensity of their passion could drive him to kill her, and he agonizes over the danger. But, Bella would rather be dead than part from Edward, so she risks her life to stay near him, and the novel burns with the erotic tension of their dangerous and necessarily chaste relationship.

Second in the series...
AND I am impatiently waiting for Amanda to finish Eclipse so I can read it...she has lent me all of them so far...good thing she's a speedy reader!

These will be on my Christmas list to own for sure!

Happy August Long!

Hope everyone had a great weekend! We went down to Calgary to visit my parents, and had a really good time there. Saturday we went out to Dickson Dam to meet Karami and Trevor, who were camping with their trailer out there. Best way to camp. Someone else packs up and does all the hardwork, then we just go out for the day and enjoy LOL!

Other than that, not much new. Here's a few pics from my yard.

The wonder hydrangea has bloomed. I guess when I redo the front landscaping next year, I won't be able to move it. I have no idea how it survived the winter and came back FULLY to life. I am scared to even move the dirt around it now....
My lilies...which are so freaking tall that I will have to move them next year, you can't see the fountain behind them!



My first ever successful gladiola. Never had one bloom before, darn exciting!And my favorite clematis
My asters are blooming, and I will definitely be planting these next year, they are fantastic! However, just like my lupines, I have an abundance of pink, even tho the package said "mixed".

That's about all....I am too tired from the weekend to blog much, as fun as it is to travel, its darn exhausting with the kids lol!

Amanda's Etsy Store

I thought I would post a link to Amanda's new venture, her Etsy store. So for all of you who have admired her creations for my kids (Ivy's hat, my rockin' pink purse, Kade's backpack, Ivy's embroidered bib...etc etc) you can now go and peruse her creations, and buy them for yourself!

I am coveting the tattoo fabric bib myself right now.....

Anyhow, take a peek and support her craft addiction!

Blackbird Pie

And a permanent link over to the right ------------------------------------>

Harry Potter

Read it the morning it came out. Loved it. Cried during it. Can't wait to re-read it.

Miss Me?

Darn. summer is busy. I am SO busy drinking iced tea and sitting in my backyard, I have no time to blog. Or rather, nothing to blog but pictures of my iced tea.

Sunday we took the kids to the Ex, then Brandy and I headed back to see Chantal Kreviazuk, who was spectacular, and sounded as good as she does on CD, no minor feat. My only wish is that we had brought lawn chairs or sat and drank in the beer gardens...it was a very mellow concert...one to chill and relax and sip wine to...

But before that, we headed into the butterfly tent, which was really damn cool. Swarms of butterflies, like you would find at the Calgary zoo, but these you could pick up and touch and examine. They also would land on you and stay on you. See pic of Brandy below lol!

The sad part is tho that they were getting injured wings and squished on the ground by careless people. This one was beautiful, the only one I spotted with these colors.
I just really liked this picture...cool how you can see right thru its wings.

Oh, and then Brandy spotted this sign on the way out and did we ever have a good laugh over it. I took a picture to blog it, very blog worthy. You know you have had too much to drink when...

Don't Forget! YOU ARE AT THE SPORTEX!

I think we might head back tomorrow night to see Great Big Sea and take the kids. I think Kade would really like their music, and we would like him to see the fireworks as well. Plus gotta use up my passes too!

Other than that, not much is really new. Summer is so busy, but not busy. Time just whittles away and before you know it, summer is half over. The Heritage Festival is coming up soon (long weekend) and we look forward to that alllll year long. Auntie Karami is coming up again, next week, for a couple days. Lets hope she does well with her big walk for the Cure! Good luck!

Stagette Pics

Beckie's stagette was last night ,and a fun time was had by all! I had never really been down to Whyte Ave to the bars, reminded me a lot of Electric Ave in Calgary. Bar after bar after bar...drunk after drunk after drunk....

So, some pics from the hilarity that ensued.

Beckie, I was kind LOL. I will be sending you the more raunchy pictures by email :)

Can't wait for the wedding tomorrow!!

Finally

Finally, the fencing has been completed and the kids are contained. Those last two areas were driving us mental, having to block it off and watch like hawks to make sure they didn't go AWOL. So Nana and Papa were up this weekend and watched the kids while we did yard work, and managed to get the yard sealed off, and this morning we put on a coat of water repellent stain and its done.

My favorite clematis, its a scarlet color, and its huge, about 5 inches wide,I can't capture the right shade with my camera.
And my flowerbed is done (for now lol) the stepping stones are in place as well as the solar lights. Another clematis.
I am soooo tired. I don't want to go to work after doing the staining and more yard work today. Yawn. Just thinking of whats left to do makes me even more tired....almost done....just need that darn deck in.

Fruits of My Labor

Literally, for the strawberries, the fruits of my labor. That was rather fast, it supposed to be 30 days from blossom to berry, did a month really pass by, that I have ripe strawberries? I am pleased with the results so far, they are bearing large, almost store (pesticide ridden) size (lol) and damn tasty and pesticide free! Now, if only I can get Miss Rose to stop picking the green ones! Yeesh. She has discovered them and now I have to watch her like a hawk so she doesn't pick them all.


My peas, happily climbing the netting. We are awaiting fresh peas impatiently!

Aaaannnd my first red runner bean blossom! Its about time. These took longer than I thought, and the plants that I DIDN'T start inside, are doing the best. They have stronger, thicker stalks, broader leaves....I won't bother starting them inside next year, I will just plunk them in the ground come May long.

Purple lupines....oh I love these flowers. My mock orange that I forgot about lol. Just one of the bushes in the front, and I didn't remember what it was until it blossomed, and the smell is glorious, you realize why its found in so many perfumes, its amazing.
And my first real bouquet from my flowerbeds.

My dahlia, with so many stalky buds I can't count. It isn't the nicest looking plant,very spikey and stringy looking, but for cut flowers, my god, you can't beat it. And its so true. the more you cut the more it blooms, look at that thing! I wish I had done a couple more darn it. Next year.

My pansies...my favorites....


Other than that, I am re-reading my Harry Potters in anticipation of not only the movie, but the newest and last book as well. I forgot how different the books are from the movies, the little things that they just can't add in. I am having a great time reading them and can't wait till the kids are old enough to enjoy them as well.

I have a team meeting tomorrow night, then work Wednesday night and then my weekend is free, and I do believe my mom and dad are up for a visit. That should be a lot of fun, the kids will be so excited to see them.

Hope everyone's having an ok Monday!

~K~

Take a Moment, Send an Email

I am sure everyone has heard about the huge child abuse network that was smashed, children rescued and people arrested in the news lately. But while reading (and trying to ignore the awful details that the media loves to dole out) I came across a post about how the CEO of The Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, (who headed this up) gets flak for not locking up every pedophile out there, and was encouraging people to email their support and thanks.

And I don't usually jump on a bandwagon, but this was worth posting. Their website is
http://www.ceop.gov.uk/index.asp, and contact email is enquiries@ceop.gov.uk.

I just want to say thanks. Thanks for doing a job that I can't even imagine doing, because I can't even grasp what you have to do day to day. Thank you for getting out of bed on the days that it must feel like evil is winning and you are only one small person in an organization trying to make a difference. Thank you for the kids you have saved, the tradgedies you may have prevented in advance, and the steel to keep on going after those you know are out there.

I know that abuse happens right around us, I am not blind. And that's not even going into thanking the people around me who work with children in my own city. But for years, predators have viewed the internet as a safety zone, a place to freely take advantage of children. This is a fantastic step in the right direction.

Now I am going to freaking hug my kids really tightly before I go to bed.

Rain Rain and More Rain

It can stop anytime now. Man, every few hours, there's a brief thunderstorm and then the sun. The backyard is a mudpit, the kids are ancy with colds which, it appears, Miss I. managed to pass on to several people at a birthday party on Friday. God, I was just kidding! I told Beckie that I owed her a cold, so trust my girl to pass it on to everyone. Yup, you can thank me later everyone. Next time I am dropping off K by himself. Aren't they old enough for unparented yet???? Sigh. Don't invite Karlynn, her kids super-infect everyone else's. Just call me the "party pariah" from now on, k?

Speaking of the two, here's a pic of them, albeit blurry, but a pic nonetheless. So cute when they want to be.



And a pic of my back flowerbed, getting there. My red runner beans and my honeysuckle aren't growing like I want them to, doesn't seem to be taking off like I thought. Hmmph. We shall see.

Other than that, we have lots on the go right now, between work and home and a weekend of sick kids and fighting off the cold myself. Ooh that sounded fun even to my ears lol! Ah, they were fine, good moods just sniffley. Mike and I are the big babies when sick.

Anyhow, will blog later when I have something to actually talk about.

Still Here...

Yawn, and meh and blah and blech.

Let's see. Well, I gave my notice at work, for my last day as August 1st. I am very wishy washy about the whole decision, thus the long notice. It really IS getting harder to manage my work time and Mike's, and I have found a babysitter, who is really nice and the kids like her. But its kinda pointless when my wages go to babysitting. I'm constantly tired because I still doesn't sleep well at night, K doesn't want me to go and clings to me,(that's something that just started, no idea why, he has been fine for 5 months) and I am always too tired to actually do much with the kids the day after I work a late shift. Mike has to be more flexible with his hours at work now, eg, staying later, so that leaves me weekends. No thanks.


But on the other hand, the cash is nice, I don't work that many hours, I have a great manager who makes me feel appreciated, the stock plans and employee discount are great and I am good at what I do, and I don't mind it at all, once I get there. And K is SO excited when the sitter comes because she has a little boy for him to play with, so its a fun playdate for him. But really, I don't have to pay for a playdate LOL! Oh well. The door is open for me to go back when I want, but still. It's not easy to leave.

But days like today, where (inbetween the rain!) the kids are running around happy in the backyard, playing with the watertable, and we have played and baked and had fun, well, pretty easy choice!

Anyways, this morning I baked some mini corn muffins before K was even awake, and mmm, were they goood! Drizzled a little honey over them, and K scarfed back 4! Even Miss I ate one, and she just doesn't eat anything lately. Next time I will make them with blueberries. AAaaaand, I have lupines! Weehoo! They are so fantastic the second year, I am so impressed with how they are turning out. I have lots more coming too, I can't wait.
And the wonder hydrangea. Still doing whatever it is trying to do. Not sure.