It's The Final Countdown!!!!

Tomorrow morning I will be in

At the


With my equally crazy Blockhead friend Carolyn


For a pre-party, meet and greet, photo op, concert, and after-party with these five fine-looking Boston Boys

Specifically this guy


I'm totally getting my flair ready!

Seriously, folks. I can't lose this time because I paid for it!! Well, Lancer paid for it. Merry Christmas to me.

The only way D-Dub can get out of this one is with a restraining order...which I'm not totally ruling out. It's not like I'm a crazy 35 year old lady boasting oversized flair from 1989. D-Dub will be mine at last...22 years in the making!

LONG LIVE THE BLOCK!!!!

It's Gettin Hot in Herre

This post is going to be quick and dirty--not a lot of jibber-jabber. I take off VERY early in the morning for a visit to The Heartland, but I wanted to get this post done before I leave.

Summer is officially here! We had another cool and rainy spring, so I am happy that the sun is out. The warm weather, cool breezes, beach, BBQ's, ice-cream, and amusement parks. I'm smitten with summer.

Dave and Bon-Bon came down for a visit. We had fun hanging out with them, and we talked Bon-Bon into coming to Gilroy Gardens with us. She was a fan.


We accidentally dressed like twins. I promise it was accidental. You know this is true because I have nothing against matchy-matchy, and I would totally cop to it.

Having fun on the boats

Colin made sure he made his intentions known

I love this picture--me and lil' me

Taking a drive with Grandma

But nothing beats cruising in your own wheels! Sweet, sweet freedom!

All tuckered out after a long day in the sun!

We also hit the beach with friends. My favorite beach is New Brighton in Capitola. The day was absolutely perfect--warm with a cool breeze. I don't mind paying the $10 cover because it keeps out the riffraff.

These bunsies were made for the beach

Colin came along for the fun again. It's fun to see these two together. B can finally hold her own, and they spent a good amount of time wrestling over toys.



Eating Mum Mums, her new favorite. It's funny to hear her little teeth chomping on the crackers.

My Mom is SO mean. She won't let me eat sand!

We also hit up the Oakland Zoo with Braden and the Twinners.

The flamingos and giraffes were a big hit

B had fun hanging out with Braden

We also celebrated out first father's Day! After Lancer went to bed, I set up this sweet little table for him.

Why, yes, that is a Shake Weight! Don't front, you know you want one. We also gave him a vintage Daddies book, some nuts and chews from See's, and the best part of the offering--a digital frame for his office--pre-loaded with family pictures. Now he can see his little family all day long!

I expect to return from The Heartland with lots of pictures containing corn and brats. Until then!

My Labor of Love

I have a fun little addition to my party shed--a secret little trunk for Blakely with these classy little ladies in it:

Kirsten

Felicity

and Samantha!

I love the classic American Girl dolls. They're adorable ladies with a story to tell. I hope to instill a love of history and reading in Blakely, and I think the dolls are a great way to do this. You can't go wrong with a pioneer, a Canadian orphan, and a Colonial gal!

I especially love Kirsten because she's a pioneer living in the midwest. Growing up, Eriika and I wanted to be pioneers so badly. Blame it on Little House on the Prairie. We used to wear our old-fashioned nightgowns, complete with matching nightcaps.

I'm going to start collecting the dolls for B and hiding them in the party shed. When she's old enough, I will give them all to her as a complete collection.

The majority of the new dolls are modern, and the dolls I'm interested in are all retired now. This is good and bad. The bad news is I can't just buy the whole collection at once. The good news is disenchanted teens are selling their entire collections--furniture and clothing included--on Craigslist and Ebay for decent prices. Because I have years and years to complete the collection, I can lowball and wheel and deal for the best price.

As soon as I get a piece, I will add it to the trunk, noting when and where I purchased it.


I think it will be fun to gather pieces from across the US, piece by piece. So far, I have several of the books.

Once she gets the dolls, we can top off our adventures at the American Girl store at the Mall of America in Minneapolis.

I love having a daughter, and I can't wait to share this fun surprise with her down the line. I think she's going to love it!

Lollipop, Lollipop

I was minding my own business this evening, sucking on a a delicious lollipop. All of the sudden, a little hand reached out and filched my sucker! Smart cookie.


This should have come as no surprise to me. After all, I tried to hide her puffs the other day. I left the room to throw in a load of laundry, and came back to an awfully silent room. What could Beezie be up to?




Speaking of delicious food, I had been craving the sweet pork barbacoa salad I had at Costa Vida a few weeks ago. It was so tasty. So I whipped up a CV inspired dinner party.

The result was pure perfection! I made the pork, loosely following this blog. She posts her recipe for the pork here, and the creamy tomatilla dressing here. We did a potluck, which is a great idea for this dinner.

The designated food thief of the evening also thought it looked delicious.

We made B and B race to their pacifiers. The other B won.

I finally got my booty in gear, and will be sending B's photos to the modeling agencies in SF tomorrow. This was spurned on by an ad with a questionable baby model. If that creepy kid keeps getting work, and Beezie doesn't get representation, I will be totally annoyed. Kind of like the time I wasn't chosen to be a flight attendant by Delta. But worse. Way worse.

Our little Giselle Bundchen needs all of the beauty rest she can get. However, I'm not sure how she gets any sleep like this.

A sleeping gals gotta have options...or 3 options.

Wish B luck! We will keep you posted about any upcoming modeling appointments, or rejection letters. Hopefully the former. As Lancer said--"I like that another member of the family is a potential revenue stream for me." Get to work, Beezie!