Ramblin' Rod updates

What is Ramblin' Rod anyway and why do I know that name??? hmmm... I'm gonna google it real quick... hold on.

OK, according to Wiki it was some Oregon morning show??? I'm assuming Shane was talking about how cool it was at some point and somehow it got through all the white noise in my head.

Anyway, so I thought I'd ramble a little bit today.

First, to answer Jessica's question... I decided not to go private or anonymous. Marlena basically called me a chicken butt for even thinking about it and I am swayed easily by her opinion.

Second... I am not even close to finishing that stupid sock. I'm so bored with it. Apparently this is a normal phenomenon in the sock knitting world to only knit one sock, be bored with it, and then move on to another sock. I'm totally considering it. I'm about half way done and maybe if I actually worked on it more than once a week it would get done. I'm too tired.

Third.... I'm thinking of starting a new post called "Tasty Tuesdays". It's not a very cool name and probably copyrighted already. I'm taking it anyway. See, here's my rational: I've been disturbed by the whole "Food Network" phenomenon. Oh my gosh... I just used "phenomenon" twice in one post... weird. Anyway, back to what I was saying. Ever since the arrival of the Food Network and Rachel Ray, everybody wants to be an amateur chef. Now don't get me wrong, I think it's way cool to learn how to cook like the pros and learn cool new tricks in the kitchen. However, we have lost the art of "home cooking". And I'm sorry, Paula Dean does not count as home cooking. Home cooking consisted of simple, cheap meals that made up the majority of meal times. I think spectacular meals or fun flavors really should be left for once a week or special occasion times. We are spending too much money on groceries trying to recreate these meals that require a lot of effort. I love these types of meals, but they take away from the simpleness of the regular family meal. Now I'm not talkin' casseroles-a-plenty. In fact, I don't really care for casseroles. But at the same time, I think they deserve a place on the table once in a while. I would love to hear what you guys think. I would also love to see your simple nutritious recipes that don't require ingredients that can only be used for that meal. I'm talkin' $5 or less to feed a family of four.

So get this... I even created a separate email just for Tasty Tuesday recipes! (you know, 'cause I can!) Anyway, I really want to hear about your $5 or less meals for a family of four. So yeah, send 'em my way!!! The address is: tastytu@gmail.com

Let's see what we can come up with!

For Christa

Here's an example of the movie cuts that I was talking to you about. There's this one really neat feature where you can pan in to a picture so it looks as if it is getting closer and closer. That is pretty cool. That's about as snazzy as I get. Also, I have found that the music is really key to making a decent movie. The music choice can totally ruin everything. Since we almost always make these movies for my parents, I generally choose music that they like. (i.e. my dad is really into "folksy" type music or a good Louie Armstrong is always good). For the rest of you reading this, you have no idea what I'm talking about... but the video is cute to watch anyway!

Let me know if you have any questions Christa!

Going private

So I've been doing some thinking lately (as scary as that may seem). I'm thinking I want to either set my blog to "private" where only invited readers can access it, or go "anonymous". I'm starting to get a little paranoid about sharing names and such (thanks Jessica!). Anyway, what do you guys think? Which way should I go? If I go anonymous I will just assign all of us "nicknames" and then go back through all of my old blogs and change them. This way I can still stay private, but I feel a little better about sharing events. Any suggestions?

Easter every where

My mom and my nephew Isaiah

I figured I should probably post some pictures of the Easter festivities. Shane's parents and his sister Britney came down for the Easter weekend. On Saturday we drove to my hometown for our annual Family easter egg hunt. My mom always does a fantastic job getting everything together and making sure things run smoothly. She's pretty much a well oiled machine. Here are a few pictures that I was able to get....

Seriously... could Kelly be any more like me???

Isabelle showing off her amazing OCD skills

The kids had a lot of fun and way too much candy. But hey, what can ya do? Oh, and for your viewing pleasure, a quick clip of what we do at every family gathering down here in bluegrass: That's right ya'll... praise the Lord!

Perfect weekend

Me, Shane, Henry, Diana, Hermana Bowers, Hermana Caulderon
(The sister missionaries that baptized Diana)

Last Saturday Shane and I had the opportunity to be the escorts for our friends Diana and Henry Hopouy at the temple. Henry was already a member, but Diana had been baptized just the year before. It was really neat for us to see how much they had grown in the gospel and changed over the course of the year. I really got to know Diana well when I was helping her plan her wedding last year. Just so everyone is clear, Cuban weddings ROCK. Anyway, back to the story. So they planned on going through the temple for the first time and get sealed all in the same day. It was so exciting seeing Diana just glow the whole day and enjoying every minute of it. That afternoon when they were sealed, I had never seen them so happy before. It was a sweet and amazingly spiritual experience to be a part of. I feel so honored that they wanted us to be a part of it.


P.S. In the first picture, Shane is having to bend his knees in order to get into the shot! That's what happens when you're the tall guy among a bunch of shorties!

Are you a blogger stalker?

So I admit it... I'm a HUGE blogger stalker. It's like the old fashioned "people watching" on crack. Highly addictive. (Remember "people watching"? Where you sit on a park bench and watch everybody that goes by trying to figure out what they are doing and what they are like?) So it got me thinking, who's stalking my blog? For all I know it's nobody. I do tend to think rather highly of myself and assume that everybody reads my blog. 'Cause you know, I'm cool. A couple of weeks ago at church I finally had a chance to meet Collette and told her that I had actually been stalking her blog for quite some time. She was quick to inform me that she had been doing the same! So come on all you stalkers out there, reveal yourself! Let it be known to all the world -- I AM A BLOGGER STALKER AND PROUD OF IT!

Besides, I've probably already been stalking your blog for a long time now!

P.S. Phil... this means you have to actually leave a comment! I know you read this blog every chance you get.....

Snow?

So last thursday we had the most BEAUTIFUL weather! It was so nice, in fact, that the kids and I walked to pick Kelly up from school that day. It was so warm that I really didn't need the coat I had on. Later that night the kids and I went out for a walk again and we STILL weren't even close to being cold! Then, since we live in Kentucky, it decided to snow -- a LOT! Can you believe this??? Kentucky weather is so weird!

Shane teaching me and the tree a thing or two!

Psst..... don't forget to check out the post below this!!!

Isabelle turned 4!!!!

Can you believe my baby is 4 years old???? Can you believe it's been four years since I've been pregnant??? (picture me dancing and shouting for joy) But back to Isabelle.....

We celebrated her 4th last friday. We got a lot of unexpected snow and in true KY fashion we all freaked out a bit. Snow creeps us out. Anyway, it turned out to be a good thing because we didn't realize how many invitations we had given out. In our APARTMENT we had 10 kids and four adults. This doesn't include the 5 other invitees that didn't show up with their siblings. YIKES!!! It was crazily packed in our apartment. The other adults and I were pretty much terrified as the kids took over the apartment for several hours. I still can't believe we made it out alive!

Well, here are a few things that I would like to share with all of you about Isabelle:

* She has the cutest little smile I have ever seen
* She's the only 4 year old that I know of that understands and knows how to use sarcasm
* She's super shy in public, but a total comedian at home
* She worships her big sister, and is still trying to figure out if she likes having Trevor around (he's the little boy I watch during the week)
* She thinks the word "eyeball" is so funny when added to things. Example: Mommy is an eyeball..... Twinkle twinkle little eyeball.... etc. etc.
* She takes pictures, cards, and other crafts that she makes to an elderly neighbor in our building -- all on her own!
* She can quote most Homestar Runner videos (thankyou Shane!) and does a great "Bubs" impression

Happy Birthday Isabelle!

What to do....

So I am fully aware that I am the only one who knits in this blog group. That's okay... I'm not holding it against you. However, I do ask that you indulge me for a bit while I complain and whine and then possibly get overly excited about something you just might care less about. So as I have recently mentioned, I am mad at my socks. As nerdy as this sounds, I have DREAMED about knitting socks some day. I'm not exaggerating either. I have actually dreamt about the socks I was going to make one day. Anyway, when I first got started I was in complete awe as I watched it come together. I couldn't believe a little tiny string was coming together to actually MAKE something! The day came when it was time to finish the sock. It's called binding off. Anyway, the first time I bound off the sock it was so tight I couldn't get it over my heel when putting it on. So, I frogged part of the sock (that's when you undo knitting) and tried again. Still, too tight. So this time I tried to just crochet the top part instead of binding off. Well, it works, but it doesn't hold up like I would like it too. I feel like after one washing it's just gonna sag big time. I hate slouchy socks. I was so mad that I haven't even touched the thing in almost 2 weeks. But, I missed it terribly and I was going in withdrawals and had to make a decision. Do I undo the entire sock and start all over again hoping for a better time the 2nd go around.... or, do I just knit the 2nd sock and just call these the "First Timers." I'm pretty proud of myself for teaching myself to not only knit, but to knit something as complex as a sock. I guess I'm just getting frustrated at not getting perfection the first go around. So tell me, what do you guys think???

The other foot does look awfully lonely, doesn't it?

Just another ordinary day....

So have I ever mentioned just how darn cute my kids are??? They are just the cutest little things in the world. The other day Kelly came home from school just jumping around with excitement. She won the Student Spirit Award at school. She had her name called in front of the whole school and went up on stage to receive her certificate. She was so proud of herself! I love how when she gets excited that she can't help but want to tell me every single detail. She's such a cutie pie!

Kelly with her certificate. Isabelle and Trevor had to get in on the action as well!


Now I can't forget about Isablle and the cute things she does. Every day while Trevor takes his nap Isabelle will have quiet time. She is supposed to stay in her room while Trevor sleeps. She can do whatever she wants within reason. Usually she just plays, but sometimes she will take a nap. Today she decided to do both. When I went in her room to wake her up, I had a hard time finding her at first. Try and see if you can find her!

Found her yet????



There she is!

Oh... and thank you so much to everyone who donated to Kelly's charity! We can't believe how much she has gotten so far! Saturday we went out knocking on doors (we live in a really rich neighborhood... how did that happen?). At one door she got $50! Guess it's hard to say "no" to a cute little kid!