Listening to....

Sarah Groves' album Add to the Beauty. She has such a gorgeous, simple voice. I loved the song Something Changed from the movie The Ultimate Gift which I watched last week.

I heard "You Are the Sun" tonight for the first time. It really touched me.

Here are the lyrics.

You are the sun shining down on everyone
Light of the world giving light to everything I see
Beauty so brilliant I can hardly take it in
And everywhere you are is warmth and light

And I am the moon with no light of my own
Still you have made me to shine
And as I glow in this cold dark night
I know I can't be a light unless I turn my face to you

You are the sun shining down on everyone
Light of the world giving light to everything I see
Beauty so brilliant I can hardly take it in
And everywhere you are is warmth and light

And I am the moon with no light of my own
Still you have made me to shine
And as I glow in this cold dark night
I know I can't be a light unless I turn my face to you

Shine on me with your light
Without you I'm a cold dark stone
Shine on me I have no light of my own
You are the sun, you are the sun, you are the sun
And I am the moon. Pin It

"It looks like the Eiffel Tower"

My youngest son is a real character. You can't turn your back on him for very long. He'll be up to something.

Last night he was nakey after getting out of the bathtub. I was going to get him a diaper and he was in his room. He, of course, peed on the carpet. But the funny thing was what he said afterwards. He said "it looks like the eiffel tower." The pattern on the carpet that he made, that is. You need to know that I have a Paris-themed bathroom and he likes to count the Eiffel towers. He is very refined and yet, not!Pin It

Menu Plan Monday

What's on this week?

- BBQ Salmon, rice, vegetable
- Veggie Lasagne
- Beef Stroganoff, Peas
- Kraft's Speedy Chicken Stir Fry
- Spanish Rice (with ground beef) with Corn Chips

For more menu plans see I'm an Organizing Junkie's website.Pin It

What do you think of this?

I heard a bizarre commercial on the radio tonight. Well, *I* thought it was strange, anyway. It was an OnStar commercial but not the usual ones where someone is in real danger or distress. You know, a medical emergency or maybe locking the keys in the car when there is a child inside.

This one was about a father of the bride (or groom) who was at the church for the wedding and said that the justice of the peace didn't show up for the wedding. He really sounded upset. OnStar's operator actually found them a chaplain and she came to the rescue. Chaplain Debby. I even found her website where she mentions being in the commercial.

Has OnStar become the new Yellow Pages?

If you want a laugh, try out BlondStar. No offence to any of my blond friends. :)Pin It

An incredibly sweet story

I'm a little slow in posting this but the story appeared in my local newspaper today. It is very apropos for Valentine's Day.

Sweethearts in the Nick of TimePin It

Works for Me - getting kids more whole grains

My boys love these crackers, seriously. They can go through a whole box while we're in the car. I don't mind.

Kashi TLC Crackers - Original 7 Grain. Look at the ingredients:

Wheat Flour (Unbleached), Kashi Seven Whole Grains & Sesame Flour (Whole Oats, Hard Red Winter Wheat, Rye, Long Grain Brown Rice, Triticale, Barley, Buckwheat, Sesame Seeds), Expeller Pressed Sunflower Oil, Evaporated Cane Juice, Toasted Whole Wheat, Toasted Sesame Seeds, Wheat Bran, Contains 2% or Less of: Brown Rice Syrup, Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour, Sea Salt, Malt Extract, Yellow Corn Meal, Millet, Onion Powder, Horseradish Powder, Rice Flour, Malted Barley Flour, Natural Leavenings (Potassium Bicarbonate, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Monocalcium Phosphate), Whey.

No refined sugar, no high fructose corn syrup, 2 grams of fiber. Good stuff. They taste great, too. I have been known to grab a couple for myself.

For more Works for Me Wednesday see Don't Try This at Home. Melanie's hosting while Shannon (Rocks in My Dryer) is in Uganda with Compassion International.Pin It

Havin' a bad day?

I had a bad evening last night. No details, sorry.

I found this collection of photos. They should bring a smile to your face.

This was my favourite:
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Conversation hearts

I found a fun site where you can make your own conversation hearts. I thought it would be fun to send one to my hubby via e mail. I'm displaying one on my sidebar.

At Ramblings of a Crazy Woman's blog I found a whole bunch of ideas for activities and a craft using conversation heart.

I'm not a fan of eating candy hearts but I think they are super cute.Pin It

Requested at the grocery store

I took both boys grocery shopping yesterday. C said to me in a sweet way, "Mommy, can we get some salami?" I thought that was pretty hilarious. No begging for candy or sugar cereal from my boys! :)Pin It

Menu plan Monday

This week we'll be having (in no particular order):

- Cannelini and Beans (from a Moosewood Cookbook)

- Meatball Soup

- Kraft's Zesty Chicken and Vegetables

- Ground Beef and Spinach

For more menu plans see Organizing Junkie's Menu Plan Monday!Pin It

Three movies watched and enjoyed

My hubby and I watched Oceans Thirteen last night. I didn't have high expectations for this one since some critics panned it. We thought it was hilarious and a very fun watch. We loved many of the lines. Here is one funny scene:
Rusty Ryan: Are you alright?

Danny Ocean: (tearing up) Yeah, um, I just bit into a pepper.

Rusty Ryan: Is that... are you... are you watching Oprah?

I, of course, enjoyed the view. :)
I watched Waitress earlier this week. It is both funny and sad. This review is a good summation. I especially enjoyed Andy Griffin's role.

Paris Je T'Aime was another favourite (watched a few weeks ago) of mine. It is 18 vignettes about life in Paris with the theme of love. Some stories leave you scratching your head saying "Why was that included?" but I enjoyed it overall. Each story is directed by a different person. Skip the vampire one with Elijah Wood. Weird and silly, imho. The best line was from a man who was planning to leave his wife and then finds out she is terminal. He stays with her and everything changes. He said "by acting like I was in love, I fell in love with my wife again." It reminded me of a line in C.S. Lewi's book Mere Christianity, "Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love them."

The movie increased my longing to go back to Paris.Pin It

Rare magazine find!

For those of you who are fans of the sadly defunct magazine Martha Stewart Kids (probably fellow crafty types) you will understand my excitement. Today at Half Price books I found 3 issues, yes 3, of Martha Stewart Kids in perfect condition! Yippeeee! These magazines are full of great ideas and eye candy.

I searched eBay today and found 7 issues selling for $36.62 with 9 bids! I got my issues for 98 cents each.Pin It

I'm a proud mommy

At my son's preschool they are doing a unit on safety. They want the children to learn their home phone numbers. They actually had homework last night! :) My husband worked with A on learning our number and he mastered it. Well, today he said it to his teacher and received a special certificate! He was one of only 2 children who received it (in a class of approx. 15). Way to go A!Pin It

One good thing about winter

is that this is on TV.Northanger Abbey was tonight's Jane Austen adaptation on PBS. Fun 90 minutes of period drama! I might reread a few of my Austen books, especially the less familiar ones like NA.

Next Sunday night is Mansfield Park. Austen fan - write it on your calendar!Pin It

Cool movie coming out

I've never seen U2 in concert. It is one of my minor regrets.

There is a 3D IMAX movie coming to town on Jan 23rd. I'm thinking of going. The next best thing to going to a concert, I think. If I do go, it will probably be by myself. My hubby's not that into U2. Here's the website with details.

Colette, want to go with me?Pin It

What a sweet story!

OK, so I'm turning into the love blog! He he.

Need to read something happy after all the bad news in the world?
Russian couple reunites after 60 years apart.
Thanks, Amy, for the link.Pin It

Silly love songs

I was listening to Delilah last night while I was running errands. It is my secret guilty pleasure.

I heard this song and loved it. I wish I could have it at my wedding (almost 10 years ago). It is called "Lost in this Moment." There are two versions, one by Big & Rich and one by Keith Anderson. Both are good.

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Menu plan Monday

I haven't done one of these on Monday for a while. I've done meal plans but they have been Tuesday or Wednesday meal plans. :)

This week we will be having (in no particular order):

- BBQ Salmon + rice + veggie
- Chili - recipe here
- Kraft Zesty Chicken and Pasta - recipe here
- Taste of Home's Crock Pot Savory Winter Soup (with beef)
- Rice Veggie Casserole

The last three meals are new recipes to me. I like to live dangerously. The last new recipe I tried the kids didn't eat very well, unfortunately.

For more weekly meal plans see Menu Plan Monday at I'm An Organizing Junkie.Pin It

Photos - at last

Our family photo - not the official one but, close. The black eye was Photoshopped out. :)Christmas Eve service.C having a snooze on Grandpa's lap.
The boys playing Zingo.
A playing TicTacToe with Grandpa.
C giving Grandma a present.
C and I by our front door.
Two handsome guys I saw walking by the water on a cold day in Victoria.
C hugging the huge bear in the Teddy Bear Suite in downtown Seattle.
The boys made cookies with Grandma.
C with Santa. A wasn't interested in visiting Santa.Pin It

Where's your mommy?

That was the question for my 4 year old from the Immigration official as we were about to board the Victoria Clipper to return home to ensure we were his real parents. A glanced at the official for a moment quizzically and then looked at me and said "there's a booger in my nose. You need to get it out." She decided that was a question he wouldn't ask a kidnapper. He's comfortable with me.Pin It