Let's take this Delicious baby up to 100 followers!

Can we do it??

It's time for Tuesday Tag-Along, so I think we can!

 How it Works

1. Add your blog to the list. (NOT your giveaways please!)
2. Grab the button & the link code to post on your blog
3. Follow the hostesses above, as well as our special weekly co-host, then as many other blogs as you would like. 
4. After you follow a new blog make sure you leave them a comment letting them know that you are now a follower so that they can follow you back, and please follow others back if they leave you a comment that they follow you.

Will you follow me? Pretty please? With Delicious whipped cream and sugar on top?

Let's make it to 100!!!

Silence, Dad and Phil's

Dad and I don't get to spend much one-on-one time together.

Granted, my parents lived 500 miles away, but even when we do visit back and forth, other people are with us.

Now you've got to understand my dad a little bit... he's struggles with effects from a stroke and multiple other brain issues, including dementia and Alzheimer's. He doesn't speak much because, quite frankly, he can't. He often can't remember words, so we're left to interpret hand gestures, single words and grunts.

Today my mom had brunch with a friend and Dad said, "I want to go somewhere particular."

Alright, then. That doesn't help much. "Where, Dad?"

"Let's go," he answered.

"Is this going to be a long trip or a short one?" I mean, I do have two kids to coordinate.

"Short."

Once we made it to the car, he remembered the name of his favorite haunt from the time he lived here. "Phil's."

Ahhh. Not so short.

So he and I sat in a booth in the bar of the restaurant and watched football. (I'm not a football fan, btw.) He occasionally sipped his beer. I had a few bites of a meatball sandwich.

We didn't talk.

Okay, so I offered up a few football opinions here and there. He nodded and smiled, maybe laughed if it was funny. But he didn't say anything in return.

Back when he lived here, my dad went to Phil's almost every day. He loved it there. And watching him today as he sat there was such a blessing. He was happy. Happy. Dad doesn't seem to feel many emotions. I'm not sure his brain works like that anymore.

When he sees me after a long separation, he's happy for a few minutes. Sometimes he gets frustrated. Occasionally, angry. But each emotion only lasts a few minutes.

At Phil's, Dad was relaxed. Comfortable. Pleased. For an entire hour and a half.

Thank you, Jesus, for Phil's. Thank you for giving Dad an opportunity to feel this content again.

Delicious as Pie badge now available!

After laboriously creating a picture of a yummy-looking piece of pie and designing my badge, I set out to actually put it on my blog.

Easier said than done.

But I got there, gosh darned it! It's at the top of the right side bar. Cute, huh?

I do need knowledge from the great and all-knowing readers of Delicious as Pie, though.

How do I put the link below it so that people can put the badge on their own blogs? I don't even know what exactly to put in the Google search box so I can research it.

Thoughts? I'm sending you virtual pie in way of thanks!

(Photo from cobalt124 on flickr.com) 

Published!

Head over to Allied Moms to read my latest published article. Titled "God Prompts", I talk about five ways that I remember to trust God on a daily basis.

We all know how challenging it can be to trust that The Big Guy knows what He's doing, especially when the economy stinks, checking accounts hover near zero and job stability is a thing of the past.

So head on over to http://www.alliedmoms.com/, scroll down and read the reminders that I use every day!

Oh, and pass the link along to your friends, pretty please! (I think it's a pretty worthy little article, if I do say so!)

Kate :)

Opinions on single serve coffee makers???

Having been a good girl all month by tracking every single penny we spend, I've noticed a few too many entries titled "coffee". Gotta stop that.

Now we know from experience that we can't be bothered to make a pot of decaf for Scott every morning. Sometimes he drinks it, sometimes he doesn't, all the time I end up throwing most of the pot away.

And I, thanks to my brother who first introduced me to the Starbucks Non-fat Mocha, only need a tiny amount of coffee. Certainly not enough to make brewing a whole pot worth it.

Thus, my idea about purchasing a single serve coffee maker.

I. Am. So. Confused.

I'm looking at two different brands. The Bosch Tossimo and the Keurig Elite. Frankly, I like the Tossimo better. And I had it in my arms at Target this morning and even paid for it. The sign on the shelf said it was on sale, but it really wasn't. I didn't want to pay $130.00. Too much, I say. Too much.

So I returned it right then and there and came home to do more research.

Tossimo apparently has terrible customer service and their units often malfunction. Kuerigs, which run $110, are apparently too loud and also break frequently. There's more variety in the Keurig coffee pod thingies than in the Tossimo, but I'm sure that will change. I don't really need variety anyway. I only like one thing. But I like it enough to want it fairly frequently. (Thanks a lot, Bro!)

Do any of you Delicious Readers have one of these single-serve coffee makers? Of any brand? Please, please, please let me know your thoughts. I'd love make a decision this week since they're on sale (except for the Tossimo, of course) at Target through Saturday. Thanks!

My jaw is hanging open in astonishment!

Now would be a great time for all of you Delicious Readers to recite one of my favorite movie quotes to me...

"Close your mouth, Michael. You are not a codfish."

Who can tell me what movie that's from? Huh? Huh? Huh?

Get on with your post, Kate. Sheesh. Sometimes I annoy even myself.

Last Sunday, we worshiped at the church to which we belonged when we moved away from San Diego. We didn't love the church then, so we weren't overly anxious to go back.

But it's in the neighborhood and a new friend mentioned that she attended, so I thought we'd give it a shot.

Well, then.

Within minutes, Emma was enrolled in Sunday School (which she was *so* not happy about) and Hayley was bombarded with information about the coming weekend's Confirmation Camp. She smiled very nicely and nodded politely. I actually got a big kick out of her attempt to hide her martyrdom.

Now it's been seven and a half years since we last went to this church. We know... exactly... No. One. And I told Hayley when we left after service that she certainly didn't have to attend the camp if she didn't want to. I'd be shy around 100 kids I didn't know, so I couldn't imagine she'd ever want to even consider the idea.

(Yes, you read that correctly. There are over 100 kids in Confirmation at the camp.)

Jaw-dropping statement number one: "I'm thinking about it, Mom. I'll let you know."

Ummmmm... huh? My reserved, anxiety-ridden, tell-me-exactly-what's-going-to-happen-every-single-minute-of-every-single-day daughter was actually thinking about going?!?!

Wow. Just... Wow.

Monday I talked to one of the women in charge and received more information. I couldn't wait to give Hayley the low-down 'cause the camp sounds like SO MUCH FUN!

Jaw-dropping statement number two: "Okay. I'll go."

Wow. Just... Wow.

Turns out that one of the girls attending the camp shares a class with Hayley and over the course of the week,  met another Confirmation girl at school. Hayley, already excited, started packing on Tuesday and couldn't wait to get over to the church tonight.

And so I dropped her off. And watching her... it was just one of those heart-bursting moments I desperately wish I could have photographed...

My tall girl, leaning against a table, talking, laughing, meeting new girls... Comfortable, confident, stylish, gorgeous, perfect...

My heart melted into a big ol' puddle of butter right there on the Fellowship Room floor. My girl, my Hayley, at long last, discovered her confidence.

Deliciously Reviewed: "A Rather Curious Engagement" by C.A. Belmond

What a fun, fun, fun novel!

I loved it for its simplicity,wit and immediately-friend worthy characters.

It's an lively and pleasant mystery. Not violent. Not suspenseful. Not filled with murder and gore and non-existent morals.

At last! A mystery I can read!

Here's the delicious premise...

Penny Nichols and her boyfriend, Jeremy (who's also her cousin, but only by step-marriage), both recently inherited a huge estate from a great aunt--cars, houses, property, the works. They're learning to deal with people they barely know (or often, don't know at all) and having mounds of money at their disposal.

The two of them carefully plan out their investments and decide to splurge on a single grand gift to themselves: a 1920's yacht. Yacht's mystery? Free with purchase. Together they travel around Italy, Corsica and Capri to find a copper lion that two different families lay claim to. Aside from sentimental value, this lion likely has supposed connections to Beethoven. The Beethoven. Making it worth many, many, many beads.

Every time I picked up the book, it felt as though a wonderful friend was telling me a personal story.  C.A. Belmond, through her(?) conversational first person narrative, talked directly to me. I honestly felt like a member of the cast of characters. All my senses were involved. I could smell the amazing Italian vegetables fresh from the vine. (I was even tempted to eat a tomato just to put myself right at the yacht's dining table with Penny and Jeremy. And I abhor tomatoes, so this is saying a lot!) I felt the sea air and saw the Monet shades of green and blue and yellow in the sky. I honestly wanted to jump on the next flight to Italy and drive myself straight to Lake Como.

Go read this book. And it's predecessor (A Rather Lovely Inheritance). And it's successor (A Rather Charming Invitation).

I haven't yet read the former and just started the latter. Do yourself a favor and go buy them! Right now! Go, Delicious Readers! Go!

Since when do I dislike clothes shopping?

I had to go to the mall today for new shirts since I'm down to literally three I can actually wear in public. (I'm talking everyday wear here.) I've needed to replenish my shirt wardrobe for a while, but I've put it off again and again and again.

I'm a girl. I'm supposed to love perusing the mall and trying on various styles and colors and whatnot.

But I don't.

I don't want drive in circles vying for a parking space. I don't want to spend money. I don't want to stand in line. I don't want to try on clothes in a semi-private, pin-laced changing room. I don't want to look past the ugly clothes (most everything these days) while trying to find the things that normal women actually wear.

It's no fun. At. All.

But this morning, I put my big girl panties on, got in the car and forced myself to drive the five miles to the mall.

First stop? H&M. Found three shirts and was out of there in less than 10 minutes.

Second stop? New York & Co. I don't actually like the quality of their clothes, but when you're going for inexpensive, a girl has to do what a girl has to do. I found another shirt, plus the elusive skin-colored tank top I've spent weeks searching for. Thank goodness! That key piece of Lycra will enable me to wear a sheer shirt I've had for years and never worn.

So another 10 minutes in NY&Co. and I flew out of that hole of financial and mental destruction as fast as I could.

*great shiver of horror*

Honestly, why? Why this crazy abhorrence of shopping malls?

Okay, so I've just spent several minutes staring out the window into the bushes that line our back fence. (I really ought to put some flowers out there.) And here's what I think...

1. I'd rather be reading.
2. Or writing. Or sleeping. Or doing dishes. Or scrubbing grout. (Okay, okay. I know I'm getting carried away.)
3. Our financial status of the past several years has caused me to develop a hatred of spending money. Especially on myself.
4. Crowds make me nuts. As do the saccharine employees. And quadruple that emotion for the kiosk employees that accost unwilling shoppers with samples of hand goo, electric cigarettes, flying apparatus and hermit crabs. (Hopefully those last two are not one in the same. Although that would make me laugh! In fact, I just did laugh out loud and Scott's calling down the stairs to see what's so funny. Hhmm... I might have to put that scenario in one of my books someday!)

Oh, hey! Scott's gonna take me to lunch! That'll get me to stop thinking mall insanity.

Bu-Bye for now, Delicious Readers!

Wahahahahahaha! I so rock!

Wanna know what I paid for all this at Walgreen's tonight?????

A grand total of...

53 cents!!!!!

Here's how I did it...

2 jars of Ragu: $1 off 2 coupon from the Sunday paper a couple weeks ago. Walgreen's coupon for 2 jars for $3. FINAL: $1 each

Mitchum: 75 cent off coupon from the Sunday paper a couple weeks ago. Walgreen's coupon for 1 deodorant for $1.99. FINAL: $1.24

4 boxes of Kellogg's: Used two $1.50/off two coupon from www.coupons.com. Walgreen's coupon for $1.99/box. FINAL: $1.25/box.

Kotex: $3.99, but I used the Catalina coupon (the ones that spit out from the machines after you make a purchase) I received from Walgreen's two weeks ago for a free box. FINAL: FREE!

Then I had a coupon for $3 off a $10 purchase that brought the total down to pennies!!

I love it! (And I happen to love Froot Loops, too, so don't judge me for buying sugared cereal! *sheepish grin*)

One single glass of wine

A couple weeks ago, I made Monster Chicken for dinner. (The recipe is on the Delicious Recipes link just under the Delicious as Pie banner. You should try it. It's divine!)

The recipe calls for 1/3 cup of white wine.

Now I don't drink wine. Or any alcohol for that matter. I never learned to care for it and frankly, never cared enough to try.

Having said that...  There is the extraordinarily odd day that I will have a glass of wine. Mostly because it's been a horrendous day and my children have given me a free ride to Insanity-ville.

The day I made Monster Chicken was one of those days. I thought it serendipitous since I just happened to be cooking with wine. So I washed the dust out of one the two wine glasses I unpacked (for my parents to use when they're visiting), filled it with ice and poured in the remainder of the tiny bottle of wine I'd opened for the recipe.

When Emma noticed my glass a few minutes later, her jaw dropped to the floor. "Why are you drinking wine, Mom? You don't drink wine!"

"Sometimes, Honey, children make moms crazy and we just need a little help in staying calm."

Fast forward to this past Wednesday. Music lesson day. I sit in an uncomfortable waiting area while Hayley and Emma take back-to-back lessons.

Two little girls, maybe three years old or so, played while their moms chatted. Their lessons had already ended, but the moms were letting the girls play together for a bit. In the tiny waiting room.

The girls pounded on a table with xylophone mallets for a good 10 minutes straight. Then they proceeded to yelp like dogs. Very high pitched dogs. One of the girls wanted the front door closed, but it was so warm in the room that I needed it open. She would close it. I would open it. She would close it. I would open it. And so on.

I am a very patient person, but I was starting to lose it. I took a sip of my Starbucks mocha and commented to Emma that the owner of the studio really ought to put in a coffee shop right next door.

She agreed. And then said...

"And she should put in a wine place on the other side."

"What? A wine place?" I was incredulous. What on earth was she talking about?

"Yeah, for times like this when kids drive moms crazy."

Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!

One single, flipping glass of wine and all of a sudden, we need a wine bar!

"It's all about the Cheddar" or "Birthday Mania!"

You *must must must* take two minutes to watch this video. I promise you, Emma's giggles are totally worth it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBV7iyStDN0

And just so you don't think we're totally random (which we are), Emma is obsessed with cheddar cheese. Going on three years now of cheddar, cheddar, cheddar.

A cheese hat, a cheese key ring and best (and funniest) of all... a cheese wedge hair band!

It also makes a fantastic Barbie cheese hat, just in case Barbie wants to go to a Green Bay Packers football game. LOL!

And here are some other awesome photos of the day!

Opening presents...

Hayley made Em a mini-poster that says

"If it's not Cheddar, it's not worth it!"

And waiting for cake....

Grandma and Grandad join in the celebration via Skype!

There was one more gift that Scott and I gave to Emma. And no, it was not cheese-related.

It was her very own cell phone!

She was so excited that she fell silent in awe! Good thing we saved that one for last 'cause we lost her attention to the cell phone. And so it begins... LOL

Hop hop hop to another blog hop...

... all in efforts to increase my following and (hopefully) regular readers.

Follow Me Back Tuesday is another day of the week that you can gain more followers and find other great blogs to follow on a weekly basis. Follow Me Back Tuesday is hosted bySurvey Junkie, Little Yaya's, Review Retreat and Boobies, Babies & A Blog.

Each week we will choose a random number every week from the blogs linked and add the random blog to the #5 spot to link to the following week (must follow 4 hostesses to be chosen)

This weeks guest host for the #5 spot is Nicole from - Mama to 3 Blessings http://mamato3blessings.blogspot.com/

How it Works

1. Follow the 5 hosts, #1 – 5,  ( leave us a comment & we will follow you back- only leave a comment if you follow please ).
2. Create a blog post about FMBT (you may copy this post if you wish).
3. Follow as many blogs as you would like ( Leave a comment so they can follow you back).
4. When you receive a comment from a new follower  return the favor & follow them back.

***Please link directly to your Follow Me Back Tuesday Post. Links that lead directly to your personal blog hop will not be accepted and will be deleted.***

"Double digits!" or "My baby is 10!"

Sept. 7, 2000, at 9am, I called my midwife to tell her that (for the fourth day in a row) I thought my water had broken.

Honestly, I think she was getting sick of me, so she told me to come on in and if it hadn't broken, she'd break it for me.

Hooray! We'd be coming home with an Emma!

In we went to the birth center. No, my water hadn't broken. (Hhhmmm... what was that I get feeling then?? Ew.) With a long little hook thingie, she popped that bag of water and got that labor started.

Of course, contractions didn't start immediately. Scott and I walked and walked and walked through the beautiful, historic neighborhood nearby. Still nada. I remember clearly how disappointed I was. What was taking this kiddo so long?

Then I got hungry. Not just hungry, but starving. About to die starving. We swung into a 7-11 and I asked Scott for a king-sized Snickers bar. It sounded so right, so amazingly delicious. And I wolfed the entire thing down in probably less than 60 seconds.

And then, immediately then, contractions started. Not itty, bitty starter contractions, but drivers-staring-at-me- doubled-over-on-the-street-corner contractions.

Two hours and 50 minutes later, in a bathtub of cold water, Emma made her squalling arrival! What a joyous sound! The midwife instantly put my baby on my chest and I said, "You have a side part!" And then, "I love you!" (That side part comment cracks me up!)

7 lb. 13 oz., 20 in. long. And gorgeous. So incredibly gorgeous. Even with the teeny hand print bruise on her cheek and her black and blue tongue. (Apparently, she was sucking her thumb during birth and with so little room in that there entryway, her hand squished against her sweet little face. She also, in the process, bit the tip of her tongue. It looked so sore!)

Seven and a half hours later, we came home and for the first time, held both our precious daughters in our arms.

And here she is today... 10 years old, gorgeous, funny, talented, intelligent, compassionate and oh so wonderful.

Thank you, God, for sharing this amazing blessing with me!

Tuesday Tag-Along Time!

Participating in Tuesday Tag-Along a couple weeks ago delighted me with finding new friends and receiving about 20 new followers!

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Let's see who I get to meet this week. And for all you Non-Blogging Readers, peruse through the list below and click on the icons that look like fun to you.  Don't worry about getting to them all at once. It's just not possible. This post isn't going anywhere, so come on back when you need to!





Have fun!

If you have kids, this will CRACK you up!!

This came home in the info packet I received at Emma's Back to School Night...

Homework Guidelines

or

A Child's View of the Job

Here is a student explanation of our homework policy.

Students should not spend more than 90 minutes per night on homework. The time should be budgeted in the following manner:

• 15 minutes looking for the assignment
• 11 minutes calling a friend for the assignment
• 23 minutes explaining to parents why the teacher is mean and just doesn't like kids
• 8 minutes in the bathroom
• 10 minutes getting a snack
• 7 minutes checking the tv listings
• 6 minutes telling parents that the teacher never explained the homework
• 10 minutes sitting at the kitchen table waiting for Mom to do the assignment
• It is not necessary to have the student's name on the assignment.

Long Term Assignments:

These are given the night before they are due. This explains the name "long term".

• It is a long-term commitment to time that begins at 9:30pm and ends at 11:50pm.
• It is important that the whole family is involved in the project. It is imperative that at least one family member race to Wal-Mart for poster board and that one family end up in tears. (This does not have to be the student.)
• One parents needs to stay up and complete the project. The other parent needs to call the school and leave a message that the student is out sick.
• It is not necessary to have the student's name on this assignment either.

-----------------

Does the person who wrote this live in my house???????

Happy Blog Follower Day!

Yesterday was apparently "Good Neighbor Day" or some such idiosyncratic day of celebration.

So I decided to make today "Blog Follower Day" to let you know how much I appreciate you coming along with my on my parenting/reading/volunteering/writing/moving adventures. Whether you're an actual follower or not (*hint hint*) doesn't really matter. What matters is that you click onto Delicious as Pie every day or two to see what's going down in the D___ house.

I would love to send you each a pretty, bright bouquet. But, well... that's just not gonna happen.

Instead, here are some flowers that I shot this morning. They are so perfectly beautiful that I couldn't resist preserving their early morning innocence.

    Happy Blog Follower Day!

Stickies

Thank the good Lord for Sticky Notes!

'Cause this is what happens when you wake up in the middle of the night, subconsciously having figured out the ending to your newest chapter...