Gettin' out with my Girlie.

On Saturday, the Zippys had plans to take on the town. It was so nice to get out with Heather for an afternoon - it's just something we don't do nearly as often as we should, anymore.

Where did we go? Well, first, she picked me up at the house (all my boys stayed home, giddy at the prospect of getting the oil changed in the car... okay, maybe not really giddy...). We had decided on WheatFields Bakery for lunch, and it was a wonderful choice! There was just so. much. good. food, and we didn't know where to begin. Heather finally settled on shrimp & cheese fondue, and I chose a chicken salad plate (because I wanted the pastry and fresh fruit that was to come with it). While we waited for our food in the very crowded little place (a sure sign of good eats!), we browsed over the delectable desserts. We were seated right in front of the bakery buns and pastries, and we walked over to see the cakes, mousses, cheesecakes, and cookies. Oh, I wanted one of everything!

Our food arrived, and it looked scrumptious. Heather's tealight burnt out shortly under her fondue pot, but the cheese stayed warm enough for her to dip her chunks of shrimp, veggies, and ciabatta bread cubes. My salad arrived, but... it didn't look right. Instead of a cold chicken salad plate with fruit and pastry, our waitress brought me a honey-fried chicken salad (a HUGE breast of honey-fried chicken, cut-up, and tossed over a bed of fresh greens, toasted hazelnuts, bacon, and shredded gruyere, served with a Creamy Ranch Herb Dressing). I was so hungry that I asked her to leave the salad instead of waiting for a correct one. It was so good! I typically don't like ranch dressing, but this one had a bit of a tangy kick, and it was PERFECT for blending with the sweet, honey-fried chicken (which was VERY sweet). Heather had a few bites of my salad and agreed. After our meals, we shared my pastry - a Shaggy. The 'Shaggy' was a large, fluffy croissant rolled in cinnamon-sugar and toasted almonds. It was delicious!

Even as Heather packed up the leftovers of her fondue (I didn't take my salad home, though there was half of it left), we remarked on how incredibly full we both were. We gazed some more at the desserts on our way out, only to learn a wondrous thing: they had free samples of many of the desserts at the counter! We both chose the Oregon Cherry cheesecake - a rich, pink cheesecake with swirls of cherry and a chocolate cookie crumb crust. It was the perfect amount of dessert, and we marveled that anyone could eat an actual slice at one time.

Then we rolled out the door and over to Heather's car. Honestly, it's a miracle that we still fit into our seats. ;-)

A short, pleasant drive later found us pulling into a parking spot on the Main Street of downtown Louisville, Nebraska. I grabbed my camera, and we headed into Coop-de-Ville for a chick-fest: a free chocolate buffet! Heather had received an invite earlier in the week from their mailing list, and that's how our entire girlie afternoon plans had begun. Of course, we were *so* full from Wheatfields that we weren't sure we could handle more chocolate... but a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, right?

We browsed the super-fun rooms of massive girly decor, and we giggled over cute pillows and hilarious travel mugs. We mused over Christmas decorations (yes, in February!), and we pondered martini-shaped candles and redecorating our own homes with more pink and pizzazz. Finally, we entered Cafe Poulet for a bit of the festivities. Heather helped herself to a few pieces of chocolate, and I asked permission to take a few pictures. I also ordered a Pink Hot Chocolate before sitting down with my own chocolate spread: valentine M&Ms, a krispy chocolate bar, and a fudge brownie. When my hot chocolate arrived, it was covered in whipped cream and hot pink sprinkles... and it was definitely pink!

Neither of us could finish our goodies, but we leisurely enjoyed our time chatting as we tried to finish up. I burned my tongue on my first few sips of hot chocolate, but it was still so very good. We walked all around Cafe Poulet, and we entered the tiny bathroom together (not to use, silly!) just so we could laugh over the ornately decorated toilet seat and fun girl phrases pasted all over the walls. The pipes were even covered in hot pink fur!

We left Coop-de-Ville after I paid for my hot chocolate, and we walked a block up the street to enter Feathers. Feathers is a fun, hip, girly retail shop, and we laughed and giggled as we pored over the items in each room of the house (the shop is in a remodeled, older home). I ended up purchasing a few baby gifts while we browsed, but I resisted buying anything for myself (though the temptation was great, I promise you!). We ooooh'd and ahhhh'd over a great many things before finally stepping back out into the cold wind of Main Street and heading back to Heather's car.

There is one more shop related to the two we visited - Art Chicks - but both of us had been there previously, so we decided to head back home (a fun place for lunch, you are required to play 'dress-up' in their costume room before sitting down for your meal). We stopped at Baker's for Heather to grab some milk, and at Hallmark for me to pick up a few cards on the way home, and then she dropped me off. It was a very nice afternoon, and I'm so glad we got away. :-)


Me and Heather in fifty years.

( More pictures - beware of the pink! )

And though it was a quick turn-around (which is a good thing!), we also went out together on Wednesday night. I had given Heather tickets to see Phantom of the Opera at the Orpheum Theatre for Hanukkah, and it was an amazing show! We arrived early, and we both dressed up. In fact, if I'd worn black slacks, we'd have been twins! (Instead, I wore a red sweater, short black skirt, black tights, and strappy black heels.) I loved the show, and I'm glad I can now say that I've seen the off-Broadway production. It was really hard, however, not to burst out singing in so many of the songs. I resigned myself to trying to tap my heels quietly instead. ;-)

(Oh, but neither of us brought a camera to the play. Sorry!)

Things NOT to say to a military spouse.

1. "Aren't you afraid that he'll be killed?"
(This one ranks in at number one on the "duh" list. Of course we're afraid. We're terrified. The thought always lingers at the backs of our minds - but thanks, Brilliant, you just brought it back to the front. Maybe next you can go ask someone with cancer if they're scared of dying.)

( Read more. )

The Jelly Bean Prayer.

Jack was not feeling so great last Wednesday, and as such, Philip stayed home with him and A.J. while I went to the first Lenten mid-week service. I made it to the 7:30pm service, and all was quiet and serene. It was a wonderful time of prayer and promise, and I felt refreshed as I left the sanctuary. I also felt excited to share the Lenten time with my family the rest of this month.

Our youth group is providing meals each Wednesday evening during the services (there are two each night), and I wrote the meals on the calendar this month. We give a small, free-will donation ($12 for a family of four) to the youth group, and the Lenten meals are their largest fundraiser each year for mission trips, etc. This past Wednesday evening's meal was a Taco Bar, and the youth group laid out an impressive spread. The boys chose crunchy tacos, Philip had two soft tacos, and I feasted on a taco salad. In addition to all the taco trimmings, there was corn, fruit salad, and a dessert bar. It was a LOT of food for just 4 bucks!

Before the meal, however, we popped downstairs to make a family craft together. During just two of the Lenten Wednesdays there are planned family activities. These can be done before or after the worship service, and before or after eating (because not all families eat dinner at the church, either). Because I needed to leave early this week to see the play with Heather, we decided to arrive right at 5pm to begin our craft. We were the second family to show up, and we chose to make jelly bean treats together.

The boys gathered the necessary supplies while Philip and I staked a table. Once we were all seated, we read a copy of the Jelly Bean Prayer aloud, each taking one line to read (yes, even Jack). Here is the poem:

Red is for the blood He gave.
Green is for the grass he made.
Yellow is for the sun so bright.
Orange is for the edge of night.
Black is for the sins we made.
White is for the grace He gave.
Purple is for His hour of sorrow.
Pink is for our new tomorrow.
A bag full of jelly beans,
Colorful and sweet,
Is a prayer, is a promise,
Is a special treat.
May the joy of Christ's resurrection
Fill your heart and bless your life.

After reading, we each took a small baggie and filled it with one each of the different-colored jelly beans. Then we tied them up with ribbons and attached a copy of the prayer to each baggie. On the back of the prayers, we each wrote the name of the person we wanted to receive our gift. Philip chose to give his to Runza, I picked our mailperson, A.J. wanted to give his to his friend Parker, and Jack was excited to give his to his friend Ty. Before we left the table, we placed our small bags together in the center of the table, and we each prayer aloud for our individual recipients. Jack's prayer was so cute: "A.J., you forgot to say Amen! Oh, and God, I pray for Ty, and I hope I get to see him real quick. Amen!"

Fast-forward a day or so, and Philip had delivered his to Runza, and A.J. had placed his special gift in Parker's mailbox a few doors down. I put my baggie into our mailbox yesterday afternoon (the mail had already come for the day, though), and I put the flag up so it would be noticed for certain. Today, as A.J. brought in the mail, he handed me a pale orange slip. I was confused for a moment, not expecting any packages currently, until I turned the paper over and read the following:

Thanks for the Jelly Bean gift - That is really neat. :-) Patty

Awww. I'm glad our mailperson appreciated her gift, and I hope it blesses her in some small way.

Awww.

We just got a sweet photo card in the mail from Miss K. Thank you, mostcurious! :-)

Rock.Band.

Yes, it's true. As of Groundhog's Day, the awesomesauce that is ROCKBAND has descended on our home.



Philip and Jack tore into the huge box the very evening we bought it (of course). A.J. wasn't real interested in playing the instruments, so he opted out of the set-up. Jack, on the other hand, was so giddy - it took everything in his power just to sit still while Philip built the different instruments. Finally, everything was pieced together, and the two of them began to jam. Baby Kitty sat close by, but she was indifferent to the right's and wrong's, and she purred herself into a nice doze on the couch next to Jack. ;-)

( Four pics. )

That same evening, I tried my hand at the drums a bit. I only played for one song, and I could keep up with the beat well enough (on Easy, that is), but I played without using the bass/foot pedal beat at all. That's just too confusing! Soon it was Jack's bedtime, and Philip played by himself for an hour or so.

A couple nights later, he and 'the guys' from Runza got together to play the game. Philip is the only one who owns RockBand, but Ryan was house-bound (his wife was out of town for a funeral, and he has four very little ones). Ryan lives out in Ashland (a 45-minute drive), so Chris decided to ride out with Philip. This endeavor was only one night after Philip bought his truck, and he decided to drive that.

And he ran out of gas on the way. :-P

He called, but Brett was unavailable to help, and of course, Ryan couldn't come out, either. Chris, meanwhile, is sitting in the passenger seat in just a t-shirt (with temps below 0°!) - completely NOT dressed for the weather (he never wears a jacket). Eventually, a cop happened upon them on the highway, and then hilarity ensued. For the as the cop began to ask, it became clear that Philip had:

- no license plates (the seller took his off when we bought it)
- no registration (because the DMV was already closed at 6pm on Friday evening)
- no insurance (it had only been one day, and I hadn't called yet to add the vehicle to our policy)
- an expired Alaska driver's license (Active Duty military can get by with a military ID only, so Philip has never gotten a new license, and his AK one expired in 2000)

Thankfully, the cop was a nice guy, and he took pity on a freezing Chris in the situation. Philip and Chris piled into the cop car (Philip let Chris ride in the front seat, closest to the heaters, and he took the jailed-off, plastic back seat, insisting he was the dumb one and should look like the criminal). He said later that Chris didn't argue with that comment. ;-) And the cop took them to the nearest gas station and let Philip borrow his 2-gallon gas can. Back at the truck, Philip didn't notice that the gas can had a leak, and he leaked gasoline all over his boots. Still, he got enough in the truck to get going, and the cop left soon afterwards. Then he and Chris drove to another gas station and put $10 more gas in. Finally, they made it to Ryan's house.

Once there, the three of them had an awesome time playing the game. In fact, Philip didn't make it back home until just a few minutes before 5am, and Chris fell asleep in the truck as he was taking him home (but he laughed as he denied this incident the next day at work). Within a day or two, Chris was itching to play again, and Brett was getting excited too, having missed the first event. So, Wednesday night found three extra guys rocking out in my living room. I was out for a few hours with Heather to see the play, but I snapped a few pictures of them when I arrived back home.

( Six pics. )

Then I quit flashy-thinging them (they were playing in a completely dark living room), and I sat down to watch them play for a while. They're such a fun group of guys. :-)

Red candles for Valentine's Day.

A week ago or so, rafferty stopped by with some holiday gifts for us. It was the first time he'd been able to catch us since before Christmas, and he was spreading some of Santa's cheer. He gave the boys a cool new set of walkie-talkies, and he gifted Philip and me with an iTunes gift card and a set of seven apple-cinnamon candles. (*squeee*)

So I decided to put different types of red candles in all of my holders for Valentine's Day, and I waited until the big night to finally light them. I had a mixture of all brands and scents, and it was beautiful!

See?



( Eight more. )

Snacks.

I just made a new gallon of sweet tea. It is the ONLY thing that feels soothing as it goes down my throat, and I hate that, for I don't even want to know how many calories are in it. (Especially when I've been the water queen.) :-/

I also cut up two gorgeous, giant red peppers for snacking, as well as a flat of strawberries, and a full pineapple. In fact, I sliced my left ring finger open at an inside bend-y spot slicing that pineapple. Then I had to bleed it out for a while before I could get back to the pineapple, and I was careful not to get juice in it (acid = burn, I'm sure).

So between all of that and the metric ton of cubed cheese that Philip picked up yesterday, I should be set for snacking for the next couple of days.

Croak.

It sucks going to church when I'm sick because then I can't sing. Tonight, even though I committed myself to not singing or talking (I whispered a few times, then wished that I hadn't), I was coughing up a storm. I practically swallowed my tongue a few times in an attempt to keep my coughs inside. I took my water bottle, of course, and I had one cough drop during the service, but I was still so dry and raw.

And I really like singing. *sigh*

The bright side is that both of the boys now sing along with all the choruses and songs. It warms my heart to hear their little voices lifted in praise. :-)

It's Halloween in February!

Well, it's not really Halloween, but I never got around to posting about the fun day back this fall. So I'm catching up now. *grins*

I worked on Halloween at Runza, and then I basically flew from the store to the boys' school for their afternoon parties at 2pm. (I also get off work at 2pm.) I got there at 2:03, but I had to park about three blocks down the street and then run. I finally arrived in Jack's classroom just as his teacher was lining them up for the parade, and I was breathless.

The boys' costumes went hand-in-hand this year, and A.J. came up with the idea: Calvin & Hobbes. He's an avid reader of C&H, having read all of my old collection and then voraciously adding to his own collection. He reads them all the time, and sometimes we'll find him reading them aloud to Jack, even. When we were discussing different costumes ideas, I said only that I didn't want either of the boys to wear a costume that was mask-dependent (I don't like not being able to see their faces!) So A.J.'s suggestion sounded perfect! Not only that, but Grammy (Philip's mom) was willing to sew A.J. a special tiger costume (because Hobbes' tail hangs a bit lower than the average tiger), and Jack is six years old - just like Calvin! (Nevermind the fact that he's also just as high-strung, rambunctious, and lively, right?)

Jack's costume seemed fairly simple. Calvin always wears a red-and-black striped shirt and black shorts or slacks (we opted for slacks, since it was cool outside already). Jack didn't want to wear a wig, so we decided to spray his hair a vivid yellow, and we bought the brightest shade we could find. We let his hair grow out for six weeks, hoping that it would be long enough to make a few spikes, but we weren't real hopeful (Jack's hair is fine and stays cleanly down without any effort). His hair is dark brown, however, and on the morning of the big day, I sprayed him down in the garage before school. Unfortunately, the effect was more green than yellow, but there wasn't time to improvise, and Jack was still happy as a lark (we'd never spray-painted hair before, so it was a BIG deal to him).

A.J.'s costume was fabulous. Grammy and Papa George had brought it in their suitcase when they visited in October, and it was a perfect fit. A long, lean Hobbes suit, and she made a hood with ears, white paw-mittens, and striped booties to go over his shoes (which, unfortunately, wouldn't stretch over ANY shoe he owned, though). He was thrilled, and his costume was also nice and warm. And so both boys traipsed off to school with the pieces of their costumes in their backpacks.

When I arrived, each of them was already dressed and, as I said, lining up for the parade. Mrs. Mutzenberger (Jack's kindergarten teacher) told me that her students had gone around the room in a sort of "show-and-tell" fashion, each explaining their costume. Jack couldn't be spoiled, even though I'm not sure any of his classmates knew who Calvin & Hobbes were. He was still chuffed and ready to go. :-)


Jack as 'Calvin.'


A.J. as 'Hobbes.'

( Read more, with a bunch more pictures. )

The Buglet's first Halloween.

These pictures don't need a lot of explanation, really, but they are sooooo cute!


Heather was a Flower, and Catherine was a Ladybug.

( And her husband Shane was a... )

Halloween, part three.

And lastly, here are a few pictures of my boys during trick-or-treat time. :-)


Calvin & Hobbes.

( A few more. )

And that's how we ended one more Cleghorn Halloween. :-)