Across the Pond

Today, DumbMom over at Parenting by Dummies, is hosting Old School Photo Friday. So, I started digging through some old photos and found this one:

That's me circa 1999 in Wales. Betws-y-Coed, Snowdonia to be exact. My husband was stationed in England from 1996-2000. We were married in 1998 and I joined him in England from 1998-2000. It was an awesome experience! I would love to go back! We visited so many wonderful places- all of which I would love to visit again.

My most vivid memory of Wales was while driving through a village, and elderly woman with a cane flagged us down. We stopped and she asked us for a ride to church. We agreed and she immediately informed me there was no way she was climbing in the back seat of our little English car and banished me to the backseat. I obliged and she climbed in.

Once in the car, she informed us that church was the next village over. We were heading that way anyway, so we drove where she requested. When we arrived at the church, she got out of the car, left her cane in it and went inside to see if her friends were there. They were not, so she requested we take her somewhere else. We drove her around for forty-five minutes from church to church and village to village each time with her leaving her cane in our car so that we couldn't leave her. Finally, hysterical with laughter, at yet, ANOTHER church, DJ and were hurriedly trying to discuss what to do before she came back. We decided to just leave and she could get another ride if she needed it. I worried about her cane, so he quickly threw her cane on the little walk right in front of the church and we sped away, laughing hysterically and certain all the other villagers were laughing at the stupid tourists that gave a ride to the village nut.

So.. if you find a lost elderly woman in Wales...

...OR if you hear about the time the Americans kidnapped the Welsh lady...

...well, you haven't seen us. Alright?

**Disclaimer: My husband wants me to add this disclaimer because he is afraid this sounds too mean-spirited. The villages in Wales (England too) are all very close together and when we left her, she was within 5 miles of where we picked her up. We didn't just dump an old woman off in the middle of the countryside. She was sharp as a tack and had all her wits about her. It was clear after the fourth stop, that she was just using us as a taxi cab to go from place to place and we had to get on our way. We don't normally pick up hitchhikers, but as we were driving through the village, she literally stepped in front of our car to flag us down. We had to stop to keep from hitting her and when she asked for a ride to church, we didn't see any harm in it. Europe is not like America. I think I'm done now. Carry on.

Summer Reruns

Because, I am lazy, and I have two children up my keister all day just counting down the days until school starts ( I'm counting, not them). My followers have already seen this.. twice. I posted this originally last summer after a camping trip to the shore in a pop-up camper under the name "Transcendental Meditation from a Pop-Up" and I posted it again this year as a precursor to our upcoming trip to the shore in the pop-up which wasn't nearly as eventful as last year's trip. After all, I almost died of hypothermia last year. And then there was the rabid rooster. I'm telling y'all... I liken the Jersey Shore to the Serengeti or the Outback. Seriously.

Transcendental Meditation from a Pop-Up

I grew up in a fairly rural area. I didn't think it was rural at the time, but knowing what I know now, it was. We went camping, fishing and yes, I swam in lakes and creeks. I had no problem with that. The old adage, " You can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl." apparently does NOT ring true, though. By my best estimation, it takes around ten years to weasel the aforementioned, "country" out of the girl.

Despite my childhood experiences with the great outdoors, I am now aware that I have become a bit of a city girl. We currently live in a lake community with a public beach on the lake and lifeguards in the summer. Three years ago we went swimming in the lake and emerged covered in some sort of brown slime that stained our suits and proved hard to wash off our skin. The locals told us it was called " cedar water". Whatever it is, it produces stain-inducing slime. I now prefer to only swim in that which is chlorinated.

Back to the present. It is currently five a.m. I've been up since three a.m. We are camping at the NJ shore in a pop-up camper with no heat, no air and no bathroom. Here are my musings thus far:

Two-thirty a.m.: Yes, I KNOW you cannot get frost bite when it is fifty-five degrees outside, but my feet are so cold they're numb, so humor me.

Three a.m : What was THAT!?? Are there coyotes in southern NJ?

Three-thirty a.m.: I'm going to go and choke a chicken. No, that is not a metaphor.. there is a rooster somewhere that has his days and nights confused.

Four a.m.: I decided to just grab the laptop and start recording my musings since I am clearly not sleeping any more tonight. I am seriously so cold, that I am huddled in an intricately-designed cocoon that I have created with my blanket.

** "cocoon"- hmmm.... how ironic I am identifying with my caterpillar friends with whom I have such a tumultuous relationship.

** If you subscribe to the thought that there are no accidents or coincidences, that everything is meant to happen and is some sort of pre-designed Divine plan, then is this the Great Creator's way of having me make peace with the nasty caterpillars? Because I don't know if I can let that go.

** I have to pee. The bathroom is four streets over. I know the walk is good for me, but I prefer to stumble to the bathroom in the middle of the night half-asleep. If I walk that far, I'm going to be good and awake. Isn't that what exercise is FOR? To give you energy and get your blood flowing?

** I decided to take the "city girl" route and drive to the bathroom. Besides, I got to turn the van's heater on on the way over there. It was heavenly. See?? I'm being made to appreciate the simple things. One more night and I can be a Buddhist monk.

**Look at me... I've turned into a flippin' philosopher! Jennaclese ( el vato with the knobby knees) Sorry, I was channeling Cheech Marin for a minute.

** Me thinks Emerson and Thoreau were NOT really one with nature. They simply lost their minds camping and wrote about it and we recognize that today as a literary movement worth studying.

**Totally random.. but really, what is WITH New Jersey jug handles? Why can't you just make a left turn?

** Why does the slightest drop of moisture cause my hair to explode? I CAME from a very humid environment... my ancestors lived in the swamps of Louisiana. I wonder what they used for hair product back in the day?

** Speaking of ancestors... I realize I am spoiled, but I feel I should point out that at least the pioneers that travelled forth in the name of Manifest Destiny and slept out on the open plains had camp fires to keep them warm! Granted, they had to fear attack by wild animals and Indians, but hey, let's not trivialize the mosquitos and rabid rooster I'm dealing with.

** We turned the stove on and the fans to circulate the heat from the stove. It's working a little bit. I can't say I'm WARM... but I am warm-ER. And I see light, so the sun should be up soon to warm up good ole Mother Earth!

** At least both my kids have managed to sleep through this. I could be dealing with chills, rabid roosters and two crying children. For that I am thankful.

This post is part of Mama Kat's Writer's Workshop. Prompt #3: Describe a Memorable Camping Trip

NOT a Man of His Word

I love my neighbors! It's always good to have neighbors with a good sense of humor. I like people that make me laugh. Seriously.. that trait is above all others in my book.

Back in the spring, we painted our house. It took an entire four day weekend and my neighbors watched, helped and complimented. When it was all done, Noah was over at their house playing with their little boy and they asked him if he wanted to paint their house. My son, never missing an opportunity to get out of work said, " Nah. But I think it would be funny if you painted yours with polka dots!" Then he apparently went one too far and said, " I would give you $50 if you painted polka dots on your house."

About twenty minutes later, this is what we saw:



Unfortunately, my son backed out on his end of the bargain.

This post is part of Wordful Wednesday at Seven Clown Circus.

Flashback Post- The One About Scandalous Haircolor

I sometimes like to bring back old posts that some of my new readers might not have seen, or for my own personal enjoyment a second time. I originally posted this post in May 2009 after a trip to the salon ended in me discovering something equally hilarious and tacky/scandalous. So.. wrap your mind around this and enjoy. It still makes me giggle! And.. oh yes, they did.

I'll bet you never imagined someone can write an entire blog dedicated to.. umm... er..., "carpet". We'll call it "carpet". Well.. you were sorely mistaken, my friend, because anyone who can compose an entire blog about nothing other than caterpillar poo, can drone on and on about absolutely nothing at all. So.. here goes:

I was in the salon today, waiting for my turn to have my hair cut and colored. While waiting, I was browsing the products looking at the new conditioners, shine sprays, make-your-hair-curly/straight gels when I spotted a box of something called, "Blonde Betty". The description said, "color for your hair down there.". I did a double and a triple take. I physically got out of my chair and walked over there to inspect it up close because I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. I had no idea such a product even existed, but there it was sitting on the shelf next to the Redken products.

Throughout my service, I could not stop thinking about this product.... and giggling at all the scenarios popping into my mind. For example, why would one WANT to color there? Perhaps because they dye their hair blonde and want "the carpet to match the drapes" for all those times they hang out on nude beaches? Because they spend countless hours walking around nude and when they catch a glimpse of themselves in a mirror, they are reminded they aren't really a blonde?

Next, I imagined someone trying to actually do this at home. How long does it take for the color to set? I guess you have to run around naked while waiting. Do you start with the roots and work it to the ends after a few minutes? How big is the bottle that you mix this stuff in? Does it stain your skin? Do you get that awesome little tube of after-color conditioner that comes with regular hair color?

And THEN-because I have too much quiet time in the salon and can allow my thoughts to run freely - I took it another step and wondered if you can get creative with it. Can you, say, dye it brown and then give it highlights and lowlights.. you know.. for that NATURAL look? Or, for the crafty gal, could you possibly use a stencil and dye a heart or a cute little butterfly? I dunno... you tell me!

The Dress

When Zoë's first birthday rolled around, I wanted it to be girly. After five years of planning little boy parties ( in order from 1st-5th: puppies, Elmo, trains, Sponge Bob and Star Wars) I was ready to add a little sugar and spice (and pink) to the festivities. I browsed catalogs and internet ideas but nothing stood out. That is, until one day, while searching for cute little dresses on ebay, I came across this dress:

...and suddenly, I had a theme. I built her entire first birthday party around this dress. I was elated to find out that they actually sell a "Pink Poodles in Paris" party set at an online party store.

(cups, plates, napkins, topper and Eiffel Tower centerpiece)
I made the little hatboxes by covering Christmas cookie tins with scrapbook paper and filled them with dogbone shaped sugar cookies. I know what you're thinking, " Wait a minute, what is Darth Vader doing at this party?" Well, Noah's and Zoë's birthdays are only a week apart, so I had a combo Pink Poodles/ Star Wars party this year and I thought I merged the two themes well.

That was the first time I centered an entire party theme around a dress.

This year will be the second.

While online shopping one day, I came across this beautiful gem:

... and thought, "What a beautiful dress! It reminds me of neapolitan ice cream."

*BING*

And there was my idea. I suddenly had visions of ice cream socials from years past with ice cream sodas, pretty soda glasses, and jars filled with brightly colored candy toppings for sundaes.

Now you know. That is how my idea for this year's party began- back in May. I have been planning ever since and have just started making decorations. I will have a post just for the decorations when I am finished. But for now, you will have to settle for the invitation. As I mentioned in the previous post, I really enjoy making these invitations for them each year with Photoshop. Before I show you, I will show you what I used. I took this photo (which you saw in my previous post)

...edited it to give it a vintage feel and then built the invitation around it.

(back:)

A Good Ice Cream Experience

It sure seems that I am obsessed with ice cream, doesn't it? I've just realized that a large number of my posts this summer has been about ice cream in some form or fashion.

Zoë's party theme for her third birthday is going to be "Old Fashioned Ice Cream Social". I have a post planned to tell you about how I arrived at that idea ( and it isn't conventional, my ideas are always borne of some strange spark of inspiration. It explains how nutsy my mind really is, jumping from tangent to tangent, but that is for another day).

So, yes, ice cream party. Well, if you are a new reader, then you don't know that I always make both of my kids' invitations with Photoshop and invest quite a bit of time in their design. I had a design in mind for her invitation, but it required an elaborate setup which I did not have the props for. I was brainstorming and it occurred to me that I live in a state that is known for it's gazillion (yes, that is a number in my head and yes there really are that many in this little state) diners. It's one of those things that is synonymous with Jersey- the shore, diners, the Jersey devil, Jersey sweet corn and an entire state of full service gas stations. Yes, that's correct, you cannot pump your own gas in this state. It's the law.

I was thinking- in a state known for it's diners, there has to be an ice cream shop somewhere. I don't mean Dairy Queen, I mean the old ice cream/soda fountain type shop with the juke box and soda jerks. So, I consulted my dearest internet friend, Madame Google. She very quickly returned with the website of The Pop Shop in Collingswood, New Jersey. It was perfect and yesterday, we set out to have lunch, ice cream and stage some pictures.



The menu prices were very reasonable and the food was incredible. They serve breakfast all day ( and I mean basic breakfast, breakfast burritos, eggs benedict) and have over thirty versions of the grilled cheese sandwich. My grilled cheese connoisseur, Noah, literally was twittering with this realization. Even better, they have the regular kids menu and then the little kids menu for kids under 5 where most meals are about $2.99 that way you don't feel like you wasted money paying for a five dollar meal for your child to only eat three bites.

Upon entering, the kids were given paper soda jerk hats to decorate with crayons. Despite a packed house, our waitress arrived immediately to take our order, but we had to turn her away, because we had so many choices, we could not decide!


So, what did we end up eating? I had the Honeymoon chicken for $8.59. It is described as, "Grilled chicken breast topped with honey mustard dressing, avocado, caramelized onions, and melted cheddar cheese on crusty ciabatta" My husband had the Madison Grilled Cheese for $6.59. The adult grilled cheese is huge. Plenty big enough to satisfy. His is described as, "Mozzarella, tomato, basil, and garlic olive oil on country white". Noah had the kid-sized Big Toaster which is a classic grilled american cheese on white bread for $3.59. His came with fries. Ours did not, so we ordered a basket of fries to share. Their fries are hand cut and fried and delicious! As for Miss Zoë, she is the picky one and doesn't like sandwiches. We usually can't find anything other than french fries to feed her at a restaurant, but we ordered her the Chocolate Chip Betty's, "Our family’s original 100%-from-scratch pancakes with chocolate chips and whipped cream" for $3.59 and she thoroughly enjoyed it.

As for drinks, the kids got lemonade, but my husband and I thought we would take advantage of the soda fountain and I ordered Dr. Pepper with cherry and vanilla and he ordered Coke with cream and vanilla. Again, excellent!

Once lunch was cleared away, we licked our lips and prepared for the whole reason we visited- to order dessert. Again, they did not disappoint. Noah got the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie Sundae, "Cookies and cream ice cream with chocolate chip cookie and Oreo™ pieces and caramel sauce, topped with whipped cream and rainbow jimmies":

Zoe ordered the Captain Underpants Cone, "Vanilla ice cream topped with a sugar cone, chocolate sauce and a candy face":

DJ ordered the Oreo Cheesecake Milkshake, "Vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, cream
cheese, and Oreo cookies":

I got a chocolate malted milk shake. Delish!

They also had the classic ice cream sodas- the cows, Lime Rickey, etc.

If you have a minute, I recommend you go to their site and peruse their dessert and food menus. You will be glad you did (or mad, if it causes you to raid your fridge). And if you live in or near southern New Jersey (Philadelphia area) or are visiting, I highly recommend you stop in and visit! (The restaurant, not our family- we don't share our ice cream)

Update to the Ice Cream Tune

Okay, y'all this is totally freaking me the heck out!

Since it appears y'all can't really hear the tune, I just went searching on the internet for ice cream jingles prepared to listen to quite a few before I found the particular one I wanted ( if at all). I wound up on this site, mainly because I wanted to hear and share the Mister Softee jingle with you.

But, then I saw two others listed and the author of the page titled one the " Ghetto Ice Cream Truck Song". I laughed because I thought I had coined the term, "Ghetto Man" for our ice cream fella, but apparently others have one too. I thought there was just NO WAY this would be the same song... and holy schnikes, IT IS! So.. hold onto your children... I give you the Ghetto Man song: ( it is exactly like ours, only difference is ours ends with "quack quack")