May.

Remember back last January, when I wrote about how we earn our sun?

Ahhh, payday.

Those are the most restrictive banking hours I think I've ever seen.

When I wrote that post a bit ago about the big anniversary get-away, I left something very important out.  That's because I often like to give certain things their own post, you know?

Anyway, here's a hint about what it was . . .



And if you need another hint . . .

And if you still can't get it?

Ta-DAAAAAA!!

A few (albeit graffiti-marred) lions in downtown Salt Lake City!  Wa-hoo!!



Here's another sampling that we found as well.  

stuff that other random people have done recently that warms (warm?) my heart

A bit ago, I ended up in different grocery stores two times within the same week.  Both times, I saw a little kid (different kids, mind you) sitting in the grocery cart seat dressed up like Batman, complete with pointy-eared mask. Both times. As a woman who from time to time lets her daughter do the weekly shopping as Aurora, Cinderella, or Belle, seeing a fellow "choosing my battles" mom tickled me to my toes.

Then there was the time when I was out for my morning walk in a bit of a downpour, sporting my oversize yellow raincoat.  (I love doing that.  I have a feeling it makes me look like a giant banana or (worse) banana squash, but I love the sound and feel of rain coming down around me and on me, and really, what's not to like about seeing a giant wet fruit or vegetable walking down the street anyway?) The neighborhoods were deserted, but I walked by one house and this older man, complete with old-man coveralls was out puttering around a bit.  He saw me and said, "Young lady, you are really dedicated!  Good job!"  I laughed and told him he was too.

(Did you notice that? He called me a young lady! Of course, he was wearing old man coveralls, so in comparison, I suppose I am a young lady. All the same, between my crows feet and the gray hairs I pull out of my scalp every night, it's nice to be thought of as young by someone, I'm not gonna lie.)


And, since this post isn't quite random enough yet, here's a nice sky photo to finish things off.

Heather doesn't have a mom quite like these---but I think she'll survive.

So, Thursday night, Eric comes downstairs to find me sitting at the laptop, crying.

"Are you watching something touching?" he asks, (kind of nervously)

"Yes." I squeak out.

"What is it?" he says.

"(sob.) A commercial."

And then we both burst into laughter at the cliche-ness of it all. 

To quote Dolly Parton in Steel Magnolias, "Laughter through tears is my favorite emotion."

Here's the video that had me so emotional:

(The hug at 1.28 basically does me in, and I'm done for for the rest of the spot.)


Happy Mother's Day.

Random Photo Friday-the necessities of food storage edition

Since we're a small family, I don't have to make jam every year.  

So, I make it every other year.

There's just something about knowing that there's no homemade strawberry jam in the house that makes me a little panicky, you know? Fortunately, we're all good for a bit now. 

Now, we even have enough to share.

unexpected fun and games

I love where we live. I just love it.

A few weeks ago, I learned that there would be not one but two community celebrations in our area on a certain Saturday (the Saturday before earth day--actually). Being in the mood for a little community, Heather and I hopped in the car, planning to go to downtown Logan for an earth-day extravaganza. Before we ended up there though, we dropped by the Old Rock Church in Providence, just to check out the founders day celebration there.

Much to our surprise, we never made it to Logan. Founders day was just too too too much fun, and we spent all our play-time there.

For one thing--there was the pie-making contest.  For a cool George Washington each (that's $1 for those of you who aren't hip enough to know), we sampled bites of sixteen different pies, carefully weighing the pros and cons of each.



Heather was particularly serious about her voting responsibilities.

our picks

There was awesome entertainment as well. (We even heard piano solos performed by students of the infamous Liz Sampson*. Unfortunately I didn't have the camera out at that point, so you'll just have to take my word for it.)



There were quilts to peruse,


and pioneer games to play.


Heather smoked me in a sack race (not shown).


We also walked on stilts, witnessed arm wrestling and pull-up contests, and just generally enjoyed being with down home people doing down home things.  A delightful morning spent doing absolutely delightful activities.  What's not to like about that?

*Liz Sampson is my aunt, and one of my Cache Valley moms

It just gets crafty-er and crafty-er around here

We paint a lot, Heather and I (and whatever portion of the shorter set happens to be visiting at any given time). I'm not talking about walls, Hoh no! I'm talking about watercolors, poster paint, acrylic paint on rocks outside, sidewalk chalk paint, etc.

So, a bit ago, when our watercolor sets started running low, I searched my memory banks, and then my pinterest boards because I was sure that I had seen directions somewhere on how to make your own watercolors, using regular kitchen items, thus having a bit of fun and saving a couple of bucks as well.





Turns out, I had seen just such a thing.

We experimented a bit, and came up with the recipe below, which ended up being a little different from what we had found online, but seems to offer the best texture and amount for our needs.

4 Tbs Baking Powder
3 Tbs white vinegar
1/2 tsp light corn syrup
2 Tbs corn starch
Food coloring (I like the wilton gels best, but basic liquid food coloring is okay too)
Container to keep your paints in--we used the nearly empty containers from our old paints, but then we wanted to try another batch, so I went to the dollar store in search of mini-muffin tins, and came home with extra-large pill containers instead. They worked amazingly well.



Directions:

In a liquid measuring cup of at least 2 cups, mix soda and vinegar together and wait for the fizzing to stop. Then add the corn syrup and corn starch and mix well until the corn starch has dissolved. Pour this white mixture into your containers, and then add the colors. First we tried mixing with toothpicks, but later we found that craft sticks did a better job for us.

Let the paints dry and set up. It takes about a day or so, depending on how deep your container is. We ended up letting them dry for nearly a week-but that's because we went on vacation the next day.

Once they're dry, pull them out and paint, paint, paint!



We found these paints to be much more "thirsty" than the old Crayolas that we'd been using, so that's something to keep in mind. Also, the paintings themselves seem to dry a little lighter than what we're used too-they end up looking more like pastels, and less like elementary school watercolor paintings.



Turns out, we're okay with that. Actually, we think it's kind of fun.

opportunity

Random Photo Friday-family history flowerbed edition

As Heather were on our winter walk a bit ago, we chanced upon a patch of this interesting plant, and I was immediately transported back to 531 C Street, Salt Lake City, Utah, otherwise known as my grandparent's home.







Mom--do you know what this plant is actually called? If not--what about you--Aunts Florence, Lou Jean, Mary Beth, and Rebecca?

pictures and pictures and more pictures

So, Eric and I celebrated 6 years of wedded bliss earlier this month.

After securing a screaming deal ($65 for the night!!  Amazing!) on Priceline.com, we decided to forgo our usual Metropolitan Inn, and spent a night in these lovely digs instead.



Delightful.


Meanwhile, Heather found herself enjoying a change of bedtime scenery as well.

(photo courtesy of Heidi)

Our date included, among other things,

A morning stroll through the mostly deserted (because nothing was open yet) Gateway Mall:

Also, a leisurely stroll through downtown Salt Lake City, where we viewed numerous bits of quirky-ness:

Nearly an hour in the most unique bookstore I've ever experienced:

A visit to the Semi-annual Used Booksale at the Salt Lake library:

My sister turned me on to this idea. She buys holiday books at garage and library sales, and then puts them in a special basket for holiday reading at the appropriate time of year. I started our collection about a year ago, and it found resounding approval from both Eric and Heather.  So, I'm continuing on.

A return to the Gateway for lunch and a little bit of oil and vinegar tasting:

After which, we hopped in the car, and headed home, fulfilled, happy, and ready to tackle regular life once again.

The End.