Oh that Russell!

Remember these? These delectable chocolate covered marshmallow Santas? Ahhh...such good memories...


Then there was this. A heart. I loved it as well despite the chocolate to marshmallow ratio being slightly off.

And now...


I've discovered this. Standby while I take my first bite...ahhh...such a sweet familiar flavor. But...wait...I had no idea...the marshmallow is chocolate flavored, too. A chocolate marshmallow covered in chocolate? Yummo!

Yum!

I love fall. I love the colors associated with it. I love the cooler weather as well. And I love the food. Last year we moved back to the states the Monday before Thanksgiving. By the time jetlag wore off we were in full Christmas mode. I missed fall. This year I was pleasantly surprised by all the fall foods in the grocery store. The variety of squash alone was enough to make me giddy. In Turkey we had zucchini. They weren't exactly like the ones here in the states. They were a lighter green, but the flavor was the same. I liked them and cooked them often, but I missed other varieties.


The other day I bought these three varieties of squash. From left to right...CARNIVAL squash, DELICATA squash, and GOLDEN NUGGET squash. Yum! I cooked them all in the same night for a mini taste test. The kids took one bite, which I didn't even capture on camera, and turned their noses up. Well everyone but Erica. She and I both thought they were delicious! They all tasted very similar. Slightly sweet and buttery...or maybe that was the butter I put on them. Either way...yum!

personal

Hm...not sure what to write here exactly.

I appreciate all the prayers and thoughts for me and my family. I know most of you would like an explanation, but I am not ready to talk to anyone about all that is going on. Just know that Brian has been truly remarkable throughout the whole thing. It is important to me that you know that. Even though he disagrees with some of the decisions I've made he has been kind and gracious to me. I expected nothing less. He was always that way. Also I wanted to let everyone know that the kids are in the forefront of my mind. I will be a bike ride away from them at most, and they will be seeing me on a daily basis. In no way am I abandoning them or my role as their mother. Beyond that I don't have anything else to say yet. Maybe I never will. This is personal, and I need to keep it that way for now.

hi

I am currently without internet at home. I am downloading my email at work, but I haven't had time to actually answer most of them. I promise I'm not ignoring you guys! And there is no time for blogging during my quick time online either. Oh...and the vonage phone isn't working since the internet isn't working. I am able to check my messages though. Sorry for the craziness!

best tattoo ever!

I was surfing the internet the other day and came across this tattoo. I shared it with my kids. I shared it on twitter. I showed a few friends.



I can't even begin to tell you how much I've enjoyed watching the different reactions people have had to it. Personally I think it's quite clever. If people are going to be looking/noticing that a toe is missing you might as well have them giggling over the whole thing.

Kemah

Before moving to Turkey one of our favorite places to go for the day was to the Kemah boardwalk. We always rode the train, ate some yummy seafood, played in the dancing fountain, and had beignets for dessert. Occasionally we would let the kids ride the ferris wheel or merry-go-round as well. A couple of weeks ago we took our first trip to Kemah since we've been back in the states. Evidently Hurricane Ike did quite a bit of damage here, but we couldn't tell at all. Kemah was back and better than ever! Here are a few pictures of our day.


The train ride. Of course!


Anna Grace screaming in the tunnel.


Erica, Will, and Anna Grace decided to ride the Drop Zone. Jacob didn't want to have anything to do with it. I didn't blame him one bit!


Yeah...it was entirely too tall for me! I wish I had a picture of the kids' faces right after they were dropped. They were scared! Within seconds they were laughing and talking about how fun it was though.


They all decided to take home temporary tattoos as a souvenir.

The day was hot, but we had fun! We had the yummy seafood, ate beignets, and rode a few more rides as well, but somehow I only managed to take these few pictures! We'll get 'em next time!

Colors

I was adding some pictures to my computer when I stumbled across these. I took these pictures in May when the first fruits of our garden were starting to make themselves known. The vibrant colors make my heart ache.


Yellow squash


A baby watermelon


A perfect little cucumber.


Ah...the sweet smell of home grown tomatoes!

And for the flower lovers out there I'll include this one.

I am a mixed medium gardener. Flowers mixed with veggies, mixed with shrubs, mixed with annuals, mixed with roses, mixed with...well you get the idea.

my day

This morning I woke up with a massive headache. I couldn't decide if it was going to be one of migraine proportions or not. I chose to just take Excedrin and ride it out. I also drank a diet Coke, took some Ibuprofen, took naps, and ate food in attempts to alleviate the pain. Nothing helped really. Despite having a headache I am feeling quite chipper. It's a good day. A lazy Saturday. A talk on the phone to a friend kind of day. A thumb through Southern Living magazines and dream sort of day. A read all the posts in my reader kind of day. And I'm smiling about all of it.

life

I've had several emails and comments from people wondering where I am. I'm still here...just really busy. There's a lot going on. I'm not quite comfortable talking about most of it here though. So for the time being...until I get things sorted out...I probably won't be blogging much. I always promised to let you guys know if and when I decided to stop blogging altogether. That is not the plan as of now. If it comes to that I'll be sure to tell you. Thanks for being such faithful readers.

just a quick trip...ha!

While in Oklahoma we've become acquainted with a certain convenience store...Quick Trip or QT for short. The drink choices at this place...wow!


frozen coffee drinks, hot coffees, cappuccinos, mochas, lattes, dairy and non-dairy flavored creamers...


milkshakes, smoothies, slushes, fountain drinks, iced tea (which is next to the cups on the right)...


a whole bar of lids for all the different cups


And when you're buying drinks for 8 thirsty kids it's anything but a Quick Trip.

As a side note...I love the looks I get when I pull out the camera and take pictures in places like this. Thankfully I think the wonderment on my face excuses my backwoods behavior.