Thursday Night 5QF Sneak Peek!!

Holy hey-ya!! How'd it get so late?! Yowza! Gotta get to the sneak peek without further ado!

'Member, friends, this post is just your chance to get the questions ahead of time and get your Five Question Friday post all ready for the linky tomorrow!

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky to appear Friday morning! And remember, most importantly, to HAVE FUN!!

Questions for Friday, June 24th: (Special thanks to Sandy, Sharayha, Pam, dosweatthesmallstuff, and @my4redheads for their question suggestions! I love to link people in #5QF, so if YOU would like to be linked, head on over to my community to offer up your best question suggetions, or shout 'em out to me on Twitter. [Remember to@5crookedhalos me and use hashtag #5QF]).

1. If you had the opportunity to bungee jump, would you?

2. Would you rather go to the movie theater or to the drive-in?

3. Do you have your groceries delivered?

4. Eyebrows: Do you wax, thread, pluck, or stay au naturel?

5. Would the people you went to high school with be surprised by your life today?

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Sorry I was so late in getting this up!! Hope I see you tomorrow...right back here to link up!

It's Aliiiiiiiive!!!

Since you asked so nicely (Wait...what's that? You didn't ask? Oh, well, suffer through it anyway...), I decided I'd show you photos of the garden that IS!

It IS growing! (Hard to see, but we added MUCH more top soil...and by "we" I mean, "not me". Mr. Wonderful to the rescue...again!)

It IS producing (well, it WILL be)!

It IS alive!

It IS, come hell or high water, going to be a success!!!

(PS...Yes, I WILL be posting the "Mr. Wonderfulest" winner soon! I wanted to be sure to read ALL of the posts first! Soon, very soon, I will post the winner!)

Straw bale garden...IT AIN'T OVER!!

So, I've gotta be totally honest with you...I just about threw in the towel on our garden. Again.

I was totally thinking that this straw bale gardening (let's just call it "SBG" shall we?) was the be all and end all of our gardening woes. Cut worms, sandy soil, pocket gophers, sandy soil, dog chasing (i.e. "digging") after aforementioned pocket gophers, and sandy soil have done us in in previous years.

I was totally stoked to try SBG this year. Like, totally, dude. We got a bit of a late start...and we used "pellet" type fertilizer (note to self, don't do what we did...liquid or powder would've been better) and went to town...

Next mistake (count them, this is #3 already)...not enough topsoil. D-oh!!

Then...attack of the (what we thought were) killer mushrooms. Gobs. Tons. Heaps of mushrooms bloomed out of our bales like crazy. Had we been going for a bountiful crop of mushrooms, we'd've been happy as clams.

But we weren't. (Going for mushrooms OR happy as clams.)

I was ready to throw in the towel on this stupid, blasted, ninny muggin brained idea of SBG. Then one day, I checked on the garden, and LOW AND BEHOLD the mushrooms were receding and in their place plants were bursting forth!

Beans and peas and onions and carrots and lettuce and tomatoes and peppers and cauliflower and broccoli...it was all growing! Oh, and all sorts of viney plants are sprouting out from where we planted them in the sides of our bales!

It was...it was...like a MIRACLE occurred! Just when I though we were doomed, yet again, it appears as tho we may just succeed at this! (I'm not counting my chickens before they're hatched tho..."harvest" is still a LOOOOOOOOONG way off!)

And all was right in the world again.

Coming soon, to a blog near you (psssst...it's this blog!)...photos, of said proliferating vegetable plants. Stay tuned!

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And, PS...we're winding down to the last few days in the giveaways on my review blog! Check it out for your chance to win a $100 Best Buy gift card and/or a $100 Dick's Sporting Goods gift card (low entries!)! Sponsored by BlogHer, Samsung (Best Buy card) and Gatorade (Dick's SP card)!

This kid...

He cracks us up. Daily.

Need a movie line? Ask the Hambone. And don't bother arguing with him about it, 'cuz he'll be right.

He has goofy sense of humor...silly, a little off beat, dry.

The other day, he was sitting at the table, eating lunch with his buddy, while I was nearby enough to listen in on their conversation.

Hambone: "Jesus came from Mary."

Friend: "Jesus is God."

Hambone: "Yeah, and Mary and Joseph got to hold Jesus."

Friend: *pausing...solemn* "I wish Jesus didn't die."

Hambone: *chipper* "Oh! He didn't...'cuz on the third day he was *insert whispery, mysterious, kinda freaky Hambone voice here* alllliiiiiiiiive!"

O.M.G. Stick a fork in me, I'm done. I just about died, right there on the kitchen floor, from fits of stifled laughter.

Five Question Friday 6/24/11

I'm lying here in bed at 10 o'clock, beside my baby that's been asleep for 4 hours, after just having tucked in E.W. who's got some kind of bug brewing and trying to whip out this post before my Benadryl kicks in and I fall asleep, drooling, on my computer.

Yowza...let's hope we're not about to become the sick house.

Anywho...word on the street is that we're supposed to have a pretty decent weekend. 'Course, I'll believe it when I see it, but I am SO ready to kick this crappy weather to the curb.

Okay, let's get the Five Question Friday party started!!

To everyone new...WELCOME!! I'm glad to have you join in and I hope you enjoy yourself!

To everyone "old"...WELCOME!! I'm glad to have you stickin' around and playing along!

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky to appear Friday morning!

Questions for Friday, June 24th: (Special thanks to @TheSpunkyDiva, @dosweatthesmall,Maryanne, AdventurezInChildRearing, and Pam for their question suggestions! I love to link people in #5QF, so if YOU would like to be linked, head on over to my community to offer up your best question suggetions, or shout 'em out to me on Twitter. [Remember to@5crookedhalos me and use hashtag #5QF])

1. What is your current favorite tv show?

2. What's the worst haircut you ever got?

3. What was something that you did as a child that you thought you were so cool for doing?

4. Do you have any GREAT frugal family fun tips?

5. Would you drive across country if you had the money to fly?

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1. What is your current favorite tv show?

Well, see, we have this thing called "no TV", so I dunno. Wait, scratch that...lest anyone call me a liar, we HAVE a TV...just no channels. Not a single one.

Not public television, not nothin'. The Mr. said, one time, that he could "almost" make something out through the static...but that's as good as it gets around here!

However...I do get to enjoy a little tube time on my breaks at work and man alive!! I am searching out HGTV whenever I'm there! "House Hunters" is one of my faves...it blows my mind to see what people pay for houses in certain areas of our nation!

Craziness!

2. What's the worst haircut you ever got?

Well...there was this:

But that's not so much a "cut" as it is a "do"...so, I'll tell you about this one time (say it with me..."at band camp"...) when I was a senior in high school. A friend's mom told me she had this haircut that she thought would be adorable on me.

So, I let her do it.

And I was appalled. I think I may have even cried...but, looking back, I'm pretty sure it was the "Rachel", before anyone had ever heard of or seen "The Rachel". So, I was trendy before I knew it and couldn't appre...WAIT!!

Hold it. Stop the presses!!!

What if...just follow along with me for a second here...WHAT IF...some producer from "Friends" saw me somewhere in Nowhere, MN and said, "OY!! THAT is the hair cut for our lead in this fabulous television show we're going to do?! THAT is the hair cut that is going to change a generation of hairstyles!!!!" (Never mind that I wore my hair back in an oh, so stylish, half pony until the layers grew out...just never. you. mind.)

WHAT IF?!

That means...OH EM GEE...THAT MEANS that "The Rachel" is really "The Mama"!!!

Excuse me for a second, I need to catch my breath. This is big...

3. What was something that you did as a child that you thought you were so cool for doing?

Okay, I'm back now. Phew. Wow. "The Mama", who knew?!

Um, focus mama...yeah, question 3. So...aside from the above bang catasrophe of 1989, I totally thought I was the cat's meow for tight rolling my pants. And, pinning them too. Oh, and then there was the whole bib-overall/one strap off the shoulder with crazy oversized t-shirts look.

Cute.

Speaking of tight rolling pants...my baby bro was getting ready for work the other day when I was at my mama's (wow..."The Mama"...I spurred a trend...) and somehow we got talking about tight rolling pants.

Kid didn't have a clue what I was talkin' about...so, I showed him. Right there, I got down and executed a perfect tight roll of his right pant leg.

He was speechless. I'd like to think he was in awe of the awesome style back then, but really, I think he barfed in his mouth a little and was afraid that if he said anything, his lunch would come spewing out.

So, when do you think THAT style is coming back?

4. Do you have any GREAT frugal family fun tips?

Well, this one really ties into #5 for me...so, I'll answer 4 and 5 below!

5. Would you drive across country if you had the money to fly?

This is a hard one for me...I hate flying. LOATHE it. (Then, I happen to catch a news clip about how, IN MINNESOTA, two planes came within 100 feet of each other due to some pretty crappy air traffic controlling...yeah, that didn't help my loathing.) But, as much as I loathe it, sometimes, logistically, it would make more sense.

For example...one of the Mr.'s bros lives in California (centralish, I believe) and we've never been out to see them. Flying = money we don't have to just throw into trasportation. Driving = traveling in a vehicle (van), pulling a camper, through mountains...or, taking the long way and avoiding the mountains but taking gobs of time off work.

However...after last year's road trip to South Dakota, I have fallen in love with roadtripping (save for the ride home. Ugh.). We created such great memories and had such a fun time, that I can't help but think of traveling across the country with my family in a vehile with nothing but warm fuzzy thoughts.

And that, is also my frugal family fun tip! Take a road trip...make the drive JUST as much fun as the destination!

Now...where should we roadtrip to this year? Suggestions????

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And now, it's YOUR turn!

Thursday Night 5QF Sneak Peek!!

Well, it appears as though I can quit construction on my ark. The rain has stopped, and EGADS!!, the sun is shining in a blue sky! Now, heat. Please.

As in...gimme that 105 degree day back. I'll take that over this crappy cold stuff!

So...big stuff this weekend! "Cars 2" comes out, and if things go well, I'm hoping to be able to score a night off of work to head to the drive-in and watch it with my fam! That is, unless we've all succumbed to whatever's been plaguing my mama and appears to be settling in to E.W. Stupid summer bugs.

Okay...focus, Mama, focus....onto the Thursday Night 5QF Sneak Peek! Never played along with Five Question Friday before? Well, what the heck took you so long?! Welcome, friends!

Remember, this post is just the "sneak peek"...your chance to see the questions ahead of time and get your post all ready for the linky post, which will be up tomorrow morning!

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky to appear Friday morning!

Questions for Friday, June 24th: (Special thanks to @TheSpunkyDiva, @dosweatthesmall, Maryanne, AdventurezInChildRearing, and Pam for their question suggestions! I love to link people in #5QF, so if YOU would like to be linked, head on over to my community to offer up your best question suggetions, or shout 'em out to me on Twitter. [Remember to @5crookedhalos me and use hashtag #5QF])

1. What is your current favorite tv show?

2. What's the worst haircut you ever got?

3. What was something that you did as a child that you thought you were so cool for doing?

4. Do you have any GREAT frugal family fun tips?

5. Would you drive across country if you had the money to fly?

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See you on the flip side! Have fun!!

Dear Summer:

Dear Summer:

I really like you. I really miss you. When will you return?

I made a bargain with Texas...I'd give them rain if they sent heat. Apparently, my end of the deal went through, but Texas stiffed me and we're still stuck at 60 degrees.

Summer, please come back. It's what we live for here in MinneSOOOOta. It's what gets us through the long, cold, never ending winters.

Please, please, please, summer. Show us your beautiful face.

I promise to not complain one itty, bitty, teeny, tiny, eensy, weensy, little bit about any heat or humidity if you come back, right now.

Missing you much,

Sit back, and enjoy the story...

Once upon a time, there was a sweet, young mother who enjoyed stopping at McDonald's daily for a cold, tall cup of Iced Coffee (sugar-free vanilla, please and thank you). After many months of this, the young mother got a glimpse of her bumpy tummy in the mirror and proclaimed:

"Death to you, blasted McDonald's Iced Coffee!! You have turned my jiggly, bread-doughlike tummy into a LUMPY jiggly, bread-doughlike tummy! Be off with you!"

And she swore off McDonald's Iced Coffee, forever.

Turns out, "forever" lasted about a year. Who knew that "forever" was only a year long?! And on that sweltering hot, lacking sleep the night before, day; no more or less than 365 days (or more like "approximately") after that "forever" proclamation, that Iced Coffee never tasted so good on my her lips.

After several days of trips to the McDonald's Drive-Thru, the sweet, young mother decided that she could NOT revert to her old habits...that, while her tummy was still jiggly and bread-doughlike, the lumpiness had definitely become less noticeable, and who wants THAT look back?

Not me...I mean, not she.

Then, an angel from Heaven appeared in the form of "The Pioneer Woman" with a recipe for a homemade iced coffee (and trust me, brewing a pot of coffee and letting it sit overnight does NOT make a good iced coffee...), and all was right with the world again.

The sweet, young mother can have her iced coffee and drink it too...(especially when mixed with Fat Free French Vanilla creamer)...and they lived happily ever after.

The end.

Mr. Wonderfulest Update!

Well, the voting continues on the "Mr. Wonderfulest Contest"! After a small snafu (I was informed by a kind voter) with the "Like" voting function being turned off when the Linky was closed to entries, I reopened the linky so that voting could continue until Sunday!

Wow...there are some great posts honoring fabulous men out there!

Also, to make voting easier, I made it so that each link opens in a new window, so you don't have to click back and forth! Spread the word, send your family and friends on over to vote for your guy!

And, with that...I will bring you a much more exciting (maybe) post later today!

Parade wave at the ready!

Our small town had a little "festival" this weekend...replete with "fair food", a parade, and fireworks! Fun times, I tell you, fun times!

The school that my children attend have a float in the parade; the Mr. volunteers his trailer and superb driving skillz, while the children exhibit their parade waves and I steal the candy from the candy throwers:

Bright and early Saturday morning, we navigated our way through foggy, drizzly, downright NOT parade weather, to decorate aforementioned trailer.

Lot's of kids and moms and a coupla dads came together to fashion a pretty dang good lookin' float, if I do say so myself!

Ever wonder what it looks from the other side of the parade procession?

Here's a peek:

(Oh, and a word to the wise...you're best off sitting in the beginning of the parade procession...the crowd gets purdy t'ick in the middle and the candy starts getting rationed at the end. You're welcome for this very useful and important bit of information. Carry on...)

From the rear view mirror:

Hi, family!!!

Hi, friends!!!

The downside of being IN a parade? No candy to steal from the kids when you get home.

Oh, and, sore arms from that dang parade wave.

Teenage dating.

A couple of weeks ago, I sent out a desperate tweet. I was in a conundrum and I didn't know what to do (and, you know, Twitter is the best parenting expert, so of course I went there first...). The Pal, who is 15, wanted to go on a date.

With a girl.

By themselves.

To a movie.

Of course, my immediate reaction was a quick and hasty, "No. You're too young.", after all, it was just yesterday that I was changing his diapers and rocking him to sleep, right?

His question got me thinking, tho. I started to reconsider my knee-jerk response and to question whether or not he really was "too young". So, I sent out a text to my big brother and to the Pal's dad...they, too, had immediate responses.

Only, they were not the same as mine!

GAH!! You mean, could I *gasp* possibly (the horrors!!!) be wrong (why, I never...)?!?!?! Almost instantaneously I received responses like, "LET HIM GO!!!" (Yes, all caps...well, okay, not really, but I interpreted it like that. In reality, they're guys...there is no such thing as talking in ALL CAPS!!!!!) and "Time to let go of the proverbial bike seat...".

And so, I handled it like every first time parent of a teenager who wants to go on a date...I paced, and cried, and wrung my hands, and hmmmm'd and haaaaaa'd, and debated, and fretted, and thought up every single stinkin' possible thing that COULD HAPPEN while they're at the movie.

My brother and I discussed needing to allow him some trust...I agreed, he has NEVER (ever, ever, never, ever, ever) given us a reason to NOT trust him. Both men (for the record, Mr. Wonderful was on the road, unable to be privvy to this epic text-a-thon) reminded me that it won't be too terribly long, and my sweet, fuzzy headed, milk breathed, neck-lint collecting baby would be driving (can it really be?!), and wouldn't it be better to "test" these waters before he can do it on his own?

I found myself realizing that my "trust issues" lie with the 15 year old ME. The boy crazy, slightly wild, enjoyed a good time, not always entirely honest, teenage ME that I didn't want my son to become (you know, minus the boy crazy part...although, I would still love him and accept him if he was...). I said as much to my big brother, who proceeded to say something that made me cry:

"She was pretty trustable, I think. And besides, look what a wonderful person she turned out to be. :-)"

Who knew my big brother shoulda been a Hallmark Card writer?! Big dummy...made me stand there in my kitchen, swiping tears off my face, laughing at myself, and realizing it's time for me to let my chubby cheeked, cooing, chunky legged baby start to grow up.

And so, that night, I dropped him off at the movie theater...and you can't make me tell you if I cried on the way home or not.

(Guess.)