Want A Cookie?

These are some of the delicious cookies we made yesterday at our weekly homeschool posse hang out. We have double chocolate chip, molasses, date pinwheels and the hearts are the Swedish Pepparkakor I made.

I have to give a big thank you to my friend who hosted, allowing me to use her granite counter-top. It made rolling out the Pepparkakor so much easier!! The secret to good Pepparkakor is rolling them really thin. I have never been able to roll them as thin as my mormor did until yesterday! I can't afford to redo my kitchen, but I think I'll start looking for a scrap piece of marble or granite I can turn into a dough board.

The Cage The Elephant show last night was amazing. Everything just fell into place perfectly. We found free parking and the best seats in the house. My favorite part was when I noticed DH truly relaxing and he put his arm around me.

I'm going to head out today to finish up some Christmas shopping. I hope it goes well, and I can continue to ride this life high into the weekend.

Enjoy your cookie and have a great weekend!

Cage The Elephant

Start:	Dec 15, '11 6:30p
Location:	Rave, Milwaukee, WI

at the Rave in Milwaukee. As long as there is no snow or ice in the forecast, it should be an awesome date night!

BEST DATE EVAARR!

September 4, 2011 ~ I'm setting the DeLorean to this date and hitting 88 MPH.

My Soul One and I road tripped down to the Metro in Chicago to see Blind Melon. I'm recording the details here since my car is really only a Pontiac Vibe, without a flux capacitor. 

After feeding our young men McDonald's, we left them home to enjoy their parent free, game playing all night marathon. We packed the kazoo, the Illinois troll transponder and hit the road.

I grew up in the Chicago area and during my high school days, I saw plenty of shows at the Metro, but here it was, probably almost 20 some years since I'd been down there. (We did not go see Blind Melon back in 1995, before Shannon passed, because I was preggers with DS#1.) I remember it being a fairly decent place to see a show.

We found a parking spot on a deserted street. Turns out parking was prohibited due to the Cubs game. We pulled up just as that parking restriction was no longer in effect. SCORE! It was only 1 block away.

We ended up being around 25th in line. I had given up the hope of being in the front. When the doors opened, for some reason, everyone swarmed one entry point. I saw the Metro guy free and walked over. Since we already had tickets, we were able to walk right in and guess where we planted our feet? Stage front, in the middle once again, I couldn't believe how fortunate we were.

The first opening act, The Train Company, was pretty good. The second act, The Katz Company we didn't enjoy as much.

When our boys took the stage we were so excited. The crowd was a great blend of new and old fans and the energy was amazing. Complete Melon Love Fest!

Feeding off our vibe, Blind Melon was completely into it, delivering such an intense, connected performance. They all seemed to really be having a wonderful time playing together, playing for us. Travis surfed the crowd, hundreds of Melonheads buzzing their kazoos, even the Bee Girl was there!

After the show, the bassist Brad specifically handed his set list directly to DH. I know the band recognizes us and appreciates our support. All the band members jumped down to shake our hands.

We left the show Blind Melon buzzed, to a cool, just rained outside, midnight. We broke our pre-concert liquid fast, (no drinking before the show to avoid needing to use the facilities and miss the show), at the 24 hour White Castle. That Diet Coke and chocolate shake tasted so good!

While driving home with our cotton ears, we saw a shooting star. Could this night get anymore perfect?

I hope one day we can repeat this experience, but I know the band doesn't have any future dates on the schedule. The band members all have separate projects they are working on, but I'm hopeful the experience we all shared September 4, 2011, will motivate them to come together once again to relive and recreate this wonderful night.

STP TONIGHT!!!!

Its date night and an exciting one at that. When DH gets home from work, we'll be heading to Milwaukee for the Stone Temple Pilots concert.

I should be more excited, but I just finished reading Fall To Pieces by Mary Forsberg Weiland and its left me with a lingering sadness. Mary is/was Scott's wife. Scott is the lead singer for STP. The book tells of their struggles with drug addiction and the breakup of their marriage.

One thing I'm taking away from reading her autobiography, I'm making sure my children have good nutrition. If we don't put into our bodies what our brains need to function the chemical imbalances can leave our brains damaged. Even before the drugs go in, prescribed or not, we should evaluate how whole, nutritious foods can help us first.

Reading about how drug addicts take prescribed drugs to keep them off of the illegal ones seems crazy to me. Take this drug because it will keep you from craving another. It doesn't make any sense! Isn't that trading one for the other? I'm sure the pharmaceutical companies are happy because they make the profit not the street dealers, but this answer doesn't really help the individual overcome their chemical imbalances.

In Mary's book she writes about how as a baby she was fed Carnation Evaporated milk, not breast milk or formula and how she had access to drink all the grape cough syrup she could get her hands on. I can't help but wonder if this damaged her brain development, leaving her prone to her mental illness.

I can understand how a person may need drugs for mental illness, perhaps for the rest of their lives if their brain is incapable of making the necessary chemicals and hormones on its own, but I have to wonder how many of these people suffering with mental illnesses could have been helped if they had healthy beginnings?

I'm going to make a larger effort to encourage my boys to eat more healthy. I did nurse them and when they were little guys, they ate fruits and veggies. Of course now that they are older they have more power to choose what's going in their mouths. Besides the usual broccoli, carrots, corn and apples, I'd like them to eat more a variety of fruits and veggies.

I'm going to ask them to become "garnish" chefs, having them be responsible for the veggie preparation for our meals. I'll bring in more different kinds of produce and tell them they have to at least try it once. I'll count this towards our "health and home economics" portion of our unschooling. :)

I better get chores done here and shower so I can be ready when DH arrives home.

Wednesday Thoughts

My parents headed back to Minnesota this morning. Why did they leave those evil cookies?!

I'm sure I'll want a nap later, but getting up early really does help you get a jump on the day. I struggled last night at work to complete a project, but there were too many interruptions. What I couldn't accomplish in 5 hours, I completed in 1 just because I was left alone. Working at home can be much more productive.

The boys are very close to reaching their financial goal in order to make their secret purchase. They've been working extra chores. Next step, deciding whether to keep this purchase a secret or reveal it. I think they feel misunderstood and judged. Or it could be they don't want to hurt someone's feelings.

Date night is only a few days away! DH is taking me to see Alice In Chains. I'm not a huge fan, but its a concert, and I'll have the chance to let my hair down. Plus its time spent with DH!

I was thinking of painting our front door. It really needs it. I thought about choosing a color other than white, but on the other hand, if I paint the door dark, it will absorb heat in the summer and make the living room hot. I will probably end up just painting it white again.

DS10 has decided he doesn't have to be a hamburger for Halloween. I told him the foam was on the expensive side, and I wasn't sure how I could sew and stuff a costume to resemble the burger costumes he sees in the Burger King commercials.

His latest idea is to be a doughnut. I'm trying to wrap my head around how I can design that costume. I'm wondering if I could sew a slip cover of sorts for an inflatable inner tube? I'll have to sketch it out. I do like the cop/doughnut idea, like the photo I found at an online costume shop.

I better get moving. DS10 is up and eyeballing the computer. I've been sitting here too long!

The concert was great!

I have such admiration for Joe Jackson's piano playing. It always makes me want to try lessons again. To be able to sit at the piano and bring songs to life is such a gift!

My big complaint is that he didn't play my song. My favorite song is Rush Across The Road from his most recent album, Rain. I was looking forward to it and he never gave it to me. He thanked the crowd for being flexible and understanding because they changed the set list. DH told me in all the previous shows he has played it. For some reason last night in Milwaukee he didn't. I did at least get to hear my second favorite, A Place In The Rain.

We had gotten there early to be sure our tickets were at will call. They were! Yeah! To kill time, we walked along the river running through downtown Milwaukee. I shouldn't have worn heels but it was date night! Its better to look good than to feel good on date night right?!

The Pabst Theater is gorgeous. I would definitely see another show there. After entering the theater and taking our prime 6th row seats, a waitress came to our seats to see if we needed anything to drink. This was unexpected. Its a theater seating 1700 people, like a movie theater, and here was a waitress delivering drinks. I guess I'm not used to grown up concerts!

The downside to the alcohol service is there are always people who don't know when to say when, even at a Joe Jackson concert! After the show, I caught a drunk lady who couldn't maneuver the incline back to the theater doors. Her man had to carry her out.

Why would people do this? Why pay all that money for tickets only to get trashed? Can she even remember the concert? I'm not a drinker. I don't get it.

In an Alternate Universe, DH and I are rich enough to not have to work and we have tickets for Joe's concert in Chicago this Thursday. I could listen to him play all night long. He may not be easy on the eyes, (sorry Joe), but this man sings and plays with such conviction you can't take your eyes off him!

Its official. I'm a coffee drinker.....

I blame my sister for corrupting me. For years, although I enjoyed the smell of coffee brewing, I didn't like the taste. Tea was the hot beverage of my choice. Then last year she bought me my first mocha from Starbucks. Chocolate does make everything better doesn't it?

I became an occasional drinker of lattes, although I pinched my pennies and steered clear of Starbucks, stopping at Kwik Trip gas stations instead. I've now taken another step down this dark, java path. I brewed my own pot!

My mom had bought me a little coffee pot to keep on hand for when she visits. I brought it out while DMIL was here and this morning she made herself a little pot of French Caramel Cream Decaf. It smelled so good. She wasn't gone an hour before I decided to brew another pot and give it a try. I added a shot of soy milk and wallah, for around the price of .25, hug in a cup!

DMIL was here babysitting the boys. Last night DH and I headed to Milwaukee to catch the Kids In The Hall show. It was a good time although the experience was marred by the shock of stopping at the box office to pick up our Joe Jackson tickets come to find out they weren't there! We checked when we got home and yes, our Visa card was charged. DH also has the email confirming the ticket sale including seat numbers. I'm really hoping there are tickets waiting for us at will call or we'll both be very disappointed. I'm worried they screwed up and gave our tickets away! I don't want a refund. I want my 6th row seat in front of Joe's Piano!!  DH will call tomorrow to try and straighten it all out. The show's on the 21st.

I did a little "saleing", (not sailing), with DMIL before the date night. We scored at the first garage sale open for the season.  I found a dozen Tupperware containers that will make excellent Letterboxes, and DMIL bought for us an early anniversary present, really nice patio chairs and cushions. I'm on the hunt for a patio table now!

Unfortunately, DH is working again this weekend. Sure we squeezed in a date night, but the poor man has worked 15 straight days now. It stinks!

Well, I can't sit here any longer. We're breaking the 60 degree mark today! I have to get out, even though its windy, and soak this up. Its been a long winter, and I can't get the Beatles tune out of my head- "Here comes the sun....na, na, na, na.... Here comes the sun and I say.... ITS ALL RIGHT!!"

Saturday's Date Night!

Last night I saw a non-kid movie in a real movie theatre!! It wasn't any old movie theatre either. We went to Sundance Cinemas in Madison. We're talking reserved seating, real movie ushers that introduce the film, coffee cafe and restaurant!

To take full advantage of the fact we were childless, we decided to see Sweeney Todd. It was the rated R version, but I still enjoyed it. I can't wait to check out a director's cut sometime in the future.

I must be gore de-sensitized after all these years with DH.(That's another subject for another blog.) I really didn't think it was that gory. The blood is so obviously stage blood red for the look of the film. The latte lady next to me watched a good deal of the film between her fingers.

I wouldn't say the movie is scary. It's a musical with a tragic tale. Our 4:40pm show time was a matinée, but I'd give this movie a rating of "Pay full price." My rating system is "Pay full price- Matinee - DVD - See it on cable - Wait for network TV - Don't waste hours of your precious life."

As for the Sundance theatre, I would definitely see another movie there, although DH wasn't sure about the popcorn factor. The place was kind of high brow for a movie theatre and it would have felt funny to order popcorn and junior mints. Everyone I saw held covered cups of joe rather than mega sized buckets.

We will have to make a point to get out without the boys more often. Another resolution for 2008, date nights will have to be more than a few times a year!