Winning Big

Hi guys. Whatcha doin back here on a Friday? Seems kinda weird. Did you want me to talk to you some more? Ask you more questions? No??? You just want a prize? OK, fine, here  it is:

(But first, do you remember how I told you that this month's prize was going to be BIG since I missed last month's prize? Well, it's not BIG, it's HUGE!)

I'm giving you your very own burger stand! Yes, I'm that awesome!

 Endless burgers and buns! And a cat too: just in case you run out of meat. (That was horrible. Sorry.)
OK, so it's not actually a REAL burger stand, but it is a birdhouse burger stand, so it's still a restaurant, just on a smaller scale. Or do birds only sleep in their birdhouses? I would think they eat there too, because who doesn't eat in bed every once in a while?

Since we are on the miniature theme, I thought you might want something you could eat as well, so there's this:

Pop Jelly Belly's. Why didn't we all just say we wanted every flavor of Jelly Belly on board the INTERGALACTICABALACTICA? It would have been so much more simple!

And then you also need something that smells yummy like food:

Also mini. But it will cover up smells BIG time, like possibly the smell from the above cat.

And this week's winner is: ME! Really! I won guys! I got #4 the first 3 times I clicked on Random.org. And then next I got #7 (also me!). I was so excited that I accidentally clicked again and got #2. So fine, you can have it all #2, which I guess is OK because you haven't got anything new and exciting for a while. Nicole, I hope winning this prize will bring as much happiness to your life as your pretty little lady. Or at least close to it. Congrats Nicole! I'll get it to you.

For the rest of you who are feeling dejected for not winning, maybe this will make you happy: it's a picture of me getting ready to devour an ENORMOUS red-velvet cupcake. Do you see how big my eager eyes are?

My hair is poofy because I hear flat hair is out. Va Voom. OK, I'm done playing with my camera. But I do think I should stop blogging and just do a tumbler of all my household items. Now that would make great internet entertainment!

See you back here on July 2nd!

Space Toast and Jam

So tomorrow is the day we leave Earth.

What? Haven't you heard?

All of the Earth's water has been contaminated! Our trees are dying! Soon, we will be without oxygen! So while the smartest people on Earth gather to find solutions to these urgent, sorta life-or-death problems (they didn't invite me to join their coalition, which is both surprising and offensive), the rest of us will be boarding the intergalactic spaceship the INTERGALACTICABALACTICA, where we will live amongst the stars like Robin Leach until the Earth is re-inhabitable.

Don't worry, all of your family and friends will be boarding with you and you'll get to bring all of your prized possessions along. The INTERGALACTICABALACTICA has a heated pool, a gym complete with rock-climbing walls, maid-service, and best of all--you will never have to cook another meal! In fact, you won't be eating meals anymore: all you have to do is take 3 pills daily and all your nutritional requirements will be met. You won't be hungry and you'll never have to worry about overeating! Won't this be the best?

What? You'll miss eating? Yeah, me too.

Since we have one day left on Earth, let's eat it up! Three meals, plus snacks! No limits! No worries about calories since we'll all be super thin on board the INTERGALACTICABALACTICA. But there are some guidelines to follow:

1. One meal must be eaten at someone's house. Whose food do you like eating the most?
2. One meal must be home cooked, by YOU! What is your favorite meal to make?
3. One meal must be eaten out. What's your favorite resturant?
4. You can include a snack or two, if you wish.

And then finally:
5. You need to take one seed with you so you can help reseed Earth once we are allowed back. What one fruit or veggie would you desperately want to have once we can grow food again? And try not to bring the same seed as someone else since we will want our garden to be diverse.

So, for my last day on Earth, I'm going to eat:
1. Breakfast at my mom's house. Oatmeal with WHOLE milk and sugar, homemade toast with homemade strawberry jam and some OJ. Yum. Yum.
2. Lunch at my house. I will make a Titan protein shake (they've been discontinued! For realz guys! I'm dying!) and eat it with a hand full of almonds. Yes, my homemade meals are THAT good.
3. Dinner at Cafe Rio. Pork Nachos! Need I say more?
4. Snack: More almonds please. And maybe a piece of chocolate cake with cold milk.
5. And the seed I will bring is ... is ... this is super hard! You know how much I love avocados, right? I believe that the avocado was the forbidden fruit that Eve picked off the tree in the Garden of Eat-in. So this might shock you: I'm not going to bring an avocado seed. I'm going to bring a lime seed. Almost every recipe I love needs limes, therefore, I will need limes over avocados. But someone else bring an avocado seed please!

Tell me what you are going to eat on your last day on Earth. (And thanks to TEAM C for suggesting this awesome last meal idea! Food is the best topic. Should we just become a food blog permanently? And then a diet blog after that?)

Also, congrats to Steve and Nicole on the birth of their beautiful little princess!!! Isn't she precious?

Congrats guys, we are so happy for you!

Annnnd, yes! There will be a prize this week. I'll pull a winner from this week's thread, but I'll give you guys all the way until THURSDAY night to post a comment. I'll announce the winner and the prize on FRIDAY. Do you want to be the winner? Yes, you do!

Simply Summer

School is out this week! I'm excited because 1. We get to sleep in 2. We can bathe in the lake. (Kidding. Ish.) 3. We get to play outside everyday, assuming that the rainy season ends like now.
I'm not excited that school will be out this week because of this: 1. "Mom, I'm bored! There's nothing to do!" 2. "Mom, I'm still bored." 3. "Mom, this is so boring."

Do you remember driving your mother insane with proclamations of boredom when you were a kid? I'm sure I did, but I never remember being bored. Childhood summer memories are like looking at life through lemonade scented glasses. (Wait for it.) (You can never accuse me of using the same old boring cliches.) (You got it, right?) Anyway, when I think of summer as a child, I think of:

Playing in sprinklers and on slip-n-slides
Staying in a swim suit from sunup to sundown.
Riding bikes pretty much everywhere.
Making a sidewalk city out of chalk.
Taking classes at Art in the Park 
Playing for hours in my refrigerator box house that was painted at Art in the Park.

What we thought we looked like:

What we really looked like:

As I think back on my youth, I realize how carefree and simplistic it was, yet it was perfect in every way. Because of my memories of unencumbered days (I like that word. It makes me want a cucumber.), I think I equate (I like that word too. It makes me think of visiting the equator.) summer with RELAXATION. Summers shouldn't be about shuttling kids back and forth to sports camps and lessons. Summer days shouldn't have to follow a rigid schedule; we should be able to take time to stop and smell the suncreen! (Wait for it. Oh, never mind. That one was explanatory. Hey, I like that word. It makes me think of planets. ... Wait for it.)

What were your childhood summers like? What are your favorite memories?

But, since kids these days are accustomed to (I like that ... never mind, I'll stop now. But it makes me think of a cuss word. ... You don't get it, do you? That's because it makes me think of the word cuss. My gosh, I think I've been sniffing too much school glue. Thank goodness it's summer.) higher levels of entertainment and endless opportunities, they do have a harder time entertaining themselves. (This means we have given them ADHD.) What are some fun activities you like to do to entertain yourself/your children/your neighbors?

Our very favorite thing is to spend long days on the shore of the lake. One thing I've always meant to do is visit a different lake every week and since we have dozens close by, it should be easy to do. Will you guys hold me to it this summer?

We also like to BBQ and Dutch oven cook. We like to roast marshmallows in the backyard.

We like to hike to waterfalls.

We like to eat fresh cherries.

We like to visit Sweet Peaks Ice Cream. (Avocado Ice Cream! Yes way!)

We like to have company come visit us! (Hint hint!) (But that hint is taken away if you found my blog by searching "naked family picture." You may not come visit. Sorry sicko.)

 Prettiest picture I've ever seen of Lake McDonald. Taken from Wikipedia, sadly no photo credit.

What do you like to do in the summertime (when all the world is green?) Do you have any big adventures planned? If you are staying home, what will you do to entertain the troops during your staycation? What's one thing you can never get enough of during the summer? For me it's sun. I love that big bright yellow thing, especially since it hides from us 270 days of the year. You might have to call me freckles by the end of the summer. :)

Oh and who knows what mistake I made? I didn't give out a prize for May! How could I? So, rather than giving a prize this week and again 2 weeks from now (remember how I am only posting every other week now?) I'll just make the June prize 2wice as awesome! Deal? (You have no choice but to accept. I'm a harsh dictator.) Deal!