Calamity Jane

Dead-eye with the fashionable faux-fur collar and a sparkly clip.

Mermaids.

This is what I'm talking about....


Mermaids.

I love these people.

One Last Thing

Last Family Vacation . . . . Um.  We went to Dillon for a few days.  Ate at a taco truck.  I call that vacation.

Last Thing I Cooked . . .  Auntie Inger Casserole. 

Last Game I Played  . . .  I just watched Sweet play Set online.... does that count?  No?  Ok....  we played a roaring game of freeze tag this weekend.

Last Time I Took Public Transportation . . .  That little train in Vegas.

Last Splurge . . . A new bed.  Oh yes.

Things From Pinterest I've actually done....

So everyone knows Pinterest has spawned Pinstrosity

And I love it.

But now I would like to know.... has anyone actually DONE anything on pinterest or do you just pin it and live creatively in a vicarious way?  

The Farmer's Trophy Wife has a board dedicated to it.  (Go ahead... just follow all of her boards... she's that good.)

I've tried a few things and I think I should be documenting it here.

First up.  Um, I didn't pin this because it seemed so insanely simple but anyway....

Scary Doll Hair Recovery. 

Step 1:  Meet my scary-haired child and her scary-haired doll.  Pause to admire my pink countertops.

Step 2:  Learn the backstory....  This scary-haired doll was actually my sister's doll when she was little.  Nice re-gift Grandma.

Step 3:  Start combing dolls hair with a brush that doesn't have those little ball things on the ends of the bristles.  I've heard a wig brush from Sally Hansen Beauty Supply works.  We used the amazing HAIR BEAN.  (No, not a paid consultant... just a satisfied customer.....) Ok... more backstory... I think my mom is offended by the state of hair at our house.  She bought us the bean as a "trial run" to "see if I should get one for your dad."  Then she showed up with hair serum samples.  Then she "accidentally" left her good Sephora brush at our house.  And then showed up with another one in a different style so each girl could have one as a "gift" from Grandma.  Ain't working.... we wear our hair gypsy-style here at the "Stead.

Step 4:  Continue brushing and spray a mixture of half downy and half water on dolly's head.  (I used the lavender stuff.... mmmm..... made the whole toy box smell good.)

Step 5:  Check brush to make sure dolly isn't getting bald.

Step 6:  Mmmmm...... smooth.  Mullet. 

Step 7:   Admire scary '80's mullet-headed dolly....

Step 8:  Take final picture with all products as is blogger protocol.

One Last Thing

Last junk food I ate .  . . carrot cake.

Last celeb crush . . . Daniel Dae Kim.

Last time I cursed .  . . . dog pee causes me to curse.

Last injury I sustained . . . . I jacked my back but that was almost a year ago.... it did take MONTHS to heal.  Oh... and I scraped the HELL out of my hand in the garage over the weekend..... does that count?

Brown Floors

In case you forgot about this stupid project......  While I am proud of myself for redoing the floors for $25 (we'll get to that later) instead of dropping thousands on carpet.... it was not a project for the faint of heart. 

Carpet out.  Check.

Tack strip removed.  Check.

Staples pulled.  Check.

Forget to fill screw holes.  Check.

 Pellet stove removed. Check.

Floors swept. Check.

Floors cleaned. Check.

Floors cleaned with nasty cleaner.  Check.

Thinking to self... WHY did the paint in with this odd color?  WHY?  I liked the "aged brown" look.

 Tape.  Check.

Brushes.  Check.

Rollers.  Check.

Begin process.  

Primer.

Using Brownstone oil-based paint (leftover).  Remember how horrible it smells and how long it takes to dry.

 Here you can actually see everythign.... old brown paint, old reddish paint, primer & new oil brown paint.

At this point I realized I might not love the glossy brown paint.  It is just so... glossy.  And the dog hair clings to it.  Like.  Really.  So I got frustrated and started a new project.  The steamer is rusty.  See that?  So I primed with grey heat-proof paint.

Discovered I really hate glossy paint.  Went to Lowe's.  For $25 I got a gallon of not-glossy LATEX floor paint.  Same brand and color.  Mmmm.  Pretty.  Here are my kids wandering around the house like monkeys trying to stay off the new floor.

 

Old, New and New-new.

 Decided I like the steamer grey for now.

And then there is the hearth.  It is pink.  A new one is $350.  Do I splurge?  Do I live with it?  Do I spray paint it?  WTF?

It goes here.  Also.... still trying to find a cute tv console in my price range to store games.  Sigh.  Turns out I don't have a final-final picture.  Maybe later.

One Last Thing

The last time I cried . . . .  Probably in frustration over how small and poorly laid-out our house is.  Seriously.  Sometimes it brings me to tears.

Last greeting card I sent . . . I can't even remember.  I just don't do cards.  I want to do cards... but I don't.

Last indulgence . . .  haircut.  Yesterday afternoon.  And bonus points for next indulgence.....  a fall-flavored latte at Starbucks.

Last song that made me rock out . . . Cee-Lo.  Forget You.  Always.

Last TV show I watched . . . Revolution on Monday night.  But I plan to watch some later tonight.  I do.

Bannack Montana

Can you tell how hot it is just by looking at them?

The fabulous tour guide.... no really.... he was a tour guide there when he was in college.....

The first of many "geez mom" photos.... I don't care.  Someday you will be begging me for copies of these photos because you love each other so much.

Welcome to town.

I think at this point we were pretending to be the scouts looking for bad guys.  

Right before I pointed out he was posing in front of an outhouse.....

Cute girl.

Bug trying to be a cute girl.....

Snapped a photo just as Bug realized, "I have to go pppooottttyyyyy....."  (FYI... the outhouses aren't bad and they have hand sanitizer in them.  Of course she had to poop.... travel has a laxative effect on that girl.....  so do football practices.)

Jail baby.

Smile Cute!  Photo Op #546.... are you tired of your mom with a camera yet?

Uh-huh.  Show me how you really feel.....

I'm actually afraid I will find this when we take out the flooring in the kitchen.... my house is about this era.....

School kids..... Hot actually taught a class here when he was in college.

These are my people....

One Last Thing

Last chore I did . . . . 5 minutes a room.  But I got everyone involved.  We do what we can in 5 minutes in each room with me yelling out instructions.  "Shoes in the basket!  Hang up the phone! Wipe the table!  Water bottles to the sink!"  That's the dining room.  Then on to the kitchen, laundry room, bathroom, living room.  We end with everyone doing 5 minutes in their own rooms and then we have a snack.

Last thing I bought . . . . new shoes for Sweet on sierratradingpost.com

Last time I cursed .  . . out loud?  Just a few minutes ago.  The deer came up on the porch, walked across in front of the door, down the steps onto the deck and ate my f-ing container gardens. 

Last text I sent . . . . via cozi.com.....  Football Game is on Field 5 at 6:15pm.

One Last Thing

The last prank I pulled . . . .  Can't say.  But I did "pin" some good ones to give my niece some new ideas.......

Last person I kissed . . . . Sweet & Tuff.  Before that Bug & Daddy. 

Last vacation I took  . . . We went to Dillon for 3 days.... does that count?

Last album I downloaded . . . . Lumineers.

Tequila Saturday Night

Apparently Tequila make me cook....

I won't lie.  I cleaned the pantry yesterday and found a bottle of tequila with just a tiny bit left in it.... so last night I made a margarita.  And then I made taco scoops for dinner.  And a potato casserole thing.  And potato soup in the crock pot.  (Yes.... I also found some almost-past-prime potatoes and onions in the pantry. 

And it was all lovely and meals are planned for at least a few days.  Musta been the tequila. 

At what age do you let kids start cooking?  I mean really cooking?  Last night Sweet was in charge of the scoops.... I browned the beef and chopped the cheese into big chunks but he used the salad shooter to shred the cheese and he lined up the scoops, filled them with meat & cheese, preheated the oven & put them in the oven.  I took them out. 

Then we played our favorite new game.  Cafeteria.  They get trays and line up and get food.  Scoops, apples & yogurt last night.  It was pretty fun.

All three kids were playing nicely.  I rounded the corner to grab a basket of laundry and found the girls, dressed in scarves & Great-grandma's high heels.  The big one had a nerf dart gun.  The little one had a flyswatter.  And they had their brother trapped in the wicker laundry hamper...

Welcome to my house.

Talking to Elle

Elle and I were having a phone conversation and she asked, "How much of what we talk about do you think to yourself... whoa.... I should blog that."

And I confess.... if I could live blog one of our phone conversations I would.

We are frickin' hilarious.

But usually by the time I get off the phone I can't remember what we talked about.  At all.

This conversation included me telling a story about some teenaged chipmunks playing chicken.... which... if I can remember it.... I will tell you later.  Truly a redneck story.

And the universal mommy lament about time, effort, reward and busy-ness. 

And money.  We often talk about money.  Which is a little odd because we are in very different places money-wise but we still have the same problems.

And meal planning.  And vet bills.  And family.  And being married to men who don't like chicken. 

And see... I can't even remember what we were talking about that had me laughing so hard the ear tooth fell in the grass. 

Lumineers and Trouble With the Curve

I love The Lumineers.

So tonight I'm watching tv and a trailer comes on for the new Clint Eastwood movie "Trouble With the Curve" and the song is....

HO HEY by The Lumineers. 

Love that song.  And my kids were excited to hear something they know (besides something from the Shrek soundtrack...). 

Now are they going to get all famous and main stream?

And does it mean I'm a grown up now that "my" music is being used in advertising?  Because I will tell you.... the first time I heard The Soup Dragons (I'm Free) on a credit card ad I just about curled up in a ball..... I'm pretty sure everyone around me is a grown up but I am not.

And will they EVER tour to Montana???

Meals Last Week and Next

Somehow last week fell apart on me.  I'm looking at the list of things I intended to make and I only hit it on one day and that was hot dogs. 

Hmmmm. 

Let's just say we bought a case of ramen (robin noodle soup) at Costco and we ate enough that what remains fits in the cupboard. 

I made calzones last night.  Yum.

Tonight will be spaghetti... maybe even with fabulous homemade breadsticks. 

For next week:

Monday:  Meal in the Car... we have football at 7.  Probably noodles with white sauce and clementine oranges and blueberries.  Or this might be the night Tuff finally talks me into going to Hardy's for a chicken sandwich.
Tuesday:  Pizza at the school open house at 5:30.  Then football at 7.  And a cat vet appt at 3:45.  How AM I going to get the cat home, get the kids and do the open house?  A mystery.
Wednesday:  Beans & rice?
Thursday:  Fire roasted veggies and pasta
Friday:  Sandwiches
Saturday:   Something in the crock pot.  I'm hoping Elle's experiment with crock pot freezer meals works out and she posts some recipes by Sunday.
Sunday:  Birthday party in Belt.  I think. 

Sunday Morning at my house.

Wake up with big plans to tidy the whole house and then work on the living room.  After several months of it being in a total state of flux I'm ready to finish the last bits of floor painting, make it cute with a fantastic floor arrangement and think about buying a new rug.

Make coffee.
Clean up dining room.
Clean up kitchen.
Put kids to work on crafts in dining room.
Start pulling paint tape in living room.
Take a break and make pancakes for breakfast.
Kids eat ALL pancakes.
Go back to pull more tape.
Turn around and realize the dining room AND kitchen are, once again, a complete disaster.

Wonder why I don't ever get anything done.

Music

In search of new music.

Found this site.

I haven't listened to everything but.... I think I may be sharing a musical brain with the blogger. 

Today's Letters. 

Cozi?

Does anyone else use cozi.com for an online calendar?

Anyone?

Anyone?

I just set up an account. 

I'm really looking forward to the part that texts reminders to, ahem, certain people... so Hot knows where/when for stuff.  Not that he will remember, right?

I also have started using the email option that lets me send a text from my email.  So much easier for me to type on my computer than on my stupid number pad... that also makes me pay to send/receive.  It's working great so far. 

And I'm doing some meal planning again. 

This week:

Monday:  Pasta with white sauce & chicken tenders (basil and parm for the grown ups)
Tuesday:  Fire roasted veggies with rice and pasta.  Leftover fried chicken.
Wednesday:  Tortillas with cheese.  Or mini tortilla pizzas.
Thursday:  Tacos
Friday:  Mexican Casserole
Saturday:  Beans & Rice
Sunday:  Burgers

Also for meals:  spinach salad with bacon dressing and hard-boiled eggs. 

And if I can find candied walnuts..... salad with apples, feta, candied walnuts and poppyseed dressing. 

One Last Thing

Via Elle

The last gift I purchased . . . . wait... this is a repeat.....  although at this point I've added a little housewarming something for my sister.... but I haven't gifted it yet so I can't say.....

The last thing I cooked . . . burgers.  Delicious burgers.

The last text message I sent . . .  I confess.  I don't text.  But I did text a phone number for my sister-in-law (she's on the swather now) to the financial advisor.  Yes, that might be confusing. 

The last song I bought . . . Seether.  The Country Song. 

The last celebrity I saw . . .Oddly enough.... celebrities drive by my house all the time.  There is a slightly-famous yoga retreat at the end of our road.... so there you go.  But celebrities I have actually seen?  I got nothin'.

Last TV show I watched . . . Still the Olympics.  But I have also been watching Longmire online.  I love Craig Johnson.

One Last Thing

Via Elle

The last prank I pulled . . . . probably while playing Flip Cup with all the cousins during Family Vacation.  My sister and I were paired up but on opposite teams so we were "pouring" for each other.....  45 minutes of play later and we still hadn't had a full beer..... age and treachery my little cousins.... age and treachery.

Last person I kissed . . . .  Everybody gets kisses in the morning.  Hot, Sweet, Tuff, Bugsy....  not the dog.  The dog gets a treat.

Last vacation I took  . . . FAMILY VACATION!!!!  To celebrate Grandpa's upcoming 90th birthday.  It was a blast.... as only a redneck party can be.

Last album I downloaded . . . . I'm going to download Brave.  And maybe Kin.  But the last thing I downloaded was Seether.... The Country Song.

You yellow-bellied marmot....

Rockwell Charles.... Rock Chuck to you.....  Yes.... it is a yellow-bellied marmot.  My father-in-law was down this afternoon and said there were two rock chucks, a tiny zippy squirrel & a fuzzy bunny hanging out in my yard.  The poor house-bound cat (she's recovering from a rifle shot) was losing her ever-loving mind...... 

My True Love.....

I got a comment on a past post.... I've edited out some identifying info...

 a new comment on your post "Day 12 . . . Photographic challenge. Photos of 1...":

Hello! My mother is taking care of my grandmother. My mom built the snowman by the dinosaur. She even went out 2 times a day to keep him looking fresh. I thought it very fitting that you titled the photo True Love because my mom truly loves snowmen! She builds them doing all sorts of things and will spend hours toting snow around in buckets to make the perfect snowman. I was tickled to see her snowman on your blog. :)

Dear Reader-

That photo is making the rounds on facebook.... at least among the Hi-Line people.  I do love the way the "It's A Small World" theme song plays in my life......

I stole the picture from the owner of the Wicks Trading Post.  Or here on facebook.

You can see the original post here.

One Last Thing

Via Elle...

Last thing I cooked . . . . I whipped up some noodles last night.... does that count?

Last time I was recognized . . . . by all my dear high school pals on Saturday night.

Last vice I indulged in . . . vodka and grapefruit.... two of them... on Saturday night.

Last gift I gave . . . June is the month of birthdays around here.  But the very last gift I gave was to my dear daughter.... and it was a turquoise Mickey Mouse (vintage looking) t-shirt.  It is for the first day of school and she has worn it.....  Every.  Single.  Day. 

Last time I cried . . .Um.  Maybe a few years ago?  I'm not really a crier.....

Kin

Go to iTunes.  Google Kin by Mary Karr & Rodney Crowell....

What do you think??

It is that time of year again....

GRADE 1

¨ 1 school box

¨ 1 box saltines or graham crackers

¨ 1 primary scissors (pointed)

¨ 1 paint shirt to share

¨ 2 elmers glue

¨ 24 #2 pencils (sharpened)

¨ Playdough (2)

¨ 1 big box keenex

¨ 2 large pink erasers

¨ 1 granola bar

¨ 10 glue sticks

¨ 1 watercolor paint set

¨ 1 box baby wipes

¨ 2 two pocket folders

¨ 1 box 8-10 washable markers

¨ 2 boxes crayons (no larger than 24)

¨ 1 spiral wide ruled notebook

¨ Opt:  box black chisel point dry erase markers

   GRADE 3

¨ 3 spiral notebooks (red, blue, any)

¨ 10 glue sticks

¨ 1 pkg loose leaf paper

¨ 4 folders w/pockets (solid color)

¨ 2 lg erasers

¨ Sm pencil sharpener

¨ 1 bin (Rubbermaid clear 16x11x6)

¨ 1 watercolor paint set

¨ 1 lg box colored pencils

¨ 1 box crayons (24)

¨ 1 lg elmers glue

¨ 2 boxes felt tip markers (1lg and 1 sm)

¨ 24 #2 pencils (sharpened)

¨ 1 big box keenex

¨ 1 primary scissors (pointed)

¨ Opt: 1 box baby wipes

¨ Opt: paper towels

¨ Opt:  hand sanitizer

¨ Opt:  box black chisel point dry erase markers

Tex-Mex in a Pan

I just stumbled upon a great combo of convenience cooking...  cooking once to make two meals and cooking ahead.....

Make a pot of rice (I do brown rice and I finally have my system down... you can see it here.) 

Cook up three 1 pound packages of burger (I used elk but whatever) as taco meat.  I'm using up the last of the taco seasoning can I got at Costco but then I'm going to try this homemade version.

Usually what ends up happening is I make the rice up and Hot & I take some for lunch.

The first night.... tacos.  After dinner the second night mix:

Leftover cooked rice
Two cans black beans, drained & rinsed
A jar or so of salsa
Leftover taco meat
A couple of chopped up bell peppers
Whatever else seems Mexican in your fridge (leftover sour cream, onion, tomato)

Put it in a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 (or so) for 35 minutes (or so).  Top with shredded cheddar cheese.  I like to garnish with cilantro, sour cream & avocado.

Eat leftovers in tortillas for lunch the next day.

This is Hot's favorite meal right now.  Too bad it requires turning on the oven during the summer.

One Last Thing

One Last Thing . . . .

From Elle......

The last time I said, "I love you" . . . . this morning when Hot left for work....

The last thing I cooked . . . . fried eggs on toast for breakfast.  In a second I'm going to throw together some tortilla-type things for lunch and put together a taco casserole for Hot for dinner. 

The last time I forgot my wallet . . . I leave my wallet all over the place....

Last hangover I had . . . 2001.  Hard Lemonade.

Last TV show I watched . . . the tv is permanently on Channel 12 for the Olympics right now. 

And the Caddyshack theme song plays.....name that rodent.

The other day I came home and saw THIS diving under my porch.  My first thought.... Jeez-um.... I have GOT to stain that porch.  My second thought..... is this Caddyshack?  I love that movie.  I wonder if we own that movie?  We should get that one. 

Yes.  I do have a bit of a focus issue....

I called my hubby at work.  I reported we might have a tiny mutant pigmy hippo living under our porch.  Go ahead... scroll up and check out that cute rump.  That's a hippo rump.  What does one feed a tiny mutant pigmy hippo? 

Or, possibly, it is a pack rat.  In which case it must die.

So I waited.  And I saw this.

Yup.  There s/he is.  Bonus points for anyone who can identify this little buggar.

Go ahead... guess.