I Am Married to a Rock Star.

Today was a 'get out of Dodge' sort of day, except we don't live in Dodge.

But we did get out of town (by a whole 4 miles) and spent the day window shopping and eating lunch at one of our favorite places to eat lunch at.

(whew!  that was a lonnnngg sentence!)

And now, while waiting for the water to boil for capellini...which will go with the chicken (cuz I do not eat veal, thankyouverymuch...or lamb, for that matter) piccata.

And while I wait, I am blogging.  I am also sipping an extremely lovely cocktail.  I do know it has some sort of alcohol in it, but I have chosen to not ask.  That's my motto...just sip.  Don't ask.

While shopping about today, a woman and her entourage (who were from New York, I might add) stopped us.  Or rather, stopped him.  You know, that guy that I like so much.

Excuse me, but aren't you Dr. Busch?  The conductor guy that is so wonderful and amazing and perfect and excuse me while I drop down on the floor and kiss your feet?

OK, so she didn't say amazing.

Welcome to my world.  Granted, it is a small world.

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On the homefront, Matthew received a phone call earlier this week from Pacific Crest that a mellophone player had dropped out...and would he like to march this summer?

After a few nights of thinking it over, we gave our blessing and he will report bright and early tomorrow morning.   And will pretty much not be home again until the middle of August.  

Here we go again.

But as you all know, M and I met in drum corps and for me...it was a lifesaver.  And for Matthew it has become a huge part of who he is...and he was missing it.  And when God drops something right into your lap, well...maybe you should pick it up and run with it.

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Alex was told in Physical Therapy today that he is ahead of schedule.  He'll have an MRI on Monday followed by an appointment with the orthopedist, so we'll see what they say.  God is good.

Oops...my water is boiling. It's a table set for only 3 tonight...the teens have run to the hills.

Or gone out with friends.  But run for the hills sounds so much more dramatic.

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Uh Oh

Hello.  My name is Michele...and I am an addict.

A Farm Town addict.

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Holly introduced me a few weeks ago to a game on Facebook called Farm Town and I have become obsessed...plowing land, planting crops, waiting for them to grow, hiring people to harvest, selling my crops, buying more land, plowing, planting, waiting, hiring, harvesting, selling....

Pure bliss.

And tonight, after Open House at Brian's school, after a fun time catching up with friends over dinner, after putting on my pj's...I sat down.

Clicked on Facebook.

Clicked on Farm Town.

And up popped this:

Error while loading page from Farm Town

There are still a few kinks Facebook and the makers of Farm Town are trying to iron out. We appreciate your patience as we try to fix these issues. Your problem has been logged - if it persists, please come back in a few days. Thanks!

Come back in a few days?

What about my crops?  Will they survive?

I am not sure how I will sleep tonight.  

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Kinda Sorta Back

Still here...just no time to sit and write.

But I will, soon.  

In the meantime, a quick low down of the goings on:

• My house is a wreck.  It's the end of the school year and I am, for what I hope to be anyway, room parent for the LAST time.  Even though Brian has one more year left in elementary, I do think it is time for me to retire.  I am sure there is a young, energetic mom just waiting to over plan the next holiday party while I am home eating bon bon's in my fuzzy slippers.  Yep.
• I now have 3 sons who are all on different sleeping schedules sleeping at odd times under my cute little roof.  The best part is that they do not respond to either light or noise, so it doesn't bug me when they sleep.
• I am supposed to have a relaxed husband under my roof, too...but alas, that is not the case.  He is working alot and in much need of some smooth sailing...choppy waters make him grumpy, and I am finding that even a martini and Frank Sinatra aren't helping.  That's when I know things are rough.  Poor guy...I might need to plan a little get-away for two.  Soon.  
• The cats are bringing birds and now dragon flies in on a daily basis.  I've gotten to the point where the broom is always within arms reach, which means I look like a crazy woman walking around my own house.  But then again, I am a crazy woman in my house.
• I am loving my new little business and I am loving it even more now that I have hired someone to handle the packaging and shipping.  Who knew graduations were such big events?  I should have...and it's been busy!  No complaints...I am thankful!
• We've had company, my in laws, here this week...which meant a visit to the Beachcomber for lunch.  Life is good.
• I found (and hired) a retired electrician who confirmed what the million dollar electrician had told me...that my house is not going to blow up, but did fix the few minor things and the light inside my pantry--for a fraction of the price.  A price I could actually afford...how often does that happen?
• Alex's physical therapy schedule is doing me in.  Especially the 6:15am appointments.  15 year olds are not very pleasant early in the morning.  Then again, neither are 39 year old mothers...even mothers who might be a little older.  Or so I've been told.
• I have been craving real lasagna...or real manicotti.  I mean, I am dreaming of manicotti...specifically, my Aunt Joyce's manicotti.  I love when people I love are pregnant and I get all the cravings.  It's just my way of helping.
• I am addicted to the game FarmTown on Facebook.  If you are a facebooker, please find me and ask to see my farm.  I have a serious case of OCD.
• My garden is incredible.  I think so and the bunnies think so.  I am this close to buying a bb gun.  This close.  And no, I will not really do that, but I do wave my shovel around alot and yell things I probably shouldn't yell.  In German.

Pictures to come soon...I have a camera full of them.  Bet you can't wait.

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Lots to Talk About

OK.  OK.  OK.

OK.

I got the hint.  And I am blogging.

We are readjusting back to being a family of 5...and it took a week of squishing and squashing and packing and unpacking and laundering and climbing up and climbing down to get us back to normal.

Cuz we live in a tiny house.

On purpose.

  On our first date, M and I sat on the beach and talked for hours and hours about life 'when we grew up'.

Which I guess is 'now'.

Weird, huh?

He talked of wanting to be a church worker and wanting to go to school forever.

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I talked of wanting to live in a small house (with lots of sons) because "people in big houses have bad marriages".

Yep.  I said that.

And although God has thrown curve balls at every single human decision we have made, that guy that I like so much IS a church worker who has a wall full of degrees AND we live in a tiny house.

All is well.

BUT, that being said, we are packed to the gills at this moment.  And with all 3 of my boys filling my house, I have been cooking.  And cleaning.  And laundering.  And hiding out in my bathroom.

Yep.  The only place that I can find quiet is in the bathroom.  No, I do not have bathroom troubles but yes, I probably spent 4 hours in there yesterday to escape the basketball rivalry that is happening within our 4 small walls.

Boys, boys, boys.  Everywhere I look, there is a boy.

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Friday was a holiday for most of us, though Alex did have school.  And he was thrilled, let me tell you.  Thrilled.

We did a big 'ole bbq that night and splurged on a couple of these babies.  With butter.  Oh my.

Saturday morning was a ginormous german pancake with fresh blueberries.  And chocolate chip pancakes.  Cuz you can never have enough carbs on Saturday mornings.

Sunday lunch after church...Super Mex.  Big boys, huge bean and cheese burritos and a 40 minute drive home.

Reread the above and then feel my pain.

Above our kitchen sink is a copper pot that I found at a small antique shop in Pisa, Italy.  It was just a few euros and the woman working said,"you come italy and you buy old pot?"  She just kept saying how everything in America was so new and beautiful...funny how the grass is always greener.

Anyway, our pot is FULL of our wine corks.  Not quite sure why, but it is.

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Memorial Day brought even more broccoli from the garden, this time turned into a yummy salad.  

It also brought Logan, who at 2 years old serenaded us (when he wasn't running, climbing and getting dropped on his head by his favorite cousin...oops!) with God Bless America.

I especially love how life is just happening all around him....gotta love lots of family in a little house.

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This morning in the chilly, cloudy morning...zucchini's are growing!  I almost picked those beautiful flowers, stuffed 'em with goat cheese and fried them up...but I'll do that with the next batch.

Yummers.

And then I spotted these.  Tomatoes.  Homegrown.  On the vine. 

I am SO ready.

Guess what?

I've got MORE to blog about!

Yesterday, that guy that I like so much and I headed a town or two over for lunch at Felix's.

Cuz sometimes nothing in the world will make everything OK except really great cuban food.

And LET. ME. TELL. YOU.

The food doesn't look pretty but is AMAZING.

This is basically the filling to their awesome empanadas, served with white rice, black beans and fried plantains.

I am not kidding when I tell you that this will be on the menu in heaven.  For reals.  I can also tell you that they have a huge menu and I always order the SAME thing.

We then strolled and shopped and browsed and talked and shivered.  Brrrr...it was cold!

And then we found this store, which our friends Josh and Alison have been telling us about forever.

Cheese, cheese, cheese.  And MORE cheese!

Thankfully, we were full...but did end up with a French goat cheese and an Italian blue.

Oh my.

Now I need to go back to playing FarmTown on Facebook.  I am scarily addicted.

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Taking Lots of Pictures

I keep my camera close at hand at all times, and I've been known to yell 'QUICK!!!  Grab my camera!' whenever anything of excitement is happening.

Drives my family crazy.

But I love when I finally sit down to the computer and plug my camera in...that all sorts of daily life stuff pops up in my iPhoto.  I take LOTS of photos on any given day...probably between 40 - 50.  

I have to admit that most of them are crooked.  Or blurry.  Or of my toes.  Or cats.

Today I sat down, plugged in my camera and up popped 43 pictures.  Of my tomato plants.

So, hello.  My name is Michele.  And I have a picture problem.

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I do have to say that my tomatoes never complain about being photographed.  They never walk away or cover their faces.  They just smile at the glorious sun and let me shoot away.

Introducing my San Marzano romas, mixed in with a few Borghese romas.  These beauties don't need to be staked and will all ripen at the exact same time...which means I will have a freezer full of marinara for the long, cold, hard winter.

A sampling of the heirloom patch...all in all, there are a dozen different varieties.

Shine, sun.  Shine.

Last night for supper I made a pot of gravy.  

Made for some very, very happy boys.

This morning bright and early at Brian's school was the annual teacher cooked pancake breakfast.

Not that I am counting or anything, but this was my 13th pancake breakfast.  And we are STILL there.

I will say that I have embraced the new regime and am actually kinda happy about the inner workings, but man...it was a rough transition.

This is the pool that is between my little house on my little street.  There are 20 something different pools in my community to choose from...and each one is different.  Some have diving boards.  Some have life guards.  Some are adults only.

But I will say, my very favorite is this one, cuz we hang out with all of our friends here on hot summer days.  And some not so hot winter ones.

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Brian got out early today and is now off for the 4 day weekend.  He brought home 5 friends with him and after playing football up at the school, they came home, ate popcorn and made duct tape wallets.

Life is so much better when you have a duct tape wallet.

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We just ate supper...grilled teriyaki chicken (on buns, with grilled pineapple...YUM) and the majority of my household is yelling at the TV in the other room.

The Lakers are playing the Nuggets and we have a divided house...seems some of my brood love their birthplace of Colorado more than they honor their father.

Or so he keeps telling them.

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The Sun is Shining

Last night, the very oldest in our house and the very youngest spent an evening out.  That left me, the Queen, home with the teens...who screamed like girls when Maggie brought yet another bird into the house.

A flying bird this time.

And yes, I (the Queen) was able to rescue us all (including the bird) and life is now back to normal in our little house on our little street.

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Today brought yet another day of me, the Queen, convincing that guy that I like so much to not go into work and spend yet another day playing in the sunshine.  With me.  The Queen.

Off to Blemont Shore for brunch at Le Creperie.  A lotta sunshine, some glorious crepes, a stop into We Olive for some bazillion year old balsamic vinegar that I've discovered I cannot live without, and a new discovery.

A cupcake store.

And since I had been talking about taking a detour on the way home to Sprinkles, this was just a wonderful, wonderful little shop.

Because sometimes, or maybe all the time, life just gets a bit better with a red velvet cupcake.

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Back to real life and a house that needs to be cleaned, laundry that needs to be laundered and boys that need to be fed.  

No problem...cuz I'll be nibbling on that cupcake all afternoon.

mmmm....

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Why I Am Mother Of The Year.

Update...please view the following link which proves that I truly AM Mother of the Year.

(thanks, Cheryl!!!)

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http://news.cnnbcvideo.com/?nid=NrinsY8APM3C5CUTjRWgazEyMzAxODg4&referred_by=17085836-sHwBNrx

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I am Mother of the Year.

Yep.

If there is any question about that....just ask.  My kids'll back me up.

I've earned my title, especially in the last 24 hours.

We had Costco pizza for supper last night.  Physical therapy for Alex ran long, so for $20 I had two ginormously large (and as mother of the year, I get to make up all the words I want) hot pizzas in my car (and a hot dog for Alex who was starving and couldn't wait for the ginormously large pizza...but hey, I am Mother of the Year...so go ahead and eat both) that were large enough to feed my 5 plus a few stragglers.

I then made Brian's lunch last night and in it I put some of the ginormously large leftover pizza...cuz leftover pizza in a lunch totally rocks.

Breakfast rolls around and Bri (who asks for things like eggs benedict and homemade waffles for breakfast every morning...he's a 3rd child) heats himself up a piece of pizza.  Yum.

Off to school with his pizza lunch, I remember that he and his dad have an event at school tonight...and guess what they are serving for dinner?

Pizza!

Four back to back meals of pizza.  Perfect.

As Mother of the Year, I also get to address my court.  And refer to them as 'you people'.  And do it in a 'crazy psycho muttering - yes - I've become my mother' sort of way and carry on for oh...like an hour or so.  And then repeat it over and over until someone cries Uncle.

As in...YOU PEOPLE keep leaving all your stuff all over my house and I am so tired of picking up after YOU PEOPLE and I am going to start throwing it all away and then YOU PEOPLE will be like those children who have nothing and I will be happy because I won't have to pick up after YOU PEOPLE anymore and when YOU PEOPLE come crying to me about not having any shoes to wear I will tell you that I have sent them to the poor children who would appreciate them since YOU PEOPLE obviously do not.

Or somethin' like that.