Hanging Hearts (045/365)

“Valentine hearts beat more passionately than everyday hearts.”

~Anonymous, winner of February 2011 quotegarden Twitter create your own quote contest

TIME:  8:20 PM
PLACE:  Living room
SUBJECT:  Paper hearts

I put these together on Thursday evening, so I would have some decorations up for StellaDella’s family party on Friday night.  I had the paper and eyelets on hand, so it was a very inexpensive endeavor.  We began our Valentine’s day with the annual cooking of the pink heart-shaped pancakes. (I was going to post a picture of them, but that would be two pancake pictures in a row and that would be against my arbitrary rules I have for this project.) The kids only had a half-day of school, but managed to have Valentine parties worked into the condensed day.  HH gave me a box of chocolate covered strawberries and a card with kittens on it.  He also made a tasty dinner <= always a good thing! 

Can You Eat All These? (044/365)

(photo taken by HandsomeHusband)

Goldmember: Would you like a shmoke und a pancake?
Austin Powers: A what?
Goldmember: A shmoke und a pancake. You know, a flapjack und a shigarette? No? Shigar und a waffle? No? Pipe und a crepe? No? Bong und a blintz? No? Well, then there ish no pleashing you.
Austin Powers: That's not right...

Myers, Mike, perf. Austin Powers in Goldmember. Dir. Jay Roach. 2002. New Line Cinema.

TIME:  8:25 AM
PLACE:  School Cafeteria
SUBJECT:  Pancakes

This morning was MonkeyBoy’s Boy Scout troop’s All-You-Can-Eat Pancake and Sausage breakfast.  Leaders and parents cook and serve the food while the boys refill drinks and bus tables.  Unfortunately, MB was not quite over his week of sickness (hacking cough, temperature and nose bleeds), so we figured it was best for all involved if he did not help out.  HandsomeHusband was chief bottle-washer – he says his hands still smell like Clorox. 

Young Authors Breakfast or How To Embarrass Your 13-Year-Old Daughter(043/365)

TIME:  8:38 AM
PLACE: Junior High Lobby
SUBJECT:  DramaQueen in color and in a “#2 Pencil” Photoshop action

DQ was recognized as a finalist in our school district’s “Young Authors Conference” for her “Story With No Name” this year.  Look at the photo she “allowed” me to take of her in the school lobby.  Quite a difference (both in how much she’s grown and in attitude!) from this one taken two years ago:

We sat with a friend of hers (who just so happens to be a boy) and I was informed (via a hissing whisper) that HH and I had better not embarrass her.  Wrong thing to say…I immediately took that as a challenge. *wicked grin*  We tried, I even took pictures of stuff on the table, like these straws, but it didn’t work.  She told me later this evening that her friend mentioned to her that he thought we were “pretty cool”  Hmmm, I guess we need to practice on our embarrassing parent routine more.

TIME:  8:55 AM
PLACE:  Junior High School Multipurpose room
SUBJECT:  Straws

Don’t Fear The Reaper (042/365)

“The candles blew then disappeared
The curtains flew then he appeared (saying don't be afraid)
Come on baby (and she had no fear)”

Blue Oyster Cult. "(Don't Fear) The Reaper." Agents of Fortune. Perf. Donald "Buck Dharma" Roeser. Columbia, 1977.

TIME:  8:08 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  StellaDella’s birthday cake

THIS is the cake my 7 year-old daughter wanted for her birthday party.  Well, she really wanted zombies and werewolves, but the bakery at the grocery store did not have those figures.  So SD settled on a cake with a grim reaper, a vulture, a headstone and black balloons – more specifically, an “Over The Hill” cake theme.  The woman who took our order thought it was hilarious that my sweet looking, red-headed, little girl wanted this to be her birthday cake.  When I picked it up this afternoon, she told me that the decorator called as soon as she faxed the order to verify that we really wanted this particular cake for a seven-year old.  Yes we did. *shrugs* It’s her birthday and this is the cake that she wanted…I’m just happy that she was able to get her one that she liked.

The Birthday Girl (041/365)

Zack Martin: For a seven-year-old, she was tough. She had a mean left hook!

"Doin' Time In Suite 2330." The Suite Life of Zach And Cody. Perf. Dylan Sprouse. Walt Disney Television. 9 Aug. 2008.

TIME:  9:42 PM
PLACE:  Home
SUBJECT:  StellaDella

My StellaDella turned seven today.  She and I went out to dinner together, just the two of us.  She didn’t stop talking in the car on the way to the restaurant (she decided on a Chinese buffet).  I swear she read every single sign we passed and I might add, she pronounced 90% of the words correctly as well.  Then, after we ate, we went to Wal-mart where she chose a new bike.  Her only criteria – that it was mainly black and had a skull on it.  She was in luck, they had exactly what she was looking for; a Mongoose 20" Outer Limit Freestyle bicycle with a skull emblazoned on the seat.  She was also able to find a helmet with a skull, one that had wings even!  Then, she picked out a new Pokémon DS game, Soul Silver edition that had a bonus “Pokéwalker Accessory Included” (whatever that is, I have no idea, but she was very excited about it).  I was christened the “..best mom in the whole entire world, oh and dad is too!” on the way home.  I guess that means she’s happy with her gifts.

A Plethora Of Milk Duds (040/365)

Blanche: The Milk Duds, remember. You had two boxes of Milk Duds.
Dr. Harris: Milk Duds.
Sophia: They're delicious. I love them. The trouble is, they take out my dentures.

"The Heart Attack." The Golden Girls. 23 Nov. 1983. Television.

TIME:  8:01 PM
PLACE:  Kitchen
SUBJECT:  Boxes of Milk Duds

StellaDella’s seventh birthday is tomorrow and she asked if she could give boxes of Milk Duds to each of her classmates.  I agreed, thinking that I had seen them for 69 cents each at a Dollar Tree store.  She said she had 25 kids in her class (not including her).  Ok, I thought 69 cents x 25 students = $17.25 – a little pricey, but overall, not too bad for birthday favors.  She went with me to pick them up and while there, she informed me that she needed a box and she wanted to give one to her teacher and the student teacher as well.  Ok then, 3 more wouldn’t hurt.  We went to the check-out lane and it turns out I was wrong....they were not 69 cents, but $1 each – that’s $28 dollars worth of Milk Duds!  Gah! – that was a bit more than I wanted to spend (I’m am very cheap frugal when it comes to things like this).  I went ahead and bought them anyway - SD is so excited about handing these out to her friends – I did not want to disappoint her and who needs money anyway?

Orange Cat Orange Chair (039/365)

“No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch.”

Leo F. Buscaglia (American guru, tireless advocate of the power of love, 1924-1998)

TIME:  8:32 PM
PLACE:  Living room
SUBJECT:  Jack

MonkeyBoy has been sick the last two days…nothing messy, just achy and a slight fever.  He’s been sleeping a lot.  I’m thinking he will be staying home again tomorrow. ~*~*~  This morning, I had a dentist and haircut appointment.  I get to go back to the dentist next Tuesday because my one and only filling needs to be redone.  The tooth was originally worked on when I was in high school, so I guess that my parents got their money’s worth from the original dental work. ~*~*~  Jack has been sleeping on the orange chair most of the evening – I think he blends in rather well.