WEEKEND IN BIG D...

Just to prove that my kids aren't the only ones having fun around here:

My husband's favorite store - they were having a big clearance sale! (If you call 30% off clearance - he does)
Summer, can you guess where we ate?
Upon your recommendation, 5 Guys! I have to admit it was a very delicious, messy burger!
On to a wedding in the Dallas Arboretum at 100 degrees!!!
Here's a better pic of the Audrey Hepburn look-a-like bride!
Amazing restaurant for the dinner reception!
LOVED these centerpieces
The Spinach salad and Crab-Stuffed Salmon for me- DELICIOUS!
Big Daddy Band performed all evening for us. Singing all the old favorite rock and roll tunes. Don't know how old this lead singer was, but he had the most youthful voice!

This is where the fun began. Delicious meal, beautiful bride and groom. Great rock and roll band. Did I mention this was a friend from my husband's work? Yeah, so just know 95% of these people are not like us. Specifically, drinkers and dancers. I tried really hard to dance, but the intimidation was still there. Maybe it's easier after a few drinks. But I wasn't going that route! So I swayed back and forth, did a little clapping and enjoyed myself as much as I could in the situation. Then something happened I had NEVER witnessed before. Two men came onto the patio at 10:00 p.m., about 4 hours into the party. There were probably 25 guests left. The bride told the groom the men didn't belong there, so the groom went over and told them we were having a private party. One of the men didn't like that and a fight started! The groom was hit with a beer bottle over the head and when it broke it sounded like a gunshot! It was really scary. A few punches were thrown, then the instigator jumped over the patio wall, ran out into the street, with several men from the wedding running after him. (They convinced the groom to stay back) Sirens, police, and ambulance arrived in just a few minutes. The restaurant manager did everything possible to try to help. The groom ended up with a cut to his head, blood all over his tux, and a broken bone in his hand. It was a rough end to the evening, and I really hated that for the bride and groom. Can you imagine???

We ended on a happy note Sunday- going to church, shopping IKEA, and eating at Babe's in Sanger. If you haven't eaten at Babe's Chicken you need to put that one on your list! I love, love, love the smoked chicken there! The corn, just shaved off the cob, swimming in butter is pretty delicious, too. We've been to 3 locations in the Dallas area and it was our first time to the Sanger location. My husband said it was the ORIGINAL. It shows. It's a small town with just a few amenities, next door to a little white church with peeling paint, and quaint gift shops nearby. Much more personality than the Frisco one!

Th-Th-That's All Folks!

HOWDY WEEK...

is a great way to start off school! Here's some of the looks from this week:

80's Workout Day...kinda scary
A friend that would be a dead ringer for Richard Simmons if he had a wig, don't ya think?
Western Day - love this! Got that Stetson hat at a garage sale years ago.
Pre-K Day...I guess how your momma would dress you?
Tacky Tourist Day - always a fun one!

I'm kinda thinking I haven't gotten to dress up in a long time...I miss it! We adults need to loosen up once in a while...maybe I'll have to plan a costume party in the future!

BENEFITS OF BEING THE YOUNGER BROTHER...

when you get to high school means you are already "known" by upper classmen (and women) and they do things like write your name on posters and invite you to the Howdy Picnic! Lucky Duck! (Okay, that term is throwback to my elementary days back in the 70's for those of you who don't know!)

MOVING DAY...

Dad helping out

Suite-mates!
Looking toward the future!

turned out to be a really nice time! Except for the 100 degree heat, of course, but there was lots of iced down water bottles and help available at the dorms as we unloaded. Nice touch, OC! I was a little nervous about moving my son into a college that is 2 miles from our house. I know many of you are thinking, "what's the point?" if you live that close, but my husband and I both feel that living in the dorm is part of the college experience (along with my Dad who taught at the college level for 35 years). Anyway, when we took my daughter to college 6 hours away from home, she truly NEEDED the help and support. But my son, well, probably not so much. I told him I wanted to do a little cleaning and make his bed, then we made a list of items to buy. We got to meet his roommate and the parents from Nashville. Thankfully many of his friends' parents were doing the same thing, so we got no objections as we took him out for lunch, then shopped at Target, Lowe's and Bed,Bath,and Beyond for room stuff. (I probably don't have to tell you that doing this for a boy is much different than dorm room planning/shopping with a girl!) About $100 later, we made one last trip up to the room that I will probably never see again. We prayed a prayer of blessing for him and we were finished. Wasn't quite so hard as when we took our daughter 2 years ago. Maybe because I've done this before. Maybe because he's only 2 miles away. I don't know, but I thank the Lord for today and pray blessings for his future!

BACK TO SCHOOL: THURSDAY, FRIDAY, SATURDAY...

THURSDAY: My youngest is starting high school. UNBELIEVABLE.

FRIDAY: My oldest is returning to college after spending 10 whole days in OK this summer. I'm not bitter, I promise.

SATURDAY: My middle one is starting college. After a conversation with him early this morning (I mean EARLY - he came in at 1:30 a.m.) he hugged me and told me he loved me. That kid can still melt my heart.

MY BRAIN IS MUSH RIGHT NOW...wondering if everyone has everything they need, if I've taught them the skills they need, praying to the ONE who supplies all our needs!

10 OUT OF 2,000...NOT AN EASY TASK!

Palace of Versailles, France

I've been looking over my daughter's Europe pics this week and just had to share a few with you! I wish I could share more, but alas, I am too cheap to upgrade to the premium status with Picnik. Actually, I don't even know how much that costs but won't bother to check it out...so enjoy a few of my FAVORITES!

SHE'S ONE TOUGH COOKIE...

Grandma Flora at Bad Brad's BBQ

My Grandma, that is! We really thought after a fall this spring she wouldn't make it to her 94th birthday. Well, here she is, about 6 months later, hanging in there. Since then she's been moved numerous times between hospital, rehab, and now at a new nursing center. Talk about dealing with change! Our little Walmart and Sonic trips are fewer now, but it was so exciting to get to take her out to lunch with some of our family today! My husband called in the middle of the "Spin Your Wheels" 52 mile bike race today to see if I wanted to meet them after the race for lunch in Yukon. I had planned on seeing Grandma today, and when I arrived she was dressed and getting her hair done at the nursing home beauty shop. I asked her if she felt like going to lunch, (and of course she wanted to) so I surprised my bike crew by showing up at the restaurant with Grandma. It was a fun little spur-of-the-moment party! I had her to tell my kids a story I had just heard from her 5 minutes earlier:

(AS WE ARE DRIVING INTO YUKON) You know, Foster and I used to own a shooting gallery in Yukon. (WHAT???) Yes, it was just a little alley between some buildings and people would come and try to shoot at things. I got really good with that gun! (ARE YOU KIDDING ME?) He used to brag on me about how good I was with that gun. Yukon was pretty small back then. 1938, I guess... (NEVER HEARD THAT STORY BEFORE!)

On the way home, she was checking out her surroundings since she is now living in OKC, having moved from Norman. She tells me she saw 2 Sonics on the way to Yukon, so you know what we had to do...stop for her favorite Sonic drink!

NEVER A DULL MOMENT AROUND MY GRANDMA...

HOMECOMING...YOU KNEW IT WAS COMING...

After spending the last 3 months in 9 countries in Europe, our daughter is finally home!!! Needless to say, we are thrilled! The majority of her time was spent studying in Florence, Italy. I found it interesting that her two favorite places she visited were Interlaken, Switzerland, and Dublin, Ireland! I am anxious to hear more about those places, WHEN SHE WAKES UP FROM HER MUCH DESERVED REST!

HOW DO YOU LIKE THEM RAVIOLIS...

We finally were able to reproduce the pasta dish that we learned to make in Florence! After looking around for a "ravioli stamp," I was surprised to not be able to find one around here, even at the gourmet stores! Even Williams-Sonoma didn't have one. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised, because the first time I'd ever seen one was in Italy. Ended up ordering it from Amazon.com...they have everything, it seems!

Here are the leftovers from the meal! I forgot to take a pic before we ate, since we had invited our neighbors over to be our "guinea pigs."

We didn't have any zucchini flowers, so it wasn't quite as pretty, but here is the recipe:

Zucchini and Peccorinio Ravioli

For the pasta: Any recipe you like to use - we use the one in the book that came with our pasta maker!

For the filling: Heat oil in a frying pan. Add 2 cloves crushed garlic and cook for a nice smell. Add 4-5 small sliced zucchini, dash of salt, pepper and crushed chili pepper and cook until soft. Let cool. Put into a food processor with 1 cup Peccorinio cheese and 1/2 c. bread crumbs. Blend until smooth.

Assemble the ravioli: Lay out a sheet of pasta. In small intervals, place 1 teaspoon of filling on the pasta. Brush the uncovered part of the pasta with a little water. Lay another sheet of pasta on top of this and press it down to the unfilled parts of the first sheet. Use a cutter or stamp the cut out the raviolis. In a pot of boiling salted water cook the raviolis for 2 minutes.

For the sauce: Heat a little olive oil in a large pan and saute 1-2 cloves of garlic. Add 1 onion diced, and cook until translucent. Add 6-8 sliced tomatoes and cook on low for a while. Chop 4-6 zucchini flowers and add just before serving over ravioli.

I HIT THE JACKPOT...

I found the motherlode of pot and pans at the 2nd garage sale I went to this morning!!! I had gotten a little discouraged after not finding much in 10 garage sales last weekend. (I decided the $300 Calphalon set will have to wait for a wedding gift!) Six pieces for $13...not too shabby! My college girl will now be able to make her favorite treat for all her roomies - NO BAKES! (and many more goodies!)

TURNER FALLS WITH 5 TEENAGE BOYS...

Sounds ominous, doesn't it?!

We actually had a lot of fun. I was feeling guilty that my 2 boys had not gotten to go on a trip or do much this summer, and we well, you know, went to Italy...so yeah, I thought a close equivalent would be a trip to Turner Falls for them. NOT. But it's a fun place to go for a few hours and swim, hike, and float down little streams.

I've been away from Turner Falls for about 30 years, I would guess, having been there several times in the 70's with my family. It was almost like stepping back into the 70's - cheesy wooden signs and stuff, still needs to be cleaned up in some areas, and the only difference I noticed was that you cannot swim underneath the falls and let them pound on your head anymore. It's roped off for safety reasons. That was a big thrill back then, being brave enough to swim near the falls and let them give you a headache!
Anyway, still lots of fun, and after being dumped by the three older boys, I hung out with the 15 yr. olds, giving them a little distance...

One of the best parts of the day was eating dinner at the Arbuckle Fried Pie place right off Exit 51 after exiting Turner Falls. I got a Spinach/mushroom/potato and an Apricot pie for dessert. Delicious! Got a discount, too, since we ended up ordering a dozen with my crew!

This is one of my favorites of the day because as I was taking a picture of my oldest going off the slide, my youngest jumped off the diving board (foreground) at the same time! Crazy! I couldn't get that again if I tried!
My boys and their friends!


My two - only picture of them together and it wasn't easy to get!!!

GOURMET GRILLED CHEESES AND MASHED POTATO BAR...

were some of the delicious food we had at a friend's daughter's wedding last weekend! Maybe this is a new trend, or maybe it just reflected the bride and groom's tastes, but whatever it was, it was great. We got in line where a chef was grilling sandwiches and he used fresh spinach, sauteed onions, and tomatoes as add-ons to the basic grilled cheese. Also, in addition to other foods, we ate potatoes out of a martini glass! I had the sweet potato version with pecans and brown sugar. My friend sitting next to me just raved about the regular potatoes with goodies, too. What interesting foods have you had at wedding receptions lately?