The egg-celent decision

Well, I think we have come to a firm decision.
We could drive all the way up there and possibly fail the skin test and then have a pointless journey for nothing. We could drive up there, pass the skin test and maybe pass maybe fail the challenge. Or we could just wait a year.

So......we will be shelving egg for now. As his appointment draws closer next year, they will call us and tell us what to bring. We will bring eggy things along and if he passes the skin test, we will challenge.

You know....I sit and wonder....What will egg gain us?
I can't think of much. Besides, I don't like eggs. I don't like the smell of them cooking in my house. And if he passes, we will have to be sure that he eats them fairly regularly. Blech. Then I will have to make sure that I buy eggs, he has eggs for breakfast, I will have to bake with eggs.... I will have to hunt down my cookbook that I lent out because I will actually be able to use it. Ok...maybe I could actually make a loaf of bread for the kid. I don't know.

Well, at least I have a year to think of the possibilities. Eggs just are not that thrilling, you know? Seems like they will cause more problems than opportunities. We'll see.....

Another year goes by....

About three weeks ago now, Iz and I made the yearly trek to the allergist in Durham. Ski could not accompany us so I got to drive the entire way by myself. I had planned to leave early the day before and take Iz to a museum. But things did not work out that way. The Saturday before the appointment, we decided to visit a peach orchard and pick fruit. Silly me....I did not check the place out ahead of time. We had 1) bugs flying around 2) people doing stuff with fertilizer 3) guys boiling peanuts and 4) people walking around with ice cream cones. We tried our best to keep Iz away from the food stuff, but it was an unexpected glitch. After we were done picking and paying, we were in the van off to find some lunch. Lyd was scratching because she got stung by something. Iz was scratching all over his face. So, I dug out the benedryl and discovered that I had forgotten both the medicine spoon and the syringe that I usually carry. This was a blessing in disguise. From previous experience of having to syringe from the lid of the bottle, I knew that the lid did not hold a full dosage. So, I poured some in the lid and gave some to both of them. The only problem with this is that Iz was not supposed to have any benedryl or other antihistamines for 4-5 days before his appointment. How long have I been doing this? And I still forgot!! Well, he had less than half of a regular dose so there was hope. On Monday bright and early, I called the allergist office and left my question. I waited and waited and did not get a call back. At about 1pm I finally left hoping that we would be ok for the appointment. Of course, I got to Durham less than an hour before the museum closed so that was pretty disappointing. The drs office did call back around 5pm and we were cleared to still come.

Oh, and I went through a McD's drive through and ordered apple dippers for Iz. It's the only thing that he can eat there. Of course, we chuck the "sauce." They gave me most of my order, but told me I would have to pull up and wait. I could not figure out why. Turns out, they brought me TWO APPLE PIES?!?!?! That made for one sad kid. I promised to stop again on the way, but never did because I ended up getting lost a zillion times and I forgot.

Another fun aspect of this trip is that the temp was in the high 90s and the ac in my car decided not to work. Well, it actually worked, but the blower would not blow. It wasn't too bad if I was driving 70 mi/hr, but in the city it was terrible. We were a pair of sweat balls. Silly thing is that the air has been working fine in the car ever since we got back. Go figure!!!

Iz and I stayed with a couple that I had never met before. They were super nice and Iz liked it there alot. A few funny things about that stay. They live in a lovely neighborhood 10min or less from the hospital. Besides people and lots of dogs, there are also highly disputed chickens and a mule/donkey wandering around. Very odd. We went swimming at their club. We didn't bring suits, but she was able to find something for me to wear and Iz swam in shorts and undies. Shhhhh....don't tell!!! Because it is so hard to cook for Iz, I stopped at Whole Foods and got food for both of us. But, Iz did end up eating all of their applesauce. John now calls him the Applesauce Kid. Oh, and Iz thought it was hilarious that their little dog eats gobs and gobs of Cheerios. (Vet approved, of course....)

The next morning, we headed off to the hospital. This entailed alot of sitting, waiting, some talking, no skin tests, and a blood test for RASTs. He was glad not to have to endure the skin testing, but the pic below is his opinion of blood tests.



We had a hard time with the blood test. He remembered and had told me that he would be good. I knew that if Ski was there, we would have done well. But Ski was not with us, so he cried, screamed, kicked, and the nurse finally got him calm enough to draw some blood. I promised a visit to the museum (I should have looked at my watch first), but that didn't help either. I guess butterflies don't sound interesting when there is a nurse coming at you with a needle.

I couldn't believe the time when we got out of there. It was LATE!! We got the kid some lunch and I thought I would wait to get something for me. Silly me. Once again, by the time lunch was over, it was too late to go to the museum and have it worthwhile. So, I drove to Raleigh and checked out a homeschool store and met a lady in person that I had met online. By that time, I was starving so lunch/dinner for me and then off we headed for home. I was exhausted driving home so called Ski to find the nearest Starbucks. They overcharged me and I got a free drink coupon and some coffee and Iz had some dinner. And finally we arrived home about 10 or so.

So.....three weeks later, I called to get our test results. Sigh.... Everything is the same as last year. They might have gone up a smidgen or down a smidgen, but still in the same classes. There is a slim possibility that we could challenge egg, but the nurse thinks that the Dr. will make us wait another year. Better to wait than challenge too soon and fail. I am not hopeful since his score actually went up .17. Not much, but up is up. Besides, last time the dr told us that he would not challenge unless his RAST was a 1 and it isn't a 1. Nothing else is near challenge level. I suppose that I should be glad that we did not go up a bunch on everything like last time. But we still love that little guy no matter what. We think that he is cool beans with or without allergies. So, we are the same old same old. Don't change anything. Keep avoiding. See ya next year......




PS....I did take him to Rita's where he got a yummy treat. In fact, he had TWO yummy treats when I took him. He traded mine for his and then he twisted my arm to get another one. Lucky for me, they were all free!!!!

Toot, Toot, Chugga, Chugga......Wiggles!!

We took IZ to his first concert. His favorite band, The Wiggles, was playing their last show in the U.S. before returning to Australia for a well-deserved rest. (Boy, those guys NEVER stopped moving for an hour and a half show!). Naturally, he hated it, as you can see by the big grin on his face!

1000 songs

My iPod Nano is now approximately half full. I have 8G of memory which they say equates to 2000 songs. I now have 1002 non-Christmas songs in iTunes. When I first got it about a year and a half ago, I went through every CD I own and loaded all "iPod worthy" songs into iTunes. I've also loaded songs from other sources as well as sermons, podcasts and movie audio.

I love to keep my iPod in shuffle mode so I always have a fresh song or audio piece playing while I'm in the car, running, or just waiting for the bus. I've set the probability of hearing the same song or artist at 50%. I've also created 2 playlists that I will use on dates (since B doesn't care for a lot of my musical choices) and a "church" one for helping us focus on God as we ride to Sunday morning or youth group.

Saying all of that, I was curious to see what the most frequently played songs/audio cuts were now that I've hit the 1000 song milestone. I think it gives a good picture of my rather eclectic, (some would say weird) musical tastes. So here's my "Top 25 Most Played" tracks in order--I may blog about this again when I hit 1500.

1) To Alsan's Camp - from the Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe soundtrack. This was a surprise to me. I do love soundtracks though.

2) Startin' Monday - Terry Taylor. A folk classic about procrastination from Terry's Avacado Faultline solo CD. I'm not sure what that says about me. But I guess you can draw your own conclusions.

3) It's Rainin' - Kirk Franklin. Nike plus allows you the option of picking a "power song" to get you going if you need a musical "boost". I've never selected one but this would unofficially be it if I did. I love the bass line, the choir singing all out, and Kirk acting crazy at the end of the cut. No matter how tired I am while running, I always find myself playing "air bass" and singing along.

4) I'm Ready - Randy Travis. I love his voice. Makes me jealous. This is a gospel tune about "going the distance" which is pretty neat to listen to while running. There's a word or two I would change to be theologically correct, but otherwise, it's a great song.

5) House of Faith - Geoff Moore. This one surprised me. The song has been around for quite a while so I guess it has staying power.

6) C'mon Rock - Stryper. Glad to see an 80's metal hair band make the list. I like other CDs better, but have had "The Yellow and Black attack" for a long time.

7) Tree House - Adam Again. A classic anti-Aparthied song from a classic CD "Ten songs by Adam Again". I had to order a copy of a CD re-issue to get my hands on that track.

8) Audio from Napoleon Dynamite, "This is pretty much the worst video ever made". Makes me smile every time.

9) What it comes to - O.C. Supertones. The 'tones were my favorite band--until they folded a few years ago (snif). I still love ska.

10) Yo Ho, A Pirates Life for me - Yup, from the ride at Disney (not the movie).

11) King of Grace - Sovereign Grace. Surprisingly, the only "worship song" in the list.

12) Take a chance on me - ABBA. I think the shuffle play picks this one a lot because the group begins with "A" - though I can't fully figure out the pattern.

13) Penny Lane - The Beatles. I have a lot of Beatles.

14) Grim Jamming Ghosts - A remake of the song from Disney's Haunted Mansion. This type of music makes B question my sanity.

15) More audio from Napoleon Dynamite, "Whaddya gonna do today Napoleon?" "What ever I FEEL like doing!! GOSH!"

16) Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles. Boy, do I have a lot of Beatles.

17) Praise the Lord - Five Iron Frenzy. A crazy song from a crazy group.

18) Hoist the Colours - Hanz Zimmer. More Pirates. This time from the third movie's soundtrack.

19) Three Legged Dog - Lost Dogs. The Lost Dogs are my current favorite group.

20) Sadie Hawkins Dance - Relient K. Relient K is in my top five groups--but that's probably another blog.

21) Superfly - O.C. Supertones. Horns, guitars, ska-rockin' AWESOME!

22) Real Love - The Beatles. One of the last two songs made (post humously) by all four Beatles. I really, REALLY have a lot of Beatles.

23) Let's Go - The Cars. 70's rock. What can I say?

24) What's This? - Danny Elfman. The best song from Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas.

25) Don't Bring Me Down - Electric Light Orchestra. There's a good chance any song that was on the pop charts from 1977 - 1979 will eventually make it onto my iPod. There are exceptions of course.

So there you have it. The top 25 Most Played songs on my iPod (as of today). Makes you feel sorry for B as she shakes her head in disbelief doesn't it? Don't worry, I'm used to it!

More signs of aging

Ok....I suppose I need to confess.

I loved the punk/post-punk era and the first "alternative" genres of music. I'd tell you my favorite band of that era, but I wouldn't want to shock you too much. :) Let's just say that I liked unusual music -- still do. Most of these groups were British and I liked most of it from the wild and crazy to the sublime. Most of them few people I have met have ever heard of. I still have some of this music hanging around. And I still like it!! While not really punk, post-punk or necessarily alternative, I really liked Elvis Costello years before most people knew who he was. If you still don't know, you are missing out, IMHO. And I bet you have heard his songs. He has been in alot of movies lately and even on a tv commercial. And his song "Green Shirt" was on Muzak way back in the 80's. It really is a shame. I think EC rocks!! He can sing almost anything and sound good. He has such a rich a deep tone. I have been glad to see a kind of resurgence of him lately.

Well, the point of all of this rambling is that one of my punk/post-punk/alternative groups was playing over the Muzak in McDonald's!!! I am truly appalled! Imagine munching a Big Mac or a McChicken to "In Between Days" by The Cure. There is something just not right about it. Is Robert Smith now wearing a leisure suit and loafers? Is he now sporting a Fade? I always LOVED his hair along with that unique voice. There is just something unsettling to know that this band who used to be cutting edge is now served up with fries and happy meals. I can't imagine a whole generation growing up thinking that The Cure is old fogey music.

So, my friends...I am beyond old. I have entered the age of my parents. My favorite music is now playing over the sound system in McDonald's and soon it will be playing in elevators at the mall. What ever am I going to do!?!?!

Summer Movies--NOT Spoiler free

Here's my review/opinion of some of this summer's movies--take it with a grain of salt:

Enchanted
Saw it: twice (once free at the library)
Buy it?: Nah

Most of the casting was pretty good though the real star of this movie was NYC (Times Square, Katz's Deli, Central Park). The best scene was the "How does she know?" musical number (which I have on the ol' iPod). McDreamy is pretty good as are the other main characters EXCEPT the animated chipmunk (dumb, dumb, dumb-oh and obnoxious) and Susan Sarandon, who makes an over-the-top evil queen, but a stupid evil dragon (puh-leez). Oh! And If I ended up falling and sliding down the top of a NYC skyscraper, the last thing I'd be thinking about is "gee, let's sit here and suck face". Stupid. Very stupid. Sorry, I'll pass on this one.

Indy 4 (The crystal skull)
Saw it: once
Buy it?: yes

Ok, in spite of his tree-hugger status, I'm still a big Harrison Ford fan. Even if he's old and gray. He's still "da man". Especially in an action film. While I've only seen this once, (with N) I'd see it again. I like the Indy franchise. (except for Temple of Doom--too much of a gross out) I also like Shia LaBeouf (saw Holes, haven't seen Transformers). I kinda wish he could carry on the Indy stories as they hinted, But "Mutt Williams" doesn't have the same ring to it. Oh, and thanks Mr. Spielburg (and Lucas) for having Mutt cuss unnecessarily in the middle of a scene. Ridiculous. Nevertheless, I like the clue finding elements to the story (similar to the other Indy movies, National Treasure etc.). I like Marion's character maturity in this one.

But can we please stop having these campy vixen villianesses in Indy (and for that matter Bond) films? PLEASE?? Who in Hollywood thinks these characters have any believability at all? And I know it's a Steven Spielburg (ET, Close Encounters, I Robot), but does every story ending need to be about space aliens? I really didn't understand the whole 50's aliens/cold war storyline until after thinking about the movie as a whole. Indy shouldn't really try and slip into the sci-fi realm--kind of an awkward fit.

I didn't buy the whole, Ox: "Gee, I used to love Marion until I lost my mind, but now that Indy's here, Whoopee! You kids go and get married and I'll applaud at the ceremony". Huh? Did I miss something? Probably.

Oh, and after growing up the 70's and hearing how deadly it was to be trapped in a fridge, I had to chuckle at Indy surviving a nuclear blast by hiding in one. Yeah...riiight. Nonetheless, I'd buy the DVD. They haven't "jumped the shark" yet.

Prince Caspian
Saw it: 4(?) times
Buy the DVD?: YES

I'm a lazy reader so I haven't read the book. But I thoroughly enjoyed the film. C.S. Lewis is an amazing story teller. I understand some people objecting to the romance between Susan and Caspian, since I'm sure Lewis, in the 40's, didn't write such fluff--at least not as embellished. But it was fine for what it was --if you needed to add some kind of "contemporary" story arc.

I really enjoyed the characters, especially General Glozell. I liked how the story illustrated (at least to me) our daily battles with sin (Peter and King Miraz) that we endure--trusting in the final deliverance from a higher power. Pretty cool. Can't wait to see the next in the series. I also felt it was important that Disney knew via ticket sales that this is the type of movies people WANT to see. It's still in the dollar theater and L hasn't seen it so I may go again, since it's been a while.

"You were right to fear the woods. X"

Wall-e
Saw it: 2 times
Buy the DVD?: YES

Pixar does it again. Great movie. Even B said it was well-made. Wall-e's character doesn't become annoying (though Fred Willard does). I like the main characters (Wall-e, the roach, Eve, MO, The Captain, John and Mary). The Auto Pilot character/HAL 9000 comparison felt a bit forced, as did the "save the earth" message. I did, however, like the story aspect of showing the affects of rampant materialism. An interesting and ironic thing to say in a Disney movie.

I agree with those who thought the (robot kiss) ending was a wrong choice. I think having Wall-e revert back to his original state after helping other characters "break out" would've been a more poignant story line. But Disney opted for a "happily ever after" ending (probably to sell more Wall-e toys). I think it worked. While I'm not ready to say it's the "BEST EVER" Disney or Pixar movie (though I think it should get some sort of Oscar nomination), I'd buy the DVD (and probably a few toys at some point)

Mama Mia
Saw it: once
Buy the DVD?: Not at full price

I know I'm not the target audience for this movie since I'm male, not a huge ABBA/musical fan, and not a baby boomer, but B and I saw this on a recent date nite and it was a lot of fun. Greece is ruggedly beautiful and colorful (the movie lighting enhanced it very well) The scenery alone was worth the price of admission. Meryl Streep is much more talented than I had previously thought. I liked the other main characters/actors too, except for Christine Baranski as Tanya. I know she was supposed to be outrageous and flirty but I often found her creepy. Oh, and I can even stomach 007 singing but PLEASE keep the shirt on!! (yeech!! More like "triple-o seven")

Go see it, but don't buy the DVD new. I went home afterwards, got out our only ABBA CD and added two cuts to my iPod.

I'm waiting for pay day so I can go see The Clone Wars--the jury's still out for me on that one.

Things Old People say....

I was sitting here thinking and I realized a few things.
One in particular is that I am old.
It isn't because I have had a birthday or I have reached any other milestone. It is simply because I am hearing things come out of my mouth that I have heard my elders say in the past.

What are you doing in school?

This is what is said by old people to anyone who is either of high school or college age. In most cases, it is said when the old person has no other clue what to say. School is usually interesting, so most frequently, they go with that. This is because you can always add "Ohhhh! What instrument do you play?" or a "What is your favorite subject?" in there if there is a lull in the conversation. My kids personally despise being asked this question by their elders. Maybe that is why I ask it.

When I Was Your Age....

This is a parental phrase. Believe me, I have used this!! The reason why I think it is so ingrained in my head is that my parents shared many delightful aspects of their childhood with me in this way. My mother and father were depression babies. While my father was a bit more well off, my mother grew up on farms and had a difficult life. She did not have indoor plumbing until high school and they rose before dawn and spent their evenings in the kitchen by the light of the stove. She really did walk about 5 miles to school and it was uphill both ways. She walked in deep snow and they would take their shoes off to dry by the stove at school. My mother attended a few one-room schoolhouses and even showed us one. It was converted to a garage. My mother had one doll and I think two dresses. There were three at the most. My father's walk to school was accompanied by hissing geese.

These days, my version of the phrase is accompanied by "I didn't have a _________ until I was age _____" or "_______wasn't even invented when I was growing up." My children thoroughly enjoy these little snippets of my childhood.



"My....have you grown" or "Have you grown?"

This is said by old people that you haven't seen in awhile. Since my dad was a minister, we would move quite a bit. Often, my parents would visit parishioners after we had moved away. Quite often I would hear about the exploits of my life when I was 2yo. Of course, I would turn beet red and want to run for the nearest bathroom for an excuse to escape. The height comment is usually reserved for relatives that you have seen more recently. On occasion, these comments will be accompanied by "you look/sound just like your mother/father." Years ago I did manage to utterly humiliate a pair of teenage boys who I had watched at church when they were 4yo or so. They were my favorites, so you can imagine the comments that rolled off of my tongue. More recently, I did ask a young teen the height question. The look that she gave me confirmed that I was ooooolllllld!!!


I still have not asked dumb questions about new clothing labels/brands. Hopefully, I will not be doing that for awhile. My grandmother asked me once if "Lee" was the name of my boyfriend since his name was on the back of my pants. Knowing her, she probably felt that was completely inappropriate, but she was nice enough not to express her disapproval. I do think that those big eagles on a certain clothing brand are a bit too much. Oh, and I think that scream-o is a ridiculous name for a musical genre. I think thrash metal or heavy metal are much better choices. Scream-o sounds a bit juvenile to me.

But.....of course I am old now, so I leave the scream-o to the little kids!! :D

Wonderfully articulate post my dear B. But to be accurate, you probably should've used this image instead...

Blind Willie....

Sorry there is nothing to look at, but you can listen.
I just love his music!!
Thanks to Mr. K. for the intro.

Around the dinner table

If any of you know Ski, you will know that his brain works very differently from most people. First of all, he is a musician. And really, at any moment, he will burst into song. He is actually a walking radio of sorts. If it from the 60s through the 80s, he most likely knows it. He knows a massive amount of "one hit wonder" bands and sings lyrics to the most obscure songs. After graduation from college, he lived with a single guy who was exactly like him in this area. The guy was a drummer with a well known 80s band before the band made it big. He also played drums for his night job...you know, like a lounge singer. Beyond music, Ski and Tim were really night and day. But if you spent some time with them together, you could easily see how they were able to get along. They would have entire conversations which entailed large amounts of singing. It really was amazing to witness. Often, they would break into the same song at the same moment. Fascinating!!! They would reference 10 songs average during conversations. Of course, I am the one who knows songs, but I forget the words. Don't ask me if I know a song by the title. You have got to sing it to me. Then, maybe..... I would stand amazed and confused by it. Sometimes, the references would be unknown to me. But other times, like when we were in the attic talking about a chimney of all things and "Ya mo be there" was referenced, I understood. Now that Ski has only me in his life, he lacks that witty musical repartee and we are just left to wonder where that song came from.

So, that little background, which has nothing to do with dinner, brings me to my story. The other night at dinner, my beloved Ski broke into "....All I am saying is give peas a chance." We were not eating peas. We were not talking about peas or peace or war or the 60s or anything else that might explain an outburst like this. So, of course, our oldest son burst into raucous laughter. Yes, he thinks anything is absolutely hilarious. I am rolling my eyes. Ski is full of self satisfaction so takes the opportunity to repeat himself. Once again, my eyes roll around and ds and his younger brother begin the cackling. Then, out of the silent and female end of the table, Boo decides it is time to take a stand.

She said with all the seriousness in the world (because she really is the serious one), "Give BRUSSEL SPROUTS a chance!!"

Ski was incredulous. "What?!?!"

She takes a breath and repeats "Give Brussel Sprouts a chance!!! People won't even try them and they really should because they are REALLY GOOD!!"

So, there you have it. And she wasn't even eating them for dinner that night!! But she did pick the photo for the blog. :)
Eat your brussel sprouts!!!

I Love Free Stuff!!!

I just love free stuff!!
I get free stuff all the time. I get mail for stuff for my teens like feminine products and acne things. I tell companies that I love their products and they send me coupons. One company even told me to write again and they would send me more!! Even when I tell a company about how displeased I am they send me coupons. I don't know why!!

Well, my kids ran out of milk again today.
I am seriously considering buying a cow!!
There are only 6 of us that use cow milk, but oh my!!!! We go through it like water!!! And seriously, we just bought milk two days ago!! Today I just happened to get a coupon for a free item from Organic Valley. So, I bought a gallon outrageously expensive organic milk for my kiddos' habit -- and it was free!! If we hadn't been out of milk, I might have saved it for some meat since the limit on it was $10. I was surprised that the lady didn't say anything. Once I brought a coupon in for some free POM and they about had a canary because that stuff is $$$. It had no price limit so I got the biggest one that I could find. :) I didn't like it much, though...

Drink up!!

Da Do Run, Run, Run

I recently hit a few personal milestones with my running. Nike Plus keeps track of your mileage (via iPod Nano hotsync downloads) and "rewards" you when you hit certain distances. When I started running I was determined to train at a slow pace because everything I heard and read said not to overdo it and get hurt. I may at some point blog about the training schedule/method I came up with but, suffice it to say that I took that advice to heart.

So, according to Nike, "on 7/29/08, after 218 runs at an average pace of 14 minutes, 47 seconds per mile, JangoMickey (that's me) ran 500 total miles". I basically started in January of 2007 to give you and idea of how long it took me.

This month, for the first time ever, I ran the distance of a 5k as well. I hope to start joining some actual 5k races soon. I already run outside, not on a treadmill, so I'm used to that but I'm sure the adrenaline will be different if I'm aware of other runners going the same distance that I am. My goal all along has been to maintain at least a 16 min/mile pace. I really don't think running with others will have a huge impact. But it sounds fun and a t-shirt and crossing off a personal goal will be enough of a reward for me personally. Stay tuned.

Hangin' out with Tweezy

Ok, lemme take a breath.............

Boy for a "sabbatical month" we've sure had a lot going on. I wanted to get some things that are blog-worthy up. B's already blogged about our "peachfest". MMMMmmm...pies..jams..mmmm. Life is good. BTW, "two bushels" doesn't sound like a lot, but that's four medium sized cardboard boxes full of peaches. I got a pretty bad case of poison ivy too. (from climbing under peach trees?)

My wireless connection on my laptop magically started working again--after going on on strike for 3 months. (yay!) No more being tethered to the desk with an Ethernet cord when I work from home! (who hoo!) BUT...(not so fast), then our remote (VPN) connection was "upgraded" and guess what? Wireless no longer working! (boo!) HOWEVER... God smiled on me and helped me figure it out after a few days. (I now have two programs that like to fight over who will allow remote access--one from home, one from the office). Anyway, I think I figured out the "new routine".

Here's one of the coolest thing that happened recently:
I took the older kids to a minor league ballgame where KJ-52 was performing a concert after the game. I've already posted an iPod worthy entry about KJ. Pretty much everyone in our family likes him but we didn't think the little ones would sit through nine innings and then a concert without going stir crazy or falling over exhausted.

I didn't realize the concessions at the ballpark were "CASH ONLY" so I was on the cellphone with B making online banking arrangements when I saw someone walk over to the merchandise tables that I thought looked a little like KJ. I've read on the Fourms page of his site that many people can't believe he sets up his own merch and will ask him "when's KJ-52 coming on?". So N was with me (we were on a food run and the girls were in the upper deck above us) and I told him to go get his sisters QUICK!!!

By the time they came down a small crowd had gathered and was interacting with him. I had finished my "financial arrangements" call with B and we were able to spend a few minutes talking to him. I had built into the kids the expectation that our Upper level, General Admission "nosebleed seats" would probably afford us a teeny-tiny view of the concert. So this was really quite a thrill to be face to face with "Five Tweezey". By the grace of God I had remembered to slip my camera in my pocket and he was gracious enough to let us snap a pic of him, as he put it, "hangin' with the chillies" and he even let C take a quite humorous pic of me and him. (I'm old and I'm in a silly hat but I'm still WAAAAAY COOOOL!!)

Oh, and the kid in front of us gloved a screamin' foul ball that was headed right toward my face. AND we got to move down to the lower level seats for the concert after the game. (swwweet!)

KJ, you RAWK (for Jesus)!!!

Can-can

Oh my!!!!!
I think I need to take more pics.
But honestly, my hands were just too messy!!!

This past weekend, we went peach picking. In much less than an hour, all 8 of us picked two bushels of peaches. YUM!!!!
I made.....
two pies
a batch of low sugar jam
a batch of regular peach jam
a large batch of peach butter
13 qts of sliced canned peaches
All canned in my hot water canner.....

and 2 frozen gallon bags of slices
and I will be making a double batch of peach cobbler for dh
And I STILL have peaches in my fridge!!!

Oh, and I gave away a basket of peaches and a jar of jam to my host this week in Chapel Hill as a thank you for letting me stay there.

I will try to get a pic of some jars.
Iz sees the Dermatologist tomorrow so.....

Oh....and I did all of this right after I had the world's most terrible cold!! And for fun, I drove about 6 hrs in two days (not counting all the time I spent getting lost) in the middle of all my canning spree.