Girlie Stuff

A few months ago I started ordering things from Avon to support my cousin Mandy in Colorado. I am not a big make up user so I decided to order stuff that I would purchase from Wal Mart, like shower gel and lip balm. They ship for free, even to Hawaii! I love to get packages, so what the heck?

I discovered they have great lip gloss. This stuff is awesome! It isn't sticky, it tastes great, and comes in a ton of colors. I bought one with my first order and then several more for Quincie and I. I like the lighter colors better, like Mirage, Tickled Pink, and Clear.

I have always had sensitive skin. I like to joke that I have delicate Princess skin, but really what it means is that stuff designed to make you soft and pretty makes me red and itchy. I have tried so many moisturizers over the years, all with the same sad affect, yucky looking and feeling skin. I don't want to have old wrinkly skin. I figure at 40 my youthful skin is on borrowed time and I should probably find a moisturizer that works for me and start using it. At Mandy's suggestion, I gave the Anew line from Avon a try. I was pleasantly surprised. In one use I could feel a difference in the smoothness of my skin. It's good stuff. I have figured out that I am most sensitive to products with sunscreen in them, so I use the night cream during the day as well. I know I should use sunscreen, but I haven't found one yet that doesn't do unpleasant things to my skin.

I decided to become a representative. Now I get all this great stuff at a discount, and I get to share the fun. If I make a few dollars along the way, that's an awesome bonus! I won't spam my friends and family, and I won't go knocking on the doors of strangers. You can go to my website and order or you can contact me directly. If you register on my site you can choose to receive emails about sales, etc. They offer great specials in those emails, so if you don't mind a little girlie stuff in your inbox, sign up.

Seriously, check out the Glazewear lip gloss, it rocks!

Another Day at the Beach

Chester is learning how to dig like Charlie. He doesn't quite get it.

Dogs + Beach = True Love

One afternoon Carl says, "Come on, let's take the dogs to the beach." The kids and the dogs jumped in the back of the truck, and off we went, to the beach park about 5 minutes from our house.

Chester does not travel well. He gets motion sickness, even in the back of a truck. This trip was no exception, he threw up. Crazy, a dog that can't go for a 5 min ride without losing his lunch. I sure hope he out grows it.

Once we got to the beach they were in heaven! Charlie is well acquainted with the ocean, but not Chester. Chester was so funny. He kept rolling in the sand. Once he was wet from the ocean he tried to roll in the sand to dry off. He looked like a piece of fried chicken, drenched, dredged, and ready to cook. He's such a lovable little dork.

This photo is of Charlie out in the water. He is amazing! Carl threw a tennis ball out into the water and he took off like a shot. He dove in and didn't slow down a bit. He swims almost as fast as he runs. It doesn't matter how far you throw the ball, he swims out there and gets it, over and over and over again. Sometimes he rides a wave back in. A body surfing dog is awesome! I will try to catch some photos of that next time we go.


When Charlie isn't swimming to get the ball, he is trying to bury it in the sand. He digs and digs, throwing sand everywhere between his back legs. In his crazy frantic digging the ball gets flung out of the hole, causing him to go chasing after it. It's very fun to watch.

Aren't those clouds amazing? It is almost sunset so they have taken on a pink glow.
Life doesn't get any better than this.

Multicultural Dining

I am sure this has happened to you before. You are driving around with a group of friends or family trying to decide what to eat. Everyone is hungry, but the ideas are all over the place. There is no consensus amongst the group. Someone shouts out, "Mexican", "No, Chinese", another says, "Italian", "How about breakfast?". Of course the most irritating individual says, "None of those, but I don't know what I want."

Just last week I realized the solution. There is a place that is quick, easy, and even affordable, where you can make everyone happy, except maybe Miss I Don't Know. I have been eating there for years, and you probably have been too.

Jack in the Box has it all - Mexican, Italian, Chinese, 24 hour breakfast, shakes, smoothies, and even boring old burgers. Last week I drove away with tacos, mozzarella sticks with zesty marinara, and the best egg rolls, all for under $10. Now tell me, how do you beat that?

Happy Birthday Gmail

I love all things Google. I wasn't a gmail user on day one, but I was within the first year of it's existence. I have my fellow techno gadget freak brother, Rik to thank for the invitation. Back then Gmail invites were as hard to come by as Grand Central ones are today. As a self-employed, office of one, Google has made my life easier on many levels. It all started with Gmail, and just keeps getting better. It seems as if the features I wish for often appear soon after wishing for them. I love their April Fool's Day jokes. I still lament that back dated emails was a joke.

A House of Music

I love a house full of music. Tonight Ryker and I are watching a show about the top hits of the 70's. In the last hour I have said, "I remember dancing with my Mom to that song", and "I remember my Mom singing that song", countless times. As a child the radio was always on, and Mom was always singing. Unless she was behind the wheel, she was usually dancing as well. I specifically remember learning to do the Jitter Bug to Blackwater by the Doobie Brothers. All that music made for very happy days. The memory of it is very sweet.

I am glad that I married into a musical family. I've been in awe of Carl's guitar playing for years. When he had his band, our house was always rockin', it was awesome! I wish I had recordings of them. Now that Ryker plays, there is hardly a day without some sort of live music in our house. Most recently it's been the ukulele for Ryker.

I am what every musician needs - an appreciative audience.

On the Road Again

Today was my first full day back on the road.  Car troubles are resolved - Woo Hoo!!!!

It is a very disconcerting feeling to be without transportation.  It feels akin to claustrophobia to me.  I think the common element is the loss of control over your environment.  Without transportation I feel trapped and limited, unable to respond to life in the usual manor. We lived for many years with only one car. It was fine then.  But now, it doesn't work so well.  We are all going in different directions at different times of the day and night.  Life is quick and unpredictable.

I am so grateful have the Camero fully functional, licensed, etc.  Without Carl I would still be stuck.  He did all the fixing and replacing of broken parts. He did all the hard, dirty, crappy work.  I just did a lot of standing in line and sitting in the waiting room at Goodyear. Thanks to Carl I have my freedom and sanity back!

Antique Frosting Recipes

My Grandma Teusink baked and cooked lots of yummy things. I have many fond memories of Grandma and food. I LOVE her canned tomato sauce/juice! Especially made into goulash. She grew those tomatoes, canned them, and than cooked them up with ground beef and noodles. I am afraid that I will never taste that again.

In an effort to rescue these memories and share them with future generations I have asked my Mom to scan all the recipes she has from Grandma. A few weeks ago a large envelope arrived with photo copies of many of these recipes. I love it that they are in Grandma's hand writing. I want to create a something with color scans of them so they are preserved in a digital format.

Today Quincie made a chocolate cake. She frosted it with Grandma's White Frosting. It tastes just like I remember - like fluffy marshmallow! It is a great frosting, and so easy. Grandma gives credit to Yvonne Domogalski for this recipe. I have transcribed the recipe exactly as it is on the hand written card.

White Frosting

1 unbeaten egg white
3/4 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp. cream of tarter
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup boiling hot water

Mix well with electric mixer til stiff.
Makes a big batch.
(tastes like 7 minute frosting)

A couple weeks ago I made a yellow cake and frosted it with Grandma's chocolate frosting. It was so great! It made me feel like I was a kid again, sitting in Grandma's kitchen, licking a beater.

One Minute Frosting

1 cup white sugar
1 stick oleo
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tablesp. cocoa

Put all ingredients together in pan, bring to boil. (stirring constantly). Boil over med. heat for one minute. Remove from heat - cool to lukewarm. Beat until stiff enough to spread.

I didn't have any "oleo" on hand, so I used real butter. It tasted great, but I think the texture would have been more like Grandma's if I had used oleo. The taste is very similar to fudge. Just awesome!