The Royal Wedding.

I knew that all things Royal Wedding would be featured on lots of blogs this morning and I was right.  However, I am sad to say that I have seen very little of any of it. But how stunning is this?

W.O.W.

One of my cute readers, Libbie, posted that she and her little girl (complete with a princess crown and veil) went over to her sister's house in the middle of the night to watch the event together.  How fun is that?  I have lots of daughters and lots of sisters - why didn't we have a party?  Shoot.  (Oh yeah, I work ... big frown.)

We did TiVo it though, and I do plan on watching it, and I will love all of it, just like I did when I watched Lady Di marry Prince Charles.  I SO remember that day .... which reminds me of that post I did quite some time ago about wedding dresses .....

Hmmmm.

Do you remember that?  I wanted you to send in a picture of you in your wedding dress (yes, that means you, and you, and you too) and tell me why you chose it.  So here is another excuse to reminisce about that special day!  And June is coming up too - how does that song go about June Brides?  Another perfect excuse reason to share the bridal LoVe!!!!  (It'll be fun.)

Go to my "view profile" - click on my "email" - write a little wedding dress story - attach a photo - hit "send" ... you'll be glad you did!  (I will be soliciting too.)

   

Mint chocolate chip.

And then there are those days when everything is making me absolutely crazy and I say, "Diet Shmiet .... I need a Baskin Robbins run!"  

Because this truly IS one of my happiest little things.  Best ice cream cone ever - no battle!!!

Protein Style.

You know what the beauty of being on "my" diet for me is?  I still get to eat my favorite food for lunch.  I just order it protein style and I'm good to go.

My sister, Leslie, thinks I'm lucky that my protein diet works so well for me;  lean meat, veggies, eggs - bacon if you want, grapefruit juice.  I can usually drop a pound a day on it.  (She doesn't like it because she isn't a big meat eater.)  But it does get mighty boring after a while, as most diets do, so I only do it a couple three days. (That's an expression I remember my grandparents using ... its kind of funny.)  Losing a few pounds fast is a good way to motivate you to then watch what you eat and keep going, right?

Leslie sent me this picture yesterday on facebook and wrote:

"polly, saw this pic and strangely......thought of you."

Guess I'm lucky that one of my favorite drink is on my diet too, huh?   :)

Easter wishes.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter weekend.  

My children were gone for the whole week on a Spring break trip and arrived home Sunday afternoon around 1:00.  It felt really, REALLY good to have all of my kiddies back home in the same place again!  I missed them so ....

The Tennessee experience.

One of the main reasons I have been SO busy and don't have enough hours in the day is largely due to the arrival of these two sillies.  Their year contract with the "Tennessee Shindig" show was up as of April 1st and they were just a little bit ECSTATIC to come home.  They absolutely LOVED performing every night, loved their cast mates, their new friends, the state of Tennessee (note the large orange T and Tennessee plate), and life on their own - but they were ready to come home.  I just wasn't quite ready for their arrival back home.

The remodel of the basement happened while they were away, as did the move in of renters, so it has been an adjustment since both of their rooms were in the basement.  I have a wall of totes and boxes in the garage belonging to them. And see those two cars up above?  Those cars drove home filled to the brim with lots and lots more stuff ... which happens when you are girls who love to shop, make good money with very few bills, and have several outlet malls right down the street from you.  The task ahead, of finding space for all of it, remains challenging.

BUT! It really is so fun to have them home.  They add lots of spunk and energy to our family dynamic. (Can you tell?)  I just adore them. I will miss my getaways to TN and watching them perform though - I sure loved those shows.  When I took all of the kids last November, McCall said, "I could watch this show every night."  I have to agree.  Here is what we saw, and what we will miss:  (warning - picture overload).

Lots of dancing ...

Lots of singing ...

Impersonators - like the Blues Brothers ...

And Reba ...

And cute Dolly ...

Lots of Elvis' ...

And "handsome Michael" ...

The Bendys dressing room antics ...

The Beatles ...

Little Richard and Obama ...

Marilyn ...

One of my favorite numbers - Cherokee Nation ...

The patriotic finale ...

And getting to say, "Those are my girls!"

It was a great run girlies!  And bitter sweet to see that chapter of their/our lives close.  (At least for me.)

Asparagus.

I guess I have been a little absent from the blogging world lately and I don't like it.  

I have taken lots of pictures lately and have lots of happy little things to blog about, but the thing that I lack right now is hours in a day.  I am overwhelmed at home, overwhelmed at work, and going a little bit crazy.

But I did feel the NEED to post so I remembered how incredible the asparagus was that I fixed and devoured on Sunday night.

I think I have probably bought asparagus .... oh ... maybe, once.  Ever.  (If I did buy it twice, I never fixed the second bundle and ended up throwing it out.  Partly because I do that, and partly because I don't really know how to fix it and have it taste really, super yummy.)  But on Sunday afternoon, I stopped by my friend Vicki's house and she had a bundle.  She and her husband were heading out of town so she asked if I wanted it.  I said sure.

Then Vicki proceeded to show me how she makes it - because when she makes it, it is really, REALLY good.  She showed me how she breaks the stems where they want to be broken.  (She said, "Just bend the ends back and they will break off right where they should.")  Then she said she puts butter in a frying pan, adds a little lemon juice, sprinkles on a little bit of seasoning salt and cooks them for about 4 minutes.

So that's what I did as soon as I got home.  See that bundle up above?  That's about how much asparagus I ate all by myself - prepared exactly the way Vicki instructed and may I just say, I think that is going to be one of my new favorite things to eat ...

(Magically) D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S!

The color of spring.

I went to my bank today during lunch and noticed a beautiful splash of color.

Spring has sprung ...

Dancing Kirstie.

I have never been a huge fan of Kirstie Alley ... and its not that I don't like her, I guess I am just indifferent about her and her career.  BUT!!!  Have you SEEN her on Dancing with the Stars????  What a surprise she has been!

She is an amazing dancer and looks fantastic!  (Who would have guessed that about her?)  And I can't even believe that she is 60 ... 60!?!?!   Oooooo ... and that Maks ...  LoVe him ... always have.  I am just a little envious that Kirstie gets to have Maks as her "personal trainer."  I certainly wouldn't mind a guy like that teaching me ballroom dance moves and giving me a workout everyday.  (Just sayin'.) 

In case you haven't watched Dancing with the Stars yet this season - I highly recommend you tune in.  It's a great cast this year - lots of good dancers.  But, Kirstie?  She is the one I look forward to watching the most, truly.

Snow globes.

It snowed yesterday ... quite a bit, in fact.

It looked like a HUGE snow globe ... all day long.

Spring is definitely showing signs of coming ...

This is just a little set back for her ...

And I'm not complaining one tiny bit.  It was beautiful.

Justin B.

My littlest baby girl turned 16 today ...

All she wanted was a visit from her biggest crush, Justin Bieb.

How could I not accommodate her request???

Doesn't the expression on her face just make the cost of a personal visit totally worth it?

... and such a polite young man.  I was impressed.