The Case of the Mistaken House

We are spending Thanksgiving this year in the mountains and it is beautiful. No snow yet, but nice just the same. My mom, the girls and I came up to Boone yesterday and checked in to our townhouse. My suburban was loaded down, so it took awhile to get everything unpacked and organized. We were expecting a certain bed arrangement...King sized beds, two queens in one room, etc. That was the first sign that something was not quite right. The kitchen looked as if someone had just left, the refrigerator was fully stocked which is kind of rare in a rental property. After we had been settled in for a few hours, the oldest lil' darlin went outside and compared our keys to the house number. She came in freaking out, saying: "We're in the wrong house, we're in the wrong house". Sure enough, we were relaxing in the wrong abode. Unfortunately we didn't have a hidden camera capturing our shift in gears. We were throwing things in bags, thinking this family could arrive home at any minute. We felt like the three bears eating someone else's porridge. We made it without getting caught. Not that we were purposely doing anything wrong, it was an honest mistake. And who knows why our key opened their house. Oh well, just making more crazy memories! Happy Thanksgiving!

Country Music

My taste in music is ALL OVER the place. If you took a peek at my music collection there would be something of everything except techno, I don't really dig that. When I'm in the car, I'm an XM or NPR girl, so I am not exposed to mainstream radio that much. But, the hubby has been listening to a lot of country radio in his car lately. He says it's better for the kids. Better than the station he was listening to, I will agree with that. Anything is an improvement over a song that talks about "licking like a lollipop", excuse the vulgarity, but that's what it says. Anyway, a few weeks ago I heard a country song that talked about fried chicken. I kind of did the internal eye roll and changed the station. Then I heard it again a few days later and listened and really liked it. Yes, it does talk about "drinking beer on a Friday night", but I can handle that. The kids love it and you really can not help but tap your foot and sing along.



I can't write a post about country music without plugging my dear friend Laura's brother, Pat Green. He has a new single out and it seems to be doing really well. He is a really nice guy that is so down-to-earth. I think it makes it so much easier to support artists when you know they are really good people. And good at what they do!

O' Christmas Tree

Well, if blogging was my job, I would definitely be fired by now. My posts have been on the scarce side lately, so I apologize. This past week I put up the girls' Christmas Tree upstairs. Of course it has to be pink and this year we added a butterfly to the top. The twins were really excited to help this year.

San Miguel

San Miguel nocturno..., originally uploaded by DieQro.

I have this unquenchable thirst for travel. It is hard to nail down the exact time in my life when it started, but I know a day does not go by that I do not think of someplace I want to see. I suppose a lot of these feelings can be attributed to moving to Australia when I was in middle school. I became aware of the world in such a different way... its beauty, its differences, its similarities, its gift of experiences. In college I was determined to see Europe. With three other friends I backpacked for a month and came home with more incredible experiences that remain a highlight of my life. I continue to travel as much as I can and I always delight in having a trip to look forward to. Now, if I could find a way to make money and travel, that would be my absolute dream job. I suppose that is a long prelude to the post I had in mind. A girl can get carried away when she really loves something.

I really want to share my love of travel with my kids and give them the gift of seeing new places and having eye-opening experiences like I did. I feel like this is important. I have done so much research on spending an extended amount of time in San Miguel in Mexico. It's kind of silly because it definitely is not in the budget at this time, but it is good to have a dream to work towards. San Miguel is located in central Mexico and has a large population of expatriates. Perhaps it would defeat the purpose to be in a foreign country where a lot of Americans live. But the culture there is preserved enough that I feel it would still be worthwhile. It is a very artistic community with beautiful architecture and simple charm. I've looked into the language school there for the kids, summer camps, cooking classes, rental homes. So, if you are looking for a good place to take the kids this summer I would give it a thumbs up. I feel like the guy on the street corner at the end of Pretty Woman, "Everybody's got a dream, now, what's your dream?"

Baby, It's Cold Outside

Brrrrrrr.....it is cold in Charlotte. Considering that the holidays are right around the corner, the weather is appropriate for getting in the spirit. The chill makes me want to curl up by a fire with some hot chocolate and listen to Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's version of "Baby It's Cold Outside". I can not believe next week is Thanksgiving (I will be saying this about every major and minor event in my life from here on out because time just flies by way too fast). This year we will be spending the holiday in the mountains, where it will be really cold. I'm praying for some snowflakes while we're there. We do not ever see snow on Christmas, so Thanksgiving will do in a flash. Thanksgiving is one of my most favorite meals of the year....turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, bread. Personally, that's all I need to feel complete, but there will be so much more. Sweet Potato Pie, Collards, Corn, the list goes on. Do you have a food that defines Thanksgiving for you, without it the day just would not feel the same?

Seal

Seal has just released a new album of 60's Soul Classics....darn, does it get any better? Here is the video for "A Change Is Going To Come". I bet it will make you head over to iTunes and buy the album.

Yummy

Wednesdays are crazy in our household, well, everyday is crazy...but Wednesdays seem to be a little busier. Maybe I will start posting recipes on Wednesday, because sometimes the hustle and bustle of hump day makes my creative juices freeze. Monday night I made these chicken enchiladas and they were so yummy. I followed the recipe except I did not roast the chicken, I just used chicken breasts. Topped with salsa and avocado, it was a definite keeper.

Some Things I Wish My Kids Could Understand

• Mommy can not do a zillion things while still trying to drive the car, if you want to keep your life
• Eating boogers is not good for you
• Candy does not quench hunger, nor do boogers for that matter
• Christmas Trees are not scary and should not result in ear-numbing screams
• The air vent in their room is not a cage housing green monsters
• Butterflies do not bite and leave bruises (Lil' Darlin' A, pointing to a bruise on her leg: "A butterfly flied in my room and bite me")
• Calling the computer, "your peter" is bound to get you in trouble, but is still hysterical

Another Reason I Love My Husband

He loves to dance with his girls, even while one is trying to pull his pants down.

Happy Birthday

The oldest lil' darlin' is 7 today. WOW, it really is hard to believe how fast seven years can go by. I am so lucky to spend everyday with my little ray of sunshine. Don't get me wrong, we can drive each other plum crazy, but I miss her to pieces when she is not around. I feel really proud to have such a sweet and thoughtful little girl that loves to laugh, dance, sing, snuggle and play. It looks like her seventh year will finally bring her some new front teeth, she basically spent six with a snaggle-tooth grin. So, today I am sending big Happy Birthday wishes to my little one, I hope all her birthday wishes come true.

P.S. Mamma Mia is one of my favorite movies and everytime I hear the song, "Slipping Through My Fingers" I get teary. It really is such a reminder to enjoy all the fleeting moments. So, tonight when Isabella is blowing out her candles and making a big wish, I will be wishing for everyday reminders to savor the small stuff.

I Heart NYC-Part 2

I know, it's about time I finish this. In case you missed Part 1, you can always go back and look at the older posts. I pick up on Sunday morning, my BFF's birthday! Let me give you a little bit of background: when we were planning this trip I mentioned that I would like to take a trapeze class (which resulted in a few eye-rolling looks from the hubby and a "I already know she's crazy" kind-of-look from the BFF). But I convinced them to look at the video on the website and they came on over to my side. The hubby still wants to take a trip to NYC and do the trapeze class. Sally decided to share the experience with me and make it a birthday she would not soon forget. It was a beautiful morning and we arrived at the Piers for our outdoor class. We harnassed up and received instruction and then we were off. I was so dang nervous and wondering why I ever came up with this great idea! Everyone that went before me made it look so easy, so I ventured up the ladder to take my turn. First of all, the bar is so heavy and I must have major trust issues because I felt like the instructor was going to let go of me before it was time to fly. They give you a cue to fly and I was the only participant that could not go when they told me to. But I finally did and all was good. I was able to hang by my legs and do a catch at the end. BUT, I was a crazy mess. I was shaking so bad between turns that poor Sally never got a good picture because I couldn't hold the camera still. It was a good experience and I am glad that I did it, but I did learn that I could never bungee jump or skydive.

Afterwards, we had lunch at a corner deli and did some more shopping. Then, it was time for dinner at Rosa Mexicano at Union Square. The food was scrumptious! They have wonderful guacamole and Pomegranite Margaritas. Yet another wonderful meal!

When we left there was a Fire Station across the street, so we stopped and had our picture taken and chatted a little while.

Sally and I had a later flight on Monday, so we scheduled a Circle Line Boat Tour to see Olafur Eliasson's Waterfall installation. It was pretty amazing. He took elements that you commonly see in New York city construction, like scaffolding, etc. to create massive waterfalls. It was a unique sight to see.

Then, it was back home. I absolutely can not wait to go back!

Decision Day

I don't think I have ever been so excited about an Election Day! Even when I voted for my first Presidential Election (and waited in line for 4 hours), I didn't feel like this. I am sporting my red, white and blue today and am feeling really upbeat. It is quite infectious to see so many people exercising their right to vote and being proactive about our country's direction. Lucky for me, North Carolina had early voting with massive turnouts; so many people had already voted that I did not have to wait one minute. When I got back home the oldest darlin' tried to rip my 'I Voted' sticker off my shirt to give it to a whiny younger sister and I almost came out of my chair. "I am proud to wear this sticker and you are not taking it off," I yelled. Then she shrugged and said: "What's the big deal?" I thought to myself, she has a lot to learn!

Trick or Treat

I hope everyone had a great Halloween. The girls had a wonderful time trick or treating in the neighborhood with their cousins! We have more candy than Willy Wonka around here. I've been hiding it around the house, so I will probably be finding my stashes for months to come. The policy of asking before you eat candy has gone out the window. I suppose they feel that if they went door to door to get the candy it's rightfully theirs to eat at their discretion.