I recommend . . .

I recommend that when you want to have a mini celebration.



And spend $15 on cupcakes from the fabulous Cupcake Conspiracy.



That you don't let your teenage son carry them into the house:

Here's another view:

So, so sad.

~b~

The War of the Worlds

I've been reading in the evenings to my son in hopes of continuing his interest in reading.  We are reading The War of the Worlds by H.G Wells that is a short, inexpensive book that is filled with alien machines, fighting and destruction.  It seemed like a good first choice to start reading together.  In the evenings we all hang out on my bed, I read out loud while my son listens (I think) and lovingly bothers Max the dog.  

So far, we have read about the initial Martian arrival and have followed the panic filled flight from the ensuing destruction.  I have been stumbling over the pronounciations of the English towns such as Chobham, Woking, Horsell, and Chertsey, but we have now finally reached the easily pronounable city of London.

The latest chapter that we are reading has shown London's reaction to the impeding disaster: from a blissful, sleepy ignorance to increasing panic with church bells ring in the middle of the night and policemen banging on every door, waking up sleeping residents and urging flight.  I'm finding the style that the book is written in is hard to read out loud and towards the end of the chapters my throat is dry and my jaw is sore from speaking and I start hoping to get to the end of the chapter because I don't want to read out loud any more.


I was about to finish the chapter when I read this:

My brother heard footsteps running to and fro in the rooms, and up and down stairs behind him.  His landlady came to the door, loosely wrapped in dressing gown and shawl.  Her husband followed ejaculating.


?????

!!!!!

??!!!???!!

As much as I wanted to speed onto the next sentence, my mind prevented me.  What!!!  Did I just read what I think I read???  Could That Word possibly mean something else when it was written in 1898??  Could her husband have simply burst out the the room loudly yelling and gesticulating wildly???  What??!!!


Loosely wrapped dressing gown and shawl pretty much contextualized the whole scene in my mind and I just hoped my son was too busy bothering the dog to be paying any attention to what I was reading.  I thought I had gotten away without some sort of explanation and could continue reading, and then my son said:

What??


Thankfully there was only one last sentence left and I quickly concluded the evenings read.  The next book we read will definitely be a more well known book, like Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlottes Web, or even Dr. Suess.   ANY book without the word ejaculating I will gladly read.  

~b~

Fall Photo Shoot

I spent a couple hours last Saturday enjoying the beautiful weather and taking pictures of one cute girl.  She just started saying my name and it kills me how cute it sounds:  Beh-Key.  I love it!

Taking pictures of a small child is tough.  It was a constant battle to be more interesting than everything else.  

I lost out to a bottle cap here:

I quickly learnt that children need lots and lots of time to play so they can be happy and smiling.  I took a lot of successive shots and could have easily make a flip book that shows one happy face turn into an annoyed face.  

We were lucky to find a sandbox at Innovation Place Park:  the Zen Garden was filled with mounds of gravel and it was about this time that the shoes and socks came off:

I think I took about 500 hundred pictures that day.  There were a whole lot of eyes closed - grumpy - not  looking at the camera pictures.

But taking all those pictures is worth it when you get one like this:

Success!

It was such a beautiful day to hang out and take pictures.  And all it took to procure my services that day was a trip to Homesteads for a Carrot Cake Ice Cream.

~b~

Thank you!

I love helping out and was happy to help work on house reno's again the other weekend   My prowess at using a cat's claw is nothing short of amazing.  I also learnt how to hang siding and how to insulate a wall.

Here are some before and afterish pictures:

I

I also love going to concerts.  Especially the last minute, spur of the moment, going to Arcade Fire kinda of concert.

Arcade Fire was awesome.

I think the beer fueled exuberance of the guys in front of us brought out a bit of my enthusiasm and I definitely had a lot of fun.  During this past week I have been listening to Arcade Fire and it makes me happy because it reminds me of the awesome concert that I ended up going to.

So thank you Aaron and Karla for asking me to help work on you house.  I always love to help out.  And thank you thank you thank you for the Arcade Fire ticket and the great memory.  The concert was amazing.

~b~

About Me

I just added an About Me page and decided to add some of my favorite random posts.

As I was selecting posts at random, I realized that sometime since now and last year I've lost my humor.  Or oddness.

Humor or oddness, I'm not sure which I had, or which I've lost, and I'm definitely not sure where "it" went exactly.

Nevertheless, here is my random selection of posts I included that show that I was once humorous (or odd) at one point in time:


Hairstyles of the Big and Brawny

I got a little carried away on my trip to Mount Rushmore and I took a gadzillion pictures of the buffalo there.  After uploading my pictures I began to notice an uncanny resemblance to Dave Navarro:

 

I also love that if you google "hairstyles with less volume" you will eventually find a link to this post.  Ha!


Blackened Chicken on Delicious Pizza Dough

After buying my Nikon d90 I found myself doing strange things like running outside with my blackened chicken to capture the last rays of the day.  I'm awful at remembering to put recipes up, but when I do I guarantee they will be good.

Something in Your Teeth

I added this to feature my handsome, but daft dog-child Max. He's much better at posing than my cameraphobe teenager.  

I May Be a Little Weird . . .

This post definitely highlights my weirdness and oddness, and I may have crossed the line in sharing too much, but if your curious check it out.

VD

Find out my ideal BF and my ode to my special someone that I posted on FB on valentines day.

Confessions of a Beckarazzi

I'm not sure what got into me that day at the co-op, as I stalked little old ladies (LOD's) in the produce section, but you can read all about it.

Boys!

This has got to be one of the most embarressing things that has ever happened to me at church, or as a mother.  Read this post to partake in my embarrassement.

Check out my About Me page and have a great weekend!

~b~

The League of Extraordinary Gentleman Carpenters

My friend assembled a League of Extraordinary Gentleman Carpenters this weekend to work on some reno's.  Like most projects, it started with replacing the stairs to the deck, which led to the discovery of water damage to the side of the house.

We spent the day removing the deck and replacing the damage to the house.  Being the sole woman on the Extraordinary Gentleman Carpenter Crew, I helped out by prying and hammering and displaying my extraordinary first aid skills when someone stepped on a nail.

I guess, if I could sum up this weekend's reno project, I'd have to say:  It's all fun and games until someone steps on a nail.

~b~

Strawberry Cream Cheese Wontons

The Tasty Kitchen Blog featured a Nutella and Banana Wontons Recipe a while back.  The warm gooey inside contrasted with the crispy sugary outside made a very good treat (okay, okay, I actually made this for supper).  

I used plain old peanut butter instead of Nutella.  I'm not a huge fan of peanut butter, so I got to thinking of other combinations that could be made and came up with strawberries and cream cheese, sprinkled with icing sugar:

  

Here is my version:

1 package of Wonton Wrappers
Canola Oil
1 package of cream cheese
Strawberries, sliced thinly
1 egg, beaten
Powdered Sugar

Line a cookie sheet with the wonton wrappers.  Place thin slices of cream cheese and strawberries in the center.   Wet two adjoining sides of the wonton square with the beaten egg.  Fold the square and press the seams together to seal the wonton wrapper.

Pour enough oil in a frying pan to cover the wonton wrappers.  Set the burner on high and heat the oil.  When the oil is hot, fry each side of the wonton wrapper, to a golden brown color.  Remove wontons and place them on a paper towel.  Sprinkle with icing sugar and let them cool a bit before biting in.

For step by step instructions and photo's click HERE.

Enjoy!

~b~