Vanilla Icing

Biking...

No, this is not my house, but a house that I admired as I walked through Lawrenceville while Maia was at her dance class.  Usually I would have been running but since Rick and I had plans to bike ride later that day I didn't want to do anything too strenuous in the morning.

Afternoon Bike Ride:

Length: 2 hrs 40 mins
Where:  Jail Trail, Cut through 'tip' of Pittsburgh, Over 6th (16th? lol..can't remember which, the one AFTER the clemente bridge) Street bridge, onto the northside trail all the way to Sharpsburg, Traced back and cut over to Washington's landing for a ride through the community, back on Northside Trail, past PNC Park-Heinz Field-Science Center and continued until the trail ended several miles later, then trace back to the bridge, through pittsburgh and back on the Jail Trail until we reached the parking lot. 
Distance: 27.76 miles

When we were almost through biking we passed Adam with his 3 year old, Hawthorne on the back of his bike.  Rick spotted him and we stopped to talk for a few minutes.  They ended up coming back with us and hitching a ride home with us.

Mundane errand running occupied the rest of the evening after we came home, showered and left the house again.  Dinner was at Uno's where we shared a deep dish pizza followed by some coffee (not at Uno's).  We called it an early night--biking will do that to you--and headed home.

4019 Shirts Later...

Fridays are always busy at our house.  This is the day that I try to accomplish way too many things around the house so I can take a bit of a break during the weekend.  <---meaning do only half as much.

I barely gulped down the last of my morning tea before I ran upstairs to jump on the treadmill.  I got 30 minutes in and took a shower before Maia located me and told me she was hungry.  "Didn't you eat," I asked her?  "Nope," she said.  "Why not?  I told you that you guys could finish the rest of the donuts."  (We had some glazed donut holes leftover from a few days ago.  "Don't like them."  Agh!  A child of mine not liking glazed donuts???!!!  It's unthinkable.  Unacceptable.  Anyways, she wanted a bowl of cheerios and as soon as she was done I whisked the kids into the car and we ran to the grocery store for a few staples.  Namely milk, bread and peanut butter.

At home, while I put away the groceries, the kids took a much needed break from one another.  The arguments and bickering was reaching an all time high at this point and it wasn't even noon!  Being kept away from one another until lunch time seemed to help quite a lot and after lunch they were happily playing together.  They asked me to set up their wading pool for them and I did.  While they played, I ironed.

4019 shirts later (and pants, and skirts).....I hurried to get the camera and get a few pictures.

Guess who was in seconds after Maia?

 

Riley got the boot so Maia could pose with Bob.

Riley was very thirsty.  This was his second watering can.

Tristyn managed to convince Maia to copy Riley.

Ugh!  A leak!  We've only gotten two summers out of this pool.  Good thing the kids are getting to look a little silly in such a teeny pool.

The kids soon got all pruney and elected to get out of the pool and play inside for awhile.  I put away the laundry and started dinner.  Pretty typical and boring--barbecue chicken, steamed vegetables, a pasta side and then of course something baked:

These are my version of baking powder biscuits.  I say my version because I don't use shortening--I use butter--because shortening is just icky.  (Please excuse the butter wrapper in the background.  I didn't notice it until too late --this is why I'm not a good photographer--or a neat and tidy cook!)

We went to the Cardboard Slide Playground again today.  Rick went for a run while I took the kids to play.  I got a couple of pictures with my cell phone.

Maia is in the lead with Tristyn following behind her.  The cardboard makes this part of the play area a bit messy but no one seems to mind.

At Frick Park there are all of these various 'exercise stations' that the kids just love to play on.

This is Not how we torture Tristyn on Saturdays!!  We are much more creative than this. =)

We ended the day with a stop for ice cream at the new place just across the way from the park.

Tickets Finally Have Arrived

For Rick's birthday (in March) I got him season tickets to the University of Pittsburgh Football games.  Finally, the tickets arrived in the mail yesterday.

The tickets are in Section 122, Row 5, Seats 20 and 21.  I think it will be fun to try out 'new' seats because these seats are slightly lower than the Steelers Season tickets which are in Section 220, can't remember the row--but it's the one right before we could be covered by the overhang in inclement weather.

Today was pretty busy--and almost completely centered around kids activities. I did squeeze in 60 minutes on the treadmill and then it shut off on me.  Apparently it thinks 60 minutes is more than enough!  I think you just have to restart it again if you want to continue using it but I agreed with the treadmill and thought an hour was plenty.   Maia and I made a mobile after I showered.  I thought we might be making it while I was still in the shower because she sat at the door to the bathroom discussing how we were going to connect all of the pieces of it with me while I showered and I kept expecting her to stop talking and start doing.

Then the three of us went to Frick Park to the 'Cardboard Slide Playground' (or Blue Slide Playground as I believe most people refer to it).  Tristyn and Maia call it that because the biggest slide is built into the hillside and all the kids use pieces of cardboard to ride on to go at the fastest possible speed.  We met several friends at the playground and met a few new ones over the course of about 2 and a half hours. 

Tristyn left content but Maia was a bit upset.  One of her 'new friends' she met (she meets people easily and randomly) told her she couldn't hold her hand because she was allergic to peanut butter and Maia had just told the new friend she had eaten peanut butter toast for breakfast (she didn't, she had cinnamon sugar toast) and didn't remember if she had washed her hands.  Maia was devastated because peanut butter is her #1 favorite 'real' food and she said couldn't ever go back to that playground because she might forget to wash her hands again and then she couldn't play with her friend.  =(  We spent a little bit of time talking about allergies after this. 

We had a brief rest at home and I squeezed this in:

Then it was time for Tristyn's piano lesson and we rushed to that.  The lesson time was moved to 5 and there was a bit more traffic to contend with on the way there.  We came home, had a quick dinner and then went outside where Tristyn drew a road with chalk on the sidewalk for Maia to ride her scooter on.  The speed she was getting to was a little frightening--to me! She didn't seem to be frightened at all.  Rick came from his bike ride and I hurried off to Crazy Mocha where I was meeting with Janet and some others for the planning meeting for S. Scouts.

Still here, too. =)

Lesson Learned

Do not ever attempt to freeze cream cheese for later use.  Ever.

It does something really strange--Once you thaw it in preparation for use it's really grainy.  At this point I was already committed to making the cheesecake.  I had the crust prepared, the oven heated and all of the other ingredients set out when I unwrapped the cream cheese.  I plowed ahead hoping that the mixing of ingredients would get rid of this grainy-ness.  It didn't.  Then, I hoped baking it would do the job.  It didn't.

We ate it anyway though!  The texture was slightly grainy not to look at but once in the mouth but it didn't seem to affect the taste at all.  Or maybe that was just the whipped cream covering up any lack in taste. =S

Good thing for the treadmill, huh?  I got only 30 minutes in today but considering it could have been nothing, I'd say that wasn't bad.  Missy joined us for lunch today and brought over some labels I needed for some things I was mailing out (keep your fingers crossed--it was query letters and synopses to 2 potential agents and a query letter, synopsis and first chapter to another).  I imagine I'll be sending out many, many, MANY more of these things before I get any sort of response.  It's hard waiting for a reply--especially when you don't know if the agent will even respond back with a no.  Ah, well, I mustn't lose heart.  Writing the synopsis was harder than I thought it would be.  After trying to condense 160,000 words into 2 measly paragraphs I thought it would be easy to condense into several pages but it really wasn't!  It was by far more difficult.  Lucky for me, at lunch Missy read it for me and was able to double check it for errors.

The kids and I went to the post office with me carefully cradling my envelopes in my arms as if they were made of spun glass and reluctantly I handed them over to the lady at the desk.  She started weighing my first envelope as I was telling her how I wanted to mail it and she slapped on the label for the wrong postage!!!!  I gasped and she said 'Don't worry, honey" and slapped on another postage label to make up the difference.  So much for looking professional.  =(

I soothed my ruffled feathers with a stop into a local thrift store and picked up a very pretty dainty little set of glass....hmmm...I'm sure they have a technical name and some alcoholic drink is supposed to go in them, but i'm going to call them a set of glass jello goblets because I Intend to use them to put colorful layered jello in them.  (Picture to come tomorrow or the next day)

Maia's friend, Persephone, turned five today and the four of us went to her party this evening.  There were many, many children who made lots of loud noises.  Screeches, shouts, yells, cries seemed to dominate but there were also plenty of giggles and laughs.  It was princess themed which I found to be amusing because out of about 10 or 12 (who could count them when they were running so fast?) only 2 of them were girls.  Which, really was perfect because princesses need lots of knights.  Lots.

Junie B. Jones

Long Day.  This morning I did some housework and then jumped on the treadmill for a 40 minute run.  Coming off rollerblading 65 mins last night made today's workout not exactly fun.  My legs weren't fully recovered yet!  But--It was nice getting it done early. =)  Maia and I colored Rainbow Brite pictures and read a Rainbow Brite book.  Then, I became Tristyn's hero when I helped him with a part on the Curious George game that he couldn't complete.

It was Orange Food lunch day.  By which I mean lunch was goldfish crackers, clementines and grilled cheese for the kids.  Maia was quite appalled at having all 'orange' foods but Tristyn liked it because it's his 'second favorite color.'   When she heard we were going to the playground next, somehow the matter of her entire lunch being orange didn't bother her so much.

After the playground, we had some errands to run at the Waterfront.  We stopped at Old Navy and picked up a few things for school, stopped at Target for a few things and then went to Barnes & Noble for an errand running break.

Tristyn and Maia shared a lemonade and a double chocolate cupcake for a treat.  I, of course, had my usual:  a tall, non-fat, decaf raspberry mocha with no whip.  The kids and I looked around the bookstore for awhile with only one minor mishap:  when I had to interrupt the fight that broke out between them when Maia tried to peek at the 'The Dangerous Book for Boys.'  And then...look what we found:

Junie B was on sale!  Buy 2 books and get 1 free.  We got books 3, 4 and 6.  They didn't have #5 Junie B. Jones and the Yucky Blucky Fruitcake. =( 

Next time.

Speaking of the River...

Today, we met a new(er) neighbor who just started kayaking.  Literally, just started kayaking in June.  Apparently, he's been seeing kayaks around our house this summer and then after today and yesterday of seeing the playboats on top of Rick's car (we were a little slow getting them down after yesterday) he decided he was going to stop by to say hello.  Rick called me over to introduce me to Matt.

Turns out the person he's been taking lessons from is a good friend of Rick's.  They spent some time talking about various river stuff and then exchanged numbers.  Rick and I have been debating kayaking or a long bike trip this upcoming weekend and if we kayak Matt might come along with us.  With luck, my new prescription sunglasses will be ready by the weekend (with luck this will be a major improvement over trying to whitewater kayak with contacts and lots of splashing) if we decide to go kayaking.  It'll be nice to have someone close to my skill level since if I kayak the next 20 years I'll never catch up to Rick.  But that's okay, because when I feel discouraged about not being anywhere close to being a quarter as good as Rick I just remember him trying to learn to rollerblade so he could do it with me. hahaha =D

We had plans to go over Andrae and Angie's house and it took some squeezing to get my bike ride and Rick's run in but we managed.  Barely.  We were racing around to shower and dress before it was time to go.  It was our first time visiting at their house and they have a very lovely home.  I was so happy to see that someone else out there was very 'brave' with their colors.  Their home was beautifully decorated.  We had a good time, though Maia was a little upset that she forgot her crayons.  We made do with a pen and pencil and drawing little mazes and dot-to-dots.

Dinner was at the Waterfront and rather early; more like a 'linner.'  Or a 'dunch.'  (Maia calls it linner, Tristyn dunch.)  There were a few things we needed at a few stores and we picked those things up before coming home for everyone to either relax or play.  The kids spent a good chunk of time furiously digging in the sandbox.  I've had a bit of a 'stressful' week and Rick suggested I take a break and go to the bookstore for a few hours.  I took his suggestion and spent about two hours this evening looking at this book and that.  I needed that.  I came home feeling a little bit better. =)

Ohio Pyle 2 of 2

A couple of  hours passed all too quickly and it was time to head to the take out to meet Rick and Nate.  We ended up getting there a little early but didn't mind because we got to watch rafters and other kayakers go by.  Quite a few of the rafts were getting stuck on the one rock.  It was funny to watch each raft that got stuck have everyone in it sort of stand up and jump up and down trying to use their collective body weight to shift the raft off of the rock.  The kids also kept busy clambering over the racks (with me saying repeatedly 'don't get to close to the edge').

Tristyn and Maia found a really ooey gooey pile of sandy mud and built mud castles while we waited.  I can't say I enjoyed watching them get filthy but they were having a good time doing it, we didn't have anywhere else to go that a change of clothes couldn't remedy and more importantly I didn't have to worry about them falling off a rock!

Here come Rick and Nate! 

Nate and Rick pose for pre-take-out picture. 

Check out Rick's arm in this picture.  (He didn't know I took it)  You can see his muscles DESPITE the fact that he is wearing a shirt of moderately thick material.  (Damn sun safety)

Here's Nate dumping the water out of his boat and not caring at all about sun safety.  I took this picture for you Becky!

And this one too!

The kids took a turn.  Note, this is not proper river safety but Rick and Nate were right next to them and the kids weren't going anywhere (not with me ready to leap in camera and all if necessary).  I just cropped Rick and Nate out of the picture 'cause who needs them when the kids are trying to look all grown-up?

Rick and Maia. =D

We met up with Becky shortly afterwards and made plans to meet back at Rick's mum's house for dinner.  Nate cooked us quite the dinner--as Rick described it 'it was the perfect man meal!'  It consisted of cheeseburgers, barbecued ribs, barbecued chicken, corn on the cob, chips and fresh guacamole (courtesty of Becky).  The rest of the evening was very pleasant.

Ohio Pyle 1 of 2

After a hectic morning of taking Maia to dance and squeezing in a run while she was in class, we hurried

home so we could jump in the car with Rick and Tristyn and head to Ohio Pyle.  My sister-in-law, Becky, and her husband, Nate, were meeting us there.  Becky was going rafting with some friends of hers, Rick and Nate kayaking and the kids and I were planning on spending the day having a picnic lunch, exploring and generally having a good time outside.   I took LOTS of pictures and though I plan on posting quite a few what I'm posting is probably only about 1/4 of the pictures. 

Ohio Pyle Falls

Lunch was on some large rocks overlooking the river.  The kids had mini-make-your-own-pizzas.  They made smiley faces out of the sauce but Maia ate half of hers.

We could see Rick and Nate from where we had lunch but just barely.  It helped when I zoomed in with the camera.  Here, they are about to practice surfing on a small wave just up ahead.

I'm not sure what type of bird this was so I took a picture hoping someone might be able to identify it.

Sitting on the rocks in the hot sun for lunch made it necessary to cool off a bit afterwards.  We climbed up the rocks, up a hill and across part of the park, making our way back up stream and above the Falls where there is a popular wading spot.

Here it is!  Proof that Tristyn does run on occasion.  We were heading towards the 'Gnome Home' that we visited a few months ago.  But this time...

with a better camera!  Tristyn immediately plunked down to start making stuff--I think for the gnome?

If you look carefully, you can see that Tristyn is tying two sticks together with grass.  He said he was making the top part of a helicopter.

Meanwhile, I swiveled the camera around just in time to surprise a fairy!!

 

This is quite possibly my favorite picture.  Ever.

 

New Home =)

I was nominated for the Rockin' Girl Blogger Award by Laura over at My Little Orange Kitchen.  When I first started blogging, I did it just as a way to share pictures and such more easily with family and friends.  It's very exciting to know that others are reading--and enjoying!--my blog.  =D

I'm supposed to in turn nominate 3 other bloggers but I'm not sure they read my blog but I'll post them anyway.  Cherry Hill Cottage is a fairly new 'blog find' of mine but one that I'm enjoying very much.  I found her by way of Kathy's Cottage who I also enjoy very much.  Lastly and definitely not least is Eyes of Wonder.   This is perhaps one of my favorite blogs; reading it is always enjoyable and it makes me feel very warm inside to see and read all about Jewel's lovely family.

I spent an unbelievable amount of time moving Vanilla Icing over to Typepad today.  I won't tell you how much time it took but let me just say that I was very glad that the kids were busy in their rooms building blanket castles, legos, playing pet shop, drawing and writing letters for playing mail and scattering puzzle pieces everywhere.  I went upstairs and peeked at them a few times but they were playing so intensely that they didn't even notice me.  I had to pry them downstairs for lunch and then they scampered back off for more playing.  I'm really enjoying Typepad much better.  There are a lot of better services available.

Also, I managed to get a double workout in too!  A 40 minute session on the treadmill and then later when the skies finally cleared I decided if it stayed that way I'd squeeze in a bike ride after dinner.  By the time Rick came home the kids had finally grown bored with being in their rooms and the three of them spent a nice time together while I was out biking.

The kids and I got the second Junie B. Jones book the other day at Barnes and Noble and tonight we read a few more chapters.  We are almost done with it.  The Junie B. books are very funny and written so well.  I was surprised to see that it's written from the perspective of a 6 year old and make both the kids and I laugh.  You simply cannot read those books aloud without feeling.  The books demand it.

Poor Eddie!

            

 

I promise I won't mention the weather other than to say....look who ran out the front door after his big brothers Bob and  Riley and then wouldn't come in...until it was too late!

(Look how lonely the bikes look behind Eddie.  For those curious, those shoe/booty things are Rick's kayaking booty things) 

It was the treadmill again.  Sigh.

I've got the main part of Maia's new apron sewn...but I still have the 'decorating part' of it left to do.  It's of a good size--plenty of room to grow in.  It's turning out not so bad considering I didn't have a pattern at all and have sort of just been making it up as I go along.

A very good friend of mine contacted me yesterday.  We've been out of touch for years--since I've gotten out of the Air Force pretty much.  I was very happy to hear from her and also found out she now is married with two adorable little girls!  Seeing her email yesterday brought back dozens upon dozens--nay hundreds!-of memories.  We roomed together and spent a lot of time together--ample time to create all of those fantastic memories.  Hopefully, this time around we won't lose touch. =)

Tristyn's piano lesson was canceled today.  We didn't find out until we had already drove there.  I did not appreciate driving in such miserable w-----r (see? I didn't say it) to find out we had gone all of that way for nothing.  But then I remembered the time I had forgotten his lesson and we didn't show up (though I paid the teacher for our mistake anyway) so I figured that now we are probably 'even.'  After the last time I missed his lesson I programmed the calendar function on my cell phone to ring an alarm 15 minutes before we need to leave for the lesson so I wouldn't forget again.  It's really helped.  I think being home so much can make a person lose track of the days very easily. It's a little scary.

Rick and I watched 'Syriana' tonight.  It wasn't my type of movie but he really seemed to enjoy it.  It was definitely better than the movie we watched last night.  I'm not even going to admit to what it was--but in my defense it wasn't my choice!