I was hit!

I have known Cupcake Cowgrrl for a few years now, we have met on occasion but mostly we have connected through blogging. Through our love of being crafty, baking and photography.  I have to say that Cupcake Cowgrrl surpasses me on all levels, but if we had met when I had no kids and lots of free time, I would like to think that we would have been fast friends.  Hanging out at a pub, enjoying a beer and talking about our next crafty project.

I have watched Cupcake Cowgrrl bake for a few years now, admired all the cupcakes she has displayed on her blog and even tried a few icing recipes. But, I had never tasted one of her cupcakes, just admired from afar and hoped that one day I would get the chance to taste one.

Then on Monday Cupcake Cowgrrl was tweeting about having the fixings for some lavender infused blackberry cupcakes.   Or something to that effect.  I told her she was free to drop some off for me, totally joking of course.  Well she decided that I should be hit with her Random Act of Cupcakes and delivered a sweet box of deliciousness right to my door.

The Random Act of Cupcakes started at the beginning of the summer, I think and she has been spreading her love of cupcakes and baking around for others to enjoy. I was so thankful to be a recipient.  Believe me when I say, they are so much tastier than they look.  These are just photos, but honestly they are like little bites of Heaven and I am so thankful that I was hit

Thank you Cupcake Cowgrrl!

This weekend was just wonderful.  The weather was warm, the sun was out and the snow was melting.  Not that we did so much outside, but we certainly enjoyed the fact that we didn’t need boots, snow pants, mitts, hats or even winter jackets, it was all about Spring.  We may get a shock later in the month, but with the forecast for the next week promising warm weather we are just going to run with it and enjoy.

Here are a few fun shots from the weekend.

Wee little Apple is starting to dress herself, she goes from dresses to crazy mismatched socks and layered t-shirts in two days.

Then there is J, calm, cool, casual.

We broke out the BBQ today, we just did hotdogs, but it would seem as though hotdogs are our season openers here.  Can’t wait to start BBQing some fun dishes again.

As the snow melts in the backyard, we are finding all sorts of buried treasures from the last few times the kids played outside and didn’t put things away.  I love seeing and smelling the grass again and look forward to Spring blooms.  Also broke out the sandals for the backyard, the grass is pretty squishy.

 Tonight at 5pm, out of the blue our doorbell rang.  When the doorbell rights at that time of night it usually means a door to door salesman of some sort.  I won the draw to answer the door.  And was I ever thankful that I did!  A girlfriend of mine was standing there, with a plate of Chocolate No-Bake Cookies.  She remembered that I told her I loved them when I was a kid.  So, when she made some today she packaged some up for me and dropped them off.

What a wonderfully thoughtful thing to do for me.  It brightened  my day for sure.  They are like little drops of heaven and bring me back to my childhood when we would make them all the time.

I am not sure if this is her recipe or not, but this is the one I grew up making, straight from my Mom’s recipe card. And if you decide to make some, perhaps you should drop a plate off for an unsuspecting friend or colleague just because.

Chocolate No-Bake Cookies

• 2 c. white sugar
• 1/2 c. margerine
• 1/2 c. milk
• 6 tbsp cocoa

Bring above to boil & add

• 3c. oatmeal
• 1 c. coconut
• 1 tsp vanilla

Drop by teaspoon on wax paper.  Refrigerate and Enjoy!

Today I walked around the house taking random shots of things that were out of the norm or just there and normally I don’t realize it. Now Hubby and I are going to get ready to go on a date and see some old bands from High School, mixed with a little new bands from now.

 And all this H1N1 stuff just fits in with that soliloquy.  Do you or don’t you get the shot.  There are pros and cons to both and for the most part we were waiting.  We have discussed with our Doctor and were going to wait.

Hubby is in Vancouver this week and when we were chatting on the phone last night he asked how J was doing with his fear of H1N1.  I told him it was pretty much the same, he cries when the news comes on, he cried on Monday when I was feeling like I was hit by a truck, basically the boy is living in fear of dying from the flu.  So when Dani sent an email out last night and told some of us that her whole family got the shot yesterday and that it was quite a painless process at Walter Baker Hubby asked me to go.

We are usually on the same page when it comes to parenting and shots and when we aren’t Hubby usually lets me decide.  But, this time he asked. You know when your Husband does one of those rare things and asks you to do something that you are not sure about, it almost solidifies it in your mind.  As much as I am still not 100% on board with this vaccine I now feel like the decision was taken out of my hands.  Hubby works with Emergency and Pandemic preparedness in Ottawa, he worked at the Hospital when SARS happened and all through this he never thought we needed to do anything different or get any shots.  We don’t even get the annual flu shot now that he is no longer at the Hospital.  So when he asked me to take the kids and get our shots today, I was not going to argue.  In his mind, this H1N1  thing is bigger than what we know.  I am not sure if I agree yet, but if he thinks so then who am I to say?

We picked up our bracelets at 9am this morning and were told to come back at 4:15pm.  Will see how the afternoon plays out, but it sure seems like who ever is running things at Walter Baker, knows exactly what they are doing and should possibly be running all of the clinics in the city.

*William Shakespeare.  Hamlet, Act Three Scene One.

• Birthday Parties 2 and  3 went of smashingly, photos to follow when my camera battery is charged.
• We held an unplanned mini-reno today, paint, shelving, more paint and a new room is being formed.  Again photos to follow.
• I sewed up a storm last week of capes, masks and flags and all were much appreciated.
• My painting gig is done for the summer, Dad’s job is finished, the house looks great and I have been reminded of why my Dad is the best at everything he does.  And why all his customers just love him to bits.
• I managed to read two more of Mary Kay Andrews novels, sweet fast reads perfect for soaking in a bit of the sun this week, the last of the Summer holidays.
• Hubby heads out on a work trip tomorrow and I am wondering what I can paint while he is gone.
• School starts in 8 days.  We may have the supplies, but I am not ready.

I picked up J in the truck today at school and pulled in behind this guy.  He was parked a little off in his big truck, so I had to pull in tight so I wasn’t blocking the school bus lane.  Well I guess, in my perfect parkingness, I pulled in just a little too close and touched his bumper. And I mean barely touched.  A piece of paper could have possibly slid through.  If anything my license plate was touching his trailer hitch.

I saw him looking at the two trucks, so I took a look, apologized profusely and put the kids in.  I then backed up so we could take a look.   One good thing about winter is that the salt and sand that sticks to your cars in the winter lets you know for sure if you touched someones car.  Well, there was not a scratch in the dirt, not a mark.  And if one of us so much as touches the car with our arm or leg, you see it.  No mistake about it.

I look at it, no mark.  He says fine and wants to walk away, but I encourage him to look so there is no mistake.  He agrees, no mark.

And just to be clear, I didn’t bump him, just happened to stop at the right spot.  Or wrong spot against his truck.  We agree, nothing.  I apologize again and start to go.  Then, he licks his finger and starts wiping off the dirt!  Uh, hello.  If there is no mark on the dirt anything underneath is not mine.  He sees a teeny tiny scratch but says we will forget about it.  So I laugh and say, well that wasn’t from me under all that dirt.  But, somehow I know he doesn’t believe me.  Not only that but the mark is up higher than my license plate cover.  But, somehow, three hours later, I still feel terrible that I touched his car.  Something I have never, ever done before in public ( I will admit to bumping Hubby’s car at our old house, but we just barely fit two cars in the driveway and he used to not park close enough to the house).

Here’s hoping that I won’t feel guilty every single day picking up J at school.  I know in my heart I did not mark his peeling bumper (yes it was peeling at the corner) but, that part of me that feels guilty that I touched it at all is eating me away.

This is the second time that I have gotten a terrible headache after J has played with a certain friend.  I am not sure if it is coincidence or not, but I can tell you that just looking at the computer is making me want to weep.  So, today’s post is going to be short and sweet.

The cold artic air?  Gone at least until the weekend, which was great, we got to walk to school again and the kids were able to play outside. That is a blessing in the Wintertime.

Fabric?  I spent the day cutting stuff out, Laptop Sleeves, Cord Bags, Diaper Pouches, Coffee Cozies.  And J asked me to make a case for his DS, so I cut one of those out as well.  Cutting out the fabric is my least favorite part about sewing, so I thought I would get a bunch done all at once, then I can just whip them off at the machine when I get a few spare moments.

Lego?  I also spend a good couple of hours (or so it seemed) building all the ‘guys’ in J’s Lego collection.  The bodies were all in peices, no pants, no shirts, no hands, no heads.  I stared with the shirts and pants matching them all up, then added hands and finally heads.  Tomorrow will see us match up hair and or hats, man oh man.  Next Lego project, rebuilding all the ships.

Photos?  None for you today, but I did take a few in the last couple of days, my head just hurts that much.

And on that note, I am going to sign off my short and sweet post and shut this puppy down before I do actually start to weep.

A beautiful green balloon was floating around our yard this morning.  One of the dogs went out to chase it but got very confused.  It bounced around for a few minutes, then all of a sudden it was gone.  Floating away to another yard.  It was actually very beautiful to watch.  And it might be frigid out there, but the sunshine is a warm welcome and a delight.

The storm has started.  We are expected to break the record from back in 1947 of 40.8cm of snow in one day (it too was in March, the 2nd I believe).  I took a before photo and will take some in between photos to keep you all posted over the weekend.  We are stocked up and ready to stay home for the next two days at least.

The cake was a success, J was sad that he did not win it or any cake for that matter, but once I told him I could make him little cake bugs anytime, he cheered right up.  And no, I have never taken a class, just played with a lot of playdoh.  Will post more details later.

And last but, not least.   I have PINK EYE.

Yes, folks, I got J’s maladies in the complete opposite order from him.  He started with pink eye, got a cold and then had the 24 hour bug, over a span of two weeks.  In less than one week, I started with the 24 hour flu, got a massive cold (worse than his, I believe) and now am ending it with pink eye.  Man March sucks.

Check back tomorrow, I may be shovelling the back yard so the dogs can do their business, should be fun!