Good Morning

It's just about 6 am. I have nothing to do. Well, that's really not true...I could do dishes or laundry but I don't want to. I could also watch TV, but I don't want to do that either. Morning news is so boooorrrring. Except for that Tracy Butler...love her...and GMA, but it's too early for them.

I would love to be sleeping. Lucy is. But that's why I am awake. Last night she made it all of the way. No waking, not even a stir. So did I. Slept right through. I would have considered the evening a success, except I was up at 5ish and she is still in bed.

You may wonder why I am out of bed when she is not.

There is one simple answer.

Turbo.

The butthole was up at 3, for no reason other than he was convinced in his slumber that Otis had stolen some bread off the counter (a new thing he started doing around here to welcome Lucy to the family). By the time he was awake enough to get ready for work, he was bored too.

So he woke me up. Just wanted to say good morning, make sure I'd take his suit to the cleaners, help him pick out a tie for the wedding (in 2.5 weeks), discuss when we would get an oil change, what my plans are for the day. You know, all of those things we do every morning before he goes to work.

That brings me to here. Awake for no reason. Bored. Alone. Already checked my email. Almost done with the blogger thing. Through my first cup of coffee.

Maybe I'll check in with Tracy. I'm sure Roz has a funny story about the traffic. I bet Hosea & Judy are up to some wild and crazy morning shenanigans.

Maybe I'll go pinch Lucy.

Boogie Shoes

Turbo's cousin Alinda got married nearly 3 years ago. After her bridal shower, my SIL's & I headed over to a local watering hole for an impromptu girl's night. As we sat sipping our drinks, listening to karaoke, a wonderful new E family tradition was born: the wedding cd.

We decided right then and there that we would make a cd to prepare us for the upcoming wedding. Music we wanted to hear, stuff that would put us in the mood for wine and dancing. I scribbled on the back of a napkin while they rattled off titles from the 80's we all were dying to hear (minus the dingy bar maids giving similar songs their best shots in the background).

I compiled the list the next morning and passed them out the day of the wedding.

It was awesome. So awesome that when his cousin Kelley got married the following year I put together another. This one a nice early 90's hip hop & funk mix.

This spring, my cousin's the one tying the knot. Naturally I started working on the cd for her nuptials. Her life in Indy made it easy to pick a genre. Country.

My SIL's aren't even going to this wedding, but I've already printed off their copies. I've been listening to all three in preparation for the wedding in 2 weeks. I've even gone so far as to try to get the boys to work on some of the dances with me. (Really, wouldn't you all love to see Nate & Rex doing their best rendition of the Footloose dance? What about our little Jake & Elwood Shaking Their Tailfeathers? Ok...I know you couldn't resist the zombie dance from Thriller.)

Our little spark of barroom genius has grown so popular that I'm not quite sure what I'll do next summer without a wedding.

(Oh, and thanks Patti...wasn't sure what to call this until I got your email!)

Sausage Party

Turns out if you mix 4 generations of my family, 15 pounds of pork, and a meat grinder you end up with one heck of a fun Saturday afternoon. (And some pretty yummy sausage too!)






Going to dinner at my grandparents usually means at least two things for us: getting drunk with good company and filling up on lots of awesome food.


Since my grandparents are from overseas, many of their recipes involve taking time to do things by hand and from scratch. They labor so we can enjoy the fruits. And boy do we ever, usually so much that we are loosening waistbands on the trip home.



Naturally then, when my grandpa offered to teach us how to make his homemade sausage the decision was unanimous. We all wanted know how.



This morning they came over with boxes full of supplies, meat, and spices. Our kitchen was jam packed for hours. Mixing, grinding, stuffing, twisting, boiling. There was sausage everywhere. Despite the hard work (that grinder is no easy job!) the time flew by. We had so much fun, learning and sharing in a tradition that I can't wait to continue with our kids.



We're so eager to do it again that Turbo and I already went looking for our own grinder. I don't think I've been this excited about a mother's day gift in years!

fAST fOOD fRIDAY

Not sure what we are doing for dinner tonight.

I know what you're thinking...slacker. And you're right. I'm off the ball. If you're an everyday EFC reader, you'd know my posts are a day behind.

What can I say...I've been busy. Can't really say with what? A couple of projects, a baby who has decided naps are beneath her, a pile of laundry. (Glorious life I lead, huh? Don't even ask about my shower schedule...)

No dinner for us tonight, or you either. But here are some treats I found on the side of a cake mix box we had in the cabinet. (Rex was particularly 'active' Wednesday and we pulled this out and made it to keep him busy for, I dunno, 20 minutes. Of course, we then followed it with a 'dance party' while they were in the oven. Not sure about your kids, but mine need more than a few minutes to work off their energy sometimes.)

I was pleasantly surprised with how easy they were to do and how tasty they were the next morning. (Ah, did I say that out loud...yes, I ate them for breakfast...shame on me...)

Peanut Butter Bars

1 pack butter cake mix
1 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup water
1 egg
1 can chocolate fudge frosting
1/2 cup peanut butter
Chopped M&M’s
Chopped peanuts

Prepare cake:
Heat oven to 350. Spray 13x9 inch pan with cooking spray.
Combine cake mix, peanut butter, egg & water. Spread in pan.
Bake 20 minutes, until puffy. Cool completely.

Prepare frosting:
Mix peanut butter and frosting. Spread on cooled bars.
Top with candy & peanuts. Cut into bars.

The Advocate

There are many different causes, platforms, movements, and agendas I support. Some of you may agree with me, some of you may not. It doesn't matter to me which way you roll. I think our differences make the friendships that much more interesting.

I'm an advocate of choice. I think we should all be able to live our life in a way that brings us happiness and joy. We should be able to feel safe in our skin, love whomever we choose, believe in what we understand to be true, act in manner that makes most sense to us. We all deserve the right to be free to choose what path is best for us. Really, who does it hurt anyway?

So...Here is where I am going with this...

Yesterday I watched MILK. It was an amazing film, empowering and moving.

I can only relay how I felt after watching it, you'd have to decide for yourself, but I think if you watch it with an open and understanding heart you will find the right message in the story. A message about sacrifice and hope. About love for everyone. Equally.

Longevity

I've heard lots of talk on TV lately about living a long life. Apparently, you can live darn near forever if you eat the right stuff, avoid the wrong stuff, etc. etc. etc.

I wonder if it is really possible to live to be 120? Oprah says so. Dr. Oz says so too. I think I heard Diane Sawyer say it. Or maybe that was Robin?

That would be cool. To see my kids grow and become parents, even grandparents. To see them accomplish the laundry list of things I'm hoping each will. Graduations, weddings, babies, all of those wonderful things. To live long enough to travel the world, and still feel good doing it. To enter the twilight of my life anticipating greatness rather than deterioration.

But then, do I really want to live that long? Do I want to sit back, watching those I love wither away around me? Do I want to give up the things I find so much pleasure in? Coffee in the morning. Delicious sweets after dinner. Margaritas with my friends. Red meat fresh off a searing grill. Hot dogs at the ball park.

Oh I think not. I don't want to live my life restricting calories and exercising like mad to add a few years on at the end.

I want to live it now. I want to party with my friends and play with my kids. I want to eat chocolate ice cream, do shots of Jager, enjoy my McDonalds.

I think I would prefer to live like Nana, sipping martinis well into my 90's. Or like Gigi, still driving around the country in my RV at 70. Perhaps Turbo & I will be like Victor & Anni, with a calendar so full of card games and dancing we must schedule our 80th birthday plans months in advance.

I don't know about you, but to me that sounds like living.

Burg. to M.V.

Last weekend Turbo noticed all of the change was missing form the cup holder in the truck. We didn't think much of it, since the kids are always rummaging through looking for goodies and Rex claimed he took it (seemed like a lot, there was between $10-15, but not impossible if he had the right sweatshirt on).

St. Pat's day we went out to the store for some new shoes, came home, went to bed. The next morning Turbo could not find his MP3 player.

Day after that he realized he was missing some cigarettes.

I immediately chalked it up to him loosing his mind and misplacing things. He swore neither was the case. (Sure.)

Saturday, my dad started complaining about his missing cigarettes. (Crap.)

We called the cops and filed a report.

We are all assuming it's some neighborhood kids stealing fun stuff like music, quarters, and smokes. The officer told us to lock the doors, bring our valuables in. Warm weather brings out the little thieves, itching for something to do after months of being trapped indoors with nothing to do but play on their computer, wii, ps3, ipod.

Spoiled brats.

(Oh, but it was fun to tell Rex the cops were here to bust him for sucking his thumb. He was fairly worried for a minute, then decided Turbo was full of it. Smart kid.)