West Side Story

When someone finds out that you and your family recently moved 2k+ miles across the nation, he will inevitably ask you three questions. The first being the most obvious.. Why did you move? The second follows with, How do you like it so far? And the third, which I always find the most difficult to answer.. What is the biggest difference?

You won't find sweet tea on the west coast.

Or Sun Drop.

Or Chick-fil-A.

Or Cracker Barrel.

It is pretty much summer here in SoCal for about 3/4 of the year.

And apparently, folk out here don't say words like pocketbook or buggy or y'all.

It takes a while to get to used to most of those. But every Sunday I am confronted with the answer during our weekly grocery excursion. The parking lot at almost every grocery store or warehouse is infested with abandoned buggies. Seriously. It is an epidemic.

Just take a look at the pictures at the top. They are from our trip to Costco this morning. I wish I had taken a video of one of the culprits in action, but I didn't think of it at the time. At least that guy put his on the curb at the end of the aisle, most people just leave their buggies in the parking space itself. Hubby-kun just rams into those if they are in the way.

200

So, the last post was our 200th post. Pretty crazy, no?

I wish I had more to say, but sadly that is all.

Blueberry Yum Yum

My mother gave me this recipe a while back. We made it for our small group last night and it was quite the tasty almost summertime treat!

Blueberry Yum Yum

For bottom layer:
1 stick margarine, melted
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups graham cracker crumbs

Mix together and spread into bottom of 11x8-in glass baking dish.

For topping:
8-oz cream cheese
1 (8-oz) carton whipped topping
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 can blueberry filling

Whip together until creamy the cream cheese, whipped topping, sour cream, and sugar. Spread over crumb crust. Top with pie filling. Chill thoroughly.

A Different Kind of Conversation

I just love these pictures of Hubby-kun and P-Dawg.


Doesn't it look as if they are having their own conversation? I think so.



Pumpkin was a little crazy when Hubby-kun came home from his weekend away. She was deliriously happy and quickly forgot that I existed.

Oh well, she'll remember me in the morning when her belly is talking.

I Know What I Did This Weekend

Hubby-kun has been off to a men's retreat with our church all weekend.

In his absence:

• I have been having bouts of hysteria while hanging out with Brother.
• Helping a cousin move stuff into storage.
• Looking up plane tickets for Hubby-kun, me, Brother, & Little Brother to go to St. Louis this summer.
• Doing my happy dance after buying my ticket to go to NC at the end of April!
  
• Trying to do our weekly meal plan and grocery list. (Does anyone else hate this as much as I do?)
• Missing Hubby-kun terribly!

Thankfully, he was only gone a weekend. Thankfully.

Lord of the (Lost) Lens

Brother's lens fell out of his glasses. We spent a while looking for it. We turned Brother's recliner on its side looking for it. Thankfully, no one stepped on it. We almost broke the recliner when tipping it back over. And for the grand finale, Brother also lost the screw on his glasses. That one is still unaccounted for.

I had quite the giggle fest over it, but as you can see.. Brother was not amused.

Leaving a Mark

Can you guess what this is?

Oh, come on.. I know you want to.

Ahh well, I'm sure Hubby-kun will post something about it. Or at the very least, leave a comment.

Maybe.

Then, again.. maybe not.

Towsley Canyon



I haven't really been impressed with most of the hikes we have gone on in California. There just isn't much to see. We have found a few gems though. When we started our hike on Saturday, I was thinking that this was going to be a little dull. By the end, it turned out to be pretty nice.


Hubby-kun and P-Dawg look very enthusiastic here. Don't you think?


We did get some punches of color. I really liked the orange ones.

Of course.


Pumpkin showed some serious restraint when coming upon these tiny red temptations. I'm sure she probably ate some grass instead. Or maybe a rock.




At the end of the short loop, we went to the Narrows. (The first picture is from the narrows, as well as the two above.)


And finally, my hiking companions. Surprisingly, they are all looking at the camera.

If you know Brother at all, then you know why this is surprising.




*No PS on these photos.. I know, this is probably surprising as well.

The Black Dawn

I thought Hubby-kun would have posted this by now, but it looks like he has dropped the blogging ball. Our little brother can currently be seen on a web serial called The Black Dawn. An episode (5-6 minutes long) will be released each Saturday for the next 6 months. The show is about 13 people who survive a mysterious plague in Los Angeles. You can check it out here.


I {heart} Wally!

Sleeping Beauty

Seriously..




does life get any tougher?