Take...

...one zuchinni from garden and put it in a gallon freezer bag.

Take one crookneck squash from garden and tuck it into bag snugly with zuchinni.

Throw in a couple of ripe, juicy, garden tomatoes

and

add a small bag of freshly cut basil and rosemary.

Seal and deliver with love.

VOILA!

August Visting Teaching is done.

I know, kind of a cop-out, but the secret ingredient that tied it all together was love.

I get an A for effort at least right?

Like Mana From Heaven

K. We have the BEST neighbors ever. The funnest little family known as the Granges: Cory, his wife Candy, and their daughter of three, Cadence.

They truly are like mana from heaven. Observe.

When I need my hair done, Candy is happy to assist and does a fabulous job. Seriously, when it's actually styled and my color isn't grown out 3 inches, it looks great. She invites me over for dinner when Doug goes out of town and we swap food from our gardens. She is pregnant too so we get to be excited together. Plus, her name is Candy. How could she be anything but sweet?

Cadence is there to give me hugs and is good for many a laugh. We like to babysit her when we get the chance. And she likes cats. Just.Like.Me.

Cory is a diamond in the rough. He acts tough and mean, but deep down, he is just a prankster with a heart of gold. He likes to hide our trash can (Doug has a fear of someone stealing our trash can, don't ask me why) and likes to yell at me like a good neighbor should. We catch him from time to time doing things such as killing our weeds, snowblowing our driveway (Doug is NEVER in a rush to do either of these) and numerous other neighborly deeds that he likes to brush off as nothing. Not to mention he is GREAT with cars and has saved us from so many headaches we'll never be able to pay him back for his service. One day though, they'll get what's coming to them.

Can any of your neighbors top that? Didn't think so. And if you think they can, I could keep on going.

They are moving this fall/winter to Colorado. Boo. I'm protesting. What would we do without the Granges? My protesting up to this point has done no good though, so if you know of any really good neighbors that are looking to move, send 'em out our way. They will never replace the Granges, but they might lessen the pain just a bit.

My Two Cents

*Warning: If you have not read Breaking Dawn yet, read on at your own risk. I might give some things away, but I'll try to be obscure.

After hearing all the reviews on this book, I reluctantly picked it up off my nightstand about a week ago to find out for myself. (I couldn't just NOT read it!) I finished last night, and I don't know if it is because I went in with really low expectations or what, but I didn't think it was THAT bad. Here are a few things I appreciated about Breaking Dawn:

• Bella can actually think somewhat logically! Who would have thought the day would come? She was almost more than I could handle in some of the earlier books. In the second and third, I wanted to reach into the page, grab her shoulders and tell her to get a grip! Instead I settled for tossing it across the room to pick up later once I could stomach her again.
• The drama was kicked down a couple of notches on this one. I love action...but not the high- school drama. (I know, it's a young adult series, but it was still refreshing)
  
• I thought Stephanie did a fairly good job of tying up the loose ends. Things that used to bother me finally made sense, such as Bella's strange obsession with Jake even though she has Edward.
  

A couple of things I didn't like:

• Yeah, the storyline is pretty much worn out.
• Everything just fell into place a little too well. So everybody just walks away friends? And what's with her Dad just so blindly accepting this all? Ummm...no. Nothing ever works out that perfectly. Not even for vampires. Sorry.
  

It's a Boy!

There is no mistaking on this one! Our little boy was more than happy to show off what he's got. Made us so proud! He was just rollin' around and havin' a good ol' time as we stared on adoringly. They were even able to catch him in the middle of a yawn on one of the pictures.

Doug was actually in town for this appointment so this was his first time to hear the heartbeat as well. Very special. They said everything looks normal and that so far he's a perfect little boy! *Warm Fuzzies*

In the slideshow there's a pic of him showin' off his shtuff, a pic of him yawning and then a few different angles as well for a closer look. I had to include a couple pics of Doug from back in the day. Now you know what we're in for...such a cute little goober!

So there I am, lying there with goo on my belly watchin' my little goober wriggle around when I had an epiphany. A name. It just came to me out of nowhere and felt oh- so-perfect. Now it's just convincing Doug. Wish me luck.

For Netflix!

With the recent incident at Netflix, I really had to sit back and ask myself what I would do if Netflix was no more. Movie rental stores are now unacceptable in my eyes. There's no going back. So, in order to support Netflix through this trial, I want to publicly announce my loyalty.

Now, I know it has its flaws, but how much easier can DVD rentals possibly get? You go online, you choose your movies and you wait patiently for them to appear in your mailbox. You take out a movie and put it in the machine...and when the fun is over, you simply return it (no postage necessary and no due date.) Magic. Simple. I barely even have to lift a finger. The selection is fantastic too. I don't know if there has been a movie I have wanted to watch thus far that they haven't had available. Not to mention their free online viewing system, flat rate and system to stay connected to family and friends (which if you are also a loyal member, send me your login so we can stay connected.) I could go on, but I won't. I think I've made my point.

What about you? What's your preferred method of renting movies?

Five Months Down!

Woot! Today is the five month gestation mark for Baby Robbins. We're so proud! One of these days it'll really start looking like there's something going on down there. I've been out of the tired stage for about two weeks now and am running and feel as great as ever. So far, I've been pretty lucky with my pregnancy. I can eat whatever I want (my favorite is Thai at the moment) , haven't been sick, don't get bothered by smells or foods and my emotions are even-keel. If the little one is as easy outside of the womb as it has been so far inside, this will be a breeze. (Don't worry, I'm not counting on it.)

But I'm really excited for the next couple of weeks: Next Thursday, Baby Robbin's will be exposed in all its glory. If it cooperates, we'll get to find out if it's a boy or a girl. I'll be happy to not have to call it an 'it' anymore. Of course I have my ideas of whether we'll have a mini-me or a mini-Doug running around. We'll just have to wait and see though!

And in two weeks is my halfway mark! I'm.So.Happy! Waiting isn't one of my strongest points and I wish there was a way I could coax the little one into developing faster, but it's just one of those things you can't rush apparently...pity. I have a feeling that January will be upon us though before we know it and I'll wonder where the time went and how I accomplished so little on my 'to do' list before the new arrival. Such is life.

It's A Good Start

Welp, it's finally up! I figured it was about time with the 'bebe' on the way and all so you can see the pics and hear the stories which I promise to have plenty of both.

I've pretty much always been a fighter of fads, or things I initiatlly think will be fads. Many times my efforts are in vain though. I end up jumping off the cliff with everyone else. It's just a matter of how long I can hold out. It's the stubborness in me. The way I look at it though, is waiting so long to jump makes for a much softer landing at the bottom.

So, many thanks to those who broke my fall on this one. It was a nice soft landing, and I think I'm going to like it alot down here. I know at least the company is good.