Misc. Post

I need a title for my miscellaneous rambling posts.  I'm open to suggestions.  This one is mostly pictures.
Took Newton out for a walk.  Well, I take him every night.  It's nice to see him take time out to smell the flowers.

Pretty clouds that formed over a baseball game.

Bella running through our neighbor's sprinkler.  Hey, it was hot out and he had the sprinkler on.  It's also a fun way to cool off when you are walking around in this heat.

Testing my camera at the church.  Of course, Alex is always a willing model.

He has a great smile, doesn't he?

This is on one of the paths not to far from our house.  If you look closely, it says "Loco, " which means crazy in spanish.  A walk by our house must have somehow influenced the person to write this on the path.

(again,  not sure why blogger is turning my pictures sideways)

found Alex's sock while climbing Mt. Baldhead (Saugatuck, MI)

Bella got a little crazy/excited with her ice cream and accidently punched a hole in her bowl

Bella and one of her furry (statue) friends

Pure Michigan

I love visiting Michigan.  Makes me want to move there. 

Thought I would share a few of the photos.

Climbing Mt. Baldhead - Saugatuck, MI

The look from on top of Mt. Baldhead

looking down

I believe there are over 300 steps

almost at the bottom

a different view from the pier in Holland 

Lighthouse - Holland, MI

sunset in Holland

My favorite picture

Sunset at Oval Beach - Saugatuck

Doesn't it look inviting? 

Blueberry Picking

One of my favorite things to do in the summer is go blueberry picking.  Like I said in the last post, we drove up to Michigan and one of our goals was to go blueberry picking.  Something we have made into a tradition.  We picked the perfect morning.  It was nice and cool.  Everyone got ready and we set off to start picking blueberries.

These workers were quite ambitious by taking two buckets

(I was the one with only one bucket)

child labor

the immigrant blueberry picker

he has it down to a science

he doesn't eat while he is picking

of course, don't let these two pictures fool you, the two of them gave up and went to the playground leaving RT and I to fill their buckets.  (well, mainly RT, bc I was busy taking some pictures)

Good start

the rows seemed endless

All those blueberries went into making a blueberry pie

made with love

and lots of blueberries

70 Cent

That's 20 better than (rapper) 50 Cent.
It's also the amount of money that I found walking this morning.

It's almost like someone planted it there on the path.  Either some weirdo that wants to see me bend over and pick it up or Patti, who is secretly trying to get me to walk over to Tennessee to see her.  (Hint:  My shorts don't have pockets so you will have to leave a backpack on the path so I have something to put the change in)
I think I should start a path collection jar and see how much money I collect.
Hope it's a lucky day for you, too.

Oval Beach, Saugatuck, Michigan

Took a little drive up to Saugatuck, Michigan.  On our agenda was beach and blueberry picking. 
We love going to Oval Beach in Saugatuck.  It's gotta be on the top 10 perfect beaches.
This post is going to be picture heavy.  I want you to get the feel of the beach.  Pour yourself a margarita, sit back and let's get started.

I think they're excited!

Bella, practicing her wave jumps

good

dropped the leg a little

Perfect!

This is how I want to remember Alex on the beach

He loves digging huge holes in the sand

climbing into them and then

getting completely buried in the sand

Pretending they are doing something while I take the picture

(so it doesn't look like they posed for the picture) 

buried to his knees

sunset in Holland, Michigan

sunset in Saugatuck, Michigan

ahh, pure Michigan.

Back To School Supplies

It's that time of year.  A big one in retail.  Back to school (BTS) shopping.  I think every retailer hops on the bandwagon.  The stores tell us we need new clothes and shoes for school.  We also need a new car.  We can't let anyone see us in our old clothing and shoes or driving an old car.
One of the highlights of BTS time is shopping for school supplies.  Our schools offer a service where all you have to do is write a check and the new supplies arrive when school starts.  This year I boycotted this practice.  Why?  I'm glad you asked that question.
Every year my children come home at the end of the school year with a bag full of school supplies.  Supplies that were on their "must have" school supply list were coming home, unused.  They have us order our school supplies before the school year is completed.  This year I got Bella's list for first grade.  $47.00.  I thought, what is on this list that adds up to $47.00? 
3 paper folders, 1 plastic folder, 2 boxes of crayons, 1 package of markers, 1 package of colored pencils, scissors, glue, kleenex box, 8 jumbo glue sticks, 1" poly binder, school supply box and cleaning wipes.  Yea, I thought the same thing.  Where do you get $47.00 from that list?
And what about the supplies they came home with at the end of the last school year?  What am I supposed to do with those supplies?  Add them to my overflowing box of school supplies I have collected over the last 10 years?
So, I decided to boycott this craziness.  We live in such a wasteful society.  Why can't we use last year's crayons?  And why do we need two boxes?  I think 1 box of crayons should last a year, if not two.  And that school supply box, the one that I have 4 or 5 of at home, can be used again.  And that perfectly (almost) new box of colored pencils that belonged to Nick will do just fine for this year.
I refuse to give in to all this waste.  The ironic part is how the schools teach our kids to reuse and recycle.  How about reusing our school supplies another year? 
Maybe that should be one of the first lessons of the school year.
I know I can't change everyone's thinking.  I do feel is is something that we should take a look at and change our ways.
Ok, I'll step down off my soap box.

Vegetarian Diaries

I have been on this vegetarian journey for about 3 months now and have noticed a few things along the way. 
When I tell people that I am a vegetarian, they automatically assume that I only eat salads.  Now, I do love salad, don't get me wrong.  I don't think I can eat it three times a day, for the rest of my life.  I like a little variety in my meals.
Another thing I hear, "you need to eat meat to get your protein."  I respond by letting them know that you can get protein from other foods (i.e., beans/legumes).  There is always a reply of, "It's not the same protein that you get from meat."  I'm not about to get into an argument with anyone about this subject, I also feel I shouldn't have to educate everyone on food (or food choices) so, I let it stay at that.
We went to a wedding a couple of weeks ago.  At the rehearsal dinner, the menu was already planned.  All meat.  I asked the waitress if I could have something without meat.  She said she could bring out a flat bread with grilled vegetables.  Everyone was served their meal.  The waitress said they were working on my meal and that it would be out shortly.  I guess that's one of the difficulties of being a vegetarian.  You have to wait a little longer.  I don't mind.  At least I know that my meal is being specially made for me and everyone will have to wait for me to finish my meal before dessert is served.
For the wedding reception I ordered the vegetarian meal (of course).  Once again, everyone was served their meal while I waited.  I was ok with waiting, but, was a little disappointed when I was served a huge plate of pasta (I'm not a huge pasta fan - I mean, I like it, but, just a small portion, please).  My pasta was swimming in oil with two asparagus spears cut up.  My children, who love pasta, couldn't eat it because of all the oil.  I guess my point is that there is a variety of food to be eaten other than pasta. (and the pasta doesn't have to be drowning in oil).
Going to a restaurant is always interesting.  I just have to hope no one suggests a steak house.  If they do, I can be like Jerry on Seinfeld and order a salad.
      Here is the link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XttdO1yipo
      (I'm having a problem adding the link)
Vacation meal planning has been interesting.  We went up to Michigan and RT said that we can grab sandwiches and bring them to the beach.  (sandwiches=with deli meats)  I said, that's great, what about me?  Eating a salad on a beach?  I envision sand flying, the sun beating down on me while I try to daintily eat my salad, which is now crunchier with the added sand topping.  Yogurt with a sprinkle of sand is always a possibility.  Or just an apple (just don't drop it in the sand).
I should mention the dinner that we had at Buffalo Wild Wings.  Did you know they do not have a meatless meal?  Well, duh, wings.  Chicken.  Meat.  The barbecue chicken salad (without meat) is really just a plain boring salad.
I guess you can view these as problems.  Some can be quite annoying, and, sometimes amusing, but, I'm not going to change my diet to satisfy others.  I feel great and I choose to continue down this road.

E for Empty

Ok, honey, this is the post that you don't have to read.  Just skip this one, ok? 
Of course, that just made the post a lot more interesting and now you can't pull yourself away.
I'm giving you one last chance to stop reading.
Hopefully you took the hint.  Here we go.
One of my pet peeves.
I don't mind driving a car.  I tend to do a little chauffeuring with the kids, so, I better get some joy out of it.  (and not just the dropping the child off part, either)  The one thing I don't like is driving a car that is on empty.  You know that little gauge on the dashboard?  The one that has an F (for Full) and an E for Empty?  When it gets closer to E, you know it's time to start thinking about filling the tank with gasoline.  Yes, honey, I know that you can still go "so many" more miles till it actually stops running.  I just don't want to play that game when I'm driving.  Sometimes when I'm running an errand, or trying to get somewhere I don't add: "stop at a gas station"  on my To Do list.  I assume the car has enough gas to get me to my destination. 
And remember the Jetta?  The time we were driving somewhere and got stuck at the light on Route 53  with two gas stations across the street.  You're right.  I'll give that one to you.  The gauge told us we had a quarter of a tank but we were out of gas.
So, make sure there is gas in the tank when you are done driving the car.   If you don't have time to stop at the gas station, let the other person know that your car is low on gas before you start offering up your car to be driven.
There.  I said it.  I feel a lot better.  Thank you.

Walking the paths - Backyard Edition - One more!

I had to include this picture with my Backyard pictures.  The evergreens are so close to the house.  It looks like they are hugging/hiding the house.

The house is up for sale!   You can be the owner of this beauty! 

 I would probably trim the bushes just a little.

Pretty as a Princess

Bella was asked to stand up in a wedding.  Thanks to my cousin, Bella got to feel like a princess for a couple of days.

First mani (professional, that is)

ahh, I can get used to this life

a mini pedi

she didn't get the soak, just the polish

she still loved it

purple, just like the dress

that white glob is a flower -  didn't photograph well

relaxed with pretty nails

Then, off to get our hair done

love those curls

looks a little like me when I was little (when I had my hair curled)

almost done

finished with a flower

This was my children's first opportunity to experience a big fat Greek wedding.  Of course, RT was in one, so there were no surprises there.

my camera tester

Bella carrying the stefana (crowns) down the aisle

she did a great job!

What a fun day!