Sleep, My Child and Peace Attend Thee

Great news from the family! My niece, Rachel, and her husband, Kevin, are pregnant AND expecting a baby girl!

We are so excited for them. I just talked to her on Wednesday. She is feeling good. She will have lots of doctor visits with this pregnancy so they can keep track of everything. I haven't talked to my brother and sister-in-law. I have been thinking about them lots. I know they must be thrilled, too!

Rachel went home to her parent's this past weekend. Look at what my brother, Rick, surprised her with!



It is gorgeous! He made it himself. He is very handy remodeling lots in the house. I never knew he had woodworking talent too. This is a treasure. It is the homemade gifts that mean the most. Lots of time and endless love went into the production of this cradle. Wow, Rick! It is great to see hope back in this family:) We'll keep the prayers coming for a healthy and speedy pregnancy.

When I saw a picture of the cradle, I immediately thought of this song. It is one that I did for my lessons. I have not sung it in many months. I gave it a shot today. This Mac is something else. I was able to use Garageband transferring the .mp3 file of the accompaniment and recording the voice. Please be kind. This is very incriminating. I do not have a microphone and I had just rode home on my bike with Adam. I don't have any more time to re-do it. So, here goes! I love the words of this song - very apropo for a baby sleeping in a cradle!

Figuring out how to upload this and attach it to the blog took up lots of time. I ended up opening an iweb account on .mac using the 60 day free trial option. This Mac stuff is getting contagious. I am already thinking about all the blogging potential it may have!

Date Night - Sort Of!

It seems like a loooong time since David and I have gone out. We can't work in dinner tonight because the boys have soccer and swim practice that interferes (The four-legged-boy must sense the excitement in me. As I was typing this, he grabbed a dirty full-fingered bicycling glove from the laundry room. Now, one of the pointer fingers is in some dog's belly!)

We are going to a chorale concert tonight to hear the Concordia College Choir. I don't know where Moorehead, MN is, but the singing must be really good. This acappella choir has an amazing reputation as one of the best in the country. I am sure they are enjoying their visit to TN. It just has to be warmer than way up north in Minnesota.

One of the songs on the program is This Marriage by Eric Whitacre. I have talked about this composer before. He is an amazing composer just in his 30's. We sang this song at our spring concert in 2007. I am excited to sit next to my husband, hold his hand, and listen to the song - taking it all in!

One little guy was peering over my shoulder as I started this. He read the post title and quickly said that we did not need a date night. We are already married! I just laughed and said that even married couples need to go on dates:) I am still in my sweats! I gotta get changed and go pick up the boys...I ran out of time and did not get this blog posted yesterday.

CONCERT REVIEW

The concert was beautiful. This choir is well trained. All of the music was memorized. Even the conductor conducts from memory! There are advantages to rehearsing every day. We found out that Moorehead is way up in northern Minnesota close to Canada. They really must spend many months indoors singing. You can tell!

They sang Choral Concerto, Movement II by Alfred Schnittke. It was sung in Russian and is based on writings by Gregory of Narek (951-1003) and the Book of Lamentations. The song winds its way to the end with Allelulia. You could hear a pin drop. The choir was able to resonate a dissident chord in ppp. Gorgeous! Another piece written by their conductor, Rene Clausen, was i carry your heart with me from an e. e. cummings poem. It made me want to read some e. e. cummings. One part of the concert was dedicated to war and peace. It covered WWII, Vietnam, and Irag ending with peace and hope. They included a visual slide show with the music. It was well done and very well orchestrated. A light-hearted song was Little Potato by Malcolm Daighish. One of Moorehead's agricultural products is potatoes and this song is all about just that - or is it? They are just about at the half-way mark on their tour. It made me think back to the few choir tours I went on (Deb, remember surfing in the bus aisle? I still sing Go Ye Now in Peace and He is Alive!). It was a wonderful cultural experience opening my eyes to the fabulous Concordia College Choir.

We ended the evening with a quick stop into Starbucks. We are coffee novices. It tends to upset my stomach and we have never acquired a taste for coffee. I think our ignorance was obvious from the moment we stepped into the store. We actually had to read the entire menu before deciding. I ordered a skinny cinnamon dulce latte. It was quite good and my stomach approved. We used a gift card that one of our PRE students gave us. It may have been just a bit too much caffeine as I don't feel like I got the best night's rest! The boys were nestled and snug in their beds when we got home. The dog even put himself to sleep in his crate with the crate door open. We just may need to get out more often!

Lastly, I was struggling with what to wear. It was quite cold here and I wanted to make sure I wore a warm cozy sweater as we don't get that many opportunities. I jazzed it up with some necklaces. I dug into my coffers from years ago and came up with this combination. I was chuckling inside as the choker is really a headband. Do I get an award for creativity? I wonder if anyone realized? I was worried about it initially. I quickly came to my senses realizing I won't see many of the audience members again!

WAY TO GO VANDY!

I got this image from this site. You can read all about victory there. They have some great audio and I love listening to the post-game insight. Shan Foster is an amazing player, but the team pulled it off!

It is very good to be GOLD! It makes it even better living in the state of Tennessee:)

Cork Recycling

We have a GREEN page-a-day calendar this year. One of the items from a day last week was the recycling of the cork from wine bottles. I know that lots of folks are very creative finding other uses for the corks. Check out this site. You can save up your corks and send them (Fedex, of course) to this company. They have really care about that oak cork tree. The cork tiles just might look nice on our bathroom floor that was supposed to be tiled two years ago. Ha! Why does life get in the way? I enjoyed the poem about wine and the cork. It is a celebration and we all need to do what we can to preserve Earth. Back on that crafty note, I'd love to see what the kids have created with the non-cork material sent to the teacher recycling center.

I am going to designate a container to collect the corks putting it right next to the bag collecting BoxTops and soda tabs! It may take some time to gather a shipment as we don't drink as much wine as we'd like:) Life and kids seem to get in the way!

Just a technical note- I figured out the html to change the color of the word green. The little things that thrill me! I just wish I had more time to explore all of this. But, real life and the grocery store are calling my name. Can you hear them?

Panera

We love the restaurant Panera. They don't have any close to where we live. They are supposed to be coming this way by 2009. They do have them in Nashville. Pumpkin requested a stop there after the swim meet. His favorite is the cinnamon crunch bagel. Unfortunately, they were all sold out of those and he had to settle for a blueberry bagel. I was shocked that he ate it as the blueberries are pretty big chunks in the bagel. He has a thing with chunks.

The rest of us ordered soup, salad or sandwiches. We did not bring any bagels home with us. I am not sure why (I'd love to have one today:(). I guess we were just anxious to get in the car for the ride home. They definitely have something going at this restaurant. There is a diverse menu that is reasonably "healthy" appealing to lots of folks. The free wifi is an added bonus too.

Meet Summary

We did not take lots of pictures at the swim meet. It is a memory we'd like to erase. It was very hard to watch Pumpkin swim. I just felt so sorry for him. He was a trooper, though. This experience may have said more about his character than any other meet to date. That ankle just prevented him from swimming like himself. During the 1000 yard swim, his good friend actually lapped him. They are normally swimming stroke for stroke battling it out until the very end. If I had been Pumpkin, I would have stopped in the middle of the swim, climbed out of the pool and started crying. He didn't. He just kept on swimming. His coaches were supportive too. It is probably going to take a few more weeks for his ankle to be back to normal. This meet marked the end of the short course season. We are all looking forward to the start of a healthy long course.

That Nagging Ankle!

We are in the midst of our "mini" family vacation at Pumpkin's swim meet in Nashville. This has been a tough one all around. That ankle is affecting him. Off the block on his first swim, he got scared that he'd hurt it on his flip turns. It was brutal to watch him coast into the walls for a flip turn. He is just not himself. He has worked so hard and it breaks my heart. We are all trying to learn from this and make the most of it. It can be easier said then done. We've got a couple more days to go. This is definitely a character building experience! Say some prayers for us that the ankle muscles get stronger and that as a mother, I can say the right things - easier said then done!!!

Honda Serviced

Okay! I am sitting at the dealer waiting for the Pilot to be serviced. It is a big one and may take 2+ hours. The dealer is about 30 minutes away from home. So, it is just about a wash to ride home and logistically figure out a way back. I am stuck here with all my goodies.

I brought my laptop with me. Gotta love it! The Mac travels and the wifi at the dealer is wonderful. I get to read all the blogs I want!

I brought the PRE stuff with me. We are not going to teach this weekend. But, I have to put something together for the couple that graciously agreed to fill in for us. I am crossing my fingers that the topic is not too complicated. I am so excited to have a second week off!

I brought my knitting. I started my very first ever sock. It just seems like it is going to take forever. I am using US2 and the yarn is small. The pattern is random and I am loving the end result. I just worry about it fitting and about ever getting it finished. I have one slipper left for a friend of mine. I have less than 1 hour remaining. I hope to have that finished by the time I leave here.

Did I mention that I am sitting at the dealer? We are in desperate need (in my opinion) of a new car. I am going to do some window shopping and may just test drive something. Our wagon is wonderful, but it is nearing the end. I just don't know what to replace it with and we love not having a car payment. We'll see!!!

Yahoo! Cast OFF!!

We got great news this morning. Pumpkin got his cast off! The wait was atrocious. I made a mental note to avoid orthopod offices on Mondays. They work in all the injuries from the weekend. I was trying to set a good example for the boys, but was near the end of my rope. The doctor is amazing and my angst seemed to disappear when she entered the room. The Xrays looked great with the growth plate healing nicely. Pumpkin did not have any pain associated with the ankle. The bruising was another thing. You can see some of it in the pictures.

Peanut was so excited to come to the appointment too. He wanted to see the cast get cut off. What I did not think of was what Pumpkin's ankle would look like. I almost lost Peanut when he saw the bruising. Yes. Peanut, the innocent bystander, almost fainted right there in the office. Fortunately, he was sitting in my lap. He tucked his head in my shoulder and started crying. I still wasn't on his page until I realized he was all clammy. I know he gets this way at the sight of blood. I did not think seeing the bruise would do it too! It took him a few minutes to recover. We had to wait, wait and wait some more.

Peanut picked up Pumpkin's book, Diary of a Wimpy Kid (I want to read it as I heard adults will like the book, too), and started reading it. I tried to focus on knitting. It was tough as I was ready to go home!

Pumpkin was singing and goofing around on the table - just waiting!

Pumpkin now has a lace up sock thing he as to wear when he is not swimming, sleeping or showering. He has exercises to do to strengthen the muscles. The sock thing protects his ankle. In this weakened state, he is susceptible to hurting it again doing something so simple as stepping over a rock. He is going to get in the pool this afternoon. We can only hope for the best going off the block and doing flip turns.

The best part is that he was cleared to swim in the Southeastern Championships on Thursday. We'll be heading to Nashville for the weekend. Sounds like another blog entry in a few days!

MSO

Last night, we had the opportunity to go to attend the Memphis Symphony Orchestra's show, Mancini & Moonlight. It was very apropo with the time of the year as Valentine's Day was just on Thursday. I wore my red pants - kind of wild for me! We weren't sure if the kids would enjoy it or not. I think they did. They youngest one even said that the show did NOT last that long! We are grateful to our friends that offered us the tickets.

I did not realize how much Henry Mancini had written. My husband thought parts of the show were like watching the credits at the end of shows. He wrote the music for so many! There were two singers that performed with the orchestra. I think my favorite was Two for the Road. It inspired me to rent the movie with Audrey Hepburn. I also want to rent the movie, Breakfast at Tiffany's. It was nice evening, a cultural experience:)

The Cannon Center is gorgeous!

The symphony's program for this season.

The boys before the show.

It took our photography quite a few tries to even get one photo that was "acceptable." I think you can see our frustration on our faces. Oops! I get my hair done on Tuesday and just might need to do something to cover up that forehead!!!

The Reason I Do It

At the beginning of the school year, I started something. I encouraged my younger son to ride his bike to school. We are on the bus route, but I thought it would be great to get up and go on our bikes. We are only one mile from school. We have to cross a fairly busy four lane road. So, I have to ride TO and FRO with him. In theory it is a great idea. My son loves to ride his bike. Now. There aren't any other options. In pouring down rain, I have to beg him to hop in the car for the quick trip to school. When I am feeling selfish, it is not so good either as it uses up some of my precious "free" time. Anyway, I do it. I am sure I get a tiny bit of cardio and my heart is thanking me. Deep down, I do it for Peanut thankful he gets so much out of it.

This morning, I got additional confirmation as to why I do do this. I was looking down watching my sweatpants leg. I did not want it to get caught in the chain. Peanut said softly to me, "Look at that!" as he was pointing to his right. There in the next yard was a hawk of some sort. Just its body was about 8-10 inches. I saw the bird, but did not see what the bird had. Peanut saw it all. The bird had a smaller bird in its talons. The hawk had gotten food for family or just food for himself. It was nature RIGHT in front of us. That is why I do it. Peanut gets to appreciate the little things while he is on his two wheels.

Valentine's Dinner

This is the one night of the year that I pull out the china, silver and crystal. What a difference a plate makes!

I was walking around the house trying to think of a vase for the roses. I remembered our Blenko water carafe. We got this a few summers ago in West Virginia. I love the way it looks with the flowers.

I decided we needed a sparkling wine to go with the meal. We enjoy the Prosecco wines on special occasions. As I was looking over the bottles, this one jumped out at me. It is from Italy. It is a Moscato di'Asti. I love the shape of the bottle too.

The wine had a nice fruity flavor. It has a little less alcohol in it and went down smoothly. It is an easy one to drink. All in all, it ended up being a little bit sweet for my tastes. I tend to keep migrating back to the Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignons.
Pumpkin created the butter heart. Isn't is lovely?

Here is the meal. I have to say the mini crab cake on the salad and the string cut beets were not well received. I was trying to "spice" it up a bit. The rest of the food was pretty yummy.

The best part was the little ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins. I did not order it ahead of time and had to take what I could get. It was chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream (not one my favorites) with chocolate cake. The cake itself was fabulous. I wonder what recipe they use. You can see Peanut's Valentine bag in the background. His class decorated these using them to collect their Valentine's in.

Hidden under each chair was a little Valentine. All the boys got books and I got a new pillow. I tried it out last night and the verdict is still out on whether or not it is a keeper. It has a unique odor that dissipates over time. It needs to go away quickly. I was impressed with the gift - thinking out of the box. My hubby makes the bed every morning and must have realized how bad my pillows were.

How Do I Love Thee...

Let Me Count the Ways~ ~

1. For the hugs you are always ready to give even very early in the morning
2. For the endless number of foot massages you have given
3. For your beautiful blue eyes, wavy hair and biker legs
4. For willpower you have to exercise in the cold and rain or the sun and heat
5. For being a wonderful father
6. For knowing me better than I know myself sometimes
7. For the loving emotion you have beneath the quiet exterior
8. For willingly listening to my singing and developing an interest in it
9. For sleeping on that cot for 52 nights while we waited for the birth of a healthy baby boy. And, willing to do all again. (Fortunately, we did not need to.)
10. For mopping the kitchen floor and doing the laundry
11. For being my best friend for more than half my life. Gosh! We are getting old.
12. For working hard providing me the chance to “play” here at home
13. For loving me just the way I am – curves and all!
14. For eating all the recipes I’ve experimented with. I finally learned to skip those with dark meat chicken
15. For making me laugh (I know it can be tough, sometimes)
16. For trusting me
17. For wearing those Keen sandals with white socks in the middle of winter. I am not sure if that fashion statement caught on!
18. For eating all the ice cream right along with me when you preferred some other dessert
19. For being happy and content with what you have – all that you have
20. Lastly, in honor of today, for the twenty years of Valentine’s! I honestly don’t remember them all, but there is nothing better than having the one I love right here with me on this day.

I LOVE YOU, MY SWEETIE!

Peanut's Valentines

Here are the Valentine's that Peanut is giving to his classmates. We try to make something each year and keep it as simple as can be. I cut the hearts out of construction paper while he was at school. I wrote the very creative (not!) saying on the hearts. He signed them all with a fancy pink pen and added eyes with a black pastel. On some, he even added an extra mouth. He was thrilled with them. I am sure the kids will have fun making some noise!

I am going help with the party in his classroom tomorrow afternoon. They used to only have parties on Fridays. I am so glad they changed it last year permitting the party to fall on the actual day. The kids need to pass out Valentines on February 14th.

Our family tradition is to do a fancy dinner on Valentine's. It is the one day of the year that I pull out the china and crystal. I have the menu planned, but need to prepare it. I need to get some champagne too! I'll be sure to take some pictures to share.

Here's to all the LOVE in the air!!!

Happy Valentine's Day Mrs. J

Last week, I was "organizing" all the yarn I have accumulated over the last months making all those slippers. I decided to whip together a scarf for my son's third grade teacher in honor of Valentine's Day. You see the end result.
I had to start and restart a few times as I kept running out of yarn. I had to come up with a pattern that worked with the scraps I had. The scarf is knit on US 35s with eight stitches on a row. I used two threads. The first section, A, is knit with a variegated worsted and a eyelash - of sorts. The second section, B, is knit with two of the variegated. I sequenced the sections in ABABA format. I had a bit of the variegated left and added a short fringe to the bottom. I have decided that fringe really finishes off a scarf.


My son was thrilled to have something to give to his all time favorite teacher. We are so grateful for the love she has shown my son all year long. Happy Valentine's Day, Mrs. J!

Pumpkin Cast On

Yes! You read it correctly. The oldest one, Pumpkin, got a cast on yesterday. He was out on his scooter on Sunday afternoon for just a few minutes. I guess that is all it takes. At the neighbors behind us, he rode a small ramp and came down on the ankle funny. The younger brother ran and got us. Pumpkin limped home. He was able to walk on it and we were pretty sure it was just a sprained ankle. He stayed home from school Monday and I made an appointment with the doctor. She was able to squeeze us in, but the wait was really long. Neither one of us brought anything else to do. We ended up playing with my phone and my camera. It was a hoot.

I tried to quickly edit all this as I am supposed to grocery shopping, painting, getting pretty and I got sucked into iMovie. This is my first one. Please bear with it. There is minimal audio, but you get the picture



Did I mention that the Southeastern swimming championships are next Thursday, 2/21, in Nashville? His fracture is on his growth plate. I guess it is fairly common. He'll be casted for a week and the doctor will make the go/no go decision on Monday as to whether or not he can swim in the meet. Gotta love it!

He ventured off to school today. I am anxious to see how he made out.

And, the cast is waterproof. So, he is going to go to swim practice and move his arms in the water. Yeehaw!

Best Day Ever per Buddy

I had the best day ever in the short 2+ years that I have been alive. My family took me to the dog park at Shelby Farms. The weather was beautiful just a bit nippy. The sky was blue and the sun was shining.


They loaded me into the back of the wagon. What? I never ride back here. I'll show them. As soon as the car was rolling, I slid over the seats to the front taking my spot between Pumpkin and Peanut. I did not know where we were going. The last time I was in the car, I ended up at the kennel. My family brought water, towels, bags, a leash, and the chuck-it. They don't normally bring those things when I get boarded. Where could we be off to?

It seemed like it took forever to get there as they weren't quite sure where we had to go. I got out of the car and the smells were amazing!

We walked about hundred yards to open fields. The smells just got better and better! I was still on my leash and not quite sure what we were going to do.


Then, they unsnapped my leash. I was free! The tennis ball went flying across the field and I barreled after it. It was wonderful.

I kept running and retrieving the ball catching it in my mouth off the bounce. Occassionally, I had to take a breather and wander over to some bushes in order to leave my mark. I had to let the others know that I was here!

I felt a freedom I had never felt. I loved running with the boys and explored with them.


We made our way over the crest of the hill and there were more dogs! They were all running around too! I've lived a pretty wonderful life, but have not had the opportunity to socialize with other four-legged creatures. We all did the sniff thing to say hello. Even though it was cold out, I wanted to go swimming. I was in control of that tennis ball at all times, but those other dogs were interested too.


I just kept running and running. I met a standard poodle puppy. She was a doll! A chocolate lab out-sprinted me to my tennis ball, but he let me have it. Boy! He ran fast. As we were making our way toward the car, two Great Danes came over to say hello. I could almost walk under them. They were big but they were nice.


I did not want to leave! I sulked in the back of the wagon as we headed for home. My family has been talking about a new car for some time. I did hear them say something about a Honda Element. They said that it would be perfect for taking me on trips like this. I would love that, but aren't they those sort of ugly box cars?

Okay! I had a great day. I have to admit it was all about ME! That is until my family stopped at TCBY for a treat. I got to wait in the car. I was very sad. And, they did not come out with anything for me. I am the one who ran circles around everyone else. What's up with that? I do hope they decide to brush me soon. My hairdo is a bit wild after all the excitement I've had!


We were pleasantly surprised with Buddy's behavior today. He has never been in contact with so many dogs. He was great. We know he love it. He was just bouncing around with a great big smile on his snout. We were a little leary about the swimming as it was cold outside. He did not seem to mind. He was even thinking about chasing some ducks on the other side of the lake. How do you explain to a dog that that is a warm weather activity? Not to mention that the ducks will fly away! We will take him back. I just have to get a Bounce sheet in the car to get rid of the wet dog smell. It would be a welcomed addition to our Sunday routine. If you have one of these parks near you, take your dog and go have some fun!!

Weekend Movies

We got to watch some movies this weekend. We felt like it was a luxury as normally there are activities or school projects to complete. We got to kick back and relax.

Last night we watched Unaccompanied Minors
as a family. The boys thought is was great! I had a few laughs out loud. David even had a few chuckles in between a few nods. It was enjoyable. I am not sure where I was during the holidays - probably knitting slippers, but I did not know anything about this flick. I am also happy to say the Volvo in the movie is WAY older than the Volvo that takes up residence at this house!

Tonight, I attempted to roast a chicken. This is the second time in two weeks that I attempted to tackle a chicken. I won't be doing it again! Both times, the chicken was not completely cooked. I met all the criteria when I pulled it out of the oven. It is just so hard to tell when it is done. I will be sticking to chicken breasts from now on. The bad thing is I have two more chickens frozen in the freezer. I guess that wasn't a good Costco purchase! Anyway, we salvaged the night by watching the other movies we got.

The boys went upstairs and watched Surfs Up! They said it was really good. I tried to poll them for specifics and did not get much. I think they were tired and already bumming about having to get up early for church tomorrow morning.

My husband and I watched A Mighty Heart. It is not a light-hearted flick. I knew the outcome and still had an unsettling feeling in my stomach. But, I have to say it was an eye opener. I am impressed with Mariane Pearl and will do some searches to see what her recent journalistic endeavors are. She is an amazing woman. If you need a thought provoker or are interested in Pakistan, rent the movie. I did a quick google after the movie and found this written by Daniel Pearl's dad. It does make an important statement regarding journalists and the marketing of news.

I did not mention any painting. We did not get any done! We had swim practice, basketball game, indoor soccer game, iphone info session, bike ride by the main man, and outside time that all interfered. Oh! I forgot to mention planning for PRE. I did that in record time. I will be crossing my fingers and saying some prayers that all goes well in the morning.

Batteries

I thought I had enough of batteries when Pumpkin finished his science fair project!

It turns out my MacBook battery is having issues of its own. For some reason, it won't hold a charge. I spent some time on the phone with the Apple dude, but we weren't able to resolve it. I have an appointment today to take it into the Apple store. It just may need a new battery. I hope it is something simple.

Fortunately, the power cord is working like a champ. I can do all the usual, but have to have it plugged in.

Can I just say that I love this Mac? Last night, I made an appointment for the Genius Bar at the local Apple store. I signed in when I got there today and they fixed my machine. It turns out it was the battery. I got a brand new one! Gotta love that. And, I thought about getting a job at the store. Wouldn't that be cool?

Coloring for Valentine's

Last Friday afternoon, my older son was at swim practice and the younger son was looking for something to do. The laundry room contents is all over the dining room. I won't mention how long it is taking to paint the laundry room, closet and trim! I saw the markers and books sitting there and suggested that he do something from this

He selected a very detailed one. He is very precise and is still working on it. We decided to use reds, pinks and purples using the finished product as some sort of Valentine's Day card. At this point, I am not sure if he will finish it in time. His interested has waned.

I decided to sit down and try my hand at one too. I do not have the patience he has and wanted to finish mine. This is what I came up with. In retrospect, I should have limited the colors even more. But, it is festive for Valentine's. Now, I have to figure out how to use it to decorate my blog!

Package Arrived

Today I got a package from Amazon. In it are little presents for the boys for Valentine's Day. Of course, I had to order a book or two for me. Look what I got!

I am excited to look through the books. I can't wait to get some more ideas. I love seeing how creative people are and using that as a starting point. I will just have to keep adding to the knitting list...

New Grocery Items

Yesterday afternoon I was just about done with my grocery shopping and noticed it was pouring down rain. I did not bring an umbrella and was wearing a white t-shirt. I decided the prudent thing to do was to walk around the store a bit more. In the past year, the store was remodeled and the organic section grew immensely. These things just happened into my cart ~

The consensus in the house is that this tea is very good. It is a bit pricey, but you get a glass too. I am not going to ask who needs a glass! If it has all the health benefits pomegranate is supposed to have, then it may be worth it. I am going to keep my eye open for a sale.

This looks pretty good! I bought to put in the freezer for an emergency. I don't think the kids will like it, but it is right up my alley.

One of my pet peeves is the salt content in prepared foods. I strongly disagree with items marked lower sodium still containing 25-30% of your daily requirement in one serving. I don't see how companies can promote items as being healthy when they contain a ton of salt. I was pleased to find this broth with only 4% of your daily salt per serving. The truth will be in the taste. I am going to use it in a tortellini pesto soup later in the week. We'll see what it is like.

Lastly, I migrated to the ice cream cooler. I saw these minis. They are lower in fat and may just hit the spot. My older son tried one today and gave it the thumbs up. I may have one for dessert!