If there was a day to lounge on your couch all day…today was definitely it!  I would say that I was the queen lounge lizard of our house.  The rain kept coming down in perfect increments just to allow me to never make it the grocery store.  Just when I thought it was letting up, I’d start to attempt my trip to the store and then I’d notice the dark clouds moving back in.  Well, back to the couch for more reading.  There was just no motivation happening for me today and it felt kind of nice and I didn’t feel the guilt that I usually do when I do nothing.  Ha!!   I was very happy to have finished up my book.  I love getting to the endings, because I notice that I speed up my reading.   I get so engrossed in the book and excited to know that soon I will be done.    And as always, I can’t wait to get a look at my next book.  That will have to wait until Tuesday…I’m going to read “The Shack.”

Today I celebrated “scrapbook day” by starting my new album pages at 9:00 this morning and continuing until 9:00 tonight with my friend Dawn.  Our Creative Memories Consultant rented a large room at a local church and about 40 women enjoyed the day creating beautiful pages for their families.  I accomplished 19 pages and Dawn completed 16 fabulous pages.  We were both happy with our results and just enjoyed having the entire day free of children and interruptions (they kind of go hand in hand).  Tomorrow it’s suppose to rain most of the day, maybe I’ll get a few more pages done.  That would be nice.

Our day started out by having our science teacher calling us “earthlings” and reminding us that it’s Earth Day.  I laughed at that.  I like the idea of “going green” and I try do things in my everyday life that can help our planet.   Like, walking to work instead of driving, recycling and even trying to turn off the water while brushing my teeth.  Kelly gets me on this one all the time….you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. 

Kelly has been waiting all week for tonight.  She had us turn out all the lights at 9:oo for two minutes to observe and reflect on Earth Day.  We each said a couple of things that we do to help out our earth.  It was fun and very meaningful.  It was a chance to let our earth “breathe”.  I guess you start thinking about these things once you have children of your own, because you always want a better world for your kids.  One way we can start, is by cleaning up our own mess.  I hope you did something “green” today and felt good about it.  I know I did.

Last night, my sister and I went to Orchestra Hall, down in Minneapolis.  She had gotten us tickets to see Jim Brickman perform with the Orchestra.  It was a beautiful night for dining downtown.  We ate at a Mexican restaurant called, Mesa.  Most of the menu was in Spanish and you had to use the glossary provided in the back, to figure out what you were ordering.  I ended up ordering a spicy shrimp dish that was fabulous!  Terry had chicken tacos and they were pretty hot as well.  She needed her water after every bite.  After dinner, we walked over to Orchestra Hall and found our seats (which were in the second row..right in the middle), talk about your  front and center!  The Orchestra was wonderful and Jim Brickman is quite a story teller in between his songs and very funny.  It was just the thing my sister & I needed.  A night of chatting, laughing and music!

One day we’re finishing our taxes, the next day, it’s Nate’s birthday!  He turned 45 years old today but surely doesn’t look or act his age(I mean that in the best sort of way).   He took the day off from work and spent his time relaxing in the quiet house and checking out the local golf course.  It was a bit too windy for the driving range but he enjoyed scoping out the course.  He decided that rather than going out for dinner, he’d like to cook up some barbecue ribs with mashed potatoes and some golden corn on the side.  Mmm…sounds like summer to me.   We then let him open a few gifts, which included a book, a cd and and shiny new black Ipod Nano!!  I think Megan had it in her hands, playing games on it as soon as it came out of the package.  We needed to remind her that this is Dad’s gift, not hers.  We ended the evening with Nate’s all time favorite cake….Black Forrest.  He asks for this every year and it is oh, so yummy.  I think he enjoyed his birthday and tomorrow he can relax again and listen to some music on his Ipod.  Cool~

Today I had a couple of those funny moments that I just wanted to share with you.  Oprah calls them your “Ah-ha” Moments.  My first moment was when I received a phone call from Megan’s friend asking if she was home.  I told her that she had gone over to a friends house.  It got very quiet on the other end of the phone and she says, “really, or is she really home?”  Again I said, no she really went to her friends house.  Why, what’s up?  Apparently Megan had told her that she’d go to church with her tonight and Megan (sort of) forgot.  I gave her the phone number of where Megan was at so that they could work something out.  About 3 minutes later, my phone rings and it’s Megan.  Here’s the funny part.  She says, “Mom, what should I do?  You’re the Mom, you need to help me out here!”   Ah-ha!  Now, I’m important again and needed.   I said, “Well, did you tell her you’d go to church with her?”  Megan says, “yes, but I thought it would be later on.”  So she ended up being honest with her friend and telling her that she wouldn’t be able to make it home in time for church and that she was sorry.  Her friends not too happy with her right now, but I’m sure in a couple of days, they’ll be best friends all over again.

Now for my other moment…..the girls & I were sitting around our island before dinner and Kelly was asking Nate if he had picked out a restaurant for tomorrow night (his birthday dinner) and he told us that he’d like to stay home and make ribs.  Then he looked at me and says, “And I take it you’re not making me a cake?”  Ah!!!  I had completely forgot about the birthday cake.  So after dinner, he ran over to Cub and bought a box of chocolate cake mix, cherry pie filling, and cool whip.   I am currently baking his cake as I write this tonight.  So he will have a birthday cake for his big day  tomorrow.

I hope you’re having a great Easter today!  It’s a beautiful day here with temperatures around 56 degrees.  Our day started out at 8:00 a.m. by running down the stairs to see what the Easter Bunny brought.  Then the girls raced around the house looking for candy to add to their baskets.  Later we enjoyed a pancakes & egg brunch, prepared by Nate…which was delicious.  After our tummies were stuffed, Nate made his way downstairs to watch the Masters Golf Tournament and the girls and I headed outdoors.  Megan surprised me and put up my hammock!  After putting out our deck furniture, I eagerly ran down into the yard to relax in the hammock.  It felt wonderful to lay in the sun and soak up some sunshine.  I started dreaming of summer.    A few clouds rolled in about an hour later, so we went inside to make our dessert for tonight.  The girls did the whole thing.  I was very impressed.  They made Peanut Butter Eggs dipped in chocolate.  So basically, they made Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs.  I can’t wait to taste them!  It’s been a fun, busy day that we have all enjoyed.  I hope you enjoyed yours as well.  I think I”ll go have a glass of wine and relax a bit more before the pork chops go on the grill.

Today we headed over the Macy’s Flower Show in beautiful downtown Minneapolis.  The theme this year was, “Dream in Color.”    There was seven colorful gardens with gorgeous flowers from Greece, France, South America, Japan, Russia, Italy and Spain.  The colors were very vibrant and the aroma was wonderful. 

Tonight we get ready for the Easter Bunny to arrive.  Kelly has gotten out the baskets and set them up in a spot that the bunny is sure to see them.  Not sure yet if we’re setting out a carrot or two, but it’s been done in the past.  I just hope she goes to bed at a decent hour because it’s getting harder and harder to stay awake past 10:00.

It really was a “good Friday” today.  The girls & I started our day out by getting haircuts and hi-lites.  We call it our new “spring do’s”.   We stopped and had lunch at Sonic and then headed home to enjoy the fresh air and sunshine.  Later this afternoon, we took Jazz out for a walk around Sunset Pond.  It feels so good to get outside for those walks again.

Tonight we dyed our Easter eggs.  Each year I try to find a new idea and this year we used chalk to design the eggs.  We dyed them first and then the girls drew on them after they dried.  They turned out cute and it was fun to see Megan & Kelly’s designs.  They made flowers, names, polka dots and even girly faces with long flowing hair on the back of the egg.    They amaze me each year with these colorful eggs.

Tonight after dinner, the four of us went outside and played a game of HORSE out on our new basketball court.  Well, that’s what we call it.  It’s actually our driveway, but it works.  I’m really glad that we bought this basketball hoop.  It’s a great activity that we can all do together and we have a lot of fun.  We’re going to be the annoying neighbors who make so much noise and stay out late keeping our neighbors awake because we have to finish the tournament that we started two hours before!  Each time someone misses a shot, we all scream or say, “NO!!”  It’s pretty funny.  After our game of horse, it was getting chilly but the girls wanted to go one more time.  So we played PUG, not PIG.  Megan’s favorite dog is the Pug, so she named that game.  Anyway, our new backboard & hoop has proved already, that we have made a good investment.  And by the way….I won at Horse!