Big Government trying to eliminate our freedom of choice AGAIN!

GovTrack: H.R. 2749: Text of Legislation, Introduced in House
GovTrack: H.R. 2749: Text of Legislation, Introduced in House

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fireworks

Our old dog is almost fully deaf as of last summer so it will be interesting to see if she notices the fireworks this year. She hears claps and sometimes loud noises so it's possible.

meatballs

We almost ran out of meatballs so I knew it was time to make more again. This time I used 2 lbs ground pork and 2 lbs ground beef, 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, lots of garlic, salt, fresh ground pepper, oregano, Italian seasoning, and a little shake of Lawry's salt. Oh and a cup of freshly made bread crumbs (the crumbs were freshly made, not the bread).
I forgot to count how many I made but they're all 1-inch balls and there are A LOT of them! I baked them in the toaster oven on convection bake since I didn't want to heat up the whole house with the full-sized oven.
I put some of the first batch into a quesadilla for Giselle's supper and she liked it so much that she ate another 5 meatballs when she was done.
I think I'll be bringing some to the pool tomorrow for snacking!

We're cooking now!

I watched Ice Age 2: The Meltdown this afternoon with the kids inside while the global warming continued outdoors.

VBS 2

And this is one of the favorite songs from this year's VBS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5hFFS2nUDHo

VBS

Here's one of our favorite songs from Vacation Bible School last year:

I now agree

Yep, it's hot. It's currently 104 in my neighborhood according to NOAA Weather. As long as I come inside and drink a half liter of ice water every hour it's really not so bad as some people make it out to be. Dousing your head with cool water doesn't hurt either!

Fathers Day cookies

Pampered Chef large mix & store bowl, Pampered Chef 1-inch scoop, Pampered Chef large round baking stone, Pampered Chef wire cooling rack, Crisco Brown Sugar Cookies (modified of course).

back

Marie's back! Actually, I've only talked to her on the phone and on facebook so it's really like she's still in Sweden but Roland and the kids were at The Park today and that was really nice to see them again.

The grown up choice

When we were young 20 years ago we had a bunch of JetSkis, some hot rod some stock. Then we tired of the JetSkis and moved on to boats. We had a Glastron, a Classic, then Joe rebuilt the hull on the Classic to accommodate the ZZ4 crate motor that he put in it (that was SO great for wake boarding back in the days when it was still called 'skurfing'), then Joe got a Thoroughbred that wasn't good for water sports but it sure went fast really well. Somewhere in there I got a Bayliner to fish and ski from at 40 mph since Joe's boats didn't go slower than 50. Not long after Paul was born in our late 30's the Thoroughbred was sold and for a few years we were land-bound. Last year, after careful consideration, Joe got us back into JetSkis and SeaDoos by finding 2 of each kind in good condition. They're fun, can be shared with just about anyone, don't use much gas, are portable, are much more interactive than boats, are safe for kids with parental supervision/assistance, are relatively easy for Joe to repair, and they are FUN!

Paul passed his swimming test today and to celebrate both kids now being lake-ready, the 4 of us took the 2 SeaDoos out to Lake Austin and blasted up and down the lake for 2 hours. Giselle rode with me and Paul rode with Joe. Oh what fun it was to ride and swim together as a family! The kids didn't want to leave and on the way home were asking when we could go again.

I'm so glad that we've got the personal watercraft now instead of a boat. I'm glad that we had both skis and boats when we were young enough to have a blast with them and that we learned the easy way which was the more family-friendly option.

What fun!!

Real Simple Magazine Daily Thought

"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person."
—Mignon McLaughlin

Are judges the only ones that understand this connection?

This from today's Austin American Statesman news wire:

Thursday, June 18, 2009
AUSTIN
Firing at cop gets man 30 years
A judge on Wednesday sentenced Jerel Lamar to 30 years in prison for firing a shotgun at an Austin police officer in 2007.
A Travis County jury in April convicted Lamar, 25, of attempted capital murder in the April 22, 2007, shootout with then-Austin police Cpl. Michael Barger, who is now a sergeant. Lamar waived sentencing by jury.
Barger was not injured, but a shotgun slug lodged in the door of his patrol car that he was using as cover.
Lamar's family members testified during the trial that Lamar was distraught before the confrontation and had told them that he wanted to die. His brother testified that Lamar also said he wanted to kill innocent people, including children, in a shooting spree that rivaled the Virginia Tech massacre.
District Judge Jon Wisser noted that Lamar's father had about 20 children with different women and his mother had been married five times when Lamar was a child, none of the marriages lasting more than three years.
"I don't see any possibility of rehabilitation," Wisser said. "The court is mostly concerned about public safety."

bread

I've made zucchini bread 4 or 5 times, banana bread about a dozen times but never 'real' bread. You know what, tonight doesn't really count either since it's from a mix. But it's close!

Tonight I made some Tastefully Simple Bountiful Beer Bread. I baked it in my Pampered Chef Mini-Loaf Pan. Too bad I didn't have a Rada Bread Knife to cut it with, otherwise it would have been a consultant's dream.

One Thousand

In honor of this being my 1,000th post to this blog (I think I've already doubled that in my 9 months on facebook) I'm posting a picture of myself that Giselle took with my phone 2 weeks ago at the pool.

blood

I gave another pint of blood today. When's the last time YOU donated blood?

good day for the pool

It's SUPPOSED to be 100 for the next week. Sounds like a good day for the pool to me!

Teeth

The front four teeth are out and the front four teeth are in. Excellent spacing here; looks like no need for braces! We'll be getting those 2 six-year molars of his sealed at our July dentist appointment. I think that Giselle's are already all done; I'll have to check our records. Unfortunately, Paul doesn't have any others that are loose right now so he'll have to wait to get the cool Pokemon toys that he knows I've got waiting for him.