Tuesday, August 29, 2006

I have found the Grail.....

Tyler and I spent the day at our favorite nature park here in town, Ijams. We wanted to talk to the ranger there about a hawk we had seen perched on our porch railing. He told us it was probably a Cooper's hawk instead of a Red Tail and he was very impressed with the video my little camera took. On our way home through this little historic neighborhood I saw a sign for a yard sale. Anyone who knows me, knows that I am physcially unable to pass up a good yard sale. Unfortunately when we stopped it didn't look very promising. There were lots of cans of various cleaners and boxes of rusty tools. They had some overpriced, but nice, antique glass. I was about to tell Tyler it was time to go when something in the corner of my eye caught my attention. When I turned, ( and I swear this part is true! :P ) the clouds parted, a beam of sunlight cut through the gloom, guiding, leading and directing me. I'm not positive, but I think there was an Angel, striking a very Vanna White like pose, right behind the most beautiful white, classic Kitchen Aid mixer I have every seen! Check it out for yourself...

I could hardly breath! I have been wanting a Kitchen Aide for at least 20 years. I could never bring myself to pay the price they wanted for a new one and had never been lucky enough to find one second hand. The price on this one was $25! I could hardly believe my luck. I casually walked over to the lady in charge and asked..."Everything on that mixer work?" Her answer was yes, that it had been sitting in her cabinet for years and she decided it was time to get rid of it. I couldn't have agreed with her more! LOL. Ever the bargain hunter, I can't believe I had the nerve, I asked her if she would take $20 and she said YES! I told Tyler to carry the bowl and beaters, I grabbed the mixer and loaded it in the truck. All the while expecting her to run after me waving my twenty screaming, "Wait! I've made a terrible mistake!" I'm afraid I would have had to clock her and run! LOL . So I have a Kitchen Aide mixer! Yipee! I can't wait to make something really yummy! Like 5 dozen chocolate chip cookies! Hmm....I'm gonna need more kids. Maybe this wasn't such a great deal after all!

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

The Fab Four

Randy surprised Juliana and Tyler with tickets to see the group 1964. They are a wonderful Beatles tribute band considered to be the best anywhere. I would highly recommend them if you are a fan.Our kids have been raised on Beatle music. Golden Slumbers was their lullaby and we sang early Beatles stuff in the car on road trips. They all four are fans . Juliana even did a Andy Warhol inspired piece of them for her art class and on my birthday I got a serenaded with Beatle music by Tyler. It was a fun evening and a great time to share as a family. The only thing that would have made it better is if Jesse and Laura could have been there.

Thursday, August 17, 2006

American Idol

Randy and I attended the American Idol tour concert in Nashville this past weekend. Friends of ours gave us tickets and even paid for our hotel! We owe them big time. The concert was wonderful. Every one of them sound better in person than on TV. I was really impressed with Lisa Tucker, who played the piano beautifully, and Paris, man can that girl dance! But the one that really surprised me was Ace. There is no doubt the boy is a looker, but I was never impressed with his performances on the show. In person his voice amazed me. It is much stronger and his stage presence is much better than on the show. He must be a skateboarder because the boy can flat jump! He sailed off a couple of ramps and managed to clear the heads of those near him! Chris was phenomenal! He opened his set with Whole Lot of Love and really rocked the house. He has a fabulous voice. But my man, Taylor, is just amazing. There is just something about him, he is just so FUN to watch. I think it is because you can tell he is having such a blast. We loved it and I look forward to hearing what these talented people produce. I think this year was probably the best over all as far as talent goes for the show. The next day we took Tyler and toured Nashville. We met an adorable couple from England. They were on their honeymoon. He plays in a Blues band and their honeymoon was touring the birthplaces of the Blues in America. They were just charming! I wish them the very best. We took Ty to the state museum and capitol. We all learned a lot about Tennessee history. Great field trip. We saw the Parthenon, that is certainly impressive! We did the whole Music Row thing, ate at Rainforest Cafe. We even saw a photo shoot for Montgomery Gentry. We spent that night in Nashville as well then headed to Franklin and Murfreesboro to check out the civil war sights. More homeschooling. All in all it was a wonderful weekend. I would like to go back to Nashville soon. The Frist museum, Country Music Hall of Fame and Opry Mills mall are calling my name.