*o, pish posh!*

*thankful thursday, 5.13.10*

I haven’t done this in forever. But I liked Holly Wynne’s list today, so here it goes.

Today I am thankful for:

~the sweetest handmade Mother’s Day card you can imagine.

~plans for a June retreat of sorts with old friends.

~Pea landing in the same kindergarten class with one of her oldest friends.

~our church family.

~online job applications. So much easier that way.

~fresh strawberries with whipped cream.

~having our little garden planted.

~the promise of fresh tomatoes.

~being a grown-up.

~coffee.

~Nashville.

~spring.

*one day belated*

Happy day to all you mamas, future mamas, and mamas-at-heart. On this Mother’s Day I feel so blessed  to have a loving mom, stepmother, and mother-in-law in my life. I’m also grateful for my three grandmothers who are no longer with us. I am thankful for the many wise and inspiring women in my life, mothers or not, who have given me the gift of their friendship. Mother’s Day is nice, but I sort of wish there were a day to celebrate women in general. Finally, I am so lucky to have a daughter who has helped shape me into the mama I am today. Much love to all of you on this Mother’s Day.

*let’s count to five*

ONE


TWO


THREE


FOUR


FIVE


Happy birthday, Sweet Pea!
(For more 5th birthday fun, check out this photoset on flickr.)

*7.20.02 – 2.26.10*

He came into our lives to fill a hole. When Max died I thought I could never love another dog. But then came a poodle named Seriously Alejandro. Our sweet, funny, ridiculous Alex.

Alex never had any idea that he was a big dog. He sat in laps. He jumped up to greet guests. If you’ve ever been to Casa Pish Posh, you may have only known him as a deep bark from the master bedroom. It’s not that he was bad — he was just big. We didn’t want him to knock you over. But seriously, he was a sweetheart.

When Zoe came along life changed a bit. And when Pea came along, he was confused and perturbed. Their love / hate relationship tilted more toward the love side. Maybe because of all the crumbs she dropped on the ground.

Though he was named for his serious face as a pup, Alex grew up silly. We called him Alex, or Alex Pudl, or The Pudl, or occasionally Sweet Buddy Buddy.

Alex left us yesterday. He wasn’t quite eight years old, but we enjoyed every year he spent with us. I loved having a dog who was big enough to hug.

Good boy, Alex. We love you.

*words for 2010*

Last year I chose two words to define my year.

GROW

&

RESIST.

While these words certainly applied to my life and experiences in 2009, it wasn’t in the way I expected them to. I’m going with verbs again for 2010. This year I want to learn to

LISTEN

&

WAIT.

As if I really have any choice.

*our christmas wish to you*

I am sad to say that we didn’t mail out Christmas cards this year. If we had, it might have looked like this.

I hope that your Christmas is full of peace and magic.

*baking day*

She ate more Hershey’s Kisses than we put in the cookies.
She tried to slice open a lemon with a Very Sharp Knife when I stepped out of the kitchen.
She got sugar on the table, sugar on the floor, sugar on the dogs.

But we were together, mother and daughter. We laughed, we sang, and we baked. We used a stick of butter for a microphone. Sang “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” by bokking like chickens. Multiple verses.

Totally worth the mess.

*costumes through the years*

Because you fine people seem to enjoy a good retrospective…

6 months:

1.5 years:

2.5 years:

3.5 years:

4.5 years:

*through the years at walden farm*

2006

2007

2008

2009

*cheesus loves you*

It started when my friend FuR mentioned a Portland, Oregon restaurant called The Grilled Cheese Grill on Facebook. I’m a fan of most things that involve melted cheese, so I clicked over to read the menu. That’s where I found the Cheesus Burger. A big fat burger sandwiched between two delicious grilled cheese sandwiches. (The pickles and grilled onions are on the sandwiches, so they can’t slip off. Brilliant!) With no plans to visit Portland anytime soon, we decided to tackle it at home.

I Googled around a bit and found that the GCG isn’t the only place in the country serving such a sandwich — not even the only place in Portland. Everyone has their own name for the concoction, but my favorite is the Fatty Melt. My Fatty Melt used plain old Arnold Oatnut bread. I couldn’t justify a loaf of bakery sourdough when we had plenty of bread in the house. If we ever have such a thing for supper again, I think I’ll go for sourdough. I’ll also switch out the colby jack cheese for a pair of cheeses with a bolder flavor. Other than that, the Fatty Melt was everything I hoped and dreamed.

I wish I had the mad burger photography skills of Scott over at Hamburger Calculus, but this will have to do.

Served with chips because what were you expecting? A side salad?

Project Cheesus was successful and left me beyond satiated. Despite not feeling good about myself after eating it, I’d probably do it again. Thanks for David for grilling the burgers and not burning the grilled cheese. Now excuse me while I go lie down on the couch for a while.