I hope you had a wonderful Valentine's Day!
Did you do anything special with your sweetheart?
The Husband, who is wonderful beyond words in so many ways, planned to take the day off of work so we could spend Valentine's Day together.
For a little while it looked like our day together may not happen. Bummer! The Husband was not feeling well Monday night, a stomach virus. Yuck!! Fortunately he was doing better Tuesday morning!! Hurray!! We had a great time wandering through all of the fun shops in Stillwater Minnesota. I was a little disappointed that my very favorite shop, Rose Mille, was not open. Pooh!
Rose Mille is all crafty and eclectic.
It makes me happy!
One of the Husband's wonderful qualities is that he will enter this store with me and wait very patiently as I look to my hearts content!! Yep, he's a good man!
Unfortunately by early afternoon he was not feeling well again. He's home sick today. Poor guy! This stomach virus has been going around. I don't know how he got it. He usually manages to avoid these things. There went our Valentine's evening.
And as a bonus, Miss Sofia returned home from school yesterday with a terrible cold. She was all stuffed up, headachy, and sneezy. Poor girl! She's home sick today too! I suspect that she was worn down from the hectic schedule of the last several weeks as she and her classmates were preparing for the production of Mulan they performed last weekend. It was fabulous!
Miss Sofia played the part of a cheongsam salesperson. What's a cheongsam you ask? It's the traditional chinese dress that Captain Shang and his soldiers used to disguise themselves so they could sneak into the palace unnoticed by the Huns.
She did a great job!
All of the students did a great job!
I was very upset the night we went to see the see the production to find out all photography was "strictly prohibited." What!!??
Fortunately I had been given permission to take some photos the night before while I was helping backstage. They aren't great photos because I was backstage, but at least I got some photos. Strictly prohibited. BAH!
I wasn't the only one who took a few photos while helping backstage.
See the other mom who helped taking photos of Captain Shang and the Emperor? And there's my girl, Miss Sofia, waiting in the wings.
The girl who payed Mushu did an excellent job! She was very funny!
There's Miss Sofia! She only had one line but the play would have been lost without it! That's just my opinion of course.
The band director spent three weeks creating this dragon head. Isn't it great?
Everyone loved the big confetti cannon finish!
What a fun play, even though the many long weeks of practice and the five shows wore my girl down to the point where she is now sick. She would do the whole thing again. And I would support her and help out all over again even though it left me with a sick child. And I will try to have a good attitude and kiss my poor sick girl's head and make her soup and take good care of her like usual instead of shouting, "Not today, I don't have time for this!" because I have so much to do after the busy play weekend and after taking a morning off to spend time with the Husband, which I'm so thankful for, that now won't get done because I have a sick family to take care of!
Yep, as much as I really do enjoy the occasional sick day, the occasional opportunity to dote on one of my family members when they're sick and need some extra lovin', sometimes it's just not convenient.
Can we reschedule this sick day please?
Christine
The Husband and I made a deal with our girls.
Wait until 14 years old to wear makeup and I would take them to the salon for a makeup lesson, and their first makeup application.
Some of you are thinking we are way too conservative making our children wait until 14 when some girls begin to wear makeup at the age of 10. And some of you are probably thinking we are not conservative enough, we should make our girls wait even longer. But the Husband and I discussed the matter quite a bit, and decided 14 would be a good age for our girls.
We believe that having our girls wait until 14 will allow us time to have some really good conversations about what beauty really is. We can address the lies about the unattainable and unreal images of beauty that the media put before us each day. We believe...hope that by the age of 14 the girls will be more able to understand, and have witnessed that lasting beauty is about more than what can be seen on the outside. That lasting beauty is about hands that reach out in love to help those in need. It's eyes that are windows into a soul full of love and compassion. It's about showing God's mercy and grace to others.This is the message we hope to impart to our girls before they begin to invest time and energy into just their outward appearances.
Now don't get me wrong! I have nothing against makeup. I like it. I suspect most women do. What female doesn't get a thrill from trying a new eyeshadow or lipstick? I also think there is the sense of moving into womanhood when a girl begins to wear makeup. It's a little like a right of passage for many of us.
Guess who turns 14 today!!
Miss Sofi Bug!!!
As promised, I made an appointment for her to get her makeup done on Saturday. We decided to make a morning of it and stopped for Starbucks first.
We sipped our Starbucks and chatted. It was wonderful! I decided it couldn't hurt to take one more opportunity to touch on the subject of inner beauty. I really think she heard me. Or she really only heard...Wah wawh. Wah wawh wah wawh.
Silly!
At least we've had the conversations and though what I'm trying to tell her may not have completely settled on her yet, it's floating around in there with all of her other thoughts. And it kept me from totally freaking out that my little girl is practically a makeup wearing woman!!! What??
Though she was very excited to have her makeup done by a professional, she was very nervous, and a little red around the eyes after an eyebrow waxing. Ouch!
The makeup artist explained how to use the different makeup brushes.
She chose some great eyeshadow colors for Miss Sofi Bug and explained how to apply them.
She talked about eyeliner and the different ways to apply it.
The makeup artist may have talked a little too much about the makeup mistakes some women make, which I could tell had Miss Sofi Bug getting very nervous that she would be the one to make all of those mistakes when she tried to apply the makeup herself. I just smiled and mouthed, "You will do fine!"
A little blush was added.
A touch of mascara.
A hint of lip color...
Before. Lovely!
After.
She took my breath away!
Thank you to Kecia, the makeup artist, who did a wonderful job applying Miss Sofia's makeup.
Right of passage taken. Miss Sofia has left off being a child. She is clearly a beautiful young woman, inside and out.
I held it together. I did not cry! Even though that salon took and kept my baby then sent me home with a young woman. sniff
I drove home with a very different mindset about my girl. I was very aware of how much closer she is to adulthood. And though I've loved my relationships with my little girls, the relationships with my nearing adulthood girls is even more wonderful!
However, I'll admit I was relieved later in the day when I realized some things haven't changed all that much.
Silly!
Happy Birthday Miss Sofia!!
Christine
A toast to one whole year! It's Unexpected Daisies blogaversary!!
I absolutely can't believe it!
I thought for sure I wouldn't make it 6 months.
But I'm still blogging! Been blogging a whole year!!!
And I will admit...I like it! It's been fun!
I've enjoyed sharing the silly, and the everyday. I've even enjoyed sharing the not so silly, sometimes emotional and difficult as well.
You have been very kind readers.
And readers from all over! What a thrill it is to have readers from not only the United States, but also from Russia, Germany, Canada, Singapore, Israel, Brazil, India and several other countries. Please forgive me if I didn't specifically name your country...the list is getting long, and listed or not I am so grateful that you take the time to read this blog!
I'm also so very thankful for family and friends who offer so much encouragement and support! You are the best!!
Most importantly, I have to thank the Husband. Without his insistence I would never have even begun to blog. He said he thought I should blog. He said he thought I would be very good at blogging. He said he thought I would enjoy blogging. I thought he was crazy. So here...for all to see...I say...ahem...
The Husband was right!
And I love him for being a man who can accept that humbly and without the need to gloat.
Anyway...
I love you all for reading Unexpected Daisies!
I look forward the another wonderful year of blogging, and I hope to hear from you and get to know you better too!
Christine
My eldest. My Sofi Bug. I love this photo of her! She looks so very grown-up. I hate that she's already so very grown-up! (sniff)
She's participating in the school's production of Mulan this weekend. It's all so very exciting! I can't wait to see her and her classmates perform!
She has always been one for the dramatics!
It's one of the things I love about her!
But as exciting as it is, it's going to make for a CRAZY schedule for the next five days, with little time to catch our breath!
Miss Sofia has a late practice tonight, a later practice Thursday night, for which a bunch of us parents will be bringing in dinner for all of our busy actors. She'll have her first performance Friday Morning as well as a Friday evening performance, I get to help hair and makeup! Fun! There is another performance Saturday evening. The Family, with Grandparents in tow, including Great Grandma, will get to watch Saturday's performance. I will try to refrain from screaming, "Woohoo Miss Sofi Bug! You're awesome!" And finally she has an afternoon performance on Sunday, after which all performers and some parents will be needed to help take down the set. The Husband will be helping. He's the best! When all the clean up is done, the performers will be celebrating their efforts with a party. I get to help supervise.
I've been asked to be on my best behavior at the party. In other words, "Don't embarrass me Mom!"
I made no promises. Well, I did say I would refrain from singing out loud in front of her friends...but that's all...I didn't promise anything else.
I'll be good.
Probably!
And somehow Miss Sofia is going to have to find time to get her homework done in the midst of this crazy schedule. Poor girl! She's feeling a little overwhelmed. I tell her one day at a time. It will be fine!
Then, on Monday, if the girl has any energy left, we'll take her out for dinner to celebrate her 14th (sniff) birthday. My baby...14...already?
One day at a time, right. It will be fine. (sniff)
Christine
Oh, give thanks to the Lord!
Call upon His name; make known His deeds among the people!
Sing to Him, sing psalms to Him;
Talk of all His wondrous works!
Glory in His holy name; Let the hearts of those rejoice who seek the Lord!
Seek the Lord and His strength;
Seek His face forevermore!
Remember His marvelous works which He has done, His wonders, and the judgements of His mouth. Psalm 105:1-5
I love the way this amazing world God has created fills my heart with Psalms!
Have a beautiful day and rejoice!
Christine
The Family gets very excited for the Super Bowl. Which is weird. We don't particularly care about commercials the rest of the year. (I should say the girls and I don't care about them. The Husband on the other hand works in advertising. He cares!) But we do look forward to the promise of an extra effort to roll out some spectacular advertising during the Super Bowl. And there's a football game in between all of the commercials which can be fun too.
However, as we are not huge football fans, we've only watched a couple of games this year, and we knew nothing about the teams playing in the Super Bowl, we had no idea who to cheer for. The Super Bowl is a lot more fun if you have a team to route for. But how to decide?
The Family came up with some very elaborate ideas for determining a team we'd support.
One idea for choosing a team involved a squirrel in a Patriots costume, a squirrel in a Giants costume, and an American eagle. I had no clue where we would find the tiny costumes on such short notice! That idea was rejected.
With the squirrel idea out, we decided to seek the guidance of someone we trusted.
That's right, we let Lilo choose for us!
At first she wasn't sure about our plan, then we told her there would be treats involved. She got on board immediately!
Initially we thought we should fill her in on all of the stats for the season. Then we realized that would take too much effort on our part. So we did the next best thing.
Look Lilo. The Giants or the Patriots?
Please disregard the cute pink lamp in the background. I swiped it from one of the girl's rooms so I could see the 1,000 piece puzzle I'm still working on a little better. Our living room is NOT that cute! Wouldn't you feel badly for the Husband if it was?
Anyway...
Lilo paid very close attention as Miss Sofi Bug showed her the options to choose from!
She was still a little unsure about this whole scheme. But she was a good sport! Especially when she saw the treats!
Miss Sofi Bug placed each option on the floor. Placed one treat on each and Lilo made her choice!
She didn't even hesitate!
She chose the Giants! She didn't even go for the Patriots treat! She made her choice and that was that!
We gave her a few extra treats for being such a good sport!
So we cheered for the Giants between commercials!
Did you find the vampires bursting in the Audi's headlights commercial as funny as I did? Or the Doritos commercials? And Honda's Ferris Bueller's Day Off commercial!? All very fun and clever!
There were a few companies who clearly relied on the idea that sex sells. Boo! That's all I have to say!
I understand that M&M's had a very good commercial too. I missed it. I must have been making the chicken wings at the time.
Oh they were good! The chicken wings!
About mid-game Lilo began to worry about her pick.
She couldn't even watch the game.
We assured her we would love her no matter what, we were behind her all the way...or behind the Giants all the way, no matter how bad it was looking for them!
Then it happened. In the last few minutes, the Giants won! Good call Lilo! Woohoo!!
She said, "Yeaaah, I never doubted the Giants for a second!"
That's her story and she's stickin' to it!
Christine
Another hazy, gloomy day.
I like it.
I have no explantation as to why, but I do.
Mind you I wouldn't want every day to be gloomy, but I do likes me a good stretch of gloomy, mopey weather. It puts me in a mind to do some cookin'! It apparently causes me to give up using proper english as well. hmmm
Today it gives me a hankering for stew!
The Family loves this meal! Everyone asks for seconds. Everyone! It gives me great satisfaction, because everyone loving the same meal is not the norm.
While this meal is delicious, it does take some time. It's easy to make! Don't distress!! You just have to be ready to commit the time to make it. It's not a toss everything in the pot, brush off your hands, and let it cook away kinda meal.
Maybe I shouldn't have started with that.
Hello? Anyone still here? Drat! Well, I'll continue on for all who are curious enough to come back once the anxiety has passed.
Begin by browning 1 pound of peeled, pearl onions (in a pinch I've also used one small yellow onion, diced) and 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces, in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium high heat.
Remove onions and carrots to a bowl and set aside.
In remaining oil brown 1 pound or so of stew meat. The Family never complains if there's more beef. They will point out if there is less!
Once beef is browned stir in 32 ounces of beef broth, 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon dried Thyme.
Heat pot to boiling. Scrape brown bits! Cover, reduce heat to simmer for 20 minutes.
Now do not walk away! Start peeling and chopping 3 pounds of potatoes into 1 inch cubes. Also chop 3 celery ribs.
When the beef has simmered for 20 minutes add the potatoes and celery, as well as the onions and carrots previously set aside, to the pot.
Bring stew to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer covered for 40 minutes.
Now, once you have the oven preheating for the rolls you want to have with the stew, because stew is sooo good with a nice crusty roll, you may walk away...until you need to return to place the rolls in the oven so they will be ready in time too. Occasionally I have forgotten the rolls. It happens.
Once the stew has simmered for 40 minutes, blend 2 tablespoons flour with 2 tablespoons water.
If you don't have one of these hand dandy shakers you can use a small jar...works just as well.
Blend the water and flour well and add to stew. Boil stew for about a minute. This will make your stew nice and thick. Mmmmmm
Perfect!
Now the only question is...bowl or plate?
The Family likes to use plates.
Stew is not easy to photograph on a plate, but it is easy to toss a pat of butter on top and then mash all of the potatoes and carrots together and that's how we like it. Again I have no explanation. We just like it!
Christine
