211 - Red Red Wine - UB40

Red red wine you make me feel so fine
You keep me rocking all of the time
Red red wine you make me feel so grand
I feel a million dollars when your just in my hand

(actually this is a lie, red wine gives me a WICKED migraine, but the color of this flower just looks like a glass of merlot sitting in the sun, on the balcony, overlooking my private beach...oops, started to slip into dream world there, hee hee)

210 - "You Spin Me Round" Dead or Alive

You spin me right round, baby
right round like a record, baby
Right round round round
You spin me right round, baby
Right round like a record, baby
Right round round round

209 - I apologize in advance for this...

 It's peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly time, peanut butter jelly time

There he go 4x
Peanut butter jelly 4x
Do the peanut butter jelly, peanut butter jelly,
Peanut butter jelly with a baseball bat 2x

(By the Buckwheat Boys)

Where he at 4x

208 - Brown Eyed Girl - Van Morrison

Whatever happened
To Tuesday and so slow
Going down the old mine
With a transistor radio
Standing in the sunlight laughing,
Hiding behind a rainbow's wall,
Slipping and sliding
All along the water fall, with you
My brown eyed girl,
You my brown eyed girl.

(and now for the ear-worm, mwahahaha)
Do you remember when we used to sing,
Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da

207 - It's Been a Hard Days Night

...and I've been working like a dog
It's been a hard day's night, I should be sleeping like a log
But when I get home to you I find the things that you do
Will make me feel alright
 - Beatles

206 - Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler

Welcome to music week here in Brendaland! I needed to put a little spark back into my blog, so this is what I came up with.

Turnaround bright eyes

206 - Remember Your History

Our church finished "The Amazing Joe" sermon series this week. It was a very thought provoking and touching series that has impacted my thinking. We finished up today talking about all the hardship he went through and yet, in the end, it was part of a greater plan than he could have possibly conceived. At the end of service Brian showed these boxes and suggested that we take one and start putting things in there that would help remind us of when God has been faithful in our lives, even in the hard times. It was a wonderful way to finish this series and I am so thankful that I took this journey with my church family.

205 - Look Mom

You are not the only one who can make great cakes!
#3 and his friend made this today. AAANNNDDD the kitchen was not a complete mess after!

204 - You Are My Sunshine

We dropped by a friend's house tonight to make sure she was surviving the evening (her hubby was working late unexpectedly and she has three kiddos under the age of 6 - need I say more?!?) and this sunflower is growing in her front flower bed. I love LOVE L.O.V.E. sunflowers, but the ones I planted this year kept getting mowed down because I didn't get edging around them. Next year my friends, next year.

203 - H.O.T.

No, not Mr. Incredible (although he IS) but the day today. I was supposed to take the boys to the zoo, but when I picked up #2 from football at 10:00AM and the temp gauge was reading 98, I decided to bail. This was take at 4:30 in the parking lot outside the theater. The theater runs a deal where everyone pays kids price anytime there is a heat warning out...good times!

202 - Summer Storm

Tonight as I was walking out the door to go to a wine tasting with "The Girls" this is what greeted me.

By the way...the tasting was wonderful, the company was fantastic, and now I know more about Riesling than I ever thought possible.

201 - Grill Time

Grilling is the only way to keep our kitchen from reaching the boiling point in the summer.
Good thing I LOVE to grill.

200 - Dog Days of Summer

Lazy, lazy, lazy, lazy, lazy, lazy dogs

They want a drink of water so they

Wait, and wait, and wait, and wait. and wait

for it to rain.

(Anyone remember "Where the Sidewalk Ends" by Shel Silverstein?)

199 - Lessons I Need to Learn

I know this is going up way late, but I was on the road Sunday to pick up #1. Since I really don’t want to rehash that trip publicly, I am going to share some thoughts on a subject that has been on my mind the past several days.

Last week, when Mr. Incredible was on vacation, we watched the movie “Invictus”. It is the story of how Nelson Mandela used the South African Rugby team to help unite a very broken nation. Two things I learned…


1 – I CANNOT believe how I lived in my own little bubble in the 80’s and 90’s. I watch movies like this or “Black Hawk Down” or “Through the Gate” (a movie about Rwanda) and struggle with how I could have possibly lived with these very major events going on and have very little knowledge on what was happening.


2 – Nelson Mandela has to be one of the greatest modern leaders. It sparked an interest in me to get to know more about the South African conflict and him. So off to the library I went.


I got his autobiography and the book Mandela’s Way – 15 lessons on Life, Love, and Courage. I finished Mandela’s Way last night. I am convinced that this man is one of the great leaders of our time. What made this book so amazing was not that these lessons are new, earth-shattering revelations, it is that this man who spent his whole life under apartheid, was sent to prison at age 44, lived in a cell that was so small he was unable to lay down stretched out, and came out at age 71 ready to put the past behind him and reconcile a nation, not by “getting back” at the enemy, but by working with them to bring about “one person, one vote.”


I will be honest here, I don’t know how you do that. We are studying Joseph in church and the story is very similar. Joseph, being a bit of a punk, is hated by his brothers and sold into slavery then imprisoned for 17 years. He emerges from prison to become the second most powerful man in Egypt and then is given the opportunity to “get back” at his brothers when they come to him for food. Instead, he forgives them and has them moved to Egypt where he can make sure they are treated well. I have paid attention and get that I am SUPPOSED to have this attitude of reconciliation. I get that I SHOULD be forgiving and give opportunities to rebuild trust. BUT, I just don’t know how that happens.


Back to my trip I don’t want to talk about. It involves people who have wronged me, but nothing near what Mandela or Joseph lived through…like not even close…like comparing a pinch on the arm to being run over by a train…so I am left with the question of how do I forgive, truly forgive? I know it is possible, I have studied two examples in depth now. I know that I am wrong to hold onto this. I have moved on in my life and most of the time I feel like I have forgiven, but then something so insignificant happens and all those old feelings of bitterness and anger come bubbling up to the surface. I defiantly do not extend the same grace to these people that I do others. So I guess I am leaving this post unfinished because I don’t have the answer. I guess this means I have more work, more growing up, more learning to do.

198 - Hot Day

What do you get when you have two boys, neighbors gone, and the third day of 100+ heat index?

Add boxes tape and scissors and you have a box maze for...

Cooper

197 - Cake

What kind of cake does Mr. Incredible get for his birthday?

A Mr. Incredible birthday cake

DUH!

196 - Big Daddy

No, not Mr. Incredible...my little friend the groundhog.

Until today, the only time I can catch him or the kids is when they are in the yard eating...never in their home. TODAY he poked his head out and said "Good Morning"!

195 - Birthday Haiku

What a special day

It is my Honey's birthday

He makes my heart melt

She makes me crazy

Lucy-Fur turns 2 today

Yes, they share the day

194 - Gramma

Remember the Gramma Geramiums I planted for Mother's Day?
Well they survived all the rain/wind/hail and look like this...

193 - Guess

Anyone want to take a guess as to what our next project is going to be?

192 - One Thing

Always leds to another around here...

For example...

Innocent washing of the car

Turns into this...

Which of course turns into...

And then eventually leads to...

This is life as I know it

I wouldn't have it any other way.

191 - He's Home

#1 went on a mission trip to Chicago for a week. Before they left they had to turn their cell phones over to their parents. I don't know who this was harder on, the kids or the parents! It was very hard to not be able to talk (or text) my kiddo for a week. Harder than I thought it would be. In the long run, I think it was good for everyone.

So he is home now and within 10 min of walking in the door he surrounded himself with the things he missed most...
1 - Cell Phone
2 - Shadow
3 - Air Conditioning
4 - Computer
(not sure if this is the order he would put them in! Also mom was not on that list!)

As you can see, Shadow missed him also...she was one heart-sick puppy this week.

190 - Every Mama

Thinks her baby is smart...well Cooper is trying to take it all in by osmosis!

189 - Dream

When I was in 3rd and 4th grade, my room had a window seat. I loved that seat and would sit there for hours dreaming, reading and telling secrets to my friend. It looked out over my backyard and into the woods behind the house.

Some friends of ours are rehabing a house on "The Hill" and we stopped by there to check it out. Guess what #3 found? You guessed it, a window seat. He loved it every bit as much as I loved mine. HMMMM, maybe Mr. Incredible will have a new project to work on this winter...we need new windows anyway...why not make one with a window seat?

188 - Vacation

Today we took these fabulous girls...

And the fantastic #3

Here...

This place has been a stopping place in St. Louis since the 1910's.

You may have seen it on "Man VS Food"

(Not that I watch that kind of show mind you)

We came...

We saw...

We Conquered...

We left stuffed!

187 - Taste of Summer

Ice Tea and fresh Cherries...enough said!

186 - Friends

We took a trip to the wineries (winerys, winery's...proud to be a Comm Arts major!) with some friends today. The food was good, the wine was fantastic, the company just couldn't have been more fun!

185 - Question...

When is it a good time for your car to break down?

Answer:

When you are in Mr. Incredible's Neighborhood!

SORRY!
But you KNOW I can't resist this!

Everyone say it with me now:
"HOTTIE!"

184 - Cookie

Monster!

HA!

183 - Over the Hump!

Well kids we are officially over halfway done with this project!!! It has been a MUCH different experience than I thought it would be. I have met so many nice people, seen a ton of amazing photos, learned about the oddest things, read great stories, and found out that there is a whole new world behind the lens of a camera. Thanks for coming along this ride with me. Hanging on through the ups and downs. BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! A whole 182 days more!

Today's pic is brought to you by Lucy-Fur...the front porch view from her perspective.

182 - In Order

Yep - I am posting late
Bettcha know why
Are you tired of baseball yet
Looks like I don't care if you are
BECAUSE...

The sign

The Pitch

The Catch 

There is a lot I like about this series. Of course I like the progression from sign to catch (wish I had shot one more to get the call...it was a strike.), but I also love watching the ump mirror Conner's body movements. And then there is the player from the other team watching by the fence, his face lets you know exactly how close this game was.