Wordless Wednesday - Toes Ready For New Easter Outfits!

Friday/Saturday

We arrived at Westport Plaza and checked into the Sheraton Hotel around 12:30pm on Friday. We went to our room and found it to be very nice but without a tub, only a shower. That suits us though because we aren't typically bath people anyway. The girls of course wanted to swim immediately. So Hubby took them to the pool while I got to stay in the room and scrapbook for about 2 hours. The desk was huge and very condusive to scrapbooking, so that was wonderful! Once they came back (about 3:00), they showered and got cleaned up and we headed out.

There aren't any stores at Westport anymore, at least not just little trinket-y sorts of stores. But there are still several restaurants. We checked out Pujols 5, Nino's, Kobe's Steakhouse (which was formerly The Robata of Japan), and finally decided to eat at Ozzie's. The food was good and we were able to watch NCAA basketball while we ate. Then we decided to drive to West County Mall, since none of us had ever been there. We were pleasantly surprised at how big the mall was. We managed to spend some $$$ at Dick's Sporting Goods. B1 got some new athletic shorts to wear for practices, pitching lessons, etc. I got some new capri sweats, and Hubby bought some things he would need to coach B2's softball team this spring/summer. B2 got some Spongebob Squarepants ornaments for her Crocs shoes.

Once we got back to Westport, we "had" to go into the Cold Stone Creamery for dessert. YUM! We were back in our room by 9:00pm and Hubby was in bed by 9:15. I scrapbooked until 11:00. The girls played restaurant and served me up some nice ice cubes on a tray! at 10:00, we discovered that "Titanic" was on TV, so we watched the remainder of it, which ended at 11:00.

The next morning, Hubby ventured out and walked to St. Louis Bread Co. to get me an asiago cheese bagel. Then he walked to McDonald's to get breakfast for himself and the girls. We had breakfast in bed! They went to the pool again at about 10:00am while I did some more scrapbooking. They returned a little after 11:00, we all got cleaned up, and checked out just before 12:00. Next up: Dave and Buster's!!!

We chose to eat our lunch meal inside the game room at Dave and Buster's. Previously, we always ate in the quieter dining room, but we discovered that if you eat in the game room, you don't have to wait for a table. That was fine with us; we just had to talk a bit louder to each other! After the meal, we of course played lots of games. At one point, I actually wondered if we had put TOO MANY credits on our cards!?! But we managed to play them all off. Then it was time for B1 and B2 to "shop" in the store. We had 3470 credits. B2 found a big stuffed dog right away (she LOVES dogs) but B1 couldn't find anything to suit her. So we chose to save the credits until next time.

We had to stop at a grocery store on the way home so I could pick up a couple items needed to prepare my dish for Sunday. We finally got home at about 5:00pm. A good time was had by all!

Easter Plans

So we have a sort of exciting weekend planned. We are going to head out tomorrow around noon and go over to Westport Plaza in St. Louis to spend the night. We did this on a whim last night and made a reservation at the Sheraton Hotel there. They have an indoor pool and Hubby told me to bring my scrapbook stuff so I can work on it in the hotel room while they are at the pool! What a guy! We are also going to go to Dave and Buster's on Saturday after we check out of the hotel. This is a reward to the girls for their good report cards this week. B2 finally got a good mark in "controls unnecessary talking." Yay! Then we will come home Saturday evening and go to church on Sunday morning, after an Easter egg hunt in our yard. After church, we will head to Hubby's sister's house for Easter lunch, which is always very yummy, and another egg hunt. At dinnertime, we will go to a restaurant with my family. I'm sure we won't be very hungry then, but that's OK; it will be nice just to spend some time with them. Happy Easter to all of you!

Expensive Corn Flake!

Someone recently challenged bloggers to search for the most unusual item you could find on e-bay. Have any of you heard about the frosted flake that is shaped like Illinois? Yep, it's being sold on e-bay. Click here to check it out. The current bid (at the time of this post) is $56 and there are 3 days left in the auction! People are nuts!

Real Cooking

My friend over at One Little Corner of the World enjoys cooking a lot and often puts pictures on her blog of the food she has prepared. So, I have decided to do so as well! Here is part of tonight's dinner. It is Chicken Cordon Blue. This was the first real meal that I prepared for Hubby after we were married. He is an extremely picky eater and I try to find "different" sorts of recipes, but things he will still eat. This was the first one I came across in a cook book shortly after our wedding. We still like it, especially the cheesy, crispy part on top (of course, that is the worst part for your body!). Chicken Cordon Blue

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 pkg. swiss cheese (8-12 slices)
1 pkg. ham slices, any variety
corn flakes
1 stick butter, melted

Cook chicken breasts in skillet on stove top in a small amount of oil just until the outsides turn white. Place them in a Pam-sprayed 9x13 pan. Place 2-3 slices of ham and then 2-3 slices of Swiss cheese on top of each breast. Squeeze corn flakes in your hands and put crumbs on top of breasts. Don't completely cover the breasts, but be somewhat liberal with the corn flakes. Pour melted butter (tonight I didn't use the entire amount of butter) over the breasts. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly. Enjoy!

**You could season the chicken breasts with seasoning of your choice before layering with ham and cheese.

Impressed

Every night when I go to bed, I say prayers. I have done this since I was a small child. I remember that I was taught the Lord's Prayer in Sunday School and before I knew it, I had it memorized. One night when my dad tucked me into bed when I was maybe 3 or 4 years old, I recited the Lord's Prayer. He was so impressed that he yelled for my mom to come and listen to me! At Sunday School, B2 has now learned the names of the 12 disciples. I was very impressed with this. I didn't even know they were working on this until she informed me that she knew all 12 of their names. She has them memorized in alphabetical order and can rattle them off in about 5 seconds! It's pretty cool. She has also learned the Golden Rule. Kudos to her Sunday School teachers for making good use of their time with these children every week! As long as she remembers them (and I plan to quiz her periodically throughout the upcoming years), this is one less thing she will have to learn when she gets to confirmation.

The Ultimate Peep Show

This is one of the cutest things I've seen in awhile. Click here.

Thanks to Becky at Prologos for helping me with this post.

SWEEEET!

Another snow day tomorrow. Yeah, I guess it's getting kind of old, but then again, you just gotta love an unplanned day off! When I was a kid, I used to LOVE seeing my school district's name on the television. I used to wake up early in the morning and listen to KMOX, simply to hear my school's name. My mom drove a bus and I usually knew about school being closed before a lot of other kids, but I would listen anyway just for the satisfaction of hearing my school being named. Then I would roll over and go back to sleep. Now that I am married to a teacher, all of us having the day off together is pretty sweet. By the afternoon, the roads are usually cleared off and driveable, so oftentimes, we do something fun together like go to a movie. We'll see what tomorrow brings. I copied and pasted what I saw tonight on Channel 5's website:


This page automatically refreshes every two minutesto give you the most up to the minute closings
All closings are for tonight or tomorrow if listed after 12pmEarly closings are for the current day.
Other Closings & Cancellations


Triad Comm. Unit School District 2
Closed


YAY!!!

I'm not good at them, but I love trivia nights!

We had a trivia night tonight at our church. This was the 3rd annual trivia night and it has always been on the night before Pulaski Day (yes, I the teacher have a big say in when we schedule trivia night and this way, I know I don't have to get up early the following day!). Anyway, I made the questions for 5 of the categories tonight. Here are some of my favorite questions.....which ones do you know the answers to?

1. From the Movie Quotes category: "It rubs the lotion on its skin. It does this whenever it is told." What movie is that?

2. From the US Geography category: If you traval due south from Detroit, Michigan, what foreign country do you arrive in first?

3. From the Games category: How many spaces are on a Monopoly board?

4. From the Slogans category: "What's in your wallet?"

5. From the Kids Stuff category: What is Arthur the Aardvark's last name?

6. From the Sports category: In 2007, a junior from Triad High School became the class AA state champion discus thrower. She is a resident of our town. What is her name?

7. From the Significant Dates In Local History category: What happened on 7/5/90?

Oh yeah, tomorrow on my day off, I get to go to lunch (again) at the Cheesecake Factory with 2 fellow teachers/friends. The diet starts on Tuesday!

Weekend

Well, B1, B2, and I are having a girls' weekend. Hubby is having a boys' weekend with a friend. They went to Peoria, IL to watch some hockey games (Dan and Mary, they might call you guys!), do some gambling, and possibly head over to Bloomington for a basketball game. So tonight, the girls and I went to the Korte Rec Center in Highland and swam for awhile. Then we had Chinese food for dinner and eventually headed to Wal-Mart to do our shopping. I don't know what our plans are going to be for tomorrow yet. I am going to check the movie listings to see if there is anything appropriate out there for a 7 and 11 year old. We will also prepare some snack foods for a trivia night at church on Sunday night. I miss Hubby when he is gone, but I do like having the bed to myself once in awhile! I can stretch out!

Update on my mom: she is still feeling very weak and tired. However, today marks 4 weeks since she has had to have a blood transfusion. She has not had platelets since then either. We take this as encouraging news. Maybe her bone marrow is doing what it is supposed to be doing??? She had a doctor check on Tuesday and he told her not to come back for 10 days, which is the longest span of time she has gone between seeing doctors since this all began in December. She is taking A LOT of different medications as treatment now and we are thinking that that is what is causing her to be so weak. She is going to inquire more about this at her next visit. Please keep the prayers coming.

Do YOU Text?

Who out there text messages? I remember the first time a friend of mine received a text. I wondered what the heck she was talking about. But now, I don't think Hubby and I could survive without being able to text. Well, I know we could, but we have gotten so used to it that we do it more often than we realize! Oftentimes, on holidays, I will text several people (usually current or former students) and wish them a good day. It's fun to get messages back! I remember back in August, when we received our cell phone bill, it was over twice as much as usual! Part of this was due to the fact that we had been in Canada on vacation and didn't pay attention to roaming time, etc. But another factor was that I had sent "group" texts on July 4. We went directly to the cell phone place and upped our texting options. Now, Hubby has his basketball players texting him all time. He sends and receives more messages than I do now! It really does come in handy though, like when we were in Vegas, sitting at a slot machine, and we didn't want to be carrying on a full conversation so the person next to us could listen. Does everyone rely on this cell phone feature as much as I do?

Photos from Vegas

We went to Las Vegas last weekend along with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. We had an awesome time together! We all got along really well and did almost everything together. I got to eat crab legs at my favorite crab leg place, the Mandalay Bay, and I also got cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory! YUM!

Hubby and me at the airport the night we left. Hubby, his mom, and his sister playing the slots at our hotel, the 4 QueensI love this picture! Here we are in front of the New York, New York Hotel and Casino. I want to stay at this one sometime!

Here we are in front of the Excalibur. I think this one looks really neat too!

Here is Hubby with a Vegas show girl, dressed in the typical feathers and beads!

Hubby, Mom, and Sis waiting inside Bally's for the Price is Right show that we saw! See the name tags!

Here I am with the host of the Vegas Price is Right show. He is actually the host of the game show "Whammy" on the Game Show Network.

We went to the South Point Casino one night so I could watch this PRINCE impersonator. I loved Prince when I was in high school. This guy is better than the real thing! I saw him 3 years ago in Vegas and made it a point to find him this time too! He really is awesome.....he looks, sounds, and even dances like Prince. I was on Cloud 9! The other 3 in my group gambled while I watched the show.

This was during the song "Raspberry Beret." See the fluzy girl dancing with her hat on?

I took this picture while we were driving back from the Prince show. The car was moving and I was sure I did not get the picture, but I did!

This is Snoop Dog in the navy letterman-like coat. He was filming a video on Fremont Street one night. He was the only celebrity we saw in Vegas.

Here we are at breakfast at the restaurant inside our hotel, which was really pretty good!

Inside Caesar's Palace. Remember when Joey on "F*R*I*E*N*D*S" worked as one of these guys?

I like this picture too! The lights behind us are awesome, and notice the Bally's sign? Typical VEGAS, baby!!!

I took this picture to show B1 and B2. I tried to explain how everything in Vegas is lit up in neon, even the McDonald's! They didn't really understand what I was talking about, so I took the picture for them.

Here we are on Fremont Street, in front of our hotel. We were waiting for the lazer light show.

Hubby and Me

What is his name?

Bruce Alan Frank
How long have you been together?

Together 20 years this March, married 15 years this July
How long did you date?

5 years, 4 months

How old is he?

38 at the moment (will be 39 in 15 days)

Who eats more?

We can both make a pretty mean dent in food, but overall, I guess he does
Who said I love you first?

I seriously don't remember. It was pretty mutual

Who is taller?

He's 6', I am 5'4"

Who can sing better?

Neither of us. He says that he thought all girls could sing until he met me!

Who is smarter?

HUH? I am smarter at math, he is smarter at coaching, we are even when it comes to raising our children.
Who does the laundry?

I do more but he helps out. He is good at folding!

Who pays the bills?

I do. He is clueless in this area.

Who sleeps on the right side?

Looking at the bed...I do. Laying in the bed...he does.

Who mows the lawn?

He does. This is his department. Once in a GREAT WHILE, I will help him if he asks.

Who cooks dinner?

Me. His cooking consists of frozen pizza or maybe baking some chicken patties in the oven.

Who drives?

Usually him but if he's tired and asks me to drive, I do. On vacations, I'd say it's about 65% him and 35% me.

Who is more stubborn?

OH.....this is tough. We are both pretty stubborn. It used to be that he would "give in" more often, but now he actually fights back! What happened there?
Who asked out who first?

He asked me out. Our first date was to York Steak House (which used to be inside St. Clair Square mall) and then to a Blues hockey game. March 26, 1988.

Who proposed?

I guess technically he did although we had gone ring shopping together several months before we officially got engaged. By the way, we were engaged exactly 4 years later at another Blues hockey game. March 26, 1992.

Who has more friends?

Good question. We are both lucky to have a lot of good friends, and many mutual friends.
Who is more sensitive?

Me for sure. I could cry at the wedding of strangers.
Who has more siblings?

He does. He has 1 brother and 1 sister. I have 1 brother.
Who wears the pants?

Um.....after it's all said and done, me.

Mom's Pitching Lesson

So, I accompanied B1 to her pitching lesson tonight. I have never been to a pitching lesson with her. That is usually Dad's department, but tonight he had to coach a basketball game and we had no other choice. Once, in the past when Dad couldn't make it, we asked Grandpa to accompany B1 and he was happy to do so. But, with everything going on with my mom, I didn't want to ask my dad this time. So, it was up to me. There were certainly a few pitches that hurt my hand! I told her to throw some change-ups after those! I didn't wear a mask or shin guards and thankfully, I didn't need them. I don't think it was the best lesson though because it seems that many of the pitches went way to my side. And, since this was my first time, I don't have anything to compare to. But it was fun all the same and I think that B1 liked the fact that I was catching her. And.....now I know too that I can do it!

Proud Mamma

I am so proud of B1! She was chosen to represent her class (5th grade) in the school spelling bee. There were 3 kids chosen from each 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade class. She never made it to the school spelling bee in either 3rd or 4th grade. This year, not only did she make the cut to participate in the school spelling bee, but today she finished 3rd overall at school and was one of 4 students chosen to go on to the district spelling bee! Yay for her! I am hoping the next one is in the evening so I can go without missing school myself!

Planning For The Summer

Last night, I met with several other people in our "group" and we chose our Cardinal tickets for this summer's games. Hubby and I share a season ticket package with these people and we buy 5 games of 4 seats and 5 games of 2 seats. That way, we get to go as a family sometimes but also, he and I get a "date night" once in awhile too. I love Cardinal baseball. Even if the team is going to be made of up "strangers" this year, we will eventually have to get used to these players! I grew up going to Busch Stadium and I just love the smell of the place. I reminds me of being a kid and walking across the bridge from the old parking garage into the stadium with my parents and brother! Great memories. But anyway, I feel that a couple of the dates I picked were awesome. I got Friday, July 4! So we plan to book a hotel room (and yes, I know I should do this sooner than later) downtown and stay down there for the fireworks, etc. Even though Fair St. Louis is smaller than it used to be, it will still be fun. Also, I got Friday May 30, which is my birthday. When I was growing up, I used to ask my dad to try to get "Shell seats" for my birthday every year. (My dad worked for Shell Oil and they had 4 tickets to each game 10 rows behind the Cardinal dugout.) My dad usually succeeded and if I was really lucky, he would have my name put on the scoreboard!

Also, today, I booked all of our Disney meal reservations for this summer. You can book these 180 days out and today was exactly 180 days before the first reservation. Well, I found out that since we are staying on Disney property, I could go ahead and book ALL of my reservations for meals, even if some of them were more than 180 days away! YAY! So here is what I booked: the first night we will attend the Polynesian Luau. I really wanted to book Mickey's Backyard BBQ but this will be a Wednesday night and they only do the BBQ on Thursday - Sunday nights. I've always wanted to do the Luau anyway so I guess it was a sign. The next day (which is also our 15-year anniversary) we will have dinner at the 50's Prime Time Cafe in MGM Studios. The day after that, we will have lunch with the Princesses in Cinderella's Castle in the Magic Kingdom. And the day after that, we will have breakfast at Chef Mickey's in the Contenporary Resort. Then we go on our 4-day Disney cruise, then come back to Disney World, and one of those days, we will eat at a restaurant in the Canada portion of Epcot called Le Celliar. It's a steakhouse. I was having trouble trying to decide between that one and the sit-down restaurant in Mexico, but for whatever reason, chose Canada. We shall see.....

LOSERS!

Anyone watch "The Biggest Loser"? We do. Well, B1, B2, and I do. Hubby would probably watch it with us as well but it seems he usually has basketball games on Tuesday nights. We are watching it right now, as I type this on the laptop. We never watched it in any of the other seasons but this time it looked interesting, so we decided to set the TiVo to record it. B2 likes watching the weigh-in the most but B1 and I like the contests, etc.

When I picked the girls up from my parents' house tonight, my mom was standing at the stove, cutting up potatoes to make part of their supper. It was good to see her being domestic. I asked her if she is hungry again now and she said yes. She claims that some medicine she takes makes her hungry. I told her that is good! She had another bone marrow test done on Friday so we are waiting on those results and then finally a treatment plan.

Gotta love the "no smoke"

I really love this "no smoking in public places" law that ILLINOIS has put into place since Jan. 1. Tonight, B1's girl scout troop was in charge of the food stand at our local bingo hall. In the past, you could definitely plan on coming home from working there smelling like an ash tray. Not tonight. It was awesome! The four of us worked all evening, selling food and soda. We also played a few bingo cards and I even won one game (there were several winners, so I got a whole $6!). But the no-smoke factor was great. Last weekend, we ate dinner one night in Missouri. When we were seated, they asked "smoking or non?". I began to think "Huh? What do you mean?" but then I remembered we weren't in ILLINOS anymore. From what I have seen at the places we have been since Jan. 1, the law is working out nicely and people are cooperating well. My lungs are happy.

Unnecessary Talking

OK, yeah I know I have been rather neglecting my blog. But I've had a lot on my mind and it seems that B1 and B2 have had a bit more school work than usual. It's January and it seems that in January every year, they get a bit busier at school. B1 has a science fair project she's working on, which really isn't that big of a deal (final product not due until March), but still takes a little time to think about. And the fact that science was never one of my favorite subjects doesn't help! They both have Young Author books due on Feb. 2 as well. I am always so happy when that project is completed and turned in! Again, English.....not one of my favorite subjects! I can do grammar for the most post, but writing? Yuck. They both got their report cards yesterday and B1 got all A's and all S's for satisfactory in her behavior/socialization. B2 got an A in the one subject they actually give a letter grade for in 2nd grade (I seriously can't remember which subject that is right now). But she went from an S to a P (progressing) in social studies and as usual, got a P for "controls unnecessary talking." This is a continual thing with her, she talks when she isn't supposed to at school. Last year, one quarter, she actually got an S in the talking category and we were so happy!

Update

We visited the doctor at Barnes (Siteman Cancer Center) on Friday. His plan for now is to treat my mom with drugs and begin to look for a possible bone marrow match. Her spirits still seem to be good and my parents went out to eat last night and also to an antique mall. Today, she came to B1's basketball game (in which B1 scored 5 points!) and they are planning to eat out again tonight. She claims she has been feeling much better since receiving platelets last Saturday and again on Friday the 4th. She will go to the hospital (Barnes) again tomorrow and get 2 more units of blood. Then on Friday they go back and see the doctor for the actual plan of medication.

So many people have been so kind to me and my family throughout all of this. I sit in church and look around and see all these people who I have known my entire life and I know that I could ask almost any one of them for help and they would not hesitate. I think growing up in a small town is wonderful in that regard.

B2 and I took the dog for a walk today in the almost 70 degree temperature! What a great day. The wind was blowing a little bit but it was pretty darn nice outside and our dog was happy to get some exercise! She looks at us sometimes with those big eyes, just begging us to play with her!

And finally..... if it affects you and your commute, then I feel bad for you, but I am SICK of hearing about the stupid highway 40 shutdown on the news!!!!! Get over it already and move on!