super smoothie, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

So this has been my new “thing” lately. I had seen several posts about green monster smoothies and I decided I should give it a try. And I really like them. So does Ethan. Shane and Tegan, not so much.

Here is how I do it:

some frozen chopped spinach
a banana
chopped up strawberries
some blueberries if I have them
some dannon light & fit vanilla yogurt (110 calories per cup)

Blend. Suck. Yum.

I took the picture here to also share with you one of Shane’s latest projects. Stacking our CDs by year. I think it is totally awesome.

Also, we sold our Jetta today. It was totally time and needed to happen and I am relieved it is done, but a little sentimental as well. It was a sweet little car.

sweet peas, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

Isn’t this just so lovely? I wish I had one of the “caterpillar” snap peas to open up, but we ate them all. The pearls in those were enormous and delicious! I just thought they were so dainty and beautiful, I had to share.

garden goodies, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

Some of our garden splendor. Aren’t they so pretty and… green? They make me think of the Emerald City. Delicious!

cookies, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

My dear friend Mandy passed a recipe my way and I thought I would share. These lovely lemon cookies are de-licious! And seem like they might not be too bad for you. Unless you eat all of them. Which is hard for me not to do… I must admit, I am a cookie monster.

So, here goes!

Lovely lemon cookies

1 box lemon cake
1 egg
1- 8 ounce tub of cool whip (I haven’t tried lite, but I have to think the regular is best…)

Let the cool whip defrost a bit, till you can just scoop it out of the container (too defrosted and you will have a hard time forming balls with the mix and will end up having to refrigerate your dough). Mix everything together. Form the dough into balls as best you can (it is kinda messy, but worth it!) Roll the balls in powdered sugar. They will probably be more like lumps, but don’t worry, they will end up cookie shaped. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Enjoy!

(I will be passing a few of these on to a couple dear friends… my excuse for making them this time.)

mom and I, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

Today is my lovely mother’s birthday. We spent the morning together at a lovely little hidden treasure of a place where we sipped tea and cappuccino’s, munched on muffins, and visited with a few very sweet loved ones.

My mom is a treasure of a mother and considering she celebrates her birthday for the entire month of June, I am very happy she chose to spend part of the actual day with me.

I am so thankful for you, mom and for our relationship. Thank you for being my mother and my friend!

uh oh, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

I had to share with you. This is what I came upon after getting out of the shower this morning. It was everywhere. I especially like her face for the picture. It was all I could do not to laugh and I honestly do think her brother had a part in it. Luckily, it was dry erase marker and came off easily (and not sharpie). She is a crack up.

skirt, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

Shane and I went on a little 9th Anniversary getaway this past weekend. We moved back here from San Luis Obispo 6 years ago and hadn’t been back, so we decided a little visit was in order. It has changed a lot in 6 years. A Costco, a Home Depot, a whole new little shopping center! It was fun to see our old houses and so on, but truthfully, I would have been happy anywhere. We were on our own and could do whatever we wanted. No sippy cups, no baby wipes, no fussing. It was so nice! I was so looking forward to going to the bookstore and being able to browse at my own pace (even though the majority of my time was spent in the kid’s section).

We were so busy enjoying our grown up time, we took no pictures. But this picture is the product of one of my purchases on the trip. The fabric stores locally leave much to be desired, but the one up there! I love it. I was in heaven! Shane was there and he was a really good sport, holding bolts of fabric for me. I had seen this pattern and really wanted to give it a try, so here it is. I am okay with it. I love love love the fabric. The fit is okay and it will be great for summer. And it will remind me of our romantic weekend!

zucchini cupcakes, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

My kids are not big vegetable eaters. It bums me out because I really feel like I did try. Anyway, we have come into some zucchini lately, thanks to our lovely garden at my parent’s house and I decided to make some zucchini spice cupcakes. I have made zucchini muffins and they were a hit so I thought these would be as well. They are.

Zucchini Spice Cupcakes

1 package spice cake mix
1-1/3 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs
2 cups shredded zucchini (we used 2 zucchini)

Cinnamon frosting
1/4 cup butter, softened
1-3/4 cup confectioner’s sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 to 2 tablespoons milk (we used one)

In a large mixing bowl, combine cake mix, water, oil, and eggs; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in zucchini. Fill paper muffin cups 2/3 full.
Bake at 350 for 18-22 minutes until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
For frosting, in a small mixing bowl, beat butter until light and fluffy. Beat in the confectioner’s sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Frost cupcakes. Yields 2 dozen. 183 calories per cupcake.

Not the healthiest but also not too bad. They are very tasty! We have a birthday tomorrow we will be celebrating and cupcakes were in order!

bouquet, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

This was our craft for the day. I wasn’t too excited with the magazine pages we had to use, but I think they turned out pretty sweet. They are in a vase on my newly painted sofa table. My dad and I painted the coffee table, sofa table and side tables black on Wednesday (during the thunderstorm) and I feel like I have new furniture. Just need to get a new couch and chair now.

coasters, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

Here is today’s nap time creation with a little help from my boy… coasters! I made a bunch of them a few years back and gave them to everyone I knew at the time so had no need to make any more. I had a special request for a set recently and was able to whip them together today. We made two sets and they are ready to be put to work.

tegan, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

Tegan in the car today:

“Oh, I see an American flag!”

Pauses.

“Oh no, it is just a minivan.”

(Picture taken with Ethan’s hi-tech Diego camera)

It got me thinking about my grandpa who had several opportunities to die while serving our country. I wish I had been able to talk to him more about it, but he was a very quiet man and I was too young to really think to ask much about it. Here is what I do know.

My grandpa, Lynn Reginald Clark joined the Navy and served on submarines in World War II. He was on shore at Pearl Harbor when the bomb hit. He was on the USS Grenadier when it was attacked and was a prisoner of war in Japan for about 2 years. He eventually became the Commander of the Naval base in Point Loma before retiring.

I was amazed to even find mention of him online. I found this little entry with an actual picture of him (far right). He did have the best handwriting and was the best cook ever.

He went all over the world, spent a lot of time away from his family and had to move his family all around the country throughout his career. I know there were a lot of men like him, that sacrificed so much for their country. I am very thankful for them and all they did. I am sure there is a lot more to his story and I truly wish I knew it. I also wish I had a picture of him to put up here so you could see him.

Thanks, Grandpa Lynn for all you did to protect us and our country!

(And mom, feel free to add or correct any of my information…)

baby love, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

I was able to whip these up today during nap time. I was needing a baby gift and didn’t think I had any flannel to make my favorite little burp rags, but there it was! I love them. I loved using them, I love making them. They truly are the best thing out there that I have found for spit up protection. And I love giving gifts that have a little love in them. I hope mommy and baby like them!

On a side note, I have found that if I am sewing or making something, Ethan wants to be right there and do it with me. His attention span is great and he truly enjoys it. He is my pin boy. I knew he loved crafts, but he even seems to enjoy other people’s crafts as well! He asked if he could sew today. Too sweet.

cherries, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

One of my favorite things about summer is the abundance of delicious, fresh fruit. I can’t get enough of it! My kids agree. Got these sweet things for 99 cents a pound today. Summer is coming!

new dress, originally uploaded by Ladygirl.

Yay, I was able to do a little sewing! I used the tutorial on Joy’s Hope and it turned out super cute, I think. I will do the ribbons a little differently next time, folding them under so they aren’t scratchy. I bought supplies to make three of these, maybe all for her. I would think they would be comfy in the hot summertime. It was almost impossible to get a picture of her in it. It probably took me 45 minutes to make with two little helpers at my side. The next ones will go faster, I am sure.