It’s no question that we are a TV loving family. We’ve all got our shows that we love to watch.  Lately, though, Jake has been on a bit of a NETWORK kick.

Lately, if the TV is on and Jake is in the room, we are watching Game Show Network.

He loves the crazy antics of the Whammy during Press Your Luck.

He revels in the word play of Chain Reaction.

He delights in finding the number one answer on Family Feud.

He beams when he guesses the right answer on The $25,000 Pyramid (we pretend not to notice that the answer is already on the screen).

And if he ever catches Catch 21, forget it.  He’s doing math problems for the rest of the day. And since Alfonso Ribeiro is the host, I’ve got the Carlton Dance stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

We’ve even started playing mock games of Family Feud at the dinner table.  Jake comes up with the question, and then we all take turns guessing what number one is.  Tonight, he said “Name a dead singer”. We came up with John Denver, Michael Jackson, John Lennon, Buddy Holly and Luther Vandross (that was Dave’s).

Emma’s guess?  “Three!”

She has so much to learn.

Good thing Family Feud is on again tomorrow.

I have my mom’s hands.  I think they look old for my age, covered in those fine lines.

And these lines are a badge of honor.  This stretched out skin carried life and I’m learning the significance of that.  My body is pretty amazing.  I’m learning that it can do a lot more than I ever gave it credit for.

You Capture is hosted by Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry!

Every once in a while, I’ll get totally obsessed with something. For a while it was scrapbooking.  Then there’s blogging, of course.

Lately, I’ve felt a new itch that I want to scratch…

Cooking.

I see the amount of processed foods that I bring into the house and it makes me want to find healthy alternatives.

I see all these delicious recipes out there and I see pictures of the finished product and I think, “I can do that.”

My friend brought over some homemade hummus the other day.  Oh my goodness, it was so good.  She gave me the recipe and said it was simple to whip up in the food processor.

She laughed out loud when I asked if that was the same thing as a blender.

And there in lies the problem with my new obsession.  I don’t LIKE to cook.  I want to like to cook, but I have this mental block against it.  I feel like really cooking takes a lot of skills, tools, ingredients, and time that I just don’t have.

Our Thanksgiving menu is a perfect example.  I heat up.  I don’t cook.

When I think of cooking, I think of my mom spending all day watching over a pot of homemade spaghetti sauce or these complicated, multi-step recipes that include things like coarse salt (is that different than table salt?) and fresh herbs (what do I do with the rest after I get the teaspoon the recipe calls for?)

Don’t even get me started on things that are cooked in ramekins.

But I find myself looking at food processors in the Sunday ads.  And I just bought a fine mesh sieve so that I could make these chocolate chip cookies.

I’ve been checking out cookbooks from the library and I have even started looking into “clean eating”.

Then I go and eat 5 brownies…that someone else made.

Is there hope for me?  Is there anyone else out there that tackled the cooking beast successfully?

I need some serious help, folks.

This man makes me happy. His smile warms my heart and still gives me butterflies in my stomach. He is everything to me.

He is training to run a full marathon in April. Nothing makes me happier or more proud than to go cheer him on during his races.

Dave’s goal on this particular race was to finish the 10 miles in 1:15.  That’s a long time to wait by the finish line so I was very happy that they had a playground nearby where the kids and I could hang out.

And just as much as the kids love seeing him finish the race, I think he loves seeing them at the finish line that much more.

It doesn’t hurt that he beat his goal by nearly 3 minutes… : )

You Capture is hosted by Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry!

All of my life, I’ve been the youngest.

I’m the youngest of 6 kids.  I have a summer birthday which meant that I was always one of the youngest in my class. It always seemed like whatever social group I was in, I was the youngest. Heck, I’m even the youngest on Dave’s side of the family (I am younger than his youngest brother).

It came to be how I identified myself.

I am, and up until now, have always been the youngest.

The other night, I was wasting time chatting with some friends on Twitter and the subject of age came up. I got ready for that small sense of satisfaction (there may or may not have been a smug smile) when I got to tell everyone my age.

Then someone younger chimed in.

And I started to hyperventilate.

I was no longer the youngest.  And that freaked me out more than I thought it would…or should.

I’m getting older.

Age has never really meant that much to me. I have parents who aged very gracefully and I used to laugh at people who wouldn’t reveal their age.  What was the big deal?

But now…I’m not the youngest anymore.

I’m growing up.  And I’m not sure how I feel about that.

Him: What’s that sound?
Me: Hmmm?
Him: What’s that sound?
Me: The dishwasher.
Him: You know what it sounds like? (Singing) “Cash for the merchandise. Cash for the button hooks…”

There are many things that I’m thankful for in my life…far too many to list. Here are a few of them…

A healthy body that allows me to get up and run when the mood strikes me, even when I have a sinus infection! Read more on the Turkey Trot here!

Good friends that laugh at me when I ask what a food processor is or call me out when I don’t notice their new highlights.

Best friends that I don’t get to see often enough but whenever we do it’s like no time has passed at all.

Two amazing kids who delight me everyday.

A family that doesn’t care that the majority of Thanksgiving comes from a can, bag, or box.

An amazing, awesome, inspiring husband who supports me in everything I do.  He cheers for me when things are going well and boosts me up when he sees I have a problem.  Plus he’s not afraid to get his hands dirty in the kitchen.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

So…food, huh? As much as I like to EAT food, I really don’t like to MAKE food. Which really cuts down on the food shots I’m able to take. I guess I could have taken pictures of the kids’ cereal, but I wasn’t feeling it.

The last place I was expecting to take food pictures was our trip into DC last weekend. But we came out of the Hirshhorn Museum and lo and behold…

Huge blueberries! At least I thought they looked like huge blueberries.

And then the kids were begging for a snack and since they behaved so well at Hirshhorn (who thought a 4 and 6 year old would like a modern and contemporary art museum!), we got some popcorn…

Which Jake thought was good to the last drop…

You Capture is hosted by Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry!

Today, Jacob came home with another fundraiser from school.

But this wasn’t just any fundraiser.  Oh no, this one was a throwback to a fund raiser I did when I was in school.

As soon as I saw the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital logo, I was immediately drawn back to when that Math-a-Thon packet came home from school with me. I would sit at my kitchen table thinking about who I was going to hit up for ask for pledges.

It wasn’t a long list.  Besides my own family, there was only about 4 or 5 families that I would ask, most of whom lived on my street.  I would head out my front door and take a left and go to the Orells’ next door.  Next, I would go 2 more doors down to the Flecks’ house…I still remember how the house smelled and that Mrs. Fleck would always give me Strawberry Sugar Wafers.

Next, I’d go back around the corner and hit up the Rhittenhouses, the Briggs’, and around the next corner to the Schwartz’s.  I’d always end my trip at the Adamshicks’ who almost always gave me another sweet treat (I’m thinking Nestle Strawberry milk…)

I’d head home with my pledges secured and start on my math problems.

There was something about that math book.  The pages seemed special somehow.  It was more like newspaper print…a little bit flimsier than my normal notebook paper.  It was slicker, smelled different even.

Despite my current math skills, I used to LOVE math.  I would tear through that book in record time. I realize now that I may have been a little smug about my academic prowess.

Jake won’t be going door to door (most everyone on our street have their own kids who’re trying to get pledges), but he’s already started making phone calls to our family.  Hopefully, his own Math-a-Thon book will be here in the next week or two.

Maybe I’ll buy some Strawberry Sugar Wafers and Strawberry Milk to celebrate.

I was very excited to hear that this weeks challenge was sunrises and sunsets. I love sunrises and sunsets.

And then I remembered what time sunrise is and that I really like to look at PICTURES of sunrises. The sun rises early. Way earlier than I’m up.

So here is my picture of a sunset. This was the only sunset I saw in a WEEK. The weather here has been crappy. But at least I got this one!

You Capture is hosted by Beth at I Should Be Folding Laundry!