*Dandelion Wishes*: July 2010

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Happy List

So many things on my Happy List this week.

First of all I love my new resolve to follow people who comment on my blog back to their blog.

It is genius, I don't know why I ever stopped doing that. Oh the bloggy goodness I have been missing.

Silly me.

Secondly we spent a short time with ALL of the grandkids the other day getting pictures and let me tell you...this is a good looking bunch of offspring.

Here are the grand girls, cute right?

Here are all of the kids in age order...Tay, J, Garrett, Parker, Zachary, Tyler, Brock, "Pieces", Steven, "Q-Bee" and "Cheeto".

trying to get a picture with them all looking at the same camera was a chellenge but I think my sister in law Melinda got some good shots since she has a fancy camera and they were all taking her seriously...I think cuz she looked the most professional.

We are still going nuts over the cuteness that is our puppy Coco...enjoy this video, ignore my voice. Do I really sounds like that? *sigh*

My Summer legs are smokin hot...not just cuz I have great legs (but I really do) but because I picked up one of these bad boys...hello smooth and soft. GilletteProGlide is awesome! I mean really awesome.

I know I talked about the fruit in this area last week, maybe the last two weeks. But I cannot get enough peaches in me. So good!!!

We had my in laws over last weekend because Paul's cousin and her girls were in town and my mother in law really wanted to have J and the girls get to know each other. So we hosted a BBQ and my mother in law picked up some of this Henry Weinhard's Rootbeer. OMG, holy-diabetic-should-not-be-in-my-fridge-coma. So I only have one left to "get rid of".

This weekend we gather 5 of my nephews for our annual Camp Vasquez...a week here with us filled with fun adventures, tons of swimming and skate parks daily. Its a great week of memory making and good times had by all.

So what's on your Happy List this week?

Wanna link up? Here are the rules...

I hate having to create rules, but I guess some people need them so here they are.

1. Grab my Happy List button and add it to your post.

2. Link to your actual Happy List post NOT just to your blog

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Where Are Y'all?

Today I was looking back at old posts on my blog.

It's fun to stop and look back sometimes.

Seeing how much J has grown since I started blogging way back in 2007.

3 years of memories to sift through.

I was enjoying looking at the posts and noticed that I use to get a lot more comments on each post than I do now.

I wonder why?

Then I decided to take a look at those commenter's blogs, say hello, see what's up.

The first 5 that I clicked on haven't posted in at least a year.

I am shocked.

Why are people abandoning their blogs?

Some of those bloggy friends had YEARS of posts documenting their lives.

Suddenly, I miss them.

Is that weird? To miss someone who use to leave love on your blog and in return you leave a little love on their blog and a bloggy friendship is born...that's cool stuff. How did I let it just fizzle out?

I have taken my fair share of bloggy breaks, that's for sure...but I don't think I could ever just walk away from my blog.

Could you?

I feel invested. I feel connected to people through blogging.

I also feel ashamed to have let those bloggy friendships fade into the sunset.

I am recommitting myself today.

From this day forward, if you comment on my blog I am going to come and comment on yours.

I have been doing the whole email response thing, and I will probably still do that to answer a question or ya know, if i feel like it.

You know the main reason I started blogging was to keep in touch with far away family. It turned into something I truly needed...a community of friends and support.

You see when we moved here 4 years ago I felt like I was on an island. I did not know the area. Did not like the area and the people here were like from another planet...seriously strangest part of California ever.

Really not a lot has changed. I haven't made many local friends. I have a few real quality friendships, locally speaking, that I truly value but in some cases I feel more deeply connected to some of you.

Yes YOU!

(awww, how sweet...)

Also while I am on the blogging topic in general...let's talk about hits and comments and junk like that.

I have over 600 followers and get an average of 350 hits a day.

That is 350 people stopping in and READING my posts but rarely do I ever get 10% of that in comments...sometimes it is more like 5%.

Weird right?

I think I need to come up with a giveaway for my lurkers to bring them out of their hidey holes and let me know who they are.

Something to consider I suppose...for the sake of bloggy connections. *wink*

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

It's A Girl!!!

Introducing Coco, our sweet little 10wk old Chiweenie. Her mama is a tiny 6 lb Dachshund (weener dog) and her papa is a tiny 5 lb Chihuahua.

I am thinking she will stay small. If she doesn't we will start her smoking and drinking to stunt her growth...cuz she is just soooo cute the size that she is.

Right?

We go to the vet on Friday for her first visit and to start her puppy wellness, first set of shots, flea prevention, getting her chipped etc. Don't worry, I will likely take pictures...because my nephews have asked me to!

My nephew Ty was here when we went to go and pick her up at 8 weeks. The two of them fell in love right away.

She came from a house with 5 kids and loves children.

J simply adores her and calls Coco her little sister, which is hilarious.

Coco is just the sweetest little thing, I held her nonstop for the first few days and she now follows me all over the house and sleeps on my NECK. I have just now gotten her to stop sleeping on ME and she is sleeping next to me either in her own bed or in between Big Daddy's pillow and mine.

Tyler spent a good amount of time making "beds" and "houses" for her...and got pretty creative with things he found around the house.

Tyler found a box in the garage that he drew lines on for Big Daddy to help him cut down for a perfect bed, then he found a small pillow that fit perfectly and asked for a towel to make it soft and comfy...as you can see Coco thanked him for his efforts.

J and I went to lunch one day and came home to find Big Daddy and Tyler in the pool and Coco surrounded by pillows happily sleeping in the middle of Game Room floor where they could easily check on her from the patio door.

Of course her FAVORITE place to sleep is in someone's lap. Here Coco is with my niece "Pieces" cute right?!

We LOVE her and are happy to have Coco join our family.

I have some adorable video of Coco and the cats but blogger is being poopy and won't let me upload it.

Our one kitty Bella is slightly annoyed by Coco, but she doesn't even like her brother Petey very much.

Petey, who is our "special needs" kitty (seriously, I sound like a crazy cat lady...go with it) gave Coco a "bath" from head to toe on one of her first nights here and still can hardly walk past her without licking her face, it's freaking adorable. You know, for a cat.

Holy Fun Game, Y'all!

Yahoooooo!!

My Game Swap package arrived today, from the magnificent Megan of Kitschy Suburbia

Cranium? Awesome!! We have the original game and we have Played. It. To. Death. So I am super stoked to have this shiny new one...suhweeet! Add a little salty/sweetness and it's a Game Night baby!

Thanks Megan, I love it...you are a rock star.

I wish more people had joined this Game Swap, it was a lot of fun.

Here is mister linky for Game Swap Participants ONLY!! Don't forget to grab the button for your post!

Friday, July 23, 2010

My Happy List

Well the weekend is upon us and it is time for my Happy List.

First something Big Daddy just discovered and brought to me...have you had one of these yet?

Go. Now. Get one...or two. They are VERY yummy!!!

Next something I cannot seem to live without. It is hard to find in the store so Big Daddy orders it by the case for me. He likes when I have soft lips.

Seriously. Best lip stuff EVAH!

This last week I have been spending a lot of time with my super cute, fun, sister Meg. She is visiting from Arkansas and we have been having a blast! More on all of this later...of course!

Here we are at lunch with her 3 little sweeties. Meg is a private blogger so we are going Michael Jackson style on all pics of her kids...I found these little mask "stickers" on picnik.com funny right?

Hey whatever it takes to be able to share the pics we took this week, right?

Sister time, Happy List. Basking in the sweetness of these babies and hearing them say "Auntie" a million times, super Happy List.

Big Daddy did a swap in order to have an extra day off this week while Meg was here. I love this man. It meant he worked a double shift, came home and slept for 4 hours and went back to work again...sacrifices. Most def on my Happy List!!

So what is on YOUR Happy List? Grab my button, create a Happy List post and link up. I would love to hop around and see what is making you happy this week

Whoa REALLY?!

How is it that a whole week has almost come and gone and I have only posted once?

Bad blogger!

I have been playing with my sister Meg who is in town, from Arkansas, with her 3 little darling children. More on that soon.

First things first...

I have soooo many pictures from the fun we are having but I needed to stop and post some of the pics from when my brother Mark's 3 boys were here for a week.

We, of course, made a little trip to one of the boy's favorite places...a little fruit barn close to our house. The boys love feeding the HUGE Koi Fish there. And can spend hours trying to catch minnows.

We were having fun feeding the Koi when Zachary asks, "Hey, anyone dare me to eat a piece of fish food?" Of course Big Daddy said, "heck yeah, I dare ya!" So Zachary did.

THEN he said, "Hey take a picture of me eating another one." I asked, "Ew, wasn't it gross? Are you sure you want to eat another one, just for a picture?" Zachary said, "of course!" So here is your picture Zachary...you are the awesomest!

A few times Zachary said, "Kind of has an after taste." I am pretty sure he would have loved a bottle of water or something but he washed the bad taste away with a honey stick from the Fruit Barn.

It took a while to get some minnows caught but Garrett was the pro and when Brock could just not catch one Garrett gave him one of the ones he had caught, what a great big brother. We let the minnows swim free before we left, but the hunt was a lot of fun.

We spent A LOT of time in the pool while the boys were here. Garrett is a really strong swimmer because he is a water polo player...I think he would have stayed in the pool all day long and there were days that he actually did. What a fish!!

Zachary spent a good majority of his pool time creating new rafts and floating devices with noodles and water rings. Very creative and most of them were rather in genius.

The boys could not wait for Big Daddy to get home from work everyday.

My favorite convo from the week was from Brock who is 6...

"When is Uncle Paul coming home?" me, "around 4:00" Brock, "is that a little time or a lot of time?" me, "no too long, why?" Brock, "I just want to know when we are going to start having fun."

Don't worry, I totally get it...my day gets more fun once Big Daddy is home too!

Brock use to spend EVERY summer on the steps in the pool or on the patio playing in the water buckets I have set up for little ones who don't feel like swimming.

This Summer he got a little more brave and was all over the pool with a water ring and even found out he could "touch" in the shallow end.

It was fun to see him finally out there with the big boys splashing around and having a good time!

I have a few more days of pictures to share. I can't seem to find the SD card they are on, which is lame. But once i do there will be video of skate park goodness and a trip to Bass Pro Shop for S'mores...yep the good times are never ending around here!

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Etsy Giveaway!

Winner...Raimi from

If you're Happy and you Know it!

congratulations Raimi send your shipping info and

I will get you connected with Kelly!

Do not be distracted by the adorable puppy in the following picture...

seriously, stop...I know she is stinking CUTE, but the point of posting this picture is to show you the super adorable headband I am wearing...don't you love it?

You want one of your own huh?

How about this one? Cute right? It's called The Alice Beautiful Garden Colors

It was created by Kelly from the Etsy shop The Pink Elephant Shop by kellycrunner.

So let me tell you how you can win THIS adorable headband AND choose a pair of earrings from The Pink Elephant Shop by kellycrunner. ANY pair...suhweet right?!

Mandatory Entry:

visit The Pink Elephant Shopby kellycrunner take a look around and come back and tell me what you fell in love with.

Extra Entries

(leave ONE comment for each one you do, I will do the math)

1 Follow ME

1 Follow Kelly on her blog See It and Make It!

2 become a fan of Dandelion Wishes on Facebook

2 become a fan of The Pink Elephant Shop on Facebook

2 become a follower of LDS Etsy Team

1o entries for creating a post on your blog about the giveaway

(be sure to add my cute button and link The Pink Elephant Shopby kellycrunner to your post)

So there ya go...lots of ways to build up those entries and WIN a darling headband AND a pair of cute earrings of your choosing.

I TOTALLY forgot to mention that if you start a conversation with Kelly at her Etsy Shop and mention MAMARAZZI she will give you 10% off your purchase. Awesome right?!

Contest ends Saturday July 24 Winner Announced July 29

Friday, July 16, 2010

My Happy List

You know what? Summertime makes the TOP of My Happy List this week.

All of the sudden nothing seems more important than the simple pleasures that come during the glorious months of Summer.

It has been HOT, like 106 yesterday...and honestly, even the heat isn't getting me down. Of course we have a refreshing pool in our backyard and I refuse to run heat in the Winter months so I can let the AC hum all Summer long, but still...I do have to leave my house now and then and the warm evenings are making me smile.

And the goodness that is California produce...OH MY HAPPY LIST...my folks were here last weekend and my daddy happens to be the bestest watermelon picker outer ever. We have been enjoying the watermelon he picked out and we "forgot" to cut up for the family BBQ...what a delicious oversight.

This might seem silly, but every time I go through my little laundry room into my garage these little sweaters hanging above my washer and dryer make me smile. This week they are on my Happy List...aren't they the cutest? I have had them for years but still...happy list worthy.

We recently purchased this vacuum an Eureka Enviro Vac. I am in love. Like seriously. With a vacuum. True love. This baby is fantastic. It gets EVERYTHING from every nook and cranny. The attachments are awesome and the WASHABLE filter and removable bag-less canister is so cool and so easy to clean. With 2 kitties and a new puppy I vacuum just about everyday the ease and pure awesomeness of this vac makes me very happy. OH and it uses 33% less energy, yep more energy for my AC (I never claimed to be totally green).

When my folks were here last weekend they taught us how to play Farkle. Super fun dice game, have you played? I hear they have it on Facebook too...but I will not stray from my Facebook lover Scrabble.

Mmmmm cherries....nuff said.

So what is on YOUR Happy List this week? Grab my Happy List button and link up...I would love to hop around and see what is making YOU Happy.

Randomness

Today I woke up REALLY annoyed. What a strange feeling to wake up in a state of pissed. I am still kinda feeling like Crabetha, wondering when the feeling will pass.

I thought blogging might help.

I really need to post about my fun week with my brother Mark's boys. So many pictures, so much cuteness to be shared. I feel like I am always saying I need to catch up.

Last weekend, when everyone came to cheer Big Daddy on for his 10K, my nephew Tyler decided to stay for a few days. It has been a while since I have had just ONE of my sibling's offspring stay with us. It was nice. A little one on one time was kinda cool. I think with a little planning next Summer I will make the offer to my other nieces and nephews.

OH winners for July...let's take care of that.

As you know I draw EXCLUSIVELY from my list of followers every month and send a little love in the mail. Just for following, yep, I am that awesome and I truly appreciate my readers. You can earn extra entries for commenting...it is all very technical, but i do have a system...

The my follower of the month is:

Leah from The Dog's a boy, too!

I also decided to choose a fan from my Facebook each month too...sooo if you are both a fan and a follower your chances of winning DOUBLE...are you a fan of Mamarazzi Dandelion Wishes yet?

So my Facebook Fan of the month is Megan who is also a blogger from Kitschy Suburbia

Hmmm, I actually do feel a little better. Blogging. It will cure what ails ya.

I also sooooo excited because my sister Meg and her 3 little darlings landed in California last night!! I get to see them on Sunday when they come to my house for a few days...sooo fun!!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Cooking With Jordan #25 Crescent Cookies

WOW, it has been a loooong time since J and I did a Cooking with Jordan episode.

She and I went to lunch on Monday and really just kind of reconnected.

Being a teenager is hard.

She and I had a MAJOR heart to heart and she said she missed the "good times" we use to have together and that she was "sorry for being so mean and saying not nice things" lately.

So we came home, looked in the pantry and fridge and put together a fun new and easy recipe.

This one is YUMMY and super easy.