The Birthday Post

If you are anywhere on or around a diet, you need to close your eyes and scroll past the first portion of today's thrilling entry.

Trust me.  You must!

If you, however, are like me and only diet on the third Tuesday of each month, feel free to read on.

(image source and link to recipe)

Oh.  My.  Lanta.  These are so good.  If you are ueber naughty like me and decide to check them out, do not fret if you do not have 8 squares of semi-sweet chocolate.  I mean, really.  Who has the squares lying around?  Not I.  I subbed a 12oz package of semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Divine!  Delicious!  Heavenly!

Perfect for the homeschool marm who is on summer break- and just might sneak them into her bedroom with a cup of coffee and a good book and LOCK THE DOOR  . . . just so she doesn't have to share.  Not that I might know from experience.  Nope, nope, nope.

And, oh yeah!  Remember my plans to continue homeschooling fairly regularly throughout the summer so that my children would be brilliant and all peoples of all nations would rise and call me blessed?

I have a comment to make on that:

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I mean, really.  Isn't review what the whole month of September is for anyways?

Well.  I turned 31 since we last spoke.  It's true.  My one mission on my birthday was to somehow get myself a moose tracks ice cream in a waffle cone.

It happened.

I had a lovely birthday.  My beloved bought me some awesome gifts-gifts that I, the former city girl, would have scoffed at years ago.  But now, these gifts make me all giddy-like.

I got . . . wait for it . . . wait for it . . .

Six LARGE blueberry plants (I know!)

One tomato plant

One large, gorgeous hanging basket that elite people, unlike myself, usually have hanging on their porches.

Look at me and my elite, farmgirl self!

The tomato plant might be puzzling to some seeing as how our family does not eat tomatoes.  But I have great plans, my friends.  Plans that include making, and canning, my own spaghetti sauce.

Because I am 31 now.  And these are the tasks I must do.

Sweet Pea bought me a gold pie server at an antique mall.  She was SO excited and I told her I would treasure it forever, seeing as how I have no gold utensils whatsoever.  My mother bought me 3 beautiful blue canning jars and let the girls give them to me.  Because, have you heard?  Blue canning jars are all the rage.  Mother also got me the Pampered Chef covered baker and I am seriously on cloud nine.  My sis in law made me a cool necklace and earring holder that I shall have to share with you.  But not today.  It wouldn't be prudent.  And I got gobs of other good things, but we must forge on.

Let us look at some photos of this blessed weekend, shall we?
 Here are some pictures from when mother and I “Hoed with Rosa.”  As most people do with their mothers.  Naturally.

The boys.  Precious, as always.

(ha!  Hello?  Have you read this blog?)

The girls.  Enjoying some ice cream.

Back to my birthday!  Because, it is all about me and my special day.  To get the aforementioned cone of ice cream, we went to the park that amuses us.  It was a fun day for all.

Waiting in line.

(Daisy Mae and David ditched us to ride some roller coasters)

(Lumberjill does NOT ride roller coasters.  She hasn't been able to handle them since she was 17)

(Sadly, upon turning 31, even the carousel made Lumberjill ill.  Because Lumberjill is old.  Apparently)

Sweet Pea and Little Dude taking a country drive.

Fun, fun!

Today, I ordered a pressure canner.  Not to be confused with a canner, nor a pressure cooker.

A PRESSURE CANNER.

Apparently, it is everything I need in this life.

Stand down, naysayers!  I don't need one more person warning me that said pressure canner might blow up in my face.  You are all killjoys.  I wash my hands of it.

I am going to can green beans!

And dried beans, like pinto, black, and kidney!

And perhaps soups!

And maybe even elk meat!

My joy overfloweth.