Harlequin Glory Bower Blossom*It was a full weekend here on the Ranch and elsewhere.
My Little Purple BeltIt started off on Friday with Anna's Belt Ceremony where she received her Purple Belt in Tae Kwon Do. She is so very proud... almost as proud as I am of her. She TOTALLY ROCKS!
Plus, can you imagine what I save in personal security detail costs just by hanging out with her?!
Seriously.
Don't muck with this little ninja. She'll mess you up.
Oh, the half-a-board she's holding up was one of a stack of five her instructor (yes, the big guy on the right) broke as a reward for the higher ranking students passing all of their board breaking tests. It was really cool... and painful to watch. He was going to break a brick, but that wasn't possible at the time, so the equivalent is about five boards. He wasn't successful on his first attempt. He was, however, victorious on his second... using the same arm he slammed into those boards just moments before! GAH!! I fractured my elbow just watching!
Plus, can you imagine what I save in personal security detail costs just by hanging out with her?!
Seriously.
Don't muck with this little ninja. She'll mess you up.
Oh, the half-a-board she's holding up was one of a stack of five her instructor (yes, the big guy on the right) broke as a reward for the higher ranking students passing all of their board breaking tests. It was really cool... and painful to watch. He was going to break a brick, but that wasn't possible at the time, so the equivalent is about five boards. He wasn't successful on his first attempt. He was, however, victorious on his second... using the same arm he slammed into those boards just moments before! GAH!! I fractured my elbow just watching!
Pumpkin Palooza Prep
Anna's friend, Julia, joined us for PP and to celebrate her (Julia's) 11th birthday.
The competition was fierce!
Um, Grace and Anna kind of got inspired by the same theme, but Grace (and I) did take home second place! Ours is the TotemPunkin on the right. Anna's is on the left. The little guy in the front? I have no idea who it belonged to but it's kinda cute so I let him stay.
I forgot to get a picture of Risa's winning entry. (I must have been addled by all of Charity's Award Winning Pumpkin Cheesecake I scarfed down... or maybe it was some kind of subconscious passive-agression over not winning the much coveted trophy... hmmmmm?)
I forgot to get a picture of Risa's winning entry. (I must have been addled by all of Charity's Award Winning Pumpkin Cheesecake I scarfed down... or maybe it was some kind of subconscious passive-agression over not winning the much coveted trophy... hmmmmm?)
Risa made the CUTEST little house, complete with an opening door and free-standing picket fence from a white pumpkin that was just adorable enough to house Hello Kitty.
Congratulations, Risa!! ;)
My first GOOD batch of 'Bucha Tea... or what's left of it.I started out with a gallon.
Thanks to Lisa B. I finally managed to produce Kombucha Tea that is actually good enough to drink... for less than $7 a four-pack! With the way my Peeps put this stuff down (we drink it instead of soda) we'll be flying to Hawaii on the savings in no time!
Well, now that I've got you all updated on the minutia that was my weekend, I'll be off to practice my hula.
Aloha, Y'all!
Well, now that I've got you all updated on the minutia that was my weekend, I'll be off to practice my hula.
Aloha, Y'all!
*This is one of my two favorite trees in my in-laws' yard. Those blossoms smell like jasmine. Delicious. My other favorite is their Catalpa tree whose leaves are slightly fuzzy and the size of dinner plates. The kids fold them into "nature pockets" and collect treasures from the yard in them. Sadly, the tree is dying and will be removed soon. :(
6 comments:
Where the heck did you get those jars? I looked all over for ones like that and ended up resorting to Grolsch bottles.
We will have our pumpkin carving on Wed. and I have recently been contemplating designs. We do one each, but yours are way cute! I like the totem idea.
I found those jars in my late Great Aunt's basement.
I have quart sized, too. Don't they ROCK?!
Thanks again for the scoby! :)
Good for Anna!
The pumpkin carving looks like it was fun. I used to love to carve them, but now? I don't know. We'll do it with Max of course. Probably tomorrow. It really is pretty to have a bunch of jack-o-lanterns lit up at once.
One of these days I will actually try kombucha for myself. The jars of it look so pretty.
Very cool pumpkins! I love the totem idea. We carve ours on Halloween, so we can bring them in at the end of the night and cook them.
Needless to say, we don't do anything on November 1st.
Oh, and Kombucha... how fun. One of these days I may have to try that. I'll try to remember that you're the one with the recipe. For some reason it scares me a bit to try it; I have a bad feeling I'd end up poisoning my entire family. They'd find us dead in the living room and have to determine if it really was a murder/suicide thing. Well, actually, only I would be at risk. Jeff and the kids don't really like the stuff.
Wendy, that is exactly how I felt the last time I tried to make 'Bucha tea (as Grace calls it.)
The method I used this time is much less scary and the instructions are very thorough. (Thanks again, Lisa!)
Let me know when you're feeling brave and I'll send you a culture to make your own! :)
LOVE the pumpkins! But what about a wild "pumpkin guts" fight? :)
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