Sunday Brunch – Wedding Mishaps

I posted about Cinderella’s wedding on juliannah by design. What I did not talk about was everything that seemed to work against us getting to and from the wedding. Let me start at the beginning.

We left last Friday the 22nd. We had to travel two hours to the wedding destination and I needed air in my tires so I stopped at Discount Tire to fill the tires. The technician started filling the tires and when he got to the last one he said, “Ma’am, will you please step out of the car?”

So I do and he proceeds to show me cracks in my front tire. Then he tells me all the tires are the same and if I keep driving on them we could be in a very dangerous situation. Great. So a few hundred dollars later, we were finally on the road.

Next, we just had to leave in a winter storm that also brought blizzard conditions to the Desert Southwest. Luckily the blizzard was further north, but we did experience rain, sleet and high winds. I do not much like driving on the highway, so needless to say it was a bit of stress for me.

We arrived at our hotel, which I must say was very nice. It was a Hilton, so there you go! We went to the rehersal and then we attempted to go the rehersal dinner. I misunderstood Cinderella’s directions and of course we got lost. After going back and forth and some choice words, we finally arrived. Corvette actually had the nerve to tell me we were rude for arriving late. What does getting lost have to do with being rude! As it turned out, several other people arrived after us and they were not late because of getting lost. Hah!

One the way back to the hotel we somehow missed the street for the hotel and wound up getting lost again! I finally stopped at a store and and got directions back to the hotel. Yea, you guessed it. More choice words.

The next day we arrived at the church with no problem and caravaned to the reception. All went well and we had a great time. When it was time to leave I was told to follow one of the bridesmaids back to Cinderella’s house where I would be spending the following week with Butterfly while Cinderella and Tango honeymooned in Hawaii. Ok great except when we went to leave the bridesmaid was gone. Ok. So I went back the way we came and Corvette who was driving Cinderella’s car back pulled up along side of me and yelled that the gas light just came on. Great. Again. Of course we were kinda of in the middle of nowhere and it took awhile to find a gas station. We did. We finally made it back.

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful except for a secret between Butterfly and me that we agreed we will laugh about in twenty years. I am sure you can figure out what it has to do with. Ok, so fast forward to this Saturday, the day we are due to go home. I woke up about 8:oo and was playing with my Blackberry before everyone else woke up. The phone rings and it is our alarm company calling to say the alarm was tripped at our house and what do we want to do about it. What? I am a hundred miles away! So I tell them to call the police and then we run around like mad people trying to get our stuff together. We throw everything in the car including my Chihuahua, against his loud protests and start back. Corvette calls the alarm company and they know nothing at that point. We call my good friend Lady Godiva and she agrees to go to the house and check things out. We finally get a call back from the alarm company and they tell us the police said everything seems ok. Lady Godiva calls us back and after going to our neighbor’s house and jumping our side fence (we do not have a gate, dumb, I know) tells us everything is ok and no one broke in. Phew. We are happy to find out we still have all of our worldly possessions.

Now you would think this would be the end of it. You. Would. Think. Apparently a truck became disabled on the highway and we became stuck going about 10mph or at a dead stop for about an hour. So what would normally take 1 1/2 to 2 hours took us just about 4 hours! Can you say, What the @%$#!

You are probably wondering if I still have my sanity. Yes, but I am done with weddings, vacation, driving and false alarms.

Somebody pass me a margarita. Please!

And order me a pizza!

Sunday Brunch

This week has been a bit stressful. My marine son was supposed to deploy last week but the ship had problems so that did not happen. Now we are doing Semper Gumby and waiting for the word to go. Since we have to pick up his car, we can not really make plans for any thing. 

We went and visited our twins yesterday. They have really grown and are more alert than ever. Wuzzy even smiled at us! I did not take any pictures because the other grandpa was taking many pictures and I hope to get a hold of some of them. But it was a nice day with the boys.

Cinderella and Tango went on a hike and encountered a rattlesnake but managed to avoid a snake bite. Tango walked away with a bee sting. Butterfly won a Huffy bike from her daycare. Now she owns two bikes. Very exciting for her!

Today I am doing laundry and I cooked a tortilla casserole, that I just winged. I tastes good and I will be eating it for lunch tomorrow. I have to work overtime next week in anticipation of not being at work on Thursday and Friday. Sometimes I hate Semper Gumby.

Today’s Sunday Brunch recipe is Juliannah’s Tortilla Casserole

Start with a basic white sauce:

In a small, heavy saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over low heat. Blend 2 tablespoons of flour into the melted butter. Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Cook over low heat, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes. Cooking for this length of time will minimize ‘flour’ taste. Slowly add 1 cup of milk, stirring constantly. Continue cooking slowly until smooth and thickened.

I added some Jarlslberg Chesse that I needed to do something with. Next I added some chopped onion and tomato, about 1/4 cup of each. I boiled  about a pound of chicken and cut five corn tortillas in strips and then cut them again.I layered the chicken and tortillas and then mixed in the sauce mixture. I seasoned with onion powder, salt, and pepper. I then put about 1/4 cup of grated cheddar cheese on top and baked this at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes.

Yum, it turned out well and tastes great. I am just not good at following recipes and much better at improvising.

Happy Sunday!

Sunday Brunch

Yesterday, family and friends came together and we planted Lolly’s tree. The week before, I prayed for cooler weather and that prayer was answered. I was a little worried a major storm might interrupted the planting but that did not happen. The tree was a little bigger than I expected. I have a VW bug. The tree is about 5 feet tall and it actually fit in my car. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it. LCpl Honda dug the hole in the yard. Everyone arrived and we feasted on sub sandwiches and potato salad. Grandma M brought a carrot cake. Lolly loved baby carrots. Everyone took turns shoveling dirt into the hole. Then Butterfly and my friend’s daughter, Big Brown Eyes helped Lolly’s dad Tango make a well around the tree. Finally, we made a circle around Lolly’s tree and said a prayer and asked God to bless the tree.

It was a wonderful day.

After the planting, I gave everyone a picture of Lolly’s name in the sand.

I am posting our group picture, although we took many pictures that day. The rest I have chosen to keep private. I am also posting a picture of my dad, Grandpa DingDon, one of Lolly’s namesakes. No recipe today. Yesterday was simple, kind of like a picnic. Everyone knows how to make a picnic. Yes?

We love you sweet boy. Donovan. Our Lolly Pop Kid.

I had to add this drawing, done by Butterfly, Lolly’s sissy.

ps. The drawing was lying on my kitchen table today and my cat decided to walk on it. The blue background was done with pastel chalk. I just spent a whole bunch of time in my bathroom trying to wash the blue color off of my cat’s feet. Fun.

Yea, I think that is all I have to say about that…

Sunday Brunch

We enjoyed a weekend with Cinderella, Tango & Butterfly. They came down to to visit and see Fuzzy & Wuzzy our new twins. The twins are doing well, but always seem to be sleeping when we visit.

Cinderella gifted Hippie Guy & Flower Child with a digital camera so they can provide us with lots of pictures of Fuzzy & Wuzzy. I have a few more to post and will do that at the end of this post.

I like my new blackberry phone but it has quite a learning curve. It is like a mini computer. Any help would be appreciated.

Today’s recipe is my most favorite potato salad. It doesn’t really have a name so I will just call it Juliannah’s Potato Salad.

Eight to Ten Red Potatoes

2 Hard Boiled Eggs

1 cup Mayonnaise

1/4 cup Rice Vinegar

1 Tbsp Sugar

1/4 cup Red Bell Pepper

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Pepper

1/2 tsp Paprika

Boil the potatoes with the skins on until done. Boil the eggs until done. Cut up the potatoes and eggs. Cut the bell pepper into small pieces. Mix potatoes,eggs & peppers. Mix mayonnaise, vinegar, spices & sugar into potatoes, eggs & peppers. That is it. You can also substitute green bell pepper, pickle relish or anything else you may desire.

 

Here are another couple pics of the twins:

Fuzzy

Wuzzy

Today is also the  2nd month angelversary for Lolly Pop Kid. We all miss him so much. I had a knock at the door today and it was Mormon missionaries. They gave me a card with a illustration of Jesus and on the back of the card it said, “Faith in Christ can help you resolve personal and family challenges.

God Just keeps knocking on our door.

Lolly Pop Kid we love you and miss you. We want you back.

And that is all I have to say about that.

Today we sent our hearts to Heaven.

Two years ago today Lolly Pop Kid was born.  Today we celebrated his birthday without him.

Two years ago today our lives were a little fuller.   Today they are a lot emptier.

Two years ago today I became a grandma for the second time.  Today I feel stripped of that honor.

Two years ago today four people became a family.  Today that family is forever changed.

Two years ago today I touched vibrant red hair.  Twelve days ago I touched it for the last time.

One year ago today I watched Lolly eat a Lolly Pop. Today I watched Lolly’s balloons go to heaven.

One year ago today I watched Lolly open gifts. Today we watched Lolly receive gifts in the sky.

Twenty years ago I watched two children play. Today I watched two adults, one consoling, one grieving.

Twenty years ago I sat with a friend and watched those children. Today I sat with a friend and watched those children.

For two years I watched two people love their son.  Today I watched two people love their son.

Two years ago today we celebrated a life.  Today we celebrated a life.

Today we sent our hearts to heaven.

We Have an Angel

I am writing this post to tell all that I probably won’t be blogging for awhile.

On Tuesday my grandson, Lolly Pop Kid went to heaven. It was very sudden and unexpected. Our hearts are broken. We miss him so much. If you wish please say a prayer for his mommie, Cinderalla, his daddy, Tango and his sister Butterfly.

And that’s all I have to say about that…

Rest in Peace our sweet Angel