We had some hard rains and they didn't last as long as other years, it seems. But for that glorious week the house was heady with intoxicating fragrance.
I placed around lots of little vases and pitchers to enjoy. I even had a little creamer full of blooms in the bathroom by the sink. Mmmmmm lilacs. One of my top 5 faves of all time! I wish they had a longer season. I also wish you could smell this picture!
A week or two before Mother's Day I got a new car! Well, new for me. It's a 2005 Nissan Murano.
It's pretty snazzy. Sunroof, leather, nice stereo. I'm finally stylin' and rid of my minivan. I've been driving a minivan nearly continuously since I was 20 yrs old and I didn't even have KIDS for 6 or 7 of those years. Somehow I let Mark convince me that it was just a good idea ~ for camping trips, groceries, dogs, etc. So even before I was in the Mom Brigade, I had the minivan. They're great when you have all the paraphenalia to haul around. Sleeping bags & rollpads or strollers & diaper bags definitely fit well in the ol' minivan. But I must admit I am happy to relegate all that to fond memories and drive something a bit more FUN!
** Mark, Colten and me on Mother's Day in front of the new car (Wyatt playing photographer) **
They gave it a nice wash for me on Mother's Day, so it was all sparkly and shiny.
The conversation had been brewing for some time... living in the Midwest with Midwest winters, a steep hilly road and driveway as well as a country cabin on the weekend was really necessitating 4WD. The nights I work, I sometimes don't get home until the wee hours and I was having a hard time getting up the driveway some nights if it was icy. No fun trudging up the hill at 2 am after work when your van won't make it! Plus, the lane to the cabin really needs 4WD most of the time unless it's been very dry.
YAY for my spiffy new car.
I just love it :)
Lately I have been stuck in a crispy treat rut. I get stuck on a certain kind of snack. For awhile, it was chocolate chip cookie bars. But I've moved onto crispy treats. They're so yum! I always make a huge batch when I make them. Approx. 2.5 of the normal 9x13" pan sizes is the batch I make, LOL.
Ridiculous, I know. Honestly, that's a really HUGE and hard batch to stir up!
I think it's maybe 16 or 17 cups just of Rice Crispies. BUT - I make mine a little differently. I like to also add in 4 or 5 cups of Cap'n Crunch cereal to that proportion and 4 or 5 squares of almond bark.
You can see the sprinkling of Cap'n Crunch in there and the almond bark gives more depth of flavor. Give it a try. In a regular sized batch, add a square or 2 of roughly chopped almond bark while you're melting, and 2 cups of your next favorite cereal. Let me know what you think!