The Last (Ten) Year(s)

Around the time I was three years old I decided I was going to marry Kenny Rogers. 25 years later, I brought home the man who would be the father of our daughter and would take me on the ride of my life. And sure enough, he looked a lot like Kenny.

A year ago today I lost my best friend...my Superman. I can't tell you how many times I came home from work and found Ron listening to this song. He would tear up while listening to it. The image of him sitting in his chair by the patio, head back, eyes closed, and the music around him is one that I'll never forget.

I've done a lot of thinking in the past couple of months. Would I go back and change it? Would I bring Ron back if I could? I still don't know the answer. There are a million things I would change. There are a thousand times I would turn around and give him one more hug and kiss. And there are only 86,400 times a day that I think of him and wonder what he would think of what I've become. I don't know the answers. I only know this. He loved us. All of us. And without him, the world still manages to go on. But, we're going to miss you, Ron.

The turtle next door

Last night we were invited over to the neighbors' house for dinner. The girls had found a turtle on the road sometime during the week and they took munchkin out to see it. His name is Tucker. He's a cute little painted turtle, and surprisingly, Chloe's not that much interested.

We got home and were talking to my mom on the phone. Chloe had to talk to Nana and proceeded to tell her that the girls next door had a turtle named Pecker.

She's confined to her room until she's 30.

Collective Soul

He always makes sure to let me know he's still around. And I'm sure he is feeling better now.

Pearl Cream

This still makes me laugh.

MMMMMM...soup!

Today I decided to make soup. One of my favorites is chicken and wild rice. This is my favorite recipe to use.

The soup is currently simmering away, and here are a couple of pictures. Drool if you like.

These are the veggies and oil before anything else gets added. Looks yummy just like that.

And the finished product. I'll be baking homemade bread too, once I stop at the store to get more flour. Sort of too bad I forgot that key ingredient!

Munchkin's latest

She's always got something that makes me laugh. Here are the three latest.

These...

are pinecones. As in, "Oh, Mama, look at all the pinecones!"

And then, at the horse show, she told me that this...

was a "horse bus". I've got to say, she may have a point there.

And finally, my favorite, she likes to get her toenails painted. She told me she has "smolish" on her toes. Not polish...smolish.

Gotta love a three-year-old!

This may seem trivial

Probably not high on your list of things to do, but I'm looking for some opinions. I promised someone I would post some options, so now, I thought everyone could get in on the act. Which toenail polish should I choose this time around?

Starting from the left is my perennial favorite. Revlon's Cherry Crush. When this bottle runs out you better believe I'll be ordering more!

Next is Rimmel's Russet Flame. It's new, and I think it's got more of a rust coloring where the Cherry Crush is more, well, cherry red.

In the middle is Maybelline's Fuchsia Fire. It's glittery, and kind of a light pink. The link isn't the exact color, but it's the best I could do.

Next to it is another Maybelline, this time it's Blazing Berry. It's also glittery and darker than the Fuchsia Flame. It's what I have on my toes right now. It's gotten good reviews.

And last is Pure Ice Rumors. Sort of a mauve color. Take a look. See what you think.