Farnham Femme Fun and Feast

Luke and I had a great morning Friday, enjoying time with girlfriends. Ever wonder what the world looks like from a 3 year old's perspective? Luke snapped this pic of Tracy, Janey, and Heather.

Every month or so during the school year, my "peeps" and I gather for some girl time at our friend, Janey's. It's a much welcomed change to the everyday of motherhood, work, home-schooling, PTA Mom-ing , and housework that fills our everyday. Janey makes it her business to feed us til we're stuffed. All of us bring over a tasty treat of some sort.Pot stickers and Ambrosia Fruit Salad are usually a staple brought by Laura. Heather is known for her salsa and sheet cake. Tonya wowed us with her fresh canned green beans and Tracy is our drink girl. This leaves me. I appparently am the wild card. I tend to bring the item that most are afraid to try and sometimes don't. I decided this time should be no different.


I introduced my sweet friends to sweet bread. In spanish it is called pan de dulce. I personally love it and HIGHLY recommend you try it at least 1 time. I brought the standards. Empanadas de manzana y calabaza, maranos, and conchas.Empanadas are like fried pies by their shape and filling but are baked. Empanadas de Manzana are filled with an apple pie filling. Empanadas de Calabaza are filled with sweetened pumpkin filling.Conchas are also called Turtle Shells. Concha, meaning shell, for the non-spanish speakers, are bread like pastries that are semi-sweet.The Maranos or pig shaped cookies are cookies made with molasses. I threatened that if everyone didn't try some my days of bringing anything were over.I'm just a little spoiled. It went over well. I didn't see anybody spit into their napkin, so that was good.

In our group we have 4 October birthdays.Last year Janey got us all crowns.This year, she splurged. We all are now the proud owners of bjillion carat diamond rings. She pulled an Oprah and used our rings as napkin holders. She couldn't fool us!

After Janey's delish chicken and rice meal and the infamous force fed cultural experience, we all threw in our dollar for a fun and fiercely competitive game of Keeno.For those unfamiliar, Keeno is a bingo type game where instead of numbers, you are looking for the suit called. We all bring a gift in a brown paper sack, stapled shut. It was so much fun. I had a good card, but nowhere near as good as Tonya and Heather. I won 1 time. Tonya won 100 times and Heather won 130 times. Not really but may as well have. They were on FIRE!

Heather or Heifer as Lukey-Luke calls her, won this cute little Monster Candy Jar.

Me, trying to rub some good luck off the BIG WINNERS!

Finally, afte much praying, wishing, positive thinking, and CURSING (just kiddin'), Tracy called KEENO!

Alas, Janey had Keeno 2 times. The moral of this story is

ya gotta keep your head in the game,

Luke LOVES going to Janey's house. He gets to play with his cars, eat candy, is adored by some of the sweetest most kind hearted women, and watch his favorite movies.

I love girl time. I always leave feeling refreshed and rejuvenated.

Dimestore Dragon, A Balloon Wish, and a Rooster

met my mom for breakfast Friday at a favorite taqueria of ours.after breakfast we went next door to a mercado where we found Mexican Bingo.In looking at the card I thought a rooster (altogether now, El Gallo) might be a forgiving first attempt.

i am all about free-hand cutting, mostly because I can not draw worth a lick. As you can see, my rooster looks a bit like a child's thanksgiving turkey.

this is my finished product. Its a little cartoonish.I enjoyed playing around with the different textures and colors.


Feeling inspired, Luke and I went to our neighborhood thrift store to see what was new there. I found this 1970's beauty and for giggles tried it on.



I loved the color and the material.

I look like I am trying to woo Big Bird.

Luke this pic.

Luke and I have a few little traditions. If he can behave the whole time we are in the store, he gets a balloon. And when we leave the store he makes a wish. Today, he wished for chocolate.

After he makes a wish. he lets the baloon go, so it will come true.

Going, Going,

GONE !

Have a great day all!

I Wanna Be Megan Coyle

Look closely. See that? That is the incredible artwork of Megan Coyle. Megan Coyle is a collage artist, who uses strips of paper from magazines to create these highly detailed art pieces. I have always been a big fan of collage art and remember thinking once how cool it would be to try this. Well dream no more. I want to give this a whirl. I plan to start off very easy, with basic shapes to create simple pictures. I am thinking a little bird might be a good place to jump off or maybe even an owl. I can't wait to get started.

Look up

www.mcoyle.com

for more info on this talented artist.

She is also on facebook and from time to time posts pics of works in progress.

Summer Lovin' Chapter 1: King Family Reunion

Our summer kicked off with our annual family reunion in Mexia, Texas.Here, the women in the family pose for a "photographic momento" of our time together.Hip, Hip, HOOORAY!On the far left is my Aunt Patty. She is a gifted artist and retired physical therapist. She is who I think I will look like when I get older.Crazy family resemblance. Weird how genetics work, eh?Next to he ris my cousin Ann. She is a mommy I admire. She never loses her patience with her sweet girls and is so focused as a mom.You can tell she puts her all into it. Then you have my surrogate mom, my Aunt Jerra. She is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. She loves me and has always given me her undivided time and attention.I don't know the girl in the cowboy hat. But next to her, is my cousin Cassie who never ceases to amaze me. She is a very driven gal, whom I lovingly refer to as Dallas Barbie.Julie is my cousin /sister. She is the closest thing to a sister I have ever had. I wish I had her eye for detail. She can also bake circles around you. Holy Smokes, she is Martha Stewart, but cuter and without the whole jail thing.The sweet baby in Cassie's arms is Hadlee. Hadlee is Julie and her husband Chad's baby girl. This was her first family reunion and we loved getting to snuggle with and love on her. She is a really good baby. I have never heard the girl cry! Julie is holding, Ella. Ella belongs to Derick and VAl. Let's just say the girl can hold her own. She is quite possibly the prettiest tough girl I have ever seen.

The first time we visited the reunion facility, the ladies in my family made a little road trip out of it. It was so funny because the first thing we noticed was the cemetery centered smack dab in the middle of the park.Here is one grave stone in the cemetery that really stood out.It reads:

BORN
In Eastern New York
Jan. 24, 1819
DIED
In Texas by Mexican Violence
for gold.
Oct. 1854

The only thing I can say is that we Mexicans do LIKE gold.

Here, I am hammin' with my Big Bad Wolf cupcake. We enjoyed this new activity Ann and Aunt Patty came up with. It was a blast decorating cupcakes. We had everything you can think of! Icing, Candy Sprinkles. Food coloring, gels, marshmallows, you name it!!

Here are part of our creations. This is definitely an activity worth repeating.
~Because everything is funner with CUPCAKES~

oooooohhhhh, and the best part is, I am in charge next year.

DUN, DUN, DUN!

Mommy Dragon and the Thilly Thnake

Me and and my Lukey-Luke had fun with play-doh this morning.

He made me laugh when he needed help rolling out the dough,

saying, "My hands aren't big enough." I love that Sweet Punkin' Boy!!

I was excited that he payed attention to detail.

He added sripes and requested I give the thnake a mouf.

The Mystical Land of Arkansas

We are packing up our stuff, waking up at the crack of dawn, and heading to the Mystical, Magical, Natural,Slow-paced land of Arkansas. There we will see her royal highness,the Swaim Queen Mother, Granny-Great along with Uncles and our sweet Aunt Ida, Duchess of Velonia. There is no place I would rather be. It is amazing to go from a place completely covered in cement and hot tar parking lots, fenced in yards and no trees to fields as far as the eye can see and horizon lines interrupted only by the occasional silo or barn. Ooh and driving at night down a gravel road and turning your headlights off feels like you are in outer space because it gets so pitch black.I can not wait! We will be heading out tomorrow to make it just in time for a come and go where we will get one last chance to visit city hall in Jacksonville where Our Uncle Tommy is Mayor.He is finally retiring after 20+ years. Our good friends Zach and Windy call the Rice and Duck Capital of the World their home. They share land with Zach's parents, Tim and Bee.Tim and Bee own several acres and a lovely plantation house that is easly 100 years old. The kids favorite part though is their swimming pool.My favorite part is the pool house! We have had a lot of fun in that pool house! Least favorite part about Arkansas...MOSQUITOS! Being the rice capital of the world, the mosquitos are thick and hungry!! They breed in the water from the rice fields and are on steroids. I am sure of it. I can not wait to share the happenings and stories we bring home with us. Until then, I hope you have a fantastic 4th, remembering those who fought for our freedom.Let's all remember, Freedom Isn't Free.Much Love!

The Tale of Mommy Dragon and the 3 Puffs

Once Upon a Time
in a land, not so far away....
there lived a fierce, fire-breathing, bulgey-eyed, gnarly-toothed, long talloned, GINORMOUS -BELLIED, spikey-tailed,scaley, venom-squirting, VERY MEAN,Mommy Dragon.
Um...so really, Mommy dragon was a nick-name granted by my 3 year old that seemed to stick.Not sure why or even how, but its cool.I prefer to think of myself as the pink shimmery dragon on Shrek with the long pretty eyelashes, who blows heart shaped smoke rings.Welcome to my little lair. I am so excited to have possibly figured out this blogging thing.I have always enjoyed reading the blogs of others, but always felt a little intimidated. Seemed to me that everyone really had their stuff together and that my life was lacking. Nobody would want to hear what this girl had to say.And then one day while listening to a sweet friends teaching and testimony, I learned that my story is a blessing that is intended for the Lord's glory so my tale must be told. I am a Texas girl who is blessed beyond measure.I have 3 Puffs. Puff #1 is my Hunka-Studly cigar smoking,Prince Charming, Jason. Jason and I married in September of 2003 after a 2 year courtship.We met September 8, 2001...so the 3 day rule was kind of a bust. We met through mutual friends at the Ft.Worth Stockyards...in a BAR!We have 2 kids.Puff #2, Braelyn is my 10 year old brown-eyed powder puff princess.Braelyn will be entering the 5th grade and is academically and musically talented.She excels in school and is a creative song-writer. Her daddy used to tell everybody she was going to be a Veterinarian Lounge Singer.Puff #3 is my 3 year old choo-choo train lovin', blue-eyed joker, Luke. Luke is a funny boy who is a creature of habit. He likes to wake up in the morning, lay on the couch, drink chocolate milk, and watch Sprout. He is a laid back kid who loves his Mama!Which is good because I think he is pretty special too. I can niot wait to dive in and share our tale and hope you enjoy following along in the adventure that is my life!