Good Friday morning!
Did I tell y'all I met The Pioneer Woman? I couldn't recall if I mentioned it or not. Hmmm...
The Gallery pics are from the end of a thunderstorm in our area last night. Beautiful.
WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! - This is an EXTREMELY LONG POST. However, everything is labeled, so you should be able to read what interests you and skip the rest.
I'll be more succinct next week.
Or maybe not!
RANDOMNESS #1 - Yesterday, I opened the door to the Big Gold Van and found a Doctor's Appointment Reminder in my seat. Since I haven't been to that particular doctor in the last few months, and my appointment isn't until the end of June, this was very puzzling to me.
Where did the Reminder come from?
Who put it in the middle of my seat in the Big Gold Van?
Was my doctor hiding in the bushes to see my reaction?
Did turning around in a circle three times looking to see if anyone was around constitute "crazy" behavior on my part?
Did yelling "Dr. S! Are you in my bushes?" at the top of my lungs confirm that I was, indeed, crazy?
Can anyone answer any of the above questions? Today? Before lunch?
It would be greatly appreciated.
RANDOMNESS #2 - I wanted to share a little story from our "Survivor - Easter Island" celebration last year. There were FIVE Survivor-type challenges and two teams... Martins vs. Faulkners. Needless to say, things don't always turn out the way you plan.
This story picks up during the second challenge... the dreaded Food Challenge!
Well, the Martins were down one challenge with the Obstacle Course victory, but we all knew the Food Challenge was going to be tough for the Faulkners. One person from each team had to sit out because there were only three dishes. Austin immediately offered to remove himself from this particular challenge. He was fast, and called it before the other three had a chance.
Josh found himself pitted against Brad and sat down to a covered plate. "I'm not eating eyeballs," he said.
"Josh. I don't even know where to buy eyeballs, much less how to prepare them," I assured him.
"I'm not eating fish guts either." You can tell we've been watching Survivor for a very long time.
"Well, that's good to know. I'll feel so much better about sending you off to college in a couple of years knowing you won't succumb to those temptations."
Beverly counted to three and Brad and Josh removed the covering from the plates. Brad didn't even hesitate. He started shoveling bright orange "stuff" into his mouth. "What is this? What is this?" Josh began to yell.
"Carrots from a blender, Josh. That's all." I told him. Brad was halfway finished.
Josh put a spoonful in his mouth... and immediately began to gag. "Oh, my gosh. This is horrible. What did you put in this?"
"Nothing. It is a clean carrot I put in a blender and chopped up. That's all."
Josh put his spoon on the table. "I'm done. No one should be expected to eat this. It's not possible."
"IT'S... JUST... A... CARROT!"
By this time, Brad had two more spoonfuls left on his plate. "Could I have some salt, please?"
"No! This is a Survivor Food Challenge. You're lucky I couldn't find the eyeballs!"
Brad finished his blended carrots, and it was time for the second round. (Did I mention this challenge was the best two out of three?)
Tommy sat down, and to be honest, I don't want to even mention the name of the Faulkner who bailed on this one. Beverly counted to three and Tommy and the unnamed Faulkner uncovered the dish... one baked parsnip (salted AND peppered).
"What is that? Is it a rotten carrot? How do you expect me to put this in my mouth? Are you trying to poison us." You can guess who was speaking at this point in the story. I'm still too ashamed to tell you.
Tommy shoved the whole parsnip in his mouth, and was done in a matter of seconds. We never got to the third dish. (By the way, the third dish consisted of half a chocolate Easter bunny, two peeps and 15 jelly beans. Back in the day, I could have inhaled that plate in 10.5 seconds.)
Will we ever have Survivor - Easter Island again? No. I don't think so. But it was kinda fun, very interesting and worth trying at least once!
RANDOMNESS #3 - This is from an old post, too, but I liked it then and I like it now!
Rules of Chocolate Easter Eggs
1. If you get melted chocolate all over your hands, you're eating it too slowly.
2. Chocolate covered raisins, cherries, orange slices and strawberries all count as fruit, so eat as many as you want.
3. If you can't eat all your Easter chocolate, it will keep in the freezer. But if you can't eat all your Easter chocolate, what is wrong with you?
4. If calories are an issue, store your chocolate on top of the fridge. Calories are afraid of heights, and they will jump out of the chocolate to protect themselves. (I had never heard this before. It made me happy.)
5. Money talks. Chocolate sings.
6. Chocolate has many preservatives. Preservatives make you look younger. (Again, another scientific fact I did not know. Why don't reporters talk about this on The Today Show EVERY DAY? It should be the number one story.)
7. The problem... How to get two pounds of chocolate eggs home from the store in a hot car. The solution... Eat the eggs in the parking lot.
8. Why is there no such organization as Chocoholics Anonymous? Because no one wants to quit.
OLD EASTER TRADITION
Amazing Race - Easter Style!
This falls under "transition traditions" for teenagers who once hid Easter eggs in your family. If your family sets aside a day for traditional egg hunts, this is something new and fun to try with the now older kids in your family.
1. Plan a trip to The Galleria after school on Friday or the Saturday before Easter.
2. Divide your family into two teams.
3. The clues are on a piece of paper in a large manila envelope. There are two places during the Race the teams will receive envelopes from other people in the mall.
The following is a copy of the instructions, clues and envelopes:
Each team will have the following when the Race begins... 1 manila envelope; 1 instruction sheet; 1 pen; 1 digital camera; $15.
When the Race ends, each team should have all of the above, but also two envelopes (one from Auntie Annie's Pretzels and one from their Grandmother), and a signed Easter card for their Grandmother.
Each team will start together in the same place. I will hand a large manila envelope to each team. Of the eight clues I am about to show you, Team One will be racing in order (1 - 7), and Team Two will be racing backward (7 - 1). They will not know the difference. They have the same clues, just in a different order so they won't arrive at the same destinations at the same time. The following is the information on the instruction sheet.
WELCOME TO THE AMAZING RACE - EASTER STYLE!
YOU MUST COMPLETE EACH TASK IN ORDER. NO RUNNING IS ALLOWED. THE FIRST TEAM TO REACH THE PIT STOP OF THE RACE WILL BE DECLARED THE WINNER. HOWEVER, YOU MUST HAVE ALL THE ENVELOPES YOU HAVE COLLECTED WITH YOU WHEN YOU CHECK IN OR YOU WILL SUFFER A FIVE MINUTE TIME PENALTY.
YOU WILL HAVE $15 FOR THIS LEG OF THE RACE. COUNT YOUR MONEY, AND BEGIN!
1. Find the elevators in the middle of the Food Court. Ride to the 2nd floor and back down again a total of three times. You should exit on the 1st floor. NOTE - YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE SECOND FLOOR THREE TIMES BEFORE YOU GET OFF THE ELEVATOR ON THE 1ST FLOOR.
2. Make your way to the Book Store in the mall. Find an Easter book. Take one member's picture with the book.
3. Go to where children are having their picture made with the Easter Bunny. Take one member's picture with the Easter Bunny behind them. NOTE: YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WAIT IN LINE AND HAVE YOUR PICTURE MADE WITH THE EASTER BUNNY. HE JUST HAS TO BE IN THE BACKGROUND OF YOUR PICTURE.
4. Go to Auntie Annie's Pretzel stand. Order one order of cinnamon pretzel sticks with one cup of icing and one large Coke. Don't forget napkins and three straws. Ask the clerk for your next clue after you place your order. (THE PERSON BEHIND THE COUNTER WILL HAND THEM AN ENVELOPE WHEN THEY ASK. THE ENVELOPE HAS TO BE OPENED, AND IT WILL TELL THEM TO GO TO THE FOOD COURT AND FIND THEIR GRANDMOTHER WHO IS SITTING AT ONE OF THE TABLES. THEY ARE TO SIT DOWN AND EAT THEIR PRETZEL STICKS, DRINK THEIR COKE, AND THEIR GRANDMOTHER WILL HAND THEM THEIR NEXT ENVELOPE WHEN THEY FINISH.)
THE ENVELOPE HANDED TO THEM BY THEIR GRANDMOTHER WILL TELL THEM TO GO TO THE CAROUSEL. ONE PERSON HAS TO RIDE THE CAROUSEL... OR THEY CAN DO THE ROADBLOCK.
ROADBLOCK - IF ONE PERSON IS NOT WILLING TO RIDE THE CAROUSEL, THEN THE GROUP HAS TO STAND BESIDE THE ENTRANCE TO THE CAROUSEL AND WAIT UNTIL IT MAKES TWO COMPLETE RIDES. (NOW THEY LOOK BACK AT THEIR SHEET OF PAPER.)
5. Find the Gourmet Bubble Gum machines in the mall. Each person on the team must find and buy their favorite flavor. Before you move on to the next clue, EACH person must blow a bubble with their bubble gum.
6. Go to BumperNets. EACH person must play one game before moving to the next clue. It can be air hockey, pinball, pool, etc. You do not have a lot of time. REMEMBER... PLAY ONLY ONE GAME PER PERSON. (It is acceptable for air hockey to count for two members of the team. The third member of the team would need to play another game. The games can all be played at the same time.)
7. Go to the Hallmark Store and pick out an Easter card for Grandmother. Watch your money. (BE CHEAP!!!) Purchase the card. ALL three team members must sign the card with the pen in the manila envelope. Seal the card and put it in the manila envelope to give to Grandmother at the end of the race.
8. Make your way to the entrance of J. C. Penney's and look for Grandmother. This is the Pit Stop for this leg of the race. Remember, the last team to arrive may be eliminated.
Now remember, this is Team One's list. Team Two's list will begin as follows and go from 7 to 1.
1. Go to the Hallmark store and pick out an Easter card for Grandmother. Etc., etc., etc.
Each Team's number 8 on the list will be the same.
I arrived at The Galleria early to talk to the clerk at Auntie Annie's Pretzels, and left the envelopes. (The clerks LOVED helping me out. They couldn't wait until the two teams arrived and asked for their clues.)
I know some of the stores have changed since we did this, but make it your own and have a wonderful time!
NEW EASTER TRADITION
Easter Jars
For today's NEW Easter tradition, go to the anderson crew under My Blog List and read her post entitled "Easter Jars." The perfect way to keep Christ the center of this holiday for your little ones. Excellent!
Weekend Happenings
Tonight, Mikie and I are going to do something very grown-up. We're going out to eat with another couple. That's right. A grown-up double date. And we're looking forward to it, too.
Saturday is going to be a semi-busy, semi-fun day. Mike's taking one or two of the Faulkner Five fishing Saturday evening. Roxie is going to a movie with a friend. I'll be cooking a few dishes ahead of time for Easter Sunday lunch and finishing a little Easter shopping. Nothing major, but a fine way to spend a Saturday.
Sunday, the Faulkner Five will be attending church and heading over to Grandmother's for Sunday lunch with Bev's family.
I have a little Easter fun up my sleeve for our now "grown" cousins, but I'm going to wait and tell you all about that on Monday. (Since everyone can now read the blog, I don't want to give anything away!)
I'm hoping Sunday night can be a movie night before another busy Spring week begins. I'm renting We Bought a Zoo, and hoping for the best!
Have a lovely Easter worshipping with family and friends. And remember...
"When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, 'Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?'
"But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed.
"'Don't be alarmed,' he said. 'You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter.'" Mark 16:1-7
I will be back with Mindless Monday next week and more Spring Stuff.
Take care, and I'll talk to you Monday.
Sincerely,
The Enchanting Belinda
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