Field Trip for Grown-Ups {p,h,f,r}

The Like Mother, Like Daughter linkup for some good old contentment has brought me back from the bloggingless grave.  Resurrection!  Redemption!  Yes, I've been grading a lot of tests on The Tale of Two Cities.  How did you guess?

We went to the zoo.  It was really cool.  We saw a ton.  And I only got four pictures, but, since you've actually clicked the link, I'll share my little bit of joy and zooish contentment with you!  De rien.

{Pretty}

What would it be like to be that awkward looking and yet that inherently graceful?  Giraffes are so pretty.  I think I do okay in the pretty department about 80% of the time - relatively speaking to the situation at hand, of course - but graceful.....that comes and goes.  Maybe 50%.  Lately, I've had to keep my toes permanently painted something opaque because I seem to have stubbed both big toes to the extent that they look rather diseased.  They aren't, for the record.  But when one smacks one's toenail into hard objects multiple times, the nail tends to get a little crunched looking.  I know, you really wanted to hear about my toenails...thanks for listening.  I appreciate it, I do.  And, I will further expound at length upon the virtues of a slightly sparkly coral nailpolish from, I believe, Forever XXI.  Check it out; it'll save me the expounding, and make you a happier person!

Photo Source

{Happy}

There actually isn't anything particularly happy about this picture, but there isn't anything unhappy with it either, so I figured it qualified by process of elimination.  If there is no unhappiness, there must be happiness.  Anyway, I thought it was a neat picture, and I think turtles are rather fascinating.  I'm not into turtle stuffed animals or statues or anything; I just like watching them swim around and walk.  They're so goofy!

{Funny}

This reminded me of three old men sitting outside a barbershop or similar place, drinking coffee and killing time.  These turtles looked so happy and so utterly uninterested in doing anything except sitting there...it was the classic old man line personified, or animal-fied, to be correct in the idea, if not the spelling.

{Real}

Look closely.  They are real.  Very.  And the other kind that looks the same but has a wider mouth (I can never remember which is the crocodile and which is the alligator.  Sigh.  Shame upon my science education!) was only one cage away.  Looking at things like this make me remember just where I stand on the food chain, why I approve the invention of guns and other means to kill large things at a distance, and the fleetingness of my life.  All in all, however, these two behaved very well and didn't eat or otherwise mangle anything while we watched.  Thank you Lord!

Back to work.  Dr. Manette, Sydney Carton, and all other sundry peoples of the French Republic await.  Au revoir!

Wife-hood, Fatherhood, Opinions, and a Coupon!

This is beautiful.  For anyone who hasn't already read it, please do.  http://mychildiloveyou.blogspot.com/2012/01/on-being-wife-by-my-dear-mother-i-wish.html

Granted, I totally copied this link from Like Mother, Like Daughter, but I felt it was worth passing along.  One can never have too much wisdom, right?  Of course right!

What else is new?  Not much.

Oh, one more thing.  I love listening to Rush Limbaugh.  Been listening since I was a teen and he's still my go-to political guide, especially with all this wackiness happening now.  Don't tell, but I really want to get a Rush Babes t-shirt - this one, actually:

Photo Credit

I think he's really funny, and very, very smart politically.  And, I also think he makes excellent iced tea!

So, if you want to support some good conservative business and you like iced tea, check out Two if by Tea.  I recommend the peach and the regular.  Use coupon code DEALIO2014 from now until July 31, '14, for $4.00 off your order.  I won't be using it in that time, so I figure I'll pass it along.  Thanks Rush!

Oh, and if you have younger kids, the Rush Revere books are supposed to be quite good and have won a couple of children's books awards.  My siblings liked them a lot.  After all, they have a talking horse.  What more do you need?  Amazon has 'em, I think.

Since Fathers' Day is coming up tomorrow, here's a link to a couple articles about how to say "thanks" to the dads, and how better to appreciate their efforts for the family.  I think they're good follow-ups to the first article about being a wife.
   - Five Ways to Thank Dad
   - Dads: The Heroes of Homeschooling

Happy Saturday!

{p,h,f,r} Pinch of this, Dash of that

Linking up with the lovely ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter for some contentment!  (Like the alliteration there?  Thought so!)

{Pretty}

 Our honeymoon and wedding albums came in the mail and I was reminiscing, so I thought I'd share.  Isn't it pretty?  I'd love to go back someday, now that we've seen most of the island and done the exploring, just to relax, sip margaritas on the beach, and read a book.  Heavenly.

{Happy}

Did you know that butterflies get drunk from rotting fruit?  Well, they do.  These guys were quite relaxed and happy, and didn't bat a wing when I stuck my camera right up in their buggy little faces.  They were pretty happy...

But not as happy as this spunky little thing!  Not exactly up to American food cleanliness standards but awfully cute all the same.  Something tells me he was pretty "happy" too; this was only one of many drinks that afternoon for the DLF.

{Funny}

This video is great!  I would absolutely LOVE to get a costume like this for halloween, or just to stand on the street corner and scare people.  My husband wanted to get it and sneak up on his boss in the office.  He thought his knowledgeable-but-not-emotive boss might like to open his office door to find a dinosaur roaring at him.  Might be funny...just a little!

I wanted to get a costume like this and hide down a mall bathroom hallway - those creepy ones with the twists and turns - and scare people.  But since that would probably lead to my arrest and subsequent 15 minutes of fame on Fox News' weird story section, we'll bag it.

{Real}

Real pirates!  We got boarded and everything; barely escaped with our lives.  Fooled you, I know.  And you thought this was just another honeymoon picture of a tour boat because Kate wants to be at the beach right now.  Pshaw!

This and That, a Recipe, and a Race

It's been a rather rough week, hence the lack of blogging...any prayers you feel like sending would be appreciated :)  We're still chugging through fertility help with the NaPro doctor, and hopefully will be making some progress, but it's definitely an emotional and uphill climb.  But, as I remind myself, the Lord gives and the Lord takes away, and really...despite the fact that my way seems awfully sensible to me, His way always turns out better.  

But I digress...

On a funnier note, do you know who wrote the Bill of Rights?  Do you know what the First Amendment is?  I hope you do, or at least have a good enough idea to realize that Senator Schumer is a little off.  For your reading pleasure: Sen. Schumer Credits Jefferson with Bill of Rights.

Also, this Banana Muffin Recipe is amazing!  Made it yesterday, and we polished off five (don't laugh!) within 20 minutes of them coming out of the oven.  Delicious, even without the nuts that I wanted but didn't have in the cupboard.

So, the Belmont will be running in a couple hours, and California Chrome might be the next triple crown winner.  He has the Preakness and the Kentucky Derby under his belt...time will tell if he'll get the all three.  What do you think?  Does he have a chance or will the extra quarter mile distance do him in and end his bid where so many others have ended?  If I had any idea how to do a poll on here, I would!  Secretariat ran it in 2:24 second, which is still the record.  I doubt it'll get broken today; people don't train for stamina like they did back then.

Secretariat at the Belmont - so easy...

Photo Credit