Today's Spelling Test Is Brought to You By....

I would totally sell ad space on tests if I were a teacher right now. Who wouldn't? After all, schools are already using students as little salespersons for their fundraisers. (And it works!)

Basket Case

I love Easter, specifically Easter Baskets. Don't even get me started on the true meaning of Easter, for us it's about Spring, New Life, Hunting for Painted Eggs, Candy, and of course the Baskets of Goodness. I've started picking up some treasures for this year's basket, I couldn't resisit. This little birdie, or one very similar, belted out "take me home tonight."

And It Has Been Written

shamrock, originally uploaded by melissa.coats.

Kennedy has officially written her name! I am kind of shocked -- in a few short weeks she has gone from what looked like EKG lines to Xs and Os, and now all the letters of her name.

Personal note: I used to write my name backwards when I was little, as if you should hold the paper up to a mirror to read it. Freaked my mom out. I also practiced penmanship in the Bible, which is a big NO NO. What can I say, I liked the feel of the paper!

A Little Novella

Just a little book I picked up and started reading. 817 pages. I think it's funny that that books are essentially my life outside family and work, yet I haven't posted anything about them here on BTAIM yet.

I'm 423 pages in, and it's starting to get good again. There was a weird shift from family drama to agriculture and communist drama. Now it's back to the romance.

I find it easier to keep the characters straight by aligning them with people I know in real life. I'll protect the innocent though....

Side note: when I mentioned I was reading this fun little Oprah selection (I had completely forgotten about her endorsement, by the way, until searching for an image of the cover art) to my Russian friends they admitted to not having ever read it themselves. One got about half-way. I have to finish. I will finish. Eventually.

Cooking with Clara

This down-to-earth, 93-year-old great-grandma was featured on Good Morning America with her depression-era cooking tips. Simply amazing. She doesn't even use a cutting board! Says they didn't have such luxuries then. Also, she cooks pasta with the heat off. Why haven't I ever thought of that? Guess we're always in such a hurry....

Mardi Gras

Word cloud of my blog c/o www.wordle.net. Go see what you're talking about....

This Rocks

I love her quirky obsessive compulsive behaviors. These are rocks placed inside hairbands. Not as bad as the time she put matching colored beads in the hairbands, but still, pretty funny.

It's a cold, sad Valentines night and I have nothing better to do right now than gripe about it on my blog (and facebook). Grandma was supposed to come to Austin to babysit while Turner & I went out for a nice dinner. Alone. She got the flu yesterday, so had to cancel, understandably. I'm hoping that there's at least a movie-on-demand that can lift my spirits. Some cheesy romantic comedy. I may have to watch 30 Rock again - Thursday's episode was hilarious, speaking of CHEESY (stew).