Thanks, Lauren! Ya Done Good!

Do you have one of these? If you don't, you should seriously consider getting one! I received mine as a Christmas gift and hardly a day goes by that I don't use it. They can be expensive, but if you look at the cost per use, it's nothing. And so worth the price! We have dark carpeting in every room--inherited when we bought the house--so I was vacuuming all the time. Now I only vacuum once a week or so. The other times, I start the Roomba doing its thing and I go take a shower. By the time I'm done, so is the Roomba! This is one of the best gifts I've ever received! So much so that I'm contemplating the purchase of Roomba's cousin Scooba to mop the kitchen floor.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Beef Bake

1 lb ground beef
1 can cream of mushroom w/ roasted garlic soup
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 16-oz bag frozen vegetable combo (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots), thawed
3 cups hot mashed potatoes (can be instant)

Brown beef and drain. In 2-qt shallow baking dish, mix beef, 1/2 can soup, Worcestershire, and vegetables. Stir remaining soup into potatoes and spoon over beef mixture. Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Calling All April Fools!

Tomorrow is the first day of April and you know what that means! Pranks and practical jokes. I found these listed below on a newsletter I receive. I'm not a big jokester, but I did get Darrell one time when I told him I was pregnant! This was not long after our fourth baby (in 5 years, I might add) was born. He about had a heart attack! It was hysterical. Well, I thought so. He wasn't quite as amused as I was. Guess those postpartum hormones were still virulent!

What's your best April Fool's prank? I need some ideas!!

	April Fools! Tomorrow is the classic day of tricks and pranks. While your tricks may be a little more low-key, here are some all-time best April Fool’s Day pranks: - Pasta on Trees: In 1957, a well-respected BBC news show, Panorama, declared an abundance in an important Swiss crop: spaghetti noodles from spaghetti trees. After including footage of Swiss farmers pulling the fruit off the trees, many viewers called and asked how they might grow their own spaghetti trees. - You Can Ring This Bell: The Taco Bell Corporation announced to in 1996 that it would be purchasing the historic Liberty Bell and renaming it—as the Taco Liberty Bell. Outraged citizens were only assuaged when Taco Bell asserted it was a joke. When asked about it in a press meeting, White House Press secretary Mike McCurry dryly responded that the Lincoln Memorial had also been sold and would henceforth be called the Lincoln Mercury Memorial. - Extra Fun(nies): In 1997, comic strip readers opened the funny section and saw that their favorite strips looked different. In a grand move, forty-six comic strip writers had swapped strips for the day. Garfield could be found in Blondie, eating Dagwood’s sandwich, and the Family Circus mother was found, with an oddly Dilbert-like hairdo, telling young Billy that he needed to “work cuter, not harder.” Sources: museumofhoaxes.com and wikipedia.org

5 Things Tag

Thanks to Lauren for this one!

5 Things I Was Doing 5 Years Ago:
1. Flying back and forth to Oklahoma to visit grandchildren
2. Working from home (still doing that)
3. Celebrating my 28th wedding anniversary
4. Eating out on Friday nights with Connell and Liz
5. Spending more time actually having a life instead of being on the computer!

5 Things I'll Do Tonight:
1. Eat dinner
2. Read
3. Watch too much TV
4. Finally move the clothes from the washer to the dryer
5. Sit in the hot tub

5 Things I'd Do With A Million Dollars:
1. Pay off all debts and retire
2. Help my kids with debts
3. Buy some land and build a house
4. Hire a personal trainer
5. Travel

5 Places I Have Lived:
1. Clarksville, TN
2. Vicenza, Italy
3. Pfafftown, NC
4. Cleveland, OH
5. Mt. Airy, NC

5 Jobs I Have Had:
1. Insurance agent
2. Temp office agent
3. Commissary cashier
4. audio/visual salesperson
5. day care worker

5 Things I Want To Be Doing in 5 Years:
1. Traveling
2. Enjoying grandchildren
3. Celebrating my 38th wedding anniversary
4. Appreciating my paid for house
5. Spending more time with my sweetie

5 People I Tag:
1. Clayton (cuz I know you won't do it)
2. Cam (same as above)
3. Erika (make it 3)
4. Laura
5. Layne

Classic Movie Alert!!

Here's your chance to see the original "Cheaper By the Dozen"! It will air on TCM today at 12:15 central time. This film (not the Steve Martin remake) is based on a true story. Two of the children wrote a book about their family which was later made into this movie. The father was an efficiency expert pioneer--I guess he had to be with 12 kids!

Two of my favorite scenes include when the father instructs the children's new teachers in how to take a bath and when the representative from Planned Parenthood comes to visit!

Silly Boy!

Anytime you get the camera out to take Alexander's picture, he "poses". He actually is a very cute little boy (if I do say so myself), but he seems to believe he has to make a silly face in every picture!