Amy Winehouse

Singer Amy Winehouse- crazy singing beehive-hair lady- was found dead today.  Very sad to know that her drug and alcohol addiction is most likely what took her life.  But if she was suffering here on Earth because of it, at least her pain is over.  Another member of the Dead at 27 club. Other rockers I know of who died at 27:  Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain.

 doing what she loved

not looking so great

top-knotch Amy

RIP Amy Winehouse

September 1983- July 2011

Malena's Beach Day

We've been fortunate to have some awesome weather these past few days.  On Thursday I took the little ones to my favorite beach from back in my college days- I'll admit it's not the same with 2 babies and a 1-piece swimsuit. But I welcome the change. The best part of the trip was watching Malena play in the sand and water.  Maira wasn't too interactive, she enjoyed the shade of our beach tent and the fresh air, and napped for over an hour while I played with Malena.

 

squealing with delight...



oopsie daisy

keeping baby entertained 

little sister- the "beach bum"

Banana Bread

I don't cook or bake much...So when I do it's a big deal! My new favorite is a simple banana bread recipe. I've made it at home and at work for my residents, it's a big hit. I actually made them into muffins at work, which took about 45 minutes as compared to an hour in a loaf pan.

 

 

Banana Bread Recipe

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour

• 3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup sugar (can easily reduce to 3/4 cup)
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour

No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Makes one loaf.

Oh my word! Zach Galifianakis

I love Zach Galifianakis' humor on the big screen, and after finding this article on huffingtonpost.com, I respect him even more.  :)



from huffingtonpost.com:

Though he often comes off as a curmudgeon on both screen and stage, Zach Galifianakis' tastes in both his comedy and film roles reveal a softer side to the man. Or at least more unconventional.
In playing Alan in "The Hangover" and its sequel, Galifianakis takes on a socially awkward man-child who is desperate to make friends but possesses no concept of how normal humans of his age interact -- or express their frustration. That leads to some hilarious outbursts, as he yells out phrases more often heard from old women than men in their 30's facing life-threatening situations in Thailand.
As Galifianakis told ComingSoon.net, the lack of cursing fits him just fine, both for this character and for movies in general.
"You might think about how 'Oh my word!' is such an old lady thing that people say. Alan doesn't curse. I don't like cursing in movies," he said. "I feel like cursing has become the new hackiness. You try to find substitutions for cursing. Anyone can say 'Oh, f--k,' but 'Oh my word!' is something that you would only hear your great aunt say. For Alan to say it, who only hangs out with adults because he lives in his parents' house and doesn't have any friends, it's kind of a -- not that it's that thought out -- something that is just what he knows."
Galifianakis also spoke about the child actor who plays young Alan in a flashback sequence -- and how he was happy that the kid wouldn't be allowed to see the movie, as it's too raunchy for children. As much as he's hoping for a big box office take for the film, it's yet another person he's glad won't be seeing the movie. The other? His own mother, whom he won't allow to take in her own son's work.
“It is so bad in parts that I told my mom she is not allowed to see it. I forbid, forbade, forbid her from coming," the star recently told Entertainment Weekly.

Medal of Honor

I saw this on the news this evening: this soldier was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Obama yesterday.  He's recognized for grabbing a live gernade during combat and throwing it, saving two fellow soldiers, but losing his right hand.

On the news they also showed that his prosthetic arm has a plaque with the names of the 75 men in his unit who were killed in battle.

Pictures.

Pictures from Grandpa's memorial service and luncheon, June 27th.

first picture of all 5 grandkids

Uncles Mike and Jake with Maira and Wyatt

Cousins

Super Uncle

teething?

They're so soft around babies.

Goodbye Grandpa

We said goodbye to my Grandpa Scott recently.  He was 82 years old, and had a full, happy life.  He passed away on June 21st, and we had a service for him on the 27th.  The service was at the cemetary where he was laid to rest next to Uncle Skip, who we lost last year.  My dad did the service, and the entire family and quite a few of Grandpa and Grandma's friends were there.  I really liked that people were asked to share their favorite stories of Grandpa- it made the service more of a happy memorial. 

2008

I have a lot of memories of Grandpa from when I was little... I remember he used to drive up to our soccer games when we lived in Monticello, and for music programs at church and school.  I always felt a special bond with Grandpa because he was an artist, like me.  I remember watching Bob Ross (The Happy Painter) with him, and he'd show me all of his paintings- I had so much respect and admiration for his artwork.  Grandpa also used to pretend that I was the queen of England- he would kiss the back of my hand and bow to me and call me Your Highness.  Now that I'm older I can appreciate that not all Grandpa's are that much fun, I was lucky.

Uncle Jim and Grandpa

One last memory:  When I was 17 my uncle Jim got married, and I snuck out with my exchange student during the reception to smoke a cigarette in the parking lot behind a truck.  Suddenly I heard footsteps... Grandpa had followed us out.  Oops. He scolded us, but I don't think he ever said anything to my parents.  I felt really bad that he'd caught us, but he later apologized.  I can giggle about this now that I'm 28.

I love you and miss you Grandpa.