Restaurant .com ~ I triple heart you!

Restaurant.com is having an 80% off sale (thru midnight tonite). 80% off code: DINE

Run, do not walk !

I bought several $25 gift certificates there for $2 (at 80% off their reg. price of $10)

Tried a new pizzeria tonight in a neighboring town. I feel like I robbed 'em blind ;-)

We spent a total of $14 and got:

large 2-topping pizza
two (2) foot-long steak & cheese subs
HUGE spaghetti dinner with salad & bread
3 sodas
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$37 total before discount
- ($25) restaurant.com certificate
$2 cost of $25 certificate
no tip as it was a self-serve pizzeria
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$14 total cost to us ...... for 2 tables FULL of food. We brought home a whole large pizza (minus 1 slice) and half of the spaghetti for another meal!!

I think they have restaurants nationwide that participate. It's a great way to try a new place. Tonight we had some of the better pizza & spaghetti we've had at joints like that - and we'd have never have gone if not for the $25 off dealie-o!!!!

And now I'm off to buy some more $2 certificates that have a $25 value!!!!! They don't expire for a year!! Most require that you spend a minimum of $35 - but even then, you're only spending $12 out of pocket (plus tip) total!!!

Thank you, restaurant.com !!!!!

If you miss out on this particular deal, no worries -- I think they often have 70% off deals!!!

I have several friends who use this site quite frequently - and am glad I finally started checking into it myself!!!

He says the darndest things!

I love my little Pop Up! (age 10 ~ but always, always wise beyond his years!)

He just bounced in here and said:

"Poor Solomon (our dog) ... doesn't even know death exists!"

Then he turned around, carefree as ever and bounced out, saying "I'd hate to be like that!!"

LOL!

Yep, he's my deep thinker! I know some 60 year olds that don't even think like him!

Happy Valentine's Day to you!!

Thank you, Papa John's! Isn't their <3 shaped pizza the cutest? Someone is a marketing genius! While the guys enjoyed these CUTE pizzas (there was a pepperoni one, also) I had an Amy's gluten-free frozen pizza ... don't waste your money on that one - it was disgusting!

The boys had a basketball game this afternoon ... it ended in a tie ... 29-29. Really good game! Travel Trailer got a couple of baskets! Pop Up is still hoping he makes one before the season is over!

Then we headed to WalMart & Lowe's - where we got a Purple Martin birdhouse. The boys want one so that the birds will eat all of our mosquitoes this summer (and I'm on board with that!) ... Lowe's had the best deal on one that we've seen ($41). They say it can be difficult to lure Purple Martins to it - and keep other birds from claiming it first. We'll see how that goes. But since we are armed with several books on "how to lure Purple Martins" ... I'm sure it will be a sweet success. Haha!

Papa John's delivered 2 of the cutest heart-shaped pizzas! The boys are now wondering how they did that -- is there a heart shaped giant 'cookie cutter' that they use, or what? Cuz they were perfect!

Just finished watching "Nights in Rodanthe" - and while it didn't have the best message (since she was still married and all) ... it did have a surprise ending. I don't think Monica would like it.

Guess that brings you up to speed on Valentine's Day 2009 from our house.

I hope you & yours had a LOVEly (ha, that just came to me) day!!!

The Great Backyard Bird Count ~ 2009

Click here: The Great Backyard Bird Count ~ February 13-16, 2009

You can count for as little as 15 minutes for 1 day - or more, if you like.

Coloring handouts, tally sheets, submission info, and more at website.

Become a little scientist for a day!

Flying Creatures of the 5th Day ... I love you!!

Could this little birdie be my saving grace??

I'm hoping so, though I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch!!!

Reading has been a life-long struggle for one of my boys. He LOVES being read to and will listen to books on tape from here to Florida and back ... but when it comes time to read on his own - he's just not interested. He's a boy! He's active!

A few weeks ago, we started using Jeannie Fulbright's book: Flying Creatures of the Fifth Day.

What an awesome book! They're begging for more! Even RV and I have learned SO much. I only wish we'd have used it years ago (it's been sitting on our Science bookshelf with all of her other books)! This summer, Jeannie is coming out with a book on Anatomy and I think one other. I'm buying it hot off the press! Can't wait. www.jeanniefulbright.com

But back to this morning -- I woke up with a miserable headache, so was moving slower than usual. When I came downstairs, my boy with an aversion to books, was sitting on the couch - with a pile of bird books around him. He was even reading them - not just looking at the pictures! We have about 30 books from the library on birds ... and he wants to get more.

Since we're studying birds, last weekend we put up about 5 bird feeders - including suet, etc. in our yard. It's been loads of fun, watching the birds discover us! The non-reader wants a bluebird birdhouse soooo bad, he can taste it! I bribed him with "read X number of books and we'll get one". I wonder if he'll keep on going ... until we have a birdhouse "fence" around our house?!

I just hope he keeps it up - and I haven't just jinxed us. Once before we were on a roll that was short-lived!

Anybody have any books or series of books well-loved by boys that you can recommend? I need to fan the flames while there's still a spark present!

Swoosh! Swoosh!

We had a perfect day of skiing at Bryce today. The place was EMPTY! Look at this - not a single person on any of the trails!!!

Here we come with some of our friends ...... we went with 3 other families: Eagers, Kirkwoods and Heidorns ... I WISH I'd have gotten a picture of each family. Next time, I'll make them pose - before everyone gets all hot, sweaty & separated! There were about 20 of us - and I don't even think there were 20 other people on the entire mountain!

RV leading the pack:

Pop Up & RV:



Travel Trailer:

Pop Up:


The air temp was 50*! They skiied the whole day with no coats. I sat at an outside table (no coat) and soaked up the sun. It was almost like a day at the beach. Well - except, the opposite ;-) A completely GORGEOUS, sunny day!

The boys had only been skiing twice before (last year) - but they came down the (BIG trails on the) mountain like a couple of seasoned pros!

Swoosh! Swoosh!

I SO wish I'd have learned to ski when I was their age and fearless. I tried it at a Singles Ministry ski retreat about 20 years ago -- and it was not a pretty sight. Just makes me all the more determined for them to learn the things I didn't ...... swimming, skiing, sewing - eh, might as well throw in cooking & cleaning ......

Upward Basketball ~ 2009

The boys & their coach .... Dad!

This is the last year that Travel Trailer is eligible to play Upward Basketball (Christian sports league) since it only goes through 6th grade, so a year ago, Dad promised he'd be his coach for this final season.

When the league combied 5th-6th grade boys on the same team, Pop Up lucked out and wound up on the same team!

Although RV doesn't have ANY basketball experience and he was a little nervous with this undertaking, he's done a good job and all 3 of them are having a lot of fun!

Being 4-0 doesn't hurt! Go, team!

Hashimoto's ... and going gluten-free!

A week ago, I was diagnosed with "Hashimoto's Thyroiditis".

I've been on thyroid meds for several years now, but recently a blood test showed "thyroid antibodies" of 3,020. Zero (or very close to it) is normal.

Hashimoto's is an auto-immune disease, where your body attacks itself as if it were a foreign object. Some of the symptoms are: fatigue, sensitivity to cold, infertility, repeated miscarriages (we've had 3), mental fogginess, loss of concentration, weight gain and more. Got 'em all - and then some!

Auto-immune diseases manifest themselves in different ways throughout the same family. In my family there are cases of M.S., Lupus, severe osteoporosis, psoriasis, diabetes and more. All of which, they say, can be helped with a gluten-free diet. A friend said once you have one auto-immune disease, 9 times out of 10, you will develop another. So, I'm trying to go gluten-free!

This is what RV made for dinner. Gluten-free fried rice ~ made with GF soy sauce!

It's actually been kind of fun searching the grocery stores for gluten-free foods - which are popping up more and more every day. Fun, because that means a trip to the store by myself ~ 'cuz I've got research going on!! So far, I've found a ton of varied items at: Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and Wegmans (my **favorite** since they make it SOOO easy and put a "G" on all their Wegmans brand gluten-free chips, salsas, soups, salad dressings, etc. - no more guesswork with reading the labels and trying to decipher "hidden gluten code words"!). Just find a "G" on the label, plop it in the cart and keep on moving! I'll make myself learn to like the taste ~ whatever it is ;-)

Although I love and adore bread and pasta more than almost anything - I haven't missed them tooooooo much ~ even with a trip to Texas Roadhouse last night for RV's birthday dinner. It's a little hard to hate a diet where you CAN have: potatoes, butter, sour cream, ice cream, chips, cheese, tapioca pudding, chocolate, and more. Lunch at 5 Guys after basketball today was easy - cheeseburger with no bun and yummy french fries (cooked in dedicated fryer with peanut oil) = diet food??! Yeah, I can live with that!

And being down -5 pounds in about a week helps! Only X (way too much!) more to go!!! I am hoping I can keep it up - my doctor says if I do it for 6 months, I'll feel so much better and have so much more energy that you couldn't pay me to go back. Let's hope he's right!!!