Why didn't I invent that?

Do you ever stop and think...."I wish I would have invented that." I am sure there are a few examples but here are a few that pop in my head.

SILLY BANDS: i don't even really know what these are...rubberband bracelets that make shapes? Why do people buy these? Even my mom and husband occasionally wear these little buggers.
Then do you remember the fad where people would put charms in their crocs? I don't even own crocs but I wish I would have invented these little suckers.
Or heck, maybe I should have just created the Croc shoe. I would be rich and give each and everyone one of you loyal 12crayons readers crocs in all colors!

Then there was the 90's fad of the Slap Bracelets. Yep, I rocked these. I guess these were the silly bands of my childhood.
Of course, I am a bit partial to one invention in particular. The MAGIC BULLET. You have all seen the infomercial (the one with that silly old lady), I am not sure why I love the MB so much but something about making smoothies, queso and chopped garlic all in the same container....in just 3 quick pulses.
But of all the above inventions, there is one that I should have thought of years ago. The stuffing free dog toy! This is such an obvious toy. Let's just think about this. Sweet Mason went through roughly 60 stuffed animals in the time that I knew him, ripping out the stuffing and leaving a flat shell.

Each time I would throw away the flattened shell and go back and by a new fully stuffed animal. Mason was probably thinking..."you idiot human, I am trying to give you an idea for the next invention that is going to make somebody millions."

Behold, the stuffing free dog toy-see image below. Please remember I have thrown away 60 toys that looked just like this one.

I was introduced to this toy last week at the in-laws house. Hines LOVED the stuffing free raccoon and let's be honest it was purchased from the "As Seen On TV" store so obviously it is amazing! I bought Hines one earlier this week and sure enough he prefers it over all the stuffing filled animals.

My point is.... how many inventions will have to see and think "Why didn't I think of that?" Maybe silly bands for your pet? Just a thought.

Do Butterflies pee?

This may seem like a strange question...."Do Butterflies pee?" and I would never normally ask it if a certain Mr. Butterfly hadn't decided to let it all go right when I was taking my picture.

Let me explain for our our photography class this week, we headed to the Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens. It was hot...like fire blazing, make up melting, want to climb into a fountain HOT.

One of my favorite pics was of this beautiful butterfly--how lucky to catch a butterfly...PEEING...what?!? I was just going back through to look at my pictures and zoomed in on this one to see what appears to be pee. I am not sure if it is, I am just saying that this picture will definitely need a little Photoshop love.
This sunflower looks as hot as I felt.
Remember when I mentioned it was "hop in a fountain" kind of hot? Well my friend Theresa decided to literally hop in the fountain. I was a wee bit worried we may get kicked out of the gardens....but a small part of me wished we would get kicked out because it was so dern hot. Did I mention our car said 100 degrees at like 7pm?
A few more pics:
Now this sweet bumble bee at least at the kindness to hold his bladder while I took this picture.
Here are a few more from the day....
8 days until.....

I turn 30.

Oh Dear.

NAP TIME

Have you ever just wanted to take a really good nap? Not a care in the world, just lounging back and enjoying life. I am personally NOT a napper, I honestly do not even remember the last time I slept during the day. I don't even like to sleep at night...I feel like I am missing out on something.

However, I cannot say the same for our dear cat Parsnip. That crazy fool of a cat.

He sleeps ALL the time. Well except for when he gets up to visit his automatic feeder. And yesterday he struck one of the funniest poses I had ever seen.

I RUSHED to get my camera thinking there is no way he will hold this for long. Boy, was I wrong I couldn't get him to move at all. At one point, I checked to see if he was breathing. He was.
The pose above is actually pretty normal for Parsnip.
Let me zoom in on that face for you....
And then.....he realized the camera was there. The eyes opened and strangely he just stared at me...for a long time....this is where I checked for breathing.
Like a statue (with a big belly).

SLACKER BLOGGER

I have been a slacker on the blog. What can I say...it is summertime and the beautiful weather just beckons me outside. NT and I have had some amazing meals compliments of the Big Green Egg. I will be sure to share some of them with you.

I would also like to make sure that you all have marked your calendar....

...for my 30th birthday. Which is 23 days. I will be old. ancient....however, luckily not as ancient as NT. That is one plus ;-)

I still have not edited my fun and fabulous Dale pictures but here are a few more favorites... again SOOC (straight out of camera).

First, I would like to send this brief memo to my friend Chelsea who has amazing beautiful children.

Dear Chels (& Chris),
I am tired of taking pictures of my overweight cat and dog that looks like an ewok. Can I borrow your incredibly cute and photogenic 3 year old? Just a couple days a week would be fine. If I need to use crazy bands, dancing princesses and my little ponies to persuade her then that is fine as well. Amtrak is offering half price fares in June so just send her on down.
Love, Summer


Does anyone think it is a problem that Addison can jump in the water in the deep end, swim like a fish and dive to the bottom of the pool ....while I have taken swimming lessons 3 times and still can only swim in the shallow end with two noodles and an inter tube. Just checking to see if you thought that was odd.

The sign behind Addison was actually meant for me...the 30 year old...not the 3 year old that can swim like a fish.
Now, does this gal look like she loves Teddy Grahams or what? Hey Nabisco, you need to hire this gal.
Feel free to let me know if you need pictures of your family, pets, or ewok looking dog. I will give you a bargain price for being a reader of 12crayons ;-)

LOW COUNTRY BOIL

I learned a lot from our beach trip last week. Such as:

1. Low Country Boils are yummy.
   
2. Hangin' out with a 3 year old is fun.
3. I still like to play Go Fish.
4. You will eat more fruit if you put it in a bowl in the fridge.
   
5. And NT and I would like to own a golf cart.

To be honest, I really didn't even know what a low country boil was....I am actually still not sure if I know now. Basically you but lots of stuff in a pot and then you boil it. And instead of serving it on plates you empty onto the center of an outdoor table on stacks of newspaper. Kind of a strange concept (I think...)

These pictures are SOOC (Straight Out of the Camera-no edit--I did not make up this term, I think the Pioneer Woman did)

First here is the final product and then we will back up:

I would recommend double clicking on this picture so you can the massive amounts of food in this pot.
Now for a quick back track. I was left in charge of putting down the newspaper and paper towel on the table--it was windy so I asked my 3 year old best friend, Addison to go get something to weigh it down.

She says..."something heavy?"

I said..."Yep, anything heavy will work."

And out she comes with....
Three My Little Ponies.
These are the prettiest paperweights I have ever seen. (especially the pink one)

Though it was a strange choice of "something heavy", the ponies did their job and we enjoyed a super fun dinner at the beach.
I feel the need to give a quick shot out to the younger Baby Dale....Hey Emma!
More pics from our beach vacation tomorrow--if I can make myself focus long enough to blog!

DeAr SqUiRRel

DeAr SqUiRRel,

I sEe YoU haNgiNg oFf the sIde of mY hOUse... teaSIng me. I ParSNip, need yoU to knoW thaT i hAve blAck bElt in karaTe anD wiLl taKe yOu doWn in oNe sWipE.....if i cOuld jUSt gEt oFf thIs pOrCh.

I haVe mAny impReSsive aBiliTies. I cAn rUn a 100 yArd dAsH in a 10x10 spAce. I cAn do raPid fiGure 8's aRouNd a huMaN's legs wHile meoWing. I caN emPty aN auTomAtic feeDer iN unDer 10 mInuTes. and i cAn fit in aNy tInY caBineT or drAweR.

So SqUiRRel....be afRaiD....be vEry afRaiD. WheN I gEt out oF tHis pRisOn, I am coMinG aFter yOu.

loVe,

parsnip the cat
From the window, I saw parsnip jump straight up the air about 5 feet. And then he got into his hunting position which is a very still crouch. Then he proceeded to enter a staring contest with a squirrel that had taken residence on the side of our house.

I personally was also fascinated. Now that we live in the country we can get a little closer to nature.;-) For example, I have always thought that squirrels were cute and cuddly. I never understood why people would want get a bird feeder that would deter squirrels...I thought I would welcome them.

Until I saw the claws on this little guy. He was a fiesty looking little bugger....ready to attach. I am not worried, because Parsnip was ready to attack....too bad he is trapped on the porch.

Stay tuned for some of the cutest pics of the Dale Family Vacation.

Can the unicorns please stand up?

After this harsh week, I am fully aware that the world of gumdrops, pink unicorns and gumdrops does not exist here on earth. I guess that will be when we meet the big man in heaven.

And in that magical place, I hope there are no homeless people. Point #3 from Monday's blog. I am that girl....you know the one.... that stops and gives the guy on the street corner money. In Raleigh,it is likely that you will see one homeless person a day; however, in San Francisco it was one per block-hundreds per day. Just over and over, people asking us for money and it would just TUG on my heart strings.

And some of the people were just plain mean. They would yell at us when we didn't give them money. NT made the comment that if we gave everyone a dollar we would be broke so we decided to give money to the ones who were putting effort into it....like singing, drawing, playing bucket drums, giving directions.

Then we met my favorite gentleman, playing "Stand by Me" at the Cable Car line. No really...he only played Stand by me...the same chorus over and over. We heard it 20 times while in line but I enjoyed it.

Here is my friend:

NOTE: That he is playing the guitar with a plastic spoon.

And smiling. I like when people smile. It gives me joy.

This will probably be the last San Fran posting, so here are a few of the wine country pictures. It was GORGEOUS there. I loved the laid back lifestyle....perfect for someone like me who likes to be in bed by 10pm and do puzzles in the middle of the afternoon.

We visited many wineries and our favorite was Bella which is small winery owned by a husband and wife team. Google it and read their story.

The tour was inside their wine cave. It was just NT and I and the tour guide.

It was a beautiful rainy day. NT is prepared with his wine glasses.

These are little baby grapes. They will grow into big grapes (obviously) and be picked in September.

It was fun to taste a few of the wines right out of the barrel!

And there were many many barrels.

On a sidebar-well this whole posting as basically been a sidebar-here is the watch I got NT for his Birthday along with one of those cool e-reader devices called the NOOK from Barnes N' Noble.

We are off to the beach tomorrow with the Dales. I am taking family pictures of them--we have never vacationed with a 3 year old and 3 month old. I should have LOTS of stories for Monday's blog ;-)