Running Low

So when does the holiday fun start?

Next Birthday!

So I had my kids a year and three days apart...call me crazy. Most people do. AJ's birthday was saturday and we went out to eat and did a little shopping. The boys got money from Grandpa Sute and Page and when the boys put that money together with what was earned from working for me at the greenhouse (AJ earned the lion's share), they were able to purchase the dreaded XBOX!

I gave AJ a video camera in hopes that it will get him outside. We'll see. We knew AJ was special at an early age. He's my giant manbaby. He talks strangely, he's a little overweight (we're working on that), is behind in learning (it is an absolute beating everyday to try to keep him focused on school), and has the most incredible imagination!

.Here is my little Lord Fauntleroy at his second Christmas.

Tub Time!

AJ at his first birthday

What was I thinking with that hat!


Love you Fruity Pie.

Cookie Dough Overload

I have been up to my eyeballs in cookies! I delivered about 25 dozen on Tuesday and will deliver 30 dozen tomorrow. Whew! I'm actually trying to make caramels today. Hope they turn out.

Today is my eldest child, The Brilliant Idiot's 17th birthday. We usually go out to a birthday dinner at a restaurant of his choice but B. I. decided to pass. He's been such a pill I'm almost relieved. We gave him a laptop this year, which means this morning was the last time I'll ever see him again. Unless he needs money.

Here he is in sweeter days.

Just look at those beautiful brown eyes!

I miss that little boy.

More Coffee Please!

It's cookie baking time again and I am up to my eyeballs in cookie dough! I'm delivering 15 dozen cookies today. My friend has a wedding shower this weekend and she bought beautiful copper trays that I have filled with heart shaped mocha cutouts to give. These cookie have instant espresso and kahlua to go along with the chocolate. I also dip one half of the heart into melted chocolate. Yum!

Can Ya Dig It?

I've been playing in the dirt again at the paying job. Damn, I'm good!

Saga Of The Brilliant Idiot

So the brilliant idiot is my oldest son. Amazingly smart and could already own the world if he wanted to, but most of the time his head is firmly planted up his own ass.

First, he got a letter to go on an exhcange program overseas...an opportunity that most kids never get. He passed the interview and was accepted. Except that he says he doesn't want to go. WTF! He has finally come to realize that he will in fact go, and it's useless to fight City Hall (by which I mean me). We are in the process of applying for a scholarship and (by which I mean me) and trying to think of ways to do fundraising for the trip (also me).

He just fights me every step of the way.

His school has a coffee shop (can you believe that?!) and I thought that he could sell muffins at the coffee shop to raise money. Supposedly he is going to talk to the teacher. Hmphh!

B.I. also got the opportunity to go to Stephen F. Austin on a field trip that is reserved for Seniors only. Want to know what impressed him the most? The freakin' cafeteria!

I honestly don't know how Gaga survived the three of us kids.

Fall and Fairy Time

It's definitely Fall at the paying job. Pumpkins, crotons, and acorns abound!
The boss at the paying job got in a ton of these velvet pumpkins and I thought she was off her rocker...we've sold almost every single one.

Fall has my favorite favorite color palette. Believe it or not, brown is my favorite color.

Just look at these Mums! Fabulous!

I took it upon myself to re-work the fairy garden at the paying job. I think it looks pretty cute!

I like how this rosemary tree turned out. I think I should grow some to sell. Don't you?

Perfect Match

I think Devil Dog has met her match!

Halloween- Grandkid Style

Got pictures of the kidlets in full costume!

The girls went for sweet and cute and verrry girlie (Gianna left, Joselynn right). I get the distinct impression, however, that sugar and spice is not their forte.

Mister Gage went for scary. Freddy Krueger. Shudder. I saw Nightmare on Elm Street when I was in high school. It freaked me out so bad that I had my brother, who was about 10 at the time, sleep in my bedroom for a solid week. I think that was when it finally dawned on him that I went a little left of normal.

Matthew

Matty is my 4 year old nephew. 'Fatboy' is his real name and chaos is his life mission. Fatboy stays with me on Mondays and Wednesdays while Dad is in school. As soon as the door shuts in the morning I hear "I'm hungry!" and is nonstop until the afternoon.

This is Fatboy eating some "pake", one of his favorite foods. "Wanwiches" are another favorite.

Uncle Plantfreak and I took Fatboy along with big brother and sister to the zoo for his birthday. It was a success!

Here are the kids feeding the birds in the zoo atrium. Can you see fatboy under my enormous purple booby? Uncle Plantfreak apparently did not notice...or maybe he did. Who knows what goes on in his demented brain.

Fatboy loves his "Aunt Timmy" most days. Something tells me today will not be one of them.

November?

Is it November already?

Seems like it was just May...Oh wait, that was just the last time I bothered to blog.

I'm such an asshole.

OK, Cake update:

I re-did the cake, and it made it to the drop-off point, but I think that was as far as it got in one piece. Here it is in the first few minutes of completion:

And here it is at the party. The top of the hat already left the cake. Karen did say it at least tasted great.

Here are the two cakes I made for Karen back in April. I call them successes. The purse was chocolate cake with espresso filling, and the shoebox was lemon cake with white chocolate filling and fresh raspberries. Yum.

Bound To Happen

I'm doing a cake for my friend Karen. I actually did 2 really fabulous cakes for her last month and if I EVER figure out how to get the picture from my cell to the 'puter I'll post it.

Now I'm doing a graduation cake for her daughter. When I left for work this morning it was looking pretty good...

but when I got home it had fallen over. I almost cried. I'm re-doing the cake now. If I pull this off I will be the queen of cake!

Let you know.

Take Me Out To The Ballgame!

I have pictures that are so adorable you may go blind!

Ms. Joselyn is all about the Wildcats!

Let's play ball already!

Gage and an unnamed buddy mugging for the cameras.

I think they won.

Maybe Next Year...Not!

Okay, so May Days was not a raging success. We sold a little, but the crowds were thin. In fact, we sold more in one day at Gypsy Market than in 3 days of MM.

We were, however, rich in drama! The second night, the pawpaw in the next booth had a heart attack. I felt so bad for him and his wife. We helped shut down the booth while they were on the way to the hospital. He is going to be okay though.

Next day, I'm talking to a couple pof ladies about plants when a vendor runs up screaming at the ladies and digging through their cart. Turns out they had stolen a bunch of merchandise. Man!

About an hour later my brother and his kids along with my friend Phyllis come walking up and Bubba was purple he was so pissed. Turns out one of the carnival people had pulled a fast one and got $60 from Bryant. Bryant was going to go back and beat his ass, but since I really don't have room to raise his children for 5 to 10...and the fact that I AM big sister, I marched off to complain. I found the person in charge of the carnival and we confronted the guy. He tried telling us that he told Bryant he had "four for one". My reply was "What the hell does that even mean! WE don't speak carnival!" Asshole. I got the money back.

And when I thought the drama was over....I look up to see the police escorting my oldest (the brilliant idiot) and his friend to me. Turns out they ran out of money and started panhandling (because it was too far apparently to come and ask me for more money). When that got boring
the friend started asking people if they wanted to buy drugs. On what planet does that sound harmless or funny?! One fo the kids turned out to be younger than they thought and his parents called the police. I would have done the same.

Cody doesn't think he should be punished becasue he didn't say it. But I'm pretty sure he egged it on. And I'm pretty sure he thought it was hilarious until the cops showed up. And I'm pretty sure he is going to be on lockdown for quite awhile!

I'm also pretty sure I'm skipping May Days next year.

Overheard

Yesterday was the first day at May Days in Mineola. As we were waiting for customers, we overheard one of the workers in a golf cart drive by and say "They're selling plants? Every time I sell plants...I go to jail!"

Wow. Maybe you should change your product and marketing. Here's a tip: Cannabis=Illegal, Coreopsis = Success.

Long Weekend Past, Long Week Ahead

It's been busy at the paying job. It's been busy at the non-paying job too. This coming week is going to be a booger! I have to work at the paying job Mon-Thurs, get off there Thursday evening and go sell my stuff at Mineola May Days. By the end of Saturday we should be good and pooped!

But hey, I'm the plantfreak and Spring is the most busy for the plant world.

I guess I better put it into 5th gear.

Last Ditch Attempt

I'm going to attempt to post regularly...again. Otherwise, I may shut down the blog. I can't stand the guilt of knowing that I should be writing something but not getting to it.

It's Spring at the paying job and the crazies are out! Sometimes it's all we can do not to beat our heads against the wall. Since Phyllis left we are shorthanded and with it being the busy season the nursery has been in absolute chaos! I've been working more but it's taken a toll on the housekeeping that's for sure.

It's also busy season for The Garden Sage! We sold plants at the Gypsy Market Festival and has a fabulous time. Everyone wants to know where our shop is located! If only. Next up is the Mineola May Days and it's a three day event.

In other news, my brother and his family moved to Texas. It's good to have some family here...and they are as anti-social as we are so there is no crowding. Otherwise, Oregon would looking good roght now.

My stepdaughter Corynn is in town for an extended visit and she has been a big help! We put her to work in the greenhouse and she definitely gets the job done.

I made more cakes but I'm waiting on the pics from my friend so I can show you. One cake was a purse and the other was a shobox with a high heel on top.

My sister-in-law and I created some containers for the festivals and they turned out pretty cute!

Chat with ya'll soon...I hope.

Only In The Country...

Can you walk into the post office and see a sign that says:

Found!

1 Goat found on 333 fm road 333

Call Richard or Debbie at

555-5555 or 555-5555

Goat wants to go home!

That my friends is hilarious.

Stir Crazy

Our oldest daughter, Corynn, has been taking part in a study for NASA that evaluates the effects of weightlessness on the body. That's pretty cool.

She has to stay in a bed and prone for like 60 days. That's insane!

She has about 13 days left before she can get up and she is about to lose her mind! She can't even get up to go potty.

She did however, get to meet one of the female astronauts in Houston. I'm ashamed to say that I don't remember her name.

I hope you get your earth legs back soon!

Carter's Sunburst

This is one of the camellias that we sell at the paying job. Gorgeous isn't it! The blooms are humongous!

Mini Cakes And The One Eyed Baker

The 21st was my boss' birthday and I planned to make mini cakes for her birthday lunch.

I planned to start them Sunday afternoon to have ready by the following Thursday.

My plans didn't quite work out...I poked myself in the eye (like an idiot).

That sucker puffed up like a toad and started watering like a faucet. I couldn't see, had a horrible headache and looked like Quasimodo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame. By the time I could see again it was Wednesday and I ended up doing a rush job.

They look okay from far away...

but when you get close up it's not so great.

My chrysanthemum turned into a lazy water lily.

The roses are a little stubby but it was my first try. They may not have looked perfect but they tasted awesome! I did half in a lemon sour cream cake with a ginger cream cheese filling, and the other was crazy chocolate cake with espresso filling. YUM!

Are You Kidding?

IT...IS...

SNOWING...


AGAIN!!

My tomato seedlings are croaking left and right because they are still in my house. Not happy right now.

And it's snowing again!

Dare I Hope?

The other day when I picked up the mail, there was a letter to Cody from Loyola University. What's that about? I gave it to Cody, dying of curiosity. Finally, about 2 hours later I asked him about it and he says "Oh yeah, they sent me some emails too". I live with a brilliant idiot.

They are interested in Cody because of his standardized testing scores (if they saw his regular grades they would be wholly unimpressed). He has an opportunity to get college credit while still in high school....and he's going to do it (whether he realizes that or not)!

He got a brochure yesterday and got a little more interested. I think a visit to the campus might be in order...when it's warmer.

Who knows, Cody might actually see outside that 3 inch bubble he lives in...Dare I hope!

Fat Tuesday

Laissez les bon temps rouler! (I hope I spelled that right)

I just found out that I have Mardi Gras royalty in my family! Grandpa Sute sent me a picture.

Apparently Miss Hannah loves to be admired by her adoring subjects! Long live the queen!

The Rest Of The Snow Day

We had the most fun out in the snow! Tipper had enough when he developed pom-poms on his legs.

Cody tried to make a snow angel but the dogs refused to let that happen.

Mr. Plantfreak took this gorgeous shot of the lake.

Cody finally finished his snowman. The dogs kept "helping" him by knocking it down.

Even AJ joined in on the fun. ...and didn't get pissed when he got smacked with a snowball or two. I just wish he had put on a jacket!

He rolled around in the snow and loved every second of it. The boys stayed out there for hours! Mr. Plantfreak went in early and made breakfast for us. I made snow ice cream , and it tasted like really cold powdered sugar. At first. The school finally came to their senses and cancelled classes for the day.

Yep, we enjoyed our little bit winter!

Snow Day

I was severely chastised yesterday for not blogging....sorry Vicki. It's been pretty hectic here at Plantfreak Acres. We've been trying to gear up for Spring, which is pretty hard considering we got about 6 inches of snow last night!

That may not sound like much for some people but I'm from the south ya'll! I don't think I've ever seen this much snow since Dad took me to Switzerland. Even then I just saw it but we didn't get in it. This is something! Cody just geared up to go and build a snowman. School isn't out, just delayed (the crackheads).

The animals are enjoying the heck out of this too!

Digger is so short that he gets covered!

Jade and Devil Dog are just going bonkers out here!

I can't tell what is what!

Ohmigoodness!

I'm going to get pics of Cody...be back later!

Labor Of Love

Well, not really labor, more like playtime. My friend Phyllis had a birthday so I made her a cake. Phyllis is my fairy loving cowgirl, so I made a fairy cake with a cowgirl fairy. Phyllis' fairy name is Fidget; hence the name on the cake.

Mr. Plantfreak built a base for me.

I covered with green fondant and tin foil.

I made a little troll. We all think it looks like a Vulcan George Bush. Heh. Heh Heh.

That's Phyllis/Fidget on top!

Phyllis was completely blown away!

She didn't want to cut it! But there was Chocolate involved so we made her.