Funky Fresh Cowboy Rainboots

I wish I had a pair of cowboy boots. I also wish I had a pair of rainboots. Put 'em both together, and what do you get? Voila! Cowboy rainboots. I kinda like these. I kinda want to get a pair. Yes, the design makes them a bit funky, but we all know that funky can be fresh. I mean, aren't rainboots supposed to be a little strange looking?

During the recent flooding, I sure did want a pair of cowboy rainboots. It rained so hard and so much that I would have settled for basic yellow galoshes. I would have even settled for a pair of Napoleon Dynamite Moon boots. Tennis shoes are no fun when they get wet. The wetness stays trapped inside your socks and makes you all cranky and your shoes go "squeaky-squeaky" on tile floors. Flip-flops are just a hazard when they make contact with wet surfaces. I've hit too many puddles while wearing flip-flops, so I can testify to the hazardous fact. For real.

I Heart Corgis.

I sure would like a baby Corgi like this little guy.

The Chronic(what?)cles of Narnia!

Had a Lazy Sunday today. Lazy Sunday's make me think of this oldie but goodie SNL digital short. It's silly and nonsense and fun. I like Andy Samberg. I wish he was my friend. Or maybe my boyfriend.

http://www.hulu.com/watch/1397/saturday-night-live-snl-digital-short-lazy-sunday

Mr. Pibb and Red Vines equals crazy delicious!

Turkey Lurkey

I live in town. Right in the middle of town, but sometimes I feel like I'm in a forest. Like The Forest of Feelings on Care Bears, just minus all the Care Bears and the Care Bear Cousins. Sometimes I want to sing a beautiful song like a Disney Princess for all of the animal friends that come to visit me in my backyard.

Squirrels don't even phase me anymore. They inhabit all of the trees behind my house and are constantly jumping from branch to branch. They're everywhere. I'm also used to jumbo rabbits hopping around my backyard. Birds? Yes. Foxes? Check. Stray cat family? Of course. My most recent addition to my backyard menagerie is wild turkeys. I feel like I've been talking about my turkey friends a lot lately. I feel that way because I have been talking about them a lot. I've even imitated the way that they run to at least 6 people. I'll do it for you too, if you ask me to. They run in a funny way. Almost a frolic, if you will. They sure are fast though. A wild turkey would beat me in a race for sure. Most wild animals would probably beat me in a race, actually.

I first saw a turkey a couple of weeks ago. Daisy woke me up at 6:30 in the a.m. barking like she's never barked before. It wasn't a "I want to go outside to pee" bark. Daisy doesn't wake me up to use the outdoor facilities anyway. She's a good dog and would let her Mom sleep all the day long. She's probably damaging her bladder by doing so, but I guess that's how she shows me loyalty and love. Anyway, it was a "something very large and very scary is outside of the bedroom window" bark. I opened the blinds and this big brown turkey was standing on my patio outside of my bedroom window. This thing was taller than my kindergarten students. It took me a bit to realize what it was because, well, I just woke up, but, really, who has a turkey outside their bedroom? I guess I do.
Last weekend, I'm hanging out in my house, when out on the lawn, there arose such a clatter. Not really, but something made me look outside, and I saw another turkey. This one was colorful, which apparently means it's a boy turkey. I ran to get my camera because I wanted some evidence of my turkey friends. Below are a couple of pictures I managed to snap before he took off. As I mentioned above, they're pretty fast.

Here's my boy turkey pecking away at the ground.

Here he is as he begins to trot off. Silly turkey was headed right for the road.

So, I've seen a girl turkey and a boy turkey. It's apparently mating season, so I bet these two love birds (pun intended) are trying to find each other. Glad my backyard is a hotspot for love. I wish these two turkeys the best and hope to see them and perhaps some of their turkey friends around soon.

I think I'd like one of these, please...

I sure do like brownies. I have a deep love and appreciation for edges, and more specifically, the corners. When I make a pan of brownies, the fours corners are the first pieces to go. I cut them out and gobble them up. If I'm at a potluck, and someone brought a plate of brownie squares, I'll sure dig through the pile to get a corner piece.
There's just something about an edge piece. It's got a little crunch to it. I like my baked goods like brownies and cookies to be a bit crispy and crunchy. Mmm. None of that gooey stuff.
This pan adds two chewy edges to each brownie. Now, that's a treat. A real treat.

Down With Bradford Pears!

Yesterday I noticed tiny blossoms on my Bradford Pear tree in my front yard. This morning--BAM! They were fully open and rejoicing in the sunlight. Sure, these trees are visually appealing. They look nice lined down a long driveway or a street. It lets you know spring is here. Well, whatever. For allergy sufferers, they are the devil in disguise. They are the stinkiest trees in all the land. If I could imagine what a fish butt would smell like, I would imagine it would be much like the scent of the Bradford Pear flowers. I don't like smelling fish butt and I don't like Bradford Pear trees.
A large Bradford Pear sits in all its majesty outside of my classroom window. The fish butt smell blows into my classroom through my a/c unit. My entire classroom smelled today. Even though I know the smell wasn't coming from me, I couldn't help but to feel self-conscious. By 2:00, I had about reached my limit of the smells. My throat was closing up, I was sneezing my head off, and several of my kids were complaining of the smell and their throats hurting. I was so angry with that tree that I would have chopped it down if I had a chainsaw or access to a bulldozer. I am so serious.
In the words of one of my favorite student's from my class last year, in reference to the tree: "Stinky, stinky. Smell like dog poo." I couldn't agree more, dear child. I couldn't agree more.

I'm pretty much in love with this guy...

Nope. Not a boy. A burrito. My dear little brother introduced me to this little beauty...Taco Bell's Volcano Burrito. It's a delicious concoction of beef, rice, cheddar cheese, crunchy red tortilla strips, sour cream, and cheesy molton hot lava sauce. The hot lava sauce makes you want to do high kicks. I had my first Volcano Burrito two nights ago and it's all I'm thinking about right now. That probably means I'll be getting in my car in just a minute to drive to my local Taco Bell. I've always heard that it's not good to deny your cravings. It's also not good to consume a burrito that's 800 calories, but...