Cool off with these!

Forget about the salt and the lime...these are all about the lemons - plentiful right now, cheap and perfect for cold drinks on hot days! Enjoy.

Rated R Lemonades..

Thyme and Lime Lemonade- 3 cups lemonade to start. Mash up thyme with lime juice, add to lemonade and chill for an hour. Add 3/4 cup vodka, serve over ice, and garnish with thyme. Serves four friends...if you don't have any - then get some.

Hibiscus and Mint Lemonade - 2.5 cups lemonade. Steep 4 bags hibiscus tea and 2 cups fresh mint (easy to grow, and great ground cover btw), mash the mint, let cool. Discard teabags and mint. Combine tea and lemonade. Serve over ice and garnish with fresh mint leaves.** G Rated lemonade.

Spicy Cayenne Shandy - 1 cup lemonade, combine 2 tablespoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper on a small plate. Moisten the rims of 4 glasses and dip in the salt mix. In a pitcher, mix 2 12oz bottles lager beer and lemonade. Serve over ice. Sounds interesting! Someone should try it out because I haven't had time yet.

RHONY - Whackadoos!

just a little reminder that too many cocktails and pills (besides other things..) can lead to some not so nice "girlfriend" conversations. Witness Andy Cohen trying to referee during one of the Real Housewives Reunion shows of late. I don't watch these anymore since we don't have Bravo, but enjoy seeing the short clips that Gawker and sister site Jezebel provide. Here's your Tuesday night dose of CRAZY>

link below

http://jezebel.com/5824799/kelly-bensimon-is-insulted-by-other-womens-vaginas

Reasoning with a 4 year old is like bargaining with a squash. No deal

the Gig.

I am happy to announce that I have returned to something I love to do (and getting paid for it) - being a freelance editor for a unique company and it's website blogs. I will tell you more about it at a later date. The topics cover everything from food trends, travel, global issues and most importantly - the global food crisis.

I am also moving into a new phase of life soon by working full time (editing done during my free night hours). The full time career has many possibilities, and I am super excited. It's been interesting to be a stay at home mom for almost 4 years, but I have found it...well let's just say sitting around playing full time day care can be very very mundane for my curious mind. My sons have been very lucky, I realize, to have me to attend to all of the first milestones and their father is of course usually here. But I am happy to help "pitch in" and get back to being a true partner for our household. We have goals and one of them is to travel more (i mean really travel, not just go to concerts or local camping). Who knows, if we work like the thrifty little squirrels we've become the past few years...we may end up cutting all ties, getting the rv, and head OUT - sans couches, sans tv, sans lawnmower. Hello Maine Iv'e missed you, hello Boston Musuem of Art - been a while, Hello Denver, Utah, Texas, New Orleans, ATL and NYC- been a while! And yes find some new places to see!

Sounds great! Hope you guys are doing well. these dark rainy afternoon give me really bad headaches - i hope it would break already, rain buckets and clear up so I can smile without hurting my eyebrows.

Just look at the following link and tell me those don't look delicious!!

I haven't tried these yet but heard about them through several friends. Although located in NYC, she does ship in the US. They are mini-cupcakes and are priced reasonably well for such a unique item. Would be a great addition to a wedding/baby or "I'm single and without child and Fabulous" shower (women need more those).

I am a big fan of great ad pop art, and love this website just for all the colorful little goodies framed in extreme closeup. Enjoy!

http://bakedbymelissa.com/#/flavorsandsizes/

How Finland became an education leader

Interesting post from Salon.com about education in Finland. We could use a different model right about now. My children are not that old yet, but I hear a lot of parents rail against the large amount of testing their kids do every year. I'd rather my children learn real life skills they will use : economical education (how to save, avoid debt, be smart with money), business models, several languages, creative arts, musicality (helps with memory and creative thought processes), physical education (yoga, running, some competitive sports is just fine with me), how to behave in social situations, respecting our elderly, compassion and empathy (emotional education including anger management), and required volunteering hours in order to graduate.

Have a wonderful day!

Link below:

How Finland became an education leader

Whatever you do, do NOT go outside right in Westcoast FL after 9 pm. It's a jungle out there. HOT, steamy, in general not nice. We have been doing to yard work on our back lot, moving mulch, making room for a grassy area, and there is nothing but beetles, skeeters, flies and wasps to be unearthed. We have seen a black snake slither across our porch, a rat snake out front, and several little field mice running around. We live in a normal suburb. If we lived out in the "country" like we both have talked about doing..these natural wonders would be expected and something to wonder at. Here, in a neighborhood, it's not so nice and cute. The 4 days of rain from last week awoke the beasts of the ground, and they are still hunting, getting as much as possible in case the next drought comes back.

I miss the cool weather. The mild air of fall, the breeze and hint of winter coming. The whisper of football weekends, nights in wondering at how cold it's going to get, and the chance to wear jeans and boots. Nashville gave us more than enough months of that. Looking for something a little more..in the middle.

Hope all of you are doing well tonight and have a great Sunday. Right now, after a full day of cruising through Clearwater to Clearwater Beach (haven't been there much lately) and the library to stock up on our weekly kids' movies, CD's and books, it was a very good day. We ended up at the mall, getting some items from sales and then after the whole family went home, I went to the gym the last hour it was open.

We wait with anticipation for fall. We go to our local Dunedin Causeway and Honeymoon Island often as normal, and have many good memories there. But now the time is here, the next few months are so hot that the water just doesn't cool one down enough. I have never lived near the Gulf where it is so placid. In PC the waves are usually kicking and the water is deep. Here, it is just as beautiful and lures you in with not many days of tidal swimming accidents. But this is the time...to find the movies, stay out of the heat, and bide our days until Fall arrives. Gator time, Ohio time (both in our house) and shorter evenings of fresh cool air flowing through the windows.