A Question for My Gardener Friends

What kind of flowers are these? Aren't they beautiful? I took these photos at the Thanksgiving Point Gardens. The yellow ones are kind of like daisies, but not quite. Maybe they are a type of daisy? They are lovely and I want some for my yard!

Count Them

Yes, there are six of them. Six children, five and under, all in the same family! While we were walking on the pier at Redondo Beach we saw this group down on the beach. As I took a closer look I could see they all belonged together. I had to take a picture. My kids were fascinated by this group and I was in shock. Look at their shirts and you'll see there is the oldest (in purple), then triplets in orange, then twins on the far left and right. We talked to the mom and guess where they live? Utah, of course! Then she told us she flies to CA regularly, with the kids, because her husband commutes and works there during the week. Did you hear that? She flies, BY HERSELF, with six little kids! She acted like it was no problemo. Then it was time to go and she said to the kids, "Time to go! Put your shoes on and find your buddy!" They all found their own Crocs, found their buddy's hand and followed her across the street like a row of ducklings.

fish and mandarin oranges

During lunch today Ethan said, "I don't know why but whenever anybody says the word "lunch" I think of fish salad and mandarin oranges."

I said, "Tuna fish?" Ethan said, "No, real fish like salmon or something."

"Mixed up in a salad?"

"No, just fish on a plate with some salad--you know like they do in fancy restaurants, just a little bit of salad sitting on the plate. That and some mandarin oranges. And I picture the word LUNCH really big in black letters.

Barbie's Big Secret

Did you know that yesterday was Barbie's birthday?

Yep--50 years old. Emma mentioned it to me on the way home today so we decided it would be appropriate to serve birthday cake to her Barbie dolls. Look at them with frosting smeared all over their lips--they couldn't get enough! I hope it goes straight to their hips.

Coffee Break

This morning as Ethan and I were walking out the door I grabbed my coffee cup and Ethan said, "Mommy, you drink a lot of coffee. Maybe you need to take a break from coffee. I mean, you drink it almost every day and haven't you been drinking it since I was a baby? That's six, almost seven years--that's a long time! And did you drink coffee before I was born?"

"Yes, I did."

"Well, I think maybe you should take a break from coffee! Why do drink it every day?"

"Because I like it." (I almost launched into an explanation about addiction, headaches and savoring my quiet time with my coffee in the morning. Since I hadn't drank any coffee yet I didn't have the energy for that much morning conversation!)

Here's to my delightful and VERY SATISFYING morning fix . . .

What Do You Do While You're Sleeping?

Besides the regular stuff like snoring, talking and stealing the covers there are apparently some people who try to curl their hair. "What?" you say. I know, but here are the IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS from my new curling iron:

Consider yourself warned!