this car shopping is interesting...............

I have done most of it myself so far - I figured I would do the preliminary screening, then take Ron along for test drives and negotiations once I narrowed down what I wanted.

Kia Sherwood Park - went with my dad, and had a salesman within minutes. Test drove a mini-van and a Sportage. Will return. I don't think I'm a SUV type of girl though.
Mitubishi - spent ten minutes wandering around the new car show room with Marty. Crawled through vehicles. Looked helpless. Not one single person even looked our way. So we just left.
Kia South Edmonton - had to ask for a salesman, and finally got one that didn't speak much English. Unable to answer questions coherently. Sigh. I wanted to take a van for a test drive, but it took him ten or more minutes to find the keys, and then when I finally got in, it had almost zero gas in it. Salesman suggested a drive through the parking lot. Um, no thanks. Left in a hurry. Sheesh.
Mazda Sherwood Park - had a salesman within minutes. Did a test drive of a Mazda 5. Loved it! A micro mini-van! Might be the best of both worlds - you can pack six people in three rows, but the gas mileage is good and it drives like a car. Especially fun with the five speed transmission. Will go back and take the negotiations to the next level.

Next on the list to check out: Toyota Rav4, Kia Rondo, Honda CR-V

Still deciding philosophically if I want economy and car handling over the spaciousness of a mini-van. Hmmmm...........

The Best Icing!

If you like marshmallows................

My mom made this when I was a kid, and after rooting around on the internet for a while, I found the recipe again and made it for Ben's birthday. Since he asked for white cake and white icing, I thought this would make it at least a little more interesting than regular butter frosting. Ben also asked for a Pokemon cake, so my solution to that was to wash some of the little figures and stick them onto the cake along with some of those drink umbrellas from the dollar store. The kids loved it. I took the umbrellas off and replaced them with candles for the happy birthday ceremony!

Anyway, back to the icing. It's sweet of course, but I like it a lot better than regular icing. Seems less heavy somehow, and it might work particularly well for an angel food cake or something where a butter icing just wouldn't work. I know the kids will be asking for it again.

Marshmallow Cream Frosting

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp. water

2 egg whites

1 jar marshmallow creme (the Kraft stuff in the photo is the only kind I have ever seen up here)

1 tsp vanilla

In top of double boiler, combine sugar, water and egg whites. Cook over simmering water, beating until soft peaks form. (Of course, I don't have a double boiler any more. I finally got rid of it a while back after not using it for two decades or so. So I just put a pot onto medium low heat, and kept beating with a portable mixer. Worked fine).

After soft peaks form, add the marshmallow creme and beat until stiff peaks form. Remove from heat; beat in vanilla. Frost cake and give each child a beater to lick clean.

FOR TODAY - July 14, 2008

I lifted this from Crystal's blog (http://crystalkrueger.blogspot.com/). Such a great idea! It just sort of captures this moment in time........

Outside My Window - there are flowers everywhere. The poppies, butterfly weed and dill have gone completely beserk in the garden, and although I should have have pulled them all out weeks ago, I enjoy their colours and texture!

I am thinking - about the scrapbooking I need to do, the lunch I need to pack for Ben tomorrow at camp, the new car I must buy soon..........

I am thankful - that I have a day off work tomorrow to catch up on everything. Especially laundry.

From the kitchen - leftover new potatoes, Italian sausage, fresh leaf lettuce salad, corn and a fresh tomato. The last one. C'mon heat and sunshine!!! My tomato plants NEED you!!!

I am wearing yoga pants and a free red t-shirt I received last Canada Day at Broadmoor Lake park. I don't much like red, but it was okay for weeding!

I am creating scrapbook pages with different kinds of stamping techniques on them.

I am going for a pedicure tomorrow morning with the gift certificate I got for my birthday several months ago, and then to the Kia dealer to check out the mini-vans. And maybe Mitsubishi if I am feeling energetic.

I am reading "The TIme Traveller's Wife" an am finally starting to sort of like it. An odd book.
I am hoping for some beautiful summer weather so the kids can enjoy the pool and my tomatoes will grow!

I am hearing the Neil Young cd, Live at Massey Hall. Got it from the library and love it.

Around the house everything that was clean on Saturday, is now covered in pokemon cards and miscellaneous boy stuff. Dirty socks. Stuff like that. Sigh.

One of my favorite things is watching the hummingbirds at the feeder.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week - maybe pork fried rice from the leftover roast, dig more new potatoes, get at least two more layouts done, pack for Chicago!

A picture to share - the rainbow out my kitchen window the other day after a storm, and just before it got dark

Just a blur.........

Time DOES seem to go faster the older you get! At least in my opinion! :-)

Benny turned eight today - I have more pictures to post when I get a couple of extra minutes, but we had a fun little party on the weekend to celebrate. I have to say, the parties get a lot easier as the kids get older - they are better behaved, don't need constant supervision and I'm not so worried about them drowning in the pool.


It's funny (or maybe not) that even after eight years, I remember everything about going into labour with great detail. The last few hours are and were a blur, but the beginning remains crystal clear! And I remember my doula, Greta, with such great affection. I wonder sometimes what it would have been like without her. I'm sure the baby would have come out eventually, of course, but I can't imagine that day without Greta's support. It would have been a whole heck of a lot tougher without her. So wherever you are Greta, many thanks for that day eight years ago today.

Just some flower photos

I've been chasing insects around the yard with my camera. Summer is so short and I look to wander around my garden every evening and see what new treasures there are to appreciate.

It might be time to move on soon

to another vehicle. My Saturn has been a pretty good car, by and large. It has always started, always got me to where I need to go. It's got a couple of annoying little quirks, like the way the hydraulic struts on the hatch have a tendency to fail and whomp down on your unsuspecting back while you are unloading groceries. Ouch. But when the warranty ran out last year, other problems began to pop up. More expensive problems. A little leak in the power train steering column. $ A bigger leak in the air conditioning system. $$ Last month, an interesting rattle started under the car that may or may not be related to the exhaust system. But the car could always be driven. Still got me where I needed to go.

Until last week. Pushing the gas pedal seemed suddenly to have not much response. Acceleration was minimal, it took about a mile to get up to highway speed and I barely made it up a small hill on the way home from work. Uh oh. This felt expensive, maybe a fuel pump or something. Um no. Worse. Diagnosis was a plugged catalytic converter. Estimated to take three days to get the part and almost $1500 to replace. And hopefully there is no damage to the engine from being driven with a wonky catalytic converter. My mind is just reeling from this. I really have no choice, since the car cannot be driven without the work being done. But it's only six years old! It's not fair!! I could probably buy a used car for the amount of money that I have to give the dealership. I still can't quite believe it. And of course, I am trapped out here in the country with no vehicle. Sigh. It certainly brings home how dependent I am on a car.

Might be time to go shopping.

Two Wheels!

He gave us a lot of resistance, but the last training wheel came off his bike this weekend and Marty can now pedal on two wheels. His first attempt was a little shaky, but the next day, he rolled along the pavement like he had been doing it for years. Definitely a big boy milestone!

Ready

Set

GO!!!!