Monday, August 31, 2009

Walking for Alzheimer's

On October 3, 2009 I will be participating in the Memory Walk for our local chapter of the Alzheimer's Association. I am also serving on the board this year for the first time and am so honored to be doing so. The Memory Walk is our signature fundraising event and proceeds will be used to support a wide range of services and programs for the more than 50,000 individuals and 200,000 family members & caregivers in our bi-state area as well as for research advancements to cure this devastating disease.

As many of you know, Dan's grandmother, Helen, suffered from and eventually succumbed to Alzheimer's. She was like a grandmother to me and I miss her dearly. She is the main reason I am doing this.

Here is a link to my site where you can learn more. Please consider making a donation to support me & the Alzheimer's Association through the Memory Walk. If everyone I know donates a dollar, I'll be so excited!!!
Click here: http://kansascitymw.kintera.org/erinlynn76

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Aaron Carter interested in Jennifer Aniston

Aaron Carter wants to find a mature lady as his next partner and Jennifer Aniston is among the top in his list.

He says, "I don't any trashy girls... I gotta be with an older, more mature girl, who's not insecure... Age is just a number. Jennifer Aniston would be great, I would love that. That would be amazing... Just think about our kids!

Source

My mom's house post-Katrina

Standing on Mom's back porch looking down her driveway & across to neighbor's house.
You can see where the water level had been along the side of the house.

Looking up the block from Mom's house. Other people were trying to get into their homes, too.


My brother, Kevin, at the intersection closest to Mom's house. This was several weeks post-Katrina, and as you can see, the water was still slowly draining out of parts of Metairie.

Looking down my mom's block.

My mom's bedroom. Because mom doesn't live in Lakeview (which was one of the hardest hit areas), her flooding was not quite as bad; however, you can still see that the water came up several feet in her bedroom and then the mold did the rest of the damage.

Mom's bathroom. Water still on the floor and in the tub, draining slowly because there was nowhere for it to really go...

Looking across the street from Mom's house, view from her front steps.

Looking out her front door. Kevin and his friend Lee had to take a canoe to get there.

Lee helping Kevin paddle down the block.

Another view looking down my mom's street.

Gerard Butler joke to his mother that he was marrying Jennifer Aniston



Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston were getting married during the set The Bounty when his mother called,

Butler said: "I told her 'I have to call you back. I'm getting married'.

She goes, 'What?', and I said 'I'm marrying Jennifer Aniston!'

"And she's like 'Oh, good. Well, I'm glad you made the right choice'."

His mother didn't realize that he was only acting.

Source

Saturday, August 29, 2009

My brother & sister-in-law's house after Katrina

My brother and sister-in-law's home in Lakeview--a photo of their sweet dog, JJ, lounging around as they packed up to evacuate prior to Katrina.


Their living room---wedding presents on the floor(again, prior to the hurricane). Mark and Katheryn got married the month before Katrina hit.

Outside their home in Lakeview on 10.1.05, over a month after Katrina hit.



My brother, Mark, and his friend surveying the damage.

Inside. There are no words, really. As you can see, the water flooded the entirety of the first floor.

Looking into the kitchen.

Mark pointed out the bottle of Crown on the hood. It settled there on its own, with the help of the floodwaters.

The water even managed to seep up to the second floor of their home.

Katheryn's car underneath a fence.


My younger brother, Mark, in his backyard. This photo crushed me. I felt helpless. I was precariously pregnant with the twins and my family basically refused to let me fly down to help. It was difficult watching them go through this and not being able to DO anything. Not that there was really anything I could have done.
I could talk about the waiting, the wondering, the wishing they could get back in to assess the damage, begin to clean up, and move on with their lives. I could talk about the anger, the tears, the depression and frustration. But it wouldn't really matter because I didn't experience it myself. The photos speak a thousand words, though.

On the Anniversary of Hurricane Katrina

My Uncle Steven's house in Lakeview. Obviously all that stuff is mold. The excessive heat & humidity combined with the fact that no one was allowed back in until a month later only allowed it to fester. Everyone still talks about "that smell," which permeated everything. Note the lines along the upper walls---the water line. Because New Orleans is a bowl and completely below sea level, the floodwater seeped in and then had nowhere to go. It sat and sat and sat. New Orleans drowned. Many others along the Gulf Coast lost everything completely (i.e. only foundations left), but I'm not sure this was any better or easier.

This was exactly how they walked in and found it. The water moved/stacked everything like this.

My uncle's kitchen. The fridge had lodged itself on top of the counter.



This one is the last photo of my uncle's house. More mold on the sofa, walls, etc. I feel as if the photos stand on their own and I don't need to add much of anything. My next post will be of my brother & sister-in-law's home, also in Lakeview. I am not good enough with Blogger to figure out how to get it to space out my pics within text.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Jennifer Aniston can reduce weight in short time



Jennifer Aniston can reduce weight in short time, such as losing 5lbs in a day. This is amazing. I heard normally people can reduce weight within a week but a day? What is her secret?

The 'Bounty' actress follows a special regime whenever she wants to look particularly svelte, and is able to lose a dramatic amount of weight in a short space of time.

A source on the set of 'The Baster', which Jennifer filmed earlier this year, said: "Whenever she wants to look her best, Jen does this strict diet so she's able to lose 5lbs in five days.

"She did it during her past few films and doesn't find it hard at all. I saw her eat pasta only once!"





Source

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Birthdays and old photos

Me, my brother Mark, Jennifer M., Elizabeth T., and Jessica M.
Mom lighting the candles on my cake.

That's me with the balloon...



Hurricane Katrina, that nasty bitch, stole so much from my family. Hubby and I are lucky because we had already moved away from New Orleans by that time, but my parents and my brothers suffered greatly (but that is another post I'm working on).

It's never been a secret that my mom prized old photos above most everything else, and each time she evacuated, she loaded up the trunk of her car with as many albums as she could cram in. When Hubs and I moved to Kansas City, she gifted me with several new albums which contained many of her old photos of my childhood. I am so very grateful to have these.

The photos above are from my seventh birthday, which almost seems like it was yesterday. I am posting these because I was just telling my daughters how amazing their GiGi (my mom) is. She baked all of our birthday cakes herself. She had this amazing cake book with photographs of cakes made to look like all sorts of cool things, including a school bus she made for my brother Mark's birthday one year (sadly I do not have this photograph to share). It had strips of Wrigley's Doublemint gum cut in half to make the windshield and windows, thin ropes of black licorice for the windshield wipers, Oreos for the wheels, and Red Hots for the taillights. I chose a watermelon cake for my seventh birthday, as you can see here. I invited three close friends to go swimming and sleep over. I got a Cabbage Patch Kid that year, which I promptly named "Holly."

Birthdays are exciting for me because my parents helped make them so much fun while we were growing up. I hope to do the same for my daughters. And maybe, just maybe, I can get more creative with the cake baking!!

obsessing just a wee bit...

over this Boden skirt. I love it in the brown & green (although the slate/black is more my usual speed), but worry I wouldn't know what would go with it. The model is wearing a darling fuchsia top with it, whereas I'd be more inclined to pair it with something brown or green! She also has a cute green scarf paired with it. I have brown boots I could wear with it....but I'm just so not good at matching/coordinating things. If you haven't already, check out http://www.bodenusa.com/. I love their clothes!

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

WTF????

This just arrived at my house. Does Similac know something I don't?!?!?

Jennifer Aniston is one of the most dangerous star on the net

Jennifer Aniston is one of the dangerous star on the internet. This is because her fans will end up facing virus threats on their PCs when they search information pertaining her. This was according to online security company McAfee Inc.

Last yeat was Brad Pitt.

A spokesman for McAfee explains, “Cybercriminals are star watchers, too. They latch onto popular celebrities to encourage the download of malicious software in disguise.”

Source

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

You-have-to-try-this Banana Cake


Professional food photographer I am not, but you wanted pics...so here they are!

Cake ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp. vanilla
16 oz. sour cream
3 cups flour
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder

Filling/topping ingredients:
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans
12 oz. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 x 13 pan with Pam.

Blend sugar, butter, and eggs in a large bowl. Add mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla. Mix well. Sift dry ingredients (I actually forgot to sift them and it turned out fine) together, add to batter, and blend.

Pour 1/2 the batter into the greased pan. In a small bowl mix together the topping ingredients and spread 1/2 of this over the batter. Cover with remaining batter and spread the remaining topping over the top. Bake for 45-60 minutes. Cool before cutting.

Monday, August 24, 2009

20 questions (or more)

My girls' favorite pastime of late is asking questions. They don't stop. Half the time they already know the answers. Or the answers are too long/complicated and I'm too tired to bother with them. At any rate, I decided to keep a running log of all the questions from one hour this afternoon. Bear in mind I have two daughters, so this list is a combination of both girls' questions. Please note that Izzy asked most of the first round of questions since she did not take a nap but her sister did. Also note that many questions begin with "Mommy," which is part of what drives me so batty. I shouldn't complain since there was a lengthy period of time when I wasn't sure I'd be able to become a mommy at all....nevertheless, here we go:




  1. Mommy, can I have my snack now? (not, not yet, not until Abby wakes up from her nap)

  2. Mommy, can I have my snack as soon as Abby wakes up?

  3. Mommy, can you put on some cartoons?

  4. Mommy, can I have some water? Can I bring it in the living room?

  5. Mommy, what are you doing?

  6. Mommy, where's Monster (our mini Poodle)?

  7. Mommy, can I have more water?
  8. Mommy, why does the water come out of the door on the fridge?

  9. Mommy, does Abby wear panties at nap time? (yes, and she already knows this. Izzy does not yet)

  10. Mommy, after Pinky Dinky Doo is over are more cartoons coming on?

  11. Mommy, when's Abby going to be awake?

  12. Mom, are you happy?

  13. Mom, are Abby & Izzy still 3 years old?

  14. Mommy, is your birthday still coming up soon?

  15. Mommy, what are bits? Are they little pieces?

  16. Tonight is somebody going to babysit for us?

  17. Mom, what are we going to have for dinner? (chicken)

  18. Mom, do you mean chicken nuggets? (NO!)

  19. Mommy, can I have a turn next? (we are baking banana cake together)

  20. Mommy, which way do we crack the eggs?

  21. Mommy, can I have another turn to mix it?

  22. Mommy, can I have a taste of it when it's done baking?

  23. Mom, when's it going to be done baking?

  24. Mom, is it 45 minutes yet?

  25. Mom, can you help me draw a big "I?"

  26. Mommy, do big girls write all their letters all by themselves?

  27. Mommy, are we big girls?

  28. Mom, are you so impressed?

  29. Mommy, do ted and red rhyme?

  30. Mommy, did I do a good job?

  31. Where are the peanut butter chips? (I'm cleaning up from our baking adventure)

  32. Mommy, will you play fairytale with me and you pretend to be the princess' dad, ok?

  33. Mom, is that new?

  34. Mom, can we take Monster for a walk now?

  35. Mommy, is the cake still baking?

  36. Mommy, when can I have some cake?
  37. Mom, why are you putting that knife in the cake? Are you cutting me some pieces?
  38. Mommy, do I have to eat all of my dinner before I can have some of that cake?
  39. Mommy, why are you doing that?
  40. Mom, when is Daddy going to be home?
  41. Mommy, why are your legs scratchy?
  42. Mom, do we get to skip a bath tonight?
  43. Mom, is it 45 minutes yet?
  44. Mom, are you and Daddy married?
  45. Mommy, did the doctor cut your tummy to get me and Abby out?
  46. Mom, did Abby come out first? Is Abby my big sister?
  47. Mommy, do you have a baby in your tummy right now?
  48. Mom, do I have a baby in my tummy?
  49. Mommy, can I see the boo boo on your tummy?
  50. Mom, will you help me put my sock back on?

This was over an hour. So what is that, like almost one question per minute? Some of them, as you can tell, are rapid fire and came out in a rush all at once....so perhaps they should've counted as one question. Anyway, when I write this list out perhaps it's easy to see why I often lose my patience and occasionally ask my daughters for five minutes of peace and quiet.

But they don't get that. And then they just ask, "Mom, is five minutes over yet?"

Jennifer Aniston only dates famous guys



Jennifer Aniston only dates famous guys, to match with her high profile.

A source tells Us, "Jennifer won't date a normal guy. She goes after the hottest thing of the moment, what she knows will get her the most time in the spotlight."

Aniston's ex husband was Brad Pirr. Then after divorced, she was dating with John Mayer, Gerard Butler. Aniston has such good taste.

Source

Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler looking cozy together



Are there something going out between Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler?
They were spotted holding hands at The Jane Hotel in Manhattan's Meatpacking District on weekend. A source revealed, "Jen and Gerry went out on Saturday night. They were hand in hand."

Hmnn..are they couple now or just best friend? Can a girl and a guy become best friends? Well, at least she is enjoying herself after her breakup with jerk John Mayer.

Source

Saturday, August 22, 2009

This just made my day!

Lee from http://yourcouturekid.blogspot.com/ gave me this award (by the way, I LOVE her blog, you must check it out & follow her immediately!) and it has totally made my day! It is so cool to meet another Jewish mommy blogger! Thank you, Lee---I so do not deserve this, but I appreciate the gesture. Anyway, here are the rules for the award:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting. (see below)
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

Now on to the good stuff...awarding the award! But you have to bear with me because I'm so ridiculously terrible at inserting the links and doing the fancy stuff! The links are here, but they don't look pretty. Melanie (The Reluctant Housewife on the list below) is helping me, but I'm a slow learner)




Now for the 7 things about me. Hmmm.
  1. I need my sleep. Lots of it. I am lame and my butt is in bed by about 10 p.m.
  2. I have a terrible sweet tooth--cookies, cupcakes, chocolate, ice cream...food is my friend!
  3. I wish I had a talent. Juggling does NOT count.
  4. I have a slight case of OCD when it comes to my house & keeping it neat.
  5. But I'm working on this and I have gotten better about purposely leaving dishes in the kitchen sink on occasion. But it bugs me.
  6. I do not like bell peppers, cilantro, or tomatoes. I will eat things with tomatoes in them, I just don't like to eat actual tomatoes.
  7. I was having a crappy weekend until I got this award from Lee. Thank you, LEE!!!!

Jennifer Aniston doesn't mind Bradley Cooper pick Renee



The gossips were spreading that Jennifer Aniston felt “screwed over” by Bradley Cooper. That wasn't true. Infact, she was feeling bored of Bradley.

A source that is close to Jennifer tells OK! mag: “Jen didn’t care that Cooper was enjoying being single and seeing other people. So is she. Now that Bradley and Renee’s relationship has intensified, Jen is bored with the whole thing. She’s saying he can have her.”

The source continues saying: “She’s less interested in Renee than in why she’d choose someone who would be interested in someone like Renee. She’s disappointed in herself more than anything, because she thought that after all the trial and error since marriage [ended] she’d gained more insight. She’s not going to play games and compete with Renee in any way, shape or form. Bradley is out. And from what she’s telling me, it’s no great loss.”

Source

Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler have their romances secretly



While on the set, ‘The Bounty,’, one witness told Radar that Jennifer and co-star Gerard Butler stole a quick kiss, “We saw him give her a little kiss. They were very lovey-dovey.”

"At one point they started to hold hands, but Jen pulled back because she saw people watching".

Wow, have they falling in love with each other? Or they are just playing around?
Actually, I wonder why her relationships doesn't last long. She seems to look like a nice person to be around but why?

Source

Friday, August 21, 2009

Funky Mama

Funky Mama played last weekend & we were the first to arrive. She graciously indulged us--let us chat, take pictures, and meet her new guitar, Candy!

The girls were a little shy at first, but SO EXCITED to talk to her up close...

What is this?

This not-so-little guy greeted me just outside the back door this morning. If he had been brownish-black, I'd have quickly shrieked, "ROACH!" but this is not one. In fact, I don't know that I've seen a single roach since we moved to Kansas City just over five years ago. Regardless, I grabbed the camera quickly, then left him in peace. What are you?

Who Dat?!







Here are my little Saints/Who Dat fans sporting their shirts from GiGi. It's SO HARD to get a decent shot of the two of them together & all they wanted to do this morning was make goofy faces. Oh well!



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