I Want A Tutu, Too

This week we made a tutu for the butterfly.  She thinks it is too puffy, unfortunately.   So maybe next time we'll go for less poof.

I would really like to make one for myself...maybe in silver.  But I wonder, would I just be embarrassing other people to wear it at my age?  Shouldn't I care about the feelings of others, maybe just as a public service?

But when one doesn't think of doing something at the appropriate age (say, in one's twenties....), does one have to miss it entirely?  Do I have to wait till I get to heaven to wear my tutu?   (Because, you know, there will be tutus GALORE in heaven.)

I don't think so.  I've never been known for my patience.   So maybe one of these days you'll see me, here on earth, walking around in a silver tutu with extra poof.  You never know.

The Happy Red Meadow

The other day in my dining room, there was a flock of farm animals grazing upon a lovely red meadow.

 They were lovingly tended by a happy little farmer.  No candy on earth is as sweet.

Smoothies And More

For my next Virtual Birthday Present, I would like to have a power blender.  I would take either a Blendtec or a Vita-Mix because they are both amazingly powerful. 

We received a KitchenAid blender as a wedding gift, and I always thought it was the best blender ever.  But that was before I heard of these Power Blenders.  

Apparently, you can blend up a car in these machines because they are so strong.  One Vita-Mix user said you could replace the blades with dull sticks of wood and still crush ice in seconds because of the intense speed created.  That is a little scary to me, I have to say!

Recently, we have been drinking lots of yummy Green Smoothies, which consist of some frozen fruit, a banana, some water, and a few handfuls of spinach (or something else green).  Our blender does a great job of liquifying the ingredients over the course of 3 to 5 minutes (if you don't want any lumps whatsoever).  

Our friend JD has been on the same Green Smoothie kick, and he has a Vita-Mix.  I asked him how long it takes to make one in his blender.  His answer:  "Fifteen seconds."  Wow.

You can also grind wheat, knead bread, cook soup, make ice cream, make nut butters, and a million other things with one of these.  Oh, and make whole food juices without the messiness of a juicer and leftover pulp.  And it cleans itself easily.

Sounds really handy, doesn't it?  Eating healthy food would be a breeze, so I would consider it an investment in our health.

Cost:  around $399

Zap To It

Here's the fanciest Virtual Birthday Present I am giving myself this year.  It is the ZAP-X 100% electric car.  Here are some of the vitals:

• Speed:  0 to 60 in 4.8 seconds; top speed 155 mph
• Mileage:  about 1 cent per mile
• Range:  350 miles per charge; 10 minute re-charge; 9,000 life cycles
• Interior:  Seating for 5 + 2 with European ergonomic design
• Carputer:  All electronic touch screen with Windows XP (the tragic flaw...), Wi-Fi, blue-tooth, high definition video, iPod ready, Fire wire, USB2 and Mini USB ports
• Extras:  Keyless bio-metric entry and ignition, energy-collecting windows and windshields to harness solar energy

Cost:  $60,000 total cost; $25,000 to reserve one

What I love about this most is the fact that you can just plug your car into ANY electric outlet for 10 minutes and then drive 350 miles!!!  Forget about all the $4 gas prices.  And the 'car-puter' sounds very handy (and would be even better if it were a Mac...).

I wonder how Curious George looks in high definition.  Does he get his make-up airbrushed on?  I'm sure Bella would love to find out!

Not Quite Yet

My younger brother told me recently, when I congratulated him on reaching the ripe age of 36, that I was almost forty.  I told him that I am NOT almost forty; I am almost thirty-nine.  (I think it looks better written out like that - not so shockingly large, I think.)

Today is the last day I can officially be almost thirty-nine because tomorrow I will be actually thirty-nine.  And on this, my birthday week, I would like to do a series of posts on Virtual Birthday Gifts I would give myself if I had unlimited funds and otherwise different circumstances - things like a solar-powered house, an electric car, etc.  Stay tuned...

A Perfect Day

After so much despondency in the last blaaaahg, I had to tell you about Sunday's perfect day.  It included the following wonderful elements:

1. My husband got up with Butterfly and I slept an extra hour
   
2. I got to see fun friends at church
3. Our brand new pastor encouraged us that it is never too late to invest in those old dreams 
4. I had lunch with my husband, my angelic child & a marvelous friend OUTSIDE under a blue sky with white clouds
5. We shopped for yummy, healthy food at food heaven, a.k.a. Whole Foods
6. We went window shopping under the sunshine and had yummy raspberry gelato
7. We ran into another friend and had a nice catch-up chat
8. We were all happy, healthy and well-rested

I love those days, especially when they turn into a week.  I guess one nice thing about being sick and having a boring week is that the next week is marvelous just by default!  

Here's to wonderful days and weeks and months and years!