Category — personal

Check out my article on how we made this adorable birthday cake look like the nyan cat from youtube!

We also have a video of the cake.  Please hit the “Like” and “share” buttons! Enjoy!

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I am currently working at my “home” office while I write this blog entry, sitting next to the pool on a gorgeous summer day.

Have I mentioned how much I love my job?

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One of our favorite places.

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Overheard conversation between my two Darling Daughters –

DD1:   Mom!   She’s breathing my air!

DD2:   Mom!   Tell her to stop touching me! (laughter)

DD1:   Ummmm,  technically,  if I’m touching her, then she’s touching me!

….because, according to the laws of physics, for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  Ha!

Me:   Is anyone writing down this conversation so that I can post it to my blog later?

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This is a photo of the scariest thing I have ever seen on the road. What’s scarier is that it’s inside my own minivan! This may look harmless to you, but you are not sitting in the middle of this heart clenching scene where I was when I took the photo and was completely white-knuckled. Don’t see what I’m talking about? Look harder…. It’s….

…… MY TEENAGER behind the WHEEL!

That’s right. His driver permit was obtained today.

Learning to drive is such a huge rite of passage, for the teen and the parent! Is any parent ever ready for this? I swear it was just last week when he was in kindergarten.

Seriously though, I am signing him up for a Driver’s Ed road training class, and he is taking a safety course as well. Not only that, but he told me himself that he plans to be a “good driver”. I guess we all were new drivers at some point, and I’m not going to last very long if I hold my breath every time I hand him the keys now, am I? It’s time to cowboy up and accept the fact that this day has finally arrived.

ATTENTION DRIVERS OF NORTH AMERICA: A new driver has taken the wheel. You have been warned.

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Here’s a truckload of turkeys going down the highway in South Carolina, April 2009. I took this picture with my cell phone while on a road trip a few months ago.

Roadside oddities abound, and occasionally they are on the road instead of along side it. Read more about where you can find strange and wonderful roadside attractions to help make your road trip smooth sailing in my new article Roadside Oddities.

Speaking of turkey — Happy Thanksgiving to all of my readers. I am so thankful to have had so many loyal readers over the years who helped not only make my website a huge success, but also a wonderful resource for traveling parents everywhere. I could not have done it without you.

There’s an effort to elect an unknown random person as President… and it’s someone we know! Watch this online video about the surprising new nominee.

Ha ha! I kill me!

Seriously, please post my website on your facebook page, myspace, and share with your friends. I need all the help I can get! Thanks readers!

Meanwhile, my favorite time of year is approaching. I really recommend these of mine if you’re starting to look for free Halloween Costume Ideas or even Mardi Gras costumes.

We may have a road trip to Raleigh, NC in our future. It seems that my father is going to compete in the state finals for the North Carolina Senior Games! He’s a tennis player, and he will compete in singles and double.

My dad has been a tennis player most of his life and still plays regularly. The kids are so excited to know that their grandpa is still swinging with the best of them. He’s competing in the 70-74 age category. Go get ‘em, Ace!

My daughter brought home a tiny cabbage seedling from school last year with three little leaves on it. I tend to have a bad effect on plants, especially ones in pots. And due to my natural black-thumb, I never expected it to live, which is why I allowed her to plant it in the front yard. Amazingly it lived and the rabbits didn’t eat it. It grew to 15 pounds. At some point, I think we were supposed to enter it into some kind of 3rd grade contest, but it didn’t start getting really large until just recently, and now summer has gone by and 4th grade has started. So we are eating it instead.

After doing some research, I found that these cabbages can get up to 40 pounds or more. Still, 15 pounds for a cabbage is pretty impressive by ordinary standards.

This giant vegetable reminded me of the titanic pumpkins that grow in Half Moon Bay, CA where they hold a pumpkin festival every year. Those are definitely something special and a really fun event for kids.

Meanwhile, as you contemplate all of these monster vegetables, we’ll be busy eating an extraordinary amount of coleslaw. Cheers!

Are you planning a road trip or vacation during the last week or two in August? A producer from Nickelodeon’s Nick News contacted me because they are looking for families who would be willing to be filmed for a segment about kids taking family vacations going camping, visiting national parks, etc. Kids narrate the piece and would have to be between 11 and 15 years old.

Send me an email if you’re interested and I’ll forward it on.

On a personal note — My kids started back to school yesterday, so our summer road trips are over for now! Bummer!