my new favorite song

(and my new favorite musical scene from a movie!)

here's the video (from the movie "enchanted"...great movie, by the way!)


and here's the lyrics:

Giselle:
How does she know you love her?
How does she know she's yours?

Man:
How does she know that you love her?

Giselle:
How do you show her you love her?

Both:
How does she know that you really, really, truely love her?
How does she know that you love her?
How do you show her you love her?
How does she know that you really, really, truely love her?

Giselle:
It's not enough to take the one you love for granted
You must remind her, or she'll be inclined to say...
"How do I know he loves me?"
(How does she know that you love her?
How do you show her you love her?)
"How do I know he's mine?"
(How does she know that you really, really, truely love her?)

Well does he leave a little note to tell you you are on his mind?
Send you yellow flowers when the sky is grey? Heyy!
He'll find a new way to show you, a little bit everyday
That's how you know, that's how you know!
He's your love...

Man:
You've got to show her you need her
Don't treat her like a mind reader
Each day do something to need her
To believe you love her

Giselle:
Everybody wants to live happily ever after
Everybody wants to know their true love is true...
How do you know he loves you?
(How does she know that you love her?
How do you show her you need her?)
How do you know he's yours?
(How does she know that you really, really, truely-)

Well does he take you out dancin' just so he can hold you close?
Dedicate a song with words in
Just for you? Ohhh!

All:
He'll find his own way to tell you
With the little things he'll do
That's how you know
That's how you know!

Giselle:
He's your love
He's your love...

That's how you know
(la la la la la la la la)
He loves you
(la la la la la la la la)
That's how you know
(la la la la la la la la)
It's true
(la la la la la)

Because he'll wear your favorite color
Just so he can match your eyes
Rent a private picnic
By the fires glow-oohh!

All:
His heart will be yours forever
Something everyday will show
That's how you know
(That's how you know)
That's how you know
(That's how you know)
That's how you know
(That's how you know)
That's how you know
(That's how you know)
That's how you know
(That's how you know)
That's how you know
(That's how you know)
That's how you know!

Giselle:
He's your love...

Man:
That's how she knows that you love her
That's how you show her you love her

Giselle:
That's how you know...
That's how you know...
He's your love...

yet another reason i LOVE craig ferguson!

this is how he opened tonite's show. this guy is so friggin hilarious, i love staying up late watching him! now i want to go buy this song on itunes! :)

simon cowell is supposed to be a guest tonight. should be interesting.

cannot even fathom

i cannot begin to even get my brain wrapped around how they allowed prop 8 to stand, i really cannot. i hope with all my heart that people will wake up and pay attention the next time it comes to the polls. i whole heartedly agree with barbara boxer. you can NOT have separate rules, you just can't!!

and if you are one of the people that say that civil union is just as good, i encourage you to read this. i mean REALLY READ IT. its not even close to the same. educate yourself people! seriously!

schools kill creativity

man, this guy is BRILLIANT! (and funny, to boot!) i was enraptured watching/listening to this video!

talk about wow!

putting a face on gay marriage

they DO deserve to have all the rights and privileges of everyone else. this IS america, is it not?

marriage isn't a religious institution. it is for some people, but it is a LEGAL situation overall. and in this sense, we cannot discriminate against gay people regardless of your individual feelings for them. they ARE people and they ARE americans just as much as the rest of us.

time to fix the wrong that was done. just like we over came slavery, segregation, and women not being allowed to vote. this one is just as important. gays are people too, and they deserve just as much respect and rights as the rest of us.

reading rainbow flashback

OMG adam and i are laughing, this is so funny and awesome!!

OMG i SOOO want to be a part of something like this!!

holy COW i want to take our family to this!

just saw this mentioned on another blog, and i am STOKED!!

i am so happy when they show documentaries in the movie theaters! i am going to find out now which of our local theaters are going to be showing this and if i can get advance tickets. we are SO going to see this!

this is SO STINKIN COOL!!!

Proof of a peaceful morning!

It's true! And I have proof!
This morning the kids were busy...Tyren playing Zoo Tycoon on the computer, Maeven reading a book...and I finished the dishes! It's crazy, I know! I wouldn't have believed it either, if I hadn't seen it with my own 2 eyes! Here's the proof:


Notice Ottmar Liebert in the background (not sure if you can hear it that well, but its Spanish guitar music...and the sound of the washing machine going when I go into the kitchen. I really have become a domestic queen this week!

And that's not all! I've been doing pureeing of veggies to put into recipes that I've put on my new menu this week. I know! It's crazy! ME, the domestic flop! Not only did I make a plan, buy the ingredients, but I actually have been putting them all together!

The past 2 days I've spent much time learning how to steam veggies and puree them to hide in meals for our family! I'm using these cookbooks:

Did breakfast ice cream yesterday morning for breakfast...complete with hidden avocado (can't taste it!) and made mac-n-cheese with hidden cauliflower for lunch (YUM!)

Got these veggies cooked and pureed and bagged and frozen:

• cauliflower
• carrot
• yellow squash
• butternut squash
• sweet potato
• avocado

And more to come! I actually had a lot of fun doing this! I feel so domestic! :)

Yesterday when I was working on the avocado, Maeven decided she loves avocado and ate a whole one! They were very ripe so it just slid right out of the skin, it was wonderful! I have very little experience with veggies...especially the ones that I'm working with now...so this is all very new to me!

I told Maeve about guacamole and she decided she wanted to make some. So I showed her the recipe and she made some and it was YUMMERS! Just avocado, lime juice and salt...eaten heartily with crackers by all of us. Still have some in the fridge. The rest of the avocados went into breakfast ice cream, and one left, pureed and frozen, for the next batch.

It's just been a very productive few days! My brother came over yesterday because I asked him to help entertain the kiddos while I mowed the lawn. Adam is out of town for the weekend (actually should be home in the next hour or so) for a shoot...so I got the front lawn all mowed, looks very nice! Next I need to work on the backyard, but I wanted to continue work in the kitchen first.

As the video attests to, I got all the dishes washed or loaded in the dishwasher (will run and put away later)...and the counter is clear of piles of dishes for the first time in idontknowHOWlong! Really, I'm horrible about dishes.

And the laundry is mostly done as well. I just don't know what's gotten into me! LOL!

Friday we had Brooke over here and when her mom came to pick her up, she saw the tray of nutritious snacks I put out for the kiddos:

and saw that I was working on pureeing veggies and said "What's gotten into you?" LOL! Really, its shocking! I just hope I can keep it up.

Actually, I've decided that it is time that I stopped proclaiming loudly to anyone that will hear that I "HATE HATE HATE everything about cooking...I hate planning meals, shopping for food, and preparing the food." And hence, eating out so much and having very little variety in the food that we typically eat at home. I'm just tired of it all. So I've decided to take the approach I think I read by Flylady awhile ago..."Act as if..." (I think it was from her, not sure)...act the way you want to be/feel/do/etc...and eventually if you pretend long enough you might actually enjoy it!

So I'm going to pretend that I don't abhor everything about cooking. And I'm going to get my butt in gear and really do well by my family for the first time ever.

Well so far its going quite well. I do realize that I might peter out...there's always that possibility...but I'm hoping I'm able to get enough practice in this to actually find out that I do indeed enjoy all this and might be able to maintain. All I can do is try. We'll see how it goes.

I'm tired of getting all fired up about a new routine or idea I have to improve our home life and then petering out after just a short time. So I'm going to try not to go TOO crazy here, and keep it all doable. So far so good. I actually have enjoyed learning about these "new" veggies.

As a rule, I don't like veggies...so this is as much for me as for the kids. *I* need the veggies too! I found it absolutely fascinating yesterday when I noticed the smell of my roasted sweet potatoes smelled very much like regular potatoes...just with a hint of sweetness (DUH, hence the name, LOL!) I guess I never had them before. I think I was thinking of yams...since I was thinking orange. I've never cared for yams. But sweet potatoes seem doable to me. I tasted it and it wasn't bad! Hm, learn something new every day! I think our family will be exploring veggies more these days! Beyond pureeing them and sneaking them into things...I may just be steaming some here and there for us as well.

Another funny thing...I have this pasta pot with a steamer in it and I never knew what it was for! I thought it was a collander for the pasta! LOL! How dumb am I??? I have used it the past few days and have been just OVERJOYED at how stinkin easy it is to steam veggies! This is all NEW to me! Can you believe it??? LOL! I'm laughing at my own inexperience here...and really enjoying what I'm learning!

I got a food processor for my birthday last year (November)...and only every used it to slice carrots...and only once or twice. Now I am getting a lot of experience with it and loving every minute of it! I even shredded a whole ton of cheddar cheese for us! Bought a huge block of it at Smart and Final and shredded half of it. What a cool thing! I'm just turning into a domestic goddess! LOL! I'm very proud of myself, can you tell? :)

Fun high school memory

This video is hysterical! I just got tagged by an old high school friend to remember something about her and what I remembered is that every Friday afternoon during our junior year of high school we used to be at her house with all the radios cranked as one of the way cool NY radio stations (we were in NJ) played the "5 o'clock whistle" song, which was this song...Loverboy's "Everybody's Working for the Weekend." We sang and danced to this every Friday! SO FUN!

This isn't their music video but its the original version of the song that I remember from those days and the guy that put this together is HYSTERICAL! Very well made video! Had to share. :)

Enjoy!!

choked up today

today is martin luther king, jr's birthday. so i got some books on him and his life. unfortunately only one picture book came in so far...and one longer book that is too much to sit and just read to maeve (she'd never stay interested)...hoping more of the picture books come in this week...

anyway so we're reading MLK's story today and i got all choked up! seriously, i canNOT believe that this country of mine could ever be so absolutely horrid!!! i mean, i believe it but it STILL shocks me!!! doesn't it shock you??

i was reading about MLK to my daughter...her first time hearing about him, i believe...and i was really hit hard by what he did for us! he seriously was a HERO!

and then, the comparison some people are doing with obama. i get it. sure, its not exactly the same...but perhaps we'll see some degree of similar change in the next 4 years. there's so much hope in the country right now. its really wonderful to be a part of!

and *I* can proudly tell my children that *I* helped make history happen! because *I* voted for obama! and i'm very proud of that! i'm proud to have been a tiny piece of history! it just occurred to me that that is what i did and it really makes me feel good!

oh there is so much hope in the air in this nation right now...i really think this is going to be a fantastic time to be an american!

tomorrow we get our first african american president. it was only a little more than 45 years ago that MLK made is "I have a dream" speech in washington D.C. ...isn't it just AMAZING how far our country has come in such an incredibly SHORT TIME??? a black man as our president, just 45 years after MLK's fight for equal rights for blacks!!! how unbelievable is that???

what else is going to happen? what else will i live to see? what will my kids live to see? the possibilities are just endless! this really is an amazing country! we learn from our mistakes and we move on to bigger and better things...i am really proud to be an american today. :)

oh gosh, choked up again!

i have a dream

(by the way, i couldn't find this song on youtube with the original scene from the movie, mama mia, so i found one that was super cute instead! its the same song, and i just discovered someone that i didn't even know exists! what a cutie!! apparently she won "britain's got talent" at like age 6 or 7, i think? wowee! amazing child!)

i have a dream...i always have a dream going on...but this one i've had for some time. i just started thinking about it again...

i dream of our family owning a chunk of property in nature somewhere...foothills maybe...i'd prefer above the rattlesnake line, but really i might not be able to be so choosey.

tonite i was just thinking about it again...not sure what set me off but i was driving by myself (not a common occurance!) in my husband's car which has no stereo so i had time to think (i was getting dinner for us). anyway...my dream...

i don't know how many acres i want, but enough to be able to have a chunk of land to build a little on (or better yet, some existing structures we could tweak to our needs) and a lot of land to be able to take hikes and not hit freeway or other houses for awhile. preferably a creek, but i don't know how easy that would be to find. seasonal would be better than no creek.

my dad has had this dream to have a retreat center for as long as i can remember...i'd like to make his dream come true at the same time as mine. i want to use the same property for his retreat center as for my outdoor school. he could have groups up for retreats and i could run trails and have groups of kids and families for outdoor ed.

i'd like to run something similar to SCICON, but smaller. not as large-scale. something simpler but same kind of concept. i'd love to hire former SCICON interns to help me!

i would love to have it be a residential outdoor school like SCICON, where the kids stay for a week...but if that's not possible, just enable fresno area kids to have a great location for a day trip/field trips would be fantastic! something not too far out of town, so it can still be a day trip. and i don't want to be too far out of civilization.

but oh, how wonderful that would be! i would LOVE it! it would be a lot of work, but i really feel like it could be a very successful business! if we were able to purchase some sort of property that did a camp or church or something that already had some stuff already set up, would be great! an old summer camp, like a sleep-away camp, would be perfect! but oh! how often do things like that go up for sale? and how would i EVER in a million years be able to afford it?

i have a dream....that we would sell our house and my parents would sell their house and maybe some other family members would go in on it...like my brother or someone in adam's family...and we'd be able to make it work. and adam could make instructional videos for people somehow...not sure on that idea yet, but there has to be a way he could make money too so we'd all be able to do well financially. in my dream, it all works out somehow. in the law of attraction, that's how you get things to happen...to believe it can and will happen. i really believe it can and will....someday....somehow...it might not end up exactly how i've got it all mapped out now...it might change a lot...but it could somehow, someday, happen for us all. and oh how wonderful it would be!

i guess i won't ever get anything to happen, though, if i don't keep watching local real estate. because if that summer camp or something similar, goes up for sale somewhere in our area...i need to be watching for it! :) guess i know what i'll be doing tonite now! :)

goodness i LOVE dreaming! its SOOO exciting! :)

living room video

this is a short film my sister-in-law (who is also the very first dancer...sarah) made a long time ago...the little kids are my kids cousins. they are now much older. :)

1234 tell me that you love me more

this is one of our favorite videos. thought i'd share here for those that might not have seen it. she does a great version of this song on sesame street, and we just saw it so it made us think of it again. :)

wow...cool video

it IS something to think about! :)

by the way, i am really loving this show! the young turks is not a show by and for turkish people, as i originally thought...from their site:

Young Turk (n), 1. Young progressive or insurgent member of an institution, movement, or political party. 2. Young person who rebels against authority or societal expectations. (American Heritage Dictionary)

i'm really enjoying their videos! i keep finding fascinating info on there! check it out!

i have to brag about my hubby

for those who don't know, my hubby, adam, is a video photographer/editor. one of his videos (this is the one that he was shooting here), was just posted on youtube so i thought i'd share it:



he shot and edited the entire thing, beginning to end. many of his jobs he has to edit someone else's work, but this one is ALL HIS! :) i'm VERY proud of him, can you tell? :) he's damn good, if i do say so myself! sexy too, hehe! :)

it was shot high definition, by the way...but youtube crunches it down so it ends up looking kinda crappy in quality but trust me its not if you see the original.

i don't even know who these chicks (prima j) are...never heard of them til adam had to do the shoot...but apparently they are pretty popular with the preteen crowd.

OMG! More Tyren stuff!!

ok i'm starting to feel bad because i feel like i'm always blogging about tyren...but i tell ya...he's always doing stuff that is blogworthy! but i WILL try to find more things to blog about maeven too...because she's a hoot as well!

but i have to tell you that not long after the masking tape incident i realized, again, that he was being too quiet...and i went looking for him. found him in the family bedroom with the door closed. uh oh.

i walk in and what do i find? the little stinker has gotten ahold of our sugar-pourer-thingy (the kind they have at diners, where you pour your sugar from a glass container with a metal lid? don't know what to call it), and has poured himself some sugar into a plastic cup (HALF FULL!!! this is one of those kiddy cups from boston market...that's a LOT of sugar!) and is EATING IT WITH A SPOON!!!!

i had to call adam and tell him about that one, and the masking tape incident. 2 things in one day...what a kid i got here.

well then i must share this video from later the same day. if you're not laughing watching this...well, you just don't know what funny is!!!

future brother-in-law?

adam's youngest sister, sarah, is dating an actor, ryan, who lives with her in prague and occasionally i get links sent to me of some of his work. just got this today:



incidentally, the pics of "mary" are of sarah...and the pic of her parents are NOT her parents, who've been divorced for many years and look nothing like that, LOL!

he's pretty talented, eh? LOL!

poptropica ROCKS!!

maeven just LOVES this game! and i have to tell ya...its actually really fun, even for us grownups! it is challenging enough to keep my interest and every couple months they add a new world to explore. pretty dang cool for free! it is kinda a bummer that once you solve a world, there's really nothing left to do...but maeven never seems to mind and keeps playing them over and over. and since they keep adding more worlds...that keeps ME interested! :)

just found this video, check out poptropica!!