Happy Birthday Amber!

Today is my sister Amber's birthday. She is my best friend and so this is for her....

Amber was the 5th child of 8 Dean kids. We were only 16 months apart in age.She is the baby on my moms lap.
We were and still are the best of friends. People often told us we looked like twins.
When we were young, we always did everything together including playing on the same basketball team.
One of her most favorite things to do is to dance and may I add that she has some crazy dance moves. She can really shake her booty.
I would be lost without this girl.

She is a great mommy and wife...
I could not ask for a better sister. The Lord put us this close for a reason and I love that we are sisters....

I love Rhodes

I thought that I would share a great find...

I love homemade bread. I could eat it all the time but it is such a pain to make. Well, I found the next best thing and it turns out so much prettier than my loaves ever did. It is Rhodes frozen wheat bread loaves. It is like $2.63 for 3 loaves. Such a great deal and very yummy!! So, when someone asks you if you made that bread you can tell them YES! I did. Well, atleast I baked it.

Death by washing machine

Poor Devin! He left his 30 gig Ipod in his pants pocket and usually I check the pockets before throwing things into the washing machine. But, these pants were left on the laundry room floor and did not get their usual inspection. I heard a bit of a clanking as the machine went round and round but did not bother to find out the cause of the noise. To my horror when I went to put the clothes in the dryer, there it was... What an expensive mistake. Devin was very sad most of yesterday. Jonathan tried valiantly to save the poor thing. He took it apart and let it dry out,but it was gone.. It just made this sad strange clicking sound.

I was hoping with Jonathan's amazing computer skills he could make a miracle happen...No miracle for us today. So, now it will go to the apple recycling bin. Atleast we can get 25 bucks for that.

Lesson on Sharing

Every Thursday I go and cook with Monica for some of her clients. It's a great learning experience for me, as it helps me to get so many ideas on what to make for the week and how to cook healthy. Well, Haylee almost always comes with me. It gives her a chance to play with her cousin Brian. They are only 6 months apart in age and have grown up very close, almost as brother and sister. Yesterday Haylee came downstairs with her pockets full of change.. This is how the conversation proceeded.

Melanie- "Where did you get all that money?"
Haylee- "Brian gave it to me..."
Monica- "Brian you have been saving up that money for a long time. You need to go put it back in your bank."

Haylee and Brian seemed disappointed. Haylee comes down later with her hands in her pocket and said she wants me to take her to the store so she can spend her dollar that Brian shared with her. I told her that she was supposed to put the change back in Brian's bank. She proceeds to take a Dollar that has been ripped in half out of her pocket.

Haylee- "I did put the change back but Brian said he wanted to share his dollar so we could both get something. Brian has one half and I have the other."

It was very funny. We had to explain to them that it does not work that way. Monica suggested trading the dollar for 4 quarters and Brian could than give Haylee 2 of the quarters. But he didn't want 4 quarters he wanted a dollar!!! HA HA!

NBA Finals

If anyone knows me, they know how much I love basketball. This years finals are especially good. I know the Jazz are not there but the Celtics are. Kevin Garnett has been one of my favorite players since he entered the NBA right out of high school. I remember when I was young watching the Celtics and Lakers play. My dad hated the Lakers and LOVED the Celtics. Larry Bird was our hero. Well, I think it was just bred into me to hate the Lakers. My prediction was that the Celtics would win in 6. After tonights game, I think I want to change it to 5....

GO CELTICS!!!!

Costco Fiasco

We ventured to Costco today to do some shopping. As always, Costco was very busy. It was hard to maneuver down the isles. So, Jonathan would wait as I went down each isle to get what I needed. Haylee would stay with me for the most part but started to wander and I would have to keep calling her back. There was a man that was behind me. He seemed to go where I would go. After getting the bread I needed, I went to put it in the cart but could not find Haylee. I looked over to where I was at and for some reason she thought the man that was behind me was Jonathan and jumped on his cart as he was pushing it away. He looked down at her very puzzled and stopped. I called her name and she just froze. She just sat staring at the man like " what are you doing and where is my dad?" Than Jonathan called for her also.... She realized her mistake but was so embarrassed that she would not move. I sent Devin to get her and she just broke down and started to cry. It was quite funny but I did not dare laugh. Maybe this is a good lesson on staying with mom when we go to the grocery store..

The Host

The latest book from Stephenie Meyer is called "The Host." Aubrey and I went in halfsies and bought it last week. Well, for a week straight I haven't been able to put it down. This is one of the reasons you have not seen a new blog from me in that amount of time. Well, I finished it on Tuesday. It was really good. There was actually a part in it that got so intense that I put the book down and would not pick it up again for 2 days for fear of what was going to happen. Okay, so I really get involved in the books I read. I am sure my husband is very thankful that I have finished it. I will now get back to my daily routine again. I do have laundry piled up higher than I would like. I should invent something so that you can read and fold laundry at the same time. Maybe there is something already out there that I don't know about yet.
But, now I am craving another good book. Any suggestions?