Giveaway Winner...

Thanks to all who entered the giveaway!

Random Integer Generator (via random.org):

#7- Loni 

Timestamp: 2009-11-21 09:58:03 

Congratulations to Loni (#7)!  Email me as soon as possible so that I can give you the details about picking up your lovely basket on Tuesday! :)

And... We're off.

Jackson Hole, here we come!

Wednesday Weekly Meal Planner

It’s Wednesday! Thanks for checking in. In a couple of days our family will be heading to Jackson Hole, WY to spend a wonderful Thanksgiving with my Dad and Stepmom. I’m taking a break from the meal planner until I get back, and get out of vacation mode! :)

Cozy-ing up!

Lately, we've had to add a few things to keep our late afternoon walks comfortable.

A hat...

A cozy blanket...

...and an extra HUGE dose of adorable.

Giveaway!!

Remember those BIG, beautiful, organic baskets of fresh fruits, vegetables, and flowers we receive weekly? 

Do you want to win one? 

 Michael and I will be heading out of town on vacation, and we'd like to give away our farm-picked CSA basket for the week! You can win it for yourself, a friend or family member, or if you are not local, you may donate it to the Second Harvest Food Bank (the basket will be delivered in your name to the bank... just in time for Thanksgiving!).

If the winner is local: since we will be out of town, we'll have no way of delivering it personally to the winner, so the winner must be available to pick up the basket in the afternoon on Tuesday, November 24th in San Juan Capistrano or Ladera Ranch (whichever you prefer). 

Enter before 8:00 pm this Saturday, November 21st. The winner will be selected via a random number generator and announced before midnight.

To enter, leave a comment below (one per person, please) specifying if you'd like it for a) yourself / friend / family, or b) The Second Harvest Food Bank.

All entries welcome.

Good Luck!! :)

You're so vain....

You probably think this post is about you.

You're so vain,

I'll bet you think this post is about you...

Don't you? Don't you?

Feeding Very Brave (or Starving) Ducks...

Em and I took our kids to a park in Laguna Niguel to feed the ducks. As soon as we walked down by the water, about a hundred (I'm not exaggerating) different birds started wading toward us (including a rather large flock of geese), got out of the water, and came right up to our feet. We didn't even have any food out. As soon as we pulled out food, even more birds came.

Emily and Maia becoming surrounded by birds before getting food out for them.

As soon as we started to feed them, it got a little wild. These animals must have been starving! The squirrels and the birds were fighting over the cheerios. I've never seen anything like it.

These geese opened their mouths and showed their teeth and tongue to a medium sized dog that came by. Then they started hissing at him. The dog's tail immediately went between its legs. I had NO idea geese could be so fierce! The dog walker was from England and said that back home, they use geese like guard dogs because they are territorial and attack trespassers. Well, we weren't attacked exactly, but they definitely were not afraid to get uncomfortably close to us.

I felt so nervous having Andi around all of those birds that I never put her down! I kept scooting back, and they kept coming closer. I finally just stomped toward them to get them to back off a little bit... I'm such a wimp!!

Much more comfortable with this distance!

It was fun... and hilarious. We had a blast.

Afterward, we walked over to the playground where Andi had her first "swing."