July 20, 2011

.let's play a game.

Yesterday, in an effort jazz up a few naked walls by filling some old, empty frames, I began pawing my way through some pictures of my little gals, Boo and Lilo. I found lots of adorable photos, but I was also reminded how similar my two little ladies look. I decided it might be fun to play a round of my new favorite game I just made up: Boo or Lilo!

The rules are simple: I'm going to post a bunch of pictures of Boo and Lilo and you tell me (via a comment on this post), which pictures you think are of Boo and which pictures are of Lilo. Some of the pictures aren't great quality (thanks to our relative poverty and cheap cellphones for that *sigh*), but I think you'll see what I mean about my gals looking like twinners at times. 

I'm interested to see if any of my readers, friends, or family can tell them apart. Some of these are tricky! Even if you know my girls in real life!

Here we go! Time to play...
BOO or LILO!


 {photo one}


 {photo two}


 {photo three}


 {photo four}


 
 {photo five}


 {photo six}


 {photo seven}


   {photo eight}


 {photo nine}


 {photo ten}


 {photo eleven}


 {photo twelve}


Wanna play? Send me a comment with your best guesses! Winner gets... let's say... homemade cookies and a hug from moi!

July 19, 2011

Meet Lilo and Boo

As I've written the last few posts on this blog, it has seemed to me that my little girls have outgrown their pseudonyms. Ladybug is no longer a little baby bug and Jelly Bean, who got her nickname as a wee fetus, certainly no longer fits that embryonic title.

So, after much thought, I've decided to rename my children. Not in real life, of course, but for the purposes of blogging. So, henceforth, Ladybug will be called "Boo" and Jelly Bean will be "Lilo."

Both of these are actual nicknames for my kidlets, so they seem, to me, to suit them both a little better. I hope the change doesn't throw too many people off, but change is constant and change is good, so enjoy he newest modification to my blog!

Boo and Lilo have arrived!

July 18, 2011

oops...

Okay, okay. I know.

You're saying to yourself, "Didn't I read a post on this very blog regarding posting more frequently?" To the handful of people who actually read this blog, I apologize. I could make excuses about not having time or whatever, but I won't. I'll just try to catch you all up with some retroactive posts.

Deal? We good? Good. ^_^

July 5, 2011

1st Annual BBQ Battle Royale!

Over the fourth of July weekend, we held our first annual BBQ Battle Royale! Here's how it went down: 

All the participants brought an entree to grill (with enough servings to feed their family plus leave a sample for all in attendance) and a side dish or dessert to share potluck style. 

See? It's on the dining room chalkboard. It's official.


We all gathered at our place to mingle, grill, taste and then vote. Vote for what? For awesome awards and prizes, of course!

Among the dishes vying for the prize(s) were: awesome homemade baked beans, delicious grilled asparagus, surprisingly tasty wasabi mashed potatoes, sumptuous spicy mussels, juicy tuna burgers, and two delectable variations of BBQ ribs (one dry-rubbed, one with homemade BBQ sauce).

After everyone was done grilling and all the food had been sampled, I passed around ballots for everyone to vote for their favorites in several (unique) categories. All the ballots were kept secret, naturally.

Once the voting was counted and re-counted (yes, re-counted; I am a perfectionist, after all), we got down to business and handed out awards and prizes to all the winners.

Kirk, Cambria, and Ladybug



Hubs and Jelly Bean havin' a good ol' time


Kirk and Cambria chilling after a good meal


Katie doesn't want her picture taken...


Dawni and Zach looking over the ballot.
Let the voting commence!


Katie and Zach enjoying a well earned prize of pineapple sunglasses.


Ladybug as a Pirate with a Chocolate Mousse Frosting Goatee


Nick proudly displaying a hard-earned certificate.
(Ignore the dying grass backdrop, please.)

All the winners got one of these snazzy certificates...

...with the official BBQ Battle Royale 2011 seal (with illustration by my own dear Hubs; he be so talented)!


Me, handing out awards, prizes, and 
eternal BBQ glory!

I'm sure you want to know what awards were won by our esteemed chefs/guests. Well, here they are:

Best Grilled Entree
"The Lord of the Flames Award"
Nick W. for his Dry-Rubbed Pork Ribs


Best Non-Beef Entree
"The 'Where's the Beef?' Award"
Dawni and Zach H. for their Grilled Teriyaki Chicken


Best Side Dish
"The 'Holy Amazing Side Dish, Batman!' Award"
Kirk and Cambria S. for their Wasabi Mashed Potatoes


Best Dessert
"The Better Save Some Room Award"
Hubs and I for our Brownie Cookies with Chocolate Mousse Frosting
(though it wasn't hard for us to win as I made the only dessert of the night ^_^)


Most Complex Dish
"The E=MC Mmmmmm... Award"
Katie and Zach E. for their Spicy Mussels


Most Unique Dish
"The BBQ-Unique Award"
Katie and Zach E. for their Spicy Mussels


Most Likely to Be Featured on The Food Network
"The Next Paula Deen Award"
Kirk and Cambria S. for their Tuna Burgers


Most Likely to Cause Cravings Fortnightly
"The 'Colonel' Award"
Hubs and I for our Brownie Cookies with Chocolate Mousse Frosting


Most Likely to be Used as Currency After the Zombie Apocalypse
"The 'Don't Forget to Kill Phillip!' Award"
Nick W. for his Dry-Rubbed Pork Ribs


Best Dish Overall
"The Highlander Award ...there can only be one!"
Kirk and Cambria S. for their Tuna Burgers


And what did the champions of the evening win?
The BBQ Battle Royale Championship Belt!!!
(made by yours truly)


Kirk accepting the grand prize!

Of course, it wouldn't have been much fun if our peeps didn't get into the spirit, but they didn't disappoint and all awards were accepted with great excitement and pride. I'm sure a lot of people would find me to be a total dork for throwing such an over-the-top barbeque, but not our pals. We have wonderful friends who will not only humor me when I attempt such cheesy endeavors, but let their inner campy selves out, too!

I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all, seeing as everyone requested that we make this an annual event!

Oh, and to all you who were there for this epic event, I expect to see your certificates hanging in a place of honor in your respective living rooms next time we visit!
 

©  2009 Bedlam is Bliss