I blogged a whole page this morning and as I went to save and publish, it knocked me into the “Sign In” page and threw away all my mornings efforts.

Which is kind of ironic,  because I signed off with, “I feel like it’s going to be a great week”…….  and there you have it!!

So, here I am at 9am starting over for the day.

But at least I have my view in my office and a full plate in front of me for the week.  I had a busy weekend shooting and now editing will commence……

The funnest thing I did was (believe it or not) go to the Readers festival in Mission Viejo.

For all the years I have lived here, I have never taken part.  I didn’t know when it was, what it was, or why I should go.  But on this day I was drawn their for one of our dance teachers.  We heard she was dancing and so we wanted to go see her.  I didn’t know what I was walking into when we went, and I was surprised at what a huge event it was.  It was Renaissance period (and if you know me at all, you know this had me at Hello!)  We walked in looking for our dancer and what we saw was this cute little world of period play.

If it wasn’t 90 degrees and I wasn’t falling asleep from being up so early for the CHOC walk, I would have enjoyed much more time there.   Within a few minutes of arrival, we ran into our Renaissance Faire Queen.  I recognized her immediately; not only from her amazing dress, but when we were at the faire a few years ago, she had a moment with Aspen and Avery and I got the cutest pictures.  To see my sweet little cherubs absolutely gleam in the presence of the “Queen” (Who took a particular liking to Avery because she ‘also’ had red hair) makes me smile at her presence.

In truth, she’s probably just an actress who wanders the events in her dress, but to see her in our city, with our kids in the same attire and the same character brought a bit of fantasy and fairytale to our day.  I got a picture with the girls and her and I must dig out the others and scrapbook them.

I don’t know what it is about the Renaissance period that intrigues me.  I love the costumes and the ‘speak’ of the time.  One might think I was once from that time period.  And if I wished it so, I may actually get my wish.  But with my luck, I wouldn’t be the one adorned in silk…but likely the one who empties the pi*s pots…..  If my day were any indication of my former life, I’m best to stay where I’m at!!

But as we walked through the festival, it was so nice.  Clearly a lot of effort went into this.  And by the time we left, I felt like I didn’t get as much out of it as I wanted, because I know there was so much more to explore.  But the 3am hour was weighing heavy on me and I had to get the kids back home so we could try to recover.

I don’t know what it is about the early mornings, but when you throw off your morning schedule, even by a few hours, it usually takes a few days to recover.

And as I had ideas of going home an cozying up on the couch with the kids; Beef Stroganoff was looming in the back of my mind and I knew ‘today’ was the day to make it.  So I stopped at the store on the way home and got all my ingredients.

The recipe called for canned mushrooms….but there was just no way.  I think Chris and I are officially food snobs.  Once you get the taste for fresh foods; there is no turning back.  And while this recipe took a few hours to make; I understand why people turn to convenience foods.  However, as a food snob, there is just no comparison to good wholesome fresh ingredients.  And I didn’t feel like eating this alone, so I invited company.  I wasn’t sure how I would stay awake; but I gotta tell ya….being in the presence of people you love really makes for a nice night.  Jake even came over and added to our conversation.  A new and fun dynamic to the same ol’ boring stuff we usually talk about on Sunday nights.

All in all, the day was rich and full.  And even though my first blog went the way of the Dodo bird; I’m okay with the fact that I had to issue a re-write.  But now my day is starting ‘late’ and I gotta hustle.

Hope your day is great!
Happy Monday!