When Hubby is Away...

Hubby is in Chicago as I write this. He left on Sunday morning and is coming home on Monday. It's some work thing. There's a factory tour involved, but I forget what factory. He went to a baseball game on Sunday, too.

As everyone knows... when Hubby is away, ToadMama will PLAY. I have to whoop it up every now and then, right?

I didn't really whoop it up, but I did have fun. Shannon, the oldest kid (and my most-frequent blog commenter), came over for dinner.

We started off with modified Insalata Caprese, which is tomatoes, provolone cheese and balsamic vinegar. Typically, you use mozzarella cheese. Fresh basil, too. But provolone is all I had. And it was way too hot to run out for different cheese.

I have to say, the tomatoes were AWESOME. They were grown by my Dad. But they were just the appetizer. We topped those off with...

... steamed shrimp. The only thing missing was corn on the cob. But we ate enough Insalata Caprese to make up for it.

And we washed it all down with our new favorite summertime beverage (thanks to Kathy and Barry Spice for this one). Fresh blueberries (slightly smashed) topped with crushed ice, Stoli Blueberry vodka and Simply Lemonade. I suppose any lemonade will do, but Simply Lemonade tastes just like fresh-squeezed. And you can use a less-expensive blueberry vodka, but Stoli gives it a much better flavor.

Enough about the food and beverages, let's talk about Shannon. Have I mentioned here that she's planning a trip? It's not just any trip, it is an around-the-world voyage. Literally. You can read all about it on her blog, Where's Shan Now?. She'll be backpacking (traveling on the cheap, staying in hostels, etc.) around places like Barcelona, Prague, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Singapore, etc.

She got her hair cut for ease of care during her trip. Not like THIS though, much to Hubby's relief. I made a comment on her blog that, if she came over on Sunday, I'd take some pics so she could show the world her new hairdo.

So (drum roll, please), here's Shannon and her very cute new do.

Doesn't she look fabulous? And worldy? And cool? (Did I mention it was oppressively hot yesterday?)

She's very photogenic. Unlike someone else we know and love.

I was making her laugh. This is probably not one of her favorite pictures, but I love her smile.

Belle wanted in on some modeling action, too. We had to cut the shoot short anyway, the mosquitoes were eating us alive.

This is my favorite picture from the shoot. Gorgeous, ain't she? And brave! She'll be gone for a whole year (at least). She's going by herself, too. Around the world!

I'll miss her terribly, but am very excited for her to be taking advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

She's leaving on October 1. Be sure to visit her blog to see how she's doing, where she is, etc.