Happy Birthday, Dad!

60 years ago today, my dad, Lee "Mickey" Lundgren, was born in Chicago, Illinois. His family left the windy city when he was just a lad, and moved to sunny, warm California, where he now resides. Since it's his special day, here are a few things you should know about my Dad:

• He is called "Mickey" because his mom called him her "little Irish Mick" when he was a boy and it became his nickname.



• He enjoys NASCAR (but I'm not sure who his favorite driver is. Jeff Gordon?)



• When my brothers and I were young, he bought a cow named "Clover" who had a calf, and my dad named the calf "Food"...well, you can figure out why. He didn't want us to get too attached to it.



• He is big-hearted and gives powerful hugs. He is very strong.



• He was a "hippy" in the 60's, and I have a picture of him in a tye-dyed tank top to prove it.



• He is a Vietnam War Veteran and I am very proud of him for serving his country with honor.


• He loves to have fun. He's a 25 year old in a 60 year old body.

So, Dad, I hope you have a very special day!

I only wish we lived closer so we could celebrate together. I love you!

This is my name

Made by Andrea Micheloni

The sign changes every time I visit this site.
Click on it and you can make your own sign :)

Thinking twice about lemon water

I love lemons!

In California there are probably as many lemon trees as palm trees, and my mother-in-law has a nice, big one in her backyard. When she comes to visit, she usually packs a few to bring along because she knows how much I like them.

Personally, nothing hits the spot on a hot day like a big, icy glass of lemonade, or if I'm feeling under the weather, it's nice to have a cup of steaming hot tea with a squeeze of fresh lemon and honey. I also enjoyed lemon in my water when dining out; however, after my friend Lori forwarded this video to me, I shall be drinking tap water sans lemon from now on. How about you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeye8wnBJoU

Is dog food tasty?

I have never tasted dog food, at least I cannot remember if I have; however, Luke has discovered the crunchy morsels in Missy's dog bowl and can't keep them out of his mouth!

Now, I'm not dumb. I do realize that as long as he is crawling around in the kitchen, the dog's food and water bowls should be on the counter. But, the dog's gotta eat, right? So when Luke is seemingly occupied with other things, or is crawling off to another room, I put the food down. And today I forgot about it.

Every mom knows that when a crawling baby is quiet for more than 60 seconds straight, it's probably because they are into something they shouldn't be...like unraveling toilet paper into the toilet, pulling trash out of the trashcan, or eating dog food, which is precisely what Luke was doing this morning. Unfortunately, I didn't catch him in time. When I fished the chunks out of his mouth, they were nothing more than the leftover dissolved particles of the larger, denser pieces that he had managed to get into his mouth.

So, I suppose I can take comfort in the information I read on the Goodlife website:

"That's why all of our products are made with the right balance of real wholesome ingredients your pet needs without any of the artificial flavors or preservatives they don't. Our range of food for dogs and cats, wholesome biscuits & bones for dogs and wholesome treats for cats are not only safe but healthy and delicious."

Since Luke loves Missy so much, it only seems natural that he should share in the love of her food too, right?

The budding virtuoso

Luke received this "baby grand" piano from his Grandma for Christmas.

He absolutely loves it. I would guess that his two favorite toys are the piano and the dog's water bowl (when he sneaks over to splash in it when I'm not looking!)

Christmas Eve

I'm a little behind with my posting due to the fact that Johan and Hannah are home for Christmas break and I don't have as much "free" time as usual, which I really don't mind because it's nice having them around the house. Nevertheless, I wanted to post a few pictures from Christmas Eve. It was a beautiful evening and Hannah, Luke and I ventured out after a nice Swedish dinner (prepared mostly by Hannah ~ I'm so proud of her!) to enjoy the fresh snow and Christmas lights. The neighbor up the street from us had his lights set to blink to the beat of Christmas tunes. It was quite a show and Luke was impressed! Hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas.

This is a test

I decided to try posting video. This is an older clip of Luke. It is only 18 seconds long, but it took 10 minutes to upload.