MY 38th BIRTHDAY ?!?!

I have ALWAYS loved my birthday...what's not to love? You are the center of attention for one day, people sing to you as they bring you an entire cake and then you open presents.

Well, this was the first year that I approached my birthday with my trepidation...HOW COULD I POSSIBLE BE 38 (almost 40)? Where has the time gone? I have a son that is going to be a Freshmen in high school...SERIOUSLY? I was JUST in HIGH SCHOOL!!! I went to a wedding last month where I was friends with the PARENTS of the groom.

I think the other realization I have had is how much my own parents DIDN'T KNOW. I remember thinking they were so old and experienced that they were making the decisions for me and brother from this vast knowledge that they had acquired as adults. I thought that once I got into my 30's suddenly I would be graced with this same knowledge...IT WAS ALL A LIE!!! I am here here to tell you, you don't receive some special "parent knowledge". I am seriously winging it as a parent. You know I am trying to make the best decisions I can, but I am still LEARNING as I go along...

So, May 30th came and we did celebrate. I attended church with my family, which is one of my favorite things to do. Then that evening Mom and Pop made me their favorite dish they had while they were in Italy...Bistecca Trestevere con Rucola (Beef steak in the Trestevere style with Arugula) and it was DELICIOUS!!! There was no birthday cake slathered with icing (due to the fact I am cutting out sugar for a year), but my mom did make me a yummy orange-cranberry bread which she stuck 2 pretty candles that look like roses.

I survived the increase of a year and after thinking about all I have accomplished in my 38 years, I am pretty happy and look forward to what the next 38 hold in store for me.

NO SWEETS!! day 1

Last year the girls had a bet with Steve to not eat CANDY for 1 year beginning February 15, 2009. About halfway through the year Katie fell out of the competition. Becky and Belle survived the entire year and spent yesterday, February 15, 2010, eating (gorging) on the candy they had collecting through the year.

Well, it was a short reunion with sweets because as of today the whole family is going NO SWEETS for 1 year. That means NO cake, cookies, brownies, candy, hot cocoa, sugar coated cereal, granola bars that are coated with chocolate or have chocolate chips. We will all get 2 "free" days to eat any sweets we want. I think my two days will be when we go to Boston in June, I have to have a canoli from Mike's Pastry, and Christmas. We have also each chosen what we would want for a prize if we make it to the end. Not only do I need to go sweet free for a year, but I need to get to my goal weight. So my prize will be going to Hawaii to show of my new slender body. I think it will be interested to see if there is any difference how I feel not taking in the added sugar...will it make a difference in my weight loss. Steve confided in me this morning that he woke up at 1:00 am wanting M&Ms, does he usually want M&Ms in the middle of the night...NO...but knowing he can't have it makes him want it all the more. Which I am sure will be the big challenge initially these first couple of weeks.

So today I bid BYE-BYE to chocolate, white sugar, fudge, ice cream for one year.

SUPERBOWL XLIV

After 16 weeks of regular season and three weeks of play offs, SUPER BOWL Sunday arrived. Unfortunately the San Diego Chargers were not one of the teams playing. Instead the NFC Champion New Orleans Saints were facing the Indianapolis Colts. I guess if the Charger were no there my next favorite team would be the Colts (Peyton Manning and all his dorky cuteness)

Steve was off this week after having to work Super Bowl Sunday for the last 3. We decided it would be a great time for us to host. After attending our church meetings in the morning we came home and got into some comfortable, football watching clothes and finished prepping food. All 3 families would be bringing soups and I was providing hot wings, Stromboli, veggie tray, guacamole and other snacky food. We had soooooo much food, but with 12 children between the 3 couples much of it was eaten before the somewhat disappointing halftime show began.

Steve made a chart for us all to put our names in different boxes to predict what the winning score was. There was a silly prize for the person who chose the correct final score. It was a different way to get everyone involved, even the kids who were not much interested in the actual game, but had more interest in the food and foodies that were laying out waiting to be devoured by them.
The game was OK, commercials were mediocre, the halftime show I seriously did not enjoy. But the best part was spending a few hours with the Nighs and the Duves we have been doing this with them for 5 years. I feel so blessed to have such good friends that get our jokes and humor and I can just be myself around. It helps to make for a GREAT evening.
When the game was over...thee Colts(Peyton Manning the Cute Dorky QB) lost and the New Orleans Saints had the big WIN... we chose the winner of the game. Brecken won the good bag which consisted of a foam football (blue, good for either the Colts or Chargers), a pair of goofy novelty glasses and a whistle shaped like a football. Brecken was a good sport and donned the glasses and held the other gear for me to get my bog worthy picture..thanks Brecken.

It was a fabulous evening, can't believe we will have to wait 364 days to do it all over again. Maybe my wonderful Chargers won't choke in the play offs and will be the team I am cheering for next year.

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Combine pumpkin, sugar, vegetable oil, and egg. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, ground cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Dissolve the baking soda with the milk and stir in. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and mix well.
Add vanilla, chocolate chips and nuts.
Drop by spoonful on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 12 minutes or until lightly brown and firm.

Sushi anyone?

Mom and Pop have come up for a visit. Well, it is a little more than a visit. My babies are turning 9 years old on Tuesday. That is stinkin' CRAZY!! While we are celebrating this wonderful event on Tuesday, Mom and Pop offered to take us out to dinner on Monday. And one of Katie and Becky's favorite lace has been the Fortune Cookie restaurant.
It is a mix of Chinese food and a full Sushi bar. My little girls are quite adventurous when it comes to food. About 6 months ago we went to the Fortune Cookie and while there Grandma ordered some Salmon and Tuna Sushi. The girls all tried and loved it so much that Grandma had hardly any for herself. So she order a few rolls for herself again last night and had a repeat. Katie especially seems to love the stuff.

All the kids order Japanese Bento Boxes. The girls chose boxes that came with salmon teriyaki and 6 California Rolls. Zack was the most adventurous. He also ordered a Japanese Bento box, but rather than getting the Teriyaki, he ordered octopus sushi. The waiter was quite surprised and confirmed a couple of times if Zack was sure that was what he wanted.

When the food arrived, we all watched to see how Zack would handle the octopus. He did eat 1 1/2 of the,. He said it was a bit chewy and hard to get down. But I sure was proud of him for trying something new. I am not sure I would ever have the courage to order octopus.

Everyone enjoyed their meal and we ended with the traditional fortune cookie. I am so grateful to have Mom and Pop around and their willingness to expose my children to new experiences.

Bye, Bye...Blueberry Pie

Tomorrow I leave for Phoenix, Arizona!!

My friends; Suzanne, Sandra and I are meeting my friends Sarah, Kim, and Kathy at Creative Escape. We signed up for this back in October of 2007. It has seemed so far away, but the event has crept up on me. I am very excited, but I always feel a little guilty leaving my family behind. Steve has taken vacation time to be home when the kids get home from school and to do homework while I am gone. So as a little treat/thank you, I made a blueberry pie.

I have made many apple pies and made a peach pie, but I have never made a blueberry pie before. I guess I could have looked it up in one of my MANY cookbooks, but decided to google instead. I found what appeared to be a simple recipe and went to work.

So, now I can leave tomorrow feeling a little better that I left a yummy treat for Steve to eat while I am gone.

Swiss Days

Yesterday Wendy, Sandra, Jill, Julie and I went to Swiss Days in Midway.

This was my second year going and I was just as excited.

Wendy was nice enough to drive us all there.

After walking around and shopping for a while we made our way over to the scones.

They were HUMONGOUS!!!

Wendy and I split one so we would still have an appetite for lunch later.

There were s many booth with magnet boards and cool frames to hang on your walls.
I loved much of the stuff, but I already have so many things on my walls, I wasn't sure where I would dd something new

Once it got too hot and we had walked through most of the booths, we decided it was time to head to Park City and have lunch.

We went to Hapa Grill. We ate there last year and I was excited to eat there again. Their food was so yummy. It is also very pretty. Take a look at some of the yummies we ordered.



It was a fun afternoon. I am already looking forward to next year.

Chocolate Shakes & Onion Rings

On October 3, 1993, I had gone to Incahoots after work. I was hoping to see Steve there. We needed a chance to talk and a dance club is not a great place to have a conversation, so we drove over to a little diner named Kooky's because I was craving onion rings and a shake. We walked in, place our order and began to chat. We got back into my little red Paseo and drove back over to Incahoots and sat in the parking lot and finished our conversation. I said I need to go home and eat my onion rings and shake and Steve needed to go back into the club because his brother was in there. BUT before he got out of the car he turned to me and said, "should I tell Shelly I have a girlfriend?" (Shelly was a girl that was interested in him and he had spent some time hanging out with) And I said, "Yes, you should tell her you have a girlfriend." And then I drove away.

We now try to celebrate the date that Steve and I began dating exclusively by going somewhere and buying chocolate shakes and onion rings. The kids have even gotten into it. They know exactly what we mean when we mention onion rings and shakes. It is a fun little tradition that means the world to me. It is pretty yummy too!!

Pancakes for Dinner

I forgot to put anything into the crockpot today before church. Steve stepped up and decided to make a BIG BREAKFAST for dinner. The kids love these dinners. This menu consists of:

• blueberry pancakes
• scrambled eggs
• sausage links

Steve decided to ask Katie for a little assistance. She manned the scrambled eggs. All the kids love to have the opportunity to lend a hand in the kitchen.

After we finished our "breaknner" and cleaned up the kitchen we all decided to go out to the front yard and just enjoy the evening weather. After a few minutes of watching the kids rollerblade I decided we should play a game. Out came the soccer ball and some makeshift goals. Steve and I were team captains and chose our teams: Me, Zack and Becky vs. Steve, Belle and Katie. It was a blast!!! Lots of laughing and team work.