I've Been Lazy Lately

And that is so unlike me! :)

Today I did a 'mom' thing. I went on a field trip with my son's class! *gasp* And I didn't go alone. I took Shelb. We went to the Museum of Discovery and Science. The movie showing at the IMAX was about Sharks. You can imagine how cool that was being in 3D. A couple of the kids got scared by the realness and bigness of it all. Shelb didn't care. But she refused to wear her 3D glasses. Not sure why. After puking on me a few times she went to sleep.

It was a long day for me. I ended up staying at the school and helping them prepare for licensing next week. Plus Shelb got introduced to the ladies who work in the babies' room in the mornings.

Just finished reading: Tigana
Currently reading: Spandau Phoenix

I Wish I Could Take Credit For These

TEN THINGS TO PONDER FOR 2007

#10 Life is sexually transmitted.

#9 Good health is merely the slowest rate at which one can die.

#8 Men have two emotions: hungry and horny. If you see him without an erection, make him a sandwich.

#7 Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day. Teach a person to use the internet and they won't bother you for weeks.

#6 Some people are like a slinky... not really good for anything, but you still can't help but smile when you shove them down the stairs.

#5 Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in the hospital dying of nothing.

#4 All of us could take a lesson from the weather. It pays no attention to criticism.

#3 Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars, and a substantial tax cut saves you thirty cents???

#2 In the 60's, people took LSD to make the world weird. Now the world is weird and people take Prozac to make it normal.

AND THE NUMBER ONE THOUGHT FOR 2007: We know exactly where one cow with mad-cow-disease is located among the millions and millions of cows in America , but we haven't a clue as to where thousands of
illegal immigrants and terrorists are located. Maybe we should put the
Department of Agriculture in charge of immigration.

D-Day

...is Feb 5.

This Weekend

New pix here...
And here...
And here...
We spent Saturday in Naples with hubby's family. His aunt's husband was celebrating his bday plus his retirement from a previous state job has just kicked in. We had a good time eating and talking as usual. A lot of the pix above of from that gathering. There were three babies there all under six months old. They were the real stars of the day but I didn't post any pix of the two besides Shelb cause I didn't ask their momma's first.

Sunday I took Sid and Shelb to another bday party. My girlfriend's daughter turned two and they had the party at Chuck E. Cheese. You can bet Sid was excited to go when he heard! As soon as he got there he was ready to play. When he realized money/tokens were involved he came over with his palm open asking me for some. Shelb on the other hand didn't know what was going on, but she was excited too. I guess she enjoyed the music and all the screaming kids.

You haven't heard me talk about my cooking escapades lately because I haven't had any, unless you count boiling spaghetti or grilling hot dogs. No? Didn't think so. Oh, wait, there was the vegetable lasagna I made, but how easy is that? My mother keeps bringing me recipes from Publix to try. They look easy and good but I haven't gotten around to any of them yet. I guess I'm preoccupied with thoughts of going back into the office. I know that day is coming very soon. I told hubby the other day that we should move to Canada but as usual he wasn't hearing me. Unless I go to him with a plan he will continue to not hear me. Hmm, sounds like a challenge.

I'm on my son's PTA Board. Sometimes I still can't believe I'm a mother! And even moreso now a motherx2. A girlfriend of mine said to me yesterday, "You and K make such pretty babies. Why don't you have more?" Ha HA! This from a woman who bore five kids herself. Yeah, K laughed even more than I did.

I'm really feeling a major trip right about now. The first one should be to Holland. After that I'm open. I've never been to Grenada and since meeting up with my fam I've had this curiosity to go and see what it's like. Of course, Jamaica is always an option. Canada too. Japan, as improbable as it looks right now, is also on my list. I think I have enough pseudo-travel plans for this year.

Made My Day

In the daytime, while I'm driving around running errands is when I think about what I want to post later in the day. These days everything that comes to mind is forgotten by the time I get home! Old age??

On a positive note, when I dropped off Sid to school this morning one of parents saw me and told me that everytime he sees me I look like a superstar. See, now that is totally believable. :)

I...Don't Know

Usually I do these tests multiple times (like Miz JJ) but this time I didn't feel like it. So, this is what I got the first time around).

K's Kids

Today is K's bday. We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Here he is in all his bday glory with his cheesecake and his offspring.

Updates

The past few days have been quite emotional. Here's a high-level list:

1. Shelby was blessed.
2. I met family members for the first time.
3. I hung out with my sister and one of her partners.
4. Of course, we entered a new year.

Meeting Mocha and the fam was somewhat surreal. I was both nervous and excited to meet them in person. My father is the youngest of five children - he has three brothers and a sister. I never knew him. One of his brothers was my GP when I lived in Toronto. The other siblings I didn't know either. Everything so worked out that the two unknown brothers and their wives and some of their children would be in my neck of the woods for New Year's. So I invited all of them to Shelby's blessing. Saturday morning, sitting in church on the balcony, I was watching and waiting for them to arrive. I left to change Shelby's diaper and when I came back I noticed the pews were no longer empty. The first person I saw was my cousin MusicMan who I recognized from the pictures. Next was Mocha's dad, and beside him was his brother, MusicMan's dad. They all greeted me with hugs and kisses and I continued to my seat which was in front of them and to their right. Service had just started so I couldn't stop to talk. As I sat I looked over my left shoulder at the men I had just passed and glimpsed another familiar face just behind them. It was Mocha smiling at me and I couldn't help but smile back. Her mother and MusicMan's stepmom were sitting with her and they smiled 'hi' at me too. I turned back around and all I could think was They're really here. They're right behind me. If I turn around they'll still be there. And, of course, not wanting to stare, I surreptitiously stole sidelong glances until it was time to go down to the front. I got up to leave and motioned for everyone to follow. Once in the foyer we waited for the person praying to finish. We didn't move too much or talk more than necessary, we just waited. At the appointed time I led they way to the front, Shelby was blessed then we filed back out. Once back in the foyer out came the cameras and the hugs and talking started. My mother was trying to tell me that we had time for everything later and that we should go to finish preparing for lunch, but she didn't understand. She didn't understand that I had been waiting all morning, actually for months, to get my hands on my cousins. I'm sure it sounds strange but I just wanted to hold them. I was so happy that they found me, that they wanted to find me. I didn't want to wait another minute to relieve some of that nervous/anxious energy by going from person to person claiming my hugs and soaking in their smiles. We eventually left and had lunch together and with a few of my friends who also attended the blessing. Many times throughout the day I was almost overcome with emotion at the whole thing, thinking about how things have been and the progression of events that led to our meeting all together how we did. MusicMan lives in Japan so he was reuniting with his father and Mocha. Mocha and her parents were meeting MusicMan's stepmom for the first time. And I was meeting everyone for the first time (well, Mocha's dad said the last time he and his wife saw me I was four or five years old).

The next day, Sunday, we didn't talk but you can be sure that first thing Monday morning I was making phone calls to find out what the plans for the day were. I got to Mocha's hotel by noon and all seven of us spent the day at a large mall browsing from store to store. The day reluctantly ended at 10:30 that night after lots of laughter and more food. We got to scratch the surface of getting to know each other and from what I've seen I want to know more. I can't wait for more opportunities to learn even more about them. We have at least 25 years to catch up on! I wish I had met my cousins earlier. Tomorrow MusicMan leaves to go back to Japan so I'll be making a trip to deliver some tamarind balls to him before he goes.

And speaking of family, I've spent more time with my sister over the past four days than over the past few years. She came down with one of her business partners, Ms Ashley, for the blessing and for work. Sunday they invited me to their first photo shoot and we ended spending the rest of the day together. I got to know Ms Ashley a little and decided that I like her a lot. She is a sweet person with a great attitude. Tuesday they came over and stayed for dinner. I stuffed Ms Ashley with lasagna and cake and ice cream. :) Hey, she said she like it. We sat around and talked some more but they had things they had to do before leaving the next day so we said our goodbyes. We'll be talking again soon I hope.

Spending time with the family and special friends was the best way to start the new year. I couldn't have asked for a better beginning.

There were a few good times had last year (having Shelby and meeting the fam), but I'm still glad to see 2006 go. Happy New Year, Everyone!

Recipe Responses

@Chele - I'm trying to remember where I got the lemon pepper chicken recipe from! If I remember correctly this is what I used: 2 chicken breasts halved, lawry's lemon pepper seasoning, freshly ground black pepper, and lawry's seasoned salt. I cooked it in the oven on 325 for about an hour. The sauce was made from 1/2 bottle Cavit's Pinot Grigio, 6 tbsps unsalted butter, and half of a lime. I brought it to a boil and let it simmer for a while (less than ten minutes). Then I poured the sauce on the chicken when it was done, turned off the oven, and put the chicken back in for 15 minutes. What I would change next time: make extra sauce and cook the chicken a bit less cause it came out dry (but teh sauce really made a difference.

@Anonymous - I was asked to post the recipe for Contessa's Lemon Fusilli with Arugula. Here is a site that has it.