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THURSDAY, MAY 26, 2011

30 Days of Twist & Pin Hairstyles – Day 26

Are you following the Hair Romance 3o Day Hairstyle Challenge?

Day 26 – High Twist and Pin bun hairstyle

25 Yrs........it's a big deal!

My gift to AB: 25 pics of me, #5 for 5 kids, a piece of a Korean newspaper, a pic of him from Seattle
on a stretched canvass

If you are celebrating any kind of "Big Deal," a very special place to dine is, La Belle Vie.
I think this is about the 3rd anniversary we have spent there- and again, it was wonderful!

To start with we each had a drink in the bar:

I had a Passion fruit, ginger froth martini that was delicious! 

I wish I had taken more pictures of everything, but I didn't want to be obnoxious-snapping away. And it was nice just enjoying the evening.

We had the 8 course tasting menu- YES- 8 courses!!!!!! Oh my- they were each 3 or 4 bites  of incredible flavors! So, pretty small portions.

AB likes really good food, but is not the most adventurous eater. I thank him for going all the way with this one. We  had, raw ahi tuna, rabbit, morels, foi gras, lamb and a cheese course- all which he says he doesn't eat, and he ate and LOVED. Other than the cheese plate. So yay!!!!

Our edible anniversary dessert. Yum!

25 yrs. ago  1986------ whew! time flies!!!!!

IntelliGender was correct.

It's a boy and we are giddy with excitement!

There he is, little Baxter, comfy in my tummy, waving at you.  That extravort!

Almost 16 weeks along and we are so in love with our little guy already.



PS...My goodness, that does look heavenly!  Pretty please freeze your rhubarb and keep that recipe on tap, LKB. I'll be to your house mid November for one!  :)

Heavenly Rhubarb Martini

AB just pulled rhubarb from  from the garden- one of the first signs of spring ...&  I saw a monarch today. I'm not sure if they are suppose to be around now.

It is so nice to have rhubarb right outside in the garden, since it is the first sign of things coming back to life after a long, cold winter.

So what to do with it!? Last year I tried making rhubarb vodka. AB opened the corked bottle this winter and it exploded all over the walls and ceiling- I think it fermented a little too much. 

So I adapted a martini recipe today, here's how it goes:

Wash and cut about 3 cups of rhurbarb.

 Cut into small pieces and put in a saucepan with about 1 cup of sugar.

Juice from 1 orange.

Boil for about 5 minutes, until the rhubarb is soft.

Put in a strainer over a bowl. The syrup does not have to be thick, just flavorful.

Let it set to cool.

 You are then ready to make the martini's.

Heavenly Rhubarb Martini

Put in a shaker, filled with ice

2 shots vodka   (I used ruby red- that's what I had)

1 shot St. Germaine Elderflower Liquor

1 shot heavy cream

2 shots rhubarb syrup (homemade)

shake, shake, shake

strain into martini glasses

yum!

Perfect to sip while grilling steaks!

 or anytime!

enjoy!

What I want to be when I Grow Up

I am NOT a writer, so this is very unusual for me to want to write something.
As I was driving home from staying over at my son's house, watching his girls for the evening, while they were at a wedding. I turned on MPR- the person being interviewed  was a lady- I think her name was Sylvia Bornstein- I'm not sure- She is a Jewish Buddhist. She is a Psycho-therapist, book author, speaker and in her opinion, her greatest accomplishment is being a mom. One of the top things on her list of important things in her life is being a wife and a mom, who has raised" nice" kids. The list  then goes on to Dr. speaker,etc. In this day, most of the time, mom isn't a "good enough" title. You also need a job title in front of it. I have always been happy being a mom- I like to try and be a good one. I try and take it seriously and I think I have really "nice" kids. Sometimes I feel like I should be doing other things. Even though I am never not doing something

Then I saw this quote from Erma Bombeck:
 "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me."

Wow- panic!!! I don't know if I am doing that at all! I better get a job doing art somewhere!!!
After walking with my friend Lynn and telling her about this quote- she said " I use things you have made me all the time, and I love them." I love giving my art- I feel like it is a "gift" to me from God, so I like giving it as a gift. Sometimes it seems "worth" more if you get dollars for it.
 I look at my kids- which ties this all back to being a mom- and ALL of them are creative- I love that! Whether It's bring used as a business or just being them.
 I still have a lot of talent to give or use- I haven't used everything yet. It's comforting to know sometimes it's being used without really knowing it.

Back to the beginning of this-

Top of my list: I love being a mom and it can be who you are.

Confessions of a Reluctant Grandmother-

I've been wanting to write this for a while, and I guess with Mother's Day this weekend, it's a good time.
Maybe other grandmothers have felt this way... I don't know. I hope I'm not the only one.
What you hear is- being a grandmother is the BEST thing! You can watch them and spend time with them and then send them home.  All that is true.

When I first found out I was going to be a grandmother I was happy....... kind of.  To be honest, to my self, it meant getting older. Grandmother's are old! I'm not old. And I still have kids at home--- I haven't had that l-o-n-g-ing, to have young children back in my life. What I heard from friends was "Congratulations", "how wonderful."  Then I met a girlfriend for lunch- and she said."OH NO! If you are going to be a grandmother than that means I'm getting older too." Wow, I could relate to that.

Babies are born and it is WONDERFUL, I love them. But  being reluctant also, was the feeling of caring so much . Finally my own kids are getting older, where you still care, but you can let go a little. With new little ones, you love so much, that you can't help but be  wrapped up in them.
Do I sound like an awful person?

....now, I can say, it is wonderful- and you know what? I don't feel older- I'm just much more blessed.     My life is more full..... there's room for more.   (4 granddaughters and 1 more baby coming). You get to know these tiny, little cool people and love explodes!!!!

My goal is to keep my life interesting. So, I may not be available to spend time with them every time they need me. I'm going to be out "doing things!" I want them to find me to be such an interesting person, that they "want" to spend time with me. I want to be a "cool" Oma.
 Hey, by the way- you get to pick your own name, unless they pick it for you.  I'm Oma- I picked it. There is nothing better than having them come running up to your  door, yelling- "Oma, Oma, Oma"..... and jump in your arms.     So cool!  It is really all good.

Happy Mother's Day!

"Gram" with Josh

Great grandma Hudson

Grandma Jean

My new favorite lunch spot..... I just found today!

 I met AB at his office today and we walked a couple blocks to Patisserie 46. As we  got near  dogs were covering the sidewalk... to my delight!

They were just hanging out with their dog walker. So cool.....






...happy as can be,

...totally enjoying themselves.

 When you walk in, there is just good food and good aroma everywhere. You order at the counter:
                                     look at this counter!!!!!

Each day they make  1 kind of;   sandwich, quiche,  soup,
 tarte flambe (paper thin pizza)  tartine (I'm not sure what that is) and that's it. It may sound limiting-
it's not. What they make is super good, so why make more. When it's gone, it's gone.
 They also have many pastries and bread to choose from.

We shared a paper thin pizza with bacon and onion. Excellent! And we each had a cup of chilled, fresh pea soup! Sooooo goood!

It is a very friendly, comfortable place. If it stays warm enough outside, they will also have outdoor seating.

To me it feels like a little European Cafe. Great lunch! (did I say that already/)

As soon as I got in my car I called Mickey and said "pick a day, we have to go there next week!"
AB- don't ever go to Subway when you have this just down the street!

Oh I almost forgot, we did bring a couple little goodies home-

Artichoke Season

Have you tried them? This time of the year artichokes are the biggest, the freshest and the best price.

I love them! If you haven't tried them before, here is an easy way to start.

Rinse the artichoke off and trim the stem flush with the bottom.

Put them in a pot of boiling water. I added about 1 Tbl. of olive oil and 2 squeezes of lemon.

Boil lightly for about 35- 40 min. until the leaves wiggle a little when you pull on them.

Drain and put in individual bowls with a little melted butter for dipping.

They are ready to eat. You kind of scrape the leaves on the meaty end with your teeth.

After enjoying the leaves you'll get down to the choke.  I don't know how anyone ventured to start eating these in the first place- this does not look appetizing.

Take your spoon and scrape the bristly part off.

 You will be left with the heart, which is delicious. It tastes different than the leaves, a little nutty.

 Dip it in butter....yum!!!!!

Be sure and have a bowl for the discarded leaves.

There are many recipes for artichokes. This will get you started- and what a great way to get young kids to eat vegetables. It's an activity meal!!!

These are my 2 big boys when they were young- LOVING them, with buttery faces!

(Mickey, look at your cute Ben!)