Monday, March 31, 2008

Obey your (insert type of pet here)

While surfing the Vizsla web ring, I came across this great site: http://www.obeythepurebreed.com/.


This last photo had this caption with it. "The original tribute to the Vizsla as a Dictator and ruthless leader of the household. The Vizsla is a master of mind control, and watches everything that you do. " The absolute truth in my household (x's 2 this week!)




I definitely want a totebag of the flag wielding young man. Stylin".




While I am not a cat fan, I really liked this poster of the cat or "Chairman Meow", if you will.

Holey Moley




We needed to get Jack a new blanket for his kennel today. Jack brought his own blanket to sleep with, but it is now in 5 separate pieces. This happened when Remy & Jack decided to play tug-o-war with the blanket. The blanket did have several large sized holes in it before the dogs started playing. The game just made the holes worse, and then....it was destroyed. I threw the two smaller pieces from the blanket away as I was afraid the dogs would swallow them. Here is Jack's new blanket. It's one of Naseem's old comforters. Lovely purple, pink and blue stripes on one side and art deco blue & purple circles on the other. Once I put the new blanket in the kennel, Jack went and investigated it. He immediately lay down on it and rested for about 5 minutes. Then, it was back to playing with the other blanket pieces.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Affordable Luxury

Omid & I wanted to go into Portland for dinner last night. We went on http://www.citysearch.com/ to find a new restaurant. Unfortunately, we didn't start calling places until about 5:30 p.m. Many places didn't have a table for two until 8:45 p.m. or later. That was too late. We needed to be home by 9:30 or 10:00 p.m. as Omid needed to be up at 4:00 a.m. to go fishing.

Omid was craving steak and we decided on Morton's in downtown PDX. They, too, didn't have a seat until after 9:00 p.m. We had our heart set on Morton's as we found a coupon (yes! a coupon for Mortons!) on their website. You too can dowload an affordable dinner coupon from one of the most expensive places in town. Dinner for two for only $99! Check it out on http://www.mortons.com/.

We ended up eating a delicious dinner at Roots. Roots is our "standby" restaurant. Whenever we want to go out, but don't want to drive too far or like last night, can't get a reservation, we call Roots. We were able to get a table for 7:00 p.m. Omid got the steak he was craving and I had the gnocci. So delicious. We even felt like true wine snobs by bringing our own bottle and paying the "corking fee."

A fun & delicious night.

The Odd Couple

Remember Felix Unger & Oscar Madison? I used to love watching that show. While watching Remy & Jack interact together, I am reminded of these two characters. Remy is obviously Felix and Jack is Oscar. Remy is easily offended and put off, plays when he wants to, is particular with his toys and blankie and is a very neat eater/drinker (and extremely high strung & sensitive). Jack on the other hand, is in the mood to play all the time, is very laid back, takes his blanket out of his kennel and deposits it "wherever", drinks water & leaves a trail of 'drips & drops" all over the floor when he is finished. Nothing bothers Jack. It's all good to him.

I looked at Omid last night and said, "these guys are Felix & Oscar to a T." Omid said, "Who are Felix & Oscar?" I was surprised he knew nothing about The Odd Couple (or the names Felix & Oscar). He came to the states after it was off the air I suppose. So...Omid (& the kids) will get an education this week. I have put the original movie with Jack Lemmon & Walter Matthau on our Netflix list.
Remy is on the right and Jack is on the left with the sunlight shining on him.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Happy Anniversary to us!

Tomorrow is our 19th anniversary! This photo was taken in July of 1989 (down at Wawawaii on the Snake River). I don't have any photos of March 30, 1989. We were so poor, we didn't even have a camera to take a photo. Here are some random facts about that day:

* We eloped!

*Omid & I drove across the border into Idaho to get married (no 3 day waiting period after applying for a marriage license). We did wait until our a.m. classes were over. I think Omid had a test in his Thermal Dynamics class he couldn't miss.

*We had to borrow a car for the occasion.

* We asked several friends to be our witnesses at the courthouse. Everyone thought we were just joking around and not serious. They weren't going to cut class for a joke. The court clerk was our witness.

*After getting married, we drove back into Pullman. We met up with some friends and showed them the marriage license to "prove" we were actually married! They felt bad.

*We had a big party that night with Omid 'bbqing' for everyone.


*The only person we told for 6 months was my sister Brenda (a freshman in HS at the time).
Here is her school photo from that time. Sorry B!



We decided to tell our families after 6 months, as Omid's parents decided to hop over for a visit. My parents were ecstatic (they loved Omid!). Omid's parents had never met me, so they weren't sure what to expect. Omid thought they would think he married someone like Lucy from Dallas. Here is a photo taken the same night I met Omid's parents for the first time. Look at my nervous face!



Omid's cousin, Kevin (a WSU Vet student at the time), drove Fari & Mansour to Pullman. He was sworn to secrecy - not to let us know they were in town. So while Omid's parents knew we were married, we had no idea they were in Pullman to see us.



Photo of cousin Kevin & his wife Patti.


A year and a half later, my parents threw us a big reception at the Westin Hotel in Seattle (the next time Omid's parents visited). That is OJ on the tables. I wanted wine & champagne served, but my parents didn't want to offend the many religious people attending the reception. So, we had an OJ toast.






Friday, March 28, 2008




Watch out if you come to our house...you may not leave until you receive a haircut. No kidding!
We went out to dinner with The Kellogg family and came back here for dessert. Omid was looking at Ward's hair and said he needed a touch up. Ward said "ok" and Omid got to work. In a few short minutes, Ward was sporting a new shorter do.
It may have been the Hennessey that made Ward so trusting; though Lin & Amy weren't so sure. I think Omid did a great job - just look at Cayden & Matty's new haircuts if you need further proof!

Thursday, March 27, 2008

I can feel it comin' on....

In the past two days, I have been coughed on (repeatedly), sneezed on, had someone wipe their tears/runny nose on my pants, and had several kids who wanted to hold my hand after they coughed into their own. My body wants to be sick now (headache, sore throat, runny nose). I am fighting it with all my might. I will not allow myself to be sick on my vacation next week. That is my time! I need all the energy I can get, as we are dog 'petsitting' a very active dog next week (while his family "suns it up" in Arizona). Luckies!!

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Sweet Sight!


I love this photo! It has brought a smile to my face every time I look at it.
I was working in a first grade classroom this morning and the teacher brought this photo out and didn't say a word. She just held it up for the kids to see. They were immediately laughing and commenting. Every single one of those kids was smiling from ear to ear. We all thought it was so sweet.
This gorilla lives at the Cincinatti Zoo and was photographed on Thursday. :)

Go Cougs!



This photo is from 4 years ago. I can't believe how time flies! Naseem was still at Dorothy Fox then. Sigh.....

Anyways...the purpose of this entry is to root for the Cougs! We are in the "sweet 16" in the NCAA tournament. You won't hear this on the sports channels or internet. All the big media outlets care about is North Carolina. Hmmmph!

If you can, watch the Cougs play UNC on Thursday around 4:30 p.m. It should be an exciting game.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Even the White House celebrates NoRooz!

NoRooz, Noruz or Nowruz...no matter how you spell it - the message is the same.

A traditional Haft Sin table celebrating Nowruz, the Persian New Year, is seen set Wednesday, March 19, 2008, in the State Dining Room of the White House. Nowruz is, in Persian and some other cultures, including Kurdish culture, a family-oriented holiday celebrating the New Year and the coming of spring. The Haft Sin table has seven items symbolizing new life, joy, love, beauty and health, sunrise, patience and garlic to ward off evil.
White House photo by Chris Greenberg
Omid's Mom sent me the above picture & caption. I didn't hear a thing on the local media about Norooz on Wednesday. Nas was in a class at school and had a sub. When he took attendance, he asked her "if he should wish her a happy new year?" She said, "what?" He said he heard it was Persian New Year on the radio. Wish I'd heard it! Instead, I felt compelled to send cartoon ecards to everyone. It's neat that even the White House is celebrating (no matter where you side on the politcal fence).




Sunday, March 23, 2008

More movies & smokin' apple pie


Check out the bottom of the blog again. We took off the break dancing movie and added a 'can can' feature instead.
Enjoy!
Also, yesterday Omid met with some of his redneck "Traeger grill" friends. They talked of 'smokin' pies in their grills/smokers. He and I prepared an apple pie and Omid set it in the smoker. He 'smoked' it exactly the same as he would have in the oven. It turned out really good. When I brought the pie in from the garage, Nas & Matty were picking off the crust and eating it. It was soooo good, next we're thinking of smokin' a cherry pie. I guess rednecks are good for some things after all. :)

Happy Easter!




We colored our eggs this morning instead of last night. That was a first!
Naseem decided at the last minute she wanted to help Matty & I color the eggs. By that time, there was only one egg left for her (snooze you lose).
I don't hard boil our eggs, as I don't want to eat hb eggs for weeks on end. We are just extra careful. Not one egg broken this year. :)
It was so disappointing to wake up to the rain after yesterday's beautiful sun. I didn't hear of any sunrise service in town, so that's good. It would have been wet & miserable.
Speaking of wet...I think we will go into Portland today and visit The Grotto. I didn't decide until the last minute to go to church...and now...you need to have tickets to attend Easter services. I have become one of those people I used to look down on or feel very sorry for on Easter/Christmas services. I grew up attending a very conservative Baptist church. On Easter & Christmas, the church would be flooded with people who only came on those two holidays. For some reason, we all felt sorry for these people. Now...I attend (sometimes) on these two holidays and can feel the pity the regular church goers feel for me and my family. Oh well! At least, I am confident in knowing where I will end up, whether I go to church or not.
Happy Easter to all of you!

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Too much time on our hands...

I have to point out a new feature on the bottom of the blog. Omid and Nas both made short videos with our pictures.

They are hilarious. If you haven't checked them out yet, do!

This is 'monkey bread' a.k.a. cinnamon pull-apart. It is so easy to make and so very tasty. Nas & I put it together in just minutes. I popped it into the oven while we were eating dinner. By the time we were finished eating & cleaning up, the bread was ready for eating. Here's the recipe (also from http://www.allrecipes.com/). Enjoy!


Monkey Bread 1


4 packages of refrigerated biscuits

1/2 cup white sugar

2 t cinnamon

1/2 cup butter (use real butter)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 c chopped walnuts

1/2 cup raisins


Preheat oven to 350*. Grease one 9 or 10 inch tube pan (I used a bundt pan).


Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a gallon size plastic ziplock bag. Cut biscuits into quarters. Shake 6 to 8 biscuits pieces in the sugar-cinnamon mix. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pa. Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in the pan. If using nuts & raisins, arrange them in and among the biscuit pieces as you go along.


In a small saucepa, melt the butter with the brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for one minute. Pour over the biscuits.


Bake at 350* for 30-35 minutes (do not overbake!!!). Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a plate.


Enjoy!

Thursday, March 20, 2008

One potato, two potato, three potato, four


This photo shows 15 potatoes baking in the oven. I found out this morning that I was supposed to help supply baked potatoes for an Irish Sundae party at work tomorrow. The potatoes took over two hours to bake. I should have nuked them first, but...thought it would be nicer to just bake them. I realize now it would have been better to place the potatoes on two different racks.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Happy NoRooz!


Happy Persian New Year!
NoRooz starts tonight (10:48 p.m. our time). I had a small debate with two girls at school who assure me it is on Friday. I have checked several websites to be sure I was correct (I always am!) and they all say the same thing...it's tonight. So...if you can stay up until 10:48 p.m., you can celebrate NoRooz too. :)
To learn more about Persian New Year, visit this website.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Recipe blogs

I love looking for new recipes or just plain good ones (so I can get out of the spaghetti on Monday, Tacos on Friday, etc. routine).
Lin brought over a bunch of magazines on Friday. While we were all flipping through them, my dad found a page in one that featured recipe blogs. Out of the three blogs featured, I really like two of them. The first is: www.smittenkitchen.com. I liked this one right away just for the tips on the left hand side of the page. The other was www.spatulatta.com. This one is cute. It's kids cooking with tips from thier mom. The one I really didn't care for was: www.make-your-own-damn-dinner.blogspot.com. I can't pinpoint why I didn't care for it, I just didn't.

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Beginner's Luck

Tonight, Omid, the kids and I played Apples to Apples jr. Omid had never played before and reluctantly agreed to play tonight. He won with 24 cards! Unbelievable! He is very happy and quite smug about the fact that he stopped my winning streak. I am not too happy about that. We'll see if I can challenge him to a rematch tomorrow.

Karate & Pi (& pie)


Naseem was upset her Karate promotion wasn't blogged about, so here is a video we took of the promotion. Nas is the first girl on the left (& in the back row). We tried to take still photos but the kids were moving too fast for our digital camera. I also couldn't get the zoom to work on the camera...so it's hard to really see her. Nas did really well. Grammy, Papa, Brenda, Cayden & Julius (Grammy's poodle) all drove down from Olympia to watch. Our friends Lin, Lia & Amy also came along. Afterwards, Omid cooked the most delicious Zereshk Polo. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Matty baked an apple pie for his math class tomorrow. Friday was National Pi Day, but the kids didn't have school. The teacher is incorporating pi & pies in the class tomorrow instead. Should be a delicious class. As you can see, Matty used the leftover 'pi' dough and added the symbol & number for pi. A fun (& tasty) homework assignment.

B, my mom and I went back to Salut for the Sunday $3 wine tasting. B & I told my mom all about the fun she missed on Saturday at Salut. So...we had to go back. The dogs were back at the store and B was happy. Today the Shih Tzu was right behind me and I didn't know it and accidentally stepped on his tail! He was not happy and let me know it. He whipped around and bit me on the foot. It hurt too! I felt so bad for him (& a little for myself, too).

I was eyeing Matty's pie and decided to bake one myself. I made a berry pie using Trader Joe's blackberries and TJ's "very cherry berry blend" (cherries, blueberries, & raspberries). It was soooo good. I will use this mix again as both Omid & the kids loved it too.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

All Yours, Dad!


Here is my dad Steve (aka Papa). My dad sometimes will read my blog entries and has lots to say to me on the phone or in person, about the blog but will never leave comments. While watching me post the last blog entry, my dad wanted to know why I never blog about him....or why I haven't posted any photos of him. Well dad, this one is for you! Here is a photo of my dad anxiously awaiting to see what I write about him. You can see he is wearing a Scooby Doo sweatshirt and a cap advertising a golf course. Good weekend wear.

fun & exciting day
















Today the whole family traipsed to Skyridge MS for Matty's cross country fun run. Remy tried to come with us and jumped into B's car. Matty joined the CC club a few weeks ago. It was a two mile run and Matty came in 28 out of 60 kids. Pretty good! B and I went to Salut Wine Company for their $5 wine tasting. It was fun and we were served delicious snacks along with great tasting wine. B was happy because the owner brought his two dogs (a yellow lab and a Shih Tzu) to work with him. She spent a lot of time talking to the dogs. I finished my wines way before B, as she was too busy talking to the dogs and not sampling her wines. When we came home, I had this great idea that Omid should cut Cayden's hair. B was all for it (must have been the wine). Omid went right to it and then B had second thoughts. I started laughing so hard as I was extremely nervous. Omid was mad at me because I forced him to cut Cayden's hair (I didn't force him, I encouraged him). Cayden was fine with it, because it meant a big bowl of vanilla ice cream for him if he sat still. He did a great job and now Cayden is sporting Omid's famous buzz cut. Too cute. He looks like a kid from the early 60's.

Cute idea

Have you ever made your own flip book out of a small package of Post-It notes? Matty used to do that all the time. Now there is a company called FlipClips who will take your 10-30 second videos and make them into flip books. The smallest book you can get is 3.5 x 2 inches and starts at $8.99. What a great gift idea.
http://www.flipclips.com/

Friday, March 14, 2008

Hiiiiiiii-Yah!




Remy is modeling Naseem's new orange belt she earned at her Karate class last night. Tonight is the big graduation, so we have family coming down from Olympia to visit & watch Nas get promoted. It's a big deal & quite exciting! I am just so happy Nas is this far into the martial arts. She has come a long way since I took her practically kicking & screaming to the first class (ok, just screaming). Now she is really serious about it and having a great time. I also don't worry about her being alone or just with another friend as much as I used to.

Remy is modeling the belt, as Naseem refused to. She is currently at her weekly babysitting job. I took the opportunity and used my willing model. Nas just called from her bsitting job and I told her Remy was the belt model. She wasn't pleased. Oh well....

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

It's one of those nights. I had the chicken ready & thawed, but couldn't think an exciting new way to cook it. Enter http://www.allrecipes.com/. It's a lifesaver! I found a recipe called Famous Butter Chicken. The good thing was I had all the ingredients in my pantry already (always a good thing!). It was so simple I had time to also bake an apple crisp as well. *Update: Omid thought the chicken needed salt. I didn't add any, as Ritz seem to have enough salt. Nas thought the chicken was good and Matty didn't care for it at all. So...with the mixed results I got tonight, I don't think I will be making this dish again.

Famous Butter Chicken
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup crushed Ritz crackers
1/2 t. garlic powder
black pepper to taste
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 c butter (cut into pieces)

Preheat oven to 375*. Place eggs & cracker crumbs into two separate shallow bowls. Mix cracker crumbs with garlic powder & pepper. Dip chicken into eggs, then dredge in the crumb mix to coat.

Arrange chicken in a greased 9X13 pan. Place butter around the chicken.

Bake in oven for 40 mins or until chicken is no longer pink.
**I dipped the chicken in flour before I used the egg mixture.

Netflix This

If you like movies that are action packed, full of blood, violence and surprising twists; then I suggest you rent No Country for Old Men. Omid and I were excited to see this movie last night, due to all the Oscar buzz etc. Well...I knew to expect blood & violence...but this movie was over the top. It kept me on the edge of my seat and several times I practically jumped out of my skin. I was actually quite anxious & scared many, many times during this film. Just when I thought I could relax....something else would happen. I'd say it ranks right up with The Soprano's & The Departed for blood & violence. It was just plain creepy/disturbing and in a weird sort of way, I recommend it.

Monday, March 10, 2008


This is my $6.99 vest from the Fred Meyer 70% off rack two weeks ago. It used to be boring and black. My friend Laurel learned how to do this neat applique technique and kindly offered to do an applique of Remy for me. Here it is! I was so excited to open the bag and proudly wear it today. Several co-workers oohed and ahhed (as they should). The kids who know all about Remy thought it was pretty neat too.
Thanks Laurel for making my boring vest cool!

Sick as a dog (literally)

**WARNING! This entry is extremely gross. Don't read if you are squeamish &/or prone to gagging.

We had a bbq last night with our friends/neighbors. Omid prepared a feast (homemade burgers, hot dogs, french fries, guacamole, goop for the fries (yummy!), etc). Our friends brought over fresh fruit and a spinach salad. It was just delicious. Someone else thought the evening feast was delicious too - Remy. I fed him right before our neighbors came over so he would be full and not beg too much. I wasn't the only one feeding Remy. One of the kids gave him a handful of treats, Naseem admitted to giving Remy a hot dog (or at least part of one), Matty gave him hamburger fixings (either tomatoes, lettuce or onions), I gave Remy some goop (that had slopped off my paper plate) and who knows what else Remy ate. Omid put Remy inside when the begging became too bad. We ate our dinner outside (it was 66* and beautiful). When it became too chilly, we all came inside. Remy was eating something else (we don't know what) and we told him to go lie down. Our friends son walked over to Naseem and I and said Remy had gotten sick in the pantry. I asked him, "are you sure?" He replied, "Oh yeah I'm sure!" Sure enough, the evidence was there. It was a huge (HUGE!), terrible mess. I could not believe Remy's tummy held all that. There was his recently (undigested) dog food, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, chips (Doritos!), hot dog, bread (from a sandwich earlier in the day), and other unidentified food. The poor boy had gotten sick in two places. On the floor next to his food bowl and in the food bowl. So, while everyone else had dessert, I was on my hands and knees cleaning up dog puke. Remy loved all the sympathetic attention he received (Poor baby! What a good boy you are! Are you alright?). He seemed fine and started begging for ice cream and s'mores, which he did not get.

A few hours later, Remy was drinking water right before bed and he immediately threw up again. Poor boy! I can only think he must have eaten something in the house he wasn't supposed to (something in the kids' rooms). He was fine in the night (no more sick episodes). I hope he's much better today.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Last night, Omid & I watched the movie East is East. It is by far one of the funniest movies I've seen. East is East is about a Pakistani man married to an English woman. It's set in 1971 in a poor part of England. The husband wants all the kids to be raised strict Muslim, while the kids aren't having any of it. The father disastrously tries to arrange marriages for the boys. It's a great movie and I recommend it for some laughs. Netflix doesn't carry it, so we had to rent it from Hollywood Video.

We seem to be watching all the movies that profile two cultures in one family (Bendit like Beckham, The Namesake). All these movies are either about Indian or Pakistani families; I haven't found a movie along the same lines that feature either Japanese, Chinese, or even Iranian families. If you know of any, send the names our way.

Saturday, March 8, 2008


I came across these "slipper genies" in the Sur la Table catalog last night. Great for the person who has everything (I bet they don't have these!). They are cute and ugly at the same time (like Crocs) and I want a pair (I also want a pair of Crocs). They have detachable bottoms and can be thrown in the washer. The blurb in the catalog touts these slippers as perfect for "wiping up spills from hardwood, linoleum and tile floors." I was thinking they are perfect for wiping up Remy's drool while he watches up eat. His salivary glands work overtime and the drool comes out both sides of his mouth. These slippers would save on paper towels. :) www.surlatable.com.

Friday, March 7, 2008

Don't Netflix this film...

Unless you want to be sad. Omid and I watched Into the Wild tonight. Talk about sad & depressing. Ugh. It's about a recent college grad who gives away all his savings & belongings and tries to live in the Alaskan wild. The terrible part was, he never let his parents or sister know what he was doing (they were in the dark for two years). I don't recommend this film unless you like to be sad and depressed.

Run like the wind

Matty has joined a cross country intramural team after school. He started on Monday. The boy is just like me and his Auntie - We all LOVE to buy shoes. Matty has about 9 pairs of tennis shoes, though he doesn't have one pair of running/track shoes. I figured he could just wear one of the 9 he already has. Wrong! Matty developed shin splints and his feet were hurting. I am on the CHS track coach's email list (after a comment I made last Fall and she set me straight regarding 'pet peeves' pertaining to joggers/runners) and she sent out an email regarding proper fitting shoes for young athletes & track. So...like the good mom I am (YES-Naseem!!), I took him to a shoe store in town called Fit Right NW. The owner had Matty run on a treadmill and videotaped the way he ran. He looked at Matty's gait and brought out three different shoes for Matty to try. Then he had Matty run outside and asked questions about each shoe. Matt chose a nice lightweight Puma running shoe. This was not the GI Joes store where I could use my 20% off coupon. Nooooooo! There is no running shoe for men (yes - Matty has outgrown the kids' sizes and wears a 11.5 in men's shoes) under $95. Good thing I got paid on Friday! The women's shoes start at around $70. I had my eye on a pair of adorable tennis shoes (pink/khaki hikers) but they may have to wait until the next paycheck. The owner was very nice and gave me a CHS track discount of $9.50 (Thank you Alisa Wise/CHS track coach). Now hopefully at next Saturday's track meet, Matty can beat those Liberty MS kids at the relay. Take care of those shoes - boy! They cost a pretty penny!

Thursday, March 6, 2008




Omid bought some Oster clippers this past weekend so we could start cutting his & Matty's hair at home. We figured out we spend more $ on Matty's hair than anyone else's in this family. Matty needs a haircut every other week, his hair grows so fast. The poor boy - he wants to grow his hair long, but can't as it grows straight up & out. The second picture is just Matty's hair after Omid buzzed it. Omid is modeling his new do, courtesy of yours truly. Today was the first time in 15 years since I last cut his hair. When I get nervous, I laugh hysterically, and that is what used to happen. So my hairstyling career of the past didn't go too well. I am proud to report that I only giggled a little at first and then was able to control myself; resulting in a good haircut for my hubby. :) Before I started to work my magic I asked Omid if he was scared. He said he was a little. I told him I was too. I even said a little prayer before I started. Thank God the haircut turned out ok! The only strange moment was when Remy walked outside and ate some of Matty's hair that had piled up on the patio. Interesting...and disgusting!

How 'bout them apples?!


While visiting my family over Christmas break, we would all play Apples to Apples after dinner . My kids had never played the game, but I have Apples to Apples Jr. at school and have played it before. One night we started at around 8 p.m. and when we finally wrapped up the game, it was around 1:30 a.m. We couldn't believe it! We are a fairly competetive family and I distinctly remember my dad and brother-in-law (Tom) bragging about how they always win the game. Needless to say, I won the most cards (thanks to Tom for his uncanny knack for choosing my card - much to his chagrin ). Last night, I brought the Apples to Apples Jr. game home for the kids and I to play. I smoked them! Nas was ahead first, then Matty and I came up from behind and won with 20 (yes TWENTY!) green cards. Just like my dad says, "in this game you have to play to the judge." So true! Anyone for a game? **UPDATE: The kids challenged me to a rematch and I won with 16 cards this time.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

My Viszla is smarter than your....

I saw this cute bumper sticker this a.m. on the way to school. It said, "My bulldog is smarter than your honor student." I loved it! I want to get that for my license plate or....My Vizsla is cuter than your Vizsla. But...I could risk hurting feelings....but I don't think so. :) Everyone thinks their kids, grandkids, and dogs are cuter than everyone else's. Right? I do need to brag about an amazing new feat Remy has done two nights in a row. Remy loves to sleep with Nas every night. It's hard for the two of them to fit on one bed (it's a twin), so Omid & I are keeping him in our room. On Sunday night, I awoke to this weird noise. I lay there listening and realized it was Remy. I thought he might be sick or something, as I heard this sucking noise. I sat up and saw him near the door. My gifted dog had figured out that he couldn't open the door with his snout or foot; so he was sucking/vacuuming/inhaling the door open. It worked! I couldn't believe it! Omid was awake too and saw the whole thing. We were laughing so hard. My smart boy did the exact same thing last night. Now if I can just catch him on video....

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

While waiting for Matty to finish up his track practice, I sat in the car and read the new Oprah magazine. Before I left, though, I prepped two dozen shrimp for the kids to have more coconut shrimp for their after school snack (I am going for the Mom of the Year award - ha ha). While reading Oprah there was a tiny article about a company called blurb (http://www.blurb.com/). I thought it was so cute I had to visit the site. You can upload your photos, recipes, or even something you have written (blogs!) into hardbound books (complete with dust jackets). Prices start at $13 for a softcover & $23 for hardcover book.
Something else Oprah showcased were two new recipes sites. I was not impressed with these sites as they let you visit for free a few times and then you have to subscribe. No thanks! I will continue to check out http://www.allrecipes.com/ & http://www.foodtv.com/ for FREE.

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Beautiful morning....














This morning was so beautiful, we went to downtown Vancouver and took a walk. Remy was very vocal about having to sit in the very back of the truck. Poor boy. Remy is so used to sitting up front, but in Omid's truck, he has to act like a dog.











It was such a sunny morning, but it sure wasn't warm. I should have worn my winter jacket.
Nas was our photographer (except for the first pix of Remy. That was me and yes...I know...I should have used the flash).
Afterwards, we made a quick stop at Trader Joe's. There was a guy stopping people in the parking lot, trying to sell keychains. He was relentless. Not taking no for an answer. We left the kids in the car with Remy and while we were walking past the guy (no keychains for us, thanks), the manager from TJ's came out and told the guy to leave. The keychain seller didn't want to leave, but he finally left. When we came out 5 minutes later, we saw him trying to sell a keychain to some guy on the sidewalk.
We came home and washed the cars. Naseem said she was craving coconut shrimp. She went on http://www.allrecipes.com/ and found a recipe. It was actually very easy. I thought more work would be involved in the prep. Here is the recipe we used.
Coconut Shrimp 1
INGREDIENTS
1 egg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup beer
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups flaked coconut
24 shrimp
3 cups oil for frying

DIRECTIONS
In medium bowl, combine egg, 1/2 cup flour, beer and baking powder. Place 1/4 cup flour and coconut in two separate bowls.
Hold shrimp by tail, and dredge in flour, shaking off excess flour. Dip in egg/beer batter; allow excess to drip off. Roll shrimp in coconut, and place on a baking sheet lined with wax paper. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) in a deep-fryer.
Fry shrimp in batches: cook, turning once, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden brown. Using tongs, remove shrimp to paper towels to drain. Serve warm with your favorite dipping sauce.
These were surprisingly easy and very tasty! We would definitely make them again.