Doggy Love

I met the famous Goliath today. Up until now, I have only seen photos of him in Sarah's classroom or on her blog. Sarah arrived at the same time I did this morning. I noticed she had her 'little man' (Goliath) with her. I asked her, "Does he just hang out in your car all day?" Because...I honestly didn't know. If her answer was "yes", then I was going to offer the safe & secret portable I occupy. She said, no, that Goliath was on his way to the vet (who is the same Vet Remy sees when I am not emailing/calling Omid's cousin - who is also a Vet - for free advice). Goliath was very cute, happy & kissed my hand. Too bad I didn't have my camera (though I suppose I could have asked you for yours, Sarah). :)

This is for those of you who laugh at the way I talk to my dog, a.k.a., The Baby. On Friday night, we had a coworker of Omid's (& friend of Arezou's) over for dinner as he & his family are moving up to Seattle soon. This guy's name is Marty. Marty was talking to Remy like Remy was an adult. Remy doesn't do 'adult' speak. Remy responds to baby talk. Before the end of the night, we had convinced Marty to call Remy 'the baby.' It was great! Remy loved it! :) For those of you who don't know Marty, he is a big, hunting/gun loving guy. That should say it all.

A Worthy Cause

Last night Omid & I attended a World Vision (Women of Vision) dinner & auction in Portland. We were invited my friend & coworker Lyn & her husband, Alan. They support this cause (& sponsored our table - THANKS SO MUCH!) - and what an important cause it is. I knew little about World Vision, except for maybe a commercial or two I had seen on television.

Hosts Lyn & Alan

What a bubble I have been living in! Did you know there are children in Mongolia who live in tunnels under the streets to stay warm? I didn't. A few posts ago, I blogged about a show on BBC America called Dumped. That was a reality show featuring contestants who live in a landfill for a few weeks. Well, last night we saw photos of children foraging in a landfill in Cambodia for real - not some trumped up reality show. The saddest for me was the photos & stories of kids used for the sex industry. Just horrible stories!

It was an amazing night and really left it's mark on our hearts. We came home and told the kids. Both kids will now sponsor a child and pray for that child (along with Omid & myself too). We are so very lucky to live here. Last night's program just made that so much more clear to us all.

We did bid on a few items for the silent auction (but were outbid) - the big ticket items were amazing. We couldn't bid on any of those things - but it was fun to see how much money was raised for this wonderful cause ($3000 for a Labradoodle puppy, $7000 for a 7 night Hawaii stay, etc.).

The entertainment for the night was a man named Chata Addy. He is originally from Ghana and played the drums. He invited a few brave souls from the audience up on stage to either play the drums or dance. It was very entertaining. We saw him outside after the event was over. He gave us his card. He is available for school assemblies (which I think kids would love), weddings, & parties. http://www.chataaddy.com/

We also saw some local celebrities. Julie Emry was the emcee. She used to anchor the news on KATU & KOIN. Omid spotted Mike Donahue (current anchor on KOIN). That was our brush with fame for the night.

Polyglots Jenny & Laurent

Here are some sites to visit if you want to learn more about World Vision. www.worldvision.org/hope

http://www.cwwov.org/

http://www.worldvisionexperience.org/

Happy Birthday Amy!

Today is Amy's 9th birthday. We went to her party this afternoon. There was lots of sunshine, cake, water balloons, & friends.

Birthday girl.

60's fashion flashback.

Mmmm! Tasty cupcake cones.

Say cheese!

I had a great movie of a water balloon fight, but accidentally deleted it from my camera's card. :(

I am so, so sad about this.

I read a magazine article this afternoon on "Tips for Living Green." I am happy to report that our family is already practicing many of the ideas. Here are a few:

*use a reusable grocery bag
*take shorter showers
*don't run the water while brushing your teeth
*recycle all paper goods, cans & bottles
*unplug appliances (coffee maker, toaster, cell phone charger) when not in use
*turn the heat down when leaving the house
*turn off lights when leaving a room
*use eco-friendly cleaning supplies
*change lightbulbs to CFL bulbs
*wash clothes in cold water
*use rags for cleaning

Also worth noting is that we have reduced our garbage to only 3 1/2 bags per week. That number is down from 6 or 7. Our recycling bins on the other hand are usually overflowing by garbage day.

I heard about this website on the news last night (http://www.carbonfund.org/site/pages/carbon_calculators/). Type in some information & see what your carbon footprint is.

BBC America had a show on last week called Dumped. It was a reality show with 6 people living together in a land fill (yuck!). The contestants had to live off the dump (find shelter, food, wash, etc.) with only things they found there. After several weeks, the contestants had found things to recycle & sell for cash (which they used to throw a party at the end). Each was told their carbon footprint before the show & again at the end. It was fun to watch. I am sure it's just a matter of time before the same show makes it to America.

Naughty

Naughtiness is running rampant in my house this week. What's a mom to do? Remy is the latest to get into trouble. Matty had a friend over today and the boys went over to the nearby school to skateboard, etc. They had been gone for 30 minutes or so, when I opened the door to take out the garbage. Remy took off like a bat out of hell. Gone! I called to him, "Remy! Cookie! Remy! Treat!" Nothing. He didn't even look back.

He went to the school to find the boys. I was so mad at him. He has never gone off like this before. He finally came home with the boys a few minutes later. I have ignored him all afternoon (which he can't stand and frankly, neither can I). He is snuggling right behind me on the computer chair....so he must feel forgiven.

I can't stop thinking about what could have happened to him (hit by a car, stolen, bitten by another dog). Though I am so thankful he is home and in one piece.

Rice Shortage

I heard on the news twice yesterday that we are in the midst of a rice shortage. Lin told me last week Costco was sold out. We gave her one of our extra bags. If there is indeed a rice shortage going on, this is a bad, bad thing for our family. We eat Persian food several times a week. Rice is essential to the Persian diet. Naseem will be very upset if she can't have her rice & tahdig at least twice a week.

Here is a short article from The Seattle Times newspaper. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004367150_riceshortage23m.html It appears that the everyday consumer will have to battle it out at Costco with restaurant owners for bags of rice.

Pseudo Matzohs

Today at school, a co-worker brought in some leftover matzoh crackers from her Seder over the weekend. She also brought in an informative handout about what exactly 'goes on' during a Seder. It was very interesting. It was also the first time I had ever eaten a matzoh cracker. It looked like a giant saltine cracker; but didn't taste like one. The matzoh tasted extremely bland.

Fellow blogger Sarah walked in and I jokingly asked her to take a picture of me. She said she would but I told her I was just joking. I really should have been serious about the photo; because I had to recreate the scene with saltine crackers (hence...pseudo matzhos). I really need to start carrying my own camera around with me wherever I go (including work).
Naseem's new favorite cracker: Flip Sides.
Pretzel on one side, regular cracker on the other. These little crackers are so delicious and addicting. Just like with eating potato chips, it's a challenge to stop at one.

Today we shopped a little at The Home Depot. I was so excited to see they were selling Venus Fly Trap plants. I have always wanted one, so I bought one. It came in it's own terrarium, so all I have to do is supply bugs 3-5 times a month. I sent Matty outside today to find some for me, but he came back empty handed. It may have been too cold with the snow we had today.

If you haven't seen the movie Sling Blade with Billy Bob Thornton, it's a good movie. The first 8 minutes can be skipped, I don't even know why it was in there, but other than that....I really liked the movie. Omid also gives it his seal of approval.

Sleepy Shots

I came down the stairs this afternoon and found Omid in this pose. Too cute to pass up. I ran and got the camera before he turned the other way.Here is Mansour snoozing on his last visit. He was reading the local newspaper. It must have really been boring.

Sleepy Remy.

Sleepy boys.







Just so you know, I am not a mean &/or vindictive person (which you should already know!). I have saved the best sleepy photo for last. Omid took this picture of me several years ago. It is so painful to look at. I knew that if I posted the above photos, I would have to bring this one out of the vault.






Be careful when you visit our house that you don't fall asleep...you may just have your photo taken.

While preparing dinner this evening (chicken, gorgonzola gnocchi, & broccoli salad), Matty came by and asked if I was making the good salad with bacon & sunflower seeds. I told him, "yes." He said, "I love that salad."

So...here is Jane's Broccoli Salad recipe so you and your family can love it too.

Jane's Broccoli Salad

2 bunches of broccoli (cut into small pieces)
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
4-6 slices of bacon, browned & crumbled
Mix all ingredients together. Right before serving, add the dressing.
Dressing: 1 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 cup sugar, 3 T. tarragon

Enjoy!

Trader Joes....

Matty had an orthodontist appt. today. Only one more month until the braces are on. :)

Afterwards, we went to Trader Joes. I needed more gorgonzola cheese gnocchi. I also wanted to pick up some interesting bread my friend from work, Colleen told me about. Colleen said she buys this bread called Ezekiel 4:9 bread. It is bread that is listed in the Bible. She said it is a complete protein and very filling. Once in TJ's, I made a bee line for the bread section. I found it no problem. Can't wait to try and get filled up. My big problem is I eat breakfast, then am starving by 9:30 and again at lunch.

Here's a quote from the bakery website:

Ezekiel 4:9® Organic Sprouted Whole Grain Products are inspired by the Holy Scripture verse: "Take also unto thee Wheat, and Barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and Spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make bread of it..." Ez 4:9 They also sell Genesis 1:29 bread.

While we're on scripture, here's one more for you to look up: John 3:16

So after we checked out of TJ's, Matty and I were heading to the car. Matty was carrying my groceries for me. I heard Matty say, 'Oh no!" I look up and this poor handicapped man in an electronic wheelchair was hanging over the sidewalk. Two wheels on the sidewalk, two wheels off. I rushed over to him along with a man. We managed to get him righted & he was so thankful. Poor guy.

An eventful afternoon. :)

Lice isn't nice

One of my biggest fears is getting head lice.

This morning before school I was helping a youngster with the computer in my room. He handed me the headphones and said they weren't working. I really didn't want to put the headphones on as a lot of kids use them. Not that any of them have lice, but you know...I just don't want the headache of getting rid of them. I religiously clean the headphones with sanitizer before any other student can use them.

I put the headphones up to my ear (actually about an inch away) and tried to listen. I finally talked him into doing something else; as I really didn't want to put the h.p. on. When he left I quickly unplugged the headphones and plugged in a secret, 2nd pair I keep around just for me. Everything was working just fine and I think it was the other set of h.p. that was the problem. I sent the headphones to the computer lady and will get another working set.

Meanwhile, my secret h.p. went back in their hiding spot.

My head is itching just thinking about it.

Sticker shock

Just when I think the gas prices have been staying the same (for over 4 days), I need to fill up and the price has skyrocketed. It only used to take around $20 to fill up the tank in my Accord. Yesterday was a new high for me: $42.19! And...that was with my 10 cents off reward from Freddys. I HATE this gas crisis.

It has led to me severely cutting back on purchases. I can do without my Starbucks (in fact, I have done w/o it since December), I have cut back to shopping & purchasing things at Target - just because I wanted to browse the aisles & see what was new. I now only go to get things we desperately need. But...I can't do without some things that I see as necessities: hair cut & color. I have cut that back to every 12-16weeks or so, but I need and love the time I get with Miranda (the wonderful lady who cuts/colors my hair). I am doing my own pedicures now and it looks it. Boo hoo.

Omid has resorted to cutting Remy's nails himself (instead of paying the vet to do it). That is probably a good thing. Whenever Remy would go to the vet to get his pedicure, we could hear him crying/whining the entire 5 minutes. He lays patiently while Omid works on his toes, and I feed him treats (like a king getting fed grapes).

I don't see an end in sight to the high prices, so that looks like it will cut back on our summer camping as well. I don't want to spend a fortune on gas just to camp for a few days. I would rather put the small fortune towards our savings instead.

Remembering past dogs

Dumpling (poodle) & Tiny or Einstein (Yorkie) posing in the top photo. The middle photo is of Einstein, still in Pullman. He is probably 9 or 10 weeks old. The last photo is of Tiny in my parents ivy. You can barely see his face sticking out. Too cute! Click on the photos to see them close up.
Today would have been Dumpling's 28th birthday. Dumpling was our poodle from way back when. We got him when I was in the 5th grade. When I was in the 4th grade, I was bitten by our neighbor's white German Shepherd. I used to love dogs, but this bite made me very afraid of them. My parents did the dog version of "if you fall off a horse, get right back on it." They bought my sisters and I a dog. Our other dog, Fletcher ( a Scottie), had died a year earlier. When we first got Dumpling, I was really scared of him. I remember being afraid he was going to bite me like Simba had. It took a while for me to overcome my fear, and then Dumpling and I were sharing popsicles and ice cream.



Omid loved Dumpling too. The very first time Omid came to Olympia to visit me over summer break, he came into the house and Dumpling was lying on the stairs with his left leg crossed over his right. He just stared at Omid. Omid said, "is he friendly?" I said, "yes he is! C'mon Dumpling!" Dumpling ran down the stairs and greeted Omid. About 6 months after this meeting, Omid surprised me with a Yorkie! This was the perfect gift...except for that I lived in the dorm. Einstein lived at WSU for about 10 weeks until he was discovered and I got into trouble for having a dog. So, Einstein had to move to Olympia and live with Dumpling and my parents. My parents loved Tiny (as he came to be known). Tiny lived for 17 years. Dumpling, sadly, only lived for 14.5 years.



When I was pregnant with Naseem, my sister Brenda called us in Pullman and told us that Dumpling had wandered away. He was blind, deaf & missing. I was so sad. Omid drove me from Pullman to Olympia (a 6 hour drive). We spent all morning looking for Dumpling. No luck! After searching all day, we had to drive back to Pullman as Omid had an exam the next day. Dumpling was found after two days. He wandered back into the neighborhood on his own. A neighbor called my sister and told her that he 'thought' he saw our dog. B ran down the cul-de-sac and found Dumpling. She immediatley picked him up and he was so disoriented. Poor Baby! My parents took him to the vet and the vet said he was in good shape. Sadly, it was not to last. Dumpling died about a month later. :( He was such a good boy. Einstein refused to even walk near the section of the yard he was buried in for over 6 months. Remy met Einstein only one time before he had to be put down. Remy was really afraid of this teeny 4 pound dog. So cute!

The Baby & his bone...continued.

Remy is still working on his new bone. We came home from school and gave it to him again. I had to take it away from him as his lips were raw & irritated. They seemed much better today. He was so happy to get the bone back! Nas took a short video of her chasing Remy with the bone in his mouth.

Enjoy!

Netflix this

Last night at around 9:30 p.m., Omid & I finally decided to watch a movie that had been sitting on our coffee table for a week. There Will Be Blood. This is definitely one movie that I wouldn't have chosen based on the previews. I think I put it on our list because it won an Oscar. Daniel Day Lewis is the only character I knew. I don't think I've seen him in a movie since The Last of the Mohicans. Anyways, the movie was very good. I definitely thought (from the title) that it would be bloody like No Country for Old Men; but it wasn't. It is rated R for violence (but I think there might only be two scenes). The only downside was that we decided to watch the movie too late. It wasn't over until midnight.

Now I hope I can stay awake today to proctor the 4th grade WASL test. Yawn!

Big Bad Burnout!

As promised, here is the burnout Ward left last night.

We had a bbq tonite. Jeff, Tammie, Austin, Madison, Ward, Lin, Lia & Amy all came over. Omid made shish kebabs and bbq'd short ribs that we picked up from Gartner's Meat Market (http://www.gartnersmeats.com/). I have this one pre-bbq photo. I was too busy chatting the rest of the night to take photos, but we did indeed have friends over. It was the perfect day for a party. I think the high reached 81*. You can't ask for better weather!

When the party finally ended, Ward paid us back for the burnout Omid left in his driveway last week. When it's daylight, I will post the photo of the tire mark he left us. We tried to take a video of the burnout, but it didn't work. Just a lot of laughter and headlights. Stay tuned!

So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen, good-bye.

We spent the morning over at Arezou & Evan's. Evan isn't in these photos as he was inside brewing coffee (sorry Evan!).It was a beautiful morning and we had a lot of fun. Earl, Pak & Lisa came over too. We said our goodbyes; and Arezou & Evan were off to airport to return to Chicago.Omid the kids and I went into Portland for Dim Sum (yummers!). Here are the kids happily listening to their iPods (& we were happily listening to our music). After Dim Sum, we decided to have a BBQ. We stopped at Gartner's Meat Market to buy some meat (short ribs & flank steak). Omid also bought Remy a big smoked cow bone. The videos are 1) Omid giving Remy the bone & 2) Remy enjoying the bone. I apologize in advance for the filming. It's kind of like the filming for the Blair Witch Project. Sorry! Also...the memory card in the camera was full and I ran out of time. I was able to add two more seconds of video of Remy enjoying the bone.

Tikki Masala, Masala Dosa, Lamb Vindaloo, & Chicken Saag...

Omid loves saying these Indian foods (with an Indian accent). Last night we went into NW Portland for dinner with Arezou & Evan, Evan's sister Lisa and Evan's parents (Pak & Earl). Naseem had "other" plans and couldn't join us (such is the life of a teenager). We met at Arezou's and piled into the beast (aka the Excursion). Omid found a parking spot and magically maneuvered the beast into the spot in ONE TRY. This would have taken me around 25-30 minutes with a group of spectators laughing & pointing, but oh well.

We went to an Indian restaurant called Swagat. I have no idea what it means, but it was fun to say. They have a huge menu. Some of the items like 'lamb & chicken saag' I just couldn't order. I have no idea what saag means in Hindi, but in Farsi, 'sag' is DOG. There were a few other things that didn't translate nicely, so I can't post them here, but I am sure you get the idea. When the waiter came, Omid said to try the lamb _______ (through a fit of laughter). I was trying to keep a straight face and place my order at the same time.

I ordered this lamb dish that was sauteed in almond powder & spices. It was really good. Matty ordered Tandoori shrimp. The shrimp was so salty he couldn't eat it. Too bad. Everyone else seemed to enjoy their meals. Omid, Arezou & I shared our meals with Matty so he could have something to eat. He also ate several baskets of the fried naan. That was tasty.

I forgot my camera, so there are no pictures to share of our dinner. It's too bad as the dinner was served on stainless steel plates/bowls. That was interesting.

SUNSHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What a glorious day!

We currently have 69*! It's been so good to come home, take my shoes off and stand in my barefeet on patio. The pavement is so warm and I am in such a great mood. The liquid sunshine we have been having just wasn't cutting it.


I am praying the weather will hold for a while.

Remy & his girlfriend Ruby.

For all you cooking enthusiasts out there, check out www.recipecontests.com. I found this site while reading the online edition of The Seattle Times. It lists hundreds of contests anyone can enter. I would enter, but....I think Omid would win more prizes. I may have to enter his some of his signature recipes.

Several years ago, a coworker and I were bragging about our wonderful spaghetti sauces. She challenged me to a cook off. I think everyone who was present in the staff lounge at the time was invited. I lost the challenge, but I only think that is because my sauce is misunderstood. I have two big fans here at home who LOVE the sauce. We can only make the sauce when Omid is out of town...he doesn't care for it. But - he did vote for me in the challenge (because he had to!).

I just heard from my friend & neighbor that Around the Table in downtown Camas is in jeopardy of closing. The last time I was there, I had a great lunch for a small price. Stop in for a visit if you can.

http://www.around-the-table.com/gatherings_menus.asp

Here comes the sun...(I hope!)

I am so looking forward to the 75* + days we have been promised for tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday.

I am sick & tired of being cold and having to wear my old winter jacket all day long. My jacket has seen better days and it's least 5 years old. I have been looking for a cute navy blue or black pea coat, but haven't found any in my price range.

Hopefully - I can pack the winter jacket off to Goodwill and the sun will come out and stay for a long time!

Also...The Office finally returns tonight (after how many months??). We are so excited as it's our favorite show.

Omid made a delicious Persian BBQ for dinner last night. Here are the kebabs right after he put them on the skewers. On the left, ground chicken kebab and on the right, the ever so tasty ground meat kebab or koobideh.
Arezou & Evan came over for dinner. Remy was waiting for their arrival. He has to be the first to let us know when guests arrive. Remy's lookout.
Finally eating (8 p.m.!) I think Nas was so hungry, she was wistfully looking at the food and not the camera.
The finished meat.
Rice with saffron.

A Rare Moment

I snapped this picture of the kids as fast as I could. Both kids getting along at the same time...and having fun with each other! So nice to see!!

So happy together (is the song in your head now?)

Butter chicken (completely redone)

gnocchi with gorgonzola cheese sauce (simply delicious!)

Several posts back, I made the butter chicken recipe and it was terrible. I remade the dish following several helpful comments and it was very good. I also made this killer gnocchi from Trader Joes. It was excellent. Everybody loved it. The last time I made gnocchi, it was dry & in a box. This gnocchi was frozen. The oval discs in the picture is butter & gorgonzola cheese. The discs melt and leave a scrumptious sauce behind. The next time I visit TJs, I will purchase several bags and store them in my freezer.

While cooking dinner, I watched a show on the Travel Channel called Weird Food or something like that. I was happy to say, I had tried most of the items the host was eating. One was jellyfish (all 4 of us ate that in a Vancouver BC Chinatown restaurant) and the other was abalone. Both were tasty. Omid has had more strange food experiences. Fish & seafood pizza in Japan, fried crickets in China., etc. On one of his visits to Korea, he was taken to a restaurant that specialized in "dog" dishes. He said he was sick to his stomach when he was told what was on the menu. His hosts told him again & again that the dogs are "farmed" and not pets. All he could think about was Remy & the other family dogs. I think he told me he ate something vegetarian instead. Good man!

Quirky Japan (I love it!)

I was looking at our photo album today and remembering our trip to Japan. We left on the first day of school for the kids. I was able to take them to meet their teachers (1st & 4th grade) and then left. My mom and sister took care of the kids for us. It was great not to have to worry about the kids at all. Jackie Chan! (control yourself! he's a cardboard cutout)

Omid feeding a baby black bear some konyaku at an onsen we visited
the onsen (hot springs)

I had always wanted to visit Japan and felt so envious of Omid going there every month. Finally, my chance came and I tagged along on a business trip. I loved it! It was the neatest & cleanest place I have ever visited (with the exception of Finland. Finland is extremely clean).

I found this neat website while researching places I wanted to visit. http://www.quirkyjapan.or.tv/index.htm One of the places I had to visit was the Meguro Parasite Museum. It was creepy! We saw so many tapeworms - gross! One more reason for washing your hands! At the time, Matty was into bugs, etc. We were able to bring back a lot of neat souveniers from that museum.

While at the Onsen (see pix above), I saw a real Yakuza (Japanese Mafia member). He was tattooed from his neck to his toes in beautiful, elaborate tatoos. I was afraid and at the same time excited! I had read all about the Yakuza on the quirky Japan website. Omid and I shared a hot spring with him. There were only about 10 people at the Onsen, it was great!

Before we went into the Onsen, we had the option of paying 50 cents to feed a baby black bear a konyaku (Japanese jello). It was sad to see the baby bear chained up. Omid got a big sticky/slimy kiss from the bear.

It was a great vacation and I can't wait until our next trip to Japan.

I love these two prints. They are so sweet and if they weren't so darn expensive, I'd buy them. Master Bedroom by Andrew Wyeth

My "In the Company of Dogs" catalog came today. That is also where I saw the quote: "I kiss my dog on the lips" in Italian (on a tshirt). So I changed my quote on the blog for now (until I find another dog quote I like).

The Hug by Marie Mason

The catalog offers a neat pop art/Andy Warhol style painting of your dog. But...it's $250. Maybe Nas can do something like that on photoshop for me (for free!).

After an uneventful day at work, I came home with a sick child. I am hoping it's what he filled his gut with at school today and NOT the flu. Apparently, he sold (yes, sold) half of his lunch to a kid for $5. Then Matty went and spent some of the money on junk to eat. He came with me to a book study after track practice. I gave him an M & M cookie (thinking he was starving) to snack on while he did homework. After the book study, he said, "I don't feel so good." I asked why and he told me all the stuff he'd had. Great! He managed not to get sick in the car (yay!). He was allowed only things on the brat diet for dinner.

I made a super delicious spaghetti sauce. Deciding this super delicious sauce needed some red wine to accompany it, I opened a bottle of the Trader Joe's Charles Shaw $2.99 merlot. I saw it received 98 points (somewhere). Big mistake! I bought a bottle of it yesterday. I told Omid, "it's been years since I bought some & I can't remember why I stopped buying it." Well, now I remember why. It's horrible!

After dinner, we went over to Arezou & Evan's. They were gutting the house, getting rid of things they don't want to take back to Chicago with them. Needless to say, we left with the Excursion filled to the brim of things we didn't want Goodwill to have. Naseem & I argued over an Armani dress (thanks so very much, Arezoujoon!!!). I won. Can't wait for an 'evening' out where I can wear this gorgeous dress.

We left A & E's house around 8:30 p.m. (& should have headed home for bed), but Omid decided to drop in on Lin & Ward. We were only going to stay for 15 minutes, but stayed 45! When we left, Omid did a major burnout (with all our friends watching & a few of their neighbors too). Omid laughed the whole way home. He couldn't believe the smoke. He kept asking, "did you see how much smoke there was? Ha Ha Ha!" I told him I could see one neighbor looking out her window at us (while Omid was wildly revving up the engine) and knew her from school (yikes!). Omid had fun reliving his teenage driving years - that's for sure!

Matty is one happy boy tonight. Arezou & Evan flew in from Chicago today for a week's visit (& work). They came bearing gifts. Great gifts. Naseem received a shopping bag full of "under things" from Victoria's Secret. Mateen received an iTouch. He was speechless. Matty is always asking to see or use Naseem's iPod. Now he doesn't have to ask anymore. This means I can listen to what I want to hear in the car (while the kids listen to what they want to). No more

rap music. Yay!

Notice Evan's hat...he may have been worried Omid would want to give him a haircut/trim. I had to tease him about that.

On a side note, my mom just emailed me and said today is National Tartan Day. She went and watched The Olympia Highlanders perform this afternoon. Here is a quote from the Scottish Grammy herself: "They read a Proclamation from President Bush proclaiming April 6 as Nat'l Tartan Day to commemorate all the contributions to America from Scottish immigrants as well as Scottish descendents and American Scottish."

We drove out to Cascade Locks today in hopes of finding some salmon for sale. Omid went fishing three times this past week hoping to catch a salmon. He didn't even get a bite. :( So...we were hoping the Native Americans were selling some. It seems they took the day off. No one was selling anywhere. We stopped off near the river and let our sabzi from Norooz float down stream. Sabzi floating away
Naseem sitting in the car...too cold for her outside.
Omid & Matty walking around.
We stopped off at Bonneville and saw several sea lions on shore. This trap held 4 sea lions in it. They were barking up a storm. If you click on the picture, it should zoom in (I think).

Also, while watching ABC World News tonight, there was a great story about a man who travels around the USA correcting typos & spelling mistakes. I loved it! Now I am no longer the only one who calls restaurants, schools & businesses about the mistakes on their reader boards.

http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/BusinessTravel/story?id=4593597&page=1

Omid bbq'd London Broil for us tonight. It was soooo tasty. We also watched Napolean Dynamite (for the 100th time!). It was fun. It was actually the first time Omid had seen ND all the way through! Remy finally got his snuggle time during COPS & America's Most Wanted. It made up for the time he lost last night during our Apples to Apples game. What's left of our London Broil.
Snuggle time!

Hugs!