Happy Birthday to Me!

Last night I celebrated my 40th birthday party with a bunch of good friends & family. Fari & Mansour graciously offered to host the party in their home. The snow was nice enough to stay away so we could party away the evening without worrying. A BIG thanks to everyone for all the great gifts!

Beverage center. There was also water, beer, & the hard stuff.

Omid: Main caterer of the evening.

Prosciutto pinwheels by Brenda.

Brenda explaining the finer points of puff pastry to Fari.

The buffet.

Tammie & Cynthia
Mike & Cynthia

Brenda & Omid

Lin, Ward & Francis

Arnita, Mansour & Frank

Frank, Alan & Lyn

The Gygis Three

Me & Fari

Father B & Father Z

Grammy

Mansour, Papa & Tom

B

Cayden, Nas, Omid & Mansour

Papa & Erin

B, Nas & Papa

Naseem, Ward, B, Tom, Kari & Lin

Talking about what makes a good pistachio.

Cynthia, Francis, Tammie & Lyn

This is my nervous face! Tammie was acting very suspicious and was begging me to open the gift she & Lin brought. I really didn't want to and tried to get out of it. I knew she was up to something. So...while Omid was holding court, I tried to open it really fast and Tammie had to alert everyone to that fact. The gift was in a Victoria's Secret box and I just knew it was something...naughty. So....I opened the box (red-faced) and....

Whew! Relief! Nothing from Victoria's Secret but a beautiful North Face jacket from REI instead.

Jodie & B

Arnita

Ward & Tom

Omid & Frank

Birthday Queen

Still the Queen!

Last night we introduced Omid's parents to the game know as Apples to Apples. They did really good (came in 2nd & 3rd) but....I am still the one to beat! I won again! It's what I always tell my dad and brother-in-law, "I just play to the judge."

While we were playing the game, I brought out some 'After Eight' dinner mints that I forgot to serve at Thanksgiving. Omid put on his best British accent and inquired if the time was 'really, after 8.' It was hilarious and he wouldn't let me take a pix of his expression, but I couldn't stop laughing. For those who really want to know, it was really after 8 (8:21 p.m.).

'Snot Nice

Read at your own risk. Today's post has a high ick factor.

Today Naseem and I were at Costco with my inlaws. Nas and I were shopping around and I happened to pick up a container of lotion. I noticed the package was a little wet & sticky and turned it around to see what my fingers had touched (thinking it was lotion). WRONG!!! Someone had deposited a sticky booger on the container and MY fingers were touching it. YUCK!!!! I immediately put it down and asked Nas to dig through my purse for some Purell. I put the Purell on 3 separate times to try & sanitize my fingers. After that, my fingers got a hot & soapy rinse just to make sure.

The BEST Eggnog Recipe - EVER!

My mom makes the BEST eggnog I have ever tasted. I love the store-bought stuff, but if I had my choice between my mom's eggnog and something from Freddy's, I will choose my mom's. It is made with fresh eggs and I always have about a one second thought regarding salmonella - but it's a fleeting thought. I haven't been sick in all the years I've been drinking this stuff.

So...if you're feeling brave and want to serve a delicous eggnog punch at your Christmas party this year - try this recipe. You won't be disappointed.

Audrey's Egg Nog

6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar (divided into 1/4 cup and 1/2 cup)
1 pint whipping cream
1 pint milk
1/2 cup whiskey
2 Tbs rum

Beat whites & yolks separately. Add 1/2 cup sugar to yolks while beating. Add 1/4 cup sugar to whites after beating until stiff. Mix whites with yolks - folding gently. Stir in one pint whipping cream and one point of milk (or just use 1 quart of 1/2 & 1/2). Add 1/2 cup whiskey & 2 tbs. rum to mix. Chill several hours before serving. ENJOY!

Green Belt!

Naseem survived her 2.5 hour physical test for Karate last night. She did great and in the end earned her green belt. She is now halfway to her black belt!

Green Belt! Yay!

Teen Class Graduates

Form testing:

Here is a short video of Naseem receiving her new belt. :)

love this!

Holiday Pet Dangers

When decorating for the holidays...remember to watch out for our pets! These decorations are dangerous.

Hooks can get caught in throats/smaller ornaments can cause intestinal blockages.

If you have a fresh Christmas tree, don't let your animals drink water from the well of the stand. That water is icky.

I put the grapes up as a reminder: never give grapes to dogs!!! I ran into a friend last week at Target. I inquired about her dog and she told me she had to put him down. Someone fed him some grapes and his kidneys failed. NO GRAPES!!!!

Maybe we should have named our dog Edward

Vampire Dog! Just look at those hypnotic eyes!!

Remy...or Edward?


Nas was just upstairs getting ready for Karate and Remy was with her. Suddenly Nas called out: "Mom! Remy has Twilight!" I was on the phone to Omid at the time and relayed the info to him. Omid was laughing so hard at this (he isn't into Twilight like Nas & I are).

I cornered Remy and took the book away from him. The book has bite marks all over it! I tried to take photos of it, but they aren't coming out.

Twilight hullabaloo

This is another Twilight plug. I ignored all the hype up until a month ago & have been missing out! If you haven't read the book or seen the movie...I highly recommend it! I borrowed the 2nd book, New Moon, from my neighbor on Monday afternoon and finished it yesterday. It was just as good, if not better than Twilight. I intend to purchase the 3rd book today. I just can't get enough of them - they are that good. I am definitely an official Twilight Mom.


The kids and I saw the movie last Wednesday and it was very good. I really didn't want to see it, but it was surprisingly close to the book. During the movie, this character, Laurent showed up. Nas whispered in my ear, "It's Lil Wayne!'

Laurent

Lil Wayne

Remy modeling the present I bought myself today.

Decisions, decisions

I usually mail my Christmas cards out the day after Thanksgiving. Because my life has been a tad bit busy lately, I haven't even taken a Christmas photo yet. So...after school today, we ran to the park and tried to get Remy to look at me when I snapped the photos. Here are some of the contenders.

This one is good...but someone (me!) set the 'white balance' to shady. So...it's not in the running (unless Nas fixes it for me on Photoshop).

This one would be great....except for the chain the photographer (me!) forgot to notice (Nas could also fix that for me on Photoshop).

Omid and I like this one the best. If Omid can take some better shots this week, then we'll use those, otherwise look for one of these in your mailbox soon.