Tuesday, December 30, 2008

T-Minus.... can counting

There are two countdowns going on in our family right now......

The first is Jonathan's deployment for a 9 month tour on the USS Comstock. He has only 11 days left until the ship pulls out. I'm going to miss him being close by in San Diego but what an opportunity to go on a world tour. There's a slim chance we may be in Australia at the same time late January. Jonathan and I have been planning an email contact system so he can keep me updated on all the cool places he visits. 

Australia is the second countdown, It's hard to believe that after almost 18 months of planning and waiting my trip is a mere 17 days away! I've been reading up on shore excursions and in Wellington, NZ there's one that is all the local foodie hot spots. The tour is centered on visiting gourmet food shops, wine tastings, cheese and fruit growers and tastings and a 5 star restaurant.... I'm so taking my fat jeans on this cruise! This morning it was a lovely 88 degrees in Melbourne, time to go dig out my summer clothes and get to packing!

Monday, December 29, 2008

Christmas Happenings

Our holiday season has definitely been Merry & Bright! 



Jonathan made it home for Christmas so we were very thankful for that. We were able to be part of Winter's first Christmas, which was a joy and blessing. 

We spent Christmas Eve with Joe and his family in Woodland, Debe (Joe's step-mom) made a really nice meal and everyone had a great time. There were a ton of presents passed around and I received a killer pair of black boots.... Santa Debe was very generous this year!

Christmas morning started off early as usual, most of us up and about for stockings at 6am but Suz & Justin refused to wake up so we stole Winter and she played with Becca for a while. Around 7am everyone, except Joe and I, drifted back to sleep until 9am then the present opening started in earnest! Winter was the star of the show, she mostly just looked at the gifts and spent time pounding on the boxes... her new favorite past-time. Since she has started crawling and is able to pull herself up on tables & furniture, she spent a lot of time going to whoever was opening the latest gift and checking to see if it fit in her mouth!

After presents we had a yummy breakfast of french toast and sausage made by Justin & Suz then we all hung out in our PJ's and played with our presents. In the afternoon we got dressed for our annual tradition of a movie, this makes 21 years straight that we have gone to a movie on Christmas Day. 

Back from the movies we kicked into entertaining mode as Oscar whole family came to eat dinner and and enjoy the evening with us. We manage to squeeze 18 people in our tiny little living room/dining room area for a sit down meal, it was very nice to have the whole family gathered around the table.

By 10pm guests had departed, the kids had gone off to their own homes or to visit friends, the food was put away and dishes were done. Oscar and I experienced a first in our married life... alone time on Christmas Day. A glimpse of quieter times in future holidays, as our children grow and start families of their own. I thought I would be sad when these days arrived but happily it was nice to be able to spend a few alone hours with the love of my life on my favorite holiday of the year.........

Monday, December 22, 2008

Weekend Happenings

Saturday was very busy day around our place. It started early when Oscar and I took advantage of the fact that we wake up at zero-dark-thirty everyday and hit the outlets for those final 3 gifts we were looking for, a cup of Starbucks and then back home before the crowds made it an unpleasant experience. Speaking of which, Becca works in retail and has had full exposure to "the crowds" and her only comment is that people are robbing her of her Christmas spirit...poor kid!

Oscar and the boys took Andrew for one final fun time before he left Saturday night to go-cart racing. Everyone had fun and as always Oscar was kicked off the course for aggressive driving! It happens every time he goes, my mild mannered husband turns into a speed demon on the course!

We spent the evening alone together at home and it was a nice respite from the crazy holiday party circuit we have been on for the last 10 days. Parties are fun but there's a lot to be said for snuggling up on the couch with your hubby and quietly watching a movie while the weather outside is frightful.

Sunday was a bit of busy as well, Becca moved into her own apartment yesterday. Funny how much I want them to go out on their own and yet when they do, there's a feeling of emptiness when I look into the bare room they occupied. I must have look in there 100 times the last 6 months in exasperation thinking my daughter is a slob but the sight of the very empty, clean room brought me little comfort last night. 

We were excited to spend the evening with our little friend Molly. Mommy and Daddy were off to a Christmas party so Molly spent some time with us. We met some church friends for pizza then drove around our neighborhood looking at lights. Once we were home Molly played ball with Jack and Frankie the dogs for an hour.... throwing the ball for an hour! The dogs were in heaven because we get tired of the game after 10 minutes! Winter came home after that and the girls had fun playing together. Molly was coloring and Winter just kept laughing at her. A deep belly laugh every time she picked up a crayon, it was so cute. Molly has twins siblings on the way so it was good practice to keep Winter away from her crayons and to play with her. 

It's always fun time at Auntie Paige's house so we broke a few rules including staying up past bedtime, ate in the living room and watch all kinds of cartoons. Shhhh don't tell mom and dad!

I frequently find lovely things on other peoples blogs that I like to share. This is a Christmas song I found this morning that really touched me. 




Saturday, December 20, 2008

December catch up

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December has been full of good stuff. Last night at the family party we got a great picture of Winter with her auntie Becca.... Becca always gets red-eye in her photo's I need to figure out how to fix this. 

The weather here in Sacramento has been crazy cold at least for this born and bred southern California girl. It seems like we went from 80's to 40's over night. I don't remember a change this drastic in the past 7 years we have been here. Of course I think I say that every year! Because it' so cold I frequently find Jack & Blue dog snuggled together on Becca's bed. They know they aren't supposed to be there but seem to just blow me off these days, when I tell them to get down. Normally these two are mortal enemies with Jack being the grumpy old dog he is..... but with Shelby passing a year ago Jack seems to tolerate Blue much better these days. I think he will be doggie lonely when Becca moves out this weekend and takes Blue with her!


In early December Oscar surprised me with a weekend away in Napa. Between the holidays and career changes for both of us and the fact that our house has tons of people in it.... we needed a little time away. We stumbled upon the 15th Annual Lighted tractor parade in Calistoga and it was so much fun! It got cold once the sun went down but totally worth the freezing bums! I think this will become an annual tradition for us, we had such  a good time. We stayed at a lovely little B&B that Oscar found. Our room had a huge tub (room for 3) and we took total advantage with 2 baths in 12 hours... it was heaven to relax! We did a round of cheese tastings and found that brie is lovely with a light crisp toast and fresh honeycomb.... YUM


Winter had her first illness the first week of December we are thinking it was roseola given her 103 to 104 temp for 3 days and then a  fun rash. She spent days just laying around looking sad, many of these hours on Grandpa's chest while he watched TV and cuddled with her. We figured out what a happy baby she normally is when her smile disappeared for 3 days, it was wonderful to have it back! She also managed to get a regular cold which she has passed on to every member of the household.... little carrier monkey that she is! She is back to her normal smiling self despite the lingering nose and chest congestion.....





Our life group pictured above had  a fun time on Thursday with our Christmas party and gift exchange. The most traded item of the evening was the Jesus action figure, finally secured by the van Riessen's for Molly...or so Amy's says... I think she secretly wanted it for herself!....lol The event had somewhat of a bitter sweet feeling as this was our last official gathering as the van Riessen Life Group. Pregnant with twins Garrett & Paige,  Steve and Amy have decided to take a break from leading life group to focus on their rapidly expanding family. We are very supportive of this decision as a group but individually we all will miss their leadership every Thursday night along with the yummy dinner Amy provided for us. WE all shared what we learned in life group the past several years and there was a common thread among the shares.... that was the feelings of family, closeness and love that our life group felt with each other. That speaks volumes about the leadership Amy & Steve provided. 

At evenings end, Jesus was left paired up with Cinderella as we all departed. 

Final notes without pictures....

Jonathan came home a day early for leave and we are so glad he was able to be here. I've yet to have a Christmas without my children, I know now that they are all adults, some in the military and others with children of their own these holidays will change in the years to come but for now I'm thankful to get at least one more year together!

Thanks to the little carrier monkey, everyone in the household is fighting a cold but we are winning the battle with lots of Theraflu and Vicks vapor rub.... amazing stuff really.

Just 5 more days until Santa comes....... and I only need two more presents! Then I'm hoping the wrapping fairy will come...man I hate wrapping gifts!

Meet Andrew...

This past week has been an exciting time in our extended family. Our nephew Andrew came to visit for the frist time ever here in northern california. It's actually been years since we spent more than an hour over breakfast during a quick visit to Redondo Beach with him. In fact last night when we got the family together we realized it's the first time since July 2001 that all 8 of the Jarquin grandchildren were together at the same time! 

I dont' have a digital picture of the last time but here is something to see........



This photo is a little older than 2001, it was taken before the last 4 grandchildren were born. The kids were all under the age of 10 here.


This is the newest photo... it' lacks Amy's photo quality but what a great picture of all the kids. Back Row: Justin, Andrew (tall one in very back), Alejandro, Jonathan, Esteban. Front row: Kaytlynn, Becca & Breanna.

The Lord has been faithful in providing a great week for all the Jarquin family!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Recap to catch up!

Since I've been off of work I have been a very bad blogger.... Who knew how much I had to do when not working!

For halloween we spent some time at the Greenhouse Harvest festival... Winter just liked the pumpkins!


The big deal in Novemeber was our trip to LA for my Dad's surprise 75th birthday. The weekend focused on doing things from our childhood with dad. So on Thursday night we showed up at his house at 10:30pm and went to a local 24 hour resturant called Norms. He used to work two jobs when we were littel kids on and Fridays he got off late and took us to Norm;s at 11pm for fries and a coke... it was fun Coffee at dad's favorite coffee meeting place on Friday. Friday evening we all went to a football game at Redondo Union High... the alma mater for all 5 of us Young children and 3 of the in-laws. The announcer gave a yell to dad for his birthday during half time...very cool!

Then we went fishing... my brothers have not stopped being obnoxious older brothers.... still... at 50 years old they are still mean to the baby... that would be me!....lol

The big part of the weekend was a late lunch at Cheesecake factory with dad's friends on Saturday. He was so happy... it was very cool. Sunday drew the festivites to and end with brnuch at my brother Richards house and dad's gift. Oscar spent many hours satruday night putting all the photo's from 5 different cameras on a digital frame. My hubby rocks! Now dad has a lastign memory of all our events

Some f the girls from the family L to R Paige, Suz, Becca, Winter, Sam - my niece, Flora her mom, Erika - the newest member of the family. She is engaged to Sam's older brother Richard.

The Young Family Pam, Butch, Dad, Paige, Ron and Richard. This is fishing on the REdondo peir. I hate touching dead fish!
Winter Elizabeth gettign into the RUHS tradition. The kids may have to move bakc to LA just so we can have another RUHS graduate and keep the tradition alive!

This is my big brother Butch... He's the oldest and I'm the youngest. I love my big brother!
Winter with her 6 month purple bunny picture. I've been very re-miss in getting these photo's online. Bad Yis-Yia. 


Sorry I've been so bad about this posting thing......



Tuesday, November 25, 2008

New shopping place

I love a good bargain..... This website I found has some very cool stuff. It only offers one bargain at a time and changes frequently. Go check it out!

http://www.mamabargains.com/

Monday, November 3, 2008

GO VOTE

The woman's suffrage movement was one primarily run by working-class women. These women were frustrated by their social and economic situation and sought for an outlet through which to initiate change. Suffragettes carried out direct action such as chaining themselves to railings, setting fire to mailbox contents, smashing windows and on occasions setting off bombs. One suffragette, Emily Davison, died after she stepped out in front of the King's horse, Anmer, at the Epsom Derby of 1913. Many of her fellow suffragettes were imprisoned and went on hunger strikes, during which they were restrained and forcibly fed and had reached the height of their campaign by 1912.

What started in the United Kindom came to our shores in 1869 when Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton started National Women's Suffrage Association (NWSA), an organization dedicated to gaining women's suffrage. Anthony was vice-president-at-large of the NWSA from the date of its organization until 1892, when she became president. The Nineteenth Amendment was the culmination of the work of many activists in favor of women's suffrage. It was specifically intended to extend suffrage to women. It was proposed on June 4, 1919 and ratified on August 18, 1920.

A women's right to vote is a hard won victory by many that have come before us, so take advantage and go vote today!


Just for enjoyment.......

Friday, October 31, 2008

Gas prices a droppin...

Today best gas price is $2.39 a gallon at Costco on Expo.... Can you believe it?

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Christmas Music

I love Christmas music, all kinds of Chirstmas music! I had an old CD called Twisted Christmas by Bob Rivers.... lost it..Boo. Found a bunch of them on youtube last night and this is one of my favorites!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Thumbprint poem

Thumb Print

Your thumb print
Embedded on my soul
My heart in your hands
Your hands, a hole

Branded in love
By the sword in your side
Never trying again
From you to hide

The blood from the thorns
Placed upon your brow
I come to you, Lord
And humbly bow

Your hands reach down
Gathering up my soul
Leaving a thumb print
That will make me whole

Lifting me up gently
From my knees
In the palm of your hand
You now place me

You lovingly caress
Whispering away the pain
Bound up in your love
Peace and joy I gain.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Macaroni & cheese Recipe #2

This is called Ultimate Macaroni and cheese and it's a copycat recipe from an Atlanta Georgia resturant called The Horseradish Grill. It was good, I uppped the cayenne to 1/4 tsp and used heavy whipping cream and fat free 1/2 & 1/2... hey it's what I had in the frig.

There was 3 Yummy's, 1 didn't like the texture and 3 it's good but no the best. Doesn't reheat well but when fresh out of the oven it's very smooth and creamy.

Ingredients
1 3/4 cups small elbow macaroni
1 1/4 cups extra-sharp cheddar cheese, cubed (5 oz.)
2 2/3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/3 cups half-and-half
1 1/3 cups whipping cream
2/3 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
1 1/4 cups packed extra-sharp cheddar cheese (5 oz. grated)
Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350. Lightly butter 9x13x2 inch glass baking dish. Cook macaroni in boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain and transfer to prepared dish. Mix in cubed cheese.
2 Whisk flour, salt, mustard, black pepper, cayenne pepper and nutmeg in medium bowl until no lumps remain. Gradually whisk in half and half, then whipping cream and sour cream. Add eggs and Worcestershire sauce; whisk to blend. Pour over macaroni mixture and stir to blend. Sprinkle grated cheese over.
3 Bake macaroni and cheese until just set around the edges but sauce is still liquid in center about 25 minutes. REmove from oven and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Monday, October 6, 2008

The Jarquin World - in print

From our picture taking in the park.... Amy is a genius!

Our beautiful Becca and Joe

Justin, Suzanne and Winter

Hansom men don't you agree?

The two that started it all!

From left to right..... Oscar, Paige, Justin, Suzanne, Joe, Becca, Jonathan and front center is Miss Winter Elizabeth

Weekend highlights.....

In the Jarquin World we have been enjoying some good old fashioned family time.

Friday - Jonathan arrived late, like close to 10pm that's late for us old folks! Justin picked him up at the airport with the baby so Jonathan could get his first peek at his new niece! He thinks she's beautiful of course.....lol. It was great to have my baby home, we visited for a couple hours and then it was off to bed for us and out to visit friends for Jonathan. Always nervous when they are home from the military and take our cars out!

Saturday - We started the day at 4am, Jonathan just coming home from his friends and me not able to sleep. We enjoyed a cup of coffee on the front porch together and caught up on life stuff. It's hard to believe that my baby is just weeks away from his 21st birthday. That he is in the Navy, serving his country, it's like he's a grown up or something? Crazy! We still had normal life stuff to accomplish so Jonathan caught up on his sleep while Justin went to class. We went to visit Becca at work since she didn't' see him on Friday night. Oscar's parents came by to spend the afternoon, the boys went off to the movies and the girls went shopping. Dinner was very nice, his favorite of Ham, a new mac and cheese recipe and steamed broccoli. I'm on the hint for that great homemade macaroni and cheese recipe..... tried two so far and they were both good but not wicked good, so the search is still on.

Sunday - Was truly our best day so far. Everyone stayed home Sunday morning, so there was a lot of bodies laying around watching movies, eating breakfast, napping, drinking coffee. Mostly it was just wonderful to watch my 3 kids be siblings together, like they were before the teen years. They laughed at private jokes... kind of like they actually "liked" each other again! We took the dogs to the park for exercise, went shopping to get some outfits for family pics, met Amy my photographer friend at Land Park for photo's. Then it was off to Marie Calendars for dinner and our final stop was Laughs Unlimited in Old Sac.

We have two days left until he heads back and life is back to the usual work and stuff but I have to say it's wonderful to have all my babies back under my roof for a few days!

Pictures to follow when I find my cord to download them.....!

Friday, October 3, 2008

Oscar had a Birthday

Another year, another candle! Oscar turned 44 this year and we celebrated with dinner at our place... a few extended family showed up. Oscar's mom's birthday is just one day before him so they shared a the celebration.







The birthday boy and his mom Eugenia.







Can you belive all 18 of these people actually fit in my house! This is mostly Oscar's family with Scott and Alex (joe's dad and brother) thrown into the mix. Jonathan wasn't there and Deb was taking the pictures....

Happy Birthday my wonderful husband!

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Jonathan is coming home




I can't believe it... he got his leave approved and will arrive either late Friday night or first thing Saturday morning... I"m going to see my boy... I'm excited! He hasn't been home since the kids wedding last December and at that time we didn't even get to visit... it was non-stop wedding stuff for the entire 7 days he was here.




I can't wait to cook all his favorite foods! Whoo-Who mom is doing a happy dance!

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Life is moving fast...

It's been many moons since I have posted regularly so here are the highlights.....

Here are the highlights:
  • Spent two weeks working Sausalito. Sitting at my desk and watching the boats come in & out of the harbor all day was so distracting...sigh! I found that I only love hotels when I'm on vacation, otherwise they are just a drag.
  • Made a new friend at the home office, Mr. Meza is pretty darn cool! Also got to spend time with my friend Cathy that lives close by... that was great.
  • Learned a lot and it was a good two weeks to give me some space to decide if my career had me staying with my current company or moving on. There's a plan in place now, I feel good about that... yeah it's gonna be okay.
  • Oscar did an awesome job hosting the love and respect class in our home on Tuesday nights without me... I'm super proud of him for doing that!
  • Now that I'm home Oscar has scooted off for a conference in some far away state and is gone until Thursday......
  • Oscar had a birthday and the whole family came for dinner on Saturday night. Who would have every thought I could fit 17 people semi-comfortable in my living room!
  • Oh Yeah.... I moved the furniture around...shocking but true! It looks great as I swapped the living room / dining room!
  • Church this Sunday was nice but it was sad to see so few people in the chairs.... pray for Sanctuary we need a pastor and some wind back in our sails!
  • Winter is laughing... it only happens once in a while but I love it! her eyes twinkle when she smiles... I still think she will make the cutest christmas elf!
  • Becca is doing so awesome in school this semester...truly excited about how hard she is working at graduating.
  • I had so much fun cooking this weekend. I love it. New turkey recipe coming this week.

I think that's it... the high points anyway...

History Lesson......

For those that don't know about history ... Here is a condensed version:

Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.

The two most important events in all of history were the invention of beer and the invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer. These were the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups: 1. Liberals, and 2. Conservatives.

Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.

Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to B-B-Q at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement. Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly B-B-Q's and doing the sewing, fetching, and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement.

Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as girlie-men. Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy, group hugs, and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide the meat and beer that conservatives provided. Over the years conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.

Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare. Another interesting evolutionary side note: most of their women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't fair to make the pitcher also bat.

Conservatives drink domestic beer, mostly Bud. They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, athletes, members of the military, airline pilots and generally anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living.

Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America . They crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a business of trying to get more for nothing.

Here ends today's lesson in world history:
It should be noted that a Liberal may have a momentary urge to angrily respond to the above before forwarding it. A Conservative will simply laugh and be so convinced of the absolute truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately to other true believers and to more liberals just to tick them off.

Monday, September 29, 2008

Winter 4 months old

Better late than never!



Winter at 4 months with her purple bunny! Hand in mouth is her favorite thing right now. She has hit that fun stage where everything goes in her mouth.

She is using all different level of vocals now.... and last night when she was in her new excer-saucer from Auntie Carmen, she was laughing at all the toys.... There is so much going on with the toys on those things I thought for sure she would go into stimulation overload but she was just loving it. Her attention span has increased, which means it's now longer than a gnat's.... we are getting to the fun part of being around littel babies!

I was working out of town the last two weeks, I would talk to Oscar on the cell phone when he was holding her. He said she would hear my voice and look all over the room for me. She just couldn't grasp the fact that she could hear but not see me.

Saturday, September 20, 2008

Perfectly Moist boiled chicken

I use a lot of cooked chicken in meals.... everything from chicken salad for Becca to a killer Zucchini casserole to use up all the stuff I grow during the summer! I was buying those roasted chicken for the last couple of years because I could never get my boiled chicken breast to come out moist enough....

I have found the perfect method to get moist chicken breast from boiling.

Use fresh or frozen breast meat but if using frozen make sure it is completely thawed. Fill a pot with just enough chicken broth so it will cover the meat by one inch. Bring the broth to a boil and add the chicken and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook for 10 minutes. When 10 minutes have passed, put a secure fitting lid on the pot and remove from the heat.

I let it sit in the pot for about 30 minutes with the heat off. Use a thermometer to check the internal temp make sure it has reached 160. If ti's still not there, i turn the heat back on just till it starts to boil and then off again with the lid on. That time I check it after 5 minutes..

This is the only method I've used that gets the best results especially with previously frozen chicken breast.

Thursday, September 11, 2008

To Amy Van... it's your birthday

Today is Amy's birthday .... to you my friend.... may today be everything you want it to be.... but with Cake on top!



See I didn't tell everyone how old you are!

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

The 80's




I'd like to say I remember the 80's but mostly I was pregnant,giving birth or rasiing little ones for most part. So when some friends had a Totally 80's birthday party I was excited. I have to say I think I looked better now then I did in the 80's because I NEVER dressed liek this back then!

Becca just kept shaking her head and using that snarky humor she got from her mother!

Monday, September 8, 2008

Ever peel a hard boiled egg?

My sister is a whiz in the kitchen... she shared this with us this morning via email...

You don't have to be a Sous Chef to appreciate this video tip that really does work. Instead of the slow boil the video suggests, see my tip for cooking the eggs. Removing from the heat helps prevent the green sulfur ring.

Cover eggs with 1-1/2" cold water and 1 t baking soda. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Once it boils, cover and remove from heat for 15 minutes. After about 5 minutes of standing in the hot water, uncover, gently stir the eggs, recover. This helps reposition the yolks. After 15 minutes, drain and immediately cover with cold water. Then onto the peeling tip. Be sure to make the holes big enough - you'll see what I mean.


Here it is folks..... oh yeah he says a bad word... there should be a low level profanity label for this, cuz Paige Never says bad words.... laughing at myself...



Hey just a thought... this will work with my tip on deviled eggs.... I'm a genius

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Quicky Labor Day Video

We went to Kevin and Linda's place on Sat for a BBQ and they have a donkey! This is a video of Winter. More details later but she sure is cute!



More details and pics from the weekend later!

Friday, August 29, 2008

Missing a good friend already

Today is a sad day for me. I have a good friend at my company, we'll just call her Miss C., today is her last day and I'm going to miss her terribly. Granted she is going on to something bigger and better, an advance in her career that is amazing and which she totally deserves but.....

I'm still here and she makes my time at the office bearable when things get un-bearable. It's not like I'll never see her or talk to her again but it will be different somehow.....Mostly because she isn't in the thick of it anymore, she is done dealing with all the things about this place that drove both of us crazy on a consistant basis.

Have you ever had a person in your life that is just good, honorable, beautiful inside and out? Miss C is all those things and occasional more. She is my best snarky pal, we just have fun together.

I'm not a fem-nazi by any measure but I sincerely hold the belief that women are the core to our society, we are what makes the world go'round, in a way that isn't easily put into pretty words. Helen Reddy did a great job however in her song "I am woman"...



Miss C is this song..... She leads and teachs in action, not just words. She is an amazing single mom with a daughter that is not surprisingly one of the best teenagers I've ever had the pleasure to know. She believes in people and has a true desire to see them succeed.

This is Miss C holding her flowers esnt by a friend on her last day...she will be greatly missed!



At least now we have an excuse to get together more often.....

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Winter at 3 months

Sorry this is a late one.... Where does the time go? Oh yes I worked for 13 straight days, that's where it went!

Back to the matter at hand... our beautiful granddaughter is a month older.... Babies are like Chia pets.... give them a little fluid and they just grow at an amazing rate!



It was hard to get a still photo this month because she is very committed to putting her hands in her mouth every moment she is awake. The problem being she hasn't figured out that her hands can go UP to her mouth and prefers the method of taking her mouth DOWN to her hands which usually hang out in the middle of her chest.... makes for great shots of the top of her curly little head!

Thursday, August 14, 2008

It happens so fast


they just grow up before your eyes! I thought this was a cutie picture....

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Did you know.....

I love superfluous information......... so here are asome fun facts for you!

  1. Pac-Man, Namco's 1979 arcade game, was originally called "Puck Man". The name was changed when they realized that vandals could easily scratch out part of the letter "P".
  2. Don Mac Lean's song "American Pie" was written about Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and J.P. Richardson (The Big Bopper), who all died in the same plane crash.
  3. Dolphins can look in different directions with each eye. They can sleep with one eye open.
  4. God is not mentioned once in the book of Esther.
  5. In 1863, Paul Hubert of Bordeaux, France, was sentenced to life in jail for murder. After 21 years, it was discovered that he was convicted of murdering himself.
  6. Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.

And for the bonus point....Does anyone know that past tense for the word "dare'... try before you google it!

Happy reading

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Chicago Mom's Blog - Saving a marriage

I was surfing the blogs and came across a great post titled "How to Save your Marriage"

http://svmomblog.typepad.com/nyc_moms/2008/08/how-to-save-you.html

It's a great read with some excellent advice. While I don't agree with everything the author says.... there's some real jewels of information that apply to the everyday workings of a relationship..... Enjoy!

Church of Oprah?.... She's full of Poo!

I found this youtube video rather distrubing. I've never been overly fond of Oprah but this video really tops it off for me....


Sunday, August 10, 2008

San Diego Day 1 -Visting Jonathan

Oscar and I have been very excited about this weekend because we are in San Diego visiting with our youngest son Jonathan, who is stationed on the USS Comstock LSD 45, at this link you can read a little about the ship http://www.comstock.navy.mil/site%20pages/history.aspx

We have had a great time so far. After breakfast we took a cab into base, we couldn't get a pass for the car it's a long story, and took a tour of his ship.




I haven't figured out how to add captions on the slide show so you know what everything is but here are the highlights!
Oscar and Jonathan with the ship in the back... it's a big ship!
There are pics of the hold where they store the L-CAC's and huge yellow forklifts that are rated over 6000lbs.
The bunks where they sleep, with Oscar standing next to it so you can appreciate just who small the space is! Also theres one with white straps... they put those up so you don't fall out of the rack whiel sleeping.
The galley where they feed all 400+ personnel (sometimes 800 when the Marines are on board), 3 times a day and they are less then 100 seats!
On the main upper deck... I forget the real term, Jonathan and I posed under the ship crest.
The motorcycles in the hold belong to the CO & XO... very cool!
You can see the cavernous hold from a few different angles and decks on the ship. Along with the massive cranes... it's was very interesting.
There was a station to sign in, there's a pic of Oscar & Jonathan doing that.

We also got to see where he actually works everyday but because of it's classified nature, I wasn't allowed to take any pics in there. We met a few of his friends on ship and co-worker Tinga.

Mostly it is just nice to spend time with my son...... I miss him a ton!

Today we are off to Sea World... more on that tomorrow.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Farmer Joe's Corn




The corn is ready to harvest after a long wait. Joe planted these lovelies as seeds and has diligently watered and cared for them all summer long... his first crop! He even named a few of the plants. The big bummer was when the water was left running for a few hours one evening by accident and over half the stalks fell over. So at 9pm, with one small flashlight Becca, Joe and I set about saving them. With some twine...okay a lot of twine and ingenuity we got them set straight again!






The corn is so sweet.... now what to do with 37 ears of corn all ready to pick the same week?










Winter video

New camera for my birthday so I thought I'd try it out the video feature on Winter. She had lots to say and I obviously needs lots of practice centering and holding it steady!

Hard to believe she is almost 3 months old already.....



Thursday, August 7, 2008

Blog game

Normally I get these types of things in emails but instead I found it on a blog.... it seemed to be a fun game.... Copy and paste the questions and answer on your blog. Then leave me a comment and let me know where I can read your responses. Invite others if you’d like!


1. What time did you get up this morning? 4:32am - Yes it's a stupid hour to be awake!
2. Diamonds or pearl ? Diamonds of course
3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? The Mummy - ummm good but busy with the graphics.
4. What is your favorite TV show? I have many... Grey Anatomy, Closer, Saving Grace, Boston legal to name a few
5. What do you usually have for breakfast? Coffee w/ chocolate Unjury, banana & egg w/ cheese but this takes me about an hour to eat.
6. What is your middle name? Allison
7. What food do you dislike? raw onions and raw fish.
8. What is your favorite CD at the moment? CD? I make my own of songs Oscar has on the computer
9. What kind of car do you drive? the land yacht - Suburban
10. Favorite sandwich? Grilled PB&J
11. What characteristic do you despise? Snotty
12. Favorite item of clothing? A new long denim dress
13. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? Australia Oh wait I am going there!
14. Where would you retire to? Costa Rica most likely
15. What was your most recent memorable birthday? Turning 40 last year Pizza & beer with friends.
16. Furthest place you are sending this? Good Question! I'm guessing Australia since I know a friend there reads this blog.
17. Person you expect to send it back first? Probably no one... who else has an hour with nothing ot do but me!
18. When is your birthday? Jul 31st
19. Morning person or a night person? Morning..did you see my answer in #1?
20. What is your shoe size? 7.5 to 8
21. Pets? Of my own, just jack the dog...but we have 2 guests dogs for now.
22. Any exciting news you’d like to share with us? Nothing.... seriously nothing.....
23. What did you want to be when you were little? a Truck driver.. I know it's weird to many episodes of BJ and the Bear.
24. How are you today? ok, I guess.Darn pain in my side is bothersome as usual
25. What is your favorite flower? Don't have just one.... I like spring bouquets.
26. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to seeing? Whatever the next holiday is that I get to have off work!
27. What are you listening to right now? The garbage truck as it rolls down the street and Winter crying downstairs.
28. What was the last thing you ate? Raisin toast with peanut butter at bedtime.
29. Do you wish on stars? Nope
30. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Red
31. How is the weather right now? Sunny and warm
32. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Becca
33. Favorite soft drink? No soda for me thanks....
34. Favorite restaurant? I wish I could find a new Chinese place I loved.....
35. Favorite color? I like all kinds of colors but I'm partial to pink/purple/red in clothing.
36. What was your favorite toy as a child? Barbies... I loved Barbies.
37. Summer or winter? Winter
38. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate any day of the week!
39. Coffee or tea? Coffee
40. Do you want your friends to email you back? Yes!
41. When was the last time you cried? Monday at work out of sheer frustration with my boss.
42. What is under your bed? Shoes and storage of winter clothes.
43. What did you do last night? Picked up friends from the airport and played with Winter.
44. What are you afraid of? Death of one of my kids.
45. Salty or sweet? Sweet
46. How many keys on your key ring? 2 car & office
47. How many years at your current job? 18 months.
48. Favorite day of the week? Saturday - I get to lounge around the house and puts in the garden.
49. Do you make friends easily? friends - no, acquaintances- yes
50. How many people will you send this to? At least 5 people read my blog...lol
52. How many will respond? not sure… Let’s find out…. Leave a comment if you played along!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

A break from Starbucks?

It's hard to imagine but Starbucks is giving us a break on our afternoon caffeine fix!

You can read teh details here http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,397624,00.html

To sum it up.... if you go in after 2pm AND take your receipt for a morning purchase of coffee, then you get your afternoon iced drink for a whopping $2... this is exciting for me.... it means I can afford to have my fix twice a day...Whoo-hoo!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Snoozing......



Remember that post about all the things I had to do this week... well yesterday afternoon I needed a break as did Winter, so "The Girls" took a nap. We both had a much better attitude when we woke up!

Oscar is doing okay.... he seemed better on Thursday than he was yesterday. There wasn't much pain while he was at the hospital but its been a bit bothersome since he got home. Overall, he is doing good, takes lots of 20 minute naps throughout the day.

My birthday on Thursday was very nice.... Oscar & Becca bought me a digital camera... point & shoot Kodak easy share... it's purple and super easy to use, I'm very excited about that! I've been dropping a ton of not so subtle hints for the last couple of months about wanting a digital camera! I also received two figures for my precious moment's collection... I love those things. And a toddy maker... I'm gonna do a whole post on that thing... it makes a killer cup of coffee! Winter brought me Starbucks and flowers at the office Thursday.... We ended up at Sushi Cafe for dinner one of my fav restaurants... they have the best Miso in Sacramento. It was a fun & quiet celebration of my 41 years on this earth. On Sunday, I'll figure out how to download pics from my camera so you can see the celebration!

This weekend will see the end of the moving.... finally! Just a need to get everything out of boxes now!?! Everyone has been putting in some long days to get this accomplished, so I'm glad the hard part is over! The upside is we see a lot of Winter because the best help we can give Suz & Justin is to entertain her while they move stuff.

Gearing up for baby shower now. I did some prep work yesterday while Oscar napped and the orzo pasta salad was a disaster! I'm one of those cooks that does a pinch of this, snip of that... "Oh I wonder how that will taste in here".... the answer to the last thought... not good! I used a raspberry walnut vinaigrette on it.... Yuck. I ended up tossing the whole thing! It doesn't happen often but when I make a bad call on an ingredient it's a doozy!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Oscar is a free man!

They gave him the nod this morning to come home. He is definitely feeling better because he is complaining about the hospital and his 3 roommates and being bored.... He says very little pain, mostly just sore. His appetite is good, which is wonderful.

Now the challenge is to keep him from over-doing it the next few days!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Oscar is Finished!

UPDATE @ 4pm: Oscar is in his new room. It's the Truama Nursing unit room 1039 Bed 1. Said he feels okay but is very tired and ready to sleep! I'm going to stop by for a few minutes on my wya home and then let the poor guy get some rest.


I couldn't stand the suspense so I headed to the hospital around 7am.

They took him in right at 7:30 and he was done at 10:15ish.... it was longer than expected because once inside they found he still had a slightly inflamed appendix and residual gunk from the rupture last month. They were able to do everything LAP so that is awesome news!

He is still in recovery until between 5 & 7 tonight and then they will send him to a room. The doctor said that as long as there's no fever and he can keep down solids tomorrow morning he can go home!

They let me go in for about 15 minutes... he looks great. Seriously, he has good color, is breathing well and has some pain and nausea but it's minimal... he looks so much better than when he had the rupture. He made a few jokes, wanted a few kisses and then I left so Becca could come in to see him.

We decided to go home and back to work because they won't let us stay in there with him for more than a few minutes at a time....

Side Note: the waiting room for recovery is shared by the trauma ICU. There was a family there this morning of a young man named "Brandon". He is in an extreme critical condition and his family is devastated. There was so much grief and sorrow, you coudl feel it roll aroudn the room. I didn't ask for any details and only had the opportunity to pray with them for a few minutes but please take a moment now and ask God to protect this family.... they are hurting in a huge way.

Ready......

I dropped him off at UCD this morning at 5:30am. Surgery is scheduled for 7:30am. Becca plans to arrive around 6:30 to sit with him until they take him in. She will call when that happens and then again as soon as the doctor comes out to say he is in recovery. Praying for a simple lap procedure, in & out!

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Living it... We definately are doing that

This is not a feel sorry for Paige, she is so busy post. Just a peek into my week... the title of my blog says it all... Jarquin world....Livin it!

Yesterday Becca finished off her stuff downstairs and is completely moved into the extra bedroom upstairs. She is being such a good sport about all the changes.... Giving up the apartment downstairs to Justin & Suz was a great help. She worked her butt off getting it move in ready! I'm really very proud of my girl.

Last night was completed with a trip to Urgent Care for my 4th bladder infection this year! Whoo-Hoo those are always so much fun. The upside is that the doc gave me a liquid antibiotic this time so maybe it won't take 2.5 rounds of Cipro to cure the infection. Having a gastric bypass belly means I don't absorb many medications well and liquid form of anything is much better so I'm really hopeful one round will get it! Stuff tastes gross... no wonder my kids never wanted to take their medicine when they were sick.

Today Oscar is officially off work for one week as tomorrow is the big surgery day. So far we haven't even heard what time the surgery is scheduled for, this is driving me crazy cuz how can I plan if I don't have details!?! He is helping Justin and Suz get the rest of their stuff over to the house. The move is going pretty good, except yesterday Oscar and Justin decided to move a piano by themselves.... crazy.

Becca plans to be at the hospital all day with Oscar tomorrow and will call me as soon as the surgery is done, so I can get there to see him in recovery. We've talked a lot about me being there and given that we don't even know what time the surgery is.... I'm going to work until he hits recovery.

Thursday I suspect will be very boring..... a lot of watching Oscar sleep and helping the kids get settled assuming everything goes well and they let him come home! We are definitely praying for that. Justin and Suz will spend the day with him. In the evening, I'll probably do some cooking for the the baby shower on Sunday. I'm super excited about that. I love cooking! Our good friend Marianne has offered to come play with Miss Winter while we are all working... I think I will take her up on that!

Friday I have the day off to take care of Oscar at home. Again probably lots of sleeping and/or video games.

Saturday is all baby shower prep! I'm so excited about this... Jennifer such a sweet lady and a good friend!

A bit on Miss Winter. She is getting so big, she had her first set of shots last week and apparently cried less than her mommy... She weighed in at 11.5 pounds but doesn't have a lot of fat on her. She is a very lanky kid, not from our side of the family for sure... that's all Donia. Her grandpa Rick and uncle John are both over 6' so it's not surprising that she will likely be a tall one. Last night I was singing a song to her and she started cooing back at me. It was so cute...this long soft sounds. Makes me smile to think of it.

That's it folks... the rest is all normal stuff. Please keep Oscar and his surgeon in your prayers tomorrow. Again I'll post as I know things but dont' be surprised if you hear nothing until evening.

Hugs all around!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Oscar Surgery Update

Can I just say that I hate the UCD system... information doesn't seem to be a priority for them!

July 30th Oscar will have his appendix out. The doc told him they will go in lap and depending on what they find, he should be home in 24 hours. The concern is scarring on other organs from the massive infection he had when it ruptured. He has been nauseous fairly often since the rupture and they hope this will subside after they remove the damaged appendix.

Specific prayer requests..... For the surgical team, a minimum of scar tissue so they don't need to do an open incision and quick recovery.

We will keep you posted!

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Winter 2 months July 15th





People have the best ideas! This one I copied from Deanna the photographer. We are going to take a picture of Winter every month with her purple bunny so you can see her growth progress. The bunny was a gift from her Grandma Peggy who lives far away and doesn't get to see Winter as often as she would like. When Amy did her birth photo's we used it so I thought it would be a great way for everyone to see her growth progress and have a special tie to her Grandma Peggy.






She wasn't so sure about the whole bathing suit and boots thing.



Grandpa bought these boots on his trip to Houston







Where does the time go - Justin


Justin turned 24 and we celebrated at home with a cake and gourmet pizzas.

I remember the day he was born 24 years ago... well most of the day because I was on huge amounts of drugs and slept a lot but that's a story for another time. I remember bringing him home and being so in love with this little creature. At 5lbs. 3oz. he was definitely "little"! In the last 24 years this baby has grown to be a good man. It's weird and amazing to write that.... man. He is one though because my first born child has a first born of his own and is very happily married.

Justin requested a pizza with caramelized onions, roasted chicken, goat cheese over a light spread of Alfredo sauce, all this on wheat crust for his pizza. There was also a veggies pizza with toppings from my garden and I made a chocolate cake that is normally wicked good but for some reason the cake itself didn't rise correctly so it was a little to dense for me.... still tasted great with fresh strawberries. The frosting is one of my favorites although it's definitely not diet food!

Presents are easy when your kid like fine alcohol.... One very large bottle of Grand Mariner that he cracked open and shared with everyone. It's really a very nice drink.

Happy birthday son....

Saturday, July 19, 2008

Mrs. May's Trio bars

Every once and a while I hit on a new product that I really like, this is one of those days. I sampled them at Costco a couple of weeks ago when I was shopping with Pam and Jean. I brought home a box of 20 and they lasted exactly one week. The kids didn't even have any!

http://www.mrsmays.com/index.php?main_page=index

The great thing about these is the sugar content, they are almost a prefect food for me. The upside is they have protein and less than half the normal sugar of almost every bar out there.... including the ones from Trader Joes.

Ingredients:Cashew, Almonds, Pistachios, Blueberries, Sesame Seeds, Sunflower Seeds, Pumpkin Seeds, Dates, Raisins, Rice Malt, Natural Flavors, Evaporated Cane Juice and Sea Salt.

Calories: 170 Sugar: 6 Protein: 5gr

I think if your kid likes nuts... they will love these things. There's an link on the website that shows where you can get them, right now Costco is the least expensive. Try Smart and Final, they usually have good prices. So far I've had the almond Crunch and all the trio bars... I'm going to try the Cashew Crunch next.....

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Join Us at Lake Natomas

Our church is having a family day at Lake Natomas.... it's described in the paragraph below. We just spent the day out there on 4th of July with my family and had a blast on the hydro-bikes! It great inexpensive fun so come on out and join us!

Email me directly if you feel like coming and I'll RSVP us as a group!

Sanctuary's Day at the Lake- Aug. 17th
Be invites the whole church body to join us for a day of fun, relaxation, and, of course...food! We will be heading out to the Sac State Aquatic Center on beautiful Lake Natoma. There we will be enjoying a day at the lake which will include swimming, use of the canoes, kayaks and paddle boats, volleyball and more. We will provide an amazing dinner for everyone as well. Last year this event was for women only, but we had so much fun...we decided to include everyone!!!
Date: Sunday, August 17th
Time: 4:00-7:00pm
Place: Sac State Aquatic Center, 1901 Hazel Ave., Gold River
Cost: $12 adults, $5 kids, (children 2 and under are free) (cost includes use of watercraft, swimming, dinner and more..)
What to bring: Swimsuit, towel, sunscreen, beach chairs... and a friend or two!

Questions- Contact Kristen Ewers 213-0868 or Laurie Kubicek 835-4724 or laurie@sanctuary-church.com

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Camping Fun

Roger and Nancy Ewers invited us to their annual family camping event at Russian Gulch near Fort Bragg. We had so much fun, everything about it was memorable but the best part by far was the company. Nancy and Roger were incredible hosts, conversations around the campfire, laughter, good food, cards games, lots of little kids to play with and Mexican train... what was not to love about the weekend!

Every trip has at least one memorable moment... ours was this.... Saturday morning Oscar and I were up sith the sun, well before the sun actually. I desperately wanted coffee but all we had with us was a small one burner stove thing a friend had loaned us. Never having used it before we stumbled around in the dark, finally got it lit and boom, white gas everywhere. Table cloth on fire, Oscar grabbed it and it kept burning. Into the dirt it went, while I dump the pot of water to stop the flames..... Attempt #2, yes I was that desperate for a cup of coffee, we got it to boil and when I went to grab the pot it spilled all over the table. Attempt #3, yes still that desperate, I finally got my french press full and had my coffee.
Side Note: Sunday morning we drove to town at 5am to find a Starbucks... no way in heck I was going through that again!




Roger and Nancy "The Host's with the Most"




Oscar and I on Saturday Morning after a little scenic hike


This is pretty much what I did all day Saturday



Kristen and I spent hours on the beach watching the kids.


Oscar with Roger and Charlie after breakfast on Sunday morning.


Never admit guilt

I got a moving violation this morning it's been something like 10 years... this totally blows.

I'm driving to work and I get about 6 blocks from my house and there's flashing lights in my rearview mirror. First thought..."I'm not talking on my phone, why is he pulling me over?" Then comes the standard question... "Good morning Ma'am, do you know why I pulled you over?"

First why does he call me ma'am... that's for old people, I'm not old! I'm young and sassy! So Miss would have been way better! Second our police friend has always told us to not answer those questions just say "No, I have no idea" and to just take the ticket and fight it later... Come to find out he pulled me over for making a California rolling stop at a flashing red light.

I did stop this morning.... I DID! But I don't always completely stop though, so I'm thinking I'm due this ticket and shouldn't fight it. But that means traffic school...boo!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Cooking tip #2

Bell peppers are in season folks and they seem to be on special in one of the store ads every week right now...so here's a little info!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating. Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking. There's also the sweeter varieties like red or yellow.

I've really starting liking bell peppers of all colors so I have learned to grill them. a couple of things make it super easy....

First heat your grill well, get the coals really going, then put the peppers on there and let the side that is touching the grill turn black and bubbly. Keep rotating them until all the sides and even the top and bottom are burned. Put them in a paper lunch sack and roll it closed for about 30 minutes. When you pull them out the burnt skin will just rub right off...

Once the skin is off, slice them open and remove the seeds and cartilage. I like mine in long strips. If you like the "grilled" look you can spray your grilled with a bit of Pam and put them back on but be careful they dry out quickly.

I serve these babies with a little salt sprinkled on them and just about any soft cheese or in salads or as a garnish for Chicken burgers or just eat them off the plate....

Monday, July 14, 2008

she's a super star


The kids sent this to us this weekend as we headed out of town to go camping... more on that part of our week later.... She is just to cute!

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Short cut cooking tip #1

I like to find things that make cooking and cleanup much easier...

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal,
mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of
ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing
thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture
into egg.
Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Our deviled egg recipe is handed down from my mom. There's no measurements because we always just eye-ball it but here's an quick list based on 12 eggs

Best foods mayo just enough to make the mixture moist but not to mushy because you add other liquids.
Lawry Salt, Garlic Salt & black pepper, just a dash otherwise they end up tasting like a salt lick!
Worcheshire Sauce, like 1/4 teaspoon.
Red wine vinegar, half a capful.
Yellow Mustard 1/2 tablespoon.

These go like hotcakes at family gatherings......

Justin & Winter

Last weekend the kids took Winter on her first road trip... to Redondo Beach. Suzanne's dad was getting married on the beach and this is a picture of Justin and Winter at the wedding... I don't miss much about Southern California.. but the sunsets are beautiful!

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

A new look....

Did you notice my new look? Pretty snazzy huh? I know you are all thinking "wow, Paige has developed some mad blog skills" but nope! My motto has long been "It's not what you know but who you know"...

In the side bar you will also notice a new link to "Headers by Calliope", she is the genius behind my blogs fabulous new look! She is fast, it took less than 24 hours to do it.

So shameless plug coming.... if you want to have a pretty header for your blog, all the cool kids are visiting Calliope.

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Where the hell is Matt?

I've been surfing blogs these days. It started on the Himmels blog through links and I've found a whole new universe. I'm learning new stuff about links, formatting, putting pics and videos... it's turned into a major education.

I found this video and had to share.



Not sure why but watching Matt and his travels caused me to get emotional. Not the welling up with tears maybe a little tightness in my throat but also a warm feeling and smile. I wonder if it's the thought of sharing something so silly and simple as a dance all over the world or if it reminds me that I want to see all those places and not sure if or when that will ever happen.

A longing for youth? Perhaps regret, for starting parenting at the ripe old age of 16and never having the opportunity to be a free young adult.

Then I think about my son serving his country on a ship off the Hawaiian coast, my daughter who's working her way through college, my married two taking off on this great adventure called parenthood and of course Winter... how can I for even a moment regret the awesome human beings that I brought into this world and who everyday, 20+ years later surprise and awe me at their incredible goodness?

Not regret for sure...

I hope this video makes you smile like it did for me.