Our Big Happy Family

New Blogs

2009-02-03T12:31:00.000-08:00

In case you are interested we have some new members to the blogging world. Our cousin Kelly is doing a semester London. We are all so happy and proud of her. We know this will be an amazing life experience for her. We are also missing her like crazy and a little bit jealous we can't be there. So to keep us up to speed and feeling as though we are enjoying the sights along with her she has created a blog. You can find it under my favorites as well as right here!

Oddly enough, I found another website very similar to Kelly’s blog. It may be some sort of fan but it looks as though he is obsessed with Kelly's wild drinking ways. So if you'd like a good laugh at this impersonator you can visit this site. Enjoy!

Run Away Kitty

2008-09-17T18:21:00.000-07:00

4:22am. I awake with the urge to pee yet again. Nothing out of the ordinary, this has been going on for months now. It doesn’t help that the baby inside my belly is doing the Macarena on my bladder. I checked the time as I always do just to see how many times and at what intervals am waking up to use the restroom during the night. This morning was different though. I awoke and walked to the bathroom my eyes half shut so I could easily fall back asleep when I slipped back into bed. But this morning I realized that it was 4:22am and that meant I was 22 minutes late waking up to catch my 6:15 flight. My eyes forced wide now as I run down the stairs to verify the time was correct. Indeed it was and as I rush back up the stairs to wake Pete, Blackie our kitty almost trips me up the steps because he is hungry. Normally he is an outdoor cat so it is unusual that we have him inside but he needs to come with us on the plane as we are moving him back to New Jersey this morning.
I hop over him and fly up the stairs to find Pete lying in bed yelling “you up?” “Of course I’m up,” I exclaim, “and we’re late!” With that we are now both up scrambling to get dressed and get out the door. I struggle for what seems to be 10 minutes or more trying to get the damn TED hose on my legs. TED hose is just a short name for very tight stockings that prevent blood clots while you are lying in a hospital bed all day. My doctor recommends I wear these for my flight to help reduce the risk of high altitude blood clots. I finally get them on and they completely cover my feet with the exception of a small hole at the bottom pads of my feet. “Great,” I think, “this will be fun trying to get the flip flops I picked out for the plane ride on.” Kind of like flip flops with socks, yuck! Evidently, I put on my shoes and have to squeeze my big toe through the small hole to get them on my feet. What a fashion statement!
Downstairs Blackie is patiently waiting to be let outside and fed. Pete lets him out to go to the bathroom but all this cat cares about is getting fed. So we give him a bit of food inside and get his pet carrier ready for travel. The vet said we need to have him on liquid anti-biotic every morning for the next few days due to a gum infection that could be aggravated by traveling. So he gobbles up his food as I prepare 1cc in a syringe for him to ingest before he goes into his carrier.
Pete suggests we do the tranquilizer pills for him at this time as well. I’m a bit reluctant to start them this early because of the excessive amount of time we will be in transition. I tell him I may wait until we get to the airport to sedate him. He laughs at me and says, “yea that will work out real well. I’m sure he’ll sit still for you in the airport! Are you kidding me? He’s gonna freak out if you take him outta that cage! There’s no telling what could happen! Complete mayhem and utter chaos!” I reassure him that I took him to the vet just the other day and he was so terrified I had to drag him out of the carrier. “Besides, Blackie is a big scaredy cat when it comes to people and new places. It would be a piece of cake,” I explain.
4:50am. We are still 20 minutes behind and I decide I mine as well give him the drugs while we are home. Simply for the fact that we were running so short on time. Not because I was worried anything crazy would happen. I mean come on its Blackie. So I give him the pill which I’m not sure he swallowed or spit out but there’s no time to waste now. We grab our little “sleeping beauty,” Nadia from bed, get her on the potty and dressed. Then it’s into the car we all go and we speed down the 5 to the San Diego airport.
Pete pulls the car up curbside so we can check-in and go. All of our luggage, 180lbs of it ,out of the car on the curb along with 1 stroller, 1 car seat, 1 kitty (who still looks wide awake), 1 three year old little girl, and a pregnant momma ready to go. We rush to the counter only to have the attendant tell us it’s too late to check in curbside and we have already missed our 6:15 flight. Panic stricken Nadia and I rush upstairs with the attendant to see what flight we can jump on to get us to Atlanta in enough time to catch our connecting flight. Pete parks the car and is upstairs with us in moments. The Delta guy tells me the next flight out isn’t until 9:00am. I say, “9:00am!!!!!!!!!!!!! That won’t work. What happened to the 6:25 I saw online?” He tells me, “Mam, that flight is going to Atlanta.” “Precisely,” I exclaim suddenly feeling as though I was reliving the skit “Who’s on First?” with Laurel & Hardy. “I don’t know . . . third base!” Anyway, we quickly realize our mistake and he bolts over the ticket counter to try to squeeze us in just in time for our 6:25am flight. Pete walks us over as far as he can go to the security check gate. We kiss several times and say few “I love yous,” 5:50am, no time for teary goodbyes.
We unload what seems to be a million items onto the conveyer belt to get scanned and I am wishing Pete were on the flight coming home with us now. Pete is still standing watching us go and calling out commands to us to help us move along. “Don’t forget the laptop,” he yells “oh, and tell them about the medication, and don’t forget to take off your shoes!” “Gate 42, gate 42, you’re at gate 42!” “Okay, okay I got it,” I’m thinking. The last catch was we need to send the cat carrier through alone while I carry the cat thought the gate. Easy as pie, I think, if I can just get him to come out of that box.
Open wide I flung the door and tried to coax him out. “He’s just a big scaredy,” I explain as I grab him by his scruff. He pops out and makes a b-line down the conveyer belt, his tail as beg as a raccoon! I try to grab him but he’s too quick. He slips though the hands of several security guards as he scrambles to the floor. At this point I hear Pete screaming, “get that cat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,” from behind the security check point. I try to call him back with my sweet little “Blackie,” call but it is no use as I see him jump up onto the fountain sculpture. Once he realizes it is water, which as you may know for most, is like liquid kitty acid he freaks even more. His entire body is now the size of a medium pit bull as every hair on his mass stands up. He shoots straight up into the air nearly scraping the at least 15 foot ceilings.
All cats land on their feet. At least that’s what they say. When Blackie came down he may have ended up on his feet if he hadn’t landed smack in the middle of the fountain pool. So now this giant puff ball was reduced to a soaking wet little kitty quite resembling a large rodent. He quickly steamed off and out of the water onto the floor. His instinct was to shake off the nasty “kitty acid” but little did this unsuspecting feline realize that there were about 10 security guards and airport personnel ready to pounce on him upon his slightest hesitation. So when he stopped to preen the pile up ensued. Guard after guard like football players slid in for the tackle. Blackie being a cunning kitty slipped through their fingers like butter. One mighty hand emerged through the carnage sopping up his soaking scruff and placing him back into the cage.
On the end of that hand was an arm covered with a green multicolored fleece. At the end of that arm were broad shoulders and a beautiful beaming bald head with perfect lips and smiling eyes. Through his grin gleam freshly brushed white teeth laced with the clean aroma of Listerine. I am pleased to look up and find Pete, my gallant stallion to the rescue. Amidst all the confusion and chaos Pete had slipped through the security gates to save the day once again. But I’m not surprised at seeing his mild mannered alter ego standing there before us. After all he is Superman!
Back to reality, it’s funny how quickly your mind wanders off into strange fantasies in the blink of an eye. It’s now 6:10 as I carry Blackie through the final check point and a nice airline attendant helps me shove him back into his carrier. We scramble to gather all our things. I can hear Pete calling from behind security lines, “bye, I love you! Have a safe trip!” Nadia and I yell back that we love him too and off we go all the way to gate 42, the very last gate in the airport.
I now break into a sprint with stroller, car seat, Blackie, backpack, rolling cart, Nadia, and baby D2 wobbling around in my belly still with the threat of missing our flight looming over my head. I finally arrive at the end where they are just announcing the final call for our flight. We are the last ones to board and they quickly slam the door shut behind us. The stewardesses help us with our luggage and we take our seats in the middle of the plane. We finally get situated and I realize that sweat beads are forming on my forehead and large drops are now rolling down my back. I have to reach up and blast the air on me as I pant loudly. That was a close one. I am amazed we made it. Now the only obstacle is cooling down before I induce myself into an early labor and have to deliver the baby in the miniscule restroom of a Delta 737.
I sit to regain my composure and collect my thoughts. Everything is placed neatly under the seat and all is in order. Blackie is quiet and looks good. Nadia is happy to be on the plane and playing with her “Wizard of Oz” dolls and I settle in comfortably to my seat. I look down at my feet and notice one big toe sticking out of my TED hose on the right and four small piggy toes sticking out of the left with the big toe covered. Suddenly I burst out into uncontrollable laughter over the sight of it. After a long, hard, and extremely stressful morning of travel it’s the little things that bring me humor in my delirious state.
7:00am. Finally settling in and relaxing I snap a shot of my silly toes.

Happy Birthday Pete

2008-07-17T23:05:00.000-07:00

We went to our favorite place, Love Boat Sushi, to celebrate Pete's birthday. They usually have live music every Thurs, Fri, and Sat so it's a lot of fun plus great food! They had us all doing the YMCA at one point in the night. Everyone joined in. It was awesome! Later Nadia danced to Funky town with a little boy, Phil and I did the running man then Phil broke out into the worm, Pete and Phil had a wasabi eating contest.

If you would like to see more videos and pics please come see me on MySpace. We will be officially celebrating Pete's birthday at Brenda and Jason's this Sunday! Can't wait. They are making ribs!!! Not just any ribs though, the best in the West, and probably the East too, heck probably in the world! We are super excited and can't wait to party with them at their own little oasis. More to come . . .

D2's heartbeat at 13 weeks

2008-07-11T08:39:00.000-07:00

This is the first time we were able to hear the baby's heartbeat! We are so excited. The heartbeat was between 145-150. Most people say that would indicate we are having a girl but research shows it's a crapshoot! I guess we'll find out around Christmas!

D2 coming to you this Christmas

2008-07-10T23:42:00.000-07:00

Pete and I are so excited to announce we are expecting our second child due on Christmas day! What an amazing Christmas miracle that will be. When I was pregnant with Nadia we decided not to find out the sex and have it be a surprise. It was so much fun for us and so exciting when our little girl arrived. Because we were not sure the sex until she was born we lovingly referred to her as Baby D. Now with number two on the way, and because we have decided to also be surprised with the sex of this baby, our name for this little sweetie so far is D2. We are so excited about our latest development that you can bet on seeing many more blogs to come. Stay tuned for more exciting news!

Happy Halloween

2007-11-01T13:39:00.000-07:00

This came from the History Channel's website . . .

Ancient Origins

Halloween's origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).

The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.

To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.

During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other's fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.

By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.

The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of "bobbing" for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.

By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints' Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls' Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints', All Saints', and All Souls', were called Hallowmas.

At either rate I hope all of you enjoyed your Halloween this year. Nadia was the princess Bride, I was Cinderella, and Pete was the Death Skeleton. We went to Brenda's to Trick-or-Treat with cousins Hannah, who was a skeleton witch and, Emily, who dressed up like Scream. Here are some pics of ours. Enjoy!

I Do!

2007-10-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

There comes a time in a girl’s life when she finds that one true love. The man she falls head over heels in love with. She idolizes him. Her world revolves around him. She dreams of one day wearing the perfect dress and pledging her eternal love to him. For Nadia, and most every other little girl in the world, that first special love is with none other than their “Daddy.”

Nadia has been in a wedding, watched them in movies, and even seen video of Mommy and Daddy getting married. In her two year old brain . . . a wedding is when you dress up like the most beautiful princess in all the land. You find your true love, the one who will love and comfort and care for you forever. You carry flowers and play beautiful classical “princess” music as you walk down the isle to meet your prince. You meet him at the end of the trail and promise to love each other forever. Then you and your prince exchange rings saying, “with this ring I thee wed.” Then they say “you may now kiss the bride." They kiss and walk back to their party and dance. Here is the best part, at the end of the wedding you get to eat “birthday cake!” How wonderful!

Nadia has been talking about getting married for a while now. She just loves dressing up. So, to appease our little sweetie we gave her a wedding this past Sunday. And when asked who she wanted to marry she of course said “My Daddy.” We gave her everything she ever dreamed of for this special day minus the “birthday cake.” She didn’t even notice though. She was to excited to marry her Dad and that’s all that really mattered to her in the end. She took her vows very seriously.

All in all it was a beautiful day and a beautiful first wedding for our little girl. I have a feeling the next one won’t be as cheap. But that’s okay; thankfully we’ve got at least twenty or more years to save up for it. Boy will he be in for a surprise when he finds out this will not be her first marriage. We plan on playing the video of this wedding on her wedding day.

Please check out the slideshow I created of this beautiful day!

A Bit O Human Behavior

2007-08-27T13:00:00.000-07:00

I have learned a lot through observing our human behaviors over the years. More so now than ever since having a child of my own. Nadia has been teaching me about many basic human instincts and behaviors which we are all born with. I’m not going to get into it all of that now though. I just want to share a story detailing one aspect of our human nature that I find amusing.

Pete was in the living room playing with Nadia while I was preparing yet another fabulous meal. I could see the two of them playing and Pete was letting her bounce on his belly. Pretty fun game, probably even more fun than jumping on the bed I’d assume. After a while Pete began to make a few groaning noises like it was beginning to hurt. Nadia of course paid no mind to him and kept on bouncing. She was having a great time. Finally he told her okay that’s enough for now. She persisted laughing the whole time. Pete kept trying to tell her to settle down and stop but she just wanted to keep on bouncing.

I started thinking this is a true behavior for all of us. It’s just so much simpler to see it in a child. We treat others exactly how they have allowed us to. If you let someone belittle you or talk down to you that’s how they will continue to treat you because you have given them the green light to do so. If you demand respect and love at all times that’s what you will receive. We as humans just want to “keep on bouncing” because that’s what you have allowed us to do.

Many of you may already know this simple fact. If you do, then congratulations. I just felt like sharing. It amazing to see how and when we humans begin to implement these basic life skills before life experiences get in the way.

Forgive me while I catch up

2007-08-23T14:02:00.000-07:00

Let me first apologize to my loyal readers. I’ve been lost in a cyber-haven! Lots of my readers have been wondering where I’ve been and when are they gonna read about it. Well I could blame it on lack of time with all the fun I’ve been having this summer. I could blame it on all of the crazy running around I’ve been doing with Nadia and my exchange students. These are all true statements and al legitimate excuses but I think the real culprit has been MySpace. I have been wrapped up in catching up with old friends and family that I haven’t seen in years. It is amazing.

Since moving to California I have had to retrain my mind. Anyone I see who looks familiar is not. That is the sad fact. When I first moved here I saw so many people who looked like my family members and my friends. But each time I would get close enough to approach the familiar face would vanish and I’d be face to face with a complete stranger. Excuse me! I felt like I was going crazy and I’m sure the people who I ran after to talk to had the same idea. After a while I trained my brain to know that NO ONE out here is familiar or from my past. So, I stopped looking. I gave up any and all hope of being reacquainted by chance to anyone in my past. Que sera sera.

I started a blog about a year ago to reconnect with my family and some friends who I was lucky enough to stay in touch with. This made me feel good. Reconnecting, sharing stories and photos. I heard about the MySpace phenomenon but refused to give into temptation. My husband (the computer genius) said it was bad and that was good enough for me to want to stay away. Little did I know how much I was missing out on. My cousin Patrick invited me to join about a month ago and I did just to see how he was doing. This opened up a world of family and old friends which I never fathomed possible.

Needles to say I am now a MySpace junkie. I miss being able to stay in touch. Until now it has been so difficult from 3,000 miles away. This place has opened up a whole new world. I have found so many people who I basically wrote off. C'est la vie! My mind has been expanded. No more of what I had trained it to believe these past years. These people were actually here! I wouldn’t be surprised if I found some of my dearly departed friends on here through some sort of glitch in the matrix. But that is getting off the point and I would need to write a whole other blog about that one. Maybe even a series of blogs.

So what I’ve been doing and why I haven’t had time to blog is doing some much needed catching up. It’s good for the soul. Well . . . mine at least. I’ve been doing plenty of writing, just privately to my good old friends and family. So, if you are in my family or an old friend of mine and you’re on MySpace, look out! I’m gonna find you and find out how the heck you’ve been. I promise when I’m done catching up there will be many more blogs and pictures coming so please be patient.

I feel the need for speed

2007-08-06T14:41:00.000-07:00

Check out the specs on this hot new car. I'm hoping this will be my next big purchase. It's the granddaddy of them all, the Bugatti Veyron 16.4. The Veyron would earn two membership cards in the 500 Club, courtesy of its 1000-horsepower quad-turbocharged 8.0-liter 16-cylinder powerplant. Vromm Vroom. That's hot!

Bugatti Veryon

Bugatti Veryon 2

Bugatti Veryon 3

Yes . . . I have switched over to the Dark Side

2007-08-01T13:36:00.000-07:00

Okay, I have been super busy this summer with a trip back east, family gatherings, a wedding, a few birthdays, canoeing and now at home with 4 exchange students. Things have been crazy and hectic but I'm totally enjoying it all. I can't wait to start posting about all of our wild adventures.

But, the real reason for this post is to tell all my faithful viewers that I have succumbed to the pier pressure and am now on MySpace. Which is what has really been sucking up all my time. I am addicted! I love that I can find a lot of my family members and many of my friends (new and old) on this handy little site. I am loving it! So, from now on I will primarily be using MySpace for all of my posts but will also try to continue this blog as much as I can for those of you who are still not enlightened. Thank you all for reading up on our family adventures. It means a lot to me to know you care enough to take time out of your day to see how we are doing.

If you do have a MySpace account or want to create one (it's free) please send me an e-mail or comment on here that you would like to find me on MySpace. If you try to find me yourself you may have some trouble. I am using a fake last name and have set my home zip code to look as though I live in The British Virgin Islands. So, please give me a shout if you'd like too hook up on MySpace with me. Thanks all! Love and Huggs!

Happy Birthday Emily

2007-06-06T13:53:00.000-07:00

This post is long overdue but couldn't be passed over. Last month we celebrated my adorable niece Emily's 8th birthday. She is getting to be such a little young lady. When I met her she was less than 18 months old. Time sure does fly when you're having fun. This is what she looked like as a toddler. She was just like a little cupie doll.

We had the privilege of celebrating two times with her. Once on her actual birthday and again over the next weekend. We had a wonderful time celebrating our special nieces very special day. Her party's were of course fabulous and she was a perfect little princess. My parents even got to join in the celebration all the way out from Jersey. Here are the pictures we took. Hope you enjoy!

Happy Birthday Emily! Hope it was a good one. We Love You!

There’s a thin line between dreams and reality

2007-06-05T23:55:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in between that grey line lies the spirit world. Which if you start to contemplate weather that in itself is either dream or reality is even more boggling. If you are a loyal reader than you already know that I do believe in angels. I believe they talk to us in subtle ways everyday. I also believe that they have the power to visit us in our dreams. This is where I’m not quite sure it constitutes a dream or an actual visit from beyond and what really is the difference?

Those of you who know me know I had a dear Aunt, named Lynnie, who lost her battle with breast cancer last November. The last time Pete and I got to visit her was in April of 04 and we didn’t know she was sick then. It all happened so fast. Once we found out she was sick about a year or more later I tried to call her as much as I could. I wanted to stay in touch and sometimes the phone is a difficult way to communicate with a baby crying in your ear. I decided then that I wanted to make a blog for her and for all my family to keep in touch with them. I wanted to create a place where they could go to read about my life and enjoy current pictures too. This blog was essentially born for Lynnie. Unfortunately by the time I pieced it all together it was too late for her to enjoy. I hope all of the rest of my family can enjoy it now.

I had a difficult time knowing she was sick and there was nothing I could do for her. I wanted to visit her so bad but life got in the way. We are more than 3,000 miles apart. So many times I was tempted to jump on a plane even if it was just to see her for an hour to hug her. I received several sad calls from my mother updating me on Lynnie’s weakening condition. There were times when I fell apart crying to Pete. As the calls kept coming I started to become numb and remove myself from the pain of this harsh reality. I knew one way or another I would make it out to see her one last time or at least be able to see her family and help consol them. I just kept telling myself to keep it together until then. When she did pass away it become impossible for me to get out to her funeral. I never cried, I held it together, I remained numb.

So back onto the subject of dreams, I had one the other night, or was it a visiting? All I know is I had no recollection of it until the next afternoon when it hit me like a ton of bricks. Pete and I were driving out to the mountains and Nadia was passed out in the back car seat. We were talking about my family and about the people he would love to hang out with. He started spouting off names, “Uncle Johnny, Aunt Dottie, Aunt Lynnie, . . .etc.” Only I didn’t hear the etc. part because my brain was stuck on Aunt Lynnie. And then the light bulb went off! I remembered I had a dream about her the night before that I had not remembered until that very second. Before I even spoke he just looked at me and said, “I don’t know why I said her name but something just told me I had to say it at that instant.” Freaky stuff!

I proceeded to tell him “I had a dream last night about Aunt Lynnie. We were lying in her bed. It was Lynnie, Me, and then my mom all lying next to each other cuddling. My viewpoint in this dream was positioned looking down onto the bed at all of us. Aunt Dottie stood at the foot of the bed looking at us and my view was behind her. I never saw Aunt Dottie’s face I just assumed it was her. I was lying next to Lynnie hugging her and rubbing her arm and laughing with her and I kept telling her, “I love you, I love you so much!” The next frame in my dream she was gone and all was holding onto was her pillow and I was sobbing, “I miss you!”

As I told this to Pete I began sobbing and a wave of emotions came over me. I had to just sob. Was this a dream? I tend to think not. I believe I was visited by her for a very specific reason. Now that I am looking back on the dream I am thinking that the woman I was standing behind was not my Aunt Dottie but my Grandmother(Liz). I think she was her guardian angel guiding her on her journey.

Sometimes being separated by so many miles makes it difficult to grasp certain concepts especially if you have been removed by distance for so many years.
Sometimes I feel numb to evens that happen in life that are so far away from me even when they mean so much. Sometimes it takes a few more miles to travel before reality sets in. Thanks for coming all this way to see me. Thanks for letting me say my goodbye even though I couldn’t be there when it happened. Thanks for letting me know that you are still here watching over us all.

I love you Aunt Lynnie and miss you so much!

Much More to Come . . .

2007-05-28T22:40:00.000-07:00

I apologize for getting so far behind on my updates. We have been very busy lately and I have lots to report. For now I am pretty tired and ready for bed but I couldn't resist showing you all this one. My parents were in town for a visit this passed week and we had a blast. More on that later though. Here is a cute little sketch we had done of our 3 generations . . .

Please tune in for much more soon.

Dear Mom,

2007-05-13T08:45:00.000-07:00

When I was young I thought to myself, “I could do it better!” I thought I would be a better mom. I would never yell, scold, or punish. I would never say “NO!” I would let my kids stay out as late as they wanted and hang out in cars with older kids. I would let my kids make their own plans and eat whatever they wanted even if it made them sick. I remember thinking I was gonna be a “cool mom” and be my kids “best friend.” I thought I knew it all. I had it all figured out. One thing was for certain, I was NEVER going to turn into my mother!

That was until, of course, I had a child of my own . . .

That’s when it all came together. Nothing meant more to me in this world than making sure my daughter was healthy and safe at all times. Everything I do now, all my decisions, all my plans are made with her best interest in mind. When I say “NO” it is for her benefit, for her safety, or for her future health. Any time she may think I’m mean or horrible for making a decision for her it is always done out of love.

Now I realize how difficult it is to be a mom and a friend. But luckily I had the best teacher! The greatest gift my mom gave me was life and love and the ability to pass it on to my children. My wish for my daughter is to have a child of her own one day, when she is much much older of course. I think being a grandmother is probably the greatest trophy of all. Once your child lives what you lived and truly understands all the sacrifices you made for the love of a child then you are truly rich.

I must admit I realized none of this until I had a child of my own. Now I am so very proud to say, “Yes, I am turning into my mother!” Honestly, there is probably no better compliment in the world. So to all you grandmothers, mothers, and children out there, especially mine, I hope you all turn out to be just like your mom! Because a mother is LOVE in it’s purist form.

Happy Mother's Day!

Angels Really Do Exist . . .

2007-05-11T20:29:00.000-07:00

And they talk to me through my two year old daughter.

I’m not sure if any of you are familiar with the phenomenon of child clairvoyance? It is something only small children experience because they have not developed control over their five senses. Some children have past life experiences and others simply channel multiple “spirits.” At either rate they can recall things out of the ordinary that no other person could know besides the deceased. It’s pretty freaky!

So, here’s the story, the other day Nadia and I went out to lunch at one of my favorite places, Kealani's, a Hawaiian Barbeque restaurant. We are eating our spare ribs and rice and along comes an adorable older couple and sits at the table next to us. The woman starts exclaiming how amazing Nadia is and implying that she is and old soul. She said that she will be someone very important in life she could tell.

Nadia is very sweet to sweet people and she is just listing to this woman go on about her. She starts mumbling a little in very quiet voice. Then she get’s a little louder looks straight at me and says, “Jennifer, that’s my Jennifer!” I almost fell off my seat and started balling. Luckily I was having a conversation with the older couple and I held myself together.

I explained to them that no one calls me Jennifer. No one but my Grandfather that is. And he passed away while I was pregnant with Nadia. His favorite line to me was, “Jennifer, that’s my Jennifer!” When Nadia said it she even said it in the same sweet nasaly tone that he did. I just felt like his Angel was sitting right beside her whispering in her ear letting me know he is still a part of our lives.

How amazing, thanks Granpa!

We'll never forget you!!!

Meet Hitomi

2007-05-05T08:44:00.000-07:00

This is our last student from Osaka, Japan. She was only here for one week but she’s left an impact that will last a lifetime. Hitomi, who's name translates to eye (specifically the pupil), is a traditional Japanese Dancer by trade. It is called Nihon (meaning Japan) Buyou (meaning dance). She has been to several destinations around the world performing her dance. Her stage name is Satotsuya and is listed here in kanji on her business card.

We have done so much and she has taught us so much in one short week. We have seen a DVD of her dancing at a festival in Japan. We shared a wonderful beach bonfire together for Rich’s birthday. She taught us several games and songs including a game named "janken" (or stone-scissors-paper) and a song called, "Konpira Fune Fune" which goes along with various games. You have to see this video.

She also showed us how to make Okonomiyaki it is kind of like the Japanese version of Italian pizza meets German potato pancake meets American pot pie. It’s kind of hard to describe but once you’ve had it you’ll never forget it. This food is delicious or as the Japanese say, “oishii” and is native to Osaka. It’s so good that I couldn’t resist sharing it with you. This is one variation of many just like our Pizza in the states. Hitomi and her friend Yumiko were gracious enough to show us the art of making these wonderful little niblets.

OKONOMIYAKI
"Okonomi" means "as you like". This refers to the ingredients.

INGREDIANTS
2 cups Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
¼ tsp Salt
1 cup Water or Chicken Broth
½ Head Green Cabbage
1 Egg + 1 for each pie
1 lbs Chopped Pork + 1 lbs thin patty Pork
Cooking Spray or Vegetable Oil

1. Sift flour, baking powder, and salt and mix in a large bowl. Gradually add a cup or more of water or chicken broth as needed until the dough is fairly wet. Mix until smooth.
2. Cut cabbage into thin slices and chop pork into small bite sized pieces.
3. Add egg, meat, and cabbage to batter and mix.
4. Heat oil in a pan or spray cooking spray on a skillet. Fry a couple pieces of pork on both sides. Spoon batter over pork and spread circular and flat. After one side is browned flip over and cook other side. Once fully browned crack an egg on skillet and place pie on top. Let cook until egg is done. Brush with sauce of choice or serve on the side.

SAUCES
Ketchup
Mayonnaise
Mustard
Barbeque Sauce
Tonkatsu Sauce (Asian Pork Sauce)
You can mix any of these sauces for a different flare. My personal favorite is Tonkatsu Sauce and Mayonnaise. The beauty of this dish is you can be as creative as you like and add whatever suits your taste buds.

Enjoy!!!

Happy Birthday Rich!!!

2007-04-30T13:18:00.000-07:00

This weekend we celebrated Rich's birthday at Moonlight Beach with a great big bonfire and monster mia tais made by my pseudo bartender sista-in-law Rey. They really bit me in the you know what! This was the perfect place to rejoice over an amazing individual. We missed out on sharing Rich’s BIG 30 last year while he was in Japan so we wanted to party hearty this year with him.

Rich was in his element on the shores of Southern California under a million twinkling stars, although it was a bit too overcast to enjoy them in all their glory. Rich, Pete, and the kids played a favorite game of volley circle in the sand, where you stand in a circle and “whatever you do don’t let the ball hit the sand!” We sat around a huge campfire in the sand, roasted marshmallows, and once again tried to solve quantum physics theories with questions such as “If God exists could he build a boulder so big that he in all his omnipotence could not lift it?” Christopher did his usual fire walking routine which he’s getting quite good at.

All in all it was a fabulous night filled with wonderful company and enthralling conversations. We are so happy to have Rich back on land with us again! Happy Birthday!!!

If you would like to see more pictures of this event please clink on this link.

Happy Birthday Michellene!!!

2007-04-21T12:21:00.000-07:00

Believing hear, what you deserve to hear: Your birthday as my own to me is dear...
But yours gives most; for mine did only lend Me to the world; yours gave to me a friend.
~Martial

Today is a very special day! It is the day that one of my very best friends was born! Michellene and I have been friends for about 5 years. We meet at work and become fast friends shortly after. Rumor has it I was the one who got her pregnant with her second little boy. I found out that I was pregnant and I didn't want to go it alone so I willed it on her. I am very persuasive. How I ever got pregnancy to sound attractive and appealing is beyond me.

Our birthday girl is at home today nursing her oldest son back to good health after a small operation. Troi is doing very well and we hope to see him back to his old lively self in a few weeks. Michellene is celebrating her big day next weekend and I hope to have some pix to share with everyone from that wild and crazy event! Happy birthday Girl! We Love You!

Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional. ~Chili Davis

Our birthdays are feathers in the broad wing of time. ~Jean Paul Richter

Lost In The Middle of The Desert

2007-04-17T14:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend we camped out in Borrego Springs at Blair Valley campground. For those of you not familiar with the names, we camped out in the low desert of California. Everything started off great . . . sunny skies, family, and margaritas. It was the perfect day.

Brenda tells me she wants to go on a hike and maybe leave the girls with the boys so we aren’t slowed down. After talking it over and figuring how much time we might have later for a kiddie hike we decided to take Nadia and Emily with us anyway. I asked Pete to join us because my backpack was going to be really heavy and I wanted some help. He suggested I leave Nadia there with him and he would take her exploring. I decided against that because I wanted Nadia to experience “Real Desert Hiking.” My backpack was so heavy because I have been watching Man vs. Wild and I wasn’t about to risk getting lost in the desert without some essential survival items. I made sure I packed a compass, a whistle with thermometer, flashlight with extra batteries, Beyer aspirin, a first aid kit with Neosporin, ace bandage wraps, hand sanitizer, baby wipes, a knife, a flint, a lighter, rope, 45 sunscreen, and extra food and water. If we did get lost we were set but what are the chances of that?

We drive over to the trailheads in Jason’s truck. The hiking party included Brenda, Barb, Phil, Emily, Nadia, and myself. Our mission . . . “To find the Mortreros.” We hiked about a ¼ mile in and Emily got bit by a cactus Cholo. She had needles in her foot and shoe. She was crying pretty badly but Brenda and Phil fixed her all up. It was at this time while Emily was screaming that Barb decided we should go back. “The trail ends here anyway, there is no more dirt path.” With that she turned around and headed back for the truck. We forged on, wounded and all, over the boulders and rocks until we did see a dirt trail. Phil followed us in about a ½ mile and decided to go back and check on Barb.

Nadia led us most of the way climbing up and over huge rocks. She loves rock climbing and she’s darned good at it too even at two years old. I was so glad I brought her along for the experience. We reached a valley and some rather large boulders and decided to turn around. The sun was starting to get low in the wind was beginning to pick up. It probably dropped about 10 degrees since we started. I guess I could have checked my thermometer but we weren’t lost so why would I need that thing anyway?

I decided to put Nadia in the backpack for our trek back to the truck. This made my backpack weigh close to 50 or 60lbs. On our way back we ran into Phil who was sent back to check on us by Barb. We headed up the trail into the rock village that marked the beginning of the trail. It should only be a short hike back to the truck from this point. We began walking around trying to follow a defined path but there didn’t seem to be one. Every perceived path would run you straight into a cactus or a yucca plant.

We tried several directions but were unsuccessful in locating the truck that should have been so close. Soon we were in a field of yucca plants witch didn’t look at all familiar. There were mountains all around us and I had a hunch that just behind the mountain on the right we would find the truck below. Phil, being the Sherpa he is, trudged up to the top only to find more desert. No sign of life anywhere!

This is right about the time my brain went into panic mode. I start looking over at my niece Emily who has no jacket on and think “what is going on, what are we doing? Why didn’t I leave my poor little girl at the campsite safe and sound with her Daddy. What kind of a mother am I bringing her into such danger? How selfish! WTF Mate!”

Just then we see a campsite ahead and my thoughts shift first to joy and then to fear. “What about the countless ghost stories I’ve heard on camping trips or the numerous horror films I’ve subjected myself to over the years. What if this was going to be similar to the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” story? What if we go to them for help and they invite us into their trailer where the skin us alive, prop us up on poles, and roast us like pigs. Who would ever know? No way! We were going back into the desert and finding shelter in a Coyote cave for the night. My backpack would come in handy after all.”

“Okay, focus here, I do have cell phone reception so I should be able to just call Pete and tell him to come and save us.” Just then my phone rings, “It’s my Mother!” Of all people to have call you when you are about to become a vultures feast in the middle of the desert! “Uh yeah?” I couldn’t hide my fear, “we’re kinda lost in the desert right now we can’t seem to find the truck.” I filled her in on some more details and told her I would call her back in an hour to let her know on our status.

CLICK, I hang up the phone and I hear, “Phil” in the distance. I look up and see Barb through the brush. Was this a mirage? I’m thinking, “Wow, I’ve heard of people going crazy in the desert but I didn’t think it would happen this quick.” “Wait a minute, it is Barb!” Hooray! Thank GOD for those fluorescent pink pants and neon blue jacket! I guess when it comes to survival you don’t need much, just wear bright cloths! Thanks for saving us Barb!

We actually did have a great camping trip, if you'd like to see more pictures from our wild desert adventure please click on this link.

The Star Of India

2007-04-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

The other day Nadia and I dropped “Daddy” off at the airport so we decided to take advantage of our location and visit the San Diego Maritime Harbor. First up on our tour was the Star Of India. I forgot my camera in the car so this was the only picture I have of our little maritime stroll. We walked passed several big yachts and sailboats and enjoyed the art sculptures along the way. We had a very nice morning. I think Nadia's highlight was chasing all the pigeons. She still believes she's gonna catch em one of these days. Who knows maybe she will.

Girl Fun!

2007-04-12T21:21:00.000-07:00

This week was Spring Break for my nieces Hannah and Emily. I got to take them for the day and even got to enjoy them for a slumber party! It was great. These girls are growing up so fast! I remember when they were Nadia’s size and now they tower over her like giants. But that’s not all they do. Now they are the teachers teaching my daughter how to do things like how to feed the ducks, the proper way to climb a rock, and even which path to take while hiking through the brush. My, how they have grown. I don’t know where the time goes. It’s crazy!

We had a great time on our girl day. Our catch phrase for the day . . . "Shockie!" (It's a kid thing you probably wouldn't understand.) We painted our nails and fixed our hair. Then it was off to the park to feed the ducks. We played on the playground and with the ride on hydraulic fire engine. We hiked around the lake up to a beautiful gazebo and down through a campground where mouthwatering smells of burgers and hotdogs wafted through the air. We drove around to the other end of the park and counted horses along the way. I lost track after the first 10 but I did manage to count 3 steer (MOOOO). We found another playground with a couple large rocks to climb.

After this we were pooped. I was in no shape to cook after such an exciting day so we headed to Burger King for some chicken fries and some Sponge Bob toys. They had an indoor playground that the girls played in as well. We all grabbed our crowns and headed home for a little R & R. Once home it was time to veg in front of the boob tube, snuggle under the covers, and eat popcorn.

We had a great day, just us girls and I’m so grateful for the time I have with them. Before I know it they’ll be teenagers and I might not be as much fun for them to hang with. For now, I’m takin all I can get. I love these girls!

Bloom of the Month (March 2007)

2007-04-12T14:06:00.000-07:00

I am a tad bit late in getting this one out but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share it with you. This is my favorite bloom for March out here in this region of California. It is called a Claifornia Red Bud and it is gorgeous. The pictures hardly do it justice you almost have to see it to believe it. The blooms are tiny but vibrant fuchsia colored flowers that closely resemble a small orchid. I am taken aback by it every year. Nadia and I are privileged enough to enjoy this beautiful bloom on our daily neighborhood walks. Sadly the bloom time is small and in only a few short weeks it is covered in leaves. I was fortunate enough to catch it this year for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!!!

Happy Easter!

2007-04-10T12:35:00.000-07:00

"Here comes Peter Cottontail, Hoppin' down the bunny trail, Hippity, hoppity, Easter's on its way."

This year we celebrated Easter at our house. We had an Easter Egg Hunt, played croquet, horseshoes, and yahtzee all while enjoying Pete's famous Pina Coladas. We enjoyed a fabulous dinner contributed by all. The food was amazing, the company and conversation was engaging and the memories will last a lifetime.

If you would like to see more pics from our Easter please click this link.

First Comes Love, Then Comes Marriage . . .

2007-04-08T08:07:00.000-07:00

I just couldn't resist posting this one up here. This is Nadia's very bestest friend Kai. They are just two freakin cute!!! We all agree they look like an old married couple already!

Once Upon A Mattress

2007-04-07T13:39:00.000-07:00

"Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore!"

Oh, wait that was last years play. This year our talented little niece Hannah was cast into the role of chamber maid for this years school play "Once upon a Mattress." This is play is based off the story of "The Princess and the Pea." This year’s catch phrase was "I Love Fred," spoken by none other than the Prince himself. Fred? You may ask . . . why is the Prince in love with someone named "Fred"? That is Princess Fred to you, and she is also known as Winifred.

This play was full of fun, laughter, great songs, and amazing performances. My personal favorite was the cute little chambermaid first one on the right. My, was she talented! You could hear her every line and she was also the most animated. She was standing out from the rest of them and there were 21 all together. Her Name? You ask. Oh, I think it was Hannah something or other. Man was she great. Okay, I may be just a little bias since this little star just so happens to be my niece.

Great job Hannah! We can't wait to see what you do next year!

April San Diego Events Calendar

2007-04-06T21:26:00.000-07:00

April 2007

Butterflies & Orchids Festival Escondito
Thru April 15. Wild Animal Park. Hundreds of exotic orchids are in full bloom in Narobi Village while butterflies of every shape, size, and color flutter throughout the hidden jungle, a walk-through neo-tropical aviary. Care demonstrations each weekend.
www.sandiegozoo.org/calendar/wap_butterflies_orchids.html">www.sandiegozoo.org/calendar/wap_butterflies_orchids.html

Oceanside’s Citywide Easter Egg Hunt
April 7th – Buddy Todd Park – Annual Easter egg hunt for the children of Oceanside. Three age divisions consisting of 3-5; 6-8; and 9-11year olds. Enjoy a fun-filled morning with the City of Oceanside. 760-435-5540

Padres Season Opens 4/6
http://www.padres.com

Woofstock – A Festival for Dogs & People
4-14-07 – A fun festival in Balboa Park open to the public and well-behaved dogs on a leash. Activities include the Peace, Love, and Walk N Roll Fun Dog Walk through Balboa Park (registration fee), canine agility and fly ball courses, costume contests, childrens fun zone, great food, live music and much more. All proceeds from this event will benefit the Southwest Regional Center for Canine Companions for Independence. 800-572-BARK

Gaslamp Quarter Easter Bonnet Parade & Hat Contest
4-15-07 – Come and stroll the Petco Park area in your Easter bonnet. Hat-making shop for adults & children at 11am. Easter Egg hunt, activities and entertainment to follow. 619-233-5008

Del Mar National Horse Show
4/19-5/06 – For more than 60 years the Del Mar National horse Show has been one of the most respected, distinguished and popular equestrian events in Southern CA. Consisting of three disciplines – Western, Dressage, and Hunter/Jumper, a great spectator event. 858-792-4288

Chicano Park Day
4/21/07 – Traditional Aztec and folklorico dancing, musicians, food, crafts booths, lo-rider car show. A free event. 10am-5pm, location: Chicano Park, Crosby & Logan avenues. 619-563-4661

Adams Avenue Roots Festival
4/21 – 4/22 Vintage blues, folk, jazz, country, and international music on 6 stages. Saturday: 10am-9pm, Sunday: 10am – 6pm. Outdoor setting: 34th & 35th Sts. At Adams Park. 619-282-7329

Encinitas Garden Festival and Tour
4/21 The event kicks off at the Olivianhain Town Hall in the heart of Olivianhain, where tour participants pick up maps and board double-decker buses to be shuttles through the tour neighborhood. Music and art round out the event.
www.encinitasgardenfestival.org

Oceanside Days of Art
4/21-4/22 The Oceanside Days of Art is a free two day outdoor arts festival held in downtown Oceanside along Pier View Way. This family friendly event is anticipated to include over 100 visual artists booths, 300 musicians, dancers and performers along with local food vendors. Free 760-4333632

Port of San Diego Day at the Docks
4/22/07 – The West Coast’s largest public celebration of Sports fishing! The festival, which signals the official start of Southern CA’s spring saltwater fishing season includes exhibitors, a children’s activity area, entertainment stages featuring music for all ages, art galleries, the Children’s Earth Parade and much more. 10am-5pm. Free 858-272-7370

San Diego Art Walk Little Italy
4/28-4/29 Don’t miss this free visual and performing art celebration set in the charming, historic neighborhood of Little Italy close to downtown San Diego. Over 350 emerging and established artists will showcase a variety of media including painting, sculpture, poetry, drama, video and design. Performance artists, music and Little Italy restaurants and shops will add flavor to this vibrant and popular event. 619-615-1090

Encinitas Street Fair
4/28-4/29 Encinitas Street Fair will take place from 9am to 5pm on Highway 101 between D and J Streets in Encinitas. Over 400 arts and craft vendors, non-profit and commercial vendors will be on hand. Three live stages will entertain visitors. There will be fun for the kids as well, face painting and rides. The 101 Artists’ Colony will also be present, displaying Arts Alive Banners, and offering live music. 760-943-1950

This wonderful newsletter was brought to you by Sigmund Penn.

Tea Time

2007-04-06T13:33:00.000-07:00

It was a wonderful afternoon sharing tea, snacks, and girl talk with my wonderful sister-in-law, Rey. The plan was to treat her for her birthday to high tea at the Aviara Resort. Unfortunately Rey ended up coming down with something and we were unable to attend. So what do you do in the unlucky event of a cancellation? Move the tea party to her house of course.

It was perfect. We didn’t have to worry about being too loud or reserved and we could relax in the comforts of her warm home. We enjoyed a wide array of fine teas, delectable scones, and scrumptious petite tea sandwiches. For desert we made our very own strawberry shortcakes and drank champagne (well our impromptu version of it was actually white wine but it was still amazing). Nadia was in heaven piling on the homemade whipped cream as tall as she could stand. We played dress up with hats, scarves, feather boas, jewelry, and even a princess dress for Nadia. Cody festively joined in sporting, at first, a purple bandana and then really got into the scene with a lovely feather boa. We all sang “Happy Birthday” and Nadia added in a little “Cha, cha, cha” during the pauses.

It was a wonderful and relaxing way to celebrate another glorious year with a fabulous woman. Although it wasn’t planned this way I’m kinda glad she got sick. This was so much more fun than any stuffy old resort anyhow. If you would like to see more pictures from this day please visit this shutterfly link.

The Japanese Trio

2007-04-05T20:49:00.000-07:00

Last week we had not one or two but, three girls staying with us. We usually host older students around 19 or 20 years old but this time our girls were only 13 and so cute. Two of the girls, Megumi and Aki, were from Shizuoka. Our third girl, Kayo, was from a province next to Shizuoka named Aichi. Both regions are widely known for their production of Green tea and their close proximity to Mt. Fuji.

We had a great time with the girls. They started off the week quiet and timid but by the end of the week they really came out of their shells. They each had a one on one accordion lesson with Pete, enjoyed an Electric Slide dance lesson from Jenn, and kicked our butts playing Uno.

It's funny, when we get our college students the school always takes them to the mall for a day of shopping. Our older students spend an obscene amount of money on various designer clothing, high end jewelry and hand bags, and brand name shoes. Our younger students have the same opportunity to go shopping at our extravagant California malls. They opt to skip all the fashion hoop-la and head straight for the candy. Mind you See's Canday, does technically count in California as designer grade candy. Typical pre-teens, too cute though! We will miss these girls a lot and hope to have the opportunity to see them again in the future.

Megumi

Aki

Kayo

Pete

Happy Brithday Rey!

2007-03-30T13:11:00.000-07:00

We advance in years somewhat in the manner of an invading army in a barren land; the age that we have reached, as the saying goes, we but hold with an outpost, and still keep open communications with the extreme rear and first beginnings of the march. ~Robert Louis Stevenson, "Virginibus Puerisque II," Virginibus Puerisque, 1881

Today is my lovely sister-in-law Rey's birthday. We were hoping to celebrate tonight with her but unfortunately she is a bit under the weather. Poor Rey, it sucks being sick on your birthday. So, I'd like to send a great big cyber shout out to an amazing woman! Happy birthday girl! I Love you!

Rey is also taking a double whammy this year being sick and being away from her Navy husband while he is on deployment. But the good news is she should be feeling better soon and as soon as she's healed on the outside the healing on the inside will begin too. She will be reunited with her husband Rich who will be coming home in April and we are so happy to have him home. Here are some great pics of her and her beau . . .

A birthday is just the first day of another 365-day journey around the sun. Enjoy the trip. ~Author Unknown

Happy Birthday Girl! We can't wait to celebrate with you!

Funny Face . . . The next generation

2007-03-29T13:53:00.000-07:00

"I've never seen a smiling face that was not beautiful." ~Author Unknown

First it started with my niece Hannah. AKA “The Giggler” & “Hans Bee-nons”. Ahh, the wild, wonderful, and funny faces of our adorable offspring!

Next up is my other niece Emily. AKA “Junie (June bug) (June bite)” & “Emily Belemily”. She has taken some great notes on silliness from her big sister.

Finally we have our very own little peanut Nadia. AKA “Deetz” & “Na B Na”. I must say she is a very strong contender to her older cousins.

Silly kids today, I tell ya, I don’t know where they get it from . . .

Meet Nao, Our Last Student

2007-03-27T08:45:00.000-07:00

She was from Tochigi, Japan. Nao stayed with us for two very short weeks and we miss her so much already. In those few short days we had with her we managed to cram in a lot! We took her go kart racing. (I came in 1st place, of course! Ichiban!) We played mini golf with grandmom and soaked each other on the bumper boats. We took her country line dancing while my mother was still in town and she picked up every dance without missing a beat. She even taught the rest of her friends how to do the electric slide while in Disney Land the next day. For her last night we enjoyed live music, dancing, and good food at the Coyote Grill.
We will miss Nao and hope to see her again either here or Japan. Whichever one comes first. She came bearing many lovely gifts for us including a Japanese tea set with green tea, a beautifully embroidered "year of the boar" calendar tapestry, a calligraphy set, and of course, her fabulous shampoo ensemble. But the most amazing gift she left was the beautiful imprint that will forever be in our hearts.

Happy Birthday Jerome!!!

2007-03-24T21:24:00.000-07:00

Well it was another big year for the big man and we celebrated in style. Today we celebrated our friend Jerome’s birthday and it was a blast. We had originally planned on meeting up at the Elephant Bar but when we arrived Jerome and his family were headed out due to a mix up with the reservations. They apparently weren’t able to handle the obscene amount of money our large party was about to drop on the night. So, if the Elephant Bar could not accommodate then La Playa certainly was.

We spent a great evening catching up with friends and family while dining on the finest Mexican cusine I’ve ever had the pleasure of eating. And those of you who know me know am not particularly keen on Mexican food. Specifically cilantro. But this place is superb and everything is very fresh.

We had a wonderful night celebrating the birthday of my best friend Michellene's husband. The kids laughed, played, and ate fried ice cream, yummy! We were so happy to celebrate another year with such an amazing man! Happy Birthday Jerome! Here are a few quotes I thought he might appreciate.

Middle age is the time when a man is always thinking that in a week or two he will feel as good as ever. ~Don Marquis

Middle age is having a choice between two temptations and choosing the one that'll get you home earlier. ~Dan Bennett

Birthdays are good for you. Statistics show that the people who have the most live the longest. ~Larry Lorenzoni

If you would like to see more photo’s of this night please visit the following link.

Spring is in the air . . . Let’s play ball!

2007-03-22T23:14:00.000-07:00

Pete started of this season playing softball for his work team. They call them selves “Thorn In Your Side.” I wouldn’t quite say they live up to their name just yet. The first game was a 9 to 7 loss for TIYS. They all looked a bit rusty but they defiantly have potential. I’m sure with a bit of practice they’ll warm right up to the winners circle soon enough. Nadia even offered Daddy a little advice on the proper way to hold a glove.

Pete of course had the largest fan club on his side. Nadia and I went to cheer him on and were shortly joined by two friendly fowl. “Quack, Quack!” Shortly after the game began our cheer leading squad grew by two when Auntie Rey and her furry canine friend Cody showed up. "Wuf, Wuf!"

All in all we had a fun filled day at the fields. We even caught a beautiful sunset, pictured here behind Nadia. The best part was watching Nadia cheering on Daddy, "Good Job Daddy, You did it!"

St. Patrick's Day Parade in San Diego

2007-03-20T12:56:00.000-07:00

It was a perfect day for a parade in sunny southern California. Good food, good company, and green beer. I think I'm gonna let the pictures speak for themselves this time. Happy St. Pat’s, Enjoy!

In Other News . . . Long Lost Cousin Found!

2007-03-18T14:13:00.000-07:00

Its funny how sometimes the last time you see someone you never really think it’s the last time. You carry on the way you always would until one day it hits you. Man, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen my cousin Heather! I wonder if I’d known those years ago that the day we last played would be the last time in a long time since we would see each other again. I wonder if I knew, if I would have hugged her longer at good bye or begged my mom for just 5 more minutes to play? It’s funny how life works sometimes. Neither one of us could recall just how long it had actually been since we had seen each other. It may have been at the family reunion in 94. Or it could have been as simple of an event as playing on my Aunts farm in Jersey. Either way it has been a long time and it was a delight to see her again while she visited San Diego with her friend Aaron.

She looks good and seems very happy. It was great to get reacquainted with her again. I felt the family connection right away. Sometimes family, any family is a huge breath of fresh air being so far away from home and all. We are all part of the same threads, the same gene pool, and we share many of the same fond memories. It was great catching up with her. She is as excited as I am to have another family reunion next year. We both agreed it’s time all of our kids got together and played like we did so many years ago. Here’s looking forward to another great family reunion in 2008!

We were able to give her a dose of family fun with Pete’s family while she was out. Pete’s mother, stepfather, sister, and niece were all able to join us at the Coyote Grill. We even had our host daughter from Japan join in the fun. We got to sit outside around a fire pit, drinking drinks, munchin snacks, and listening to the live band. Heather and I even got up and danced with all the kids to the rockin sound of the percussion. I hope she can make it back again soon. We had a great time with her.

If you’d like to see more pictures form Heather’s visit please click on this link.

Mamma Mia! That's-a Spicy Meatball!

2007-03-15T13:02:00.000-07:00

My adorable niece, Emily (7 years old), celebrated heritage day at school recently. She was to bring a dish of her heritage to contribute to the class. Being of strong Italian decent she chose to bring in her favorite dish . . . Nanny’s Italian Meatballs. Nanny, Hannah (my other adorable niece who is 10), and Emily spent all afternoon creating the famed meaty treats.

The next day they took them into school to share. Of course everyone agreed it was the best meatball they had ever eaten. Kids were pushing aside the other homemade traditional foods on their plates and racing back for seconds of Nanny’s famous meatballs. Emily’s “boy friend” Kayden even told Emily if she could cook like this for him every day he would marry her. Too freakin cute, eh? Everyone wanted to know how they were made, kids and parents alike. Sounds like heritage day was a complete success for Em.

Nanny wrote down the recipe to share with everyone so her special treat will live on for generations to come.

Nonna DiDonato’s Family Meatballs

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef (22% fat)
1 tbsp oregano
3/4 cup asiago cheese
1 small egg
1 & 1/2 garlic clove crushed
1 slice american white bread soaked in water (Wonder bread works well) salt pepper

How to make:

Grate the cheese
Mix all the ingredients above in a bowl (use your hands) Knead into a big ball Use a teaspoon or a tablespoon depending on if you want small or large meatballs Fry meatballs in olive oil and 3 cloves garlic until they are brown Add to tomato sauce and simmer for 2 1/2 hours

Enjoy!

Make a Wish . . .

2007-03-14T12:56:00.000-07:00

“When you wish upon a star, makes no difference who you are
Anything your heart desires will come to you

If your heart is in your dreams, no request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star as dreamers do

Fate is kind, she brings to those who love
The sweet fulfillment of their secret longing

Like a bolt out of the blue, fate steps in and sees you thru
When you wish upon a star, your dreams come true.”
Writer: Leigh Harline; Lyrics: Ned Washington

Thank God for granting our wishes. My birthday wish came true when my mother come to visit us for her very important birthday this year. I am so happy we were all able to get reconnected. We had a great time celebrating her special birthday week. I wonder what she wished for her birthday?

We didn’t do much sightseeing this time around. It was much more laid back this visit. We basically just focused on the important things like spending time enjoying each others company. We did all of the usual Nadia activities like book babies, wee start, and park outings. We got to catch up on the soaps and sunbathe in the backyard. We even spent an afternoon at Guajome Park feedin the ducks.

We did spend some time doing some tourist activities. We got to play Mini Golf at Boomers. We even got to soak each other on the bumper boats. Me, Pete, and our exchange student, Nao, got to race go carts. And no trip could be complete without a country line dance. This time we headed out to Temecula to the Stampede for some honky tonk fun. This picture was taken after cutting the rug on the dance floor.

The best part of her visit was seeing her and Nadia reconnect. She knows grandma by picture and by voice but it’s a different story when she can actually hug and love on her. It was great to see her face light up as grandma walked into the room. She even started posing for the camera for the first time on this special occasion especially for grandma. Say “Cheese”!

If you would like to see my mom's pictures taken with her new digital camera please click on this link. If you are also interested in seeing Jenn's pictures please click on this link.

Family Ties Part III

2007-03-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

Well, Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!!!

I guess the joke is on me! After spending countless hours on my mothers present and writing our long family history in my blog she is the one who surprised me. I had to make sure Family Ties Part II was out for her birthday so she could read it in NJ on her special day. Instead I barely finished writing it before she walked through my front door here in CA yelling SURPRISE! I was elated and overjoyed to see her and so was Nadia. Pete of course was the mastermind behind this whole thing. He and my mother have been planning this for months now behind my back and they pulled it off flawlessly. Thanks so much to Barb and Phil for playing a huge role in this as well. They not only kept the secret from me but they picked her up at the airport and brought her to our house for the surprise of a lifetime. WOW! I am so grateful to everyone involved. This is truly an amazing gift and it’s not even my birthday.

Speaking of HER birthday, now that she has seen her special gift I’d like to share it with everyone else. Try to think back at what you have already seen and read in Part I & II. Remember my Great Grandmother’s farmhouse? Remember the 7 generations of fabulous women in my family? Well here we are all standing in front of the old farmhouse.

I need to say a very special thanks to the virtual genius who has made this digital masterpiece come to life. This amazing being would be none other than my best friend, life partner, and love of my life, Pete DiDonato, the patriarch of this proud family. Without him this picture would not have become a reality. I had all these wonderful pictures and a beautiful vision in my head but no skills or tools to put it into a 3D image. All I had to do was provide him with the pics and the vision and he did it. He made it all work. It came out 1,000 times better than I could have dreamed. Thank you so much for being the mastermind behind this magnum opus. I also have to thank him for giving me such a wonderful surprise. After celebrating my very anti-climactic 30th birthday, Pete knew I was way down in the dumps. So he came up with the best remedy possible to cure my birthday blues. What an amazing man I have! I am so blessed. I Love you, Pete!

Family Ties Part II

2007-03-03T14:27:00.000-08:00

Holy Moly Mother Of . . .

This segment needed to be continued because although my mother is bad at getting packages sent out I am even worse. When the framed hardcopy of this is in my mother’s hot little hands in cold and brisk New Jersey, you (a select few readers) will be privileged enough to enjoy it electronically. We are hoping to send it out on Monday and should be in New Jersey no later than Saturday so keep your eyes peeled for part III of our family ties. For now let’s take a journey back in time, way back, were talking 7 generations back.

This is my GGG grandmother Amelia (Emil) Munzel.
This would make her Nadia’s GGGG Grandmother . . . WOW! This picture was taken in Germany as far as I know. She is as far as I have been able to trace back. Amelia is in the middle. Her four children from L to R are: daughter Elizabeth, son Oskar – my GG Grandfather; her other son Max, and daughter Gertrude. Amazing this would have made her the mother of all mother-in-laws.

Next is my GG grandmother Emma Martha (Seydel) Munzel. She is pictured with her husband Oskar my GG grandpa and their then 2 children my great Aunt Gertrude and great uncle Walter. They would later have two more boys named William and Erik and my adorable Great grandmother Margaret. I think I bear a slight resemblance to her in the nose and mouth area. It’s so cool to see where my looks came from.

This is my lovely Grat Grandmother Margarete Else (Munzel) Ferraro.
She left Hamburg, Germany on July 26, 1923 (one day before her 17th birthday) aboard the ship SS Mount Clinton. She had lived in a small town named Apolda (town), Westphalen (county or province), at #42 Diberg Straussen (Diberg Street). She was close to her paternal Grandmother whose name was Amelia (listed above). Together with my Great grandpa Luigi they had 4 beautiful daughters named Elizabeth, Hildegard (Aunt Hilda), Doris (Aunt Dotty), and Martha (Aunt Mutty). The girls are pictured below in Part I of this segment on their parent’s farm. She is the oldest one I have had the pleasure of meeting. She passed away when I was around 6 years old but I still remember visiting her and my Great Grand father several times in Florida and having so much fun with them.

The next mother of all mothers was my beautiful Nana.
Her name was Elizabeth Margaret(Ferraro)Bunting. She and my grandfather Edmund had two lovely children of their own. A son named Keith and a daughter named Margaret (my mother.) She was funny, energetic, and full of life. I think she is the one I most resemble or hope to resemble in traits. She loved to cook, entertain, and tell funny stories and jokes. She loved to read poetry especially with her sisters. She also loved, coming from a farming background, to garden. She had a lovely garden in Hightstown NJ. She would also take me to her sister’s farm to help pick zinnias and marigolds. She also loved to sew and would make all of my Barbie dolls’ cloths as well as a few cute little numbers for me.

This brings us to my wonderful mother Margaret (Peggy) Louise (Bunting) Perry. Her and my father Donald went on to have 2 children Named Jennifer (me) and Robert (my cute little brother). As I mentioned below in Part I she is the blazing torch of our family. She is the glue that holds us all together. She has always made family extremely important. And if that meant she had to trek us up and down the East Coast to stay connected than that’s what she would do. I have always felt a close connection with my Aunts, Uncles, cousins, second cousins, and great Aunts and Uncles. It was all because of this amazing woman who must have a heart bigger than Texas. Thank you so much for keeping the family ties important and close to my heart.

Next up is none other than yours truly Jennifer Elizabeth (Perry) DiDonato.
Together with my husband Peter we currently have 1 beautiful little girl named Nadia. What can I say about myself? Well I can say that I have some pretty big shoes to fill and a bright flame to carry. I hope I can accept it all graciously. I am so honored to have such a rich family history and strong family ties. Thanks to all the 5 preceding generations for making me who I ultimately am today. I am awe inspired by these beautiful women.

This brings us to our 7th generation; the lovely little Miss Nadia Marie DiDonato.
She is an amazingly smart little girl with so much spunk and character. At 2 years old she is already the new jokester in the family. She is our entertainment. She is learning to cook from her mommy. Her daddy is teaching her to play every sort of instrument imaginable. Her list of musical talents to date include but are not limited to the piano, accordion, guitar, ukulele, harmonica, drums, trombone, flute (which she adorably calls the “who”), and the kazoo. She also loves to sing and dance. Her favorite song to sing is “I hope you dance” taught to her by her grandmother (Peggy) and mother (me). Her favorite dance move is the clock taught by her father.

I also need to thank one last inspiring being who is the mother of all fathers.
This would be my wonderful Uncle Johnny. It was him who has spent painstaking hours sorting through pictures and letters of our family history. He has provided me with almost all of these glorious pictures and colorful history. Thank you so much for enrichening my life with family!

To be continued . . .

Family Ties Part I

2007-03-02T15:00:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday To You . . .

A very happy birthday goes out to my one and only sweet mother today March 3rd! I am so sad that we could not be together to celebrate such a wonderful day but have high hopes that we will see each other soon. We are wishing for an Easter visit this year in California. We know for sure though that we will see her in the summer for Angela’s wedding.

Mom you are the best! You raised me well and I am so fortunate to have you as a mother. I try to carry all you’ve taught me and pass it on to Nadia. It’s tough to carry a torch so great though. Your flame is so bright! You must have had the patience of an iron woman. You had the will and courage of an ox. You had the creativity of one of the masters teaching us (Robbie and I) and encouraging us in the fields of art, music, and poetry. You always created amazing adventures for us too weather it was traveling around the country or in our own back yard. You always kept us happy and healthy. You taught us the value of friendship and the importance of family. All these attributes were instilled in me at a young age and you continue to mystify me even today!

Mom, I love you so much and am so grateful for all you have done and are still doing for me. I look forward to many more wonderful years of great wisdom, infinite compassion, and amazing adventures.

This picture below was taken on Great Grandpa and Great Grandma's farm in New Jersey. The four sisters in the picture are (from left to right) Martha, Dorris, Elizabeth, and Hildiguard.

Our family has always been a family of farmers for almost as long as I can trace back. Your Grandmother (Margaret) and Grandfather (Luigi) had an amazing farm when they came to this country. Your Mother (Elizabeth) and her sisters grew up on the farm, feeding chickens and cows and picking fruits, vegetables, and berries. Two of those sisters went on to own their own farms which you and all of your cousins were raised on doing much the same thing as your parents. You even had horses to ride. You raised us children in much the same way with our cousins all around to play with. We too would help feed the chickens, pick fresh veggies and fruits, and we even got to go for tractor and hey rides around the farm with Uncle John. Farms have always been near and dear to all of our family’s hearts.

To be continued . . .

An Evening at the Oscars

2007-02-27T12:31:00.000-08:00

This weekend we celebrated this years best films by hosting an Oscar Party. We of course wanted to indulge like the stars so we decided to make some Asian inspired treats for dinner followed by decadent chocolate Oscar Cake with raspberries. Rey, who has recently lived in Japan for nearly 2 years, picked up a few great tempura tips form the masters. Barb offered up the Pilipino inspired Pancit Noodles from an authentic Asian market. I contributed Chinese Fried Rice which I learned how to make ironically, from a Japanese student. The food was amazing, fresh, crisp, and bursting with yummy Asian flavor. Hat's off to all on a job well done!

The show itself and the red carpet outfits were amazing. We enjoyed critiquing this years do's and don’ts in fashion. I for one think that Nicole Kidman could wear street rags and make it look elegant. I actually adored her in the cute little red number she wore this year. I loved Forest Whitakers' wife's dress which was adorned with beautiful flowers on her back. Will Smith and family despite any Oscar's this year truly looked like the all American Oscar family right down to Jada's Oscaeresk gold dress. Other beauties in fabulous dresses include Cameron Diaz, Reese Witherspoon, Penelope Cruise, and Cate Blanchett.

Kudos to the most important winner, in my opinion, Al Gore for his documentary "An Inconvenient Truth". Also to Melisa Ethridge for her best original song "I Need To Wake Up", written for Al Gore's documentary. Hooray for Alan Arkin who gave an outstanding performance in "little Miss Sunshine" and won an Oscar for best supporting actor. Also a Big congrats to Martin Scorsese for his brilliant work in the film "The Departed". Scorsese not only won the award for best director but his picture received the highest award by being voted best film of the year.

The only way to end a fantastic night filled with gourmet food, high fashion, and great films is of course, with chocolate! Just like the big wigs in Hollywood celebrate with decadent delectables so did we. We enjoyed our own mini fudge cakes filled with raspberry ice cream drizzled with chocolate ganash and fresh raspberries topped with a light dusting of powdered sugar. The perfect ending to a perfect night.

Palomar Sledding Adventure

2007-02-24T16:54:00.000-08:00

It has been raining quite a bit in San Diego lately and when it rains here it means there is a chance for snow in the nearby mountains. We decided to take the chance and go see for ourselves if any snow had in fact accumulated on Palomar Mountain. We were (hence the title of this blog) in luck!

The signs were not looking good at first. When we got to the top of the mountain the only traces of snow we saw were the dirty melting piles on the side of the road left by snowplows the night before. We trudged on to our usual spot just before the park entrance. We arrived to a sad site. The hill in all its glory was striped of its claim to fame. All that was left was a muddy muck and a few slushy patches. We decided to try one last area on the shady side of the mountain by Doane Pond. It was the perfect spot. Shaded, snowy, steep, sand secluded. It was the perfect area for a sledding adventure.

Unfortunately for us when we have exchange students come to stay with us they always return home to their countries. Leaving us hoping and wondering, will we ever get to see them again? Luckily for us we were privileged enough to host a student from Taiwan recently who did not return home. She actually is studying at a university in LA. Yippee for us. Karen, from Taiwan, has been able to not only spend several weeks with us as our exchange student but has also been able to come down from L.A. to share in my 30th birthday and in our latest sledding adventure.

It was so great going with my best friend and partner Pete. Of course it was awesome to show Nadia snow for the first time this year and to let her go down the mountain all by herself. She is such a big girl! This was actually Karen's first time sledding and she is almost as old as I am! She did great and looked like she was having a blast.

After a cold day of sledding in the snow we warmed up at Mother's Kitchen at the top of the summit with a hot bowl of soup and some hot chocolates. Well for us anyway, Karen only drinks tea! All in all it was a great day and great company.

These are a few of our pictures from our adventure. If you want to see them all please click on the following shutterfly link.

2007-02-21T08:38:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Fu Dao La (which translates to welcome in happiness)! Welcome the year of the Boar. This weekend we celebrated the Chinese New Year. What better way to celebrate the New Year than with 3 Chinese exchange students. How do the Chinese celebrate the New Year or Spring Festival as they call it? Same as they and the Sung dynasty have for the past 600 years, with homemade dumplings of course!!! The reason for the dumplings is to connote their wishes for good fortune in the New Year. The shape of the Chinese dumplings is similar to ancient Chinese gold or silver ingots, they symbolize wealth.

Our student from Beijing, Javier (the one adorned with the dark blue snoopy sweater), had her two girlfriends Alice and Zinnia come over to help prepare the dumplings. These, of course, are not their traditional Chinese names but rather English (or in some cases Spanish) names that they have chosen for themselves. I personally find their names to be very sweet and flattering to their personalities. Anyway I’m getting a bit off track of the main subject here and that is DUMPLINGS. The main ingredient among our 3 teen students was naturally laughter, dancing, and music by none other then the ever popular Jay Chou. Pete of course wanted to throw a little Italian spin on things by playing the Tarantella on the accordion. Which they graciously applauded and danced to.

The family link is essential to the art of making these scrumptious little nuggets. It is really a team work. Usually family members will join the work as we all did. Even Nadia helped roll out the skins with her mini rolling pin. The Chinese start making dumplings when they are children. Good thing Emily got her lesson while she is still young. She was cranking out perfect dumplings in no time. She now holds the ancient secrets of all others who have come before her. The art itself is in making the skins which is the hardest part of making the dumplings.

How to make Chinese dumplings . . . Although the skins are comprised only of flour and water this is the difficult part. They used no measuring cups or spoons for this so it is hard to gauge how much water and how much flour to use. Hopefully my descriptions will allow you to make these at your own home. They started with a large bowl and added about 2 cups of flour. They made a well in the middle and filled it with approximately 1 cup of cold water. This mixture was then kneaded and formed into dough. Gradually adding more flour and water as needed. The consistency of the dough was not sticky and felt light and fluffy. This was then formed into a ball and set into a small bowl. Cover the bowl with cellophane or a damp towel and set aside for about an hour.

Now start the filling with chopping and mashing whatever ground meat you prefer. We used pork for ours. Then add salt, sesame oil, soy sauce, finely chopped fresh ginger and scallions. Finley chop Chinese cabbage and/or carrots and boil until soft. Mix thoroughly with the meat mixture and add two spoonfuls of water if necessary.

Flour a surface and roll out the dough into about a 1 ½” diameter log. Cut the log into about ¼” medallions. Flatten these out with the palm of your hand into a disk shape and then roll until fairly thin. Spoon a small amount of the meat mixture in the center and begin to pinch closed leaving no air pockets. Dip each dumpling on 1 side in flour so it dose not stick to the plate wile making the rest. Boil these in water until they float to the surface. Once cooked serve hot with dipping sauce. The water used to boil should be used as soup. Salt and pepper to taste. Drizzle the soup with finely chopped scallions.

For the dipping sauce . . . mix 2 parts white vinegar and 1 part soy sauce. Add in a few tsp. of sesame oil and finely chopped garlic. If you prefer a hotter variation add in some pepper oil.

The Chinese are very similar to the Italians with regard to food. They enjoy making large meals together as a family. They also make far more then enough food for all and would certainly be insulted if you didn’t go back for seconds or even thirds or fourths for that matter. This has been a truly enlightening experience for our family. We are very grateful we have such a wonderful opportunity to host such a diverse array of students from so many different countries and cultures. We are extremely blessed!