birthday dinner

Since my birthday falls on a holiday that causes restaurant prices to soar and crowds to fill every seat, we usually cook a nice dinner at home instead. This year was no different.

We bought a couple of New York steaks and some yukon gold potatoes. I found a delicious sounding olive topping for the steak and decided on mashed potatoes with gravy for a side dish. Dessert was harder to come by but since I was already on a roll with the comfort food idea, I went with a dolled up version of a childhood favorite: chocolate pudding. We found some chocolate mousse (from a box) and topped it off with whipped cream (beaten fresh by Rob).

I enjoyed every bite of this luscious meal!

(And yes, Rob really did have black tea with dinner, Russian Caravan, a favorite of his, while I had dark mead, something I don't need to have again anytime soon.)

what's happening here?

edit: the post below was freaking out and not showing up until I created this one. Who knows what's up? I'm just glad it seems to be working ok now. whew!

.J.

happy belated valentine's day

This year I have a wish, a wish to be a little bit closer to the ones I love. I began feeling this desire back around Christmas. It grew until I knew I needed to do something, to act on this urge.

Out of my desire, I chose to create Valentines for you (my family and close friends who are like family to me). Each one is unique, like my relationships with each of you. I struggled with what I wanted to write on these missives of love. Everything I wanted to say seemed too big for that little card. I landed on simple, "From my heart to yours". There is more behind that five word phrase. I want to explain.

I have long believed, though not necessarily spoken this belief aloud, that little things lead to big things. The smallest grain of sand is an integral part of the largest castle, one resting on top of another, accumulating to create something more grand than any one grain could be by itself. I think this is true of all aspects of life, from relationships to goals to spirituality. Each little burst of energy establishes a firmer hold, brings me closer to what I want to create.

Now, all of this can be true and lead to something less than beautiful if the energy is used to construct, say, a dungeon. I acknowledge this and choose to focus on what I want rather than what I fear. What I hope for in sending these Valentines, is that they can be grains of sand in a bridge to bring me closer to each of you. The essence I choose to keep close is this: I believe small things lead to big things, and every small, sweet act of love builds upon another to create something greater.

My heart holds each of you tenderly and I am grateful for you. Thank you

(The two images I've included here are the Valentine's Rob and I chose from the batch that I created. The first one is his and the second one is mine. I'm not entirely happy with the scans that resulted. Hopefully they look better on your screen than they do on mine!)

what's cookin'?

Doesn't that look super delicious? Homemade chicken soup, yum yum yummy. Rob has been slaving away in the kitchen all day to make this happen. Ok, maybe not exactly "slaving" but puttering nonetheless. He has gotten quite good at this chicken soup recipe.

The brilliant green you see is a lovely kale that is far better than I ever imagined. Though we grew up eating a lot of vegetables at my house, greens never seemed to make it on the menu. I think we had cooked spinach once or twice (ew!) but other than that, I don't recall others. [Mom? Do you remember?] I was a little hesitant the first time Rob wanted to use them in a soup. Now I love 'em that way.

After we've enjoyed the soup this way for a night or two, including a lunch for me, we'll add coconut milk and curry paste from the asian food store for a twist (and to stretch it out to our greatest advantage). This pot of soup exemplifies what we've been doing all day. Putting things together for a good start to the week.

On the other hand, last night was a special treat. We got to see the New Shanghai Circus perform. Normally, we wouldn't be interested in anything calling themselves a circus due to the bad reputations they have for how they treat animals. This, however, was entirely different since it was all acrobatics performed by professional Chinese athletes. (Their muscles fairly bulged!)

The acts were all made up of the amazing things the human form can do. The poses they held were awe inspiring for their demonstration of pure strength and balance. They also had some drumming performances weaved in there. This was a surprise to us, it didn't seem to be listed on the program we were given. The drummers were all young women. I was impressed.

Overall, it was a nice way to spend the evening together. In two weeks, it will be the Ailley II dance troupe.

pleasant surprise

And then there are the pleasant little surprises from Rob. He sent me these flowers mid-week last week just because. Aren't they beautiful?

The added bonus was bringing them home and having them look lovely through most of Mom's visit. In fact, the greens continued to look so nice I was thinking I should get more flowers the next time I was at the grocery store. Rob beat me to it! I came home today to a bunch of daffodils with three small irises tucked amongst them. (Now that I think about it, they might not be irises but that's what they look like to me but in miniature.)

It was a nice weekend visit with my mom. It began with sweet potato fries and "Mike D" margaritas when she arrived on Friday. We had good talks over coffee each morning and went shopping for my birthday on Saturday. (More on that in another post!) We went to a low key Super Bowl party on Sunday - where someone became entranced with the iPod Touch - who might that be?? On Monday it was breakfast out, one last stop for Montana-themed items and then off into the wild blue yonder back to Portland.