Happy Valentimes Day!

(I love how my son says Valentimes.)

I've been spoiled rotten this whole February so far. Everyday since the 1st my husband has left me little treats at work or at home. He's such a great Valentine! Last month I "hinted" that I really wanted to see Wicked - later that day he gave me an early Valentines gift of 4 tickets to the show for all of us to go.

Feb. 1st - I came into work to find a little heart shaped candy dish with Hershey Kissables and a diffuser set.

Feb. 2nd. A big cookie that read "Be Mine" (this is not a picture of my cookie - I ate it before I even realized I should have taken a picture...

Feb. 3rd. - Bath and Body Aromatherapy Massage Oil

Feb. 4th. - My little heart candy dish was filled up with Hershey Kisses

Feb 5th. - Bath and Body Aromatherapy Pillow Spray (I love this!!!)

Feb. 6th. - Heart Chocolates

Feb. 7th. - Pink and Brown (our wedding colors) little note pad set

Feb. 8th. - Lotion from Bath and Body

Feb. 9th - Chocolate Truffle Candle shaped like a heart!

Feb. 10th - A whole assortment of Bath and Body lip glosses

Feb. 11th - Heart Paperweight he made with our picture in it. Very cute!

Feb. 12th - Heart Cookie

Feb. 13th - Cupid Corn - So cute!

Tonight we are taking my mom and sister out to dinner. They don't have a Valentine so we thought it would be nice for us to take them out. awwww...

Isn't She Pretty??

I love her.
She's my new KitchenAid Mixer I got for Christmas. I use her any chance I get - making biscuits, mashed potatoes, bread, etc. If the recipe says "Mix" - she's my go-to gal.

I've always heard about how much people loved their mixers but I didn't realize how helpful and handy they are until I was blessed with my very own on Christmas morning. I didn't ask for the Heavy Duty or the Artisan - I just wanted the simple Classic one. She's just perfect for me.


Last night we made some yummy (but too sweet for my liking) oatmeal butterscotch cookies.





Last night I also learned the J does not like butterscotch.... hmmm never knew this until he took a bite of the cookie and smiled trying not to make "that face".... Now I know...

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving...

And I have so much to be thankful for.

My dad is such a wonderful dad. I am so thankful that I still have him. He has had many brushes with death including a heart attack 11 years ago ~ he amazed everyone when he made a full recovery. He's survived prostate cancer. I'm very thankful for every day I have with my dad. We have a standing "date" every day at 5:00. I call him on my way home from work (he's in Oklahoma) and we chit chat about everything - news, weather, how Uncle Earl is, the kids, etc.

My mom is a wonderful wonderful lady. She has dedicated her whole life to me and my sister. She has such a warm and loving heart. She's a preschool teacher and is loved by all her students and their parents. I am so incredibly blessed to have her as my mom and my friend. She's a wonderful Grandma to Buddy and Daughter. She dotes on them and would do anything for them.

My loving husband, my wonderful sister, my two beautiful children(Daughter & Buddy), my dear dear friends (many I have had since grade school), my Duncan dog.

I don't take anything for granted. I know I'm blessed and am so thankful for everything I have and the people in my life.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!!!

My Weekend

The weekend started off great. J had gotten tickets for the Lakers from one of our vendors. We had a good time. We don't get the chance to go out just the two of us too often so this was a nice "date".

J loves the Lakers and was in heaven all night. They won too!!! Woo Hoo!!!

All good things must come to an end.... The Green Extreme had their play off game Saturday morning against the Evil Leprechauns (first place team). It was such an exciting game - right up to the last minute of the game. We scored first and then they came right back and scored three making it 3 - 1. Our little guys battled and tied it up only to have them (Leprechauns) score in the last minute winning the game. So sadly, the season ended then. The boys played their little hearts out and it was a great game!!

After the game Buddy went with one of his friends. Mom, sister, daughter and I all went to lunch and then Tarjay! Very fun. I found what I want for Christmas from mom & dad....

Come to mama......

Continuing on with the busy day Buddy had a birthday party to go to that afternoon and then we went to dinner at China Dynasty. I love this place - we had hot and spicy chicken, orange chicken and chicken chow mien. So yummy!

Sunday morning I was in the mood to make crepes. They turned out soooo good. Buddy was loving them. I made his with blueberry syrup and mine with orange/pineapple marmalade and maple syrup. They were very tasty.

The day was drizzly and grey so I stayed in most of the day - only got out to go grocery shopping - weee! I also made my first batch of pumpkin bread. So very tasty!!!

That was it - so very exciting. The end.

Lakers!

This is where I'll be tonight....

Happy Halloween

I am so lucky to work in a small office with great people. We have a very laid back office with out the usual office drama. We aren't the kind of co-workers that hang-out outside the office but when we do have a good time when we have pot lucks or little parties. Today we had a pumpkin carving contest and a potluck.

This is mine (above) - I tried to be too Martha Stewart.... It looked good on the internet.

This is J's. (above) He ended up winning first place - $50 bucks!!!! Woo Hoo!!!

2nd Place winner

3rd Place

A few of us dressed up. None of us went all out - but it was still fun.

Owner of our company. This was a nice change - for the past few years he's been Zoro...

President - hard at work

This was cute - she's a "spice" girl...

Me!!! J - he's a retired football player.... real creative dear....
Our CEO - he dressed up like a CEO.....

I'm very blessed to work with a company that is so devoted to it's employees and their families. They have always been so good to me and my schedule. And they pay me well!!!

Saturday Wrap Up

The weekend was good.

*Daughter left for Hawaii with her best friend's family. I'll miss her terribly but I know she will have a great time! I heard from her around 3:00 our time that they had made it safely and were heading to the pool.

*Buddy had a soccer game at 10:30. They did really good despite the fact they were down to only 7 players so that meant no subs for the team and they would all have to play the entire game. The other team was a filled with little aggressive, fast guys. It was a great game - had it not been for a couple bad calls - the Green Extreme would have ended in a win - instead we had to settle for a tie.

*I had been researching and pricing new insurance companies for auto insurance now that we have a new driver in the house. I was pleasantly surprised to find that Mercury is great with teen drivers so I tackled the process of switch insurance companies. I'm so happy to have that all taken care of.

*It's a rare occasion when J and I actually have a "date". Saturday night we went to dinner on the recommendation and gift card from our Friends to the Scotch and Sirloin in Ventura. I've lived in Ventura for over 30 years and admittedly have never gone to the restaurant. The view was very pretty. It sits in the Ventura Harbor. The atmosphere was nice - romantic. We were seated right by a window and had a nice view of the harbor.

Prime Rib Soup

Wedge Salad

Scotch Sirloin (J)

Shrimp Scampi (Me)

Self photos not so good.

A nice man must have felt sorry for us and offered to take our picture. : )

I think I made the people around us a little nervous with all my picture taking. I had one lady ask me if I was a food critic.... No, just a lady who rarely gets a night out with her hubby.

Weekend in Review

You can definitely tell we are entering into Fall. There is a chill in the air - not much - but just enough to sense we are in October. I love the change, although it's not a huge change. October and March are my two favorite months.

Friday - we went to see the Disney movie "Game Plan" with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Surprisingly it was a really cute movie. The plot is basically an NFL quarterback living the bachelor lifestyle discovers that he has a 8-year-old daughter from a previous relationship. Dwayne Johnson is handsome as ever and the little girl that plays his daughter is adorable. She is very very cute in this movie. I truly enjoyed it. Family, The Rock, popcorn and M&Ms - can't get much better than that!

Saturday - Buddy's soccer game was not until 11:45 - a nice change from the 8:00 games. We were able to sleep in a bit (I'm not one that can sleep in so 8:00 is sleeping in for me). Was able to get a head start on my cleaning. Daughter and I walked Duncan to Simone's and enjoyed our little time together. I had my usual non-fat, sugar free Vanilla Latte and she just had a peppermint tea. Both were yummy!

I have been wanting to put up my Halloween decorations so J was a dear and rearranged the garage to get to the boxes. Note to self: Halloween comes before Christmas. Remember this next year when putting away the Christmas decorations....

Off to the game! Yay for Green Extreme! Another win and another goal for Buddy!!! The boys have worked so hard and are playing so well together. After the game we went to lunch at Mimi's cafe. Last time we went it was so good. This time it was meh - the food took a long to arrive and when it did the Blackened Chicken Caesar salad that was so good last time was awful. Too much dressing and as daughter described it - it tasted like pickle juice. As much as we love the zucchini bread and muffins - I think we will think twice about going there for a while.

Mimi's is right by the Pacific View mall so we headed over there a bit. Keeping with Sister's promise of $10 a goal Buddy quickly had a pocket that was burning with the cash! Nothing caught either of our eyes so we just headed home.

I have been craving a good Margarita for quite some time. So I finally busted out and made a couple.

Recipe - Beer Margarita

1 (12 fluid ounce) can frozen limeade concentrate
12 fluid ounces tequila
12 fluid ounces water
12 fluid ounces beer
ice
1 lime, cut into wedges

DIRECTIONS
Pour limeade, tequila, water, and beer into a large pitcher. Stir until well-blended, and limeade has melted. Add plenty of ice, and garnish with lime wedges. Adjust with additional water, if needed.

I thought they were pretty good. My craving continued into Sunday - but this time I just made them with the Cuervo Margarita mix. I actually liked this one best. Not as sweet as the limeade mixture. But both were yummy!!!

It turned out to be a home improvement weekend.
A couple trips to Lowe's and we now have

New Kitchen Faucet (Saturday's project)

New Front Door (Sunday's project)

Sunday - Home improvement continued. And football was on all day. I don't know if it was the weather or what but I had zero energy and really just wanted to relax. But that is so not my nature that it's almost more non-relaxing to do nothing than to actually get up and do something. The grocery store had been on my list of things to do all weekend so I finally tackled it. I don't mind grocery shopping at all. I picked up some wonderful T-bone steaks for J to bbq. They were very good - I marinaded them in a mixture of soy sauce, teriyaki, Worcestershire sauce, steak sauce, garlic salt and a little olive oil. Yum!

I enjoyed my Cuervo mix small margarita, Extreme Makeover Home edition (this one was not as good as the others and I didn't even shed a tear which is rare for me) and by that time I could not keep my eyes open. So sad to miss Housewives but thank goodness for DVR!!!!
Thank was our weekend in a nutshell

The Weekend

Saturday was a good day where a lot was accomplished.

Another victory for the Green Extreme! The boys are playing so good together - it's so fun to watch them every week get better and better and more confident in their playing. They are really coming together as a team. I'm a proud mom!!!

J went to visit is his brother in Riverside which left Buddy and I to finish his book report. He and I headed to Michael's and loaded up on stickers, paper and any else that caught his eye for his collage. I absolutely love spending time with my son. After a few hours - we, I mean he had finished his book report. It turned out great. And as I write this - I'm thinking "why didn't I take a picture?".

Sunday started out good. Buddy and I went to Simone's and then to the grocery store. Exciting I know but I was trying really hard not to think about what could be the Angels last game of the season. We were down 2 games to the Red Sox and I was not prepared for this to be the last game. The game started at 12:15 and I was glued to the T.V. We started out fairly well and in the 4th inning it all started to go down hill. And then I sadly had to come to the realization that my beloved Angels were playing their last game of the 2007 season. This Angels Blog tell how it all went down. I was so sad to see them - what it looked like - give up. I'm sure they wanted to win but it just didn't look like it.

yea, I'm sad too Vlad......

*

Daughter is still loving her new truck and was off and about all weekend.

Besides the Angel's season ending - the weekend was actually a really good one.

The Weekend

This weekend was a good one - we were busy and a lot was accomplished.

Friday night we went for Chinese food - at the request of my son - who loves Orange Chicken. We decided to give China Dynasty another try. In the past they have been wonderful but our last time was a bad experience.... I won't go into details. We were pleasantly surprised and happy that our old favorite had worked it's way back to our favorite Chinese food.

We shared Orange Chicken, Hot and Spicy Chicken and Kung Pao Chicken. Yum! It was very tasty. I love Chinese food!!!

China Dynasty is right next to Toys R Us - and "buddy" had money burning a hole in his pocket from last weeks goal (my sister rewarded him on his goal with $10). So off to Toys R Us it was. After looking and looking and looking he came home with yet another set of Pokemon cards. No clue how many he now has but he was excited to have some new ones.

Saturday was an early morning soccer game. We were a bit worried that the boys would not be awake and not have as good as game as last week. But they did awesome!! Another win for the Green Extreme - and another goal for "buddy"!!!! To him that $10 more dollars - cha ching!!

After his game was a lot of running around and a lot of errands. Took "buddy" for a MANicure - his poor cuticles were awful. I felt like a bad mommy for letting them get so bad. After the "no way will I go in there" - he told me that he was happy he went and that his fingers felt better. Good mommy!

I took my car into my trusty Firestone to have my tires rotated and my back brakes looked at. Fingers crossed that they were ok. Yippee for a clean bill of health on my car!

Target run! Oh how I love Target! Again, the $10 was burning a hole is buddy's pocket so he spent quite a bit of time in the Lego aisle and came home with this - which he built all by himself! He amazes me!Saturday was also our three Monthiversary - I can't believe how quickly time has flown by. It amazes me that we have already been married for 3 months or 90 days or quarter of a year.
Sunday was another busy day. I hate when the weekend is over but I love when I feel like I was productive and was able to get a lot done. Grocery shopping was my top priority - tip - don't go shopping when you are hungry or you will come home with:

I forgot how much I love Ding Dongs! Yum!

I also made a trip to Bath and Body Works - I had to - I had a coupon for a free plug in! I love Sandlewood Vanilla!!! I managed to find refills that I thought were discontinued. and a trial for a new lotion that comes out this month! Velvet Tuberose - very pretty!!!My last stop with Bed, Bath and Beyond. For our wedding we got a gift certificate and I still had money to burn (like mom, like son) so I picked up a few little items - nothing too exciting but I couldn't pass up this little guy - now hopefully J won't mistake my veggie scrubber for a pot scrubber....Daughter was off and about in her little truck. What a difference it makes. I love it but I still miss her calling me to pick her up.

Yay for great weekends.