NYC and Chicago

Just wanted to say hi to everyone. Have a few minutes while the guys are still sleeping.
Lots of stuff going on ....Tucker was in the hospital over the weekend with the dog equivalent of something like Ecoli. Was really sick but we got him back on his feet, too many $$ later.
Tuesday we went to NYC and saw Depeche Mode and had an awesome dinner here: http://www.gothambarandgrill.com

Dinner was AWESOME!
Concert was AWESOME!
Now in Chicago.. three days of concerts at Grant Park . Suppose to rain today so this should be fun! Starts at noon and ends at ten all three days.
Must have real food and coffee before we are off. Nothing like eating what amounts to fair like food for three days after having an awesome dinner on Tuesday. Reality is always difficult!

Beautiful Sunday

Ahhhh...Darrell is off golfing. I took a trip to the farmer's market this AM. So beautiful and fun! I'm workin this "to do" list. While I'm thinking of new ideas to use some of the fab stuff that I bought today, I'll get those recipes that I owe Big Al done as well. Hopefully that will stimulate some good recipe ideas.
Wanted to post a picture of the deck garden but didn't quite get there. Next week!. Matos, Basil, Mint, Rosemary, and Darrell's peppers are running out of control! Although, I would like to see a little more fruit on those tomatoes so I have "fertilize" on the to do list today as well. Alright, out- Have a great remaining weekend all!

Sitting at the Airport

Whew...I said I needed a vacation where I can sit and do nothing but you know what?, sitting and doing nothing is a lot of work. I'm at the airport and my trip was great. Got to catch up with most of the family, got to go to my favorite Sweedish Bakery (that made Darrell jeleous!) and had a great work day without getting caught in downtown Chicago traffic. While the TSA guy called me "miss" I was still feeling like a young professional (sometimes I think folks still think I'm 20 something). Anyway, all that and I'm beat, done, finito..stick a fork in me and put me to bed! This sitting around is hard work!!! Tomorrow back to the real thing!
See ya-

Catching up...

Alright, I can't believe it has been a month, actually more...let's see a couple bbq's and food related parties, including our own, a couple baseball games, softball twice a week, Darrell plays V-Ball on Tuesday's, a couple weekends of dog sitting, three babies born to friends...ya, that is about it for a month. Here is a super cute photo of Darrell and I. A good friend of mine from work was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and beat it. He, yes he, threw out the first pitch at the O's game for the American Cancer Society. It was a fun day. Great weather.

This weekend I am headed off to Michigan to see my sister..who is going through a bit of a rough patch, then I am off to do a presentation in Chicago. Wednesday I'll be back home and behind on so many things since I'll have been away for four days...oh well, doesn't help to start behind before you leave. What are you going to do. I see lots of birthday's and vacations taking place. Looks like everyone is doing well. Kids are all growing like weeds!!!!! Three weeks and we are off to NYC and Chi-town. Can't wait but really need that sit around and do absolutely nothing vacation.

Excited for Frozen Fun

House Hop this weekend....Bought an ice cream/sorbet maker. Getting ready with a practice round of lemon mint sorbet tomorrow night. Should be fun.

Still raining here. Went to O's game yesterday(Memorial Day) and yes, it rained...again. We won though and it was fun hanging out with the guys. Cold today with 50's. Tomatoes and Peppers are growing well.

Alright...hope you all had a good day off. ...gearing up for our trip to NYC and Chicago in Early Aug and also watching the French Open every night these days. It started this weekend. Hard to believe it has been a whole year since we were there. It still appears to be a chilly time of year there. They had to delay play today due to rain and then had to call a couple matches tonight since it got so late and they don't have any lights. ...man those were fun times.

Over and out...dog, and dishes, are calling. Then off to sleep.
Love ya.!

Sping has sprung....

April Showers bring May Flowers...right? Alright then stop raining!!!! This week was a mess. It rained every day and all last weekend. Darrell was happy as the allergies stay at bay when all the pollen gets washed away. Two weeks ago, I got the flowers out on the decks. Two tomato plants (only Patio Tomatoes....yes...they really bread tomatoes just to be on pots on a patio...and I must say for the last three years I have tried regular tomatoes and only the patio ones survive and keep those matoes comin'), rosemary, mint, and basil...bad story about the basil. This week's rain basically sent it swimming. Apparently basil doesn't like to swim!!! Completely dead!...oh well. Not sure that I can return that one to Lowes with the claim that "I just don't know what happened"..it's a little obvious!
Today is beautiful..however, Darrell is miserable again.. poor thing. I just love spring and it is a killer time of year for him.
Tuck was sick this week. I have no idea what he got into or what caused it but one trip to the doctor and a steady diet of my homemade chicken and rice and he's getting there. I am so blessed with such a good dog. This morning he came up to me in bed...yes he sleeps with us...I know but I have a weakness for adorable beagle puppies...anyway, Darrell called him to come up by our bodies for a snuggle and he came up to me, laid his body out lengthwise and dropped his big hound dog head and ears right up next to my face on my chest. As if to say "I love you Mom, thanks for making me feel better". Awwww....what a wonderful dog.
Final news of the last two weeks....I entered a cooking contest at work. You've heard me talk about upcoming flavor pairings in food. Something chefs around the country along with our chefs put together as far as trends go. One of the trends of this year is rosemary and fruit preserves. While I was completely swamped with softball and a trip to Chicago..I managed to create and crank out Rosemary Thumbprint Cookies. Ya, not really that hard to come up with. Just a touch of rosemary in those butter cookies covered in walnuts and then topped with a great black raspberrry preserve I found at Wegman's...they came out great and won hands down. They are even going to use the recipe for a McCormick Holiday promotion...who knew!. What did I win..well, for me bragging rights are really all I need but..a 25$ gift certificate to Wegmans. An upscale grocery store but has a great little kitchen area with cute dishes ect, and a copy of our newest McCormick cookbook (which I already had and now my Mom has one for Mother's Day...well, ya, it was an easy gift but what are you going to do).
Alright, I'm out. Have a great Mother's Day Weekend!!! Enjoy Spring!

Back from the living dead....

Seems that I always start the same way..."sorry it has taken me so long to reconnect".
Why stop the trend now.
I see you are all well. It has been really busy around here. As you know, I was in Florida. Al was here....we had a great time. He bailed me out of some serious painting. Sorry I didn't have my act together enough to treat you to some awesome dishes. Time always gets the better of me...but I thank you tons for your help. We got everything done before my sisters and mother got here. It was really great to have everyone here together without having to go and see this person or that person. One night we sat around, watched a movie, at dessert, cheese, crackers and chips/salsa for dinner. No pressure with no where to go. We had some girl talk and I think we really found out alot about each other. We don't get together like this often enough. The next week Darrell's friend from college was here. Somewhere in there Darrell went to New Orleans for March Madness and I went to Altanta for a plant trial...stay tuned on the next best Wheat Thin to hit the store shelves. Anyway, we are finally getting back to real life. Softball has started up again. Two leagues so I play Monday and Tuesday. We've been rained out for the past two weeks but this next week looks to be warm and sunny. Yeh! Maybe I can actually make contact with the ball without it killing my hands from the cold and me shaking from the wind. Bowling league is complete. We won the championship! I did my usual, once a season, 174. Timing was right and helped with the win. A great group of folks and I think Darrell is actually starting to like it. Last year...not so much. Anyway, you are all caught up. Dinner party tomorrow and off to Chicago on Wednesday. Baking contest on Wednesday and Softball Monday & Tuesday. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday...sleep in the sun!
Love you all....Steph