"We want to cook dinner"

On the phone--
Me:  "Who?"
Hannah:  "Me and Chelsea"
Me:  "Where?"
Hannah:  "Our house"
Me:  "For who?"
Hannah:  "For all of us!"
Me:  "All of us...  you mean me and Dad too?"
Hannah: "Yes!"

Oh boy.

Later, after the girls took the last $20 out of John's wallet and left for Schnucks--
Me:  "What are you going to make?"
Hannah:  "Some kind of pasta with meat."

Then we proceed to go over what we have in the house and what they need to purchase.

My confidence level in the two of them pulling this off was relatively low.  Nothing against their collective abilities, it's just that neither one of them have had much cooking experience. So this was a good thing. Right?

We had shrimp in the freezer, so they decided to make shrimp with pasta and vodka sauce.  I told them to get a couple peppers and whatever other veggie they wanted to throw in the sauce.  Chelsea wanted to roast asparagus and make a greek salad.  And for dessert - Nutella crepes.

That's right.  I said crepes, with Nutella filling.

Here we go...

John showing Chelsea how to cut an onion...

Just in case...

I helped with the garlic.

And looked SUPER happy about it!

John and Lilly supported the effort from the livingroom...

 Shrimp pasta in progress.

Preparing Greek salad.  Hannah does not look pleased about something.

I have to say, dinner was pretty darn good.  The pasta was great, and even though the asparagus was over-roasted (my fault) it was very good too.

Let the Nutella crepe war begin!

I'm still not sure who came up with the idea of making crepes.  I've never made a crepe in my life, so I told the girls they were on their own for this part of the meal.  And who thought of Nutella filling??!!  Once again the girls surprised me.  They were awesome.

The only downside of the entire evening was the clean up, which was left to me and John.  And believe me - there was A LOT to clean up.  No photos taken of that - too depressing!!

Thanks girls!  What are you making for us next weekend??

I love cooking!!

One of my favorite things in the world to do:  Have nothing to do on a Saturday night and try making a new recipe with John.  A couple weekends ago, we tried paella.  It was lovely.

Always accompanied by a nice bottle of red...

John is a really good cook, and a master griller.

So, today is Sunday.  Not that we can't do something new on a Sunday evening, but after getting together with friends for our bi-monthly dinner club gathering last night (lots of good Polish food, lots of vodka) we're feeling pretty lazy today.  And it's April.  And it's freaking gorgeous outside.  That only means one thing...

Grilling.

Salmon marinated in a maple bourbon glaze. Asparagus on the grill, with Tuscan herb olive oil and some extra spices.  Uncle Ben rice garden vegetable rice, microwaved in 90 seconds!  The best part was eating outside, then listening to Jim's KWAR news show on the internet.  Oh, and that lovely bottle of wine.

The clouds rolled in around 7:30, so we retreated to the living room - only after I took a few more photos.  What a lovely weekend.

John's favorite song of all time, as performed by the Red Hot Chili Peppers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMzA0g28Ue4

OK, seriously... my most favorite song of all time.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHpoGK1aX5Y

Sing it Mavis!!!

my most favorite song of all time...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkwJ-g0iJ6w

One of my favorite songs of all time.

The World Ain't Slowin' Down

Artist: Ellis Paul


I found you sitting on a suitcase crying
Beneath my feet,
I feel the rumble of a subway train
I laugh out loud,
'cause it's the one thing I hadn't been trying
The train came in breathless,
The passanger's restless
You say, "Baby, you'll never change"

You gotta get gone, you gotta get going
Hey, the world ain't slowing down for no one
It's a carnival callin out to you
It sounds like a song,
Hits you like scripture
You paint the picture
With colors squeezed from your hand
Weren't you the kid
Who just climbed on the merry-go-round
Hey look, the world ain't slowing down
Hey, hey, the world ain't slowing down
Hey, hey...

Out on the sidewalk,
Pigeon's do the moonwalk
I'll be dancing like Fred Astaire
The lamppost's are rockin,
The whole town's talkin
Like a fool in a barber's chair
And I get the sensation,
The joy and fustration
Like being caught by a tropical rain
Freedom can numb you,
When there's no place to run to
It feels just like Novocane

You gotta get gone, you gotta get going
Hey the world ain't slowin down for no one
It's a carnival callin out to you
(it's callin out to you)
It sounds like a song,
Hits you like scripture
You paint the picture
With colors squeezed from your hand
Weren't you the kid
Who just climbed on the merry-go-round
Hey look, the world ain't slowin down
Hey, hey, the world ain't slowing down
Hey, hey...

You packed up all your handbags,
Throwing off the sandbags
I let go and you stepped free
I didn't want to loose you
You said, "You didn't choose to,
It's just how your karma came."
But thanks for the vision,
And the twenty-twenty wisdom
It hit me like a south-bound train

You gotta get gone, you gotta get going
Hey the world ain't slowin down for no one
It's a carnival callin out to you
(it's callin out to you)
It sounds like a song,
Hits you like scripture
You paint the picture
With colors squeezed from your hand
Weren't you the kid
Who just climbed on the merry-go--
Weren't you the kid
Who just climbed on the merry-go--
Weren't you the kid
Who just climbed on the merry-go-round
Hey look, the world ain't slowin down
Hey, hey, the world ain't slowin down
Hey, hey, it's a big, blue world
It's a big, blue world
Ridin' on a big, blue world 

Long time, no see

I guess I've been too busy to blog.  Who knew?

Let's see what's happened since last time...

John and I went to San Antonio for a few days.  Let me say that if you like to eat and drink the way we like to eat and drink, the River Walk in San Antonio is the place for you - only if you don't lose your balance.  No railings.

Gorgeous, isn't it?  The food is wonderful, although John and I agreed that they need a tapas restaurant somewhere along the strip.  And I had the best margarita I've ever had in my whole life at Rita's.

I'm not kidding.  It was potent, but not too sweet and not too sour.  Perfect.  I think that is my quest this summer - to remake the perfect margarita.  Because how many times have you had one that is all sweet and sour with salt on the brim?  No, we deserve better!  One summer, the quest to perfect mojito; another, the quest for the perfect sangria; this summer - the perfect margarita!

Anyway.

My wonderful husband had a sales call to make one morning while we were there, so he reserved a spa massage and skin treatment for me.  Oh. My. Gosh.  I've never had a real massage before, so this was a whole new experience for me.  It was incredible.  The masseuse was so nice and personable.  The spa was relaxing and lovely.  As I walked out of the spa, I was unsure if I was even walking a straight line.  I felt sort of drunk, but in a really "Zen" kind of way.  

Anyway.

I asked John what we were going to do the second day of our trip and he looked at me in disbelief.  "You don't remember?"    Um, no.  

I forgot the Alamo.  

The Alamo is somewhat of a disappointment.  You expect everything in American history to be BIG.  That's who we are, right?  The Alamo?  Not so much.  

This was a fun fact we found while wondering through the compound:

Alarmed by the growth in numbers of colonists from the United States, the Mexican government seeks to slow immigration into Texas from the north, while introducing more new residents from Mexico and Europe. On April 6, a law passed by the Mexican Congress prohibits settlement in Texas by immigrants from the United States, and cancels all colonization contracts. Although repealed in 1833, this article remains a sore point with the growing immigrant population.

Does anyone else see the irony in this?

Anyway...

This is the flower John got for me, just because.  He's a keeper.

Anyway, we left San Antonio and drove to Austin.

We reconnected with some family members at a wedding last summer, and went to the wedding of John's cousin's daughter and Goddaughter outside of Austin, at Salt Lick.  It was an awesome wedding - like something that you see in movies.

It was literally by a creek, in the middle of nowhere, in the middle of Texas.  This is the structure that a friend of the groom made for the ceremony.  It looked much better in person.

So Angela and Ricardo got married.  There were guys playing instruments by a creek.  Is it bad that I kept thinking about the guys singing during "What About Mary"?

The table arrangements ROCKED.

Angela and Ricardo.  So sweet.

And may I add that the groom's father is in a music hall of fame for his Conjunto accordion music?  He played at the reception.  He rocked.

It was really nice to see John's cousins.

Leaving Austin, I found my destiny!!!

Obviously, I will be moving to Texas to make my fortune.  Glad to know you all, but now that I will be making mega-bucks, I will not remember the "little people" from my past.  

Or not.

It was an awesome trip and an awesome wedding.  Here's to spring, weddings, and new beginnings all around.