I Love the Day of Love

I think the tradition began when Sophie and Ian were babies.

We didn't want to leave them with a babysitter and we couldn't leave them with our parents on the busiest date night of the year. So, for Valentine's day, we had a cozy candlelight dinner at home with spaghetti and chocolate dipped strawberries.

It was so nice that every Valentine's day, we have kept up the tradition of a candlelight dinner with the whole family (Brian and I did have Fondue night on Friday after all).

The morning began with delivering heart shaped cookies and Valentines that we had made over the weekend to friends. In the afternoon, I went to the elementary school for Ian's party. The kids came home and spent hours going through their Valentines (and eating candy) making for a nice quiet afternoon for me as I set the table all fancy and prepared our feast.

This year, the menu was heart shaped waffles topped with heart shaped butter, strawberries and chocolate sauce. We also had strawberry-banana smoothies in margarita glasses and bacon (my kids and Brian LOVE bacon). Brian got home in time for dinner (and, he even washed the dishes that had been accumulating all day - sweet). Right before dinner, there was a knock at the door. I opened it and found a flower delivery person holding a huge vase of flowers for ME!


It was the perfect centerpiece for our dinner.

(we didn't think to take any pictures until after everything was already cleaned up)

I always envision the whole family sitting down to a nice meal, having pleasant conversation at dinnertime. This almost never happens. I won't elaborate on what it is usually like. But, last night, it did happen. And, it was lovely.

After dinner, we decided to play a round of UNO Attack. It went on for over an hour. At first Katie was dancing around us and being cute while we played our cards. Then, things got rather intense. People had traded hands several times. Hands had been down to UNO and back up to a dozen cards more than once. Brian didn't know if he should play his reverse or keep it going the same direction because he desired revenge against Sophie AND Ian (the players to his left and right).

We played it out, and at long last, Sophie was the winner. After we put the cards away, I looked around and said, "Where is Katie?" And, guess where we found her? Asleep in her own bed.

The perfect night of love.

Fondue Night

I just returned from a trip to the store for googly eyes and Hershey's kisses for an art project with Ian's class on Monday. Ian and I decided to also add another project requiring us to buy colored paper. I said out loud, "Let's see, we are going to need 120 hearts, and we can probably cut 8 hearts from each page, so, how many pages do we need?" Ian started to calculate. Then, I said, "Well, if we could fit 10 hearts to a page, we would need 12 pages, so I'll just buy a few more than 12."

Ian said, "But, I can figure out what 120 divided by 8 is. If you divide 120 into 12 tens, and then you change each 10 into an 8, then you have 12 eights and 12 twos. The 12 twos = 24. 8x3 is 24, so 24 has 3 eights and 3+12 is 15, so 120 divided by 8 is 15." And, by golly, he was right! I am always intrigued by the inner workings of his math mind.

Today I realized that yesterday I was just tired. I would like to know how it is possible to squeeze in a workout before getting kids ready for school and still get enough sleep without going to bed before 10 p.m.? I do so love my sanity saving workouts. And, I also love sleep.

It is a tricky balancing act - life.

Last night, Brian and I joined friends for a date night cooking class at For Your Kitchen. The theme was fondue. After several rounds of marinated meats and cheesy and chocolaty goodness, interspersed with sparkling non-alcoholic beverages, and plenty of laughs and good conversation, I came home and slept late. So late that I missed yoga. But, it was worth it. I woke up happy and refreshed and ready to make sugar cookies and Valentines with the kids.

We used cake decorating tools to frost heart shaped sugar cookies in red, pink and white. My kids were surprisingly adept, and the cookies turned out prettier than ever before! Not like the globs-of-frosting, caked-with-sprinkles gems that we usually produce. They were making all sorts of pictures, adding embellishments and spelling out their names. Ian looked at one particularly well decorated cookie and said, "I never knew I could be so artistic with frosting." Yes. It was a fabulous day. And, I'm glad I was not too tired to enjoy it.

In between the festivities, I've been trying to put together a story for the newspaper on the Green Map project as it relates to Repertory Dance Theatre and Weber State University. It is a really, really cool concept, and I think I just might blog about it. But, right now, I must take advantage of the fact that all the kids are sleeping and stop avoiding what has to be done - finishing the story.

And then, sleep, sweet sleep.

Valentine Prep

Last night, after Isaac and Katie were asleep, I loaded up Sophie and Ian in the van and headed to the nearest grocery store to pick up Valentine cards and candy for the kids to pass out in their classes. Ian reminded me that I've been promising him all week that I would take him to Wal-Mart to buy Bionicles. Bless him. He has saved just about every dollar of allowance he has ever earned and he finally settled on something he wanted to buy and he had been waiting so patiently. So, we drove out to Wal-Mart, which was a ways further.

We found some great cards and the kinds of candy everyone wanted to go with them. Ian picked out two really cool, tough looking Bionicles. It was so fun to watch him carefully count out his money from his neon duct tape wallet at the register. I headed over to the craft section to see what I could find for Ian's Valentine's party on Monday. We are going to use a Family Fun idea and make gnomes out of Hershey's kisses, googly eyes and felt (for pointy hats), reminiscent of the new movie "Gnomeo and Juliet."

They were sold out of googly eyes.

When I picked up the bag of kisses, I held it and pondered. If I took this bag of Hershey's kisses home, then I would want to eat it. And, I didn't want to eat it. I mean, I did want to eat it. Right there in the store, I would have liked to rip it open and eat it. But, I also didn't want to eat it. So, I carefully added up all of the numbers so that I would buy just enough to make the gnomes and put one in each of Isaac's Valentines.

I just helped Isaac with his Valentines (his party is today instead of Monday). And, I ate the kisses. This is the danger of having candy in the house before the actual holiday. If Wal-Mart had had the googly eyes, I wouldn't have eaten the kisses (because I didn't want to make two trips to the store). But, I knew I had to go back anyways, so my well thought out plan didn't work. But, I didn't eat ALL of them.

It could have been worse.

This morning, the kids were so full of energy. They were excited about their VALENTINES. And, they were exuberant about the new BIONICLES. And, they were full of MOM LOOK AT THIS-s and MOM LOOK AT ME-s.

After Sophie and Ian headed off to school, I began working on Valentines with Isaac in between all of the usual morning interruptions, such as Katie knocking her soggy bowl of shredded wheat off the table and the splatter spreading halfway across the hardwood floors (which I remembered that I just mopped yesterday as I was wiping up the mess).

Watching my little Kindergartener sign his Valentines was very cute. It was. I did pause and take a moment to soak in how special it was that he was so excited, and so careful about writing his name, and so funny saying things like, "Maya is my best friend so I want to give her the scary one (they were dinosaur Valentines). I want to give her two scary ones because I like her so much I want her to be twice as scared." Then, 5 minutes later, "I don't like Tess. Tess is mean. I want to give her the scary one to scare her because she is so mean." Funny, cute, little man.

But, it was also kind of painful to sit there and watch someone take 5 minutes per card to write his name 21 times. And, he couldn't seem to do it if I stepped away. Then, he would mess up, and scribble out his mistake, and get overly frustrated. So, I had to stay there and watch every last signature.

I started thinking about the post my sister-in-law wrote some time ago describing the "zombie mom" phenomenon. Meaning, I kind of wanted all of the noise and chaos to just shut off for a few hours so I could sit on the couch and stare at the wall, but, do it in peace.

Maybe it was the need to decompress after working so hard (not complaining - it's been a hard but satisfying week). My sister-in-law ended her post by saying that being a zombie mom is selfishness. I thought about that today and I thought, "Yes. This is selfishness. I am just thinking about me, me, me and what I want in this moment." But, then, I also thought about how being a parent is nothing but pure, 100%, 24/7 Unselfishness. Isn't it? These kids need us all of the time. They need everything we have. So, I'm going to concede that the way I feel right now IS selfish, or at least all about me, but, I'm also going to add that we are all human. And, we all deserve a break now and then.

Which I obviously just took and used to write this very long post. Now, it's back to planning the Valentine party and starting my story for the newspaper about Green Map (p.s. one of the coolest concepts ever), and getting Isaac the rest of the way dressed and fed and ready for school, and planning our next Girl Scout activity, and finishing the laundry, and losing this last 5 pounds (no more being side-tracked by Hershey's kisses) . . . but, the break was nice while it lasted.

Frida Bistro

It's gourmet Mexican dining -- trust me, you've never tasted Mexican food like this before.

I didn't actually do a story on this restaurant, Frida Bistro in Salt Lake, so I will try to get the facts straight as far as I can gather from second hand sources.

It seems that "Frida" was a very famous Mexican artist and the owner of the Frida Bistro is a big fan. So, he opened a restaurant using her name and her face for the logo. The inside of the restaurant itself is a treat -- very artsy with bright splashes of color. The walls are covered with beautiful paintings by local artists -- many of them are portraits of Frida although I don't think any of the paintings are actually by Frida (because it's my understanding that those paintings would be very pricey).

The food.

I don't think there is any place in Ogden (or, closer to Ogden than Salt Lake) to get food like this. The atmosphere was nice, and also whimsical and cozy, but the food was very classy. They did not bring us chips and salsa. In its place they brought us a plate of some sort of pastry and roasted pumpkin seeds. I didn't see beans, Spanish rice, tamales or any of the usuals on the menu. Brian ordered the Pato Sucio, otherwise known as "duck" (the spicy sauce was delicious) and I ordered the Stuffed Calabazitas - stuffed zucchini.

My meal was as beautiful as any entree I have ever eaten -- my tres verdes rice in a perfect pyramid sandwiched on the rectangular plate between a cactus salad and some very delicious and gorgeous stuffed zucchini. The meal was AWESOME. It totally scratched the itch I have had for some great food. I've been feeling bored like I am eating the same things all the time. This was a fiesta for my taste buds.

Be sure to save room for dessert because they have a very talented in-house pastry chef as well.

Bon Apetit!

(Or, whatever it is they say in Spanish).

A New Place in the Desert

Sometimes it takes awhile to realize that your own brother is one of the coolest people in the world. At least in your world.

I wasn't especially close to my siblings growing up. So, perhaps that is why it has taken a few years (a lot of years really) to forge the bonds of friendship as adults. I loved my sister-in-law, Hollie, from the first time I met her. She was eighteen, or was it nineteen? I can't remember, but in her young eyes, I was ancient at twenty-six. She was mature beyond her years with lots of big plans for her future. And, she loved my brother, and he loved her. I think that out of all the couples I know, they just might be the most in love of all.

They got married and had two beautiful brown-eyed children. I loved their family, but, I think it took us awhile to grow into each others' worlds if that makes sense. I'm not sure exactly what it was, but this I know --

In the fall of 2009, they finished construction on a beautiful new home a few miles from my home and it became a warm gathering spot for family and friends. Upstairs, there were computers and toys galore for the kids, and downstairs there was an ample table and bar for our potlucks and a spacious front room full of plush couches and a projector and screen on one wall for Rock Band.

They hosted numerous parties and get togethers (including the 2010 and 2011 New Year's Eve gatherings). Hollie, is so artsy and she used the space to put together fun headbands, beautiful etched glass, jewelry and unique sewing projects.

Then, the best part of our relationship happened. They enrolled their first grader, Logan, in the same Montessori school where I enrolled Isaac. Hollie and I decided to split up the days for driving the kids home. I loved this arrangement because I was able to get to know my precocious nephew better during the drives home. His ability to read is outstanding and he used such big, flowery words and so much enthusiasm to read me stories or tell me about his day. One day, he turned to another girl in our carpool with eyes lit up and said, "Wow Abby, that shirt is sparkle-licious!" Always so positive and complimentary.

The other part that I loved was that, on the days when Hollie brought Isaac home, she would stay, sometimes for a few hours, and we would visit. I loved how our kids became close friends as they ran willy nilly through the house and the yard. It reminded me of the way things were between my cousins and me when I was a kid. This is how I finally really got to know my sister-in-law, our worlds finally merged, she realized I wasn't that old after all, and we became good friends.

Then, we started swapping kids for overnighters and all of those wonderful things that close knit families do. My kids started asking when Logan and Anna could come and play. I didn't even realize how special all of it was and how much I had grown to love and admire my brother and his family until two weeks ago when my brother got offered a job in Arizona. He accepted the job on a Friday, and, just like that, he drove to Tucson on Sunday and started work on Monday. I figured it would take a little while for them to find a house and move the rest of the family, but, again I was surprised when they announced they were moving this weekend. So, this morning we ate breakfast with them and waved "goodbye" to their family as they pulled away with all of their things packed in a U-haul.

I'd like to think that I will be spending the rest of my winters in their guest room in Arizona (I wish - hello winter sunshine). But, the reality is that I'm really sad to lose having them close by. And, mostly I am sad for our kids because I know how kids live right in the moment and their closeness will soon be forgotten.

Sophie just told me she is going to miss playing "Insaniquarium" on their computer. Logan says he is going to miss our iPad most of all. But, I think what we are all going to miss is each other.

If we hadn't gotten so much closer over the past year, it wouldn't feel like such a huge loss.

But, it's better this way, I think.

Isaac on Hygiene

Isaac reluctantly got into the bathtub this morning, lamenting, "I hate baths." I said, "I thought you liked baths." He responded, "I like the bath when I'm in it, but, I don't like it when I get out because it wasted too much of my morning."

Thyme & Seasons

I'm working on a story about a restaurant in Bountiful called Thyme & Seasons Market Place. The story goes something like this:

A guy is born and raised on a rice farm in the Mekong Delta. Growing up, he eats only fresh food that is picked from the garden or caught from the river the same day. He eats local foods that are in season. He eats simple meals but realizes they are healthy and delicious.

The guy moves to America and trains in a French restaurant in Washington D.C. He has a passion for food, but, spends 30 years as a computer consultant (also working part-time in restaurants). He is really smart and even becomes the director of something for IHC. Then, he retires and decides to use some of the money he's amassed to open a small, unassuming restaurant.

He wants to cook food like what he ate growing up -- fresh, local, in season, simple, healthy. He is worried about things like mercury in the fish and corn-fed cattle. He knows how to prepare 300 different fish, but, he disciplines himself to mostly making halibut and salmon since that is what the local taste buds demand. He develops a menu that includes American, BBQ, Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, seafood, vegan, gluten-free, and real Neapolitan pizza. He spent two years tracking down 00 Italian flour with a 14% protein content before he added the pizza to the menu. Now, he wants to start pressing his own olive oil.

I interview him on the phone and find out he could talk for hours. He insists I come to his restaurant, so I snag a girlfriend and head to Bountiful. His restaurant does not appear to house the "fine dining" menu he has described, but, once inside, we are taken in by his charisma, escorted to the kitchen, amazed by his burner with the 12-inch flame to cook super hot stir-fry, delighted by our meal, intrigued by his stories of rice - Did you know there is black rice? And, that rice should always be consumed less than six-months after it is harvested?

When we can eat no more, he brings out the flourless molten chocolate cake (yum) and the "Heaven Meets Earth," a combination of New York cheesecake and creme brulee. We tell him we have to go, but, he takes us to his indoor herb garden and makes us smell the refreshing lemon grass. Then, it's back to the kitchen for a pasta demo and on for a tour of the art gallery decorating the small dining area.

We have to go because we really are late for picking up our kids. But, as we drive away, I'm feeling really grateful for this job. And, I'm also moved by this man's comments about wanting to offer free cooking classes to kids to help combat the childhood obesity epidemic and the way he already offers reasonably priced cooking classes to adults and then gives them his cell phone number to call him anytime if they have questions while preparing the dish at home. I am touched by the way he said that working with computers took patience, but, now he works with special education students (teaching them to cook) and it takes one hundred times more patience so he considers it his greatest accomplishment in life. I'm also pretty impressed by his statement that running his restaurant (he is a one man show) feels to him like being a kid in a big toy store every day. I love meeting people like that.

Thanks Eric and Jan for the referral. I think I'll be signing up for a cooking class soon.