MORE OF PROJECT KITCHEN MOJO

to continue my quest for recapturing my mojo in the kitchen, i made us a thai feast for father's day. if we ever have more than one dish on the table, the boys think it's a feast, so in this case, a feast it was!

on the menu?

spicy mint beef ("fabulous" "restaurant quality again" "this chicken tastes good")

veggies in yellow curry ("good, but the beef was outstanding" "too spicy, mom!")

thai iced tea

my notes: the curry was basically chopping and simmering for 30 minutes. the beef took all of about 10 minutes tops...buy already thinly sliced beef to save time. the tea needs to be made a few hours ahead of time. i rushed it a bit, but it still tasted good.

thank you, giada de laurentiis, for these recipes. for a chef with an italian cooking show, you sure know how to make thai cuisine!

here's the links in case you've got a little cooking mojo going on youself.

http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/spicy-mint-beef-recipe/index.html

http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/veggies-in-yellow-curry-recipe/index.html

http://http//www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/thai-iced-tea-recipe/index.html

mmmmm.....

KICK OFF TO SUMMER

ok, so we are seriously the most awesomest parents ever. and i'm absolutely positively without a doubt sure not a single soul would doubt that, but just in case, here's what we did to kick off summer.

1. drove the boys to spokane
2. surprised them by heading straight to a spokane indians baseball game. they enjoyed a guy night with daddy and grandpa.

3. the next day, surprised them yet again with tickets to star wars in concert. full orchestra, huge screen with clips from all 6 movies. hosted by c3po himself, anthony daniels. cool lighting. beautiful, inspiring music. oh, and did i mention photo opportunities before the show with several authentic costumes from the movie as well as "live" characters like various jedi, jawas, darth maul, storm troppers, and darth vader himself? it. was. awesome.




4. topped off the day with shave ice in riverfront park.


now you see. we are the most awesomest parents ever. (don't ever forget that, my two young baseball star wars shave ice fans!).

MAKING ME HAPPY...

children's art

mismatched socks

boys eating ceramic burgers

garden peonies in great aunt elaine's fire king jadeite

eclipse is tomorrow!!! (well, technically wednesday at 12:01am)

A GOOD WASTE OF TIME

if you're looking for a good time waster, try...

http://catalogliving.net/

might even give you a chuckle or two. or three.

PREPARE TO BE DAZZLED...

or to want your eyes to burst immediately into flames.

bridgette...this one's for you.

just a little hoff candy to brighten your day.


enjoy, ladies. enjoy.

CUPCAKE ARMY

while visiting grandma and grandpa last month, we got to have a little family celebration for hudson's fifth birthday. and what better way to celebrate 5 than with a cupcake army! isn't that just about the best army you could imagine? and oh, don't forget the traditional birthday pillar candle. makes any occasion special, don't you think?

CHOPPY HAS ARRIVED!

sweet baby choppy has arrived.
and wow, what a beautiful baby he is. all 4 of us instantly fell in love. we're so happy to have another nephew and cousin in our family.

his cute little name is camden, but we're all needing a bit of transition time. he's just been little choppy for so long!


it was great to see my brother so happy and proud of his little boy. he's going to make a truly superb dad. camden is one lucky little boy to have jamie and jessica as his folks.



and now we are lucky to have 4 boys in our family. how cool is that? 4 boy cousins to play, connect, and grow up with. i think that is pretty darn neato.


camden's arrival brought on something i wasn't expecting. i fell in love with my own boys all over again. they were both so amazing with this little precious baby. they wanted to hold him quite a bit, and were simply fascinated with him. boon especially seemed so relaxed, like he's been holding babies his whole life. 'oh, yeah, it's just me, age 7, holding a wee babe while chatting with the adults in the room. la la la.' it was amazing. i think boon would have held him most of the day if he could have. i was just so proud of how sweet, loving, gentle, kind and awestruck they were with him. my boys are truly amazing.

so welcome to the family, camden. we are so in love with you!

DID YOU KNOW...?

just like finger prints, each person has a unique tongue print.

tigers have striped skin, not just striped fur.

butterflies taste with their feet.

a snail can sleep for three years.

you use more calories eating celery than there are in celery.

a turtle can breathe through its butt.

MISS YOU, CLAUDIA

claudia was and always will be my special lady.
i miss her each and every day.
i will never forget my most amazing, beautiful friend.
here are some of the things she taught me.

**go for it. LIVE BIG. then live even bigger. don't miss opportunities. seize the day. live to the fullest. have fun!

**be loyal. fiercely loyal - to your family and your friends.

**just be you. be who you are and never be ashamed. be proud of yourself.

**put your children first. defend them. protect them, but be honest with them, too. "love me, love my kids."

**jump in with both feet. if you love something, do it all the way. put yourself out there and be proud of it.

**share your joy. show your enthusiasm. allow others to share it with you.

**embrace bravery. face issues head on. deal with them.

**cultivate good friendships. embrace the diversity of your friends and love them for who they are and for how they care about you.


and soooo many more!
claudia, you have been so missed this last year. you will remain in my heart...always. i love you, lady!