Birthday Celebration

Today I turned 49.  I've learned that it's not the number that matters anymore.  It's the way I live that really matters.  Truth be told, the number continues to grow for each person.  Yet the way a person lives doesn't necessarily change.

I can say that is not the case for me.  It's been quite a year.  That's for sure!  We've been in Texas for just a year and it's been quite a ride.  Learning a new job, meeting new people, adapting to life in Texas where everything is bigger -  including how youth sports somehow reflect the major league.

We're closer to family than we've been in many years - and we've enjoyed spending time with Aunt Di and Uncle Bruce both in Houston and here in Dallas.  Ellie's grown about a foot taller, and a whole lot wiser in the last year too!

I made a commitment to myself today to spend each day of the next year remembering what I've learned in the first half century .. and that's not because I plan on losing my mind next year at 50!  Although I do believe it's time.  Time to make memories, time to enjoy, time to breath, relax, love, laugh and remember all those amazing lessons I've learned.

Usually I spend time during this post recalling all my accomplishments that I'm proud of .. today is different.  I'm full of anticipation of what's to come!  And I can't wait to see what this year brings - for my family, for my career, for my friends and for my learning.

Happy Birthday it was .. and so happy to have enjoyed the sunshine all day that finally returned after so many weeks of rain.  Let the summer begin.

Singing Happy Birthday and ready to blow out the candles!

Pre-Birthday celebrating ...

Sangarita and a Rat Pack Martini

Shrimp Tacos from lunch at Fuzzy's Tacos

The happy couple enjoying a night out!

Saturday was filled with cancelled soccer games - yes, two of them, downpour in the morning and breaks of sunshine in the afternoon!  We took an opportunity during one of those breaks to get out of the house and get something done.

After errands we stopped at a new taco place to us - Fuzzy's!  Fresh ingredients, a colorful atmosphere and delicious, cheap tacos!  Ellie enjoyed her grilled fish tacos and Bill and had shrimp tacos and spicy pork tacos to go with chips and queso.  It was wonderful, and just around the corner from us.

On Saturday night Lydia came to stay with Ellie while we tried a new place we noticed when out with Lyndsey and Grant a couple weeks ago.  Our visit to Bar Louie in Firewheel was a success.  The place is nice inside and open to the outdoors too .. so we found a corner of the bar to watch Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals and try new cocktails.

You'll see from the first photo that we began with those classy-looking drinks.  As they say, 'when in Rome .."and so we did!  We ordered some food to share, watched the people and the game and then made in home in time to put Ellie to bed by 9pm!

Below you will see what we finished the night with ... the usual, Kettle One and soda as well as a tall Coors Light!

Rain, Rain Go Away

This map dated May 29, 2015 shows the rainfall totals for the area in and around Dallas.  We are currently at over 16".  That's with several days left in the month!

The rain makes you consider things differently.  That's likely because we don't control the weather.  We do allow it to dictate our plans, and our mood.  Yet we just can't seem to make it rain or stop raining for that matter.

What we can do is appreciate it when the sun does come out again.  Perhaps it is to remind us not to take the 'fair weather' days for granted.  Or to find value in every element that is brought into our life.

The rain will eventually stop.  The sun will come out.  The grass will grow.  The weather will get so hot that we'll welcome a swim in the pool.  And like everything else, this too shall pass.

Sam Houston

On the drive home from Houston to Dallas we talked about history.  I promised that I'd begin to teach Ellie more about Texas history so she didn't have to wait for it to be taught in school.  She'd recently told me she loves to read real stories about people.  Which translated to biographies to me.  Since she'd recently read about Walt Disney, Jackie Robinson and Amelia Earhart.

This monument of Sam Houston is on the side of the road on the route we traveled today.  He was quite a man, Sam Houston.  I've learned more about him in order to share that will Ellie.  I think one of the next trips she'll enjoy The San Jacinto Monument and Museum and to learn more about Texas history close up!

Sunday, Sunday

These two beautiful faces kept us smiling too!

Photo-Op at dinner with new 'cousins'

Garrett even sat with Uncle Bill for a quick shot too

They chatted quietly and colored on the 'magic' pad

Saturday afternoon we (Aunt Di, Uncle Bruce, Bill, Ellie and I) made our way to Fajita Jacks on Lake Conroe for Tex-Mex with Amanda, Brian and Garrett.  It was great being close to the water, and very near-by where they were spending the weekend with friends.

Ellie was thrilled to meet another cousin.  Although she hasn't mastered the second cousin, third cousin thing.  So I said it was perfectly okay to say they were cousins!  Whew!  She's filled to the brim with new cousins this year - what a wonderful treat for her!  Although Garrett moved too quickly for her to hug - she enjoyed being with him to say the least!

When we awoke on Sunday the tornado warning sirens were already going off.  Apparently they were going off in Dallas as well as in Houston. So we couldn't outrun that one if we tried!  As a group we gathered around the kitchen table to watch the weather.

There was rain, winds, flooding and even tornados expected.  We watched damage from a EF-1 tornado in SW Houston that took the roof off an apartment complex, and anxiously watched a nearby area be evacuated due to a dam in danger of a breach.

With all the weather we decided to just hunker down and spend the day playing cards, board games and watching the weather on t.v.

It was a good day!  The boys left for the grocery store to make sure we had enough for dinner, and the girls stayed put.  We liked it that way.  AND we ate good too!

Never know what to expect.  And that's okay.  We were together and safe.

Houston, here we come!

I admit, my girl likes a good car trip.  She's happy to pack a bag, read her book and sing along with the radio on a car-trip adventure.  We started out on Saturday morning and made one stop en route for gas and rest rooms.  Back on the road in no time we arrived at Aunt Di and Uncle Bruce's just around 12noon as we had hoped!

Saturday afternoon we caught up and unpacked.  The weather for the ride had been amazingly sunny - which we don't see much of in Dallas.  So we were very grateful!  We had a wonderful lunch of shrimp and crab leg boil - with corn and potatoes!  It was delicious and Ellie was 1 for 1 in eating some of her favorite foods!

Another burger try

The night before we make a car trip for the weekend, we tend to have errands to run and a quick dinner to catch along the way.

We found that a perfect time to introduce Ellie to LA Burger.  My friend, Charlie introduced me to it and I took Bill there a few times since.  I've recommended it to many of my co-workers who all come back raving of the place.

Its really a Korean burger place - where you can get KimChi on your burger if you choose.  I choose not.  Although everything else I've tried has been awesome.  I particularly like the Psychedelic Burger with Mushrooms and Cheese.  Bill likes the Eye-Opener with a fried egg on top.  

This trip Jeremy recommended I try the TX Burger with amazing chili, diced onions and mustard.  It was really good too.  Since he is the one who originally recommended both Kenny's Burger Joint and Liberty Burger I tend to take his recommendations .. and they work out really well!

Here is Ellie enjoying her very first LA Burger - dry, no cheese.  Yes, she needs a little culture.  But I'll take it one step at a time!  Truth be told she liked it here.  But not at much as Liberty Burger, which still ranks #1 for her!

The roll makes all the difference.
Its solid and sweet - grilled to perfection!

Burger Time

Maple and Motor Cheeseburger - hold the onions

Happy girl with her burger 

Another round at Maple and Motor in Dallas.  This is the one from Diners, Drive-ins and Dives from Food Network.  It is the burger that stuck in Bill's mind.  Since we've experienced so many burgers since the last visit.  We tried it out again ... and we still like it.

It remains number one on Bill's list.  But Ellie is holding tough with Liberty Burger.

Soccer Season

Ellie's soccer season has been spotty at best with finding fields that are not flooded and games when it's not a downpour!  We've managed 4 games and truth be told the season should be over by now.  And yet they persevere!

Last night they tied 1-1.  This team was a tougher one, having beat one of the teams that beat us.  And yet these girls played together and played hard.

They also passed out the soccer pictures from the season.  You can sea from the photo that Ellie is #2 and her team is so proud to be playing together by the looks on their faces!  Coach Tony and Coach Mario in the back keep them together, while Tony's wife Shaonda in the upper right corner is really the person that keeps things together!

Although we didn't get in all our games, I'm still so glad she loves to play and loves being part of the team!

Sundays are surrounded by family!

Happy girl with her dolls!

Grammy sent a package to Ellie that arrived on Saturday.  It was filled with new friends for Ellie to enjoy!  She had the pleasure of reading each note that was wrapped with each of them.  And then got down to business naming her new friends.

Mary is in the center.  She has dark hair and dark eyes.  She's appears solid and sensible.  Ellie loves her best she told me.  I told her unless you only have one child, you cannot say that you love one more than another. She just rolled her eyes.

Just above Mary, on Ellie's left is Anna, formerly known as Ice Cream Girl.  She is cheerful looking with bright greenish eyes and curly blond hair.

Below Anna is Baby Bobby ... I asked if I could call him, BB for short, but that was shot down ... get it?  Shot down, BB ... no one around here ever gets my jokes :) Ellie didn't like it either .. go figure!

To Mary's right is Maya.  She is adorable with dark skin and dark eyes.  She has the very sweetest face.  And Ellie liked the name she arrived with ... she considered Mia as her friend CJ just had a new baby sister named Mia, but she decided to keep Maya, 'because it just fits her, Mommy."

And the very last doll, just above Maya, has curly light brown hair and blue eyes appears calm and is a good partner for Mary.  Her name is Susan.

And in case anyone is wondering.  She chose the new names all by herself.  She didn't ask, she just named them.  When she named Anna I told her how interesting that was since Bill's grandmother was Anna, and my grandmother was Mary.  And well, you know where Susan came from in her mind!

And when they go to sleep for the night she makes a little bed up along side her own bed with pillows and baby blankets.  She lines them up side by side and tucks them each in before she climbs into bed herself.

She certainly does love her new doll family!

We do love to eat ...

Ellie helped make waffles with bacon in the batter, sliced strawberries and maple syrup!

After another full week of rain and two cancelled soccer games we've found ourselves finding lots of other things to do around here.

Yes, work and school have kept us plenty busy this week.  Ellie got the second to last report card for the year, with final grades due in just three weeks!

Social Studies - 93
Citizenship - 100
Language Arts - 90
Writing - 88
Math - 91
Science - 96
Art - Pass
Music - Pass
Technology - Pass
Phys Ed. - Pass

So then we'll have an average of her overall grades for the year!

Friday night Bill and I met friends from Bloomington, Lyndsey and Grant out for something to eat while Lydia came over to watch Ellie for a couple hours.  Lyndsey and I worked together in Bloomington on the same project and she moved to Sachse to become a State Farm agent!  Grant works in my department and ironically they bought a house in the next neighborhood over!

We had fun catching up with them and finding a new hopping dinner area at Firewheel Plaza, where we normally go for shopping!  We enjoyed an outdoor table and split nachos at Gloria's Latin Cuisine.

Ellie was still up at 10:30 playing LIFE with Lydia when we got home.  She was happy for the 'girl time' with her while we were gone.

Mother's Day 2015

On my very first Mother's Day, Ellie was baptized.  It was 9 years ago.  This photo captured an amazing connection that I felt with her.  We just looked into each other's eyes and we knew we'd changed each others lives.  I remember thinking, "I got you..." and feeling her right back, "I got you too."

That feeling has never diminished.   Nine years later we're still celebrating Mother's Day - different than in years past.  But celebrating none-the-less.

Today we had powerful storms plow through North Texas.  Lots and lots of rain, wind, thunder and lightening.  And for the first time since we've been here - we lost power.  On a Sunday morning for just a couple hours.  And the three of us lounged on the couch, Ellie reading to us by the light of her flashlight.

They filled my day with lots of celebrating - flowers, gifts, chocolate covered strawberries, and beef tenderloin with baked potatoes and grilled portobellos for dinner!  What a wonderful day that we never left the house!

And, yes, it is still raining!  But it doesn't matter to us.  We have each other and we're together!

Texas Storms!

Just a few shots of the severe storms that we're experiencing this weekend!  Seems that we're under severe thunderstorm, flash flooding and tornado watches constantly the past couple weeks.  We always know where the closest storm shelter is .. and we're getting very used to lightening and thunder in the background!

We're enjoying quality time at home together, rather than venturing out into the storms.  And we've been very fortunate to not lose power or DirecTV either ... to be able to track the storms!

Friday Fiesta

Bill and I had a bonus day off on Friday together.  When I looked at my calendar earlier in the week I found I had no meetings whatsoever on Friday - this was a great opportunity to mark myself as 'out of office' and enjoy a day off!  With Ellie being sick the week before and weekends that go by too quickly, I took advantage of it.

And when Bill saw he didn't have anything either, he joined me!  So we spent the morning puttering around in our own area of the house.  We decided we'd head out together to take care of a couple errands and enjoy a quiet lunch together too!

We got my car inspected and the oil changed, a quick trip to Best Buy and enjoyed Potbelly sandwiches for lunch.  On our way back home to stopped for steaks and potatoes to have for dinner.  We picked up Ellie together and headed back home to enjoy homemade guac, chips and mango margaritas to celebrate the week coming to an end!

Muffins with Moms

Muffins with Moms at Ellie's Elementary School this week.

Ellie and I had breakfast together on Wednesday morning in honor of Mother's Day this weekend.  I remember it being one of the very first things I did with her at school last year.  Can you believe we've lived in Dallas an entire year!?

We sat with her friend Addison and her family and it felt so much different than last year.  We knew many more faces and I knew to bring coffee with me in a travel mug rather than rely on the tiny little styrofoam cups available at the huge urn.

As you can see from the photo, Ellie's feeling a lot better than she was last week.  Its taken some time for her to get her energy back .. and she is sure looking happy in this shot!

Just 4 more weeks until the end of school!  And then she'll be a 4th grader!  Why didn't anyone tell me how quickly these years fly by.  As a wise mom once shared, 'the days may seem to drag, but the years fly by!"  And that's the truth.

Derby Day Recap

Pork Carnitas

Looking over the Racing Form online

What an amazing weather day in Dallas!  Temps in the low 80's and not the least bit humid.  I could have spent the day outdoors.  Except I didn't.  Our plans were inside - with Ellie recovering and the big race on in the afternoon.

With Cinco de Mayo around the corner I wanted to prepare a grab and go Mexican treat.  I shopped Saturday morning for all the supplies to make Pork Carnitas!  That worked great for our indoors plans as I slow-cooked a pork shoulder all day, and prepared all the 'colors' to complete the dish - guacamole, limes, cilantro, tomatoes and shredded cheese.  They were a hit!

We did not do so well picking horses for the Derby!  Of course Bill had American Pharaoh and Dortmund in the mix ... but he also had Carpe Diem.  I, on the other had got laughed at with my pick of Danzig Moon ... which was just edged out in the end ... for fifth!  Oh well, we had luck earlier in the day ... And fun routing for Dame Dorothy knowing the Bobby Flay connection!

And the best part was that Ellie felt better!  She even found solstice in her game room playing Barbies and playing Monopoly!  So great to see her back to herself again ... and boy, am I looking forward to her heading back to school on Monday for a real dose of reality!

Bee Well Soon!

Ellie has been down and out with a virus that turned into pneumonia this week. Began last Saturday night when she went to bed she wasn't feeling well.  A bit warm and achey.  By Monday the pediatrician diagnosed a virus to treat with a rotation of Motrin and Tylenol, plenty of rest and fluids. So she stayed home on the couch.

By Wednesday we decided she needed another doctor visit because she was still suffering from a fever and lethargy.  This pediatrician listened to her lungs and sent her off for a chest x-ray that diagnosed pneumonia!  Followed by an breathing inhaler and two antibiotics and a few more days rest, she's doing MUCH better this Saturday!

Today she got a "Bee Well Soon" cookie bouquet from Aunt Di and Uncle Bruce.  She said, "Mommy, a lot of people sure do love me!"  I assured her that she is exactly right!

Brownies

Anyone who's worked in an office knows how people who come together love to eat.  And they invent reasons to bring in food and order out.  Since many of our representatives are grouped by teams, and the Supervisors of those teams comprise my team I get invited to participate to in gatherings for each of those five teams!

I'm certainly in the habit of baking often for them - and they eat anything!  Cupcakes, cookies, brownies, and of course cherry pie!  Many times I arrive at their desks just in time for their shift to start at 3 or 4pm with a container to take and pass.  It's bonded me with them, that's for sure!

We've also had several pot luck-type gatherings for the department as a whole lately too.  One was a going away lunch for one of the administrative assistants, Hilda.  And another was a multi-area recognition for Administrative Assistants Day.

Truth be told I believe that the baking must get old for folks to anticipate.  So for the first gathering I made crockpot queso - smooth white cheese with ro-tel tomatoes and beef to smother over tortilla chips.  Yes, I only learned to make that AFTER moving to Texas!  I have one team that will ask for it special - "and Miss Jude will you make it with sausage this time?"

And during the festivities several people said, "where's Jude's brownies?"  Well I'll be darned - I couldn't imagine that they'd go looking for baked goods!  And now they are asking for the recipe .. so when I was sharing it with them, I thought it best to post it here as well!

Annie's Eats Triple Chocolate Brownies

photo courtesy of Annie's Eats

Chewy, Fudgy Triple Chocolate Brownies

Yield: about 12-16 servings

INGREDIENTS

5 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into quarters
3 tbsp. cocoa powder
3 large eggs
1¼ cups (8¾ oz.) sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. salt
1 cup (5 oz.) all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

• Place an oven rack in lower-middle position and preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line an 8-inch square baking dish with foil and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
• In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally until smooth.  Whisk in the cocoa powder until smooth.  Set aside to cool.
• In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt; whisk until combined, about 15 seconds.  Whisk in the warm chocolate mixture until incorporated.  Then stir in the flour with a wooden spoon until just combined.  (It took me a while to get the flour evenly incorporated and I was worried it would affect the texture of the brownies, but they turned out fabulously – no need to worry.)  Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread with a spatula to make an even layer.  Bake until slightly puffed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a small amount of sticky crumbs clinging to it, 35-40 minutes.  Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.
• Remove the brownies from the pan using the foil and transfer to a cutting board.  Cut into squares as desired.  Store in an air-tight container.

The Key Jar

Here's our Key Jar.

What is a Key Jar, you ask?  I'll tell you.

My friend, Glennon Doyle Melton, sharing it on her blog Monastery this week.  Okay, so Glennon is not really my friend in sense you're thinking.  We don't call, text or even write.  But over the past several years I've bought 18 copies of her book to give to friends, moms, co-workers, just about anyone who is married and has kids and sometimes has a bad day.  A hard day.

Glennon is the one who reminded me that although life is hard, we can do hard things!  Every. Day.

Back to the Key Jar.  It is filled with questions to 'unlock' kids.  Conversations with kids.  It is the solution to the following situation:  "What did you do at school today?"  followed by, "Nothing."  And then, "really? nothing?  you had to have done something."  and finally, "I don't remember."

Here's where the Key Jar comes in.  It's filled with questions - random, thought-provoking questions to start the conversation.

Today's question:  If you had to choose one food to eat the rest of your life, what would it be?

Ellie's answer: "Scallops.  I was going to say shrimp, but I really like scallops more."  This led to a question about when she first remembered eating scallops, does she remember the ocean, does she want to go back to the ocean .. and so on and so on.

Now doesn't that make you want more answers!  Just you wait, I'm sure there will be plenty more where that came from!

Profound Pizza Place

Pizza in Texas is not like in New York or even the mid-west for that matter.  We loved our pizza in NY, and grew to love the deep-dish style of Chicago.  Just thinking of how long ago I had Lou Malnati's pizza makes me want to go back ....

So on Friday, after a very long week we tried Brooklyn's Pizza in Garland.  No, it wasn't like back home.  It was just okay.  But we wouldn't know unless we tried. It was a nicely decorated place with cool signs all over the place.  And it didn't require any clean up after dinner.  I'll consider that a success.

This picture hung on the wall.  It made us laugh so I'm sharing it with you!