this mother's day was a good one

Today was my twenty first mother's day. I've loved every one of them.

Although, just my two wonderfully thoughtful daughter's were home to celebrate with me, it was a day I will not soon forget. The college boy called to wish me a happy day and the dad was working.

First thing this morning I was treated to a delicious breakfast out on the back patio. This was the first time to have a mother's day breakfast sitting out by a swimming pool. Nice!

Leah prepared this great feast. A bowl of vanilla yogurt, with crunchy granola, topped with fresh strawberries. She had thick slices of locally grown grapefruit, which were very tasty.

Then, orange juice and a cute little grapefruit-section-sentiment finished off the meal. How sweet is that?

Then, this evening, Rachel prepared a delicious dinner. She marinated some steaks, baked some potatoes and seasoned thick zucchini slices. Added to that, she made a yummy caprice salad and also a little bearnaise sauce for the steaks. She fired up the grill and put the steaks and zucchini on and was determined to do it all by herself. Everything was going really well. I got the big thumbs up when I brought out my camera.

And then... flames started to shoot up around the steak. I got a distress call for help and told her not to worry, it was just the extra marinade dripping down and catching on fire. It was just breezy enough that the flames were rising and the smoke was billowing up and getting into her face. The next Bobby Flayme?

The smoke was blowing into her eyes . She was having trouble seeing because it was making her eyes burn so badly. (Don't worry, I was monitoring the situation very closely... through my lens.) Everything was going okay, except for the smoke and watery eyes. I went back inside for a minute to check on her sauce she had on the stove.

When I went back out, this is what I saw. A solution to the burning, smoke filled eyes. What a crack up! I laughed so hard. It seemed to work pretty well except for the fact that her eyes were watering so badly that the goggles were forming condensation droplets on the inside!!! What a goof!

And she had a little trouble actually getting the zucchini from the grill to the platter. This is one that got away. Almost.

It was a delicious dinner with a little side show of sorts. She finished it off with sliced strawberries over angel food cake topped with whipped cream.

Aren't my kiddos the best?

Why yes, this is the same beautiful prom girl! wink. wink.

Thanks for the great mother's day!

Love you.

best career ever

I just want to thank these three for giving me the opportunity to be their Mom. It's the coolest thing I have ever done.

And to wish all the other qualified women that I know...

Happy Mother's day!

strawberry pie

My niece, who is one of my loyal followers and the one who inspired me to start this blog, has requested that I post a recipe from time to time. She's pretty handy in the kitchen and reads many food blogs and watches a few cooking shows. So I wonder...why would she want me to post a recipe? I get by in the kitchen and I too read a few "foodie" blogs. Qualified to share a recipe here? I'm not so sure. Inspire you to just make something yummy and take a picture of it? That I can do.

So, here is the easiest desert to wow your family and friends and to satisfy my niece, Shawna.

Strawberry Pie

crust

fresh strawberries

strawberry glaze

whip topping

pedestal plate

Bake a frozen pie crust in the oven according to package instructions. I used a Marie Calendar pie crust. Let it cool. Wash, hull and slice fresh strawberries. Mix strawberries with a container of strawberry glaze. It is that red goopy stuff you find in the produce section of the store. Spoon that mixture in the cooled pie crust. Top with whip topping, being as creative as you wish to be.

Place in refrigerator until ready to serve. Display it on a pretty serving plate to gain much praise. It is always refreshing and very delicious.

Did that satisfy you Shawna?

W W W

I keep getting lots of encouragement to get out and do things. Join a book club. Talk to people in the grocery store. Work out at the Y. Join a yoga class. Join any kind of club.

Moving to a new state does create a bit of a challenge for meeting new people. When the kids were young it was easy to chat with the other mom's on the soccer field, at dance lessons, or in line at kindergarden pick-up. But now, when they drive themselves to all their own activities, I just don't have that easy opportunity to meet people.

So, we are all looking for ways to make that happen. I just need to make the first step.

Recently, Leah and I went to a parade in the local town of Cave Creek.

When I saw these ladies ride by, I said to her " I think I found the club I'd like to join."

Well...we are living in the west.

And I do like to accessorize my outfits.

didn't get the memo

I started this blog just four months ago when we made our move from Colorado to Arizona. If you have been reading from the beginning (if not, I suggest you take some time to check out some of the older posts) you will know that we have had our share of interesting wildlife in our yard.

Who could forget the javelinas? Those less than attractive, snarly, hairy unwanted guests that found the dropped bird seed from the feeder. The one's that are keeping us from filling it again for fear that they will come back. Yep, those things I call "the pigs"!

And the bobcat that came in out of the rain. Or that washed in with the rain. Whichever it was, although kind of cute, I'm glad it went away with the rain and I have not seen it since.

Remember the owls with the piercing eyes and distinct call? They still come around occasionally, usually scaring me to death. When they were here during the "winter", they would sit up in the palm trees snoozing the day away. I could walk around under the tree and take their pictures without them seeming to mind. Occasionally, they would open their eyes and peer down at me. Now, however, if they are out there and I walk out into the yard, they take off and swoop down and then soar out across the sky. Their big wings flapping and the sound of them hitting the palm branches scare me every time.

I will probably not get used to hearing the coyotes at night. Especially when they seem rather close to the house. We see them running by the road and out in the open spaces, but I have not been able to get a good picture of one. Yet.

So, that left just a few things on the "predator" list that people said we might see. There are those few, "I've never seen in all the years I've lived here, so don't worry you probably won't" on the list. There was that Gila Monster that the girls saw on the driveway. Check. I didn't see it, thankfully just the camera phone picture Rachel snapped.

And then just the other day...

I spotted it at the end of the driveway. "A snake". Say that in a loud voice with a little shrill to it and you will sound just like me! Thankfully it did not have a rattle on the end of it's tail. I know you might be thinking how brave I was to get so close to it to get this picture...no worries...I was sitting in my car and used the zoom lens. You know me better than that.

I. do. not. like. snakes.

Evidently this one did not read the memo I put out saying no rattlesnakes or any kind of snake allowed.

p.s. To my brother-in-law in Texas. I'm still checking my shoes for scorpions...thank you very much!

prom 2010

Photos from last nights prom event.

Just the right amount of bling.

Isn't she lovely?

And then her date arrived.

He was a good sport being patient while I snapped.."just one more".

Matt and Rachel.

Sweet.

These pictures were taken with Matt's phone. For some reason I can't get them any larger than this. The dance was held at the Phoenix Convention Center and from all accounts, the decorations were amazing. The theme was Super Nova, so large planets hung from the ceiling. They also had acrobats from Las Vegas twirling high above their heads. They thought that was pretty awesome.

And then they did a little James Bond action in front of the spot lights.

She had a great time at the dance. Afterwards, six friends came back to the house and sat outside under the stars watching Avitar on the big screen. They finally crawled into sleeping bags at 5:30 am...waking up at 8:30 for a french toast breakfast.

We are all tired but the smiles made it all worthwhile.

may first

Happy May Day!