Favorite Foto Friday!

I love my girls and their fun spirit.  They have soooo much fun together even though they have different interests and personalities.  They know how to laugh and argue and defend each other.  They are sisters and will always have each other.

Me and My Valentine

For our Valentine date we visited a local wine bar for a wine tasting event.  The Iron Bridge Wine Co. offers the Iron Bridge University about twice a month.  My husband enjoys trying new wines and neither of us know much about them.  So I thought it would be fun to go and learn something together.  It was also a fun idea to get a little dressed up and have a date night.  (I will mention that dressing up is not a requirement for this restaurant.  There is no dress code.  I was told "as long as you're comfortable we are comfortable.")  

We were sat at a table for two.  (Advance reservations for this tasting were required.)  They offered 4 wines to taste with information about each wine and where they came from. The "instructor" was very knowledgable about this industry and seemed very willing and eager to share that knowledge.  We were offered an appetizer during the tasting and could order anything else from the menu as we chose.  

The servers were exceptional but not stuffy.  (They responded with a smile to my whisper of "no wheat" and returned with a decadent cheese and pear slices.)  It was a very comfortable setting to learn something new and enjoy the company of the one(s) your with.  Would be great for a twosome or a group of 4, maybe even 6.  I wouldn't recommend this setting for any more than that.  It would be too loud and take away from the ambiance of the restaurant.  It's a very small, quaint place.  My favorite phrase to describe it is: comfortably upscale without being pretentious.    Maybe that sounds naive for a grown married women and mother of three.  This southern girl was not brought up in this environment and is very much accustomed to having a kid's menu accompany her own.  There was no mention of nuggets or fries nor did anyone inquire if we needed ketchup with our meal or more crayons.

Back to the wine, I found that I enjoyed each of them - 2 whites and 2 reds.  I tend to lean towards white or blush wine because they are sweeter, less risky.  Most reds have an aftertaste I do not enjoy.  These did not and I could see where they would compliment a particular food very well. 

The information session lasted no more than 45 minutes. We ordered more appetizers and a salad to share and enjoyed the quiet time to talk at length about whatever came up.  Suddenly it was 2 1/2 hours since we had arrived and we decided we should go home.  We look forward to our next visit.

Happy, Happy birthday to my sisters, Mary and Tara.   

May you have a splendid day of birthday bliss.

Love ya.  ~D

Birthday Celebration #40

I love birthdays with friends.  Every year Michael asks me "what do you want to do for your birthday?"  I think one year out of the past 20+ I've replied "go to the beach."  The other years, I've simply replied "spend it with friends."

This weekend someone asked if I had been to Bedford Springs Resort.  (been there, got the t-shirt, wore the t-shirt.... that's why they asked.)     We talked briefly about that wonderful place of rest and relaxation.  After that conversation and with my 40-something birthday coming soon I've been thinking back and remembering fondly the wonderful time of celebration I enjoyed with friends and thought I would share a few of those memories from birthday #40.

My husband did good on making this a big surprise for me.  ( I will add that as a recovering type-A, surprises make me nervous, but I did survive.) He secretly invited 4 of my friends to meet us at Bedford Springs Resort in Pennsylvania.   Upon first sight, the resort is breath-taking.   If you haven't seen or been, it's like a cruise ship on dry land - unbelievably beautiful grandeur.

This picture shows the expanse of the resort but doesn't do it's beauty justice.

My friends were waiting to greet me in the lobby.

Let the party begin!!

We enjoyed fabulous food and decadent desserts.

The spa was beautiful and luxurious. 

One of my favorite treats was the citrus-infused cucumber water.  

We went back for many refills.

After a fun night of playing games and laughing until we were asked to stop laughing......we slept.

On Saturday, we took a cooking class with Chef Konrad.  

He truly welcomed us into his kitchen.  

We chopped and stirred and tasted.  What fun!!!

On the way home, we stopped for a bit at some store for football fans.  

Not sure what that's all about.  ; )

Now I'm a crazy hockey mom?

"I did it Mom!" is what he yelled as he came off the ice after his first hockey practice.
That made the seven months of skating lessons worth it all.

First night of lessons with the walker, July 2010.

Open skate during Christmas holiday.

This weekend was Mason's first day on the ice with a stick.  It took 20 minutes to put on those pads and get fitted for a helmet and stick.  I remember saying, "Wow, when the girls first played basketball or soccer, we just put their shoes on, made sure they were laced tight, and said 'here's your ball - have fun.'"

Ms. Susan measured the stick for Mason's height.

He was so excited to wear his pads, helmet, gloves and bright red jersey.  His father had a tad bit of trouble with the Caps jersey.  Would have preferred it be a Flyers logo but handled it well enough.

The first drill they did after warmups was what Mason called "the super slide".  (this could be, in fact, what the coach called it, we just couldn't hear any of it.)  They were instructed to skate and then slide face first on the ice with arms stretched out in front holding their stick.  WHAT???  This goes against all mothering rules.  Why don't we just run with scissors or walk through glass barefoot?  : )  Ok, I'm exaggerating.  He did fine and guess what - reported that it was fun.  I can report that I am NOT a crazy hockey mom.  Just a mom crazy about her kids and their interests.  It's amazing to me to watch them learn and dream and explore new things.

The Fern Lodge on Friends Lake, Chestertown, NY

Yesterday I posted pictures from our trip last fall.  I can't NOT post pictures of the wonderful accommodations we enjoyed while there.  We stayed at The Fern Lodge.  

A beautiful home on the lake.  

view from our bedroom window, boat house at the bottom of the hill

another view from our window

view from my kayak

chairs around the fire ring

view from the chairs  : )

Our spectacular room

fireplace opened to both sides

I can't believe I didn't capture pictures of the beautiful steam shower or screened porch.

I sure hope we get to return to this area some day.  What a very special place.  

Would be fun with friends as well.  Anyone want to go?

Favorite Foto Friday!

I love this picture overlooking Blue Mountain Lake, NY.  It reminds me of our fabulous trip to the Adirondacks last fall.  We spent 4 beautiful days in the mountains - (3 of them were during torrential rains and wind from two hurricanes) but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  We enjoyed the quiet time together.  We experienced nature and limited cell service and zero cable tv.  I kayaked for the first time ever and we hiked and ate simple meals and talked about everything.  We toured battlefields and museums and walked around several lakes.

More favorite nature pictures from that trip.

Deer at Fort Ticonderoga

Crisp fall day on the battlefield.

Fort Ticonderoga

battlefield overlooking the Hudson River

Friends Lake

Trusty tour guide 

Blue Mountain Lake

Lake George

A Well-Planned Grocery Trip

After a few weeks of staying out of the grocery store (my February challenge) I planned a trip with a list and coupons.  I chose one of my favorite local stores that frequently has "buy 1 get 1 free" and "buy 2 get 3 free" (C-R-A-Z-Y) deals.  This week they are also doubling coupons.  I made my list from the sales ad and went through my collection of coupons.  I had a good assortment of matches and thought it could be a successful trip.  I would be able to purchase usable items at discounted prices and refill the bare spots in the fridge and pantry.  They weren't too bare just enough that some people could notice their favorites were not present.

I finished work early on Thursday and picked Megs up after rehearsal.  She went along and we spent an hour strolling through the store.  I sent her with the ad and coupons for things that she would enjoy selecting.  Checking out seemed to take as long as the shopping, not really it just went SLOW b/c I had nearly 20 coupons that required some manager approval several times.  Luckily it was not a busy time in the store and we didn't hold anyone up.

Meagan marveled at the length of the receipt.  I was thrilled with the basket full of groceries that I saved more than I paid for.  My coupons/savings total was $152.11.  I swiped my card for $151.34.  This required another manager approval (turn of a key in the cash register) because my payment was less than my savings.  Do you think I wanted to dance in the checkout line?

Broken down into coupon vs. store sales ad savings:  sales ad savings = $118.92 leaving $33.19 in coupons.  I don't always take my coupons along.  This trip will be motivation because I turned 18 coupons into $33 off my bill.  It took me about 45-60 minutes to gather those little golden slips of tender.  $33/hour is a pretty good return for my time.  That's a pedicure or almost a full tank of gas.  Either way, I have satisfaction from the time well spent.

I almost forgot, at the end of my receipt is another $2 coupon on my next trip to my now FAVORITE store.  See you there???

Happy Heart Day-One Day Later

A day later and I'm still enjoying the happy feelings a family day provides.  Since our girls were little we've celebrated Valentine's day as a family day.  Never the same thing twice.  (I do like traditions, but too many can create expectations and hurt feelings when those expectations are not met.  Sounds like a therapy session to me.)  This year, we spent the weekend visiting with grandparents and Kelsie at school and then celebrated our Valentine's day making sushi.

We've always enjoyed eating sushi but never made it at home.  I was always a little intimidated.   We received a sushi book and bamboo mat in a kit for Christmas last year.  I put it on the shelf because I thought it would be impossible to do in my kitchen.  Boy was I wrong.  I finally decided we should at least try.  I read the book and then watched videos online.  We could try the california roll and what's the worse that could happen?

I gathered the ingredients, nothing too crazy:  

sushi rice, seaweed sheets, cucumbers, avocado and imitation crab sticks, etc.  

Wow, how easy and fun to make these at home.  We all took a turn.  

First you cut up the filler items into thin sticks.  

We chose crab sticks, cucumber and avocado.

Cover the bamboo mat with plastic wrap to keep it clean.

Place one seaweed sheet on the mat.

Put rice on seaweed sheet.  

Hint:  Rub mayo on your hands to keep the rice from sticking to your hands.

Sprinkle sesame seeds on the rice and then flip the sheet to the other side.

Add filler items.

Then roll the filled seaweed over and use the mat to form the roll and pull it tight.

Cut the roll into 8 bite-size pieces.

We also made home-made egg drop soup and steamed edamame 

and set the table with a little asian accent.

What a nice night to celebrate family.  Kelsie dear, we missed you but know you enjoyed your surf and turf in the school cafeteria.  : )  Meagan, what a fun time with our food-making project.  Mason, congrats on finishing your skating lessons and moving on to hockey.  Michael, thanks for the beautiful roses to go with the beautiful family that God has entrusted to us.  Love you all!