Blankets

I love the sounds of my children working together.




"LOOK OUT BELOW!"
Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk. "That was awesome! Do it again."
"Ok, just wait while I set the blankets up again."

Several minutes go by in quiet, and intense, industry. Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk. "Weeeeeeeeeeee... Did you see how fast I went?"

"Lets try it on our pillows this time, then we can go extra fast!" "Ok! I'll go get them." "While you guys get the pillows I'll get it set up again." "Wow, that looks great. This will be the best one ever." "Wait, Monster Man hasn't had his turn yet." "Oh yeah, go ahead."
Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk, THUNK!

Apparently they will cooperate with each other for several hours when it comes to achieving maximum speeds while sliding down the stairs into a massive pile of blankets. Now if only I could get them to direct that same group effort into actually cleaning up the downstairs.

*sigh*

I Need More of These

Next time I'm just going to bring my camera and have a waiter take our photo while we are being silly because I've tried for 3 days to find a google image that would fit this post. Apparently only wrinkly old ladies or skinny, drunk (and sometimes bikini clad) models can be found when you image search "girls night out" or "laughing women." The closest I could come to thirty-something women, fully dressed, with motherly figures, non imbibing, and laughing together was this pic from a weight loss website. (Hmmmmm.) It's a great photo, but it just doesn't capture the level of frivolity and enjoyment we had. But then it is probably hard to capture a good photo of someone laughing so hard she sprays her friends with water after taking a drink. When someone looses their ability to control their fluids, you know you are having one heckuva good time, and I need more moments like that in my life.
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My friend, Hope, facebooked me to let me know that I had no choice, she was coming to get me. I love her for this because otherwise I would have just said I was too busy, too tired, and didn't have anything nice to wear. We met up with Lucy, The Duchess, 32 Flavors, Alisa and her new friend, Teresa at a nearby Cheesecake Factory. It started as a simple, innocent, moms night out, you know a bunch of moms who really needed to get out of the house and talk to other moms while consuming things that are definitely NOT on their diet plan. But before we were even seated at our table it was looking like something else. Instead of the cursory, "How is your husband's work/thesis/job hunt going?" or, "So, how are the kids?" we delved right into some

fun and funny topics, like the pasties in the new Coraline movie, and husband's opinions on circumcision. After being seated the conversation continued on to even better things such as unexpected lactation experiences, how we were taught the birds and the bees (everything from anatomical pop up books to brochures from the 1950's), and how much men really don't know about women before they get married, and all the things we have learned not to say in front of our kids and why.
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Oh yeah, this was some amazing girls talk, let me tell you! We were laughing so hard I felt no need to go to the gym next day because my abs were so sore. Towards the end of the night the tables around us started to empty and we all new why. Everyone that came in that place took one look at the loud and obnoxious mom table and promptly asked to be seated elsewhere. I seriously think we were being more annoying than a table full of screaming, food flinging, poopy diaper, toddlers. And the best part was that not a single one of us were drinking or on drugs. Apparently all we needed to loosen up and have so much fun was some good friends, a small taste of freedom, a lot of sleep deprivation, and the right subject matter.
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I seriously need more nights like this in my life.
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So, call some women up, they don't have to be best friends, tell them they have no choice, you are coming to get them, go out somewhere fun, talk about silly things, and laugh till your sides hurt, or something comes out your nose, and enjoy an amazing bond between women. Trust me, it is a beautiful thing.

Nutso

9 Reasons Why I'm Clinically Nutso


1. I whistle Let It Snow all the time. ALL the time, over and over again. I don't even realize I'm whistling it until Mr. Hotness says, "It isn't Christmas!" I've been doing this for years and years. Let it Snow.

2. I have an illogical fear of slopes.

3. My nose is asymmetrical and I obsess about it if left alone with a mirror for too long. I also get freaked out if ears don't match. I have 2 kids with unmatching ears and it freaks me out still.
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4. Sometimes when I'm looking in a mirror, any mirror, I talk to the people behind it who are watching me. I say, "I know you're there," and then I stick my tongue out at them. This way if the government really does have a spy camera in my medicine cabinet mirror I won't look like a fool.
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5. I suffer from insomnia. My husband falls asleep as soon as he looks at his pillow. Sometimes I want to kill him in his sleep.
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6. I don't like chocolate. I've been told this makes me crazy. I just think it tastes like dirt. But apparently I don't mind dirt covered strawberries or dirty pretzels.
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7. I live for the very rare moments (it's only happened twice so far) when someone angrily says to me, "Are you listening to me?" Because when they do I put my hands on my hips, assume a Southern accent and say, "Well, if sumpin' important were to spurt out of that fat faced, tight-white pair-a' lips of yours, I might listen so hard my ears'd fall off. But, seein' how ain't nothin' comin' out, I guess I'm jus' gonna keep 'em on." It took me 2 days of hard thinking back in '95 to come up with that line and I still wait for the opportunity to use it again.
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8. If you tell me your name 100 times I still won't remember it. Seriously, I won't. And if we were best friends in school or just a few years ago I've already forgotten your name. But not your face. If you see me and wonder why I don't come over and say hi it isn't because I don't know you, it's because I'm trying to remember your name and can't. Please take pity on me and tell me your name.
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9. I love Peanut Butter, Mayonnaise, and Pickle sandwiches. I dare you to try one. Ok, fine, I triple dog dare you. Wimp!
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Why do you belong in the nut house?

Scaaaary

I think I've officially found something to replace my fear of ventriloquist dummies. I was window shopping on craigslist today when I saw this:

childerens bench (animal) - $20 - pic <<furniture by owner

Seems innocent enough, right? I'm thinking Noah's arkish, maybe a giraffe or elephant. Nothing could have prepared me for... for... well, just look for yourself.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!!!!

That ad should have come with a warning, or some sort of MPAA rating, dontcha think? The scariest part of all was that they wanted 20 bucks for this freak show. Would someone please hurry and buy this to save other craigslist browsers from the unexpected horror?

Entertaining Links

So much to blog about but so little time to do it in. Since I don't have time to share with you the many deep and funny thoughts going on in my head at this time I will leave you with these fun links:

A great Sci-Fi/Fantasy story in the works. Start at chapter one and see if you get as antsy as I do waiting for the next installment. Sonja, you are so cool.

If you are more of a romance person you can get your steamy lovin's fix over at Black Heels to Tractor Wheels. This makes me want to finish my semi-autobiographical novel about falling for Mr. Hotness.

For your viewing pleasure here is something I've watched probably 25 times now: The music video for Quantum of Solace (you have to scroll all the way down to the last link on the page. I would have given a direct link to You tube but the picture quality is bad). I had to watch it twice just while getting the link, I love it that much. I don't love it because I'm excited about the movie, I just love it because it is a fantastic music video.

And here is a made for web movie that I bought for my iPod that I have watched an obscene number of times. Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Love it. WARNING, this has some crassness and very unPCness in it and a sad ending. Not to be watched by children or adults with higher standards than me. But if you just want a sneak peak that is clean
Song: Laundry Day
Song: It's a Brand New Day
Song: On the Rise (keep your eyes on the guy serving soup at the soup kitchen)
The guy who used to play Doogie Howser looks so much like my brother it is freaky.

Enjoy! Now I'm off to change my puke riddled shirt.... again.

Prepare To Be Jealous

How do you totally surprise someone for their birthday? Act like you are going to totally surprise them for 4-6 years before you actually do. =)

WARNING: Despite years of my mother telling me it isn't nice to brag I'm about to brag my brains out here. If you don't like braggy people, please do not read this post and try to continue thinking of me as a humble person. Thank you.

For years now, Mr. Hotness has wanted to throw me a party or do something really cool for my birthday, but every year something got in his way: he forgot to plan ahead, we didn't have the money, or he just didn't know how to do it. So, I've had simple birthdays. Last year I opted to just stay home, watch SpongeBob, and eat cheesecake and pizza because having happy kids meant having a happy mommy. This year I turned 30 and Mr. Hotness kept telling me we had to do something big to celebrate (but he said the same thing when I was turning 29). I am so pregnant, my hair is so out of control, and my feet are so fat, that I really didn't feel like doing anything at all. I kept telling him I just wanted to see a movie, eat my favorite birthday dinner, and that was it (and I wasn't even expecting those to happen because we've had a tough time getting our babysitter now that she works). He kept telling me not to schedule anything on my birthday (just like he has for the past 6 years), but wouldn't tell me anything else.

My birthday comes and Mr. Hotness doesn't get up for work, so I figure he has taken the day off. I get up to make breakfast, school lunches, and to get the kids ready for school and the babysitter, while Mr. Hotness enjoys sleeping a little longer. I am serving the kids their french toast when Mr. Hotness comes out and says, "You haven't eaten breakfast, have you?!?!"


"No, not yet, why?"

"I'm not telling you why, just don't eat breakfast."

"Ooookay."

"What do you have planned for today?"

"Well, I'm taking the kids to school, then I have to drop the other kids off at the babysitter while I go to a doctor's appointment. Around 3 I will pick the kids up from school, and then I'm just going to enjoy my birthday."

"Why did you schedule a doctor appointment??? I told you not to schedule anything."

"Well, I didn't know you weren't going to work so I thought you meant not to schedule anything for the time that you are usually home."

"It's ok, this will still work."

"What will still work?"

"Nothing."

"Ooookaaaay."

Turns out he is taking me to breakfast. I think, "Aw, how sweet. This is my surprise." My friend was willing to watch the kids earlier so that we could eat before my appointment. I normally don't like going out for breakfast because breakfast is easy to make at home, but the place we went to actually served a fantastic breakfast. I had Swedish pancakes with loganberry butter and compote.

Then we picked up the kids and Mr. Hotness says, "Ok, now you get to choose between seeing Iron Man or going to McCormick and Schmicks for stuffed salmon."

"What about the kids?"

"I have that all taken care of." I started to panic because I am very very paranoid about who I let watch my kids. But Mr. Hotness did great and picked one of my very trusted, and best friends to watch them. It was a tough choice between the two but I settled on the salmon because it won't be coming out on DVD later. This salmon is my usual birthday treat. A big hunk of fresh salmon, stuffed with crab, shrimp, and brie cheese. Absolutely decadent! Even the mashed potatoes and veggies were cooked and seasoned perfectly. The weather was gorgeous! The restaurant overlooks lake Union and so we sat and watched water planes taking off and landing while I licked my plate clean. Mmmmm. They even gave me a free slice of scrumptious key lime cheese cake, but we took it to go because I was stuffed. I was so happy driving back to get the kids, telling my hubby how happy he had made me on my birthday, and thanks for arranging the babysitter and for all the yummy treats. I figured this was the surprise.

We get to my friend's house to get the kids and Mr. Hotness tells me I'm staying there. "What?" My friend, Jamie, pulls me into her house and says, "I'm babysitting you." Hmmmm, what is going on here? I'm worried that he might actually be planning a surprise party for me because I left the house with wet hair which was now all over the place, my breath was nasty after 2 meals, and my clothes were also a bit dirty after two meals (I can't eat without spilling when pregnant). I asked her for a curling iron and she said, "No." What kind of friend would deny a girl a curl? We sit and talk till her babysitter shows up and then she says, "Time to go." I was really worried now that I was going to have to face people looking so scrudgy (which happened to me the only other time I've had a surprise party thrown for me). But Jamie didn't take me home. She took me to the Gene Juarez Beauty salon. I start crying, just a bit and then stop before my face puffs up. Mr. Hotness has arranged for me to get my hair done, my face done, and my nails done. I've been so badly in need of a haircut but am way too cheap to get one. This place was amazing. They have you remove your shirt and put on a robe, they ask you what you want to drink, and then you sit by the fireplace till it is time for your appointment. This was one of the very very few times I've liked, no... loved, going to a beauty salon. The guy who did my hair actually listened to me and gave me a perfect cut. I have funky hair so a perfect cut is very hard for me to get. Then I went to the makeup counter and asked the lady if she could somehow hide all my embarrassing acne scars and pregnant blochyness. She did!!! And without making me look like a Glamour Shots photo. I looked in the mirror and actually had normal skin looking back at me. YAY! I asked her how much the "camouflage" paste and powder cost. It was too much. But then I cancelled the manicure (my nails are so short and I don't like the way my fingers look when wearing nail polish anyway) so I figured I would break even with buying the makeup. Now I'm excited to go out again, or to even get a family photo taken after the baby is born because I can hide my blemishes rather than photo shop them out (which I do). I came out happy. THIS was the big surprise!

But then Jamie grabs my arm, "We aren't done yet." There is more? She takes me to Motherhood and tells me that Mr. Hotness has instructed her not to let me leave until I find some outfits that makes me feel sexy. With everything I tried on she asked, "Do you feel sexy?" If I said no I wasn't allowed to buy it, no matter how cheap or practical it was. I came away with three new shirts (I wore the one in the picture out of the store), a super cute and comfy pair of cuffed capri jeans, and nursing pajamas with a matching onesie for the baby. "Ok, Liz, do your shoes make you feel sexy?" I tried to convince her that there was no way we were going to find shoes that could pull of such a miracle with my marshmallow feet, but like a good friend she insisted. We went to Payless (I didn't want to waste too much money on a pair of shoes that I hopefully won't be able to wear once my feet go back to normal) and we actually found a roomy, comfy, cute, as-sexy-as marshmallows-can-get, pair of shoes. Then we stopped into another store and I found some sexy, affordable, stretchy camisoles that I can use even after I've had the baby. They are extra long so I can wear them under all the shirts that don't quite cover the panel on my maternity pants. LOVE THEM! And they are lacey so I feel sexy when I wear them. I feel so completely spoiled at this point that I have to try really hard not to return all the clothing in a fit of humble frugality or cry and ruin my perfectly spackled face. This was the best surprise I've ever had. I was so overwhelmed and ready to get back to my Mr. Hotness to thank him for my wonderful day.

Jamie takes me home (she also got a fab new haircut and a cute new shirt) and I see cars all over the place. He didn't. Did he? He did!!! I come through the door and everyone shouts "Surprise!" Everyone but Mr. Hotness who was actually out grabbing some last minute things. I hid and when he came back I jumped out and yelled surprise to him. He seemed to like my new "sexy" look and I couldn't help but cry at this point for all he had done for me. And now I have to brag about what a wonderful job he did putting together this party. He thought of everything. He invited all my friends, old and new. He had it catered with Indian food, one of my absolute favorites! He even thought to have pizza and Cheetos on hand for all the kids. Several people brought food too so we also had Brazilian food and more Indian goodies. Mr. Hotness refused to let me do any work (my usual way of surviving parties) and made me socialize, and it was actually very fun being able to talk with everyone. Meanwhile, Mr. H was busting his cute hiney taking out garbage, fetching more cups and plates, making sure the food table was stocked, getting the cakes ready for me, etc. He even thought to put together a pinata, one of my favorite birthday things, and organized the whole whacking set up. We all took turns hitting it till Mr. J finally knocked it clear off the rope and the kids went diving for their candy. Then Mr. Hot brought out the birthday cakes. He had bought 2 gigantic cheesecakes. When he brought one of the cakes to me, with candles lit, and everyone following him singing to me, I started crying again. Monster Man asked why I was crying, "Because, Sweety, mommy just isn't used to all this attention." Cheesecake.... Mmmmmm, (so much for following the doctor's advice to watch what I eat till the baby is born). Food, friends, and fun. What a wonderful surprise. But it STILL isn't over.

Then came the last gift. I had mentioned last month that I would like to get an iPod for my birthday so I could listen to music while cleaning and running (after baby is born), and because my sister has found that her kids are willing to do hours worth of chores when they get to listen to the iPod while cleaning. All I wanted was one that played music and podcasts. Have you seen the new iPod shuffle? It is the size of a pat of butter, and just clips right onto your clothes, and it is only 30 bucks. Perfect! So did I get the iPod shuffle? Nosiree, bob! Mr. Hotness went a bit further and got me the new iPod Touch. Have you seen this thing? It is amazing. I'm not even tech savvy enough to describe it to you, other than to say that I LOVE it and already can't imagine my life without it. Now, when people give me a date for an event, instead of hoping I will remember, or scrounging for a pen and paper, I just plug it into my iPod. Saturday night we met up with six other adults for dinner at a fancy restaurant. We were the only ones that brought our kids, and after my kids had reached their "perfect manners for an hour" limit I turned on my iPod and they watched several episodes of PBS programs for children (Sesame Street and SuperY) quietly while all the adults continued to talk in peace for an extra 2 1/2 hours. And now I'm learning Spanish while I clean.

Come to find out, Mr. Hot had been planning this whole thing for weeks. I even found his "cheat sheet" later and it was even more touching seeing all the work he did putting it together. He even had the whole day planned down to the half hour.

Thank you, Mr. Hotness. You made me feel pampered, special, and completely loved. Thank you for working hard to afford such a day. Thank you for giving up the time it took to plan and put together such a wonderful day. Thank you for making it a complete surprise. Thank you for treating me like a queen. Thank you for making me cry. I love you!

The Weekend in Pictures

The Saturday before last was a gorgeous sunny day with temps reaching 80 degrees. We were sorely unprepared that lovely day. Not wanting to be unprepared this last weekend I packed the kids into the car after school on Friday and headed to the store to get (among many other things) some of these: A trip that should have taken us only 3 hours in total took us a whopping 6 1/2 hours because of the weather induced traffic jam we were stuck in. We managed to make it home with enough time for the kids to play in this: (Notice the bikes laying out after riding in the sunshine the day before)

Cookie said her face was cold. Sweet Terror refused to wear a coat because it is Spring.

While the snow kept falling (we had 4 inches on our deck railing that night) I stayed up till midnight making cupcakes, cakes, and more cupcakes, for Saturday's Cub Scout Cake Auction. Following a link from Scribbit I found this great idea on flicker and made these Settlers of Catan Cupcakes. They turned out pretty cool if you ask me (considering it was after midnight by the time I finished them). If I make them again there are several things I would do different but I'm not complaining.

Then, Saturday, I went above and beyond anything I've ever attempted before in the cake arena. Now, you must know that I am an awful cake decorator. On my kids' birthdays I usually make them cakes out of stacked and decorated Little Debbie Snack cakes because I am so bad at cake decorating. As soon as my knife gets near a cake it crumbles. I don't even like cake so maybe that has something to do with it. However, this awesome site called Instructables had this cake design for a 3D dragon and the instructions were so good I thought I'd give it a try (plus I did go to that cake decorating class with Cookie for her Keepers Club). I gotta say, I pretty impressed with myself. Check out his Apple Fruit Roll Up wings. If it weren't for Cookie prodding me along he would have just been a dinosaur (I have problems staying focused on things that take longer than an hour to make), but she encouraged me all the way to completion.

And isn't it so appropriate that Cookie made a Cookie Monster Cake? We made this one up all on our own. For the face we melted white and semi sweet chocolate and spread the shapes for the eyes and mouth on wax paper. We were going to make real cookies for him to eat but I was so tired of baking that Cookie brilliantly thought of using the tops of our left over spice cupcakes with a few chocolate chips pushed in for faux cookies. Good girl, Cookie!

We also cleaned a LOT. I'm sorry, but I just don't think regular cake is worth all the mess we made in the kitchen. And I must have washed my hands a gazillion times.

Saturday morning DSSH and I went to the Seattle Temple and then out to lunch. And Saturday night we took the whole family to the cake auction/appetizer potluck/dance activity at church. It was so much fun dancing with my husband. It has been far too long since we've done that. One of my favorite memories of DSSH and I falling in love has to do with a magical night of dancing. But that is for another post. Oh, and at the auction I spent all of DSSH's money bidding on a pumpkin cheesecake that the baby just HAD TO HAVE NOW!!! And, An Ordinary Mom, it is going fast so if you want a slice I suggest you hurry on over. =)

Sunday we went to church and then I came home to do even more baking for an unexpected baptism that evening. I am so done with baking today. We may just eat cold cereal for every meal, well except for me. I will be eating my pumpkin cheesecake. MMmmmmm!

And now it is haling. Monster Man says they are white ants dancing on the ground.

Sunblock

Crazy Noodle Fun

Tomorrow is the deadline for entering the Dirty Chocolate Giveaway. Write or dig up an old post about one of your favorite food experiences and enter it. If you think you've entered but I haven't left a comment on your entry post that means I haven't recieved it yet.


Looking for something to do? Here is my silly idea and you can find many more fun ideas over at Scribbit's Winter Bazaar.

Last night we had spaghetti for dinner. This morning, as I cleaned up leftover little bits of dinner mess, I noticed some noodles hanging over the cross beam under our dining table (I'm guessing this was the work of Sweet Terror). I picked the noodles up and noticed how they kept their shape now that they were dry, and I had an idea. (Pardon the bad pictures. Tin foil doesn't make the best backdrop for pictures that need a flash. If only the sun would come out I wouldn't need the flash.)

I quickly boiled up some more noodles, drained them, separated into bowls, stirred in some food coloring, called up some kids, and we went to work. If your fingers start sticking too much to the noodles just get them wet or spray them with cooking oil.

It took me a few tries before I figured out how to twist some clovers (my first attempts were much to complicated). I am going to save these and use them as festive garnish on our St. Patrick's day dinner plates.

That big ball of noodles to the left there is going to be a Leprechaun home. We draped noodles over an inverted glass so it will be hollow inside. Cookie wants to fill it will gold wrapped chocolates and use it for a St. Patty's Day centerpiece.

Oh, and if you have any leftover noodles you can reheat them in the microwave with butter and salt and serve as rainbow noodles for lunch or a snack =)

Eye-Hand Coordination

How I learned to load a dishwasher:

Don't Be So Dramatic

Today was my first day teaching drama at our weekly co-op and it was a lot of fun. I thought I would post what we did because it actually makes a great game for family home evenings, family reunions, or any silly party. First I had everyone take a diologue card. I took these lines from random plays. Everyone reads their line. Then Everyone takes a Drama Card: Blue is your character, purple is your point motivation (current emotion), and green is your prop. Now everyone has to read their line again but in character now. It was so cute! The kids were laughing and having so much fun (and so were the adults). Some of these were pretty tricky. Monster Man was a bunny, who was worried, with a carrot, and had to say, "Maybe tomorrow, ask me tomorrow." He hopped around nibbling on his carrot and squeaking out his line. Last night I showed the game to DSSH and he and I played a few rounds. Good times!

Ten Years Of Wonderfulness

(Kim, Thanks for the idea to enter this post over at Real Life. Anyone else care to brag about their man?)
Have you ever laughed so hard that you couldn't breath? Have you ever laughed so wildly that you drooled? Have you ever laughed for so long that you gave yourself abs of steel (or at least should have because they hurt so bad)? Have you ever laughed this hard as a result of feeling more freedom than you ever thought possible? Well, prepare to be jealous... I have.

This last weekend my wonderful Hubby, of ten very eventful years, took me out on a four day getaway. We flew my sister in to watch the kids (which will lead to tomorrow's rant on Delta Airlines), and ran away together. We started our evening walking around downtown Seattle, WITHOUT KIDS =) Our first stop was an art gallery, WITHOUT KIDS.... Ok, I'll stop that, but it really is a whole new experience for me doing all this without kids. It was so fun going to an art gallery. I used to stop and look around every art gallery that came my way, so this made me feel young again. While there I learned of an art method that I had never heard of before called Encaustic, which is a style of "painting" with wax. I collected all this great information on the artist and the technique and even had a small printout of my favorite piece to share with you but, alas, it was not to be as I left it all on the table of the last restaurant we went to. Bringing me to the food...

I was finally able to enjoy a plate of the famous Seven Flavor Beef at Wild Ginger

"Flank steak fragrant with the seven flavors of lemongrass, peanuts, hoisin, chilies, basil, garlic and ginger is quickly dry fried resulting in a complex, intensely flavored beef". And boy was it intense. I have never tasted anything so jam packed with flavor before. It was delicious.

For dessert we went to The Met and had what I personally know to be the best Creme Brulee that humans can make. They nicely translate it for you and call it burnt cream. I could try to describe it but I won't. Just trust me when I say that it is good enough to make you roll your eyes while saying, "Oooohhhh, yummmmmmmm," as you lick your spoon. Better share it because you'll never be able to finish anything this good all by yourself.

Then ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------No, I'm not going to tell you EVERYthing. I'm just not that kind of a lady.

Skip to driving around in a really cool rental car (much cooler than my minivan) through beautiful scenic hills and trees, into a quaint little place called Leavenworth. Ya, vould you like some bratvurst? It is a verifiable tourist trap, but fun nonetheless. Every building is built to look like you are in a Bavarian village. Even the McDonalds had cute little white washed spires poking out of its village-like roof. There were a lot of fun shops there for window shopping. We bought some fudge at the Fudge Hut, I highly recommend the Mint and the Raspberry Cheesecake fudges (and I don't even like fudge). Then we went to a fun Australian shop they had there and DSSH bought me two of my favorite presents. An awesome hat that totally screams LIZ and a Cane Toad coin purse. Yeah, I'm weird like that.

After eating some authentic but tasty enough beef rouladen, we headed towards the final destination: Wapato Point Resort on Lake Chelan. We had a simple yet cosy one room suite. The bedroom was up in a loft over the living room which was fun (it made me feel like a kid. I always loved loft rooms as a kid). The resort was lovely, the scenery was magnificent, the atmosphere was extremely peaceful and happy. All around us were people that were fully intent on having fun and enjoying life. And this all brings us to the laughing, to the freedom, to the sheer exhilaration that can only be found on a ........

JET SKI

DSSH told me we were renting a jet ski and foolishly, because I'd never ridden one, thought "Aw, I wish he would have rented a boat instead". I should know by now never to second guess my amazing man because he is always right. We went out on the water and DSSH drove first. He was being smart and testing the vehicle. Seeing how to make it stop and how it handled and then we took off down the lake. Lake Chelan is a great lake for Jet Skiing because the gorgeous thing never ends. All around you are mountains and lovely homes but the lake is so long you just never seem to reach the end or the beginning of it. So, we drive out forever while I enjoyed the ride and the view. Then DSSH makes a brash mistake. He says the two words that he will regret for weeks to come, "Your turn". Now, you have to understand, I grew up watching Miami Vice and James Bond. I also have no fear of death. I also LOVE to be scared. Need I say more? I squeezed the gas as far as it would go and hit every wake at an angle for maximum lift and I have never screamed and laughed so hard in my life. As the wind was rushing through my hair, and the water was splashing in my face, and every jump and turn brought the possibility of broken appendages, I laughed. Every time DSSH yelled over my shoulder "You are crazy!" I laughed. With every increase of speed I laughed. With every thought of, "We're going to die!" I laughed. I laughed so hard that at one point I had to stop the ride just to regain my breath. Never have I felt so free. I tried to explain it to DSSH. In that crazy moment there were no seat belts, no speed limits, no yellow or white lines, no children, no dishes, no boundaries, no responsibilities, no manners, no fashion, no hair dos, no makeup, no phone calls, no alarm clocks, nothing but holding on for dear life and racing against the worries I had left behind. I raced them, and I won. Never, if I live to be 100, will I forget what my DSSH gave me that day. Never will I be able to show him my full gratitude for sitting behind, letting me risk his life, while giving me the courage to be so crazy. Because through it all, I knew that as long as he was behind me we would be ok. He let me be as wild and crazy as I needed to be just then, while making sure that I never went too far over the edge. And for that I can never love him enough.

With my DSSH by my side I know that I can survive many more years in this crazy world.

Thank you for this, my love.