Mom Rogers Turns 95!

Peg celebrated like a rock star this weekend with a lovely dinner party at her home on Friday with friends and family.

  

  

Peg reserved the private dining room at the Oaks.  We brought an assortment of hors d'oeuvres, wine and champaign, and chef Joe did his thing.  Wild Willy gave a beautiful toast to his mom and Earl delivered a heartfelt pre-dinner prayer.  Ginny brought flowers and candles, Josie brought cupcakes and everyone had a great time.  On Saturday, her actual birthday, Peg's grandson, Chris, and Kristy, Alexis and Devin, made the day extra special.  

Will and Callie joined in on the festivities, too.

 

The great-grandchildren made and hung a poster at the front door announcing the day. We had champaign and Pom punch, a full-blown Thanksgiving meal with turducken, two stuffings, and all the other fixins'.  A feast!  

 

Alexis and Devin performed a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday on the piano before presenting the special cake, they made from scratch, including the cinnamon ice cream frosting and cut-out fondants on top.  

  

 

Kristy, channeling her inner creativity, made a delightful floral arrangement and keepsake for mom. 

  

We're already talking about the celebration we're going to have next year, but the 100th is going to be very special.  Have a great year, Mom!  

 

Garlic Knots and Tablescapes

Garlic knots are such a nice and fun change from garlic bread.  With pizza dough readily available at most grocers for about $.99, making garlic knots is pretty simple.  My young friend, Bennett, in California, is a big fan of some of my culinary accomplishments, especially this recipe.

Yesterday, while on the elliptical machine watching the Food Channel, I was intrigued by a segment on tablescapes, and thought of Patty, Bennett's mom.  Patty is the tablescape diva, with a wide array of unique and inspiring tablescapes throughout her home.  It won't be long before both of my friends will be moving back east, and we can, once again, have garlic knots over a beautiful tablescape in Sleepy Town.

Delicious: Beer Can Chicken

One of the best ways to cook chicken is to impale it, with a can filled with beer and herbs, stand it up on the grill or in the oven, and go take a nap.  Years ago, we bought a device, which lends some support to the chicken, instead of depending solely on the flimsy can to remain upright.  It's like a round pan with a built-in can in the center, and a cone that fits over the can and into the chicken's butt.  It's the best chicken ever, and so easy and fool proof.  Here's another variety of the can, which may be worth adding to your collection.

H/T Manolo Food Blog

They're Back: The Puppy Cam

New readers of the blog may not remember the puppy cam in 2008. We had lots of fun tuning in to watch these cuties play, sleep, nurse etc. There is a new litter and here's the new time-killer stream! Enjoy!
Webcam chat at Ustream 

Soaking Up the Sun at 32℉

The shortage of vitamin D is really getting to me these days.  I braved the cold with my brand, new running shoes and did a 5.18 mile run, then a 1.5 mile walk OUTSIDE!  It was actually really beautiful after the seven minute warm-up.  I'm training for Chicago's Shamrock Shuffle in March.  Burrr!

Our Young Patriot Says the Pledge

From the start of his academic experience, a couple of years ago, young Landon proudly mastered the Pledge. Now he clearly enjoys this opportunity to lead the whole school with his recital. 



H/T Steph

Uggs Are Everywhere!

Here's the great Manolo's take on the fashion phenomena:

...if you are sixteen and super cute, then the Classic Uggs are “da bomb”. You may wear them everywhere (even with your sweat pants) and people will still think you are the cutesy cute cutey.

If , however, you are the forty-two year old woman of sophistication, then the Classic Ugg boots look silly with almost everything you try on.
Sweat pants? Sloppy!
Faded blue jeans? Trying too hard!
Shortish skirt? Trashy!

The truth is, the Ugg Classic boots, like the dirty ripped blue jeans and the whale-tail thong, are the young person’s fashion. They were designed by the youthful Australian surfers for wearing after the energetically youthful day at the beach, not for women of the certain age to slip on for the day on the town.

Happily, there are the Ugg models which can be worn by elegant ladies. For the example, here is the Gissella, the casual, wedge-heel ankle boot with the Aussie flair.

I'm not so sure I agree with Manolo on the Uggs, and I'm not so sure I agree with Lee, the blognephew's fashionista wife, on her facebook status:

"Once you're out of college, you're too old for a back pack."

Comedian Paul Epperlein Helps Raise Thousands for Haiti

New York comedian and showman, Paul Epperlein, hosted a very funny event at HA! Comedy Club to benefit Haiti.  With only two days to pull it together, Paul was able to secure a great line-up of NYC funny guys and donate over $3,000 for Haiti relief.  Big fans of Paul, and comedy in general, the teen blogson and I schlepped out in the rain to see the show in Midtown.  Knowing I would be helping Haiti by supporting Paul's effort made missing the Golden Globes an easier decision.  We sat right up front.  Big mistake.  Luckily, it was near the end of the evening when one comedian did his best to embarrass both mother and son.  He had the audience feeling a little uncomfortable, too, with an over-the-top sexy routine.  It's the back, dark corner table for us me next comedy club. 

Flo Fan

Flo, the girl on the Progressive Auto Insurance ads, is sure animated.  I have this love/hate thing going with her; but mostly love.

3,000 Crunches a Day

While I struggle at the gym with my routine, I'll be thinking of this athlete doing 3,000 sit-ups a day.

Haiti Quake: Reminding Us of All Things Important

The images of despair and destruction from the 7.0 earthquake to hit Haiti are a solemn reminder of how rapidly life, as we know it, can change in a split second.  My heart and prayers are with the thousands of people suffering pain and losses today.  Mother Nature rules, and she certainly knows how to demand attention and bring people together with the most basic of needs:  survival.  Just when I was beginning to feel sorry for myself, and the little annoyances that have been plaguing my new year, this not-so-gentle reminder of real problems awakens the gratitude for all that is my life.

Umami: Foodie Word of the Day

Vietnamese Chicken Lettuce Wraps

One really can't rest in the family until after the January 11th birthday celebrations.  Wild Willy and young Alexis culminated days of partying with a dinner in Chatham.  We are all big fans of P.F. Changs' famous lettuce wraps, so I set out to make something along those lines.  Among the millions of recipes listed under a Google search, I went with a PERDUE® recipe for Vietnamese ground chicken lettuce wraps to try to create a special appetizer.  I used my Kitchen Aid attachment and ran boneless, skinned chicken breasts through the course grinder (why simplify the process by buying PERDUE® ground chicken?).  While it looks like a long list of chopped and minced ingredients, it's nothing with a food processor.  The wraps were delicious.  I also tried Sophie Brickman's recipe for braised short ribs, but was disappointed with the quality of ribs I purchased.  Her combination of flavors were excellent, but I needed a little more time on the reduction.  I will try the recipe again.  Mashed potatoes, broccoli and two birthday cakes rounded out the meal.  Now I can get on with the year month; the blogmother-in-law turns 95 years old on January 30th.

Don't Be A Passive Participant in Life This Year

Keep the optimism and hope of the new year by exercising and practicing the discipline of positive thinking each day.  Our relationships can have a major impact on our positive thinking.  For this reason, make it a goal this year to work on your most important relationships.  At the heart of successful and rewarding relationships is the ability to effectively communicate.  From my experience, effective communication entails a few basic goals for constructive confrontation and conflict resolution:

a) Convey the truth

b) Listen

c) Preserve the relationship

Passive participation in any relationship leads to dissatisfaction.  Passive participation is helplessness.  Helplessness is a lack of control.  Lack of control in any situation leads to dissatisfaction.  You can avoid dissatisfaction in your life this year.

Facebook: The Joy and Angst

There's something so gratifying about the camaraderie of Facebook.  The dichotomy of it's usefulness verses the sheer and compelling curiosity of it all is staggering.  While only party to twenty-something friends, I am afforded myriad glimpses of life by way of friends of friends, extended family of family, and family of friends of friends.  A social anthropology in pop culture, it is.  Simply keeping up with the jargon of each generation is worthwhile.  Gaining insights from the inane prattle of teenagers also helps keep a pulse on the present.  One can't help, however, feeling creatively malnourished when pressured to update statuses and be of general interest and entertainment to their sphere of influence. 

Mysterious Fan Mail

With the proliferation of angry blog-stalkers and spam commentary, I have recently started to moderate my comments to ensure suitability for publishing (love that censorship bonus as a blog author).  Well, I know it wasn't the bloghusband, as he was fast asleep next to me at 12:30 am, but someone made my day by leaving a very nice comment on my blog.  Later this morning, another reader, made my year by also having a pleasantry about my blog.  Who knew I had two other readers?

The Astrology of 2010

Journalist, photographer and astrologer, Eric Francis Coppolino, writes about the planetary influences over humanity in 2010.

Fish Pedicure

The always delightful blogfriend, Sarah, sent an email encouraging me to investigate the I Can Do It®: The Ultimate Online Series to Nourish Your Soul seminar, which is currently being offered for $20, down from $275 for eight sessions.   Sarah is always plugged into the latest in mind and body renewal.  She concluded her email with the following postscript:

PS-went to DC last week and had Dr. Fish treatment at spa with girls. You put tootsies in tank w/ fish and they eat the dead skin off your feet. Very bizarre.

 Totes!

Friends, Food, Humorous Writing: All Things to Love

Our New Year's Eve wedding was a blast.  An article about the then-soon-to-be newlyweds appeared in The Atlantic today, and was written by Sophie Brickman, a college roommate of the bride.  It is just too cute.  The folllowing paragraph should whet your appetite for the whole piece:

"...When I saw the loving way K looked at L as she began to eat, the whole marriage thing began to lose its scariness. Plus, it was at this moment that I really started getting excited for L: Here was a man who could eat! So sue me--I quickly judge people based on their eating preferences. Anyone who thinks Power Bars or smoothies are meals in themselves, who has done the master cleanse more than once (I allow for one experiment), or turns down bacon for any reason other than religious ends up on my "questionable" list." On the other hand, demanding seconds of short ribs automatically secures you a spot on my "people who get it" list."

Heh.

A recent Australian study of 6,000 women has shown that, after 10 years, the average gal gains 15 lbs if she lives with a partner and 20 lbs if she lives with someone and has a baby.  Ruh Roh.

Girls Rules, Boys Drool

The Economist has a positive story today:

AT A time when the world is short of causes for celebration, here is a candidate: within the next few months women will cross the 50% threshold and become the majority of the American workforce. Women already make up the majority of university graduates in the OECD countries and the majority of professional workers in several rich countries, including the United States. Women run many of the world’s great companies, from PepsiCo in America to Areva in France.

Women’s economic empowerment is arguably the biggest social change of our times. Just a generation ago, women were largely confined to repetitive, menial jobs. They were routinely subjected to casual sexism and were expected to abandon their careers when they married and had children. Today they are running some of the organisations that once treated them as second-class citizens. Millions of women have been given more control over their own lives. And millions of brains have been put to more productive use. Societies that try to resist this trend—most notably the Arab countries, but also Japan and some southern European countries—will pay a heavy price in the form of wasted talent and frustrated citizens.

Read the whole story.

Blue Agave

Two people recommended this natural sugar substitute to me over the last month.  Starting the year out on a healthy note, I picked some up at Whole Check Foods today.  Here's the spin:

"Wholesome Sweeteners' Premium Organic Agave Nectar is a natural sweetener extracted from the heart of the Blue Agave plant. Agave is a Low Glycemic Index (GI) sweetener, so it is slowly absorbed into the body preventing spikes in blood sugar. It is 1-1/4 times sweeter than sugar, so you need less, and it has been consumed by ancient civilizations for over 5,000 years. The sweet mild taste is perfect for sweetening beverages, baking and as a multi purpose sweetener. Use wherever you would use table sugar."

And BTW, tequilla is made from the same plant. I'll let you know how it works.

Is It Spring, Yet?

Here's a good use for all those dinosaur light bulbs in the basement.

H/T Manolo for the Home 

That Was Then, This Is Now

The new year always brings such optimism and hope to individuals resolved to improve their lives.  On any given day, one of my favorite sappy sayings to the teen blogson is, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life."  He absolutely hates it when I say that, and we have a good laugh, and then I say it's true.  Just recently, I have taken on a new favorite expression: "That was then, this is now."  People really do get stuck in a pattern of thinking and behaviors.  If everyone just took a look around at their patterns, habits, motivations and interactions, and said, "That was then, this is now", the fallibility of pride takes on a new perspective and a definitive course.  Those six little words provide a liberating excuse to act differently, and totally reinvent the present with an open mind to the possibility that people or things have changed, and our thinking needs to change, too.  On the other hand, perhaps changes have not occurred.  Our views can still change, and by changing our views, we can change people and things.  The power of six little words can dramatically improve our new year!  Try it.

Let the Decade Begin!

Happy New Year!  May 2010 be a fabulous year for all, and the beginning of the best decade ever.