The Big Weekend

wow, after all of the posting last week, I am starting to feel the need to post EVERY DAY… this is not normal!

To explain the title, Friday was my birthday. I got my hair cut. I renewed my license. We had a little shindig on Saturday (little… ha!) and a lovely day on Sunday.

On Friday I took the girls out to donuts for breakfast & dropped them at school. I came home, posted a bit about the peninsula, went down & got a hair cut. No, I really got a hair cut. It’s shorter than it has been since 7th grade. I will post a picture one of these days. Hopefully before it grown back out to a length that I know how to do something with. And yes, I can now attest that I have curly hair.

Mr. Wonderful (and he is!) came home from work early, met us at Boston’s for dinner, and we came home and relaxed. My brother-in-law came up from Spanaway, and we watched Escape From New York. Well, they actually watched it, I was making spaghetti for 40 people. Yes, a HUGE stock pot, a costco-sized container of mild Italian sausage, and lots of tomato-y goodness! (Did I actually just say tomato-y goodness? Must be the age).

Saturday morning the gents got up bright and early and headed up to climb Mt. Pilchuck. The girls & I slept in a bit… so nice! We got up and started getting the house ready for the shindig. They didn’t much want to clean, but do they ever have a choice? That is why we have kids after all – isn’t it?

Tami & Mom H. arrived with the mini-kiddos around 12, and by then we were busily working away to get everything cleaned up, put away, and the Marinara Primavera put together. They took M with them to the outlet mall when the guys returned, and Jason laid down with li’l bit for her nap… and his! A kept the G-man in line while Mr. Wonderful & I cleaned. Oy, my house sounds like a mess! In my defense, we were re-arranging furniture, so the vacuum was making repeated appearances.

The shindig was a rousing success. I got a big basket of veggies – all home-grown and delicious – a pair of beautiful knit silver earrings, 2 beautiful tea cups for the collection, gift cards, books, chocolate (yay!), flowers and a private concert by our budding violinist in residence.

Oh yeah, and an obnoxious cake.

Thanks again Youly. I now have a new nickname…

Oy vey and uff-dah all rolled into one.

Here’s the culprit in all of her glory:

Oh yes, the menu:

a salad of mixed baby greens, spring vegetables, goat cheese and cranberries
fruit salad
Mediterranean green tomatoes
garlic herb bread (thank you Brian!)
sourdough rolls
mini-penne
five-cheese tortellini
primavera marinara
sausage marinara

fruit cake… not quite what you are thinking, this one is GOOD!

Did I mention that they sang “Happy Birthday Hot Mama!”??????? I’m never going to live this one down. Ever.

At least the cake tasted delicious! Whipped cream frosting, fresh fruit, thinly sliced melon and strawberries in between the layers, all wrapped up in more whipped cream frosting. And I actually had 3 pieces left! Yay for me!

Saturday was a good day… family & friends around, good food, great fellowship. I feel loved. Truly loved.

Sunday was also a good day. Well, once the worship set ended anyway. It bombed (my fault – totally!). Let’s just say that in this instance, the third time isn’t necessarily a charm. But…

After church E & M got their hairs cut, we came home and had baked spaghetti and garlic bread (yes, there was leftover sauce – yes, they ate the rest of MY bread!!! grrrrrrr…) and everyone headed out. Tami was headed to the fair to work her shift at the Pampered Chef booth, and Jason was going to spend some time with his family. We found out that his Grandpa passed away around midnight Sunday morning. Added a bittersweet note, to be sure.

We met up with Culprit Most Wanted #1 and her wonderful garlic bread-baking hubby, dropped the little people off at his parents to play, and I finally got the present I had been waiting for.

chocolate

Theo chocolates is a chocolate maker located here in Seattle. Not re-melter, they actually make it from beans to the amazingly delicious finished product. Organic, fair-trade beans, no junk added, just good, pure chocolate. Well, chocolate and a little bit of sugar.

My favorite? The Madagascar.

Flavors I recommend:

• bread and chocolate
• chai tea
• hazelnut crunch
• nib brittle – oh yeah, this is the BEST!

The Confections are also very good. Might I recommend Basil? Yes, a basil truffle. It is so good. The Earl Grey Tea is also good, as is the burnt sugar.

I was on a chocolate high. A Theobroma Cacao high. Yes, it truly is the food of the gods. Created by God, loved by the masses.

They offer tours of the factory daily. You get to taste all of the bars. You get to see it being made. You get to taste test all of the flavored bars. You see the machines that process the beans. You get to taste the chocolate. Did I mention that you get to eat chocolate for free? Really GOOD chocolate? Dark chocolate that has a fruity flavor? And it’s free? Well, the tour is $5 per person… about the cost of one bar. OK, a little under the cost of one bar. And you get to eat chocolate. Really, really good chocolate. Get a proper chocolate buzz. I could go on forever… but I think you are getting the idea.

Then Ms. Youly directed us down below UW to the water… and fed us. Isn’t she sweet! Almost makes up for the cake. Almost. I have to admit, the fish tacos were some of the best I’ve had. Agua Verde – a little hole-in-the-wall taco shop down on the water by the kayak rental place… just down the street from the police station & Recycled Cycles. Find it… it’s worth it.

Then we drove up through the U District & Capitol Hill by way of the Arboretum. Beautiful.

Then we went & picked up the munchkins, dropped into Target to get a drawing pad, and came home.

I woke up this morning, fixed breakfast & packed lunches, sent the kiddos off to school. Checked my email for the first time since Friday, noon-ish and had 1057 unread messages. That kept me busy for a few hours. I shipped out a couple of bags, grabbed a bite of leftover pizza, had a truffle, picked up books at the library and met the girls at the bus.

The birthday weekend is over, but it was a good one.

Viva la 32… it looks to be a good year.

Wish you were here…

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