Some people think you should have cake on your birthday.

I usually want PIE! This year I went with COCONUT CREAM PIE!
Yummmmmooooooooooooo!

Aren't these cute pictures! Kellie sent me these yesterday.
Ellie is growing up so fast!

Check out Little Miss Porky Poo!

Total Eclipse - February 2008

Snapped these shots despite the frigid temps. Trembling from the cold made it really hard to focus!

My camera & I did the best we could!

Our Must See List

Magic Man & I spend far too much time watching the Discovery and Science channels. As a result, we've learned some really cool things, have seen some awesome places and have created a list of MUST SEE places on Earth. We don't really like calling it a BUCKET LIST because let's face it - that does have a rather negative connotation, right?

We've had Dubai on our must see list for a long time. Let's examine this easy little equation. Gas is $3.19 a gallon. Dubai is in an oil rich country. What should they do? Oh I know! Build some outrageous stuff! Our pals in Dubai are doing just that -- time and time again.

We aren't hatin' on the people of Dubai - they are very creative people and willing to push engineering to its very edge! There's so much interesting construction going on there. Just do a little 'ol Google search on construction in Dubai and you'll see all the projects they've got in process or completed.

Check out Palm Island. Totally man-made by pumping sand from miles out in the ocean into this shape. It constantly erodes and has to be repumped to keep its shape all the time. There are 2 or 3 other islands like the Palm that have been built too. And get this!!! You can see these islands from space - with just your plain 'ol eyesight! Who would ever attempt this other than those wacky and inventive Dubaians?
Then there's the Burj Tower - a whopping 2,950 feet tall (or maybe higher) and 220-some odd floors! Yiiiiiikes! Not sure I'll actually be able to go to the top of this thing. That's up there, folks! But what a sight to see, right? Oh and not to be outdone, the architects who created this masterpiece have kept their plans under wraps so if anyone comes along in another city with plans to build a bigger tower, they can just add a few more floors to out-do whoever is trying to take their cake. Yeeowza!

Let's not leave out Sunny Mountain Ski Dome. It's a true winter experience with REAL SNOW in an indoor facility. Temps will be kept at a frigid +10°c. Open year round, it will provide a real winter experience to those in Dubai. You can ski down a revolving ski slope (huh???), view its indoor mountain range, take a stroll across an ice bridge, get lost in an ice maze or just kick back and dine is its fine eating establishments. Oh, they'll have polar bears in there too. I wanna go! I wanna go!

Start savin' your pennies - there's a big ol world out there to see. Let's hit the road!

I'm layin claim on my TWO guys from the new season of Dancin with the Stars. Jenny and I won't have to fight tooth and nail this season cause I called em first! I called em first!!!!

He's mine: Christian de la Fuente

And so is he, Jason Taylor:

Remember how much fun it was to sit down with your crayons and color away? Do you dream about color? Maybe you're thinking of redecorating your house and need a little jump start on a color scheme.

Check out Kuler! http://kuler.adobe.com

Oh the color wheel is a wonderful thing! It's really fun....so I'm warning you!! There could be countless hours of color fun spent on this site.

Enjoy!!!

(if you feel like it, check out some of my color schemes.....just key my first name (dot) my last name in the search box and you'll find what I've created.)

Don't even bother getting a ticket...
the $100 Million Dollar drawing is mine!!

Miss Ellie Grace - Sweetie Pie Punkin Face!

Ellie turned over for the first time last weekend - from her back to to tummy. Brian told me she did it then looked at them like, "what just happened??" She's getting sooooo big! It won't be long and she'll be crawlin'!

Hurry Mama, this bib isn't as good as that yummy bottle you usually give me!

Maybe the Paparazzi will leave me alone if I disguise myself with these shades!

Look at me! I'm a big girl now!!

Saw this on TechCrunch and thought of Olive12 and S-Hooks. Since you two are the creative types, I bet you guys could do something seriously fun with this site.

Olive, this is a way for you to create one of your wacky & hilarious stories and publish it online! Goodbye little spiral bound notebooks - hello fame! You're bound to become famous now!!!

All you have to do is upload your images (photos, drawings, etc) then add fun things like "speech bubbles", change the fonts and layouts and publish it. You can add your comiqs to your blog too!

I played around with it tonight, it's fun! Check it out!!

Check it out: http://comiqs.com/

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY TO EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!
I LOVE YOU ALL!

Cheddar Jack Mac @ Applebees

We ate at Applebees tonight. Richie got fajitas and I tried a new dish called the Cheddar Jack Mac & Cheese. I wasn't really hungry and didn't want a whole bowl of this stuff so they made me a small side dish. OH YUMMY!!!!!! It's the creamiest mac & cheese, with just a hint of heat from the Jack cheese. Then they throw chicken on top (grilled or chicken finger-style). Yummo. I just got a tiny, little side dish and was stuffed...can't imagine a whole bowl full.

Give it a try next time you're at Applebees!

Finally no more talk about the Perfect Season!

ERASED!

Hoping for a snow day tomorrow!!!!!

We paid Miss Ellie Grace a visit on Saturday night. She's really grown since we last saw her - up to almost 15 lbs - Porky!!

She's 4 months old and has already had her bangs trimmed! Kellie said they were hanging in her eyes and had to be trimmed. Too funny. That kid has a ton of hair!

Here are some of the best pictures of her from that night.

Check out her long hair!!
She's only 4 months old,
what's it going to look like at 12 months!!??!!

This one is a little blurry because Miss WiggleButt can't hold still!

GET OUTTA LIFE NESTLE CRUNCH!!!

I love you far too much and you're doing me no good,

so, it's sayonara to you Mr. Crunch!

(I'm not ready to give up the Everlasting Gobstopper but I'm working on it.)

Too Late To Change Your Stars

I really enjoyed watching Heath Ledger on film. Rich and I love the Knights Tale and the way they interweaved music from the current age with scenes from long ago.

I wish his death hadn't happened. He will be missed.



Follow your feet, boy, they will lead you home.......

Last week, the boss and I took a business advisor to lunch downtown.

We ate at McCormick & Schmicks. We had never been to this restaurant before, but heard it's the best place in town for seafood, so we were both looking forward to lunch. The restaurant is located on the corner of Market & Illinois at the Hilton Hotel.

It's the place to "lunch" if you're dining with attorneys, big wigs or the like. Their speciality is seafood, so of course I had to debate, do I want the coconut shrimp, crabcakes or cashew crusted tilapia. I went with the tilapia. Oh my gosh!!!!!!!! This is the best fish-dish I've ever tasted. I love tilapia anyway but crusted in cashews with a hint of heat (from some habanero peppers) - YUMMO!!!!!!

First of all, the fish was the thickest piece of tilapia I've ever seen. Add the cashew crust and a sweet mango salsa on the side. *ssssiiiiiiiiigggghhhh* We were in lunch heaven.

Well I've been thinking about this fish and thought, surely I could figure out how to make it at home too. So I go to trusty GOOGLE, type in McCormick & Schmick's Cashew Crusted Tilapia and ... wouldn't you know it. I found the recipe!

If you're in town and you want a very special dinner - go to McCormicks & Schmicks - if you want to get a taste of McCormicks on a lighter budget, hit them up at lunch time. (For 2 at lunch, expect to spend a $50.00 bill ) Expensive lunch? Yes, but you won't regret it.

So, here's the recipe for all of you who may not make it to this delicious place:

McCormick & Schmick's Cashew-Crusted Tilapia

4 (5 to 6-ounce) tilapia fillets
Flour, to dust
2 eggs, beaten with 2 tablespoons milk
1 ½ cups finely ground cashews
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup Jamaican Rum Butter Sauce (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon finely chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped yellow bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped green bell pepper
2 tablespoons scallions, thinly sliced

• Bread the fillets by first dusting them with the flour, then dipping them in the beaten egg mixture, and finally coating them thoroughly with the ground cashews.
• Do the breading an hour ahead of serving time, allowing the fish to rest in the refrigerator before cooking.
• While the fish is resting, make the Jamaican Rum Butter Sauce and keep on the stove, but not over direct heat. (The sauce will break down if it is too hot.)

Jamaican Rum Butter SauceYield: About 1 ½ cups, 4 servings
1/2 vanilla bean, split
1/4 cup white rum
1/4 cup dark rum
Pinch of saffron
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/4 minced habanero pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 pound cold butter, cut into 1-inch cubes

• Place the split vanilla bean into a saucepan.
• Add both types of rum, the saffron, lime juice, habanero pepper and sugar.
• Heat to gentle simmer until sugar has dissolved and alcohol has burned off, about 5 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the butter to form into a sauce - a cube of butter at a time, allowing each piece to melt before adding more. Set sauce aside for serving.
• Heat the oil in a large sauté pan or skillet and pan-fry the tilapia over medium-high heat until the fish is golden brown on both sides, 2 ½ to 3 minutes per side.
• Place the fish on serving plates and pour the sauce over them.
• Combine the chopped bell peppers to make a "confetti," and sprinkle them over each portion. Sprinkle on the scallions.

• Note: Habanero peppers are very hot, so use sparingly.

ROAD TRIP!!!!

I have to take my camera and head to China to the Harbin Ice Festival. It was established in 1985, & is held annually from January 5 and lasts for over one month. Harbin is the capital city of Heilongjiang Province. This is China's original and greatest ice artwork festival, attracting hundreds of thousands of local people and visitors from all over the world.

Haven't shown any new pictures of Miss Ellie Grace lately. Kellie sent me these. Ellie is now "standing" on your legs when you hold her up and put her feet on you. This saucer is probably giving her little fat hams a good workout and building up some serious muscle. She has the cutest rolly polly, little fat legs you've ever seen (just wish fat legs were cute at 43 ... but that's another post for another time).

Hey, is it just me or does the new bearded David Letterman look like a cleaner version of our favorite Unibomber Ted Kaczynski or what????