A story...

I was just thinking about this little story I heard about an old married couple. The man was crotchety and gruff and completely pessimistic, and his wife was nagging but in an endearing way. One day they went on a boat cruise that also happened to have a fishing contest going at the same time. Now in order to actually win you would need to have purchased a raffle ticket. So even if you caught the biggest fish, if you had no ticket, you received no prize, which in fact was around $5000! So the man and his wife boarded the boat, and set out for a day at sea. Now the husband wanted nothing to do with raffles and the like, and told his wife, “I don’t want to buy no damn raffle ticket”, which the wife replied, “Fine, but don’t come crying to me, when you need one.” The gruff old man went fishing and low and behold he caught the largest fish of the day. When he went to show the judges, his prize fish, they said to him, “You have indeed caught the largest fish, but do you have a raffle ticket?” The man hung his head regretfully and was about to say no, when his wife came forward with a raffle ticket she had gone on to buy, regardless of what her husband had said. And as the judges handed over the money to the couple, the wife looked at her husband and said, “Eat Crow!”
And so this couple tells this story with a glimmer in their eyes, and a smidgen of a smile on the old man’s face. And you know without a doubt that this grumpy old man loves his wife, and the wife loves her husband, not despite of his crotchetiness, but because of it.

Friday night laid back...

I am finding that more and more, and maybe it is my age, but i really like to just chill on a friday night. Not that i wouldn't pass up an opportunity to shake it up on a friday, but i try purposefully to not make plans. And really, i have no problem being home alone on a friday... I mean where does it say that you HAVE to be doing something all weekend long! During the week, I get up early, work all day and almost every weeknight i have something going on! so who's to say that friday can't be a chill night? I am not ashamed! I made some delicious thai noodles with crunchy carrots, that made my heart skip a beat! Hey I even busted out a set of chopsticks I purchased in China over 5 years ago! Life is too short not to use the good kuàizi! (chopsticks)

Crunchy Thai Noodles

Serves 6, (the recipe called for snap peas, bell peppers & scallions, which i had none of, so i used carrots, which tasted just fine!)

Kosher salt

1/2 pound thin spaghetti

1 cup sliced crunchy carrots

1 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/3 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons dark sesame oil

1 tablespoon honey

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

2 tablespoons white sesame seeds, toasted

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
For the dressing, whisk together the vegetable oil, rice vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, garlic, ginger, 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, peanut butter, salt, to taste, and the pepper, in a medium bowl.
Combine the spaghetti and carrots in a large bowl. Pour the dressing over the spaghetti mixture. Add the parsley and mix again.

Birthday & Slumber Party

Answer: NEVER!
What is: When are you too old to stop having slumber parties?
Saturday was a busy day of preparation for a fun evening with the girls. I spent the morning baking and decorating a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting for Tabitha... I love baking cakes, and I love to decorate them, but the problem I have is that decorating a cake takes patience... which sometimes I lack! I hurriedly wrote "Happy Birthday Tabitha" on her cake, when I realized that I spelt Birthday: BIRDAY! UGH! So I had to clean up the mistake, wipe the palette clean and start fresh! Which funnily enough, often mirrors how my life works! Thank God that frosting is forgiving, which then i guess i should say that thank God, He is forgiving too!

Anyway, make the cake, get everything together, head over to Bonnie's and wait for Tabitha to arrive. We went all out on making this the most girly birthday she has ever had. We're talking, candles, bubble bath, bath salts, earrings, bathrobe, slipper... and a tiara that we made her wear all night. I love other people's birthdays!! What fun it is to celebrate someones arrival into life!

After that celebration we had over some of our girlfriends for an all out slumber party! Chick flix, smoothies, mud masque facials and lots of laughs. I had such a great time, and I hope we make this into a reoccurring tradition!

Next weekend I will be in Michigan with my BFF Rachel, with a slumber party of our own!

Happy 7th Anniversary to my wonderful cousins Kyle & Kelly! Way to go on 7 great years!!