Mid-winter Break

ANOTHER vacation from school for the kids. Why didn't we have mid-winter break when we were growing up? Lucky dogs. Anyways, we went down to the beach and had quality family time. The weather was sunny and warm for this time of the year. I read 1.5 books-can't remember the last time I even read a book. A nice time to decompress for all.

Date Night B, C, and D

Date night was put on the back burner for awhile. Not exactly sure why. I guess the fall was a really busy time for our whole family, and our babysitter. Our sitter is more available this quarter, so we are looking forward to more regular date nights. We did manage to go out a few times and visited the following:


We visited Bai Pai on 65th back in December with our friends Mike and Audrey. We had a great evening. The lights are dimmed a bit and the tables are nicely set, making for a nice atmosphere. The service was very friendly. The food was some of the best Thai I've had. I had Phad See Ewe with tofu and it was delicious. The portion was hearty, and the tofu was cut into good-sized cubes, which were very satisfying. Bai Pai has a nice wine list, and a full bar. I think we've found a new neighborhood favorite!

For "C" we headed to Madison Park to try Cactus, a restaurant we have heard a lot about. Gotta say, not very impressed. Our server was really the only thing we liked. Scott ordered steak fajitas and he said the steak was tough and not flavorful. I had the spinach salad with the prawn skewer. At times, my salad tasted fine. Other times, I would bite into a portion that was just COLD, almost frozen. Yuck. Our table can be seen in this photo. Almost every time a server walked past me, s/he would bump into my chair. I think I can safely say we will not return.


And now, the best for last. For Valentine's Day and the letter "D" we went to the infamous Dahlia Lounge. I had never been there before, which is hard to believe. It seems "everyone" has been to Tom Douglas' most famous eatery, but not me. I was excited to give it a try, but wondered if it would really live up to all the hoopla. It did. I loved it. I want to go back. Today. For appetizers we had french fries. Scott said they were reminiscent of Dick's, but better. We shared a grilled bread salad that was so flavorful. For dinner I had the Spanish tortilla- a vegetarian dish made out of potatoes, onions, and mushrooms. Delicious. Scott had king salmon with curried cauliflower that he loved. For dessert, we had the bag of hot doughnuts with sweetened Mascarpone cheese. Oh my goodness. Heaven. The whole experience was perfect. But really, how can you go wrong with fancy french fries and doughnuts?

Drew is 3!

Happy Birthday Drew-Drew!

Three years seems so old to me, yet you still seem like my little one. I guess it's time to realize that you are growing up. The first year of your life was a hard one. You were so sick for so long, and then were so fragile. Then Grandma Cheri became sick and it made us realize once again that without health, you have nothing.

The past couple of years you have grown into a social, stubborn, happy, and silly boy. We all love you...especially your big brothers. You mean the world to them, and us.

Happy 3rd Birthday!

Bye-Bye Boot

Today is the first day in 2 months I am able to wear a shoe on my left foot. Freedom!

Super Bowl Trophy

Meet Chili:

Chili was the 1st Place Trophy for the winner of the 12th Annual Chili Cook-Off, which is hosted by the Clark family every Super Bowl Sunday. This year, the winner was Scott with his entry entitled Mama Hopkins' Six Stitch Chili...appropriately named because the last time Scott made this recipe, he ended up in the ER in Illwaco with a sliced hand that required six stitches. Note: old can openers are not your friend.

Scott's entry was delicious (or so I heard...I'm not eating meat) AND the Giants won! Go Eli!

Lant

My friend Rebecca has challenged her blog readers to give up something for Lant ( a rename of Lent since she is not Catholic). I've decided to take her challenge and give up meat. Not a huge stretch in the beef category as I gave up eating cute cows many years ago. But chicken and pork are regular sources of protein in my diet, so that will require some adjusting. I'm excited to meet this challenge head on, and I am thinking that after Lant is all said and done, I may just remain a vegetarian. The news stories lately about the abuse at slaughterhouses is enough for me to make a dietary change.

Lant runs from Ash Wednesday, February 6th until Easter, March 23rd. I'm starting today, February 1st.

Waiting

I'm sitting here waiting for a painter. He was supposed to be here an hour ago. Why is it that contractors and doctors think their time is more important than ours? These two professions always run late. I don't think I could be either. I'm always on time, or even early.

So, the painter is coming because we have decided to bag the remodel and start sprucing up our house to sell it. We adore our little Cape Cod, but the 5 of us are busting at the seams. We need more space...oh, I hear a car outside.

It's the painter. Later.


Update: Dan and Dan Jr. are here to paint away. I think they are going to do us right. I always think it is so funny how professional painters wear white. Seems like an open canvas to me.