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Hilarious!

Everyone loves cards! I love cards! Brent loves cards! Brent's family loves cards!

Everyone loves to give cards and to recieve cards! I love it! Brent loves it! And his family especially loves it!

So when Brent got this card from his sister Leslie - we thought it was particularly special. Inside it reads:

"Happy Birthday Brent! We thought we'de send you this cute pink card just in case you were wonderinhg what it was like to be a young girl, just turning 10 years old!"

I can't stop laughing!

Happy Birthday Nikki!

Woo Woo!

odd thoughts

I was looking through some gift catalogs yesterday and I came across a picture frame that said this on it "Friends are the family we choose for ourselves." Is that weird to anyone else? I thought, "Well, how do we know we didn't choose our family to begin with?" And "What's wrong with not being able to choose our family?" I guess it was meant positively, like we get to add our friends to "family" status and that's nice, but it just left me wondering. Then, this morning Ella pushed Alex and I gave her a big consequence. She started listing all the ways in which I was being unfair and selfish and how she can't wait to be a mom so that she can tell her kids what to do. I explained that I was sad to have a kid who pushed and that she had to have a consequence for making a bad decision. I said it's my job to teach her that it's not okay to push someone and she argued it was okay for kids to. I said, "What if I went and pushed my friend across the street? She wouldn't be my friend anymore. She probably wouldn't talk to me ever again." I then said how lucky she was that in her family she can make a mistake and her brothers will still want to play with her again and that they could forgive her. It made me think about that picture frame and feel pretty lucky that I'm stuck with a bunch of people I didn't "choose" to be my family and that they forgive me when I make mistakes and love me anyway (most of the time). ;)

Christmas Caroling

It's that time of year! I'd like to invite everyone to our annual Christmas Caroling party this Sunday at 6:00 at Jacque's house. You know the drill, bring a dessert and your singing voice!!

Opening in Honolulu

 Don and I had a great time in Honolulu, and the exhibit opening at The First Hawaiian Center was beautiful and lots of fun. Quite a few friends from Maui came plus 5 Vancouverites...Don called them the VonCougars. It felt really good to have all of that support in the midst of strangers and I remembered how good it felt when almost all of the Gilroy family was able to come to Maui for my show in 2008.

Don's daughter Jill was there with white lei and red bag

That's Aunt Lynne in a huddle with the VonCougars

A woman walking by asked us if we were on our honeymoon

Caldo De Pollo ... Oh so good!

I remember eating this soup in a little Mexican Restaurant in Chicago, I thought I died and went to heaven! (But initially wondered why they had chunks of corn on the cob in the soup!)  I made this for my family Monday night for dinner.  We all loved it! I thought I would share... There are many variations to the recipe in case you want to google it. (Its basically 'Chicken Soup'... but oh, so good!):

1 large onion, chopped (white onion)

1 garlic clove

2 carrots, chopped 1/2-inch thick

3 medium potatoes, chopped bite size
1 1/2 cups chopped celery, chopped 1/4 inch thick
1 corn on the cob (cut in quartered chunks)
6 -8 pieces chicken thighs or 6 -8 pieces chicken legs, skinless, bone-in
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
salt and pepper
1 -1 1/2 bunch cilantro, chopped
lemon wedges or lime wedge (to garnish) (and/or avocado)
You may also add: (If you want)
1 zuccini
1 sprig fresh parsley
1 bay leave
1/2 head of cabbage
1 can stewed tomatoes (warning: will add a 'Minestrone Soup' flavor!)

Place chicken in a 3 or 4 quart stockpot, with 2 quarts of water. (About 8 cups.) Add celery stalk, garlic clove, onion and cilantro to chicken. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and ground 1/4 teaspoon of black pepper. Cover stockpot, and bring chicken to a boil over high heat.
While the chicken is cooking, cut the veggies into large chunks.
Once the chicken has come to a boil, carefully add the vegetables. Season broth with additional salt, if necessary. (About 1/2 to 1 teaspoon.)
Let chicken and vegetables simmer in a covered stockpot, over low heat until chicken and vegetables are fully cooked. (About 60 to 90 minutes.)


This Recipe is about the same, only called "Caldo de Res" Or Beef Soup:

2 T. vegetable oil

2 1/2 lbs. beef chuck steak, cut into 1/2" cubes
1 medium white onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
6 c. beef broth
1 bay leaf
1 T. dried Mexican oregano
1 lb. red potatoes, diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 ears corn, shucked and cut into 1-inch-thick rounds
1 zucchini, cut into thick matchsticks, 1 inch long
1/2 head green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 c. chopped cilantro
salt and freshly ground pepper

Heat the oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat; add the meat and brown on all sides, about 5 minutes (I did this in several batches so as not to overcrowd the pan). Add the onion and garlic and cook for 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, and oregano. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 1 1/2 hours, partially covered.
Stir in the potatoes, carrot, and corn; continue to cook for 30 minutes. Add the zucchini, cabbage, and cilantro; cook for 15 minutes. Discard the bay leaf and season to taste with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into warm bowls and pass the accompaniments at the table.
Recipe from the following blog:
http://thehungrydog.blogspot.com/2010/09/caldo-de-res.html