Spring Break

Lovingly said goodbye to the boys this morning and sent them on their way to school. As in, push-push, shove-shove, bye-bye. Grumpy, grumpy, grumpy...

It's the last official day of M's spring break, so he and I hit the road. Filled up with gas and found it at a bargain price along the beach. I paid $3.45/gallon yesterday in our town...wowza!

Kept driving north on PCH, heading to an area that our Long Beach family had told us about...Belmont Shore.

Cute little shopping street with lots of restaurants and many, many coffee shops, but we were there for one reason, and one reason only.

La Creperie.

Feeling a little grumpy ourselves, we quickly...very quickly ordered a cup of coffee for the boy and a hot tea for the girl.

And sighed.

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So many great things to choose from, but it's a crepe place. So we ordered crepes. To share.

Maple crepes with bananas and walnuts...

...and chicken, artichoke, and goat cheese.

OH MY.

Life was going to be OK. The food was great and light and made us feel good.

Back in the car, we drove along the beach looking at all the charming, cute, little million dollar houses. I like my Balboa cottages better, but these were pretty adorable.

Driving, driving, driving...listening to the B52's and the conversation goes kinda like this:

Where do you wanna go?

I dunno. Where do you wanna go?

I dunno.

pause.

Beer?

Beer!

fist pump.

So, an hour after leaving the crepe place where we ummm...like ate a whole meal, we were at Schooner or Later drinking schooners of Fat Tire and ummm...eating fried calamari with the best durned cocktail sauce ever.
Ever.

We befriended our neighboring table and just chilled under a heat lamp.

(Have you ever shared a meal out with my husband? By the end of any given meal, he honestly knows everything about our server. Or the people next to us. And their whole extended family.)

Priceless.

Back in the car having consumed 2 meals in the time frame of less than 2 hours, we head south.

By now the sun is out and we're in a convertible. On vacation. Life is good.

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Food, Food, Food

It's been all about food lately.

Yesterday, I learned to make empanadas from my Argentinian neighbor. OH MY.

First off, my hair. I am almost there! My God-daughter and I were doing Locks of Love together...we started at the same time and she cut her 10 inches last summer. I am still growing and growing and growing...

Adriana and Alba. Those are some mighty spicy women!

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It was so fun learning from Adriana...she was worried about her English, but it wasn't even a problem.

Empanadas...savory and sweet. Both are meat filled, but the sweet ones also have raisins in them and a little powdered sugar on the outside. Sound strange? Maybe...until you taste them!

We cooked and talked and sipped champagne and laughed...and then sat down to an amazing lunch.

Once again...OH MY.

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Home in time to whip up chicken parmigiana for my birthday boy. I keep saying it over and over...18. 18. 18. He gave up chocolate for Lent, so he had berry cobbler for his birthday dessert...YUM!

Uncle Greg and Aunt Joanna and the whole crew came for supper. We've all been busy, so it was great to see everyone! The fun of the night? Building castles out of the bricks...though the other fun was watching Miss Sophie pose. I'm thinking Sophia Michele is actually a blond Sophia Loren! She is a crack up!

Check it out...he's sitting. He's still. He's quiet.

Having raised one like him...actually, currently raising one like him, all I can do is smile. And pray for them!

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Fast forward to today. I had to work this morning but M had the day off. First up was dropping the car off to be fixed. Lovely. Would've left it as is, but that whole thing where the hood flies up while driving was a problem. Money tree, money tree...bloom, bloom, bloom. After, we met up and did Meals on Wheels together. I sure did miss him!

So, while waiting for the car estimate, M read about a new burger place on the other side of town called The Counter. (Holly, there is one by you...RUN THERE.)

Ready everyone?

OH MY.

It's a 'designer' burger place. Not cheap, but probably the best burgers ever. EVER. You choose from 20 some toppings...OH MY.

But, the main reason we went was because M had read about the sweet (as in potato) fries and fried pickles. He doesn't even like pickles, but if they're on the menu, then you just have to try them!

I'd never order them again...not bad, but not my cup of tea. The sweet potato fries, though, with the horseradish mayo...OH MY.

We made a quick Trader Joe's run and then my boyfriend planted the front porch barrel with Lavendar for me. Did I mention how glad I am that he's home??? And how thankful I am that he is ditching his conference???

There are now a ton of high school seniors raiding the fridge...the old gang is here. I am not cooking tonight...at least not a 'real' supper. There's left-over chicken parmigiana and cereal and grilled cheese. And empanadas...OH MY!



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Matteo

Strong. Faithful. Smart. Funny. Serious. Wise. Secure.

18?

18!

Happy birthday, Matthew.

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Field Trip

Mission San Juan Capistrano. My 3rd and final time with the 4th grade.

Palm trees on a perfectly sunny day.

My group. A really, really nice group. They always give me the rowdy boys..I wonder why, but this time I had all the ones who like to listen and learn. A refreshing change.

I was so tempted to pick one! We have room for one more fruit tree in the backyard, but I am still leaning towards figs. Or olives. Oranges would be nice, though.

Boo-Bear.

I think I am going to sneak in a little nap!

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My Job

While the husband is away, the wife will...

1. handle all the sports driving, including dealing with the broken hearted son who missed the last shot in the final second of the game and had his team lose by 1 point. Even a cookie didn't help this, for him or me.
2. oversee the book report that needs to be written by son #3. the topic is the bald eagle and well...he already knows everything, so why research? it's due the day you come home, by the way.
3. deal with the 1st college rejection and all that goes with that. also deal with the 1st audition and the immediate acceptance to a different college. ups and downs.
4. manage the car and all the emotional stuff/drama following the car accident today. it wasn't me and no one is hurt and the other car has no damage. his isn't pretty but is still somewhat driveable.
5. meet with the financial insultant/consultant regarding FAFSA and all paperwork is in. your signature has been forged. we are rich on paper and in heaven...prayers that some cash might fall from the tree. soon.
6. replace the cracked crown in my mouth. lovely. bloom, money tree, bloom.
7. comfort the 9 year old in the middle of the night. all night. bad dreams about giant spiders. once he's back asleep, the mom feels them too. sigh.
8. dream of a faraway place. alone. check on expedia and alas, the money tree is still not in bloom.
9. play? thought she was supposed to play. it's ok...see's candy helps. lots.

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On the Road

M's choir, loading up. I had dropped him off so his car wasn't sitting there all week and now Matthew is begging to drive it.

Sorry, but your dad reads this blog, so he'll be calling you in a little bit.

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I managed to get a walk in this morning around the lake. The clouds have been gorgeous lately and the rain is supposed to stay away until this afternoon.

Matthew is gone to another choir festival today, so he was up and out of the house early.

Alex has an away game today...way away, actually. We'll hit the road around 2:20pm and won't get back until 8pm or so. Tomorrow morning is church and yet another game in the afternoon. Matthew has an audition in the afternoon and Brian and I will drive him. And buy him a shake on the way home.

Brian is playing outside with friends today...they were just in the backyard playing Stratego and are now using my broom handle as a sword. It'll never be the same again...

The laundry room has been shoveled out and I am about to start on the linen closet. After that, I am done. Spring can come now...the house is clean.

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All Done

It is finished.

And by finished, I mean the attic. The attic is clean. Very clean...or actually, a better word would be organized. Need to find anything? No problem...everything is either on a shelf or in a clear bin on the floor.

If you've ever been in our attic you know what a big deal this is. It's the little things...but it makes me incredibly happy.

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Last night's supper was a big ole' slab of grilled beef with some sweet potato fries and roasted asparagus alongside. Not a bite was left!

Not sure you can see this, but Alex added his own extra line on the wall. The high heels he's talking about are mine, though they did look good with his skinny ankles.

Today was a blur. It's been raining on and off and that meant that I was once again stuck in the gym. On an elliptical machine, which would be much more fun if I could sit in a chair next to it and watch the TV's.

I then met a girlfriend for lunch, managing to squeeze in all of my errands beforehand. I had the best butternut squash soup...I have got to try and make that at home. I'm definitely a squash-y, pumpkin-y kind of gal.

I just dropped off the middle boys at basketball, but not until they raided the fridge. Chef Alex made quesadilla after quesadilla...I am thankful for Costco! Matthew is at a choir festival somewhere far away, so he won't be home until late, late tonight. Brian has a group of friends over and they are playing MarioKart...can you hear them? Loud is an understatement! M left today for almost a week on tour with his choir, busing to some exotic location. Is Arizona exotic? He'll come home in time to turn around and leave for yet another conference, though he told me last night he might ditch. (please, please, please, she says under her breath) I already miss him...

We're having a gourmet supper of messy guiseppes. Basically sloppy joes but made the Italian way. My boys love them...my husband does not. In fact, he's missing lots of gourmet wonders this coming week.

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After supper, I am going to take a hot bath with a hot cup of tea and then watch a movie with the boys. It's a Sandlot kind of night, I think!