My Tri Guy

Congrats to Brent who scored a 3rd place finish at the City Island Tri on 6/21.

55 and Holding

We went to a wedding last weekend, and a woman I just met the night before said, "May I ask you a personal question?" Well, what does one say when asked such a question, but sure. She then asked, "How old are you?" Was that a good thing, as in, my how young you look, Donna. Or was it a bad thing as in, good heavens you act childish. Hmmm. Could be either I suppose! As it turns out, she thought I was about 10 years younger than I am, so I guess it was a good thing.

Regardless, I celebrated my 55th birthday on June 21. Kera, Chris, and Gwen visited me in the afternoon. I swear Kera has a little notebook where she writes down everything she hears me say I want. Lovely gifts, and very nice of them all to spend time with me.

In the evening, my parents and brother came to celebrate not only my birthday, but Father's Day as well. Happy Day, my Dat!

Here's a pic of my parents with me, celebrating the day, celebrating life.

Look Who's 3!

Kylie turned three on June 14 and we had our family celebration tonight. She got a bike for her birthday and she had a great time riding back and forth in the driveway.

What a hoot she is. She sticks her tongue out when she's concentrating hard. Very funny.

I have yet to see this little girl sit down and actually eat a meal. Tonight was no exception. We all sat and had dinner on our Strawberry Shortcake plates while Ky basically played. Until it was cake time, of course! She tried hard to blow out the candles and finally got two of them. A little help from Grandma and we finally nailed the last one. I don't know what food she likes, but I know the cake with lots of icing was a hit.

Finally, it was time for presents. She was quite into it, asking, "What is it?" for each package we put in front of her. Great Grandma & Grandpa got her a cute short set with little watermelon shorts that were just adorable. Grandpa got her a video and a very nifty Princess set with crayons and paints. Aunt Kera, Uncle Chris, and Gwen got her a Cootie game, 2 dresses, and a really cute book set with an adorable bunny that jumps out of the box like a jack-in-the-box. Grandma, Grandpa, and Uncle Rick hooked her up with a Leapster2 hand-held game set and some games. She made out pretty good!

I love this pic of Trav playing with his little girl.

And what's not to love about Great Grandma in a Strawberry Shortcake party hat?!! She's a real party animal! LOL!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KYLIE!

Ice Packs

Brent has this cool knee ice pack thing that works great. Unfortunately, we haven't been able to find another one like it anywhere. Our neighbor, Loren Barisch is a chiropractor (Barisch Family Chiropractic - a shameless plug) and he found this one in a catalog. It actually holds 2 ice packs and was originally designed for the US Gymnastic Team. Whatever. For the price, it should be the Cadillac of ice packs! It covers the whole knee and I can't wait to give it a try.

Silly Grils, Crazy String

When Gwen and I are together, Brent calls us the "Silly Girls." Tonight the silly girls decided to take a group picture and play with Crazy String. The picture's not bad all things considered, but Gwen's fingers just aren't quite strong enough to get the Crazy String to work. I had fun shooting it at her feet, but she didn't appreciate my humor at all! We sure do have a good time though.

S.M.O.K.I.N' !!!!!

I have been sooooo hungry for smoked ribs, and Brent graciously agreed to make them for our Thursday "wings" night. We went through Steven Raichlin and Hugh Carpenters ribs recipes and finally selected one of Hugh's - Carolina Ribs. OMG! All I can say is that they were absolutely fabulous. Cooked until they were just coming off the bone, just the right amount of spice, and smoked to perfection. You "done good" Brent!

Fab 40

My friend Renee turned 40 last week. Her husband planned a wonderful party at the Dauphin County Bar Association. I love the picture of Renee today vs Renee at 18. To be honest, with the exception of the 80's hair, that's pretty much what she looked like when I met her just after she graduated from law school.The food was wonderful. I took a bunch of pictures - you never know when I will have the opportunity to steal some ideas! I was particularly enthralled with the spring rolls, cut sharply on the diagonal, and served in Asian spoons on top of mirrors. Wow! Pretty spectacular.

Add to that crab fondue, hummas and montrachet/pistachio dip with toasted pitas, baked brie, sesame chicken, and three kinds of bruschetta. But wait, that's not all. Filet mignon heated in a white wine sauce, topped with sauteed mushrooms atop a slice of baguette topped it all off.


Have you ever watched Ace of Cakes? Well, I believe that Charm City cakes start at $1200. Jeff used a bakery in Paxtang that did these incredible cakes. I didn't mention before that Renee has a shoe fettish. An expensive shoe fettish. An expensive designer shoe fettish. So, the them was, of course, shoes. Not just any shoes though...the theme was her shoes. The two cakes were replicas of her shoe boxes and the piece de resistance was a fondant shoe that looks exactly like the real thing.

Jeff spent 8 months planning this party for Renee. I hope it was the party she dreamed of.