marigold movie

I love when I see a movie and I think it's good at the time, after the fact I think about it more and more and realize just how GREAT it really was..... such is the case with The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.  I took Jonathan to see Madagascar 3 but I could not bear to do that to myself, so I settled him in to his theater and popped in to see Marigold..... at first I thought that if I was a little older I might enjoy it more... but as the movie progressed, it just got better and better and there is nothing BETTER than a movie that keeps you thinking well after you see it.  I am not a movie reviewer, so if you want the recap, hello google, but let me share my favorite quote:
"Everything will work out in the end.  So, if things are not working out, it is not the end."   (so true)

holy grill

I'm enlightened in the art of BBQ'ing after my niece's graduation party.  It was a poolside party complete with the 'grill master' who made gourmet magic on the grill.  I took full advantage of his expertise, grilling him for information (haha) about how he made all the delicious food with that big hunk of metal using propane.  His tip was to NOT overcook and dry everything out, keeping the grill on medium to low.. and here's the other news flash - indirect heat.  Cook the chicken turning the middle burners off and using it more as an oven without the flames directly under the food until that last few minutes where you turn on the center to give it the crispy finish.  genius right??  I won't go into detail about every ingredient, mainly because I don't remember, but let me just say that the desserts were crazy delicious and must be mentioned:  grilled bananas, grilled peaches, grilled pineapple!  All basted with a butter/cinnamon/sugar/cognac mixture and baked with the skins on.  As if that were not enough, he actually baked chocolate chip cookies on the grill!  The tip here was the make sure the grill was cleaned first, place them on a separate grilling sheet with foil on it for easy cleaning using and again using indirect heat, turning off middle burners - taking note of the temperate on the grill and keeping it on a lower heat setting.  yup.  summer just got a whole lot better at polise south......... thank you david and game on....

Gilenson - The Gas Grill Experts

a little bit of italy

I love when you set out to do something and it doesn't go as planned, but it turns out better.  Juli and I went out for our 'girls night' dinner at Broadway Pizza in LBI.  We biked over there on a perfectly perfect beachy evening, but when we got there, it was closed.  After the initial disappointment since this is our little tradition together, I remembered seeing a sign down the road outside the Italian deli that said "now open for dinner" so we headed on over to check it out.   The dining area was more special than I'd expected and the owner, Deb, welcomed us in - I immediately felt that I'd known her for years.  They had a special prix fixe menu with many choices, and the waitress said if there is something we wanted that is not on the menu, they could certainly make it for us as an a la carte item.  Dinner was fabulous - I had a pear and arugula salad and the lobster crepes..... Juli had bolognese style baked ziti and we shared a dessert that was TO DIE FOR.... the "Teardrop" perfectly named and I won't describe it, just go try it.  Her husband, Francis, is the chef, which explains the amazing crepes and awesome desserts, and he can cook a mean Italian dish!  We left full and happy and feeling as though we'd dined at a friend's house (a friend with a really nice house who has a husband who is a really good cook).  When in LBI - check it out for sure.....

A Little Bite of Italy

cable guy

He arrived, I bowed to him, he was confused at first, but then he saved us, we are back on line.  All is right with the world as we know it.

instant family time

If you ever want to see all the members of your family at once, sit by the internet router in your house and unplug it.  In 30 seconds or less, the entire family will appear before you.... waa-lah!  The reason I know this will work (guaranteed) is that it happened in our house by accident a few weeks ago when our internet service had a glitch and went out for about 30 seconds. (no exaggeration).  I was working on my laptop, and saw the browser freeze up and then... one by one they all appeared before me!  I was so amazed, that I didn't even think to be creative and say "let's exist for 10 minutes like the cavemen" because we actually did that back in October 2011.  I remember it all too clearly.  We truly need this thing called 'internet' to each be in our happy place (myself included).... and then as if that was not proof enough, on the last day of school, the internet went down again, but not for 30 seconds... it has been out for 3 days and counting, waiting for a technician to appear (in 1 more day) because I guess comcast does not have enough technicians for the life and times of the modern family...do they NOT know that we cannot exist for 4 days without internet service????  The producer in me could not accept this and I was determined to fix it myself, so I drove many miles (48 or so) to the NEAREST center to get a modem only to find the address they gave me was off by one house number and I almost crumbled on the spot.... but then my co-pilot spotted the sign buried in the trees on the opposite side of the street and we were saved.  New modem in hand and 48 miles back home, followed by one full hour on the phone... still no service and we are now at the mercy of the saturday savior aka comcast technician.  Stay tuned for that outcome.  As a side note, during all this, my other revelation was realizing that Tommy has the uncanny ability to listen to several minutes of my complaining and respond with one short sentence that either sums it up or cracks me up.  This will be the subject of my next posting because I have to drive to Starbuckes to publish this because I HAVE NO INTERNET!!

strange eating habits

Tommy literally eats DINNER food for BREAKFAST.  I'm sorry, this is NOT NORMAL.
Example - breaded chicken cutlets (cold), mashed sweet potatoes (thankfully he warmed these up) and quinoa with vegetables.  I'm sorry, but I cook these with DINNER-FRIENDLY spices.  hello... scrambled eggs, cereal, toast, etc?  I'm confused.  Did I mix up his baby food jars early on and cause this odd behavior?  (and no photo for this unless I remember to take one tomorrow when he is actually partaking in this type of consumption)

note.... I did remember to take a photo....and you will note the leftover chicken MARSALA (cold... !  ugh!!) and quinoa mentioned above.
give me my scrambled eggs with cheeeeeese pleeeease.....

sailing day

Father's Day could not have been more perfect for Tom doing what he loves with the people he loves  (minus one uncooperative family member).  I need to start by saying that we have not been on a sailboat together since the fateful day back in 1997 when our little September sail went bad with a mishap tack and a tipping over of our boat... but I won't even go there.  Even though there was a moment where my heart skipped a beat when this boat leaned pretty far over, Tom assured me that we  would not tip over and explained the dynamics of it (as a good engineer could) so I was relaxed.  Juli never really completely chilled, but maybe at some point.  Tommy embraced it as he does with any water sport.  He was hoping to try kiteboarding but that fell thru so this was the next best thing and he was in it all the way raising the sail and coming about with the jibe and all that.  sailor-in-training.  Juli was doing her best with the steering (tiller!) but had a serious look on her face the whole time - kinda like when she's driving, but not quite as happy.  All in all... a fun little day in the barnegat bay.

ridiculousness

If you have not seen this show (called 'ridiculousness'), it is worth a viewing.  soooo funny, just makes me laugh.  The concept is the old "america's funniest home videos" deal but the commentary makes it unique.  The skateboarder guy from Rob and Big hosts, (pay close attention, his voice is sounds like Matthew McConaughey but he clearly does not resemble him)... co-hosting is the guy from the 'hood, Steelo and he is so adorable and the girl with the infectious laugh who just makes you want to laugh with her.  The way they comment on and categorize the videos makes this show a do-not-miss in my book for anyone who just wants to LAUGH, although some of the videos make you wonder how stupid people can really be.... one of my fave episodes is with Justin Bieber as a guest and Rob explains that he is more popular than the country he came from - that would be Canada for those lacking in Bieber-Fever....

Ridiculousness Web Site

special olympics

Jonathan gets a hit - makes it to 1st base.

Players happy after exciting win!

Some awesome fans!

This weekend was the annual summer games down in Trenton.  Jonathan's softball team started off with an 8:00 am game against a fierce opponent.  They got crushed, losing by more than 20 points... but the 2:00 pm game was not a repeat.  They put the morning behind them and played their hearts out!  Each inning, the lead moved back and forth like a tennis match by 2 points... each time they fell behind, they fought their way back and it came down to the very last inning where they tied it and finished it off with style.  Every player contributed.  It was so incredible and emotional - those kids were as excited as if they had won the world series!  The director of the games came over to our team after the game and told them it was the best game she had ever seen played at the summer games in all her years!!  On Sunday, for the final game, they played against a team that was so much better than them, and although the team dominated the entire game, the Patriots never lost their spirit as they continued to hit and field every play as well as they could.  Vicky had an incredible catch in the outfield and her teammates were so happy for her and jumped on her in celebration even though they were far behind with pretty much no hope of winning.  With 2 outs in the bottom of the last inning, Jonathan had a seizure while on deck, and managed to get up at bat and hit an incredible fly ball to center field.  The ball was caught and they lost the game, but the Patriots took home the bronze medal.  There is no explaining the feeling of attending the special olympics - you are guaranteed to encounter the nicest people and all the athletes are truly happy, win or lose.  The aura clearly surrounds the town of Ewing because I accidentally left my i-phone in a 7-11 and the person who found it, called the last number dialed and managed to find me to return it.  Good karma all around.....!

my baby at the wheel

I love it.  I get in the car and she is at the wheel.  She looks completely different to me - a serious 'driving face' and so happy with her newfound grown up status.  My cup runneth over and I don't know why.  I have been through this before with my oldest, he is 23.  Why is this hitting me so hard?  Her excitement is contagious and her determination is fierce.  I can't stop smiling while I watch her back up, take her turns and focus so intently on doing everything just right.  Life is just precious sometimes.