Best Cookies in America: Girl Scout Cookies

Well that maybe an exaggeration, but they are an All-American icon for sure. Right now Sarah (a.k.a. Sarah's mom, a.k.a Me) is in the midst of selling Girl Scout Cookies. So far she has sold just over 100 boxes! All going to her family, friends, teachers, and the troops overseas. Sarah and I both agree that the Thin mints are the best, however, Lauren has not quite acquired the taste. She will stick to the plain old shortbread herself. While Charlie on the other hand, actually has both hands in the peanut butter boxes. One for the PB Patties and the other for the PB sandwiches. Just look at all the yummy choices!



Which ones are your favorite??

Assistance from the Blog World

Hey there all of you who have so graciously come over to read my blog! I have a question....I have been searching around all over the internet and am basically getting bogged down in all my options. I am searching for a graphic designer to help me come up with a logo for my party business and also a possible website/blog design to go with it. I have seen several websites from people who have done blogs/websites that I like, but frankly there are just too many out there and I don't know where to begin. I was hoping some of you might share with me anyone whom you have enjoyed working with and who did a good job for you. On the flip side...if you are such a creative talent and would be interested in possibly helping me out yourself, please drop me a line and maybe we can talk.

I have been in the process of getting my business going for a couple of years now and for the sake of a better excuse, "Life" has gotten in the way. I get more and more motivated every year to get this thing going, so it remains to be seen if it will happen. My sweet husband gave me another little pep talk last night, so I am currently in "go" mode and trying to work on it again! Feel like a good logo and design to put out to the world would be a good place to start!

Thanks!

Sarah's New Glasses

Sarah could not be more thrilled to have glasses! We are all a little surprised, but so happy that she thinks it is the best thing ever. We found out in the fall that she failed her eye test at school, took as awhile to get into her Pediatric Opthamologist, and then took 10-15 days to get her glasses in, so here we are....the end of January and finally she has them! She has been so cute with them. She thinks reading is so much more fun now (although they are not really to help her read). She just had a hard time seeing things in the distance. She also cleans them about 15 times a day and she is very protective of her case so little sis doesn't get into any of it. I am so glad she is enjoying it and that so far it is a good experience for her!

Winter Session at the Little Gym

Last week Lauren had another parent show at the Little Gym. It was a great opportunity for me to catch her doing what she loves most.....playing at the gym. She loves to run around, dance, climb on things, swing from the bars, and play with the bubbles. I am so glad she has an activity that she loves.

La Mia Italia: Indian Food

Yes, that's right....Indian food. It has been awhile since I have posted under the La Mia Italia label, but last night's dinner inspired me to write about one of my favorite places to eat in Italy. Last night I went out with my brother and sister-in-law in Dallas to go eat Indian food and it was fantastic. Almost as fantastic as Rangoli in Milan.


My husband and I happened upon Rangoli in the theater district in Milan when we were in Italy in 2006 for the Olympics. We had been all over Northern Italy for two weeks and he had already been there a month prior to my arrival, so on our last night in Milan, we were tired of Italian food to say the least. Charlie asked me if I had ever had Indian food before and I had not. He had had it a handful of times and encouraged me to give it a try. I will say I was a bit timid and nervous about it and had no idea what to order on the menu at all. Luckily, Rangoli had a chef's menu that had a little of everything so we went with that. Top that off with some great Indian white wine and cheese naan (which you can't find many places) and it was one of the best meals I have ever had. Period. In fact it was so good, I would fly to Milan right now just to eat there if I could.

Now skip forward to the summer of 2007. We were vacationing in Cinque Terra and I was about 5-6 months pregnant and we found ourselves in the most steep hillside city of the group. Needless to say, that Cinque Terra is not the best local for a very pregnant woman to tour. I was tired of walking up and down the steep hills and felt like we had seen all there was to see a day earlier than we were scheduled to leave. So Charlie suggests, well since our next stop is Lake Como, then why don't we just leave tomorrow and spend a night in Milan and go have Indian food. SO it took me all of a second to agree to that plan and the next thing I knew we were sitting back in Rangoli and I was so excited. This time around we had our 3 year-old daughter with us, so we picked up a Happy Meal on the way, so she would have something to eat.




It was FABULOUS once again. We were a little nervous it might not be as good the second time around, but was it ever. I would only say my one disappointment was that they no longer had Indian wine. In fact, it is really hard to find Indian wine, but it was so good. So in summation...If you are ever in Milan, eat at Rangoli. Even if you are within the vicinity of Milan, make a special trip in to go eat here!

In case you are wondering, last night we ate at the India Palace in Dallas over on Preston and 635. Yummo! Highly recommend this place, as well. Last night we feasted (and I mean feasted...we had sooo much food) on lamb and veggie samosas, lamb and chicken tikka masala, chicken curry, chicken vindaloo, and malai kofta kashmiri, and garlic naan. Note: The chicken vindaloo will light your fire. Extremely hot. It was all so good and I had the left overs for lunch today!

High School Musical Party

Sarah has been talking about a High School Musical Party for almost a year now. In fact, she usually decides what she wants for next year's party sometime within the week of her current party. (I actually think I know what we will do next year already!) So for a year, it has been High School Musical! The day finally came and it was a good one. We chose a local dance studio to have the party. Her guest lists was quite long and she has made it clear that she prefers parties outside the home, so I guess I gotta respect her wishes! The girls had a blast. They gotta to learn a routine to Sharpay's "I want it all" from HSM 3. This happens to be Sarah's favorite song from the movie. We then had some cake and open gifts! Short and sweet little party! Here are the details:

Theme: High School Musical
Location: Dana's Studio of Dance
Cake: Before I say who... just let me say that we perused the Internet for possible ideas for cakes. She picked this one out as her favorite. As simple as it gets. Found it at Wal-Mart of all places! I got lots of rave reviews from the kids, so not a gourmet cake by any means, but they all LOVED IT!
Favors: Red bags with HSM microphone head sets, notebooks, stickers, magnets, pencil, star lollipop, and a megaphone.
Decor: Lots of red and black. Used lots of gold stars. Made little place mats out of scrapbook paper and cold stars. We had a life size poster of the cast for pictures.

Later that night, we had a small family celebration at the house. The celebration was not just for Sarah's birthday, but for the fact the Cowboys finally won a play-off game. It was a good day and a great evening! Happy Birthday my Sarah!

Happy 6th Birthday

My Sarah....6 years-old today! 6 years ago today I had been in labor for over 24 hours. I started contractions around 5am on January 8th and she was born a little after 1 in the afternoon on the 9th! Given that she was supposed to be born Christmas Day and that the labor took almost a day and a half, I thought she was never going to come. Interesting side note about her birth. She was due Christmas Day - her maternal grandfather's birthday and she was born on January 9th - her maternal grandmother's birthday.

Here we are 6 years later. My Sarah has been the joy of my life. She is all I ever hoped for and wished for. She is a sweet soul and loves almost everything and everyone. She loves reading, playing games, playing pretend and dress-up. She loves dancing, ice skating, swimming, soccer, gymnastics, and doing art. She likes to travel to new places, eat pepperoni pizza, look at books in her bed at night with a flashlight, play at the beach, play air hockey and ride her bike. I love that she is so loving and gives lots of kisses and hugs. She is such a good girl and tries to be even when she is not. She is a great big sister even though she said it is hard. I love that she makes little books and little cards for everyone all the time. She loves all her friends. In fact, I had to cut her list of birthday guests at 23, even though she probably wanted more of her friends there. I love making pancakes for her on the weekends, listening to the secrets she has to tell, and creeping into her room after she is asleep and giving her a sweet kiss hoping she is dreaming of all things lovely. She is my love. She is my Sarah.

Fiesta Bowl 2010

My beloved horned frogs are playing tonight in a "Take 2" of last year's Poinsettia Bowl. There is no doubt in my mind that the Frogs have this one in the bag. It is a shame that the we (and Boise State for that matter) didn't get the opportunity to play a "Big" school and have the opportunity to prove to the country, the BCS, and ourselves that we can play with the big boys!

But, alas, here we are and we are ready to kick some Boise State butt! Give'em Hell TCU!

Oh, and thanks for allowing for the perfect opportunity to use my new cute serving tray!