A quarter of a century old!

On March 4th my hubby Deke turned 25 years old! He loves to make fun of the fact that I am older than him and the first thing he says to me on his birthday is, "I'm finally to the age you were when we met!". G-thanks babe! 

Tyler was at his dads house this weekend so we decided to throw Deke a tiny little surprise party for the 3 of us on Thursday night when Deke returned home from school... 

Here is our mini-surprise party ♥

I know that looks like a red blob but it is indeed a heart on his cake.

When I asked Tyler what he wanted to get Deke for his birthday he immediately said a Barbie. Apparently they think its funny to make fun of each other for "liking" girl things. So I took him to the dollar store and he picked out a fairy doll and a princess card. He then went over to the balloons and grabbed the first pink one he saw. I told him that it was a baby shower balloon and read "its a girl" on it... his response: "PERFECT!" LOL when Deke opened his girly present he declared war on Tyler and told him to just wait for his birthday! 

Here is the cake I made for his family party 

The awful thing about Deke having his birthday in March is that he will always have a nasty mustache for that entire month. Its a Cal Fire ritual to grow mustaches that month! Yuck!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART! I'm glad your brain has finally fully developed! ;D 

Crab cakes with a savory chipotle sauce

Deke worked at the Cal Fire crab feed last Saturday and ended up brining home a HUGE bag of leftover dungeness crab. I've never been a huge seafood fan but I didn't want all that food going to waste either. So I made some delicious Paula Deen inspired crab cakes with a savory chipotle sauce. 

I say "inspired" because I took her ingredients but decided my own portions. Her recipe looked too mild and I needed a bold flavor to hide the fish taste that I hate. I was very pleased with my results!

I even convinced Tyler to try one... I only had to tell him they were Crabby-Patties and I had gotten the recipe from Sponge-Bob himself. hehe....  ;)

For dessert we had some strawberry Italian sodas :) 

Recipe with MY portions:
1 1/2 pound crabmeat, picked free of shells 
2 cup crushed crackers (recommended: Ritz), I used 1 cup for mixture and 1 cup for outside layer
5 green onions, finely chopped 
1/2 cup finely chopped red bell pepper 
1/4 cup mayonnaise 
1 egg 
2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 
1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard 
1 lemon, juiced 
1 teaspoon garlic powder 
1 teaspoon salt 
Several dashes cayenne pepper
Approximately 1/4 cup of flour (not for mixture) 


Directions: In large bowl mix all ingredients except the oil and 1 cup of Ritz crumbs. Once mixed, make medium sized patties and coat with Ritz crumbs and flour. Fry in pan on medium heat for 4 minutes on each side.  Once slightly cooled add chipotle dollop and enjoy! 


Chipotle Sauce: 
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup mayonnaise 
2 tsp lime juice
1 tsp finely chopped cilantro 
2 tsp of finely chopped chipotle peppers 
several dashes of cayenne pepper

The King and I

This weekend Tyler performed in our stakes Best of Broadway series. He participated in "The King and I" and was one of the little students to teacher "Anna". He had such a fun time with this play and did such a good job too! Anyone who knows Tyler know he's quite the little actor and loves being on stage!

I tried to upload the video but for some reason it wouldn't allow it :( 

"Why Mothers Need Their Sleep"

This video makes me laugh. I've watched it at least a dozen times and every time I get a good chuckle. When I showed it to my husband, Deke, he agreed that I "turn to murder" if I am sleep deprived. I'm not so sure that's completely true but I will admit I get cranky without my precious shut-eye. Any other mothers relate to this video's description? 


"By the way, I killed the cats." LOL!!!



*Be sure to mute the blog music before starting the video*

A Birthday in San Francisco

 Yesterday was my 27th birthday and I don't care who knows it! lol 
We thought it'd be fun to take a little day trip to San Francisco. I really wanted to go to the Exploratorium since I hadn't been there since we moved to Northern California back in 1993 and Deke and Tyler had never been. This was actually Tyler's first time to San Francisco and he was beyond excited to go there. While we were driving over the Bay Bridge he said - "this is a dream come true!!!". Apparently its been a life long desire to cross over a bridge. You should of seen his face when he laid eyes on the Golden Gate for the first time! 

Here are a few of the things we did at the Explratorium:

 Tyler LOVED playing the drums! 

 FINALLY... a chair that is "Deke-sized!" lol 

Deke drew a picture of me through a scope. 

Tyler is making electricity here and if you look really close you can see it. 

Rain drop photography 

After the Exploratorium we walked around the Palace of Fine Arts 

For dinner we went to Johnny Rockets where I had the most amazing peanut butter chocolate milkshake. I must recreate it. 

And you thought the milkshake was my dessert, HA! We had lots of time left on the meter so we decided to check out this cute little cupcake shop down the street, Kara's Cupcakes.

On the way out we decided to burn some of those calories and walked down the bridge... well we walked, Tyler ran. 

Bye-bye San Francisco, we shall meet again real soon! 

This was too cute not to share - This is how I found the boys after coming back to the car from getting gas. I guess our day trip wore them out! 

His and Her pillows

Burlap pillows seem to be all the craze these days. Not sure why since you really can't lay on them but they are kinda cute. I've seen them at different stores like Pottery Barn, Ethan Allen, and other boutiques. Their price - $60 to $90 EACH! I have NO idea who would spend that kind of money on burlap, especially when the design is so simple. I was very pleased when I found a tutorial on THIS blog and it was beyond easy. 

I made my pillows 18 inches and used the Harrington font for the letters. A very helpful hint is to apply "Fray Check" around the entire pillow to avoid shredding, burlap tends to shred a lot once its cut! Also, the best part about this project - no sewing! I smeared some liquid stitch around the edges and voila - knock off designer pillows! (and for under $5!)

Now there will be no mistake who sleeps on what side of the bed ;) 

One of the many reasons why I love my job

This year will be my 5 year anniversary with Blue Shield of California and I must say that it is a great company to work for. I could bore you with a long list of perks that come with my job, but I won't. Instead I'm going to share just one - "the walking work station". That's right, we have treadmills attached to desks that we can use while we work. Awesome? VERY! Today I did my first session at the station for one hour. With my busy schedule its hard for me to find time for regular workouts so I find this newest addition at Blue Shield to be quite marvelous! 

Ok, I'll play this one....

Night Owl Crafting is hosting a HOO are you link party. 

I thought it would be fun to play this one, you should too! Click on the text to take you there! ;)  

1. What did you get/give for Valentine's Day?

My hubby surprised me with several assortments of flowers, chocolates, Juicy Couture perfume, and the SWEETEST card. Oh and I can't forget the cute poem him and Tyler recited to me when I got home from school :) 
2. Do you have a vacation planned in the next couple of months or in the summer?

We are scheduled to go to the Eastern Caribbean this coming May. Unless the boat burns down... AGAIN! 
3. What is one thing you do to pamper yourself?

Facials. I don't get them as often as I'd like but its definitely a special treat when I do! 
4. What sparks your interest to other people's blogs?

FOOD! I love looking at blogs with fun recipes and impressive baking. I love trying all the cool and creative recipes I find! 
5. What kind of a mood are you in today?

A simple mood. No extreme emotions today, just simple and happy :) 

Valentine Candy Grams

 Oh Valentines' Day. A beautiful Hallmark holiday time to celebrate the love you have for the special people in your life. I decided to make my two Valentine's some candy grams, one big one for papa bear and a smaller one for baby bear. Deke found his this morning on the couch and Tyler found his in his lunch pail at school. There is more Valentine goodness  to   come but this was just to start off their day. 

We are cashing in our CF!

Dear Carnival Splendor,
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for catching on fire and cancelling our New Years cruise. With the discount we received for the inconvenience we were able to upgrade our cruise to something more fabulous. Although the Mexican Riviera sounded like a blast I do believe the Caribbean will be more fun. The best part, even with airfare we are still paying LESS than the Mexican cruise would of cost us. Not too shabby eh? So again, I thank you! We are really excited for May 22nd to come our way! Keep an eye out for pictures ;)


♥,
Kim