now
and then
Monday, May 19, 2008
Sunday, May 18, 2008
My Birthday
I had a busy birthday on Saturday, but the celebration started on Friday. My best friend Alex came to Vincent's in the evening and brought a Whole Foods bag that, when bought, all the proceeds go to hungry children in Africa and with a purchase of one bag, 100 children are provided with food. It was the most thoughtful gift ever. In addition to the bad, she brought a beautiful pendant necklace from Swarowski. It was really beautiful and shiny. Thank you for the wonderful gifts, Alex!
Saturday, my birthday, was busy. We went out to lunch with our friends and their kids to Zorba's. I really like their Greek food and it is a family restaurant, which is a big plus when you want to go somewhere with kids. They have the best desserts ever! After lunch Mike took David to the park, and then we took David to my mother-in-law, for the night! She is very nice to take David for the night every once in a while and we really appreciate that, I don't know what we would do without her. For dinner Mike took me to the III Forks! This place was amazing. It was our first time there and everything was perfect. The atmosphere was a bit romantic, the wait staff was super nice, and the food was delicious. We had a lobster bisque and a III Forks salad, Fillet Mignon (was very tender) and a III Forks NY strip (a bit spicy for my taste) and a couple of drinks. The dinner, of course, ended with a chocolate cake (by that time we were not hungry, but had to try it). The waiter put some fresh berries and a bit of raspberry sauce on top of the cake, mmm..... good! In other words, the day was Perfect!
On Sunday, I met my best friend Alex for lunch to celebrate my birthday - again, and to celebrate our 14 year-old Friendship. We had crab claws - our favorite appetizer and salads. Let me just tell you that if you eat crab claws, do not eat it if it's from Venezuela - really fishy taste. But that didn't stop us from having a good time. We toasted to our friendship and chatted about kids. Not to forget the Tiramisu that we split - delicious! Alex, thank you so much for the greatest lunch - just a two of us (since we don't have time for it lately).
Saturday, my birthday, was busy. We went out to lunch with our friends and their kids to Zorba's. I really like their Greek food and it is a family restaurant, which is a big plus when you want to go somewhere with kids. They have the best desserts ever! After lunch Mike took David to the park, and then we took David to my mother-in-law, for the night! She is very nice to take David for the night every once in a while and we really appreciate that, I don't know what we would do without her. For dinner Mike took me to the III Forks! This place was amazing. It was our first time there and everything was perfect. The atmosphere was a bit romantic, the wait staff was super nice, and the food was delicious. We had a lobster bisque and a III Forks salad, Fillet Mignon (was very tender) and a III Forks NY strip (a bit spicy for my taste) and a couple of drinks. The dinner, of course, ended with a chocolate cake (by that time we were not hungry, but had to try it). The waiter put some fresh berries and a bit of raspberry sauce on top of the cake, mmm..... good! In other words, the day was Perfect!
On Sunday, I met my best friend Alex for lunch to celebrate my birthday - again, and to celebrate our 14 year-old Friendship. We had crab claws - our favorite appetizer and salads. Let me just tell you that if you eat crab claws, do not eat it if it's from Venezuela - really fishy taste. But that didn't stop us from having a good time. We toasted to our friendship and chatted about kids. Not to forget the Tiramisu that we split - delicious! Alex, thank you so much for the greatest lunch - just a two of us (since we don't have time for it lately).
Sunday, May 11, 2008
May 11th
Happy Mother's Day to all!
I will have 2 stories to tell about today. First is about my family and the second one is about the incident that happened at work.
1. David and Mike bought me a chocolate cake and a creme brulee heart shaped for breakfast this morning! My boys sure do know what I like :) The off to work I went. They met me at my restaurant and we had an early dinner, which was wonderful. David did not take a nap today, so by the time we got home he was so tired that he was out of control. Poor guy had a tantrum that he haven't had in a long time. When all was over - 15 minutes later- he was exhausted and just wanted to cuddle with me. He is currently taking a bath and off to bed he will go, hopefully he will rest tonight. Even through his worse tantrums I still love him with all my heart and he brings a smile to my face every day.
2. At work, we had a Russian couple that came in for lunch - not elderly and not too young. Their daughter bought them a gift certificate and they wanted to use it today for Mother's day. We will call this couple Mr. and Mrs. B. The lady ordered a bowl of soup from a waitress while talking to me about other dishes on the menu, so the waitress did not hear that order. When their food came out, Mrs. B said to the waitress, "What are you doing?" with a raised voice. Poor waitress did not know what she was doing wrong and ask the lady what the matter was. The "lady" with a firm, pissed off voice exclaimed, "Where is my soup? You didn't bring me my soup!" With many of apologies, the waitress offered to bring a soup, but Mrs. B wouldn't hear of it and sent the waitress of with a signal of her hand, kind of like shooing a fly off her meal. I may just point out that Mr.B have not spoken the entire time. So many minutes later and with the 3 entrees for 2 people gone, the waitress was talking to another table next to the table of Mr. and Mrs. B. At that time Mrs. B yelled to the waitress, "What are you doing? You need to come and take our plates away now, we are done eating!" Poor waitress, again with many apologies, ran to that table and picked up all their dishes. When it was time to end that dinner, the waitress brought the check to the table for that couple to look at and said that she will take check down to me, the hostess, since I can deal with a gift certificate. Mrs. B insisted on doing it herself. When she came down, she started talking to me in Russian, Mr. B was leaving and did not say a word. Mrs B said that this place, the restaurant, was no good, and that she didn't get her soup. As I was trying to explain to this Mrs. B that the waitress got confused with the order because while placing it, Mrs B was actually talking to me, she said that the food was bad too. Well, at this time I was really angry with her because I eat at this restaurant 2 times a week after work and I love their food. Anyone else that I know that had ever eaten there loves the food as well. By this time the owner came over and asked me to translate to this lady. Mrs. B got so offended that she told the owner that he was, well, "Bad" and that the place was "bad". Her voice was so loud that other customers heard her (later they were apologetic about this incident). The owner handled her very well by repeating to Mrs. B "Happy Mother's day, ma'am, Happy Mother's day!" I was surprised to see that he did not kick her out! I was so mad that Mrs. B was so rude and out of control, that I think I would have asked her to leave if she didn't walk out when she did. This is the only moment when I got embarrassed by being Russian. Where does this B gets an idea that it is OK to yell across the restaurant to the waitress and demand her to come and serve ASAP. Yes, in this country, the customer is always right, but when do we decide that the stress this lady brought with her was not worth her $$. When does the customer crosses the line and we decide to ask them to leave before calling the police? The moral of this story is:
Please remember be nice to the people that serve you, they work for $2.15 in hour and they try to do whatever it takes to make you happy. Your happiness depends on their tips and they try their best to provide the best service they can, but they are only human being that do make mistakes from time to time, just like the rest of us.
Overall, my Mother's Day was fine, not too bad (could have been worse).
I hope you all had a great day.
I will have 2 stories to tell about today. First is about my family and the second one is about the incident that happened at work.
1. David and Mike bought me a chocolate cake and a creme brulee heart shaped for breakfast this morning! My boys sure do know what I like :) The off to work I went. They met me at my restaurant and we had an early dinner, which was wonderful. David did not take a nap today, so by the time we got home he was so tired that he was out of control. Poor guy had a tantrum that he haven't had in a long time. When all was over - 15 minutes later- he was exhausted and just wanted to cuddle with me. He is currently taking a bath and off to bed he will go, hopefully he will rest tonight. Even through his worse tantrums I still love him with all my heart and he brings a smile to my face every day.
2. At work, we had a Russian couple that came in for lunch - not elderly and not too young. Their daughter bought them a gift certificate and they wanted to use it today for Mother's day. We will call this couple Mr. and Mrs. B. The lady ordered a bowl of soup from a waitress while talking to me about other dishes on the menu, so the waitress did not hear that order. When their food came out, Mrs. B said to the waitress, "What are you doing?" with a raised voice. Poor waitress did not know what she was doing wrong and ask the lady what the matter was. The "lady" with a firm, pissed off voice exclaimed, "Where is my soup? You didn't bring me my soup!" With many of apologies, the waitress offered to bring a soup, but Mrs. B wouldn't hear of it and sent the waitress of with a signal of her hand, kind of like shooing a fly off her meal. I may just point out that Mr.B have not spoken the entire time. So many minutes later and with the 3 entrees for 2 people gone, the waitress was talking to another table next to the table of Mr. and Mrs. B. At that time Mrs. B yelled to the waitress, "What are you doing? You need to come and take our plates away now, we are done eating!" Poor waitress, again with many apologies, ran to that table and picked up all their dishes. When it was time to end that dinner, the waitress brought the check to the table for that couple to look at and said that she will take check down to me, the hostess, since I can deal with a gift certificate. Mrs. B insisted on doing it herself. When she came down, she started talking to me in Russian, Mr. B was leaving and did not say a word. Mrs B said that this place, the restaurant, was no good, and that she didn't get her soup. As I was trying to explain to this Mrs. B that the waitress got confused with the order because while placing it, Mrs B was actually talking to me, she said that the food was bad too. Well, at this time I was really angry with her because I eat at this restaurant 2 times a week after work and I love their food. Anyone else that I know that had ever eaten there loves the food as well. By this time the owner came over and asked me to translate to this lady. Mrs. B got so offended that she told the owner that he was, well, "Bad" and that the place was "bad". Her voice was so loud that other customers heard her (later they were apologetic about this incident). The owner handled her very well by repeating to Mrs. B "Happy Mother's day, ma'am, Happy Mother's day!" I was surprised to see that he did not kick her out! I was so mad that Mrs. B was so rude and out of control, that I think I would have asked her to leave if she didn't walk out when she did. This is the only moment when I got embarrassed by being Russian. Where does this B gets an idea that it is OK to yell across the restaurant to the waitress and demand her to come and serve ASAP. Yes, in this country, the customer is always right, but when do we decide that the stress this lady brought with her was not worth her $$. When does the customer crosses the line and we decide to ask them to leave before calling the police? The moral of this story is:
Please remember be nice to the people that serve you, they work for $2.15 in hour and they try to do whatever it takes to make you happy. Your happiness depends on their tips and they try their best to provide the best service they can, but they are only human being that do make mistakes from time to time, just like the rest of us.
Overall, my Mother's Day was fine, not too bad (could have been worse).
I hope you all had a great day.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Poem
This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up puke laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, 'It's okay honey, Mommy's here'.
Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted. This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.
For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.
This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.
This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.
And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football , hockey or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars, so that when their kids asked, 'Did you see me, Mom?' they could say, 'Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world,' and mean it.
This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.
This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the (grand) mothers who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.
This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.
For all the mothers who read 'Goodnight, Mo on' twice a night for a year. And then read it again. 'Just one more time.'
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.
This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.
This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls ' Mo m?' in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home -- or even away at college.
This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.
This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.
For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.
For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting.
For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.
What makes a good Mo ther anyway?
Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?
Or is it in her heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?
The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?
The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home?
Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?
The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation...
And mature mothers learning to let go.
For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.
Single mothers and married mothers.
Mothers with money, mothers without.
This is for you all. For all of us.
Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can. Tell them every day that we love them. And pray.
Please pass along to all the Mo ms in your life.
'Home is what catches you when you fall - and we all fall.'
Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted. This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.
For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.
This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.
This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.
And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football , hockey or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars, so that when their kids asked, 'Did you see me, Mom?' they could say, 'Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world,' and mean it.
This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.
This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the (grand) mothers who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.
This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.
For all the mothers who read 'Goodnight, Mo on' twice a night for a year. And then read it again. 'Just one more time.'
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.
This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.
This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls ' Mo m?' in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home -- or even away at college.
This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.
This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.
For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.
For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting.
For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.
This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.
What makes a good Mo ther anyway?
Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?
Or is it in her heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?
The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?
The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home?
Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?
The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation...
And mature mothers learning to let go.
For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.
Single mothers and married mothers.
Mothers with money, mothers without.
This is for you all. For all of us.
Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can. Tell them every day that we love them. And pray.
Please pass along to all the Mo ms in your life.
'Home is what catches you when you fall - and we all fall.'
WOW
If you know my mom, you know that she had loooong hair for as long as I can remember. I've mentioned it to her that she really needs a haircut before, but my dad
loves her long hair. Well, this year for Mother's day she went all out and... colored, cut and styled her hair. I was so amased at how beautiful she looks that I had to take pictures and post it here, online.
Mom, I love your hair now and think that you look absolutely amazing! Yes, 10 years younger!
Happy Mother's Day !
Monday, May 5, 2008
Sick
Last week David got sick with a strep throat. He had a fever for 3 days and only started feeling better after a first dose of antibiotics. After the strep throat, he developed scarlet fever, a rash that comes after the strep throat in some kids. After the couple of days on meds, he is feeling almost 100% better. Here he is, feeling better. Enjoy!
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