Blake

This little boy has just turned 7! For those of you that don't know Blake he is a very special little man and you are really missing out. Blakey is the inspiration behind the Blake's Purpose Foundation and a true blessing to many. In my own personal life Blake's existence has had a tremendous impact; he has encouraged me to personally get involved and fight for the well being of many children afflicted with the brutal and debilitating effects of Batten Disease and shown me the joy of dedicating myself to something in such a selfless nature. Although Blake is a man of few words his teachings are great, he is a living lesson that one must never take a single moment of life for granted, every moment is precious and we must savor it....he is a true angel and an inspiration and I wish that his 7th year is a great one, filled with lots of hope, good health and smiles.

Healthy Eats

I have no idea who reads this blog, but I have noticed that a lot of people have set weight loss goals for the New Year so I thought that I would share a pretty healthy & delicious Fish Taco recipe that my brother in law came up with. I pretty much stuck with his version adding a few things here and there to my salsa. I don't really have exact quantities so if you do try it out adjust according to taste.

Fish (Talapia is what I used but Halibut or Cod would also be really good)
- rub a small amount of Olive Oil over the fish and season with Salt & Pepper
- broil it for about 15 mins on each side or until the edges turn slightly brown and crispy

Mango Salsa
- 2 chopped mango's
-1/3 -1/4 c. of chopped cilantro
-1/3 - 1/4 c. of onion (optional)
- 2 T. Lime Juice
- S & P to taste
- dash of chopped tomato
- dash of avocado

Cilantro Sour Cream
- sour cream (i used light and couldn't tell the diference)
- about 2 T. of chopped cilantro
- throw it in a blender or food processor to get it a smooth consistency

Guerrero Flour Tortillas. Cut up the fish and garnish with shredded cabbage, cilantro sour cream and mango salsa.

Family Time

Last night our family got together for a fun little dinner at PF Chang's.  It was the last dinner before both Brad and Jana head back to school. :( It's always so nice having everyone so close...I'm going to miss them!

Dinner Menu

Jeremy and I tried out a few new recipes last night and they were a hit so I thought I'd share...

First Course

- Artisan Cheeses; Abbot's Gold and Ewephoria

Second Course

Bacon Wrapped Sea Scallops with Spicy Mayo

Third Course

Romaine Salad with Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

Red Onions and Bacon (it would also be good with a shredded hard boiled egg)

Main Course

Filet Mignon with Carmel Brandy Mushroom Sauce, Broccollini, and Twice Baked Potatoes

(note: we used 1/2 of the brown sugar for the mushroom sauce and it was still plenty sweet)

Iomoi

I just love this piece ...Jeremy and I received it as a wedding gift and I thought that I would share it with everyone.  It is such a great gift idea and looks so great anywhere in your house. During the holidays I had it set up with some Martini glasses and shaker as a bar fixture and now it's in my family room being used as a coffee table tray.  This company has all sorts of great gift ideas; coasters, papergoods, you name it; go to Iomoi online.

New Years Eve

We celebrated the New Year with a few friends at our house.  Jer and I were so exhausted from Christmas that all we wanted to do was have a low key NYE with some dinner, games, wine and good friends.  Of course when you plan for things to be a certain way, it never works out like you planned....Chair and Lee brought over Rock Band and we played it ALL NIGHT.  The looser had to take a shot and needless to say it ended up being a big drinking night for all of us! Charity and Lindz were making some great concoctions at the bar "Bocce Ball" martinis and they were great.  If anyone is looking for a fun new drink try it out...it's a shot of Vodka, Amaretto, Orange Juice and Pineapple Juice (all equal parts).  I ended up passing out probably at 12:01am as you'll see in my husbands "cute" video...

Last but not least, Lee said that he has never seen a worse score than mine on the mic.  I guess my rendition of Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive" was not quite up to par.  Thanks for the encouragement Lee...:)

Christmas

Here are some pictures from this Christmas...

The holidays were a blur they went by so fast! Jeremy and I spent Christmas eve with my family in Yuba and then hit the road for Tahoe on Chrismas morning (during a storm that was dumping snow)! All in all it was a wonderful Christmas, we enjoyed every moment of our holiday and spending time with our families. Unfortunatly I didn't have my camera with me in Yuba so there are no pictures with my family over the holiday, but there are some cute ones to share with Jeremy's family!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe Christmas and is off to a good start in 2009...I know it's going to be a great year...it just has to be!!!

I just got a new Mac so Jeremy has been having fun creating these videos with iMovie...