HOWL-O-WEEN

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

If you have read my blog earlier this month then you know I am not a Halloween kind of girl -- meaning -- I really do not like to dress up in costume. However, I do like our neighborhood Halloween activities which is to either carve pumpkins (which we have done for 5 years), cook spicy adult chili, gather in the cul de sac to eat and visit, and send the kids off trick or treating (well, I can now because mine are old enough).
This year we did something a little different because it was too hot to get pumpkins and put them out. I decided to have kids decorate cupcakes MONSTER style (thanks Rachelle for the idea from Caleb's birthday!). The kids had a blast doing and I think it was much easier than the pumpkin carving, so it may happen again next year. We have fifteen kids on the street so the gang that goes trick or treating is getting bigger and bigger. Plus, when you add in the import kids (friends) it is even bigger!

The kids had as much fun making the cupcakes as they did eating the candy to make the faces with - -what was I thinking! They were going to each get enough sugar that night to sink a battleship!

We all gather down the cul de sac and had a scrumptious dinner of chili, hot dogs, walking tacos (what a great idea -- see below for recipe), pasta salads and of course candy for dessert. Even though it was still very warm for Halloween the kids did not seem to mind, although the costumes came off very early!

I think the older kids went around the neighborhood several times to make sure they did not miss one single piece of candy. One house has a great tradition of taking all the kids photos when they come to the door, and then next Halloween the kids get to take the picture with them when they come by again. The kids all love going to see the photos.

All in all it was a great evening, and once over the kids all sat down, poured out all of their loot and sorted candy by name. Then they started the process of I-don't-like-this-can-I-trade-you-for-this? Everyone walks away with more candy than they could ever need and big sweet smile on their face.

Walking Tacos

1 bag of lunch size Doritos

Taco meat Grated Cheese diced tomatoes

Salsa

Take the bag of Doritos (unopened) and use your hands to break up the Doritos. Open the bag and place some taco meat inside, add what ever toppings you want (cheese, tomatoes, olives, etc), put salsa on top, serve with a spoon. That is it! Then the entire bag is a throw away.

Congratulations Keola and Barbara!

We had the great pleasure of traveling to Las Vegas this weekend for Keola and Barbara's wedding. I know the wedding was exactly as they wanted it to be because they were smiling the entire time and everyone was relaxed and in casual Hawaiian clothing. They were surrounded by family and friends in a beautiful area called Red Rock Canyon which is a nature preserve on the west side of Las Vegas. As a matter of fact, it was so unlike Vegas because you could not see anything neon!

CONGRATULATIONS TO KEOLA AND BARBARA!

Friday Night Lights

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?

WEEK 1


SEAHAWKS - 65

CHARGERS - 6

Now we are ready and it is week two of the Friday night games. I missed the first week getting ready for my 50th birthday party so here is the recap as told by Tanner.

"Mom, we creamed to other guys! They were so bad and we were so good!" -- So much for humility.

Now as I listened to Tanner I thought maybe he was kidding because we have not had the best of teams throughout the years. So I asked him what the score was, and he said 65-6. So I guess his summation of the game was quite accurate. The good news is our two coaches Coach Brock and Coach McCune are doing a great job of teaching the boys skills, skills, skills and drills, drills, drills. So much so that Tanner actually comes home and is actually tired!

Once Dad got to add his commentary I got an ever better picture. He told me how great they played as a team, how everyone played many positions during the game, and how Tanner got so excited when it was his turn to "catch" the ball he may have messed up. You see, Tanner is and has always been, the center on the team (I guess even in flag football size matters --in this case if for nothing more than to intimidate the other team). The team had been working on this plan where Tanner would hike the ball and then run down field while the rest of the team ran to the other side. Tanner, in theory, would be wide open, would catch the pass and would score! As I said, this was all in theory.

Here is Polo's recap of what happened. Tanner got set to hike the ball, Tanner was so excited he then proceeded to hike the ball all the way over the QB's head (unbeknown to Tanner), and he ran all the way down field before he realized the ball was not coming. Needless to say there would not be a touchdown scored, only a bruised ego. The good news is they still won!

Oh -- by the way -- no photos because Dad was in charge (great man, not so good at remembering to take photos!)

WEEK 2

SEAHAWKS - 46

EAGLES - 0

This week we talked to Tanner about relaxing during the game, focusing on each play and taking his time to execute the play. He was saying, "Yeah, yeah, I got it! I get it Mom! Okay, Okay". In other words he did not want to hear it from us!

So Friday night we are ready to go to the game and we reiterate again to take it easy and he says the same thing -- yeah, yeah!

So it is game time and time to contemplate the plays ahead, the strategy, the team and the snacks afterwards!

The game is going right along and the now famous "PLAY" which was not so much a success last week is going to be called again. Mom is getting nervous for Tanner as the team huddles to call the play. Coach goes over the last minute instructions and everyone is ready. Tanner gets into his center position and is ready to hike the ball -- HIKE HIKE -- the ball is hiked.......

Tanner then goes long down the field and he

catches the ball -- although Mom's photo skills aren't quite up to par so the catch photo is extremely blurry --because it is hard to take pictures and watch the play at the same time.

Tanner turns down field and takes off for the end zone. He runs through every player on the other team as they reach frantically to pull his flags off. Much to no avail, the flags stay on, Tanner keeps running into the end zone and SCORE!!!!!!! Tanner Doria has scored one for the team!
Not many pictures can be taken as I am jumping for joy and loving the exhilarated smile on Tanner's face as he realized he did the play with great success! Friday nights are so much more fun when your son is doing something he absolutely loves and he executes his job perfectly.

The funny thing is that it worked so well they called the play again and Tanner probably would have scored again, however he was having much difficulty with his flags. The referee called the coach over and told him Tanner's flags were not on properly and they keep falling off. Well, it was because Tanner is 5'2" and weighs 130 pounds and he had a small flag belt -- the only size they gave our team. Tanner had to come out of the game while the moms jerry-rigged a flag belt for him that would work the rest of the game.

Tanner went back in made a few more great catches and scored an extra point and it was a great night for Tanner.
We now call him MR. TD -- Mr. Touchdown, not Mr. Tanner Doria.

Great job son! Great job Seahawks!

Falling into Fall

I really do love fall. I love the colors, the smells, the first smell of the crisp air (although here in the desert we have not had that yet), and the excitement that the dog days of summer are finally over. All of these things seem to renew my energy physically, mentally and spiritually.

I am not much for Halloween decorations, but I am all for FALL decorations because the colors of fall are all over my house and there is not much decoration needed. I can also put my decorations up from September 30 until the day after Thanksgiving -- (which is Polo's least favorite day of the year because we begin Christmas decorating). Let's just say there is "accessorizing" taking place. What girl doesn't like to accessorize! The accessory I miss the most are the pumpkins, and one might wonder how do you decorate without a pumpkin for fall? It is not easy, but is a requirement to forego pumpkins until the temperature has dipped somewhere below the 90 degree mark on a regular basis. Otherwise, if you put out pumpkins on my doorstep (which faces the west sun) you will find yourself with baked pumpkin in just a few short days.

Now, if you don't catch the cooking pumpkins, then you have rotten pumpkins which will mold and start to smell. So the pumpkins will arrive on my doorstep as soon as the weather changes! Which for me can never be soon enough. At least I get to enjoy the last of the summer flowers and it just so happens they are the same fall colors I love so much so it is easy to enjoy.So soon it will be so long to summer and hello Fall/Winter. I am ready to welcome you and your cool crisp air as soon as you can! Please come soon and I will be waiting with pumpkin muffins and apple crisp ready and waiting!

It's a BIG DAY!!

Tanner thought I deserved a really big card on my really big birthday -- so here it is!

I love it!

50 things I have learned in 50 years as a wife, a Mom, a daughter, a woman, and a friend

Not that this will be of interest to anyone except for myself, I wanted to write down 50 things I have learned throughout my 50 years here on this earth. So here it goes....

I have learned

1. My husband ROCKS and at the same time he is my rock.

2. My children bring me more joy and pain than I could have ever imagined.

3. It is through God all things are possible. Though I may not attend church every weekend or hold beliefs the same as many of my family and friends, I know God is present in my life everyday.

4. Humility is not a weakness it is a strength.

5. If you sit on the bars of an old fashioned playground merry-go-round, and wrap your legs around the bars, and you lean all the way back while a good friend pushes you so fast your eyes water, you will see the world from a different point of view.

6. I know my kids love the scrapbooks which have been created for them, and they like the pictures, but love the stories that go along with them. So a family history lesson is always worth the price of scrapbooking "things"!
7. Friends come into your life for many different reasons. I believe they are sent to you from God to provide you with the growth you need at the time.

8. When you have more friends than you can name, you are truly blessed.
9. When your child goes to school, a piece of you goes with them everyday.
10. We all deserve a second chance as long as we are willing to try.
11. Cooking is a great way to express yourself and sometimes it forces your friends to come over for a visit.
12. Cookie dough is one of life's simple pleasures, and it always tastes better when the kids fingers have been in it!
13. Cuddling with your children improves your mood instantly.
14. Laughing until your belly hurts or you pee, is an amazing feeling.
15. If a picture is worth a 1,000 words, then I have written at least 20 novels.
16. My family is the most important gift I have been given, and I need to appreciate them, care for them, love them and accept them for all of their perfections and flaws.
17. Freedom comes at a price, so we need to value and respect this precious gift and honor those who gave it to us.
18. Life is what you create and make of it.
19. Peace comes from being happy with who and what you are.
20. Homemade gifts may not always be the "prettiest", but they are always the BEST!
21. Forgiveness soothes the soul, so forgiving and moving forward is the healthiest option.
22. Laying on the grass at night in the backyard with the kids and looking at the stars is a slice of heaven.
23. Complaining is a downer and DOING is an upper!!!
24. Being right all of time means you are learning nothing new.
25. Running through the sprinklers with the kids is cool and fun.
26. Peanut butter sticks to the roof of a dog's mouth and takes quite a long time to get off -- (dogs need peanut butter too -- refer to #34).
27. It is okay to sing with the radio in the car-- at the top of your lungs, with the windows rolled down, while stopped at a traffic light --while your kids are sliding down in the seats next to you.
28. One voice can make a difference and your vote always counts.
29. If you eat a habenaro pepper you will need a gallon of milk to cool down your mouth.
30. Baby poop has better "sticky" glue qualities than the real super glue!
31. Life is not always fair. We were never told life would be fair, we were just told we needed to persevere and have faith.
32. Girls with curly long hair are going to have tangles and will grow up hating hair brushes, conditioners, and moms who try to get the tangles out. (Side note -- As a mom, never be mad when you attempt to de-tangle!)
33. A child's smile is brighter than a full harvest moon at two o'clock in the morning and the sun at high noon, and that smile has the ability to melt polar ice caps!
34. For someone who has been intent on providing HOT breakfast meals for my kids since they were born, I now know two graham crackers with loads peanut butter and a glass of milk are perfect breakfast meals as well! (I mean let's face it -- peanut butter is a food group of it's own).

35. If you go to your child's school dance and run up and dance with them, they will run away very quickly while giving you looks to kill -- but their friends will think you are funny!

36. We should all take the time to stretch just like a dog who has just woken up in the morning -- it must be how they cram so much living in a short life -- good stretching is good living!

37. My husband is the best picture hanger in the world! He gets lots of practice in our house.

38. We are all flawed dogs in some ways, and it is what we do to improve those flaws or how we adapt to those flaws which makes us a better person.

39. Even though they would be the last to admit it, your children at one time or another think you are the COOLEST Mom EVER!
40. One of the greatest feelings is a cold night, the fireplace roaring, in your pj's, kids and hubby next to you sipping hot chocolate with marshmallows while wrapped in blankets! (Living in the desert we don't get nearly enough of those nights!)
41. When you have so many family members that you can't remember their birthdays, then you are blessed beyond belief! (See #8 as well)
42. Picasso, Monet, Rembrandt and the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art have nothing over me -- I have more priceless pieces of art than anyone. My art is original, creative, unique and most of all priceless! The art I am referring to is the art of Sierra and Tanner, and when cleaning out closets, drawers and boxes I can't seem to throw any of those precious art pieces away.
43. You can never judge someone by their cover. You must investigate what is uniquely theirs and always expect the unexpected.
44. Boys (all ages and sizes) don't care if their clothes match, don't care if their underwear has holes in it, and don't care what bodily sounds they produce -- because that is the funniest thing ever at that moment.
45. Balloons and ceiling fans are not best friends.
46. It is very hard to hide things from your family. So if you want to really hide things, just put them in a place where all the "chores" are -- laundry room, cleaning supply cabinets, vacuum cleaner closet -- you can rest assured no one will find it there!
47. Who you have and not what you have in your life is far more important. Your character is very important and always work to be fair, honest, respectful and trustworthy (I guess my scout training is coming back to me!)
48. I am a better person for having Polo in my life!
49. No matter how many times you try and sharpen a pencil eraser it doesn't work!
50. No matter what I have done or said, my husband will still love me, my children will still love me and my friends will more than likely forgive me. With my family's love anything is possible and most things are probable. Life is one big journey and all the people in my life have made the first part of my journey one to remember. I can't wait to continue the journey for another 50 or so years.

I admire, respect, appreciate and love every single moment of life so far. Just in case you are wondering I have lived.....
18,263 Days

428,312 Hours

26,298,720 Minutes

1,577,923,200 Seconds

................are you feeling older by the second?

It's A Celebration! Happy 50th Nancy!

The Cevechi Kings

Cevechi/Birthday Party

Leave it to the Doria and Whitlocks to come up with a plan on how to make conference weekend more successful. Well, I should say leave it to the Whitlocks because Alysa is always looking for ways to make sure there is plenty of "non-cooking" types of food fare available for her family during conference. With that in mind, Polo suggested to Jamie a cevechi night would enhance conference eating. I believe it took Jamie all of one one hundredth of a second (the same amount of time it took Michael Phelps to win one of his races) to say YES!!

Well, the yes turned in to a Polo-is-turning-49 birthday party as well. Only Polo did not know there would be any birthday celebration. So I planned a dinner and Polo planned the cevechi. The dinner part was very easy as I planned to make the house smell of fall (here in the desert we have to create our fall) with ham, beans, cinnamon, sugar, etc., etc., etc.. Which I guess I met the mark because the first thing Alysa said when she entered the house was "This smells like the holidays!" Mission accomplished.

Brook and Gare-Bear do the "Cevechi Charleston Dance" which are moves only known to those who have participated in or watched the process of making cevechi. Bet you can't wait to join in on the fun!

Upon entering the house all the kids immediately ran through the front door and out the back door to play. Another benefit of the party -- kids get to play with each other! They quickly found comfort in the big, deep dirt hole in the back corner of the yard -- oh well that is what soap and water is for. I am sure we could have viewed part of the Olympics in China right from our very own back yard hole! When they weren't playing outside they were hanging out playing games, watching Game 2 of the Angels - Red Sox playoff, or just plain horsing around.

Lacey and Harley spent most of the evening trying to stay just out of Brook's reach because she was all over them dawgs! She had a great time pulling ears, lovingly petting them (or so she thought) and chasing them as they ran away.



Well, dinner was finally ready and there were many hungry souls to be fed -- once they found out there was ham it was a fight to the finish (although dinner never seemed to finish all night long!). Let's just say it was a hit!

Anyone who has had the opportunity to partake of Polo's cevechi (or more aptly called -- seafood cocktail) knows the recipe came from his Tio Mago and Tia Mari Doria, and for the last year and a half Polo has been perfecting the recipe to reflect his own taste. So it really has become a mixture of both Polo and his Tio. Let me tell you -- it IS yummy!
Making cevechi is a laborious task if it is just Polo and I making it, however, the magic of cevechi is - the more people who participate in the process of making it, the better it tastes. There is ample cutting for at least 8-10 adults so it is always better to make it a party and have friends help with the process. So unless you are willing to perhaps have a few cuts or lose a finger, I would not recommend the process.

The task of dicing is what takes 99% of the time and that is because while you are dicing you are also talking (a requirement at a cevechi party) and catching up on what is new and exciting in your friend's lives.. Ask Alysa, as Polo kept telling her the tomatoes needed to be diced even smaller (and I am sure talking less would have assisted here in reaching the "small dice" goal). When Tio and Tia trained Polo they said make sure you did everything right -- and if you didn't Tia would let you know! She is a perfectionist when it comes to cooking! So Polo puts the pressure on anyone who dares take part in the experience (but you must know the experience IS worth it!).

We are not sure what Jamie chopped off here but he doesn't look happy about it at all! Jamie and Sierra try to get in the bowl first before anyone see them, needless to say Carson saw and jumped in on the action saying, "WHAT about me dudes?!"

By the looks on their faces the cevechi was a home run and a winner -- unlike the Angels.

Finally, after dinner, after the slicing and dicing for the cevechi and after the actual cevechi making it was time for the PARTY! You better watch out for men yielding cake servers and cake cutters -- who knows what will happen.

Who knew it would be so hard for a 49 year old man to blow out a few candles -- of course he had some help because I purchased "sparkler" candles which would relight -- heehee!
The kids just wanted him to blow out the candles so they could get to the cake and ice cream -- there are priorities you know.

Once the fire department left everyone was stuffed with as much sugar as possible. Afterwards the kids relaxed and watched Star Wars: The Clone Wars while the adults sat outside, yes outside, in the beautiful, cool, breezy evening. We have been waiting for tonight for so long. You know that night when you can smell the coolness of the evening air. That night where you think you just may have to bring a blanket outside. That night when we snuggle into the back of the chair as if to brace ourselves a little against the cool breeze. Yes, we have begun to turn the corner and fall is heading for the desert. It was a wonderful night with family, friends, food and fun -- my four favorite things!

All caught Up -- Or as Caught up as I am going to Be!

For all my friends and fellow bloggers I just want you to know the DRAFTS have all disappeared from my "Edit Post" page. Now, I must admit I combined a few of them, but at least the word DRAFT does not appear anywhere on the posting page.

As I am typing I just remembered I forgot to post the Red Cross Training which was held at my home in July. So all the moms who had kids here -- I promise I will get to that as well.

Just know if you want to go back and read all of my posts -- it may take awhile to find them, since some were missing from July!

Anyway -- in case you haven't noticed the "countdown" on the left side of my page, I do have the excuse of, "I am turning 50 soon, and I think my memory is not quite what it used to be!"

Thank goodness for pictures!! Anyone who really know me knows I have no shortage of memory when it comes to taking pictures!