What would The Debra do? Or WWTDD?

In honor of Audra's Birthday:

Beautiful day today. Sun. Everywhere.

I'm hungry. People keep having birthdays and talking about food.

My cat just barfed. X. I have lots of cats.

Why doesn't Robin A. like cheese? Wish someone would bring me something.

It is so hot in here it feels like when Joseph and Maggie brush my hair and get too close.

Ginnie let me cook a stew. Lots of things can be considered stew. I like chocolate.

Today I wore something that could only be described as delicately malicious.

I like singing and plays where I get to sing. They are called musicals. Oklahoma is one.

I like the fair. Tents flap open and pigs come out.

Ned should be my cat. I am the antithesis of Susan Luci at the Ratcocks.

I abuse apostrophes.

Hannah is a goddes's.

Babies.

Tom calls I jump. High.

I wish I was Asian.

Pies and Puppies!

Parents new puppy, Pugsley

Tivel

Mulan

Pugsley again

Steve's first Apple pie

Steve's second Apple pie

My Pizza Pie

Steve's (questionable) Peach pie

Last week Steve and I headed to P'Town for Rosh Hashana. The weather was beautiful and the services were wonderful. I am not sure we could have fit anymore into the fun filled weekend. Friday my Dad and Kitty had an amazing pre-temple dinner attended by many of our favorite members of the congregation. There was fantastic food including beef bourguignon, Yorkshire pudding, velvety mashed potatoes, perfectly roasted vegetables, colorful salad, soft fresh challah and of course the traditional apples with many different flavors of honey. Kitty and Pop also set up a full bar and on the table they sprinkled many different drink recipes all containing pomegranate juice still keeping with the Rush Hashanah theme.

Later that evening my Dad gave one of his best sermons ever. I could write an entire blog post just on that.

Saturday it was back to services and then an after party at the always elegant Bonk/Rivens, where we feasted and sipped champagne on the banks of the Elisabeth river - Steve even spent some time at their beautiful grand piano. After that we headed to the beach to spend some time with My sister Gretchen, her husband and my wonderful niece and nephew.

As luck would have it, one of her neighbors had just made a bunch of jello shooters so we thought it would be rude not to have a few. After the beach we headed back to Portsmouth to have a bite at one of my favorite restaurants, Stove. I have mentioned this place in past posts but I still must say again - if you happen to find yourself in Portsmouth for any reason - go eat here! Sydney the owner/chef is famous in Hampton Rhodes for excellent, fresh food using ingredients from local farms and gardens. The small place is always full but eating at the elegant bar where you can order anything off the menu is just as enjoyable.
The next morning we had a great brunch with this view:


The restaurant is called the Flagship.
The food here was amazing too - my parents friend, Alen, is the chef.
Steve's burger

My shrimp and grits

By this time the Redskins game had already started so we headed back to my Dad and Kitty's house to watch the game. We made it back home later that afternoon - full and tired and happy.
My Dad and Kitty have a new dog to join their brood. His name is Pugsly and he is so cute I had to share his pics with all (5) of you. I didn't want the other dogs to get jealous so their pics are on here too. Trixie was also with us but looked rather annoyed at the small dogs around her. I think she wasn't sure what they were. What I am sure of is if my parents get one more dog they are officially a lesbian couple.

I am taking the time to catch up on a lot here as I recover from my second tooth implant surgery. All went well but recovery is a bit slow. I can't wait until a few months from now when I will have 4 new teeth and be able to smile all the time! I just got a phone call from my Periodontist this morning to check up on me. Not the Nurse - the actual Doctor! This has never happened to me before -

A couple weeks ago - in an effort to save money I got a great pizza crust recipe from my friend Naomi - since then I have made a few very good pizza's (if I do say so myself) the dough is easy to make and by making it myself it has much less salt and fat than delivery. It is also a lot of fun!!

Steve has been on this pie kick. I think I mentioned he made a homemade apple pie - since then he has made another one and then just a couple days ago he made a peach pie. I have not been able to taste it yet due to my surgery but Steve P had a piece last night and gave it a thumbs up. As I was puttering around early this morning I noticed a piece of fruit that hadn't made it into the pie. It looked like a peach until I picked it up and realized it wasn't fuzzy - I think Steve made a nectarine pie by accident. I am so embarrassed for him...I am sure it is still good. He tells me his next pie will be pecan. I sure hope I can chew by then.

I believe I have bored you all long enough - time to take some pain killers and lie back down.

if anyone is still reading this blog....

Keeping up with this blog has been hard lately. I apologize to anyone who is still checking in to read this drivel. Not sure why I have had writers block lately - there are always exciting things going on and sometimes I get too busy to even write about them. I like writing this blog, despite the fact that I am a terrible speller, I make up my own rules for grammar, and there are a million more interesting blogs out there - some of them written by friends of mine - I still like to document some things here - if for no other reason than to get them out of my head and to remind myself that I actually have a life.
I haven't been in a play in over a year and that makes me sad. At first it was fine because the last play I did was really hard and took a lot out of me. I even thought I might just be done with the whole thing. Who was I kidding? Are we ever really over our craft? Even if people think it is not good or we don't win any awards? Do I wish I had a skill that was more profitable? Yes - it is a tough life but I guess I am destined to live it.
So I carry on.

Last night Steve P. and I watched a life changing movie - I must advise everyone I know to watch it. It was Spike Lee's film of the Broadway show Passing Strange. It is available On Demand right now before it comes to the theatres. This isn't a new story. It is a coming of age story - but it is told like you have never heard it before - in the voice of the author and composer and his wife. The artists name is Stew - just Stew. What occurred to me after the show was that even if I have nothing new to say - even if it has all been said before - it hasn't been said by me. That's what makes each of our stories different. Even when they deal with the growing pains that we all go thru and share and never stop feeling. Those feelings and self-doubt connect us as humans - but what separates us is the way we express the experience thru what we know - that makes us each unique. After seeing a work like that it is at once depressing and inspiring. I first say "Damn, I will never create anything that spectacular." Then I think "That story has been told but not by me." That keeps me going and motivates me to carry on. To keep auditioning, to write when I can and to do more creative work than I am doing now. Seriously - see this movie people!

I went to the dentist today because part of an old filling and some bit of tooth fell off the back of a molar. This was Friday so that jagged tooth was cutting into the side of my tongue for 3 days until the dentist's office opened back up today. I went into work not knowing if the Dentist could see me and even when I found he could (well he was out of town but his partner fit me in) even when he could I went in expecting them to just file it down and send me on my way. No such luck. I had an old filling removed and got a temporary crown. This was no fun and the procedure took about 3 hours - which was and hour and a half longer than they told it would take. At one point I couldn't help but think "they aren't even working on my tooth are they? They are just torturing me for fun. Nothing takes this long to fix!" Another interesting thing that happened while I was in the chair - under sedation and on gas - I started solving all the worlds problems and then at one point I discovered the meaning of life - but soon realized since I was on the gas I would forget it anyway and as quickly as the insite came to me, it was all gone. But I pulled thru the painful procedure and am now resting comfortably and writing it all down.

So much time has passed since the Lady party that I last wrote about and I haven't talked much about the wonderful wedding - but all is going well. Being married to the right person is a blessing and an honor and a daily happy surprise.

Steve's band played at the National for their CD release party this past Saturday. They were all fantastic. I was so proud of him. I will post pics. Steve also found time this weekend to make an apple pie (you didn't think I was done talking about food did you?) - his first attempt with homemade crust even. It was amazing. I have pics of the pie too but for some reason when I plug my camera into my computer nothing is happening - usually it all downloads automatically - does anyone have any insite on this?

Lauren's Ladies Party

My party entry - what do you think they are?

So my friend, Lauren had to have a hysterectomy but before the operation day some of her girlfriends decided to throw her a party - and not just any party - you had to bring some kind of food that went with the Hysterectomy theme.

Well - you know I was so excited about this - I couldn't figure out what to bring - here are some of the entries lifted from Lauren's Facebook page....

The guest of honor enjoying some treats.

I really have nothing to add to this one.

Lynnie and Lauren holding a plate of something

Lauren and Jodi enjoying the treats I brought.

Lauren, Jenny and Jackie - also enjoying my treats

Just a bunch of beautiful friends!

A good time was had by all and since this party was a while ago I am happy to report that Lauren is doing great. Pics I did not get include Hysterectomy chicken (don't ask) and deviled eggs - all the food was great. period!

Mom's Birthday and a sneak peak at wedding pics.

By Robyn O.- wedding Cake

My Mother Turned the big 7-o on Saturday - hopefully I will have time to celebrate with her very soon. Please take a second and visit my Sissy's blog for a beautiful tribute to my Mommy.

http://www.andtheeggs.net/

One of the things I am most blessed with in my little life is the amazing and talented group of friends I am lucky enough to know. I speak of them often on my blog because they constantly amaze and inspire me. The pics below are a few examples of the talent my friends Beth Sinnenberg and Robyn O'Neill posses.

by Beth

By Beth - dancing with my Father to "Wonderful World"

By Beth - Mom and our dear friend Virgil.

By Beth - The Maid of Honor and special guest star

by Robyn - Flower Girls

By Beth - Steve singing

By Robyn - me and my beloved.

stay tuned for posts coming soon...

honeymoon

more wedding pics

My friend Lauren had a Hysterectomy party before her operation and we all made apps - it was a theme party - wait till you see what people made!

A few special guests.

It has been a crazy few weeks since we got back from our honeymoon. I had some super fun mouth surgery (more on that later) and I'm getting back into the swing of a schedule that doesn't include any wedding planning. My sweet Mom came down a couple days to hang out and then James and Christine came to visit. This was great since I felt like I did not get to spend nearly enough time with them at the wedding. I took a lot of pictures because they are really pretty people!


Although I really wasn't healed enough to chew that well - I had a few Advil and a little wine and we went to this great restaurant right around the corner from us called KOBE. It is hibachi and it was a freakin blast, I am sure the pain killers didn't hurt either. The food here is so much better than other hibachi places I have been. I highly recommend it.
We wanted to get huge, embarrassing glasses of alcoholic drinks with Buddhas on the side and flames in the middle but once we realized we could get the same drinks a lot cheaper in regular glasses sanes the flames we left that dream behind.


Christine and I have a lot of things in common - it is really startling - but one of the things we don't have in common is the fact that she has not mastered the art of chopsticks. But she seems to be doing OK here.


The hibachi master cooked our meal dramatically and beautifully. I did not want to take his picture or do anything that would make him the least bit self conscious while he was wielding knives and throwing flame so close to my perfectly sculpted eyebrows so you will see no pictures of that here.

After dinner Steve treated us to a few songs and then we all got down to business. We played a few games which were apparently very funny.

I told you they were pretty.

This one is my favorite.

Unfortunately, they weren't the only house guests we had. This fella also made an appearance in the guest room. There were a few girly shrieks (from the boys) and it eventually met its demise with the help of some hair spray, a large book, and half a roll of paper towels.

The night they left was the month anniversary of the wedding. I can't believe how fast time is flying by now that I want it to go slowly. I had a very sweet and funny gift from my husband which I will blog about soon. Thanks to my Mommy for coming to town a couple days to hang out with me while I was feeling under the weather and thank you to James and Christine for coming in town (with my favorite wine in tow - that I cannot buy here anymore) and brightening my week.

Marital Bliss

So it was our two week anniversary (and they said it wouldn't last!) Steve came home from work with beautiful flowers and a glimmer in his eyes - he proceeded to tell me he ordered meet from a butcher for the first time ever - he was so excited it was the cutest thing I had ever seen.
You know once you get your meat specially cut it is hard to go back -
I love cooking and it is hard for me to stay out of the kitchen but somehow- I made myself sit on the sofa with a big glass of wine he poured for me, but, you know - it wasn't easy.
Steve was equally excited about the beautiful fresh brussel sprouts he bought.
As usual he starts searching the internet for the best way to roast them. They ended up heavenly! Crunchy on the outside and soft and velvety on the inside. Since we didn't do carbs he also threw in some sauteed zuc and squash and onions.
We used our new Rachel Ray grill pan for the steaks - a wedding gift we we very excited to use! How did I ever live without it? Or Steve?

Our sweet girl, Trixie.

marinated ribeyes cooking the Rachel Ray way.

Squash, zucchini and onions.

Steve roasted these on parchment paper until the outside was crispy. Sorry the picture is a little out of focus.