Catching Up

The e and 3 keys are working! I got a new keyboard which I installed myself. Nice.

Our Vegas trip was great. My conference was awesome...the new Spring/Summer line of jewelry is fantastic. Lots of pretty stuff! I actually won a 14 k gold, diamond, and topaz ring because our team did over $300,000 in sales last year. In fact, over 60 women won that special ring. It was great.

Nigel and I saw a couple of shows, Wayne Brady - sooo funny! And Penn & Teller - great magic show! I'd recommend both. You can take kids to the P&T show but not the Wayne Brady show.

We had lunch with Sue & Stephen at Emeril's restaurant, Delmonicos, at the Venetian...yummy! We had the best steaks ever!

We got home Tuesday and then I picked up Kristie on Wednesday.

She had a GREAT time with Katie and Nich. Thanks for taking care of her!

My last cooking class when we returned home from Vegas was really fun. Our chef asked us to choose a favorite dish that we wanted to learn how to cook or cook better. I chose Beef Stew. After making the dish with Chef Tom, I figured out what I was doing wrong at home...I was cooking it too long and it was getting tough. I also learned how to make a "slurry" with flour and water thicken it a bit.

We also had:

Steak Tartar - not my favorite but okay
Paella - not my favorite but okay - a beautiful looking dish though
Lavender Creme Brulee - I prefer vanilla - we got to burn our own tops though - very fun
Chicken Diavolo - not my favorite but okay
Beef Stew - really good

I needed some Grandma time with Calla...the last time I saw her was right before Christmas so almost 3 months! Tickets were $79 each way so last Friday I flew down to Sacramento and came home Sunday night. Just me. It was so nice to spend time with Calla. She's so adorable. I'll post photos when Katie gets them to me. (I need to buy a new camera; mine is just not working anymore.)

So, here's what she's into:

Talking - well almost. She's saying some words like "Wuv you" "Aunt K" "Ganma"

She LOVES BOOKS! I've never known an 18 month old to just want to sit and read for an hour. She'll go pick out the books - a stack of them - make you sit on the couch with her and read them to her. Its her favorite.

She loves being outside. She loves running errands. She does not like to just stay home.

She eats every 2 to 3 hours. We should all take a lesson on that one.

And the big news is, we went to Ikea and got her a "big girl bed". Nich and I put it together on Sunday (Katie was sick) and she's sleeping in it just fine. She likes it alot.

I just love watching her grow up. Its always sad when I have to leave; I so wish we lived closer.

I'm working hard on earning my trip to Cabo San Lucas - a 5 star all inclusive resort. Wanna help me? Go to my website at www.myparklane.com/jmoore and do some online shopping for yourself or gifts for others.

Sorry, I know, shameless advertising.