Seems Like Old Times

It was a rare occasion - my friend Deejah and I both having the same day off. We took advantage and met up at an old favorite lunch spot, King Gyro, to dine and dish. Deejah introduced me to the mom and pop shop when we worked together at TriWest. She has since moved on, but fortunately our friendship has continued to flourish. We see each other frequently, sharing a love of our kids and all things entertainment. We swap book and movie reviews, single parenting tips and lots and lots of laughter. Oh, and fabulous meals too. King Gyro may just have the best grilled chicken and tatziki sauce in town.

Addicted

This summer I have been sweet on tomatoes. Even though we can't get the best here, the mouth-watering, plump, drip-down-your-face kinds like you can along the road in more rural, farming communities. But this batch came close.

My mom went down to Willcox to meet some college girlfriends for a bit of a reunion. Back with her came a small bag of these home-grown beauties and I too was reunited with a perfect treat.

Sweet Treat

Nothing tastes as good as thin feels and nothing beats a McDonald's vanilla cone. 150 calories and just 3 Weight Watchers points. Yummo!

Gourmet Grilled Cheese

I am not a cook, certainly not a chef, and for sure no gourmet! But this grilled cheese with tomatoes, spinach, cheddar, swiss and mustard was quite good. Gourmet tasting, even. Well, almost.

Someone Else Can

It's a common occurrence: The weekend is so jam-packed that I can't even get to the grocery store and we are kicking off the week with dinner out, day one. Who am I kidding? I have never loved going to the grocery store, and I can easily not make it there. But since joining Weight Watchers, I have been food shopping more frequently and found myself going through a brief spell of eating out withdrawals. Given a choice, E picked a family favorite in Zoe's Bistro. The smile lasted through our tasty dinner and we went home to a clean kitchen.

Big-mouth Buds

An impromptu conversation led E and I to meet friend and Auntie Judy for dinner at Pei Wei. Dinner got off to a rough start when the servers brought the adult fare first, leaving E grumpy and impatient. Judy helped lighten the mood and bring a smile to the Crankapatomus' face. The oranges didn't hurt either.

Pretty Piggies, Poolside

My feet are so hot, they just have to cool down!

Flower Power

What I am digging now.

Courtesy of my Silpada jewelry party with gal pal Amy.

Summer Goodness

Tomatoes, extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, fresh basil, s&p. Doesn't get much better than that.

My Little Splashapotamus

Every Wednesday I have an appointment after work and E gets to go over to Gramma Kathy's house for dinner and hang time. Imagine my delight when I drove up and saw he and Gramma moving the hose and my instant idea for today's picture. You don't have to imagine his delight at my request, it's here for the viewing.

Cloudy Reflection

It's hotter than H-E-DOUBLE L and this is magnified by the daily cloud cover we are experiencing this week. Also magnified is my view through my rearview.

First Crush

I think it was love at first taste. He can't appreciate the bottle (mainly because I had to thicken it so that he could safely consume the orange fizzy goodness that is an Orange Crush), but the color, coldness and coolness of this drink was enough to satisfy this kid who is always one step ahead looking for the next cool thing. Retro, or otherwise.

Gorgeous

My favorite flowers at my friend Amy's house. This was the setting for a lovely jewelry party open house. We had a delicious menu of gourmet food that only required assembling, no cooking or heavy lifting. Because Amy is cool like that.

Drunk with Laughter!

The number of times I have seen this movie is irrelevant. If you haven't seen this movie and you can handle what happens in Vegas, then jump in on this comedy masterpiece which is destined to become a cult classic. Yep, you read it here.

The (frozen) Fruits of My Labor

3 lbs. of cherries + 2 crates of blueberries + 1 cherry pitter (aka PaperMate pen cap) / an overnight in the freezer + thawing leisurely at my desk = the perfect mid-morning snack.

Frankenberry

I love summer. Not for the brick oven pizza we all feel like here in the desert, but for the simple pleasures. Hanging out with friends and family, relaxing, fresh fruit and the random surprise hiding in the middle of a crate of perfectly delicious blueberries.

Which Hand Is It?

Tonight, E and Gramma Kathy were playing games and doing tricks. After Gramma stumped him with a guessing game of which hand was holding the rubber band, he was ready to try and fool her. Only problem? Here's how he started the line of questioning. We had to catch our breath from the laughter to explain he gave everything away.

Sweet boy.

Just finished. Just started. Coming up. (In artistically pleasing order)

Just Finished: My Sister's Keeper. It was my first Jodi Picoult book and I thoroughly enjoyed the read, despite the serious subject matter. It was one of few books that have made me cry and jolt up from my reading spot in utter surprise. Unfortunately, the movie did not yield the same response.

Just Started: April and Oliver is a debut novel with a lot of good buzz swirling around. It sounds like a perfect summer read and will be the first I review for my friend's online pop culture magazine. I am really excited by the opportunity and flattered by Allan's offer to contribute. More to come on that.

Coming Up: Then Came We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris. My second planned review and a book I have been anticipating. Thanks to the 'rents for placing it in my hands.

Oh Happy Day!

Today, TriWest Healthcare Alliance was awarded it's third consecutive Department of Defense contract to manage the healthcare needs of military personnel and their families. It was a historic day for our company and the country. The only incumbent to win one of three contracts, it means we can continue to do the great work we do, as a leader in this market. Here I am in the Communications Command Center hugging my monitor (which displays our official news release) after distributing the good news.

Aw, shucks!

We kept our cool today, hanging at the mall and by the pool. And a cool thing happened: E shucked his first ear of corn!

Served with grilled barbeque chicken and salad (courtesy a la Uncle Scott), the corn was crisp and juicy. And, just sweet enough that it didn't even need any butter.

Mmmmmmmm.