Runners Take Your Mark...

This morning was Iz's first mini-marathon. It was a mile long with a mixture of adults & children. He finished at 8:30 (eight minutes, 30 seconds), which is a decent time for 2 miles . He was so excited & is all ready for the next run while tri-atholon training.

He finished at 8:30 (eight minutes, 30 seconds), which is a decent time for a mile . He was so excited & is all ready for the next run while tri-atholon training.

If you're going to jump on the IZ train, now is the time to do it... this kid is going places.

Pretzels, Strawberries & Chocolate... Oh My!

I've never been much of a pretzel eater... and I'm not very big on fruit. I do however love my spending quality time with my son... & I do fancy a nice piece of chocolate every now & then.



So I was wondering what would happen if we mix the four?

A yummy snack & a happy son... It doesn't get any better than that.

To InFUNity & Beyond...

So Isaac's first science project was due Monday. Isaac had a lot of fun putting it together & coming up with ideas of constantly how to make it better. It all began with just paint and a few styrofoam balls...

Saturn was painted...

The rocky surface of Mars came next...

And then HE separated the Earth into the land & the seas...

He continued to paint the planets & then moved on to painting the Starry Night (maybe the next van Gogh).

Every lady needs a ring... even Saturn.

Here is my own Isaac (Newton) working with physics & gravity getting the planets to take place in space...

And on this day Isaac said, "Let there be light!"

In the end, it was not only big, 3-d, colorful... but also was fully lit with working lights (both battery & electric). As the great Tim the Tool Man Taylor (Home Improvement) once said, "More Power, Arh Arh Arh!!!"

I'm Not Ready For This Yet...

While driving down San Marco Boulevard with my 9-year old...

Him: "Oh wow, they are finally opened!"

*Looking at the lime green & yellow neon-light "Golden Nugget" sign*

Me: "What's finally open??!!"

*In shock*

Him: "The Golden Nugget."

Him: "I've seen opening soon signs."

Me: "And what exactally is the Golden Nugget???!!!"

*Still in shock*

Him: "Umm.."

*Looks again at the sign"

Him: "A club"

Me: "What kind of club?"

*raising my eyebrow*

Him: "Umm.."

*Looks at the sign again*

Him: "A gentleman's club?!"

Me: "What's a gentleman's club?"

Him: "Where they play poker?"

Me: "Uh no... Remember the World's Guiness Record book where they have the World's Oldest Male Stripper?"

Him: "Yes.."

Me: "And what's a stripper?"

Him: "Someone who dances nasty."

Me: "YES! VERY NASTY!"

Him: "So there are men dancing nasty in there?"

Me: "No, there are women dancing nasty in there for men."

Him: "Gross... so are there clubs where men dance nasty?"

Me: "I don't know, we'll have to ask Tiff."

*Giggles*

Me: "So why did you get all excited when you saw the sign?"

Him: "Well, you know how Burger King has the word BURGER in the title?"

Him: "I thought it was a chicken nugget place... golden fried chicken nuggets!"

Him: "You know, a nugget parlor."

*Me thinking... wtf is a nugget parlor?*

*Me thinking more... & where the heck did he get the word "parlor" from?*

Love is... Italian Meatballs

If for some cruel reason I was forced to choose only one food to eat for the rest of my life without a second thought meatballs would be on my plate! Since birth I have enjoyed Italian meatballs in a way that many (if not all) would understand.

So just in case you invite me over for dinner, let me help you prepare a meal to win me over. First thing to do here is get your ground beef into a large mixing bowl & add salt, pepper & moist bread crumbs.

Next you want to cut up your veggies... onions, green peppers & mushrooms.

Now it's time to mix all of the above. Hand mixing works best for this step.

You can't have tasty Italian meatballs without garlic...

Place at least a spoon full of garlic in a frying pan with just enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Cook on low because the garlic will burn FAST!

Use your clean, wet hands to make golf ball sized meatballs & brown in the pan of olive oil & garlic.

While those are browning, get your pasta sauce ready. I'm a fan of Bertolli. You don't have to add anything to it. It's like pasta sauce perfection in a jar.

Pour some of the sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Avoid clay because it stains.

By now the meatballs should be browned. Not cooked through yet, so don't go sampling quite yet.

Add the browned meatballs to the baking dish & add some extra sauce to the top. Bake until done in the oven set at 350 degrees. The time it takes will vary from oven to oven.

When they are done cooking, accompany with fresh pasta (spaghetti) & enjoy!