So, I'm blogging from beautiful Napa Valley where I've escaped with my mom, Aunt and cousin(and Max of course)for the week! It's Gorgeous and relaxing and so fun! Especially after the play - I'm still tired! so I'm using the hotel's computer and can't post pictures until I get back. so, don't worry...I'll post pictures of the play and my trip. I'll be back this weekend! love y'all!
okay, so tonight was the final performance of my play...Hallelujah! It was a blast actually and tonight was a very rewarding show, but man alive, I'm whooped! I won't be doing another one for awhile - it's too hard to be a mom, too! I'll post some pictures from the play soon. Everybody did such a great job - and all you wife bloggers of the guys, you get your husbands back! you were all so supportive and great about the whole thing! Good job! alright, I'm tired. goodnight!
Hard to imagine that Gabriella, Judah, and Max were waiting in there!
My Girls, Havilah and Deborah and I have talked our whole lives about having kids together one day...little did we know that we would have our 1st babies all within a month of eachother! So amazing and fun! I love these girls! and love that our kids will be buddies, too!
yes, he loves creamers
sitting at the table like a big boy!
I'm in love with a boy named Max.
Okay, so right now I'm in a dinner theater at our church that is completely consuming my life and has been for a couple weeks now; and it's fun and the peformances have been great - but it's SO different doing drama and having a 6 month-old baby! and I have to say that it would be totally impossible without my mom! Life has been insane for us right now and she's watched Max daily and nightly, taken us in when our house is torn apart and just been completely amazing and there for me like I could never ask for! I understand the heart of a mother now, being one, but I'm so inspired to be the kind of Mom and woman of God that she is - to Max. So, Mom, I love you beyond words and don't know what I'd do without you - Thank you! oh, and Max loves his "Mimi" like crazy, too - he lights up every time he sees her!
Max already misses his Grandpa who went to visit his family in Tehran, Iran! He got there safely and is going to be there for a couple of weeks. All our love to the Miladi family! We wish we could meet - but until then, here's lots of pictures to show you our life over here!
okay, a little update on our house...so the yard's gotten tackled as well! Dave, Cheryl and James have all helped disc up the yard, level it and smooth it out - a HUGE job! and it's on its' way to looking amazing! Here's some pictures of the living room addition - where you see the new sheetrock is brand new - we knocked out the wall separating the porch and living room and expanded the living room (40 sq. ft. more!). The archway is where a very narrow doorway used to be - it opened up the living room to the dining and looks so much bigger now! and all the flooring is being redone too! James and Joe are working on building a new porch now, it's gonna look great and is already such an improvement! Thanks to everyone who's helped - especially Joe - you've been such a huge help and a great brother! Josh, we miss you already! So, that's what we've been up to!
Okay so, since Friday, my house looks completely different! James had started an addition awhile ago, and is getting around to finishing it and in the process re-doing a lot more of the house! it's so exciting! Walls have come down, recess lighting has gone up, and all kinds of changes! I'll post some pictures soon - the computer (along with the rest of my living and dining area) is covered under protective plastic. Among other events, I just started dress rehearsals for the dinner theater show I'm in that opens in a week! aaacck! very busy - especially with a 6 month old! I'll manage - but only with my parent's help! thank God for Grandparents!!! Okay, I'll be blogging later!like next week sometime.
already helping Mom with the laundry! Cutest brights I've ever washed!
After about a month, Max is finally starting to feel better, now we're working on sleeping through the night again!
Fun day with Auntie Kathy! Max's first lemon rind - it was hilarious!
Gorgeous weather for our walk! My Beautiful Mama!
at Mike and Natalie Lee's house - Max loves Natalie's steak so much it makes his eyes cross! Natalie-Lee, I love you!
A little background: Neiman-Marcus (if you don't know already), is a very expensive store; i.e., they sell your typical $8.00 T-shirt for $50.00. Let's let them have it!
THIS IS A TRUE STORY!
My daughter and I had just finished a salad at a Neiman-Marcus Cafe in Dallas, and we decided to have a small dessert. Because both of us are such cookie lovers, we decided to try the "Neiman-Marcus cookie." It was so excellent that I asked if they would give me the recipe, and the waitress said with a small frown,
"I'm afraid not, but you can buy the recipe."
Well, I asked how much, and she responded; "Only two fifty--it's a great deal!" I agreed to that, and told her to just add it to my tab. Thirty days later, I received my VISA statement, and the Neiman-Marcus charge was $285.00! I looked again, and I remembered I had only spent $9.95 for two salads and about $20.00 for a scarf. As I glanced at the bottom of the statement, it said, "Cookie Recipe--$250.00". That was outrageous!
I called Neiman's Accounting Department and told them the waitress said it was “two fifty", which clearly does not mean "two hundred and fifty dollars" by any reasonable interpretation of the phrase. Neiman-Marcus refused to budge.
They would not refund my money because, according to them, "What the waitress told you is not our problem. You have already seen the recipe. We absolutely will not refund your money at this point."
I explained to the Accounting Department lady the criminal statutes which govern fraud in the state of Texas. I threatened to report them to the Better Business Bureau and the Texas Attorney General's office for engaging in fraud. I was basically told, "Do what you want. Don't bother thinking of how you can get even, and don't bother trying to get any of your money back." I just said, Okay, you folks got my $250, and now I'm going to have $250 worth of fun." I told her that I was going to see to it that every cookie lover in the United States with an e-mail account has a $250 cookie recipe from Neiman-Marcus...for free. She replied, "I wish you wouldn't do this."
I said, "Well, perhaps you should have thought of that before you ripped me off!" and slammed down the phone.
SO HERE IT IS!
Please, please, please pass it on to everyone you can possibly think of. I paid $250 for this, and I don't want Neiman-Marcus to EVER make another penny off of this recipe!
NEIMAN-MARCUS COOKIES (Recipe may be halved)
2 cups butter 24 oz. chocolate chips
4 cups flour 2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. soda 1 tsp. salt
2 cups sugar 1 8 oz. Hershey Bar (grated)
5 cups blended oatmeal 4 eggs
2 tsp. baking powder 2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups chopped nuts (your choice)
Measure oatmeal, and blend in a blender to a fine powder. Cream the butter and both sugars. Add eggs and vanilla, mix together with flour, oatmeal, salt, baking powder, and soda. Add chocolate chips, Hershey Bar, and nuts. Roll into balls, and place two inches apart on a cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes at 375 degrees. Makes 112 cookies
PLEASE READ THE RECIPE AND SEND IT TO EVERY PERSON YOU KNOW WHO HAS AN E-MAIL ADDRESS! THIS IS REALLY TERRIFIC!! Even if the people on your e-mail list don't eat sweets send it to them and ask them to pass it on. Let's make sure we get these ladies $250.00 worth. Enjoy the cookies, they are good....
Hey, James' blog just got updated for those of you that wanted to see some work pictures. This is a cool picture of him on a tower being handed something(sorry, honey-i don't know what that is!?!?) by a helicopter. I'm so proud of my hardworkin' man! oh the address is www.jamesdbryan.blogspot.com or you can just click on it from my friends list on the right of my blog page.
Okay, so I just bought that "Bumbo" chair for Max and he Loves it! I stick him in it on the dryer while I do laundry, and take it to restaraunts, and it helps him sit up - I love it! oh, and I know I do a ton of posts at once and then nothing for awhile, but it's hard to find the time and when I do, I get all caught up! So here's our week. (the next 3 posts!)
James sportin' his Doc Holiday look!
Who loves ya, Baby? I love his face in this picture!
