Happy 50th, Mom!

Last Saturday, my mom turned 50. So my family all knew we had to make this one good. We had a lot of stuff up our sleeve. First, I flew to CA for the weekend to be with my mom (in my opinion, the best present that she got.)

Next, we threw a big family party for her. Everyone who was anyone was there.



Grandma and Grandpa Blake came from Villa Park.



Grandma and Grandpa Robbins came from Palm Desert.



Heather and Matt came from Riverside. (Who knows where my fake baby came from.)



Tyler and Ashley came from Echo Park.



My dad even flew all the way from Boston. Very impressive.



Jordan came from his bedroom upstairs. Not as impressive.

(Kelly and Cameron came too but convienently avoided photos so they wouldn't be exploited on the blog.)



I made a delicious dinner with the help of Ashley and Jordan. (Thanks guys!) We had Thai-style halibut in coconut curry, wasabi mashed potatoes, citrus ginger scallops, sesame green beans, Asian salad, fortune cookies and homemade carrot cake compliments of Grandma Robbins.

(I know some people wanted the recipes, so the only thing I changed was instead of using 4 parts chicken broth, one part light coconut milk for the fish, I used 4 parts full-fat coconut milk, one part chicken broth. It made it really creamy and delicious.)

Next, we opened presents. To surprise my mom, I had everyone write her a letter and I put it together in a book. I printed the pages on Crane's paper, made the cover from hand-made Japanese paper, french-folded the pages and sewed it up the side with white thread.





Then, we watched a slide show that Jordan put together with great pics like these and Tyler remixed and sang "Stand By Me" to go behind the photos.



Then best of all, my dad revealed the biggest trick he had up his sleeve.




I thought that only happened on Lexus commercials. Turns out, if you're the best wife ever, it can happen to you for real. (Hint, hint Craig.)

We all had the best time ever. Thanks to all who came. Happy birthday, Mom!

What the...?

Some how our post on Lost ended up here (4th one down):

http://www.spoilersnews.com/spoilers/lost-spoilers?page=1

Haters to the Left

One of the first tennis matches Kristin and I watched together was James Blake's suprising defeat of Rafa Nadal in the third round of the 2005 US Open. It was all to easy to cheer for Blake and against Nadal. Blake was the American, he was on the come back trail, and Nadal had some problems:

1-Man-capris and a muscle shirt



2-Wedgie problems



3-He is continually messing with his socks (not pictured)

This match resulted in a year or two of heckling Nadal. But now with three years of tennis watching under my belt I've progressed in my views. What started as occasional cheering for Nadal in order to cheer against Federer, has transformed into fandom.

I won't be rocking the man capris anytime soon (don't worry Paul) but I have to say I really like Nadal. He is either a crazy nice guy or has everyone duped (respect- either way), and I like his chances of continuing his streak at the French Open and possibly winning Wimbledon. Plus his new muscle shirts are way looser.

Back On Their Game (Minor Lost Spoiler Alert)

The last few months/year in my opinion the "Lost" writers have lost the thread (no pun intended). The show had evolved to a point where it seemed disjointed, and as my mental list of unreconciled loose ends grew I was getting to a point where it was hard to watch.

I went into last night's episode with low expectations and I have to say my mind got blown. Maybe it was the trifecta of dramatic screams coming from Holly, Kristin, and SJ (in unison). Maybe it was that coffee ice cream dessert Holly made, but I loved last night's episode, and never dreamed I would feel empathetic toward Ben. It was the first time I've felt glad that they were extending the show for a few more seasons. Given it wasn't without it's hiccups. As Nathan pointed out the cgi on the smoke monster didn't look so great, and there were some other small issues, but overall if felt like a return to the old days. Here's hoping they can keep it going.

Sycamore Street Press

Recently, I designed these business cards for my friend, Eva, who is starting her own letterpressing company. She sent me this photo yesterday of how they came out. I thought she pressed them beautifully. Plus, I am jealous because she can work at home in her pajamas. She has realized the dream.

Check out her Etsy site here. She has some amazing artwork and hand-lettered greeting cards.

RIP Diet Coke

So, I have officially been off Diet Coke for 3 months now. I know, I know. This might be blowing some of your minds. I have mixed feelings because I feel like a part of me is missing, but I guess drinking 6-12 a day was kind of getting out of hand.

At least this guy is still enjoying my baby.

Wait Just A Minute....

I wouldn't usually poach off my sister's blog but come on. Gretchen says:

"Tonight we decided to try and ignore Tucker as he opened and shut the door at bedtime. This is how we found him. I didn't think I would have a picture of one of my boys like this until they were on their mission."

Good News

Our blog may be moving from what Paul correctly identifies as, "Craig's Bi-annual Skiing Blog" to something that Kristin participates in. So far she has redesigned it...more to come.