Cross Your Fingers.

Home Again. Happy mother's day. The green is back. In just one short week, the leaves bursted into emeralds. But the temperatures are down. Chris and I are worried about the vintage. We have already mentioned the damage the weather will have on the foliage, but what about the apples? Last year, after debating over which state produces more apples, (it turns out New York, home of the BIG APPLE, has about 5,000 more acres of apple orchards than Michigan) we ended up paying about ten bucks for one gallon of apple cider. Hopefully this "May frost" will not hurt our apples this year.

Chris is in the middle of plating dinner for my family. What a good guy. He came home and wanted to cook. We have been out of the kitchen for over a week, so I don't blame him. While he cleaned the artichokes, fabricated the broccoflower, and cut the asparagus, I made us a fruity shake. I used strawberries, kiwi, peaches, orange juice, lemonade, and a few scoops of Ben and Jerry's mint and cookies ice cream. It tastes quite good. Little bits of chocolate and hints of mint where you do not expect them. The salmon was lovely- nice crispy layer, cooked perfectly, moist and well seasoned. It was nice to sit back, I didn't touch any ingredients- only the smoothie girl. We ate as a family, and then gave mom our gifts. Margot and Lansing presented her with chocolates. When Dad and Lans picked up the card and some flowers, apparently there was no envelope. My father asked Lansing where the envelope was and my brother exclaimed, "You have to pay extra for the envelopes Dad!" We all laughed as Lansing tried to dispute the fact that the card always comes with the envelope. Mom started unwrapping our gift next. It was Chris' bright idea to put the outfit we got her in a cereal box because we were out of clothing boxes. Everyone laughed. Yesterday Chris and I found our way to TJMaxx looking for a mother's day gift. We found her a cute tennis skirt and nice bright top. I tried it on to make sure that it would fit, as well as look good- my mom and I not only look alike but are about the same stature. She has lost a lot of weight in the past few months and so I think she deserves a new wardrobe- she also looks stunning. I found myself looking in the bathing suit section. With summer on my mind it's hard not to think of sun bathing and swimming. Chris granted me the bathing suit approval, and as I have lost 10 pounds I figured a bikini would not hurt anything. I hit the jack pot. A three in one bathing suit. The top changes into three different looking tops, and it is stellar.

Tomorrow is our big adventure. Chris and I are off to Rochester to look at a few apartments. I am very excited. As well as the apartments, we are hoping to stop by Wegman's to see the store, and maybe have lunch at the Next Door Bar and Grill. Chris is supposed to hear from them tomorrow with good news (cross your fingers for us). I have also connected with a private caterer in the area and will get to stop by there. If we find our selves with time on our hands, we might visit the zoo. Although that is weather dependent, I am not digging these snow flurries I am hearing about.

Our Wrapping Box 

Besides hunting for furniture and preparing for graduation, there is not much else. Last night, Chris got to serve Bryan Miller, who was a critique of the New York Times between the eighties and the nineties. He dined out 5,124 times when he was in the critique position. That is insane. I was very excited that he had the opportunity to meet and talk with Mr. Miller. Others were not as excited. But if Grant Achatz walked through the door everyone else would go CooCoo for cocopuffs. Still, it's really cool, and he is a very accomplished writer. As I mentioned before, I am in the middle of Ruth Riechl's book: "Garlic and Sapphires", which is extraordinary. She followed him as the restaurant critique for the Times, and mentions in her book what a struggle it was.

We are getting down to the wire here with graduation, apartment hunting, job securing etc. Stay tuned for tomorrow's story. It ought to be great. :)

Song of the Day: You & I