HIATUS Over; time to Party!

Well, The Big V day is here and that means, our two-week shopping hiatus is officially over!!! Yeah!!! But sadly, we didn't do so well in the savings department as NEEDED health, school, printer and clothing expenses ate up what we saved from not buying our wants... At least we didn't have to dip in any extra pocket! I think I would consider this one a success as well!

To end the hiatus, we did need to go on a grocery run as fruits and milk ran out. On our way out, we have this left from our Winter Wonderland- a slowly melting snow fort that our next door neighbor's son, Pat did. Great job!

I-Dude and J-Pony loved every minute they spent in it (until I called them).Had to take a second picture.
See that little tilted snow on the left middle? That's a mailbox! LOL
They showed how they kept it up for Pat. Thanks, guys!

And tonight, since it's also Chinese New Year, we celebrated both with an authentic Chinese dinner, both homemade and store-bought!

Look at my little "firecrackers"! We celebrate in honor of my part Chinese heritage on both sides of my family. The kids are just lovin' all the cultural holidays we get to enjoy!

After reading up on my Chinese table etiquette, this is my own rendition. I used candles to represent the fireworks used on celebrating and the red for China and the black for the black stripes on a tiger since it is the Year of The Tiger! Pretty clever, huh?

I made shrimp & broccoli with hoisin garlic sauce, we bought eggrolls and pot stickers (no picture), symbols of prosperity and wealth. The clementines and chocolate for wishes of a sweet life this year. Of course the noodles are the Chinese symbol for wishes of long life.

Poached grouper with soy sauce... It has carrots, ginger and onions that flavored the soy sauce broth. Again, having seafood is considered wishes for wealth and prosperity.


I made both of these dishes. L-Infinity, Mr. Man and I, loved it! J-Pony and I-Dude ate as much as they can of what they can because they wanted this...


I call it, Chocolate Explosion. It's a package of German Chocolate Cake mix but I added chunks of 60% cocoa chocolate bar in the batter. I whisked the eggs before I added it in. The result was a very moist, rich cake with pockets of bittersweet gooeys! The frosting is Dark Chocolate Fudge with powdered sugar on top and I decorated it with the Ferrero Rocher chocolate balls and Dark Chocolated coated almonds! Yum!!!

Happy, happy Valentine's Day, from our family to yours...

A Sweet & Bright Beginning

Reflecting on 2009, it was certainly a year of changes, starts and stops and of sheer generosity. Our children hit milestones: I-Dude, 7 and found his inner artist; J-Pony, hit the double-digit age and learned "why and how" kids her age grow up; L-Infinity, 17 and college bound. We have seen some of the most amazing examples of kindness, patience and friendship while simultaneously tried to stretch our own. I learned to bake and took on three different disciplines in Sociology. Mr. Man found himself in Chicago and Houston for work and enjoying some weekend time which has been denied us for at least six years.

Despite how it ended, 2009 has been one of our best years to reflect on. Our family's stronger for it. So how do you top that? You start it off right, of course!

I decided to make some FUDGE for the very first time- 1/2 with nuts (almond and walnuts) and 1/2 plain. (It's still cooling and solidifying in the fridge, so I had to borrow this picture).
"LaurelVChocolates dot com"
As I was quietly contemplating how 2010 would unfold for our "recovering" family, we saw this beautiful and bright moon-- illuminating the wispy clouds underneath it. It made me wonder if our future adventures will be as "reflective" of who we are.

The future is unknown... But one thing we are sure about, we believe in each other and in a loving God who knows what we need to strengthen the bond that have kept us together and strong. We believe in our friends and the impact of even one good deed.

I like those odds... This year promises to be another great one. :-D

Snow and Chocolate!

Today, Mr. Man called to announce that it may snow. Of course, I was so excited; it's December and about to snow, what could be better right? Wouldn't you know it, right after the kiddos left for school, it snowed! L-Infinity and Kila stayed home and slept in as they weren't feeling good.

Albeit, the snowfall was so light that it barely hit the ground before melting, but still... it was a sight to behold! (if you click on this picture, it looks scratched, but that's the snow!)
Here's some proof on my sleeve... Not dandruff! LOL
Of course that also meant making good on my promise to J-Pony that when it gets cold enough, the fireplace will be used. Look at that cozy fire... (after several hours of trying to light it! The logs were so moist from the rain that moistened the inside of the fireplace)

Then we read the story of the Nativity in Luke 2: 7-12 (KJV) then told the story of the "Chocolate Christmas" where the nativity story was substituted with names of chocolate bars like Twix for tricks and Mars.

The kids were so hungry (and me) afterwards, so... we had hot chocolate and christmas cookies! Again, under candlelights... The flavor requests ranged from French Vanilla to White Chocolate and my fave, Dark Chocolate sensation. We so love Swiss Miss and Stephen's. Yum!!!

Hope your Christmas traditions are going well... We are having fun!

Chocolatey Christmas (17 days to go...)

(photo courtesy of www.targetwoman.com)
Hello again!

Tonight was grocery night, so things were just as hectic. I needed to find a story that would be fun, short and sweet.

Well, I got all three!

It's called "The Chocolate Christmas Story" by Adele in Taiwan (that's the name of the site).

Anyway, it's a short story, fun and sweet because it substitutes the names of actual chocolates! Most are made by Cadbury, so you may not be familiar with them (we weren't), but it reminded me of why we always have tons of chocolate at Christmas time (aside from the fact that I love it!)...

Jesus is our King, and when royalty visits, you can't help but feel that you must bring out your fineries. Well, in chocolate speak in my house that means finding the best cookie/chocolate we can find.

Story: The Chocolate Christmas Story

Activity: Find images of chocolates mentioned and show pictures when it gets mentioned in the story.

Here's our "fineries"... Yum!
What do you think of our stash?