Heart-Shaped Pizza and Just Being There

One day out of the year, chocolate, flowers, and jewelry are our nationally recognized symbols of romance and love. But my hubby and I have been different since the beginning. Neither of us were ever huge fans of reserving romance for one particularly dictated day, nor were we big fans of the usual spoils of February 14th. Instead, we decided to celebrate in our own way. The steakhouse dinner? Nah. A dozen red roses? Nah. My husband's staged living room performance of "Truly Madly Deeply"? Nah. Recreating some of our favorite dishes from our Indonesian honeymoon for dinner? YES, PLEASE! But that's just us. Seeing images friends have posted throughout the day...heart-shaped pizzas, pink pancakes, dancing to favorite songs with sweet babies, great seats at a basketball game, pink tutus, naked babies covered in cake, and scanned photos from decades ago...make me smile...everyone does V Day their own way. One friend mentioned that just returning home to see her very-busy-always-on-call-doctor husband there unexpectedly for the evening was a gift all in itself. Just like her, I hope you and your valentines (spouses, boyfriends/girlfriends, children, best friends) spend time appreciating every little moment that adds up to this crazy good life. Although, I could go for an impromptu living room a capella rendition of Hall and Oates' "You Make My Dreams"...or "Maneater"...hmmm...something to think about for next year.

My valentine and me on our honeymoon!
Bali, Indonesia

Aliza

Happy Everything!

A proper adieu to 2010 will be on its way just after the new year. The blog will be on hiatus until 2011, after we dig out from wrapping paper and sugar cookies. In the meantime, we'll be celebrating the holidays in a warm, colorful, and relaxing way. The camera's coming along, so I'll be sure to share our favorite moments.

Happy Everything!

Aliza

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like...Chanukah?

The holiday season goes a little like this vignette from the Werner household:

(Setting: Werner living and dining rooms. The scene begins as Aliza and Nick walk in. Aliza places the Chanukah menorah on the table and sets up the candles. The room smells strongly of pine. Nick turns on the satellite radio...)

Radio: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...Everywhere you go...

(Aliza strikes a match and lights the middle shamash candle.)

Radio: Take a look in the five and ten glistening once again...With candy canes and silver lanes aglow...

(With the Christmas tune playing on the radio in the background, A&N huddle around the menorah.)

A&N: Baruch atah adonai elohainu melech ha'olam asher kiddishanu b'mitzvotav v'tzivanu l'hadlik nar shel Chanukah.

(As Aliza lights the first night candle...)

Radio: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...Toys in every store...

(With the menorah's candles flickering a cozy orange glow...)

A or N: Now that the menorah is lit...let's go decorate the tree!

(A&N head to the Christmas tree ten feet away to begin the annual detangling of lights, search for escaped metal hooks, and discovery of memories represented in the collection of ornaments. As each bauble and trinket is hung on the branches, Aliza sees one last shiny item at the bottom of the box. It's a delicate menorah ornament...a gift last year from her mother-in-law. On the tree is goes.)

Radio: It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas; Soon the bells will start...And the thing that will make them ring is the carol that you sing...Right within your heart.

Annnnnnd...scene.

The Eighth Night of Chanukah
The lit menorah glows brightly in front of the Christmas tree.

Aliza

Back Home & Happy Belated Father's Day!

After some time traveling away from home, unplugged, the hubby and I are back home, and plugged back in. In the meantime, we missed your status updates, the DVR filled up with guilty pleasure reality shows, and some really spiky weeds grew in our lawn. We were busy eating the freshest homemade pastas and gelato, strolling through gardens, laughing with improv comedians, cracking lobster claws, and singing "Sweet Caroline" while taking in a game of baseball in the most beloved park, among a zillion other things, in Boston. Can you imagine giving up the pulls of email, blogging, and Facebook for a few days for that? We try to be vacation purists, staying away from most technology, exceptions only for making dinner and/or spa reservations. Going out to Beantown is like going home for me, after living there for four years in college, and I get homesick when I've been away too long. Boston is also the spot for a very special moment in our lives...and I leave you hanging there, unless you already know, but that's a story for another day.

Besides missing the emergence of way too many ginormous weeds in our yard, we were 1,000 miles away on Father's Day...don't worry, we celebrated early! But I wanted to make sure I wished my dad a belated Happy Father's Day with a photo of us on a pretty good day.

Dad and Me

Lots of babies, families, vacation photos, and other fun summery stuff to catch up on...Baby Wesley coming your way next!

Aliza

Happy Mother's Day!

Who would have ever thought that my own mother would be able to receive Mother's Day wishes via a blog post?! Up until recently, she and technology were not well acquainted. Did she have email?, friends would ask. We're still working on convincing her to find the "on" button on the computer, we'd reply. My youngest sisters started training her on computer basics, as the "baby" was off to college last fall, and wouldn't be around to print itineraries and seventeen-times forwarded email jokes from the AARP crowd relatives. "Move the mouse," they'd say. "AAARRRGGHH!!" she'd scream as she jumped on a chair. "Where's a mouse!?" I know she'll read this post and roll her eyes, because she subscribes to my blog (!) and eye rolling is an endearing family trait. But she'll also be proud of me in all my endeavors. So, this post, this space, this time, this technology is dedicated to you, mom! Thank you for all you do, and I'm glad you figured out the techie stuff in order to follow my blog. Happy Mother's Day!

By the way, if you wanted to call and wish my mom a Happy Mother's Day, you might have to try a few times until she picks up. She doesn't have an answering machine.

Mom and Me

Aliza

Friday Thoughts: Epic Beards and Fish Meatballs

The weekend starts early this week, not only because it reached 80 degrees today in our city, which could still very easily be buried under ten feet of snow at this time of year, but because it's finally time for the hubby and me to spend time in one of our favorite places. Photos from this haven will appear in a post next week...we'll keep you guessing until then.

This week also brought our families together for one of my favorite holidays, Passover. It's a holiday during which you can recline at the table, drink four full glasses of wine, and watch the tanned and muscled greatness that is Charleton Heston's portrayal of Moses in "The Ten Commandments". His beard is seriously epic at the end of that movie. Santa and ZZ Top ain't got nothin' on desert-wandering Moses. After celebrating a holiday for decades, many quirky traditions emerge. My dad and I compete to see who can eat more horseradish slathered on matzah without crying, we all dare each other to eat the gefilte fish (essentially a cold fish meatball...ugh), and...it always goes back to Mr. Heston...we marvel at the special effects of the Red Sea parting, the Nile turning to blood, and how they got Yul Brynner's bald head so shiny and smooth! Seriously. Is it turtle wax? Olive oil? Questions for the ages.

While I head off to breathe in some fresh spring air with the hubs, I'm sure many more holiday memories will come to mind. In the meantime, a quick *happydance* for my friends MJ & J on the birth of their new baby boy this week, who will most likely to be found at the other end of my camera within a couple weeks and shared here! Ooooh, how I love brand new bundles! Happy weekend!

Aliza