finally

i admit, it has been to long since i have posted. so finally a new post!
i suppose i just have not had much to post about, at all... but then i think, "i do", i have just been lazy or maybe depressed, you know, the weather, it gets to me so... i can not even gripe about how much it snowed this last week. i actually had to do this, that means it was a lot.


it was spring break here this week. this was the first time in years that we have stayed home and now i know why, way back when, we chose to leave. although my son and son in law had a fun spring break. michael enjoying the insane crowds that they experience at his work from now till sept. thankfully joey, a cool enough bro in law drove down and spent a day with michael... being the crowd. looks fun, i wish i could've been there (o:




laura has been home all week, it has been so nice, even though she spent very little time actually with us, it's just heartwarming to have her home, sophey was seriously happy about it! i kept thinking i have to get a picture of her and david (he was here too). david is laura's boyfriend he is nice, really nice. he so nice he makes a mom think. "can you marry my daughter, i have been praying for a young man like you all her life." (obviously i did not say this to him, i know i am a dork but i am not stupid!) i think this about a couple of my kids and their sig others right now... they are just with really wonderfully amazing people, david included. anyway... i liked having them here, so very much.

it happens to be that david is 1/4 italian, just like laura. so they wanted pasta. (my kids... they always want pasta when they are home, i suppose it is their uber comfort food) they didn't want just pasta they wanted homemade ravioli. i have never made this with our grandma & grandpa's help! yikes. yet for me, a day, a kitchen, italian cooking pure bliss.

so sorry, no pics of laura and david, my bad. she is strikingly beautiful as always and yep he's cute, a good looking dark haired italian guy, who wears a pirates hat (o: a lot. although bill did take a few shots of my cooking.

kneading is harder than it looks!


the hands of a cook.


a nice finished product but DO NOT repeat what you see. separating the pasta with the parchment was a huge mistake. it stuck so bad, i lost many in the mess. big mistake! do not stack raviolis!


laura and david left this afternoon as soon as the laundry was dry... bill wanted pizza... if you know bill you are aware, that is not like phoning in a pizza and picking it up. it means leila makes a homemade pizza on boboli. i can not STAND boboli, i think it is a horrible product that has lost all of it's quality. ugghh. i was so ready to prepare a seared then roasted loin of pork served with a demi glace with blueberries alongside a horseradish mustard smashed yukons with something green! it sounded so good and so fun to cook!

alas, i suddenly remembered! "our Trader Joe's opened on friday and i actually braved the INSANE crowd and went in and picked up about eight of my very favorite items, one being their fantastic pizza crust!" and i had some (trying to copy grandma's) sauce leftover from the ravioli. wa la, i could actually create a pizza i would enjoy also ( i admit, i would love a yummy pepperoni pie any day although the best of the best is made by my nephew anthony).

so in the creating of our delightful dinner i noticed some consistencies in my cooking.
there is always a mess and usually a glass of wine.


i have visitors every time and they are always the same two!


it looks pretty darn yummy when it's raw.


even yummier when it's cooked and smells so good. thank you Trader Joe's! thank you for coming to Bend!


also, okay so don't faint. you have all heard about this for about two years now, it is actually a reality. we figure if we don't try we will never know. this is really our front yard and this is a for real sign. we are giving it six months. so we will see...


this is our plan. we would buy a lot in Bend and build this (Bill's dream house) it is prairie style all the way, true as true can be to prairie style. in the back it has a u shape so there is a courtyard in the middle for outdoor living. it's a great floor plan, much smaller (we don't need all this space and can just squeeze when you are all here) (o: we will see, we are not doing anything if this home does not sell.


so there you have it. a freezing cold spring break with moments of joy and a cat out of the bag!

xo
love you all
leila

seriously

this is going on right now as i type.

so now you can understand why i dream of a place in the tropics... it is march 26th is it not.

i hope your heart and home are warm.
xo
leila

12 angry men

we had a play in portland last weekend. it was really good.

twelve angry men


it was stimulating to see a drama for a change. the entire play consisted of the 12 men in the same scene throughout the entire show. the dialog between the men was really captivating and quite intense at times. it was such a good show. i'd like to rent the old movie again and compare.

it was funny, it caused us to discuss the fact that Bill has never had jury duty. low and behold sitting in our mail box upon returning from portland, the call.

we enjoyed the other things that we do regularly do when we go over also. shopping, dining, a huge anti war rally and so many st. pat's marathons it was almost impossible to get out of the city!

we aren't is sisters anymore sophey.

i like this picture

i admit i stole this picture off of heidi's flicker site, i just really like it so i took it. i hope it's o.k.
i think it's cute. Bill looks so handsome but a bit scared and me with my mouth open, as usual.
i wish we could do his party again. it was so special, so fun....

25 years

my beautiful, gifted, creative and talented daughter heidi happened to turn 25 this sunday the 9th of march. here we are two nights before her birthday. i do adore you heidi, love your mom.
xo

a night to remember

i imagine everyone is wishing.... " i wish bill would post..." i do share that wish also.

if you don't know. we celebrated bill's 50th birthday this last friday night (which is this friday the 14th, so if you have not yet, you still have time to wish him a happy 50th!) it was....

a night to remember...

i guess i can just relive it, once again (i have many times already) through this post... indulge me okay, it was a lot to pull off and it was a special night, everything i imagined......

you know when you are planning a 50th, i think the first BIG question... how big do i go? i knew who i wished could be here... i knew who i couldn't even ask (three of our kids )o: , just because of life.....) so i thought hard, really hard... who could possibly come and make this dream come true. it really does blow me away, almost everyone that i hand picked was able to make the sacrifice and come. (i do admit, there were a few that were hand picked, that i did not even ask. the sacrifice was to much in my mind. i just could not ask.)

so... 20 rsvp's, a surprise of a lifetime, i set out. in no way, did i, who has teased her husband about his age for an entire year, want to make fun of him for turning 50. my desire, as everyone in attendance knew, was to honor this wonderful and great man that i am blessed to have as a husband. i actually think... i, along with so much help, pulled it off.

i was, i do admit, a bit STRESSED getting ready for the event. ask anyone who was around me that day! i can't tell you how many times juri said to me, "layla (how juri pronounces my name) have a glass of wine, you need to calm down and enjoy this." from bill smith who it seemed i sent a nasty text to! i missed one word and rather than loving and friendly/honest it ended up quite... _ithchy... not me... well i hope at least! (o:

oh but what a day,what a night.

i guess it started with the night before. we having home group and me being nervous WRECK, that someone would mention what was happening tomorrow (the party of bill's life) i was disconnected and paranoid the whole night! i actually think i really did give randy the 'evil eye' when he said the word 'TOMORROW!' then to come home, make sure bill was fast asleep.. and begin texting renee (my darling sister, whom i do adore and admire so very much... oh so much...) because i knew they were less than a half mile away enjoying a wonderful evening at five pine lodge in sisters, or. okay, so they were safely here but trying to sleep this this night.... nuts! i had so much to do! by the grace of God, i did sleep.

the next morning is almost comical... trying to act like to bill, 'I have nothing going on" / "COULD YOU GET THE F OUT OF HERE, I HAVE SO MUCH TO DO!!!!!!!!!!" (o: all the while thinking..., "my sister, who i adore so much, is REALLY HERE, just down the street!" he left... finally... i sent an email to work... immediately... "do not, DO NOT, let him come home"

then chuck and renee arrived, my champions! hugs were issued and the work began, renee... run many errands and pick up heidi and joe. chuck... please help me transform this house. i admit, it was quite cool, we turned the dining area into a lounge and we transformed the family/media room into a fine dining experience. the heavy lifting done by chuck & joe (my very fine son in law) the transformation done by my amazing sister renee, my daughter (talented beyond imagine) and i. stressful but so fun. decisions i could never make on my own! i only wish i would've taken more pics!

we finished, finally: and the results were so magnificent!

i admit, the red wine was the more popular, against bill's liking... but we do have enough kim crawford leftover to last us throughout this summer i think... so come and visit!
the cake, being so beautiful... i really didn't think it tasted very well at all. it was pretty though (o;

a table, set for a prince!

how do i even go on? my desire for the evening? 'honor the man that God has given me.. geesh... what a task.'

how do you say?

the sight of seeing, my brother in law (who i adore and i was not sure was coming) drop off my husband's mother (who, how i could not do this evening without this magnificent woman's presence {he is who he is, because of her}) at my front door, juri and kinley cooking away in my kithchen, bill s & meliss making a major time sacrifice to be here, again chuck & renee from across this continent, to heid & joe (having to take time off and give up her birthday for) to many dear local friends.. holing up in my hallway to surprise my bill (because i can be ocd at times... (o; and did not want to do the BIG SURPRISE)

it was... a night to remember...



we began with a video. done by those of you that know you took the time to do to. i thank you!
it was so special, so heartfelt, it brought laughter and tears both! bravo to bernie, it was so fabulous (you know he really is a ROCK STAR and is so humble about it! he does a darn good birthday video also!) I THANK YOU, to all who contributed and to brother bernie, you are gems. and then... my game, "how well, do you, know bill?" heidi and brad won. not a huge surprise! i did think the game was fun and challenging though. no one (other than me) new every answer.

we then moved upstairs to the 'dining experience' and i shared many icons of '1958' the year of bills' birth as dr. juri sbandati created our dinner for the evening.

i think he did enjoy it!

we dined on imported italian cheeses, again pears glazed with 25 year old balsamic (buy it, it's so worth it), crespelle alla florentina, gnocchi in a porcini mushroom sauce (a flavor to intense for some palates to handle, oh so wonderfully intense and woody), braised beef ribs along with italian beans. (so rustic, so fantastic.) and then the cake, which i did think was so pretty but lacked in flavor very much .... i am too picky!

i asked the couples to share, "how or where they met bill, a fun memory and something special about him." oh how i wish i could've videotaped the entire evening. it was magical. from the beginning with joe (the son in law) to brad (the brother) to gary (the oldest logo) to on and on... new friends and old. it ended with heidi.. what a daughter... to me, really having nothing planned to say and just sharing my heart. it was deeper and more special than i imagined. you all made my dream come true. i thank you for that!

how can a woman express... the love, the joy, the richness, the thanks the time that people took to make this event, a memory of a lifetime. i really can not. you each know who you are. your words, your time, your willingness... beyond what i can say. i just want you to know, you did give my man, a night that he will never forget.

a night to remember.

i thank you.

leila

i just wish i would've taken a few more pics )o:
i love you all. God bless you
xo

answers!

i do apologize for my lack of blogs. i thought the week before last was busy.... to respond to ' busy week' i actually think everybody who answered did very well. okay, just to warn, this is going to be a VERY wordy post!

i think everyone really got the park entrance correct, it is actually after you go through the main gate, have experienced Mickey's head in flowers and all (seen the train) and are entering into either side of the park (dena is the closest on this i think!)
walt originally envisioned velvet curtains here also, the idea of leaving the real world into a world of fantasy and fun/play.

well ya, mikey and bill. two men i really love!

kristen was the closest here and really close. it is the exact geological center of disneyland park. it sits under the entrance into tomorrowland (at the castle, near that cool weapon's store that Michael never new existed till right after we shot this pic.)

dena got it, it's dumbo. and she is correct we were on the ride when we took it. although we did not share the line with... who was that josh was next to??? (o:

i admit, i like heidi's answer best, it makes me laugh every time i read it because it's so wrong. kris is correct, ice crystals on matterhorn. mikey shot the pic while on the ride. cool!

wil got this the closest. of course it is walt and mickey. wil is correct. i just think disney is cool, very cool. and it all started with walt and a mouse he drew.

all wrong, but heidi could possibly guess now. crepes.

yes, my chef dr. juri sbandati, his absolutely gorgeous wife (kinley) who feasted with us often on thursdays and ellina, my new friend (who i am not sure if i will ever see again unless i take up bowling on mondays...)

and yes wil, what a view to dine at each thursday, wow... only in central oregon.

xo

busy week

i admit, i have had such a busy week. i have had no time to blog at all. i don't even have the time now....

so this is a bit of a test, how well you know me. i did spend the week doing a couple of things i am pretty passionate about. can you answer these questions? how well do you know me?

you'll just have to comment... people rarely comment and it is just so great when they do. you actually realize someone reads this garble.

where is this sign?

who are these two fantastic guys that i spent my wednesday with?


this is actually an important thing in CA history. do you know what it is? where it is, exactly?


do you know where this water feature is?

where are you now?

do you have any idea why i made these two to ride dumbo together so i could get a pic? really the answer on this one is pathetic.


do you know what this is? why i think it's important?


yummy... thursday has come! can you guess what this is, that the two sous chefs of dr. sbandatti cooked this day? it was again, delicious!


do you know who these three people are? i do adore each one of them, so much.


i will just tell you... this is the end of my day on thursday. this was end of my cooking school )o; yet this is the view we dined to each thursday. it was at least 60 degrees out! i threw the doors open desiring to dine al fresco! we just relished in our six weeks together. what a place to cook, what a great chef and what great new friends..... really it has been bliss, i am grateful.


okay.. now try and answer the questions.
really? can you believe that view? wow!

xo

-leila