Anniversaries

 Six years ago today, I married not just The Hubs, but GG and LW.  I know that might sound a little strange, but I did.  This is OUR anniversary.  A day for all of us to celebrate becoming a family.

Six years ago today, we had our wedding.  We held it in our back yard, and had one of our very best friends officiate the service.  It was a beautiful sunset ceremony with all of our very closest friends and family in attendance.  The wedding itself was in three parts.

Part 1:  The Hubs and Me
"Where there has been cold, you have brought warmth.  Where my life was dark, you have brought light.  You have helped me to let go of the past, and embrace the future; And our miracle lies in the path we have chosen together.  I come to you with my eyes wide open.  I enter this marriage with you knowing that the true magic of our love is not to avoid changes, but to navigate them successfully.  Whatever lies ahead, good or bad, we will face together.  Distance may test us afor a time, and time may try us, but if we look to each other first, we will always see a friend.  Look to me for all the days to come; for today I take my place by your side. "

We even tied two cords together into a knot, signifying our binding.  We have it in our room.  I don't notice it every day since it's always just "there", but when I do, I remember why we're in this and it always makes me smile.

Part 2: Me and The Girls
Today you are my daughters.  No more contracts, no more negotiations, this time it's forever (that was an inside joke btw).  In the years to come, we will laugh together, cry together, fight together and share hope together.  And through it all, my love for you will never waiver.  I'm giving you this necklace (a three diamond drop necklace) as a symbol of my love and commitment to you, as well as this family.  Know that there will always be a place for you in my heart, is there room in your heart for me?

I told the girls before the ceremony, that no matter what happened, not to cry.  They didn't know this part was coming.  They didn't realize I was committing to them as well as to their dad.  They both cried, and so did I.  When they agreed to make room in their hearts for me, was one of the happiest moments of my life.

Part 3: Our Family
In the past, the rose was considered a symbol of love and a single rose always meant only one thing - it meant the words "I love you." So it is appropriate that for your first gift - as a new family - that gift would be a single rose.  Please exchange your first gift as a new family.  In some ways it seems like you have not done anything at all. Just a moment ago you were holding three small roses - and now you are holding three small roses. In some ways, a marriage ceremony is like this. In some ways, tomorrow is going to seem no different than yesterday. But in fact today, just now, you all have given and received one of the most valuable and precious gifts of life - one I hope you always remember - the gift of true and abiding love within the devotion of marriage.  I would ask that where ever you make your home in the future - whether it be a large and elegant home - or a small and graceful one - that you all pick one very special location for roses; so that on each anniversary of this truly wonderful occasion you both may take a rose to that spot both as a re-commitment to your family - and a re-commitment that THIS will be a marriage and family based upon love. 

And each year, on (or near if someone is away like when LW was away at college) our anniversary, we all come together as a family.  We give a rose to each member of our family, and say what the best part of having that person in our family was this past year.  Then we say what we're going to do in the coming year to keep our family strong and then light a candle, each in our turn.  As the Tweedles have come along, we've included them, bringing them into this family commitment so they understand our family as a unit.  There are no sides in this blended family.  No boundaries of his, hers or ours.  We're all in this together.

I know it sounds kinda corny.  I've been told it's very "Brady Bunch".  And while I can see that from their side,  I wouldn't change it one bit.  In a blended family, more than ever, we need to come together and remember why we're here, what we're doing this all for, and that each of us is loved.  I couldn't ask for a more perfect way to express this to each other.

Six years ago, I made a commitment to The Hubs, GG and LW.  Six years and two more kids later, I wouldn't change a thing.  I love you all.  Thank you so much for bringing me into your family, for loving me and making this journey the best of my life.

Seriously.. Thoughts?

Don't Date This Girl!

This is a Public Service Announcement.  School is starting up again, and if you live in or near the LA area, please do not date this girl!

First of all, she's super annoying.  And you can read all about that here.

But mostly, it's because her Daddy is a former US Marine and Expert Rifleman.  Platoon Sniper in fact. I used to say "ex-Marine" but The Hubs has set me straight. There's no such thing as an "ex-Marine".  They just don't exist.  Apparently, once you're in the Corp, you're always in the Corp.  Even if you're not in the Corp anymore.  Cool, I confused myself and made a rhyme.  I love that! Back to reasons not to date this girl.

Although her Daddy doesn't currently own a firearm, he does own one of these.

And it shoots one of  these.

And I can guarantee you, this will hurt a lot as it goes ripping through your body.  And even more, when they have to pull it out!

But if that doesn't scare you off, and you still want to date this girl, please treat her kindly and with respect.  She may seem all cool and indifferent on the outside.

But deep down, she's a big 'ol jelly of girly mushy feelings.

And we hate to see her cry.  Ever.  And if you make her cry.

Well, God help you.

Seriously.... Thoughts?

Armenian Rice Pilaf

Let's talk about Rice Pilaf.

This isn't the rice pilaf you'll get at the average restaurant or out of a box.  This is strictly the Armenian version baby.  And it's the only rice of any kind that my Lone Wolf will eat.  Weird no?  But then, she really is a weird girl.  It's part of her charm.

GG and LW's Grandmother told me a story of how she learned to make this recipe over the phone.  Her mom would call a little before she left work, and tell her to start it, do the first step and then call her back.  Then she would give her the next step, and have her call back.  By the time she was ready to leave work all the steps would be done, and by the time she got home, the rice would be ready.  How's that for learning?

So, onto the recipe!

This is what you'll need.

1 cup of long grain rice
1/2 cube of butter
1/2 cup of vermicelli bits or 1 coil (or you can use thing spaghetti if you can't find vermicelli)
2 cups hot water (not pictured)
1 tsp salt (not pictured)
2 tbs grapeseed oil or extra light olive oil if you can't find grapeseed

Wash and drain the rice in a strainer and set aside.  Brown the vermicelli bits in 2 tbs of light oil.  Stirring is the key here.  You cannot stop stirring.  It's best if you can find a big kid to do it for you.  I mean, why strain yourself when you have children? 

Once the vermicelli bits are brown, remove from heat and add 1/2 cube of butter.  Do not substitute with margarine - it will go horribly wrong.  Trust me on this one.

When butter is melted add rinsed rice and return to heat and stir until rice is coated and changes texture (it goes a little whiter when done). Again, stir, stir, stir.  I find bribing kids with extra helpings works well.

Add hot water.  It's important that the water be already hot, don't try to cheat and just add cold water, you won't like it.  Keep on the straight and narrow and follow the recipe!  Salt to taste (obviously, she uses more than a tsp, but you can start there and add until it tastes right). 

Bring to a boil.

Cover and reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes.

Now this is the most important part.  You MUST serve this on a platter or plate.  You cannot serve it in a bowl.  I have no idea why, but it's the family tradition, and since I'm just the evil-stepmonster just trying to fit in, who am I to interfere with family traditions.  Besides, some things are just better left as they are.

Sprinkle with pepper and viola!  Serves 3-4.  And just for kicks and giggles, this recipe can be double or even tripled.  If your family is anything like mine, you'll probably want to double or triple it just to keep the fighting over it down to a minimum.

Seriously.. Thoughts?

Blend Well

Part of being an Evil Stepmonster is blending in with your new family.  This can take years and years and years before you feel like you're not an outsider anymore.

Does anyone remember the movie the Outsiders? Awesome flick!  And wow!  How hot were those boys? Seriously!  C. Thomas Howell, Ralph Macchio, Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, Emelio Estevez, Tom Cruise and Patrick Swayze may he rest in peace.  If you haven't seen it, you must.  Rent it.  Now.  Go on.  I'll wait.

Some families never manage to blend together into one cohesive group.  The key here is patience, consistency, and being open to a new and different way of living.  There is no right way.  There is no wrong way.  You just have to keep at it.

10 years ago when I came into this already-made family, there was one little piece of family history that came to light pretty quickly.  Both of my two girls, are 1/4 Armenian.  Now, if you've never heard of Armenia, don't fear.  I hadn't heard of it either.  I was never too fond of geography or history, so I didn't beat myself up too much about this lack in my education and neither should you.  For those of you who know all about Armenia, and it's history, please feel free to get a snack, have a drink, whip up some brownies.  For the rest of us, let me give you a quick tutorial.  Just the facts ma'am.

Armenia is nestled between Turkey, Iran, Georgia and Azerbajian in the Middle East.  See on the map up there how nestled it is?  It looks comfy right? Wrong.  It has a pretty intense history which I'll hit on in later posts.  What's important here is that it's a Middle Eastern country.  And the girls' Grandmother is full Armenian from Armenia (meaning that her parents immigrated here directly from Armenia instead of say an Iranian Armenian who immigrated first to Iran before immigrating to America).  There are some subtle differences between the groups, but I really have no idea what they are.  I just know they're different.  See, I'm clueless even as I'm typing this up to keep you informed!

The girls' Grandfather was from the Midwest making the girls' Mom half Armenian.  And since their Dad, The Hubs, is Californian, that makes them 1/4 Armenian.  Geez.. I was told there would be no math, so I hope you guys got all of that!

What do you know? I hear you asking.  Don't think I don't.  You guys are so impatient!

What I do know is I've been slowly introduced to this culture through my children, their Mom and their Grandmother, but mostly through Armenian food.  It's got its own flavor and unique tastes from other Middle Eastern countries.  And lets face it, food brings people together.  And in a blended family, togetherness, is likely the only way this is all going to work.

With the help of the girls' Grandmother, I thought in some upcoming posts, I'd help you learn about the culture the same way I did, through your stomach.

From Rice Pilaf

and Stuffed Grape Leaves

And Hummus

To Armenian Pizza and so much more.

You might get some great new recipes.  You might learn some history and geography.  Or not.  Some of the food might make your stomach tilt a little to the left and leave you feeling woosy (one or two have that effect on me).  But in an effort to explore all aspects of the cooking culture, I won't leave anything out.  And maybe you'll discover you have a few little Armenian taste buds hiding inside you that you never knew about!

Seriously.. Thoughts?

City Mouse.. Country Mouse

I always liked this book when  I was little.  I'm not sure why.  Maybe because for most of the year, we lived in college towns that boomed with kids during the school year, and in the summer, my parents sent me to my grandparent's farm in po-dunk no-where East Texas.  I could easily relate to both mice.  Or maybe, it was a foreshadowing my life to come.

See, I have my very own City Mouse

Who loves shopping and dressing up.  Who loves to go out to eat at fancy restaurants and orders the most expensive dish on the menu even if she's never tried it.  Especially if she's never tried it.  My City Mouse likes to move and shake to fashion trends, and likes to start her own trends.  She likes expensive cars and expensive clothes.  She loves glitz and glam and all things posh.  She loves jewelry and The Theater.  She loves shoes.  Man does my City Mouse love shoes.

And then there's my Country Mouse:

Who loves big open spaces and small groups over big crowds.  She's practical and down to earth.  She adores animals and enjoys a good tussle.  She could care less about fashion trends, make-up or dressing up.  She's the kind of gal that jumps out of the shower, throws on her comfy jeans and a tee shirt and pushes her hair out of her face with her sunglasses.  My Country Mouse loves country music and Disney Movies.  And she would prefer hanging out at home with her friends over going out clubbing any day of the week.  My Country Mouse enjoys playing sports and doesn't mind getting sweaty if it wins the game.

And I love them both, my City Mouse and my Country Mouse.

And that's why we should move to Austin.

Austin is the Live Music Capitol of the world and features venues with the latest and greatest of pop artist and icons as well as country and jazz.

Austin's ethnic diversity has lead to the best restaurants of all kinds from Middle East, Indian and Thai to down home BBQ.

Austin has wineries for my City Mouse (when she is eventually old enough to drink) and Breweries for my Country Mouse.

Austin has the ballet, the symphony and the opera and the South by SouthWest festival that is bound to have something for everyone.

Austin has Museums, Galleries, and Gardens for cultural exploration and parks, hills, trails, pools horse riding and Frisbee Golf.

Austin is the prefect meld of the country life and the city life.  One of the few places on this earth where my Country Mouse and City Mouse could both find happiness and satisfaction.  A place for them both to fit in.

Ahh Austin, you bring worlds together.  Is there anything you can't do my love? Anything?

Wendi

The Lone Wolf

This girl is our oldest.  Our most responsible.  Our most mature.  *cough* *cough* *sputter*.  Yeah, there's just no saying that with a straight face.  She is our oldest though, at the ripe old age of 21.  She's a full time college student who also has a part time job, which I guess makes her a little responsible.  But mature? Yeah, you can forget about that. 

I met this girl when she was 11.  She was a quiet and shy little thing compared to her dramatically inclined younger sister (GG).  In fact, I felt kinda bad for her.  I took it upon myself to befriend this sweet thing, and she hasn't shut up since.  Seriously, once you get this girl out of the bottle, there's no putting that genie back!

Like GG, I have also known this girl 10 years (did I really say 10 years? Can it really be 10 years? Someone pinch me, I swear it can't have been that long).  

Reasons why I dislike this one:

1. She never really liked school.  And I loved school.  Which meant it was my sole goal in life to make her love school.  Remind me sometime to tell you about the time she tried to change her grades not knowing I'd already called the school.  Uh huh. You heard me.
2. She "pretends" not to know people like Marie Osmond to make me feel old.  Seriously, this should be grounds for immediate dismissal.
3. She sings off key (completely tone def this one), and knows all the words to pretty much every Disney and Veggie Tales movie there is.
4. She sings every Disney and Veggie Tales song she knows very loudly/badly in the car when there's no place for me to escape.  She does it on purpose.
5. She does this thing we call "snuffling" which sounds like a little puppy sniffing in your ear.  It's very annoying.  She does this all the time.  Even when I threaten her with bodily harm.
6. She laughs when I threaten her with bodily harm.
7. She's all muscle, and I'm fat and jiggly.
8. She pokes my fat, jiggly tummy and then likes to show off her flat, never had a baby, 21 year old tummy.
9. She tans.  Now mind you, she has to get a horrible painful burn first, which I do like,  but it fades into a beautiful tan when it's done.  I just go from white, to red to white.  There is no tan.  I'm bitter.
10. She always wants to hug me.  In public.  Where people can see.  She doesn't care about my evil step-monster rep.

She is a funny girl though.  She's a total athletic tom boy.  She lettered in high school for water polo.

 She was the goalie.  She was the goalie because she was lazy and didn't want to move around the whole pool.  It was okay for her to be lazy, because from her goal, she was strong enough to score against the other team in one throw.  But for all her tom-boy tendancies, she sure does clean up nice when she wants to.

and here

These are a little old, but she doesn't dress up very often, so we have to take what we can get.

Now, we're going to call her "Lone Wolf".  And not because she loves wolves, which she does, but because she thinks she's a loner.  A solitary figure cloaked in darkness and intrigue.  A break out of the crowd, do her own thing, everyone be-damned, Lone Wolf.  She's not of course.  This girl wouldn't know what to do with herself if she had to spend more than 5 minutes alone.  I think she might be as bored and annoyed with herself as the rest of us are.  So in my head at least, I'm going to call her the "Lone Wolf Wannabe".  And from here on out, when I refer to her as my Lone Wolf or LW.. you can add the Wannabe part in your head too.  It will be our little secret.  Tee Hee!

Seriously.. Thoughts?

Goodbye GG.. Goodbye!

This girl, is leaving us tomorrow.  She'll be boarding a plane and flying off to Alabama where she'll spend the next 7 weeks with her mom.  This is always such a bitter sweet time here in our house.  On the one hand, she's getting to see her mom, step-father and little sister,  who she doesn't see very often, so she's filled with all sorts of excitement, anticipation and yes, glee.  Pure glee.  (I feel the same when I know I'm going to see my old people.) Plus, I find her super annoying, so having her gone for 7 weeks is typically pure relief and joy and glee on my part too.

On the other hand, as luck would have it, GG is leaving before Bunny's Flower Girl Debut.  Which means I will have to do her hair.  And I don't do hair.  Which means Bunny will have horrible hair in her beautiful, purple, twirly, flower girl dress.  It will ruin the whole flower girl effect.  And she'll have dumb hair in all the wedding photos. And everyone in attendance will shake their heads and quietly say "poor little dear" to each other.  And they'll know I'm her mom.  And then they'll shake their heads at me for not being a better parent.  And that's all anyone will remember from an otherwise beautiful ceremony, which will ruin the whole day for the bride.  And it will be all GG's fault.  I'm blaming her.  I am.  You can't stop me.  She should have made better travel plans.

There's also The Hubs, who misses his girl while she's away.  When she's gone, it means he has to wash the dog by himself.  It means he has to take out all the trash and pooper scoop.  It means we don't have a babysitter to leave The Tweedles with on a moments notice if we want to, you know, leave the house.  It means he won't have anyone to help him with his math homework.  It means he doesn't have anyone to watch Gossip Girl and 90210 summer reruns with.  It means he doesn't have anyone to gang up on with against me.  He'll be despondent for a few days over the whole thing before picking himself up and going forward with the rest of his summer.  But don't doubt for a second, that he'll miss her terribly the whole time she's gone.

Then there's Bunny, who at the ripe 'ol age of 4 is finally registering that her sister is going to be GONE.  She's not old enough to really get how long 7 weeks is, so it's even worse.  GG stayed the night last night with her grandmother, and Bunny had a fit.  She even tried to ground GG and tell her she wasn't allowed to sleep over any more because she wanted her home.  HOME! To be with Bunny.  Where she belongs.  It's going to be a long 7 weeks I think.  GG will be lucky if she doesn't move into her room while she's gone just to teach her a lesson about going away.  I might help.  I'm evil that way.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the dog who will pace all night from one end of the house where her bedroom is, to the other for the next 7 weeks, because his girl is not where she is suppose to be.  Or the cats, who pretty much hide in her room from The Tweedles, who now, won't have anywhere to hide.  Oh, they're likely to never forgive her.  Or, at least make her suffer a bit when she gets back.  I like the suffering part.  But pacing dogs and the endless late night meowing of kitties is not how I would choose to spend the next 7 weeks.

Bitter sweet, there's no other word for it.  But 7 weeks? It should go by fast, right?  I mean, it's only 49 days.  Only 1176 hours.  70,560 minutes. 4,233,600 seconds. She'll be back in no time.  Right?  Anyone?

But I won't start counting down until tomorrow.  She has plenty of time to annoy me until then. 

Seriously.. Thoughts?

Introducing.. The 15 Year Old - GG

Since I introduced Bunny yesterday, I figured it was only fair to introduce the other two heathens in our family.  Today I'm going to focus on my Glamour Girl.  GG for short.

I think it's important to interject here, that I don't like her.  Not one little bit.  I'm her evil step-monster after all, and liking my step-kids just isn't allowed.  It's in the handbook.  Page 23.  If you don't believe me, go look it up.  Seriously.  So, I want to just make that clear from the start.  I find her annoying for a number of reasons I will be happy to point out below.   And I just want us all to be on the same page.  Okay? Good.  Now, back to GG.

I met her when she was 5.  When we first met, she used to sneak chocolate and eat cereal under the dining room table so no one would see.  She used to pretend she was Arial the mermaid and wrap a towel around her lower body when she would take baths.  She used to streak through the living room butt-naked giggling with glee after her mermaid stints in the tub.  I think she may have been trying to re-create the scene in The Little Mermaid when Arial gets legs.  But maybe she just liked to run through the house nekkid.

Her older sister was 11 when I first entered their lives and with that many years difference between her and her sister, she was the baby in every sense of the word.  And she was an annoyingly beautiful little thing.  Take a look and I know you'll agree.

Unfortunately, she knew she was an adorable little thing.  And like with most youngest children (and I can speak to this directly, as I am a youngest child), she was spoiled rotten.  In some good ways, and some bad ways.  And she, just like Bunny, was a ham, eager to perform for anyone who showed the slightest bit of interest, or not.  She would perform songs in the living room like she was on stage in a packed stadium. For 5, she had no fear of her audience.  And her audience never failed to sing her praises.


She's 15 now.  YIKES.. has it really been 10 years already?  Seriously, what does that say about me?  Just how old does that make me?  Wait a minute.  Don't answer that.  Lets not dwell.  Back to my GG.  She's 15 now and going to be entering her Junior year of high school in the fall.   

The number one most annoying thing about GG is that she's smart.  There's no way of getting around that.  She's a really smart girl.  The kind of girl you used to dislike a lot in school because they knew "stuff" that you didn't.  She doesn't always apply her brains as she should, but she could if she wanted to.  And just knowing that, annoys me most days because she's smart in areas I will never be smart in.  Like math.  Oh math, you were the bane of my high school existence, but not for my GG.  She's math smart.  And science smart.  And honestly, when she grows up, she could be or do just about anything she wanted.  Through most of elementary and junior high she insisted she wanted to be a scientist.  The type of scientist changed regularly, but it was always a scientist of some sort.  More recently, her interests have turned more towards photography and cinematography.  Which is an amazing and annoying thing all at the same time.  Amazing because she has a good eye (I'll show some of her work another day), and annoying because she's always stealing my camera. Someone get this girl her own camera already!

But wait!  There's more annoying things about my girl.  She's 15.  I'm sure I mentioned that earlier, but I feel the need to repeat it before my next set of photos.  She's 15. She's 15.  She's only 15! I have to repeat this over and over, because my girl at 15, does not look 15.  My girl at 15 (have I mentioned she's only 15??) looks more like 23.  I wouldn't lie.  See for yourself.

This was from last September when she was still only 14.  And I absolutely love this photo, but this is not the face of a 14 year old.  The "look" of a 14 year old.  At least I don't think so.  And neither does The Hubs.  This has caused a few sleepless nights and angry "Dad" looks at grown men who have the gall to check out our daughter.  Grown men!  But if you disagree, please let us know if we're over re-acting.  Soon though.  I think The Hubs might be buying a gun later today. (I kid! Maybe.)

Another really annoying thing about my girl, is that she's tan.  Her mom is half Armenian, which makes her 1/4 Armenian.  And that 1/4 is an annoyingly lovely shade of tan.  All. The. Time.  And God help us in the summer.  The girl positively bronzes.  Combine that with her beautiful brown eyes and is it any wonder grown men are checking my girl out?  Yeah, I hear you giggling over there Missy.  You just pipe down with your tan skin and brown eyes.  You know no one likes you right?   No one likes a show-off.  Truly.

You are annoying GG, but I still love you, even if you are a smart, beautiful, tan, 23 year old lookin', 15 year old.  But don't tell anyone.  I have an evil step-monster rep to protect.

Seriously.. Thoughts?