Scott and I on the beach. See my magic bracelet? LOVE all-inclusive resorts!

Twittering from Club Med Punta Cana

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We’ve all arrived safely in the Dominican Republic, and are totally taking advantage of the “all inclusive” spirit of Club Med Punta Cana. This place is simply heaven, as I’m sitting here at the outdoor bar, sipping Passionfruit Caipirinha and gazing longingly at the sparkling turquoise blue sea with streaks of pure white crashing waves.

And yeah, there’s something in it for you too, my dear friends. I’ll bring back a few things from here to give away and end of Feburary I’m hosting a Blogger’s Bash in the Bahamas at Club Med Columbus Isle where I’m treating 7 of my favorite blogger friends and their mates to come with me to have some fun. So far, I’ve got 6 of them confirmed - Matt, Elise, Deb, David, Pim and Diane…and I’m going to spoil the crap out of them! (they may not want to come back home after our week) (more…)

On the set of CBS10 in Tampa - pouring drinks and showing how to open a pomegranate without a squirty mess <- short video clip

Last week, my mom, dad and handsome, smart, cardiologist, SINGLE brother from California came to visit us in Florida and see the kids. We usually have family visits a few times a year, but generally they are short, I repeat, short visits spanning just a handful of days, because while I totally love my Mom, we have very similar personalities and sometimes specific personality traits (ahem: stubborness, bossyiness and must-be-in-controlness) clash to the extreme.

Scott, Jay and Dad have learned to side step out of the way during the moments of mother-daughter clashes. For no smart male would ever want to get in the way of two BICKERING CHINESE WOMEN on a mission to be right.

Don’t get me wrong, Mom and I absolutely adore and love each other very much and no way in hell would I ever want to trade Mom in for another mom out there. But we are woven out of the same vivid, hot, red silk cloth. A magical silk cloth that can instantly transform into ITCHY BROWN BURLAP if rubbed the wrong way.*

So the visits are short for the well being and health of the universe.

But I really do love my Mama. Really Really Truly Really.**

This trip was scheduled to last exactly one week, with a trip to Miami in the middle to have a bit of fun, visit friends and stay in a hotel where I didn’t have to care whether or not the kids wiped their boogers on the walls.***

Then Mom sprang the surprise on me. (more…)

(click on above photo for a slideshow of 7 photos on how to open a pomegranate)

Pomegranate is one of the messiest fruits in the world! The ruby red juice stains anything and everything it comes in contact with.

Mom used to make all of us wear our rattiest, nastiest shirts when we had pomegranates because after eating, we’d just throw our shirts away. A few times when we didn’t have an old shirt to spare so we donned those silly lobster bibs that we “stole” from a restaurant.

But there is a MUCH easier way to open a pomegranate with zero squiring mess. Really, there is! I was recently on both CBS and ABC in the Tampa, Florida area demonstrating the trick to opening and extracting the jewels without having to repaint your walls red…come see the video  and 2 recipes - (video starts automatically after the jump)

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How can you resist those pleading eyes, those eyes that say, “Mama, please don’t make me go to school…” as if it was the most horrible punishment I could ever dream up for a 5 year old.

When I was in kindergarten, I remember it was all fun and we’d spend our days playing in the dollhouse and dress up. There was no pressure to perform, there was no homework, no tests and certainly no report cards.*

When I was 5, I didn’t have a school uniform, nor a laptop, not even a backpack.**

Oh my, how things have changed.

We are raising a generation of super-kids, who are expected to learn calculus by the age of 6. Can you imagine the stress that these little tots go through at school? While I’m all for education, early learning and all the other shit that a responsible parent is supposed advocate, you’ve got to understand that my children are starting off with limited resources, namely my DNA, which yay for creativity but outta luck for anything to do with numbers, balancing a checkbook, logical reasoning or laundry.

So you can imagine that when Andrew came home from school and said “Mommy, math makes my head hurt,” I totally understood. Especially after seeing what was in his backpack: (more…)

Thanksgiving is always about the dinner, and it seems as though every food story and recipe out there features the turkey, side dishes or dessert for the main meal. So, I thought I’d do something a little different and present you with a “morning after” meal, otherwise known as “not-turkey.”

I know turkey sounds really good right now, because you’ve waited patiently all year for the appropriate time to pig out on that bird. On the big day, you’ll spend four hours clawing at the oven door, tantalized by the smell of roasting turkey. Then you’ll sit down, and for the next eight minutes, you’ll stuff yourself with massive forkfuls of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce and dinner rolls, working your way clockwise back to the turkey. There are seconds and perhaps thirds for those who temporarily convert a left butt-cheek into a second stomach.

After the turkey marathon, belts are loosened (or in my case, I’m smart and wear elastic) and round bodies roll toward the family room to settle into a comfy spot for the standard 12-hour turkey coma.

The next day? Trust me when I say no matter how you incorporate leftover turkey in your meal, it’s not going to be appetizing. Generally, I give myself at least three days before I try to bring back the leftovers in some form of soup, casserole or sandwich.

You’ll be so glad that you clipped this recipe, because Crispy Crepes with Apple, Brie and Prosciutto makes a fantastic light morning-after brunch.

It’s a recipe from Tyler Florence’s Real Kitchen: An Indispensable Guide for Anybody Who Likes to Cook, and I just love how the homemade crepe crisps up in the oven - sort of like a super-thin pizza. Serve these with a salad. (more…)