Mike's birthday dinner

This past Tuesday was Mike's birthday so we took him out to dinner to a restaurant called Giovanni's Pizza & Pasta here in Menifee of all places. We had never been to this particular restaurant before, but as Arnold would say "We'll be back". We have been looking for a place who makes good pork ribs. We hadn't found anything locally until this week. Yes, this pizza joint sells ribs, and mighty tasty ones at that. One of Jesse's teachers at school recommended this restaurant.

We knew it was going to be good as it was quite packed on a Tuesday evening. It had a real family ambiance. The owner came over to meet us & make sure we were being taken care of.

Because of the economy they have a "Bailout" menu with dinners for $7.00. I had the lasagna & Brandon had the small pizza from this menu. I had already cut up my lasagna before taking this photo.

Jesse had a meatball sandwhich & Mike had a full rack of ribs. The ribs was the most expensive dinner at $16.99, but it included one trip to the salad bar.
Brandon & Jesse waiting for dinner.
Mike & I. I look terrible. I shouldn't have even posted this, but I did.
Mike got to wear a special birthday hat. They took his photo & they will put it on their birthday photo wall for the rest of February. He also got free spumoni ice cream, woo hoo!!
It was a great dinner & it was super worth going just to see Mike wearing this silly hat. So if you are ever in Menifee, CA you have to eat at Giovanni's Pizza & Pasta. Maybe we will see you there sometime. But don't count on it, only because we don't have the money to be going out to eat. If we did, we would be there!

What's On Your Wall Wednesday-Master bedroom

Bonjour! It's Wednesday & that means it is another episode of "What's on Your Wall Wednesday" hosted by the fabulous Barb at Grits and Glamour. Be sure to stop on over to her blog to see what's on her wall and to find the list of all the other participants. It's quite fun & addicting. You know you want to peek!!

Last week I showed you the walls in my office at work. This week, I am letting you into my master bedroom. Luckily we are only showing the stuff on our walls, as that is the only part of my room that is presentable at the moment. But I did make my bed, even though you can't see it. That counts for something right?

Six years ago we were lucky enough to travel to Europe on vacation. It was amazing & I highly recommend that everyone visit Europe at least once in your life. I especially loved Paris, so when we moved into our house I decided to decorate our room "Frenchy" and in black & white. And of course we must have some toile.

You can click on any photo to enlarge it.

Here we have the 3 plates hanging above my husbands dresser. I love these plates.

I bought this plate off of ebay. I forgot to look to see who the maker is before I left home.
Another ebay find. I've had this plate for about 6 years. I love it!!!
This plate came from Marshall's or TJ Maxx (aren't they the same thing?)
My husband made the leaded glass window. In fact, he made 2 of them. I've shown them before in a Metamorphosis Monday post, click here to see better photos. I love the fleur de lis design in the middle.
I bought this hanger at Ross about 6 years ago. I still love it!
This wall is the little area between the door to our room & the walk through to the bathroom. Can't remember where I got the Bon Jour sign. The mirror came from Mervyn's about 5-6 years ago. It is made to look like a ghost mirror with cloudy areas. The shelf came from TJ Maxx years ago. The bird house on the left is actually a Christmas ornament. I put a candle inside. The bear is one of many in my bear collections. I've posted about my other bears here. He has a pink Eiffel Tower sitting between his legs. The pink candle holder came from K Mart years ago & the cherub planter was a thrift store find. I should have taken a better photo of the fairy/cherub print below the shelf but I forgot. I got it off ebay.
These 3 prints I got when we were in Paris. I don't really like the frame they are in, but it works. I should paint it black. I'll put it on my to do list.
This tin sign I bought off a website katiesrosecottage.com a couple of years ago. She mostly sells Shabby Chic & Frenchy stuff. I love her stuff. You should check her website out sometime, she has cute stuff & very reasonably priced.
I love this Eiffel Tower print. It came from Kirkland's last year. I bought it on clearance. I just hope it doesn't fall on our heads if we have an earthquake. But the bed is pulled away from the wall, so I'm hoping if we do have an earthquake, it will just fall off behind the bed. Cross your fingers!!!
This set up is over a small child's dresser that is by my side of the bed.
This is my favorite thing on my wall (at least for now). My brother in law found the old frame at the dump & knew I was looking for one. And then one day I was walking through the mall & I saw this black & white poster of vintage Paris. I fell in love with it immediately & knew I wanted to hang it behind the window. I wanted it to feel like I was walking up each morning looking at Paris. Can you think of anything better?
I got this little plaque at TJ Maxx years ago. I loved it as it reminded me of our trip to Venice & to Italy.
These 3 plates hang above the french doors leading out to our backyard. I purchased them off ebay a few years back.
So there you have the walls of my bedroom. I showed you everything except for 1 small wall that holds a shelf with my girlie things. I didn't take a photo as everything needed to be dusted & I was just too lazy to do it. Sorry! I'll save it for another post.

Hope you enjoyed taking a peek into my master bedroom walls. Leave me a comment to let me know you stopped by & I'll return the favor.

Au Revoir et salut until next week!!!

Todd's answers to the questionnaire

Todd:

6 names you go by: (this is not easy!)
1.Todd

2.Dad

3.Daddy

4. Langston

5. Brother Langston

6. Mr. Langston

3 things you are wearing right now:
1. Pants (duh)

2. Shirt

3. Socks

3 Things you want very badly at the moment:
1. Money

2. Good weather
3. A good nights sleep

3 people who will fill this out:
1.Me

2. Jodi

3. Kim

2 things you did last night:
1. Had a dad date with one of my daughters
2. Watched "Return of the king" on DVD

2 things you ate today:
1. Toast & choc milk

2. Hot dogs

2 people you last talked to on the phone:
1. Julianna

2.Mari

2 things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. Sleep in

2. Pray

3 favorite drinks:
1. Water
2. Choc milk

3. Soda

Thanks Todd for participating.

Happy Birthday Mike & Happy Fat Tuesday!!!

Today is my hubby's birthday.

Happy birthday Mikey!!!! I love you!!!!
Love,
Kimmy

It is not only Mike's birthday, it is also Mardi Gras aka: Fat Tuesday.

Since it was Fat Tuesday, I thought I would share with you some photos from our vacation in Venice. Six years ago Mike, Brandon & I were lucky enough to go to Europe for 2 weeks. We left San Diego on 2/23/03 and landed in London England on Mike's 50th birthday 2/24/03. We traveled with a tour group to London, Paris, Lucerne Switzerland, Innsbruck Austria, Milan, Rome, Florence, Venice, Munich, Heidelberg, Köln in Germany, Amsterdam and back to London. We were in Venice on Fat Tuesday 2003. This was not planned, it just happened to be. But what a great place to be.

Here is a photo of Mike & me on a gondola ride. Can you think of anything more romantic?

Brandon & about 4 other people were along for the ride. So we couldn't get too romantic.
Here we are on the Grand Canal. Doesn't that bridge in the background look just like the one in Vegas? lol.
A lot of the Venetians were dressed up for Fat Tuesday. I just love these costumes & their makeup.
St Marks Square. There were lots of people.

St Mark's Basilica. The people are ready to par-tay in the square.

No pigeons that day as there was too many people. We also went to a the small island of Burano. It is a small fishing village. Also the houses are painted in bright colors. We were there during the day for lunch, but you can see they had mask lights up for night time celebration.

Another photo of the main street in Burano. You could buy Venetian lace here.
A lot of people were dressed up riding the gondolas.
The many bridges of Venice. The highest bridge in the background is the bridge of Sighs. It is called this as on one side of the bridge was the courthouse & the other side the prison. The prisoners were taken over this bridge to prison & this would be their last view of Venice and so they would often sigh while crossing the bridge. Thus the name, the Bridge of Sighs.

Here is the view as your first come to St Mark's square & basilica. See all the people?

Venetian Gondolier. I love how he is dressed, don't you?
I love, love, love these costumes. So frenchy!!!

I was amazed how this girl walked around on stilts among all the people. She had the best view in the whole place.
These costumes were a little bizarre to me, but very colorful. They look like colorful aliens.
Well there you have a little peak into Fat Tuesday in Venice. They don't call it Mardi Gras in Europe, it is called Carnival like in Brazil. But Fat Tuesday, is Fat Tuesday in all places. They celebrate in Europe the entire week, but the biggest celebrations are on Fat Tuesday. We were just lucky to be in Venice on this particular Fat Tuesday.

Are you doing anything to celebrate? We will just be celebrating Mike's birthday. Not much Mardi Gras celebration here in Menifee.

Well I hope all of you have a Happy Fat Tuesday & I especially hope that Mike has a very Happy Birthday!!!

Family Fun Questionnaire-Emily

Woo hoo!!! Emily finally decided to join in on all the fun. Got the following email from her:

Hey Kim! I filled this out! I have felt like such a party pooper and haven't contributed to any of your requests or to the blog. Hopefully by responding this time, I will win some brownie points with you. ;)

Every now and then I do have some time to review the blog...it's great!! Thanks for all your put into it. I just love the Manning clan and it is such fun to keep up on everyone when I have the chance.

Hope all is well with you!!

Emily xoxo

Thanks Emily!!!! Here are her responses.

Emily:

6 names you go by: (this is not easy!)
1. Emily

2. Mom

3. Momma

4. Sweet Em

5. Hey you!

6. Mrs. Koberling (ugh - that makes me sound so old!)

3 things you are wearing right now:
1. lipstick

2. necklace

3. my favorite most comfortable boots

3 Things you want very badly at the moment:
1. food!

2. to lose weight
3. to look like i work out (but i don't)

3 people who will fill this out:
1. Kim

2. Jodi

3. Andrea

2 things you did last night:
1. ate
2. slept

2 things you ate today:
1. coffee

2. tricuits

2 people you last talked to on the phone:
1. Jack

2. Sarah

2 things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. wake up (I hope!)

2. work

3 favorite drinks:
1. pepsi
2. peach tea

3. water

Tag Your It!

TAG - YOU'RE IT! (Tina: Becky's daughter)

6 Names you go by: (This is not easy!)
1. Tina
2. Sissy
3. TM (My dad calls me this all the time)
4. TT
5. Miss T
6. T

3 Things you are wearing right now:
1. Jean Skirt
2. Lime green long sleeve T-shirt
3. New black pumps I am trying to break in

3 Things you want very badly at the moment:
1. To cuddle Eric (he hurt himself today)
2. To go shopping without a budget (I need some new dresses)
3. A foot rub

3 People who will fill this out:
1. Kira
2. Katie
3. Uh… hopefully my mom

2 Things you did last night:
1. SLEEP!
2. Play Sims 2

2 Things you ate today:
1. Chips
2. Lots of salsa

2 People you last talked to on the phone:
1. Eric – a guy I am trying to date
2. Mom

2 Things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. Go to work
2. Try not to hurt customers

3 Favorite drinks:
1. Water
2. Tea
3. Beer

More Fun Family Questionnaire from Eric

Don't panic Eric, I just got home & saw that you completed the questionnaire. So here it is. So now you can get out of your funk. lol.

Eric:

6 names you go by: (this is not easy!)
1. Eric

2. Ech

3. A-hole (other drivers)

4. langston

5. Dad

6. Butthead (Kids)

3 things you are wearing right now:
1. Underwear

2. socks

3. & a smile

3 Things you want very badly at the moment:
1. Can't say!!

2. A fullsize ford bronco
3. Time off

3 people who will fill this out:
1. Dad

2. Jamey

3. Jase (Ya right!!)

2 things you did last night:
1. Surfed the internet
2. Went to fireside in Temecula (Peter Vidmark spoke)

2 things you ate today:
1. Pretzels (Lunch)

2. Apple sauce

2 people you last talked to on the phone:
1. Jeannette

2.Cade

2 things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. Work & drive!!

2. Go out with missionaries

3 favorite drinks:
1. Hot chocolate
2. sodas

3. Gatorade

Another fun family questionnaire

Some of you have probably noticed that I haven't posted anything on the blog in almost a week. A week in blogdom is like an eternity. And why haven't I posted? Well, I've been in quite the funk. I haven't been in this kind of funk since 9/11. And what has gotten me into such a funk? It's got to be the economy & the lack of funds. You see, my family has taken 3 pay cuts in the past year. That's right, my family. Since the 3 of us who make money in my household all work for the same company, we all have taken 3 pay cuts each (yes you heard me right, I said each). So this has left my household cash strapped. Which means, I don't have any fun money. In fact, I'm afraid that it will be shortly that I can't afford to pay my bills. Now you can see why I am in my funk.

Well, I got an email questionnaire from Jodi the other day, and then I got the same questionnaire from Andrea today. So I thought, what better way to try & get me out of my funk, then to play along and send it to everyone in the family to see what their answers would be. That is where you all come in. I have sent the questionnaire to each & every one of you (that is if I have your email addy). So I'm hoping that you will fill out the questionnaire & send it back to me. I will post your responses here on our blog. I thought it would be fun to see how everyone responds. Plus it gives me something to post & hopefully lift me out of my funk, for at least a few minutes.

So without any further delays, here are the first responses.

Up first we have Jodi. She sent this to me originally on 2/20.

6 names you go by: (this is not easy!)
1. Jodi

2. Sister

3. Miss Langston

4. Sister Langston

5. Jode

6. Jodi Bode

3 things you are wearing right now:
1. Watch

2. Ear Rings

3. Socks

3 Things you want very badly at the moment:
1. Nintendo WII

2. Amazon Kindle 2
3. IPOD Touch

3 people who will fill this out:
1. Kim

2. Diane C.

3. Andrea

2 things you did last night:
1. Surf the Internet
2. Watched TV

2 things you ate today:
1. Yogurt
2. Chili Dog

2 people you last talked to on the phone:
1. Andrea
2. Brandon

2 things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. VT Breakfast

2. Shopping

3 favorite drinks:
1. Pepsi
2. Smoothies

3. Diet Dr. Pepper (Non Caffeinated)
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Andrea:

6 names you go by: (this is not easy!)
1. Mom

2. Andrea

3. Honey

4. Ann

5. Sister Prescott

6. Aunt Andrea

3 things you are wearing right now:
1. Pants

2. Shirt

3. Sweater

3 Things you want very badly at the moment:
1. This awful cold to go away!

2. Jamey to come home!

3. A nap!

3 people who will fill this out:
1. Kim

2. Dee Dee

3. Kathryn

2 things you did last night:
1. Eat dinner with friends
2. went to bed

2 things you ate today:
1. Cereal
2. Water

2 people you last talked to on the phone:
1. Jamey

2. Zak

2 things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. Work

2. Go to the church

3 favorite drinks:
1. Pepsi
2. Smoothies

3. Chocolate shake
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marti:

6 names you go by: (this is not easy!)
1. Marti
2. Mom
3. Momma Somma
4. Marmy
5. Saint Marti of the Mountain
6. Sweetheart

3 things you are wearing right now:
1. slippers
2. jeans
3. reading glasses

3 Things you want very badly at the moment:
1. water
2. A nap
3. housekeeper

3 people who will fill this out:
1. Katie8
2. Rose
3. Bluesky

2 things you did last night:
1. sang in a choir (rehearsal)
2. dishes

2 things you ate today:
1. Cheese omelet
2. Chocolate kisses

2 people you last talked to on the phone:
1. Larry
2. Sean

2 things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. Take G’ma to the doctor
2. RS Presidency meeting

3 favorite drinks:
1. water
2. lemonade
3. rootbeer
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Lauren (Marti's daughter)

6 names you go by: (this is not easy!)
1. Wawa

2. Wawawe

3. Was

4. Warran

5. Wawa Leakerwits

6. Warran We

3 things you are wearing right now:
1. Brown Jacket

2. Blue Jeans

3. socks with hearts on them

3 Things you want very badly at the moment:
1. Money

2. a new car
3. a nap

3 people who will fill this out:
1. Katie

2. Erin

3. Kira

2 things you did last night:
1. watched two movies
2. Kisses Dylan =P

2 things you ate today:
1. Curry

2. Hershey Kisses

2 people you last talked to on the phone:
1. Stewart

2. Kayde

2 things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. Work

2. Play :0)

3 favorite drinks:
1. Rootbeer
2. Water

3. Smoothies
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Zak (Andrea's son):
6 names you go by: (this is not easy!)
1. zak
2. zakery
3. joshua needon
4. pac man
5. zakaroony
6. zak rabbit

3 things you are wearing right now:
1. black shirt
2. black levis
3. shoesss

3 Things you want very adly at the moment:
1. job haha
2. fun
3. drum heads

3 people who will fill this out:
1. mom
2. jodi
3. noah?

2 things you did last night:
1. went to jack in the box
2. cleaned up broken glass and cans

2 things you ate today:
1. egg roll
2. frosted flakes

2 people you last talked to on the phone:
1. mom
2.michelle

2 things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. sk8
2. band practice

3 favorite drinks:
1. dr pepper (even though i cant drink it anymore)
2. water
3. coors
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kim (me):

6 names you go by: (this is not easy!)
1. Mom

2. Kim

3. Kimmy

4. Aunt Kim

5. Ms St Clair

6. Mrs Chalfant

3 things you are wearing right now:
1. Wedding Ring

2. Long sleeve t-shirt

3. Jeans

3 Things you want very badly at the moment:
1. March 3rd to get here so I can go to the dentist. This is a double edged sword. I want it, yet I don't!

2. I want to get out of my funk
3. Enough money to pay my bills & have some leftover for fun.

3 people who will fill this out:
1. Andrea (already did)

2. Jodi (already did)

3. I don't know

2 things you did last night:
1. Watched the Academy Awards
2. Hemmed drapes for Jesse's room (drapes from Ikea that you cut off to the length you need. but they come with iron on tape for easy hemming. The hardest part is measuring & cutting of the drapes.

2 things you ate today:
1. Pizza rolls
2. Rice pudding

2 people you last talked to on the phone:
1. Mike

2. A client from work

2 things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. Go to Work

2. Celebrate Mike's birthday somehow

3 favorite drinks:
1. Pepsi
2. Smoothies

3. Chocolate shake
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So there you have the first responses. Did you notice that the girls in my family (so far) have put Pepsi & smoothies as our favorite drinks? It will be fun to see how this turns out and see similarities (if any).

Tablescape Thursday-Miracles do happen

I'm late!!!! But better late than never.

For this week's tablescape I am not posting anything new. What, nothing new? Why then are you posting? Well, I need to prove to everyone that miracles really do happen.

I started participating in this weekly tablescaping party as an excuse to show off some of my plates that I collect. I hadn't really expected it to be anything more than that. But it has finally turned into something so much more. So much more, that I would classify it as a full blown miracle.

Let me go back a little in time for you to explain why I consider this a miracle. I grew up in a family who always ate dinner together at the table. Each night we would gather as a family to sit down to the table to enjoy the dinner my mom had prepared for us (we usually did help). Even when I got married for the first time & had my son, we ate dinner at our small little table. But when I got divorced, that all changed. My son and I started eating at the coffee table by the TV. I can hear you all gasp now. I know, I know, I was turning to the dark side. We just found it easier to eat this way. Well, we at least sat on the floor at the coffee table. So technically, we were still eating at a table. (Am I good at justifying or what?)

But as my son got older, he would start taking his dinner to his room to eat & I just plopped down on the couch to eat. We were no longer eating as a family or even eating at any kind of table.

Flash forward to 2006. That is the year I got married to my current & fabulous husband and we purchased our first home. When we moved to our home we combined 2 households of furniture and we are lucky enough to have not one but two dining room tables. So you'd think that since we were a new combined family (his son moved in with as well) that we would start eating together as a family sitting at one of the tables.

But no, this did not happen. We had all been so used to eating at the couch, or in our rooms. So that is how my household has worked. We never really thought about it. We only sat & ate at our table if we had company. That's what tables were for, company, not for regular family meals. And we were fine with that. Time for an intervention.

Well, a week or so back my sister, who shall remain nameless, ratted us out. She told all of you that we don't even eat at our table. I know you all were in shock. So, I decided it was time to change. It was time we officially became a family & start eating at our table.

So what better way to start our rehab program than with Valentine's Day and using a table I set up for Tablescape Thursday. Well it was a combo of the 2 tables I had previously shown you. So here is the proof that miracles really do happen. We are actually eating dinner at our table with real plates, silverware & glasses. And we don't have any company. It's just us, enjoying a pleasurable family dinner. Can you beilieve it? I know my family won't. That is why I am posting a photo as proof. They would never believe me without proof.

We had a faboulous dinner of steak, garlic mashed potatoes, corn, salad, shrimp cocktail & I had broccoli (no one else in my family likes it). I gave each person a little box full of candy. For dessert we had Valentine Funfetti cupcakes. And of course, my family had to have Pepsi to drink. I should own stock in that company. We had great conversation & no one was killed or maimed in the process. I would call it one successful dinner.

Aren't you proud of me? I know what you next question is, "Have you continued to eat at your table since Valentine's Day?". Well, I hate to admit that the answer is no. Baby steps people, baby steps!!! Our rehab will be slow, but I feel that someday we will work up to eating at our table as a family for at least a few nights a week. Can you ask for more than that? Don't answer that question.

Now surf on over to visit Susan at Between Naps On The Porch to see the links to all the fabulous tablescapes for this week. Who knows, tablescaping might just make a miracle happen for you. I know it did for me.