Pho Goodness

Mike and I went to one of our favorite restaurants last night.  Pho Grand, in the South Grand neighborhood of St. Louis, is our go-to place on cold winter nights.  Few things will warm you up faster than a big, steaming bowl of Pho Ga.  Add a little quirt of sriracha hot sauce and lime juice, garnish with bean sprouts, cilantro, basil and culantro, and you've got an instant chill remedy.

We were happy to see the place packed last night.  A crowded restaurant has staying power.  We put in for a table, grabbed a couple of beers and headed upstairs to the "waiting room" to chat.  This is one place where I never mind a wait.  The atmosphere is pleasant and the service is friendly and efficient.  We're always greeted personally by the Trinhs, who ask us how we're doing and tell us they're glad to see us.  When's the last time that happened at your "neighborhood" Applebee's?

We've watched this stretch of South Grand come of age since we lived in the Shaw neighborhood in the late 80's, to become St. Louis' premier ethnic food destination.  In addition to Vietnamese, it is home to various Thai, Middle Eastern, Asian, Mexican and African restaurants and groceries, to name just a few.  We've been to many, and seem to spot something new every time we venture down.  We always say we're going to try something new next time, but we always seem to head back to Pho Grand!

Unfriending Grandma and Other Awkward Facebook Moments

What did we do before Facebook?  It's a dim memory, but there was a time in the not-so-distant past that you would not know what your friends were making for dinner unless you happened to call them while they were making dinner or, if you were lucky, they had invited you for dinner.  Your friends actually had to return from vacation before you saw their pictures, if you ever saw them at all.  In fact, you may not have even known that your friend went on vacation unless they asked you to take their dog or pick up their mail.  Family pictures and milestone moments were shared in annual holiday letters.  Remember those days?

Everyone, it seems, has a Facebook page.  My kids are on Facebook.  I am on Facebook, much to the chagrin of my kids (exacerbated when their friends start friending me).  Hell, my mom is on Facebook.  Personally, I think it's hilarious.  Our family banter lends itself very well to social media.  More on that later.  Even though we live close, it's fun to be able to share pictures and goings-on.  We've had a few tense Facebook moments, though.  My kids, and my daughter in particular, like to post random song lyrics as their status.  If these were quotes from The Sound of Music or a Shirley Temple movie, it wouldn't cause a stir.  But don't look for any "I have confidence in me" or "on the good ship Lollipop" statuses from my kids.  No, they like to quote songs that are dark and freaky.  Before my mother caught on to this, she would call or text me (yes, text-my mom's pretty tech savvy) to make sure everything was OK and confirm that the offspring in question hadn't, in fact, jumped off a bridge or robbed a liquor store.  Recently, my youngest "unfriended" Grandma.  Seriously, how do you unfriend your grandmother??  That's harsh!  My daughter unfriended Grandma, but then relented and refriended her.  Fortunately, my mom is good-natured and rolls with all these punches.  I think every kid should be required to friend their grandma on Facebook.  You shouldn't reveal anything on Facebook that you wouldn't want your grandma to know.  It's a good rule.

I previously mentioned our family banter.  I come from one of those families where the barbs can come fast and furious.  It's always (usually?) in good fun.  We resolved our sibling rivalry years ago.  Really.  A recent back and forth with my sister on Facebook quickly devolved into a tell-all about our childhood posters and apparel.  In the course of this dialogue, I outed her adoration of "Little" Jimmy Osmond.  She, in turn, threw me under the bus for my "poncho phase."

I admit it, I had a poncho.  I loved my poncho.  It was the 70's for God's sake.  What else was there to wear?  But I felt I had to defend myself.  My defense-I was only appeasing my crazy old aunt who had knitted it for me.  Perfect.  I'll just roll my long-dead, crazy aunt under the bus!  Uh, guess what?  My mom (did I tell you that my mom is on Facebook?) set the record straight.  Turns out that my beloved poncho was not, in fact, knitted by said dead, crazy aunt.  Rather, it was crafted by my still living, decidedly un-crazy aunt.  And guess what else?  Yes, she is on Facebook.

So now, I throw myself on the sword.  Aunt Karen, I loved my poncho!  I loved it then, and I yearn for it's 70's grooviness today.  If I had a modicum of craftiness I would love to knit another one.  Alas, I am bereft of any such ability.  I can knit, but I can't cast off.  Which means, basically, that I can knit so long as I don't stop.  It's my own private hell.   I hope you understand that my Facebook comments were really the bitter rantings of a woman with no artistic skills.

I'm Done with Resolutions

Here it is, the 4th day of the year.  If this were like any other year, I would have already blown 8 of the 10 resolutions I had made for myself.  The two I would had kept thus far would have been the throwaways, like the goals you set for yourself in your annual reviews at work.  The no-brainers.  "I will breathe in and out on a consistent basis." "I will not steal a car at knife-point."   The others, I tend to break and I break them early.  I don't like to prolong the inevitable.  Let's just get on with the business of eating pizza, drinking beer and not exercising.

This year, I'm taking a different approach.  As I enter 2011, and my 47th year (or I guess technically my 48th year, as I will have my 47th birthday and I did live a year until I turned 1....oh, whatever), I'm feeling more introspective.  I'm less concerned with what I want to do (and not do), and more focused on the bigger picture.  Who I want to be.  How I want to feel.  What kind of a life I want to lead.  So, I've turned the whole "New Year's Resolution" thing into more of a thought process.  First, I thought about at least three things about the past year for which I am truly grateful.  Next, I tried to envision 3 things that I wish the coming year to hold.  As to the former, I'm grateful for the love of my family and friends, my health and my work.  As far as the coming year, I hope it holds in store the prospect of some inner peace as I deal with a toddler, a demanding career and the challenges of launching adult children into their independent lives (pray for me).  I'm hopeful we can work on some projects in our house which will preserve and enhance the space that is our refuge in this crazy world.  Finally, I envision carving out some time for myself.  Time to read, write, reflect or, on occasion, watch something really stupid on TV.  What I found interesting was how my "wish list" for 2011 relates to my 2010 "I'm grateful for" list.  That's really the rub--take what is most important to you, and try to make it better.  It's really hard to screw that up in 4 days.  Unless you do steal a car at knife-point.  

Do You Think Jesus Likes My Little Pony?

My granddaughter, Abby, is 2 1/2.  Her new obsessions are My Little Pony and Baby Jesus.  She loves My Little Pony because “they are pretty.”  She loves Jesus because “he is little.”  We attribute her fascination with “pretty” with the fact that she spends her days with my nieces, ages 7 and 5, in the care of my sister-in-law.  It’s a girly-girl household, full of princess dress-up clothes, Barbies and all things pink.  Her love of Jesus, I suppose, has its origins in her Baptist preschool and her new awareness of Christmas.  

We’re wrapping up a four-day visit with my mother-in-law, a devout Catholic whose house in Ordinary Time is a veritable shrine to the Virgin Mary.  During the Christmas season, the halls are decked with no less than a dozen nativity sets.  Baby Jesus reigns supreme!  Yesterday, Abby packed the Ponies into her new Pony Car (a gift from Santa) to “tour” all the nativities in Odie’s living room.  Along the way, “Pink Pony” became “best friends” with a wise man and a shepherd.  The sheep got a ride in the Pony Car.  After evicting a donkey and a camel, Pink Pony took his place by the manger to “say hi” to Baby Jesus.  The adoration of My Little Pony!

Wish I could say that all this Baby Jesus love has made Abby a happy little churchgoer.  Not so much.  I’m sure that some day I will laugh about today’s experience at Mass, where Abby proceeded to tell everyone in the last 5 rows of Little Flower Catholic Church that she pooped her diaper and that Nana was going to change her.  But it’s still a little raw at the moment!

First Things First

First, why a blog?  I barely have time to read the back of a cereal box, much less maintain a blog.  I don't travel extensively, so don't look for many posts featuring me in some glamorous location.  I rarely dine in fancy restaurants.  In fact, I can usually cook a better meal at home.  But, don't look for me to cook my way through any cookbook.  Seriously, who has time for that?  Frankly, I have no idea what I will write about.  That's part of the fun!

Next, what's with the name?  I admit it, I'm an epilogue person.  The first thing I did when I picked up the last Harry Potter book was flip to the epilogue.  I needed to know that it was all going to be OK in the end. There might be a lot of trauma contained in the 750 pages of the book, but please, please, please let Harry win in the end!  Epilogues put things in perspective.  My husband and I were talking the other day about some stressful topic or another, probably related to our kids, and he said he was just going to wait for the epilogue.  Perfect.  I hope our epilogue will reveal that this has all been a worthwhile venture.  

I love to write.  I guess that's the bottom line.  I don't know what I'll be writing about from day to day, but I'll try to keep it interesting.  There's usually something going on in my life.  For better and for worse, much of it is hilarious.  Thanks for reading!