You Want Fries With That?

It was Hardy Oak night at the new McDonald's near our house. Teachers and staff running around behind the counters, handing out drive-thru orders, making milkshakes, wiping tables, taking donations and giving lots of hugs. I think the school got 20% of the sales which is great because the place was PACKED! Line out the door at 5 p.m. I heard. We didn't arrive until about 6:15. Sarah's teacher was at the door, there were tons of people in line, and we split up so I could find a table and Mark could try to order. Luckily a friend and her family were leaving and we snagged a table pretty fast. Then this guy showed up and did some magic. Sarah seemed OK with Ronald.



Lucas, not so much. He pretty much faced the wall whenever Ronald was around.



And interestingly enough, Sarah and Jacob both said he was not the REAL Ronald McDonald because he didn't look anything like the one on TV. Ha!

Happy Birthday Dad

Today, my dad turns 70. I'm not really sure how that's possible considering he was 30 when I was born and I'm not a day over 25. I read somewhere that most people feel an average of 12 years younger than they actually are (which puts me very close to 25!). Here's a pic of me and my dad, and his mom and dad, playing poker. I was 8-1/2 months old. By which time I had already had my first beer. Aaahhh, good times!



Happy birthday Dad! Here's hoping you feel at least 12 years younger than you actually are!

Happy Birthday to Wally, Todd and Payton

I'm behind in blogging and can't find any suitable pictures of Wally (1) and Payton (5) in the dark recesses of my armoire right now. Maybe in the morning when I can turn on all the lights without fear of waking my kids at 10:36 p.m. on a school night!



But we wanted to wish you both a very happy birthday... and to their dad (my brother Todd), too! Hope you have a happy day!

Tonya's birthday

My neighbor, Karen, introduced me to Tonya last summer and we became fast friends. Her two boys, Ethan and Phillip, match up age-wise with Jacob and Ethan. She's introduced me to a bunch of new people - lovely ladies who like to laugh a lot! Here we are celebrating Tonya's birthday at Paloma Blanca.

Karen, me (and the girls - snicker), Emily, Mary, Tonya and Melinda.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Because of my name, there is a widely-held belief that I am Irish. It isn't true, but once a year, along with the rest of the country, I pretend that I am. My celebrations have toned down some since the post-college days of green beer and silly hats. When my old coworker, Rob, would come bounding into my office yelling "SHANNON McSHANNON!!!!!" at the top of his lungs. I didn't even wear green today. Or dress the kids in green. But I did make chocolate cupcakes with green peppermint buttercream frosting and had some friends over to share them.

Here in San Antonio, they dye the river green (Chicago-style). I'm sure that Pat O'Brien's and Durty Nelly's will be hopping. Or jigging, as the case may be.

Happy Birthday Mark!

Another year older, another pic from our Valentine's Day session. We weren't supposed to be in the pics (hence ponytail hair and no makeup ... on me, not Mark) but Charisse got a sweet one anyway. Happy birthday and love you, honey!

Young Chef's Academy II

Time for the second class of Young Chefs! Unfortunately, Sarah was sick with a 101+ fever, so Jacob and Ethan were the only ones that went. Ethan started working on "Bus Stop" sandwiches with ham and cheese and a pasta salad. Grating cheese...




Jacob's class made homemade pasta!




Taste tests...



The kids seem to enjoy the class while they are in it, but don't usually like the foods they create or seem interested in taking any more classes. Bummer - I was hoping they'd latch on to this idea!

PE Showcase

Sarah was selected to be in the PE Showcase representing her school. Along with seven other elementary schools, the kids performed by grade to various songs while demonstrating physical education skills. Sarah is on the far right, closest to the compass rose on the gym floor.






Another grade performed this demonstration with a parachute. Super cute when they flung the giant inflatable octopus into the air!

Left my Heart in San Diego

We just returned from our fantastic trip to San Diego! Mark won the trip based on his performance in 2010. Although he found out before we left that he did not win Operations Manager of the Year for the entire company, we still managed to have a fabulous time.

We stayed at the beautiful Hotel del Coronado on Coronado Island. The hotel was built in 1888 and was designated as a National Landmark in 1977. She showed her age in some places, but the overall hotel was stunning.



Our travel companions for the long weekend were Mark's coworker, Kelly, and his wife Kathy. So fun and a pleasure to hang with all weekend!



Thursday we arrived and registered for all our events. NAPA set up a Welcome Reception on the beachfront deck with open bar and delicious buffet. We all stayed cozy in our NAPA-provided golf sweaters, fire pits and gas heaters.

Friday, the men had their business meeting while the spouses were invited to create a Pandora bracelet. We received the chain and two charms and were able to purchase more at a discount. I bought a couple extra charms because they rarely go on sale, including the fabulous Queen Bee!

Friday afternoon, we peeled off early from the Coronado Walking Tour and hopped in the rental car and headed for the Gaslamp District of downtown San Diego. Gaslamp is where many of the restaurants, bars, boutiques and fun places are - including the new Petco Park, home of the Padres.



A personal highlight of the trip for me was meeting Gordana Gelhausen, a contestant on Project Runway, season 6. She was delightful, talkative and friendly. Her shop was in Gaslamp.



When we asked where we should eat Saturday night, she recommended Searsucker, a relatively new seafood restaurant from Top Chef contestant Brian Malarky. (swoon!) But we couldn't get a reservation! We headed back to "The Del" and dressed for the formal awards banquet. A surprise to me, there were no long-winded speeches or tons of plaques distributed. It seems that everyone had already been given their awards at other functions prior to the San Diego trip. Dinner, dancing, done.

Saturday morning, Kathy and I went to the spa then met up with the guys in the afternoon to go kayaking at La Jolla Cove. I will save most of that story for when I get the pictures developed from the waterproof camera, but let me just tell you the Pacific is COLD! We had an amazing dinner at Vigilucci's, complete with an Italian waiter named Marco, who made excellent food and wine recommendations and served us several shots of limoncello on the house.

Sunday was a blur of brunch, packing and a quick stop back in Gaslamp for a baseball card shop for Kelly. We had a fantastic time and would like to go back with the kids someday. There's a Legoland, Sea World, the beach and the world-renowned San Diego Zoo. Anyone care to join us?

Ossum Margarita!

This margarita was CrAzY! It's from a restaurant called Dulce Vida and is fittingly called the Dulce Vida Margarita. It contains tequila, triple sec, their special orange liqueur, raspberry liqueur and Midori melon liqueur. Frankly it should be called "The Fall Asleep in the Middle of Your Lunch After Only Drinking Half of This" Margarita.



The half I drank was delicioso! Maybe that's why our OSSUM pedicure was so OSSUM!

Ossum Pedicure!

In preparation for our trip to San Diego, I got a pedicure with my friend Charisse. The rest of the story is so hilarious, I just have to send you to her My Sassy Pants blog to read her version of it.

Have an OSSUM day!