Weekend Things

I LOVE Chipotle burritos.  Jonathan really likes them as well.  So naturally, when we heard that they were hosting a festival here in Golden Gate Park, we were very excited.  We headed there on Saturday.  Nicholas got to make a t-shirt and draw with chalk, and all of us enjoyed a rice bowl from Chipotle's new Asian-themed chain (ShopHouse Kitchen, which is currently only in DC but is expanding!).  We also got a couple coupons for free burritos, who hoo!

On Sunday, we went to a picnic in Golden Gate Park for the LLS honorees.  Nicholas had tons of fun, despite the chilly and cloudy weather!

Jonathan's doing his usual Sunday evening cooking as I type, so there will hopefully be another food post soon! 

a graduation card

I made this card for Cristina's (Nicholas' nanny's) daughter, who is graduating from high school this weekend.  I actually created something similar for Leah's grad (featuring pink, since our present theme was "Legally Blonde"), but figured out a couple cool things this time around...    

I colored in the cap with a Souffle pen first, and then filled it in with Martha Stewart's Glitter Flocking Powder in a very similar color.  It created a nice 3D effect!  I  learned that those flocking powders have the most impact when using on a similarly colored surface.  Then a little dot of glitter glue and voila!

I am so not a fan of my handwriting, so I traced the words on the inside of the card directly from the computer screen.  I actually first used a Martha Stewart glitter pen, but then I decided to emboss a few stars on each side of the wording.  In the process, I ended up inadvertently embossing over the glitter pen but really liked how it came out.

Nicholas was also feeling crafty today with his new markers....

Salmon Cakes

On Sunday, we made Easy Salmon Cakes from America's Test Kitchen.  Nicholas loves salmon cakes and we thought it would be much more economical than purchasing them from the prepared foods section.

We subbed greek yogurt for the mayo!  Yum!

Fresh Copper River Sockeye salmon filet from Costco for only $12.99/lb!  Beautiful color!

We learned that Copper River is in Alaska.  The sockeye season runs May through July-ish.

So the link to the recipe is above in the first paragraph.  (I've learned that if you don't "create" the recipe yourself, it's not cool to write out the whole recipe on your blog.  It is in much better form to link readers to the original source/site so they get the traffic.  Why do they want the traffic?  Probably because of advertising revenue!)  The couple of modifications we made were:  greek yogurt instead of mayo and we stuck them in oven for a few minutes to finish cooking.  For mommy and daddy, the salmon cakes were accompanied by some Old Bay fingerlings (I just sprinkled some Old Bay and olive oil on sliced fingerlings and baked for about 20 mins...).  It was 9pm by now and I was hungry, so no pics of them! 

Weekend Recap

We had a busy weekend!  On Saturday, we went to an open house at Peekadoodle, and indoor playspace in Ghirardelli Square geared towards kids Nicholas' age.  He was in heaven. 

On Sunday morning, we made an early trip to Devil's Teeth, a bakery in the Outer Sunset that I have had on my "to-do" list for a while.  They make beignets on Sundays only and WOW, are they delish!  We also got a couple of their delectable breakfast sandwiches that are to-die for.

After breakfast, we monkeyed around and then headed to a playgroup at the Fulton playground with 5 or 6 other families.  Nicholas especially enjoyed playing with Burly, the black lab.

Then we (Nicholas and Dada) napped and headed to swim class.  It is such a special feeling as a parent to see your child over-the-moon happy, which Nicholas was today in the pool!

After swimming, we did our Sunday shopping.  Nicholas is really a boy after his daddy's heart....he LOVES shopping and cooking!  Here he is in his favorite part of the store, the freezer aisle.....(his second fave is the dog food aisle - he loves the Milkbone boxes!)

Current Obsessions

Mommy:
I can't get enough of Republic of Tea's Ginger Peach Iced Tea.  I purchased it one day at Nordstrom's Espresso Bar for $2+ and thought that was kind of ridiculous, so now I purchase the tea bags at Whole Foods or it comes in bulk at Rainbow Grocery.  We also have this iced tea pitcher from Teavana so I can brew the loose stuff easily and pop it right in the fridge!

 

I am also completely addicted to this Easy Almond Granola from Kitchen Simplicity.  The secret, I think, is the almond extract.  I actually put in more than it calls for.  There is no sugar -- just maple syrup and some canola oil.  It's so much better than the really processed/fatty stuff in boxes, and so much cheaper than the really natural stuff in the store!  

Daddy:

Jonathan discovered a recipe for Stovetop Mac and Cheese from America's Test Kitchen that he says is one of the top ten things he has ever made.  And he's made a lot.  It strongly resembles the powdery Kraft boxed version, except you can put in all the organic/natural products you desire!  He was up making this at 10:30 last night for Nicholas, who will feast on it this evening along with some organic rosemary chicken breast!

Nicholas: 

Nicholas is LOVING Jammy Sammys from Plum Kids.  They come in blueberry, apple, strawberry or grape and peanut butter and are the perfect size for little hands.  I ask him which color he wants and he says blue.  I don't know if that's because blueberry is his fave or because he only knows how to say blue!

Little Bits of Life

There is nothing too eventful to report here!  We had a fun and relaxing Memorial Day weekend.

On Saturday, we took the ferry from San Francisco to Tiburon for lunch....

We also made Michael Mina's salt-grilled shrimp on our Himalayan sea salt block....

On Friday I was on such a high after hearing the news.  Everything just seemed better to me in remission....Justin Bieber on the radio, the bird that pooped 5 inches from my face, even the man who accused me of taking up two parking spots (I wasn't!).  Thank you to everyone for the cheers and good wishes, both on Friday and all along the way!!!   

Something Amazing Has Happened*

I went to clinic today to meet with Dr. Andreadis and receive my infusion of Brentuximaub. We discussed my scan from Tuesday. He met with the radiologist yesterday about the scan and the BIG message was....

I'm in REMISSION*

I am putting an asterisk next to that beautiful word because there is just one (or maybe I should say two) question mark(s) that remain(s). Those two little nodules in my lung are still there. They haven't grown at all since the last scan, and after his conversation with Radiology, Dr. Andreadis is very reluctant to label them as Lymphoma. He thinks they are "fungal balls" (pretty image, right?). In other words, he thinks it's some sort of fungal infection. But there are no Lymphoma "hot spots" elsewhere in my body, and it's highly unlikely for Lymphoma to only appear in one's lungs, so that is why he says I'm in remission!

The only way to prove that it's infection in my lungs is to biopsy the nodules, which is an invasive surgery. So I'll have another scan (probably without contrast) in 6 weeks, and as long as the nodes do not grow, there will be no biopsy. 

In the meantime, I am "taking a break" from Brentuximaub. I did not get an infusion today. There is thought that it may be contributing to my high liver levels, which by the way were normal today. So the potential liver biopsy has been cancelled. Dr. A adjusted my meds a bit today (back on anti-fungal to address lung nodules and decreased immunosuppressant).  

What an amazing morning. Now I need a cupcake!