Bragging about my kid....again. :)

This time, I'm bragging about my Anisa. She competed in the Titanium Chef competition on Saturday. She was signed up/volunteered to compete by her friend, Kashif, and was partnered up with her other friend, Michelle. Someone told them not to expect to win, since it's their first competition, but to see it as really great practice....and if they DID place, it would be a bonus. The competition earns them points toward some certificate (I can't remember, but it's a good one heehee).

There were 12 teams of 2 people competing. The main dish was duck. They could prepare it the way they wanted. They also had to prepare side dishes. The girls had decided to make a watercress salad and au gratin potatoes. Before they started, they were given a box with ingredients they had to incorporate into their recipes. Anisa's and Michelle's box had things like cherries, oranges, pine nuts, spices and other yummy things. They cooked, they sweat, they rushed, they sliced, diced and simmered. They had to prepare 2 plates for the judges. One plate was for show, the other was for the judges to eat.

After they had finished they turned in their food to be judged. After all the competitors turned in all their plates and the judges were done tallying they announced winners.

Anisa and Michelle came in 3rd!!!!!!! They asked the judges about what they liked/didn't like about the food, or presentation of the food. They got mostly positives, but the negative they got was about the oranges. The judges said they didn't know what to do with the oranges, were they decoration, dessert, what?? They said to incorporate them into one of the sides or main dish. The girls got medals and certificates. Anisa said she had so much fun that she's kind of leaning more toward a general culinary degree now, instead of baking and pastry. She's going to talk to the Master Chef and then her counselors to see what she should do. Crazy kid.


Here are the girls with their medals and their plates. :)

Tax Day Tea Party

Travis and I attended ANOTHER DC rally. It was the Tax Day Tea Party. It was held at the Washington Monument and had speakers like Dick Armey, Lord Monckton and Ron Paul. The crowd was pretty happy, people of all ages. We saw one guy with a "Stop the War" sign but for the most part, everyone was happy. Here are some pics of the day.

Cherry Blossoms

Well, the DC Cherry Blossom festival is over. The blooms came and went real quick this year. The weather was so weird. The coldest weather, hottest weather, sun, rain..... the poor little trees didn't know what to do. Anyway, Aaron was out here for a couple of weeks and Sara went to WI for her spring break. I took the 2 big kids into DC to check out the trees.

The history of the Cherry Blossoms goes like this... (copied from the DC Cherry Blossom Festival Website)

****The National Cherry Blossom Festival® annually commemorates the 1912 gift of 3,000 cherry trees from Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo to the city of Washington, honoring the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan and celebrating the continued close relationship between our two cultures.

In a simple ceremony on March 27, 1912, First Lady Helen Herron Taft and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, planted the first two trees from Japan on the north bank of the Tidal Basin in West Potomac Park. In 1915, the United States Government reciprocated with a gift of flowering dogwood trees to the people of Japan. A group of American school children reenacted the initial planting in 1927 and the first "festival” was held in 1935, sponsored by civic groups in the Nation’s Capital.

First Lady Lady Bird Johnson accepted 3,800 more trees in 1965. In 1981, the cycle of giving came full circle. Japanese horticulturists were given cuttings from our trees to replace some cherry trees in Japan which had been destroyed in a flood.

The Festival was expanded to two weeks in 1994 to accommodate a diverse activity schedule during the trees’ blooming. Today, more than a million people visit Washington, DC each year to admire the blossoming cherry trees and attend events that herald the beginning of spring in the Nation’s Capital.

The Festival looks forward to celebrating the centennial anniversary of the gift of trees in 2012 and is planning spectacular events to mark this historic and special occasion.***

Pretty cool, huh?! Anyway, here are some pics from around the tidal basin.

Here is a bonus picture. Travis and I had to go to a retirement ceremony on Saturday, so we took a quick picture of us while we were both all dressed up. :)

bragging on my celebrity friend

Ok, most of you have visited Monica's blog, but you should go there today. She is a REAL QUILT FABRIC DESIGNER. Soon, she's gonna be bigger than Mary E or Debbie Mumm. I'm so proud of my cute friend. If you know her, you know this is something she totally deserves. She's one of the most fun, talented, generous people I know. If you don't know her, well, you can just take my word for it. She is pretty awesome, and now, a celebrity. :) heehee Love you Monica! :)