I am experimenting here for the moment.

The husband and I are taking it easy this New Year's Eve. I made a beef stew for this chilly evening. The husband has fired up the hot tub outside and is chilling the bubbly.

Hope everyone has a wonderful and prosperous 2007!

Very cold and rainy in Phoenix lately. I was not expecting to spend the majority of my holiday vacation cooped up in the house. Actually, I have been running around the city snatching up frames and having photos printed out, all in effort to get them hung in the master bedroom and guestroom before the weekend. And now that they're on the walls, I have to give myself tiny kudo's for a job well done (for some reason, I did not have a lot of confidence that I would have everything leveled and aligned properly).

Tomorrow, I am off to the West Side to help the siblings tear down wallpaper from my parent's house. The husband is staying behind because we are having four boulders delivered to the house -- one of which weighs over 3000 lbs. I cannot even fathom what 1½ tons of rock will look like in our front yard, not to mention the other three boulders that will be plopped next to it!

Very excited to learn of some new dining spots popping up in town, especially the casual Japanese restaurant ShellShock (cousin to SeaSaw -- of which I heart).

Two new spots (to me): Olive & Ivy at the Waterfront. I met some work colleagues there for a holiday lunch and I have to say that I really liked it. I describe the decor very modern Moroccan (not that I have ever been to Morocco...) and the food is very electic. I had an order of their Garlic Bread with Hummus (very nice) and the Haystack Noodles (very misleading description, they are actually Pappardelle) with Crushed Basil and Ricotta. I noticed they had an interesting Garlic Soup with Shrimp Fritters, but we did not order any (definitely on the list). And the best part? They have a small 'convenience area' where they sell fresh pastries, specialty drinks and gelato. Mmmmm, gelato!

The other night, the husband and I decided to try Noodles Ranch. We had been there before when it was called AZ Pho. The new owners splashed on a fresh coat of paint, added mood lighting and the requisite Asian decorations (bamboo, paper umbrellas hung from the ceilings, and black and white framed photos of old Vietnam). A pleasant bonus was authentic southeast Asian music in the background (instead of some poppy rock and roll music). The husband ordered their Mango Chicken and Jasmine Rice dish (good, but not fabulous) and I had their Pho Dac Biet (a generous helping of rare sirloin, brisket, tendon, tripe, and meat balls). Not as good as Maman's but pretty decent (it definitely hit the spot on a cold, rainy evening). Given the close distance to our neighborhood, it will be a good back up to Saigon Nites (when we're North Scottsdale) and Cyclo (when we're in Chandler).

Christmas 2006
Originally uploaded by ellessudotnet.

The husband and I had $130 worth of gift certificates to Honeybaked Ham, so we thought we would have Christmas 'linner' at our house and also watch the big Eagles/Cowboys game.

My sister, brother (the lone Cowboys fan), Dave, Marc, Kim and the two chihuahuas (plus short visits from Strummer's girlfriend and our next door neighbors) all came over for the festivities.

As always, photos can be found here.

From kottke.org, my list:

Phoenix, AZ* (includes Scottsdale, Chandler, Glendale, Peoria, Tempe, etc)
Jerome, AZ
Sedona, AZ
Springfield, PA
Downingtown, PA
Ocean City, NJ
Paris, France

Sadly, not a lot of travel this year.

One or more nights spent in each place. Those cities marked with an * were visited multiple times on non-consecutive days.

O Christmas Tree
Originally uploaded by ellessudotnet.

Wishing all our friends and family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Love,
Tony, Payada & Strummer

It figures that the day Strummer goes in for his grooming, it would rain in the Valley.

Normally the husband drops off the pooch (since he works from home on Fridays), but since I took the day off I wanted to bring him myself. It is amazing that the 'doodle knew where he was headed. Once we turned onto the main road (which is still a good half mile from the resort), he was practically drooling with the anticipation.

Who can blame him? Tummy rubs. Puppy play time. Bribery biscuits. Total dog-votion. Strummer is literally in Puppy Heaven.

One day, I would love to hang out and watch all of the action. I am sure it would look something like this.

And what do we get out of it? A clean, white (as opposed to his current state of brown and grey) and yummy-smelling dog.

Well, at least for two or three more days until he gets the urge to roll around in pee and poop again. Oy vay.

I am officially on vacation through January 3, 2007 - wooooh!