Where have I been?

As the holidays pass for most families our season continues for a week longer which keeps all of us busy.So, once again life has led me to neglect my blog. Sure I've been present online, but not here. I've spent a lot of time reading, commenting and responding to email; but  not blogging. I can tweet with my kids running around but I can't concentrate on anything else since they usually protest whenever I sit near the laptop. Either they want to use it or they stick books or papers in front of my screen to get my attention. I remember using the same techniques while my parents read the newspaper. I can't really blame them.

 - A little of what I've been doing-

January 6th

Foti's name day. His full name is Fotios, named after my late father-in-law. Although I didn't expect too many guests, I had to be prepared if anyone decided to show up.I spent the day in the kitchen baking and making some of his favorite foods.  Foti was excited and loved receiving phone calls. I made him pizza for lunch and let him watch a movie later that afternoon.  At the end of the day we only had two guests and it was perfect. What was even better is that I had a lot of food left over and didn't have to cook the next day.

January 8th- Izabella's birthday.

Rushing to the bakery early that morning I  decided that although an already prepared cake might be fantastic; a homemade cake would be even better. And even better than that, a homemade cake in which the birthday girl could help make and decorate. So, after I picked Iza up from school we went straight to the store so that she could choose the toppings for her cake. We used this chocolate cake recipe. It was fantastic!

The actual birthday party will take place this weekend and we ordered another chocolate cake for the day. She chose a cake with Dalmations on it, not the Disney Dalmations, just regular Dalmations.

 Izabella had a great birthday and she was so pleased with everything. I still can't believe that she's seven.

and in between celebrations...

We had a play date with friends which allowed me to enjoy coffee & great conversation.

I made a few homemade pizzas. Honestly, I'd never attempted to make my own pizza dough until now, I don't know why. But I decided try my hand at it and  I was pleased with the results. I used Ivy's recipe for basic homemade pizza dough and made my own sauce. I topped one pizza with mozzarella cheese and the others with green peppers, onions, tomatoes and of course, mozzarella.  I have to say that they were a few of the better pizzas I've had in a while. I won't say the best because I still believe that Lisa's Pizzeria in my other neighborhood has the best pizza I've ever eaten.  But the kids loved my pizzas and they're particular about pizza so I'll believe them when they say that they were delicious.

I was able to spend quality time with Adriane. This is her favorite photo of us.

We went to the city to visit friends and along the way we stopped to watch ice skaters. It was too late for us to skate and we were dressed well so we couldn't...

but Foti  really wished that he could have. The kids  also enjoyed looking at the Ancient Agora as we passed by, but since it was dark I couldn't get a good photo.

And in the midst of our adventures in living I got very sick and it took about 5 days for me to feel better. Nasty flu!

But as soon as I recovered I was out taking photos again. These photos of the girls in the wheat field are significant because it's just outside  of our gate and  we've just learned that someone bought this stretch of land and will probably be building a house soon. I hope it's a house and not an apartment building because we love our view, not to mention the serenity.  Let's hope for the best!

Yes, it's Mt. Olympus in the background.

~~~

A few of my friends in the blogosphere inquired about my absence and I'm thankful. I'm back and not leaving blog land anytime soon. Thank you.

So, my year is off to a good start (well, minus the flu) and I'm optimistic to see how the rest of it unfolds.