blogging is not one of them.
I will let you know that the jinxing time has been lifted and the exciting news in our household: Maia is going to spend her first birthday in Zurich, Switzerland.
Before that we'll get to tour Paris and then spend a week in Geneva.
Good fortune is blessing us with a trip that piggy-backs on a work conference. Which means that one airfare is paid for and the really nice hotel in Geneva is covered as well.
I'm all smiles. Now to find places to sleep in Pairs and Zurich!
Oh and house cleaning because we're hosting TWO dinners this weekend.
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Something Good is Gonna Happen
Plans are afoot! Action is being taken! Credit card numbers are being given at this very moment! But I don't want to jinx anything, so I'll get with the details when all the ducks are lined up.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Bad Parenting Skills
I just put on a video for Maia (at least it's a "Baby Signs" video so I can pretend she's learning from watching) so I could get some work done. She's entranced. I'm posting. Now to actual work...
Update:
15 minutes into the video and she'd lost interest...but I was able to get one school project (almost) done. She's happy banging on the coffee table with her drum stick from the floor.
Update:
15 minutes into the video and she'd lost interest...but I was able to get one school project (almost) done. She's happy banging on the coffee table with her drum stick from the floor.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Fate
I'm not sure what's been in the air this week, but nothing has been good. The week started poorly and never fully recovered. Despite what could have been several very nice days, I've been in a funk. John has been in a funk. Maia, well, she's Maia and while not in a funk, when we are it's not so much fun to attend to her needs.
Today could have been more of the same...but it wasn't.
Started off with:
Daylight savings time switch early. Needless loss of a perfectly good hour of sleep.
Rushing to get John to the airport for his 9:30 AM flight to Florida.
Said rushing caused me to back into the house while backing the car out of the driveway. With John watching me.
Watching my darling husband leave for the week, knowing I could have made a better send off for him, broke my heart.
Mis-judging the time I needed to be at a Mommy get-together to make baby food. Arriving on time and with oodles of food to puree only to find a note on the door saying--"Time change messed up schedule. Party canceled" and nothing else.
Grumbling that I had no one to play with on this gorgeous day.
When I arrived home from the failed baby food party--great idea and I hope to host one more details if I do--I found that Auntie Ari-belle's date had canceled on her and she was now free for the day. I looked at her and asked, "Beach?" Her answer, "Yes!" So off we, slowly, went. Things needed to be arranged with her hockey tickets. Brother came through with a friend and tickets were settled. Maia was fed, changed and packed. The car was loaded. Water bottles were filled and off we went to Capitola.
It was warm. And clear. And so beautiful by the water. Everyone was out and about. I despaired over finding a decent parking space as we had left the stroller at home...after all...we were adventuring light! Coming around the corner by the prime beach side parking I got stuck behind a giant Suburban (wait...that's redundant isn't it?) waiting for a family to pack up the mini-van full of small children and take their parking space. Great. Everything else was full so I decided to go around and head up the street, when what to my wondering eyes did appear but the Best Parking Space Ever. Right in front of the beach entrance. One side was nothing but curb so I could pull in close and leave plenty of room for getting Maia in and out of the car. Shiny, as Ari-belle would say.
We were out the door and feeding the meter while the Suburban was still waiting on the mini-van. I almost felt sorry for getting such a KILLER SPACE ahead of "my turn". Oh well. There are advantages to having a smaller car in the parking lot wars.
Walking across the sand was a joy. The breeze came up gently, softly, off the ocean. The sand was dry, but still cool from the recent rains. The beach was busy but there was plenty of good real estate left for us. Ari-belle, commenting on the temperature of the sand, said "Could this be any more perfect?" I thought not.
The grown-ups didn't have a blanket. Oh well. We found a nice spot by some rocks and driftwood to set up camp. I spread out a blanket for Maia pulled out my small collection of sand toys and proceeded to relax and enjoy Maia's play. She loved it. She loved pulling the sand out of the buckets. She loved digging her hands in the damp sand. She loved finding the toys I would bury for her. At one point she began to bury her Auntie's leg. She was smiling and squealing as she piled sand on to her pant leg.
We decided to take her down to the water's edge to see how she like the cold kiss of Northern California Pacific Ocean. She did fine. I danced her over the water as waves broke at my feet. She really loved being held in water that came up over her feet so she could bounce and splash. She got so excited by the splashing. We ran her into the small broken waves and ran her back to the shore again. Maia burried her little feet in the wet sand and giggled. She looked out to sea and smiled.
Back at the base camp, Maia decided she needed to eat so I fed her and then we played for a while longer. The day was getting long and the breeze was picking up so we decided to go before Maia got bored and fussy. We still had 1/2 hour on the meter, but it seemed a small price to pay for such a lovely afternoon.
In the car, Ari-belle and I decided we needed a little snack before going home, so we headed into Santa Cruz for dinner. Something pulled us toward a certain parking spot, a little off the beaten path. I was going to feed the meter when I noticed it still had time on it. 1/2 and hour. Call it what you will, I call it fate. Nothing wasted.
A lovely afternoon turned into a lovely evening filled with fun conversation with my sister and playing with the worlds best baby. I'm thinking this week is looking up from the last....except for missing my husband. But, I have his homecoming to look forward to...
(love you sweets. see you friday.)
Today could have been more of the same...but it wasn't.
Started off with:
Daylight savings time switch early. Needless loss of a perfectly good hour of sleep.
Rushing to get John to the airport for his 9:30 AM flight to Florida.
Said rushing caused me to back into the house while backing the car out of the driveway. With John watching me.
Watching my darling husband leave for the week, knowing I could have made a better send off for him, broke my heart.
Mis-judging the time I needed to be at a Mommy get-together to make baby food. Arriving on time and with oodles of food to puree only to find a note on the door saying--"Time change messed up schedule. Party canceled" and nothing else.
Grumbling that I had no one to play with on this gorgeous day.
When I arrived home from the failed baby food party--great idea and I hope to host one more details if I do--I found that Auntie Ari-belle's date had canceled on her and she was now free for the day. I looked at her and asked, "Beach?" Her answer, "Yes!" So off we, slowly, went. Things needed to be arranged with her hockey tickets. Brother came through with a friend and tickets were settled. Maia was fed, changed and packed. The car was loaded. Water bottles were filled and off we went to Capitola.
It was warm. And clear. And so beautiful by the water. Everyone was out and about. I despaired over finding a decent parking space as we had left the stroller at home...after all...we were adventuring light! Coming around the corner by the prime beach side parking I got stuck behind a giant Suburban (wait...that's redundant isn't it?) waiting for a family to pack up the mini-van full of small children and take their parking space. Great. Everything else was full so I decided to go around and head up the street, when what to my wondering eyes did appear but the Best Parking Space Ever. Right in front of the beach entrance. One side was nothing but curb so I could pull in close and leave plenty of room for getting Maia in and out of the car. Shiny, as Ari-belle would say.
We were out the door and feeding the meter while the Suburban was still waiting on the mini-van. I almost felt sorry for getting such a KILLER SPACE ahead of "my turn". Oh well. There are advantages to having a smaller car in the parking lot wars.
Walking across the sand was a joy. The breeze came up gently, softly, off the ocean. The sand was dry, but still cool from the recent rains. The beach was busy but there was plenty of good real estate left for us. Ari-belle, commenting on the temperature of the sand, said "Could this be any more perfect?" I thought not.
The grown-ups didn't have a blanket. Oh well. We found a nice spot by some rocks and driftwood to set up camp. I spread out a blanket for Maia pulled out my small collection of sand toys and proceeded to relax and enjoy Maia's play. She loved it. She loved pulling the sand out of the buckets. She loved digging her hands in the damp sand. She loved finding the toys I would bury for her. At one point she began to bury her Auntie's leg. She was smiling and squealing as she piled sand on to her pant leg.
We decided to take her down to the water's edge to see how she like the cold kiss of Northern California Pacific Ocean. She did fine. I danced her over the water as waves broke at my feet. She really loved being held in water that came up over her feet so she could bounce and splash. She got so excited by the splashing. We ran her into the small broken waves and ran her back to the shore again. Maia burried her little feet in the wet sand and giggled. She looked out to sea and smiled.
Back at the base camp, Maia decided she needed to eat so I fed her and then we played for a while longer. The day was getting long and the breeze was picking up so we decided to go before Maia got bored and fussy. We still had 1/2 hour on the meter, but it seemed a small price to pay for such a lovely afternoon.
In the car, Ari-belle and I decided we needed a little snack before going home, so we headed into Santa Cruz for dinner. Something pulled us toward a certain parking spot, a little off the beaten path. I was going to feed the meter when I noticed it still had time on it. 1/2 and hour. Call it what you will, I call it fate. Nothing wasted.
A lovely afternoon turned into a lovely evening filled with fun conversation with my sister and playing with the worlds best baby. I'm thinking this week is looking up from the last....except for missing my husband. But, I have his homecoming to look forward to...
(love you sweets. see you friday.)
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Monday, March 5, 2007
Ah Crap
Long day and I'm tired. Started out with too little sleep and too little water and too much fun over the weekend.
Running late for Maia's appointment, well, we needed to run one errand before the doctor and were late for that. No, it didn't involve coffee. Too bad about that.
Her appointment went fine. She's a healthy little girl. 18#2oz and 27 1/2" tall. 45th percentile in weight and 50th in height. Perfect. Dr. Rose did seem somewhat concerned about her lack of interest in food. She'd like us to 'practice' eating every day. So I need to set Miss M up in her chair and put food in front of her. Let her play. Dr. Rose said crackers were fine, bits of cheese, soft fruits and such were also good. Hopefully Maia will gain interest as we do this. We'll see.
The good doctor did mention that a sensitive gag reflex could be the cause her aversion to solid foods. She might just need to grow a bit more to become comfortable with things in her mouth.
On to the next stop--a meeting with my professor for my group project in Technical Writing. The pre-meeting with my group was great but I really felt that the actual meeting kind of spiraled down hill. Sigh. Maia can only be so patient. She was in a talking mood and chirping in her little high-pitched voice. I felt awful. Here we are trying to be professional and I can't even take notes. We were meeting in a lounge for English students located in the faculty office building. Her voice was going out into the hall and in the past there have been noise complaints about the lounge. I shut the door...but that's not allowed either. I felt very uncomfortable and wished I had had some place to leave her for this one meeting. Plus, campus politics are in full swing around my instructor and I think a small faux pas was made by meeting in the English lounge with him to begin with.
Sigh.
In the future, we're going to book private rooms in the library--which is part of the public library system and therefore open to non-students like Maia--to avoid some of these ackward moments.
Note: I have one cup of coffee and by the time we wrapped everything up it was almost two o'clock.
Walk back to the car. Where is the car? Crap. Parked in a one hour spot and I have been towed. That's what I get for not looking at the signs carefully enough. They're serious downtown. In the few minutes I used to call the very unhelpful towing company I saw another car get towed. I think they just run out there all day to make their money. Sigh.
So. What to do. Got no car. Got a tired baby. Got no car seat to put her in even if I had another car. Crap. Called brother and thankfully caught him before he left to get lunch. Met him at John's work--where the old car seat was hanging out in John's car. Strapped Maia into the Camero--plus the BOB stroller--not bad for a non-family car and took off for the tow yard.
The tow yard was as stereotypical as it could get: German shepherd, big guy in a grubby t-shirt yelling form the back office, tattooed drivers grinning at me as I tried to get the car back. When asked how I would pay for this, I asked "What credit cards do you take?" Answer: None I had on me. Checks? Nope. Cash? Yes. The bank is three blocks away and I'd better get back by 5 PM before the release fee went up by another $80.
Half an hour and $175 later I had my car again. The yard didn't even have real change for me...the last dollar was given to me in two quarters and five dimes. Even though there is a sign that says "We do not accept loose change as payment" Who has at least $175 in loose change? Had this been a real problem before? Did many people try to pay with loose change? Whatever.
Expensive lesson learned. No more parking downtown for me. Now I feel like crap and just want the week to start over. And it's Monday. And I have a variation on this theme to do tomorrow. Oh well. Tomorrow morning, I think it will be light rail and a Starbuck's black tea latte kind of day.
Running late for Maia's appointment, well, we needed to run one errand before the doctor and were late for that. No, it didn't involve coffee. Too bad about that.
Her appointment went fine. She's a healthy little girl. 18#2oz and 27 1/2" tall. 45th percentile in weight and 50th in height. Perfect. Dr. Rose did seem somewhat concerned about her lack of interest in food. She'd like us to 'practice' eating every day. So I need to set Miss M up in her chair and put food in front of her. Let her play. Dr. Rose said crackers were fine, bits of cheese, soft fruits and such were also good. Hopefully Maia will gain interest as we do this. We'll see.
The good doctor did mention that a sensitive gag reflex could be the cause her aversion to solid foods. She might just need to grow a bit more to become comfortable with things in her mouth.
On to the next stop--a meeting with my professor for my group project in Technical Writing. The pre-meeting with my group was great but I really felt that the actual meeting kind of spiraled down hill. Sigh. Maia can only be so patient. She was in a talking mood and chirping in her little high-pitched voice. I felt awful. Here we are trying to be professional and I can't even take notes. We were meeting in a lounge for English students located in the faculty office building. Her voice was going out into the hall and in the past there have been noise complaints about the lounge. I shut the door...but that's not allowed either. I felt very uncomfortable and wished I had had some place to leave her for this one meeting. Plus, campus politics are in full swing around my instructor and I think a small faux pas was made by meeting in the English lounge with him to begin with.
Sigh.
In the future, we're going to book private rooms in the library--which is part of the public library system and therefore open to non-students like Maia--to avoid some of these ackward moments.
Note: I have one cup of coffee and by the time we wrapped everything up it was almost two o'clock.
Walk back to the car. Where is the car? Crap. Parked in a one hour spot and I have been towed. That's what I get for not looking at the signs carefully enough. They're serious downtown. In the few minutes I used to call the very unhelpful towing company I saw another car get towed. I think they just run out there all day to make their money. Sigh.
So. What to do. Got no car. Got a tired baby. Got no car seat to put her in even if I had another car. Crap. Called brother and thankfully caught him before he left to get lunch. Met him at John's work--where the old car seat was hanging out in John's car. Strapped Maia into the Camero--plus the BOB stroller--not bad for a non-family car and took off for the tow yard.
The tow yard was as stereotypical as it could get: German shepherd, big guy in a grubby t-shirt yelling form the back office, tattooed drivers grinning at me as I tried to get the car back. When asked how I would pay for this, I asked "What credit cards do you take?" Answer: None I had on me. Checks? Nope. Cash? Yes. The bank is three blocks away and I'd better get back by 5 PM before the release fee went up by another $80.
Half an hour and $175 later I had my car again. The yard didn't even have real change for me...the last dollar was given to me in two quarters and five dimes. Even though there is a sign that says "We do not accept loose change as payment" Who has at least $175 in loose change? Had this been a real problem before? Did many people try to pay with loose change? Whatever.
Expensive lesson learned. No more parking downtown for me. Now I feel like crap and just want the week to start over. And it's Monday. And I have a variation on this theme to do tomorrow. Oh well. Tomorrow morning, I think it will be light rail and a Starbuck's black tea latte kind of day.
Saturday, March 3, 2007
My Lips are Numb
So here I am after a wonderful day of friends and food food food....thinking that I've had my limit of drink but craving another beer. And instead of taking advantage of my husband or going wild on the dance floor I'm blogging.
To the fridge I go! Newcastle or Jumping Cow here I come!
To the fridge I go! Newcastle or Jumping Cow here I come!
Friday, March 2, 2007
Before I Forget!
Maia is now really and truly nine months old. Still cute as a bug, we haven't worn the baby off of her quite yet.
She still doesn't eat. Or crawl. Or roll on to her stomach. But she laughs like no ones business and loves to turn the pages of her books when we read. She is much more aware of her self and is beginning to have some pretty strong opinions. She wants to do what she wants to do.
Her latest game is to throw herself backward from a sitting position. When we play it on the couch, I put a pillow behind her and she just laughs as she throws her little head back. She does it in the Exersaucer as well. She's so much fun.
Now, off to bed before she awakens and needs me. Sigh. No rest for the Internet addicted.
She still doesn't eat. Or crawl. Or roll on to her stomach. But she laughs like no ones business and loves to turn the pages of her books when we read. She is much more aware of her self and is beginning to have some pretty strong opinions. She wants to do what she wants to do.
Her latest game is to throw herself backward from a sitting position. When we play it on the couch, I put a pillow behind her and she just laughs as she throws her little head back. She does it in the Exersaucer as well. She's so much fun.
Now, off to bed before she awakens and needs me. Sigh. No rest for the Internet addicted.
Of Course, There's Always MEAT
BBQ is in the works for tomorrow. Ribs are baked off, just waiting to be finished on the grill. Potato salad is in the fridge. Gotta do chickens and cornbread in the AM, then get the veggie platter ready. Not too many snacks. I tend to over do appies and then nobody wants to eat the food food we've made.
I also have a hankering to bake a Red Velvet cake. Found a recipe that doesn't seem like it'd be too dry...a problem with the Velvet cake. It's pretty but can be bland. We'll see if I can get it whipped up.
Staying up and goofing on the Internet is not helping my cause.
Good night, then!
I also have a hankering to bake a Red Velvet cake. Found a recipe that doesn't seem like it'd be too dry...a problem with the Velvet cake. It's pretty but can be bland. We'll see if I can get it whipped up.
Staying up and goofing on the Internet is not helping my cause.
Good night, then!
Horn Tootin'
Congratulations!
Your excellent academic record has earned you recognition as a Dean's Scholar in the College of Humanities and the Arts.
All of the San Jose State University Dean's Scholars will be formally awarded at the 45th Annual Honors Convocation on Friday, April 27, 2007.
Yeah me. Two semesters of school and I get to be feted. Least you think I'm some kind of super cool school girl-- I'm not the President's Scholar...I don't have a 4.o.
Of course, this won't get me out of poopie diaper duty. It's good to have a reality check in place.
Your excellent academic record has earned you recognition as a Dean's Scholar in the College of Humanities and the Arts.
All of the San Jose State University Dean's Scholars will be formally awarded at the 45th Annual Honors Convocation on Friday, April 27, 2007.
Yeah me. Two semesters of school and I get to be feted. Least you think I'm some kind of super cool school girl-- I'm not the President's Scholar...I don't have a 4.o.
Of course, this won't get me out of poopie diaper duty. It's good to have a reality check in place.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
The Good Life
Yesterday on my afternoon radio fixation there were back-to-back calls from women who were feeling that being a stay-at-home-mom wasn't fulfilling and that they somehow were lost as individuals. While I can understand the sentiment, like on Tuesday when I became the Queen of Poo and that was the highlight of my day, I really can't agree that this job isn't fulfilling.
When I was working, I never heard the words that I heard from my husband last night from an employer: "You make me want to come home at night" meaning; I was a good thing to look forward to. No boss of mine, even my favorite ones whom I loved, thought of me as a reason to come to work and nor did I consider them a reason to work. When I was working, I never had someone I was training or responsible for look at me with the absolute adoration I see in my small daughter. When I was working I never felt as much satisfaction at the end of my day as I do now when I get to snuggle with Maia before she falls asleep then I get to snuggle with John as we chat and watch TV. I never felt so glad for another day, nor did I have as many reasons to get up and get going in the morning as I do now. When I was working, my opinions didn't really count as much as I was asked for them. When I working, I was a small part of a larger picture. Now I am a large part of an important endeavor; running a family and raising a child.
I have never done anything greater nor have I ever enjoyed a job more.
This morning I washed up the dishes from last night while Maia played in the living room. I heard some giggling and banging and decided to check it out. Harvey-cat had crawled into Maia's toy box and Maia was patting his tail and laughing. She started shaking a maraca and Harvey just looked on. It hit me then that this is the good life.
It can be boring at times. There are parts that feel isolating. At three am listening to a baby cry can make you question your decision to disrupt your life so much. Any job can be like this, but so few jobs offer the rewards that mothering has given me. I don't feel as though I've lost myself, on the contrary, I feel as though I have finally found myself. And it is good.
When I was working, I never heard the words that I heard from my husband last night from an employer: "You make me want to come home at night" meaning; I was a good thing to look forward to. No boss of mine, even my favorite ones whom I loved, thought of me as a reason to come to work and nor did I consider them a reason to work. When I was working, I never had someone I was training or responsible for look at me with the absolute adoration I see in my small daughter. When I was working I never felt as much satisfaction at the end of my day as I do now when I get to snuggle with Maia before she falls asleep then I get to snuggle with John as we chat and watch TV. I never felt so glad for another day, nor did I have as many reasons to get up and get going in the morning as I do now. When I was working, my opinions didn't really count as much as I was asked for them. When I working, I was a small part of a larger picture. Now I am a large part of an important endeavor; running a family and raising a child.
I have never done anything greater nor have I ever enjoyed a job more.
This morning I washed up the dishes from last night while Maia played in the living room. I heard some giggling and banging and decided to check it out. Harvey-cat had crawled into Maia's toy box and Maia was patting his tail and laughing. She started shaking a maraca and Harvey just looked on. It hit me then that this is the good life.
It can be boring at times. There are parts that feel isolating. At three am listening to a baby cry can make you question your decision to disrupt your life so much. Any job can be like this, but so few jobs offer the rewards that mothering has given me. I don't feel as though I've lost myself, on the contrary, I feel as though I have finally found myself. And it is good.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Sunday Night Dinner
The rain came in today. It started sometime in the wee early morning hours and continued off and on all day. We had planned on going to the Farmer's Market in the Cat's. It was to be the center of eating for the week, so we didn't let the wet deter us.
What did stop us was the grumpy sleepy baby. Maia has been a grumpy baby for days now. Her schedule is all off and she's just having a hard time and I don't really know why. So when she fell asleep in the car on the way over to the market, John volunteered to stay in the car with her and let her sleep.
I ran through the market in the drizzle, picked up our supplies and the most amazing oranges in the world: Pink Navels. Sweet, crisp, with a slight bite to it. Yum. I get tired of oranges right around this time of year and pink navels have solved that problem for me.
The rain continued and we didn't do much else today. I got restless, Maia remained bored and cranky. I decided to cook a big ol' Sunday night dinner to alleviate my boredom at least (house work and things that really need to get done, like laundry, don't count as boredom alleviators).
Oven fried chicken. Mashed potatoes. Gravy. Rainbow chard with garlic and bacon. Salad. Biscuits. Beer. Yes please. I had the oven going, the stove top poppin', bowls and utensils piling up in the sink and Maia asleep in her swing. I cooked for an hour and a half and managed to get things to the plate still hot. It was a veritable feast. If it weren't for the Lenten fast...which I admittedly stretched tonight...I would have made a cobbler for dessert. But that would have been going to far, for sure.
Nothing says "comfort food" like an old fashioned Sunday dinner.
In other news, I got a kick-butt new haircut on Saturday. Three hours of a cut and color. I went red red red with bright red chunky highlights. And short. I love my new funky red short hair.
Nothing says "here I come" like a new haircut. Watch out.
What did stop us was the grumpy sleepy baby. Maia has been a grumpy baby for days now. Her schedule is all off and she's just having a hard time and I don't really know why. So when she fell asleep in the car on the way over to the market, John volunteered to stay in the car with her and let her sleep.
I ran through the market in the drizzle, picked up our supplies and the most amazing oranges in the world: Pink Navels. Sweet, crisp, with a slight bite to it. Yum. I get tired of oranges right around this time of year and pink navels have solved that problem for me.
The rain continued and we didn't do much else today. I got restless, Maia remained bored and cranky. I decided to cook a big ol' Sunday night dinner to alleviate my boredom at least (house work and things that really need to get done, like laundry, don't count as boredom alleviators).
Oven fried chicken. Mashed potatoes. Gravy. Rainbow chard with garlic and bacon. Salad. Biscuits. Beer. Yes please. I had the oven going, the stove top poppin', bowls and utensils piling up in the sink and Maia asleep in her swing. I cooked for an hour and a half and managed to get things to the plate still hot. It was a veritable feast. If it weren't for the Lenten fast...which I admittedly stretched tonight...I would have made a cobbler for dessert. But that would have been going to far, for sure.
Nothing says "comfort food" like an old fashioned Sunday dinner.
In other news, I got a kick-butt new haircut on Saturday. Three hours of a cut and color. I went red red red with bright red chunky highlights. And short. I love my new funky red short hair.
Nothing says "here I come" like a new haircut. Watch out.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Smile
There is nothing more satisfying than making a baby laugh for five minutes straight, to the point of tears, by just being silly while you get her ready for bed.
Nothing like seeing your child smile that wide mouth, crinkle-eyed smile and know that she's doing it for you.
On an only slightly less satisfying topic, I'm down 2.5 lbs even after my weekend of eating out. Hopefully Lent will help me pick up the pace. And more walking. Lots more walking.
Nothing like seeing your child smile that wide mouth, crinkle-eyed smile and know that she's doing it for you.
On an only slightly less satisfying topic, I'm down 2.5 lbs even after my weekend of eating out. Hopefully Lent will help me pick up the pace. And more walking. Lots more walking.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Fat Thursday
Yeah, Mardi Gras was Tuesday and I did my very best to celebrate in style. Fat Tuesday is the day set aside to clean out your cupboards before the month long Lent. Eat up the "fat" that you couldn't have during the fast. Pancakes are a traditional meal, but I wanted to have a more festive fat dinner...enter the Hanukkah (another holiday dedicated to fat) tradition of deep frying. I made beignets. French style. Pate a choux balls dropped in hot oil and fried until puffy and golden. I was making a dinner dish, so I made savory beignets with black pepper and rosemary. And whole wheat flour, but that's a given because it's the only flour in my house, much to my brother's chagrin.
Can I say oh. my. taste buds. They were wonderful. We had, on the side--because the beignets were the main attraction--blackened salmon, sweet balsamic vegetables and a huge green salad. Oh. Jalapeno mint jelly for the beignets. We had to. Dessert? Naaa...just more pastry.
Even though Lent began on Wednesday, John fried up the last of the batter for breakfast so we could enjoy beignets and coffee. Sprinkled with the merest whisper of powdered sugar they were divine. I will say that the French do many things right when it comes to food, and fried dough has to be at the top of the list.
Although I am not, nor have I ever been Catholic, I do on occasion keep a Lenten fast. I didn't last year because of pregnancy, but am this year. I think a certain amount of sacrifice is good for the soul. Because I am among the food-hedonists, sacrificing a foodie vice gives me time to reflect on just what it is that I eat. And what I should eat. And how certain foods affect me. In any case, I am, again, giving up the refined flour/sugar/empty carbs that seem to draw me in as soon as I come around them. Beer is an exception. I had over a year of sacrifice to teach me the meaning of beer to my life. But I will be giving up butter enriched foods as well...so no whole wheat pie crusts...that's cheating.
I've already broken Lent. But at least I thought about it. I'll do better. Starting now. Has anyone seen Chocolat? The perfect foodie-Lent movie.
What, if anything, are you doing for Lent? It doesn't have to be food related, it's about preparing for the sacrifice of Easter. Or, the sacrifice that leads to Easter, to be more precise. I'd like to know who else believes that a little restraint is good for the soul.
Can I say oh. my. taste buds. They were wonderful. We had, on the side--because the beignets were the main attraction--blackened salmon, sweet balsamic vegetables and a huge green salad. Oh. Jalapeno mint jelly for the beignets. We had to. Dessert? Naaa...just more pastry.
Even though Lent began on Wednesday, John fried up the last of the batter for breakfast so we could enjoy beignets and coffee. Sprinkled with the merest whisper of powdered sugar they were divine. I will say that the French do many things right when it comes to food, and fried dough has to be at the top of the list.
Although I am not, nor have I ever been Catholic, I do on occasion keep a Lenten fast. I didn't last year because of pregnancy, but am this year. I think a certain amount of sacrifice is good for the soul. Because I am among the food-hedonists, sacrificing a foodie vice gives me time to reflect on just what it is that I eat. And what I should eat. And how certain foods affect me. In any case, I am, again, giving up the refined flour/sugar/empty carbs that seem to draw me in as soon as I come around them. Beer is an exception. I had over a year of sacrifice to teach me the meaning of beer to my life. But I will be giving up butter enriched foods as well...so no whole wheat pie crusts...that's cheating.
I've already broken Lent. But at least I thought about it. I'll do better. Starting now. Has anyone seen Chocolat? The perfect foodie-Lent movie.
What, if anything, are you doing for Lent? It doesn't have to be food related, it's about preparing for the sacrifice of Easter. Or, the sacrifice that leads to Easter, to be more precise. I'd like to know who else believes that a little restraint is good for the soul.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Massive Missive
So much for resolutions...this past extended weekend was nuts. John and I had house guests in and out beginning late Wednesday night and extending through Monday night. I could make one of those schedule graphs of the ins and outs but it would only make your head spin. It wasn't just one group coming and staying for that length of time...it was various configurations of very different guests ebbing and flowing through the days and nights.
So...no posting. Not much walking, but lots of activity.
To note: TEETH. Yes, there is a God and He has granted a small reprieve in the teething department. One sharp little pearl popped up Friday, the next was visible by Saturday. Maia doesn't like to show off her new possessions. The grandmas were kind of disappointed in the lack of visual confirmation. But mama is happy 'cause I get to make her crinkle-nose laugh with her tongue up and see those specks of hard-earned white.
John spent the weekend putting in our new dishwasher. It's a beaut. All stainless and shiny. It should have taken an afternoon, including putting in the new water filtration system, but it took two days of hard labor. Bless the previous owner of our house, Contractor Steve, as he decided to install new cabinets and the old dishwasher THEN redo the floors. He added an inch and a half of floor height. This translates to the old dishwasher being literally stuck in its hole. John had to take a saws-all and a circular saw and cut the dang thing in half to get it out. Oy. Our back yard looks very po' white trash at this moment with scattered mangled pieces of dishwasher strewn about. The plan is to chop it up into little bitty scraps and slowly get rid of it in our city garbage can. Instead of paying the high dump fees to get it gone in one fell swoop. I kind of like the sneaky way, you know? We got rid of about a ton of concrete rubble in this manner a couple of years back. Not to mention all the scrap from the summer roofing project.
I'll link to pictures of the destruction after he posts them.
You know your in a new, dare I say Adult, phase of life when these new appliance additions excite you. The last time I got this worked up in love with machinery was when we upgraded the clothes washer. The dishwasher is even better. Last night we got to run it for the first time and I wanted to see how well it actually worked. So, lasagna for dinner. Dinner guests. Six cheesy plates. One saucy cheesy lasagna pan. Oatmeal bowls from breakfast with dried on oatmeal starch. Serving spoons with only the merest splash of rinse water applied to them. All in the dishwasher. Soap. Run. Wait and see.
Opened it up this morning and was floored. Everything was spotless and shiny. The glass lasagna pan sparkled. The silverware gleamed. The oatmeal bowls shone. I swooned. You have to understand that the old washer was a complete POS. I had to scrub dishes before putting them in. With our hard water, we would have to pour in about a cup of vinegar in the middle of each cycle in order to avoid a nasty chalky film coating everything. For the past three weeks I’ve been so fed up, I’ve simply been washing dishes by hand. And let me share a little secret with you…I hate washing dishes. I used to cry when my mom made me do them. I avoid them like plague. I would rather do any other nasty, dirty, chore in the house to not do dishes. And yet, there I was at the end of my rope, washing dishes to avoid the even worse prospect of rewashing dishes.
Come to think of it, I’m kind of glad that crap-trap is in pieces all over the back lawn…and I might be an appliance geek. Lord help you if I begin on the Italian range John and I saw on Monday...rrrrraaaawwwwrrrr.
At this moment, yes, this very 10 PM moment, John is putting the new entertainment unit in place and re-hooking all the cables and boxes, with their little glowing lights, together. Sunday before last, Maia began reaching for one very important glowing light, the on off switch for the box that serves as our total entertainment (plus Internet) brain/hub. It just happens to be at a crawling-poke-my-finger-into-everything level. She missed, because she can’t actually crawl yet, but she then took a small header into the corner of the box. An hour later, we were at IKEA looking for a new TV stand with doors.
It’s nice. It’s dark which matches the new ceiling fans (Home Depot) and new side table (also from IKEA). But it doesn’t match the old coffee table. That table is slated to be replaced by an ottoman soon. So we’re updating the whole living room in order to baby safe it. Oh well. Had to happen sooner or later. If John’s not careful, I’m going to have the new couch delivered while he’s a work…
Harvey is doing well. We are still in love with him and at least two house guests threatened to take him home with them. That's two more than threatened to take Maia home. Hmmm.
We're trying to change Maia's schedule, and I'm trying to get more sleep so I'm going to wrap this up. Sorry for the poetic waxing on mechanical things and living arrangements...I'll find some keen insights on the human condition for next time.
So...no posting. Not much walking, but lots of activity.
To note: TEETH. Yes, there is a God and He has granted a small reprieve in the teething department. One sharp little pearl popped up Friday, the next was visible by Saturday. Maia doesn't like to show off her new possessions. The grandmas were kind of disappointed in the lack of visual confirmation. But mama is happy 'cause I get to make her crinkle-nose laugh with her tongue up and see those specks of hard-earned white.
John spent the weekend putting in our new dishwasher. It's a beaut. All stainless and shiny. It should have taken an afternoon, including putting in the new water filtration system, but it took two days of hard labor. Bless the previous owner of our house, Contractor Steve, as he decided to install new cabinets and the old dishwasher THEN redo the floors. He added an inch and a half of floor height. This translates to the old dishwasher being literally stuck in its hole. John had to take a saws-all and a circular saw and cut the dang thing in half to get it out. Oy. Our back yard looks very po' white trash at this moment with scattered mangled pieces of dishwasher strewn about. The plan is to chop it up into little bitty scraps and slowly get rid of it in our city garbage can. Instead of paying the high dump fees to get it gone in one fell swoop. I kind of like the sneaky way, you know? We got rid of about a ton of concrete rubble in this manner a couple of years back. Not to mention all the scrap from the summer roofing project.
I'll link to pictures of the destruction after he posts them.
You know your in a new, dare I say Adult, phase of life when these new appliance additions excite you. The last time I got this worked up in love with machinery was when we upgraded the clothes washer. The dishwasher is even better. Last night we got to run it for the first time and I wanted to see how well it actually worked. So, lasagna for dinner. Dinner guests. Six cheesy plates. One saucy cheesy lasagna pan. Oatmeal bowls from breakfast with dried on oatmeal starch. Serving spoons with only the merest splash of rinse water applied to them. All in the dishwasher. Soap. Run. Wait and see.
Opened it up this morning and was floored. Everything was spotless and shiny. The glass lasagna pan sparkled. The silverware gleamed. The oatmeal bowls shone. I swooned. You have to understand that the old washer was a complete POS. I had to scrub dishes before putting them in. With our hard water, we would have to pour in about a cup of vinegar in the middle of each cycle in order to avoid a nasty chalky film coating everything. For the past three weeks I’ve been so fed up, I’ve simply been washing dishes by hand. And let me share a little secret with you…I hate washing dishes. I used to cry when my mom made me do them. I avoid them like plague. I would rather do any other nasty, dirty, chore in the house to not do dishes. And yet, there I was at the end of my rope, washing dishes to avoid the even worse prospect of rewashing dishes.
Come to think of it, I’m kind of glad that crap-trap is in pieces all over the back lawn…and I might be an appliance geek. Lord help you if I begin on the Italian range John and I saw on Monday...rrrrraaaawwwwrrrr.
At this moment, yes, this very 10 PM moment, John is putting the new entertainment unit in place and re-hooking all the cables and boxes, with their little glowing lights, together. Sunday before last, Maia began reaching for one very important glowing light, the on off switch for the box that serves as our total entertainment (plus Internet) brain/hub. It just happens to be at a crawling-poke-my-finger-into-everything level. She missed, because she can’t actually crawl yet, but she then took a small header into the corner of the box. An hour later, we were at IKEA looking for a new TV stand with doors.
It’s nice. It’s dark which matches the new ceiling fans (Home Depot) and new side table (also from IKEA). But it doesn’t match the old coffee table. That table is slated to be replaced by an ottoman soon. So we’re updating the whole living room in order to baby safe it. Oh well. Had to happen sooner or later. If John’s not careful, I’m going to have the new couch delivered while he’s a work…
Harvey is doing well. We are still in love with him and at least two house guests threatened to take him home with them. That's two more than threatened to take Maia home. Hmmm.
We're trying to change Maia's schedule, and I'm trying to get more sleep so I'm going to wrap this up. Sorry for the poetic waxing on mechanical things and living arrangements...I'll find some keen insights on the human condition for next time.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Valentine's Revisited
Yesterday, being Valentine's Day, I went to Costco to buy a...water filtration system. Didn't see that one coming did ya? I had to note the kiss kiss heart day madness. It was about noon and men were streaming out by the dozens holding dozens and dozens of flowers. Mostly red roses, natch. Costco had a HUGE floral display at the front of the store so one could just grab and go. There was even a dedicated cash register for flowers only. I guess it's like this every year, but I've never had the occasion to witness it before.
Two people to make note of:
The woman behind me getting ready for what I can only assume to be a really hot date. She was purchasing a bottle of nice red wine and a bottle of Patron tequila. You go with yo bad self!
The man in the parking lot in front of the store with a big box of long stemmed roses...which he proceeded to angrily throw into the garbage can, then throw the box on the ground and stomp on it before stalking away.
Also of note: The man who came up after the roses were trashed and fished them out of the garbage. Happy Valentine's sweetie!
As for my Valentine and I? We did what we usually do. We stayed in. I made a nice romantic dinner. We had a cheese course to begin and several bite sized decadent desserts to finish. We drank a bottle of our honeymoon Riesling. We passed out on the couch from fatty-food coma. It was grand.
I hope yours was as lovely.
Two people to make note of:
The woman behind me getting ready for what I can only assume to be a really hot date. She was purchasing a bottle of nice red wine and a bottle of Patron tequila. You go with yo bad self!
The man in the parking lot in front of the store with a big box of long stemmed roses...which he proceeded to angrily throw into the garbage can, then throw the box on the ground and stomp on it before stalking away.
Also of note: The man who came up after the roses were trashed and fished them out of the garbage. Happy Valentine's sweetie!
As for my Valentine and I? We did what we usually do. We stayed in. I made a nice romantic dinner. We had a cheese course to begin and several bite sized decadent desserts to finish. We drank a bottle of our honeymoon Riesling. We passed out on the couch from fatty-food coma. It was grand.
I hope yours was as lovely.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
The Incredible Maia
The Scene:
A cute little baby girl all in pink and red hearts laying on the bed. In her hand, a tissue. She looks up at her adoring mama and with a primal, animal, guttural ggggrrrraaawwwlllll*, rips the tissue in half.
I couldn't stop laughing.
*I wish I had a way to post her "grawl"...it's just the funniest thing right now and she does it constantly.
A cute little baby girl all in pink and red hearts laying on the bed. In her hand, a tissue. She looks up at her adoring mama and with a primal, animal, guttural ggggrrrraaawwwlllll*, rips the tissue in half.
I couldn't stop laughing.
*I wish I had a way to post her "grawl"...it's just the funniest thing right now and she does it constantly.
It's Natural
Yesterday evening Maia was hanging out with me in her Hip Hammock as I picked up my monthly bulk/natural food order. She'd been pretty cranky all day--from interrupted sleep, no real naps and those darn teeth.
As I went to look over some papayas, a loud, long pppppppbbbbbtttttttttttt issued from the back end of my daughter. She then gave me the biggest smile I've seen in days.
As I went to look over some papayas, a loud, long pppppppbbbbbtttttttttttt issued from the back end of my daughter. She then gave me the biggest smile I've seen in days.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Watch Out, It's Harvey Danger!
Business up front:
No post on Thursday because of massive homework. Yeah, time to get time management happening in my house. No walking either. Rained out.
Yesterday? Well...walked 4.43 mi in the rain to and from class. Did no walking with Maia. Again, rain. No post? Lazy, and I had my monthly waxing appointment that went kind of late then the baby needed to be coddled to bed and then I made an ambitious stir-fry dinner that, for once, didn't involve frozen vegetables. But it wasn't done until after 9 pm. Then we watched a movie. A not so good movie, but it was an actual movie. Then bed. After sleeping on the couch for a couple of hours. It was one of those nights.
*note* I like sleeping on the couch. It's comfortable for a few hours and different and I don't get to sleep there often. John kind of gets annoyed by this habit of mine, but I sleep on the couch when he's late on the computer or doing other stuff late at night that doesn't involve sleeping in the bed with me.
Anyway, the real news for this post are the events of today. Drum roll please...We Have a KITTEN!
We welcomed our newest little guy into the family this afternoon. He came to us with the name Cary Grant...but he's now known as Harvey. I love old fashioned names, especially on animals. We kind of name animals in random ways. John and I just toss names about until one sticks. This time it was Harvey. We were going over our grandfather's names. I hope my dad doesn't mind, it's his dad's name. On our side, my last boy was named after a band and so is Harvey. The Harvey Danger kitty...'cause boy's have that danger streak in them, you know?
He is as sweet as hoped for. Our rescue worker brought him over in a cat carrier and he didn't have such a good ride over. He seemed a touch out of it after he arrived, so we put him in the bathroom with his litter box to get acquainted with the most important feature in the house.
As soon as we let him out he began the hunt for love. He found it in John's lap for a moment. Then he found my hand and kept his little head butting into it. Then he discovered little Maia's outstretched hand...and Maia discovered his very fluffy tail. What could have been a bad meeting turned out just fine, Harvey kind of looked disgusted and as soon as he could be free he moved few feet out of her range. No hissing or scratching. I think we're off to a good start.
We'll have pictures posted soon at: http://foobert.com/gal/main.php
It was also the much fun pizza night over here. Brother and I made six pizzas for five people. We're all in starchy-fat comas now. Harvey is awake and well and running around...somewhere. Maia is asleep and I'm tired. Two late nights in a row do that to me...and it's looking like a third. Sigh. John and siblings cleaned the kitchen so at least that's done and there is talk of going to breakfast in the morning. Yum. And if there's no rain, we'll hit the farmer's market and get some super fresh veggies for next week's snacking pleasure.
I'm going to find that cat for a last pet session and head off to sleep. My house is full of siblings and my dear husband and our sweet little daughter and now our adorable fur ball. It's full of love and so is my heart right now.
No post on Thursday because of massive homework. Yeah, time to get time management happening in my house. No walking either. Rained out.
Yesterday? Well...walked 4.43 mi in the rain to and from class. Did no walking with Maia. Again, rain. No post? Lazy, and I had my monthly waxing appointment that went kind of late then the baby needed to be coddled to bed and then I made an ambitious stir-fry dinner that, for once, didn't involve frozen vegetables. But it wasn't done until after 9 pm. Then we watched a movie. A not so good movie, but it was an actual movie. Then bed. After sleeping on the couch for a couple of hours. It was one of those nights.
*note* I like sleeping on the couch. It's comfortable for a few hours and different and I don't get to sleep there often. John kind of gets annoyed by this habit of mine, but I sleep on the couch when he's late on the computer or doing other stuff late at night that doesn't involve sleeping in the bed with me.
Anyway, the real news for this post are the events of today. Drum roll please...We Have a KITTEN!
We welcomed our newest little guy into the family this afternoon. He came to us with the name Cary Grant...but he's now known as Harvey. I love old fashioned names, especially on animals. We kind of name animals in random ways. John and I just toss names about until one sticks. This time it was Harvey. We were going over our grandfather's names. I hope my dad doesn't mind, it's his dad's name. On our side, my last boy was named after a band and so is Harvey. The Harvey Danger kitty...'cause boy's have that danger streak in them, you know?
He is as sweet as hoped for. Our rescue worker brought him over in a cat carrier and he didn't have such a good ride over. He seemed a touch out of it after he arrived, so we put him in the bathroom with his litter box to get acquainted with the most important feature in the house.
As soon as we let him out he began the hunt for love. He found it in John's lap for a moment. Then he found my hand and kept his little head butting into it. Then he discovered little Maia's outstretched hand...and Maia discovered his very fluffy tail. What could have been a bad meeting turned out just fine, Harvey kind of looked disgusted and as soon as he could be free he moved few feet out of her range. No hissing or scratching. I think we're off to a good start.
We'll have pictures posted soon at: http://foobert.com/gal/main.php
It was also the much fun pizza night over here. Brother and I made six pizzas for five people. We're all in starchy-fat comas now. Harvey is awake and well and running around...somewhere. Maia is asleep and I'm tired. Two late nights in a row do that to me...and it's looking like a third. Sigh. John and siblings cleaned the kitchen so at least that's done and there is talk of going to breakfast in the morning. Yum. And if there's no rain, we'll hit the farmer's market and get some super fresh veggies for next week's snacking pleasure.
I'm going to find that cat for a last pet session and head off to sleep. My house is full of siblings and my dear husband and our sweet little daughter and now our adorable fur ball. It's full of love and so is my heart right now.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
I Haven't Been this Tired...
...since I was pregnant. Hmmm....is my body telling me something? I think not. Unless I like the less than 1% chance. If I am it's time for Vegas, baby.
What it is probably telling me is I need to drink more water and less beer. Whatever. I'm adjusting to my new food intake program well. I actually measure food and today I turned down eat-out food in favor of making myself lunch. Yeah me. I bought a new light cookbook; that makes two in the house so I should not run out of dinner ideas. Of course, tonight is out of my own little head: spicy salmon, twice baked sweet potatoes and salad. I think I'm hungry. I like waiting to eat with hubby but sometimes it gets hard to wait when he's so busy/late. Oh well. It's worth it to me. It's good family time, even if it's a bit late.
No walking today. That might cure my fatigue. Or if Maia would push those teeth out and my sleep wasn't so disturbed. Tonight I drugged her up and she still went down hard. Sigh. I just have to remember it bugs her more than it bugs us, poor thing, and she doesn't know what's going on. She just knows she hurts.
My lack of energy is affecting my house work plans. I haven't been keeping up at all. The dishes are done, but we're getting low on underwear. And I haven't shaken hands with the vacuum in a while. I'm getting together with mommy friends tomorrow and we were deciding where to meet...my place or hers. Yeah, I opted for the non-cleaning option. So we'll be traveling the five miles to avoid the vacuum for one more day.
Until tomorrow...I'll try to do something of interest or merit by then.
What it is probably telling me is I need to drink more water and less beer. Whatever. I'm adjusting to my new food intake program well. I actually measure food and today I turned down eat-out food in favor of making myself lunch. Yeah me. I bought a new light cookbook; that makes two in the house so I should not run out of dinner ideas. Of course, tonight is out of my own little head: spicy salmon, twice baked sweet potatoes and salad. I think I'm hungry. I like waiting to eat with hubby but sometimes it gets hard to wait when he's so busy/late. Oh well. It's worth it to me. It's good family time, even if it's a bit late.
No walking today. That might cure my fatigue. Or if Maia would push those teeth out and my sleep wasn't so disturbed. Tonight I drugged her up and she still went down hard. Sigh. I just have to remember it bugs her more than it bugs us, poor thing, and she doesn't know what's going on. She just knows she hurts.
My lack of energy is affecting my house work plans. I haven't been keeping up at all. The dishes are done, but we're getting low on underwear. And I haven't shaken hands with the vacuum in a while. I'm getting together with mommy friends tomorrow and we were deciding where to meet...my place or hers. Yeah, I opted for the non-cleaning option. So we'll be traveling the five miles to avoid the vacuum for one more day.
***
Such is my day. At this point I've been fed, watered, well, beer'd, and Veronica Mars'd. Now I'm thinking I'm tired because I go to bed so late. Bottle washing duty calls then warm flannel sheets. Hopefully we'll all get some slumber tonight. Darn teeth withstanding.Until tomorrow...I'll try to do something of interest or merit by then.
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